Languages of Bangladesh
Encyclopedia
Although there are 38 different languages of Bangladesh, Bengali
is by far the most widely spoken language in the country – an estimated 98% of the population can speak it, and it enjoys the status of official language and the lingua franca
of the nation. Arabic text is widely used in education. English
is also widely used, especially in urban areas.
, and the Bengali language
is spoken by almost all people across the country. There are also some tongues closely akin to Bengali, which are classified either as dialects of Bengali or separate languages:
is widely spoken and understood, especially by people in urban areas. Students in urban areas acquire skills in various foreign languages. Languages such as Burmese, Assamese, and Farsi are also spoken and understood by some communities.
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
is by far the most widely spoken language in the country – an estimated 98% of the population can speak it, and it enjoys the status of official language and the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of the nation. Arabic text is widely used in education. English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is also widely used, especially in urban areas.
Bengali and its dialects
Bangladesh is part of the ethno-linguistic region of BengalBengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, and the Bengali language
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
is spoken by almost all people across the country. There are also some tongues closely akin to Bengali, which are classified either as dialects of Bengali or separate languages:
- ChittagonianChittagonian languageChittagonian is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the people of Chittagong in Bangladesh and in much of the southeast of the country. It is closely related to Bangla, but is normally considered by linguists to be a separate language rather than a dialect of Bangla. It is estimated to have 14...
is widely spoken in the entire Chittagong Division by more than 14 million people. Its influence has come from Arabic and Burmese languages. - SylhetiSylheti languageSylheti is the language of Sylhet, which is also known as the Surma Valley and is located in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh, and also spoken in parts of the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Tripura...
is spoken in the SylhetSylhetSylhet , is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. It is the main city of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District, and was granted metropolitan city status in March 2009. Sylhet is located on the banks of the Surma Valley and is surrounded by the Jaintia, Khasi and Tripura hills...
region by more than 7 million people.
Others
- A'TongA'Tong languageA'Tong is a language of the Sino-Tibetan family, related to Koch and Rabha. It is spoken in the Southern Meghalaya region of India....
- Chak
- Chin languages:
-
- Asho
- Bawm
- FalamFalam languageFalam, also known as Falam Chin, Falam Lai, Zahau, and Laiţawng, is a Kukish language of Burma and India....
- HakaHakha-Chin languageHakha Chin is a language spoken in southern Asia by 446,264 people. The total figure includes 2,000 Zokhua, and 60,100 Lai speakers...
- KhumiKhumi languageKhumi, or Khumi Chin, is a Kukish language of Burma, with some across the border in Bangladesh. A purported distinct coastal variety, Awa Khumi, turns out to be Mro....
- HajongHajong languageHajong is an Indo-Aryan language with Tibeto-Burman roots spoken by more than 175,000 ethnic Hajong in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal in India and the Mymensingh District in Bangladesh. It is written in the Assamese script, and it is being supplanted by the...
- KhasiKhasi languageKhasi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken primarily in Meghalaya state in India by the Khasi people. Khasi is part of the Austroasiatic family of languages, and is fairly closely related to the Munda branch of that family, which is spoken in east&endash;central India.Although most of the 865,000...
- Koch
- KodaKoda languageKoda is an endangered Munda language of India and Bangladesh. There were 1,300 speakers in Bangladesh in 2005, but many said that Bengali was their best language. There were only 300 speakers in India in 1991, out of a census population of 28,200....
- Marma
- MegamMegam languageMegam is a Tibeto-Burman language of Bangladesh. It is most closely related to Garo, but has been strongly influenced by Khasian languages, to the extent that it is only 7–9% lexically similar to with A’beng, the neighboring Garo dialect, but 60% similar to the Khasian language Lyngngam....
- Meitei
- MizoMizo languageThe Mizo language is natively spoken by Mizo people in Mizoram, a state in the Indian Union; Chin State of Burma and in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The language is also known as Lushai , as Lusei people are the first clan who have an external exposure...
- MruMru languageThe Mru language is a part of Tibeto-Burman languages and one of the recognized languages of Bangladesh.It is spoken by a community of Mros inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and also in Burma with a population of 21,963 in Bangladesh according to the 1991 census. The Mros are the...
- MundariMundari languageThe Mundari are a small ethnic group of South Sudan and one of the Nilotic peoples.The group is composed of cattle-herders and agriculturalists and are part of Karo people which also includes Bari, Pojulu, Kakwa, Kuku and Nyangwara...
- Oraon SadriSadri languageSadri is a branch of Prakrit language and is regarded as a sister language of Oriya, Bengali and Angika. It is spoken in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Orissa and the north of West Bengal, and in Bangladesh....
- Pangkhua
- PnarPnar languagePnar is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken in India and Bangladesh.- Vowels :- Consonants :...
- Rakhine
- Rangpuri
- Riang
- RohingyaRohingya languageRohingya is a language spoken by the Rohingya people of Arakan , Burma . It is smiliar to the Chittagonian language spoken in the neighboring southeastern Chittagong Division of Bangladesh...
- SantaliSantali languageSanthali is a language in the Santhali subfamily of Austro-Asiatic, related to Ho and Mundari. It is spoken by about six million people in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan . Most of its speakers live in India, in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal. It has...
- Sauria PahariaSauria Paharia languageThe Sauria Paharia language is spoken in the Bihar and West Bengal states of India, and some pockets of Bangladesh.Most of the speakers are in India with around 110,000...
- Tangchangya
- Tippera
- Usoi
- War-JaintiaWar languageWar , War-Jaintia or Amwi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken by about 16,000 people in Bangladesh and 12,000 people in India....
- Hajong
Foreign languages
A variety of foreign languages are spoken and used in Bangladesh. EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is widely spoken and understood, especially by people in urban areas. Students in urban areas acquire skills in various foreign languages. Languages such as Burmese, Assamese, and Farsi are also spoken and understood by some communities.
Further reading
- UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, "Bangladesh: Some endangered languages (information from Ethonologue, UNESCO)", June 2010.