Bengali vocabulary
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The origins of words in the Bengali vocabulary are numerous and diverse, due to centuries of contact with various languages.
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[edit] Linguistic classification
Bengali (বাংলা Bangla) is one of the Magadhan languages, which form the eastern group of the Indic branch of the Indo-European language family. The core of Bengali vocabulary is thus etymologically Indo-European. However, centuries of borrowing has led to the adoption of a wide range of words with foreign origins.
[edit] Classifications of origin types
The typical Bengali dictionary lists 75,000 separate words, of which 50,000 (67%) are considered তৎসম tôtshôm (words directly reborrowed from Sanskrit), 21,100 (28%) are তদ্ভব tôdbhôb (native Bengali vocabulary), and the rest being বিদেশী bideshi (foreign) and deshi (indigenous Austroasiatic) borrowings.
However, these figures do not take into account the fact that a huge chunk of these words are archaic or highly technical, minimizing their actual usage. The productive vocabulary used in modern literary works, in fact, is made up mostly (67%) of tôdbhôb words, while tôtshôm reborrowings only make up 25% of the total. Deshi and bideshi borrowings together make up the remaining 8% of the vocabulary used in modern Bengali literature.
[edit] Examples of borrowed words
Due to centuries of contact with Europeans, Mughals, Arabs, Persians, and East Asians, Bengali has absorbed countless words from foreign languages, often totally integrating these borrowings into the core vocabulary. The most common borrowings from foreign languages come from three different kinds of contact. Close contact with neighboring peoples facilitated the borrowing of words from Hindi, Assamese, Chinese, Burmese, and several indigenous Austroasiatic languages of Bengal. After centuries of invasions from Persia and the Middle East, particularly under the Mughal Empire, numerous Turkish, Arabic, and Persian words were absorbed and fully integrated into the lexicon. Later, European colonialism brought words from Portuguese, French, Dutch, and most significantly English. Some very common borrowings are shown below.
[edit] Borrowings from neighboring languages
Austroasiatic (দেশী Deshi)
alu "potato", kuŗi "twenty", khuki "girl", khoka "boy", khõcha "stab", khõj "notice", chal "rice grains", chingŗi "shrimp", chula "oven, stove", jhinuk "shell", jhol "gravy", ţhêng "leg", đhol "dhol", peţ "belly", boba "mute", maţh "field, open land", muŗi "puffed rice"
Hindi
achchha "okay", chahida "demand", kahini "story", faltu "useless"
Chinese (চীনা China)
cha "tea", chini "sugar", lichu "lychee", elachi "cardamom"
Burmese (বর্মী Bormi)
lunggi "lungi"
[edit] Borrowings from the Mughal era
Arabic (আরবি Arbi)
akkel "wisdom", alada "separate", ashol "real", elaka "area", ojon "weight", kôbor "grave", kamij "shirt", khôbor "news", khali "empty", khêal "consideration", gorib "poor", jôbab/jôoab "answer", jôma "collect", jinish "thing", tarikh "date", dunia "world", nôkol "fake", fokir "poor person", boi "book", bôdol "exchange", baki "remaining", môshola "spice", shaheb "sir", hishab "calculation"
Persian (ফার্সি Farsi)
aoaj "sound", andaj "guess", aena "mirror", aram "comfort", aste "softly", kagoj "paper", kharap "bad", khub "very", gôrom "hot", chôshma "glasses", chakri "job", chador "blanket", jan "dear", jaega "place", đegchi "pot", dôm "breath", deri "late", dokan "store", bôd "bad", bagan "garden", bachcha "child", môja "fun", rasta "road", roj "everyday", shôsta "inexpensive", hindu "Hindu"
Turkish (তুর্কি Turki)
kãchi "scissors", chôkmôk "sparkle", dada "paternal grandfather" (in Bangladesh), dadi "paternal grandmother" (in Bangladesh), nana "maternal grandfather" (in Bangladesh), nani "maternal grandmother" (in Bangladesh), baburchi "cook, chef", begom "lady", lash "corpse"
[edit] Borrowings from the Colonial Era
Dutch (ওলন্দাজ Olondaj)
The few borrowings from Dutch remaining in Bangla mostly involve card games, including iskabôn "spade", ţêkka "ace", turup "trump", ruitôn "diamond", and hôrtôn "heart".
Portuguese (পর্তুগিজ Portugij)
Portuguese borrowings mostly describe household items, fruits, and religious concepts dealing with Catholicism:
Household
almari "closet, cupboard", istri "iron", gamla "basket", chabi "key", janala "window", toale "towel", baranda "verandah", balti "pail", bashon "dish", botol "bottle", botam "button", shaban "soap"
Fruits
anarôsh "pineapple", pẽpe "papaya", peara "guava"
Religion
girja "church", jishu "Jesus", padri "Catholic priest"
French (ফরাসি Fôrashi)
Only a handful of French borrowings are still used in Bangla today, including ãsh "plant fiber", ingrej "English", olondaj "Dutch", kartuj "cartridge", restorã "restaurant", and shemiz "chemise".
English (ইংরেজি Ingreji)
Most borrowed words of European origin in Bangla were imported through English and involve civic and household concepts:
Civic Life
apish/ôfish "office", jel "jail", đaktar "doctor", pulish "police", bêngk "bank", bhoţ "vote", iskul/skul "school", hashpatal "hospital"
Household
kap "cup", glash "glass", chear "chair", ţebil "table", baksho "box", lônţhôn "lantern"
[edit] See also
| Topics related to the Bengali language |
| Grammar • Phonology • Vocabulary • Dialects • Consonant clusters • Script • Romanization • Literature • Language Movement • International Mother Language Day |
