Bengali language: Difference between revisions

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia
(Ancient)
(add early)
Line 55: Line 55:
Although [[Sanskrit]] was practised by Hindu [[Brahmins]] in [[Bengal]] since the [[first millennium BCE]], the local [[Buddhist]] population were speaking in some varieties of the [[Prakrit|Prakrita languages]]. These varieties generally referred to as "eastern [[Magadhi Prakrit]]", as coined by linguist [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]],{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} as the [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan dialects]] were influential in the [[first millennium]] when Bengal was a part of the [[Magadha]]n realm. The local varieties had no official status during the [[Gupta Empire]], and with Bengal increasingly becoming a hub of [[Sanskrit literature]] for Hindu priests, the vernacular of Bengal gained a lot of influence from Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Bangla Script|author=Shariful Islam}}</ref> [[Magadhi Prakrit]] was also spoken in modern-day [[Bihar]] and [[Assam]], and this vernacular eventually evolved into [[Ardha Magadhi]].<ref name=jain>{{Harvnb|Shah|1998|p=11}}</ref><ref name=keith>{{Harvnb|Keith|1998|p=187}}</ref> Ardha Magadhi began to give way to what is known as [[Apabhraṃśa]], by the end of the first millennium. The Bengali language evolved as a distinct language by the course of time.<ref name="tb">{{Harv|Bhattacharya|2000
Although [[Sanskrit]] was practised by Hindu [[Brahmins]] in [[Bengal]] since the [[first millennium BCE]], the local [[Buddhist]] population were speaking in some varieties of the [[Prakrit|Prakrita languages]]. These varieties generally referred to as "eastern [[Magadhi Prakrit]]", as coined by linguist [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]],{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} as the [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan dialects]] were influential in the [[first millennium]] when Bengal was a part of the [[Magadha]]n realm. The local varieties had no official status during the [[Gupta Empire]], and with Bengal increasingly becoming a hub of [[Sanskrit literature]] for Hindu priests, the vernacular of Bengal gained a lot of influence from Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Bangla Script|author=Shariful Islam}}</ref> [[Magadhi Prakrit]] was also spoken in modern-day [[Bihar]] and [[Assam]], and this vernacular eventually evolved into [[Ardha Magadhi]].<ref name=jain>{{Harvnb|Shah|1998|p=11}}</ref><ref name=keith>{{Harvnb|Keith|1998|p=187}}</ref> Ardha Magadhi began to give way to what is known as [[Apabhraṃśa]], by the end of the first millennium. The Bengali language evolved as a distinct language by the course of time.<ref name="tb">{{Harv|Bhattacharya|2000
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
===Early===
Though some claim that some 10th-century texts were in Bengali; it is not certain whether they represent a differentiated language or whether they represent a stage when [[Eastern Indo-Aryan languages]] were differentiating.<ref>"Within the Eastern Indic language family the history of the separation of Bangla from Oriya, Assamese, and the languages of Bihar remains to be worked out carefully. Scholars do not yet agree on criteria for deciding if certain tenth century AD texts were in a Bangla already distinguishable from the other languages, or marked a stage at which Eastern Indic had not finished differentiating." {{harvcol|Dasgupta|2003|pp=386–387}}</ref>




Revision as of 19:01, 10 April 2021

Bengali
Bangla
বাংলা
Bangla Script.svg
"Bangla" in Bengali script
Pronunciation[ˈbaŋla] (About this soundlisten)
RegionBangladesh and India
EthnicityBengalis
Native speakers
250–300 million (2017)[1][2][3]
(L1 plus L2 speakers)
Early forms
Abahattha
  • Old Bengali
Dialects
Eastern Nagari script (Bengali alphabet)
Bengali Braille
Bengali signed forms[4]
Official status
Official language in
 Bangladesh
 India (in West Bengal, Tripura and Barak Valley)
Regulated byBangla Academy
Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi
Language codes
ISO 639-1bn
ISO 639-2ben
ISO 639-3ben
Glottologbeng1280
Linguasphere59-AAF-u
Bengalispeaking region.png
Bengali speaking region of South Asia
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.


Bengali is the most eastern Indo-Aryan language from South Asia. It developed from a language called Pali.

Bengali is spoken in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.

There are about 220 million native speakers and about 250 million total speakers of Bengali. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, ranking seventh.[5]

Almost all of the people in Bangladesh speak Bengali, and many famous books and poems are written in Bengali. Rabindranath Tagore was a famous poet who wrote in Bengali. Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The national anthems of both India and Bangladesh were written in this language.[6]

Bengali has developed over the course of more than 1,300 years. Bengali literature, with its millennium-old literary history, has extensively developed since the Bengali Renaissance and is one of the most prolific and diverse literary traditions in Asia. The Bengali language movement from 1948 to 1956 demanding Bengali to be an official language of Pakistan fostered Bengali nationalism in East Bengal leading to the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971. In 1999, UNESCO recognised 21 February as International Mother Language Day in recognition of the language movement.[7][8] The Bengali language is the quintessential element of Bengali identity and binds together a culturally diverse region.

History

The descent of proto-Gauda, the ancestor of the modern Bengali language, from the proto-Gauda-Kamarupa line of the proto-Magadhan(Magadhi Prakrit).[9]

Ancient

Although Sanskrit was practised by Hindu Brahmins in Bengal since the first millennium BCE, the local Buddhist population were speaking in some varieties of the Prakrita languages. These varieties generally referred to as "eastern Magadhi Prakrit", as coined by linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterji,[citation needed] as the Middle Indo-Aryan dialects were influential in the first millennium when Bengal was a part of the Magadhan realm. The local varieties had no official status during the Gupta Empire, and with Bengal increasingly becoming a hub of Sanskrit literature for Hindu priests, the vernacular of Bengal gained a lot of influence from Sanskrit.[10] Magadhi Prakrit was also spoken in modern-day Bihar and Assam, and this vernacular eventually evolved into Ardha Magadhi.[11][12] Ardha Magadhi began to give way to what is known as Apabhraṃśa, by the end of the first millennium. The Bengali language evolved as a distinct language by the course of time.[13]

Early

Though some claim that some 10th-century texts were in Bengali; it is not certain whether they represent a differentiated language or whether they represent a stage when Eastern Indo-Aryan languages were differentiating.[14]


References

  1. ↑ "Article 3. The state language". The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Retrieved 1 February 2017. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ "Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength - 2011" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 29 June 2018.
  3. ↑ Bengali at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018)
  4. ↑ "Bangla Sign Language Dictionary". www.scribd.com. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Statistical Summaries". Ethnologue. 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  6. ↑ "Statement by Hon'ble Foreign Minister on Second Bangladesh-India Track II dialogue at BRAC Centre on 07 August, 2005". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  7. ↑ "Amendment to the Draft Programme and Budget for 2000–2001 (30 C/5)" (PDF). General Conference, 30th Session, Draft Resolution. UNESCO. 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  8. ↑ "Resolution adopted by the 30th Session of UNESCO's General Conference (1999)". International Mother Language Day. UNESCO. Archived from the original on 1 June 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  9. ↑ (Toulmin 2009:220)
  10. ↑ Shariful Islam (2012). "Bangla Script". In Islam, Sirajul; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
  11. ↑ Shah 1998, p. 11
  12. ↑ Keith 1998, p. 187
  13. ↑ (Bhattacharya 2000)
  14. ↑ "Within the Eastern Indic language family the history of the separation of Bangla from Oriya, Assamese, and the languages of Bihar remains to be worked out carefully. Scholars do not yet agree on criteria for deciding if certain tenth century AD texts were in a Bangla already distinguishable from the other languages, or marked a stage at which Eastern Indic had not finished differentiating." (Dasgupta 2003:386–387)
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bengali_language&oldid=23185"