The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system, or abugida, forming a part of the Brahmic scripts, and used to write certain Tibetic languages, including Tibetan, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Ladakhi, Jirel and Balti. Its exact origins are a subject of research but is traditionally considered to be developed by Thonmi Sambhota for King Songtsen Gampo.
The Tibetan script has also been used for some non-Tibetic languages in close cultural contact with Tibet, such as Thakali and Nepali. The printed form is called uchen script while the hand-written form used in everyday writing is called umê script. This writing system is especially used across the Himalayan Region.
History
Little is known about the exact origins of Tibetan script. According to Tibetan historiography, it was developed during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo by his minister Thonmi Sambhota, who was sent to India along with other scholars to study Buddhism along with Sanskrit. They developed the Tibetan script from the Gupta script while at the Pabonka Hermitage.
This occurred , towards the beginning of Songtsen Gampo's reign. There were 21 Sutra texts held by the King which were translated afterwards. In the first half of the 7th century, the Tibetan script was used for the codification of these sacred Buddhist texts, for written civil laws, and for a Tibetan Constitution.
Earliest sources on Tibet, such as the Old Tibetan Chronicle, do not mention any Thonmi Sambhota. Scripts predating Songtsen Gampo might have existed but in any case do not appear to be widely used. New research and writings also suggest that there were one or more Tibetan scripts in use prior to the introduction of the script by Songtsen Gampo and Thonmi Sambhota. The incomplete Dunhuang manuscripts are their key evidence for their hypothesis, while the few discovered and recorded Old Tibetan Annals manuscripts date from 650 and therefore post-date the c. 620 date of development of the original Tibetan script.
Three orthographic standardisations were developed. The most important, an official orthography aimed to facilitate the translation of Buddhist scriptures emerged during the early 9th century. Standard orthography has not been altered since then, while the spoken language has changed by, for example, losing complex consonant clusters. As a result, in all modern Tibetan dialects and in particular in the Standard Tibetan of Lhasa, there is a great divergence between current spelling, which still reflects the 9th-century spoken Tibetan, and current pronunciation. This divergence is the basis of an argument in favour of spelling reform, to write Tibetan as it is pronounced; for example, writing Kagyu instead of Bka'-rgyud.
The nomadic Amdo Tibetan and the western dialects of the Ladakhi language, as well as the Balti language, come close to the Old Tibetan spellings.
The Tibetan alphabet has thirty letters, sometimes known as "radicals", for consonants. As in other Indic scripts, each consonant letter assumes an inherent vowel; in the Tibetan script it is /a/. The letter is also the base for dependent vowel marks.
Although some Tibetan dialects are tonal, the language had no tone at the time of the script's invention, and there are no dedicated symbols for tone. However, since tones developed from segmental features, they can usually be correctly predicted by the archaic spelling of Tibetan words.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:75%;"
|- align=center style="font-size:small;"
!
!style="background:beige;" colspan=2 | Unaspirated<br />high
!style="background:#d6f5d6;" colspan=2 | Aspirated<br />medium
!style="background:#ffcce6;" colspan=2 | Voiced<br/ >low
!style="background:#99bbff;" colspan=2 | Nasal<br />low
|- align=center style="font-size:small;"
!
! Letter
! IPA
! Letter
! IPA
! Letter
! IPA
! Letter
! IPA
|- align=center
| Guttural ||style="background:beige; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#d6f5d6; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#ffcce6; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#99bbff; font-size:24px;"| ||
|- align=center
| Palatal ||style="background:beige; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#d6f5d6; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#ffcce6; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#99bbff; font-size:24px;"| ||
|- align=center
| Dental ||style="background:beige; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#d6f5d6; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#ffcce6; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#99bbff; font-size:24px;"| ||
|- align="center"
|Labial|| style="background:beige; font-size:24px;" | || || style="background:#d6f5d6; font-size:24px;" | || || style="background:#ffcce6; font-size:24px;" | || || style="background:#99bbff; font-size:24px;" | ||
|- align="center"
|Dental
| style="background:beige; font-size:24px;" ||||| style="background:#d6f5d6; font-size:24px;" ||||| style="background:#ffcce6; font-size:24px;" | |||| style="background:#EEEFE4; font-size:24px;" |||
|- align=center
|style="background:#d9b3ff;" | low ||style="background:#d9b3ff; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#d9b3ff; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#d9b3ff; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#d9b3ff; font-size:24px;"| ||
|- align=center
|style="background:#b3ffff;" | medium ||style="background:#b3ffff; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#b3ffff; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#b3ffff; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#b3ffff; font-size:24px;"| ||
|- align=center
|style="background:#ffffcc;" | high ||style="background:#ffffcc; font-size:24px;"| || ||style="background:#ffffcc; font-size:24px;"| ||
|}
Consonant clusters
thumb|400px|Components of a Tibetan syllable
thumb|Tibetan map of the [[Kizil Caves, Tarim Basin. 13th century CE]]
One aspect of the Tibetan script is that the consonants can be written either as radicals or they can be written in other forms, such as subscript and superscript forming consonant clusters.
To understand how this works, one can look at the radical /ka/ and see what happens when it becomes /kra/ or /rka/ (pronounced /ka/). In both cases, the symbol for /ka/ is used, but when the /ra/ is in the middle of the consonant and vowel, it is added as a subscript. On the other hand, when the /ra/ comes before the consonant and vowel, it is added as a superscript. and THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription (THL).
{| class="wikitable"
|-a lign=center style="font-size:small;"
! Letter
! W
! TP
! DP
! A
! THL
! style="border-left:2px solid black;" | Letter
! W
! TP
! DP
! A
! THL
! style="border-left:2px solid black;" | Letter
! W
! TP
! DP
! A
! THL
! style="border-left:2px solid black;" | Letter
! W
! TP
! DP
! A
! THL
|-align=center
| || ka || g || ka || ka || ka || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || kha || k || kha || kha || kha || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || ga* || k* || kha* || ga* || ga* || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || nga || ng || nga || nga || nga
|- align=center
| || ca || j || ca || ca || cha || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || cha || q || cha || cha || cha || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || ja* || q* || cha* || ja* || ja* || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || nya || ny || nya || nya || nya
|-align=center
| || ta || d || ta || ta || ta || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || tha || t || tha || tha || ta || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || da* || t* || tha* || da* || da* || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || na || n || na || na || na
|- align=center
| || pa || b || pa || pa || pa || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || pha || p || pha || pha || pa || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || ba* || p* || pha* || ba* || ba* || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || ma || m || ma || ma || ma
|-align=center
| || tsa || z || tsa || tsa || tsa || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || tsha || c || tsha || tsha || tsa || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || dza* || c* || tsha* || dza* || dza* || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || wa || w || wa || wa || wa
|- align=center
| || zha* || x* || sha* || zha* || zha* || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || za* || s* || sa* || za* || za* || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || 'a || - || a || 'a || a || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || ya || y || ya || ya || ya
|-align=center
| || ra || r || ra || ra || ra || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || la || l || la || la || la || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || sha || x || sha || sha || sha || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || sa || s || sa || sa || sa
|- align=center
| || ha || h || ha || ha || ha || style="border-left:2px solid black;" | || a || a || a || a || a || style="border-left:2px solid black;" colspan="12" |
|-
|align="center" colspan=24 style="font-size:88%;" |* – Only in loanwords
|}
Input method and keyboard layout
Tibetan
thumb|420px|[[Standard Tibetan|Tibetan keyboard layout]]
The first version of Microsoft Windows to support the Tibetan keyboard layout is MS Windows Vista. The layout has been available in Linux since September 2007. In Ubuntu 12.04, one can install Tibetan language support through Dash / Language Support / Install/Remove Languages, the input method can be turned on from Dash / Keyboard Layout, adding Tibetan keyboard layout. The layout applies the similar layout as in Microsoft Windows.
Mac OS X introduced Tibetan Unicode support in version 10.5, now with three different keyboard layouts available: Tibetan-Wylie, Tibetan QWERTY and Tibetan-Otani.
Dzongkha
thumb|300px|[[Dzongkha keyboard layout]]
The Dzongkha keyboard layout scheme is designed as a simple means for inputting Dzongkha text on computers. This keyboard layout was standardized by the Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC) and the Department of Information Technology (DIT) of the Royal Government of Bhutan in 2000.
It was updated in 2009 to accommodate additional characters added to the Unicode and ISO 10646 standards since the initial version. Since the arrangement of keys essentially follows the usual order of the Dzongka and Tibetan alphabet, the layout can be quickly learned by anyone familiar with this alphabet. Subjoined (combining) consonants are entered using the Shift key.
The Dzongka keyboard layout is included in Microsoft Windows, Android, and most distributions of Linux as part of XFree86.
Unicode
Tibetan was originally one of the scripts in the first version of the Unicode Standard in 1991, in the Unicode block U+1000–U+104F. However, in 1993, in version 1.1, it was removed (the code points it took up would later be used for the Burmese script in version 3.0). The Tibetan script was re-added in July, 1996 with the release of version 2.0.
The Unicode block for Tibetan is U+0F00–U+0FFF. It includes letters, digits and various punctuation marks and special symbols used in religious texts:
Gallery
<gallery widths="200" heights="300" perrow="7">
File:Tibetan Varnamala (Uchen).png|Tibetan Choksat (Alphabet) in Uchen style
File:Tibetan Varnamala (chuyig).png|Tibetan Choksat (Alphabet) in Chugyig cursive style
File:Tibetan Varnamala (Betsu).png|Tibetan Choksat (Alphabet) in Bêtsug cursive style
File:Tibetan Varnamala (Drutsa).png|Tibetan Choksat (Alphabet) in Drutsa cursive style
File:Tibetan Varnamala (Tsumachu).png|Tibetan Choksat (Alphabet) in Tsugma-chu cursive style
File:Tibetan Varnamala (Tsuring).png|Tibetan Choksat (Alphabet) in Tsugring cursive style
File:Tibetan Varnamala (Tsutong).png|Tibetan Choksat (Alphabet) in Tsugtung cursive style
</gallery>
See also
- Tibetan calligraphy
- Tibetan Braille
- Dzongkha Braille
- Tibetan typefaces
- Wylie transliteration
- Tibetan pinyin
- Roman Dzongkha
- THDL Simplified Phonetic Transcription
- Tise, input method for Tibetan script
- Limbu script
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
- Asher, R. E. ed. The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Tarrytown, NY: Pergamon Press, 1994. 10 vol.
- Beyer, Stephan V. (1993). The Classical Tibetan Language. Reprinted by Delhi: Sri Satguru.
- Chamberlain, Bradford Lynn. 2008. Script Selection for Tibetan-related Languages in Multiscriptal Environments. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 192:117–132.
- Csoma de Kőrös, Alexander. (1983). A Grammar of the Tibetan Language. Reprinted by Delhi: Sri Satguru.
- Csoma de Kőrös, Alexander (1980–1982). Sanskrit-Tibetan-English Vocabulary. 2 vols. Reprinted by Delhi: Sri Satguru.
- Daniels, Peter T. and William Bright. The World's Writing Systems. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
- Das, Sarat Chandra: "The Sacred and Ornamental Characters of Tibet". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. 57 (1888), pp. 41–48 and 9 plates.
- Das, Sarat Chandra. (1996). An Introduction to the Grammar of the Tibetan Language. Reprinted by Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Jacques, Guillaume 2012. A new transcription system for Old and Classical Tibetan , Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 35.3:89-96.
- Jäschke, Heinrich August. (1989). Tibetan Grammar. Corrected by Sunil Gupta. Reprinted by Delhi: Sri Satguru.
External links
- Tibetan Calligraphy —Online guide for writing Tibetan script.
- Elements of the Tibetan writing system.
- Unicode area U0F00-U0FFF, Tibetan script (162KB)
- Encoding Model of the Tibetan Script in the UCS
- Digital Tibetan —Online resource for the digitalization of Tibetan.
- Tibetan Scripts, Fonts & Related Issues—THDL articles on Unicode font issues; free cross-platform OpenType fonts—Unicode compatible.
- Free Tibetan Fonts Project
- Ancient Scripts: Tibetan