Welcome to the Dzongkha-Gnome website hosted at savannah. This is the home page of the Dzongkha Localization Project. The goal of this project is to incorporate Dzongkha script into the Linux Operating System to enable computing in Dzongkha thereby striving to provide the benefit of Information Technology to the Bhutanese masses who cannot read English. This project was undertaken with this notion of enhancing the accessibility of technology to a wider range of Bhutanese masses.
To realise the goal of this project, the Dzongkha Localization team is at present localizing the following software components:
Dzongkha, Sometimes called Bhutanese, is the national language of Kingdom of Bhutan. Dzongkha is written using the letters of the same script used for writing the Tibetan language (\x0F00 - \x0FCF). There are thirty(30) consonant letters and five(5) vowels, one of which is inherent (vowel A) and therefore unmarked, and four vowels I,U,E, and O (\x0F72, \x0F74, \x0F7A and \x0F7C respectively) that are written either above or below the consonant letter(s). Dzongkha is written syllable by syllable, with each syllable separated by a TSHEG (\x0F0B) or its equivalent. Strings of syllables are typically terminated by a SHAD (\x0F0D) or similar mark, or by a space character.
This project is implemented by the Royal Government of Bhutan and is being funded by International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada, through its Pan Asia Networking (PAN) Program which encourages regional initiatives to develop Local Language Computing Capacity in Asia.
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