Dari language

Dari (; endonym: دری [d̪ɐˈɾiː]), Dari Persian (فارسی دری, Fārsī-yi Darī, [fʌːɾˈsiːjɪ d̪ɐˈɾiː] or Fārsī-ye Darī, [fʌːɾˈsiːjɛ d̪ɐˈɾiː]), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari Persian is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language; it is known as Afghan Persian or Eastern Persian in many Western sources. The decision to rename the local variety of Persian in 1964 was more political than linguistic to support an Afghan state narrative. Dari Persian is most closely related to Tajiki Persian as spoken in Tajikistan and the two share many phonological and lexical similarities. Apart from a few basics of vocabulary, there is little difference between formal written Persian of Afghanistan and Iran; the languages are mutually intelligible. Dari Persian is the official language for approximately 35 million people in Afghanistan and it serves as the common language for inter-ethnic communication in the country. As defined in the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan, Dari Persian is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan; the other is Pashto. Dari Persian is the most widely spoken language in Afghanistan and the native language of approximately 25–55% of the population. Dari Persian serves as the lingua franca of the country and is understood by up to 78% of the population. Dari Persian served as the preferred literary and administrative language among non-native speakers, such as the Turco-Mongol peoples including the Mughals, for centuries before the rise of modern nationalism. Also, like Iranian Persian and Tajiki Persian, Dari Persian is a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of the Sassanian Empire (224–651 AD), itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenids (550–330 BC). In historical usage, Dari refers to the Middle Persian court language of the Sassanids.