Bengali (or বাংলা, pronounced [ˈbaŋla]) is the language native to the region of Bengal, which comprises present-day Bangladesh and the Indian states West Bengal, Tripura and southern Assam. It is written using the Bengali script which is in abugida – consonant–vowel sequences are written as a unit. With about 220 million native and about 250 million total speakers, Bengali is one of the most spoken languages, ranked seventh in the world. The modern literary form of Bengali was developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries based on the dialect spoken in the Nadia region. Writing system: Bengali alphabet Official language in: Bangladesh, India