www.iaset.us editor@iaset.us THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN BANGLADESH Most Tasnim Begum 1 & Md Rafiqul Islam 2 1 Lecturer, Department of English, Faculty of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia 2 Lecturer, Department of English, Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh ABSTRACT The state of English in Bangladesh in the twenty- first century is indeed all-embracing. The use and role of English in media, press, education, commerce, and industries, courts, information and technology, national and international communication signify that English is a highly functional language in this country. Such exhilarating linguistic circumstance of English raises a very significant linguistic issue: How and why has English become very pragmatic in the life of the people in Bangladesh. This article attempts to answer this question from a historical perspective. It analyzes the use and spread of English in Bangladesh since independence in 1971. It also gives evidence of the presence of English in the important domains of national life. Finally, the paper concludes with some recommendations towards bringing effective language policies that will remove the confusion regarding language use and allow people to use English for development purposes. KEYWORDS: Historical Legacy of English in Bangladesh, Spread and Use of English in Various Domains, Language Policy and English, The Future of English Article History Received: 22 Aug 2017 | Revised: 20 Mar 2018 | Accepted: 27 Mar 2018 INTRODUCTION Historically, the English language was in a state of rising and fall in Bangladesh since independence in 1971. (Banu & Sussex, 2001a; Moniruzzaman, 2009; Rahman, 2005; Rahman, 2012). Immediately after the independence, the use of English was suppressed as a sense of high nationalism was working among all the Bengalis. It was apprehended that the promotion of other languages would affect the enrichment of Bangla, the national language. At times, there were policies such as the ‘Bangla Promulgation Act 1987’ that dictated that Bangla would be used everywhere, whereas English and other foreign languages would be practically absent. The policies could lessen the use of English. However, English remained dormant and spread with a very subtle but stable and gradual mode. Finally, the linguistic scenario changed when the whole world became a global village and English became the most influential global and international language. At that time the more Bangladesh got connected with the modern and global scientific, technological and commercial affairs, the higher the importance of English became. English language education got high importance as English was perceived to be the language of development for both personal and national developments (Erling et al, 2012.) As a consequence, presently English pervades all and every sphere of the personal and national levels. International Journal of Linguistics and Literature (IJLL) ISSN(P): 2319-3956; ISSN(E): 2319-3964 Vol. 7, Issue 3, Apr-May 2018; 11-18 © IASET