Sylheti language
Sylheti (Sylheti Nagri: ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ, pronounced [silɔʈi]; Bengali: সিলেটি, pronounced [sileʈi]) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by an estimated 11 million people, primarily in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh, Barak Valley of Assam, and northern parts of Tripura in India. Besides, there are substantial numbers of Sylheti speakers in the Indian states of Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland as well as diaspora communities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the Middle East.
| Sylheti | |
|---|---|
| Silôṭi | |
| |
The word "Silôṭi" in the Sylheti Nagri script | |
| Pronunciation | [silɔʈi] |
| Native to | Bangladesh and India |
| Region | Sylhet Division and Barak Valley |
| Ethnicity | Sylhetis |
Native speakers | L1: 10 million (2003–2017) L2: 1.5 million (no date) |
Early forms | Magadhi Prakrit
|
| Sylheti Nāgarī script Bengali–Assamese script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | syl |
syl | |
| Glottolog | sylh1242 |
| Linguasphere | 59-AAF-ui |
It is variously perceived as either a dialect of Bengali or a language in its own right. While most linguists consider it an independent language, for many native speakers Sylheti forms the diglossic vernacular, with standard Bengali forming the codified lect. Some incorrectly consider it as a "corrupt" form of Bengali, and there is a reported language shift from Sylheti to Standard Bengali in Bangladesh, India and the diaspora; though Sylheti has more vitality than Standard Bengali in the United Kingdom.