Languages of China & Inner Asia at SOAS: Tibetan
With the rise of the Tibetan empire in circa 630 the Tibetan language came to be spoken across the vast Tibetan plateau. Today the language has over two million speakers divided across nearly thirty dialects. Outside of Tibet, Tibetan speaking populations are found in Bhutan, Burma, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Tibetan is a branch of the Tibeto-Burman family together with Burmese, Chinese, and languages such as Newar, Tangut, and Meithei. Tibetan has an enormous literature with a range of genres matching that of any European language. In addition, Tibetan is used as the liturgical language of Vajrayana Buddhism across central Asia including in Mongolia, Russia, and China.
If you would like to learn Tibetan, contact Dr Nathan Hill (nh36@soas.ac.uk) Department of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia.
Degree Programmes
Degree Course Options
- Intensive Elementary Tibetan
- Extended essay in Tibetan language and culture (a)
- Extended essay in Tibetan language and culture (b)
- Independent Study Project in Tibetan Language and Literature (using language sources)
- Independent Study Project in Tibetan Language and Literature
- Intermediate Classical Tibetan
- Intermediate Modern Tibetan
- Pre-Classical Tibetan
- Colloquial Tibetan: Beginners (Language Year Abroad)
- Colloquial Tibetan: Intermediate (Language Year Abroad)
- Tibetan Historical and Biographical Literature
- Tibetan Linguistics and Language Pedagogy
Language Centre
Other Resources
Please Note: Not all courses and programmes are available every year
