Bangladeshi English
Bangladeshi English, Banglish, Benglish or Anglo-Bangla (similar and related to British English) is a Bangladeshi variety of English heavily influenced by Bengali.[1][2] The term Benglish is recorded from 1972, and Banglish slightly later, in 1975.[3]
Use
Bengali is the sole official and national language of Bangladesh, but English is often used secondarily in the higher tier of the judiciary. Laws were written in English during the colonial periods. Since the introduction of Bangla Bhasha Procolon Ain, all the laws by parliament and all Ordinances promulgated by the President are being enacted in Bengali.[4]
There are 10 English language newspapers in Bangladesh. English medium schools are also operated in English. Mainly, the people of Bangladeshi descent residing in the UK and the US and students of English medium schools use Benglish. However, upon public demand in 2012, the High Court of Bangladesh banned the use of Benglish, described as a slang mixture of Bengali and English, in radio and television programs "to protect local tongue."[5]
History
The East India Company adopted English as the official language of the empire in 1835. Replacement of the Persian language with English was followed by a surge in English language learning among Bengali babus. English remained an official language of the region until 1956 when the first constitution of Pakistan was adopted stating Bengali and Urdu as the official languages of the state following Bengali language movement from 1947 to 1956.
After independence, Bengali became the sole official language of Bangladesh, and all English-medium universities, schools and colleges were converted to Bengali instruction in order to spread mass education.
Literature
English literature in Bangladesh includes Sultana's Dream by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, and the English translation of Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
Numbering system
The Indian numbering system is preferred for digit grouping. When written in words, or when spoken, numbers less than 100,000/100 000 are expressed just as they are in Standard English. Numbers including and beyond 100,000 / 100 000 are expressed in a subset of the South Asian numbering system.
Thus, the following scale is used:
| In digits (International system) | In digits (South Asian system) | In words (long and short scales) | In words (South Asian system) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | ten | |||
| 100 | one hundred | |||
| 1,000 | one thousand | |||
| 10,000 | ten thousand | |||
| 100,000 | 100,000 | one hundred thousand | one lakh | |
| 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | one million | ten lakh | |
| 10,000,000 | 10,000,000 | ten million | one koti | |
See also
References
- Burhanuddin Khan Jahangir (2002). Nationalism, fundamentalism, and democracy in Bangladesh. International Centre for Bengal Studies. p. 109.
- "The Two Men: Formative Stage". The Journal of the Institute of Bangladesh Studies. Rajshahi: Institute of Bangladesh Studies. 30: 10. 2007.
- Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 22. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
- "Towards creating an indigenous legal corpus in Bangla". The Daily Star. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- "Bangladesh bans 'Banglish' to protect local tongue". The Express Tribune. Agence France-Presse. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2015.