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Orthography and Phonemes in Pashto (Afghan)
Herbert Penzl
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 74, No. 2. (Apr. - Jun., 1954), pp. 74-81.
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$ 4
E B E R H A R D :
P r e lim in a r y
N o te
o n P la c e
N am es
i n
M e d ie c a l C h in a
A ll a u s p ic io u sl i n a m e s w h ic h o c c u r m o re th a n
o n c e
a n d
i n
d iffe re n t
lo c a litie s
o c c u r
m o re
th a n
once in different places of the K ansu
re g io n .
I n the case of the geographical nam es, three occur in different parts of the sam e area (H o n an ). B u t one occurs once in the H onan
and once in the Hopei
a r e a ;
3
occur once each in K ansu
and once each
i n
H onan;
o n e
o c c u rs
o n c e
i n
K ansu
a n d
o n c e
this sam e nam e reoccurs in H opei.
I t is possible
that im m igrants com ing from
th e c e n tra l p a rts of
China transferred
their local nam es to
their new
s e ttle m e n t
i n
E a n s u .
P o p u la tio n
d a ta
s e e m
t o
s u b s ta n tia te th is th e o ry ,1 2 b u t th e m a te ria l a t h a n d
does not suffice to prove this hypothesis.
l2T he classical case of
th is
type has been
s tu d ie d
b y
H .H .D ubs
(in his
" A
R om an
In flu e n c e u p o n
C hinese
I n
conclusion it m ight be
stated that
li nam es
i n m e d ie v a l C h in a sh o w c e r ta in p e c u lia ritie s w h ic h
d e s e rv e
m o re
e x te n s iv e
study, because
th e y
m ay
le a d to a b e tte r u n d e rs ta n d in g
of the history and
ty p e
o f
C hinese
s e ttle m e n t.
T h e y
a p p e a r ,
how -
e v e r,
t o
y ie ld
few er
nam es
o f
a b o rig in a l
trib e s
than nam es ofh s ia n g
(county) orh s i e n
( d i s t r i c t ) and to be m ore closely connected w ith the Chinese settlers as far as the K ansu region is concerned.
P a in tin g ,"
Classical Philology,38
(1 9 4 3 ),
1 7 fo o t-n o te ).
H e
p ro v e d
th a t
R om an
s o ld ie rs , c a lle d
a s
m en
o f
L i-
chien, taken prisoner in 36
B .c ., w ere resettled
in K ansu
i na s e t t l e m e ~ t w i t h
th e s a m e n a m e L i-c h ie n .
The docu-
m ents,
u n fo rtu n a te ly ,
s e e m
t o
m e n tio n
o n ly
o n e
H an tim e citizen of this place, a certain E rh Ts'ang,3 0y e a r s o ld ,
7 .2
C hinese
f e e t
h ig h ,
d a r k
c o m p le x io n , a
h ig h e r
arm y official( C h i i - y e n H a n - c h i e n ,v o l.3 , p . 6 b ); i t s e e m s
v e ry u n lik e ly
that this m an
w a s o n e of
these prisoners.
O R T H O G R A P H Y
A N D
I'H O N E M E S
I N
PA SH TO
(A F G H A N )
1 .IR T R O D U C T IO N
1.
O R T H O G R A P H Y
S P E L L IN G S ,
A N D
the w ritten reflexes of the phonem ic system s, are the prim ary s o u rc e
m aterial
i n
h is to ric a l
lin g u is tic s .
T h e r e
a re
lin g u is ts
i n
th is
c o u n try
w ho
c o n s id e r
th e
s tu d y
o f
n a tiv e
w ritin g
i n
i t s
re la tio n
t o
n a tiv e
speech of no im portance in descriptive linguistics.
It is true that the deliberate separation
of
o rth o -
g ra p h y a n d la n g u a g e in th e e le m e n ta ry te a c h in g of
o rie n ta l languages has turned
o u t
t o
b e
a
g r e a t
pedagogical im provem ent.
I t is less certain that
th e c a v a lie r tre a tm e n t of n a tiv e o rth o g ra p h ic
s y s -
tem s by som e linguists can be justified;
it m ostly
p ro v id e d
a
c o n v e n ie n t
ra tio n a liz a tio n
fo r
th e ir
ow n
"illite ra c y ."
I n
c o m m u n ic a tio n ,
o rth o g ra -
p h ie s
constitute w ritten
c o c le s f o r l a n g u a g e
m es-
sages. The relation between language m essage and its code is alw ays of relevance to a linguist, par- ticularly if the code is analyzable and describable b y lin g u is tic te c h n iq u e s .
X utual interaction betw een w riting and speech,
s u c h
a s
s p e llin g -p ro n u n c ia tio n s , h y p e ru rb a n is m s ,
n a iv e
s p e llin g s ,
h a s
b e e n
o b s e rv e d
i n
th e
g r e a t
literary languages of the W est.
S im ila r re la tio n s
should be investigated in languages elsew here.
I t
is the
p u rp o s e
o f
th is
a rtic le
t o
e x a m in e
b rie fly
th e
c o rre la tio n
b e tw e e n
th e
n a tiv e
o rth o g ra p h y
and the phonemic
system s of
N odern
Pashto and
its dialects.
W e
shall first take
u p
th e
p ro s o d ic
f e a tu r e s
(4 .),
th e n
t l l e
P a s h to
vow el
phonem es
(5 .)
a n d
th e
P a s l l t o
consonant phonemes
(6.),
a n d th e ir re p re s e n ta tio n .
T lie d ia le c ta l v a ria tio n of P a s h to is c o n s id e ra b le ,
but only three standard types have em erged:
th e
ty p e of
I 'e s h a w a r ;
th e E a s te rn ty p e ; th e
E a n d a -
har t\pe. T he difl'erenees betw een these three m ain
d ia le c ta l ty p e s a r e n o t c le a rly
e x p re s s e d
by corre-
s p o lld in g
re g io n a l v a ria tio n s
o f
t l l e
o rth o g ra p h y .'
?J7e shall find, how ever, that there
i s
s u b s ta n tia l
agreem ent between
th e
consonantal phonem es
o f
th e R a n d a h a r d ia le c t(6 .3f .) a n d th e o rth o g ra p h ic
s y s te m
unil-ersally used, w hile the other tw o m ain
d ia le c ta l ty p e s a n d th e ir s u b d ia le c ts
do not agree
w ith
th e o rth o g ra p h y .
A
h is to ry
of the rise
a n d
d e 1 -e lo p m e n t of
P a s h to
o rth o g ra p h y
c a n n o t
b e
w ritten ,
s in c e
s p e c ific
h is to ric a l
re fe re n c e s
a re
la c k in g a n d th e a v a ila b le P a s h to
m anuscripts are
u n fo rtu n a te ly
n e ith e r
o ld
n o r
num erous
e n o u g h
to p ro v id e su ffic ie n t so u rc e m a te ria l.
P e n z l, JSO S
7 1
(1 9 5 1 ), 97.
-
-
7 5
P E N Z L :
O rth o g ra p h y
a n d
Phonem es
i n
P a s h to
(A fg h a n )
2 .
TH EPA SH TO
A L P H A B E T .
2 .1 .
i s
w ritte n
i n
th e
N askh
s c r ip t
o f
th e
A rab ic
a lp h a b e t b o th
i n
A fg h a n is ta n
a n d
i n
w estern
P a k is ta n .
T he
P a s h to
a lp h a b e t c o n ta in s
a ls o
th e
A rab ic
sv m b o ls of
th e
P e r s ia n
a lp h a b e t.
I n a d d itio n to th e se th e re a re e ig h t s p e c i a l ~ a s h t o
symbols: for the retroflex consonants rr (rree), nn
(n n u n ),
d d
(d d a a l),
t t
(tte e )
(6 .2 );
fo r
th e
clusters ts (tsee), dz (dzee)
(6 .3 );fo r th e s p ira n ts
s s
( s s e e ) ,z z
(z z e e )
(6 .4 ).
The Pashto nam es of the sym bols show
the cor-
responding consonant phonem es in initial position
e .g./b /
in bee, I n n /
i n n n u n , e tc .
A fghan gram -
m a ria n s
usually list3 0a lp h a b e tic sy m b o ls i n th e
fo llo w in g o r d e r : a lif
b e e
p e e
te e
tte e d z h im
ts h e e
k h e e
ts e e
d z e e
dual ddaal ree
r r e e
zee zhee zzee
sin shin ssin (ssee) ghayn kaaf guaf laam
m im
n u n
n n u n
w aaw
h e e
y e e .
T h e y
c a ll
th e s e
s y m b o ls
"basic sounds "
(asli aaw aazuna, P ers. m w aazhaa
iasli) or "true
le tte rs"
(Pers. burufi sahib)
( A
1f .,R
IV .4 -8 ,H
1 1 6 ) , a n d u s u a lly
also list the
eight special Pashto
sym bols separately.
2 .2 .
I n
A fghan
gram m ars
th e
re m a in in g
te n
A rabic sym bols that only appear in A rabic-Persian
lo a n -w o rd s
a re
u s u a lly
g iv e n
i n
a
s e p a r a te
l i s t :
f e e q a a f 'a y n
b e e tw e e ; w a d
see zw aad g a l Sw ee.
T h e y a r e c a lle d"A rabic letters
"
( 'a r a b i h u r u f ) o r
W e s h a ll q u o te , a s inJA O S
7 1 , th e fo llo w in g A fg h a n
g ra m m a tic a l s tu d ie s b y
th e in itia ls of th e ir a u th o rs :
M
=
S aalih M uham m ad K haan,Passtoo Zheba, let part:
K abul 1316
(1 9 3 7 );2d part:
IS 1 7
(1 9 3 8 )
(in Per-
s ia n );
A=
M uham m ad
'A Z a m
A y a a z i,D e
P a ssto o
Q a w a a 'id ;
K abul, 1324
(1 9 4 5 );
R
I
=
g a d iq u lla h
R is h tin ,
D e
P a ssto o
E e li,
6 th
v o l.;
K a b u l,
1 3 2 6
(1 9 4 7 );
R
I 1
=
D e
P a ssto o
K e li,
Lum rray
L y a a r s s u w u n k e y ,
K abul 1326
(1 9 4 7 );
R
I1 1=
De Passtoo
I s l~ tiq a a q u n aa w
T e r k ib u n a ,K abul
1 3 2 7
(1 9 4 8 );
R
I V
= P a ssto o
Q raam ar
d z h u s
i
a w a l,
E n g l.
title :
G ram m ar of Pashtu, First P art; K abul, Qaws
1 3 2 7
(Decem ber 1948)
(in Persian);
H
=
'A b d u l g a y H a b ib i, De Passtoo
A d a b ia a tu
T a a r ik h ,
vol.I ; E ngl. title:
A
H istory
of
P a s h tu
L ite r a tu r e ,
K abul 1325
(1 9 4 6 );
R ah.=
Q azi
R a h im u lla h
K han,
T h e
M odern
P u sh tu
I n s t r u c t o r , v o l.I , P e s h a w a r , 1 9 3 8
(in E nglish).
T he
s e q u e n c e
o f
th e
fiv e
s y m b o ls
th a t
c o n s is t
o f
m o d ific a tio n s
o f
A rab ic
h
v a rie s
som etim es:
A
1 :
d zh
k h
ts h
ts dz;R
1 1 1 .3 :
d zh
ts h
k h
d z
ts ;R
IV .6 :
d zh
tsh ts dz kk.
R
IV . 8 f. w ould
prefer uniform
nam es for
a ll
le tte rs :
d z h e e
o r
d z h a
( d z h e ) fo r
dzhim ;
s h e e
o r
sh a
( s h e ) fo r sh in ,e tc .
"borrow ed
s o u n d s "
(P ers. aaw aazhaa
im usti'aar)
( A
1 ,R
IV .
9f .,
H
1 1 6 ).
O n ly
th e
first four
A ra b ic sy m b o ls c o rre sp o n d p o te n tia lly to p h o n e m e s
th e
o th e rs
a reju s t
a d -
(6 .1 1 ):,f ,/ q /
d itio n a l
s y m b o ls fo r/ t /I s /jz /.
3 .1 .
I t
i s
in c o n v e n ie n t
i n
o u r
d is c u s s io n
o f
A rab ic
o rth o g ra p h y
t o
h a v e
t o
u se
a
L a tin
tra n -
scription exclusively.
B ut such a transcription
i s
in d is p e n s a b le i n p h o n e m ic
d is c u s s io n s .
The ques- tio n of th e c re a tio n of a n a u x ilia ry L a tin a lp h a b e t fo r
P a s h to
h a s
re c e iv e d
som e
a tte n tio n
i n
A f-
g h a n is ta n .
N o a lp h a b e t h a s b e e n o ffic ia lly a d o p te d ,
b u t
various governm ent
a g e n c ie s
h a v e
th e ir
ow n
pet schem es.
P re v io u s fo re ig n
studies of
P a s h to ,
e. g.
b y
R a v e rty ,
B e lle w ,
T ru m p p ,
R oos-K eppel,
L orim er,
G ilb ertso n
h a v e
u s e d
a
v a rie ty
o f
sym bols.
I t is necessary
to increase the num ber of L atin
s y m b o ls , if
e a c h
phonem e is to be
r e p r e s e n te d
b y
o n e
s y m b o l.
T he
fo llo w in g
m e th o d s
h a v e
b e e n
a d o p te d : th e b o rro w in g
of s y m b o ls f r o m
o th e r a l-
p h a b e ts ; th e u se of d iffe re n t ty p e , e. g . of c a p ita ls or italics, for different phonem ic values; the crea- tio n
o f
entirely new
special sym bols; the
m o d ifi-
c a tio n
o f
e x is tin g
L a tin
sym bols,
e .g .
b y
d o ts ,
p o in ts ,
a n d
lin e s ;
th e
u se
o f
a
c o m b in a tio n
o f
L a tin
le tte rs
fo r
a
s in g le
v a lu e .
T h is
last-m en-
tio n e d
"cluster "-w riting
seem s
ty p o g ra p h ic a lly
m ost convenient: e.g .s h
n n , e tc .;i t is p h o n e m i-
c a lly
u n a m b ig u o u s
i n
P a s h to ,
since the
la n g u a g e
has no /hJ-clusters
n o r g e m in a te
c lu s te r s .
3 .2 1 .
T h e re la tio n of a n y p ro p o se d L a tin a lp h a -
b e t to th e A ra b ic o rth o g ra p h y
of Pashto has to be
carefully considered.
Am ere transliteration
of the
A rab ic
a lp h a b e t is n o
s o lu tio n , of
c o u rs e .
I f
th e
shapes of
th e
n a tiv e
orthographic symbols reveal
th e
p h o n e m ic
p a tte rn ,
th e
L a tin
s y m b o ls
s h o u ld ,
if
possible, do the sam e.
O u r p ra c tic e
of w riting
re tro fle x
fo rtis
c o n s o n a n ts
a s
g e m in a te s ,
e. g.
r r
C f. M a jo rH . G . R a v e rty ,A
G r a m m a r o f t h e P u k 'h to ,
P u c io ,o rL a n g u a g e
o f th e A fg h d n s
(L o n d o n a n d
C a l-
c u tta ,
1 8 6 7 3 );
H enry
W .
B e ll= ,
A
G ram m ar
of
th e
P u k k h to
or P u k h to
L a n g u a g e
(1 8 6 7 ); D r. E . T ru m p p ,
A
G r a m m a r o f th e
P @ td
o r
L a n g u a g e
o f
th e
A fg h d n s
(L o n d o n
a n d
T iib in g e n ,
1 8 7 3 );
a ls o
ZDM Q
21. 10-155
(1 8 6 7 ), 23. 1-133
(1 8 6 9 );
M a jo r
G .
R oos-K eppel,
A
M anual
o f
P u sh tu
(L o n d o n ,
1 9 0 1 );
M a jo r
D .
L .
R .
L orim er, Pashtu; PartI :
S y n ta x
o f C o llo q u ia l P a s h t u
(O x fo rd ,
1 9 1 5 );
M a jo r
G eorge
W .
G ilb e rts o n ,
T h e
P a E to
I d io m:
A
D ic tio n a r y
(1 9 3 2 ).
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