Is It Dzongkha or Zhungkha?

With due respect to one Mr. Namgay Wangchuk who authored the following article in today’s Kuensel, I would like to offer my point of view on the issue, which is in variance to that of his.

The only language that identifies with the nation is the "National Language" - the Dzongkha

I take exception to three of his assertions/none assertions:

1.  He chooses to employ the singular form when he refers to the “National Language”. This would imply that there is only one language spoken within the nation.

2.  He implies, in fact he states categorically, that the language spoken and taught in the schools - Dzongkha - is the “national language” - the implication of which is that all other languages spoken within the country are languages of the none-nationals - those of the aliens - not languages of the nation.

3.  In the entire piece of his writing Mr. Namgay Wangchuk does not make a single mention of other more than a dozen languages spoken within the nation - as if they were inconsequential.

Salt is rubbed to the injury when he says that highest form of patriotism is when you are proficient in the national language - calling to question the none-Dzongkha speakers’ sense of patriotism. I think this is a manner of speaking - I am quiet certain that he did not mean it. 

To be fair, Mr. Namgay Wangchuk is not alone in this ongoing duplicity – almost all Bhutanese refer to the language spoken by the Ngalongs as the “Dzongkha” and attribute it as the national language. This is incorrect - you cannot single out one language as the national language of Bhutan. All other languages spoken within Bhutan are too all national languages of the Bhutanese nation.

I know that no malice is intended - it is a case of the famous Bhutanese mindlessness - words spoken thoughtlessly.

For sometime now I have been trying to tell fellow Bhutanese that it is not correct that we should refer to Dzongkha as the "national language". In my openion, the correct nomenclature would be that we refer to it as “Zhungkha” - the “Principal Language”. Why principal? Because this is a language most commonly spoken by most of the Bhutanese across the country. Because our script is in it. Because we need a Zhungkha - a common language - so that majority of Bhutanese can find ease in communicating with other ethnic groups with different mother tongues.

According to my late father, “Dzongkha” means “language of the Dzong”. Thus, according to him, “Dzongkha” is the language developed and spoken by the courtiers of yore and the Monk Body of Choetse - Trongsa Dzong. According to him – Ngalongs do not speak Dzongkha – they speak Ngalongkha, like I speak Khengkha.

NOTE: The Constitution of Bhutan also says Dzongkha is the "National Language" --- I wonder how it is termed in the national script version.