Journal of ELT and Education (JEE), an international refereed quarterly
ISSN: 2618-1290 (Print), 2663-1482 (Online); Volume: 2, Issue-3 & 4, July-December 2019, Page: 66-72
Citation:
Rahman, A., Chanda, S. S. & Parvin, S. (2019). The Language of the Urang Community of
Bangladesh: An Analysis. Journal of ELT and Education. Volume-2, Issue-3 & 4, 66-72.
Article Info:
Received: 02.09.2019; Accepted: 20.10.2019; Published: 22.10.2019
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Review Paper
The Language of the Urang Community of Bangladesh: An Analysis
*Abdul Rahman
1
, Snehangshu Shekhar Chanda
2
, Shahnara Parvin
3
Abstract
The study focuses on the life of the Urang community of Bangladesh, especially on the language of
this ethnic community living mainly in greater Sylhet for ages. Data have been collected through
field visits and semi-structured interviews with 64 members of the community. The result shows
that, even though the Urangs have traditionally been working and living in different tea gardens in
Sylhet, a lot of them are now engaged in various professions including jobs even in some
government offices. Linguistically the Urangs are predominantly bilingual: they speak Kurukh and in
some cases Sadri for intra-communal communication whereas they use Bangla for communicating
with mainstream Bangladeshi people. 37.50% of the respondents have opined that their mother
tongue Kurukh has its writing system when 62.50% are of the view that Kurukh has no written
script. However, none of the respondents has been found to be able to write even a single word in
Kurukh. The study concludes stressing the need for taking proper steps to revive this endangered
language.
Keywords
The Urangs, Language, Kurukh, Sadri
1. Introduction
Bangladesh is known for its cultural diversity where people of different cultures based on their
regional, religious and ethnic identities have been living side by side in harmony for centuries. It is
home to more than two dozen of ethnic communities settled in many a district of the country,
especially in the hilly regions. One of the many such ethnic communities living in Bangladesh is
the Urang community. It is worth mentioning here that the variation in the English spelling of the
name of the community in question may be confusing as the word Urang is sometimes and in
some documents spelt as Oraon, Uraon, Oran, and even Oram. This community is also known as
the Kurukh tribe according to the mane of their hero-king Karakh. One, however, should
Corresponding E-mail: clickshibly@gmail.com
1
Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal
Sciences University, Chattogram, Bangladesh
2
Professor, Department of Basic Science and Language, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Bangla, Sylhet Government College, Sylhet, Bangladesh