Just as an FYI for all of us, Michael Rundell (of the lexicography
master class at the University of Brighton) does a lot of consulting
about regional dictionary projects.

At 10:30 AM 5/3/06, Luanne von Schneidemesser wrote:
>Dear Colleagues,
>
>I received the following from Shamsuddin Ahmed. Please contact him
>directly if you'd be willing to help.
>
>Thanks.
>
>Luanne
>
>At 08:37 AM 4/18/2006, you wrote:
>
> > >Dear DARE authority,
> > >I am working on a self initiated project on compiling a dictionary of
> > >regional Bengali language. Whom can I ask for collaboration?
> > >Best regards
> > >Shams
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > Luanne
> > von Schneidemesser
> > <Lvonschn@... To Shamsuddin
> > Ahmed
> > <shaahmed@...>
> >
> > Subject Re: DARE Newsletter
> >
> >
> >
> >What did you have in mind? I can pass the message on to the DSNA list, but
> >we would want more specifics as to what you are looking for. Thanks.
> >
> >LvS
>
> >Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 13:20:34 +0600
> >From: Shamsuddin Ahmed <shaahmed@...>
> >Subject: Re: DARE Newsletter
> >To: Luanne von Schneidemesser <Lvonschn@...>
> >
> >Dear Luanne,
> >
> >Thank you for your mail.
> >
> >The formal Bengali that we write is a relatively new language. Languages
> >change over time. This is true in the case of all languages. Like
> >biological entities languages are born, they grow, reign, and die. Today's
> >standard Bengali language grew up in Calcutta in the early 19th century
> >thanks to the Christian missionaries.
> >
> >Calcutta was a new township created in the midst of nowhere in late 18th
> >century by another European, Job Charnok. The sweet colloquial language of
> >nearby Shantipur of Nadia district became the standard spoken language of
> >the city.
> >
> >The modern written Bengali language was created by the Hindu Pundits
> >(unfortunately all of them were Sanskrit educated high-brow Brahmins of
> >western Bengal) who, like their predecessors who had created the standard
> >Sanskrit language two millennia ago, had a general dislike for everything
> >that the common people did, including the latter's language. Accordingly,
> >modern Bengali language was created as a daughter of Sanskrit. Although
> >there is a lot of similarity between Sanskrit and Bengali like it is in
> >Indo-Iranian language groups, Sanskrit and Bengali are two completely
> >different languages separated by two distinct grammars, vocabularies,
> >syntaxes and pronunciations. One may draw the analogy of German and English
> >as an example of difference between these Sanskrit and Bengali.
> >
> >The Brahmin pundits excluded two most important demographic and geographic
> >factors while giving shape to the new language. One, the language
> >(vocabulary and expression) of the Muslims of Bengal, who formed the
> >majority of the population and, second the rich colloquial language of East
> >Bengal where more than 60 per cent of the population of Bengal live. Thus
> >the modern Bengali that the Sanskrit pundits manufactured and prescribed
> >did not reflect the linguistic character of the larger portion of the
> >population and the bigger part of the country.
> >
> >The Calcutta based Sanskritized Bengali using the accent of Shantipur i.e.,
> >the so called sophisticated Bengali (although a little corrupted in last
> >few decades, especially since 1950, when millions of Bangladeshi Hindus
> >migrated to West Bengal and took residence mainly in Calcutta and didn't
> >care much to follow the Calcatian Bengali) is still broadly used in West
> >Bengal and Bangladesh. But signs of change are appearing in the horizon.
> >
> >Ever since Bangladesh became independent in 1971 the centre of Bengali
> >language has shifted from Calcutta to Dhaka. Calcutta is more a Hindi
> >speaking city than Bengali. Its domination of the language has loosened so
> >much so that it no longer sets trend in the language.
> >
> >The case of Bangladesh is different though. The language is vibrant here.
> >There is no second language. The official language is Bengali. There is no
> >Shantipur or Nadia around Dhaka to influence its accent.. There is an
> >influx of people coming from all parts of the country. From one million in
> >1970, the population of Dhaka has multiplied to >12 million in 2006, and
> >the expansion continues. In 2020 the population of Dhaka will exceed 20
> >million.
> >
> >Dhaka, and for that matter Bangladesh, await a standard Bengali in both of
> >its spoken and written departments. More than 80 per cent of the population
> >of Dhaka city is first generation urban settlers who still maintain very
> >strong link with their ancestral homes. This becomes evident on Eid
> >vacations when the city suddenly becomes deserted as people leave for rural
> >homes to observe the festivals.
> >
> >Residents of Dhaka come from all 68 districts of the country. All speak
> >their own colloquials. Some of the colloquials are so different from each
> >other that in extreme cases one would require interpreters to make one
> >dialect intelligible to speakers of another dialect. If three colloquial
> >speakers from Chittagong, Sylhet and Rangpur come together they will
> >require a fourth person to interpret one's language to the other.
> >
> >However, the language spoken in public places like schools, offices,
> >markets and journeys is different. People speak a language that picks words
> >from the standard Bengali dictionary (again heavily dominated by words of
> >Sanskrit origin), but are punctuated by their own regional dialects and
> >vocabulary, and heavily accented by their own colloquials. This is the
> >language of future Bangladesh. A language that has not taken shape yet but
> >will in next half century. Dhaka city is developing a standard accent of
> >its own. A new vocabulary is also building up drawing words from standard
> >Bengali dictionary and thousands of indigenous words.
> >
> >My project is to gather regional words and first, to compile them into a
> >dictionary of indigenous Bengali words and finally, to incorporate them
> >into a standard Bengali dictionary. Once that is done the word stock of
> >Bengali will increase by at least three times and will represent the real
> >language of the people. It does not matter whether we want it or not, this
> >is the destiny of Bengali language. It has to be the language of the people
> >who speak it. My purpose is to facilitate the process.
> >
> >Could I explain my intention? Please excuse the oversights as I am writing
> >this while in office and heavily engaged in preparing my work plan for the
> >year which has no place for language at all.
> >
> >Thanks and regards
> >
> >Shams
> >
> >
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