The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language (3 vols.)

by Suniti Kumar Chatterji

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The first systematic and detailed history of Bengali—a modern Indo-Aryan language- by an Indian scholar, it is an invaluable contribution to the scientific study of the modern Indo-Aryan Languages as a whole and is a landmark in the history of philological researches into Indian languages.

"The admirable work, says Sir George Grierson in his Foreword, "which is a fine example of wide knowledge and of scholarly research, is the result of a happy combination of proficiency in facts and familiarity with theory, and exhibits a mastery of detail, controlled and ordered by the sobriety of true scholarship."

In its manuscript form the work was read by and obtained highest approval by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field of Indian linguistics. It may be considered a landmark in the history of philological researches into Indian languages.

Although first published in 1926 the book is still considered a benchmark on how to analyse Indo-Aryan philology.

The book is divided into two parts: Part I: Introduction, Phonology and Part II: Morphology, Bengali Index. In later editions, a third part was appended: Part III: Supplementary, Additions and Corrections etc. Suniti Kumar used both descriptive and comparative methods to analyse Bangla. The Indian, European and Central Asian languages that directly or indirectly influenced the formation of the Bangla language have been discussed in detail in the book. ODBL (as it is widely known) is compulsory reading for teachers, students and scholars of Bangla language and literature.