Bangladeshi English

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This article is about the dialect of the English language. For English people of Bangladeshi descent, see British Bangladeshi.

Bangladeshi/Bengali English, Banglish, Benglish or Anglo-Bangla (similar and related to British English) is a variety of English heavily influenced by Bengali[1][2] very common among Bangladeshis (mainly), and also Indian Bengalis (mainly from West Bengal and Tripura). The term Benglish is recorded from 1972, and Banglish slightly later, in 1975.[3]

Use[]

Bengali is the sole official and national language of Bangladesh and one of the 22 scheduled official language, in India. But, English is often used secondarily in the higher tier of the judiciary in both Bangladesh and India (along with Hindi in India). Laws were written in English during the colonial periods.

Since the introduction of Bangla Bhasha Procolon Ain, all the laws by parliament and all Ordinances promulgated by the President are being enacted in Bengali[4] in Bangladesh.

There are 10 English language newspapers in Bangladesh. English medium schools are also operated in English. Mainly, the people of Bengali (Bangladeshi) descent residing in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US and students of English medium schools in Bangladesh use Benglish (though Standard English is also tried to be taught). This applies to those originating from East India also.

However, upon public demand in 2012, the High Court of Bangladesh banned the use of Benglish, described as a slang mixture of Bengali and English, in radio and television programs "to protect local tongue."[5]

History[]

The East India Company adopted English as the official language of the empire in 1835. Replacement of the Persian language with English was followed by a surge in English language learning among Bengali babus. English remained an official language of the region until 1956 when the first constitution of Pakistan was adopted stating Bengali and Urdu as the official languages of the state following the Bengali language movement from 1947 to 1952.

After independence, Bengali became the sole official language of Bangladesh, and all English-medium universities, schools and colleges were converted to Bengali instruction in order to spread mass education.

Indian Government made Bengali as one of its 22 scheduled official Languages as of Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in 1950.

Literature[]

Main article: Bangladeshi English literature

Differences between Standard English and Bangladeshi English[]

Numbering system[]

The South Asian numbering system is preferred for digit grouping. When written in words, or when spoken, numbers less than 100,000/100 000 are expressed just as they are in Standard English. Numbers including and beyond 100,000 / 100 000 are expressed in a subset of the South Asian numbering system.

Thus, the following scale is used:

In digits (International system) In digits (South Asian system) In words (long and short scales) In words (South Asian system)
10 ten
100 one hundred
1,000 one thousand
10,000 ten thousand
100,000 100,000 one hundred thousand one lakh
1,000,000 1,000,000 one million ten lakh
10,000,000 10,000,000 ten million one crore

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Burhanuddin Khan Jahangir (2002). Nationalism, fundamentalism, and democracy in Bangladesh. International Centre for Bengal Studies. p. 109.
  2. ^ "The Two Men: Formative Stage". The Journal of the Institute of BangladeStudies. Rajshahi: Institute of Bangladesh Studies. 30: 10. 2007.
  3. ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 22. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
  4. ^ "Towards creating an indigenous legal corpus in Bangla". The Daily Star. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Bangladesh bans 'Banglish' to protect local tongue". The Express Tribune. Agence France-Presse. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
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