Linguistic Survey Of India Vol V Part I Indo Aryan Family Eastern Group

20

BENGALI.

Provinces of Bengal which do nof fal} within the Bengali-speaking area, and shall
quote the fibres District by District It will be observed that the only districts in
which Bengali n spoken by any considerable number of people arc Cutfuck and
Balauore. Here it is 8poken by old settlers. At one time sales of Orissa estates for
arrears of revenue were held in Calcutta. This led to numerous estates being bought
up by Bengalis, who came and settled in the Province.1 They are called kerd Bengalis,
from their habit of interlarding their sentences with the word hare, a corruption of the
Oriya Jean, winch means ' having done.' Calcutta Bengalis consider their language to
be very corrupt, as might be well expected.
I am indebted to Mi. Bennies fur llii» iuforninlion.