On the Incompatibility of the Bengali Script and Pronunciation

• Authors: Walter E.
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The Bengali language has its own syllabic script. However, it was originally invented to write Sanskrit. Therefore, as regards its concept and structure, it is a true copy of the 'Deva-nagari' script, which is one of the most excellent systems of writing, suited perfectly to the phonetics of Sanskrit. Unfortunately, one cannot say the same in the case of Bengali. The Bengali script and pronunciation do not always go hand in hand with each other. In some cases, the discrepancies between the script and pronunciation are very great. As a result, reading Bengali can sometimes be very difficult (especially for foreigners). The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the differences between the Bengali script and its pronunciation system, by example of the notation of vowels, semivowels, diphthongs, consonants and consonant clusters.

Keywords

EN

BENGALI - SCRIPT & PRONUNCIATION

Discipline

• PHILOLOGY_&_LINGUISTICS: PHILOLOGY & LINGUISTICS

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Rocznik Orientalistyczny
• Year: 2007
• Volume: 60
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 283-289
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Walter E.

• E. Walter, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Instytut Orientalistyczny, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

08PLAAAA04118040