Speak Bengali fluently? Here’s why learning English will be atyanta sahaj for you
News Editor, Takmaa News, Kolkata, 10th Aug 2022 : Considered one of the world’s sweetest languages, Bengali is an extremely passionate language that emerges from the land of art, culture, history, literature, and of course Sondesh. Even everyday common phrases that almost everyone has heard like ‘Ami tomake bhalobasi’ or ‘Tomake amar bhalo lage’ sounds as sweet as sugar syrup dripping from roshogullas. The poetry, music, and literature that was originally written in the Bengali language, are so influential and beautiful to read, even today.
The language has also had immense and strong contributions to the Indian Independence movement, with even the Indian National Anthem and National Song being written in this language. It is a language that is very easy to speak and comprehend but at the same time some grammatical patterns, vocabulary, and pronunciations can be a little difficult to grasp easily. The sweetness mixed with the complexity is what makes this language so unique. For speakers who have mastered the Bengali language, learning English does not seem that tough a task, especially with Duolingo’s new course language that enables you to become proficient in English. As they say, ‘Ekti bhasha jotheshto noy’ (one language is never enough).
English is known as the ‘global lingua franca’ – a bridge language, as it is used by over 1/3rd of the world’s population. Thus, knowing English opens global doors of opportunity. Moreover, Bengali and English are similar yet so different. Wondering how? Let’s find out!
The English language has many words derived from Bengali
English is a language which has borrowed words from various languages and one such language is Bengali. The word “bungalow,” meaning “a small house,” used in English is derived from Bengali. ‘Jute’ is another such word taken from Bengali which refers to a fibre used to make gunny bags. Dinghy – a small boat carried on a larger boat is also a word derived from Bengali.
Bengali & English do not ascribe genders to inanimate objects
Unlike Hindi and Sanskrit, nouns in Bengali use gender-neutral pronouns, especially when it comes to inanimate objects. Genders are reserved for humans and living things. The related verbs also have no gender. The language also makes minimal changes to the adjectives. The same concept and logic is used in the English language as well.
Bengali words replaced by English words
There are many words in Bengali which are not used by even the native speakers. These Bengali words have been mostly replaced by English language:
1. Kedara – Chair
2. Peyala – Cup
3. Udojahaj – Aeroplane
4. Bisram – Rest
5. Charpaya – Table
6. Durodorshon – Television
7. Kolom – Pen
8. Durobhash – Telephone
9. Rashid – Receipt
10. Jolkhabar – Snacks
Differences between Bengali and English
Along with similarities, in order to learn the language, it is also important for the learner to understand and recognize the differences between both the languages. From alphabets to dialects there are a lot of differences between both the languages including variations in the tongue position, lip position, lip rounding, as well as vertical and horizontal tongue height. Additionally, no Bengali pure vowel or monophthong is comparable to English pure vowel.
Duolingo now makes learning English from Bengali a piece of cake!
