Linguistic Survey of India- Vol.V, Indo-Aryan Family Eastern Group, Part-I. 

Abstract

This is the language of Lower Bengal, or the region of the Gangetic Delta and of- the district's -immediately above it and to its east. It is called by those who speak it Banla or Banga-bhasha,—the ’language of Banga or Yaiiga. The former is the colloquial title, while the latter e Language. ^ name found in literature. In Sanskrit, the word ‘ Vahga' meant Eastern and Central Bengal, but in modern times it is applied, to the whole country in which the Bengali language is spoken. The word ‘ Bengali ’ is an English one, framed on the English word ‘ Bengal,’ which may have been learned in Southern India,1 where the word Vangalam occurs in an inscription of the great Tanjore temple, dating from the 11th century A.D. Erom this word arose the word Bang&la of £he Arabic Geographers.2 Erom' Arabic, it got into Persian, and we find Abu-l-fazl saying in the Ain-i Akbari, e the real name of Bangal# is Bang.’3 Er,om Persian, the word Bangala was adopted into Hindustani, and was used by Muhammadan writers in that language. So far as my reading goes it was not used by any of the classical Hindu writers, who still adhered to the proper name of the country,—Bang. Erom Bangala, Hindustani writers formed the hybrid word bangali and also the contracted word bangld, both meaning ‘ of or belonging to Bengal,’ ‘ Bengali.’ The latter word has entered into English in the word ‘ bungalow,’ which means a house after the Bengal fashion. ‘ Bangali ’ has been borrowed by some English writers, under a mistaken idea of •correct spelling, and has been used instead of the English word Bengali, which is much as if an Englishman were to borrow the Erench word ‘ Allemagne,’ when he wanted to say ‘ Germany.’4 As this is a work in the English language, 1 shall throughout use the English word ‘ Bengali ’ when referring to the form of speech now under consideration. Eor the reasons above stated, I' shall avoid the form ‘ Bangali,’ or, as some write it, ‘ Bengali,’ with a diacritical accent on the second syllable. The sole advantage of the latter form is that it prevents ignorant English people from pronouncing the word as if it was' ‘ Bengalee,’ with the second syllable short, and accents on the first and last syllables.