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LINGUISTIC CLASSIFICATION

Bangla (also known as Bengali) is one of the Magadhan Languages , which form the eastern group of the Indic Branch of the Indo-European Language Family . The core of Bangla vocabulary is thus Etymologically Indo-European. However, centuries of Borrowing has led to the adoption of a wide range of words with foreign origins.


CLASSIFICATIONS OF ORIGIN TYPES


The typical Bangla dictionary lists 75,000 separate words, of which 50,000 (67%) are considered tôtshôm (words directly reborrowed from Sanskrit ), 21,100 (28%) are '''tôdbhôb''' (native Bangla vocabulary), and the rest being '''bideshi''' (foreign) and '''deshi''' (indigenous Austroasiatic ) borrowings.

However, these figures do not take into account the fact that a huge chunk of these words are archaic or highly technical, minimizing their actual usage. The productive vocabulary used in modern literary works, in fact, is made up mostly (67%) of tôdbhôb words, while tôtshôm reborrowings only make up 25% of the total. Deshi and bideshi borrowings together make up the remaining 8% of the vocabulary used in modern Bengali literature.


EXAMPLES OF BORROWED WORDS

Due to centuries of contact with Europeans , Mughals , Arabs , Persians , and East Asians , Bangla has absorbed countless words from foreign languages, often totally integrating these Borrowings into the core vocabulary. The most common borrowings from foreign languages come from three different kinds of contact. Close contact with neighboring peoples facilitated the borrowing of words from Hindi , Assamese , Chinese , Burmese , and several indigenous Austroasiatic Languages of Bengal. After centuries of invasions from Persia and the Middle East , particularly under the Mughal Empire , numerous Turkish , Arabic , and Farsi words were absorbed and fully integrated into the lexicon. Later, Europe an Colonialism brought words from Portuguese , French , Dutch , and most significantly English . Some very common borrowings are shown below.


Borrowings from neighboring languages

Deshi (Austroasiatic)

alu "potato", kuŗi "twenty", khuki "girl", khoka "boy", khñocha "stab", khñoj "notice", chal "rice grains", chingŗi "shrimp", chula "oven, stove", jhinuk "shell", jhol "gravy", ţhêng "leg", đhol " Dhol ", peţ "belly", boba "deaf", maţh "field, open land", muŗi "puffed rice"

Hindi

achchha "okay", chahida "demand", kahini "story", phaltu "useless"

China (Chinese)

cha "tea", chini "sugar", lichu "lychee", elachi "cardamom"

Bormi (Burmese)

lunggi " Lungi "


Borrowings from the Mughal era

Arbi (Arabic)

akkel "wisdom", alada "separate", ashol "real", elaka "area", ojon "weight", kôbor "grave", kamij "shirt", khôbor "news", khali "empty", khêal "consideration", gorib "poor", jôbab/jôoab "answer", jôma "collect", jinish "thing", tarikh "date", dunia "world", nôkol "fake", phokir "poor person", boi "book", bôdol "exchange", baki "remaining", môshola "spice", shaheb "sir", hishab "calculation"

Pharsi (Persian)

aoaj "sound", andaj "guess", aena "mirror", aram "comfort", aste "softly", kagoj "paper", kharap "bad", khub "very", gôrom "hot", chôshma "glasses", chakri "job", chador "blanket", jan "dear", jaega "place", đegchi "pot", dôm "breath", deri "late", dokan "store", bôd "bad", bagan "garden", bachcha "child", môja "fun", rasta "road", roj "everyday", shôsta "inexpensive", hindu "Hindu"

Turki (Turkish)

kñachi "scissors", chôkmôk "sparkle", ţhakur "lord, master", dada "paternal grandfather" (in Bangladesh), dadi "paternal grandmother" (in Bangladesh), nana "maternal grandfather" (in Bangladesh), nani "maternal grandmother" (in Bangladesh), baburchi "cook, chef", begom "lady", lash "corpse"


Borrowings from the Colonial Era

Olondaj (Dutch)

The few borrowings from Dutch remaining in Bangla mostly involve card games, including iskabôn "spade", ţêkka "ace", turup "trump", ruitôn "diamond", and hôrtôn "heart".

Portugij (Portuguese)

Portuguese borrowings mostly describe household items, fruits, and religious concepts dealing with Catholicism :

''Household''

almari "closet, cupboard", istri "iron", gamla "basket", chabi "key", janala "window", toale "towel", baranda "verandah", balti "pail", bashon "dish", botol "bottle", botam "button", shaban "soap"

''Fruits''

anarôsh "pineapple", pñepe "papaya", peara "guava"

''Religion''

girja "church", jishu "Jesus", padri "Catholic priest"

Phôrashi (French)

Only a handful of French borrowings are still used in Bangla today, including ñash "plant fiber", ingrej "English", olondaj "Dutch", kartuj "cartridge", restorña "restaurant", and shemiz "chemise".

Ingreji (English)

Most borrowed words of European origin in Bangla were imported through English and involve civic and household concepts:

''Civic Life''

apish/ôphish "office", jel "jail", đaktar "doctor", pulish "police", bêngk "bank", bhoţ "vote", iskul/skul "school", hashpatal "hospital"

''Household''

kap "cup", glash "glass", chear "chair", ţebil "table", baksho "box", lônţhôn "lantern"