Bengali
1
4.1
- proper noun
- /bɛŋˈɡɑːli/
- The mother tongue (language) of East Pakistan was Bengali; they couldn't speak or write Urdu, and on the other side, West Pakistan people could read and write Urdu but could not understand Bengali. So, it was difficult to choose the national language of Pakistan, that is, whether Urdu should be the national language or Bengali should be the national language of Pakistan (Adeney, 2007).
Examples
-
East Pakistan was the most linguistically homogenous region in South Asia, with the overwhelming majority of the people speaking Bengali.
Academic text (1997) -
In recent years, Bengali Baul-Fakir music has become popular among affluent, educated Bengalis.
Academic text (2016) -
Quite a few of them spoke some English or Bengali, so I could talk to them.
Fiction book (1995) -
In particular, there were around five females who spoke Bengali as their primary language outside of school.
Academic text (2014) -
The woman regarded her blankly, said something in Bengali, and smiled.
Fiction book (2002) -
You didn't speak Bengali?
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In this village, 14 would speak Mandarin as their first language, 5 English, 5 Spanish, 3 Hindi, 3 Portuguese, 3 Bengali, 2 Russian, 2 Japanese, 1 Arabic, and 1 German.
Academic text (2008) -
Then, in 1971, Pakistan itself, originally unified on the basis of religion, dissolved into Urdu-speaking Pakistan and Bengali-speaking Bangladesh.
Academic text (2008) -
She spoke Bengali fluently, having learned the language from her parents.
-
As a proud Bengali, he celebrated the rich cultural heritage of his homeland.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Bengali comes from the place name Bengal, known as Bangla locally. So a Bengali is a person from that area or someone who speaks the Bengali language.