Template:Redirect2 Template:Distinguish
Template:Infobox writing system
Template:Contains special characters
Template:Contains special characters
Template:Brahmic
Template:Writing systems in India
The Bengali–Assamese script,[1] sometimes also known as Eastern Nagri,[2] is an eastern Brahmic script, primarily used today for the Bengali and Assamese language spoken in eastern South Asia. It evolved from Gaudi script, also the common ancestor of the Odia and Tirhuta scripts.[3][4] It is commonly referred to as the Bengali script by Bengalis[5] and the Assamese script by the Assamese,[6] while in academic discourse it is sometimes called Eastern-Nāgarī.[7] The script was traditionally called Gauḍa (not to be confused with the name Gaudi script – which was given later) as seen in the catalogue of books at the Radha-Damodara Mandir maintained by Jiva Goswami during the time of Akbar.[8] Bengali is the official and national language of Bangladesh and three of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic—Bengali, Assamese, and MeiteiTemplate:Efn[9]—commonly use this script in writing;[10][11][12]
Besides Bengali and Assamese languages, it is also used to write Bishnupriya Manipuri, Meitei, Chakma, Santali and numerous other smaller languages spoken in eastern South Asia.[13][14] Historically, it was used to write various Old and Middle Indo-Aryan languages, and, like many other Brahmic scripts, is still used for writing Sanskrit.[15] Other languages, such as Bodo, Karbi, Maithili and Mising were once written in this script.[16] The two major alphabets in this script – Assamese and Bengali – are virtually identical, except for two characters — Assamese differs from Bengali in one letter for the /r/ sound, and an extra letter for the /w/ or /v/ sound.[17][18][19]
History
The Bengali–Assamese script was originally not associated with any particular regional language, but was prevalent as the main script in the eastern regions of Medieval India for Old- and Middle-Indo-Aryan including Sanskrit.[15] All of these eastern Magadhan scripts are based on a system of characters historically related to, but distinct from, Devanagari. Brahmi, an ancient Indian syllabary, is the source of most native Indian scripts including the South Indian languages and Devanagari, the script associated with classical Sanskrit and other Indo-Aryan languages.[18]
The modern eastern scripts (Bengali-Assamese, Odia, and Maithili) became clearly differentiated around the 14th and 15th centuries from the predecessor Gaudi.[1] While the scripts in Bengal, Assam and Mithila remained similar to each other the Odia script developed a curved top in the 13th–14th century and became increasingly different.[20] Old Maithili also used a script similar to the Bengali–Assamese script, and Maithili scholars (particularly of the older generation) still write Sanskrit in that script.[17][21]
According to Template:Harvtxt manuscripts written in the 17th–18th century from eastern Bihar in the west to Manipur in the east followed related scripts, that could be classed largely into three on the basis of the letter ro: (1) western - with the current Bengali ro; (2) northern - with the current Assamese ro; and (3) eastern - largely lost today with a ro not seen today.[22]
Modern Bengali–Assamese script saw further standardisations following the introduction of printing.
Printing
Though there were early attempts to cut Bengali types[23] it was the East India Company's interest in propagating the Bengali language[24] that ultimately prevailed. It first commissioned William Bolts, a Dutch adventurer, to create a grammar for Bengali, but he had to leave India after he ran into trouble with the company.[25][26] The first significant book with Bengali typography was Halhed's 1778 "A Grammar of the Bengal Language"[27] which he compiled from a meagre set of six Bengali manuscripts.[28] When Halhed turned to Warren Hastings for publishing, he was referred to Charles Wilkins, the type-founder at the Company press at Hoogly. Learned in Sanskrit and Persian, Wilkins singlehandedly cut the most complete set. He was assisted by the Bengali blacksmith, Panchanan Karmakar, who is often erroneously credited as the father of the Bengali type.[29]
Script
Template:Further Template:Multiple image
In this and other articles on Wikipedia dealing with the Assamese and Bengali languages, a Romanization scheme used by linguists specialising in Bengali phonology and a separate Assamese transliteration table used by linguists specialising in Assamese phonology are included along with IPA transcription.
Alphabets
There are three major modern alphabets in this script: Bengali, Assamese, and Tirhuta. Modern Assamese is very similar to modern Bengali. Assamese has at least one extra letter, Template:Lang, that Bengali does not. It also uses a separate letter for the sound 'ro' Template:Lang different from the letter used for that sound in Bengali Template:Lang and the letter Template:Lang is not a conjunct as in Bengali, but a letter by itself. The alphabetical orders of the two alphabets also differ, in the position of the letter Template:Lang, for example. Languages like Meitei and Bishnupriya use a hybrid of the two alphabets, with the Bengali Template:Lang and the Assamese Template:Lang. Tirhuta is more different and carries forward some forms used in medieval Assamese.Template:Citation needed
Vowels and diacritics
The script consists of two sets of letters, the Swarabarna,of a total of 11 vowel letters, used to represent the seven vowel sounds of Bengali and eight vowel sounds of Assamese, along with a number of vowel diphthongs creating the second set of 39 (in Bengali) and 41 letters (in Assamese) called Byanjanbarna. All of these vowel letters are used in both Assamese and Bengali. Some of the vowel letters have different sounds depending on the word, and a number of vowel distinctions preserved in the writing system are not pronounced as such in modern spoken Bengali or Assamese. For example, the script has two symbols for the vowel sound [i] and two symbols for the vowel sound [u]. This redundancy stems from the time when this script was used to write Sanskrit, a language that had a short Template:IPA and a long Template:IPA, and a short Template:IPA and a long Template:IPA. These letters are preserved in the script with their traditional names of "short i" and "long i", etc., despite the fact that they are no longer pronounced differently in ordinary speech.
Some language-specific usages
In the Bengali alphabet, Template:Lang is used to write Template:IPA in foreign loan words.[30] Some other languages use a vowel Template:Lang to denote /Template:IPA/ which is not found in either Bengali or Assamese; and though the vowel diacritic (matra, Template:Lang) is found in Tirhuta the vowel letter itself is absent. Assamese alphabet uses an additional "matra" (ʼ) that is used to represent the phonemes Template:Lang and Template:Lang.
| Vowels | Vowel Diacritic symbol |
Assamese | Bengali | Meitei (Manipuri)[31] | Sylheti | Hajong | Rabha | Rajbongsi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang | – | ô | ô/o | ô/a | o | o | ô | ô |
| Template:Lang | ʼ | o | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | a | a | a꞉ | a | a | a | a |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | – | æ | – | – | – | – | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | â | â | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | i | i | i | i | i | i | i |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | î | – |
| Template:Lang | ী | i | i | – | ī | – | – | (i) |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | u | u | u | u | u | u | u |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | â | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | u | u | – | ū | – | – | (u) |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | ri | ri | – | ri | – | – | ri |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | rii | rii | – | – | – | – | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | li | li | – | – | – | – | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | lii | lii | – | – | – | – | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | ê | e/ê | e | ê | e | e | ê |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | e | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | ôi | ôi | ei | oi | oi | – | ôi |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | û | o | o/ô | – | ô | o | o |
| Template:Lang | Template:Lang | ôu | ôu | ou | ou | ôu | – | ôu |
Vowel signs can be used in conjunction with consonants to modify the pronunciation of the consonant (here exemplified by Template:Lang, kô). When no vowel Diacritic symbol is written, then the vowel "Template:Lang" (ô) is the default inherited vowel for the consonant. To specifically denote the absence of a vowel, a hôsôntô (্) may be written underneath the consonant.
Consonants
The names of the consonant letters in Eastern Nagari are typically just the consonant's main pronunciation plus the inherent vowel "Template:Lang" ô. Since the inherent vowel is assumed and not written, most letters' names look identical to the letter itself (e.g. the name of the letter "Template:Lang" is itself Template:Lang ghô, not gh). Some letters that have lost their distinctive pronunciation in Modern Assamese and Bengali are called by a more elaborate name. For example, since the consonant phoneme /n/ can be written Template:Lang, Template:Lang, or Template:Lang (depending on the spelling of the particular word), these letters are not simply called nô; instead, they are called "dental nô", "cerebral nô" and niô. Similarly, the phoneme Template:IPA in Bengali and Template:IPA in Assamese can be written as "palatal shô/xhô" Template:Lang, "cerebral shô/xhô" Template:Lang, or "dental sô/xô" Template:Lang, depending on the word.
| Consonant | Assamese | Bengali | Meitei (Manipuri)[31] | Chittagonian | Sylheti | Hajong | Maithili |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Lang | kô | kô | kô | xô | xô | ko | ka |
| Template:Lang | khô | khô | khô | xô | xo | kho | kha |
| Template:Lang | gô | gô | gô | gô | go | go | ga |
| Template:Lang | ghô | ghô | ghô | gô | go | gho | gha |
| Template:Lang | umô | umô | ngô | ngô | – | ngo | nga |
| Template:Lang | sô | cô | cô | sô | so | co | ca |
| Template:Lang | sô | chô | – | sô | so | so | - |
| Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | – | cha |
| Template:Lang | zô | jô | jô | zô | zo | jo | ja |
| Template:Lang | zhô | jhô | jhô | zô | zo | jho | - |
| Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | – | jha |
| Template:Lang | niô | nô | – | – | – | – | nia |
| Template:Lang | tô | ţô | – | tô | to | – | – |
| Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | – | ţa |
| Template:Lang | thô | ţhô | – | tô | to | – | ţha |
| Template:Lang | dô | đô | – | dô | do | – | da |
| Template:Lang | rô | ŗô | – | rô | ŗo | – | – |
| Template:Lang | dhô | đhô | – | dô | do | - | da |
| Template:Lang | rhô | ŗhô | – | rô | ro | – | – |
| Template:Lang | nô | nô | – | nô | no | - | - |
| Template:Lang | tô | tô | tô | tô | ṭo | to | ta |
| Template:Lang | thô | thô | thô | tô | ṭo | tho | tha |
| Template:Lang | dô | dô | dô | dô | ḍo | do | da |
| Template:Lang | dhô | dhô | dhô | dhô | ḍo | dho | dha |
| Template:Lang | nô | nô | nô | nô | no | no | na |
| Template:Lang | pô | pô | pô | fô | fo | po | pa |
| Template:Lang | phô | phô/fô | fô | fô | fo | fo | – |
| Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | – | pha |
| Template:Lang | bô | bô | bô | vô | vo | bo | ra |
| Template:Lang | bhô | bhô | vô | vô | vo | vo | bha |
| Template:Lang | mô | mô | mô | mô | mo | mo | ma |
| Template:Lang | zô | jô | – | zô | zo | - | ya |
| Template:Lang | yô | yô | yô | yô | – | yo | – |
| Template:Lang | (wô) | rô | rô | rô | ro | wõ | va |
| Template:Lang | rô | (rô) | ro | – | rô | – | ra |
| Template:Lang | lô | lô | lô | lô | lo | – | – |
| Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | – | la |
| Template:Lang | wô | – | wo | wô | – | – | – |
| Template:Lang | xô | şô | – | shô | – | - | sha |
| Template:Lang | xô | şşô | – | shô | – | - | ssha |
| Template:Lang | xô | şô | sô | shô | şo | - | sa |
| Template:Lang | hô | hô | hô | ô | ho | ho | - |
| Template:Lang | – | – | – | – | – | – | ha |
Digits
In Unicode
There are two Unicode blocks for Bengali–Assamese script, called Bengali and Tirhuta. The Bengali block is U+0980–U+09FF: Template:Unicode chart Bengali The Tirhuta block is U+11480–U+114DF: Template:Unicode chart Tirhuta
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "This, in turn, gave rise to the modern eastern scripts, namely, Bengali–Assamese, Oriya, and Maithili, which became clearly differentiated around the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ "The Eastern Nagri script was first created to write Sanskrit and later adopted by regional languages like Bengali and Assamese. The Bengali Unicode block of characters is created from the Eastern Nagri script and contains character variants, like for the 'r', that is different in Bengali and Assamese." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ See "Parent Systems" on the right, and the citations therein.
- ↑ Template:Harvcol
- ↑ " Bengalis will refer to the script as the 'Bengali script'.." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ "Assamese has, like Bengali, a long literary tradition in this script which Assamese speakers naturally refer to as the 'Assamese script'." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ "In fact, the term 'Eastern Nagari' seems to be the only designation which does not favour one or the other language. However, it is only applied in academic discourse, whereas the name 'Bengali script' dominates the global public sphere." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ Sharma, Pragati Template:Usurped, Braj ki Akbarkaalen Pustak Thor: Ek Adhyayan, 2017.
- ↑ GAZETTE TITLE: The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021. manipurgovtpress.nic.in.
- ↑ Assamese alphabet, pronunciation and alphabet. omniglot.com. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ↑ Bengali alphabet, pronunciation and language. omniglot.com. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ↑ Manipuri language and alphabets. omniglot.com. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ↑ "Already the fact that most Bengalis will refer to the script of their language exclusively as the 'Bengali script', though it is used for many other languages as well, e.g. Assamese, Bishnupriya, Chakma, Meitei, Santali, etc. gives a glimpse of the dominant role of the Bengali language in the eastern part of South Asia Template:Harvcol
- ↑ Bijan Kumar Roy, Subal Chandra Biswas and Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay, Designing Unicode‐compliant Indic‐script based Institutional Digital Repository with special reference to Bengali, page 55, International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology Vol.8, No.3, 53–67 (September 2018)
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "(T)he script used today for Assamese and Bengali was, by origin, linked to the region and not any one specific modern language. Historically, it was in fact used for Old and Middle Indo-Aryan. Today it is used not only for other modern languages (e.g. Bishnupriya) but also still for Sanskrit." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ Prabhakara, M S Template:Usurped, The Hindu, 19 May 2005.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, The History and Culture of the Indian People: British paramountcy and Indian renaissance (Part 2), page 219, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1951
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Bernard Comrie, The World's Major Languages, page 419, Routledge, 2009, Template:ISBN
- ↑ B. P. Mahapatra, Constitutional languages, page 39, Presses Université Laval, 1989, Template:ISBN
- ↑ "[T]he phase when the curved topsTemplate:Sndso prominent now in many of the Oriya lettersTemplate:Sndwere just appearing, initiating the parting of ways from the proto-[Bengali-Assamese-Maithili] phase. The beginning and progress of this trend can be noticed in many of the Orissa [inscriptions] of the 13th–14th centuries A.D." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ Atindra Mojumder, Bengali Language: Historical Grammar (Part 1), page 22, Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1972
- ↑ Template:Harvtxt
- ↑ Template:Harvcol
- ↑ "By 1772, the Company had skillfully employed the sword, diplomacy, and intrigue to take over the rule of Bengal from her people, factious nobles, and weak Nawab. Subsequently, to consolidate its hold on the province, the Company promoted the Bengali language. This did not represent an intrinsic love for Bengali speech and literature. Instead it was aimed at destroying traditional patterns of authority through supplanting the Persian language which had been the official tongue since the days of the great Moguls." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ "[T]he East India Company had commissioned Bolts to prepare a grammar of the Bengali language. But although Bolts, who was a man of great enterprise and ingenuity, had represented himself as a great Orientalist, he ran into difficulties with the Company from 1766 to 1768 which culminated in his deportation from India.<ref?Template:Harvcol
- ↑ William Bolts and his contributory role in the history of printing and publication of newspapers in Bengal, as well as in India. Bulletin Monumental({Template:Year).
- ↑ " The first significant stride in Bengali typography, printing, and publication was made in 1778 with the appearance of A Grammar of the Bengal Language by Halhed." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ "Halhed, when compiling his monumental Grammar of the Bengali Language, complained that despite his familiarity with the works of Bengali authors he could trace only six extant books in 1778. These included the great religious epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. All six, of course, were in manuscript." Template:Harvcol
- ↑ Template:Harvcol
- ↑ প্রমিত বাংলা বানানের নিয়ম, আনিসুজ্জামান.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Meetei Mayek keys (in comparison to Bengali script). Retrieved 16 March 2023.
References
- The Origin of the Bengali Script{{#if:Banerji|, Banerji}. University of Calcutta(1919)
- Template:Cite thesis
- The Evolution of Assamese Script{{#if:Bora|, Bora}. Assam Sahitya Sabha(1981)
- Template:Cite magazine
- Script and identity – the politics of writing in South Asia: an introduction. South Asian History and Culture({Template:Year).
- La diffusion et l’usage des manuscrits bengalis dans l’est du Bengale, XVIIe-XXe siècles. Eurasian Studies({Template:Year).
- The Early History of Bengali Printing. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy({Template:Year).
- Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages{{#if:Salomon|, Salomon}. Oxford University Press(1998). ISBN 978-0-19-535666-3
- Introducing the Sylheti language and its speakers, and the SOAS Sylheti project. Language Documentation and Description({Template:Year).
- Development of Script in Ancient Kamrupa{{#if:Verma|, Verma}. Asam Sahitya Sabha(1976)
External links
Template:Bengali language topics Template:List of writing systems