Bengali the language spoken in Bangladesh belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages and is related to Sanskrit. Like Pali, however, and various other forms of Prakit in ancient India, Bengali originated beyond the influence of the Brahman society of the Aryans. The pala rulers of Bengal (18th to 12th century), who are Buddhists and whose religious language was Pali, did not inhibit the emergence of a colloquial tongue known as Gaudiya Prakit. This colloquial tongue was the language from which Bengali was derived.
Bengali is the mother tongue of about 98 percent of the people. Tribal peoples have their own distinct dialects, some of which are related to the Tibeto-Burman group of languages. English is spoken in urban centers and among educated groups.
Bengali has two distinct styles; sadhu bhasa, the literary language, which contains many words derived from Sanakrit, and calit bhasa, the colloquial language, which is the standard medium of informal discourse, both spoken and written. Untill the 1930s sadhu bhasa was used for all printed matter, but calit bhasa is now the basic form used for modern literature. There are a number of dialects. Bengali contains a large number of loanwards from Portuguese, English, Arabic, Persian, and Hindi.
Bengali is the mother tongue of about 98 percent of the people. Tribal peoples have their own distinct dialects, some of which are related to the Tibeto-Burman group of languages. English is spoken in urban centers and among educated groups.
Bengali has two distinct styles; sadhu bhasa, the literary language, which contains many words derived from Sanakrit, and calit bhasa, the colloquial language, which is the standard medium of informal discourse, both spoken and written. Untill the 1930s sadhu bhasa was used for all printed matter, but calit bhasa is now the basic form used for modern literature. There are a number of dialects. Bengali contains a large number of loanwards from Portuguese, English, Arabic, Persian, and Hindi.