Before we actually understand how long it takes to learn Bangla, let us look at a few facts related to this language.
You probably know that English, Chinese, Spanish and French are among the topmost spoken languages across the world. Did you know that Bengali also known as Bangla is among the top ten most spoken languages across the globe? With more than 250 million speakers, it is the seventh most spoken language across the world and after Hindi the second most spoken language in India.
Apart from being the official language of Bangladesh, it is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and an official language of the state of West Bengal, Tripura and Barak valley in the state of Assam in India.
Now let us understand if it is a difficult language to learn.
What does the FSI say about it!
If you would like to know in numbers, Foreign Service Institute has created a list of languages ranked according to the level of difficulty in learning for people who speak English as their native language. According to these numbers, Bangla has been placed in category III languages which is a hard language and would require 44 weeks or 1100 hours of learning.
What about individual grasping power differences, challenges and speeds?
However, it is important to understand that this difficulty in learning would vary from one person to another depending on various factors which include their native language, experience with other languages, how quickly can they grasp a language, the resources used to learn the language and the time spent in practice.
Get into the bone of the language through its grammar!
For someone from India, understanding the sentence structure which is subject-object-verb similar to many other Indian languages is easy and comparatively convenient to relate to their native language and thus would make learning Bengali/Bangla relatively easy.
Any factors favouring me?
Also, if you know Hindi or Sanskrit, understanding and learning Bangla would be comparatively easy.
Now let us understand how long would it take to learn Bangla?
As mentioned earlier, it would take 44 weeks or 1100 hours for a native English speaker to learn Bangla. However, this again is a very relative question and would vary from one individual to another.
The ‘Indian’ benefit
If we look at it from an Indian perspective, both Bangla and Hindi are Indo-Aryan languages. For someone who knows Hindi, learning Bangla may not be very difficult. However, even if you speak other Indian languages, you could relate many words which originate from Sanskrit because many Indian languages have similarities with Sanskrit.
Using pronunciation to your aid
Understanding how the letters and words are pronounced in Bangla would also make a huge difference. Most Bengali words end in a vowel sound.
Conversion of time to learning!
The time that you spend practising Bangla skills would make a huge difference in how quickly you can learn this language. Someone who spends only a few hours on the weekend might find it difficult to remember everything when compared to a learner who spends regular time learning and practising every day.
More factors at play!
Whether you are learning all by yourself or taking help from a teacher would also decide the time it would take to learn Bangla.
Self-learning, the most practical step to take before an investment
Self-learning might take more time when compared to an individual who is learning from a teacher in a very organized manner. When you learn from a teacher and immerse yourself into Bangla through movies, videos, music and communication with others, you learn Bangla at a faster pace.
Immersion learning for best results
With a complete immersion into Bangla which is possible in many ways through the internet, consistent practice and regular use of the language you can definitely learn the language in a very short span of time. There are people who have learnt Bangla in just two months and there are others who might take a considerable amount of time.
Whether it is Rabindranath’s poetry that you would like to enjoy or watch the interesting content in Bengali cinema, take that step towards learning this poetic and beautiful language through a trusted source.
Online learning has made it possible to learn and acquire new skills from the comfort of your own space at your own pace. This is exactly what Multibhashi does when it comes to learning new languages. You can rely on their expert teachers to learn Bangla and become proficient in the language in a short span of time. You will be able to learn the language in a practical manner which allows you to use it in your day-to-day situations very quickly.