View source for Bengali language

{{Short description|Indo-Aryan language}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Bangla language|Bangala language}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Bengali
| nativename       = {{lang|bn|বাংলা}} (Bangla)
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|bn|ˈbaŋlaˑ||Bn-বাংলা.oga}}
| states           = Bangladesh and India
| region           = *[[Bengal]] ([[Bangladesh]] and [[West Bengal]], India)<ref name="e28|ben|Bengali">{{e28|ben|Bengali}}</ref>
*[[Assam]], India ([[Barak valley]] and [[Lower Assam|Lower division]])
*[[Tripura]], India
*[[Jharkhand]], India
*[[Andaman and Nicobar islands]], India
| ethnicity        = [[Bengalis]]
| speakers         = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|241.827340|3}} million
| date             = 2011–2023
| ref              = <ref name="e28|ben|Bengali">{{e28|ben|Bengali}}</ref><ref name=2011census>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf | title=Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength – 2011 |access-date=28 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114073426/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2018 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India]] }}</ref>
| speakers2        = [[second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|42.522450|2}} million (2011–2023)<ref name="e28|ben|Bengali">{{e28|ben|Bengali}}</ref><br />Total: {{sigfig|284.349790|3}} million (2011–2023)<ref name="e28|ben|Bengali"/>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3             = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| fam4             = [[Eastern Indo-Aryan languages|Eastern]]
| fam5             = [[Bengali–Assamese languages|Bengali–Assamese]]
| ancestor         = [[Magadhi Prakrit]]
| ancestor2        = [[Magadhan languages|Magadhan]] [[Apabhraṃśa]]
| ancestor3        = [[Abahattha|Abahaṭ‌ṭha]]
| ancestor4        = [[Old Bengali]]
| ancestor5        = Middle Bengali
| dia1             = See [[Bengali dialects]]
| script           = {{plainlist}}
* [[Bengali–Assamese script]] ([[Bengali alphabet]])
* [[Bengali Braille]]
* [[#Alternative and historic scripts|Alternative and historic scripts]]
{{endplainlist}}
| sign             = 
| nation           = *[[Bangla Bhasha Procholon Ain, 1987|Bangladesh]]
*[[Official languages of India|India]]
** [[West Bengal]]
** [[Tripura]]
** [[Assam]] ([[Barak Valley]])
** [[Jharkhand]] (additional)<ref name="The Avenue Mail">{{cite news |title=Jharkhand gives second language status to Magahi, Angika, Bhojpuri, and Maithili |url=https://www.avenuemail.in/ranchi/jharkhand-gives-second-language-status-to-magahi-angika-bhojpuri-and-maithili/118291/ |work=[[The Avenue Mail]] |date=21 March 2018 |access-date=30 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328090028/https://www.avenuemail.in/ranchi/jharkhand-gives-second-language-status-to-magahi-angika-bhojpuri-and-maithili/118291/ |archive-date=28 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Please start a conversation to reach a consensus before adding Sierra Leone or other Indian states. -->
| agency           = *[[Bangla Academy (Bangladesh)|Bangla Academy]] (Bangladesh)
*[[Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi]] (India)
| iso1             = bn
| iso2             = ben
| iso3             = ben
| lingua           = 59-AAF-u
| image            = Bangla Script.svg
| imagescale       = 0.8
| imagecaption     = The word "Bāṅlā" in the [[Bengali-Assamese script]] ([[Bengali alphabet]])
| image_class       = skin-invert-image
| map              = Geographic distribution of Bengali language.png
| mapcaption       = Geographical distribution of the Bengali language. Darker shades imply a greater percentage of native speakers.
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = beng1280
| glottorefname    = Bengali
}}
{{Contains special characters|Bengali}}
{{Bengalis}}
'''Bengali''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|b|ɛ|n|ˈ|ɡ|ɔː|l|i}} {{respell|ben|GAW|lee}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/Bengali |title=Bengali |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website= |publisher=[[Dictionary.com]] |access-date=7 February 2024 |quote=An Indic language spoken in India and Bangladesh.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|publisher=Chambers|year=2003|isbn=0-550-10105-5|edition=9th|chapter=Bengal}}</ref><ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref>}} also known by its [[endonym and exonym|endonym]] '''Bangla''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɑː|ŋ|l|ə}}; {{lang|bn|বাংলা}} {{translit|bn|Baṅla}} {{IPA|bn|ˈbaŋlaˑ||Bn-বাংলা.oga}}}} is a [[Classical languages of India|classical]] [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] belonging to the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] branch of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] language family. It is primarily spoken by the [[Bengalis|Bengali people]], native to the [[Bengal region]] ([[Bangladesh]], [[India]]'s [[West Bengal]]) as well as in [[Barak Valley]] in [[Assam]] and [[Tripura]] in [[South Asia]]. With over 242 million [[native speakers]] and another 43 million as [[second language]] speakers as of 2025,<ref name="e28|ben|Bengali">{{e28|ben|Bengali}}</ref> Bengali is the [[List of languages by number of native speakers|sixth most spoken native language]] and the [[List of languages by total number of speakers|seventh most spoken language]] by the total number of speakers in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/|title=The World Factbook|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|website=|language=en|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126032610/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size|title=Summary by language size|year=2019|website=Ethnologue|language=en|access-date=21 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424160234/http://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size|archive-date=24 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Bengali is the [[Official language|official]], [[National language|national]], and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh,<ref name="Bengali Act">{{cite book |chapter=Bangla Bhasha Procholon Ain, 1987 |script-chapter=bn:বাংলা ভাষা প্রচলন আইন, ১৯৮৭ |trans-chapter=[[Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987]] |title=Bangladesh Code |script-title=bn:বাংলাদেশ কোড |chapter-url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/pdf/705___.pdf |language=bn |volume=27 |edition=Online |location=[[Dhaka]] |publisher=[[Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh]] |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=5 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705234405/http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/pdf/705___.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=bpedia>{{cite web |title=Bangla Language |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bangla_Language |website=[[Banglapedia]] |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706032246/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bangla_Language |archive-date=6 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="constitution">{{cite web |url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-details-367.html |title=The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh |website=Laws of Bangladesh |publisher=Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=10 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110101626/http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-details-367.html |url-status=live}}</ref> with 98% of [[Bangladeshis]] using Bengali as their first language.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Languages Of Bangladesh |url=https://einfon.com/nationalsymbols/national-languages-of-bangladesh/ |website=einfon |access-date=12 September 2018 |date=11 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802063504/http://einfon.com/nationalsymbols/national-languages-of-bangladesh/ |archive-date=2 August 2017 |url-status=unfit }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.viadelivers.com/bengali-language-facts/ |title=5 Surprising Reasons the Bengali Language Is Important |date=17 August 2017 |access-date=10 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626031821/http://www.viadelivers.com/bengali-language-facts/ |website=VIA |archive-date=26 June 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It is the second-most widely spoken [[scheduled languages of India|language in India]]. It is the official language of the Indian states of [[West Bengal]], [[Tripura]] and the [[Barak Valley]] region of the state of [[Assam]]. It is also the second official language of the Indian state of [[Jharkhand]] since September 2011.<ref name="The Avenue Mail"/> It is the most widely spoken language in the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] in the [[Bay of Bengal]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |title=50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (July 2012 to June 2013) |date=16 July 2014 |website=National Commission for Linguistic Minorities |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102211909/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-date=2 January 2018 |access-date=20 February 2018}}</ref> and is spoken by significant populations in other states including [[Bihar]], [[Arunachal Pradesh]], [[Delhi]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Meghalaya]], [[Mizoram]], [[Nagaland]], [[Odisha]] and [[Uttarakhand]].<ref name="langminor">{{cite web |url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |title=50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India |website=nclm.nic.in |publisher=[[Ministry of Minority Affairs]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708012438/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2016 |access-date=23 May 2019}}</ref> Bengali is also spoken by the Bengali diasporas ([[Bangladeshi diaspora]] and Indian Bengalis) across Europe, North America, the Middle East and other regions.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Bengali Language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bengali-language |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626034202/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bengali-language |archive-date=26 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Bengali was accorded the status of a [[Classical languages of India|classical language]] by the [[Government of India]] on 3 October 2024.<ref name="IT_Oct2024">{{cite magazine |last1=Kumar |first1=Vivek |last2=Roy |first2=Suryagni |date=3 October 2024 |title=Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali now among classical languages |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/marathi-pali-prakrit-assamese-bengali-classical-languages-2610800-2024-10-03 |magazine=India Today |access-date=3 October 2024}}</ref><ref name="TH_Oct2024">{{Cite news |title=Classical language status: Union Cabinet approves addition of Marathi, Assamese, Bengali, Pali, Prakrit to list |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/union-cabinet-decisions-marathi-assamese-bengali-pali-prakrit-get-classical-language-status/article68714789.ece |work=The Hindu |agency=PTI |date=3 October 2024 |issn=0971-751X |access-date=3 October 2024}}</ref> It is the second most spoken and fifth fastest growing [[languages of India|language in India]], following [[Hindi]], [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], and [[Meitei language|Meitei]] ([[Manipuri language|Manipuri]]), according to the [[2011 census of India]].<ref>—{{Cite news |last=R |first=Aishwaryaa |date=6 June 2019 |title=What census data reveals about use of Indian languages |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/what-census-data-reveals-about-use-of-indian-languages-738340.html |work=[[Deccan Herald]] |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116215415/https://www.deccanherald.com/india/what-census-data-reveals-about-use-of-indian-languages-738340.html |url-status=live}}<br />—{{Cite news |last=Pallapothu |first=Sravan |date=28 June 2018 |title=Hindi Added 100Mn Speakers In A Decade; Kashmiri 2nd Fast Growing Language |url=https://www.indiaspend.com/hindi-added-100mn-speakers-in-a-decade-kashmiri-2nd-fast-growing-language-93096/ |website=Indiaspend.com |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116215644/https://www.indiaspend.com/hindi-added-100mn-speakers-in-a-decade-kashmiri-2nd-fast-growing-language-93096/ |url-status=live}}<br />—{{Cite news |last=IndiaSpend |date=2 July 2018 |title=Hindi fastest growing language in India, finds 100 million new speakers |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/hindi-fastest-growing-language-in-india-finds-100-million-new-speakers-118070200029_1.html |work=Business Standard |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116221313/https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/hindi-fastest-growing-language-in-india-finds-100-million-new-speakers-118070200029_1.html |url-status=live}}<br />—{{cite magazine |last1=Mishra |first1=Mayank |last2=Aggarwal |first2=Piyush |date=11 April 2022 |title=Hindi grew rapidly in non-Hindi states even without official mandate |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/hindi-grows-in-non-hindi-states-without-official-mandate-1936196-2022-04-11 |magazine=India Today |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116221422/https://www.indiatoday.in/diu/story/hindi-grows-in-non-hindi-states-without-official-mandate-1936196-2022-04-11 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Bengali has developed over more than 1,400 years. [[Bengali literature]], with its millennium-old literary history, was extensively developed during 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 that Bengali 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 [[Independence of Bangladesh|emergence of Bangladesh]] in [[Bangladesh Liberation War|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>
[[File:Bengali_Language_mural_at_Hamtramck,_USA.png|thumb|Bengali Language mural at [[Hamtramck, Michigan]]]]

==History==
{{gallery
|width=300
|height=150
|noborder=y
|align=centre
|File:Lenguas indoiranias.PNG
|[[Indo-Iranian languages]] {{legend|#F6CB47|Bengali|invert=y}}
|class1=skin-invert-image
|File:East magadhan proto-languages - en.svg
|The descent of proto-Gauda, the ancestor of the modern Bengali language, from the proto-Gauda-Kamarupa line of the proto-Magadhan (Magadhi Prakrit).<ref>{{harvcol|Toulmin|2009|p=220}}</ref>
|class2=skin-invert-image}}

=== Ancient ===
With the advent of the [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryans]] in the 3rd century BCE, Bengal was gradually being [[Sanskritised]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Datta |first1=Amaresh |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti |date=1988 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1194-0 |page=1694 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&dq=Sanskrit+Brahmins+Bengal&pg=PA1694 |access-date=29 October 2023 |archive-date=2 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102044527/https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&dq=Sanskrit+Brahmins+Bengal&pg=PA1694 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The varieties of [[Prakrit]] spoken in Bengal region were generally referred to as "eastern [[Magadhi Prakrit]]", as coined by linguist [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tuteja |first1=K. L. |last2=Chakraborty |first2=Kaustav |title=Tagore and Nationalism |date=15 March 2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-81-322-3696-2 |page=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZJcDgAAQBAJ&dq=%22eastern+Magadhi+Prakrit%22+suniti+chatterjee&pg=PA59 |language=en |access-date=29 October 2023 |archive-date=2 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102044527/https://books.google.com/books?id=iZJcDgAAQBAJ&dq=%22eastern+Magadhi+Prakrit%22+suniti+chatterjee&pg=PA59 |url-status=live }}</ref> as the [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan dialects]] were influential in the [[first millennium]] when Bengal was a part of the [[Greater Magadha]]n realm. [[Muhammad Shahidullah]] attempted to trace the origin of Bengali to [[Old Indo-Aryan]] through the [[Gaudi Prakrit]]; his findings were later supported by [[A. B. Keith]] and others.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Emeneau |first1=Murray B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5RsDwAAQBAJ |title=Linguistics in South Asia |last2=Fergusson |first2=Charles A. |date=21 November 2016 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-081950-2 |pages=680 |language=en|quote=In ‘Magadhi Prakrit and Bengali’ (1925) he attempted to trace the origin of Bengali to Old Indo-Aryan through the Gaudi Prakrit. In this study Shahidullah disagreed with Grierson, Hoernle, Chatterji, and other authorities. Shahidullah's findings were later supported by A. B. Keith and others.}}</ref>

The local varieties had no official status during the [[Gupta Empire]], and with Bengal increasingly becoming a hub of [[Sanskrit literature]] for Hindu priests and Buddhist Acharyas, the vernacular of Bengal gained much influence from Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Bangla Script|author=Shariful Islam}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> [[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 over the course of time.<ref name="tb">{{Harv|Bhattacharya|2000}}</ref>

===Early===
{{main|Old Bengali}}

A Sanskrit-Chinese dictionary compiled by the Chinese poet Li-Yen in 782 AD shows the presence of Bengali. A research document ''Classical Bangla'' published in 2024 by the Kolkata-based institute "[[Institute of Language Studies and Research]]" (ILSR), mentions the presence of 51 Bengali words in the dictionary. The lexicon strongly supports the existence of Old Bengali in the 8th century or earlier.<ref name="Mitra">{{cite news |last1=Mitra |first1=Atri |title=Behind Bengali's classical language tag, a Kolkata institute's 2,000-page research document |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/bengalis-classical-language-tag-kolkata-institute-research-9609939/ |access-date=24 February 2025 |work=The Indian Express |date=8 October 2024 |location=Kolkata |quote=And the West Bengal government-run organisation that prepared the document, the Institute of Language Studies and Research (ILSR), is delighted its more than a year-long efforts have paid off...."…a Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary compiled by Li-Yen bears testimony to the fact that at least 51 Bangla words made their way into that dictionary…The Chinese-Sanskrit dictionary, compiled in the 8th Century CE, included or rather was compelled to include words of a third language, i.e., Bangla. This is indicative of the fact that Bangla had already been standardized and was one of the influential tongues which was regarded as the lingua franca of the geographic area that was known as Bengal,"....}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Das |editor1-first=Amitava |editor2-last=Sanyal |editor2-first=Rajat |editor3-last=Chakraborty |editor3-first=Rajib |title=Classical Bangla |date=2025 |publisher=[[Institute of Language Studies and Research]] (ILSR), Kolkata |location=[[Kolkata]] |isbn=9788198479358 |pages=332―337 |quote=The Chinese-Sanskrit dictionary, compiled in the 8th Century CE, included or rather was compelled to include words of a third language, i.e., Bangla. This is indicative of the fact that Bangla had already been standardized and was one of the influential tongues which was regarded as the lingua franca of the geographic area that was known as Bengal. This illustrates with absolute certainty that Bangla must have been the language of communication for several centuries before the time of composition of Carya songs. By the time Carya songs were composed, Bangla had already acquired prosodic as well as rhetoric sophistication to be considered as a medium of literary discourse.}}</ref>

Though some archaeologists 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 Odia, 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]] ({{lit|meaningless sounds}}), eventually evolved into regional dialects, which in turn formed three groups, the [[Bengali–Assamese languages]], the [[Bihari languages]], and the [[Odia language]].

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=Banglapedia|access-date=7 November 2017|archive-date=15 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515073155/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page|url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2021|reason=Need the specific Banglapedia article – link to the Banglapedia main page is not enough}} The ancestor of 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>

===Medieval===
{{See also|Persian language in the Indian subcontinent}}
{{multiple image
|align=centre
|image1=Silver coin of Danujamarddana.jpg
|width1=300
|caption1=Silver coin of Maharaj Gaudeshwar Danujmardandev of [[Deva dynasty]], {{Circa|1417}}
|image2=Coin - Silver - Circa 9-10th Century 13th Century CE - Harikela Kingdom - ACCN 90-C2752 - Indian Museum - Kolkata 2014-04-04 4303.JPG
|width2=150
|caption2=Silver coin with proto-Bengali script, [[Harikela]] Kingdom, {{Circa|9th}}–13th century
}}
During the medieval period, [[Middle Bengali]] was characterised by the [[elision]] of the word-final ''{{lang|bn|অ}} ô'' and the spread of compound verbs, which originated from the [[Sanskrit]] [[schwa]]. Slowly, the word-final ''ô'' disappeared from many words influenced by the [[Arabic]], [[Farsi|Persian]], and [[Turkic languages]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} 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.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} By the beginning of 15th century or even earlier, a literary standard form of Middle Bengali grew up which was rapidly used across all of [[Bengal region]] as the standard dialect of [[Middle Bengali literature]].{{sfnp|Chatterji|1926|page=127–128}}

In the 13th century, subsequent [[Arab Muslim]] and [[Turco-Persian tradition|Turco-Persian]] expeditions to Bengal heavily influenced the local vernacular by settling among the native population.<ref name="Bari">{{Cite news |last=Bari |first=Sarah Anjum |date=12 April 2019 |title=A Tale of Two Languages: How the Persian language seeped into Bengali |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/longform/news/tale-two-languages-how-the-persian-language-seeped-bengali-1728421 |access-date=5 March 2024 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Majumder |first=Atindra |title=Arabic, Persian and Turkish words in Bengali Literature |language=English}}</ref> Bengali absorbed Arabic and Persian influences in its vocabulary and dialect, including the development of [[Dobhashi]].<ref name="Bari"/>

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 adopted many words from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]], which was 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|Srikrishna Kirtana]] by the [[Chandidas]] poets. Court support for Bengali culture and language waned when the [[Mughal Empire]] conquered Bengal in the late 16th and early 17th century.<ref>{{harvcol|Eaton|1993|pp=167–174}}</ref>

===Modern===
{{See also|Bengali language movement}}
The standard literary form of Modern Bengali was developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries based on the west-central dialect spoken in [[Santipur (community development block)|Shantipur region]] of the [[Nadia district]]. Modern Bengali shows a high degree of [[diglossia]], with the literary and standard form differing greatly from the colloquial speech of the regions that identify with the language.<ref name="cornell">{{cite web |url=https://lrc.cornell.edu/asian/courses/bengali |title=Bengali Language at Cornell |website=Department of Asian Studies |publisher=Cornell University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115131805/http://lrc.cornell.edu/asian/courses/bengali |archive-date=15 November 2012}}</ref> Modern [[Bengali vocabulary]] is based on words inherited from Magadhi Prakrit and Pali, along with [[tatsama]]s and reborrowings from Sanskrit and borrowings from [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Austroasiatic languages]] and other languages with which it has historically been in contact.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, there were two standard forms of written Bengali:
* {{lang|bn|চলিতভাষা}} ''Chôlitôbhasha'', a colloquial form of Bengali using simplified inflections.
* {{lang|bn|সাধুভাষা}} ''[[Sadhu bhasha|Sadhubhasha]]'', a formal and genteel form of Bengali.<ref name="SKumar">{{cite web|url=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/translation/articles/bengali-language.html|title=The Bengali Language and Translation|access-date= 19 November 2006|last=Ray|first=S Kumar|work=Translation Articles|publisher=Kwintessential|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925204904/http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/translation/articles/bengali-language.html|archive-date=25 September 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 March 2024 |title=Bengali language {{!}} History, Writing System & Dialects {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bengali-language |access-date=7 March 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1948, the government of Pakistan tried to impose [[Urdu]] as the sole state language in Pakistan, giving rise to the [[Bengali language movement]].<ref name="sas">{{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=Hanne-Ruth|title=Bengali|date=2012|publisher=John Benjamins Pub. Co.|location=Amsterdam|isbn=978-90-272-3819-1|page=3|edition=Paperback with corrections.}}</ref> This was a popular ethnolinguistic movement in the former [[East Bengal]] <!-- Please note that East Bengal was the administrative division of the Dominion of Pakistan corresponding to today's Bangladesh from 1947 to 1955 -->(today [[Bangladesh]]), which arose as a result of the strong linguistic consciousness of the [[Bengalis]] and their desire to promote and protect spoken and written Bengali<!-- Please consult the article on the subject. Please note that opposing a conciliatory proposal to write Bengali in the Perso-Arabic script was the key motivation behind the protests of early 1952)-->'s recognition as a state language of the then [[Dominion of Pakistan]]. On 21 February 1952, five students and political activists were killed during protests near the campus of the [[University of Dhaka]]; they were the first ever [[martyrs]] to die for their right to speak their mother tongue. In 1956, Bengali was made a state language of Pakistan.<ref name="sas" /> 21 February has since been observed as [[Language Movement Day]] in Bangladesh and has also been commemorated as [[International Mother Language Day]] by [[UNESCO]] every year since 2000.

In 2010, the parliament of Bangladesh and the legislative assembly of West Bengal proposed that Bengali be made an official UN language.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8425744.stm |title=Bengali 'should be UN language' |date=22 December 2009 |website=BBC News |access-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108040418/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8425744.stm |archive-date=8 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> As of January 2023, no further action has been yet taken on this matter. However, in 2022, the UN did adopt Bangla as an unofficial language, after a resolution tabled by India.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 June 2022 |title=UN adopts Bangla as unofficial language |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/06/12/un-adopts-bangla-as-unofficial-language |access-date=20 January 2023 |work=Dhaka Tribune |language=en |archive-date=20 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120163409/https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/06/12/un-adopts-bangla-as-unofficial-language |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2024, the [[government of India]] conferred Bengali with the status of [[Classical languages of India|classical language]].<ref name="IT_Oct2024"/><ref name="TH_Oct2024"/>

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| caption1 = The [[Shaheed Minar, Dhaka|Central Shaheed Minar]] in [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
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| caption2 = Language Martyr's Memorial at Silchar Railway Station in [[Assam]], India.
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==Geographical distribution==
{{Pie chart
| caption = Approximate distribution of native Bengali speakers (assuming a rounded total of 280-290 million) worldwide.{{Efn|The number of [[Bangladeshis]] worldwide exceeds 190 million. Nearly 15 million Bangladeshis live outside Bangladesh and are not included during national census counts.<ref name="BangladeshiMigrants">{{Cite web |title=Migrants’ contribution to the 50-year journey of Bangladesh {{!}} The Daily Star |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/celebrating-50-years-bangladesh/news/migrants-contribution-the-50-year-journey-bangladesh-2067097 |access-date=28 February 2026 |website=www.thedailystar.net |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How diaspora can support Bangladesh’s development {{!}} The Daily Star |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/how-diaspora-can-support-bangladeshs-development-2170991 |access-date=23 March 2026 |website=www.thedailystar.net |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the actual number of Bangladeshi migrant workers? |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/migration/333923/what-is-the-actual-number-of-bangladeshi-migrant |access-date=23 March 2026 |website=Dhaka Tribune |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Growing Influence of Bangladeshi Diaspora |url=http://www.daily-sun.com/post/709600/budget2025-2026 |access-date=23 March 2026 |website=Daily Sun |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Becoming a more effective diaspora |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/360818/becoming-a-more-effective-diaspora |access-date=23 March 2026 |website=Dhaka Tribune |language=en}}</ref><ref name="BangladeshMigrationSnapshot">{{Cite web |title=Bangladesh — Migration Snapshot Report 2024 {{!}} Displacement Tracking Matrix |url=https://dtm.iom.int/reports/bangladesh-migration-snapshot-report-2024 |access-date=28 February 2026 |website=dtm.iom.int}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Streatfield |first=Peter Kim |last2=Karar |first2=Zunaid Ahsan |date=September 2008 |title=Population challenges for Bangladesh in the coming decades |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2740702/ |journal=Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=261–272 |issn=1606-0997 |pmc=2740702 |pmid=18831223}}</ref> Considering the total number of Bengalis to be around 270–280 million, Bangladeshis constitute approximately 67–70% of the global Bengali population.|name=Bangladeshis}}
| value1 = 68
| label1 = [[Bangladesh]] or [[Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi origin]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNData app |url=https://data.un.org/en/iso/bd.html |access-date=5 January 2026 |website=data.un.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=5 January 2026 |website=World Bank Open Data}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gigauri |first=Giorgi |date=26 March 2021 |title=Migrants' contribution to the 50-year journey of Bangladesh |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/supplements/celebrating-50-years-bangladesh/news/migrants-contribution-the-50-year-journey-bangladesh-2067097 |access-date=5 January 2026 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>
| color1 = #006a4e
| value2 = 32
| label2 = [[India]] or [[Indian people|Indian origin]]
| color2 = #ffc000
| other-label = 
| other-color = 
| other = 
}}[[File:Bengali-speaking world.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|Geographical distribution of the Bengali language in the world.{{legend|#003380|Main language|invert=y}}{{legend|#0055d4|Regional language|invert=y}}{{legend|#2a7fff|Overseas population of more than a million|invert=y}}
{{legend|#5599ff|Overseas population of more than 100 thousand|invert=y}}
{{legend|#80b3ff|Overseas population of more than 10 thousand|invert=y}}
{{legend|#aaccff|Overseas population of more than a thousand|invert=y}}|class=skin-invert-image]]
Besides the native region it is also spoken by the Bengalis living in [[Tripura]], southern [[Assam]] and the Bengali population in the Indian union territory of [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]. Bengali is also spoken in the neighbouring states of [[Odisha]], [[Bihar]], and [[Jharkhand]], and sizeable minorities of Bengali speakers reside in Indian cities outside Bengal, including [[Delhi]], [[Mumbai]], [[Thane]], [[Varanasi]], and [[Vrindavan]]. There are also significant Bengali-speaking communities in the [[Bangladeshis in the Middle East|Middle East]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/09/07/kuwait-restricts-imports-male-bangladeshi-workers/ |title=Kuwait restricts recruitment of male Bangladeshi workers |work=Dhaka Tribune |language=en-US |access-date=4 December 2017 |date=7 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830163025/http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/09/07/kuwait-restricts-imports-male-bangladeshi-workers/ |archive-date=30 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://gulfmigration.eu/bahrain-foreign-population-by-country-of-citizenship-sex-and-migration-status-worker-family-dependent-selected-countries-january-2015/ |title=Bahrain: Foreign population by country of citizenship, sex and migration status (worker/ family dependent) (selected countries, January 2015) – GLMM |date=20 October 2015 |work=GLMM |access-date=4 December 2017 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216162345/http://gulfmigration.eu/bahrain-foreign-population-by-country-of-citizenship-sex-and-migration-status-worker-family-dependent-selected-countries-january-2015/ |archive-date=16 December 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/SA |title=Saudi Arabia |work=Ethnologue |access-date=4 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123150627/https://www.ethnologue.com/country/SA |archive-date=23 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Bengali American|United States]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/voting/voteform.pdf |title=New York State Voter Registration Form |access-date=10 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127085322/http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/voting/voteform.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Singapore]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blls.sg |title=Bangla Language and Literary Society, Singapore |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505011428/http://blls.sg/ |archive-date=5 May 2013}}</ref> [[Bangladeshis in Malaysia|Malaysia]], [[Bangladeshis in Australia|Australia]], [[Bangladeshi Canadian|Canada]], the [[British Bangladeshi|United Kingdom]], and [[Bangladeshis in Italy|Italy]].

===Official status===
The 3rd article of the [[Constitution of Bangladesh]] states Bengali to be the sole [[official language]] of Bangladesh.<ref name="constitution" /> The [[Bangla Bhasha Prachalan Ain, 1987|Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987]], made it mandatory to use Bengali in all records and correspondences, laws, proceedings of court and other legal actions in all courts, government or semi-government offices, and autonomous institutions in Bangladesh.<ref name="Bengali Act" /> It is also the ''de facto'' [[National language|national]] language of the country.

In India, Bengali is one of the 22 [[Languages with official status in India|official languages]].<ref name="secondmost">{{cite web| url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=IN| title=Languages of India| publisher=Ethnologue Report| access-date=4 November 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226043734/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=IN| archive-date=26 December 2009| url-status=live}}</ref> It is the official language of the Indian states of [[West Bengal]], [[Tripura]] and in [[Barak Valley]] of [[Assam]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Language |website=Government of Assam| url=http://www.assam.gov.in/language.asp| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060826225557/http://www.assam.gov.in/language.asp|archive-date=26 August 2006| access-date=20 June 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bhattacharjee |first=Kishalay |date=30 April 2008 |title=It's Indian language vs Indian language|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080048434 |work=[[NDTV]].com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723023746/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080048434 |archive-date=23 July 2013 |access-date=27 May 2008}}</ref> Bengali has been a second official language of the [[States and union territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Jharkhand]] since September 2011.

In [[Pakistan]], Bengali is a recognised secondary language in the city of [[Karachi]]<ref>{{cite news |author=Syed Yasir Kazmi |date=16 October 2009 |title=Pakistani Bengalis |url=http://www.demotix.com/news/160560/bengalis-pakistan-karachi#media-160511 |work=DEMOTIX |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102005045/http://www.demotix.com/news/160560/bengalis-pakistan-karachi |archive-date=2 January 2015 |access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2003/11/031117_karachi_bangali_as.shtml |title=کراچی کے 'بنگالی پاکستانی'(Urdu) |work=محمد عثمان جامعی |date=17 November 2003 |access-date=2 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031119115353/http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/story/2003/11/031117_karachi_bangali_as.shtml |archive-date=19 November 2003 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.21stfebruary.org/eassy21_5.htm |title=The Language Movement : An Outline |last=Rafiqul Islam |access-date=12 May 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119232520/http://www.21stfebruary.org/eassy21_5.htm |archive-date=19 November 2012}}</ref> mainly spoken by [[Bengalis in Pakistan|stranded Bengalis of Pakistan]]. The Department of Bengali in the [[University of Karachi]] (established by East Pakistani politicians before [[Independence of Bangladesh]]) also offers regular programs of studies at the Bachelors and at the Masters levels for Bengali Literature.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uok.edu.pk/faculties/bengali/ |title=Karachi Department of Bengali |access-date=2 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510221536/http://www.uok.edu.pk/faculties/bengali/ |archive-date=10 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The national anthems of both Bangladesh (''[[Amar Sonar Bangla]]'') and India (''[[Jana Gana Mana]]'') were written in Bengali by the Bengali Nobel laureate [[Rabindranath Tagore]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.gov.bd/statements/fm39.htm|title=Statement by Foreign Minister on Second Bangladesh-India Track II dialogue at BRAC Centre on 07 August, 2005|access-date=27 May 2008|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, [[Government of Bangladesh]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418063436/http://www.mofa.gov.bd/statements/fm39.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=18 April 2008}}</ref> [[Notuner Gaan]] known as "''Chol Chol Chol"'' is Bangladesh's national march, written by ''The National Poet'' [[Kazi Nazrul Islam]] in Bengali in 1928. It was adopted as the national marching song by the [[Bangladeshi government]] in 1972. Additionally, the first two verses of ''[[Vande Mataram]]'', a patriotic song written in Bengali by [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]], was adopted as the "national song" of India in both the colonial period and later in 1950 in independent India. Furthermore, it is believed by many that the national anthem of Sri Lanka ([[Sri Lanka Matha]]) was inspired by a Bengali poem written by [[Rabindranath Tagore]],<ref name="CIA">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Sri Lanka|encyclopedia=[[The World Factbook]]|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sri-lanka/|access-date=20 September 2017|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217185333/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sri-lanka/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TOI030411">{{cite news|url=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToPrint_TOINEW&Type=text/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=CAP/2011/04/03&ID=Ar01601|title=Man of the series: Nobel laureate Tagore|date=3 April 2011|work=[[The Times of India]]|agency=[[Times News Network]]|access-date=20 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143239/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib%3ALowLevelEntityToPrint_TOINEW&Type=text%2Fhtml&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=CAP%2F2011%2F04%2F03&ID=Ar01601|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TH040216">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sri-lanka-iday-to-have-anthem-in-tamil/article8189939.ece|title=Sri Lanka I-Day to have anthem in Tamil|date=4 February 2016|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204001139/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sri-lanka-iday-to-have-anthem-in-tamil/article8189939.ece|archive-date=4 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="HT120510">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world/tagore-s-influence-on-lankan-culture/story-ABmSseNTEg4EFv5AAoDpbN.html|title=Tagore's influence on Lankan culture|date=12 May 2010|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011122425/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world/tagore-s-influence-on-lankan-culture/story-ABmSseNTEg4EFv5AAoDpbN.html|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> while some even believe the anthem was originally written in Bengali and then translated into [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]].<ref name="Wickramasinghe">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wde58hbSxUEC&q=Tagore|title=Dressing the Colonised Body: Politics, Clothing, and Identity in Sri Lanka|last1=Wickramasinghe|first1=Nira|date=2003|publisher=[[Orient Longman]]|isbn=978-81-250-2479-8|page=26|author-link1=Nira Wickramasinghe|access-date=29 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929080417/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Wde58hbSxUEC&printsec=frontcover&q=Tagore|archive-date=29 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DM300315">{{cite news|url=http://mirrorcitizen.dailymirror.lk/2015/03/30/sri-lankan-national-anthem-can-it-be-used-to-narrow-the-gap/|title=Sri Lankan National Anthem: can it be used to narrow the gap?|last1=Wickramasinghe|first1=Kamanthi|work=[[The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)]]|last2=Perera|first2=Yoshitha|issue=30 March 2015|access-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011123106/http://mirrorcitizen.dailymirror.lk/2015/03/30/sri-lankan-national-anthem-can-it-be-used-to-narrow-the-gap/|archive-date=11 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DS070511">{{cite news|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=184548|title=Rabindranath: He belonged to the world|last1=Haque|first1=Junaidul|date=7 May 2011|work=[[The Daily Star (Bangladesh)]]|access-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092524/http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=184548|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TH170511">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/celebrating-rabindranath-tagores-legacy/article2026880.ece|title=Celebrating Rabindranath Tagore's legacy|last1=Habib|first1=Haroon|date=17 May 2011|work=[[The Hindu]]|author-link1=Haroon Habib|access-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613010300/http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/celebrating-rabindranath-tagores-legacy/article2026880.ece|archive-date=13 June 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, elected representatives in both Bangladesh and West Bengal called for Bengali to be made an [[Official languages of the United Nations|official language of the United Nations]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8425744.stm |date=22 December 2009 |access-date=25 January 2010 |first=Subir |last=Bhaumik |title=Bengali 'should be UN language' |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403040151/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8425744.stm |archive-date=3 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Dialects==
{{Main|Bengali dialects}}

Regional [[Variety (linguistics)|varieties]] in spoken Bengali constitute a [[dialect continuum]]. Linguist [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]] grouped the dialects of Bengali language into four large clusters: [[Rarhi dialect|Rarhi]], [[Bangali dialect|Vangiya]], [[Kamarupi Prakrit|Kamrupi]] and [[Varendri dialect|Varendri]];<ref>name="huq_sarkar"</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Origin and Development of the Bengali language, Suniti kumar Chatterjee, Vol- 1, Page 140, George Allen and Unwin London, New Edition, 1970|language=English}}</ref> but many alternative grouping schemes have also been proposed.<ref name="morshed">{{cite Banglapedia|article=Dialect|author=Morshed, Abul Kalam Manjoor}}</ref> The West-Central dialects ([[Rarhi dialect|Rarhi]] or [[Nadia district|Nadia]] dialect) form the basis of modern standard colloquial Bengali. In the dialects prevalent in much of eastern and south-eastern Bangladesh ([[Barisal Division|Barisal]], [[Chittagong Division|Chittagong]], [[Dhaka Division|Dhaka]] and [[Sylhet Division]]s of Bangladesh), many of the stops and [[Affricate consonant|affricates]] heard in [[West Bengal]] and western Bangladesh are pronounced as [[Fricative consonant|fricatives]]. Western [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal affricates]] {{lang|bn|চ}} {{IPAblink|tʃ|tʃɔ}}, {{lang|bn|ছ}} {{IPAblink|ʰ|tʃʰɔ~tʃɔ}}, {{lang|bn|জ}} {{IPAblink|dʒ|dʒɔ}} correspond to eastern {{lang|bn|চ}} {{IPA|[tsɔ~sɔ]}}, {{lang|bn|ছ}} {{IPA|[sɔ]}}, {{lang|bn|জ}} {{IPA|[dzɔ~zɔ]}}.

The potential influence of [[Tibeto-Burman languages]] on the [[phonology]] of Eastern Bengali is used to explain the lack of nasalised vowels and an alveolar articulation of what are categorised as the "cerebral" consonants (as opposed to the postalveolar articulation of western Bengal). Some [[Variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of Bengali, particularly [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]],<ref>{{cite conference |last2=Mahanta |first2=Sakuntala |last1=Gope |first1=Amalesh |year=2014 |title=Lexical Tones in Sylheti |url=https://www.isca-speech.org/archive/tal_2014/papers/tl14_010.pdf |conference=4th International Symposium on Tonal Aspects of Languages (TAL-2014) |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815121216/https://www.isca-speech.org/archive/tal_2014/papers/tl14_010.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]] and [[Chakma language|Chakma]], have contrastive [[tone (linguistics)|tone]]; differences in the pitch of the speaker's voice can distinguish words. [[Kharia Thar language|Kharia Thar]] and [[Mal Paharia language|Mal Paharia]] are closely related to Western Bengali dialects, but are typically classified as separate languages. Similarly, [[Hajong language|Hajong]] is considered a separate language, although it shares similarities to [[Northern Bengali]] dialects.<ref name="hajong">{{cite web | url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=haj | title=Hajong | publisher=The Ethnologue Report | access-date=19 November 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115092134/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=haj | archive-date=15 November 2006 | url-status=live }}</ref>

During the standardisation of Modern Bengali in the 19th century and early 20th century, the cultural centre of Bengal was in [[Kolkata]], a city founded by the British. What is accepted as the standard form today in both West Bengal and Bangladesh is based on the [[Rarhi dialect|West-Central dialect]] of [[Nadia District|Nadia]] and [[Kushtia District]].<ref name="daniul">{{cite Banglapedia |first1=Chalita |last1=Bhasa |author2=Huq, Mohammad Daniul}}</ref> There are cases where speakers of Standard Bengali in [[West Bengal]] will use a different word from a speaker of Standard Bengali in Bangladesh, even though both words are of native Bengali descent. For example, the word salt is {{lang|bn|লবণ}} ''lôbôṇ'' in the east which corresponds to {{lang|bn|নুন}} ''nun''  in the west.<ref name=Banglabetelco/>
[[File:Bengali dialects.png|thumb|center|400px|A map of [[Bengal]] (including parts of [[Assam]], [[Bihar]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]] and [[Jharkhand]]) showing the Bengali dialect clusters and their dialects. Cluster shades: <br/>
Blue = [[Bangali dialect|Bangali]]<br/>
Green = [[Rarhi dialect|Rarhi]]<br/>
Red = [[Varendri]]<br/>
Pink = [[Rangpuri language|Rangpuri]]<br/>
Yellow = [[Manbhumi]]<br/>
Purple = [[Sundarbani]]<br/>
(''those marked with an asterisk (*) on the map are sometimes considered dialects and sometimes considered separate languages'')|class=skin-invert-image]]

Bengali exhibits [[diglossia]], though some scholars have proposed triglossia or even n-glossia or [[heteroglossia]] between the written and spoken forms of the language.<ref name="cornell" /> Two styles of writing have emerged, involving somewhat different vocabularies and [[syntax]]:<ref name="daniul"/><ref name="daniul1">{{cite Banglapedia|article=Sadhu Bhasa|author=Huq, Mohammad Daniul}}</ref>
# ''[[Sadhu bhasha]]'' ({{lang|bn|সাধু ভাষা}} "upright language") was the written language, with longer verb inflections and more of a [[Pali]] and [[Sanskrit]]-derived ''[[Tatsama]]'' vocabulary. Songs such as India's national anthem ''[[Jana Gana Mana]]'' (by [[Rabindranath Tagore]]) were composed in this style. Its use in modern writing however is uncommon, restricted to some official signs and documents as well as for achieving particular literary effects.
# ''Chôlito bhasha'' ({{lang|bn|চলিত ভাষা}} "running language"), known by linguists as Standard Colloquial Bengali, is a written Bengali style exhibiting a preponderance of colloquial idiom and shortened verb forms and is the standard for written Bengali now. This form came into vogue towards the turn of the 19th century, promoted by the writings of [[Peary Chand Mitra]] (''[[Alaler Gharer Dulal]]'', 1857),<ref name="alal">{{cite Banglapedia|article=Alaler Gharer Dulal|author=Huq, Mohammad Daniul}}</ref> [[Pramatha Chaudhuri]] (''Sabujpatra'', 1914) and in the later writings of [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. It is modelled on the dialect spoken in the [[Shantipur]] and [[Shilaidaha]] region in [[Nadia district|Nadia]] and [[Kushtia District|Kushtia]] Districts respectively. This form of Bengali is often referred to as the "Kushtia standard"(Bangladesh), "Nadia standard" (West Bengal), "West-Central dialect", "Shantipuri Bangla" or "Shilaidahi Bangla".<ref name="morshed"/>

Linguist [[Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar]] categorises the language as:
* Madhya [[Rarh region|Rarhi]] dialect
* [[Midnapore district|Kanthi]] (Contai) dialect
* [[Kolkata metropolitan area|Kolkata]] dialect
* [[Nadia district|Shantipuriya]] (Nadia) dialect
* [[Shershahabadia]] (Maldahiya/ Jangipuri) dialect
* [[Varendra|Barendri]] dialect
* [[Rangpur Division|Rangapuriya]] dialect
* [[Sylhet Division|Sylheti]] dialect
* [[Dhaka Division|Dhakiya]] (Bikrampuri) dialect
* [[Jessore District|Jashore]]/Jessoriya dialect
* [[Barisal Division|Barisal]] (Chandradwip) dialect
* [[Chittagong Division|Chattal]] (Chittagong) dialect

While most writing is in Standard Colloquial Bengali (SCB), spoken dialects exhibit a greater variety. People in southeastern West Bengal, including Kolkata, speak in SCB. Other dialects, with minor variations from Standard Colloquial, are used in other parts of West Bengal and western Bangladesh, such as the [[Midnapore]] dialect, characterised by some unique words and constructions. However, a majority in Bangladesh speaks dialects notably different from SCB. Some dialects, particularly those of the [[Chittagong]] region, bear only a superficial resemblance to SCB.<ref name="ray89">{{Harvnb|Ray|Hai|Ray|1966|p=89}}</ref> The dialect in the Chittagong region is least widely understood by the general body of Bengalis.<ref name="ray89" /> The majority of Bengalis are able to communicate in more than one [[Variety (linguistics)|variety]] – often, speakers are fluent in ''Cholitobhasha'' (SCB) and one or more regional dialects.<ref name="SKumar" />


Even in SCB, the vocabulary may differ according to the speaker's religion: Muslims are more likely to use words of Persian and Arabic origin, along with more words naturally derived from Sanskrit ([[tadbhava]]), whereas Hindus are more likely to use [[tatsama]] (words directly borrowed from Sanskrit).<ref name="ray80">{{Harvnb|Ray|Hai|Ray|1966|p=80}}</ref>.
For example:<ref name="Banglabetelco">{{cite web
 | url=http://www.betelco.com/bd/bangla/bangla.html
 | title=History of Bengali (Banglar itihash)
 | access-date=20 November 2006
| publisher=Bengal Telecommunication and Electric Company
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707230420/http://www.betelco.com/bd/bangla/bangla.html
 | archive-date=7 July 2011
}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Predominantly Hindu Usage !! Origin !! Predominantly Muslim Usage !! Origin !! Translation
|-
|{{lang|bn|নমস্কার}} ''nômôskār''||Directly borrowed from [[Sanskrit]] ''[[Namaskara|namaskāra]]''||{{lang|bn|আসসালামু আলাইকুম}} ''āssālāmu ālāikum''||Directly from [[Arabic]] ''[[As-salamu alaykum|as-salāmu ʿalaykum]]''||hello
|-
|{{lang|bn|নিমন্ত্রণ}} ''nimôntrôṇ''||Directly borrowed from Sanskrit ''nimantraṇa'' as opposed to the native Bengali ''nemôntônnô''||{{lang|bn|দাওয়াত}} ''dāowāt''||Borrowed from Arabic ''[[daʿwah]]'' via [[Farsi|Persian]]|| invitation
|-
|{{lang|bn|জল}} ''jôl''|| Directly borrowed from Sanskrit ''jala''||{{lang|bn|পানি}} ''pāni''||Native, compare with Sanskrit ''pānīya''|| water
|-
|{{lang|bn|স্নান}} ''snān''||Directly borrowed from Sanskrit ''snāna''||{{lang|bn|গোসল}} ''gosol''||Borrowed from Arabic ''[[ghusl|ghuṣl]]'' via Persian|| bath
|-
|{{lang|bn|দিদি}} ''didi''||Native, from Sanskrit ''[[devī]]''||{{lang|bn|আপা}} ''āpā''||From [[Turkic languages]]|| sister / elder sister
|-
|{{lang|bn|দাদা}} ''dādā''||Native, from Sanskrit ''dāyāda''||{{lang|bn|ভাইয়া}} ''bhāiyā''||Native, from Sanskrit ''bhrātā''|| brother / elder brother<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bengali-dictionary.com/english_bengali_words_phrases_relations%202.html|title=A Bilingual Dictionary of Words and Phrases (English-Bengali)|website=Bengali-dictionary.com|access-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025180820/http://www.bengali-dictionary.com/english_bengali_words_phrases_relations%202.html|archive-date=25 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|{{lang|bn|মাসি}} ''māsi''
|Native, from Sanskrit ''mātṛṣvasā''
|{{lang|bn|খালা}} ''khālā''
|Directly borrowed from Arabic ''khālah''
|maternal aunt
|-
|{{lang|bn|পিসি}} ''pisi''
|Native, from Sanskrit ''pitṛṣvasā''
|{{lang|bn|ফুফু}} ''phuphu''
|Native, from Prakrit ''phupphī''
|paternal aunt
|-
|{{lang|bn|কাকা}} ''kākā''
|From Persian or Dravidian ''kākā''
|{{lang|bn|চাচা}} ''chāchā''
|From Prakrit ''cācca''
|paternal uncle
|-
|{{lang|bn|দিদিমা}} ''didimā''
|From Sanskrit ''[[Devī]]'' and ''Mātā'' 
|{{lang|bn|নানী}} ''nānī''
|From [[Hindi language|Hindi]] नानी (Nani)
|maternal grandmother 
|-
|{{lang|bn|ঠাকুরমা}} ''ṭhākuramā''
|From Sanskrit ''Ṭhākura'' and ''Mātā''
|{{lang|bn|দাদী}} ''dādī''
|From Persian ''dādī'' 
|paternal grandmother 
|-
|{{lang|bn|প্রার্থনা}} ''prārthonā''
|Directly borrowed from Sanskrit ''prārthanā''
|{{lang|bn|দোয়া}} ''doyā'' or {{lang|bn|নামাজ}} ''nāmāj''
|Borrowed from Arabic ''[[dua|duʿāʾ]]''
|prayer
|-
|{{lang|bn|আশীর্বাদ}} ''āśīrbād''
|From Sanskrit ''Āśīrvāda''
|{{lang|bn|দোয়া}} ''doyā''
| From Arabic ''[[dua|duʿāʾ]]''
| blessings 
|-
|লঙ্কা ''lônkā''
|Native, named after [[Sri Lanka|Lanka]]
|মরিচ ''morich''
|Directly borrowed from Sanskrit ''marica''
|chilli
|-
|}

==Phonology==
{{Main|Bengali phonology}}

The [[phoneme|phonemic]] inventory of standard Bengali consists of 29 consonants and 7 vowels, as well as 7 [[Nasal vowel|nasalised vowels]]. The inventory is set out below in the [[help:IPA|International Phonetic Alphabet]] (upper grapheme in each box) and romanisation (lower grapheme).

{| class="wikitable"
|+Vowels
!
! colspan="3" |Non-nasalised
! colspan="3" |Nasalised
|-
! ||[[Front vowel|Front]]||[[Central vowel|Central]]||[[Back vowel|Back]]
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{lang|bn|ই~ঈ}}<br />{{IPA link|i}}<br />i|| ||{{lang|bn|উ~ঊ}}<br />{{IPA link|u}}<br />u
|{{lang|bn|ইঁ}}~{{lang|bn|ঈঁ}}<br />{{IPA link|ĩ}}<br />ĩ
|
|{{lang|bn|উঁ}}~{{lang|bn|ঊঁ}}<br />{{IPA link|ũ}}<br />ũ
|-
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|{{lang|bn|এ}}<br />{{IPA link|e}}<br />e|| ||{{lang|bn|ও}}<br />{{IPA link|o}}<br />o
|{{lang|bn|এঁ}}<br />{{IPA link|ẽ}}<br />{{IPA link|ẽ}}
|
|{{lang|bn|ওঁ}}<br />{{IPA link|õ}}<br />õ
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{lang|bn|অ্যা}}<br />{{IPA link|æ}} <br />æ || ||{{lang|bn|অ}}<br />{{IPA link|ɔ }}<br />ô
|{{lang|bn|অ্যাঁ}}<br />{{IPA link|æ̃}}<br />æ̃
|
|{{lang|bn|অঁ}}<br />{{IPA link|ɔ̃}}<br />ɔ̃
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| ||{{lang|bn|আ}}<br />{{IPA link|ɐ|a}}<br />a ||
|
|{{lang|bn|আঁ}} <br />{{IPA link|ã}}<br />ã
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Consonants
! colspan="3" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Dental consonant|Dental]]
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
![[Palatoalveolar consonant|Palato-<br />alveolar]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}|| {{IPA link|n}} || ||&nbsp;||{{IPA link|ŋ}}||&nbsp;
|-
! rowspan="4" |[[Plosive]]/<br />[[Affricate]]
! rowspan="2" | <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
! <small>unaspirated</small>
|{{IPA link|p}}||{{IPA link|t̪|}}||{{IPA link|ʈ}}||{{IPA|[[Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate|tʃ]]}}||{{IPA link|k}}||
|-
!<small>[[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]</small>
|{{IPA link|pʰ}}||{{IPA link|t̪ʰ}}||{{IPA link|ʈʰ}}||{{IPA link|tʃʰ}}||{{IPA link|kʰ}}||
|-
! rowspan="2" | <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
! <small>unaspirated</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}||{{IPA link|d̪|}}||{{IPA link|ɖ}}||{{IPA|[[Voiced palato-alveolar affricate|dʒ]]}}||{{IPA link|ɡ}}||
|-
!<small>[[Breathy voice|aspirated]]</small>
|{{IPA link|bʱ}}||{{IPA link|d̪ʱ}}||{{IPA link|ɖʱ}}||{{IPA link|dʒʱ}}||{{IPA link|ɡʱ}}||
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
! <small>voiceless</small>
| ({{IPA link|ɸ}}) || {{IPA link|s}} || || {{IPA link|ʃ}} |||| ({{IPA link|h}})
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| ({{IPA link|β}}) || ({{IPA link|z}}) || || || || {{IPA link|ɦ}}
|-
! colspan="3" |[[Approximant]]
| ({{IPA link|w}}) ||{{IPA link|l}}||  || ({{IPA link|j}}) ||  ||
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| || {{IPA link|ɾ|r}} || {{IPA link|ɽ}} || || ||
|-
! <small>aspirated</small>
| || || ({{IPA link|ɽʱ}}) || || ||
|}

Bengali is known for its wide variety of [[diphthongs]], combinations of [[vowel]]s occurring within the same [[syllable]].<ref>{{Harv|Masica|1991|pp=116}}</ref> Two of these, {{IPA|/oi̯/}} and {{IPA|/ou̯/}}, are the only ones with representation in script, as {{lang|bn|ঐ}} and {{lang|bn|ঔ}} respectively. {{IPA|/e̯ i̯ o̯ u̯/}} may all form the glide part of a diphthong. The total number of diphthongs is not established, with bounds at 17 and 31. An incomplete chart is given by Sarkar (1985) of the following:<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Pabitra|title=Bangla diswar dhoni|date=1985|location=Bhasa}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!  ||{{IPA|e̯}}||{{IPA|i̯}}||{{IPA|o̯}}||{{IPA|u̯}}
|-
!{{IPA|a}}
|{{IPA|ae̯}}||{{IPA|ai̯}}||{{IPA|ao̯}}||{{IPA|au̯}}
|-
!{{IPA|æ}}
|{{IPA|æe̯}}||  ||{{IPA|æo̯}}||
|-
!{{IPA|e}}
|  ||{{IPA|ei̯}}||  ||{{IPA|eu̯}}
|-
!{{IPA|i}}
|  ||{{IPA|ii̯}}||  ||{{IPA|iu̯}}
|-
!{{IPA|o}}
|{{IPA|oe̯}}||{{IPA|oi̯}}||{{IPA|oo̯}}||{{IPA|ou̯}}
|-
!{{IPA|u}}
|  ||{{IPA|ui̯}}||  ||
|}

===Stress===
In standard Bengali, [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]] is predominantly initial. Bengali words are virtually all [[trochee|trochaic]]; the primary stress falls on the initial [[syllable]] of the word, while secondary stress often falls on all odd-numbered syllables thereafter, giving strings such as in {{lang|bn|সহযোগিতা}} '''''shô'''-hô-'''jo'''-gi-'''ta''''' "cooperation", where the '''boldface''' represents primary and secondary stress.

===Consonant clusters===
{{Main|Bengali consonant clusters}}

Native Bengali words do not allow initial [[consonant cluster]]s;<ref>{{Harv|Masica|1991|pp=125}}</ref> the maximum syllabic structure is CVC (i.e., one vowel flanked by a consonant on each side). Many speakers of Bengali restrict their phonology to this pattern, even when using Sanskrit or English borrowings, such as {{lang|bn|গেরাম}} ''geram'' (CV.CVC) for {{lang|bn|গ্রাম}} ''gram'' (CCVC) "village" or {{lang|bn|ইস্কুল}} ''iskul'' (VC.CVC) for {{lang|bn|স্কুল}} ''skul'' (CCVC) "school".

==Writing system==
{{Main|Bengali-Assamese Script|Bengali alphabet|Bengali Braille}}

[[File:Tagore handwriting Bengali.jpg|thumb|An example of handwritten Bengali. Part of a poem written in Bengali (and with its English translation below each Bengali paragraph) by Nobel Laureate [[Rabindranath Tagore]] in 1926 in Hungary|class=skin-invert-image]]
[[File:Bangla lights Whitechapel.jpg|thumb|The Library of [[Whitechapel]] in [[East London]] with the word "বাংলা" illuminated in its front.]]

The [[Bengali-Assamese script]] is an [[abugida]], a script with letters for consonants, with diacritics for vowels, and in which an [[inherent vowel]] (অ ''ô'') is assumed for consonants if no vowel is marked.<ref name="it46">{{cite web | url=http://www.it46.se/docs/courses/ICT4D_localization_software_primer_it46_v1.5.pdf | author=Escudero Pascual Alberto | title=Writing Systems/ Scripts | date=23 October 2005 | access-date=20 November 2006 | work=Primer to Localization of Software | publisher=it46.se | archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090319013436/http://www.it46.se/docs/courses/ICT4D_localization_software_primer_it46_v1.5.pdf | archive-date=19 March 2009 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref> The [[Bengali alphabet]] is used throughout Bangladesh and eastern India (Assam, West Bengal, Tripura). The Bengali alphabet is believed to have evolved from a modified [[Brahmic scripts|Brahmic script]] around 1000 CE (or 10th–11th century).<ref name="akhor">{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bangalah |title=Bangalah |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705234223/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bangalah |archive-date=5 July 2015 }} in {{Harvnb|Asiatic Society of Bangladesh|2003}}</ref> It is a [[cursive]] script with eleven [[grapheme]]s or signs denoting nine vowels and two [[diphthong]]s, and thirty-nine graphemes representing [[consonant]]s and other modifiers.<ref name="akhor" /> There are no distinct [[Letter case|upper and lower case]] letter forms. The letters run from left to right and spaces are used to separate [[Word#Orthography|orthographic words]]. Bengali script has a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the graphemes that links them together called {{lang|bn|মাত্রা}} ''matra''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://banglasemantics.net/ |title=banglasemantics.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224112403/http://banglasemantics.net/ |archive-date=24 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Since the Bengali script is an abugida, its consonant graphemes usually do not represent phonetic [[Segment (linguistics)|segments]], but carry an "inherent" vowel and thus are [[Syllable|syllabic]] in nature. The inherent vowel is usually a [[back vowel]], either {{IPA|[ɔ]}} as in {{lang|bn|মত}} {{IPA|[m'''ɔ'''t]}} "opinion" or {{IPA|[o]}}, as in {{lang|bn|মন}} {{IPA|[m'''o'''n]}} "mind", with variants like the more open {{IPA|[ɒ]}}. To emphatically represent a consonant sound without any inherent vowel attached to it, a special diacritic, called the ''[[virama|hôsôntô]]'' {{lang|bn|(্)}}, may be added below the basic consonant grapheme (as in {{lang|bn|ম্}} {{IPA|[m]}}). This diacritic, however, is not common and is chiefly employed as a guide to pronunciation. The abugida nature of Bengali consonant graphemes is not consistent, however. Often, syllable-final consonant graphemes, though not marked by a ''hôsôntô'', may carry no inherent vowel sound (as in the final {{lang|bn|ন}} in {{lang|bn|মন}} {{IPA|[m'''o'''n]}} or the medial {{lang|bn|ম}} in {{lang|bn|গামলা}} {{IPA|[ɡamla]}}).

A consonant sound followed by some vowel sound other than the inherent {{IPA|[ɔ]}} is orthographically realised by using a variety of vowel [[allograph]]s above, below, before, after, or around the consonant sign, thus forming the ubiquitous consonant-vowel [[typographic ligature]]s. These allographs, called {{lang|bn|কার}} ''kar'', are [[diacritic]]al vowel forms and cannot stand on their own. For example, the graph {{lang|bn|মি}} {{IPA|[mi]}} represents the consonant {{IPA|[m]}} followed by the vowel {{IPA|[i]}}, where {{IPA|[i]}} is represented as the diacritical allograph {{lang|bn| ি}} (called {{lang|bn|ই-কার}} ''i-kar'') and is placed ''before'' the default consonant sign. Similarly, the graphs {{lang|bn|মা}} {{IPA|[ma]}}, {{lang|bn|মী}} {{IPA|[mi]}}, {{lang|bn|মু}} {{IPA|[mu]}}, {{lang|bn|মূ}} {{IPA|[mu]}}, {{lang|bn|মৃ}} {{IPA|[mri]}}, {{lang|bn|মে}} {{IPA|[me~mɛ]}}, {{lang|bn|মৈ}} {{IPA|[moj]}}, {{lang|bn|মো}} {{IPA|[mo]}} and {{lang|bn|মৌ}} {{IPA|[mow]}} represent the same consonant {{lang|bn|ম}} combined with seven other vowels and two diphthongs. In these consonant-vowel ligatures, the so-called "inherent" vowel {{IPA|[ɔ]}} is first expunged from the consonant before adding the vowel, but this intermediate expulsion of the inherent vowel is not indicated in any visual manner on the basic consonant sign {{lang|bn|ম}} {{IPA|[mɔ]}}.

The vowel graphemes in Bengali can take two forms: the independent form found in the basic inventory of the script and the dependent, abridged, allograph form (as discussed above). To represent a vowel in isolation from any preceding or following consonant, the independent form of the vowel is used. For example, in {{lang|bn|মই}} {{IPA|[moj]}} "ladder" and in {{lang|bn|ইলিশ}} {{IPA|[iliʃ]}} "Hilsa fish", the independent form of the vowel {{lang|bn|ই}} is used (cf. the dependent form{{lang|bn| ি)}}. A vowel at the beginning of a word is always realised using its independent form.

In addition to the inherent-vowel-suppressing ''hôsôntô'', three more diacritics are commonly used in Bengali. These are the superposed ''chôndrôbindu'' {{lang|bn|(ঁ)}}, denoting a suprasegmental for [[nasalisation]] of vowels (as in {{lang|bn|চাঁদ}} {{IPA|[tʃãd]}} "moon"), the postposed ''ônusbar'' {{lang|bn|(ং)}} indicating the [[velar nasal]] {{IPA|[ŋ]}} (as in {{lang|bn|বাংলা}} {{IPA|[baŋla]}} "Bengali") and the postposed ''bisôrgô'' {{lang|bn|(ঃ)}} indicating the [[voiceless glottal fricative]] {{IPA|[h]}} (as in {{lang|bn|উঃ!}} {{IPA|[uh]}} "ouch!") or the [[gemination]] of the following consonant (as in {{lang|bn|দুঃখ}} {{IPA|[dukʰːɔ]}} "sorrow"). Like other Indic scripts, the Bengali script has [[Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages|Schwa deletion]] and does not always mark when the inherent vowel is deleted — typically at the end of words.

The [[Bengali consonant clusters]] ({{lang|bn|যুক্তব্যঞ্জন}} ''juktôbênjôn'') are usually realised as ligatures, where the consonant which comes first is put on top of or to the left of the one that immediately follows. In these ligatures, the shapes of the constituent consonant signs are often contracted and sometimes even distorted beyond recognition. As in, ক্ষ (ক+ষ) or হ্ম (হ+ম) In the Bengali writing system, there are nearly 285 such ligatures denoting consonant clusters. Although there exist [[Bengali alphabet#Consonant conjuncts|a few visual formulas]] to construct some of these ligatures, many of them have to be learned by rote. Recently, in a bid to lessen this burden on young learners, efforts have been made by educational institutions in the two main Bengali-speaking regions (West Bengal and Bangladesh) to address the opaque nature of many consonant clusters, and as a result, modern Bengali textbooks are beginning to contain more and more "transparent" graphical forms of consonant clusters, in which the constituent consonants of a cluster are readily apparent from the graphical form. However, since this change is not as widespread and is not being followed as uniformly in the rest of the Bengali printed literature, today's Bengali-learning children will possibly have to learn to recognise both the new "transparent" and the old "opaque" forms, which ultimately amounts to an increase in learning burden.

Bengali punctuation marks, apart from the downstroke {{lang|bn|।}} ''daṛi'' – the Bengali equivalent of a [[full stop]] – have been adopted from Western scripts and their usage is similar.<ref name="huq_sarkar" />

Unlike in Western scripts (Latin, Cyrillic, etc.) where the letter forms stand on an invisible baseline, the Bengali letter-forms instead hang from a visible horizontal left-to-right headstroke called {{lang|bn|মাত্রা}} ''matra''. The presence and absence of this matra can be important. For example, the letter {{lang|bn|ত}} ''tô'' and the numeral {{lang|bn|৩}} "3" are distinguishable only by the presence or absence of the ''matra'', as is the case between the consonant cluster {{lang|bn|ত্র}} ''trô'' and the independent vowel {{lang|bn|এ}} ''e'', also the letter {{Lang|Bn|হ}} ''hô'' and Bengali [[Avagraha|Ôbogroho]] {{Lang|bn|ঽ}} ''(~ô)'' and letter {{Lang|bn|ও}} ''o'' and consonant cluster {{Lang|bn|ত্ত}} ''ttô''. The letter-forms also employ the concepts of letter-width and letter-height (the vertical space between the visible matra and an invisible baseline).

There is yet to be a uniform standard [[collating sequence]] (sorting order of graphemes to be used in dictionaries, indices, computer sorting programs, etc.) of Bengali graphemes. Experts in both Bangladesh and India are currently working towards a common solution for this problem.

===Alternative and historic scripts===
[[File:Halot-un-nabi-page1.gif|thumb|right|An 1855 [[Dobhashi]] manuscript of ''Halat-un-Nabi'' written by [[Sadeq Ali]] using the [[Sylheti Nagri]] script.|class=skin-invert-image]]
Throughout history, there have been instances of the Bengali language being written in different scripts, though these employments were never popular on a large scale and were communally limited. Owing to Bengal's geographic location, Bengali areas bordering non-Bengali regions have been influenced by each other. Small numbers of people in [[Midnapore district|Midnapore]], which borders [[Odisha]], have used the [[Odia script]] to write in Bengali. In the border areas between [[West Bengal]] and [[Bihar]], some Bengali communities historically wrote Bengali in [[Devanagari]], [[Kaithi]] and [[Tirhuta script|Tirhuta]].{{sfnp|Chatterji|1926|page=234–235}}

In [[Sylhet Division|Sylhet]] and [[Bankura district|Bankura]], modified versions of the [[Kaithi script]] had some historical prominence, mainly among Muslim communities. The variant in Sylhet was identical to the Baitali Kaithi script of [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] with the exception of Sylhet Nagri possessing ''matra''.<ref>{{cite book |pages=751–779 |title=Report of All Asia Educational Conference (Benares, December 26–30, 1930) |chapter=The Origin of the Alphabet and Numbers |author=Saha, RN |location=[[Allahabad]], India |editor=Khattry, DP |publisher=The Indian Press Ltd |year=1935 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.124177/page/n772/mode/2up}}</ref> Sylhet Nagri was standardised for printing in {{circa|1869}}.<ref name="bpedia" />

Up until the 19th century, numerous variations of the [[Arabic script]] had been used across Bengal from [[Chittagong]] in the east to [[Meherpur District|Meherpur]] in the west.{{sfnp|Chatterji|1926|pages=228–233}}<ref>{{cite book |title=A Bengali Book written in Persian Script |author=Khan Sahib, Maulavi Abdul Wali |date=2 November 1925 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.280407/page/n405/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Ahmad, Qeyamuddin |author-link=Qeyamuddin Ahmad |title=The Wahhabi Movement in India |date=20 March 2020 |publisher=[[Routledge]]}}</ref> The 14th-century court scholar of Bengal, [[Nur Qutb Alam]], composed Bengali poetry using the [[Persian alphabet]].<ref name="blogs.edgehill.ac.uk">{{cite web |url=https://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/sacs/files/2012/07/Document-6-Billah-A.-M.-M.-A-The-Development-of-Bengali-Literature-during-Muslim-Rule.pdf |title=The development of Bengali literature during Muslim rule |website=Blogs.edgehill.ac.uk |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-date=9 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809050525/https://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/sacs/files/2012/07/Document-6-Billah-A.-M.-M.-A-The-Development-of-Bengali-Literature-during-Muslim-Rule.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=shahid>{{cite book |script-title=bn:ইসলাম প্রসঙ্গ |author=[[Muhammad Shahidullah|Shahidullah, Muhammad]] |title=Islam Prasanga ed. 1st |location=[[Dacca]] |publisher=Mawla Brothers |date=February 1963 |edition=1 |chapter=হযরত নূরুদ্দীন নূরুল হক নূর কুতবুল আলম (রহঃ) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.457435/page/n95/mode/2up |language=bn |page=99}}</ref> After the [[Partition of India]] in the 20th century, the Pakistani government attempted to institute the Perso-Arabic script as the standard for Bengali in [[East Pakistan]]; this was met with resistance and contributed to the Bengali language movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kurzon |first=Dennis |date=2010 |title=Romanisation of Bengali and Other Indian Scripts |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27756124 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=71–73 |jstor=27756124 |issn=1356-1863 |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823150607/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27756124 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 16th century, Portuguese missionaries began a tradition of using the Roman alphabet to transcribe the Bengali language. Though the Portuguese standard did not receive much growth, a few Roman Bengali works relating to Christianity and Bengali grammar were printed as far as [[Lisbon]] in 1743. The Portuguese were followed by the English and French respectively, whose works were mostly related to Bengali grammar and transliteration. The first version of the [[Aesop's Fables]] in Bengali was printed using Roman letters based on [[English phonology]] by the Scottish linguist [[John Gilchrist (linguist)|John Gilchrist]]. Consecutive attempts to establish a Roman Bengali have continued across every century since these times, and have been supported by the likes of [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]], [[Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda]], and [[Muhammad Enamul Haq]].{{sfnp|Chatterji|1926|pages=233–234}} The [[Digital Revolution]] has also played a part in the adoption of the [[English alphabet]] to write Bengali,<ref>{{cite thesis|title=Romanisation of Bengali and Other Indian Scripts|author=Kurzon, Dennis|publisher=[[Cambridge University]]|year=2009}}</ref> with certain social media influencers publishing entire novels in Roman Bengali.<ref>{{cite news |author=Islam, Tahsina |date=18 September 2019 |title=The question of standard Bangla |url=https://www.theindependentbd.com/post/215864 |work=[[The Independent (Bangladesh)|The Independent]] |location=Dhaka |access-date=12 May 2021 |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512155611/https://www.theindependentbd.com/post/215864 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Orthographic depth===
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2023}}
The Bengali script in general has a comparatively [[orthographic depth|shallow orthography]] when compared to the Latin script used for English and French, i.e., in many cases there is a one-to-one correspondence between the sounds (phonemes) and the letters (graphemes) of Bengali. But grapheme-phoneme inconsistencies do occur in many cases. In fact, Bengali-Assamese script has the deepest orthography ([[orthographic depth|deep orthography]]) among the Indian scripts. In general, the Bengali-Assamese script is fairly transparent for grapheme-to-phoneme conversion, i.e., it is easier to predict the pronunciation from spelling of the words, though there are many cases where pronunciation is different from what is written. But the script is fairly opaque for phoneme-to-grapheme conversion, i.e., it is often quite difficult to predict the spelling from the pronunciation of the words. In general, the script is fairly transparent for "tadbhav" words (native Bengali words). But it is quite opaque for "tatsam" words (words derived from Sanskrit), for both, phoneme-to-grapheme as well as grapheme-to-phoneme conversions.

One kind of inconsistency is due to the presence of several letters in the script for the same sound. In spite of some modifications in the 19th century, the Bengali spelling system continues to be based on the one used for Sanskrit,<ref name="huq_sarkar" /> and thus does not take into account some sound mergers that have occurred in the spoken language. For example, there are three letters ({{lang|bn|শ}}, {{lang|bn|ষ}}, and {{lang|bn|স}}) for the [[voiceless postalveolar fricative]] {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, although the letter {{lang|bn|স}} retains the [[voiceless alveolar sibilant]] {{IPA|[s]}} sound when used in certain consonant conjuncts as in {{lang|bn|স্খলন}} {{IPA|[skʰɔlon]}} "fall", {{lang|bn|স্পন্দন}} {{IPA|[spɔndon]}} "beat", etc. The letter {{lang|bn|ষ}} also, sometimes, retains the [[voiceless retroflex sibilant]] {{IPA|[ʂ]}} sound when used in certain consonant conjuncts as in {{lang|bn|কষ্ট}} {{IPA|[kɔʂʈo]}} "suffering", {{lang|bn|গোষ্ঠী}} {{IPA|[ɡoʂʈʰi]}} "clan", etc. Similarly, there are two letters ({{lang|bn|জ}} and {{lang|bn|য}}) for the [[voiced postalveolar affricate]] {{IPA|[dʒ]}}. Moreover, what was once pronounced and written as a retroflex nasal {{lang|bn|ণ}} {{IPA|[ɳ]}} is now pronounced as an alveolar {{IPA|[n]}} when in conversation (the difference is heard when reading) (unless conjoined with another [[retroflex consonant]] such as {{lang|bn|ট}}, {{lang|bn|ঠ}}, {{lang|bn|ড}} and {{lang|bn|ঢ}}), although the spelling does not reflect this change. The [[near-open front unrounded vowel]] {{IPA|[æ]}} is orthographically realised by multiple means, as seen in the following examples: {{lang|bn|এত}} {{IPA|[æto]}} "so much", {{lang|bn|এ্যাকাডেমী}} {{IPA|[ækaɖemi]}} "academy", {{lang|bn|অ্যামিবা}} {{IPA|[æmiba]}} "amoeba", {{lang|bn|দেখা}} {{IPA|[dækʰa]}} "to see", {{lang|bn|ব্যস্ত}} {{IPA|[bæsto]}} "busy", {{lang|bn|ব্যাকরণ}} {{IPA|[bækorɔn]}} "grammar".

Another kind of inconsistency is concerned with the incomplete coverage of phonological information in the script. The inherent vowel attached to every consonant can be either {{IPA|[ɔ]}} or {{IPA|[o]}} depending on [[vowel harmony]] ({{lang|bn|স্বরসঙ্গতি}}) with the preceding or following vowel or on the context, but this phonological information is not captured by the script, creating ambiguity for the reader. Furthermore, the inherent vowel is often not pronounced at the end of a syllable, as in {{lang|bn|কম}} {{IPA|[kɔm]}} "less", but this omission is not generally reflected in the script, making it difficult for the new reader.

Many consonant clusters have different sounds than their constituent consonants. For example, the combination of the consonants {{lang|bn|ক্}} {{IPA|[k]}} and {{lang|bn|ষ}} {{IPA|[ʂ]}} is graphically realised as {{lang|bn|ক্ষ}} and is pronounced {{IPA|[kkʰo]}} (as in {{lang|bn|রুক্ষ}} {{IPA|[rukkʰo]}} "coarse"), {{IPA|[kʰɔ]}} (as in {{lang|bn|ক্ষমতা}} {{IPA|[kʰɔmota]}} "capability") or even {{IPA|[kʰo]}} (as in {{lang|bn|ক্ষতি}} {{IPA|[kʰoti]}} "harm"), depending on the position of the cluster in a word. Another example is that there are around 7 or more graphemes to represent the sound {{IPA|[ʃ]}}. These are '{{lang|bn|শ}}' as in {{lang|bn|শব্দ}} (''śabda'', pronounced as ''śôbdo'' "word"), '{{lang|bn|ষ}}' as in {{lang|bn|ষড়যন্ত্র}} (''ṣaṛayantra'', pronounced as ''śoṛōjontrō'' "conspiracy"), '{{lang|bn|স}}' as in {{lang|bn|সরকার}} (''sarakāra'', pronounced as ''śorkar'' "government"), '{{lang|bn|শ্ব}}' as in {{lang|bn|শ্বশুর}} (written as ''śbaśura'' but pronounced with the ব ''b'' silent, i.e., as ''śōśur'' "father-in-law"), '{{lang|bn|শ্ম}}' as in {{lang|bn|শ্মশান}} (written as ''śmaśāna'' but pronounced with the {{lang|bn|ম}} 'm' silent, i.e., as ''śośan'' "crematorium"), '{{lang|bn|স্ব}}' as in {{lang|bn|স্বপ্ন}} (written as "sbapna" but pronounced with the {{lang|bn|ব}} 'b' silent, i.e., as ''śopnō'' "dream"), '{{lang|bn|স্ম}}' as in {{lang|bn|স্মরণ}} (written as ''smaraṇa'' but pronounced with the {{lang|bn|ম}} 'm' silent, i.e., as ''śorōn'' "remembrance"), '{{lang|bn|ষ্ম}}' as in {{lang|bn|গ্রীষ্ম}} (written as ''grīṣma'' but pronounced with the {{lang|bn|ম}} 'm' silent, i.e., as ''griśśō'' "summer") and so on. In most of the consonant clusters, only the first consonant is pronounced and rest of the consonants are silent. Examples are {{lang|bn|লক্ষ্মণ}} (written as ''lakṣmaṇa'' but pronounced as ''lokkhōn'' "[[Lakshman (disambiguation)|Lakshman]]"), {{lang|bn|বিশ্বাস}} (written as ''biśbāsa'' but pronounced as ''biśśaś'' "belief"), {{lang|bn|বাধ্য}} (written as ''bādhya'' but pronounced as ''baddhō'' "obliged") and {{lang|bn|স্বাস্থ্য}} (written as ''sbāsthya'' but pronounced as ''śasthō'' "health"). Some consonant clusters have completely different pronunciation as compared to the constituent consonants. For example, '{{lang|bn|হ্য}}' as in {{lang|bn|ঐতিহ্য}} (meaning "heritage") where ''hy'' is pronounced as ''jjh'' (written as ''aiti'''hy'''a'' but pronounced as ''ōiti'''jjh'''ō''). The same হ্য is pronounced as 'hæ' as in {{lang|bn|হ্যাঁ}} (meaning "yes") (written as ''hyām̐'' but pronounced as nasalised "hæ").

Another example of inconsistency in the script is that of words like, {{lang|bn|অন্য}} (written as ''anya'' but pronounced as ''ōnnō'' "other, different") and {{lang|bn|অন্ন}} (written as ''anna'' but pronounced as ''onnō'' "cooked rice, food"); in these words, the letter {{lang|bn|অ}} is combining with two different consonant clusters {{lang|bn|ন্য}} (''nya'') and {{lang|bn|ন্ন}} (''nna''), and while the same letter {{lang|bn|অ}} has two different pronunciations, ''ō'' and ''o'', the two different consonant clusters have the same pronunciation. Thus, same letters and graphemes can often have different pronunciations depending on their position in a word and different graphemes and letters often have the same pronunciation.

The main reason for these numerous inconsistencies is that there have been lots of sound mergers in Bengali, but the script has failed to account for the sound shifts and consonant mergers in the language. Bengali has lots of tatsam words (words directly derived from Sanskrit) and in all these words, the original spelling has been preserved but the pronunciations have changed due to consonant mergers and sound shifts. In fact, most of the tatsam words have many grapheme-to-phoneme inconsistencies while most of the tadbhav words (native Bengali words) have fairly consistent grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence.
Another reason is that Vidyasagar's reformations in the 19th century flooded the Bengali language with lots of Sanskrit words. By the 19th century, the Bengali phonology had diverged a lot from Sanskrit phonology and had lost many of the consonant clusters used in Sanskrit. So when these Sanskrit words re-entered the Bengali vocabulary as tatsam words, their pronunciations were modified, but their spellings were retained. That is why most of the tatsam words are pronounced way different from what they are written or spelt. Almost all the cases of silent letters existing in Bengali are found in the tatsam words.
The Bengali writing system, therefore, is often not a true guide for pronunciation.

===Uses===
The script used for Bengali, Assamese, and other languages is known as [[Bengali alphabet|Bengali script]]. The script is known as the [[Bengali alphabet]] for Bengali and its dialects and the [[Assamese alphabet]] for [[Assamese language]] with some minor variations. Other related languages in the nearby region also make use of the Bengali script like the [[Meitei language]] in the Indian state of [[Manipur]], where the Meitei language has been written in the Bengali script for centuries, though the [[Meitei script]] has been promoted in recent times.

=== Number system ===
Bengali digits are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
!0
!1
!2
!3
!4
!5
!6
!7
!8
!9
|-
|০
|১
|২
|৩
|৪
|৫
|৬
|৭
|৮
|৯
|}
Some 19th-century grammars note additional signs for fractions, quarters and sixteenths in particular.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yates |first1=William |author1-link=William Yates (missionary) |editor1-last=Wenger |editor1-first=John |title=A Bengali Grammar |volume=I |year=1847 |location=Calcutta |publisher=Baptist Mission Press |page=120 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.195743/page/n138/mode/1up}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Beames |first1=John |author1-link=John Beames |title=Grammar of the Bengali language: Literary and Colloquial |year=1891 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5j6yIiBN3L0C&pg=PA4}}</ref>

===Romanisation===
{{Main|Romanisation of Bengali}}

There are various romanisation systems used for Bengali created in recent years, most of which have failed to represent the true Bengali phonetic sound. The Bengali alphabet has often been included with the group of Brahmic scripts for romanisation where the true phonetic value of Bengali is never represented. Some of them are the [[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration]], or IAST system (based on diacritics);<ref name="IAST1">{{cite web
 | url=http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit/sanskrit3.html
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212100431/http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/english/sanskrit/sanskrit3.html
 | archive-date=12 February 2007
| title=Learning International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration
 | work=Sanskrit 3 – Learning transliteration
 | publisher=Gabriel Pradiipaka & Andrés Muni | access-date=20 November 2006
}}</ref> "Indian languages Transliteration", or [[ITRANS]] (uses upper case letters suited for [[ASCII]] keyboards);<ref name="ITRANS1">{{cite web
 | url=http://www.aczoom.com/itrans/
 | title=ITRANS&nbsp;– Indian Language Transliteration Package
 | access-date=20 November 2006
| publisher=Avinash Chopde
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123020111/http://www.aczoom.com/itrans/
 | archive-date=23 January 2013
| url-status=live
 }}</ref> and the [[National Library at Kolkata romanisation]].<ref name="NatLib">{{cite web
 | url=https://varamozhi.sourceforge.net/iscii91.pdf
 | title=Annex-F: Roman Script Transliteration
 | access-date=20 November 2006
| date=1 April 1999
| work=Indian Standard: Indian Script Code for Information Interchange&nbsp;– ISCII
 | publisher=[[Bureau of Indian Standards]]
 | page=32
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716225648/http://varamozhi.sourceforge.net/iscii91.pdf
 | archive-date=16 July 2012
| url-status=live
 }}</ref>

In the context of Bengali [[romanisation]], it is important to distinguish [[transliteration]] from [[transcription (linguistics)|transcription]]. Transliteration is orthographically accurate (i.e. the original spelling can be recovered), whereas transcription is phonetically accurate (the pronunciation can be reproduced). As the spelling often doesn't reflect the actual pronunciation, [[transliteration]] and [[transcription (linguistics)|transcription]] are often different.

Although it might be desirable to use a transliteration scheme where the original Bengali orthography is recoverable from the Latin text, Bengali words are currently romanised on Wikipedia using a [[phonemic orthography|phonemic transcription]], where the true phonetic pronunciation of Bengali is represented with no reference to how it is written.

The most recent attempt has been by publishers Mitra and Ghosh with the launch of three popular children's books, ''Abol Tabol'', ''Hasi Khusi'' and ''Sahoj Path'', in Roman script at the Kolkata Book Fair 2018. Published under the imprint of Benglish Books, these are based on phonetic transliteration and closely follow spellings used in social media but for using an underline to describe soft consonants.

==Grammar==
{{Main|Bengali grammar}}

Bengali nouns are not assigned gender, which leads to minimal changing of adjectives ([[inflection]]). However, nouns and pronouns are moderately [[declension|declined]] (altered depending on their function in a sentence) into four [[grammatical case|cases]] while verbs are heavily [[grammatical conjugation|conjugated]], and the verbs do not change form depending on the number of the noun. [[Romani language|Romani]] grammar is also closer to Bengali grammar than to that of western Indo-Aryan languages.<ref name="hub1995">{{cite journal |first=Milena |last=Hübschmannová |title=Romaňi čhib – romština: Několik základních informací o romském jazyku |journal=Bulletin Muzea Romské Kultury |issue=4/1995 |year=1995 |place=Brno |quote=Zatímco romská lexika je bližší hindštině, marvárštině, pandžábštině atd., v gramatické sféře nacházíme mnoho shod s východoindickým jazykem, s bengálštinou.}}</ref>

===Word order===
As a [[Head-directionality parameter|head-final]] language, Bengali follows a [[subject–object–verb]] [[word order]], although variations on this theme are common.<ref name="tb16">{{Harv|Bhattacharya|2000|pp=16}}</ref> Bengali makes use of [[Preposition and postposition|postpositions]], as opposed to the prepositions used in English and most European languages. [[Determiner]]s follow the [[noun]], while numerals, [[adjective]]s, and [[possession (linguistics)|possessors]] precede the noun.<ref name="UCLA1">{{cite web
 | url=http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=84&menu=004
 | title=Bengali
 | access-date=20 November 2006
| work=UCLA Language Materials project
 | publisher=University of California, Los Angeles
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715213818/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=84&menu=004
 | archive-date=15 July 2007
| url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

Yes–no questions do not require any change to the basic word order; instead, the low (L) [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] of the final syllable in the utterance is replaced with a falling (HL) tone. Additionally, optional [[grammatical particle|particles]] (e.g. {{lang|bn|কি}} ''-ki'', {{lang|bn|না}} ''-na'', etc.) are often [[clitic|encliticised]] onto the first or last word of a yes–no question.

Wh-questions are formed by fronting the wh-word to [[focus (linguistics)|focus]] position, which is typically the first or second word in the utterance.

===Nouns===
Nouns and pronouns are inflected for [[declension|case]], including [[Nominative case|nominative]], [[Accusative case|objective]], [[genitive case|genitive (possessive)]], and [[locative case|locative]].<ref name="tb" /> The case marking pattern for each noun being inflected depends on the noun's degree of [[animacy]]. When a [[article (grammar)|definite article]] such as {{lang|bn|-টা}} ''-ṭa'' (singular) or {{lang|bn|-গুলো}} ''-gulo'' (plural) is added, as in the tables below, nouns are also inflected for [[grammatical number|number]].

In most of Bengali grammar books, cases are divided into 6 categories and an additional possessive case (the possessive form is not recognised as a type of case by Bengali grammarians). But in terms of usage, cases are generally grouped into only 4 categories.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Noun inflection
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | Animate
! colspan="2" | Inanimate
|-
!Singular
!Plural
!Singular
!Plural
|-
! Nominative
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|ছাত্রটি|chatrô-ṭi|the student}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|ছাত্র'''রা''' / ছাত্রগণ|chatrô-'''ra''' {} {}|the students}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতোটা|juto-ṭa|the shoe}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতাগুলা / জুতোগুলো|juta-gula / juto-gulo|the shoes}}
|-
! Objective
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|ছাত্রটি'''কে/রে'''|chatrô-ṭi-'''ke/re'''|the student}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|ছাত্র'''দের(কে)'''|chatrô-'''der(ke)'''|the students}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতোটা|juto-ṭa|the shoe}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতাগুলা / জুতোগুলো|juta-gula / juto-gulo|the shoes}}
|-
! Genitive
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|ছাত্রটি'''র'''|chatrô-ṭi-'''r'''|the student's}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|ছাত্র'''দের'''|chatrô-'''der'''|the students'}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতোটা'''র'''|juto-ṭa-'''r'''|the shoe's}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতাগুলা / জুতোগুলো'''র'''|juta-gula / juto-gulo-'''r'''|the shoes'}}
|-
! Locative
| –
|–
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতোটা'''য়'''|juto-ṭa-'''y'''|on/in the shoe}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|জুতাগুলা / জুতোগুলো'''তে'''|juta-gula / juto-gulo-'''te'''|on/in the shoes}}
|}

When counted, nouns take one of a small set of [[measure word]]s. Nouns in Bengali cannot be counted by adding the numeral directly adjacent to the noun. An appropriate measure word ('''MW'''), a [[Classifier (linguistics)|classifier]], must be used between the numeral and the noun (most languages of the [[Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area]] are similar in this respect). Most nouns take the generic measure word {{lang|bn|-টা}} ''-ṭa'', though other measure words indicate semantic classes (e.g. {{lang|bn|-জন}} ''-jôn'' for humans). There is also the classifier ''-khana,'' and its diminutive form ''-khani'', which attaches only to nouns denoting something flat, long, square, or thin. These are the least common of the classifiers.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Descriptive grammar of Bangla|last=Boyle David|first=Anne|publisher=De Gruyter|year=2015|pages=141–142}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Measure words
|-
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|নয়'''টা''' গরু|Nôy-'''ṭa''' goru|nine-'''{{gcl|MW|measure word}}''' cow|Nine cows}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|কয়'''টা''' বালিশ|Kôy-'''ṭa''' balish|{how many}-'''{{gcl|MW|measure word}}''' pillow|How many pillows}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|অনেক'''জন''' লোক|Ônek-'''jôn''' lok|many-'''{{gcl|MW|measure word}}''' person|Many people}}
|{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|চার-পাঁচ'''জন''' শিক্ষক|Ĉar-pãc-'''jôn''' shikkhôk|four-five-'''{{gcl|MW|measure word}}''' teacher|Four to five teachers}}
|}

Measuring nouns in Bengali without their corresponding measure words (e.g. {{lang|bn|আট বিড়াল}} ''aṭ biṛal'' instead of {{lang|bn|আট'''টা''' বিড়াল}} ''aṭ-'''ṭa''' biṛal'' "eight cats") would typically be considered ungrammatical. However, when the semantic class of the noun is understood from the measure word, the noun is often omitted and only the measure word is used, e.g. {{lang|bn|শুধু এক'''জন''' থাকবে।}} ''Shudhu êk-'''jôn''' thakbe.'' ({{lit|Only one-}}'''MW''' will remain.") would be understood to mean "Only one '''person''' will remain.", given the semantic class implicit in {{lang|bn|-জন}} ''-jôn''.

In this sense, all nouns in Bengali, unlike most other Indo-European languages, are similar to [[mass noun]]s.

===Verbs===
There are two classes of verbs: [[finite verb|finite]] and non-finite. Non-finite verbs have no inflection for tense or person, while finite verbs are fully inflected for [[grammatical person|person]] (first, second, third), [[grammatical tense|tense]] (present, past, future), [[grammatical aspect|aspect]] (simple, perfect, progressive), and [[honorifics (linguistics)|honour]] (intimate, familiar, and formal), but ''not'' for number. [[conditional mood|Conditional]], imperative, and other special inflections for [[grammatical mood|mood]] can replace the tense and aspect suffixes. The number of inflections on many verb roots can total more than 200.

[[Inflection]]al suffixes in the [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] of Bengali vary from region to region, along with minor differences in [[syntax]].

Bengali differs from most Indo-Aryan Languages in the [[zero copula]], where the [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] or connective ''be'' is often missing in the present tense.<ref name="huq_sarkar">{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bangla_Language |title=Bangla language |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706032246/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bangla_Language |archive-date=6 July 2015}} in {{Harvnb|Asiatic Society of Bangladesh|2003}}</ref> Thus, "he is a teacher" is {{lang|bn|তিনি শিক্ষক}} ''se shikkhôk'', (literally "he teacher").<ref name="hacce-bangali">Among Bengali speakers brought up in neighbouring linguistic regions (e.g. Hindi), the lost copula may surface in utterances such as ''she shikkhôk hocche''. This is viewed as ungrammatical by other speakers, and speakers of this variety are sometimes (humorously) referred as "hocche-Bangali".</ref> In this respect, Bengali is similar to Russian and [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]].

==Vocabulary==
{{Main|Bengali vocabulary}}

{{Pie chart
| value1 = 16
| value2 = 40
| value3 = 16
| label1 = Tadbhavas in Bengali (Inherited Indo-Aryan vocabulary)
| label2 = Tatsamas in Bengali (Direct borrowings from Sanskrit)
| label3 = Native Words (Indigenous, "Desi" words)
| caption = Origins of Words in the Bengali Language
| value4 = 28
| label4 = Foreign Loanwords (words originating from Persian, Turkish, Arabic, English, Portuguese, etc.)
}}

Bengali is typically thought to have around 100,000 separate words, of which 16,000 (16%) are considered to be তদ্ভব ''tôdbhôbô, or [[Tadbhava]]'' (inherited [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] vocabulary), 40,000 (40%) are তৎসম ''tôtśômô'' or ''[[Tatsama]]'' (words directly borrowed from [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]), and borrowings from দেশী ''deśi,'' or "indigenous" words, which are at around 16,000 (16%) of the Bengali vocabulary. The rest are বিদেশী ''bideśi'' or "foreign" sources, including [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Arabic]], and English among others, accounting for around 28,000 (28%) of all Bengali words, highlighting the significant influence that foreign languages and cultures have had on the Bengali language throughout Bengal's long history of contact with different peoples and the cultural exchanges that came with such interactions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dash |first=Niladri Sekhar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk_zCQAAQBAJ&dq=tatsama+bengali+percent&pg=PA255 |title=A Descriptive Study of Bengali Words |date=15 January 2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-22268-3 |language=en}}</ref> Bengali is reportedly similar to [[Assamese language|Assamese]] and has a lexical similarity of 40 per cent with [[Nepali language|Nepali]].<ref name="Ben">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ben/ |title=Bengali |publisher=Ethnologue |access-date=19 November 2023 |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309081938/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ben/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]], dictionaries from the early 20th century attributed a little more than 50% of the Bengali vocabulary to native words (i.e., naturally modified [[Sanskrit]] words, corrupted forms of Sanskrit words, and loanwords non-Indo-European languages). About 45% per cent of Bengali words are unmodified Sanskrit, and the remaining words are from foreign languages.<ref name=":02">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bengali-language|title=Bengali language|access-date=2 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011103133/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bengali-language|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> However, more modern sources cite that this is not the case with Bengali vocabulary, as there are far more dominant foreign influences that accurately reflect the way modern Bengalis speak and utilise Bengali.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Persian in Bengali. : languagehat.com |url=https://languagehat.com/persian-in-bengali/#:~:text=Some%2010,000%20Bengali%20words%20came,it%20to%20English%20around%201836. |access-date=24 May 2024 |website=languagehat.com}}</ref> [[Persian language|Persian]] is also thought to have influenced many grammatical forms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Billah |first=Abu M. M. A. |title=Lexicographic affinities between Persian and Bengali language |url=https://www.academia.edu/12941988 |journal=Academia}}</ref> More recent studies suggest that the use of foreign words has been increasing, mainly because of the preference of Bengali speakers for the colloquial style.<ref name=":02" /> Because of centuries of contact with [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]], [[Turkic peoples]], and [[Persians]], Bengali has absorbed numerous words from foreign languages, often totally integrating these borrowings into the core vocabulary.

[[Persian language|Persian]] influence was significant for the development of Bengali up to the modern day, and was the primary official language in the region for 600 years, until [[British Empire|British]] rule, when it was changed to English in 1836. In fact, there was so much Persian influence that a register of highly Persianized Bengali, known as [[Dobhashi]] appeared in medieval Bengal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Persian - Banglapedia |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Persian |access-date=6 October 2025 |website=en.banglapedia.org}}</ref>

The most common borrowings from foreign languages come from three types of contact. After close contact with several indigenous Austroasiatic languages,<ref>[[Byomkes Chakrabarti]] ''A Comparative Study of Santali and Bengali'', K.P. Bagchi & Co., Kolkata, 1994, {{ISBN|81-7074-128-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Santhali Bangla Samashabda Abhidhan|last=Das|first=Khudiram|publisher=Paschim Banga Bangla Akademi|year=1998|location=Kolkata, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://professorkhudiramdas.com/files/ebooks/Bangla-santali-vasa-samporko-by-khudiram-das.pdf |title=Bangla santali vasa samporko |access-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301012141/http://professorkhudiramdas.com/files/ebooks/Bangla-santali-vasa-samporko-by-khudiram-das.pdf |archive-date=1 March 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Bangla Santali Bhasa Samporko (eBook)|last=Das|first=Khudiram}}</ref> and later the [[Delhi Sultanate]], the [[Bengal Sultanate]], and the [[Mughal Empire]], whose court language was [[Persian language|Persian]], numerous [[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], and [[Chagatai language|Chaghatai]] words were absorbed into the lexicon.<ref name="sas" />

Later, East Asian travellers and lately European [[colonialism]] brought words from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[French language|French]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], and most significantly English during the [[British Raj|colonial period]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

==Sample text==
The following is a sample text in Bengali of Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]: <ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Bengali |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/bng.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=19 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619220648/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/bng.pdf |trans-title=মানবাধিকারের সার্বজনীন ঘোষণাপত্র|website=OHCHR.org |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |language=bn |page=3|access-date=16 January 2026}}</ref>

{{fs interlinear|lang=bn|indent=2
|সমস্ত মানুষ স্বাধীনভাবে সমান মর্যাদা এবং অধিকার নিয়ে জন্মগ্রহণ করে। তাঁদের বিবেক এবং বুদ্ধি আছে; সুতরাং সকলেরই একে অপরের প্রতি ভ্রাতৃত্বসুলভ মনোভাব নিয়ে আচরণ করা উচিত।
|Sômôstô manush shadhinbhabe sôman môrjada ebông ôdhikar niye jônmôgrôhôn kôre. Tãder bibek ebông buddhi achhe; sutôrang sôkôleri êke ôpôrer prôti bhratrittôsulôbh mônobhab niye achôrôn kôra uchit.
|ʃɔmosto manuʃ ʃadʱinbʱabe ʃoman mɔɾdʒada eboŋ odʱikaɾ nie̯e dʒɔnmoɡrohon kɔɾe tãdeɾ bibek eboŋ budʱːi atʃʰe ʃutoraŋ ʃɔkoleɾi ɛke ɔporeɾ proti bʱratritːoʃulɔbʱ monobʱab nie̯e atʃorɔn kɔra utʃit
|All human free-manner-in equal dignity and right taken birth-take do. Their reason and intelligence exist; therefore everyone-indeed one another's towards brotherhood-ly attitude taken conduct do should.
|All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They possess conscience and reason. Therefore, everyone should act in a spirit of brotherhood towards each other.}}

==See also==
* [[Bangla Academy (Bangladesh)]]
* [[Bangla Academy (West Bengal)]]
* [[Bengali numerals]]
* [[Bengali-language newspapers]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

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 | last=Shah | first=Natubhai
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* Shaw, Rameswar ''Sadharan Bhasabigna O Bangal Bhasa'', Pustak Bipani, Kolkata, 1997.
* Haldar, Narayan ''Bengali Bhasa Prsanga: Banan Kathan Likhanriti'', Pustak Bipani, Kolkata, 2007.
* {{citation |first=Mathew W S |last=Toulmin |title=From Linguistic to Sociolinguistic Reconstruction: The Kamta Historical Subgroup of Indo-Aryan |publisher=Pacific Linguistics |year=2009}}
{{refend}}
{{Col-end}}

==Further reading==
* Thompson, Hanne-Ruth (2012). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=C7vz0ABJnJsC Bengali]''. Volume 18 of London Oriental and African Language Library. John Benjamins Publishing. {{ISBN|90-272-7313-8}}.

==External links==
* [https://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/bengali.html The South Asian Literary Recordings Project: Bengali Authors] at the [[Library of Congress]]

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