Editing Dari (section)

== Political views and disputes on the language ==
Successive governments of Afghanistan have promoted New Persian as an [[official language]] of government since the time of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] (1206–1526), even as those governments were dominated by Pashtun people. [[Sher Ali Khan]] of the [[Barakzai dynasty]] (1826–1973) first introduced the [[Pashto language]] as an additional language of administration. The local name for the Persian variety spoken in Afghanistan was officially changed from Farsi to Dari, meaning "court language", in 1964.<ref>[[Willem Vogelsang]], "The Afghans", Blackwell Publishing, 2002</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.datadust.de/download/farsi2dari/|title=Airgram Farsi to Dari 1964 Embassy Kabul to USA|website=datadust.de|access-date=27 September 2019|archive-date=27 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927192306/http://www.datadust.de/download/farsi2dari/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>see too Harold F. Schiffman Language 2012, pp. 39–40</ref> Zaher said there would be, as there are now, two official languages, Pashto and Farsi, though the latter would henceforth be named Dari. Within their respective linguistic boundaries, Dari Persian and Pashto are the media of education.

The term continues to divide opinion in Afghanistan today. While Dari has been the official name for decades, "Farsi" is still the preferred name to many Persian speakers of Afghanistan. [[Omar Samad]], an Afghan analyst and ambassador, says of the dispute:<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-dari-farsi-persian-language-dispute/28840560.html|title=Dari or Farsi? Afghanistan's Long-Simmering Language Dispute|newspaper=Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty |access-date=25 November 2017|archive-date=26 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126121028/https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-dari-farsi-persian-language-dispute/28840560.html|url-status=live |last1=Bezhan |first1=Frud }}</ref>

{{blockquote|This debate pits those who look at language as a shared heritage that includes thinkers, writers, and poets of the Farsi language against those who believe that Dari has older roots and provides a distinct identity that cannot be confused with Iran's claim.}}