Editing Dari (section)

== Varieties of Dari Persian ==
In a paper jointly published by Takhar University and the Ministry of Education in 2018, researchers studying varieties of Persian from Iran to Tajikistan, Identified 3 dialect groups (or macro dialects) present within Afghanistan.<ref name="MOE">{{cite document|last1=الله حکیمی|first1=مطیع|language=fa|publisher=Takhar University & The Afghanistan Ministry of Education|date=2018|title=گونه‌های زبان فارسی دری|type=journal}}</ref> In an article about various languages spoken in Afghanistan, [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] identified a nearly identical categorization but considered varieties spoken in the Sistan region to constitute a distinct group.<ref name="Iranica dialects">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|title=AFGHANISTAN v. Languages|year=1983}}</ref>

Takhar and the MOE only discussed vocabulary differences between the dialect groups and did not extensively discuss phonological differences between these groups. However, there was a noticeable difference in the romanizations of the Western dialects and the South-Eastern dialects. Chiefly that the vowel diacritic "pesh" ([[Kasrah]]) was romanized with an "i" for South-Eastern dialects but as an "e" for western dialects. This is presumably due to a difference in quality, however the paper itself did not explain why the vowels were transliterated differently.

=== South-Eastern ===
The South Eastern group (also referred to the Southern and Eastern group) constitutes varieties spoken in and around [[Kabul]], [[Parwan]], [[Balkh]], [[Baghlan]], [[Samangan province|Samangan]], [[Kunduz]], [[Takhar Province|Takhar]], [[Badakhshan]] and others.<ref name="MOE"/> A distinctive character of this group is its conservative nature compared to, for example, the Tehrani dialect. This can be seen in its Phonology (e.g. its preservation of "Majhul" vowels), Morhphonology and Syntax, and its Lexicon. A further distinction may be made between varieties in and near Kabul and varieties in and near Afghan Turkistan. With dialects near Kabul exhibiting some influences from languages in southern Afghanistan and South Asia and dialects in Afghan Turkistan exhibiting more influence from [[Tajik language|Tajik]]. All South-Eastern varieties exhibited some influence from [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]].<ref name="Iranica dialects"/> Despite the Afghanistan Ministry of Education referring to this group as "South-Eastern" some of the varieties included are in the north.

As seen in many [[#Hazaragi|Hazaragi]] varieties, certain Eastern Dialects have developed a system of retroflex consonants under pressure from Pashto. They are not widespread, however.<ref name="Iranica dialects"/>

The [[Kabuli dialect]] has become the standard model of Dari Persian in Afghanistan, as has the [[Tehrani accent|Tehrani dialect]] in relation to the Persian in Iran. Since the 1940s, [[Radio Afghanistan]] has broadcast its Dari programs in Kabuli Dari, which ensured the homogenization between the Kabuli version of the language and other dialects of Dari Persian spoken throughout Afghanistan. Since 2003, the media, especially the [[List of television channels in Afghanistan|private radio and television broadcasters]], have carried out their Dari programs using the Kabuli variety.

=== Western ===
The Western group includes various varieties spoken in and around: [[Herat]], [[Badghis]], [[Farah, Afghanistan|Farah]] and [[Ghor]].<ref name="MOE"/> Varieties in this group share many features with the dialects of Persian spoken in Eastern Iran, and one may make many comparisons between the speech of Herat and [[Mashhad]].<ref name="Iranica dialects"/>

=== Hazaragi ===
{{Main|Hazaragi dialect}}
The third group recognized by Afghanistan Ministry of Education is [[Hazaragi]]. Spoken by the [[Hazaras|Hazara people]], these varieties are spoken in the majority of central Afghanistan including: [[Bamyan]], parts of [[Ghazni]], Daikundi, Laal Sari Jangal in Ghor province, 'uruzgan khas', in a wide area in the west of Kabul which is mainly recognized as Dashti Barchi,  and some regions near [[Herat]].<ref name="MOE"/> As a group, the Hazaragi varieties are distinguished by the presence of [[retroflex consonant|retroflex consonants]] and distinctive vocabulary.<ref name="Iranica dialects"/><ref name="Iranica hazaragi">{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|title=HAZĀRA iv. Hazāragi dialect|year=2003|author=Charles M. Kieffer}}</ref> However it has been shown that Hazaragi is more accurately a sub-dialect of Dari rather than its own variety of Persian.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 20, 2012 |title=HAZĀRA iv. Hazāragi dialect |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/hazara-4}}</ref>

=== Sistani ===
{{Main|Sistani dialect}}
Afghanistan's Ministry of Education does not make a distinction between varieties of the Sistan region and the varieties in the Western group. However Encyclopaedia Iranica considers the [[Sistani dialect]] to constitute their own distinctive group, with notable influences from [[Balochi language|Balochi]].<ref name="Iranica dialects"/>