ACQ Vol 11 no 2 2009

Asia – Pacific

Speech and language therapy in Bangladesh Jannatul Ferdous and Cristy Gaskill

Keywords Asia

Bangladesh development language speech

L ocated at the foot of the Himalayas, Bangladesh is the most densely populated country on earth with a population of 153 million people (UNDP, 2007) within an area roughly the size of the Australian state of Victoria. Bangladesh is an incredibly lush, green and fertile country with several large rivers running through it. This means the country often suffers flooding, one of the features of Bangladesh most well known to the rest of the world. Part of India, until its independence from Britain in 1947, Bangladesh was then made part of Pakistan (known as East Pakistan) until gaining independence in 1971. This independence was hard-won through a long-term struggle to maintain a strong cultural identity and the Bangla language. On 21 February 1952 a number of university students lost their lives campaigning to keep Bangla as their official language under pressure for Urdu to be the state language. The campaign was successful and this date continues to be celebrated in Bangladesh and, increasingly, internationally. In 1999 UNESCO Bangladeshi speech and language therapy students on placement

declared the date of the 21 February as “International Mother Language Day”, promoting cultural and linguistic diversity and multilingualism at a time when many languages are under threat from the effects of globalisation (UNESCO, n.d.). In addition to the state language of Bangla, there are numerous dialects of Bangla spoken, as well as a number of tribal languages in some parts of the country. English is used widely in business and education. In terms of religion, the majority of the population are followers of Islam, with smaller numbers following Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and other religions. A high proportion of Bangladesh’s population live rurally in villages and towns, with the majority employed in agriculture. An increasing number of people, however, are moving to cities and finding work in the garment industry – manufacturing clothing for export to Europe, North America and even Australia. Almost half of the population live below the national poverty line, that is, below the level deemed necessary for an adequate standard of living (UNDP, 2007).

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ACQ Volume 11, Number 2 2009

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