Bengali

II	This is a Category II Language.

Bengali, or locally, Bangla (বাংলা), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken predominantly in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura by approximately 200 million people. After Hindi, Bengali is the second most spoken language in the Indian subcontinent, and among the top 10 most spoken languages in the world. The language has a rich literary heritage and underwent a renaissance in the late 19th century.

Preliminaries

The examples of Bengali words, phrases, clauses and sentences used in this book are generally presented simultaneously in three written forms: one using the Bengali script, a transliterated version using Roman letters, and an English translation.

The Bengali-to-Roman transliteration scheme is the one followed in the English Wikipedia and can be seen here.

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বাংলা লিপি

Learn how to pronounce the Bengali sounds

• Bengali Sounds

Learn how to write the Bengali script

• Bengali Alphasyllabry

Learn how to create Bengali sentences

• Sentence patterns
• Bengali Grammar
• Verbs

Enrich your Bengali vocabulary

• The nature of the Bengali lexicon
• The sources of the Bengali lexicon
• Bengali etymology
• Common phrases

Vocabulary themes

• Greetings
• Talking about Oneself
• Numbers
• Time and Date
• Asking Questions
• Food and Drink
• Eating out
• Shopping
• Staying at hotels
• Renting temporary accommodation
• Settling into accommodation
• Using financial and postal services
• Staying well
• Traveling
• Emergencies
• Liking and disliking

History of the Language

• The origins of Bengali
• Old Bengali
• Middle Bengali
• Modern Bengali