[8] From a classificatory point of view, the Bengali writing system is derived from the Brahmi script.

The script is characterized by many conjuncts, upstrokes, downstrokes, and other features that hang from a horizontal line running along the tops of the graphemes that links them together called matra(মাত্রা).

The names of the letters are typically just the consonant sound plus the inherent vowel অ ô.

When serving as a vowel mark, উ u, ঊ u, and ঋ ri take on many exceptional forms.

These are mainly the Brahmi-Sanskrit diacritics, phones and punctuation marks present in languages with Sanskrit influence or Brahmi-derived scripts.

An apostrophe, known in Bengali as ঊর্ধ্বকমা urdhbôkôma "upper comma", is sometimes used to distinguish between homographs, as in পাটা pata "plank" and পাʼটা pa'ta "the leg".

For example, the letter ত tô and the numeral ৩ "3" are distinguishable only by the presence or absence of the matra, as is the case between the consonant cluster ত্র trô and the independent vowel এ e. The letter-forms also employ the concepts of letter-width and letter-height (the vertical space between the visible matra and an invisible baseline).

While efforts at standardising the alphabet for the Bengali language continue in such notable centres as the Bangla Academy at Dhaka (Bangladesh) and the Pôshchimbônggô Bangla Akademi at Kolkata (West Bengal, India), it is still not quite uniform yet, as many people continue to use various archaic forms of letters, resulting in concurrent forms for the same sounds.

While different standards for romanisation have been proposed for Bengali, they have not been adopted with the degree of uniformity seen in languages such as Japanese or Sanskrit.

Some of them are the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration or "IAST system",[19] "Indian languages Transliteration" or ITRANS (uses upper case alphabets suited for ASCII keyboards),[20] and the extension of IAST intended for non-Sanskrit languages of the Indian region called the National Library at Kolkata romanisation.

[21] Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The first line is the Bengali alphabet; the second a phonetic Romanization, the third IPA.

সমস্তŠomostoʃɔmost̪oAllমানুষmanushmanuʃhumanস্বাধীনভাবেšadhinbhabeʃad̪ʱinbʱabefree-manner-inসমানšomanʃomanequalমর্যাদাmorjadamɔrdʒad̪adignityএবংebongeboŋandঅধিকারodhikarod̪ʱikarrightনিয়েniyenie̯etakenজন্মগ্রহণjonmogrohondʒɔnmoɡrohonbirth-takeকরে।kore.kɔre.do.তাঁদেরTãdert̪ãd̪erTheirবিবেকbibekbibekreasonএবংebongeboŋandবুদ্ধিbuddhibud̪ːʱiintelligenceআছে;achhe;atʃʰe;exist;সুতরাংšutôrangʃut̪oraŋthereforeসকলেরইšokoleriʃɔkolerieveryone-indeedএকেækeækeoneঅপরেরoporerɔporeranother'sপ্রতিprotiprot̪itowardsভ্রাতৃত্বসুলভbhratrittošulobhbʱrat̪rit̪ːoʃulɔbʱbrotherhood-lyমনোভাবmonobhabmonobʱabattitudeনিয়েniyenie̯etakenআচরণachoronatʃorɔnconductকরাkorakɔradoউচিত।uchit.utʃit̪should.সমস্ত মানুষ স্বাধীনভাবে সমান মর্যাদা এবং অধিকার নিয়ে জন্মগ্রহণ করে। তাঁদের বিবেক এবং বুদ্ধি আছে; সুতরাং সকলেরই একে অপরের প্রতি ভ্রাতৃত্বসুলভ মনোভাব নিয়ে আচরণ করা উচিত।Šomosto manush šadhinbhabe šoman morjada ebong odhikar niye jonmogrohon kore.

Tãder bibek ebong buddhi achhe; šutôrang šokoleri æke oporer proti bhratrittošulobh monobhab niye achoron kora uchit.ʃɔmost̪o manuʃ ʃad̪ʱinbʱabe ʃoman mɔrdʒad̪a eboŋ od̪ʱikar nie̯e dʒɔnmoɡrohon kɔre.

t̪ãd̪er bibek eboŋ bud̪ːʱi atʃʰe; ʃut̪oraŋ ʃɔkoleri æke ɔporer prot̪i bʱrat̪rit̪ːoʃulɔbʱ monobʱab nie̯e atʃorɔn kɔra utʃit̪All human free-manner-in equal dignity and right taken birth-take do.

Their reason and intelligence exist; therefore everyone-indeed one another's towards brotherhood-ly attitude taken conduct do should.All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.