The purpose of this page is primarily to make a place for people to download updates to my colloquial Tibetan word lexicon/textbook and will also provide information for students who wish to come to India and Nepal to study Buddhism and Tibetan language. I have been studying in India and Nepal for the last six years and here I will share some of my experiences and advice about learning Tibetan, as well as some opinions about Tibetan studies and translation.
Here is an excerpt from the introduction to my book....download it if it seems useful:
" This book started as a mixed-up vocabulary list from my
studies in the Manjushri Institute for Tibetan Culture in Darjeeling
in 2008, and after being asked by a friend to compile my notes to
give to other students, I began working. My teachers in the Manjushri
Institute, Gen Dawa and Gen Lobsang, filled our days with various
expressions and colloquialisms which I have never seen in any
textbooks. I have added many words and eliminated others, organized
them into sections, checked spellings, and added example sentences
for many verbs and expressions where extra context is necessary. For
checking and editing the content I relied mainly on people born in
India or on friends who have been living in India for 10+ years to
reflect as much as possible the dialect spoken in the refugee
population. Even then, there is some variation from one refugee
settlement to the next and this book will primarily reflect the
dialect spoken in Himachal Pradesh, specifically in the Dharamsala
and Bir areas.
This book should take up where the other textbooks such
as The Manual of Standard Tibetan, Colloquial Tibetan,
etc. leave off. One who has studied such textbooks should have a good
foundation and know many basic terms, sentence structures, and
vocabulary dealing with coming, going, eating, sleeping--what is
called in Tibetan "eating and drinking language"
What is provided here should help to bring one to the next level--to
be able to express one's feelings and desires, discuss politics,
religion and other complex topics. I did not include many specific
Buddhist terms as there are an abundance of other resources for
learning them.
This text is by no means complete or consistent in style or choice of
words. Some basic words are included and some are left out by my own
laziness or by my assumption that the reader would have some basic
knowledge. Many common and useful words are also surely missing out
of my own ignorance...."
