Sylheti language

Sylheti (Sylheti Nāgarī: ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ [silɔʈi]; Bengali: সিলেটি [sileʈi]) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by an estimated 11 million people, primarily in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh and in parts of Northeast India.[6][7] Besides, there are substantial numbers of Sylheti speakers within diaspora communities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the Middle East.

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Sylheti
Silôṭi
ꠍꠤꠟꠐꠤ সিলেটি
The word "Silôṭi" in Sylheti Nāgarī script
Pronunciation	[silɔʈi]
Native to	Bangladesh and India
Region	Sylhet Division and Barak Valley[1]
Ethnicity	Sylhetis[2][3][4]
Native speakers	10 million (2003–2020)[5] L2 speakers: 1.5 million (no date)[5]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Eastern Bengali–Assamese Sylheti
Early forms	Prakrit Magadhi Prakrit Abahattha Old Bengali
Writing system	Sylheti Nāgarī script Bengali–Assamese script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	syl
Linguist List	syl
Glottolog	sylh1242
Linguasphere	59-AAF-ui
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It is variously perceived as either a dialect of Bengali or a language in its own right. While most linguists consider it an independent language,[8][9] for many native speakers Sylheti forms the diglossic vernacular, with standard Bengali forming the codified lect.[10] Some incorrectly consider it as a "corrupt" form of Bengali,[11] and there is a reported language shift from Sylheti to Standard Bengali in Bangladesh, India and the diaspora;[12] though Sylheti has more vitality than Standard Bengali in the United Kingdom.[13]