The country of Bangladesh, which was called Bengal in the old days, is located northeast of India and, despite its small territory, is one of the most populous in the world. Almost 170 million people consider it their home. Ethnic Bengalis speak Bangladesh's state language - Bengali.
Some statistics and facts
- The indigenous population of Bangladesh is ethnic Bengalis, who make up 98% of the total population of the country.
- Bengali is the language of the Indo-Aryan group, otherwise called Sanskrit. It has its own spelling.
- As a foreign language in schools and universities in Bangladesh, mainly English is studied. Until 1987, it was used to write laws and was widely used in government for other purposes.
- Part of the country's population living in Bihar state prefers Urdu as their home language. In total, there are about 92 million Bihars in Bangladesh.
- The literacy rate in Bangladesh is around 55%.
Bengal and a quarter of a billion
On the planet, according to the latest census, about 250 million people speak the state language of Bangladesh. This is the sixth most common language in the world. Most of the speakers live in the former Bengal, while the rest live in the border areas with it, in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Bengal belongs to the Indo-European language family. The oldest period in the history of the Bengali language falls on the 10th century. The Middle Bengali era of language development began in the 14th century, and the New Bengali language appeared at the end of the 18th century.
Bangladeshis use bongakkhor to write. This writing goes back to the Brahmi script, which originates from the writing of the aboriginal peoples of Southeast Asia. It was forgotten in the Middle Ages and restored by the efforts of linguists during the emergence of the New Bengali language. The most ancient monuments of Brahmi writing are copper plates of the 4th-3rd centuries BC.
Tourist notes
Arm yourself with basic English as you travel Bangladesh. The local population owns it in big cities and in areas where tourist attractions are located. Important information is translated into English in restaurants, hotels and near landmarks, and an English-speaking guide can always be hired as a guide.
