As ancient Ráŕh is our main subject matter, before we begin to discuss the language of Ráŕh, we should say something about the origin of language. Though the inhabitants of Ráŕh are a mixed race of Austric and Negro (and in a few cases Mongolian), there is an abundance of Sanskrit words in the language of Ráŕh. The language is replete with tatsama words [Sanskrit words used in unchanged form in the Bengali language], bhagnatatsama words [Sanskrit words used in changed form in Bengali language], tadbhava words [Bengali words derived from Sanskrit root but used in a corrupted form in the Bengali language] and semi-tadbhava words [Bengali words derived from Sanskrit root but corrupted to the point of their roots being unrecognizable]. About ninety-two percent of the words are directly or indirectly related to the Sanskrit language. Ráŕh is situated in the extreme east of India. If Sanskrit were a foreign language and if it were thought to have come into India across its north-west border, then how could so many Sanskrit words have entered the colloquial language of the remote outpost Ráŕh? It will not, therefore, be out of place to guess that Sanskrit had almost no relation with the influx of the Aryans, nor is Sanskrit of foreign origin.

The language in which the Vedic scriptures were composed was not Sanskrit; hence it is called the Vedic language. There is a heaven-and-hell difference between Sanskrit and Vedic. What many people say, that the Prákrta language is a metamorphosed form of this Vedic language, is true to some extent. Some parts of Prákrta are purely a popular form of Sanskrit, and other parts are a popular form of a mixture of Sanskrit and Vedic.

A language survives for approximately one thousand years on the average. Were Prákrta [entirely] a metamorphosed form of the ancient Vedic language, by now it would have veered so greatly from that Vedic that the trail of its lineage would have been lost. Instead of regarding Sanskrit as the changed form of Vedic, we shall have to search for the origin of Prákrta.

The few foreign words found in ancient Bengali literature did not come to Ráŕh either leaping or limping on horseback across the soil of the Áryyávarta. Those words came by river through foreign trade with Ráŕh. We received words such as kágaj [paper], vanát [velvet], palte [wick], adálat [court of law], káchári [office], and rajju [rope] in this way. I said earlier that the Mayurakshi, Ajay, Damodar, Dwarakeshwar, Rupnarayan, Kangsavati and Suvarnarekha rivers of Ráŕh were navigable even a few hundred years ago. Ships navigated them, foreign trade went on. The principal exports of Ráŕh were shál wood, fine rice, silk, tasar [cloth of non-mulberry silk], scented articles, fine cloth (Vishnupuri muslin, dhúpcháyá saris made in Burdwan), sugar, copper, etc. It could be assumed that along with this export trade, the import of a few items would go on in a natural way. So on river-bank sites in Ráŕh and the regions of Bagri near Ráŕh we find earthenware from Egypt and drinking vessels from China. No wonder if some foreign words came in as well! An ancient port of Ráŕh engaged (lipta) mainly in the export of copper (támra) was called Támralipta (now Tamluk). In the past, copper was abundantly available in Támákhun of Puncha [Block], in the Manbhum area of Ráŕh [Purulia District and adjoining areas]. Following the destruction of the ancient port of Támralipta, another port was built in Ráŕh – Saptagram in the district of Hooghly.

There are seven metamorphosed forms of Sanskrit, that is, seven Prákrta languages. (Prákrta means “related to the populace”.) They are 1) Mágadhii Prákrta of eastern India, 2) Shaorasenii Prákrta of mid-northern India, 3) Paeshácii Prákrta of north-western India, 4) Páshcatya [Western] Prákrta of extreme northwestern India, 5) Saendhavii Prákrta of the Sindhu Delta, 6) Málavii Prákrta of mid-western India and (7) Maháráśt́rii Prákrta of south-western India.

In connection with Ráŕh, the subject of Mágadhii Prákrta needs further elaboration. Mágadhii Prákrta has two daughters: a) Púrvii [Eastern] Ardha-Mágadhii and b) Pashcimii [Western] Ardha-Mágadhii. Púrvii Ardha-Mágadhii in turn has six daughters, and Pashcimii Ardha-Mágadhii four daughters. The six daughters of Púrvii Ardha-Mágadhii are i) Maethilii, ii) Angika, iii) Báḿlá [Bengali], iv) Assamese, v) Oriya and vi) Koshali. The four daughters of Pashcimii Ardha-Mágadhii are i) Magahi, ii) Bhojpuri, iii) Nagpuri (Sadani) and (iv) Chattrishgarhi. Of them, though Nagpuri has come from Pashcimii Ardha-Mágadhii, Báḿlá and Koshali have had a tremendous influence on it. And though Koshali has come from Púrvii Ardha-Mágadhii, Nagpuri and Chattrishgarhi, which have come from Pashcimii Ardha-Mágadhii, have had a tremendous influence on it. Chattrishgarhi comes from Pashcimii Ardha-Mágadhii, yet it has been greatly influenced by Koshali, from Púrvii Ardha-Mágadhii, and the Váŕárii language (Vidarbha) of Maharashtra Prákrta.

Chattrishgarhi is such a remote language of Mágadhii that the languages of Shaorasenii Prákrta did not have any influence on it. Chattrishgarhi does not show change in gender of a verb in consonance with change in gender of the subject in nominative case, which is one of the many characteristics of the Shaorasenii language. But though Maethilii has come from Mágadhii, it does show, in some cases, change in gender of a verb in consonance with change in gender in nominative case (only in the present perfect tense, such as Rám geláh [“Ram has gone”], Siitá geliih [“Sita has gone”]). Such changes are more frequent in Bhojpuri. For example, Rám karatá, Siitá karatiiyá). This is so because Shaorasenii Prákrta is geographically close to Bhojpuri.

Bengali, which has come from Púrvii Ardha-Mágadhii, is the language of Ráŕh. Within this Bengali language there are twelve main dialects. Some of the dialects are so big that they include more than one sub-dialect within them. The twelve dialects are:

1) Mid-Ráŕhii Báḿlá:

a) Birbhum District, except for Nalhati and Murari
b) Kandi Subdivision
c) Dumka, Jámtuŕá and Deoghar Subdivisions of Santal Parganas District
d) Durgapur and Asansol Subdivisions of Burdwan District
e) Dhanbad District (up to Pareshnath Hill in the west)
f) Purulia District
g) some parts of Giridih District
h) the eastern part of Ranchi District, – Silli, Sonahatu, Bundu and Tamáŕ
i) the north-eastern part of Singhbhum District
j) Midnapur District except for the Contai area
k) Bankura District except for the Indás police station

Within this dialect there are numerous sub-dialects. Two of the many characteristics of this dialect are: i) the use of the second [objective] case-ending if destination is meant, for example, Mui ghare áchi [“I am at home”], but Mui gharke yábu [“I shall go home”], ii) the use of the suffix ek in the first person of a transitive verb, for example, dilek [“I/We shall deliver”], dibek [“I/We shall give”], basibek [“I/We shall sit”], habek [“I/We shall be”].

Tathástu baliyá devii dilá baradán,
Dudhe bháte thákibek tomár santán.

–Bharatchandra

[“Blessed thou art” was the boon of the goddess,
“Your children will live in affluence.”]

2) Contai Báḿlá: It extends from the mouth of the Rasulpur River to the mouth of the Suvarnarekha River.

3) Kolkata Báḿlá: It is spoken in a) the city of Kolkata and b) the adjoining regions of Ráŕh and Bagri.

4) Shantipuri Báḿlá:

a) Nadia District
b) the southern part of eastern Murshidabad
c) the areas along the bank of the Bhagirathi River in Burdwan District
d) the Bijpur-Naihati regions of 24 Parganas District. (At one time this [sub-dialect of] Shantipuri Báḿlá was the literary Báḿlá.)

5) Sher Shahvadiiya or Jangipuri Báḿlá:

a) most areas of Murshidabad District
b) the Nalhati-Murari police station areas of Birbhum District
c) Pakurh and Rajmahal Subdivisions in Santal Parganas
d) Maldah District (Sher Shahvad Pargana is located in Maldah District)
e) some parts of Katihar District
f) Nawabgunj Subdivision of Rajshahi District. (This dialect contains some sub-dialects.)

6) Jessore Báḿlá:

a) Jessore District except for Banagram Subdivision
b) the Sadar Subdivision of Khulna District
c) Gopalgunj Subdivision of Faridpur District

7) Chandradwipi Báḿlá:

a) the whole of Bakhargunj District
b) Patuakhali District
c) Bagerhat Subdivision of Khulna District
d) the areas adjoining Madaripur Subdivision of Faridpur District

8) Bikrampuri Báḿlá:

a) Dhaka District
b) the eastern part of Pabna District
c) the areas adjoining Faridpur District

9) Sylheti Báḿlá:

a) Sylhet District
b) Kachar District
c) the adjoining areas of Mymensingh District
d) Brahmanberia Subdivision of Comilla District
e) the southern foothills of the Khasia-Jayantia Hills

10) Chattal Báḿlá:

It is spoken in the entire coastal area of Chittagong Division.⁽¹⁾
Within this dialect there are some sub-dialects.

11) Barendri Báḿlá:

a) Rajshahi District except for Nawabgunj Subdivision
b) the western part of Pabna District
c) the southern bank of the Karatoya River of Bagurha District
d) the southern part of Dinajpur District

12) Rangpuri Báḿlá:

a) Rangpur District
b) Dinajpur District
c) certain parts of Bagurha
d) West Dinajpur District
e) Coochbehar District
f) Jalpaiguri District
g) the plains of Darjeeling District
h) Kishanganj Subdivision of Purnia District and the
Palashi Police Station of Araria Subdivision
i) Goalpara District of Assam
j) Jhampa District of Nepal

[As we can see,] Bengali has a number of sub-dialects. The above list [also] tells us that five dialects or so, some primary and some secondary, are prevalent in Ráŕh. Today every dialect of Bengali has a natural tendency towards literary Bengali. And within a short time, no dialect will be prevalent among the people. So all the folk-rhymes and folk-songs of the different dialects should be collected and preserved without delay. Otherwise, there will be no trace of them within another fifty years.

Bengali pronunciation: Every language has some specialities of pronunciation. The dialects of Ráŕh as well as the [other dialects of the] Bengali language have a host of specialities in pronunciation. These specialities more or less follow the Yajurvedic system. Unlike “a” in the English alphabet, which has twenty-one different pronunciations, a [the first letter of all Indo-Aryan alphabets] is pronounced mainly in three ways in India: 1) saḿvrta [[closed]], 2) vivrta [[open]] and 3) tiryak [[distorted]]. When a is pronounced according to the saḿvrta system, it sounds like “au” in the English word “authentic”. When a is pronounced according to the vivrta system, it sounds somewhat like “u” in the English word “but”. And when a is pronounced according to the tiryak system, it sounds somewhat like “o” in the English word “origin”. In the Bengali language the saḿvrta and tiryak pronunciations of a are in use, while the vivrta is not in use.

The pronunciation of ণ [cerebral ńa] in Bengali is according to the Yajurvedic rule – নঁ [dental na with dot and crescent to indicate nasalization]. It is not like the Rgvedic ঢ়ঁ [ŕha with dot and crescent to indicate nasalization]. In Bengali the pronunciations of antahstha ব [the semi-vowel va] and vargiiya ৰ [ba belonging to a particular varga, or group of consonants, namely the labial group] are the same. In Bengali, regarding the pronunciations of antahstha য [the semi-vowel ya] and antahstha য় [the semi-vowel ya occurring in the middle of a word], Padánte padamadhyasthe ya-kár “ia” ucyate, that is, “If the letter comes at the beginning of a word, it is pronounced somewhat like vargiiya জ [ja belonging to a particular varga, or group of consonants, namely the palatal group] (it is pronounced like a soft version of vargiiya ja), but if it is in the middle or at the end, it is pronounced ia.” ড় and ঢ় [ŕa and ŕha in the middle of a word] follow the same rule as does য়. As regards two of the other semi-vowel letters, র [ra] and ব [va] (ua) the difference between their semi-vowel and non-semi-vowel versions has been lost.⁽²⁾ In Bengali the semi-vowel ল [la] has no pronunciation of ল় [lra]. In Bengali dental স [sa] has almost no [separate] pronunciation. In most cases, the pronunciation of tálavya শ [palatal sha] is used. Múrdhanya ষ [cerebral śa] has no separate pronunciation, but in accordance with the Yajurvedic rule, if this ষ follows ক [ka], it is pronounced like ক্ষ [kśa – an aspirated “k” sound]. In Assamese and Punjabi, however, múrdhanya ষ is pronounced in all cases like múrdhanya খ [cerebral kha – খ being used here for purposes of illustration].

As regards the pronunciations of mahápráń [letters – i.e., emphatic letters] and hiinapráń [letters – i.e., mild letters] in the Bengali language, mahápráń has not been given much importance. In fact, except for the Sher Shahvadiya dialect, in no dialect do we find full pronunciation of mahápráń [letters]. In Chattal and some other dialects, the pronunciation of mahápráń is almost negligible. In the pronunciation of words of the Kolkata dialect, the mahápráń pronunciation is given fully only at the beginning of the words: for example, chele [“boy”], d́háká [covered], jháláno [soldering], thálá [plate] dhámá [a basket made of rattan], etc. If such letters are in or at the end of words, they are converted into the respective hiinapráń: for example, mách (mác) [fish], májh (máj) [middle], kathá (katá) [word], sádh (sád) [desire], etc.

Full pronunciation and pronunciation with hasanta [consonantal mark]: For the most part all letters in the Bengali language are fully pronounced. There are, however, some exceptions, such as Shiva (Shiv), Ráma (Rám), rúpa (rúp), etc. The rules which govern such pronunciations are roughly as follows:

1) The consonants are fully pronounced if they are at the beginning of, or in the middle of, words, but if they are at the end of words, they are pronounced with consonantal mark; for example, rúpa becomes rúp, but rúpaváńii will not be pronounced as rúpváńii, as pa is no longer at the end of the word, it has now come inside the word. So its pronunciation will be rúp-a-váńii. Shiva will be Shiv, but Shivarám will be Shiv-a-rám, Shivaprasád will be Shiva-a-prasád.

2) In the case of a conjunct letter, it will be fully pronounced; pronunciation with hasanta [consonantal mark] is not acceptable – for example, Kanishka (not Kanishk), Devadatta (not Devadat), Vaedya (not Vaed), etc.

3) Even if the letter is not a conjunct, its pronunciation will be full, should there be a suffix like kta in krdanta or ta in taddhitartha;⁽³⁾ for example, sammata [“agreed”] (not sammat), grhiita [“accepted”] (not grhiit), sthagita [“postponed”] (not sthagit), álocita [“discussed”] (not álocit), diirgháyata [“prolonged”] (not diirgháyat), etc. It is a pity that very often incorrect pronunciations such as sthagit, ápyáyit, etc., are heard on radio and television. This creates confusion among students. The lack of knowledge of Bengali phonetics is the cause of this kind of defective pronunciation.

4) Even in the absence of suffixes such as kta and ta, non-[conjuncts] will be fully pronounced if the letter concerned is preceded by anusvára (ং [aḿ]), visarga (ঃ [ah]), the sign for ঐ [ae] or the sign for ঔ [ao], for example, Kaḿsa (not Kaḿs), vaḿsha [“lineage, pedigree”] (not vaḿsh), siḿha [“lion”] (not siḿ), duhkha [“woe”] (not dukh), nihsva [“penniless”] (not nis), Jaena [“Jain”] (not Jaen), gaońa [“inconsequential”] (not gaoń), saodha [“mansion”] (not saodh), etc. Moreover, where as a consequence of metamorphosis vowels are used in place of consonants in Sanskrit, it is desirable to use i and u (respectively) instead of ae and ao even if there is no difference so far as pronunciation is concerned. (I have not mentioned ঈ [ii] and ঊ [ú], as they are not pronounced in Bengali.) Dadhi → dahi → dai (dai, not dae [though the pronunciation would be the same – dai indicates that a vowel has replaced a consonant]), badhú → bahu → bau (bau, not bao), madhu → mahu → mau (mau, not mao).

5) Words which are created with the suffix d́a will be pronounced fully; for example, jalada [“rain-cloud”] (not jalad), varada [“one who gives a boon”] (not varad), Amitábha (not Amitábh), drutaga [“someone or something that goes fast”] (not drutag), etc.

Footnotes

(1) Modern Bangladesh (which is basically coextensive with the eastern part of Samatat and with Vauṋga-D́abák) consists of six divisions, each containing several districts. –Trans.

(2) The non-semi-vowel version of ra is r, and the non-semi-vowel version of va is ba. –Trans.

(3) Krdanta and taddhitartha are two kinds of suffixes. When kta or ta is suffixed to a root, it does not mean that the resulting word will necessarily contain kta or ta in that exact form. –Trans.