Mind Your Language

It’s startling to know that Bengalis are the only linguistic-community who have had to fight and give blood for their language, shining a light on the importance of language

There are 6,500 languages spoken across the world. Each and every one of them make the world a diverse and beautiful place. Sadly, some of these languages are less widely spoken than others and as social and economic power shifts towards those languages that are considered prestigious (approximately 13 in total) it is predicted that upto 90% of the world’s languages will become extinct by the year 2100.

Our first language is integral to our identity and positively impacts our concepts of ourselves and as such Loss of a language means the breakdown of a culture and ultimately the loss of diversity that is integral to preserving our world. As communities lose their language, they often also lose parts of their cultural traditions which are tied to that language, such as songs, myths, poetry, local remedies, ecological and geological knowledge.

The theme for International Mother Language day 2021 is “Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society”. British Bengalis are silently renowned for juggling many voices and languages: English, Hindi, home voice, work voice, and of course: Bangla.

In Keeping with the theme of 21st of February 2021 – we would like to encourage you all to embrace and learn a bit more about your mother tongue.

Bengali is the only Official Language in Bangladesh, and co-official language in the Indian states of Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal. However, there are a further 36 Languages spoken by nearly 37M people (22%) which include: Chittagonian, Rangpuri, Sylheti, Noakhailla, Bangla Sign Language, Rohingya, Bihari, Santhali, Rakhine, Oraon Sadri, Marma, Chakma, Garo, Tippera, Kurux, Bishnupuriya, Mru, Usoi, Tangchangya, War-Jaintia, Meitei, Bawn Chin, Hajong, Sauria Paharia, Megam, Koch, Atong, Kok Borok, Pnar, Asho Chin, Chak, Mundari, Pangkhua, Khumi Chin, Kol, Koda, Lyngngam.

These languages and the cultures they are associated with make Bengal the beautiful diverse country it is, which has always stood together. It is important to recognise and embrace these languages and cultures. So, if you are a British Bengali and have never heard of the Bengali Language Movement nor spoken your mother tongue / spoken in any other Bengali language / dialect, we’ve put together some slides and an example to get you started.

Credit to Manash Chowdhury for his excellent diction and pronunciation in the various languages of Bengal. Thank you for your time 🙏🏾

• TBA