Persian, Urdu, and Pashto: A comparative orthographic analysis

The writing systems of Persian, Urdu, and Pashto draw from a common script (Arabic) with adaptations to represent sounds specific to each language. With the aim of presenting a comparative orthographic analysis of the three languages, graphemic representations of the consonants are systematically compared and contrasted, followed by a similar analysis of the vowels. Similarities and differences among the three systems are summarized in tabular form. The comparative analysis presented here may inform computational studies of Persian, Urdu, and Pashto orthography and facilitate the teaching of reading and writing in these languages, particularly among second language learners.