Dzongkha+(Bhutan)


 * Hello: //Kuzu zangpo// **

Background knowledge:   Language: National Language: Dzongkha- "the language spoken in the dzong"  *Dzongs are the fortresses established throughout Bhutan by religious leader Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century
 * Bhutan is a landlocked country in South Asia, bordered by China and India
 * Population: 753,947
 * 2008- changed from Absolute Monarchy to Constitutional Monarchy
 * Much of early history is unclear- destroyed when fire ravaged the ancient capital
 *  Religion is   predominantly   Vajrayana Buddhism, second is Hinduism- country is heavily influenced by religion
 *  53 languages in the Tibetan language family, 24 are spoken in Bhutan
 * Spoken by 130,000 people, only 25% of population-- 40% of population speaks Nepali
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">South Tibetic Language
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;"> closely related to and partially intelligible with Sikkimese- the national language of the former kingdom of Sikkim
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Closely related to Tibetan, distantly related to Chinese
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">largely mutually unintelligible to Standard Tibet
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Both languages are highly influenced by the liturgical Classical Tibetan language
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">known as <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.3999996185303px;">Chöke- used for centuries by Buddhist monks
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Chöke was used as the language of education in Bhutan until the early 1960s when it was replaced by Dzongkha in public schools
 * Dzongkha is written with the Tibetan alphabet
 * Main written language in Bhutan is Classical Tibetan
 * differs as much from Dzongkha as French from Italian
 * English is the medium of instruction in school but Dzongkha is taught as the national language

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Characteristics of the Language:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">30 consonants and 4 vowels
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Originally alphabet system had 8 aspects of grammar, now only 2 remain
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">One of the easiest languages to understand and remember
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Most of the sounds are produced by pushing out air from the lungs

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Hello (formal): Kuzoozangpo la <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Hello (informal): Kuzu zangpo <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Thank you: Kadrin chhe <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Goodbye (saying goodbye to guest): Legshembe joen <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 1.5;">Goodbye (when you are leaving): Legshembe shug



Conversation [|Alphabet]



[] -- conversation, no audio examples [] -- emotions [] -- greetings

http://www.raonline.ch/pages/bt/visin/bt_dzongkha05.html http://valtermoniz.tripod.com/dzongkha/ http://www.tourism.gov.bt/about-bhutan/language http://www.dzongkha.gov.bt/publications/publication_pdf/1191-1.pdf