Classical Tibetan language resources

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Archie2009
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Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Archie2009 »

A new English language textbook on Classical Tibetan that uses dbu can script throughout was recently published. Since a general thread on resources for studying Classical Tibetan does not seem to exist on this forum, I thought I'd start this thread.

The book in question is A Textbook in Classical Tibetan by Joanna Bialek. Bialek learned Classical Tibetan from Michael Hahn's Lehrbuch der klassischen tibetischen Schriftsprache (1996) and also translated that book into Polish. Her own textbook builds on that experience as well as on teaching Classical Tibetan at the Philipps University in Marburg (Germany). This means the book is very different from Joe Wilson's Translating Buddhism from Tibetan.

I did a year of Classical Tibetan in the 90s using Hahn's Lehrbuch at uni and have good memories of it, except it being in German was a pain in the butt. Having done nothing with Tibetan in the meantime, I recently purchased a copy of Bialek's book to finally make work of learning to read Classical Tibetan for real this time. I read Wilson's book recently and look forward to comparing the two approaches.

From the publisher (Routledge):
A Textbook in Classical Tibetan is the first comprehensive course book in the Classical Tibetan language written in English. The textbook describes the grammar of pre-16th-century Classical Tibetan works for beginners and students of intermediate level. It is intended to cover the most essential topics that can be mastered within two semesters of an academic class. Classical Tibetan is a written Middle Tibetan language that has been in use in Tibet from the 9th century. Until the early 20th century it served all purposes, from administrative, to medical, to religious. Nowadays Classical Tibetan remains an important part of religious identity and services for communities also outside of cultural Tibet, foremost in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, but also elsewhere, most importantly in Europe, North America and Australia.

The main body of the textbook consists of an introduction to the Tibetan script, eighteen lessons, and a reading section. Each lesson elucidates several grammatical topics which are followed by an exercise and a word list. The chapter readings contain four supplementary readings. In addition to the main parts of the textbook, a brief introduction to Tibetic languages provides linguistic context for the language taught in the textbook, whereas the chapter Translations of Exercises and Readings contains translations and explanatory notes to the exercises provided at the end of each lesson, as well as to the readings.

A Textbook in Classical Tibetan is essential reading for both undergraduate and graduate students without any knowledge of Classical Tibetan, but also for those who would like to deepen their experience of the language by reading annotated excerpts from well-known pieces of Tibetan literature.

A positive review from Buddhist Digital Resource Center:

Last edited by Archie2009 on Tue May 03, 2022 6:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Archie2009
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Archie2009 »

Another book worth a recommendation is the second updated and expanded edition of Paul G. Hackett's A Tibetan Verb Lexicon. Even though there are very good online dictionaries available nowadays this verb lexicon is really worth getting, I think.

From the publisher (Shambhala):
With over 4,500 entries of the most frequently used Tibetan verbs, this expanded edition of Hackett’s highly acclaimed Tibetan Verb Lexicon is an incomparable lexical resource. This comprehensive verb dictionary includes various verb forms, verbal collocations, auxiliary constructions together with grammatical information, Sanskrit equivalents, and example sentences, making it a vital tool for any translator, writer, or scholar who intends to maximize the quality of their work related to the Tibetan language.
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Also by Paul G. Hackett: Learning Classical Tibetan: A Reader for Translating Buddhist texts (With grammatical annotation and translations)

This reader offers a more diverse set of texts, both translations from Sanskrit and indigenous Tibetan compositions, than the readers by Craig Preston.

From the publisher (Shambhala):
Designed for both classroom use and independent study, Learning Classical Tibetan is a modern and accessible reader for studying traditional Buddhist texts. Unlike other readers of Classical Tibetan, this is a comprehensive manual for navigating Tibetan Buddhist literature drawing on a monastic curriculum. Utilizing the most up-to-date teaching methods and tools for Tibetan language training, students learn to navigate the grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and style of Classical Tibetan while also engaging the content of Buddhist philosophical works.

Chapters consist of a contextual introduction to each reading, a Tibetan text marked with references to annotations that provide progressive explanations of grammar, cultural notes on vocabulary, translation hints, notes on the Sanskrit origins of Tibetan expressions and grammatical structures, as well as a literal translation of the text. The reader also includes study plans for classroom use, discussion of dictionaries and other helpful resources, a glossary of English grammatical and linguistic terms, and much more.

This reader can be used in conjunction with Paul Hackett’s expanded edition of his well-known Tibetan Verb Lexicon. Using a clear and approachable style, Hackett provides a practical and complete manual that will surely benefit all students of Classical Tibetan.
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Archie2009
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Archie2009 »

Online dictionaries of Classical Tibetan:

THL Tibetan to English Translation Tool, also available offline as a desktop app that requires Java Runtime Environment.
https://www.thlib.org/reference/diction ... nslate.php

Rangjung Yeshe Wiki - Dharma Dictionary
https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Main_Page

Christian Steinert Tibetan-English Dictionary
https://dictionary.christian-steinert.de/#home

UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies Tibetan-Sanskrit-English Dictionary
Downlaodable as a free PDF, this is also contained in e.g. the THL Translation Tool.
https://uma-tibet.org/tib/tib.php
Punya
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Punya »

Archie2009 wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 5:26 pm
The book in question is A Textbook in Classical Tibetan by Joanna Bialek. Bialek learned Classical Tibetan from Michael Hahn's Lehrbuch der klassischen tibetischen Schriftsprache (1996) and also translated that book into Polish. Her own textbook builds on that experience as well as on teaching Classical Tibetan at the Philipps University in Marburg (Germany). This means the book is very different from Joe Wilson's Translating Buddhism from Tibetan.
I had a "Look Inside" at the book on Amazon and the Mighty Ape, although this function no longer seems to be available on either. The structure seems to be good, but from the quick glance I had via Mighty Ape last night the two things I found disappointing was the extensive use of academic language (more suited a thesis) which I was prepared to overlook and in the first lesson the lack of stacked syllables throughout. The result was something like ེབཡན་བརལབས་ rather than བྱིན་བརླབས་

Would you be willing to share your experience with the book Archie?
We abide nowhere. We possess nothing.
~Chatral Rinpoche
Archie2009
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Archie2009 »

Punya wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:02 am
Archie2009 wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 5:26 pm
The book in question is A Textbook in Classical Tibetan by Joanna Bialek. Bialek learned Classical Tibetan from Michael Hahn's Lehrbuch der klassischen tibetischen Schriftsprache (1996) and also translated that book into Polish. Her own textbook builds on that experience as well as on teaching Classical Tibetan at the Philipps University in Marburg (Germany). This means the book is very different from Joe Wilson's Translating Buddhism from Tibetan.
I had a "Look Inside" at the book on Amazon and the Mighty Ape, although this function no longer seems to be available on either. The structure seems to be good, but from the quick glance I had via Mighty Ape last night the two things I found disappointing was the extensive use of academic language (more suited a thesis) which I was prepared to overlook and in the first lesson the lack of stacked syllables throughout. The result was something like ེབཡན་བརལབས་ rather than བྱིན་བརླབས་

Would you be willing to share your experience with the book Archie?
The stacked syllables are an ebook related matter and not an issue with the paperbook, as is so often the case.

The terms "Concise, precise, thorough" were aptly chosen in the BDRC review. Her analysis and presentation of Tibetan grammatical structures is far more lucid than in Wilson's bloated book. Linguistic terms are used but do not obfuscate (like in more specialist academic books). There is a linguistic glossary in the back. There is probably a limit to how deep an understanding you can gain from a textbook that eschewes the use of any linguistic vocabulary. Bialek's book is as complex as is necessary to come to an understanding of the grammatical structures, but is not academic in the specialist sense. There is no unnecessary academic discussion of obscure points. There are no longwinded sentences using complex jargon. Just the use of existing Western grammatical categories and concepts to bring the reader to a clear understanding. This is a textbook and not a grammar nor does it read like a thesis.

I also appreciate the book is not heavily geared towards reading Buddhist philosophy in Tibetan. Wilson and most of the readers that are based on his book are heavily biased towards philosophy, tenet systems and the Gelugpas. These are not a categories of texts I am interested in reading in the Tibetan original.
Punya
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Punya »

Thanks Archie. Your comments about the book are really helpful.
We abide nowhere. We possess nothing.
~Chatral Rinpoche
Punya
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Punya »

Archie2009 wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 5:26 pm
I also appreciate the book is not heavily geared towards reading Buddhist philosophy in Tibetan. Wilson and most of the readers that are based on his book are heavily biased towards philosophy, tenet systems and the Gelugpas. These are not a categories of texts I am interested in reading in the Tibetan original.
I think we can still use the structure of the lessons provided by these texts and apply them to whatever we are interested in. I did buy the Bialek book. The main drawback for me is that the example texts used are Tibetan, but not Buddhist. This means you may not be learning the vocab you most want to know. Bearing this in mind, I am just going to slowly work through the grammar rules presented in each lesson and try to recognise how they apply them to the prayers and sadhanas of my own tradition (where I have the original Tibetan and the translation).

If practitioners are looking for an easier place to start with classical Tibetan, I can recommend the Tibetan Language Institute's workbooks 1 and 2.

Another beginner resource is the Basic Tibetan Reading course on YouTube. The course includes the translation of some well-known Tibetan Buddhist texts, such as the 7 Line Prayer, Dusum Sangye and the 21 Taras. The first sections of this course are also currently being presented in more detail by the same teacher in the Basic Tibetan Grammar Youtube series. These free courses provide the opportunity to hear and practice the sound of the language.

Another useful tip comes from the Esukhia Facebook page and involves Google Drive. If you want to convert a Tibetan language image to text you can upload your image file (PNG, PDF, JPG, etc) into your Google Drive, then "right-click" on the file and select "Open with" > and then "Google Docs".
Google Docs may take some time for this ... so be patient. But what results is a new Docs file, which consists of the original image and below it the Tibetan text.
We abide nowhere. We possess nothing.
~Chatral Rinpoche
Archie2009
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Archie2009 »

Punya wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 11:56 pmThis means you may not be learning the vocab you most want to know.
The vocabulary I want to learn is Dzogchen vocabulary anyway. Malcolm is the fountain of wisdom in that regard.

I do not want to learn to translate, I want to be able to read certain Tibetan Dzogchen texts like I have learned to read English, without translating to Dutch internally. My translating from English to Dutch is sh*t.
dimitri
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by dimitri »

Punya wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 11:56 pm Another beginner resource is the Basic Tibetan Reading course on YouTube. The course includes the translation of some well-known Tibetan Buddhist texts, such as the 7 Line Prayer, Dusum Sangye and the 21 Taras. The first sections of this course are also currently being presented in more detail by the same teacher in the Basic Tibetan Grammar Youtube series. These free courses provide the opportunity to hear and practice the sound of the language.
Any chance you could share the link to that course on YouTube? Thank you!
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climb-up
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by climb-up »

dimitri wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2024 10:12 pm
Punya wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 11:56 pm Another beginner resource is the Basic Tibetan Reading course on YouTube. The course includes the translation of some well-known Tibetan Buddhist texts, such as the 7 Line Prayer, Dusum Sangye and the 21 Taras. The first sections of this course are also currently being presented in more detail by the same teacher in the Basic Tibetan Grammar Youtube series. These free courses provide the opportunity to hear and practice the sound of the language.
Any chance you could share the link to that course on YouTube? Thank you!
Is this it? I’d never seen this before, but it looks cool; this is lesson 1 in like a 100 lesson series:

"Death's second name is 'omnipresent.' On the relative truth it seems we become separate. But on the absolute there is no separation." Lama Dawa
Punya
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Re: Classical Tibetan language resources

Post by Punya »

Yes, that's it. Of course, there are many Tibetan language resources on YouTube, but I think this one is good.

Another resource I've used is https://www.nettletibetan.ca/introducti ... al-tibetan. I've worked with the class vocabulary set not just to learn words, but also to work on pronunciation.
We abide nowhere. We possess nothing.
~Chatral Rinpoche
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