Title: Textbook of Colloquial Tibetan. (Dialect of ...
Publisher: Manjusri Publishing House, New Delhi
Publication Date: 1972
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Good
Edition: 2nd Edition
xii, 280 printed pages. Half title and title page printed in red and black. Second, revised & enlarged edition. Numbered and limited DE LUXE edition. Number 146 of 200. Volume 3, Series 2 (Language & Literature) of series of individual books collectively entitled Bibliotheca Himalayica. Red silk bookmark. Page 179 has two marginal handling marks, not affecting the text, which is otherwise fine. 16.5 x 26 cm. Original printed dustwrapper, spine panel very faded and some minor edge wear. Half red calf. Spine with gilt triple rules and lettering. Corners very slightly bumped. This year campaigners have warned that the Tibetan language is being replaced by Chinese. Tibetan writing as we know it today had its origins in the seventh century, when Thönmi Sambhota formulated a new alphabet based on the one used at that time in India, the Gupta script (a derivative of the antique Indian script called Brahmi). He defined thirty letters and four vowel marks, largely reproducing the corresponding sounds in Sanskrit and in part newly created to represent sounds typical of the Tibetan language. In the Tibetan tradition, the art of calligraphy was a highly respected discipline that formed an integral part of the scholastic curriculum from the very first years at school. Tibetan language has not only been used to preserve and transmit most of Indian Buddhist literature in translation, but it has been and still is also the expressive instrument of Tibetan Masters, yogins and scholars. Tibetan language is particularly helpful for practitioners of Tibetan spiritual traditions, and is a priceless resource for students of medicine. Bookseller Inventory # 4299