Dzongkha

Uncommon card · No. 79414

Dzongkha (རྫོང་ཁ་ [d͡zòŋkʰɑ́]), also known by its exonym Bhutanese, is a Tibetic language spoken primarily by the Bhutanese people. It is the official and national language of Bhutan, and is written using the Tibetan script in formal contexts, with informal correspondence in the Joyig script. The word dzongkha means "the language of the fortress", from dzong "fortress" and kha "language". As of 2013, Dzongkha had 171,080 native speakers and about 640,000 total speakers. Dzongkha is a South Tibetic language. It is closely related to Laya and Lunana and partially intelligible with Sikkimese, and to some other Bhutanese languages such as Chochangachakha, Brokpa, Brokkat and Lakha. It has a more distant relationship to Standard Tibetan.

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