Chittagonian
PrintA language of Bangladesh
ISO 639-3
Alternate Names
Chatgaiyan Buli, Chatgaya, Chittagonian Bengali
Population
13,000,000 (2006 SIL).
Location
Chittagong region.
Language Maps
Language Status
3 (Wider communication).
Dialects
Not inherently intelligible with Bengali [ben], although considered a nonstandard Bengali dialect. Dialects form a continuum from north to south, with a larger religious distinction between Muslim and others. Rohingya [rhg] in Myanmar is similar to the southern dialect of Chittagonian. Lexical similarity: 43%–64% with Bangla [ben].
Language Use
Home, family, religion. Village women without access to TV do not understand Bengali [ben]. Educated people understand Bengali. Education is in standard Bengali. 60% are bilingual in Bengali.
Language Development
Lower literacy rate than most of the country. TV.
Language Resources
Writing
Arabic script. Latin script.
Muslim, Hindu, Christian.