Roman Dzongkha is the official romanization of Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan. It was developed by the Dzongkha Development Commission in 1991 and represents modern Dzongkha pronunciation as spoken in Thimphu and Punakha.
Consonants Roman Dzongkha uses the following consonant symbols:
Consonants in green are always followed by a high tone vowel. Consonants in blue are always followed by a low tone vowel. Consonants in red follow a low tone vowel by default, but can also be followed by a high tone vowel (see ).
ConsonantsRoman DzongkhaTibetan letterWylie transliterationIPADescriptionk kUnaspirated k, like in English skill.kh khAspirated k, like in English kiss.g rgLike the g in English goal.g° gUnaspirated k, but followed by a murmured vowel.c cAlveolar-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ch in English churchyard.ch chAlveolar-palatal, aspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ch in English punchy.j rjAlveolar-palatal, voiced. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the j in English jeep.j° jLike c, but followed by a murmured vowel.t tUnaspirated t, like in English stop.th thAspirated t, like in English take.d rdLike the d in English date.d° dUnaspirated t, but followed by a murmured vowel.p pUnaspirated p, like in English space.ph phAspirated p, like in English part.b rbLike the b in English boat.b° bUnaspirated p, but followed by a murmured vowel.pc py[ptɕ]A combination of p + c.pch phy[ptɕʰ]A combination of p + ch.bj sby[bdʑ]A combination of b + j.bj° by[b̥d̥ʑ]~[ptɕ]Like pc, but followed by a murmured vowel.tr krthr khrdr sbrdr° brts tsUnaspirated. Like the zz in English pizza.tsh tshAspirated. Like the ts in English bats.dz dzLike the ds in English loads.sh shAlveolo-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the sh in English push.zh gzhzh° zhs sLike the s in English snake.z gzLike the z in English zipper.z° zLike s, but followed by a murmured vowel.y y Like the y in English year.w w Like the w in English water.r rhr hrl lLike the l in English lake.lh lhn nLike the n in English name.ng ngLike the ng in English song.ny nyLike the ñ in Spanish jalapeño.m mLike the m in English make.h hLike the h in English hat.
Vowels Roman Dzongkha uses the following vowel symbols:
VowelsRoman DzongkhaIPADescriptionaLike the a in English father.âLike the a in English father, but longer.äLike the e in English let, but longer.eêiLike the ee in English bee, but shorter.îLike the ee in English bee.oôöLike the ö in German schön.uLike the oo in English boot, but shorter.ûLike the oo in English boot.üLike the u in French tu, but longer.
Note: vowels are always long before ng, so â, ê, î and û do not occur in that position.
Tones Standard Dzongkha is a tonal language with two tones. As mentioned in , certain consonants are always followed by either a high or low tone, making the tone predictable for words starting with those consonants. In Roman Dzongkha, tone is only indicated when it is unpredictable, that is, when a word starts with a vowel, voiced nasal or a glide. The low tone is always unmarked. The high tone is indicated by an apostrophe immediately preceding the letter: 'a, 'n, 'y, etc. The rising and falling tones of the central Dzongkha dialects are not indicated in Roman Dzongkha.
Examples
Tibetan script Wylie Roman Dzongkha Meaning Notes sa khra sapthra map In Roman Dzongkha, p sometimes appears at the end of a syllable, even though it is not present in Tibetan script. 'char gzhi charzhi governmental Syllable-final r only occurs in literary words and names borrowed from Classical Tibetan. It's always dropped in native Dzongkha words. lto tshang totsha friend Syllable-final ng is sometimes dropped in Roman Dzongkha. This is not predictable. blta shig tash look (imperative) Syllable-final sh corresponds to the particle shig in Tibetan script.
The lyrics to the national anthem of Bhutan, "Druk Tsenden":
Dzongkha originalRoman DzongkhaIPA Official English translationIn the Kingdom of Bhutan adorned with cypress trees, The Protector who reigns over the realm of spiritual and secular traditions, He is the King of Bhutan, the precious sovereign. May His being remain unchanging, and the Kingdom prosper, May the teachings of the Enlightened One flourish, May the sun of peace and happiness shine over all people.
See also
Tibetan pinyin Wylie transliteration
Notes
References