One of my transnational readers wrote me a mail asking what the terms meant; in my blog post titled “Images That Tug At Your Heartstrings”. The terms were:
Goongtongs
Yueltongs
Gyaltong
!! Clueless and Confounded !!
Since these are Bhutanese terms the reader did not understand what they meant. Thus this morning I revisited my post and inserted the English equivalent of the words – or rather narration of what they meant in English.
This opened up my eyes to the fact that I have not been sensitive to my international readers. Thus from now on I will remember to be mindful that my blogs are read by people a large portion of whom do not understand Bhutanese words. I will remember to give the English equivalent of the Bhutanese terms I use in my blog. I am duty bound to ensure that my posts are as coherent as possible, to readers who are none-Bhutanese.
This should also tell the mainstream media in Bhutan that as an act of thoughtfulness and consideration towards their international readership they should do the same – give English equivalent of the Bhutanese terms they employ in their reporting.
I have now revised the last paragraph of my blog post “Images That Tug At Your Heartstrings”, to read as follows:
Leaving the old and the aged to fend for themselves – in villages devoid of the young and the able handed – is a cause for serious concern. The resulting Goongtongs (abandoned households) that over time will translate into Yueltongs (abandoned villages), and finally Gyaltong (abandoned kingdom), is a scary thought, but a real possibility, if no interventions are put into place.
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