Byomkes Chakrabarti (also spelled Byomkesh Chakraborty or Byomkesh Chakrabarty) (1923–1981) was a

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 ...

research worker on ethnic languages. He was also a educationist and a poet. His major contribution to

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

was in finding out some basic relationship between Santali and the Bengali language. He showed how the Bengali language has unique characteristics, absent in other Indian languages, under the influence of Santali. His contribution was fundamental to research on the origin and development of the Bengali language and provided scopes of research in newer horizons in linguistics.

Life

Byomkes Chakrabarti, son of Sarat Chandra Chakrabarti and Sitala Sundari Chakrabarti, was born in Kharar-Gopinathpur village in the

Paschim Medinipur Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba M ...

district of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, in 1923. He took his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degrees in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Bengali from

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

. He was the first Ph.D. on the Santali language from this university. Chakrabarti came in close contact with Suniti Kumar Chatterji and Sukumar Sen as their student and imbibed aptitude for linguistic studies from these teachers in the field. His acquaintance with the tribal bases of the Midnapur district induced him to study their culture. He concentrated on the Santali culture in particular and acquired sound knowledge of Santali language. He carried on systematic research on the comparative study of Santali and Bengali languages. Chakrabarti started his career as a head master and subsequently held the position of the Principal in

Seva Bharati Mahavidyalaya Seva Bharati Mahavidyalaya, also known as Kapgari College, is an undergraduate education, undergraduate, coeducational college situated in Kapgari, Jhargram district, Jhargram, West Bengal. It was established in 1964. The college is under Vi ...

in Kapgari, Jhargram, West Midnapur district and

Raja Birendra Chandra College Raja Birendra Chandra College, established in 1965, is a general degree college in Murshidabad district. It offers undergraduate courses in arts and commerce. It is affiliated to University of Kalyani The University of Kalyani, establis ...

in Kandi, Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Death put an end to his career in 1981.

Research work

Chakrabarti's work covers all the aspects of

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

and

phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

, syntax,

semantics Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and comp ...

and general characteristics of the languages in literature and vocabulary. Santali, belonging to the Austroasiatic family and having a tradition traceable from pre-Aryan days retained its distinct identity and co-existed with Bengali, a language belonging to the Indo-Aryan family, in Bengal. This affiliation is generally accepted, but there are many cross-questions and puzzles. In modern Indian languages like

Western Hindi The Central Indo-Aryan languages or Hindi languages are a group of related language varieties Spoken across North India and Central India. These language varieties form the central part of the Indo-Aryan language family, itself a part of the ...

the steps of evolution from Midland Prakrit

Sauraseni Shauraseni Prakrit (, ) was a Middle Indo-Aryan language and a Dramatic Prakrit. Shauraseni was the chief language used in drama in northern medieval India. Most of the material in this language originates from the 3rd to 10th centuries, though ...

can be traced clearly. In the case of Bengali such steps of evolution are not always clear and distinct. One has to look at other influences that moulded Bengali's essential characteristics. Chakrabarti investigated the complex process of assimilation of non-Aryan elements, particularly the Santali elements, by Bengali and he showed the overwhelming influence of Bengali on Santali. His formulations are based on the detailed study of reciprocal influences on all aspects of both the languages and try to bring out the unique features of the languages. Voice of Byomkes Chakrabarti 1979:

Bibliography

* B. Chakrabarti, ''A Comparative Study of Santali and

'', Halud Dupure, Jiban ar Kabita, Collected works of Byomkes Chakrabarti, Sahityika, Khargapurer Itihas, Pahar Puja in Dhalbhum * Sk. Israil, ''Alor Arale'' (Nabapatra Prakashan, Kolkata, 2007) * Sukumar Sen, ''Diner Pare Din je Gelo'' (Ananda Publishers, Kolkata, 2001) * Sukumar Sen, ''Bangla Sahityer Itihas'', Vol. 3 (Ananda Publishers, Kolkata) * Suhrid Kumar Bhowmik, ''Saotali Bhasay Rabindrasahityer Anubad Prasange'' (P-106, JAGAJJYOTI, Professor Kazo Azuma felicitation volume, Bouddha Dharmankur Sabha, 2001, ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chakrabarti, Byomkes Linguists from Bengal Bengali male poets 1923 births 1981 deaths University of Calcutta alumni People from Paschim Medinipur district 20th-century Indian poets Indian male poets Poets from West Bengal 20th-century Indian male writers Santali language