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Microsoft Outlaws Dzongkha

Stefan Tilkov,

From the excellent Language Log:

So there you have it. China objects to the language name Dzongkha because of an imaginary association with the leader of the legitimate government of its Tibetan colony. In order to please China, Microsoft refuses to use the generally accepted name for the national language of Bhutan. Now there’s a company with principles.

On November 3, 2005 2:07 PM, Loek said:

At least it shows that MSFT still thinks they are not beating a dead horse when trying to penetrate the Chinese market, which is being dominated by Linux and illegal Windows copies ;-).

On November 3, 2005 11:57 PM, Stefan Tilkov said:

That may be true. The whole affair still leaves a sour taste in my mouth; I cannot imagine the PRC would base their decision on this fact, so this seems like superpleasing to me. What’s next, banishing any mention of “Taiwan”?