What is the connection between Sylhet and London?

[khair_ctg]

Sylheti language in general is very harsh and rough in sound, for example other districts may pronounce it "kapor" Sylheti's would pronounce it "kha-for", we seem to emphasise on "kh" a lot. Sylheti isn't much different from other dialects, I wouldn't say it's a separate language however Assamese has had a big influence on it due to close proximity.

We are pointing out the differences between Bengali and Sylheti. As I mentioned in a previous post lexical similarity between Sylheti and Bengali is 70%, which is 60% between English and German, and 85% between Spanish and Italian. Percentages higher than 85% usually indicate that the two languages being compared are likely to be related dialects. (wiki) Now Chittagonian is even further removed from Bengali. It has 43-64% lexical similarity with Bengali. In Ethnologue or Wikipedia there's no mention of any other languages in BD that we usually consider a dialect of bengali.

what i have been asking is Sylheti is different from what? it's different from the Calcutta based Bangla isn't it? but then all East Bengal dialects are different from that. it's not just the accent difference but also the use of Farsi and Arabic and having some similarity with Urdu/Hindustani in ways. and the way Sylheti is different from Calcutta Bangla, other dialects differ in a similar way as well. in the particular example by Saiful Islam bhai, you would say "khafar" or "khafra" in Chatgaia as well, and almost the same in Noakhali and Comilla dialects.

There's no ground for denying admixture but enumeration of the extent without genetic study is not reasonable. Yes indeed there are lots of Muslim Bengalis who one can definitely tell by the looks of them that they are not Hindu (meaning not 'pure' ethnic Bengali) but no noticeable phenotypal difference is there between an average Muslim Bengali and an average Hindu Bengali IMO.

Regarding the extinction of Syloti Nagri, the last nail in the coffin was put by the Bengali nationalists who burnt down the remaining Syloti Nagri printing presses in Sylhet in or around 1971 (google pls for the exact time).

Muslims of Bengal have never been 'pure Bengali' by Hindu Bengali definition. it's because Muslim Bengal has always had a fluid exchange with Muslim communities to the West. historically, strictly speaking, to be a Bengali, you had to be a Hindu - if you were a Muslim of Bengal, you were just a Muslim

 

[Rainbow]

I am from Sylhet and I can understand every word someone from Calcutta speaks. I don't think they may understand me, only because we speak in a very coarse accent, but someone from Dhaka can communicate perfectly with someone from Calcutta. The language of Bangladesh and WB has been almost fully standardised.

 

[Saiful Islam]

what i have been asking is Sylheti is different from what? it's different from the Calcutta based Bangla isn't it? but then all East Bengal dialects are different from that. it's not just the accent difference but also the use of Farsi and Arabic and having some similarity with Urdu/Hindustani in ways. and the way Sylheti is different from Calcutta Bangla, other dialects differ in a similar way as well. in the particular example by Saiful Islam bhai, you would say "khafar" or "khafra" in Chatgaia as well, and almost the same in Noakhali and Comilla dialects.


Muslims of Bengal have never been 'pure Bengali' by Hindu Bengali definition. it's because Muslim Bengal has always had a fluid exchange with Muslim communities to the West. historically, strictly speaking, to be a Bengali, you had to be a Hindu - if you were a Muslim of Bengal, you were just a Muslim

East Bengal dialects contain many Farsi/Arabic words, but in particular Farsi words. You cannot go a sentence without one Farsi word popping up, but we don't realise that these words are of foreign origin. Calcutta Bengali and the East Bengal dialects, there is a big difference but people want to deny it and laugh at the concept of 'Musulmani Bangla" which has been here for centuries.

Chittagonian and Sylheti probably have the most borrowed words from Persian and Arabic.

 

[Rainbow]

East Bengal dialects contain many Farsi/Arabic words, but in particular Farsi words. You cannot go a sentence without one Farsi word popping up, but we don't realise that these words are of foreign origin. Calcutta Bengali and the East Bengal dialects, there is a big difference but people want to deny it and laugh at the concept of 'Musulmani Bangla" which has been here for centuries.

Chittagonian and Sylheti probably have the most borrowed words from Persian and Arabic.

Agreed. An Afghan friend of mine said Bengali sounds similar to Farsi. I think Bengali in Bangladesh is peppered with Farsi words. But I can also understand someone from Kolkata perfectly well, but maybe they won't understand us so well.

 

[Saiful Islam]

Agreed. An Afghan friend of mine said Bengali sounds similar to Farsi. I think Bengali in Bangladesh is peppered with Farsi words. But I can also understand someone from Kolkata perfectly well, but maybe they won't understand us so well.

Some of my cousins watch Star Jalsa and that is a good example of Calcuttan Bengali, it's half and half with me...I can understand it but then sometimes I can't understand it at all, but then again, I can't understand the Dhaka dialect sometimes. Chatgaiya is a whole different level lol...No way of understanding that. Noakhali is easy for me to understand.

 

[Skallagrim]

what i have been asking is Sylheti is different from what? it's different from the Calcutta based Bangla isn't it? but then all East Bengal dialects are different from that. it's not just the accent difference but also the use of Farsi and Arabic and having some similarity with Urdu/Hindustani in ways. and the way Sylheti is different from Calcutta Bangla, other dialects differ in a similar way as well. in the particular example by Saiful Islam bhai, you would say "khafar" or "khafra" in Chatgaia as well, and almost the same in Noakhali and Comilla dialects.


Muslims of Bengal have never been 'pure Bengali' by Hindu Bengali definition. it's because Muslim Bengal has always had a fluid exchange with Muslim communities to the West. historically, strictly speaking, to be a Bengali, you had to be a Hindu - if you were a Muslim of Bengal, you were just a Muslim

If you think all 'dialects' of Bengali spoken in East Bengal are mutually intelligible then this is an unsubstantiated opinion and you're in the minority. I'd ask you to read the entries for Sylheti and Chittagonian in Ethnologue and Wikipedia. While there are vocabualries similar in form and meaning, like 'khafor' (kapor) as you said, there are words like 'tenga' (tok), 'arua' (stupid) , 'gua' (betel nut), and everyday phrases like 'uba be' (hey wait) at the other end of the spectrum that are not at all intelligible to a person from Comilla, Chittagong or Dhaka. Moreover majority of the modern day Sylhetis esp in public wouldn't use a large number of Sylheti words due to an irrational inferiority complex about their own language and would rather use equivalent words from Bengali even though with pronunciation characteristic of Sylheti. These loan words from Bengali have largely replaced their own vocabulary proudly used by their grandparents decades ago and till this day used by their kith and kin in the village who didn't get overwhelmed by 'modern' education.

 

[arp2041]

CONNECTION??? Sylhet is the dumping ground for London's waste/garbage???

 

[queerbait]

@ Well as per my experience, the Sylheti's never considered themselve as a Bengali. They considered that their Sylhet has a differnt langauge. Historcially Sylhet was a part of greater Assam. In 1946/47 through a referendum it was annexed to the then East Pakistan. All though the Sylheti's voted for Muslim Leaque and subsequently voted for referendum to join Pakistan but once they came to Pakistan they were frustated as hardly any major refugee settlement were made. There were too many refugees came from Assam mostly they were Sylheti. This was as because many muslim majority areas of greater Sylhet district was not given to Pakistan. Take an example of Karimganj, it was a muslim majority subdivision but finally not attached to East Pakistan.

@ The Sylheti people came close with the English people once the tea plantation started in greater district of Sylhet during the British period. Since then many people migrated to London.

@ I think the greater Sylheti people's blood came from Turkey. Their caste custom, attitude, food habits resembles with Turkish people. So, they considered themselve as a minority in greater Bengal.

@ Once majority refugees came from Assam and they were not well treated so most of them were depressed. Many went back. Infact Pakistan was also not in a position to feed and housed them. Pakistan govt was more interested with the refugees of Biharees who came from Bihar and other areas of India.

@ Under these critical situation, immediately after the Second World War there was a huge labour crisis in Britain. British Govt offerred to supply some labour to the just freed independent countries of Common Wealth . Pakistan govt accepted the offer. Once the option given to Bengal, the Sylheti people at once accepted the offer and went to England. At that time non of the other people of Bengal were interested to go to London as they were busy in celebrating the newly got independent Pakistan. ( Nara-e-Tekbir Allah Hu Akbar, Larke Lange Pakistan, Pakistan Zinda Bad).

@ Slowly and gradually, these migrated Sylheti people took their relatives to London and today in three constituencies of Britain became the deciding factor. As I have already said since the people of Sylhet does not considered themselve as Bengali so they did not get married to other Bengali women so their number increased rapidly and remained intact as Sylheti.

thank you....very informative post

 

[DarkPrince]

@scorpionx mamu tumi modike vote debe i hate you

 

[scorpionx]

@scorpionx mamu tumi modike vote debe i hate you

Bhagne nobody is saint. Congress does exactly the same. But if you insist I won't vote at all. But don't hate me.I hate to be hated

 

[Jaanbaz]

London is a shit hole pardon my French but that is the truth. Stay out of London. Even the White natives are fleeing London in mass numbers, many have instead settled in rural areas of UK.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

Bhagne nobody is saint. Congress does exactly the same. But if you insist I won't vote at all. But don't hate me.I hate to be hated

But then @BDforever will get your voter card and vote for Modi.

 

[scorpionx]

But then @BDforever will get your voter card and vote for Modi.

I know his face. I will catch him and give him a public dhulai

 

[sidr]

Probably because of better living.
Its not true that sylheti people don't consider them as bengali.

 

[A Town]

London is a shit hole pardon my French but that is the truth. Stay out of London. Even the White natives are fleeing London in mass numbers, many have instead settled in rural areas of UK.

London is the best city in the world and us Indians are the biggest minority. Soon London will become part of Akhand Bharat.