Bangla English – Tomato Tomato

Sign of life in Dhaka where many people do not "self drive."
Sign of life in Dhaka where many people do not “self drive.”

The English spoken in Bangladesh includes a few words which are different in British English and American English, plus some that are unique to Bangla English. Here are several words which are different from American English:

Capsicum – is a bell pepper/sweet pepper

Aubergine – eggplant (“BEG-un” in Bangla)

Coriander – cilantro (the leafy part of the coriander plant)

Lime – lime is lemon (“yellow limes” are a fairly rare sight here and they are a different breed)

Microbus – mini-van

There are other differences but these are the ones I encounter all the time. I’ll try to update this as I recall more.

While many Britishisms exist in Bangla, “schedule” is not “SHEY-duel” which is interesting considering that many of the words spelled with an “s” are pronounced with a “sh” sound (like “sari” or “sharee”). Plus, there are many Bangla words which I think would be a great addition to the English language. My first contender would be the expressive word for “end” or “finito!” — Shesh!