◎俞智敏
Bangladesh can justly claim to be a nation born of language, but its status as a cradle of linguistic diversity is under threat from nationalist pride and economic growth.
孟加拉可以名正言順地自稱為是由語言而誕生的國家，但孟加拉身為語言多元化發源地的地位，卻正受到民族驕傲與經濟成長的威脅。
Of the more than 30 recognised languages spoken in Bangladesh, experts say 20 are now on the verge of extinction.
在孟國逾30種獲官方認可的語言中，專家認為有20種正瀕臨滅絕。
Many languages are inherently vulnerable, having no script and relying instead on a rich but fragile oral tradition of folk songs and story telling.
許多語言原本就很容易消失，因為這些語言沒有文字，只能仰賴民謠與說故事等豐富卻脆弱的口語傳統流傳下來。
Bangla, or Bengali, is the undisputed heavyweight in Bangladesh’s linguistic arena, spoken by 95 percent of the population and the sole passport to a decent education and career.
在孟加拉的語言競技場中，孟加拉語毫無疑問地是重量級語言，全國有95%的人口說孟加拉語，這也是通往良好教育和職業的唯一道路。
National pride in the Bangla language runs deep and is cemented with the blood of the "language martyrs" -- students shot dead by police on February 21, 1952, when Bangladesh was still East Pakistan.
孟加拉人對孟加拉語有著根深蒂固的民族自豪，又因「語言烈士」為其所拋灑的鮮血而更形凝聚，這些烈士是在1952年2月21日遭警方射殺，當時孟加拉仍屬於東巴基斯坦。
The students were protesting the Pakistani government’s Urdu-only policy and demanding that Bangla be recognised as an official language. The deaths triggered the start of a nationalist struggle that finally ended with the creation of Bangladesh after victory in the 1971 independence war with Pakistan.
遇害學生是抗議巴基斯坦政府施行獨尊烏爾都語的政策，要求承認孟加拉語為官方語言之一。學生的死亡揭開了孟加拉民族獨立鬥爭的序幕，在孟加拉於1971年打贏與巴基斯坦間的獨立戰爭、建立國家後才告終。
But now Bangla’s dominance in schools, the workplace and cultural life in general is threatening those rights in Bangladesh itself. （AFP）
但現在孟加拉語在學校、職場與整體文化生活中的獨大地位，卻已威脅到孟加拉境內其他語言的權利。（法新社）
新聞辭典
cradle：名詞，原指搖籃，引申為指某事物的起源地，如Fossil records indicate that Africa was the cradle of early human evolution.（化石紀錄顯示，非洲是早期人類演化的起源地。）
script：名詞，指書寫用的字母，如Arabic/Cyrillic/Roman script（阿拉伯／古代斯拉夫／羅馬字母）。
passport：名詞，原指護照或通行證，引申為指達到某一目的的手段（其後加to），如Many students opt for business studies simply because it sounds like a passport to a good job.（許多學生選擇唸商業科系，只是因為它聽起來像是通往好工作的通行證。）
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