IN THE digital world, we are constantly engaged in communications, with English being the dominant medium. It is the language of globalisation, power and the centre. We have never fully escaped its colonial influence. We exist simultaneously in local and global spheres, inhabiting both the real and virtual worlds. The digital era presents both challenges and opportunities for the Bangla language. Our limited digital capabilities, however, still pose obstacles to its development. There is lack of software, applications and web sites in Bangla; and, digital global platforms provide inadequate interface support for the language. Bangla also lags far behind in artificial intelligence and language processing.
The dominance of English content in communications and online spaces may lead to a decline in the younger generation鈥檚 proficiency and interest in Bangla. Social media now sees an unprecedented volume of Bangla writing. However, much of the emotional expression on social media occurs in English or Arabic. Instead of using Bangla to express gratitude or congratulations, many prefer English or Arabic. This is contributes to the creation of a hybrid language, blending Bangla, English and Arabic which distorts and alters the essence of the Bangla language.
The recent rise in the use of regional dialects has disrupted the standard Bengali. The development of a standardised language is linked to the emergence of nation-states. In this process, many regional words and linguistic structures were discarded. In the digital age, a standardised language is essential for communications and technological discourse. While standardisation has ensured linguistic uniformity, it has also reduced language diversity. Some individuals are now attempting to challenge this standardisation by promoting a distorted and unconventional linguistic style.
A recent trend involves artificially injecting Arabic and Persian words into Bangla. Over the centuries, Bangla has naturally assimilated numerous Arabic, Persian, Portuguese and English words. Many Arabic words entered Bangla because of religious influences and Persian was the official language until 1835. Social media reveal an increasing tendency to express emotions in Arabic or English. But can we not articulate our feelings in Bangla? Would expressing them in Bangla diminish our dignity? Would refraining from using Arabic words make us less religious? Is there any religious directive prohibiting the expression of emotions in one鈥檚 mother tongue? One can maintain religious devotion without being hostile to the Bangla language.
In the early 19th century, the development of Bangla prose, centred around the College of Fort William, led to the Sanskritisation of the language. Sanskrit was established as the foundation of Bangla, resulting in an overload of Sanskrit-derived words while many Arabic-Persian, indigenous and, even, Bengali verb forms were discarded. Some perceive this as an anti-Muslim conspiracy. This linguistic divide later fuelled Hindu-Muslim linguistic communalism. Nathaniel Brassey Halhed was a pioneer in Sanskritising Bangla, believing that Arabic and Persian words would corrupt the purity of the language. His contemporaries, Henry Forster and William Carey, neither of whom were Hindus, also sought to eliminate Arabic and Persian words from Bangla. Halhed, influenced by the similarities between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin, advocated for a Sanskrit-based Bangla.
Today, some are once again trying to forcefully reintroduce Arabic and Persian words into Bangla. After the establishment of Pakistan, efforts were even made to write Bangla in the Arabic script. Conversely, in the 1960s, secular, language-based opposition to Pakistan gained traction. Over time, Bangla overcame the influence of Sanskrit and established its own foundation. However, it is undeniable that Bangla has borrowed extensively from Sanskrit鈥檚 vast vocabulary. As scholar Anisuzzaman noted, 鈥楢 great wealth was undoubtedly accumulated in this process, but many long-standing linguistic treasures were also lost.鈥�
Linguistic communalists seek to divide the Bangla language into Hindu and Muslim variants. Rabindranath Tagore, who liberated Bangla from Sanskrit influence and popularised the conversational form, is now being vilified as part of this division. In the 1960s, figures such as Maulana Akram Khan, Fazlur Rahman, Abul Mansur Ahmed, Syed Ali Ahsan, Golam Mustafa and the newspaper Azad advocated for an 鈥業slamic Bangla.鈥� At a 1954 literary conference, Muhammad Shahidullah remarked: 鈥楾he obsession with writing Bengali in the Arabic script, introducing unfamiliar Arabic-Persian words, labelling standard Bengali as the language of the Ganges and proposing the replacement of it with the language of the Padma 鈥� these are all absurdities that have gripped a section of our literary community.鈥�
The Bangla language has always faced attacks from its adversaries. Persian, English and Urdu have repeatedly attempted to suppress it. Not only foreign conquerors but also the local ruling elite has waged a war against Bangla 鈥攕omething that continues to this day. Bangla has been the language of the rural poor, never receiving recognition from the ashraf or bhadralok class that considered it inferior. In the 19th century, affluent urban Muslims in Bengal primarily spoke Urdu. Nawab Abdul Latif dismissed Bangla as the language of the Hindus and rural lower people. Historian Dr Enamul Haque observed: 鈥楽oon, they formed associations, held meetings, and delivered speeches in Bengali, attempting to convince the common Bengali Muslims that their language was not Bengali, not even a mixed form of Bengali, but purely Urdu.鈥�
The ruling class in Bangladesh has never allowed Bangla to become a language of profession, administration or academia. It remains marginalised in the education system while English-medium instruction has oddly been introduced at the primary level. Universities fail to cultivate scholarly discourse in Bangla. The exploitative capitalist class continues to suppress the Bangla language. Today, Bangla is threatened by English, Arabic and Hindi as well as by internal betrayals. Learning English is essential and Arabic is necessary for religious purposes, but not at the cost of abandoning our mother tongue.
Despite immense challenges, Bangla has survived because of the rural masses who have preserved it for generations. The same resilience will ensure its survival today. However, we must also be wary of linguistic fascism 鈥� using the dominant Bangla language to suppress the languages of indigenous and minority groups in Bangladesh. Embracing linguistic diversity and plurality will enhance our democratic spirit. Let us ensure that February, the month commemorating our language movement, does not become a season of superficial linguistic sentimentality.
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Dr Akhtar Sobhan Masroor is a writer and key student leader of the 1990 mass uprising in Bangladesh.
