pashtun etymology

[1360]

pashtun etymology

[Badlun]

Etymology(origin and development) of the word Pashtun has different explanations like

Pashtun has references to various ancient peoples called Pakthas (Pactyans) between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC. The Rigveda (1700–1100 BC) mentions a tribe called Paktha inhabiting eastern Afghanistan and academics have proposed their connection with today's Pakhtun people.

Nath, Samir (2002). Dictionary of Vedanta. Sarup & Sons. p. 273. ISBN 81-7890-056-4. Retrieved 10 September 2010.

The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned a people called Pactyans living in the same area (Achaemenid's Arachosia Satrapy) as early as the 1st millennium BCE.

http://www.piney.com/Heredotus7.html

For further details
Pashtun people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Badlun all of this is speculative; no scholar or anthropology, history or linguistics believes unequivocally that these allusions are to Pashtuns explicitly.

[Kushan Prince]

Etymology(origin and development) of the word Pashtun has different explanations like

Pashtun has references to various ancient peoples called Pakthas (Pactyans) between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC. The Rigveda (1700–1100 BC) mentions a tribe called Paktha inhabiting eastern Afghanistan and academics have proposed their connection with today's Pakhtun people.

Nath, Samir (2002). Dictionary of Vedanta. Sarup & Sons. p. 273. ISBN 81-7890-056-4. Retrieved 10 September 2010.

The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned a people called Pactyans living in the same area (Achaemenid's Arachosia Satrapy) as early as the 1st millennium BCE.

http://www.piney.com/Heredotus7.html

For further details
Pashtun people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Also Bactrian people called themselves Pakhtrian and are believed to be the same people as Pactyans.

[Badlun]

Badlun all of this is speculative; no scholar or anthropology, history or linguistics believes unequivocally that these allusions are to Pashtuns explicitly.

Etymology means the origin and development of a word. The word Pashtun must have some origin and then it developed in its present form. Do you have some other etymology for the word Pashtun other than the ones given above.

[یاسمینه]

http://www.pashtunforums.com/english-books/24608.htm Maybe this book will help you a little; see p. 26-29.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Etymology means the origin and development of a word. The word Pashtun must have some origin and then it developed in its present form. Do you have some other etymology for the word Pashtun other than the ones given above.

So because .....there are not other explanation of the word for Pashto.....we should use faulty reasoning and jump to faulty illogical conclusionsI mean Pactyan sounds nothing like PASSHHHHHHtun. even when we factor in the variant PAKHHHHHtun it's missing the clear stop that a word like PACTyan would have. This makes no sense from an etymological point of view. As someone who stresses education; you should use logic on issues like this.

If these words like Pactyan or "Pakhtrian" are reference to Pashtuns why do we have absolutely ZERO evidence of Pashto language that is confirmed prior to the time of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi?

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Also Bactrian people called themselves Pakhtrian and are believed to be the same people as Pactyans.

Maybe Bactrian are actually the Bakhtiyari tribe of Iran; it makes more sense because there is NO R sound in Pashtun; but there is an R in Bakhtiyar

Also the original Pashto dialect uses the SHHHH sound, KKHHHH is a later consequence of exposure to Turkic languages. so Pashhhtun would not make sense to use a Hard KH sound in ancient times.

[Badlun]

All these explanations are mere conjectures. On the other hand I have given reliable sources. This is a try to belittle Pashtuns to think that Pashtuns did not exist before Memood Ghaznavi or before Islam because there was no written Pashto.

The word Pashtun must have an etymology and if no other etymology is presented we have to accept whatever is available.

No scholar ever differentiated Pashtun from Pakhtun etymologically. Both are the same people and the difference in accent , dialect or pronunciation is geographical not ethnic, tribal or racial. Many times the same tribe use kh in one place and sh in other.

[Kushan Prince]

Maybe Bactrian are actually the Bakhtiyari tribe of Iran; it makes more sense because there is NO R sound in Pashtun; but there is an R in Bakhtiyar

Also the original Pashto dialect uses the SHHHH sound, KKHHHH is a later consequence of exposure to Turkic languages. so Pashhhtun would not make sense to use a Hard KH sound in ancient times.

Too bad you aren't aware that bakhtari's are from iran with the zargos mountains separating them from pakhtuns. Oh and the original pashto dialect is the harden one, not soft. Pashtuns orignaly called themselves "Pakhtun" not Pashtun since that's what iranians called us. Not to mention the word Pusht is found in farsi.

[Badlun]

http://www.pashtunforums.com/english-books/24608.htm Maybe this book will help you a little; see p. 26-29.

I cannot open that book. Can you please copy the relevant part about the etymology of the word Pashtun/Pakhtun here.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Too bad you aren't aware that bakhtari's are from iran with the zargos mountains separating them from pakhtuns. Oh and the original pashto dialect is the harden one, not soft. Pashtuns orignaly called themselves "Pakhtun" not Pashtun since that's what iranians called us. Not to mention the word Pusht is found in farsi.

Why would I mention them if I didn't know their where abouts? especially considering Rudi Bakhtiyari is Iranian. They're nomadic people. Nomads migrate.


sorry but the fact Bakhtiyaris exist; shatters any solid grounding of Bactrians having a direct relation to Pashtuns.


No you're wrong ALL Pashto linguists agree that the SHHH sound came before the KHHH sound. This is a fact. read Abdul Hai Habibi's book on Pashto. Once again you spout idiotic nationalism rather than facts.
"too bad" indeed.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

All these explanations are mere conjectures. On the other hand I have given reliable sources. This is a try to belittle Pashtuns to think that Pashtuns did not exist before Memood Ghaznavi or before Islam because there was no written Pashto.

The word Pashtun must have an etymology and if no other etymology is presented we have to accept whatever is available.

No scholar ever differentiated Pashtun from Pakhtun etymologically. Both are the same people and the difference in accent , dialect or pronunciation is geographical not ethnic, tribal or racial. Many times the same tribe use kh in one place and sh in other.

Your reliable references are actually conjectures. No scholar has ever had solid evidence that Pashtun and Bactrian or Pactyan are definitely related people. These are just speculation and assumptions with no Supporting Linguistic evidence. The difference between Pashtun and Pakhtun is that PaKHTUN is an accent that came LATER the original dialect was SHHH not KHHH. Which means Bactrian and Pactyan would be less likely to be connected.

It's not that was there was no written Pashto but NO EVIDENCE of Pashto NONE ...no reference in ANY Historical documentation of a language by Historians of the region. Only Al-Biruni, and Fereshta mention them. And this came during the Ghaznawid era. These are facts. Your argument that because there is "no other evidence" means we have to make these weak associations is a Logical Error; Without strong logical connection to Pashtuns, it is just trying to Portray evidence not actually giving evidence. THereby we cannot accept this claim because it is weak.

''Please show me a QUALIFIED scholar in a MAJOR University who studies Linguistics who corroborates that ANY of these So called "reliable" evidennces refers MOST LIKELY refers to Pashtuns As a person who always talks about education ....why are you avoiding the views of the educated people?

[khushal]

^^RTR, what your saying is also a theory. The theories you speak of are very weak. The real FACT is that there is no hard evidence to know where Pashtun came from but it is more likely that the hard "kh" pashto is original since the mecedons did not have the "kh" sound and wrote "k" instead when they recorded where the paktyans lived.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

What evidences? I haven't spoken of evidence of anything; Just that there's a lack of strong evidence regarding connections Bactrians as being Pashtuns.

Maybe little reading comprehension would do you good.