So how IS your Bangla Spelling?

Bangla words are written almost like the way they are spoken. So, if you wanted to write the Bangla for my. which is amar, you would write আ ম া র = আমার.

This, of course, is significantly easier than English, where differently written words like "cease" and "seize" have a similar sound.

Bangla spelling, does have a spelling challenge in a different way. This is because some different letters of the Bangla alphabet are pronounced the same way in modern Bangla usage. For example, in the alphabet you will see two "naw" sounds - donte-naw ন and moddheno-naw ণ. As an example, one naw is used for কণা particle and another naw is used for কেন why.

Why do we still have two naw sounds? Well, Bangla evolved (circa 1000 AD) from Magadhi Prakrit and Pali, which in turn, developed from Sanskrit. Literary Bengali borrows many words from Classical Sanskrit, preserving spelling while adapting pronunciation to that of Bangla.

Here is a list of letters with the same sound.

Which letter to use for correct spelling?

SoundLetter namesLetters
i sound hroswo-i ই /‘ি’
dIrgho-i ঈ /'ী’
u sound hroswo-u উ /‘ু’
dIrgho-u ঊ /'ূ’
jaw sound borgiyo-jo জ
ontesto-jo য
naw sound donte-no ন
moddeno-no ণ
shaw sound talibo-so শ
moddeno-so ষ
donte-so স
raw sound boye-sunno-ro র
doye-sunno-ro ড়
dhoye-sunno-ro ঢ়

Writing Bangla Text-the right words, the correct spelling

So what tools do you need to write the best Bangla you are capable of? In fact, there are 2 tools you need:
  1. Using the Right Word
    You need a reference dictionary, ideally with Bangla words with English meaning. Such a dictionary will let you search for the best word in English or Bangla. A reference dictionary provides many meanings for each word you search for.
  2. The Correct Spelling
    In a lot of cases, you know the Bangla word. You need to be guided so that you end up with the correct spelling. For this purpose, you need a fast glossary, with each Bangla word correctly spelt and having a short English description. The user is merely verifying a word they know, so speed of access is an important characteristic.

Bangla text creation with spelling assist and immediate access to Samsad Online dictionary

On my site, supriyosen.net, you will see a text editor that was designed to tackle the problems mentioned above. You can try it out by clicking on Write Bangla with Spelling Assistant and access to Samsad.

It is meant for the learner, so the Bangla and the Phonetic English are available for your further study. If you want, you can copy/paste the Bangla (and/or the Phonetic English) into any other application like Mail. This would be a good way to write emails to your friends to show them your progress.

To see the phonetic scheme, mouseover the link called Mouseover QuickHelp or open the bottom panel.

Hope you find the approach useful in your quest for Bangla.