Bengali language: Difference between revisions

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]]<!--Please note, the province was called "East Bengal," not "East Pakistan," at the time, during the Bengali Language Movement.--> leading to the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971. In 1999, [[UNESCO]] recognised [[Language Movement Day|21 February]] as [[International Mother Language Day]] in recognition of the language movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001177/117709E.pdf|title=Amendment to the Draft Programme and Budget for 2000–2001 (30 C/5)|year=1999|work=General Conference, 30th Session, Draft Resolution|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=27 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521161342/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001177/117709E.pdf|archive-date=21 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D28672%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html|title=Resolution adopted by the 30th Session of UNESCO's General Conference (1999)|work=International Mother Language Day|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=27 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601025416/http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D28672%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html|archive-date=1 June 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Bengali language is the quintessential element of Bengali identity and binds together a [[Culture of Bengal|culturally diverse]] region.

During the medieval period, Middle Bengali was characterised by the [[elision]] of word-final {{lang|bn|অ}} ''ô'', the spread of compound verbs, and influence from the [[Arabic]], [[Farsi|Persian]] and [[Turkic languages]]. The arrival of merchants and traders from the [[Middle East]] and [[Turkestan]] into the [[Buddhist]]-ruling [[Pala Empire]], from as early as the 7th century, gave birth to Islamic influence in the region. Starting with [[Bakhtiyar Khalji]]'s conquest in the 13th century, the subsequent Muslim expeditions to Bengal greatly encouraged the migratory movements of [[Arab Muslims]] and [[Turco-Persian tradition|Turco-Persian]]s, who heavily influenced the local vernacular by settling among the native population. Bengali acquired prominence, over Persian, in the court of the [[Sultans of Bengal]] with the ascent of [[Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah]].<ref>"What is more significant, a contemporary Chinese traveler reported that although Persian was understood by some in the court, the language in universal use there was Bengali. This points to the waning, although certainly not yet the disappearance, of the sort of foreign mentality that the Muslim ruling class in Bengal had exhibited since its arrival over two centuries earlier. It also points to the survival, and now the triumph, of local Bengali culture at the highest level of official society." {{harvcol|Eaton|1993|p=60}}</ref> Subsequent Muslim rulers actively promoted the literary development of Bengali,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/DUJL/article/view/3344|title=Politics and Literary Activities in the Bengali Language during the Independent Sultanate of Bengal|first=AKM Golam|last=Rabbani|date=7 November 2017|journal=Dhaka University Journal of Linguistics|volume=1|issue=1|pages=151–166|access-date=7 November 2017|via=www.banglajol.info|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011123110/https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/DUJL/article/view/3344|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> allowing it to become the most spoken [[vernacular]] language in the Sultanate.{{sfn|Eaton|1993}} Bengali gained many vocabulary from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]], which cultivated a manifestation of [[Islamic culture]] on the language. Major texts of Middle Bengali (1400–1800) include [[Yusuf-Zulekha]] by [[Shah Muhammad Sagir]] and [[Shreekrishna Kirtana]] by the [[Chandidas]] poets. Court support for Bengali culture and language waned when the [[Mughal Empire]] colonised Bengal in the late 16th and early 17th century.<ref>{{harvcol|Eaton|1993|pp=167–174}}</ref>