Prince Man at 10:25, 16 March 2026

2026-03-16T10:25:14Z

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{{Short description|Group of dialects of Bengali}}
{{Infobox dialect
| name = Rāṛhī Bengali
| altname = Central Bengali <br/> Ghoti Bengali <br/> Hooghly-Bhagirathi Bengali
| nativename = রাঢ়ী বাংলা
| state = [[India]], [[Bangladesh]]
| region = '''India''': [[Nadia district|Nadia]], [[Murshidabad]], [[Purba Bardhaman district|Purba Bardhaman]], [[Hooghly District|Hooghly]], [[Howrah district|Howrah]], [[Kolkata]], parts of [[Midnapore district|Midnapore]]

'''Bangladesh''': [[Kushtia District|Kushtia]], [[Meherpur District|Meherpur]], [[Chuadanga District|Chuadanga]]
| ethnicity = [[Bengali people]] of [[Presidency Division]] and [[Kushtia District (1947–1984)|Greater Kushtia]]
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo Iranian]]
| fam3 = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo Aryan]]
| fam4 = [[Eastern Indo-Aryan languages|Eastern Zone]]
| fam5 = [[Bengali-Assamese languages|Bengali-Assamese]]
| fam6 = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| dialects =
| ancestor = [[Gaudi Prakrit]]
| ancestor2 = [[Old Bengali]]
| ancestor3 = [[Middle Bengali]]
| script = [[Bengali alphabet]]
| isoexception = dialect
| image = Rarhi.png
| image_class=skin-invert-image
| glotto = cent1983
| glottoname = Central Bengali
}}

'''Central Bengali'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=India |first=Linguistic Survey of |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Linguistic_Survey_of_India/8D5BAQAAMAAJ?hl=en |title=Linguistic Survey of India |date=1903 |publisher=Office of the superintendent of government printing, India |pages=17-19 |language=en}}</ref> or '''Rāṛhī/Rāḍhī Bengali''' ({{langx|bn|রাঢ়ী বাংলা|Rāṛhī Bāṅlā}}, {{IPA|bn|ɾaɽhiː baŋla|pron}}) is a group of [[Bengali dialects|dialects]] of the [[Bengali language]], spoken in the West-Central part of [[Bengal]], in and around the [[Hooghly River|Bhagirathi River]] basin of [[Nadia district]]<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVOFAAAAQBAJ&q=Central+Standard+Bengali&pg=PA273 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis |last1=Chakrabarti |first1=Kunal |last2=Chakrabarti |first2=Shubhra |year=2013 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810880245 |language=en |access-date=2020-09-30 |archive-date=2022-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924163036/https://books.google.com/books?id=QVOFAAAAQBAJ&q=Central+Standard+Bengali&pg=PA273 |url-status=live }}</ref> and other districts of the [[Presidency division]] in [[West Bengal]], as well as the undivided [[Kushtia District (1947–1984)|Kushtia district]] region of western [[Bangladesh]]. Associated with the upper [[Ganges Delta|Delta]] and eastern [[Rarh region]] of Bengal, it forms the basis of the standard variety of Bengali.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-i-MDQGopYC&q=rarhi+dialect&pg=PA49 |title=Thus Flows The Ganges |last=Karan |first=Sudhir Kumar |date=2004 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=9788170999232 |language=en |access-date=2020-09-30 |archive-date=2022-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924163037/https://books.google.com/books?id=1-i-MDQGopYC&q=rarhi+dialect&pg=PA49 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zojmRqiCtZgC&q=rarhi+dialect |title=Bulletin of the Philological Society of Calcutta |last=Calcutta |first=Philological Society of |date=1966 |publisher=Department of Comparative Philology, University of Calcutta. |language=en |access-date=2019-08-16 |archive-date=2022-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924163037/https://books.google.com/books?id=zojmRqiCtZgC&q=rarhi+dialect |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{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=by the word standard Bengali pronunciation we normally understand the Bengali language as is spoken in Calcutta and round about the places on the banks of the river ''Bhagirathi''. |access-date=2020-09-30 |archive-date=2021-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610160710/https://books.google.com/books?id=0yxhAAAAMAAJ&q=Rarhi |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Bangladesh Quarterly |date=2002 |publisher=Department of Films & Publications, Government of Bangladesh. |page=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-npKpbd428wC&q=Rarhi |language=en |access-date=2020-09-30 |archive-date=2022-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924163037/https://books.google.com/books?id=-npKpbd428wC&q=Rarhi |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hesyAQAAIAAJ&q=rarhi+dialect |title=Bulletin |last=Calcutta |first=Philological Society of |date=1966 |language=en |access-date=2019-08-16 |archive-date=2022-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924163037/https://books.google.com/books?id=hesyAQAAIAAJ&q=rarhi+dialect |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Geographical boundaries==

This dialect is prevalent in Central Bengal specifically in the West Bengal districts of [[Kolkata district|Kolkata]], [[Nadia district|Nadia]], [[Howrah district|Howrah]], [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]], [[Ghatal subdivision|Ghatal]] and [[Tamluk subdivision|Tamluk]] in [[Midnapore district|Midnapore]], [[Murshidabad district|Murshidabad]] and [[Purba Bardhaman district|Purba Bardhaman]]. It is also spoken natively in the [[Chuadanga District|Chuadanga]], [[Kushtia District|Kushtia]] and [[Meherpur District|Meherpur]] districts of [[Bangladesh]], which were a part of the Nadia district prior to the 1947 [[Partition of India]]. Along with [[Eastern Bengali]] dialects, Modern Standard Bengali has been formed on the basis of this dialect.

==Features==

===Phonology===
* Extensive use of ''Obhishruti'' (অভিশ্রুতি, /obʱisrut̪i/, [[Umlaut_(linguistics)|umlaut]]). E.g. Beng. Koriya (করিয়া, /koria/, meaning - having done) > Beng. Koira (কইর‍্যা, /koirya/) > Beng. Kore (করে, /kore/).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMvjAAAAMAAJ&q=rarhi+dialect |title=Folk-lore |date=1975 |publisher=Indian Publications |language=en |access-date=2019-08-16 |archive-date=2022-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924163037/https://books.google.com/books?id=IMvjAAAAMAAJ&q=rarhi+dialect |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The change of অ to ও, when অ is the first sound of a word where the অ is followed by ই(ি), ও(ো), ক্ষ or য. E.g. Ati (written অতি, means 'excess') is pronounced as Oti (ওতি, /ot̪i/).
* Use of [[vowel harmony]]. E.g. Bilati (বিলাতি, /bilat̪i/, meaning - foreign) became Biliti (বিলিতি, /bilit̪i/).<ref name=":1">SK Chatterji, The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language, Calcutta University, Calcutta, 1926</ref>
* Most of the time, if the first sound of a word is 'n', it becomes 'l' and if it is 'l', it becomes 'n'. E.g. newa (নেওয়া, /nēwa/) became lewa (লেওয়া, /lēwa/) and lebu (লেবু, /lēbu/, meaning - lemon) became nebu (নেবু, /nēbu/).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Dr. Rameswar |title=সাধারণ ভাষাবিজ্ঞান ও বাংলা ভাষা |date=21 February 1984 |publisher=Pustak Bipani |page=625|location=[[Kolkata]] |isbn=81-85471-12-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/sadharon-bhasabiggyan-o-bangla-bhasa |access-date=6 October 2024 |language=bn}}</ref>
* The Aspirated 'chh' at the after of a word is pronounced like not aspirated 'ch'. E.g Giyechhi (গিয়েছি, /giyēchhi/, meaning - have gone) became gechi (গেচি, /gēchi/).

===Morphology===
* The common standard Bengali plural affix 'gulô' (গুলো) is pronounced 'gunô' (গুনো) in the dialect, whereas it becomes 'gulā' or 'gulān' in [[eastern Bengali]] dialects.
* The past first person affix (i)lām in standard dialect becomes (i)lum, or (i)nu. E.g the word in standard dialect 'kôr(i)lām' (কর'লাম) became kôr(i)lum (কর'লুম) or kôr(i)nu (কর'নু).
* The 'go' suffix which is added to the singular genetive to form the genetive plural is also found in Rarhi dialect speaking areas but it is commonly used in [[Eastern Bengali|Vanga dialect]]s. E.g āmā-gô (our), tômā-gô (your).<ref name=":1"|page=145/>

===Obhishruti and Opinihiti===

''Ôbhishruti'' (অভিশ্রুতি, /obʱisrut̪i/) and ''Ôpinihiti'' (অপিনিহিতি, /opinihit̪i/, [[epenthesis]]) are two phonological phenomena that occur in spoken [[Bengali dialects]]. Opinihiti refers to the phonological process in which a ''i'' or ''u'' is pronounced before it occurs in the word. Obhishruti is the sound change in which this shifted ''i'' or ''u'' becomes removed and changes the preceding vowel. Observe the example above : Koriya (করিয়া, /koria/) > Koirya (কইর‍্যা, /koira/) > Kore (করে, /kore/). First Opinihiti changes Koriya to Koirya (notice how the I changes position.), then Obhishruti changes Koirya (কইর‍্যা) to Kore (করে).<ref name=":0">Sunitikumar Chattopadhyay (1939) ভাষা-প্রকাশ বাঙ্গালা ব্যাকরণ, Calcutta University</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Bengali language}}

[[Category:Bengali language in India]]
[[Category:Bengali dialects]]
[[Category:Languages of West Bengal]]
[[Category:Bengali language in Bangladesh]]

Central Bengali dialects - Revision history

Prince Man at 10:25, 16 March 2026