Standard Tibetan, often called
Central Tibetan, in
Tibetan script: བོད་སྐད་, is the official language of the
Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is based on the speech of
Lhasa, an
Ü-Tsang dialect of
Dbus Ü, one of the
Central Tibetan languages. The written language is based on
Classical Tibetan and is highly conservative.
Registers
- Phal-skad: the vernacular speech.
- Zhe-sa ("polite respectful speech"): the formal spoken style, particularly prominent in Lhasa.
- Chos-skad ("religious language"): the literary style in which the scriptures and other classical works are written.
Grammar
right|200px|thumb|Stone tablets with prayers in Tibetan language at a Temple in McLeod Ganj Syntax and word order
- * adjectives generally follow nouns in Tibetan, unless the two are linked by a genitive particle
- * objects and adverbs precede the verb, as do adjectives in copular clauses
- * a noun marked with the genitive case precedes the noun which it modifies
- * demonstratives and numerals follow the noun they modify
Numerals
right|thumb|Pejas, scriptures of [[Tibetan Buddhism, at a library in
Dharamsala, India]]
Unlike many other languages of
East Asia, there are no numeral auxiliaries or
measure words used in counting in Tibetan, although words expressive of a collective or integral are often used after the tens, and sometimes after a smaller number.
In scientific and astrological works, the
numerals, as in
Sanskrit, are expressed by symbolical words.
Writing system
Tibetan is written with an
Indic script, with a historically conservative orthography that reflects
Old Tibetan phonology and helps unify the Tibetan-language area.
Wylie transliteration is the most common system of
romanization used by Western scholars in rendering written Tibetan using the
Latin alphabet (such as employed on much of this page).
- Among the initials, five — ག g, ད d, བ b, མ m, འ ' — are regarded as prefixes, and are called so for all purposes, though they belong sometimes to the stem. As a rule, none of these letters can be placed before any of the same organic class. The language is much ruled by laws of euphony, which have been strictly formulated by native grammarians.
Phonology of modern Lhasa Tibetan
The following summarizes the sound system of the dialect of Tibetan spoken in
Lhasa, which is the most influential variety of the spoken language
Vowels
Tournadre and Sangda Dorje describe eight vowels in the standard language:
Three additional vowels are sometimes described as significantly distinct: [ʌ] or [ə], which is normally an allophone of [a]; [ɔ], which is normally an allophone of [o]; and [ɛ̈] (an unrounded, centralised, mid front vowel), which is normally an allophone of [e]. These sounds normally occur in closed syllables; because Tibetan does not allow
geminated consonants, there are cases where one syllable ends with the same sound as the one following it, with the result that the first is pronounced as an open syllable but retains the vowel typical of a closed syllable. For instance,
zhabs (foot) is pronounced [ɕʌp] and
pad (contraction of
padma,
lotus) is pronounced [pɛʔ], but the compound word,
zhabs pad is pronounced [ɕʌpɛʔ]. This process can result in minimal pairs between sounds that are otherwise allophones.
Sources vary on whether the [ɛ̈] phoneme (resulting from [e] in a closed syllable) and the [ɛ] phoneme (resulting from [a] through the
i-mutation) are distinct or basically identical.
Phonemic vowel length exists in Lhasa Tibetan, but appears in a restricted set of circumstances. Assimilation of Classical Tibetan's suffixed vowels—normally
‘i (འི་)—at the end of a word produces a long vowel in Lhasa Tibetan; this feature is sometimes omitted in phonetic transcriptions. In normal spoken pronunciation, a lengthening of the vowel is also frequently substituted for the sounds [r] and [l] when they occur at the end of a syllable.
The vowels , , , , and each have nasalized forms: , , , , and , respectively. Historically, this results from a syllable-final /n/, such as /in/, /en/, etc. In some unusual cases, the vowels , , and may also be nasalised.
Tones
The Lhasa dialect is usually described as having two tones: high and low. However, in monosyllabic words, each tone can occur with two distinct contours. The high tone can be pronounced with either a flat or a falling contour, while the low tone can be pronounced with either a flat or rising-falling contour, the latter being a tone that rises to a medium level before falling again. It is normally safe to distinguish only between the two tones, because there are very few
minimal pairs which differ only because of contour. The difference only occurs in certain words ending in the sounds [m] or [ŋ]; for instance, the word
kham (, "piece") is pronounced with a high flat tone, while the word
Khams (, "the
Kham region") is pronounced with a high falling tone.
In polysyllabic words, tone is only important in the first syllable.
Consonants
Notes:
- The unaspirated stops , , , and typically become voiced in the low tone, being pronounced , , , and , respectively. These sounds are regarded as allophones. By a similar process, the aspirated stops , , , and are typically lightly aspirated in the low tone. The dialect of upper social strata in Lhasa does not use voiced stops in the low tone.
- The consonants , , , , , and may appear in syllable-final positions. The Classical Tibetan final is still present, but its modern pronunciation is normally realized as a nasalisation of the preceding vowel, rather than as a discrete consonant (see above). Note that is not pronounced in the final position of a word, except in highly formal speech. Also, syllable-final and are often not clearly pronounced, but instead realized as a lengthening of the preceding vowel. The phonemic glottal stop appears only at the end of words in place of an , , or which were pronounced in Classical Tibetan but have since been elided. For instance, the word for Tibet itself was Bod in Classical Tibetan and is now pronounced in the Lhasa dialect.
Studies
Since at least around the 7th century when the Han Chinese came into contact with the Tibetans, phonetics and grammar of Tibetan have been studied and documented. Tibetans also studied their own language, mostly for purposes of translation, diplomacy with
India and
China, and religion (
Buddhism).
Indian
Indologist and
Linguist,
Rahul Sankrityayan had written
Hindi Tibetan grammar. Some of his other works in
Tibetan were:
- Tibbati Bal-Siksha - 1933
- Pathavali (Vol. 1,2 & 3) - 1933
- Tibbat May Budh Dharm-1948
Western linguists who arrived at Tibet in the 18th and 19th centuries include:
- H. A. Jäschke of the Moravian mission which was established in Ladak in 1857, and .
- * Cassian di Macerata sent home materials which were utilized by the Augustine friar Aug. Antonio Georgi of Rimini (1711–1797) in his Alphabetum Tibetanum (Rome, 1762, 4t0), a ponderous and confused compilation, which may be still referred to, but with great caution.
- At St Petersburg, Isaac Jacob Schmidt published his in 1839 and his Tibetisch-deutsches Wörterbuch in 1841. His access to Mongolian sources had enabled him to enrich the results of his labours with a certain amount of information unknown to his predecessors. His Tibetische Studien (1851–1868) is a valuable collection of documents and observations.
- In France, P. E. Foucaux published in 1847 a translation from the Rgya tcher rol-pa, the Tibetan version of the Lalita Vistara, and in 1858 a Grammaire thibitaine
- Ant. Schiefner of St Petersburg in 1849 his series of translations and researches.
- Theos Bernard, a PhD scholar of religion from Columbia University, explorer and practitioner of Yoga and Tibetan Buddhism, published, after his 1936/37 trip to India and Tibet, . See the 'Books' section.
A good bibliography of Tibetan linguistic research is available.
Possible survival threats
Chinese sources claim that in much of Tibet,
primary education is conducted either primarily or entirely in the Tibetan language, and bilingual education is rarely introduced before students reach
middle school. However, Chinese is the language of instruction of most Tibetan
secondary schools. Students that continue on to
tertiary education have the option of studying
humanistic disciplines in Tibetan at a number of Minority colleges in
China. This contrasts with Tibetan schools in
Dharamsala, India, where the Ministry of Human Resource Development curriculum requires academic subjects be taught in English beginning in middle school. Literacy and enrollment rates continue to be the main concern of the Chinese government. A large proportion of the adult population in Tibet remains illiterate, and despite
compulsory education policies, many parents in rural areas are unable to send their children to school.
In February 2008
Norman Baker UK MP, released a statement to mark
International Mother Language Day saying "The Chinese government are following a deliberate policy of extinguishing all that is Tibetan, including their own language in their own country. It may be obvious, but Tibetan should be the official language of Tibet. The world must act. Time is running out for Tibet." The rights of Tibetans, under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration on
Cultural Diversity are to "express themselves and to create and disseminate their work in the language of their choice, and particularly in their mother tongue", as well as being "entitled to quality education and training that fully respect their cultural identity".
Some scholars have questioned this claim, however, as most Tibetans continue to reside in rural areas where Chinese is rarely spoken. Lhasa and other Tibetan cities have now become largely Chinese. In the Texas Journal of International Law, Barry Sautman stated that "none of the many recent studies of endangered languages deems Tibetan to be imperiled, and language maintenance among Tibetans contrasts with language loss even in the remote areas of Western states renowned for liberal policies...claims that primary schools in Tibet teach putonghua are in error. Tibetan was the main language of instruction in 98% of TAR primary schools in 1996; today,
putonghua is introduced in early grades only in urban schools...Because less than four out of ten TAR Tibetans reach secondary school, primary school matters most for their cultural formation." On the other hand, Tibetans in India have noted a decline in the linguistic performance of newly arrived refugees fleeing their homeland.
Tibetologist Elliot Sperling has also noted that "within certain limits in the
PRC does make efforts to accommodate Tibetan cultural expression" and "the cultural activity taking place all over the Tibetan plateau cannot be ignored."
The most importatnt Tibetan branch of language under threat is however the Ladakhi language of Western Tibetan group, in the Ladakh region, India. In Leh, a slow but gradual process whereby the Tibetan vernacular is supplanted by English and Hindi and there is gradual sign of lost of Tibetan culture
See also
