Bengali with 265M speakers, primarily in Bangladesh, and in northern India, is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. The number of Bangla speakers grew from 159M in 2017 to 104M in 2011 particularly in Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar. The UAE (337K), Pakistan (290K), Myanmar (286K), United States (258K), Great Britain (221K) and a series of other nations have also spokespeople for Bengali.
CEFR divides all the languages within six different levels. These different levels assess every student or aspiring individual on all the different skills that the said individual must master in order to learn the language. Let’s now see all the levels of the Bangla language.
- A1 and A2
Starting off with A1, this is the most basic level in every single language including Bangla. At this level an individual doesn’t know much about the language. With that said, we are expected to know at least some basic phrases, words, the most basic grammar and almost no knowledge about sentence formation. A1 is the level which most people grasp by simply listening to the native’s talk or maybe by watching movies. Most students that fall under the A1 level have no clue about how to hold a conversation but will probably be able to introduce themselves in the language. Moving on to the A2 level. Known as the novice level, this is the level wherein students tend to have a good grasp on the basics. They have slowly started to understand sentence formation, have a good hold on the basic vocabulary, and understand what is said to them in Bangla at the slowest speed possible. They can also interpret some of the most basic phrases told to them. With that said, they definitely cannot write The language as of yet and reading is also a challenge.
- B1 and B2
Now we approach the B1 level. This is the level which is technically the median of the entire learning process. At this level, individuals have an excellent grasp of the basics, and they can now start advancing to the other technical aspects of the entire language. This is the level where they can easily introduce themselves, hold a basic conversation on daily topics, follow and understand the conversation spoken at a mediocre speed and they can also start moving on to more technical vocabulary. This is also the point wherein, students are expected to start attempting to read the language. Next up, we have the B2 level. This is the level wherein, the students have now approached the advanced level of the language. Students are expected to have an excellent grasp of the basics, be aware of all the grammatical rules involved, understand sentence formation excellently as well as be able to read well enough. By well enough, I mean the ability to read newspapers and children’s storybooks. This level does not expect you to achieve complete fluency in your reading skills but still be able to master a good amount of it. This is also the level wherein students are now asked to start practising their writing skills in the language.
- C1 and C2
Finally, we approach the C2 level. This is a level wherein students have achieved quite a bit of fluency in the language. With that said, they still aren’t proficient in the language. At this level, I am sure you have already guessed that you need to be proficient in your grammar, you must have a vast knowledge of the vocabulary of the language and you must also be well-versed with the sentence formation rules in regards to the language. At this level you need to start practising your writing skills extensively and start reading more technical and advanced pieces of literature. These pieces of literature could range from historical topics to more current affairs. You should also be able to hold a decent conversation with any native or another Bangla student. You should be able to read pretty well and write a good amount. Now we approach the final level, the C2 level. This is the level which is considered to be the most proficient level possible. If you achieve this level, then you are 100% proficient in the language. You can understand the most complex conversations or speeches, you can read the most complex literature, you can write fluently and you can speak the language without a single problem. Essentially you are as good as a native itself.
Finally,
All courts, government offices, and other organisations use the sole official and de facto language Bangla. It is also the official language of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam. It is the second official language of Jharkhand. It is given the status of a secondary language in Karachi, Pakistan. There are however few variations in speech and vocabulary, of the language when spoken between Bangladesh and West Bengal.