An Indo-Aryan language of Bengal — official in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal — with a rich literary tradition that produced Asia's first Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.
Where it’s spoken
Bengali (বাংলা, Bangla) is the sole official language of Bangladesh and the second-most-spoken language in India. The Bengal region — split between Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and parts of Assam — is home to roughly 250 million speakers. The language has significant diaspora communities in the UK, US, and Gulf states.
What it sounds like
Bengali has seven vowels and a typical Indo-Aryan consonant system, including aspirated stops and retroflex sounds. Unlike Hindi, Bengali rarely deletes the inherent schwa, giving it a steadier syllabic rhythm. Word stress is generally on the first syllable.
How it’s written
Bengali script is a Brahmic abugida related to Devanagari, also used for Assamese. It reads left to right with a connecting horizontal headline (matra). The script is renowned for its rounded, calligraphic letterforms.
History
The 1952 Bengali Language Movement, in which students died protesting Pakistan’s imposition of Urdu, led to the eventual creation of Bangladesh in 1971 and is commemorated by UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day on February 21.
Find more languages by letter
Bengali starts with B and ends with I. Browse other languages along the same letter.
Languages that contain a letter from "Bengali":