The Kingdom of Bhutan: Language and International Cooperation
The official language of Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan is home to two dozen languages, all of them members of the Tibeto-Burman language family with the exceptions of Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language, and Bhutanese Sign Language. The sole official and national language, Dzongkha, is spoken by over half a million people, in a country home to only just over 800,000. The word “dzongkha” means the language (kha, ཁ་) spoken in the dzong (རྫོང་), dzongs being the fortress-like monasteries established throughout Bhutan.
Buddhism is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha and his followers.
Dzongkha, or Bhutanese, and its dialects are dominant in the western districts of Bhutan (Phodrang, Punakha, Thimphu, Gasa, Paro, Ha, Dhakana, and Chukha), where most native speakers are found. It is considered a South Tibetic language, and is a descendant of Old Tibeten — in this way, Dzongkha’s linguistic relationship to modern Tibetan is comparable to that between the languages of Spanish and Italian. While the modern form of these respective languages have lost their mutual comprehensibility, they share a common ancestor which connects them in a liturgical context — Latin, the language of the Roman Catholic Church, is studied by people in both Spain and Italy, whereas monks in Tibet and Bhutan study Old Tibetan, the sacred language of Tibetan Buddhism.
The following chart shows the Dzongkhan translation of some common English phrases:
| English | Dzongkha |
| Hello (formal) | Kuzu zangpo la |
| Hello (informal) | Kuzu zangpo |
| Nice to meet you | Nga choe da chebay sem ga yi |
| My name is ______ | Nga gi ming ______ in |
| I am from ______ | Nga _____ lay in |
| Thank you | Kadrin chhe la |
| You are welcome | Jembalaekso or Khemi (informal) |
| Yes | Inn |
| No | Men (meh-nn) |
The study of Dzongkha is mandatory in all schools in Bhutan, and it serves as a lingua franca in the districts to the south and east where it is not the mother tongue, used as a means of bridging communication between Bhutanese-dominated regions and its neighboring languages and dialects. Besides Dzongkha, there are three other dominant languages in Bhutan: Tshanglakha (also known as Sharchokpa), which is primarily spoken in eastern Bhutan, Lhotshamkha (also known as Nepali) in the southern region and Bumthangkha, which can be found in central Bhutan.
With over twenty unique languages and dialects, the Kingdom of Bhutan is home to an array of diverse language and rich culture. With the establishment of Dzongkha as its national language in 1971, Bhutan has been able to help in part bridge the communication gap which spans across its multi-lingual regions, while still maintaining separate and vibrant ethnic groups within its borders.
Following years of self-imposed isolation, Bhutan was admitted as a member of the United Nations on September 21st 1971, beginning a gradual process of opening itself up to the outside world. Today, the Bhutanese government ascribes great importance to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, with its universal scope and global-stretching membership, and the spirit of multilateralism which it helps foster. Accordingly, the Kingdom of Bhutan has fully subscribed to the UN’s charter, and over time, has increased both the scope and the content of its relations to it.
Politically speaking, the UN helps Bhutan by providing an international forum through which Bhutan can express its unique views and important concerns on a wide range of international issues. As a small, developing country, the United Nations provides crucial assistance to Bhutan not only politically, but economically as well: the UN and its specialized agencies provide an important source of financial and technical assistance in the ever-expanding process of socioeconomic development, playing an imperative role in the modernization of Bhutan.
Despite these economic improvements, however, Bhutan’s small economy (ranking low on the global scale with a GDP of only $2.53 billion USD in 2018) has prevented them from playing a major role in the IMF. Similarly, while there has been great debate as to whether or not Bhutan should join the WTO since it was granted observer status in 1999, concerns that its membership would open Bhutan to an unhealthy influx of goods, services, and foreign competition have outweighed the potential benefits which could be gained; many people believe that joining the WTO would go against the nation’s guiding philosophy Gross National Happiness (GNH), which seeks to balance economic growth with the preservation of culture and identity. With a GINI coefficient of 37.4 as of 2017 (compared to 38.8 in 2012 and 40.9 in 2003), the country continues to take steps towards achieving greater economic equality and providing greater conditions for its people.
Sources used:
2019
- Karma Tsheringvan and George Driem, “The Grammar of Dzongkha”, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1h4211k0.
- Tenzing Lamsang, “Govt says no to WTO for now,” https://thebhutanese.bt/govt-says-no-to-wto-for-now/.
- IMF, “Bhutan : 2018 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Bhutan,” https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2018/10/30/Bhutan-2018-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-and-Statement-by-the-46319
- Oishimaya Sen Nag, “Which Languages Are Spoken in Bhutan?”, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-bhutan.html
- “About the United Nations in Bhutan,” http://www.unct.org.bt/about-us/
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