Vocabulary of Shingnyag Tibetan: A Dialect of Amdo Tibetan Spoken in Lhagang, Khams Minyag

Vocabulary of Shingnyag Tibetan:

A Dialect of Amdo Tibetan Spoken in Lhagang, Khams Minyag

Suzuki, Hiroyuki

IKOS, Universitetet i Oslo/National Museum of Ethnology

Sonam Wangmo

IKOS, Universitetet i Oslo

Lhagang Town, located in Kangding Municipality, Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China, is inhabited by many Tibetan pastoralists speaking varieties which are similar to Amdo Tibetan even though it is located at the Minyag Rabgang region of Khams, based on the Tibetan traditional geography. Among the multiple varieties spoken by inhabitants living in Lhagang Town, the Shingyag dialect is spoken in the south-western part of the town. It is somewhat different from other Amdo varieties spoken in Lhagang Town in the phonetic and phonological aspects. This article provides a word list with ca.

1500 words of Shingnyag Tibetan.

Keywords:Amdo Tibetan, Minyag Rabgang, dialectology, migration pattern

1. Introduction

2. Phonological overview of Shingnyag Tibetan 3. Principal phonological features of Shingnyag Tibetan

1. Introduction

This article aims to provide a word list (including ca. 1500 entries) with a phonological sketch of Shingnyag Tibetan, spoken in Xiya [Shing-nyag]¹ Hamlet, located in the south-western part of Tagong [lHa-sgang] Town (henceforth Lhagang Town), Kangding [Dar-mdo] Municipality, Ganzi [dKar-mdzes] Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China (see Figure 1). Lhagang Town is in the easternmost part of Khams based on the traditional Tibetan geography, however, it is inhabited by many Tibetans whose mother tongue is Amdo Tibetan.²Referring to Qu and Jin (1981), we can see that it is already known that Amdo-speaking Tibetans live in

Suzuki, Hiroyuki and Sonam Wangmo. 2016. “Vocabulary of Shingnyag Tibetan: A dialect of Amdo Tibetan spoken in Lhagang, Khams Minyag”. Asian and African Languages and Linguistics11. pp.101–127. [Permanent URL:

http://hdl.handle.net/10108/89211]

1The original Tibetan orthography in a Wylie transliteration is attached in square brackets for each proper name with a transcription of Chinese.

2For this reason, it is often misunderstood that the Amdo-speakers are the original inhabitants in Lhagang Town;

that is why Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2015a, b) emphasise the existence of the local vernacular of Khams spoken there.

some parts of Khams, however, varieties of Amdo Tibetan spoken in Khams have not been well investigated so far, especially those spoken in the easternmost Khams region.

Wang (2012) includes a phonological description of a Amdo variety spoken in Luhuo [Brag-’go], which is, indeed, a variety spoken in a different area from Kangding. The gSerkha dialect of Amdo Tibetan (Suzuki 2015) is a variety considered as a member of Amdo Tibetan in Kangding.

Fig. 1 Geographical position of Lhagang Town. (=marked)³

As shown in Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2015b), Lhagang Town is a multilingual area, and they claim that there are at least four Tibetic varieties spoken in the town: two Khams varieties and two Amdo varieties. In addition, Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2016b) report an existence of a newly recognised non-Tibetic language, Lhagang Choyu, spoken in a hamlet within Lhagang Town. All of them are spoken in the centre of Lhagang Town, called Lhagang Village, because it is inhabited by Tibetans who are originally sedentary settlers in the village as well as immigrants from the surrounding rural, pastoral area due to the rapid urbanisation and the governmental resettlement policy.⁴

Figure 2 displays a distribution of regiolects within Lhagang Town recognised and

3Figure 1 is designed with Googlemaps (https://www.google.co.jp/maps/; accessed on 25th June 2015). Also employed in Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2015b, 2016a).

4See Sonam Wangmo (2013) and Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2017) for details.

classified by the present authors. There are threelanguages⁵in Lhagang Town: Khams (Tibetic; Lhagang Village and the westernmost area), Amdo (Tibetic; central area of Lhagang Town except for Lhagang Village), and Lhagang Choyu (Qiangic; the westernmost area). This figure displays that Amdo is distributed the most widely. The geographical point of Shingnyag Hamlet is given in a specific symbol. The location of Shingnyag Hamlet is far from Lhagang Village, and relatively close to another Khams Tibetan-spoken hamlet called Tage [Thabs-mkhas], where Lhagang Choyu is also distributed.⁶Shingnyag Tibetan, dealt with in this article, is, in fact, excluded from the two varieties of Amdo reported by Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2015b), and it should be regarded as a new variety of Amdo Tibetan recognised in Lhagang Town.

Fig. 2 Distribution of regiolects in Lhagang Town.⁷

According to the folk tradition, the element nyagin Shingnyag is related to that in Nyagchu (Yalongjiang [Nyag-chu] River) or Nyagrong (Xinlong [Nyag-rong] County), however, it awaits confirmation. This means that ancestors of Tibetans living in Shingnyag Hamlet might have immigrated from a certain place along the Yalongjiang

5As for the ‘Tibetan language’, we follow the definition of ‘Tibetic languages’ coined by Tournadre (2014).

6However, Lhagang Choyu has hardly functioned as a communication language any more. See Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2016b).

7Figure 2 is designed with the online geocoding system provided at the following site:

http://ktgis.net/gcode/lonlatmapping.html (accessed on 29th March 2016).

River, located at the west to Lhagang Town (present Yajiang [Nyag-chu-kha] and Xinlong counties). Amdo-speakers certainly live in the mountainous area along Yalongjiang, especially around the border area between Litang [Li-thang] and Xinlong counties. According to the oral history narrated by pastoralists in Litang, their ancestors belong to theWa shul⁸tribe, whose originally inhabiting place was around the present Seda [gSer-rta] County. If the relation between Shingnyag Tibetans and Litang pastoralists is confirmed, the language spoken by Shingnyag Tibetans will be related to that of theWa shultribe, which is different from the varieties spoken in Gongrima and gYukhyim hamlets within Lhagang Town.

2. Phonological overview of Shingnyag Tibetan 2.1. Phonemes and suprasegmentals

The phonological inventory, following the pandialectal phonetic transcription defined in Tournadre and Suzuki (forthcoming), adapted to the description of this article is as follows:

Consonantism

lab. alveo. retr. palatal vel. uvul. glot.

pre- post-

plosive asp. p^h t^h

ú

^h c^h k^h q^h

vl. p t

ú

c k q

P

vd. b d

ã é

g

å

affricate asp. ts^h t

C

^h

vl. ts t

C

vd. dz d

ý

fricative asp. s^h

ù

^h

C

^h x^h

vl.

F

s

ù C

x

X

h

vd. z

ý , K H

nasal vd. m n

ő N

vl. m

˚ ˚

ⁿ

˚ ő ˚ N

liquid vd. l r

vl. l

semivowel vd. w,

V ˚

j

(asp.: voiceless aspirated; vl.: voiceless non-aspirated; vd.: voiced; lab.: labial;

alveo.: alveolar; retr.: retroflex; vel.: velar; uvul.: uvular; glot.: glottal)

8Generally pronounced as/,a x^hu/in Lithang Amdo.

Vocalism

i u

e

@

o

  a

A

No contrasts between ‘short’ and ‘long’, and ‘plain’ and ‘nasalised’ are attested.

Suprasegmentals

No suprasegmental distinctions are attested as in the majority of Amdo Tibetan varieties.⁹ Stress, realised as a higher pitch and a clearer articulatory gesture of the initial, on the first syllable of a polysyllabic word is often prominent as a prosodic feature.

2.2. Phonotactics

The phonotactics of Shingnyag Tibetan is a little complicated. A maximum sound structure of a syllable is described by using the manner of Suzuki (2005) as follows:

CCCiGVC

However, it is rare that a double preinitial (^CC) appears; hence an ordinary sound structure should be^CCiGVC. A minimum structure is CiV.

All the consonant phonemes are able to appear at the position of main initial (Ci) except for/

H

_/. A preinitial (^C) may be prenasalised elements (i.e., homorganic nasal), bilabial nasals (^m,^m˚), bilabial stops (^p,^b), bilabial continuants (^F,^w), alveolar liquids (^l,

l

˚), retroflex continuants (^ù, ^r), velar fricative (^x), or preaspirations (^h, ^H). A double preinitial (^CC) may be a combination of a prenasalisation/preaspiration and others within the elements listed above. A final (C) can be occupied by one of /p, t, k, q, m, n,

N

, l, r/.

3. Principal phonological features of Shingnyag Tibetan

We will list up principal phonological features characterising Shingnyag Tibetan below from a typological viewpoint.¹⁰

• Uvular sounds

9Wang (2012) reports that there is a variety called rMa-stod which possesses a suprasegmental distinction (pitch-tone).

10A dialectological analysis of Tibetic languages requires a diachronic view by comparing the synchronic data with Written Tibetan (WrT) forms. However, the discussion provided here concentrates on a synchronic description. An exhaustive description of a comparison with WrT will be separately provided in another article.

Shingnyag Tibetan has three uvular plosives/q^h, q,

å

_/and two uvular fricatives /

X

,

K

_/. The existence of uvular plosives in a Tibetic language is noted by many scholars, such as Huang (2012) and Wang (2012).

Examples of uvular plosives are following:

/q^ha ta/ ‘crow’, /q^h

@

p/ ‘needle’, /qwar k^ho

N

_/ ‘window’, /qap/ ‘hide (oneself)’, /^ð

å

o/‘ride’, etc.

Examples of uvular fricatives are following:

/^p

ú

^h

@ K

a/‘shoulder’,/

K

a/‘fox’,/r

@ K

o

N

_/‘rabbit’, etc.

• Labiodental semivowel

A labiodental semivowel/

V

_/is a typologically rare sound within the varieties of Amdo Tibetan. Examples are following:

/^H

V

in^Ngo/‘knee’,/^m˚t

C

^h

@ V@

q/‘lip’, etc.

• Labial/labiodental sounds

A labial fricative/

F

_/ as a main initial rarely appears. However, as a preinitial, it appears more, and its voicing counterpart, labial semivowel/w/, also appears frequently. /

F

_/and/p/as a preinitial are distincive in a few cases. Examples are following:

/

F

u ts^h

@

p/‘chili/Sichuan pepper’,/

F

a ro/‘over there’;

/^F

ú@

n/‘cloud’ (cf./^p

ú@N

_/‘breast’),/^Fs

@

_/‘body hair’;

/^wla/‘thigh’,/^wri/‘snake’, etc.

• Vowel contrast between/a/and/

A

_/

Shingnyag Tibetan has a contrast between two vowels /a/ and /

A

_/, which can form a minimal pair. Examples are following:

/k^ha/‘mouth’ -/k^h

A

_/‘snow’;

/^Fkwa/‘order’ -/^Fkw

A

_/‘portion’, etc.

• Contrast between/^lCi/and/^rCi/

This feature certainly characterises Shingnyag Tibetan. The actual difference of phonetic realisations between these two combinations is not regarding the articulation of the preinitial ([l, l

˚

^{] or [r, r}

˚

]), but regarding its articulatory manner:

the preinitial of/^lCi/is pronounced with a contact of the tongue tip to the alveolar, while that of/^rCi/, without a contact of the tongue tip to the alveolar.¹¹Examples are following:

/^l

N

a/‘five’ -/^r

N

a/‘drum’;

/^˚lt

C@

q/‘iron’ -/^ùn

˚

^a

˚rt

C@

_/‘nose ring’ -/^ùt

C

a/‘hair’;

/^˚lta/‘look’ -/^m˚t

C

^ho˚^rten/‘st

¯ u

pa’ -/^ùta/‘horse’, etc.

• Double preinitials (^CC)

A double preinitial (^CC) rarely appears. The preinitial part is a combination of either preaspiration + a labial plosive or prenasalisation +a labial plosive.

11The preinitial /_˚^r/ can be distinguished from /^ù/, however, an accoustic analysis will be required for this phenomenon.

Examples are following:

/^Hb

ã@N

_/‘sugar’,/^m˚p

ú

^h

@ N

a/‘beads’, etc.

Word list of Shingnyag Tibetan

The entries of vocabulary are ordered following Hua ed. (2002), in which selected items are described here, as: Nouns (classified into several semantic categories, such as Astrology and Geology, Body, Person, Animals, Plants, Food, Clothings, Housing, Instrumentals, Cultural objects, Space and Time), Numbers, Pronouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.¹²A small number of words excluded in Hua ed. (2002) are also added. Evident loanwords are indicated by^†following a word with a footnote.

Astrology and Geology sky  ^Hnam

sun  

ő@

ma light wet/wot

moon  ^Hdz

A

_/^Hdza wa star  ^hkar ma

cloud ^F

ú@

n

thunder t^hoq/^m

ã@

k wind  ^Klo

N

_/^Klo

N

k^ha rain^Hnam/t

C

^har/t

C

^ha rwa rainbow ^őd

ý

a

snow  k^h

A

hail  s^he ra ice  t

C

^h

A

r

@

m fire  ^m

ő

e smoke  to

H

a earth s^ha mountain r

@

river t

C

^h

@

lake  ^m_˚ts^ho roadlam soil  s^ha stone ^rdo sand  ^F

C

e ma

dust  t^h

A

mud  ⁿda^mb

@

q water t

C

^h

@

forest n

@

q/n

@

q ts^h

@

l glassland ^ùtsa t^h

@N

gold  ^xser silver ^ù

˚ N

i copper r

@

q iron˚^lt

C@

q rust  ^htsa coal  s^hu ki ash  t^h

A

place s^ha t

C

^ha Lhasa l

˚

^{a s}

ha

Khams k^ham ba s^ha t

C

^ha Amdo  

P

a^mdo Lhagang Monastery l

˚

^a

rg

@N

^Hgon ba town  ^rdzo

N

street 

ú

o

N

n

@N

village ^Hde wa bridge zam ba homeland ha j

@

l

12Several verbs might have a stem alternation, which, however, does not regularly appear any more. Another article will be needed for a detailed description regarding this issue.

Body

body  ^Hzu xu head  ^mgo hair  ^ùt

C

a front t^ho pa eyebrow ^Hdz

@

ma eyelash^,

ő

i^Fs

@

eye  ^,

ő

ik nose  n

˚

^a ear  ^rn

A

face  k^ha

N

o mouth k^ha lip  ^m_˚t

C

^h

@ V@

q moustache k^ha^Fs

@

beard ^H

é

a^Fs

@

re jaw  ma ne neck  ^ùke

shoulder^p

ú

^h

@

q qa/^p

ú

^h

@ K

a back  

ő

a_˚ⁿt

@

q

armpit ts^h

@

k k^h

@N

breast ^p

ú@N

milk  

,

_{o ma} belly hwa navel ^hte ja waist ^r

é@

p buttocks tam^Hgo thigh ^wla

knee  ^H

V

in^Ngo leg

ő

a ji foot  ^ùka

N

a elbow t

C@

^md

ý@

k hand  l

@

q pa/l

A X

a arm  ts^h

@

k t^ho finger ^mdz

@ , @

palm l

@

q^m˚t^hi^hci^hk

@

thumb ^mdz

@

k t

C

^hen ma

index finger ko

N

^mdz

@

k middle finger ^hci^mdz

@

k small finger ^mdz

@

k t

C

^ho

N

ma nail  s^hen mo

fist  k^h

@

ts^h

@

r

skin

P

o x^ha/l

@

q^H

é

ep wrinkle ^Hge^H

ő

er mole  n

@ X

o sore  ^rma wound ^rma blood c^h

@

q pulse ^ùtsa brain ^Hl

A

pa bone r

@

pa joint ts^h

@

q t^ho tooth s^ho tongue˚^lt

C

e throat ^m

ő

i p^ha lung ^Hlwa heart 

˚ ő@N

liver _˚^mt

C

^h

@

n ba kidney ^m_˚k^hw

A

ma gall bladder ^m_˚c^h

@

^Fsa stomach ^p

ú@N

¹³ intestine ^H

é@

ma excrement ^hc

@ X

a urine ^ùt

C@

n fart^Hj

@

sweat ^H

N

i t

C

^h

@

sputum t

C

^h

@

ma nasal mucus ^ùn

˚ @

p tear  ^,

ő

ik t

C

^h

@

voice ^ùkat life  

ù

^hoq

13This word form corresponds to WrTbrang‘breast’.

Person person ^m

ő@

Tibetan wo pa Han Chinese ^r

é

a child 

ý

a

ý

i/

ý@

l

@

old man ^Hga^rge man

ý

i l

@

woman 

ý

i mo doctor m

˚

^{an ba} military ^Hm

@

q pastoralist ^m

ã

o

X

a beggar h

@

q^H

é

o friend ro

X

wa teacher ^rge^rgen lunatic 

˚ ő

on ba grandfather 

P

a^m

ő

e grandmother 

P

a ji father 

P

a p^ha mother 

P

a ma parents ha ma son  

ý@

l

@

bride ^Hna ma

daughter 

ý

i mo bridegroom wo t^h

@N

grandson ts^ha wo granddaughter ts^ha mo elder brother 

P

a^r

é

a elder sister

P

a t

C

e younger brother 

C

^ha

ő

i younger sister 

ù

^h

@N

mo paternal elder uncle 

P

a k^h

@

paternal elder uncle’s wife 

P

a ne paternal younger uncle 

P

a k^h

@

nephew ts^ha wo

brother wo^Fs

@

n sister wo mo^hp

@

n^ï

ã

i maternal uncle 

P

a

ý@N

maternal uncle’s wife 

P

a ne familyc^h

@

m^H

é@

t

relatives 

ő

e

H

a husband ^Hga ho wife  ^Hgan mo twins  ^m_˚ts^he l

@

Animals cattle zoq bull  ^Hl

@N

^mbi yak  ^Hj

@

q female yak ^m

ã@

mdzo^14  mdzo female mdzo ^mdzo mo calf  wi li/wi ox  

P

a_˚^rqo cow  mo zoq milk cow ^m

ã@

cattle’s wet dung _˚^lt

C

wa horn  ra t

C

o

skin  kwa/w

@ X

a body hair ^Fs

@

tail  ^r

N

a ma horse ^ùta pony  ^hti^htsi stallion ^hta ho mare  ^Hgon ma sheep l

@

k

14A hybrid of ox and female yak.

ewel

@

k ma goat  ra ma baby goat ri^htsi lamb  l

@ , @

wool  l

@

k w

A

_/w

A

sheep’s dung ri ma mule  ^p

ú

wi donkey k

@

r

@

pig  h

@

q sow  h

@

q mo boar  ho h

@

q pigleth

@

q^p

ú

^h

@

k dog  c^h

@

bitch c^h

@

mo cat  moⁿdz

@

rabbit r

@ K

o

N

chicken ^F

C

a cock  ^F

C

a p^ho hen  ^F

C

a mo wing  ^h

C

o

X

a down  ^F

C

a^H

ã

o/^H

ã

o duck  t

C

^h

@

^F

C

a pigeonm

@

^hk

@

tiger ^ht

@

q lion  s^he

N

gi dragon ^m

ã@

k claw  ^Hrwa wa

monkey

P

a^rge bear  tom deer  

C

^hwa mouse ts

@ , @

wolf  ^Fsw

@N

k^h

@

fox  

K

a

bird  ^F

C

a eagle ^Hl

@

q vulture ^F

C

a^rgot swallow k^h

@N

^F

C

i spallow ^F

C

i^htse crowq^ha ta peacock ^Hma^F

C

a snake ^wri

frog  ^wrw

A

wa/^wrw

A

^ñ

é@

fish  

ő

a insect ^mb

@

flea  ^ld

ý

wa louse 

C

^hik fly  

C

^ha^mb

@

mosquito ^htsa^mb

@

spider ^mb

@

qa ra/t

C

oq qa ra centipede^hk

@

m

@N

^mb

@

ant  coq ma

bee  ^Hw

@N

ma

butterfly ^F

C

^he ma la^ptse

Plants

tree  _˚^lt

C@N

ma¹⁵ root  ^htswa leaf  lo ma flower me toq connifer 

C

^h

@ ,

_a pine  ^H

ã

on ma bamboo 

˚ ő

ik ma thronets^her ma

fruit 

C

^ha

N

t^hoq peach k^ham b

@

lotus flower pan ma me toq saffron k

@

r g

@

m me toq walnut ^htar ga

crop  lo t^hoq foodstuff^m

ã@

rik rice^m

ã

e

15This word form corresponds to WrTlcang ma‘willow’.

seeds^ha w

@

n wheat co

highland barley ne chili 

F

u ts^h

@

p garlic ^Hgo

X

wa ginger ^ùt

C

a^rga

edible seedkwa ts

@

_/k

@

^m

ã@

pea  

ù

^han ma grass ^ùtsa

mushroom 

C

^ha mo pteridophyte root co ma

Food

food  ^m

ã

e/za ma/ⁿdu^†16 porrige ^m

ã

e ts^ha

wheat flower t

C@

q^Hd

ý

e steamed bun ^Hdzor na noodle p

@

^ht

@

q

steamed stuffed bun poq ts

@

breakfastn

@N

t

C

^h

@

lunch 

ú

e t

C

a dinner n

@

p t

C

^h

@

milk tea 

,

_{o t}

C

a meat  

C

^ha lean meat 

C

^ha^rn

˚ @

q oil  ^ùn

˚ @

m salad oil mar n

@

q fat oil ts^hi butter mar yoghurt 

ý

o

cheese t

C

^h

@

ra

first milk after the birth 

ý

o

C@

tsampa^17 ùtsam ba beef  zoq

C

^ha salt  ts^ha sugar ^Hb

ã@N

Sichuan pepper

F

u ts^h

@

p egg  ^rgo

N

wa

soup  k^hwa alcohol t

C

^h

@N

hot water t

C

^h

@

ts^ha tea  t

C

a

tobacco t

@

wa medicine m

˚

^an snuffn

˚

^{a t}

@

Clothings thread ^hk

@

pa cloth re

monk’s cloths 

C

an t^h

@

p cloths ko ze

Tibetan woolen cloths 

C

e s

@

collar n

@N

ko

N

sleeve ^F

C

^h

@

ko

N

button ^H

é

o xo trousers tor ma hat  

ý

a

belt  tor t^h

@

q/^hke r

@

q shoe  xaj^†18

comb ^h

ú

a^p

C

^h

@

t jewel nor w

@

16Loan from Lhagang Choyu/¯ⁿdu/‘food’. See Suzuki and Sonam Wangmo (2016b).

17It just denotes ‘fried highland barley flour’ in Shingnyag.

18Loan from Sichuanese (Southwest Mandarin) xai鞋‘shoe’.

coral^F

C

e r

@

turquoise ^Hj

@

pearl m

@

t^h

@

k ivory pa s^ho amber ^hpu

C

^hi

earring^Hn

A

lo

N

necklace ^hke^r

é

et ring  ^mdz

@

p^hci bracelet l

@

q^hci

Housing blanket ^htan pillow ^mgo_˚^r

˚ ő

e cushion ^htan house k^h

@

^mba roof  q^h

@N

t^hoq inn  ^m

ã

on q^h

@N

kitchen t

C

a q^h

@N

storied housets^h

@

k t^hoq upstairs q^h

@N

t^hoq downstairs q^h

@N

joq store house ^mdzot q^h

@N

cowshed nor q^h

@N

_/zoq q^h

@N

pigsty h

@

q q^h

@N

horse fence ^ùta q^h

@N

sheepfold l

@

k ra chicken coop ^F

C

a ts^h

@N

wall  ^hts

@ ,

_a log  

C

^ha

N

plank 

C

^ha

N

l

@

p pillar kwa gate  ^Hgo threshold ^Hgo t^hi entrance door ^Hgo t

C

^hin windowqwar k^ho

N

stair ^hki

beam  ^Hdo

N

ma step  ^rdo^ùki tent  k

@

r

yak-woolen tent ^wra/^wrwa garden rwa/ra wa

toilets t

C

^hap q^h

@N

Instrumentals thing t

C

a k^ha table ^ùt

C

oq tse chair ^ùk

@

p t^h

@

q bed  

őA ú

^h

@

box  ^rgam cabinet t

C

^hw

A

glass 

C

^hel mirror 

C

^he^rgo bloom _˚^m

C

^h

@

q ma light ^Hluq

candle ^p

ú

w

A

^H

ã@

n

firewood ^mb

@

t

C

i coal  s^hu ki flint ^m

ő

e^rdo match j

AN

xwo^†19 torch ^m

ő

e c^hu incense ^hpu garbage ^F

C

^h

@

^rge cooking stove t^hap k^ha iron pan 

ú

^ho

frying pan 

ú

^ho steamer ^Hlo

ő

i

19Loan from Sichuanese (Southwest Mandarin) yanghuo洋火‘match’.

lidk^ha l

@

p knife c

@

ladle ^ùcoq spoon k^h

@

k^Hde gourd ladle ^ùcoq wooden bowl 

C

^ha

N

t

C

e bowl  t

C

a

ő

e

dish  ^Hder ma chopsticks za t^h

@

r bottle tam bi pot  ^rdza ma jar^rdza ma kettle tem/ts^ha tem bucket t

C

^h

@

^,zi wooden tray ^H

ý

o

N

ma basket pi t^hu

tripet ^ùk

@N

^hs

@

m leather bellows k^hu mo suspender ^hk

@

r t^h

@

q steelyard ^r

é

a ma money ta jin^†20 ruler  t^h

@

ts

@

needleq^h

@

p nale  _˚^lt

C@

qⁿdzer scissors ts

@

n t

@

q ladder ^hki

umbrella 

C

^hoq^Hd

@

k lock  ^Hgo_˚^lt

C@

q key  ^lde^m

ő

ik wheel ^˚Nk^hor lo rod  ^Hji

,

_a saddle ^ùta^rga halter ^m_˚t^h

@

r^Hgo belly band ^Hlo bit  

ù

^hap stirrup jop t

C

^hen horseshoe ^rmik˚^lt

C@

q manger k^ha ts^h

@

q

rein

ù

^ham^mda whip  _˚^lt

C@

q^htse nose ring ^ùn

˚

^a

˚rt

C@

glasses 

C

^he^m

ő

ik oxhide string ^m

ã@N

na ship  t

C@

zan airplane ^Hnam^F

C

a bicycle _˚^lt

C@

q^hta instrument t

C

^h

@

r t

C

^ha axe  ^ùta re

hammer t^h

A

chisel ^mb

@

k saws^hoq le plough ^ùko ma leather bag ^H

é

wa carrying pole ^p

ú

^h

@

q

C

^ha

N

handle j

@ H

a

grip  ^rdza lo

N

rope  t^h

@ K

a fertiliser l

@

t sickle zo ra sieve ts^h

@

q millstone ro

N

ⁿd

@

q loomzo

ú

^h

@

conch ^hpe lance ^mdo

N

sheath tc

@ C

^h

@

p gun  wu bullet ^mde

, @

arrow ^mda poison t

@

k net  

úA

present xa^mb

@

notebook tep quiltp^hu^Hgi^†21 matress t^han dz

@

20Perhaps loan from Sichuanese (Southwest Mandarin) dayin大銀or dayang大洋‘money, cach’.

21Loan from Sichuanese (Southwest Mandarin) beigai被蓋‘quilt’.

Cultural objects script ji

,

_e letter ji

,

_e alphabet ^hsa^B

ý

it picture r

@

mo book  ji

,

_e paper

C

^ho

K

o pen  

˚ ő@ , @

ink  ^ùn

˚ @

q ts^ha school 

C

wo t^h

AN

knowledge jon den talk  ^ùket t

C

^ha

Spoken Tibetan wot_˚^rket Written Tibetan wo jik name  ^m

ő

a

N

family name ri^m

ő

a

N

sign  ^ùt

@

q

newspaper ts^h

@

q^hp

@

r story^Hna r

@

k proverb ^htam

X

we joke  k^ha^m˚ts^h

@

r riddle 

P

a ke m

@

ket voice ^H

ã

a

song  ^Hl

@

dance ^p

ú

o drum  ^r

N

a flute ^Hd

ý

wa^Hlo

N

bell  

ú@

lwa trampet to

N

_/ja lo

N

thangka, Buddhist drawingt^h

@N

k^ha mask  ^mb

@

q/^mgo

religion t

C

^hu l

@

k belief ta pa deity l

˚

^a female deity l

˚

^{a mo} ghost ^ï

ã

e

female ghost ^ï

ã

e mo evil  ^bd

@

t

N

¯ a

ga  ^Hl

@

Buddha s^h

@N

^Hd

ý

i soul  ^rnam

C

^hi spirit ^wla incarnation ⁿdi next life ts^he^Ft

C

^he ma reincarnation^˚Nk^hor wa fortune le lam

destiny le charity ^Hge wa evil omen _˚^lti

N

en lama  ^wla ma

reincarnated lama ^h

ú@

l^hk

@

abbot ^m_˚k^hwan bo

monk  

ú

wa/

ú

wa wa nun  t

C

o mo

housekeeper ^H

ő

er wa

monk resuming secular life^hka loq donor ^w

ý

en^bd

@

q

donation of tea m

@N

t

C

a sorcerer 

P

a^m˚t

C

^hot fortune teller mo wa hell  ^m

ő

al wa monastery ^Hgon ba congregation l

˚

^{a q}

h

@N

religious institution 

ú

a ts^h

@N

meditation cell ^m_˚ts^ham q^h

@N

man

˙

^{i ma ne jik}

ú@

k

burning incense ^Fs

@N

st

u ¯

pa ^m_˚t

C

^ho˚^rten Buddha statue l

˚

^a

r

˚k

@

butter lamp^m˚t

C

^ho mar ceremonial scarf k^ha tar amulet box ^F

ù

w

@N

^hkor release of animals ts^he t^har mantra m

A N

en

s

¯ u

tra t

C

^hu beads ^m_˚^p

ú

^h

@ N

a vajra ^rdo^rd

ý

e

man

˙

^{i wheel ma ne}

˚N

k^hor lo donation ^w

ý@

n ba

position ko s^ha power ^H

K@N

life  _˚ⁿts^ho wa salary hoq portion ^Fkw

A

market ts^ho

N

ra priority han t^hoq cause ^r

é@

^m˚ts^hen answer lan faminem

@

ge suffering ^Hduk^r

˚ N

al mistake no^˚ï

ú

^h

@

l danger 

ő

en k^ha distinction c^het t

C

^hu space ^hs

AN

lucky ^p

ú

a

C

^hi

thanks ^Fkwa

ã

in t

C

^he crack ke se

trace 

C

^hi shadow c

@

p s^ho

colour^mdoq qa dream ^m

ő

i lam spirit jit^˚Nk^ham idea  ^Fsam ts^h

@

l appearance ^wzo_˚^lta affair ton d

@

q means ^wlo t^h

@

p strength 

C

^he

C

^hik order ^Fkwa

prison ^Ftsw

@

n k^h

@N

rumour ^htam c^her sin

ő

i pa

bare foot _˚^rk

@N

^rd

ý

in drawer _˚ⁿt^hem^Hgam weapon ^m_˚ts^hw

@

n t

C

^ha victory ^r

é

al k^ha country ^r

é

an^˚Nk^ham experience 

ő

am^m

ő

o

N

conference ts^hoqⁿd

@

distance war t^h

@

q walking _˚^rk

@N

n

˚ @

Space and Time time  ti ts^hot todayte ra

N

yesterday  k^h

A

˚^rts

@N

day before yesterday k^he

ő

in b

@

three days before k^he

ý

i

ő

in b

@

tomorrow  s^h

@N ő

in

day after tomorrow ^Hne

ő

in three days later ^H

ý

i

ő

in this evening  to k^ho tomorrow evening s^ha^rgo

N

last night ^md

@N

^rgo

N

daytime  

ő

in^hk

@

r morning

˚ N

a mo noon  

ő

in^Hgo

N

sunset time  ^hsar

ù

^hot

evening  ^Hgo

N

mo night^m˚ts^han ki midnight ^m_˚ts^han^F

C

^hit animal of year  lo^ùta mouse year  ts

@ , @

ox year  zoq tiger year  ^ùt

@

q rabbit year  jor dragon year  ^m

ã@

k snake year  ^b

ã@

l horse year  ^ùta sheep year  l

@

k monkey year^p

ú

w

@

ji cock year  ^F

C

a dog year  c^h

@

pig yearp^h

@

q day  ts^he^wza first day ts^he^ht

C

ik second day ts^he^H

ő

i month  ^Hdz

A

in the morning 

˚ N

a mo in the afternoon ^F

C

^h

@ ú

o January ^Hda wa t

@N

bo February ^Hda wa^H

ő

i pa December ^Hda wa^pt

C@

^,

ő

i pa beginning of a month ^Hda˚^rtot middle of a month^Hdz

A

wa˚^rcit end of a month ^Hdz

A

wa^md

ý@

k birthday ^ùci^hk

@

r

year  lo recently 

ő

e r

@N

this year ta lo last year na n

@N

last two years ^H

ý

i n

@N

lo next year s^h

@N

lo next two year ^Hn

@N

lo

before

ő

i ma^Hna^Hna/^Hna

˚ N

a mo long time ago ^Hna ti

now   ta t^h

@N

_/ta˚^lta future  ma

K

o

N

pa beginning ^Ngo^őd

ý@

k Monday ^Hza^Hda wa Tuesday ^Hza^Hm

@

k mar Wednesday ^Hza pa s^h

@N

Thursday ^Hza^hpen ba Friday ^Hza p^h

@

r w

@

Saturday ^Hza l

˚ @

q pa Sunday ^Hza

ő

i ma spring  ^ùt

C@

t ka summer  ^Hjar k^ha autumn  ^ùton k^ha winter  ^rg

@

n k^ha new year lo^hs

@

r solar ecclipse 

ő@

ⁿdz

@

n lunar ecclipse ^Hdaⁿdz

@

n festival  ti t

C

^hin

Numbers 1   ^ht

C

ik 2   ^H

ő

i 3^hs

@

m 4   ^w

ý@

5   ^l

N

a 6   

ú@

k 7   ^bd

@

n 8   ^b

é

et 9   ^Hg

@

10   ^pt

C@

11   ^pt

C@

^ht

C

ik 12   ^pt

C@

^,

ő

i 13   ^pt

C@

^hs

@

m 14^pt

C

i^w

ý@

15   ^pt

C

w

A N

a 16   ^pt

C@

^h

ú@

k

17   ^pt

C

i^bd

@

n 18   ^pt

C

u^b

é

et 19^pt

C@

^rg

@

20   

ő

i x

@

21   ^ùtsa^ht

C

ik 28   

ő

i

C

^h

@

^ùtsa^b

é

et 30   s^h

@

m t

C@

32   s^h

@

m t

C@

s^ho^,

ő

i 38   s^h

@

m t

C@

s^ho^b

é

et 40   ^w

ý@

^pt

C@

43   ^w

ý@

^pt

C@ ý

e^hsum 50   ^l

N

a^pt

C@

54   ^l

N

a^pt

C@ N

a^w

ý@

60

ú@

k t

C@

65   

ú@

k t

C@

re^l

N

a 70   ^bd

@

n t

C@

76^bd

@

n t

C@

ton

ú@

k 80   ^b

é

a t

C@

87   ^b

é

a t

C@

ca^bd

@

n 90   ^Hg

@

^pt

C@

98   ^Hg

@

^pt

C@

ko^b

é

et 99   ^Hg

@

^pt

C@

ko^rg

@

100   ^b

é

a

101   ^b

é

a d

@

^ht

C

ik 108   ^b

é

a d

@

^b

é

et 880   ^b

é

et^b

é

a^b

é

a^pt

C@

1000 ^ùto

N

^ht

C

ik 10000  

ú

^h

@

^ht

C

ik 100000  ^mb

@

m 1000000  ^F

C

e wa 10000000  s^ha ja 100000000  to

N

^F

C

^h

@

r half  ^F

C

^het

first  t

@N

bo second  ^H

ő

i pa

Pronouns I   

N

a we two 

N

e^H

ő

i we (exclusive)

N

a ts^ho you (singular) c^ho you (honorific) c^het yow two c^he^H

ő

i you (plural) c^ho ts^ho he/she/it k^ho they two k^ho^H

ő

i they  k^ho ts^ho

we (inclusive) 

N

a r

@N

ts^ho everyone  ta^m_˚t

C

^het ts^h

@N

ma self  r

@N ő@

t

other personm

@

^w

ý

an ba this  ⁿd

@

these ⁿd

@

ts^ho here  ⁿd

@

na

here around ⁿd

@

^F

C

^hoq these two ⁿd

@

^H

ő

i ka like this ⁿd

@

^ï

ã

a

it   te that  te thosete ts^ho there ter

over there 

F

a ro/te^F

C

^hoq like that te^htar

who   s^h

@

who (plural) s^h

@

s^h

@

what   t

C

^h

@

ze^ï

ã

e where  k

@N

na when  nam

how  t

C

^h

@

z

@

ma/k

@N

^ï

ã

a how much ka ts^hot

other^H

ý

en ba each r

@N

r

@N

s^ho s^ho whole  ^m_˚t^ha t

@

q all  ts^h

@N

ma this time ta t^h

@N

someday ^hkam^Nga re

Adjectives big t

C

^he small t

C

^ho

N

wide  ^Hbom

thin  ^p

ú

^ha high  ^m_˚t^ho low  ^Hma

protruding^mb

@

r^mb

@

r sunken ^Hgo

N

^Hgo

N

convex ^mba r

@

^mb

@

re long  ra

N

wo short  t^ho

N

far  t^h

@

q ra

N

near  t^h

@

q

ő

e middle ^m

ã

wa

N N

a wide ^r

é

a t

C

^hi bo narrow ^r

é

a t

C

^ho

N

t

C

^ho

N

thick _˚ⁿt^h

@

k

thin

ù

^hap deep zap shallow m

@

^rd

@N

full k

@N

vacant ^ùto

N N

a many m

AN

wo little 

ő

o

N

square 

ú@

^w

ý@

ma round 

K

o

K

o

C

^h

@

flat lep lep pointed ^htse^mbuk bald^mgo^rdo level ^p

ú

^ha^ù

˚ ő@N

front 

ú@N

mo reverse ^ldoq^F

C

^hoq slanting jor horizontal ^m_˚^p

ú

^h

@

t vertical ru

N

o straight 

ú

w

AN

bu curved k

@

k ro

much curved ja re jo re black na

K

o

pitch dark n

@

q^Hd

AN

^Hd

AN

white ^hka ro

red  ^Hma ro

brilliant red ^Hmar l

@

p l

@

p yellow s^her po

glistering yellow s^her^p

ú

i^p

ú

i green ^Hd

ý@N

k^h

@

blue^ù

˚ N@

n bu

skyblue^ù

˚ N

o rj

@

rj

@

grey  ^ùt

C

a bright ^hsa ro

shining wot lam nam dark  m

@

n n

@

q heavy ^ld

ý@

mo light (weight) j

@N

mo fast  ^m

é

o qa

slow  ka le early ^ù

˚ N

a mo late  ^F

C

^h

@

sharp^Hno dull  m

@

^rno clear t

@N

mo muddy 

ő

o

K

o fat  ts^hon bo thin  

C

^ha_˚^rk

@

m dry  ^hkam bo wet  ^Hl

@

n ba tight ts^h

@

q tam bo thin  

ù

^hap ro hard  

ù

^ha mo soft˚^r

˚ ő@

mo smooth ^őd

ý

am bo rough ^hts

@

p po slippery ^w

ý@

q tight tam bo loose l

˚

^{o bo} solid  

ù

^ha mo disorder 

ő

oq^Hz

@N

chaotic t

C

^ha r

@

t

C

^h

@

re correct ^ï

ã@

k

incorrect m

@ ő

en k

@

true  

N

o ma false^Hdz

@

n ma raw  ^Hl

@

n ba new  ^hsa ra old  ^H

ő

a

N

a good  ji

K

a bad  

N

an ba weak  ^Hd

@

k

expensive^hkon t

C

^he

, @

cheap ^hkon^bde

, @

old (year) ^Hgwa^rge young lo t

C

^ho

N

beautiful ji

K

a ugly  ^htso

X

a

hot (temperature) 

ú

o

, @

cold  ^ñ˚c^h

@

q

lukewarm ^őd

ý

am ja n

@

warm  

ú

on bu cool  ^Fs

@

l wo hard (work)^ùka mo easy  ^ùtsa mo fragrant 

ú@ ý@

m smelly 

ú@ N

an tasty 

ý@

m bo sour  _˚^rcu ru sweet ^H

N

ar mo bitter q^ha mo

hot (taste) k^ha ts^ha

, @

salty ts^ha q^ha

, @

tasteless ts^ha m

@

t

C

^hoq astringent˚^rcu ru oily  ^ùn

˚ @

m^ùco

N

^ht

C

ik

ý@

q^ht

C

ik not busy k^hom ba

busy  ^p

ú

wi wa rich  ^F

C

^hi

,

_o poor  ^Hwol wo clean ^hts

@N

ma dirty ^ptso

X

a living ^hson bo fresh ^hsar wa dead 

C

^h

@

wo

cleart

@N

mo

good-looking ^hta s^ha j

@

q q

@

noisy ^ùkat c

@

q q

@

bored s^hem m

@

˚^rcit k

@

hastily ^m

é

o

K

a colourful 

ú

^ha

ú

^ha wise  

ú

^ha mo foolish ^wlen ba honest 

ú@N

mo sly  ^Hjo^r

é@

^Hd

ý

en careful s^hem

ý@

m mo gentlek^ha^őd

ý

am bo arrogant 

N

a^r

é

e t

C

^he suitable ^ï

ã@

k pa severe 

N

an ba

courteous ⁿdzamⁿdzam industrious ^Hgo pu lazy  jor co clumsy ^wlen ba

well-behaved k^hwa

ő

en mo hardworking ^ptson^ï

ã

i pitiful ^ù

˚ ő

a

N

^rd

ý

e glad^Hga x

@

happy ^bde_˚^rcit peaceful ^bde^őd

ý@

q sad  ^ùco^rd

@

k proficient ^m_˚k^he^Fsa kind  ^mdza_˚^rtse disagreeable 

ő

a na mo single _˚ⁿt

C@ N

a/k^he˚^rc

@N

cliffy ^Hzar wo

so-so s^ha r

@

s^h

@ , @

rare  ja^m˚ts^han

Verbs love ^Hga decoct ^hku pull upw

A

arrange ^p

ú

wa mo^H

ã@

k

swing ^Ngi

worship ^F

C

^h

@N

˚ⁿts^h

A

move (house)^hpo move (a thing) k^h

@

r