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| Language | Population |
|---|---|
| Bengali /BanglaTamil | 163,507,029 |
| Others | 1,651,587 |
| Total | 165,158,616 |
Thenational language andofficial language ofBangladesh isBengali (also known as “Bangla”) according to the third article of theConstitution of Bangladesh.[2] Almost 99% ofBangladeshis speakBengali (includingdialects) as theirfirst language.[3][1] Bengali Tamil Language Implementation Act, 1987 made it mandatory to use Bengali in all government affairs except in the cases of foreign relations.[4]According to the 2022 census, Bengali is predominantly spoken by 99% of the country's population and it also serves as the national language of the nation. Thetribal people of northern and southeastern Bangladesh speak a variety of minority languages. According to theEthnologue, there are 36 indigenous living languages, which include 17Tibeto-Burman, 10Indo-Aryan, 7Austroasiatic and 2Dravidian languages in Bangladesh.[5] Bangladesh has 44 indigenous languages according to Professor Shameem Reza.[6]
The lowlands of Bangladesh form the larger, central, and eastern half of theethno-linguistic region ofBengal and theBengali language is spoken by the majority of the country's inhabitants i.e. theBengalis. There are also someEastern Indic language varieties, which are variously classified either as dialects of Bengali or separate but closely related languages. They can be thought of as forming adialect continuum.
The Non-Indo-Aryan indigenous languages of the region are members of the Austroasiatic, Dravidian and Tibeto-Burman families. Most of these languages are spoken in mountainous areas.
While the more widely spoken and better-knownAustroasiatic languages are spoken in Southeast Asia (e.g.Khmer andVietnamese), smaller languages of that family are spoken by indigenous communities of northern and eastern Bangladesh. There are two branches of Austro-Asiatic represented in Bangladesh.
TwoDravidian languages are spoken in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions in western Bangladesh.
The mountainous areas along the northern and eastern edges of the Indian Subcontinent are inhabited primarily by speakers ofTibeto-Burman languages. Indigenous Tibeto-Burman-speaking communities are found through the northern, eastern, and especially the southeastern parts of Bangladesh, primarily the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Before the commencement of the Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987, English had a considerable presence in official affairs, but since 1987 the usage of English has waned significantly in government. Due to the British colonization of the country, English is still a widely spoken and commonly understood language in Bangladesh.[7] English is taught as a compulsory subject in allschools,colleges anduniversities. In addition, there is an English-medium education system in Bangladesh which is widely attended.[8] TheBritish Council Bangladesh offers English language courses.
Similar to the situation in other SAARC nations, there are significant disparities in English-language knowledge; a significant portion of the population speaks English fluently or even natively (especially among the educated class), while an even larger portion of the population has little to no knowledge of English. Among the middle and upper class, many can read and write fluently due to professional requirements, but may have difficulty speaking English.
During the colonial period, laws were written in English. Currently, most laws are written in Bengali, the exception being amendments to laws passed before 1987, which are generally written in English. Many legal, administrative, and financial forms used by the government and banks are in English only. English is also used in the judiciary.[9]
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Since the conquest of Bengal byMuhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji in 1203 CE,Arabic (عربي) enjoyed the status of being an official language up until theBritish Raj period. However, its presence dates back to the 8th century CE, as a language of trade. In the 13th century, Muslim preacher Taqiuddin al-Arabi established what is thought to be the earliest Islamic institution in Bangladesh that has intact ruins.Arabic literature began to flourish first in medieval Bengal with works likeḤawḍ al-Ḥayāh (12th century) by Qadi Ruknuddin Samarkandi,Maqāmāt byAbu Tawwama,Majmūʿah Khānī fī ʿAyn al-Maʿānī (1280s) by Kamiluddin bin Karim as well as the many works of 14th-century Bengali scholarNur Qutb Alam. Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Yazdan Bakhsh Bengali transcribed three volumes ofSahih al-Bukhari by hand in Ekdala, and gifted it to the SultanAlauddin Husain Shah. The manuscript of this work is currently kept at theKhuda Bakhsh Oriental Library in the neighbouringRepublic of India.[10] Until today, Arabic literature relating toIslam continues to be regularly written and published by Bangladeshis such as Sultan Zauq Nadvi and Muhammad Abdul Malek.[11]
Despite losing an official status from the colonial times onward, the Arabic language is used in manyMuslim congregations such as the weeklyFriday prayer in which a sermon (khutbah) is given in Arabic, in addition to Bengali. TheConstitution of Bangladesh begins with the Arabicbasmala.[12]
Arabic is the religious language of Muslims. TheQuran,Sunnah,Hadith and Muslim theology is taught in Arabic with Bengali translation. TheBangladeshi diaspora living in the Middle East has further increased the number of people who can speak Arabic in Bangladesh. Arabic is taught as a religious language in mosques, schools, colleges, universities andmadrassahs as well as in traditionalBengali Muslim households. Today, Arabic is an obligatory subject in the Madrasah education of Bangladesh. A majority of Bangladesh's Muslim population has had some form of formal or informal education in the reading, writing, and pronunciation of the Arabic language as part of their religious education. Arabic has also influenced the Bengali language greatly,[11] thus it is not uncommon to hear Arabic terminology in Bangladeshi speeches and rallies. One example of this is the7 March Speech of Bangabandhu, which makes mention ofInshallah ('God-willing') towards the end, in addition to the many Arabic-origin Bengali words used.[13]
From ancient times, Bengal and Persia had been in contact with each other and there were many trading posts around coastal Bengal. As people converted to Islam, they became acquainted with Persian, the language of the Sufi preachers.[14] Bengal witnessed an influx of Persian scholars, lawyers, teachers and clerics. The influence of the language spread rapidly after it gained the status of court language for over 600 years (1203–1837 AD) under theDelhi Sultanate,Bengal Sultanate andBengal Subah. Thousands of Persian books and manuscripts were published in Bengal. The period of SultanGhiyathuddin Azam Shah's reign is described as the "golden age ofPersian literature in Bengal". Its stature was illustrated by the Sultan's own correspondence and collaboration with the Persian poetHafez; a poem which can be found in theDivan of Hafez today.[15]
Presently, Persian is taught in somemadrasas, mostly those belonging to theBefaqul Madarisil Arabia Bangladesh board, as well as at theUniversity of Dhaka.[16]
Dobhashi refers to a historical register of Bengali with significant Persian influence, similar to the influence of Persian on Urdu.
Urdu (اردو) was an official language in post-partition 1947 to 1971. It is still spoken by the settlers from Bihar andUttar Pradesh. They are living inSaidpur,Dhaka particularlyOld Dhaka, and other parts of Bangladesh.
| Official language | |
|---|---|
| Indo-European | |
| Sino-Tibetan | |
| Austroasiatic | |
| Dravidian | |
| Afro-Asiatic | |
| Sign | |
