If we use the way that our MPs
used to speak in the Parliament as the baseline and compare them with the
status quo, I can proudly say that almost all of them have improved, both in
terms of confidence and spoken Dzongkha. (We should not however forget that
there are quite a handful of them who have hardly stood up to make their points
in the parliament and therefore, their Dzongkha would have remained almost the
same as how it was five years ago. But that is a different story, altogether).
We have always been complaining
about Dzongkha not being used as widely as English. If we analyze, the
candidates of the National Council and National Assembly exclusively use
Dzongkha to debate and present their manifestoes; in electioneering, in a
nutshell. Parliamentarians use our national language to debate, deliberate and enact laws in the parliaments. What greater platform can we expect our national language
to be used in?
The effect does not stop there! The
debates are aired live on BBS. Many of us have followed them, thereby improving
Dzongkha vocabulary among the viewers. Moreover, there are so many aspiring MPs
among us. If we are to ever think of contesting an election, Dzongkha is the
most essential prerequisite. Students who aim to take up politics after their
graduation might also be learning Dzongkha more seriously. It is also very
important for the electorate to understand Dzongkha in order to make an
informed choice of a party/candidate.
The whole election process means learning/knowing Dzongkha! Therefore, I genuinely feel that it has immensely contributed in promoting our national language nationwide. This is a brighter side of
the status of our national language that merits our appreciation, rather than lamenting
about the limitations all the time.
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