Locale Bn 001

Reference data for the Bengali locale — endonym বাংলা, written in the Bengali script, left-to-right (LTR).

Identifiers

• BCP 47 tag: bn-001
• ISO 639-1: bn
• ISO 639-3: ben
• Script: Beng (Bengali)
• Region: 001 (World)
• Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

Speakers (approximate)

• L1 (native): 242,000,000
• L2 (additional): 43,000,000
• L1+L2 (total): 284,000,000

Regional variants

This is the base/macro locale for Bengali. Region-specific variants in this dataset:

• Locale Bn Bd (Bengali (Bangladesh))
• Locale Bn in (Bengali (India))

Pluralization

CLDR plural categories for this locale: one, other (2 forms).

• one — i = 0 or n = 1 (e.g. 0, 1)
• other — everything else (e.g. 2~17, 100, 1000, 10000, …)

See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.

Translating into this locale

Bengali (Bangla) is written in the Bengali script and is the national language of Bangladesh and a major language of West Bengal and Tripura in India. Two standards coexist, with differences in vocabulary, spelling, and conventions. See Locale Bn Bd and Locale Bn in.

Translate ideas, not words.

• Bengali is subject-object-verb with postpositions. Reorder English sentences.
• Use the standard colloquial literary style (চলিত ভাষা), not the older literary style (সাধু ভাষা). Verb and pronoun forms differ between them; do not mix them.
• Use common Bengali words where they exist, but accept established English loans (ফাইল, পাসওয়ার্ড, অ্যাপ).
• Re-express idioms by meaning.

Grammar that trips translators.

• No grammatical gender, but verb forms change with the person and honorific level of the subject.
• Case endings and postpositions (কে, র, তে, এ, থেকে) attach to nouns; numbers use classifiers (টা, টি, জন, খানা): ২টি ফাইল, তিনজন ব্যবহারকারী.
• Plural is marked by -রা (for people), -গুলো (for things), or by context; use it only when needed.

Register.

• Three levels of "you": আপনি (formal), তুমি (informal), তুই (intimate or rude). UI and public text use আপনি with matching verb forms (করুন). Do not mix levels.
• UI commands use the polite imperative ("সংরক্ষণ করুন") or the infinitive ("সংরক্ষণ করা"). Keep one pattern.

Orthography and typography.

• Punctuation: the dari (।) ends a sentence. Use Bengali spelling per the Bangla Academy (Bangladesh) or the West Bengal Bangla Akademi.
• Digits: Bengali digits (০-৯) are common in print; Arabic digits are common in UI. Use the Indian grouping (lakh, crore) in CLDR for both countries.
• Unicode normalization matters: use the Bengali conjunct and vowel-sign order correctly; avoid look-alike characters from Assamese (see Locale As 001) for র/ৰ.

Common pitfalls

• Mixing the sadhu and cholito styles.
• Mixing আপনি, তুমি, and তুই.
• Using vocabulary from the wrong Bengali (West Bengal versus Bangladesh).
• Missing classifiers with numerals.
• Using the Assamese letters ৰ and ৱ in Bengali text.

Learn more

• Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
• Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
• Microsoft Localization Style Guides for Indian languages (https://learn.microsoft.com/globalization/reference/microsoft-style-guides)
• Bangla Academy, প্রমিত বাংলা বানানের নিয়ম
• Unicode CLDR locale data for number grouping, calendars, and currency (https://cldr.unicode.org)