Languages of Bangladesh
The national language and official language of Bangladesh is Bangla according to the third article of the Constitution of Bangladesh. The second most spoken language in Bangladesh is claimed to be Burmese which is spoken by the Marma tribe in Chittagong Hill districts as the districts border Myanmar; it is also spoken by the Rohingya people. Almost 99% of Bangladeshis speak Bengali as their first language. Bengali Language Implementation Act, 1987 made it mandatory to use Bengali in all government affairs except in the cases of foreign relations. According to a 2022 census, Bengali is predominantly spoken by 99% of the country's population and it also serves as the national language of the nation. The indigenous people of northern and southeastern Bangladesh speak a variety of native languages. Bangladesh has 44 indigenous languages according to Professor Shameem Reza. Indo-Aryan languages The lowlands of Bangladesh form the larger, central, and eastern half of the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal and the Bengali language is spoken by the majority of the country's inhabitants i.e. the Bengalis. There are also some Eastern Indic language varieties, which are variously classified either as dialects of Bengali or separate but closely related languages. They can be thought of as forming a dialect continuum. Bengali branch: Standard Bengali: spoken all over the country – originally the dialect of Nadia region (partly in Khulna Division), very close to dialect in the rest of Khulna Division Bangali: General Eastern Bengali dialect spoken (beside Standard Bengali) in most of the parts of Bangladesh (Dhaka,Khulna, Mymensingh, Greater Comilla, Noakhali and Barisal regions). Chittagonian: spoken by the people of Chittagong in the southeastern districts of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar and also by migrants to the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Sylheti: Spoken by Sylhetis in the northeastern region of Surma Valley (Sylhet Division) Dhakaiya Kutti: The dialect is spoken by the people of Old Dhaka. Noakhailla: The dialect is spoken by the people of Noakhali, Feni and Lakshmipur as well as some areas in Greater Comilla and northern Chittagong district. Varendri: Spoken by the people of the Western region (Rajshahi Division); part of the North Bengali dialects. Rangpuri: Spoken by people of the northern region (Rangpur Division); closely related to Varendri dialect. Tribal languages: Chakma: Spoken in the Chittagong Hill Tract Region. Unrelated to the Tibeto-Burman languages that are commonly found in the region. Very similar to Chittagonian. Bishnupriya Manipuri: An Indo-Aryan language by the Bishnupriya Manipuri people who live in Bangladesh. Bishnupriya Manipuri is distinct from the Bengali languages and contains many features and elements of the Tibeto-Burman languages. Hajong: Originally a Tibeto-Burman language that has shifted over time to an Indic language. Tangchangya: spoken by the Tanchangya people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. It is closely related to Chakma. Sadri: Also a major language of Jharkhand, India. Spoken widely in tea estates throughout Bangladesh by indigenous people who have abandoned their old language. Bihari languages: Spoken primarily by the Bihari Muslims from Bihar, India who came during Partition. Non-Indo-Aryan languages The Non-Indo-Aryan indigenous languages