Afghani language
- noun
- /æfˈɡɑːni ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
:
idioma afgano
- Many people mistakenly refer to both Pashto and Dari as the Afghani language.
Examples
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The book provides a brief introduction to the Afghani language for travelers.
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The Afghani language is rich in history.
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She is fluent in both Dari and Afghani language, which makes her a valuable translator.
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Many people in Afghanistan speak the Afghani language.
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Many people mistakenly refer to both Pashto and Dari as the Afghani language.
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The book provides a brief introduction to the Afghani language for travelers.
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Many people in Afghanistan speak the Afghani language.
Synonyms
3
8.2
A language spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan that serves as an official language in Afghanistan
1
8.9
A language spoken in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan, also called Pashto
1
7.6
A language spoken in Afghanistan, usually meaning Pashto or Dari
1
8.7
A language spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan and an official language of Afghanistan
A language spoken mainly in Afghanistan that is one of the country's official languages
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a directly compositional demonym/adjective + noun combination: 'Afghani' names the people or their language and 'language' denotes a spoken system, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it means the language of Afghanistan (e.g., Pashto or Dari). The pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard adjective/noun compounding, so it is immediately understandable to learners who know the parts (minor ambiguity with 'Afghani' as a currency does not prevent this inference).
Etymology
Afghani language may come from using Afghani as a simple label meaning 'from Afghanistan' and then adding language. Because Afghanistan has more than one main language, 'Pashto' and 'Dari', people started to call either one 'Afghani language' as a quick but not very precise name, so today it usually means one of those languages in everyday speech.