Though the official language of Tibet is Chinese, Tibetans use their
own language, the Tibetan language, known as bod-yig in Tibet
inhabited areas. It is spoken in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and in parts
of northern India such as Sikkim. It belongs to the Tibeto-Burman
branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Interestingly, as in
India and other parts of the globe, spoken Tibetan includes
numerous regional dialects which, in many cases, are not mutually
intelligible. It is likely that there are dozens if not hundreds of
variations, accents, etc., but according to geographical divisions, there are three
major local dialects: Weizang,
Kang and Amdo. The first two dialects
have their own tones in pronunciation while the latter do not. The
commonly called greater Tibetans language is spoken by approximately
6 million people across the Tibetan Plateau and another 150,000
exile speakers who have fled from modern-day Tibet to India and
other countries. Take a good look at Tibetan script. It flows like a
warm dance, it's peaceful and artistic unlike the hard, squarest,
cold Chinese. Study the flow, the rhythm and ribbons of Tibetan
script and after you visit and get to know the people you will
understand why their written language is so different from other
Asian languages. "When peacefulness abides in the heart, it flows
from the fingers." The writing script of Tibetan language was formed
in early 7th century and is based on the ancient Sanskrit language
of India. Tibetan language consists of thirty consonant, four
vowels, five inverted letters (for the renting of foreign words) and
the punctuations. Sentences are written from right to the left. With
two major written scripts namely the regular script and the cursive
hand, Tibetan language is widely used in all areas inhabited by
Tibetans.
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