From Ekushey to AI: Bangla’s Battle for Digital Dominance

The blood-soaked struggle of the 1952 Language Movement to establish the rights of the mother tongue Bangla reached its culmination through independence in 1971. In recognition of this historic continuity, the United Nations declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day—today observed worldwide as a symbol of linguistic diversity and multilingualism.

From Language Movement to Global Recognition

On 21 February 1952, the sacrifices on the streets of Dhaka demanding Bangla as a state language was a rare event in world history. This example of laying down lives for language later led to the birth of an independent state and elevated the question of linguistic rights to a new dimension in the international arena. In 1999, UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day; since 2000 it has been observed globally.

Lost Languages, Lost Knowledge

Among nearly 7,000 languages in the world, many have already become extinct, and hundreds more are at risk of extinction. The disappearance of a language means not only the loss of vocabulary but also the loss of a community’s history, culture, indigenous knowledge, and intellectual tradition. In this context, technology is emerging as a major tool for language preservation.

New Hope in Language-Supporting Technology

Over the past two and a half decades, language-supporting technologies—such as Unicode standards, automatic translation, voice recognition, speech-to-text, and digital archiving—have opened new possibilities for a multilingual world. Today, Bangla is used on smartphones, the web, artificial intelligence systems, and social media platforms because of Unicode.

However, debates have occasionally surfaced regarding the influence of India’s Devanagari script in determining Bangla Unicode standards and script-related technological mapping. Experts believe that while setting technological standards, it is essential to preserve the uniqueness of regional languages—otherwise, the structure of larger languages may influence smaller ones.

The development of language technology began during the millennium era. Between 2001 and 2006, several significant steps were taken to advance language and information technology. Among them were making the Bangla keyboard “Bijoy” popular and standardized, expanding the use of Bangla in official work, and laying the foundational infrastructure of information and communication technology (ICT), which later supported the growth of Bangla language technology. The Bijoy keyboard layout was encouraged to facilitate the use of Bangla in computers and government work. During that time, initiatives were taken to introduce computer education to spread basic ICT knowledge and to establish infrastructural foundations for the IT sector, paving the way for Bangla digital content creation. The era also saw the rise of blogs online. Subsequently, with the slogan “Let language be open for all,” Bangla Unicode gained prominence beyond Bijoy.

Advancing Bangla Through Research and Development

In the digital age, the key to sustaining a language lies in research and development (R&D). With this objective, the government is implementing a project titled “Enrichment of Bangla Language in Information Technology through Research and Development.” Under this project, Bangla corpus creation, speech data collection, development of Optical Character Recognition (OCR), machine translation engines, spelling and grammar checking tools, and language-based AI models are being developed. Most recently, on Victory Day last year, the first AI-based Bangla platform ‘Kagoj.ai’ was launched.

According to experts, creating large-scale, high-quality datasets—including regional dialects, standard Bangla, and both spoken and written forms—is crucial to making Bangla AI-compatible. Under this project, initiatives have been taken to build a sustainable ecosystem for language technology through collaboration among universities, research institutions, and the IT sector.

How Prepared Is Bangla in the Rocket-Speed Era of AI?

Artificial intelligence is now advancing at an unprecedented pace. Large language models, voice assistants, automated content generation—language is the core component in all of these. The question is: how prepared is Bangla in this competition?

On the positive side, Bangla is now one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and its presence on digital platforms is rapidly increasing. The expansion of Bangla usage in social media, online news, e-governance, and digital transactions is generating more data, which supports AI training.

However, challenges remain significant:

• Shortage of sufficient high-quality and labeled data

• Diversity of regional dialects

• Lack of coordination in technological standard-setting

• Limitations in research funding

In an AI-driven world, languages with more data advance technologically. Therefore, to keep Bangla competitive, research, open data policies, and international collaboration must be strengthened.

Technology in Global Language Preservation

In different countries around the world, digital archives, language corpus creation, and even AI-based revival projects have been launched to preserve endangered languages. Technology is not only preserving languages but also creating opportunities for their active use. Thus, the spirit of International Mother Language Day is now deeply connected with digital inclusion.

Social Media and the Debate Over Language Distortion

On the other hand, linguists have expressed concern over shortcut language, English-Bangla mixing, or writing Bangla in Roman script on social media. While these practices facilitate quick communication, debates continue about their impact on linguistic purity and grammatical practice. In text messages (SMS) and on social media, distortion of Bangla has become a widely discussed issue. Under the excuse of fast communication, the mixing of Bangla, English, Hindi, and regional words is giving rise to “Banglish” and unusual new expressions. Shortening original words, writing Bangla in English letters, spelling mistakes, and distorted pronunciation are disrupting the natural flow and purity of the language. For example, “Ki khobor” written as “k kh,” “Bhalobasha” written as “valobasa” or “valo,” “Bondhu” written as “bondhu” or “bondu”; replacing Bangla letters with English alphabets and generating incorrect spelling and pronunciation; or using emojis and symbolic signs instead of words, thereby diminishing the beauty of the language.

However, language is always evolving—its evolution in the age of technology is inevitable. The key is to ensure a strong position for standard and creative Bangla within technological platforms.

A Technology-Enriched Future for the Mother Tongue

International Mother Language Day not only reminds us of past sacrifices but also of future responsibilities. The project “Enrichment of Bangla Language in Information Technology through Research and Development” and language-friendly AI initiatives demonstrate that Bangla is no longer merely a language of emotion; it is on its way to establishing itself as a language of technology. To survive in the rocket-speed AI era, Bangla must become data-rich, technology-enabled, and globally connected. The spirit of the Language Movement now stands at a new dimension—in the struggle for digital independence. A nation that gave its lives for language can, through technology, make its language even stronger on the global stage.

DBTech/IH/EK/OR