View source for Languages of Bhutan

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Infobox country languages
 |country        = Bhutan
 |image          = National Library of Bhutan sign.jpg

 |image size     = 
 |caption        = Sign in [[Dzongkha]] and [[English language|English]] at the [[National Library of Bhutan]]
 |official       = [[Dzongkha]]
 |semi-official  = 
 |national       = 
 |unofficial     = [[Tshangla language|Tshangla (Sharchop)]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Dzala language|Dzala]], [[Kheng language|Kheng]], [[Bantawa language|Bantawa]]
 |main           = 
 |indigenous     = 
 |regional       = 
 |vernacular     = 
 |minority       = [[Brokkat language|Brokkat]], [[Brokpa language|Brokpa]], [[Chocangaca language|Chocangacakha]], [[Khams Tibetan]], [[Lakha language|Lakha]], [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]], [[Bumthang language|Bumthang]], [[Chali language|Chali]], [[Dakpa language|Dakpa]], [[Nyen language|Nyenkha]], [[Gurung language|Gurung]], [[Kiranti languages|Kiranti]], [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]], [[Newar language|Newar]], [[Tamang language|Tamang]], [[Gongduk language|Gongduk]], [[Lhokpu language|Lhokpu]], [[ʼOle language|'Ole]]
 |immigrant      = 
 |foreign        = [[English language|English]], [[Hindi]]
 |sign           = [[Bhutanese Sign Language]]
 |keyboard       = [[Dzongkha keyboard layout]]
 |keyboard image = [[File:KBD-DZ-shift-2009.png|200px]]
 |source         = 
}}{{Annotated image |caption=Major languages of [[Bhutan]]
|image-width=400 |float=right |image-bg-color=#F4E2BA
|imagemap=
<imagemap>
Image:Languages of Bhutan.svg|400px
default [[Image:Languages of Bhutan with labels.svg]]
desc none
# Dots and long names in small, Dzongkha in big
</imagemap>
|annotations=
{{Annotation|80|90|'''[[Dzongkha]]'''}}
{{Annotation|199|97|'''[[Bumthang language|Bumthang]]'''}}
{{Annotation|232|25|[[Kurtöp language|Kurtöp]]}}
{{Annotation|272|56|[[Dzala language|Dzala]]}}
{{Annotation|310|41|[[Khams Tibetan|Khampa Tibetan]]}}
{{Annotation|144|65|[[Lakha language|Lakha]]}}
{{Annotation|171|108|[[Nyen language|Nyen]]}}
{{Annotation|180|126|[['Olekha|'Olekha (Monpa)]]}}
{{Annotation|202|67|[[Brokkat language|Brokkat]]}}
{{Annotation|276|85|[[Chocangacakha]]}}
{{Annotation|284|115|[[Chali language|Chali]]}}
{{Annotation|335|95|[[Dakpa language|Dakpa]]}}
{{Annotation|367|107|[[Brokpa language|Brokpa]]}}
{{Annotation|352|184|'''[[Nepali language|Nepali]]'''}}
{{Annotation|13|157|'''[[Nepali language|Nepali]]'''}}
{{Annotation|160|164|'''[[Nepali language|Nepali]]'''}}
{{Annotation|71|151|[[Lepcha language|Lepcha]]}}
{{Annotation|77|168|[[Lhokpu language|Lhokpu]]}}
{{Annotation|220|148|[[Kheng language|Kheng]]}}
{{Annotation|256|159|[[Gongduk language|Gongduk]]}}
{{Annotation|298|131|'''[[Tshangla language|Tshangla]]<br/>[[Tshangla language|(Sharchop)]]'''}}
}}
There are two dozen '''languages of Bhutan''', all members of the [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman language family]] except for [[Nepali language|Nepali]], which is an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]], and the [[Bhutanese Sign Language]].<ref name=vandriem98dzongkha>{{Cite book|publisher=Research CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies |isbn=90-5789-002-X |volume=1 |last=Van Driem |first=George L. |author-link=George van Driem |first2=K. |last2=Tshering |title=Dzongkha |series=Languages of the Greater Himalayan Region |year=1998}}</ref> [[Dzongkha]], the national language, is the only native language of [[Bhutan]] with a literary tradition, though [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]] and Nepali are literary languages in other countries.<ref name="vanDriem93" /> Other non-Bhutanese minority languages are also spoken along Bhutan's borders and among the primarily Nepali-speaking [[Lhotshampa]] community in South and East Bhutan. Chöke (or [[Classical Tibetan]]) is the language of the traditional literature and learning of the Buddhist monastics.

== Sino-Tibetan languages ==

Geographically, since [[Bhutan]] is predominantly located on the [[Tibetan plateau]], almost all spoken languages of the country belong to the family of [[Sino-Tibetan languages]], or more specifically, the [[Bodish languages|Bodish sprachbund]].

===Dzongkha and other Tibetic languages===
{{Culture of Bhutan}}
The Central Bodish languages are a group of related [[Tibetic languages]] descended from [[Old Tibetan]]. Most Bhutanese varieties of Central Bodish languages are of the Southern subgroup. At least six of the nineteen languages and dialects of Bhutan are Central Bodish languages.

Dzongkha is a Central Bodish language<ref name="vanDriem93" /> with approximately 160,000 native speakers as of 2006.<ref name=SIL1>{{Ethnologue15|dzo|Dzongkha}}</ref> It is the dominant language in Western Bhutan, where most native speakers are found. It was declared the national language of Bhutan in 1971.<ref>{{cite book |last=Van Driem |first=George |year=1991 |publisher=Sherub Lham Press |url=http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/files/driem/pdfs/1991Romanization.pdf |title=Guide to Official Dzongkha Romanization |access-date=2019-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228102936/http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/files/driem/pdfs/1991Romanization.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-28 |url-status=usurped |oclc=65799020}}</ref> Dzongkha study is mandatory in schools, and the majority of the population speaks it as a second language. It is the predominant language of government and [[Education in Bhutan|education]].<ref name="vanDriem93">{{cite web |url=http://repository.forcedmigration.org/pdf/?pid=fmo:3003 |title=Language Policy in Bhutan |last=van Driem |first=George L. |author-link=George van Driem |year=1993 |publisher=[[School of Oriental and African Studies|SOAS]] |location=[[London]] |format=PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911043324/http://repository.forcedmigration.org/pdf/?pid=fmo:3003 |archive-date=2018-09-11 |url-status=dead |access-date=2011-01-18}}</ref> The [[Chocangaca language]], a "sister language" to Dzongkha, is spoken in the [[Kuri Chhu|Kurichu Valley]] of Eastern Bhutan by about 20,000 people.<ref name="vanDriem93" />

The [[Lakha language|Lakha]] (8,000 speakers) and [[Brokkat language]]s (300 speakers) in Central Bhutan, as well as the [[Brokpa language]] (5,000 speakers) in far Eastern Bhutan, are also grouped by Van Driem (1993) into Central Bodish. These languages are remnants of what were originally pastoral [[yak]]herd communities.<ref name="vanDriem93" />

The [[Laya dialect]], closely related to Dzongkha, is spoken near the northwestern border with [[Tibet]] by some 1,100 [[Layap]]s. Layaps are an indigenous nomadic and semi-nomadic people who traditionally herd yaks and [[dzo]]s.<ref name=Kuensel1>{{cite news |url=http://www.kuenselonline.com/article.php?sid=3432 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031207122252/http://www.kuenselonline.com/article.php?sid=3432 |newspaper=[[Kuensel]] |title=Laya: Not Quite a Hidden Land |first=Kencho |last=Wangdi |date=2003-11-04 |archive-date=2003-12-07 |access-date=2011-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{Ethnologue16|lya|Layakha}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Dzongkha |volume=1 |series=Languages of the Greater Himalayan Region |first1=George |last1=van Driem |first2=Karma |last2=Tshering |publisher=Research CNWS, School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies |year=1998 |isbn=90-5789-002-X |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fiwOAAAAYAAJ |access-date=2011-09-27}}</ref> Dzongkha speakers enjoy a limited mutual intelligibility, mostly in basic vocabulary and grammar.<ref name=BBC1>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/layap/index.shtml |publisher=[[BBC Online]] |title=Tribe – Layap |date=2006-05-01 |access-date=2011-09-26}}</ref>

[[Khams Tibetan]] is spoken by about 1,000 people in two enclaves in Eastern Bhutan, also the descendants of pastoral yakherding communities.<ref name="vanDriem93" /> Although it also is a by all accounts a Tibetic language, its exact subgrouping is uncertain.

===East Bodish languages===

Eight of the languages of Bhutan are [[East Bodish languages]], not members of the closely related Tibetic group but still likely descended from a close kin.<ref name="Driem">van Driem, page 18</ref>

The [[Bumthang language]], or ''Bumthangkha'', is the dominant language in Central Bhutan. It has approximately 30,000 speakers. The [[Kheng language|Kheng]] and [[Kurtöp language]]s are closely related to Bumthang. They have 40,000 and 10,000 speakers, respectively.

The [[Dzala language]], or ''Dzalakha'', has about 15,000 speakers. The [[Nyen language]], also called ''Henkha'' or ''Mangdebikha'', and the [['Ole language]] (also called the "Black Mountain language" or "Mönkha") are spoken in the [[Black Mountains (Bhutan)|Black Mountains]] of Central Bhutan by about 10,000 and 3 speakers, respectively. Van Driem (1993) describes 'Ole as the remnant of the primordial population of the Black Mountains before the southward expansion of the ancient East Bodish tribes.<ref name="vanDriem93" />

The [[Dakpa language|Dakpa]] (''Dakpakha''), also known as Brami in Bhutan,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tshering |first=Karma |title=Languages of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook of the Greater Himalayan Region |publisher=Brill |year=2001}}</ref> and [[Chali language|Chali]] (''Chalikha'') languages are each spoken by about 1,000 people in Eastern Bhutan.<ref name="vanDriem93" />

===Other Tibeto-Burman languages===
{{Css Image Crop
|Image = SinoTibetanTree.svg
|bSize = 1000
|cWidth = 345
|cHeight = 215
|oTop = 240
|oLeft = 650
|Location = right
|Description = Part of the [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]] language family, largely following Thurgood and La Polla (2003).<ref name=Thurgood>{{cite book|last1=Thurgood |first1=Graham |last2=LaPolla |first2=Randy J. (ed.s) |year=2003 |title=Sino-Tibetan Languages |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |ISBN=0-7007-1129-5}}</ref> Here, the [[Monpa language|Monpa]] and [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]] languages are shown as sister languages to Old Tibetan (all are grouped into the [[Bodish languages|Bodic languages]]).
}}
Other Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken in Bhutan. These languages are more distantly related to the [[Bodish languages]], and are not necessarily members of any common subgroup.

The [[Tshangla language]], a subfamily of its own of the [[Bodish languages]], has approximately 138,000 speakers. It is the mother tongue of the Tshangla people, generally known by its exonym [[Sharchops]]. It is the dominant language in Eastern Bhutan and was formerly spoken as a ''[[lingua franca]]'' in the region.<ref name="vanDriem93" />

The [[Gongduk language]] is an endangered language that has approximately 1,000 speakers in isolated villages along the [[Kuri Chhu]] river in Eastern Bhutan. It appears to be the sole representative of a unique branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family,<ref>{{cite web |author=Himalayan Languages Project |author-link=Himalayan Languages Project |title=Gongduk |publisher=Himalayan Languages Project |url=http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/?q=languages/gongduk |access-date=2009-11-06 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726151453/http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/?q=languages%2Fgongduk |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}</ref> and retains the complex verbal agreement system of Proto-Tibeto-Burman.<ref name=SIL2>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=goe |title=Gongduk: A language of Bhutan |work=[[Ethnologue]] Online |publisher=[[SIL International]] |location=[[Dallas]] |access-date=2009-11-06}}</ref> Van Driem (1993) describes its speakers as a remnant of the ancient population of Central Bhutan before the southward expansion of the East Bodish tribes.<ref name="vanDriem93" />

The [[Lhokpu language]] has approximately 2,500 speakers. It is one of the autochthonous languages of Bhutan and is yet unclassified within Tibeto-Burmese. Van Driem (1993) describes it as the remnant of "the primordial population of Western Bhutan," and comments that Lhokpu or a close relative appears to have been the substrate language for Dzongkha, explaining the various ways in which Dzongkha diverged from Tibetan.<ref name="vanDriem93" /> It is spoken by the [[Lhop people]].

===Border languages===
The [[Lepcha language]] has approximately 2,000 ethnic [[Lepcha people]] in Bhutan.<ref name="vanDriem93" /> It has its own highly stylized [[Lepcha script]].

The [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]] and [[Groma language]]s, both [[Tibetan languages]], are spoken along the Sikkim-Bhutan and Tibet-Bhutan borders in Western Bhutan. {{Citation needed|date=January 2014}}

The [[Toto language]] is generally classified as belonging to the [[West Himalayish languages|sub-Himalayan]] branch of the Tibeto-Burman family.<ref name=Kolig/> It is spoken by the isolated [[Toto tribe]] in [[Totopara]] and along the [[West Bengal]]-Bhutan border in South Bhutan. The total Toto population was about 1,300 people in 2006,<ref name=Kolig>{{cite book |first=Samar Kumar |last=Biswas |title=Identity in Crossroad Civilisations: Ethnicity, Nationalism and Globalism in Asia |editor-last1=Kolig |editor-first1=Erich |editor-last2=Angeles |editor-first2=Vivienne SM. |editor-last3=Wong |editor-first3=Sam |chapter=Socio-Economic Crisis and Its Consequenceson a Little Known Tribal Community inWest Bengal, India |page=99 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Amsterdam University Press]] |location=[[Amsterdam]] |isbn=978-90-8964-127-4 |hdl=20.500.12657/35305 |hdl-access=free |doi=10.5117/9789089641274 |doi-access=free}}</ref> mainly on the [[India]]n side of the border.

== Indo-European languages ==

=== Indic languages ===
The [[Nepali language]] is the only [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] spoken by native Bhutanese. Inside Bhutan, it is spoken primarily in the south by the approximately 265,000 resident [[Lhotshampa]] as of 2006.<ref>{{Ethnologue16}}</ref> While the Lhotshampa are generally regarded as Nepali speakers (linguistically), the Lhotshampa include many smaller non-Indo-Aryan (esp. non-Gorkhali) groups such as the [[Tamang people|Tamang]]<ref name=Rep&Wal/> and [[Gurung]]<ref name=Rep&Wal>{{cite book|first1=Sarah |last1=Repucci |first2=Christopher |last2=Walker |title=Countries at the Crossroads: A Survey of Democratic Governance |year=2005 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |page=92 |isbn=0-7425-4972-0}}</ref> in Southern Bhutan, and the [[Kirant]]i groups (including the [[Rai people|Rai]] and [[Limbu people|Limbu]] peoples) found in Eastern Bhutan. Among these minorities are speakers of [[Camling language|Chamling]], [[Limbu language|Limbu]], and [[Nepal Bhasa]].

=== European languages ===
Although the [[English language]] does not have an official status, practically it is considered as a [[second language]] of the educated class of [[Bhutanese people]], as a language of administration, education, media, businesses, etc.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Karma |last=Tshering |title=The Status and Role of English as a Language of Administration in Bhutan |journal=Journal of World Englishes and Educational Practices |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=31–43 |date=23 October 2020 |doi=10.32996/jweep.2020.2.4.4 |url=https://al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/jweep/article/view/66|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100822182059/http://www.dzongkha.gov.bt/index.en.html Dzongkha Development Commission] - Official language body of Bhutan

{{Languages of Bhutan}}
{{Bodic languages}}
{{Sino-Tibetan branches}}
{{Bhutan topics}}
{{Bhutanese society}}
{{Languages of South Asia}}
{{Asia topic|Languages of}}

[[Category:Languages of Bhutan| ]]

[[no:Folk og språk i Bhutan#Mindre språk]]