Thar language

Thar exhibits distinct linguistic features, including syntax, phonology, phonetic transformations, verb changes, morphology, tenses, moods, genders, sentence structure, and vocabulary. The language contains thousands of basic words, as well as synonyms and antonyms, and shows patterns in how social, economic, cultural and environmental terms are expressed and transformed in its lexicon.^[7] Thar exhibits nominal gender and inflects verbs for tense and mood. The language marks three tenses, present, past, and future and employs verb conjugation to express mood. Structurally, Thar follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order, similar to neighboring Indo-Aryan languages. Verbs typically take suffixes to indicate tense and mood, a feature also found in Bengali. Thar uses postpositions to mark grammatical relations and maintains a clear distinction between present and past forms.^[8] The language's known vocabulary comprises approximately 2,131 words.^[9]

The Thar language may have derivation from Middle Indo‑Aryan Prakrit forms, suggesting a long history of linguistic formation rather than a recent invention,^[17] Ethnographically, Thar shows influence from older Eastern Indo-Aryan forms and from the dialects of Rakhine and Chak speakers in Myanmar, Mizoram and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. ^[18] Many of its words originate from the early Prakrit form of Bengali. It was also influenced by Persian, Arabic, Portuguese, English and Hindustani besides Bengali and Arakanese.

The Thar language is spoken by Bede or other river gyspy people only, not in mainstream society.^[19][20] The Thar language developed as a "community code" to be used internally. The language has no formal recognition or use in government activities. It is listed among "ethnic languages" in a digitisation project of Bangladesh's government (for 40 endangered ethnic languages) including "Thar".^[21] Over time, modern developments have altered the Bede way of life, which in turn impacts the language. For example, more Bede children speak Bengali and fewer speak Thar regularly. ^[22] Because the language is spoken in scattered communities across the Ganges Delta and plains, it has many dialects, subdialects and variations, some of which are unintelligible to one another.

Today Thar is endangered, the language is used by fewer people, transmission to younger generations is weak and mainstream Bangla (Bengali) dominates.^[23][24]

Thar is close to Bengali, Arakanese, Chak and nearby Indo-European languages. Here is a comparison between Standard Bengali, Thar (Dhaka) and Romani (Vlax):

The Thar language is the subject of a book by Habibur Rahman, titled "Thar: Bede Jonogoshthhir Bhasha" (2022), which describes its grammar, vocabulary and use among native speakers. The book also examines the social and cultural context of the language, including traditional expressions, oral stories, and everyday communication practices. As one of the few sources documenting the language in detail, it has been used in linguistic studies, educational materials and initiatives aimed at promoting awareness and preservation. Through this publication, the language has reached a wider audience beyond its native-speaking community, helping to highlight its distinctive features and the cultural heritage of its speakers. The book has also encouraged interest in further research and documentation of the language, providing a foundation for future works on its structure and usage.^[25]

• Romani people
• Bede people
• Buno people
• Romani language