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.
Roman Dzongkha uses the following consonant symbols:[1]
| Consonants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Dzongkha | IPA | Description | ||
| k | pronounced as /[k]/ | Unaspirated k, like in English skill. | ||
| kh | pronounced as /[kʰ]/ | Aspirated k, like in English kiss. | ||
| g | pronounced as /[g]/ | Like the g in English goal. | ||
| g° | pronounced as /[g̥]~[k]/ | Unaspirated k, but followed by a murmured vowel. | ||
| c | pronounced as /[tɕ]/ | Alveolar-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ch in English churchyard. | ||
| ch | pronounced as /[tɕʰ]/ | Alveolar-palatal, aspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the ch in English punchy. | ||
| j | pronounced as /[dʑ]/ | Alveolar-palatal, voiced. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the j in English jeep. | ||
| j° | pronounced as /[d̥ʑ]~[tɕ]/ | Like c, but followed by a murmured vowel. | ||
| t | pronounced as /[t]/ | Unaspirated t, like in English stop. | ||
| th | pronounced as /[tʰ]/ | Aspirated t, like in English take. | ||
| d | pronounced as /[d]/ | Like the d in English date. | ||
| d° | pronounced as /[d̥]~[t]/ | Unaspirated t, but followed by a murmured vowel. | ||
| p | pronounced as /[p]/ | Unaspirated p, like in English space. | ||
| ph | pronounced as /[pʰ]/ | Aspirated p, like in English part. | ||
| b | pronounced as /[b]/ | Like the b in English boat. | ||
| b° | pronounced as /[b̥]~[p]/ | Unaspirated p, but followed by a murmured vowel. | ||
| pc | [ptɕ] | A combination of p + c. | ||
| pch | [ptɕʰ] | A combination of p + ch. | ||
| bj | [bdʑ] | A combination of b + j. | ||
| bj° | [b̥d̥ʑ]~[ptɕ] | Like pc, but followed by a murmured vowel. | ||
| tr | pronounced as /[ʈ]/ | |||
| thr | pronounced as /[ʈʰ]/ | |||
| dr | pronounced as /[ɖ]/ | |||
| dr° | pronounced as /[ɖ̥]~[ʈ]/ | |||
| ts | pronounced as /[ts]/ | Unaspirated. Like the zz in English pizza. | ||
| tsh | pronounced as /[tsʰ]/ | Aspirated. Like the ts in English bats. | ||
| dz | pronounced as /[dz]/ | Like the ds in English loads. | ||
| sh | pronounced as /[ɕ]/ | Alveolo-palatal, unaspirated. No direct equivalent in English, but similar to the sh in English push. | ||
| zh | pronounced as /[ʑ]/ | |||
| zh° | pronounced as /[ʑ̥]~[ɕ]/ | |||
| s | pronounced as /[s]/ | Like the s in English snake. | ||
| z | pronounced as /[z]/ | Like the z in English zipper. | ||
| z° | pronounced as /[z̥]~[s]/ | Like s, but followed by a murmured vowel. | ||
| y | pronounced as /[j]/ | Like the y in English year. | ||
| w | pronounced as /[w]/ | Like the w in English water. | ||
| r | pronounced as /[r]/ | |||
| hr | pronounced as /[r̥]/ | |||
| l | pronounced as /[l]/ | Like the l in English lake. | ||
| lh | pronounced as /[ɬ]/ | |||
| n | pronounced as /[n]/ | Like the n in English name. | ||
| ng | pronounced as /[ŋ]/ | Like the ng in English song. | ||
| ny | pronounced as /[ɲ]/ | |||
| m | pronounced as /[m]/ | Like the m in English make. | ||
| h | pronounced as /[h]/ | Like the h in English hat. | ||
Roman Dzongkha uses the following vowel symbols:[2]
| Vowels | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Dzongkha | IPA | Description | ||
| a | pronounced as /[ɑ]/ | Like the a in English father. | ||
| â | pronounced as /[aː]/ | Like the a in English father, but longer. | ||
| ä | pronounced as /[ɛː]/ | Like the e in English let, but longer. | ||
| e | pronounced as /[e]/ | |||
| ê | pronounced as /[eː]/ | |||
| i | pronounced as /[i]/ | Like the ee in English bee, but shorter. | ||
| î | pronounced as /[iː]/ | Like the ee in English bee. | ||
| o | pronounced as /[o]/ | |||
| ô | pronounced as /[oː]/ | |||
| ö | pronounced as /[øː]/ | |||
| u | pronounced as /[u]/ | Like the oo in English boot, but shorter. | ||
| û | pronounced as /[uː]/ | Like the oo in English boot. | ||
| ü | pronounced as /[yː]/ | Like 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.
Standard Dzongkha is a tonal language with two tones. As mentioned in
| Tibetan Script | Roman Dzongkha | Meaning | Notes[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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):[5]
. George van Driem. The Grammar of Dzongkha. Thimphu, Bhutan . Dzongkha Development Commission of the Royal Government of Bhutan. 1992.