Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-dqfph Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-18T07:52:21.982Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Tibet's Minority Languages: Diversity and endangerment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2018

GERALD ROCHE
Affiliation:
Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia Email: g.roche@unimelb.edu.au
HIROYUKI SUZUKI
Affiliation:
IKOS, University of Oslo, Norway Email: hiroyuki.suzuki@ikos.uio.no

Abstract

Asia is the world's most linguistically diverse continent and its diversity largely conforms to established global patterns that correlate linguistic diversity with biodiversity, latitude, and topography. However, one Asian region stands out as an anomaly in these patterns—Tibet, which is often portrayed as linguistically homogenous. A growing body of research now suggests that Tibet is linguistically diverse. In this article, we examine this literature in an attempt to quantify Tibet's linguistic diversity. We focus on the minority languages of Tibet—languages that are neither Chinese nor Tibetan. We provide five different estimates of how many minority languages are spoken in Tibet. We also interrogate these sources for clues about language endangerment among Tibet's minority languages and propose a sociolinguistic categorization of Tibet's minority languages that enables broad patterns of language endangerment to be perceived. Appendices include lists of the languages identified in each of our five estimates, along with references to key sources on each language. Our survey found that as many as 60 minority languages may be spoken in Tibet and that the majority of these languages are endangered to some degree. We hope our contribution inspires further research into the predicament of Tibet's minority languages and helps support community efforts to maintain and revitalize these languages.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable