Bengali/Dialects

A dialect (উপভাষা upobhaṣa; IPA: /upobʱaʃa/) is one of the different spoken forms of a language used by a specific group of peoples speaking the language. A dialect originates from different reasons, including :

• The geographical relief :

Physical barriers like mountains or rivers that seclude a specific group of speakers of the language give rise to phonetic and grammatical differences among the group and the majority of speakers in that language, which in turn becomes a dialect. This happens because the separating barriers divide the specific language group into minor groups of speakers, which helps in the genesis of the dialect.

• Population :

Population of the language group is another deciding factor. If the population is minor, the emergence of a dialect is less likely, because it will be harder for language modifications to endure. The reason is that the phonetic and morphological changes to the language will get adjusted automatically when speakers come into contact with people who speak more standard forms of the language.

These are the most prominent reasons behind the origin of a new dialect.

Bengali linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterji grouped Bengali into four principal dialects: Rarhi, Bangali, Kamrupi and Varendri (রাঢ়ী, বঙ্গালী, কামরূপী ও বরেন্দ্রী; IPA : /raɽi/, /bɔnɡali/, /kamrupi/, /bɔrend̪ri/). Modern linguists consider Manbhumi (মানভূমী IPA : /manbʱumi/) a dialect in addition to the dialects mentioned above. Presently, there are numerous other dialects as well, which constitute a dialect continuum.

A dialect continuum is a collection of dialects where a speaker of a dialect of one extreme boundary is unable or scarcely able to understand a dialect of another boundary. E.g., a speaker of the Manbhumi dialect will not be able to understand the dialect spoken at the extreme east boundary of Bangladesh completely. But the speakers of both dialects will understand the standard dialect of Bengali, which is the dialect spoken in and around the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River Basin (ভাগীরথী-হুগলি /bʱagirot̪ʰi ɦuɡli/) in West Bengal, India. The standard dialect is the dialect used for literary and official purposes.

Basically, languages and dialects have little difference. A dialect that differs greatly from other dialects may eventually evolve into a separate language. For example, Bengali and Assamese were once dialects of a common language, Magadhi Prakrit. However, the differences between them became so prominent that they are now considered separate languages. We will first study here the five dialects mentioned above, then move to other significant dialects.

Rarhi is the dialect spoken by the Bengali-speaking people of southwestern and central parts of the state of West Bengal, India. The standard colloquial dialect of Bengali also belongs to this dialect. This dialect is characterized by:

• Extensive use of abhishruti (অভিশ্রুতি, /obʱisrut̪i/). For example, করিয়া (koriẏa /koɹi̯a/, meaning - having done) > কইরা (koira /koi̯ɹa/) > করে (kore /koɹe/).
• The change of অ to ও, when অ is the first sound of a word where the অ is followed by ই(ি), ও(ো), ক্ষ or য. For example, অতি (means 'excess') is pronounced /ot̪i/.
• Use of vowel harmony. For example, বিলাতি (/bilat̪i/, meaning - foreign) > বিলিতি (/bilit̪i/).

Abhishruti and apinihiti (অপিনিহিতি, /opiniɦit̪i/) are two phonological phenomena that occur in spoken Bengali. Apinihiti (metathesis) refers to the phonological process in which a ই or উ is pronounced before it occurs in the word. Abhishruti (umlaut) is the sound change in which this shifted ই or উ becomes removed and changes the preceding vowel. Observe the example above : করিয়া (koriẏa) > কইরা (koira) > করে (kore). At first, apinihiti changes koriẏa to koira (notice how the “i” changes the position), then abhishruti changes koira to kore.

Dialects are not the only subgroups that a language can have. There are others, like sociolects which are the differences in the spoken language due to factors such as profession, wealth or poverty, caste status and many other societal differences. Many professions have their specialized vocabulary. There is a difference in language register as well. In Tamil, the difference of speech between a Brahmin (Iyengar) and a non-Brahmin (Mudaliyar) is huge. An ethnolect is spoken by a specific ethnic group and a Regional dialect is spoken in a specific region. Finally, an idiolect is an individual's distinct use of a language. All these lects are linguistically called varieties.