Bengali language: Difference between revisions

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===Early===
===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> The local Apabhraṃśa of the eastern subcontinent, Purbi Apabhraṃśa or [[Abahatta]] ("Meaningless Sounds"), eventually evolved into regional dialects, which in turn formed three groups of the [[Bengali–Assamese languages]], the [[Bihari languages]], and the [[Odia language]]. Some argue that the points of divergence occurred much earlier – going back to even 500 CE<ref>{{Harv|Sen|1996}}</ref> but the language was not static: different varieties coexisted and authors often wrote in multiple dialects in this period. For example, Ardhamagadhi is believed to have evolved into Abahatta around the 6th century, which competed with the ancestor of Bengali for some time.<ref name="abahatta">{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php|title=Banglapedia|website=En.banglapedia.org|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref>{{bcn|date=February 2021}} Proto-Bengali was the language of the [[Pala Empire]] and the [[Sena dynasty]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://global.britannica.com/topic/Pala-dynasty|title=Pala dynasty – Indian dynasty|website=Global.britannica.com|access-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305002609/https://global.britannica.com/topic/Pala-dynasty|archive-date=5 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianmirror.com/dynasty/paladynasty.html|title=Pala Dynasty, Pala Empire, Pala empire in India, Pala School of Sculptures|last=nimmi|website=Indianmirror.com|access-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028151905/http://www.indianmirror.com/dynasty/paladynasty.html|archive-date=28 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
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> The local Apabhraṃśa of the eastern subcontinent, Purbi Apabhraṃśa or [[Abahatta]] ("Meaningless Sounds"), eventually evolved into regional dialects, which in turn formed three groups of the [[Bengali–Assamese languages]], the [[Bihari languages]], and the [[Odia language]]. Some argue that the points of divergence occurred much earlier – going back to even 500 CE<ref>{{Harv|Sen|1996}}</ref> but the language was not static: different varieties coexisted and authors often wrote in multiple dialects in this period. For example, Ardhamagadhi is believed to have evolved into Abahatta around the 6th century, which competed with the ancestor of Bengali for some time.<ref name="abahatta">{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php|title=Banglapedia|website=En.banglapedia.org|access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref>{{bcn|date=February 2021}} Proto-Bengali was the language of the [[Pala Empire]] and the [[Sena dynasty]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://global.britannica.com/topic/Pala-dynasty|title=Pala dynasty – Indian dynasty|website=Global.britannica.com|access-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305002609/https://global.britannica.com/topic/Pala-dynasty|archive-date=5 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianmirror.com/dynasty/paladynasty.html|title=Pala Dynasty, Pala Empire, Pala empire in India, Pala School of Sculptures|last=nimmi|website=Indianmirror.com|access-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028151905/http://www.indianmirror.com/dynasty/paladynasty.html|archive-date=28 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>  




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[[File:Silver coin of Danujamarddana.jpg|thumb|left|Silver Taka from the [[Sultanate of Bengal]], circa 1417]]
[[File:Silver coin of Danujamarddana.jpg|thumb|left|Silver Taka from the [[Sultanate of Bengal]], circa 1417]]
[[File:Coin - Silver - Circa 9-10th Century 13th Century CE - Harikela Kingdom - ACCN 90-C2752 - Indian Museum - Kolkata 2014-04-04 4303.JPG|thumb|Silver coin with proto-Bengali script, [[Harikela]] Kingdom, circa 9th–13th century]]
[[File:Coin - Silver - Circa 9-10th Century 13th Century CE - Harikela Kingdom - ACCN 90-C2752 - Indian Museum - Kolkata 2014-04-04 4303.JPG|thumb|Silver coin with proto-Bengali script, [[Harikela]] Kingdom, circa 9th–13th century]]
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.