Tibet's Minority Languages: Diversity and endangerment

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.

Dated phylogeny suggests early Neolithic origin of Sino-Tibetan languages

“…The sparse distribution of ethnolinguistic groups over Eastern China and the Tibetan plateau is in sharp contrast with the Himalayan region, one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world and home to around 600 languages 59 . While major expansions of Sinitic and Bodish speakers had assimilated many earlier linguistic groups within in China 10 , 60 , the Himalayan region maintained high levels of ethnolinguistic diversity 61 , possibly as the result of stochastic drifts and long-term geographical isolation. The mountainous terrains of the Himalayan regions largely limited opportunities for social contact and cultural diffusion for groups living in close proximity 59 .…”

Kinship and the State in Tibet and Its Borderlands

“…Writing in 1361, the Tibetan ruler Ta'i Situ Jangchub Gyaltsen (1302-64) referred to his land as 'a territory with a single Tibetan language' (bod skad rigs gcig pa'i khul).1 Despite such assertions, there is a growing appreciation of the complex patchwork of languages spoken in Tibetan regions (e.g. Roche & Suzuki 2018). Linguistic diversity, especially in the borderlands, has parallels with issues of ethnicity.…”

Linguistic Human Rights in Tibet: Advocacy and Denial

“…An important aspect of these challenges is the state's refusal to recognize the existence of most language communities amongst Tibetans. Rather than acknowledging the multilingual reality (Roche, 2014;Roche & Suzuki, 2018), the state instead represents and treats the Tibetan community as monolingual, possessing only a single Tibetan language with three major dialects (Roche, 2017(Roche, , 2019. Tibetans have long recognized the diversity of their spoken languages (Roche 2021c), and linguists have identified at least 30 mutually unintelligible spoken varieties among Tibetans in the PRC (Roche and Suzuki 2018), in addition to 'the Tibetan language' and the variety it contains (Tournadre 2014).…”