The Status and Role of English as a Language of Administration in Bhutan

Abstract

English as a language of the world has reached into the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan from the time of the colonisation of India by the British and this paper examined the status and role of English as a language of administration in the country. English in Bhutan is regarded as EFL while Nepal and Bangladesh has the status of L2. Therefore, why not the status of English in Bhutan is L2 as the country lies in the same geographical zone- sharing boarders with India and Nepal. The results presented in this paper accounts with various views and opinions given by 104 respondents from different organisations. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics and the study found out that English in Bhutan has the status of L2 by having adopted it as a language of administration, education, media, businesses, etc. The findings revealed that English is used more than the national language Dzongkha with more than (80%) of the tasks being performed in English in various domains. The study also showed 100% English usage in banking, communication outside the country and 90-100% in e-communication, confirming the fact that English is used as a language of administration. Interestingly, this study reported that English language is preferred in the families as a language of convenience.

College Students’ Attitudes Towards Reading Dzongkha and Its Implications on Bhutan

“…Less than one percentage (624) of them was written in both Dzongkha and English. This is further substantiated by Tshering (2020) whose study noted English as the dominant language in all types of organizations with over 80% of the tasks performed in English. According to Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (n.d.), only two of the seven print media houses publish their news in Dzongkha apparently due to poor sales of Dzongkha newspapers.…”

“…Such desires call for tangible actions from stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education and the Royal University of Bhutan. However, considering the dominance of English in education, business, media houses and governmental or private offices (Tshering, 2020) and on social media and digital platforms, it is likely to face enormous challenges, and more so when key players such as teachers and parents mostly use English for written communication (see Wangmo, 2021). Slight variations between the means of the two reading dimensions suggest that the respondents apparently read more Dzongkha texts for academic (mean=3.16, SD=0.824) than recreational (mean=3.06, SD=0.846) purpose although the general attitude towards both the dimensions remained positive.…”

“…(I4). This may be the consequential effect of adopting English as an administrative language (see Tshering, 2020) and absence of intensive credited Dzongkha modules in English-medium colleges. Limited use of Dzongkha for learning and teaching in all schools, lack of parental support, and fewer career options for Dzongkha graduates are other reasons (Phurpa, 2021).…”