Semantic Analysis of Prepositions and Postpositions in Pashto

Abstract

Prepositions and postpositions in the Pashto language are considered bound morphemes that appear at the beginning and end of free morphemes, respectively, and serve to establish syntactic and semantic relationships among words. In Pashto, multiple postpositions can correspond to a single preposition, and vice versa, which often leads to grammatical and semantic ambiguities, making comprehension difficult for both writers and readers. Moreover, Pashto grammatical and orthographic works-particularly those written for pedagogical purposes-have paid little systematic attention to this issue. In most cases, authors have unconsciously adopted patterns influenced by neighboring languages, and instructors have continued teaching these structures without critical evaluation. This study employs a content analysis and critical linguistic approach to investigate the semantic and grammatical roles of prepositions and postpositions in Pashto. The findings provide a comprehensive table of accurate Pashto prepositions and postpositions commonly used in daily communication. These forms do not create semantic inconsistencies, are easy to understand and apply for both writers and readers, and can be logically and linguistically justified for speakers of different Pashto dialects in teaching contexts.