Volume-I, Issue-IV, March 2025
Volume-I, Issue-IV, January, 2025 |
Received: 22.02.2025 | Accepted: 25.03.2025 | Page No:965-972 | |
Published Online: 31.03.2025 | |||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.1.issue.04W.091 | |||
প্রমিত বাংলার সংকট ও ঔপনিবেশিক ভাষানীতি: একটি পর্যালোচনা ইয়াসমিন প্রামানিক, বাংলা বিভাগ, পান্ডবেশ্বর কলেজ, পশ্চিম বর্ধমান, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
The Crisis of Standard Bengali and Colonial Language Policy: A Review Yeasmin Pramanick, Dept. of Bengali, Pandabeswar College, West Bengal, India. | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
The debate over the standardized form of the Bengali language has persisted for a long time. In the 19th century, under colonial rule, the accepted form of Bengali prose remained confined to a specific social group. This study examines how colonial language policies, along with the dominance of Sanskrit and English, influenced the shaping of Bengali prose. During the 19th century, Bengali prose was based on the rigid “Sadhubhasha” style, which was disconnected from the spoken language of the common people. According to Pradyumna Bhattacharya, this division was not merely literary but also reflected social class distinctions. While English prose was being written in a simple and accessible manner, Bengali prose remained rigid and elitist. By the late 19th century, the conflict between “Sadhubhasha” and “Cholitobhasha” intensified. Rabindranath Tagore and the emerging grammarians of the time emphasized the evolving nature of language and advocated for the necessity of the colloquial form. Tagore believed that the standardized form of a language is not artificially imposed but naturally changes over time. He argued in favor of simplifying Bengali prose and attempted to break the rigid structure of “Sadhubhasha.” Due to colonial language policies, Bengali prose became divided into two streams—formal literary language and the vernacular language of the masses. The development of the printing industry, the popularity of “Bat-tala” publications, and the separation of literary language fueled new debates about standardized Bengali. Mohitlal Majumdar and Sushil Kumar, De opposed Tagore’s views on language. Mohitlal argued that “Sadhubhasha” was the language of Bengali national culture, elevated above rural dialects. On the other hand, Sushil Kumar believed that the strength of the Bengali language stemmed entirely from Sanskrit. This study concludes that the debate over standardized Bengali is deeply intertwined with the nature of language, colonial rule, social divisions, and literary structures. Although Tagore’s linguistic ideas played a crucial role in transforming Bengali prose, the controversy over the true form of the language remains ongoing. | ||
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