Tibet Language
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The Tibetan language is generally classified as a Tibeto-Burman
language of the Sino-Tibetan language family although the boundaries
between 'Tibetan' and certain other Himalayan languages can be
unclear. According to Matthew Kapstein:
From the perspective of historical linguistics, Tibetan most closely
resembles Burmese among the major languages of Asia. Grouping these
two together with other apparently related languages spoken in the
Himalayan lands, as well as in the highlands of Southeast Asia and the
Sino-Tibetan frontier regions, linguists have generally concluded that
there exists a Tibeto-Burman family of languages. More controversial
is the theory that the Tibeto-Burman family is itself part of a larger
language family, called Sino-Tibetan, and that through it Tibetan and
Burmese are distant cousins of Chinese.[13]
The language is spoken in numerous regional dialects which, although
sometimes mutually intelligible, generally cannot be understood by the
speakers of the different oral forms of Tibetan. It is employed
throughout the Tibetan plateau and Bhutan and is also spoken in parts
of Nepal and northern India, such as Sikkim. In general, the dialects
of central Tibet (including Lhasa), Kham, Amdo and some smaller nearby
areas are considered Tibetan dialects. Other forms, particularly
Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Sherpa, and Ladakhi, are considered by their
speakers, largely for political reasons, to be separate languages.
However, if the latter group of Tibetan-type languages are included in
the calculation then 'greater Tibetan' is spoken by approximately 6
million people across the Tibetan Plateau. Tibetan is also spoken by
approximately 150,000 exile speakers who have fled from modern-day
Tibet to India and other countries.
A Tibetan woman in LhasaAlthough spoken Tibetan varies according to
the region, the written language, based on Classical Tibetan, is
consistent throughout. This is probably due to the long-standing
influence of the Tibetan empire, whose rule embraced (and extended at
times far beyond) the present Tibetan linguistic area, which runs from
northern Pakistan in the west to Yunnan and Sichuan in the east, and
from north of the Kokonor lake (Qinghai) south as far as Bhutan. The
Tibetan language has its own script which it shares with Ladakhi and
Dzongkha, and which is derived from the ancient Indian Brāhmī script.
[14]
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