INTRODUCTION TO BENGALI Lesson 1 Greeting & Meeting This is how you are going to start a conversation when meeting a Bengali. Almost 85% of the population of Bangladesh is Muslim. That means if you meet 100 individuals there then it is highly likely that 85 of them will be Muslim. So it is better to know the general Islamic greetings when talking to a Bengali. Bengali Muslims get impressed when foreigners greet them with the Islamic greetings. And by doing this you can easily earn their respect. 1. So instead of saying ‘HELLO/HI’ start with – Assalamu Alaykum. Meaning: May peace be upon you (all). 2. HOW ARE YOU? Translation: Apni cay-mon Achen? Meaning: Apni – You; Cay-mon – How; Achen – State of being. 3. I AM FINE/OKAY/GOOD/WELL. AND YOU? Translation: Aami bhalo achi. Apni? Meaning: Aami – I; Bhalo - Fine/Okay/Good/Well; Achi - State of being; Apni - You. 4. MAY I KNOW YOUR NAME? Translation: Apnar na-am jaan-te pari ki? Meaning: Apnar – Your; Naam – Name; Jaan-te – Know; Pari Ki – May I. 5. MY NAME IS ***. Translation: Amaar naam ***. Meaning: Amaar – My; Naam – Name. 6. WHERE ARE YOU FROM? Translation: Apni kotha theke eshe-chen? Meaning: Apni – You; Kotha – Where; Theke – From; Eshe-chen – Came. 7. COULD YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET TO THIS ADDRESS? Translation: Apni amake ae thikana-y jawar poth bolte paren? Meaning: Apni – You; Amake – Me; Ae – This; Thikana – Address; Jawar – Get to; Poth – Way; Bolte – Tell; Paren - Could. 8. WHO IS HE/SHE/THIS? Translation: Ae-ta ke? Meaning: Ae-ta – This one; Ke – Who. 9. WHAT IS THIS? OR WHAT IS THAT? Translation: Ae-ta ki? OR O-ta ki? Meaning: Ae-ta – This one; O-ta – That one; Ki –What. 10. YES/NO. Translation: Hmm/Naa. 11. EXCUSE ME/SORRY. Translation: Maaf korben. Meaning: Maaf – Forgive/Excuse; Korben – Do. SUMMARY OF FREQUENTLY USED WORDS IN THE SENTENCES: # You/Your – Apni/Apnar. # I/My/Mine – Aami/Amaar/Amaar.