Classical Tibetan

Classical Tibetan is the historical literary language used across Tibet and the Himalayas for religious and scholarly writing. Its written tradition remained influential across regions and periods despite major changes in spoken Tibetan.

Tibetan script: An Indic-derived writing system used to write Tibetan and several other languages. Its alphabet and orthographic conventions provide the visible form of Classical Tibetan texts.
Tibetan Empire: A Central Asian empire that flourished from the seventh to ninth centuries. Imperial administration helped establish writing and literary institutions in Tibet.
Tibetan Buddhist canon: The Tibetan collections of Buddhist scriptures, traditionally divided into the Kangyur and Tengyur. These collections preserve extensive translation and composition in Classical Tibetan.
Modern Standard Tibetan: A standardized modern variety of Tibetan based chiefly on the speech of Lhasa. Its spoken grammar and vocabulary differ substantially from Classical Tibetan conventions.
Tibetan grammar: The rules governing word formation, sentence structure, and grammatical relations in Tibetan. Case marking, particles, and verb structures shape Classical Tibetan sentences.
Thonmi Sambhota: A traditional Tibetan minister credited with creating the Tibetan script in the seventh century. Tibetan accounts connect the script's creation with the beginnings of written literature.
Kangyur: The Tibetan collection of texts regarded as the words of the Buddha. Its translated scriptures are among the language's central religious uses.
Lhasa Tibetan: The Tibetan variety spoken in and around Lhasa, with distinctive phonology and grammar. Its pronunciation cannot be inferred directly from the older literary spelling.
Tibetan orthography: The conventions for spelling and writing Tibetan, including distinctions between written forms and pronunciation. Historical spellings often preserve forms no longer pronounced in modern Tibetan.
Old Tibetan: The earliest documented historical form of Tibetan, attested chiefly in manuscripts and inscriptions. Its records reveal the language before later classical literary conventions took shape.

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