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North Central Bengali dialects

North Central Bengali or Varendrī Bengali is a cluster of Bengali dialects and their varieties, it is also known as Uttaravaṅgīẏa or Udīcya, it is spoken in the Varendra region. Varendri dialect was classified by many renowned Indian linguists like Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Sukumar Sen and others. It is also spoken in adjoining villages in neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand. Varendri dialect has some influences of neighbouring dialects of Maithili and other Bihari languages.

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Jul 19, 2026
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Varendrī Bengali
North Central Bengali
Gaudi Bengali
Uttaravangiya Bengali
বরেন্দ্রী বাংলা
Native toBangladesh, India
RegionBangladesh: Rajshahi Division, parts of Gaibandha District and Dinajpur District (Bangladesh)
India: Malda Division (except for Islampur Subdivision), Parts of Bihar and Jharkhand
Early forms
Gaudi Prakrit
Bengali alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
Glottolognort2658  Northern Bengali
rajs1238  Rajshahi

North Central Bengali or Varendrī Bengali (Bengali: বরেন্দ্রী বাংলা, romanized: Bôrendrī Bāṅlā, pronounced [bɔɾendriː baŋla]) is a cluster of Bengali dialects and their varieties,123 it is also known as Uttaravaṅgīẏa4 or Udīcya, it is spoken in the Varendra region (primarily consisting of the Rajshahi Division, parts of the Gaibandha and Dinajpur districts in Bangladesh and the Malda division in India excluding Islampur). Varendri dialect was classified by many renowned Indian linguists like Suniti Kumar Chatterji, Sukumar Sen and others.5 It is also spoken in adjoining villages in neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand. Varendri dialect has some influences of neighbouring dialects of Maithili and other Bihari languages.

Classification

Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah divided all Bengali dialects into two main groups: Prācya (Bengali: প্রাচ্য, romanized: prachyô, lit. 'eastern') and Pāścātya (Bengali: পাশ্চাত্য, romanized: pashchatyô, lit. 'western'). Within his Pāścātya grouping, he identified a subdivision termed "Northern" or "Udīcya", which broadly corresponds to what is described here as North Central Bengali but also including Far Northern Bengali dialects. This classification aligns with the combined dialect groups of "Varendra" and "Kāmarūpa" proposed by Suniti Kumar Chatterji, while the remaining area corresponds to Rāḍha dialects. In Shahidullah's classification, this northern zone is said to extend from Goalpara to Purnia, encompassing much of the historical regions of Kamarupa and Varendra.6 This area includes the modern divisions of Rangpur and Rajshahi in Bangladesh as well as Jalpaiguri and Malda in West Bengal. The Varendri dialect is also known as the "Rajshahi-Malda dialect".7 It is sometimes divided into Indian varieties, such as the "Maldahiya" or "Gaudi" dialects8 and Bangladeshi varieties known as the "Purbo Varendri" dialects.910

Gambhira, a Bengali folk genre is originally evolved with this dialect. This dialect is famous in many Bengali dramas. A web series by Chorki named Shaaticup is created in this dialect.11

References

References

  1. বাংলা ভাষা ও উপভাষা, সুকুমার সেন, আনন্দ পাবলিশার্স [Bangla language and dialect, Sukumar Sen, Anand Publishers] (in Bengali).
  2. The Origin and Development of the Bengali language, Suniti kumar Chatterjee, Vol 1, Page 140, George Allen and Unwin London, New Edition,1970.
  3. বাংলা ভাষা পরিক্রমা, পরেশচন্দ্র মজুমদার, কলিকাতা, সারস্বত লাইব্রেরী,১৩৮৩ [The Circumambulation of Bengali language, Paresh Chandra Majumder, Kolkata, Sarashwat Library,1383] (in Bengali).
  4. Morshed, Abul Kalam Manzur (5 May 2014). "উপভাষা". বাংলাপিডিয়া.
  5. Bandyopadhyay, Anita (2001). "Problems of Phonetic Transcription in Bengali". Praci-Bhasha-Vijnan Indian Journal of Linguistics. 20: 79. OCLC 2256120. We all know that there are 4 or 5 dialects of the Bengali language. These are, according to Professor Suniti Kumar Chatterji and Sukumar Sen - Rarhi, Barendra, Kamarupi, Banga and Jharkhandi as added by Dr. S. Sen. NB Barendra refers to Varendri
  6. Shahidullah, Muhammad (1958). বাঙ্গালা ভাষার ইতিবৃত্ত (in Bengali). মাওলা ব্রাদার্স., p. 62: "গোয়ালপাড়া হইতে পূর্ণিয়া পর্যন্ত। ইহা প্রাচীনকালে কামরূপ ও বরেন্দ্র নাম অভিহত হইত।"
  7. Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926). The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language. Calcutta University Press. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  8. "Geo-Historical Profile of North Bengal". University of North Bengal Institutional Repository. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  9. "Geo-Historical Profile of North Bengal". University of North Bengal Institutional Repository. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  10. Baishnab, Aparna (10 May 2020). Pronoun in Bengali (PDF) (MA Dissertation). Assam University. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  11. Ghosh, Sankhayan (25 January 2022). "Shaaticup review: Bangladesh Underground". Film Companion. Retrieved 10 March 2026.