Blank Dictionary
Update May 2024: Dear beloved users. We are currently facing some issues regarding our mobile app on the Google Play store. The app has been taken down by Google, but we are working on uploading a replacement app. We hope you are able to bare with us as we figure this situation out and we thank you for your patience.
Kuzu Zangpo! Welcome to the trial version of the Bhutia/ Lhokyed Online Dictionary
Website and App!
Thank you for taking the time to experiment with using this Dictionary website and app.
You have been invited as part of a trial group to use this version for one month. Please do
not share this website address or app with people who are not part of the trial group.
Before using this website/ app, please note:
1. There is no standardized way to spell Bhutia/ Lhokyed words in the English
alphabet. We have therefore tried to include multiple ways to spell and pronounce
each word, and hope that you will be able to find terms in the site/app using a
spelling that reflects what you are accustomed to.
2. There is also no standardized way to spell Bhutia/ Lhokyed words in Bhutia/
Lhokyed script. For readers of Tibetan, please note our spelling is based on
Bhutia/Lhokyed and not Tibetan pronunciation.
3. To respond to this issue, we have adapted common ways of spelling Bhutia/
Lhokyed terms from two reputable dictionaries that were assembled by leading
scholars of Bhutia/ Lhokyed language and culture.
- Norden Tshering and Pema Rinzin Takchungdarpo, Bhutia-English
Dictionary (Gangtok: Kwality Stores, 2001) – acknowledged in relevant
entries as 2001
- Pintso Bhutia, Bhutia English Dictionary (Gangtok: Pintso Bhutia, 2004
[2005 edition]) – acknowledged in relevant entries as 2004 [2005]
In instances where these dictionaries did not have a term of spelling available, the
Bhutia/ Lhokyed Dictionary Working Group (BLDWG) has suggested a potential
spelling.
For some common words, we adopted Tibetan spelling from
- Melvyn C. Goldstein and Ngawangthondup Narkyid, English-Tibetan
Dictionary of Modern Tibetan (Berkeley: University of California, 1984) –
acknowledged in relevant entries as Goldstein and Narkyid.
We have followed this approach in the hope that this tool can be used by teachers
and students using Government materials created for schools and universities in
Sikkim.
There are many different approaches and philosophies in circulation about how
Bhutia/ Lho kyed should be spelled, and there is no correct or incorrect answer to
these questions. In the future, we hope that scholars of Bhutia/ Lhokyed will
develop a single system for spelling and transliteration.
4. If you see mistakes, or would like to suggest additional words, please select the
tab and send us a message! We would very much value your feedback to make
this a useful dictionary.
If we use one of the translations you provide, we will credit you in the word entry.
5. We have only included a set number of words at this point and will be adding
more words to the dictionary. If there is a word you would like to see included,
please send us a message.
6. We hope in the future we can have more languages included in this website/ app.
If you have any friends or colleagues from different language communities, or
have suggestions about this, please contact us.
In our survey groups in 2019, there were many suggestions about including additional
information. Because we wanted to release the website/ app so people can start using it as
soon as possible, we have not included all of these helpful suggestions. If there is
something you think should definitely be included, please send us a message.
At the end of the trial, we will send you a brief survey to get your feedback before we
release the next version of the app for public use. Thank you for your helpful feedback!
The Bhutia/ Lhokyed Dictionary Working Group