Writing Bangla
Computers generally come with an English Keyboard. This is convenient when you want to write English. Each key on the keyboard produces the corresponding letter on the screen. As an example, let us look at the Keyboard that comes with Apple computers.
You should press the keys "i want to write" to produce the intended text. If you held down the Shift key while pressing "i" you would have generated "I".
If you want to write Bangla with the English Keyboard, there is no 1-to-1 correspondence to produce the Bangla Text. For this, both Microsoft and Apple will offer an Input Method Editor or IME, described in Wikipedia as:
An input method (or input method editor, commonly abbreviated IME) is an operating system component or program that allows any data, such as keyboard strokes or mouse movements, to be received as input. In this way users can enter characters and symbols not found on their input devices. Using an input method is obligatory for any language that has more graphemes than there are keys on the keyboard.If you used the IMEs, you have to memorize the keys and the key combination that produces the Bangla letter of your choice. There is no memory aid to help you remember that প is h etc. Many Bangla teachers just tell you to memorize keyboards. The IMEs on a Mac are different from those on a PC and mobile devices don't work with these any of these.
I don't recommend using the IMEs to write Bangla on an English keyboard.
Writing Bangla on Any Platform, on Any Device with no memorizing
When you are creating Bangla content online, for example, "posting" on Facebook, you will generally:- Want to type fast, using the English keyboard
- Be using common Bangla words,
- Would like to have a tolerant input processor that puts in the correct spelling through a dictionary compare
- End up with a block of Unicode Bangla text that you can further operate on.
Three Methods of Writing Bangla
a) The Visual Bangla Writer
The first method is to display a virtual Bangla keyboard through software. You click on the Bangla key you want and that Bangla letter is rendered on the screen. This works well, but because of unfamiliarity of the Bangla keyboard, it will tend to be a little slow. Also, since there is no spelling validation, the user is expected to enter the correct spelling. A multiple word spellcheck has been added to the app to allow a separate spellcheck when needed.Here the Visual keyboard is used to write আমার নাম সুপ্রিয় । amar nam supriyo . which is My name is Supriyo. In this example, vowels, vowel signs, consonants and a compound consonant or conjunct is used.
b) The Phonetic Bangla Writer
The second method is to enter the phonetic English equivalents and build up the Bangla word, letter by letter. Since we are constructing the Bangla word, it is possible to look up a dictionary and provide a lookahead to potential words that can be made from the fragment we have. In addition, we can validate the spelling of the fragment we already have.
The Phonetic transliteration table used here has been constructed to reflect the Bangla pronunciation as closely as possible.
You will find that amar nam supriyo will be transliterated to আমার নাম সুপ্রিয় which means My name is Supriyo. You will be using this table extensively as you use the Phonetic Writer. The software will intelligently use vowel signs and compound consonants as needed.
In this example of the Phonetic Writer, you can see that the phonetic English and the created Bangla both retained, and a running dictionary lookup and lookahead is shown as you enter the word.
c) The Google Bangla Writer
If you are a native Bangla speaker, or are experienced in Bangla, there is a third method of Bangla input based on technique used by Google for rendering Bangla. In this method, instead of converting the phonetic English to Bangla letter by letter, the Bangla word is created after the full word has been entered. This is triggered by a space or a punctuation mark at the end of the word. Because the whole word is available, Google looks up its global dictionary (also used for Google Translate) and finds the most prevalent Bangla spelling for the phonetic English entered.The phonetic English can be substantially simplified especially for letters that sound the same and there is no need to differentiate, say the 3 s sounds as “s”, “sh” and “Sh”.
An example of entering “amar” and “ses” into the Google writer is shown in the video here.
Additional features have been added to this app based on user feedback. For instance, a multiple word spellchecker is available. Since many people write Bangla in here and then email it or Post it on Facebook, the capability to do that has been added.
The Google Writer is the fastest choice for Bangla writing and is the choice of the registrants who write books, articles and stories for a living.
A Set of Common Bangla Words to Practice Writing
Bangla Word | Phonetic Pronunciation | English Meaning | Part of Speech |
---|---|---|---|
Consonants and Vowels | |||
অংশ | ongsho | part | noun |
আজ | aj | today | noun |
ঈগল | Igol | eagle | noun |
উট | uT | camel | noun |
এবং | ebong | and | conjunction |
গরম | gorom | hot | adjective |
দল | dol | group | noun |
নখ | nokh | nail | noun |
পথ | poth | way | noun |
বউ | bou | wife | noun |
মত | moto | like | preposition |
রং | rong | colors | noun |
সময় | somoy | time | noun |
Consonants, Vowels and Vowel Signs | |||
অনেক | onek | many | adjective |
আকাশ | akash | sky | noun |
উপরে | upore | above | preposition |
একটু | ekoTu | a little | adverb |
এখনো | ekhonO | yet | conjunction |
ওরা | Ora | they | pronoun |
কথা বলা | kotha bola | speak | verb |
কপাল | kopal | forehead | noun |
করা | kora | do | verb |
কলা | kola | banana | noun |
কুকুর | kukur | dog | noun |
খারাপ | kharap | bad | adjective |
গরু | goru | cow | noun |
ঘাস | ghas | grass | noun |
চামড়া | chamoRa | skin | noun |
চিল | chil | kite | noun |
ছবি | chhobi | pictures | noun |
জিনিস | jinis | thing | noun |
টুপি | Tupi | hat | noun |
ডিম | Dim | egg | noun |
তাড়াতাড়ি | taRataRi | quickly | adverb |
থেকে | theke | from | preposition |
দাদা | dada | elder brother | noun |
ধারে | dhare | along | preposition |
নাক | nak | nose | noun |
নাচা | nacha | dance | verb |
পরে | pore | after | preposition |
ফুলকপি | phulokopi | cauliflower | noun |
বলা | bola | say | verb |
বাবা | baba | father | noun |
ভাই | bhai | younger brother | noun |
মা | ma | mother | noun |
যাওয়া | JaOya | go | verb |
রাখা | rakha | put | verb |
লাল | lal | red | adjective |
শরীর | shorIr | body | noun |
সকাল | sokal | morning | noun |
হলদে | holode | yellow | adjective |
হাত | hat | hand | noun |
হারানো | haranO | lose | verb |
Consonants, Conjunct Consonants, Vowels, Vowel Signs | |||
অন্য | onYo | other | adjective |
উত্তর দেওয়া | uttor deOya | reply | verb |
কিন্তু | kintu | but | conjunction |
চিন্তা করা | chinta kora | worry | verb |
চেষ্টা করা | cheShTa kora | try | verb |
জন্মানো | jonmanO | born | verb |
ঠান্ডা | ThanDa | cold | adjective |
দক্ষিণ দিক | dokShiN dik | south | noun |
দর্কার হওয়া | dorkar hoOya | need | verb |
পরিষ্কার করা | poriShkar kora | clean | verb |
প্রতি | proti | to | preposition |
বন্ধ করা | bondho kora | shut | verb |
বাচ্চা | bachcha | child | noun |
বিক্রি করা | bikri kora | sell | verb |
রক্ত | rokto | blood | noun |
সন্ধ্যা | sondhYa | evening | noun |
সপ্তাহ | soptaho | week | noun |
সূর্য | sUrJo | sun | noun |
স্ত্রী | strI | wife | noun |
স্বামী | swamI | husband | noun |