Bengali language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Bangla" redirects here. For Bengali-speaking people, see Bengali people.
| Bangla | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| বাংলা Bangla | ||||||
 The word "Bangla" in Bengali script | ||||||
| Native to | Bangladesh, India (mainly in West Bengal), Bengali communities in East India, as a minority language in across North-East India and amongst the Bengali diaspora worldwide | |||||
| Native speakers | 220 million (2010)[1] | |||||
| Language family | Indo-European | |||||
| Writing system | Bengali alphabet Bengali Braille | |||||
| Official status | ||||||
| Official language in |
 Sierra Leone[4] | |||||
| Regulated by | Bangla Academy (Bangladesh) Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi (West Bengal) | |||||
| Language codes | ||||||
| ISO 639-1 | bn | |||||
| ISO 639-2 | ben | |||||
| ISO 639-3 | ben | |||||
| Linguasphere | 59-AAF-u (including Sylheti etc), 30 varieties: 59-AAF-ua...59-AAF-uk | |||||
Bengali-speaking area
| ||||||
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
Bengali /bɛŋˈɡɔːli/[5] (বাংলা Bangla [ˈbaŋla] (
listen)) is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written using theBengali script. With about 220 million native and about 250 million total speakers,[6] Bengali is one of the most spoken languages (ranked sixth[7]) in the world. The National song and the national anthem of India, and thenational anthem of Bangladesh were composed in Bengali.
listen)) is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written using theBengali script. With about 220 million native and about 250 million total speakers,[6] Bengali is one of the most spoken languages (ranked sixth[7]) in the world. The National song and the national anthem of India, and thenational anthem of Bangladesh were composed in Bengali.
Along with other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, Bengali evolved circa 1000–1200 CE from eastern Middle Indo-Aryan dialects such as the Magadhi Prakritand Pali, which developed from a dialect or group of dialects that were close, but not identical to, Vedic and Classical Sanskrit.[8] Literary Bengali saw borrowings from Classical Sanskrit, preserving spelling while adapting pronunciation to that of Bengali, during the period of Middle Bengali and theBengali Renaissance. The modern literary form of Bengali was developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries based on the dialect spoken in theNadia region, a west-central Bengali dialect. Today, literary form and dialects of Bengali constitute the primary language spoken in Bangladesh and the second most commonly spoken language in India.[9][10]
With a rich literary tradition arising from the Bengali Renaissance, Bengali binds together a culturally diverse region and is an important contributor toBengali nationalism. In former East Bengal (today Bangladesh), the strong linguistic consciousness led to the Bengali Language Movement, during which on 21 February 1952, several people were killed during protests to gain its recognition as a state language of the then Dominion of Pakistan and to maintain its writing in the Bengali script. The day has since been observed asLanguage Movement Day in Bangladesh, and was proclaimed theInternational Mother Language Day by UNESCO on 17 November 1999.
Contents[hide] |
History[edit]
Like other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, Bengali arose from eastern Middle Indo-Aryan dialects of the Indian subcontinent. Magadhi Prakrit and Pali, the earliest recorded spoken languages in the region and the language ofGautama Buddha, evolved into the Jain Prakrit or Ardhamagadhi "Half Magadhi" in the early part of the first millennium CE.[11][12] Ardhamagadhi, as with all of the Prakrits of North India, began to give way to what are calledApabhraṃśa ("Corrupted grammar") languages just before the turn of the first millennium.[13] The local Apabhraṃśa language of the eastern subcontinent, Purvi Apabhraṃśa or Abahatta ("Meaningless Sounds"), eventually evolved into regional dialects, which in turn formed three groups: the Bihari languages, the Oriya languages, and the Assamese-Bengali languages. Some argue that the points of divergence occurred much earlier—going back to even 500[14]but the language was not static: different varieties coexisted and authors often wrote in multiple dialects. For example, Magadhi Prakrit is believed to have evolved into Abahatta around the 6th century which competed with the ancestor of Bengali for a period of time.[15]
Usually three periods are identified in the history of Bengali:[13]
- Old Bengali (900/1000–1400)—texts include Charyapada, devotional songs; emergence of pronouns Ami, tumi, etc.; verb inflections -ila, -iba, etc. Assamese (Axomiya) branches out in this period and Oriya just before this period (8th century-1300). The scripts and languages during this period were mainly influenced by the Kamrupi language (script-Kamrupa Prakrit) as the entire region- Assam, Bengal and parts of Bihar and Orissa was under the Kamrupa kingdom (now known as Assam).
- Middle Bengali (1400–1800)—major texts of the period include Chandidas's Shreekrishna Kirtana; elision of word-final ô sound; spread of compound verbs; Persian influence. Some scholars further divide this period into early and late middle periods.
- New Bengali (since 1800)—shortening of verbs and pronouns, among other changes (e.g.tahar → tar "his"/"her"; koriyachilô → korechilo he/she had done).
Historically closer to Pali, Bengali saw an increase in Sanskrit influence during the Middle Bengali (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu era) and also during the Bengal Renaissance.[16] Of the modern Indo-European languages in South Asia, Bengali and its neighbors, Oriya and Assamese (Axomiya), in the east maintain a largely Pali/Sanskrit vocabulary base, as doesMarathi in the center-west.
One should note that spoken Hindi and spoken Urdu are identical at base. However, the current standard literary form of Hindi employs a great deal of imported Sanskrit vocabulary, while the literary form of Urdu is replete with borrowings from Arabic and Persian.
Until the 18th century, there was no attempt to document Bengali grammar. The first written Bengali dictionary/grammar, Vocabolario em idioma Bengalla, e Portuguez dividido em duas partes, was written by the Portuguese missionary Manuel da Assumpção between 1734 and 1742 while he was serving in Bhawal Estate.[17] Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, a Britishgrammarian, wrote a modern Bengali grammar (A Grammar of the Bengal Language (1778)) that used Bengali types in print for the first time.[6] Ram Mohan Roy, the great Bengali reformer,[18] also wrote a "Grammar of the Bengali Language" (1832).[19]
During this period, theCholtibhasha form, using simplified inflections and other changes, was emerging from Shadhubhasha (older form) as the form of choice for written Bengali.[20]
Bengali was the focus, in 1951–52, of the Bengali Language Movement(Bhasha Andolon) in what was then East Bengal (today Bangladesh).[21]Although the Bengali language was spoken by the majority of East Bengal's population, Urdu was legislated as the sole national language of the Dominion of Pakistan.[22] On 21 February 1952, protesting students and activists were fired upon by military and police in the University of Dhaka and three young students and several other people were killed.[23] Later in 1999, UNESCOdeclared 21 February as the International Mother Language Day in recognition of the deaths.[24][25] In a separate event on 19 May 1961, police in Silchar, India, killed eleven people who were demonstrating against legislation that mandated the use of the Assamese language.[26]
Geographical distribution[edit]
Bengali is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal and parts of Assamand Tripura. Besides this region it is also spoken by majority of the population in the union territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are also significant Bengali-speaking communities in:
- Middle East (namely, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait)
- Europe
- North America
- South-East Asia: Singapore[27]
- Pakistan (Karachi; see Bangladeshis in Pakistan)[28]
Official status[edit]
See also: States of India by Bengali speakers
Bengali is the national and official language of Bangladesh, and one of the 23official languages recognised by the Republic of India.[29] It is the official language of the states of West Bengal and Tripura.[30] It is also a major language in the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.[2][3] It is also the co-official language of Assam, which has three predominantly Sylheti-speaking districts of southern Assam, Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi[31]Bengali is a second official language of the Indian state of Jharkhand from September 2011. It is also a recognized secondary language in the City of Karachi in Pakistan.[32][33][34] The Department of Bengali in the University of Karachi also offers regular programs of studies at the Bachelors and at the Masters levels for Bengali Literature.[35] In December 2002, Sierra Leone’s President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah also named Bengali as an "official language" in recognition of the work of 5,300 troops from Bangladesh in the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leonepeacekeeping force.[36][37]
The national anthems of both India and Bangladesh were written in Bengali by the Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.[38] In 2009, elected representatives in both Bangladesh and West Bengal called for Bengali to be made an official language of the United Nations.[39]
Dialects[edit]
Main article: Bengali dialects
Regional variation in spoken Bengali constitutes a dialect continuum. Linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterjee grouped these dialects into four large clusters—Rarh, Banga, Kamarupa and Varendra;[6] but many alternative grouping schemes have also been proposed.[40] The south-western dialects (Rarh) form the basis of standard colloquial Bengali, while Bangal is the dominant dialect group in Bangladesh. In the dialects prevalent in much of eastern and south-eastern Bangladesh (Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions of Bangladesh), many of the stops and affricates heard in West Bengal are pronounced as fricatives.[citation needed] Western alveolo-palatalaffricates চ [tɕ], ছ [tɕʰ], জ [dʑ] correspond to eastern চʻ [ts], ছ় [s], জʻ [dz]~[z]. The influence of Tibeto-Burman languages on the phonology of Eastern Bengali is seen through the lack of nasalized vowels.[citation needed] Some variants of Bengali, particularlyChittagonian and Chakma Bangla, have contrastive tone; differences in the pitch of the speaker's voice can distinguish words.Rajbangsi, Kharia Thar and Mal Paharia are closely related to Western Bengali dialects, but are typically classified as separate languages. Similarly, Hajong is considered a separate language, although it shares similarities to Northern Bengali dialects.[41]
During the standardization of Bengali in the 19th century and early 20th century, the cultural center of Bengal was in the city of Calcutta(now Kolkata), founded by the British. What is accepted as the standard form today in both West Bengal and Bangladesh is based on the West-Central dialect of Nadia, an Indian district located on the border of Bangladesh.[42] There are cases where speakers of Standard Bengali in West Bengal will use a different word from a speaker of Standard Bengali in Bangladesh, even though both words are of native Bengali descent. For example, noon (salt) in the west corresponds to lôbon in the east.[43]
Spoken and literary varieties[edit]
Bengali exhibits diglossia, though largely contested notion as some scholars proposed triglossia or even n-glossia or heteroglossia[44]between the written and spoken forms of the language.[45] Two styles of writing, involving somewhat different vocabularies and syntax, have emerged:[42][46]
- Shadhubhasha (Bengali: সাধুভাষা < সাধু shadhu='chaste' or 'sage' + ভাষা bhasha='language') (also Shadhu bhasha) was the written language, with longer verb inflections and more of a Pali/Sanskrit-derived (তৎসম tôtshômo) vocabulary. Songs such as India's national anthem Jana Gana Mana (by Rabindranath Tagore) and national song Vande Mātaram (by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay) were composed in Shadhubhasha. However, use of Shadhubhasha in modern writing is uncommon, restricted to some official signs and documents in Bangladesh as well as for achieving particular literary effects.
- Choltibhasha (Bengali: চলতিভাষা < চলিত cholito='current' or 'running' + ভাষা bhasha='language') (also Cholito bhasha), known by linguists as Manno Cholit Bangla (Standard Colloquial Bengali), is a written Bengali style exhibiting a preponderance of colloquial idiom and shortened verb forms, and is the standard for written Bengali now. This form came into vogue towards the turn of the 19th century, promoted by the writings of Peary Chand Mitra (Alaler Gharer Dulal, 1857),[47] Pramatha Chowdhury (Sabujpatra, 1914) and in the later writings of Rabindranath Tagore. It is modeled on the dialect spoken in the Shantipur region in Nadia district, West Bengal. This form of Bengali is often referred to as the "Nadia standard" or "Shantipuri bangla".[40]
While most writing is in Standard Colloquial Bengali, spoken dialects (defeated language of the captive speaker[48] exhibit a greater variety. South-eastern West Bengal, including Kolkata, speak in Standard Colloquial Bengali. Other parts of West Bengal and western Bangladesh speak in dialects that are minor variations, such as the Medinipur dialect characterised by some unique words and constructions. However, a majority in Bangladesh speak in dialects notably different from Standard Colloquial Bengali. Some dialects, particularly those of the Chittagong region, bear only a superficial resemblance to Standard Colloquial Bengali.[49] The dialect in the Chattagram region is least widely understood by the general body of Bengalis.[49] The majority of Bengalis are able to communicate in more than one variety—often, speakers are fluent in colitobhasha (Standard Colloquial Bengali) and one or more regional dialects.[20]For some counter-views, one may browse some different articles.[50][51]
Even in Standard Colloquial Bengali, Muslims and Hindu use different words. Due to cultural and religious traditions, Hindus and Muslims might use, respectively, Pali/Sanskrit-derived and Perso-Arabic words.[52] Some examples of lexical alternation between these two forms (here S=derived from Sanskrit and/or Pali, P=derived from Persian, A=derived from Arabic):[43]
- hello: nômoshkar (S) corresponds to assalamualaikum/slamalikum (A)
- invitation: nimontron/nimontonno (S) corresponds to daoat (A)
- water : jol (S) corresponds to paani (S)
- father : baba (P) corresponds to abbu/abba (A)
Phonology[edit]
Main article: Bengali phonology
The phonemic inventory of standard Bengali consists of 28 consonants and 13 vowels, including 6 nasalized vowels. The inventory is set out below in International Phonetic Alphabet (upper grapheme in each box) and romanization (lower grapheme).
