Bengali Alphabet - History

History

The Bengali script evolved from the Siddham, which belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts, along with the Devanagari and other written systems of the Indian subcontinent. In addition to differences in how the letters are pronounced in the different languages, there are some typographical differences between the version of the script used for Assamese and Bishnupriya Manipuri as well as Maithili languages, and that used for Bengali and other languages.

Illustration:

  • The character ক্ষ (Assamese khyô, Bengali khio) is considered a separate letter in Assamese script (ক্ষ ) but considered a conjunct (orthographically ক্‌+ষ ) in Bengali. In both languages, it functions as though it were orthographically খ্য .
  • is represented as র in Bengali, ৰ in Assamese, and either of the two variants in Bishnupriya Manipuri and Maithili.
  • Assamese script has an additional character sounding represented as ৱ not found in Bengali script.

The Bengali script was originally not associated with any particular language, but was often used in the eastern regions of Medieval India. It was standardized into the modern Bengali script by Ishwar Chandra under the reign of the British East India Company. The script was originally used to write Sanskrit. Epics of Hindu scripture, including the Mahabharata or Ramayana, were written Mithilakshar/Tirhuta script in this region. After the medieval period, the use of Sanskrit as the sole written language gave way to Pali, and eventually to the vernacular languages we know now as Maithili, Bengali, and Assamese.There is a rich legacy of Indian literature written in this script, which is still occasionally used to write Sanskrit today.

Read more about this topic:  Bengali Alphabet

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    Anything in history or nature that can be described as changing steadily can be seen as heading toward catastrophe.
    Susan Sontag (b. 1933)

    I am ashamed to see what a shallow village tale our so-called History is. How many times must we say Rome, and Paris, and Constantinople! What does Rome know of rat and lizard? What are Olympiads and Consulates to these neighboring systems of being? Nay, what food or experience or succor have they for the Esquimaux seal-hunter, or the Kanaka in his canoe, for the fisherman, the stevedore, the porter?
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    In front of these sinister facts, the first lesson of history is the good of evil. Good is a good doctor, but Bad is sometimes a better.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)