GJSAnnie74 at 07:13, 20 March 2026

2026-03-20T07:13:39Z

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{{short description|Dialects of the Bengali language}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
[[File:Bengali dialects2.png|thumb|upright=1.2|A map of [[Bengal]] (including parts of [[Assam]], [[Bihar]], [[Myanmar]], [[Odisha]], [[Nepal]] and [[Jharkhand]]) showing the six major dialect clusters of [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. <br/>
{{Legend|#FFD400|[[Manbhumi dialect|Manbhumi]]|invert=y}}
{{Legend|#FF70F5|[[Rangpuri language|Rangpuri]]*|invert=y}}
{{Legend|#0A9F00|[[Rarhi dialect|Rarhi]]|invert=y}}
{{Legend|#9000FF|[[Southern Bengali dialect|Sundarbani]]|invert=y}}
{{Legend|#0033FF|[[Eastern Bengali|Vanga]]|invert=y}}
{{Legend|#CC0022|[[Varendri dialect|Varendri]]|invert=y}}
(''those marked with an asterisk (*) are sometimes considered dialects and sometimes considered separate languages'')|class=skin-invert-image]]
{{Culture of Bengal}}
{{Culture of Bangladesh}}
The '''Bengali dialects''' ({{langx|bn|বাংলা উপভাষা}} {{IPA|bn|baŋla upobʱaʃa|}}) or '''Bengali varieties''' ({{lang|bn|বাংলা ভাষিকা}} {{IPA|bn|baŋla bʱaʃika|}}) are the [[Variety (linguistics)|varieties]] of the [[Bengali language]], an [[Eastern Indo-Aryan languages|Eastern Indo-Aryan]] language of the [[Indo-European language family]], widely spoken in the [[Bengal region]] of [[South Asia]]. The spoken dialects of Bengali are [[mutually intelligible]] with neighbouring dialects.

Bengali dialects can be classified along at least two dimensions: spoken vs. literary variations, and [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestige]] vs. regional variations.

==Classifications==
[[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]] and [[Sukumar Sen (linguist)|Sukumar Sen]] classified Bengali dialects in six classes by their [[phonology]], [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] and [[pronunciation]]. They are:<ref name="IJL2001">{{cite journal |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Anita |year=2001 |title=Problems of Phonetic Transcription in Bengali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yxhAAAAMAAJ&q=Rarhi |journal=Praci-Bhasha-Vijnan Indian Journal of Linguistics |volume=20 |page=79 |oclc=2256120 |quote=We all know that there are 4 or 5 dialects of the Bengali language. These are, according to Professor Suniti Kumar Chatterji and Sukumar Sen - Rarhi, Barendra, Kamarupi, Banga and Jharkhandi as added by Dr. S. Sen.}} NB Barendra refers to Varendri</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sukumar |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Bh%C4%81sh%C4%81ra_itibr%CC%A5tta/26Sl1RT4NpEC?hl=bn |title=Bhāshāra itibr̥tta |date=1993 |publisher=Ānanda Pābaliśārsa |isbn=978-81-7215-123-2 |pages=148-150 |language=bn}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=ভাষা ও সংস্কৃতি |url=http://munshiganjup.satkhira.gov.bd/pages/static-pages/6980ee69a31054345f1ce431 |website=Munshiganj Union Parishad |access-date=8 March 2026}}</ref>

# '''[[Eastern Bengali dialects|Eastern Bengali]]'''/'''Bangali'''/'''Vanga dialects''': the most widely spoken dialect of Bengali language. It is spoken across the [[Khulna Division|Khulna]], [[Barisal Division|Barisal]], [[Dhaka Division|Dhaka]], [[Mymensingh Division|Mymensingh]], [[Sylhet Division|Sylhet]] and [[Chittagong Division|Chittagong]] [[Divisions of Bangladesh]], [[Tripura]] and parts of [[West Bengal]] in [[India]]. However, it's not a widely accepted grouping as dialects spoken in Khulna are much closer to [[Central Bengali dialect|Central dialects]]. Dialects spoken in central, central-north and southern Bangladesh are very different from [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]] and [[Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]] dialects.
# '''[[Central Bengali dialects|Central Bengali]]'''/'''Rarhi dialects''': spoken across much of Southern [[West Bengal]], [[India]] and Southwestern [[Bangladesh]]. It is spoken by almost 20 percent of Bengali people. The regions where it is spoken include the whole of [[Presidency division]], the northern half of [[Khulna Division]], the southern half of [[Burdwan division]] and parts of the district of [[Murshidabad district|Murshidabad]].
# '''[[Southern Bengali dialects|Southern Bengali]]'''/'''Sundarbani dialects''': spoken in the [[Presidency Division]] and the [[Khulna Division]] of [[West Bengal]] and [[Bangladesh]]. It shares similarities with the [[Eastern Bengali dialects|Bangali]] and [[Central Bengali dialects|Rarhi]] dialects.<ref name="DialectsArchive">{{cite web |title=Bangladesh 12 |url=https://www.dialectsarchive.com/bangladesh-12 |website=Dialects Archive |publisher=George Mason University |access-date=28 February 2026}}</ref>
# '''[[North Central Bengali dialects|North Central Bengali]]'''/'''Varendri dialects''': spoken in [[Rajshahi Division]], Western and southern [[Rangpur Division]] of [[Bangladesh]] and [[Malda division]] of [[West Bengal]], [[India]] (previously part of [[Varendra]] or [[Barind]] division). It is also spoken in some adjoining villages in [[Bihar]] and [[Jharkhand]] bordering Malda.
# '''[[Western Bengali dialects|Western Bengali]]'''/'''Manbhumi'''/'''Jharkhandi dialects''': spoken in the westernmost Bengali speaking regions which includes the whole of [[Medinipur division]] and the northern half of [[Burdwan division]] in [[West Bengal]]. Also included are the so-called '''[[Jharkhand|Jharkhandi]]''' dialects spoken in parts of [[Santhal Pargana division]], [[Kolhan division]] and parts of [[North Chotanagpur division]] and [[Ranchi district]]. It is also spoken in some adjoining villages in [[Odisha]] bordering [[Medinipur district|Medinipur]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nag |first=Oishmaya Sen |date=1 August 2017 |title=What Languages Are Spoken In Bangladesh? |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-bangladesh.html |website=WorldAtlas}}</ref>
# '''[[Rangpuri language|Far Northern Bengali]]'''/'''Rangpuri'''/'''Rajbanshi dialects''': spoken in eastern [[Rangpur Division]] of [[Bangladesh]] and [[Jalpaiguri division]] and parts of [[Malda division]] of [[West Bengal]], [[India]] and nearby areas in [[Goalpara]] of [[Assam]], [[Kishanganj district|Kishanganj]] of [[Bihar]] and the [[Provinces of Nepal|Nepali province]] of [[Koshi Province|Koshi]].

==Standard registers==
Bengali has two [[Standard language|standard]] [[Register (sociolinguistics)|registers]]. More than other [[Indo-Aryan languages]], Bengali exhibits strong [[diglossia]] between the formal, written language and the vernacular, spoken language. Two styles of writing, involving somewhat different vocabularies and syntax, have emerged:<ref name="daniul">{{cite book |last=Huq |first=Mohammad Daniul |year=2012 |chapter=Chalita Bhasa |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Chalita_Bhasa |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref><ref name="daniul1">{{cite book |last=Huq |first=Mohammad Daniul |year=2012 |chapter=Sadhu Bhasa |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sadhu_Bhasa |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>
# ''[[Sadhu bhasha|Shadhubhasha]]'' (সাধুভাষা) is the [[Literary language|literary register]] with longer verb inflections and a more Sanskrit-derived (তৎসম ''tôtshôm'') vocabulary (সাধু ''shadhu'' = 'chaste' or 'sage'; ভাষা ''bhasha'' = 'language'). Songs such as India's national anthem ''[[Jana Gana Mana]]'' (by [[Rabindranath Tagore]]) and national song ''[[Vande Mātaram]]'' (by [[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]]) were composed in Shadhubhasha, but its use is on the wane in modern writing.
# ''Choltibhasha'' (চলতিভাষা ) or ''Cholitobhasha'' (চলিতভাষা), a written Bengali style that reflects a more colloquial idiom, is increasingly the standard for written Bengali (চলিত ''cholito'' = 'current' or 'running'). This form came into vogue towards the turn of the 19th century, in an [[orthography]] promoted in the writings of [[Peary Chand Mitra]] (''Alaler ghare dulal'', 1857),<ref name="alal">{{cite book |last=Huq |first=Mohammad Daniul |year=2012 |chapter=Alaler Gharer Dulal |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Alaler_Gharer_Dulal |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> Pramatha Chowdhury (''Sabujpatra'', 1914) and in the later writings of [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. It is modeled on the dialect spoken in the [[Shantipur]] and [[Shilaidaha]] region in [[Nadia district|Nadia]] and [[Kushtia District|Kushtia]] Districts. This form of Bengali is often referred to as the "Kushtia standard" (Bangladesh) or "Nadia dialect" (West Bengal).<ref name="morshed">{{cite book |last=Morshed |first=Abul Kalam Manjoor |year=2012 |chapter=Dialect |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dialect |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

Spoken Bengali exhibits far more variation than written Bengali. Formal spoken Bengali, including what is heard in news reports, speeches, announcements, and lectures, is modelled on Choltibhasha. This form of spoken Bengali stands alongside other spoken dialects, or ''Ancholik Bangla'' (আঞ্চলিক বাংলা) (i.e. 'regional Bengali'). The majority of Bengalis are able to communicate in more than one dialect – often, speakers are fluent in Choltibhasha, one or more Ancholik dialect, and one or more forms of ''Gramyo Bangla'' (গ্রাম্য বাংলা) (i.e. 'rural Bengali'), dialects specific to a village or town.

To a non-Bengali, these dialects may sound or look vastly different, but the differences are mostly in Pronunciation and vocabulary, and not so much a grammatical one, one exception is the addition of grammatical gender in some eastern dialects. Many dialects share features with [[Sadhu bhasha]], which was the written standard until the 19th century. Comparison of Bengali dialects gives us an idea about archaic forms of the language as well.

During standardisation of Bengali in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the cultural elite were mostly from the regions of [[Dhaka Division|Dhaka]], [[Kolkata]], [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]], [[Howrah district|Howrah]], [[24 Parganas]], [[Nadia District|Nadia]] and [[Kushtia]]. What is accepted as the standard form today in both West Bengal and Bangladesh is based on the West-Central dialect. While the language has been standardised today through two centuries of education and media, variation is widespread, with many speakers familiar with or fluent in both their socio-geographical variety as well as the standard dialect used in the media.

==Regional dialect differences==
{{no sources|section|date=March 2026}}
[[File:Bengali dialects.png|thumb|A map showing the major Bengali dialects within their dialect clusters, represented by different color shades|class=skin-invert-image]]
Dialectal differences in Bengali manifest themselves in three forms: [[standardized dialect]] vs. regional dialect, literary language vs. colloquial language, and lexical (vocabulary) variations. The name of the dialects generally originates from the district where the language is spoken.

While the standard form of the language does not show much variation across the Bengali-speaking areas of South Asia, regional variation in spoken Bengali constitutes a [[dialect continuum]]. Mostly speech varies across distances of just a few miles and takes distinct forms among religious communities. [[Bengali Hindus]] tend to speak in Sanskritised Bengali (a remnant of the [[Sadhu bhasha]]), [[Bengali Muslims]] comparatively use more [[Farsi|Perso]]-[[Arabic]] vocabulary and [[Bengali Christians]] converse in [[Christian Bengali]] when engaging in their own circles. Apart from the present dialects, there are a few more that have disappeared. For example, Sātagāiyã' (this is the name used in [[East Bengal]] for the dialect of the Southwestern Rarh region).

===Phonological variations===
The Eastern dialects serve as the primary colloquial language of the [[Dhaka]] district, mixed nowadays with the standard register. In contrast to Western and Central dialects where ট [{{IPA link|t̠}}] and ড [{{IPA link|d̠}}] are unvoiced and voiced postalveolar stops respectively, far Eastern dialects pronounce them as apical alveolar {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/d/}}, especially in less formal speech. These dialects also lack contrastive nasalised vowels or a distinction in র /{{IPA|r~ɾ}}/, ড়/ঢ় {{IPA|/ɽ/}}, pronouncing them mostly as {{IPA|/ɹ/}}, although some speakers may realise র /{{IPA|r~ɾ}}/ when occurring before a consonant or prosodic break. This is also true of the [[Sylheti dialect]], which has a lot in common with the [[Kamrupi dialect]] of Assam in particular, and is sometimes considered a separate language. The Eastern dialects extend into Southeastern dialects, which include parts of Chittagong. The [[Chittagonian dialect]] has [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman influences]].

==== Fricatives and fricatives ====
In the dialects prevalent in much of eastern and south-eastern [[Bangladesh]] ([[Barisal Division|Barisal]], [[Chittagong Division|Chittagong]], [[Dhaka Division|Dhaka]] and [[Sylhet Division|Sylhet Divisions]]), and [[Tripura]] and [[Barak Valley]] of [[India]], many of the stops and [[Affricate consonant|affricates]] heard in the western and (south) central dialects are pronounced as [[Fricative consonant|fricatives]]. Western [[Palato-alveolar consonant|palato-alveolar]] and [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal affricates]] {{lang|bn|চ}} [{{IPA link|tɕ}}~{{IPA link|tʃ}}], {{lang|bn|ছ}} [{{IPA link|tɕʰ}}~{{IPA link|tʃʰ}}], {{lang|bn|জ}} [{{IPA link|dʑ}}~{{IPA link|dʒ}}], {{lang|bn|ঝ}} [{{IPA link|dʑʱ}}~{{IPA link|dʒʱ}}] correspond to eastern {{lang|bn|চ}} [{{IPA link|ts}}~{{IPA link|s}}], {{lang|bn|ছ}} {{IPA|[s]}}, {{lang|bn|জ}} [{{IPA link|z}}], {{lang|bn|ঝ}} {{IPA|[z~zʱ]}}. Note that few Perso-Arabic borrowings containing the phoneme [{{IPA link|z}}] are realized as such in all dialects.

The unvocied aspirated velar stop {{lang|bn|খ}} {{IPA|[kʰ]}}, the aspirated labial stop {{lang|bn|ফ}} {{IPA|[pʰ]}} and the voiced aspirated labial stop {{lang|bn|ভ}} {{IPA|[bʱ]}} of western-central Bengali dialects correspond to {{lang|bn|খ়}} [{{IPA link|x}}~{{IPA link|χ}}], {{lang|bn|ফ়}} [{{IPA|ɸ}}~{{IPA|f}}] and {{lang|bn|ভ়}} [{{IPA link|b}}~{{IPA link|β}}~{{IPA link|v}}] in eastern Bengali. These pronunciations are more prevalent in the [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]] variety of northeastern Bangladesh and south Assam, the variety spoken by most of the Bengali community in the United Kingdom. Note that phonemic transcriptions from left to right for eastern Bengali dialects indicate the realizations further eastwards. Retroflexes lose aspiration and variously remain like that or become alveolar. Breathy voiced stops lose breathiness. The voiced velar stop {{lang|bn|গ}} [{{IPA link|g}}] can fricative to {{Lang|bn|গ়}} [{{IPA link|ɣ}}], and is mostly lost afterwards.

Many eastern Bengali dialects share phonological features with Assamese, including the debuccalisation of {{Lang|bn|স}}, {{Lang|bn|শ}} & {{Lang|bn|ষ}} [{{IPA link|ʃ}}] to {{Lang|bn|হ}} [{{IPA link|h}}] (but not to {{Lang|bn|খ়}} {{IPA|[x]}}).

====Tibeto-Burman influence====
The influence of [[Tibeto-Burman languages]] on the phonology of eastern Bengali is seen through the lack of nasalised vowels, an alveolar articulation for the [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]] [[Stop consonant|stops]] ট {{IPA|[ʈ]}}, ঠ {{IPA|[ʈʰ]}}, ড {{IPA|[ɖ]}}, and ঢ {{IPA|[ɖʱ]}}, resembling the equivalent phonemes in languages such as [[Thai language|Thai]] and [[Lao language|Lao]] and the lack of distinction between র [{{IPA link|ɾ}}] and ড়/ঢ় [{{IPA link|ɽ}}]. Unlike most languages of the region, some Purbo Bengali dialects do not include the breathy voiced stops ঘ {{IPA|[ɡʱ]}}, ঝ {{IPA|[dʒʱ]}}, ঢ {{IPA|[d̠ʱ]}}, ধ {{IPA|[d̪ʱ]}}, and ভ {{IPA|[bʱ]}}. Some variants of Bengali, particularly Chittagonian and Chakma Bengali, have contrastive [[tone (linguistics)|tone]]; differences in the pitch of the speaker's voice can distinguish words. In dialects such as [[Hajong language|Hajong]] of northern Bangladesh, there is a distinction between ''উ'' and ''ঊ'', the first corresponding exactly to its standard counterpart but the latter corresponding to the Japanese {{IPA|[ü͍]}} sound {{Audio|Ja-U.oga|''listen''}}. There is also a distinction between ''ই'' and ''ঈ'' in many northern Bangladeshi dialects. ''ই'' representing the {{IPAblink|ɪ}} sound whereas ''ঈ'' represents an {{IPAblink|i}}.

=== Comparison table ===
====Dialects and subdialects====
{| = "wikitable" style="text-align:center;" align="center"
|-
! English !! [[Sadhu bhasha]] !! [[Standard Bengali]] !! Jessore-Khulnaiya !! [[Western Bengali dialects|Manbhumi]] !! Barishali !! [[Dhakaiya Kutti|Old Dhakaiya]] !! Faridpuri !! [[North Central Bengali dialects|Varendri]] !! [[Mymensinghi dialect|Mymensinghi]] !! [[Central Bengali dialects|Rarhi]] !! [[Southern Bengali dialects|Sundarbani]] !! Comillan !! [[Noakhali language|Noakhali]] !! [[Chittagonian language|Chittagonian]] !! [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]] !! [[Rangpuri language|Rangpuri]]
|-
| will eat (first person) || khaibo || khabo || khabo || khabo || khamu || khamu || khamu || khabo / khamõ || khamu / khaibam || khabo || khabo || khamu / khayam || khaiyyum || haiyyum || xaimu || khaim
|-
| [[Taka]] || ṭaka || ṭaka || ṭa(h)a || ṭeka || ṭaha || ṭæka || ṭaha || ṭæka || ṭæha || ṭaka || ṭaka/ta(k)a || ṭæha || ṭĩa || ṭĩa || ṭekha/texa || ṭeka
|-
| [[Dhaka]] || ḍhaka || ḍhaka || ḍhaha || ḍhaka || ḍaha || ḍaka || ḍhaha || ḍhaka || ḍaha || ḍhaka || ḍhaka/Dha(k)a || ḍaha || ḍaka || ḍaha || ḍaxa || ḍhaka
|}

====Other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages====
{| = "wikitable" style="text-align:center;" align="center"
|-
! English !! [[Assamese language|Assamese]] !! [[Odia language|Odia]] !! [[Sambalpuri language|Sambalpuri]] !! [[Rohingya language|Rohingya]] !! [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]] !! [[Maithili language|Maithili]] !! [[Halbi language|Halbi]] !! [[Chakma language|Chakma]] !! [[Tanchangya language|Tanchangya]] !! [[Surjapuri language|Surjapuri]] !! [[Rajbanshi language (Nepal)|Rajbanshi]] !! [[Bishnupriya Manipuri language|Bishnupriya Manipuri]]
|-
| will eat (first person) || kham || khaibi || khaimi || khayyum || khaib || kha leb || khawan || haumu || hàb/ham || khaibang || kham || kheitoi
|-
| taka || tôka || ṭankā || ṭankā || ṭia || ṭaka || ṭaka || ṭaka || ṭeka || ṭaka || ṭaka || ṭaka || ṭaka
|-
| dhaka || dhaka || ḍhaka || ḍhaka || ḍaka || ḍhaka || ḍhaka || ḍhaka || ḍaka || ḍaka || ḍhaka || ḍhaka || ḍhaka
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[Bengali vocabulary]]
* [[Bengali phonology]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Ahsan
| given1 = Syed Ali
| year = 2000
| script-title=bn:বাংলা একাডেমী বাংলাদেশের আঞ্চলিক ভাষার অভিধান
| publisher = Bangla Academy, Dhaka
| isbn = 984-07-4038-5
}}
* {{Citation
| surname1 = Haldar
| given1 = Gopal
| year = 2000
| title = Languages of India
| publisher = National Book Trust, India
| isbn = 81-237-2936-7
}}

==External links==
* [https://books.google.com/books/about/Bengali_and_Other_Related_Dialects_of_So.html?id=lRRYBHQvXdsC Book – Bengali and Other Related Dialects of South Assam]

{{Bengali language topics}}
{{Languages of Bangladesh}}
{{Eastern Indo-Aryan languages}}
{{Language varieties}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bengali Dialects}}
[[Category:Bengali dialects]]
[[Category:Eastern Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Dialects by language]]

Bengali dialects - Revision history

GJSAnnie74 at 07:13, 20 March 2026