Bengali dialects
Encyclopedia
The dialects of the Bengali language
are part of the Eastern Indo-Aryan
language group of the Indo-European language family. Borishali (Barisal region
), Noakhali (Noakhali region
), Rongpore (Rangpur Region
), Khulna (Khulna region) and Mymonshingh (Mymensingh region
) are major spoken dialects in Bangladesh. Sylheti
, Chittagonian
, Chakma
and Rohingya
are some of the many languages that are often considered dialects of Bengali. Although these languages are mutually intelligible with neighboring dialects of Bengali, they lack mutual intelligibility
with the Bengali language and would not be understood by a native speaker of Standard Bengali.
Bengali dialects can be split in two ways: spoken vs. literary variations, and regional variations.
between the formal, written language and the vernacular, spoken language. Two styles of writing, involving somewhat different vocabularies and syntax, have emerged :
Spoken Bengali exhibits far more variation than written Bengali. Formal spoken Bengali, including what is heard in news reports, speeches, announcements, and lectures, is modeled on Choltibhasha. This form of spoken Bengali stands alongside other spoken dialects, or Ancholik Bangla (আঞ্চলিক বাংলা) (i.e. 'regional Bengali'). The majority of Bengalis are able to communicate in more than one dialect — often, speakers are fluent in Choltibhasha, one or more Ancholik dialect, and one or more forms of Gramyo Bangla (গ্রাম্য বাংলা) (i.e. 'rural Bengali'), dialects specific to a village or town.
To a non-Bengali, these dialects may sound or look vastly different, but the difference is mostly a phonological and phonetic one, and not so much a grammatical one. Many dialects share features with the so-called Shadhu Bhasha or "pure language", which was the written standard until the 19th century. Comparison of Bengali dialects gives us an idea about archaic forms of the language as well.
During standardization of Bengali in the late 19th and early 20th century, the cultural elite were mostly from the regions of Kolkata
, Hooghly, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and Nadia
. What is accepted as the standard form today in both West Bengal and Bangladesh is based on the West-Central dialect. While the language has been standardized today through two centuries of education and media, variation is widespread, with many speakers familiar with or fluent in both their socio-geographical variety as well as the standard dialect used in the media.
While the standard form of the language does not show much variation across the Bengali-speaking areas of South Asia, regional variation in spoken Bengali constitutes a dialect continuum
. Mostly speech varies across distances of just few miles and takes distinct forms among the religious communities. Apart from the present dialects, there are a few more which have disappeared. For example, ‘Bikramapuri’, Sātagāiyã’ (this is the name used in East Bengal
for the dialect of South-western Rarh region). The present dialects of Bengali are listed below with an example sentence meaning:
Kharia Thar and Mal Paharia are closely related to Western Bengali dialects, but are typically classified as separate languages. Similarly, Rajbangsi and Hajong are considered separate languages, although they are very similar to North Bengali dialects. There are many more minor dialects as well, including those spoken in the bordering districts of Purnea and Singhbhum
and among the tribals of the eastern Bangladesh like the Hajong
and the Chakma
.
.
, Dhaka
and Sylhet
divisions), many of the stops and affricates heard in Kolkata Bengali are pronounced as fricatives
.
Poshchim Bangla (Western Bengali) palato-alveolar
affricates চ [tʃ], ছ [tʃʰ], জ [dʒ], and ঝ [dʒʱ] correspond to Purbo Bangla (Eastern Bengali) [ts], ছ় [s], [dz]~[z], and ঝ় [z]. A similar pronunciation is also found in Assamese
, a related language across the border in India.
The aspirated velar stop খ [kʰ] and the aspirated labial stop ফ [pʰ] of Poshchim Bangla correspond to খ় [x] and ফ় [f] in many dialects of Purbo Bangla. These pronunciations are most extreme in the Sylheti dialect
of far northeastern Bangladesh—the dialect of Bengali most common in the United Kingdom
. Sylheti is also considered by some to be a separate language.
Many Purbo Bangla dialects share phonological features with Assamese, including the debuccalization of শ [ʃ] to হ [h] or খ় [x].
on the phonology of Purbo Bangla (Bangladesh) is seen through the lack of nasalized vowels, a more fronted place of articulation for the Retroflex
stops
ট [ʈ], ঠ [ʈʰ], ড [ɖ], and ঢ [ɖʱ], resembling the equivalent phonemes in languages such as Thai
and Lao
and the lack of distinction between র [ɹ] and ড়/ঢ় [ɽ]. Unlike most languages of the region, some Purbo Bangla dialects do not include the breathy voiced stops ঘ [ɡʱ], ঝ [dʑʱ], ঢ [ɖʱ], ধ [d̪ʱ], and ভ [bʱ]. Some variants of Bengali, particularly Chittagonian and Chakma Bengali, have contrastive tone
; differences in the pitch of the speaker's voice can distinguish words. In dialects such as Hajong
of northern Bangladesh, there is a distinction between উ and ঊ, the first corresponding exactly to its standard counterpart but the latter corresponding to the Japanese [ü͍] sound . There is also a distinction between ই and ঈ in many northern Bangladeshi dialects. ই representing the standard i sound whereas ঈ represents a much flatter i sound with the tongue much closer to the roof of the mouth.
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla 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 with the Bengali script...
are part of the Eastern Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
language group of the Indo-European language family. Borishali (Barisal region
Barisal Division
Barisal Division is located in south-central Bangladesh, with an area of 13,644.85 km2, and with a population of 8,147,000 at the 2011 Census . It is bounded by Dhaka division on the north, the Bay of Bengal on the south, Chittagong division on the east and Khulna division on the west...
), Noakhali (Noakhali region
Noakhali District
Noakhali is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is located in the Chittagong Division.-Geography:Noakhali District located in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh...
), Rongpore (Rangpur Region
Rangpur District
The district of Rangpur have 4924 mosques, 480 temples, 43 churches and six tombs.In an anthropologic view most people of Rangpur are having Rajbagshi blood in their veins...
), Khulna (Khulna region) and Mymonshingh (Mymensingh region
Mymensingh District
Mymensingh is one of the districts of Dhaka division, Bangladesh, and is bordered on the north by Meghalaya state of India and Garo Hills, on the south by Gazipur district, on the east by districts of Netrokona and Kishoreganj, and on the west by districts of Sherpur, Jamalpur and Tangail...
) are major spoken dialects in Bangladesh. Sylheti
Sylheti language
Sylheti is the language of Sylhet, which is also known as the Surma Valley and is located in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh, and also spoken in parts of the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Tripura...
, Chittagonian
Chittagonian language
Chittagonian is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the people of Chittagong in Bangladesh and in much of the southeast of the country. It is closely related to Bangla, but is normally considered by linguists to be a separate language rather than a dialect of Bangla. It is estimated to have 14...
, Chakma
Chakma language
Chakma language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Chakma people. Its better-known closest relatives are Bengali, Assamese, Chittagonian, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Tanchangya, Rohingya and Sylheti. It is spoken by nearly 310,000 people in southeast Bangladesh near Chittagong City, and another...
and Rohingya
Rohingya language
Rohingya is a language spoken by the Rohingya people of Arakan , Burma . It is smiliar to the Chittagonian language spoken in the neighboring southeastern Chittagong Division of Bangladesh...
are some of the many languages that are often considered dialects of Bengali. Although these languages are mutually intelligible with neighboring dialects of Bengali, they lack mutual intelligibility
Mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or extraordinary effort...
with the Bengali language and would not be understood by a native speaker of Standard Bengali.
Bengali dialects can be split in two ways: spoken vs. literary variations, and regional variations.
Spoken and literary variants
More than other languages of South Asia, Bengali exhibits strong diglossiaDiglossia
In linguistics, diglossia refers to a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety , a second, highly codified variety is used in certain situations such as literature, formal...
between the formal, written language and the vernacular, spoken language. Two styles of writing, involving somewhat different vocabularies and syntax, have emerged :
- Shadhubhasha (সাধুভাষা) is the written language with longer verb inflections and a more Sanskrit-derived (তৎসম tôtshôm) vocabulary (সাধু shadhu = 'chaste' or 'sage'; ভাষা bhasha = 'language'). Songs such as India's national anthem Jana Gana ManaJana Gana ManaJana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India. Written in highly Sanskritized Bengali, it is the first of five stanzas of a Brahmo hymn composed and scored by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. It was first sung at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress on 27 December 1911...
(by Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
) and national song Vande MātaramVande MataramVande Mataram is a poem from the famed novel Anandamath which was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1882. It was written in Bengali and Sanskrit....
(by Bankim Chandra ChattopadhyayBankim Chandra ChattopadhyayBankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India’s national song Vande Mataram, originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring the activists during the Indian Freedom Movement...
) were composed in Shadhubhasha, but its use is on the wane in modern writing. - Choltibhasha (চলতিভাষা ) or Cholitobhasha (চলিতভাষা), a written Bengali style that reflects a more colloquial idiom, is increasingly the standard for written Bengali (চলিত cholito = 'current' or 'running'). This form came into vogue towards the turn of the 19th century, in an orthographyOrthographyThe orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
promoted in the writings of Peary Chand MitraPeary Chand MitraPeary Chand Mitra , was an Indian writer, journalist and a member of Derozio’s Young Bengal group, who played a leading role in the Bengal renaissance with the introduction of simple Bengali prose...
(Alaler ghare dulal, 1857), Pramatha Chowdhury (Sabujpatra, 1914) and in the later writings of Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
. It is modeled on the dialect spoken in the districts bordering the lower reaches of the Hooghly River particularly the ShantipurShantipurShantipur is a city and a municipality in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. This small town has been declared a city recently. The fort area of this city, also known as Daak-Gharh is thought to have been built by Raja Krishnachandra of Nodia.-Geography:Shantipur is located at...
region in Nadia districtNadia DistrictNadia district is a district of the state of West Bengal, in the north east of India. It borders with Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Bardhaman district to the west, and Murshidabad district to the north....
, West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. This form of Bengali is sometimes called the "Nadia standard".
Spoken Bengali exhibits far more variation than written Bengali. Formal spoken Bengali, including what is heard in news reports, speeches, announcements, and lectures, is modeled on Choltibhasha. This form of spoken Bengali stands alongside other spoken dialects, or Ancholik Bangla (আঞ্চলিক বাংলা) (i.e. 'regional Bengali'). The majority of Bengalis are able to communicate in more than one dialect — often, speakers are fluent in Choltibhasha, one or more Ancholik dialect, and one or more forms of Gramyo Bangla (গ্রাম্য বাংলা) (i.e. 'rural Bengali'), dialects specific to a village or town.
To a non-Bengali, these dialects may sound or look vastly different, but the difference is mostly a phonological and phonetic one, and not so much a grammatical one. Many dialects share features with the so-called Shadhu Bhasha or "pure language", which was the written standard until the 19th century. Comparison of Bengali dialects gives us an idea about archaic forms of the language as well.
During standardization of Bengali in the late 19th and early 20th century, the cultural elite were mostly from the regions of Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, Hooghly, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and Nadia
Nadia District
Nadia district is a district of the state of West Bengal, in the north east of India. It borders with Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Bardhaman district to the west, and Murshidabad district to the north....
. What is accepted as the standard form today in both West Bengal and Bangladesh is based on the West-Central dialect. While the language has been standardized today through two centuries of education and media, variation is widespread, with many speakers familiar with or fluent in both their socio-geographical variety as well as the standard dialect used in the media.
Regional dialect differences
Dialectal differences in Bengali manifest themselves in three forms: standardized dialect vs. regional dialect, literary language vs. colloquial language and lexical (vocabulary) variations. The name of the dialects generally originates from the district where the language is spoken.While the standard form of the language does not show much variation across the Bengali-speaking areas of South Asia, regional variation in spoken Bengali constitutes a dialect continuum
Dialect continuum
A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...
. Mostly speech varies across distances of just few miles and takes distinct forms among the religious communities. Apart from the present dialects, there are a few more which have disappeared. For example, ‘Bikramapuri’, Sātagāiyã’ (this is the name used in East Bengal
East Bengal
East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal....
for the dialect of South-western Rarh region). The present dialects of Bengali are listed below with an example sentence meaning:
-
- English translation: "A man had two sons."
-
- Bangla Shadhubhasha: "Êk puruṣêr duṭi putrô chhilô."
- West Central dialects: These dialect are mostly spoken in and around the Bhagirathi RiverBhagirathi RiverThe Bhāgīrathī is a turbulent Himalayan river in the state of Uttarakhand, India, that is the source stream of the Ganges—the major river of the Gangetic plain of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism.-Etymology:...
basin, in West Central Bengal. The standard form of the colloquial language (Choltibhasha) has developed out of the NadiaNadia DistrictNadia district is a district of the state of West Bengal, in the north east of India. It borders with Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Bardhaman district to the west, and Murshidabad district to the north....
dialect.
-
- NadiaNadia DistrictNadia district is a district of the state of West Bengal, in the north east of India. It borders with Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Bardhaman district to the west, and Murshidabad district to the north....
/Choltibhasha Standard: Êk jon loker duţi chhele chhilo.
- Nadia
- Bangali dialects, including Eastern and Southeastern Bengali dialects: The Eastern dialects serve as the primary colloquial language of the DhakaDhakaDhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
district. They do not have contrastive nasalized vowels or a distinction in approximant র /ɹ/ and flap ড়/ঢ় /ɽ/, pronouncing them all as র /ɹ/. This is also true of the Sylheti dialectSylheti languageSylheti is the language of Sylhet, which is also known as the Surma Valley and is located in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh, and also spoken in parts of the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Tripura...
, which has been influenced by AssameseAssamese languageAssamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
, and is often considered a separate language. The Eastern dialects extend into Southeastern dialects, which include parts of Chittagong. Chittagongian dialectChittagonian languageChittagonian is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the people of Chittagong in Bangladesh and in much of the southeast of the country. It is closely related to Bangla, but is normally considered by linguists to be a separate language rather than a dialect of Bangla. It is estimated to have 14...
and Chakma dialectChakma peopleThe Chakmas , also known as the Changhma , are a community that inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the North-East India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or...
are heavily influenced by the neighboring Tibeto-Burman languagesTibeto-Burman languagesThe Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....
, and are also typically considered separate languages from Bengali.
-
- ManikganjManikganj DistrictThe district of Manikganj consists 3575 mosques, 160 temples, 10 churches, five Buddhist temples and a pagoda.-Literacy and education:Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 26.9%; male 33.7%, female 20.1%...
: Êk zoner duiđi saoal asilo.
- Manikganj
-
- MymensinghMymensingh DistrictMymensingh is one of the districts of Dhaka division, Bangladesh, and is bordered on the north by Meghalaya state of India and Garo Hills, on the south by Gazipur district, on the east by districts of Netrokona and Kishoreganj, and on the west by districts of Sherpur, Jamalpur and Tangail...
: Êk zôner dui put asil.
- Mymensingh
-
- MunshiganjMunshiganj DistrictMunshiganj also historically known as Bikrampur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District.-Geography:...
(BikrampurBikrampurBikrampur pargana is situated 12 miles south of Dhaka, the modern-day capital of Bangladesh. It lies in the Munshiganj District of Bangladesh. It is a historic region in Bengal. The region is famous for its early Buddhist scholarships and in the later period for its cultural influences...
): Êk jôner duiđa pola asilo.
- Munshiganj
-
- ComillaComilla DistrictThe district of Comilla consists 4543 mosques, 379 temples, 98 churches, 34 Buddhist temples and six tombs.-Places of interest:Important landmarks include Kotbari, a cantonment, or military installation and Kandirpar, considered the heart of the Comilla district...
: Êk bêđar dui put asil.
- Comilla
-
- NoakhaliNoakhali DistrictNoakhali is a district in South-eastern Bangladesh. It is located in the Chittagong Division.-Geography:Noakhali District located in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh...
(SandwipSandwipSandwip is an island along the south eastern coast of Bangladesh.It is also spelled "Sandvip" both are mostly used.It is a sub-division of Chittagong District. It is situated at the estuary of the Meghna River on the Bay of Bengal and separated from the Chittagong coast by the Sandwip channel. It...
): Êk shôksher dui beţa asilo.
- Noakhali
-
- Noakhali (FeniFeni DistrictFeni is a small southern district of Bangladesh, bordering Tripura in India, Chittagong district, the Bay of Bengal, Noakhali district and Comilla district...
): Êk zôner dui hola asil.
- Noakhali (Feni
-
- Noakhali (Hatia): Êk zôn mainsher duga hola asil.
-
- Noakhali (Ramganj): Ek zôner dui hut asil.
-
- BarisalBarisal DistrictBarisal is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is also the headquarters of Barisal Division.-Geography and climate:Latitude: 22.75, Longitude: 90.36, Altitude: 4....
(Bakerganj): Êk zôn mansher dugga pola asil.
- Barisal
-
- FaridpurFaridpur DistrictFaridpur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur District has a population of over 1.7 million people and is situated on the banks of the Padma river . It is bordered by Madaripur, Narail, Rajbari, Magura, Shariatpur, Gopalgonj, Dhaka and Manikganj...
: Kero mansher duga pola asil.
- Faridpur
-
- SylhetSylhet DistrictThe district of Sylhet consists 6754 mosques, 453 temples, 96 churches and four Buddhist temples.-Places of Interests:-Historical:#The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal#The Shrine of Hazrat Shah Paran#Shahi Eidgah#Gour Govinda Fort#Kean Bridge...
: Ekh beṭar dui phut/phua asil/aslo.
- Sylhet
-
- ChittagongChittagong DistrictChittagong District is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. The port city of Chittagong, second largest city in Bangladesh, is located in this district.-History:...
: Egua mansher dua poa asil.
- Chittagong
- South Bengal dialects:
-
- ChuadangaChuadanga DistrictChuadanga , Chuadanga district or Chuadanga Zilla is the name of a Western district of Bangladesh...
: Êk jon lokir duiţo chheile chhilo.
- Chuadanga
-
- KhulnaKhulna DistrictThe district of Khulna consists 10859 mosques, 680 temples, 81 churches, 15 Buddhist temples and 9 tombs.-Places of interest:*The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world. The royal Bengal tiger inhabits the area; it is said that seeing the tiger enables a person to understand what a...
: Êk zon manshir dui sôoal silo.
- Khulna
-
- JessoreJessore DistrictJessore is a district located in the Khulna Division of southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by India to the west.The district produces a variety of crops year-round. Date-sugar called patali is made from the sap of locally grown date trees that is cooked, thickened and crystallised using a...
: Êk zoner duţ sôl sêl.
- Jessore
- North Bengal dialects: This dialect is mainly spoken in the districts of North BengalNorth BengalNorth Bengal is a term used for the northern parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division. Generally it is the area lying west of Jamuna River and north of Padma River, and includes the Barind Tract. The West Bengal part denotes Cooch Behar, Darjeeling,...
. These are the only dialects in Bangladesh that pronounce the letters চ, ছ, জ, and ঝ as affricates [tʃ], [tʃʰ], [dʒ], and [dʒʱ], respectively, and preserve the breathy-voiced stops in all parts of the word, much like Western dialects (including Standard Bengali). The dialects of Rangpur and Pabna do not have contrastive nasalized vowels.
-
- DinajpurDinajpur District, BangladeshDinajpur is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division.- Geography :Dinajpur is bounded by Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts in the north, Gaibandha and Joypurhat districts in the south, Nilphamari and Rangpurdistricts in the east, and the state of West Bengal, India...
: Êk manusher dui chhaoa chhilô
- Dinajpur
-
- PabnaPabna DistrictPabna District is a district in north-western Bangladesh. It is the southern most district of Rajshahi Division. Its administrative capital is eponymous Pabna town.-Geography:Pabna forms the south-east boundary of Rajshahi Division...
: Kono mansher dui chhaoal chhilô.
- Pabna
-
- BograBogra DistrictBogra is a northern district of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. It is called the gateway to the north Bengal. It is an industrial city where many small and mid sized industries are housed. Bogra district was a part of the ancient Pundravardhana territory and Bogra was the capital of...
: Êk jhôner dui bêţa chhoil achhilô.
- Bogra
-
- East MaldaMalda districtMalda district is a district of West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km north of Kolkata, the state capital. Mango and silk are notable products of this district. The special variety of mango produced in this region, popularly known by the name of the district, is exported across the world and...
: Êk jhôn manuser duţa bêţa achhlô.
- East Malda
-
- RangpurRangpur DistrictThe district of Rangpur have 4924 mosques, 480 temples, 43 churches and six tombs.In an anthropologic view most people of Rangpur are having Rajbagshi blood in their veins...
: Êk zon mansher duikna bêţa asil.
- Rangpur
- Western Border dialects: This dialect is spoken in the area which is known as Manbhum.
-
- Manbhum: Ek loker duţa beţa chhilô.
Kharia Thar and Mal Paharia are closely related to Western Bengali dialects, but are typically classified as separate languages. Similarly, Rajbangsi and Hajong are considered separate languages, although they are very similar to North Bengali dialects. There are many more minor dialects as well, including those spoken in the bordering districts of Purnea and Singhbhum
Singhbhum
Singhbhum was sometime a large district in the present-day Indian state of Bihar. Chaibasa was the district headquarters of the erstwhile Singhbhum district. Earlier this area was a part of Orissa's Gajapati Empire...
and among the tribals of the eastern Bangladesh like the Hajong
Hajong
The Hajong is a tribal ethnic group in the Indian Subcontinent & four major Tribe in Meghalaya. Hajong people are spread out across northeast India and Bangladesh. At present their population is more than 100,000 in India and 30,000 in Bangladesh. Hajongs are predominantly rice farmers although...
and the Chakma
Chakma people
The Chakmas , also known as the Changhma , are a community that inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the North-East India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or...
.
-
- Hajong: Ek zôn manôlôg duida pôla thakibar.
-
- Chakma: Ek jônôtun diba poa el.
Phonological variations
There are marked dialectal differences between the speech of Bengalis living on the পশ্চিম Poshchim (western) side and পূর্ব Purbo (eastern) side of the Padma RiverPadma River
The Padma is a major trans-boundary river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges , which originates in the Himalayas. The Padma enters Bangladesh from India near Chapai Nababganj...
.
Fricatives
In the dialects prevalent in much of eastern Bangladesh (Barisal, ChittagongChittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
, Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
and Sylhet
Sylhet
Sylhet , is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. It is the main city of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District, and was granted metropolitan city status in March 2009. Sylhet is located on the banks of the Surma Valley and is surrounded by the Jaintia, Khasi and Tripura hills...
divisions), many of the stops and affricates heard in Kolkata Bengali are pronounced as fricatives
Fricative consonant
Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or...
.
Poshchim Bangla (Western Bengali) palato-alveolar
Postalveolar consonant
Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate...
affricates চ [tʃ], ছ [tʃʰ], জ [dʒ], and ঝ [dʒʱ] correspond to Purbo Bangla (Eastern Bengali) [ts], ছ় [s], [dz]~[z], and ঝ় [z]. A similar pronunciation is also found in Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
, a related language across the border in India.
The aspirated velar stop খ [kʰ] and the aspirated labial stop ফ [pʰ] of Poshchim Bangla correspond to খ় [x] and ফ় [f] in many dialects of Purbo Bangla. These pronunciations are most extreme in the Sylheti dialect
Sylheti language
Sylheti is the language of Sylhet, which is also known as the Surma Valley and is located in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh, and also spoken in parts of the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Tripura...
of far northeastern Bangladesh—the dialect of Bengali most common in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Sylheti is also considered by some to be a separate language.
Many Purbo Bangla dialects share phonological features with Assamese, including the debuccalization of শ [ʃ] to হ [h] or খ় [x].
Tibeto-Burman influence
The influence of Tibeto-Burman languagesTibeto-Burman languages
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....
on the phonology of Purbo Bangla (Bangladesh) is seen through the lack of nasalized vowels, a more fronted place of articulation for the Retroflex
Retroflex consonant
A retroflex consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate. They are sometimes referred to as cerebral consonants, especially in Indology...
stops
Stop consonant
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
ট [ʈ], ঠ [ʈʰ], ড [ɖ], and ঢ [ɖʱ], resembling the equivalent phonemes in languages such as Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
and Lao
Lao language
Lao or Laotian is a tonal language of the Tai–Kadai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Being the primary language of the Lao people, Lao is also an important second language for...
and the lack of distinction between র [ɹ] and ড়/ঢ় [ɽ]. Unlike most languages of the region, some Purbo Bangla dialects do not include the breathy voiced stops ঘ [ɡʱ], ঝ [dʑʱ], ঢ [ɖʱ], ধ [d̪ʱ], and ভ [bʱ]. Some variants of Bengali, particularly Chittagonian and Chakma Bengali, have contrastive tone
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
; differences in the pitch of the speaker's voice can distinguish words. In dialects such as Hajong
Hajong
The Hajong is a tribal ethnic group in the Indian Subcontinent & four major Tribe in Meghalaya. Hajong people are spread out across northeast India and Bangladesh. At present their population is more than 100,000 in India and 30,000 in Bangladesh. Hajongs are predominantly rice farmers although...
of northern Bangladesh, there is a distinction between উ and ঊ, the first corresponding exactly to its standard counterpart but the latter corresponding to the Japanese [ü͍] sound . There is also a distinction between ই and ঈ in many northern Bangladeshi dialects. ই representing the standard i sound whereas ঈ represents a much flatter i sound with the tongue much closer to the roof of the mouth.