Bangladesh Languages

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In other languages: বাংলা

Bangladesh

Languages

Description

The predominant language of Bangladesh is Bengali (also known as Bangla). The Chakma language is another native of Bangladesh. Other tribal languages include Garo, Meitei, Kokborok and Rakhine. Urdu has a significant heritage in Bangladesh.

• Bengali (Bangla) - one of the easternmost branches of the Indo-European language family. Bengali is written using the Bengali script.

• Chakma - an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Chakma and Daingnet people. It is spoken by nearly 320,000 people in southeast Bangladesh. It is written using the Chakma script, which is also called Ajhā Pāṭh, sometimes romanised Ojhopath.

• Urdu - the use of Urdu became controversial during the Bengali Language Movement, when the people of East Bengal resisted attempts to impose Urdu as the main official language. In modern Bangladesh, the Urdu-speaking community is restricted to the country's Bihari community.

Word List(s)

• Bengali Word List - 101 Languages
• Most Common Bengali Words - 1000 Most Common Words
• Basic English Words with Bangla - Mem Rise
• Bengali Word List - Learn101
• Urdu Word List - Learn101

• Ganguli, Benimadhav and Bhuban Mohan Mazumber. The student's dictionary of Bengali words and phrases done into English. Calcutta: Somadev Ganguli of B.M. Ganguli & Sons, 1941. Available at: WorldCat.

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Alphabets

• Bengali Script Alphabet - Wikipedia
• Bengali Language Vowels and Consonants - Wikipedia
• Bengali Alphabet - Omniglot
• Chakma Script Vowels and Consonants - Wikipedia
• Chakma Language Vowels and Consonants - Wikipedia
• Chakma Alphabet - Omniglot
• Urdu Language Vowels and Consonants - Wikipedia
• Urdu Alphabet - Wikipedia
• Urdu Language - Omniglot

Pronunciation

• Bengali Pronunciation - Learn101
• How to Pronounce Chakma - Omniglot
• Urdu Pronunciation Guide - UrduPod101
• Urdu Pronunciation - Learn101

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Dictionaries

• Muraśida, Golāma. Bengali-English-Bengali dictionary. London: Ruposhi Bangla, 1992. Available at: WorldCat.
• Bhattacharyya, P K. English Bengali dictionary. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Saphrograph Corp., 1981. Available at: WorldCat.
• Crawley, Angela, Sārah Naqvī, and Muḥammad Salīmurraḥmān. Oxford elementary learner's English Urdu dictionary. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2001. Available at: WorldCat.
• Abdulḥaq. The standard English-Urdu dictionary. New Delhi: Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu, 2001. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries

• Bengali Dictionary online - BDWord.com
• Bengali Dictionary Online - Lexilogos
• Urdu Dictionary Online - Lexilogos

Language Aids

• Bengali Grammar - Learn101
• Urdu Grammar - Learn101
• Platts, John T. A grammar of the Hindustani or Urdu language. Lahor: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2002. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

• Bengali Language - MustGo Travel
• Bykova, E M. The Bengali language. Moscow: "Nauka" Pub. House, Central Dept. of Oriental Literature, 1981. Available at: WorldCat.