Style Matters #22: Arghh, an Afghani is a coin, not a person


I’ve recently noticed our esteemed and usually linguistically precise news personnel on our national broadcaster have been referring to people who come from Afghanistan as Afghanis.

However, the word Afghani refers to that country’s official currency and not to its people.

When referring to its people, to things coming from there – such as rugs – or to its Parliament, then the correct adjective to use is Afghan.

You can see a picture of the real, tradable Afghanis here.



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