Romanisation of Bengali

Representation of written Bengali language in the Latin script

Romanisation of Bengali is the representation of written Bengali language in the Latin script. Various romanisation systems for Bengali are used, most of which do not perfectly represent Bengali pronunciation. While different standards for romanisation have been proposed for Bengali, none has been adopted with the same degree of uniformity as Japanese or Sanskrit.[note 1]

The Bengali script has been included with the group of Indic scripts whose romanisation does not represent the phonetic value of Bengali. Some of them are the "International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration" or IAST system (based on diacritics),[1] "Indian languages Transliteration" or ITRANS (uses upper case alphabets suited for ASCII keyboards),[2] and the National Library at Calcutta romanisation.[3]

In the context of Bengali romanisation, it is important to distinguish transliteration from transcription. Transliteration is orthographically accurate (the original spelling can be recovered), but transcription is phonetically accurate (the pronunciation can be reproduced). English does not have all sounds of Bengali, and pronunciation does not completely reflect orthography. The aim of romanisation is not the same as phonetic transcription. Rather, romanisation is a representation of one writing system in Roman (Latin) script. If Bengali script has "ত" and Bengalis pronounce it /to/ there is nevertheless an argument based on writing-system consistency for transliterating it as "त" or "ta." The writing systems of most languages do not faithfully represent the spoken sound of the language, as famously with English words like "enough", "women", or "nation" (see "ghoti").

## History

[edit]

Portuguese missionaries stationed in Bengal in the 16th century were the first people to employ the Latin alphabet in writing Bengali books. The most famous are the Crepar Xaxtrer Orth, Bhed and the Vocabolario em idioma Bengalla, e Portuguez dividido em duas partes, both written by Manuel da Assumpção. However, the Portuguese-based romanisation did not take root. In the late 18th century, Augustin Aussant used a romanisation scheme based on the French alphabet. At the same time, Nathaniel Brassey Halhed used a romanisation scheme based on English for his Bengali grammar book. After Halhed, the renowned English philologist and oriental scholar Sir William Jones devised a romanisation scheme for Bengali and other Indian languages in general; he published it in the Asiatick Researches journal in 1801.[4] His scheme came to be known as the "Jonesian system" of romanisation and served as a model for the next century and a half. Professor Lightner of Lahore Government College opposed it.[5]

100 years after that i.e. at the beginning of the 20th century, Drew, an assistant professor at Eton College recommended that Indian languages be written in Roman script and for this purpose the magazine called Roman Urdu was launched.[5]

Abul Fazal Muhammad Akhtaru-d-Din, in an article titled "Bangla Bornomalar Poribortton" (বাংলা বর্ণমালার পরিবর্ত্তন, Changes in the Bengali Alphabet) published in Daily Azad on April 18, 1949, said, Rabindranath Tagore once advocated the Roman alphabet for Bengali, but later he changed his opinion.[5]

### Bengali language movement

[edit]

During the Bengali Language Movement of the 1940s–50s, Romanization of Bengali was proposed along with other proposals regarding the determination of the state language of the then Pakistan, but like other proposals it also failed, by establishing Bengali as one of the state languages of Pakistan at that time, with its traditional letters.[6][5] After 1947, many other East Pakistani academics, including Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda and Nazirul Islam Mohammad Sufian, supported the idea of writing Bengali in Roman script.[5] In 1948, Mohammad Ferdous Khan opposed it in his pamphlet "The language problem of today".[5]

Abul Fazl Muhammad Akhtar-ud-Din supported the Roman alphabet in his article entitled "Bangla Bornomalar Poribortton" (বাংলা বর্ণমালার পরিবর্ত্তন, Changes in the Bengali Alphabet) published in Daily Azad on 18 April 1949.[5]

At 1949, Language Committee of the East-Bengal Government conducted a survey among teachers, intellectuals, high civil servants, members of the Legislative Council, according to which, out of 301 respondents, 96 favored the introduction of the Arabic script, 18 the Roman script and 187 the retention of the Bengali script. Besides, many people did not give any answer.[5]

### After language movement

[edit]

In 1957, the East Pakistan Education Commission recommended the use of the revised Roman script in adult education.[5]

Around 1957-58, there was a significant demand for the use of Roman letters again. At that time Muhammad Abdul Hai and Muhammad Enamul Haque opposed it.[5]

## Transliteration and transcription

[edit]

Romanisation of a language written in a non-Roman script can be based on either transliteration (orthographically accurate and the original spelling can be recovered) or transcription (phonetically accurate, and the pronunciation can be reproduced). The distinction is important in Bengali, as its orthography was adopted from Sanskrit and ignores several millennia of sound change. All writing systems differ at least slightly from the way the language is pronounced, but this is more extreme for languages like Bengali. For example, the three letters শ, ষ, and স had distinct pronunciations in Sanskrit, but over several centuries, the standard pronunciation of Bengali (usually modelled on the Nadia dialect) has lost the phonetic distinctions, and all three are usually pronounced as IPA [ʃɔ]. The spelling distinction persists in orthography.

In written texts, distinguishing between homophones, such as শাপ shap "curse" and সাপ shap "snake", is easy. Such a distinction could be particularly relevant in searching for the term in an encyclopaedia, for example. However, the fact that the words sound identical means that they would be transcribed identically, so some important distinctions of meaning cannot be rendered by transcription. Another issue with transcription systems is that cross-dialectal and cross-register differences are widespread, so the same word or lexeme may have many different transcriptions. Even simple words like মন "mind" may be pronounced "mon", "môn", or (in poetry) "mônô" (as in the Indian national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana").

Often, different phonemes are represented by the same symbol or grapheme. Thus, the vowel এ can represent either [e] (এল elo [elɔ] "came") or [ɛ] (এক êk [ɛk] "one"). Occasionally, words written in the same way (homographs) may have different pronunciations for differing meanings: মত can mean "opinion" (pronounced môt), or "similar to" (môtô). Therefore, some important phonemic distinctions cannot be rendered in a transliteration model. In addition, to represent a Bengali word to allow speakers of other languages to pronounce it easily, it may be better to use a transcription, which does not include the silent letters and other idiosyncrasies (স্বাস্থ্য sbasthyô, spelled <swāsthya>, or অজ্ঞান ôggên, spelled <ajñāna>) that make Bengali romanisation so complicated. Such letters are misleading in a phonetic romanisation of Bengali and are often a result of inclusion of the Bengali script with other Indic scripts for romanisation, but the other Indic scripts lack the inherent vowel ô, which causes chaos for Bengali romanisation.

A phenomenon in which romanisation of Bengali unintentionally leads to humorous results when translated is known as Murad Takla.

## Comparison of romanisations

[edit]

Comparisons of the standard romanisation schemes for Bengali are given in the table below. Two standards are commonly used for transliteration of Indic languages, including Bengali. Many standards (like NLK/ISO), use diacritic marks and permit case markings for proper nouns. Schemes such as the Harvard-Kyoto one are more suited for ASCII-derivative keyboards and use upper- and lower-case letters contrastively, so forgo normal standards for English capitalisation.

* "NLK" stands for the diacritic-based letter-to-letter transliteration schemes, best represented by the National Library at Kolkata romanisation or the ISO 15919, or IAST. It is the ISO standard, and it uses diacritic marks like ā to reflect the additional characters and sounds of Bengali letters.
* ITRANS is an ASCII representation for Sanskrit; it is one-to-many: more than one way of transliterating characters may be used, which can make internet searches more complicated. ITRANS ignores English capitalisation norms to permit representing characters from a normal ASCII keyboard.
* "HK" stands for two other case-sensitive letter-to-letter transliteration schemes: Harvard-Kyoto and XIAST scheme. Both are similar to the ITRANS scheme and use only one form for each character.

### Vowels

[edit]

Bengali | IAST | ISO 15919 | Avro | ITRANS | Devanagari | WX | B.C

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

অ  | a | a | o | a | अ | a | a
আ  | aa | ā | a | A/aa | आ | A | aa
ই  | i | i | i | i | इ | i | i
ঈ  | ee | ī | I | I/ii | ई | I | undefined
উ  | u | u | u | u | उ | u | u
ঊ  | oo | ū | U | U/uu | ऊ | U | undefined
ঋ  | RI | r̥ | rri | RRi/R^i | ऋ | q | undefined
ৠ  | RI | r̥̄ | - | r̥̄ | ॠ | - | undefined
ঌ  | LI | l̥ | - | l̥ | ऌ | - | undefined
ৡ  | LI | l̥̄ | - | l̥̄ | ॡ |  | undefined
এ  | e | ē | e | e | ए | e | e
ঐ  | oi | ai | OI | ai | ऐ | E | oi
ও  | o | ō | O | o | ओ | o | o
ঔ  | ou | au | OU | au | औ | O | ou
অ্যা  | ae | æ | oZa | - | - | - | ae

### Consonants

[edit]

Bengali | IAST | ISO 15919 | Avro | ITRANS | Devanagari | B.C

|
|
|
|
|
|

ক  | ka | ka | k | ka | क | ka
খ  | kha | kha | kh | kha | ख | kha
গ  | ga | ga | g | ga | ग | ga
ঘ  | gha | gha | gh | gha | घ | gha
ঙ  | ng | ṅa | Ng | ~Na | ङ | undefined
চ  | ca | ca | c | ca | च | cca
ছ  | cha | cha | ch | Cha | छ | cha
জ  | ja | ja | j | ja | ज | undefined
ঝ  | jha | jha | jh | jha | झ | jha
ঞ  | ya | ña | NG | ~na | ञ | undefined
ট  | ta | ṭa | T | Ta | ट | ta
ঠ  | tha | ṭha | Th | Tha | ठ | tha
ড  | da | ḍa | D | Da | ड | da
ঢ  | dha | ḍha | Dh | Dha | ढ | dha
ণ  | na | ṇa | N | Na | ण | undefined
ত  | 'ta | ta | t | ta | त | 'ta
থ  | 'tha | tha | th | tha | थ | 'tha
দ  | 'd | da | d | da | द | 'da
ধ  | 'dha | dha | dh | dha | ध | 'dha
ন  | na | na | n | na | न | na
প  | pa | pa | p | pa | प | pa
ফ  | pha | pha | ph/f | pha | फ | pha
ব  | ba | ba | b | ba | ब | ba
ভ  | bha | bha | bh/v | bha | भ | bha
ম  | ma | ma | m | ma | म | ma
য  | ja | y | z | ya | य | ja
র  | ra | ra | r | ra | र | ra
ল  | la | la | l | la | ल | la
শ  | sha | śa | sh/S | sha | श | sha
ষ  | sha | ṣa | Sh | Sha | ष | undefined
স  | sa | sa | s | sa | स | sa
হ  | tha | ha | h | ha | ह | ha
ড়  | rha | ṛ | R | - | ड़ | rra
ঢ়  | rha | ṛh | Rh | - | ढ़ | undefined
য়  | y | ẏ | y/Y | - | य़ | y

#### Additional Consonants

[edit]

বাংলা | ISO 15919 | ITRANS | Devanagari | WX

|
|
|
|

ক় | qa | qa | क़ | kZa
ফ় | fa | fa | फ़ | fZa
ভ় | va | va | भ़ | vZa
জ় | za | za | ज़ | zZa

## Examples

[edit]

The following table includes examples of Bengali words romanised by using the various systems mentioned above.

Example words  Bengali script | Meaning | NLK | ITRANS | HK | Devanagari | IPA

|
|
|
|
|
|

মন  | 'mind' | mana | mana | mana | मन | [mon]
সাপ  | 'snake' | sāpa | saapa | sApa | साप | [ʃap]
শাপ  | 'curse' | śāpa | shaapa | zApa | शाप | [ʃap]
মত  | 'opinion' | mata | mata | mata | मत | [mɔt]
মতো  | 'like' | mato | mato | mato | मतो | [mɔto]
তেল  | 'oil' | tēla | tela | tela | तेल | [tel]
গেল  | 'went' | gēla | gela | gela | गेल | [ɡɛlɔ]
জ্বর  | 'fever' | jvara | jvara | jvara | ज्वर | [dʒɔr]
স্বাস্থ্য  | 'health' | svāsthya | svaasthya | svAsthya | स्वस्थ्य | [ʃastʰːo]
বাংলাদেশ  | 'Bangladesh' | bāṃlādēśa | baa.mlaadesha | bAMlAdeza | बांलादेश | [baŋladeʃ]
ব্যঞ্জনধ্বনি  | 'consonant' | byañjanadhvani | bya~njanadhvani | byaJjanadhvani | ब्यञ्जनध्वनि | [bɛndʒɔndʱoni]
আত্মহত্যা  | 'suicide' | ātmahatyā | aatmahatyaa | AtmahatyA | आत्महत्या | [atːohɔtːa]

A detailed example is given below by the lyrics of the "Amar Sonar Bangla" as written by Rabindranath Tagore, the first ten lines of this song currently constitute Bangladesh's national anthem.

Bengali original[7][8][9] | Romanisation of Bengali  | IPA transcription[note 2]

|
|

আমার সোনার বাংলা, আমি তোমায় ভালোবাসি।
চিরদিন তোমার আকাশ, তোমার বাতাস, আমার প্রাণে বাজায় বাঁশি॥
ও মা, ফাগুনে তোর আমের বনে ঘ্রাণে পাগল করে,
মরি হায়, হায় রে—
ও মা, অঘ্রাণে তোর ভরা ক্ষেতে আমি কী দেখেছি মধুর হাসি॥

কী শোভা, কী ছায়া গো, কী স্নেহ, কী মায়া গো—
কী আঁচল বিছায়েছ বটের মূলে, নদীর কূলে কূলে।
মা, তোর মুখের বাণী আমার কানে লাগে সুধার মতো,
মরি হায়, হায় রে—
মা, তোর বদনখানি মলিন হলে, ও মা, আমি নয়নজলে ভাসি॥

তোমার এই খেলাঘরে শিশুকাল কাটিলে রে,
তোমারি ধুলামাটি অঙ্গে মাখি ধন্য জীবন মানি।
তুই দিন ফুরালে সন্ধ্যাকালে কী দীপ জ্বালিস ঘরে,
মরি হায়, হায় রে—
তখন খেলাধুলা সকল ফেলে, ও মা, তোমার কোলে ছুটে আসি॥

ধেনু-চরা তোমার মাঠে, পারে যাবার খেয়াঘাটে আমার সোনার বাংলা ,
সারা দিন পাখি-ডাকা ছায়ায়-ঢাকা তোমার পল্লীবাটে,
তোমার ধানে-ভরা আঙিনাতে জীবনের দিন কাটে,
মরি হায়, হায় রে—
ও মা, আমার যে ভাই তারা সবাই, ও মা, তোমার রাখাল তোমার চাষি॥

ও মা, তোর চরণেতে দিলেম এই মাথা পেতে—
দে গো তোর পায়ের ধুলা, সে যে আমার মাথার মানিক হবে।
ও মা, গরিবের ধন যা আছে তাই দিব চরণতলে,
মরি হায়, হায় রে—
আমি পরের ঘরে কিনব না আর, মা, তোর ভূষণ ব'লে গলার ফাঁসি

Amar shōnar Bangla, ami tōmay bhalōbashi.
Cirodin tōmar akash, tōmar batash, amar prane bajay bãshi.
Ō ma, phagune tōr amer bone ghrane pagol kore,
Mori hay, hay re:
Ō ma, Oghrane tōr bhora khete ami ki dekhechi modhur hashi.

Ki shōbha, ki chaya gō, ki sneho, ki maya gō,
Ki ãcol bichayecho boṭer mule, nodir kule kule.
Ma, tōr mukher bani amar kane lage shudhar motō,
Mori hay, hay re:
Ma, tōr bodonkhani molin hole, ō ma, ami noyonjole bhashi.

Tōmar ei khelaghore shishukal kaṭile re,
Tōmari dhulamaṭi ongge makhi dhonno jibon mani.
Tui din phurale shondhakale ki dip jalish ghore,
Mori hay, hay re:
Tokhon kheladhula shokol phele, ō ma, tōmar kōle chuṭe ashi.

Dhenu-cora tōmar maṭhe, pare jabar kheyaghaṭe,
Shara din pakhi-ḍaka chayay-ḍhaka tōmar pollibaṭe,
Tōmar dhane-bhora anginate jiboner din kaṭe
Mori hay, hay re:
Ō ma, amar je bhai tara shobai, ō ma, tōmar rakhal tōmar cashi.

Ō ma, tōr coronete dilem ei matha pete:
De gō tōr payer dhula, she je amar mathar manik hobe.
Ō ma, goriber dhon ja ache tai dib corontole,
Mori hay, hay re:
Ami porer ghore kinbo na ar, ma, tōr bhushon bole golar phãshi.

[a.mar ʃo.nar baŋ.la ǀ a.mi to.maj bʱa.lo.ba.ʃi]
[t͡ʃi.ro.din to.mar a.kaʃ ǀ to.mar ba.taʃ ǀ a.mar pra.ne ba.d͡ʒaj bã.ʃi ‖]
[o ma ǀ pʰa.gu.ne tor a.mer bo.ne gʱra.ne pa.gol kɔ.re ǀ]
[mo.ri haj ǀ haj re ǀ]
[o ma ǀ ɔ.gʱra.ne tor bʱɔ.ra kʰe.te a.mi ki de.kʰe.t͡ʃʰi mo.dʱur ha.ʃi ‖]

[ki ʃo.bʱa ǀ ki t͡ʃʰa.ja go ǀ ki sne.ho ǀ ki ma.ja go ǀ]
[ki ã.t͡ʃol bi.t͡ʃʰa.je.t͡ʃʰo bɔ.ʈer mu.le ǀ no.dir ku.le ku.le]
[ma ǀ tor mu.kʰer ba.ni a.mar ka.ne la.ge ʃu.dʱar mɔ.to ǀ]
[mo.ri haj ǀ haj re ǀ]
[ma ǀ tor bɔ.don.kʰa.ni mo.lin ho.le ǀ o ma ǀ a.mi nɔ.jon.d͡ʒɔ.le bʱa.ʃi ‖]

[to.mar ei kʰɛ.la.gʱɔ.re ʃi.ʃu.kal ka.ʈi.le re ǀ]
[to.ma.ri dʱu.la.ma.ʈi ɔŋ.ge ma.kʰi dʱon.no d͡ʒi.bɔn ma.ni]
[tu.i din pʰu.ra.le ʃon.dʱa.ka.le ki dip d͡ʒa.liʃ gʱɔ.re ǀ]
[mo.ri haj ǀ haj re ǀ]
[tɔ.kʰon kʰɛ.la.dʱu.la ʃɔ.kol pʰe.le ǀ o ma ǀ to.mar ko.le t͡ʃʰu.ʈe a.ʃi ‖]

[dʱe.nu.t͡ʃɔ.ra to.mar ma.ʈʰe ǀ pa.re d͡ʒa.bar kʰe.ja.gʱa.ʈe ǀ]
[ʃa.ra din pa.kʰi.ɖa.ka t͡ʃʰa.jaj.ɖʱa.ka to.mar pol.li.bʱa.ʈe ǀ]
[to.mar dʱa.ne.bʱɔ.ra aŋ.i.na.te d͡ʒi.bɔ.ner din ka.ʈe]
[mo.ri haj ǀ haj re ǀ]
[o ma ǀ a.mar d͡ʒe bʱa.i ta.ra ʃɔ.bai̯ ǀ o ma ǀ to.mar ra.kʰal to.mar t͡ʃa.ʃi ‖]

[o ma ǀ tor t͡ʃɔ.ro.ne.te di.lem ei̯ ma.tʰa pe.te ǀ]
[de go tor pa.jer dʱu.la ǀ ʃe d͡ʒe a.mar ma.tʰar ma.nik hɔ.be]
[o ma ǀ go.ri.ber dʱɔn d͡ʒa a.t͡ʃʰe tai̯ di.bo t͡ʃɔ.ron.tɔ.le ǀ]
[mo.ri haj ǀ haj re ǀ]
[a.mi pɔ.rer gʱɔ.re kin.bo na ar ǀ ma ǀ tor bʱu.ʃon bo.le gɔ.lar pʰã.ʃi ‖]

## See also

[edit]

* Dobhashi
* Roman Urdu
* Romanization of Arabic
* Devanagari transliteration
* Maltese language \- a romanised language form of Classical Arabic language
* Fiji Hindi \- a romanised language form of Hindi language

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ In Japanese, some debate exists as to whether to accent certain distinctions, such as Tōhoku vs Tohoku. Sanskrit is well standardized, as it has few speakers, and sound change is not a large concern.
2. ^ See Help:IPA/Bengali and Bengali phonology.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Learning International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration". Sanskrit 3 – Learning transliteration. Gabriel Pradiipaka & Andrés Muni. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
2. ^ "ITRANS – Indian Language Transliteration Package". Avinash Chopde. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
3. ^ "Annex-F: Roman Script Transliteration" (PDF). Indian Standard: Indian Script Code for Information Interchange — ISCII. Bureau of Indian Standards. 1 April 1999. p. 32. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
4. ^ Jones 1801
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bashir Al Helal, History of the Language Movement, forthcoming publication, February 1995, pp. 685-692
6. ^ হোসেন, সেলিনা; বিশ্বাস, সুকুমার; চৌধুরী, শফিকুর রহমান, eds. (21 February 1986). 1513\. একুশের স্মারকগ্রন্থ' ৮৬ - সম্পাদনায় (in Bengali). Bangladesh: Bangla Academy. pp. 52–73. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
7. ^ "Rabindranath Tagore - Songs - স্বদেশ - আমার সোনার বাংলা". tagoreweb.in. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
8. ^ "জাতীয় সংগীত (পাঠ) - নেত্রকোণা জেলা". www.netrokona.gov.bd. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
9. ^ "About Bangladesh-2". www.parjatanbd.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2021.

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Bengali language

Written Bengali|

* Alphabet
* grammar
* consonant clusters
* Romanization
* Numerals
* Braille

Spoken Bengali|

* Phonology
* Vocabulary
* tôtsômô
* Dialects
* Bangali
* Chittagonian
* Christian
* Dhakaiya Kutti
* Dobhashi
* Manbhumi
* Rangpuri
* Rarhi
* Sadhu bhasha
* Sylheti
* Varendri

Language movements|

* Bengali language movement (Bangladesh)
* Language Movement Day (Bangladesh)
* Shoheed Minar
* International Mother Language Day
* Bengali Language Movement in Assam
* Bengali Language Movement in India
* Bengali language movement (Manbhum)

Language institutions|

* Bangla Academy
* Shilpakala Academy
* PôshchimBônggô Bangla Akademi
* Bônggiyô Sahityô Pôrishôd
* Bishwô Sahityô Kendrô
* Pôshchim Bônggô Natyô Akademi

Literature|

* Folk literature
* Authors
* Poets

Literary awards|

* Bangla Academy Literary Award
* Ekushey Padak
* Rabindra Puraskar
* Sahitya Akademi Award
* Bankim Puraskar
* Ananda Puraskar

Personalities|

* Ram Mohan Roy
* Kazi Nazrul Islam
* Rabindranath Tagore
* Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
* Nathaniel Brassey Halhed
* John Beames
* Suniti Kumar Chatterji
* Muhammad Shahidullah
* Humayun Azad

Mega-events|

* Ekushey Book Fair
* Kolkata Book Fair

Cinema|

* Cinema of Bangladesh
* Cinema of West Bengal

Other|

* Bengali input methods in computers
* States of India by Bengali speakers

* v
* t
* e

Bengali language movement

History and events|

* Tamaddun Majlish
* Shorbodolio Kendrio Rashtrobhasha Kormi Porishod
* Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad
* Role of political parties during Bengali Language Movement
* The Azad
* Urdu movement
* Pakistaner Rashtra Bhasha: Bangla Na Urdu?
* Romanisation of Bengali

People|

* Abul Barkat
* Abdul Jabbar
* Shafiur Rahman
* Abdus Salam
* Rafiq Uddin Ahmed
* Dhirendranath Datta
* Khawaja Nazimuddin
* Muhammad Ali Jinnah
* Hamidur Rahman
* Abul Kashem
* Shamsul Huq
* Nurul Huq Bhuiyan
* Shahed Ali
* Liaquat Ali Khan
* Mohammad Toaha
* Abdul Matin
* Abdul Malek Ukil
* A. K. Fazlul Huq
* Maulana Bhashani
* Oli Ahad
* Abul Hashim
* Shawkat Ali
* Abul Kalam Shamsuddin
* Kazi Golam Mahbub
* Gaziul Haque
* Muhammad Habibur Rahman
* Mahbub Ul Alam Choudhury
* Mohammad Akram Khan
* Zahir Raihan
* Mohammad Sultan
* Abdul Latif
* Abdul Gafur
* Altaf Mahmud
* Muhammad Shahidullah
* Nurul Amin
* Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish
* Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
* Munier Choudhury

Commemoration|

* Ekushey Book Fair
* Shaheed Minar
* Ekushey Padak
* Language Movement Day
* International Mother Language Day
* Moder Gorob
* Artistic depictions of the Bengali Language Movement
* Ekusher Gaan

* v
* t
* e

Bangladesh articles

History|

* Timeline
* Outline
* Topics:
* Bengal
* Aviation
* Literature
* Military
* Postal
* Rulers
* Cyclones
* Years

| Ancient|

* Vedic period
* Anga
* Vanga
* Pundra
* Suhma kingdom
* Magadha
* Pradyota
* Shaishunaga
* Nanda
* Gangaridai
* Maurya Empire
* Shunga Empire
* Kanva dynasty
* Gupta Empire

|

Classical and Medieval|

* Founding kingdom:
* Gauda Kingdom
* Classical empires:
* Pala
* Kamboja
* Sena
* Sultanates:
* Islamic rulers
* Delhi Sultanate
* Khalji dynasty
* Bengal Sultanate
* Sur Empire
* Baro-Bhuyan
* Mughal period:
* Bengal Subah
* Nawabs of Bengal
* Battle of Plassey

Colonial and Pakistan era|

* Portuguese Bengala
* British Bengal:
* Famine of 1770
* Sepoy Rebellion
* Bengal Renaissance
* Partition of Bengal (1905)
* Prime Minister of Bengal
* Lahore Resolution
* Famine of 1943
* Direct Action Day
* Partition of Bengal (1947)
* East Pakistan:
* Language Movement
* Legislative election in 1954
* Six point movement
* 1969 Uprising
* General election in 1970
* Proclamation of Independence
* Bangladesh Liberation War:
* Provisional Government
* Genocide
* Rape
* Timeline

Republic of Bangladesh|

* Famine of 1974
* Military coups
* 1975
* 1981
* 1982
* 1990 Uprising
* Political crisis in 2006–08
* Bangladesh Rifles revolt
* Battle of Begums
* Protests in 2013

Regional|

* Chittagong
* Dhaka
* Jessore
* Noakhali
* Rangpur
* Sylhet

Geography|

* Administrative:
* Divisions
* Districts
* Sub-districts
* Cities and towns
* Borders
* Nature:
* Islands
* Lakes
* Mountains
* National parks
* Rivers
* Places:
* Bay of Bengal
* Bengal Fan
* Chittagong Hill Tracts
* Cox's Bazar
* Ganges Basin
* Ganges Delta
* Hatirjheel
* Sundarbans
* World Heritage Sites

Politics|

| Government|

* Executive:
* President
* List
* Prime Minister
* List
* Cabinet
* Elections:
* Election Commission
* General elections
* Presidential elections
* Political parties
* Foreign relations
* Foreign policies
* Jatiya Sangsad (parliament):
* Constituencies
* Speaker
* Local government:
* City corporations
* Municipalities
* Upazila Parishads
* Union councils
* Law:
* Constitution
* Supreme Court
* High Court Division
* International Crimes Tribunal
* Chief Justice
* Attorney General
* Human rights:
* Forced disappearance
* Freedom of religion
* LGBT rights
* Women

|

Military and enforcement|

* Armed Forces:
* Army
* Navy
* Air Force
* Paramilitary:
* Border Guard
* Coast Guard
* Ansar
* Village Defence Party
* President Guard Regiment
* Special Security Force

* Intelligence:
* NSI
* DGFI
* CTIB
* Special Branch
* Police:
* APBn
* CID
* CTTC
* PBI
* RAB
* SPBn

Economy|

* Bangladesh Planning Commission
* Industries:
* Automotive
* Ceramics
* Electronics
* Food
* Pharmaceutical
* Textile
* Shipbuilding
* Steel
* Tea production
* Finance sectors:
* Banking
* Bangladesh Bank (central bank)
* Bangladeshi taka (currency)
* Financial system
* Stock Exchange:
* Chittagong
* Dhaka
* 2011 scam
* Energy and resources:
* Energy policy
* Electricity
* Natural gas and petroleum
* Nuclear energy
* Renewable energy
* Export Processing Zones
* Agriculture:
* Rice
* Poultry
* Fishing
* Forestry
* Tourism
* Poverty
* Infrastructure:
* Post
* Telecommunications
* Real estate
* Water supply and sanitation
* Transport:
* Airports
* Airlines
* Railway
* Roads
* Ports

Society|

| Demographics|

* Ethnic groups
* Bangladeshis
* Bengalis
* Names
* Crime
* Corruption
* Human trafficking
* Terrorism
* Education
* Schools
* Universities
* Health
* Hunger
* Religion
* Society

|

Culture|

* Architecture
* Bangaliana
* Baul
* Bangladeshi nationalism
* Bengalization
* Calendars
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Language
* Bengal studies
* Literature
* Music
* Public holidays
* Sports
* Theatre
* Radio stations
* Sexuality
* Marriage

Symbols|

* Amar Shonar Bangla
* Bangamata
* Bengal fire
* Bengal tiger
* Bungalow
* Flag
* Government Seal
* Ilish
* Jackfruit
* Kabaddi
* Bengal cat
* Mango tree
* National Emblem
* National Martyrs' Memorial
* Notuner Gaan
* Oriental magpie-robin
* Water lily
* Inventions and discoveries

* Outline
* Index

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Writing systems

Index of language articles

Overview|

* Language
* History of writing
* History of the alphabet
* Graphemes
* Scripts in Unicode

Lists|

* Writing systems
* Languages by writing system / by first written account
* Ancient languages corpuses by size
* Undeciphered writing systems
* Creators of writing systems

Types|

* Abjads
* Abugidas
* Alphabets
* Featural
* Ideogrammic
* Logographic
* Numeral
* Phonogrammic
* Pictographic
* Semi-syllabaries
* Shorthand
* Syllabaries

Current examples|

* Arabic
* Canadian syllabics
* Chinese
* Devanagari
* Hangul
* Kana
* Latin
* Mongolian

Related topics|

* In Africa
* In Southeast Asia

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