Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal and in the neighboring country of Bangladesh. It is also spoken by a significant number of people in the Indian states of Tripura, Assam, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Bengali is the second most spoken language in India, with around 8.1% of the population speaking it as their first language. It is written in the Bengali script, which is unique to the Bengali language and is also used to write other languages such as Assamese. Bengali has a rich literary tradition and is one of the oldest languages of India, with a history dating back to the 10th century. It has a complex grammatical structure and a vocabulary that has been influenced by various other languages such as Arabic, Persian, and English. Bengali is also widely spoken in the Bengali diaspora around the world, particularly in the UK, USA and Canada.