The Tibetan language or Tibetic languages are a branch of the Tibeto-Burman languages in the Sino-Tibetan language family.Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptive linguistics of the Himalayan area. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Descending from Old Tibetan, there are 50 recognized Tibetic languages, which branch into more than 200 dialects, which can be grouped into eight dialect continua. These Tibetic languages are spoken in parts of China, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, India and Myanmar. Classical Tibetan is the major literary language, particularly for its use in Tibetan Buddhist scriptures and literature.
Tibetan languages are spoken by some 6 million people, not all of whom are Tibetan. (preprint) With the worldwide spread of Tibetan Buddhism, the Tibetan language has also spread into the western world and can be found in many Buddhist publications and prayer materials, while western students also learn the language for the translation of Tibetan texts. Outside of Lhasa itself, Lhasa Tibetan is spoken by approximately 200,000 exiled Tibetans who have moved from Tibet to India, Nepal and other countries. Tibetan is also spoken by groups of ethnic minorities in Tibet who have lived in close proximity to Tibetans for centuries, but nevertheless retain their own languages and cultures.
Although the Qiang peoples of Kham are classified by China as ethnic Tibetan, the Qiangic languages are not Tibetan, but rather form their own branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family.
Classical Tibetan was not a tonal language, but many varieties such as Central and Khams Tibetan have developed tone registers. Amdo and Ladakhi-Balti are without tone. Tibetan morphology can generally be described as agglutinative.
Terminology Although the term "Tibetic" had been applied in various ways within the Sino-Tibetan research tradition, Nicolas Tournadre defined it as a phylum derived from Old Tibetan. Following Nishi (1987) and Beyer (1992), he identified several lexical innovations that can be used as a diagnosis to distinguish Tibetic from the other languages of the family, such as "seven".
The "Tibetic languages" in this sense are a substitute for the term "Tibetan languages/dialects" used in the previous literature; the distinction between "language" and "dialect" is not straightforward, and labeling varieties of Tibetic as "Tibetan dialects" can be misleading not only because those "dialects" are often mutually-unintelligible, but also the speakers of Tibetic do not necessarily consider themselves as ethnic Tibetan, as is the case with Sherpas, Ladakhis, Baltis, Lahaulas, Sikkimese and Bhutanese.
Origins Marius Zemp (2018)Zemp, Marius. 2018. On the origins of Tibetan. Proceedings of the 51st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (2018). Kyoto: Kyoto University. hypothesizes that Tibetan originated as a pidgin with the West Himalayish language Zhangzhung as its superstratum, and Rgyalrongic as its substratum (both languages are part of the broader Sino-Tibetan family). However, there are many grammatical differences between the Rgyalrongic and Tibetic languages; Rgyalrongic tend to use prefixes such as *kə-, *tə-, etc., while Tibetic languages use suffixes such as -pa/-ba, -ma, -po/-bo, -mo, etc.
Similarly, Tamangic also has a West Himalayish superstratum, but its substratum is derived from a different Sino-Tibetan branch.
Only a few language clusters in the world are derived from a common language which is identical to or closely related to an old literary language. This small group includes the Tibetic languages, as descendants from Old Tibetan (7th–9th centuries), but also the Romance languages with Latin, the Arabic languages (or "dialects") with Classical Arabic, the Sinitic languages with Old Chinese, the modern Indic languages with Vedic Sanskrit.
Classification
The more divergent languages are spoken in the north and east, likely due to language contact with the Qiangic, Rgyalrongic languages. The divergence exhibited in Khalong may also be due to language shift. In addition, there is Baima, which retains an apparent Qiangic substratum, and has multiple layers of borrowing from Amdo, Khams, and Zhongu, but does not correspond to any established branch of Tibetic.Katia Chirkova, 2008, "On the position of Báimǎ within Tibetan", in Lubotsky et al. (eds), Evidence and Counter-Evidence, vol. 2.
The two major Tibetic languages used for broadcasting within China are Standard Tibetan and Amdo Tibetan.
Tournadre & Suzuki (2023) Tournadre & Suzuki (2023) recognize 8 geographical sections, each with about 7-14 groups of Tibetic dialects. This classification is a revision of Tournadre (2014).
Tibetic South-eastern section (14 groups): Nagchu (traditionally called Hor dialects) Drachen/Bachen Kyegu Pämbar Khyungpo Rongdrak Minyak Rabgang Northern route (including Chamdo / chab-mdo, Derge / sde-dge, Kandze / dkar-mdzes) Southern route (including Markham, Bathang, Lithang) Dzayül Derong-nJol Chagthreng Pomborgang Semkyi Nyida (including Lamdo and possibly Stonggnyen) Eastern section (11 groups): Čone Thewo-tö Thewo-mä Drugchu Pälkyi/Pashi Khöpokhok Sharkhok Thromjekhok Zhongu Throchu Baima North-eastern section (14 groups): Tsho Ngönpo (or Kokonor) Tsongkha Labrang-Rebgong Rwanak (Banak) pastoralist group Ngawa Arik Hwari (Pari) Mewa pastoralists’ group (with settlements in Kham) Washül pastoralists’group (with migrations into Kham) Gorkä (divergent) Gyälrongo-spheric Amdo (divergent) Dungnak and rTarmnyik (near Western Yughur in Gansu) (divergent) Central section (8 groups): Ü Tsang Phänpo Tö pastoralists’ dialects (Drogpä Tö-kä) Eastern Tö cultivators’ dialects (Sharchok Rongpä Tö-kä) Western Tö cultivators’ dialects (Nubchok Rongpä Tö-kä) Kongpo Lhokha Southern section (7 groups): Dzongkha Lhoke Choča-ngača (also called Tsamang-Tsakhaling) Brokpa (Mera Sakteng pastoralists’ dialect) Dur pastoralists’ dialect Lakha or Säphuk pastoralists’ dialect Dromo South-western section (9 groups): Humla (or Limirong) Karmarong (Mugu) Dölpo and Tichyurong Lo-Mönthang (often called Lokä/Mustang) Kyirong-Yolmo Jirel Sherpa Lhomi Gola Western section (8 groups): Spiti Khunu-Töt Garzha Pangi Paldar Durbuk Jangpa dialect Nyoma Jangpa dialect Jadang (or Dzathang) dialect North-western section (7 groups): Balti Purik Nubra Sham Leh (Central Ladakh) Zanhar Kharu
Tournadre (2014) Tournadre (2014) classifies the Tibetic languages as eight geolinguistic continua, consisting of 50 languages and over 200 dialects. This is an updated version of his work in 2008. The Eastern and Southeastern branches have lower internal mutual intelligibility, but it is more limited in the Northwestern branch and between certain southern and northern Khams dialects. These continua are spread across five countries with one exception, this being Sangdam, a Khams dialect in Kachin, Myanmar.
Tibetic North-Western: Ladakhi, Zangskari, Balti, Purki Western: Spiti, Garzha, Khunu, Jad Central: Dbus, Tsang, Phenpo, Lhokha, Tö, Kongpo (in （Kongpo） with Basum) South-Western: Sherpa and Jirel; other languages/dialects along the Sino-Nepalese border: Humla, Mugu, Dolpo, Lo-ke, Nubri, Tsum, Langtang, Kyirong, Yolmo, Gyalsumdo, Kagate, Lhomi, Walungge, Tokpe Gola. Southern: Dzongkha, Drengjong, Tsamang, Dhromo Lakha, Dur Brokkat, Mera Sakteng Brokpa-ke South-Eastern: Hor Nagchu, Hor Bachen, Yushu, Pembar, Rongdrak, Minyak, Dzayul, Derong-Jol, Chaktreng, Muli-Dappa, Semkyi Nyida 'Northern route' dialects: 'Chamdo (Chab-mdo), Derge (sde-dge), and Kandze (dkar-mdzes) 'Southern route' dialects: Markham (smar-khams), Bathang ('ba'-thang), Lithang (li-thang) Eastern: Drugchu, Khöpokhok, Thewo-Chone, Baima, Sharkhok, Palkyi (or Pashi; four dialects, including Chos-rje), and Zhongu North-Eastern Amdo Gser-Rdo:Sun, Jackson T.-S. 2021. Gser-Rdo: A New Tibetic Language Across the Rngaba-Dkarmdzes Border. Gserpa, Khalong
Tournadre (2005, 2008) Tournadre (2005)N. Tournadre (2005) "L'aire linguistique tibétaine et ses divers dialectes." Lalies, 2005, n°25, p. 7–56 classifies the Tibetic languages as follows.
Tibetic Central Tibetan The basis of Standard Tibetan that includes various Nepalese varieties Khams Amdo Dzongkha–Lhokä Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Lakha, Naapa, Chocangaca, Brokkat, Brokpa and probably Groma Ladakhi–Balti Ladakhi, Burig, Zangskari, Balti Lahuli–Spiti Kyirong–Kagate Sherpa–Jirel Sherpa, Jirel
The other languages (Thewo-Chone, Zhongu, Khalong, Dongwang, Gserpa, Zitsadegu, Drugchu, Baima) are not mutually intelligible, but are not known well enough to classify. mDungnag, a Tibetan language spoken in Gansu, is also divergent and is not mutually intelligible with either Khams or Amdo.Shao, Mingyuan 邵明园 (2018). Hexi Zoulang binwei Zangyu Dongnahua yanjiu 河西走廊濒危藏语东纳话研究 [Study on the mDungnag dialect, an endangered Tibetan language in Hexi Corridor]. Guangzhou: Zhongshan University Publishing House 中山大学出版社.
Tournadre (2013) adds Tseku and Khamba to Khams, and groups Thewo-Chone, Zhongu, and Baima as an Eastern branch of Tibetic.
Bradley (1997) According to Bradley, the languages cluster as follows (dialect information from the Tibetan Dialects Project at the University of Bern):
Tibetic Western Archaic Tibetan (non-tonal), including Ladakhi, Balti and Burig Amdo Tibetan (including Thewo-Chone) (non-tonal) Khams Tibetan (tonal) Western Innovative Tibetan (Lahuli–Spiti) (slightly tonal) Dialects of Upper Ladakh and Zanskar, of the Northwest Indian Border Area (Lahaul and Spiti district and Uttarakhand), and of Zanda County (westernmost Tibet) Central Tibetan (slightly tonal) Most dialects of Ngari Prefecture in western Tibet, of the northern Nepalese border area in Nepal, Tsang dialects of Shigatse Prefecture, and Ü dialects (Lhokha, Lhasa, etc.). The basis of Standard Tibetan. Northern Tibetan (slightly tonal) Dialects of Gêrzê, of Nagqu Prefecture in north-central Tibet, and of Nangqên County in South Qinghai(Considered dialects of Khams by Tournadre) Southern Tibetan (slightly tonal) Groma language of Chumbi Valley in southern Tsang, Sikkimese in India, Sherpa and Jirel in Nepal, and various languages of Bhutan:Dzongkha, Brokkat, Brokpa, Chocangaca, Lakha, Laya dialect, Lunana dialect.
Other Some classifications group Khams and Amdo together as Eastern Tibetan (not to be confused with East Bodish, whose speakers are not ethnically Tibetan). Some, like Tournadre, break up Central Tibetan. Phrases such as 'Central Tibetan' and 'Central Bodish' may or may not be synonymous: Southern (Central) Tibetan can be found as Southern Bodish, for example; 'Central Tibetan' may mean dBus or all tonal lects apart from Khams; 'Western Bodish' may be used for the non-tonal western lects while 'Western Tibetan' is used for the tonal lects, or 'Bodish' may even be used for other branches of the Tibeto-Kanauri languages.
Lexical similarity Amdo Tibetan has 70% lexical similarity with Central Tibetan and Khams Tibetan, while Khams Tibetan has 80% lexical similarity with Central Tibetan.
Geographical distribution The Tibetic-speaking area spans six countries: China (PRC), Nepal, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Tibetan is also spoken in diaspora communities in Europe, North America (e.g. Little Tibet, Toronto), Asia and Australia.
China Within China, the great majority of Tibetic speakers are officially classified into the Tibetan ethnicity which however includes speakers of other Trans-Himalayan languages such as Rgyalrongnic. Aside from Tibet Autonomous Region, there are several autonomous prefectures for the ethnicities in Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Yunnan.
Nepal Lhasa Tibetan, or more technically, Standard Tibetan (natively called ) is used among post-1950s Tibetan emigrants to Nepal. Other Tibetic varieties such as Sherpa, Jirel and Yolmo are spoken in districts along the China-Nepal border.
Bhutan