Dzongkha (; ) is a Tibeto-Burman language that is the official and national language of Bhutan.
The word means "the language of the fortress", from "fortress" and "language". , Dzongkha had 171,080 native speakers and about 640,000 total speakers.
Dzongkha is a South Tibetic language. It is closely related to Laya dialect and Lunana dialect and partially intelligible with Sikkimese, and to some other Bhutanese languages such as Chocha Ngacha, Brokpa language, Brokkat language and Lakha language. It has a more distant relationship to Standard Tibetan. Spoken Dzongkha and Tibetan are around 50 to 80 percent mutually intelligible.
Classification
Dzongkha is considered a South Tibetic language. It is closely related to and partially intelligible with Sikkimese, and to some other Bhutanese languages such as Chocha Ngacha,
Brokpa language,
Brokkat language and
Lakha language.
Dzongkha bears a close linguistic relationship to J'umowa, which is spoken in the Chumbi Valley of Southern Tibet. (1998). 905789002X, Research CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies, Leiden University. 905789002X
Although descended from Classical Tibetan, Dzongkha shows a great many irregularities in sound changes that make the official spelling and standard pronunciation more distant from each other than is the case with Standard Tibetan. "Traditional orthography and modern phonology are two distinct systems operating by a distinct set of rules." (1998). 905789002X, Research School, CNWS. 905789002X
Usage
Dzongkha and its dialects are the native tongue of eight western districts of Bhutan (
viz. Wangdue Phodrang, italic=no,
Thimphu,
Gasa District,
Paro District,
Haa District,
Dagana District and
Chukha District).
(1998). 905789002X, Research CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies, Leiden University. 905789002X
There are also some native speakers near the Indian town of
Kalimpong, once part of Bhutan but now in
North Bengal, and in
Sikkim.
Dzongkha was declared the national language of Bhutan in 1971.
Phonology
Tones
Dzongkha is a
tonal language and has two register tones: high and low. The tone of a
syllable determines the
allophone of the onset and the
phonation type of the nuclear vowel.
Consonants
All consonants may begin a syllable. In the onsets of low-tone syllables, consonants are voiced. Aspirated consonants (indicated by the superscript h), , and are not found in low-tone syllables. The rhotic is usually a trill or a fricative trill , and is voiceless in the onsets of high-tone syllables.
are [[dental|Dental consonant]]. Descriptions of the palatal affricates and [[fricative]]s vary from alveolo-palatal to plain palatal.
Only a few consonants are found in syllable-final positions. Most common among them are . Syllable-final is often Elision and results in the preceding vowel nasalized and prolonged, especially word-finally. Syllable-final is most often omitted when word-final as well, unless in formal speech. In literary pronunciation, Liquid consonant and may also end a syllable. Though rare, is also found in syllable-final positions. No other consonants are found in syllable-final positions.
Vowels
-
When in low tone, vowels are produced with breathy voice.
-
In closed syllables, varies between and , the latter being more common.
-
varies between and .
-
varies between close-mid and open-mid , the latter being common in closed syllables. is close-mid . may not be longer than at all, and differs from more often in quality than in length.
-
Descriptions of vary between close-mid and open-mid .
-
is close-mid , but may approach open-mid especially in closed syllables. is close-mid .
-
is slightly lower than open-mid, i.e. .
-
may approach , especially in closed syllables.
-
When nasalized or followed by , vowels are always long.
Phonotactics
Many words in Dzongkha are
Monosyllable. Syllables usually take the form of CVC, CV, or VC. Syllables with complex onsets are also found, but such an onset must be a combination of an unaspirated bilabial stop and a palatal affricate. The bilabial stops in complex onsets are often omitted in colloquial speech.
Writing system
The
Tibetan script used to write Dzongkha has thirty basic letters, sometimes known as "radicals", for
. Dzongkha is usually written in Bhutanese forms of the
Uchen script, forms of the Tibetan script known as
Joyig script "cursive longhand" and
Jôtshum "formal longhand". The print form is known simply as
Tshûm.
(1998). 905789002X, Research School, CNWS. 905789002X
Romanization
There are various systems of romanization and transliteration for Dzongkha, but none accurately represents its phonetic sound.
[See for instance Report on the current status of the United Nations romanization systems for geographical names: Tibetan Report on the current status of the United Nations romanization systems for geographical names: Dzongkha] The Bhutanese government adopted a transcription system known as
Roman Dzongkha, devised by the linguist George van Driem, as its standard in 1991.
Grammar
Nouns
Number
Dzongkha nouns distinguish between singular (unmarked) and plural, with the plural either unmarked or suffixed with . The use of the plural suffix is not obligatory and is used mainly for emphasis.
Case
Dzongkha nouns are marked for 5 cases:
genitive case,
locative case,
ablative case,
dative case and
ergative case.
-
genitive case: marks possession and is often translated as "of". There are 4 genitive suffixes in written Dzongkha:
-
- after words ending in , , , .
-
- after words ending in , and certain words ending in a vowel.
-
- after words ending in , , .
-
after certain words ending in a vowel.
-
locative case - marks location or destination and is often translated as "in", "at" or "on". It's indicated by the suffix .
-
ablative case - marks direction away from the noun and is often translated as "from". It's indicated by the suffix .
-
dative case - marks the goal or where an activity takes place and is often translated as "to", "for" or "at". It's indicated by the suffix .
-
ergative case - used for ergativity and instrumental functions. There are 3 ergative suffixes in written Dzongkha:
-
- after words ending in , , , .
-
- after words ending in , or a vowel.
-
- ater words ending in , , .
Derivation
As in other Tibetic languages,
compounding is the most common method for deriving new nouns in Dzongkha. A compound usually consists of two (or, less commonly, more) monossyllabic roots, which can be either
free morpheme or
bound morpheme.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
-
The honorific pronoun and its plural form are used when one wants to show respect to the person being addressed or to a 3rd person of either gender.
Verbs
Dzongkha verbs inflect for tense, aspect and mood, but unlike many languages, they do not show agreement for person and number.
Copula
In Dzongkha, there are 5 copular verbs that can be translated as "to be" in English: , , , and .
Adjectives
Comparison
The
comparative is indicated by the suffix ("than") while the
superlative is indicated by the suffix ("the most", "-est").
Numerals
|
| | | ci |
| | | ’nyî |
| | | sum |
| | | zhi |
| | | 'nga |
| | | dr°u |
| | | dün |
| | | gä |
| | | gu |
| | | cuthâm |
Vocabulary
The following is a sample vocabulary:
|
|
| | | tâ | tiger |
| | | tön | to teach |
| | | pcing | glue |
| | | tîm | heel |
| | | meng | name |
| | | 'mosh | isn't it so? |
| | | dr°eng | mule |
| | | 'öng | left |
| | | totsha | friend |
Sample text
The following is a sample text in Dzongkha of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
See also
Bibliography
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-
Mazaudon, Martine. 1985. "Dzongkha Number Systems." S. Ratanakul, D. Thomas & S. Premsirat (eds.). Southeast Asian Linguistic Studies presented to André-G. Haudricourt. Bangkok: Mahidol University. 124–57
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-
-
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(1998). 905789002X, Research School CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies. 905789002X
– A language textbook with three audio compact disks.
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External links
Vocabulary
Grammar
