Today’s discussion focuses on the language of Bengali grammar. Language plays an indispensable role as a vital part of Bengali grammar and linguistics. Language is the medium of expressing thoughts, which is organised through the rules and structures of grammar. In this article, we will explore the characteristics of the Bengali language, its structure, and its relationship with grammar in detail, aiming to provide a clear understanding of the proper and elegant use of Bengali.
Language of Bengali Grammar
Humans are the highest form of creation. The mind is always bustling with various ideas and thoughts. These thoughts may be expressed through gestures, facial expressions, pictures, and dance. However, it is through vocal sounds produced by the mouth that thoughts can be conveyed extensively. Regardless of the mode of expression, all these are forms of language. Among all modes, human vocal sounds carry the most meaning and can be understood by others.
In simple terms, ‘language’ refers to a collection of meaningful sounds or vocalisations that come from the human mouth. These meaningful sounds are the very essence of language.
Dr. Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay defined language as: “A system of meaningful sounds, produced by the speech apparatus, used by a particular community, distinct in its existence and employed in sentences, is called language.”
In other words, language is the meaningful set of sounds articulated by the mouth of people in a specific community to express thoughts intelligibly.
Language varies according to place, time, and society.
Sounds are produced with the help of the speech apparatus. The human vocal tract, teeth, lips, larynx, tongue, palate, nose, and so forth constitute the speech mechanism.
Not every sound or noise is language. There must be meaning and continuity of meaning. Words are formed by the meaningful combination of sounds. Multiple words combined coherently create sentences.
The difference between animal calls and human language lies here. Humans string together meaningful words to form sentences, and arrange sentences to express their thoughts to others. Animals and birds make various sounds, but these sounds cannot sequentially or coherently convey any concept or idea like human language in terms of phonemes, words, and sentences. Therefore, animal calls are not considered language.
Since language varies by place, time, and society, the languages spoken by the peoples of different countries are not the same. Moreover, the form of a language from a thousand years ago is not identical to its present form. For example, most people in Bangladesh speak Bengali; in England, people speak English; in France, French is spoken; and in China, the majority speak Mandarin. Within Bangladesh, alongside Bengali, the Chakma community speaks the Chakma language, and the Garo community speaks their own Achik language.
The Bengali language of about five hundred years ago is not exactly the same as today’s Bengali. Language changes over time. This constant change leads to the comparison of language with a flowing river. In reality, different human societies across various countries use different sets of words to express their thoughts. These differences have given rise to the many diverse languages of the world. No language remains static; if it did, it would become a dead language. Currently, nearly three and a half thousand languages are spoken worldwide.
