Difference Between Hindi and Bengali

Hindi vs Bengali 

Hindi and Bengali are two languages that belong to the Indo-European language family. In extension, they are both members of the Indo-Aryan linguistic family. Another similarity is that both languages are spoken in India. However, they do not enjoy the same status.

Hindi and Bengali have the same origins in the Sanskrit language.

Hindi is the official language of India. It also called Hindustani and often combined with Urdu, another Indian language. Hindi is spoken by Hindis, mostly in North and Central India.

On the other hand, Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and India (as one of the 23 official languages). Its alternative name is Bangla.

Bengali is widely spoken not just in India and Bangladesh. It is also spoken in West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. It is also common in Andaman, Nicobar Island, as well as Bengali settlements in North America, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Pakistan.  The number of countries who speak Bengali is approximately 13 countries. Meanwhile, Hindi is only spoken in six countries.

In terms of being spoken, Hindi is the dominant language in India. Bengali follows it. The same goes when it comes to languages spoken in the world. Hindi is one level higher compared to Bengali.

However, Bengali has the most number of native speakers (approximately 193 million). It is higher compared to the 160 million native speakers of Hindi.  On the other hand, Hindi has the highest number when it comes to speakers. This is possible because Hindi is treated as an independent language or as part of a combination (Hindi and Urdu). The numbers of Hindi speakers are 180 million.

As a language, Bengali is divided into five major dialect groups. They are: West Central, Bangla, South, North, Western Border. The approximate number of dialects is 23. Likewise, Hindi is also divided into too many categories like: Ceral, Rajasthani, Bihari, Certral Palari, and Western Pahari. Hindi dialects are approximately 22 languages.

Writing in both languages is also different. The Bengali language has its own script while Hindi also has its own. The script for the Bengali language is also called Bengali while Hindi script is called Devanagari.

The Bengali language has two written forms: Sadhubhasa and Cholitobhasha.  Hindi has only one form of writing.

Summary:

1. Bengali and Hindi are common languages that share the same linguistic family. They are also used as official languages in India.  Bengali has an additional function as the official language of Bangladesh.
2. In terms of statistics and rankings, Hindi remains one step ahead of Bengali. In India, Hindi is the first language spoken by the people while Bengali is in second place. On a worldwide level, Hindi is in fourth place while Bengali places fifth.
3. Statistics show that Bengali has the highest number of native speakers compared to Hindi. On the other hand, Hindi is mostly spoken by the people. Also, Bengali is spoke in 13 countries. In contrast, Hindi is spoken in six countries.
4. In writing Bengali, the script is also called Bengali. The written Bengali script is classified into two kinds. One kind is considered higher than the other. Hindi also has its own script, Devaragari.
5. Bengali as a term can describe the people, language, alphabet, and culture. On the other hand, Hindi is a term that is exclusively used for describing the language spoken and written by Hindus in India.
6. In terms of dialects, both countries have their own share of dialects. These regional dialects are often dependent on where they are used. Both Bengali and Hindi have five recognized dialect groups.

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