Language And Media

The Pashtuns speak Pashto as their native tongue, which is an Indo-European language. Spoken by up to 60 million people, it belongs to the Iranian sub-group of the Indo-Iranian branch.^[114] It can be further delineated within Eastern Iranian and Southeastern Iranian. Pashto is written in the Pashto-Arabic script and is divided into two main dialects, the southern "Pashto" and the northern "Pakhtu".
Pashto has ancient origins and bears similarities to extinct languages such as Avestan and Bactrian. Its closest modern relatives include Pamir languages, such as Shughni and Wakhi, and Ossetic.^{[citation needed]} Pashto has an ancient legacy of borrowing vocabulary from neighboring languages including Persian and Vedic Sanskrit. Invaders have left vestiges as well; as Pashto has borrowed words from Ancient Greek, Arabic and Turkic. Modern borrowings come primarily from the English language.

Mahmud Tarzi, son of Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, became the pioneer of Afghan journalism.

Fluency in Pashto is often the main determinant of group acceptance as to who is considered a Pashtun. Afghan nationalism (Pashtun nationalism) emerged following the rise of Pashto poetry that linked language and ethnic identity. Pashto has national status in Afghanistan and regional status in Pakistan. In addition to their native tongue, many Pashtuns are fluent in Urdu, Dari (Persian), and English.
Throughout their history, poets, prophets, kings and warriors have been among the most revered members of Pashtun society. Early written records of Pashto began to appear by the 16th century. The earliest describes Sheikh Mali's conquest of Swat. Pir Roshan is believed to have written a number of Pashto books while fighting the Mughals. Pashtun scholars such as Abdul Hai Habibi and others believe that the earliest Pashto work dates back to Amir Kror Suri in the eighth century, and they use the writings found in Pata Khazana as proof. However, this is disputed by several European experts due to lack of strong evidence.
The advent of poetry helped transition Pashto to the modern period. Pashto literature gained significant prominence in the 20th century, with poetry by Ameer Hamza Shinwari who developed Pashto Ghazals. In 1919, during the expanding of mass media, Mahmud Tarzi published Seraj-al-Akhbar, which became the first Pashto newspaper in Afghanistan. Some notable poets include Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Nazo Anaa, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja Shah Durrani, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, Afzal Khan, and Khan Abdul Ghani Khan.
Pashto media outlets play a major role in the everyday life of Pashtuns. Several Pashto TV channels are available in the Pashtun regions, which also broadcast internationally. The leading one is AVT Khyber, helping to promote the Pashtun culture with their daily programs. Viewers around the world are informed about the day to day issues in their region and amused with their entertaining shows, such as the show with Amanullah Kaker which is based on educating Pashtuns by using messages in Pashto poetry. International news sources that provide Pashto programs include BBC and Voice of America.
Recently, Pashto literature has received increased patronage, but many Pashtuns continue to rely on oral tradition due to relatively low literacy rates. Pashtun males continue to meet at Hujras, to listen and relate various oral tales of valor and history. Despite the general male dominance of Pashto oral story-telling, Pashtun society is also marked by some matriarchal tendencies. Folktales involving reverence for Pashtun mothers and matriarchs are common and are passed down from parent to child, as is most Pashtun heritage, through a rich oral tradition that has survived the ravages of time.