Information on Afghanistan and the Afghan Language

Achievement & Equality Team

Information on Afghanistan and the Afghan language

This is the country of every tribe Land of Baloochs, and Uzbeks Pashtoons, and Hazaras Turkamn and Tajiks/ With them, Arabs and Gojars Pamirian, Nooristanian Barahawi, and Qizilbash Also Aimaq, and Pashaye

National Anthem of Afghanistan

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team [email protected] Achievement & Equality Team

AFGHANISTAN AT A GLANCE

Location – South-West Asia Neighbours – Iran, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Size – 251,773 square miles Population – 22,575,900 (37th) Life Expectancy – Male / Female 63/65 Capital city – Kabul

Potted History Afghanistan has had a succession of conquerors thanks to its position at the crossroads of the silk routes, and has belonged to great empires. Central in the battle for influence between Russia and Britain in the 19th century, it later became a key cold-war battleground. It was a communist state in the late 1970s and 80s, then the Taliban prevailed until the US-led invasion of 2001.

Political pressure points The Taliban have regrouped since falling from power and are now a resurgent force. The US president, Barack Obama, recently committed more troops to help quell the increasingly violent insurgency. A fledgling democratic government faces the challenges of extending its authority beyond the capital and forging national unity.

Population mix Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3% Baloch 2%

Religious makeup Muslim 99% (majority Sunni)

Main languages Pashto, Dari

Living national icons Marina Gulbahari (actor), Khaled Hosseini (author), Abdul Ahad Momand (first Afghan in space), Hamed Hassan (cricketer)

Website President.gov.af

The Nottinghamshire Context

Due to the recent unrest in Afghanistan, families have been arriving in Nottinghamshire to flee persecution. The majority of these families claim asylum and face uncertain times while they are here. There will be a number of agencies involved with these families and schools are encouraged to attend the multi-agency meetings.

There are a small but significant number of young people who come to the UK without their parents. This again can impact on their lives due to a limited level of English language, separation from family members and friends and the traumatic experiences they may have witnessed.

Education in Afghanistan

 The education system has been severely disrupted by war and armed conflict and has been in a state of virtual collapse.  The majority of the country’s teachers left.  Afghanistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in Asia.  Primary school enrolment is very low.  The Taliban eliminated most formal opportunities for girls’ education, although some girls’ schools still operate in rural areas and in some towns.  Some children have been educated in schools established in refugee camps.  Officially, primary education begins at age seven and lasts for six years, followed by six years of secondary school.  The medium of instruction is Pashto or Dari (depending on the part of the country).  There is an entrance examination for admission to secondary school.  The Back-to-School campaign launched by the Ministry of Education and UNICEF has been a major success and 4.2 million children are now enrolled in school.  Girls’ enrolment has increased, although many girls are still out of school.

 Higher education is mainly provided by six universities (including a University of Islamic Studies), one Agricultural Institute, one Polytechnic, one State Medical Institute and teacher training colleges.  For the last five years higher education had been forbidden for girls in the areas controlled by the Talibans.  For the first time in February 2002, with the assistance of Unesco, more than 1000 women students took university entrance examinations.

Information about the Afghan Language

Pashto and Dari (Persian) are Afghanistan’s official languages. The Turkic languages (Uzbek, Turkman and Qirghiz) with about 1,000,000 speakers constitute an unofficial third language group. Most newspapers are printed in Dari and Pashtu, although during the Soviet time other languages were supported. Today there is some scholarly interest in studying minority languages and the Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs has a Living Cultures Department to document, publicise and preserve them.

Pashto, also known as Pushtu, is one of the two major languages of Afghanistan. It is spoken by 10 million people there-about 60 percent of the population-mostly in the eastern half of the country. It is also spoken in the northwestern Pakistan by about 10 million people. Pashto is the language of the Pathans, the indigenous inhabitants of Afghanistan. Like Persian, it is one of the Iranian languages, and thus part of the Indo-European family. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script, but the alphabet contains a number of letters not to be found in either Persian or Arabic. The term “Pashto” actually refers to the more important of the two dialects-the so-called soft dialect of Afghanistan which preserves the ancient sh and zh sounds. For those parts of Pakistan where the “hard” kh and gh prevail, the language is generally referred to as Pakhto.

Persian is one of the world’s oldest languages, a standard and well- recognized tongue as early as the 6th century B.C. it is one of the Iranian languages; a branch of the Indo-European family which at one time extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus River in India. The language was written in Cuneiform, the wedge –shaped characters used throughout much of the ancient world. In the 2nd century B. C. the Persians created their own

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team [email protected] Achievement & Equality Team alphabet, known as Pahlavi, which remained in use until the Islamic conquest of the 7th century. Since that time Persian has been written in the Arabic script with a number of additional characters to accommodate special sounds.

Modern Persian is spoken by over 40 million people in Iran and another 5 million in Afghanistan. In Iran it is generally referred to as Farsi, in Afghanistan as Dari. A variety of Persian called Tajik is spoken in Tajikistan, but there it is written in the Cyrillic Alphabet. English words of Persian origin include shawl, pajama, taffeta, khaki, kiosk, lilac, jasmine, julep, jackal, caravan, bazaar, checkmate, dervish, and satrap.

Here is an example of Pashto and Dari literature.

Dari Sample text in Persian (Dari)

Translation English All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood

Pashto Sample text in Pashto.

Translation English

When her petall'd lips are parting, Whitest pearls do lose their lustre; When her glance to me is darting. Fades the fairest flower cluster; Roses shamed, forget to blossom; Brighter radiance to discover; In the budding of a bosom; Flaunting as to bee the clover; She then rose, her grace bestowing; On the thorn, that waits her pleasure, I the fountain, faintly glowing, Mirror of a garden's treasure, Lover, loved, together knowing; Rapture passing dream or measure.

Words and Phrases

Dari English salam hello wa aleikum as-salam hello (in reply) chetor ast e? how are you?" khub astom I am fine naam-e-ma ______ast. my name is ______. naam-e-shoma cheest? what is your name? na faameedum I don’t understand faameedum I understand fameedee? do you understand? me taanum I can na me taanum I can’t bibakhshed excuse me tashakor thank you bale yes nay no lotfan please bubakhshed sorry khoda hafez good bye dhost friend tashakur thank you Ma I Maa we shoma you In ha he,she anha they bradar brother

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team [email protected] Achievement & Equality Team khuahar sister padar father madar mother rahnoma guide mehman guest du shanbe Monday se shanbe Tuesday Char shanbe Wednesday Panj shanbe Thursday juma Friday shanbe Saturday yak shanbe Sunday imroz today farda tomorrow pasfarda day after tomorrow diroz yesterday pariroz day before yesterday Malam teacher Maktab school Shagerd student Ketabha books Qalam pen Pencal pencil Naan e pesheen lunch Waqfa break Metanem qarz bekunam may I borrow your….? saal year mah month hafta week roz day sa'at hour daqiqa minute saniya second sobh morning shab night bahar spring tabestan summer khazan autumn zemestan winter

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team [email protected] Achievement & Equality Team koja … ast? where is …? che ast? what is this? chand i? how much? khorak food goshna hungry chamcha spoon panja fork naashta breakfast nahr lunch naneh shab dinner aab water mewa fruit seb apple kela banana angur grapes malta orange tarkari vegetable sefer zero yak one du two se three char four panj five shash six haft seven hasht eight noh nine dah ten

Pashto English as-salam-aleikum hello ta de kum zaia raghle? where do you come from? ze la….. I’m from…….. ho/na/sha!/kha! yes/no /ok! pa-mehrhabaney-sara/lut-fan please ta ma sera mrasta ka-wo-ley can you help me? she? ma-na-na thank you da tse ma-na la-rie? what does this mean? na, ma-na-na. no thank you

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team [email protected] Achievement & Equality Team tasoo da tekrar ka-walay shai? can you repeat that please? ubakha excuse me Pe englesi khabare kawe do you speak: English/ Pashto? englesi/pashto? har tse sam dee! everything is ok! tassa da tarjoma ka-wo-lay can you translate this? shei? Sahar pekhair good morning ze-ma num … dai (is my name is ... Nom de se de? what is your name? tse ghalti shewey da! there is a mistake. tha tsanga ye? how are you? da khoday-pe-aman good-bye tsok?/ tse? who?/what? tse wakt dai? what time is it? ze na pohe-gam. I do not understand. ze khabar na yem I do not know ze pohe-gam. I understand. ze oba tskal ghuaram I want to drink the water. aya ta da (this) ka-walay shey? can you do this? Ustad teacher Khwanzai school Zda kawunkai student Ketabona books Qalam pen Pencal pencil Garme dode lunch Waqfa break Pe qarze akhtalai sham may I borrow your….? sar head wextu hair max face starga eye ghwag ear poza nose khwla mouth ghax tooth num name sare man

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team [email protected] Achievement & Equality Team xaza woman mashum child plar father mor mother ror brother khur sister zwe son lur daughter xawand husband xaza wife halak boy jine girl wraz day shpa night sahar morning gharma noon maxam afternoon parun yesterday nan today saba tomorrow hafta week miasht month kal year zor old nawe new xu good xarab bad Sifer zero Yow one Dwa tow Dre three Chalor four Pinja five Shpazh six Oova seven Ata eight Naha nine las ten

Useful guidance is available from:

New Arrivals Excellence Programme Guidance (2007) Ref 00650 – 2007BKT- EN www.nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk This resource is for primary and secondary schools and contains guidance on admission and developing classroom practice.

A language in common: assessing English as an additional language QCA (2000) (QCA/00/584). http://www.qcda.gov.uk/resources/6200.aspx This document sets out steps used in assessment of EAL, linked to English National Curriculum levels. It provides guidance and exemplifications.

Aiming High: guidance on supporting the education of asylum seeking and refugee children (DfES 0287 – 2004) www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/ethnicminorites/links_and_publications/AH_Gdnc _AS_RFG_Apr04?asylumguidance.pdf This guidance helps explain the value of an inclusive ethos and curriculum to all pupils.

Aiming High: meeting the needs of newly arrived learners of EAL (DfES 1381 -2005) www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/publications/inclusion/newarrivals Information on working with newly arrived isolated EAL pupils in settings that have little or no access to EAL support.

Excellence and enjoyment: learning and teaching for bilingual children in the primary years (DfES 0013 – 2006PCK- EN)

Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Access and engagement in English:teaching pupils for whom English is an additional language (DfES 0609 – 2002)

Publications/Catalogues are available from:

MUNDI Tel: 0115 8546418 Mundi Global Education Centre Foxhall Lodge Foxhall Road Nottingham NG7 6LH www.mundi.org.uk (under construction/Aug 2010) Mundi loan resources to schools in Nottinghamshire free for up to half a term e-mail: [email protected]

GRANT AND CUTLER Tel: 0207 734 2012 55-57 Great Marlborough Street, London' England W1F 7AY Web: http://www.grantandcutler.com/index.html A one-stop shop for foreign language resources including language-learning material, reference books, technical dictionaries, literature, history, politics etc.

MILET PUBLISHING Tel: 0207 603 5477 6 North End Parade London W14 0SJ England Web: http://www.milet.com

Milet publishers a wide range of bilingual picture dictionaries, including board books for use in early years settings.

TRENTHAM BOOKS LTD Tel: 01782 745567 Westview House, 734 London Road, Stoke on Trent, UK ST4 5NP Web: http://www.trentham-books.co.uk

Trentham publishes 'a wide range of titles plus seven professional journals, mainly in the field of education and social policy.

MANTRA LINGUA Tel: 0208 44 55 123 Global House 303 Ballards Lane London N12 8NP UK Web: http://www.mantralingua.com .

Mantra Lingua creative learning resources Audio CDs, Big Books, e-books, fun tales, folk tales, friezes, games, language learning, packs posters, story props, toys videos and so on.

Classroom Resources are available from:

Interactive video clips showing children teaching their home languages (not all languages are currently available but it is being constantly updated). www.newburypark.redbridge.sch.uk/langofmonth

DLTK's Crafts for Kids features a variety images that can be used for creating pupils own subject-specific dictionaries. http://www.dltk-kids.com .

Activities for ESL Students can be adapted for EAL pupils in primary and secondary schools. Has bilingual quizzes in large number of languages, available at http://a4esl.org .

Omniglot writing system and languages of the world; available at, http://www.omniglot.com/writing/pashto.htm

EMA Online resource base for teachers has been developed by Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester LAs with funding from the DfES, available at; http://www.emaonline.org.uk .

Racist bullying. Advice designed for schools to dip in and out as appropriate for them and offers discussion topics and activities to stimulate debate and spark activity involving everyone in the school community, available at; http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/behaviour/tacklingbullying/racistbul lying.

Teachernet states that a successful home–school relationship can be a key element in making a school stronger and more effective. In particular, it can make a real difference to groups of underachieving pupils and their families, available at; http://www.teachernet.gov.uk.

Nottinghamshire Achievement & Equality Team [email protected]