Skip to content
Bengali dialect

Standard Bengali

Also known as: West Bengal Bengali, Kolkata Bengali

The variety of West Bengal centred on Kolkata. The basis of literary Bengali and the medium of a major modern literature including the works of Tagore.

Shareable facts

Want a Standard Bengali app?

Vote and we'll prioritise it. Top-voted dialects move up the roadmap. One vote per email.

We'll email you a confirmation link.

Frequently asked questions

What language is Standard Bengali?

Standard Bengali is a dialect of the Bengali language.

Where is Standard Bengali spoken?

Standard Bengali is primarily spoken in India.

Which region is Standard Bengali associated with?

Standard Bengali is part of the South Asia region on DialectAtlas.

Is Standard Bengali known by other names?

Yes — Standard Bengali is also referred to as West Bengal Bengali, Kolkata Bengali.

What are the other dialects of Bengali?

Bengali also includes Bangladeshi Bengali, Sylheti. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.

Other Bengali dialects

See on the atlas →
Sylheti

A Bengali variety of the Sylhet region of north-eastern Bangladesh. Often classified as a separate language; the dominant heritage variety of the British Bangladeshi community.

Nearby dialects

See on the atlas →
Sylheti

441 km away

A Bengali variety of the Sylhet region of north-eastern Bangladesh. Often classified as a separate language; the dominant heritage variety of the British Bangladeshi community.

Bhojpuri

469 km away

Spoken across eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar, and parts of southern Nepal. Carried abroad by indenture-era diasporas to Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, and Trinidad.

Dzongkha

560 km away

A Tibetic language and the official language of Bhutan, derived from Old Tibetan. Closely related to Standard Tibetan but increasingly diverging through political separation.

Newar

648 km away

A Tibeto-Burman language of the Newar people of the Kathmandu valley. The historical lingua franca of medieval Nepal, with an extensive literary tradition.

Nepali

764 km away

An Indo-Aryan language and the official language of Nepal. Also a scheduled language of India, with substantial communities in Sikkim, West Bengal, and Bhutan.

Continue exploring