A seminar titled “A Thousand Years of Chattogram: Language and Culture” was held on Saturday (10 January) in Chattogram city, organized by the Sitainga (Chittagong) Language and Cultural Academy (CLCA).

The event was held at the Badsha Mia Building, where speakers discussed the rich history, language, and cultural heritage of Chattogram.

During the seminar, speakers pointed out the strong influence of Bangla on the Chattgaiya language. They said Chattgaiya should not be considered a dialect of Bangla, as linguistically it is a separate and independent language. They noted that identifying it as a dialect for years has weakened Chattogram’s own linguistic and cultural identity.

The speakers also stressed the need to increase the use of Chattgaiya in everyday social life. They added that teaching the language at the primary level could play an important role in preserving it.

The seminar was moderated by Moinuddin Araf and attended by Jobairul Arif, Kutub Uddin Chowdhury Ishti, Jamir Uddin, Abir Bin Jabed, Tawhidul Islam, Khan Ayyub, Shishir Azad, Abdur Rahman, Ibrahim Khalil, along with members of CLCA.

At the end of the program, participants called for stronger institutional efforts to protect and promote Chattogram’s language and culture.