The Sylheti language has no expression for physical activity that has the same connotations of vitality, improvement in body condition, social desir ability, and inherent “moral” value as the word “exercise.” Sports and games are not generally pursued by adults in Bangladesh18 or by Bangladeshis in Britain.19 The closest translation for the word “exercise” is “beyam,” a word of obscure etymology. Interestingly, the prefix “bey” in Sylheti often has negative connotations—for example, “beyaram” (meaning illness, literally “no comfort”) or “beytamiz” (poor etiquette, literally “no manners”)—and we were struck by the lack of positive connotations accorded to the concept by our Bangladeshi informants compared with the white British and AfroCaribbeans.