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I'm a native speaker of both Bengali and English, and my experience matches yours. Out of curiosity, which dialect of Bengali do you speak? Separately, somethi

I'm a native speaker of both Bengali and English, and my experience matches yours. Out of curiosity, which dialect of Bengali do you speak? Separately, something I've long found interesting: sarcasm (the way we understand the concept in English) doesn't really come across in Bengali. I don't mean that Bengali people are incapable of sarcasm, but almost invariably, the Bengali speakers I know only make sarcastic comments in English, never in Bengali. Or, to put it more accurately: there is a way of expressing ironic sentiment in Bengali, but it's very different from how we'd think of it in English, both textually and in the delivery.

dang 10y ago
Perhaps we should make Hacker News a Bengali site instead of an English one.
- noisy_boy 10y ago
  That would be beautifully ironic because I perceive HN as an Adda[1] of intellectually stimulating nature. And everybody knows, Bengalis love Adda. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adda_(South_Asian) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adda_(South_Asian)
  - dang 10y ago
    Thank you! that's very interesting. The NYT article linked there seems pretty good. Maybe I'll submit it here.
noisy_boy 10y ago
I was born and brought up in a Hindi speaking state so my learning of Bengali, apart from being mother tongue, is based on reading copious amount of books/magazines/comics etc. I speak mostly the "Calcutta" dialect + the "kehlum/gelum" sustituted with "khelaam/gelaam" etc (though I can break out in broken "bangaal" should the need arise). I've also noticed that though I immensely enjoy Bengali literature, I have an inherent tendency to shun overly emotional/flowery words typically used in West Bengal - not sure if it is a personality trait or due to upbringing in a less "soft" Hindi-centric environment or due to being part of a family with East Bengal origins. Regarding sarcasm: I think it is pretty stinging in Bengali if you are using the power of old/rural idioms/phrases (you can find numerous examples in works of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay or contemporary 1900-1930s literature where the characters are in a confrontational setting). I also grow up in company of my grandparents so I learned a bunch from them. They are concise, entertaining and leave the target squirming if well used. However I think that in today's urban Bengali society, you are considered unsophisticated if you use them so we are losing such an interesting aspect of Bengali.

dang 10y ago

Perhaps we should make Hacker News a Bengali site instead of an English one.

noisy_boy 10y ago
That would be beautifully ironic because I perceive HN as an Adda[1] of intellectually stimulating nature. And everybody knows, Bengalis love Adda. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adda_(South_Asian) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adda_(South_Asian)
- dang 10y ago
  Thank you! that's very interesting. The NYT article linked there seems pretty good. Maybe I'll submit it here.

noisy_boy 10y ago

I was born and brought up in a Hindi speaking state so my learning of Bengali, apart from being mother tongue, is based on reading copious amount of books/magazines/comics etc. I speak mostly the "Calcutta" dialect + the "kehlum/gelum" sustituted with "khelaam/gelaam" etc (though I can break out in broken "bangaal" should the need arise). I've also noticed that though I immensely enjoy Bengali literature, I have an inherent tendency to shun overly emotional/flowery words typically used in West Bengal - not sure if it is a personality trait or due to upbringing in a less "soft" Hindi-centric environment or due to being part of a family with East Bengal origins. Regarding sarcasm: I think it is pretty stinging in Bengali if you are using the power of old/rural idioms/phrases (you can find numerous examples in works of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay or contemporary 1900-1930s literature where the characters are in a confrontational setting). I also grow up in company of my grandparents so I learned a bunch from them. They are concise, entertaining and leave the target squirming if well used. However I think that in today's urban Bengali society, you are considered unsophisticated if you use them so we are losing such an interesting aspect of Bengali.