Editing Dari (section)

== Differences between Iranian and Afghan Persian ==
There are phonological, lexical,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=prs |title=Ethnologue report for language code: prs |publisher=Ethnologue.com |access-date=26 August 2012 |archive-date=7 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207025528/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=prs |url-status=live }}</ref> and morphological<ref name="iranchamber.com" /> differences between Afghan Persian and Iranian Persian. For example, Afghan Farsi has more vowels than Iranian Farsi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dari |url=https://celcar.indiana.edu/materials/language-portal/dari/index.html |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region |language=en-US}}</ref> {{Citation needed span|text=However, there are no significant differences in the written forms, other than regional idiomatic phrases.|date=July 2024|reason=This is a key question, and although the claim may be true, I heard people challenging it, so it requires a reference.}}

=== Phonological differences ===
The phonology of Dari Persian as spoken in Kabul, compared with Classical Persian, is overall more conservative than the accent of Iran's standard register. In this regard Dari Persian is more similar to Tajiki Persian. The principal differences between standard Iranian Persian and Afghan Persian as based on the Kabul dialect are:

# The merging of ''majhul'' vowels {{IPA|/eː, iː/}} and {{IPA|/oː, uː/}} into {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}} respectively in Iranian Persian, whereas in Afghan Persian, they are still kept separate. For instance, the identically written words {{lang|fa|شیر}} 'lion' and 'milk' are pronounced the same in Iranian Persian as {{IPA|/ʃiːr/}}, but differently as {{IPA|/ʃeːr/}} for 'lion' and {{IPA|/ʃiːr/}} for 'milk' in Afghan Persian, similar to Tajiki Persian. The long vowel in {{lang|fa|زود}} "quick" and {{lang|fa|زور}} "strength" is realized as {{IPA|/uː/}} in Iranian Persian, in contrast, these words are pronounced {{IPA|/zuːd/}} and {{IPA|/zoːr/}} respectively by Persian speakers in Afghanistan.
# The Classical Persian high short vowels {{IPA|/i/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} tend to be lowered in Iranian Persian to {{IPA|[e]}} and {{IPA|[o]}}, unlike in Dari where they might have both high and lowered allophones.
# The treatment of the [[diphthong]]s of early Classical Persian "ay" (as "i" in English "size") and "aw" (as "ow" in Engl. "cow"), which are pronounced {{IPA|[ej]}} (as in English "day") and {{IPA|[ow]}} (as in Engl. "low") in Iranian Persian. Dari, on the other hand, is more like ancient Persian, e.g. {{lang|fa|نخیر}} 'no' is realized as {{IPA|/naχejr/}} in Iranian but {{IPA|/naχajr/}} in Afghan Persian, and {{lang|fa|نوروز}} 'Persian New Year' is {{IPA|/nowruːz/}} in Iranian but {{IPA|/nawroːz/}} in Afghan Persian. Moreover, {{IPA|[ow]}} is simplified to {{IPA|[o]}} in normal Iranian speech, thereby merging with the lowered Classical short vowel {{IPA|/u/}} (see above). This does not occur in Afghan Persian.
# The pronunciation of the labial consonant {{lang|fa|و}}, which is realized as a [[voiced labiodental fricative]] {{IPA|[v]}} in standard Iranian, is still pronounced with the classical bilabial pronunciation {{IPA|[w]}} in Afghanistan; {{IPA|[v]}} is found in Afghan Persian as an allophone of {{IPA|/f/}} before voiced consonants and as variation of {{IPA|/b/}} in some cases, along with {{IPAblink|β}}.
# The convergence of the [[voiced uvular stop]] {{IPA|[ɢ]}} ({{lang|fa|ق}}) and the [[voiced velar fricative]] {{IPA|[ɣ]}} ({{lang|fa|غ}}) in some dialects of Iranian Persian (presumably under the influence of Turkic languages like [[Azeri language|Azeri]] and [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]])<ref>A. Pisowicz, ''Origins of the New and Middle Persian phonological systems'' (Cracow 1985), pp. 112–114, 117.</ref> is absent in Dari, where the two are still kept separate.
# {{IPA|[a]}} and {{IPA|[e]}} in word-final positions are distinguished in Dari, whereas {{IPA|[e]}} is a word-final allophone of {{IPA|/æ/}} in Iranian Persian.

=== Dialect continuum ===
The dialects of Dari spoken in Northern, Central, and Eastern Afghanistan, for example in [[Kabul]], [[Mazar-i-Sharif|Mazar]], and [[Badakhshan Province|Badakhshan]], have distinct features compared to [[Farsi|Iranian Persian]]. However, the dialect of Dari spoken in Western Afghanistan stands in between the Afghan and Iranian Persian. For instance, the [[Herat]]i dialect shares vocabulary and phonology with both Afghan and Iranian Persian. Likewise, the dialect of Persian in Eastern Iran, for instance in [[Mashhad]], is quite similar to the Herati dialect of Afghanistan.