Languages of Bangladesh

Languages of Bangladesh
Official languages	Literary Bengali
Regional languages	Unofficial Chittagonian Bengali, Sylheti Bengali, Chakma language, Rangpuri language
Vernaculars	Bengali English
Main immigrant languages	Bihari, Burmese, Rohingya
Sign languages	Bengali Sign Language
Common keyboard layouts	Bengali National Keyboard

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The official language of Bangladesh is Modern Standard Bengali (Literary Bengali). It serves as the lingua franca of the nation, with 98% of Bangladeshis fluent in Standard Bengali or Bengali dialects as their first language. English, though not having official status, is prevalent across government, law, business, media and education, and can be regarded as the de facto co-official language of Bangladesh.^[1][2]

The indigenous people of northern and southeastern Bangladesh speak a variety of native languages, notably Chakma and Shantali. Urdu is commonly spoken among Muslim migrants from India and Pakistan.

Indic languages

The lowlands of Bangladesh form the eastern half of the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal, and the Bengali language is spoken by the majority of the country's inhabitants. There are also some Eastern Indic language varieties, which are variously classified either as dialects of Bengali or separate but closely related languages. They can be thought of forming a dialect continuum.

• Bengali-Assamese branch:
  • Assamese: almost universally considered a separate language from Bengali, although it can be considered as part of a larger Bengali-Assamese dialect continuum. Also a major language of Assam State, India.
  • Bishnupriya Manipuri
  • Bengali proper: spoken all over the country.
  • Chakma: spoken in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Unrelated to the Tibeto-Burman languages more commonly found in the region.
  • Hajong: originally a Tibeto-Burman language that has shifted over time to an Indic language.
  • Rohingya: spoken in Arakan State, Burma, and by refugees from that region, currently living in Bangladesh's Chittagong Division. While it is also often called Arkani by native speakers, it is unrelated to the Rakhine of Arakan State.
  • Tangchangya: spoken in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Unrelated to the Tibeto-Burman languages more commonly found in the region.
• Oraon Sadri: also a major language of Jharkhand State, India.
• Bihari: spoken primarily by Muslim refugees from Bihar State, India.

Non-Indic languages

The indigenous languages of the region are members of the Tibeto-Burman, Austroasiatic, and Dravidian families. Most of these languages are spoken in mountainous areas.

Tibeto-Burman languages

The mountainous areas along the northern and eastern edges of the Indian Subcontinent are inhabited primarily by speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages. Indigenous Tibeto-Burman-speaking communities are found through the northern, eastern, and especially the southeastern parts of Bangladesh.

• A'Tong
• Chak
• Chin languages:
  • Asho
  • Bawm
  • Falam
  • Haka
  • Khumi
• Koch
• Garo: also a major language of Meghalaya State, India
• Megam
• Meitei Manipuri: also a major language of Manipur State, India
• Mizo: also a major language of Mizoram State, India
• Mru
• Pangkhua
• Rakhine/Marma: also a major language of Arakan State, Burma
• Tripuri languages: a major language group of Tripura State, India
  • Kok Borok
  • Riang
  • Tippera
  • Usoi

Austroasiatic languages

While the more widely spoken and better-known Austroasiatic languages are spoken in Southeast Asia (e.g. Khmer and Vietnamese), smaller languages of that family are spoken by indigenous communities of northern and eastern Bangladesh.

• Khasi: also a major language of Meghalaya State, India
• Koda
• Mundari
• Pnar
• Santali
• War-Jaintia

Dravidian languages

Two Dravidian languages are spoken by indigenous communities of western Bangladesh.

• Kurukh
• Sauria Paharia

References

Further reading

• UNESCO, "Bangladesh: Some endangered languages (information from Ethonologue, UNESCO)", June 2010.

External links

• Ethnologue report for Bangladesh
• Bangla language

Languages of Bangladesh National and Official Bengali Indo-European Assamese Bengali Bihari Bishnupriya Chakma Chittagonian English Pali Rangpuri Rohingya Sadri Sylheti Hajong Sino-Tibetan Shö A'Tong Bawm Sak Kukish Falam Garo Haka Khumi Koch Kokborok Megam Meitei Manipuri Mizo Mru Pangkhua Rakhine Marma Riang Tangchangya Tippera Usoi Austroasiatic Khasi Koda Mundari Pnar Santali War-Jaintia Dravidian Kurukh Sauria Paharia Afro-Asiatic Arabic