Sylheti language
| Sylheti | |
|---|---|
ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ সিলেটি | |
 The word Silôṭi ('Sylheti') in Sylheti Nagari | |
| Pronunciation | [silɔʈi] |
| Native to | India and Bangladesh |
| Region | Sylhet region and Barak Valley[1] |
| Ethnicity | Sylhetis |
Native speakers | 11 million (2007)[2] |
| Sylheti Nagari, Eastern Nagari[3] | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | syl |
syl | |
| Glottolog | sylh1242 |
| Linguasphere | 59-AAF-ui |
 Sylheti speakers within South Asia | |
Template:Contains Bengali text
Sylheti (Template:Lang-bn Sileṭi, Sylheti Nagri: ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ Silôṭi) is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and the Barak Valley of the Indian state of Assam.[4][5][6][7] There are also substantial numbers of Sylheti speakers in the Indian states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland as well as the Hojai district, United Kingdom, the United States and the Middle East. It is often considered politically as a dialect of Bengali[8] and because of its politically unrecognized status, certain speakers refer to it simply as Bengali.[9] Grierson in his early 20th-century Linguistic Survey of India divided it into three main dialects and assigned it as an Eastern Bengali dialect.[10]
Status
Politically Sylheti has historically been denied the status of a language, unscientifically declared to be a Bengali dialect, while Sylheti has been determined linguistically to be a separate language[11]. Considering the unique linguistic properties such as phoneme inventory, allophony, and inflectional morphology in particular and lexicon in general,[12][better source needed] Amongst the languages of Bangladesh Sylheti is regarded as a separate language like other languages with distinct linguistic properties which are also found in several other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, such as Chittagonian, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Dhakaiya Kutti, etc. There are differences in grammar and pronunciation as well although there is a moderate mutual intelligibility between Sylheti and Standard Bengali. Sylheti shares 85% to 90% of its lexicon with Standard Bengali and Hindi-Urdu, despite pronunciation differences, which is a common situation between many related languages.[13][better source needed] Most Sylhetis in South Asia are at least bilingual to some degree, as Standard Bengali is taught at all levels of education in Bangladesh.[14] However, outside South Asia, Sylheti speakers who are not exposed to the Bengali language do not understand Bengali. Sylhet was part of British Assam and Sylheti shares many common features with Assamese, including a larger set of classifiers and a larger set of fricatives than other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. In his Linguistic Survey of India, George Abraham Grierson, concludes that "[Sylheti's] inflections also differ from those of regular Bengali, and in one or two instances assimilate to those of Assamese," though nonetheless he continues to group the three dialects of Sylheti (from Western Sylhet, Eastern Sylhet and Cachar) in an Eastern Bengali group along with dialects such as Dhakaiya.[10]
Geographical distribution
The Sylheti language is native to the Sylhet region which comprises the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and the Karimganj district of the Indian state of Assam. It is also native to the districts of Cachar and Hailakandi of Barak Valley, Assam.
Besides the native region, it is also spoken by the Sylhetis living in the Hojai district of Assam, northern Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Nagaland. There are also significant Sylheti-speaking communities in the Middle East,[15][16][17] the United States,[18] and the United Kingdom. A notable amount of Sylheti migration to Europe, North America, and the Middle East from the 20th century has made Sylheti one of the most spoken languages of the Bangladeshi diaspora.
Approximate distribution of native Sylheti speakers (assuming a rounded total of 11 million) worldwide.
Among the total 11 million Sylhetophones, 76% are from Bangladesh, 22% are from India, and the rest 2% are from across the world.
History
Front page of a Sylheti Nagri book titled Halat-un-Nabi, written in the mid-19th century by Sadeq Ali of Daulatpur, Longla, Moulvibazar.
The region of Sylhet became a part of Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah's sultanate in Lakhnauti in 1303 during the Conquest of Sylhet led by the Sultan's commanders Sikandar Khan Ghazi and Syed Nasiruddin and aided by Shah Jalal and his disciples. The high influx of Middle Eastern and Central Asian settlers led to an influence from Arabic, the religious language, and Persian, the official court language, on the Bengali language as a whole.
T Walton B.C.S. wrote the Government Report on the History and Statistics of Sylhet District in 1857 which contained a list of peculiar Sylheti vocabulary.[10] This is most likely the earliest appearance of a Sylheti dictionary. Many terms listed here differ from modern Sylheti - highlighting the dialect's evolution. In 1868, another short glossary of local Sylheti terms were written up and compared to standard Bengali to allow ease in understanding the dialect.[19]
In 1874, Sylhet became a part of Assam by the British rule thus leading to Assamese influence on the local Sylheti dialect and a separation from mainland Bengal. in In the 19th century, the British tea-planters in the area referred to the vernacular spoken in Surma and Barak Valleys as Sylheti. Local names included Ujaniyo (lit. northern , i.e. a northern form of Bengali) and Srihottiyo (Srihattan).[10] In the 20th century, Shibprosanna Lahiry wrote a book called Sylheti Bhasatattver Bhumika (A background of the Sylheti language).[20] After a number of political movements led by groups such as the Sylhet Peoples' Association and Sylhet-Bengal Reunion League (1920), the demands of the mobilised public opinion demanding Sylhet's reincorporation into Bengal was met once and for all in 1947 following a referendum.[21]
The British Bangladeshis living in England were mainly of Sylheti origin, and a fringe group started a campaign during the mid-1970s to mid-1980s to recognise Sylheti as a language in its own right. During the mid-1970s, when the first mother-tongue classes were established for Bangladeshis by community activists, the classes were given in standard Bengali rather than the Sylheti dialect which triggered the campaign. During the 1980s, a recognition campaign for Sylheti took place in the area of Spitalfields in the East End of London. One of the main organisations was the Bangladeshis' Educational Needs (BENTH) in Tower Hamlets. However this organisation collapsed in 1985 and with its demise, the pro-Sylheti campaign in the borough lost impetus. Nonetheless, Sylheti remains very widespread as a domestic language in working-class as well as upper-class Sylheti households in the United Kingdom.[22]
On 18 October 2015, the SOAS Sylheti Project's Chocolate and Bicycles team launched a bilingual dictionary titled Sylheti Dictionary, translating from English to Sylheti and vice versa.[23] In the same decade, Md. Salik Ahmed, Md. Nizam Uddin and Md. Mamunur Rasid translated the last juz' of the Qur'an into the Sylheti language using both the Eastern Nagari and Sylheti Nagri scripts.[24]
Writing system
The language is primarily written in the Eastern Nagari script however an alternative script was also founded in the Sylhet region known as Sylheti Nagri. During the British colonial period, Moulvi Abdul Karim spent several years in London learning the printing trade. After returning home in the 1870s, he designed a woodblock type for Sylheti Nagri and founded the Islamia Press in Sylhet town. The written form of Sylheti which was used to write puthis was identical to those written in the Dobhashi dialect due to both lacking the use of tatsama and using Perso-Arabic vocabulary as a replacement. As per Dobhashi custom, many Sylheti Nagri texts were paginated from right to left.[25][26]
Comparison with standard Bengali
A phrase in:
- Standard Bengali: এক দেশের গালি আরেক দেশের বুলি æk desher gali arek desher buli.
- Sylheti: ꠄꠇ ꠖꠦꠡꠞ ꠉꠣꠁꠟ ꠀꠣꠞꠇ ꠖꠦꠡꠞ ꠝꠣꠔ/এখ দেশর গাইল, আরখ দেশর মাত ex deshôr gail arôx deshôr mat.
which literally means "one land's obscenity is another land's language", and can be roughly translated to convey that a similar word in one language can mean something very different in another.
Another example: মেঘ megh in Standard Bengali means cloud .
- ꠝꠦꠊ/মেঘ megh in Sylheti means rain.
- In Pali मेघ megha means both rain and cloud.
Grammar comparisons
The following is a sample text in Sylheti, of the Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations:
Sylheti in Sylheti Nagri
- ꠗꠣꠞꠣ ১: ꠢꠇꠟ ꠝꠣꠘꠥꠡ ꠡꠣꠗꠤꠘꠜꠣꠛꠦ ꠢꠝꠣꠘ ꠁꠎ꠆ꠎꠔ ꠀꠞ ꠢꠇ ꠟꠁꠀ ꠙꠄꠖꠣ ‘ꠅꠄ। ꠔꠣꠞꠣꠞ ꠛꠤꠛꠦꠇ ꠀꠞ ꠀꠇꠟ ꠀꠍꠦ। ꠄꠞ ꠟꠣꠉꠤ ꠢꠇꠟꠞ ꠃꠌꠤꠔ ꠄꠇꠎꠘꠦ ꠀꠞꠇꠎꠘꠞ ꠟꠉꠦ ꠛꠤꠞꠣꠖꠞꠤꠞ ꠝꠘ ꠟꠁꠀ ꠀꠌꠞꠘ ꠇꠞꠣ।
Sylheti in Bengali script
- ধারা ১: হখল মানুষ আজাদী ভাবে হমান ইজ্জত আর হক লইয়া পয়দা ‘অয়। তারার হুঁশ আর আখল আছে; এর-লাগি হকলর জরুরি একজনে আরকজনর লগে বিরাদরির মন লইয়া ব্যবহার করা।
Sylheti in Phonetic Romanization
- Dara ex: Hôxôl manuš azadi babe hôman izzôt ar hôx lôia fôeda ôe. Tarar hush ar axôl ase. Er lagi hôxlôr zoruri exzône arôxzônôr lôge biradôrir môn lôia bebohar xôra.
Sylheti in IPA
- /d̪aɾa ex | ɦɔxɔl manuʃ azad̪í bábe ɦɔman id͡ʒːɔt̪ aɾ ɦɔx lɔia fɔe̯d̪a ɔ́e̯ ‖ t̪aɾaɾ ɦuʃ aɾ axɔl asé; eɾ lagi ɦɔxlɔɾ zɔruri exzɔne arɔxzɔnɔɾ lɔge birad̪ɔɾiɾ mɔn lɔia beboɦar xɔɾa ‖/
Bengali in Bengali script
- ধারা ১: সমস্ত মানুষ স্বাধীনভাবে সমান মর্যাদা এবং অধিকার নিয়ে জন্মগ্রহণ করে। তাঁদের বিবেক এবং বুদ্ধি আছে; সুতরাং সকলেরই একে অপরের প্রতি ভ্রাতৃত্বসুলভ মনোভাব নিয়ে আচরণ করা উচিত।
Bengali in Phonetic Romanization
- Dhara æk: Šômôsto manuš šadhinbhabe šôman môrjada æbông odhikar niye jônmôgrôhôn kôre. Tãder bibek æbông buddhi achhe; šutôrang šôkôleri æke ôpôrer prôti bhratrittôšulôbh mônobhab niye achôrôn kôra uchit.
Bengali in IPA
- /d̪ʱara ɛk | ʃɔmɔst̪o manuʃ ʃad̪ʱinbʱabe ʃɔman mɔɾd͡ʒad̪a ɛbɔŋ od̪ʱikaɾ nije d͡ʒɔnmɔgɾɔɦɔn kɔɾe ‖ t̪ãd̪eɾ bibek ɛbɔŋ bud̪d̪ʱi at͡ʃʰe ‖ ʃut̪ɔɾaŋ ʃɔkɔleɾi ɛke ɔpɔɾeɾ prɔt̪i bʱɾat̪ɾit̪ːɔʃulɔbʱ mɔnobʱab nije at͡ʃɔɾɔn kɔɾa ut͡ʃit̪ ‖/
Below are the grammar similarities and differences appearing in a word to word comparison:
Sylheti word-to-word gloss
- All humans' free way same dignity and rights with born are. Their conscious and intelligence exist; therefore everyone's important a-person another-person's with brotherhood's mind with act doing.
Bengali word-to-word gloss
- All human free-manner-in equal dignity and right taken birth-take do. Their reason and intelligence exist; therefore everyone-indeed one another's towards brotherhood-ly attitude taken conduct do should.
English
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Phonology
Sylheti is distinguished by its tonal characteristics and a wide range of fricative consonants corresponding to aspirated consonants in closely related languages and dialects such as Bengali; a lack of the breathy voiced stops; word-final stress; and a relatively large set of loanwords from other Bengali dialects and Assamese.
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Tone
Sylheti is a tonal language.[27][28][29] The Indo-Aryan languages are not generally recognised for tone. There are two types of tonal contrasts in Sylheti: the emergence of high tone in the vowels following the loss of aspiration, and a level tone elsewhere.
| Word | Transliteration | Tone | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ꠀꠔ | at | level | intestine |
| ‘ꠀꠔ | át | high | hand |
| ꠇꠣꠟꠤ | xali | level | ink |
| ꠈꠣꠟꠤ | xáli | high | empty |
| ꠉꠥꠠꠣ | guṛa | level | powder |
| ꠊꠥꠠꠣ | gúṛa | high | horse |
| ꠌꠥꠞꠤ | suri | level | theft |
| ꠍꠥꠞꠤ | súri | high | knife |
| ꠎꠣꠟ | zal | level | net, web |
| ꠏꠣꠟ | zál | high | punjent |
| ꠐꠤꠇ | ṭik | level | tick |
| ꠑꠤꠇ | ṭík | high | correct |
| ꠒꠣꠟ | ḍal | level | branch |
| ꠓꠣꠟ | ḍál | high | shield |
| ꠔꠣꠟ | tal | level | palmyra, rhythm |
| ꠕꠣꠟ | tál | high | plate |
| ꠖꠣꠘ | dan | level | donation |
| ꠗꠣꠘ | dán | high | paddy |
| ꠙꠥꠟ | ful | level | bridge |
| ꠚꠥꠟ | fúl | high | flower |
| ꠛꠣꠟꠣ | bala | level | bangle |
| ꠜꠣꠟꠣ | bála | high | good, welfare |
| ꠛꠣꠔ | bat | level | arthritis |
| ꠜꠣꠔ | bát | high | rice |
Recent study shows that there is a three way tonal system in Sylheti.[30]
| No. | Word | IPA | Tone | Meaning | Word | IPA | Tone | Meaning | Word | IPA | Tone | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ꠙꠣꠑꠣ | /ɸáʈá/ | High | goat | ꠚꠣꠐꠣ | /ɸàʈà/ | Low | torn | ꠙꠣꠐꠣ | /ɸāʈā/ | Mid | grindstone |
| 2 | ꠇꠥꠑꠣ | /kúʈá/ | High | room | ꠈꠥꠐꠣ | /kùʈà/ | Low | taunting | ꠇꠥꠐꠣ | /kūʈā/ | Mid | stick |
| 3 | ꠙꠣꠈꠣ | /ɸáxá/ | High | fan | ꠚꠣꠇꠣ | /ɸàxà/ | Low | empty | ꠙꠣꠇꠣ | /ɸāxā/ | Mid | ripe |
It is considered that these tones arose when aspirated consonants lost their aspiration. Sylheti continues to have a long history of coexisting with other Tibeto-Burman languages such as various dialects of Kokborok, Reang which are tonal in nature. Even though there is no clear evidence of direct borrowing of lexical items from those tonal languages into Sylheti, there is still a possibility that the emergence of Sylheti tones is due to an areal feature as the indigenous speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages by and large use Sylheti as a common medium for interaction.
Grammar
Sylheti grammar is the study of the morphology and syntax of Sylheti.[31]
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Sylheti personal pronouns are somewhat similar to English pronouns, having different words for first, second, and third person, and also for singular and plural (unlike for verbs, below). Sylheti pronouns, like their English counterparts, do differentiate for gender. Sylheti has different third-person pronouns for proximity. The first are used for someone who is nearby, and the second are for those who are a little further away. The third are usually for those who are not present. In addition, each of the second- and third-person pronouns have different forms for the familiar and polite forms; the second person also has a "very familiar" form (sometimes called "despective"). It may be noted that the "very familiar" form is used when addressing particularly close friends or family as well as for addressing subordinates, or in abusive language. In the following tables, the abbreviations used are as follows: VF=very familiar, F=familiar, and P=polite (honor); H=here, T=there, E=elsewhere (proximity), and I=inanimate.
The nominative case is used for pronouns that are the subject of the sentence, such as "I already did that" or "Will you please stop making that noise?"
| Subject | Proximity | Honor | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VF | ꠝꠥꠁ (mui, I) | ꠝꠞꠣ (môra, we) | |
| F | ꠀꠝꠤ (ami, I) | ꠀꠝꠞꠣ (amra, we) | ||
| 2 | VF | ꠔꠥꠁ (tui, you) | ꠔꠥꠞꠣ (tura, you) | |
| F | ꠔꠥꠝꠤ (tumi, you) | ꠔꠥꠝꠞꠣ/ꠔꠥꠝꠤ-ꠔꠣꠁꠘ (tumra/tumi-tain, you) | ||
| P | ꠀꠙꠘꠦ (afne, you) | ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠞꠣ (afnara, you) | ||
| 3 | H | F | ꠄ (e, he), ꠄꠁ (ei, she) / ꠁꠉꠥ (igu, he/she) | ꠄꠞꠣ (era, they) |
| P | ꠄꠁꠘ (ein, he/she) | ꠄꠞꠣ/ꠄꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠁꠘ (era/ein-tain, they) | ||
| I | ꠁꠉꠥ/ꠁꠇꠐꠣ (igu/ikţa, it) | ꠁꠉꠥꠁꠘ (iguin, these) | ||
| T | F | ꠢꠦ (he, he), ꠔꠣꠁ (tai, she) | ꠔꠣꠞꠣ (tara, they) | |
| P | ꠔꠣꠁꠘ (tain, he/she) |
ꠔꠣꠞꠣ/ꠔꠣꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠁꠘ (tara/tain-tain, they) | ||
| I | ꠅꠉꠥ/ꠅꠇꠐꠣ (ôgu/ôxţa, it) | ꠅꠉꠥꠁꠘ (ôguin, those) | ||
| E | F | ꠢꠦ (he, he), ꠔꠣꠁ (tai, she) | ꠔꠣꠞꠣ (tara, they) | |
| P | ꠔꠣꠁꠘ (tain, he/she) |
ꠔꠣꠞꠣ/ꠔꠣꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠁꠘ (tara/tain-tain, they) | ||
| I | ꠢꠉꠥ/ꠢꠇꠐꠣ (hôgu/hôxţa, it) | ꠢꠉꠥꠁꠘ (hôguin, those) | ||
The objective case is used for pronouns serving as the direct or indirect objects, such as "I told him to wash the dishes" or "The teacher gave me the homework assignment". The inanimate pronouns remain the same in the objective case.
| Subject | Proximity | Honor | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VF | ꠝꠞꠦ (môre, me) | ꠝꠞꠣꠞꠥ (môrare, us) | |
| F | ꠀꠝꠣꠞꠦ (amare, me) | ꠀꠝꠞꠣꠞꠦ (amrare, us) | ||
| 2 | VF | ꠔꠞꠦ (tôre, you) | ꠔꠥꠞꠣꠞꠦ (turare, you) | |
| F | ꠔꠥꠝꠣꠞꠦ (tumare, you) | ꠔꠥꠝꠞꠣꠞꠦ/ꠔꠥꠝꠣ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞꠦ (tumrare/tuma-tanre, you) | ||
| P | ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠞꠦ (afnare, you) | ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠞꠣꠞꠦ/ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠁꠘꠔꠞꠦ (afnarare/afnaintôre, you) | ||
| 3 | H | F | ꠄꠞꠦ (ere, him), ꠄꠁꠞꠦ (eire, her) | ꠄꠞꠣꠞꠦ (erare, them) |
| P | ꠄꠘꠞꠦ (enre, him/her) | ꠄꠞꠣꠞꠦ/ꠄꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞꠦ (erare/ein-tanre, them) | ||
| I | ꠁꠉꠥꠞꠦ/ꠁꠇꠐꠣꠞꠦ (igure/ikţare, it) | ꠁꠉꠥꠁꠘꠔꠞꠦ (iguintôre, these) | ||
| T | F | ꠄꠞꠦ (ere, him), ꠄꠁꠞꠦ (eire, her) | ꠄꠞꠣꠞꠦ (erare, them) | |
| P | ꠄꠘꠞꠦ (enre, him/her) | ꠄꠞꠣꠞꠦ/ꠄꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞꠦ (erare/ein-tanre, them) | ||
| I | ꠅꠉꠥꠞꠦ/ꠅꠇꠐꠣꠞꠦ (ôgure/ôxţare, it) | ꠅꠉꠥꠁꠘꠔꠞꠦ (ôguintôre, those) | ||
| E | F | ꠢꠦꠞꠦ/ꠔꠣꠞꠦ (here/tare, him), ꠔꠣꠁꠞꠦ (taire, her) | ꠔꠣꠞꠣꠞꠦ (tarare, them) | |
| P | ꠔꠣꠘꠞꠦ (tanre, him/her) | ꠔꠣꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞꠦ (tain-tanre, them) | ||
| I | ꠢꠉꠥ/ꠢꠇꠐꠣ (hôgu/hôxţa, it) | ꠢꠉꠥꠁꠘ (hôguin, those) | ||
The possessive case is used to show possession, such as "Where is your coat?" or "Let's go to our house". In addition, sentences such as "I have a book" (ꠀꠝꠣꠞ ꠄꠇꠐꠣ ꠛꠁ ꠀꠍꠦ) or "I need money" (ꠀꠝꠣꠞ ꠐꠦꠇꠣ ꠖꠞꠇꠣꠞ) also use the possessive (the literal translation of the Bengali versions of these sentences would be "There is my book" and "There is my need for money" respectively).
| Subject | Proximity | Honor | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VF | ꠝꠞ (môr, my) | ꠝꠞꠣꠞ (môrar, our) | |
| F | ꠀꠝꠣꠞ (amar, my) | ꠀꠝꠞꠣꠞ (amrar, our) | ||
| 2 | VF | ꠔꠞ (tôr, your) | ꠔꠥꠞꠣꠞ (turar, your) | |
| F | ꠔꠥꠝꠣꠞ (tomar, your) | ꠔꠥꠝꠞꠣꠞ/ꠔꠥꠝꠣ-ꠔꠣꠘ/ꠔꠥꠝꠣ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞ (tumar/tuma-tan/tuma-tanôr, your) | ||
| P | ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠞ (afnar, your) | ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠞꠣꠞ/ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠁꠘꠔꠞ (afnarar/afnaintôr, your) | ||
| 3 | H | F | ꠄꠞ (er, his), ꠄꠁꠞ (eir, her) | ꠄꠞꠣꠞ (erar, their) |
| P | ꠄꠘ/ꠄꠁꠘꠞ (en/einôr, his/her) | ꠄꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞ (ein-tanôr, their) | ||
| I | ꠁꠉꠥꠞ/ꠁꠇꠐꠣꠞ (igur/ikţar, its) | ꠁꠉꠥꠁꠘꠔꠞ (iguintôr, of these) | ||
| T | F | ꠄꠞ (er, his), ꠄꠁꠞ (eir, her) | ꠄꠞꠣꠞ (erar, their) | |
| P | ꠄꠘ/ꠄꠁꠘꠞ (en/einôr, his/her) | ꠄꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞ (ein-tanôr, their) | ||
| I | ꠅꠉꠥꠞ/ꠅꠇꠐꠣꠞ (ogur/oxţar, its) | ꠅꠉꠥꠁꠘꠔꠞ (oguintôr, of those) | ||
| E | F | ꠔꠣꠞ (tar, his/her) | ꠔꠣꠞꠣꠞ (tader, their) | |
| P | ꠔꠣꠘ/ꠔꠣꠘꠞ (tan/tanôr, his/her) | ꠔꠣꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞ (tain-tanôr, their) | ||
| I | ꠢꠉꠥꠞ/ꠢꠇꠐꠣꠞ (hôgur/hôxţar, its) | ꠢꠉꠥꠁꠘꠔꠞ (hôguintôr, of those) | ||
Indefinite and negative pronouns
Bengali has no negative pronouns (such as no one, nothing, none). These are typically represented by adding the negative particle ꠘꠣꠄ (nae) to indefinite pronouns, which are themselves derived from their corresponding question words. Common indefinite pronouns are listed below.
| Question word | Indefinite pronoun | Indefinite negative pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| ꠇꠦ/ꠇꠦꠉꠥ/ꠇꠤꠉꠥ (xe/xegu/kigu, who) | ꠇꠦꠃ (xeu, someone) | ꠇꠦꠃ ꠘꠣꠄ (xeu nae, no one) |
| ꠇꠣꠞ/ꠇꠦꠉꠥꠞ/ꠇꠤꠉꠞꠥ (xar/xegur/kigur, whose) | ꠇꠦꠃꠞ/ꠇꠦꠃꠞꠞ (xeur/xeurôr, someone's) | ꠇꠦꠃꠞ/ꠇꠦꠃꠞꠞ ꠘꠣꠄ (xeur/xeurôr nae, no one's) |
| ꠇꠣꠞꠦ (kare, to whom) | ꠇꠦꠃꠞꠦ/ꠇꠦꠃꠞꠞꠦ (xeure/xeurôre, to someone) | ꠇꠦꠃꠞꠦ/ꠇꠦꠃꠞꠞ ꠘꠣꠄ (xeure/xeurôre nae, to someone) |
| ꠇꠥꠘ (kun, which) | ꠇꠥꠘꠥ/ꠇꠥꠘꠅ (kunu/kunô, any) | ꠇꠥꠘꠥꠉꠥ ꠘꠣꠄ (kunugu nae, none) |
| ꠇꠤꠔꠣ (kita, what) | ꠇꠤꠍꠥ/ꠇꠥꠘꠔꠣ (kisu/kunta, some/something) | ꠇꠤꠌ꠆ꠍꠥ/ꠇꠥꠘꠔꠣ ꠘꠣꠄ (kichchu/kunta nae, nothing) |
Relative pronouns
The relative pronoun ꠎꠦ (ze) and its different variants, as shown below, are commonly employed in complex sentences. The relative pronouns for animate objects change for number and honor, but those for inanimate objects stay the same.
| Nominative (who) | Genitive (whose) | Objective (to whom) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular (VF/F) | ꠎꠦ | ꠎꠣꠞ | ꠎꠣꠞꠦ |
| Singular (P) | ꠎꠦꠁꠘ | ꠎꠦꠘ | ꠎꠦꠘꠞꠦ |
| Plural (VF/F) | ꠎꠣꠞꠣ | ꠎꠣꠞꠣꠞ | ꠎꠣꠞꠣꠞꠦ |
| Plural (P) | ꠎꠦꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠁꠘ | ꠎꠦꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘ | ꠎꠦꠁꠘ-ꠔꠣꠘꠞꠦ |
| Nominative/Objective (which) | Genitive (of which) | Locative (in which) |
|---|---|---|
| ꠎꠦꠔꠣ | ꠎꠦꠔꠣꠞ | ꠎꠦꠔꠣꠔ |
Nouns
Case
When a definite article such as -gu/ţa (singular) or -guin (plural) is added, nouns are also inflected for number. Below are two tables which show the inflections of an animate noun, ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞ satrô (student), and an inanimate noun, ꠎꠥꠔꠣ zuta (shoe).
| Animate | Inanimate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| Nominative | ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠉꠥ/ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠐꠣ satrô-gu/satrô-ţa the student |
ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠢꠇꠟ satrô-hôxôl the students |
ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠉꠥ/ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠐꠣ zuta-gu/zuta-ţa the shoe |
ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠉꠥꠁꠘ zuta-guin the shoes |
| Objective | ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠉꠥꠞꠦ/ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠐꠣꠞꠦ satrô-gu-re/satrô-ţa-re (to) the student |
ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠢꠇꠟꠞꠦ satrô-hôxl-ôre (to) the students |
– | – |
| Genitive | ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠉꠥꠞ/ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠐꠣꠞ
satrô-gu-r/satrô-ţa-r the student's |
ꠍꠣꠔ꠆ꠞꠢꠇꠟꠞ
satrô-hôxl-ôr the students' |
ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠉꠥꠞ/ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠐꠣꠞ
zuta-ţi-r/zuta-ţa-r the shoe's |
ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠉꠥꠁꠘꠔꠞ
zuta-guint-ôr the shoes' |
| Locative | – | – | ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠉꠥꠔ/ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠐꠣꠔ
zuta-gu-t/zuta-ţa-t on/in the shoe |
ꠎꠥꠔꠣꠉꠥꠁꠘꠔꠧ
zuta-guint-ô on/in the shoes |
All of the inflected nouns above have an indefinite article preceding their case markers. There are some basic rules to keep in mind about the cases, apart from the "default" nominative.
For the genitive case, the ending may change, though never with a definite article attached. A noun (without an article) which ends in a consonant or the inherent vowel, ꠅ ô, is inflected by adding – ꠞ -ôr to the end of the word (and deleting the inherent vowel if applicable). An example of this would be the genitive of ꠉꠥꠍ gus "meat" being ꠉꠥꠍꠔꠞ gustôr "of meat" or "(the) meat's". A noun which ends in any vowel apart from the inherent vowel will just have a -ꠞ -r following it, as in the genitive of ꠙꠥꠀ fua being ꠙꠥꠀꠞ fuar "(the) boy's". The genitive ending is also applied to verbs (in their verbal noun forms), which is most commonly seen when using postpositions (for example: ꠢꠤꠇꠣꠞ ꠟꠣꠉꠤ hikar lagi, "for learning").
For the locative case, the marker also changes in a similar fashion to the genitive case, with consonants and the inherent vowel having their own ending, -ꠧ -ô, and all other vowels having another ending, -ꠔ -t. For example, ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠧ "in Sylhet", ꠑꠣꠇꠣꠔ "in Dhaka", etc.
Comparison
 |
A notable characteristic of spoken Sylheti is the correspondence of the /x/ and /ɦ/, pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative to the /k/ or /kʰ/ of Bengali and voiceless glottal fricative to the /x/ of Assamese respectively.
| Bengali | Assamese | Sylheti | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ঢাকা Dhaka |
ঢাকা Dhaka |
ꠓꠣꠇꠣ Daxa |
/ɖáxa/ | Dhaka |
| একজন লোক Ēkjôn lōk |
এজন লোক Ezôn lük |
ꠄꠇꠎꠘ ꠝꠣꠘꠥꠡ Ēxzôn manush |
/exzɔn manuʃ/ | A person |
| একজন পুরুষ Ekjôn purush |
এজন মানুহ Ezôn manuh |
ꠄꠇꠐꠣ ꠛꠦꠐꠣ Exta beta |
/exʈa beʈa/ | A man |
| কীসের Kisher |
কিহৰ Kihôr |
ꠇꠤꠅꠞ Kior |
/kiɔ́ɾ/ | Informal of Whereof |
| কন্যা, মেয়ে Kônna, Meye |
জী, ছোৱালী Zi, Süali |
ꠇꠂꠘ꠆ꠘꠣ, ꠏꠤ, ꠙꠥꠠꠤ Xôinna, Zí, Furi |
/xɔinna/, /zí/, /ɸuɽi/ | Daughter |
| মানবজাতি Manôbjati |
মানৱজাতি, মানুহৰ জাতি Manôwzati, Manuhôr zati |
ꠝꠣꠁꠘꠡꠞ ꠎꠣꠔ Mainshôr zat |
/mainʃɔɾ zat̪/ | Mankind |
| অসমিয়া, অহমিয়া Ôshômiya, Ôhômiya |
অসমীয়া Ôxômiya |
ꠅꠢꠝꠤꠀ Ôhômia |
/ɔɦɔmia/ | Assamese people |
| আঙুল Angul |
আঙুলি Anguli |
ꠀꠋꠉꠥꠁꠟ Anguil |
/aŋguil/ | Finger, toe |
| আংটি Angti |
আঙুঠি Anguthi |
ꠀꠋꠑꠤ Antí |
/aŋʈi/ | Ring |
| আগুনপোড়া Agunpora |
জুইত পোৰা, জুইত সেকা Zuit püra, Zuit xeka |
ꠀꠉꠥꠁꠘꠙꠥꠞꠣ Aguinfura |
/aguinfuɽa/ | Baked, grilled |
| পাখি, চিড়িয়া Pakhi, Chiriya |
চৰাই, পখী Sorai, Pokhi |
ꠙꠣꠈꠤꠀ, ꠙꠞꠤꠘ꠆ꠖꠣ Fakya, Forinda |
/ɸakia/, /ɸɔrinda/ | Bird |
| পরে, বাদে Pôre, Bade |
পিছত, পৰত Pisot, Porot |
ꠛꠣꠖꠦ, ꠙꠞꠦ Fôre, Bade |
/ɸɔɾe/, /bad̪e/ | Later |
| সকল, সমস্ত, সব Shôkôl, Shômôsto, Shômôsto, Shôb |
সকলো, সব, চব Xôkôlü; Xôb; Sôb |
ꠢꠇꠟ, ꠢꠇ꠆ꠇꠟ, ꠡꠛ, ꠔꠣꠝꠣꠝ Hôxôl, Hôkkôl, Shôb, Tamam |
/ɦɔxɔl/, /ɦɔkkɔl/, /ʃɔb/ | All |
| সারা, পুরা Shara, Puro |
গোটেই Gutei |
ꠀꠍ꠆ꠔꠣ, ꠢꠣꠞꠣ Asta, Hara |
/ɦaɾa/ | Whole |
| সাত বিল Shat bil |
সাত বিল Xat bil |
ꠢꠣꠔ ꠛꠤꠟ Hat bil |
/ɦat̪ bil/ | Seven wetlands |
| সাতকড়া Shatkôra |
সাতকৰা Xatkôra |
ꠢꠣꠔꠇꠠꠣ Hatxôra |
/ɦat̪xɔɽa/ | Citrus macroptera fruit |
| সিলেটি Sileṭi |
ছিলঠীয়া Silôṭhiya |
ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ Silôṭi |
/silɔʈi/ | Sylheti |
| ভালো করে খান। Bhalo kôre khan. |
ভালকৈ খাওক। Bhalkoi khaük. |
ꠜꠣꠟꠣ ꠇꠞꠤ/ꠑꠤꠇꠦ ꠈꠣꠃꠇ꠆ꠇꠣ। Bala xôri/tike xaukka. |
/bála xɔɾi xaukka/, /bála ʈike xaukka/ | Bon appetit |
| স্ত্রী, পত্নী, বউ Stri, Pôtni, Bôu |
স্ত্রী, ঘৈণী, পত্নী Stri, Ghôini, Pôtni |
ꠛꠃ Bôu |
/bɔu/ | Wife |
| স্বামী, বর, পতি Shami, Bôr, Pôti |
গিৰিয়েক, পতি, স্বামী Giriyêk, Pôti, Swami |
ꠎꠣꠝꠣꠁ Zamai |
/zamai/ | Husband |
| জামাই Jamai |
জোঁৱাই Züai |
ꠖꠣꠝꠣꠘꠖ Damand |
/damand/ | Son-in-law |
| শ্বশুর Shôshur |
শহুৰ Xôhur |
ꠢꠃꠞ Hôur |
/ɦɔúɾ/ | Father-in-law |
| শাশুড়ি Shashuṛi |
শাহু Xahu |
ꠢꠠꠣ Hoṛi |
/ɦɔɽi/ | Mother-in-law |
| শালা Shala |
খুলশালা Khulxala |
ꠢꠣꠟꠣ Hala |
/ɦala/ | Brother-in-law |
| শালী Shali |
খুলশালী Khulxali |
ꠢꠣꠟꠤ Hali |
/ɦali/ | Sister-in-law |
| শেখা Shekha |
শিকা Xika |
ꠢꠤꠇꠣ Hika |
/ɦika/ | Learn |
| সরিষা Shôrisha |
সৰিয়হ Xôriôh |
ꠟꠣꠁ Hôirô |
/ɦɔiɾɔ/ | Mustard |
| শিয়াল Shiyal |
শিয়াল Xiyal |
ꠢꠤꠀꠟ Hial |
/ɦial/ | Fox, Jackal |
| বিড়াল Biral, Beral |
মেকুৰী, বিৰালী Mekuri, Birali |
ꠝꠦꠇꠥꠞ, ꠛꠤꠟꠣꠁ Mekur, Bilai |
/mekuɾ/, /bilai/ | Cat |
| শুঁটকি Shuṭki |
শুকটি, শুকান মাছ Xukôti, Xukan mas |
ꠢꠥꠐꠇꠤ, ꠢꠥꠇꠂꠘ Huṭki, Hukôin |
/ɦuʈki/, /ɦukoin/ | Sundried Fish |
| আপনার নাম কী? Apnar nam ki? |
আপোনাৰ নাম কি? Apünar nam ki? |
ꠀꠙꠘꠣꠞ ꠘꠣꠝ ꠇꠤꠔꠣ? Afnar nam kita? |
/aɸnaɾ nam kit̪a/ | What's your name? |
| ডাক্তার আসার পূর্বে রোগী মারা গেল। Daktar ashar purbe rogi mara gelo |
ডাক্তৰ অহাৰ আগতেই ৰোগী মৰি গ’ল।
Daktor ohar agotei rügi mori gól |
ꠒꠣꠇ꠆ꠔꠞ ꠀꠅꠣ ꠀꠉꠦꠃ ꠛꠦꠝꠣꠞꠤ ꠝꠞꠤ ꠉꠦꠟ। Daxtôr awar ageu bemari môri gelo. |
/ɖaxt̪ɔɾ awaɾ age bemaɾi mɔɾi gelo/ | Before the doctor came, the patient had died. |
| বহুদিন দেখিনি। Bôhudin dekhini. |
বহুদিন দেখা নাই। Bôhudin dekha nai. |
ꠛꠣꠇ꠆ꠇꠣ ꠖꠤꠘ ꠖꠦꠈꠍꠤ ꠘꠣ। Bakka din dexsi na. |
/bakka d̪in d̪exsi na/ | Long time, no see. |
| আপনি কি ভালো আছেন? Apni ki bhalo achhen? |
আপুনি ভালে আছে নে? Apuni bhale asê nê? |
ꠀꠙꠘꠦ ꠜꠣꠟꠣ ꠀꠍꠂꠘ ꠘꠤ? Afne bala asôin ni? |
/aɸne bála asoin ni/ | How are you? |
| আমি তোমাকে ভালোবাসি। Ami tomake bhalobashi. |
মই তোমাক ভাল পাওঁ। Moi tümak bhal paü. |
ꠀꠝꠤ ꠔꠥꠝꠣꠞꠦ ꠜꠣꠟꠣ ꠙꠣꠁ। Ami tumare bala fai. |
/ami t̪umare bála ɸai/ | I love you. |
| আমি ভুলে গিয়েছি। Ami bhule giyechhi. |
মই পাহৰি গৈছোঁ। Môi pahôri goisü. |
ꠀꠝꠤ ꠙꠣꠅꠞꠤ ꠟꠤꠍꠤ। Ami faûri lisi. |
/ami ɸaʊɾi lisi/ | I have forgotten. |
| মাংসের ঝোলটা আমার খুব ভালো লেগেছে। Mangsher jholṭa amar khub bhalo legeche. |
মাংসৰ তৰকাৰীখন মোৰ খুব ভাল লাগিছে। Mangxôr tôrkarikhôn mür khub bhal lagise. |
ꠉꠥꠍꠔꠞ ꠍꠣꠟꠘꠐꠣ ꠀꠝꠣꠞ ꠛꠣꠇ꠆ꠇꠣ ꠜꠣꠟꠣ ꠟꠣꠉꠍꠦ। Gustôr salônṭa amar bakka bala lagse. |
/gust̪ɔɾ salɔnʈa amaɾ bakka bála lagse/ | I liked the meat curry. |
| শিলচর কোনদিকে? Shilcôr kondike? |
শিলচৰ কোনফালে? Xilsôr künphale? |
ꠢꠤꠟꠌꠞ ꠇꠥꠘꠛꠣꠄ/ꠇꠥꠘꠛꠣꠁꠖꠤ/ꠇꠥꠘꠝꠥꠈꠣ? Hilcôr kunbae/kunbaidi/kunmuka? |
/ɦil͡tʃɔɾ kunbae, kunbaed̪i, kunmuká/ | Which way to Silchar? |
| এটা কী?
Eṭa ki? |
এইটো কি?
Eitü ki? |
ꠁꠉꠥ/ꠁꠇꠐꠣ/ꠁꠐꠣ ꠇꠤꠔꠣ? Igu/Ikṭa/Iṭa kita? |
/igu, ikʈa, iʈa kit̪a/ | What is this? |
| সেটা কী?
Sheṭa ki? |
সেইটো কি?
Xeitü ki? |
ꠢꠤꠉꠥ/ꠢꠤꠇꠐꠣ/ꠢꠤꠐꠣ ꠇꠤꠔꠣ? Higu/Hikṭa/Hiṭa kita? |
/ɦigu, ɦikʈa, ɦiʈa kit̪a/ | What is that? |
| শেষ Shesh |
শেষ Xex |
ꠢꠦꠡ Hesh |
/ɦeʃ/ | End, finish |
See also
References
- ^ Niharranjan Ray (January 1980). Bangalir Itihas (in Bengali). Vol. 2.
- ^ Mikael Parkvall, "Världens 100 största språk 2007" (The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007), in Nationalencyklopedin
- ^ "Sylheti". Ethnologue. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Sylheti". Ethnologue.
- ^ "Sylheti [syl]". SIL International.
- ^ "Sylheti". Linguist List.
- ^ "Spoken L1 Language: Sylheti". Glottolog.
- ^ "Sylheti dialect". Library of Congress.
- ^ Translation and cognitive testing of the harmonised personal well-being questions] Ruxandra Comanaru and Jo d’Ardenne. April 2008. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved on 2020-05-31.
- ^ a b c d George Grierson. Language Survey of India - Vol. V Pt 1.
- ^ https://www.ethnologue.com/language/syl
- ^ (Chatterjee 1939, Gordon 2005)
- ^ Chalmers (1996)
- ^ Sebastian M. Rasinger (2007). Bengali-English in East London: A Study in Urban Multilingualism. pp.F 26–27. Retrieved on 2 May 2017.
- ^ "Kuwait restricts recruitment of male Bangladeshi workers | Dhaka Tribune". www.dhakatribune.com. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "Bahrain: Foreign population by country of citizenship, sex and migration status (worker/ family dependent) (selected countries, January 2015) – GLMM". GLMM. 20 October 2015. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "New York State Voter Registration Form" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- ^ E M Lewis (1868). "Sylhet District". Principal Heads of the History and Statistics of the Dacca Division. Calcutta: Calcutta Central Press Company. pp. 323–325.
- ^ Mohammad Daniul Huq; Aminur Rahman. "Bangla Literature". Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ Tanweer Fazal (2013). Minority Nationalisms in South Asia. Routledge. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-317-96647-0.
- ^ Anne J. Kershen (2005). Strangers, Aliens and Asians: Huguenots, Jews and Bangladeshis in Spitalfields, 1660–2000. Routledge. pp. 148–150. ISBN 978-0-7146-5525-3.
- ^ "Sylheti Dictionary - Apps on Google Play". Google Play. Chocolate and Bicycles.
- ^ "SYLOTI BOOKS DESCRIPTION". Syloti Language Center.
- ^ "Sylheti Nagri – Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org.
- ^ d'Hubert, Thibaut (May 2014). In the Shade of the Golden Palace: Alaol and Middle Bengali Poetics in Arakan. ISBN 9780190860356.
- ^ Gope, Amalesh; Mahanta, Shakuntala (May 2014). "Lexical Tones in Sylheti" (PDF). Proceedings of TAL 2014.
- ^ Gope, Amalesh; Mahanta, Shakuntala (2015). "An acoustic analysis of Sylheti phonemes" (PDF). Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Phonetic Sciences.
- ^ Gope, Amalesh; Mahanta, Shakuntala (20 July 2018). "Tonal polarity in Sylheti in the context of noun faithfulness". Language Sciences.
- ^ Raychoudhury, Priti; Mahanta, Shakuntala (25–28 May 2020). "The Three Way Tonal System of Sylheti" (PDF). 10th International Conference on Speech Prosody 2020.
- ^ Das, Amrita (2017). "A Comparative Study of Bangla and Sylheti Grammar". Semantic Scholar.
External links
Sylheti phrasebook travel guide from Wikivoyage
| Official language | |
|---|---|
| Indo-European | |
| Sino-Tibetan | |
| Austroasiatic | |
| Dravidian | |
| Afro-Asiatic | |
| Sign | |
