There are various languages spoken all over the world; our country is an example in itself. It is a home of diverse languages, every state has a language of its own, and those languages have different ways or dialects of speaking it. India is hence known as the abundant language hub on this planet.
Languages are a form of expressing one’s feelings and emotions, either in a written form or spoken (verbal). Every language is evolved from some form of an older script. Indo-Aryan family and Dravidian family are the two major families in which all our Indian languages can be divided into. Hindi and Bengali are two such examples of various languages spoken in India.
Hindi vs Bengali
The main difference between Hindi and Bengali is that Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India based on the 22 scheduled languages, whereas Bengali is the second most spoken language after Hindi, based on the 22 scheduled languages. Hindi as a word is used to describe a language and is widely spoken in the northern, central, and few western states, whereas Bengali as a word is used to describe a language, culture, or people and is widely spoken in the west, Bengal, Assam and even Bangladesh.
Hindi is the most spoken (primary) language native to India. It is an Indo-Aryan language written in Devanagari script. It was developed or influenced by an ancient language of India, Sanskrit. It is mostly spoken in all of the north Indian states along with few western and central states. Example – Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc.
Bengali is the second most spoken language in India, after Hindi. It is an Indo- Aryan language. It is also known as Bangla and is the national language of Bangladesh. It is part of the 22 scheduled languages of India. It is derived from a script called Brahmi. Chaltibhasa and Sadhubhasa are the two standard styles in Bengali. It is spoken in – West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Bangladesh, etc.
Comparison Table Between Hindi and Bengali
| Parameters of Comparison | Hindi | Bengali |
| What is it | Based on the 22 scheduled languages of India, Hindi is the widely (primary) spoken language in India. | Based on the 22 scheduled languages of India, Bengali is the second most widely spoken language. |
| Widely Spoken In | Hindi belt region – Bihar, MP, UP, Rajasthan, etc | Bengal, Assam, Bangladesh, etc |
| Script | Devanagari script | Brahmi script |
| Early Forms | Sauraseni, apabhrama, old Hindi, etc | Magadhi Prakrit, old Bengali, etc |
| Used To Describe | A language | A language, culture, food, people, etc., from the Bengal region. |
| Dialects | Braj bhasha, Khari Boli, Haryanvi, etc | Chittagonian, manbhumi, rarhi, etc |
What is Hindi?
Hindi is a language spoken in India. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan family and is written in the Devanagari script (that contains 11 vowels and 33 consonants, written from left to right). Hindi, like few other languages, are a descendant or a form of Vedic Sanskrit, i.e., it is influenced by Sanskrit. It is part of the 22 scheduled languages of India. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India. It was adopted as the official language of the union of the Republic of India by the constituent assembly on 14th September 1949. This day is now celebrated as Hindi Day.
Hindi as a word is derived from a classical Persian word ‘Hendi’ (pronunciation) which means belonging to hind/ India. Awadhi, Maithil, etc., were replaced by the dialect of Delhi (Khari Boli), which is the basis of the modern standard Hindi. Hindi is a bridge or the common language of the northern India (of the Hindi belt). The early Hindi literature is said to have come somewhere in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. It included works such as the Prithviraj Raso (Braj bhasha), Dhola maru (Marwari), etc.
There are various dialects in this language. The words in Hindi are divided into 5 principal categories – Tatsam, ardhatatsam, tadbhav, deshaj, and videshi. The states that speak include Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, etc., and the union territories such as Delhi, Daman, and Diu, etc.
Hindi is used while speaking, writing in many places. It is taught in schools and colleges as the first and second language (as per choice). Hindi songs and movies/plays in the form of Bollywood etc. are very popular in our countries and recognized globally as well.
What is Bengali?
Bengali is also known as Bangla (internal name), is a language that is spoken by people in India and Bangladesh. It is an Indo-Aryan language; it is common or the bridge language of the Bengal region and known as the national language of Bangladesh. Bengali is the second most spoken language out of the 22 languages that are scheduled in India.
The Bengali literature has been developed and evolved since the Bengali Renaissance. The Bengali language movement (in east Bengal, now Bangladesh) was very famous in those days. It was done to protect their language and gain recognition. Every year 21st February is observed as the language movement day in Bangladesh to commemorate the movement and its martyrs (for the students who were killed during the movement).
There are two types of forms in written Bengali –
- Cholitobhasha – known as the colloquial form ( idioms and short verbs)
- Sadhubhasha – a form of Bengali which is sankritised (with tatsama vocabulary)
Jana Gana Mana (India’s national anthem) and Amar Sonar Bangla (national anthem of Bangladesh) are both written in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore. Bengali is a cursive script that is derived from Brahmi script; it is an abugida type of segmental writing system. It is written from left to right and has no form of the upper and lower case. It has 29 consonants and 7 vowels in the phonic inventory of standard Bengali. Bengali dialect is classified based on their pronunciation and phonology – Bangali dialect, Rarhi, Varendri, Rangpuri, Manbhumi, sundarbani. Bengali is mainly spoken in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, etc.
Bengali as a word is also used to describe the culture, people, and food, etc., of Bengal, for example – Bengali sweets, Bengalis (people), etc.
Main Differences Between Hindi and Bengali
- Based on the 22 scheduled languages of India, Hindi is the widely (primary) spoken language in India, whereas Bengali is the second most widely spoken language.
- Hindi is spoken widely in the Hindi belt region – Bihar, MP, UP, Rajasthan, etc., whereas Bengali is widely spoken in Bengal, Assam, Bangladesh, etc.
- Hindi is written in Devanagari script, whereas Bengali is written in Brahmi script.
- Hindi is used to describe a language, whereas Bengali is used to describe a language, culture, food, people, etc., from the Bengal region.
- The dialects of Hindi are Braj bhasha, Khari Boli, Haryanvi, etc., whereas the dialects of Bengali are Chittagonian, manbhumi, rarhi, etc.
- Early forms of Hindi are Sauraseni, apabhrama, old Hindi, whereas the early forms of Bengali are Magadhi Prakrit, old Bengali, etc.
Conclusion
People are connected to their languages, as they can and are used to express their feelings and convey their thoughts through them; it is a highly sensitive topic. A language may be more popular or widely spoken in few areas, but generally, all languages and the sentiments related to them are equal.
In the future, many more languages can take birth, or there might be changes in the way of speaking. Hindi and Bengali may be different in many ways, but the result is the same, as they both are used to read, write, speak and connect. They both are a part of India.
