Bengali is officially known as Bangla. This language, in its original form, is widely spoken in both Bangladesh and the Indian State of West Bengal, as well as among migrant populations across the globe. With over 230 million speakers, Bengali is regarded as a vital language that holds significant cultural, literary, and historical significance. The narrative of how the Bengali language has transformed from its ancient origins to its contemporary state showcases an astonishing journey of linguistic, sociopolitical, and cultural evolution. In this article, we will examine the prominent characteristics and distinctions between ancient Bengali and modern Bengali, charting its progress through various phases and influences.
1. The Origins of Bengali: Ancient Bengali (Proto-Bengali)
Early Indo-Aryan Roots
The history of the Bengali language begins with its roots in the Indo-Aryan language family, which evolved from the ancient Vedic and Sanskrit languages. The earliest form of Bengali, like many other languages in the Indian subcontinent, evolved from a dialect of Magadhi Prakrit, an ancient vernacular language spoken in the eastern regions of India.
Magadhi Prakrit itself was the outcome of the Vedic Sanskrit which had been used in the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period, i.e., between 1500 and 500 BCE. This regional language, as time passes by, slowly started differing from its parent languages through influence from the local dialects and gradually took the shape that we know today as Bengali.
Old Bengali Period Till 1200 CE
Proto-Bengali, which further leads on to Old Bengali is postulated to have happened between 10th and 12th CE. In the course of time, this language adopted various features, which went on to be characteristic ones for it. The notable development during this phase was literary traditions, flourishing especially within religious and cultural centers in Bengal. At this stage, the Bengali language was highly influenced by Sanskrit, especially in the vocabulary and the structure of sentences.
The most vital development that occurred during this time was the appearance of the Charyapada, a collection of Buddhist mystic poems from the 8th-12th century, and it is accepted as one of the first examples of written Bengali. Charyapada texts written in a tongue that intermixes elements of Sanskrit and the nascent vernacular Bengali form an excellent source of knowing the phonetic and grammatical features of Old Bengali.
Influence of Sanskrit
Although other languages of the Indian subcontinent were similarly influenced by Sanskrit, it continued to exert great influence on the development of Bengali. The word stock of the emerging language was replete with loanwords from Sanskrit in religious, philosophical, and literary contexts. Old Bengali grammar, especially syntax and morphology, was also largely Sanskritized.
The vocabulary in the early Bengali language was more or less similar to the Indo-Aryan languages where heavy borrowing from Sanskrit happened. This is especially the case in areas of culture, religion, and administration.
2. Medieval Bengali Language (1200 CE - 1700 CE)
Persian and Arabic Influences
The medieval period has seen the Bengali language go through some significant changes in this regard due to the Persian and Arabic influences. This was essentially a consequence of the Muslim regime in Bengal, which dates back to the Delhi Sultanate from the 13th century up to the Bengal Sultanate from the 14th to the 16th century and the Mughal Empire from the 16th to the 18th century. The Bengali language borrowed a massive number of Persian and Arabic words mainly in the areas of administration, trade, culture, and science.
The rise of Persian as the language of administration under the Sultans and Mughals introduced a wave of Persian and Arabic loanwords into Bengali. This significantly affected the vocabulary of Bengali, especially in the fields of governance, literature, and religion. Words concerning law, governance, military, and culture became infused with Persian influences, leading to a distinct style of Bengali that was much richer in terms of vocabulary and expression.
Emergence of Bengali Literature
The medieval period also witnessed the rise of significant Bengali literature, which became more accessible to the common people. Some of the notable literary contributions from this time include the Mangal Kavyas (a genre of religious poetry) and the Vaishnava texts, particularly the Chaitanya Charitamrita by Krishnadasa Kaviraja (16th century). The Vaishnava movement had a deep impact on the language, bringing regional dialects and folk forms into the literary tradition.
By the late medieval period, Bengali had gained an identity as a language of both literature and religion, and its phonetics, grammar, and syntax began to develop further, which eventually gave birth to the modern Bengali language we know today.
3. Early Modern Bengali Language (1700 CE - 1850 CE)
British Colonial Influence
The arrival of the British East India Company in the 17th century and the eventual colonization of Bengal had deep effects on the Bengali language. English began to be introduced as the language of administration, education, and governance and influenced Bengali in terms of both vocabulary and syntax. The effects of English were most strongly felt in the areas of commerce, administration, and higher education.
In this regard, there was a decline in the usage of Persian and Arabic terms because English started to dominate in both administration and media. The colonial period was, however, a period of great intellectual ferment in Bengal that led to the development of a new literary style. Writers like Raja Rammohan Roy and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay started writing in Bengali. The modernized and standard form of the language gave a blow to the obsolete and Persian-influenced vocabulary that was characteristic of the medieval period.
Modern Standardization of Bengali Grammar
Bengal saw an era of standardization during the early modern period. Its linguists and scholars began codifying the Bengali grammar. The modernization and simplification of Bengali, along with this effort of making a language more acceptable, has been brought in by the reformers and intellectuals of that time. The call for using one type of Bengali more acceptable for the printed and official uses gained the attention of intellectuals to form a proper Bengali grammar. All these combined were necessary to introduce modern Bengali.
Writers such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore helped standardize the Bengali language to better suit literary and academic use. Bankim's Vande Mataram (1870s) and Tagore's vast work of writing established a clear, standardized written form of Bengali that is in use today.
4. Modern Bengali (1850 CE - Present)
The Standardization of the Language
Modern Bengali, as we know it, came to being in the last decades of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century, as the language took on quite significant changes regarding vocabulary, phonetics, and grammar. The same period also saw the development of a standard written form of Bengali, based on the dialect of the Kolkata region-then Calcutta-the hub of administration, education, and cultural development in British India.
It is noted that, in the later end of the 19th century to early 20th century Bengali literature saw a Renaissance with writers such as Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay that defined this modern style. Tagore played an important role defining this modern language in Bengali through his poems, novels, and songs. His use of colloquial and conversational language brought the spoken and written forms of Bengali closer together, thereby making the language more accessible to common people.
Role of Bengali Renaissance
Modernizing the Bengali language and literature became significant during the Bengali Renaissance spanning 19th and early 20th centuries. Through the likes of Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Michael Madhusudan Dutt, reformers targeted not just the social and political reforms of Bengal but even the very language itself. These stalwarts were in fact great agents in Bengali becoming the language of modernity, rationality, and progress.
Vidyasagar's contribution, especially in the sphere of education, literature, and particularly to simplify grammar and creating standard orthography for Bengali, makes it possible for the Bengal language to become a handy language in everyday use today. The institutions for education were established; the presses with the aid of the establishment of the printing business houses and newspapers promoted standardization.
Influence of English, Globalization
Bengali has been continuously changing in the modern era with globalization and the dominance of English. The use of the internet, digital communication, and global media has increased the use of English loanwords in the Bengali vocabulary, especially in technology, business, and entertainment. Despite all these influences, however, Bengali has still preserved a good deal of its peculiar phonetic and syntactic structure, as it also yields to the pressure of modern life.
Contemporary Bengali Dialects
Bengali is spoken today in various dialects, which have been influenced by geography, history, and socio-cultural factors. The two variants of Bengali are Standard Bengali, which is based on the dialect of Kolkata, and Chittagonian Bengali, which is spoken in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. In addition, the dialects of the Barisal, Khulna, and Rajshahi regions of Bangladesh and the districts of West Bengal show distinct linguistic characteristics.
5. Key Differences Between Ancient and Modern Bengali
Phonetics and Pronunciation
One of the most notable differences between ancient and modern Bengali is in the area of pronunciation. Ancient Bengali, particularly the form used in medieval texts, had a different system of vowel and consonant sounds, which has evolved significantly over time. In modern Bengali, many consonants have softened or disappeared, and vowel sounds have changed. For example, the early form.
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References:
- Suniti Kumar Chatterji. (1926). The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language. Calcutta: University of Calcutta. This foundational work by Suniti Kumar Chatterji is considered a key reference in understanding the development of Bengali from its Indo-Aryan roots to its present form.
- Braj B Kachru. (2008). The Handbook of Asian Englishes. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. This book provides insights into the spread and development of Asian languages, including Bengali, and discusses its influences from Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and English.
- Sumit Sarkar. (2001). Bengali Literature and Its Sources: A Historical and Linguistic Study. Dhaka: Bangla Academy. A comprehensive study on Bengali literature and its linguistic evolution, exploring the language's transformations over the centuries.
- A. C Sharma. (1998). The Development of Bengali Language and Literature. New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications. This work examines the literary contributions in Bengali, focusing on the interplay between the language’s evolution and the cultural shifts in the region.
- Rabindranath Tagore. (1913). Gitanjali: Song Offerings. London: Macmillan. While this book is primarily a collection of Tagore's poetry, it also showcases the evolution of modern Bengali, particularly Tagore's efforts in refining the language.
- R. K Rai. (1979). A History of Bengali Language and Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. Rai's comprehensive history offers a detailed analysis of the development of Bengali, focusing on both linguistic and literary aspects.
- N. N Ray. (1976). A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society. This book offers insights into the comparative aspects of the Bengali language and its development within the Indo-Aryan language family.
- Bengali Language and Literature. (1998). Encyclopaedia Britannica. An article from the Encyclopaedia Britannica that outlines the history of Bengali as a language and its development over centuries.
- Kazi Nurul Hossain. (1977). The Social History of Bengal and Its Linguistic Developments. Dhaka: University Press Limited. This work ties together the social history of Bengal with the linguistic changes that occurred in the region.
- J Wright. (1900). A Grammar of the Bengali Language. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press. A historical grammar of Bengali, detailing the linguistic structures and features of early and medieval Bengali.