Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
-
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:58 am
Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
Is it correct to compare the different Tibetan languages to French, Italian and Spanish? I mean, are the Tibetan languages really so different to each other as the Romance languages are? So a person cannot just get used to another dialect? Must sit and lern it as another language?
If it is different languages then for every prayer text the first question is, what Tibetan that is? Or is there one Tibetan language spread in the western countries?
I never heard that there are different translators of different Tibetan needed in my country. So I thought, Tibetan is one language and all Lamas speak that, no matter which area of Tibet their ancestors come from. Are the monks all trained in one main Tibetan language?
If it is different languages then for every prayer text the first question is, what Tibetan that is? Or is there one Tibetan language spread in the western countries?
I never heard that there are different translators of different Tibetan needed in my country. So I thought, Tibetan is one language and all Lamas speak that, no matter which area of Tibet their ancestors come from. Are the monks all trained in one main Tibetan language?
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
The scriptural language is the same, but dialect and pronunciation require Tibetan translators between Amdo people and Central Tibetans. These days Tibetans from different parts of Tibet tend to use Chinese as their common language when interacting with other Tibetans who do not share their dialect.White Sakura wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 8:05 am Is it correct to compare the different Tibetan languages to French, Italian and Spanish? I mean, are the Tibetan languages really so different to each other as the Romance languages are? So a person cannot just get used to another dialect? Must sit and lern it as another language?
If it is different languages then for every prayer text the first question is, what Tibetan that is? Or is there one Tibetan language spread in the western countries?
I never heard that there are different translators of different Tibetan needed in my country. So I thought, Tibetan is one language and all Lamas speak that, no matter which area of Tibet their ancestors come from. Are the monks all trained in one main Tibetan language?
-
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:58 am
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
Thank you Malcom.
- Supramundane
- Posts: 621
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2016 11:38 am
- Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
A famous linguist once explained the difference between a language and dialect with the following aphorism:
"a language is a dialect with an army and navy"
I.e. there is no linguistic cut off or structural difference. It is simply a political distinction.
"a language is a dialect with an army and navy"
I.e. there is no linguistic cut off or structural difference. It is simply a political distinction.
-
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:58 am
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
that is why maybe the term "dialect" ist not fitting for the Tibetan language". German language also has dialects but every German can understand every dialect. Including Austrian dialect. Then there is Swiss German and that is not understandable for Germans from Germany. That is why Swiss German is not just called a dialect. It is rather another language. Or something in between.Supramundane wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 10:02 am A famous linguist once explained the difference between a language and dialect with the following aphorism:
"a language is a dialect with an army and navy"
I.e. there is no linguistic cut off or structural difference. It is simply a political distinction.
- Supramundane
- Posts: 621
- Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2016 11:38 am
- Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
Yes, very true.
But politics dictates the distinction too; if Switzerland were part of Germany, then Swiss-German would be called German, right? Just as in China, there are hundreds of languages which are totally different and not mutually comprehensible, but we lump them all together and call them Chinese. It is simply a political designation.
But politics dictates the distinction too; if Switzerland were part of Germany, then Swiss-German would be called German, right? Just as in China, there are hundreds of languages which are totally different and not mutually comprehensible, but we lump them all together and call them Chinese. It is simply a political designation.
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
No, they are dialects. All dialects spoken by Tibetans have undergone changes in pronunciation, but these follow regular rules, so that there are mainly differences in colloquial terms for things.White Sakura wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 8:01 amthat is why maybe the term "dialect" ist not fitting for the Tibetan language". German language also has dialects but every German can understand every dialect. Including Austrian dialect. Then there is Swiss German and that is not understandable for Germans from Germany. That is why Swiss German is not just called a dialect. It is rather another language. Or something in between.Supramundane wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 10:02 am A famous linguist once explained the difference between a language and dialect with the following aphorism:
"a language is a dialect with an army and navy"
I.e. there is no linguistic cut off or structural difference. It is simply a political distinction.
-
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:58 am
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
great to know. So a person only needs to learn the general shift from his mother tone to, for example, Kham Tibetan? And a lot of colloquial terms?
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
LhakpaTsamchoe,who was the star of the film Himalaya, told me that on the set of the movie,the actors (from India, Central Tibet,Khams, and Dolpo) could not understand each other and required interpreters.
Sorry to put a damper on your hopes.
Sorry to put a damper on your hopes.
-
- Posts: 1448
- Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:54 am
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
You're asking how Tibetans learn to understand each other? Or are you asking for advice about which dialect to learn first?White Sakura wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:14 amgreat to know. So a person only needs to learn the general shift from his mother tone to, for example, Kham Tibetan? And a lot of colloquial terms?
-
- Posts: 291
- Joined: Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:58 am
Re: Tibetan languages-dialects or different languages?
question for Tibetans.SilenceMonkey wrote: ↑Tue Jul 13, 2021 12:59 am
You're asking how Tibetans learn to understand each other? Or are you asking for advice about which dialect to learn first?