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According to the 1971 census on written languages, Bangla has never been investigated systematically with regards to the ramification of the dialectal regions. But Chatterji (1926) classified the Bangla language in to five major dialects. They are as follows:
1. JhaDkhandi - the variation in south-western part of west Bengal. 2. Varendri- the variation in Northern part of west Bengal. 3. Bengali - the variation in south-eastern part of West Bengal. 4. RaDhi - the variation in central part of West Bengal. 5. Kamrupi - the variation in North-eastern part of West Bengal.
There is no significant social variation in the Bangla language based on caste, sub-caste or sub-tribe variations.
Sex variable in Bangla has been studied by the scholars like Sukumar Sen (1929), Nirmal Das (1970) and Sharmila Basu Datta(2000). The variation in the speech between men and women has been noticed at various levels like - phonology, vocabulary, syntax, use of proverbs, idioms, taboos, etc.
At the phonological level, some of the variations that are observed in the women's speech are-
স্বামী ʃami > সোয়ামি ʃoami 'husband' স্বাদ ʃad > সোয়াদ ʃoad taste'
Similarily instances of vowels height assimilation is evident in women speech like
তাচ্ছিল্য aʈʃtʃhillo >তাচ্ছিল্যি tatʃtʃhilli 'negligence'
In some dialects , mostly retained by women folk, women use 'n' instead of 'l' like
লেবু lebu > নেবু nebu ‘lemon’ লাউ lau̯ > লাউ nau ‘gourd’
At the vocabulary level , men frequently use slangs like -
ঘ্যাম ghæm 'excellent' থোবর thobor 'face' কেলো kelo 'massacre'
Which women usually never use.
There are some kinship terms which are exclusively for women, like --
জা ʤa 'sister-in-law' ননদ nɔnod 'sister-in-law' ভাসুর bhaʃur 'elder brother-in-law' দেওর dæor 'young brother-in-law'
There are certain kinship terms which are exclusively for men's use like-
শালা ʃala 'brother-in-law' শালি ʃali 'sister-in-law' ভাগ্নে bhagne 'sister's son' ভাগ্নি bhagni 'sister's daughter'
As regards to colour terms in Bangla, women are found to use some names of some shades of colours, which the men express differently, for example, in order to express various shades of the yellow colour, men express it by stating deep and light shades of the colour whereas women could express the shades by the descriptive terms like বাসন্তী baʃonti, ¸সোনালি ʃonali, কাঁচা হলুদ kãtʃa holud, লেবু হলুদ lebu holud, etc.
women often use baby talks like -
মিট্টি miʈʈi <মিষ্টি miʃʈi 'sweet' দুট্টু duʈʈu <দুষ্টু duʃʈu 'naughty' ছোট্ট tʃhoʈʈo <ছোটো tʃhoʈo 'small' বড্ড bɔɖɖo <বড় baɽo 'big'
There are suffixes which are found particularly in women's speech. some of these are :
- অন - ɔn, -অন্ত - ɔnto, - ইষ্টি - iʃʈi, - পনা - pɔna, etc. which are found in the words like
নাচন nacon 'dance' জিয়ন্ত ʤiɔnto 'alive' কমিষ্ঠি kormiʃʈhi 'work-loving' সতীপনা ʃotipɔna 'virgin-like' চাঁদপনা tʃãdpɔna 'moon-like'
Regarding the use of abusing language, women use certain terms like -
পোড়ামুখী poɽamukhi 'ill faced' পোড়াকপাল poɽakɔpal 'ill fated' কালামুখী kalamukhi 'black faced' বারোভাতারি borobhatari 'prostitute' অনামুখো ɔnamukho 'unfortunate face' আঁটকুড়ো ãʈkuɽo 'infertile' কুলমজানি kulmɔʤani 'family destructive' লক্ষীছাড়া lokkhitʃhaɽa 'vagabond' হাঘরে haghɔre 'poverty stricken / homeless' পাড়াঢলানি paɽaɖhɔlani 'public woman'
At the syntactic level, there is a marked distinction between the speeches of men and women. A more polite form of expression is normally evidenced in women's speech.
For example তোমাকে আমার ভয়ে এই কাজটা করতে হবে to make amar hoe ei̯ kaʤʈa korte hɔbe 'you have to do this work for me' (men's speech) তুমি কি আমার হয়ে এই কাজটা করে দেবে ? tumi amar hoe ei̯ kaʤʈa kore debe ? 'will you do this work for me ?' (women's speech)
The use of the particles like 'na', 'ʃɔmbhɔbɔto', 'prae̯', etc. are found in the syntactic constructions of womens's speech which are usually absent in men's speech. for example,
আজ আমাকে বাড়ি যেতে হবে aʤ amake baɽi ʤete hɔbe. 'Today I have to go home'. (men's speech) আজ আমোকে না বাড়ি যেতে হবে aʤ amake na baɽi ʤete hɔbe. 'Today I need to go home'. (women's speech)
The tendency of speaking indirectly is also a women's characteristic, which is not found generally with men's speech.
In the use of proverbs, idioms and taboo concepts, women use specific forms, which are not used by men. Some instances are given in the following:
অতি বড় সুন্দরি না পায় বর
oti baɽo ʃundori na pae̯ bhɔr
'Very beautiful women do not get husbands' (proverb)
থোঁতা মুখ ভোঁতা করে দেওয়া
thõta mukh bhõta kore deo̯a
'To put an end to one's tall talk' (Idiom)
মেঝেতে জলের আঁক করে দেওয়া
meʤhete ʤhɔler ãk kaʈle rin hhɔe̯.
'If one draws with water on the floor, he will have to take loan'.
As regards education, the educated speakers usually speak the standard variety of the language particularly in formal situations.
There is no significant variation among generations. In Bangla, age variable as a linguistic factor has not been recorded so far. Yet some minor variations on the levels of phonology and lexical choice can be noticed. For example, the final [(] of the following words as pronounced by the older generation has been replaced by [a] in the pronunciation of the younger generation:
কন্যা konnæ ~ konna 'girl'
বন্যা bonnæ ~ bonna 'flood'
Sometimes the vowel [o] as pronounced by the older generation is replaced by [ɔ] by the younger generation. For example,
মনোযোগ 'monoʤog ~ mɔnoʤog 'attention'
The existence of two varieties - Sadhu and calit can be said to be a controversial diaglossic situation in Bangla. Sadhu bhasa (chaste language) emerged by the middle of the 18th century when the literary language was adopted by the scholars in prose writings, being influenced by the Sanskrit pandits and Persian scholars. Sadhu bhasa was characterized by the highly Sanskritized vocables and borrowings from Persian vocables. This Sadhu Bhasa having a restricted use differed from the colloquial form of the language, the calit bhasa. By the beginning of the 19th century the influential thinkers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Iswarachandra Vidyasagar, BankimChandra Chattopdhyay attempted to reduce the difference between Sadhu (standard literary variety) and Calit (standard colloquial variety). The standard colloquial variety, that is, the west central dialect also known as Calcutta colloquial, entered in to literary prose in Kali Prasanna Singha's -Huttom Pechar Naksa in 1963 and in Pramatha chowdhury's (1868 -1946) journal Sabuj Patra. As a result Calit bhasa gradually outdistanced Saadhu bhasa in popularity and even in written form. However, in course of time the Sadhu and Calit bhasa came to be far less grammatically distinctive than it was a century ago.
By mid- twentieth century Bangla became highly influenced by the vocabulary item from English, which even extended to literary variety. In the later stage of development and standardization, Calcutta (KOLKATA) colloquial Bangla gained strong ground in every aspect of social and cultural life - literature, administration mass media, etc. Thus diachronically viewing the situation that exists in Bangla regarding Sadhu - Calit cannot be claimed to be a true diglossic situation. Perhaps, historically such a marginal situation of diglossia may have existed at some point of time.
B.P. Mallick (1972) discussed other use of slangs in Bangla in some detail in his book entitled Aparadh Jagater Bhasa there he has dealt with the various types of variations of the underworld languages existing in the Bangla speech community. Some instances of slang words are given in the following:
শুয়োরের বাচ্চা ʃuorer batʃtʃa 'Pig's baby' হারামি harami 'betrayer' বেজন্মা beʤɔnma 'bastard' গান্ডু ganɖu 'fool'
Some of the Bangla technical terms that are used in the market are the following :
লভ্যাংশ Įɔbbhaŋʃo 'dividend' লভ্যাংশপত্র Įɔbbhaŋʃopɔʈtro 'dividend warrant' ডলার ঘাটতি ɖɔlarghaʈti 'dollar gap' হুন্ডি গ্রাহক hunɖi granhok 'drawee' পরিশোধ্য poriʃoddho 'due for payment' আভ্যান্তরীন বাজার abbhontorin baʤar 'domestic market' শুল্কাধীন পন্য ʃulkadhin ponno 'dutiable goods' বিভাজ্য লাভ bibhaʤʤo labh 'divisible profit' গার্হস্থ্য শিল্প garhosto ʃilpo 'domestic industry' বিপনন সমিতি bipɔnon ʃomiti 'market association' পণ্য চিহৃ ponno tʃinho 'trade mark' বিপণ মুল্য bipɔn mullo 'market value' বিপণন bipɔnon 'marketing' বাজার নিয়ন্ত্রণ baʤar niɔntrɔn 'market control' মন্দা বাজার mɔmda baʤar 'depressed market'
In the field of judiciary, a lot of Bangla vocables are Perso-Arabic or Parsi in origin. For example,
বিচারবিভাগীয় bicarbibhagio 'Judiciary' তদন্ত tɔdonto 'Judicialenquiry' নির্ণায়ক সভা nirnaɔk ʃɔbha 'Jury' ন্যায়াধিপতি nãʃadhipoti 'Justice (of high court)' অধিক্ষেত্র odhikhetro 'Jurisdiction' বিচারবিভাগ bitʃarbibhag 'judiciary' বিচার সচিব bitʃar ʃotʃib 'judiciary' বিচার কর্ম bitʃar kɔrmo 'judicial proceedings' বিচার ন্যায়িক bitʃar nãyik 'judicial' ন্যায় পরিষদ nãe̯ poriʃɔd 'judicialcouncil' দারোগা daroga 'Police' মাফ maph 'Pardon' আইন আদালত ain adalɔt 'law court' উকিল ukil 'advocate' ওয়ারিশ oariʃ 'successor' কসুর koʃur 'offence' কাজিয়া kaʤia 'Dispute' কানুন kanun 'law' খিলাফ khilaph 'Infringement' জবান ʤɔban 'promise' জারি ʤari 'enforcement' জেরা ʤera 'cross examination' দলিল dolil 'deed' ফরিয়াদি phoriadi 'complaint' ফেরার pherar 'abscond' বখরা bɔkhra 'share' বাজেয়াপ্ত baʤeapto 'forfeit' মকদ্দমা mokoddoma 'lawsuit' মুনসেফ munseph 'Officer in lowest civil court' রায় rae̯ 'verdict' সনাক্ত ʃɔnak to 'Identification' সালিস ʃaliʃ Arbitrator' সাফাই ʃaphai̯ 'Cleansing' হাজত haʤot 'Lock-up' হুলিয়া hulia 'warrant' হেফাজত hephaʤɔt 'custody' বিচারাধিকার bitʃaradhikar 'Judicature' এজমাল eʤmal 'sharing' নির্বুঢ় (স্বত্ব) nirbuholʃɔttol 'complete'
Some publications (many a translated version) on medicine are available in Bangla where the registral variations are available. some examples of medical vocabulary are given in the following:
ওযুধ oʃudh 'medicine' পথ্য pottho 'sick diet' পিলের জ্বর piler ʤɔr 'spleen fever' যক্ষা ʤɔkkha 'tuberculosis' কর্কট kɔrkɔʈ 'cancer' অর্শ ɔrʃo 'piles' জিল্লি ʤilli 'membrane' সুষুমুশীর্ষক ʃuʃmnaʃirʃɔk 'medullaoblongata' অংশফলক ɔŋʃophɔlok 'scapula' মধ্যচ্ছদা moddhotʃtʃhɔda 'diaphragm' নিলয় nilɔe̯ 'ventricle' পান্ডু রোগ pa̯nɖu rog 'gall bladder disease' চিকিত্সা পরষদ tʃikitʃa pɔrʃɔd 'medical board' চিকিত্সা প্রমাণ পত্র tʃikitʃa promanpɔtro 'medical certificate'
In the field of general education, Bangla registral and stylistic variations are widely in use in each and every field of knowledge or subject. Some of the vocabulary items are given below:
শিক্ষার্থী ʃikkharthi 'educand' শিক্ষানীতি ʃikkhaniti 'principles of education' বুনিয়াদি শিক্ষা buniadi ʃikkha 'Basic education' কারিগরি শিক্ষা karigori ʃikkha 'Technical education' শরীর বিদ্যা ʃorir bidda 'Physical education' শিক্ষণ কৃত্তক ʃikkhɔn krittɔk 'Educational service' শিক্ষাবিদ ʃikkha bid 'Educationist' শিক্ষাকর ʃikkhakɔr 'Education cess' জনশিক্ষা ʤɔno ʃikkha 'Public education'
In the field of administration, there are registral variation in Bangla where one can find a great deal of influence from English. Some of the administrative terms used in Bangla are the following:
প্রশাসন proʃaʃon 'administration' প্রশাসক proʃaʃɔk 'administrator' প্রশাসন কৃত্তক proʃaʃon krittɔk 'administrative Service' প্রশাসনিক proʃaʃonik 'administrative' প্রশাসনিক অনুমোদন proʃaʃonik onmodɔn 'administrative sanction' রাজস্ব raʤoʃʃo 'revenues' সম্মতি ʃɔmmoti 'approval' কৃত্ত kritto 'function' আধিকারিক adhikarik 'officer'
In the field of religion, the registral variations that are used, are mainly from Sanskrit and Urdu. And Bangla solely is found to be used in the religious matter of the Brahma religious community.
In the field of literature and scientific matters, different types of codes and variations are found to be used in Bangla. Some instances of vocabulary items are presented in the following:
অঙ্ক ɔŋko 'Act' অতিনাটক otinaʈok 'Melodrama' অধিউপন্যস odhiuponnãʃ 'Meta- fiction' অনুকৃতি onukriti 'Mimesis' ত্রয়ী troe̯i 'Trilogy' দ্বিপদী dipodi 'Couplet' দ্বান্দিক dandik 'Dialectic' বাচন batʃon 'Discourse' যতি ʤoti 'Pause' সন্দর্ভ ʃɔndɔrbho 'Essay' সালোকসাংশ্লেষ ʃalokʃɔŋsleʃ 'Photosynthesis' স্থিতিস্থাপকতা sthitithapokɔta 'Elasticity'
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