Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Tibetan

Source: Office of the Representative of the H.H. the Dalai Lama, Tibet

Profile

Native Name
None

Total Speakers
1,254,000 (1993)

Usage By Country
Officially Recognized Language: Tibet Autonomous Region/China Home Speakers: Bhutan, Nepal, India

Background
It belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family and is closely related to the languages of the "Bhotia" group. It is spoken by over 6 million people. Written Tibetan is reported to be based on a southern dialect, but probably includes many separate languages. Other written styles include Dzongkha (national language of Buthan) and Ladakhi in north-west India. It is distantly related to Chinese and Burmese. However, of the major languages of Asia, Tibetan has the most in common with Burmese, as both languages belong to the same branch of the Sino-Tibetan family.Tibetan is written in an Indian-derived script introduced around the 7th century A.D, probably based on the Sanskrit.

Received 8/7/1998
Posted 4/30/1999
Checked