The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The Taliban-run Academy of Sciences says it has revised and approved a standardized alphabet for the Pashayi language, urging writers, teachers, media outlets and other users to adopt the updated script to support the language's development and standardization.
In a statement, the academy said Afghanistan is home to diverse ethnic groups, languages and cultural traditions, with each community contributing to the country's cultural heritage through its language and oral literature.
According to the statement, Pashayi is one of Afghanistan's ancient Indo-Aryan languages and is spoken by thousands of Afghans. The academy said a commission of language specialists reviewed and revised the alphabet in response to requests from writers, researchers, scholars and other members of the Pashayi-speaking community, following academic and professional standards.
The academy said the revised alphabet has undergone scientific review and has been approved for public use. It encouraged authors, researchers, educators, media organizations and other Pashayi speakers to use the updated alphabet in educational, academic and cultural activities to promote the language's standardization and continued development.
Pashayi is primarily spoken in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Laghman, Kapisa, Kunar and Nuristan. Linguists generally regard the establishment of a standardized writing system as an important step toward the educational, academic and cultural development of a language.
