Teach Yourself Bengali

CONTENTS
Preface
Script diagrams
Part One: Sounds and script
I a, i , i u, f r, 9, n, b, m, r, l ; ru
q(t),
?(1),
?ft), E(
*),
E(
..),
5t,
d,
?tr,
{, K, 4; T
2 c/6, o,
0,
d,
J, B,
s;
Ju
q,
\9(c
l ),
g, q,
.f,
{,
q;
\3
3 e, kh, y, rq; gg
q(c),
rl ,
T,
(;
{
4 a, oi, k; kr
q(c),
QG'l),
s; @
5 6, 6, ch
&( i ) ,
6( f t ) ,
q
6 a, t,
t;
nd, nt, ntu
St(t")-,
o, B;
v, E, E
7
i ,i ,
h; j v,
Jv,
sv, tr
q,
{(l),
q q,
q,
{,
q
8 th, ph,
d, r; tr,
ks
QI,
T,
V, V.Jfi,
g
I
i
o[, p,
!e,
n;
pg,
ry
tfD,
(c-t),
"t,
$,
"tt
e,{
10 oi c, bh; cch, dr
Q(?),
u,
-ua
q, q
11
jh,
th, 4h, 6,
g
tt, n4
<1, 5, D,
g,
R;
E,
g
vii
X
12
16
19
22
25
3l
38
T E A C H
Y O U R S E T F
E E N G A t I
12 r, gh,
dh; sk,
4t,
ndh, hr
trl(.
),
{, {;
t, v, 6,
q,
E,
e
13 Review
of Part
One
Table
of letters;
Sanskritic
transliteration
Part
Two:
Conversation
and grammar
14 Finding
out about someone
_
Conversation
in East
London:
SI,
T; zero verb; interrogative;
p"r.onof
pio_
nouns;
demonstrative
pronoun.
Affirmative
repty
'ana
demonstrative
pronoun
exercise;
B,
q,
RI;
S;
subject-complement
exercise.
4g
15
Talking
to a rickshawallah _
Conversation
at San_
tiniketan:
e;
possessive
case; ach_;
definite
arti.fe
ttfringsl;
demonstrative
adjectives;
negative
oithe zero verb. neg"iiue
statement
and
demonstrative
adjective
exercise;
word_-order
exercise.
EZ
16
puVilS fruit
and vegetables
_
Conversation
at a stall:
{,
rD,
S;
diminutive
article;
indefinite
utde;
;*
much/many;
numbers; postpositions.
Number
anA po.tpori-
tion exercise;
vi
;
answering
questions
exercise.
6g
17 Finding
out about schools
_
Conversation
at girls,
school
l
Sylhet:
R,
S, E,
B;
-jcl
and
-khana;
participi-al
po.tpori-
tions; locative/instrumental
case; plurj
bf p"r."nif
no-uni
reflexive pronoun;
present
tense.
pronoun
and locative
case
exercise; q; gap-fillingexercise.
Zg
18
4ygglqg
a visit
-
Telephone
conversation
in Calcutta:
.tl9,
T,
TEt
appointments;
future tense;
infinitt;fi_
ject
case; impersonal
congtructions.
,Also'p"rticf"
ana ap_
pointments
exercise;
H, 6,
q,
R; week_planningexercisl.
92
19
Health
antl diet
-
Conversation
in Rajshahi:
ft,{,
#;
telling
the time; obligation;
more impersonal
"onst
ucfions;
imperative;
negative
of past
tenses.
Time+elling
*a u.ii
exercise;
H; translation
from English
exercise.
105
20
Meeting
an artist
-
Conversation
with painter
in Delhi:
W;
past
participle (connecting
sentencesj
compound
verbs,
states,
adverbs,
double postpositions);
perfect
tens".
t
"i"i
k6re
and perfect
tense exercise; q, q
;'participte
"*;il.
ILT
47
44
21
t t
23
C O N T E N T S
Talking to a child
-
Conversation
in Calcutta: present
continuous tense; comparisons; like/dislike.
Comparison and
fike/dislike exercise;
tense exercise.
I2g
Conversation
on
_a
train
-
Travelling
with a student to
Chittagong::9, B,
af,
T, B,
h
;
past p"lrf".i
tense; verbal
noun +
iaoya;
adjectival postpositions;
case endings for
words ending in conjuncts. Past perfect
and verbal noun +
iaoya
exercise;
g,
{; adjectival postposition
exercise.
I4I
Telling stories
-
Conversation
with a story-teller
in
Birmingham:
simple past
tense; verbal noun as adjective
(passive
sentences);
which and anryi compound verbs with
deoya/neoya.
Whichlanylsorne
and children,s
story
exercise; diary-writing
exercise.
IS2
Meeting a writer
-
Conversation
with lady-poet in Dhaka:
-U,
q;
conditional participle;
habitual past
tense; need.
Calcutta metro and shopping list
(need/obligation)
exercise;
concise sentence
exercise.
164
Learning Bengali
-
Conversation
about learning Bengali:
past
continuous tense; extended verbs;
/6di
(conditions).
Conditional sentence and extended verb exercise;
continuous
prose
exercise.
V6
24
25
26 Review
of Part Two
Numbers,
dates, etc.; verb tables.
Part Three: Literature
27 The Tailor-bird
and
exercise.
28 Sakuntala
-
Abanindranath's
Sakuntala:
T: relative/
correlative pronoun
exercise.
29 Satyajit Ray
-
When I was small:
q, q,
g;
translation
from Bengali exercise.
30 Tagore in England
-
Letters
from
Europz:E,F',q;
onomatopeia
exercise.
31 The Bangladesh
War
-The
Days of'71:
\, E;
grammatical
recognition exercise.
191
208
2t4
22I
227
235
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 N 6 I I - '
32 Shamsur Rahman
-
poems: q,
d;
conjunct consonants
exercise;
{.
33 The Coming of the Monsoon
-
Guestby Tagore:
sddhu
bhow; W, fr,
9,
$,
Q,
q,
<Fl
;
sddhu bhaV exeicise.
34 Jibanananda Das
-
poems:
e,
cll;
Bengal the beautifut;
s .
35 Revi ewofPartThree
Conjunct consonants;
sadhu bhag forms; Muslim/Hindu
dis-
tinctions; vowel harmony;
further reading.
Key to the exercises
Glossary
Grammatical
index
Acknowledgements
265
278
294
337
340
PREFACE
Of all the major languages of the world, Bengali has been most neglected
by foreign learners. It stands sixth in the world in its number of speakers,
has the richest and most developed modern literature in South Asia, was
the mother-tongue of many leading reformers and activists of 19th and
20th-century India, and is now the national language of Bangladesh and
the state language of West Bengal. There is a sizeable Bengali-speaking
diaspora, in India
(especially
the eastern states of Assam and Tripura),
the Middle East, North America and Britain. The East End of London has
become as closely associated with its Sylheti-Bengali
population
as it
once was with Huguenot andJewish migrants. Bengali was the language
of Rabindranath Tagore, the
greatest
and best known modern South
Asian writer; and it was the language of India's most celebrated film-
maker, Satyajit Ray. Bengali scientists, doctors and academics are
prominent
all over South Asia, and in Europe and North America. As the
language of Bangladesh, Bengali has become internationally identifiable
with a
people whose increasing numbers and
precarious geographical
circumstances
present a huge challenge not only to the Bangladesh
Government but to other
governments
of
good
will. By the end of the
millennium, there are likely to be more than 250 million Bengali speakers.
Yet despite its size, literary wealth, historical importance and
growing
contemporary
profile, there are still remarkably few facilities for for-
eigners to learn it well. Britain now has only one university lectureship ur
Bengali, and lectureships in other countries outside South Asia can be
counted on the fingers of one hand.
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N G A I I
The same can be said of books from which to learn Bengali. Before the
Second World War, there were perhaps more grammars
and course
books for Bengali than for other modern South Asian languages. The
Revd. William Sutton Page ran a department of Bengali at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, and
produced
a number of pioneering
works; his efforts were extended by Professor T. W. Clark, who briefly
held a unique London University Chair in Bengali from 1967 until his
death in 1969, and by Dr Tarapada Mukherjee. Western-based scholar-
ship was nourished by the achievements of Suniti Kumar Chatterjee
(Dr
Mukherjee's teacher) and other scholars in Calcutta and Dhaka in the
fields of Bengali philology
and lexicography. The materials that Clark and
Mukherjee wrote for their students at SOAS were excellent, and served
me and other students well. But Dr Mukherjee was aware that they
needed updating. He struggled against illness to
produce
a new course, in
collaboration with ProfessorJ. C. Wright, but even while he was writing
it the contexts and
potential need for Bengali were changing fast. I have
therefore adopted a new approach in this book. Apart from the sound and
script exercises in Part One
(which
in their methodology go
right back to
Sutton Page), I have conceived my task afresh, aiming to meet a wide
variety of needs and contexts, and to make Bengali as easy and enjoyable
to learn as
possible.
This is a course in speaking, writing and reading standard Bengali. It
assumes that any attempt to go beyond a phrase-book knowledge must
teach the script clearly and fully. But a
purely
'reading
knowledge' of
Bengali would not only neglect the wonderful music of its sounds, it would
also leave unexplained many discrepancies between spelling and pronun-
ciation. So this course teaches the sounds of Bengali with care, as well as
its script and
grammar, and the accompanying tape is integral. At the
same time, I have tried to enable the learner to
progress to higher levels
of reading and understanding. In this, as in other aims, I have been
influenced by Dr Mukherjee's feeling that the
'leap'between
any course
in Bengali then available and reading a text, even a newspaper, was too
great and dispiriting for most learners
(unless
they happened to be
speakers of another South Asian language).
Those who want
primarily to speak Bengali, who are
planning
to
go
to
Bengal to visit or work, or who are in contact with Bengali communities
elsewhere, may feel that they do not wish to make this leap: that a novel
sound-system, script,
grammar and vocabulary are enough, that the
writings of Tagore orJibanananda Das may have to wait. But I urge them
not to be daunted. If they
persevere with Part Three, not only will they
refine their understanding of Bengali
grammar, script and pronunciation,
P R E F A C E
but they will encounter a whole new imaginative world, breathtaking in its
vigour and variety and delight. And their combined endeavour will help to
make the beauties of Bengali known to lovers of language and literature
everywhere.
Of the many friends who have assisted me, I should specially like to thank
Professor Maniruzzamm, of the Department of Bengali at the University
of Chittagong, where I was invited to work on tlfs book as a Visiting
Fellow at the end of 1990. Part Two is incalculably indebted to his acute
linguistic
perception, and would never have been written if his personal
kindness had not
protected me from the
political
turmoil
prevailing
at the
time. I am also sincerely
grateful to Prodosh Bhattacharya, Manoshi
Barua, Sukanta and Supriya Chaudhuri, Ghulam Murshid, Priti Kumar
Mitra, Sudipta Kaviraj, Yasmin Hossain, Anuradha Roma Choudhury and
Professor Sisir Kumar Das. Particular thanks are due to Manoshi Barua,
Sonia Kazi, Ajit Banerjee and Nurul Islam for their enthusiastic recording
of the cassette that accompanies the book, and to Biman Mullick for his
beautiful handwritten script forms. Finally I thank all my puprls at SOAS,
who, by cheerftrlly learning from very imperfect drafts, have helped me
to make improvements. I hope that they and other users will not hesitate
to let me know of any remaining mistakes or unclarities or omissions.
w.R.
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1993
Note on the
first
repint
Additional thanks are due to Professor Pabitra Sarkar, whose very
careful review nthe Statesmaz
(Calcutta,
28January 1995) has enabled
me to make a numberof improvements and corrections, and to Sabia Ali,
the most sharp-eyed of my students in the first year
of the book's use.
1995
Script diagrams
,t
@ , w R
f r @ w
' h @ @
tLlzrl
\,
4 f f q
M
E q
w ' 4 r B
b
$ q
w r y 4
4 F w < r
v q q
q r y w
R q ' q
b \ e E
@
s q Wb @
PART ONE
SOIJNDS
AND SCRIPT
The languages of South Asia are richly endowed with sounds,
particularly
consonants; and the Hindus were the first
people in the world to realise
that the sounds of a language can be
grouped
scientifically according to
where and how they are made in the mouth. Unlike the Greek and Roman
alphabets, which follow ahaphazardorder, Indian scripts are based on a
logical table of letters: vowels first, then the
'velar'
consonants, the
'palatal'
consonants, the'retroflex' consonants and so on.
The Bengali script, like other South Asian scripts
(except
Urdu) was
originally devised for the writing of Sanskrit. As the modern Indo-Aryan
languages developed
(growing
not exactly from Sanskrit but from the
Prakrits, the spoken languages of ancient India), regional varieties of
what was essentially the same writing system were used to write them
- t -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F S E N 6 A I I
down. Nowadays Sanskrit is usually written and
printed in Deuanagan,
the script that is also used for Hindi. But it can
just
as well be written in
the Bengali script, and when Bengali children learn their letters, they
learn them according to the Sanskrit sequence.
The complete table of letters will be found in the Review section at the
end of Part One. You will need to know it, otherwise
you
won't be able
to use a Bengali dictionary. In the first 12 units, however,
you'll
be
introduced to the sounds and letters according to a different sequence.
There are three reasons for this. First, I have found from my experience
of teaching Bengali that it is best to begin with sounds that are easy for
foreigners to make, and
progress g5adually
to more difficult sounds.
Second, it is important to
practise
the sounds by repeating words and
phrases, not by
pronouncing
them in isolation. There are very few words
made of vowels alone, which is what
you
would start with if
you
followed
the traditional sequence. Third, the
pronunciation
of Bengali does not fit
the spelling
perfectly. The mis-match between spelling and
pronunciation
is nothing like as
great
as in English, but it is enough to make Bengali
pronunciation quite tricky, harder than Hindi. Both languages have
essentially
'Sanskritic'
spelling systems, but Bengali has diverged from
its classical roots more than Hindi. It is essential to explain and learn
Bengali sounds and script with care. If I followed the traditional table, I
would have to begin by confusing
you
with the letter that causes more
pronunciation problems than any other!
We begin with three vowel sounds. The first vowel is very much the
sound
you make when the doctor wants to examine
your
throat:
a as in English sfar
The second also approximates to an English sound:
i as in English see
The third sound does not really exist in most pronunciations
of English,
but if you take the
'oo'
sound in rzooz and
push your lips right forward as if
you
were whistling,
you
will
get it:
u
Unlike most people's pronunciation
of English
'oo',
Bengali u is a
pure
sound: i.e. the lips do not move when uttering it. Most English vowel-
sounds are impure: they slide from one sound to another. This is often
reflected in English spelling: break,
fear,
boat, etc. When
pronouncing
Bengali a, i, u, make sure that the sounds are absolutely
pure.
- 2 -
; O U N D A N D 5 C R ' P I
Here are four consonants, none of which should cause any fficulty:
g as in Englishge/
n as in English nol
b as nBnghshbone
m as in English zaf
The next sound should be rolled or
'trilled'
as in Scots or Italian
-
but don't
overdo it. At the end of words,
particularly,
the tongue flaps only once or
twice:
r as nltafian Roma
The last sound is perfectly tamiliar to English speakers, but make sure
you
always
pronounce
it at the front of the mouth:
I as in English lend, never as in English /l
When
pronouncing Bengali consonants on their own, or when referring to
them in order to spell a word or name, it is customary to
give
them a
following vowel-sound
-
the so-called inherent vowel c, pronounced
as
in British English hot.
(There
will be more about the inherent vowel in
Unit 2.) The advantage of this is that you don't have to learn names for
the letters. You simply say:
You now need to learn the Bengali letters for the vowels and consonants
above. All South Asian scripts
(except
Urdu, which is Persian in origin)
follow two basic
principles:
1 If a syllable consists of a vowel alone, or a vowel followed by a
consonant. full vowels are used.
2 If.a syllable consists of a consonant followed by vowel, vowel signs
are used.
To see how this works, let's first of all learn the letters for the five
consonants above. You need to learn to write them, and also to recognise
them in print. You'll see at once that printed forms are not always quite
the same as hand-written forms, and of course hand-writing styles vary.
If
you
want to acquire elegant Bengali handwriting, the best thing is
to find a native speaker who can teach
you. You can also acquire hand-
writing books such as Bengali schoolchildren use
(see
p. 276). For the
mc
13
l c
83
nc
bc
- 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 E N
sequence of strokes, refer to the diagrams on
pp. x-xi. You will see that
some letters
(e.g.
the l) begin with a small loop or'blob':
Handwriting Print
If
you
want to write a on its own,
you
need the full vowel:
a QI
ql
(full
vowel)
This letter is also used if the syllable consists of a vowel * consonant:
qIfl
qn
rt
{
{
a
E
rf
a
{
3
4
I
n
b
m
f
I
A much more common sequence, however, is a consonant * vowel,
and
you'll
be relieved to learn that the vowel sign is simply
I
. Thus:
rfl
4I
{l
rfl
*
6 l l
.ff
q l
ga
na
ma
So far so
good.
With i and u, however, there are two complications to
explain.
(a)
Each of these sounds can be represented by one or other of two
letters. In Sanskrit, there is a'short' i and a'long' i, a'short'u and a'long'
u. In the standard Roman transliteration of Sanskrit
(see
p. 47), these are
distinguished by the use of a bar or'macron' over the long vowels, and I
propose to adopt the same convention here. The transcription system
used in this book derives, with some modifications, from the work of
professor
T. W. Clark
(see
Preface,
p. viii). It borrows letters from tlte
International Phonetic Alphabet, but it is a transliteration in that it
indicates
precisely which letters should be used in writing words in
Bengali script. The distinction between
'short'
and
'long'
i and u in Bengali
has not survived in Bengali
pronunciation, but is still
present in Bengali
spelling. Thus for two sounds we have four letters and vowel signs to
learn.
- 4 -
S O U N D A N D S C R I P T
(b)
Bengali is read, like English, from left to right; but the vowel signs
do not necessarily follow the consonant on the page. The vowel sign for
the short i is written
.before
the consonant; the sign for the long i is
witten,after the consonant; the signs for the short and long u are written
below the consonant:
i
e e
(tulvowel)
|
|
(vowel
sign)
i
A
?
(tullvowel)
'l
"i
(vowel
sign)
u
$ E
(tullvowel)
{
d,
(vowel
sign)
u E
G
(tull.vowel)
Syllables consisting of, say, b + i, i, u, or ! would be written as follows:
You are now ready to start pronouncing,
reading and writing some
Bengali words and
phrases.
Exercises
Practise sayng the words and phrases
overleaf with the help of the
cassette or the
previous
few pages.
In this and in all
the first
(sound)
exercises in Units I to 12, you
need not worry about
analysing the
grammar.
By the end of the book, you
will be able to do
so, and
you'll
know about distinctions between, for example, the
different pronouns
for he and she. For the moment, however,
concentrate on
producing
the right sound, and on
picking
up vocabul-
ary items
-
particularly
nouns and adjectives. You have already seen
the first four words:
t{
<l
c,
t<
<T
{
3
bi
bi
bu
bu
lEl
1
I-
- 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 A T '
am fnango amra niini ue did not take
ma mother amra niina we do not take
na no, not am anun Bing
(some)
nam runne fnangos.
ga body
nun nii? May I tnke
(some)
gan song salt?
arnar rry nin na Please take
(some).
abar again
ini amar ma She is my mother.
bagan
gardnn uni amar mama He is mY
ami I
(matemal)
uncle.
nun salt
amar nam raul My nnme is
ini helshe Raul.
uni helshe
amar rumd nin Take mY
rumaf handkerchief handkerchief.
nil blue uni umar baba? Is he Uma's
lal red
father?
m[l root na, uni rimir baba No, he's
ami anini I did not bring Rimf s
father.
amianlam I brought
2 Now see if
you can write the words and
phrases above in Bengali
script. If a vowel comes between two consonants, it is always
thought of as
'belonging'
to the consonant before, not the consonant
that follows. Thus amar is written a-mar, not am-ar:
qNr<
If a vowel follows a vowel, it has to be written as a full voweL so niina
is written ni-i-na:
nETt
The sequence r followed by u as in rumal
generally has a special
letter-form,
perhaps because tlte ordinary vowel sigrr for u
(*)
would
interfere with the dot in
K:
<+B=
*
t
however, does occur in some modern typefaces.
Keys to this and subsequent exercises are on
pp. 278-293.
- 6 -
In Unit 1, you learnt to
give
consonants
pronounced
on their own the
inherent vowel-sound c. The inherent vowel-sound is frequently given
to consonants which have no other vowel attached to them. In Hindi, and
the standard north Indian pronunciation
of Sanskrit, the inherent vowel is
pronounced like the short e sound in English the.Itis normally translite-
rated as a. In Bengali, the inherent vowel varies in its pronunciation. It is
either
pronounced
c as in British English hot, or as a very pure o such as
we don't really have in English, but which speakers of French will know
from a word suchas mot. Sometimes, influenced by the sounds around it,
it is half way between these two sounds; but to start with it is best to think
of it as having two possible pronunciations:
c and o.
Romanised spe[ings of Bengali names often use
'a'
for the inherent vowel
and for the
'long'
vowel a tlnt we learnt in Unit 1. Satyajit Ray, for
example, the famous film director, would have
pronounced
his name
with an o sound for the fust and second'a'. and an a sound for the
"third.
ln Bengali spelling, the
'a's
in
'Satyajit'
are inherent vowels;
the
'a'
in
'Ray'
is a
(
I ).
A Bengali friend of mine writes his name in
English'Sukanta'. The'a'in the middle is an a; the'a' at the end is an
inherent vowel,
pronounced o. Very confusing!
Bengalis are not always consciously aware that their pronunciation
of the
inherent vowel varies. They think of it as one sound. How is the foreign
learner to know whether to
pronounce
the inherent vowel as c or o? The
- 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A I . I
answer is that he or she will have to develop a'feel' for which is right, and
this only comes
gradually. A brief analysis of the
processes involved is
given
on
p. 275. Two
principles can be remembered at the outset:
(a)
In words which have inherent vowels in two consecutive syllables,
the sequence will usually be c/o, not o/c.
(Exceptions
occur with
prefixes
such as pro-, c- or sc-.) Thus the wordfor hotis
pronounced'gorom', not
'gorcm'.
ft)
In words which end with a'conjunct'consonant
* inherent vowel,
the inherent vowel is always
pronounced o. Thus'Sukanta'above
has to
be
pronounced'sukanto', not'sukantc'.
Often the inherent vowel is not
pronounced at all. In gcrom, for example,
the inherent vowel is not added to the m at the end of the word. Again,
when to
pronounce the inherent vowel and when to drop it is something
that one can learn only with
practice. People with a background in
Sanskrit, where the inherent vowel is
pronounced unless indicated
otherwise by a special sign
(see p. 95), sometimes have difficulty with
this aspect of Bengali; but most
(English-speaking) learners seem to
cope with it quite easily and intuitively,
perhaps because English has so
many words ending with a consonant without a vowel.
So much for the
pronunciation of the inherent vowel. There is, however,
a further cause for confusion. The o sound in Bengali can be represented
either by the inherent vowel, or by the
'proper'vowel
o, for which there
is a separate letter:
o as in French mot ot German so
Learners of Bengali sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between
this sound and u/0
(Unit
I,
p. 2).In both the lips are
pushed right forward
and rounded as when whistling, but in u/o the tongue is raised higher
towards the roof of the mouth. But another sort of confusion arises in the
spelling. Because the inherent vowel can be
pronounced exactly the
same as the
proper vowel o, Bengali spelling is not always consistent in
this regard: there are some words; such as the cornmon word bhalo
(good,
wel[), and many verb forms, which can be spelt either with
inherent vowel or with the
proper vowel o. In this book, I have tried to
settle for the spellings that occur most frequently today. But with verb
forms especially, it is difficult to be completely consistent: sometimes
one spelling'looks'better
in a
particular context than another.
The Romanisation used in this book needs to distinguish between o when
it is an inherent vowel, and o when it is a
proper vowel. For the former, I
have decided to use a circumflex accent: 6. Thus the Bengali word for
- 8 -
S O U N D A N D S C R I P
good
caneither be spelt bhalo or bhal6. In most Bengali words containing
an
'o'
sound, the spelling is
perfectly fixed: but be prepared to find this
inconsistency in some.
Now some consonants: the fust is not difficult for most learners, except
when the letter is
pronounced on its own:
0
as nBnghshfinger
In referring to this letter, Bengalis
generally put
an u before it, and
you
may also find it easier to say'uqc'. When it occurs in words, the hard'g'
element is often softened, so that
pronunciation becomes more like
'ng'in
English slzger. This varies from speaker to speaker. In
pronouncing
the
word for the Bengali race or nation, for example, some will say baqali with
a hard
'g'
sound in the
U
others will soften the
'g'
or eliminate it
completely.
The next sound does not exist in English. It is a'd' sound, but unlike the
English
'd'
it is dental, made by
pressing
the tongue firmly against the
top front teeth. Speakers of French or Spanish or the other Romance
languages will be used to making their'd' s dental:
d as in French docteur
The last sound in this chapter can be represented by three different
letters in the script. The three
'sibilants'that
are distinguished in Sanskrit
(S,
$
s) are
generally all
pronounced as'sh'in standard Bengali
(except
sometimes when combined with other letters
-
see
pp. 269-70).In East
Bengal
(Bangladesh) you will often hear's'rather tlan'sh', even in edu-
cated speech.
(There
is also a tendency to
pronounce ch as
's'.
)
It is safer,
however, to stick to
'sh',
unless the word is English
(bus, qcle
etc.):
J, $,
S as in English sftlP
All the informatiop
given
so far in this chapter is easier to understand
when
you
turn to the script. For the inherent vowel there is, by
definition, no vowel sign: the syllables gc, nc, bc, etc. are simply written
with the consonants alone. For a syllable consisting of c on its own,
however, a full vowel is used. This is the first letter that Bengali children
learn; it is like the letter for a, without the second vertical stroke:
c
The fullvowel
p. 275).
Handwriting
q
Print
q
9 is pronounced c, not 6
-
but there are exceptions
(see
- 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F , B E N 6 A I I
The
proper vowel o has, like the other vowels
you have learnt, a
'full'
form and a'vowel sign'. The vowel sign has two bits to it: one that
goes
before the consonant, and one that
goes after:
o
(fullvowel)
C T
Cl
(vowel si gn)
Thus bo is written
C{1.
The letters for the consonants introduced in this chapter are as follows:
I 6 I
p {
s {
Exercises
Listen to the tape, or refer back to
previous pages, and
practise
saying the following words and
phrases. Remember to
pick
up useful
vocabulary items, without bothering about
grammatical structure at
this stage:
o he. she r6bibar asun Come
(on)
ora they Sunday.
or his, her o dil6 helshe
gaue
dcj ten ora nil6na they did not take
scb all sombar asbo? Shall Ilwe come
dada eldcr brother
(on)
Monday?
didi eldcr sister
amra
Junbo
we shall listen
din day oi b6igulo orl Are those books
aquf
fi.nger
hislhers?
masi
(matemal)
aunt ora dui'bon They are two
Junun!
Listen!
s'isters.
bip
poison amra baqali n6i We are not
manup man, mankind Bengali.
o
fuf6na
helshe did not lie aro d6i dao Giae more du
down
9oghurt).
amra asini we did not come
\,
q
*l
{
q
n V
d q
lEl
1
-l
- t 0 -
.
s O U N D A N D S C R I P T
ami
J6nibar
asbona I shall oi scb amarl Is all of that
not conxe
(on)
Saturdny. mine?
or nam bcl6 Tell
(me)
hislher or didir nam scr6la Hislher
nalne.
elder sistet/s narne is Sarala.
ami ar b6sbona I shall not sitl uni amar bon ncn She is not
wait any more. my sister.
2 See if you
can write the words and phrases
above in Bengali script.
For the syllable
Ju
there is a variation similar to ru in Unit 1
(p.
6). ru,
you
remember, is usually written
S.
Iu
can be written in the wav
you
would expect:
. l + * =
1 t
This form opcurs in modern typefaces, especially in newspapers. But
in handwritlng and older typefaces, the form \g is common.
There is also a variation for
il. (See
p.
220).
To put in full stops, use a short vertical line. The last sentence above
would be written:
Efr
qm<
mfq +q r
Question
marks and other
punctuation
marks are the same as
English.
- i l -
Speakers of English are used to the same sound being achieved by
ffierent spellings. In
principle, each letter of the Bengali script rep-
resents a separate sound. You have seen, however, that i and i are
pronounced the same, and u and 0; the three sibilants are all
pronounced
as
'sh';
and the
'o'
sound can be achieved either by the
proper vowel o or
by the inherent vowel.
This unit contains further anomalies of this kind, arising from what is
sometimes known as
'phonological
decay':
phonemic distinctions that
existed in Sanskrit have been eroded in speech, while the script remains
essentially Sanskritic.
'Decay'
is, of course, a rather loaded word; one
could say that the evolution of Bengali is a
purification and improvement
rather than a decline. Certainly its streamlined
grammatical system is a
relief to those who find complex inflections diffrcult. One might wish that
the writing system had been similarly simplified: but as with English
spelling, to reform it would be to sever the language from its history.
The vowel sound introduced in this unit is
purer than its nearest English
equivalent:
e as in French cafd rather than in Englishpla'y
The new consonant to learn is
quite easy for English speakers to
pronounce. It is aspirated in a way that is quite normal in English:
kh as in English &izg
-
t 2 -
Aspirate it a little more heavily than in English, especially at the beginning
of words. When it occurs in the middle or at the erid of words. the
aspiration is much lighter.
The letter for e is:
Handwriting
e
L
Print

(tull
vowel)
C
(vowel
sign)
The vowel sign is written before the consonant; so be is written C( .
You can see that the vowel sigrl for o
(
C I,
p.
10) is made of e * a, and
this is true for Hindi and other South Asian languages too.
In
good
Bengali
printing,
C is used at the beginning of a word and
(
in
the middle of a word; but in some modern'computer'fonts
(
is the only
form used.
When the sound e follows another vowel, especially c, a, or o, the
'semi-
vowel' y is used. Words like bhcy,
rfhay,
pay, or dhoy are therefore
pronounced
as
'bhce', 'khae', 'pae'afid'dhoe'.
y also serves as a'glide'
between vowels. Between i and e, a and u, or e and e it can sound like an
English'y', and this is the sound
you
can
give
it when referring to it on its
own. Often, however, it is scarcely pronounced
at all. meye
(giil),
for
example, is pronounced
with a lengthened'e' sound
*
the y disappears in
normal speech. Between o and a it is pronounced
like a light English
'w':
in the verbal nouns khaoya,
[oya,
and deoya for example.
This is rather like the
'w'
sound in French oui. The sound exercise
below contains examples of these various pronunciations
of y. If you
have the cassette, listen carefully to it. The letter for y is:
y T
The letter for the consonant kh is:
Finally, you need to learn a letter that is sometimes used for the sound
q.
This is derived from the Sanskrit nasalisation sign, anusuara- frequently
used in Sanskrit, but much less so in Bengali
(which
has a different
nasalisation sign with a different function: see Unit 5,
p. 19). Bengali
6nusvar is used, for example, in the word for the Bengali language itself,
bar4la
{l(41
n
kh
-
t 3
-
fEt l
-l
There are some words,
particularly those where
!
or ni are combined
with another letter in a conjunct, where Bengali spelling is not consistent.
The word colloquially used for terrible, tremendous, etc., for example,
can be spelt sar:ghatik
(qtgTt&S) or sarqghatik
(ql({tlE$);
the
word for colour can be spelt rcn (K) or rcnl (3i) . But for other
words, the spelling is fixed
(
<'tgEt is now an archaic spelling for
<t(El ),
and it is never
possible to add a vowel to
(.
baqali
(the
Bengali
race or nation, as opposed to the Bengali language) must always be
written
<lgtfr.
Exercises
previous pages,
and
practise
phrases:
se he, she
ese hau'ing come
ene haaing brought
er hislher
meye
girl,
dnughter
biye marrhge
khay helshe eats
rakhe helshe
Putslkee|s
khabe helshe will eat
khaoya-daoya
food,
meal
Jekhe
helshe learns
khub aery
csukh illness
nckh
fingerltoe
nail
marqs6 meat
scDte with
mcDg6lbar Tuesday
ami khab6 I shall eat
ami likhbona I shall not write
amar scDge ;rsun Come with
nle.
amader debenna Don't
giue
(iil
to us.
o ele khabe? Will helshe eat
when helshe comes?
b6ikhana niye es6 Bring the
book.
ekhane ese b6sun Come and
sit here.
uni asenni? na Hasn't helshe
come? No.
e scb likhe neb6l Shall I
write all this down?
o ekhuni el6 Helshe has
just
come.
sekhane khub gcr6m Ifs uery
hot there.
ami kheye elam I came after
eating.
se mcpg6lbar asbena Helshe
will not come
(on)
Tuesdny.
In Unit 1
you learnt the variation T for ru, and Unit 2 included the
similar variation
\9 for
{.
This unit contains
your first consonantal
conjunct:
0g.
Some Bengali conjuncts are immediately recognis-
able: they are made up of two letters on top of each other or side by
-
t 4 -
S O U N D A N D 5 C R ' P T
side. g!, for example, is written
S
( Ei +
e ).
Others are less
recognisable, and
0g
is of this type:
l t E q
In modern typefaces you
will sometimes find a more easily recognis-
able form; but the form above is more common, and always used in
handwriting.
Now see if you
can write the words and phrases
in Exercise 1 in
Bengali script. Watch out for rJg, which is underlined, like all
conjuncts in the transcription used in this book.
- t 5 -
There are two vowel sounds to learn in this unit. The first is similar to one
of the vowel sounds of English:
a as in English bal
The other sound is a diphthong: i.e. it is made up of two vowels
joined
together: the vowels o and u
joined
to
produce:
ou
Make sure that
you retain the
'purity'
of both the o and the u, but let the
stress of the syllable fall on the o. You have to
push your lips right forward
to make this sound.
There is only one new consonant to learn, but it can be dfficult for the
foreign learner. It's the unaspirated version of the consonant
you learnt
in Unit 3. In order to
produce it correctly, say an Englishwordlike break
(notice
that we do not normally aspirate the
'k'
sound at the end of the
word). Now say the Bengali sound,
giving it, as usual, the inherent vowel
3:
k
The sound e is represented in two ways in Bengali script, but unlike the
var i at i onsbet ween6andoor
q
(
S
) and
ni
(
(
) t he
spel l i ngi s
generally fixed nowadays: words spelt in one way will not be spelt in the
other.
The first way is to use the letter for e, which
you learnt in Unit 3.
- 1 6 -
lEll
1
-
S O U N D A N D 5 C R ' P T
Handwriting
Print
E
q q(f ul l vowel )
C
C
(vowel
sign)
How do
you
know if
is
pronounced
e or a? The answer is that you
don't, from the script alone. But words containing a are generally
cornmon words such as l<ani
(why)
or kam6n
(how),
or else verbs where
there is a regular alternation between a and e, according to which tense
or
person you
are using. This will be explained in Part Two
(see
pp.
85-
88). Some speakers in East Bengal
(Bangladesh)
do not distinguish very
clearly between a and e, but they recognise that in correct speech they
should be distinguished, and
you
should try to do so. As with the c/6
distinction there are some words where the sound is between the two:
but such subtleties come with an advanced knowledge of Bengali.
The other way of representing a is explained on p. 26.
The diphthong ori is written:
orl
\b
A
(tull
vowel)
- \
c |
6'l
(vowel
sign)
The consonant k is written:
k T s
Exercises
Listen to the tape, or refer back to previous pages,
and practise
saylng the following words and
phrases:
ki? What?
ke? Who?
eke him, her
oke him, her
amake lne
kar? Whose?
kam6nl How?
kan6? WIty?
keu anyone
kckh6n? When?
dik direction
lok
person
kal yesterdayltomorrow
sckal morning
sck6l all
kcl6m
rten
egar6 eleuen
noiko boat
gal6 helshe went
ami k6ri I do
- t 7 _
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N G A T I
uni kcren helshe does akh6n deb6? Shall
(I) giue
amra kini we buy
(it)
now?
ke kene? Who bu.ys? keu amake bcleni No one told
or nam ki? What is hislher rne.
name?
se noiko k6re cnek d0r gal6
ekhane golmal k6rona Don't Helshe went a long way
make a noise here. by boat.
e b6ikhana kar? Whose is this ora scbai
Jukr6bar
gel6 They
book?
all went
(on)
Friday.
2 The last sentence above contained the conjunct kr:
$ + K : @ S
See Unit 8,
p.
30 for more information about conjuncts with r as the
second member.
Remember that in this same word
Ju
can be written \9
(though
t
is
also
possible).
Now see if you can write the words and
phrases in Exercise I in
Bengali script.
- 1 8 -
In Unit 3
you
learnt the letter derived from anusaara, the Sanskrit
nasalisation sign:
-
which functions in Bengali as an alternative to
g
(n).
To indicate the
nasalisation of vowels, Bengali has a different sign called ccndr6bindu,
which means literally moon-dot. But first practise
sayrng the nasalised
forms of the vowels e and o. Nasalisation is performed
by lowering the
soft
palate
at the back of the mouth so that the air flow is directed through
the nose rather than the mouth. There are no nasalised vowels in
standard British English. In French there are
plenty (mon pAre,
le
pain
etc.) though none of them are quite like the Bengali nasalised vowels:
6
The other sound to learn in this unit is a consonant, easy for English
speakers to make:
ch as nBnglish chaff
Make sure this sound is well aspirated
(more
than in English) when it
comes at the beginning of a word. In the middle or at the end of a word,
aspiration tends to be much lighter
(cf.
kh, p. I2).
The rnsalisation sign, ccndr6bindu, is written like this:
o
(rn)
- t 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N 6 A t I
Handwriting Print
This is
placed
directly above a full vowel, but if a vowel sign is used it rs
placed over the consonant to which the vowel sign is attached:
9 9
q
\e
6< c<l
In learning to write the letter for ch, it is probably helpful to learn the
letter for the unaspirated sound c, which will be introduced properly in
Unit 10. The letter for c is contained within the letter for ch:
c E D
ch'
q. q.
Exercises
rEl
r
I
previous pages,
and
practise
phrases. Pronouns are more
'polite'
when they are nasalised! This will be explained in Part Two
(see
p. 52) .
ke him, her ami b6sechilam I sat
ra they ami k6rchi I am doing
6der their okhane rekhechi
(I)
haue
Put
6r his, her
(it)
there
6ke him. her ke aro mach dao. Giue
6ra they hirnlher more
fish.
6der their 6r kache ese bcs6. Come and
6r his. her sit near himlher.
chele boy golmal k6rch6 ken6? Wlry are
ch6bi
picture (you)
making a noise?
chcy six 6ke b6lbo na 6ke b6lbo?
churi knife Shall
(I)
tell this
person
ami achi I am
(present)
or that
person?
amra chilam ue were
(Present)
uni khub rag k6rechen. Hel
se chil6na helshe uas not she is aery angry-
(fresent)
6r khub csukh k6rechil6. He
amra kheyechilam we ate was uery ill.
se asche helshe is coming
- 2 0 -
S O U N D A N D S C R I P I
ma akh6ni aschen. Mother is
just
coming:
bichana rode dao. Put the
bedding in the sunshine.
6ke bcl6 amra esechi. Tell
himlher
(thaD
we haae come.
6ra mach marrls6 kichui
khanna. They don't eat
fsh
(or)
meat at all.
There are no conjunct letters to learn in this unit. You may be
wondering how
you
can know whether two consecutive consonants
are written as a conjunct or not. The answer to this is that
you
cannot
know
just
from the sound of a word, but
grammar
and morphology
(the
way in which words are put
together) will often help you.
khanna
in the last sentence above is not written with the conjunct
A
(q *
q)
because it is made up of the
present
tense form khan
plus the negative suffix na. k6rch6 is not written with the conjunct

(< *
Q
because it consists of the stem k6r- from kcra and the
present
continuous ending
-ch6
(see
Unit 21,
p.
133).
Now see if you
can write the words and
phrases
in Exercise I in
Bengali script.
- 2 1 -
You have three more nasalised vowels to learn: this unit introduces you
to t}re nasalised form of the first Bengali sound that
you learnt
(see
p. 2) .
a
This is more or less the sound
you
would make if
you
had bad catarrh and
the doctor asked to look at
your
throat.
The two new consonants in this unit introduce you
to one of the most
important consonantal distinctions to be found in the languages of South
Asia. In Unit 2, it was stressed that the consonant d was dental: made by
pressing
the tongue against the upper teeth.
It is essential to
pronounce Bengali dental consonants correctly, so as to
distinguish them from a corresponding set of retroflex or'cerebral'
consonants, made by
pressing
the tongue against the rear edge of the
hard
'alveolar
ridge' behind the upper teeth.
'Cerebral',
implying the
pointing
of the tongue up towards the cerebral cortex, is considered to be
an archaic term now;
'retroflex',
implies the curling of the tip of the
tongue backwards. Neither term is very appropriate to Bengali, because
the tongue is not curled round or
pointed
vertically upwards as in some
South Asian languages; but the consonants in question
are nevertheless
quite distinct from the dental consonants. Failure to distinguish dental
from retroflex consonants is often
parodied
in Bengali novels, when
Englishmen are shown trying to speak Bengali
(or
Hindi). This is rather
like stereotyped Chinese in English novels confusing
'l'
with
'r',
or
Germans
pronouncing'w'
as'v'.
- 2 2 -
The two consonants introduced here are both
'unvoiced'
and
'unaspi-
rated'. The first is dental, rnade
(like
d) on the teeth, but without'voicing'
(i.e. you
can whisper it if
you
like):
t as nFrench l'6td
The second consonant is the'retroflex'equivalent. Put your
tongue in
much the same position
as for an English
't',
but
point
it more. An English
't'
is made by flattening the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge.
The Bengali sound is made with the tip of the tongue:
t
Bengalis regard dental t as a
'soft'
sound, and retroflex
1
as a'hard' sound,
and may sometimes correct
your pronunciation
using these terms.
The nasal i, like the other nasal vowels, is written with ccndr6bindu:
Handwriting Print
Remember that when the vowel sign is used, the nasal sign
goes
over the
consonant:
9 s
< I < l
The letters for the two new consonants are as follows:
Exercises
previous pages,
and
practise
phrases. You may have already
noticed a
pattern in the forms of the
pronouns,
which will be
explained fully in Part Two:
qt
v
qt
u
5
5
tEt r
-
tumi
you
tomar your
tomake
(to) you
tomra you (fl.)
tara they
te;ra they
tike him, her
laka
money
(ntfee)
{ukro
little
pi.ece
cho16 small
lebil
table
akla one
- 2 3 -
C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E l \
dulo two tomra kal kclar scmcy
tinfe three
ele? What time di.d
you
come
eta this
yesterdny?
ota that sattar scmcy At seaen o'clock.
kcla How muchlmany? machla beJ
1a1ka
The
fish
is
efuku this little bit
nice andfresh.
eklu a l:ittle
tomra matite
Juyech6
tomra ar deri k6rona Don't
ken6? Whry d:id
you
lie
delay any more.
kleeD
on the ground?
tumi t6bu b6se ach6l Are
you
tini ele tike b6ste b6lo Tell
still sittinglwaiting? him to wait when he colnes.
efuku kheye nin
(Please)
eat ami kct6laka deb6? How
this little bit. much shall I
fay
(you)?
{ebilfa
tomar kache
lene
amfa sund6r, kintu
1ck
The
nao Pull the table near you.
lnango is beautiful, but sour.
2 There are two new coniuncts that result from this Unit. n * d and n *
t :
{ + { =
q q
{ + E =
g g
AswithJu
(Unit2, p.
11), thereisanalternativewayof writingntu, so
that kintu
(
but) can either be written
ftg
or'fr$. In print,
the older
typefaces usually use the fust option, but in modern typefaces
(newsprint
especially)
you
will often see the second.
Now see if you
phrases in Exercise 1 in
Bengali script.
- 2 4 -
There are two new sounds but four new letters to learn in this unit, and
some complications to explain with regard to the script. The first sound
is like an English
J',
but it can be expressed in Bengali by two different
letters. One of these is known as b61giy6
jc
-
the
j
that belongs to the
main bc1g6 or
group
ofconsonants:
i
as in English/zz
The other is known as cntchsth6
/c
-'semi-vowel'i.
cntclrsth6 means
'in
between' and is applied to the
group
of letters that the ancient Indian
grammarians
regarded as being
'in
between'vowels and consonants.
Both
i
and y are derived from the Sanskrit
'y',
but in Bengali
'y'
at the
beginning of a word is pronounced like
j.
To indicate the difference in
pronunciation,
a dot was added to the latter in the 19th century
(T)
i
pronounced
like
j
In Bangladesh, both
j
and
i
can sound more like English
'z',
especially in
words of Perso-Arabic origln
-
e.
g. namaj
(prayers),
pronounced
namaz.
The other new sound introduced in this unit is straightforward:
h as in English hunt
(but
sometimes a little
'breathier')
The script for the three letters given
above is as overleaf:
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 A T '
Handwriting Print
i q q
y T r l
h E E
When {/T
(originally
the same letter, remember) occurs as the second
member of a conjunct, it is written
I
and called
ic-phcla.
This can affect
the
pronunciation of the conjunct in two ways:
(a)
It lengthens the sound of the consonant to which it is attachec.
Thus the common
postposition
i6ry6
(
q-*l
,for)
and its colloquial variant
i61ye
are
pronounced'j6nn6' and'i6nne' respectively. Make sure that the
double n sound is really double. This applies to all double consonantal
sounds in Bengali, which should be akin to Italian sfashetti rather than
Enghshpenny.
(b)
If
J
is followed by a
(
I ),
the vowel so\rnd often changes to a. This
accounts for the spelling of a word like
lyi
(yes)
,
or Enghsh words such as
qz-g!
(bank)
or myaneiar
(manager).
It is not always
pronounced e:
!p!!ya
(
<iFI't explanation), for ex-
ample, is
pronounced with an a sound in the first syllable and an a in the
second. t6dUa
(
Ilfij.[
eaening) has a vowel-sound in the second
syllable that is closer to a than a. As with the c/6 and a/e distinctions
(see
pp.
7-8, 16-17), the
pronunciation is sometimes in between t}re two.
Occasionally, in words lkefitha(pain) orplp6har
(behaaiour),
J
occurs
without a following I. It is then
pronounced a, unless followed by i in the
next syllable: thus bykti
(ferson)
is pronounced'bekti'(see p. 275).
Finally a letter that appears in the script but is often silent in pronuncia-
tion. In Sanskrit there is a distinction between
'b'
and
'v'
which has
disappeared in Bengali, so that words and names which in Sanskrit would
be spelt with a
'v'
in Bengali are spelt
(and pronounced)
with a b. Thus the
Hindu god Vigqru is
pronounced bipnu in Bengali. Sometimes
'v'
in
Sanskrit occurs in a conjunct,
particularly'jv',
'5v'
and'sv': in which case
the Bengali b is written small and attached to the consonant. It is then
known as bc-phcla
(cf.
ic-phcla
above). At the beginning of words it
is silent in
pronunciation, so svami and
jvcr are pronounced
'shaml'
and
'icr'.
When it occurs between vowels it lengthens the consonant to which
it is attached. So bijv6
(uniaerse)
is pronounced
'biJJ6'.
In words of
English origin like ncrnb6r, the b is
pronounced
as a b and will therefore
be
given
as b rather than v in this book.
- 2 6 -
j,
J
and s with bc-phcla are written:
E
ia
which
ie
who
j6midar
landlord
juto
shoe(s)
fcf
water
jinis
thins
svamr husband
iayga
place
ivcr
feuer
hasi laugh, smile
akjcn fok a
person
lyamo disease
IZrr
blue-green
bijvas behef
at6
jore
hilbenna Don't walk
so
fast.
alola ki jvele deb6l Shall I
tum on the liqht?
'
iama
gay diye es6 Com|e with
a shirt on.
bcl6 to akh6n kcla baje? TelI
6ra ak diner
161y6
esechen They haue come
for
a dn.
Nice sunshine'is coming
through the windou.
6ra ei matr6 elen Thqt haue
iust come.
rF
t
q
q
q
lEll
r
-
Exercises
previous pages,
and
practise
phrases:
ajker kaj today's work
(me),
what time is it?
amar
j61y6
for
me tomar ki jvcr h6yechet Haue
tumi
iao
you go you got
feuer?
amar m6ne hcy I think
janala
diye beJ rod asche
lyb6har
behauiour tira ei matr6 gelen Thq'ae
bijv6biglyalcy unfuersifi
just
gone.
ote hat diona Do not touch
that.
2 Apart from the conjuncts with
/c-phcla
( j
)
and bc-phcla
(
<
)
described
above, there is one new conjunct in Exercise I
-
tr:
E + K =
q q
Be careful not to confuse this with the vowel
(e).
Now see if you
Bengali script.
- 2 7 -
There are no new vowels in this unit, but four consonants which are quite
difficult for many foreign learners to master. The first is the aspirated
version of the dental t that you learnt in Unit 6. When English words with
an unvoiced'th' sound
(thin,
three) are transliterated into Bengali, this is
the letter that is used
(the
voiced
'th'
as in then or there is transliterated
with aq). But the sound is actually different from anything in English. To
make English
'th'
the tongue is placed
between the upper and lower front
teeth, whereas Bengali th is made by
placing
the tongue firmly against the
upper front teeth as for t, with an additional puff
of air following:
th
The next sound is the aspirated labial ph. This is pronounced
somewhat
variably by native speakers. Some
pronounce
it as a p with aspiration, but
many
(especially
in Bangladesh) pronounce
it more like an English'f. ln
West Bengal it is often
pronounced
as a'pf, and this is perhaps
the most
'standard'
pronunciation
to aim for:
ph as in German Pfennig
The third sound in this unit is the
'retroflex'
counterpart of d. Place
your
tongue as for the retroflex t, and add'voice'to it. Bengalis consider this a
'hard'
sound, as opposed to the softer dental consonants. It is like an
English
'd',
but the tongue should be more pointed
and slightly curled back:
q
Finally we come to the sound that is
perhaps
the most difficult of all for
- 2 8 -
S O U N D A N D S C R ' P T
foreign learners of South Asian languages.
(In
Sanskrit the sound does
occur, but only as an
'allophone'
of
{
when it occurs between vowels
rather than at the beginning of words. As with{/T the distinguishing dot
was added to the Bengali script in the 19th century.) In Unit 1 you
learnt
the
'rolled'Bengali
r. The new sound here is a'flapped', retroflex
r.
Curl
your
tongue up and round as if
you
were about to say
t
or
{,
but instead of
making contact with the alveolar ridge, flap the tongue down smartly so
that it audibly slaps against the bottom of the mouth. Or, if
you
have the
tape, ignore this instruction and see if
you
can simply develop the knack
of
producing
this sound! Some
people
find it easier to
pronounce
it
between vowels:
you
can try sayrrg a-[-a over and over again. Speakers
of American English may find it helpfirl to compare the sound with the way
they
pronounce'tt'in
butter or better
r
The letters for the four sounds above are as follows:
Handwriting
qt
Print
qt
T
16
16
T
v
th
ph
q
t
tEll
I
I
Listen to the tape, or refer back to previous pages,
and
practise
phrases:
matha head
kctha word, topic
ami thaki I stay
tumi tham6 you
stop
phul
flower
phcl
fruit
tini
{aken
helshe calls
ekla bcg6 ba6i a big house
daf
ar tcrkari dal and
uegetables
Exercises
mo[6r gaJi motor car
g6rur gagi bullock-cart
tren
kckh6n chaJbe? When
will the train leaue?
ekhane tham6 Stop here.
tel phuriye gache The oil's
run out.
tumi kothay thak6? Where do
you
liue?
- 2 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 A t '
eklu d6Jan
(Please)
wait a rode diJabenna Don't stand
little. in the sun.
chclay phire es6 Corne back tomar ba;i kothay? Where is
at six.
your
house?
ke
{akche?
Who's calling? phclguli scb kheye
ogulo deJi
{im?
Are those phelech6l Haue
you
eaten
countuy
(free-range)
eggs? up all the
fruit?
se bi6i khay Helshe smokes
{an
dik diye gele taJatagi
bqis". hcbe If
you go
to the right it
aj ba6i theke beriona Don't
go
will be
quick(er).
out of the house today. gaJila thamlei amra nambo
o1a phele diona Don't throw We'll
get
down when the
that away. train stops.
didike
{ak6
Call
(your)
elder amar bcJ6 baks6la kothay?
sister. Where is my big suitcase?
tham6, tham6
-
gaJi
asche! Stofi, stob
-
there's a
car com'ing!
"Small,
cheap cheroot, widely smoked throughout the subcontinent.
2 Two new conjuncts occurred in the words and
phrases
above:
tr
and
ks:
D + K =
g
U
s + q =
g q
S
& is an easily recognisable conjunct, once
you
know that R when it is
written second in a conjunct is written
*
attached to the bottom of
the first member of the conjunct. Thus:
q + < = q
E
R + K =
g
This is known as rc-phcla
(cf.
/c-phcla
and bc-phcla, p. 26). Even in
Now see if
you
"
Bengali script.
- 3 0 -
Five new letters in this unit, but only four new sounds. The first is the
nasal version of i
(the
'long'
r does not occur in a nasalised form). You
should be used to nasalised vowels by now, so this one should
present
no
special dfficulty:
i
The next one is the nasalised version of oi
-
a rare sound in Bengali:
indeed there are some words whether it is disputed whether the correct
pronunciation
is oi or 6i. In transcription the tilda
(
-
)
has to be
placed
over the first vowel, but be careful to nasalise the whole diphthong:
6U
You might find it interesting at this stage to look at the complete table of
letters on p. 45, and tick off the letters
you
have learnt. You will see that
in the fifth group
of consonants, the first and the fourth are still remaining.
The first is unvoiced and unaspirated. As with other unaspirated
consonants, be careful not to aspirate it inadvertently when it occurs at
the beginning of a word.
The unaspirated'p' that occurs at the end of English words is similar to
the Bengali sound:
P
-
3 l
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F B E N G A I I
The letters for these three sounds are as follows:
Handwriting Print
'r(
T
p
o i g
- E,
L I
t.
(tull
vowel)
f'
(vowel
sign)

(tull
vowel)
i'1(vowel
sign;
Remember that when writing the nasal ccndr6bindu
(
"
)
with vowelsigns,
it should be
placed
over the consonant, not theGwelsign itseff:fr,
ffi.
There are two more letters to learn in this unit. The first is really a
conjunct made up of k and p. In Sanskrit words and names such as
'kgatnya', 'raksasa'
or
'Lakgmr',
it is
pronounced
'ksh'.
In Bengali it is
pronounced like kh if it occurs at the beginning of a word, and like a double
kkh if it occurs between vowels in the middle of a word. Thus the
examples above are
pronounced in Bengali
'khctriy6', 'rakkh6s'
and
'l6kkhi'
(notice
that in the third of these the
'm'is'assimilated'into
the ks
and is not pronounced at all). ln the transcription used in this book, kp wiii
be used for this letter, and
you
will therefore have to remember that the p
is not pronounced. The reason for introducing it here rather than merely
in
passing
as a conjunct is that some Bengali dictionaries treat it as a
single letter and have a separate section for words beginning with kp.
When referring to this letter on its own, Bengalis call it'khiyc'.
Finally we have the 11 that belongs to the
'retroflex'
group
of consonants
(see
complete table on
p. 45). It is pronounced exactly the same as n. It
occurs on its own quite frequently,
particularly
at the end of words, but
also in conjuncts with one of the other retroflex consonants. The general
rule is that conjuncts involving a nasal use the nasal appropriate to the
group: thus'velar'consonants
(k,
kh, g, etc.) take
q,
'palatal'consonants
(c,
ch, etc.
)
take fr,
'retroflex'
consonants take 11,
'dental'
consonants take
n and'labial'consonants take m.
The three sibilants
(see
Unit 2,
p.
9) are categorised as
'palataf
('t),
'retroflex'({)
und
'dental'({)
,
ana the same
principle
applies. The
rule is sometimes broken with foreign words: kauntar
-
counter
-would
be written with dental n * retroflex
1,
and mastar is written with dental s
* retroflex
1.
The letter for retroflex 11 is:
4
q5
s
le
- 3 2 -
F t I
t E _ l
-
S O U N D A N D S C R ' P T
Exercises
previous pages,
and
practise
saying the following words and phrases:
pa
foot,
leg
pcth
path
pcre after(wards)
se pcre helshe reads
koisuli legal counsel
apni barlla b6lte paren? Can
you
speak Bengali?
apni kam6n achen? How are
you?
faka-pcysa
money
apnake cpekpa k6rte
hcbe You must wait.
pur6no kap6g old clothes
iamataa
chige gache The dress
has torn.
efa amader popa be6al This is
our
pet
cat.
ki sund6r pakhi! What
(a)
beautiful bird(9!
or phuphub mara gachen His
(faternal)
aunt has died.
porip mas The month of
Paus.
pcyla tarikh the
fi.rst
(of
the
month)
aj p61i6nt6 until tnday
akjcn t6rur1 k6bi a
young
poet
apnara p161yeke crqJ6 nin
(Please)
each of you
tahe
part.
aiama
means any kind of gament for the upper body.
iama-kap6J
is the usual
expression for clothes. Nowadays, sart is usually used for a man's shirt, and
jama
for a
girl's
blouse or frock.
bA
Muslim kinship term. See list on pp. 272-274.
.See
the Review at the end ofPart Two
(p.
195) for the Bengali months.
dHindu
obeisance:
'taking
the dust of someone's feet'.
tomar mathar up6r aboae
your
head
ami pa pichle p66e gelam I
slipped and
fell.
apni kckh6n porich6len?
When did
you
arriae?
tomader pcJaJona
kam6n h6yeche? How haue
your
studins
gone?
paJer balite kara esechen?
Who has conxe to the house
netct door?
ekh6no alap hcyni
(We)
haaen't
yet
meL
6ke p16r1am kcr6 Do
pralamd
b himlher
jayga{ar
bibcr6rl dite
par6? Can
(you)
giae
a
description of the
place?
se{a k6rur1
lyepar
That's a
sad matter.
efuku pcth hete
yete
parbo
(l'll)
be able to walh this
small distance.
pc;aJona na k6rle, p6nkpay paJ
k6rte parbena Ifyou don't
study,
you
won't
pass
the
exaln.
- 3 3 -
Y O U R S E T F B E N G , 4
There are two new-conjuncts in this exercise. One of them is on the
same
pattern
as
E
in Unit 8
(p.
30):
e l + T = . 4 q
The other conjunct also conforms to a
pattern:
< + { =
'
above a consonant is known as reph, and is always used when K
precedes
another consonant.
Now see if
you
can write the words and phrases in Exercise I in
Bengali script. Watch out for conjuncts with y: remember that
J
is
used if
l/{
occurs as the second member of a conjunct
(see
Unit 7,
p.
26). Be careful not to miss
t
("1)
,
not to be confused
wi t h
0
(s).
{
- 3 4 -
10
The second diphthong in the Bengali alphabet is a combination of o and i.
oi
In Hindi and Sanskrit it would be pronounced
'ai',
and the other diph-
thong, oi, is pronounced'au'.
Hindu words and names such as'Vaigpava'
and
'Kaurava'
become boipq6b and ko[r6b in Bengali. Of course other
diphthongs are created in Bengali by combinations of vowels: e.g. in
words such as khay or keu, where the stress always falls on the first
vowel. Sometimes the diphthongs oi and oi are achieved by the inherent
vowel + u or i: the words for'wife'and'book', for example, are written
bau
(<G) and b6i (<O . The combination'proper'vowel o * i can also
occur, as in the demonstrative oi (SQ
,
but o * u does not. Remember
that the special letters for these diphthongs when they occur are
indicated in the transcription used in this book by an accent: orl/oi.
Two new consonants are introduced in this unit. The first is the
unaspirated version of ch
(see
Unit 5,
p.
19).
'ch'
at the end of English
words like touch, bench or
pitch
is generally
free of aspiration: this is the
sound
you
should aim at in Bengali:
c
The second consonant is the aspirated version of b. This is a heavy
sound, and it takes some considerable heaving of the chest muscles to
produce
it at first:
bh
- 3 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N 6 A L I
The letters for these three sounds are asfollows:
Print
&
(tull
vowel)
|
(vowel
sign, written
before the consonant,
like the vowel sign for
)
Handwriting
ol
Exercises
=l
1 Listen to the tape, or refer back to
previous pages,
and
practise
--
phrases:
D
, a
7
v
\9-
c
bh
A
4
ca tea
caf
(uncooked)
rice
cabi hey
cokh
qe
car
four
se cay helshe wants
bhafo
good
bhuf mistake
ami bhule gechi I'ue
forgotten
bhat ftookeil rice
ki h6cchef What's happening?
cup kcr6! Be
quiet!
bhcdr6lok gentleman
ccJma sfectacles
coitr6 mas the month of
Caitra"
se amar ceye bcJ6 Helshe's
older than rne.
or bhaike cinina
(I)
do not
hnow hislher brother.
ccl6, bapte
iai
Come, lef s
go
out.
uni
faka
dicchen Helshe is
fayine.
bhcdr6lokke ca dao Giue the
gentleman (some)
tea.
bhat na kheye luci khan Don't
eat rice, eatluck.b
kcy cam6c cini deb6? How
many spoon(ful)s of sugar
shall
(I) giue you?
dui cam6c din Giue
(me)
two
spoon(fuls).
apnar bhai kam6n ache? How
is
your
brother?
bhafo ache He's well.
bhcdr6m6hi l al i kecen6? Do
you hnow the lady?
cabila kothay rakhle? Where
did
(you) put
the key?
,For
the Bengali months, see p. 195.
bA
kind of puffed chapati: similar topzn in North India but smaller and eaten as a snack.
S O U N D A , J D S C R I P
amar bhcyan6k bhuter bhcy babar
j61y6
amar khub bhabna
kcre I haue a terrible
fear
of hcy I'm uery norricd about
ghosts.
Father.
baJila bhalo kintu bhaJa beJi cokhe bhalo dekhte paina
(I)
The house is
good
but the don't haue
good qtesight.
rent is too high.
2 The conjunct c * ch is an obvious combination of the two, and the
conjunct d * r follows the same pattern
as the conjuncts noted in
Units 8 and 9:
D+ q . = E'
5 q .
Remember how to write kintu
(but) (see
Unit 6, p. 24). Now see if
you
can write the words andlhrases in Exercise f in Bengali script.
11
Five new letters in this unit, but really only three new sounds. First is the
voiced aspirated:
i h
This is made by adding aspiration to
j.
In the same way, aspiration should
be added to
1
to create
th
This is an easy sound for English speakers, as the English t is normally
aspirated when it occurs at the beginning of words: but give
the Bengali
sound a little more
'punch'than
an English t, and remember to
press
the
tip of
your tongue against the alveolar ridge.
The next sound is rather rare. It is the aspirated version of the voiced
retroflex
{:
4h
It is the sound that occurs in the name of the capital of Bangladesh:
{haka.
.
Like
th,
it should be
pronounced sharply and forcefully.
The letters for these three sounds are as follows:
Handwriting Print
<r
t
ih
<t
r h 5
- 3 8 -
tEl I
-a
q h E D
The first of the remaining two letters is theoretically the aspirated
version of the retroflex
J
-
but in fact it is not really pronounced
with
aspiration. It is a very rare letter. The only common word containing it is
the Bengali month aparh
0une-July,
see
p. 195).
r h T v
Like
1
(V)
it does not exist as a separate letter in Sanskrit
(see
Unit 8,
p.
29). This is why in the full table of letters
p
and F are normally
given in brackets after V and D respectively
(see p. 45).
Finally a letter which is known as khcrld6
(cut-offl
tc . It is used when
the dental t occurs without the inherent vowel being
pronounced,
or
any other vowel added. It is given as t in the transcription used in this
book:
t q q
It either comes at the end of words
-
e.
S. Ebfq
(hc1hat,
sudd.enb), or
before consonants that do not naturally form a conjunct with t
-
e.g.
$q4q
(u
cb,
festiual, {R{l
(sctma,
step-mother). Many such words,
however, use E rather than
q.
You certainly cannot assume that t
without a vowelwill always be spelt with
q.
Exercises
Listen to the
tape,
or refer back to
previous pages, and
practise
sayrng the following words and
phrases;
jhof
the sauce of a curry raJh bcqg6
(old
name for the
jhcr
storm Western
part of Bengal)
ihi
maidseruant, chailady ploigh6 bcy6s middle-age
jhcgp quarrel kcthala
thik
What
(you)
say
majhi boatman is right.
thik
right, correct
jhi
mejhe
jh61
dicche The
thikana
address maid is sweeping the
floor.
thaXa
teasing ami barqla bujhina I don't
math open land understand Bengali.
{heu
waae, billow
{hil
merona Don't throw
se bojhe helshe understands stones.
tini ofhen helshe
gets
up bhat
{hak6
Coaer the rice.
gagh6 lal deep red
lhik
ache all right
- 3 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N G A L I
apnar
thikanata
b6lun
(Please)
macher
jhole
ki
jhal
tell
(me)
your
address. h6yeche? Is the
fish
curry
apagh maser_majhamajhi in the uery hot?u
middle o/Asarh
at6 bcJ6 gaJi ki k6re
cifhi[a palhiye dao Post the
{hukbe?
How will such a big
letter. uehicle enter?
mejhete
Juye
or
thart4a
hclhat
jhcl
ulhlo Suddenly a
legeche Helshe has caught a storm arose.
chill by sleeping on the
floor.
majhi rcona h6te rali
at6 bhore u{hona Don't get
h6l6na The boatman was
up so eaily. not willing to set out.
jhcgga
k6rch6 kan6? Wry are
you quarelling?
aihal
means the quality of hotness or spiciness in a curry.
2 The are two conjuncts in the sound exercise above,
tt
and
e4:
= . S , S
t r + l r =
U
U
. t + V = g
g
Now see if you
can write out the words and
phrases
in Exercise 1 in
Bengali script.
- 4 0 -
L2
Three more letters to
go!
The first is classified as a vowel, but does not
seem like a vowel as it is
pronounced
'ri'
as in the name of the bestloved
of all Hindu deities, Krishna. The Sanskritic transliteration for Krishna is
'Kfgr.n',
and the same s),mbol for'ri'has been adopted in the transcription
used in this book:
r
It is likely that the letter was originally
pronounced rather differently,
hence its classification as a vowel. Like other vowels. it has a full form and
a vowel sign:
Handwriting Print
t"
{t 1l
(tull
vowel)
The vowel sign is attached to the bottom of the consonant, so prthibi
karth),
for example, is
printed
"JRfr
In some computer typefaces,
however, it appears slightly to the right.
The last two sounds are consonants. First, the aspirated version of g:
gh
Second, the aspirated version of the dental d:
dh
- 4 1 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 N G A t I
The letters for these sounds are:
g h s
d h {
E
{
r=1
1
-
Exercises
previous pages,
and
practise
saying the following words and phrases:
ghi ghee (clafified
butter) adh ser dudh neb6 I'll take
gham sweat half a seer of rnilk.^
ghas grnss se scmcst6
Prthibi
ghcr room
ghureche He's wandered
(all
ghoJa horse
oaer) the world.
gh61i watchlclock rode ghurbenna
-
matha
ghc16a hour dh6rbe Don't wander in the
dhopa washerman sun
-
you'Il get
a headache.b
dh0lo dust oi baJi theke dh6ya
se hat dhoy Helshe washes asche! There's smoke
hislher hands. coming
from
that house!
ekhane bas dhcra
iay
Buses at6kp6rt ghum6cchile? Were
can be caught here
(you)
slee\ing all that time?
bar4ladeJe chcli rtu
(There
budhbar ki skul bcndh6 na
are) six seasons in khola? k tne schnl chsed or
Bangladesh. o\en
(on)
Wed.nesdny(s)?
amar cnek rq I'm heaaily in bodh hcy bcndh6 Probably
debt. closed.
brpli h6cche lt's raining. ei rasta dh6re bajare
iaoya
dokanfa bcndh6 The shop's
iayl
Can
(I) get to the
shut. bazaar by this road?
amra
Judhu
b6ndhu We're ghaler pcthe khub
just
friends.
dh[lo There's a lot of dust
ami aJai ghcrtta b6se achi Itue on the
path
to the
gtnt..
been waiting
for
at6 sukh amar hrdcyeld Such
two-and-a-half hours.
joy
in my heart!
.See
the Review of Part Two
(p.
196).
bSee
p. 110.
.Mooring-place,
or steps down to a river or pond for bathing and washing.
dFor
the pronunciation of h.rdcy, see Note 3l on p. 255.
- 4 2 -
O U N D A N D 5 C R I P T
aj dinla akebare brtha ghoJala khub dhire-dhire
gal6 Today the day has been
fanche
The horse is
pulling
absolutely
futile.
uery slowly.
se
Judhu
dhuti pcre He only
nears a dhoti.
2 There are five conjuncts in the sound exercise above: sk, st, rg, ndh,
and
pt:
q + $ =
4 S
{ + E =
g g
f l + t r =
f i
S
4 + { =
q q
q * B =
S ?
You also need to note the way in which h + r is written. Older
typefaces approximate to the handwritten form
-
but some modern
(computer)
typefaces simply put
the vowel sign for r under the h in
the usual way:
Q. +3t
=
q q( ol d)
q
(modern)
Now see if
you
can write out the words and
Bengali script.
- 4 3 -
13
REVIEW OF
PART ONE
You have now, if you have worked through all the exercises in units 1-1L,
learnt nearly all the basic Bengali letters, and
quite a few conjuncts. The
complete table of letters, in the traditional order followed by Bengali
dictionaries, is shown opposite:
You have also learnt a number of conjuncts. In Part Two and Part
Three
your
attention will be drawn to other conjuncts as they occgr. For
reference, a complete table of conjuncts has been supplied in the
Review of Part Three
(pp.
265-70).
The only letters in the table that
you
have not yet learnt are the nasal for
the'palatal'
group
of consonants
-
n
(,S
),
and the so-called bisclg6 (
S
).
S
-
called'niy6' or "ry6'by Bengalis
-
only occurs in conjuncts such as frc,
!j,
ij!,
or
i!,
which will be noted when they occur in Part Two. It is
pronounced
the same as n and
4.
3
is explained on p. 255.
It is essential that the table of letters becomes firrnly implanted in
your
mind, otherwise it will take
you
ages to find words in the dictionary. The
best way to learn the table, and to learn Bengali vocabulary, is to write
words on small index cards
(with
the meaning on the other side of the
card), and file them in the correct'dictionary order'.
- 4 4 -
Table
of letters
All the Conversations in Units 14 to 25 are
given
in Bengali script.
When you
read their, looking up words in the Glossary if necessary,
write down on cards words that you
feel would be useful to learn. Even if
you
do not have the stamina to write down all the words on cards. the
filing of them will help to ram home the order of the Bengali letters.
Further guidance
on the order of words in Bengali dictionaries is given
at
the beginning of the Glossary
@.
294), and information about which
dictionaries to buy is given
onp. 276.
Tt(Et <fr'tFrt
Bengali Alphabet
q q l
c a
n J h
s
k
e
? U G < r
q
A A
: t u 0 ! e o i o o i
D
c
D
t
E(q)
t (!)
ri
P
{ ({)
i
(v)
?t
kh
E.
ch
I
o
th
q
th
T
ph
rf
I
\6
Yl
i
s(v)
q
(r)
q
d
b
E
gh
<r
j h
D(u)
dh
(rh)
dh
g
bh
{
p
\,
0
,ca
n
6l
rI
{
n
.l
m
r l
-i
I
q
s h
- 4 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N G A I I
Some of the special names used to refer to
particular letters have already
been noted. The following list adds a few more:
When referring to vowel signs, the suffix
-kar
(S1-{) is used; and in
referring to conjuncts, the locative case ending is applied to the fust
member of the conjunct
(see
Unit 17,
pp.
83-84). Thus to spell out the
word
qfrg4ftg
funforgettabte),
one would say:
q
/
<-gq?oK
/
q-
n
/
<
/
Tf{ "Fft{'?-sm
/
ws:Rx
- 4 5 -
c - R s q
q / q
q - q T q q
q
v - R q v
q
< / q
\5
-
qTEI
U
(
- q{qf{x
9 ^
_
Ds4t<.K
s
-Rqd
q- <f i r q
hrcsv6 i
dig!6 i
hrcsv6 u
dirgh6 U
6nusvar
ccndr6bindu
bisclg6
b6giy6lc
m[rdh61y6 r1c
dcnty6 nc
cntchsth6
ic
cntchsth6 yc*
tal6!y6
Jc
m0rdh61y6 pc
dcnty6 sc
ic-phcla
bc-phcl a
rc-phcla
reph
xor
qnqq
(6nusv6r)
"t
-
{f,dl "l
4 - n g l d
{ - q wq {
T- qwq{
.t -
Eildl-fl
.l
{ - { f , { r n
q
-
nsl ' q
I
-
{-TdII
o
-
3-44fi
-,
-
<-TEII
-
- csr
*pronounced'cntcfrsth6
c'
Sanskritic transliteration
-
If you progress in your
study of Bengali, you
will come across a standard
'Sanskritic'system
of transliteration, used for all South Asian languages.
It is not very satisfactory for Bengali, mainly because the inherent vowel
is always written a, whereas as you know now the Bengali inherent vowel
is
pronounced
c or 6. For reference, the table of letters with Sanskritrc
transliteration is as follows:
Some of the names for letters listed opposite would, in Sanskritic
transliteration, be:
hrasua, dtrgha, anusaar, candrabindu, bisarga, bargtya, rnurdhanya,
danlya, antahstha, ffilab,a, ya-phala.
q q t
e
a A i
o o
m h
"Q
?t
bo
khd
D q
c
4
chq.
q (
D A
t q t hc
E( q)
cl
t4(t)" ths.
1 T
pn ph(
{
({)
Y e $)q.
\,
4 t
q q
r e a i
q
? ' g v
t u n
s a
o a u
rl
9, t
i6
j a
u
(v)
de(r)
e
q
d q
b{va
E g
ghd nq
<l
.S
j h q
n q
D
(U)
6t
dhq(rh\ \;l
{ 4
dhq n4
s {
bhc m(
{ q e
s 1
s q h q
a
r(
q * {
1 1 5 q
- 4 7 -
PARTTWO
CONVERSATION
AND
GRAMMAR
t4
FINDING OUT
ABOUT SOMEONE
Gonversation
The basic idea behind all the Conversations in this book is as follows:
you, as a learner, wish to try out
your Bengali on native speakers and
you
do this by meeting as many native speakers as
possible, in Bangladesh,
West Bengal and among
e-{FI <lglfrI
(expatriate
Bengali) commu-
nities outside the subcontinent. In the Conversations,
you ask them
questions about their lives, work, families, ideas, feelings, and so on.
Your questions will be simple in structure to begin with, but they will
gradually get more complicated as
your knowledge of Bengali
pro-
gresses. Your
'interviewees'
will reply in sentences that are natural to
them, and they may askyou some
questions! By the end of Unit 25
you
will have reached an equal interraction with the
people you
are talking to.
- 4 8 -
F ' N D ' N 6 O U T A B O U T S O A , I E O N E
The Grammar section after each Conversation explains nearly all the
structures used by
you:
it won't necessarily cover everything said by
your
'interviewees'.
But when, by the end of Part Two, you
have
completed all the exercises,
you
can
go
back and analyse what your
interviewees have said in the light of all the
grammar you
have learnt.
When reading and rehearsing each Conversation, try to turn wlntyou
say into
'active
knowledge'. Your understanding of what your
inter-
viewees say can be more
'passive':
an overall understanding of the
meaning will be sufficient. The translation given,
and the grammar
notes,
should enable
you
to work out the meaning of individual words. Failing
that,
you
can look them up in the Glossary at the end of the book.
If you
have the tape,
you
will find all the Conversations in the book
recorded on it. Listen to it to
perfect your pronunciation-
For
your
first Conversation, you
try out
your
Bengali on Mrs Kurshid
Rahman, who works in a school office in East London. Noticing a
photograph
that she keeps on her desk, you
ask her about it:
qt"fi
Efr
mr
frrrm rrqqF fr
qT|< q?m
I
qtqfi
'q[ff]'
$F {Frt ?
frrff[ Tfsf{
fot,
<liqmr.t
qt{Frqe
<Filrs
'qt<Kl'
{cE I
\{t"fi
W;r EF m I
frrqq <fq{F EF
qm{ qr$
|
qtrfi
'qfrlr'
nlG nI ?
frrffi {Iqlt{
fot,
ql-fl qt${N
'g[fTI'
<fr I
qt"fi
s
GF ?
frrfr rrqqr{

q:rFr
cqF c<n r
qpfi
\e<
i1:t fr ?
firfr Trqqr{
s<
4In
ffirt,
ftq
s< utoqln
ffi r
qpfi q}t q'mcq<
<t& r
frrfr i|qqr{ ffo
qmnq-<
<|& +a, DFF|TT
q:rrcq-{
<prt I
- 4 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N G A I " I
qt"fi
sEt
or<
qRc$-q
r
Frqq {R{lr
qFrK
eR-q<
-
s
*iffi d.
r
qptft
iF ft
qt'f{< qtft
r
firfr Rfq6
frI,
TrttB
qtffcq-<
frc{< {r< FFrt I
qt"fi
sDt
ft r
frrfr Tfs{
sil
qmrcq< qfu<q<
<Ffqt I
qlqtfi<
<KFqi <f{K
Ffeq frm
-
e fr-$ cctcs cqqt T|<-q| |
Translation and notes
You Who's he?
Mrs Rahman He's my father.
You Does
'abba'mean
father?
Mrs Rahman Yes, in Bangladesh we usually say
'abba'for
father.'
You And who is she?
Mrs Rahman She's my mother.
You Does'amma'mean mother?
Mrs Rahman Yes, we usually say'".."'.
You Who's she?
Mrs Rahman She's my little sister.
You What's her name?
Mrs Rahman Her name is Rahima. but her familv name is Mini.b
You Is this
your
home?
Mrs Rahman Not exactly our home, but our
place in Dhaka..
You Whose bicycle is that?
Mrs Rahman My brother's
-
he's not in the
photo.
You Is he
your
husband?d
Mrs Rahman Yes, the
photo
was taken after our marriage.
You What's that?
Mrs Rahman That's our neighbour's verandah. Our verandah is at
the back of the house
-
it can't be seen from this
side..
ibaba
and ma are the standard words for mother andfather, but abba and amma are used
colloquiallybyBengaliMuslims. Notetheconjuncts: ?[ +
K
=
<; I
*
q =
-{
bBengalis
usually have a formal name by which they are known publicly,
and a
{ak-nam
(Lit.
call-namc) used within their immediate family.
.Mrs
Rahman implies here that her family has a home
(bari)
in a village: probably
her
grandparents
still live there. Her parents rent their flat in Dhaka, so it's their basa
(residcnce)
not their true home.
- 5 0 -
F I N D I N G O U T A B O U T 5 O i I 4 E O N E
dYou
may have come across'Swami'as a title for a Hindu religious teacher. In Bengal it is
used by both Hindus and Muslims as the ordinary wordfor husband. For its pronunciation,
'sham-r',
see
p. 26.
"The'verandah'in
a city flat or house can be an upper-floor balcony.
Grammar
1 Zero verb
In English, sentences hke
John
is
fat,
or Mary is a
policewoman,
or I s he
mad? are known as subject-complement constructions. All the
questions in the dialogue above follow this simple structure: in English
these require the verb to be, whereas in Bengali no verb is required.
2 lnterrogativeki
The Bengali question
word or interrogative ki is pronounced
with a slight
emphasis or stress when it means What? e.g. olakit
(Whnf
s that?). But
it can also be used to turn a statement into a
question,
in which case it is
unstressed, i.e. pronounced
only very lightly: ini ki apnar suanr?
(Is
he
your
husband?). The
great
Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore tried to
establish a convention that
'unstressed
ki' should be written with I and
'stressed
ki' should be written *ith
"l
but many writers use
ft
for
both, and one has to tell from the context whether it is stressed or not.
Unstressed ki can often be omitted, the question
being indicated merely
by a rising intonation.
3 Personal
pronouns
Bengali
personal pronouns
(1, you,
he, etc.) and their possessive forms
(my, your, his, etc.) are not fficult to learn, so although not all of them
have been used in the dialogue above, it will be useful to look at a table of
them right away. There are three important points
to notice:
(a)
Bengali
(more
advanced than English in this respect!) does not
distinguish
gender
even in singular
pronouns:
there is no distinction
between he and she.
(b)
Bengali distinguishes between
polite
and familiar
pronouns,
not
only in the second
person (you)
as in French, German and many other
-
5 t
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F B E N 6 A t I
languages, but in the third
person too
(helshelthey).
Pohte
pronouns are
used when addressing or referring to
people not well known to
you,
or
people older or more senior than
you are. Familiar
pronouns are used for
friends or children.
(c)
In the third
person proximity is distinguished. ini, for example,
means he or shenearby, and uni means he or she over there. There is also
tini, used for he or s/le elsewhere. This is commonly used in written
narrative, but in speech the second degree of
proximity is often suffi-
cient, even if the
person is not actually
present. ini, uni, tini are
polite
pronouns: you will see from the table below what the familiar third
person
pronouns
are. You will also see that
polite forms are often achieved by
'nasalising'
the vowel.
(Note
the abbreviations: F
:
Familiar; P
:
Polite; H
:
Here; T
:
There: E
:
Elsewhere.)
*The
colloquial forms enar, enader, onar, onader are very common in speech,
Subject
1
2
3
tHl
3
trl
3
IE]
I
you
IFI
you
lPl
helshe
lFl
helshe
LPI
helshe
[Fl
helshe
lPl
helshe
lFl
helshe
lPl
Singular
ami
tumi
apni
e
i ni
o
uni
se
ti ni
Plural
amra
tomra
aPnara
era
6ra
ora
6ra
tara
t6ra
u)e
you
you
they
thE
they
they
they
they
Possessive
I
2
3
tHl
trl
tEl
rny
your
IFI
your
lPl
hislher
lFl
hislher
lPl
hislher
[F]
hislher
lP)
hislher
lFl
hislher
lPl
Singular
amar
tomar
aPnar
er
6r*
or
6r*
tar
ter
Plural
amader our
tomader
your
apnader
your
eder their
6der* their
oder their
6derx their
tader their
tider their
- 5 2 -
F I N D I N 6 O U T A B O U T S O M E O N E
The interrogative personal pronoun (Who?
Whose?) follows a similar
pattern:
Subject Singular Plural
ke? karal Who?
Possessive
Whose? kar? kader?
These forms can be either
polite
or familiar. They are never nasalized like
the non-interrogative personal pronouns.
In the subject case, ke ke is an
alternative for kara when separate individuals are implied.
4 Demonstrativepronouns
The demonstrative pronouns (this,
that, these, those) make use of the
same distinctions of
proximity
as the third
person pronouns:
this
(here)
that
(there)
/lzaf
(elsewhere)
these
(here)
those
(there)
/ftose
(elsewhere)
Exercises
These exercises throughout Part Two are based on the
grammar
covered in each unit. The first exercise is given in script, and is generally
very simple in form. The second exercise is
given
in transcription, and is
more complicated. Both sorts of exercise, however, should be answered
either orally or in Bengali script. Do not attempt to write the transcrip-
tion: the Key to the exercises
(in
Bengali script) is on
pp.
278-293.
When script is used, the exercises are numbered with Bengali numerals.
You can learn how to write these by referring to the handwriting
diagrams on pp. x-xi at the front of the book.
eta
ota
seta
egul o
ogul o
segul o
- 5 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 A I '
L
(a)
Imagine that
you
are being asked
questions
about a
photograph
of
your own family. Reply affirmatively, following the pattern given
in
the example:
eF ft
qt'f-{t< q<t
?
fot, ?fi
qtfir
<Rt r
) ER
ft
q1a;41-s
a1
z
e.
q q'Fil3r
cqt
qR
r
e<4Fr f t q- qr
s
qDt qterdlffi<
<t& I
a
qbt
ft
qt"|-+t< qtEco-q
I
s ?fr
qtfiF
c<f{ ?
q
ER t<
qtft
r
b
?F ft
qpFrfccr
e1ft-6qft
z
ns Et f t <r
)o
,qbt
ft
qpp413
z
(b)
Many words for common articles of modern life have been taken
into Bengali from English. See if you
can say what the following items
are, changing the demonstrative
pronoun from
qff
to
eDl
in each
case. Example:
eltft r sbt
6frq r
qbi f r ?
) sbt
I
- s 4 -
_ l
z
F ' N D ' N G O U T
t
Et
A B O U r S O / r 4 E O N E
I
qbt f r ? esbt
e Uf t t c sbt
ebt f t r
a sbf
qDr f t r
g
sDl
- 5 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F B E N G A
The last one is a trap, for British learners at least! The English word
that is used in Bengali for trousers i.
eiJl6 ('pant').
Note also that
p
o stage stamP s ut"
ffiRS
('posrticket'
)
and balt
-p
oint
pen
I biro is
VB-C"fq
(,dot-pen').
Fill in the
gaps in the following
questions and answers, using the
interrogative ki, the
personal pronouns, or the demonstrative
pro-
nouns. To write the exercise,
you
will need the following conjuncts,
some of which are new to vou:
Handwriting Print
s + g = @
s + q :
q
{ + E =
r l + K =
l + D =
Q + { / { =
q l
q
q + D =
S
(i)
tomar nam -?
-nam hasan.
(ii)
ami baqali.
apni - irqrejl
(Enqlish)
(iii)
- ki
ticarl
(teacher)
na, uni
daktar.
(d.octor)
(iv)
ola kar?
ota -.
(v)
apni ke?
- rcliit.
g
Q(see P.
44)
q
"f
g
q
s
(vi)
e1a -?
6r.
(vii)
ota - koll
koat)
na, - er kof.
(viii)
tara - hinduf
na, - khrippn.
(Christian)
(ix)
- ki oder ba6i?
[tn,
- ba1i.
(x)
tornader
{icar
-?
-
licar
mistar hck.
q
.5l
$
- 5 6 -
15
TALKING TO A
RICKSHAWALLAH
Gonversation
You are staying at Santiniketan in West Bengal, where Rabindranath
Tagore founded his famous school and university. You've been to
Calcutta for a couple of days, and have
just
returned, travelling on the
Visva-Bharati express, arriving at Bolpur station at midday. The
rickshawallah who takes
you
to the university from the station knows you
quite
well. He knew you
were coming back today, and was waiting at the
station for you. You ask him some questions
as you ride along in the
baking midday heat.
E
T"'fi
qQ
R+.il ft
q"r+r<
r
Ro.t\erffl fot.
qn qil<
|
qt"tfi
,{?||c{
fr wav+ R-$-"ll
qlcq
r
R-+.flrsrlqt
Tf,
{<
mFt r eu R-s-"ft<
q-{i
i-cq? s'rq c{e I
\st"fi
qP|+K
ft cqc-{cr6{
sTfce
r
R'+qterrEr
bt,
esF crc-{
qt{
Efr
qrq
r
- s 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S t F B E N G A T I
qt"fi
ulffir
<rfq $\o ?
fr-6rgsffif ffie{F< <Tpt
q|-<,
ea{ffir
<trq
qrt qFI qlE
I
qfqfr qPf{lcq-<
ffi
q"[6{
cot{tl I
fr-<rttTrqr
?F
$.tcqe
-
sQ
fr6p,
'|f'r-<<
\seitc<
I
qt"tfi
s{fn
ft
qN q|ce
?
fr-tt\ertqt fr+
qtn
sQ
-
srrna
rt&Trql T<
wfmt
I
\Tt"fi
qleFrK
<m< ft R-ott
Rq
r
frqrflsffif {t,
qNK
a1-a6 fr-qrx
Rq-dl
r Ufr Drfr
Rcfi
|
ql"tfr qfrqrt
r
frfisrm wq-frR
sK
q"t|c{
c{e
-
fiqr.< |
qNl< qtq't
.4{d
eqlfn D|{
qcq
I
qt"fi qPFr$
<tsrfr
qq
r
R.S{N9TIET dI,
qIT<I
R.{|R I
qt"tR qfrrs
ft +nxrn cq-fsF
qt6q
?
frqrflsrlql efrr caQ
-
cqlq";c<
qn$
{fus
qfcq, qc<
KTC<
C?F4l
ail6$;rl.
{Cff{ C?tfrq I
qt"fi
sbt
ft
I
R'fis'slqt
sEt
qt"r+<
ErE-sft-$
qPrq
r
q.t"fi
<r&Er fr
q9{
I
R-o.nsxnt il,
qc{sfrcr<
T{6il
|
qtqR qlql,
6{.t I
sfgt $s ?
RfrrtfTrqr ftu
brot
r
qt"fi q?
s, fi-q r DR r
R'{'.lNerrEr
qT{
|
You Is this rickshaw
yours?
Rickshawallah Yes it's mine.
You Are there lots of rickshaws here?
- 5 8 -
T A L K I N 6 T O A R I C K S H A W A L L A H
Rickshawallah Yes, too many. There isn't enough work for so
many rickshaws.
You Do
you
have children?
Rickshawallah Yes, one daughter and two sons.
You How old are they?
Rickshawallah The girl
is twelve, the boys are ten and seven.
You Where is your
house here?
Rickshawallah Very near
-
over there, on the other side of the
pond.u
You Is there
(a)
village there?
Rickshawallah Not exactly a village
-
the houses are scattered
there.
You Did
your
father have a rickshaw?
Rickshawallah No, my father did not have a rickshaw. He was a
farmer.
You
(Did you
have) land?
Rickshawallah A little, but not here
-
in Bihar. My elder brother
farms there now.
You Aren't you Bengali?
Rickshawallah No, we're Bihari.b
You Is there a camera shop
(near)
here?
Rickshawallah Not this way
-
in Bolpur there are lots of studios
but they're not open at midday, they'll be open in
the evening..
You What's that
(building)?
Rickshawallah lt's the electricity office.d
You Is the building new?
Rickshawallah No, it's very old.
You OK, fine. How much is the fare?
Rickshawallah Fiverupees.
You Here,
(please)
take
(it).
May tr
go?
Rickshawallah Please.e
"A
pukur is a common feature of life in Bengal: a pond or
'tank',
often with steps down to it,
used for communal batiing and washing.
bThere
are many Biharis in the western part of Bengal, and communities of Bengalis in
Bihar; they often know each other's languages.
.Camera
shops, where photos can be developed, are often known as
'studios'.
dThe
rickshawallah uses apnar in his reply: it is a common idiomatic usage, informal in tone.
It does not of course mean your literally.
.There
are no English equivalents for these
phrases.
c6li literally means May
(I) go? (see
Verb tables p. 204). asun means
(Please)
come.
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F s E N 6 A t I
Notice the conjunct
d
(ai +
<)
in
qn (aillaee).
This makes use of
<-Tdll
(see
Unit 8, p. 30). Other occurrences of <-F{l will not be
specially mentioned from now on.
Grammar
1 Possessive case
The possessive form of the pronouns is characterised by a final
-r.
Tlus
same
-r
ending serves as the
possessive
case for nouns. If the noun ends
in a vowel,
-r
alone is added:
babar kcl6m Father/s
pen
If the word ends in a consonant.
-er
is added:
amader kukurer chana our dogls
puffy
Monosyllabic words ending in
-a,
however, usually add
-yer:
mayer sarl
payer
[tha
Mothels sari
pain
in the leg
The
-yer
ending is also used with bhai
(brother)
andb6u
(wife):
amar bhayer b6ndhu my brothe/s
friend
or b6uyer gcyna his wife's
jewellery
But bhai-er and b6u-er
(spelt
with a hyphen) are also found
(see
the
Conversation in Unit 14,
p.
50).
2 ach-
(to
be
present)
You saw in Unit 14 that for one use of the English verb to be
-
subject-
complement constructions
-
no verb is requifed in Bengali. For another
use of the English verb to be, however, as in sentences like There is a
post-ffice
in my street or Is there a telephone here?, Bengah does use a
verb: the appropriate form of the verb ach-.
(This
book
generally
follows
the convention of referring to Bengali verbs in their'verbal noun' form:
kcra(d.oing), dakha
(seeing),
etc. For ach- there is no verbal noun form,
- 6 0 -
T A L K I N G I O A R I C K S H A W A L L A H
so it will be referred to by its'stem', to which endings are added.) I find it
convenient to call this the verb to be
present
though its uses extend
beyond presence
or location.
ach- has only two tenses, present
and past.
As with all Bengali verbs,
you
need to learn the endings for the first person,
the tamiliar second person,
the familiar third
person,
and
polite
second and third person.
The polite
form is always t}te same for the second as for the third person.
There
are no separate forms for the plural:
in all Bengali verbs, the ending
is the same for we as for I, for thq as for helshe, and so on.
The paradigm given
below for the
present
tense of ach- uses the
pronouns
ami, tumi, se, apni/tini. These could be replaced with the
plural
subject pronouns (see p.
52). The third person pronouns
se
(familiar)
or
ini
(polite)
could be replaced with the other third person pronouns:
e, o,
ini, uni, or their plural forms:
Note that ach6 is often written acho
($KPt).
The past tense forms are as follows:
1
2
3
2 & 3
tFl
IF]
tPl
ami achi
tumi ach6
se ache
apni/tini achen
1
2
3
2 & 3
tFl
tFl
tPl
ami chilam
tumi chi l e
se chil6
apni /ti ni chi l en
Note that chil6 can also be written chilo
(R6fl.|).
ach- is used in sentences involving location:
Is Father
(aD
home?
There were lots of
people
there.
If a locative adverb or
phrase
is present in the sentence, or the
interrogative kothay
(Where?),
ach- can be omitted, but only if the
present
tense is implied:
uni kothay (achen)l
Where
(is)
helshe?
okhane amar kcl6m (ache). My
fen('s)
there.
- 6 1 -
baba ki baJi achen?
okhane cnek lok chil6.
ach- is
3lso
used for
possession. Bengali does not have a verb to haue:
instead an impersonal construction is used, of a type that will become
familiar to
you
as
you progress with the language. The
person hauing or
owning
goes into the
possessive case; the verb is always third
person
[F].
So instead of Rimi has a bicycle one says, Of Rimi a bicycle it is:
rimir saikel ache.
Remember to make the verb third
person
[F]
even if a
polite pronoun is
present for the owner or
possessor:
apnar ki kukur chil6? Did
you
haue a d.og?
Sometimes the
'possessor'is
understood from the context and can be left
out.
leliphon
ache? could be interpreted as 1s there a telephone
(here)?
or
Do
(you)
haue a telefhone?. Bengali
grarnmar
expresses here, in a
neat and logical way, the overlap between location and
possession.
The negative of ach- in the
present is nei for all
persons (nai
in
Bangladesh). In the
past,
-na
is added to the verb
(the
usual way of
making Bengali verbs negative):
3 Definite afticle
(things)
The definite article
(the)
in Bengali is a suffix added to the noun. For
things
(as
opposed to
people or
pet animals) by far the most common
article is
-[a,
which
you have already encountered as a component of the
singular demonstrative
pronouns eta, ota, seta
(p.
53):
lebilla
baJi[a
The singular definite article is quite often omitted when it is clear from the
context that a
particular item is meant:
cabi kothay? Where's
(the)
key?
When to use it and when to leave it out is something that can only be
learnt through
practice, and, like many aspects of the Bengali language,
caffiot be easily reduced to a rule!
ekhane
leliphon
nei.
amader bathrum chil6na.
There's no telephone here.
We d.idn't haae a bathroom.
the table
the house
- 6 2 -
T A L K I N 6 T O A R I C K S H A W A L L A H
The plural
definite article for things is
-gulo
(cf.
the plural
demonstrative
pronouns, p.
53). The noun itself does not change in form:
b6igulo
gaJigulo
This article is obligatory if you
want to express a definite plural.
A
sentence like gali odike could meanThe car is oaer there or There is a car
oaer there or There are cars ouer therebutnotThe cars are ouer there.
(See
Uni t 16, p. 72. )
4 Demonstrative adjectives
In English there is no distinction between the demonstrative
pronoun
(Giae
me that) and the demonstrative adjective
(That
letter came
yesterday).In
Bengali, demonstrative adjectives are made by
putting
the
two
parts
of the demonstrative
pronoun e/1a, o/1a, se/1a, e/gulo, o/gulo, se/
gulo either side of the noun:
e gafita ki apnar? Is this caryours?
Usually, in spoken Bengali, an emphatic
-i
is added:
oi dokan{a n6tun.
ei b6igulo or.
oi gachgulo khub sund6r.
the books
the cars
That shop's new.
These books are hislhers.
Those trees are aery beautiful.
When one is merely drawing attention to an object, not distinguishngthis
one from that one, the emphatic ei, oi, sei can te used on their own
without
-[a:
ei bagi ki tomar? Is this house
yours?
5 Negative of the zero verb
If
you
want to express the negative of the zero verb
(?ftls
ls notnry room,
He's not rich),
you must use the appropriate form of the verb nc-, which
like ach- has no verbal noun form.
(Bengali
dictionaries only list the
literary form ncha.) It exists in the
present tense, conjugated as follows:
- 5 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N 6 A L I
1
2
3
2 & 3
tFl
tFl
tPl
ami n6i
tumi nco
se ncy
apni/tini ncn
It is very easy to muddle up these forms, so learn them carefully!
ami baqali n6i.
I am not Bengali-
ota or ncy.
That's not his-
tini ki brahm6q ncnl Isn't he a Brahmin?
Be careful, too, to distinguish them from nei
(see
2 above). In colloquial
speech,
you
will hear people using na
(not)
instead of the correct form of
nc-: e.g. o1a bhalo na
(That's
not good), kcl6mla amar na
(The
fen's
not
mine). But this
practice is probably best avoided by the learner.
Exercises
|
(a)
Give negative versions of the following statements, using
ce
fu/Rffi'/ffi/Rffinr
or
fr7ag7agF6
ana changing the
pronoun
or demonstrative as
indicated. For example:
(cl
q14661
ql-Cq
I
sffil
(qrc[NCT
r{R I
qfi ql{Fr
I
sil
qffln
m I
Do the exercise orally, then write
your
answers:
qlr|<
<KK
rfi&
RE
r
) \ 9< |
&<t Ttsrfr r
q t n
I
- 5 4 -
T A L K I N C I O A R I C K S H A W A L L A H
.{A \il"1-46
|
sEt
I
scn<
Ffrcon
qfcR
I
8
qN1-5q-<
|
qfrrs
$iftrflTr cqFFF
ql-cq
r
cefrm I
qtfr
rgq[6{
R-4{
|
v g f r - l
q qNK
q6E
I
q
|
qM
<tsIfr r
b
qtq-{Kt
ffiutfr r
ffi
sqR
qqtrl
Rql{
I
>of f i |
(b)
Using the
pictures
as a
guide,
supply the correct demonstrative
adjective forms
-
t as
(qQ
. . .
Dt/r5ql)
ontheleft, fhal
(Q
bt/t|6q't)
on the'right. For exarrr::ple:
,.qQ
{rqDt <v t_* sR
ilq cqtD r
If
you
can't deduce the meaning, you
will find the words in the
Glossary.
Efr
- 6 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F B E N 6 A I I
q q q .
qQ
FKtrI CiltrI I
qR
6{-qffit mFt r
q 3 F I
. <
qq
{6r$'116l
elslT
r I
(<IEI
I
qwsl
I
etsl
I
eQ CITmqtrqt
slclt
I
- 6 5 -
r A t K I N 6
qE qI6DI ;r94
|
T O A R I C K S H A W A L L A H
T<r{1
|
,qA qffit
{v;l
I
g
F[ql" I
"In
colloquial Bengali the word for zgly is often
pronounced (and
sometimes written)
' bicchiri' .
In the following sentences, the words have been
jumbled
up. Put
them into the correct order, so that they make sense. The correct
sentences are
given in the Key to the exercises on
p.
280.
(i)
ache apnader
lelibhiJcn
ki?
(ii)
kothay baba tomar?
(iii)
chile ki okhane tumi?
(iv)
ncy amar kcl6m1a.
(v)
n6tun saikel ache or.
(vi)
bagali ncn uni.
(vii)
bhalo khub am amgachlar oi.
(viii)
nam b6i{ar ki?
(ix)
cnek chelemeye ache 6der.
(x)
licar
amader achen ekhane.
(xi)
dadar sarfia ei.
(xii) j6mijcma
apnar ki chil6 babar?
- 6 7 -
16
BUYING FRUIT
AND VEGETABLES
Conversation
You go
to a market (<fq<)
somewhere in West Bengal, to buy some
fruit and vegetables. The shopkeeper sits on the floor of his shop,
surrounded by
piles
of
produce,
with a cash-box to one side of him and a
pair
of scales on the other. When
you
ask him for what
you
want, he
weighs it on his scales and then drops it straight from the
pan
of the scales
into your
bag; or he might put
delicate items such as tomatoes into a
paper-bag
fust
(paper-bags
are
generally
handmade from newspaper). If
you have lots of things to buy, he may
jot
down the
prices
on a scrap of
paper,
but most shopkeepers in the subcontinent are very
good
at mental
arithmetic. Many customers serve themselves,
picking
out whatever
they want and handing it to the shopkeeper.
fH
mrrqqm
-
wtFr
Eq{ |
qfE q1-6q
?
wfls
qlqqlrq
-
$tr c{m[
2
cqtFF[qtn
- 6 8 -
S U Y I N G F R U I T A N D V E G E T A S I E S
qptfr
W
fi,cql r
ckfsFEln fi&
-
cqv fi{Et
\slE qcq
;tU
Dm
t
qptfi
e$Et mrl{ DR r
CF1-s.FIIe.?l EEI T
qt"tfr
{t,
tmK
$?t,
1qEfl3
+.ftq I
ffiFFr{Frn
qql
I
t{
q$il
D.rd ?
qr"f i
bt -mq<vrel
r
chts,r{qK
qrlc-at
NI;i {s aq 1 <{-s'fF RT{
qr{$
<v
qr<
|
q1qfi qtqt
I me1#t +u r
chlsr{ffi
qF
fiTl r
qPfi
\TIqt
I sm-$il
Ecq&l
cqfit r
cql-sr{Frr fiIF]Q
_
<pDt c+c<q r
qt"fi
KB
-
sQ
quelrnt
r
cnfsFqt{
qlqt,
Ts ml,
qt{
fr-rql, frq A<'t I
q<
frR
4rlc< ?
qt"tfi q$b'ift{sft'g
frq I
qett, qt'i-{K
tt frco r
cEl-sFFl-n fi& r
qF qm
r
fiitva
c{6s;l-{t r
rg
DTs.l r
qt4fr
fi-+ we,
qW-.f qN
cd?r I
cql-+|qh'l-n
;ttu-.t qF
fi-{
-
{<
{\il
-
DK l.l-sl
fteEt r
qt"fi
6{,.t I
gil6Et
T6t r.fcllX
'fF
?
cnl-sFnf{ <NK
s?
{-K I c'tt$Ffcry<
ql:f6, qfls
rrq<
effi
qnq
r ftl 6ry6Ea
z
qt{fi
dl,
qfqrs
&t
qurc<-+
r
cqt$Fff{
{<
etrart
6n'fr &{
qtq
I cn$ |
qt"fi qtqt,
qF
frl r
cqfsFFK fr@ r E cr, s'frt-cq< <x(5t fr&
-
csrs {f.fit I
qt"fi qiqt
I
qiK
frR Elrtcfit I
tc<t
ql:l
$v
qE
?
cFlsFFtn {K b|$l
?l?ptq
fiqt I
qt"fi q"fft
eQ
T&
brcK
ntibt
qfBra
cqnq ?
cqfs|-qhtn ffi< | N<,
eln<,
Te
-
eR fr{ r
- 6 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N 6 A I '
Shopkeeper Yes?u
You Have
you got (any) potatoes?
Shopkeeper I've lots of potatoes
-
how many will
you
take?
You One-and-a-half kilos.
Shopkeeper Here
you
are.b One-and-a-half kilos of potatoes makes
five rupees.
You I want an aubergine.
Shopkeeper This one?
You No, one of those, near the cauliflowers.
Shopkeeper OK. Do
you
only want one?
You Yes
-
(they're)
nice and big!
Shopkeeper These are not all that big. In the rainy season they'll
be much big(ger).
You OK. How much will the aubergine be?
Shopkeeper 60
paisa.
You OK. May I see a few tomatoes?
Shopkeeper Certainly
-
how many will
you
take?
You Two
-
those big ones.
Shopkeeper OK, two big tomatoes, haH a kilo, three rupees. Do
you need anything else?
You Give me a cabbage too. This one, to
your left.
Shopkeeper Here
you
are. Eight annas.. Won't
you
take
(some)
'lady's
fingers'?
(They're)
very fresh.
You Very well, I'll take 250
grammes.
Shopkeeper Take 500
grammes
-
(they're)
very cheap
-
four
rupees a kilo.
You Fine. Where will I
get good fruit?
Shopkeeper Across the street
-
in front of the
post-office
there are
lots of fruit-carts.d Will
you
take
(some)
eggs?
You No, I don't need eggs today.
Shopkeeper I've got very
good
'deshi'
eggs.e Look.
You OK,
give (me)
six.
Shopkeeper Here
you
are. Here, I'm
giving
(them
to
you) in a
'
paper bag
-
(they)
won't break.
You OK. I won't need anything else. How much did that
come to altogether?
Shopkeeper Twelve rupees, fifty
paisa.
You Will
you
change this twenty rupee note?
Shopkeeper Yes.r Thirteen, fifteen, twenty
-
here
you
are.
- 7 0 -
S U Y I N G F R U I T A N D V E C E T A S I E S
^Lit.
Sail, Spea&/
-
the polite imperative of the verb bcla
(see
Unit 19, pp. 110-ll2). It may
seem rather abrupt to the foreign learner, but in West Bengalthis would be a normal way in
which a shopkeeper would indicate that he is ready for his next customer. In Bangladesh ki
lagbe apnarl
(What
do
you require?), ki cai apnart
(What
do
tou
uant?), ot ki neben?
(What
will
(you)
take?) would be more usual. People don't normally exchange
greetings with
shopkeepers, unless they know them well.
bLit.
I am
giuing: the present continuous tense of the verb deoya
(see p. 133).
.Paisa
(cents)
replaced annas in 1957, but
people stili sometimes use them in colloquial
speech. There were sixteen anrns to the rupee, so'eight annas'is equivalent to 50 paisa.
dSellers
of fruit tend to be more itinerant than sellers of vegetables, spreading out their
wares on the ground, carrying them around in a basket, or selling them from a trolley or
handcart
(phcler gali).
"Deshi
eggs are'free-range', and are small and flavourful compared to the large white
'poultry'eggs
that come from battery hens.
rLit.
I nill giue: it's often more idiomatic in Bengali to reply to a question by repeating the
verb, rather than by saying' yes' or' no' .
The Conversation contains several future tense forms
(Cffi,
"lFl
etc.) which will be explained fully in Unit 18, and three new conjuncts:
Handwriting
{ + { = {
r . l + D= 6 F
r D
S + D =
* S
*In
writing conjuncts in whichscomes first, it is clearest to retain$in firll though
handwritten forms do vary.
{
makes use of 6{{F
(
-
-
see Unit 9,
p.
34). Other occurrences of
C-T{F
will not always be mentioned from now on.
Note that the conjunct
S
as in
ffgt
and
T1l
is normally pro-
nounced
'st'
rather than
'sht'.
This also happens if
>l
is combined with
certain other letters
-
see
pp. 269-70.
Grammar
Diminutive form of the article
The definite article,
-ta -gulo,
which as
you learnt in Units 14 and 15 ts
also used to make up the demonstrative
pronoun
and demonstrative
Print
{
- 7 4 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E L F 8 E N
adjective, has a
'diminutive
form',
-li, -guli.
This is used for
people (unless
you
wish to be rude), and is also used for small or
pretty things,
pet
animals and so on. It can be used for many other things, too, to add a note
of
politeness, or to indicate some kind of
personal relationship with the
thing being mentioned. In the conversation above,
-ti
used for eggs
suggests that they are small and attractive, and it also adds a friendly,
courteous tone to the dialogue.
In Bangladesh,
-1i
is used rather less than in West Bengal, and
-1a
for
people is not necessarily
pejorative. amar tinla chele ache
(/
haue three
sozs) would be
perfectly normal usage.
2 lndefinite article
alk(one)
plus
the definite article can form an indefinite article
(a,
an) n
Bengali, but is normally only used when
you
want to make it clear that it is
only one that
you mean. If the diminutive form is used, ak changes to ek:
akla begun cai.
amader ekli meye.
(I)
want an aubergine
(just
one).
We haue a daughter
(only
one).
'
In many cases where English requires an indefinite article, there is no
article at all in Bengali:
tini
daktar.
He's a doctor.
Note also that there is no indefinite
plural form in Bengali. alu
-
on its
own without article
-
can either meanpotato or
potatoes,
and this is true of
all Bengali nouns. Generally the context makes it clear whether one or
more than one is meant, but ambiguities do sometimes arise,
particularly
in written texts where items are not
physically in sight. The
phrase
phulk6pir kache in the Conversation above obviously means near the
cauliflowers if a
pile of cauliflowers are visible; but
grammatically it would
also be correct if there were onlv one cauliflower.
.3
How much? How many?
The word kct6 was used in the Conversation in Unit 15:
tader bcy6s kct6? How old are they?
(Lit.
How
much is their age?)
kct6 is generally used in questions expecting some kind of measurement
- 7 2 -
E U Y I N G F R U I T A N D V E G E T A E t E S
in the reply. Don't be confused by the fact that in English we use How
much? for things that can't be counted as separate objects
(How
much
sugar would
you
like?)
,
and How many? for countable ttnngs
(How
many
potatoes
would
you
lihe?) . In Bengali, if the reply expected is a measure-
ment. vou should use kct6:
Instead of kct6, kcy can be used, or the abbreviated and colloquial form
kc:
dam kct6?
dcJ
laka.
alu kct6 kilo?
pic kilo.
kct6 dur?
ku6i mai l .
kcy mas?
kc
laka?
okhane kcla ceyar ache?
satta.
belallir kcli chana ache?
kcyekla
l6melo
cai
kcla?
dcJ{a.
How much?
(Lit.
How much
frice?)
Ten rupees.
How many kilos of
potatoes?
Fiue kilos.
How
far?
TwenS miles.
How many months?
How many rupees?
How many chairs are there there?
Seuen.
How many kittens does the cat
I want a
few
tomatoes.
How many?
Ten-
If the answer expected is not a measurement, but a number of countable
objects or
people,
the definite article must be added to the
interrogative. kcy or kc, rather than kct6, are
preferred
in this case,
kcy being more formal and literary
(or
rural) than kc. Notice that the same
form of the article that is added to kcy or kc in the
question
should be
added to the numeral in the reply:
apnar kcy[i chelemeye ache? How many children do
you
haue?
carti. Four.
haue?
tinti Three.
Note that kcyek(afew) takes the article in the same way as the numbers:
4 Numbers
A full table of numbers is
given
in the Review of Part Two
(pp.
192-
193). Bengali numbers are
quite
fficult, so for the time being learn the
- 7 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N G A t I
numbers as they occur in the Conversation and Grammar sections.
Note that there are special words for one-and-a-half
(der)
and two-and-
a-half
(arai),
so in the conversation above 250
grammes was agai-fc gam.
For the numbers with articles,
you
need to know the following variant
forms:
The remaining numbers take
-1a
as normal. The diminutive is always
-1i
(but
remember that k +
ti
:
ekti). The variant forms for2, 3 and4 are
normal in West Bengal; in Bangladesh dula, tinta, carta are heard. Note
that dui
(2),
chc'f
(6)
and ncy
(9)
are
generally shortened to du-, chc-, nc-
when the article is added.
5 Postpositions
English has prepositions: on the table, next to rne, at home, etc.
Bengali, like other South Asian languages, has
postpositions, coming
after the noun. Most of them require the
possessive case
(see
Unit 15,
p.
60) in the noun or
pronoun that they follow. In the conversation above,
there were several examples:
dulo
tinte
carte
* 1 a :
+ { a :
*
1 a :
dui
t i n
car
2
2
4
phulk6pir kache
apnar bi dike
rastar oi pare
poslapiser samne
near
(the)
cauliflower( s)
to
your left
across
(thd
street
in
front
of
(the) post-ffice
The
-e
ending that many
postpositions have indicates location, as
you will
see when
you learn the locative/instrumental case in Unit 17.
The Conversation above includes a number of verb forms, which will
be explained in subsequent units. Note for now the future tense marker
-b-
(neb6, deben, pab6, etc.), and the fact that
pronouns are frequently
left out in colloquial Bengali:
(apni)
Iudhu
akla can? Do
(you)
only want one?
Note too the verb laga, which literally means to strikebutwhich has a host
of idiomatic uses including the expression of need
(seeUfit
24,
p. 772):
Will
(you)
need anything more?
ar kichu lagbe?
- 7 4 -
Exercises
(a)
Several of the Bengali numbers have occurred in the conversa-
tions so far, so
you
can now
practise
sayrng the numbers up to 12:
qs,
ER
fr4, Dl-<,
;ffF,
qg,
qlg, qlB, ;L{, q-.f, qru<*,
<R*
*pronounced
agar6, bar6 and sometimes spelt eflC-Tl, <fKt.
Using the pictures
as a
guide,
answer the following questions,
making sure that
you
use the same form of the article with the
number as is used with the interrogative. Remember the special
forms for
tr,frq,Dffi
*H(p. 74). And remember that measure-
ments require no article. Example:
8 U } ' I N G F R U I T A N D V E G E I A B I E S
sDt $-qn ?
;ffi qaq
1
effi
e$sftrilurqr
>
$F cre-{ ?
10ffi
o8F teart!
s SD] { Ff f i T
q+sE| st r
- 7 5 -
a$t t f r l r
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N C A T I
s$sQl nql f i r
(b)
Answerthe
questions aboutthe
picture, below, of a,room,. using
the
postpositioni TI(R.
fuear), frCF
ftelow),
Ê
t</Gtm
(aboue,
on tob ofl,
\I frm
(t
the left), and v.F I?r-$
fto
tne
ight). You don't have to use 9f(Q.: it can be left out of
questions
and statements containing a locative
phrase
(see
Unit 15'
p. 61).
- 7 6 -
B U Y I N G F R U I T A N D V E G E T A B t E S
Example:
C{glE COlSll
t
cnr4? sq< r
) <QqIqt mlcfl{ ?
8
Erl-'tb
c+lqllx t
a. cul|< cs't{f{ ?
a
q1frt
mqm t
.r
cl-c-qF mlqlla
r
s err$-c"i"lF
<tmt cotqlH t
.door
is l-{[Q'f
(dcr6ja).
blf
you recognise the English word here, you'll identify the conjunct:
{
+
tl =
ryf
.
2 Give answers to the following questions, making full use of the
vocabulary and
grammar you have learnt so far. If there are words
you
don't know,
you
can look them up in the Glossary at the end of
the book. The Key to the exercises on
p. 280 gives some
possible
answers:
(i)
apnar nam ki?
(xiii)
apnar bagan ache ki?d
(iD
apnar ma-babar nam ki?
(xiv)
okhane ki rck6m gach
(iii)
apnar ki bhai-bon achef achel
(iv)
kcli bhai-bonl
(xv)
kcla?
(v)
tader bcy6s kct6?
(xvi)
apnar ba6ir kache ki park
(vi)
apnar ki baqali b6ndhu ache?
ache?
(xvii)
kct6 mail dure?
(viD
or baJi ki apnar baJir
(xviii)
okhane ki khelar malh?"
kachel
(xix)
mathta bcJ6 na cho16?
(viii)
apnar kigaJi ache?
(ror)
Judhu
akla?
(ix)
apni n6tun gaJi can?
(x)
ki rck6ma ga6i?
(xi)
gaJilar cnek dam
hcbelb
(xii)
apnar balir samne ki
rasta na malh?c
nWhat
sort of
bAn
idiomatic use of the future of hcoya, to be or become: Will the car be uery erpensiae?
.open
land. Note also the use ofna to express orwhen
posing alternatives in questions.
dNote
that the interrogative ki can sometimes go at the end of the sentence.
"Playing lield.
- 7 7 -
T7
FINDING OUT
ABOUT SCHOOLS
Gonversation
You visit a
girls'
school in a village near Sylhet. It is a C{{{|SIft
(priuate)
school, but all schools in Bangladesh have almost half their costs met by
the Government. It is in a well-constructed building and is quite well-
equipped: this is partly due to the money brought into the area by
'Londonis'-
Sylhetis who have
gone to work in Britain and other foreign
countries. The classrooms open off a long verandah. Mrs Khan, the
headteacher, takes
you
along the verandah, showing
you
each classroom
in turn and answering
your questions. The
girls are all in spotless blue and
white uniforms: they look round at
you with intense curiosity as
you look
in through the open doors of the classrooms.
qt{R
ftqq
qt{, qllql<
W-E
TF crc-{
qrcq
?
frrm
qn qn<F,
mF frq-"t Ec<
|
q{F p|q
qrc%
frqF
oK cTcTI
ercsl$
FRn I
\{f"fi
qqe qe
G'1-cq-qt cqr+q
q|or
r
frrm
qnq
bl,
mFm-stiQ
-
sr< E.m-$-q{
qrq
FKffi
rR<
ccfm,
qFI
$-c$Fq;l
q{l qN
celrs I
qt"fi
<|
fr $-c<
qtcq
?
- 7 8 -
qt"fi
firrm
.m
qqfi
frrfr {tl
qqfi
frrry
qn
qt"fi
frrryq {|q
frrm
em
qt"fi
frrm
ctlq
qt"fi
frrfr
"t|q
qqfi
F I N D I N 6 O U T A B O U T S C H O O I - S
<frq o-K r Relq <fc{< <j{Et
qfcq
-
frcsrc?-<
;t-{,
s[gt
<Iq I
qPFI<tl
cs'F <R-rt calrs 6i;t ?
q.
<q< TT{ celm,
e1644
5qfE
"ff9,
sc<
c$t
frffifrgqr r
sFt
f{
ie<t
ft s-K ?
fl6{,
EE
c"l{ s-{l3T
rt<
r
R&q +-cdrcq D-(E {Er
-
c$E
DFFFI,
c+E <t uBercl I cslcdt cs'lc{t
c{R {ffi-{cq Rm $-m,
\e-c<
qfq?Fldl
crca:Tt Ftfrs
qF
Dt{ r
q1qt,
(h-<
Rm ret
qeftffi-<
{lcqts
{T,
{I r
Tt<FrFTt eFe fiA
qFfi
ocs-q l
sc<
q?F
&qt-Fqt
'itrt
1"tR-o
r
s<t
ft ft fur
q{fc{ 'te
?
<t(El,
qrr,
E(rf,fr,
yrritE,
qrfq,
Rw'1-a,
qd',
F fq crFI
"n'g
s<t
witE,
{Tfq
qK
R-wn
q<
qsfi
N
,qa.fl(dQ
"lrg
;
Frlq nQe* 6effi
grpl
6q
"|fs
Rmtfel
\srl
qffit qlqtr?l
<E cqr+
c-|-cq I
c{4t{4t C$:F[ s-K ?
cqrq-cq< cuc{ Frr I
s6< sKl
c$q
&q
oc< r
cc+-Ettn
q{Nt
'gn
frcq-<f-firsT{t
q$!-q<!
C{FI I
cq fr-c{ c{rq ?
q=FI
<6r frc{
qls<El
c{F I
qFr-?Tl
rlg
<EI
firq{ TR I
oq-{ FDIK
srl-cq
r
eKq=fq-{
|
qfi$<
e'rcq ft
lT
q$q-{
or< Fut<
arrq{
?
dt,
qfqfnt qmFil
R{c<
qtqtnt qnm
Fn<
q-r$4
r
eDt mF
plq
e
qt{R
frrryq {r{
\ntqfi
ficlm
qn
- 7 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N C A I I
frrffi
"tr{
.{B
sM trq
-
Rr<q
cfl{
Dq.cq I
qt"fi
<t
Ff{ <? cqr+ c"l-cql
t
frrffi
{r{
q-<-fic<;l
frfrB <Rs
qrc% qKK qlT{t
wi <Qs
<lr{K $R t
qt4fi
ft +<c+<
Q
z
efq-trc{<
<a r
frmq
?||q
c4"I{ 4t r <frq], NFIK
e((nfr
"r9r<
<eXW
qls
cst r eQ cn$,
qF qcrs
ffi
qkq
-
1q, sRst,
qr!
e&qrq<
$qtl
-
ql"fi
<lB, cs"t cet
! cg+-d?cl
qtF
fr c{crfi-<
qfccl
q$!
tl-q
$<l-F
"ttR
t
frrm
qn
RulQ r
q$m qwtcq<
c<T-BRn
qr
-
qK
tlu
ftffi
qnP
- q$! qc'ifl
s-s{ I
You Mrs Khan, how many
girls are there in
your school?
Mrs Khan A lot, three hundred altogether.u There are ten classes,
thirty
girls in each class.
You Do they all come from this upazila?b
Mrs Khan Yes, most of them
-
but a few come from Sylhet town,
and a few from other villages.
You How do theY
get here?
Mrs Khan By bus. There's a special bus arrangement
-
not our
own, a rented bus.
You From what age do
You
take
(them)?
Mrs Khan From six
years of age until ffieen or sixteen, but that
isn't fixed.
You What do theY do then?
Mrs Khan You mean, after completing school? They
go to various
colleges
-
some to Dhaka, some to Chittagong. Some
. glrls get married straightaway, but nowadays
girls want
to be educated.
You Ah, and they also marry'Londonis',
do they?'
Mrs Khan
(Their) parents often hope as much' But
getting visas and
so on is dfficult now'd
You
What subjects do they study here?
Mrs Khan Bengali, maths, English,
geography, society, science, re-
- 8 0 -
F ' N D ' N 6 O U T A E O U T S C H O O L S
ligion. Up to Class 4 they study combined
geography,
society and science from one book; from Class 5 to Class
10 they learn the subjects from separate books.
You How about sports?
Mrs Khan
(They
do) less than boys. But they do drill every day. At
break-time.
perhaps
they
play
a bit on their own.
You Do they play ball?
Mrs Khan They play hand-ball with
(a)
soft ball. We don't allow hard
balls.
You How many teachers are there?
Mrs Khan Fifteen.
You Do the
junior
classes have only one teacher each?
Mrs Khan No, there are separate teachers for separate subjects.
You What class is this?
Mrs Khan This is Class 10
-
an English lesson is
going
on.
You Which book do they learn from?
Mrs Khan There's a book
prescribed
by the
government,
but we
use other books as well.
You What kind of books? Story books?
Mrs Khan Have a look. Romila, will
you give (us) your
English read-
ing book? Look, there's lots in it
-
stories,
poems,
a bit
of history.
You Excellentlr At break-time, can I chatg a little with the
Strls?
Mrs Khan Certainly. Our break-time will be at ten
-
in another five
minutes
-
(please)
wait for a bit.
"Note
that the article can be dropped from large numbers: tin-Jc
(3@)
rather than tin-Jcti.
bThe
districts
(zilas)
of Bangladesh are divided into sub-districts
(thazilas),
each with a
locally elected council. The Chairrmn of an tQazrl,a is a
powerful
local figure. Note that the
emphatic
-i
in ei is also idiomatically attached to the postposition theke.
.Lit.
Does maniage with'Londanis' beconc
(to
thcm)?
-
an'impersonal'construction
(see
pp. 99-100). Note also the postposition
s:ahe
(with),
common in Bangladesh. In West
Bengal scDge is preferred.
fc. is often expressed in Bengali by repeating a word, with the initial consonant changed
to
!
bhisa-tisa
(aras
and so oz); gclpo-1clp6
(stories,
ett.).
"Notice
the use of English words, which are natural and idiomatic in many contexts. The
Bengali word chuli could have been used, but this can also mean the school holidays, or any
kind of holiday.
r
For the spelling and pronunciation of bah!, a warm expression of approval, see
p.
,14
and
p. 255.
sg3fp6
means
'story',
but gclp6 kcra is an idiom meaning to chat.
- 8 t -
9
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 E N
Note the following new conjuncts:
Handwriting
Print
{
+ el
=
1.
8.
(pronounced
'sth'-
see
pp.269-70)
9 + S =
g
S
4 + 4 = F
q
g i + G = g d
B
The last of these is
pronounced
'g'
at the beginning of a word, and
'gg'
between vowels. It also changes ifoilowing a to a: so@4
6cience)
is
pronouned'biggan' and w'f4
(knowledge)
is pronounced
'gan'.
Grammar
1
-jcn
"t?d
-khana
With
people, the ending
-jcn
can be used instead of
1i
with the interroga-
tive and with numbers:
kcl i meye?
or kcion meye?
How many
giils?
triJ{i.
or trif cn.
Thirly.
The difference between
-jcn
and
-ti
is a subtle matter, and native
speakers have varying views on it. The following
guidelines are offered
rather tentatively:
(a)
-jcn
is not normally used for
young
children; so picli meye would
suggest that the
girls are
young
(under
twelve, say) whereas picicn meye
suggests older
girls or women.
Ol
-jcn
is more
'collective'
than
-li:
picjcn lok suggests a
group,
whereas picli lok suggests separate individuals.
(c)
-1i
is not, however, necessarily more respectful than
-icn.
Perhaps
because
-ti
can also be used of things
(see pp. 7l-2),
-icn
is more
'human'.
skule biJ{i
licar
ache suggests 20 separate teachers, but rates t}em as
'countable
objects' rather than as human beings. bificn
licar
is, in this
context, more respectfttl.
- 8 2 -
N G O U T A B O U I S C H O O L S
-jcn,
unlike
-ti,
can only be used with
people,
and it can not be used as a
definite article on its own. You cannot say lokjcn if you mean the
person.
-khana,
on the other hand, does function fully as an article. It is an
alternative to
-1a,
used with a limited class of objects, usually square or
flat objects:
The book's mine,
How many
pictures?
two exercise books
Both
-jcn
and
-khana
can be combined with ak to form an indefinite article.
With people,
there is a tendency to use akjcn if the indefinite article is
meant, and ekli if one wants to stress that it is one
person;
but this is not
a hard-and-fast rule.
2 Participialpostpositions
The postpositions you
learnt in Unit 16 all require the possessive
case in
the noun or
pronouns
they apply to. There is another class of
postposition
in Bengali where the possessive
case ending is not required. Many of
thse are actually verbal
participles (see pp.
\20-12$. theke, for
example, meantngfrom, is derived from the verb thaka
(to
stay). k6re,
used in the conversation above to mean by bus, etc. and after anumeral
to mean each, is from kcra
(to
dolmake). Look out for postpositions
as
they occur in subsequent Conversations in the book, and take care to
note whether or not they require the
possessive
case ending. Check
them in the Glossary if you
are unsure.
3 Locative/instrumental case
Like the possessive
case
(see p.
60), the locative case in Bengali can be
formed by the application of a simple rule.
.
To words ending in a
consonant, add the ending
-e.
To words ending in a vowel, add the ending
-te:
b6ikhana amar.
kckhana ch6bi?
dukhana khata
apnar skule
ei klase
tader bagite
di l l i te
in your
school
in this class
in their house
in Delhi
- 8 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A t I
If a word ends in
-a,
however, either
-te
or
-y (pronounced'-e':
see
p.
13)
can be added:
{hakate
or
dhakay
k6lkatate
or k6lkatay
This also applies to words to which the definite article
-1a
has been added:
almarifate
or almarifay in the cupboard
Note that the adverbs ekhane
(here)
and okhane
(there),
and the inter-
rogative kothay?
(Where?)
are locative in form.
The locative case also often has an instrumental function. hate, for
example, can either meanin
(one's)
hand or by hand, Inthe conversation
above, kise?, the locative form of ki, is instrumental in meaning: By what
(rneans
of transport)? But note too the idiomatic addition of the postposi-
tion k6re for means of transport:
ora kise k6re ase?
base k6re.
in Dhaka
in Calcutta
By what means d.o they come?
By bus.
4 Plural endings for
personal nouns
meyera
cheleder m6gllye
coidhurira mus6lman.
'
senera khriFtan.
amar bonera calak.
The endings
-ra
and
-der
that are used to form the subject
plural
and
possessive plural forms of the
pronouns
(amra,
tomader etc.
-
see Unit
\4, p. 52) can also be added to
personal nouns or names:
(the) girls
among
(the)
boys
The Chaudhuris are Muslims.
In the subject case, il the noun or name ends in a consonant,
-era
can be
added instead of
-ra:
The Sens are Christinn.
My sisters are cleuer.
The
-ral-era/-der
endings are not as'definite'as the
plural definite article,
but are
generally preferred to it. meyeguli
(the giils)
is less friendly than
meyera.
- 8 4 -
F I N D I N 6 O U T A B O U T S C H O O I S
5 Reflexive
pronoun
myself,
yourself, his own, their own etc. are all neatly expressed by the
pronoun nile which comes immediately after a pronoun or noun. It takes
the normal endings:
In Mrs Khan's reply in the Conversation above
-
nileder ncy
-
the
pronoun amader
(our)
is understood from the context.
6 Present tense
As in the Conversation in Unit 16, there are
quite a few verb forms in the
Conversation above
(infinitive,
verbal noun,
present
continuous tense)
which will be dealt with in later units. The time has come, however, to
learn how the
present
tense is formed in Bengali. So far the only verbs
you have learnt formally are ach-
(pp.
60-62) and nc-
(pp.
63-64). When
nc- is conjugated, the endings change with each
person (ami
n6i, tumi
nco, etc.
).
But notice that the stem vowel also changes between the first
person
and the rest:
se ncy
apni/tini ncn
All Bengali verbs mutate between one or other of the following pairs
of
vowels
(see p. 275 for the underlying reason for this):
The present tense is harder to learn than the others because, apart from
the a/e verbs
(and
all
'extended'
verbs
-
see Urrtzs,
pp.
182-184), there
is vowel mutation within the tense. But learning the
present tense first is
the best way of implanting these
pairs
of vowels securely in your mind.
A
problem
arises in writing down verbs that mutate between the first two
pairs (c/6
and a/e), because, as
you
will remember from Units 2 and 4,
the Bengali script does not distinguish between the c and 6 realisations of
ami nije baqali.
o1a or nijer saikel.
e[a amader nijeder ba6i ncy.
amra nijera okhane chilam.
ami n6i
tumi nco
I'm Bengali myself.
Thaf s his own biqcle.
This is not our own house.
We were there ourselues.
eli
ale
cl6
ale
o/u
- 8 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N 6 A I I
the inherent vowel, or the a and e
pronunciations
of . It is vital,
therefore, to know the verb conjugations well, so that
you
can
predict
the
correct
pronunciation
from the
person
and tense of the verb. The other
three
pairs do not present this
problem,
as they are clearly distinguished
in the script.
As is traditional when learning verbs in a new language, here are
paradigms
for each of the vowel
pairs in the
present
tense. Bengali
verbs are almost completely regular. Once
you
know how to conjugate
kcra(to d.olmake),
youwtll be able to conjugate pcra(to wearlput on); once
you
know how to conjugate dakha
(to
see),
yov
will be able to conjugate
phela(to throw), and so on. Remember that Bengali verbs are referred to
(and
listed in dictionaries) in their verbal noun form.
All these four types mutate between one vowel in the first person,
and
cl6 kra
1 ami k6ri I do
2
tFl
tumi kcr6 you
dn
3
IFI
se kcre helshe does
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini kcren youlhelshe
d.o(es)
el e
1
2
tFl
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
dakha
ami dekhi
t umi dekh6
se dakhe
apni/tini dakhen
I see
you
see
helshe sees
youlhelshe
see(s)
ol u
Jona
ami
Juni
tumi
Jon6
se
Jone
apni/tini
Jonen
I
2
tFl
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
I hear
you
hear
helshe hears
youlhelshe hear(s)
eli
1
2
tFl
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
lekha
ami likhi
tumi lekh6
se lekhe
apni/tini lekhen
I write
you
write
helshe writes
youlhelshe
wite(s)
- 8 6 -
ale
1
2
tFl
3
tFl
2 &3
t P1
rakha
ami rakhi
tumi rakh6
se rakhe
apni/tini rakhen
I keep
you
keep
helshe keeps
youlhelshe kee06)
F ' N D ' N G O U f A E O U T S C H O O I S
another vowel in the other
persons. a/e verbs, however, use the e vowel
in the past participle and
past
tenses, but not in the
present
tense:
All the types so far are'consonant stems'. With the second person
[F]
forms,
you
will also encounter spellings with o rather than 6; and o always
has to be used with the three remaining three types, which are
'vowel
stems'. The pairs of vowels they use have already occurred above, but
remember that e after a vowel is written y. Notice also that the polite
-en
ending contracts to
-n.
cl6
hcoya
ami h6i
tumi hco
se hcy
apni/tini hcn
1
2
tFl
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
I becinne
you become
helshe becomes
youlhelshe
become(s)
Finally there are the slightly anomalous verbs deoya
(to giue)
and neoya
(to
take), which are identical in
pattern, but differ from other Bengali
verbs in that they mutate between four vowels altogether, three within
the
present tense:
ale khaoya
ami khai
tumi khao
se khay
apni/tini khan
1
2
tFl
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
I eat
you
eat
helshe eats
youlhelshe
eat(s)
ol u dhoya
1 ami dhui I wash
2
tFl
tumi dhoo
you
wash
3
tFl
se dhoy helshe washes
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini dhon
youlhelshe
wash(es)
- 8 7 -
elilala
deoya
ami di i
tumi dao
se day
apni/tini dan
1
2
IF]
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
I
giae
you giae
helshe
giaes
youlhelshe giue(s)
f E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N 6 A t '
Like the
present tense in English, the Bengali
present is used for
habitual
present actions
(I
Plot
the
Piano
euery day, He doesn't drink
alcohol, etc.
).
It is also
quite often used as a
'historic
present' in narrative
(see
Unit 27,
p. 2ll, Note 10).
Exercises
|
(a)
Answer the following
questions about the Conversation in thts
unit, either
positively or negatively, using the correct form of the
present tense with or without the suffx il, and changing the
subject-noun to a
pronoun
(
rg<l or Tt
).
Example:
c{rr{i ft
<iqql
el@
r
fot,
s<f {tffit
'rry
|
NffirI fr
Rfr
AIQ
r
Tt,
srt
Rft
"rcvqt
r
In the third sentence
you
will need the
possessive of
I<[|?
(eaeryone):
T<f{
.
) NC{-?TI
q<R
fr
qre,
E"|cctql cq|6s
qfcq
?
a. crKfl ft <rcq $-(T
qfc{
?
e
Ed
C5|{ s-{l3r
"r<
ft I?I crc-T6q< Rcl
qcl
qF
t
s
Ff{
Ec"-"fr
c{ffiTl
\Trflnl
qrqlTi
<Q. cqro c'lc{
t
A
CTK{I ftlg {E frR C"IFI
?
v
FDFFTI fr c<aqnt
Fc$l
?
q
FDKfl fr
&q
oc<-{ ?
b
crK{tft e(r<q
C"fCql
t
- 8 8 -
F I N D I N G O U T A B O U T S C H (
b crcmTt ft
tl.
q:rs'tm<
ftft A
<r+{<
oc< ?
>o ffi fr
q<qrr
Rr<-Qrc
nqff {ffi{ ?"
"the
same
bin
Class 2
.Sc[
{El
-tosPeak.
(b)
The map below
gives
the main e/as
(C9-fl1)
or districts of
Bangladesh, and the four divisions
(R95t): Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi
and Chittagons
(Df$1,
?jE-{1,
Tlqq1Q
and DDSN). Answer the
questions overleaf by siying where the districts are,
giving
the
Division name with the right locative ending. For Dhaka and Khulna
either
-{or -N
is correct, though
-{
is
perhaps more natural in
speech.
- 8 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F S E N 6 A t I
Example:
) T-gb <fq'K
r
<{u_t 6$lq
<R.flq c.$r{" frsr(rl
{qntR
r
coR Fsrcri
r
Rwet
r
e
fr-{|wT< 5ga frsga1
7
e
q4affii
6sr{ Rqrd
?
c ffi mfq fiisfcet z
v
gF-nt
cs'f{ Rvtcrt
?
q q-{F
mrq fiEft5t
?
b
{Kqt cor{ fiqral ?
r nsffi corq fucru
)o {6{F coR Rqrr r
,C$'FI -
which. See Unit 23, pp. 158-159.
bSee
p. 95.
S + K = @
oder - gaJi ache.
ei haspatale
Judhu
-
q4!!ar.
Fill in the
gaps in the following sentences, using the words in brackets
but in their right form: i.e. with the addition of an article or
-jcn,
a
locative/instrumental case ending,
plural noun ending, or a
present
tense form. To write the exercise
you
will need a new conjunct:
Q + { =
q i q
brahm6rl
(
<ffn"f
-'Brahmin')
is pronounced'bramh6n'
or'bramm6n'
in Bengali: the h, if it is
pronounced
at all, comes after the m.
Remember also:
4
(See
Unit 4, p. 18)
(l )
(ii)
(tin)
(pac)
- 9 0 -
F I N D I N 6 O U T A B O U T S C H O O L S
(in)
apnar - ki
leliphon
neil (ba1i)
(iv)
eigame
i61y6
skul nei. (meye)
(v)
k6bita bhalobase."
(baqali)
(vi)
apnar - ki ki phuler gach ache? (bagan)
(vii)
- bhalo.
(b6i)
(viii)
apni mcd |
(khaoya)b
(ix)
tini ki brahm6q - ? (nc-)
(x)
amar chol6 bhai khub gan -. (kcra)
(xi)
edeJe khaoya-daoyar pcrec amra mukh - . (dhoya)
(xii)
tumi krikel ? (khala)
(xiii)
oder
Judhu
- meye. (ek)
(xiv)
ami cnek cithi - . (lekha)
(xv)
amar baba scbscmcy dhuti -. (pcra)
rBengalis
love poetry.'
bkhaoya
means to take anything by mouth: food, liquid, tobacco, etc. mcd means any
alcoholic drink.
.See
p. 108, Note
d.
- 9 1 -
1B
-ARRANGING
A VISIT-
Conversation
You are in Calcutta, staying with a friend whom
you
met when he was
studying in England. You find it a bit artificial to speak to him in Bengali,
because
you
first got to know each other through the medium of English.
But you
always speak to his
parents
in Bengali, and when his married
sister dropped in on her parents
at the weekend
you
found it natural to
speak Bengali to her. As she is a housewife with a son to look after,
your
friend suggests that
you
visit her regularly for conversation
practice.
You
telephone her to fix a time.
qt"tfi qbt
ft
ltecvo ?
qffiqq{
I
qt"tfi
\fl"tfi
qfffi
<q-c5{
p
a:fslsT,
qtfr
-
qffi
fot,
SrqR
-
qTsrr
I
qt"tF q{r<
seil K|(<f{ ?
ql{K
Bw<q
{<
?[fl"t
I
- 9 2 -
A R R A N G ' N G A V ' S ' T
qffi
il, se
-
-"EQ
pt
r 6fuT'rc{
ql:tFr
seil
$rN
qt"rrK q{R({
{-v+t
r
qt"tF
iil, m"t
rrq
6frc+taqt8rl,
Er<
q{R{t
cqa esF
*16
qql
I
qfffi
st,
fr
?FFr
? csT{
qfcq{
?
qtqfi
vnqt
qtR
I
qtqfr
I
qfr*nt
r+m
qlea
I cqrqF
sfrqt
q-ce
6g.t ?
qffi qFKt q-{R
slrEt
qtR
r
qHfr
\il:rtcnr
q{rn q{r+{
6et
qsfr{
z
qt"fi qfrlril,
frt-lR
qq-r<t
I
qFrrq
ffi
qtaR<
a6q
<l(qF scff <El-N uR r
qt"rq< qr{
qK
?
\{ffi
bt,
m"q
{rqlt
I
qHR
{fi
"Ift
DrE
qT{
r
qtfr
qmffiq
<l&;@
qtlfr
rrFIF<
rrffi
| Tfmr-nfc<r
qtffir
qs.t*qsR qfcrt
I
qt"fi
'qot-*qs't'ntrq
?
qffi
<qRfu, R-+ at I
qtqfr qfT{,
e8 T{ s$ ft{F
fl;rrfft I
qtqft
\oprq
qfr
$A<
r1sg qpt6l
?
qffi qq
Ktcn
qpirc
u1-t r v;qa,
q|lfcq< q?il-G{
EF{F
{tK{ |
qtqfr
6o
qnq
r
q1Rtl
qmlt
mt r
qfffi qsrn
n r
qff
Tc{r D-rq
qFrr+{
r
bt
r
qt"tF qFql,
{Fil< Tc{t
qfq-F
cu?t +-Emt I
s
-
c$l-{ <fcq
sK
qFtr{l
?
qfffi
\il"tfr
Tffifir <fq {K crfiE ff66 {FtK{ | sl<retsr
s"fl-{
cars R+'ft frm mtqt Elat
qrcFrt
Tf&B<
frm um
qplm{
r
st
ftu
u43
qNtm<r pqrF
r
tr{F corm
q{foq
{mqt
r
qt{F
fr.+
qtrq qtfr
e"F dq_tF $3t-C{t,
\sFreBr
q|cv
TSR
xqE <4t
q<
|
qfffi
m.t r ffi{t
qr<
!
qt"fi
fut,
m"n
qc<
r
- 9 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N 6 A I I
You Is that 723560?
Animadi Yes,
go
on.u
You Is that Animadi speaking? Namaskar, |
-b
Animadi Yes, I can tell who
you
arec
-
Namaskdr.
You
(Can) you understand me? My pronunciation is very bad.
Animadi No, it isn't
-
it's very clear.d You don't have any trouble
understanding me on the telephone?
You Yes, there's
plenty
of noise on the telephone line, but I
can manage,
(please)
speak a little louder.'
Animadi So, what news? How are
you?
You I'm well. And
you?
How is Amiyada? Is
(your)
son well?
Animadi We're all fine. Are
you going
to come to our place
one
dav?
You I will come, I'll certainly come. Actually I want to speak
Bengali with
you.r Will
you have time?
Animadi Yes, why not? Come whenever
you like. I stay at home
all day with
(my)
little boy. Sometimes I feel rather aka-
aka
(loneb).
You What does aka-eka mean?
Animadi Friendless, without friends. You come,
you'll
be able to
learn all these words.
You So what time shall I come?
Animadi Do
you
want to come today at midday? Come
(and)
have
lunch here with us.
You Fine. It won't be inconvenient?
Animadi Not at all. Come by twelve. All right?
You OK, I'll try to come by twelve. Oh
-
what bus shall I
come on?
Animadi Take a No. 9 bus and
get
off at Gol Park. Then take a
rickshaw from there and come straight to a red ten-
storey building.s Our flat is on the fifth floor. You won't
have any fficulty recognising it.
You Fine, I'll have
(my)
bath and so on now,
(and)
then set
out by half-past ten.
Animadi Good. See
you!
You Yes, see
you!
- 9 4 -
i R R A N G I N 6 A Y I S I T
"People
generally use English numbers for telephone numbers, even when speaking
Bengali. Notice that one starts a telephone conversation in Calcutta by confirming that one
has the right number! b6lun means
(Please)
sfeak: cf. the shopkeeper in Unit 16, p. 68.
bNamaskdris
the formal
(Sanskrit) greeting
among Bengali Hindus, corresponding to the
(Arabic)
Salaam alaikum among Muslims. You should reply to Namaskar with the same
word. To the Muslim greeting, however, you should reply Alaikum assalaam.
-di (short
tor didi, eldcr sis/er) is added to Anima's name partly because she is the elder sister in her
family, partly because it is commonly used as an affectionate, respectful addition to a
femalename. Cf.
-da(shortfordada,
elderbrother), addedtoherhusbandAmiya' sname
later on in the Conversation.
,Lit.
I haue recognised
(you).
cena means /o knou/recognise a
Pelson,
as opposed to
jana,
which means tn know a
fact
or thing.
dk6i
can mean rurere but has all sorts of idiomatic uses. Notice also the emphatic particle
-i;
and the'adversative' particle to, here expressing surprise.
"iore
-
with
force.
rkctha
bcfa
(Lit.
to sfeak words) is often used in Bengali rather than bcla on its own. When
referring to a
'word',
however
(a
lexical item), use
Jcbcl6,
which you'll see from the
translation can also mem noise on a telephone line.
eWhen
okhane
(there)
is combined with theke
(from),
the locative case ending is dropped.
The three new coirjuncts in the Conversation are easily recognisable:
Handwriting Print
D + D =
W D D
I + t t =
q
* " f
< + q =
q
q
TqIE
ffiat)
is written with the sign known as
qtfgi
(.
).
In Sanskrit
this sign indicates that the inherent vowel is not
pronounced. In Bengali it
can be used
(as
here) to form conjuncts that are not provided for in the
Bengali script, or to
'block'
an inherent vowel that the
phonology of the
language might lead one to expect: e.g.
'Cox
Bazaar'in Exercise 1(b),
p.
90
-
not pronounced
'kcks6
bajar'. Note too its use in
'lunch'.
Grammar
1 Appointments
When referring to times in Bengali, a number *
-1a
should be used,
either with the
postposition
scmoy or the locative case ending. scmcy, like
many other Bengali
postpositions, follows the
possessive
case:
- 9 5 -
pactar scmcy
dcftar scmcy
Other
postpositions can be used in the same way, such as age
(before),
pcre
(after),
or m6dhye
(within,
by).
For the interrogative, use kcta in the
possessive
case:
kclar scmcy?
The locative case can be used
interrogative, instead of scmcy:
kclay?
sattay.
Divisions of the hours will be dealt with in detail in Unit 19
(pp.
108-109).
Note here, however, the use of saJe
('haH-past'):
saJe dcJlar m6g!!ye by half-past ten
2 Future tense
The future tense is easier to form than the
present, because there is no
vowel mutation within the tense. The first person ending
-bo
can be spelt
either with
proper
vowel o, or with the inherent vowel 6. The first
spelling is
generally followed in this book for the consonant stems: k6rbo
($-{C<l)
,
not k6rb6 (S-{<); b6sbo (a46q1) not b6sb6 (({<) etc. For
the vowel stems it i5 more usual to use the inherent vowel: khab6 (clfi)
not khabo
({lf<l)
;
hcb6
({{) not hcbo ({f<l) etc.
I
2
3
2 & 3
tFl
tFl
tPl
kcra
ami k6rbo
tumi k6rbe
se k6rbe
apni/tini k6rben
I shall do
you
will do
helshe uill do
youlhelshe
will do
atf.ue o'clock
at ten o'clock
At what time?
with the number *
1a,
and with the
At what time?
At seuen-
dakha
ami dekhbo,
etc.
fona
ami
Junbo,
etc.
- 9 6 -
I shall see
I shall hear
deoya
ami deb6
A R R A N 6 I N G A V I S I T
lekha
ami l i khbo,
etc.
rakha
ami rakhbo
etc.
khaoya
ami khab6
etc.
dhoya
ami dhob6
etc.
hcoya
ami hcb6
etc.
I shall write
I shall keep
I shall eat
I shall wash
I shall become
I shall giae
If s
going
to rain.
(Lit.
There will be rain.)
We're going
to leaae at
four.
(rcona
hcoya is an expression
meaning to set out)
- 9 7 -
In West Bengal,
'd6bo'
is heard for the first person
of deoya, but it is
never written. In written Bengali, you
will sometimes encounter the
literary form
fi<ifrCq| ,
even in texts that are not in literary Bengali as
such
(see
Unit 33,
pp.250-257).
For the future of ach- the verb thaka
(to
stay) should be used, though
sometimes hcoya is possible:
cf. apnar scmcy hcbe?
(Will you
haae time?)
in the Conversation above.
The future tense in Bengali often has a
greater
sense of volition than the
future in English: thus whereas in English we use expressions like
'would
like', in Bengali the future tense will do:
apni ca khabenl Would you
like
(some)
tea?
There is also no construction in Bengali comparable to
'going
to'. Again,
the future tense in Bengali covers it:
brpli hcbe.
amra cartey rcona hcb6
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F S E N G A t I
3 lnfinitive
The infinitive ending in Bengali is
-te.
Notice that with the exception of
the rakha verb type, ffinitives
(like
the future tense) are formed on the
second of the
pair
of mutating vowels
(see
Unit 17, pp. 85-88):
kcra
dakha
Jona
lekha
rakha
khaoya
dhoya
hcoya
The infinitive of deoya uses the second of its four vowels:
deoya dite to
giue
The infinitive has several uses not comparable with English, which will be
shown in later units. In this unit it is used, as in English, with verbs
meaning want or am able, and to express
purpose:
k6rte
dekhte
funte
likhte
rakhte
khete
dhute
h6te
to do
to see
to hear
to write
b keert
to eat
to wash
to become
Can
you
speak Bengali:
I want to learn Bengali.
(I)'U
So
to the bazaar to bu.y
aegetables.
The infinitives above are from bcla,
Jekha
and kena respectively. Re-
member that if you
want to look up verbs in the Glossary at the end of
this book
(or
in a dictionary),
you
will need to work out from
your
knowledge of Bengali verb conjugation which vowel will be used in the
'verbal
noun'form.
4 Object case
In Unit 14
(pp.
51-53),
you
learnt the Bengali
personal pronouns
in the
subject and
possessive
cases. One more case needs to be added: the
object case, which serves both for direct objects
(me,
him, zs, etc.) and
indirect objects
(to
me, to him, to us, etc.). In the following table, note
that the plural object
pronouns
are the same as the
possessive:
apni barqla b6lte parenl
ami barqla
Jikhte
cai.
tcrkari kinte bajare
iab6.
- 9 8 -
I
,
Singular
fne amake
you
[Fl
tomake
you[P)
apnake
himlher
[F1
eke
himlher
[P]
ke*
himlher
[F]
oke
himlher
[P]
6ke*
himlher
IFI
take
himlher
[Pl
tike
Plural
amader us
tomader you
apnader you
eder them
derx them
oder them
6der* them
tader them
tider them
3
tHl
trl
tEl
A R R A N G I N G A V I S I T
*The
colloquial forms enake, enader, onake, onader are very common in speech. Cf. Unit
14, p. 52.
Like the plural
subject and possessive
endings
Gra
and
-der:
see Unit
17, p.84),
the object case endings
-ke
and
-der
can be added to
personal
nouns or names
-
either directly, or to the definite article:
Helshe scolds the
girl
eaery day.
Shall I call Rimi?
Shall I bring
(the)
boys?
Occasionally
-ke
can be added to the
plural
definite article: chelegulike
would be grammatically possible
in the sentence above, but as was
pointed
out on
p.
84
-ra
and
-der
are
preferred
to the definite article with
personal nouns.
In Bangladesh, forms such as oderke, amaderke, chelederke are com-
monly used for the
plural
object case in pronouns
and
personal
nouns.
This is not
'standard'usage,
but it is sometimes convenient to be able to
distinguish between the possessive
and the object in this way.
5 Impersonalconstructions
These are a very important area of Bengali grarnmar,
and many varieties
of them will be noted in subsequent units. You have akeady learnt how to
express hauenBengali by using ach- in an impersonal construction
(Unit
L5, p.
62). In the Conversation in this chapter, there were two more
impersonal constructions. subidha
(
conuenience) and csubidha
(
inconae-
nience) are very important words in Bengali
(especially
in Calcutta, which
is not the most convenient city in the world!). They are used in an
impersonal construction with hcoya
(to
belbecome):
se meyelike roj bcke.
rimike
{akbo?
cheleder anbo?
- 9 9 -
Will it be inconuenient to
you?
(Lit,
Of
you
inconaenience it
will be?)
Calcutta's heat bothers me a lot.
(Lit.
In the heat of Calcufta of
me much inconuen'i.ence it is.)
The colloquial variants subidheicsubidhe are
particularly common in
Calcutta, and have been used in the conversation above because of its
Calcutta setting.
Impersonal constructions are often used in Bengali to express
'things
that happen to
you'
rather than things which
you
do actively or deliber-
ately. Animadi also uses an impersonal idiom using laga(to strike: cf. Unit
76,
p.
7 4). As often happens in colloquial speech, the
possessive pronoun
is omitted:
majhe-majhe (amar) aka-aka-i Sometimes
(I)
feel
rather lonely.
lage.
(Lit.
Sometimes of me lonely
it strikes.)
Often
'active'
constructions have corresponding impersonal forms. Com-
pare ami khub rag k6ri
(1
am ue?y angry deliberatefl wtth amar khub rag
hcy
(I
am helPlessly angry).Normally for a man marrying a woman the
active verb biye kcra is used; for a woman marrying a man, a'passive'
impersonal construction is used:
amar meye[ir samner scEahe My daughter is
getting
married
biye hcbe. next week.
Modern women, however, are beginning to marry'actively'and can say
of themselves ami biye k6rbona
(I
shall not get married) if they like! The
active form was used of the
girls at the school in Unit 17
(p.
79).
Exercises
(a)
Too, also is commonly expressed in Bengali by the use of the
particle

. Complete the following
questions with the right future
form of the verb and the
particle added to the noun or
pronoun.
The interrogative
ft
is not always necessary, but it is a
good
idea to
get into the habit of using it. Example:
T E A C H
apnar csubidha hcbe?
kolkatar gcr6me amar khub
csubidha hcy.
Y O U R S E T F B E N 6 A t I
U
- t 0 0 -
vR
fr <rqr{ Tfcr ?
qfr
<rcq sr< TR I
>
qt{fr
?
&fi <tiqF $clt <Ercffi |
q
Y F
- ?
ql{13r
qc-dr:rrl
qprK
I
\e
N.frtF
RC-{NC{
qF{-{t ;nuila
1t< r
8 cstTf,t ?
qlTl3r
<lTt Gft frqrfl I
A CSN]3I {KI ?
qNK ,.{$'t-qr'f
Elrlc< |
g
F[:TK ?
d{-bF $;rK I
?
BR
mcs ffi a's5qa 1
r
qt"r+r< q]'ft
A R R A N C I N G A V I S I T
qM
Rr$cq wfr <fqrc<
qR
r
q?Ft
vfr
\ai
q
qtff<
{<
qTR{t
qc<
r
b F]:IK ?
qtR
ftR
$rcoq't
I
; oqf f i ?
(b)
Overleaf there is a page from Anima's engagement diary. See if
you
can answer the questions about it:
)
$RlC<
6S
qtsrK{
?
a $a<
qrltr
?
- t o t -
Dbbt
rJTTT{T{
Tq,ETTTT
t Gorrl-
w[
zf-drq
sngq{F
56
q{{rl t
E2.oo
-
lt1a,'T
*Br0-
t
i",ffHiXrcnr
"B
Gc",r
afrFr
q rf;!trTrT
,u rFrlrlr.,
n
Y.oo
1fua;VW
crl9
?G-'
rFccr*
.{Sq'RE1ur
o
qf+rt
<Rql< Tt&re wfi 6stq frc{
r"
s <fi<
qlrtr
?
a nqdKK
qliTt
c<ilailT
qwu
?I|6fi
?
s
qT
cs rlcfl
qnD
c{F ?
q qFr
mtd frra ffi
q-6E4
zo
b
Rr+rq
qt q?Flcr
r
r ER
c$c{ +-c< TfK{, {t
Grq
s-c< Tf6fi ?
>o BR
corq frrq ft-ss4
7.
^!r
nhich dny? Ct. Unit 17, Exercise t(U), p. 90. Alternatively you can say
IS <fC< ?
bta
Delhi: the locative case-ending is often left out for
'motion
towards' a place.
.
F(I fto return).
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F S E N G A I '
- t 0 2 -
A R R A N C I N G A V I S I T
2 Imagine that
you
are
planning your
week. In your mind, list the things
you
will have to do and
give
them each a time when
you might do
them. The days of the week are:
r6bibar Sunday
sombar Monday
mcgg6lbar Tuesday
budhbar Wednesda.y
brhclp6tibar Thursday
Jukr6bar
Friday
J6nibar
Saturday
For onSunday, etc., use the locative case
(r6bibare,
sombare, etc.).
For the times,
you
need expressions like:
bhore at dawn
sckale in the morning
dupure at noon
bikele in the aftemoon
s6n5!!yey in the euening
G6ryllyay
in Bangladesh)
ralle at night
cnek ratre uery late at night
With all these,
you
can also use the word bela, which means a
period
of the day:
bhor balay
sckal balay
etc.
(ratri
bela, not ratre bala)
You can also use the hours of the day, using scmcy or the locative
case. If you
use the day of the week as well, one locative case ending
(on
the time rather than the day) witt be sufficient. A
possible
sentence might therefore be:
sombar dcJlar scmcy ami
(On)
Monday at ten o'clock I
Using the following verbal
'clues'
(or
any others that
you
can think
o0, construct similar sentences:
(x)
baJi p6ripkar kcra to clean the house
(ii)
dokan kcra to do the shopping
(iii)
lelibhiJcn
dakha to watch teleuision
- t 0 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I - F 8 E N 6 A I . '
6d snan kcra
to haue abath"
(a)
brekphasl khaoya to eat breakfasF
(ail
cilhi lekha to write a letter
(aiil
khcb6rer kag6j pcp to read a newspaper
(uiii)
parke
iaoya
to
go
to the
Park
(ifr)
sinema dekhte
iaoya
to
go
to the cinema
(x) jama-kap6J
kaca to wash clothes
(xil
pcgaJona kcra to studY
(xit)
apis theke phera to retum
from
the
ffice
(xiir.)
dakrgarke
dakhate
iaoya
to sw the doctor"
(xiu)
bijram kcra
to haae a rest
(xa)
Jute /aoya
to
go to bed
(xai)
kcyekjcn b6ndhuder
phon tophone afewfriends
(xaii)
(xaiii)
(xix)
sck6le akscqge khaoya
(rx) gan
Jona
kcra
otha
to
get
up
saradin khabar toiri kcra to sPend all day
prepaing
food"
to eat all together
to listen to songs
The conjunct sn
(pronounced
as in English sneeze) is a
predictable
q
+
q :
H . You shouldbe able toworkoutthe conjuncts rkand
Jr
for
yourself!
"The
more
'correct'
form of can kcra, which was used in the Conversation in this unit,
and in Exercise 1(a) above. In Bangladesh, goscl kcra is used.
\rasta khaoya in Bangladesh.
.Li{
b show
(oneselfl
to the doctor. dekhano is an
'extended'
verb: see Unit 25'
pp. 182-184.
dLit.
to
go to lie down
([oya).
"A
Bengali might say rannar ayojcn kcra
-
i. e. to cut up the vegetables,
grind the spices,
etc., which is what takes the time in Bengali cooking. ranna kcra
(with
the obvious
conj unct4+{
=fl )i stocookregul arl y: e.g. ei baJi tebabarannakcren
(Fatherdoes
the cooking in this house).
- 1 0 4 -
19
-HEALTHAND
DIET-
Conversation
You are staying in the house of a professor
at Rajshahi University,
Bangladesh. It is Friday
(equivalent
to Sunday in Muslim countries), and
your hosts were
going
to take
you
to have lunch with relatives. You have
a cold, and have been suffering rather from the heat
(the
two often go
together in tropical climates), so
you
ask if you
can rest for the day. Your
hosts'fifteen-year-old daughter stays behind to organise
your
lunch, etc.
As you
eat
you
talk to her. Notice that she addresses you
with apni,
whereas
you
address her with tumi.
E
ffiTF
qFrK
Tcd
E-{
qleFrx
1<
qfr
Er-Tcq I
I
qt"tR
bf,
mt<
q-{ rls
<lrc3r
rKffir qrdLqlTKSleI
c{c'|ce I
crmF
qt$ilT
ft
q|n
q{,
<tfr GErf{ ?
qt"ifi
gt,
{<
qtF
r
- t 0 5 -
H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N
c{6{F
s-RcE
qK
TTFI <K{K
s-{F;{-{l
- q-trI
btst
q]flc<
r
e+! unm<
13t
frq
r
qfr<lFt< qqi
?F
sfiFt I
qr"fi
c{t
I
qF
Tt
"[c<ql
?
crr*F 4t,
qtfi eim
els
c?tcr 6{< |
qtef;lF
fite
qt<
erT
mfi
qe*
EGs r
q< qs!
sls
qF
.{s-trst<l
rR
f r i r
qt"fi
mq ?
qNK
re.t
q\5
Ffc{
"tt{R,
qffi
mFt
qc<
r
crGF
qPtR q{reT tFtcn-<
qql qs!
rf,q
qcl
ctrcq{ |
'FN
slFI wc{s
vlE
c"lre
q{
|
ql4fi
cu?t o-<c<t r
gfre
qt\e
rt l
ffC{F
ql, qtqqK
"ltsTI-q\eTF
"t<
qtfr
{Cq
qFI
I
qt"tfi
il a1,
g.t
caq ?
VF
esfE a6q
<tf
!
?tr<
qll-m
srq
I
ffi{F
qFql,
fr+
qtq
|
\ilBI
q+!
v+otR cn<
I
qt"fi
frre
"[cat,
\e-(< \T]3t
estr
q1R3
(<fl6t
q]s
I
ffirsF
..qQ
s |
"ltTl-qls*l<
"f-{
qt"FtF
Rqr s-{t
Gs t
T6l
"lf(fi
?
qt"fi
{t,
cll-s
r clb
sK
crfR I
Grr*F frqrm< T< {6t
qfcfi
?
qtfr
+q
qK
Dt
fim
qwmt z
+bn
qm qfrrc<t
r
qt"fi
e?F $il Trcq ?
cffi{F cqvDt r
qr"fi \ilqt,
ffi
qbt
ktr+
Rom fl< |
q<lc<?l
$'ttfq
qKq
?
ffirgF
e? c{
-
<t<el at
e(r{fr
z
qt"fi
Q<r{-q
r wR Ffs,
<i(EF
E"r<
q?F qs
r+cqtfl frN
'Brc<ffl
|
cqr{F ${t <-c<-e ?
sl{
{tC<;{ ?
.qt"fF
{t 4t, Sst +r<fqt t
ffiRF
q-<
qtcryfr
ml
z
qt"tfi qr<
il r
VR
qfi
fr $3fr< ?
ffiRF
qtfr
r eA
ER-qd
q-c{<
sfq $-<rc<t,
uKffi
qtfrs
e$! REfl{
s:r({l | {t
tffl
!
- t 0 6 -
H E A L T H A N D D I E T
Daughter I think
you
have a bad cold.
You Yes,
perhaps
because of the heat last night,u I caught a
chill.
Daughter Do you
sweat at night?
You Yes, I sweat a
great
deal.
Daughter Then don't use a fan any more
-
you'll get
a worse chill.
(Will
you)
take a little dal soup?
(It's)
very good
for colds
and coughs.
You Fine. Won't
you
have
(some)
soup?
Daughter No, I'll have my meal later. But you
should eat a bit
more.
(Will
you)
have some more rice and a
piece
of fish?
You Why? I'm not all that hungry,b this will be more than
enough.
Daughter You're perhaps
a little weak from the heat.
(You)
must
eat a lot in the hot season.
You I'll try. But you (must)
eat too.c
Daughter No, after
(you've
had)
your
meal,d I'll sit down and eat.
You No, no, why? Sit down and eat right now! Why eat after-
wards?
Daughter OK, all right. Shall I
give you
a little more vegetable
(currYX
You You can
give
me
(some),
but
give (me)
a little sauce from
the fish curry as well..
Daughter Here you
are. After eating
you
ought to rest. Will you
have
(some)
fruit?
You No, please.
I'm full up.r
Daughter Will
you
have some fruit after
your
rest? Shall I bring you
some fruit and tea? What time shall I come?
You What time is it now?
Daughter Half-past one.
You OK, I'll rest
(for)
one or two hours. Do
you
have a news-
paper?
'
Daughter Here
-
Bengali or English?
You English. I'm tired, I won't be able to concentrate so much
now on Bengali.
Daughter Do you
have a headache? Do you
want some medicine?
You No, no, don't worry.
Daughter You haven't got
a fever?e
You Not at all. What will vou do now?
*
t 0 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F S E N C A I - I
Daughter Me? I shall do one or two things in the house, and then I
shall also rest a bit. What heat!
uratri
bafa
(night
tbne
-
see Unit 18, p. 103), but when bala is dropped, ratri is
abbreviated to rat. The locative case is ratre, and the possessive case
(as
here) is ratrer.
rater is also possible in colloquial speech.
bNotice
the use of the
'adversative'particle
to here and elsewhere in the conversation.
.Notice
the use of the
particle
-o
here and elsewhere to express too, as well, etc.
dkhaoya-daoya
(meol) is a reduplicative or
'echo'
form, typical of colloquial Bengali. Here it
takes the possessive
case-ending, because it is followed by the postposition pcr. pcr and
pcre
fufier) are alternative forms, like up6r/up6re
(on).
.ih6l
is the sauce of a curry. macher
lh6l
(fish
curry) can be regarded as the national dish of
Bengal.
I
thak
(let
it sta|
-
See pp. 204-205 of the Verb tables at the end of Part Two. pe1 bh6re
gache, Lit. stomach has
Jilled
-
a common idiom. The verb is in the perfect tense, which is
introduced in Unit 20.
cRemember
that
ivcr
is pronounced'lcr'
(see
Unit 7, p. 26).
Apart from conjuncts with
C(S
(ft
and {), th"r" is one very easily
recognisable new conjunct:
$ + 4 =
F
Grammar
s
In Unit 18
(pp.
95-96)
you
learnt how to refer to appointments at fixed
times. To express the time now, the
article
-1a
should also be used with
the number
(remember
the special forms of
-1a
that are used with
2,3 and4: see Unit 16, pp.
73-74).In asking the time, the interrogative
kcla is used, with the third
person
of the
present
tense of the verbbala(to
strikd:
Whattime is it?
It's three o'clock.
The words for quarter past,
half
past
and quarter
fo respectively are
scoya, safe, p6ine:
1 Telling the time
scoya car{e baje.
saJe picla baje.
poine chcla baje.
kcla baje?
rinte baie.
Ifs a quarter past
four.
It's half
pastfiue.
It's a
quarter
to six.
- t 0 8 -
For 1.30 utd 2.30, however, the special words for one-and-a-half and
two-and-a-haf must be used:
de61a bafe. It's half
Past
one.
aJaifa baje. It's half
Past
two.
(Or
a6ai1e bale, especially in
West Bengal.)
For times in minutes, the
past participle
(see
Unrtz,
pp. 120-123) of baja
is used for times
'after'
the hour:
dcJla beje kugi.
(If
s) twenty
fast
ten
(Lit.
ten
hauing struck twenty).
and the infinitive is used for times
'before'the
hour:
dcJla bafte kugi.
(It's)
twenly to ten
(Lit.
twenfi to
strike ten).
For railway timetables and the like the equivalent of English 6.35, 8.40,
etc. can be used, using beie or sometimes omitting beje:
tinte beje poytallil 3.45
nc[a-scter6 9.17
2 Obligation
The most common way of expressing obligation(must, haue to) in Bengali
is by an impersonal construction: object case + infinitive + third person
of the verb hcoya
(tn
belbecome). hcoya can be in any tense, depending on
the time of the obligation:
tomake aro kaj k6rte hcbe. You must do more work.
apnake
[anke
iete
hcbe. You must go to the bank.
bcrpa kale lokder noiko k6re In the rainy season
people
haae to
/ete
hcy. go
by boat.
Sometimes the
possessive
case is used instead of the object case,
.
especially if the obligation arises from circumstances, rather than from
anyone actively imposing an obligation:
amar roi osudh khete hcy. I haae to take medicine euery day.
You will also often hear, especially in West Bengal, a contracted form of
the
(singular)
object case in this construction: amay, apnay, tomay:
apnay pcre aste hcbe. You will haae to come later.
- t 0 9 -
Moral obligation, equivalent to English ought or should, is expressed
by the construction:
possessive ofperson obliged * verbal noun + ucit.
In the
present tense no main verb is required, because ucit acts as a
'complement'
to the verbal noun
(see
Unit 14,
p.
51):
apnar aro
laka
deoya ucit. You should
giue rnore monE.
To make such a sentence negative, use nc- as in other subject-
complement constructions:
ato beJi khaoya ucit ncy.
(You)
oughtn't to eat so much.
For the future use hcbe(na), and for the
past use chil6(na).
(This
is done
with all subject-complement constructions set in the future or
past, not
just
with ucit constructions.) Notice too that the
possessive
can
go after
the verbal noun:
It won't be right
for
me to do this.
I ought to haae done that.
3 More impersonal constructions
The conversation above includes some other idiomatic impersonal con-
structions:
e1a kcra amar ucit hcbena.
amar seta kcra ucit chil6.
apnar s6rdi-kaJi h6yeche.
amar
{harlda
legeche.
(apnar) matha dh6reche?
You haue a cold.
&iL
Of
you
cold it has becorne.)
I haae caught a chill.
Haae
(you) got
a headache?
The tense used here is the
perfect, which will be dealt with
properly rr
Unit 20.
'4
Imperative
Imperative verb forms are needed for commands and
prohibitions. As
you
would expect from
your knowledge of the Bengali verb so far, there
are
polite
and familiar imperatives. There is also a distinction between
present and future imperative:
present for immediate actions, future for
things
you want done in the future.
- i l o -
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
tFl
tPl
kcra
kc16
k6run
k6ro
k6rben
Do!
H E A L T H A N D D I E T
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
tFl
tPl
dakha
dakh6
dekhun
dekho
dekhben
See!
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
IF]
tPl
Jona
fon6
funun
Juno
junben
Hear!
lekha
lekh6
l i khun
likho
likhben
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
tFl
tPl
Write!
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
tFl
tPl
rakha
rakh6
rakhun
rekho
rakhben
Keep!
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
tFl
tPl
khaoya
khao
khan
kheo
khaben
Eat!
-
i l t
-
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
tFl
tPl
dhoya
dhoo
dhon
dhuo
dhoben
Wash!
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N 6 A L I
As with other verb forms ending with 6/o,
you may, with the consonant
stem verbs, come across o for the last syllable of the
present
(F)
imperative, or 6 for the future
(F).
Note that the
(F)
imperative of.asa(to
come) is es6
(or
eso) in the
presertt and future'
It is an important rule in Bengali that for negative commands or
prohibitions the future must be used, whatever the time referred to' If
the negative suffix
-na
is added to the
present imperative, the meaning is
politely emphatic, not negative. With c/6 and a/e verbs, written
(F)
imperatives can be ambiguous, because Bengali spelling does not indicate
the mutation of the vowel sound. In speech, however, the emphatic form
is indicated by a special intonation, as well as by the vowel:
Please sit!
Don't sit.
Please look!
Don't look.
With
polite imperatives,
there is no danger of ambiguity:
bcs6 na!
b6sona.
dakh6 na!
dekhona.
gan k6run na!
gan k6rbenna.
Please sing!
Don't sing.
-
l l 2
-
Present
Future
tFl
tPl
tFl
tPl
hcoya
hco
hcn
h6o
hcben
Be!
Present
Future
tFl
IP]
tFl
tPl
deoya
dao
di n
di o
deben
Giae!
H E A L T H A N D D ' E T
In Bangladesh it is normal to use t}te
polite present
tense forms
-
kcren,
bcsen, etc.
-
as imperatives instead of k6run, b6sun, etc. But the latter
forms are recognised throughout Bengal as
'standard'.
5 Negative of
past
fenses
You have no doubt
gathered
by now that Bengali verbs are normallymade
negative by adding
-na:
amidh0mpan k6rina-
I don't smoke.
To the
perfect
and
past perfect
tenses, however
(see
Unit 20, pp. L23-
I24 andUnrt 22, pp.
146-147),
-na
should not be added. Instead
-ni
is
added to the
present
tense:
apnar jvcr asenil
matha dhcrenil
You hauen't
got
a
feaer?
('esechena'
never occurs)
Ym haaen't
got
a lualmhe?
Note that in written Bengali
-ni
must always be attached to the verb. In
this book
-na
has also been attached to help the learner achieve the right
intonation. In the texts in Part Three, however, you
will see that it is
commonly written as a separate word.
Exercises
(a)
First, a simple but important exercise in telling the time.
Answer the question
<St Tffq ? by reading the clock faces below.
Use
I$, IIQ
and Cfr6{ for a quarter past, half past
and a
quarter
to, and for times in minutes use either
C<[69
or
Efq-Cg.
Then repeat the exercise using C{69 throughout
(the
'railway-
timetable method'
-
p.
109). You will need, in addition to the numbers
up to 12, the following numbers
(the
complete table of Bengali
numbers is given in the Review of Part Two, pp.
192-193):
15
'frq=t
20
frq161ffiy
30
fr"t"
45
ilT-\gitft.t
"often
pronounced'tiriJ'.
(Noti cetheobvi ousconj unct
4
+
4
=
F.)
- i l 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N 6 A T I
Remember the variants for the numbers
plus article
(see
Unit 16,
p. 74), and the special words for one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half
that have to be used for 1.30 and 2.30
(unless you
are using the
railway-timetable method). Examples:
+Bt Tf6q ?
TDI TICq ?
) $ u ( Kq ?
\ $tt <fcq I
{fcg {..ril <Eq
/
ErFt 6{rq fut I
uwct <rqr
e&
I
ffi r<m
uRt I
8 SDt <lCq r
a $Df <lcq ?
s $bi <fcq
?
-
i l 4 -
6 n i
V^ril
t;
3
4.,
5,2
t2
4
r
5.
{rot'
. 9
\3,
2\
3.
4.t
s nB<Kqr
H E A L T H A N D D ' E T
(b)
Health is as frequent a topic of conversation in Bengal as the
weather is in Britain. Even the most minor ailments are earnestly
discussed, and detailed advice is freely given.
Fall into this mode by
giving your
own list of
prescriptions
to someone suffering from a
cold, cough and low fever. Use the
Efigi
construction, and the
verbs and phrases indicated. Example:
R'${ $-{t I
qteRR
fiut|r
q=rt
EGq'
r
rtr[s
wTl ) |
c'Il(sFt
el-{|'
t I
tl3I5I
El
"ltsTt
o-,
Stet
q-q
df {lsrt 8_l
{'l
{ts{l c_l
\e$
qlTt
s_l
s' rqil<r<l
q
I
firilr$ dt {trt b
I
afT-4-gb
e1-61
0_,
vlwlslf
Cq{tcil' )o I
ata
uear a sueater.
tB[l
means ta uear or
put
on.
\nuffln, scarf.
.'extended'verb.
See Unit 18, p. 104 and Unit 25, pp.
182-184.
2 You've been spared traditional translation exercises so far, but you
now have enough Bengali grammar
to translate the following simple
sentences. Do the exercise orally, as fast as
you
ciul, repeatedly, to
consolidate the grammar
that has been covered so far: then write it.
(D
Who are
you?
[F]
(ii)
He's
[P]
my friend.
(iii)
What's that there?
(iv)
We have two sons.
(v)
My sister's house is not big.
(vi)
The trees are beautif,rl.
(vii)
How old is your
[F]
father?
(viii)
The post-office
is near the station.
- i l s -
T E A C H Y O U R S E L F B E N G A
(ix)
How many children are there in your
[F,
plural]
class?
(x)
Isn't he
[F]
Bengali?
(xi)
He
[P]
doesn't eat rice.
(xii)
Put
[F]
the books on the table.
(xiii)
What time will
your
[F]
mother come?
(xiv)
Will
you
[P,
plural] eat at nine?
(xv)
Can
you
[F]
sing?
(xvi)
He
[F]
doesn't want to work.
(xvii)
It won't be inconvenient to
you
[P]?
(xviii)
You
[F]
must
go
there on Thursday.
(xix)
Please
[P]
sit next to my elder brother.
(lo<)
You
[F]
didn't catch a chill?
- i l 6 -
20
-MEETIIIG
AN ARTIST-
Conversation
You visit a Bengali painter
who lives in New Delhi, near the Triveni Arts
centre. Bengali Market, a
pleasant
conglomeration
of sweet shops and
coffee-houses
is also nearby,
and the artist has
just
finished u
piinting
based on sketches he has made of his favourite coffee-house.
youisk
him
about the
painting,
his work and life generally,
and about Bengalis living in
Delhi.
E
rnfi
qA
ERbt
Ee{
crtcq ?
Frfr
qr"fi
Fffi
qt{F
Frfr
tI,
fllN?
EK
crtcR I
qt"fi
frcq eloft-qtErq
qt{
I
fot,
qF
c-<lqQ {R I cq?rc{
qtrn
Frfrcn< +cq
64qt
q-{, qlw-l
q{
|
ry<R <lstfr r
q-qlQ
+1, sK
c{FKstetQ <tslfr r
-
i l 7 _
\{t"fi
ftfr
qHfi
fffr
qt"fi
fffr
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F B E N G A I - I
mv
qfrt ,q?l|c{
&cqrRa, {t
l$t
+fr-qfrq <fi
$({R{ ?
qetc{
ffi sft-qBcq i-c>r
q< qqgFl
oR t
qE,
cq,
qTFr
6sF{$ cq?F |
"tcn
muno?t
\il:rt<
{&sre
frs
.erq
rs slFlgtm ft-{-ft<
gm
fiQ r
q6+F
frg encqa eQ
qRcs
-
cEfo-q;[,
{ls$-qJsrt,
<Flol,
cS, 6Rq, cqsrIFI
qR
- qt<
<t?r< e<St
Tffi{
Cnrl;{ | {< frR firq 6{"t
Tq-<
Elafq t
tt,
Tnr<
cqrsttr<
qlEI
cstlalt'tutfr m.n
- q{1-n
m:n
qlcet
?
TE-srldrl
q$il
<V
etttq<
fro
.tls-slr<
{fr
qte,
sr< aft-qErq-{ &Er<
qrdFF
trv r
qQ
Ktt
q<
-
Tq-srldrl3t
.tfg
v.F,
qFt
$fr-qEm<
qlwt
s
<r\rslr$
- qtfr q{t6{
{K <FlF Cu?t +c<R t
qPtfr ql;rcq
fAclrq{
z
6ffi ilr6ct<
sfr-EFcq<
q{tq
'|]tRn<
EFI $ifF
q:Il-6q<
ns I
qtfr qilRcq
FmR
qs-<l3l
|
{{
v.|ril carcafcq"
qK
qFrtTr
13
qs
brot
R{
{FI Titcrlp c<Ft crcs
"ilRfr
r
{spt
qF]<
{trE{
qsfr{
7
ffi,
u6<
q?Frs qt'g
WTtq
tt?fr r
R6rcq
qt{R qR
Rfu
sKR{ ?
{-o-wr
fuTft
qNFr
"rr+tt
qR
ft64qq,
vK
frfir"t
qtTrr
6sl-rqt eRRfi
qsfi
t
'qfrfrr;4'.q<
qql
cs[rll
<l<ql'rq cA
?
qrq
<?. fr
-'qq-fr'
r
fr-eqqfi
q$!
ofri r
?tc<fr
cqfr$
qffs
w
qlllcq<
{ffif{
Urs.R
I
frfus {tsrft cqcc'rrc{rt
q{R
<|ffi
qIF
?
<l(El
T{IN
eflK,
scll {qcs
'tlK, g.K
\trc{6s
fre1-6\o
'fgp
"fIK{t
r
qsDt
<V <lffit
Tq
qfcq"
s6{
qffir$
Rc<-fr
Tt{iN<
5n
$t I
qPFrr<
cqrq-crcll
?
s<N
Rqrsft
ErE
rtf{,
rlra
Rr<q
lt{rtrl
'fc9
|
qt"fi
fffr
qqfi
ftft
qt"fi
nfr
qt"fi
ftfr
\{t"fi
ftfr
-
l l 8
-
M E E T I N G A N A R T I S T
ftft
qf"fi
\e
-
{c<{R
I
qlqf, qM
UD
I
qfi
6<t{
q{ qt"Ft{
qr{ q?
+mR r
e$!s {t I
ql9|_{<
{rq
qEH
n-c<
qNK
{<
vlcdl-f
c4c5|(e I
Translation
and notes
You Is this
picture
finished?
Artist Yes, more or less finished.
You Do you go
to this coffee-house yourseH?
Artist Yes, I go
almost every day. One can meet and talk with
other artists there.u
You
(Are
they) all Bengali?
Artist Not all, but most of them are Bengali.
You Did you paint
all the picture
here, orb did you
begin
(it)
sif
ting in the coffee-house?
Artist First I sat in the coffee-house
and did the sketches for it.
Here, look at my sketch-book. Then I brought the sketch-
book
(back)
to my studio and slowly worked it up on a large
canvas.c
You You've brought lots
(of
things) into this picture
-
people,
food, cups, plates,
tables, pictures
on the wall
-
and a
flower-stall outside. I love the way you've
combined every-
thing.
Artist Yes, look at the red roses of the flower-stall
-
how do
you
like
(them)
here? The flower-seller is sitting peacefully
un-
der a big tree, but inside the coffee-house
th"r"'. a
great
crowd. I've tried to capture here these two feelings: the
peaceful
expression of the flower-seller,
and the coffee-
house's gossip
and busy activity.
You Have you
been to France? Bengali Market's coffee-house
society is rather like Paris caf6 society.
Artist I've been to Paris once. I liked it a lot, but because I had
very little money I couldn't go
to caf6s much.
You Perhaps you'll go
back one day?
Artist Certainly, but up till riow I haven't had a chance.
You Have you
sold pictures
abroad?
Artist One or two foreigners have bought a few of my pictures,
but I haven't had an exhibition abroad.
-
i l 9 _
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F B E N G A I . I
You Isn't there any Bengali word for'exhibition'?
Artist Of course there is
-
'qq-ffi'
! But the word is a bit diffi-
cult. Lots of words have come into our Bengali from
English.
You Do the Bengali children in Delhi all know Bengali?
Artist They can understand Bengali,
(and)
can speak it too, but
manyd can't read or write it. There is a big Bengali school,
but many
go
to English medium schools.
You Your children?
Artist They also
go to an English school, i.e. they study through
English medium.
You Oh
-
I see. Well, I must
go now.e I've
probably wasted
your
time!
Artist Not at all. It's been a
pleasure to meet
you.
"aqqa
is a favourite Bengali pastime: it means sociable chatting and
gossiping. Note the
conjunct.
bRemember
that na is used to mean or when
you
are
posing alternatives in questions.
.Notice
the idiomatic use of a compound verb
-
tule deoya
(Lit.
ta lifi uP). See the
Grammar section below.
aThe -e
ending on cnek,
giving it the mearttngman,
PeoPle,
is not a locative, but an archaic
plural ending that has survived in a few words. loke bcle
(PeoDle
sq) is another common
idiom.
"u[hi
literally me ans May I get up?: this is not the first person of the present tense but a first
person imperative. See Verb tables, p. 204.
Grammar
1 Past
participle
.The
past participle is very important in Bengali
grammar. Many functions
that in English are handled by conjunctions and subordinate clauses are
expressed in Bengali by
participles. They are also used to form com-
pound verbs. The forms of the
participles for the
paradigms given in
earlier chapters are as follows:
kcra k6re hauing dnne
dakha
dekhe haaing seen
- t 2 0 -
fona
lekha
rakha
khaoya
dhoya
hcoya
deoya
M E E T I N 6 A N A R T I S T
fune
l i khe
rekhe
kheye
dhuye
h6ye
diye
haaing heard
hauing witten
hauing hept
hauing eaten
hauing washed
hauing become
hauing giuen
When I'ue
finished
the letter I
shall go
to the bank.
Participles
were used in the Conversation above in various ways:
(a)
They connect two sentences where in English it would be natural to
use and:
ami k6phi-hause b6se khcs66a
I sit in the cffie-house and make
k6ri.
sketches (Lit.
Hauing sat in the
coffee-house I make sketches).
apni dcr6jala bcndh6 k6re asun.
(Please)
shut the door and come
Gd.
Or participles
can be used where English uses a subordinate clause
introduced by conjunctions such as when or after
You can see tlat this makes for considerable concision in Bengali:
bhat kheye es6.
Come when you
haue had
your
meal.
(b)
Participles are used to form a very frequent type of compound verb
in Bengali. In English you
make compound or'phrasal'verbs
by combin-
ing a verb with a
preposition: gei
up, carry on, take after, etc. A similar
(colloquial)
role is played
by Bengali verbs that combine the participle
of
one verb with the finite form of another:
to bring
(Lit.
hauing taken come)
to take something somewhere (Lit.
hauing
taken go)
to come back
(Lit.
hauing returned corne)
to
go
back
(Lit.
hauing returned go)
to go
away, moue off
(Lit.
hauing moued go)
to eat up
(Lit.
hauing eaten throw)
to go
for
a stroll, to come by a round-about
route (Lit.
hauing wandered come)
- , 2 1 _
cithiti
tep
k6re ami lyanke
iab6.
nrye asa
niye
iaoya
phire asa
phire
iaoya
c6le
/aoya
kheye phala
ghure asa
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F S E N G A T '
Be alert to compound verbs of this type as they occur in the Conversa-
tions and texts in the chapters that follow
-
especially as they are rarely
listed in Bengali dictionaries.
(They
are, however,
given
in the Glossary
at the end of this book.)
(c)
The
participles
of certain verbs are combined with ach- to express
states: thus ami b6se achi means I am sitting. The
present
continuous
tense
(see
Unrtzl,
p. 133) wouldmean.I amintheactorprocessof sitting
dnwn. The past
of ach- would be used if
you
wanted to say.I was sitting:
ami b6se chilam. Because ach- has no future form
(see
Unit 18, p.97),
thaka is used with the
participle if
you
want to express states in the
future:
ami tomar
j6q6
gol parke b6se I will sit
(wait)
for
you
in Gol
thakbo. Park,
(d)
The
past participle k6re
(haaing
dnne) is used to turn adjectives into
adverbs in Bengali. Some adverbs are special words: e.g. tagatagi
(quirkly),
dhire-dhire
(slowly),
or
Jiggir
(soan),
but almost any adjective
can be turned into an adverb by adding k6re:
There are, however, other idiomatic ways of making adverbs, using
words like bhab or rck6m, meaning way or mannen
bhalo k6re
kharap k6re
sund6r k6re
Jant6
bhabe
bicchiri rck6me
bcner bhitor diye
ieona
ami maihe-majhe babar kach
theke cilhi pai.
well
bonb
beautifully, etc.
calmly
(in
a cabn way)
nastily
(in
a nasg, uglt wai
Don't
go
through the
forest.
I somet'imes
get
letters
from
Fathzr.
(e)
As has already been noticed in Unit 17
(see
p. 83), some past
participles are used as
postpositions. Remember that this type of
postposition
does not require the
possessive case in the
preceding
noun
or
pronoun:
skuf theke piclay phire asbo.
(I'll)
returnfrom school atfiae.
dcJ ncmb6r bas bajar h6ye
iayna.
Bus No. 10 does not
go
ain the
yaksi k6re asun.
bazaar.
Come by taxi.
Participial and non-participial
postpositions can be combined:
- 4 2 2 -
U E E T I N 6 A N A R T I S T
kach theke is used instead of theke when people
rather than places
are
involved. Notice that the non-participial postpositions
drop their locative
-e
ending when they are combined with participles.
2 Pertect
tense
Past participles
are used to form two of the Bengali past
tenses: the
perfect
and the past perfect.
The first of these occurs several times in the
conversation
above. It is roughly equivalent to the English perfect
tense, which is used to express past
facts or actions where the exait time
is not significant:
apni ki amerikay giyechen?
Q,
ami gi yechi .
Haue
you
been to Amer'ica?
Yes, I haae been
(therd.
The use of the various past
tenses in Bengali is, however, rather
mysterious.
Several of the perfect
tense forms in the conversation
above would be translated most naturally by a simple past
form in English
(Did
you paint
the
picture
here?, rather than Haue you
lainted
the
piture
here?). Notice also how the artist slipped into the present:
p16th6me ami
kcphi-hause b6se er khcJ6lala k6ri, where, in English, you
would use the
past.
The perfect
of kcra is conjugated as follows:
1
ami k6rechi
2
tFl
tumi k6rech6
3
tFl
se k6reche
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini k6rechen
For all the other verb-types, take the past participles given
above, and
add the same endings.
(There
is the usual variation in the spelling of the
6/o ending.) Note that
iaoya
(to
go)
uses a different root for its past
participle (giye)
and for the perfect
tense formed on it. And it has an
alternative contracted form common in colloquial speech:
I
2
IF]
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
ami giyechi
tumi gi yech6
se giyeche
apni/tini giyechen
or gechi
or gech6
or geche
or gachen
- t 2 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N 6 A I . '
There is also a common colloquial variant of the
perfect tense
(for
any
verb) using the
past participle plus gechi, gach6, etc' Thus instead of ple11a
p6Jeche
(The
flate
has
fallen),
you can say ple11a p66e geche. At the
beginning of the Conversation above, a common idiom meaning
is finished
was used:
ei ch6bila h6ye gache?
Is this
picture
finished?
(pcJa
and hcoya can be combined with
iaoya
in other tenses too, but don't
assume that this is
possible with all verbs.
)
Remember that to form the negative of the
perfect tense,
-ni
is added to
the
present
(see
Unit 19,
p. 113):
ami ch6bila
Jep
k6rini.
amar eksibiJcn hcyni.
I haue not
f.nished
the
Picture.
I hauen't had an exhibition.
The second sentence above is an impersonal construction
(Lit.
Of me
exhibition has not become), The Conversation also includes an import-
ant impersonal use of laga to express like and dislike: this will be dealt
with in the next unit.
Exercises
fu) It has been mentioned several times in the units so far that the
Bengali script does not indicate whether $-K
is the
(familiar)
third
person present tense of ffit
,
in which case it would be
pronounced
kcre, or the
past participle, in which case it would be
pronounced
k6re. A similar
problem arises with
C4({
(:
dakhe/dekhe). Read
the following sentences,
predicting the right
pronunciation of the
word in bold in accordance with its
grammatical function. The
answers are
given in transcription on
p. 282. Example:
fr
9IFTI
rtf{
$-c< |
se bhalo gan kcre
)
qlfr
6ft{
qffi
I
\ cq 6M
Ttr<-{
C"[FI I
9
qFKI
drsl T'GI TF I
s c{cTF
w-{
sr< ffi corc"l r
a Bfi
q6-o.sq
{rit" Tcq
qfcqq
I
s
\rffi
S
"fm
{< t
-
t 24-
: T ' N G A N A R T ' S T
q
rsFK
'trfi q1-$
|
b
fr
qfflfr{
6R&fi ca-c{ |
b cqr-dF
$
{s-k flq'tiF-Gr I
)o s3t
qe
{t& cq-cs Dm cftq I
"for
a long time.
{ffi ,
used as a
postposition,
is from the verb
4il
(to
hotfi.
(b)
Now practise
the perfect
tense by filling in appropriate verb
forms. The statements above each picture
describe the action that
has
just
been performed.
Describe the action, using the verb indi-
cated. Example:
RrEF
xtFerc- |
A . A
cqrEIF nIT6r <ffirq I
({{r)
) EF
flLTFr+ Bqqr<
(cn\erl)
q
EE-6{rfr
ffi c"nE
(s-{t)
- t 2 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F 8 E N 6 A t '
e
RT-dF
qs
crlFfrt
q-E
({ITI)
s
@{
dr|{
(qcs
Cq\eTt)
s
ilqbt TC<
($srt)"
6 6affi
("rfl)
I
$
NNrN
-
t 2 5 -
' N 6 A N A R T I S T
,TK
{lTtis
appropriate for a ptant
dying, but for a person
dyrnc
TRt {tTt
should be used
-
a compound unusual in that it uses the verbal noun instead of the
participle.
one of the most important things to master in speaking Bengali is the
frequent use of participles
to connect ideas. Try turning
"aih
of th"
following pairs
of short sentences into one sentence, by turning the
verb in the first sentence into a participle.
If a negative is invoived,
put
na before the participle,
as a separate word. Notice that the
subject of the two clauses is usually the same but not always, e.g.
(vii)
and
(xi).
Remember
that the past participre
of
iaoya
is
!iye.
-
(i)
ami bhat khab6-
amiapise
iab6.
(ii)
apni kol p6renni.
apni kan6 esechen?
(iii)
tumi p6rikSaI pas k6rech6."
tumi kcleje
iete
parbe.
(iv)
ami bajar k6ri.
ami bagi phire asbo.
(v)
tini barqla
fikhechen.
tini edeJe esechen.
(vi)
soja
ian.b
bi dike
ian.
(vii)
b;'p1i h6ye gache.
akal beJ p6ripkar
h6yeche..
(viii)
loklike
Judhu
tin
laka
din.
c6le asun.
(ix)
tumi hat dhooni.
tumi khete aste par6na.
(x)
se gagi kineche.d
se bcl6lok" h6ye gache.
(xi)
tumi c6le gach6.
amader csubidha h6yeche.
(xiD
se pag6l h6yeche.r
se stri baccader khun k6reche.e
(xiii)
ami biJram niyechi.
ami cnek bhalo achi.
(xiv)
cheleli khub beJi mipti kheyeche.h
chele[ir b6mi h6yeche.i
- , 2 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N C A
(xv)
ami pl6dhanm6ntriri sc0ge kctha b6lbo.
ami scb
[b6stha
k6rbo.k
.You
haoe
passed
the exam. Note the use of the locative case ending on p6rlkga
-
ezarz.
b(Jo
straight.
.The
skt has become nice
(and)
clear.
*ena, to buy.
erich
man
(Lit.
big rntn).
(He
has gone mad.
ctrIe
has murdcred his wife
(and)
children.
hThe
bal has eaten tno many sueets.
iThe
bot has been i;ic&
-
impersonal construction.
ipime
minister.
kI
shall arrange eoerything.
(xn)
and
(xv)
contain'triple' conjuncts:
Handwriting Print
I + 9 + K = U E
{ + E + K =
E
q
The
I
in the first, like the
q
in
<I{qt
in
(xv),
is pronounced's'
not'sh'
(see
Unit 2,
p.
9, and
pp. 269-270).
Sometimes Bengali sentences contain a whole string of
participles.
See if
you
can link the following eleven sentences into one long
sentence by using
participles. Look up in the Glossary any words
whose meaning
you
cannot
guess.
se khub bhore o1he. se ca khay. se dit maie. se snan kcre.
se pal-bhaqa dhuti pcre.
se
juto
paliJ kcre. se beJi bhat" khayna.
se chata nay. se ta6ataJi hete
yay.
se apise ase. se nctar m6glhye kal k6rte
Juru
kcre.
"Office
workers in Calcutta often have bhat
(a
rice meal) at home before they leave for
work.
The solution is in the Key to the exercises on
pages 282-283.
- t 2 8 -
2L
TALKING
TO
A CHILT)
Conversation
A friend in Calcutta takes you
to his uncle's house for tea. Various other
friends and relatives turn up at the same time, and the conversation gets
too fast and
jocular
for you
to follow very well. You decide to practise
your
Bengali at a
gentler pace
with
your
friend's uncle's five-year-old
grandson.
You pick
up a picture
book that he has been reading, and also a
"lld
kxercise-book)
in which he has been practising
his hand-writing.
Speaking to children is a good
way of building up
your
linguistic compe-
tence, but remember that they are unable to make the kind of allowances
that adults can: you
must work hard to pronounce
what you
say as
correctly as possible,
otherwise
you
won't be understood!
lEl
qqfi
I
4IIE
qbt
f t mmr<Qr
ql|<
m, ftfrTR,
sc<
qlfr
"t-VR
r 6.fl{
-om{cn-<
<t&< otrq
qfi
cn6il
qcq
I cqlT
qlqr%
cqr
TlCq I'
VR
qI<
qcail 'tv6o
"tR
ret r
qtR q<-R
"lvrc
"ttR
r e?F
qt6r{
cqqff fiqQ r
qQ
c{
qlnK
?iltrl
fi{ |
q"m4
frfrTlR elNK C{?II"
q<T
qt"fi
{rG
- t 2 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 E N 6 A I . I
frcu-frcD
\ilrr<
I
\Tt{fi
Wp<
cq?|I Ft{ro 6\9=NK
efcFrl
Elr[q ?
TG
q<E
{sn r <E
"Me
sl6t
Et(rt
-
ftftll<
qrq
qcrctnt
<R
"tcqR
r
qf"fi
NFrFr
EIF<
c{?fi
e<qifts<
cqmcrmcrl cD-6{
wci?F
sfrql
|
$Q {q<
|
{rG
KI
fr{cg {gN
elfc<;il
t
qt"fi
NFIK <rrc{<
RC-'fc{c-T{t
qs
slmt +m frqro-
eigrc
"|rcffi
|
qtql, qe
RRcs
fr
<q
r
{ftr ed 6il GaTI
! sbt
qtr66am
r <|m1il
rg
Ugfo&
Ti(q
I
qPrfr
Vfi
llmt nlc<l fldll-N {\s ?
qltlstcqlall{
TrnQ
?
il&
q+-<l=l
| <Kr<
qs
cetR I wrrs cqr+
Rq
r
qt"tfr
.q{fcq
ft cq{r
qftq
r
'q-1fr-54-s
68.
t'
q<l
rr<
trycs
pn-e
c+;r ?
dt& fr
qtR,
Et
qtfr
r<t're
t<R+t r
qt"fi
.qe
firu-<
qRqr+
Vfr
frrT <( sr<q ?
\ee
<"-cqqfrEtml
frcq
t
TG $r<R r
qfr qrd?F
qR-BR
frtft r
qnt<
{ls-t cq"l I
qqfr
,abt
cetTm frrTK
qm
qR
r e8 NKF ft
q<cq
r
mc.lF c+
I
TG crcrF {turq r
\e \TNK
c+E m r
qt"fi
<
UE
q{fi
Tcs< GF;l ?
{rG Rcrft crm Nl,
sR
r
urc<
<(
qqm
I culcq;t
<i ftE |
<
{T
qffi-6-K
I
qtqF q qF
a+rc
"tNR
|
{v-{
EqT $fa;rt
U-q
I
gfr
c$'F[
TrE
{l\e ?
{rG
'qffifr
KE'-,q
qR
r
qll<
trut<
cF
EQ
| <lwlcq<
{<
TCS I
qpfi
e6-fi
Frr"tq
r
drtr il,
t{.
<tqEl I
s(<
ftR ftg
a(r<q
qlfi
-
vai,
$IF, T[q'K, TtqFr
-
T A L K I N G T O A C H I L D
\rf"tF
Qqrsfr
q3l't qF
?
{G srF,
Q,
{S, crT{, TFg
-
qn qfr+
r
qt"fi
<t<el
q(qr
?F.ts
r
qtF
Rt
"itrs
q.lfr,
sK'K
qNK
$q[ cqlc< r
{rG
,qq,
qtfr
NN|cs {At.t oR r el R,
qlTtsr q]EtTr
frft$
vp
aaaffi Rrqrq | {q 6st eA fr r
qf"tfi
qfr*t
r
um sbt
qfi qtfr{i
r
qlc<l
Frcq frre
qc<
r
q]5ql, q?F qTNt
\TITftS
VFFCq
I CSFIK TCq
'H
T-C<
qn];r
{<
vlm
mcefcq r
qtfr -
qKF
c4{t
qc<
I
4G wF mmnn< sqfn
w{ctt
qsfr{
r
qt"fi
6{.t Nt |
{<
vlcalt
qtrlc<, qrfr{ qq
1
Translation
and notes
You Is this
your
book?
Grandson Not mine, Grandmother's,
but I'm reading
(it).
Listen:
'There's
a fair going
on now near the Sens'house.
peo-
ple
are coming and going.'
You You can read very well!
Grandson I can read everything.u I'm learning handwriting now.
Look at my exercise book. Here is Grandmother,s writ_
ing, and mine below.
You Are you
enjoying tearning to write?
Grandson It's all right.u I like reading books too
-
I've read lots of.
books with grandmother.
You Your handwriting is much better than English chil-
dren('s). Very beautifirl.
Grandson Can't they read and write?
You
Children of your
age can't write or read so well. Well,
what's happening in this picture?
Grandson It's a fairld That's a big wheel. The children are spiruring
(round)
very fast.
You Do you
sometimes go
to the tair? Have
you
been on a
big wheel?
Grandson Once. I've been with Father. There were lots of
peo-
ple.
- t 3 l -
C H Y O U R S E T F B E A
You What's written here?'
'Magic
tent.'Why are all these
(people) going
into the tent?
Grandson I don't know, I don't know about that.
You Did you
colour this
picture
below
yourseH? With those
coloured
pencils?
Grandson I did. I draw lots of
pictures
and things. Look at my
exercise-book.
You Is this
your own
picture?
What is this
girl doing? Who is
she?
Grandson She's dancing. She isn't anyone I know.r
You Why is her hair yellow-coloured?s
Grandson A foreign
girl,
that's why. Her hair's
yellow. Her eyes
are blue. Her friend's from this country.
You I can see that. Beautiful long black hair. Which school
do
you go
to?
Grandson I go to'Harmony School'. My teacher is very strict. She
scolds the children a lot.
You Have
you learnt English?
Grandson No,
just
Bengali. But I know some English
-
dog, cat,
mother, father
-
You Do
you
know English numbers?
Grandson One, two, three, four, five
-
I don't know any more.
You Bengali numbers are very hard. I know
(them)
up to
twenty, after that my head spins.
Grandson Come, let me test
you.
Here, Grandmother has written
all the numbers in my book. Tell me, what's this?
You Thirty-six. But I don't know that
(one).
I must learn
(some)
more. OK,
(your)
Dada is calling me now" I've
much enjoyed chatting to
you.
I'll be off nowh
-
(I'll)
see
you
again.
Grandson I'll come to
your place
one day.
You That would be fine. I'd like that verv much. come one
day.
"{s
elsewhere in the Conversations so far, the particle
-i
attached to scb conveys
emphasis. In English, you would simply stress the word'everything'.
bak(-i)
rck6m
(Lit.
one &znd) is used idiomatically to express lukewarm approval.
.tnek
(much,
many) somettrnes takes
-gulo
when applied to countable objects.
dlt's
obvious that it's a fair! Hence the use of the
particle to.
"An
idiomatic use of ach- with lekha: Lit. What writing is here?
rLit.
She's not dnjone of mine.
cNotice
that the word for colour, rrrt
(<()
is spelt with
$
when it takes the adjectival
-
132
-
T A L K I N 6 T O A C H I L D
pos-sessive
ending
-"r(<'CK),
meaning coloured. This is because you
cannot add vowels
to
( (see
Unit 3, p.
14).
hLit.
May
(I)
comei
-
a polite
way of taking leave, to which the normal
(adult)
reply would be
es6 or asun. Like ami tomake p6rikpa k6ri
(
Let me test pu) this is a first person
imperative
(see
Verb tables, p. 204). (ami) asi? can also be used when you
want to enter aroom: May
I come in?
Grammar
1 Present
continuous
tense
The present
continuous tense corresponds
closely to its English
equiv-
alent. It is used for actions or events that are taking place
at ihe preient
time
(1/i
raining)
or for pre-arranged
future actioni or events
e'mflying
to calcutta tomorrow). The forms for the present
continous of kcra are:
There is no vowel mutation
within the tense, so you
can, from the
following first person
forms, work out the forms for the other persons:
dakha
Jona
l ekha
rakha
khaoya
dhoya
hcoya
deoya
ir{otice the double sound with the
conj unct:D +
R
=
Q..
I
ami k6rchi
2
tFl
tumi k6rch6
(or
k6rcho)
3
IFI
se k6rche
2 & 3
tPl apni/tini k6rchen
ami dekhchi
ami
Junchi
ami l i khchi
ami rakhchi
ami khacchi
ami dhucchi
ami h6cchi
ami di cchi
vowel-stem
verbs
-
written with the
-
t 33
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F S E N G A I . '
2 Comparisons
The participle ceye from caoya
(to
want, ask
for)
is used to make
comparisons in Bengali. The person or thing with which the comparison
is being made
goes into the
possessive
case:
se amar ceye buddhiman. Helshe
(is)
rnore intelligent than
I
(am).
ami tomar ceye cnek kcm
jani.
I know much less than yau.
There are no special comparative forms for the adjectives like English
bigger, smaller, less, etc. If
you
want to make an adjective comparative
without making an explicit comparison with anything,
you
can do so with
the word aro
(
9t6fl
-
,nore, sometimes spelt 9lT[
)
or with cnek
(muth\:
Thaf s
(eaen)
bi.gger.
Thaf s mrch better!
Superlatives are expressed with the compound scbceye
(than
all):
ota amar scbceye p1iy6 b6i. Thaf s mg
faaourite
(dearest)
book.
ami klaser scbceye boka chele I was the stuPidest boy in tlu
chihm. class.
In the Conversation above, strictly speaking tomar hater lekha
in;lyarlder chefemeyeder ceye cnek bhalo means Your hnndniting is
mrchbetterthanEngland's children.It would be more grammatical
to say
tomar hater lekha irqlya4{er chelemeyeder hater lekhar ceye cnek
bhalo
(Your
handwritinsis much betterthnn the handwriting of England s
children)
-
but the meaning is
perfectly
clear in context.
theke/scbtheke can be used instead ofceye/scbceye, in exactly the same
way, with the same meaning.
3 Like/dislike
The Conversation contains several occurrences of the very common
impersonal construction with bhalo and laga to express like and dislike.
To say I like mangop.s,
you
say, Lit. Of me margoes it strikes well:
amar am bhalo lage.
sela aro bcg6.
sela cnek bhalo!
- t 3 4 -
In the present
continuous tense, the meaning is close to Engftsh enjoy:
apnar ki b6ip bhalo lagche?
Are you
enjoying the book?
Sometimes the word order is switched round:
oi philmla amar bhalo lagbena. I won't enjoy that
film.
To express lihe * averb, either the infinitive (see
Unit 1g, p.
9g) or the
verbal noun can be used:
barqla
Jikhte
apnar ki bhalo Are you
enjoying leaming
lagche?
Bengali?
tomar ei mcd khaoya amar I don't like your
drinking alcohot
akdcm bhalo lagena.
at all.
In the second example above, the infinitive
would not be possible,
leclgse
different persons
are involved (your
drinking: my riaction
to
i/). If the persons
are the same, the verbal noun sounds slightly more
'general'
than the infinitive, but as in Engtsh there is really very little
difference:
oi
trene
k6re
iete
amar khub I like to go
on that train_
bhalo lage
trene
k6re
iaoya
amar khub I like going
by train.
bhalo lage.
If like/dislike is directed at a person,
the person goes
into the object
case:
se loklike amar ekluo bhalo
lagena.
I don't like thatperson at all.
Various intensifying
words can be added, as in the last sentence, which
you
will pick
up gradually.
kharap
(bad)
canbe used instead of bhalo . . . na
to express strong dislike:
oi
{icarke
amar khub kharap
lage.
I can't stand that teacher.
Or sund6r
(beautiful)
can be used to express strong liking:
oi
Ja;ilay
tomake sund6r lagche! You're loaely in that sari!
There are other ways of expressing like and dislike in Bengali: with the
verb bhafobasa(to loue), for example, often applied to favourite foods; or
the verb pcch6nd6 kc"a(to like,
prefer);
but bhalo laga is an indispensable
element in the language.
- t 3 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N 6 A t I
Exercises
I
(a)
Practise making comparisons by describing the
pairs
of
pictures
on
pp.
136-137, and by using the demonstrative adjectivesqVgQ
and the appropriate form of the definite article. Some of the words
have been filled in for
you. Example:
qq
il&bt
sR
6fi&bt<
curr <V I
KCD I
'Lit.
of less age.
bLit.
This nan that man than in age small.
- t 3 6 -
a
qQ
cqtsF R
cql$tr<
l b
qqt
I
$'T <]Kq3la I
{TC{
_
t 37
_
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A I I
c$ril |
g
(b)
Now'disagree' with the following expressions of like and dislike
by repeating the statements in the negative or affirmative. Remem-
ber the use of
fi
for the negative of the
past
tenses
(see p. 113).
If
13
is used in the affirmative, use
CAft
i" the negative. The
emphatic
{$
can become
q$!e
@t
alt) in the negative.
Example:
qNK ql{
{<
slcdrl
qlcri
I
qlTl-r qlE
c{ft
sTrqt
qtcrF{t
r
)
qe
{RF
qFrl3r
elcdrt
Etrlcq I
\ frElbt
q|{r<
s|cil
c{crtcq I
\, sR
C:rc{FCs
qF[lK
esls
sfCFIt
q]-ctFl
I
8 s{l-G
CTF
qlTlsl
$e
glrqt
qttl(<
|
a
rff{rjF
qFrFr
mft
vn4t
etrtR r
s
{dr{ s-{t
ql{K
{<
slrqt
qlcst
I
q qfi qln
c?tN
qFrK
{{
elmt
qtslK
r
b
{t(Et c"t?ll
qIl-<
mfr
vnql
Elrlc{{l I
- t 3 8 -
T A L K I N G T O A C H I L D
b <
sRot
qNR
srm
qlcatR
r
>"
18re
6
qent
qmr<
$R
qrqt
qkq
I
You have now been introduced
to four Bengari
tenses
-
the present,
the future, the perfect
and the present
continuous
-
as well as the
infinitive,
the past participle,
the present
and past
of ach_
(with
its
special present
tense negative
ner), and nc-
(the
negative
ofthe zero
verb). Remember
also that thaka
(to
stay) functions
as a future tense
for ach-. see now if
you
can supply the missing
verbs in the following
sentences,
iudgrng
from the context what would be the most upprol
priate
tense or form, and whether to give
it a negative
suffix oi not.
The verbs you
should use are given
in brackets in tn"it verbal noun
form
(apart
from ach- and nc-, which have no verbal noun).
(D
akaJe megh k6rche. jhc6
-.a
(asa)
(ii)
ami bajare ya$!i.
tumi baJite
na amar scote
asDe(
(thaka)
(iii)
at6 bcJ6 gagi ei rastay
parbena.b
({hoka)
(iv)
ami khub klant6.
akh6n ar pcJaJona
_.c
(kcra)
(v)
dakh6 ki h6yeche!
kuku4a be6allike mere
_.
(phala)
(vi)
ami rol dcJ kap ca
_.
(khaoya)
(vii)
apni scmcst6
r6bindr6rcc6nab6lid
_?
(pcra)
(viii)
amra tin ghcq[a
dh6re
_ achi.
(bcsa)
(ix)
na, ei
jamala
ami kinbona. er rcrr1ta amar bhalo
(laga)
(x)
amader pcJaJona
bhalo
_. amra cnek
Jikechi.
(ccla)
(xi)
uni barrlla b6lte parenna.
uni ba4ali
(nc-)
(xii)
akh6n amader bagite bathrum h6yeche..
age amader
bathrum
(ach-)
-
t 39
-
(xiii)
se sara din n6dir dhare b6se ache, t6bu kono mach
- . f
(paoya)
(xiv)
apnar ato sund6r up6har ami pr6lyaJa
(kcra)s
(xv)
basla kclar scmcy -? ami cpekpa k6rte parina.h
(chap)
În
the shy clouds are making
(formin0.
A stonn is coming.
aSuch
a big car will not be able to enter (Qhokal this street.
car
means marehete.
dall
of Rabindranath's collected works.
.has
become, i,e. has been built.
t
He has been sifting
b
the riuer all day, but he has not got ant
fish.
t6bu is stronger than
kintu or tcbe, and,means neaertheless, nofuiithstanding, etc. For kono
(some,
any) see
Unit ZS,
p. 158. Note that there is no Bengali perfect continuous tense
(has
been
sitting). The present continuous, or
participle + ach- construction
(p'
122) is used.
cpr6qala
kcra, to erfect.
hWhat
time will thz bus leaae? I cannot wait.
- l , o -
22
- CONVERSATION
OI{-
A TRAIN
Conversation
You are staying in chittagong,
and are returning
there by train after a few
days in Dhaka. You start talking to a student who is travelling
back to
chittagong
university to start the new term.
you
tell him about".hut you
did and saw in Dhaka, and ask him about his studies and ambitions.
@
eta^
"q{R
fiEtuts {tcq{
P
qHf{
q't, qnRs
,
qtq
&,
\Ttfr qe,
DUq|r
ffiqiEm
ql&
|
qHfr
erficq
s{{s crlcR{ ?
qt"fi qo<Fl
FmRqN I
qt:rt;r
o-q-{
q]ft qt qnq
uEffi.Fm
I
qrfr{
fr
qtr.l-c$
frcr F[-IRE,
eqtFl-ol=l
fiBF w{364 |
'
qE
cotcqt
q<rt"rs<
{cq ffiql n-<-re
{ffirqq r
qT"fi
q1,
E6-qF
Rfcrrr<
>rcq
I
RfE

-
frfr Cs'l
qTKe
q<ll1T
I
qs
Rgifcrf
"fgfq
r
qT"fi qt{R
wcq w{dlv(q{
?
Rlq'
Wcs
qffr g.R
{VrE CIraREF,
\e-K
qrF
fic.l {-.t
- t 4 r -
qt"fi
w
qt"fi
RE
$r<
a.q-ilfift
Rfs-t
Nt
q<
6$ffrl w+R
"ttsxl
Tffil I
eR
q|fr q?F
tRqrBtc{ urq ecqR
-
u6<
\n-{rB'
q?F qq
tfrmt frco
q6q, ql<fiffi
Rc{6<
|
qt{fr
DFFl3r
CEf$ ?
& r
sR6E uror
ffiqneIT
5re
unfr m{ ?
!t-ol
R{RniHc{
{<
c{ft <teaF
q{
-
crtforfa
ma?
effe$
| wF ilq-fttr sRil, crq{r
qfo
crcs
\Tlrl-<
tq
qlR
r ffilatts
uroK
cuc-q e$!
U'f-Dfef
I
DFFI
?gffi
q{R
cq-cql-cqq r
E'<
Ce|cS
qffif(n-<
nr6q
qE
mt cqc?rE | $]t"'t]_cffI
Fsc< <l?F r
Dt-$F
qFl-<
<5-{ <tqt cct6s
qrq-cq-<
fiRq ca{t <fi
qlc4r-Tl6<r, qF
$
rrq
rilil w I
elu
qq-q-<|c< q$Et
trE I
qt"fi
6n-c{Rary{ 7
il, 6q{qfr r mfrq
qtl{t
K-s,11 fffiq]r,
Dfs'K
nRr< r
sc<
'tc<<
ftq rtrfffi frRcq<
"m<
mffiq
-
qtfr
t_ru& r
w$K
qK
6s'f{ mF
qlTrrflT
Ftc-{Raqq
?
qfKEcn
r
';rr+t
Df$t ?
q
fu< ?
Ifr-cfrrq<
frcs
z
et<G{f
urF
tffiEF r
qiTEm
rlqs
qtEF
r
{Qq frqr< iffi4;q,
qT.c.t
m-{stRrc t
bi,
qilc<
IC-cfrSt
s4?trc lffiiln r
ftrq o-c< crlcE{
?
q{K
<-{<
rfi&
$c< |
qlrflFt
stil
WK
-
s?tf({
Fn-T
qNlK qr+<
S"rc<
{<
et"t
"tryRE
t
s< uKfrco
<trtFr,
q-E{Kt
{<
Drqs'K I
q.tfu
Tk-<
q{T q([r.t qFKl
wfls fr<
e
q6{$
cqt {-s.Fr.
qffi-qg
r
qbt
Wlfus
aq r
qtfr qtfr
r
qQ
{G Tn
qrrffi qlrr q$Et qrqt
<E.
qt6q
I
qNlK q-q qc{Eq
{Rfsl
q1-6q, q.tfr{sK qr<?.
t ft-e
qtql< qr$x-q-qrffi
Wq
\ilfr
Tm-<
wc$F nqll
TEqR
t
qt"fi
qTq
qt"fi
Rlc
\{t"ift
w
qt"fi
R[q
qt"fi
RF
-
1 4 2 -
I Y E R S A T I O N
O N A T R A I N
qt"fi
fufd
"t|,q
nr<
qt{fr
ft E-Ecs uR r
Wq
{s?r
qrE,
q|fr qtlRst
D-@ {t<,
ql6<t 'ls-fc.t|ql
$:rN I
q-+q(qt
Rm<q frc{ ftR $M s-{tr
qlTtsr
?Rt
qtrq
I
qmr'.i
eq{ eEt
.a+?t
Ts {:rflt I
qT"tfi qcqfu
F|-C-T 1A eqF fr ffi $r,< vtrqt Dl$R<
TcTtrt
c'tcE,
qt{R
ft <tqqlfict fr"6s
q1-q6Ea
7
Rrq
qrn
oR r eR cn$t cq {ft< r
st?
ffi 6qcfi
crlt $-{N uR r
sc<
qt{ft
fi<Q <r-qrqq,
qr.fm
els'_lccilqlK qql
R-crc.t Fm
qr<
6qr"t fr6<
qrqqt
I
qn
e$bt
qrqiT
q6q
6EE[l+npfi
-
qmr,t
Dr$fiT
$qsm
r
qt'tfi
Ftfr-rc-cqtcs-{ Tc{i\e ft
s'R r
qfq
G,
slcq<
Tc{I\g I
K
{q<
qlctf qll|<
<V
vR
qqffiFre
snqt
MA frR
"tt"t
$(<trE r e?rde Dl-sR
"fl{R
r
qpfi qp-s;E
"tf,Ffsl
Cq-t{frC-\es C{sFr_qTql <lgTQ,
q6<
vlcdrt
&fd
qn+rq
{{|<qtr cs:{-{
qd?<t
qrqt
r
Efa
c?t{, DEq|cn
qrq
cqQ | $il"'ffrq
qf{cr{ qsfr{
-
q'Frfm<
{cq
qlrtK{, q;[
RtqTGtr
lfc{s
qfEt1 qc<
I
qt"fi qtfr
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oR
qtq-q< qvlr"lr+t
elcFlt vl(< DFt6<,
qK q'RTR-+l
ccrrs frK
qrq qmrsl
s1641
$fq $;rc$r I
qlq
cu?t o-+crt I cR?[
qr<
I
c"lTat
Efftq
I
qt"tR
c?I|qt
Etfrq
I
Translation
and notes
Student
fue you going (to)
Chittagong?u
You Yes, and
you?
Student Yes, I'm a student, I'm going
to Chittagong university.
Have you
ever been there?
You
I've been once. I have a German friend in Chittagong
city.
One day he took me to the Science Facultv
there.u
-
Student You went to meet some professor?
You
Yes, Professor
Hossain.
- t 4 3 -
Student
You
Student
You
Student
You
Student
You
Student
You
Student
You
Student
You
Student
.You
Student
You
Student
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N 6 A t I
Oh, he's my
professor! He teaches in the Mathematics de-
partment.
Are
you
studying for Mathematics Honours?
At the beginning I wanted to study that, but with a maths
degree, there isn't any employment available apart from
school-teaching.. So I've moved now into Statistics
-
but I
will still have to take an exam in maths as a subsidiary
(subject).
Are
you
a Dhaka
person?
Yes.
Then why didn't
you want to enter Dhaka University?
There's too much politics at Dhaka University
-
constant
trouble. I don't engage in
politics,
so I had no wish to
go
there.d Chittagong is a bit
quieter than Dhaka. Have you
seen Dhaka University?
I've seen
your
Curzon Hall foom the distance. I didn't
go
into the campus. From my friend's house in Dhaka stu-
dents' demonstrations can sometimes be seen, and a lot of
noise can be heard.
There was one last Tuesday. Did you see
(it)?
No, I didn't. That day we had
gone
on a
jaunt,
outside
Dhaka.. But the meeting was reported in the newspaper
the next day
-
I read
(about
it).
What other
places in Dhaka have you been to? The Mu-
seum? Old Dhaka? Shahid Minar? To the Smriti Soudha?
I've been to Old Dhaka. I haven't
yet
been to the museum.
I went to the Shahid Minar, on 21st February. Yes, this
time I went to see the Smriti Soudha.
How did
you get (there)?
In my friend's car" It's a very beautiful
place
-
going
there
made a
great impression on me. The gardens and fountains
all around it are very fine.
During the Independence war we lost many heroes and
many
(of
our) finest
young people. It was built in memory
of them.
I know. I have a good book about the Liberation War.
I was born rn'72, after Liberation.
r
But I've heard a lot
about the war from my relatives.
What do
you
want to do after
(your)
degree?
If
possible, I shall
go
to America, to do further study. I
want to do some work on the
population explosion. This is
now a major
problem in this country.
- 1 4 4 -
You
Student
You
Student
You
Student
You
Student
You
C O N Y E R S A T ' O N
O N A r R A ' N
If you go
to America, get your
Ph.D and
(then)
a chance of
a good
job,
will you
return to Bangladesh?
I hope
(so).
This country is poor, you
know. I want to do it
service. But you
are right, many
(people)
go
abroad for
study and do not return to
(their)
country. Another prob-
lem is the problem
of unemployment
-
in this countrv
(there's)
a great
lack ofjobs.
Even among educated people?
Yes, among them too. Two years
ago my elder brother
got
a good
Economics
degree.s He still hasn't got
a
job.
In Western countries too the problem
of unemployment
is
growing,
but if you
have a good
degree you
don't usually
have much trouble.
Look, we've arrived at Chittagong.
Come to the campus
one day
-
come to our hall
(of
residence),
(you'll)
meet the
other students.
I'd be very happy
(to).
I hope your
studies go
well, and
that after returning from America you
will do
good
work in
this country.
I shall try. See
you!
Khoda Hafiz.h
Khoda Hafiz.
"People
with a knowledge of English shift freely from Englishwords to Bengali words
(e.g.
biJv6bidfelcy/iunibhaniti)
or from Bengali names to anglicised forms of those names
(ccl6grarn/ci1aga4).
bokhankar
is a possessive (adjectival)
form of okhane
(see
3 in the Grammar section
below). Remember that britlwn
(sciente)
is pronounced
'biggen'
(see
unit 17, p.
g2).
.chaJa
(lo
leaue) is frequently usedtoneanapartfrom.
dNotice
this common impersonal construction with iccheliccha (w|sh).
It is either combined
with the infinitive
(as
here) or with the verbal noun-E the-e possessive
case.
'ba6ate
iaoya
is a rather unusual compound using an infinitive rather than a participle,
meaning to go
out and about, to go
on a trif, etc. barate is the infinitive of beJano, an
'extended'verb
(see
Unir 25, pp.
182-184).
rThe
fufl date would be uniJ-Jc-bahatt6r sale
(1972).
sal not bcch6r is used in dates. See the
Review of Part Two
(p.
195).
t{bcr6
bhai is used by Muslims for
'elder
brother' rather than dada. see the list of Kinship
terms onpp. 272-274.
hA
common Arabic valediction used by Bengali Muslims: Lit. Malt God
protcct
you.
In
qfrg-Tq-{
note that
E
(g +
l)
is pronounced
,tt,,
and
remember that the
<-T-El irr
t-g{ is silent
(see
Unit Z, p.
26). Of the
other new conjuncts, three are easily recognisable:
- t 4 5 -
n + g =
3 + c l
=
{ + T =
There are two, however,
E + E i =
'
[ + { = E
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N G A I I
Handwriting
T
that are not so
predictable:
Print
ql
?T
4p
G
q
Grammar
1 Past
perted tense
dakha
.
Jona
lekha
rakha
khaoya
dhoya
hcoya
deoya
In English, the
past perfect
(also
known as the
pluperfect) tense is used
for actions and events that happen earlier than some
past
action or event:
He told me that the
Parcel
had arrived.
In Bengali, the
past perfect is commonly used for any
past
action or event
at a
particular time, except things that have happened in the very recent
past
(for
which the simple
past is used
-
see Unit 23,
p.
156). Like the
perfect tense it is formed on the
past participle, and the endings added
are identical to the
past ofach-
(see
Unit 15, p. 61). So the
past perfect of
kcra would be:
1
2
IF]
3
tFl
2 &3
t Pl
ami k6rechilam
tumi k6rechile
se k6rechi16
(or
k6rechilo)
apni/tini k6rechilen
The other verb types form the tense similarly.
(Remember
that the
past
participle of
iaoya
is giye.) The fust
person forrns are:
ami dekhechilam
ami
Junechilam
ami l i khechi l am
ami rekhechilam
ami kheyechilam
ami dhuyechilam
ami h6yechilam
ami di yechi l am
- 1 4 6 -
C O N Y E R S A I ' O N
O N A T R A ' N
As with the perfect
tense, there is no negative form: instead,
-ni
has to be
added to the present
tense
(this
is the normal rule although you
will hear
some people
saylng giyechilamna,
etc.):
2 Verbal noun *
iaoya
In English'active'
sentences can be converted into'passive'
sentences:
John
droue the car.
The car was driaen bl
John.
Passive constructions
are
possible
in Bengali
(see
Unit 23, p.
1bg),
but are not usually very idiomatic. Instead,
events that affect people
passively
are expressed by impersonal
constructions,
many of which you
know by now. There is, however, a very cornmon construition
usingihe
verbal noun with
iaoya,
which is equivalent in meaning
to the English caz
De construction.
iaoya
can be in any tense, but is always in the third
person:
ekhan theke steJcn dakha
/ay.
The station can be seenfrom here.
oi dokane
{im
paoya
iabena.
(you)
won't be able to get
eggs in
that shop.
iaoya
can be used with itself in this way:
gct6 bcch6re ami banlladeJe
giyechilam.
amar stri
ianni.
amar kache
postapiser
samne
Last year
I went to Bangladesh.
My wife didn't go.
oi di ke
i aoyai ay.
(You)
can go
that way.
If the verbal noun has a
personal
object, the object ending
-ke
should be
used:
oke kothao kh0je paoya
iayni.
He couldn,t be
found
anywhere.
3 Adjectival postpositions
You are familiar now with the main types of
postposition
found in Bengali:
(a)
postpositions
that follow the possessive
case:
near lne
in
front
of the
post
offi.ce
- 1 4 7 _
(b) postpositions which do not follow the
possessive
case, some of
which are verbal
participles:
janafa
diye through
(the)
window
saikel k6re by biqcle
rajniti scmbcndhe* concerning
politirs
picfa nagad by 5 o'clock
+In
this word
(
{q-ffi
)
the b is derived from Sanskrit D rather than u, but even so the
conjunct tends to be pronounced'mm'rather than'mb'.
(c)
combined
participiaVnon-participial postpositions
(see
Unit 20,
p. r22):
bcner bhit6r diye through the
forest
amar kach theke
from
me
It is very natural in Bengali to create adjectival
phrases
by
giving tWe
(a)
postpositions a
possessive case ending. Sometimes the noun or
pronoun
to which the
postposition applies is dropped:
(amader) paJer baJite ora khub They make a lot of noise in the
golmal kcre. house next door
(to
us).
nehru parker samner holella The hotel opposite Nehru Park is
bhalo.
good.
pcrer din tini mara gachen, Helshe died the next day,
(so
I)
Junechi.
haue heard.
4 Words ending in conjuncts
You should be wellaware by nowthat the inherentvowelis frequently not
pronounced at the end of Bengali words: gach, bon, phul, etc. If a word
ends in a conjunct, however, the inherent vowel is
pronounced:
scmcst6,
iuddh6.
If the
possessive case ending is added to such words, the
inherent vowel is dropped:
yiddher pcre after the war
.
c0ker khata maths exercise-book
If the locative case ending is added,
you
can either drop the inherent
vowel and add
-e,
or keep it and add
-te
or
-y
(see
Unit 17, pp.
83-84).
The first method is probably more common:
oi bakse
or oi baG6te/bak6y in that box
(suitcase)
-
1 4 8 -
C O N Y E R S A T I O N
O N A r R A ' N
scmudre
or scmudr6te/scmudr6y
in
(the)
sea
Exercises
L
(a)
Practise
the past perfect
tense by saying after each of the
statements
below that you (or
whoever is mentioned)
did the action
in question yesterday,
last Tuesday, last year,
etc. Example:
ffi
qrq
Rr$cE <ltce {< r
qfi
eForee
vfm
ffiam
r
ffi
qrq
r$
G0 fr{r+r r
)
_
ri\5 qglrEs"
I
?F ffituns {tcqq r
q
_
alg
<R+c<s
_
|
qlaffiq'|q'\e<
{cq
qtql-{
cq{
qc<
|
e
4-6pEfu
glCate
I
fi-+ mCIu
qr{
Ufr
qe{
cctcs R-F $-flcr{ |
3
51s
ap1fus.
_
|
e? <q6( a1-q6
q-qft6a.
1E Eq
r
a
rte
<qKs
I
\TNt3t
cqmNGKt
\Tl-q-cs" qlTEl3
{lC< |
s tftc=
$?TfK\e
_
|
qtR
c"tb wc<
cqrsQ r
q
sldt-css I
qNk
nl <fuetcs cqr{cq{ |
u Bfr )bgorq|ce i ro
I
- 4 4 9 -
nlql
qlmR-otl
xq rtcq I
b
qNFI qlql\e
tlg
<{C< |
<?F
qF qRltq
"twR
I
)o
qsfEl rltr
Tl-6q I
uNotetheconjunct
of
+ E
=

.
b
5'fc1
can mean
yesterdayor tomorrow according to the tense, but it is possible to
sayunambiguousfy
qfaflfrffi
ftomorrou)or
tl$<Ftc"l
Oesterday).
e tl-{tlq-{
means the day after tomorrow or the dal before
yesterday depending on
the time.
.
q1fr4 means birthday. Note the conjunct q
+
I
=
{
,
pronounced as
written,
'nm'.
{cr[
is simple
past tense
(see
Unit 23, p. 156).
.There
is no difference betvreen
$ffi
and
qlq(S (or$]a[
and$]a[CS
).
"ffirf-xl
Dfr{'
(b)
You are staying at a friend's house in a suburb of Calcutta.
Below is what
you can see from the window of
your
bedroom.
Describe the view, using the verbal noun +
{tg{t
construction
(p.
147). You can also hear things, so
you might wish to use the verb
to hear C5lI4t.
as well as the verb to see
(C42tr1).
Example:
wrrd wffEf c?triF rr$ chell Tr{ |
2 See if
you
can convert the following
pairs of sentences into single
sentences by using an adjectival
postposition. For example:
-
150
-
C O N Y E R S A T ' O N O N A T R A I N
amar samner phulguli sund6r. The
flowers
in
front
of me are
beautiful.
(i)
bcner bhit6re pcth.
(vi)
b61ir pcre rod hcbe.
pcthla khub cndh6kar." rode amader
(ii)
pukurer opare m6ndir.b caragulo sctej hcbe.d
m6ndi4a pur6no ncy.
(vii)
lyager
bhit6re
1aka.
(iiD
bagir caridike
jcgg6l.
lakagulo
bideJT.
jcDg6le
cnek pakhithake.
(viii)
amar
{esker
nice baks6
(iv)
ider pcrec chuli hcbe. ache. baks6la niye
chulite baqi
iab6.
asbo?
(ix)
taker up6re up6harli
ache. up6har{i amake
dao.
(x)
dupurer age lekcare
chil6. lekcar[a khub
kharap chi16.
"dark.
btemple.
.after
Eid.
dln
the sunshine my
plants
wiII shoot up. sotei means uigorous,
full
of energ.
.lecture.
Sometimes in Bengali you
can have a whole string of these
posses-
sive
postpositional phrases.
See if
you
can
join
the following sen-
tences into one long sentence, using this method. Of course such a
grotesque
sentence would never normally be spoken or written in
Bengali! Look up any words you
don't know in the Glossary.
skullar pich6ne pukur.
pukurer dhare bcn.
bcner m6$rye pur6no baJi.
pur6no baJir paJe bclgach.
bcfgacher tclayu path6r.
path6rer nice gcrt6.
gcrter bhitore baks6.
baks6te pr6cur sonar mohcr chil6.
'tclay,
at the boftom of, becomes tclar in its possessive form.
phulguli amar samne.
phulguli sund6r.
(v)
amader up6re akla ghcr
ache. se ghcre tini
thaken.
Theflnwers
(are)
infrontof me.
The fl.owers are beautiful.
23
TELLING
STORIES
Conversation
You are in England, in Birmingham, visiting a community centre where,
among other things, a
'community
school' for Bengali children meets on
Saturday mornings. On the morning of
your
visit, Putul, a Bengali lady
who has a talent for entertaining young
children with stories, has been
talking to the children. Over coffee,
you
talk to her about her work and
ask to look at some of the pictures
and stories she has been showing and
telling the children.
(The
second story mentioned in the conversation can
be found in Unit 27,
p.
208.)
I
l,lry,l 9lcfl-{
I
"lF
st"fi
stfr
qt"fqr+
"XQq
{6E vl$-Cs
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I
fi.uxQ I
q-{R qt:rt6$
eR <rEe
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I
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ft ffie-
qe
cqfit<
qfc}Ft
?
"lgE
{t,
qtfr
{l;It
qFalN
1R
r
qc< qfcafe
ffi
,.e{tc{
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qc{R
I
qt"fi
<|wl6q< {cq
qHfr qrq-cs
ft a-gcan 7
"Igq
qtfr qcrc{
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qR
qt$F
{d|4ln
-
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vRe\5
ffi 4wl,
qr< qSF
CApfq
-
q1
- t 5 2 -
qt"fi
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qt"tft
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T E t t I N 6 S T O R ' E 5
Tc<3r I eE s cqt{,
Efcq<
frrfl $cl-sF
qR
r
*Q
qv-<, ulE
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DTsslsr
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ffiffi
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sq-{
e$?i Ts?l{ c?tEt frall
sm-{co
r ffi <e[EN.
'ffi
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rlet
<Erc<t
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slcgt<
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ce r <QF
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qa
| {twfcq< errfr
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srcm <rtR r
n.rsrbt
qtF qcqt<tF
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4ffr(T ecq ffi ffi r W+n 6q'{t
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1
Nq c <r
You Can I call
you Putul?u
Putul Certainly. Everyone calls me that.
You Do
you
come to this Centre regularly?
'Putul
No, I
go round various
places. But I've been here two or
three times before.
You What did
you do with the children today?
Putul First I told them to draw five
pictures: a house, a ball, a dog,
three children dancing, and a cat
-
all that. Look, here are
some of their
pictures. Very beautiful, aren't they?
You Superb! What did
you do after
painting the
pictures?b
-
t 54
-
Putul I then
gave
them a funny
game. I said,
'I
shall tell you
a story
and
you
will show these
pictures
for any words that I shall
leave out.' I finished the story leaving out words like this, and
they held up" the
pictures
in all the
places
where words were
left out, to indicate the
(right)
word. The story
(was)
like
this:
'One
day Baburam and Pupuya went to play
at their friend
Patol's They played
for a long time. The
from the house next to Patol's housed ran around
with them. The three danced around. Hearing the
noise they were making a - turned up. Pupuya called it
and said, "Pussy cat, can
you
sing?" "Don't
be silly, I can only
go
mew-mew," laughed -.'
You Very funny. The right words are:. first house, the next one
(is)
ball, then cat here?
Putul No, dog. Cats don't rush around.
You OK,
yes,
dog. Then three children, then cat, and the last one
is also cat. Is that right?
Absolutely right.
Then what did
you
do?
I then sang them a song, and I showed them all these toys
from Bengal. They particularly liked this horse and cart.
It
(was)
made in Calcutta, I suppose?
No, probably
in Dhaka. Have you
seen how beautifully
painted (it
is)?
You Yes. When
you'd
shown them the toys,
you
finished, did
you?r
No, I told them another story. The story is taken from
Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri's famous book Tuntunir B ai.
Here, have a look at the book.
When was the book written?
In 1910. The author was Satyajit Ray's
grandfather.
The famous film-director Satyajit Ray?
Yes. The story is very amusing. In stories of this kind there
is a clever animal and a stupid animal. The tailor-bird and the
jackal,
they're clever; and the cat, the tiger and crocodile,
they're very stupid. In this
particular
story too the cat is very
stupid, but in another very popular
story there is a very intel-
ligent cat
-
called Majantali Sarkar.
You Can I buy the book?
Putul
You
Putul
You
Putul
Putul
You
Putul
You
Putul
_
t 55
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E I - F 8 E N 6 A T '
Putul In this country
you will perhaps find it difficult to
get the
book. But
you
can borrow this copy.
You I'm very
grateful
(to you).g
What's
your address? When I've
finished reading the book, I'll post it back to
you.
Putul There's no hurry. I don't need the book right now. You'll
enjoy the book. The language is very easy.
You Well, I was very lucky to meet
you. And the children are
really lucky.
Putul I love the work. I slave away in an office all week. It's a relief
to escape and come here.h See
you
again one day!
You Ccrtainly.
"Putul
might be her
{ak-narn,
or
pet-ftrme. See Unit 14, p. 50.
bNotice
the use of the postposition pcr after the verbal noun in the possessive case
-
ch6bi-
gulo ikar pcr.
.Notice
the compound verb tule dhcra
(to
lift uf), trcre used participally.
dpcl6lder:
the
possessive plural endingaddedon to PotolimpliesPotol'sfamily. See Unit 17,
p. 84.
.Sometimes
hcoya in the present continuous or simple
past tense
(see
Grammar section
below) is used instead of the zero verb
-
especially if you are explaining something to
someone else. Notice that Putul uses h6cche in this way later when she is talking about the
Tilntuni stones.
rtai
nal or tai naki? is commonly used as a'question tag'equivalent to English lsz't it?, aren't
you?, did you?, isn't slw?, etc.
skft6iff6 -
pron.
'lCt6gt6'
(see
Unit 17, p. 82).
h[)t.
Hauing escaped here I liae. patiye is the past participle ofthe extended verb palano
(see
4 in the Grammar section below), and bici is the fust person of the present tense of bica
(to
lilte, suraiue).
Grammar
1 Simple
past
tense
The simple
past
tense in Bengali is
generally used for actions or events
bccurring in the very recent
past
-
say within the same day. For things
that happened as recently as
yesterday, the
past perfect is preferred.
The simple
past is also used as the main nalTative tense in story telling
(though
writers often slip into the
present
-
see Unit 27,
p. 2\I).Inthe
Conversation above, Putul uses it to describe the things she has done
earlier in the morning, and also in the story that she tells. For kcra the
forms are as follows:
- t 5 6 -
I
2
3
2 & 3
tFl
tFl
tPl
ami k6rlam
tumi k6rle
se k6rlo
apni/tini k6rlen
T E L L I N G S T O R ' E S
For the third
person
[F]
the spelling k6rl6
($-gq;
is often found and is
particularly common with the vowel stems
-
h616, khel6, etc. The other
verb-types take the same endings, so
you
can easily derive them from
the following first
person
forms:
dakha ami dekhl am
fona
ami
Junlam
l ekha ami l i khl am
rakha ami rakhlam
khaoya amikhelam
dhoya ami dhul am
hcoya ami h6lam
deoya ami dilam
As with the
perfect
and
past perfect
tenses,
iaoya(to
go)
uses a different
root for the simple
past
tense. Notice the vowel mutation too:
ami gelam
tumi gele
se gal6
apni/tini gelen
an
(
to come) has a slightly irregular form: ami elam, tumi ele, etc., though
in Bangladesh
you
will often hear ami aslam, tumi asle, etc.
2 Verbal noun as adjective
You already know Bengali verbal nouns as the forms by which verbs are
named and listed in dictionaries. They have several
grammatical func-
tions, one of which is to behave like adjectives:
akla bhaqa ceyar a broken chair
amar ika ch6bi a
picture painted
by me
(Lit.
rny
fainted ficture)
akjcn nam kcra k6bi afamous
(named)
|oet
Like other adjectives, these adjectival verbal nouns can be
placed as
'complements'
to the subject of the sentence, with zero verb:
- t 5 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I , F E E N C A I I
machgufo ekhane dhcra. The
fish
(are)
caught here.
or with the negative of the zero verb:
ei payjamafa ch6Ja ncy. These
pyjamas
are not tom.
If
you
want to
put
structures of this kind into a tense other than the
present, hcoya can be used. This creates something very similar to an
English passive construction:
cilhila fekha h616. The letter was written.
Any tense of hcoya is
possible. Remember the negative is
-ni
for the
past
tenses:
ba6i[a akh6no rcrq kcra hcyni. The house has not yet
been
painted.
ca sattay deoya hcbe. Tea will be serued at seuen.
ei
fcbd6la
bad deoya h6yeche. This wordhas been left out.
If you
want to add Dy me, b1t
you,
etc.
you
can say amar dvara, tomar dvara
( qffit
),
etc. With nouns and names, this
postposition is sometimes used
without the
possessive
case.
3 Which, any
It is very easy to confuse kon
(Which?)
vnthkono
(any)
-
especially as the
latter word can be spelt in three different ways:
kon
CSI{
kono 6SfC{l
M];I
6$f{
Sometimes writers add the
Etfg
(
.
-
see Unit 18, p.
95) to kon meaning
Which?, to indicate that the inherent vowel at the end is not pronounced:
'
kon ml{.
-
but
you cannot rely on this. The context will
generally make clear which
word is meant:
kon nam
lyb6har
k6rbo? Which name shall I use?
apnar kon6 chelemeye ache? Haue
you
any children?
o kon6 kctha
Jonena.
Helshe doesn't listen to anythtng.
kon-o
kon6
- t 5 8 -
T E L L I N G S T O R I E S
kon only means Whfuh? in an interrogative sense
(the
relative pronoun
nhich
-
ie
-
will be dealt with in Unit 28). The definite article can be
added:
ami konla neb6l
Which one shall I take?
konfi tomar? Which one
(is) yours?
kono (kon-o, kon6) in negative or interrogative sentences is equivalent to
Enghsharry:
ei basay kono
leliphon
nei. There isn't any telephone in this
house.
okhane kono gaJi achel Is there arry car there?
When quantities
are involved in questions,
however, kichu
(some)
is
preferred:
tomar hate kichu scmcy ache? Do you
haae any time on your
hands?
kichu is used in affirmative statements where in English sozze is used:
hy6, akh6n amar kichu scmcy Yes, I haue some time now.
ache.
Used on its own in a negative sentence, it means arrything
oi almarite kichu nei. There isn't anything in that
cupboard.
If kono is repeated, it can mean some: therewas an example of this usage
in the Conversation in Unit 17,
(pp.
78-80):
kono kono meye sc0te-sc0ge Some giils get
mamied at once.
biye kcre.
4 Compound verbs with deoya/neoya
'
The Conversation above contains several extended verbs such as
dakhano
(to
show), bojhano
(to
explain), and palano (to
flee).
Extended
verbs will be dealt with properly
in Unit 25. Notice also the compound
form buihiye deoya. Most extended verbs have a causative meaning
(dekhano,
to cause to see; boihano, to cause to undersfunA and it is natural
to combine them with deoya to create a sense of dning something
for
someone else:
-
t 59
-
arni akta rekcrq
Juniye
deb6? Shall I
play you (cause you
to
hear) a record?
This usage of deoya, however, is not limited to extended verbs:
ami oke b6le deb6. I'll tell himlher
(for you).
If
you
are doing something for yourself,
use neoya instead of deoya.
Compare:
ami likhe neb6. I'll write it down
(for
myselfl.
ami fikhe deb6. I'lI write it d.own
(for you).
ami kajla k6riye neb6. I'tl haue the work done
(for
ami kaj{a k6riye deb6. ,ffii"?r'rr, worh done
(foryou).
Exercises
|
(a)
Fill in the
gaps in the following sentences ,ri1h
5fi
(Whirh?),
6qf6qJ funy)
or
@(some).
Example:
srq-<
_
ac{6nr{
cR I
sm-<
6s1-541 Cqr4r{[T CdR I
)
_<H
C{< ?
a. ceFrK $tcq_
E|ot
ql-Cq
?
s
bt,
qNK
otcq btst
qlcq
r
8
qt'tfr
--m't
c<nm rqcq{ ?
a {f6
clE r
CqIS K]-{rtT il3TI {I{ I
. q qt"tfr
fi fr-a6a
z
. . a -
b' TfwIIE c{cTcq ?
b 4t.
s
-"ttxFr
r
50 4fqqf6q6r1
ql:$6q<
t&
qrya
,
"Notice
this idiomatic use of
<F'feq : Haue you any money on you?
- 1 6 0 -
g
T E L L I N 6 S T O R I E S
(b)
Now see if you
can read the following simple story from a child's
primer (Part
3 of the popular
Ananda Pa[h seies, published
in
Calcutta), looking up words in the Glossary if necessary. Then
answer the comprehension questions
beneath it.
you'll
notice that
the spelling used here favours the inherent vowel rather than o
(C
'f
)
in verb forms.
qs qftn
fu
q
Rq
r frqq6< Tc<]
q?KD-cTI
61-fl"
Qq
qlT
t
\3(A<
TC{t
:FKDr{
nfrffi
Rq
q|rT-<
{tPlE il{ r
rilT<
nrqTr
Rq
e$Et w b-+ r
.qsfr{
s<t
frs +-sqr ffi
q.6s
w41 cqc{
ql-c<
|
tFF
qBN.
<t
q$bt qqrE
cfrqq. I
e{{
qqll
r
qfsf"t gfi-Efi1
1
othe
stupidest. For the use of
q<-60-GI
see Unit 2I, p. t34.
hthq
decided.
.while
walking along.
dFor
the extended verb
CellRK{t fto
ariue),see
Unit 2b, p. 183.
RRI c"l'lst
vFFrq'
r frq-qr+<
{<
s.ls Etrl@
qK
nl
c'lc{cq I
q<KD-cr
s1s
{crRE
6<]?Ft
qlT
I
<'E <".t"t, & m <b
qK
&gE
q-cbt
tttq
6q"fq
sK
TC<j
<trfiR?t mfr <v I Ddr,
qNif
<b
attrq<
frcD
TmR
I
sK
q-{8
qwrcq
TNF
rtf I
qfi qtF qtar<
|
eKeK
c<|$t TtT
qtalc<
r
q?KD-m
Crc{
qlrl6<
6ISl
.flT
I
TIT<
{< W
"fl&f,-
|

"F
K;r $-C< 6qlst
ffi
{t{Ft
+.tRe{
frq' r
sK"F
c]st niT.s
1r
cqtro
g-cE
frc-T TIT
Tfr6{
"fs,E
r 6<fst nl{
qbtq qtc|t{ qE
frc-T cq-c?t
sK
{Ia]T e+!s
u-{
cqe |
ru.
6st
{<
c{fst I
q?
st{E,
ffi mt<
E-{
Kf$'f
-
16r l
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N G A t '
n{iR I
qR
N
dr$l
"fl{
i rlTqm
rllT(
Ng-<
IRKIN TlT<
q'frKK
oqtt'r
qffr
c<r{
q'trK
?
qe
N(< Tq
{Req"lw
I
c{q
ru. Tclrq
vffii
qq-cq
e$Bt {tq
rt6q
W
q<-q
r <l{
s-Mgt&
Qi
qtutq
qtcile
| <lTqF.tlTnl{cs
{<
<?FEr I
elsl'lK
TIT <dlEI,
q|{l(q<
frdq({{ TC<I
9fr
q<K5-C{
C<FFI I
qlltcq<
Qfm<
q<
cnff,m-{ {c<l
VR
q?rcu-cTr
6<fsl I TIT TEq,
qtfr
rer<Rq'Nkqfrl-< TKDrl c{fr
$
I
qlT(
s{t
tc{
rtT
qK
{lT
{<
qmCrc-
EItfEr I
.Here,
as often in Bengali story-telling, it is quite natural to slip into the present tense
sometimes. Cf. Unit 27, p. 2l)..
rAnother
extended verb, meaning to sleep. See Unit 25, p. 183. Notice too that the
negative ;fi
has been separated from the verb. Many writers do this
(see
p. 113).
gPast
continuous tense of
ttlgTl.
See Unit 25, pp. 181-182.
hExtended
verb i[-f{ffi(/o shaue) combined with
CT\!{l
. See
pp. 159-160 above.
iSee
Unit 31, Note 5, p. 239.
j
CTq
. . .
qnfi,
as soon as . . . then immediately.
kPast
perfect tense of \9-I<I
(to
think).
I
began to laugh. Note this very cornmon use of
FIl?t[.
( b)
)
f r d<{ <qNf t t
a,
frq r{< Tc<l
q?rcD-c{
1frrn
m r
e
&q <1< Tc{t l<rcDr{ 6E1-EI
Qq
m I
8 br$
E{
n.FT rtelF ?
a Sr[q
qK
egE
rtfcg<
qc<l
coFbt <s r
s
qq-rq
cfrcq m
q?rcD-Gr
mfr s]s
qcrRE
I
q q?fcD-cit qfcrt
m m-cetRq r
b
qlT
cqrrf w {t.m
qE
frcr ft cqqq r
b rlT TIT{<
at6q
-trLT
ft n-+q r
)o csf({
qlT(
seil
t6{
RiT
qF
-flT
ft
qsq
r
2 As the simple
past
tense is the main'story-telling'tense in Bengali, it
is what
you
would naturally use if
you
wrote a diary. Using the
following verbs and
phrases
as hints, see if you
can construct your
diary for an ordinary sort of
'day
off work'. Try to make full use of
past
participles
to connect phrases (see
Unit 20,
p.
121):
T E L L ' N 6 S T O R ' E 5
( D 4
(ii)
deri k6re olha
(iii)
UreLptq khete khete" khcb6rer kag6i pcp
(iv)
tarpcr
(v)
dui-ak1a cilhi lekha
(vi)
dokane/bajareiaoya
(vii)
rastay dulglc[6nab dekha
(viii)
akicn bugo bhcdr6lok
(ix)
aghat paoya
(x)
puliJ
(xi)
ambullans'
(xii)
parker bhit6r diye phire asa
(xiii)
m6ne pcJa
(xiv)
kal bhaipor
jcnm6dind
(xv)
lanc-er pcre abar beriye
iaoya'
(xvi)
b6i-er dokane
iaoya
(xvii)
nam kcra krikelar scmbcndhe akla b6i kena
(xviii)
bali phire ese dakha
(xix)
bathrumer s3most6 mejhete
jclr
(to<)
mistrikes
leliphon
k6re
{aka
(rod)
bcla
()odi)
'kalke
abar asbo'
(r<iii)
scb
jcl
bcndh6 kcrar
j6ry6
csubidha hcoya
(>oriv)
rag hcoyah
(prv)
leliphon
kcr*
(n<vi)
qElaj
(torvii)
samner
J6nibar
dakha kcrar !7b6stha kcra
(to<viii)
lelibhiJcne
bicchiri ch6bi dakha
'nhile
eating. Note that a repeated infinitive can have this kind of meaning. Cf.
p. 218,
Note 12.
baccident.
.For
the spell:ng of ambulance see p. 226, Note 2.
dUse
future of hcoya.
.A
compound verb meaning logo out that uses the past participle of the extended verb
ber6no.
'
r
Use past of ach-, and use pani lor water rstead of
jcl
if you have a Muslim context in
mind
(see p. 275).
emistri
is a
general
term for artisan: here it means
plumber.
hUse
impersonal construction
(see
Unit 18, pp. 99-100).
i
Insert the name of a suitable friend.
j
KI$
(Dzsr),
used with ach-.
- t 6 3 -
24
MEETINGAWRITER-
Gonversation
You attend a lecture at the Bangla Academy in Dhaka, and during the
reception afterwards you meet a
young
woman writer. She shows
you
a
volume of
poems
she has published.
She would like you
to help her
translate some of her
poems
into English. You discuss this, her plans
for
the future, the role of
poetry
in Bangladesh, and other related matters.
lE
q"fi qu q'rqK
frcq< cq{ <Q. ?
r
6Er[p
bt,
qtK
fresTK +Rot< <R r
qt"fi
ett
n-m c<Rrrce ?
6E1-{
qF qs
<q<
Eq
I
qt"fi
wc+F $ft Rfu
qerc% qHt
sR I
.
6Eq?F dt
qtfr
<ErF
'fFrc{F{I,
E(<
<ett c<3rFr
qtfr
e$?t
'|{'s'l<
cqcxFqN
-
sfrc
<R Rfus
iTfqlv qcrRE
r
\{t"tfi
$54
qpfi
6E"i E"tiqt cqmfu-qq r
6frq?F {ccE E{fit cafGREF,
s-c(
q:tf6qlD-grq{
E"i(ql
'ltsrtq< 'l.6s-(n-<
elcdtl
Etrtt
qs
sc|I tr I
qT"fi
AFcE
fr <-+r+< sRst
qrcq
?
- 1 6 4 -
\{t"fi
cqqa
66tq<F
qt"fi
6Eq?F
qt"fi
6ETFF
\{t"fi
6qq?F
qt"fi
M E E T ' N C A W R ' T E R
{Fil $rffir I cEcr{ $Rsl,
eFtr-Rrr-$
oRst,
q|<
cq"rcqn
{fl<F,
l|-6{ frR ilq?aGs oRqs
qfe qF
I
uIR fr
qqn
ee <ffi
qt'ft qE,
lt wl cst{ts
q16d
6qmE r
sc-TsF E{F $fi-s {fro|r
qt<
+-ca-+F wdl s'tflffi
erofiE
*r ;
e;r sR-strtrt-d'K 6<Fr<qle
q-F
r <EF
qt{fr 'tu,cs 'tKcn
? {s<
{o,
qtfr ql:tFr
sRstrtfr
?n<fr
q-{-{trr
<R +rcs uR r
qmrcn<
{"tfrE
<q
c{ fufrrrt 8lT mB <t<qt
q]-c+qt,
sR
ql:Il-cq< qtRsj
EIffir sfcq wq.Ft celGF {f{ |
,qrs-{|6(
qqm
rys r rftg-ffcq=r 4N
qd6F qlcfi
|
<frE-qtq
eM
wdi cq"tr$-{ dl:t ft
EKt <ErN
ofl=rc<
t
qF[ffi
sffir
w{ilcq<
{<
wsn I
vfcrl
q{(rq
QIFFTE
s"t-s|qFr
Qtrsfr
q{{lrr<
nE, <l(Et TtRsI
qlrst
lfiGs
w
r
sr<
{t<sfcqrt
"eqR
sR-st
{E
vaf}m
-
Rts sRq<
q-{{tq
6st
{<.lv
r
Sre? <rq-cq{ r tt<t o<-F
'flcr{ g.Kl qRTIT
"F
s{ |
sksr
qT{q
s--<-6o Dlt(n,
frrT sR
qF qr
r
qt"ffr
6er sfu mcfi ?
qtR
r frqs'n
qs'ri:Rr
I
sr<
qfq-$'lar q|<
sfu
frFFTt r
qFiFr
6qc.t sRq<
'fl-b-r
K
<r{ |
qm-c-K
qs
\e{l-F
trRsf<
q-{s|q
$Tt
qq-s<
|
q"tfr qIlK
$Rut
q1atq
s<-GFr ?
r1"{frm +-+re tt=rtrTm I
q{fr qlrrs
rR{r
<F3[rcrt, q{ret
eFt6ll
I
qafF qsbt q{q
q[FF-6,
q-1<titt qlml
sfcrt s-6< T-<t c{E
-
d
<-+l +-m
'fl3r1
TfK ?
ft-+ snq r
sr<n
qtfr
figFt oR,
"tc<
qFF qtfiK
:Tfccl
Cq"|l $.?rcil ?
wfr e?F uffi
d
-
<fu1rq I
qt'tR qq-gnGnt
qFrtcs
"[6R
frrq,
\Ttfr
fi[?l Tt{Kt |
'fK,
wSF
r.dl?m
qtqfi
- t 6 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N G A I . '
,{rE,
qleFf<
{ffi Rtrllc{lrt T(<
q-{{lqbt
fim
qtv*t
E{{
ql-FIID-{t
s.<e"s
"ttR
r
66lq?F m.il
qtfr
cF
T-\Jg'
cfl?FKt
I
qlqfr
<twt sRq
Rrsl,
qt"|R q<
fr cdrcqq'r cqFars
r
ercfi
?
6Eqs
qqq
ffi $c<l-ilc<t,
"ifrsl<
qrl
r
qtfi
ewsft
ffiqs frqvF,
sm
C+t
qlcrt
I
\sf"ffi
Rrc<fr
sRE-t fr"nsq
r sf{rq
qt"fi
@
mt
q{{lq
s;rF {lcil{ !
6E"te Gffie
qI
I
q$-q-{
$fr fresT< sRst
q{<t?
o;rco
'lfcr{l
I
qt'fi
<frq-{q 6u1
ffi
+;rreq I
6dqa <ftq-qrqr< frcq<
q{atq
ft
vrcm r
\{t"fi 6< vr$
e+! c+r+ro {ct,
uc<
-
6Eq?F
TE
<t(q.l<t
>rcq
Y4{t
<F3fFi,
qt1fr
C4{r<q R
qcq.F
fi+
qtcq
I
qc{$ qm
SR
"5<t
+R_st
q$tq
$LT-{R |
\rK
ERTq ER
t{
qs
<;rc{< $fieR w{<'tq
s:lN;[
-
E{l;lE
ttf{
|
qt"fi
qN
{tc< |
qNK
6<
qnn
skq
"tvl
ufu r
qtR
tT Kc{-sB
qtVR
t
6qq?F
qllKt elgrq, qt'fff{
s]-cqt
EIrl-6< | {qsrfft +Rsts
"tgt
SGE,
qf< qq{fr{
-
qf"fi
<lrt, Tlrt,
qf{
4t r <tffit
vl$
eu 4qw T{ r
qtfr
rq+q
qlCs-qksQ1s-co
"tfi
r
6Eq?F c-<|sr ftR frg +<ot
qvrE
fr+
qm
{t6{ |
qt"fi qt"F[l-<
+cq
E-{
vlQ z
6Eq?F
N
I
q<
{c<l
ql"fi
wfls fiurcq{ |
qFT
+-C$F
'
flq
't6{, qt'FK
6slc{t
q{R{q
qr<ql
r
qN|-<
<Q8
c{c<q ?
qt"fi
<-dl-{tq r ffi
q&fi{
c.tfst{
qtcrt
wmK eE {<eI
$R-st{R
K{$?t
s-c{
't-ves
ffi a-s6qt I
cqqs
qf{l
Tfr
qt'Fil3r
elcdrt
EIrl6< r
Wnfr
r
-
t 6 6 -
M E E T I N G A W R I I E R
You
Writer
You
Writer
You
Writer
You
Writer
Is this
your
own book?,
Yes, my own book of poems.
When did the book come out?
About a
year
ago.
Lots of copies have sold, I hope?b
I can't say that, but when the book came out I got
a
pize
-
and that was a help in selling the book..
You mean
you
received plenty
of
praise?
I
got
enough
praise,
but the
praise
of critics and the
approval of readers are not the same thing.
You What kind of
poems
are in the book?
Writer Lots of kinds. Love
poems, poems
about Nature, and
(poems)
based on love of
(one's)
country
-
that is to say,
some
political poems
too are in it.
You Have these been
printed for the first time in this book, or
have they come out before an]'where else?
Writer A few were
published first in monthly magazines and a
few in other papers; most of the rest of the
poems
are
new. Will
you
be able to read the book? If possible, I
would like to bring out my poems in English translation.d
Our
problem is that hardly any
(people)
abroad know
Bengali, so our literature remains unknown to them.
You Not totally unknown! Lots of
people know Rabindranath's
name.
Writer Apart from Rabindranath can they name other writers?
Actually
(there
is) a
great
lack of
good
translations. If
there were more good
translations like English translations
of Russian, Bengali literature would be better known.
You I've heard though
(that)
in Bangladesh poetry is very
popular
-
but it's surely very hard to translate
poetry.
Writer That's right. Those who can do
(it)
are very few in num-
ber. If
(you)
want to translate poetry, you
have to be a
poet yourself.
Do
you
write
poetry
then?
You Me? I wrote
(it)
at one time. But I don't write
poetry
any
more these days. In my country
(there
are) very few
readers of
poetry. (It's)
impossible to hold poetry
functions
there as in this country."
Writer Would
you like to translate my
poems?
You I can't all on my own. If you help me, perhaps I'll be able
to. If
(I)
had a draft first. the translation could be done
- , 5 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N G A T I
better
-
could it be done in that way?
Writer Very well. Let me then do a draft,r
(and)
later meet
you
again, shall I?
You I'm not staying in Dhaka now
-
(I'm)
in Barisal. If
you
send
me the drafts, I'll look
(at
them) and keep
(them).
Later,
when I come to Dhaka, I shall
get in touch with
you,
bring
the translation, and we can discuss
(it)
then.
Writer Fine. I shall be very
grateful.
You Apart from Bengali poems,
what else do you write? Short
stories? Essays?
Writer I sometimes write essays, for
journals.
I used to write
English poems
too, but
(that
was) long ago.
You You used to write English
poems!
In that case
you
can do
your
own translations!
Writer Not at all. A poet
cannot translate his own
poems.
You But Rabindranath used to do
(so)
himself.
Writer Are Rabindranath's own translations
good?
You His language is indeed a little out-of-date, but
*
Writer If
you
compare
(them)
with the original Bengali, you
will
see that there are lots of
gaps.
Often he hasn't translated
the whole
poem.
And moreover he translated only one
kind of
poem
-
mainly song(s).
You Maybe. I should read more of his
poems.
I've only read
one or two.
Writer If you read more, you'll like them.
(And)
you
ought to read
Nazrul's poems,
and
Jasimuddin
-
You Stop, stop, that's enough! Bengali is not an easy language!
I can only read slowly.
Writer If
you read some Bengali every day it'll come all right.
You You think so?
Writer Certainly. You've already learnt a lot. In a few months,
you
won't have any trouble at all. Will
you
take my book?
You Thank
you.
I'll try to read one or two of the
poems
each
night before I go to bed.
Writer I hope you
will like them. Good nightls
uLit.
your own written book:the verbal noun lekha is used as an adjeqtive.
(See
Unit 23,
pp. 157-158).
bbikri
kcra means to sell; bikri hcoya means to be sold.
.Lit.
In that in sell'ing the book help was. tais a pronoun meaning it or that andis commonly
used to refer to a previous statement. Here it has the locative case ending
-te.
The phrase
is really an impersonal construction, as amar could be inserted.
-
t 6 8 -
M E E T I N 6 A W R I T E R
dbar
kcra: to bing out. bar is short for bahir or bair
(outsi.de)
wtlch, with the locative ending,
can also be used as a postposition
-
baJir 6aire, outsid.e the house.
"Functinns
(6nuSthan) at which poems are recited, speeches given
and songs are sung are
very popular in Bangladesh and attract large audiences.
rA
first person
imperative, Let me do. . . See Verb tables p. 204.
gBoth
dh6ny6bad
(Thanhyou)
and
tubh6ratri
(Good
night) are Anglicisms, not really natural
in Bengali: but in conversations with a foreigner they can be appropriate, and through
Western influence they are becoming more common among the younger generation.
Ifyou
feel the need to say Thank you,
dol't be afraid to use the English words.
Note the conjunct
I
*
5
=
S
r W{fiq
(it
also occured on p. 142), and
the triple conjunctin
<fuq : {
+
F
+
<
=
E
Grammar
1 Conditionalparticiple
In Unit 20 you learnt about the Bengali past participle.
There is another
very important participle,
the conditional participle,
which is used
where English would use a subordinate clause headed by'if or'when'. To
form it, simply take the infinitive
(see
Unit 18, p.
98) and change the
-te
ending to
-le:
kcra
dekha
Jona
lekha
rakha
khaoya
dhoya
hcoya
deoya
k6rle
dekhl e
Junl e
l i khl e
rakhle
khele
dhul e
h6le
di l e
if
(one)
does
if
(one)
sees
if
(one)
hears
if
(one)
writes
if
(one)
heeps
if
(one)
eats
if
(one)
washes
if
(one)
becomes
if
(one) giaes
There are two exceptions to these forms: the conditional participle for asa
(to
come) is ele
(although
in Bangladesh asle is common), and the
conditional
participle for
/aoya
(to go)
is gele.
Watch out for compound verbs in the conditional form: pathiye dile, for
example, consists of the
participle
of the
'extended'
verb palhano
(see
Unit 25,
pp.
182-184) and the conditional participle
of deoya.
- t 6 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N G A I . '
To construct complex conditional sentences in Bengali, the conjunction
y6di (i,
is used, and this will be explained in Unit 25. Simple conditional
sentences make use of the conditional
participle. For present or future
conditions, the
present or future tense is used in the
'main'
clause. The
subject of the two clauses need not be t}te same:
se ele ami
iab6.
I shall
go
if helshe comes.
b61ya h6fe ghcr-baJi
Qube iay.
If a
flood
occurs, the house(s) are
inundated.
If it is the same, it can be left out of the conditional clause, or even both
clauses if the context is clear:
p6ribay pas k6rle (ami) n6tun If
(I)
fass
the exam
(I)
shall
get
saikel
pab6.
(be giuen) a new bicycle.
Impersonal constructions can be made conditional by putting the verb tn
its conditional form:
baccafir csukh k6rle kothay
4akqar
pabe?
If the child is ill where nill
(you)
get a doctor?
In all the above sentences,
'when'
would be
just
as
good a translation of
the
participle as
'if'.
In English there are two further types of condition:
If he came I would
go.
If he had come I would haue
gone.
The first of these can often be treated in Bengali as a future condition
('If
he comes I will
go');
but if the meaning is truly
'hlpothetical',
then one can
use the habitual
past
tense
(see
next section) which also has a
'subjunc-
tive'r6le. The habitual
past tense would have to be used for tie second
sentence above, which is a hypothetical statement referring to the
past.
Hypothetical conditions in Bengali can therefore refer either to
the
past or to the future, depending on the context.
If a conditional
participle is used rather than a clause headed by
i6di,
the
lhypothetical'
nature of the condition is indicated by the tense in the main
clause. The habitual
past tense is easily formed bi taking the simple
past
tense
(ami
k6rlam, tumi k6rle, etc.) and changurg the I to t
-
with the
exception of
iaoya,
which
goes ami
ietam,
tumi
iete,
etc., not'ami
getam'. The second of the two sentences above
(and possibly the first)
would therefore be translated as:
se ele ami
ietam.
-
t 7 0 -
M E E T ' N 6 A W R ' I E R
If the condition is negative, na comes before the
participle (cf.
the
negative with the
past participle
-
Unit 20, p. 127):
o rag na k6rfe ami oke kichu If helshe hadn't
got
angry I would
laka
ditam. haae
giaen hirnlher some rnoney.
2 Habitual
past
tense
The other function of the habitual
past
tense is
(as
its name suggests) to
express
past
actions or events that happened habitually or regularly. It is
thus equivalent to English I used to liue . . ., She used to sing. . .
,
etc. ln
English, however, the simple
past
tense is often used for
past
habits:
When I liaed in Paris I ate in restaurants eaery day.
In Bengali,
you must use the habitual
past
tense in such sentences.
Often it is used where used to would not be appropriate in English:
p6rikpay pas na k6rle, tumi
saikel pabena
chelebalay ami irqrejl kctha
b6lte partamna
ami
jantamna!
dakha
lona
lekha
rakha
khaoya
dhoya
If
(you)
don't
pass
the exam, you
will not get
a biqcle.
I could.n't speak English as a
child..
I di.dn't know
(thaD!
ami
janini
would be
possible, but only if it referred to a specific item of
information
(i.
e. I uas neaer told that, I didn' t hear about that), rather than
to a
past state of knowledge.
As indicated in the
previous section, the forms of the habitual past
can be
easily constructed from the simple
past, by changing I to t:
kra ami k6rtam
tumi k6rte
se k6rto
apni/tini k6rten
ami dekhtam, etc.
ami
Juntam
ami likhtam
ami rakhtam
ami khetam
ami dhutam
- t 7 t _
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N C A L I
hcoya
ami h6tam
ddoya
ami ditam
As with the simple
past, spellings with inherent vowel in the thiril
person
(F)
are common, especially with vowel stems
-
h6t6, khet6, etc.
3 Need
Needin Bengali can be expressed by an idiomatic use of laga:
na, amar rikJa lagbena.
No, I won't need a rickshaw.
bilete
iete
cnek
laka
lage. To
go
to England.
you need' a lot of
monq.
But the word
lcrkar
(need,
necessifr) is also commonly used, in an
impersonal construction:
possessive * noun/verbal noun in
possessive
case + dcrkar. Past, future and negative are achieved in the same way as
with ucit
(see
Unit 19,
p. 110):
amader aro
lakar
dcrkar.
We need more monq.
ryaki
bef sckal-sckal asar The taxi will need to come uery
dcrkar hcbe.
eailY.
barqladeJe amader mola poJak In Bangladesh we di'dn't need to
pcrbarx dcrkar chil6na. wear thick clothes'
In colloquial speech the
possessive ending is often dropped:
tomar ekbar bhisa-apise
iaoya
You'll haue to make a uisit to the
dcrkar.
uisa-offi'ce.
*Note
this variant of the verbal noun in the
possessive case: pcrbar instead of pcrar'
Exercises
I
(a)
On
page 173 there is a map of central Calcutta, with the metro
railway and its stations clearly marked. Fill in the
gaps in the following
sentences by reading information off the map. They are all about
what
you will see or find if
you get off at
particular metro stops, so
they all contain the conditional
participle
{NCE.
-
1 7 2 -
M E E T ' N G A W R ' T E R
1 Museum
2 Maidan
3 Planetarium
4 Jaqu Babu's Bazaar
5 Ashutosh College
6 Kali Temple
7 Rabindra Sarobar
I Golf Club
Example:
ilTFI, <V <f{ d'"t.{Dt S'fR
eirc<;I
I
qwstffire;ilTFt,
w
<H dll$t atq
'fl-Gt{
|
{I{ta, s.fffi< n6 0m
qfrrF 'lIK{
|
4NrE,
qrl
<K< Trqf6 c{N
'tKtrF{
I
{FICq,
EFTNSE
CFCTI
q|.{Cfi
1
dFlrE,
q.rEqr<
crN
'tfcfi
|
qt{cFl,
a6ts s.fK C{F
ell(-T{
|
{|5fFI, <+g{r{r<L<< s.lTq 6<RtT
qpK\5 '11-cT{
|
dlTec'T,
qft(sl{
s-6ryq Cq{-N CTF
'tfK{
|
4l:fcdt, nTqrd
qFtc{
Rrc{{ I
)
\9
8
a
g
q
v
Ho o g j h t y
R i v e r
Bhowani pur
- t 7 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 /
(b)
Now
pretend that
you
have made the shopping list below. Say or
write in full what
you
need to buy. You can use a variety of need or
obligation constructions: hints in English as to which one to use are
given alongside each item. It is not necessary to keep repeating the
first
person pronoun
(qtft/qm<).
Example:
DR
(qlqF)
ffi otetm r
T-ffi
cz||fiR6q
nqDr
eo hars ftR.?"
Rft-<qal
U"rqK
(to
strike)
(need)
(must go)
(must
bring)b
(must
buy)
3|Er
bflq13ilEcrrTd
a-5 +fu*
Q
@ust
bu.r)
elc4f
D't
"Ifil
-s#-
qlsl?
(must
brind
(need)
(I
won't need
glue.)
(If
I
f.nd.
some
good mangoes,
I'll buy thern.)
(1must
buy an umbrella!)d
î.
e.
tos
tase
-
stamp (UffiRS) .
u qfif
1to
anng is often used instead of
f,<p.fi
(to
bui in cornection with shopping.
.Use
flTTI
dTo
emphasise the obligation construction, add the emphatic
Q
to the infinitive.
Bengali
participles,
and especially the conditional
participle, make for
extreme concision, as does the use of ucit or dcrkar. See if
you
can
translate the following three or four word sentences into English.
You will often have to supply
pronouns, and most of the sentences
will be ambiguous in terms of the sex or number of
people referred to
(helshe,
Ilwe, etc.). You will be surprised at how many English
words
you will need compared to the Bengali:
(i)
o ele khabe?
(ii)
ola dile
iab6.
(iii)
b;p1i h6le es6na.
(iv)
csukh h6ye mara gachen.
(v)
okhane gele pabe.
-
1 7 4 -
E T I N G A W R ' T E R
(vi)
beJi dam diye kinbenna.
(vii)
pcre k6rle bhalo hcbe.
(viii)
ota bcla ucit.
(ix)
age khele bhalo h6t6.
(x)
deri h6yechil6, tai
iaini.
(xi)
ryaksithaklenitam.
(xii)
am miptih6le khab6.
(xiii)
rag kcra ucit ncy.
(xiv)
ili-ceyarea b6se khab6.
(xv)
op kine khuJi h6ini.
(xvi)
cad ufhle chade
ieo.
(xvii)
dcrkar h6le asbo.
(xviii)
okhane
iaoyar
ki dcrkar?
(xix)
taka
lagbena.
(xx)
okhane giye paini.
"in
an easJ chair.
-
175
-
25
-LEARI{ING
BENGALI-
Gonversation
Sooner or later,
people in Bangladesh and West Bengal will ask
you
where and how and why
you learnt Bengali. If you learn to speak it well,
you may even find
yourself being interviewed by a
journalist!
Obviously
each learner will have a different story, and the Conversation below
may not fit your case at all. But if
you have worked through all the units so
far,
you should be ready now to answer
questions as well as ask them.
lEl
{rsrfrs
{t(dt
q'fcqq z
I-
qt"fi
tl,
frR <tiq ftcqR r
qtmtfrr
c$'tq{ Frc{cq{
,
qt"fi qfr gerc{
frcsr firsr F|c"tR"
'Teach
Yourself
Bengali' <KQ< s-c< I
sf{'fm
qfirt qrq
sTR
4f{t 6Elcs-{ {cq N4lffiftt s-cK
q({I
frRDt
CtrC
sr-{R
-
sc<
q1cil qral qcl+
fiqre
qc<
r
qt1ilfrs qlfl;{l3r
Ewr<q
r5Q
vrol r
.
qt"tfi
fl, at mf6s il |
Ec{-$il
aqa-ffi
q1-q
cqttR
.
EEK"I s-{t
qITFI
"iffi
33
rlg' -
firfi
s-r< <, T,
s
tsilfr
-
qRl-s-t
{
qR
v,
q<(
E
qK
B<< w<l
"{tcffit
qlfr
e{c{l
slFll s-K
$re
tRqt t
qpffi6
sffis
ewq
'th'<6rce
qlR{t
I
q"F q'F<I
<ltsrc6K
w
+R r
-
t 7 6 -
qt"fi
qt({tfrs
qt"fi
qt(qtfrs
qt"fi
qt(Ttfrr
qt'fi
Tt(Ttfrs
\{t"fi
{t({tfr
qt"fi
ltt({tfrs
\{t"tfi
T E A R N I N G 8 E N 6 A t '
lls,
ql'Frr-d
{<
srm
?ic<&
qcq
I
qtfl;mnr
lRq
<q
Trd
Rrcf,q
ctct4 r
qtF q$!
fifr
sr< <t(ql fiqoo-.5+ wnR r
qqfr q$r
rctrsi
qt
dr(T <tm
qgF 'ft6fi
?
flE?FlEr
qtF
cq?mN,
\il{fr
<tffil
rl<rc3r
s'trM
'tvQ6a;a
1
qT6i3r
otrfq
qtfr q{rq
$tF
"ilRqt
I
qr;FF
qtrq
<1g't{&s
q3 qefuftE.tq
a|t6p,
sffi
<-+re +?
q-{
|
.c-K
{fi
qtTl;t
fiKSt
qFil
cllcs,
E?Fr
ql=r
NT{ wd?c{
R-w
r
\Tt"tfr
aq
qQsi 'trs,cqq
?
{E
$n r
qtfr
<l6rcGr <Q rnn-rTfr<l {& r ?Fr
qfr
<A-q-flcem G0rc
ryN
cu?t re-<R r
qPFrtrs
6$U rtqfcq ?
c{ T{< rt&F
qtfr
UrbR
q=r
rl<Frl
q:rfro
33
qR1j
s"K;r I
qF
mrq {(EH
qLqR
ffi r
cc+ptc$<
qm
wfr
utrgR
'irrq'-{
"ra
CInR r
'6n
qm< qTR
w
qrc"il${
<'K cq-{ |
mt r
.qsfr-{
ETrst
\nTffi e[otrt
o<-cq,
\TI'Fil<l
q&E-g.t
\il-{
6ql{w<
qfcct qlT{t
{RGE
E<
|
qrfs?r
!
ql:tK
<tffit
{<
fr'tut r
qt< qmK
qfcs<
6E"[
sR
?fl-{t1
|
qlr];r
qfcs<
6E?trF cFc{
qtrFF
{RsR r
q]ll=l
EfN<
C{?[ 6st
"rqe
<R-{t I S'lq-r$
qtF
{lqqrs
Sf; fr{Rq.ln
-
\flrK
qls
<qrr{ crc{F sfcq
qrq
cst
"tv-cs
cua o-<Rq r ftXl
efu,cs
"tffi
r
qfq-cs qffcs
e<fi ffi frqrc
qm
r lfr
qtfr
esil 6E3t ?sR o-K
qtfr, qqfi
cq-c{ fr6o
flFIF;I ?
N
r
qtfr
cI{
{Ft
q<
r
qt"tfi
sfi
qtlTc{{
?
qtw ;ffit<
frm r
qt<
<fi-q-q'ftqK G0{cq
KRq$bt
qrt qrp
{'t
qtF
etcFrt
{<rcs
"ttffi
r
- , 7 7 -
qt({tfrs
\flt"fi
qt(Ttfrs
qt"fi
{t(Ttfrs
qtqfr
ql({tfrs
qt"fi
qt(<tfrs
qt"fi
T E A C H T O U R S E I F B E N 6 A T I
q&ttcq
r1qffi
rlrw
c"rmR,
\r{.
q$t qqqs
qFrK
$-lrq
*"8
Elfi
r
{fr
qtfr
1+rre
{R,
sr{cE
*6
$na
cq?t I
sK
qNrffir
sfcq <ftq-qrqm
gFII
nE<l-{lr<l
"F
-lB
qtrt
I
qlqt, q1fi
alqat frcdrt cq-cel65
7
4ffis <tcm
qR
qtF
mzqR |
{(
slcql
c6Tcrtcq I c{ fiFSl
qlqK
Tc{<
eK
Rrm e"i
c+rqRE ffit
qq'qt(
q(qFI'
I R|at <q< <R-cq
cqe fin$t cq-cqe mt{
q{
ffi {tqol Ft{N
bq*rfE mK +mRdiln r
ER
rtR ! s.r<
fin{$t
$tco
clr<Qm{ t
?<-mq
qn-ilQct-q
Rq
r eqq firuil
qKK
cq{-N
{Kcq
E{rst
<liqFts
qrlsffi
{qrrc
etKmt
I
ft.u-Q
'Frm"{
|
qluqt,
<l(EI F|cqI
sl{K
$rt-v$g
nt"c{
q?F{ qt"rl|<
aro ft
z p;a
fra
cqt6s
q{q qF
c$f{ fr+ cqtm n6l r
etcil<
Tsr
qqFt
Ew'r<q s<-N
qK
frqcs
$e
oftl
qfcrt
| <II?F-<ct reqq s6l m
-
ft$"tq Rcq{
or< ffi
\ffir
qqq,
?qr<q
q< q{rn-<
qffi
fr;Tt"fq'IcqK
n\5
q{
I
\o-K
<twt {lcsI<
'tqq
FFI fial
"t<
qs
-
Qqr<q<
qnt<fc<
Embt t
Tr-cD-c-{ sft{ <it'lt< {cq
qPrffcm
R'flE
fir$t-{ r
qfr qTfl
e$U
\rnl'AVc-Ttft{
s|qt
ffi,
c{{t-c{ wcsF
.ffi. qRFs

-
t{.
)TlTldl
ETtq
clfcs,
eK E;w'f{q
qK
rK3[c't
I
cqe r
qTfcm 'fc{F
Rq4
Rfr
r
qtenm
RffiNK
qfcq
? E]=rl <t(El
q'fc{
?
qfc%
sc<
\e<l
<t(Et
qfr+qt
1
qsfr{
\Tl{K
"iR{r<<
q-{ers
Rca
qtfr qE-Kt
I
E{Ft
s?Ft
sil
e$! <t<ot fi?r< I
frc{
qtal
r
qtR
.grq-{
FffalR m< t
6{t,
g-R
qr<
|
qrK
frrr{
qKt
NI s?tcql
{c{lr
-
t 7 8 -
. E A R N ' N G E E N G A t '
-
<3ri
qt'idl3r
$l(q
qrFt
ftqc< r
Translation
and notes
Journalist Do
you know Bengali?
You Yes, I have learnt some Bengali.
Journalist Where did
you
learn
(itX
You First I learnt by myself, usngTearh Yourself Bengali.
Then by coming to this country and mixing with various
(sorts
o0
people,
I've improved a bit morea
-
but I've
still
got
a lot more to learn.
Journalist Your
pronunciation
is very good.
You No, no not at all. There are one or two consonants
which are very difficult for me to
pronounce
-
especially
rc, phc, kc, etc.
-
also I still can't hear the difference
well between dc and
qc,
tc and
tc.
Journalist We can't say the English'th'. And we make grammatical
mistakes. too.
You No,
you
know English very well.b You have the advant-
age
(that) you learn English at school. I have started to
learn Bengali a little late.
Journalist Can
you
read Bengali easily or with difficultyc now? Yes-
terday I saw
(that) you
were reading a Bengali newspaper.
You I can't read a newspaper easily. There are lots of
complicated economic and
political
words, which I find
hard to
grasp. But when I have knowledge ofthe sub-
ject,
I don't have so much fficulty.o
Journalist Have you read Bengali literature?
You Very little. I sometimes read children's books. Now I
am trying to read Rabindranath's letters.
Journalist Is anyone teaching you?
You The
parents
of the friend whose house I'm staying in
help me a lot. I write a diary in Bengali every day. At
breakfast I read out the diary to them. They correct my
language-mistakes
(for
me).
Journalist Good. One day
perhaps
if you publish
the diary, we'll be
able to become acquainted with
your
experiences and
You
ideas.
Impossible! My Bengali is very childish.r And my hand-
writing is very bad.
Journalist
(It's)
much clearer than my handwriting. My
handwriting is quite illegible. Yesterday I was writing a
- 1 7 9 -
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
T E A C H Y O U R S E
letter in Bengali: my seven-year-old daughter came up
and was trying to read it. She couldn't read anything!
I've
got
to write a letter today. If I make a rough ver-
sion, will
you be able to look at it for me?g
Certainly. I'll be delighted. When will
you
come?
At about half-past five.h And in Rabindranath's letters
there are one or two bits that I couldn't understand
well. I've found the words in the dictionary, but the
meaning is still not clear to me.i
If I can understand
(them),
then I'll explain
(them
to
you).
But for us too Rabindranath's language is some-
times very hard. Well now, have you seen
(any)
Bengali
films?
I have seen Satyajit Ray's films. I liked them very
much. The film that made a special impression on me
was The World of Apu. After seeing that filrn at the age
of 16 maybe I felt an eagerness to learn Bengali.
Really! But could
you
understand the film?
There were English sub-titles. Now if I could see the
film again,
perhaps
I could understand quite
a lot of the
Bengali, too.
Of course
you
could. OK, now that
you have learnt
Bengali, what do
you
think about the
pros
and cons of
the language? In what way
(is
it) easy, and in what way
(is
it) dfficult?
When
(you)
start to learn it is very dfficult to
pro-
nounce and write the language. The grammar is not so
hard
-
the verbs are especially regular and easy, not
like English or German irregular verbs. But the rules
for word-order in Bengali sentences are very hard
-
the
complete opposite of English. The hardest matter of all
is
your
vast vocabulary. If we learn another European
language, we find we are familiar with many words
there
-
there are only trivial differences, in their
pronunciation and form.j
That's righl.t Like Hindi for us. Do
you
have children?
Do they know Bengali?
I do have
(children),
but they don't know Bengali. One
day I'll come with my whole family. Perhaps then they
will learn a little Bengali.
Do bring
(them).
I'll teach them for
you.
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
- t 8 0 -
I - E A R N ' N 6 E E N G A t '
-
<3I(
ql?i4Fr
$l(q
qrFt
ftqrc< r
Journalist Do
you know Bengali?
You Yes, I have learnt some Bengali.
Journalist Where did
you learn
(itX
You First I learnt by myself, usngTeach Yourself Bengali.
Then by coming to this country and mixing with various
(sorts
o0
people,
I've improved a bit morea
-
but I've
still got
a lot more to learn.
Journalist Your
pronunciation
is very
good.
You No, no not at all. There are one or two consonants
which are very difficult for me to
pronounce
-
especially
rc, phc, kc, etc.
-
also I still can't hear the difference
well between dc and
{c,
tc and
1c.
Journalist We can't say the English'th'. And we make grammatical
mistakes. too.
You No,
you
know English very well.b You have the advant-
age
(that) you
learn English at school. I have started to
learn Bengali a little late.
Journalist Can
you
read Bengali easily or with difficulty. now? Yes-
terday I saw
(that) you
were reading a Bengali newspaper.
You I can't read a newspaper easily. There are lots of
complicated economic and
political
words, which I find
hard to
grasp.
But when I have knowledge ofthe sub-
ject,
I don't have so much dfficulty.d
Journalist Have
you
read Bengali literature?
You Very little. I sometimes read children's books. Now I
am trying to read Rabindranath's letters.
Journalist Is anyone teaching
you?
You The parents
of the friend whose house I'm staying in.
help me a lot. I write a diary in Bengali every day. At
breakfast I read out the diary to them. They correct my
language-mistakes
(for
me).
Journalist Good. One day perhaps if you publish
the diary, we'll be
able to become acquainted with
your
experiences and
ideas.
You Impossible! My Bengali is very childish.r And my hand-
writing is very bad.
Journalist
(It's)
much clearer than my handwriting. My
handwriting is quite iilegible. Yesterday I was writing a
* 1 7 9 -
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
You
Journalist
T E A C H T O U R S E
letter in Bengali: my seven-year-old daughter came up
and was trying to read it. She couldn't read anything!
I've
got
to write a letter today. If I make a rough ver-
sion, will
you be able to look at it for me?g
Certainly. I'll be delighted. When will
you
come?
At about half-past five.h And in Rabindranath's letters
there are one or two bits that I couldn't understand
well. I've found the words in the dictionary, but the
meaning is still not clear to me.i
If I can understand
(them),
then I'll explain
(them
to
you). But for us too Rabindranath's language is some-
times very hard. Well now, have
you
seen
(any)
Bengali
filrns?
I have seen Satyajit Ray's films. I liked them very
much. The film that made a special impression on me
was The World of Apu. After seeing that film at the age
of 16 maybe I felt an eagerness to learn Bengali.
Really! But could
you
understand the film?
There were English sub-titles. Now if I could see the
film again,
perhaps
I could understand quite a lot of the
Bengali, too.
Of course
you
could. OK, now that
you
have learnt
Bengali, what do you think about the
pros
and cons of
the language? In what way
(is
it) easy, and in what way
(is
it) fficult?
When
(you)
start to learn it is very dfficult to pro-
nounce and write the language. The
grammar
is not so
hard
-
the verbs are especially regular and easy, not
like English or German irregular verbs. But the rules
for word-order in Bengali sentences are very hard
-
the
complete opposite of English. The hardest matter of all
is your vast vocabulary. Ifwe learn another European
language, we find we are familiar with many words
there
-
there are only trivial differences, in their
pronunciation
and form.
j
That's right.k Like Hindi for us. Do
you have children?
Do they know Bengali?
I do have
(children),
but they don't know Bengali. One
day I'll come with my whole family. Perhaps then they
will learn a little Bengali.
Do bring
(them).
I'll teach them for you.
You Good, that's a deal.
(They)'ll
never be
(taught)
by me
myseH
-
perhaps
in
preference (they)'ll
learn from you.
,Notice
that kichu
(some)
can take the article
1a
-
especially when
'uncountable'
quantities
are involved. l<cyek
(a
few),
:nek
(a
lot) and khanik
(a
little) can also take
-1a
in the same
way. khanikla is also commonly used with adjectives to mean
'fairly,
moderately'
(e.g.
khanikla bhalo
-
faiily
goofi.
bnah-anemphaticformof
na, writtenwitnfrqd1.""p.255). Itcouldalsobewritten o[Q
(i.e.
withQ+Q{$
-
see p. 95).
"fheke
-
an idiomatic use of the contracted past participle of the verb
lhekano
(lo
obstruct).
See p. 182.
dNotice
the very corrunon pair
of conjunctions
ickh6n
. . . tckh6n
(when
. . . then). The
tense is always the same in both clauses, unlike conditiornl sentences. When he comes I
will tell him would be
lckh6n
se asbe, tckh6n ami oke b6le deb6.
.Notice
this idiomatic use of olha
(to
ise).
tkilca
(unripe):
used for mangoes, etc. as well as in this sort of way.
gNotice
here
(and
elsewhere in the Conversation) the use ofdeoya to express something
done for someone else
(see
Unit 23, pp. 159-160).
hLit.
in the dirution of half-past
Jiae.
Use dike if you
are expressing an approximate
appointment, pray if you are giving the approximate time. kcla bajel pray pic .
(What
time is
it? About
fiue.)
i
amar kache spcp16 hcyni. Lit. To me clear it has not become
(impersonal
construction).
j
For the spelling of rnp
(form,
nay, manner) see Note 29, p. 255.
kNote
this very common idiomatic use of the demonstrative pronoun, to express agree-
ment with what someone has iust said.
Grammar
Past continuous tense
This is the last Bengali tense that
you
have to learn. It is equivalent to
English I was waiting, He uas writing, etc., but it is not as frequent in
Bengali as in English,
perhaps
because of the tendency to slip into the
present
when describing
past
events. A Bengali speaker, especially
when he or she wants to be vivid and immediate, will often prefer
the
present continuous to the
past
continuous.
It is easy to form. Simply take the
present
continuous
(see
Unit 21,
p. 133), and instead of the
-chi/ch6/che/chen
endings add
-chilam/chile/
chil6/chilen
-
which is the same as t}re
past
tense of ach-. Thus the
past
continuous of kcra would be:
- t 8 t -
1 ami k6rchi l am
2
IFI
tumi k6rchi l e
3
tFl
se k6rchil6
(or
k6rchilo)
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini k6rchilen
The other verb types can be formed in the same way. The vowel stems
would
go ami khacchilam, ami dhucchilam, ami h6cchilam, ami dicchilam
(and
ami
iacchilam
for
iaoya).
2 Extended verbs
Several'extended'verbs have occurred in the Conversations in this
and
previous units, but so far all the verbal
paradigms given have been
formed on monosyllabic stems. Many Bengali verbs can, however, be
extended, usually with the vowel
-a,
thereby acquiring a causative
meaning. The verbal noun then ends in
-ano
(or
-an6).
Thus:
Jekha
to learn
pcfa to read
Jekhano
to cause to learn
pcrano to cause to read
(Both
these verbs mean to teach,
Jekhano
being used for a craft or skill,
pcfano for more academic things.)
kcra to do kcrano to cause to do, haae
something done
bojha to understand bojhano to cause to undzrstand,
explain
If the unextended verb is intransitive
(i.e.
it cannot take an object), the
extended form will be transitive. Thus:
bheja to
get
wet, as in kap66gulo bhijeche
(The
clothes haue
got
wet-)
bhejhano to wet, moisten, soak, as in ca-pata bhiiiyechi
(I
haae
soaked the tea leaaes.)
bhcra to
fi.ll
uf with, as in amar pe{ bh6reche
(My
stomach is
full.)
bhcrano to
fi.Ll,
as in ami gcrt6la bh6riyechi
(I
haae
fi.lled
the hole.)
Extended
participles are often contracted to their unextended form in
colloquial Bengali, especially when combined with other verbs in com-
pounds:
-
t 8 2 -
E A R N ' N 6 8 E N 6 A
alota
ivele
deb6? Shall I tum on the lisht?
oder p6iche diye es6 See them
(home).
ivef
e should really be jyaliye, and p6iche, from p6ichan o
(to
arriae) should
really be p6ichiye.
Some extended verbs only occur in an extended form and carry no
causative meaning. p5ichano is one; diJano
(tn
sfund, wait) is another.
Some extended verbs can be extended with the vowel
-6-
(or
-oJ
instead
of
-a-.
Thus we have se ghum6cche
(helshe
is sleeping) instead of
ghumacche; se doiJ6cche
(helshe
is running) instead of doigacche.
Dictionaries, however, list all extended verbs with the
-ano
ending, not
-6no,
in the verbal noun.
As the stem of extended verbs is extended with
-a-,
they all conjugate
like khaoya except for the infinitive, participles and tenses formed on the
past participle. Thus for kcrano and all extended verbs the forms are:
Verbal Noun kcrano causing to do
Infinitive kcrate to cause to d.o
Present 1 ami kcrai I cause to do,
2
lFl
tumi kcrao etc.
3
tFl
se kcray
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini kcran
Present 1 ami kcracchi I am causing to do,
continuous 2
tF]
tumi kcracch6 etc.
3
tFl
se kcracche
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini kcracchen
Future 1 ami kcrabo I shall cause to do,
2
tFl
tumi kcrabe etc.
3
tFl
se kcrabe
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini kcraben
Simple
past 1 ami kcrdam I caused to do,
2
lFl
tumi kcrale etc.
3
tFl
se kcral6
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini kcralen
Habitual
past 1 ami kcratam I used to cause to do,
2
tFl
tumi kcrate etc.
3
tFl
se kcrat6
2 & 3
tPl
apni/tini kcraten
- 1 8 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N 6 A t I
Conditional
participle kcrale if one causes to do
Past
participle k6riye hauing caused to do
Perfect 1 ami k6riyechi I haae caused to do,
2
IFI
tumi k6riyech6 etc.
3
tFl
se k6riyeche
2&3
t Pl
apni / t i ni
k6riyechen
Past perfect 1 k6riyechilam I caused to do,
2
tFl
tumi k6riyechile etc.
3
tFl
se k6riyechil6
2&3
t Pl
apni / t i ni
k6riyechilen
Past
continuous 1 ami kcracchilam I was causing to do,
2
lFl
tumi kcracchile etc.
3
tFl
se kcracchil6
2&3
t Pl
apni / t i ni
kcracchilen
Vowel stem verbs add
-oya
rather than
-a-:
thus khaoya becomes
khaoyano
(to
cause to eat, to
feed).
The past participles for all extended
verbs end in
-iye,
but notice the vowel changes in the stems:
krano
-
k6riye
dakhano
-
dekhiye
Jonano
Juniye
Jekhano
Jikhiye
dijano diliye
khaoyano khaiye
dhoyano
-
dhuyiye
lcoyano* l6iye
xExtended
form of the verb lcoya, which is a rather formal and archaic
alternative for neoya. See note 20 on p. 255.
.F-or
extended verb imperatives, see
p. 207.
3
y6di
In the last chapter
you learnt about the conditional
participle in
-le.
This
participle is very convenient for short conditional clauses; but for longer,
more complex ones it is often clearer to use the conjunction
i6di
(ifl.
The
-
t 8 4 -
I E A R N ' N 6 E E N 6 A T I
tense of the verb in the
i6di
clause will be
present
for
present
or future
conditions, and habitual
past
for
'hypothetical'
conditions. The
'main'
clause is generally headed by tcbe or tah6le, which mean then or in
consequence
(these
words can also be used in sentences using the
conditional
participle, but they are not so necessary):
i6di
o
lefiphon
k6rto tah6le ami If helshe had telephoned I would
khuJi h6tam. haoebeenphased.
or If helshe uere to telephone I
would be
Pleased.
Note that in Bengali the conditional clause normally comes before the
main clause, but occasionally the order can be reversed as in English. 1
won't come if it rains could be ami asbona
/6di
brpli hcy, but
i6di
br91i hcy
tah6le ami asbona would be more usual.
For negative conditions using
i6di,
na should
go before the verb, in the
s:rme way that it
goes
before the
past participle
and conditional
participle
(see
Unit 20, p.
I27 and Unit 24, p. I7I):
i6di
bas ase tah6le ami h61e
iaina.
i6di
se ase tcbe ami
iab6.
i6di
se na asto tcbe ami
thaktam.
6r
{aka
na thakleo, uni
khufi.
If the bus comes I don't nalk.
If helshe comes I shall
go.
If helshe had not come I would
haae stayed.
Although helshe has no rnonq,
hclshe is hapfy.
or If helshe were to come I would
stay.
y6di
with the
particle
-o
tacked on to it means although
-
in which case
tcbe becomes t6bu
(neuertheless).
i6dio
khub brpli chil6, t6bu ami Although it was raining hard, I
okhane giyechilam. neaertheless went there.
-o
can be added to the conditional
participle,
with the same effect:
If
you
now complete the exercises in this unit,
you will have covered the
main elements of Bengali grammar. There remains one important area
exemplified in several
places
in the Conversation above: relative
clauses, using
ie, ia, /e1a,
etc.
(who,
which, etc.). These will be dealt
with in Part Three.
- t 8 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N G A I - I
Exercises
|
(a)
The following conditional sentences are constructed with
{ti
. . .
vf{E/96{.
Convert each one into a sentence using the
conditional participle
(see
Unit 24, pp. 169-170). You can leave out
Xts E.fqCE/gC< . Example:
qt"ffr
lfr utq, s|<q
qtfr q<
r
qt"fi
dtrq"qfi w r
"Note
this slightly irregular conditional participle for the verb DI{l 0o
want). See
Verb tables p.
202.
> {fr
TE
ql,
qr< qNfcq<
&EL< cel-ce
q5a
1
q
<fr
s
Ffr Rcrq,
uRFr
wfi nat s<gE 4t I
e
vfr
{fr {glc"tf{t s3[,
sc<
{ftn;]T
'fFf
o;rc< |
s
C{c6Ft {fr C{ft
qfT qI{,
ef<E \s<
w$f T<r(< |
a {ft
Vfr
sq-s|c<
dl TE,
el{rq
cstnf{
qTR{t
qc<
r
s
qNK
{fr DH
qtl$rst,
Er<
q'tft qmRom
Drq Ret{ |
I
qfr
c{
s{vpc<
<KqT< +-c{, sf{cE
q<
fr<
s-Rs
Rcv
cne$ BGs
r
b
qt{fr qfr qqlrs qRI]
Tl $-{Nq,
uC<
qtfr
ofqil s-<G
'll<ttrlT{t
I
b
Yfr
{fr Efot
qle,
sWE
ffi
q-gcqt
I
.
>o <ft
qt"tR qQ
{bt
c.R $-c<q,
Ef<E
qt{fr qcsF
<lwt
Cq-C{ TIr{{ I
You will have noticed that{frcan come before or after the subject of
its clause.
- t 8 6 -
T E A R N I N G 8 E N 6 A T '
(b)
The pictures below and overleaf show various kinds of childish
reluctance. Complete the sentences that explain the reluctance by
supplyng the right verb in the ordinary form and in its extended
('causative')
form. Remember that it is often appropriate to combine
the extended verb with CqTl. Example:
n1q15ffi
vlv
iFi[rq{,
frg
e
>
:ilsFT{R
cqeK c"t"ll-F
(5?l
fiqrc
cd46fl&Ts
<qlN cD?t
,
I
- 1 8 7 -
r E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N 6 A t I
gTlsKq{t
I
qlqlN
a <rmq R6Frs
c{a
ei9l(g
_
,
ERFII I
CD'A
8 $
frcr mre
- t 8 8 -
T . E A R N ' N 6 B E N 6 A T '
cTcrcs
er<rc
g
2 You are equipped now to write
your first continuous
piece
of Bengali
prose.
See if
you
can turn the following words and
phrases into a
,{r*
sequence of
grammatical sentences, by
giving the verbs their correct
,
forms, and the nouns and
pronouns their correct cases. The"words
that have to be adjusted are
given
between brackets. To help
you, a
translation of the
passage is supplied below.
ami (J-ner deJ) lok tcbe (barqlade$ gcr6m (ami) kharap lagena" (rasta)
ami iurop-ry6 poJak (pcra) kintu baJite ami bapli poJak (pcra)
(bhalobasa). ami roj khub (bhor) (o1ha). ca (khaoya khaoya) ami (pakhi)
{ak
(fona) ar sUryodcy (dakha). tckh6n (ami) m6ne g6bhir bhab (aga).
tar pcre ami b6i (pcga) ba cilhi (lekha).
gct6kal (ami) b6ndhu ncren (asa) (brekphal) age. (se) afi(bcch6r)
(ma)
i6q6
(se) khub bhabna (hcoya). uni(bat) (b!h") khub (bhoga) ar (hi1a)
(para) na. tachaJa ncren akla n6tun (ma1i) ghcr (kcrano)- kai{a niie
tcdar6k (kcra)
i61y6
se
icthepl6
scmcy (paoya) na. kcyek din age akla
kal-boifakhir
lhcg
(o$a)
-
n6tun (ghcrta) crdhek
Jep
lcra
chad (batas)
(jhapla) u1e (iaoya). akh6n (se) abar
Juru
(kcra) hcbe
-
khalikhali
cnekguli
laka
ncp16 (hcoya).
m6ne (hcoya) (ami) akh6n (se) kichu
laka
dhar deoya ucit. tate (se)
eklu saha[6" (hcoya). ncren (ami)
j61y6
age cnek (kcra)'
" {
+
{
=
{ l
- t 8 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N 6 A I I
I am a cold-country
person,
but I don' t
f.nd
the heat of B engalb too bad.
I wear Euro\ean dress in the street, but in the house I hue to wear
Bengali clothes. I
get
up uery early eaery da.y. I drink tea and listen tn
the birdsong and watch the sunrise. Deep
feelings
awake'in my mind
then. Next I read a book or write a letter.
Yesterdny my
friend
Naren canrc before breakfast. He is aery worried
about his 80-year-old mother. She suffers tercibly
from
rheumatic
pain,
and cannot walk. In additi.on, Naren is haaing a new mud-house built.
He doesn't
get
enough time to look after the work. Afew days ago aKAl-
bai6akhr- stormc blew up: the half
f.nished.
roof of the new house was
blown off by the
force
of the wind. He will now haae tn start again
-
Iots
of money has been wasted
for
nothing.
I think I should lend him sorne monEt. That way he will be helped a bit.
Naren has done a lot
for
me in the
past.
bAlthough
'Bangladesh'
has become the name of a nation state, traditionally it means
the whole Bengali-speaking area.
.These
are freak storms that blow up in the month of BaiSakh
(p.
195).
- t 9 0 -
26
REVIEW
OF
PARTTWO
Numbers, dates, etc.
The Arabic numerals that are now used the world over actually originated
'
in India. The exercises in Units 13-25 have already shown you
that the
Bengali figures for I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9 and 0 are:
) \ e 8 C V l t r b o
For the handwritten forms, refer to the diagrams on pp. x-xi at the front
of the book.
- t 9 t -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F S E N 6 A T I
The words for the numbers from 1 to 100 are as follows:
1 q s
ak
2 E e
dui
3 f r {
tin
4 D K
car
5
"ffD
Pec
6 q {
chcy
7
ql\5
sirt
8 q F
at
9 m
n3y
10
qII
dcl
10+ 20+ 30+ 40+ 50+
qitK* qTrf qsfrrt qsDfr.t qsF
agar6 ekuJ ak{il akc6lliJ akann6
TFr* <Ft <Rrt ffi.t
Tf{f{
bar6 baiJ b6trilt biyalliJ bahann6
N<*
@"t
Nfr"t Nsth{ frar*
tar6 teiJ tetril tetallif tiPPann6
66q*
6fut dfr"t
Ertfr{ UIIE
co[dd6
c6bbiJ cottriJ cuyalliJ cuyann6
9|cffi* itF"t
ffi"t ffit
etSlTr
p6ner6
pocij
P5yqrj
pcytalliJ pc19a11
c{6r{.
qtfu{ qfr"t
Rufr.t
qtfl:r
pol6 chabbiJ chctriJ chec6lliJ chappann
rfNst*
qlsl.t
frRR{
q|sFRrt
qlsF
scter6 sataj siitriJ satc6lliJ sata116
qfbm* q'tbFt qFfrq qFuRq qFt{
a1har6 alhaJ agil atc6!!!l a1a116
Efi1 Edfr"t E{Ffrq G-l"t+l.t W
0niJ 0n6triJ 0n6c6lliJ 0n6pcncal [n6pa1
R{/T& fr'"t
bi/ku6i
qit
*Also
written with o: qtt[Fl.
<16fl
,
etc.
132-37
are
pronounced with a-doubling of the t in tri1.
DR{
eisl.t
{F
c6!!il
pclgat
Fat
- t 9 2 -
R E Y ' E W O F P A R T T W O
1 q +
ak
2 T R
dui
60+ 70+ 80+ 90+
e${E
q$rc3T qffi qol{<e
akp6tti akatt6r akaJi akan6bb6i
4{ft
rlqfs-{
ffit ffi
bap6lli bahatt6r biraJi biran6bb6i
N{E FilE< ffit ffi
tep6tti tiyatt6r tirali tiran6bb6i
ffi
u*tg< Irtft E<tq<<Q.
coUp6fii cuyatt6r curaJi curan6bb6i
ffi
,;DE<
;mFr
{DF-qQ
p5yp6tli p5catt6r pscaJi pecan6bb6i
cq{G
fuE< ffir M
chep6{1i chiyatt6r chiyaJi chiyan6bb6i
{sqE
qmg-< qrslFr
q]gl{fie
satp6lfi satatt6r satali satan6bb6i
qtt{G qFrs<
SFt
\rffi
atF6lli a{att6r cgtali a1an6bb6i
BdqE<
Wt W ffi
Un6sctt6r un6aJi un6n6bb6i niran6bb6i
Ts|e
,qS-rf
n6bb6i ek-Jc
3 & {
t i n
4
EFr
car
5
"flD
Pac
6 q r
chcy
7 q | g
sat
8
qtD
at
qg;r qfi
sctt6r ali
10
q.t
dcl
9 {il
ncy
-
t 93
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N G A L I
100, 200 etc. are
q$-q,
fr--t,
"t..
Remember that the wordsfor one-
and-a-half and two-and-a-half are C[p and
gf9-R
,
so 150 and 250
are
(49-'l
and
ql-glQ-'t
.
1000, 2000, etc. are$ Efq'[<,
fr
Qfw'l{, etc.
In the whole of South Asia, lakhs and crores are used rather than
millions and billions:
l lakh
(
qS
EI{ or
{sF )
:
100,000
l crore
( qO
mF
or
C41-V )
:
10,000,000
When writing such numbers in figures, commas are.put after two noughts
instead of three: 7 lakhs would be 7,00,000 and 20 crores would be
20,00,00,000.
For the numbers * definite article, and rules for their use, see Unit
16, pp. 72-74. The article is often dropped from very large numbers:
e.g.pSryl(9 lEq
{qT<
6EfS {l3TI Cq@(Three thousandpeoPle haae
died in the earthquake).
Percentages are expressed by
bfWp-{1':
e.g. 10 per
cent would be
.lE$3It
qft.
For fractions, use C4ITI for a
quarter,
9l{
for a haH
(as
in, for example,
qt{
{bf-/dlf-an-hour
brft a half on its own would be
q(f,$),
&{
Cet|{l for three
quarters,
([p
for one-and-a-hal,
qMR
for two-and-
a-half . To express
fiae
-
and
-
a-quarter, s ix
-and-
a-lElf
,
seuen- and-three-
quarters, etc., use the words
qg{I,
{lQand Ctif6{ that are used in
telling the time
(see
Unit 19,
pp.
108-109).
a Sanskritic series of ordinal numbers. but onlv the first three
commonly in speech:
(
f'rst
TU
sixth
second
qgT
seuenth
third
\nE{
etghth
fourth
l?N ninth
fi.fth
q-N
tenth
'
Above third the
possessive case of the ordinary numbers can be used
-
DIG<I,
tttCDTI,
etc.
Dates, etc.
There are special words for the first four days of the month:
effil
(first),
- 1 9 4 -
There is
are used
Eqn
fr-qr
VB
DPal
'ls{
R E V I E W O F P A R T T W O
CTFFTI $econd), F{<l fthird), ffibI 6ourth),
generally
used with
s'tRel
(Oat"): a|'gqt qRql,
6q1-rl{l
s]R{,
etc.
From the sth to 18th use the ordinary numbers with
R
-
ft5e,
ET?"
qNA
etc. From the 19th to the 31st use the
ordinary numbers with rq
-
ERft,
RC"t,
etc.
Alternatively
you
can simply say
qS
ufRcl,
tQ
gtR{,
Gq ffiq ,
etc.
The Bengali months are as follows:
ffiq
Abril-May
M
(tr"
J is not pronounced.) May-June
q'Frt.F
June-July
{l<q July-August
gl-q
August-SePtember
q'tQ{
September-October
pffr4 October-Nouember
qqapq Noaember-December
C{T
December-January
TF January-February
:Tlq{
February-March
[Dq
March-April
To refer to a
year,
{]-fl
should be used: so in 1993 would be
ER'q-1
ffiqnq
There is a Bengali era, that should be used if you
are using Bengali
months, beginning in 593; so 1993 is 1399 or 1400 depending on whether
you are referring to a time before or after April.
The days of the week are:
<R-{<
CqFK]3T
nq-q-<r<
$<q
IT'IIETK
xF{lK
{R-{K
Sunday
Monda.y
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
For their pronunciation and usage, and for the times of day
(cgFt
c<El, Ts]6I Kat
etc.), see unit 18,
p.
103.
As regards weights and measures, older books on Bengali
give
all the
traditional terms of weight; but nowadays metric terms are used, and the
-
t 95
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 E A
only traditional measure
you are likely to encounter is the
'seer'
(
m<) ,
by which milk is sold, rather as the British stick
_obstinately
to
pints. Tailors continue to use British imperial inches (RfS), but cloth
is sold by the metre. Height is measured by feet (TT); but for body-
weight kilos are used. In referring to money, annas
($ffi
-
16 annas
to the rupee) are still sometimes used: see Unit 16,
p.
71.
Verb tables
In the following verb tables, transliterated forms are
given
only when the
script does not indicate the correct
pronunciation of the vowel. For the
use of the
'very
familiar' tui forms, see Unit 27, Note 8
(p.
211).
Consonant stems
cl6
Present continuous
$-{l
$-{N
qtft
sR
R$q
9N
S<li$(.{l
C{ $-C<
qPfi/frfr
$K-{
qfr
s<R
ER*@
vN
$-{q/s-{Rr
Cq $<(q.
qt{fri&R
$TCq{
ffi
q-g</s-<rEt
ER
$KR
vln
s<-cr
cq T=lc<
qtqfri&fr
+;rcfl
ffi 3-sqlT*
9e
s-{fr
- t 9 6 -
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
Future
kcra
k6rte
k6ri
k6ris
kcr6/kcro
kcre
kcren
k6rchi
etc.
k6rb6/k6rbo
etc.
k6rlam
etc.
Simple
past
gR
+;+ro
6q s-{E/<t{Cqt
q{fr/frfr
s-{6ff{
ffi 3-g9;6*
VR$<eq
YN
T;ICE
C{ $:Is/Gl-Cel
q]di/frfr
s=rN;{
*In
West Bengal, the variant endings
-{n
and
-pI[
are frequently heard for the first
person of the simple past and habitual past tenses of all verbs.
q{F
qc-<
qtR
$LqR
pR$r<Rq
vN
$r{q/sc{cql
fr SKCR
qt"fi/frfr
sr<-Cq{
"R
+r-<tr-qn
gRTr<RR
vN
$qKE
cq srffqE/sr{lqcFil
qt{fr/trfr
$c-<Rqq
qtfr
$<Rq]r
Habitual past
Conditional
participle
Past
participle
Perfect
Past
perfect
Past continuous
al e
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
cq{t
cq?t-(s
qtfr
cqR
9R
fiFR
vln
cqq/cq.c"Il
c{ cqTq
qPrfr/Gfr
mcqd
- a g 7 -
k6rtam
etc.
k6rle
k6re
k6rechi
etc.
k6rechilam
etc.
k6rchilam
etc.
dakha
dekhte
dekhi
dekhis
dakh6/dakho
dakhe
dakhen
qe
vN
Cq
Present continuous qtft
CnqR
etc.
etc.
Conditionalparticiple CR{FI
Past
participle Cq({
Perfect
qtfr
cqT.lR
etc.
Past perfect
qlfr
C4({E-4I
etc.
Past continuous
ffi CnqRf,F
etc.
ol u
Future
Simple
past
Habitual
past
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
Present continuous
Future
Simple
past
Habitual past
Conditional
participle
Past
participle
ffi cqq</ffi{r<l
etc.
ffi cq{qlq
etc.
qtfr
cn{\9=N
CTF{I
T{etc*
-TIR
1F
VRft
9N
C{rqlc"t|c{l
c{ c"tfc{
qt{fr/&fi
c.tlc+q
qrfr
T{R
etc.
qrR
t<rnmr
etc.
qrfr
t-qN
etc.
qrfr
t{-om
etc.
I|{cE
btrLq
dekhchi
dekhb6/
dekhbo
dekhlam
dekhtam
dekhle
dekhe
dekhechi
dekhechilam
dekhchilam
Perfect
Past
perfect
Past continuous
eli
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
Present continuous
Future
Simple
past
Habitual
past
Conditional
participle
Past participle
Perfect
Past
perfect
Past continuous
ale
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
R E Y I E W O F P A R T T W O
qtfr
"erR
etc.
qtfr
XqRctq
etc.
qtF
-trREN
etc.
CE?tI
fr"n"s
wfr fifar
ER
frieq
9N
6E?t/ CryC{l
Cq C4C"I
q{fr/frfr
cqcfi
qIF
fr{R
etc.
\TtR
frfi/F"Ir+
etc.
qrfr
frqqu
etc.
qfr
fr.nem
etc.
frqn
fo{
qfr
frc?rR
etc.
qtR
frc"rREF
etc.
qtR
FqRqtn
etc.
<I{I
<I{F
qtfr
{tFI
- t 9 9 -
Present continuous
Future
Simple Past
Habitual
past
Conditional
participle KI{FI
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N 6 A I I
eR
<r1t!T
qT
KIq/KlCefl
cq <lcq
qt{F/frfr
il("f{
qtF
<rqR
etc.
qtfr
<lR/n?rr<t
etc.
qIF
ilrrq.|{
etc.
qtfr
<trtietq
etc.
cf,6"1
qtfr
mcqR
etc.
qtft
c{RrRq{
etc.
WR
atqQa1q
etc.
gFtlhas
the following variant forms
(the
regular forms are also heard,
especially in Bangladesh):
Simple
past
Past
participle
Perfect
Past perfect
Past continuous
Conditional
participle
.Vowel
sfems
ale
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
qfi qqlx
vR
efr
vN
q(q
fr
qE/q6l
qPrR/ffi
erE-{
q(E
qt\e{l
C?IN
qtfr
"tR
vR
"m
- 2 0 0 -
qF
qtl*
c{
?tt{
q{fr/frfr
?|lq
qfr
"ilR
etc.
ffi q7q61
etc.
qtF
cqrqF
etc.
ffi ccMF
etc.
C{TFI
c?rc{
qtfr
c1rlR
etc.
q'tfr
c"tclRqtq
etc.
*tt {&qlq
etc.
1|$
goes like
rltrgTt
but has a different root for the following:
Present continuous
Future
Simple
past
Habitual
past
Conditional
participle
Past
participle
Perfect
Past
perfect
Past continuous
Simple
past
Conditional
participle
Past
participle
Perfect
qtF
crF{tn
eR
c{R
gN
crr".6E
cq cr|Ei crlFil
\st{R/frfr
crfpf{
C'KE
{tor
qfr
firlR
or CttR
uQl}RRq^
or
ctiTqq
ER
{ALqq/nraret
ôr
Criq./ Csfel
cq lqcrR
or
CtKq
qfqR/&fr
ft{cq{
or Cti(q{
- 2 0 t -
gelam
gel i
gel e
gel6/galo
gelen or galen
gele
gechi
gechis
gech6/gacho
gache
gachen
Past
perfect
qtR
FI-TREII
or6EQ4a gechilam
etc.
Dlltrl and
altsTl
differ from the normal
pattern
as follows:
Infinitive DlRg
Present continuous
qtfr
U?R
orutfr
etc.
Future ffi
utQ<lUtn
Simple
past
qtfi
DRfl]r
Habitual
past
qtR
deqT
Conditionalparticiple
DR(4
Past continuous
qtfr
DI?REII or
Dt&-qN
ol u
Verbal noun
C{f{l
Ks
qFR
ERf l
EN
C{I
cq c{R
qr{R/frfi
c{4
Infinitive
Present
Past
perfect
\Stft
{e-{R4I
etc.
- 2 O 2 -
Present continuous
q|fr
{R
etc.
Future
qtfr
cqR/c{(<'t
etc.
Simple
past
qtfr
fln
etc.
Habitual
past ffi
Ptl
etc.
Conditional
participle
TCE
Past
participle
3G{
Perfect
qtR
{(xR
etc.
Past continuous
cl6
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
Present continuous
Future
Simple
past
Habitual past
Conditional
participle
Past
participle
Perfect
Past
perfect
Past continuous
elilala
Verbal noun
Infinitive
Present
R E V I E W O F P A R T I W O
qtfr
@EN
etc.
q\eTl
qN
qLR
RR
gR
qq
9N
qs
cq
q-q
qPiRifrfi q{
qrfrqE.
etc.
qrfr
</qKt
etc.
ffi
qe.ln
etc.
q1ft
E-slr
etc.
qrq
qc{
qtF
<-rR
etc.
qtfr
qcrRqtl
etc.
qtfr
qRqN
etc.
CR{I
frF
qIR
fiR
eR
nq
YlI
ql\g
c{ fi-{
qt"{fr/ffi
cq4
- 2 0 3 -
hcoya
h6te
h6i
h6s
hco
hcy
hcn
h6cchi
hcb6/hcbo
h6lam
h6tam
h6l e
h6ye
h6yechi
h6yechilam
h6cchilam
day
dan
T E A C H
Present continuous
Future
Simple
past
Habitual
past
Conditional
participle
Past
participle
Perfect
Past
perfect
Past continuous
Y O U R S E t F B E N G A I I
\TIR
fi&
etc.
qtR
m</cqKt
9RfrR-
9N
Cqr<
etc.
\flfi
fiqt{
etc.
qlfr
fu{
etc.
frto
frcr
qtfr
frc{R
etc.
qtF
ftKREN
etc.
wRft&$l{
etc.
*Note
the vowel change here. The first person form is sometimes
pronounced
(but
never
written)
'd6bo';
likewise
'n6bo'
for the first person future of neoya.
Imperatives
In addition to the imperative forms
given in Unit 19,
pp. 110-112, the
first
person imperative
(Let
me . . .lMay I . ., see Note 14,
p. 211) is
given, the
'very
familiar' tui forms
(see
Note 8,
p. 211), and the third
person imper ative
(Let
himl her . . ., see Note I7, p. 2I2). For the
polite
present imperative
(consonant
stems), the forms
$.K;[, CqtcF{,
C"il(ffi. CdlCfi
and TIC?F are commonly used in Bangladesh'
Consonant
Presentimperative Futureimperative
'stems
cl6
(qtR)
$fr
(et)
$3T
(VfrL
s-</$r<l
(q9tl;[) s;Fr
(c{) $:F?F
k6ri
kcr
$Rq
k6ris
kcr6/kcro
T-</$((t
k6r6/k6ro
k6run
S3l-Cfi
k6rben
k6ruk
- 2 : O4 -
el e
(q.tR)
(tre)
iqftL
(q{f{)
(n)
o/u
(qrfr)
IgRI
TVTIL
(q'iF)
(cq)
eli
(qrR)
!eR)
(gInL.
(qtfll-{)
(c{)
ale
(ErR)
(gô.
(gFI)
(qtlfil
(c{)
dekhi
dakh
CqiAq
dekhis
*With
the verb Q[fip-f, which
goes tike
Kl{l,'the
contracted 1o16 Qf[$, is also
commonly heard. See Note 17, p. 2I2.
$fif,(fo corzrz) has a special very familiar present imperative
$fi[
(see
Unit 29, Note 9,
p. 224), andits familiar imperative is
qq/q@I
in the present and future.
Vowel
stems
ale
(qrfr)
\ep
(gT:I)
(qr{Rl
(cq)
olu
(qtfi)
(ep.
(gNL.
(q'lT{)
(cq)
?.lf{
c{
qICfi
{{
$e
{c<{
"fR
{I
?[s
".il-{
{FF
R
c{l
c{ls
c{f{
{s
dekh6/dakho
Cq?tiC?T{t
dekh6/dekho
dekhun
6q{ffi
dekhben
dekhuk
"tfrq
T{/*Tt
TdK{
CERq
R{lftat
frqrcq
ilfqq
c-<cl/c{C1l
fl"Kfi
CqFI
CR{
Cq"I/C4("il
cn{{
cq{$
lF
6tf{
eilq/eflI{l
IFI{
t{$
friar
Cq"I
Er"l/c{cll
lct3l;{
fr,Is
rrfl
fl?t
Tlqiffc{t
<r$
Tt{-$.
- 2 0 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R 5 E t , F B E N G A I . I
cl6
(q'rfi)
(Ya.)
(eFL
(qlfl]q)
(c{)
elilala
(qfr)
(ee)
(eFf
(qnH)
(c{)
qq
q
qr{{
fiq
ftrs
fi({{
h6i
hc
hco
hcn
hok
h6s
h6o
hcben
kcran6/kcrano
kcrate
kcrai
etc.
kcracchi
etc.
kcrab6/kcrabo
etc.
Extended verbs
Since the stem of most extended verbs ends in
-a,
only one
paradigm is
needed. A few verbs extend
(in
colloquial speech) with
-6
or
-o
rather
than
-a,
but the endings are the same, and the
past participle and tenses
formed on the
past participle are as normal
(see
Unit 25,
pp. I82-I84).
The
'first'vowel
is used in the stem for all forms and tenses other than the
past participle, perfect
and
past perfect i.e. kcran6/kcrano but k6riye'
dekhan6/dakhano but dekhiye,
Jonan6{onano
but
Juniye
etc. a/e verbs,
however, use the a vowel throughout: diJan6/ddJano
-
diliye' khaoyan6/
khaoyano
-
khaiye
(<1'ft61),
etc.
verbal noun $._<|{/ s-{lc{l
s-<fF
WR $TR
ER$<F
vN
s-fls
cq
9<F! ^
qtn|{itsf{
$-<f{
Present continuous
Infinitive
Present
R$flRri
gN
$-$qis-{f@l
fr
qIR^
ql{];I/lsl{
s-<Kqr
ffi
ag6-ap5a
9R$TF
Yl{
$<TI-6<
- 2 O5 -
'-
qs
E{
RTS
RE
R
Ele
(i
l(..|
fr-$
Future
Simple
past
Habitual
past
Conditional
participle
Past
participle
Perfect
Past
perfect
Past continuous
Present imperative
R E Y ' E W O F P A R T I W O
cq
3Fl.F^
ql"ff{/lsf{
s3rl6<;I
Sgffi
91${llc' l
VTn
Ssil-CE
cq
qflg./F-flltrI
qt'tF/lsld
s-{ltGf{
qF
$-{FF
9-R
<tfllo-q
qn
s-<tF
kcratam
etc.
kcralam
etc.
kcrale
k6riye
k6riyechi
k6riyechilam
kcracchilam
kcra
kcrao
kcran
kcrak
cq s-fls/s-fllFI
qtR/frft
o<Tfr'cq
SrllCE
sRc{
RtR FkGR
q{
$K(-{iqq
vN
q<r{w$l<rrQr
cq fl=l-c.Tce
ql{Filsl{
sl{cTR{
v3
vn
fisffiE/nffi-d't
q{fr/&fr
$ffiEq
q'fiq$ffi
____.s. _.c.-_c-
YR
$<l l Xl l c' l
gN
$flRTE
cq s-{flqE/s-flqrql
qtqRi&fi
$rtRr,Eq
(qF)
TTR kcrai
(EO
qst
(gfrLo-{t
(ql'ff{)
T-{f{
(c{)
s-{ts
Future imperative (R) $Atq kcras
(VNL$T{CTI
k6riyo*
(ql{q)
qsf6<;{
kcraben
*Note
that here too the'second'vowel is used. Thus dakhan6/dakhano goes dekhiyo,
Jonan6/Jonano
goes
Juniyo,
etc.
- 2 0 7 -
PART THREE
LITERATI.IRE
27
THE TAILOR-BIRT)
AND THE CAT
In this and the remaining units,
you
will be introduced to some of the finer
points of Bengali
grarnmar
and idiom through a series of short texts by
authors from West Bengal and Bangladesh. The texts have been repro-
,duced
in their
published form: i. e. spellings of verb forms, etc. have not
been altered. So be
prepared particularly
for spellings with 6/o different
from those used in Parts One and Two of the book.
The first text is from the book that Putul mentioned in Unit 23:
Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri's
E-{F<
#,
Cnn
Tailor-bird) s Book).
This charming collection of fable-like animal stories by the
grandfather
of
Satyajit Ray, published in Calcutta in 1910 and reprinted many times
- 2 0 8 -
T H E T A I { . O R . 8 ' R D A N D I H E C A T
since, makes an excellent first reader in Bengali, and my own translation
of the book
(The
Stubid Tiger and.Other Tales, Andre Deutsch, 1981,
1988) is, I hope, accurate enough to be a useful aid. The first story in the
book is short enough to be given complete.
F{R
qR
furq<
oqft'
T{6E<
T6ffi FrqT{ KT{
efiq
qkq
r
d
mtq
titrq<
clM
6F frc{ c{-q'R s-c{'z!{fr
"ltRF
sK <lqt frcsrcq t
<|qK &sr< ffi cq|U-cqtu'qt,+t
qKCq.
t4{(
(qtu qf{,
sl3tl
Ev-cs
'flm
Tl, cD'tq cn6rrcs'trc-< 4l I
qIfr
tt
qc{, q<
fi 6
s-6( 16
lEe<
Mt
efft
R?
| c{
qtR
sgq'ffifrg
Rr{t
{R l'
,qsfr{
cT 6<rI{
rilrq<
sqm
,4lfl
<EfFI,7'ft $3Qq'qt
u{pl;I
?'
trAR
q<
$clt cqb
qcl
6<T{
t||6q<
ulrE dRLTe<6"rcE,
'Effi

{'{rflft !' slp
ffi
stft
{Fi
qR
Effi ctfal I
e{fr cq crfq
q[m,
crq
E-{fr
E|cs
qq]l
s-c<
qK
nq]<Ilft {cE,
qR
cq
{Fr
qc-{
D-cq
qfi
1to
qcF
E{fi-<
ql-Tt1fr
<v
qmc%
wffil
Tq-{
"tt?tl
qcrcq
11'
EFrl
qt<
cD't?t
{rq"a|l-c$
4t I
et
cqr?tEdfr
Etfi-<
?l6"fFI,
'a151,
p'Kt
Ev-N
lT<R
?''a
RT{rfl
<c'fc6"[,
'bt
qf
{F[< t'
tr{R
<6.[Fr,
'sr<
(4{
ml cqFl,*,-h
qe
rflRiK
ulrd
ffuT
Tqre
'lIRq
fir4f 1'rs
Rm$
s{R"U-6s
Fnq
g.fq
d(q<
vffi <qdr I
et
crr{
E-{Bfr
c{6q <6rrr,
'qfi
d
fiu'-rd
qW
ffi 1'rz
rfifrq
316q?sfrqa1
q6q
idlFr,
'ft
s-<fu et
ffifi
r'
s?F
F{R
{t
Bfrc{ etts
Elfar 6qft61rea46q
'O
u'o
affiqfQztfi-s.l.qft
1' a6qQzz fr
T.gs
$r{ Ew
4drfE I
E?
RvTq ftE fitGe{
rflrq
qtfri-r
Ed
Etfrcr
$rN {Frq
dl,
qFils
c?tF c'fE,34t |
?iIR
6<rI{ +'Fr{ cftil c"lc-{ {Isrq
{c-{ TC< ft-Aq r
- 2 0 9 -
The Story of the Tailor-bird and the Cat
In the
yard
of a house there was a brinjal-plant. A tailor-bird had sewn
up the leaues of the
plant
with her beak, to make a nest.
Inside the nest there were three tiny chicks. Thqt were so tirry that they
couldn'tfl.y or open their eyes. They could only open theirmouths and cheep.
The householder had a uery wicked cat. She kept thinking,
'I'd
like to eat
that tailor-bird's chicks.' One day she came to the base of the brinjal-plant
and sai.d,'Hellb, little bird, uhat are
you
doing?'
The tailor-bird. bowed her head tiil it touched the branch beneath the nest,
and said,'Humble
greetings,
Your Majesly.'
This madc the cat aery
pleased
and she went away. She came like this
euery day, and euery dary the tailor-bird bowed down before her and called
her Your MajesA; and the cat went away h@ily.
The tailor-bird's chicks grew
big, and thq
grew
beautiful wings. Their
eJes were open now, so the tailor-bird said to thern,'Children, do
you
think
you
can
flry?'
'Yes,
mother we do,' sail the chicks.
'Well,'
said the tailor-bird,
'
let' s see
first
whether
you
can
go
and
perch
on
a branch of that
falm
tree.'
The chicksflew off atonce andperchedonabranchof thepalmtree. Then
the tailor-bird laughed and sail,
'Now
lef s see what hafpens when the
wicked cat comes.'
In a little while the cat came and said,'Hello, little bird, uhat are
you
d.oing?'
This time the tailor-bird kicked her leg at her and sai.d,'Go auay,
you
good-for-nothing
cat!' Then she darted into the air andflew away.
Baring her teeth, the cat
junPed
up into the
plant;
but she couldn't catch
the wiched tailor-bird, or eat the chirks. She
just
scratched herself badly on
the thorns of the brinjal, and went home
feeling
aery silly.
Notes
r
$Q[ can mean story, word, speech, etc., but can also act as a
irostposition
meaning about. So the title can be translated as The Story of
the Tailor-bird and the Cat or About the Tailor-bird and the Cat.
z
6qflQ
.$-G{
is a
participial phrase, hauing sewn. Remember that
kcre
(third person present tense) and k6re
(past participle) are both spelt
(rK
in Bengali script.
3A
diminutive form of
RID
: uery small, tiny.
ahaae
become
-
i.e. haue been born.
- 2 t 0 -
T H E T A I T O R - 8 I R D A N D T H E C A T
s
618[f
meaning to open is mostly used with eyes. The normal verb for
openis C{I-EL
6
$-C< in this sentence
(occurring
twice) is a present
tense form, not a
participle.
TThe
normal third
person
simple
past
form would be idlCflt or
ffi
(helshe
said). But in the colloquial language of West Bengal the
ending
-G
(i.e.
the same ending as for the second person
familiar) is
used, with any common verb.
8As
well as the
pronouns
Vfr
-d
qHR
and their correspondin!
verb forms that
you learnt in Part Two, Bengali has a'very familiar'
pronoun g! . This has a variety of uses, none of which are likely to be
needed by the foreign learner. It can be used when speaking affec-
tionately to children or animals, and children in lower class families often
use it to address their mothers. It is also used by schoolchildren or
college students when addressing friends of the same age. Intimate
appeals or
prayers
to God can use
gQ,
but it is not normally used by
lovers or between husband and wife. It can be used in anger, or in
deliberate rudeness, when a speaker wants to
'do
down' someone from a
lower social class than himseH, but it would not be used to a complete
stranger. The cat uses it patronisingly
to the tailor-bird! The verb forms
for g! end in
-i
or
-is
depending on the tense, and are best learnt as
they occur
(they
are
given
in the Verb tables in the Review of Part
Two, pp. 196-207). The particle
EI here gives
the cat's question
a
rustic air: What are you doing,
pray?
This particle (or
its East Bengal form
Cf,l )
also has a
'feminine'
association: women use it when addressing
each other.
ePast
participle
of the extended verb
6ffi41
(lhakano)
(see
Unit
25,
pp.
182-184).
roNotice
this shift into the
present
tense, as often happens in Bengali
story-telling.
uThis
phrase is probably
best construed as an impersonal construction:
Of thern beautiful wings it had become. Remember that impersonal
constructions are often used for things that happen to
you,
rather than
things which
you
do deliberately.
rz ({ffi
meaning to close is used for the eyes or mouth, and has some
other idiomatic uses: e.c.
Tf< {fq
CqCq.
(The
lond
has silted uD.
The usual verb for close is
T{ S-<t
.
l3The
future tense
g?
form of
tll<tl
(to
be ablq.
laAn
idiomatic phrase meaning Then let's try and see. The imperative of
C?rlt is often used to mean Try, haue a
go,
etc. Here we have the
gl imperative, pronounced
dakh, though the ordinary familiar imper-
ative can be spelt the same way
(see
Unit 19, p. 111).
ffi
is not the
- 2 i l -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N G A t '
first
person of the
present tense, but a first person impetative:' May I
. . . , Let me. . . Cf . Uni t 15,
p. 59andUni t 20, p. 120,
Uni t 2l ,
p: 133,
Unitz4,
p.
169, and see the Verb tables on
p. 204.
rs
ft-4f ,
whether or not, is normally
placed at the end of the clause.
16 q{
means then, and the emphatic form
EclR
means right then
or at once. It can also be spelt
g?Fe.
An even more emphatic form
uSfQ
is also found, especially in children's literature.q{R
Oight
now)
has similar variations.
lTAnother
idiomatic
phrase, this time using the'third qerson imperative'
formgfTS
(Let
her come). These forms
-
GF<F,lE{S, C{IS, etc'
have a variety of idiomatic uses.
aff$$
,
for example, from
QIFF'I,
,o
s/ay, means Let it be, Neuer mind, etc. though the abbreviated form
cfFF
is more common in this meaning.
rsin
a short white.Afu means sorne, a tittle, and' 4Fl means a
gap,
interual, etc. The emphatic
Q
suggests a very short while.
reMore
extended verb
past participles, from )f6{t
fto
cause to rise,
i.e. to hfA, and C[clf(ilI
(to
cause to see, i.e. to show). The tailor-bird
shows a kick, makes as if to kick the cat.
zo
gl
imperative of
E\9TI
(Lit.
Be distan\
zrN?te
the conjunct 5.
+
n
=
q
in
qft|Q
@ood-for-nothing),
in
whichthe I
is silent
('l6kkhichari').
Cf. EEI flGI, acommonexpres-
sion for a nice, well-behaved
girl.
zzPastparticiple
with the emphatic
particle
\:
Immediately after saying
(thai l .
. . .
z:t ttlTt
(to get,
receiue) can be used instead of
ttlSll
(to
be able) with
certain verbs. With verbs of sensation like [xtFtt or C4{l the
meaning can be
,ffierent
according to which one is used:
\3<
$ctl
If{N
elt.{l
means I can't hear what he sarys, but
9<
:scil
"trf
{tR-{t
canmeanl can'tbearwhathesays. Sometimes
otl-{il
can be used with verbs of sensation without this special mean-
ing
(on
the telephone, for example, one can shout
ql"FF
4ell
T{F
"fl<lq{'l
!
,
I can't hear what
you're saying), but be
careful!
Exercise
Fill in the table below, by defining the verb forms as indicated. All the
verbs have been taken from the story above, and
you
should define them
according to their use there.
- 2 1 2 -
T H E T A I I O R . E I R D A N D T H E C A T
Tense Person Verbal Meaning
or
participle 1,2,3 noun as in
or infinitive P or F text
*Compound
verb
(see
Unit 20, pp. 12I-I22).
KC{cq.
perfect
3 F
ttql
has built
t
+-c<
sl-c<
?TK
en
qcr
D-6 CaFI*
D-CE {R[*
W-F
'iFFI
T'I-N
,qfq
eil-{rE
qtfrc{
<31-N
fr<-{
- 2 t 3 -
28
SAKUNTALA
The text in this unit is from a
prose version by Abanindranath Tagore
(1871-1951)
of the classic story, Sakuntala. The oldest version of the
story is :r;rthe Mahabhdrata, the
great epic of India; but it was Kalidasa
(in
about 400 AD) who
gave it classic status by making it the subject of the
most celebrated of all Sanskrit
plays. Abanindranath Tagore, the son of a
cousin of Rabindranath Tagore, wrote his version for children, but the
beautiful lucidity of his
prose appeals to all ages. Abanindranath was
primarily a
painter, and his version of. Sakuntala was first published in
1895 with his own illustrations.
Sakuntala
is the daughter of a heavenly nymph, Menaka, who leaves her
in a forest soon after her birth. She is found and brought up by the sage
Kanva and his disciples, in the idyllic
peace
and beauty of a forest
hermitage. One day King Dushmanta
(Dushyanta
in Kalidasa) is out
hunting in the forest. He sees Sakuntala watering
plants with her
companions Anasuya and Priyamvada, and immediately falls in love with
her. They meet, and he
plights his troth to her by
giving her a ring. He
'leaves,
saylng he will come back to fetch her. The
passage below begins
with Sakuntala
pining for the absent king.
<|qI Rfrqi 6a1-6q
,4$fr{
-ms.q't
eF<-r-{L<
rilrd
aE
frR
a6q a6q,3[Q'fitr scll
sKRr- sF-cq
q]<
+FtP,
qr{ qT{3:Rfr'
Effqt E-Tlt-<
qHal qrq;[,
.r{;-s-qt
qFlr\9s4{KcE
{l, Fr<e
- 2 t 4 -
S A K U N T A T A
c[qrcIs{t I
qrs6T(t{t
rEt
qfuft,'$ffi
TQt <ttt
E{,
TaN<${ {ffi-stcsssr
qc<
cr(ffl,esK
E K
-tTg-qt< q8
w{IR<r
-
ffrs Eciln s<Kdl
ql,ro<qN qmq
frrE
41,
'll
c{FtK
qq
frcq
qt
t
T-{qK
ffiq" c{n
qtl1
RBq,
<lcut fiqre i{'|cs"T{co{
-
'fr
r
ffiiQ3
q?Nf{
?
ottftsft,
eQ
q&q-"fls
+<R
- q<
qc{It3qln]< q{Tf{
o-<R cq cr{r4 cstcst'frgN
{t s-;|(s
'tfK
t'
EF,
-r{trqK
ft
s"F sF
RE
c{ 6q"lr< cs
qE,
c$ ctfE
!'6
E-{ql<
esF oetts
eK s'lc{ cttE dt I
nElltfr Tqfr'Ktrm cqK
q&q-"ns
+r< D-@ ctfcn
-
cq
fiRA
q.|{N 'tl{cq
{t,
T'F<-TTrc<
qF[T6{
6qa4LzQq NTfr
{ eq I
wdl-Tt Rrqn
nQ
qft
0"r+cq
1o
goRo,
Rcb
qcq
1{qK
"flc
EFLT
'tw
| $ELsql$-q]fll
qK,
as arc'fu-fiffi oc<,
$s
EIN
qlcr
{c<
E{qlus
-tfg
$<i-F !
-
etn eQ {lellgleqE
-
'Klq]
{KK
q:K
"rf;-g-4]lT
C{-ql(F'
fr6 6a6qa cqe
q(F qfr
Kfqlrs cnqlrc
"ill<
sme {rq]
-lT-s-djl3
trd6q
.
qsfr4zr
@
qt<F
<MK
EfN
{
"fu,K
Esfrq <fqt TI
y6E
q[f$-c<{
t'22
T{qK
qB-ttrl qe
"{RA<
rfqf {<
gra
<qcEq I
<l"rcal
frldtl <ct
qK
frt<
qq
{'t t
Soon after the kingls return to his kingdom, and while Sakuntala sat one
day at the door of her cottage thinking about him with her cheek resting
against her hand
-
thinking and crying
-
the
great
sage Durbasa had come
expecting hosfitality; and Sakuntala had not noticed him, had not eaen
turned her head. Durbasa nas a
proud
and touchy man, who lost his
temper at tiny things, burnt eaeryone to ashes at the slightest
prouocation:
and here was Sakuntah treating him so rudely
-
she had not greeted him,
had not asked him to sit down, had not giuen him waterfor his
feet!
Blazing all oaer his body, trembling withfury, Durbasa said,'So! Insult
to a
guest? You sinful
girt, I curse
you, so that
from
nou on whoeaer it is
who is causing
you to neglect me will neaer be able to recognize
you-'
- 2 1 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N 6 A L I
Alas, had Sakuntala any thought
for
who was coming or
going?
Not one
of Durbasa's words entered her ears.
The hM and mighly sage Durbasa deliuered this tercible curse and then
went on his wary
-
but Sakuntala was completely unaware of him, she
remained
just
as she was at the door of the hut, with her thoughts
far
au)ay.
Her two com.panions Anantya andPriyamaada werepickingflowers in a
groue nearby. They came running and threw themselues at Durbasa's
feet.
Thq appealed to him, thq begged him, they held his hands and
feet
and
implored him to relent.
At last the curse was modified:
'If
Sakuntala can show the king the rin'g
that he
gaue her when he left her, then the king uill recognize her;
for
as long
as the ring is not in the kingls hands, the king will not remember anything
about her.'
It was because of Durbasa's curse that the king of the woild hadforgotten
euerything.
The
golden chariot neuer came back along the
forest-paths.
The sage Kanva has been away during this episode, travelling in search of
a husband for Sakuntala. When he returns and hears about her bethrothal
to Dushmanta, he is delighted, and decides to send her to the king.
Tearfully, she takes her leave of the hermitage, and her companions
Anasuya and Priyamvada, who carefully tie the king's ring into the corner
of her sari. But Durbasa's curse has a further, unexpected twist to it:
Sakuntala loses the ring while bathing, so that when she confronts the
king he still doesn't remember or recognize her. You will have to turn to
Kalidasa's
play to find out how the situation is finally resolved' Mean-
while, here is Abanindranath's exquisite description of Sakuntala's loss of
the ring:
<rft-<
srF.|t't
${rqt frcqr
q{
4l | <fqtc< TFK
"tcel
-r{--s-o.t qsfr{
-tfrftcfu q-6q
ttl
{N
ctfE | ftEK-q-cq
til
elfrc.l,
qfr< qrq
cuE
qtGm""r{-g{t tfl
KE
I 3Qv6{
qcq-<
-n& qro<
G"m
RRq frcq
;
qr61-<
Tcg| Fsq ftEq
q-cE<
{ffi frc.t
crfE, cDBG<t
qcq
ttM-{
ct|q I d
qr{
TTt{'l-<'fl('l
<'w< cqR
ql(F
.lT-s.q.]<
trs{
qlsrq-{ qs
c$tct cql-cs
qtil{
q6E
4w crl6't,
xtr-41
siFKss249lKec'l
qt
r
eK"K
&rq
o.t'fw fir<
E;d, +.l6Et
p-q
..qrEl
$-c<,
EtFIK"l
-l-{vEI
TC"l-<
&s< frc{
Tfqf< s?fi
vFrco ef{N
W
tlrFE
frcl
<m"Ic<
urq
cr1_q,
ql(F<
sq1 a@zs'tq TI I
- 2 1 6 -
S A K U N T A T A
A sage's curse is neaer idle. On her way to the royal city, Sakuntala
stopped one day tn bathe in a wateing-place sacred to Sachi. Floating in the
buoyant water, splashing and sending out ripples, Sakuntala washed
herself clean. She merrily let her sari spread out ouer the water; the
shimmering sai blended with the water like water, moulded itself to the
waues. Because of Durbasa's curse, the kingls ring slippedfrom the comer
of Sahuntala's sai of shining silk, and
fell
into the bottomless water; and
she knew not a thing.
Then with soaking sai and her black hair bedraggled, Sakuntala got
out
on to the bank, srniling. She uent on through the
forest
with her thoughts on
the king. She approached the royal city with the end of her sai empty, butnot
once did she remember the ring.
Notes
rThe
repeated past participle
TCq <tr{ suggests a continuous state
or action, like a
present participle in English: Sitting uith her hand against
her cheek, Sakuntal,a uas thinking . . .
2Note
the
present
continuous tense
(rs
r/rinking) in vivid narrative, where
English would use the
past
continuous
(was
thinking).
3 q[
tnft
ft
such a time). This phrase is commonly used in Bengali
to link simultaneous actions, where English would use the conjunction
while.
aThe
repeated particle

in
qFK-\9 ttFfFI
;tt
frf<g Cq{FI {t
conveys neither was she able to know, nor did she look round.
5
CTSll means to return; the compound
fr-5g ffi{f
means to look
round.
u qQ,
pronounced
ake, means in the
first
plorc,
and
goes
with
9KJ"K
,
on to| of that,later in the sentence.
7 qlgril-{
is a notoriously untranslatable Bengali emotion. Here it
just
expresses pride,
haughtiness, touchiness; but it is commonly used
for a
feeling
of being hurt by someone
you
loae. Abstract nouns in Bengali
often have adjectival forms ending in
J
.
sBengali
idioms often involve verbal duplication
-
Scfffl-
SeilTI {-[$-EifCT
-
and are hard to translate literally into English.
He tumed to ashes eaelyone and anyone at any or eaery word . . .
This is not
just
metaphorical
-
Brahmins in Indian mythology have the
power
literally to blast people
to ashes with their curse.
eVerbal
compounds *1th
CT-EI
(to
throw) often express sudden
or aggressive actions, or thoroughly completed actions. Cf.
C{C{
($"i l ,
whi chmeans toeatup.Notetheconj uncti n
9{ : {
+
n
=
T,
in which the
n
is silent, lengthening and perhaps
nasalising the
q ('bhollo).
In
{F
?nemory)
the conjunct is pronounced's' ('s1ii').
- 2 1 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N G A I I
r0The
third
person simple
past ending in
-e
rather than
-6lo,
which was
noticed in the Tailor-bird story in Unit 27, also occurs frequently here.
rrq4'(scrb6 -all)
and
Ws?
(c!t6-
timb) combne to form scrba0g6
-
whole body. 6 * c
:
a according to Sanskrit sandhi rules. These rules,
governing the way sounds change when words are
joined
to form
compounds, are not systematic in Bengali, but survive in many com-
pounds derived from Sanskrit.
irRemember
that repetition of the infinitive
-
ftt"lN ft't"tre
-
turns it
into a
present participle: trembling with anger he said. . .
(cf.
Unit 23,
p. 163).
13
{Bt
q-ni
. . .
Cq
This is the first of several relative/correlative
constructions in this
passage. Bengali relative clauses are difficult to
translate literally into English because English does not make use of
correlatives. Most Bengali relative clause constructions use a correla-
tive as well as a relative
pronoun
-
but not all: sometimes the correlative
is left out. Here the relative
pronoun occurs in the
possessive case with
the
postposition
g{I
and the correlative is the subject case
pronoun
fr:
Lit. He because of whom
you
insulted me may he not be able to
recognise
you
at all.
la
C$l
picks
up the
previous clause: I am cursing
you to this
ffict,
namely. . .
R{ can be a conjunction meaning so that. . ., referring to
possibilities or
probabilities in the future. It can also mean as
fi
and is
used to express a sense of seeming: cf. G;l
qtt{
RT-q
earlier in the
sentence.
lsNote
the object case of the very familiar
pronoun p{
. The
posses-
sive is CEBI .
16Lit.
Alas, did Sahuntala haue knonledge then that she will see who came,
who went? Remember that
w'F
is pronounced
'gen'
(see
Unit 17,
p . 8 2 . )
tzThe
principle of the relative/correlative
governs many kinds of clause
and
phrase
construction in Bengali. You already know the
pair
{fi . . .
9<14
@hen
. . . then) from Part Two
(p.
181). Here we have: In
the way
( (<T{
)
that she was, absent-minded at the cottage-door, so
(p1fr
)
she remained.
18$can
mean so much, such a lot as well as how muchlman'y.
'leAnother
sandhi, between {i14
(curse)
and
gB
(end).
But the
compound means modifi.cati.on of the curse here, rather than complete
release from it.
2oAnother
relative/correlative construction:C{-qt(F mRql(F,
Thatringuhich. . . that ring. .. . The emphatic
particle
Q
is often
attached to the correlative.
2lA\nother
construction comparable to
F:14 . . .
N{fr
above:
for
as
)
- 2 1 8 -
S A K U N T A T L A
malty days
(f-g.ft-{
)
. . .
for
so many days
(lcrg-fr{).
Note the negative
dl
is placed
before the verb, as in conditional constructions
(see
Unit 25, p.
185).
22Verbs
are combined with
qt$'t
(to
stay) to convey sustained action:
will keep
forgetting
euerything. K{l
(/o
remain) can also be used with
the same meaning: so in the next sentence we have
q?f
YCE
{qaq-{,
went on
forgetting
euerything.
2rNotice
the extended
past participles to express a causative or transi-
tive meaning; causing her body to
fl.oat
. . . causing the uaaes to dance.
2aLit.
Sakuntala wasn't eaen able to know. The emphatic
particle
expresses euen.
zsThe
emphatic
particle
{
attached to {6{ intensifies the
phrase: Ifte
matter of the ring did not
fall
into
(her)
mind at all.
Exercise
In the following sentences, either the relative pronoun or the correlative
has been left out. Fill in the
gaps, by chosing the right word from the list
below. Note that two main types of relative clause occur in these
sentences:
(a)
named clauses, in which a specific
person
or thing or
place
is mentioned to which the relative clause applies
(b)
un-named, in
which the relative pronoun means the thing which, the
place
where, etc.
In type
(a),
the relative
pronoun is always
fr ,
whereas the correlative
can be any of the third
person pronouns
or demonstrative
pronouns. In
type
(b)
C{
is used for
people
and
{t
for things, but the
polite form
ffi
,
the
possessive form
${
and the object fgrm
{-F$
also
occur for
people, and demonstrative forms
dl , C{F,
fiffi and
R6XE
occur for things.
A complete and systematic exposition of Bengali relative clauses would
be a complicated affair: it is simpler to
pick up the various
possibilities
gradually. Bear in mind that relative clauses in spoken Bengali can sound
rather
precious or
pompous: short sentences linked with demonstrative
pronouns are
generally preferred.
> 61 6affi
"tF13r
<t&r
qr$Fl qbtq
qrfl
crfE r
The man who liued next door has suddenlv died.
- 2 t 9 -
q
cuTlcffi satt
qter{r$
<rnRqln cst
,q8
r
This is the chair which I told
you
about.
e
csFrlcGr
:{-c{I
<tstfr,
q3il qlTK.Ttcqt qq
I
Those of
you
who are Bengali come with me.
8 c{ 5'tR
frcx eQ
qq$R
c?|ldTl {f{ mtqm r
Where is the kq which opens this cupboard?
c c{
qt{rfl
ccRfftRlv cq{t {Tr
_el|ore
uQ
I
I want to liae in a
place
from
uh'ich mountains con be seen.
s
<fi-q-qrqn c{
rtflTR gR
"tcu_*
qc{r
FFF
6eFrK
q?rcx{
Ra I
Of the stori.es by Rabindranath that
you
haue read, uhich of these is
your
faaourite?
q
cr
qlnt-s't'fu
c{l{
_
c{lell {FI I
One calls a man who washes clothes a dhooa.
v
cq1- { 6{ Qsaf f { f f i |
Anyone who has no
faults
is not human.
b {l
q}rc<
mE o-+re
'tfKql
r
No one can do what is impossible.
)o
q-q
6iQ c{{lc{ ft +r<
qil<Fc<t
?
How can I liae where there is no water?
>)
vft
qNrs
lt-Q cqr<
qtfr qilfflq
stcq Kt{r<t I
'
What
you giae
me I shall keef by
(me)
all my
W.
>q
_
{RsK T{
s-f
<r+q|< d't $-{e stcEt
I
It is better not to use what is unclean.
6q, crFltF, cq{fr3, TR, El,
TRt, df,
E't-e
{t,
EtriF,
m,
Rqtr{
- 2 2 0 -
29
SATYAJIT
RAY
From writing for children we move to adult memories of childhood. The
following extract is from Satyajit Ray's charming book of reminiscences,
When I was small
(
{qF[
RF RqF
),
published in Calcutta in 1982.
Ray's family was one of the most talented in Calcutta. His grandfather
Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri was a
printer as well as writer for
.hildr"n, founding his own
printing company in 1895. Upendrakishore's
son Sukumar, Satyajit's father, has achieved lasting fame and
popularity
as a writer of nonsense verse, which he illustrated himseH in inimitable
style.
Satyajit was only two when his father died in 1923, so his reminiscences
revolve round his mother, uncles, aunts and cousins, the house at 100
Garpar Road, Calcutta, where the family
printing press was housed, and
the magazine for children, Sandesh, that was
published there. The keen
observation that has served him so well as a film-maker was with him
from an early age, and his reminiscences are full of fascinating vignettes
of life in Calcutta in the 1920s and 1930s. Here, after describing a
European stage magician called Sephalo, he recalls a Bengali master
magician.
qK
R.R fr-q
qc< qs
Rc-{ <l&,re'q$-s?{ <lsrft< {it&T
cq(?rffi {T s|(q' r|sfmt
q|(qr{<
drqK sl-<Tt& frR.
- 2 2 t -
nt r dq lllGr$ {r{F Tqeftfu<
<rE{K
q-{, qfcdrf<r
c{El
qK
ll]ft-<< cqlm cElc<r< cut?t vl h,[nc{ TF I Fc
qlrsr<{
+.|gitt
q6{s qqq
{cr
${ t3q8
Eu-car
Ttt&s cn?tfcdFl
'ilfcerffr4uEF
rql|cT< E
R <cq, tt< DtRfi-s
fre< u< ftu
Elr<
Tc{t <rq-cq{ fufr-sK't r'e?
qrqfN
e$A<
"n
q$Et
qn;t
c{El c4FrC-T Crlcdf{
E&-(:qfEoq
g<6qrq1.t qq-<
{6{
crp
q{
rreE
qfKs-{as qcazF 'lc< qF{K
e$bt
R'F
rlm
<Kql-< smRq.ln I T<fcq=T bq<
mrcilteq-< ffi
q&c{
nrilcq{
vq-rql-s,
frcq<
qFK{
c{c{cq{ e$il {tfr crmc{< <|sl r
s***
.NFt
q*pqrs qI$.,
Tc6.r sts
frcuQrooffiafET fle-rl
affu-61tt
qrq
TFq-{
US(q
I
qrtcq-<q
CD-{i,4S WrqlC<r< nfq
calcs cu"rl fr644,2 e$Et Kc"||< bm,
q< q|c<-$-qrd<
ste cqtm
q$Et qt$
1
qq$rs
<FfFf{
efs
566aqr:Em,
qF
fr-eSRT
frcsT<
ql:r6{
|
sK{<
qliFDnre
Ecq"r 4-6tr E4644,
'qf,a
Er+.Fr$
frm
qtx
t' <t{t
qf$
{&rl cffir
b|om
otrq, skiT{
5cd
c+xcw
rt&cl
qE
EECqfcs-{
$t-cq I
qRK-$bt
alt&-co
qn
sE-cELs-{
qlrc
qs 'f1sb qq
{RLT frm"q*-qqc+<
qls
cetro
qI0
frm
vtFt <t&c{ nrryq
etpr<
frm r
q3r'K
<tc.Kc.F[,
'qf3fK
Rqtta+<
Fs't r'
"lTRTi
cclcs
qu-lq
s-c<
Qqt"tr+<
tro|bt c{R6{ erq
qtfr<
voflr
qFcs
{ftrffi
q6tr,0
ft't"trc
qtqE
I
Ttt&<: 6q"ilK $-crsfr{
"trn
qbtq
q]T$r-<<
{cq c??II
{mt
(f-d<lttf{ qK
rl]llr+q
6<lcs< mrry | <TI
'tsl5l-et?Bt{, 'Ftn
$
sn
-flb,
cqrlrq c<F <6fGT surEfas<
qs
$:t-si I
qlTF
$Gr$< ftq"t
-t{,
TC{
:r-64
qtF
ffK Fni
qcl
celQ r
Eq.CEFF-CS
{dIEN
qIF
fiK s.|Cq NJ'IR-$ FI'IN UR I
'fi.DR
FtclK' {FI sE-rqFF
*
ofc,+t
cafts
qs
flr$l
qq
rlTI
?F-K
rtvtr frt&rr frtW
qFrtcs q$Er
{<
ltTR rrGr Frfitcr
frrqq I
sFreBr
qFr
EurErrs<
{cq ffi"tt
qqfr
r
qbtq qN6{
"|cu
{Kcs,'fef6{ t<
fromils c{{
E{R
t,8't6< Tfier$< <e
ftn
q.c- ql$EcK q64E
Tif&T
qtTFrtTT qlTc{
frt&rl
ffi
qppr
o-c< ft"rRql{ 1 4-(:{a
q-<fi
Trt&C$< cq"ilil trE r
- 2 2 2 -
s A r Y A l t T R A Y
Sorne time later, at a wedding-cerernony, I saw the conjuring of a
Bengali, com\ared to whom the stage trickery of Sebhalo was nothing. In
stoge magic uarious deaices are used
-
the
play
of h.Sht and the
power
of
patter
-
to confuse
people's qes
and minds. The magician's work conse-
quently
becomes much easier. This
gentleman
showed his magic sitting on a
cloth on a
pand.a.l,
with the inuited
guests
sitting all around within
four
or
fioe
arms' length of him. In this
position
he
performed
trick after trick, such
that eaen today I
feel
amazed if I think of them. Much later I used this
gentleman
in one of my short stori.es. He scattered matchsticks on the cloth,
and
put
an empfi matchbox in
front
of him. Then as soon as he called out,
'
Come, one by one'
,
the sticks came rolling towards him and entered the box.
He asked
for
a siluer ntpee
from
a
gentleman
we knew, and a ring
from
someone else. Heplaced thefirst item aboutfour arms' Iength away, and the
secondinfront of hirn. Thenhe saidto thering:'Go andfetch the coin.'The
obedient ring rolled off towards the coin, and then the two of them came
rolling back together towards him. In another trick he gaue
a
gentleman
a
pack
of cards to hold, took a stick
from
someone else, and
pointed
the tip of it
at the
pack.
Then he sail,
'Come,
Ace of Spadzs!' The Ace shot out of the
pack
and was caught on the end of the stick,
fluttering.
A
few
days after seeing this display, I suddenly met the magici.an at the
crossing of Bokul Bagan andShyamananda Road. He wasfi.ffi orfifg-fiue
years
of age, dressed in a shirt and dhoti: to see him, who would say he had
such
powers?
I had a
passinn
for
magic, and I
pictured
myself as his
disciple. I told him I wanted to learn magic
from
him.
'Certainly
you
can
learn,' he sail, tooh a
pack
of cards
from
his
pochet,
and standing in the
street taught me a nery
feeble
trick. I neaer met him again after that.
Suddenly bumping into him like that, I hadn't tahen his address. Later I
bought books on magic and standing in
front
of a mirror taught myself lots
of sleights of hand. I had a craze
for
magic until I went to college.
Notes
lAlthough
large houses are sometimes hired for wedding ceremonies,
Re{ Tt&
really
just
means the ceremony itself.
zThere
is a relative
pronoun
here
-
TFT Tl6q
,
near
(compared
to)
whom- and,no correlative. When is it necessary to have a correlative and
when is it not? This is not an easy
question
to answer, but the logical
distinction between'restrictive' and'non-restrictive' relative clauses
seems to have some bearing on the matter. English
punctuation
recog-
nises the distinction by requiring cornmas for the second sort of relative
- 2 2 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F B E N G A I '
of clause, but not the first. Compare:
People who liae in
glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
and
Sukumar Ray, who wrote
good
books
for
children, liued in that house.
The fust sentence, a restrictive relative clause in which
people who live
in
glass houses are distinguished from those who don't, would require a
relative/correlative construction. The second, which merely adds more
information about Sukumar Ray, can be expressed in Bengali by using a
relative pronoun only:
sR
rt&To
qfqrc{
m{K
il{r, frR aFct-<
q-ff
sfrlt slclt
<Q fr.trc{ r
However, this theory does not stand up completely, because if you
turn
the sentence round
(to
a rather anglicised and artificial word order in
Bengali, but
grammatically acceptable), a correlative is required:
T{TK
rF, frfi
aFnr
srdl' stcTl v1tnl
<e frclcsq, ffi
sE
<t&N
alFF-N;t
I
s
iffi6-{
ffi
(becorne
confused);
qfls qqq
{C{
41.\
(becomesmuch
easier). Note how verbs can be combined with
Ilr3RI
to express a
sense of becoming.
aA
'pandal'
is an area set apart for sitting
(on
the
ground),
often
incorporating a raised
platform for musicians, magicians, etc.
sffiu
from
fiqqo1
Qnaitntion)
means inaited, and is here
given
the
plural personal
ending to mean the ones who were inaited.
o g!g4-4
is the subject of the verb
CqFfG C'IFFI
(another
colloquial compound). The subject can sometimes come after the verb in
Bengali, for a
particular stylistic effect.
z qf
,
another relative without correlative: which when
(I)
think
(about
it)
eoen today. . . It refers to C{El in the main clause.
aLit.
I haue to be reduced to
faintness:
an obligation construction
(see
Unit
19,
pp. 109-110) using the verb T{t, to be reduced fo.
fll
is not a
common verb, but occurs in some cornmon idiomatic expressions: e.g.
ffi 6q[q1 a6q 6afqfi Q
was reduced to idiogD.
eThe
plural of the very familiar
pronoun
9{
,
and a special, very
familiar imperative of
qpff
to come
(see
Verb tables,
p. 205).
10
vl$
nree
(as
soon as he catled). The infinitive with an emphatic
Q
added can have this
participial meaning.
tlThe
past participle of the extended verb
ffif,{|.
The meaning is
not causative here
(the
repetition of the
participle suggests continuous
- 2 2 4 -
g
S A T T A ] I T R A Y
movement), but
tl-V]T{t
can be used causatively: e.g. qifr
<-ffi1 fl&rx fr-d{
0
rotted the batt).
lzDtTl
can mean to ask
for
as well as to want. Combined with
C{{t the meaning is ask
for
andgel. Notice that the object follows the
verb here (gSEt
s-Ctl'f{
Dtot) ' Bengali word order is really very
flexible! For the spelling of K-Ctfi
6ihter)
see Note 29,
p. 255.
13
DifC<<F @bout four).
Any number combined with
qn
in this way
becomes approximate. With
$
the
pronunciation is
'ek';
with other
numbers it is
'ek'.
laNot
the relative
pronoun, but the very familiar imperative of {tg{l.
rsLit.
haaing caused to holdlhauing
giaen
to hold. Extended verb
participle
combined with CI$TI
,
as so often happens. Later in the sentence we
have
{tBR fr(E4. <fsj
means to
grow,
and
(tglf,{l
means fo
cause to
grow,
eNtend, increase, etc., and is therefore used for pointing a
stick.
loWhere
English has vivid verbs
(e.g.
to
flutter)
Bengali has vivid
adverbs, often reduplicative in form
(see
Unit 30,
pp. 233-234).
rTThe
participte
nl{p-C{ from
${gl6{t fto
be taken aback, lose
one's balance), here contracted colloquially to E|([(p
and combined
with {\9{t
: Lit. Suddenly in
front
hauing
fallen
haaing been taken
aback. . .
r9Lit.
euen taking his address had not been done. This is a
passive
construction. The agent concerned
(by
me) can be understood from the
context.
The
passage contains tlree
'same-letter'
conjuncts that have not oc-
curred before:
q
+ q
= q
9 + E + W
s + s = Q
Exercise
See if you can translate the next two
paragraphs from Satyajit Ray's
reminiscences, looking up words in the Glossary at the end of the book.
They are about the circus and annual
'carnival'
in pre-war Calcutta.
Beware of English words and names: one &il:t spend much time looking
for a word in a dictionary, only to realise that it is a name, or an English
word.
- 2 2 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N G A t I
q|6|q
cq e?Fs
efe
<q-<R
q1-s,
ffis
sel4-Efitfr64
atrSlq
rrdrn
qrrqqst
c",lFil cq{s,
qK qlq-sl6t
c<Fr<-sttR
{mG
q16M
r dt
qfq-ofq
cqqt lt{ {t cst
qo
offioro t
qllm<
cqc-dcqqlr cq-{UE
qlt&fr8-q<'?8$6{
Rq w w
qlb
r T-q-$'fqT
qql
'qQ<lQw'
q't
w4lbtrgtt<
qEq
s?t-{s
?sft
q-rfr,
?rE-$trs {tsR-q< &T'ctR'st Rtq
foft
qlfr
r
..qR
{< TfCu-<
q$UF ql61rq<
$lrqe
qqE
stffsl|E I
mttrvrne<
qqFt
s fr cqDt,qfsi-slatsK
cqc-{NKffi<
c{R|c4t
{.tftq
I Cl-{l{ 4trlsfc[fEl {$rqq cq(qI% frtr
ntreft-d< 4trl*{cn6tl <t
qtTF q?F
w
ftu
sqt 4Ss
qa1-4
BF r <-q
E<
cEco cq{t cqio
TTs
q?rf,-<
qfrql
I eE +ttlK-
cntdtt
qM
q1-av
clR-cail<tGe,
qmfc$c{<
fi,
crn'n S<
r[&F
ffitR, 6s$c<f46q'l
qll-q"l.lR{
c<EI\eC{,
\qf<
q|rnl
+s fi r eqrE DtRfrt$
q&c{
RFc-{
eil?Fs
qf{t
nor
q-atm
sq
r
qs
6q1v-Rr
q<
&frq
rTMrm
{Fas
qQ q<
*rq c{'
6rlaffi 6{fg
qF[El-61
ofi-q
w
I c"R
"nfu
e|ofc"l] qn
crrctrt
q<rcK
cqlFft
q-6
ffis{|{ TTq
q{slsi
-R<
ccfrs $.ttrg]]q
ffi curq rs
qrq6r
c<fqofl'{Dt N
6<l{q-{
qE
q'st
cqtr+R r
lNote
this
possessive form of
g'ql;l
iz those days). At the beginning of
the second
paragraph you have
ql9--Oldffi<
(
of today). Cf. the
possess-
ive forms of
tll6{
and tl[6
:
{W$.K and
{f{Sl3[.
2English
words beginning with an a sound are sometimes spelt with an
initial It, sometimes with an initial 9ll
(as
here).
r
6q
is not a relative: without it the
phrase woyld not be so balanced, but
would still be
grammatical.
ffi
refers to T"I
What . . . that . . .
aNot
a relative
pronoun, but the conjunction that followng
QE
(such)
at
the beginning of the sentence.
5A
coll-oquiaimeaning of the compgund verb UZ}
qtgTt
to close down,
pack
up, be abolished.
\9<
UE
V-d CtiR.
means'He's
gone
bald.
- 2 2 6 -
30
TAGORE IN
ENGLANI)
Now for something by the
greatest Bengali writer, Rabindranath
Jagore,
from a little-known early work of
great
charm, his
![C$tet-et-{|8k
lE
(Letters
from
Europe). Tagore first came to England when he was 18
years
old, in 1878, accompanied by his elder brother Satyendranath
(who
was the first Indian to
qualify for the Indian Civil Service). They stayed
over a
year, in lodgings in London, Brighton, Tunbridge Wells and
Torquay, and experienced Victorian social life at various middle-class and
upper-middle class levels.
The letters that Rabindranath wrote home describing his stay were first
printed in the
journal
Bhdratl, and were
published
as a book in 1881.
Later Tagore became embarrassed by some of the things he said in the
letters, and the book was cut down when it appeared in his collected
works. The complete text has only been reprinted once, in 1961, the
centenary of Tagore's birth.
The following
passage
describes a couple of Dickensian eccentricity in
whose house Tagore lodged for a short while.
qtfr
fr-q<-rg--s,qllK fisrc< {Rq|r<< TC{r rfq aKQqq 1,
c{ {cgt
qw
"fR{K
I Mr. B n{j'Rs GFF | ffi oltrq
e
- 2 2 7 -
Q-+
.f<
Et-crt
Tsn
qtcfi
r
6l<
qrqPtrq
csB cqQ
-
&fr,
6'K
fr,
qF qn
esbt
qrft,
,{E
DK
qq
flq
q$F
rt&rc
{l$-W t Mr.B
qtwgt
C4fs,
qsts
\tr{"sK
1ffi,'frq-{E
lsp
RIRE
<FG;[,
fou<
qq'lT
Tf{lErc<-<
"ttet
..{sF
RtE-q14lFrt-s{I".tl4q<rcit<h
q{"$K qc<
qffF{,
qrs
Nt
1ft<t
cq
q-K
{<q?
el6asf
+-sp
ellc<
{tsslrcuqt+fqK
oT<
q+bt 'tft
6q-EI,'DF1 frcn
trnn
cry
gc{|-Tt"fi
{|{|
eFFK
qls'tcr<
Qqq-Tt'{ ft-s e.tB{ 3Qs$ 6qa1q
Dfst
- qc< qr<rt
$<K6.r
q$
<?F:r <q
Qsrf{ ttPR-T
uare
q{
rn eR r<bt
w
ff<
study, eQ<Ic{ frfr R-<B
Tc{
'fc-.s-{
s
atul-{
r
6n y
qfrR
R<s,
qF
$
q-rsr
"lTF
frryq
<qto$
q-neF E{< Tqi DtE
UJrq-{
; c{N 6{F cqrfcr-< cqrrrF ff< {trt
qFm
cTq,
6{cri
w ft519,r
dF
q'tvrs
Elrtcffi r ffi 6qq-{
"lq{cs
rE{
W
"fcm
NTR
qtqltW<
s1Kq
q& otcn
Cq|ct
;
ef{N cTCs
Gfr ffi
RuT
qF,
\trc{s
ttqtilfrcs 6n
cq-{tq c{fffi {l,
qfr
<| t{tcq
s{
cq frFi{
{gRrqq
q
ffi
qt,
es-q$ fr{
{slcdrbK study cs
qrq
cqR frfi
q-$'Kc"t
<rq <rq
WE
qr<
b-qt $-<Kq;t12-
qm
,ssF
o.lo nQ r frg
Mr. B
qwcq
vrcquq{,
ffi
tqlp
<d Rtr <tft
qq,
ffi FQRQ +r<a
firg
qr-sld
at r fr6nq ffi
q{c{<
s'f{
s{cil 441
eFil*l
s-c;t Tt
-
Tiny <IE ff< e$Et
T-{-{
qj(q
elK e"tc<R 6t<
qE
q[cq;1.f,13
cq
qr!
{grE-D-.srE
elrs <Ts'lc
e-
clfc$-{r4q[<
fiq
Kltr
sfcs
4tFm
6ilRm
qsFFK q6$r
I
qrs qfr
Elli
ef{N.
cnfqfr r
Sr<
olqv-cut"fv
s-t
q{R$K
|
q|TSt
eR r$\ r
ffi e+ 3g-6q ffi'sRcEq
;
qtR
fr.m <-qco
"ffR,
qG
<R{r<
6t<
<wta ffi cqunq<
q+e$-<
R-eR-$] cncficsq I
Mr. BK
qs
slcq-< &s,
,qs
c{fs-cr
6t<
"fs--|cs
E-q
c{,
do-,ss fr{ &fr F+l< cqcs
q<-$f"l
c{tsq dt I
q$-qs
fr{
frfr RRT{I cqrs
BdJ
qqfQtoffi
erfiKfi ttrs otcsr <js
alf+rsl
I
qr{ q<'{F
FF.frr6
qc-{
sh
frg
qru{
ar r
Mrs. B
$
vtrEt
qE{, qcfq
rtft Ehtr
CEFF {{ |
,4s
- 2 2 8 -
T A C O R E I N E N 6 t A N D
s.lc{ Ft{ E{
vfFrt
c4?tF freqq I rs <Tq
Et<
cFer
6Rs
{ryt cR{|iI,'7 cFl-c{ D'"Et
'lrfl -
{lq-c{lcw <rgt
qr-sq-<
caR r frrq frfctrq,46
qp74t'or<q
(qcqftcE
caA
Tort(
otgr${<_cgt mFt m)
qlllcs
{<
w
$<trcq |
{<
wfl
re
6{FIt TIT 6{, Mr. & Mrs.B< TC{i <W]
el-{Kprl
crQ r fue
qE
<cq R
Tqcffi
Tc<r'
13
<trWffi
q-{
et
m,"
fr:.fcq
q(qK
ucq
qkq
I Mrs. B s{nt Mr. BK studyce
{Fr 4t,
qqs
frr+< Tc{i {f{f{
qnr qfg
Eqrd<
Tc<i
qFr
crqtt{t
q-T
dl,'n{KK
q:r6{
Tq-6{ U"iD't"t
Trq
c[c$-{,
c{N
ccfrc
q|q|<
Tffi
riq <FGF[,
frg
w-o
'K^'Fr
r|fl
$T.<-{ Tt I
Mr. BK
qf{<
n+SK
q13cq,
ffi C+tt Ciil O-<r"s O-<re
Mrs. Bcs 3cr[FFI: Some potatoes! (Please $qfi 4464"4 4f
ft-q1
galal
cal"r dt t) Mrs. B {FI B}cqt, I wish you were
a little more polite. Mr. B To-(q{ : I did say please.
Mrs. B TE-CE{ : I didn't hear it. Mr. B TE-cfi It was no
fault of mine that you didn't! sqDl
qrs|
e|rEI s-C<
Gstf{l CrfE il, C{6q1Q'ttfr
e|cS
U'i
qC<
<qrdq I $c<r<
6q-6qz'ffi wsls
qet-qrc al-cV
mret 1
qsfr{
ffi
g+n<
6Tcs
,q$!
cqR $c-KRqN, {tcT cnfi Mrs. B Mr. Bc$
<r$tcq{,
qet<rlc<-<
TC{t Mr. B {I(rtrI
qrq q$T
mFt
qE
ffim{ |
qlilc$
6?-cql Mrs. B $'tg
{c-d;{,
Mr. B TRq
c"fca emeil FlEf{F
qrqj
frulq +r< W{ fico
qlefc-q-q
r
Mrs. B
qK
frcr
qs!
fr-r"fl{ rffit $UrF lls F+cEd I
I stayed
for
a
few
days with my tutor/s
family.
It is a uery strange
household. Mr B is a middle-class man. He knows Latin and Greek ue.ry
well. He has no children- He and his wife, me and a seraant-giil
-
it was
just
the
four
of us in the house. Mr B is middle-aged and has a scowl'ing
expression: he
fusses
and complains about things all dary long, and spends
his time in a dnrk roorn on the
ground
floor
next to the kituhen, with one
small uindnw and the door tight shut. The sun's rays can't easily entnr the
room, but euen so he keeps a curtain drawn oaer the windnw; the walls are
couered with uarious
formidable-looking
Greek and Latin books
-
old, torn
and dusty. When you go
into the room
you
feel
suffocated
from
the lack of
air. This room is his study, where he does his reading and teaching, with a
- 2 2 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N G A I I
bad-tempered expression on his
face.
He always looks bad-tempered: if it
takes him a longtime toput on tightboots orshoes hegetsfurious withthem.
If he catches his
pocket
on a nail in the wall, he screus up his eyebrows and
his lips tremble. He is such an irascible indiaid.ual that there seems to be
something to infuriate him at eaery step: he trips on the threshold when he
goes in and out; he cannot
get
a drawer open without a struggle; if he gets it
open he cannot
fi,nd
what he is looking
for.
One morning when I went into
his study I
found
him sitting and
frowning
and
groaning
for
no a|parent
reoson
-
there was no otherperson in the room- But actually Mr B is not a
bad
person:
he is irritable but is not uiolent; he carps and caails but he
d.oesn't threaten
-
or at least he dnesn't behaue aggressiuely towards
people.
He has a dog calledTiny, though, on whomhe works out all hisfury; if he so
much as moaes he threatens him continually, and kicks him to a
pulp
d.ay
andnight. I haae neaer seen him smile. His clothes are ragged and dirS. He
is this sort of man. At one time he was a
priest;
I am sure that in his sermons
on Sunday he regaled his congregation with the terrors of Hell. Mr B is so
ouerworhed, he has to teach so marry
people,
that some days he has no time to
eat his dinner. Sometimes he is busy
from
the mornent he
gets
uf till eleuen
at night. In such a situation it is not uery surprising that he is initable.
Mrs B is a uery
goodperson
-
she neuer shows arry anger. She must haae
been
quite
attractiue once. But she looks older than her
years
and wears
spectacles
-
and does not take much trouble ouer her dress. She does the
cooking herself, and the housework
(there
are no children, so there is not
uery much to do)
-
and she took
good
care of me. Within afew days it was
apparent that there was uery little loue lost between Mr and Mrs B. But this
d:id not mean that thqt quarelled
a lot: the household
functioned
quite
silently. Mrs B neaer
goes
into Mr B's study, and throughout the day they
see nothing of each other any more etccept at mealtimes
,
when thE sit
quietly
,
talking to me but not to each other. If Mr B needs more
potatoes,
he says
gruffly
to Mrs B,
'Sorne
potatoes!' (he
neuer says
please,
or at least it is
inaudible) . Mrs B then says,
'I
wish
you
were a little more
polite.'
'I
did say
please,'
says Mr B.'I didn't hear it,' says Mrs B.'It was no
fault
of mine
that
you
didn't!' says Mr B . I did not hear euerything they said
-
at this
point
both sides lapsed into silence. I
felt
uery ill-at-ease between the two of them.
One day I arriaed a little late
for
dinner, and
found
Mrs B rebuking Mr B :
'among
his other
faults,
he had taken too many
potatoes
with his meat. Mrs
B
fell
silent when she saw me, and. Mr B seized his chance to haue his
reaenge by taking a d.ouble helping of
potatoes.
Mrs B looked at him with a
heart-rendingly help less expression.
- 2 3 0 -
T A G O R E ' N E N 6 I A N D
Notes
{6{l"i
q-{ffi< e[Q
was the first Bengali book to be written entirely in
the calit bhdfl, as opposed to the literary sadhu bhay that will be
illustrated by the
passage in Unit 33. Calit bhaw is often translated as
'colloquial
language'. Its verb endings and
pronouns
do indtled conform to
the West Bengal speech on which Modern Standard Spoken Bengali is
based. But since it has largely replaced sadhu bhav as the language
of literature, it is now
just
as much a literary language as the older
sadhu bhny. Moreover, sadhu bhav, as handled by certain writers, can
be racy and colloquial, and calit bhay can be highly Sanskritic. Tagore's
style here shows how hard it is to make a sharp distinction betweencalit
md sddhu. It is breezy and spontaneous in tone, with loose punctuation
and hardly any
paragraphing. But the vocabulary is eclectic: literary
words
jostle
with highly colloquial reduplicative forms such as
{q{s,FEFE,
ffiffr,
q'ffi,
etc.
I
$Ei?F (a
few):
a more literary form than
q6{?F
.
,
{n
instead of {N,-9T instead of
-9FI,
etc. are West Bengali
dialectal forms, common in Tagore's writing.
3
{F
can mean an image or statue: here it mems
figure.
a
Tlall entered British Indian English in
punkah-wallnh,
cha-wall.ah: i.e.
the man who operates the
punkah,
the rnan who sells tea, etc. Here it
gives
RIE-q'Fffqt
an adjectival reference:
qffiRtE-qFldil-\9Tlc.tl
{3fQ]<6
qr[-SK
T6{ means literally in a small-windowed door-
fastened
dark room.
sln
Parts One and Two of this book {l has nearly always been attached
to the verb: but
you will often see it written as a separate word.
6 qC$
. . .
9fF (in
the
first flace
. . . on top of that). Cf. Note 6, Unit
28, p. 2I 7.
TThe
verbal noun is here used an adjective, with the zero verb: a curtain
(is)
drawn
(thrown)
oaer the window. DFFI at the end of the next clause is
also adjectival.
swith
Greek and Latin Doofrs. {Q. in the instrumental case .un 5" 3{6{,
iQ-c{ or <tre t.
gLit.
If
(you)
enter the room
(you)
haue to
pant
in a sort of enclosed air. The
participle from the extended verb
QlttlC{l
forms a colloquial compound
with
gA
in an impersonal obligation construction.
loLit.
It is becoming a delay
(for
him) to
put
on tight boots: another
impersonal construction. Notice the
gay
abandon with which tenses are
mixed up in this passage.
-
231
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A I . '
r.rA
contraction of
ftQI-T,
the participle of the extended verb
@l
f
,
to shink. A mor" usual expression would be
$# TD.illtC{|.
t,
qTF
<F-{l
also means tofrown, screw up ones eyebrows.
E-ql A-dl
means, as
you
might guess,
to
groan.
trNormally
\9
(
so much) has a correlative EE, but here it
just
seems to
intensify
qlCSFl
all his
fury.
r4QIFftl
combined with an infinitive or
participle gives
the mearingheeps
on, continually.
ts
ffi
@adre)
is still used in Bengali for a Christian
priest.
Portuguese
traders and missionaries
gave quite
a few words to Bengali in the pre-
British period: 9'F[ffl1
(window)
and DII{
(kq)
are others.
t6
s{<l{
here means since. Grammatically it would be
possible
to leave it
out
-
on some drys haoing rken
from
his bed . . .
-
but it emphasises that
he works all day long.
qqq
can also mean until: it had this meaning in
the last sentence of the extract in Unit
?9
@.
222).
q-{
\fl-<fR
means
since birth, but T{61 9<[l{ means until death.
rzLit.
Howeuer much age
(she
has) than that she looks oldcr.
\513tr
is the
correlative of {9. In Bengali looks, appears is expressed by the causa-
tive form of C{{l used impersonally, with the person in the object case:
CgFil-f$
Tq-{
Gq?ilCEq
(You're
looking beautiful).
rBLit.
But that
(one)
says that between the two there is a lot of quarelling
that is not
(so).
ELT{
is
often associ4ted with
11
, ffi Cq
13.
TIII-CFIIE<F
gl q{,
frfr frCsT
q?F-q-{
'4R
: That heilonly a critic tiiii
is not
(so),
he's a
poet
hirnself.
recq{fc{Fil
$-{l
can mean fo look after, take care of: here the sense is
simply that Mr and Mrs B didn't hear or see each other except at meal-
times.
2oAn
emphatic variant of tl|6{. Tagore sometimes uses West Bengali
dialectal
forms. Cf. Note 2 above.
2rCaICQ
with the
possessive case
from
the middle,
from
between them.
This is an obsolete usage: it would be nf{ll CcfCS in
present-day Bengali.
There are
plenty of conjuncts in the
passage, but the only novel ones are:
'Notice
also the
q.
*
E combination in
tDB
(see
Note 31,
p. 255).
It also occurred on
p. 226, to spell
'wheel'.
Q + v = g
E + 4 = 9
- 2 3 2 -
T A G O R E ' N E N 6 T A N D
Exercise
Bengali is very rich in reduplicative, onomatopeic expressions. Tagore
called them
tF|;lnYl<F
ffi
gound-dznoting
words) and included a
long list of them in his collection of essays on the Bengali language
(Bar.nk
Sabdntaftaa, 1909). In the following sentences, see if
you
can
guess
which is the right word from the list given
at the bottom. A bit'of a
lottery, perhaps,
but an interesting experiment. Are sound values in
words universal? Check
your
answers against the Key to the ex-
ercises on p.
289, and decide for yourseH.
) _sr l3Ks
s-C<
({rT
CTdldt I
He gulped
the whole
glass
of sherbert down.
8
ft
_
RG
! s
tr?tcil
U'fut"t
Tfi
cfcq;il
I
What a restless boy! He neaer sits
quietly.
c
_
Btf
qV,
ftq
FNK cqR
qc<
r
Get up quickly, otherwise you'll
be late.
s sE-FflsF{
c'fl{ls ficq crc-T<t T-C<
RCr
E
q
I
The girls
Siggled
when thq saw the clothes the gentleman
was
wearing.
c wrsF TK
q?F
csfc"t
qsF
uttr
_
$-{RE I
A dim lamf was
fl.ickering
in a corner of the dark room.
b
R-{F D-<
-
6stql c$tnt mto cqR r
A huge dzsolate sandbank
-
not a soul anywhere.
- 2 3 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F S E N 6 A I I
b s-<(Ee c{r{l
q{
4t I
All that
glitters is not
gold.
>o {Rr<
q$-q-{
R-o+ts$qK {b<
_'|q
ffi
t
Outside I heard the tinkle of a rickshawallah's tiny bell.
)> <fcrr
qE
&v
-
qKq
_
!
Such crowds on the bus
-
inQossible
pushing
and shoaing!
)q
uM-<
beq
$rqln
m
qttfcq
I
I could tell
from
the
jinglins
of her bangles that she was approaching.
qtsrD,
FqiFq, Rfrffi, mm,
EF-]EEF, D-<FFiF, D?"F, {rst{tR,
{-{:
F|aF|a,
ct4q't,
Fr-Fq
(You
will often see words of this sort written vrith ttre
QIE
sign' iadicalng that the
inherent vowel is not pronounced
(see
Unit 18, p. 95). Cf.
fiftf$
in tne
Tagore extract. But it is not really necessary, and contemporary writers frequently omit
it.
)
- 2 3 4 -
THE B ADESH
From gentle humour, and the manners of a bygone age, we move to
the brutal realities of Bangladesh's struggle for independence. The
following
passage is from
q3.|gt-<1fr4e]ft
Che
days of
'71),
Jahanara
Imam's vivid diary of that
year,
when the Pakistani authorities used
genocidal military force to try to suppress Bengali nationalist aspirations.
The military clamp-down led to an exodus of ten million refugees, war
between Pakistan and India, and the creation of the independent Republic
of Bangladesh. The story is told from the
point
of view of a middle-class
Dhaka family, many of whose members were caught up in the liberation
struggle. The book has been translated into English by Mustafizur
Rahman, under the title Of Blood and Fire: The Untold Story of
Banglad.esh's War of Independznce
(Academic
Publishers, Dhaka, 1990).
\
qEla
'tr3Fll?
)bq)
rl-\gFldr
qrfilr<
ffi
vlsFKtr
qcq
6ff-cqcq{ t,firqt
riq g.lF
$-c<3
qrr(q4
|
"MA{
Uia-q.6q
<rERcd
qnrcqe
Tsrl
cR-C<;r | 6q fu6{'616q-{ Rtr-q rc<j
qr{
31
ANGL
WAR
- 2 3 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N G A t I
cM< sefl t5 cqft &Tq
qw<l:l-qR
mq
ERA
<l
"lrvRe.N
r Rcq<
$(K
{iF<
qt
w{ql r.' cqfr< s'Kq ry{-cs
<6"[cc.Fr,
'|c?t
{q
qRaR
1r wff flp {tRc-{ cD:F $({cq I
ER <svq-PtfQre ffi< ffiN nt-cuq3
T6{
q<( qflft
c{cs
qFnt
ffiqrr< ffi cq-(q
r+
q< qtsrfi{
Rrs
ficarq r
qsorqe
6<
oB cqco nqqt< $ctr
T{cs {<
tcq
$K&E
firq
rilTrfrd
<'r<
elccBr
<-qo
trr<
q<il<
Tt R<s-s cu-qKt
qcreq
-
sfNT
g
?m
cDTet <EIEIFr,
'qlq
Railn fr-{ | $'fE
q<
ta<
r'
qrq
n<tfr-{
vfs'K <ls
Re-ff
fi G
qmqsfc-q<
&z<-$U<
vls
{sE
eT-q]cT<
{cq cn?|I $-fl, c$cd-< FRS
.g
{El-< s-dl'f{l
<Kt S-{13t
q-d]
| ff[IK fl<
,.{rq
<]Kdn
ql:tKq<t
{JIf{ {(< |
{ffi
qfd-
ursrcr<
fr
r
vlglst
<tc.[rcrF[,
'qlTfl
cq
qcr{
(sKRq]n
utntx
ftq
cqe r {< Nrs-B-L<
Elfrc-r
1srn
firtrK +-c< frrarq r*
m'Ffrs ccrrc rl{ {{<
etrcf{
Elx
oR I
t{.
?lbTt{ Kfucal,
RRfr, c<Fcql
q(Frt
\ff<
vcT|{ w<
qr{R.sK q-<=r
I
q
cq
q<
?K<
tC{
Nl Tlcil {Ktel teDfoK
q0-+
"n<
c'l-Cs
\Tc;rsfr{
[ECrlCq I'
'3;q'q1Q
rc'i
gc<
<F-(< ?'ro
'S
qs<
:c ft
:e
q13fE
r c*,m r<-ql
afu
qr<
frR'ifs
wft
-rqc<
Urs
Ts,E r ffir+<
ne
w<q | ilEr+< dq
q4l
Cqfs c<I{{{ {tFrreq, ffi
qq-41t'qc<
q-{qt-q|{l-El
ffict
<-cq
Rq
r <ro'{R BT frfrr fitcq< rc cqoil&E I
efc<
cq-FR 4-a wtfi
e|eeK
Ke|rc{
T<
q|qlrc qHI6o
-f{c<
.UCsRo
|
<q
cE|+
q(<rq
ercq<
tIRF
r n'frc+< Tc<lQ'' Tf$
<tRft Tlg?"||A
-Rl-T<
"g-d
$dr-d frc{ fr-q I
qffiq<
T{A($
<c'll
qE,
$'lCE
g.(-{l;{
o{es,r3qlq{efE uE o-<0o- |
qFKI
$q
elN
o6(
EH'i|grrq
{lsl$s
q<.N
Elrfflf{ r'
'ql:T'ilsfrd
+ft
Rq
r'
- 2 3 6 -
T H E B A N G T A D E S H
V
'Tl6<t
frRfr{ Rdrdt
| ft-e
qtq"rom
qKK
Dr{ s-{131
"Ft
eft
qwre qtetar
r ffi
q{6-s
*fi t'
'qqN<
pft
t'
'bt
r
qt{Kq
con *ft
<qfr{
Qq"ilslrq
mU
qrqfr, q(ilcq
{R
.[s$,
cald c{]ufc+t,
Els-"fi
w
qtsrt
Tft I'o
qlc<t
g<fsr *ft
qrq{MrE
c{fs
qFs,
w{t
qfTfcq<
frEn <ielt
{{
qf6q
I' ts
\af@lcr{
ffi't
etfr
qm
Bbq,
qlT{t q{R
fi-<t< cD.K wc'|q't
$-{ca- Elrldilq t'6vfgF E|T
q6Tfcn'{ qs
rK
<l6"fFF[,
'{fut
lRnt r wq <rfr crc-{ ccrc$
TF
sc<
c&r
ffi4,
$,qtft,
nA
_
c$E cqe tffi r
qrd?F
{q
nR-{t EtQ c*rco'ffEffi,
Nr+Cz{
qfi<
ftg EC<
{l I
qq
<tft mcrm<
qRc-r
frc-T
frrc?Tf cefre-cq{,6rcq<e cqts cqrfr
"ffM
'fFlsrt
I
qr
rRq't rft{ otcq
"Fqffi
ffi
qmtq qrs,RrEq
t m?
\l_+Ar
6tco
6rq c<et s-{t
q-{
|
qtcr$
ffint mm {Rr
'|vRm{,
rREFr-<l
csK];[ {Ar ilq fr6 6q6a
6fr+
st oc< l'
Welsl
cNclcr
Tcq U"t
+r< a1F< ftr+ cuun <qCEq I
qlT<l
4fr-qqq
sGs, <[oeKl'7Ec{ {cq
qtfEE
I
a1fr-aqq
'kr
ulsK
\Tnq
r-Cle <6K6'FI,
'{fr
qTmK qe9
efrc.
sc<
eQ tTslr+< 6va a1ffiq-a
<m<q
wqfitr |
q;l
qfr
ert
<K<q
{t
q-{,
vTq(d
qlHK qRE
{qm
qlxks qg{
+r< Sgt-vtc{t
gTKs
ec< r'r8
Friday,
2ndJuly, 1971
Last euening the doctnr and his nife arriued
from
Rajshahi. He had
driuen the car himself- He had told me the day before
yesterda'y in a trunk'
call that they would leaue Rajshahi in the morning. So we were expecting
them by about three or
four
in the aftemoon. We had all been aery worried by
- 2 3 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E
his lateness- Khuku was
particulaily
anxious. The doctor said the reason
for
the ilelay was that at many
places
on the way the Pak army had stopped
and checked the car. Hearing that he was
gotng to Rawalpindi to attend a
meeting and seeing the letters about the meeting
from
Karach| thq let him
through at each
place.
I was ue?y keen to hear about Rajshahi
yesterdny
from
him, but they all looked so shattered
from
the stress of traaelling
for
the
whole day that I sufpressed that desire and said,'Rest tonight. We'll hear
euerything tomorrow.'
The doctor was busy all today with seeing the P.G. Hospital Director Dr
N urul I slam, with his
plane
tichet and with uaious other arrangements
for
the
journey.
In the eaening he came and sat in our sitting room. Shanu
-
his
wife
-
was with him.
The doctor said,'We thought atfirstthatthere wos nothing leftin Dhaka:
that euerything had been smashed and bumt and annihilated. There was no
way of
getting news
from
anywhere.
Just
the news
from
Indiltn radio, the
BBC
,
Radio Australia and Voice of America. So hearing all that news we
were nery depressed. It took a long time to
get
correct news of Dhaka.'
'
When did R aj shahi
fall?'
'Probably
on the 13th or 14th of April. Early in the moming, the
Pakistani troops entered the cily along the edge of the riaer. The memory of
that day is terrible. Maybe eighly
per
cent of the
people
fled,
and the rest sat in
their houses with the doors and windows
fastened.
Rajshahi town that day
looked like a cremation-ground. Later I learnt that the Pak army had
entered the town setting
f.re
to eaerything on either side of the road. Many
people
di.edfrom their bullets. Within afew days, the Pak military hadtaken
full
control of Rajshahi town. We were all told to
go
back to work and keep
their hospital running. Taking our liaes in our hands, we began to
go
to and
frorn
the hospital.'
'Were
there
Potients
in the hospital?'
'For
some time there were none. But after the hospital started running
again the
patients
started to come. Mostly
gunshot uictims.'
'Gunshot
aictims?'
'
Yes . F or a long time no one brought any ordinary
patients
to the hospital :
thq broughtpatients who had been shot, or stabbed with bayonets, or whose
arms and legs had been blown off. People also brought another kind of
patient
to the hospital, whom I shall neuer euerforget.'
The doctor was chokedfor words: we all natched and waited silently. In a
aoice that was almost like a
groan he said:'Women who had been raped.
From
young giils
to middle-aged u)omen, mothers,
grandmothers
-
none
were spared. Many older ladies did not
flee from
their houses, thq thought
that nothing would hapfen to them. They stayed by themselues, hauing
moaed the
young giils
away, but the Pakistani brutes did not spare them
- 2 3 8 -
T H E B A N G T A D E S H
W
either. I heard
from
one lady
patient
that she was at her
prayers.
Etten in
that
position,
she was
fulled
awa.y and raped. Another wornan uas reading
the Hoty Koran: they snatched it
from
her and rafed her.'
The doctor remained silent, looking at the
ground, his
face
grief-stricken.
For a while we r,uere stunned: we sat speechless.
A tittte later, the doctor murmured to himself:'If Allah exists, then these
P akistani
followers
of the deuil must surely be destroyed- And if they are not
destroyed, then I shall haue to think again about the existence of Allah-'
Notes
lThe
doctor, a family friend, is named elsewhere in the book as Dr A. K.
Khan. The
plural ending
qf
is added to VlgK
to indicate that he and his
wife both arrived
(see
Unit 17,
p. 84).
2Contracted
form of the
perfeci tense of the extended verb
6ftqffi.
The tull form would be
CfrRCa6ql.
3As
Jahanara
Immam's diary is written in contemporary, conversational
middle-class Bengali, she uses lots of English words. So in this extract
we haveglEg 4-4t,
Sfrc-$-q,
cD-s
<F-<lt,
etc.
(to
driae, trunk-call, to
check. etc.).
+Rqt<
(or
fr6431
means calculation, reckoning, counting, etc. The
phrase here means rechoning on that
(i.e.
so).
sThis
is an important idiomatic use of Sefi, used for events or things that
are assumed, arranged or expected. It follows the verbal noun in the
possessive case, and the
person or thing that is expected
goes into the
possessive case, though in colloquial speech the
possessive ending is
sometimes dropped. There is zero verb if the sentence refers to the
future:
sa
fr65-6q
qlTt<
$cll I
qlTc{<
<qc< <QDIK 6{fc4F
sqt l l
He's exPected this afternoon.
The book should come out next
year.
If an expectation
in the
past is involved,
Rq
i. added:
1<qGI <tqICqC"f {KK
0)
was sot'pposed to be
going to
scll
RE,
Rtr
b|ot
{Rfr |
Bangladesh tast
year, but
(I)
didn't
get the moneY.
This use of Sqft may be related to the verbal expression Sa[ 64Tl
,
/o
promisel giue
one's word.
-oAn
idiomatic and emphatic use of
{t . Cf. {l
tRN
lat
the end of the
Conversation in Unit 19
(p.
106).
'Khuku'
is an affectionate form of
- 2 3 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N G A L I
'Khuki',
which means
Nung
giil and is often used as a name for the
youngest daughter in a family.
7
{l . . . WN
-
a relative/correlative construction: . . . the shattered
appearance which they all had, because of that . . . The instrumental
eryding on El
gives it a causal meaning.
uffiryqffi
,
a word of Persian origin meaningutter destruction.
g
EJ
is
just
short for
9R
,
so, therefore: and C{
q?{
{<K
,
all that news,
would also
perhaps more norrnally be written with the emphatic
Q:
c{{
q<T
3?K.
10
Tdl is the English wordfall. Nothing to do with fruit!
llPercentages
can be expressed colloquially in Bengali by using the old
'anna'
system. 16 annas
:
1 rupee, so 12 annas
:
75
per
cent, 8 annas
:
50
per
cent, etc.
(-IERF<I ;fDfg<, -N5?FKttlSFt).
See the Review of
Part Two,
p.
194).
u
a'fr6a
q6qF
(within
a few days). The qpostrophe
has been used
because O'Tnq is short for $Tlk-{ s1
<F-GS.K{
-
but Bengali writers
never use apostrophes systematically, and there isteally no need for
them. In the
previous sentence
("tlCrt is short for
[RttlC"t,
and earlier
in the text
you
may have noticed {'(i. Participles are sometimes
distinguished in this way from
present
tense forms. Thus you will see
:s'(<
(tare
-
hauing done) to distinguish it from SCi
(kcre
-
ft el she does)
-
probably because of a residual feeling that the colloquial
participle is a
shortened form of the literary form TJ-3TII
(see
Unit 33). But this
practice
too has never been systematic and is falling into disuse.
rn
$?CTFI
ffi
(English
to
join)
is commonly used in the sense of taking up
ajob, new
post, etc.
laNotice
the adjectival use of verbal nouns: Lit. bullet-struck, bayonet-
spiked, arms
-and-legs-blown-off
patients.
rsAn
idiomatic construction with {Iql
(pain),
suggesting
permanency
of
pain,
something that one can never forget.
16Eltfi
with the ffinitive can mean begin, or it can mean continued to,
went on. . . . The second meaning applies here.
tz
A[p means speech, and the verb
QfSf
(to
lose) is here used as an
ending equivalent to English
-/zss.
rsNotice
the conditionalionstructions using {fr
. . . 5({/uf{Cf,
(see
.Unit,
25
p. 185), with the negative coming before the verb in the
{fr
clause:
qK
{fr
q<t
tFtr(I
4t
q{
. . . The main clause in the sentence
contains an obligation construction
(see
Unit 19,
p. 109).
Note that in
{rff4
(cremationground)
the
{
is silent
('JcJan').
The only
other new conjunct is the
predictable
'triple'
{
+
E
*
K
=
E'.
- 2 4 O -
T H E B A N C T A D E S H W A R
Exercise
See if
you
can find examples in the
passage earlier in this unit of the
following
points
of Bengali
grammar, spelling and
punctuation.
Paragraph 1
1
'lhe
emphatic
particle
Q
added to the time of day.
2 An adjective turned into an adverb by the addition of TC3.
3 A
postposition
that does not require the noun that it follows to be in
the
possessive
case.
4 An extended verb
participle meaning hauing caused to stof .
5 An impersonal construction expressing desire.
Paragraph2
6 A word in which {
is
pronounced like an English's', not'sh'.
7 A
postposition used elliptically: i.e. the noun or
pronoun to which it
refers has been left out.
Paragraph 3
8 The verbal noun in its alternative
possessive form using
i{-
(see
Unl t24,
p.172).
9 The use of V to represent the English letter'v'.
10 C.$f{
-
but does it mean which or any, and how is it
pronounced?
(see
Unit 23, p. 158).
Paragraph 5
11 A compound verb meaning to enter
(suddenb).
12 An example of an extended verb used in the
past continuous tense.
13 An infinitive used to express while doing something.
14 A compound verb where both members of the compound come from
the same verb
-
i.e. the verb is compounded with itself.
15 A passive construction.
Paragraph 9
16 An English word that has become
'naturalised'in
Bengali: i.e. its
sounds have changed to fit the
phonology of the language.
17 The negative ofthe
perfect tense.
Paragraph 1O
18 A word with a silent <-T6TI.
19 The particle r9 used to mean too, as well.
20 The
'historic
present': the
present
tense used to narrate
past
events.
- 2 4 , -
32
-SHAMSURRAHMAN-
By common consent, Shamsur Rahman is the leading
poet of
present-day
Bangladesh, and arguably the finest poet writing in Bengali today. He has
published more than twenty books of
poems, which while being dis-
tinctively
personal are also a public record of the tribulations and
aspirations of Bangladesh. Like most Bangladeshi
poets, he takes his
public role seriously. Poetry is Bangladesh's most important art form,
and
poets are at the forefront of social and
political debate. Shamsur
Rahman has always stood for rationalism and secularism; his poetry
makes full use of Bengal's varied
poetic traditions, but is also responsive
to European and Indian literature. He has, for example, written superb
poems on classic Western subjects: Telemarchus, Samson, the Renais-
sance, etc. His verse forms are fluid and varied, and he comes up with
striking and unexpected combinations of images.
Most of his poems are demanding for those still in the early stages of
learning Bengali. The two
poems given below are relatively simple. The
reduplicating structure of the first
poem
(not
tlpical of Shamsur's work,
though other examples occur) makes it highly suitable for public recita-
'tion;
and all Bengali audiences would be stirred by its theme: freedom.
Erttuvfr
q.rfu
qF
<R'rKc<<
qq<
sRst.
qfra;ft
4-. r'
- 2 4 2 -
S H A M 5 U R R A H r
rlfr-d-st
gF
nffi +q-sq, it|-sg't
prq-{
<KR cnErnt
{qT{
ttr{, {EwqK
Uflcq fttofi r'
qtfuvfr
q fu<
ql;T qTCl
m-{stR<
uq-q
qst
13
qlfuyfr
"w-cfi&s
dtrr{-$t=r ft<il(Et frRq r
TrfuVfr
+qcaw a'nt
g6a3
qg
,
Trfu
yfr
c-Tf6q-qt
Etc<
ngtfe<
ql{r
clRil wt< frfoK r
qtQ{st
gfr
:rq<
{{F
c{164 4cifiE
qTF
<lq< aQq 6ffi 1
q.Ifu
Yfr
q-{Tt6f,<
itt i[
q$rg
{fuqd<
cD'tcfi firfrE 1.
q.tRd-st
Vfr
<rt<
qntr
u+q
crttft fiTtq<
ffi-rc<qft-< 3r{flfr-4Al {cssr
s]Rq
I
qtft-+ot
VF
Dt-?mF
w< $d-nlT|lr4 Cftwt
q(Et4
ts
qtfr-+ot
VR
4.ffi6"1q<. ftefs CuTM rs <rtqDt r
qtR-+ot
Vfr
qFrcol q{E
F:14fi
1E
t?
qtftwt
Vfr
fiElK 6s'FfE
srlTnll|cs?-{
ffi ffia I'
qtQ-qst
Vfr
'
Bhrl
qs,lcq'f
{l1T<
-191tg<
ftt"tq t'
qtQ-+ot
VR
c{fn<
EIN<
{q 4eF 66qfrs
<s
I
ttft+ot
Vfr
T{<
qls
slTl<
nE;r
q-c.|qrE qs
ils't ctt6t< r
- 2 4 3 -
r E A C H Y O U R S E t F B E N G A L '
$tuER
fift<
T{ c{fEt $frdt
uE,
qts{lT
Ets{f{
16a1
BqlI 1'
qtft-qet
gfr
c"tf$Rr
ai|c-q<
<fsq cof6t,
1R<
wl
gogrE
flffi,r fficu< c{El r"
qtR-qot
Vfr
(tql({
q3,
6e1ft143 ffi,t:
<LT'fr <ct< Rtfrffi
"tpt,
crqq t@ cEfi
qFEr
sRsI<
"llsl
I
Freedom
Freedom
You are Rabi Thakur's ageless
poems,
indestructible songs.
Freedom
You are Kazi Nazrul, that
great man with long shaggt hair swinging,
Trembling with
pleasure
at the
joy
of creation.
Freedom
You are the radiant meeting on irnmortal February 21st at the Shahi'd
Minar.
Freedom
You are
f.ery
meetings noisy with slogans and brilli.a.nt with banners.
Freedom
You are a
farmels
smile in the haruest-f.elds.
Freedom
You are a aillage
giil's
unconstrained swimming out into a
pond
in the
sunny noon.
Freedom
You are the knotty muscles of a
young
labourel s skilled arms shining in the
sunshine.
Freedom
You are the
glitter
of a
freedom f.ghterts
eyes on the edge of the enpty
d.arkness.
Freedom
You are a bright
young
fupil
in the shade of a banyan tree,
The liuely sfeaking of sharp dazzling words.
Freedom
- 2 4 4 -
S H A M S U R R A H / V A N
You are stormy conuersation in tea-shoPs or on
parks
or Maidans.
Freedom
You are the mad slap of a kal-bai6akhf storm
from
horizon to horizon.
Freedom
You are the breast of the shoreless Meghna in the month o/Sraban
Freedom
You are my
fathe/s
soft
prayer-mat's
wehoming realm.
Freedom
You are the
fluttering
of my mother/s white saris spread. out in the
yard.
Freedom
You are the colour of henna on my sister/s soft
palms.
Freedom
You are a coloured
poster
shining like a star in the hand of a
fri.end.
Freedom
You are a housenife's thick unbound blark hair,
Blown about wildly in the wind.
Freedom
You are Khoka's coloured shirt,
You are the
play
of sunlight
On Khuki's such soft cheeks.
Freedom
You are a
garden
room, thekoel-bird's song,
The old banyan tree's
gleaming leaues,
My book of
poems
written as I
please.
The second
poem is touchingly
personal and domestic: Some Lines
for
a
Cat.
@
mvtm< wdr frR
'lqe
sF cgtE
Rq
skq<
qF[Fr
<fqF
TeL{
qfq-<,I4RcrFg qNFI
sFt ${it
,
\e<
Etr
RE
c<Ft vnnnft, frsfi\o
sr$
cq?fefF{t
:Ffl,
< el-qsF c||-ot
E&fr1,
{tsTffi,
<
q-c{t
frcst<
slr'|;r
Ttq.
grq
<l{t
Rq
q<
fi-sloK s'lq I esfr{
TEI<stt's n1 Cq C{s-fE Cs'icll{
E{ls
q541,
frRF Crl6t {l
q'Fil,'6
C{ll-q.t{& ErEl
qK,'7ql-<
- 2 4 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A I . '
qll<r
ofr6 E-llt Q<q
qrfl"t
<rsctr
xl,
e{df
{l
Efr{
RR
U"r6'Pl
frrql s mfl,
Bq<-q <ffifi
qlitFr
{cot scfi
qfrqffi,r8
cr{ 6,IFr-<r eQ.
\trs{'-{ \Tl{<R
6'qn !
ft or< 6{RtR
sf6s ?
'q|ql
.q{K E,Rrq
ffiu
qFrR
s{rl|
Ec<
cqql' a6q ffizo 6sfnt csfc{l
TlNs Ft
.esr
D-rq rf{ R"rq
siel
fr-Cq
"fA<,r'e[i[
:fcq
Cq?|l
E{
4l
iF{r{l
I
Some Lines for a Cat
We had a cat
for
a
feu
years in our house,
Always seeking attention, my
youngest daughter espuially
Was deuoted to it, regularly
Looking after it, looking out
for
it euery day,
Washing it, keePing her own share
Of
fi.sh for
it was her dnily task. One day
Without so much as a word, that cat uanished someuthere,
Not a trace of her, we searched euerywhere,
And my little daughter was aery downcast,
She didn't eat
for
two days, lay on her bed without talking,
She wouldn't euen talk to me,
As if the disappearance of the cat were my
fault!
How to ex\lain to her? It was
just
like someone sayxng,
'OK,
I'm off now, see
you
again sometime'
And then
going off, neuer to be seen again,
Leauing as apresent a
great
entptiness,
Notes
We are dealing now with the language of
poetry: words can be combined
more daringly than in
prose, and literal meanings become harder to
pin
down. The translations above are therefore freer than the translations
that have been
given in previous chapters. You may need to use the
Glossary extensively to arrive at a literal understanding of the lines.
- 2 4 6 -
S H A M S U R R A H 4 A N
l'Tagore'
is an anglicised version of
ffi.
'Rabi'
is an affectionate
abbreviation of
'Rabindranath'.
2The
great'rebel poet'Kazi
Nazrul Islam
(1899-197Q
was famous for
the flamboyance of his hair, clothes and personality.
{F{C<RI
E-mlfq is
the title of a
poem
by Nazrul. Compound words such as
1fu"|
kreation-
joy)
can be formed veryêasily in Bengali poetry.
3February
21st,
xtQ{
T4-{q
or'Martyrs Day', is a very important date
in the Bangladeshi calendar. There are ceremonies at the Shahid Minar
('Martyrs'
Memorial') in Dhaka, and elsewhere in the country, to
commemorate those who were shot dead for protesting
against the
Pakistan government's
anti-Bengali language policy.
4
{l
?Il
-
an expression of the kind that was discussed in Unit 30. It
conveys desolation, loneliness, emptiness and also heat: the heat of the
desert.
5
{Ft can be a definite article
(see
Unit 17, p.
82), but it can also mean
1/ace.
5f-<f1-41
is a place
where
you
can buy and drink tea. A
T{nF
is a
park-like
area of open
grass
in a town, where
people
can walk,
play games
or hold
public
meetings, as on the famous Calcutta Maidan.
o4]-Er41-6qfr
($.ffi{5ilft): see unit 25, p.
190.
TSraban
is a monsoon month
(fuly-August
-
see p. 195). The Meghna is
one of the great
rivers of Bangladesh.
s$qf3-
a complex adjective here conveying warm-heartedness, genero-
sity, welcome, intimacy.
qfr4
is a variant of
qF
Uand,
sface). The
two words together convey the whole world of
prayer
extending beyond
the
prayer-mat,
all the way to the K'aba Mosque in Mecca.
eOlder
Bengali women, both Hindu and Muslim, tend to wear white saris,
with a coloured border if they are not widows. Widows traditionally dress
completely in white
-
in what is technically a white dhoti not a sari.
10A
woman's hair allowed to hang loose after bathing, blowing in the
wind, is frequently a symbol of freedom and erotic allure in Bengali
poetry.
lr'Khoka'means
little boy,
just
as'Khuki'means little giil (see
Note 6,
p. 239), and is often used at a
pet
name for the
youngest
son in a family.
r2Modern
poets like Shamsur will freely mix literary with colloquial
words, Persian words with Sanskrit words. You already know the word
@fr
(sunshine);
Klq
is the Sanskrit form of it. A distinction can be
made between tatsama words: words that have been lifted direct into
Bengali from Sanskrit; andtatbhaaa words: words that are derived from
Sanskrit but have been modified or simplified over time. Bengali writers
often have a choice between the two: Shamsur uses C-KI? earlier in the
poem (1.15)
with a slight difference of nuance. The Sanskrit form here is
grander
and more intense than the colloquial.
- 2 4 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N G A I '
13
CSIfr-E
is often translated as cuckoo. But the koel-btrd, with its
passiornte call rising up the scale, is quite
different from the European
cuckoo, though it belongs to the same family.
taThe
language of the second
poem is spontaneous, naiural and collo-
quial, and the
grammar is often
quite loose.
TIV-C{
W4-{t Oit.
hauing
picked
uf loue) suggests that the cat was always seeking affection.
tsThe
linking of these two verbs meaning to speak
(the
second being
dialectal, archaic or
poetic in flavour) adds an informal, casual tone, and
humorously
personifies the cat.
16The
word order has been switched round, and the tense is past, but this
is none other than the verbal noun +
{\3TI construction: Not at all could
(anythind
be known. See Unit 22,
p. I47.
17The
reduplicated form of the verb
Ccflql
/o search, look
for
suggests
searching high and low.
)Tl3l
means essence
-
searching became the
essence, the be-all and end-all of everything.
r8A
classic use here of the word
qgTF
for a feeling of being hurt or
let down by someone
you love: Moreouer she didnot speak to me because of
herhurtfeelings. Notice the free word order: a more normal'prose'word
order would be:
qpq;6
\flnEl
{ffi Sclt <CEfi.
reqtfr
is the first
person imperative
(Let
me . . ., May 1. . .); and
remember, it is normal to speak of coming
(again)
when one takes one's
leave of a
person in Bengal
(see
Unit 21, p. 133).
ztt
frq1
(emphatic
form
ffi)
[terally means heauenly, but is used here
as a kind of
particle, conveying an easy, pleasing, relaxed, casual marurer
of departure.
2rlnverted
word-order again: E
fqR frCg
i. the normal sequence.
Exercise
You have now been introduced to most of the common Bengali conjunct
characters. Any unfamiliar ones
(such
25
Q
and H in the firpt poem in
this unit) should be readily recognisable. By way of revision dnd consol-
idation, however, see if
you
can complete the
'equations'
for the following
conjuncts, all of which occur in the
poems in Unit 32: When
pronouncing
conjuncts, remember:
(a)
Double consonants
-
F, F, etc.
-
should be
properly
double in
sound.
(b)
<-Tdll
-
attached to a letter is generally
silent, but lengthens the
consonant to which it is attached
(except
where it occurs at the
* 2 4 8 -
(c)
(d)
S H A M 5 U R R A H / V A N
beginning of a word). The exception to this rule is T which can be
pronounced
'mb',
in English words such as ncmb6r, and in words
derived from Sanskrit
-mb-
rather than
-mu-.
However, IT6{
(about,
concern'ing) is often
pronounced
'scmmcndhe'.
l-T-4t
-
J
-
also lengthens the sound to which it is attached
(except
at the beginning of a word), and often changes a following a
to a. Occasionally it is followed by e
(pronounced
a) or o
(un-
affected). An exception to the normal effect of
q-4qf
is the
conjunct
Q.
+
{
=
{
in the middle of a word, as in
qqq
(unbear-
able), wlndr is
pronounced'cs6jj6'.
{
and
I
in some conjuncts are
pronounced
's'
not
'sh'
(see
pp.269-270).
)
q =
q
c =
I
8
q =
&
d =
s
q =
q q =
b
s =
b
g =
) o q =
) ) g =
) q
qr =
> e g =
) 8 q =
> a q =
) s s =
) q q =
) b 6 =
> b q =
\ o q . =
\ ) s =
\ \ E l =
l s E* =
a . 8 q =
\ a
{ =
*Be
careful: there is a vowel here, as well as two consonants.
- 2 4 9 -
33
THE COMING
OF
THE MONSOON
All the Bengali
you have encountered so far has been in the so-calledcalit
b&asd
(UFg
VFl)
or colloquial language. This is the normal form of
Bengali both in speech and writing today. But in the nineteenth century
and early
part
of the twentieth century, a more formal, literary form of
Bengali, the sadhu bhaSA
(\|Ltrt{t
)
was used when writing Bengali.
This was characterised not only by a more elaborate, Sanskritic vocabul-
ary, but by longer verb endings and
pronouns. Some of these forms
-
more archaic than the colloquial forms
-
survive in Bengali rural dialects.
Thus the sadhu bhasaform forqtF
rtt&
is-qtfr {FFfq,
which
vou
will frequently hear in Bangladesh
(pronounced'khaitesi'). The full range
of. the sadhu bhdgd. hes beyond the scope of this book; but to
give you
a
taste of it, here is the end of one of Rabindranath Tagore's short stories of
the 1890s. Tagore was a
pioneer in writing in calit bhasa, and switched to
,
using it in his later
prose fiction; but his stories of the 1890s are all written
n sddhu bhdsa.
The
passage below is taken from his story
qefa (Guest
-
pronounced
'6tithi'not'ctithi':
see
p. 275). It's about a handsome
young Brahmin boy,
Tarapada, who has left his family to lead a roving life working for troupes
of
gymnasts, players, singers and the like. Matilal Babu and his family
befriend him, and he lives with them for some time' Matilal arranges for
- 2 5 0 -
T H E C O M I N C O F T H E M O N S O O N
him to have English lessons, and he and his wife begin to see him as a
prospective
bridegroom for their only daughter. But
just
before the
wedding, Tarapada disappears, to return to the unfettered life that suits
him best. The last three
paragraphs
of the story are written in Tagore's
grandest manner, and are wonderftrlly evocative of East Bengal's
riverine landscape. The translation is taken from my book Selected Short
Stories ofTagore
(Penguin,
rev. 1994).
qf{q
nk{ frqftq(l
Tsfr{
flq< sfu, {tr<l_1
EKPfq-<
r]
qtm< qiRes 'flrdtm{,3

sKl'lq-6F sRt
qlRN
fr6aa a1 1
sfrflgK
{@r<r$
rlg<
<lqj a1-s{t frN'qlffi-f sR-cE{
,q<(
&fiq'trq< T6
"[hQ-rt'
fr641 r
qFn-lr.t q-<<{<
cl{
U6-q
I
qtcr< qft
esfrl
t$qFu
ffio,
nRR ntc<t c<<6r
qs-+Et
cst<lx
q-{
{fft'{'f tr
;
cqlrtt
RRtt
d--+l mQ {R-q
qcE
csFl-tc{t
Ro
e<i
-Xm
tfttq cflts<
att&-uq]uc-q<
{affr<'DqGR
ffi]fiE
Qp;frqa
-
qmr qq-{ qsfr{
Avu|Q-ersnN
"fl,{q<
{Nt,n
6$teil
N'o
q"e=5ffifttr
wqq-4 s-{qW-T{j5l6<D
qf*<
t{<eq;
qF$ qnttls
qtE
-
Uqq <wfl{tfr=slTt frc<
qFKf
E?w:q-c<
Tsi
sRN': 4f6;q, wyg
qf{cq
<l<RtT
qrE
ilf"f
fint firt* {ftrr mq
qtfrT{
sRr {fuo EtfufE,
tmnat
s.tqt6n<
"fRGE
faHqfrfoT crfaKK
q-dl
<rR<
q!31 q1frq"
-
-F
fr-6-{ dtcm x<t mic[
r
qs
ef{E
R"Iq
qtqRcsrq"
\rtF-ql
en-f sRq 1 6?*tRmt
qap
6qRtR
q?pt"
er?t<wt
qf{scffi
ffi$]
qtfus qrFE
-
<fqlcr{
qb
Tsitr<-atr Rmft
TIRK
)ifus
<Kfu
RQ.ql
Ufr-q
I
E?
ft:-<<
q{TR
{rFqq3r18
gfefffiu
fiw mrq
qPFK
TE
!=i$-{l
q!s't
enlfrft frl{Pn
sRN
ctfc$,
T{K
q:{-{
{Rc<-{
Tqq f{A
ffiq tqlpRr{
Qst,
hR$<6f
q-q-{rq
E&lt
qQ qT$ljlnqR<
w
eRs
e[6{
;
s14
qrfNsr
{cq
qffuft<RR]ftrK q-{]'Efqlcq<
TE-st
qD$
{x,
qrse
{5-E {qltf
qsfi<
RQ.qt
ffi e<( fr{
Fw cqrm nr<l'{f{ drqr<
q{l_ol{EKfr qfFrt
DR
frrrK
qFFIrlc$ q1rntfrs
+frq
g6q
1,'
-
25t
-
T E A C H Y O U R S E t F E E N C A I I
qQ qrm
w-,q-sFF
qFKKq-{
,qEFFlT
Rqno
<cFlEt{
6trEt
fr6q 1zr cqrtqd-Tfl'lx w{Hq
qd
inrt fiFrE, colrEt fr-$1
4trl-{cql6.tl, c$'l(4t dot
qfqK qG't,
c$.l6t ffi-ot
erqir<j
ER-TI
qTq
{+{ cqlo<
{rq
e-\eKcof
'ufrflzq.
;
sR-$'rs.l-< $Tq6{
qq
RTE-IE w-selm-{ Trq-{
qe-Tt
frR.lr%
TlqK
q6,r
cs{fqF {cq
r||{ rfiRrs(q
q<( :{c:t-<
sl(q
Efqfqls
"rrq
GqslK
EffNr%
'iftnmft
fr-st< TfqTmtecil cs<-Eql
nfq-E e<i s<sfE
qtTt
B-{s Bqqrcq
R-+t
q(ftN
{D':IF {cq
qFFf"tRfr.f
sRrerq
-
Efr"rqn fi$ TR r cqFrc 6qFtcsx
tffitrs
rs
r{ flT.{tFt
ersrc
sfcEt
"pq
gFnt
frx1
q1p16"13
{Rr{lc{ UftTt
"iB,E,
i.fq
q.lq{
q?F
-
{c<<luHu
6{c5t
qQpx qtFfE,
crctK 1'DlN cqq
RFrt
Dfrf,,
qfr{ qE
{E {E
qrql
E st
Bftes
qlFrq
-
dfrffi
qnmRs
<-qcqfi<
Tc<r
q{-$l3r
tlYs
-rt
EftE, cso
vtR-re
qKs
+Rq,
RIR<KR c{426 u** fut wq-sFrs FRcE
qlFrq
I
sFt'fcr<
{TC?t
qfq
cfi
qr-s qrt6s<
<{{l-qt
-
D'fs't
{Rr|cq,
<Kql
E&rere"
{aR
ffPlN(% mq
E&qtc% <]Ef{
Rtr{tq,
{ft
<fure, fi-st Dfutq,
ril{
Ofuq
;
cqfitN cqFrc
tfs
Ts
rtpi
flq
s-ffrTt EbE,
fu<
wnt"tro stFrt $]F$ 1qfiTt
U6E,
{[-{
wr<FR
re
q$Et
TqE{ffi 1E<
arq
qffiF
Elllrq I m<q
qfr<
en ficn
qo 'flrdftbtfrst q|r qPf{'
Ttr<q.K
<q sRrt
qq
fr-{fu1 fi$ fisrr<4-"
TT|tes
ctfte t
ffifr{
qsrptwr
nfst
\e
q'tgt{q
fihR-TF
qtfr'st
w{s<q
sRffi{,
emfr{
sfr-+.Fst
s
ffi<qmftt{frq"flril
<W'f fu
qtfi-qt
+TbtB-TK
qffi
$tRtRK
qd
4Frq
q<(
ffifr{
qF
qll"s
cqHnR slrtcq ffiq
q:rqE
<(
?iltrl3r
dq.lr ftf*q
\sw{
E?Tt
vcr sc{
wflqq<
"tttqL<
qtFrt
fie*|cq
ftv',FF
-
Rtr
er<frd
sFrt'lF-6F
cq{t crfE dl I cfi-q-cen<TN<
T-srq<-{-{
ERfcs DtR
fr-$ re
q-f*c"tzs
frfr43
1@'
qrs qlcm
qqsffiar
UR
+m
qsnt
<{< fl:IFfi-sK rtrm
qR
FFmq<rq..s
qqfuRaq
ffi{
q-{ft
fu1ftft< fr-+?
DFKI
fr1-q16q 1:z
- 2 5 2 -
T H E C O / I 4 I N G O F T H E M O N S O O N
Matital Babu
fi.xed
the wed.d.ing
for
the month of Srabul and sent word to
Tarafada's mother and brothers; but he did not inform Tarapada himself.
He told hrs moktar in Calcutta to hire a trumpet-and-drum band., and he
ordered euerything else that would be needed
for
the wedding.
E arly monsoon clouds
formed
in the sky. The aillage-riuer had been dried
up
for
weeks; there was water only in holes here and there; small boats lay
stuck in these
pools
of rnuddy water, and the dry riaer-bed was rutted with
bullock-cart tracks. But now, like Paruati retuming to her
parents'
home,
gurghng waters returned to the emply arms of the aill.age: naked children
danced and shouted on the riaer-bank,
jumfied
into the water with uor-
acious
jo1
as if trying to embrace the riaer; the uilhgers
gazed
at the riuer like
a dear
friend;
a huge waue of lifu and delight rolled. through the
parched
uillage. There were boats big and small with cargoes
frornfar
and wide; in
the euenings the
ghll resounded with the songs of
foreign
boatmen. The
aillages along the riuer had spent the sumnur confi.ned to their own small
worlds: now. with the rains. the uast outside world had come in its earth-
coloured watery chari.ot, canying wondrous
gifts
tn the aillages, as if on a
aisit to ih daughters. Rustic smallness was tem|orarily subsumed by
pride
of contact with the noild; eaerything became more afiiue; the bustle of
distant cities came to this sleepy region, and the whole sky rang.
Meanwhile at Kurulkata, on the Nag
family
estate, a
famous
chariot-
festiaal
was due to be held. One moonlit eaening Tarapada went to the
Sl:mrt
and saw, on the swift
floodlide,
boats with rnerry-go-rounds and
yltrd-
troufes; and cargo-boats rapi.dly making
for
the
fair.
An orchestra
from
C alcutta was
practising
loudly as it
trassed;
the
ydtra- troupe was singing to
aiolin accompaniment, shouting out the beats; boatmen
from
lands to the
west sflit the sky with cymbals andthudding drums. Such excitement! Then
clouds
from
the east coaered the moon with their huge black sails; an east
wind blew sharfb; cloud after chud rolled by; the riuer
gushed
and swelled;
dnrkness thickened in the swaying riaers'i.de trees;
frogs
croaked; crickets
rasped like wood-saws. To Tarapad.a the whole woild seemed like a chariot-
festiaal:
nheels turning,
flagsfl.ying,
earth trembling, clouds swirling, wind
rushing, riuer
flowing,
boats sailing, songs rising! There were rumbles
of thunder, and slashes of lightning in the sky: the smell of tonenti.al
rain apProachedfrom the dark distance. But Kathaliya uillage next to the
riaer ignored all this: she shut her doors, htrned out her lamps and went to
sleep.
The
following
moming Tarapada's mother and brothers arriued at
Kathaliya; and that same morning three large boats
from
Calcutta, laden
with things
for
the wedding, moored at the zamindal s
ghAt;
and. aery early,
that same moming, Sonamani brought some mango-juice
preserue
in
paper
and some
pirkle
wrapped in a leaf, and timi.dly stood outsi.de Tarapada's
_ 2 5 3 -
rooln
-
but Tarapada was not to be seen. In a cloudry monsoon night, before
loue and emotional ties could encircle him completely, this Brahmin boy,
thief of all hearts in the aillage, had returned to the unconstraining,
unemotional arms of his mother Earth.
Notes
Most of the notes below simply refer you
to calit bha;a eqlivalents to
various words, verb forms, pronouns etc.
I
R={R
is more formal than
RR
(maniage)
so it tends to be used in
sadhu bhasa writing.
2Equivalent
to
ftE
'<iR
&auing
fixed)
in calit bhasa.
:iEquivalent
to
qf46s-
ell-JIt,dFI
.
aNotice
that not all verb forms are different in sadhu bha;d. The infinitive
of C4{l
is the same in both forms of Bengali.
5Equivalent
to
efiftC-{
-
past participle of the extended verb
tfbfint,
here combined with ffigTl
,
as often happens
(see
Unit 23,
p. 159).
04F[
used as an ending attached to an adjective means neaily.
TThq
prefix
{
attached to an adjective intensifies the meaning: so
15il<
means uep de(p.
sEquivalent
to
{Qq
-
past continuous tense.
eThe
kind of adjectival
phrase, influenced by Sanskrit, that one would
only find in Sadhu bhasa: Lit. like
Paternal-home-returned-Paraati.
No
wonder nineteenth century German scholars took so readily to Sanskrit!
loEquivalent
to the
postposition
6e1-68
in calit bhasa.
rrswiftb
mouing: -otn"i Sanskrif compound. Notice that
(
+
<
+U
:
m
12
{q$'l(<
(
witD another sadhu bhasa w ord. Notice that it does not take
the
possessive case, unlike the calit bhasa
lCq/qftq.
l:iEquivalent
toffi4g.
raEquivalent
to
iftri fr61 fr6n
: the repetition of the
past participle
gives it a more
'continuous'
meaning:
jurnping
into the water.
lsEquivalent
to(?c[<K
q-{i
{lq<
qC{
qE.
Noticethatwhere thecalit
bhasa has two vowels together-
<lt<
-tne
sadhubhasa often has q
,betweenthem- TtR<
.
16This
kind of compound is as characteristic of a
poetic
style of writing as
of sadhu bhasa as such: a huge hfe-waue.
lTEquivalent
1e
64ffi64q cqfm m'f+R
qcl
.
rsall
year
- qKt
{{{ in calit bhasa. Notice the
(now
archaic) way of
spelling the sound ch.
le
s{ttlfl<t
can mean one's outn, as here. The basic meaning of the root
word
gl14
is own, notyour.
- 2 5 4 -
T H E C O / V I N C O F T H E M O N S O O N
20 qTl
is used instead of C{Tt in sadhu bhasa, so
Qlt
is equivalent
to frC{.
{"fl"iEK
is a compound made up of
tl'|]
(merchaniise)
and
Btfql-<
(gf).
ln Sansknt, words change when they are
joined
together in
compounds according to sandhi rules: 6 * u
:
o, so p6ru6 * up6har
:
p6nyop6har. When Sanskrit compounds occur in Bengali, sandhi rules
generally
apply, though speakers are not necessarily consciously aware
of them.
2rNote
that Tagore writes
pF
and Bd instead of
CEICai
and
g-d
for the third
person familiar of the
present
tense.
zzA
lenglhy postposition typical of. sadhu bhdga: the phrase is equivalent
to calit DftasdCnaTK m-6F 01f,R.
2:rEquivalent
to 6?qlN C?"ICO
-
an idiom meaning immediately.
2aEast
wind; notice that in this extract the calit bhasa form
$
is used as
well as the sadhu bhasa formti . A writer like Tagore can
get away
with mixing sadhu bhd.sa with calit bira.sa sometimes.
2sEqui val entto
KR.Evenncal i tbhasa, the verb 494
(tobl ow,fow)
like Dt$
(to
want, asfr) inserts an
Q
into many of its forms
(see
Unit 25,
p. 186, and the Verb tables onp. 202).
26Remember
the use of CT{ as a
particle giving
a sense of seeming
(see
Note 14,
p. 218).
27ou)n -
see Note 19 above.
28Here
we have
(as
often in Sanskritised Bengali) a word containing
Rqsf f
3
-
see Review of Part One,
p.
44). All it does here is lengthen
the sound of the consonant that follows it: there is no aspiration. So
c-^-^-
l-d8'fq
is
pronounced
'niJJcbd6'.
ln colloquial Bengali, the only common
words containing
R'q5{
areS:rl
(sorrow), pronounced'dukkh6' and{3
(see p.
81),
pronounced with vigorous final aspiration.
zg
ar{ (r0pe)
is often equivalent to
{<F-F
or 9lK in calit bhasa.
Not i cet hat
K
+
G
=
n.
3oEquivalent
to\ilCtt in calit bhasa.
31qq-{
(heart)
is commonly
pronounced
'ridcy'
rather than the more
correct
'hrdcy';
hidcy is also heard. Remember that in good typefaces
R
appearsas
Q
and
R
appearsas
-Q..Speci al consonant+
vowel combinations as well as all the consonantal conjuncts are
given
in
the Review of Part TQree,
pp.
265-270.
32Equivalent
to
Rt{aR<
+.Kq D-Cf, cticq.
The more literary the Bengali, the more conjuncts occur!
{ + S = $
R.
+
4
=
Q(pron.
' nn' -
sofi q- si gn-i s
pronounced' ci nn6' )
{ + { = 4
{ + K = s F t r
- 2 5 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E L F B E N 6 A t I
Exercise
The extract in this unit introduced
you
to a number of. sadhu bhasa vetb-
forms and
pronouns. See if
you can
predict correct sadhu bha;a fotms
from the hints
given
below. They are not really very dfficult, if
your
grasp of the calit bhasa forms are secure. Alist of. sadhu bhasd forms is
given in the Review of Part Three
(p.
270).
calit bhdEa
\9l{
sfcs
, 4
qrs
\rt
\9<
g(GT
qm<
ffi {tstfr dQ
c{ <Istfi T{
c?tqlT
c?tcf{
{fK ?
{rafl ?
qfr
snu
"ilKR{t
sddhu bhaga
srql{
Wcr<
8
ffi <tsrfi {R
a cq <tsffi
Z.-l
<<l
va
qtF
"iltE'N
sfrfr
qrF
efr
vfr
\'Fl
Vfr
ql?(Kt
C VFI
"]fi
$*
u g R_
"mffiqt
2
.9fi
$N
cfl<rq
t
E|g
frCT
EFrt
Elv
ftcTcq
qe
fiTl
b
- 2 5 6 -
aE
T H E C O M I N G O F
qt6sc+
ffi
qt{fr qrs
6qFl-c-TCq{ 7
tilat
tqRcql
&<t <rqRrq{
qrfr
vt
sRR
ffi.g $(-<-{R
s'fq s-{cE Frffi
ffi fr3rE c{
qHcr
qFIK
CFCTI <.9
s<
cwx
qt
r|rd
{lrFilf
Kr4tI {EI{I
c{?f131
'fc<
riqf{
qtrrt
T H E M O N S O O N
ffi
Wrro
cqqm
)o
q'fR
?
ilElrt
ffirEq
\ilF
qA
sR rR
>t
ffie
st-q sfirE fifQn<
>*r ffi cq
ql{lR
uttc'l
W
>8 cqF
T-{t*
TIT 4t
)c {lT 4l
R"$<*
"ic<
)s
qlcsl
>)
xThese
forms of the verbal noun for o/u and e/i verbs are used in dictiornries. See pp. 270-
271 and the Notes at the beginning of the Glossary on p. 290. Verbal nouns for the other
verb types are the same as for calit bhax.
- 2 5 7 -
34
-JIBANANANDA
DAS-
Finally, two
poems
by the finest of the modern Bengali
poets
who set out,
in the 1920s and 1930s, to find a
poetic
style free of the all-pervasive
influence of Rabindranath Tagore.
Jibanananda
Das
(his
name becomes
easier to
pronounce
and spell if one understands that it means
'life-joy'
-
fi-+q-qffq
)
was born in 1899 in Barisal, the Ganges delta area of
present-day Bangladesh, the son of a school-master who was also a
preacher in the local branch of the Brahmo Samaj, the Hindu reform
movement with which the Tagore lamily was connected. He went to
Calcutta for his university education, and stayed there as a university
teacher of English. He died in 1954, struck down by a Calcutta tram. His
poems are characterised by expressive and surprising combinations of
images, a deep feeling for the rural landscape of Bengal, and a modern
awareness of the complexities and confusions of urban life. There is a
melancholy, even morbid streak in his writing, but also a sensuous
.
appreciation of beauty.
The first poem opposite, translated by Clinton B. Seely in his bookA Poet
Afart: A Literary Biograph.y of the Bengali PoetJibananand.a Das
(1899-
1954)
(Unlersity
of Delaware Press, 1990), belongs to a group of
poems
that evoke the world of the Sundarbans, the mangrove swamps of South
Bengal, home of the famous Bengal tiger, now a nature-reserve rather
than the hunting-ground of
Jibanananda's
poem.
- 2 5 8 -
J I E A N A N A N D A
D A S
lEl
ftoK
I
cslst
;
qrsr.K
<s
BtqrB-cs< crn{< vcot ml:|q frq
'
DtRftL. c'Frl-{t
s
cryl;rK
rilq
fu<
'fldrc$-<
TCsl
q{q
I
esF
qil q{rqt qFFItrt
Tcrcq
-
"f1gi1rft<
<lrFTq-K
q?t
6561 cril{R-nfi-{ fl6.1fi< T6ef
;
ft<n 6.rmK l|{ft
sn
{c<r{
ccrcs c{
{@t
qFrt<
ftq
qcq<
(atailcq
6f,c{&-q
EMR aqK
<{<
qfcrf qtr
TIN cuqfr
-'
Nnfr esF
qil qFFlct
E6Tcq
q{cil
t2
Rn<
<nr= {fr<'W'<t"KK ml cnemrfrat
qlRlTtF
$(t
qTrI{
qrqrq
_
cnKaTT{<
TCat E|f, we|{
;
t$6{t
qltcl'ilel
ETCV
t4?|C4I
qlaF
qe-6q
sf(?3[
;a
1cv<
wlr-olx
sl3r
<s
TTcr{
Trot caQ
\il<
;'
{rl
cstcq c<trtt {Rr<
<qr$T
fi<.f
Um
TFt I
{slcdm
qlcEf{
trqrq
FIF|c< DRfrr$K <;r
s
qf$'ljt
ITC-T{
q-{q
fi-q
uf{K
T6et RIER-o $<rR I
CgIK:
qmmts
ffifi< {s
cqco fresrcs fuFc{ ttFmu
4qqfr4,z crqrtft-{ TCst wrotr<
{-qA<
<q c?rcs
q-6ci<
{6{
TC< TC<
{q<
Ttn|ft
qRq
qR
cefcr{
q-ll
wcat'sl +<Rq r
qmcq
cq cafc-T<
qlFll{
6{c{
;
.
sG ilvlR-co1< TNt
}r{q
{uffi
qlq
Rr-u frV
?flcq
;'
4A<
qF qsE
cDucq, 6q 4ffi
-
T{Aq
gsfs
frgqr, ffidrrc cqlrc< rrct
e$il
ql6<5t
cRsrFr w{i
;
q-{-$tcr{
fu
Tf*s
qil{
trcv
Ftc{< ffirq< nrst
e$il frq.f
E$-q
"tKF
silaj.
- 2 5 9 -
qe
fiq
qFFtcrK
frcF
{c{<
cq|{RI <.fi< rrot cqrut
Ed {|q(x
qrc<
6hq4L{qRftK t<
qRftm
uq+
qftcl
cnqm
q{J
r'
q$Dt
Ws.rq
I
qfu qe
uslTrd-<
"ff{&<
{cst ElFr I
qialq
q-{E
qKt<
-
E+
qt-q qRcq<
qiq
ffi
qr{
qE
I
rs-GK Frco
qnq<
fu{T
<'cq', wcd?F
T{lrnt
frFr+rvq
erq
;
frflr<d< cfrFt
;
6ffit Tcl-$il Tl-{R< {tefi
;
qrqlcrcql
TR-$?t <-g-s
-
fr<4si<
{n
r"
The Hunt
Dawn:
Sky, the soft blue of a
grasshofpels belly.
Guaua and custard apple trees all around,
green
as
parrot
feathers.
A single star lingers in the sky
Like the most twilight-intoxicated.
girl
in some uillage bridal chamber,
Or that
pearl
from
her bosom the Egfiti,nn dit|ed into my Nile-blue
wine-glass
One night some thousands of
years
ago
-
Iust
so, in the shy shines a single star.
To warm their bodies through the cold night, up-country menials heft a
fire
gotng
In the
f.eld
-
red
fi.re
like a cockscomb blossom,
Still burning, contorting dry a1vattha leaaes.
Its color in the light of sun is no bnger that of saffron
But has become like wan desires of a sickly Salk bird's heart.
In the mornins:s light both sky and surrounding d.ewy
forest
sparkle like
iridzscent
peacock
wings.
Dawn:
All niqht long a sleak brown buck, bounding
frorz
sundari through aqun
forests
In starless, mahogany darkness, aaoids the cheetah's
grasp.
He has been waiting
for
this d.awn.
Down he came in its
glow,
Rbfing, munching
fragrant
grass, green
as
green pomelo.
J I E A N A N A N D A
D A S
Down he came to the riuels stinging, tingling npples,
To instill his sleepless, weary, bewildered body with the current's driae,
To
feel
a thrill like that of dawn bursting through the cold and wizened
womb of darkness,
To uake like
gold
sun-spears beneath this sky of blue and
Dazzle doe after doe with beaufi, boldness, desire.
A strange sound.
The riaels water red as macakaflower
fetals.
Again the
fire
crackled
-
red uenison serued warm.
Many an old dew-dampened
yarn, while seated on a bed of
grass
beneath
the stars.
Cigarette smoke.
Seueral lruman heads, hair neatly
parted.
Guns here and there. Icy, calm,
guiltless
sleep.
Now a hauntingly
pessimistic and ironic short
poem, bitter words to utter
whenever the world seems especially benighted.
E
"W
fftqm eo
qgs
ff{K
qtr qrrlcR
e-'{RIfrF
qM,
{lKl
qq q?Ks({
mfi
qrq
cDfc{
qllc?tla
sKl
;
{lcq3r {4-R 6sfr{t cen 6de
-
fre cfi
-
o-*"r<
q]-(Ew
cqR
tRtft
wq
qlq
elcn-<rs
{"1{fnxfi6
erei
r
Tlm< 1q<
qIEl qlTq
\Tfcsilr7
{ldc<-{
qB
q{c{t
{|cn< $](q
qletRs
<'rE Tcq
q{
Tqq
qgt
<t ft&, ft<n Frq
qaKt's qlfi
-wq
s
c{TlGK
qttry
qfsT
elfi-{
q'q{
|
A Strange Darkness
A strange darkness came upon the woild today.
'
Those who are rnost blind nou see.
Those who hearts lack hae, lack warrnth, lack
pity's
stirrings,
Without their
fine
adaice, the world today dare not mahe a moae.
Those who
yet
today
possess
an abi.ding
faith
in man,
To whom still nout high truths or age-old customs
Or industry or austere
practice
all seem natural,
Their hearts are aictuals
for
the uulture and the
jackal.
- 2 6 4 -
Notes
1C{
and Cgnfr from a relative correlative
pairhere: thatpeart which. . .
l i k e t h a t . . .
2Clinton
Seely writes about these lines:
'The
twilight intoxicated
girl
warrants explanation. In many Hindu Bengali weddings, tie ceremony
takes
place at the bride's home. Friends and relatives of the bride
traditionally keep the newly married couple awake most of that first
night, teasing the bride-groom and chatting with the bride . . . One
maiden, undoubtedly excited by the whole affair, managed to stay awake
the entire night.
Juxtaposed
to this thoroughly Bengali miss are the
exotic Egyptian lady and her pearl pendant, drawn from
Jibanananda's
stock of Middle Eastern imagery.'
(A
Poet Apart, p. 130.)
sA
Persian word meaningwannth.
aNotice
the inverted word order:
EfC[]f goes
with
WI?F
ftheirfire).
To
put a Bengali
possessive pronoun
at the end of a sentence is not
uncornmon in colloquial speech: this not necessarily a
poeticism.
sAnother
inversion: normally 9f{
meaning arry more would
go
before the
verb:
qK
Gq.
;sauing
itself
from
the c.laws of the cheetah:
iIFl
means to liae, suruiue,
and the extended verb <IFff,{I
means to cause to liue, saae,
preserue,
etc.
Tstarless;
the suffix-fr4means without, Jess. Cf.. The word for
friendless
in Unit 18,
p.
93.
8The
repetition of the
past participle of the verb
@]
(fo
tear) in tttrs
compound makes it more like a
present participle: rtpping, munching as
Clinton Seely has it.
eNote
this way of spelling the locative case ending on 6tr9
(waue).
loThis
word is
pronounced either'biuvcl' or'bibhcl'. Cf. 9|?|{
(call,
summons),
pronounced
'auvan'.
Note the conjunct.
11
trE?F
4ttft would mean to
feel
alarm andwould be used impersonally.
D{$ EIEI6{I means to startle, to alarm in a transitive sense.
tzJibanananda
often uses apostrophes in
past participles
(see
Note 12,
p.240).
rsThere
is no real
grammar in this line: the fragmented
phrases
echo the
sound of
gunshots.
JaThis
spelling of C4-Crl occurs sometimes: to indicate that is here
pronounced e.
r5A
straightforward relative/correlative construction, in a
possessive
form:{-CGT . . .
EKq<
fthosewho(haue).
. ., those(haue).. .). The
construction is repeated in the next sentence.
16The
prefix
{-
means
gopl,
5o
{tfilff
means
good
aduice.
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A t '
- 2 5 2 -
J T E A N A N A N D A
D A S
r7
qf9
+ the
particle can be spelt in this way: eaen today.
r8
FF(<l
and
g{<tl
both mcanzr*re variation is rhythmically satisfying
here. Both words can be abbreviated to
3l.
Line 11 of The Huntlns the conjuncl9
+ al
=
PI.
But if your
appetite
for conjuncts is sated,
you
can use a more colloquial form of the word for
Indian fig
(peepul)
tree:
gfaf
,
which occurs in the next poem.
Exercise
If
you
have worked
your
way through the two
poems
byJibanananda Das
above,
you
should be in a position now to enjoy a third poem
by him as a
poem
rather than as a
'struggle
with words and meanings'. So, for your
final exercise, revel in the following exquisite, subtle example of
poetic
Cq{-Cqn
(love
of one's country) by listening to the recording of it on
the tape, trying to achieve the best possible pronunciation,
and even
-
something that Westerners do not do easily these days but which still
comes naturally to Bengalis
-
learning it by heart. There are references
in it to one of the most famous of medieval Bengali
poems, the
Manasa
Mangal, written in a
genre known as mah.gal kabya
-
narrative poems
describing the exploits of deities on earth.
Chand, a merchant, is punished in various ways by the snake
goddess
Manasa for his refusal to worship her. Six of his sons are killed by her.
When the seventh, Lakindar, is killed by snakebite on his wedding night,
his bride Behula refuses to
give
him up for dead,
places
him on a raft, and
floats downstream with the body. She meets Manasa's assistant, Neto,
who takes her to Amara, the abode of the
gods.
Behula's beautiftrl
dancing so impresses Indra and the other
gods,
that they bring her
husband back to life. The whole of Bengal, too, comes to life in the beauty
ofJibanananda's poem. It is written in sonnet form, one of many untitled
sonnets that were published posthumously
in a book that the
poet's
brother called
affi {iqf
(Bengal
the Beautiful).
Notice that it mixes sadhu.bhap and catit bhag forms: e.g.
6qfffi
(s.b.)
nline 1, butCWCti
E;'.r-J.k.b.)
inl. 2. InBengahprosetheconvention
is that s. b. and c. b. forms should not be mixed. In poetry, however, there
is no such restriction. Clinton Seely's translation is glven
in the Key to the Exercises on
p. 287. Note the conjunct {
+
q =
S,
used to write
'Krishna',
which in the
poem
here meurs dark.
- 2 6 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I , F E E N G A I . '
<fwl3t
{{
q|fr
ffiffi"
g.R qtft
{aR<
n"t
Wls
qR
*
qK
;
wfi-$l-K 6q-ci
Yd gTr<-<
atlre
on cqf\
qlsFl
xsq <wt tstF< frcu <rq'qfp
NIrffi cqlffiq"ttR
-
DtRftr$ ocs cqR
'tEl-6<<
v'f
q'Frfi-fttr8<-fuTce< q.rcq<
o'm
qIR
f't
;
pf{a4qffi"
c<ffct.tF{c{
E|Qffi<
qlTt
tM-*|cq
;
{To;r frst cgrs rt w.lfr cq o-6< utq D-'il< o.fR
e.[d?,
fu-q$-ETtcE<
fi-q
qFl
<tiqK
qermq
s't
cqc{R6qt
;
cq{qts esfr-{ aNrq-<
qrq
Nol frR
-
TsI
nm'ft{t cqilqfit {?F{ {R'{t crl(q {ft{
ry{
-
c{tqtfr {tr+<
.'lfef qq(?ll'q{tEI
s cqr{R6El,
ER,
"ljfTl3r
*r{
ril-{
.1nQa,
qsfr{
w-*x Ffm
Rq
qqq<
{cst {,.|;I cq crcERq
trq<
q-stt
<fwt=r {fr $b
tFTE
Tgrs<
{Ft
err
ffiq
4{
"A
cactus-like plant associated with Manasa rituals.
uThe
twelfth day of the
'dark'
(T+TS) haf of the lmar month.
- 2 6 4 -
35
REVIEWOF
PART THREE
1 Conjunct consonants
The following lists of Bengali conjunct consonants are based on the table
g1v en in B dryld b ananer niyaru
('Rules
of Bengali spelling') by Mahabubul
Haq
(latiya
Sahitya Prakashini, Dhaka, 1991),
p. 107. Conjuncts that can
only be written by using the
q4g (.
-
see Unit 18,
p.
95) have been
omitted. Pronunciations are
given for conjuncts whose
pronunciation is
not easily
predictable from their constituents or from the effect of
J
or K
(see
Unit 7,
p. 26). Remember that double sounds in Bengali must be
tully doubled.
First letter 2 letters 3 letters
S
S + S = S
$ + 4 + { = F J
q + D = E
s + { + { = g ' k k h n '
S
+
E
= g
S
+
{
+
n
=
E' kkh'
$ + n = { $ + { + { = S l ' ' k k h '
S + { = $ l
S + K = S
S + 4 = F
s + ( = 4
S + { = S ' k k h ' ( p . 3 2 )
$ + I = 9
- 2 6 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F E E N G A I - I
?t
rl
r l + r t r = { t
t l + K = {
a i + e t = d
e l + { = S
e f + 4 = d
e f + I = {
a t + { = f l I
1 + K = Q
e t + 4 = d
e f + ( = {
q + { = K
{ + K = E
{ + { = { l
a t + d + { = { l
t t + K + { = Q l
9 + $ + { = $ $ ' 4 k h '
S + e l + { = Q F
9 + a i
+ { = T I
9 + { + { = W I
D + q . + K = E
D + E + 3 = Q , c c h '
9 + $ = S
g + q = E I
9 + a i
= {
9 + { = V {
g + { : q
D + D = E
D + Q . = Q .
D + S = @
D + { = D I
\,
q
i6
..sb.44)
E + { = {
9 + E ' = E
q + 4 I = q l
q + S = E
E + { : 9 1
9 + K = 9
9 + { = E
s + D = S
, . s + q . = q
S + 9 = Q
s + < l = s
q q q
D + D = [
u + < l = u J
t r + { = g
D
q + q + n = E ' i i '
' es' (P.
82)
- 2 6 6 -
5
\6
R E V I E W O F P A R T T H R E E
5 + r = b
V + V = W
9 + 3 = g
V + 1 = 9 1
V + f l = v f l
D + { = U l
q
c l + E = S
q * 5 = S
c f + 9 = 9
c f + D = s
. t + . 1 = S
" t
+ l = t
6 l + { = f l I
G I + ( = {
v
D
q
'tt'
g + E = g
t r + a l = E I
g + 4 = g
E + q = E
9 + { = E l
E + K =
t r + K = g
e f + { = q | ]
c i + K = &
q f + { = {
. t * )
* l = b
6 l + V + { = S J
6 l + V + K = g
9 + S + { = 9 1
E + E + { = $
E
+
{
+
{
=
Yi ' tt'
E + K + { = g i
3 + c [ * l : q f
q + < + { = ! l ' d d '
Q + f l = F a l
q + q : w l
\ + \ - - W
F + { = h
{ + 9 = t r
F + { = q ' d d '
4 + { = F l
V + 4
- - h
[ + < t r = q ' d d '
{ + 4 = K
{ + { = { l
{ + K = &
'tt'
'tth'
- 2 6 7 -
T E A C H Y O U R 5 E I . F E E N G A t '
{ + < = S t ' d d h '
{ + t r - E
{ + c l
= E
4 + F = {
d + { = {
4 + { = R
4 + { = { i
{ + 3 = {
d + n = {
{ + I = {
e f + B = d
o l + e t = 4
e t + { = {
e f + E =
t t + { = 9 i ]
t t + R = Q
t t + 4 = f r
t f + I = {
rf
{ + \ 5 + { = g I
{ + g + K = E
4 + E + K = E
4 + q + { = Y I
{ + q + K = s '
4 + q + 3 = {
q + { + { = q i
4 + < + 3 = g i
{ + { + { = E I
e i + 4 + { = E I
T + E + { = F l
( + 4 + { = 3 i
T
: F + { = T I
T + K = $
T + 4 = F
z t r + 9 = s i
( + { = {
( + { = {
{ + K = T t r
3 + { = { I
( + R = K
K + d = F
{ +<={ ' mb / mm' ( p . 2 4 9 )
n + V =
n + n = q
{ + : t r = { l
n + K = H
n + E = F
v + { = g I
9 + K = 9
n + 4 = H
n + 4 + K = n 4
{ + 4 = v f
n + V + K = E
{ + T = T
\,
s
.{
- 2 6 8 -
R E V ' E W O F P A R I T H R E E
{ + : t r = { l
K + $ = 6
R
+ <l
=
ef,
etc.
rl
R
I t r + { * q = 6
K + 6 f
* 4 = t
K + 9 + r t r = 9 '
3 + c l + q = c f
< + q
* V = g
K + k + : t r = q J
R + ( * { = < i
3 + { * q = { i
K + { + < =
R + r f + i = d
< + : t r + " t = *
4 + S = S
4 + t l
= t s
q + 6 = s
d f + V =
4 + e i = H
4 + r F = q ;
4 + ( = E
d f + { = q ' l l '
E + E = F
Q+ r t r = 4 1
q
t f
+
E
=' Q.
{ + { = d
rl
+
n
=
{.JI'
" l + { = I | J
r t + i = U[
' s r '
r l + a l = d
r l + R = { . f f '
rf (pron.
'sh'
rf
+
D
=
'E
except when
indicated)
{ + S + 3 = E ;
q + b + r l = B
{ + } + < = p
: t r + ) + { = ' 5 i
{ + c f + { = S J
i + t p
+ : t r = W
I t r + { + { = { l
{
(pron.
'sh')
{ + S = $
q + B = ?
< * 5 = t
r t r + c l = S
: t r + t l = 9
: t r + T : T
I + n = T ' s p '
{ + { = { l
- 2 5 9 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 A L '
{ ( p r o n . ' s h '
q + S = S q * b * 3 = [
e x c e p t wh e n
I + q l
= " ? [ q + E + l = S l
i n d i c a t e d )
q + D= S
I + E+ { = $ J ' s t t '
{
+ E
= V ' s t '
{
+ 9 + {
= Q' s t r '
{
+ c[
=Q' st h' >l + al +{
=Q' st t h'
{ + 4 = T ' s n ' I + ? t + K = ' e 4
{ + t t = q t
q + T = q t
{ + { = " { ( p . 2 1 7 . )
q + r t r = { l
T + K = E
q + E = x
{ + { = {
q
Q. + " t = { ' n h / n n '
e . + d = e . n h / n n '
Q. + { = R' mh / mm'
Q + { = q ' i i '
R . + 3 = R
e . + d = R
e + (
= e ( p . 2 6 2 . )
Special consonant + vowel combinations
e 1 + E = e
S
\ 9 + < + \ r = q 9
4 + E * E = t r
< + \ r = f
5.
< + \ 9 = { l
* t
+ E = \ 9
Q + 1 1
= R
5
q + \ r = E
'
2 Sddhu bhdsd forms
Unit 33 introduced
you
to the fudhu bhasa, the literary form of Bengali
which has now fallen into disuse but which
you need to know to read
classic Bengali literature. For the literary pronouns, see
p. 256. As
regards verbs, the
present
tense and
present imperative are the same as
in colloquial Bengali
(but
see Note 21, p. 255).In the other tenses, the
- 2 7 O -
R E V I E W
O F P A R T T H R E E
endings
are the same
as the colloquial
forms'
but the stems
and
;r"i.ip%t;te
longer.
It is only
necessary
to
glvg three
paradigms: a
ionsonant
stem
verb
(O{t), a vowel
stem-
(rllrs{) and,
"n*,::-
tended
verb
($-<ICTI), and for each
tense the first
person oily'
i\ote
;il;t
nn'ali
u"ru ri["-cqd
trt" fiterary
verbal
noun is
fr?tlr
and for
;
"ir-r"iur*"
ef+
the literary
verbal
noun it
13l
(and these are
the forms that are listed in dictionaries).
The negattve
sufnx l'l'.useo
for the neqative
of ttre
perfect and
past perfect tenses
(see Unit 19'
il'tii,,irtqe
i" iii"t"o
e"ngali,
written as a separate
word' and
41R
or
qR. is used for the negative
of ach-'
Verbal
noun
Infinitive
qlsTI
"ilqcs
"il?FR
ffil"nq,=t
{w
{FTn
{RE
?rm
{hrR
{eflfu{
Rqlq
?I[{Fx
qp6x
{Rr<{
s-<rcqt
STFF
$TlqcsR
$<1?si$rffi
$il?sl{
$flful{
$TRCE
TTR.TI
$TfuIR
+-*ffiattq
+<ffi
s-{f{
43p1Ex
$Aer+{
T-{t
sRt\o
present
continuous
SRC9R
Future
Simple
past
,
Habitual
Past
rR</sRKt
sR.qln
sRsln
Conditional SR-68
particiPle
Past
participle
TRTi
Perfect
$ffi
Past
perfect
+ffi
Past continuous
sRFRqI{
Future
imperative
(94
$Rq
(yR)
nRs
(qt"tfr)
sRrT{
*Note
that the future tense is used, rather
than
would also be an alternative
for$R
'
1
a special
imperative
form. Sfi[6(
- 2 7 1 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F E E N G A t '
3 Muslim/Hindu distinctions
The following list consists mainly of the different kinship terms that are
used by Hindus and Muslims in Bengal. A few additional words are added.
In the case of 4fC{ the difference is more
geographical
than religious.
There are
plenty
of Muslims in West Bengal, and a sizeable Hindu
minority in Bangladesh. Where no Muslim kinship term is
given, you
can
assume the same term is used by both Muslims and Hindus.
paternal grandfather
paternal grandmother
matemal
grandfather
maternal
grandmother
father
rnother
elder brother
elder sister
younger brother
younger
sister
Muslim/
Bangladesh
qTq.I
dada
qTqI
dadi
4F[I
nana
il;il
nani
q|<t
ab!a
qlTt
amma
-:_,5'
{V
\rl C.
bcg6 bhai
Hindu/
West Bengal
h-s<q-t
thakurda
brfiTt
tha?urma
NqIT.IEI
dadam6Jay
frfrrt
di di ma
<KI
baba
3l l
ma
qTnt
dada
l vl l vl
di di
s'f{.
bhai
c$q/sft
bon/bhcgSi
Where there are a number of elder or
younggr
brothers or sisters, 3p
'(D,e)
CTq
@iddte)
or cqF 6matl)
+
n!/fr/vtV6il;[ can be used:
e.g. CTWrit
,
rni.ddle elder brother CWFI?
,
youngest elder sisten
RTE
chele
- 2 7 2 -
R E V ' E W O F P A R I T H R E E
darqhter
son's wife
dnqhtetts husband
grandson
granddaughter
father's
elder brother
his wife
fathey's
younger
brother
his wife
his son
his daugnter
fathey's
sister
her husband
her son
her daughter
mothey's brother
his wife
his son
his dnughter
mother's sister
DTFI
caca
ua
caci
DIDI6o1 sR
cacato bhai
dFTFt RT{
cacato bon
T-{P-
phuphu
Tst
phupha
TT'llrol
sR
phuphato bhai
TTIFI
6{14
phuphato bon
CTCTI
meye
<Ert
bouma
ql:|te
jamai
rrtr
nati
{f,rfr
natnl
cribl
jyalha
CsTrffTt
jyelhima
a1-a1/eftg
kaka/khulo
$.|fr/s|fur
kak7kakima
"Mqmr
qR
khu6tuto bhai
{.s-g-Ft
c<F
khuJtuto bon
Prfi/fiff$
pisi/pisima
Pp17furyttr
pise/pisem6Jay
Pwsrot
qA
pistuio bhai
Ftq-grsl mn
pistuto bon
{FII
mama
$fr
maml
nFrlrct vR
mamato bhai
{Frrcgl 6{F
mamato bon
{fi/rrft{t
masi/masima
{IEII
khala
- 2 7 3 -
her husband
her son
her daughter
elder brothels wife
younger brothels wife
elder sistels
husband
younger
sistet/s
husband
brothey's son
brothels daughter
sister's son
sister/s daughter
father-inJaw
mother-'in-law
wife's brother
wife's sister
husband's elder
brother
husband's
younger
brother
husband's sister
T E A C H Y O U R S E I I E E N G
"ilE
khalu
"Iffi
9R
khalato bhai
{ldrlNl 6<I;[
khalato bon
A L t
flmt/cnr{NrnT
meso/mesom6Jay
nlq-wot 9|e
mastuto bhai
rpr9ret 6<f{
mastito bon
TSiq
boudi
{g:tl
bouma
qmKK
dadababu
mnWsftqtr
bonai/bhcglip6ti
q?t"it
bhaipo
_,s-c.,
\elql{l
bhaijhi
9I'K{
bhagne
g'rft
bhag$
qT{
JvcJur
-n$
JaJusi
.tfEl
Jala
.|ifr
Jali
sfT<
bhaJur
cq'</ cq?i-{
deor/deb6r
ffil
thaRurihi
{{q
ncn6d
- 2 7 4 _
R E Y ' E W O F P A R T I H R E E
cril-{E s l
goscl kcra
HF S-<l
snan kcra
ta bathe
with
water
salt
God
qlFI/
clTq't
alla/khoda
{6q
sc0e
?d</vrKF
-{v6r/bhcg6ban
q-E
icl
{4
nun
q-cel
sathe
"|tF
pani
E-<6f
lcb611
4 Vowel Harmony
Many aspects of Bengali
pronunciation that seem mysterious as first
become less so once one is aware of its subtle system of
'vowel
harmony'. As in German
(ich
mufrbut wir miissen), Bengali vowels are
often modified through the influence of another vowel in the following
syllable. A highly technical analysis of vowel harmony can be found in
Chapter IV of S. K. Chattedi's book
(see p.276). A simpler formulation is
given on
p.23
of. The Bengali Language by E. M. Bikova
(tr.
by M. E.
Feldman, V. M. Breskrovny and V. D. Mazo, Nauka Publishing House,
Moscow, 1981):
lf the following syllable has i or u: lf the following syllable has c, o, e
or a:
o > u
c > o
e ) i
a > e
u > o
o l c
i ' ) e
e > a
You can easily see how this works with the verbs
(ona
becomes
Juni,
dakha becomes dekhi, kcra becomes k6ri etc.) and
you will find it often
accounts for the
pronunciation of the inherent vowel
(e. g.
b6i or b6u not
bci or bcu) or the change from e to a
(akh6n/ekhuni,
am6n/emni, etc.)
The
pronunciation of words like
qfrit
or
q$R(see
Glossary), or a
colloquial tendency to
pronounce
QqKf
irqriii', can be similarly
explained. There are many exceptions, but some users of this book may
like to notice further examples.
5 Further reading
Dictionaries
The best modern Bengali-English dictionary is the SAMS/D dictionary,
published in a full-size and student-size format by Shishu Sahitya Samsad
Private Ltd., 32A Acharya Prafulla Chandra Rd., Calcutta 700009, India'
English-Bengali dictionaries are not very useful to the foreign learner, as
they tend to
give descriptive definitions of English words rather than
direct equivalents. For a basic English-Bengali vocabulary, Ghulam
Murshid's
pocket-sized B engali-E nglish-B engali D ictionary,
published
by Ruposhi Bangla Ltd.,220 Tooting High St., London SW17 OSG, is
recommended. Ruposhi Bangla has a large stock of Bengali books from
Bangladesh and West Bengal, including children's
primers, handwriting
books, etc.
For
pronunciation, consult the B anla uccarary abhidhdn
('Bengahpronun-
ciation dictionary'), edited by Naren Biswas and
published by the Bangla
Academy in Dhaka.
Gourses and
grammars
Users of this book might wish to compare it with:
Edward C. Dimock, Somdev Bhattachadi, Suhas Chatte4ee, Introduc-
tion to Bengali, Part I
(Chicago,
1964; New Delhi, Manohar, 1976)
Du5an Tbavdrtel, Lehrbuch des Bengalischen
(Heidelberg,
Julius
Groos
Verlag, 1970)
M. R. Hilali, Leaming Bengali
(London,
Ruposhi Bangla, 1990)
France Bhattacharya, Manuel de Bengali
(Paris,
L'Asiathdque
,
1992)
Bengal i l i ngui sti cs
For a summary article, see William Radice,
'Bengali'
n Encyclopedia of
Language and Linguistics
(Oxford,
Pergamon Press, 1994).
For those with a
philological bent, Suniti Kumar Chatterji's monumental
The Origin and Deuelopment of the Bengali Language
(Calcutta,
1926;
London, George Allen & Unwin, 1970) is indispensable.
For further bibliography, see Maniruzzaman,
'Linguistic
Studies on
Bangla'
(Chittagong
Uniuersity Studies No. 2,
pp.
55-94, 1986)'
- 2 7 6 -
I E Y I E W O F P A R T ' ]
Literature and culture
For an overview, see article on Bengali literature by William Radice in
The Cambrifue Encyclopedia of India etc.
(Cambridge,
1989)
DuSan ZbavrteI, Bengali Literature
(Wiesbaden,
1976)
Rabindranath Tagore, Selected Poems, tr. William Radice
(Penguin,
1985, rev. 1987)
Rabindranath Tagore, SelectedShort Stor'ies, tr. William Radice
(Penguin,
1991, rev. 1994)
Rabindranath Tagore, I non't let
you go:
Selected Poems, tr. Ketaki
Kushari Dyson
(Newcastle,
Bloodaxe, 1991)
Rabindranath Tagore,
Quartet,
tr. Kaiser Haq
(Oxfo;:d,
Heinemann,
1993)
Geoffrey Moorhouse, Calcutta: The CiA Reaealed
(Penguin,
1974)
ed. Sukanta Chaudhuri, Calcutta, the Liuing City
(Z
Vols, Delhi, OUP
1990)
Nirad C. Chaudhuri, The Autobiography of an Unknown Indi.an
(London,
1951)
Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Thy Hand, Great Anarch! India 1921-1952
(London,
1987)
Sukumar Ray, Collected Nonsense, tr. Sukanta Chaudhuri
(Delhi,
OUP,
1988)
Bibhutibhusan Banerji, Pather Panchali, tr. T. W. Clark and Tarapada
Mukherji
(London,
1968)
Nemai Sadhan Bose, The IndianAwakening and.Bengal
(Calcutta,
1960,
rev. 1969. 1976)
Tapan Raychaudhuri, Europe Reconsidered: Perceftions of the West in
NineteenthCentury Bengal
(Delhi,
OUP, 1988)
Andrew Robinson, Salyajit Rary: The Inner Eye
(London,
1989)
Betsy Hartman and
James
K. Boyce, A
Quiet
Violence: View
from
a
Bangladesh Village
(London,
1983)
Katy Gardner, Songs at the Riaer's EdBe
(London,
Virago, 1991)
Shamsur Rahman, Selected Poems tr. by Kaiser Haq
(bilingual
edition,
Dhaka, Brac Prokashona, 1987)
Caroline Adams, Across Seuen Seas and Thirteen Riuers
(London,
THAP
.
Books,1987)
Kalpana Bardhan, Of Women, Outcastes, Peasants and. Rebels: A Collec-
tion of Bengali Short Sturies
(California,
1990)
- 2 7 7 -
KEY TO THE
EXERCISES
Uni t 1, Ex. 2
qn,
Tl,4.l, {|n,
ril, rfF[,
qTFr, qr{l<[,
qrflq, qtfi,
{+,
EF,Efi, ffirq, ft-d,
Etat,
Tq,
qn qffi, qfi qtqqu,
q{lt
FqF,
qtl<tFEnt, qn q-$,
Td
fiR s fr-{ a,
ffi
vtlr
q,
Bfi sNK
ntfl,
qnm qn
<lU4,
qnr<
+ltq fi-d,
Efi Ert< <r<r ? {r, Efi Rfu
q<t
I
Unit 2, Ex. 2
g,
\gKl, s<,
q-1,:tzl,
nn, frfr, frd,
wgn, uft,
T{{
!fi{, rl$, s
{fil,
qtr*tqffi,
<Rfi
qTq,
s the,
srt
fr-ffi, ccl{<K
qFnTI
?
([tt*t
Trc<l,
eQ
<lelc-d'l s< r ea
fi
c+q,
qTd
<tstfr
de,
qml q? qts,
ffi
-tF<r< qnrqqi,
s< TIn <dr, wF
q<
aqc<lrrt, sR
q<
qrTF
? s<
ftft< 4E
q<an,
Efi
qw<
c{f{ ffi |
Unit 3, Ex. 2
cc, rq,
qrq, q<,
mcl, Rcl,
"tf{,
{lc{,
?$c<, ?[{-q]s{,
rR"l,
?F,
q$1,4"t,
Tlu, {cq, TsFFTFI,
qfi q<, qtfr
fr"n-<m,
q|lK
{cq
q|{{, ql|c'r<
cqcflqf,
s
qrq qfc.<
l
?tl-rt frcl
qq,
qIF
qrq
<W, Efi
qrcrdfi
7 ll,,e
+< fir{ r{< ? s c1fi oe, cqqrci
"F
t<a,
qtF
c{c{
qd|a,
cc lq-{<K
l*
Unit 4, Ex. 2
ft l m ?
q(s,
e(s,
q|llK,
$FI
P
cs:f{ ?
(qd,
c+8, ++a r fro, mr+,
$Iat, T+.FI,
>Ftrf,,
Sq.{,
qtfl-<.
fu.
cun,
qfr
sR, Cfi
qc4, qTg
ffi, m
cir6r ? s< iln fr l
,{"1-64
cflfiffi
{r<Fil,
q
Qq,il
o'F ?
q?rl
cq-< ? c+E
qnlcs
<rEfi, cq frco o.K
qr+F
T<
crfE,
s<l
q-{R
{s-{R
crfE I
Uni t 5, Ex. 2
&c+, &<t, &rr<, &<,6ro, i<r, ircn<,
6<,
cqrq,
qR,
e{,
RR,
qF qR. qw<t
fqqn, .o
frq{t,
qTfl
crnnE-qn, cc
qwq, qtF
<rcR41n,
qtF q{R
s?flr{
r<r<R &ro
qtml
:rts
qN,
&< sftq rc
{q. ciirE{FI s<e c$;t r &co Eqc$ dl
6r+ <qmt ? Efi
1<
atutor+ql, <
$
q1ll$tsRd,
$,sqfi
qnrqa,
frqr*t
c<|cq ns,6ro aq
qtmt qrqR
&$ n.ls
at',c fi'Re
?r|+ql
r
Uni t 6, Ex. 2
vF,
mm<, cs]atcs, cswat,
sro, sro,
b1$, brsr,
f$t<l,
Rri,
6Rq, e$fi,
Kd,
fr46,
qB,
sfi, +?t t <fu, c+!,
FFKI
qK
ffi +r<m,
vfr
s1<rq
qte
r
qFf
c"JR F={, ctffit FEK
otre 6ra a.ls. FF<rl nr"i sbK cm
qrq
z cfSK
qm, qqi ({"t
Dtr+.t,
otrfl xlFLs
-ja{R
c$q
z
ffi erd
6no <qrs a6a1, ffi os brct cn< r
q:B
W<,
fue
tr+ r
Uni t 7, Ex. 2
sl, m,
qFkr<,
Erst,
qs,
&fic, ttft,
qMrs<
ofq,
qlTrril,
q<,
ffi,
vm<
oai,
VF
{s,
qnK:[rl
ET,
qqq;l
CdFF, <I|CTI, $F, fu, <KEK,
R,{fr4rEr,
(o
qE
fr's{l,
qs
cqlc<
e$c<-{4t,
qrEB
ft
Tq
c[< ?
qlnl
ffi frc.{
,nc,
<EI Fl
qr|q
sd alrq r
e<l so frF<
Fm
qrrfFd.
ccml.< fr
q<
{crcR
?
ql+lail
frcl m{ c*m
sllre. e.rl
q?
l|s em{, 6Kl
,!Q
l1q ctffi{ I
- 2 7 8 -
Unit 8, Ex. 2
{reil, Tqr,
qtfi
$fr,
vfi
qn,
TE,
Tq,
ffi
snrcq,,{sA <v o&, vn
q<
\rd61ft,
mF<
utt&, ut*< utft,
dq
T"la
Rl-vf<
?
,{?||tr
qlFr,
CsE
1fu4
cte.
gfr
cot.flr ar+ z c+! hrcra,
Rbm
fu<
qc'
6a sfqcq ?
\etlrd
cnft ftl z cc
R&
qrx, qrq
Et& 6efc$ ffis{t,
ebl
mn fteal, ftfrco w+,.na,qn
-
t&
qFrcq
r c<tcq frMGtrdl, comK <l&
cs.tqFl ? T{1F {< ,36 6a1aq ? vFI
fr+ frrl ctq
iogrq&
EC<,
rfi&br
etll(dqT*t
4{6il,
qlnFl
<-s <t$t
C:FIEIRI ?
Unit 9, Ex. 2
{1, 1at,
11-6<,
cc
at@,
ffi,
qt{fi
<l"'EI <6rF
c1-6aa z qgfi
6aaa
qfcq{
? Etot-"FTt,
qn;tftT qc"fml
s:NCa-
qf<,
"FtTl
Sl'lV,
cilTfi
ftV
crrcq en
qTlcq<
c"flTl 6{s,fd, ft
W<
e|l{il
r
.g<
TT
Tl{t cat'eq, cfrs nt{,
"mql
qR{. qfq qt's, qqq{
\rsq
sR
qIgi4FII
efNJCF
qgl
F-{, NI{FI {IAFI
b"t<, ffi
"iI
fiR-64
efCs
crfa6,
q{fi
$?i;r CffR14{ ? 6giFI-CF<
elvR.fltt
c$:f{ ECTR
?
"116"l{
{&rc SKt
,!mCR;[
?
q{cTI qFTlt qtfi,
&r+ effi
$<,
qlrrtFK
R-+<q ftre
qr<
r dt
$-?Fq {fi"f1-?1,
qFf
tal ect
cqre tr+co,
efglr.fi{t
4l S-.Irq, ffiqR
efl'"l
+-{ts
qBn<;il
|
Uni t 10, Ex. 2
DI, DIE,5IR, CDl{, EK, CC EFI,
gIFTt,
W,
qtfi
vrE
cER,
qs,
ft <q
?
E?t
s-{ ! sFmFF, D.N, ?DS flC, CC
qllfn
c5({ <-s,
e<
qEr+
Gfr{, D-d, c{gfF
{R Bfi blol frcqr,
sqoloco utqts,
elE 4t C"IC{
qG
q4,
sq'd{F ffi
ck< ?
1l.ums
Rq,
q4ak qQ
6aq{
qtcq
? sfcql
qrcq,
sq{mrs cDr t
utffil copnx fl?|-cq ?
q{l-<
v'{r;FF
YF{
vr or<, {&b
elnt fr-s
v'M
K E Y T O T H E E X E R C I S E S
csft, ffiK
qlr qlnl<
{(
e|+ll
s{,
cFlc{
slrEt ffi{cs
'fFi'l
I
Uni t 11, Ex. 2
mrq, <rv, R,qavt,
rrR,6-s, fr-ot{t,
iru, {5. cuE, cc 6$(R, ffi
s6q,
uiF
Et-d, rlu <q, cdl9 <*q, ectFtfi-s, RI
crr< irF firut
qfi
<lw
1R.il,
fis
cr6{F{1,
elE ur$,
ff-s
ql-cq" qPFIF
ffit a{l,
q{F
{rcr< Tf{ltTtRt,
6ffi
"|lftc{
q'ts,
cr.<rrc
1ca
s<
hel
CdCrlC%
qs
NIC<
gcAqf,
<lflV] s<q
c<q ? {lcqr Ft1rE ft {Ft
ERtq
r qs
<v
'tG
ft or<
5+r<
r
qhq
av E mt,
qlRr<ilqre+ftqq{t
r
Unit 12, Ex. 2
fr, ffi, s1c, T{, c{M, s&, s6l, c{t?x,
sEl,
cc EIE
c{l{,
,{?llr{
Tfrl {<I {lTI,
{tffiffir't
qF
qq, qla]-{ q6{s
4"1,
1E
<e"
cqmsl <5,
qlT<l
t{.q,
qtfi
qtv'R
sfi <rq
qtR q{
c{<
E{
c,;l-<,
m c{s
"{RA
TKCe,
6rcq
{<r<-{dl
-
$a[ fii-r<,
Q {G cqtas cifiTI Efqzq !
qssct 1l RrE
! $K<f t Tqm{l
c?tfdtl ? cd{
qr
rs, Q <fgt {r< <Iqfc(
{t\rrt ${ r sfF< t(q
g got, s
1?l
q1lt-?r qqn
r
qrq
frSi
qrq$tr
Iql
criq, cq
X{. TG
tr, mtvtrt
33
ft'c<-ft<
btarq r
Uni t 14, I
(a)
>
bt,
Efi
qlt<
{r r r tI,
e
qtTK
e F s Rt , e b t , s < 4 F q q t 8 b t ,
ebtsrlnl&.< <t& r c
fu,
qil qTK
{tcqq r sfot,lfi
qm<
c+q r
q
bt,
Bfi t<
qrir
r u
bt, EF
qTtcr<
qfuqft'r
a bt.
ebt
'6<
r >o
bl,
etl
qFII3I
I
|
(b)
>
sbt
cu$< r t.gil
<q r
s sbl
dfrcrF r e sB
6{
, 6 sB
6e1-afrq 1
s sDl
"rf$
r
- 2 7 9 -
2
) FFIF ffi fr T
q{K
4{ EI'IF{
I
r wfi {srfi |
qqfi
ft Rir<q
t
s Bfi fr Fut< r at, Efi usr< t s ebl
of< r
.eil
qlnK,
a
qt"tfr
m z
qtfr
o Ftrl(q.?l
frut< m ?
qntlcq3r
frut< fiSr<
q+
t
Uni t 15, L
(a)
)
s< <FrF
ffi Aq4
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(a)
: ffi mca a
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|
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> uusl(I r r <1q-ttftp r
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K E Y T O T H E E X E R C I S E S
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l
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(a)
> wxtq6trrrq I I tott c+cq
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r
- 2 8 t -
T E A C H f O U N S E I F E E N G T I '
Unft 20, |
(a)
(i)
amidekhe esechi.
(ii)
se
rojphulbcl khale.
(iii)
amm
nor)ko k6re
iab6.
(iv)
meyeli
sund6r kdre ci$i lekhe.
(v)
uni cnekkp6q dh6re b6se
achen.
(vi)
ami sul p6re
lab6.
(vii)
dcflar pore
asun.
(viii)
se saradin
lelibhiJcn
dakhe.
(ix)
chelelikhub
pcJaJona kre.
(x)
ora ei baJi
theke c6le geche.
|
(b)
> Bfi clrqtrco E"tsrd frcr{ r r
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Unit 21, l
(a)
>
q?
cq|TF
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cq|TE{ or* ct6 r
r e? c{rd0
el
cqrsF? cb-6{ E?l I e
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e
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r c e? cdrfr
et cqrtrd cuc{
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tr+b
l
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cEtI
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)
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r
- 2 8 2 -
K E Y T O T H E E X E R C ' S E S
Unit 22, |
(a)
>
qfi
as
qgfrqs
er+
60
fort&-qln r r EF as <fr*tr<e ffiFns
{ArclRcEq r
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rfio
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ffi cq{ s rfi-+"n cn"tt
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(a)
) coF{ <|{ cn< ? \ csNK ollq frR
brctqtcq r
.,
At
q{K
ilcqftREmt
qfR
| 8
qqfi
GI-{ cq'.t c{cs
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? c s?tr{
frR d. r s r'fnt
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q1fi
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s at, s
frg
qffi
I 5o <tietcre'l
qnfcq3r
cs'ltrTl
utG
Rum
,
|
(b)
) n { , T l { q < - f l { r l { l T r e n l l 8
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q
il{ | b s
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(a)
> orffi 4Trd. Q-frrft< ffi +r<
ql{F
"flK;r
r I
s<tftTa 4{r4,
q5l
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I
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r c EtRtcq 4ITFI,
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nc
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mqftr 4Trq,
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|
- 2 8 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A t I
1
(b)
)
qE{
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qc<
| e
qSI qs
b|sF
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| 8 ftfr<
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ctElr++ I b efFrl
qE
c"trq fu-+co I 50
Qlel @q<'I
2
(i)
Will he/she have
something to eat when he/she
comes?
(ii)
If
(you)
give
(me)
that
(I)
shall
go. (iii)
Don't
come if it rains.
(iv)
He/she
fell ill and died.
(v)
If
(you)
go
there
(you)
will
get (it).
(vi)
Don't pay
too much
(for
it).
(vii)
It will be better if
(you)
do
(it)
later.
(viii) (You)
ought to say that.
(ix)
It
would have been better if
(we)
had eaten earlier.
(x) (I) got
delayed, so
(I)
didn't
go.
(xi)
Ifthere had been a taxi
(I)
would have taken
(it). (xii)
If
the mango is sweet
(I)'ll
eat
(it). (xiii) (One)
shouldn't
get
angry.
(xiv) (I)'ll
sit in an
easy chair and eat
(it).
(xv) (I)
wasn't happy when
(I)
bought that.
(xvi)
Go up on
to the roof when the moon
rises.
(xvii)
Ifnecessary
(I)
shall come.
(xviii)
What is
the
point
of going there?
(xix) (You)
won't need
(any)
money.
(xx)
When
(I)
went
there
(I)
couldn't find
(it).
Unit 25, |
(a)
>
lE
<q,
qmEa<
GEr< crtre
qc<
r
r
s
6ft frlrE
qtfi
rtfl s-<s|q di I e
vF
"rs,|c-F{r
r<6q Tlr
"l|q
q{F
r
e c{ft
qr
c+cd cdl<
qffl qr<
r a
sqetm dl fficE Flrl-?r
qqfto qc<
r v
b1+l
qr+rq
wfi
qnsR+lr
EFr c{sF I
q
stsfc<
<FrEK <qcdr
qR
ft{
qr+
@
fisxl BGs r u
qt{fi
c'R|{i 4l
o<rq ffi o.rsil
q{-(s
{r<qTd I b
gfr brd
nrE
qtfi
s3n<t | )o
,{Q
Qtt
eF s:rFr
qnfi qc{s
{tiql cqc{
{IF;I I
|
(b)
>
qffi
c{G{Fr$ crsK c"t{lN
cu?t o-Ecqq, ft-q
e
Frrcs DRcRll I r
Tt 6f,4rtt&F <IFlfs <rTlre Cu?t O-+Cq
,
ft-e
e <c-cqat r s:rt
'bf<
crcrcF sl{fN
cu?t
qscqq,
Rg
e s-Ftcq{f r s $'bt<
cqrs
WE
fuEc{ ficR cvre cu?t
q+cqq,
ft-e
s
6
crF uRq-at r c
<mq
erq&.T Fq
?t9lF
cu?t +-<cqq,
ft-e
e
1Vp EFF[[ | v fl Cqr{rs
-I|q
"ffiF
cr?l
q<cw,
fue
s
"ffq
qV-re
Dlrf{l I
2
wR
qN<
cqc{<r 6dfs, sc< <lgl-cqrFr
fl-<n
qTFr
"fl-sl'l
eTfcsF|t
I <fqK
qF
EEc-<Iftr c'tf"ns
qR
frs <t&Te
qrfi
<lsfft c"iP.flT
"|s1s
e16qFtfr 1 ffi
LTfq
?F
FIR Eft | Dl C{6o- 6"11u wtfi
"ttfit<
vte
fF
q<
{c{qr
cqlit r s?F
qnF
TC{
rR
r<
9l<
qtcfl
| e1-<
'|C<
qrf t <?1&+FDf f i
r
e|io<Fro
q{l-<
c{ +mq
,lrqRf,
cs$plr6<
qlcrt
I sl-<
qtfi
<qr-c< rtc-q<
g'_dl
el-?t
"F
effi
qCe
r Bfi alN<
<jellT
{{
FIcrFr
q<
eFl"s
'flc$fql
I
etq|gt
q-crd'c<frt
aga lltr<
q-<
o{|cq I slsiil fiIq
sqFrc
qfiF q{I
6{ {ceE
qffi eficreil
1 66sq fra
q-6x
e$?tdE-?+-ilq-{ <rv ErtRE
-
iE{
r<Dt< wf+ rF
q{t qtq
<lsftffi
ql"Ftr
EW F|c-rEq I
q1;{
Etc$
q|<t<
ttr
T-?rF
qe<
- qfrrgfr
w-qrrlfr
bm d
QCTCq I
TF
q{ qlnF qq;r
etrs
ftS bm t|r
c4sTl EGs I stcs sFl
qr!
c1a!]
qr<
| {K;{
\flnFl
sT{j
qftd qc{s
or{R I
- 2 8 4 -
frcre
perfect 3F itql
has built
tt
o.m
present 3F
tt
o-Et
g@e
st-6<
present 3F
gFTI
thinks
"IFr
future 1
{IgTI
will eat
cqt
qcr participle
&t
qs*t
haoing bowed
D'F
('IE
simple
past 3F 5-TE {IgTI
went away
D-FI TI{I
present 3F ECE {lsrl
goes
away
Wre
infinitive svl to
flv
RFF1
future I
'||=rl
will be able
<rl-F
infinitive fll
to sitlperch
q('I
participle
qHl
haaing come
rfl6tfE
simple
past 3F 4qRil tud
qlftLr particrple
Efsf6{t
haaing
jumped
srN
infinitive $rl to catch
fu{d
simple
past 3F cfirt
retumed
Unit 27
Unit 28
> cs 6|EF
"ird<
<|&-60
amFpl
cr
qbtq
l|Tt ctFI I I F cD'{IGi{
aql
q'Flrs
ri-dfuln dt
qR
I e
F|{fcq<
:r[{i
{Kl osffi,
sRl
q-{rd rTlcat ,ec
I
s n ffi frra
q?qEltR
cqFil rtl
ffil c<Fl{l{ ? a 6{
qrFll
caIr{
qlqlv
cru {Irt cq{t6
cr$F
ER t s
<n-sqtrm cs
r|q{6
cfi
qrs-%
cctR<
rcq conF Flq<
q?IcD({
lb* I
q
cq
q.lnl{tF
c{f{l
sf6s c{lefl {Fl I b {l?1
cffi d. cc:rE{ 4{ | b sl
qtl-EFI
sl
6sE s-dco
qIr$n
| )o cs"[6{
qs
ciR
cq{ra ft <r6d
ettrt'-r<|
l >>
vfr
wrrr+
q-?
fir<
q-a qfr
{l<rq-{d
qtq
flir<I | )t Tl
"ffu<
as s;l {f{$l {
o-*Rvnn r
K E Y T O T H E E X E R C ' S E S
Unit 29
The circus still cornes ewry
year,
but in those days in the
H arnstone C ircus EuroPeans
used to
perfonn,
and nouadays
they're mainly Madrasi
circuses. The thirW that can't be
sem nouadays is the Camiual.
In our chidhood there were large
a\m spaces either si.d,e of Central
Aaenue. C ahutta's
first'
high-rise'
ten-storq tower blocks had not
yet
been built; tlw Electric Supply's
Victoria House had not
yet
been
built. In one of these open sPaces,
- 2 8 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F S E N G A I - I
right next to the circus, the
Camiaal was held.
It is hard to conaey to today's
children
just
how much
fun
the
Carniual was. Eaeryone has seen
Big Wheels at
fairs,
but the
Carniaal's wheel
-
its
'Giant
Wheel'
-
u)as as high as a
fia
e
-storey
buildins. The reaolaing
wheel's lights could be seen
from
far
away. Besid,es the wheel, there
were rnerry-go-rounds, whiiling
aeroplanes, dodgem-cars, a
switchback Alpine railway, and
much eke. Various kinds of
gambling stall were scattered
round all of this. Such enticing
things were arranged on these
stalls that it was difftcult to
sufpress the dcsire to
gamble.
E aentually, because the
Goaemment rnade
public
gambling illegal, the Camiual
disappeared
frorn
Calcutta. Its
actual eamings were
Probably
from
this
gambling.
Unit 30
> fr"tFq or<
fE
"twq
r lgtsF
sl
c?ic{
aHq't iFr<
EGi crl"t I e cc
?trr<ll
csFlpt wFts FF6-S
iFr-{
Crl-c{ Cq{E | 8
fr
qfu6
cRrq
I
s r14s
U{01't
{F
qfr$it
I c ub"F Ert
qV, qt6q
cslTK
cqR
q6{
r
g
ssrd|+F< c"fl'rtFF cqrl
.
crc{-<l liffi|E
sr< c{rc Bf,q r
q
wfinr{ TGr
qs
cstcct sfr s|tr FEffi
o<&q ruffi
11
Dit
-
csteils cstc{t
Cda @
I b D:Fb-iF o-<d c{.Ffl
q{
ql
| )o {Er<
,ao-q-{
fro-fismR
qflfr<
FrFi
-m
Ti"iln
r >> <Ira
qs
frg
-
n|fq s1d{rfr r >r
pfu-<
RfrFG
w{
$"iln
cq
qI-{R
I
Uni t 31
> {firfr' l fret< oc< e
q{rt
8
?I|fr-c{
a
-I{F
(qTl<)
"I<
tcq
{<Rq
s <rg
q q(q
b tFlK b vrsrr
(Voicd
>o coFfro cqm 6sF{
?Ft-?l
(kon6.
. . kon6
-
arc! . . . any)
))
urs
9lsE
:l cqqFEq )e
qrd-ca=
EldrIN
>8 frc{ fi-q >c
qmrm-< qqltm
<ETf
{4
)s a|J|'ltslE
>q
qfofi
>u m
>l'6fcq<s to C31
qr<
Unit 32
) { = q + < t , l B = { + i , e E = ( +
K, 8
q = q
+
q
+
i , C H
=' l
+ dl ,
g
Q = d
+
q , q q =
f l
+ 3 1 ,
b $
= i F + { ,
b g = n + 9 , > o { = { t t t , > > g =
<F +
g,
) 1. d= <
* cl ,
) e
g =
9
+
9,
) 8 S = n + < , ) C 9 = 9 + < , > g S
=
{
+0 ,
) c
q = q
+
q ,
) b \ i ;
=
R+ 9 ,
) b E
= q
+
{ , Q. oQ= D
+ q,
f . > S
=
I
*
5,
\ t
EJ
=
s +
{ ( { ) ,
t eE
=
{
+
s + 8 , \ 8 T = v r q , r c ( = i + { l
Unit 33
5 sRfr
\ eq|r+
.? Bq< e
R{fi-{
c
m <tsrft
qrq g
ffi
qErda q
Efi
{tc+{ t u
9F $ns
?fiR'Fq
? b
srqK
qts
frq6q 5o
q{fi
Ears
ffiqt$rqd I >>
tqm
-1ffi6aa
;q
ffis orrq
qR
>s Gfr fiFtrq cc
qfrn
>s Eqt< dEcs ceF :c
{<[
TF
qt
>s ftatl< wcrt
- 2 8 6 -
' . Y
T O T H E E X E R C ' S E 5
Unit 34
I haue looked upon the
face
of Bengal
-
the world's beauly
I need no longer seek: in the darkness I awake and
glimpse
In a
fi.g
tree, sitting beneath umbrella-like
foliage,
The early morning magpie
-
I see all around
piles
of leaaes
Of
jam,
banyan,
jackfruit,
cashew, a6vattha, lying still;
Shad.e
falls
upon the cactus clump, ufon the
(;ati
groae.
I know not when Chandfrom Champa,
from
his boat the Honqbee,
Had seen Bengal's exquisite beauly, the same blue shadows
Of cashew, banyan, tamll. Behula once on a raft upon the riaer
-
When the moon's sliaer died awary behind some sandy shoal
-
Had seen rnany an a6vattha and banyan beside the goldcn paddy,
Had heard the
(;yirnl
bird's sofi song, once had gone
to Amara and
when
She danced like a clip-winged wagtail bird at Indra's court, Bengal's
Riaers,
fields,
bhit blossoms wept like ankle bells upon her
feet.
The tape accompanying this book ends with a recording of Tagore's song
ql:{lT
C{|{K <tffil
. Here are the words of the complete song
(the
first
two verses are sung as the National Anthem of Bangladesh), with an
English translation:
qNK
cqfdl-{ El(ql,
qfr
coNlT
sk-qFrtfr
|
SKfrq cENr{
qf$'f.t,
csinK <fspr,
q]:tF qlc6i
<fql{ ffi rr

Tl, TI'Ir{ CEK
qf({<
TC{ SlCq {lrfE $-6(,
IR
q|{,
ER',
K
-
s
$,
qEilr{
6eK
g<t
cs-N
qifr
fr cnr{R r{<
qtfr
1;
fr e.flst, fr
qTt
crtt, ft 6fi-E fr n|lt crlt
-
fr
qrD-q
Rqc{R <ct<
1n,
ffi<
gn
Tro
I
Tt,
(sK
TCqK
<tql
qNK
s'rc{ EICst
WFr
:tFt,
lR
qR,
Rlx
m
-
lt, NR <q-{{fr
qfr4
qgq,
s
lI,
qtR
rffiqrq
vtft
rr
COFI13I
qQ
C?MK-C< FFtr|E OIFE C<,
csmtR
{o.NtF
\trffi
nlfat
snr
frfi TtR r
ge
fr{
T{Rq
wfiiFFtcr fr ftq
qtfrq
qm,
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 E N 6 A t '
l REF, e x m-
s+q
c{qI3st
q?F6,t
cr(g.I,
\3
{t, NT{[< con-q
get
qtfr
rt
csr{-D-{t csNl<r xft5,
"|t-c<
{KR c{Trtqf6,
rilTt
fr-{
"ttFi-ut+t
qf$lT-DFFt
csFrK
olffi,
6oFil< {tn-s{i
qtfBqrre
fi-<rq< ftq rtd.
lR
EF, Rlx
m
-
s
{t,
qNFt
cq
vR etTt
q<R
s
nl, NTTI-< Tt{fE
coFIK ffi rr

ll, NK D-{c6lN
frrqr eR rtctt c'ft
-
cn crll rel-<
'ifcr<
{4t,
cq c{
qNK
$qtt<
qtRs
qc<
r
e
ql,
stRK{
fi {t
qlcq glQ
fr<
D-<qsc6"r,
rR
Q|s, atl
c<
-
ffi tc+<
qc<
ft-+< {t
qF,
il, csl<
v-{.1
<?E
eg-43
ffi 11
My golden Bengal, I loue you.
Your skies,
your
breezes,
play
an eueilasting
flutesong
in my being.
O mother, the scents in
your mango-groaes lz Phllgun send me mad,
Ah! Ecstasy!
O mother, what enchanting smiles I see in your
full fi.elds
in Agrahayaq.
What beauly, what shade, what loue and tendemess
-
How
you
spread
your sari at the banyan's
foot,
on the riuer-bank.
Mother,
your
message in m.y ears is like nectar,
Ah! Ecstasy!
Mother, if
your
face
turns angry, I swim in tears.
I spent mry childhood in this nursery of
yours
-
To smear my limbs with
your
earth
glorffies
my life.
When dny ends, what a lamp
you
light in the euening,
Ah! Ecstaw!
We throw as'i.d.e our toys then, O mother, and rush to
your lap.
In your
fields
where cattle
graze,
at
your ghats
where
ferrins
c/oss,
In
your
shaded uillages where birds sing all day,
In
your yards piled
with harwsted
paddy,
we
pass
our days,
Your herd-boys and
farmers,
O mother, are all my brothers.
- 2 8 8 -
K E Y T O T H E E X E R C ' S E 5
O mother, I
place
my head atyour
feet
-
Giue me the dust of
your
feet
as
jewels
for
my head.
O mother, I shall
place
whateuer humble treasures I haue at
your
feet,
Ah! Ecstasy!
Neuer again shall I btty in a strangey's house a rope
for
your
neck as
your
ornament.*
xAn
allusion to colonial domination, rejected from now on.
- 2 8 9 -
GLOSSARY
It takes time to learn to use a Bengali dictionary, so do not be disheart-
ened if it initially takes
you
a long time to locate a word
-
even in a
glossary
like this. The order of letters follows the table on p. 45, read
across
(i.e.
9 comes before 9l,S comes before
rl
etc.). (
3"
come
between the vowels and consonants: so all words beginning with
Ef
,
say, are grouped
after
<lUfl but before
{l
+ S, {t
+
fr, <t
+
q
etc.
<-{FEI comes after4.
Be prepared
to find inconsistency in ttre spelling of o/6
(see
p.
8). In
Part Two of the book, spelling of the future first person
ending for verbs
(consonant
stems), for example, was consistently
given
as
-bo,
and the
wordfor
goodwas
always spelt bhalo. The texts in Part Three are taken
from different authors, so spellings vary. The Glossary gives
both
spellings if they occur commonly in current Bengali usage.
Some Bengali words are idiosyncratic in their pronunciation,
and the
transcription system used in this book will not indicate firlly how they are
pronounced.
These pronunciations
are explained in the notes to the
Conversations and texts in Part Two and Three, and the Glossarv
will refer
you
to these explanations.
The Glossary aims to include all the Bengali words used in this book,
except for
pronouns,
demonstratives, numbers, the words in the
onomatopeic exercise in Unit 30, some names of plants
and birds, and
verb forms other than the verbal noun. The verbal noun forms are the
colloquial forms you have learnt, but in dictionaries you
will find the more
literary forms
fr{l
for C{ell and
T{t
for ftFI
(though
cross-
references are usually
given).
Some English words, so naturalised into
Bengali that they are hard to recognise, have been included.
E
:
East Bengal
(Muslim);
W
:
West Bengal
(Hindu)
. q
qixl
q$
c{l
wFFtcq
\nTE
qflt{
WF
cnJJ6
crqJ6 neoya
ckar6rle
ckul
cgadh
c0k6
- 2 9 0 -
fart
to take
part
for
no reason
shoreless, limitless
bottomless
mathematics
\4!t
q{q/\fl{q
qEdl
qFl
qE
q&-
\4&R
qgg
q\e-lg
qalE
qq?n
qw
q{n'FF
w{q-<
qffi
q-flq
q$q
q-{bd
wc;l-s
qrd-$.5Fcl
ws{-{
qq
qTsl-?l
qcsrt6l
q;{i
\5Kif{
q'|Ir{
q'FIFI
GII
q'|3II{
qIRSK
qrrsrl
wc?tsl
q'c'I$.l
<F-fl
qergs
q<-s'frl
' q<g-?lq
<5;tl
w<{|RE
q-<1R
w{.lllwflR
w{{|
q<K
qfr-dq
G t o S s A R Y
c0g6
6ggul/aggul
cccl
ci6r
016
6ti-
6tithi
ctrP!6
cE6!!6
cth6c6
cth6ba
cdbhut
6!!yap6k
cnad6r
cniy6mit6
6nubad
6nuBcd
6nuSthan
cnek
cnekkp6rl
cnt6rdhan
cnanO
cidhokar
cnvepsrt
6u6
61yary6
cp6man
cp6man kcra
cp6radh
cp6ripkar
cp6rup
cpekga
cpekFa kcra
cpl6stut
cb6kaJ
cb6tcr6r1 kcra
cb6dharit6
cb6dhi
cb6ly6/cb6ly6i
cbcstha
cbadh
cbinaJi
- 2 9 4 -
lintb
finger
unmouing
ageless
so, so much
auer-, hyPer-
guest
unsatisfied
extremely
yet, still
or
strange
professor
neglect, slight
irregul.ar
translation
uniuersity
faculfi
function,
concert
much, a lot
a long time
d:isafpearance
blind
dark
search
other
uarious other
insult
to insult
fault,
crime
unclean
amazing
wait
to wait
for
unready
leisure
to disembark
determined,
fixed
since, until
(p.
232)
needless to sary
state, condition
unobstructed
indestructible
r E A C H Y O U R S E I F B E N 6 A I. I
qEFI
q&s-sl
q&qn
qGffi
qffi
qe{cl
q&.fl"i
q&c-fis
o-{t
qg]]c
qT{
qnfi
qJFI
qfrq
q{d
qqfrG
qqfufro
qqfre.
wtfo
qfl
qq-ftR
qE<Tft
q.ilfu
q{el/qdq
qq(?ll
qq-sl
qry
q{?I
q1Rvt/qTfu<
qfry
qr
qt$E/qtslD
qFFl
qlrq
qID
ft$<
qFFT<
qFFFI
qtr@Fl
qKrl
qtsF
qsFs
cbhab
6bhijn6ta
6bhidhan
6bhiman
6bhimani
6bhimukhe
6bhiJap
6bhiscmpat kcra
6blyas
cm6n
6mni
cm6r
cmi l
6{gn
crth6niti
crth6noitik
crthat
cratrJt
;-;-
c!Po
c!p6-kichu
c!p6-bcy6si
cla!!i
cJcth/cJvctth6
cscn;khy6
cscmbh6b
^;-.:-
csonlo
csukh
csubidha/csubidhe
6stitv6
arqli/aq1i
ika
ic6l
at
idhar
akar
akaf
akroJ
a8e
aSun
aghat
- 2 9 2 -
lack
experi.ence
1p.
82)
dictionary
hurt
pride (p.
2I7)
proud,
haughly
in the direction o/(+
poss.)
curse
to curse
practice,
habit
such
just
like that, at once
immortnl
discord
forgloae
economics
economit
that is, i.e.
a half
a little
a small amount
young
lafi ofpeace
peepul-tree
countless
imfossible
unbearable
1p.
249)
illness
inconaenience
existence
nng
to draw,
paint
loose end of a sari
ttght
dark'
shape,
form
sb
wrath
before
(+ poss.)
fire
blow, hit
qtu-d
qIEI
qtql
qts_
q-q/qfq.r
qfq-sFl
qtrsld/qtr$lm|
qwl
qvT{
qw
qfi<-qsa
qqrsl
qtq3l
qtcfi
<i{t
q{
q<r{rvl
qFrr
qF{5tn
qFII
ql4l
qrflfis
qqq
qPf{
qKl-?t
qtr{
l
qFKI
qN
qTC\i
qTTI
q-{l
q]F5;{
q'-tFtl
qlc{rqq
<rfl
qR
vFs/q-61
. q<rcr
s-{t
q6{fq
qE$R
qFlt?t
qFIT'I
qFllt
$-<t
qfrqd
s-d
G r . o s s A R y
acar
acchcnn6
aEha-
actn
ajlaike
alkal
a[kan6ialkano
aqcta
a66mb6r
aJai
atmiy6-svcj6n
atmiy6ta
ad6r
adeJ kcra
adh
adhbuSo
an6nd6
anomcne
ana
ana
andolit6
--
aPon
apis
abar
abeg
a9!a
am
amsctw6
amma
aY
ay6t6n
ayna
ayojcn kcra
ar
ar-o/iro
ar6mbh6 kcra
art6nad
almari
alada
alap
alap kcra
ali0gcn kcra
- 2 9 3 -
prckle
couered, oaercast
fine,
well, OK
to be
present (p.
60)
today
nowadays
to obstruct,
jam
coterie
(p.
120)
fomf
two-and-a-half
famib
circle
(p.
145)
rehtionship
affection
to command
haA
middle-aged
jov
absent-mindedly
tn bring, but
(p.
I74)
anna
(p.
7I)
swung, stined
one's oum
ffice
again, but
passion,
force
father
(E)
mango
mango-juice
preserae
mother
(E)
eamings
breadth, aolurne
mirror
to
prepare
and,
yet
more
tnore
/
to begin
groaning
cupboard
separate, dffirent
introduction
to introduce
to embrace
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 N G A I '
qq.
qtFll
qTFITD-{I
<ETI
qr4vi
qFll
T<l
qr5{
qt{Il.E
qcG
qFH
qITFI
qFryTq
qFn
qtN-qtrg
qTEI
a
qgr{lefltl
R<mq
q$rs]/q(Ctrsl
ERt/Qrq
{el/{cq
s-{t
W{c
Epprq
E
s[
Bn<q
E?weq<
BqE
\rtdlv-a-{
Bry {'srl
Gqql-{
w<
uqI'TFI
Eq.ln
ssl'rdl
Ecq{ <ql
\,?l\9
EfrI
alu
alo
aloc6na kcra
alogcn
aJa kcra
"{96ry6
apaJh
as6kti
as6n
as6l
as6le
asa
asce-asEe
asttra
-
iuropiy6
irqrej
inlriji/irqreji
iccha/icche
iccha/icche kcra
itihas
-
iskapcn
id
0cu
uccarcrt
uccoitsvcr
uijycl
uth6n/uthan
uge
iaoya
utsah6
ulat
udasin
uddam
uoorPona
uddeJ kcra
uddh6t6
-i-;
uoprtno
- 2 9 4 -
potato
Iisht
to discuss
agitation
to hope
surprise
Bengali nonth
(p.
L95)
attachment
seat
real
really
to cotne
slowly,
gently
trust
European
English
English lvnguage
desire
to desire
history
gades (in
cards)
Eid
heieht
pronunciation
loud aoire
radiant
yard
to
fly
off
encouragement, zest
generous, Iiberal
detached
uiolent, wild
incitement, imPetus
to aim
high and mtghty
anxious
q
w
B{Ne
\9fl1\o
U{s
E"rcqqt
E"rcl
G"K/B.fK
E"Frq
E{fu
B"i{F
G{T
E-{q
B-qFt
Bgtc
s
up6r/up6re on, on toP of
G I . O S S A R Y
udhao
unn6ti
unmctt6
--=
;-
uPolera
up6bcn
uanished
'imfroaement
insane,
furious
sub-district
(p.
81)
garden, groae
in addition, besides
present,
aniaed
ccft
way, rneans
nudc
opposite, reaerse
delight
hot
debt
se0son
sage, saint
up6r6ntu
up6sthit
up6har
uPay
ulc9g6
ullo
ullas
usqo
!'rI
!"tu
!"ipi
1l
1t6t
4V
<rR
q
qllls
ei matr6 onlY
iust
now
,snt<$t
aka-aka lonely
qs|sK q{t
akakar kcra to turn into a mass
q+!
eklu
a little
.s+T
ekluo at all
(p.
I38)
qslnl
ekdcm
absolutely
,9$ql
akda
once upon a time
sfr{ akdin
one day
s?rK
akbar once
\9GFF:I
akrck6m so-so
q$ffi
ekc0ge
together
(W)
qsrFl-T
akscmcy
at the same time
,4s'c[(?t
aksathe
together
(E)
qa]R'ft
akakini
alone
(female)
'
e$fd ekp6rli immedi.atelY
q1;{
akh6n now
qq-*Ve{fi
akh6n-i/akh6ni
immediateb
q?ns/,s"f6{t
akh6n-o/akh6no still
q?il-6{
ekhane
here
e1fr
ekhuni
immediatelY
cft
efuku
this little bit
- 2 9 s -
T E A C H Y O U R 5 E I . F B E N G A T '
qE
qg'$q
qEfr{
.{ftr$
q'l|6
q<(
qE;l
,{n;l
{:l'{
4f$l
qlFI
<15-?Tl
qcqr6v541
"ll-6
sh
h{/rtr{l
ssI
sfrrs
'r</selc<
nIGtr
-TFII
s$
a
aTl
o?Fl
srf{/T?rr{l
SG
{tl
Sltrxs l
oftq
ss
$wl5
safi
aail <FIl
nqr+6t
sfrSr
at6
at6kp64
et6din
edike
ePare
ebcnl
am6n
am6n scmcy
elaka
elo kcra
elomelo
okhane
otha
o{han6/olhano
ora
odike
op6r/op6re
oPare
-oyala
oBudh
oBudh
oirgcdh
kcoya
kckh6n
kckh6n-o/kckh6no
k6ci
kcla
kclak$6pat kcra
k61hin
kct6
kct6k
kctha
kctha bcla
kcthabarta
k6nipthi
- 2 9 6 -
so, so much
so long
(within
a day)
so long
in this direction
on this si.delshore
and
such
at such a time
(p.217)
area
to ruffle up
disheaelled
there
to rise
to reise
to
flv
in that direction
(see
E"t<)
on that sidelshore
wallah
(p.
231)
medicine
medicine
medicine
to speak
(archaic)
when
(tvitll.rn
a day)
never
fresh,
green
how many
(p.
73)
to cast a
glance
difficult
how muchlmany
(p.
72)
some, somewhat
word, story, statement
about
(*poss.)
to speak
conuersation
youngest
(daughter)
B
$
bqq
qn
s-{tFFFt
$R
sRsl
s:l
srsF
tr.rr$fr{
$-<
$ilvFt
s.<tls
s-scl
?F!F6ll
sdpf
T'4qF{I
s-qFllef
OFTSi
s'{d
+tur
$'TEI
+rln
ffi
fttq
ftprr
frttr
otfG-mG
aFrq
$IFI
$R cef6{'
SRR
st[s
sl-s
otq-${
sFr
sffi
ot0
.
$FI
$l't
slqv
sl"lg-cEt"lv
<rFrfd/ol:I[il
sl-?16l
smqt&
6 t o s s A R v
k61ya
kcryakal
k6bi
.
k6bita
kcm
kcyek
kcyekdin
kcr
kcrtal
kcrat
k6ru11
k6rurla
kcl6m
kclhay6
kclalap
kclei
k6sur
kica
kita
kilhal
kida
kadh
kip6n
kipa
kakuti-min6ti
kag6l
kaca
kach theke
kachari
kache
kai
kajkcrm6
kala
kalakali
kalhi
kan
kaP
k+6r
kap61-cop66
kaman6/kamano
kar611
karsaji
- 2 9 7 -
d"aughter, bide
maidcnhood
poet.
poem
a
few,
a little
a
few
afew days
hand
qmbal
sau
sad
compassion
Pen
sweet cackling
arnorous ftte-d-ftte
college
fault,
shortcoming
unripe
thom,
fishbone
jackfruit
to weep
shoulder
trembling
tn tremble
repeated
pleading
F@er
to wash
(clothes)
from(aperson,
+ poss.)
zamindat's
ffice
near
(*
poss.)
work
work
to cut
cufing, slaughtering
small stick, chif
ear
cuf
cloth, garment
clothing
to shaue
because
tritkery
T E A C H Y O U N S E I F E E N G A I . '
<Frq/a|ctr<F
kal/kalke tamonowlyesterday
(p.
150)
<Flafr-{,-{tft/<nqffir.ft
kaboiJakh7kalbofekhi surnrner storm
(p.
Lg0)
?Ffcdrt/sF
sFl
ft
ftiql
ftR
frwF
ftlhe'
fiq
frrf
ft<q
frrqt
t-setd/f+vnnt
{u-oti/ffi
gF
Tfl
$hv
TTE<
Tfi3
1Iw
TTS
m
c+U
R5;I
cl
csr{
csldTr{rq
c$l-{'
C$IRE
kalo/kal6
kali
ki
kirqba
kichu
kichute
kincit
tintu-
kimba
khE
kilo
k0kpn6/k[kJano
k0ckan6/k0ckano
kukur
ku0kum
kuficit6
kw
kumi r
k!'t6i!6
k;'pck
ke
keu
kan6
kena
keb6l
keb6lmatr6
kam6n
kokil
blach
cough
what @. 51)
ol
some, sotnething
in any woy
a lifth
htt
(see
fti{t)
roy, beam
hilo
to shriael
tn shriuel
(p.
232)
dog
saffronflower
cuiled
hut, cottage
crocodile
grateful (p.
82)
fanner
who
anyone
wlty
to buy
only,
just
only,
just
how
korl-bird, cuckoo
coat
corner
where
(tntenogative)
which
(ntenogative)
any
(p.
I58)
soft
Holy Koran
Indinn shirt
legal counsel
cafnera
campus
kot
koe
kothay
6sF
6$l"t
rlefl{
CS'FI
'rsFi/6<|'Ic{t
6Aw4
c+mn
qfrv
C$f,o'llT\51
c{r{{T
stlmn
sjl.'lf{
kon
kon6/kono
komcl
koran
J6riph
korta/kurta
KOUSUtI
lyamera
!y-.p*
- 2 9 8 -
oelb
tired
class
frrt"tq
Flv
Flrt
T
IFGI
CF5IEI
Tftt
Tq
Tltr-el
cqtfis
{
q5n5
qqil
rF-<
?FrK-?t
s'l'l-s
q6l
{dI
{cvl
?Il ?tl
4I{I
ql$-nTt
{lTti/{tsrRnt
"{IF
<ftrt
{lsl
{sl
"fifis
{fr-Eq.l
{KFI
q<n"l
=fiR
{RqG
mrrm
Fttr
.lq"ls
"Iftl.r*
$
s?fi
.I{i"Fe
tF'
c{un/cimnnt
c"l-c{ c+an
CqEFlI
6 t o s s A R Y
kriyapcd
klant6
!!as
kp6n
kgcm6ta
kpaE6
kpud16
l<Fudr6ta
hodit6
khccmoc
khc4j6na
khcb6r
khcb6rer kag6j
khcl khcl
khcs6Ja
kha kha
khaoya
khaoya-daoya
khaoyan6/khaoyano
khal
khala
khata
khag[6
khanik
khanikkp6rl
khabar
kharap
khali
khalikhali
khitkhit
khide
kh0tkh0t
tctrutcYttrutu
khun kcra
khub/khub-i
khuJi
khcan6/khEcano
kheye phala
khalna
- 2 9 9 -
rnotnent
power,
skill
ceased
small, trifling
smallness, rneanness
engraaed, caraed
:
irritation
wag-tail
(fernale)
news
newspaper
:
bubbling
draft, sketch
:
heat, loneliness
to eat, dink, receiae
meal
to
feed
bed
to toil
exerc'ke-book
food
a little, a while
a liftle uhile
food
bad
empty, bare, merely
for
nothing
:
d'isfleasure
hunger
:
peeaishness
liftle
girl (p.
239)
to murdcr
aery
haPfv
to
grit,
clench
to eat up
tot
cil
crFrt|[drl
6{-4d/c{qmil
clcTF nt'
CT.ItE.l
c{rEF/drfE.|iFl
cinsl
ctnst"le
c"{Frl
c{tn {frq
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F
khala
khaladhula
khalan6/khalano
khelar malh
kh6ca
kh5can6/kh6cano
khoja
khojakh0ji
khoka
khoda haphiz
khola
khriglan
E E N 6 A I . '
sport,
game;
to
pl6l
slorts
to cause to
iW
ployngfreW
frick,
jab
to
prbh, jab
to sah, search
for
looking and searching
little bot
(p.
247)
'MaJ
God
frrotect
you'
(p.
145)
olm; to o|m
Christian
c{FIl
lsn
d
tlg
flE?FFI
rm
rrq<
rtv
rl9l
aq4/nvlr{l
{G-c{ slerl
'FFI
rfi<
{ir
$6'a
'|6
rr{
rlctf
rH
r|q
fdl
rll
5llTl
flq
'fl&/flq
rtf9
rfF
rln
<Ft
ffq
flgtf
ffi
gct6
gct6kal
rc!g!6
g6bhir
8ct
8ra
gcJan6/gcJano
gcgiye
iaoya
gcr6m
g6rib
96ru
gc{6n
gcn6
s{96
gcla
8clPo
gc!p6 kcra
8a
taoya
gach
gali/gali
ga6h6
8an
gan kcra
gal
Suruguru
guli
- 3 0 0 -
last,
preuitus
yaterdoy
scent, smell
deep,
profound
fort
to mould, shope
to roll
to roll along
warm, hot
poor
cow, cattle
roar
hole
iride
throat, ooice
story
to clut
W
to sW
(p.
202)
tru,
plant
caL lehicle
solid, dcep
song
to sing
cheek
:
rambling
billlet,
pill
lR
qen
a
rI{E
fift
crldtFl
t{Rs
cftt citt
cutttB
crllEFtldt
cdrq|'f
crtFFt
qdl
ERq
S|n
st{
stql
!
qtt
{&
st
qit
qiFF{l
{F
Rlw|i/q<v|({|
\lT
qNt
st{
qqrrRi
fr
lq<
s
{<s
{c{
q[{l
$'
cslDl
,csM
csFn4l
cq|TF/cqNiFf
cstr
ffi-.tl
6 r . o s s A R Y
guli khaoya
$h6
grh6sth6
g$i4T
gelas
goirik
to 80
ghodh0li
golmal
Solap
goscl kcra
g6nthil
tlam
glam
g1am16
gblta
gh6gi
ghcn6
ghcr
ghcrkcnna
that
ghabpn6/ghabpno
gham
ghama
ghas
ghasph6gint
ghi
ghuqur
ghum
ghur6m6
ghure asa
ghu4i
ghoca
thop
ghom6no
ghoman6/ghomano
ghor
ghora
to be shot
r@m, house
InusehoMer
housewife
glass
red ochre
:
groaning
dush
noise, trouble
rose
ta haae a bath
(E)
hnot
grarn
ne
aillage
rustic
hour
watch, cloch
dcnse, thich
room, house
housekeeping
steps, moorbtg-place
tn be tahen abach
sweat
to sweat
gl4ss
grasshopper
ghee,
clarifud butter
ankle-bells
sl?pt
turning, slinning
to
go
out
for
a stroll
whirlpool, whirling
to be fustroyed
horse
to sleep
(p.
183)
to sleep
seoere, dark
ta uander
wheel
D
D-S
cckr6
- 3 0 r -
T E A C H Y O U R 5 E I F 8 E N 6 A I '
DDI
E9t
ETF
Etqsl-?t
FTI
EilE-q
Erd
q:{l
Erq {{I
EIFII
EI
Et-"11-{t
EI{I
Ftq
DFI'I
Dffi/EFA
DF{ S-<l
DT'II
dR
DFTE
Effir$/Efifrc$
DRt
DFI
EldTfS
Dr{ffiI
EFI S-<I
Eta
f r Fon
Foq
c0
G6"rq
Gqot</fiqor<
ffiil
Fwr*t
Svt-sr{ s-<t
G-e
'
Eel
EI s- { I
E
f-Dlef
UR
on
trq
ffi
cE-{t
ccta
c9[a
ccm6k
ccm6tkar
ccla
cclaccl
c6le asa
c6le
iaoya
ccJma
ca
ca-khana
caoya
cid
caka
cakri/cakri
can kcra
caPa
cabi
cam6c
cardike/caridike
cara
cal
calak
calu kcra
cag kcra
cagi
ci ci kcra
ci kcq
ciIhi
ci{hipct16
citkar/citkar
crtaDaSnrnl
cintadhara
cinta-bhabna kcra
.i1!6
cuP
cup kcra
cuP-caP
curi kcra
cul
c6cameci
cena
- 3 0 2 -
to
get
argry
to ri.dc, climb
alarm, amnzetnmt
fine,
excellent
to moae,
go
moaement, traael
to cotne, tum up
t0
go
away
spectacles
tea
tea-stnll
to want, ask
for
(p.
202)
tnoon
wheel
job,
enfiIoyment
to haae a bath
(W)
to
press
hey
sfoon
all around
shoot, seedling
rice
(uncooked)
cleaer
to introduce, sfurt up
to
fann
fanner
to cheep
glosry
letter
lefters
shouting
(female)
cheetah
fl.ow
of thought
tn think, worry
sien
(p.
255)
silence
to be silent
silent,
peaceful
to steal
hair
hullabaloo
to know
(a person)
cr{l3t
CEr{ 6{9TI
CFil
CDEil
cDa t
c6'{Tf
ID,E {I,I
CD'FI
Cffi
E.
wF/wnnt
RR
qlgt
Rlsl
Q|q
qnl
qlef
qn
6s6ll
qm
ffi7P3*
Ra
RID
ffio-rt
RR
tu
6{tr9 Cc{l
cqrE
cqcqPm
cqc46{El
CqfcTCTrI
(qtr/cqldt
.AFI
cqu
' q
q"l:l
q{s
qsq
qtrd
q-{ft
s-{ar
6 t o s s l R Y
celer
ceye neoya
cera
cala
cegla kcra
cehara
coft16
cokh
co[ka1h
chcpn6/chcJano
ch6bi
c,hap
chata
chat16
chana
chap
chap phala
chaya
chilan6/chilano
chinn6
chut'
chulochuli kcra
churi
chEJa
chere deoya
chele
chelepile
chelebala
chelemeye
cho16/cho1o
chota
chol6
jckh6m
icg6!
jcgg6l
i6til
jcn6ni
jcn6p1iy6
- 3 0 3 -
clwir
to ask
for
somethittg
to clcaae, splil
disc$le
to try
@pearatre
Bmgali mmth
(p.I95)
eye
doorframe, threshoW
ta vatter
future
to leaae; besides
umbrella
,u\il
chitk,
puppy,
etc.
ittQrasitn
to rnake an
impression
shadow
to spinkle, scatter
tom
hohnq
to rush about
hnife
to tear
to leaae, gtae
up
boy
children, kids
childhood
chiWren
small
to rush
titw
(p.210)
wound
woild
jungle
com/lex
mother
fropular
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N C A T I
qfi({n
q-{
q-{frd
wdl/qT{I
qFsrnl
qfrnF
qffi
qfiq
q-d{
qd
s-q<r{t
qtfll
q]flFt/qrncdl
qlrs<
qEs<
q'Fn
qf{Fll
STI
q'FII
q|fl{Pls
q]TflI
qffiq
G
frFc
ffic"E
&-{l
qrsr
ETI
cqcq
sbt
cqFt
ffiM
cq'Fr
@F{
cq'ilqfl
q-{
.qs-qcE
qEl
q|41/qlEICil
tf
{rfgt
<trW[F
jcn6scrqkhya
jcnm6
icnm6din
j6ry6/j6qe
l6mijcma
i6midar
j6midari
j 6mi n
jcrayu
j cl
icl6dhara
iaga
jagan6{agano
ladukcr
iadughcr
jana
janala
iam
jama
jama-kap61
iaYga
jarman
j i
l i ni s
iinispct16
iira
iuto
iuya
jege
olha
iota
jora
jor
inan
Iots1a
jvcr
jycljy6le
iyelg
iyalan6/iyalano
ihcgp
ihcgsajhili
- 3 0 4 -
population
birth
birthdey
for,
because o/(+
poss.)
land
zam'indar, landowner
zamindari, estate
Land., space
(p.
247)
womb
water
(W)
stream,
fountnin
to wake
to wake someone up
magfuian
fnuseufn
to know
(a
thing)
window
rose-afple
shirt, dress
1p.
33)
clothes
ilace
Gennan
yes (E)
thins
things
cumtnin
shoe(s)
gambling
to wake up
tn
gather,
assemble
bair
force,
strength
hnowledge
(p.
82)
moonlight
(p.
249)
feuer
blazing, sparkling
to bum, blaze
to ltght, set onfire
quarrel
bickering
6 t o s s A R Y
<rv
<rtrflI/4EqEiI
X-dTfi
<rdFs
<Ifg'|
ilr{,rlt-ql
itt"l cqsrl
itF men
<|PFI
<TIE
R
FTKI
RtqF-q
RtFq-$
Rfrfifr
RG
T&lc<rrvr
crrrgt
C{r|R
Gr|E
B
tr<5
tr<rl
trndl
trq{E
uFl5
b|sl
Dlsl-"i!ml
EIF?FI
DR
cqerl
EFN
EFIIDIFI
T6E'I3I
FRI
. fsmt
tr{Id
6rol
dql
6R-{
c6FrofFt
dfrcet{
ihcr
jhclsan6/ihclsano
jhclsani
jhcl6sit6
jhikp
jhijhalo
jhip
deoya
jhil
deoya
jhapla
j hal
i hi
ihijhi
j hi l mi l
i hi l i k
i hi l i mi l i
i hi i l i
jhugi/jho6a
jhogo
ihop
jhol
tck
tska
tcmeto
lclmcl
tak
taka
taka-pcysa
1a1ka
lan
deoya
tana
tanatani
ticar
tiya
lukro
tuntuni
leko
lekka
l ebi l
lerikala
leliphon
- 3 0 5 -
storm
to daze, dazzle
daze, dazzle
dazzled
shaggt, clustering
uery hot,
pungent
to
jump
to sweep
gust,
flap
hot, spiq
maid-seraant
uicket
:
sparkling
rnild
flash
sparkling,
glitteing
uicket
basket
stonny
bush
sauce
(of.
curry)
sour
to tunt sour
tomato
:
agitation
bald
patch
monq, rupee
monE
fresh
to
pull
to
pull
:
pulling,
tugging
teacher
parrot
piece,
bit
tailor-bird
bald
acz
(ineards)
table
hair-parting
telephone
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F E E N 6 A I I
dfrF.F
ETIS'
'
)lEt
btet
t a$
6+
qtrq
fr-sr{t
drf{/ctflrq.r
C'TF
d]_sllft
dsl
v
sql
vfs
cq{l
vi[$-{ln
sr$l
uFe-lR
vt.l
VFIT
W.TR
uffl
Gsvfrql
frn
vr<
CSKI
csr<n/cvr<rc4'l
D
ulsl
L
l l rcl
CDFFI
dEc
E
g{;l
\e-{{/E{r4l
trq;FFl-?tr
\j9-
\9\9t{.1
lelibhiJcn
llaksi
{ha!!a
thanda
thi k
thik
ache
thikana
thekan6/lhekano
thot
thokalhuki
[hoOga
qcga
{ak
deoya
{ak-nam
{aka
4algar
4an
{ana
dayeri
4al
{irya/{igga
di m
dumur
{oba
doban6/{obano
{haka
qhi l
{heu
{hoka
gllynl6s
tckh6n
tckh6n-o/tckh6no
tckh6nkar
tct6
tct6din
- 3 0 6 -
teleuision
taxi
teastng
cold
right, correct
OK, all right
address
to obstruct
(p.
181)
lip, beak
hitting, harnmering
container
tif,
foint
to call, shout
pet
name
(p.
50)
to call, name
doctor
right
(opp.
of left)
wing
diary
dal, lentils; branch
boat, dinghy
egg
fis
to sink, drown
to cause to drown
to coaer, lid
clod, luntl
waue, billow
to enter
lady's
finger
then
still
of then
so much, so many
so many days
sE
sftrs TTt
\e-'sle,
\0-r<
q{
s-trdR
qs6l
e-ql
sf,f{
sRlst
sRaft t
*-K
gFF
qqM
qq-<
sM
elsrq&
sln'K/sR
eiK
9I3II
gFilNgE
qR.I
sfq/etE5fis
sl{
9I{CE
qs
-g
\9t{
qcf
gqqr{
gq{I o-ct
qrE
{{l
CSI;I
6oER
Fr</rc<l
q{l
?sRftsft
q'rt
csl
FIEI
al
q:tald
ar<q<
s-{l
G t o s s A R v
tcttv6
tcdar6k kcra
tcphat
tcbe
t6bu
tcrkari
t6ru4
tcla
tclay
tai/ta
tai naki!
tibu
tak
tachaJa
taji6b
ara
tafatati
tarpcr/tar pcre
tara
taramct46l
tarikh
tal/talgach
tils
tah6le
tillpq6
trr
tirth6
tul-tule
tul6na kcra
tule dhcra
tam6n
temni
toiri/toiri kcra
toiri/toiri hcoya
to
tola
thcmth6me
thcrthcr kcra
- 3 0 7 -
essence, truth,
hnowledge, nzws
to manage, look after
dffirence
but, then
yet, neaertheless
aegetables
young,
fresh
floor,
storey
at the
foot
o/(+
poss.)
so, therefore
is that so!
tent
shelf
apartfrom that
amazing, odd
hurry, urgenq
quickly
then, after that
star
phnetarium
dnte
(p.
195)
palm
tree
playtng
cards
in that sa5s
(p.
185)
sharp, keen
shore, coast
place
of
Pilgrimage
:
delishlful softness
to comPare
to lift up
such, so
in such a way
to make,
pre\are
to be made,
PrePared
('adversative' parti-
cle,
p. 95)
to lift, take
(a photo)
:
glumness, gloom
to tremble uiolently
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N 6 A I I
3l|st thaka to stay
cflTl
thama to stop
cqlrs theke
from(not
+ poss.)
E
qi
d6i curds,
yoghurt
ts d6!Q6 skilful
q-?rq,t
dcr6ia/dcrja door
ftrd< dcrkar need
(p.
I72)
E.fr dcrJ6n seeing, homage,
phi-
losophy
qq
dcl
group,
faction
ftVn/ftVnq digan6/dilano to stand, wait
9.-.s
q|9j
dili oarsrnan
ql\5
dat tooth. teeth
q'kl
dada eldcr brother,
grand-
father
(p.
272)
nA dadi
grandmother
(p. 272)
qF
dam
price,
cost
qtscl
darurl sel)ere, uery
great
nft
dasi maid-seraant
fr-$
dik direction
fiurg
digcnt6 horizon
frfr
didi- elder sister
(p.
272)
frfi$
didima
grandmother
(p. 272)
L
lt4.{ Otn AAy
fr-*lt"F o-st din/ap6n kcra to spmd time
ftfu diqli d:iaine,
pleasant
(p. 2a8)
frcn diye by, with
(not
* poss.)
ft"t dip larni
E{({
dudhare on both sides
5{<
dupur noon(p. \03)
{]pF/Fq-Wil
dumpn6/dumgano to
fold,
twist
fsR
duyar d.oor
E-f,d
aurUOt weak
d
drgp misch'i.eaous, naughfi
En
d[r distance; distant
!P
drgh6
finn,
sound
- 3 0 8 -
cqsfl
cqs{l-E
cq?fi
cqq4/ch?ffcnl
cq{teffil
cqqcfl4l s-fl
cqv
Cq?Tl-q
cqR/cqa
mR o-*t
oit
cnqR
CNIfl
cqr.nxrA
crq.
CqFFF
CqFFF'S-fl
cqtGdl
cErq|{/cnETfcfl
FS
wstfiRft
SK
EFTI
fr'tq
frer
c
<FFEI
{nl<Iq
<Tff{/{rl-fir{l
TFF{
(t{I
sKr{/trsfr{t
{rd
. < n
{tre-l
ttqni h{Gil
{F{
{Fr
{FI CqTI
$< c{s{l
c r o s s A R Y
deoya
deoyal
dakha
dakhan6/dakhano
dakhaJona
dakhaJona kcra
der
derai
deri/deri
deri kcra
deJ
deJlai
deli
deJoyali
deh6
dokan
dokan kcra
doyel
dolan6/dolano
drut6
&ut6gamini
dvar
dvara
a"igu.t
dvitiy6
dhck6l
dh61y6bad
to
giue
wall
to see; meeting
to show
meeting
to look after
one-and-a-half
drawer
delay, lateness
to dclay
land
rnatches
of the country
countryman, rustit
body
shop
to shop
magpie-robin
to cause to swing
quitk,
swift
swiftly mouing
door,
gate
b b.
158)
twice
second
stress, impact
thank you
dhcmkan6/dhcmkano tnscold,rebuke
dhcr6n
dhcra
dhcran6/dhcrano
dh6re
dhcrm6
dh6rgta
dhidhan6/dhidhano
dhan
dhar
dhar deoya
dhar neoya
- 3 0 9 -
way, sort
to hold
to cause tn hold
for
(a
span of time,
p.
125)
religbn
raped, rauished
to daze
faddy
edge, side
to lend
to borrow
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F 8 E N G A T I
fu-<-fu-<
$
T{qFI
$-{l
lgEr
C&|{I
KI9iI
C<I.III
<K(q
(Kfi
<KfiE
qKqt
{?I
{E-q
q-<-<{
-s
.{{l "l
{vrb-91
q9{
{a
d{sl3
4S
TRI
n
{-
q-<?F
T.?FI
dqf l
d
qsTt
4I
{lsTf{/{l{l-6{l
dfslE
{trl{cnrqt
il15
dIsI
qtflrtG
s-{t
{IEr{/qtD'l({l
ilflq
{lvl
dhire-dhire
dhuti
dhOmpan kcra
dhul o
dh5ya
dhopa
dhoya
dhvcrqs6
dhv6ni
atrvOnitO
onvsla
n3-
nckh
nckpctr6
ncb6bcrsa
n6bin
nc[ac3[a
n6tun
n6di
ncm6skar
ncm16
ncrnb6r
nc16k
nc16m
ncp[6 kcra
ncA{6 hcoya
na
naoyan6/naoyano
nakal
nag6rdola
nac
naca
nacanaci kcra
nacan6/nacano
nagad
nara
- 3 1 0 -
slowly
dhoti, loincloth
to smoke
du.st
smoke
washerman
to wash
dtstruction
sound.
sounded,
played
flag,
banner
(verb
'not
to be',
p.
63)
fingerltoe
nail
star
new rain
neu
moaement, strolling
neI,0
riuer
(Hindu greeting,
p. 95)
soft,
gentle
number
hell
soft
to spoil, waste
to be spoilt, nasted
no; not;
please
(p.
112); or
(p.
77)
to cause to bathe
embarrassed
big wheel
dance
to dance
to dance about
to cause to dance
bJ, up to
(not
*
poss.)
to moue, shake
{r{i/qFIFr
{F{I
q|Os
dln
4ln dl
dFII
TITM
'KI
fie"|g
figqq
ffi
firF/ftD
firsT/firq<
fi-erflE
frtr{
L
l.lY\,
ffi
ffi
frc
frrs
qirf
firs rtsrt
fi-<"r*t<
fi-+"m
frq<
FIT!iU
frm< o-rt
fr'Dr/ffi
fr-sd
ft-rc<
5-
{l al
{{
{s4
{sI
s-fl
c{sTt
c{Itl
c{F
c{li{l
mot/mr$l
6 t o s s A R Y
nana/nanan
nani
napit
nam
nam kcra
nama
namaj p6a
nitrJcbd6
nilrgpcnd6
nikcl
nice/nice
niie/nijer
niE6kal
niden
nibhn6
nim6ntrit6
nryomrto
niye
niye asa
niye
iaoya
nircp6radh
nirupay
ni{ib
nirdip[6
nipedh kcra
nilccy/niJc6y-i
nistcbdh6
n-rrcuE-
ni l
nun
n0t6n
nny6 kcra
neoya
neJa
not
nona
noika/no0ko
aarious
grandmother
(p. 272)
barber
name
to name;
famous
to
get
down
/o say
(Muslim)
prayers
without sound
without
pulse,
lifuless
near
(4 poss.)
Deloar
(* poss.)
oneielflone's own
1p.
85)
etemily
at least
secret,
piuate
inaited
regular
with, by
(not
* poss.)
tn bing,
fehh
to take, transport
guiltless
helpless
lifuless
fixed,
defined
to
forbid
certainly
completely still
noiselessly
blue
sall
(W)
new
to dance
to take
intnxication
note
salty
boat
- 3 i l -
T E A C H Y O U f , S E t F E E N G A T I
"l
rfs
rfrrF
1kq
"tqe
efqq
<qI
r9l
"tvl
flgfc-lFil Fdl
fV'F/"lgft''l
'rrir<I
'|[q]IeRld
'fsFFt
ftst
flE
"Pi
"FiTF:I
rl-?Fll
rl-?l
fl<n/qf^f
"Kfr{
'|in
fl<lfi{
"Fr*rFl
eKl
flfiGs
flR{<
"tR'ci?IJ'n
ffi$R
"tRqt<
mt
qftFl
qfrrt
l
pokS6
P6!EC
p6akil
p6qkti
pcch6nd6 kcra
Psra
Pra
pcJaJona kcra
pcpn6/pcJano
p64y6drc[6
p6qyop6har
pctaka
p6trika
pcth
Pcd
pcd6krcm
pcyla
Por
pcrda/pcrda
pcrdin
pcr6n
porfudin
pcr6E6r
Pcra
p6ricit6
p6ribar
p6riscrqlfan
p6ripkar
p6rigkar kcra
p6rilga
p6rikpa
kcra
Pcre
p{[{16
pc!!6b
P6lu
pclcal
p6lgim
- 3 r 2 -
wing,
fl.ank,
side
for,
on behalfof
rnuddy
line
tn like,
prefer
to
fall
to read, study
to study
to teach
tnerchandise, wares
gift
of merchandise
(p.
255)
flag,
banner
journal
path,
road
foot,
pace, position
series
frst
of the tnonth
after
(+
poss.
)
curtain,
purdah
nert day
weaing,
putting
on
day before
yesterdayl
after tomorow
(p.
150)
reciprocal, mutual
tn wear,
put
on
acquainted
family
statistics
clean
to clean
examination
to eramine, test
(seect<);
later
until
(not
* poss.)
Ieaf
animal
behind
(+ poss.)
west, westem
'fct
ffi
rlF-{
"n
9Ffl8.
qfun
T
'IIs{l
"fi{t
{Rl{ft
"nq&
flI'FI
'tF-stst
"l|b
"tfts
"ttbnltt.anct
"ttfrcr
cqert
"M'tt
fll-sl
flfst
flIEK
"ilAlfr
eflTqFlt
"IRI
{16
"r|d
NFI
NTFFF
er6TF/effqf6{t
nft{ ffir
RI..I
qrc"l
4FFF5]
9IFIg
eiFi
s-{l
ftqq
Frqrq
ftTq{/ftq-dtcal
flsl
Pivutq
t{<
'
"t@tW
t<<sm
T{sK
ttrll-{i/'F({l
ts{
q,
6 t o s s A R Y
Pa
Paoya
pakha
pakhi/pakhi
Pagri
pag6l
pa1-bhaqa
Path
palh6k
palhan6/palhano
palhiye deoya
paJagi
Pata
Pata
path6r
papiyosi
payjama
Para
PaI!
parlvo
Pal
pal6k
palan6/palano
paliJ kcra
PAJ
PAJC
palgaty6
pap6n46
pas kcra
pich6n
pich6ne
pichlan6/pichlano
Pih
pitrgrh6
pukur
pu$ibh0t6
pube-batas
pur6skar
purano/pur6no
Purup
Puro
- 3 r 3 -
foot,
leg
to
get, receiae
fan
bird
pugree,
turban
mad
crisp ly
fold.e
d,
Pr
es s ed
text
reader
to send
to send
rural area, uillage
Ieaf,
page
to spread
stone
sinful
(female)
pyjamas
tn be able
park
side,
flank,
edge
sail
guardian
to
flee
to
polish
sidc,
flank,
edge
nextto
(+ poss.)
western
inueterate sinner
to
pass (an
eram)
back, rear
behind
(+ poss.)
to sltp
father
patemal
home
pond.,
tank
filed
ui
east uind
Frize
old
man, rnale
all, whole
f E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 E N 6 A I . '
"tful
"t"r
"|{
"td
"lRA
c"F
c'rdfu
caf{litl
C"fGFF
cfi
c'f|ga/cenvnnt
c{:tl
CtFfFF/C'f1{fs
C"l|6F|,l
cfiq{/(tlqr{t
cff{
nmss
EFFIg
CFFIT
CFFFI
S<I
qt,AE
EFFTMI
e-fe
E[<
pulif
p0rn6
P0s
p0rbp
prthibi
Pet
pensil
Peyara
perek
PEJi
pogan6/poJano
POFA
poJak/popak
postapis
p5[chan6/poichano
PonP
plandel
p16kaq46
pg6kar
pg6kal kcra
pg6kaJit6
gOkafe
p16kni
p16cur
p16r1am
p16ti-
pl6tidin
pg6tibeJi
g6tihir4sa
gOtikr
p16Eagct6
p161yaJa
g6Eek
pl6Eeke
p16th6m
p16th6me
pr6dhan
pg6dhan6t6
pl6dhanm6ntri
ppbcndh6
p16bcl
- 3 1 4 -
police
full,
whole, cotr$lete
east,
past,
fonwr
before
(+ poss.)
world
stomach
pmcil
gultaa
nail, spihe
muscle
to bum
tnme,
pet
chthes
post-office
to ariae
Bengali *onS11(p. 795)
pandal (p.
224)
hwe
way, kind
to
publish,
express
published
publicly,
openly
nature
profuse,
huge in
amount
(obeisance,
p.
33)
each, euery
@refix)
eaery day
neighbour
reaenge, retaliation
waiting, expectation
retumed.
expectation
each
each one, eaeryone
first
at
first
chief
chiefll
prime
minister
essay, article
uery strong,
rytgh\
qqn
q&-
qGfr{
eftrqn
qGRqql
qftFl
qstlfls
sgr"fi
fFFI
efcslrs
gaFl
EAIC{
q{FI
q{rds
E{rd{a
EFFI
CF|6I
sGF.f ftil
E{({
rll\-
.9lld
SR
qq?
RT
RBcfrfr
ftfr
cEn
Cqi.D
CEI.bI
cS
T
T6l
wt
Tf
TdI
TFI
s-qal
t'r
frT<
qf{t
ftr< stsrt
tutr
TY$
{T
TRs
qten
T-{
TE-$ft/TT$fr
6q-<q cq{I
C{8II
FqI
crcfl cqsrl
sll-{
6 r o s s A R Y
pg6beJ kcra
pl6Jcrqsa
PraI
PIAQ
PIAY
PIay-i
PIiY6
pliy6scqgini
Pfri
Prem
pro!6h6
pgori6ha
P!"t
ph61o
phcras
phcrd6
phcl
phcle
phcs6l
phik
phire asa
phire
iaoya
phi l m
phuJuk
phuphu
phuriye
iaoya
phul
phulk6pi/phulk6phi
pher6t deoya
phera
phala
phele deoya
ph[-n
to enter
praise
moming
life-breath, aitality
neaily, about
often, usually
dcar
dear comPanion
(female)
affection,
pleasure
loae
middle-aged
middle-aged
(female)
plate
photo
fl.oor-coaeing,
durrie
list, inaentory
fruit
as a result
haraest
gaf,
sface
to come back
to
go
back
film
:
sudden
flying
away
oynS
(p.
2TB)
to run out
flower
caul'iflower
to retum,
giue
back
to comelgo back
to throw
tn throw away
fan
book
to scold
speech, lecture
breast, chest
{{
<-$.l
<-9'61
<rF
b6i
bcka
b6kq'ta
b6kp6
- 3 r 5 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F E E N G A T '
<6
t/dfls
{F
<v/{cgl
<vr4s
<6
<;f
<;nal
inl
Tts
<{
{t
<Fdl
ittfi-{
q
Tfiffii
{w
T{II
<fr
ifsrl
<gfr
<?(
<.f
<{-srd
<at
<Eil
?rcl
<qr
{{I
{s.
{qfi-{
<lidll
{(6lrcq'{
<R'rl
<13
tr
ffi
tFF/tfutinl
ftq
ft{rfi/tt{Ffr
<r$qrdt
bcch6r
bc1/bcgach
bcle
bc66/bcgo
bcl6lok
bcddh6
bcn/bOn
bcn6pcth
bcna
b6nduk
bcndh6
bcndh6 kcra
bcndhan
bOndhu
b6rxlh-ubihin
b6ndhutv6
b6rya
-
b6mi
bcy6s
bcy6si
bcr6nl
bcrq6
bqgakal
bcl
bcla
b6le
bcsa
bcha
b6hu
b6hudin
ban;la
barqladeJ
baire
batr
ba
bica
bican6/bicano
bidha
year
banyan tree
indeed, of course
ba
rich
person
fastened,
caught
forest,
wood
forest
path
to be reduced to
gan
closed
to close
binding, tie
friend
friendless
friendshi|
flood
uoniting
age
aged
rather, in
prefermce
colour, letter of tlie
al|lwbet
,nonsoon
ball
to speak, say, tell
because
to sit
to blow,
flow
(p.
255)
many, tnuth
a long tirne
Bengali
(language)
Bar8ladesh; Bengal
(p.
190)
outsidc
(+
poss.)
Braao!
1p.
81)
Ieft
tn lhte, suraiae
$.
156)
to saae, reuiae
tn bind. tie
bidhakGpi/bidhak6phi cabbage
bak-hara
- 3 t 6 -
sleechless
6 t o s s A R Y
<Tfi baki remaining, the rest
<toi b"E6 sPeech, sentence
419 baks6 box, suitcase
<ltlFl b"g"n
garden
<Is bagh tiger
{slft baqali Bengali
(race,
nation)
(Tw1/<tq17aB1
bacca/baccha/bacha child, kid
<fq-{l bajna
Pla.ying,
musical
instrument
rfql baja toring, strike(p,108)
l{|qi13
bajar baeaar
<fwK s-$ bajar kcra to do the shopping
<]qR/{stR-cq1
batabi/batabi-lebu
pomelo
<K $-fl bar kcra to bring out
{<"f< bar6mbar ogain and again
4lvl ba6a to
grow
{Vn/qWn baJan6/bagano to cause to
grow
<fsF{ batas wind
<tal-?Fn bathrum bathroom
<lq 6q$ bad deoya to omit
<1fi bade afterwards, later
<mft badami broun, nut-coloured
4qt b"EO music, band
<l{l badha to stick, be obstructed
<f{l badhy6 obedicnt, comPelled
<f<R babri long hair, mane
<Ki baba
father
(W)
<lTTt bayna earnest money
<fffql baranda aerandah
<la-s bal6k boy
<1Fro| balika
sNrl
<t{ bas duelling;
garment
<f{ s-fl bas kcra to dwell, liae
, <fffiT{ bas6rghcr bridal chamber
<|fl basa residence
<frft
-basini
residing
(female)
<]Ril bahini army, battalion
44. bahu arrn
RsF/RrrE bikal/bikel aftemoon
(p.
103)
- 3 t 7 -
f E A C H Y O U R S E I . F B E N 6 A I - I
Rfu olt
ffi
qeTt
R"lltg
RGq
Rqi/Rqrql
Rqrdl
R&fi
Retn
R-qs
M
Rft.f o-<t
Rcn l
Rmft
Rqs
Rws
R-{l
R"fq
R-+<q cqert
fi<"f
fr{R
RR{
R-ss
R-st6i
R&a
fr-qR-sl
RG
Rm o<t
Rs
qen
R-{-s
frq?
Rrqs
fuE
fun
frc-n
or<
frc"|{s
Rfi
R{
R{R'qIrq{
Rtlc
Rqln
Rqr o-{t/cien
R{
bikri kcra
bikri hcoya
bi![at6
bicit16
bichan6/bichano
bichana
bicchiri
ui@n
bi6al
biplni
bidirrl6 kcra
bideJ
bidefi
biglyut
bidhvcs. t6
bina
bi pul
bibcr6rl deoya
bibcrq6
bibah6
bi bi dh
bibr6t6
bibhag
bibhinn6
bibhipika
biye
biye kcra
biye hcoya
birckt6
bilcmlo
bi l et
bilal
biJep
bifep k6re
bifepct6
biIIi
bilv6
bilv6biglyaby
biJvas
biJram
bilram kcra/neoya
bi p
- 3 r 8 -
tn sell
tn be sold
famous
uaried, wonderful
to spread, strew
bedding
ugly, nasty
1p.
67)
sc'icnce
(p.
82)
cat
female
cat
to split
foreign
land, abroad
foreign
liehtning, electricity
uttei l y rui ned
without
huge
to desuibe
discoloured,
pale
maniage, wedd:ing
aarinus
embarrassed
diaision, department
aarious
horror,
panic
rnarringe, wedding
to many
to
get marrieT
(p.
100)
annoyed
delay, lateness
England
huge, uast
special,
farticular
specially
specially
ueb
$. 67)
world, uniaerse
uniuersily
belief, trust
rest
to rest
po$on
R'{r
R'{s{
Rcwnq
R-E"f
R,.Tq
a{
Ts
{q
3r9|
fto
tfrltl
ltr{l{
3r{l
1ql
lE
lqq
1I"IF<R
6q?fr
6ttt
6<-ft<
F l
c<rF
c<-v-lE
c4ti
c{.fF/K{r{l
c<-?N;{/6<-{r{I
sRm ltsrl
c<dtl
c{{
c{fi/c{ft
c<Fr+qq
6E{lEr
c<fsl
C{|q]
6<Ffl
c$<tR
c<RF/C4{r6{l
C<I{
GTI
c{t( E{
6 t o s s A R Y
bipcy
bipcy6k
bisphor6rq
bistirn6
bihvcl
b-tr
buk
buJi
buJo
buddhim6ti
buli-himan
budfiSar
buno
brtha
b!'EIi
brhct
b$cgp6tibar
beaini
b1e
bekar
beg
begun
beJal
bed
beran6/berano
ber6n6/ber6no
beriye
iaoya
bal a
beI
beJi/beJi
beJirbhag
behala
boka
boja
bojha
bojhai
boihan6/bojhano
bodh kcra
bodh hcy
bon
bykti
- 3 t 9 -
sublect
denoting,
relating to
explosion
spread out, extensiae
bewildered
(p.
262)
hero, warnor
breast, chest
old wotnan
oM man
intelligent
(female)
intelligent
(male)
Wednesday
(p.
103)
wild, saaage
futile,
in uain
rain
huge, large
Thursday
(p.
103)
tllegal
shqlt
unemfloJed; unem-
ployment
speed, im|etus
binjal, aubergine
see R"s-fE
Vedn(9
to
go
out
to
go
out
(p.
183)
to
go
out
(p.
163)
time of day
(p.
103)
fi.ne,
nice, uery
many, rnuch
(p.
138)
the mostPart, majorilY
uiolin
stupi.d
to shut
(Ees, p. 21I)
to understand
load, burden
to explain
to
feel
perhaPs,
ProbablY
sister
(p.
272)
ferson
(p.26)
6<f{
<]fu
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 A I . '
<Jq{<.f
<I4fi
<I+qt
<r{q s-{l
<IQFT
<F{r< s-fl
<rs
{ssl
<iFsilcl
<iItl
<IFF
<ilflI<
<rfFt
$mc{
\,
sfr
SENR6TI
su'cdils
v{
s{Ft-s
s{Frq
q{l
s{ln/s{Ir{l
sT s-{t
eR
sltc{
gtrl
stql
stsvEtstl
g|sFr/stsTr{l
sM
v-ls
VR
'
-efGt
VFFII
s.Frl
qft
sE/sllFt
vRNKpII
byni6nbcr116
lZth.
!ybcstha
lyb6stha
kcra
!yb6har
[b6har
kcra
byst6
byst6ta
Qakc16rl
U-g
U'q!
{apar
byamo
brahm6q
bh6ggi
bhcdr6m6hila
bhcdrOlok
bht
bhcyan6k
bhcyabch6
bhcra
bhcran6/bhcrano
bhcsm6 kcra
bhai
bhaipo
bhag
bhagy6
baqa/baqga
bhaqan6/bhaqano
bhaJa
bhat
bhab
-bhabe
bhabna
bhaba
bhari
bhal6/bhalo
bhalobasa
- 3 2 0 -
consonant
fain
arrangement
to arrange,
fi.x
up
behaaiour, usage
to behaae, use
buq,
fussed
bustle, erciternent
gramfnar
bag
bank
matter, affair
illness
Brahmin
1p.90)
slyle,
posture
lady
gentleman
fear
dreadful,
fishtful
dreadful,
fishlful
to
fill; full
to cause to
fill
to bum to ashes
brother
(p.
272)
nephew
(p.27a)
part,
share
fortune,
luck
to break; broken
to break something,
change
(a
banknote)
rent,
fare
cooked rice, meal
way, mood
i n awq
(p. 122)
uofry
to think, deaise
heatsy
good
loue; to loue
VFIq
\g-FII
g|cla/spilril
&ffi
cv
trw/Gs-c<
trE< frc{
trcf
frsq
w
w
Yq
s-dl
vrE
{sTl
ElrfFt
Es
FS
Ca-(S SlTl
e(?-F<
Fqt
6s\G/FSc{
F6I
celrll
csR
FFil
Elst
ETE
n
TIFI{R
TSiI
TilR
TE"
nv
w/xsq/:rcat
.wt
:{!i
{fr<
n{a.?r
lqlR-s
n{l
6 t o s s A R v
bhaS6n
bhaga
bhasan6/bhasano
bhiie
bhig
bhit6r/bhit6re
bhit6r diye
bhisa
bhipcrl
bhuru
bhul
bhul kcra
bhule
iaoya
bhOgol
bhut
bhek
bheqe
iaoya
bhegge-cure
bheja
bhet6r/bhet6re
bhela
bhoga
bhor
bhola
bhrata
!hrutuli
mc4g6lbar
mcia
m{ar
m6jur
mct
mct6/mct6n/mcto
mctt6
mcl-
m6dir
m6dhukcr
mq![6bitt6
mo{[6
- 3 2 1 -
sfeech, utterance
language
to set aflaat
uet
crowd
in, insi.dc
(+
poss.)
through
dsa
tenible, awful
eyebtow
mistnke
tn nnhe a mistake
to
forget
geograplry
ghost
frog
to break up, collaPse
broken, crumbled
wet; to
get
wet
see
laft
to suffer
daum
to
forget,
be charmed
brother
frown
Tuesdoy
(p.103)
joke,
fun
funry
labourer
opinion
like, similar to
(*
poss.)
dntnh, mad
alcoholic drink
intnxbating
bee
middle-class
middle
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F S E N 6 A T I
Tc{t m6dhye in, insidz
(+
poss.)
n;{ mcn/m6n mind
I-{[Tltl cqs$ mcn6iog deoya to concentrate
n-dmft mcn6iogi attentiue
{fr
nfrT
m6ntri
m6ndi r
mail
marqs6
minister
temple
nTql{ mcydan open area, maidan
(p. 247)
nq< m6yur
peacock
T{l mcra to die, whither
ffi mcrm6bhedi heart-rending
Tg mcst6 big,
great
T{q mch6t large, noble
Tqfr' mch6rpi
great
sage
T{/T{f{ mcha/mchan
great
{qlTtft mchamani aery
proud
mcharani
queen
nRil m6hila woman
lI ma mother
(W)
ll<Frt ma-baba
farents
(W)
{RE
nt(c
mile
meat
lI11
makha daub, smear, knead
Ttq.
mach
fish
nt6R< 6tfFI macher
jhol
fsh
curry
nl-qt
m{a to scrub, brush
nf{l
maih rniddle
Tf4"|tC{
majhkhane in the.middle
(+
poss.)
TRilTtRI malhamalhi about the middle
{fR maihi boatman
nrcrr maihe in, insidt
(+ poss.)
nl(<{-nf64 maihe-majhe sometimes
ntr<r-cl(<l majhe-sajhe sometimes
nlgt mata rnother
.
lIF mati earth, soil,
ground
Tfb math open cultiaated land
:Ilq
matr6 only
nlell matha head
{afi
sr<t
matha dhcra to haae a headache
nlqE mad6l drum
- 3 2 2 -
wl'{
{Es
qr$
ETGI
TFI
rrTfr
$-<t
ntfrt
NI,l
ltfi-s
Efi
fiRs
fuql
fr-{<
fr{</fic<
fre{ sterl
ftE
F1lt<
<ts-ct
frfr
w
{e
{?r
{R
q{qrlrmfl
Ttfrq
T{d{14
w
{q
-{dr$
{q
cqq
Fc<r
oqR
CTIT
CTC< CSdII
.
c{6Tl
mdtl
CNqK{III
GEITCT{I S-dI
mqqft
crqft
6 t o s s l R Y
ma(hy6m
manup
manupi
mane
mama
mamuli
mara
ma!!a
mas
masik
masi
michil
mig[e
minar
mifcr/miscr
miJe
iaoya
mipti
mismar kcra
mistri
mukta
muki
muF
mukh6r
mug6ldharab6rgi
muJkil
mus6lman
m0fti
mul
-mn|6k
mldu
megh
mejhe
medhabi
meye
mere phala
mala
mela
melamefa
melameJa kcra
meh6g6ni.
mehedi
- 3 2 3 -
medium, means
human racelbefug
wofiran
meaning
uncle
(p.
273)
trite, hafinqed
beat, hill
oatsmlrn
month
monthly
aunt
(p.
273)
rally, dctnonstration
lie,
falsehood
tower
Es|t
to
get
mixed up
sweet6)
to d.estroy utterly
(p.
240)
artisan, tradesman
pearl
freedom,
deliaerance
face,
tnouth
gamtlous
torrentially raining
trouble, difrcul$
Muslirn
image, statue
root
originating
from
soft, delicate
chud
floor
intelligent, gifted
girl,
daughtnr, won an
tn kill
fair, fAte
to
fit,
combine
mixing, socinl contact
tn rnir socially
mahogany
henna
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F 8 E N 6 A I . '
GISFI
mF<
crtrl{F
mlv
c{<5t
mKflTq
mR<
C{F{
q
{"Fl
{E
ssfin
sY s-dt
{ccE
{fr
TflItr
{I 6{FF
{Is{l
{s|Ilfs s-fl
{ql
{h
T{f
cr{
c{:l-{
crlfftcqtrf s-{l
<sdl
qs{l/cqsrl
<sTl
<i/<s
<( s-{l
SF5I
<Gs/<i{
{'?gGI
<E
<aFitql
<R{<
it{t
ftr{|<M
moktar
-otO.
motamuti
moI
morcg
morcgphul
mohcr
moin6
ickh6n
ict6
ict6din
/ctn6
kcra
icthe9{6
y6di
icnt16pati
ia
hok
iaoya
iatayat
kcra
yatra
iuddh6
iuba
iano
iam6n
iogaiog
kcra
rcona hcoya/deoya
rcoya
rcrq/rcq
rcrq kcra
rck6m
164in/r6qin
rc0g6bh6re
rcth
rcthiatra
r6bibar
ridha
ridha-bap
- t 2 4 -
attornE, agent
motor
more-or-Iess, so-so
street corner, crossing
cock
cockscomb
mohur,
gold
coin
silent, reticent
when
(p.
l8l)
as much, as many
as many days
tn take care of
suffrcient, abundant
if
(p.
Iu)
tools and imflements
Oh well
to
go
to come and
go
journey;
stage-show
war
young
fnan
as if, seemingly
(p.
218)
as like,
just
as
to tnake contad
to stnrt out
to remain
(p.
219)
colour
tn colour,
paint
nrf kind, way
cohured
flayfully
chariot
chqriot
joumey
Sunday
(p.103)
to cook
cooking and seruing
food
fl{l
<t5l
<Ifl
<I'IT
<IgT
{qfte
{qf{C$
<fqT{
<[qI
qfr qsxt
Tfqj
<le
ilfr/ilG rcdt
ilrq
{|fl s-{l
<lds<
Tfst
fr-r{t
<Tls
srfi
$nfi
trri
fc'f
f,cT
ctwt
c<ae
c<trtl
c{l-q
c<]-q fl3l
6{MrtK
q{l
c<lq
c<KqF[
c<IflI
c<I6
. E
E\s{l
sffi
seft
4{l
6 t o s s A R Y
rakha
ra8
ra8
ragi
rarJa
rajniti
rajnoitik
rajpur
raja
raji hcoya
ra[6
rat
ratri/ratri bala
ratre
ranna kcra
rannaghcr
rasta
riUa
riti
rugi
rumal
ruP
-r0pe
r0po
restureqt
rehai
roga
roi
rojgar
rojgar kcra
rod
rodela
roPa
roid16
lcoya
l6kpmicha6i
lc11{6ni
lcmba
- 3 2 5 -
toput, keep
musical raga
anger
hot-tempered
red,
flushed
politics
political
royal city, capital
hing, rajah
to be willing
realm
ntCht
night, night time
at night
tn cook
kitchen
street
rickshaw
method, custotn
ill, sick
handkerchief
form, figure,
beauty
in a way
(p.
255)
siluer
restaurant
exemption, acquittal
thin
euery dary
eamings
to eam
sunshine
sunny
to
plant,
sow
sunshine
(p.
247)
to take
(p.
255)
good-for-nothing
(female)
Sylheti resident in
London
(p.80)
long, tall
T E A C H Y O U R S E T F S E N G A T '
q|t{
qIflI
dfi
ElsF/EfsIC{l
qilal
4l{.F
EFI
ap|{7@nnr
EFc*
"r9l
CtrFEEI
@?[
6{{
CEFF
cdlv
mrsftr
rl
'rta
I|s
nq
fi{<
'f<4-
.rq-rs.|{tr
-l3EF{
'Rr
-tfr<
-fq<
{Rq
ffi/{rq
qfi\o
fll-g
-fln
{Hls
lain
laga
lalhi
laphan6/laphano
lathi
lanc
lal
lulan6/lulano
luliye pc6a
lekcar
lekha
lebu
lok
lobh
lobh6niy6
J6kun
Jckt6
Jckh
J6nibar
Jcbd6
Icbc!6kop
Jcytan
J6riph
J6rir
Jch6r
16hid
Jali{agi
Ja4it6
IaEa
Iap
Iapa116
Jikpck
Jikpanh,i
Jikpit6
Jikpita
Jiggir
IilP6
IilPi
- 3 2 6 -
line,
queuc
to strike
(p.
I34, 172)
stick
to
jurnp
hick
lunch
red
tn roll on the
ground
to roll down
lecture
'to
wite
lemon, litne
person
greed
alluring
aulture
hard, difficult
craze, hobby
Saturday
(p.103)
word, sound
uocabulary, glossary
Satan, deail
holy
(to
Muslims)
body, health
cifi, tnwn
marur
sari
sharpened
peaceful
curse
lifting of a curse
(p.
218)
teacher
student; seeking in-
struetion
educated
educated
(female)
soon
art, industty
artist
Ft*_s
Frwtft
F{frs
Frfr-sl
fitFi<
Ftg
ftft
fifiR
ff{r
qs
ftss
T{r{l
TFK
II[s
{$
t{.
qg
lFilfr
F
r|s
TF
S:lI
:F
Tdi
Tdl-sr
c.lql
c.lRl-E
c.f{
elII s-dl
e|II
"|:fu
efc{
eff{l
fiFrF{/C"|l-{r{l
c.fltrs
{FIFI
6 r - o s s A R Y
IiJir
tiEr6
tir
frtcl
Jukno
Jukr6bar
Jute iaoya
Judhu
Jubh6
Jubh6ratri
Ir![6
Juru
Juru
kcra
Iug!6
Io!16
J01y6ta
Jekha
Jeyal
Jep
Jep
kcra
Jep
p{[696
Jepe
Jona
Jonan6{onano
Jobhit6
JmcJan
dew,
frost
pupil
cold
cold, cool
dry
Fridny
(p.
103)
to
go tn bed
only
well-being; beneficial
Good night
(p.
169)
whitc
beginning
to begin
dry, withered
empty; zero
empt'iness
tn leam
jackal
end
to end
ultimately
f.nally
to hear
to cause to hear,
Play
adamed
crernation-ground
(p.240)
bluc-green
Bengali month
(p.
195)
class, series, row
excellent, best
listener
canspiraq
number
music
conoersat'ion
woild,
fa:rnily
all
(people)
Iz-t
Jrab6rt
Jreqi
IreSth6
Jrota
{ll{
qFIq
rrrS
cqb
cqlsl
Il
lr-qqq
I
c({il/{q]l
c(fiv/{A\5
c(ql'f
CQTFI
'FFdI
pcJ6ycntr6
scrqllyalscqkhya
J6nlgrt{6ry-rt
scnllap
scr0sar
sck6l
- 3 7 7 -
I E A C H Y O U R S E T F B E N G A T I
FFTE
'FFFI
T$ldt-:rsrq
cft
:ffiad
TC{
TC{-{(!t
qEdl
rrsil'l
{q<
cfrs
Wls
TF'Si
csl
{ttFl
qs].t/{crl
TI
rrrcurl/q<qrs
'KFRcs
TFf'iT{
c-{R
T{s
csl
tttl
T5t{
{{g
il'fl
c:m|g
{{M
c:rF
NF
q""rr
rTrrc{
q?s{<
'TI?Ifi
GII
{TFI
cqrl
csrd/{drif
sok6le
sckal
sckal-sckal
s6khi
s6ngihin
sclte
scue-$Ee
scc6l
eiag
$iib
$thik
$ra!
sctej
s6y6
sontan
olgqalsolgrye
scb
scbceye/scbtheke
scbcaite
scbscmcy
scbai
s6buj
scbha
s9m
scmcy
scmcst6
$molla
scmagct6
scmaj
sJman
s6mud16
scmp0g6
scmbcndhe
scmbcts6r
scilEolhcn kcra
scrnUtrOU
scnrmukhe
sc-ran6/scrano
- 3 2 8 -
eaeryone
mornbry
(p.
103)
earb
confifuntc
corfianianless
with
(+ poss.W)
straightawoy
rnoaing, actiae
wakeful, alert
aliae, oiaaciuts
corect
:
sudfun dartin{
uigorous
truth
'child,
offsping
euenbg
(p.
103)
alI
t hanal l (p. 134)
than all
(p.
257)
all the time, always
e0eryone
green
meeting, court
first
beat in a rhyth-
mic cycle
time; at the time of
(+
poss., p.
95)
all, whole
problem
aniaed, assembled
society
equal, leael
sea
complete, whole
concuning
(not
+
poss., p. 148)
all
year
to address
possible
infronto/(+
poss.)
to cause somcthittg to
,noae
qirFBt
'fiF
cfr
cffi+|Fr
cfrR
"rdq
Tsl
{{stcd
{{q
JRCS
cRr$E
qD
itsm
cfq,crffq
TMl.{/crqtcal
{&lcB
c[[al
cI{
CIfiI
cl{Fq
cl${"ls
cKI-Cl{{l
qTR
c|nfr
qT6{
qEqF/{Tdr[[{l
qFili]
cld
qrcfin
cFil-?ils
cR{
m-{r
crful
frrrnt
.
Anv
Arl
1?r
$ft
Srsr
{qfl(
lr<
G T O S S A R Y
scrkar
s6ru
s6rdi
sorai-U1i
scrb6dai
scrpa0So
$sta
sch6kare
sch6i
sch6ie
saikel
sita
satar
sigoi
sajan6/saiano
saJiisali
sathe
sadh
sadh6na
sadharcrl
sadharcrlct6
sa!try6-sadh6na
saphai
sam6gli
samne
samlan6/samlano
samany6
sar
saradin
sararaf
sah6s
saha[6
sahiy6
sinema
simcnt6
sima
sukh
sug6ndhi
suIkes
sut6rarq
sudEr
- 3 2 9 -
goaemment
narrow, thin
cold
cold and cough
always
all limbs, body
cheap
rzlh
(+ poss.)
easy
easib
biqcle
to
Sif
swimming
dressing
tn dress, dccorate,
flay
a r6le
see
"|t&
with
(+ poss., E)
desire
sfiitual endeaamtr
ordinary,
general
generally, usually
repeated demands
c leansing, aindic ation
things, articles
infront o/(+
poss.)
to restrain
ordinary, triflW
essence
all day
all night
courage
helt
literature
cinema,
film
wotnan's hair-parting
limit
pleasure
scent, sweet smell
suitcase
therefore
remote
T E A C H Y O U R S E I F 8 E N 6 A t '
w<
T{fr
1'l
l'ld|T'f
lRqtllfuq
{rsrtf
d
Tffiqr
IE
d
ffiFFTE
cc?wd
CT{I
ctrll
cmR E-*t
cq'ql
ccliR
mlT|ft
C{FFIT{
M
Td
gd-$$ft
vfrs
x1
UT
R<
wt
EFi $-<TI
ffiq s-{l
*"8
E
Itr
CIYIE
l_?l
q+<"f
{ffu
{rqR-s
{fr
sund6r
suil6ri
suP
supcramc{6
subidha/subhidhe
suiog
sug[6
s05[odcy
srEti
sei
sekele
sekhane
sena
seba
selai kcra
soja
sonar
sonali
sombar
so[nd65[6
skul
sKul-mallarl
st6mbhit6
!!up
stri
sthir kcra
-snan
kcra
ileh6 kcra
P3EI6
:Pbit6
sm;'ti
srot
svcr
svcrDsllo
svadhin6ta
wabhabik
svami
beautiful
beautiful
(female)
soup
fine
adoice
contfinience
opportunity
sun
sunrise
creat'ion
thafs right
(p.
181)
old-fashioned
there
arrra
sentice, waiting upon
to sew
straight
golden
goldcn
Monday
(p.
103)
beauty
school
schoolmastering
stunned
mound, stipa
wife
to decide
to haae a bath
(W)
to be affectionate to-
wards
clear
swollen
,nernory
(p.217)
streatn
sound, aowel
aowel
freedorn
natural
husband
(p.
26)
perhaps
dcer
hcyto
h6ri11
q
qT[Ef
qRq
- 3 3 0 -
ERft
qbtu,
qE
{4Cq
q{q
EFI
tqrr/ft"m+
RITI
qt&-< qsn
EIE
Qs
cqTt
{F< Cqql
sPl'l
E|fr
{fi{q
qpr9tls|al
Epll
CR
Er{fvEl-{lFl
T{{]
RT
Rn
Rcilq
fut<lAq<
fuir</RcqK
-qF{
gut
rnsn
{q{
RT
qext
ftct
q.grt
q'l
G I . O S S A R Y
h6ri4i
hclhat
hcl
h6lde
h6lud
hila
hipan6/hipano
haoya
hajir hcoya
hat
hat deoya
hater lekha
hasa
hasi
hasimukh
haspatal
h"ry6
hay
haran6/harano
hindi
hi ndu
hi m
hi l l ol
hisab/hiseb
hisabe/hisebe
-hin
h0cc1 khaoya
h;'dcy
h61 hcoya
h61e
iaoya
)ye
doe
suddenly
(studcnt)
hall
yellow, titrmeric
(W)
yellow, turmeric
(E)
to walh
to
pant
breeze
to afpear, turn up
hand, arrn
tn touch
handwiting
to laugh, smile
laugh, smile
smiling
face
hosfital
laugh, smile
alas
to lose, defeat
Hindi
Hindu
snow,
frost
waae, billow
cahulation
as
(not
+ poss.,
p. 239)
without,
-less
t o W
heart
(p.
255)
to bend, bow
to walk
yes
-
331
-
GRAMMATICAL
II{DEX
In this index below the bold numbers refer to the unit number and tlte
number after the slash is the Grammar
point from that unit. Other
numbers are named as such: note, exercise and so on.
ach-
(/o
be
present)
LSlz days of the week 18 exercise 2;
adverbs 2OlI 26
any 2313 definite article
appointments (scmcy) 18/1 things 15/3
apostrophes 31 note 12; 34
people 16ll
note 12 demonstrative adjectives l5l4
Bengali months 26 demonstrative
pronouns l3/4
biscg6 33 note 28 diminutive definite article 16/1
comparisons (ceye) 2ll2 dvara 23/2
compound verbs 20ll extended
(causative)
with deoya/neoya 2314 verbs 2512;26
with phala 28 note 9 with deoya/neoya 2314
conditions
familiar
pronouns l4l3
,
with conditional
participle 24ll future tense l}/2
with
y6di
25ll habitual
past tense 24/2
conjuncts 33 exercise; 35/1 hcscnt6 18
at end of words 2214 how much?lman'y?
f6i3
consonant * vowel 33 note 31; imperative l9l4; 26
35/1
fust person imPerative 27 note
dates 26 14
- 3 3 3 -
T E A C H Y O U R S E I . F B E
third
person imperative 27
present 28 notes l, 12; 23
note 17 note c
very familiar imperative 29
particles
note 9; 29 note 14
-i
2L note a; 27 notes 18, 22;
impersonal constructions l8/5; 28note25
19/3
-o
18 exercise 1(a); 19 note c;
like/dislike 2ll3 2513;28 note 4
obligation l9l2 to
(adversative particle) 19
possession LSlz note b; 21 note d
indefinite article 1612
passive 2312
infinitive 18/3
past
continuous tense 25lI
interrogative ki l4l2
past perfect
tense 22lI
-jcn
lTlI
percentages 26
-khana
ITII;32 note 5 with annas 31 note 11
kinship terms 35/3
perfect tense 2Ol2
kctha 27 note 1; 3l note 5
personal pronouns l4/3
laga
plural nouns l7l4;2o note d
like/dislike 2ll3
polite pronouns 1413
need 2413
possession l5l2
like/dislike 2ll3
possessive case 15/1
locative/instrumental case l7l3
postpositions
measurements 1613;26 adjectival 2213
money
(rupees/paisa/annas)
16 combined 2OlI
note c
participial L7l2
Muslim/Hindu distinctions 35/3 * possessive case 1615
need 2413
present
tense L7l6
negative
present continuous tense 2lll
of ach- l5/2 reflexive
pronoun l7/5
of conditions 2513; 24lI relatives/correlatives 28 note 13;
of
past participle 2O exercise 2 29 note 2
of
past
tenses 1-915 sidhu bhdsi 33; 3512
ofzero verb
(nc-) 15/5 sandhi 28 note 11; 33 note 20
numbers 26 Sanskritic transliteration 13
* definite article 1614 simple
past tense 23lI
object case lal4 some 2313
, obligation 1912 states 2OlI
onomatopeia 30 table of letters 13
participles thaka L8l2; 19 note f; 28 note
conditional 24ll 22
contracted
(extended)
2512 time f9/1
past 2Ol1 verb tables 26
- 3 3 4 -
G R A M M A T I C A L I N D E X
verbal noun vowel mutation 1716: 3514
as adjective
(passive)
2312 where? 16 exercise 1(b)
*
iaoya
2212;32 note 16 whi.ch? 2313
verbs of sensation
(+
paoyal
ickh6n/tckh6n
25 note d
para) 27note23
ict6/tct6
28note2l
very familiar
pronouns
27 note
iam6n/tam6n
28 note 17
8; 29 note 9
ian6
28 note 14
vowel harmony 3514 zero verb l4ll
- 3 3 s -

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CONTENTS

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