BBS news reads “The discussion lasted around four hours” and title of the news “Has Dzongkha Improved? And news ends with nothing conclusive. Didn’t BBS realize our Hon’ble MPs spent not hours but days creeping about their own entitlements. We are not having a classroom discussion but a Parliament on National Language. If anyone finds four hours discussion on our national language to be something too long, definitely its a worrying trend that is
shown even by our national public broadcaster and their perception on our national language.
The report furthers seems to convey that Dzongkha is becoming useless since we use English everywhere and its standard is enough. Are we serious? Honestly, ask ourselves, how many of our MPs can speak in the parliament raise one issue without flipping up and down through English-Dzongkha Dictionary in the Parliament searching words and phrases. Some even struggle to read basic sentences in Dzongkha which is telecast live. And how many of our Bureaucrats, corporates, even our senior officers who are considered to be elite and highly educated can conduct one simple meeting completely in Dzongkha without the help of English jargons which are often archaic words they learnt in 1980s or 70s some of which no longer live in English Dictionaries. The reality is that if we write a single phrase in English, there would be countless corrections and if we write in Dzongkha, often there will not be a single comment because no one is even bothered to read.
Now, English!! Do we really think we Bhutanese are good in English? How good is our English? Do we ever ask ourselves which English we are using, British, American, Australian, Indian or mixed? We would only realize when we actually talk with the foreigners that our English is not as good as we may presume from those who think they are perfect in English. The reality is that our English has not been recognized by anyone, no institutions, not even our neighbouring countries like India, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh or even countries like Japan and Thailand where English is rarely used even as a basic form of communication.
Even after more than half a century of our entire education in English medium has not been able to convince single nation in the world which recognized our English without showing them one of the certificates of international English Testing Institutions (IELTS, TOFEL, GMATS etc) even for obtaining visas.
India is not only a nation with billion people but also is a nuclear power nation with one of the fastest growing economy in the world with half of Billion of them speak English, to be precise British English and their English is recognized by many countries and renowned universities where they can apply without any English Test certificates like us, the Bhutanese. But, if we look at their strength in Hindi and their Regional Languages, its exceptionally impressive. From the greatest lawyers, Judges to scientist, Doctors to Politicians, Business Tycoons to Celebrities, everyone can and prefer to communicate in their own Language and their whole education system and official correspondence are still done in Hindi or their Regional Languages. So is true for all our neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, you name it.
Unlike other countries, our only identity to show to rest of the world is our culture and identity and language is the soul of our culture and tradition. We have nothing else than this.
Therefore, unless we start to use it, Dzongkha will in few decades die a slow, painful and natural death and may remain as a mere symbolical language with monastic bodies. If we use it, there is no way that we can’t have adequate terms and phrases. We must remember that English is still evolving Language and has borrowed millions of words from various other languages to evolve to this level.
With my stay being away from Bhutan for years have convinced me even more how important is our culture and language. Any stranger we meet, the first question is, where are we from and next is often what language and ask us to teach them.
The bottom line is that, if we stop today, tomorrow will not be far where its extinction would happen before we even realize.
Note: I know many readers would have already saw, so many mistakes in what I have written, because it's written in English. But if I have written in Dzongkha, I am quite sure, there won't be any comments because, most won't bother to look at it, forget about reading.
shown even by our national public broadcaster and their perception on our national language.
The report furthers seems to convey that Dzongkha is becoming useless since we use English everywhere and its standard is enough. Are we serious? Honestly, ask ourselves, how many of our MPs can speak in the parliament raise one issue without flipping up and down through English-Dzongkha Dictionary in the Parliament searching words and phrases. Some even struggle to read basic sentences in Dzongkha which is telecast live. And how many of our Bureaucrats, corporates, even our senior officers who are considered to be elite and highly educated can conduct one simple meeting completely in Dzongkha without the help of English jargons which are often archaic words they learnt in 1980s or 70s some of which no longer live in English Dictionaries. The reality is that if we write a single phrase in English, there would be countless corrections and if we write in Dzongkha, often there will not be a single comment because no one is even bothered to read.
Now, English!! Do we really think we Bhutanese are good in English? How good is our English? Do we ever ask ourselves which English we are using, British, American, Australian, Indian or mixed? We would only realize when we actually talk with the foreigners that our English is not as good as we may presume from those who think they are perfect in English. The reality is that our English has not been recognized by anyone, no institutions, not even our neighbouring countries like India, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh or even countries like Japan and Thailand where English is rarely used even as a basic form of communication.
Even after more than half a century of our entire education in English medium has not been able to convince single nation in the world which recognized our English without showing them one of the certificates of international English Testing Institutions (IELTS, TOFEL, GMATS etc) even for obtaining visas.
India is not only a nation with billion people but also is a nuclear power nation with one of the fastest growing economy in the world with half of Billion of them speak English, to be precise British English and their English is recognized by many countries and renowned universities where they can apply without any English Test certificates like us, the Bhutanese. But, if we look at their strength in Hindi and their Regional Languages, its exceptionally impressive. From the greatest lawyers, Judges to scientist, Doctors to Politicians, Business Tycoons to Celebrities, everyone can and prefer to communicate in their own Language and their whole education system and official correspondence are still done in Hindi or their Regional Languages. So is true for all our neighbouring countries, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, you name it.
Unlike other countries, our only identity to show to rest of the world is our culture and identity and language is the soul of our culture and tradition. We have nothing else than this.
Therefore, unless we start to use it, Dzongkha will in few decades die a slow, painful and natural death and may remain as a mere symbolical language with monastic bodies. If we use it, there is no way that we can’t have adequate terms and phrases. We must remember that English is still evolving Language and has borrowed millions of words from various other languages to evolve to this level.
With my stay being away from Bhutan for years have convinced me even more how important is our culture and language. Any stranger we meet, the first question is, where are we from and next is often what language and ask us to teach them.
The bottom line is that, if we stop today, tomorrow will not be far where its extinction would happen before we even realize.
Note: I know many readers would have already saw, so many mistakes in what I have written, because it's written in English. But if I have written in Dzongkha, I am quite sure, there won't be any comments because, most won't bother to look at it, forget about reading.
Nice one!
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