Bengali language

Bengali language
Indo-Aryan language spoken principally in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.

Bengali has more speakers
some 190 million
than all but a handful of other languages of the world. Like other Modern Indo-Aryan languages, Bengali has drastically reduced the complex inflectional system of Old Indo-Aryan (see Sanskrit language). It has virtually dropped grammatical gender and fixed stress on the initial syllable of a word or phrase. Bengali was the first of the Indian languages to adopt Western secular literary styles, such as fiction and drama.

* * *

Bengali  Bānglā 

      eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Two Bengali dialects are significant: Sādhu-Bhāsā, the literary language, which has a vocabulary with many Sanskrit words and is unintelligible to the uneducated; and Calit-Bhāsā, the colloquial speech, which has many contracted forms. Calit-Bhāsā is spoken by the educated Bengalis as well as by the common people; it is based on the dialect of Calcutta and surrounding districts.

      Bengali has preserved case inflection for nouns and pronouns, although western Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindī have tended to lose them. Bengali distinguishes four to six cases, depending on whether the word inflected represents a rational or a nonrational being or thing. Associated with this usage, the singular verb form is used only when familiarity or contempt is intended by the speaker or, in the third-person form, when a nonrational being or object is spoken of.

      Bengali, the language of the world-renowned writer Rabindranath Tagore (Tagore, Rabindranath), was the first of the Indian languages to develop Western secular literary styles, such as fiction, drama, and odes.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bengali language — Bangla redirects here. For Bangla speaking people, see Bengali people. Bengali বাংলা Bangla The word Bangla in Bangla Assamese alphabet …   Wikipedia

  • Bengali Language Movement — The Bengali Language Movement, also known as the Language Movement (] In West Pakistan, the movement was seen as a sectional uprising against Pakistani national interests.cite journal last = Rahman | first = Tariq | year = 1997 month = September… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Bengali language authors (chronological) — This is a Chronological list of Bengali language authors (regardless of nationality or religion), by date of birth. Alphabetical order is used only when chronological order cannot be ascertained.The list also marks the winners of major… …   Wikipedia

  • Role of political parties during Bengali Language Movement — There were not many political parties at the time of Bengali Language Movement. There was Muslim League, who were at the treasury bench. The movement was mainly supported by Awami League, National Congress and East Pakistan Communist… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Bengali language authors (alphabetical) — This article provides an alphabetical list of Bengali language authors. For a chronological list, see List of Bengali language authors.( Awards Prizes : N= Nobel, J= Jnanpith, S= Sahitya Akademi, R= Rabindra, B=Bankim, A= Ananda, BS=Bibhuti… …   Wikipedia

  • Artistic depictions of the Bengali Language Movement — The Bengali Language Movement was a political effort in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) that advocated the adoption of Bengali as an official language. The movement faced violent opposition by the government before finally succeeding. Numerous… …   Wikipedia

  • Abdus Salam (Bengali Language Movement demonstrator) — Abdus Salam ( bn. আবদুস সালাম ) (1925 April 7, 1952) was a demonstrator who died during the Bengali Language Movement demonstrations which took place in the erstwhile East Pakistan (currently Bangladesh), in 1952. He was born in Luxmipur village… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Bengali language television channels — The following is a list of Bengali language television channels. The names of the countries in which the channels are available are in brackets. General Entertainment*Akash Bangla (India) *ATN Bangla (Bangladesh, Canada, India) *Bangla TV(United… …   Wikipedia

  • Bengali alphabet — Bengali abugida Type Abugida Languages Bengali Time period 11th Century to the present …   Wikipedia

  • Bengali theatre — refers to plays in the Bengali language. There are some Hindi theatres which are accepted by the Bengali people (e.g. the productions of Rangakarmee, a group whose productions are directed mainly by Usha Ganguly; the productions by Padatik,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”