Nathaniel B. Halhead of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

published a Bengali grammar for British officials in 1776 to aid interaction with the local Bengali population. William Carey of

Serampore Serampore (also called ''Serampur'', ''Srirampur'', ''Srirampore'', ''Shreerampur'', ''Shreerampore'', ''Shrirampur'' or ''Shrirampore'') is a city of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Srirampor ...

translated the Bible into the

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...

and published it in 1793 and 1801. The high language Bengali translation in use in Bangladesh is derived from Carey's version, while "common language" versions are newer translations. Fr. Christian Mignon, a Belgian

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, finished a revised version of the Bible in Bengali, named ''Mangalbarta'', which has copious footnotes. Missionaries have also translated the Bible into " Musalmani Bangla", as well as the Chittagonian and Sylheti

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

Christian Bengali

William Carey's translation of the Bible into Bengali was peculiar to mainstream Bengali. It came to be known as "Christian Bengali" and intelligibility of this new dialect was somewhat restricted to educated

Bengali Christian Bengali Christians ( bn, বাঙালি খ্রিস্টান) are adherents of Christianity among the Bengali people. Christianity took root in Bengal after the arrival of Portuguese voyagers in the 16th century. It witnessed further ...

s. The Bengali converts to Christianity during the British rule were mainly Upper Caste

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and this translation of the Bible to "Christian Bengali" was prohibited to be revised in fear of Sanskritisation and subsequent Hinduisation of the converts. The dialect has become the language of Christian worship and Bengali Christian literature, but restricted to this small community; and therefore not allowing non-Christian Bengalis to understand. It is said to have been influenced by the works of the earlier Portuguese missionaries in Bengal who also established a Christianised Bengali dialect which lasted for roughly 150 years, before the establishment of

Fort William College Fort William College (also known as the College of Fort William) was an academy of oriental studies and a centre of learning, founded on 18 August 1800 by Lord Wellesley, then Governor-General of British India, located within the Fort William co ...

and rise of Anglo-Christian Bengali. The Portuguese settlers also inspired the use of a Portuguese dialect, known as Bengali Portuguese creole, which is no longer intact.

Versions

Pobitro Baibel The Bible in Bengali (Holy Bible) (SBCL)
: Copyrigh
Bible Society of Bangladesh
2001 Formerly called Re-edit Cary Version.
Text versionAudio of New Testament (Select Bengali, then Re-edit Bangla Version)Mobile Apps

Kitabul Mukkadas (MCBI)
: Copyrigh
Bible Society of Bangladesh
198
Audio (Select Bengali, then Mussalmani Version)Android

: Copyright WBTC India 200
Audio (Select Bengali, then Easy-to-Read Version)Mobile Apps

: Copyright The Bible Society of India 1999
Jubilee Bible
: Copyright Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, 2000
The Holy Bible in Bengali : containing the Old and New Testaments
Calcutta, published by the British and Foreign Bible Society (Calcutta Auxiliary) in 1909: in

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

References

{{reflist

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Christianity in Bangladesh Christianity in West Bengal