A Comparative Study of Feminine Nouns in the Pashto and Urdu Languages

This article, entitled “A Comparative Study of Feminine Nouns in Pashto and Urdu,” is a research-based, descriptive, and documentary study. The method employed is descriptive, meaning that the descriptive approach is utilized within documentary research, where explanation and interpretation are essential. Documentary research follows specific standards, and this study has been conducted in accordance with those established criteria. Pashto and Urdu, in general, belong to the Indo-European language family. Geographically, they are neighboring languages and share close cultural, political, and ideological connections. Furthermore, the significance of this study lies in the fact that Pashto is an official language of Afghanistan, while Urdu is the national language of Pakistan; both are regional and neighboring languages. Although they represent two different branches of the Indo-European language family, it is important to note that Urdu language and literature are also taught as specialized disciplines in some universities in Afghanistan. Consequently, both languages have considerable grammatical, lexical, and other forms of influence and commonalities. From a grammatical perspective, Pashto and Urdu exhibit mutual relationships and influences. The findings of this study reveal that the two languages share similar and closely related patterns in feminine nouns. One common feature in both languages is that, alongside masculine nouns, there exist feminine nouns that do not carry explicit markers of gender. Additionally, both Pashto and Urdu employ feminine suffixes that function similarly in the formation of feminine nouns. Endings such as (o), (h), and (alif) are used in both languages in comparable ways and follow similar rules. The importance of this study lies in its usefulness for students and writers who are engaged with Pashto or Urdu, as it enhances their understanding of the usage and formation of feminine nouns in both languages.