Manuel da Assumpção

Manuel da Assumpção (then spelled Manoel da Assumpçam) was a Portuguese missionary who wrote the first grammar of the Bengali language, in 1743, titled "Vocabulario em idioma bengalla e portugueza" (Vocabulary of Bengali language and Portuguese (archaic Portuguese: Vocabolario em idioma Bengalla, e Portuguez dividido em duas partes).[1]

Grammar and dictionary

The grammar was written in the Portuguese language. Assumpção wrote this first grammatical instructions of the Bengali language between 1734 and 1742 while in Bhawal estate, now in Bangladesh. The book was published in 1743 in Lisbon. The grammar was based on the model of the Latin grammar and used Latin script for writing Bengali words.[1]

Crepar Xaxtrer Orth, Bhed

Manuel da Assumpção wrote another book under the title Crepar Xaxtrer Orth, Bhed. It was a bilingual book published in Lisbon in 1735. It was a missionary book, in format a dialogue between a clergyman and his disciple. The main text was printed on the right page while the translation in Bengali appeared on the left. The whole book was, however, printed in Roman type.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Banglapedia, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2003.
  2. Iffat Ara, Janar Ace Onek Kichu, 1999, Deshprokashon, Dhaka.

External links



This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, December 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.