- \-:l'\

I ~HE
CLASSICAL
TIBETAN
LANGUAGE
_,,
-0-
'I'

Stephan V. Beyer
 THE CLASSICAL
TIBETAN LANGUAGE
SUNY series in Buddhist Studies
Matth~w Kapsuin, diror
 THE CLASSICAL
TIBETAN LANGUAGE

Stephan V. Beyer

no de-phyir ies-nas Nlihad-pa yin

gnoii-ha thoh-nos T/Jom-po yin
log-smra Ndug-nm Tlsod-pa yin
-Pad-ma dkar-po

State University of New York Press

 Publishal by
STAn UNIVElSITY Of NEW Yo~)( PlESS
Alb~ny

C 1992 State Univcrsicy ofNcw York

AJI rights rauval
Prinled in lhe Uniled StaleS of Amcrico

No pan of thil book may bc uso:d or "'produ«d in any IIWlRer whallOCftr without
wrirten ~rmi"ion. No pur of .hi. book may bc siored in I .ellieva! Iyllem or
transmilled in any form or by any means iM:[uding electronic, dccuosn.ric. maplnic
<2pf. m«hanical. pho.ocopying. recording. Or otherwise wilhollt the prior permission
in wriring of me publisher.

For inform<l;ion. ~drcu

Stile Univcrsicy QfNcw York Prtts
1')4 Washington Avenue. Suire 305. Albany. NY 12210-2384

Produclion by Marilyn P. Scmcnd

Mariu:ting by Bemadene laManna

Library of ConJIUI Cau.lopnr·i•• Pu.blicl.lio. Data

Ikycr. Stephan V.. ]913-

The classia! Tibctan Jan~ J Stephan V. Bcyet.
p. em. _ (SUNY Kria in Buddhisrlludicsl
[ndudes bibliOS.aphic::al ",re",~ (p. ) 100 indO!,
ISBN 0-7914·109')...( _ ISBN 0-7914. [1OO-[ (pbk. )
libc"n lmguagc. I. Tide. II. Sories.

PU608.B49 1992
495'.482421 _ dc20
91·2449')
CIP

10 9 8 7 6 S 4 3 2 1
I Ulm to prrM"" ~hiJJm' mqr~ rAfUlly ibM I
prwtuu boob, .IMh inAilluU thllt my prwwitUs IU'~
propn-/y (It'g,miud. This (mt is for Rsbm;• .
 Summary of Contents

~don ... ............. ... ........... ... ..... .... .... . ..... .... v
FcrtwOnI. by MI2IfMw ICiJpIteitt ..... •.... . .••.•.. •.• • • .•... ..... .. .•..•. :ai
'"!lICe ... . ........... .. ...... . • • • .. • .. .• • • ••. • ........ • . • ...... DiU

I. lotrodYdioll .............. . . .............•. • .•..... ..... • ........ 1

2. Tr.adI.......doa ......... • ........ •. ..... • . • . • .•..........•. •...... 3

3. ,....... "- COIIIat .•••.••••••.•••••.•••••• • • • •• ••• ..••• • • •• ••••••.. 7

1. Ddinln, TIbetan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. nbetaQ and relaled IanJWIJCI ............. .• ••• • • •....... .• • ....... 8
3. ..... rUllon In TIbetan ..................... • . •. •. • ......... .... ... 18
I. Variation in New nbetan ................... • . . .......... .. .... 19
2. Variation ill Old Tibetan . . . .... • ........• •• " ....... . .. • •...... 28
• . Definin, classical Tibetan ..... .. ............. • .•. • ....... . ........ 36

4. 'I1Ie WJ1tlna.,.ea. . . ......... ... .......... • • • • • • •. ...... .• .. . .... 39

5. ,..... ................. .. .. ..... • .... .... •.• . •................ 55

I. ArttaIlatory cScIa1ptJoni . ..... • . . .. • .........• • ••......... • ... ... 55
2. Aroustk 4escriptions .........•.... • .•........ . .•.• ..... ......... 6l
3. 1'be pboDcmk inYentory ...... • •. .. .•... ... .•..• • •••.............. 6S

6. S,u.bteI .... .. ..............•....•..........•.•.•............. . 68

1. Lellll1b colIISuaints ........... • .... • ••........ • ••• • ....... . ...... 68
2. SJot·l'IUer COIIIttaiJlts ......... • .•.. •. •........ • . • .•.•............ 71
3. Co-occu.rrence c:oastralnts . . ... • ....•. •... ..... •. •. . .. . ...... ... .. 81
... DIsYllabic streu pollps .......• • •..•••....... .• • •••.............. 90

7. ~ ..................... . ...... . .......... . . . .. . . ... fJ7

1. Prelimlurlct . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • • . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fJ7
2. Ledc:al morpllololY ........•. • .... • . . ... . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
I. ConstructJons .. ........ . . • . •..•. •. •. .. . . .•.•. •. •. . 102
1. CompollJlds ........ . . . • . . . . •• • . . . . . . . • • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 103
2. DerivatJons ......... . . . . . . .. . . .. . ... .. . . . . .. . . . 111
1. inlM:r derivation .. . ..•. • ..•. • ........ • • •. •....... . ..... 111
2. Outer derivation .....•• • .. • • •• • ..... .• •• . • •• ........... 119
3. Word ramilies ...... . • . • . . • . • . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . .. 137
2. Borrowin, ....... .. ..... • . •. ... • . •.•. ....... • .•........... 138
3. Imitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . . • • • • • . . . . . • • . • • • • • • • . 147
4. Honorifta ..... ,.. ..... .. . . . . . • . . . . . . • . • . • . • . . . . . .. 152

vii
viii THE Cu.ss1CAJ.. TIBETAN L\NOUAOE

8, Innectlons 160
I. Inncelion withtn syllables ... .. . .................. • .•...... 161
2. Morphophonemes across syllables ......•••............ • . • • • • • • . 186

9. Phn.ses ..... .. ................... • . • . •....•.......• . • .•. . 191

1. Preliminaries. . . . . . . . . . .. • • • ••... .........••• • • • • ...... 191
2. Nominals ..................... • . • ...... . ........... . . • . .. ... 19'
) . Phrases ., ......... ..... .... .. .•• • ......... .•. •.•••••• •. ..... 204
1. Nominal phrases .............. • .•.... . ........ .•.• . • . • ...... 204
I. Simple nominal phrases ...... • .• .......... • . • • • ••••• • •..... 204
I. Specifiers ......................... • ... • . • .•. • . • ...... 204
I. Delimiters ........................ •.• . • .•. • . • ...... 206
l. Determiners ..... .. ........... • • • • • •••• • •••• ..... 206
I . Definile determ iners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . • . • . • . .. .. 206
I. Spatial determiners ........ • • • • • .•.•.•.•...... 206
2. Personal determiners ... .... • . • .•.•.•.•.•...... 1JI1
2. Indefinite determiners ......... • . •. .. • .•.•. • ...... 21.
2. Renex.ivcs ..... . ............. .• ••• • ••••••••..... . 218
2. Quantirlers ........................ • . • .•.•.•.•...... 220
1. Numerals 221
2. Plurals 230
) . Thlilizen ...........•.......... •.•.• .•. • . • ...... 230
• . Selecton . . .... . .....•....... . •••• • • • • •.•.•..... . 232
2. A4nominals .............. . ......... .•.•.•.•. •.•... ... 234
2. ConJoined nominal phrases .. ... .•. •....•.•.•.•.• . • .•.•...... ,.0
2. Verb phrases ..................•.•....... .• . • ••••••• • ...... 242
I. Ne,alion ................... • .............. • . •.• .•......
2. Adverbs ..................•••......... .• • ••• • • ••••...... ,..
242

10. Simple propo$lllons ...... • . . ......•. • .......... •.•.•.•.•.•...... 252

I. Syntactic structure .....•••......•••......... .• • • • • • • • • •••..... 252
l. Events . .... .... . . ..•.•. . .. ........ ..•.• . • . • ......
2. Plrticipants .........• . .. : ...•• • .......... • . • • • . • .•.•...... ,.,
252

2. Thematic structure .... . ...•.•......•.•.• • ••• • • • ••• . ..... 2n

11. Compkll pnl$!.05ltlons ... . ...•. • .. ... ..... • .•.•.•.•.•...... 282

I. Conjoined prOJl'O$itions .......................•••••••••••••.... .
2. Nomi naliza lion ............................ •.•.• .•. •.•.• ...... '"
'"
1. The nominalizers .... .. .... ............ •. • • • ••••• •• ••• •. ... .
2. Nominal itt.d propositions as heads ...........•...•.•.•.•.•...... '"
302
3. Nominaliled ptoJl'O$ilions IS modirlers ........ •.•. • . •. •. •. • ......
J. Re131ive oonSlnK1ions . .... ..... ...... • • • • • ••• • •• •••• • ... : .
2. Com plement oonstruct iqns .... • ...... : .. • . • . • .•.•.•.•......
""
J09
334
SUMMARY OF CoNTENTS ix

",",
12. SalIC_ ....... . ......... • . • .... • . • .......... • ..... • .•......
1. Perfonn.ancc. p"nlclc:s ...... . ..• . • . ...... ... . . • . • .•.•......
2. Modal performali...u ........ • .•.•..•.•.•.•. . ......•. •.•. •...... lSI
3. SlalemenUi .............. . • . •• • . . • . • • •.. ..... . • , • • • • • • • • ..... '52
4. Qucstions ... ........... .•. • . • . • . l56
S. Commands . ...•••••••••••..••••. . • • ... . ..•••.....•••.••••••• l62
6. Vocatives ..•..••.••.•..•••••• • •••. •••• • •.•.•••. • ••. • •••••••. 370

13. .,..... Ute ICIIUnoe ........... • . • ....•. • ...... • ... • ... • .•...... 383
1. Eu:iamatioas . .............. • . • . .• •••• ••. . .. • • • • • • • • • • ••..... 383
2. CoDIXCtive$ •. . .•.•••••..••.• • ••• • .• . • .•.•...•••••••.• • ..•.•• 385
3. SeDICDOtS U pttieDU .•....•••.. • •••. • . • • • •••.•• ••••••..•••.•.• 390
4. Fipret or lpeccb ..................... . ........ . ..... . ..... ... 400
S. Metrics .................... . ..... .. . . . ............ . . . ...... 408

14. BlbI.Iocr-ph,. ........•. •... .. . ..•..• . • . • . . ....... . . . •. • . • ......

'"
 Contents

DrdiC(l(;1JIt .. . .. . • • .•••.•. . . • • . • . . • • . Y
For~"'(Jfd by Mllllh~'" IWpsu'u, . • . • • • • • •••••.•.•.•••• u:f
Ptt{uu .......• .• . • .......... mil

I. Introd ....1iun ,. . . ••. . . .. . . . . •••. •. •. •. . . . . .. . I

2. lhonsll~",I'on . .. .. . • . . . . ...... •.•.•... •...... )

I. Pl'IOnemic symbols ......•. . . . . . . . . .. ....... .• . •. • . • .•...... 3
2. Digtaplls and diacritics . .... ... • . . . . . • • . •.... • ... • • • • ••• . . .... 3
J. Other symbob •• . . . ..... • ... . .... ..•. •.• ... .. . 4
... Other I. n,uap ....• . .. .. . ..... • •. •. • ...... • . • .•.•.• ' • . • S

..... ... ........ 7

I. Ddining Tibetan .... .. . . . • . • . . ............... 7
l Tibel2n and relaled langllJges . ....... . • ... . .... . ........... 8
1. Tibetan and Chinese .. . . . ............. • . • . • ............ 10
2. Tibe tan and Burmese .............. .. . • ........ • . . . • ...•... . .. 11
3. Tibetan and the H imala~n \angllap .....• •• ..• .. .••••• .......... 14
4. Tibetan and the Western Barhilrians . . .. ..•. . ....... . •.•.•• • • . .... 16
3. Variation in Tibetan ... . .. .. .. . .... . .... • . . ....... .•. • . • .•..... . 18
I. Variation in New Tibetan . . ... . . .. • •• . ........ • • • .• .•...... 19
I. The pal;lIaiiZilltion of \abials ... .. . ... . . • • •• • . . . ..... .• • •• ... .. 22
2. 5ume southern isoglosses ... • . • .... • . • .•.......... • .... . . 24
3. Elcpllt bre.:illhincss ...........•... . ... . •.•. ..... • ......... . 26
2. Varilllkln in Old Tibetan .... ... .. .• . . .. ... .•.• .. ..... . ......... 28
L__ _ .. . ~

2. Manuscript varilltklns . . . . . . . ....• .• • • ... . ........... 31

3. RCQ)llStrllcted va riation$ . . . . . . . . . . • . .
. .. • . • . . ....• ...... 33
4. The pro blem of tl\c preiniliab .................. • .•.•.•....... 34
4. Defining clUsical Tibetan ... . ..... .. ... •. . . .. .... .• ••......• .... .. 36

4. 'The 1I'T'ItI", ' 1sklll .... . . . ........ . .. ...... . .... 39

I . Graph and sollnd .... .
2. The invenlio./l of Wl'iting
3. The writing $ystem
....... . . ... .• ....... . . . • . . ••• •....... ~
. .. . ... .•.• . •....... 42
"
4. The IoCript ................. • ... . • . . . . .

S. Sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........... . .... • . •........ ... .•. • .... ...

"
SS
I. ArticulalOry descriptions ........ . .. •.. .... • . • . • .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .... S5
I. Vowels. . . . . • • .. . .•. . .. . •• • •.......... • . • ....... 55
2. ConsonanlS .......... ..... .......... • .•.......... • ......... S7
xii THE Cl.AssICAL TIBETAN LANOUAGE

1. Place • . • .
2. Oosllre .... .................... .. • .•..... .• . •.. .. . ..
3. Voice onset time ........ .... • .... •.•. •.. .. .. . ... • . • .... ...
,."
fj()
... Nasality .................. ..... ..•• •• •• .. ..... • • • •• .. .... 62
2. Aooustlc de5criptknls .............•.. . ..... • . • .... . .. .. . • . .•. . .. 6J
I. Gnavlt)' . ........ .... . .. . .. . .. • .....• • • •..... . .. • . •. • ....... 6J
2. Sonorance . .... ... .. ......... . ...... . . . ....... . .... .. .... . . 64
3. The phonemic inventory . . . . ... • .. . ... • .•.•...... .. • .•....... 65

6. S),U.D6a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..••.•.•.••. • . • •• . •..•..• • •••.••. 6&

I. Leugtb ronsuainu ........... .. ...•. •. ... • . • . • . •. .......•....... 6&
2. Slot· filler ronstraints ............. . •...... • •• • • .... • ... • ••• ... . .. 71
1. Are ./. and ·w· postinitla1s1 ....... • . • . . ......•.......... •... ... . 7..
3. Co-oocurrence rons u'ainu .......... • ••....... . • • •..... ...... .. ... 81
I. Constraints on postinitials . .... . ..•• • ... '.... _ • . • ........ • • .. ... . 81
1 P05linitial _y_ • . ••••...••.. . . • .••.••. .•. •. • ....•.•••.•••... 81
2. Poslinitial .,.............. .. • • •• •. .... . • • •.• . .... ......... 84
2. Consualnts on preinilials . .... , . .• ••• •. .... , •• • . ..... .. , •...... 87
3. Stackin, ronslT.lnu ...... . . • .......... • ' ... .. .. • • . ..... 89
... Disyllabic stress ,roups , ........ • . ,., • • • ..•. • .•.• . • ', . . ......... , 90
I.Qips ..... , ........... . • . • ..... .• . . ... , •. • . •..... . • . . ... ,. 92
J. Word clips , .. , . .... . , . • . • . ,' , • . • , ....... ..• ,., ...... .... , 92
2. Nominal clips .. ,., .... • • •.....••.. . ... • ••• • ...... . . .. . " . 9'l
3. Phrase clips ... . ... , .... , ...... , .. •. • .... •. •• • ,. , ..... . ... 93
1. Coordinate clips .. .. .. . • ... ... •.• ...... , . • . • ... . ........ 9J
2. Mllominai clips . . . .... • •• •. . . . , • • • . . . .... • .. .. .. , 94
3. Relalive clips ... , ....... ....... •. • , ..... •. •. •. ......... 94
4. Verb ..:lips ... .. . .... . . ... .. • .•. • ...... • . • .. .. ... .. .. , 9S
2. Syllabic cycles ... . ......... . • ...... •• • ...... • ••• • ' . . . . . . . 9S

7. WonIs .•••....••.. .• . •.•••...•• • •• ..• •• • •• •. •.. • .••••..••. . 97

I. I'rcliminaries ... , , .... .. ....... . •. . .. . .•. . ..... . • • • • •.... , ..... 97
I. The scope or morpnolOgy .. . ...... • .. . .. ' • . • . • . • ...... , . 97
2. The "parIS or speech" . . . . . . .. • . • .... • •• .• .... ..•.• ...... . ... 98
2. Lexical morphology " . . . .. . • ••... . • ••• _ . . . . . • • . . . . .... 9'iI
1. ConstruC1ions .. , . . . . . . .. •.•. • ... _ • • . .. .. ....... 102
I. ComPOllnds . . . . . . . . .. ........ . . • .• . ..... • . . .. • .. . .. , 103
I. Native rompounds ........ , . , ... , , . ' " ... .• . •. • ' ........ 103
I. NOUN + NOUN - NOUN .... . .... . .. , . .. • ••••• • .. . , ... 103
2. ADJECY'IV£ + NOUN"'" NOUN ................• .. . ... .. . 104
3. NOUN + ADJEcnvE ..... NOUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . • . . . . . .. 104
... ADJECIlVE + AOJEcnvE ..... NOUN ....... • . , . • • • • • . . . . . .. I~
S. NOUN. + VERB - VERB ,. • . ••• .• •••••• ,.. . . . . . . . . .... 106
2. Ttanslation rompouDds ... ,., . ............... . .......... . 10'7
I . ADJEcnVE + AOJEC'7lVE ..... NOUN .... ...• .•••• • • • ' .... ,. 107
 xiii
1. NOUN + VI!JlA - NOUN •.••••••.•.••••••• • •••••••••••. lOS
). 1N11!.HStF11!A + VERB - VERB •••••••••••••••••••••••••• 110
~ DcriYaOOIli ••••••••••..••.••• , •••• ••• , •••• ' •• • ••• , •••••• HI
1. IlUICt dutvalloa ..............•....•......•.•. • ........ 111
1. Chlnae olledal caleaory ........ . ....... ..•• ......... . 111
2. Vok:tlll aad lBMltMry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . . . . . . .. 112
). 1lM: IonIIadvc In' "H0t40It.1FK:" • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • . • . • • • • • •• II I
4. llIe 1IonDIti¥e In , " HlIMAN IK)()Y rAk1"' ........•• • .•..... . 114
, . llIe fonnIllYe , . " AHIMAL R
.................... . ... ..... 11'
6. 1k foJmlltlYe , . '"nVoHsmvl!" ..........•.•.... • .•...... 116
7. The foraatM -4 "NOMINAl." •.••• . • • •••••••.•• • . • .••••• 117
a. Tbe fonnItM ~ · "NOMtNAI." ••.••••••.•.•••••••••..•••• 117
9. 1lIc IonaIli'I'IC ., "'ttoMIHAI.'o' . . • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 118
to. 'The formattYe '-4-'~ "1tI1UH1l' c:ou..tt'11VI!" ••.•••••••••••• 119
2. 0u11Cl ckriYIl lotli • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • . • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •. 119
1. Sylllbk formatha ............. . .... .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
1. The fonnItM ·lIid "·NESS" ...... . ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jl9
1. Tbe formatfve 'pG "'EJUON HAV!NO TO DO wmi" . . . . . . . . . ' 120
). The formative -mkJo.M "SJuu.EO IN" • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 120
4. 1'be Ionutfve ,mo-d/w " 810 OCD Of" .' ..........•..... 12 1
5. 1k fonnalive -lUll "POSSESSIHO" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . .. 121
6. 1lIe fotmatt¥e .ytU "·LESS" • . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • • • • • •• 122
7. 1be ronutive -h-. (I "OIMtNtmVE" .••• . .••••••••••..• 122
a. Sa fonIWIli¥el ••.••• ..•••• .••••.• • ••..••••••••••. ' 123
I. The tonN.ltva __ "fEMAl..£" aad 'pbo"MALE" . ..• ..... 121
1. An'-l ~ ton!IatiWI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . .. 124
3. 1'be formIltva __ Ind __ " F1!MAl£" ••••••• •••• •• .• 125
4. Nlma ......... .. ......... . ..........•••...... 126
5. OCOVlpby ............. . ............ .• . • ...... 127
9. 1lIe formative ,l'Ho " ADJECT1VFlACarr" ••••.••••.•.••••. 127
10. Tbe forClUltive ' 111 " I'UCE WHfJl£" .............••..... 129
11. Tbe formative ·/III " NONll'lAL" •••.••••.• : ••.••••.••••. 130
12. The forlllltive ' E "ADlI,ClT\IE" ....•.......•. ' .......•. 131
13. 'The torl'Dlti¥e -4/r.4-.k#-.p " NOIJ1ll" ••••••••••••••.•• 133
.~.~~ .... . . . . . . . . . . . ...... ~
1. Nominal reduplictl ioa .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 134
~ Verb tcduplkaooll .....................•........... 1»
1. Word familia ........... .. ...•. . .•...... . .•• • ....•.... 117
2. 8oJl'O'lriaI .................. . ....•... • . . ....• . •• • .• . ..•... 138
1. 'lhlIsfm ................ • .. • .•....•. ,.. ...... . . . ....... 139
2. ReproductioN ............ • ....•......•. , . . . . . . • . • . • . . . .. 142
1. to.lI tralUlltlona ............•.•....•.•. ,..... . ........ 142
2. Loaa aatiolll .. .. . .... .. ....• • • •....• • •••.....• • .....
). MIIc4 fonIII ............. .. • ...... • ... . ....•.•..........
.. BKlfonIU .. . ... . ... .... , . . .. .. ... . . ... ...... .. ........ . ..
143
145
,
 3. ImltatloDl . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
I. lAtefjecdolU ......... • ...... ,., .. ...... , ., .•.•••• , .... . . 147
2. OnomatOpoeia. . . . . . . . . . . . •. . • . • . • . . . . . . . . • . • . • . • . • . . . . .. 147
3. Poetic word play ••• . . • • •. . ••••. • ••••••.• • • • • • • •.• • • •••••• 148
4. HonoriHa .. .. .. . ........ .. ..... . .......... . .. ............ 1'2
1. The use of bonorifia ............ • . •. ....... • . • . • . • . • ...... 1'2
2. ElepQOt and social vector ........ ... .... ..... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 1' 3
3. Primary bollOtifia ....... . ...... • . . ........ •. • . • . • . • ...... 1S4
4. DelK>tation Ind connotation . . . . . • . • . • . . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • • . . . . .. 155
, . E upbemisll!. ........ ... .. .... ~ . • . • . . . . • . • . • . • • • . • . • . • . . .. 156
6. Secundlry bonori~a . ........ . .. .. •. . . . ....• .• . • . • . • ...... 156
7. Kinship tenns .. . ........ . • ..... •• ••... .• • •••• • • • ........ 157

&. IIIIIcJaIonI .•..•••..•. .. ...•......••.•. • • ••••••••. • .•• • •••••••• 160

I . Innect lo n within sylla bles . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • . . . .• 161
I. Ttnse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . • • • • . • . • . . . . . . .. 161
2. Roou Ind Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . .. 162
3. 1}-pcs o f innectlonal NJe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . • . • . • . • . • . . . . .. 162
4. 'O"ansitive Ind int ra nsitive verbs . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • . . . .. 163
5. Plradipns ................... . ....•.•...... • . • . • . . . • .... . . 164
6. Aft"1lI Nics . . ..... ....... . . ........ • .•. • .• • . .. • . • .•. • ... . . . 166
1. Tbe prerLll N · . . . • • • • • • . . . • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• . . . . . 167
2. The preflll G· . . . • . . . . • • . . • • • • • • . . • . • • • • . • • • • • • • . • . • • • • • •• 167
3. The prefo b. . .. . . . .. •. . .. •. •. .. .• .•. . . .. . . . . .• .•. . . . . . 168
4. Tbc , ufflJl: '$ ....... . . . .. ... • • . ... .• ••. . .. ... . . . • •• . ..... 168
7. Root rules .............. . .... • . • .... . . • . • . . ........ • ...... 169
I. \fQice dw im ila tio n . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . • . • . • . . . . . . . . • • • • . . . .. 170
2. UnstoPpinl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . . . • • . • . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . .. 171
1. ublal N ics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . • . . ......•.......... •. ..... 173
8. TIle Pft5ent stem t:kl4rdt ... .. .. . . • ... . .••••....... .• .• • ..... 175
9. &ceptions Ind irrclularities . ... ...••..... .• . • . • ........ • • ... .. 176
1. Scrib:ll erron . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . .... • .•. . .. .......... . .. 177
2. Mllltiple ( !u.s mc mbenh ip ..... . . • . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . 181
3. MUlti plc underlien .......... . • • • • . . • . • •• • • . ... • • • •.• . 182
4. Connict of rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . • . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . III
!Ii. $lIpplction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . .. 184
6. RCJVilr irrc,uilrilies .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • • • • . . . • . . • . • • • . . . . .. 185
2. MorpbopboftC lDtI ICfOIoS syllablc& • • . . . . • • • . • • . . • . • • . • • • • • • • • • . • • • •• 186
I. Articulato ry ISIlmilallo n ....... .... •.... • . • . • .. • ... • . • . • . . .... 116
2. Oravity dwimiialion ............... . .. • •• • • • .. ; . • • • • • • • • . . . . . 117
3. Sooorlnc::e ISSlmUltion .. . . ... . ........... • .... .... .... • ...... 1M

9. nr- ....... .. ............. ... . . .... . .. . . .... . . . . .... . ... . . . ,.,

1. PrcUmlaariel ..... ... ........ • .. ...... • . •• •.... • . • . • . • .• • . ...•
1. Syfttu l&d morpholol)' ..•..•••. ... ••• • ••• • •••••• • • • • • • • ••• ••• 191 '"
 2. Overview o f tile syntax .... ... . 191
1. The "Thlegl"f.m Principle ......... . 194
1. The eliminalion of redun4ancy 194
2. Old and new info rm.lio n ..... . I"
1. TIle o mission of role part k les ...... . ..... . . • • . • ..... . . . •.
2. Nominal5 ..... .... ......... . ...... . .......... . ........ .
I. Definition ...................... • ........ • . • ........ . .
""
199
199
2. Head Ind modifier ...... . 199
1. Basic patlems ..... 200
4. Enended pallern.s ........... . .... . . • • .. ..... .• • ... . 100
5. Adjeaives ......... . . ... . . • • . . ...... • •• . • . 201
6. Headless modifM:~ .. ... ... ..... ..... ..• ....... . 203
J . Phru.c:s ........... .
I. Nomina l phrases . ........ .. . . . • • . .. . .... • • • ... . ""
2IJ.I
I. Simple nomina l phrases .. . . .. . . .
I. Specifiers . . .......... .
. ...... • . • .
. .. • . . .. . ""
2f)4
I. Delimiters .....
1. Dete rminers . . .
t. Definite dete rmine n
. . . ..• • . .. .
.',I»"
206

1. Spalial determiners ......... . .

2. Perso n.l dete rminers . . .
'"
207
I . U nma rked and specialized fo rms
••
2. Honorific delerminen ...
".
J. Speaking roles
4. HumilirlC$ ..... . ""
2IU
S. From humililie to personal determine r 112
6. Sex· marked personal dete rminers . ... ....... . . 112
7. Personal delerminer taib . ......... . . . . 2 1.'
8. The archaic determine r 0-1,1 ' 14
2. Indefinite determiners ' 1<
1. Head less indefin ites
2. Indefinite adverbs .
' 16
216
2. Reflexives 2IK
2. Quanlifiers ............ . ......... . . 22<l
I . Numerals ' 21
1. From o ne to ninely· nine ...... ..• .. ' 21
2. aipped numerall ....... . 222
3. Numerals as selecton ....... . 22.'
4. La rge numbers ................ • .• . 22-'
S. Fra'tlQn~ . . •. . ... 225
6. Collective no uns Ind adjectives . •.. ... . . 226
7. Ordinall . . 226
8. Dis tributives .. 2Ui
9. Weighl5 and measurcs . .
10. Paginatio n .. . '"
""
 T HE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

2. PluDIs ................ . ....................... . 2J()

J. 1b~ l iurs ....... . ...... . .................. . 2J()
4. Selectors .. ..... ............ • .•.•.•.•.... .. .. .... 232
2. AdnomiNiIs ..................... • .•. • .•.•............ 234
I. Basic modification patle rru . .. .....•• • ••••........ • ..... 234
2. lfpes of modifica tion .... ........•.•. • ..... • .......... 2J5
J. Recursion ....................•.•.................. 236
4. Headless adnomiNils ..... . . . .• • •• ..............•..... 23'
2. Conjoined no mina l phrases ........... • .•.•............ • ..... 240
2. Verb ph rua .................... . • ••• • • •... .......• •.. .... 242
I . NegatiOD ... . .................... • .•....................
I . 1brm negations .....•.........•.•.•.•.•........ • . • .....
2. An idiom with MED .•••••...•.• • • •• • • •• •• . •.•. • • ••••.•••
'"
'"
3. Universal nela tion .... .. ... .... . • .•. • .................. '"
246
4. Double negation .................. • .•.•................ 247
2. Adverbs. . . . . .. ....• .. .•.... • • • • • ••.... .. • • ...... 248

10. Simple pt'Oposllions .. ••••.....•••• • .••• . ••..• • • • ••.•...••.••.... 252

l. Syntactic st ructure .................... .• . • •• • • • •.............. 252
1. EventS .............................. .•. • .•.•. • . • . ... . ... 252
I. Equations ............. . . ............ • • • • •.•.•.•. • ...... 25S
2. lhnsitive and intrlfls itive verbs .......... . .•••• • • • ••• •••.. ... 258
J. Ergat ivity ..... .. .................... • ... • . • . • . • .•...... 25'
4 ...'Ttns.e" .. .... . .................... .• ••••••. • .••• • ..... 26'
I. The lem.e system . ....... • . •. . . ..... • . • . • .•.•.•. • ...... ,.,
2. Periph rastic forlllS ....... • .•.•......•.•.•. • . • .•.•...... ,.2
2. Panicipa nl5 . . . . . . . . . ...• ••.......•• . • • • • • • • • . ...... 263
I. The patient role ............. • . • .............. •. • .•...... 263
2. The lIgency role ............. • • . ...... •.•.•. • . • •• • • • ..... 2M
J. The locus and source roles .... ...•.•.•........ . ...•. • ...... 267
4. The acoo mpa niment role . ...... •.•.•... .• . • ... • . •.• . • • ... .. 270
2. Thematic SUuctu re . . .... ... .. ..... •••.• .. . ....... • .. • .. • ...... 272
I . Par ticipant o rder . . . . . . . . . . . . .•.•. • ......... ... .. • . '..... 272
2. Thpics ............ . .......... ...... •. .. ..• • •.• • •••• . ..... m
1. The tOpica lizer IIi . ....... . ........... . .•. • ... • ...... m
2. The panicle -Ill as topica lizer .................... • . •. •...... 278
J. Iden tmcaHon and definitio n wil ~ -STt • ••••. .•• • • • •• • • • _ • •. .••. 2'"
I I . Co.pln pl'OJlO"iltions ................. • .. . ... ...... ....
1. Conjoined propos itions . . ... . . . . . . • . •• •. ...... . ... . ... . .
1. Conjunctions. . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . • • • . .. ... • ... . . . .
1. The alternative conjunction ... ...... .
'1.. The adven.ative conjunction '.. . . . .•. •. . . .. . ... .
I. Dialect varionts ... .. , . . . .. . . • • • • •• • • .
.1. The wonJinative conjl.lllctio:l . .. . ' . .... • • . ••. . . ..
 xvii

1. Simultaneous and periphrastic con.muaions 290

2. Dialect variants .................... .. •.•••.... • .. . ...• 291
2. Gapping .............................. " ....... • . •... ....
2. Nomililiution ..... . ................. ........... ...•. •• ...... ,..
293

1. The nominali:o.eR ............ ..... . ........................ . 29S

1. Paticnt-«ntcrcd nominalizeR ........................... _... 296
1. 1be nominalizer -~ "rATIEHT OF rRorosmor-l H
•••••••••••••• 296
2. The nomililizeR -O-dog/-dgu/-u1uJd "ALL rATIEHTS OF
PROl'O$mOr-r" .......... .•... .•.........•....... m
3. The nomililizer .1>Iphro "REMAINDER OF PATIENT OF
rRoros mON" ... . ..... .. ....................... 298
2. Ploposilion-o:nterc4 nominalizen ....... ... , •................ 299
1. The nomllilizer -hi ..•.•••.••••..•••••.•••••••••••••••• 299
2. The nominalizer ·sa "ruo.CE WHERE rRorosmoN" ......•...... 300
3. The nominalizer -grog:J '"liEU wml rROl'OSmON" .......•...•.. 301
4. The nomililizeR ·mkJuuJ/-mi '"PERSON INVOLVED IN
rROPOsmON" ....... . ....... ............ • ...... 301
2. Nominalized propositions as heads ........... .. ..........• . ....• 302
I. Multiple embedding .................. •. • ......•.•.••..... 303
2. 1be o mission or·1'O .................... • . • .•...... •..... . lOS
3. Propositional adverbs ............. , ... • .• • • • •. , ..• ••...... 307
3. Nominalized propositions as modifien ...........•.. ....•.•...... 308
1. Relative construc.:1ions ................... .. •. • .. • ... •.. .... 309
1. Discunus on English relativiution .........•.•..... . •..... . 310
2. Rclalive prop<:l$itions after the head ........•.•...... • ...... 312
3. Relative propositions berore the head ......•• •• .... •.• • . .... 316
•. Relativized propositions and adjectives ...... •. •. •. .......... 317
5. Dummy role particle carrieR ... . ... • ••. ..... • ...... 318
6. Headless relatives ...................... • . • .•.....•..... 325
7. States and proa:s.scs . . . . . ........... • . • ...•........ 327
8. Multiple embedding ................. .• • • • • • • •• .. •. ..... 329
9. Balanced relatives ....................... •. • ........... 332
10. ComplCl: re1ativized propositions .. ... •. ... •••• • .... •...... 334
2. Complemtnt oonstructlons ~ . ...............•• • .•.... • •..... 334
1. Complement heads ... .. ... ............. ..•.• .... ....... 335
2. Nominal complements .................. •.•.•.. .. • ..•... 335
3. Verb oomplements ..................... • .•• • ....•...... 337
I. "JYpes of oomplement conuruction ........ .• .•..•........ 338
1. "Type I complement oonstructions ..... • •• . • .... • •••... 339
2. 'tYpe 2 complement oonstructions ..... • .• .•....•...... 341
3. 'tYpe J complement oonstructiOns ....... • .•. •.... .. .. . 342
of. 'tYpe of oomplemcnl constructions ....... • .•..•........ 342
2. Complex complements. '............. ..•.• ••. ........ '.' J40f
3. The omission of·1'O ... ......... .....• • • •• ....•...... 344
•. Equative oomplemenu ....... , , , ....•.•. • .•....•.•... . J4.4
xviii TilE ClASSiCAl TIB ETAN LANGUAGE

S. On translltint Sanskrit vcrbs ,..,

1. Simple fo rms .... 146
2. Pe riphr u tie fornu 348

12. Smtrncu 35 '

1. Pe rformance ~rticlcs 35'
2. Modal pcrrormativc:s .
) . Sta te menu ............. .
3m"
I. The $Iatement panicle .. . m
2. R«Iunc1Jncy m
). n..: promise ~nicle ·1OU ...... . . 353
4. The WoIrnin, ~rticle ·A-re _ •.••• • ... ...• • •. • .
4. Questions _ .. ............. . .
1. The qLICStio n panicle _ .. .
'"
356
357
2. Questions and alternat ives . . _ ... •.. ..... . . • . .. .
). Info rmat io n questions '"
358
4. 'The doubt particles .... . 36'
S. O lmmand.5 ......... . 362
I. The command ~rticle . . 363
2. Polite a nd elepnt command! .. 36'
3. Impersonal oommands ..... . 366
4. Requesu ........ . 367
S. Linked imperatives
6. 'The info rma l comma nd part ic le ,.,
368

6. Vucal ives .... . . . • •. • .. .. . . . 370

1. Inilial and fina l vocalives . . . . . . ... . .... • .•. 370
2. Titles or rcspct't ............ __ . . 371
) . Othe r voca tive aprw iOns ... . 373
4. The structure or Tibelan namC$ ....... _ . 373
1: Personal names . . 374
2. ~pcs of personal names . ........ .
J. Gro,raphk:al and family na mes
4. Epithe ts ...
'"
377
379
S. Namcs and epithets in vocative phra.ses 38'
13. ~ 1M Kftt(1K'C •••••••. . • • . . . . . • . . . 383
I . Exelamatio ll5 .... . . _ ........ _ . . . 383
I . Hypolhelical e.prcssions ...... . . 383
2. Hypothetica l e llip5i5 ...
) . ElIelamatioll5 in · PtJ·lo ""
""
4. ElId3matio ns in -rr - ...
2. Co nne<:live5
3"
\ . The co nnective Yn ..l
2. Doo..un.c co nnectives
'"387
'"
) . Ph rasal ronna;tives ... . ..... .. . . 388.
 4. yan in IIIe K lling 510 1 . . • •. •• • • . . . . . . . . •. • . . ;\lUI
5. Proposiliomll oonnccliyu . . . . . . • . • • • • . . . . . . . . • • • . . .lllO
.l. Senlences as pallcnu ........... .. .....•........ •. ...... . . . ... .'QO
I. Quote openet5 .............•... . .• • . • ........•.•..... .'ul
2. 11M: quote clalcr TkJ ... ...........••• • ......• •• ••.......... .'<)1
3. Queliions as pallcnu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . • . • . . . . . . . .'07
4. Figure. of spcc:dl .•.. ... ••.••.••. • •••.••• ..•• •.•.•.. . .••..••.. 4Al
I . Metapllof ........ ..... . • •. .. • •• . .... • • • • . . ... . • •• . • . 4f'O
2. Similes ..................•..•. • .. ..• ... • ........• • . ...... 40S
5. Metrics ............. .. .....•.... • ........ • ....... .. .•...... 44'lIl
I. Definitions ........ • ••.......... ••• . ..... . •. • ...... . UlIj.
2. ~ic: mappin l ....................•.•....... •• ............. 40Q
3. Synalcpl'lll .•••••••••••••••••••.•..• .•• •••••••••• • ..•. ... .. 41 0
4. Catak:xis ........ .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •.• ........ • .•....... 41)
5. Aperiodical mctet5 . . ..............• . ..• . •• . ..... • • •• • •..... 415
6. U nstrcucd syllables in Jtronl positions ..........•. • ...... •• ...... 41 9
7. VJril tion in the laS! root . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •.. ............ 422

14. BlblMlip1Ipb" •••. • ••••. .•••••. •.. . ..•..•• ••. .•••• • •• • ..• • •..••. 42,1
I . Cultural backuound. ...... • .......... . . .• .•...... • . • .......... 424
2. Bibliograph ies '. . . . . . . . . . • • •• . .. . •. . . . . . . . . . . . . . •. • . . . . 425
3. Gra mm:.,", ...............•. •. .•••..... • • • • .... ... • • .• . .. .. . 425
4. Dictklnarlcs .......... .. ..•.•.. .. • ........ • ........• .. ... ... 41.6
S. GklMarie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . .. . .•.•. . . .. . . . 42R
6. Place names .... . • .W
7. LcDcoVlphk: Stud ic$ ................. • ......... ........
..,.
4.'1

.....
8. Tibetan IQU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . • • •....... • •. • ..
9. Tibetan U11M lliions rrom Sanskril .. . .. .•••••.... . ••• • •.. " 2
10. Writing ........... ..... ........... . •........ • .•.......
1 I. LanfUIgc: clauificatioll$ ....... ...... ...••. • .. ...
12. Related lanlUJIP ............... .. . . .. • ••.......• • •• . . ",
13. Co mparisons Ind rtronstruet ions . .
14. Wo rd ramllies ..... .
. .. • ......
"1
' 56
IS. New Tibetan dial«ts .................. . . •• ••... . 457
16. Morp1'lolozy and SynlU ...... .... .. .. •...... •. •......•.• .
17. History o r TIbe ta n ...... .. ..•.•.... . ... ... • .. .... .. . .... .,.
"'"
18. Utera'Y .tlldie5 ... .. ........ • • . .• • . . .. . . . • ••• .....• • . •. 411
19. Literl lure in motion ...........•. . .• • ..... . •• •.. ... . . • • . ...
2O.' 1lIc TIbcllln gram marians ................. . ..... • ....
2 1. Tibetan hermeneut ics ........ . ........•. . ...... • ......
....
"'"
...
22. Tibetan p*mmar in oontext ..... ... .. ... • . • . • .. .. .
23. lbnual criticis m ... .. ... .. ...... • ... . . • . .• ... ....•.•• . "'"
4Q.'
24. ltanslatioll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....• •• ..... . •• • .. ... • .•• .• .
25. Ethnopoella ............... • .... • . . . . ..... . . ,.,
'"
26. 0d45 altd eDds •••.. . . • • .. .. • • .. • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . • •. ..•.
.""
 Foreword
The year 1959 marks an abrupt turning point in the history of Tibet. The
night of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama to India, where he was followed by close
to a hundred thousand of his fellow Tibetans, created a nation in exile
dedicated above all to the preservation of the unique cultural institutions of
its homeland. Not surprising, then, that during the past three decades the
-academic study of Tibet has been radically transformed. No longer the special
preserve of adventurer-scholars able to mount expeditions to the Land of
Snows. or of philologically oriented "buddhologists.," whose: Tibetan reo
searches were almost exclusively confined to the translations of Sanskrit texts,
Tibetan studies increasingly came to focus upon the indigenous Tibetan
tradilions of religion. learning and art that are the primary interests of
Tibetans themselves.

Prominent among those whose scholarship reflected the changed conditions

for research during the first two decades of Tibetan exile was a specialist in
the field of Buddhist Studies. Stephan Beyer, then of the University of
Wisconsin, whose superb contribution to the documentation and interpreta-
tion of Tibetan Buddhist ritual, The Cull of Tara, marked the first fruits of his
wide-ranging researches. After the late seventies. however, Steve increasingly
devoted his energies to a ~reer in law, having completely abandoned-or so
it was widely rumored-his work in Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. 1 was
therefore surprised and delight(!d to learn, after I joined the faculty of the
University of Chicago in 1986. thai Steve was both in Chicago (with the firm
of Sidley &. Austin) and that in his spare time he had remarkably completed
a grammar of literary Tibetan, which he had begun at the University of
California-Berkeley some ten years before. In 1988 Steve sent me a copy of
the manuscript I immediately felt it to be an extremely exciting work,
renecling throughout the author's wide-ranging knowledge of Tibetan
literature, in its many genres and forms, anciern and recent.

A distinctive feature of Steve's approach to the Tibetan language is his almost

complete abandonment of the morphological and syntactic categories.
barr.owed from Indo-European grammars, that have traditionally informed
textbooks of Tibetan. The "canonical" status of this mismatching was
reinforced both by indigenous Tibetan grammatical tradition, which derived
its own analytic and descriptive categories from India, and by the emphasis,
xxii TIfE CiAssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

in Western philological circles, nn the study of literary Tibetan primarily as

an adjunct to the study of Sanskrit Buddhist texts. For those who were
inclined to direct their attention primarily to work.!; of Tibetan authorship-
epic. history, biography, poetry, and so forth-it has long been clear that
Indo-European models were both inadequate and misleading. but the effort
to correct the powerful disposition to continue to adhere to them was largely
limited, as it was in Jacques Bacot's still useful Grammtlin, to the enumera-
tion of the S<H:8l1ed "particles," And while it is true that linguists specializing
in Tibeto-Burman have generally avoided the sanskritizing inclinations of the
philologists., they have by-and-targe not addressed their work to those who
study Tibetan in order to actually read Tibetan literature, The C/os.sical
1ibelan Langua~, therefore, calls for the student of literary Tibetan to
rethink the Tibetan language fundamentaily.

In tenns of its extraordinllrily thorough treatment of the phenomena one

encounten in literary Tibetan, and the insights that mark vinually every page,
The Classical Tibetan Language is a work without precedent. It is my belief
that the rethinking it calls for is essential for the realization of the creative
potentialities of contemporary Tibetan studies, and that such controversy as
it will perhaps arouse will significantly contribute to the creative growth of the
field. Steve gives us a tantalizing glimpse of some possible Jines of exploration
in his deeply penetrating, yet appropriately playful, remarks on Tibetan
poetry and poetics, Our rethinking of the Tibetan language is not to be a
linguistic exercise plain and simple: we must inquire into the manner in which
Tibetan writers used and thus continually rethought their own language,
forming of it a unique medium for a distinctively Tibetan heritage of learning,
insight and wit.

MATllIEW KAPsn::IN

CollllDbia Unfvc:lShy
Vesat: 1991
 Preface
In 1975, I accc:pted an appointment u a visiting associate professor at the
University of California at Berkeley, and I looked around (or a nice portable
project to "take with me. It is" a measure of my innocence that t decided to
start writing a grammar of classical Tibetan. Now, more titan fifteen years
later, tbe project is about as finished as I am ever going to make it. During
those fiftee~ years, I returned to the University of Wisconsin at Madison,
abandoned "my tenured appointment, and began a career as a trial lawyer
with the firm of Sidley &. Austin in Oiicago. During fuat time., too, it would
be (air to say that my work on this grammar was sporadic. Yet somehow,
during !Ill those odd moments, a stadt of handwritten notes about two feet
high--examples from the classical literature, attempu at theorizing. jumbles
of cross-referenceJ-bccame the product you now have before you. My
motive was simple-to move the Tibetan language from my head to paper.
I hope someone finds the result useful.

I am not a Tibeto-Burman linguist; but I believe that the reader of classical

Tibetan texts should have some sense of the place of the language in the
speech communities of the world. References in this text to Tibeto-Burman
languages other than Tibetan are based on. several secondary sources, chief
of which is Paul K. Benedict, Sitw-1'ibetan: A Consp«ru.s (Cambridge: Cam-
bridge Unive rsity Press, 1912), as edited and annotaled by James Matisoff,
and David Bradley, Proto·L%ish, Scandinavian Institute of Asian StudieJ
Monograph Series No. 39 (London: Curzon Press, 1979). Comparative cita-
lions of Tibeto-Burman forms are largely taken from these two remarkable
compilations. In addition, I have relied on the stream of works produced by
the Summer Institute of Linguistics on the languages of Nepa~ in partir.ular
the various works of Warren W. Glover on Gurung and the works in the four
volumes of Austin Hale and David E. Watters, Clause, sernence, and ducour.'iI~
patterns ill u/teted /onguogfi o{ Nepal, Summer Institute of unguistics
Publications in linguistics and Related Fields 40 (Kathmandu: Summer
Institute of linguistics and Tribhuvan University, 1973). In the bibliography
at the end of the text, I have tried 10 include not only the texts upon which
I have relied but also the texts Ihat the literary scholar might find
enlightening.

In all my reading on the classical Tibetan language, 1 have returned again and
 TUE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN UNGUAGE

again to the works of three scholarly pioneers of Tibetan studies-Berthold

Laufer, Gb.a Uray, and Rolf Stein. They_represent the best scholarship to
which I could aspire, and I cannot put forward this book without acknow-
ledging the debt I owe them. I also cannot forebear from mentioning the
name of E. Gene Smith, whose work is scattered in inlroductions and
prefaces to the works of others: the collection of these into a single and
accessible volume is a scholarly desideratum which is, unfortunately, not likely
to occur soon.

I owe a great personal debt to Professor Matthew Kapstein of Columbia

University, for his friendship, encouragement, good sense, and extraordinary
knowledge of the Tibetan language. No writer could hope for a better or
more thorough reader, or for a more discerning critic. Thanks, too, to
Professors lames Malisoff of the Universiry of California and F. K. Lehman
of the University of Illinois for their ge nerow help, encouragement, a nd
suggestions. Finally, I want to thank my friends and law partners Mike Davis.
Bill Richmond, and Doug Fuson. Their friendship and support helped me
write this book, even though they did not know it.

One final note. If you want to learn classical Tibetan, you can do no better
than to sit down and read A TibetalJ-English Dictionary by H.A. Uschke,
o riginally published in 1881 and reprinted several times thereafter. laschke
was a Moravian missionary in Ladakh, and I do not think that any other
scholar of Tibetan has ever equalled the linguistic insight exhibited in this
dictionary. And if you want to learn how to nttNK ABOUT classical Tibetan,
you should sit d~ and read-twice-James A. Mati50ff, Variational
Semllnlia in Tibeto-Bunnon, Occasional Papers of the WoUenden Society on
Tibeto-Bunnan linguist.ics 6 (Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human
Issues, 1978), which is simultaneowly one of the most sensible and sensitive
books on doing Tibeto-Burman linguistics I have ever read.

....
"'May 1991
STEPHAN V. BEYER
1 Introduction

This book is intended to describe the reading of texts in the classical Tibetan
language. It is nal a complete survey of all aspects of Tibetan grammar,
although I have tried to include everything I thought it was imponant to
know. It is intended to describe the READING of classical Tibetan; therefore
it will nOl anempt to teach the reader to speak either Old Tibetan or some:
modem Tibetan dialect. I Rather my aim has been to provide procedures for
the understanding of 1eXTS....... that is, coherent discourses with literary o r
philosophical content, whose authors ustd the resources of their language to
convey meaning.

Moreover, this book describes the reading of CI..A$SICAI.. Tibetan. I have

excluded from systematic consideration the modern newspaper language at
one end and the language of translated Indie texts at the other. This leaves
a sufficiently immense corpus of written Tibetan material for us to work
from. 1

I This limitation bas made tbe descriptive wk much easier. A RECOGNmON (lRA,MMAR
sud! as this need not incorponte the ou tput oonstn ints required in I rRooucnoN
GRAMMAR, under the as.sllmption UtilI II reader limply will not encounter synlatlical1y ill·
formed seqllCllCai, wbereas I beginninl spea ke r mly wdl produce them. For eumpJe, •
production pmmar of English WOuld require bolb I role to produce the sequencesgoodntSl
.Dd (orTfft1ltn . nd I oonsnaint on tbe 5I1nC rille to 'prevent tbe sequences '!tnJtMSS or
'!1froII&MSS (as opposed 10 tnJlh or srrmgrh). Bull tcoopilion lramntlr wollld need only a
role IJklwinl such sequences IS roodntSl o r conut1ltS$ 10 be interpreted wben e ncountered.
It tnJtnaI Of stroftpwn should lurn up in a len, Ibey could be procc:ss.ed by IIIe same ru le;
if ItOt, tbe qllCSlion does not arise..

1 Ilbink it Is flir 10 say thlt Ihe translated materials have bun more intensively studied
lbIn works origin.aJIy oompo$Cd in Tibetan, because of the primlrily Indololicai Interests of
II\IJIy scboJ.n of Tibetan; mosl cxblinl textbooks refl«t this interesl. 1bere can be no
cSoubl, 01 course, lhat tbe cllssical ian&uage, as here defined. Is closely reJ.ted 10 the
tnlnslllioQ Ianpaae. BUI il is cleat 100 ttlall'e language of the lranslalions exhibits ilS own
pccul.ilriliQ, including ()l;Qlionally opaque attempts It reprod~n& Sanskril synlU. "TheK
pcculilrilks, I firmly believe. Ire best Inllylcd from the point of view of Ihe glmmar of
utM TIbetan works, rather !ban lhe olher .... y around.
z TilE CLASSICAL TIBETAN t....o.NOUAO E

Finally, I hope to introduce classical Tibetan as a LANGUAGE, with a history,

with a range of styles., and with ongoing processes of creation and change.
Too often the Tibetan language is seen either as a poor substitute for un·
fortunately vanished Sanskrit texts, or as a spiritual code whose valu.c lies
solely in the message it conceals-with the result that the language itself is
neglected as a medium of great range, power, subtlety, and humor. I hope to
rescue Tibetan from its subordination 10 lndie criteria, and to help the reader
proceed not only with some grammatical confidence but also with an aware·
ness of the individuality and literary potential of the language. I hope to
provide the reader with conceptual tools for an intelligent and critical reading
of Tibetan texts. I hope to share some of my affection for the Tibetan
language.
2 '1.ransliteration

I. PHONEMIC SYMBOLS

In this book I will use the following inventory of symbols to transcribe

Tibetan of all periods:

STUPS FRICATIVES SONORANI'S

OLOlTAL 1 h
VElAR k g z '1 •
PALATAL
RETROFLEX
<
r
j
4
f
I ,
I
• Y
,
DENTAL d s ,
,
"
n r
,.....IAL p b f m w
Tabk 1. 7hvu/i(mltion of COtlS(JNJIW

FROI<I' BACK
HIGH j U
, > a
t , ,
LOW a

Z. DIGRAPHS AND DIACRITICS

Combinations of symbols will be used 10 represent AFFRICA11'.S (such as ll, dz,

3
4 TIlE ClASS[(".A1. TmETA.~ LANGUAGE

pf), ASP IRATES (such as kh, bh. ISh), PALAT....Ul.ED COt-lSOl'IANTS (such as klly,
zy. my), and similar modifications. A small subscript circle will indica te that
a normally voiced phoneme is VOICEl[.<>S, as in New Tibetan (Lhasa) Ja
"god" as opposed to /a "mountain pass." An umlaut will indicate that the
marked vowel is articulated at the end of the mouth other Ihan the usual one
- that is, thaI a normally back rou nded vowel is a FRONT ROUNDED vowel at
the same height, as in New Tibttan (Lhasa) Iii "tell," where the vowel is
rronted as opposed to Iu "sit" and rounded as opposed to Jj "destroy"; or
Ihat a normally from spread vowel is a HACK SPRFAD vowd al the same
height. 35 in New Tibetan (Amda) .f iji "field," where the vowel is backed as
opposed 10 Jill "cloud" and spread as opposed to !uii "protection." llte
symbol 1 will represent a voiced murmured lateral, as in New Tibetan
(Ladnkh) lama "i;lma," 1a "god," lu "song." I will use the symbol N to
indic.lle Ooth NASAI.li'ATION of a prcct:ding vowel. as in New Tibetan (Ohus)
gUN "grape;' and PRI'N/\SAI.!7.A'1l0N of a following consonant, as in Ngil
"move."

3. OTHER SYMBOLS

I will use an asterisk tn mark an IJNATrES'Il'.n funn which has het:n historically
reconstructed, as in Proto-Tibetan ·gryah "throw." I will use ;in interrogative
10 mark a DlSALI.OWED form which is precluded by the sym:hronic rules of the
language, as in Old Tibetan '!l1a-mol1ls·dag as opposed III l1a-dfIK-mams
"horses." Quotation marks will em:lose GI.OSSES, as in Old Tihetan I1Q
"horse," in order to identify forms and constructions, not 10 provide their
central meaning or best possible lranslation, <tlthough I must confess I think
my translations are often quile clevel : capitali1.ed glosses are SEMANTlC, as in
Old Tibetan -ling "MOTt E lllAN ONE."

The sign> means "changes into" and <: mea ns "develops from," as when
Proto-Tibetan -gryah " throw" > Old Tibetan 'KIph > New Tibe lan (Lh'lsa)
c~p. The sign - means "varies with," as when Old Tibetan me-tog - mell-/og
"flower." The sign __ in glosst:s means "is lexic:llized as," as in Old TihetHIl
rdo-riii "long stone .... monument," New Tibetan (Obus) meNW "firc arrow - .
gun." Angle brackets enclose uw,APJIS, as when 1 indicate that New Tibetan
(Lhasa) SONCC "Buddha" has the wrinen form <saia.s-rgyas>. The graph called
a-tJhufi "little a" by the Tihetan grammarians will be transcribed, for
ex~si tory purposes only, by a slash, as when discussing the written form
<b~/u> for O ld Tibetan heu "cal f," but will nnt otherwise be transcribed, for
TIVJoISLITERATION 5
reasons that will be made clear in the main body of the text-thus, normally,
Ok! Tibetan 00 <00> "light" rather than </00>, beu <beu> "caW' rather
than <belu>, and mda <mda> "arrow" rather than <mdal>.

A hyphen will be used 10 indicate that the syllables which it connects

ronstitute a single WORD, as in Old Tibetan· Ndfig·nen "world," or a single
sn£SS GROUP, as in Old Tibetan pod-dkilr "white lotus." It will also be used
to indicate that a morpheme is BOUND and must occur with some other form
either preceding, as in Old Tibetan -dag "MORE THAN ONE," or following, as
in Old Tibetan ml- "NEGATIVE." A hyphen may also indicate the POSmON of
a phoneme in a Tibetan syllable: thus f· indicates a leftmost f, as in tgu, ·r·
indicates a medial f, as in gru, and ·f indicates a final f, as in gur.

J will use a period to distinguish a stop preinitial followed by an initial glide,

as in Old Tibetan g.ron "left" > New Tibeta n (Ulasa) yON, from a stop initial
followed by a postinitial glide. as in Old Tibetan gyoii "loss" > New Tibetan
(I1lasa) ChON.

Capitalization of a phoneme will indicate that it undergoes regular MORPHO-

PHONEMIC CHANGES according to phonological environment. Such an environ·
ment may be across a syllable boundary, as when the Old Tibetan nominal·
izer .I'Q becomes ·ba after preceding final .n,. ' f , -/ and vowels, and · ·po
elsewhere; or within a syllable, as when the Old Tibetan future tense prefix
G- becomes g. before acute consonant initials and d· before grave consonant
initials. Verb R()()n will be entirely capitalized, followed, where appropriate,
in parentheses, by the tense stems of that root, present and past in the case
of intransitive verbs, and present, past., future, and imperative in the case of
transitive verbs-for example, I(JIUM (Nkhumlkhums) "become shrunkell," TU
(Nthu./btuslbtu/lhw) "gather," SLAlJ (sloblbs/obslbs/obls/obs) "teach." Using thts
convention, we will show the derivation of, say, the present and past stems
of GAD "laugh" as dgod < G-GAD "'aughs" and bgad < b·GAJ)-s "laughed."

The Tibetan vertical stroke or lod, marking a reading pause, will be

transcribed with a comma.

4. OTHER LANGUAGES

Words in New Chinese, as well as Chinese place names, book titles, and
other non-linguistic citations, will hf:c given i .. Wade-Giles transcription, about
6 THE CUssICAL TlBETAN I..J.NOUAOE

which I am sentimental. Reconstructed forms in Old and Middle Cltinese--

Karlgren's "Archaic" and "Ancient" Otinese--have been taken from Bern-
hard Karlgren's Gml'MUlIQ Serico R«msa, with several Uberties taken with
his transcription. Sanskrit is transcnDed in the traditional manner, as are,
more or less. Mongolian and Bunnese. Those familiar with these languap
should have no difficulty recognizing the forms. There is nothing even
approaching a generally accepted tradition for transcn'bing the ~ well-
known Tibc:to-Burman languages; I have followed, as best I could, the trans-
criptions of the various aulhon to whose works I have referred. and I have
attemptcd-probably with little success-to forte some consistency upon the
varioUi systems.

Fip,t 2 Ch.tJmr 10 bind d.tmotll

 •
3 Tibetan In Context

I. DEFINING TIBETAN

TIBETAN is a language spoken primarily on the: high plateau north of the

Himalayas. It is related to a number of Himalayan languages, such as Gurung
and Magar, whose speakers were a traditional source of recruits for the
British Gurkha forces. It is- also related to several languages, such as
Rgyarong and Minyag, spoken on the peat nonhem plains by nomadic tribes
traditionally called ''western barbarians" by the Chinese. 1 Tibetan is morc
distantly related to Burmese; even more distantly to languages spoken by
Naked Nagas and other hill tribes of Assam; and more distantly still to
Chinese. Tibetan has had a writing system since the seventh century,
borrowed from an Indian prototype. India, in fact, has had a massive cultural
impact on Tibet; but Tibetan itself is unrelated to Sanskrit or any o ther Indie
language.

We can define Tibetan as that language in which we find the word bdun
"seven" and its cognates-particularly as opposed to the word and ils-,S/1"
cognates found everywhere else among the Tibeto-Burman languages. For
example, we find Rgyarong snyis, Horpa zn~, Kanauri stU, Garo sni, Kachin
sMlil, Burmese Iuults. Sgaw nwi, Taungthu nOt, Gurung iii, the ancient Zhang.
zhung snis, and perhaps even Old Chinese ·uhy~1 "seven. "Z None of these

I M;ddJe OIincse -w.y...1111 "barNrian" may in faa be a kl.anword from Old TIbelan bOIl
"sumank: reUlion" or I relaled word ift one of Itle lUi·flft lInlup,

l Anolher Ipp.arenl inlKMuion in TIbelin is the word kJtyod "you" 1M iu ~lIIld. IS

opposed 10 ~ ')Ou" Ind iu oolnlld found ift other reilled lInlUlges-for eumple'.
OIeP"'nl/Sall, Kx'hin /WI, Burmese /SaIl, Lushei nail. Spw lUI, Pwo lUI, Dhimal lUI, Nun; lUI,
PhuDOt .l1.li"" Sisu IWI, Akha .l1.li10', Mpi nmI. RlYlfon& no, Minyal IIA, lad perhaps Old
ChiJlele "iI>" and -;(iQ ')Ou," Compare Old Tibcl2n itid ')01,1 (elepnl)'" New Tibeta n
(Sbewe) iIipo dtd.po> ''you.''

IlteratinllY, loolher Ipparent Tibelloll inllOYlllon is na Mbo;,e" and iu 001lUl1d, IS

oppoKd 10 'sraII-rrvaII found elsewllere-for eumple, OIepan& s...a.II, Kachin hmll'aJI.

7
8 THE ClASSICAL TliJETAN l..ANGUAGE

languages is a Tibetan dialect, however closely related it may o therwise be to

Tibetan. But whe n we find Balli Mun, Purig rdun, Ladakh dun, Golok wdan.,
Amda aUt, and Lhasa City IUN "seven," we know we are dealing with a series
of D1A1.ECT'S within the: Tibetan language.

2. TIBETAN AND RELATED LANGUAGES

When we say Tibetan is related to another language--say, Burmese or

Chinese_I: mean that the languages are both desce ndanls of an earlier
language no longe r in existence:. Frequently such a hypothetica l ancestor is
proposed to account for many such offspring; this common ancestor is then
often named a fter those two of its descendants with the oldest written
records-for example, Proto-Tibeto-Burman, which is the hypothetical
language from which all Tibeto-Burman languages have come, or Proto-Sino-
Tibetan, which is the hypothetical language from which have come not only
the Tibeto-Burman languages but Chinese as welL

When comparing languages to see if they are related, random correspond-

ences of words of course prove nothing. The apparent cognates could just be
accidental: compllre Tibetan ~al "king" with English royal-regaL More
frequently such apparent cugnates are loan .....ords, in one direction or the

BllrlllCSC ruroil, lUnaliri roii, Manehali IIraii. Bllnan !roiU, Han raii. Us li oruu, Phllnoi "'ON,
Bis ll ?tI"'Jft, Akha malt, Mpi "')'!Iii. Rgyaro~g bra - rubIa, and perhaps Old Chinese Om ;}
" hone." However, in ~ra l archaic tClt\Ji (rom Cen tral Asia, we Ond, to Ollr delight,
alongside Old Tibe tan no ·'borsc," Ihe word ,",aol, which apparently means so mething very
mIlCh lite "hone"-for eum ple, in a myt hological tat from Ihe ~ves near Tun-huang, in
the couplct no-slwd IIi rsll~r·uhtr, mulit·slwd IIi rshtr·rshff "In hone language, yes,lllltr·uhtr!
in 51004 language, yes, tshtr·1sMrf' Of in Ihe collplet no blup iii tplo",·10 blup, mla'; blup
iii dguif..lo btup''11lc hone ~1Is, ycs, dwel ls in Ihe sky; the SIted dwells, yes, dwells in the
heayens," o r, agai n, no IIi log-po dllt, mwii iii mJcJtriJ.po fjh~ '1'be horse, yes. his revulsion
was Iteat; Ihe 3lted, yes, his bile wu Ireal." In tile adminis trlll ive co rrespondell<"'. t recovered
froUl the Tibetan ga rrisons in Central Asia, v.e find, as we might expect, freq ue nt references
to h-o~, bu t almost always as no. Still, the wor<! mrait lingers in the COllocation mraii·rags
" \'lO ne a\lendant .... groom," and, perhaps, in the proper name mllOit·sOyil! "Horse Giver :·
By the lime of the classical ICJctS Ihe word mI<l1l has disappeut(, entirely. It seems clea r thai
th is Old Tibetan mr<lll is rcl~\e(.! !O Proto·T ibcto-Burman °mraii '· bone," and was replattd
by Old Tib<!l:m no ·'horst" d·lring tile ~c~en ; h oe.ll l·ty-· in effect, before o ur eyes.
TIBETAN IN CoNTEXT 9

other: this might be the case with words such as classical Tibetan dIa Middle
Chinese -jha "tea," or classical Tibetan dlag Middle Chinese -dzhMc
"robbery," where, as one Sinologist has put it, too close a likeness is even
more suspect than too distant a one. But what makes it likely thaI, say.
Tibetan and Chinese are related languages is a SYSTEMATIC correspondence
among their words-for example, the faci that in both languages the word for
"I" (Old Tibetan na, Old Chinese -iia) and "five" (Old Tibetan l·iUJ, Old
Chinese -no) both have velar nasal initials, or the word for "three" (Old
Tibetang-sum, Old Chinese -mn) and "kill" (Old Tibetan ~ Old Chinese
-sal) both begin with a dental fricative. It is only on such a systematic basis
that we are justified in assuming thaI Tibetan and Chinese derive from a
common ancestor.

Technically speaking. the only way actually to demonstrate that two or mort!
languages are cognate descendants of a common ancestral language is to
reconstruct the common language fmm which Ihey desce nded. Such recon-
structions have been cited as the most triumphal vindication of Indo-
European comparative linguistics. Yet similar attempts 10 reconstruct earlier
stages of Tibetan and related languages have encountered serious difficulties.

You know tk, that in ftmtte r( speche is ehtumgt

Withinnt a thouJAmi ytr, a,ui JV{J1'IUI tho
That hadden pryI now rwntkr nyee and rtraungt
Us thtnktth hem, tmd yet they spuRr htm so,
Ami sptdde 4S wei in love AI men now M.

-Geoffrey Chaucer,
Troylus alld Criw:yde

For one thing, such reconstructions must take account of literally hundreds
of related Janguages--overwhelmingly unwritten and, until recently. poorly
recorded and described. For anOlher , the words which are heing compared
in these language are remarkably compact. For example. we find classical
Tibelan grog-rna, Burmese parwak "ant." Are thest! words cognate? Addi·
tional comparisons from other language!> do nOl ~eem immediately t::elpful:
Rgyarong korok and Kiranti Idwrok seem rdate!.! 10 the Tibetan grog, while
Lahu pu-,:)?, Lisu baw/aw, and Mpi pillo? sC'!m related 10 the Bu rmc!>e
JO THE Q.ASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

p~rw(Jk.
Yet we also find Miri mule, Dafla (orub, and Nung S~r:J. What are
we to make of this?

One proposed solution postulates a Tlbeto-Burman word ·rwak "ant," to

which Lahu and Burmese added a prefix .p- related to the word· for "insed'
(compare, for example, classical Tibetan Nhu, Burmese pu~ Mpi pi "insect");
to which Tibetan, Rgyarong and KirallIi added a ·k- "ANIMAL" prefix; to
which Nung added an ·s- "ANIMAL" prefix (compare, for example, Old
Tibetan fwa, Burmese sa, Kachin fan, Nuns fa, Kannuri l'ya "deer"); and to
which Miri and Dalla added a late ·d- prerIX of uncerlain signiflcalion. Now
such explanations can quickly become uncomfonably ad hoc, and there is
often an unexplained residue in any event; for example, we arc still left to
account for Gurung lIabbm "anl.,,3 But such are the challenges faced by the
Tibeto-Burman comparativist.

2.1. 1"IBETAN AND CHINESE

Scholars have long suspected that Tihctan is related to Chinese, and have
postulated a Sino-Tibetan family of languages descended from a hypothetical
Proto-Sino-Tibetan ancestor. The rdalionshi p between Tibetan amJ Chmesc,
however, is cenainly nOI obvious if we compare contemporary Tibetan wilh
contemporary Chinese. In Peking city the old word for "dog" is pronounced
IJlliiulI but in Lhasa city is pronounced ch~ while a Peking fish is calkd yu
but a Lhasa fish is called nn.

But thanks to the extraordinary conservatism of Tibetan writing on the one

hand, and the scholarly detective work or such Sinologists as Ikrnhard
Karlgren on the other, we can reconstruct these same words in Old Tibetan
and Old Chinese:~ when we compare Old Tibetan khyi with Old Chinese

] Unlike many won1s in Gu run&. /lobbn4 docs not Ippear 10 be I loan word from Nepali,
where the word for anl" is i«lmilo.. Nepali b an Indo-Aryan language nOI very dimnlly
M

related to Hindi.

• lAnruages Ire dated from tile first Ip~rance of writin,: thllS the earliesl Tibetan
records Ire uid to be In Old Tibelln, and the Clrllc:st Chinese records in Old Chinese..
(Fornu reconuruttod for • period prior to \.he appearance of writin, Ire said 10 be in the
prolo-la nluaae-Proto-Tibelln, uy, or Prolo-Chinese.) But Chinese was first wril1en much
earlier Ihan Tibetan 'NU, so Old Chinese is older than Old Tibetan: In fact, Otd Tibclan Is
TIBETAN IN CoNTEXT It

-khywt!1I "dog" and Old Tibetan no (from an even older Proto-Tihetan -jjyo)
..ith Old Chinese -nyo "fish," Ihe similarities between the two languages
~come much more striking. In the same way, other correspondences have
~en proposed-for example, Old Tibetan iii Old Chinese -nyet "sun," Old
Tibe18n mig Old Chinese -myo.lc "eye," Old Tibetan ma Old Chinese -ny~
"ear," Old Tibetan lUi Old Chinese -.!}'t'll "firewood," Old Tibetan Ina Old
Chinese -no "fIVe," Old Tibetan gsum Old Chinese -S.mJ "three."

Let us assume, then, on the basis of such partial evidence, that Tibetan and
Chinese are descended from a common ancestor. Is there any way of tdling
how long ago il was Ihal Tibetan and Chinese were, in some sense, the same
language? Archeological finds indicate Ihat human beings first appeared in
northern China around 10,000 Be, in all likelihood having come eastward
from the frozen tundras of Siberia, when: they had survived and adapted
through the mosl recent of the recurrent ice ages; by 5.000 Be neolithic
culture had appeared on the fertile northern plains of China, which the n
developed with remarkable continuity and m herence directly into historical
limes, with a language we have every reason to believe was already
distinctively Chinese. These speakers of Chinese 'continued to spread from Ihc
middle Yellow River area toward the southern and eastern c"lasts-an
extension even now in progress.

If Ihe Chinese language splil off from the common stock sumewhere t>ctwet:n
10,000 and 5,()(X) Be, the n Ihe Chi nese and Tihetu·Burman language gmups
may simply have been separatt!d tuo lor,g. and their descend;tnts simply h;lv!:
changed too much, to permit any com-incing reconstruction of their mrnmnn
source; but a reconstruction of ?roto-Sino-Tibel<ln is so challenging <I pro-
;pect that such efforts arc not likely 10 stop.

2.2. TIBETAN AND BURMESE

The Burmese I<lnguage was firs t wrinen down, on inscriplions, using an

adaptation of the Mon orthography, around II 12. This writing system was
Imer replaced by a form of Sinhalese script, also derived from an Indic
protOtype, and by about 1500 the Burmese writing system had taken on more

\-"ulemporanoous wilh MiUdle CbineM:, ~ Ihat we speak. say, or seven th·century Midille
Chine.'IC ....ords borrO>\'W into Old Tibetan. Here we oom~re Old Tilletan with Otd Chine~.
~ incc we want 10 oompare the earliest available rorlll$ in each ta n'\I~ge.
12 THE CL\ssICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

or less its present form. The writing, like that of Tibetan. is conservative, and
presumably reflects the phonological state of the language at about the time
the orthography was fIXed; that language in turn differs in some significant
ways from modem "standard" Burmese, spoken throughout the Irrawaddy
plain and delta, in Upper and Lower Burma, by more than thirty million
people.5

The relationship of Tibetan and Burmese-and closely related languages such

as those grouped together as Lolo--is only slightly mort apparent than the
relationship of Tibetan and Chinese. A dog in Rangoon is khwei, and, as we
travel through Southeast Asia, we find Lahu kwe, Phunoi kha, Bisu kJt~ Altha
alcu~ Mpi kJu, but in Lhasa city a dog is chi Similarly•.a Rangoon fish is nat
and we find Lahu na, Usu iiwa, Akha na, Mpi no, but in Lhasa city a fish is
na-a nasal initial, but, apparently, in the wr~ng part or the mouth.

However, when we compare the older wrillen rorms in Tibetan and Burmese,
even a cursory inspection reveals systematic correspondences between the two
languages much more extensive than those between either language and
Chinese. Thlls we can, again, compare Old Tibetan khyi "dog" to Proto·
Burmese -khuy, and ·Proto-Tibetan -nya "fish" to Burmese nD. Among the
many cognates that have been proposed, we may note Old Tibetan iii Bur-
mese ne "sun," Old Tibetan myig Burme.~ myak "eye," Old Tibetan rna
Burmese no "ear," Old Tibetan lUi Burmese sots "firewood," Old Tibetan Hia
Burmese no "five," Old Tibetan gsum Burmese sum "three.'"

5 For Ihe divcr&eflCC of Ihe spoken .nd Wrillen forms, I'IOIe-ran40mly-mo4em slan<lard
Bu1l1\C$(: m~i <mlWt> "snake," lwti <hrwf> "!Old;' an <laIP!> Kiron," myir <mrllU>
"ri ve r," IMmin <hra1mllil> "cooked rice,~ Ihan <huan> "busked rice," Mi <nt?> "sun,"
myill <mrali ::- "horse," as well ufXU' <tHJI!> "nower," mi <mi> "fire," II<Z <110> "ur,"
hna <hila > "nose," IIwri <II~> ''silver.''

& -"p~ re nl cognlle5 in Old Tibetan ami Burmese are 1'101 hard. 10 find , A few minutes
wfl h a dict ionary will IIltn up Old. Tibetan IShwll Burmese ISM "salt," Old T ibetan sku
BUTml~\e /ali)' "body," Old Tibetan dgu Burmese leui "nine." Old Tibetan gri "knife" Burmese
krt "copper," Old. Tibetan BORE ",row old." Burmese lui "be Veat," Old Tibetan byi Bur-
m~ pwt " rat," Old Tibetan bya "bird" Bur_ pjIJ "bee," Old Tibetan grIig Burmese lalS
"one," Old TilY.:lan iill BUlmese FUl "I," Old. Tibetan gnu Burmese lIn.:zu "fWO," Old. Tibetan
51l a Buo i'l est M '4l "nose," Old Tibeuin m)'t Burmese mi "fire,H Old Tibetan 5nty1lBurmese
"':1)"11$ "bamNIO," 014 Tibetan SAD Burmese 1(11 "kill," Old Tibetan pip Burmese sDIS
"leopard," Old Tibetan lla Burmese la "moon," Old Tibellin ri " ~inlin,H BUflTl4'..se ri
"wr;tc."
TlBETAN IN CoNTEXT 13
There can be no doubt that Tibetan and Burmese are related, or that
Burmese in tum is related to a number of other Southeast Asian languases.
in what is commonly called the Tibeto-Burman family--here. once again,
named after the two members of the family with the oldest written records.
In this family, in addition to Tibetan and Burmese. there is in fact a vast
complex of languages. stretching from the northern reaches of Assam and
Burma westward along the Himalayas, eastward into southern China, and
southward along the Salween and Irrawaddy Rivers to the Bay of Bengal.
These regions constitute one of the most linguistically diverse areas of the
world; it is still very difficult to get a dear picture of the relationships of the
various languages and dialects, not only within the Tibeto-Burman family, but
also in terms of the areal and boTTO'Aing relationships between the Tibeto-
Burman languages and the unrelated Thai and Mon-Khmer languages with
which they have long been in contact.

The cultural diversity of this area is equally striking. Speakers of Tibeto-

Burman languages include goat herders in the mountains of Nepal, former
head hunters along the Indo-Burmese frontier, naked tribes in the jungle hills
of Assam, as well as the Tibetans and Burmese, who built successful Buddhist
kingdoms and literate cultures which have survived to the present day.' The

Some of these Tibetan and Burmese forfl\$ correspond even more t\osely ir we look I t tile
orlho&raphy of the oldest dil ted Burmese illKfiption-the inscription or frina: fUjkum3r,
elated 1112, often ailed the Myl1,edi Inscription bcx:ause it wu found on the mya lim
"Emerald Pagoda." Here we find Burmese u "die" written <siy>, ri "water'" wrilten <riy>,
and fN "give" written <piy>. Presumably Proto-Burmese '.iy > Burmese -I, Ind we can
eom~re Old Tibetan iii "sun" wilh PrOlo·Bufinese °niy ralher than with Bunnest nt. Old .
Tibetan gri " knife" wilh Proto· Burmese Akriy rather th~n with Burmt:se len. Old Tibetan Ttl
" die" with ProlO·Burmese ·siy ratller than with. Burll\C:5e St, and Old Tibet. n gl7N "give"
with ProlO·Burmese 'piy rat her tllan with Burmese pt. Similarly, we find Burmese Ivwt
"gold" written <hrur>. "''''t "nouri~h" wrillen <muy>, and 1at1~ ~ kin~ written < 1atJuy>.
PresumaDly Proto-Burmese o,ur > Burmese ."'t, and we can com~re Old Tibetan dJlul
"silver with Prolo·Burmese °nuy rather than with Burmese 11-. Old Tibetan stm.1 ''snake''
H

with Proto·Burmese 'mf1ly rather than with Burmese mfWt. and Old Tibetan dgur "crooked"
with Proto·Burmese °klly rather than with Burmese low.

./ Other speakcrs of Tibeto-Burman Jan&uges also had n.les, primarily on tbe Hindu
mooe], in the valleys 3round the edges of Soulh Asia-lbe Newari in Kathmandu; the
Meithtei in Manipur; tile Lushci in the MilO area; the Tripuri in Tripur.; the I"y\I in Burma,
a:mqllCred by tbe Burmese; and Ihe Bodo or lUellari In centr.1 Auam, conquered by the Oai
Allum.
14 TilE eusslCAL rlBETAN LANGU ....GE

generally accepted picture is that this entire area was occupied by an

originally southward movement ofTibeto-Burman-speaking peoples along the
great Irrawaddy and Salween river basins, which carry the walers of the
Himalayas to the sea. Such southward migrations, perhaps prompted by
periodic dessication of the [nner Asian plains, presumably began from the
same point from which another group had moved eastward into the fenile
plains or north China; and from secondary diffusion centers along the way
there occurred further migrations westward along the great arc of the
Himalayas, southward deeper into Burma, and eastward into northern
Thailand and laos, with the languages diverging, interacting, and borrowing
from each other, and interacting as well with the unrelated Mon-Khmer and
Thai languages whose speakers were both being displaced and migrating
themselves.

2.3. TIBETAN AND THE HIMALAYAN LANGUAGES

Scattered along the arc of the Himalayas, like beads on a string, are a
number of more or less related' languages, usually called-for want of any
more informative name -the Himalayan languages. The relations among
these: languages are not at all clear; for example, Newari, the historically
important language of the old kings of Kathmandu, apparently cannot be
grouped directly with any other of these Himalayan languages; and the
remainder tend to be classified in primarily geographic groupings, with names
like West Central Himalayish, on the assumption that human occupation of
the Himalayan valleys proceeded linearly, from east to west, so that more
closely related languages would tend to cluster geographically as well. I am
not at all persuaded that this picture is correct; but I certainly have nothing
bener to offer. s What does seem clear is that, among these Himalayan
languages, some-Tamang, Gurung, Thakali, Magar, Kiranti-seem quite
closely related to Tibetan.

• speakers of 5e\"Clal of !hC5e Himalayan languages ha\"C Iraditionally been Ihe $OUICC of
recruits for lhe Brillsh Gurkha forces. Nepali, the dominanl language of Nepal. alme to he
lhe JinguQ francQ of the Gurkha forces at hriglde posl' of lhe lllliian Army Ihmughoul India
and of the British Army in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Glover has nOied thai Gurung t hildren
returning to Nepal from mililary posts al n a)1IVC:n.e ...i th Iheir village rc1ali~ only in Nepali
while lhe 1<l lIer a)nverse amonglhcmsclves in Gurung. Nepali i! a n Intlo-Ary.In language
rclalod t() Hindi; Ind , 11II>ol,)gh unrelated to Ihe Himal3yan languages. Nepali loonwclfIls
have tl>oro ughly infiltrated the Himalayan le~ia)ns .
TIBETAN IN CoNTEXT 15

In 1927, Sten Konow, of the Linguistic Survey of India. distinguished between

"complex pronominalized" and "non·pronominalized" Himalayan languages.
with the pronominalized languages further subdivided into eastern and
western branches. The pronominalized languages fuse subject and object
pronouns to the verb, whe re they appear as preflXes a,ld suffIXes. yielding in
effect a verbal inflection for bolh subjecl and object: for example, in Umbu,
the language of the principal tribal people of eastern Nepal, we find the verb
forms hiptiUi "I hit him," hipnt " 1 hit you," khiplu "You hit him," hiptu "He
hiu him," Ichipli "He hits you," iihiplUm "We hit him," Ichiplilm "You all hit
him," and so on.'

Konow believed that the pronominalized langunges had borrowed this

syntactic device from neighboring speakers of the entirely unrelated Munda
languages. Such syntactic borrowing is not in itself impossible; in this case,
however, it seems unlikely, for two reasons. First, the Munda verbal inflection
system is very different in its basic structure from that of the pronominalized
Himalayan languages studied by Konow; one would expect a greater similarity
in structure--even if not in contenl- if the syntactic device had in fact been
borrowed. Second, the Himalayan verbal inflections are quite similar among
themselves. even between geographically distant languages, to the point where
it appears possihle to reconstruct a Proto-Himalayan verb system. lO Such a
proposed reconstruction would presumably place the development of the
proto-inflectional ~ystem prior to any cOnt~l<:t with Munda speakers. In any
event, it seems both pos.~ ihl>;: (lnd pklusible that the dcvelopment was an
internal one.

Many of these Himalayan languages, such as Newari, do not at fi;st glance

seem closely rela ted to Tibt;tan; others--especial1y those in the Tamang.
Gurung·Thakali group--appear strikingly similar not only in basic portions

, Thi$ aislinction eut~ across gcogr.Jphicat lines. EaStern pronominali7.ed languages

intlude Limbu, Rat, Chepang, and ot her groups in easlern ana central Ne:pal; weSlern
pronominalized languages such u IUnaur; are: spoken primarily in the: mountain areas of
northwestern Il'IIIia OU15idc: KMhmir. NonrrOlKlminatized languages include: Ourllne, Mapr.
Nc:wari, Ina l..c:pcha or Rong, lmong others; these: are: distributee! (rom the: north of weste:rn
ccntnlll Ne:pat across to ta5tern Nepal and aej l cent areas of India.

10 Il'IIIeed, some: scholars have !One: so far as 10 suggest not thaI Ihe pronominalized
Himalayan langulges Idiosyncratically .'qllired thei r inneetio ns, bllt rllher thll the no n·
pronominalized languages Io5t the inncclioru tllc:y once had.
16 THE ~ICAL TlSETAN lANOUAGE

of their wcabulary but in syntax as well. rOt example, compare Gurung khi~
uhami iiaoe lShai-lni piNon "Give your daughter to my son" with Old Tibetan
1chyod-kyi J.shQ·mo iiai tsIuJ·14 sbyin New Tibetan (l..J\asa) IchOr.,; tshllmo iii;
uhti-n ciN "Give your niece to my nephew...11 Nott too the following
apparent cognates--old Tibetan ;u Kham nimi urnbu nom Gurilng din
"suo," Old Tibetan mig Kham mi Limbu mik Gurung miN "eye," Old Tibetan
rna Kham no Limbu nekho Gurung cuz "ear," Old Tibetan lUi Kham sin
Limbu siiig GUNng siN "firewood," Old Tibetan pun Kham sohn Limbu
sums; Gurona SON "three," Old Tibetan We Kham R Umbu ksot Gurong k
"tongue.,,1l

Suet- cognates must, of course, be distinguiJhed--somehow--from loanwords.

Thert is every reason to believe, for example, that ·Old Tibetan tIhos New
Tibetan (Obus) tIhii "dharma" Gurung tlhyoe "religious book" is a relatively
recent loan. Note also other apparent loans in the same cultural sphere-Old
Tibetan bla-ma New Tibetan (Dbw) lama Gurung Ionula " lama" (compared
to the apparently genuine cognate Old Tibetan bkl Gurung pia "soul"), Old
Tibetan rluij·r1a New Tibetan (Ohus) luiita Gurung /uiilo "prayer flag," Old
Tibetan sRo New Tibetan (Obus) no "bless, pronounce benediction" Gurung
no "blow upon a sick person (by religious officiant)," Old Tibetan rna New
Tibetan (Obus) no Gurung.iia "shaman's drum,"

2.4. TIBETAN AND THE WESTERN BARBARIANS

The Chinese historical records speak of nomadic and harbarian inhabitants

of the high plains to the west, called, first, ·khyan > ch'illng "sheepherders"
(the graph represents a man ·fI.nd a sheep), and, later, ·hhywan > fan
"barbarians," a word which may in fact have been borrowed [rom Old
Tibetan bon "shamanic religion" or a related word in one of the Hsi·fan

II Glltuna uh.o "son" Old Tibel.ln ISM "nephew, grandchild" app!'..ar to be genul!lcly old
Sino-Tibc:l.ln words: we rind, ror example, DI··'nal 11411 ''son," 1\.anEiII UI-JQ "cllikl, bab),"
Bllrmese UI "child," LusheJ til Hgi'andchikl, ttepllew," and ~rhaps also Ojd Chinese .uy~
"son, daughter, chikl." Note also Okl Tibelin an..t "bear, bring forth," and perhaps Old
Chinese .~ which Karlgren interprets :IS ~vinll originally mea M "foet us,"

K1L1m (not to \lC oonfW>ot'id wilh the ](balt\ll dialecu or Tibell.nj i$ spoU:t. III ...esl
t2
Ne~J by Map n of the Buc1a, Ohani, Pun, ar.d Rokha subnibcs; Umbu is spo..::n in cast
Ne~l ; .nd OIolNnl is 'poken In the Oanc1aki zone in c:cft lral west Nepal.
TIBETAN IN CoNTEXT 17

languages. The annals of the Han Dynasty note the e)[istence of o ne group
of ·lchyan, located far from China, callel.! the ·pywar·khya;;', a term in which
we may perhaps see a relationship with OIl.! Tibetan bod "Tibet.,,13 Later,
during the Tang dynasty, the Chinese distinguished between the ·tho·bhywall
> I'u-fan "agricultural barbarians," a term which ca me to be used regularly
for the Tibetans, <Jnd the ·~)I"r·bhywulI > hs i·fwJ "western barbarians," a
loosely defined group of nomadic.: tribes ranging the: plains In what is now thc
Amdo region,14 The Tibetans drew the same distinction hetwecn thcmselvcs
and these other nomads, even though the ways of life (If Ihe Tibetan and Hsi·
fan nomads were basically the same; the Tibetans speak of the Horpa, the
Minyag, the eighteen tribes of the Rgyarong as nut speaking the Tibetan
language, although Ihe:ooe languages have clearly borrowed a large number of
words from central Tibetan.

In fact, the influence of central Tihetan on the:se languages has heen so great
that they have' frequently been considercd to be Tihctan thentsclves; note,
howe;.-er, Rgyarong sllyi~, Horpa ZIlt', Minyag !m! "seven" instead of Old
Tibetan hdull "seven" and its New Tibctan retk)[cs, Rgyamng IW, Horpa IIi,
Minyag na "you" inslt:al.! of Old Ti~lan khyod "you" and its New Tibetan
reflexes, Rgyarong pram, Horpa pllnl.pllnl, Minyag ,Hln "white" instead of
Okl Tibetan dkar "white" and its rdleKt:s. Tht: relation~hip betwt:en these
languages and Tibetan. however. is cicarly a close one: for example , in the
Rgyarong dialect of Lcng·rtse, we finll Old Tihelan ma Rgy,mmg ma "ear,"
Old Tibetan !iii Rgyar\ln g.\yill.~ "fircw(Kld," DIll Tihetan mix Rgy<lrong mllyak
"eye," Old Tibelan diw/ Rgyarong Ilgiy "silver." Old Tihet:ln !{Iris RgyllT(l(lg
"i~ "two." But we must, a ~ always, he wilry of pnssihle loan word:oo, especially.
here, from written Tihctan leKt~. A correspondence as dose a:oo Old Tibelan
ldlnn·gu Rgyarnng Mlun·ku "green " is suffIcient In mm;se :oou.~picinn; hut

I~ I Ihink il IS prell ~ clear Ih~1 h, ~1 '"T,"'·I." "'m '",h~m"nl( rd'p"n," 110 '"ca ll "111. ny
0111," amI pcrh~i'" 1'1/0 '"~h~nJ;~ pl~ee. ml l:'~ I~:' ~I'O "'''111''''':. ,hifl. mic,ale," dhon /.'ihWI
"<lcsccmJanl, nephew. granrkhi h.l ." 1\"1'11)"11 '"1:101:", ru~m aht,ul." f"rm whal we will lalcf in
Ihis leXI <:all a \IomrJ famdy.

1< The Oil.! Tani! lIisl"IY ha, a .. haln"'i ,111 TII· lan. and dies the rc,,"gni~ahl ~ Old
Tih<.;ran .....,rds /"stU,./,,, ·· king." Iran"n,h",~ a, M,<l<.lle Chinc..'<C ' /Siln.ph,,·o, and h/on
"miniMer," 1r00nSG,t>c<J .:1.' Mi<.l<llc (,h",cM' 'h"<"1I. a~ 1I:1I;\"e Tn·fan WI"'.IS. The New Tang
Hisrory. in its p~rallcl ( haplel on T .... ·tan . !!'''''-~ a mil le e.\ len,iw vtlcahu tary li.\1 of Tillelan
&"vcrnmenl "frjdab. ~nu s,m,lar ly lIan 'cr""" Oh.! Tlh.:wn I>t.Mn.po " king"' a$ Mi<.ltlle
Chinese 4/.wn ./m"·/I an<.l Olll TII"':lan /,Ion " nlln"I0:'" as M"h.!Jc Chi n.:sc 'Iy-..·rn. 1I>;ng Ille
same Chinese .:h~. a':ler'; hUI lIere (he I"n~~"~.: " ... leU a.~ hdn): Iha l ur Ihe 'kh)"tIn.
18 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAJII l...;.]iGUAGE

when we find Old Tibetan slag t{gyarong Jehu" "tiger" but stak "tiger" in Ihe
Lcog-rtse dialect, or Old Tibetan dbyar-ka Rgyarong lSQr "summer" but dbyar.
Iu in the Chos-ki!l dialect, it is reasonable to believe we have found an
informant with a literary education.

3. VARIATION IN TIBETAN
If Tibetans from different parts of Tibet are asked to give their word for
"hair," a Tibetan from Purik will say sm, one from Amda will say Ikya, one
from Kham will say lira, one from Tao-Cu will saY!(Ta. and one from Bhutan
or Sikkim will say kya. Similarly, a ladakhi will say $fl. a rural Central
Tibetan will say la, and an upper-class resident of Lhasa City will say !la,
But jf these Tibetans aTe literate, and ate asked to write the word they had
just spoken, they will all produce the same written form, which we here
transcribe as <skIa >. And, if they are shown the written form <skro>, Ihey
will. again, pronounce the word differently, but they will all recognize the
form and agree that-however it is pronounced-it means " hair."

One reason for this is the remarkable conservatism of the Tibetan writing
system. The written form <skra>. for example, with the same meaning
"hair," can be found in manuscripts more than a thousand years old,
preserved in the deserts of Central Asia, which can still be read-in some
sense of that term-by any literate Tibetan. ls The written form has
remained unchanged: the word represented by that form has come to be---or
has continued 10 be--different in different dialects. The advantage of such
uniform orthography is its transcendence of regionalism: all literate Tibetans
sha n: a single written language, however different their spoken dialects may
~. The disadvantage is the divorce between the written and spoken
languages, making literacy an incre,asingly difficult and elite accomplishment.

Now when Tibetan was first fe.duced to writing, it seems reasonable 10'
assume that the written form <slua> was, in fact, an attempt 10 render a
word pronounced something very much like skra. We thus find variation in

IS For eu mple. in .1 mythic lext from Ihe caves near Tun.hllllng we find db,,·wn
bdun " .• NbrtJg·s:'n drt;kJs Msal4 ''The tiene! of the wastes, Dre.da, dem.anc1s seven hairs
from his I\e.a<l." Again. in a prOYic admi nist rative memorandum from a Tibetan oasis
garrison in Central Asia,'reportinl on the colleaion of animal hair fo r rope· making. we read
bla.gis phyugs I'Igd skrn srail phytd gyis ""Bkr has made 11 half'Tnii of hair of some animals,"
T I BHAN IN CoN"Il, XT 19

!.he Tibetan language along two dimensions. The language varies along a
DI....CIlRON1C dimension, wherein a word pronounced skra i~ the nimh century
has come to be pronounced, say, fa in the twentieth; and the language varies
,do ng a SYNCHRONIC dimension, wherein a word now pronuunced 1a ill
Ladakh is pronounced lira in Kham, or pronounced la by a Lhasa City
storekeept!r is pronounced l1a by a Lhasa C ity ariSlOcrat. 16

When we spt!ak of the history of the Tibelan language, we will use the term
PROTO-TIBETAN to refer to the Tibetan language spoken before the existence
of any written records. We will use the term OLD TIBETAN for the language
spoken during the earliest pt!riod for which written records exist-that is,
more or Jess arbitrarily, for the language.spoken, say, from the seventh to the
tenth ccnturies, which is the language upon which those earliest wrillen teKts
were based. The term MlilDU; TIILETAN will refer 10 the language sfXlkcn
from the tenth to the nineteenth centuries, a pt!rioo .for which we have an
awesome quantity of wrillen materials, but atxlut whose spoken language we
can make only s(;attered inferences. Finally, the term NEW TIllt:TAN will refer
to the spoken language fur which we have modern comemporaneous tran-
scriptions and analyses, beginning in the nir)eteenth century with the fi rst
European explorers and missionaries.J1 When we spea k of synchronic
va riation, we will adopt· the convention of citing forms by historical period
followed by a parenthctical indication of dialect where such information is
available-for eKample, Old T ibetan hdun but New Tibetan (Dbus) "UN
"seven," Old Tibetan my; but Old Tibetan (Sumpa) mu "ma n."

3.1. VARIATION IN NEW TIBETAN

When a Tibetan from Ladakh and a Ti~lan from Lh~sa City go to the

16 Di.clnoni!: ""rjaliun. uf UJUfSC, I/<Xuffcd ;,.~ well beforc the alrlicst wrillen talS.
Wherc we lind Kan~uri kra Ind Kactlin Urd, fur cumpk. we can hYPOlhoi1.e In earlier
Proto·Tibetan Okra ··hair," 10 wh ich was p,crOlcd th e formati"'e °fa ··ANIMJI.l..... -thus PrOlu.
Tibc:lIn °fa _/ua "ANIMAl.. ha i, " > °s·kFa » O td Tibetan skra '· tlair." And s)'TJI:hronk
VlIIriatlon occurred at his to rical periods o the r th an th e mO<.lern. There is some lextllli
evidenec. for example, thl, alongside Old Tibetan (Lhasa) myi ··man,'· there was an Old
Tibetan (Sumpa) mu "man" IS well.

17 Note thlt these lerms ;ire rcall ), methodological rather Ih;in properly linguistic, The
clIu ification depel'<1s upon the fonuitous existence of wrillen rcc;ords on the one hand and
modem tran5("riptions on the other. Middle Tibetan si mply includes everything in between:
20 TilE Cl.ASSICAL TIBETAN WaUAGE

market together to buy vegetables, the Ladakh; is shopping for tshodma but
the Lhasan for tshc. If they buy spinach, the Ladakhi calls il paJak and Ihe
Lhasan calls it poise. If they buy peas, the Ladakhi calls them lanma and the
Lhasan calls them !cmna. When Ihey pay, the Ladakhi calls the rupee coin
kyirmo and the Lhasan calls it bmo. Are they speaking Ihc same language?
They will both say they 3rc speaking Tibetan; but Ihe Ladakh; will call the
language po/skal and the Lhasan will caU it pMkc.

Even if we look just al the lexicon, leaving grammar aside, the

relationship between the two ,dialects is complex. For example, continuing
with vegetables, we find Ladakhi [abuk and Uasa I~ "radish" < Old
Tibetan la·phug. where the word is recognizably the same in both dialects;18
and, similarly. we find Ladakh; IsOn and Lhasa LsOH "onion," although in this
case the word gives every appearance of having come into Middle Tibetan
from Middle Chinese ·tshuii "onion," rather than of being a nalive Tibetan
word. On the other hand, we find Ladakh; ~a llma and Lhasa tv.ma "peas"
< Old Tibetan sran-ma, where a common origin of the word in Old Tibetan
is less obvious, but the differences in pronunciation are the result or more or
less regular phonological changes in each dialect.19 Ladakhi gobi and Lhasa
kopi "caulinower" appear alike not because the words have a common Old
Tibetan origin, but because the two dialects have recently-and apparently
independemly-borrowed the Hindi word pllUl Robhi "caulinower." The
Lhasa dialect uses Ihe compound kONI<1pu <gwl fa.phug> "middle finger
radish _ carrot," while Ladakhi uses the term soroklurmon "carrot," almost
certainly borrowed in part from Urdu zamak "carrot.,,20

18 The rad is h-although cenain Ly nOI a Iiteral Y~ tapLc-dOCli ~-rop up in so me genuinely

ancient IQU. For example, a ninth·century admjni~ llat i"c memorandum flom a Tibe~n
,arrOOn in Centlal Asia, wrillcn 0:1 :I strip of wood, apparcnlly LiSting expenses incurrcd. ,
includes sfNtU lo·w s/aJ·blll 1(1u1-boi Iha·phug rin "ror the monkey year. the cost of radishes
fOI enlenaining the nOblcs."

t9 ThIlS we find not only Oid TfDelan S' (I...·mtJ "peas" > New Tibe tan (I..ad.akh) ftJN1ItJ
(lJIua) 'DImQ, but also Old Tibetan skra "ha if" > New T ibeta n (Lada kll) fa (l.lIua ) fa,
Olo;! Tibetan sprin "cloud" > New Tibetan (Ladakh) fill (Lhasa) {iN. Similarly, Old l1bela n
skod wlanguage" > New Tibetan (Ladakh) sAm (Lhasa) /c.c, Old Tibetan lo/ " race > New H

TIbe t. n (Ladakll) 10/ (Lbasa) Je. Old Tibeu n mfShon '·n.. me" > New Tibetan (Lao;!akh )
tshon (Lh4ISa) uht:N.

;zo The seoono;! half of ttle Ladalll'li sO' lllau/man ··canOl" is nOI $0 easy. My bc:$1 guess is
Illal 11 is o;!erived fro m Urdu danntJn "nled icine," but Il'Ic scma nlics are ce rtainly not obvlous.
TiBETAN IN CoN"ffiXT 21

It is thus clear that contemporary Tibetan is not monolithic; the languages

..-hich by OUT definition qualify as "Tibetan"-note Lhasa City rUN Ladakhi
dun "seven"-are phonologically, lexically, and syntactically divergent. Such
languages we call mALEcrs of New Tibetan?'

"Ever'body my1 wortls Riff"""," mid I.". ''ArkRnw

folIu SAys 'em Iliff"",t, lind OHAhomy folJu lAyl 'em
Riffmnt. And ..e uen Ii IIuJy from MAUa&hu.setts, lin'
she mid 'em differentiSl of ail. CouIdn' hardly maU
()Nt ..hlit she"Ill lAyin '."

-John Sieinbeck,
711e Grapes of Wralh

Now what we really need is a genuine dialect map of Tibet, ma rked with
ISOGLOSSES of significant linguistic features, such as diHerent pronunciations
of the same word, or the use of different words for the same thing. For
example, in traveling westward from Lhasa City to Ladakh, we find, al some
point, that people have stopped saying (a "hair" and have started saying ~a,
have stopped sayingpho "Tibet" a nd started saying pot, have stopped saying
Icc "language" and started saying sleDl, and have stopped saying JcoNl~pu
"carrot" and have started saying sarakturman. For each of these diffe rences,
we can draw an isogloss: on one side of the line people say things one way;
on the other side they say the same thing another way. Now of course the
line between pho and pot may not coincide with the line between fa and fa,

11 The dislinclion berwec: n a dialect and a language is nOl ofte n clear, and tile distinClion
is frequenlly polilic;:al lalller tllan tinguislic: DUICIl, for aam ple, is a la nguage, bUI Yiddish
is otlen c:aUe4 II dia tea of Gelman, which prompled Uric! Weinreich 10 define II dialect as
a la nguage without an army or nail)'. "Bhutanese:" may thllS be a ian&uage ral her lhan a
diaJecI by virtue o r Ihe ract tha t the indepe nden t kingdom UsuC:$ il$ own postage sta mps.

By the WlIIy, it is often the cue tll,l1 o ne dial«t in a language is picked o ut as normalive and
Olher dialccu stigmatized: in the cue of Tibelan, the speech o r Lhasa Ciay is frequent ly pUI
forward as lhe prcstige dialect. It is nol 'lear 10 me tilat Ill is view is II all wides pread
oUlSilk of Lhasa Ci ty; the view is, lIowcvc:r, fuund among lhose foreign ling uis ls wh ose
informants Ire fro m Lhasa, I nd amon, those fo re igners whose work or sympalllie5 lie wlIh
tile Lhasa poli ti<:a.l or rciigiollS eli:e.
22 Tilt:: CL\SSICAL Tm urAN lANG U.... GE

and the lines themselves may nOi be sharply drawn; along the isogloss, pM
may fade: into pol through an intermed ia te ph6t, or some people may use
both Conus but in different styles of speech, or people in one social class may
use one form and those in a nother social class use the other. Thus, when
such lines arc: drawn, they often show considerable cris:o;+crossi ng; when a
number of isoglossc:s do more or less coi ncide, they an: ~id to ma rk a
DlALECf BOUNDARY,

Oearly we arc: far from evt:u apprua~ h illg such a dialect map of Tibet. But
there arc: a few dialect feature s with which we can make a beginning, and
which provide examples of Ihe .sons or questions that still re main 10 be asked.
The follOwing sections will bric ily discuu three phonological feature s of th is
sort ill New Tibetan- thc: palalaiizatlu!l of labials, p{J~tinitials a nd the fron ting
of back vowels in the southern d i [lkc t ~ , and elegant brt:athincss in Lhasa
City.22

3.1.1. The palatalization or labials

In central Tibet, Old Tibetan palatalized labiais such as by- and plly- have
generally become palata] affricates- lor example, Old 'i'ibetan phyogs "side"
> New Tibetan (Dbus) tlho (Lhasa) t.~/I:J, Old Tibetan bya "bird" > New
Tibetan (Dhus) tIa (Lhasa) tJlla, Old Tibetan b)'un "nonh" > New Tibetan
(Dbus) dan (Lhasa) tIlIUN. Old Tibetan byi -ba " rat" > New Tibetan (Dbus)
lJiwQ (Lhasa) dhiw;. These same changes are found eastward as far as
Chamdo City, located at the up per rcal;hes of what becomes, furthe r soulh,
the Mekong River; but, as we move;: even further east, aaoss the Yangtze
River to the city of Derge, we find that these same Old Tibetan palatalized

Zit These topicS werc Chosen becallse of lhc light they t h row~~n if indirCCl ly-on thc
qUC5lion o f varia lion in O ld Tibetan. wnich we ...·iII dilOCuss in lhc ntAI sectio n. Thus we ha~
not discussed the oe.oelopmenl of appa(enlly phonemic loncs in Lnasa City-both lonc
REG IS1EI.S, with diffcrcnt tonc hClghts tI,,-velOplng trom votoed a nd YOil:eles.s OASCLS in Ohl
Tibetan, a nd tone COtn'OURS, Wllh diffcl cn l lonal shapa; Ilt:VClOl'inr. tro m sy llabic· final
l'OWCis, sJ ides. and Stops in Old Tibetan. Phonemic lone, or O)UrK, is fOllnd in ma ny
lanr.uagcs , C5pcdally in Sou tl'lC&S1 AsIa, wncre lOne has appa rently spread amonr. lan&wogC5
which arc nol ,cACtically related , bllt only in gco,rap htcal proXimity. Moreover, to nal
s)'$tCIN haw; apparently appc:;trcd and di~ ppcan:d , and Ihcn appeared ap in, in panieular
lan,uar.e fam ilies. Thcrc is no reaso n 10 believe Ihac Old Tib\:tl n had lones; if Prolo-Tibetan
eYer ha4 phonemic lOnes, the systcm ltad dilappcarcd lo n, beforc historical timC5.
;,IBETAN IN \..ONlCXT 'J
!abials have become palatal fricatives- thus New Tibetan (Derge) Jo "side,"
Ia "bird," liwa "rat." We find these sa me palatal fricatives extending far to
the nonheast, in the Amdo country, ..... here we find New Tibetan (Amdo) Jog
"side," la "bird," Ian "nonh." Iii " rat." But if we had gone nonh from
Derge, instead of no rtheast. and had entered the Golok country, we would
have found that the Old Tibetan palatalized labials had become not palatal
fricatives but rather labiopalatal rricatives-thus New Tibetan (Golok) pya
"bird," fIan " north," fIyo "rat." And if we had instead gone southeast fro m
Derge to the city of Tao-fu-the Tibetan Tau or Uao-we would have found
that the Old Tibetan palatalized labials had become Iabiopalatal affricates
before rounded v~els., but labial stops in front of spread VQ'IIiels-thus New
Tibetan (Tlto-fu) pIa "sKle," pita "bird," piwo "rat." From the materials we
have, these dialect differences a ppear fairly consistent- thus, for example.
Old Tibetan phyj·ba " marmot" > New Tibetan (Dbus) tIhiwo (Derge) Jtwa
(Arodo) lu (Golok)ftyo (Tao-fu) phipo. We can, apparently, draw fairly neat
isogIos.ses for these features, separating Derge and Amdo from Tho-fu, fro m
Golok, and from Chamdo and the central dialects. But it is not clear whether
this neatness really exists in the material, o r is simply an anefact o f its
paucity. Let us look at the same change elsewhere.

In western Tibet, we find the same change as in central Tibet-palatalized

labials becoming palatal affricates-in the dialect of Ladakh, but not in the
otherwise closely related dialects of Balti or Purik-thu5, for example, Old
Tibetan byo "bird" > New Tibetan (Balti) bya (Purik) biIJ, but (Ladakh) tIa
(Obus) tIa (Utasa) tIha, Old Tibetan ph)'O&f "side" > New Tibetan (Balti)
phyox, but (Ladaldl) tIhoJcs (Dbus) tIho (Uuua) tIh3. We would therefore
want to draw a n isogIoss grouping the western dialect of Ladakh with the
central Tibetan dialects with regard to this o ne feature .

But the picture is even more complicated. In ladakh-as opposed to the

central dialects-Qld Tibetan palatalized labials have fa iled to become palatal
affricates before front vowels-thus Old Tibetan phye " nour" > New Tibetan
(Balti) ph< (Punk) ph< (Ladakh) I'M, but (Dbus) tJIoe (Lh..a) tJIoe, Old
Tibetan ~ "hair' > New Tibetan (Balti) pMd (Purik) pM! (ladakh)
phyet. but (Dbus) Lfh.t (Lhasa) tim. Note also that Old Tibetan phyi-mo
" grandmother" > New Tibetan (Balti) -pi (Purik) -pi a nd Old Tibetan phyi
"outside" > (Ladaldl) phi but (Dbus) tIhi·(Lhasa) tlhL So our isoglou would
group Ladakh with the central dialects with regard to the development or
palatalized labials onlv in svllables with hadr vowr.lt· in tvll~hl.._c wilh rrnnl
24 THE CL\SSICAL TIBETAN L\NOUAGE

vowels, Ladakhi would remain with the other western dialects of Balti and
Purik.

Finally, in Ladakh we find particular words-such as tIindilk <sbyilt-bdag>

"patron" and t!hin4n <phyi-bsrulfI> ''breakfast''-that appear to be excep-
tions 10 this laner rule, and in which palatalized labial. have become palatal
affricates before front voweb. Why is this? There are several possibilties, and
no conclusions: it may be thaI the change from palatalized labial to palatal
affricate is continuing 10 spread into syllables with front vowels., and that
these few words are the first such lexical items to undergo this change. with
more to come in the future; it may-perhaps more plausibly---be that these
few lexical items are in ract loan words into Ladakhi from a prestige central
Tibetan dialect.

3.1.2. Some southern isoglosses

The southern dialects of Sikkim and Bhutan show a change of Old Tibetan
postinitial -r- to po5tinitiai -y- after grave-that is., velar and Jabial--initia1s;
the neighboring Sherpa dialect shows instead the same retroflex stops shown
by the dialects of Cennal Tibet to the north: Thus we find Old Tibetan skra
"hair" > New Tibetan (Groma) kyo (Bhutan) kyo (Sikkim) kyo, but (Sherpa)
{a (Obus) fa (Uaasa) fa, Old Tibetan khrtlg "blood" > New Tibetan
(Gromo) khyag (Bhutan) thyak (Sikkim) khyag, but (Sherpa) ,Iulk (Dbus)
{'Iak (Lhasa) lila, Old Tibetan sbtul "snake" > New Tibetan (Gromo) bill
(Bhutan) beu (Sikkim) biu. bUI (Sherpa) tjrul (Dbus) 4U (Lhasa),a. Presum-
ably an isogloss for this feature could be drawn around the southern dialects.
wilh Sherpa and the northern dialects on one side and the southern dialec:ts
on Ihe other. Where, in Ihe southern dialects, this change has not occulTed--
as when Old Tibetan Nbron "wild yak" is represented by New Tibetan
(Gromo) 40;i (Sikkimese) 40n (Dbus) 40n (Lhasa) tON-it is reasonable to
suspect thai the word has in fact been borrowed by the southern dialects
from one or more of the central dialects. This is especially so where the word
denOles an item in the central, but not the southern, cultural repenoire.2)

2.1 or COllfSC, Ih is dislilldion is nO! .lways dear. III Chamdo City. for eumple, _lind
Old Tibetan i'ibras ·'rice" > New Tibetan (Cbmdo) mbri but Old Tibetall JbnU '"suke" >
New Tibetan (Ouimdo) driL 1 have no ooubt that tbe Chamdo City word drQ "lUke" wa
borrowed from a ocntl1l! Tibetan di.IecC-compare, for eumple, New nbetall (Dbua) 4il
(Lhasa) [il"sn'ke. ~ Bllt why in tile -ot1d would ChaIllOO City borrow tbe word """kef
TIBETAN IN CONTEXT z,
But. again, things are really more complicated. In Ihe cenlral Tibetan dialects,
denial syllable finals have largely disappeared. When such dental syllable
finals existed, they caused preceding back vowels to move to the front of the
mouth, presumably in anticipation of the following dental consonant. Any
such front rounded vowels were without linguistic significance in Old Tibetan;
but such vowels acquired significance in the central dialects as the dental
finals that had caused them began to be lost. Thus, in these dialects, before
what had been Old Tibetan dental finals, the back rounded vowels 0 and u
have becOme, respectively, the front rounded vowels a and ii-thus, for
example, Old Tibetan nos "side" > New Tibetan (Dbus) no (Lhas.a.) no, Old
Tibetan lu.s "body" > New Tibetan (Obus) Iii (Lhasa) til. Similarly, the back
spread vowel a has become either the front spread vowel ~, or a new,
somewhat lower, front spread vowel t, depending on the dialect- Ihus, for
example, Old Tibetan las "work" > New Tibetan (Obus) Ie (lhasa) It:.

Sherpa is different. In common wilh other southern dialects, Sherpa has not
developed fronl rounded vowels before de ntal finals, bUI has re taine~ the Old
Tibetan back rounded vowels-thus, for example, Old Tibetan YOD "exist" >
New Tibetan (Bhutan) yOi (Sherpa) yOI, but (Dbus) yO (lhasa) yO, Old
Tibetan dnuJ "silver" > New Tibetan (Sikkim) nul (Sherpa) nul, bUI (Dbus)
nii (Lhas.a.) nii, Old Tibetan khyod "yuu" > New Tibetan (Bhutan) khyot
(Sherpa) khyod, but (Dbus) ahii (lhasa) cho, Old Tibetan yul "country" >
New Tibetan (Sikkim) yul (Sherpa) yul, but (Dbus) yu (lhasa) yii, Old
Tibetan bdun "seven" > New Tibetan (Bhutan) dun (Sherpa) dun, hut
(Dbus) dUll (Lhasa) tUN. An isogloss for front rounded vowels would thus run
along a diffe rent route than would the isogloss for -T- > -y- aher grave
initials: the first isogloss would run nonh and west of the Sherpa settlemcnts
in Nepal, linking Sherpa wilh dialects to the easl a nd west; the second iso-
gloss would run easl of the Sherpa country, linking Sherpa with dialects to the
north.

BUI, again, there is more. In the southern dialects, as in the central dialects,
the back spread vowel a does become fronted hefore dental finals, as
opposed, say, to the western dialects, where such fr onting does not occur-
for example. Old Tibetan brgyad "eight " > New Tibetan (Bhutan) gyet
(Sikkim) gy~ (Sherpa) gye (Dbus) dIe (lhasa) cc, but (ladakh) rgyat (Balti)
bgyad (Purik) 'KYat, Old Tibetan skad "speech" > New Tibetan (Sikkim) k~
(Sherpa) ked (Dbus) ke (lhasa) Iu:, but (ladakh) skill (Balti) skilt (Purik)
skat. Thus the isogloss for the fronting of a before dental finals would follow
26 Tin, ClASSICAl. TIBETAN I..J\NGUAGE

yet another route, linking together both the ce ntral and southern dialects, and
separating them from the dialects to the west.

And we are not dum: yet. Bhutan appears generally to follow the southern
pattern, with no front rounded vowels before dental syllable finals-thus New
Tibetan (Shc rpa) 4rui (Bhutan) beu "snake," (Sherpa) yot (Bhutan) yot
"exist"; but note the exceptions-New Tibetan lSherpa) nul (Sikkim) nul, but
(Bhutan) nu "sitver," (Sherpa ) yul (Sikkim) yul, but (Bhutan»,u "country."
Once again we 3TC left to wonder whether these exceptions are the first signs
of a change beginning to spread through Ihis portion of Ihe lexicon, or loan
words from a prestige central Tibetan dialect.

3.1.3. Elegant breathiness

Righi around Lhasa City there should be an isogloss separating New Tibetan
(Lhasa) ka from (Dbus)ga <dga> "joy," (Lhasa) tQ from (Dbus) da <mda>
"arrow," (Lha~a) pu from (Obus) bu <Nbu> "worm"; presumably this
isogloss would pretty much coincide with the one separating New Tibetan
(Lhasa) /.:hur from (Dhus) kur <gur> "tent," (Lhasa) rllep from (Dbus) tep
<deb> "book," (Lhasa ) plio from (Dhus) pO <bod> "Tibet." In other words,
in Dbus, the Ne .... Tibetan reflexes of Old Tibetan voiced initials-but only
those originally without preinitials-have had their voice onset time delayed
until they have fallen togdhcr with the New Tibetan voiceless initials. Such
DEVOI CII'IG is, in fact, found in several f'e ..... Tibetan dialects, although more
sporadicAlly than in central Tibet: compare, for example. Old Tibetan gur
"tent" > New Tibetan (eolok) kur (Amdo) ki"r (Ladakh) kur (Dbus) kur, but
Old Tibetan mgo "hciid" > New Tibetan (Oolok) go (Amda) go (Ladakh) go
(Dbus) gO.2A

:u This dcvoi(:ing apparCnlly began wilh Ihe Uljl'ed flK-atives and ylilillally spreall 10
O1hel parts of the lellco n, The hislt) rian Nlos lo · ~ ·ba Gzon·nu-dpat, in hi! lXb ·lhrr Jno...
po, quotcs a teller from a Nepalese scholar addlcssin& Bu·MtlR (1290-1364) I$la·/u pa~irll,
ratner than the correct la·tfl ptllJl/ila, p,csllmahty Wliling tile term as I:e had healll it
pronounced" Gton.nu-dpal himself. writing in 1478, noted that in his day ta III Ja-dilii
mlhulI'ptJ " " . za IIi $a-diJiI mlAull'/J6 "'th~ graph <I> is pronounad tile same as <I> ...
and tbe " ... ph <z"> is pronounad ItK :;allle as <$>.'" TIle Si. tu mah:lpal}~ita. in his
monumental ,rammatiell COmmenlary MldlOu·poi ",gul''JJ)'Un mw.tig phrd·mdus, prob.:lbly
to be: dated in 1744, simply listed I and z as sgra·mtt! ''Voicel~'" sounds alon, wilh J ind s"
TIBETAN IN CoNTEXT 27

In LlIasa City, however, the process has gone much farther than in other
dialects: the New Tibetan reflexes of Old Tibetan voiced initials with
preinitials have fallen together with the New Tibetan voiceless initials, and
those without preinitials have had their voice onset time delayed even more,
until they have rallen together with the New Tibetan aspirated initials-thus
Okt Tibetan mgo "head" > New Tibetan (Obus) go but (LlIasa) leo, Old
Tibetan mda "arrow" > New Tibetan (Dbus) da but (Uasa) ta, Old Tibetan
flU "tent" > New Tibetan (Obus) hu but (Uasa) khur, Old Tibetan da
"now" > New Tibetan (Obus) ta but (Uasa) tho.

This "breathiness" is apparently perceived as characteristic of the prestige

L1lasa City dialect. It is thus not surprising that, within that dialect, speakers
seek to achieve elegance by being even breathier.2S For such speakers, the
New Tibetan reflexes of all originally voiced initials have fallen together with
originally aspirated initials-thus Old Tibetan mgo "head" > New Tibetan
(Dbus) go (l..liasa) leo (Lhasa elegant) ki10, Old Tibetan rdo "stone" > New
Tibetan (Obus) do (Uasa) to (Lhasa elegant) tho, Old Tibetan mdliii "neck"
> New Tibetan (Dbus) dtm (Uasa) tIiii (l..1lasa elegant) tJhiii. We must thus
draw an additional isogloss, to separate New Tibetan (Lhasa) to from (Lhasa
ekgant) Icho "head" and (Uasa) to from (l..1lasa elegant) tho "stone"-but
this isogloss must be drawn through social rather than through geographical
space.

This social isogloss will probably coincide with several others, thus forming a
social--rather than a spatial--dialecI boundary. One such additional social
isogIoss will separate speakers who articulate unreleased nondental finals
from those who do not, with those who do not articulate these finals being
the more elegant-thus Old Tibetan myig "eye" > New Tibetan (Golok)

Note tbat the process or de-.ooicin, atr«lS only tl\o$e initials that were origi~lIy voked in
Old Tibelan. and IUs had no cITect on Old Tibclan un voiced initi:.llls- Ibus, for example. Old
Tibelan Iw·ba Mpiflar" > New Tibelan (AITIdo) ~af/cilba (Dbus) /cilwa (Lhua) ~a, Old
Tibetan dkM·po .....hitc .. > NewTibelan (Golok) Juuwo (Amdo) Juuo (Ladakh) ~rpq (Obl.lS)
""Pc (""">_
2S It is probably 'WOr1h nOlinsthat a Ue.l1 d~1 o r Amcrica n schol:.llrship o n the Lhasa
dillect is based on tbe speech of a sin&le inrorma nt , N3wang Norn:.llng. supplemented by the
Ipcccb of other l..b.as.a aristOQ'lU. Mr. Notnang is c.tucmc ly charming. lilcr3tc. and
anlculate, and thereforc a pleasure 10 'WOrk with; but he is also tbc speakcr of an unusu311y
depot !)'pC of Uasa Oty 4iaka. An cntire JCIICration of Amcrican studcnts IUs thcrdorc
lcamod 10 speak tbe Tibetan cquMicnl or Bonon brahmin English.
28 TUE CussICAL TIBETAN lANOUAGE

?ffik (Amdo) ")t1;"-xiii1c (Balli) mile (Ladakh) mile (Dhus) miJc-mi? (Lhasa)
mile-mi7 but (Lhasa elegant) m~ Old Tibetan nub "west" > New Tibetan
(Golok) nup (Balli) nup (ladakh) nup (Obus) nup (Lhasa) nup but (Lhasa
elegant) fill. Old Tibetan KUr "tent" > New Tibetan (Golok) leur (Arodo) Icir
(Ladakh) leur (Obus) leur (Lhasa) khur but (Lhasa elegant) khu.. Another
social isogloss will separate speakers f('l whom Old Tibetan stop initials with

1.,,', ...", 16 UJiJe IJ"'U"""'T, I...,., tD tAl!

liJte • lRdy.

-George Bernard Shaw,

Pygmalion

, postinitials are retroflex SlOps from those for whom they arc r~troflex
affricates, with the laller again being the morc elegant-thus Old Tibetan
skro "hair" > (l9lam) lIra (Tao-fu) 1fTa (Purik) skro (ladakh) IQ (Obus) to
(Lhasa) 10 bUI (Lhasa degam) lio, Old Tibetan gri "knife" > New Tibetan
(Tao-fu) gri (Khams) 4; (Obus) {i (Lhasa) Ihi bul (Lhasa elegant) #h~ Old
Tibetan SprUl "cloud" > New Tibetan (Derge) trim (Purik) sprin (Lada\th)IUa
(Dbus) {in (Lhasa) {iN hut (Lhasa elegant) "iN. Old Tibetan Nbras "rice" >
New Tibetan (Balti) bros (Ladakh) 40$ (Dbus) 4t (Lhasa) Ie but (I...hasa
elegant) IIII£. In sum, if this analysis is correct.. the social dialect boundary
in Lhasa City separates speakers of a breathier, more fricative, Ie" stopped
manner of speech from speakers of a voicier, less fricative. more stopped
manner of speech. This is, in fact. a discernible difference among speakers
of the lhasa dialect, and depends on social class or the efforts of the speaker
to sound elegant and aristocratic.

3.2. VARIATION IN OW TIBETAN

I can say without hesitation that similar sorts of variation existed in Old
Tibetan as well. The problem is that-aside from 8 conviction that such
variation existed in Old Tibetan. as it exists in every language---we simply do
not know much about it.

The period of Old Tibetan we may take to be more or less coextensive with
TIBETAl'I IN CoNTEXT

the age of the centra! Tibetan Yar-lui'i dynasty, from the seventh 10 the ninth
c:cnturies-the era of Tibet's greatest military expansion and the time when
the foundations of Tibetan culture were laid, including Ute language we are
bere calling classical Tibetan. This was the time when terrifying Tibetan
hordes, with their faces painted red, conquered and occupied the strategic
c.ses of Central Asia, and on one occasion even captured and briefly held
Ct'ang-an, the capital of Olina. For these two centuries. Tibet was the
dominant power in Inner Asia.

By the middle of the eighth century at the latest, the barbarian warriors of
Tibet had developed a uniform writing system, based on an Indian mode~
which they used on huge monolithic pillars to record their vic10riCJ and in
correspondence among the military outposts of their empire. By the reign of
Khri Sron-lde-btsan (742-797), who founded the monastery of Bsam-yas and
invited the Indian academicians Santaraiq;ita and KamaJaJ.ila to Tibet, this
""ting system had begun 10 be applied to the production of Buddhist texts.
By the beginning of the ninth cenlury it seems a need was felt to standardize
the language of these translations., whether from religious or imperial. impulse
it is difficuiJ to say; in any event, the language standardization project was
begun under Khri Lde-sroii-btsan (776-815) and completed under his son
Khri Gtsug-lde-btsan (805-836). 'The result was a dictionary, the ,Bye-brag·ru
rwgs·par byed·pa, perhaps better known under its Sanskrit~d titfe.MahiiryUl·
ptuti, and a commentary, the Sgra-sbyor bam.po giiis·pa, Widi tlie sanskrit title
MtJdhyavyulpatti, which served as a treatise on translation theory and practice.
Translations that had already been completed were revised by the central
translation committee, and, as the historian Bu,slon says., s/cJJd-gsa' btJad.kyis
gf(ln·1a phab "The new language was established by decree." The result was
a series of canonical translation eqUivalents for Buddhist texts, in officially
sanctioned spellings.

3.2.1. Sources

There are three primary sources of written evidence for dialect variation in
Ol~ Tibetan during this period. One source is the collection of manuscripts
recovered from the famous walled-up library in one of the shrines constituting
the settlement at Ch'ien·(o-tung, near Thn·huang, in western Kan"u, the
caravanserai which marks the end of China and the beginning of the desert.
The sealed cave 'Yielded an immense hoard of Tibetan manuscripts rrom the
eighth and ninth centuries, including historical records. translations, myths,
30 TilE CussICAl.. TIBETAN l...ANOUAGE

rituals, divination manuals, and collections of proverbs. The spelling of words

in these lexts is the most direct available evidence of dialect variation among
the scribes who wrote them down,liS

Another source consists of documents, written primarily on thin strips of

wood held together with Siring, or on coarse, unglazed paper, left behind by
the Tibetan garrisons al the oasis cities of Chinese Turkestan, primarily {orts
at Miran and at Maziir-Tagh in Khotan. These oases had long had their own
vibrant culture-their garden walls adorned with frescoes and stucco reliefs
_hen they were occupied and garrisoned by Tibetan troops, who Jeft
behind in their storerooms the identity cards of soldiers, address labels for
military and administrative corresponde nce, military reports. administralive
memoranda, and letters to superiors from harried commanders in need of
supplies. Like the Tun-huang texts, these more prosaic documents give us
spellings a nd vocabulary that may reflect di<l.lect variations among their
authors.

A third source is found in the several inscriptions on monumental pillars

e rected in and near Lhasa City. These inscriptions include the earliest extant
dated Tibetan writing, the pillar at 2.0~ erected by Nan-lam stag-sgra klu·gon
in 767 to memorialize his services to the king and his victories over the
Chinese. For the purposes of phonological reconstruction-that is. when we
try to figure out what Tibetan actually sounded like in Ulasa City-the most
importa nt of these pillar inscriptions is that of the Sino-Tibetan treaty of 821,
which contains 1;1 bilingual versions the names of both the Chinese and
Tibetan officials who participated in the conclusion of the treaty, with Tibetan
translitera tions of Chinese names and Chinese transliterations of Tibetan
names. Again, since there are independent reconstructions of Middle Chinese
phonOlOgy, the Chinese transcriptions of Tibetan names can tell us~thin
the limits of the ability of written Chinese to transliterate anything--what the
Tihetan of Lbilsa City actually sounded like to the Chinese scribes. We find

21> A few o( tlH.:$e maflu:o;cri pts. too, turned ou t 10 be Chi nese: Buddhist texiS transliterated
inlO Tibetan, presumably !oO tll.al they could be reci ted by Tibetan tra~de~ Ulitenlte in
Chinese but JlCrll.ap5 wilh some knowled~ of the spoken language.. Since we have
indc(ltnden, ao;:a.s to tbe Chincs.e tCXIS thllS transliterated, and independent rtCOnstruc1ions
o f their Middle ChilK$C phonology, such tcxu. ca n provide signifICant dues 10 the
phonolopc.i va lues of the Tibetan I raphs wed to IfJl\SClibe Ihem. We will tum 10 tllcK
ICKIS (or help whe n we discuss the Tibetan '-'Till nl sys tem.
TIBETAN IN CoNTEXT 31

similar Chinese transliterations of several Tibetan government titles and royal

names in the Chinese historical records dealing with Inner Asian political
affairs.

3.2.2. Manuscript variations

Even with these sources, it is difficult to form any consistent geographical

picture of Old Tibetan dialect variation. We can, of course, detect fragments
of dialects. One ten from the TIm-huang library, for example, consists of
proverbs attributed to ma sum-po "Mother Sum-pa/the Sum-pa mother." In
this text we find <mu> written consistently for Old Tibetan my; "man," and
appareOlly intended to represent the form mu "man" in the dialect of the
author. Thai ·this dialect was thai of a Sum-pa people is indicated not only
by the title of the text but also by the fact that the Sum-pa were apparently
a distinctive Tibetan group.v We are probably justified in believing that we
have here found a genuine Old Tibetan dialect variant-Qld Tibetan (Sum-
pal mu "man," as opposed, say. to the Old Tibetan (Lhasa) my; > m; "man"
attested on the contemporaneous monumental pillars erected around Lhasa
City.

Similarly, another Tun-huang manuscript, this time dealing with divination,

presents what seem to be consistent dialect features, writing <sill> for Old
Tibetan z/Q "moon" and <slogs> for Old Tibetan zlogs "reversed," and
<IMm-Iad> for Old Tibetan lhams-dad "all" and <urn-Ian> for Old
Tibetan sems-t1an "sentient creature." Again, these spellings would seem to
reflect genuine Old Tibetan dialect variants; unfortunately, we do nOI know
where they are from. But the variants are sufficiently systematic that the

71 The SlIm.pa ptay ... rote in both tl\c Old Tibeu.n Chronicles and l~ DIU Tibetan
Ann.als: tbey were «.lOquercd by Myaft Maft.po.rd1.e taft -$na ll, the mipister of Sroft·btsan
sa-m-po: there were Sum.pa in Rtya -ror. and Mdo-$ rnad. The New rang History reports
tbit Su.g-$gta, a prince of tbe Sum.p'. derectod fro m Tibet and $u rrendcrcd to the Cbi~.
Tbc term --fNJ abo appears as a geographical designalion in proper namcs-for CDmplc,
the otbuwise IInknown Sum-pi Qsu_slcbs, mentionod in a ninth-ccnlury fragment of
ad!lli.usuatlvc ~ncspondcncc from the Tibcl.ln fon at Mlrln. l..ater tbe term _.po came
to mu to tbc MopJ'lOf, wtIo came to the Kokonor region laler on; the author S;tm-pa Ye-
lea dpll-Nbyor was probably among lbe talter. At lca$t OJIC WOfd-list of New TIbetan, first
pubtiJhcd by the South Manchuriap Railw3y in 1943. reports the form I'IU map" from t!le
M

area oc ubrullQ Am4o, allhougll this Is pl"obabty an aue mpl to rel'ldcr the lOon m1.
J2

manuscript seems to represent a particular dialect, in which the zI of. say,

Lhasa City is represented by s~ and -$oil is represented by ! Using the
manuscript designation as the provenance of tht! linguistic (orms. therefore.
we are probably justified in proposing Old Tibetan (Stein ms. 73 IV 38) slo
"moon," as opposed to Old Tibetan (Uiasa) zla "moon," and Old 'Tibetan
(Stein tnI. 73 IV 38) tMm-/ad "all," as opposed to Old Tibetan (Lhasa)
thams-dad "all," with the Uasa Conns as attested on the Sino-Tibetan treaty
pillar of 821.

Again, we fllld a Thn-huang mythological manuscript apparently perWnina:

to a ~gendary time of woe in tbe Skyi counuy, although the provenance of
the manuscript itself is uncertain. The manuscript lUna to reOcct. at leut
in some portions, a dialect which did not have---o"f wu in the procell of
l,?,ing-the distinction between palatal and dental affricates found elsewhere
in Old Tibetan. Thus we find. in this manuscript, both .<khri-lJog> and
<Icltri-tsog>. both <gUii-bran tJeu> and <gliii-bron tseu>, and both <be-M
tlhog-po> and <be-ne tshag-po>, written apparently indiscriminately. What
is interesting and puzzling, however, is that these are all proper names, and
proper names that are, as far as I know, peculiar to this text. We do not ftnd
such variation in other parts of the lexicon: Old Tibetan mtfhog "best" is
written consistently as <mtIhog>, and Old Tibetan "t.fhab "water" is written
consistently as <tIhab>. One hypothesis is that the manuscript in fact
represents a dialect in which there is no distinctio~r no longer a
distinction--between dental and palatal affricates; where the scnbe writes 8
word in common use, he writes it according to the speillng rule he has
learned; where the scribe has no rule to follow, as when he is writing a
proper name he has never seen spelled elsewhere, he improvises its spelling
inconsistently, since the different graphs for palatal and dental affricates do
not reflect a distinction in his own speech. We do not know, of course,
whether in this dialect the palatal affricates have fall~n together with the
dental, or the denial wilh the palatal; but such a dialect would dearly be
different from that recorded, ~y, on the pillar inSCriptions at Lhasa City.2I

28 Tbe Central Alian manusaipU-botb from Tlul-buaniand Kholaa-6llowoo~

vuiation In their lpcllinl or those vamfIUI1k:a1 panidcl wblcb uaderao lIIOrpbOpbOaotopcd
changes aa;:ordin, 10 lhe final or poiIllinal of \be prcc:edin, I)'lIabk. So _ _'"lImp" WId
10 aencl'llHu a 'lap form of svth a ~nide-rOf call1pie. 1!:Ie ¥01c:cd ~lataliKd for1Il,
wrilinl .". _n wllCre lhe morpbopbonoklpcal ""lei would __ 10 caU for ..,. or ...
Other manusaipl$ may avoid paJalalillCd fo~ a1lOtdbet. uWt, .. and lK ~
II11allCSled po5looG50lLInlal IOI1n5 .; and ..ti, u ill <IUIM-i> UId <ytIb-.tl>. wberc _
TIBETAN IN Cof'fTEXT 33

3.2.3. Reconstructed variations

Sometimes we can reconstruct earlier variation where New Tibetan dialect

variants do not reflect a single Old Tibetan source. The word for "knee," for
example, is pus-mo in the classical texts, with the high back vowel u and a
final -s. But it is clear that this fonn is only one of several earlier Tibetan
words with the same meaning. Some of these variants apparently go back to
earlier fonns with the same vowel but a velar final cluster: in western Tibet
we find New Tibetan (Balti) buxnw (Purik) puksmo. which indicate an earlier
fonn -pugs-mo. But we also find fonns with the same finals or clusters but
a high front vowel i instead of a high back vowellL We find (Ladakh) pUma,
indicating an earlier fonn 'pis-mo, and (Lahuli) pismo. of uncertain ancestry,
but possibly from -pig-rno or -pi.gs-nw. At the other end of Tibet, in the far
nonheast, we find (Arndo) wiXmo-iXmo, which could have come from any
of the four earlier forms 'pig--pigs--pug.-pugs-mo. and (Golok) wigo. which
seems to indicate an earlier 'pig-mo. And in central Tibet we find (Dbus)
pimo. which looks like it came from -pis-rna, and (Lhasa) pilmu, which is so
clearly related to an earlier form 'pus-mo that one suspects that it is in fact
a reading pronunciation of the written form <pus-rna>. And we also find in
Lhasa City a form pemf}, whose vowel ~instead of .c--and long high level
tone on the first syllable suggest an earlier form 'pel-fTUJ. There is, thus, no
one earlier form that can accoun! for all these New Tibetan variants, and we
must reconstruct at least four--ot possibly five-precursor forms-'pis-mo.
'pig--pigs-mo. 'pus-mo. 'pug--pugs-mo. and, perhaps, 'pel-mo.

Contemporary forms help confirm other variations in Old Tibetan. At one

time, «nain Old Tibetan words with a labial initial and a front vowel had
been written with the bottom graph <y>, both in the Central Asian
manuscripts and on the Lhasa inscriptions, indicating that the labial initial
had been palatalized-for example, myi "man," myUi "name," mye "fire,"
"l)'Q "grandfather," dpyes "copy." Other words with a labial initial and a front
vowel were apparently not so palatalized, and were written without the
<y>-for example, mUi "brother," mt-tog-men-tog "nower," dpen "useful."
After the language refonns of the early ninth century, the bottom graph <y>
was eliminated from all such words, and the words officially became mi

IIIOfJIbopboDOlo&kaJ. nalet would sccm 10 all (or -k)' Of·gi II is very dlfTlaall 10 draw any
OOIIdusioof from s\ldl l'ariltion. DOl OCiIy because of Its iftCOlI$istcncy _II within a .inpe
~..aipt, bill abo bccallK these SpctlillP may in fact rcrJca sporadic ancmpts al
pboAclllkWnl the writiDI of tbcte pIIni<:1c$. .
34 TilE CLASS ICAL TIBETAN l..J.NGU .... GE

"man," min "name," m~ "fire," mes "grandfather," dpe "copy," presumably

because that is the way the nobles in Lhasa City pronounced them .

. In the far northwest, however, labials before front vowels in these words
conlinued to be palatalized. How do we know? As a general rule, Old Tibet-
an my > New Tibetan ii, as when, say, Old Tibetan myug " reed" > New
Tibetan (Obus) iiuk, or Old Tibetan dmyal.ba > New Tibetan (Uasa) nala.
Thus, when we find, among Ihe northwestern dialects, New Tibetan (Amda)
iii (Dpari) mni (Qolok) mno "man," 85 opposed to New Tibetan (Obus) mi
(Lhasa) mi in central Tibet. and New Tibetan (Amda) ne (Han-niu) miii
(Qolok) wiie "fire," 85 opposed to New Tibetan (Obus) me (Lhasa) me, we
can hypothesize the norlhwestern forms are in fact descended from an earlier
-myi "man" and -mye "fire," respectively. while the central Tibetan forms are
descended from the Old Tibetan mi and me recorded in the texts after the
spelling reform. Words that were not written as palatalized before the spell-
ing reform do not have palatalized descendants in any dialect-thus, for
example, Old Tibetan me-log "flower" > New Tibetan (Amdo) met07(Lhasa)
meto.

3.2.4. The problem or the prtinitials

A striking feature both of the manuscripts and of the inscriptions is the

variability of preinitials. In the Central Asian manuscript material, whether
from Khotan or Tun-huang, the scribes sporadically weaken or omit preinitial
consonants in complex syllable onset clusters: they write both <rIcon> and
<dkon> for dkOll "rare," both <f8Il> and <dgu> for dgu "nine," both
<kar> and <dkar> for dkar "white," both <go> and <mgo> for mgo
"head," both <poll> and <dpolI> fordpon "lord," both <Ih4> and <mtha>
for milia "end," both <tsall> and "<blSan> for blSan "king," both <tsis> and
<rtsis> for rtsis "reckoned," both <Ion> and <blon> for biOI! "minister."
both <sar> and <gsar> for gsar "new:'

Similarly, on the Sino-Tibetan treaty pillar of 821, we find Old Tibetan

<bka> "command" transliterated as Middle Chinese ~hya, Old Tibetan
<rgan> "old" as Middle Chinese -leon, Old Tibetan <grogs> "attached" as
Middle Chinese -rwok, Old Tibetan <Ita> "sees" as Middle Chinese -tlul,
Old Tibetan <11JYOi> "king" as Middle Oinese -Icye, Old Tibetan <bt1on>
"firm" as Middle Chinese -tan. Old Tibetan <nna> "name of a district" as
Middle Chinese -mwa, Old Tibetan <bla> "high" as Middle Chinese
TUH, rAN IN CoNTEXT 35

-tn-but Old Tibetan <.bzaii> "gO(xf' as both Middle Chinesl! -dzhuii and
-b-dzhaii <.-bhwn-dzhaii>, Old Tibetan <klu> "serpent deity" as both
Middle Chinese -1M.4 and -k-Iy~ <. -Icyu-Iy~p>. Nonslopped and nasal prl!-
initials were apparently still articulated clearly e nough for the Chinese scrim:
to catch: Old Tibetan <slaii> "IIONoRIFIe Al'llX TO PEHSONAL NAMES" is
transliterated as Middle Chinese -slan <-syer-wii>, Old Tibetan <.fllum>
"wool" as Middle Chinl!se -SlIam <-syel-nam>, Old Tibetan <Ndus>
"assembled" as Middle Chinese -nus <,-nwo-syel>. We find similar Chinese
transliterations in the Tang dynastic histories. In the Annals of the Later
Tang we find what we can presume is Old Tibetan blSan "king" IranSlileTilled
as Middle Chinese -/Jan, Old Tibetan blon "minister" as Middle Chinese
-/yw.wz, but Old Tibetan spyan "eye" as Middle Chinese -spyen <. -sye/-pyel! >.

Synchronically, it is clear that the speakers of the dialects reflected in tht!sc

texts were not articuJating--or were not consistently articulating--earlier
stopped nonnasal preinitials, and were weakening them or dropping them
completely. It is equally clear, however, thai, at Ihe same time. the spc!'lkers
of the Lhasa City dialect were wriling their words with the prdnil ials
indicated, right on the same pillar as the Chinese transcriptions, and .....I!rc
giving those spellings the official sanction of their Buddhist translation
commission. And in other dialects these preinitials apparently continued 10
be articulated: note, for example, Old Tibetan dgu "nine" > New Tibetan
(Khams) dgu, Old Tibetan bdun "seven" > New Tibetan (Khams) bdull, Old
Tibetan gram "story" > New Tibetan (Khams) gtam, Old Tibetan sgo "d(xn"
> New Tibetan (Khams) sgO.29

This is all very puuling. I believe it is pla usible to suggest that we are dealing

29 Loan words are nOI much hClp unlC$!; we know JUSt where Iml when !he loan took
ptace. When Mongol IauJni "musk" was borrowed into Tibelan a" sku·btU·rigs. or wilen
Mo ngot ba4J.J, ''Warrior'' was borrowed as dfHl ' /Jdud, 01 wilen Middle Cllinoc 0/...,.00
"dragon" is wriuen in Tibelan as bolll ,/u;; ''Wind'' and kJu;; "fi.'cr" in Ille oompuund ,Iu;;·
na-Idu;;·na "d ragon lIorse ... prayer nag." we can guC\s Ihal. ~I Ihat lime and pl~ce. Ihe
preinilials were n<ll being articulaled as Ihey were wrillen; we jU>1 oJu nut know where or
when Ihat was. BUI somelimes we can gel dose. For eumple. on tile smaller of the two
DlU·yunr;-kuln inKr iptions. wrillen in Mongot ian. in Nphags-pa scripl. probably in the late
thirteenth or <:;irly fourteenth centu')', we find Tibeun rab·gnas "oorlS«ralion" as Mungol
arabniU. Tibetan bl3·ma " lama" as Mongol lema. and Tibetan d~-bju "profcuor" as
Mongol ~bji. This inscription is, of o;:ourse. I long lime afle r and a lo ng distance from the
Sino-Tibetan trealy inscriptio n. bUI it prcsum~bly still represents the speech of such educated
Tibetans as might have acc;c.<.S 10 Ihe Mongol OOUrt.
36 TilE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

here with a social rather than a geographic dialect-a social dialect that
includes both the officials at Lhasa City and 'the administrators and scribes
of their Central Asian garrisons. JO But if preinitials tended to be elided in
the prestige dialect, why were they made part of the official spellings? And
if-as I prefer 10 hypothesize-preiniliais te nded to be articulated in the
prestige dialect in slow or elevated speech, but elided when talking rapidly or
conversationally, why we re they not nOled by the Chinese scnbes who
transliterated Ihe Tibetan words-presumably pronounced slowly and
carefully for them-4)n the treaty inscription?

4. DEFINING CLASSICAL TIBETAN

I will use the term ClASSI CAL TIBETAN to refer to the language of written
Tibetan teXiS , with the exception of the canonicallranslalions, primarily from
Sanskrit,)] and' the language of modern newspapers and similar printed

)fl Assignment to an ad miniuralive post al o ne of the beautiful and civilized oasis cilia

uf Cen tral A~ia woulu nOI necessa ri ly be a hn(!Ship posl, althou gh there were cerlainly some
gMri~uns Ihat were ulRsidcrably k:.~ allraclive,

~I Translations of Blllluhist and OIher lell! began dllring the first half of the eighth
c.cRlu ry; Il!; we have nut ed, Ihc vflcahu lary and style of the translation language were
Ihnruughly rc~ul a ril_cU lIuring the carly part nf thc ninth ce ntury, under King Khri Gtsug-
kk-ht .... n. With the pmmulga liun of Iranstali.. n rules by Ihe royal com miss io n, stand.ard-
i/ltion of rende ring becamc a pr im~ry vinue: as Ilne cummcnia tor has no ted, many of the
tramlalions of Ihe niRlh Ihmugh Ih e early twelflh ce nturies appear to be Ihe work o r lin·
imaginaliv.: hack!;. Tli is mechanical renderin g nf equivalents, however, hll!; oOen been deemed
a vi rtue by modern .~ holars who vi L..... Tibetan only as a mea ns 10 " reconstruct" IO!>I Sanskrit
le_~IS- lha l is, 10 engage in Ihe [M!culiar elercise of translati ng Tibe tan tnu into Saltskrit.

One of Ihc pruh lc ms was Ihe uirrlCully of per~ uading q ualified indian teac hers to travel to
Tibel, a place percelvcU as ho rr id ~ nd harl'llr ic hy any ur ba ne Ind ian academic; anOlher
pruh lcm was the ha/alu- famine. thievel>. strange di!oC<lses-whieh attended any trip to India
hy a Tibetan in sC3rch uf a teache r. Ther(! werc cxccptions, or course: the rndian Smrtijnlna.
kIlli came III T ibel in the lauer half of Ihe tenlh ce ntury, 5earching for his transmigraling
mother, who had been reborn as an insed i~ Rla.na g, and Ihe greal DTparrkara!rTjn:lna,
l:iIllcd AtT~ "Lord uf lords," arrived in Ihe carly part of the eleven th century. But il was
unly with the MUSlim eu nqll CSt nf NOllh In<lia_Bcnares and Biluror fell to the forces of
QUlb·uu· Din in 11 '1.' , and Ihe greal monastic univcDily of Vikramillia was burned to the
,,,, und in 1206- thal Indian sc holaD ned 10 Tibel in any great numbe D, bringing with them
Ihc firM leal undcr.;t~r.dinl!. the Tihoela ns hau [If San~kril l ilerary culture. TIle Kha·Uhe pa~ ·
 37

material ]2' The remainder--the vast corpus of written Tibetan material

ranging in date from the eighth century to the present day--is written in a
language recognizably the same, and all morc: or less accessible 10 the literate
Tibetan. 1 use the: term in conscious imitation of similar usage in Olinese
literary study, where the: term "classical Otinese" refers to the written
language: as a whole. from bronze inscriptions to novels, all of whi<:b is the
province of the: literate scholar. but with the similar exelusion of translations
from Sanskrit and the written Chinese of newspapers and magazines.

Classical Tibetan, unlike many written languages, is in many ways indepen-

dent of the spoken Tibetan language. For example, the basic phonological
distinctions underlying the: clusicallanguagc have remai~hroughout its
history-those of Old Tibetan. Even today, a writer of classical Tibetan will
WRITE. the: form <sgrub> for the: prcsent stem, <bsgrubs> for the past stem,
and <bsgrub> for the future: stem of the verb SGRUB "accomplish," even
when all three forms arc PRONOUNCED identically in his spoken language-for
example. New Tibetan (Lhasa) /Up. Similarly, a writer of classical Tibetan will
write the past stem of SAG "gather" as <bsa!$>. with an -s suffix, and the
past stem of SAD "kill" as <bsad>. \\oithout an -s SUrrlX, because of an Old
Tibetan syllable structure constraint. even when his spoken language no
longer has syllable-final consonant clusters in any event. In both these
examples, classical Tibetan is WRIlTEN according to the phonological rules of
Old Tibetan.)'}

tJheD $nyaJrlbhadn. IrriYcd wilb • retinue of nine pal)4ilS in 1206; by tbe second balf of
tbe tIlirtCIcntb CUtury, Soa-ston Rdo-rdtc rC)'llI-muban was working with uqmTkara to
tn.UIaIC SatlStrit drama, puctry,lDd ucatiscson poetical theory. And tbac rdugcc scholars
came with tbelr boots: the bulk of Sanskrit man\lSCfipu preserved in Tibet date from tbe
IIllrICCAlb cenlury.

II Neowspapc:r Tibetan b.as been called "modern literary Tibetan" by anthropologist

Mcl\IyD. OokIItein,'allboup its uses .ppear to me to be far from litcrary. ansal Tibetan,
of c:owse. continues 10 be wrillen to tbis !lay, as tbe language of learned discourse, aDd even
u the laapp of popullr culture; wtlcttlcr newspaper Tibetan will become a vebicle for a
teGuloc colloquial lilCnlturc rcmahu: 10 be SOClI, .'tbougb arty signs are encouraling.

:n A pt.ralld llllIIlioII
Is found In Chinese poetry: words which once rhymed in older
Sl.lp of tbe lanpaJC conlinued 10 be used as rhymes, even when tbey no IonJCr rhymed
III tbe apekca laDpaJC of the pact, witb special diclionaries compiled to tell the writer
whk:b wordiWCfC supposed 10 be considercc1 rhymes I nd whith wcre not.
38 THE CtAssICAL TIBETAN l.....\NOUAGE

This is not to say, of course, that clanical Tibetan has never been influenced
by the spoken language. Such influences can certainly be found. For example,
the firteenlh-century Guan-smyan he-ru-ka, in his famous biography of the
clcventh-century poet Mi-Ia ras-pa, consistently used the Middle Tibetan
conjunction -nUi "RuT' in his own prose, in contrast to the Old Tibetan con-
junction ·Yon ''BUT'' found consistently in the genuinely older songs attributed
to Mi·la which he quotes. Similarly, dialect pronunciations have been given
an Old Tibetan orthography and borrowed back into the classi<'.allanguage~
for example, Nphyor-pa "pretty" as mtIhor-pa, and sk.yuii-ta "jackdaw" as
flIuii-ka. The amount of Ihis influence, of course, varies with the author, the
style, and the subject matter: clearly a text on logic theory written for
candidates for advanced monastic acade mic degrees will show less influence
from the contemporaneous dialect of its author than a book of popular
maxims, even when written by the same writer.}t Once again. the parallel
with classical Chinese is striking.

Figurr J. lIIu,"i1Illl~d book. ptJ~

}t In this reprd we should note a remar kable ,rollp of nineteenth· and twen tleth«DtllTy
monk scholars in the ris.,"~d "edectic" ITIOYcment, be,lnnin, with Kon·sprul Karma ~a,.
dNn yon· tl n rl)'l· mtsho, Ndtam..:lbya lls mkhyc n.brtscl dball·po. and Mi·ptllm reya·mtsllo
of Khanu, who e mphuized the IInity of the Tibetan rdir;iollS tr~ i tio n, .nd who initiated
• lu tin, inte rest in oral litera tllre and the ep~ trad itio n.
4 The Writing System

1. GRAPH AND SOUND

It is important 10 distinguish between a linguistically functional sound and the

written sign--or ORAPH_hich represents that sound. This distinction was
blurred among the Tibetan grammarians. who used the term yi-ge indiscrimi-
nately to mean both a sound and the graph used to write that sound. Such
usage can be misleading. The script does make some graphic distinctions that
reneel significant phonological distInctions: fo r example, stopped preinitiais

It is 8lnerRliy ASIUltUd 'hilt tbt spoim JPOrtJ came before

the "';nm FOrd. I su!J!Jen ,hilt the l[IOIt~n IIPQrtl as we know
it 'lUlU lifter the ..,ittm 1fJ(Wr/.• ..• My bam theory is thRt
the "";tten FOrd was "'lUaU) " nM4S that made the spokm
word pmsibk.

-William S. Burroughs.
nit l ob

are written as left graphs and nonstopped preinitials arc written 35 lOp
graphs. But the writing system fails 10 reflect other and eq ually significant
phonological distinctio ns: for example, in both zla " moon" and s/a "t hin" the
-/. is wrillen as a bottom graph; but in zla it is apparently an Old Tibetan
postinitial, while in s/a it is undoubtedly the initial. I

I Thus, 100, lhe ric! tllal 1M Kquences <VOP> and <grogs> are wrillen with the same
G~H IC oonYc:ftlions docs nO! mean they Ire PItOI'<lOL.OO ICAI.J.Y equivalent_and , indocd,
(here is reason 10 bellCYt that Old Tibetan grOjp " ra me" > New Tibeta n (Lhasa) [lID ....a!
pllollOlot;iall1y distillC( rrom O ld Tibeta n grup " he lper" > New Tibetu (Lhasa) n, dcspile
lbeir ,rlphic similarily,
 THE CussICAL TtBETAN l...ANOU ....GE

Moreover, it must be remembered that the writing system has remained

virtually unchanged for a thousand years, while the spoken language has
undergone change in several ways. The wrinen form <sgrub>, originally
representing Old Tibetan sgrub "accomplishes" < N·SGRUB, now represents,
say, New 1.'ibetan (Lhasa) {Up. Now phonological change has been sufficienlly
regular, in most cases, that a literate Lhasa city reader can process <sgrub>
as representing {Up; but the same person, as writer, cannOl with similar
assurance transcribe {UP as <sgrub>, instead of, say, <Nbrub> or <Ndrub>,
which also represent New Tibetan (Lhasa) {Up. Rather, it must be leam~d
that {Up "accomplishes" is written <sgrub>, that !up "overflows" is written
<Nbrub>, and that {Up "sews" is written <Ndrub>.l The gi'owing divorce
between writing and speech leads to another occasional anomaly--the fact,
not only that Til?ttans are generally terrible spellers, but alsO that a Tibetan
ca" say things he · dOt:s not know how to write at all. Such a com mon
expression as New Tibetan (Lhasa) (;Hi; "last year" seems to have no written
form; it is represented graphically where necessary by the unrelated sequence
<na,"iii>.l

2. THE INVENTION OF WRITING

The traditional accoUnt of the invention of the Tibetan writing system is set
t'orth in the ecclesiastical history of Bu·ston (129Q.1364). There we are told
that Thon·mi Anui·bu was sent to India by king Sron·btsan sgam·po (who
ruled from about 627 to 650) along with sixteen companions in order to study
writing; he studied with a pal}"ita named Lha-rig-pai sen·ge, created the
Tibetan alphabet based on a Kashmiri prototype, and composed eight works
on writing and grammar. This bare account is progressiydy elaborated in tht:
later historical te"ts, which add circun::stantial details to the story. The name
Thon-mi-Thu-mi-Mtho-mi becomes associated with twO earlier-and prob·

1 ColUCrvativc writing systcms represe nting t.:hanging lallguages IIlclcforc aspire 10 thc
oondition of Chinese, with the relation~hip betwC(:n graptl ~nd sound becoming increasingly
~rbillary and , eventually. :he subj«t of shotr mcmori1.ation.

1 Note tOO that one can, ofoourse, wril( II graphi(: s-rquencc rep resen tin g a ~y!l3bh: whi(:h
is nOI allowed by the phonologicat rules of thc langu age. nlll!J the graphic sequence
</lrlel"/I> can be interpreted as .cpresenting a syllabic ?brkJub. whkh is not II pcrmiU C<i
syllable, ju:ot u th e ~uence <bsgrob> an IX interpretC<J 3.\ reprcsc nl in): Ihe syllatlle b.•grub,
whiCh is.
THE WRmNo SYSTEM 41

ably composite--grammatical works, the Sum-Lfu-pa and the Rtags-kyi Ndtug-

ptL We should note, however, that the earliest, and simplest, account was
written seven hundred yean after the events it purports to describe, and that
Fr'luineiy ancient Tibetan historical records from Central Asia- unavailable
10 Bu-ston and his successors-appear to contain no mention of Thon·mi at
oil

Considerable doubt can thus be cast on the traditional account of the

invention of Tibetan writing, and there are cunsiderable difficultIes concerning
even the historicity of its putative inventor. Moreover, an Indian inSCription
on baked bricks from Gopalpur, written in a script virtually identical with the
Tibetan, has been independently dated to around 50(1 Such evidence gives
reason to believe that any purported invention was, if anything, a sta ndard-
ization of Indic scripts already in circulation for as long as a century. Such
standardization presumably would have rlXed the graphS for phonemes which
are found in Old Tibetan but not in Sansktit·-prenasalization, voiced
fricatives. and one series of affricates, as well as ! mooth vocalic ingress-
primarily through the modification o f existing graphs. 4

The development of a writing system wa~ apparently due to admmistrutivc

ralher than religious needs, al least at the beginning. One o f the eallicst
references 10 writing is in the ancient anuals discove red at the caves ne:lr
Tun-huang, which brieny describe the principal evenls of e ar.h year from tt·e
death of Sroii-btsan sgam-po in 6.50 through 747. The entry for the yetlr 655
reads buan.po mer-Iche-na blugs-.rut, b/on-IIhe slon ·ISO!; ·lfjlf JoIgOr-tir b ka-/;.im..,·
kyi yi-Ce bris "The King stayed at Me: ·i.:hc, and prime mir"!i5t Ci" Stoii- Isan
wrote the text of his commands t.) ~g.)r- li ." ~ T he earlics! ext J ro t dated
Tibetan writing is found on a pillar erected at 2 01 anti dat.:d 7(.7. T ~e piliar
was c·rccted by the powerful minister Nan- I~lIn S!::g-sgrtl klu-r,()r" n-cvr l.lir.g his
services to the king, including victories over the Chinese, and lhl: n;wanls h(~
received. The pillar makes no mention of iluudhislIl .

• For eumple, Ihe graphs for Ihe denIal affricalcs ih, rJ, 1.111 are Iho; .... mo:: a.\ Ihe &,aph~
for Ihe palatal affriOUe5 dl, /1. 11h wilh • $m. 1I hook added; Ih-e gr~ph for l is Ille grllp h f(u
.u backwards; Ihe graph for 1 is, perh.aps. deriV{'J fro m tI.e guph fur ii. The urigir. r.f Ihe
V.ph called Q·dhuJi "Iiule 0" hy the TIbo::um gram!narian~ ~~ a m~IIC I or rnuch ,JiSpu lc

S Note the impliQllion Ihal the king hinudf wu iII ile.;,!'!.

42 THE C1..Ass1CAJ.. nSETAN LANGUAGE

3. THE WRITING SYSTEM

The principles of the Tibetan writing system are easily descnbed. The original
technical problem was that of taking a syllabic script used for the predom-
inantly open Indie syllabic and adapting it to the complex onset clusters and
closed syllables of Tibetan. The key to the adaptation is a small raised dot
called tsheg "dot," which defines the boundaries of the syllable: everything
between two dots constitutes onc syllabic. The word "syllabic" in Tibetan is
tsheg·bar "between the dots."

The following table shows the graphic structure of the Tibet9n syllable, which
we will discuss in the following paragraphs; the GRAPHIC structure of the
syllable must, of course, be kept conceptually distinct from its PifONOLOO1CAt
structure. The numbers in the table indicate the sequence in which the graphs
a re processed.

I 5 VOWEL
I
I HOP
I
I LEFr
II j CEI'rIl:R
Ii 'RIGHT
II 7 FAR RI GHT I
I .. BOTTOM
I
I 5 VOWEL
I
Tab/~ J. Graphk. smwuu of flu Old Tj~ftJ1l syllabf~

The minimum graphiC sequence consists of one CENTER ORAPH and one
VOWEl. GRAPH either above or below the center graph. This sequence is
processed as an open syllable, with the vowel last; a vowel graph cannot be
written indeoendently of 0. center graph. The center graph may be any one
of the 29 graphs representing the consonants g. Ie. Ich, d, t, tho h, Po ph, dl, I!,
tlh, dz. ts, tsh, ii, if, fI, In, I, I, z, 5, y, r, ~ W, 7, and h. Ir the syllabIc: being
 43

represented has no initial consonant, but rathe r begins with a vowel, the
center graph position is st ill filled, with what we will here call the PLACE-
HOLDING GRAPH, called a-dhun " lillie Q " by the Tibetan grammarians.'

(0 JIIQ gra ph Qf tile Tibc:lall writing 5}'$IUt Iw been as diKussed and rontr()Y(rted as
"Iittle a." For tile Tibetan grammlrians, Q-dlruil "little a" stood in ronU''&St to 1tHJMfI "bil
D" or lhe glottal SlOp 1. This .seems to be precisely Ihe s.amc dislinc1ion as thai between
Chinese)ll "smoot h YOCalic inlreM" and yin, "gloll.ll SlOp" knOW1I to lbe andent CIIincse
phonelici3ns and reconstructed (or lbe la nluaJe of the swl! century AD.

Fo r some ruson , however, the T ibetan plKlnclicians idenliflCd lbeir pollal SlOp 1 wilh tile
onse t of ~;lShi l syllab les wrinen wil/loll\ initial consona nt IflIphs. Now Indic descriptions
of Ihis o nsc t are puv.ling; but perhaps in conlempora neous Sanskrit pronuncia tio n a
predictabLe and hena:: nonphonemic gloua l ~I Op did in raci precede ew: ry vowe l IvjliMlut
OIher consonani onloel, jlUl as in prese nl -day E nglish-compare•. for cumple. English hrwr
<hour> wilh Fre nch (I#" <hturt>. Th is is eenainly true in modern Hindi; a Hindi speaker
will read the \'QWCI <a>, for eumple. as hi. 111115 the Tibelan yaph <1> for Ihe g!otlll
stoP? is derived from and identified with the Indic graph <a>, which was presumably pro.
no unted 70. And il WI$ lhe plaee·holding graph a·dhuft ··lillie a." represe nt ing as «nter
graph a smOOl h vuc:alic ingress-a graph nOI found in Sa nskrit-that Ihe Tibetln
o rlhograpllcrs oo nsidcrcd th~i r own innOYali()n.

lltal is the reason Ng05 lo·tsJ·ba G l_on. nu.dpal n011;:$ ~rtieularly IIIaI the Sanskrit .Iphabet
was adapted to Tibetan by includin, the smOOlh voea lic; ingress ' mo n, the OOnloOnants: /'1)'11'
gar·la mtd·kyan bod·la la-daft la ·dan a·m anu dgos. Now the ,Ioltal SlOp b, of course,
pho nemi c in Tibetan, as in such lIlin imal pairs as Of "underpan M l'I:lf "neck," and lhe
Tilletan gramma rians remained pUl.1.1ed as to why lhe Sanskrit ,rammarians considered the
,lcm.1 StOp to be a vowel; slill, in imiUltion of the presti,ious Indian model, l!'ley used the
,raph < 1> wilen discussing vowels, and thus would .pparenlly speak of "the vowel 11:1" or
··Ihe vowe l 11:1:' iosle;od of ··the vowel a'· o r "Ihe vowel 0:' mUCh 10 the confusion of e-.ery·
one involved.

~ntially, lhe pla<:.e. holding , raph Q·dhun "lillie 0 " is' used to write 1llE ABSENCE 01' A
~{) N SON",,",. When this ,raph-whic;h I will re pre5Cnt in this footnote wilh the phonetically
IIclillal symbol < I>-'ppurs in the <:.enter ,raph posilion, it indicale. lhe .bsenoe of an
INmAL to nSO nanl: Ihat is. it re presents a IInooth vocalic ;nlrcu, IS in Of </of> or IV
<fur>, a.~ opposed, $.lIy, to ?og <?og> or ~r <au,>. In p05lvocalie position, It indicate.
Ihe abscn<:.e of an INTERVOCALIC consonant: thai is, It represents th.at the vowel which
follOW$ is tile second member of I diphthong. u inpai <pol;> or bni <~/U> . And, in the
righl grap h pos ition, it ind icates the absen<:.e of. FlNAL COnloOnanl: that is, it Indicates that
Ihe righlmrnot o f the consonant 'flphs is the <:.enler Iraph, as in dto <qat> or ~
<'II iial >. 1$ opposed, $.lIy, 10 dog <dag> or Maii <maA>.
44

This place.bolding flinClion-indiallinl the absence of a consonant-is clearly tbe function

,o f tbe graph in tbe early Tibelan manv.scripl transcriptions of OIinese Buddhist 101$. II
marks tbe absence of a CQlISOnanl onset ""her transcribing lbe Middle C'bille$C: $moolh
vocalic ingress: Middle Chinese OJ is IfllU(7ibcd as <Ii>, Middle Chinese ')wd as </14 >, and
Middle Chinese ')'WM as <fun >. Similarly, I~ graph marks 1M .b5eM'C of an inlervocalk:
eonso~nl when 'rall5Cfibing Middle Cbinesc: diphlnonp: Mkklle Chinese -ayo. is
transcribed as <tJi/U>, Middle OIinese ~ as <*Ii>, MicSdle Olinese "myaI as
<Nbyt/U>, Middle CbiDclc '"dhyri as <rkJi>, Mkklic OIincsc ~ as <11:;/11>, Middle:
Cbiocse 0/dry1f4 as <t«Jry.ttu >. MiIWIc Cbiocse -,.m IS <NIV/i>• • 1Id Middle Cbincse "/)'de
IS < fi/U >. And .pin, tbe If.ph mUD (be .b5eQU of OOllSOlllnl c:odI in transcribing
Middle OIinese open syllables: Middle Chinese ~ is \f.nsmbe4 as <114/>, Middle Chinese
"rio as <.:la/>, Middle ChitlC5e -,II,) as <NgfJ/>, Middle: Chinese ~ as <Hgi/>, and Middle: "
Chinese °iii u <Hgil>.

Similar examples art found in tile Sino- Tibeun Ifelly in5Cliption of 821, where the place-
holding Q.llJwil marks the.bseIK:e of intervocalic oonsonanlS in MI4dIe OIinese diphthonp:
MiddJe Chinese .jhyaJ. is Iranscribed as <IU/ll>, Middle Chinese "IraN as. <kn/u.> or
<kciu>, Middle Chinese "lull as <kJuJk>, Middle OIinese "'IIy~ as <.vgi/ll>, Middle
C hinese ":UI14 a.~ <M/U>, Middle Chinese "Iy;u as <N/Il>, M)ddle -Chinese ~hyt;u as
<JJ~/U>, Middle Ch inese "Ihal a5 <Ihali> or <IIKk>, and Middle Chinese "JyilCol as
<~jJlI> or <filu>.

Si nce: the place-holding graph represents the absence of a oonsonant, it is unambiguously

transliterated into English script as the abscnoe of I oonsonanl-for eumple, III il\Slead of,
lilly, /uf, ~II instead of, say, bt/ll, I nd dga instead of, say, dp/, Such ,ransliteralion will be
our practice: tbro ugholll Ihis text, exce:pl where, as aboVe, the graphic a-/Ihuil is cxplieilJy
rendere4 a., <I> for expo5itory purposes.

It is intemiling to note lhat the Korean scr ipt, invenle4 in Ihe fifteenlh ce:nlury, IOOOrding
to tradition, by King Scjon".lso oonlains a place-hold ing graph. This plll<lC-holding graph
oontr:u:s wJt h a g101U1 I stop graph, despite the fael lhat Korean has no distinction belWCCD
smoot h vroca lic and glollaJ StOp onselS; ralher, the grapM were created 10 provide distinct
'pellin~ for thC$C OPSeU when they OQ;\IrTed in Chinese loanwords-for ~mple, Middle
Cbinese 0; ··N. rb:\rian" as opposed to 01j " physician." The graph for the gIolUlI stop wa.'
500n given up, and only the gn ph fOI smooth vocalic ingress was retained. ThaI tir.ph is still
IJSor:d in j('Jrean writing. because_jusl as in libetan-the orthographiC: rvlc$ requirc: thaI eac:h
syllabk begin wil h a ooPSOlI2nt graph: and. if the syllable begins with a vowel-for example,
the ~d sylla llie in st·ul ·'Seoul"_the place.holding graph is used.

There is, in fael, some reason 10 believe that King Sejong knew tlK: TIbetan writing 5)'!i tem,
at lca.u ir. the form il loo k in Ch ina to write Monsol during IIIe VllIn dynasty-the writint
called HIe ~~.agJ-pa scri pt, from the name of iu inventor, tile Nphap-pa Bln·cros rl)'lll -
Int.sn:tn, II !:.a·skya monk at the COllrt o r Khllbilai Khan , ....110 declared il Ihe omcial script
THE WRmNO SYSTEM 4S

As in other Indie scripts, the v~el 0 is signalled by the AB.'iF..NCE of an overt

vowel graph; we may say, conventionally, that the vowel graph <0> for the
vowel 0 is the ZERO GRAPH.' A center graph with no other accompanying
overt vowel graph necessarily has the invisible zero graph, and thus the
syllable nucleus must be o. Therefore, just as a vowel graph cannot occur
independently of a center graph, a center graph cannot occur independently

What is ..nNe" is btuetl 1m PNm-moremmr: .,hen 1

..nte, ",., body 40u 1fOt mqn in unison ";rb the flo-' of
7I'01'ds. .... WIllu is will, 1m tbe umlT"". um1fOt be
upilrtuetl from body mo,*",. The JPOim 'KIOrd "';w
itself 1f01 (m/y in body porturlJ ... but tUso in the tUnwt
snnaphorie glJtJlreJ of the Ipleeh lUI.

-Edouard Glissanl,
Free und ForcM Poetics

of a vowel graph. Vowels other than a are written, on the Indie model, by
vowel grllphs written above (~ e, 0) or below (u) the center graph.' For
example, the syllable IUJ i~ written with the graph <k> and the zero graph
<0> followed by a dot to show the end of the syllable; the syllable "i is

of the empire In 1269. This script was also ucd to lransliter:ate Chinese, ~nd it made the
$3Tf\C IRphic distinction bcl'wCCn glOtLIII $lOp and smooth ingress; it may be the source from
whicb Kln. Scjon. borrowed the ume distinction into his invention.

1 This distinction must be borne in mind: the ZERO GRAI'II represcnu the rresenu: or
a pbonemc by the absence of a graph; the PI.... a , · llOU)ING ORAI'll represents the absence
,)f a pboneme by ihe prescnce of a graph.

, The Tibelan .rammlrUos have given t~ vowel graplls-and thus the vowels themr.elvcs
-fandfill names based on their Shipes above and below the tenter graph: they call < i:> gi.
p "curve," <II> labs·kyu "foot t,ook," <t> Ngff1!..t>u "upright," and <0> 110·10 " II~
bol'1\S." Note th~n the name ror each vowel contains that vowel. Note. too, that the term
/100-10 is, strictly sllUklng. meaningless; it is interpretcJ by the ,rammlriaM as either m<l·Io
" cars" or S/IoO· ru " r.ose hOrns." The graph <a>, of course, has no shape. beill, invisible; thus
the TibeLlln uammariJlns sometimes speak of there bein • . only four vowels Ind a 1!.a-bo
"Inherent" a in each consonant .raph. This 'Qy of spea king is probably not helpful.
46 THE ClASSICAL TIBETAN l...ANGUAGE

written with the graph <g> plus the vowel graph <i> written above the
center graph, followed by a dot; the syllabic u is written with the place-hold-
ing a.t]huii, to indic31e the absence of an initial consonant, plus Ihe vowel
graph <u> written below the center graph, followed by a dot: and so on.

Above Ihe center graph-but below any superscript vowel graph-may be

written one of three TOP GRAPHS, which are reduced (orms of Ihe center
graphS for r. I, and s. Below the center graph-but above any subscript vowel
graph-may be written one of four BOITOM GRAPIIS, which are reduced forms
of the graphs for y, r, ~ and w. All consonant graphs stacked on the same
vertical axis represent a single onset cluster and aTC proces.scd from top to
bottom, with the vowel graph processed last: thus a lOp graph <r>, a center
graph <8>, a bouom graph <y>, and a zero vowel graph <a> is processed
as <rg}'a>, representing the syllable rgya; a lOp graph <s>, a cenler graph
<k>, and a vowel graph <u> is processed as <slw>. representing the
syllable sku; a center graph <h>. a bouom graph <r>. and a vowel graph
<;> is processed as <bri>. represenling the syUabk bn; and so on.'

To the left of the center graph may' be written one of fIVe LEFT GRAPHS,
wh ich are the fult forms of the graphs for g, d, b. m, and a-t!hun "Iiule a,"
which in this position represerats the prenaSalization of a following stopped

, One issuc dc.'iCI>>C$ hrief mcntion hefc. In the cl~ical TIbetan writin, s)'Stem we find
the digraphs <Ih> and <hr>- that is. a center ,mph <II> with a top ,raph <I>. and a
ctnle r graph <II> with a bottom graph <r>. In !lCVtfal New Tibetan dialects these digraphs
represent the VOKI'LESS GLIDES! and !, with such minimal pairs as New Tibetan (Ulas.a)
!Il < Ihll> "goo" /11 <in> "rnount ~in pus," /ok. <lhDg> "Spccl~J" Ink <log> "hand," .ril
<hrul> " ragged" rU <",I> "ro ue n." Could these digraphs have represented such voiceles.s
glides in Old Til>clan as well·! This seems unl ikcly: we find. for example. such classical
douhlets liS IhurI-Klim ··patch:· /J/Oo-Gr,OO '·rdu:· lhog-gllJK "ulcer," ULA/)-GUO-SUD
"~dulle rate," hril-gril ·'round:' and hmn-groii "COld." Note also New Tibetan (udak h) 10
<IIUI> "gild ,·· [Il <glu> "song:' lans <Jla;u> '·a rise:' wilen: O ld Tibelan fh ellangc:s
hi~luricaJly jusl like OIl! Tibetan gl or sl inlo New Tibelan (Ladakh) 1• .1 voiced murmured
1~lcfal. ·OIe digraphs thus seem likely 10 ha\·c represen ted genuine clWiter5 of glollal (rialtive
plij$ ,Iide; but olher t.\plan~ti()ns are surely possible. Anomalously. on the Sino-Tibetan
IIt:.1ly pillar of ~21. we find the clWiler III lranM:ribcd by Chinese characlers whose initial has
heen independenlly rcoonsrrijcrc:d as Middlc Olincsc "lit. Thus Old Tlbet.an /JtQ is trall$Cl"ibcd
;is Middle Chin c.'iC "till> o r "Ihl>nt, and Old Tibetan lho as Middle Chinese "Ihuo. I do nol
know why Ihis i~.
 47
consonant.10 A left graph is processed first, followed by top-la-bottom

10 11Icre are several lines of evidence Ih al tl'le Q·llhuli "Iiule a" in kft ,raph po5ilion in
be represented prena.sal iza tion of I following5loppcd consonanl. FiRl, as early as the ninth
Qetllury. OD the Sino-Tibetan treaty pillar of 821, we find independe ntly Tct'()tI5lruaed MiOdle
OlinCie nasal initial$ transcribed by what Illen mllSl nave been Old TIbetan prcnasaliud
dOpf-fOr cumple, Middle Chincsc '"IiI.oo as <HgO>, Middle Chinese '"II)'m as <Ngin>,
MMidle Chinese "1tywo as <"'P>, Middle Chinese -m)'l as <Nbv>, Ind Middle Chinese
"M)w;lft as <Mnui >. Similar n a nsaiplio ll5 are found in (he Tibetan Il'lInslileralions. of
OIi_ Buddbist prlyer tau diswYere4 nur Tun·~Wln,-ror cumple. Middle ClIincse
"II....u as <~>, Middle Chinese ~wo as <HgO>, Middle: ChineK e.;!yt as <1¥'8i>, MiOdlc:
OIinc:K -lUi as <~>, and Middle Chinese "nywo as <Hdli>. Second, look: loanwords
iD Old Tibetan are occasionally written with Q·tJluli'I in ler! graph position to represc:nl I
prccoc1in& nasal. For wmplc. in an early Tibetan-Chi nese manuscripl YOCabubry IiSl-1 50rI
0( IrlY<:ler', diaiomlry fo und nur lhe Tun -lluan& ca ravanserai-we find <u-Ngt> inslead
0( Ihe Ialer 51anllard onlMlgraphy <st;j·~> fo r $t;j.~ "lion" < SanskIillilphD, Apabhrarpb
JiitrJw-sUJUw. Elsewhere in Ihe cla.uicallcxU we: find bol h <st·Ndu-rtJ> Ind <sindJul-ftJ>
lor lindJw-rtJ ''vcnni lio n'' < Sanskrit sindiJra, Apabhraf]'l$<l sindilru. Hindi stNdur. Third, in
tbe archaic e;&IIlh. and nintti-a:ntury manuscript male rial from CcntT1lI Asia, we nol
infrequently find tJ·r.fhull in lert ,raph posilio n wriue n idiosyncratically (o llowing a prC«ding
limit 11IS31; for aample, we lind <mii-NXI> where ,Ihe standard OrllMlJrlphy woukl have
<1U1I.gi>, <NbytJm ' NXI> for <NbytJm .~>, <om·Nbu> for <om-bu>, <Jkyin,~> lOr
<14yin-dall>, aflll <uil."",> for <stil -~>, Fourth, we find doublets In the classical
"n&use where a_I.flwii in left ,raph posi tion alternate!> with <m> in left graph position-
lor aample, NTSJf£R-M1"Sm'/I "gricv~," fo7l10l.-MTlfOL "confc:sst MIhiJI -bu-mtlhiJI-lHl
"'puriollS &' s ;ewel," Mdo.ii-mdaii "fune ra l," wgal-pa-mgaJ·pa "billet of wood," NIduu.
bo-mkhar·btJ "staff," Fifth, loanwords from Middle Tibetan into Monguor_a dialect of
Mon lOlian--4ate (rom the thinC(:nth ce ntury: these Ioanwor!ls show prenasa.lLution wbere
tbe corrc:sponding Tibetan written forms sboW a ·I.f./luit in left grapt, position-Mongual
Ndworlo "circle" < Middle Tibt:tan "N/chor-/o </IkJIor,/o> , Mon,oor NIogoIII " meeting
bowc" < Middle Tibetan °Ndu_kJuJit <MJu·IcJwil>, Mon guor m~m " IOO,{X))" < Middle
Tibetan "..mum <,;bum>, Mo nguor moo "s ti pe nd" < Midd le Tibetan ". <1#bog3>,

Wby was this prc nasa liutlon represented by tJ·l.fhuii, the place-lMlkling , raph? It is
instructive to compare pren~lization with ... hlt oo.'lI fS in Tibetan ehanl: bere tbe si nge r
attempts 10 maintain an uninterrupted leve l ofsoun.d while articulating the worQs Y<:ry slowly
and with variollS melodic embellishmenl5_a singin, technique Which, in il5 striking similarity
to Japanes.e Shingon chant, apparen tly deriva (ro m ring dynasty Chinese Buddhist 5Ouroc:s,
In this chanting style, as the articulators move: into position fo r each SlOpped OOnlOna nt, Ihe
singer briefly lowers his velum 10 allow the now of air to contin ue unimpcckd, yielding a
prenasaliution of each Slopped consonant in the ehanl_for eumple. New Tibetan (U.~)
fOf,f~phamo <fdo.rdlt pIulg-mo> " Diamond Sow Ooddc:»" is 'hanted &$ IOIItltttpMmo. and
New Tibetan (Lha.sa) ~poIkN'Cli <HpluJgs-ptllp)'fln·ras'pigf> "Noble Avalokitdvara" is
chanted as p/ItJNpoNtJeHrtJi The point is this; there is a close relation apparent to a Tibetan
48 TilE ClASSICAL TIBETAN i..J.NOUAOE

processing of the top. center, and bottom graphs., with the vowel graph
processed last: thus a left graph <d>, a center graph <g>, a txmom graph
<r>, and a zero vowel graph <a> is processed as <dgra>. representing the
syllabic dgra; a left graph <b>, a top graph <r>, a center graph <tiz>, and
a vowel grap h <u> is processed as <brdzu>, representing the syllable brdzu;
a left graph a-I.fhuii "little a," a center graph <g>, a bottom graph <y>. and
a vowel graph <e> is processed as <Hgye>, represeOling the syllable :lgYe;
"and so on.

To the right of the center graph may be:: written ont of ten RIGtIT GRAPII$,
which 8rc full forms of the graphs for &. ii, d, n, b, In, r, ~ S, and a-tIhuii.,
which in this position represents the absence of a syllable-final consonant, just
as, in the center graph position, it represents the absence of a syllable-initial
consona nt. 1I A right graph is processed last, after the vowel graph: thus a

belween sucll prenasali1.ation a nd a prcocding ope n syllable- tllat is, 1M absence of •

oonsonant.1t is not ~lIl plising 10 find Ih e Q·tJlu..fi used 10 mark Ihis onset.

II An overt vowel grap h, o r a lOp 01 bollom graph, unambiguously identifies Ihe center
graph in a graphic sequence. However, wilen Illere is no 0V1:r1 vowel Vlph - that is ..... Ilen
Illele is the uro vowc l grapll _a nd no top o r boll o m gta pll, tllen tile localion of the center
graph (:In be ambiguous; for example, tile sequence <dg> could be p roec:sscd ei lher as
<diJg>, wilh <d> read a.s Ille cen let graph, or a.s <dga>, wilh <8> read as the centcr
grap h. BUI. wilh Q· /lltufi in Ille righl grap h posilion, the sequence &an o nly be procc:ssocl as
<.dga>. since it shows tllal Ihere is no syllable·final consonant in the syllable wllich lhe
.o;cq uence repre:senl5. Thus Ihe graphic co nve ntion is used only when OIlier m~ns arc lack ing
ullambigUOU5ly 10 nag whicll o f IWO con\.eC\ltive consonan t paphS is in ract Ihe cenler graph:
the place.holding graph is unncccss.ary-and \ln~-when a n oven vowel gra ph idenlifies
the ce nter graph, as in <dgu> o( <dgt>, or when a top or botto m graph idc ntiflC5 the
ce nler graph , as in <brda > 01 <bus> . .

Int erestingly, this convention allows such inlerences o nly lrom gra p hic SIrUCIUre, nOI I((lm
sylla Me Sif tltl ul e. The i5Cq uence <g;r> is graphically ambiguous bl:rwecn lhe readinp <p:>
and <8tU >. bul Ihe syllable gIQ is a pos.'ible Iyllable, while lhe syllable ?gaz is nol; still, Ihe
writing syste m marks <z> as the ce nlcr graph by pUll ing Q.r!lulli in Ihe rip l gra ph p05ition,
10 resolve Ihe GRAI'HIC ambiguity. and a llowing no inference concern ing the center gaph
10 be made from Ihe fact thaI Ihe sequence 001.11<1 nOi ' UONOU>GICALLV be prOCCS£Cd as
?gaz..

In fatl, il took.some time lo r Illis grap hic conve nt io n to ta ke hold. In the arelurie manuscript
material h o m Central Asia. we find the a-lJhuii sporadica lly in rigbt !l:flpb position eYen
""Ilc re the cent er !,raph is ol herwise IInambiguollS. as in tile lylLablCl!i Ndn <Mud>, btl
TH E W a n1NG SVSIB1 49

center graph <b >, a zero graph <U>, and a right graph <r> is processed
as <bar>, representing the syllabic bor; a top graph <r>, a center graph
<d>, a vowel graph <U>, and a right grllph <ii> is processed as <rriuii>,
representing the syllabic rdUlI; a left graph <d>, a center gra ph <g>, a
vowel graph <0>, and a right graph <n> is processed as <dgon>,
representing the syllabic dWm; and so on.

To the right of Ihe right graph may be written one of two FAN. RIGHT GRAPIIS,
which arc full forms of the graphs for $ and d ,l2 A far right graph is

<but>. o r ma </'I'UJ/>: and sporadiCally omitted fro m rig,h t gapk position wkere ,raphk:
ambi,uity (Xl ncerning thes~:n)er graph could be resolved pho nologically, as in the syllablcs '
bJul <bk>, mlha <mlh >, or mkJl<J <mkh >. S~ch inconsistencies were presumahly eradica ted
in the ninth -GCntul)' language rdorms oT King KIIri Gtsu,·Lde·btsan.

l1tc place.hol ding graph in righl.graph position also allows the writing of diphtho ngs- for
eumrle, htu <bt/u>, paan <palan>. mao <malo>. In this posi tion. a·tJlwli in cffect
represents smooth voca lic ingress inl n Ihe IoCCOnu "'OWel o( the diphtbong. but wilhin a single:
sylla hle. si nce Ihe: graphs arc not se paraled try- the syllahle·marking dot I1htg. Here again it
apparently look some: time to cstahlis h the ennve nt ion: in the archa ic manUKripLS we
s.poradically find diphlbongs wrilt en as two \)"l1ables. and sporadically as well we find such
graphic )C(j uentcS a.~ <pi> and <hi> reprc.<.enting what mUSt su rely have bcc:n the syllables
poi ,nd baL Oncc agai n. Ihe ]ingQistic standardil.atlon of the ninlh centul)' app,uenl ly
intended 10 establish II un;vc.-,;al cl)n''Cnlion ia thi~ regald. ahhough it is doubtful thallhere
.-as in facl any dfecti,'C stllndardil,a.iun prim to .he f'Criod o( .he Sa·skya hegemony.

l1tc Wfiting of such di phthongs-with a·I.lhu;; marking the abse nce o( (XlnSOnanl o nSCI o(
Ihe seoond vowel-a pparently und er lies the convenlion of ....Til ing n·t/hun as a ~OlTOM
GRAPII \0 indicate long vowels in the tra nsli terat ion u( SanSkrit. Such lang "(lWCls .....cre in
~lIlikeliJt.ood hCllrd ,u equivalent 10 Tibc.lan gcmi nal c vowels-Sanskrit /til as Titlelan lUIa,
Sanskril kt as Tillelan ki~ Sanskrit kii 3S Tille tan kuu. An a·dhun in the boltom graph
posi tio n, with the appfop riate vowcl graph ovc r Of under Ihe ecn ter graph. would he a
convenicl\1 ahbreviation for such recurrin g gtmi nat e diphthongs, inS lcad "f wriling {j.IJhuii
in right graph posi.ion 4nd repeal ing the SlIme vo.....eI graph; such an ahhreviation In... i~
consislent with Ihe conventions (o r graphic abhreviation u.~ elsewhere in Ih c langu3)!,·
That Ih is ......,jS in faetlhe origin of the translite ration convenlion is indicalcd by the fa"1 Ihal
il is used 10 ind icate lengt h in SanS kr it vuwels o nly where length i~ in fac t quanlilaliv;:. a.'
in If or " bUI not where the so·called tong \'Owel is qualita tively different fmm its sh,)"
cquival<:nl, as in ai or au, wherc an<llhcr convention-writing the "lWei grap h twicc-is u.~
inslcad.

12 The graph <<1> in far right posilion, IcprCM:nting a pos t(, nal -d or da·tUl1g "~ Irongd, "
is fou nd in some ar(haic manuscripts rceovc ,,;u (rom Celliral A~ia; in !.Orne Wes t Tihcllln
50 THE Cu.ssICAL T18ETAN lANOUAGl:.

processed after the preceding right graph: thus a center graph <g>, a bottom
graph <y>, a vowel graph <14>, a right graph <r>, and a faT right graph
<d> is processed as <gyurd>. representing the syllable gyurd; a left graph

Primitive J()(iuiu are orai, not buauu they lIuk grAphu

expresrWn, but on the C()t1trary buause their /paphic exprtMilm
iJ iniUpeniUnt from the PCice, """iling signs on human bodUl in
answer UJ POke, but autQtfQm()UJ/y. and not aligned on POUt;
rofJVeruiy, barblJMAn civilizatlMu "re uriprurtJ, not for loss
of roUe, but because the graphie system h41/ost in indtpeniknce
and proper dimuuWtIS, hAS Rli,gmd ilul[ an wi". subordinated
itself to it ...

-Gilles Ddcuzc and Felix GU3ltari,

Ami-Oedipus

<d>, a center graph <g>, a vowel graph <0>, a right graph <n>, and a
far right gr~fh <.J> is processed as <dgoiis>. representing the syllable dgons;
and so on.

materials as la IC il$ tile IlIinccnill o,;c:nlury: and in lilt wrilings of lilt Tibetan grammarians.
wllere il is an alillpllone o f Ille pasl lense SUm)[ -, .

IJ There sliII remalA a few sequences of wru.onanl graplls wllicll, art ambiguous wlltre
Ihere is n(J nven vl.lwd gr~ph _ llla l j~. ""'lIere there is Ille zero vowe l vaph-and no lOp or
t'"lwm graph IU id~nllr}" Ihe '.·~ '''· I grapll. a~d which cannUl be disambigwlled by Ille u..<oe
uf .lIc pla<.:c· Ii<,liJmj: j:'''ph ,,.,11,,,,;. r ot eumplc. Ille sequence <dgs> is ambiguous bclwocn
Ihe Ica<.hngs <J.~M > :.n<.l <tlml' >. a nd. similally. Ihe sequence <diU> could be ptocesSCIJ
as ciltla <J..." t> 01 <<I" ~.,,, (o r ellurse, Ille sequence <d~'OI> can only be read one W3y.
since the graph <0> sits unambiguu usly o n 101' of tile ce nter graph <g>. jU!1 as in <dogs>
the graph < II> sils unamhigu"u~ ly o n top uf Ille centCT graph <d>. ) These: ambiguous
scquencc\ ale "ftcn Ilis;amhigua'cd hy yet anllther u'nvcnliun: if Ihe sequence is 10 be
pnl>l:C:iSCU lLl> rcprc,"«: n1ing a syllllhle ""'illl no pl.:.:inilial. Ihen Ihe cenle r graph is idcl1Iificd hy
writing a phunul"llic.ally nunluncho nal < ,., > as Ihe bOllom graph beneath ;1. ThIU Ihc
sequence < <lg~ > is rC:Jd unly as <d/llll> . re prcscnting the syllahlc dg(lJ. The syllable w'KJ
b repre:Kn\ciJ in~t~1l I')' Ihe unamhiguoLU graphic sequence <d,.,agJ >. although the use o f
this con''Cnt;"n i~ in fXI highly irregular.
THE WRmNG 5YSlCM SI

4. THE SCRIPT
The Tibetan script is., I believe, esthetically one of the most pleasing of the
Indic scripts; the following brief discussion can do little more than briefly
indicate the styles of handwriting. without exploration of details. Equivalent
to our hand printing are the graphs called dbu-tJQrl "with a head," referring
10 the horiwntal line at the top of many of the graphs. Figure 4 shows two
different folio sides from a manuscript written in the dbu-t.farl script; note the
section headings and instructions written in smaller script. The dbu-tJQ/1
writing is also that generally used in books printed from carved woodblocks,
as in Figure S.

Equivalent to our cursive are the graphs called dbu-m~d ··headless." Cursive
writing in tum may be either the relatively careful dpe.yig "book writing." or
the Jl10re rapid NkJJYUg-yig "running writing," used. for instance, in personal
correspondence. The last two examples, in Figure 6, are from two different
dbu-mtd manuscripts, both of which use dpe·yig in the body of the text but
Hkhyug-yig for the section headings and instructions.

There is, pract~calJy speaking, only a single Tibetan punctuation mark-the

llJd or vertical stroke. This should not be confused with our period or
comma: it is not so much a syntactic signal as it is an indication of where the
52 TIlE CUssICAL TIHETAN LANGUAGE

reader -and all Tibetans fead our loudu----can pause and ta ke a breath.
Thus the lad is often but not necessarily fo und after major syntactic units
such as sentences; and II occurs nOI o nly after such units, but anywhere a
reader might pause-the end of every line of poetry, after a vocative, and
between individual items in a long list.

There are vario us types of $(ld, lxJ;h plilin <.iml omar.,l:ntal. A single vertical
siroke is called tJhig·.fad UI rky an-Slld, a douole stroke is called His-lad, and
lwO double strokes sepaml<!o hy;' SP;ICC ilfe called bli·Jad. A ijis· .~ad can be
.seen starling a new section on the last line of the scl:ond foho III Figure 4;
a blj ·Jad .::un be seen cnding :hc te~ t and ;he cdophon (Ill the Jast two lillcs
of the second folio in Figure 5. When <l hti·Jad is used In mark the end of

I~ ~ l'adi n g aloud rathe, th~n :,\ icml y a[lpw,~ tt) Ilc (he "mm in h \l h\~n bistory. Jorge
Luis Burge.... ir. lIi5 c.....<.:Iy "On th e C~I I " I !looks." ~ Ihc transi tion 10 'llndcrnily in "1111.'
pTcllom inllnu; of Ine Wfllh; U wnu: Uv<:' lhe spoken one,"' and nOles lh e precise ins u~.nt th'$
pmccs, bega n in WC$lc rn bis:ury _ wllc n Sl. Amblc1>e. Bishop of M il~n. _ obse rved by hlS
d i!oCiple St. Augus lint til read wil h "his t yes mov\ ing \ OYe r the ~ges, and his so:..:
lM: ncU~I\in g \ the h\r..an' ng, wil huul his uill.'lI ng a wor4 or movi ng his longue:' Tb.a l mo me'l l
was $liII re membered tllincc n ye," 's I:ller , in 300k SU of lhe C""f~IJinns, when, as Borgf.$
says. ·· taa l si nlll,lla t "p&Clacie mil tWI,IlIloo ~irn: a Tnilll m a mom, wilh a boo t . ' '"..tiling
"';1110111 n licl,llating thc WimU."
TilE WRmNG SVSTI:M

chapters in a book, we occasionally find the chapler number wrinen in the

space between the pairs of vertical strokes.

Figur~ 0. Two UDmpltJ of nwnllscripu U. dbll·mnl writing

A special gter.fad-two small circles, one above the other, separated by a

short horizontal Iine t ' -is used in writing gter·ma or "hidden treasures,"
texts supposedly hidden by Padmasambhava in the eighth century and then
discovered, centuries later, by a special class of seers called gtcr·s/OI\
"revealers of hidden ueaure." The two manuscripts shown in Figure 6 art".
both gfer·ma, and the gtu·fad can be seen after each line of verse. In
addition, we also find a variety of ornamental uhcg·fad "strokes with dots,"
such as the one marking the end of the section on the lasl line of the second
fo lio in Figure 4.

We might also mention here the ornamental mgo.yig "head leners" often
found on the recto of each folio in a Tibetan book. The most common type
of mgo·yig can be seen, in dbu,'Jan, in the upper left corner of the first fol ios

II Tho: WUffe of llle grtr·JtJd is obscure, bill in • number of cigtllh· .nd ninth-oc:nlu ry
manuscr ipll ftom tbe caves near Tun·huing we find, $poradicaUy , II va riety of /JMr formect
wilh IWO sm.1I ci rtles, one .bove tile olber, in w.rioU5 oombinations .... ilh ..-cnical and
Iloriwnul lines. My ,uCM-and iL i5 a &uC$I:""is Ihat the grtr·lad is originally. Yilphk
imilation of the ~nskril ,·ua.oga. jUllI as tile tJhig·.!ad ind iiu·JaJ derive {ro m Ihe Sanskrit
si ngle and double ~~
54 THE CtAssICAi.. TIBETAN LANGUAGE

in Figure 4 and Figure 5, and, in dbu-med. in the upper left corner of the
second folio in Figure 6. In gter-ma the mgo-yig often takes other forms, as
in the upper left corner of the first folio in Figure 6.

An ellipsis in the text-for example, where the text gives just the first few
words of a repeated chorus or a we\J.known praycI""-is marked with the sign
xxx. called ku·n ~·.J./Ul-ko·lU·kha-sku-TU-kha &SW" < sku-ru "paddlewhcel,"
or sometimes witl ,;, .i':k of three short horizontallineSi the latter device can
be seen marking a repeated chorus in the" first, second, and fourth lines of
the first folio in Figure 5.

Figun 7. ChDmI /0 lad: l~ moulh of sliuvkT

5 Sounds

1bc:rc are two ways we can characterize the sounds of a language-by

describing the way the sounds aTe produced by the ARTICULATORY o rgans of
~ lips. and glottis; and by describing the physical ACOUSTIC properties
of the sound those organs produce. Our aim here is to describe the sounds
of Old Tibetan in a way that will shed light on other questions as well-for
aample, that will help w understand why we ftnd the present stem st!t7U <
N-$AN-D "thinks," or the fulure stem dgum < G-GUM "will !cill." In Tibetan,
it is interesting to note, such questions require both articulatory and acoustic
ONWO".

\. ARTICULATORY DESCRIPTIONS

1.1. VOWELS

Old Tibetan vowels are phonemes that may function as syllabic nuclei. Pm
another way, vowels are phonemes that may by themselves constitute a
syllable. In Ok! Tibetan luJ and a are both possible syllables, while ?k and 1r
are not. A syllabic phoneme such as Q is therefore a VOWEL; a no nsyllabic
phoneme such as k and r is a consonant.

BbbbblJlJlbbblblodKhbg?

-James Joyce,
UIy""

1bere are five vowels in Old Tibeta~ 0, a, ~ and e. These five vowels are
distinguished according to the position or the tongue as either BACK or fRONT;
accordinS to Ole height of the tongue as either HIGH or LOW; and according
to the lhape of the lips as either ROUNDED or SPREAD. The vowel u is a IUGH

"
56 TUE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

BACK ROU,.OEO vowel; the 'lowe) 0 is a WW BACK ROUNDED vowel; the vowel
a is 8 LOW BACK SPREAD vowel; the vowel i is a IUGH FRONT SPREAD vowel;
and the vowel e is a LOW FRONT SPREAD VOWEl... These three descriptions
Cdl8ustively characterize Ihe Old Tibetan vowels. The vowel e, for example,
is completely specified by its description as the Old Tibetan low front spread
vowel.

Note that in Old Tibetan there are no front rounded vowels (although fronl
rounded vowels such as u and jj do appear in some New Tibetan dialects and,
pfelumably, t., some degree in Middle Tibetan as weU). This asymmetry may
be expressed as a phoneme structure constraint-Ihat is, a rule which put~
constraints on the internal structure of Old Tibetan phonemes-as follows:

RULE i. AU front vowels must be spread.

Thi$ conslra int is a rule about possible phonemes. No derivation in Old

Tibetan can yield a front rounded vowel, since every front vowel automafical.
ly is a spread vowel.

For example, the Old Tibetan present stem inflectional suffIX -0 moves
preceding back vowels to Ihe front of the mouth. Thus, in the presencl~ of
this suffix, t ~e low back spread vowel (I becomes the low front spread vowel
e (for example, Ngrd < N·GMI .-D "expla ins"); but the high back rounded
vowel u beCGrnes the high front spread vowel j and not the high front
rounded vowel '!ii (for example, .w ilill < N-J)ZuN-n "grasps," rather than
?Ndzun), because, as Rule 1 describes. in any derivation the high front
rounded vowel 'W automatically becomes the high from spread vowel i.
Indeed, the \OS!l of this rule, and the concomitant development of phonemic
front rounded vowels, characterizes the development of several New Tibetan
dialecls, where we find, for example, New Tilx:tan (Lhasa) Jehu <gus> "faith"
Jeho <gos> "clothes," Ihii. <dud> "smoke" tho <dod> "substitute."1

I Of course, O ld Tibetan may MYe had a SOUND 5Omelhin, like II or tI-say. wben lhe
vowel It or 0 occurred berore lhe denial finals -d Of . , __ but thee Illal sound did -ot couill
II belnl OIFFERENT from It or 0. It was only ....ben ItUIi .. iffereacc bepn 10 collnl, probably
around tile time Ihe final -d or .J was otI5inl 10 be pronounced, lilat we can "y -Ibere
c:merled pilonc:mie front rounded voweb-IhI' Is., .... hen, Inslead of conuwtin, '1\'11-ao_-
willi 'X)'UI ":Slrina.- tbe LanlU.se contrasted 'l)U wltll TA Of, instead or contrll5tinl bw
Heran" willi bzod "patience," Ihe Lanpase contrasted bzo with bw.
SouNOS 57
1.2. CONSONANTS

1.2.1. Place

Old Tibetan consonants can be distinguished according to the Pu.cE OF

ART1CULATION as being labial, dental, retroflex. palatal. velar. or glottal. These
distinctions are, of course, structural: the actual position of the articulators in
Old Tibetan is. 35 one might expect, probably impossible to recover. We can,
however, assign Old Tibetan consonants to the general area of their
articulation in the mouth-the lABIA1.. consonants b, p, ph, m, and w
presumably articulated by the lips; the DENTAl. consonants d, I, Ih, n, dz, u,
uh, 1, $, and I presumably articulated by the tongue placed somewhere behind
the upper teeth; the single RE11l0REX consonant r presumably articulated
with the tongue tip curled up and back;2 the PAlATAL consonants if, tit, 11,
tJh, t, I, and y presumably articulated by the tongue placed somewhere on
or near the hard palate; the VELAR consonants g. Ie. kh, and n presumably
aniculated with the back part of the tongue touching the soft palate; and the
GlOTTAl.. consonants 1 and h presumably aniculated by the glottis or vocal
cards alone?

2 At least historically a postinital consonant r moYQ;i a preceding SlOp into such a

retroOc:l position_for eumple, Old Tibetan drv, ''six'' > New Tibetan (Dpui) dna" (OOlok)
drvk (Ladakh) ~k (Dbus) (Uk (Lhasa) ,Iw(Lhasa aristocratic) ,fIw, Old TIbetan sprin
-cloud" > New Tibetan (Pu rik) sprin ([)erIC) I1"im (Dbus) fbi (K'ang.ting) 1pr:11 (Lhasa)
fiN (Lhasa aristocratic) !fiN (La4akh) liIL
] There are several lines of evidence lcadin, to the conclllSion thai the Ok! Tibetan
uaph <,> represented I gIollal stop Ind tile graph <h> represented I gloual fricative.
Firsl, there is the vif\WlI unanimity of Ihe New Tibetan diak:cu., where we tiftd gloual SlOps
oonsistently where Old Tibetan presumably had a glottal stop as well_for eumple, Old
Tibetan 'la-mD "molher" > New Tibetan (U4akh) NmD (Dbus) 7amQ (Khams) Pama, Old
nbelln N·/J~ "olaer sister" > New Tibetln (ladakh) 'latl~ (Balli) hJk (Dbus) PrUIM,
Old Tibetan 1Og-~ "beard"' > New Tibetart (La4akh) ~ (Dbus) 1OIcja. We also tiftd
luch classical doubleu 15 1'OI-/u}-lu)l-/u}-ko-s/u} "chin" I nd 1Og-mD-lkog-ntll " throat,"
wbich certainly seem 10 place the phoneme reprc:stnted by the graph <,> in the back of
the throal.

In thil reprd the renuru of Ihe Tibelln uamnuriaM are of interest. Following tbe Sanskrit
tr.ditioll, they grOlip I5piralCl, friat/ves, and YOWeIs logelber II 1TOf-'U~" "breath1
(nuJJiapriJl}<tl)," II opposed to all tile other pbonemes, whicb are 1TOf-dltWt "DOn-breathy
(~~)_" OiYen all kliosynetasy of the Tibetan QescripliYe apparatus, tbe poual SlOp 1
is grouped wilh the vowels, Ind il becomes r.eotIIIty 10 accounl I'of it. 51-lu nuhlPl94ft..-
58 THE CLASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

Such distinctions of place can have morphological significance. For example,

there cannot be two labial consonants in the same syllable onset: there can
be no syllables with the form ?brma or ?mpho parallel to brtfn or mtho. Thus
we find such regular tense stems as bris < b-BRH "wrote," bod < b-HOCH
"called," and nnos < b-lUtI().s "ploughed," with the inOectional past stem
prefIX b- omitted in accordance with this constraint. Again, we find place
assimilations in severaJ verb stems, where the inflectional present stem 5UfrtX
-D moves both back vowels and velar nasals to the front of the mouth-for
example, sbtd < H-SM-D "conceals," ul < N-SAL-D "clears away," Ndren < N-
ORAN-D "'eads." and Ndzin < N-ozuR-D "grasps."

wrilln, i.D 17-44, makes tbe followinl interesting distinctio n: mgrin-fHl gda/iHUU brdlod dgos_
poi phyiT Ia-", _."op-poi m)f-tJlwrt-fj'i "·~·moms phyt-tHli nsol·bo-dorl-daii, 1o-yig mp-
fKllM-phyt-lHlT bnIlod.poi pIrji1 buuffl.pai nsol-bD-t1DJ1 "Since Ibcy mllSl be pronounced wilb
tlle thrOll wide open. lbe brealhy phonemes olher lhan 7 are called OPEN ARTICULATIONS;
but lince 7 mldt be pronounced wilh the lhroal closed il is called a CLOSED ARTICU-
LATION,"

Further evkknc:e Is providc:d by Tibetan uansaiplions of Chinese words, wllere Ihe Inpb
< 7> Is 0GSISiueJI11y used 10 transcribe wbu have been illlkpendenlly reconstructed as
Middle Oliacse lionaillops.. For example, on Ihe Sino-Tibetan treaty pillar of 821, Middle
Chiacse -'Y"'O Is lraascribcd as <21:.1>. Similarly, in a series of manuscripts from Cenlral
Asia., we find Chinese 8\1ddblsl lens transliterated inlo Tibetan, presumably 50 Ihey could
be recited by TIbeaaa traVeIen; where slICh fralments have been idenlirlCd and «Impared
witb lbeir Chinese ori&inals, we find Middle Chinese "tok lranscribed as <tag>, Middle
au_ "Mi as <II!> Of <Iii>, Middle Chinew; "l'ytn as < i'in>, Mi<klle Chinese "'tWo as
<10>, and Middle Oainese ·""'MI as <1IUf>:

Similar evidence k.ads to tbe oonchuion-perbap' Ic:s.s firm-thai Old Tibetan had a
corrapoadln, J1o'tal rricalM II, wrillca with lbe Inph <h>, Apin, we find New Tibelan
JIo"al fricuives represenlin, what were preswnably Old Tibetan liollal fricative initials-for
example, Old Titlelan /uN "MonlO'" > Ncw Tibetan (Ocrge) hex (Lhasa) b In the daMica!
lanllilBt we rWld sl.IClI doublets as hriJ-Bri1 Mround" and Ihall-glOil "patCh," and we m~y
nole lbe spellinl <hfNndo> fOf Ihe c\assia.l place name ?a-II!dQ "Amoo," allCSIOO in Ihc
Drb·~ sIiOfI·po of G20n.nu-dpal. wrilten in 1478. Finally, on Ihe Sino-Tibetan treaty pillar
of 821, T'lbetan <II> is used 10 lrallSCribe, indiscriminately. bolh tile voiced and voiceless
velar frktoltva; 7 hid x ill4epelllknlly reconstrucle4 for Middle Chinese. We find Middle
Cbinex ~ tr&ftICf'Ibcd as <lui>, Middle OIinese *)I0Il as <Ium>, Middle Chinese '")owo
as <Ito>, hid Middle Chinese "mu as <110>; similMlrly, on IMI ~me pillar, Old Tibetan
IuIb Is lransen'bcd by lhe ehuacter representinl Middle Chi nese ~,
Somms 5'1

1.2.2. Closure

It is useful to distinguish three degrees of CI.OSURE between the arliculators

of a phoneme-between the tongue and the palate, for example. o r between
the two lips, o r between the lower lip and the upper teeth. In STOPl'l'Jl
phonemes the a rticulators are pressed IOgether sufficiently to cut orf the
airstream comple tely; in NARROWED phonemes the aniculators are closed
sufficie ntly to produce a hissing turbulence in the airstream; and in OI'EN
phonemes the articulators a re not closed sufficiently to disturb the airstream
at all.

Using these distinctions we can characterize four types of consonant in Old

Tibetan. STOI'S are phonemes, such as Ie, b, or n, which are stopped but not
narrowed; mICA11vES . are phonemes, such as /. l or s, which are narrowed
bul not stopped; APPROXlMANTS are phonemes, such 8S I, loY, or Q, which
neithe r stoppca nor narrowed-that is, which are open; a nd AFFRICA1E'i are
phon~mes, such as PI. IS, or df, which are both stopped and narrowed- thaI
is, which begin as stops and end as fricatives.

Note that a pproximant5 5uch as a, u. or t , which can fun ction as syllabic

nuclei, are, of 'course, VOWELS; approlimanl5 such as y, r, or I, which cannot
function as syllabic nuclei, we will call aUDIOS. There were thus in Old
Tibetan the STO PS " & Ie, kh, d, I, th, h, p, ph, .ii, .ii, II, and m, the Afl'RICAll '$
dl, I!, IIIz, dz, IS, and llh, the FRI CATIVES h, t, J, z, and s, and the GI.II)I ~'i y,
r, I, and w.

Tibetan makes a significa nt distinction between consonants with a stopped

component and consonants without a stopped compont:nt. Such STOl'l'l!n
consonants are stops and affricates; U/o!STOPPED consonants are fricative s a nd
approximants. For example, in Old Tibetan only stopped consonants can he
pre nasalized; again, in Old Tibetan only unstopped preinitial consonants can
be prt:cedt:d by the past a nd future stem b· prefIX.

Affricates frequently alternate with their cmre sponding rri(il tivcs. For
example, in verbal inn(!;tion the intransitive rool oZt..'(; "e nter " forms the past
S\(~m lugs < 8 ·/J'J.u(";·j·; the intransitive root 07.AG " trid.le" forms the past
ste m ZQRJ < 8-07..4(";·J ; tht: transitive rool 01..18 "suck" forms the past stem
blib$ < b·nJ.IR-J; and the transitive root DZAR "hang up" fo rms the past s.tem
bZQr < b-07..4R·s, In the changt: from dt to l or dz to z, a stopped consonant
changes into a consonant of t:xactly the same description except that now it
60 THE CLAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

is not stopped. This process we will call UNSTOPPING,·

1.2.3. Voice onset time

It is common to descnbe Tibetan consonants according to the traditional

categorieJ of Saos,krit phonology, wherein oonsonants are either voiced or
voiceless and either aspirated or urwpirated; Old Tibetan, with a threeway
distinction of consonanfs, then appears rather like a defective venion of the
Sanskrit fourfold system, with voiced aspirated stops such as gh and bh
somehow omitted.

4 U»tOPpinl Is a "utural~ process In Tibetan, which seems willin, to chanse an .«riQue

into the amupondln, fricative nol only infloctionally bUI historically as _n. Old TIbc...n
'iJ-JDp-j7Q "and 10 on" Is found Millen in archak Central Asbn manuscripts as <ws-nop-
'/tuuop-la-stsogJ>, indica!in, Prolo-Tibetan *uog:I",roup" " Old Tibctansop; pre5umabty
as well Proto-Tibetan -,;tU-brJu "twenty" " Old Tibelan N·1u, UnslOPpinl Is also found In
dialect variations. For cumple. we find Olel Tibetan uho·bo "l'Iepbew" " New Tibetan
(GOlok) sawo, Old Tibetan uhuill "lon, IIfc" > New Tibetan (Oolok) s~ Old Tibetan

New Tibetan (Balti) tu,

/Shop "uscmbly" > ·New Tibetan (Oolok) lOA:; or, similarly, Old Tibetan mdZug "~iI" >
Old Tibetan J.ttigs - rear~ > New Tibetan (o.ltl);fi& Old Tibetan
m4lIIb Kfinacr" > New Tibetan (Balti) til, Old Tibetan md;:o "yak hybrid" > New Tibet3n
(Balli) to. In the Mil3dle Tibetan di;\kQ from which Monguor bofTO'Ned Its Tibct3n
Joanwords. Old Tibetan ISh > Middle Tibetan 1, as In Old Tibetan /SM-mo Kniooe" >
Monluor lamo, Old Tibetan /Sh~ -po "lTICrcunt" > Monluor so,llwa, Old Tibetan tsht·riiI
"lonl lifc" > Monluor stnUl, Old Tibetan uM·ISM "JOOd luck du.rm" > Monguor JaJa.
Similar.diaJect.a1 unstopping is found as well in the archaic rnanuscrlpt material from Central
Asia; in one manuscript we oonslstcntly find <1h4m-1ad> for 014 Tibetan thams-tJad "all"
and <Stm·l4ut > for Old Tibetan ItmS-l1an "senllent creature"; in another we OOll5istcnlly
find <u> for Old Tibetan rut "peak" and <;fug> for Old Tibetan md:fug "tail." Finally,
in tbe clas5icallanluaae iuelfwe find such doublets as Ntt-sa -ft-sa " honorifIC e:xpression~
a nd w1.£N-ZEN "pcneuale." and such word families as T1UM "shrink, shud4Cir," SUM ''weep,
tremble," DtUM "shudder, shrink, oonlraCl," tum-po "fear, dismay."

IncSecd, comparalive dau allow us 10 rOCOPSINCI Prolo-Tibetan affricales lhat had bco;)me
unstopped by tbe time of Old Tibetan. For example, we find o.hin, d:fa, Naprl d:fyrI,
BIII"1IIC$t WI, Gato 11M "eat" but Old Tibeun ZA "eat, Karen dtOfl, Burmese lSi, Usu dzi,
H

Akb.I dli "rkk:" but Old TibeUin UJN " riOe an animal," Bahln, dli-4lim, AklIa dlim·di
"frQh (_ter)," BumlC:$C (Shim "delicious," but Old Tibetan fim "JOOd tauinl-" Thus we
Cln rcconslT\lCl ProlO-Tibet3n Odza "eal" > Old Tibeun ZA. Proto-Tibetan .~ > "dfon
"riCSC" > Old Tibetan toN, and Proto-Tibetaa 0dqim > dlim "good tutin," > Old Tibetan
,;",.
 61

Aaually, the term VOICE refers to the stale of the glottis: the vocal cords may
cilber be touching along their entire length, 50 that air passing between them
causes regular vibrations; or else they may be separated, so that such regular
't"lbralions do not occur. The term ASPIRATION does nOl refer to some
phenomenon distinct from voice; rather the term refers to a period of
"Oicelessness during and after the release of an articulation. Instead of
wiewing voice and aspiration as two independently varying phenomena, it
makes morc sense, as far as Old Tibetan is concerned, to view the consonants
as lying along the single rnultivalued dimension of VOICE ONSET TIME.

For example, al a particular moment, the two articulators of a SlOp

consonant-the two lips, or the tongue and the top of the (rant teeth, or the
tongue and velum-move apart sufficiently to let air pass out through the
mouth. The vocal cords may begin vibrating BEfORE this release of closure,
SDo4ULTANEOUSLY with the release, or some time AFTlOR the release: in the first
case we have a VOICED stop, in the second a VOICELESS stop, and in the third
an ASPIRATED stop.'

Thus Old Tibetan distinguishes, in Ihe timing of onset of voice, tne VOICED
consonants g. d, b, dt, dz, I, I, n, n, n, m, y, r, I, and w from the VOICELESS
consonants k, I, P, tI, IS, I, and s, and from the ASPIRATED consonants kh, Ih,
ph, tIh, and Ish. Note that the gloual stOp 1 and glottal fricative h do not
have any value for voice onset time, since they are articulated by the glottis
itself.

Note too that only STOPPED consonants-that is, stops and affricates--can be

, Simi~rly,. rriClltive mly be Icoomp2nie4 by vibfllion of Ihe YOCII cords from the slin
of its . nklliition: or tbe vibration mlr begin II tbe moment tbe .rlicu~IOrs separate to
form a foUowin, vowel; or the vibration may begin 50me time after the aniculaton have
~parllcd. Here .gain we have a VOIC£O, VOiCELESS, Ind ASPIRATED fricative, rt$pcaivcly.

1be timine or tbe onset of this vibration in milliseconds varies fro m languge to language:
different IanJlllgel choose different points alon, this continuum in forming opposll' .... ;\S
amon, oonsolllnts, just as la0luages choose different numbers of oppositions to form. Old
Tibelln makes I three-Wly distinctio n amon~s10ppcd non·nasal coO$Onants. but only I two-
Wly distinction amonl fricatives: New TibelJn (LII~) makes only I two_way distinction
amon, Slopped non·nual consonants, and w only voic:eleM fricatives. Enllisb Ind New
Tibetan (Lhua) bolh make a two-way dislinCiion between more-voiced and k:ss-voiQed
stopped non-naul consonants; bllt lhe more·voicc4 consonants in EnClish are voiced prior
to rek.ue, Ind the more-voiced consonants in Lhasa til)' I re voioeod only al release.
62 THE a......sstCAL TmETAN Lo.NOUAOE

aspirated: fricatives may be voiced or voicek:sl, but Old Tibetan apparently

had no phonemes of the fonn 'lJh or 1m' We can exprcu this asymmetry
as a second phoneme structure constraint:

This rule then constitutes a derivational constraint on the inflectional proc:esa

of UNSTOPPING: when the inflectional rule operates on the aspirated affricates
1111 and TSII, it yields the aspirated fricatives ?Ih and ?sh, which, under Rule
2, immediately become the corre~ponding arfricates tJh and uh.

Morphologically, in Old Tibetan we find a strong tendency to voice dissimila-

tion: that is, where a stopped initial in a verb root is preceded by an
intleclin nal prefIX, and ·the resuiting stem must be adjusted to conform with
syllable struclUre constraints, the rOOI initial is adjusted to a form where iu
voice onset time is as DlSSIMII.AR as possible to the voice onset time of the
prerlX: For example, we find Hthor < N·TOR "scatters." NkJuoi < N·KROL
"rings," ,.'uhf) < N- no " no urishes," Indeed, this tendency is sufficiently strong
that, in the case of the past tense b- prefIX, it operates even on syllable~ !hat
<Ire nthe rwise acceptable-for example, bkrof < b·GROL·J "rang." briiis < b·
H/N-J "scattered," hl.o;ugs < b·DZUG·$ "pierced,"

1.2.4. Nasality

A N/\.'i"l. pho ne me is produced with a lowered velum, or $Oft palate, allowing

" ir III pass out th ro ugh the nose : a non-nasal or ORAl. phoneme is produced
with the velum T<li ~ ed to form a ve lie closure in the upper pharynx, blocking
Ihe pijS~ .. ge o f alf to the nose, In a nasal SlOp the articulators block the
mo uth cntirely unt il release, while air flows out through the nose; it is
hc:cause o f this air fl ow, wit h thc mouth acting as' a variously shaped resona-
ti ng chambe r, thaI nasals sha re with approximants the acoustic property often
edict! 'iONO!tI\!'I CI'.. In O ld T ihctan, the velar, palatal, dental, and labial places
of ;,nil:ulalinn c:lch has a correspo nding nasal stop--the VEL\R NASAL,ii, the

" In a<.hJ UlOn. n;l.'il I~ ~nd J:lidcs were appue~lly all voiced in Old Tibetan, wlIicb is, of
..:()ur>c. n<>, ~ I ~ 11 unusual: YOicdCSii w noranLS arc relatively rare in the Ian,u.l1tI of the
"~"I<l . Thi, a~ym mc u)' - u nl i kc l he lac k of aspirated frialivcs-Is nol morpholo,;ally
"I!n,fi c.,nl .
 63

r;.L\TAl. NASAL n, the DENTAL NASAL II, and the lABlAL I'IASAL m. '

In addition. Old Tibetan oral stopped consonants--that is. non-nasal stop

and frica~uld be PRENASAUZE>. In prenasalization, there is a brief
lowering of the velum before release of the stop, aliowing air to pass out
through the nose momentarily before the stop is articulated. Prenaslllization
it an important inflectional praceSi in Old Tibetan. marking the present stem
of a large number of verbs-for example, Nkhum < N-KHUAI "shrinks," as
opposed to khums < KJ/UM-S "shrank," Ntiud < N:OOD "bends.tt as ppposed
10 blUd < b·DUIH "bent," /'I·thub < N·TUS "chops." as opposed to btubs < B-
TUB-S "chopped."

2. ACOUSTIC DESCRIPTIONS

The descriptions given so rar exhaustively characterize the phonemes ot Old

Tibetan: thus the phoneme e is completely characterized as the Old Tibetan
LOW FRO"" VOWEl.. (since we know, from Rule 1. that it is SPREAD as well);
and the phoneme dt is completely characterized as the Old Tibetan VOICED
OENTAL AFFRICAlC. Some morphophonemic rules in Tibetan, however, require
acoustic as well as such articulatory des~nt- ; kms: some sound changes seem
to be conditioned not by the position and movement of the articulatory
organs but rather by the auditory properties of the sounds themselveS.

2.1. GRAVITY

It can be observed that the re are considerable similarities between sounds

made in the back of the mouth and sounds made in the front of the mouth,
as opposed to sounds made with some part of the tongue raised in the

1 Vowels, of course, can .Iso be NASALIZED-l hal is, articulaled wilh • lowered velum
so tbal .ir pIUC& out through both nose: and moulh. There is little evidence thai Old
TIbelan had nualized vowels, bUI, in some dialecu of New Tibetan, many Old TIbetan
·I)'llab\cs with final l1l$.I1 SlOp' h.ave become sy\bblcs with nas.a lil.ed vowels_for cumple, Old
TIbel.ln)'Ofl·/aII ''vinlle'' > New Tibetan (Lhas.a)YOHtCR, Old TIbetan ftlulum "name" > New
Tibel.ln (Ulasa) ~ Old TIbetan snam·bu "woolen Clot h" > New Tibetan (Lhasa) 1I~NpU.
Old TIbel.ln IIIuJIt "beer" > New Tibetan (Lhas.a) IJMN. In Olher words, In such syllables,
tile syilable. fin.lton&ue or lip Icsture has ceased to be made, but the Iowennl of the velum
has oonlinued.
64 THE CtAssICAl.. TIBETAN lANGUAGE

middle of the mouth. s It is easy to see thai both velar and labial sounds are
produced with the mouth acting as a single large resonating charober. while
dental and fricative sounds arc produced with the tongue dividing the mo uth
into two smaller chambers. Sounds made with a constriction al either end of
the mouth have most of their acoustic energy al a lower pitch than corre-
sponding sounds made in the middle of the mouth: hence ~c find that k and
p actually sound more alike than do p and I. Velar and labial consonants,
based on this acoustic phenomenon, are called GRAVE, and dental and labial
consonants are called ACUTE.

This acoustic description culS across the articulatory description of place and
allows us to express some common dissimilation patterns in Old Tibetan. For
example. preinitial g- and d- are in compleme ntary distribution: the grave
pre initial g- occurs only before acute in itial consonants; the acute preinitial
d- occurs only befnr!! grave initial consona nts. Similarly. the acute posttinal
-s occurs only afte:r grave: final consonants; the Old T ibetan acute present
stem inflectional surfix of) disappears after acute final consonants and appears
as the acute allomorph -s only after grave finals. This process of GRAVTn' DIS-
SIMILATION is characle: ris\ic of the cla~sical lang uage.

2.2. SONORANCE

In many languages. n:,~als and glides form a group with the vowels.' Nasals.
glides and v(lwds art: arollsti(;ally SO NOI(I\NT. as oppose:d to other stops.
affricates and fr iwtivcs. wlw: h an: called OIISTHLJENT. The acoustic description
cuts a(;TOSS the arl i(;ulatmy dcsrriplions of closure and nasality, just as
acoustic gravity wts [KrOSS articulatory descriptions of place.

SonnTanlS h:lve III comrnull a resonant quality that arises fro m their having

K Fur cumplc. nHl,· II",... III.: vdar In ca live in "kox "cHugh" (compare O ld English
(""hlwl.", ··,lu'UI:· MIJJlc IAI'" Germ3n ku,'"11 "cough," Midd le High German hJch~1I
"cxh~ Ic-) "'·..·"m'~~ ~ 1"la";:.1 11I",.live In b[ <cough >. Note. 100. Ihal a \'e nlriloquiSI will
5u"q ilUl e vd~I u,",..r. :mt.' I", [hc lahlaJ cumnnanl$ he a nnol makc bccaU5C his lips would
movc .

~ In En gli'h. f"1 ,·,-"m pk." .,a]s 311d glidC$ are ~y llllbic_ jusl like YOWCls-aficr a SlOp or
fri .... " vc. a.~ i n ''''''h l"·"· ~yll .. hle ..... 'r<b a., prizm <prism >. hilldr <hilWhr >. $NiIt <JUdiUlI >.
'll If') "hi < /<11>:.. ....
SoUNDS 65
a relatively large amount of acoustic energy within a clearly defined ovenClne
structure. In other words, the sonorants are "tone-like" sounds, while the
obstruents are "noise-like" sounds. Thus, too, sonorants are normally voiced
lOunds; voiceless nasals, for example, are quite rare in the world's languages
compared to voiced nasals. lo

Tibetan syllable codas are either sonoranl or obstruenl. The sonorance of the
coda has morphophonological erfects on some following panicles: in several
c:aKs, the initial of a particle is voiced after preceding sonorants and voiceless
after preceding obstruents. For example, the coordinative conjunction -~iii
WAND" takes the voiced form -lUi after preceding sonorant finals, but takes
the unvoiced form -,lin and ·lin after preceding obstruent finals . Similarly,

Are ",usilRJ so,mas to olher JQUnds AS hlMi lind white is

to lOlour? ... Co/qurr IIrt not to objects one leU AS a sound
quality to sounds cme hears. Or lire they?

-Christia n Wolff,
Prose Collection

in the archaic texts, the adversative conjunction -KYan "BlJT" is found to take
the voiced form -gyan after preceding sonorant finals but the voiceless form
-kyQii after preceding obstruent finals; in laler Old Tibetan, the same adverso
ative conjunction takes the voiced forln .yan after sonorants and retains the
unvoiced form -kyan after obstruenlS. Such changes seem related to the
acoustic rather than the articulatory nature of the preceding syllable final.

3. THE PHONEMIC INVENTORY

In summary, the following appears 10 have been the phonemic inventory of

Old Tibetan:

10 Voiceless sonoranl5, slldl as ,. t. and ~ Ire, however, found in seveflll New Tibetan
dialects 1M In many TIbeto-Burman languages..
66

FROf'IT BACK

Spread Round

HIGH ; u
LOW e • •
TrJbJ~ 4. Tht Old TiMttlll 'IIOWtis

STOPS AFFRICATES FRICATIVES GLiOES

Oral N~ I

CL01TAL 7 10
VELAR K k kl, n
PAl.ATAL n dl 11 1110 l! Y
RETROFLEX ,
DENTAL d II, d, I> 1>10 , , I
"
LABIAL h P ph m w

TolJlt 5. Tht Old Tibflllfl COILJOtIaII/J

The following MI"IIM,\L ..... ms may be cited to' show that the distinctions
discussed :Jhovc ,Ire in fact phonemic-thai is, functional in the language. For
vowels, we notc, for cllampk. /Un "proper" rOn " ravine" ran "self' rin "long"
rei; "stiff:' and niX "P('13!O" rug "black" rag "depends" rig "knowledge" reR
"' o uches." Fur C\lnSOni.mt~, we note, fo r example, JuJ "pillar" kJta "mouth" no
" I, " kfl "1c;lIhcr" kilO " he" no " face," khan "house" gon "ful],' nan "nature,"
k1w/ " hunkn" gal "importance" iial "fa tigue," nan "had" -fIan "POSSESSING,"
(.<I/f" .\ Inlullanc()us" l.clwr "rain," iies "su re" l!e.1 "QUOTAnON" I!he.1 "grown
h ig," IJ/IIl "port ion" d!a "lea" iia "fish," t!hag "broken" dtag "robbery" nag
"not\;h," iio): "I.liny" wi: "cap button," tiii "cup" thiii "scatter!" nul "sleeps"
SoUNDS 67

tat "quick" that "dust," thUT "down" dIU cemetery," thug ",soup" dug "poison,"
duJ "time" nlU "is able," don "meaning" non "presses," nag "black" pag
Hbrick" phag "pig" bag "concem," bug "hole" mug "worm," par "printing
block" phar "away" bar "middle" mar "butter," mi "man" lsi "mouse," ts~
Mbasket" tsh~ "life," Hfshag "sq ueezes" Ntizag "trickles," Hfsh~m "sews" Ndzem
Mshuns," tsh~r "thornbush" ser "hailstorm" ze, says," tshoii "commerce" son
Mwenl" zon "merchandise," sub "covers" Iub "whispers," lUi "firewood" liii
"field," su "who" Iu "abscess" Iu "asks," sol "coal" lot "throat," sog
Mshoulderblade" log "neck," sor "gimlet" hor "Mongol." Note particularly the
follov.ing minimal pairs of words with glottal stop initial, g10ual rricative
initial, and smooth vocalic insress--ol "clover" 101 "throat," og "underpart"
log "neck," hor "Mongol" or "dropsy," .hUT "alertness" ur "BUZ2JNG NOtSE,"
lar.po "thief' har·po "hole," lar·po "fieldworker" har·po "shining." Finally,
minimal pairs with and without pre nasalization include NgfO "goes" gTO
"wheat," Nbu "insect" bu ",son," Ntshe "hurts" /she "time," Ndug "stays" dug
"poison."
6 Syllables

In Proto-Tibetan the syllable seems to have been differently structured in

several respeCts Ihan in Old Tibetan: fo r ex:ample, we can reconstruct Proto-
Tibetan syllables such as -gry!Ul"string" and -rIuuln "net" which cannOl occur
in Old Tibetan. But we can do little more at this lime than make sporadic
hypotheses about the nature of these differences, and the discussion here will
center on the structure of the syllable in Old Tibetan. This structure is
defined by specific constraints on possible syllables. These constraints are of
three sortS-length constraints, s lot-filler constraints, and co-occurrcnce
constraints. LENO'1ll CONSTRAINTS define the number of phoneme slols
available in the syllabic; SLOT-FlLl.ER CONSTRAINTS define what phonemes may
occur in each sial; l:O-OCCUIUl.ENCE a)N~"){AJ~ define what phonemes in
one slot can occur together with other phonemes in other slots.

I. LENGTH CONSTRAINTS

The Tibetan syllable consists of three parts--ONSET, NUCLEUS, and CODA. The
nucleus of the syllabI\! in Old Tibetan is always a single vowel. 1 The minimum

I While in OLd Tibeliln Ihe syllabic nucle~ always oontains a Single vowel, it sccms we
must rCCQgni~ 1\10'0 COMPLD< I'IUCLEI in some PIOlo·Tibetan syllables, both of which had
simpurle4 inw single vowels by the time the language was written down. ThU$ in many cases
where we find a classical Tibetu 0 we m~t reconSlruC1 a Prolo·Tibetan nuelelL!i we wilt
wlite conventionally as "IIa, and in many cases wllCre we find a cla$Si~' Tibetan ~ we musl
reconstruct a Prolo·Tibetan nucleus we will write conventionally as -ja. This convention is
u$Cd 10 indiclle tltat tile syllable contains a complCJ[ nucleus Dlher lhan an onset duster
with a postinilial ,Iide. The convenlion thus distinguishes, for example, between Prolo·
Tibetan -TlIIAM :> Old Tihc:tan TIICM "com plete," on the one hand, and Proto·Tihc:tan
°TlfYAM :> Old Tibetan tllUM "a,ree," on I~C Oilier.

For eumple. given Burmese phwam "rat" and Lushei PU{Jrl1 "swollen," we may postuLate
Proto·Tibetan ·sbuam :> Old Tibetan sbom "Ihick." Similarly, ,iven Nun, pa and Lis u f"'a
"put on dOIlies," we may postulate Proto·Tibetan "GVA :> Old Tibeliln B·GO "pUI on
(IOIIIC5," given Burmese ,.,.,.aii and Tiddim Chin wilil"hole," we may postulale PrOlo·Tibeliln

68
SYUADLES 69

"dull"; :> O ld Tibeun doii "hole," and l iven Burm ese ptlrwllk., Rgyaron, /cQaIc, and Ki ranli
!:horok "ani," we may poslulale ProlO-Ti beu n ~og :> Old Tibcu n grog "ani," See abo
Burmese: boll, ProtD-Tibe ta n "rlauVI :> O ld T ibe t.a n , kiR1 " net," Burmese tllwa, Proto-
Tibeun "mlhuo :> Old Tibe tan mlM "span," Burmese SWCl, PrOlo·Tibetan "sun:> O ld
Tibeta n 50 " loot h," Burmcsc Il /wtlf, Proto. T ibetan "GI.fJAD :> O ld Tibel3n GLOD "loose n,"
aM pe rhaps eve n Burmese "",al "old, tou,h," Proto·Tibetan "",ad :> Old Tibetan rod "stiff."
Note also Sanskrit JvllhIJ "RtTlJA" l~a .J\MJI.nON'· :> O ld Ti be tan "jua·hu <swll·h/J:> :> New
Tibeu n (Obus ) soha.

Thi5 histo riCi I seq uence Proto·T ibeta n ~a :> Old Tibetan 0 mus t be disli nguis hed from the
Jeq ucncc PrOIO-Tibeta n '"wa :> Old T ibe tan "'0 (a.s in Burmese 1$110, Pro to-Tibeta n "1$llwo
:> Old Tibeta n 1$llwa " sa ltM), and from the sequence PrOlo,T ibe tan '0 :> Old Tibelan 0 (a.s
ill Burmese: IMU";' Proto·T ibetan ' SIO;; > O ld Ti bela!! slO;; " tho u!WInd"). Thc.~ sequences
may be diagrammed as follows:

PROTO· Ot D
UU RMES E l1 HETAN 'nnET AN ' IYI' :> OT

" tho usa nd" IIIou"; "j loij Sioft 0 > 0

"$alt" UM "/Jh ..,o uhwo wa :> ..·a
"hole" Ihwa..; ".wan ua :> 0
"'"
In the same way, gi~'e n Lt pch. grya we may postulate PIOIO· Tihctan °krUl :> "rkia :> O ld
Tibetan flu "Iea n," giVC II Burmese lyap we may postulate ProlO-T ibeta n "'iab :> O ld Tibe tll n
kb "nat," ,iV(:n Bahin, dynm "be straight," Bu rmese aWn! "waigh I lon, piece," and Nun,
Jdom "nat," we may postulate Proto·T ibetan oidium :> O ld Tilletan Jdm l "s!(aight," and
give n Bahi ng dyom, T idd im Chin dim. and Vayu dom "full," we may postulat e Prut o·T il'lcla n
on/lAM :> O ld Tibeta n n lf:f., "be ful l."

As above, Ihis historieal sequence Proto-Tibetan "ill :> Old Tibetan ~ mus! be di stingu ished
fro m the seq uence Prolo-Tibe lan "yD :> Olt! Tibe tan ya (al> in Bu r~ pya " bee," ProlO-
TIbetan . bya :> Old T ibetall byo "bird"), and from the sclJucncc Proto-Tibe tan .~ :> Old
Tibetan e (as in Burmese II~ PIOtO· Tibe tan "NE :> " NYt,' :> Old Tibe tan Nt: "be near ~) ,
(Remember, !oo, tha t a Proto-Ti be!a n ·dental 510p + ya :> O ld Tibcla n palata l arfr italc +
Cl, as in PrOlo·T ibe tan " nfYAM :> O ld Tibeta n TSllAM "aglcc. ") These 5C(jucnccs may be
summariud a.s fOllows:

PROTO· Ol.D
BU RM l:SE l1UETAN ' 1IlETAN · PT :> OT

"near" ., ..,.
·M
.,."' " ,
"beetbird" ",. 1">"
"nat" yop "Iinb /,' in :> ~
70 TilE C I.ASS ICAI . TUlI'.TAN UN(;t}AGE

syllable consists only of a nud~us; (h~ maximum syllable ronsisls o f an onset

cluster of four consonants befo re the nucleus and a coda c!usler of IWO
consonants after the nucleus. l Between these two extremes lie syllables of
intermediate length, including syllables with a ((xla of a single vuwd. The
historical change from Old to Middle to New Tibela n is characterized in part
by a tendency to reduce the length of syllables from the maxim um cc:ccvcc:
or ccccvv syllables of Old Tibetan to Ihe m:l.~imum eve or cvv syllables of
many New Tibetan dialects. Table: 6 on the following page sum marizes Ihe
possibh! syllable knglhs in the classic,,1 l:inguilgc.

Two special cases are not included in the schc matiz<ltioll. First, there afe
occasionally coda ciuslers of TWO vowels when it syllable with Ihe lexical form
-w (invariably a diminulive such as hea "calf' or hyeu "lillie bird") occurs
with the ad nominal panicle, as in heui "of the citlf," or before Ihe slatement
particle, as in beuo "(It is) the calL" (Note also the ono matopoietic meaD

Western Tibetan dialocts ~m to have preserved t'r Olo-Tibetan 'w where in Old TitlCtan
and other New Tibetan di alOCls Pro w ,Tibetan Oja has umlergtlne chan ge, Fo r example. l ive n
New Tibetan (l.1d .. kh) I/lag "bea r" (Pu rik ) /II)'Og " Iiff' (Sa lti) Ih)'OJ;-po "patience:' we may
hypothesize Proto-Tibetan " n/IAG > Old Tibe tan TlIf:G "Iirl, bear," and liven New Tit>ctan
(l.1dakh) /agJ-pa (Purik) .»aromo (8ah~) Iyax,mo "gOOd," we may hypothcsi1.c Proto-Tibetan
"LIAGS > Old Tibetan UGS "be gOtld:' We can thus proviue so mewhat more historical
detail in o ut linin, this saunu change:

, - - - ' Nl:. w TmnM« (Balti, Purik»)'O

r--- PROTO,TIfIETAN (WCSt) 'w

I IL___ NEW TlRHAN (l.1dakh) a
PROTO- TlS IITAN Ow

L Ol.D TIIIETAN ~ - N E W TUWfAN (Dbus, Lhasa ) t

2 One or the initial difficultics in studying cla ~~ ica l Tit>ct~n i., Ihe shock of encounl ering
such COmplel onset cluslen as in u!,'ra "enemy" or OJ!,.'I'" "lIansl:l1ed," English is quile
impove rished in onsct cluste rs: the muimum onset wnsis\.'l of a voiceless fricative plus II
voiceless SlOp plus a glide, such as SIT in <S/n'ng>. spl in <SI'''·",{,,1>. s kM< fn <Jquaft> . or
sJcr in <skew>. On th e Ol her hand, we mi ght add, English i~ mud\ rkhcr Ihan cla»ical
Tibe ta n in cooa clu.stcn:.lhe maximum cooa cJu5 ter consists of four consu nanls, such :u JuIS
in <lew>, lf6s in <twtlfllu>, mpSI in <gtimpsrd>. or lues in <sin/u> .
SYllABLES 71

"SOUND OF ... CAT.") A coda cluster of lltREE vowels is possible--bul not

often encountc:re<t-hen such a syllabic: occurs both with the adnominal
particle: and before: the statement particle, as in :sprndo "(It is) the monkey's."
Second, diphthongs in closed syllables are produced by two syntactic
processes. The connective Yoii "AlSO" becomes -an after preceding vowels in
Ul\Jtrcssed syllables, yielding such synabic forms as -plan and -laa;;' And the
conjunction -Am "OR" after preceding vowels Similarly yields such diphthongs
as in rfQarn dream btuDm Hbriam "horse or donkey or calf or yak-cow or ... "

... ·c .cc ·v
. v
0
ve
og
vee
ons
vv
oi
Co ev eve evee cvv
ka bod bubs beu

= ccv ccvc ccvee

"",ns
ccvv
'l1o rgud byeu

=- cccv
~o
cccvc
~ol
cccvcc
~o&,
cccvv
_i
= ccccv
b~o
ccccvc
btgYal
ccccvcc
brgyuns
ccccvv
brgyai

Tcbk 6. 014 1UJ.tIMlyIklbk Imgrh tOfUtroilttr

1. SLOT-FILLER CONSTRAINTS

Slot-flIlcr constraints prescribe which phonemes can occur in particular

positions in the .syllable. Indeed, we have already mentioned one such slot-
6ller constraint-the rule that the NUCLEUS of the syllable is always filled with
• vowel.

The ONSET of the syllable consists of four slots, each of which may e:ither be
filled with • single consonant or left empty-that is., filled with zero. We: will
call these (our slots. from left to right, the PRE-PRElNrrw... PREINrrw... tNI11Al..
72 TilE ~ I CAL TUJETAN l...ANGUAGE

and POS1lNlllAL slots? The fillers of these slots are as fo llows.

(1) When there is only one consonant in the onset, that consonant is in
the INIllAl. sial. The initial slot may be filled by any consonant-
except, of course, the phoneme of nasalizatio n N. Thus in the syllable
bod the initial slot is filled by b, and in the syllable thubs the initial
sia l is filled by lit

(2) When the initial slot has been fiUed, the rOSTINITlAL sial may also be
filled. The postinitiai slot can be filled ONLY by the glides, and y.4
Thus in the syllable grub the initial slot is filled by g and the post-
initial slot by r, and in the syllabic byid the initial slot is filled by band
the postini!ia] slot by y. j

3 We mUll be ca rdul. o f roUrK, no. 10 confuse these ~HONOU)GICAL slots, and the
phonemes that can li lt them , with the GRAPHIC slOts I through 4 d iscussc4.bove. It is tI"UC,
fo r eum ple, that the IN mAL_when there is one-is alWays in the center , raph position, a nd
Ihat Ihe I'IlE·PREINrT'tAL-when there is one -is always in t he left graph poshion. BUI afte r
that, as we shall see, identification becomes Jess easy.

• Th is statemenl is controversial, a nd will req uire so me ju.slirlClli'l n, which will be

sllpplied in the fol lo'Ri n, section.

, An o n5(:1 cluster of stop plus ,Iide may in some uses be unambiguo~1y processed as
a n inilial SlOp plus posti nit ia l glide: for eumplc, in kJvag " blood" Of' p/ry(Jg "harlCl the glide
H

ca nno t be the inilial beca use:: Ihe aspira ted stops kh and ph canno l, under the sylla bic slot·
filler co nslrainl.\, be preinilial$; in SUQ "hai rH or dpytJ " Ial(" the gl ide cannot be the initial
bcciI use the stops J: and p cannot, under Ihe syllable slot· fiUer coM traints, be pre initial$, and
because the consonants s an<! d cannot, under the syllable slm· filler constra in ts, be pre·
preinitials.

However, where Ihe glide is preoeded by a single consona nt \\'hich could be ei tller n initial
o r a preinitial, such 11$ g or b, it follows Ihal Ihe glide could in lurn be ei the r a postinitial
o r a n inilial: for eumple. Ihe fo rm jD'tJiI mighi -wi lho ul furl her information- be proocssc:d
cilher as a prcinitial g fo llowed by initial y or as an inilial g followed by postini t ia l y.

Now thc Tibetan wriling s)'5 lem dislinguish<:s these IWO cases with regard 10 g I nd y. An
ini tial y is wrille n as a CENTER graph, with prcinitia l gas. LEFf gr.pb ; .n initial g i~
"'rillen IIli a CENTER graph. wilh postin itia l y as a BOTTOM graph. But the wrili fl l systCJl!
docs nOi ma ke si milar dislinClioM wilh regard 10 t he o ther gl ides: wilen precede l · ' :I') lher
oonsonanl, Ihc glides f, ~ and", are atwa)'$ WTitte n as oollom vaphl, .nd it is "l' l\ ' .:4u r.;al
thai Ihcy arc therctore a ll pos liniti ais. Thai " no t nel;QSarily the case.
SYl.lAllLES 73

(3) When the initial slol has been filled, Ihe PKEtNrnAL sial may also ht:
filled. The pre initial slot can he filled by r, I, $, g, d, b, m, and N. Thus
in the syllable ode the initial SIOl is fitted by d and the preinitial .'0 101
hy b, and in the syllable 'ID'u the initial slot is filled by g, the postinitial
slot by y, and thc preinit!al sIal by r.

( ~) When the preinitial slot has heen filled by a NONSTOPPEH consonant

r, I, or $ (note that this is actually a co-occurrcnee constraint), the PRE-
l'REINI11AL slot may also he filled , The pre-pre initial slot can be filled
ONLY by b. Thus in Ihe syllabI\! blw the initial slol is fi lled by I, tilt:
preinitial slot by I, and the pre·preinitial sIal by b.

The CODA of the syllahle el)Osists of two slots. We will call these sIms, from
Jeft 10 right, the RNAL and rOSTFlNAt. slots.

(I) The l-lNAL slot may be filled with a single vowel (with the additional
provisions discussed above), by 11 si ngle consonant, or lefl empty-that
is, filled by zero. The final slot may be filled by the consonants d, II,

We will here II.'iC the following cll nvcntinn: a pr<:init.al oonwnant willl>c scpar~lcd from a
following ini tial glide by a dOl (thu~ g.yan "blessing"), and an initial consonant followed by
a postinitial glide will be left unm:ukc.J (thul Ki'iln "baked "ri.:l:'·).

Why does this distinClioll maile r'! Historic.;tl t:hangc.~ OCt:u r diffcrentty 10 init ialS anll
postini lials-for example, O td Tibetan g.run ·1lI....-.si ng .. > !'lew Tibet~n (Lhas.a) )'<lii, but Old
Tibeta n GYON "get dressed" > New Tibelan (Lhasa ) cM.v, Old Tibe l ~n g.yu "Iulquoi~" >
NC'N T ibetan (Lhasa) yu, bUI Olu Tibelan f<i"Id "3 thleu:" > New Tibetan (Lha~ ) che. Old
TIbelan g.yon "len siue" > NC'N Tibetan (Lha..<.a) y6", bUI Old Tlhctan wus-po "father·in-law"
> NC'N Tibetan (Lhasllt) cMpo. Similar cumplcs C41n be found with uthcr glillC!>-- for
example, O ld Tibeian g.rogs "hclper" > Ncw Tibetan (Lha.';a) r~ but Olf.! Tit>ctan grogJ
"fame" > New Tibe tan (Lha.<.a) [ho. NOie also classical Tibetan IlRJ •..... ritc .. but ri·ma
"drawing," (;RJt. "be rolled u,," bUI ril.po - round," aRJD "grow dim" but ralt.rib "mist.
dimncu," an d pe rhaps even S·8RUM "make pregnanl" < " BRO.' " .. 0!)c "rcgnin!" but TIIm
''Womb,''

The sa me distinelio n may elil end back inlo Prolo·Tibetan. We can distingUish, for example,
berwccn Proto·Tibetan · s.ID " Ihi n" > Old Tille tan s.ID > New Tibetan (LhaS<l ) ID and Proto.
Tibela n "sic "longue" > O ld Tibe tan ItIc > New Tibetan (Lha~a) Ik Similarly. given
Bunan fOD-tpVlI, Cha mba Lah lili guo, and perhaps even Olu Chinese °,1111"'0 "(ox." wc can
propose PrOlo_Tibetan -g....a "f01" > Old Tibetan wa > New Tihctan (Lha~ ) '0.'/:. as
opposed, for example, to Proto-Tibetan ......d "horn" > Old Tit>ctan .."'n > !'Ic·... Tibetan
(Lhasa) m.
14 THE Cv.ss1CAl. TlllETAN lANGUAGE

r, ~ S, g, n.b, and nI, or by any vowel. Thus in the syllable bod the
final slot is filled by d, and in the syllable grogs the final slot is filled
by g.

(2) When the final slot has been filled by a GRAVE consonant (nOle that
this is a co-occurrence constraint), the POSlHNAL slot may be filled :IS
well. The ~tfinal slot can be filled ONLY by 5, at least in the classical
language. Thus in the syllable thobs the final sial is filled by b and the
postfmal slot by 5.

2.1. ARE ·1· AND ow· POSTlNITlALS?

When the glide 1 follows a consonant it is written as II bottom graph and

alphabetized in native Tibetan dictionaries as if it were a poslinitial; but, wilh
only one exception, the bottom graph <I> does nOI represent a poslinitial
following an initial, represented by the center graph, but rather the initial of
the syllable, with the center graph representing the preinitial. There are
several reasons for reaching this conc1u~ion.

Historically, the Tibetan preinitia] stops have tended to disappear in severa]

New Tibetan dialects1-thus, for example, Old Tibetan giiid "sleep" > New

• III PrOlo-Tibelill. when the fi nal 5101 of iI $yll:lble was filled by an AClJI'E ronsonantll.
T,or l, the p-)Stfinal $IQ! wuld be filled by c1 Th is (lOlolfinal J-callod dCI-drflg "suon, d" by
!he Title"n gr.mmarians-was apparentl)' a ptKJnoltl&ie.ally oonditioned allomorph of
postfinal s. Poslfinal d had IWO sources-an infl<!l;liQnal surrIX · ·D in the prC$Cnl slem of
certain Yerm. and an infl(:("tional sum,,; ··s in Ihe past nem of all \'e lm, These: suffi:w; will
be di!oClI~cd ;n the .l«1;on on morphology.

1 This;$ a s;mple Slatement of a oompla phenomenon. Fint, nothing ever disappean

willK)!.lt I nace, whkh is, I sup pose. a oomrorlinglhou,hl; in ~rtkular, pre/nilials whiCh
ha~'e Ip~renl /y dis;Jppcared may be articulated afler pre0e4ing op~ n syllables in the !.arne
slress ,ruup-for example, Old Tibetan bli "("ur" > New TibeLlin (Lhasa) Ii bll' Old
Tibetan blJ,,·bli "fourteen" > New Tibetan (Lhasa) tJiJpli. OW Tibetan pm " thrcc" >
New Tibetan (Lhasa) JUm but Old Tibetan bt.fll-p1Im "thirteen" > New Tibetan (Lhasa)
tloksom, O ld Tibetan mdull "front ~rt" > New TibeLlin (l..hua) 1ilH bill Old Tibetan sbi-
mdl.ill "presence" > New Tibetan (Lha$.l) /wH!"QH, Old Tibetan,.v(J "similar" > New Tibelan
(LhlWl) III but Old Tibelln Sku'Nth ''$Iallle" > New Tibetan (Lhasa) kuN!(J, Old Tibelan
mUMII "si,n" > New Tibelan (Lha!..l) UM,N bllt Old Tlbelarr ~·mlJh(ln "reason" > New
Tibetan (Lhilsa) ("mUCH.
SYLlABLES 75

Tibetan (Ladakh) iiil (Lhasa) iii, Old Tibetan dge *'virtue" > New Tibetan
(Ladakh) ge (Lhaj;a) Ice, Old Tibetan btk "joy" > New Tibetan (Ladakh) rrh
(Lhasa) Ie, Old Tibetan dmQg-dpon "army commander" > New Tibetan
(Ladakh) mokspon (Lhasa) malcpiiN. Postinitial glides, on the other hand,
have tended to arreci the place of articulation of the precedin, initiaJ-for
example, Old Tibetan sran·ma "peas" > New Tibetan (Ladakh) I'Innta

Second, twO different procc::sscs seelll to have bcea " M)rk slmlliCl.lleOUSIy oa 1lbetall
preiniliais. sometimes mavins tbe syllable iI dirfercll! dlrectioaL 01l the OAe Jt.ucl, lbe
preinitiais lend 10 WEAX£f'/ over time: tlUlt il, tile deJUC ot doIllrc iD aniaaladllJ llIc
preinilial decrea.sa; stopped. preinitiais become narrowed, u(rowcd prciJIlllals become opea.
and open preinilia~ disappear- thus, over tim, and al different speeds ill dirfereJlt pans of
the lexicon, stops > fricatives > Ilides > e. We ean note Ihil proocss at M)rk III Old
Tibetan glum "three> New Tibetan (Oolok) ')'SlIm (Panaklll) InIm (Lbasa) nun, Ok!
Tibetan bdlIn "seven" > New Tibetan (Balli) bdlIn (Khams) ...dun (plink) rdw! (Dbua) a..
Old Tibetan brlu "ten" > New T ibeta n (KhaIllS) nhf (Plink) I/hl (GoIOI) ...tIM (Uwa) Iht.
Note too such pronunciations as New Tibetan (DbUS) It:wdJlp <JJaj.,.tDb> "fall," tIWIp
<brlu-dgu> "nineteen." d~~ <Ilk.> "Dc:r&e City," Ind luch doublets ia lhe clutk:a1
tats as dkiln-,kDn "palale." dgu-rp " nine," gdu·gu-ldu.p "brtoelel," .o..tR- JtD..C.t "rub,"
Jdor-rd« "s pice," STVN -RTVN "make shorle r"; even Old TibetallsdoA NewTibetall (Tao-tu)
JIM (Bal li) zdoli "tree Irllnk" was borrowed into MonllK)( from an ulIllnowft Tibetall dlakct:
u""'"
On llie otller ha nd. the preinitials-panicularly nonstopped pteinitials-teod 10 A.SSIMJI.~1'E
10 Ihe Collowing inilial: tllal is, over time, Ind It diffe rent spcoc1s in different parIS of tile
lexioon. voiced preiniliais lend to become voiee\eU beCore voioclas initi.als, and vok:deu
prcinitilb tend 10 beromc voiced before voiced initials. We an note this procca 11 wort
in Old Tibetan nll "tIorse" :> New Tibetan (plnakha) st" (Lad.akJI) I'" (Balli) h,,-SIII
(Am40) nll - l ta, Old Tibetan JS" "sadd le" > New Tibetall (Oolok) 'P (Bahi) IF (Plink)
19l1 (Amdo) 'ill. Old Tibetan ~ " COOl" > New Tibetan (LadakJt) ~ (Oolot) Jk.aII
(Amdo) .rkd.

Botll of I!lese proca.5eS are "nalural," in tbe sense tlUltllley are found operatinl IIOIOIlIy
in Tibetan bill in a variety of olher b nldles. Sometimes lbe two pr0CdSC5 affcclinllhe
preinitial$-weakeninl a nd assi milalion_are in connict. III Pau.kha, for eample. we find
Ihal Old Tibetan J'I\ll "nose" > New Tibetan (Panalr.ha) "'" botb by weakenin& oC tile
preinilialand by assimilation of the voke onset time of tbe preiaitial 10 lhal of the initial.
Bill we find, 100, bolh IlUt Old Tibela n n" "horse" :> New Tibetan (Panaktta) Jta, where
Ihe tenc1ency 10 asslmiLale predominales over tile leMency for preiniliab 10 weaten, Ind Ihll
O ld Tibetan ~ ''body'' > New Tibel.ln (PanakJIl) fbi, wlle re IlIe lenderit)' 10 weaken
predominalQ ove r lbe lendency for preinitills 10 assimilate in voice Onsel time 10 inillals.
In IIIe same ..... y, Old llbetan ri:a.lI "lei" > New Tibetan (Golot) IW bllt Old Tibetan st.,
" Iiee r" > New Tibetan (Oolok) n"1
76

(Lhasa) [alma, Old Tibetan gru "boat" > New Tibetan (ladillth) 4u (Lhasa )
rhu, Old Tibetan ,.;brug "dragon" > New Tibetan (Ladakh) t/uk (Lhasa ) !U,
Old Tibeta n TXYab "back" > New Tibetan (Ladakh) rgyap (Lhasa) ('''p, Old
Tibetan pliyogs "side" :> New Tibetan (Ladakh) tJllUks (Lhasa ) (.(1/(1, Old
Tibetan spyan "eye" > New Tibetan (Ladakh) sUan (Lhasa) lIeN. With one
exception, the stop preceding an I in an onset cluster behnvcs historically like
a preinitial rather than like an initial-thus Old Tibetan gill "sting" > New
Tibetan (Ladakh) [u (lhasa) Iu, Old Tibetan bla-ma " lama " > New Tibetan
(Ladakh) lama-lama (Lhasa) lama, Old Tibetanslob-4poll "teacher" :> New
Tibetan (Ladakh) Lappan (Lhasa) IOpON. Old Tibetan 'fuii "air" > New Tib-
elan (Ladakh) [uiUpo (Lhasa) tun.

There are several synchronic phonological reasons as well. First, preinilial

stops cannot be prenasalized, while initial slops followed by a postinitial can
be prenasalized- thus, for example, Ndra but not '!Ndga, NgytJ but not ?Ngdo,
Nbru but not ?Nbde. In every case, the stop preceding an f in an onset cluster
behaves like a preinitial with regard to prenasalization- thus "'gfUh bUI not
?t;glub, Nbyo but not ?Nblo, Ngye but not ?Ngle.

Second, initial stops are constrained by the rule of gravity dissimilat ion in the
selection of preinitials but not in the selection of pastinitials- thus, for
example. we filld both gro and dro, but o nly gso and not ?dso. and o nly d~
and not ?gpe. In every case, tbe I in .lin onset cluster beh:lVes like an initial
constra ined in its selection of preinitial hy the rule of glavity dissimila tion--
thus Kia btlt not ?dla.

!Whlit i raJ/ th: "lIudiwry imif;Bi~~~J~ the ~eli"g for l]lJAble

! (I.", rhythm. penetrRti"5 for below the ~ Inei! of thought
n~ }er.ii"g. invigorRtjng tv", JWrd; linking UJ the most primitive
/1>",1 [urgotttn. rerun/inlJ w tht origin ,,,,d
bringing KJmtrhing
~, Jetlt;nlJ the bfiJintling ami the end.

I _ T. S. Eliot,
! The Use uf Poetry & the Use of Crilicifm
l______.__.__ - - - - - --
-[hird, Li ;tiill ~ tops followed by a !lOslinitial glide can be preceded by a
p rel TlIVDI, 8ud, where Ihal preinilial i~ not a stop, lhe preinilial can in turn be
pn'Cl'c... '~::.y ' 1;:- nrc-prt!initi:ll b, while ti n initial pre<:eded by It preinilia l sto p
SYU.A.8I..ES 77

cannot be further prcced~d by any additional consonant-thus, for example,

.JiVtI but not ?sgdo, dby~ but not ?dbge, bsgyur but not ?b.rgdur. In every case,
the stop preceding an 1 in an onset cluster behaves like a preinitial with
regard to further preinitia!s-Ihus spyu and spra but not ?spiu, sgyo and sgro
but not ?sglo. bf1!O'O and bsgro but not ?bsglo.'

Fourth, aspiratcd stops cannot be preinitials but can be initials followed by

a po5tinitial-thus, for example, khru but not ?lchdu, pirro but not ?pligo. In
every case, the 1 in an onset cluster behaves like an initial rather than a
postinitia! in Ihis regard--Ihus khyu and khtu but not ?k1tlu. plrr a and pltra
but not ?phla.·

There is, however, one case in which I appears 10 be a postinitial rather than
an initial-in the initial cluster z/, which in turn behaves histnricalty in sur-
prising ways.IO First of all, we find s\Jch curious classical Tihetan douhlets
as zlum-Idum " round:' ZLOG-UXX} "turn away," ZLA-N/lA "pass," ZI.O-NIKJ
"recite," ZLAG-IJlAG-NlJAG "lick." Further, we may note the unexpected New

• "The inilial t!usler blcl· is found (parallel 10 b/I:y- . nd bier. ) s pora.Jil-:.lly in the pa~1 anll
runne nems of lhe verb K1.A G (kJoglk./IIRf - blc.lllgJlIWg-blclagllclog) ··rcall:· hul Ihe<oC sct.m
10 be lile and .nlloJOus forms~ Ihere is no corresponding infleclion.1 \:Iusler t>gf- in ~ udl
Yerb5 as GUB (gItblgltbs/Rftb) '·nallen" or GUN (g/onlg/rI1IlgIall) "mend. ra tc h ur."

9 A difrlcul ry fo r th is analysis i5 rli!;cd b)llhe onset clu~ lcr kJ· found in a few common
words such as kJu "s.crrcnt deity" . nd kJait ~expam.e. " The conMlna nt k. . (as "r~, fllr
wmple, to lhe comonanl .(.) cannot be a. prtinilial, $0 it is IUrd It) sec. lin..... the I in the
cluster could be the initial. However. the I ce rt ai nly bch;m~5 lIislorically like an in il i.l: we
find Old Tibetan Icltl "serpent deit y" > Ne ..... Tibetan (Lhasa) N. [n flCI , in the Sino-Tibetan
Heaty iO$(ript ion of 821 . Tibetan Idu is tllnscribed bolh 15 Middle Chinese "Icyu .!y¥.
represcntin& all Inililillcl· clu$ter. and as Midd le Chinese "IN, indicaling thaI, as early as lhe
ninlh century, in Ihe speech of at least !lOme urban governmenl orrlt"ials. Prolo·Tibetan . "'"
lI.d already bcoomc Old Tibetan (Lhasa ) 0/u <kJu> . I do not know h,_ \11 rCc\Olvc tlli~
dirrlCUlty.

]0 Note that il is o nly in zl· and nOI in II. tll.t the I appears \0 be postinitill; tile u·
cluster bel"llves jllli like oll"lo::r cl u$lcn will"l in ilia l I_for eumrle, Old Tibelan Ifoh .dptNI
"teael"ler"' > New Tibetan (ladakh ) lOflfXH\ (Ll"la'-ll I0p6N, O ld Tibe tan SU :/I '·reacl"l" > New
Tibetan (Ladakh) I' f (Lh a!ol) Itp. Nme tl"l. l, under tl"lis analysi~, bsla an1 bzln, .l1 l"1nu&1"I
supc rncially pa rallel. differ in undcrl)'in, structu rc-a nd thus Old T ihclln bJIII "will weave"
> New TL~ I !1n ( Lha~) Ill. hut Old T ihctan hzla ·'Will recite" > :-.I(."W T ibe tan (Lhasa)"fo.
In hila Il"Ie I " ,n,li.1. $0 Lhe h· is tl"le r le· prcinitial; in hz/a thc I b po!o tin it ial, SCI the b· is
the preinllial GIIIII Il.Ila and blld arc well.formed syllablQ under Ihe 5y\[able rule«.
78 THE Ct...t.ssICAL TIBETAN l...ANGUAGE

Tibetan ret1exes of the z/· cluster-for example. Old Tibetan z/a "moon" >
New Tibetan (Balti) all (ladakh) ldtJ (Chung-tien) Ndo (Obus) dll (Lhasa) til.

One way to account for such phenomena is to hypothesize the following

sequence of phonetic changes-(l) zl > lz by metathesis, (2) lz > ld, (3) ld
> Idy when followed by a front vowel, (4) Idy > ill by palatalization. (.5) 1d
> MJ and Idl > Nd1, (6) in many New Tibetan dialects Nd > d and ~ > dt
through regular loss of pre initials. We can diagram these changes as follows:

r-~ Idy > Id1 > Ndl > d1 /FRONT VOWEL

zl>lz>ld>--1
L.- - - - - _ . Nd >d /BACK VOWEL

This process apparently extends all the way back to Proto-Tibetan. For
c!xample. we find the classical Tibetan doublclldIi·ba-Ndli-ba "nea." On the
basis of fornu in other Tibeto-Burman languages, such as Nung s~i, Karen
khillilwi-kJulai, Mikir tlikli, Lushei hi;' and Bunnese hie "flea," we can
hypothesize a Proto-Tibetan -Z/i "flea" > Old Tibetan Wi > NdI~ with the
intermediate steps -Zli > .lzj > .ldi > .ldyi > Wi > NdIi. II

II This ~~IIOC sugeslS thai postinitiailis not found in Old Tibeun in tlU5Ien oaher
than zJ because everywhere else a n originally postinitiall had already meutbc:siud in Prota;
Tibetan to preinitial L In other \Wrd!, at some time before o ur first writlen texts, Proto-
T ibetan -(;1 ,. °IC ~rywhere but in tile Cluster zJ. (P05tinitial r, as we will see, more
$poradically did the s-ame thing-fof example, Burmese mra.\ Proto-Tibetan "mrall ,. Old
Tibetan rmaii "l'Iorsc,~ Burmese khraii, Proto-Tibeun °.b"aII ,. Old Tibetan rk4II "bone.")
This wave o f t hange had not yet rutbcd zJ by the time the spelling of the clusler w» ftxed
in O ld Tibetan; but, as we haY( bypothcsiud, the cbanBC zJ ,. II evcnt\lally oYCrtoolt the
o;l ust~.r !l as well. For eumple, given Karel! W. Garo sn, Dimasa StJUl4 Lcptha ;.U, BUfll'lC$C
Ill!'l/. Kanauri k, V.yu Ii, I..4Ishei ki "tongue," we aa hypOlItcsil.c ProtO-TIbetaa "sic ,. "Is,
;, "flf ,. °ltyt" Old Tibetan Id, "lOnluc," 15 an unvoiced parallcllO tlte vok:cd scqKnOc
Pr" I,,·Tibeun OW ,. °ll; ,. 0Jdi ,. 0ldyf ,. Old Tibetan /dli "Oea." Thus, wbcre I_initial,
no ch.nge toot place. as in Prolo-Tibetan OJiD ,. Ok! Tibetan lUI "tbin," bllt, where I was
postinitial, ilS JDCtathesls triggered a chain of pl'lonetic ,banF, as in Proto-Tibetan ·slc >
Old TibeLaD Ilk "tonpc." Similarly, given Kilen k.'I)4. Ouo khi, OIpro kJ44 Buf1l\eSe Idryt.
Kanall" """" Bablnl khIi "aacmcnt," Lepdla ,Xli "entr.ib, lUts. m\lC\lS of entraib," we
an hypotbcsizlc Proto-Tibetan -Jdi ,. olJci :> 0lk)i :> Old TIbcw Iai "dua,," For lOme
reason, mcutbcsb in this /d_ duster appears to baY( stopped sbort of Iprcadin, tbrougbout
the Iaicon, and is fOllnd only belore front ¥OWCb; llt~ an rellll.iAla,1lbcW kl_ d~cn
oa:ur only berore bact voweb,aM,ln lbcsc few remain in, syllables, an applrently po51inltial
I has been reinterpreted pboooloJk:ally as u Inilial, as in Old Tibella Jdv ''serpeal deity"
:> New Tibellil (lJIua) /u !lither than O/Jaj ,. O.b.&.
 19
In some instances, Old Tibetan preserves the Proto-Tibetan ezl unchanged,
while various New Tibetan dialects occupy differe nt positions along the
hypothesized sequence of historical change. For Old Tibetan zw "moon" we
can set up Proto-Tibetan -Zla on the basis of Nung s;Ha, Digaro h"'a-hlo,
Vayu tI%, Burmese la, and 8ahing fa. We can hypothesize the sequence Old
Tibetan zia > New Tibetan lu1 > Ida > Nda > dil, with Balti lza, Ladakh ida,
Otuns-tien Ndo, Dbus da reflecting different stages of this change. We may
similarly sec such classical Tibetan doublets asz/tun-Idum "round" and 'lLA-
Na.t "pass" as reflections of the sequence zWm > lthun. and zl4 > -Ida >
.tid4, with the older form preserved alongside the newer. Even where the
sequence Ida > Nda is not attested in the texts, there is evidence for the
change in some New Tibetan dialects, where we find, for example, New
Tibetan (Lhasa) t£NtJON <Nbras-Idfoiis> "Sikltim," tJ/gNti <phyag-lde>
" key," kuNta <sku-zfa> "spouse," chima <klryi-zfa> "dog month."

Another' apparent exception to the slot-filler constraint that only the glides
1 and r occur poslinitially is the occasional appearance in classical Tibetan
words----such as fwa "hat"----(lf <w> written as a bottom graph, called wa-zur
Mcorner w" by the Tibetan grammarians. This orthographic convention
apparently distinguishes such pairs of words as .ria "fish" iiwa "leg muscle,"
fUll "root" ruwa "grass," Lf "eat" twa "nettle," ra "sheepfold" rwa "horn,"
III "mountain pass" fwa "woolen blanket," Ia "flesh" Iwa "deer," and TSIIA
"be hot" uhwa "salt." But, at least after the ninth century, it is difficult to say
what phonetic feature--if any at all--is reflected by this orthography.11. We
find occasional classical doublets such as grwa-gru "edge" and rwa-tu
" hom," but with little consistency. Nor does etymology seem to help our
inquiry: a semantic relation between Ia "flesh" and Jwa "deer" seems
apparent; between ra "sheepfold" and TWa "horn," or roa "root" and rtswa
"grass.," seems poS5ible; but between fa " mountain paS5" and lwa ''woolen
b\anket" seems remote at best.

This apparent postinitiaJ w occurs only before the nucleus a in classical

12 In.1 leasl some instances lbe bottom Iraph <: ... > appears 10 be • purely IfIphic
<XnIYCftlion. 1ft ambilUOUS JllIphic sequences which IcprC$Cnl syllables willl lhe vowel '"
...tIere no oven vowellrapll marks tile oenler graph, as in <dgs> or <dAs>, a bollom graph
< ... > will be used 10 Indicale the oenler ".ph-for example, oogs <d"'Dp> as opposed 10
..,. or dDAJ <lfwDllf> as opposed 10 dIiDs.
80 THE CLA'iSICAL TlOcrAN WOUAGE

Tibetan, This skewed distribulion--that is, occurrence only before a back

spread vowel--can be accounted for historically. First. postinitial w does not
seem 10 occur before rounded vowels in any Tibcto-Burman language, and
therdore presumably did nOI occur before rounded vowels in Prolo-Tit>eto-
Burman; thus Tibetan would not have inherited any sequences of the form
-WQ or -WIL Second, where postinitial HI occurs before front vowels in other
Tibelo-Burman languages, we find poslinitial y in Tibetan-for example,
Burmese pw~, Lushei bui, but Old Tibetan by; "rat." Burmest khwe, Lushei
ui, Kanauri Jrui, Chepang kw;, Kachin gui, Mha aJrui, but Old Tibetan Ichyi
"dog," Burmese /cywe, Trunggui, Chepanggoy, but Old Tibetan sky; "edible
root." Thus we may hypothesize that PrOio-Tibetan ·bwi > Old Tibetan by;
"rat," Prolo-Tibetan *khwi > Old Ti~lan khy; "dog. and Proto-Tibetan *slew;
> Old Tibetan skyi "edible root," or, more generally, Proto:ribelan *-w- >
Old Tibetan -y- poslinilially before a front vowel; thus Old Tibelan would no
longer have any inherited sequences of Ihe form -wi or -we. This would leave
postinilial w only in syllables with the nonrounded non front vowel a.

In this position, in the ninlh centu!)" <w> in the bottom graph position
apparently did represent somelhing very much like a postinilial w. On Ihe
Sino-Tibetan treaty pillar of 821 we rind Middle Chinese *kwak transeribed
in Tibetan writing as <kwag>, Middle Chinese *kwaii as <kwaii>, Middle
Chinese *kuan as <kwan >, Middle Chinese ~an as <hwaii >. Middle
Chinese *iiyw:»1 as <Ngwall >, and Middle Chinese "ywc.ii as <)'Wen >. Other
examples arc found in ninth-century manuscript Iranseriplions of Chinese
Buddhist texts, where we find Middle Chinese *thua; transcribed as <,ilwa>,
Middle Chinese *L')'WCII as <tIwnn>, Middle Chinese ·nuui as <Ngwe>, and
Middle Chinese ~wi as <fw;>.

The wa-zur continues 10 be written in what appears 10 be orloma lOpoeia as

well. In the epic (If Ge-sar we fil.d, ior c:tample, khro-il!uii -gis yar mar bar
gsum·!a lew; swo 111'10 gsum byas "Khro-thufi said the three syllables kwi swo
hwo upward, downward, and in between,"!) and khra-phug ni-ma ran Jar-la,
khra·pas kwi lewi zer·!a·n',n, khm·m!Js bswo bswo ler-sa rlas "In thl': Cave of

Il The cries would be iU.-ot..l\101U of Ihe fiul "g<lI.ls" .boYe. the k..'u "$Crpcnt dcil!c$"
below•• nd Ihe b'~4n "spir\lS" upon the ~lIrfa.;.c of lbe un h. rap«livciy.
 81

Hawks the sun rose: the male hawks cry kwi kw~ the female hawks cry bswo
b1WO •• •"

However. at some point after the ninth century, the wa-zur, in its usual
position after the vowel a, apparently ceased to reflect any phonetic feature
of the syllable. and became a graphic device to distinguish cenain homo-
phones. This certainly seems to be the situation throughout New Tibetan. For
example. we find New Tibetan (Lhasa) Ia <1a> "moiSl\nc" Jo <:twa>
"hat," tsa <rua> "TOOt"l.Sa <l'UWa> "grass," ra <ro> "sheepfold" TO <rwa>
"hom," sa <zo> "cat" sa <zwa> "ncttle," tsha <lIha> "be hot" uha
<tshwa> "salt." lho <gra> "preparation" rho <po> "corner." Nott also
the alternative spellings of the same word bd da-Ichyi-fwa.lchyi> " hunting
dog" and lhilfiJul' <daii·kiJ-dwaii·k.a> "appetite."

It is by their l)lliIbks thllt word! juxtRfOU in beauty, by these

ptvri+kr of sounds lIS eletJrJy lIS by the unst of the rxw4s .,hi&h
they """/JClU . ... The jilUntSJ, and the praetite, lie hnoe, at
uu mi,,;mum anA suuree of Ipmh . ... I14Y the rjlJ4bk, kt'"i!,
tuUI thlll it is spontlUW1Ul, this .,ay: the ".r, the tar .,hi,h hAS
eoIJ,eetul, .,Jnt,h hIlS JiJwuJ, the ear, .,h"h is 10 elme UJ the
mind that it is the ",i,ui'l, th.t it hlU the mind's Ipeed ...

-Charles Olson.
Projective Ven-e

3. CO.QCCURRENCE CONSTRAI NTS

.
3.1. CONSTRAINTS ON POSTlNITlALS

3.1.1 Postinltia) ..,.

Postinitial y is found in Old Tibetan only in the clusters gr, Icy. thy, by. py.
pIry, and my. This distribution can be accoun'-ed for fairly simply by the
following hypothC5is about Proto-Tibetan. Let us assume that the consonam
inventory of Proto-Tibetan consisted just or velar. dentnl, and labial stops and
82 THE Cv.ssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

fricatives~-that is, ~ Ie, kh, ii, d, t, til, n, $, Z, b, Po ph. m-and, perhaps, the
affricate clusters -dz, ts, Ish. Let us assume that every one of these conso-
nants could be palatalized by postinitialy. And let us assume that, when such
palatalization occurred, the following changes e\lentually took place--ny >
n, -dy > dl, -ry > 8 , ·thy > ~h, -ny > n, -.1)' > I, "%)' > t, ~ > dl, -t.sy
> tI, -uhy > 11h. These changes are nalural ones, and the hypothesis would
account for two things-the fact that Old Tibetan has palatal affricates and
fricatives; and the fact that, in Old Tibetan. the consonants tbat had
undergone this change in Proto-Tibetan are precisely the ones that now can
no longer be palatalit.ed.'4

There is some evidence to support this hypothesis. For example, we find

Burmese s~ Vayu SU, Phunoi S1, Altha s~ Mpi 1,:), Garo masi "know," and we
can hypothesize a PrOlo-Tibetan ·st's > ·Jyt's > Old Tibetan .fES "know."
Similarly, we find Burmese sa, Phunoi sa, Bi5u ?aiisa, Mpi lasa, a5 well a5

14 1be hypolhe5ized changes are "natural" ones in IWO senses. First, a clulnge from a
palatalized dental 10 a palatal affricate or fricative is flO( uncommonly found in a va rie ty of
lan,,,,ges. Second, the hypothesized change seems 10 have continued into modern times,
spreadin, from the dentals and velar nasals into the velars and ]abials -for example, Old
Tibetan ~ ~ hundred ~ :>- New Tibcun (Galok) atyo (ObUS) dIa (Lhasa) CD, Old Tibetan
trYO/.po " kin," :>- New Tibetan (Amdo) atyo ..-u (DbUJ) d1.tpo (Lhasa) a:po, Old Tibetan Irhyi
"dog" :>- New Tibetan (Amdo) dh~ ([)bus) llhi (Lhasa) dJ~ Old Tibetan ltJryod "you" >
New Tibetan (AmekI) 11110 (Oolot) Ilh)'O ([)bus) tJM (Lhasa) cM . Old Tibetan b)'Il " bird"
:>- New Tibetan (Amdo) la (Golok) ft)'{J (Obu) 1/4 (Lhasa) 11M, Old Tibelan phyogs ''sIde''
:>- (Amdo) Jor (Uao) plo ( Dbus) 11110 (Lhasa) I1ho, Old Tibetan phyug_po "ric;h > New
H

Tibetan (Derce) IuJqHJ (Llao) pJbp6 (Dbus) IIhulcpo (Lhasa) dhulcpu. Of COUI'SC, this
devtlopmenl of palata l ooMOnanl$-stops (c, ch). fricatives (I, /1), and affricates (pl, Il, I.l'h)
-does not OIXYr in t!'lt same way in uc;h dialecl, or, indted, in every word in uch dialtCl,
For example, in Amdo we find Old Tibetan kilyi "oog" :>- New Tibetan (Alndo) dhll but Old
Tibetan Ichyim "ho\l5C" > New Tibetan (Amdo) Ichytirl. Old Tibetan rgyoI-po "kin," > New
Tibetan (Amdo) atyo_ but Old Tibelan bry;;;u " hundred" > New Tibetan (Am<JO) 1JO'Il. In
Ladakh, patatalized labials have, ,enerally, booomt patatal affricatts, but palatalized velaD
have not; we find Old Tibetan pllyop "side" > New Tibetan (La4akh) I1hoIu but Old
Tibetan khyim "bo\l5C" :>- New Tibetan (Ladakh) khyim. Old TIbtun spyod "action" :>- New
Tibetan (l.a4akh) l/ol bUI Old Tibtun Ikytnu "libation" :>- New Tibetan (Ladakh) skytrru,
Old Tibtun b)WI "nonh" :>- New Tibttan (l...adath) aDII but Old Tibetan '!)'lUI "ornament"
> New Tibetan (Ladakh) ~-yet compare Old Tibetan Ibyill "&ihH :>- New Tibetan
(l.aukl'l ) dill with Old Tibel. n phyi "oul'lide" :>- New Tibeun (udakh)pIU. Dc::spile all this,
lbe u;ndc:ncy remains clear, and palatalizatiol has ronlinued 10 spread both pilonolo,ically
and, .PP'lrently, 1txka1ly.
 83

Bahlng rye. Sangpang sya. Kanauri Jya, Magari miJia, Nung fa, Lushei la
"meat," and we can hypothesize a Proto-Tibetan -.rya > Old Tibetan 10
"meat." Similar hypotheses can be made for some nasals-for example,
Burmese iia, Lisu iiwd, Akha na, Mpi no, Lepcha no, Tsangla iia, Kachln na,
Lushei hiia, Bodo na-no, Chepang iio-iia "fISh," and thus Proto-Tibetan
-nya > Old Tibetan no "fish," and Burmese Ma, Lisu ,ijwa, Alma iia, Nung
,iiQ "borrow," and thus Proto-Tibetan ·nya > ·,-iiya > -b-riiya > Old Tibetan
BRNA "borrow."

Similarly. given Burmest Ish~ Nung lsi, Kacbin diu. Dimasa si-di (dj "water"),
Lahu dti "urine," we can hypothesize Proto-Tibetan -LSi > "-tsj > '"gt.Jyi >
Old Tibetan 001 "urinate"; given Burmese ishii. Lisu tshi, Mha uui "pinch,"
we can perhaps hypothesize Proto·Tibetan -Ishir > -uhyir > Old Tibetan
rtlllR "squeeze"; giverr Burmese swan "pour out," Garo sol-an, Dimasa dj·sor
(di "water"), Kechin Ion "flow," Lepcha dhor "the pouring of W'olter," we can
hypot.hesize Prolo-Tibetan ·tsyuar > Old Tibetan 110R "overflow."

There are also a few examples that allow us to hypothesize Proto-Tibetan

palatalized dental stops. We find Owags th4 Gurung ti., Zhang-zhung rig.
Rgyarong k~iag, Chingtang thu, Rai thik-pu. Nung Ih4 Burmese tats "one,"
and thus Proto-Tibetan ~ig > ~ig > Old Tit>ctan gtJig "one"; we find
I>-Nags then-bo, Gurung theN-ba, Rgyarong .klh4 Kukish de4 Kanauri Ie, Miju
.ta4 Nung thl; Mikir the "big," and thus Proto-Tibetan ·the > ·thye > Old
Tibetan 1111E "be big."

There is, moreover, some indirect evidence for the hypothesis, which is, I
think, in some ways more persuasive than the comparative evidence just out·
lined. In the classical lexicon we can find pairs of words with related-and
occasionally identical-meani ngs wbich differ only in that one of the pair has
an apparently palatalized initial and the other does not-for example, SKOR
"surround, encircle, enclose, ride round" and SKYOR "repeat, recite by heart,"
CON "put on, wear" and GYaN "put on, wear," NPIIO "change place, shift,
migrate" and NPllYO "range, roam about, gambol," 80 "pour out, spill over"
and BYO "pour out, pour into another vessel," and perhaps even SI'O "remove
from office, dismiss from employment" and SPl'O "blame, scold."u

I} Note also NKHOR "'lIrn rOllnd, CO abo~' in a circle" and HKJrroR "reet, uauer, mw
",be targcl~ an~, perllaps, NKJfYAR "err, deviate, CO asltay," GA6 "cover, prolect~ and lKYAJI'
84 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

Whatevt:r the semantic function of this palataJization-and that is certainly

rar from clear--we find the same pattern in alternating dental and palatal
initials: thus, (Of example, where we find suI "funow, channel, groove" and
IuJ "track, rut, furrow," parallel to NPHO "change place, migrate" and NPHYO
"range, roam about," we can similarly. hypothesize!ul < Pro~Tibetan ~
Note the following pain 85 well--.t.4L "remove, clear away, cleanse" and 8ttL
< -bsyol"rinse, wash of(, cleanse," zabs "depth" and labs < ~abs "bottom,
lower end, foot," OZIGS "see, look at, regard" and aho < ~ "examine,
search, try," DZUGS "stick into, pierce, insert, plant, set" and Dt.UG < .dzyug
"inject, put into," THull "be short" and 'rlHuR < ·thyuii "be small," thun
"gatherer" and tPwn-po < tttJ,yun-po "bunch, bundJc," THAG "grind, pulver-
ize, mash" and TiHAG < ·thyag "become broken, be broken off," N71lAM
"grasp, embrace, join, t o and f'{7i11AJl < ·Nthyam "accord, agree," gter
"treasare" and mER < ·b~r "heap up, pile up," UlAG ·.'Iick" and Wags <
e/dyags "tongue," GooNs "desire, long for, feel pain" and Ndtuiit-po < eNdyunr
"avarice," MNAL "sleep" and HAL < enyaf "slt:ep," sne "end, extremity" and
sne < esnye "spike of wheat," nar "oblong" and nar < enyur "oblong."

3.1.2. Postinitial -r-

The distribution of )X»tinitial r is more complex than that of postinitial y.

P05tinitial r is found only in the clusters kr, Ichr, gr. dr. pr, phr, br, and sr. In

"protect, defend, save," dbar "SOlitude, )onelines.s, IICplIllition" and dbyt'A ~difTerence. schism.
d iscord," rlwil'JNl "(OOt" and RXYAN "strelcll forth, extend, 5tk:k out."

In several of tl\e$e pairs we rind an altemation belWeen a vowel II in the unpalaUilized fonn
and tbe vowel t in the palatalized form_for cump1e. SICAAt "be dry" and lX'Y£M "be thirsty,"
·mkhmf "PERSON SItiU£D IN':' and MKHY;EN "know." CM ''split, deave, divide" and Gl'£
"divide, scauer. disperse," GAL "load, lay on a burden, put on" al'Kl SGlU " put down, throw
down, overturn" a nd Gl'U "ran, stumble;' 0G.4 "tejoicc" and DGl'£S " rejoice.." It is possible,
or muISe. Ihat in Ihese cases Ihe palaUilizalion is 5CCXlndary to the fronl vowel, and Ihe
vowel alte rna tion is the prima,'Y proccs.s; It would be parsimoniollS, on the oll~r hand, 10
daim Ihat the front vowel is secondary to tile palaUiliudon, especially before a front tinal
mllSOnant , In either case. the proccs.s was nol regular: under tbe tirst trypotbe:siS we would
e.tpect to find emdM instead of the actWlI nliM "thumb"; unde r lhe second hypothes is we
would ~t to find ·SKYE/J instead or the aClual SKYAB ··protect." In eitller cue, tile "nature
o f tbe derivational pr0CU5 Is 1l0 t clear, l lllS tbe prote\S ilSelf apparelltly no Iollger
productive by the time of Old Tibetan.
 8S
FDCra!, postinitial r does not occur after nasais, and has aU but disappeared
after fricatives,l'

Actually. po5linitial r is in fact found after the nasals nand m, but very
iDfrequendy. It is found after n only in the cluster snr and in only three words
of extremely (are occurrence and specialized usc. The cluster snr occurs in
me astronomical terms mron and sNUbs, which arc: translation of the Sanskrit
-.mel of two--jyqrhQ and milhl--of the 28 NJlqIJtra "lunar mansions" of
~ic astronomy, and which are not commonly found even in Tibc':lln astro-
nomical texts; and in the word snrel-g!i "topsy-turvy," a translation of Sanskrit
yYIlIYaStO. the name of one of the subcontinents in Indian Buddhist speculative
aeography. Postinitial r is found after m only in the cluster SrnT in just a single
but common word SMRA "speak" and its derivatives, and even there it is quilt

I' P05tinllial r ts 100 found in Old TIbeUn in the cluster" in I few loanwords-for
~pie, IJ'i-Ju Minde n," < Sanskrit Il'ifD/D-and in a Im.1I number of words, such as trom-
,. "toup" alld t70tI "diligence;" of uncertai n provenance. See also the onomatopoek Ihrig-
*ir "SOlJEAXlNO OF SHOES_"

TDere Is reasoll to believe that, in I few cases, po5tinitial , . her stop initials Mel
_tathestz.o:l to prelnitial position before the time ~f Old Tibetan. As in many lanpages-
br cample, English ....lUp < Old English ....«Sp- ....ot!'S < IndO-European ~I-wopl-this
. . .thesis was sporadk: .nd laeme-spccirlc. For example, where we find Burme.f; mroli,
~roD' bro-mbto, ""chin bunroli, Mpi nI)U.II " lIorse," we caD hypothesize Proia-Tibetan
~ > Old Tibetan nn4R " hone" by mcu.thesis; si milarly, &Nen Burmese IcJaroA, Mildr
..tid\, lushei lhliA "marrow," we can hypothesiu ~rolo-Tibetan -A;Ta,II > Old TibeUin ItaIi
". .now," and, g.iven Burmese Ivou, Lusllci rial "cight," we can hypothesize PrOlD-Tibeun
~ > Old TibeUin bfJYOd "cight," In faa, Illis me talllc:sis appe.ars to have occurred in
C\l'ery fueh preiniti.],., duster in PretD-T ibetan: we find Burmese krui, LUlihei hnJj "suinS,"
ad ItIw PralD-Tibetan ~ > Old Tibetan ~ ''suing''; . nd , using Lcpcha matcri.Is,
Lepcha /Imp IDd thlD PrOID-TibeUin "Jryab > Old l'ib(:Uln ROY.... "throw," as well as Lcpcha
"" .00 ItIus Pralo-Tibetan ~ > "rA:ia > 014 Tibetan ~ wlbin," Lcptha kryoIc .nd Illus
Proto-Tibetan -lao > Old Tibetan rlco "hoc," and perhaps even Lcpcla Ia)'OiI "praise" .Ik
thus Prolo- Tibetan ~ > Old Tibetan Rm'AN ''st retch, extend."

In !be dasslcal JeDoon too there are _fal word pairs lugestin, that such metatbe5is has
tatea pIaoc-RG.C "be old" IIGRE < '"b-p Wgrow old," rdum-po "miimcd" GRIN " CUI off,
k>p off," /lGAL "pass over, ClOSS, fOrd" SORA/. wcarry across, IralUpon." In at least one text
1 have found this last pair used in ""ttlt ap~n to be word play: instead of the usual
lonDuialion of tbe bodhisalM YOW, in a.pter 29 of the Tibe~n translation of the
KI1!rmMtullhlwe find bdag rJrll'fID$ ~all tgrol-IJjg " May I, bavin~ crossed aver, ClIfty albers
~'"
86 THe Cl..AssJ:CAL TIBETAN ~OUAOE

unltable: it Ihifts to syllable final position. in SAWl "speak"; it metathesizel

to premilia] position, in the doublet PrW-mags-nno-siiags "waiIin& lamen-
tation"; and, historically, Old Tibetan SMRA "speak" > New Tibetan (Ladakh)
pFUI (Khams) Ina (Dbus) rna (Ulasa) mil. In this word it ID8)' be that we
have a single frozen remnant of an otherwise ICocral cbanJe of Proto-
Tibetan -mr > Old Tibetan br-----for example, lCanauri mnr. Bunncse "9'11
"much, many," and thus Proto-Tibetan .fI1IG > Old Tibetan MA:"'be mudl";
Burmese rnyui"seed," Kachin m)U-im)'U "kind, 1Ort, tnb;" and thus Proto-
Tibetan otmn. > Old TIbetan Nbtu " grain, seed.""

There is also evidence lhal, at one time, postinitial , occurred after I as wen
as after 'I, but that. by the time of Old Tibetan, the cluster ~ had simplified
to I in every instance--for example. BURan lrig. Kanauri rik. Nuna Ii. Lisu
hrrh "louse," and thus Proto-Tibetan -lrig > Old Tibetan Iig "Jouse"; Bunan
frog. Nung$N'Q, Burmese hrak, Mikir durak "shame," and thus Proto-Tibetan
-1mg > Old Tibetan .tw "confess. to The cluster ~, on the other h~ did
not similarly besin to change until after the time of Old Tibetan: we find Miri
simtn, Kachin INam, Nung SNOm, Mik.ir urim "otter," and thus Proto-
Tibetan ·srom > Old Tibetan sram "otter"; Sunan lriiis, Manchati ivin.
Chamba Lahuli hriN, Dhimal rima, Kanauri riiiz "sister," and thus Prot.,
Tibetan • .triii > Old Tibetan sriii·mo "sister."tl

17 Apparelltly tbe metathesis ·mr > ",. exempted Proto-Tibetan -m.~ > Old TIbetal1
rmGiI Nborse" from tbis chance.

II Tbe writlen form <sriiI> Ippean In I remarkable ninlb«lIllIry manuscript from In

on-lOtr 111 I prrison in Khalan, oontainin, the earliest OCC\IrrelM:e I haYC JCea of I well·
kAown epitbet-llal!.nU'e.po bJlnn ·1D·n ~.'I)'OI'I J.Ift)OfI.tJ,g, 1riII"iO'O" IJUII- ",.,..UId.ptI
"hlleriot" Minister Bltan·lo-re Is a I;nIZY moll\erflKter, a s,isterfwcter, In Insatiable drunk. M

After tunber oommenlS on the minister's qllalincations, tbe wrilCr recommeocls his transfer
10 Sin.sall, apparently a Ie$s desirable post.

When the Old Tibetan cluster Jr did bc:&in LO cllanae-while, ot OlllrSo:, tbe "fIITillea fonD
<sr> Olnlinucd IIl1chanJCd-it clllngcd in two tuDl1amentally differeal WII~ Fml. tile
ctuster"Jr dc¥c:loped h' several dialOC\llnto a IlnCIe fric;atiYC. 111 c:cIIlral Tibet, for allaple.
we find thai l' > J, parallel 10 the earlier -17 > .f -tlllll Old TIbetall. STIU "loa" > New
Tibetan (Dblll) u. Old Tibc:l.In VOf "life" ;> New TIbetall ~) IDk. 0kI Tibetal1 POI
" tradition " > New Tibellll ([)bus) IA In l...adakll we QOrIJIstc:ntiy ftQd l.bal sr ;> I-Ib... Otd
Tibel.ln R"Of "life" > New Tibc:Llft (U4akll) I0Il:. Old Tibeta. "'" "lndltD" ;> New
Tlbel.ln (UclakJI) 101. Old Tibeun JTGIH"" "peas" > New Tibe .... n ~k!I) ,."... AIId
SYlUBLES 87

3.2. CONSTRAINTS ON PREINITIALS

There are, in Ok! Tibetan, constraints which limit the co-occ:urtence of

preinitials and initial$: we find, for example, Hph but not -mph, gt but not -sP,
b/.s but not -b/.sh. The most general constraints on the C(K)CCurrence of
preinitials and initials can be summarized in the following chart:

STOPPED "'",,,,,,.
O>W. "MAL

VOICED UNVOICED ASP1RA'JED

NONSTOPP ED + + - + -
ORAL + + - + +
STOPPED

"""AL + - + +

in AmOo We find., wilh some c:u:cptions. Iha! Jf :> 1, > I-thUS Old Tille.an srab "brldle"
:> New Tibetan (Amdo) ]rtlp, Old Tibetan sruil "prole<,;t io n" ;> New Tibetan (ArntJo) lui\,
Old Tibetan srtut,mo "peas" :> New Titlelan (Amdo) ul1I7Ia.

Second, and perhaps more intcrcuin&- in several dialccU the ,Juster JF developed an
epc nlh.ctic t, and thUS, in these dialocll, sr :> 'IT- fo r (!(ample. Old Tibetan srin.rHO "siMer"
:> New TIbetan (Purik) srriilmo (Balli) strinmo (Kllams) minmo, Old Tibcl~n STaIl ·rna "peas"
:> New Tibetan (Khams) Sfranma, Old Tibelall srab "bridle" :> Nt:w Tit>elall (Pu rik ) slrap
(Balti) mob.

As _ have ~n before, however, Tibetan dialectology does not often yield lleat WIU IKlIlS.
In Lhasa City, for aample, so me words, as 5poken by 50me speakcn. 5how tbe same c~ange
sr :> s as found in Dbus-Ihus Old Tibela~ s,al "son" :> Nt....... Tibeta n (Lhasa) st, Old
Tibetan sral "tradilioll" > New Tibetan (Lhasa) so. Old Tibc:lan slid "dominion" > New
Tibelan (Lhasa) si. Some words show a consistent initial r.
presumably from the regular
challle Sf > ·StT > {-thus Old Tibetlll Jrl21l'ln(J "pca$ " > New Tibc:tan (Lhasa) ·sIToonta
:> !UIff14 And 50me words sllow I n Ii ternat ion-by spea ker? by wtiaJ .c l~? by formalily
of spe«h Situalioll?-berween initial s Jnd initiJ I !-thus Old Tibc:~an STab "brid lc~ > New
Tibelall (Lhasa) up-r¥ < °SITab, Old Tibeu ll sram "oller" :> Nt.."';' Tit>c:tan (Lhasa) sllm -
lam < ·stram, O ld Tibetln sras·mo "daughter" > New Tibet;tn (Lhasa) scmo-Icmn <
·Jfras·mOl, Old Tibetall SRQ "make ....arm~ > New Tibetan (Lha.u) SO-10 < ·f/fO.
88 TIII3 CI.ASSICAL Tlll e rA.N lANG U.... GE

Thus, as a general rule, the nonstopped preinitiais r·, 1-, and s- a~e found
before stopped initials of all classes except aspirated stops; but within those
larger classes there are furthe r constraints on the nonstopped preiniliais
which are idiosyncratic and appare ntly not governed by general rule: we find
~_.~_~ •• ~m~ __ ~_.~ __ m~

not ·slI, and so on. The following table summarizes these gaps in the
application of the genera l rule:

VQICEUSS VOICE!) NASAL

, , , ii N •
K
" " G D Dt D' N

m
"
Ik "I, Ip I" "' ~
I, "' "" '" "" "
W
,d
"l! riO riO ~

" " 'P '" " " " " " 5 '"

Tn"lt 7. Vistribuli(HI of Iht 11fH'.JI<JppW p'ciniriolJ r _, '" lind s-

Similarly, as a general rule , the non-ntlsai ~ t {) rpcd prt:i nitials b-and G- occu r
bdore initials of all dasst;S except a~p;ra1ed stops; btU the ir co-ocr.:urrem;c
with particular initials within those <:lasses is governed l1y furthe r rult's. T he
following tahle summarizes these co-occUirencc ~o n s cra i nl s:

VOICELESS VQlCEll Fl<ICA Il Vr- N,\.... AI.

, , , • , , , , •
"," " "
N N
G
"', " lJZ
,,
N

I ~, I
d, , gd
" an '"
,I 1\;; I

, '" '"
Ii'

.
""
'" " '"
I dp
J b, , '" " " " " • • • •
J
I I I rim

TobIt 8. DUrributiOtl of tht orol jfOPfHd pnillililllJ b· and G-

The numbers in the unfilled .spaces on Table 8 indicate the following rules
governing the e ~ ceptions to the general distribution of b· and G· preinitials:

I Preinitia! G- undergoes GRAWn' D1~;SlMlu.nON to become g. before

acute initials and d- bef~1Te Krave initials.
 89

1 Prcinitial b· and G- do not occur, for reasons I do not know, before

dle voiced affricate initials d1 and dz.

3 1Wo IabiaJ COI'ISONUUI do not occur together in the same onset cluster.

" Pre initial b- does not OCCW' before nasal initials.

Similarly, . . . Jeneral rule. the nasal preinitials m· and N- occur befofe

aspirated. votced, and nasal initials; but, again, : their co-o;.::currcpcc with
pu1icular initials within those classes is &ovemed by fianher odes. This
diltribution illummarized in 18ble 9:

ASPIRATED VOICED NASAL

"" '" "" ,

"" ..... I'H G D' D DZ
•, •... • ,
N N

.....
... .... ...'"'" ....
muh . mg
",. HI '..."'" "'"
"" .. .
""" "'"
• • • •
~

TGbk P. DiI~rioft of 1M NUM prtiniliDlJ m· IIItd N·

Apin. the numbers in the unfilled spaces on this chart indicate the rules
JO'ICmin& the: exceptions to the genenl distribution of rn- and N- preinlliais.
Rule 3 is as gi~n above; and, in addition.

5 Nasals cannot be pre nasalized.

3.3. STACKING CONSTRAINTS

Finally, there: arc: two constraints on the: co-occurrc:nce of preinitials and

poItinitialJ-the IJTIphic "stac"" of top, center, and bottom graphs. First, r
doeJ not OCC\Ir .. both pre- and postinitial in the: I&IDC syllabic onset: thus
we find, (or eumplc:. the onsets rky and skr but not ?rlu:. Second, the pre-
initial I doeJ not co-occur with any postinitial: thus we find, for example. II.:
but not ?Iky or ?Ikr. If .

tt M DClf at I call ftpre, DOl OOlllllin& IIIe prollkmalic l)1b.bk:I willi _..zw, lhere are
90 THe Cv.ssICAL TIBETAN Lo.N'OUAOB

4. DISYlLABIC STRESS GROUPS

A striking feature in the development of Tibetan has been an increasing

tendency toward DlSYllABlSM in word fonnation: there has developed .consid.
crable analogic pressure in the language for words-and even common
collocations ofwords-to constitute a single DlSYUABIC SJRESS OROUP, \lS\UlUy
with the primary stress on"the first syDable. One result of this tendency was
that NONSYLlABIC PORMATlVES seem early to have become less prodUClive
than SYI..u.BIC FORMATrVES, and what we here caU OlTTER DER[VA110N" re-
placed INNER DERIVATION as a means of creating new words. We thus find
cases in the classical language of two words with the same meaning derived
from the same source, but one by inner and one by outcr derivation-for
example, from ZA' "eat" both the older monosyllabic zas "(ood" and the later
disyllabic za-mJl "food," or from NA "be ill" both the older monosyllabic nad
"illness" and the later disyllabic nQ-ba "illness. ,,20

There are several ways in which new disyllabic stress groups can come to be
formed. A syllabic formative added to an existing monosyllabic word will yield
a disyllabic stress grou~or example, md4 "arrow" md4-pa "archer," RG~
"be victorious" rxYoJ-po "king," lha "god"'ha-mo "goddess." Sometimes such
syllabic formatives as these appear in Old Tibetan to have been added to an
existing monosyllabic word with no semantic effect at all-that is, without

Ihus m possible syllable Ol\SCts in the classical language, including the smooth YOCalic
ingrCM Of absence of consonanl Ol\SCt; rrve pouible syllable nuclei; and 1-4 possible syllable
codas, co unting .11 optn syllables lIS o~c. ncre are thus 1-4,630 possible syllables in the
classical lan,UlJC. only M>me of which are actually paired with meanings. We an Ihll$
distingllish between syllables such as b$1)W a nd mu'lO .... hk:h. are not ev<n potenlially Tibetan
words. and syllables such u Nfib or dpyofp, .... hich Ire potentially Tibetln words, but which
- fo rill itousiy-tlave not been laicalizcd IS part of the language.

20 There are , in addition, several $OurccS of TlI.ISY1..UJJISM In the cLwical lats. Much
onomatopoe~ in Tibetan poetry is trisyllabic-for example, ~·ru-rv "CAl..LlNO OF BIROS,N
lcho-ro-fO " SU7.2ING OF BEES." gytH7IIl-8)II "RVSIUNG OF A RIVER,"II<,II·se-hdl ~MonON .OF
A MOVtNG UORSE. N There arc also I few disyllabic fo rmarives which yiekl trisyillblcs- for
example, ·I'JIO-dht "BIG KlND OF," lIS in me " fire" mt-bo-tJhc "connagration:' or
-E-N
"ADJF.CI1VE," IS in GOO "bend" gug-~-/)(l " be.I.'· And trisyllables arc produced when mono-
syllabic formaliveS art added 10 aisling disyllables-for example, gda-bu "nakcc!" gdrr-bu·
ptl " naked ascctic,Nd~·sloli "monk" d~·JloIi ·mtJ "nun."
SVIIAUIJ-,S 91

' h;tn~ing meaning- hut apPilrcnil y u li ly tu form a disyllabic stress group_21

SimihLrly. it disyllahi.: strc~s !,":roup may he for med hy the juxtaposition of two
monosyllahic words. Sometimcs this jwtaposition crcates it ('"OMPOUND, which
I~ a new strc~s !;:fOUp with a new meaning- fo r eKample, gtam "speech" dpe
··p;lth.:rn, lIlo11d" J.:lllln·dpt' ·'proverh." mKo "hcad" SKOH "encircle" mgo-.~KnR
·· ..lcccive"- JIIIl\" < f! -/:'iAi\"-.~ "awakencd" 'X}'as < 8 -/{Gy.~-s "expanded" salLf'
?,....·/iJ ·'l3uo..ldha." [lut, again, sometimes such a juxtaposition is simply a
,'umhinalion of lWO synllnymous mnnosyllahlcs to form disy llable with no
dis,ernihk rh angc ,If mc ani ng--fur t':xa mpk.dri "scent" bsun "scent" dri-bsuii
"scent," .( /WJ "slrt':ngth" ,\ whs "stft':ngth " Sugt-stubs "strength:' sgra "sound,
\'oirc" .~kl/ll "sll'JIlli, voirc" xgm-skud "s()und, vo;ct':,"

!-'i n;llIy , ;1 disyllalli( strcss group may he fnrmed . by the reduction of

ptllysyllahil' wtl n.h allli l"\llltlCa t i'llls Ilf words 10 disyllabic stn::ss groups by the
ol\lb~i{\n of unstrcsscd .~yl1a hlcs. Once again, this reduction may produce a
ctllllpo und. a disyll;lhi, sa,s~ gr'lup sufficiently different from the sum of ils
l"Olll lloncnts III h' ,1 ncw word-fur cKampk. glaii "ox" tJhen.po "big" Rluii-
l.(iI('I1 " ,k:phl1n[," I'kyt-.lm "hirth" dmmq}() " low" skye-dmQII "woman," riii -po
"Iong" thw!·ha "~h(lrt" n·n ·tlllll! "le ng[h." Or Iht': Tt':ducliun may produce a

" F<or cx;lmpk. "'e filld Ilurmc.....: "'(It. Lushci ,-ok. Mpi "(J, Phuntli WId, Ncwni pht,
Ko"'hin ,,','? Mikil I>I,,,~, ~"d Ihu,' Pnll,,-Tlhoclall "phng :> 0 1": Til'lctan ph.:lg-pa "rig";
Ilurme><: I" NUll): .1.,111. B~hlll~ III, PhuII'" {JI(I, Di su hili. DigaJO hAa, a nd III LIli Proto·Tihct;,& n
' d a :> (\'d T,ho.·uII ,11I ' to" "' 11",,'n"'; BUrlllc.lc 11<', Lus hci ni, K.l~hin n~ Kanauri n~ N,:wa ri
~i. va", ni. Io\.;JrcII 11', Nu n/: 11;. ~lId lllu.I Pl lllll-Tlho.: l ~ 1I "11;:> '11'1:> "iii:> O ld Tibcllln iii·
11'" " ,un" : RU/IIIO:",' "'''. Lu,hc" ~II<, Lui" n,'_ alld thus Pruto-l"Ih..:lan "nu :> Old Tihctan nu·
nlll " 'm-;", "; Burm<'~c "1'/1111, K.lI:h in I,hu, v~ru bu, Mikil phu, Lu~hci pu. and Ih u~ P'<)III-
Tlhclan 'pilI< :> Old T' ''''I~n plJu .bo "ollkr brOlher"; Burml."Se a.ral1, Lu~ hci lin.. Guru lIg SI.".
Siyill dll1. ()h im ~I ,,;;_ M'lu '11)<'''_ ami Ihu. PrOio-Tibetan ' un:> OLd Tioctan J ..,,·11111
··ring",n;"I."' II ",·ha /a,· rO:f ll';c II r su,'h atfixC' Ihal Ih(.), a r ~ ca~ ily dlo (l(l..:<1 ill ,.;"m(ltlum.is <II
rllr nlh..:r pllm :ml~ rhy,hm'" rl'~s" "~-flll cumplc_lla.btJ "m"lln" bUI iii .Jla '".IU II ~nd m'~lfl"
anoJ :/" .,,,) " m'~>II II &h l:' 'm ·nlO '" fingc/n~i ' " bUI labs ·u" "\{)(lIai t " ~lIoJ u" -/ ,, ' ''WhiIC Spill
1111 lhc 1i1l)!c·rIlJ i t ."' A~ lIughl hoc CXpcclcd. lM grealci It,c M:malltic l!lad carrk:U hy ~ lIeh an
affi~. 1110: 10.1 c..lsil~ j, II ,,, di",;;mlC<J .

Of ""ur,..:, ",u,1I 'Illfi .•es ;..10: "" . "l'(~'ss~ flly pk"~JIlit cl"o:n "here thc ir runclion is o~lI rc :
""I" , r"r ~·,;a"lpk. ,I',,;; '" maIm","' "UI , t(J;; '/JIJ '" r,,,,,:' .I1'''n ".IiMing" hUI Jpun.pa "charr," K'"
" "".11" "UI ).'"""1<> "',·It",,,,·:' Jo.''''!N''' " r;"'lIIc" hUI !."'''1('''''' "~ nf." nl.-,:-pa "~Iep" bUI rd.-,:-po
"p JIII," ,,/ " Ii~hl" " lit ,. ,.",,, "":,m"'M '·· ~ nd ' ~I -Jl" "r""l<l."
92 TilE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

di~yllabic stress group with no apparent change of meaning from its

polysyllabic source-for example, sion-po "empty" -nitt "-NI;"~" lton.-nid
"emptiness," pod-mo "lotus" dk4r-po "while" pod-dlwr "white lotus," byoFi-
tIhub "enlightenment" sems "thought" byaFi-ut7U "thought of enlightenment ."
Such reductions we will call c UPS.

4.1. CLIPS

CUPS are frequently encountered in Tibetan. Some clips operate within tht'
boundaries of a single word: thus stoii-;iid < Sloi'i-po·ijjd "emptiness" is a
wmm c up. Some clips operate across word boundaries, but Mill within a
si ngle nominal: thus JXI~I-IJhen < par;uJifQ ((hen-po ' "great scholar" is a
NOMINAL CUP. And some clips operate across a no minal phrase houndary hut
still within a larger nominal or verbal phrase: thus byoii-sems < byan·uhuh·kyi
.fCmf "thought of enlightenment" is a PIIRASE C:UP. What all Tibetan clips
have in common is that they do nol cha nge meaning: a clipped wo rd or
phrase has the same meaning as the word or phrase from which it is derived.

4.1.1. W()rd clips

WQlm ('1.lPS operate within the boundary of a single word.U: Here we find
huth polysyllabic words reduced 10 disyllahles and disyllabic word~ red uced
to monosyllables for incorpora tion into further clips. Thus we find Silch
disylla bic wo rd clips as liii-NClzill < liii- iie-Ndzill "conte mpla tion," JlOii-iiid <
slOii-pu-nid "emptiness." byQii-.~eTTU < byaij-tIhub .~e"u·dfl(1 "bodhisil ltva,"IcKs-
bIad < I~-par bIad-pu "aphorism," rob-gnas < ruh-tu gnas-po "consecra-
tio n," bde-gIW < txJe-bar gJegs-pa " Well-gone One." t.~I!i~-hfIad < tshi/:HU
hllad-po " poetry," myaij-Ndas < mya-nan-Ias ",das-po "nirvana," siiiii-iie <
sijiii-doii iie-ba "friend,"

Where a disyllabic wo rd has been reduced to a monosyllable we often find

not only the elimination of the unstressed .syllable but a lso incorporation of

22 A5 we will d iscuss later." word iJ. more or leM, " 5Cm"ntic.ally c l ucc ntr k unit whether
si mlJle or compound. Th us nlJ " horse" is a word: $0 l\ m;ffi·ijt"'-/t1S ,..,1/>.<.po "ra!..~ in , h<.')'I.Jnd
:s<'rrll¥' - n'Na na."
SYLlABLES 93
some of its phonetic material into the stressed syllable. Such monosyllabic
word clips----or cmrrRAC11oNs-incluoe yig < yi-ge "writing," tIhog < tIho-ga
·'ritual." myan < mya-iian "suffering," rdor < rdo·nilt "vajra," Itr < Its-rab
"~;sdom," rag < ra·gan "hrass." bun < bu·fon "cash advance," tJhof < tIho-
10 "dice." Such contractions are oflen Ihen found as members of disyllabic
stress groups-for example, ra·gan "brass" but rag-bum "brast vessel," tIho-lo
"dice" but liii-r.fhoJ "wooden dice," bu·ram "sugar" but bur-lIon "bale of
sugar," bu·lon "cash advance" but bun·tho "register of debts."

4.1.2. Nominal clips

NOMINAL CLIPS operate across word boundaries but within a single nominal.
Thus we find rdo·sbom < rdo shom·po "heavy stone," pafJ·dhtn < paQ4iJa
tIhtn·po "great scholar," ban-IKan < bon-dt IKan·po "old pries!," Sban.Nlu:lm
< sbans slu:lm.po "dried dung," fun·stoR < fun-po ston-po "empty valley,"
gans-dlu:lr < gans dkllr·po "white glacier," dgun-sno < dguii sno·ba "blue
heaven," phyag-tJhtn < phyag-rgya tIhtn.po "Great Symbol," lehan-gog <
lehan.po gog.po "ruined house."

4.1.3~ Phrase clips

PIlRASE CUPS operate across one nominal phrase boundary but within the
boundary of a larger nominal or verbal phrase. There are four types of
phrase clip--cooRDINATE aJps' as in ri·fun < ri-dan fun-po "mountain and
valley"; ADNOMINAL CUPS, as in rag-bwn < ra-gan'JO'i bum.pa "brass vessel";
REI.A1lVE cups, as in nor-Idan < nor4an /dan.po "possessing wealth"; and
VERB CUps, as in Nbod-SKUL < Nbod-par SKUL "eidlort declaimingly." These
fOUf types will be treated separately' in the following sections.

4.1.3.1. CoonJinale clips

CooRDINATE aJPS are disyllabic reductions of nominal phraseJ whicb are

processed as having originally been joined by -dan "AND." Coordinate dips
frequently tonsist o( two nouns which are, in some way, semantically
coordinate as well-for example, gtlam·la < gnam-daii sa "heaven and
94 Ttm ~ICAL TIBETAN l...ANoUAGE

earth," Ia -tJhaii < Ja-dan. tIhaii "meat and beer," yon-ml/hod < yon-bdog-
dan. mtlhod-gnas "'ay patron and religious master," lo-pofJ. < lo-lSii·ba4an
pa')(/ua "translator and informant," skyabs-sems < skyabs-NgrO-dDii sems-skpd
"going for refuge and awakening the thOl:ght of enlightenment." ~-bsod <
uhe-dan bsod-nams "life and merit," rgyoJ-b/on < rgyal-po-daii b/on-po "king
and minister." Coordi nate clips occasionally consist of similarly coordinated
adjeclives-for example, dkar-gsal < dkar-po-daii &Sal-po "while and dea!'","
ldlaii-gton < Idfaii-gu-dan gton-nu "green and fresh."n

4.1.3.2. Adnomina! clips

ADNOM1NAl cu}'s art: disyllabic reductions of nominal phrases which are

processed as having originally been joined by the subordinating adnominal
particle -KYi. Adnominal clips frequently consi'st of two nouns of which the
first modifies the scrond- for example, sen.phrug < sen·gei phrug.gu "!ion's
cub," sog.lham < sog·poi Iham "Mongol boots," gser·me < gsu·gyi me-tog
"golden flower," gsus·nad < gSIlS'pili nad "disease of the stomach," ItIags·
sgrog < ltIags-ky; sgrog "iron fetters," Nphren.mog < Hphren·bai mog·po "beads
of a rosary." Adnominal dips also consist of an adjective modifying a
following noun. Such adjectives may be primary-for example, blun-gtam <
hiUlI·poi glam "foolish talk," dkar-zas < dkar·poi zas "white food," nag·sran
< /lag .poi sral,·ma "black beans," blan-spyod < blan.poi spyod·pa "good
conduct," dkotl ," or < dko/l·poi lIor "precious wealth"; or they may be derived
- fo r example, slie'Nbol < siie·ba; Nbol "pillow to rest o n," Nbri·smyug < Nbri·
hai smyug·ma "writing pen," slon·rkyen < slon·boi rlcyen "instigating cause,"
Ndfu,slObl" < Ndtu·boi Slobs "digestive power," Ndlug.sgo < Ndlug-pai sgo
"e ntry door."

4.1.3.3. Relative clips

Rf:tATIVI, aJPS are disyllabic reductions of nominal phrases which are pro-

21 While Clips usually select messed syLlables as their components, a rew coordinate dips
tlcpa rt rrom thi s pattern - gsal·sloi! <: od·gsal-dtln sloi!·pa·;W "~r LiCht and Emptj~"
(hut note b<U·stoi! <: tHk ·tJhm-dllii sloil·pa ·iiid "Oreal Bliss and EmpliI\e:iloS bl/alMhllg <:
M
),

IShiKS·bl~tMt·daif Ihug·ma "poetry and prose." t!pOft-Slob <: slob-dpott-dDlt s/ob·_ Mmaster.OO
diKiple." bsag·sbyail <: fshogs·bsag-daii sdig'Jby<1n ",ainin, merit .nd c!eansln, si n."
 95

cessed as baving originally been a proposition, with verb and one participant.,
relalivized by the nominalizing panicle ·Pa and functioning as the modifier of
some head-for example, yid-myos < ,id-'
myos-pa "confused," t1'IIshon-gdeii
< nwIton·, grkii-ba "brandishing a weapon," sdig-yod < sdiB-pa-1I yod-pG
"having sin," HtWd-mat < Hdod-pa-B med-pa "without desire," !dod-bral <
Ndotij'tl-daii bral-bo "free from desire," nor-ldon < nor-dllii /dan-I'" "pos-
sessing wealth,.. NIcJwr·b&s < Nkhor-ba-daii blJus-pa "along with a retinue,"
de-Ndra < de-daii Ndra·btJ "like that," IIhan·bz; < IIhaii-gis bzi-ba "drunk on
beer," 'X)'M-blQb < rgya-s blab-pa "sealed with a sea~" siion-HgrO < .Jiion-du
Hgro-ba "preliminary," rdIes-skya < rdIes-su skyt.s-pa "subsequent,"

4.1.3.4. ~rb clips

VERB CUPS are disyllabic reductions of verb phrases which are processed as
having originally consisted of a verb modified adverbally by a preceding
nominalized ver~ror example, Nichytr.oN < Nlchyer-bar oR "come carrying,"
nu-BOD < iiu·bQr BOD "exclaim while weeping," Nbog-nm < Hbog-par nlll
"drop down dead," gsog-DUO < gsog-par DUO "put aside hoardingiy," Nbod-
SKUL < Nbod-par SKUL "exhort declaimingly," rkyQI-/usE < rkyQI-bQr /USE
"amuse oneself by swimming," gsod-mm < gsod-par tl,.w "cut down
murderously."

4.2. SYLlABIC CYCLES

A5 we will see, there is reason to believe that some Tibetan syllables are in
fact compressions of earlier disyllabic collocations-for example, Thebor bruJ,
Magari bul, Burmese mrwt. Mikir phwui, Lushei rii~ Tangkhul ph~ "snake,"
but Proto-Tibetal) ·lQ-brul "ANIMAl.. snake" > ·s-bruJ > ·sbrul "snake"; Old
Chinese ·syen "biner," Burmese ;nail, Kanauri lin, Miri ~lin. Kachin sin,
Lushei thin "liver," but Proto-Tibetan ·myi-tIin "HUMAN BODY PART liver" >
·m-tIin > ·mtIhin "liver"; Proto-Tibetan ·bua-sa "bring forth place" >
·btsa-s > ·btsos "harvest," Some of these monosyllables then once again
become disyllabic through affIXation or compounding-thus Proto-Tibetan
·sbrul > Old Tibetan sbrul "snake," but Proto-Tibetan ·mtlhin > Old Ti-
96 THe ClAssICAL TlBBTAN l.J.NoUAGe

betan mdhin-ptl "liver," and Proto-Tibetan *btsas > Old Tibetan btsas-ma
"harvest."lo4

There is thus some evidence for the existence in Tibetan of a CYCU! of

syllabism, with words alternately compressed and expanded into monosyllabic
and disyllabic forms. Note particularly, in this regard, Nung tJu:, Mikir 1M,
Kanauri II!, Miju tQ; Kukish de; "hi,," Proto-Tibetan -myi-the "HUMAN BODY
PART big" > ""-IM > -,"1m "thumb" > Old Tibetan t1ZIM-bo .. thumb" >
mtMb "finger" in such contractions as mlMb-lJhuii "little finger." We might
project, for example. such cyclic: lequences as Proto-Tibetan 'myi-din >
*rnJJhin > Old Tibetan mdhin-po > New Tibetan (Uiasa) tJhitnJ» >
?t1himp "liver," Proto-Tibetan ·myj,,~ > emJlu ?" Old Tibetan nllIu-bo >
New Tibetan (Lhasa) Ihepo > ?thep "thumb," Proto-Tibetan ·buo.-SQ >
*btsas > Old Tibetan btsas·ma > New Tibetan (Lhasa) tst:nUl > ?tsmI
"harvest," Proto-Tibetan *la-bal > ·sbal > Old Tibetan stxJl-pa > New
Tibetan (Lhasa) pcpa > ?pcp "frog." And, of course, such a cycle woukl
presumably extend indefinitely into the past; it would be a chicken·and-cgg
question to ask whether monosyllabism or disyllabism was the older state of
the language.

U Thus also BurmCK bhll ··rro,." but PrOlo·Tibetan "JII .bal UAl'I1MAl. fro," > °1 ·btll >
Ojblll > Old TibeUn 1bnl.pn "frog"; LlI5hei ITt, Garo .rilI;, Leptha dik Hsco(pion," but Prolo-
Tibetan "JII -4ig "Al'ItMAL scorpionH > "1-4ig > "uti, > Old Tibetan 1dig.P/I "scorpioD H;
LlI.~hei /wI, Tiddim Chin /wI, Chepanggal, Kaike kJwl " kidney," but Proto-Tibetan "myi'kJw/
u HUJ>lAN BODY PAAT kidneyH > *tn.kJwf > "nlkhDl > Old Tibetan ntJcJuU·trUI " kidney" ;
upcha kri "bitler,H Kacbin kJvi "Ki<:I, wut,H Burmese ~ "bile. - Diman Jchiri ''$Our,- but
Proto,Tibo;:tan °nryi.1dui.J " II U J>lAN BODY PART bile" > o",,1cIorU > °mJdtris> Old Tibetan
m/chris.P/I ubile,"
7 Words

I. PRELIMINARI ES

1.1. THE SCOPE OF MORPHOLOGY

There: is a traditional and often useful distinction made between the MORPHO-
lOGY of a language and ils SYNTAX-roughly. betwe en the ways in which
words in the language: come to assume thei r particular forms, and the ways
in which these forms are strung together to make a gramma tical utte rance.

W ithi n morpho1ob'Y we can further distinguish two different types of process.

There arc morphological p r(l(:esse~ thai CREATE new wo rds, and there art
morphological pmccsscs that MODI FY words already in existence. Thus we
may say Ihal child lind children arc differen t FOMMS of the sa me WORD, since
they have the ~:lmc semantic content and belong to the same grammatical
category: hut child ami cliilthl"/! must he accounted different words altogethe r,
al:hough clearly rela ted hy a relatively- ITlln~pare n t process of de rivation.

JVordf In'''~11 'Jlf(fl/i/~11 w birth {Jllli tJl(msdrn CI)1llain the

mta'li,!q a.,. (III immilltnt pOjji!n'iiry btfure the pangs of
j Ullrrum . T" tht jlldil1dlllllllrtiJl rhe U$l oJ"trordJ iJ
IlII MrrlUlIl"t ;1/ dimll'''!; tlu imagilllltion is heuristic

IlIIIIJ'!q tl". II',,/"df it " lo1l1iPll/lltfJ.

-R.I'. BI;jckmur,
'I1Ir EI"{Jl'lI.fe of Greaml.'SS

In T ibe tan, simil<lrly, sdlld "j oi ns together"' and bsdus "joined togethe r" are
diHcrent forms-prescnl and past stems-of the same word SDU "join
IOgether," while NIJU "come together," mdud "knot," Ndun,mo "council," sdud
"fold o f a garment," mrlwr-mu "wife," and TU "gather" a re differe nt words,

'n
98

although it is clear 100 that sou, NOU, TU, mdud, Ndun-ma. sdud, and mdUI/·
1M arc closely related to each other.

There arc Ihw two branches of morphology: we will use the term LEXICAl.
MORPIIOLOOY for those processes that create words, and the term INH.I'C:I'ION-
AI. MORPHOLOGY for those pfoce~ses that change the form of words. It is
imponant to keep these two kinds of morphology distinct, especially as the
study of classical Tibetan see ms 10 have !>t.en long bedeviled by their
confusion.

1.2. THE "PAKTS OF SPEECH"

There arc two types of words in Tibetan-grammatical words and Jcxic:tl

words. A class of GRAMMAllCAL WORDS, ' such as the conjum:tions, has
relatively few members and is unlikely to be added to by the usual processes
of word formation: conjunctions form a closed class of words. On the other
hand, a class of LEXICAL WORDS. such as th~ nouns, has relatively many
members: one can choose a noun from a very large set of rxl~sihlc lIlIcrna-
tives. Only such a lexical class can be productive-that is, added to hy new
l
coinages with relative ease. Nouns form an open class of words.

Oassical Tibetan has three classes of lexical wordS-NouNS. ADJI,CfiYI'S, amJ

VERBS. Each such pari of speech can in general be defined oy its on:urrencc
and nonoccurrence in specific el;vironments. First we can distinguish tho:.c
words thai may occur before thc determiner ,..di "llUS" (thus no "horsc" till
Ndj "this horse," t!hell -po "great" IIIIt'fl.po Ndi "Ihis great one," .\f;rm
"contemplate" but not ?sl;om Ndi) from those words that may occur helllrl:
the conjunction ·rim ",'\101\)" (thus S(;OM "conlemplate" .worn-li,l "((1!ill: m-
plates and ...... no "horsc" but nOI ?rta-tiii. IJlren.po "great " hut not '.'1.011.'/1 ,
po-fm). Next we can distinguish thnse words Ihat may occur hefore an

I The dislinction bctwocn tc~icat and grllmmalic..1 wo r\l~ is prCl:i~ly rllill llr~wn h~ .,
Chinese philologists between shih·au, W'(lllls wilh a concrclc signifio::.ncc. ant.! hJu.lzu.:·cml" :'
words" Ihemse1ves empty of dcfinable meaning but indicating Ihc rclation~hip~ amnn!! .1,,:
other worcb. SIKh empty or grammatical Vo-orus have gCllerally been Cilllcd , ... It"l"I(·! ' ·s ttl
Sino-Tibet."ln tingu~tics.ln dWie,11 Tilletan Such p~ll.dcs may---while lelical wClrds do nttl
--under., morphophnnulogical chnl:CS wnd;(iunc4. aCloss syllahlc lI1lundMric.,. II~ Ihc 1:"'1
phoneme in Ihe immediately (lrcccding sy llabic. Tile Tilletan grammarians COlli ~ u..:h Sl'>/lidc'
phttul, white IcKical words ~ rc lerme.! mrA.
WORDS 99

intensifier such as Iin-tu .....ery.. from those words that may not (thus tlhtn-po
Ygreat" Iin-Iu tIhtn-po .....ery great," SGOM "contemplate" Iin-ru sgom. "really
contemplate," no "horse" but not ?!in-tu no)_

These two intersecting distinctions define the three lexical classes in Tibetan.
Such Words as no "horse" (no Ndj "this horse" but not ?Iin-tu no or ?rro-liii)
we will call NOUNS. Such words as dIEm-po "greal" (tIhtn-po Ndi "this great
one" and IjJl-tu tIhen-po .....ery great" bul not ?l1hen-po-liii) we will call
ADJECl1VES. And such words as SGOM "contemplate" (Jin-tu sgom "really
contemplates" and .fgom-ljij "contemplates and ... " but not ?sgom Ndl) we
will call VERBS. Every Tibetan lexica l word belongs 10 one or other of these
three classes?

2. LEXICAL MORPHOLOGY

AI any slage of a language we may distinguish between OLD WORDS inherited

from earlier stages and NEW WORDS created in any of several ways. For
example, Old Tibetan no "fish" was an old word 3 inherited from Proto-

1 There are, of COUI'SC. some aoeptiO ns and apparenl exa::plions 10 these genc: rati7.itions.
An intensifier such as .Iift ·tu ' ..... ery" may plecede a noun in some few loan words-for
eum pte. ~g ·'pois()n" in lin·ru dug ·'Wolfwane. Sometim e<; in poetic composition a
H

p.:mkipanl nomi nal phrase may be transposed between an inu::nsilicr and ilS verb- for
cumpJe, in the well- kn ow n hymn Bf!om -kkm lfIku·ma f611-4Dg·fH2r rdlOP·fH2 s4l\s·'l)'IU bstod-
pa gsuils·fH2 to the IwCn'Y·one forms of the J:XIdess TlrJ, where we read rrag-par Jin ·ru od
ni mdzad-ma "she who always truly creates light" And sometimes an intenslrled verbal
phrase is nomi naUlC(! as a whole, crealing the illusio n of an intensified noun_for eumple,
JiII·ru dp -ba ··great joy." which must be anal~ not as (Jift .ru) (dgil·ba) hut rather as « Jin -
ru 00A)·1'tl), in jusl the sa me way as mi4ga.bjl ··unhappines.s must be analy7.ed not as (mi.)
H

(dga·ba) but rather as ((mf·DGA)·Pa) .

3 The word iia "fish" is, 'pparenlly, a VitI)' old word. We find Burmese lIa, Kachin IIa,
Tsangla.lta. Nung lia, Lepcha no. Chepa ng iIa-na, Pwo lIa, Sgaw nil, Lisu .It ...a, Akha iia, Mpi
no. and Old Chinese n)O ··fish," so lhat Old Tibetan iia is, in some IoCnse, the same word as
the hypothetically reconstructed Prolo·Sino·Tibetan °llyo. On the other hand, the word nQ
·'1101$(:," not found elsewhere in Ihe Sino·Tibetan Ianguages, .....,IS appa rently a new word in
TiMlin: I do nOt know where the word came from .

Other words appear eq u~lly old, but have a more co mpla history. Old Cbinc:se .f)W: <
·JryM originally meanl somethin, like ··color the ,raph for Inc word consisu of the graph
M
;

for '· man" above Ind th e graph for "seal, stamp·· below, 10 indicate printing ink. The term
lUO Til E Cu,ssICAL TIHETAN t......NGU .... GE

Tibetan ·/Iya, but Old Tibetan sans·rgyos "Buddha" was a new word created
10 fill a new lexical need. Similarly. New Tibetan (Lhasa) SOl'lC£ <sans-tgyos>
" Buddha " is an old word inherited from Old Tibetan soii,s''XYos, but New
Tibeta n (lhasa) kr.pa <skad-ptlf> "pho nograph" is a flew word created to
fill a new lexical need.

New words in Tibetan have come fro m a vClrie ty of soun:es. A new word may
be a CONSTllUCll0N from existing old words-for example. Old Tibetan mye-
,do "fire stone -. flint " o r New Tibelall (Lhasa) meNlO "fire arrow'" gun." Or
a new word may have been BOII.IWWEI) from outside the language-for
example, Middle Tibetan bu-dur "warrior" < Mongol bcr yarur or New Tibetan
(lhasa) peskop " movies" < English biiJSwpe. Or a new word may be an
LMITAllON of a natural sound-for example, Old Tibetan pi-pi "flute" or New
Tibetan (Lhasa) puklKJk "ma~hine gun.'"

oonlinues 10 mean si mply "color:' bUI ~Iso. ml.lII: specifically, tile oolor of tile face, and Illus,
from early limes, "coulll(!nana:, I\Mlks, bcl!uty:' and C'o'e ntuall y, in Clines..:, " Iu.sl.lewdneu."
In Tibelo-Burman, f~(!ill l w lo ring W"~s se ma nl ically sp....d alizoo in a differe nl direc tion: we
find Bunan JrUK "sllame," Magari kha ·ruk "be ash~mc..L:' Nung SNa "sname," Burmcs.c hwk
"be asha med, shy:' Mikil Ih..,ak "shame,disgJ~~(! : f>c asllamui. blUSh" In !'roto·Tibeta n .... e
CiOn rCOO nSlruel a verb OJ,ag. prcsumably ...il:, a similar mea ning "be ali hamed"; in the
classical la nguage we find, .... ith legu l~1 phonul"t:1o.l chll ngc:. the ve lb .uG "cunfess."·

Fr"m °lrag 100 we find a nnun 01""'1:·$(1 ",hame place" :- Old Tibctan JUgJ, wit h 1.... 0
dive rgent meanin~. O n Itll.: one hand, the lam. "nen willi an honorific, ali in blw-Iug1-
mrJhid-Jugs - poI_lag1, appears ali early :as in Ihe nillln -ce ntury Ce ntral ASian manllSClipts
witlllhe meaning "dispute, quarrel. maile r in w nlentiun"-for e.tample, .... here a leller fo und
II I Tibe tan oasis garrison says thaI th e Min isle r at RIa-W I bkil-Jagl rhup-/a tJi dgofu-JXl
gdDb "will decide: tile disput e as lie Ihinks brst." A~ an e~tellliion of Ihis meaning, the lerm
apflllrenlly Wme5 \0 ~n "petilion, complaint. fo rmal SlalCmelll of a ClJ.'i.C"-for example,
whUe a divination manual says that, as a resliit of a favorable allgury, gsol-lugs byIu-tIO &"'Iii
"if you have made a pctilion, it .... iII be , ranled."· And, as an CX1ension of th is meanin g. the
term Jap a>mes to mun u well "conciloC Slillemenl, apho rism , adage"-for example, in a
nlnlll-cc:ntr.IfY collection or proverbs enlillcd Sum-pa mu Jup IJMn -[N "The Bi, Book of
Sayinp o( Mother Sum-pt.."' On the ol llel hand, we find a differenl oo nslellation of
mean'np (or -J(og-so ''shame placc" > 01(1 Tibetan Jag!, .... here the term comes 10 mea n
"ridku1e, safCUm, joke al the expcnse: or another"-fo r examr1e, Jags IJhc-bo ~d "insults
mailciolloSly," fum _logs "a ba(l joke."'

4 But when is a word a NEW WORD? Nott. for e.um ple. Iht old words rdo "Slone:' riJj _ptJ
"Jong," and lbotr!-po "heavy." We might find the two exprCS5ions r<kJ_sbom " hCilvy sione-'
and tdo _riA "monument" in a Tibelan te~t . Both are singk: disyllabic: Stress groups. Whi ch
WORDS 101

II I aew word IDd wblda b nol? A proper mtcrion of Ieli<:ali:tllion 5bould cnlble lIS 10
*,emU.1IC WI lbe lIttcr is-Ind ItIc: former II DOt-I WORD in lbe TIbetan lInlu.&1C-

A \Qk:opapber IIIlpl In'o'Okc three a itcria \0 detcrminc wb:lhcr In exprealon bu been

k:lkaJlzed in lbe Iincu.aac. Ant, I lexico&tap.cr mi&hl oonllider l11e fREQVEI'fCY ";111 wlt k lt
IIIc c:rprcuion 0QC\In. U fto r-lIQII "poueuina wealtll" II • word Ibil dQerva I laical entry,
*- doa n41-daft " poI'eKlna bona" dcIeM one IOO? Dca pM,·1kut Mpoac:ulal pip"?
A k::dc:o&npbet allpt rcaotoe tbe difflC\llty by DOtin, 111.11 lbe oolloClllioR "","· daft
'"pOUaIIDi _1111" oc:alf5 in ItIc: texU wil' some frequcncy, while n41. t.faft " possessin,
~ .. Ippean .portdically 1\ besl_aDd pIIaf·aM "posseuina pip" docs not 10 my
b»oWlc4fC oa:ur II 111. Wbere III apt'eaio!l is OIberwiK well ·formed bUI 0CCII11 in ItIc:
!ilcnlurc wllll irtlutndelil frcqucnc:y-IS is tbe c::IK wllh pIIa,.aatt_ umkr Ihls crilerion lbe
a;prculoa remaiRi unlcUc:aliud.

Sca:ntd, IIcdco"aptlc:r milhl oonsickr the QIV\MIroIATICAI. ~11WORY of Ihe ClIPf_ion, and
"""Wcr tbe aprCKioa to ilIvc been IClIic:alized wbere 1\$ Vlmmllical catelOry bu been
dluJOd la tbe COMIOIClion. Under Illb m luion, fo r cumplc. lhe -.:Ijecd¥'C Ndur.po
"boInc" II I new wocd bcausc it b in a d ifferent JIlInulIIlial category Ihl n its sourcc ¥'Crb
DZU "be boJIl1C," Ind tbe adjective mllf'~ " purulent" Is I IICW word bcc:ause it is in I
dirrerenl vamlllll ic::al ca legory lhin lIS $<Jllra: fIO un rM&' "pllS."

Tblr4, I lcdc:opapber II'II"'t oolllickr lbe SEMANTIC COPn'EN'T of lbe CJlPfCUion. A broad
1ICRlo1i of Ibb ailCrion is 10 oonsickr In apreaion to have been JcQcalizod wberc iu
ItCIMDIiC: ODnleDI hili been cilln,ed in its oollSlrllCtlon. Under Ibis criterion, for cumple, lhe
DOua /1)'11- "fcm.1e bird" b I new word bccIlISC it bu I differenl 5CllIInlic COnlenl tban
ill source DOIIII b)III " bir4," IDd the nolln ~ . . . "rillill l!lImpc! ft\adc from a 1111l1li11
tIlipboDc" II I _ word bcallSC il lias a difJcrenl 5C.IlII1l1iC: oonlCllt IhllI the slim o f iu
compoDCDI DOIIIII rkd -pil "COOl, Ie,M and dun "conch shell.M

A .trk1cr ¥'Cnioa of this crilerion Is 10 consider In cxprCMlon 10 bIYe been IC1k:a.Uud where
ill aNlleDl II SEMNmCAU.Y EXOCE/'I'nlC-thal b, _bcrc the _ ... Inl of lhe aprcalon is
IIOt predklIb5e from ill c:omPOIICOU, and tile bead member of tbe coUocatioll callnot be
....d lllted for lbe wbo5e -M11Io1I1 ICrnalitic wnp. UlKkr thII crllcrloll., lot' cumpJc, lhe
.oUD ,.,v-H "lMni creaturc" b I new word bcaUIC Ita meallial dlrrus from the
clymOloJlc::aIly apectecI"&OCrM < NGMJ ",ot whl5e the DOualloll-INI "be1Pr" II DOl I new
won! ~1ISoC III InUllinl II prcdlcllblc boG lu lOuroc ¥'Crb SJ.AR '"be,," Similarly, IInder
thII c:rtlerion. !be WJUD mdaI " Inowbcld" III _ word bca_ iu .meallln, dlft'us rro.
!be etymOkIf;IcaIJy crpcaed ~Unk IlTOW" < ... " Invw," wtlUe the DOIIII IJN " little ftlh"
II 11011 _ word bcallSoC lu meanlll, II prulictlbk from 11$ SOllrlZ DOlin 114 " fbh..':'

nil aiccriola caD be Ippllc4 • weU to diIylllbic: wlloCllliou of ainllli worda. 1lIc .ltClt
1f'O'JP' ~ "while atoM." rrJo.ril " round stooc," and n»-sbom " hcr.'y ltollC" Irt
1I01Ile:dcalizcd Ind ICmlnllcally cnOOccnlric:: Ihclr mtlnin, II predialblc, and In Iny context
102 THE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

2.1. CONSTRUCTIONS

The CONSTRUCTION of new words out of the existing stocle of the language
takes place Ihrough the two processes of compounding and dc.rivation.
CoMPOUNDING is the process whereby new words are created by the
juxtaposition of two existing words-for example, Old Tibetan Jiii-rtIJ ''wood
horse - cart" and New Tibetan (Lhasa) IcaNb <rlca"-Nkhor> "(oot wheel _
bicycle." DERIVATION is the process whereby new words arc created from
single existing words by afrlXing elements that are not themselves independent

(U( bll him wilh I - ") lbe bead member may substiunc for lbe wbole roUocatioa. In •
slTia senK, such stress Sroups are not the amcern of I~ Ic:xk:on.al all, sinClC they are not
sepa rate words.

On the Oilier hand, the Slress voups ~riiI "Ion, slone"" monyment" and r4D-rdle "noble
MOlle _ vajr." Ire newwords. They Irc lokal iu4 and scmantlcallycxocentric: their manin,
is unpredictablt. and in any oonlcn (" I hit him wllh • _H) the head member may DOt
substitute for the whole oollocation without chan,in, tbe meanin, or ... bat Is ISIertcd. h Is
only such OOl1ocaliOM as these that would, ideally, be listc4 in the Jexieon.

Co mpare, also, rdo-nsi~ "slOne wall" and rdo-zom ''stone brldlCt which Ire semantiQIlly
endoc::cntrk and prc4ict:tble, with >'do·to "sto ne milk .... lim~~ Ind rdo-JtWm "1I0ne: oil ....
petrOleum," which arc semantica lly cxoccntric and unprediCUblc.

II must o f oo ursc be oonrcsse<l that this distinction is not alwa~ entirely c~r. It m.y be thlt
the nol,ln JIon·1ui "bewr"' is se manlically prcd icubJe from the souroe verb su.R "beg. ~ But
we "Iso find the ClIprcssions J/otl.nt<l "female beggar" " nd 1{oI'I·1PI(I ""Jms." Which of tbe$e
is semantica lly prc4ictlble? Again, the colloCittion mtJhod_nt" "ofTerln, support .... JtIlptlI
coirya'" sccms argl,lably IcxicalilCd under this Cli terion, but it is more difficult 10 decide "bout
mdhod-1duJJi "orrering house .... temple .... Much seems 10 depend on I rllher pelJOnal SCII5C
of what is sema ntically prodictable Ind what is nOl. MIlCh "Iso seems to dcpeod on tbc
C1istenoe of similar ool\oc:alions: tile ~rcs.sion mrJhod·kJwI/l "otrerin, bouse .... lempJc" klob
oonsiderably morc endoctntric in the lilht 01 J/rulII_khoJI " medicine ho_ - lpotlloocuy,"
bzo-kJuJiI "erafillouse"" workshOp," Ind Jog_iJulJI "paper house _ sllopwbete paper is upt
or manufaC1urcd. ~

In IU these cases, -JexieoVllphen mllSl inCYiubly make dimcult dt.dsioDs IS to whkb.

ttJrc$sions Ire in faa lutrKienliy Ioiali~ to be considered 1WOrdI ill lbe IaJlpl&e;: tbe
j\l- tgment Is complk::alod 100 by tncoretical considerations reprdin, tile distribution of
fl,l IClions between the ",mmar and the lexicon in a proper dcsc:riptioD 0{ .laDJUIIC. A user
01 IcxicII resol,lKa also must remgllizc the pr(Jblem. th.al underlie lbe worb upon wtlidl.
h. or sbe must rely. 'lbcre is no reason to believe Ih.at lhe followin, lCICtionl will
5" bstantially "IICYiate IIIe5c difficulties.
WORDS 103

words-for example, Old Tibetan nad-bu "disease" IUld·bu-tJan "diseased"

and New Tibetan (Lhasa) matsQ <ma·rua> "capital" matsatJ£N <ma-roa-
tlan > "capitalist."

2.1.1. Compounds

2.1.1.1. Nali¥e compounds

As part of its stock of Tibeto-Burman morphological devices, classical Tibetan

had available several ways of compounding old words to create new words-
for example, modifying a noun with a preceding noun, as in me·roo "fire
stone _ flint," or modifying a noun with a following adjective, as in rdo-M
"long stone _ monument," Indeed, these devices have remained productive
throughout the history of the language; parallel to the two preceding
examples. we find, for example, New Tibetan (Lhasa) me,,'!a <me-mila> "fire
arrow _ gun" and pijiiCN <dpon.nan > "wicked lord - bureaucrat." However,
with the massive influx of Buddhist terms in the ninth century, the language
used additional devices, in part derived from Sanskrit models, in order to
render these new terms in Tibetan-for example, compounding two
adjectives, as insans-'XY'U "awakened expanded -- Buddha," or, prototypically,
modifying a verb with a preceding intensifier, as in mam·par 5ES "particularl y
know ... perceive (~j-Jjn.ii). These latter devices tend to be found primarily in
these loan creations from Sanskrit original~; such translation compounds win
be treated separately.

1.1.1.1.1. NOUN + NOUN -- NOUN

There arc four ways in which native compounds yield new nouns in the
classical language-NouN + NOUN, ADJ(CIlVE + NOUN, NOUN + ADJ I~C Il VE,
and ADJECllVE + ADJEcnvE.} In the firs t instance, a noun may be modified

, 1bcse four types of native noun compounds continue to be productive in New Tibetan.
AIDoDt: new NOUN + NOUN'" NOUN compo~nds _ find., for oample, New Tibetan (Lhasa)
~ <nw·mdo:I> "tire arrow ... lun," IS well IS k.aJl.b <rlc(JiI./iII:Juw> "fOOl wlleel ...
bkyde." fUm~ <Jl'IV"·VU> "sky boat -- airplane," l1aJdam <//!op·lam> "iron mad. ...
nllI_y,M kqNJ <1IuJd'por> "voice print .... phonograph," mff) <rt1l-SgyogJ> "fire catapull
:-+ arlillery." ,htHn <grol·tshOfl> "advice uki'ilbly ... parliament," JUkl1N </I~o·rkull >
"wo rk ItIlef ... scab." Amon, new NOUN + AOJECTlVE ... NOliN compounds we find., for
example, New Tibetan (Lhasa) p6Fu:;N <dpon·nan> ''wil;ked. lord -- bureaucrat," as well as
104
with a preceding noun 10 yield a noun with a new meaning. Thus we find lag-
Iubl "hand sheath _ glove," spu-gri "hair knife -- razor," diiul-Lfhu. "silver
water ..... quicksilver," tIhu-mig "water eye -- well," mig-tJhu " eye water __
tears," dri-lJhu "odor wate r -- urine," byin-ritJbs "splendor wave"'" blessing,"
tlhru.gti "religion basis __ monastery," r/wii-duii "leg conch -- thighbone
trumpet," sbran-rtsi "bee juice -- honey," gtQm-d~ "talk model __ prove rb,"
Ia·mdog "flesh color ..... complexion," ri·lchrod "mountain crowd -- wilderness,"
kh4-1pags "mouth skin -lip," b/w-babs "speech descent __ tradition," siiiii·ruJ
"heart bone -- courage," og-sgo "underpan door ..... anus." dur-spjUii "graveydfd
wolf ..... jackal."

2.1.1.1.1:. ADJECTIVE + NOUN...:. NOUN

Similarly, a noun may be modified with a preceding adjective to yield a noun

with a new meaning. Thus we find dben-inas "solitary place ..... hermitage,"
dJJm-uhig "holy word - V(NI," bUlii-spyod "good conduct ... bodhisattva deeds.,"
drag-JuI"violent leftover .... supernatural frightfulness," log-fta "invened view
-- heresy," mrhun-rkyen "harmonious circumstance _ assistance," dmar-bJal
"red diarrhea .... dysentery," ser-Nphren "yellow garland __ ecclesiastical
procession," dlwr-phyogs "white direction .... good spiritt," nag-ph}'OgS "black
direction -- bad spirits," tIhe-mi "large person .... adult," flan -phye "bad flour
-00 roasted meal," iie-rigs "near lineage -- kinsman," drag-rigs "noble Iineage--

aristocracy."

2.1.1.1.3. NOUN + ADJEcrIVE -- NOUN

Or, again, a noun may be modified with a following adjective to yield a noun

uhoIa.fa <ulwp.tJhttl> ''bi, assembly -- plctluy 5eS6lon,~ r/lNliluH <,vaIlI.JJu.ll> '''mall

number _ mInority," 1u(1ItlN <blo-m(N4n> ".grcc.able mInd -- comrade." AmonS new
ADJECT1V£ + WOUN - NOUN compounds '\II't find, for example. ~ <mth.o-f"O'I> "hlp
preNUtc - hl,h voltl&e" (IS in tIwtI6Ji /oIcQ <miho-gnM r'or-slcud> "hip pressutc 1I,lItnin,
Ihre.! .... hlp voltl&e elocUlc wire"), MtJtI <mo-fdop> "sharp irnA -- Slc:d," ~ <1diA-
JFU> "noatln, boat ... airship," uudt <gstJr-bn1lt> "new cbanae - revolution," ~
<t/Ifulr-pod> "red killin, _ mawcrc. ~ Finally, IheokSer ADJECT1V£ + ADJECJTVI! - NOVM
compounds continue to be use4_for tDmpk. New Tib.::Uln (l..hau) lliriII <Rt~> " near
far - dlstlna:," rilltuN <riII.11u:Jl > "Ionl $hoil _ kn,th,~ (Uu <slyU•.,m,,> "!tippy sad --
SUindard of livin6-"
WORns 105

....·jth a ntw mtaning. Thus .....l" findxluii·tJlu'lI "grtat ox __ t:ltphant," dri- fIhl!ll
"grtat odor -- txntmcnt," iio-Ishu " hot face __ shame," rdo·riji " long stone--
monument," hya ·rgud " .....ild hird __ vulture," hya-liag "black bird __ rave n,"
t ....a-nag "black hat __ sh,lman costume," miii'Nall " bad name -- infamy," mig-
Ihun "short eye __ nc:arsightt:dnt:ss," skyt'.Jmall " low binh - woman," I1hu-ser
"yellow waler -- pus," Nllg-SIIIlII "s.....eet speech __ pDCtry," Ies·rab "best
knowledge -- wisdom."

2.1.1 ."4. ADJECnVE + r\l>JEcrIVE -- NOUN

The fo urth type I)f na tive noun compound, of the form Al)Jt:CIlVE + AOJEC·
l1VE -- ,..-OUN, is productive only within a rdat ivt:ly restricted semantic range:
he re two semantically opposed adjectivts yield an abstract noun of which the
two adjectives are polar exemplars.o Thus wt: find riN-lhun "long short --
length," tShe·l.UwII "hig link -- siZt~," swb- nrll!ug " thin thick -- density," graN-
dro "cold warm __ climate," lif.'-nil "ncar far -- djsUlnct::' bZllii-iill" "good bad
. .. virtue," skllm·rloll "dry wet - dampness," mflw.iJmall "high low - height,"
skyid-sdllg "happy sad -- ]ul'k," fJ/w-grllll "hot enid -- Itmperature," mll/wg-
umull "best worSt __ quali ty." umg.tll'l "Mrong weak __ pnwer.,,7

• Thi$ tYJlC or cnmpounu is slrikingly rcmini:>(cnI of Chinese mUfpholo~.. " 'hieh uses the
~me dl.",icc to (urm sUl'h ahs1fa(1 n\ll,ln~ - f'lr example, r,) ·shao "many few -- ql,la ntity:' fa·
Itsiaa "big lillie - ~ i ,.e:· 1:.'0' /151<1 " hi!:h I, ..... -ljualitY:'.I1l<1I1.chin "far nellf -- distance," hon·
"'(11 "cold warm -- ",·~a thc r . " Notc. lOti, that Ihc 'Hher th re..! t)1lC5 of noun Cl) mpounll oon~is l
o( a il EAl) and eithcr a noun or allj ..'.:I,,,'; MOlll1'tER; Ihc AI)IEerr"'E • AI )WC1WI' -- NOUN
compound docs not ha"c a hcad,

7 Such ADJECTIVE. ADJECIWE __ NOlJ)< cn mptlunds are not I,Incommon. fur elample,
in thc Ge·sar CpM:: lIute 'I:"" 'K!QII "old young - agc" in "R"" .glQII gra/.gyi Ihob ·~f(S ~TJ
"Take your places in o rdef of age," )'Ug.An "plod bad __ qua lity" in las ylIg·i!n b/m.tmi mig·
/1()A Ndra '1lIey :lrc like eycs that will $CC Ihc ql,lality of dcc45," andyllg·nwg "&000 ugty -
buuryK and bzaii·i\a" "good bad '" virtuc" in the cuu ptct yug·rfSvg mig.lam Nbab./uf(S rrJ,
blali .llatl stms·kyi dpyad·/ugs ,,,d "Be;.uty is the falling of a &la nce; ~inue is the detelmi na·
K
tion of the mind. No te he re the playful usc of the compounds mg)'OfS ·/JlJ{ "fut $Iow --
speed," blall·JI .." "JOOd bad _quality," !'god.!1J1I "stron, weak _ stren, lh," dM-lflld ",rowin,
fallill, -- flucluat il:m," and 11100·10' ......o n lost -- outcome" in paralkl 5tfUC!urCl:

nlJ·11J '"JO'OP.hu/ ur·lNl.u

"ub ·grJig rfSa·/Jhu bu.Il·MII yill
pho·/a tgOd·IIJII zrr·ba d.t
ilin·gdig rlu".na dor·rgud JIll
106 THE ClASSlC.o.L TIBETAN LANGUAGE

1.1.1.1.5. NOUN + VERB - VERB

In addition to these four typeJ of noun compound, the classical language had
a native verb compound that linked a verb with a participant noun to yield
a verb with • new meaning. Many such compounds consist of a transitive verb
and its patient paitic:ipant functioning a5 a single semantic unit-for example.
,rgnr-SGYUJf "change words -- translate," dbaij-SKUR "transmit power -- initiate,"
tngO-DOH "hold up the head -- be proud," mgo-SKoR "encircle the head .....
deceive," mwI·.t(l. "clear away darkness - illumine," khag-TIIEG "carry
responsibility ..... guarantee," khru-sLOG "turn earth __ plough," fiO'~ES "know
the face -- recognize," rhJfi·lJRAR "pull the foot __ disgrace," sna-DRAR "pull the
nose -lead," f'lan-DRAR "pull the scat _ invite," mna·ZA "eat a vaw ..... commit
perjury, "lhugs-sRuR "sicken the heart -. be disagreeable," sems·GSO "heal the
mind ..... consoJe," iiaij·TlluR "shorten the disposition .... lose one's temper,"
tJuJg-rfAD "cut the rope .... decide."

Additionally, we find the preceding noun in other syntactic relations with the
following verb-for example, bfo-s TAR "dismiss WIlli the mind .... renounce,"
iam.Ja KHYEIl "carry ON the road .... put to daily use," senu-/a SBYAR "take TO
mind .... pay attention," mya-iian-laJ HIlA "pass BEVOND suffering .... enter
nirvana," mdo-r SDU "compress INTO aphorisms .... summarize," lShigs-su run
"cut INTO stanzas -- write poetry," snod-du RuR "be proper AS vessel .... be fit
to receive teaChings." yid-du oN "come INTO the mind .... be pleasing." Where
such compounds contain more than two syllables they are particularly liable
to be clipped into disyllabic stress groups-for example, myan-HIlA < mya-
Mn-las HIlA "pass beyond suffering .... enter nirvana," siiiii-Nf: < snin-dan N£
"be dose to the heart -- love," las-SBYAR < las-fa SBYAR "put to work --
apply," yid-oR < yid-du oR "come into the mind ... be pleasing.'"

1fO'OII·l0 thob-Jor In'-ba lk

dNli-,JulA ri-I7I0 gar-bTU yin

What is called the speed of I horse

is tbe quality of one night'S feed:
what is "lied the strength of II man
Is the flow or onc diy's luck;
what is called the outcome or a bet
is the writing of the lines of destiny,

• Despitc the faC1lhllllhey all;: compound!, such ve,bs can he 5ynla~t ical1y discontinuous.
1lIC nCJolltivc panicle '111- "N0 1" IXCU", immediately before a ,-erba l tense stem, and thus
WORDS 107

2.1.1.2. TranslaJion compounds

1.1.1.2:.1. ADJECTIVE + ADJEcrJVE - NOUN

As new Buddhist terms from India sought entry imo the Tibetan lexicon,
several additional types of compound were developed to express the: new
ideas. One type of such 'TRANSlAnON COMPOUND is formed by combining two
adjectives, functioning as headless modifiers, to yield a new noun, often based
on Indie folk etymologies or Buddhist philosophical analysis; such compounds,
of course, differ from such nalive ADJEcnvE + ADJEcnVE - NOUN compounds

Iher lhe IlOlin plnion of a NOUN + VERR _ VERB compound-thus, for eumple,trI,o-A1/0.ot
"have the head encircled - become confllSC4"/drytd.k)' kho.sbyai! .,u iId m~mj-NkJior "We
Ire 1101 LIken in by YO"" e loqucnce.~ Ol!ler propositional participanlS can.1so rome bcrwcen
lhe IW() oomponnu of such verb compoundl.. [n " poem by Mi-1a las-pa, for example, we
find the compounoJ.lIo.$CS "know the face _ rewgn iu" in di.ocontinuoUJ form in the line.l\01
iIo khyOd-kyiJ mll.Jn-no ''If)'Ou do not fcw,nize me .. : . Note tllat the strUClure of tllis
proposition is not /Wi lIo-' khyod·1cyiJ ma·l,.HIO '· If you do IlOl know my face . , :'; ratller
the structure is equivalent 10 lIo·' khyod·kyis ~o-ma·Jel·no '"It)'Ou do 00\ face.know nw: ... H

SocII NO UN + VERI!"" VERB compo unds somelimes provide &limpses ofTibeun pilue rn5 o f
Illouglli. One croup of thC$C compoundS im;or poratts the patient participanl iio "facc" - for
comple. as we have seen. nQ-SF.S "know lh e face .... remgni"U.. Bul FAa:.. in Tibet, is cl~,ly
H

!lIore than the surface of a thin,. The face of some thin, is an indication of its true natu re-
IIIIIS 1I0·l'flROD "meel the face .... knuw, u~denland, I~rn." iIo·SI'ROD "C;ilUSC to fReetl
inlroollCC the face .... lay upcn Ihe features of a Ihin" sllow iu naturt, leacll." The racc o f
a pellOn, si milarly. is the l'Iarum e ler 01 Ihe innel scU-iio·..... lI '·have the face fall .... lm ,e
ooutage," iIo-TS11A "have Ihe race get wum ..... fcc1shame"; and the social face is II'IC marker
of personal Yo'O lIh-iio-JSm: " have II'IC racc be hit -- be appreciated, rcco,niz.-:d , thanked:·
iiO·SIWN "guard Ihc racc .... hil Y": regard rur Ihe opinion of o lhen," iio-STDD "elcYille the fa~
.... praise. naile r," fio -LCXi ·'Iurn Ihe face .... d<:l>l:lI, abandon, opJlOS'C-"

We find a si milar ~ries uf tbese oompuumll iRl;mplll a ling the palicnl paflil:ip,,'·1 '.' /-.1'·
"mind:· The Tihelln mind changes in ~i/.c- fnr c&lmplc.yW·,1m:" "have Ihc mimillc bl): - ..
believe," yW-TlluN "ha....: thc minllhc shun ..... lit· rash, uvcrhuty." yi·NIRI "make Ihc mind
Ic...s .... hal e, dislikc"; in Illis Ibc mind s h~rcs the ClIplI .. ily ur Ol her inu,'rn;tl organ~-!hu~ .'''in·
lSIIIIN ··h;tye Ihe l'learl he hllle ..... be ~[raid:· nan·TIIIlN ··have thc Ch3f;K1c r he shon ...... hi;
impalient," IkJlI·/UN ,. h~Vl,: thc ~hafaele r be lun, __ be forcbear ing.lon,·sufferin&- ph klmat ic ..·
Erf(X;lS upon the mind ;trc the !><lUICclo uf eRiotionS_lhu~. yid·/u fill. ··have Ihc mind ~uhduco.l
.... be weary. IIOU:'1<;o:I, haras!ocd," yid·PIIA.'1 ·'ha\·c tbc mind be defeated -- he t.aM <.I".... n.
dejccted, oJcpre:sscd:· yid.I'IfHOG "steal the mind"" infalullle. fUoCinate, yid.StUN '·han: Ihe
M

mind come out .... he wcary,<.IiM'Ontenled:'yid.nlJN ··make thc mind come OUI""" m~k~ weary,
Clllse to be dixo nl cnlcd," )'I.'i11/) ·'CUI Ihe mind .... despair."
lOS THE ClASSICAl. TIBETAN lANGUAGE

as riii-dwii "long short _ size." Here, {or example, we find saiiHg)'4S

"awakened expanded _ Buddha" combining sans-po < '·TSAR-s "awakened"
and rgyas-pa < 8-RGYA-J "expanded," bsod-SMms "pleasing equal - alms rOT
moniu" combining bsod-pa < N-BSOD "pleasing" and siioms-pa < N-sRoM-D
"evenly distributed," sdug-bsiuJl"affiicled exhausted _ suffering of-the round
or rebirth" combining sdug-pa < N-SOOG "amicted, grieved., oppressed" and
b.siinl-pa < N-BSR!u. "exhausted," Similarly, we find draii-sroil "straight upright

Man of my frinuts tilte 'tl'(lf'ds too .,U. ... War" 1m .,btU

mcl to the rtf"_We UJt them to push the rtlll, ih-tIe the
I(J

reaJ into the poem. They are whRt JIIe hold orI fllith, tJDthi"6
else. T1Jt;y Are I&J l'RJu4bu in .hmuel'PtS At rope "";th tWtbiriB
to be md to.

-Jack Spicer,
ulter to Federico Garcia Lorca

-- Vedic seer" combining drafi.-po "upright" with sroii.pa < G-sRAR "straight-
eRed," gon·zag "full dripping _ person (pudga/a)" combining gaii-pa-gaii.pn
"full" (compare GAN (I<'geiis/bkaii/dgoii/khoii) "fill") and -Zog-po " dripping"
(compare DZAG (Ndzagjbzags/gzag) "make drip").

2.1.1.2.2. NOUN + VERB .... NOUN

Another type of tra nslation compound is a nominalized pr0p05Jl10n

fu nctioning as a headless modifier, le)(icalized primarily in dipped disyllabic
form (as in lJllOs·slcyoii < 8 {(lJlJos·8 skyoii)-pa ) "(a deity) who protects the
dharma").' Many such clipped disyllabic compounds Ihus appear 10 be of the
fo r,n NOUN + VERB .... NOUN, with the noun often being Ihe patient participant

9 Lnan crea1ions such as these translatio n compounds arc idio:synaatialty Icxicali:w:l in

disyllabic o r polysyllabic tornu. Thus. for example, amon, Ir.nslalions of S.nskril epilhelS
ot various Budd~s listed in the ninlh«nlury Mahihyurptllri dictionary, we find both rood·
m~d Mone ... ho Is without uncertai nty" and ai·nul mrd·J'f2 "one ... ho is without impurity,"
both Iis-mdziJd "one ... ho makes auspicious" and Ii-btu mdzDd·pa "one ... tIo maka calm."
and lhe tr',),llabic dgra.bt/om.pa "one ... ho conqucn Ihe enemy .... arhan."
WORDS 109

of a transitive or intransitive verb-fnr example, bdud-NduJ "one who

conquers demons .... He Who Has Defeated the Evil One (marajil)," gnod.
lbyin "one who bestows harm .... demon (yakia)," Lfhol-skyon "one who
protects dharma _ guardian deity (dharmapiila)," dge-slon "one who begs alms
... monk (bhiJqu)," lku-blruFis "one who protects the body .... bodyguard
(?tiilavarga)"; although in some ca.\es the participant role of the preceding
noun may be oblique-for example, don-grub "one WJ-IOSE aim is accom·
plished ... Siddhartha," rtsod·med "one TO WHOM there is no uncertainty ....
Resolute One (nirdvandlla) .,,10

)0 The Lh~ City alaleet of New TibeWl bas become hi&hJy DOmlnaliz.c4-thlt is, it
tends to usc, instead uf a large number o r verbs, a large number of abstract nouns and a
rela tively rew aWliliary verbs. It is therefore not surp rising that there arc nOI many NOUN +
'<1::RR ... VERn compounds ill that dialect, ~o;cpt (or tllose, such as tlhiJ!t}! <tlhu·NdrtIf>
··dra .... water"" irrigate," whiCh seem 10 be relatively old. lIutead, we find NOUN + VERB ...
SltU N compounds, but these, agai n, diITer from the earlier translation compounds 01 the
loame lorm. The tra nslation compoundS were clipped lleadles.5 modifiers denoting the agent
or the verbal action-for eumplc. Old Tibelan gnod-sbyin "harm bestowing ... type of
demon." The Lhasa Cily compounds, on Ille o tller lIand, yield absuact nouns denoling Ihe
,·erbal actio n ilSClf as modified by ilS relation to the prcce4ing noun participant-ror
example, !hila <dril-bsgrags> "hell ringing'" pro paganda," JuiiJi <g!uR.btts> "governmen t
!.aking ... confisca tion." Iwtl~ <sgo-~> "dooropcning'" inauguration," ilamso <IIams·
gsa> "defecl repairing"" renovation," uh(lla <IJhod·blla > "measure seeing .... experimen t,'·
lI.mnl.<nait·rul> ··inslde rolling .... IIc.ason," dill," <bdilts-Ngf"oi> ~ (rccing trorn tellers""
lihcration." These abstracl no uns can Illen be used as verbs with appropriate auxiliaries, such
a$ /Jht <b~d> "do," to}! <g/Oil> "send," op <~b> "act," and th eir honurific
cquivalenu-thlL~, fur e.umple. /wIlt linN < sgo-MJytd RYlan> "gives door openi ng ....
inaugurates," ilamso tJht <ilams-gso byrd> ''docs defect repairing'" renovales:' diit.fIllON
< hdHi.f.}o,ogroi K'nii> "scnds rrecing from tellers .... liberates." Note the US(: of the same
alixiliaries with olher nominall as wcll-lfam{ll ION <grwm.gru groll> "nics an airplane,"
mf'Nfa CIP < m t ·mdt! 'JO'Db> "fir¢5 a gun," ntCNIf(l dllt <sIf'Ia/f-bdos ~> ·'provides
medica l treatmen t," JIP!O c~P <labs·bm rgyah> '·uoes a dancc."

Similarly. the Lhasa City dialcct is riclt in compou nds of the furm VERB + VEMU - NOUN,
whe re tile twO ve rb sIems are combined to yield an abstract no un denoting tile in teo.«tion
01 tile lwo-nlten more Of ICS$ synonymous_ve rb stertU. Fo r eumple, we find lodi <grQf"_
blig> ·'scallering dC!>troying'" sabotage:' a!t }! <skytf-Ndnn> "alXOmpanying leading ...
sllipring,'· 'uns~ <b.rlON,·bllftJ> "changing healing ... reforllU," uuJqiJ/'i <Joidl,.K$./ukn"l>
·'{"unding prod ucing .... de"o,;klpmen t," JuJo <bJu .giug> "stripping culling ... exploilation:'
a~ well as rhJpJil < .Vfhab ·moti> ·'figllting fight ing - struggle," siflru <zifl -Io·khrug>
··quarreling quarreling .... uprising:' fsoitu <tfmit·ul> ··cleansing dClllSing ... purge:' and
cvt: n UiNSJ.'}! <1JdJ:u.·bzuil > " lIoldin g lIulding ... arrest:· combining tM present and pas t stem
til Ihe s.:.mc verh. As ahovc. these ahMract nuuns can hoc u.SoCd as ve rbs wilh appropriate
110 TilE CI.ASS!CAL TIBETAN l....t.NGUAGE

2.1.1.2.3. INTENSIFIER + VERB -+ VERB

Finally. a third type of translation compound, used in rendering Sanskrit

verbs, is formed by combining a verb with II; preceding adverbal intensifier
such as mlion-por "manifestly," yoiis-su "completely," yaii~g.par "perfectly,"
or rtUlm-por "panicularly." As the ninth-century translation guide Sgro.sbyor
bam-po gnu-po said, stating the oCficiai government translation policy,

pa-ri-dan sam-daii u-po Ita-bu kA-sogs-It, rshig-gi phmd-daii 'X)'Qn

Ita-bur Hbyuii-ba·mafTU bSgyUNID don-daii mthun-liii Nbyor-bai
lIMbs ni, yoiiHu Ie..tJm, }'Qii4og-pa le.am, fie-btl Its sgra Min-
du. sgyur-tJig, don [hag-par sMp-pa med-pa-mllnLr ni tshig.gi
Ihad-kyis bsnon mi-dgru·lcyis don btin-du ,hogs-lig

When Iranslating parliclt:s and t:mbellishnients s uch as pari-,

sam-, upa-, and so {ln, the way 10 affIX them in accordance with
their meaning is to. translate thtm with words like yo/u-su, yaii-
dag-po, and fie-ba. But transla te according to the meaning (of
the expression as a whole) those that add nothing, because it
is unnecessary to add supe rfl uo us words.

Thus, for example, we find milon-par ~ES "manifestly know ..... perceive
clairvoyantly (abh i-jjiiii)," miion-por HYUN "manifestly arise ..... leave hbme 10
become a monk (nLi-jkram)," mam-par ~£S "particularly know ..... pc_rceive (vi-
j jiiii)," mam-par RIAG "particularly examine ..... impose conceptual construc ts
(vi-jkfp)," so-sor IUAG " individually examine ..... know precisely (praty-ava-
filq)," so-sor MNAN " individually listen ..... answer (prQli-jlfU)," rab-Iu GNAS
" highly place ..... consecra te (prarj-jslhii) ," rab-ru SHYAR " highly connect .....
practice (pra-jyuj)," rab-fa 8YU;' " highly arise - become a re ligious mendicant
(pra-jvraj)," roles-su 8~ "consequently do ..... imitate (allu-jJq)," rdles-su
D'LUN "consequently hold ..... favor (anu-jgrah)," rdl~-su ORAN "consequently
rc=member ..... practice contemplative mindfulness (a na-jsmr)," iie-bar olAV
"closely put - apply (apo -js/lra)."

These verbal compounds are frequently nominalized; indeed, several such

compounds. have elHc red the classical lexicon solely in their nominalized

:auxiliaries-ror coUmplc. u;ns" . . rjh~ </ldzin·l/zuii byN> ··does lIold inllllotdin& ..... arrests."
lido toN <bJu.gfog KIM> "scnds ~I ri f'f'in, cUll ing ..... CJploiu," U!~N dht <J~I·Ndrtn
~d> "11<)0 accompa nying kallio& .... shi ps."
WORDS 111

forms-for example, so-sor tllUl-pa "individual liberation - ecclesiastical rules

(priitimolqa)," rdles-su dpag·pa "consequent weighing'" logical inference
(anumana)," mum-par smin-pa "particular ripening ... karmic retribution
(vipika)." All such nominalized intensifier-verb compounds are particularly
liable to be clipped into disyllabic stress groups-thus mam·les < mam-pal
kS-pa "particular knowing ... perception (vijliiina)," mam-rtog < mam·par
rtog·po "particular examining ... imposition of conceptual constructs (vlkalpa ),"
ii~r-Ndtog < iie·bar Ndlog·pa "close pUlling ... application (upastha)," rab-grlQS
< rob-tu gnas·po "high placing ... consecration {prati1!IIQ)," mnon-Ies <
moon-par Ies-po "manifest knowing ... clairvoyance (abhijiiii)," as well as sor·
thar < so·sorthar-pa "individual liberation ... ecclesiastical rules (prQ timolqa),"
mam·smin < mam ·par smi" .pa "outward ripening - karmic rc;tribution
(Vlpaka):' rdJes·dpag "consequent weighing'" logica l infere nce (anuma/la),"

2.1.2. Derivations

DERIVAnONS of new words from old are of two types, We will use the I~rm
HoNER 1)r: 'U VAnON 10 refer to those processes of derivation tha t operate
within the syllable, using such NON SYI.LAIlI C FOR MA11VES as prefixed s· (as in
RlN "be [ong" ,waN "make long"), suffixed -d (as in ORO "be warm" drod
"warmth"), a nd infixed voicing (as in 11/0 N "emerge" DON "eject"). We will
use the te rm OU11,R OERIVAnON tn rder to those processe~ of derivatiop that
operate (lulsil.k the syllabic. llsin~ either such SY I.I.AII IC FORMAnVE-O;; as .pa
"ONE II AVING TO IX) WI"IlI " (as in mdu "arrow" mda-pa "a rcher") or
REOUf'LlCA'nON of the syllable a~ a Whllie (as in nlum .po " hright" nlam-riiam
"dazzling").

2.1.2. 1. IlIIltr derivation

2.1.2.1.1. ClIANCE OF LEXI CA L CATEGORY

One form or inner derivation creates verbs' frum nouns simply by taking che
noun as a verb root-fur exampk. I!II" "wa ter" 1SIIU (Ntlhu/bl!uslhIJII )
"dnlw water, irrigatc." rgyml "ornament" IWYA N ('KYa nlbrgyalllhrgyan) "adorn:'
sm b "bridle" SI(AIJ (srublhsrubslb.vah) " bridle a horse," /!hibs "horse" '/:~IIIIJ
(,.,Ilribl bt.Mslb IJih ) "ride a horse." Itm "answer" f.AN (glolilblan/glu) " make
rep[y," rlUII "moist ure" IN AN (r!rmlhrlulllbrftm ) "make WCI," .fmad "Iowef pllrt ,
112 THE ClASSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

low rank" SMAD (smod/smod/smad) "defame, blame, vilify."n Such deriva.

tions are, in fact, relatively rare in Tibeta n; but, where they occur, we often
find them involved in word play: note, in the archaic poetry from Central
Asia, no Ichyod ni khDr srab-gyis srab "You, horse. arc bridled with a bridle
in your mo uth," byoms-kyi Ian glan "I will answer an answer to his kindness,"
bgab-kyi f a Mas "He milked the milk in secret," and, throughout the classical
literature, rgyan-lD'is brgyoll-pa "adorned with adornments."

2.1.2.1.2. VOICING AND TRANSITIVITY

In classical Tibt:lan we find $(!vt!ml pairs o f vcrh~. clearly relall:d i']n'llolpgi.

cally and scmantically, whe re one pf the p:,ir lS ffimh..d;.ls transitiv\', ,111<1 II".:
othe r as intransitive, by a difference: in the voice (lIlSc.:l time nt the Initial of
the verb root. For example, in the verb pairs KilO') "~ placed, he Pl!t" (;(m
"place. put:' tillUN "~ tamed. he suhcJued" OiL'N "tame. subdue." T//ON
"come out, eme rge" DON " th row oul, ejec!." HI/UaS "take root. bccnme firm"
DZUGS "pla nt, e~tablis h ." HI/Uf) "he put. cntcr" f)ZUIJ "put. lead" Ihe
lTansitive verb is distinguished by a voiced initia l. U nforlunatdy , thc picture
is far from simple. One complic~ltinn is that it set'm.~ equally the cast' that
inlransitive ve rbs a re distinguished by voiced initials: nute the vcrh pairs GRit.
"be twisted, he wrapped around" KRIf. "emhrace. clasp round," nu "wmc-
together. assemble" TU "gather. collect," DOH "be scaHered. he dispe rsdl" rOR
"scatter, cast away," /lU/) "go away. disappear" rUD "transfer. put apart."

Nor do the prohlems end there. In some verb pairs, initial voicing seems
unre lated to transitivity al all- for example, KIIRlG "cohe re, st ick \(l~cTher"
( ;RIG "corresrond, fi t together." KUR UI . "wande r as tray" GRUI . "travel." In
some verb pairs, initial voicing seems to have indica ted, at one tinll: or
another, both transitivity and intra n~itiv ity: for example. Ihe roOiS rslfAG and
fJ7.AG bUlh have hoth transitive and intransitive paradigms-that is, on the om:
hand, 1S/lA G, (NtsJlQg//slwgJ) "drip, trickle" O7.JlG} (Ndzag/btsags/gzag) "came
to !Tickle, strain, squeeze"; and, on the other hand, DZAG j (Ndzag/zags) "drip,

II See also.lug "sheep" LUG " be s hccp~ h . huddle togeT her." and-although I th ink thiS
eumple unde rcut! my ana lysis o r innectional mo rphuklgy-to " mitk" oUJ (loId1ofMmlbll»
"milk an animal." In the case of rkll "furrow" RJ(O (rlUJ/brkru/brlco) ··dig. gouge. hoe." the
verb appc:.rs to have gencra ti7.cd the 0 in the prC$Cnl stem rlw < "G- IIXA to all ~ tem5; in
thai o r rd.t~ "lord. master" /U)lf."[l (,d1~dlb"Utdlbrd.tN) ··honor. reverclKC," the verb appears
to have generali/.cd the prese nt stc m inncctiunal $UffUl -D 10 all s tem~.
WORDS i13

trickle" TSHAG 1 (NUIwg!btJa~/bl.SlJg) "cause 10 trickle., strain, sque~ ."

Finally, in too many verb pairs to be coincidental, the transitive verb is

diJtinguished both by initial voicing and by use of the present stem inflection·
allu{ftx 'D, while the intransitive verb seems to be a backformation from the
U ansitive verb, generalizing the present stem of the same Paradigm as the
transitive member of the pair-for example, KHEGS (HIcJupIIcJup) "be
hindered. be prohibited" Q.4G (,o,gep < NoGAG·D{bk4g!dgag) "hinder, prohibit,"
IfJIERs (HkMiis/lcJWis) "be full" GAR (Ngeiis < N.aA!l.D/blcaiildgaii) "fln," KHElJ
(NlchLb/kMbs) "be covered over" G,.(8 (Jo,~bs < N...c;,u..D{b/cab!dgab) "cover,"
KHEL (NkMl/kMf) "be put o n" CAL (,,~l < N.GAJ..·O /bkill/dgof) "put on,"
KHYED (Nichyed/lclIyN) "be distributed" GYE (NgyM < NoGYE·D /~/bkye)
"divide, scatter, disperse," mE.SS (lt1hebs/lhebs) "be thrown, be hit" DAB (Ndebs
< N·nAB·D Ibtablgdab} "throw, hit." There is every reason to believe that it
is the intransitive verbs that are here late analogical developments from the
transitive verbs. The process seems to have been to devoiee the present stem
of the transitive verb-for exa mple, Q.4G "hinder" > NoGAG·D > Ngeg.f
"hinders" > Nlchegs "is hindered" > KJI£GS " be hindered," GrE "distribute"
> N.(JYE.·D > Hf.YM "distributes" > Hkhyfti " is distributed" > KHYED "be
distributed." If this hypothesis is correct, il would tend 10 indicate that-a t
least at the time of the backformatioru-the associalion of voicing with
transitivity was, in some sense, normati\'e; this would, Ilhink conform 10 the
iniuition of modern speakers, but would be inconsistent with the pattern of
other Tibeto·Burman languages,l2

2.1.2.1.3. nlE FORMATIVE ".. " 1I0~ORIt1C"

The preflX m- is found in a large number of words relating to the persons,

property, and attributes I)f social and spiritual superiors. Note, for example,
the nouns mlcha "heaven," mlchor "ca5tle," mgall-po " lord, protector," mgTOn
"feast, banquet," mnn "might, dominion," mtJhad.pa "tomb, scpuk.hre,"
mtlhog "the best," mthu "s(rength, magic power," mila "arrow," rnduii "spear,
lance," mdos "threadcross," mila "oalh," mtshun "offe rings for the ancestors,"

11 Compare, ror example, IUnauri bOI'I "be filled " pOfI "fill," bar HCllctI fire" pot ''sc t on
fire," bAu "collapse" ph/us "knock down, " BahinU"" "be bentHleu! "make bent," BodOI'll
"come loose" ~iI "loo5en," Va)'\l boo\: "be born" pole "Vwc birlb to:' Note lbo, In Tibetan,
G~, ("P~I) "be divioed" alon&\idc GYf:1 (~J/bkyl') "divide,H and ct4L , (Npl/pf)
"be in o pposition" a lon~ide GAL! (~/lbbJl,\:I~ "pu.t o n, put oYer."
114 THE CussICAL TIBETAN l...ANOUAGE

mtiuxJ "treasury, storehouse." Note too such honorifics as mtJhbf "sibling"

for spun, mtUll"sleep" for g;iid. mull/In "name" for miii. Similarly, note such
verbs as these, denoting relations between superiors and inferiors-MR.1o
"commission. charge, delegate," MTSHOD "honor, revere," MDtAL "meet a
superior, pay onc's respects," MNOD "receive from a superior"; or these,
denOling the qualities of the lofty-MKHO "be desirable, imponant." KnIO "be
lofty," MT'SIW"be wondrous," MDZANS"be noble," MDZES "be beautifuJ." And
note such honorifics as MKJIYEN "know" for SEl, lANA "possess" for YOD, MREL
"become tired" for RA4 MNES "be pleased" for DGA, MNAB "put on clothes"
for ('.oN, MD7.AD "do" for B~.

It is thus tempting to hypothesize the existence of a nonsyllabic formative m-

" 1I0NORIFlC," although the source of this formative is not at all clear. But the
hypothesis is consistent with several wo rd families-for example, NGRO "go"
NWOS "gait" tvgron-po "guest" -m-gro-n "IIONORII-1C travel NOMINAL" > mgron
"feast, banquet," nag "speech" SNAG "praise, extol" snags "incantation" -m-
nag "1I0NORU'IC speech" > MNAG "commission, charge, delegate," K1lAR "be
penned up, be confined" [)GAR "sepa rate, confine, pen up" Ngar-po--mo
" type of cattle" sgar "camp, encampntt:nt" -m·khar "1I0NORlflC enclosure"
> mkhar "castle, fort."

2.1.2.1.4. TilE fORMATrvE m- "HUMAN BODY PART"

It has long been noted that a surprisingly large number of Tibetan words
denoting parts of the human body begin with an rn· prerlX-for example,
rnkhal-ma "kidney," mkllTig-pa "wrist," mkhris·pa "bile," mgal "jaw," mgo
"head," mgu'''throat,'' mgrill-fXl "neck," milal "womb," mtJhan "side of the
breast," ml.fhj-ma "tears," mtIlu'n-pa "liver," ml.fhif-ma "saliva," ml!hu "Iip,"
ml.flier-pa "splcen." mdtiii-pa "neck," mdlug " bUllock," mdle "penis," mthan
"lower pan of the hndy," mllte-bo " thumb," mlho "span of the hand," millOn-
R(I "chest," mduii~ "cnmph:xio n," mu/lall "genitals," mtshul-pa "lower parI of
the fa ce," nllx/wg-rnu "fcmtanelle," rndzub-mo "finger," mdur-pa "wart," Note
alM I .wJoms-mdom.J "pudenda," Idall-pa-mdall'pa "cheek," as well as mlhiJ
"hottom part" in [ug-nllhi/"palm of the hand," rkan-rntl!il "sole of the foot,"
I1l1lri/-hti "the four bottnms ... palms and soles,"

It ca n he conjectured that this preinilial m- is in fact a nonsyllahic formative

m· < Prolo-lil)etan -myi- "tillMAN UclUY PART," clearly related to-but not
identical with- Proto-Tibetan -myi "human being." For example, given Old
WORDS 115

Chinese ·syen "bitter," Burmese ~san, Kanauri lin. Miti nin, Kachin sin,
Lushei Ihin "liver," we can hypothesize Proto-Tibetan -myi-Lfin "HUMAN BODY
PART liver" > -m-uin > Old Tibetan mUllin-pa "liver," given Lushei Iwl,
Tiddim . Chin Iw~ Chepang ga~ Kaike khal '~kidney," we can hypothesize
PrOio-Tibetan -myi-khal "IIUMAN BODY PART kidney" > -m-khal > Old
Tibetan michal-rna "kidney," and given Lepcha lui "bitter," Kachin khri "acid,
sour," Burmese khre "bile," Dimasa kizin' "sour," we can hypothesize Proto-
Tibetan -myi-khris "HUMAN BODY PART bile" > em-kilns> Old TIOctan
rnJcJuir-pa "bile." NOie how this human part forma tive functions in the context
of the word family KlIRlG "cohere, stick together" GRlG "correspond, fit
together" SORlG "put together"· -m-JcJlrig "IIUMAN BODY PART joim" > mkllrig-
po "wrist," or the word family GAI./ "be in opposition" GALl "put on, put
over" RGAJ. "dispute, contend" em .gal "HUMAN BODY PART opposition" >
mgal "jaw."

2.1.2.1.5. TilE FORMATIVE s- "ANIMAl."

A number of classical Tibetan words fo r animals ~gin with an s· preinitial-

for example, stag "tige r, ~ ' sdig-pa "scorpion." sdom "spider," spyaii "wolf,"
spra -spre "monkey," sbal-pu "frog," -fbllr-pa "beetle," sbraii·bu "bee," sbrnl
"snake," smig-bu "lizard," and perhaps also sder-nw "claw, talon," spor-ba
"paw, claw," spu "hair, feather," sballs "dung of a large anima1." This
preinitial s- may in fact be a nonsyllabi, formative s- < Proto-Tibetan -fo'
"ANt MAL." clearly related to hut nlll identical with Proto-Tibetan '10
"animal," -Iwo "dct:r." This ANIMAL PH I ~I ·1X ap parently dates back to PrOlo-
Tibeto-Burman, since il is found throughout th~ Tibeto-Burman languages,
although in different languages it may he prdixt:d to different word~ . Fnr
example, some of these language show an animal prdix where Tibetan has
none: for example, we find Lushei SlHvm, Lt:pcha satllm, MiTi si/wn. hut
Tibetan dom "ht:ar," and, similarly, Lushd sa/riifl but Ti~tan na "fish."
Lushei sal'O but Tibetan bya ·'bird." Conversely, somt:times Tibetan shows an
animal prefix where other Tibeto-Burman languages do not-for example,
Thebor brul. Magari but, Burmese m,....·e, Mikir phuru/, Lushei ml, Tangkhul
phHQ "snake," but Proto-Tibetan -Ia·brul "ANIMAL snake" > ' s-brul > Old
Tibetan sbrul "snake," Lushei Iii, Garo -til<, Lepcha dik "scorpion," hut
Proto-Tibetan -!a-dik "A1-I IMAJ... scorpion" > -s-dig > Old Ti~ tan sdig-pa
"$Corpion," Burmese bha "frog" but Proto-Tibetan ·fa·bal "ANIMA!. frog" >
-s-bal > Old Tibetan sbal-ptJ "frog." Mikir leke " tiger" hut Proto-Tibellm
-la-tag "A1-IIMAl. tiger" > · s-lag > Old Tibetan Slag "tiger," Burmese blwii
116 TilE ClAssiCAL TIIIETAN WOUAGE

"ordure" but Prolo-Tibetan -la-baiis "ANIMA!. ordure" > ·s-bans > Old
Tibetan shans "dung." Finally, we find the animal prefIX in some cases both
in Tibetan and elsewhere-for example. Miri sw. Tibetan spre "monkey,"
Lushei salcLi, Tibetan stag "tiger."

1.1.1.1.6. THE FORMA'I1V£ s- ~RANS ITIVEtI

The nonsyllabic formative s- "lltANSlnVE" is found as a prefIX in many

transitive verbs Ihat are clearly related, phonologically and sc:maruicaJly, 10
intransitive verbs without the prefix-for example. GUL "be agitated" SOUL
"agiI8It," GYUR "change, become" SGYUIC "cause to change. transmute,
translate," GYf'L "fall, tumble" SerEL "throw down, ovenurn," GlUC "be right,
be suitable" SGRlG "put in order," GIUB "grow dim, get dark" SORIB "pollute,
darken, obscure," GRiL "be twisted or wrapped around" SGRfL "wind or wrap
around," GRUN "be finished , he made ready" SORUB "finish, accomplish," ORE
"roll on the ground" SORt: "roll," OREN "stand" soRER "raise, erect," OROG
"cry out" SGXOG "publish, proclaim, promulgate," OROL "be libentted," SOROL
"save, rescue," Fm. "decay" SNII. "destroy," NUN "be little" sNuR "diminish,
reduce," DUM "be rt:conci1cd" SDUM "rt:concile, conciliau!," NUll "sink, set"
SNUB "suppress, abolish," NU R "movt:, change place" SHUR "remove, shift,"
NOR "err, be mistakt:n" SNOR "confuse, confound, mingle, mix," BIIO "be
polluted" SMG "stain, defile," RAN "be soaked, macerated" SRAN "steep, soak,"
BAR "catch fire, burn" SIIAR "light, kindle," BUB "be upside down" SPUB
"invert," BYAN "be clt:ilnsed" SHYAN "cleanst:," B~R "adhere" SH~R "fasten,"
8Y1N "sink down" SPYIN "let down," BREJ. "cohere" SRREL "stitch together,"
RlN "be long" SRlN "streich," J.AN "rise" SUN "raise," I.AD "be weak, dull" SUf)
"adulterate,"

In addition, note such pairs as KJIUM "shrink, cont ract oneself' SKUM
"contract, draw in," KJIOR "turn around, go about in a circle" SKOR "encircle,
enclose, [wist around," KJIOL "be hailing" SKOL "bring to a boil," J()(Y1L "be
twisled, wind oneself' SA"Y1L "bend, twist," KIlYUR "be separated, divorced"
SKYUR "throw ilwily, cast OUI," KlO'O "red, stagger" SKYOM "shake, agitate,"
TlIIM "be absorbed, dissolve, evaporate" snM "enter, pervade," PHUR "fly"
SPUR "make fly, frighlen <lway." PllfI. "become greater" SPEL "make greater,"
1'110 "change place" SPQ "move, transfer," PlIYAR "hang down" SPYAN
"suspend," PI/flO "proceed" Sl'HO "m<lke dispc=rse," PIIROD "be delivered, be
WORDS 117

transmitted" SPROD "bring together, introduce,',11

1.1.2.1.7. THE FORMATIVE -d "NOMINAL"

The nonsyllabic formative 4 "NOMI,.AL" is found in nouns derived from

verbs-for cxamplc, ORO "become warm" drod "warmth," NA "be ill" nad
"illness." sRE "'ean against" siied "crupper," KdH/"speak" mlJlUd "conversa-
tion." Often these derivatives are made into disyllabic stress groups by the
addition of a pleonastic suffIX-for example, TSJIA "be hot" tshod-po "heat,"
wt.J "be heavy" Wid-po "weight," RGA "be old" rgad.po "old man," RKE "be
lean" rlud-po "waist," LLt "look" lJad-mo "sight, scene, spectacle," BRO "taste,
smel~ savor" brod-po "joy," fUSE "play" nseet-rno "game, span, toy," BLU
"redeem, ransom" blud-po "ransom payment," filu "weep" nud-mo "sob," GOO
"love" gdud.po "longing. desire."I.

1.1.1.1.8, THE FORMATIVE -n "NOMtNAL"

The nonsyllabic formative -n "NOMlliAl.." is found in nouns derived from

verbs-for example, SKYO "be weary, vexed" skyon "fault, harm, de£ect," Raw
"move, wander" IXYWI "flow, liurrent, stream," Gtll "urinate" gtJin "urine,"
filE "be near" iien "kinsman," Gll4 "~ there" gdan "scat, position, abode,"
IWZU "give a deccptive representation" rdzun "falschood," 2'A "cat" zan
"food," Often these derivatives arc made into disyllabic stress groups by the
addition of a pleonastic suffIX-for example, RKU "rob, steal" rkun-ma "thief,
theft," SKYr"borrow" skyin-po "thing borrowed," NORO "go" NgroII-po "guest,"
RNA "mow, cut, reap" man-po "reward, hire, wages," NDU "come together,
meet, assemble" Ndun-mtJ "counci~ consultation, advicc," NDRE "be mixed"
Ndren-mtJ "mixture," NPHYO "roam about, gambol" Nphyon-ma "prostitute,"
Bto "milk" bton-ma "milk cow," Iu "peel, strip orr' fun-po "the peel."

13 Note abo NHAM"be equal, kvel H sNO/ll"lI\IIlte level, eqlllllt.e,H lINAN "slink" $NAN
"Imdl," f'I1)It£ "tie mfxcd" JR£ "mix. H

14 Of CXHaJX. lbe DOmlullzlnl rormatt\oe 4 mllSl be diJllnplsbccS from tbe prt:Se.Qt stem
iIlfIecUouI.ullk _4 II.. kw cues _ find noun doublelllllCb. U 1'UlJ-N-rtuId "root" .nd
. . . . --dud-ptt "smoke," wbcre there are fonns botb wilb .nd willM;\ut 4 but DO obvious
ICNI\lC w:rb. 1110 GOt ~ why tlUa b so.
118 TilE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

2.1.2.1.9. TIlE FORMATIVE oS "NOMINAL"

The nonsyllabic formative -.I "NOMINAl" is found in nouns derived from verbs
-for example, SKYAB "protect" skyabs "protection," SIO'EM "be thinty" .skyems
"beverage, beer, libatio n, " KJIRU "bathe" khrus "bath," GRAN "count" gram
"number," NORD "go" Ngros "motion, travel," RD'lE. "change, shirt" rdfes
"track, trace," Lli4 "look" lIas "omen, sign, prodigy," NDOM "come together"
Ndoms "genitals," SPU "dc:coralc" spus "beauty," sro "change, shift" spos
"incense," PlfYUG " be rich" phyugs "cattle," N80 "swell up" NOOs " boil, tumor,
swelling," SBUG "pierce" sbugs "hole," RTSI"count, calculate" nsif "counting,
numeration. astrology," RDZON "dismiss, expedite" rdzons "act of esconing, fcc
for safe conduct, dowry," G'lA "ma ke jokes, play games" gtas "joke, game,"
ZA "eat" zas "food," ZAn "be deep" labs "depth," LOG "return, lurn around"
logs "side, direction, region," SoiJ "remove, e mpty, carry away" Jom "pit,
excavation, valley," BSO "pour out" bJos " food offering to the gods," SRUB
"stir, rake, rub" stubs "cleft, slit, rent, wound," SLOIJ "learn, teach" slobs
"exe rcise, practice, experience",,15

There is some (eason to believe tha t this derivat ional -s is the remains of an
earlie r Proto-Tibetan - ·sa "P I.ACE." The following derivations. for example,
an: not implausible-NAG "he black" -"ag.sa "da rk place" > nags "forest,"
l.AR "be deep" -zab-sa "deep place" > labs "depth," N80 "swell" - lObo-sa
"swelling place" > Nhos "boil, tUl:noT," LTA "look" -lla-sa "looking place" >
{tas "omen, sign," soiJ "excavate" -Joil·sa "excavating place" > Jofu
"excava ti on""l~ Such a derivation is less plausible- but certainly still possible

t5 Note also KG... "be olu"' rgas_kll "old age,~ NORJ:: '"be mixed"' Ndns ·nuJ " mixture,
mcd h":y,"" lI1:tA '"belir, bring forth " bIJQs-",~ '"barvest,"" IWlU '"givt: a dccc:ptive rep resentation"'
H
nu.us·"'tl "something coumer fcil, fe igned, dissembled,"" Uf£ "twist, ptait, braid IMs·mQ
""braid, wickerwork , twi~ t ed pastry"" Th~ ~eriv~lions should be di5lingul\hcd from the
nnminalil..ation with -I'(J of past tense SIems which have an inf\e(:tionai su ffIX - $, a proccs..~
.... hich co nt inued In he proouctive in tile ClaloSic..a1 Jang\l~ge- for eample, SIO'l:- "be:: born H
sl.:yu-PIl ""ma n, male perso n," CHAO "cry, shoul '" grQgs .pt:I "fame,'"11If1B " mount, ride" flhibs-
pt:I " ho~," S'HO '"go 01.11, spread , incline l oward "" spros"pa "bu$;ne$$, activi ty."

16 There are a few examples ....here Ihis PrOlo-Tihetan o_so .. n ....CEH > -J .ppc.an 10
derive nnuns frum nouns u ....dl - Ihus ,v,u.ot '"hole, pil, cavityH okJurfl·J(J "hole pl~ ce" >
khuns ""mine," Ichaii " the in~i lJe'" ·khoii·JQ "'inside place'" > ,v,oiaJ "middle, mid!t,H ilo "face"
' ';(J "Sti "" face place'" > ;ins '"siue, dirC(tion, surface,"' dbl4 " hClld"" °dbu'JO "h~d place" > dbu.s
""mrlJ<.Il e:" The words phYop '"side, diroctlOn" and '''1;$ "~ ide" diroc tion" I re sufficiently
similar III cac h or her in meaning, ~nu 10 pIIY(Jg "hand" and wg "hand" in phonetic Shape,
WORDS 119

_herc thc derived noun slands 10 the source verb as something other than
a patient. as in SKYE.M "be thirsty" skytms "beer" or I'lfYUG "be rich" phyugs
"callie."; and some of these derivations appear simply idiosyncratic, such as
SPO "change, shift" lfXJS "incense."

2.1.2.1.10. THE FORMATIVE swd-s'" <iIONSIlIP COlLECTIVE"

Thc nonsyllabic formative Hi or s·n "KINSHIP COU.ECIlVF." is found in a very

Jcw words dcnoting kinship groups. wherc its function is apparently to cxpand
the rangc of refercncc of thc source noun-for examplc, pIII1 "fathcr" plla.
spad "father and childrcn," ma "mothcr" ma-smad "molher and childrcn,"
phu "cldcr brothcr" spun "siblings" span-spun "brothcrs. relatives," kllu
"unclc" skud·po "brothcr-in·law. father-in·law," tsha "grandchild, ncphcw"
khu-tshan "uncle and nephcw."

2.1.2.2. Outer du;valion

2.l.2.2.1. SYLLABIC FORMATIVES

2.1.1.2.1.1. TilE FORMATIVE ·nUl "·NESS"

Thc syllabic formativc ·iiid "'NESS" is suffixed to adjectives to yield ahstract

nouns-for examplc, lla-ba "easy" sla·ba·nid "casiness," dka-ba "difficult"
dluJ-ba·nid "difficulty," sra-ba "hard" sra-ba-iiid "hardness," nag-po "black"
nag-po·nid "blackness," tsha·ba "hot" tsha·ba·nid "heat," bzaii·ba "good"
bzaii-ba·nid "goodness." Such forms are primarily metaphysical in connota-
tion: sra·ba·iiid "hardncss," for example. is a lerm for a quality characteristic
of all material substancc. Similarly, bzan·ba·nid "grxxtncss" refers to goodness
considered in the abstract; goodness considered as a matter of degree would
be expressed ~ the ADJECTIVE + ADJECDVE _ NOUN compound bzan·iian
"good bad _ virtue."

The formativc ·iiid "'NESS" is thus primarily productive in the area of

Buddhist philosophical abstraction. We find slon.po "empty" slon.po.iiid
"cmptiness," lies-po "certain" nes.pa.iiid "reality," de·bIin "such" de·bIin·iiUl

10 5Ugeslll'lc derivation phyagllog "bandM:>o °phyog_llog_sQ " band plaf;:eM :>0 phyop/fop "side,
clirct1ion.M
120 THE ClAssiCAL. TIBETAN lANGUAGE

"suchncu," rniiam-ptJ "alike" miiam-pa-ijid "sameness," In this semantic field

8S well, such philosophical abstractions can also be derived frum nouns-
mulum "sign" muJuzn-Rid "defining mark," no-be "thing" no-bo-nUl "nature,"
saijs·rgyas "Buddha" sans-rgyas-ifid "S"ddhahood,"

2.1.2.2.1.2. 11IE FORMATIVE -po "PERSON HAYING TO 00 WITH"

The syllabic formative -pa "PERSON HAVING TO 00 WlTII"-which musl be

clearly disting~ished {rom the nominalizer -Pa-is extremely productive in
classical Tibe~n. and it is 5ufflXCd to nominals of all types to yield new
nouns. Thus we find mdJJ "arrow" mdtl-pa "archer," tin "field" tiii-pa "farm-
er," na "horse" no-pa "horseman," small "medicine" sman-pa "doctor," tJhu
"water" tIhu-pa "waler carrier," gar "dance" gar-pa "dancer," khyinz "house"
Jchyim-pa "householder," grwo "school" grwa-pa "scholar," ma/-Nbyor "yoga"
mal-Nbyor-pa "yogin," ka-kha "ABC" ka·kha·pa "schoolchild," lha-sa "Lhasa
City"lha-sa-pa "resident of Uasa City," bod "Tibet" bod·po "Tibetan," ri-bo
"mountain" ri-bo-pa "highlander," dpyod·pa "examination" d!I)',Id-pu-pu
"examiner." Similarly, we find .pa suffiXed to adjectives, as in gtIer-b14
"naked" gtJer-bu-pa "naked ascetic," and to·complex nominals, as in las dan -
po "first work _ beginning" /as-dafi-po.po "beginner," rkan Wlif "two fect"
rkaii-gfiir.pa "biped," bye-brag-ru smf/l-ba "vibha~" bye-brag·tu .rmra ·ba.pa
"Vaibh8~ika."

2.1.2.2./.J. THE FORMATIVE ·mfdum "SJULLED IN"

The form -mkhan "SKILLED IN" appears in several collocations after nouns-
fOf example, sa "COUlltry" sa-mkhan "guide," lam "pa th" /am -mkhan "guide,"
Ijjj "wood" Jiii-mkhan "carpenter," gar "dance" gaf-mkhan "dancer," gtu
"bow" gtu·mJchan "bowmaker," bzo "handicraft" bzo-mkhan artisan," The
fOfm ·mkhan is clearly related to a number of lexical items with similar
meanings: notc MKJIYEN "know," mkhan-po "scholar, abbot," mkhas-pa
"knowledgeable," mJchllJ-PO "learned person." It is nOl clear to me, however,
whether -mJchan is better described ilS a syllabic formative-that is, a form
that is not itself a word, although perhaps etymologically related to a word,
such as mfdlan-po "scholar, abbol"-nf instead as a clipped word fUllcl i:nirp,
as the second member of a compound. No matte rs of great momcnl t. ; '.
WORDS 121

this distinction; but the WObkm is offert:d here to illustrate the insistent .
intractibility of language.

2.1.2.2.1.4. TilE FORMATIVE '1'I1O-t.fJ~ "BIG JUNO 01-'"

The disyllabic formative ·l'lIo ·/Jhe " UI(; KtND 0 1-"" is commonly suCrlXed 10
noun~ 10 yield new nouns with an inlt:llsivc or emphatic sense. Thus we find
sk4d "voice" skad.po-tIhe "Ioud voice," OlD "nose" ma-bo·lJ/ie "big nosc," me
" fire" me·bo·lJhe "conflagra tion," od "light" od-po-l$ht " brilliance," phal
"commoll people" pllOl,po-l$l.e "crowd," sdig "sin" sdig·po-rlhe "vile sinm:r,"
glun "ox" glan-po."f/le "elephant," na "h6rse" nu-bo· /Ihe "divine horse," millu
"power" mfhu·bO·fIh e "migh ty po wer," n'" "value" rill-po- /Ihe "jewel."

2.J .2.2.1.5. TilE FORMATIVE ·I.~tm " POSSESSING"

The syllahic formativ e -tIun "I'OSSE'~tN(j" is suffixed to nouns 10 create

adjectives. This formative is very pmtJu( tive in the classic:t l la nguage, ;15 in
)(fum -pu "swamp" Kmm-pa·tIan "swampy," g(JTI5 "snow" gaTIS./Jan "snowy,"
/S/u:r·m(J "thorn" /S/1I:r·mU ·IJUII "Ihmny," nor "wea lth" nor·/Ial! "wealthy,"
spod "spice" spod./Jun " spicy," mllg "pus" mug.tIUlI " purulent," .wra "sound"
swu -Wm "sonorous," n'" "val ue" fin ·/Jull ··valuahk." gduK'PU "poison" ?fluX '
pa-dull "poisonous," "'KYur.hlJ, "change" f<:{yur-/! u ·tJulI " mutable." iiur "liard·
m:ss" "ar· IJufl " tt:mpered," Idtid :'w::ight" (dtid'IJul! "heavy:' khy/JI/
" difference" klzyud. ,.{lJ/1 ··spcl:ia!." kfud " modesIY" khref- I!an "mnJest," 81vs
"aJ vicc" groS·LJUlI "cautious," .~JiK " sir' " JdiK·I.(tUl ··., infu l," lUI "wt) ~ k " /uJ -l.((m
"industrious," .'ifl/h.. " strength" J Wb.N ;VIl " stmnt~: ' dbali "powe r"' dbU/i -IJl/n
" powt:rful," rlled-rno "play" nsed·rr.o· ,f(lll "mcrry," smg "life" .mlg- t rwl
"living," serns "mind" snns' IJm ! "sclltient ," ltd "lx)(ly" [us-d (1II " emlxx.i i,:d,"
blo-grus "intellect" b(O-grOl'- I$UII "JuJ id()us," dXe·bu "virt ue" dKt -ba ·tJu"
"virtuous," nn·rgyal " pride" na·wul·'.!on "proud," miii "name" m jiz ·' .{(111
"famous," mi "sap" (fsi·/!",! ··viscid."

11 Co mpa/<: word~ lhal ~im d~rty end WIlh ·hdng - ro r eUIllpl<:, IcJt lliH><4Jg "ma'ler nl Ille
1l0w.e." su· bdllg "masle r uf Ihe canll .... In,r... 1 ocl l y." ~i·WDg "ma~te l u l the SUI' ..... !'Joa! t
deity:' Jbyi,,·bdag "maSler or 'Irl\ .... pauu n:' n :nlJ·bdag "lfIaSler uf do minl' ,n - .. ru tcr ," n il ·
bd<Jg "maste r o f men .... kin,:' Sud"! II< urds arc Icad ily CI 'ncclvcd III be o" ml,,-,umls ,,'ull thf.
~hpp<.'<.1 5CUln d mcmbcr MIlK'po " m;os< cf : ' It is hardn. ; oc lie"t, In ~CC, !o.'~ Jii ·mJtIr,m
··':..HperllC(· dCfivc<.l In 'hc s~m~ ~ llaigt' l rm.... a (d way fmm mkhn" .pa " sc h" lar, ahl>o!.··
122 TilE CLt.ssICAl TIBETAN WGUAOE

We must distinguish constructions using this FORMATIVE ·dan "POSSESSING"

from clipped relalive constructions with the VERBS UJAN .. ~ endowed" and
nrlAs "be accompanied," which bear a surface similarity. Both verbs occur
with patient and accompaniment participants-for example,so;;'HKYOS yon-ton·
dan Idan "The Buddha is endowed with excellence," rgyo/-po Nkhor.tfaii btJas
"The king is accompanied by his retinue." Relativized forms of these verbs
are arlen found modifying no uns, as in rgyal-mo bu-dun. Man-po "the queen
with a child," bla-rna rig.pa-dan. /Jan -po "a lama possessed of wisdom," rgyol.
po ral-gri-dnii btJas-pa "the king ",;th his sword," dge·sloii g/egs-bam-dan blJus-
po "the monk who has the books," Such collocations are particularly liable
to be clipped. Thus we find mdvg "color" and both mdog-tJan and mdog·ldan
< mdog-daii lJan·pa "colored," gltod "harm" and both gnod·tJan and g7lod-
bt!as < gnod·dan btJas·po "harmful," sdig "sin" and both sdig.tJan and sdig·
bt!as < sdig-daii bt!as·pa "sinful," nor "wealth" and both nor·l!an and 1I0r·
bl!as < nor·dan hl!as·po "wealthy."

2.1.2.2.1.6. TilE FORMATIVE -yas "·LESS"

The syllabic formative ·yas "-LESS" is suffixed to nouns 10 create adjectives

with a privative meaning. II is, in this sense, the se mu nlic opposite of the
syllable formative ·l!an "POSSESSING," but its scope is much mme restricted.
The formative ·yas "·u.ss" is found only with nouns denoting extent-thus,
for example, hgran "number" bgruii-yas "numberless," mIlia "end, border,
limit" mlha-yas "endless," dptJg " measure" dpag·yas "measureless," gta!
"weight, measure" gIal.yas ·'infinite."

2.1 .J.2. 1.7. TilE FORMATIVE -bu--u "DIMINUTIVE"

Another produc!!Ye syllabic formative is -bu-·U··D1MINU11VE"-dearly related

to but not identical with the noun bu "child"-suffixed lO nouns to yield new
nouns. The form ·bu is suffIXed to syllables with consonant finals-for
ex~mple, lam "kettle" laiis·bu "POt," glegs " table" g/~-bu "tablet," khuii
"hole" Ichufl·bu "pore," gzer "nail" gzer oJU "lack," lor "sickle" lor·bu
"chopper," phad "sack" pilad.bu "handbag," glan "ox" glaii·bu "calf," dom
"bear" dom,·bu "bear cub" !in "wood" !iFi-bu "piece of wood " rn>r "wealth"
nor-bu "gem." In disyllables the' formative ·bu replaces unst~essed ·PO and
·Pllo-thus kJJaii-pa "house" khan-bu "coual;e," sJon-po "tree trunk" sdoii·bu
WORDS 123

"stick.," bum-pa "jar" bum-bu "small W3Icrpol," tIhag-pa "bunch of flowers"

t/h4g-bu "small bunch of flowers."

Afler a preceding open syllabic we find the form ·u. and in such cases too
the preceding low back vowels Q and () become the low fronl vowel e-thus
riia "drum" meu "small drum," mda "arrow" mdeu "arrowhead," bo "cow"
bell "calf," ra "goat" reu "kid," Ita "horse" rtN "foal," bya "bird" byeu "little
bird," M "fuh" nell. "small fish," so "tooth" stu "small tooth," rnLSho "lake"
mJSluu "pond," khyo "man" Ich~u ''youth,'' rdo "stone" rchu "pebble," sgo
"door" .rgeu "little door," mtho "hammer" mtheu "little hammer." Front
vowels are unaffected by a following -u-thus mi "man" miu "dwarf," khyi
"dog" Ichyiu "puppy," d,e "mule" lIreu "young mule," rdte "lord" rd1eu
"princeling,"

In many cases the -u form has been generalized to replace the form ·bu after
consonants as well as vowels, with frequent variation in spelling-for example,
pag "brick" pag-bu-pag-gu "brick," gzn- "nail" gzer-bu-gu-ru "tack," gdub
"bracelet" gdub-bu -gdu-bu "bracelet," riJ-po "globule" riJ-bu-ri-lu "pill," thig
"cord" thig-gu-thi-gu "string." phrug "child" phrug-gu-phru-gu "child," wg
"sheep" lug-gu-lu-gu "Iamb," dbyug-pa "stick" dbyug-gu-dbyu-gu "wand,"
smyug-ma "bamboo" smyug-gu-smyu-gu "reed pen_"

2.1.2.2.1.8. SEX FORMATIYES

1.1.1.1.1.8.1. The fonn.tives -mo "'FEMALE" and -plw "MALE"

Several syllabic formatives in the classical language function to specify the sex
of nominals with animate re£erents. Many Tibetan ani""'lte nouns are
unmarked for sex: they refer vaguely to beings of either sex. Where there is
a need to specify the sex of the re£eTent, the sex formatives -mo "FEMAlE"
and -pho "MALE" .yield nauru with' this additional informaHoO! Thus we find
bran "servant" but bran-mo "maidservant" bran-plio "manservant," we
"demon" but ftIdrt-mo "female demon" ftIdrt-pho "male demon," Ia "deer"
but Io-mo "doc" Io-pho "buck," ra "goat" but ra-mo "nanny goat" ra-phD
"billy goat," bra "bird" but bya-mo "hen" bya-phD "cock." lug "sheep" but
lug-mo "e~" lug-pho "ram," Ita "horse" butlta-mo "mare" Ita-pho "stallion,"
124 TIlE CLAssICAL.,TmETAN lANOUAGE

khyi "dog" but khyi-mo -"bitch" khyi-phn "male dog," tire "mule" but tire-mo
"jenny" dre-pho "male mule."

2.1.2.2.1.8.2. Animpl sex fonnalivu

Nouns referring to animals form several interesting lexical fields in Tibewn.

Unmarked and sex-marked animate: nouns combine with their respective
diminutives to constitute the following semantic array:

UNMARKED FEMALE MALE YOUNG

"horse" na l'1a·mo r1a-pho ,reu

"deer" fa Ia·mo !a.pIw feu
"goal" m ra·mo ra-pho "u
"dog" khyi khyi-mo khy;·pho Jehyiu
"bird" bya bya-rno bya-pho byeu
" mule" d" dre·mo dre-pho dreu
"sheep" lug tllg·rno lug-pho tug.gu

Moreover, a further distinction of sex is often drawn between castrated and

uncastrattd domestic animals, where the uncastrated form is marked with the
syllabic formative pha- "UNCASTRA1W" and the castrated form is either
unmarked or mnrked with the syllabic formative pho. "CASTRATED." Thus we
find glan "ox" pha·gtan "bull," ra-plw "goat" phlJ.ra "buck goat," pho-r1a
"gelding" pha-r1a "stallion," pho-phag "gelded boar" pha·phDg "boar," pho.
g.yag "gelded yak" pha-g.yag "bull yak." Note the resulting distnoution of
te rms-na "horse (male or fema le)," r1a-pho "male horse (gckled or
ungelded)," pllo·r1a "gelded horse," plla·r1a "stallio:l,"

The females of such domestic animals often have nonderived names (thus ba
"cow" rather than ?glan.mo, Nbri·mo "female yak" rather than ?g.yog-mtJ, and
rgod.mtJ "mare" alongside r1a-mo), or names derived with the syllabic
formative mo· "OOMESllC FEMALE" in parallel with pho- "CASTRATED," Again
note the distribution of terms-lta "horse (male or fema~)," r1a-mo "female
horse (wild or domestic)," mO-r1a "domestic female horse;' Note too that we
therefore find slag-rno "tigress" but not ?mo-stag and sen-,e.mo "lioness" bu\
not ?mo·sen·ge. Domestic animals tilus constitute a lexical field much like the
following:
WORDS 125

UNCASTRATED CASTItATED F1!MALE

"ox" pha-glan glan ba

"yak" pha-g.yag pho-g_yag Nbri-mo
"goat" pha-ra ",-pho ra-mo
"horse" pha-rta plw-rta mo"""
"pig" pha-phag pho-phog mo-plwg

2_1.2.1.1.8.3. The formauvu -m/} and -1M "fEMALE"

Many other Tibetan animate nouns-and generally all nominal. with human
rderents-refer vaguely both to males and to beings of either sex. Where
there is a need to specify the referent as female the syllabic formative. -mo
"FEMALE" and -rna ""EMALE" yield nouns with the additional information. A
source nominal that ends in -PrJ or .pa will generally derive iu sex-marked
form with ·ma, one that ends in -PliO will generally derive iu sex-marked form
with -mp, and one that ends in neither will idiosyncratically select one
formative or the other, although there appears to be some tendency for
native Tibelan words 10 select ·mo and for borrowed expres.siotIJ and
neologisms to select ·ma.

In this last case we find the sex formative -rna selected in such nominals as
mi "human being, man" mi-rno "woman," 100 "deity, god" lOO-mo "goddess,"
bu "child, $On" bu-rno "daughter," rdle "noble person, lord" rdle-mo "lady,"
klu "serpent deity, serpent god" Idu·mo "serpent goddes.s," gnod-sbyin
"demon, male demon" gnod-sbyin.mo "female demon." pho-na "messenger,
male messenger" pho-na-mo "female messenger," Slag "tiger. male tiger" slag-
mo "tigress," grul·burn "ghoul, male ghoul" grut-bum-mo "female ghoul," and
we find the sex formative ·rna selected in such nominals as dge-sloii "cenobite,
monk" dge-sloii-ma "nun," rdte-btsuff' ''reverend person, reverend sir" rdle·
btsun-ma "reverend madam," dbaii-phyug "mighty one, k>rd" dboii-phyug.rna
" lady," mkho.NgrO "celestial spirit, 4iika" mkha-HgrO-rna ""ik.iOi," gloo-nu
"young person, youth" glon·nu-ma "maid."

Among nominals whose unmarked forms end~n -I'D or -pa we find bod-pa
"Tibetan, male Tibetarr" bod-Wla "female Tilx!tan," gar-po "dancer, male
dancer" gar-mn "remale dancer," tJhos·po "religious person, monk" tIhos-ma
"nun," mal'Nbyor.pa "pra~tilioner of yoga, yogin" maf-Nbyor-mo "yogini," 10-
gilis-pa " two-year-old. two-year-old boy" lo·giiis-ma "two-year-old girl." Nphogs-
126 TilE Ci..AssICAL TIBETAN l..J.NouAoE

po "noble person, nobleman" Nphags-ma "noblewoman," Nphrog-pa "thief,

male thier' Nphrog-ma "female thief," nor-ldan-pa "rich person, rich man"
nor-ldan-nuJ "rich woman," so·sor Nbran-po "follower. male devotee" so-sor
Nbran-ma "Cemale devotee."

Amo ng nominals whose unmark.ed forms end in ·PIIO we find tsha-bo

"grandchild, grandson" tsha·mQ "granddaughter," g.yog-po "servant., man·
servant" g.yog-mo "maidservant." grogs-po "friend, male friend" grogs-rna
"female friend," rgyal-po "royalty, king" rgyol-ma "queen," glan-po "elephant,
male elephant" glon-mo "female elephant," NgOii-po "demon, male demon"
"8On.mo "Cemale demon," dboij-po "sovereign, male sovereign" dboii·mo
"female sovcrcign," gtso-bo "chief, fim lord" gtso-mQ "first lady," tJh~/1.po
"great one, great man" dllen-mo "great lady," dkar-po "while one, white
male" dlwr-mo "white female."

2.1.2.2.1.8.4. Names

In some cases too the formative s -mo "FEMALE" or -ma "FEMALE" may
replace the -1'110 or -fa or -po suffIX of some nominals to yield nouns
denoting a special kind or particular example of the class denoted by the
source nominal-a specification of the son often rendered in English by initial
capitalization. Thus we find riiiii-pa "old" but riiiii-ma "Old Sect," gsar-po
"new" but gsar-ma "New Sect," dbw "middle" but dbu-ma "Madhyamaka
School," gter "treasure" bUlgter-rna "Hidden Text," bluJ "sacred teaching" but
bluJ-rna "the Teaching of the Old Sect," grum-po "heat" but grum-mo "Mystic
Heat," t.sJwd "measure" butlShod-ma "Science of Logic." Thus too zans ru-
bti "four-handled pot" refers to any such pot; but zans ru-bti-ma refers to a
specific design of four-handled pol, or even to a specific pot, perhaps noted
for its design or workmanship.

The same specificity may -be seen in book titles: the term rgyud-NgreI Lfhen-po
"great tanlric commemary" denotes any such work, but the term rgyud-NgnJ
tIlllm-mo refers specifically to a particular tantric commentary, the VunaIa-
prabhii commentary on the Kiilaca!ualamra. Similarly, lam-rim Lfhen-po "great
sequemial teaching" could refer to any such teaching, but the term kim-rim
Lfhen-mo refers specifically to the Rim-po IhomNIod tshaii -bar Slon-po; byaii-
Lfhub klm~ rim-po by Tsoii-kha-pa. Again, leu bdun-ma "the seven
chapters" refers to the seven-<:hapter hidden text of Padmasambhava, the
term y;-ge drug-rna "the six syllables" refers to the six-syllable mantra of
WORDS 127
Avalok.ite1vara, and the term lor gans-n-ma "the eastern snow mountain"
refers to a poc:m by the first Dalai urna Dge-Ndun-grub, which begins with
the line lar sans-n tiJclJr-poi /1.re-mo-na "On the peak of the white eastern
IOOW mountain ... " And, although blo-sbyoii don-bdun "seven points of
mind training" could refer to any such set of teachings, bJo..Jbyon don-bdun-
ma refers to the specific technique said to have been taught in Tibet by
AtUa around the year 1050.

2.1.2.2.1.8.5, Gqrapby

To the Tibetans, both mountains and plains apparently tend to be reminine,

In the archaic manuscripts rrom Central Asia we find mention of such lhan
"plains" as mon-mo than, bal-mo than, lllo·mo than, rgya·mo than, rgyal-mo
than, and dbyar-mo than-this last, for example, presumably the same as the
,.yu-mo-g.yar-mo-yar-mo than or modern travelers, and presumably the
same as the dbyar-mo than mentioned on the Potala pillar inscription of 764,
recounting the Tibetan victories m'er the Chinese. Note Iho-mo lhan
"southern plain" < /110 "south," bal-rno than "Nepalese plain" < ba/-yuJ
"Nepal," rgya-rno than "Chinese plain" < rgya-nag "China," and man-rno t/uJii
"Man Plain," < rnon "people living between Tibet and India, including
Assam, Bhutan, and Lahul," where it seems reasonable to view the -mo suffIX
as a proper mIme marker, as in the preceding section. Moreover, whatever
Freud might say, mountains seem indisputably feminine, and are called la-ne
"aunt" or dlo-rno "lady," as in the mountain names dlo-mo Jeha-nag "Lady
Black-mouth" or dIo-mo llla-n "Lady God-mountain."

1.1.1.1./.9. THE FORMATIVE -PlIO "ADJECTfJIE/AGENT"

One of the primary functions of the formative -PlIO is the derivation of

adjectives from stative verbs. We find DKA "he difficult" dluJ-bo "difficult,"
DXAR "be white" dluJr-po "white," SKYlO "be happy" skyid-po "happy," HDUR
"be hoarse" Mizer-po "hoarse," MTIIUN"be in agreement" mthun-po "affable,"
lUSUS "be rough" rtsub-po "rough," MOD "be abundant" mod-po "plentirul,"
MAR "be many" man-po "many," 8TSA.N "be strong" btsan-po "powerful," RlAG
"be permanent" /tag-po "lasting," OOA "be happy" dga-bo "happy," D&!GS "be
intense" drags-po "violent," DGU "be bent" dgu-po "crooked." Verb roots
which do not have a final consonant very often lake an additional -n surf"1X
before the syllabic formative-thus tiH£ "be great" dhen-po "great." DIttA "be
128 THE OAssICAL TIBETAN l...ANoUAGE

low" dma,,-po "low," MTHO "he high" mIhan-po " high," RGA: "be old" rgan-fXJ
"old," RHO "be sharp" mon-po "sharp," sRo "become green" siion.po "blue."

Such deriva livc.i occasionally and idiosyncratically select the formative -rna
instead of ·PHD-thus SKYO "be weary" skyo-mo "weary," SCII.E "be naked"
sgnn·11tQ "naked," lu "melt" lun·mo "mollen," ORO "be warm" drrm'mo
"warm," as well as dga-rna "happy" alongside dgo-bo, dgu-mo "crooked"
alongside dgu-bo. siion-rna "bluc" alongside siion-p:1. Such forms, of course,
are not marked for sex; they must be distinguished from such sex-marlted
forms as rgan-po "old' - 'Ban-mo "old woman;' tIh~n.po "great" tfMn-mo
"great lady," dkar-po "white" dkar-mo "white lady." Note, too, that the re
seems to be no principle by which open syllables select the suffIX -n. We find
DGA "be happy" dga-bo "happy" bUI DMA "be low" dman.po "Iow-," and we
find such doublelS as TSHA "be hot" uha-mo-Ishan·;"o "hOi," SNI "be sofl"
siii-bo-snj.mo-siiin.po "soft."

The derivation of adjectives in ·PlIO had largely ceased to be productive by

the time of Old Tibetan; the vasl majority of adjectives in the classical texts
are derived instead from verbs nominalized with .PQ and used in relative
constructions. We may thus note a continuing tendency in the classical
language to supplement older adjectives in -PHO with adjectives in ·PO de rived
from the same verbs. Thus we find such doublets as dka·bo-dka·ba
"difficult," skyid-po-skyid.pa "happy," rtag-po-rtag·pa "lasting," dga·bo-dga·
ba "happy," sra·bo-sra-ba "hard," mthun·po-mthun·pa "affable," gsor-po-
gsar-ba "new," bZflIl-po-bz(lij·ba "virtuous," gtum·po-gtum-pa "furious."
Certain common adjectives in -1'110 remained largely in their earlier forms-
dilen-po "great," mali-po "many," dkar-po ''white,'' dmar.po "red," and 50 o n.
The change from 'Pflo to ora was also blocked whe re the source verb had
meanwhile been lost from the language, as with dam-po "tight" from a lost
verb -DAM "-be bound" (compare SlN(M "bind''), or where the source verb
was, unusually, tra nsitiv~ rather than slalive, as with nRAN "pull" draij·po
"straight.,,18

The formative -1'110 also occurs in the derivation of nouns with animatc or
human referents from inanimate and frequently abstract nouns. These sourcc

II In I few cases, the newer rorm in ./'rJ was k:liCaIiUd willi Ih.c: older sum. ·11 intacc-
thus SMYO "be: cnr.zy~ Jmyon-pil "clazy,~ RJ.U "be wounded" m"m·pil ''wounde4." In SIKh
casc:s too apparenlly Ihe older forms -such as ·Jmyon-po and .,.,.,.Q1I.po_lLavc: been entirely
re placed.
WORDS 129

nouns may themselves be either primary or derived. In the first case we find
luch examples as gnas "place, abode, dwelling" gnas-po "host. landlord. head
of house," blOll "advice. counsel" blOll-po "minister, couraelor," mgron "Ceast.
banquet" mgron-po "guest." bon ''Tibetan religion" bon-po "follower oC
Tibetan religion," dpa "bravery, strength" dpa-bo "hero, dbaii "power, might"
dboii-po "lord. ruler, sovereign," bzo "~rk., craft" bzo-bo "crafUiman, aniJan,"
mlJw "power. strength" rJw-bo "chid, elder brother." In the second case the
source noun is a nominalized verb-for example, SBYJN "give" sbyill-po "gift"
sbyin-pa-po "donor, patron," SCRUB "perform, achieve" sgrub-pa "meditation"
sgrub-pa-po "meditator," SGROL "save" sgrol-ba "salvation" sgro/-btl-po
",savior," ,t.W "kin" gsod-pa "murder" pod-po-po "murderer."I' Note also NU
"suck" nu-ba-po "suckling," GSO "heal" gsn-ba-pa "physician," D1.o "milk"
Ndto-ba-po "cowherd."

The formative -PliO is also found in similar animate and human nouns derived
directly from verh steT'ls-for el''lmple, Rm;tL "be victorious" rgyal-po "king."
SKYAR "repeat, rt'x il(' ~y heart" skyar-po "snipe. woodcock, duck.," SX»: "be
born" skye-bo "pefS' ·Il. human being," BTSUN "be noble" buUIt-po "noble-
man." BYlJR "arise, emerge. corne out" Nbyuii-po "being, creature, evil spirit."
LOR "be blind" /o;;·po "blind person." NU "suck" nu-bo "man's younger
brother."w

2.1.2.2.1.10. TilE FORMATWE -sa "PUCE WHERE"

The syllabic formative -sa "PLACE WHERH"-c1early related to but nOI identical
with the noun sa "place"-is suffIXed to verb stems to yield nouns. For
example. we find NDA "pass over" Nda-sa '~place where an archer stands to
shoot in a contest." SKAM "be dry" skom-sa "shore," KTSHER "be afraid"
NtSlier-sa "deserted village." GOL "pan, separate" Ngol-sa "place where two

I' Such de livalions are common in Bw(Jhisl psychology and philosophy-for eumple,
!£s "knoW' /u -pa "knowlc4gc" hJ·pa·po "kAowcr." TSHOR "perceive" uhu-txJ "selUation"
uhor-ba·po "perQl:ivert BYA "do" tTftd-pa "aC1ion" byfiJ.pa.po "acent," lrITHoN "_" rnJhoII·
ba·po ''1l1bjca of the act of seeing." NOt«) "CO" HgFO·ba ·po "JOel."

20 In I fc:w c:ases we lind novns in ·PlIO I nd ·mo with nonanimale or ab$tract rcterenlS
apparently derived fro m verbs and COlICTclc as well as ab$tract novns-fot eumple, ,nill
"heart" sftill.po "main pan, _nee." dilos'''(fIVIY'' dAru;po " thfnj. 'nilurat body. $1Ib$t.l1ICC.
SllItI'," R.OL "enjoy sensually" fDi_mo "m\l$ic," mCRs '"be fllU" kMM-po' '' fOOd prodl.lCinl
nalvknot. ..
130 THE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

roads separate," NOU "meet. come together" Ntius-sa "meeting place," NGRlM
''wander'' Ngrim-sa "abode," BROS "l1ee," ,mros-SQ "place of refuge," SFO
"change place" spo-sa "nomad camp," THAR "be saved" thor-sa "sanctuary,"
RE "hope" rt-SQ "that whereon the hopes arc set." NDUG "remain" Ndug-sa
"residence," NGRO "go" NgT'O-SQ "destination," ND2JGS "be afraid" Ndfip-sa
"dangerous region," DBEN "be solitary" dben-sa "hermitage," grru-/'lDRJ "ask
advice" grru-Ndri·sa "oracle." Occasionally we find the formative in the form
-so-for example. RAN "be bad" nan-so "hell," NKlfIWL "be mistaken" NkhruI-
so "wrong way, peril," GTAJ) "lean upon" grad-so "resource, store.,,21

2.1.2.2.1.11. THE FORMATWE -I'G "NOMI,YAL"

The syllabic formative .1'a "NOMINAl" is by far the most productive formative
in the language. II is found in a vcry large number of nouns derived from
verb stems: for example, from verbal present stems we find NKHOR "turn
about" NichOl-bo "the round of rebirth," NKJfRJ "wind, twist, coil oneself'
Nkhri-ba "fondness, auachment," NORO "go" Ngro-ba "living being," SGRJB
" make dark" sgrib.po "sin," SCOM "contemplate" sgom-po "contemplation,"
rx;os "be necessary" dgos.po "necessity," tllflR "bind" Nt!hiii·ba "shackles,"
obG "destroy" Ndlig-po "destruction," NolIGS "be afraid" Ndtigs-pa "fear,"
D'l.UG "set out" Ndlug·po "beginning," NDtOL "hang down" Ndfol·ba "trail,
train, retinue," ~F:. "get" riied·pa "property," SRAM"think" siiom-pa "thought,"
SNOM "make level" siiom.pa "equanimity," BRRAs "despise" briias-pa
"contempt," LTA "look" lta·ba "opinicn," BDUG "burn incense" bdug-po "the
burning of incense," BD£N "he true" bdefl-po "truth," DOL "tame, subdue"
NduJ·ba "ecclesiastica l rules of conducl," SooM "fasten" mom·po "vow," BDOG
"store, put away, keep" bdag-po "weahh," BOE "be happy" bde·ba "happi-
ness," NooD "desire, long for" Ndod·pa "lust, longing," NA "be sick" fIQ-ba
"disease," NUS "be able" flUJ-PO "ability," NOR "err" nor-ba "error," sHAN
"appear" sflaii·ba "appearance," Sf'YAl) "perform" spyod-po "activity," PUf.
"give" Nbul·ba "gift," KTSOL "endeavor" rtsol·ba "diligence," 1.1 "be calm" Ii-
ba "tranquility," ZA "cal" za·ba "food," RJG "know" rig.po "knowledge.,".tW
"kill" gsod·po "murder," GSON "live" KSOfl-PO "m~lime."

11 Occasionally 10-SO is lOllnd allcr nOllrlS_for cumplc, HbcI "tarJel" " " 1 0 "plaCe
where lhe tar&el is SCI up in .n . rchcry conlol," IlItu "wilIer" IIIw.so "urinary orp.... "
S\K:h Instances $CCIm beller described as NOUN + NOUN _ NOUN compoulMSl, wllb 1M KC:OQCI
member so-so "place," Itlan as dcriYllIKtns wilb • syllabic lonrullivc.
WORDS 131

The formative -PQ also no minalizes verbal stems o ther than the presem: we
find nouns derived from paSt stems in SKYJ:: "be born" skyes-pa "man, male
person," GRAG "shout. cry-' grogs-po "fame," NI'II.AG "be raised" Nphags-pa
"noble person," SI'RO "make go out, cause to spread" spros-pa "business,
employmem, activity," and from future ste ms in IUOG "cxiimine" brtog-po
"inquiry," STAN "show" bSlon-po "doctrine," SLAB "learn, teach" bs/ob-pa
"doctrine," BY"" "do" byo-bo "deed, aclion, work."

In all these cases, we can discern a wide variety of semantic relationships

between the verb and its no minal deri"ative-for example, NGRO "go" Ng'I'O-ba
"SUBJECf OF GOING -- living being," l.A "eat" za-bo "OBJECT OF EATING .....
food," NKJIOR "turn around" Nkhor- ba "STAn OF nJRNtNG AROUND _ the
round of retlinh," SAD " kill" gsod-po "ACT Of KlI.I.I/'IG -- murder," limN "bind"
t/hiii·bo "INSllUJMENT.OI' IiIN[)Il'lG ..... shackles," SNOM "make level" siiom-pa
"RESULT 0" MAKING I.EVEI. -- equanimity." This semantic exocentricity is
of
characteristic wo rd construction processes: no te, for exa mple, STAN "show"
slon·po "PERSOI'I WilD snows - tcacher" but ORAL "explain" Ngrl'/.pa "TI liNG
WI/le ll EXPI,AINS .... commentary,',ll

In many cases, verbs-primarily stative but occ<lsionaJly transitive as well-

numinalized with ·PQ have been kllica lized as adjectives: we find, for example,
DKON "be rare" dkwl -po " rare," !JAN " be bad" nan-po "bad," TJIIUN "be little"
IIhun·bo "little," G.'iAN " be secret" g.mii-ba "secret," RHO "be sharp" mo·ba
"sharp," HNIN "be old" niiii·ba "olll," /lSOI) "be pleased, take ddight" bsod-po
" pleasing." fUN "be long" rili· ba " long," llJ'SUN "he noble" blsun-po "noble,"
NUN "be few" iiuii-ba "few," SKAM "milke dry" skem-po "dried up." Such
adjectives are formed nOI only from prl!sent stems but also from past stems,
as in NDA "pass" Ndas-pa " Pilst," HGYA "grow greater" rgyas-pa "extended,
expanded," and eve n, rarely, from future stems, as in D7.AR "hang down" gzor·
ba "stee p, rugged, precipitous."

2.1.1.2.1./2. TilE FORMATIYE _£ "ADJECTIVE"

The syllabic formative -£ "ADJEcnVE" primarily produces adjectives from

22 Comp,arc En&lish prisOfl ImJ jDil, whicb arc pracl ically synonymous; bill I prisonu is
o ne who is kept in a pr iso n. anll a jDi/rr is 11K: one who keeps him Ihere. NOle also s!IoCk
ICJ:ica lil.alion5 as ROYA l . "t>c vietllri()us" f1.:Ytl1· po "kinS" bu l rrro'·bQ "jina (epilhel of lhe
Bullllha)."
132 'filE ClASSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

ve rbs-for example, iII~EH "stare" L<iler-re "staring," NPINAN "hang down"

phyan.iie "hanging," BRi«S "despise" bn"j"s-se "contemptuous," NDZUM-8$VM
"smile" sem·me "smiling," LOG "be iuvcrted" log-ge "false," NVWL "hang
down " Ndtof-le-tIol-le " hanging," foIKlIRJ" "stick together" Ichrigs-se "plenti-
fu l," GRAM "sprinkle, sca tl e r"lchrom -m ~ "sparkling," IlREM "swell up" hum-me
"swollen," DeUR- HGUR-SGUR "bem!. ..... rilhe. be crooked" f8U.~ "crooked,"
I./lOb-Gl.Ol) "rdax" Ihod-de "rdaxed." ;.AR "be lame" lo-re "damaged," nUL
"pass by" lila/-Ie "SIr-dight 0 11.,,23

Some timt!s Wt! rilu.I simililr derivativt:~: wi th the for ma tive -E-Pa-for exampk,
GUG "beno" b'U.g·ge-ba "bent," NAN ..c :)'1I.l" nan-nt-ba "bad," YOM "swing"
yom-me-ba "swinging," RDl.ION "be naked" rdlen-lie-ba "obvious," Occasiona lly
we find derivatives in both -£ and -£-I'a from the same source verb: note such
pairs as in TOR "scalier" tllOr-fe-lho-fe-ba "scatte red," RlN "be lo ng" riiis-se-
riii-ne-ba "cominua l," G,~IG "put IOgetlier" Jigs-se "relaxed, rocking" /ig-ge-ba
"trembling," as well as yam-me-yam-me-ba "coarse, rough," whose source
verb I have bct:n unable to identify. In a ft: w DISCS, however, we find tha t the
form in -f, is <1 11 adjective but thl: :'··;m in -f:-I'O is an abstract noun-for
exam ple, KIiH " n1j.~e" ke-re "crect" k.l -re-ba ";"tcl of standing erect," NCRi,",'
"stand " Mi/(ON "be straight" han-;; t· ' ~t:1 I1 ding" kron -iie-ba "upright posture,"
SIlUr. "be attractive" sdu1:-ge "good" sdug-ge-ba "stale of being pleased," UlAG
"exceed, surpass" Ihag-ge "projec[ing" IIlOg-ge-ba "excess amount.,,24

II 1I"s h<,.:n ~J>(:cu t:&lcd 111;11 oJc r ;\"d"' t,;..~ in ·f: lIrc a~t ual1y Mi;JoJlc TibculIl tOIfIl~
hor f( 'wcd tnl(J Ih(; (' [:I$$i\<l l l:t ngu age, bas.:d plimarily n n 11le obscrv:allon that t ile <lcriva liYC.~
arc lr""lue nlt; ":1~ '''1l prC1l1ill.:l [~_ h,r '~IO.;or, I I~e, Il~r.rt "staring" < nrlt.·R "Slare," Jrrn ·mt
"smiling" < H.IUM ",nule." Jigs :., ·'f\lo.:~i ltg" < t;;i(j "pUI IOgetIlCr"-jUlit a.~ Olle migh t
expect in any u f .-;.cvcra[ diate!:15 where the.-;.c I",:inllia[s were in Ihe process of being Iosi.
Howcve r, tllCM: same IOllns lIpp<:ar as carly as thc nimn t:enlury, in manuscriplS fro m the
cava nell r Tun.lIllang: we l ind, for nample, slllFi.nt "Staltled" < SUN "cal.l$(: 10 risc: , CUiUI t
to ao.:t ion" in ~yo .~/tlii-iit Idiii ''The hirds, ~ Iin led, mar," dbnl/·k "tull Cn" < HUL-VlWL "WI,
hc:come tOllen" in /Jgrllm'rlil dl/nlt·lt " rotlen ... hen sullcrcd"- even lJ/ler < dlttT-rt "sllIT i nc"
< BT$f:R "Slale" In spyun rJltt r t~J ,'{,igl "He ga/.o.:d with sla ring eyes."

2-4 Adjectives in -t.' rcadil)" ({)1m adyCrh~-ror cumple, ilulm.mtr "d ist inctly" < Iltum ·mt
"disllnel," tholl -lllT "elCl1rl~" < Ihoii-'It~ -I/lull·llt-/J(l "clea r," JIl/-irr "brilliantly" < Jol.lt-bo-
Wsu/·/, ·ba "br illiant" < SAL "o:;lCllnsc" (l';,o(L be c lear," fjhll"'l·mtr " q"ielly" < -IJlltm'"'t
"'Illief' tJht",·mt_/Jtl "~li1tncss" 110",-",' "qule," Itham-mt ~-pl'>om·mt·b(l "slow,"
WOR.OS 133

2.1.2.2.1.lJ. THE FORMATWE .kJuJ-.hJ-.ga "/tIOUTH"

The suffIX ·kha-·/(Q -·ga appears iil a variety of nouns whicb apparently have
little in common; in many cases the suffIX does not appear to be derivational,
although it does re('ur in panicular contexts. For example, the suffIX appears
in words fOT times of the day and seasons of the year-dgun·ka "winter,'
dgoiis·ka "evening." ston·1eD "autumn," dpyid·ka "spring." dbyar·ka "summer,
rainy season," logs·ka "morning." sos·/u1-so·ka '!spring, hot season." It alsp
appears in a few color words, such as ldton-kho (for the more commo':
ldlan.gu) "green," iiur·ka "bright red," and in mthiii-ka "blue" and mthon-Iw
"azure, sky blue," where one might suspect a connection with mkhti
"heaven." And it appears in a few words faT body paru-sniii·ga "hean,"
thugs.ka "hean," mlhon.ga "chest," loFi-ka "inrestincs."

In several words, however, it is possibl~ to discern a relationship between the

suffIX -kha-.ka--ga and the noun kilo "mouth," in any of three extended
senses-refe rring te hoks or openings, to the edges of things, and to surfaces.
Thus we find 1:/,' ,·kha "ornamental cut or nOlch in wood," tIha·go "hem.
edge, border," 11Oij· ka "notch, depression, indentation," IllOd·/w "the direction
straight ahead," phal-/W "indemation, incision, notch," bu-ga - bug-Iw "hole,
opening." wa·kha "water channel, gutler," seroka "cleft, slit, fissure, crevice."
Note the. . folloY/ine flat surfaces-lten.-lea-/den·ka "pool, pond," stcn·ka
"terrace," than·1ea " painting," na·klla "meadow," as well as len.-kila "breadth,
Width." A relation with kha "mouth" in these extended senses seems clear in
gru "boat" gru-kha "ferry landing," thah "he:lTlh" Ihab-Iea "fireplace," mtlio/IS
"smoke hole" m:!;O'I$-ka "gallery or platform on a roof," lOr "weapon" zor·
kJUJ "edge of a weapon," fa "mountain pass" fa·kha "highest puim of a pa~, "
and is less clear in lam "road"lam-ka "route, roadside," gfi " residence" gtis -
ka "native counlr~."

In any case, it is r,ot obvious that the process here is bener described a.~
derivation with a syllabic fo rmative or as compounding with kha "mouth" as
a second member. AJI of this still leaw:s a residue of nouns with no obvious
sources, such as s/uu-ka "iadder, " kyaf-ka "joke," skya-ka "magpie," l!ho-ga
"ritual," iitJ·ga "steelyard," star-Jca "wa lnut," dan·ga "appetite," don-ka
"medicinal plant," btr·ka "staff, SliCk," ya /-ga "branch," srub-ka "medicinal
grain.," and just.a few instances where thc suffIX looks rather like a nominal·
izer, with a preference for prcducing abstract nouns-for example, NKJIO
"desire, think to be valuable" mkho-ba "dt".sirable" Nkhos-Jro "worth, value,
imponance," OllER "ul.ke care of, provide for, lake pains with" giier.pa
134 TilE Cl..AssICAL TIBETAN WOUAGE

"steward" gijD'.kJuJ "attention, care," DAM "choose, select" Ntiam-iaJ "choice.

option.," cOER "raise, brandish, flourish" gddis.!Cil "expanded hood of the
cobra,"2S

1.1.2.2.2. REDUPLICATION

2.1.2.2.2.1. NOMINAL REDUPUCATION

Another form of outer derivation is REDUPUo.TION, which, in nominals, can

be either simple or what we will call alternating reduplication. SIMPLE
REDUPUCATION produces adjectives from adjectives, with the derivative having
an intensive or iterative sense-for c!tamplc:. thib.po "dense" thib-thib "very
dark," Nkhyog.po "crooked" Nkhyog'Nkhyog "to~tuous." Nth~,·po "glossy" Nther-
Ntho "polished," zim·bu "thin" zim-lim "fine as a hair," mum-po "bright"
riiam-n"iam "dazzling," Item.po "full"/um·/tem "overflowing," than-po "dense"
,Iwn·thaii "strained to the utmost," skyur-po "sour" skyur-skyur "very sour,"
kum-po "crooked" kum-kum "shriveled up," llcu&f-po "stupid" llwg:t-11aAg!
"very stupid." Note a lso Ntllor-ba "strewn" Nthor-Nthor "drizzling," Nbal-ba
"disheveled" Nbal-Nbal "shaggy," sgreii-ba "erected" sgreii-sgrdj "well flXed,"
ldir-ba "distended" Idir-Idir "full to the brim," loii-ba "rising" lon-Ioii "rising
in waves, bulging out."

Such reduplications are sometimes used to great poetic effect in the epic of
Ge-sar-for example,

kllra-mo gliii-gi mdQ-tfllln-mafflS

la-Ia smug-po phyur-pllyur red
thad-Ia rgya-khra Nf1llur-Nphur red
thur-Ia rbab-rgod yar-ya r red

The great sponed horses of Olin

are a swirling fog upon the passes,
are soaring hawks upon the plain,
are a leaping avalanche as they descend_

23 The diSCIWion of Ihrec: $yJlabk: rormaliva.whk:h OIXUr wjlh adjectives-yd- MNORE, ':
rile- M "(QR E,~ I nd .los '"MOSl"-is deferred 10 the section on IIdjOC1iVCI, where tbey Ire
brieny reviewed.
WORDS

AL11!JlNA11HO REDUPUCATION yields disyllabic stress lJOups with the first

syllable always having the vowel a. Where the sou"Tee of the reduplicated form
has a vowel other than a, ·that vowel is retained in the second syllable; where
the source hu the vowel a, the second syllable has a back rounded vowe~
either 0 or IL As with simple reduplicatio n, this process creates derivatives
with an intensive or iterative sense. Thus. from source syllables with the vowel
a, we find such examples as ld!lm-po "lazy" ldom-Idum " pitiful." Mn-po "bad"
iiDn-lion "miserable"; and, from source syllablcs with vowels other than a, we
find such examples as glen-po "stupid" gllm-gltn ''very .stupid," Ichum.rio
"crooked" kltam·Jchwn "with uneven ridge,," Nkhrug-pa ~disturbcd" Ichrog-
kJuug "tumultuous," Nkhol-ba "insensible" kJuJl-khoi "stunned." Ndzog-pa
"heaped together" Hdzag·Ndzog "jumbled up."

In addition, altt:rnating reduplication is found in. several nouns-similarly

intensive or iterative in meaning-derived from both nouns a nd adjectives.
From nouns we find, for example, IdorlS "uneven place" fdaii·ft.coii "broken
country," JOii-gJon "mounlain ridge, pit, valley" Ian ·Ioii-gJaii.gJoii "craggy
rugged country," siio " plant" siia·siio "vegetables," rdzab "mud" rdzab·rdzub
"mire," rdzub "deceit" rdzab·rdzuh " imposture"; and from adjectives we find ,
for example, riiiii-pa "old" nian-niiii "worn-out clothes, rags," sob "hollow,
vain" sab·sob "something rolte n," thQgs·pa "impeded" thags-tlwgs "impedi-
ment." rlon-pa "wet" rlan-rlon "liquid," Idib.pa " unintelligible" ldab·ldib "idle
chalter." .

1./ .1.1.1.1. VERB REDUPLICATION

We also occasionally find ve rb stems reduplicated in the classical texU, with

two different senses. The fi rst is a cOnlinuatjve or iterative sense: this
construction is old in Tibetan, and is found in the archaic Central Asian
manuscripts-for example, srin go.phus rbeg-ga meg-Ii fags s,iam-ste blab-blab
"The demon Go-ehu kept creeping up, thinking, 'This is Rbeg-ga rbeg-!i."·
bu-mo tsdi-Nfi mo-ga lug who g.yan .sJcyon-du mdhi-mLfhi "The girl Tsen-Ngi
rba-ga was going about pasturing the sheep and guarding the lambs." b~
siiUiul-du son-son "The little birds kept going into the snare," nnal-lUi blwl-
bluJl blwl-lii! blu-blu blu-lUi bran·bran bran-lUi bdog-bd4g " She plucked it
and spun it again and again, she spun it and made thread of it again and
again, she made thread of it and tied it again and again, she tied it and wove
it again and again." Reduplicated constructions with this sense are fOU.ld in
later texts as well-for example, from the epic of Ge-sar,
136 TilE QASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

d~ bsum-fui blon-po ma-bsdad on

lam thag-riii Iog-skya bsgriJ-bsgril byas
sa '1O'us-mcd skyi-su o/i-on byas

Thus thinking, the ministc=r did not larry but came:

He kept his pale wings bt=aling on the long rood,
He kepi his ydlow hide moving in the unfamiliar country.

Mi-Ia ras-pa uses such reduplicated verbs as a repealed device in one of his
~ungs, which he sings when reproached (or dressiug immodestly in only a strip
of cloth, and of which the following are a fc:w verses:

"11.~ rt(lji-1II mi-Y141 Ngn'm-"'grim-nas

(wi ·yul ;iUlI-Kif hrdfed-de tflal

I have! heen conti nually wandering the tanh

and h,lve just naturally gone and forgutten my home.

gllig-pur ri-k.hrod ",'Xnm -/lgrim.mls

gmii-yu/ iillii-gif brdldJ-d/! thai
I have been wandering the mountains alone
and hav~ just naturally gone: and rorgo ttcn inhabited places.

lus·/u gll/m·m/) shar·snar"lUs

IUS-Ko.~ iillii'XiJ fml!t'd-de tl",!

I have been kindling thc mystic heat in my body

and have just n;Jlurillly gone ilnd forgott!!n my clothes,

.It'/IU·!11 Xllii·nywl nyuJ,nya.H lGs

JI,a-g.wii IIIIII'Xis hrrltt'd-Je thai
I h,I\'c tl<.:c n p;lying hccd to whau!ver ilrises in my mind
and have Just naturally gone and forgo tlen my penis.

Xaig-pur hIlX-),o,i .I'f,}'(/(l-w)'ad./las

iio-lJlw iiu/I-Ki~ nrJteJ-dr lhu t

[ have tl<:cn practidng mOdesty in solitude

and havc just Ili1turaUy gone and fo rgotlen my shame.
WORDS 137

Such reduplicated constructions have another sense as well-one of

completion, of the action of the verb having already been accomplished.
Gtsafi-smyon he·ru·ks, in his biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa. often uses nominal-
ized reduplicated verbs with this sense-for example, bla·mai bka-Iog ltar
byas-paiyi-ge rum'lO'is SM·IUU mdzad·mdzad·pa-fig Ndug "There was a lener,
made to resemble a communication from my lama, which my lady had
already made," rob-gnas palJ·tIlun nJ-ros grub-grub-pa-lig yin "This consecra·
tion is one that the great scholar Naropa has already done," nna gsos·pos-par
bsdad "I will stay until the wound has finished healing," bsam·blo yan btan·
btan-ba yin "I have thought about it already."

2.1.2.3. Word families

It is not hard to find, in Tibetan, groups of words that appear to be

phonologically and semantically related, although the exact nature of that
relationship is not entirely clear-for example. SKOR "encircle, surround.
enclose," SooR "tum on a lathe," KHOR "turn around. go about in a circle,"
slcor "circle," NJchor "circle, circumference, retinue, anendants," sgor-mo "ball,
disc. coin, rupee," kor·kor "round," kl1o·ra "circumference, fence, wall," gor·
1M "stones, rubble, boulders." In Sino-Tibetan linguistics such a group of
words has traditionally been called a WORD FAMilY.

We may define a Tibetan word family as a group of lexical items sharing H

semantic nuclew and related through processes of inner and ou ter derivation.
Such word families can provide unt:xpected light on the Tibetan semantic
world. It is clear, for example, that su "be thin" is 10 SI.A "he easy" as SK.-(
"be thick" is to DKA "be difficult." Related to NPHYO "roam about, gambol'·
we find both Nphyos-ma "bride price" and Nphyon -ma "p;ostitute.'·lbe word
c/Qd "equivalent" (as in bu-dod "son equivale nt _ adopted son," skud-dod
''word equivalent _ synonym") is in the same word family as don "meaning":
in jwt the same way, srid "dominion, government, world" is in the same
family as both SM'PO "demon·' and srin·bu "wo rm."

Underlying such word families we can sometimes discern. the single semantic
nuclew common to all the members: for example, RAN "hea r," na·ma
"disciple," and giia·bo "witness, surety" are all related through the semantic
nuclew ·RA "HEAR"; related to that nucleus through $ ' preflX:llion is the
nucleus ·sRA "CAUSE TO HEAR," which unde rlies th~ family S/iiAi) "relate,
report," sRAN "be sweet-sounding," snad "malicious or fa lse accu~a t ion, · ' ~n,m
138 nlE CLllSSICAL TiBETAN lANGUAGE

"ear," snan-pa "fame, praise, glory, renown," SROD "tell. relate," SN(JN "assert
falsely, disavow dishonestly."

The search for such semantic nuclei can lead down some intriguing paths. For
example, a semantic nucleus ·NA "SE PRESSED, BE BURDENE,D" lics together
NA "be ill," 'lad "illness," nat! "urging, pressure, importunity," IIUI1-lan
"exertion, applicalion, earneslness," and rdates these words in turn to SNAf)
"hurt, harm, injure," NAN "press, oppress, conquer," and GNOD (apparently a
generalized G- present stem) "damage. injure, hurt." The semantic nucleus
o f pressure from above brings still further words into the family: thus with Ihe
honorific prefix m- we find MNOD "receive favors or punishment from a
superio r," M NAR "suffer, be tormented," MNA "oath," and perhaps even mna-
rn a "daughter-in-law, bride residing with her husband's family." In the Tibetan
semantic universe, therefore, an oath and II disease are linked through the
conc.:: pt o f pr~ssure, and the same concept links together an injury and a
favor from a superior. This word fami ly in fact extends into o ther Sino-
Tibe~an l:.mguagcs as well. Thus we find Burmese fla "be ill," Lahu no "be
ill," Lushei nat "be in pain, ache," Old Chinese -nan "difficulty, suffering,"
with a further extension-Burmese l1at, Mha neh, Lahu fie, Lisu n~ all
meaning "deity. spirit," and Old Chinese -nor "expd demons." The Sino-
Tihetan concept of pressure thus rca ~he s from demons to daughters-in-law,
and from oaths to injuries, all cxlcnding outwa rd from the nucleus -NA.

2.2. BORROWING

In additilln tn .its inberiteq stock (If native words, the classical Tibetan lexicon
is rich in words borrowed from every language of polyglot Inner Asia. The
study of such borrowing is especially interesting because linguistic borrowing
frequently accompanies cultural bonowing: for example, the Tibetan word
dta "tea" was borrowed from Middle Chinese ·jha just as Tibetan tea was
borrowed from China. Further. choice of linguistic form can reflect attitudes
to\\,srd the donnr culture. In Tibel, for example, New Tibetan (Lhasa)pukop
" movies" < English bjoscope has been replaced by lonCN <glog-briian>
"electric image .... movies" < Ne .... Chinese lien·ying. Similarly, Ne .... Tibetan
(Lhasa) jana "China" < Old Tibetan 'KYa·nag "black expanse .... China," with
alJ of its ancient cosmological associations, has been replaced with the
transfer {uNko <kruii-go> "China" < Ne .... Chinese chung-kuo "Central
Kingdom."
WORDS 139

2.2.1.1fansrers

One type of oorrowing ;s the process we will call 11!.ANSFER, whereby a

foreign word or phrase is simply incorporated wholesale into the lexiron, with
more or less adaptation to native. phonology and orthography. Indeed, in
Tibetan some transfers have been rendered into an Qrthography indistin-
guishable from that of native words. For example, sku-Me-rigs "musk" is
actually a transfer of Mongol kudcri in · highly Tibetanized orthography.u
Such transfers may be analyzed by native speakers as if they were Tibetan,
and enter into clips as if they. were native words. Thus ,ham-lea "seal" is a
Iransfer of the Uighur tam-ya " brand mark," but is treated as a Tibetan (arm
in -lea, yielding clips like rgjal-tham "royal seal." Similarly, pGd-ma "lotus" <
Sanskrit padma is analyzed as a native form in -ma, and enters into such clips
as pad-dkar "white lotus."

Such Tibetaniz.ed transfers may even become the subject of elaoorate word
play. The Tibetan ba-dur-ba-Ndur-dpo-bdud "warrior" is a transfer from
MongOl ba-yatur-badur. In the epic of Ge-sar, the King of Hor-Mongolia-
exhorts his warriors to fight against Gliii-Tibet-in the words glin wa-moi
Nfhab-ya ma·byuii-na, hor ba-Ndur ma-red khyi-Ndur red "If you do not fight
against the fox.es of Glin, you are not Mongol warriors (ba-Ndur) but running
dogs (khyi·Ndur}!" Elsewhere in the epic, eighty warriors of Glin are
introduced asgliTi-dkardpa-bdud brgyad-tIu·mams "eighty warriors (dpG-bdud)
of White Olin." A warrior of Hor then defies Ihese warriors of Glin and calls
them gliii-gi khyi-bdud brgyad.t!u Je "those eighty dog-demons (khyi-bdud) of
Glin."

As in many languages, transfers in Tibetan turn up in unexpected places. We

find, for example, mig-gi miu "little man of the eye _ pupil," with explana-
tions that relate miu "little man" to the reflection of oneself in the eye of a
person one is spea king with; but the word is, simply, a transfer of Middle
Chinese ·myOJU "pupil." Similarly, the epic hero of TIbet is Ge-sar, usually
said to be king of Glin, but sometimes said to be king as well of a la nd called
Khrom or Phrom. In the word khrom -p/" om we can recognize R.ome or rUm,

26 The nalive Tibelln word tor ··musk" is g/(l·bo. The compound J/cu·btk·rigs wo uld
normally mea n someillinl like '·specit$ of body lIappineM," and was prc:5umably created witb
a se man tic rela tionsh ip 10 " mU5k~ in mind: Note that Ihe transfer must have occuned at a
ti me Ind in a dialect of Middle Tibetan where preinilials and fina15 were no Ionler
pronouneed-lhllS Middle Tibeta n kutkri <slal·b<k-rigs>.
140 Till, CI.ASSICAJ. TI8El'AN l....ANOUAGE

th ro ugh an easlern Ira nian form ·/rom-hrom. from which we find as well the
Middle Chinese word for Rome. · phrom-from < ·pllywat.lyam >. Ro me here
mea ns, likdy, not Rome itself but Byzantium; and in the word ge-sor we can
recognize also Latin cresar or perhaps ils Greek or Byzantine equiva lent
kaisur, which is also the source of the Russia n czar. There is an enormous
amount of history in the simple fael that the epic hcro of Tibet bears a name
derived from that of Caesar of Rome,v

The classical Tibetan lexicon has many such transfers from a wide range of
source languages. To give some idea of the scope of such borrowing, we may
note a fe w examples. From PERSIAN we find gur-gum "saffron" < Persian
kwkum and deb-fher "document" < Persian dd}/l:r.~ From ARABIc we find
'la -rag "barky liquor" <: Arahic ?arug "dale palm sap," from TUkKiSIl we
find dhu-pa "robe" <: Turkish juba, from MANCIIU we find ?am-ba ll
"Chinese re presentalivl!: in Lhasa Cily" <: Manchu um ban " minister," and
from an unknown hut prubahly KIIOTANESE original we find pi-wan "lute,"
Inmsferred inderendcnlly into Middle Chi nt:se as ·pyi_pa.29

Most Tihelan transfers, howevt: r, come from four source languages of cult ura l

27 Sueh horHlwing. nf euu~, wmks in I'I<llh dirlXlions. 1llc Ruman Calholie Chu rch al
o nc time com mcmo ralcd a Saini JUs.lIphal nn Novcmhc r 27; Ihe G rce k Church commemor:lI-
ed Ihe samc :'Iainl un Augusl 26, undcr Ihe namc loar.aph; ,lnQ Ihe Georgian Q rlhrxiox
Ch ur~h c<>mme murale'" Ihe Blessc'" 1O<J~sa ph on May 19. All II'Ie Ch riMia n slories of Ihis
holy man derive ffUm a Grttk vcrsiiln IIf his life; bul Ihe re: IrC also parallel Arabic ICxtS of
his SlUry, in which he is tailed YO,lsaf-Yiidtlsar-Bud hlsaf. He is II'Ie 50n of a king. kepi
imprisoned ill a \>c:.Iutifu\ city MJ he cou\'" 11111 see old age or ~icknc:M o r dealh. Wr.cn he
docs ~ 11Ic,<;.t Ih in~, /l.c sues in sea rch of Ih c elerlla l, which he finds in Jesus Christ;
evenlually IIc conve rts Ind ia 1U Cll r i~liani l y. If IhclC il hislOry in Ihe rcla tion.\ hip or Tibeta n
Ge·r.a l and Roman au,~.ar, Iherc is hiMllry as well in Ihc faci thai ro r ma ny c.enl uries Ihe
Bndhi.sall\lll was a Chr ~"i~n sainI.

VI The Per~ian ku,lam/ "saffron" ma y iliM: lf be a tran$fer fro m a Semit ic language:

co mpare Hcllrcw k(lrktH/', Aramaic /w,kilmll, Alallie /a4,Iwm. Si mila rly, Pcnian tUb/a
"documc nt"· may in lurn come cilhe:r frum O ld Pcrsian dipi "'WrilingH Ot (rom Grak
diphfMIlJ "parchmenl." [n Ihe laller ca.'\(:, Ihe Tihctan MII·lllt, would be rellted In the
Engli~h dif'hl"~'ill, a di~~ 50 named IX:cau.o;c uf Ihe parchmcn t·like covcring, lhal forms o n
Ihe ski n.

1'f . Tibetan {"''''(lii "\uIC" is a vcry clu ly Iransfer, already lisled in thc lIilllh-a: nlu ry
Malli:hyUlfX1II~ with the "clar naSl!1 nnal apparently indicaling a Khula noe so urce. Sec also
Japanese /)'''''', Mongol IIillll, Mancllu film•.
WORDS 141

and political imponance in lnner Asia. From UIGHUR we find pag-li

"teacher" < Uighur bakl~ lem-t!hi " physician" < Uighur DnC~ and dor
"silt" < Uighur tOr)U-terms which indicate the culture achieved by speakers
of Uighur in their Central Asian oasis civilization,lO From MONGOL we find,
for example, la·wi "ocean" < Mongol dllfu~ as in lii·wi bla-ma "Dalai lama,"
and tNt-ni "precious stone" < Mongol mimi, as in pa,,-tIhm «-It·ni
"Panchen Lama." as well as such te rms as ba-dur-ba-Ntiur-dpa-bdud
''warrior'' < Mongol ba?Otur-badur, discussed above, and beg-t.K "coat of
m.aiVname of the God of War" < Mongol. btgder. 31

From CHINESE we find dta "tea" < Middle Chinese -PUl, spar-kh.a "the eight
lrigrams" < Middle Chinese ·pwal-kwa~
par-spar-dpar "printing block" <
Middle Chinese epwan, gi-wan -giu-waij -Ngi·aii -Ngi-sbaii "bezoar" < Middle
Chinese -iiyO'U-/'Wan, don-1St "copper coin. money" < Middle Chinese -dhuii-
ui-evcn the word for such a culturany common item as ldog-IU "table" <
Middle Chinese ·cok-tsi. n And there are, finally, many transfers from INDI C
lANGUAGES, We find, for example, lSan-dan "sandal-wood" < Sanskrit

lO The UIsJlur bak..fi may i~1r be a Irans fer fro m Middle Chineae .,.-#
"wIOdy-versed
leacher," II is inleresling to note tllat words (or "~Uk" In many Innet Asian Ian,lIIIJC$
apparendy corne from Uighur ralller Illan from Chinese-for exa mple, JapUlI ton;a. Koihal
'tNgtJ, Mongol ,mtml. Qata-klloja dilrp: "Kalihgar sUt."

31 The nalive Tibetan equiVlllenl of, Mongol dalo.i is rg)'Q-".uho "oce.an," and tile word
rg)'Q-muho has been an clemen\ in the personll names of lhe last lourteen DIll! Lamas. The
'Tibellln ~-tJhtn tNt-ni "Panellen Lama" consists of a lransfet of MOllZOI admi "prodous
stone," ..... lI iell in turn is a na llSf.:r into Mongol of the Sanskrit NltnD "predous jewel," used
IS tile loan translalion of Tibelan riII 'po-I/ht, combinCiJ wilh • clip consislin, of. trlnster
of Sanskrit p<l1}4iro. "scllolar" and Tibetan tlflm ,po "yeat"- . Ihree·bn&uaJC collocalion!
NOIe .Iso Illal MongOl b~, "coal of mail" may ilKlf derive originally from Penian bagltu
"armor,"

n New T ibelII n Continues tile proccs.s of transfer from a number o( modern IlnlUIIgcs,
as in New Tibetan (lhasa) fI(lflplo. "Pravda," pulisi " police." nllii "mile." However, trlllders
from Chinese lI;1ive bocome particularly prominent: for cumple, in Tibetan ncwsp.1lpc:n we
find <lj-t1un> "bacteria" < New Chinese Asi·chlln, <,lIi1!> "depllrtmcnt,orrlCe" < New
Chinese r'iI1g. <.wLl> "degree, kiiowatl hOll r~ < New Chineu N, <tan > "dislrk\" < Nt,:w
Chinese hs~n, <tJi!U'lcJvu> "aLltomobile" < r.tew Chinese eh 'j-ch 't, <Ihq.fo.·ilis> "traclO,"
< New Chinese t'o ·w-chi. Transfen (rom Chinese are, as one milllt expcc!, often (l'Jl\tXrnoo
";tll political as well lIS witlltecllnololical mailers-for CM mp1e, <p~ -lcJvjlll > "CommllniM"
< New Chineselcung-cll 'an, <pn-Ichf/ln kni~4byaii > "Central Committee of tile Communist
Party" < New Chinese kung.ch 'an 'hung_yong.
142 THE Cl..Ass1CAl. TIBETAN Lo\NoUAGE

candlJna, bai-<lu-I)'Q-bai-tjur " lapis lazuli" < Sanskrit vai4Utya, mar-gad-ma-

rgad " emerald" < Sanskrit nwrakata, st!ii-~ "lion" < Samkrit siJrtIul or
Apabbramla liiighu-su,mu, byi-la "cat" < Sanskrit bi4Qla-vi4Q1Il through a
Pram! -hila (compare, for example, Hindi billl), mu-Iig "pearl" .< Sanskrit
mukJif,-mulcIikii through a Prauit -muui/(Q-nwtik (compare, for example,
Apabhram!a mottiyau, H indi motf).fKJ-ti "book" < Sanskritpusw-pwlQlw,
se-Ndu-ra-sindJw-ra '\lcrmilion" < Sanskrit silu:Wra,13

2.2.2. Reproductions

While transfers are simply imponcd into the lexicon along with the foreign
cultural items they name, REPRODUcnONS attempt to convey the semantic
content of the foreign word by using. nalive te rms. We can distinguish two
types of repr~uction. A LOAN TRANSU110N conveys the semantic content of
a foreign word by translating its components inlO nalive terms-for example,
German Ft!nlSfXecher "far speaker" < E nglish telephone: 'A LOAN CREATION
conveys the semantic content of a fo reign word by creating an entirely
origina l word out of native elements to express the foreign concept-for
example, New Chinese tUn-hua "electric speech" < English telephone.

2.2.2.1. Loan IransliJlions

The classical Tibetan lexicon is poorer in loan translations than in either

transfers o r loan creations. Occasionally transfers and loan translations of the
same term occur simultaneously: bui NtSJw-ba " life of the child - a tree whose
nuts are strung by parents and hung around their children's necks as
protection" i.~ a loan translation of Sanskrit pUlrajlva " life of the child," a
term that ~ also transferred into T ibetan in the naturalized onhography
Nbo-de-tsi.

Most loan translations in Ihe classical lexicon come from Chinese sources. We
fi nd sgrog-rw "chain bone - collar bone" < Chinese so-tzu-ku, rdo-snum
"slo ne oil - petrole um" < Chinese shih-yu, mgo-nog "black-headed - the

3.1 Bolli India n sandaJw004 ~nd Sans kr it ctlltdOlw /\ave e ntered the CIIltlires of IIIe world:
we find Penla n candivt-ciJNkJ4 Gree k $t1~_-I(lIIralon, Arabii ic l tlNlaJ, Medieval ulin
.fanda/um_Jan/a/u"," Middle Chinese: °rJym·dJItVl. The native: Tibetan word Cor ''ve nnilion M

i$ li.khri, indicat in g l/\at vermil ion was fint k~own from Ii "KlloUin. ~
WORDS :43

peoplc" < Chinese lj-min, iii-og "under the sun .... thc wholc world" <
Chincse ('un-ll5ia, gser-yig "golden writing -00 leiter of a great personage" <
Chincsc chin-p'a; -chin-Is 'e-chin-shu-tzu. Note cspecially rra.Jdad "hom brain
.... agate" < Chinese ma-llao "agate," but with Chinese folk. etymology
interpreting the source term as derived from rna-llao "horse brain," and the
Tibetan loan lTanslation thcn semantically regularized from na-klad "horse
brain .... agatc" into rdo-kJad "stone brain .... agatc.,,:M

2_2.2.2. Loan creations

Tibetan has been most rcsourceful in cojning new terms for foreign cultural
items. Some of these have been morc or lcss spontaneous-for cxample,
dkar-yoJ "whitc pottery .... porcelain," rg)'a-lShK'a "Chincse !Oalt -+ sal ammon-
iac." During the first half of the ninth century, however, a remarkable
lTanslation project set out deliberately to coin a Vilst number of loan creations
to deal with the new Buddhist cultural terminology coming from India.
Traditionally, a Tibetan lo·tsii-ba "translator" would learn cnough Sanskrit to
understand isolated words, simple texts, and cvcntually oral cxplanations. He
would then find an Indian pa~u!ila who would explain a text to him word by
word. II was apparcntly 'the lack of swndardization in thcse early laborious
translations that led King Khri Lde·!Oron-btsan-also called Sad-na-legs-to
commission a pand ~f Indian paryl,lita5 and Tibetan translators to compile a
dictionary of technical equivalenls amI \{l sel forth rules for the translation of
Sanskrit inlo Tibetan. After Ihe death of the king, his son Khri Gtsug-Ide-
blsan-also called Ral-pa-t~an-continued the project, finally producing two
works. One was a dictionary, Ihe By('-bmg-lu nags-par byed-pa, better known
undtr its San~kritiu:d tit It Muhiil'}"Wp(llli. Tht': othtr was a commentary, the
Sgra -sbyor bam.po gliir-pa, with the Sanskrit lit Ie Madhya''Yutpalt~ which
[unctions as a trtalise on translation theory and practice. T'he latter contained
Ihe ttxt of the royal edict selling forth the general findings of the commission,
and a detailed account of the etymoJogits undalying the loan creations
entered in the dictionary.

For example, the word huddha is rtndered by Tibetan saflS·'XYQ.f "awaktntd

expanded" on the basis of two diffc:rc:nt Sanskrit etymological glosscs-

~ UJOin HOi nslOilions from Chinese slill riJUl their wOiy inlo Tihct3n_ror eumplc. Nt:w
Tibc.tOin ( Lhasa) lJ"kJ"m <ltlogJ' /lIm> "iron road .... rOiitway" < New Chinese I ·j~h.lu, N(w
TihctOin (Lhasa) tootH <U,,/:.briTol1> "clectric image -00 movies" < Nc .... ~ liM.yil1,.
144 TilE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

mohanidriipagamat prabuddJItl 'purufa ~'al "He is like a man who has awakened
(prabuddJUJ) because his sleep of delusion has vanished," and buddher
vikasaniid buddJw~ vibuddhapadmaval " He is Buddha because his mind
(buddJu) has opened up like a lotus thai has expanded (vibuddha)."

Often it is a doctrinal point that determines the form of a loan crealio:l. In

the case of bluJgavafl "Blessed One," the usual gloss of bhaga as Tibetan legs
"blessing" is rejected in favor of the etymology bhagnamiiractl tUfrayarviid
blulgaviin "He is bhagavaf! because he has conquered (bhagna) the fo urfold
Evil One." Thus bhaga is rendered nol by Tibetan legs but rather by bLfom
"conquest," which-with Tibeta n 11Wf "be endowed" rendering the Sanskrit
possessive .lIOnl-yields bt!om·ldan "possessing conquest." To this collocation
is then added the adjective Ndas < O-NDA-S "passed beyond," to differentiate
a Ndtig-T1etl-[as Ndas-pa "transcendent" < Sanskrit [okOl(afa conqueror from
an ordinary one who has not conquered the Evil One-thus officially
rende ring bilagavatl hy the loan creation baom-Idan-Ndas.

Reliance o n Sanskrit folk etymologies leads occasiona lly to idiosyncta tic loan
translations. This f1i "seer" is rendered by draii-sron "straight upright" on the
basis of the folk e tymology kiiyovagmanobhir riu~ Jete iti ffi~1 " He is ffi
beca use he rests uprigh t (rju.jfi) with body, speech, and mind." Similarly,
we find pudgaJa "person" given as gan-zag " rull d ripping" based on the
scholastic gloss piiryatc guiale caiva PW!tgaia .. It is pudgaia because il is tilled
(/piir) and then leaks away (jgal)." Again. arhatl " Worthy One" i~ re ndered
by dgra·btIom-pa " he who has conquered his enemies" on the basis of the
etymolOgy kldiiiin IUI/aviin arMll " He is arhan because he has demoyed
(/ll all ) h i~ enemies (an) the defile ments ."

The following di~cussi()n from the Sgra.sbyor bam-po gtiis-pa on the proper
equivaknt for :W~Ilf{l "Well-gone One" is in many ways typical of the Tihctan
loan ere.tlion process :

SIl~U /(I-On the one hand: JohhullugQ (Q/.t suga(a~l .funipaval "I-it.!
is Jugulll (kg~ -par g.kgs-pu) because he has become beautiful.
like olle of hcautifuJ form," upullariivrftyiigala~l sU8ala~lslll!(j.~!a ­
jV(lf(lval " He is .W~{/1cI ({('got-pur gSegs-pa) beca use he has gone
neve r to return, like a fever which is well cured," yiivadWlllw-
vyagumu lliJ t JU}i{/fa~1 Jllpjin.wgilu!(lv(I( " He is sugata (It'RJ-fH1r
gJegs.pa) because he has gone as far as he Clln go, like a jar
which is well filled:'
WORDS 145

On the other hand: we read in the DlrarmusluJ/lolta, sugula ili

sukhilo bllaguviin svargatab avyalhiwdlwnllasarnallviigat/J~1 lad
ucrale SU8a(a~ "The Blessed One has become blissful and is
possessed of the bliss of heaven; he is without affliction and is
possessed of the quality of nonamiction." Hence we may
render the term as bde-bar gJegs-pa " he who has gone 10 bliss"
or Me-bar bnies-pa "he who has gained bliss."
Here we will fIX the cquivalent as bde-har g!egs-pa because it
is traditional and conforms to the lext of the Dharmask(llu/ha.

2.2.3. Mixed rorms

Occasionally a foreign word or phrast: i~ rl!n(krcd in Tibetan as a MIXED

fORM combining a twnsfer and a translation. For eXi"lmple, we find Tibetan
Ndzam-bu gJiii "jamhudvipa ..... the inhabited world," combining a transfer of
Sa nskrit jarnbu and native Tibetan gliii "island" as a loa n translatio!l of
Sanskrit dvlpa. Again, we find Tihewn Ilwj·rdJe "lord" < Chinese I 'al-sltill
"G rand Preceptor," combining a transfer or Chinese I 'ai "great" and a loan
translation of Chinese shill "tl!lIc hcr" by Tihetan rdte "master." Even more
interesting is Tibeuln rluii -nll "wind hurse ..... prayer nag" < Chinese IUllg-rna
"dragon horse," which mixes a Tibetanizcd transft:r of Chinese /ullg "dragon"
as rluii "wind"- somdimcs also written kiwi "river"-with a loan translation
of Chinese rna "horsc" by Tihcwn nu.

Another type of mixed form comhincs a transfer with a native glol>s on the
meaning of the tr;msft:rred clcment-for cxample, mw-bya "pt:acock" <
Sanskrit miiYllra plus Tibetan hya "bird," n(J-zarn "post station" < Mongol
zarn "post stage, pm! horse" plus Tibetan na "horse," Ju-ra-k!wii "pit" <
Sanskrit slllU;i.~a I' trench, mine, pit" through a Prakril ·Juraii~a (compare
Hindi sumiig. Be ngali .fwlaii~ ) plus Tihclan khwl .. pit. ..·\S

l.'i Such mixed fnrm s ale nOI unu.mmlln i~ Nn'" T.N:tan. Fur ex.aml'!c. in lh~ Lh:l~a C" lI Y
ncwsp3pcrli we fino.! <puu·I;h,,;; > ··minislry'· < N ~'W C hinc."C pu "mi ni~ l ry·' rlus N~ ....· T,t>cl:W
(Ula.\.a) k)",it <k)",it> ·' huusc." 1I~ in </duII'·/"'" 11U1l·tlm;; > ··Mini~ lry "f R~i t .....;.ys:· ..... hKh
fUrlller ,()m"jnc.~ Ihe mixed r,'rm ""ilh the I"an l r"".'I ~ liu n 1.lnU"", <W"/:.f·/UI/I> ··iron ",:,tI
..... ra il .... ay"· < Ne .... Chi nc.' " I k ll ·/It. NUle al", <",r·k K"' ·hti > ··S<.i"'~I~ mile·' < Engli~1I mil,·
plu.\ N~"W TitJ.clan (LhJ~) !"I,.li <}.'ru .1>/1 > ·'I"uI u,rne r .... squar~:· <}.'/o)!·duu:. '·kU"",:m
lIo ... r ul clc.:lridly·· < New Chinc.<;.c". ··"e!:I~-":. ki lu""Jl\ 1I" ... r··,,! . . ~ New Til>o:TJn (Lila,;;,) '"'
<glog> '·ligIlTnin g .... e!cc lrk ily:· <dlllj·AI"..,. 1.1 "";; .I.lIIu;;:. ··lillle car .... jcc,,·· < Nc ....·
146 THE ClASSICAL. TlllcTAN LANOU .....Gfo;

2.2.4. BackCorms

Two further processes of word forma tion should be mentioned here, which
h.ave in common what we can call the recycling of lexical items. We find
DW£CT BORROWING where a word, already in the classical lexicon. is
borrowed back into the classical language in a Middle Tibetan dialect form
(as in English varmint from a dialect pronunciation of vermin)-for example,
/duii·kil "jackdaw" from skyuii·ka, ItIam "rafter" from playam, mdhor·po
"pretty" from Nphyor.po, RDUN "be naked" from saR£iJ, tOR "be joined
together" from BYOR. Sometimes such a borrowing can be detected through
spelling doublets which imply that new classical forms have been created to
account for the borrowed word-for example, the doublet GRIM-BRIM
"distribute" renects alternative attempts to provide a" classical source for a
Middle Tibetan word presumably pronounced *Ndrim or *drim or *qim, just
as the doublet Nkhyos-pa - Nphyos-pa "gift" reflects similar attempts to
naturalize in a suitably classical way a Middle Tibetan word pronounced
*NtJhospo or *tJh ospa or even *chopa"

In BACKfORMAllON a new word is created analogically as the source fo~ an

existing word-for example, given the noun saiif-r;ID'as "Buddha," there is
eventually created a verb TSAR-ROYA "become a Buddha" as its presumed
source, just as, in English, the verb sculpl was created as the presumed source
of the noun sculptor" Such backformalions are found particularly where the
original derivational process has dropped out of use: where the derivation
rgan-po "old" < RGA "be old" or mtllOn-po "high" < ,,"110 "be high" has
become opaque, we find the backformation of the new verbs forms ROAN "be
old" and ,,"HON "be high" as the presumed sources of the adjectives" Again,
in the formati on of diminutives, original low back vowels become the tow
front vowel e" When this phonological change no longer seems a natural one,
we find, for eX<lmple, sle:po "axe" as a backformation from-that is, a
presumed source for-Sleu "hatChet," which actually comes from sfa-n"-sfa-gri
"axe," and perhaps, in the same way, even [(e-ba "navel" < ·lfeu < Ito-ba
"belly" and sne "extremity, end" < ·sneu < sna "nose."

~'lItomobile" plus New Tibetan (LIIasa) I!hu;tl/uil </Jhl4i1.l!huil> ""$mall,"

OIlnesc ell "i<h"t
<,dMl"phran JOOm> "atom bomb" < English bomb plus New Tibetan (Lhasa) ra(CN <,dul·
pltran> "tiny partide -- atom:'
WORDS 147

2.3. IMITATIONS

2.3.1. Interjections

A third source of new words in Tibetan is the IMITATION of natural sounds.

The most d irectly imitative wo rds are those tha t attempt to reproduce
spontaneous INTERJECTIONS-for exam ple, Icyt "hey!" ha·Jw "wow!" he-he "ha-
hal" le-le "a ha !" UONSOS "uk Uk." The classical language also makes use
of an INTERJECTION FORMATIVE la- in such interjections as la-la-Ia "INTER-
JECTION OF DEUmIT," la-ha-ha "lNTERJECllON OF PlEASURE," la-ua
" INTERJECTION OF PITY," la-Ie "'Nn;.RJECllON OF SURPRISE," la-su "IN'TER-
JECTlON OF SEXUAL SA1lSFAcnON," la-ui "1!'rffiRJEcnON OF WONDER," la-ra
" INTERJECTION OF I'IIYSICAI.. PAIN," and so on.

Some inte rjections with la- appea r to derive from o the r fo rms-thus MTSllAR
"be beautiful" la-m lshar "I!'rffiIUECllON OF WONDER," NA "be sic k" la-na-la-
na-tul "INTERJECTION OF GR tEF," ' KJlAG "be rotten" la-khag - ?a-kha-kha
"INTERJECTION OFCONiEMPT," TSltA "be ho t" la-rs/la- la -uha-uha " INTI:RJOC-
1l0N OF PAIN OCCASIONED BY IlEAT." Such derivation is not always clear: for
example, 7a-/§lIu-la-/Jllu- /§/lu " INTE RJ ECTION OF PAIN oq:A.<;IONED BY COLD"
may have a d istant semantic relatio n with r.fll u " wa te r," o r may be pure
sound imitation, as in English ah-choo! We may note that the Tibetan name
fo r o ne o f the cold he lls is la-tIllu zer-pa "where people say la-tIhu."

2.3.2. Onomatopoeia

One step away from representing human sounds is re presenting non-huma n

Sounds. There are several words in the classical lexicon that a re clearly
ONOMATOPOElc- kllrum·khrum "CRUNCIUNG OF A PESTLE," tJag-tJag "SMACK-
INO OF TIlE UPS," r.for-dor "Fl7J'JNO OF BEER," tJllem -fIll em "CRASIII NG OF
TIIUND(;R," fllrig-fllrig "SOUEAKI NG 0 1' slIor,£," si-s; "SOUND OF WIIISTLING," ur-
ur " 11lJ77JNG SOUN!)," iiar-jiur " 1I0ARSE WHEEZING SOUND," meao "SOUND OF
A CAT." A ft:w of thest: forms may ultimately derive from re duplicated ve rbs:
for example, compart: GYF.R "move back and fo rth" with yen·yen "SOUND OF
STRUGGLE," KIWI. " ring, resound" with Ichrol-khrol "SOUN D OF cv.NGINO
METAL." IlRAL '·' rip up, tear to pieces" with hrul-llrul "SOUND OF IUPPINO OR
TEARINO," a nd 0118 "suck" with tJib-t!jb "SLURPING OR SUCK.lNO NOISE," in
the fo llowing verses, fo und in two archaic Central Asian manuscripts: .
148 THE ClASSICAL TIBETAN LANGU ....GE

gnam-dan sa Nthab yen-yen dam-dam

Idhags-dafl tails Nthab k1lrol-kllrol siJ-siJ
Earth fought with sky, )'tn-yen dam-dam
Copper fought with iron, khrol-khrol sil-siJ

Ia bra zo ni hrul-hrul
khrag sa Nfhuii ni lJib·t!ib
rus-pa gle MIha ni khrum-khmm
mgo-spu rdzis khyer Tli him-ban
His flesh the birds eat yes: IIm/-hrul
His blood the earth drink.~ yes: tJib-/!ib
His bones the bouldl!rs gnaw yes: klrrum-khrum
His hair the wind carries away yes: ban-ban

Such onomatopoeic terms also enter into compounds-for example, ku-sgra

"the soundku .... clamor," tsheg-sgra "the sound lSheg .... crackling." si-sgra "the
soundsi - whistling," ur-rdo "stone that goes ur .... slingshot," fiar-slead "the cry
nar .... roar of a lion."

Onomatopoeic terms are alsn used 10 signify the beings or objects Ihal make
the particular sound-thus rt$i·rt$i -IS;·IS; "mouse," pi-pi "flute," ku-Iw·sgrogs
"grey duck." Perhaps also in this class are naii-pa "goose" and krufi-krun-
khruii-Ichruii "crane," but the !atter seems related as well to Sanskrit krauiica.

Often the o nomatopoeia is lexicalized with a verb-thus tseg-tseg B~ " make

the sound lug-lSeg .... rustle like dry leaves," sug·sug ROOD " laugh sug·sug __
laugh loudly," nan-nan 7.ER "say fiaij·/laii .... cackJe like a goose," tun-tun BYA
"make the sound tuii·tuii .... bow repeatedly like a pigeon," hub-hub B~
"make the sound hub·hub -. gulp dow n in large drafts," hab-Iwb 7A -ha-be
ho-be ZA "eat hab·hob _ gobble greedily."

2.3.3. Poetic word play

Of panicular interest is a set of stereotyped onomatopoeic terms used in

Tibetan poetry from very early times. For example. in the archaic chronicle
found near Tun-huang. we find a song sung by the Queen Sad-mar-kar, which
we can partially reconstruct and tran~I;lte as follows:
WORDS 149

dte-iit ni dIe-ne-na Nearer yes: nearer

yar-po ni dguii.aan iiI! Yar-pa yes: ;s near the sky
dguii-sluu ni si·/j·/i Stars of the sky yes: si·Jj-/i

dte-ne ni dIe-fie-no. Nearer yes: nearer

gto-sluJ, ni brag-dafi iiI! Gla-skat yes: is near the rocks
brag-slcar ni si-/i·li Slars of the rock yes: si·li-/i

dIe-& ni dIe·nt-fIil Nearer yes: nearer

snur-ba ni tJhab-4aii iit Sfiur-ba yes: is near the waler
1)'UT-sram ni pyo-fa./a The otter yes: pyo-Ia-Ia

dIe-iiI! ni dIe-ne-na Nearer yes: nearer

;un-Ita, ni dog-daii iiI! Ncn.kat yes: is near the fields
NbrtlJ4rug 'Ii $;-1;-1; The six grains yes: 5i-/i-1i

dIe-;u ni d!e-iie-na Nearer yes: nearer

mal-rro ni klum-daii iie Mal-Ira yeS: is near to K1um
slcyi·bur ni spu-ru-ru The colc wind yes: SJXHIHU

This type of onomatopoeia ;n the form A-B-B (where 8 is -fi--Iu--fu--ri-

.ro--ru--u) is most likely pure sound play. The following is a partial list of
the forms encountered-zi-ri-n' "DROI'ING OF BEes OR TIlE WIND," di·ri-ri
" HOWUNG OF WIND, LOWING OFCATnE." Jdi-n'-ri "RATnIN G OF THUNDER," hu-
nNU "GASP OF WONDER, HORROR, OR CONRJSION." kyi-li-/i "HASIIING OF A
RAINBOW OR UGIt"rnING," kyu-ru-ru "SOUND OF lAUGHTER OR SONG, CALUNG
OF BIRDS," khyi-/i-/i "ROLUNG OF WAVES," kJlra-Ja-la "SOUND OF HOOVES," me-
rt-rt "MURMUR OF A CROWD, ROAR OF WAVF5.," the-ra-ra "NOISE Of ASSEMBLED
WARRIORS, ROLLING OF CLOUOS OR WATERS." pu-ru-ru "SOUND OF TROTnNG
HORSES," zu-Iu·/u "SlCPPING OF BOOTS," Ichru·lu·lu "TINKLIN G OF BELLS," pyo-
ta-la "SPlAStIING OF WATER," spu-ru-ru "BlAST Of ICY WIND," Icho·ro·ro
"BUZZING OF BEES," /Jhi-/i·/i "SOUND OF SNIFFING wrrn TIlE NOSE," u·ru·ru
"SOUND OF BUZZING OR WHIRRING," si-/i·/i "DRUMMING OF RAIN, FUCKERING
OF UGHTNlNG, SOUND OF A CYMBAL.,,)6

Another type of poetic: word play apparently origimlles from archaic.

constructions of the form VERB-E-VERB. Compare the following archaic verse

36 Note, In addition 10 $i·Ii-1i, such wo,~ as sil-rna "'inkling or cymbals," sil-sila" "'he
10,,04 Iii -. cymbal." Ju-dhDb "JU wale r ... ,urglln, WlIlen."
150 THE CLt.ss1CAJ.. TlBETAH J....vrtOUAOE

from a Central Asian manuscript with the similar verse given above:

Ia Ht1a n1 hral-te hrtJld

pags bIu ni ldfjb-be ldIib
Carving the flesh yes: rip rip
Stripping the skin yes: slurp .slurp

Or this verse; again from an archaic Central Asian manuscript:

ri bwr-tt bzur-na
sm·ri bZur-te bzur
span /deb-be ldeb-rt(J
siii-span /deb-be ldeb
In winding winding mountains
Si'ij mounlains wind and wind
In bending bending meadows
Si'li meadows bend and bend

This convention seems early to have become stereotyped into onomatopoeia

of the form A-se-A, where the element A frequently appears to be related to
a verb. This type of onomatopoeia is found primarily in archaizing poetic
styles, as in the following stanzas from the classical text KJu-Nbum bsdus-pai
slifij.po, where A-St-A forms are used in parallel with A·B·B forms such as si-li-
Ii'

ba-dmar glaii-dmar dj·ri-ri

nan-iiu, man-po ltIoiis-se-llJons
nna-bya spu-sdug lhIlbs-s~-lhnb
roJ-mo si/-snan sj./j-li ...
Red cows red oxen di-ri-ri
. Many geese and ducks [tIofu-s~-hIoiis
Brighl-fealhered peacocks lhabs-s~-lhnb
Music and cymbals si·IUi ...

JcJu-mgo man-po kyu-ru-ru

sbrul-mgo mali-po ron'st-ron
g.yu-mtsho siion·mo lam·st·lam
WORDS 151

Manyheaded serpents kyu-nNU

Manyheaded snakes roii-se-ron
Blue turquo ise waters lam-se-Iam

These onomatopoeic terms appear 10 constitute a peculiarly Tibetan

ONOMATOPOElA OF MOTION_ These terms may be partially listed as follows-
Iigs-se-ligs "ROCKING OR WAVING MonON (as of trees moved by the wind)"
(compare Iigs-se "relaxed, rocking," Ijg-ge-ba "trembling, toltering," Dha "fall
to pieces, decay"), tun-se-tun "MOllON OF A MOVING HORSE" (compare tun-
tun B~ "bow or nod repeatedly"), llIoiis-se-ltIon "AGITATED OR SHAKiNG
MOllON" (compare LTSOG "be agitated, tremble, shake," and perhaps also
gtIog-skDd "wailing, lamentation," TloR "cry out, lament," tJ.ho.ne "lamen·
tation, dirge"), lhabs-se-lhabs-Ihub-st-Ihub "MonON OF FlUlTERtNO TO AND
FRO" (compare lhab·/hub "wide, flowing," /(LUB "cover or drape the body"),
liii-se-liii "FLOATING OR FlYlNG MonON" (compare liii-ne "dangling, waving,
floating," WlR "float, soar, swim"), foii-se-ron "BACK AND FORnI MOllON"
(compare ron narrow passage, defile, cleft in a hill"). /am·It-/am "SIIIMMERING
OR FLICKERING MonON" (compare /duo-lam-me "flickering in many colors,"
lam-lam ByuR "appear shining or flashing")_

A similar onomatopoeia of motio n in the form A·ma-A is also encountered

in Tibetan poetry. Such constructions apparently date back-as do the A-It-A
constructions-to very early poetic conventions. In the archaic Central Asian
manuscripts., for example. we find such verses as the following:

sJ1}'an rlaii-ma-rliii
ltIhags ldab-ma-ldib
'hugs nnoii-ma-nnoii
Eyes moist moist
Tongue stulter stutter
Heart despair despair

As with the A-se-A forms, this type of onomatopoeia is found primarily in

archaizing poetic styles. In the following stanzas from Mi-Ia ras-pa we can see
how the A-ma-A forms are used in parallel with both A-se-A and A-B-B
constructions:

.fteli-na Iho-spriJI kllOr-ma-khor

og-na gtsaii-llhab [i'J'a-mQ-gyu
bar-I/a rgod.po /aii-ma-/ili
152 TIlI~ CtAssICAL TIBETAN l...ANGUAOE

nsi·lUi sng-ts/lOgs ban-rna-bun

Won-lUi gar-slabs Jigs-se-figs
bw"i-ba glu-Ien kJlO-ro-ro
me-log dri-nad Lfhi·/i·li
bya-nwf1U skud-snan khyu-ru-ru
Southern clouds above me k.hor-mQ-kJior
Pure waters below me gya-ma-gyu
Condors in between fan-mao/iii
All manner 9£ fruit trees bun-rna-bull
The dancing of trees JigJ-se-ligs
The singing of bees kho-ro-ro
The smell of flowers t!hi-/i-fi
The sweet sound of birds kyu-ru-ru

In both the ancienl verses and the later archaizing poetry, where the vowel
in the first A element differs from the vowel in the second A element, we find
generally that the vowel of the second A element is primary and that this
primary vowel is replaced by Q in the first A element-a pattern strikingly
similar to that found in ahernaling reduplication. We may gloss the A-mQ -A
rorms given above as rollows-k}wr-ma-khar "CIRCLING OR llJRNING MOllON"
(compare NKJIOR "turn around in a circle," skar "surround, encircle," Nkhor
"circle, circumference"), gya-ma-gyu "RUSIIING tl.OW Of A RIVER" (compare
NGYU "move quickly," NKlfYU "run," RGYV "walk, move"), lan -ma-liii "t1.Y1NG
OR FLOATING MOllON" (compare fiii-se-liii "R.Y1NG OR FLOATING MOllON,"
LDliiJ "float, soar, swim"), ban-rna-bun "MOllON OF CROWDING TOOE11IER"
(compare na-bun "rag. thick mist," bud "darkening of [he air, 85 by a
dustcloud or snO'WStorm," spun-pa-sbun-pa "husks, charC')_

2.4. HONORIFICS

2.4.1. The use or honorifics

HOIIIORIFlCS · in classical Tibetan form an intcresting part of the 1t:xir. .. r1
Observe the following pairs of propositions-4mag-mi rta-Ia Ion "The · ·dli!~,
rides on a horse" df1U1g-dpon I1hibs-la MJllibs "The general rides on a horse,"
lUi-pas zan za "The farmer eats food" spru/-skus bJos gsol "The incarnation
eats rood," khol-pos l1/iu-la lelia Nlellrud "The servant wa~hes his face In
water" rgyal-pos Lfhab-Ia lal bsil "The k.ing. washes his r"'lC in water. "
WORDS 153

In the classical lexicon we find certain pairs of words-such as rta/t.fhibs

"horse," rIliu/rIhob "water," Icha/tal "face," tON/'rtIB "ride," ZA/OSOI. "eat"-
that are denotatively synonymous save only that one of the pair is honorific:
words that are marked as honorific aTe used to refer respectfully to the
person and possessions of those of higher social or spiritual rank, while words
unmarked as honorific are used in reference to the person and possessions
of those of equal or lower ranlr..

There is considerable variation in the use of such honorific words: the

frequency and distribution of honorifics in fact constitutes part of the register
of a piece of writing and the style of a particular author. The studied and
frequent usc of appropriate honorifics is characteristic of foonal, urbane, and
literary registers, while minimal use signals registers that are informal. folk,
and colloquial.

No classical text, however, will eschew honorifics entirely. As early as in the

ninth-century translation guide: Sgra-sbyor bam-po gnis-po we read that fe-sa
"honorific words" must always be: used in translating from Sanskrit any
reference to the: Buddha. That Ihis rule was thenceforth followed can be seen
by comparing the old Khotane:se manuscript Iranslation of the: Saddllarma-
pw.u!anluJ with the revised canonical version: the revisers of the text took
care to replace such verbs as the older SKYF: "be born" with its honorific
equivalent l.1:AM, the older BOYI "do" with the honorific MDZAD, the older
MYED < ·ma-YOD "be without" with the honorific mj-MNA.

2.4.2. Elegance and social vector

It is important to distinguish such honorific.~ from both EI.CGANT srCECIi and

SOCIAL VECTOR VERIlS. In the first case we find thllt several words of common
Ql;currence are paired with wards that are synonymous except fo r being
EI.EGANT-Ihat is, they constitute an indicator of refined or elevated speech,
ilS in lA GS instead of YIN "be," MnlJlS instead of YOD "exist," G~ instead of
NOu<; "slay," M'Jj1ll instead of NGRO "go," BeYI instead of BYA "do,·· bdu.,<
instead of na "I." Thus when the young Mi-la first meel~ his future maste r
Mar-pa, he declares bfa·ma rin-po-tJne bdag slud·kyi mj sdig·po-rIhe-tig .Ir;,~.
"0 precious lama, I am a man from the west who is a great sinner," using ll n
elevated lexical pattern lhat Mar-pa quickiy punctures with indifference' the
author has used his lexical resources to teil us something about the ~ t ' u ng
protagonist's personality and attitudes.
154 TIfE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN l...ANmJAGl:

In the second case we find verbs that have SOCIAL VECTORS as part of their
semantic content. Thus the verb PUL means "give from below upwards -
offer" a nd GNAiJ means "give from above downwards _ bestow," while TAN
"give" is unmarked for social veclor; we may add that the nondirectional verb
TAR "give" has the honorific equivalent STIAL Similarly, tu means "speak
from below upwa rds," GsuR means "speak from above downwards," and 8YA
means "speak horizontally." In texts that recount conversations belwet:1I
inte rlocutors of unequal ra nk, it is possible to keep track of who is talking not
only by the presence of absence of honorifics but also by the social vector of
the verbs of speak.ing: for example, Mi·la will tu to Mar-pa a nd his wife,
Mar-pa will GsuR to his wife and to Mi·la, his wife will tu 10 Mar-pa but
GsuFJ to Mi-Ia, and Mi·la will Br-t to shepherd boys.

2.4.3. Primary honorifics

We can distinguish two types of honorific: a PRIMARY 1I0NORnlC is a \exical

item usually unrelated etymologically to the corresponding nonhonorific bUI
marked as its honorific equivalent through a gradual process of semllntic
specialization; a SECONDARY HONORtFIC is a collocation consisting of a lexical
item marked as honorific preceding an unma rked lexical item to yield a form
which is honorific as a whole.

To illustrate primary honorifics we may list-with the honorific lexic;ll items

second-5uth noun pa irs as Ius/sku "body," mgo/dhu " head," mig/spy(jIl "cye,"
rus/gduii "bone," m a/siiQlI "ear," sfla/IaflS "nose," kha/Zal "face:' ,.,.dtiJilmgrin
"neck," /agJpllyag "hand," rkaiiltabs "foot," flIe/Wags "tongue," khrag/mtslwJ
"blood," yUllthugs "mind:' siiiiilthugs "heart," pltalyab " ra ther," malyum
"mother," bu/sras "son," Ichuii/kltyim "house," rtaltIhibs "horse," Mhu/II/lab
"water," gtamlblca "discourse"; such verb pairs as NDllG/BtUGS "stay," YlN/I.AGS
"be," YOD/ME« "exist," BYA! MD7.AD "do," o N/rUF.lJ "come," NORO/PI/EB "go," 5ESI
MKJfYEN "know," M1110N/G7JGS "see," tON/15tS " ride"; and such personal
determiner pairs as iia{iied "I," khyodlkhyed "you," kholkhon "he,"

A lexical item may thus have both an elegant and an honorific equivalent-
for example, the unmarked iia ")" with both the honorific equivalenty ned
and the elegant equivalent Mag. We can list some examples as follows:
WORDS 155

UNMARKED ELEGANT HONORIFIC

"stay" NOOG GU< BtUOS

"be" YIN UGS UGS
"exist" YOD mills ",N.
"go" NORD MT1111 PilES
"do" .J:< BOn "'DZAD
"die" 7'<1 GUN GRoR
")" bdag ned
""
2.4.4. Denotation and connotation
We have said that hqnorifics arc DENOTATIVElY synonymous with their
nonhonorific equivalt:nts; honorifics may, however, differ CONNOTATIVELY
from their corresponding nonhonorifics. Such connotative differences may
ari~ simply as a result of honorific usage. The term bIos, for example, is the
honorific equivalent of zan "food," and is used frequently in ritual to refer to
food offered to the god; it thus comes to connote an offering, food given to
a deity, even whe n it denotes simply the food of a socially superior person.
Again, in contemplative contelrtS, where a meditator visualizes his body as
that of a god, the non honorific term Ius "body" will be used to refer to the
meditator's body and the honorific term sh4 "body" will be used to refer to
the body of the god. Hence the former term acquires connotations of
imperfection, actuality, and mutability, while the latter term acquires
connotations of perfection, potentiality, and significance. Whether one
chooses to TllANsv.n such terms denotatively or connotatively into English
is of course another question.

Connotative differences may also arise as a result of the extension of the

honorific term. It is not infrequently the case that a single 1e1lical item serves
as the honorific 'equivalent of several nonhonorifics: where this occurs the
honoriiic term will assume a connotative breadth lacking in any single
corresponding nonhonorific term. For example, Ihugs is the honorific
equivalent of both yid "mind" and siiin "heart," and thus in either use carries
something of the cognitive and affective connotations of both terms. Similarly,
the honorific verb MKJfY£N functi ons as the honorific equivalent of several
nonhonorific verbs denoting menIal actions-.s'Es "know," RIG "perceive," GO
"understand"-and is thus connotatively more broad than anyone of them .
156 THE ClAssJCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

The exclamation bla-ma mkhyen 'The lama knows'" is in a sense ineducible

to anyone nonhonorific equivalent.

Connotative differences may, finally, arise as a result of the derivation of the

honorific term. The verb BSIL, for exalT.plc, has the original meaning "be
0001" (as in the paraphrase coordination bsi/·liii gran "cool and cold"). and
comes eventually to function as the honorific equivalent of the verb KRU
"wash"-thus, oxymoronically, IJhab dron·mo-/a sku bsil "He w.uhes his
honorable body in warm water." The honorific term, even while denoting the
same action as the nonhonorific term, still relains historical connotatiolU of
refreshment and renewal. Similarly, the: nonhonorific expression ro SREG "burn
a corpse" has the honorific equivalent spur DtV. which denotes precisely the
same activity: yet the verb vtu retains its original sense of "melt, digest,
dissolve," and connotatively suggests the ethereal insubstantiality of the
honorable remains.

2.4.5. Euphemism

Such uses, we may note, pass easily over into EUPHEMISM. The unmarked verb
rSl "die" has the elegant equivalent GUM and the honorific equivalent GRoR.
Yet we also find the use of such euphemist ic equivalents as GJ£GS "depart."
Me-bar oJ£GS "de pan to bliss," gllam-du GJ£GS "depart to heaven," Ii-bar
eJ£GS " dt!part to peacc," Sku-NDA "transcend the body," dgoiis-pa RDZOGS
"complete his intentions," and IUI-la PIIEB "go to the Buddhafield." A similar
type of euphemism is used by the young Mi-la when speaking of his master
Mar-pa. Where Mar-pa speaks of himself as tJhaii-gis bzi "getting drunk on
beer," Mi-la speaks of him as p/llld-kyis ""bad "striving with drink offerings."

2.4.6. Secondary honorifics

A SECONUAAY IlQNO RII'l C is fo rmed by joining an unmarked lexical item with

one mflrked as honorific to yield a form which is honorific as a whole. This
process has bt!cn remarkably productive. Thus the honorific sku "body" may
he prefixed to any number of unmarked lexical items referring 10 parts.
stalc:s. and appurtenances of the body to produce compounds denotatively
synonymous with the original lexical items except thai they are now honorific
- thusslw-mkhar"castle," slat-(she "\ifetimt!," sku-dpuii "shoulder," sku-uhad
"feve r, " .rku-ru.s "bone," sku-(sllab "representative," sku-rags "girdle," sku·
WORDS IS7

tJh4s "supplies," sku-khoms "health," sku-fa "flesh," sku-bsod "virt~e_" The

honorific dbu "head" is similarly prefixed in dbu·skTa "hair," dbu-riias
"pillow," dbu·tlwd "cap," dbu·rmog "helmet," dbu-Jwa " hat," the honorific
pIlyag "hand" in phyag-Nkhor "staff," phyag-rgya "sea~" pllyag-nor ''wrist,''
phyag-mlheb "thumb," phyag-rttn "gift," ph)'Dg-dpe "book,", phyag-mdzub
"finger," phyag-Nbris "writing." phyag-Ian "greeting," the honorific tabs "foot"
in labs-gelan "carpet," labs-bro "dance," labs·sen "toenail," Jabs-lham
"boot," and the honorific thugs "heart, mind" in thugs-iiDnu "spirit," thugs·sro
"anger," thugs-bzod "patience," thu.gs·Nthad "pleasure," Ihugs-dgoiis "thought,"
thug:t-bnst "love,"

Similarly, when an honorific replaces a nonhonorific within an CXlStlflg

compound, the entire compound becomes honorific: here we may list-with
the honorific compounds second- such pairs as kJ.a-Itaflaf-fta "mouth view
... instructions," !'1ig-tJhulspyan-tihu "eye water ... tears," mig-llIibslspyan-ltJibs
"eye covering ... eyelid," mig-Nbrastspyan'Nbras "eye fruit ... eyeball," yi-damf
thugs-cklm "mi nd bond ... oath,"y;-mugltltugs-mug"mind darkness ... despair,"
yid-tJht$/thugs-tJhts "expanded mind -- belief," sniii-rusfthugs-rus "heart bone
... courage," sniii-rdl~/t1rugs-rdt~ "noble heart ... compassion,"'ag-tJholphyag-
IJha "hand thing ... implement," fag-phyisfphyag-phyis " hand cloth ... towel,"
lag-nagsfphyag-nag:t "hand sign ... fingerprint," lag-Imlphyag-len "hand taking
-- practical experience," lag-mlllifJpllyag-mlhi/"hand bottom - palm," r/cQij-
mihiltlabs-millil "foot bottom ...... sole," rkaii-f)fUNllabs·DRAN "pull the foot - .
disgrace,"

The us~ of such honorifics again conslilUtes part of the style of an author;
and many idiosyncratic secondary honorific compounds are not found in the
current dictiuna ries, II is often hdpful to he able 10 translate the honoritic
portions o f such CO/T,pounds hack in to their non honorific fo rms: these are the
forms more hkdy to he listed, Thus a reader encountering a previously
unattested fm m such as ·,I11)'III!-.ler "yellow eye," but unable to find a
dictionary entry for the term, ('an I!lok under its nonhonorific equivalent mig-
ser and there find the more helpful gloss "jaundice,"

2.4_1_ Kinship terms

!'.hetall kinship termimlhlgy c( lII.~ t i t utes" semantic field which illustrates some
1l1lcresting featur es of Ihe hnnorifil: system, Classical Tibetan kinship terms
r" r OIsl:enu ing generations :lIe relatively slraighlforward-mes-po "grand-
1S8 TIlE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

father," nno-mo "grandmotht:r," plio-la-phD (honorificyab) "rather," ma-

la-rna (honorific yum) "mother," kJw-bo-la-khu "father's brother," nt'·n~·
ma-lo-ne "falher's sister," loii -po -la·laii "mother's brother," SfU-mo-lo-sru
"mother's sisler," Here we can note the use of ·PIIO and -rna as sex
formatives and the use of the prefix la· as an OLDER REI......nVE FORMA-
l1VE. :n

Kinship tt:rms for siblings. however, show a curious asymmelry. Here we !"llll1
mili.po (honorific draJ-po) "brother of a woman,"·,mli ·mQ (honorific (,Jam-
m a) "sister of a man," dlo-dto- 7tJ-d1.o (honorific gtJCII-po) "older brother,"
t!he-!.e-?a-tJlu! "older siSler," phu-bo "older brotht:r of a man," lIu -ho
(honorific gtJuii-po) "younger brOlhc r of a ma n," phu -mo "older siSler of a
woman," tZU-trW ''younger sister of it woman." The distribution of honorific
equivalents is skewed in a peculi<lr manner: why is there an honorific
equivalent for "older brother" but nOI for "older siste r"? why is the re ,In
honorific equivale nt for "yo unger brother of a man" .but not for "older
brother of a mlm"'!

It is clear that the terms dto-dto "older brot her" lind l!il e-fe "older siste r"
belong togtther both by their meaning a~d by their morphology: both are
reduplicated forms and both regularly occur with the la· formative. Similarly.
it is clear tha t the terms phu·"'o "older brother of a man" and nu ·bo
"younger brother of a man" (with their secondary derivatives phu.mo .'older
siste r of a woman" and lIu·mo "younger sister of a wo man") also belong
together semantically and detivationally: the term phu is etymologically
related to pllluJ "first fruit" just as the teuT! nu is related to nud "suckling."
Finally. the terms gtfell-po "older brother (honorific)" and gt!uii-po "younger

31 The older relative fnrm.uive la- is in fact quite productive. In New Tibeta n il is ncot
infrequently prerlXoo to Ille n3mC$ of yogiru and olde r mo nks as a form of ~rrOCl io n3l C
ro.:spcct: a )'Ogin named T!hos- kyi blo-grO$, for eumple, will be called not o nly Ily Ilis clipped
named dhos-blo but al!.() by tile fo rm la-dhos "older re lativc T!llos." In tile e pic of Ge'!03r
we find a friend addrcsscd as la·TOg$ "older rdat ive fr iend:' and Ge,wl( himself-under tile
name OlO· ru _ is add fC55cd willi tile play on -...ords 16·dlo "older bro ther/o lde r relative 01.0·
IU" in such lines as 16410 dlo·flj rin ·po·/Iht. We find tile fOlmative prefIXed to adjcct i"c.~
such as s/cyid-~ "Ilappy:' as when Oro·11I is addrC5SCd as la·skyid dlo-skyid rin ,po'fjh~, 01
t .... cn sii ....... ·mo "blue:" to fo rm la-';;"" "oh.lcr relativc blue o ne -. hcavc n, Mas in la·siiOll
1(MItI·lo gtu rgyab·no "if you bend your bol l'" at tile old blue sky." And, in the epic, we find
the formative prefw:4 to animals as well - fo r example, spyan ~o ./hon yid·gtad jo ./o grlJd.
spyaii la-/Mll lim·poi 10_/0 Ndzabs "Uncle Wolf SCI5 his mind o n nesh ... Uncle Wolf
vs triVC5 for las ty nesh."
WORDS 159

brother of a man (honorific)" are clearly related to the adjectives IIllen-po

"big" and tJhuii·ba "little," so it seems that they 100 belong together.

In fact, each kinship term appears to be a complex of four distinct semantic

specifications: the term asserts that its referent is either MALE or FEMALE;
either marked as HONORlflC or left unmarked; marked as OWER than ego,
marked as YOUNGER than ego, or left unmarked (or relative age; and marked
as being the SAME SEX as ego, marked as being a DIFfERENT SEX, or IcC!
unmarked for relative sex. No term is marked for more than three of these
specifications. Each sibling term may thus be defined as a bundle of these
specifications as (oUO'N$:

min·po MALE DlFF SEX

draJ-po MALE D1FF SEX HONORI FlC
snn-ma FEMALE OU-l ' SEX
ltJam-mo FEMALE DlFFSEX UONORtFlC
lQ~O OLDER MALE
la-tJhe OLDER FEMALE
phu·bo OWER MALE SAME SEX
nu-bo YOUNGER MALE SAME SEX
pIw-ma OLDER fEMALE SAME SEX
nu-MO YOUNGER FEMALE SAME SEX
gt.!en-po OLDEIl MALE HONORIAC
gt.!un.po YOUNGER MALE HONORIFlC

Under this analysis, the specification HONOlltFlC is an independent lexical

variable. The term gtIen.po is thus an OLDER MALE HONORI}-1C sibling, and as
such becomes associated as its honorific equivalent with the independent
lexical item la-d!o, which is an OLDER. MALE sibling. We can see that gtIun.
po, a YOUNGER MALE 1I0NORIFlC sibling, can correspond symmetrically to no
other term: the semantic field contains no parallel entry specified only as a
YOUNGER MALE sibling. Only one other entry is specified as both YOUNGER
and MALE; and gtJun-po becomes an asymmetrical honorific equivalent of nu-
bo, a YOUNGER MALE SAME SEX sibling.
8 Inflections

In some languages, some phonological changes take plac~ whenever the

necessary conditions are present. In Sanskrit, for example, progressive voicing
assimilation between comiguous words takes place regardless of the gram·
matical class of the word involved; thus we find both aSlt rajii > iisid raja
"There was a king," where the final of a verb assimilates to the initial of a
noun .. and viit bhriimyati > vag bhriimyati "The speech is excited," where the
final of a noun assimilates to the initial of a verb.

On the other hand, some conditioned phonological changes may take place
only in particular clas.ses or subclasses of words; where a sQund change is
phonologically conditioned, but the description of the change must contain
morphological ' information, we speak of MORPIlOP)lONOLOGICAL change.
Tibetan inflectional morphOlogy often involves such morphophonological
changes.

For example, several Tibetan particles undergo sound changes conditiGned

by the final or poslfinal of the immediately preceding syllable. Thus the
coordinative conjunction ""1'11/' has the form ·Jjn afler preceding final or
postfina] -s, the form -IJiii aftt:r any other preceding final obstruent, and the
form -fin after any preceding final sonoranl; but the initials of such NOI1NS
as lUI "field," Jiii "tree," and IJo;; "bell" remain unchanged regardless of
what precedes them.' A dt:scription of the sound change would have to
specify the grammatical cl3:.5 of the words which undergo it: hence the sound
change is morphophonological.

Phonemes which undergo morphophonologicaJ changes we will call MOKPIIO-

PHONEMES, and we will indicate such morphophonemt:s by writing them in
capita l letters. For example, we will write the adversative conjunction "nur'
as -KYoii, with the onset capitalized, to show-as opposed, say, to the noun
kyo;; "witd donkey," without the capitalization-that the form undergoes

1 The Til>Clan wouJ 1$(';; "1><:11" i~ burtnWC4 rrum Middle Chinese .,.l)'W<Nl --belL." The
wa~ borrowed doc~ nlli. t I>CI 'evc. affeci its morphophonologiQlt $I~h,I$.
faCI Iha l Ihe ....·u,<.I

,w
INFLECTIONS 161

morphophonological change, and the morphophoneme in question is the

onset cluster. Similarly, we will write the nominalizer -Pa with an initial
C8pita~ since the initial is a morphophoneme which regularly becomes b after
certain preceding syllable finals and p after others; the syllabic formative .po
"PERSON HAVlNO TO DO wrnt" undergoes no such changes.

Verbs also undergo morphophonological changes. The inflectional prefIX G-

~mes d- before grave initials in the verb root and g- before acute initials;
similarly, a voiced stop initial in the verb root becomes voiceless after the
inflectional prefIX b-; and the vowel ..t. in the verb root becomes 0 in the
imperative stem. Those inflectional affIXes which undergo morphophonological
changes we will. again, write in capitals; and we will write verb roots entirely
in capitals as well. Not every part of every verb root, it is true, is a morpho-
phoneme; but capitalizing the entire root will simultaneously prevent
recurring typographical oddities and serve as a signal that the cited form is
a hypothetical root rather than an attested stem. Thus, for example, an
affricate initial. in a verb root may become the corresponding fricative in
absolute initial position-that is, after the 'inflectional prefIX 8-, as in tugs <
'-Dt.UG-S "entered." But the rule applies only to verb rools, as we have
indicated by the capitalization: the past stem 8·D1oo·s "entered" is lugs, but
the noun dta "tea" does not thereby become -la, nor the noun dto-bo
"lord" become ~o-bo.

1. INFLECTION WITHIN SYLLABLES

1.1. TENSE

When a verb is given a TENSE, the tense is indicated by various more or less
regular changes in the phonological shape of the verb. Thesc morpho-
phonological changes constitute the inflectional morphology of the Old
Tibetan verb. A verb may have a maximum of four such distinct phonological
shapes: for example, we find Nthu/btw/btu/lhus as the four forms of the verb
we cite as TV "gather," and gtIod/btIadlgtlod/lIhod as the four forms of the
verb we cite as Ji..w "cut." These four forms of the verb in its most complete
paradigm have been named do-IIO "present," Ndas·pa "past," mo-oiis-pa
"future," and sJaE-uhig "imperative" by the Tibetan grammarians. We will use
these terms as conventional designations of what arc commonly called-
inaccurately-the four tenses of the Old Tibetan verb. .
162 TIlE ClASSICAl.. TIBETAN L\NOUAGE

1.2. ROOTS AND STEMS

A terminological distinction may be made between roots and stems. A :STEM

is one of the tense forms thai a verb is observed to take; a ROOT is art
underlying form thai is hypothesized 10 account most economically for the
observed tense siems. For example, given the present stem Nkhro "is angry"
and the past stem Ichros "was angry," we can postulate the underlying root
KlIRO "be angry" from which the two stems are derived by prenasalization
and -s suffixation respectively. This hypothetical underlying form carries with

Sjn&e '1l'(1r1is, when they wmtnUnjllUe, hint no effie',

it dRwm on us that w, need II: society in whieh
ccmmunuation is not pracnmi, in which IP(JrIis "twml
nonseFlse &IS they do b,""un L7Pm, in which words
be",",t what they urigjnniJy wert: trw and min
Rnd the Ttlt ofpn'mn>aJ tn'Pirtmment. The dnniljtariZl'tWn
of language: R lerWul murieal con,"",

-John Cage,
The Furure of Music

it no necessary implication of actual hislOrical existence, except to the extent

that one emhraces the interesting thesis that such internally reconstructed
forms reflect the relll past of the language-a thesis that r will invoke herein
from timl: to time.

1..1. n1'ES OF INFLECTIONAL RULE

These siems can he conceptualized as related to their underlying root through

the lJppli(;lJlion of a se ries of inflectiona l rules. For example, in such a system,
the P;lSt stem of a transitive vero is seen as formed by adding the prefIX b·
and the suffix ·.f 10 the ront; thl! present stem of an inlransitive verb is seen
as forml:d by prl:nasalizing the root; the prese O! slem of cerlain transitive
verhs is seen as formed hy adding the prefix G· to the ,rool and rounding its
vnwd. The rules that descrihe which chnnges are made 10 a rOOI 10 form
particulilf stems we will call IU':J\lJ7.ATIOt\l RULES. Thus it is a realization rule
INFLUcnONS 163

that the present stem of an intransitive verb is formed by prenasalization-for

example. the present stem Nkhro "is angry" fro m the root I(}IRO "be angry."

Now it is clear that such ;ealization rules may produce syllables that violate
syllable structure constraints. For example, the realization rule that the
present stem of an intransitive verb is formed by pre nasalizing the root
produces the present stem ?"'7I!ii from the intransitive root REN "be stirr." It
is thus necessary to have ADJUSTMl:J\T RU LES whereby the stems produced by
the realization rules can be adjusted into acceptable forms. For example, it
is an adjustment rule that blocks prenasalization before nonstopped phon-
e mes; thus the present stem ?Nreii is adjusted to the present stem ren "is
stiff." Some adjustment rules operate as well on stems that are otherwise
acceptable.

Adjustment rules use two different processes to adjust into acceptable form
the stems produced by the realization rules: when a realizational rule has
added an inflectional affix, an adjustment rule may alter either the affix or
the root. On the one hand, for example, prenasalizing the root REN "be stiff'
produces the unacceptable syllable '!Nrcn as the present stem; an adjustment
rule blocks the prenasalization to yield the acceptable syllable reii < N-REN.
We will call such adjustment rules Al'l-1X RULES. On the othe r hand, for
example, prenasalizing the root TU "gat her" produces the unacceptable
syllable ?Ntu as the present stem: an adjustment rule then aspirates the initial
of the root to yield the acceptable syllable ,,11114 < N·TU. We will call such
adjustment rules ROOT RU LES.

1.4. TRANS1TWE AND 1NTRANS1TWE VERBS

Throughout the grammar of Old Tibetan there is a pervasive distinction

between TRAroISIlWE and INTRi\NSITIV ~ verbs. These verbs are distinguished
semantically, syntactically, and derivationa lly. They are also distinguished
inflectionally: intransitive verbs do not have future or imperative stems;
intransitive verbs do not form the ir past stem with a b- prefIX. The distinction
betwee n those verbs that form their past stem with a b· prefIX-that is,
transitive verbs-and those that do nOI form their past stem with a b- preflX-
that is, intransitive verbs-is thus the primary distinction in verbal types. We
may sepa rate b-preflXing verbs from 8-preflXing verbs as the fundamental
division of the verbal system.
164 TilE CI.ASSICAL TIBETAN l..ANOU .... GE

1.5. PARADIGMS

When Ihe realization rules are set oul systematically they constitute what we
can conveniently consider PARADIGMS for Old Tibetan verb inflection.
IN'rnANsrnvE VERBS signal the present stem by prenasaiizalion and the past
stem with the -s suffIX. We can therefo re set out Ihe following intransitive
verb paradigm:

PRESENT PAST
N_ _ ,
The inflection of TRANSITIVE VEIWS in Old Tibelan is more complex than Ihat
of intransitive verbs. Transitive verbs have additional distinctive forms for
future :lnd imperative siems; and there a re four difreren! transitive para-
digms, depending on how the prescnt and future stems are formed. We can
distinguish transitive verbs that signal the future stem with a b- prefIX from
those that signal the future stem with 2 G- prefIX; we can distinguish transitive
verbs that signal the present stem with a G- prerIX from those that signal the
present stem with prenasalization, All transitive verbs signal the, past stem
with a b- prerIX and -s sufrlX, The following <Ire thus the four Olt! Tibetan
transitive verb paradigms:

PRESENT PAST FlIl1JRE IMPERATIVE

CLASS t b_, b ,
C LASS 2
N
N b----.J G ,
CLASS J G b----.J b
CLASS 4 G b----.J G

Transitive verbs have two additional realization rules: (1) ihe present stem of
Class 3 and Class 4 incorporates a ROUNDING RULE which changes a spread
vowel in the root into a rounded vowel in the stcm;2 and (2) the imperative

2 The ROUNDING RULE tllanges a $pr~<I vowel 10 I rounded ,vowel, luving _1\ OIlier
fealurCii of Ille vowel tile $arne. The rule tllus does not arfect Ille BACX RO UNDED vowels It
and 0. The rule does IUtel the FN.ONT SPKEAD vowels i and t, but the rcsulling FRONT
ROUNDED vowels iI and" become: the FROI'O' SPREAD vowels j and t again by the operation
of Rule I; $0 the $Ole vi~ib le effect o f tile rult is 10 change the IIACK SrRE.AD vowel a to the
!lACK t(DUNDED V(lWel 0.
INFLECJ10NS 165

stem of all classes incorporates both tbe ROUNDING RULE and an ASPIRATION

Several considerations suppon the po5tulatioll of Ih is l1Iie as pan of lhe verbal paradigm.
In many cues, nouns Ih.at Ire relaled 10 In Iffected verb bave the vowel Q ralher than the
o of the prcs.ent stem of the verb; frequently coglUlle verbs in other Tibeto-Bunnan
llnCWIJCI .bo have the YO'NeI Q rather tMin the 0 of the prcs.ent Item. For aampk, &fven
the oomilUlls JJIuld·pa " punishment" Ind JJ/uld.po "tom," and the intransitive verb TfHAD
(HtJhodldluld) "be cut,H we can independently pOstul.te the trlll$ilive rool Jt.w "cu.IH
lIn4erlying IX stems gtJodlbdsdfBdad/lJh«J, and .ttribute the YOWeI 0 In Ihe present a nd
imperative SIems to the operallon of the rouading rule. This transitive verb Tf..tO can then
also be compared wllh slIch forms as Lushei rIm "cut," Similarly, the transitive root £4D
"kill" an be po5tlllated as underlying tbe ~ te lTl5 pod{bssd{bstJdlwd, and that root tbe n
compared with such forms as Burmese Sal "kill.H

In many cues, lhe present stem of a transit ive verb .ppears with an 0 vowcl, but the present
stena (J. prefix has beell blocked by a n adjustment nile. For aample, we can postulate Ihe
transitive root SXAN "fllifillH underlying the stems skoA{bslwJIs{bJ1wJllslwIis, with the present
stem IkdI < G'skoo'I < O·SXAN by all affix I1Ile; this root SXAN can tbell be compared with
sudll 110111\$ II sksJI·tJD "satisfact ion." Similarly, we can postlliate the trans ilive TOOl RGYAN
"stretch" underlying tile stems 'I)'OII/bfJ)'oJl.J{b~~, once 19ain with the present stem
r,oIOII < G-~ < G·/WY..,v by a regular ru le; and Ibis root RGYAN an then similarly be
compared witb such nouns as ~·mo "dbunce."

It Is temptin, to IoCe the present stem prenx G- and tbe imperative stem slIlIbl·I as somehow
pboGologically rQponsible for lbe roundinS of the YOWeI nucleus. Yet we find perfcaly
accepuble syllables such as gdsII "IelIt,H dbaJ! Mpower,H and Mp "fores(H where the nucleus
Q remains sprud despite Ihe presence of a preinilial G· or postfilUll .s. Simn.,Iy, in lt1e

or
fuillre stem CIas5 2 and. CIas5 -4 transit ive verbs we find perfectly aoocpLlble fulure stems
Judi UJlIad < o.Jt.w "will cut," pod < G·UJ) ''will kill ," dbTad < G·BRAD ''wiIl5Cl'J,teb,''
aDd dbral < G-bral < G-PlIRAL "will separate," where the Q vowel remains spread despite
lbe presence or an inflectional G- prer~ and, in all put "ems. _ find perfealy aot:eptable
fonns slICb as bl/tyGp < b·SKYA (J.I "spent" an~ btQP < b·TAG-, "lfOuad," where the Q YO\IfeI
«mai» spread despite the presence of an innectional '1 sufflJ:.

II b thlll probably t!llt lhat tbe rounding rule b no t phonoloJk:a11y conditioned, but applies
indepenclently of sny atrlJ:. An alternative way of de.\Cfiblng tbe rule would be 10 poItulate
• phoneme of lip rounding ·W (much as N is • phoneme of velum lowering) whleb rounds
.ny ~I In tbe lime syllable. We could then propose ,"cb 4erivatioftl as Fod < G-Iod <
'"Gw.s,.w for the present stem of the root ~ "kill," .nd SI'IIIW < 1II11'(H < ·SNRA·1f'J for
the Imperative "em of the root SIIII« ",pett.H Similarly, where the o· Of ., Is blocked by
u IKljllltlDellt I1Ile, we could propose. sucllikrivations as Ikyob < G·skyob < '"Gw'sxyA!' (or
the present Item or the ~t S.tl'Jt8 "protect," and Jod < sod·s < -.t.W-ws fo r the imp..'ral ive
stem or the rool s,.w "kill"
\66 TtIE ClASSICAL. TIBETAN l...ANGU .... GE

RULE., which changes unaspirated oral stopped initials in the root into
aspirated initials in the stem.)

1.6. AFFIX RULES

Under the realization rules, four afflXes are added to verb roots to form tense
stems-the prerlXes b., G·, and N· (or prenasalization). and the SUfflX os. In
some instances, the resulting stem needs virtually no adjustment to be
acceptable under the syllable structure constraints: for example, from the
intransitive root )(lIRO '.'be angry" we fiRd the present stem NIchro < N-KJIRO
"is angry" and the past stem Ichros < KJIRO-s "was angry," from the Qass 3
transitive root SAG "gather" we find the present stemgsog < G-SAG "gathers,"

) TIle ....srJRATION RULE operates 10 .spirtle any verb root inilial .... hich can be aspirated
without violating either phoneme or syllable structure conslraints. The rule applies only to
oral s tOpped initia1:s without preinitia1:s-fo r c:umple, /Jws < lV-s ""pther!" IJlwnu < VZUM
-s ''sh ut!"" ·khunu < GUM·S " k.i1l! ~ pilip < "G-I "pie rce!" The rule docs not function to
aspirate nonstopped or nasal consonants: thus we find zos < ZA·S ""UlI!"" and not 1thtJ.s, lOS
< s().s "feed!" and not ?shos, and ROIl < HAJ(· S "listen!" and DOt 'rrI1wn. And Ihe ruk doc:!t
not apply .... here there is a prcinitial before an otherwise .rfeaed TOOl initial: thus we find
skyog:1 < SKYAG-s "spend!" and no t ?JIcJtyogs./ros < LTA-J "look!" and not ?Ilho" and dpogs
< Dl'AG-J ""measure!" and not 1dp11op. Indeed, we c:vc:n find MiomJ < NOAN-S "choose!"
instUid of the ot herwise: aoc:c:ptable syllable Nlhoms, and nuhod < ItiOZAl>-s ""do!" instead of
the otherwise aoc:c:ptable syllable mllhod.

In addition, there are two further exceptions. The rule does not a pply to verb TOOlS ~th the
initial cluster OR, since th~ would produce the unacceptable: output cluster 1w. Thus we
find dIU < OIU-J ~ask!" Ind nOI '!lW, .as opposed, $Iy, 10 khroI < GROL-J ~relc:uel~ And,
for reasons I do nol understand, the rule docs not .pply to any verb TOOt wilh initial a. Thus
we find bQ, < BOR·J "fling!" instead of the otherwise:. KCeptable: phor. b)t.Ip < irYOO·1
" mois ten! " instead of the ot herwise acceplable pllyup, and bri.r < BRI-J ''Write!" instead of
Ihe o therwise accc:ptable phris. Aparl from this lasl c:JIccption, it seems clear that the
aspiralion rule: in some: sense looks ·forward to its output, and docs nol 3pply at . 11 .... here
its output would require adjustment.

It is, 'by the way. In attractive speculation that the aspiration of ·absolute syllable: inilial5 in
imperative stems bas somethinl to do, phonologically, with tbe: emphasis normally givcn lhe
c:JIpreuion o f a oommand; but J know of no evidence bearing one way or the other on that
point. We mllht, rashly, propose somethlnl flke a phoneme of emphasis, parallel to the
phoneme of lip roundinl -w, ....tllth is manifested phonellcally as aspiration in artain
environments, and wlIidl is pari of the realbu ion rule for imperative siems.
INFLECllONS

the past stem bsags < b·$.Ao·s "gathered," the future stem bsag < b·SAO "will
gather," and the imperative stem sogs < SAO'S "gather!" In many cases,
however, the resulting stem requires adjustment into acceptable form. For
example, prenasaliring the transitive root SUB "plug up" produces the unac·
ceptable 'present stem ?Hsub, which is adjusted, by blocking the prefIX, to the
acceptable sub "plugs up," Similarly, adding the iriflectional prefIX b- and
SUfrlX .$ to the transitive root NO "buy" produces the unacceptable past stem
?biWs, which is adjusted, by blocking the prefIX, to the acceptable nos
"bought."

1.6.1. The prefix N·

Since pre nasalization can occur only before oral consonants, the prefIX N- is
blocked before nasal initials in the verb root-for example, no < N·NO "buys,"
mid < N·MID "swallows," nu < N·NU "sucks~" Similarly, since only stopped
COlUOnants can be prenasalized, the preflX N· is blocked before fricatives and
glides-for example, Iud < N·$UD "rubs," ta < N·ZA "eats," r~ii < N-Rl::R "is
stiff," yon < N.YOFl"comes.'~ Finally, since only initials can be prenasalized,
the prefIX N- is blocked before any pre initial-for example, rku < N-RXU
"steals," mol < N·SNOL "intertwines," Ita < N·LTA "looks at."

1.6.2. The prenx c-

Since 0- cannot be a pre-preinitial, the prefIX o· is blocked before any

preinitial-for example, skoii < G·sKA!J "fulfills," nog < C;·f(J)tG "examines,"
slob < G·SUB "teaches," dpog < G-OI'AG "measures," Most important, the
prefIX G- undergoes GRAVITY DlSSIMI~nON according to the initial of the root
to which it is affIXed: before an AClTTE initial the prefIX G- becomes t-he
GRAVE preinitial g-, and berore a GRAVE preinilial the prefIX o· becomes the
Act.rrE preinitial d-, Thus we find, for example, gtad < O-TAD "will deliver"
but dJcroI < G-KROL "will ring," gdul < O-DUL "will tame" hut dgod .< (;-OOD
"will array," gdud < O'DUO "will bend" but dbud < G-BUD "will blow."

• Note, however, in several verbs, 14 < H·L-for example, 140il < H·uN "arises," /don ·<:
H-LoN "i5 blind," /dl(g < H·LlJG "poUB,H /dud < H·LUD ·'WaleB." We will discuss this rille
laltr on in Illis c:l'ta pltr.
168 TUE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

1.6.3. The prefix b-

Since there cannot be two labial consonants in the same syllable onset, the
prefLX b· is blocked before any root with a labial initial-for example, bor <
b-BOR-S "threw," bris < b·BRH "wrote," myaiis < b-MYAiJ·S "lasted." Similarly,
since preinitiai b- can occur only before oral consonants, the prefIX b· is
blocked before nasals-for example, nos < b-NG-S "bought," nO/is < b·NoN-s
"caused pain." Since preinilial b- can occur only before unaspirated
consonants, the prefIX b- is blocked berore aspirated stops-for example, khur
< b- KJIUR-s "carried," Jchrid < b-KJIR/CH "led." Finally, since pre-preinitial b-
can occur only bef()re nonstopped preinitiais., the prefIX b- is blocked before
any stopped preinitial-for example, gnaiis < b-GNAR-s "gave," dgar < b·/X;AR·
s "confined," gtsis < b·GTS/-S "summoned."s

1.6.4. The suffix -s

Posttinal -$, like preinitiai G·, undergoes GRAVITY DlSSIMIL\llON; the acute
postfinal -$ can occur only after grave finals and vowels. Thus, 100, Ihe
inflectional suffix -s is blocked after acute fina ls in the verb rool-for
eX'Jmple, brkus < b-RKU-S "stole" but bfad < b-1)(/H "delivered," bfags < b-
1)(G-$ "ground" but bto, < b·TOR-$ "scattered.';(;

S Actually, as one mighl expccl, Ihings are a liule more com plicaled Ihan Ihis. The prcfix
b_ in1t;racIS wilh labial inilials in Ihe rool in complex wa~; and. although the prefIX b- is
blocke4 before aspirated STOPS, Ihe prefLl interacts in com plex ways witll AFFRlCAIT,s. as
does the prenx G- as well. We will di~uss such inleraclions under Ihe adjuslmenl rulcs. In
addilion. the prefIX b- is blocked before inilial DR in Ihe rool-for example, dtiJ < b-DRf-S
"uked ," drubs < b-DRua·$ "!iCWed," dnuJ. < b·f)RVD-S "rubbed." 8uI uOle Ihe occasional
byperconcci form-for example, bdral < b-DlUL-$ " lore apan" as well u Ihe exrcCled fo rm
"'.1
6 The pasl leMe innCC1ional sum~ .J is in faci prescn'ed sporadiCally as ·d aflc r acutc
finall in several ar<:haie manuscripts of lhe ei:' ~lh and ninlh cen lu rics, where we find such
forms as /!)'IUd < OYIJR-S "became," btsafd < D-n/IAL-s "acquired,'" bzurd < b·ZUlH "made
way," .nd hrold < /).flllAL·S "lore 10 picec:s.~ NOle, for cumple, the parallel verb!> in the
following bit or archaic ~try from a Tun·huang manuscript-mdeu·rdu mo·dmonJ, NpOii-
slcym Jo ma-Jdu.lms ''The lip of Ihe· arrowhead did not become red, the skillful archer did
not kill the deer," where dmOld < b-DNAR's "became rd," wilh .n acute final. is parallel
IQ khums < .b-KHUM-S "kllLed," with a ,rave fi~1.
INFLECllONS 169

1.7. ROOT RULES

In many instances, the relationship between a hypothesized verb root and the
observed tense stems is relatively transparent""':'for example, KlIRO (Nkhrol
khros) "be angry," SIG (gsig/bsigslbsiglsig) "shake." Sometimes, as we have
seen, inflectional affIXes may be regularly blocked-for example, in iiu < N-NU
"weeps," khoI < KlIOL-S "was boiling." sdom < G-SDAM "fastens," nos < b-Ra-
S "bought." And, sometimes, apparently inflectional affIXes may in fact be
pan of the root-for example, NDRE (NdreINdres) "be mixed," GAS (NgaSlgas)
"be split." But even in these C3.SCS the structure of the underlying root seems
fairly clear.

However, there are many instances where the interaction between prefIX and
initial is much more complex-where the preflX is not blocked, and the verb
root initial undergoes changes to accommodate it. These interactions will be
discussed in the following sections.

This \I.SIge is continued in Ihe works of the Tibetan grammllrians. woo use this archaic
po5tfinat .J. p.nicularly 10 distinguish the piSt stem of a transitive verb from I b- future
st~m tlul would ot herwise be identical _ for example, bsgyurtl < b·SCYVR·S --translaled" as
distinguished from bsgyur < b-SGYUR "will translate," bJland < b-STAN-s "ClIplained" as
distinguished from bJ11lII < b-STAN ''Will ClIplain." This innectional postfinal .J. is tailed du·
draB ''strong d" by ttle TIbc:tan grammarians; when found as a marker of Ihe past stem after
In acute final consonant, we will call postfiRal .J. the ~AST STEM da-41ag. Given that this
past stem inflectional marker appc:an as -s after vowels-for oample, Ikyu < SKYE·, ''was
bom"_wc can hypothesize I Proto-Tibc:tan past stem suffIX -.S; whkh became _J after gravc
finals and vowels and .J. after acute finals: in the ooune of the eiglllb century the -d
Illomorph or "-5 disap p".... rtd after acute finals, leaving only the _J lilomorph after grave
finals I nd vowels. .

The put stem diJ-410B musl be distingllished from what we will call the ~kESr:.HT $TEM du-
drag_the infieaionaJ Slin-IX -d fOllnd in Ihe present stem or some transitive verbs, as in
NUhcd < N·nHO-O ~cooks," which likes the (orm -s after grave finals, IS in IOIpgs < N·GUG-
o "ben4s,~ Ind, by the lime of Old Tibetan, had disappeared aher acute finals. Given Ihal
tbb present stem ~neaional marker appeaB as -d after vowels-IS in IbM < N-S8.A -O
"cono:.als"-owe can hypothesize I Prolo-TIbetan present stem sumll "-0, whkh beclme-4
Ifler acute flub and YOWeIs Ind -s ane'r arave finals: even before the carlies! written ICXU,
the .J. Iliomorph ct --0 hid disappured after acu te finals, leaving the -4 aUomorph after
vowels and !be .J allomorph after grave finals.
170 TilE ClASSICAL TIIlETAN lANGUAGE

1.7.1. Voice dissimilation

There are some verbs for which there seems good reason to postulate a root
with an aspirated initial-Cor example, JO/uM (NJehumlkhums) "contract
oneself," TII/G (Nfhiglrhigs) "fall in drops," PIIEL (Hphel/phef) "grow greater,"
T.tHAG (NtJhag/t.Jhags) "be broken," TSlIAN (NtJhaii/tshaiis) "awaken." Similarly.
there 8fC some verbs (or which there seems good reason to postulate a rool
with a voiced initial-for example, GO (NgO/gQs) "become dirty," DRlL (Ndril/driI)
"roll oneself up," &olB (Hbab/babs) "fall down." Are there, then. roots with
voiceless initials?

Apparently so. Where we find such patterns as Nkhrollhkrol/dkrol/khrol "ring,"

or NtlwblbfUbslgtubllhubs "chop," it seems reasonable to posu.datc a root with
a voiceless initial-that is, respeclively,kRoL "ring" and TUB "chop." However,
when such roots are pre nasalized, they yield forms that require adjustment;
and such adjustmenllakes place through aspirating I~e initial-thus Nkhrol <
N·KROL "rings," Nlllub < N·TUB "chops." A narrow statement of this rule is
that a voiceless stopped initial is aspiraled when prenasalized. But note that
an equally acceptable form would have resulted from voicing the inilial,
yielding ·NgTol and ·Ndub instead of Nkhrol and Nlllub. Thus a broader
statement of the same rule is that a voiceless SlOpped initial DlSStMtLATE.~ in
voice onset time when preceded by prenasalization.

Such dissimilation is found elsewhere in the innectional system as well. We

find such pallerns as NgOdlbkodldgodlkllOd "array" and Htlul/btul/gdul/lhul
"tame." In such cases we can postulate a root with a voiced initial-.t hat is,
respectively, GOD "array" and DUL "tame." In these cases, forms that in fact
require no adjustment dissimilate in voice onset time when preceded by a b·
prenx-thus bkod < b·GO~s "arrayed," btu! < b·DUL-S "tamed," instead of
the equally acceptable past stem forms -bgod and ·bdul.

However, voice dissimil<ltion does not occur universally. Only STOPPED initials
dissimil<ltc afler the b· prefIX; we find, for example, bZas < b·LI·s "ate," bIus
< b·tU-5 "digested." And'voice dissimilation docs not take place aCler the G-
prer",; we find, for example, dgug < a·GUG "will bend," gdtg < G-DEG "will
raise." Nole, too, that the onsel cluster bg is both acceptable and not
uncommon, as opposed, say, to a form such as 1M, so that manuscripts will
contain occasional "incorrect" forms such as bgod < b·GQlH "arrayed." In
the ,face of the acceptabili;;y of bg and bd clusters, the tenacity of the
dissimilation 10 bk and b! is in faci quite remarkable.
Il'I'fl.EcnONS J1I

1.7.2. Unstopping

There a re some intransitive verbs'Tm which there seems good reason to

postulate a root with a fricative initial-for examplr., ~UB (~ub/Iub$)
"whisper," 1u (lu/ltLf) "ma ke a request," SUN (sun/sulI) "be weary," LtB (zab/
zabs) "be deep," where present stem prenasaiization is blocked by a regular
adjustment rule. But we also find such intransitive patterns a! NtJ}wrIJor "slip
Bway," NdtuF;llug.f "enter," NlSIIO/SOS "be alive," Ndzag/zags "trickle," where a
fricative in the past stem alternates with an affricate in the present stem. In
such cases we can postulate a root with an affricate initia1-that is, respec-
tively, TSOR "slip away," DtUG "enter," TSO " be alive," DZAG "trickle"-with
the additional rule that all such affricate root initials become UNSTOPPED in
absolute initial position-thus Jo/" < g ·TSOR·S "slipped away," tugs < 8-otuo-s
"entered," sos < 8-rso·s " was alive," zags < 8-0ZAG·s "trickled," Alongside
such verbs we may note also such patte rns as NlJIJDg/t!hags "be broken,"
NlSllar/lsllar "be finished," where we can postulate a root with a n aspirated
affricate initial-that is, respectively, TSHAG "be broken," TSIJAR "be finished"-
where unstopping is undone by our phonological Rule 2. Voiceless affricate
i:litials regularly dissimilate in voice onset time and become aspirated whe n
prenasalizcd-thus f,1Jhor < N·T$OR "slips away," NlSho < N-TSO "is alive."

Similarly, there are some transitive verbs for which there seems good reason
to postulate a root with a fricative initial-for example, ~u (JU/blw/bJU/lus)
"take off," tu (lu/bluslbtu/lus) "digest," SUB (sub/bsubs/bsublsubs) "stop up,"
ZA (za/bzas/bzalzas) "eat," where present stem prenasalization is blocked by
a regular adjustment rule. But we also find such patterns as Nt,fhad/Madl
blad/lod "explain," Ndloglbtogslbtogllogs "carve," Ntsholbsos/gwlsos "nour-
ish," Ndzedlbudlbzedlzed "hold OUI," where a fricative in the past, future. and
imperative stems alterna tes with a n affricate in the present stem. tn such
cases we can postulate a root with an affricate initial-that is. r('spective ly.
ruD "explain," v1.oo "carve," TSO Hllourish," D7£D "hold out"-with thl'
additional rule that such affricate rom initial become unstopr~d not nnly ill
absolute initial position but afte r the prefixes b· and G- as well-thus hIad <
b·J:t.tD-s "explained," btogs < b·vzoo·s "carved," gso < G·no "will nourish,"
bud < b·OZEV "will hold oul." Voiceless affricate initials regularly dissimilate
in voice onset time and become aspirated when pre nasalized-thus Nlllwd <
N-NAD "explains," NtSho < N·TSO "nourishes." And the voiced MId voiceless
affricate initir.!s, 35 we have see n, become unstopped in ahsolule initial
position in the imptrative ste m.
172

We also find such patterns as HtJlliiilbdjiisl b(Jifl /l!hiiis " bind," :.1siljrlblSirlgtJirl
Isllir "press." It is clear that any underlying root should have an affricate
initial; the only affricate initial left is the aspirated affricate; a nd, indeed,
postulating roots with aspirated affricate initials-that is, respectively, TSfIIR
"bi nd," TSIIIR "press"-makes sense ill such cases. The aUrieate initial after
the 8- prerlX in the imperative stem is what we wo uld now expect in the case
of an aspirated affricat: initial. Mo reover, if Ihe b· and G· prefixes are not
blocked before affricate aspirate initials, the resulting unacceptable clusters
'!btIh, ?bull, ?gtJh, ?gtsll must be adjusted into acceptable fo rm ; unstopping
would here only produce the equally unacceptable clusters ?Mh, ?bsh, ?g5h,
?gsll . Therefo re, VOICE D1SSIMIUr.110N applies, a nd the initial is adjusted to a
voice onsct time as far as possible from that of the prefIX within an
acceplable onset cluster-thus bl!iijs < b-rsIIIN-s "hound," btsir < h-TSllfR
"pressed," gtsir < G-TSllfR "will press."

Now it is clear that some prefix·initial clusters might be adjusted by more

than one adjustment rule. A voiced affricate is, in effect, a hybrid between
a fricative and a voiced stop, and the adjustment rules mighl treat a voiced
affricate inilial as 'if it were eilher: a voiced affricate initial after the prefIX b·
might undergo either unstopping, as in bt < b-Dt, or, like other voiced stops,
voice dissimilation, as in bil < b-Dt, parallel to bl < boo. Similarly, a voiced
affricate initial after the imperative prefix 8- might undergo either unstopping,
as in t < B-ot, or, like other voiced stops, imperative rule aspiration, as in
III, < 8 ·0;J~ parallel to III < 8-0. And, indeed, we find such patterns as Ndtugl
htJuglgtuglllhugs "inject," NdzudlblSudlgzudllSlwd "lead." where the latter in
fact appears to have happened.'

One way of describing this pallern is to say that a voiced affricate root initial
ca n, in effect, choose either unstopping or voice dissimilation, but nOl both,
aqd either unstopping o r imperative aspiration, but nOl both; and Ihal each
such verb root makes such a choice, which becomes part of its lexical enlry.
Another way is to say that the adjustment rules and imperative rule apply to
root initials in a particular orde r, with unstopping applied firs t; whe n a n
initial has been unstopped, as we have seen, the remaining rules of voice

1 Since?p is, like ?btU, an unao;;cptable tlUSle r, so me adjust men l musl octur; bUI,
unlike ?bdl, ttle dusler cannot be adjusted b~ voice dissimilat io n, wllitll occurs aftc r Ihe
prefix b. bUI nOI afler the prer", G· . Therclo n: Ille d uster can be adjusted o nty by
unstopping. so Illal we fin4, in tllis pallcrn. gtug < G ·D1.UC '-wilt injcct:' gl ud < O·D1;UO
·.....iII lead."
INFLECllONS 173

dissimilation and imperative aspiration cannot apply, because those rules do

not apply to fricative initials; but some verbs with voiced affricate initials
have, as part of their lexical entry, an exception feature whereby the
unstopping adjustment rule does not apply.

1.7.3. labial rule.

There are three patterns for which we postulate roots with labial initials-
JJ.W) (Nbradlbradldbradlbrod) "scratch," FUD (Nbudlphudldbudlphud) "cast
down," PHROO (NphrogJphrogsldbrog/phtOgs) "rob." The first thing we notice in
such patterns is an adjustment rule whereby the inflectional prerlX G· followed
by ANY labial becomes the cluster db-thus dbrad < G·BRAD ''will scratch,"
dbud < G'PUD "will cast down," dbrog < G-FHROG "will rob." Given such a
rule, the inflection of rools postulated to have aspirated labial initials is
perfectly regular, with, for example, phrogs < b'PHROG-S "robbed" by the
bloclring of the inflectional prerlX b· before an IUpirated stop initial. Similarly,
the inflection of rools postulated to have voiced labial initials is perfectly
regular, with, for example, brad < b·BRAD-S "scratched" by the blocking of the
inflectional prefIX b· before a labial initial, with one exception: the initial b
in a verb root is not subject to the imperative rule, and we find, for example,
brod < '·BMD-S "scratch!" instead of the equally acceptable but nonoccurring
fonn .phrod.

For the remaining pattern we postulate an underlying root with a voiceless

labial initial. There is a derivational basis for this choice as wen. We find
several pairs of verbs in Tibetan where an intransitive verb with a voiced
initial is clearly related, semantically and phonologically, to a transitive verb
with a voiceless initial-for example, GRIL "be twisted, be wrapped around"
KRlL "embrace, clasp round," DU "come together, assemble" 1V "collect,
gather," OOR "be scattered. be dispersed" TOR "scatter, cast away." We find
several such pain for which we can similarly postulate voiced and voiceless
labial initials-for example, BUD.(Nbudlbud) "£all down, leave, disappear" PUD
(Nbudlphudldbud) "pull off, throw down, drive out," MB (Nbab/babs) "rail
down" !'AB (NbebslphabldIxJblplwbs) "east down," BUB (Nbllblbubs) "be turned
upside . down" PUB (Nbublphubsldbllb) "make into a roof," BOG (Nbogtbog)
"become loose" FOG (Nbog/phog/dbogJphogr) "unload," BYE (Nbye/bye) "be;come
open" m: (Nbyedlphyesldbye) "make open."

Postulating a root with a voiceless labial initial underlying this pattern means
174 THE. Cu.ssJCAL TIBETAN l..A.NOUAGI!

that one additional adjustment rule is required, as weD as one exception to

a n adjustment rule. First., for reasons that arc not clear to me. the unaccept-
able cluster ?bp < b·p is adjusted to ph. Second, initial p in' a verb root doe$
not undergo voice dissimilation when pre nasalized, but rather Ulimi\ates in
voice o nset time to yield the acceptable cluster Nb. 1bere seems to be in
operation here. at least in part, a preference for b initials we can call ...
PERSISTENCE-note db < G-P, db < G-fH, Nb <' H-P, and b < 6·. in imperative
stems-which overrides other more general rules we might otherwise expect.

We can now summarize the interactions of the inflectional prefilea with root
initials under these adjustment rules as follows:

INfLECT10NAL PREFIX
ROOT
INITIAL N- b- e;. 1-

K Hkh bk dk kh
/(JI Hkh kh kh kh
G .g bk dg kh
T Hlh bl gt Ih
m Hlh Ih Ih Ih
D Hd bl gd Ih
P Hb ph db ph
PII Nph ph .db ph
B Hb b db b
n HlJh b! gf I
n/l
Di
HlJh
Hd1
blI
b'
gtI
gf ,,
IIh

Hd1 blI gf
n Msh bs g< ,
nil HI,h bl< gu ".
DZ Hdz b. gz z
Hdz bl< gz Z

Tab/~ 10. S'tm initiDlJ tlftn iIIfl«tioMl prtfiuJ

INFI..ECI10NS 175

I.S. THE PRESENT STEM da-dnzg

In the present stems of some transitive verbs we find an inflectional sufftx -0

preserved after open syllables. For example, given the stems NlShodlbtsoslbuo
"cook" and Nbyed/phyesldbyt "make open," we can postulate the ufJderlying
roots nlto "cook" and PYE "make open," respectively, with the additional
realization rule D for the present stem. Transitive verbs which idiosyn-
cratically undergo this realization rule would be so marked in the lexicon.s

By the time of Old Tibetan this inflectional sufftx -0 had disappeared after
acute final consonants and had become -s after grave final consonants. This
process of gravity dissimilation accounts for the presence of postfinal -s in the
present stem of several transitive verbs-for example, 1Id1ibs < N·Dt/B-D
"sucks," NgUg1 < N-GUG-D "bends," Ndegs < N-DEG'D "raises." Niiloms < N·
DtoM'D "conquers."

Additionally, the inflectional suffIX -0 has an effect on both preceding vowels

and prece~ing final nasals, moving them from the back of the mouth to the
front in anticipatory assimilation to the following dental. Thus the low back
spread ~el a becomes the low front spread vowel e before the inflectional
suffIX -D. Compare the present and past stems sbed < N·SlJA·D "conceals" sbas
< b·slJA·s "concealed," semr < N·SAM·D "thinks" bsams < b-SA/tl-s "thought,"
~ms < N.(JRAAI·O "displays" blaam < b-GRAM-S "displayed," Ndebs < N-f),(lJ-
D'''throws'' btab < b·OAB-S "threw," sel < N·SA.L-O "clears away" bsal < b·SAL-
s "cleared away_'"

• 'The realization rule --.D for tbe presen t stem Ippean to oo-occur o nly with the
realization rule N _ _ for the present stem: that is, we find tnnsitivc roolS with present
ltema of tbe (orm N - J J but 001 of the (orm 0 ----1). lbe only CXQeption seenu to be
a IoIt tnnsilivc verb -.fAa of ultCCnain meanin" which apparently underlies the pres.ent
lleIIl prp < -a·.fAq·o generalized as the Intransitive rOOt oftGS ·'rome. H Elsewhere the
J"CnII nak lhal --.D oo-occun only with H_ _ Ippe.1ln 10 bOld tood- Thus a rool su.;h
II SAM "thlnkH yields tl'lc present stem Jl/JU < N-SAM'O "thinks" rather than the
pboQOIopc.lly acceptable but nonoccurring present stem -gsmu or epoms < G·SAM·D.

, This \OWe1 _imilation explains the ela/Dlo 'IOWe1 plllem In some verbs: where we
poIlulate an ullol!erlying \OWe1 D in the rool, D < A in the imperative stem by the rounding
rule, IDd, where there is present stem diuvDg, e < A·D by _imilation. Note the pres.e nt a nd
impenliYe "enu Ngd>J < N-GAB-D "coven" Idwbs < /I'GAB-J '-rover!" JtmJ < N·SAM· D
"thlnu" _ < /I·SAM·, "think! " J~t < " ··SKYAL·D "brings" skyol < /I·SKYAL-J "bring!"
..., < N-GAS·C1 ''s plilS'' Ichos < '-GAS., -'spill!""
176 TilE CI.ASSlCAL TIBETAN L..vmUAGE

Further, before ·D a preceding velar nasal ii moves to the front of the mouth
to become tI, in anticipatory assimilation to the following dental, after which
the ·0 disappears through gravity di$$imilation. 10 Compare the present and
past stems Ndren < N-ORAN-O "leads" draiis < b-oRAH-s "led," len < N-uR-D
"takes" blaiis < b-IAR-s "took," ,.;pIttll < N-NPIIAR-O "flings" Nf1haiis < b-
NPllAiJ'$ "flung."

FinaJiy, where a root fin,,1 ii is fronted to bicome n before inflectional-v, the

high back rounded vowel u moves along with the nasal to the front of the
mouth 10 become. under Rule 1, the high front spread vowel i Compare the
preseot and past stems Ndzill < N-OZUN-O "grasps" bzuii < b-DzuR-s
"grasped," Nbyin < H-pyuR-o "removes" phyuii < b-pyu;v-s "remoycd."u

As we have noted. the inflectional suffIX -0 occurs in the present stem only
in transitive verbs. In a number of cases where related transitive and
intransitive verbs have homophonous underlying roots, the inflectional suffIX
·D-Or its remnants-may be the sole distinction between the transitive and
intransitive present stems; indeed, this may be onc of the reasons why these
remnants have been resistant to analogical leveling. Thus we find stlch pairs
of present stems as skye "is born" skyed "produces," ""KYe "is divided" Ng)'ed
"divides," tglo'u "moves" 'lO'ltd "transmits," Ndzu "enters" "yJzud "inserts."
Similarly, we find such present stem pairs as ,.;gag "is hindered" ,.;gegs
"hinders," Ngal "is cleft" "ges "cleaves," Nl!lias "is split" NtJhes "splits," Nbab
"desce nds" Nbebs "lowers."

1.9. EXCEPTIONS AND IRREGULARITIES

The system set forth here attempts to explain Old Tibetan verb morphology
by postulating a single underlying form for each verb and rules whereby that
underlying form becomes each of the observable tense stems. aearly there
is no unique 50lulion to the lask of setting up the roots and devising the
rules; each proposed solution will attempt to balance often subjective
jUdgments of simplicity, abstractness, naturalness, and elegance. Nor is Ihis

10 Fur !lOme reason this pr~ dQe$ not affect the root GAN "flll," whith hu the pres.enl
SH:m "l.....ts < N·C;AN·D '·fllls,'· w1'K:re we would otherwise"UJIClCI "1\Il'1I.

" Th~~ rille links IOgelher the transitive verb l'YIJii "take out, remove" and the
bo' I EC llONS 171

sort of systcm the only one possible: there are ways to describe morphology
uthcr than oy rules and unique underliers. But any system will have holes in
it-eKceptiuns and irregularities that must be accounted for, as it were, in
foo tnotes. Some of these exceptions are apparently the result simply of erron
in the texts; the rooting out of such scribal errors is, of course, the province
of textual criticism. 1l Elsewhere. scribes-or authors-may have 8 choice of
"correel" rorms that have come down to them from Old Tibetan; and else-
where we find , as in other la nguages, verbs which are just regularly irregular.
The following sections will discuss these holes in the system we have set up.

1.9." Scribal errors

Tibetan texts cont,lin errors; sometimes ve rb stems are just written incorrect-
ly. Tibetan scrihes a re sometimes sleepy or distracted or hurried, just like any
scribe-or typist-might be. But, in addition. the Tibetan language has
changed phonologically over time; the wrillen language has preserved forms
no longer in use in the spoke n language. For exa mple, in lhasa City-and the
principle W(luld be the same thruughout central Tibet-the stems sgrub
"accomplishes,:' b.fgrub.f "accomplished," and b.fgrub "will accomplish" arc all
pronounced {uP, the stems Ndeg.f "lifts," b/f'gs "lined," a nd gdq "will lift" are
all pronounced lek, and the stems Ngrol"sets free," bkrol"se t free," and dgrol
"will set free" are (III pronounced to. The Old Tibelan innectional affixes are
JUS! no longer functional; in lhasa City, what we afe here calli ng verbal tense
is expressed in other ways.n

12 There is a d rcular ity lIert: the texts arc our primary sourcc for o ur knaw1ed&e of the
tense stems; based on tllat knowledge we build. a sys tem wllieh we tt:e n IlSC 10 emend Ihe
ll'xts. This is an clQmple of wtUIl has been called. Ille " lIermeneutic circte," whereby lhe
whole can be understood on ty llIrou&h ils ~rIS. bUl Ihe parts ca n be undentood o nly
.through the .... hole. Such a drete, one hopes, is in faci I spiral, with Itxl and. Wnccpl
inte racting to yield increased undenla nding. UnfOrtunalely. h is fair to say t~1 111 the
present time Ihere ale ~'ery few crilicall y cdited tuts in Tibe ran. 31 leas t as Ihe oonoept of
textual critiCis m is applicd 10. say, Grcck or Latin ItxIS.

I) The 10$5 of in Oeell"";l1afnJl<!S has appa ren lly occurred in Tibelan al various lima and
in different places. There is evide nce as ~tly as the ninlh cenlury. fur exa mple. Ihal poliltinar
- J W35 more or 1"'');5 letub,'y elided, al .eul il Ihe spee<: h of Ihe urban nobles: o n the Sino-
Tibetan Heaty pill;,r uf 82. at Lhar..o. we fino.! Old Titlel.n <(flOgs> lr~ruaibcd as Middle
Chin ...'!;!: ",,,·uk. Old Tihcl~n <mlj/Ji"u> a~ MidoJle Chin ....~ o/hpm. Old Tit>clan <~> as
MioJdle C h,ncl'<: 'h·d.:. ~"d Old Tiocl.•n <rii,,!:_' > as Middle Chinese °ii.ok. Yd, fuur hundred
178 TilE CUssICAL TIBET.....'! l..ANGUAGE

What this means is Ihal scribes in various parts of Tibet have for centurie~
been unclear "about the function and form of the tense stems. Let us look ill
several woodblock prints of the well-known biography of Mi-la ras-pa by
Gtsaii-smyon he-ru-ka. In one episode. for example. we read bla-ma "Iog-pa
gtJig-pur byon-nas ra-ma rgyab·tu bsnomNe b/a-ma-la phu/ "Lama Rno:;-pa

years Iller, III edict of Khubilai Ktlan, is.~ued in 1269, lranscril!cs the name of [he Tibetan
laml Npl'l3p-pa into China.e as po-sm-po. That ~me name is borrowed into Mongohan a~
baglupa. yet the well·known Tibclan book enlilled lPuiiJ·bsdu, "anthology of magi, spo:lls:'
is calk:d. In Mongolian, SIIAdl.I~ indicating thu -al tbe time tile word was bo rrowed , or in
lhe dialect the WON was bonowed from-the postfinal -, in glIIiis "II\2I&lc Spell" was nOI
beina prono\lnced. Manhcw Kapstein has conveyed 10 me an ineieJcnl in Ihe biography of
lbe fourteentb~nlury IOoft.IShen.pa: whilc the lama is granling an initiation, a (emilIe
dtsdple bc<::omes poue:r.sed by a mkha'Nf'O.ma spirit, who castigatcs him for pronouneing
rip as rile, In a series of lUIS from wCStern China, ool1ccled by Roy Andrew Miller. Tibetan
Vap " ramous -a frequent component of Tibetan personal names-is IranI-Cribed inlo
H

Chinese as eh'j·/a,s$u in 130) and eha,sslI in 1388, with poslfinal-r preserved, but u ta in
1518. wilh poslfinal ., elided; it is not clear, however, whether Ihis represents a s;equcnoc of
hi$lorical change or simply a forluitous rcoord o f regional variation. What is clear is that,
in New Tibetan, postfinal .J does , 'ary wilh geography: ""Ie the rollowing SCI o f dial«t
variants-Old Tibetan pap "skin" :>0 New TIbetan (Lada~) palc.r (Obus) pat (Lhasa) pa,
Old Tibetan phyogs "direction" :>0 New Tibetan (La<1akh) IfhokJ (Dbus) tlhok (Lhasa) rfho,
Old Tibetan ldar "iron" :>0 New Tibetan (Ladakh) tlakJ (Oblls) /Jal; (LhasJI) tIa, Old
Tibetan labs "rOOt" :>0 New Tibetan (Ladakh) laps (Obus) lap (Lhasa) lap. Old Tibelan
khrims "law" :>0 New Tibetan (udakh ) !hims (DblU) !him (Lhasa ) !him, Old Tibetan dgo;rs
H
"idea :> New Tibetan (Ladakh) goils (Dbus) F:f}ii (Lhasa) 1;0 ;;'

flRST PERSONI
I'RUlONT

rupki·y6
.
By the way, Ihe rollowing is a p3rtial Lhasa city paradigm for the ve rh rup "accomplish":

..".

rup~·yiN
H OURE

rup/d·yi,v
IMMEOIA11;
KNOwu;rx;"

SECONDmD !upti·!u rupl·rr ,tuple;·rt

'llURO PERSONI
MEDIATE KNOW\..I,oot!

NOle here Ihe interaction of the verb stcm .Il4p wilh the p;a.~t{nonpasl marken ·PI·-·I · and
./d., respectively, and two intenc<:ting medial e/i,1'\mcdiatc knowledgc all~il iariC!-'flI a nd .)'lI
for med ia te or immediate knOWledge, respectively, of events h3ppening right now, and ·rt
a nd ·yiN fo r mediale or immediate knOWledge, Icspcetively, uf even ls happening al a time
other Ihan right now,
INfl.EcnoNs 179

went off by himself, took the goat upon his back, and gave it to th,e lama,"
All the verbs are, appropriately, in the past tense-BYOH (Nbyon!byon) "go,
procced," SNAN (snom!bsnarrulbsnam ) "seize, take," PUL (NphullphuJldbui)
"offer, give upward." The blockprint from Spo, in southeastern Tibet,
however, has the anomalous reading snarru instead of bsnams < b'S,'«M-S
"took." There is no reason to take this panicular reading as anything other
than a scribaJ error, made, in part, because there was no difference between
the pronunciation of <Snorru> and <bsnams> in the dialect of the scribe.
Moreover, in such a case, the error is unlikely to be caught and corrected by
the usual Tibetan proofreading procedure, in which a copy is checked against
its original by reading the original out loud to the scribe; clearly this
procedure is ineffective when the error and the original are homophonous.l~

A" ttlitor of no jutJemt"r, ptrplNuuiy wnfronttd with Q.

if
IOtlple MSS. to ehooJt [ram, ,."not but [tel in "try
film of his beinB thtu he is tI tlimkey betlPten two bunllkJ
of h",. Mal IhRJJ he dIJ n(JTtJ? Leavt (riri,iJm to eriNa,
JOII mRJ IAJ, and betake himself to an] hqnm trade fur
JPhUh be is less unfit. But he prefm tl more JIIIttering
JOlurion: be wnfosedJ] i""'BintJ that if qne bundk of htl]
is rmwretl he .,.;u wast to be tl dimity.

-A. E. Housman,
Preface 10 M. Manilii Astronomicon Lib~r Primus

Similarly, in the same episode, Rfiog·pa is trying to justify to his master Mar-
pa why he had bestowed an unauthorized initiation on Mi-Ia. He says. in
excuse, bk4 bsgrubs-pa Io~ "I obeyed your orders!" with the appropriate past
stem of the verb.SGRuB (sgrublbsgrubslbsgrub) "accomplish. fulfill." But the
print from Spufis.than, in Bhutan, has the future stem bsgrub instead of the
past stem bsgrubs < b-SGRUB·S "rulfilled," which, of course, makes no sense
in the context, and which can only be a scribal error caused by the omission
or an unpronounced affIX. And the blockprint from Spa once again omits the

" hi .ddition•. other entmal checla un the oonectl\C$S of lhe oopy, ,\Ida IS rllymt or
'IIIteration, .rt not fo\lnd In Tibetan littflllure•• nd meier annol serve as • check .... hert
tht 'l1IrUlion takes plate-IS bert-within lhe ,yllable.
180 Till;: Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN l..ANOUAGE

prefix past stem b· prefix, yielding the anomalous form sgrubs-not a newly
attested tense stem but, ralher, a mistake in transcription.

Clearly. the reader may be saying, the Spo print is just a bad text. Actually,
however, there is no such thing as a bad lext; there are only bad readings in
panicular texts, and each reading must be judged on its own merits. In this
same episode, for example, the master Mar-pa, after a fit of temper, sits with
his head wrapped up in his robe, pointedly ignoring everyone. The verb
meaning "wrap up. put over, cover" is TUM, generally inflected as a Oass 1
verb, except that we also find a present stem gtum-thus TUM (Nthum-gtuml
blums/blum) "wrap up." Despite this variation in the present stem, there is
every reason to believe that the past stem remains the perfectly regular brums
< b·TUM·s "wrapped up." Yet it is only the Spa print which gives the correct
reading dbu bwms·nQs Mugs "He sat with his head wrapped up." The other
prints-from Spuiis·thaii in Bhutan, from Bstan.rgyas-glifi in Lhasa, and from
Bkra·~is Ihun-pa-all give the anomaloul! reading grums, which is not pan of
a new paradigm, but a scribal error to be emended by the textual critic. IS

13 II could be argued that we arc here dealing with two roots-the ~rlier TVN and I
syoonymous lat cr GT1.JM, the la tter a generaliled rorm of the prese nt ste m of the former; we
would thc n hayc the perfectly reg ... lar grums <: b ·GfUM .J "wrapped ... p.~ The wholesale
accc:plimcc of Such arguments WQuld £0 a long way toward legitimating ~ry scribal error
cy.:r madc. So metimes, as we shall set, such an argument can be y~lid; bUI il Should be w.cd
spar iugly. I sec no reason in the pre$cn! !;IS( 10 rc.::ogni~ an additional root rather than a
scribal error, bearing in mind the ma:cim of tCJrIWlI criticism, thai wilnesses are 10 be
",-eighed, not counted.

Sometimes, of OOUTSC, il is hard 10 know of S(VC ral tellual variants which is the co mXI one.
In o ne epl'lOde. tile master Mar-pa is having the ob noxious young Mi-Ia build and then tear
duwn a se ries uf Mone lowen, as pari of hi5 d iscipline. Mi-Ia is about' third of the way
lowan.1 completin, his third towcr whcn Mar·pa approaches him and says, according 10 Ihe
Bstan-rgyas-,Iill ~nd Bkra·'is lhun·po tc~ts, mlhu·/Jh~n. khyod bmigJ·JHli mkhar Ndi sui yin
"Magieian, whose is thiS lOwe r you have built~:' The SpUI\s-lhallle~t is the same, except thai
the verb is the future slcm bmig- Ihus "Whose is this tower you will build?" And the Spo
tc.tt gives the present Slem mig-thus "Whose is this towcr you are building?" All three
readings are morphologically oom:et, and all three make sense in Ihe conta!; my own
preference would be for tile presenl stem il the Spo lat, but there is clear!) room for
argument.

Finally, all o f these scribal errors musl be disc ntangled-somehow-from idiOSyntT.tic

spellings by the author .nd from systematit regional variations whiCh must be oonsiderOil
part of the autograph. A tCJI:lual t ritic may in fact conclude thai the ~rliest versiol15 of tbe
INH .H:'110NS 181

1.9.2. Multiple class membership

Another source of verbal irregularities is the fact that verbs can belong to
more than one inflectional class. For example, as we have seen, TUM "wrap
up" lIprarently has IXJlh the present stem Nlhum < N-TUM and'grunt < G-TUM
"wraps up"; thus, in the texts, TUM "wrap up" appears as both a Class I and
" Class J verb. How docs this happen?

A rapid survcy of O\'c r fnur hundred Tihelan tr;msitrve \'erhs ~hows that Cla~ s
I is the largest class, conttlining al most 45 percent 01" the verbs; Class ~
fonows with approxirn,ueJy )0 percent; O:m 2 contains approxima tely 20 per-
cent; and Class 4 conta ills approx imately 5 percent of the transitive verbs
counted. This means that there are almost twice as many verbs with N-
present stems (65 percent) ;]5 there are with G- present stems (35 percent),
and just about three times as many verbs with b- future stems (75 percent)
as there are with G- future sIems (25 percent). While these numbers should
nOI be given more weight than they can bear. they do indicate that there is
considerable analogical pressure on transitive verbs to appear with N- as their
present stem prefix and G- as Iheir future stem prefix; and we should not be
surprised to find such analogical formations in 01lT texts alongside presumably
older forms. l6

Thus from the root n(; "make drip" we find both present stems !>111ig < N-T/e;
and gtig < G-1"/G "makes d rip." and from the root TUB "chop" we find hoth

rC~l ;ncorporarcd plcvio!.l~ ly un~lI cs rcd fo rms of rhc Language, o r may be "ble 10 Show Ihal
forms in olher re ~l s- hy the same "!.I rho r or flOm the same region-prcviously lho ughl to
be scritoal errors arc in fact ill Ihe form Ihe aut toor intellded.

l6 The now of this allalogiol change hn apparenrly been for Class 4 verbs (now 5
percelll of the tOlal) 10 become eirher Class 2 ve rbs (now 20 pcrccll t of the lotal). by
innovating an N· prese nt stem, or Class 3 verbs (now 30 pcrcenl of Ihe 10Ial). by inn~ling
a b- fulure slem; and Ihen fur bulh Class 2 and Class 3 verbs to become Class I verb$ (now
45 pcrcenl of rhe tou.I), by inn~ting b· future stems and N· present stems respectively:

0 =3 IJO%)1 _
Class ~ (5%
>-C Class 2 (20% )
~ Class I (45%)

[n facl. il is probably reawnable to assume Ihal Ihe percentages we now see are the result
of a long process of levelins: wtoich gOC$ tlack 10 Proto-Tibetan. where we call hypothesi?.!:
an originally mo re equal distribulion of Iransitivc VCIb$ among Ihe four paradigm cl3!Ses.
182

present siems HI/lub < N·TUB and gtub < a-TUB "chops." The verb TlO, with
the future stem blig. thus appears 10 be moving from Oass 3 to Oass 1; the
verb TUB, with the future stem gtub, similarly appears to be moving from
Class 4 to Oass 2. In the same way, from the root DUD "bend" we find both
future stems gdud < a-DUD and btud < b-DuV "will bend," and from the root
.t.W "kill" we find both future stems gsad < G-SAD and bsad < b-SAJ) "will
kill." The verb DUD, with the present stem Ndud, thus appears to be moving
from Oass 2 to Oass 1; the root .£.tV, with the present stem gsod, similarly
appears to be moving from Oas5 4 to Class 3.

1.9.3. Multiple underliers

Another source of exceplions and irregularities is the fact thai a verb may
change its underlying Carm. n For example, the archaic suffix -D as a sign of
the present stem in certain transitive verbs was, by the time of Old Tibetan,
found in the form -d only in open syllables; in open syllable roots, Ihis yielded
a regular but unusual alternation between figal -d in the present stem and
final -s in the past stem. In such cases, there is a tendency for the appare::nl
anomaly to be leveled by reinte::rpreting the underlying root 10 incorporate the
archaic inflectional suffix. Thus, from the root ME "obtain" we find, regularly,
the pn:sent stem nied < /II-RNE-/) "obtains" alongside the:: past stem briics <
b-RNE-s "obtaine::d." BUI, once such present stem da-drag has become opaque
to speakers, the seemingly anomalous final -d in the present ste::m is
accounted [or by reinterpreting the root as RN!-;D. Ami, from this new rool, we
see the appearance of a new re::gularly formed pasl stem bnied < b-RR!-;D-.f
"obtained" in addition to the older bnies.

Underlying forms can be similarly reinterpreted to incorporate prefixes. From

t7 Alternatively, two different but lIomo f'honous roots can be ronnatod into a single
seemingly anomalous paradigm. For example, alongside the present stem Ntlhab "hides" we
lind two pan· stems, tlMbs and btlabs "hid:' It 5IXms dcaT, however, Ihat we Ire here in
facl dealing with two TOOts-an in tranSitive rOOt rtllABI (MJhabhJhabs) "hide onesclr' and
a transitive root m/lllJ] (Ntlhabl bdabslbdllb/dhubJ) "ronceIIl. Similarly, we find Ihe pau
M

stems uhags and blJags atonpide Ihe presen t stcm MshDgs, and the past siems Jor and blDr
alo npide Ihe present Stem MJhor. Agair.. il stems clear Ihal the rel:nod roots TYllAG I
(/ouhagflJhags) "trickle"" and. J'SJlAG1 (.vrshagflmagsfbuag/uhogs) "sqUCC7.e," amI the rel;rtod
rootS TtOR I (MJhorflor) ""nee" and rlOR 2 (MJhorfbJorfgJur) "·p ursuc."· h:wc been con nated
into a Single seem ingly irregu lar ~radigm .
hm.. ECTIONS 183

the Class 3 verb so "nourish" we find the regular stems gsolb$o$/bso/$o$, as

well as the apparently irregular past stern gsO$. But the past stem gsO$ is
regular if the verb root has been reinterpreted as GSa, as is the present stem
gso as well-thus gso < H-GSO "nourishes," gsQ$ < b·ascH "nourished." But
why reinterpret the root? Apparently the root was reinterpreted as part of
a switch from Oass 3 to Oass I; in such a class switch. a root with a fricative
Initial would yield the unramiliar present stem ·so < H·SO "nourishes," rather
than the familiar present stem gso. So the ramiliar present stem was retained,
the verb treated as Oass 1, and the result was a reinterpretation of the
underlying form to GW. Such Oass 1 verbs as GSOH "hear" and GsufJ "speak"
may also originally have had fricative initials, but subjected to similar
processes that in their case reached completion. IB

1.9.4. Connict of rules

A third source of irregularity in the verbal paradigms is the fact that

morphophonemic rules change in the course of lime, and the fro7.en products
of earlier rules may persist alongside the products of later rules. A good
eKample is found in the case of roots with initial ,. It seems certain there was
an early rule in the language whereby a prenasalized I became the cluster {d.
Note, for eKamplc, the intransitive present and past stems /dail < fJ-u.R
"a rises" and laiis < f-AN-S "arose," Ido;i < N-I.ON "is blind" loil < I..ON-S "was
blind," and the transitive present and past stems Idug < H·I.. ve; "pours" hllIgs
< b-f.. UG-S "poured," ldud < 'M.UD "w;lters" blud < b-l..v~s "watered."

As this archaic rule ceased to he prodUl;tivc, some of tht apparently

anomalous present stems it produced were accounted for hy reinterpreting
the underlying root. Thus we find the variant past stems Idans "arose" and
Idorl$ "was blind" alongside laiis and 1011, rctlecting a change of the underlying
rools from UN 10 I.DAN and from toR to uXJN. Such transitive ro~s as UIAII
"chew" and I.DAG "lick" <I n: quite likdy the results of !he same process:
compare Tihetan LlNtG "lick" with Burmese /yak, Lu~' hci li(lk, Lisu Irp,hl'

II Simitarty:transitivc (0015 with aspir"t\ld SlOp initials arc 13rc in Ihe da!>.,i.:o.1 tanguage.
and further have the properly or re gu tarly blocking the b- prefIX. which cannot occur before
an upirated initial. ThIlS the tran~jtivc fOOllUlUH "carr)''' has the \juite regular p3~ 1 stem
kJr"" < "·IUIUH·J "ca rried." Comra1cd It! mOSI Han~ilive rOOI~. h~vcl. the past Slcm kJrur
$C(:ms anomatous. Th~5, When we finll a past Slem bla., in a lc~1. the s urface conrormity or
the put stem has been achievell by changing the unllerlying (Olll fro m IUIUH to KUH.
184 TilE ~ I CAl TIBFrAN lANGUAGE

"lick," and thus Proto-Tibetan -lag "lick,"

In classical Tibetan there is a lso the rule that glides cannot be prenasalized;
that is, in verbal inflection the preflX fl· is automatically blocked before any
glide-for example,yjb < N-YlS "hides," rdi < N-REN "is stiff," In analogy with
this majority pattern, Ihe minority pattern of initial I begins to change to
conform to the pattern for the rest of the glides-thus lug < "'·LUG "is meek"
instead of ·/dug. lab < N-LAB "says" instead of -Idab.

Here 3 majority rule _pattern, whereby I < tN., is in conflict wilh a minority
rule pattern, whereby fd < N· L. Given the root uN "arisc," the shape of the
present stem-whethe r ian o r /dan-will de pend on whether the writer applies
Ihe old minority rule or the ge neral rule .

•
As the ead ie( and archaic rule ceases to be productive, then, the verbal
system changes in three different ways. First, some verbs reinterpret their
underlying forms to regularize the anomalous present stem produced by the
minority rule: thus, where we find a past stem ldir " was distended," rather
than -lir, we must postulate an underlying root LDiR "be distended,"
presumably from an earlier root -UR which is now lost. Second, some verbs
follow the minority rule exclusively and some the general rule exclusively: thus
the root LOO "turn around" has only the present stem /dog, and the root I.US
"remain behind" has o nlt the present stem fus. Third, some verbs are
unpredictably the subject of either rule: thus, from the rool U N "arise," we
find in the tcxts the IWO preseO! stems Ion and fdan both ·i:ittested.

1.9.5. Suppletion

SUPPl.ETlOI'l occurs when one form in a paradigm is completely repltlced by

a form from another paradigm, as in English golwetlf . In Tibetan we similarly
find the present stem NgrO "goes" associated with a past stem son "went," of
uncertain origin but almost certainly a completely dirrerent verb. In some
New Tibetan dialects the past stem son has in lurn been replaced, for
example, by New Tibetan (Lhasa) tJhis <pilyill> "went," clearly related to
the classical verb I'IfY1N "move, proceed." We also find a form Jog "come!"
regularly used as the imperative stem of the intransitive verb ON "come,"
which no rmally, of course, would nOI have a separate imperative stem at all.
The form log may in fact be the imperative stem of a lost ve rb - SAG, of
uncertain meaning; the present stem of the same verb may perhaps be found
INR.ECllONS 185

frozen in the intransitive verb GSEGS "come," which functions in the classical
language as the honorific equivalent of oR "come," and which seems to have
&eneralized a present stem gIegs < -G-!AG-D.

1.9.6. Regular irregularities

Finally, there are some verbs that, as a regular malter, simply deviate from
the verbal P'lradigms we have proposed_ J:t. few such verbs are regularly
inflected without one or other prefIX in the present stem-thus t!he "grows
great" instead of the expected -NtJhe < N·nlfE, pheb "goes" instead of the
expected -Npheb < N-PIIElJ., myoii "tastes" instead of the expected -dmytNi <
G-MYAfJ. More common are verbs that seem to be regularly inflected without
the inflectional afflx·s in the past stem-for example, byuii "occurred" instead
of the expected -byuiis < BYUR·s, na ''was sick" instead of the expected -nas
< NA·S, blaii "sent" instead of the expected -blaiis < b-TAR-5. Such regularly
irregular verbs would be marked in the lexicon as exceptions to particular
realization rules.

Note, however, that the -5 suffIX as a sign of the past stem is, in fact,
REDUNDANT in intransitive verbs and in Oass 2 and Oass 4 of transitive
verbs. In intransitive verbs, the absence of prenasalitation distinguishes the
past stem from the prenasalized present stem; in Oan 2 and Oass 4
transitive verbs, the presence of a b· prefIX distinguishes the past stem from
the G· prefIXed future stem. And it is, indeed, extremely rare for the -s suffix
to be regularly absent where it is not thus redundant. Where the surrlX serves
to differentiate a b-----s past stem from a b _ _ future stem it is, as far as
I can tell, invariably preserved in the paradigm. \9 It appears to be a rule of
the language that only 8· prefIXing inlransitive verbs, Rnd only transitive verbs
that signal the future stem with a G- prefIX, can regularly eliminate the past
stem -s sufflX. lO

19 It also seems tcnculty true tltat. amonl Qus 2 .nd OW "verbs. tbe pasttcnse surr..
·1 II more likel), to be missin, when the present stem shows tbe trKCI of I " earlier
Inflectionat surrlX ·D-thus nzuN (...will,1llU"'~"') "yasp.M nuN (...o,M~"',Idb)'I ... )
"rcmovc. M

20 We am also nOle the similar redundancy of the _I surr.. i" NItJ ialperaliw: stems.
which Ire lareet)' differentiated from the othcr stems throup tbe opcNltioa or tbe roundint
nile .nd aspiralion rule. Imperatives are sufflCientl), rare in tile. Iexts. howeYer, tbat It II hard
186 Till, ClASS ICAl. TmlOTAN LAN GUAGE

2. MORPIIOPIIONEMES ACROSS SYLLABLES

Some Tibetan PARTICLES-or grammatical words-undergo morphopho-

nological changes conditioned, across syllable boundaries, by Ihe final or
poslfinal of the immediately preceding syllahle. In this text we write such
morphophonemes as a capitalized portinn of the syllabk-for exampk, -KYaii,
-ST~, -Am, -1U. The capitalization indicates that the morphophuneme chunges
its phonetic shape according to certain fules, depending on Whill precedes il.
There are three phonological processes which govern these ch(lngcs-
complete or partial articulatory. assimilation; sanorance assimilation ; and
gravity dissimilation. 21 These general processes-and how they affect the
Tibetan particles-will he discuued in the following sections.

2.1. ARTICULATORY ASSIMILATION

In COMPl.ETf. articulatory assimilation, a morphophoneme becomes the same

as the final or postfinal of the immediately preceding syllable. Fo r exam pic:,
after preceding final .cJ the particle ·w becomes ·du and the part icle -fire
becomes first -T~ and then .J~. Similarly, .1lI hecomcs ·su after preceding
final or postfinal '5, and -KYi becomes 'Ki after preceding final .g. In PARllAl
articulatory assimilation, a morphnphonemc becomes, in some articulatory
feature, more similar than it was before to the final o r postfinal of the
immediately preceding syllable. f or example, after a preceding final or
poslfinal fricative -5, the affricate pa rticle ·rSiij partially assimilates in
CI.OSURE to become -.fiii, with a fr icative rather than an affricate initial.
Similarly, after a preceding final velar ·ii, the p<Jhllalize d part icle .KYi partially
as.~imilates in PIACI, to become .g~ dro ppiny the palatal co mponent of the
initial. As we will see, with these p<Jrticlcs, such articulatory assimilations :lfe

to say whether the IoCCmin,ly spo rad ic e l imin~li,," "r th e .J suffix from the im perative ste m
is l':llllS islCIll enough ill the u.sc of pa rticula r ver~ 10 ulnstitutc ~ regular irregularity.

21 TWo additio nal rnorphopl'lonem($ will not be disclI~ here al any lenglh. Thc
molpl'lophonernc "H, fou nd in the de rivatio nat afrlxC$ ·PIIO a nd .rllo· t1h~, bccomcs, lathel
straightforwardly, ·b arter preceding Open ~yllablcs and .p after any preceding consonant final
or poslfinal-lhllS, for eumple, b!Qft.po, PQJ·po, but dpD'bo, /lU ·OO. The mOlphopholleme
1', found ill Ihe derivational afru .I'D, ba;omC$ b after preceding filial .n, ·r, ./ a nd open
syllolbl~, and becomes p afler plcccd i ll~ fina l ·g. .d, .", .b. ·m, alld final or poslfinal 'I- thu~
JIlDII.bo, /lO#"·ba, HtJ..1.ba, Ita .ba, but riX'pa, gnJd ·pa. lHMl1 .pa, sgrib.ptI, sdom.ptJ, /lUs,pa. I an
make no phOllOlogigl 5f: nsc OUI of Ih is distribution.
bm..EC110NS 187

sporadic; they are, in fact, exceptions to other more general patterns we will
discuss below.

One pattern of complete assimilation is perfectly regular, however: we find

such patterns as dog-go, riii-iio, yod-do, yin-tiD, thub ..bo, Npham-mo, sgyur-ro,
NbuJ./o, and lags-so, as well as dgao, Nbrio, rgyuo, dgto, and NgI'OO. Here a
vowel morphophoneme, which remains a vowel after a preceding open
syllable, prefIXes to itself the final or postfinal consonant of a pn:ceding
closed syllable. We will write the morphophonemes that follow this pattern
as capitalized vowell;-thus -Am, -U, -E, or, in the series above, -0. For
example, we find not only dag-go < dag-o but also sgyur-rom < .JX)'UT-Am,
smyig-gu < smyig.. u, and briias-se < bmas-E.

In the oldest manuscripts, dating from the eighth and ninth centuries, there
is lillie consistency in the writing of these forms. Thus we find, for example.
<Ndfao>, <Ndfa-<J>, <gyuf-fO>, <khof-o>, <tshul-lo>, and <g:saro>-all
within the same manuscript. Such variations suggest that these particles were
simple vowels in Proto-Tibetan. as indicated by such archaic manuscript
spellings as <rlag-o> and <rtilc-<J>, and that they became morphophonemes.
completely al;similating lo ·preceding consonants, only in Old Tibetan. u

2.2. GRAVJ1Y DISSIMILATION

The coordinative conjunction -sn "A,'m:' becomes -sie after preceding final
-g, .ii, .b, ·m, and open syllables; becomes -re after preceding final on, or, .1,
and ·s; and becomes -de after preceding final -d. Interestingly, the early
grammatical treatise Sum-/!u-pa, traditionally allribuled to Thon-mi Sam-

12 In lhe archaic ~nuscripts from Central Asia, we sometimes lind complete

assimilations lO poS\,t'inal OOllSOnants which .re not writLen-for example, <rtlzo,t·so> for
,dzop·w, <buug.Jo> for bISUp·IO, an4, presumably, <Nuhol.JQ> for NUIuJId-OO.. Also, in
these manllscripts an4 in seU-conscioll$ty arc~aizin, classicat tellU, we fin4 tbe forau '/0 and
'(am, apparenlly only after final'II, -I, and -,-for eumple, .fmDtl·lo, •.,.kJIyfII.rDll1, rftJl'IO, /{)'U"

10. dw·tom. This may originally have been I form of partial assimilation to an IInwriLlen
postfinai .d, bill why in this cue the assimilation WI$ partial ralher than oomplete I do not
knOW; one is tempted to say that these forms mntinue to renect the Proto-TIbelln renell ./
of the morphophoneme Or after a precedinl final -d, rather than the mmpktely assimilauxl
014 Tibetan rerkJ: d. Note, in Ihis regard, tile rCllllu OCCIIrrence or the fr01x:n rt>rm~ kull ·IU
< okJmd·ru (never ?.but-du) "completely" an4 pho·,a/·ru < °pllo·roId·ru (ncvt,:r ?plla .rrJI·dJl)
"beyon4.H
188 THE Cu..ss1CAl. TIBETAN I...ANOUAGE

bhola. in verse 13, seems to know o nly the fonn -sle, and not -te or -de, while
in the archaic manuscripts from Central Asia we find forms such as <STabs-
Ie>, <babste>, and <bab-slt>, apparently indiscriminately. In fact, the
mo rphophonological changes undergone by ST, as they finally appear in the
classical texts.. are primarily a form of ORAvrn' dissimilation: S· becomes s
after an immediately preceding grave. fina l; and it disappean, leaving behind
T, after an immediately preceding acute final or pottfinal, just 8$, for
example, the innectional past stem suffIX oj does within the syllable. Then this
relatively straightforward dissimilation is complicated somewhat by the fact
that the resulting T becomes t everywhere except after immediately preceding
fina l 4, whe re it completely assimilates to d. We can diagram this develop-
ment as in the following table, with the changes from the Pro to-Tibetan to
the Old Tibetan system indicated by boldface type:

ORAVE ACUTE

·8 .g ·n ·b ·m -d ·n ., ./ ·s
ST Sl Sl Sl Sl Sl t
·PROTO·TIBETAN

GRAVE ACUTE

·6 .g ·n ·b ·m -d ·n ., ./ ·S
ST Sl Sl Sl Sl M d t t
O LD TIBETAN

Tabl~ 11. Grnviry di.uilmi(lfion in lhe marphophoM~ sr

2.3. SONORANCE ASSIMILATION

Four morphophonemes-TS, KY, Y. and 1; which occur in the panicles .rliii,

·rng, -Kraii, .KYit, .KYi, .ru, and raii-are generally governed by a rule of
assimilation to the SONORANCE of the final or postfinal of the immediately
preceding syllable: they become voiced after preceding sonorants and become
unvoiced after preceding obstruents. There is some reason to believe that, in
bm.EcnoNs 189

Proto-Tibetan, the rule was just that simple: there were just the three
morphophonemes -rl, KY, and T, which took the forms -t!, ky, and t after the
preceding fmai obstruenu --& -d, -b, and OS, and the forms ~ gr. and d
after open syllables and the preceding final sonoranU -·n, .n, ·m, .r, and ./. l)

OBSTRUENT SONORANT
.g ·b -d ·s ·n· ·n ·m ., ./ ·8
T$ II II II II ,,,,,,
KY
T
ky ky ky ky
, , ~
d
~
d
~
d
~
d
~
d
~
d
'PROTO-TIBETAN

OBSTRUENT SONORANT
.g ·b -d ·s .;; ·n ·m ., ./ ·8
T$ If II If I ,,,,,,
KY g ky ky ky g ~ ~ ~ ~ J
Y ky ky ky ky y J Y J J Y
T d s d d d d d ,
OLD TIBETAN

Tallit 12 Sonor'In(t rmimilatian in 1M mlNphophontmt$ 71.. KY, r alld T

This straightforward pattern apparemly became complicated by several addi·

tional articulatory a~imilations. The allophone -d! of the morphophoneme
T$ became, by the time of Old Tibetan, unstopped to I in all environments;
after immediately preceding final or postfinal os, the morphophoneme TS
panially twimilated in closure and took the form of the fricative I. The
morphophoneme T completely twimilated 10 become d aCler immediately pre-
ceding final or postfinal .d and become s after immediately preceding final
or postfinal -so Interestingly, it also partially assimilated in closure to a pre·

13 The .rchalc manllKripts from Cclllr.l Asia )l\ow sporadic and inconsistenl \Ise5 or
forms SIKh IS -dlill, -4tig. lnd -~ wblch lie pouibly remnanll or th is older, hypothe tical
I)'Slem.
190 Tim Ci..AssICAL TIBETAN l...ANOUAGE

ceding vowel, changing from a stop to the glide r. which presumably was the
glide c10seSI in place to the original dental stop. The morphophoneme KY
split into two different forms. One of these, which we write as the morpho-
phoneme Y, occurs only in the unbound connective Yan, which becomes kyaii
after all immediately preceding obsuuents, and becomes yan-presumably
from PrOio-Tibetan egyan-after all immediau~ly preceding sonorants. The
OIher, which we write as the morphophoneme KY, occurs in the bound part-
icles -KYaii, .Klis", and -Kri, where we find complete assimilation to g after
preceding final -g, and partial assimilation to g after preceding final -ii. And •
. interestingly, the morphophoneme partially assimilated in closure to a pre-
ceding vowel, changing from a palatalized stop to the palatal glide y. We can
diagram this development as in Table 12, with the Changes from the Proto-
Tibetan to the Old Tibetan system again indicated by boldface type.

After preceding ope n syllables, the morphophonemes KY and T, which

partially assimilate 10 become the glides y and r, and the morphophoneme Y,
which norm"ally takes the form y after any sonora nt, can also take contracted
forms which can be counted metrically as part of the preceding syllable.2A
Thus from the particle .1U we find, for example, both mtha-ru and mtllar,
hde-ru and bder, 'lO'u-ru and rgyur, from the particle -.01 both bla-yi and bla~
Wyi-yi and spyii, blo-yi and hloi, from the particle -JOis both rgyal.po-yis and
'K>'al·pos, hlu-yis and birl.f, dgc·yis and dges, and from the particles -KYaii and
YQli both dga-yaii ilnd dgaaii, Nhri·ymi and .'lbriaii, Ndre-yan and Ndrean,

201 AHernatjon uf initi~l y. and g. is not unusua l in Tibetan: note, for eumple, yug.pa_
ufNHl "oats," yud'p<1-ud·p(l '"mome nt,"yob·p1l-Qb·pa "ditth," YON-oN "come." In 111 these
cases. given the hasic disyllabit rhylhm of nit lanllll,e, contrlcted forms Ire muth more
likt ly to be found after unstrCS5Qd syllables, and the full syllabit forlTl5-ll\enudve:s
un"r~~-3ftcr Slr~ syllables.
9 Phrases

1. PRELIMINARIES

1.1. SYNTAX AND MORPHOLOGY

As. we have said, the SYNTAX of classical Tibetan describes the ways that the
words of Ihe language are strung together to make grammatical sequences.
Thus ;1 is WORDS from the lexicon that' (onn the input 10 the syntax: l the
syntax descrihes how these words are meaningfully collocated-how they
become, not isolated words, hut functioning units in a s~nte nce. Thus rgyal-po
"king." dgra "enemy," and SAl> "kill" are words; arranged meaningfully Ihey
become, say, (rgya l-f'OAGfNCY dgrap,tT/EHT SADpAST)OUCSTION "Did the king kill
the enemy?" The SYNTAX describes how the functions of each word are
expressed: it gives the rule, for example, that the agency of a participant is
realized as the particle -Kl'is, that the completion of the event is realized as
the prefix b- a nd sufrtx "-s, and that the inter rogativity of the sentence is
rea lized as the final particle -Am. Thus the output of the syntax in this
example would be rg,'al-po-KYis dgra·fJ b-SAl>-S -Am. It is the IN ~'.lcnONAl .
MOIUIIOLOGY of the language that then adjusts the rOIl.MS of the words in the
sentence to become, finally, the recognizahle: classical Tibetan sequence 'KYal-
pos dgra bsad-dllm "Did the king kiJIthe enemy?"

1.2. OVERVlEIY OF THE SYNTAX

The highest h:vel discussed in the syntax is the DISCOURSE. The discourse will

I Words a re Ihw; primil ives in Ihe syntactic system, atthough, as we have SoCCn. le.ieal
wolds_ noulll. adjectiVe!, vc rbs_may themselves be dcrivationaliy comple •. For eu mplc , thC
WQrd~,Jn·riF! ·'kmg s tone -- monu me nt" anll m/l", .po' $n"panieular ly know - perccive" are
bot h internally comp lc. but, as ...mus, arc primitives 10 the symu. Note, howeve r, Iha l 11K:
syntu docs rccognile inlernal struClu re in wo rus: rOI example, the negative ~l1icle m I·
"l'Ioy" always immedial(:ly precedes the infl«tell vc rb Slcm evt: n in an inlcrna ll~ comple~
v"II_lhus mam·fHlr Itli·Ju "He d()c.~ nnl perceivc" antI nOI ?ltli-mam .JXlr In

191
192 THE Cu.ssICAL TIDETAN LANGUAGE

remain undefined, except to say Ihal a discourse consists of one or more

SENnNCES, and that such a discourse possesses a coherence unpossessed by
a random collocation of sentences. The syntax postulates a discourse level
because we find, within sentences, both connectives and omissions with
extrasenlenlial referents.

A senlence, in turn, consists of a PRoposmON rollowed by a PERFORMANCE

PARTICLE. The proposition contains the propositional content of the sentence;
the performance particle indicates ..... hether that content is intended as a
statement, question, or command. For example, the sentences rgyo/-pos dgra
mlhon-no "The king sees the enemy," rgyal-pos dgro mlhon-nom "Does the
king see the enemy?" and rgyat-pos dgra mlhoii-fig "Let the king see the
enemy!" are different performances of the same proposition rgya/-pos dgra
mlhoii. 2

'TJmw bRSt mort rrairorowiy Uln"Upted the youth of the

realm in eruring II grRmmAr-uhool ... It wiJJ be prt1Jled
to thy face that thou htut men IIbout thee that UJuaJiy
tallt of a noun Rnd R verb, Rnd tuch abominable words as
no ChristiRn ear ean endure to hear.

-William Shakespeare,
Jlenry IV, Port Two

Propositions can be combined in two different ways. Two or more proposi-

'.ions can be connected together on the same level with any of several
CONJU NCTIONS-such as -ni"
"AND," -.~m "OR," -Yon "llUT"-to form a single

Z Oa:asionally further performance particles aprCS$ nuances o{lhreal. warning. or doub!.

Moreover. a sentence-as opposed to a pfUpo$ltion-m.ay be prcccdc4 or followed by a
vOC\T1VE. A vocalive docs not CJ[prcss I poirticipant in the event asserted by the
propo$ition, bUI rather indicates the peoon 10 whom the sentence is addressed; the vocative
b thus nOI part of the propositional content of the sentence. A voca tive is an unmarked
nominal phrase whose funclion as I vocative is indicated by il$ posilion and semanlic
content. Finally, in da.uical Tibetan · there Ire also suc!) "minor scntences" or ··scntence
fralments~ as will here be called EXCl.AMATlONS. An cxclartUltion is I partial sentence that
{unctions IS an IUIOnomoU5 unil and can take the place of a senlena: in I discoun.e or
embedded in a proposition.
 193

proposition; sucb a complex proposition may then become a sentence by the

addition of a performance particle. Or one proposition can be embedded al
a lower level within another proposition by being NOMINAUZED-that is,
turned into a nominal by the affixation of any of several nominalizing
particles. For example, the proposition bla·meu bgegs btu} "The lama lamed
the demon" can be nominalized by the nominalizing particle . PQ to become
bla·mas bgegs bru/·ba "the taming of the demon by the lama." Such a
nominalized proposition can then occur anywhere a nominal can occur. It can
be the head of a nominal, as in 'KYa/-pos (blu-mas bgegs blu/·ba I mrkoii "The
king saw the taming of the demon by the lama"; or it can be a COMPLEMENT
that modifies a nominal or verbal head, as in (bla-mas bgegs btuJ·ba)·j sgmfi
"the tale of the taming of the demon by the lama," or a RELATIVE that
modifies a nominal head, as in [blQ .mas 9geg5 bfUf·bQ)·j bgegs "demo n which
the lama tamed. "

A proposilion consists of an EVf::/!lT preceded by Ihe various PARllCIPAN1S in

that event. The event is what happened; the participants are those to whom
it happened; who made it happen, where it happened, with what or with
whom it happened, and so on. The event is expressed as a VERB PHRASE
carrying its TENSE; each participant is expressed as a NOMINAL PHRASE with
a following ROLE PARllCLE to indicate the particular participant role it plays
in the proposilion. For example, in Ihe proposition nags·fa rxtal·po·s liii·tJ
btubs "The king chopped wood in the iorest," the factthnt the asserted event
is now PAST is signaled by the past teose affixes b· and ·s altached to the vero
TUB "chop." Similarly, the participant nags "forest" is signaled as toe I.OCUS
of the event by the role particle ·fa, the participant rxta/·po " killg" is signaled
as the AOENCY of the event by the role particle ·s, and the participant lUi is
signaled as the PAnENT of the event by the role particle ·8. There are five
primary participant roles in the classical language-rAIlENT, AGENCY, LOCUS,
SOURCE. and ACCOMPANIMENT.

A VERB PHRASE is a verh with its optional specifiers and modifiers; aNOMINAL
PHRASE is a nominal with its optional specifiers and modifiers. The specifier
of a verb in a verb phrase is the optional NEGATION, expressed by the
negation particle mi· "NOT"; the sr.;cifiers of a nominal in a no minal phrase
are DEUMITERS and QUANTlFlERS. The modifier of a verb in a verb phrase

) There are two different types of delimiler in Ihe classical leXI$-DF.ffiRMINERS and
REFl£X1VES. Either or both may occur. hUI. ",here bo lh OCCll r, tWO conditiOI\$ mllM he met:
Ihe determ iner mllst precede Ihe re nc~ ive, and the determiner mll~1 be lhe Iype o f
194 TilE ClASSICAL TIBETAN lANOU ....GE

we will call an ADVERD; the modifier of a no minal in a nominal phrase we

will call an ADNOMINAl... Nominals o ther than nominalized propositions consist
of various combinations of adjective phrases and nouns. An ADJECIlVE
PIlIlASE consists of an adjective and its o ptional INTENSIflER. such as Iin-tu
"very." Verbs, adjectives, and nouns are primitives in the lexicon.

Adverbs and adnominals are themselves nominal phrases, followed,

respectively, by the adverb particle -TU and the adnominal particle -JOi This
means that, in both cases, successive embeddings can take place-for
exe mple. mgyogs-po-i rta "fast horse" f'irjal-po-i mgyogs-po-i rra "the king's fast
horse" rgya-nag-gi 'KY0/-po-; mgyogs-po-i rta " the king of China's fast horse,"
and mgyog,r-po-r SI.FJJ "arrive quickly" naii-pa-r mgyogs-po-r SUB "arrive
quickly in the morning" spyi-r naii-pa-r mgyogs-po-r SU:B "generally arrive
quickly in the morning_" Intensifiers, such as Iin -tu "very" or yons-su
"completely" are a special subset of adverbs.

The fo llowing sections will describe the syntax of classical T ibetan from the
bottom up-that is, first describing nominals, then phrases. then simple
propositions, then complex proposi tions, then sentences, and finally some
portions of the syntax beyond the sentence level.

1.3. THE TELEGRAM PRINCIPLE

1.3.1. The eliminalion of redundancy

Classical Tibetan is abovc a ll a written rather than a spoken language; freed

from the constraints imposed by the transie nce and noise of spoken messages,
it can be highly elliptic, rather li~e an English telegram; it is, like a telegram,
a shortened form of what would otherwise be a more redundant communica-
tion. For example, the telegram 1ol11! anivill8 airport 1IJ.esday sefid car achieves

c1eterminer we c.a ll a defin it e lIeterminer. Simitarly. we find in the classical le ...'1 four
different types o f qua ntifier: the nom inal and it$ delimiter may be fo llowed by o ne
NUMr:If.AJ ~ o ne 't.U RAl ~ one TOTAl...I7.ER. a~d o ne. SEl£CTOR- il lways in thl t order. For
example, in the numinal phrase blll·mll /k-dDg lam "I111hose lamu," Ihe nom inal bill-mil
"lama" is followed by th e determiner <k "11li\T," th e plural -dog "MORE TIIAN ONE," and
the selector Ju." .. AI .......; in the nominal phrllt "KYfI1.po.olD gilis ''We two kings," the nomina l
rgyal.po "king" is fullowed by th e dete rmine r nil "fiRST PERSON~ a lld Ihe nume ra l gilis
·· t.... O...
 195

hn:vily hy eliminating the parenthesizl!d redundancies from the more normal

)01111 (is) amOving (a/ tile) airport (011) 'TUesday (so) Ulld (a) car (to mut him
tllt'fe), Similarly, we propose a classical Tibetan TELtGRAM PRINCIPLE:
H:dundant clements of the mess3ge may be-and frequently are-omitted.
This principle may override syntactic rules of the language.

1.3.2. Old arid new information

A proposition may contain a number of difkren t sorts of info rmation: it may

refer to entities intrnduced for the firsl time into the discourse; or e ntities
which could he inferred from a discourse entity already introduced; or entities
which are obviously part of the discourse situation, although not previously
mentioned; or entities which were already introduced into the discourse and
an: now being referred to again, either immediately or afler some stretch of
intervening text. We will not discuss these distinctions in detail; let it suffice
10 say that these different sorts oi information are points on a continuum that
ranges, simply, from OLD tNI'DRMA'noN to NEW INFORMATION. Old info rmation
is rt:coverahle-from the preceding text, from inference, from knowledge of
the world. Under the Tdegram Principle, old information may, depending on
ilS recoverabiliry. be sufficiently redundant to be omitted.·

Any participant or group of paTlicipants can be old news in a propmition. In

a discourse abou t a king, for example. the paft ~cipanl 'ID'ot-po "king" might
he inferable-and thus redundant-in any such propoSition as ItGYAL-PO-8 nat
"1111'. KING sleeps," ItGYAL-pO'J dgro bmd ",lIE KJNG slew the enemy," dgro-J
RC;YAI.-po-8 bJod "The enemy siew 111E KING," ItGYAI.-po-la Nplm.l.l-gyi rol-gri-8
ynd "'nll, KJNG has a magic sword," and so on.

Under the Telegram Principle. anything recoverable-old information, the

thettle of a proposition-can be left out, for the reader to supply from the
preceding text o r from general knowledge. Thus a proposition may consist
only of the rheme, with the Iheme considered redundant and omitled. Take,
for examrle. the two propositions 0..'\'C/I-pO$ hgegJ 8Jod "The king slays

• One I}PC o f "I<J inf",m;lliu n is of p~fI"' ul~r impullance. Ev.:ry proposilion is AliOUT
~melhing: the ~"melllUlg !h~1 a prnpmlliun i~ ~bou t we will ca ll ilS llHoMF- Whal is said
aooUI !he themc _ Ih;: news Ihe speaker ~upplll$ aooul il-i$ lhe RItEME. A lh.:me may be
CO IIS!anl a<;J()~~ ;lny numhcr of propos iliun~: nnce a Iheme bas beell established, it becomes,
o f coursc. uld informali"n.
196 TilE ClASSICAL Tm ETAN lANGUAGI,

demons" and bw-mtU bgegs NduJ "The lama lames demons," and join Ihem
together with the conjunction -Yan "BUT"-Ihu$ rgyal-pos bgegs gsod-kyaii bfa-
mtu Hdul ''The king sla~ demons, but the lama tames tht.:m." Clearly, read

"WHEN TOU COME TOMORROW, BRlNG MY FOO11lA.LL 8001'S.

ALSO,IF HUMANLY l'OSSI8LF~ IlUSU IVA11'.A SPANlf'L VRGENT.
REGARru, TtJPrr. JJ

'''What tIo you mAlte of Ihflt, /UT'eJ?"

"AI 1 interpret the docume"t, Iir, Mr. GImsop TPishes you,
.,hm you come tomiJf"TOW, to bling his footb4ll boon. Aw,
if hUmArUy possible, an Imh ~'lHer Jf'aniti. He hints that the
mAtter is urgent, ami sauu hi! rrgardJ."
''Yes, that's huw I rmd it, 100.

-Po G. Wodehouse,
771e Ordeal of YOUllg Tuppy

together. what both propositions are about is how demons arc handled by
different people. Thus the second appearance of bgegs "demon" is redundant;
it is old information; it can be left out. In the English translation of the
second conjoined propositio n, the pronoun them corresponds 10 the AIISENCE
of a patient participant in Tibetan.

But note, conversely, that such omi~si() n s themselves convey information.

Where a participant is omitted from a proposition, the ahsen.ce;: is processed
as meaning thai the identity of the missing participant is old information, and
hence recoverable from context; the omission is a signal to scan context or
generallmowledge to supply what is missing.' In fact, it is jusl such omissions
-among other devices-that differentiate a coherent series of propositions
from a mere agglomeration of units. The constant back-reference of a text is
part of what makes it cohesive. The skill of the author lies in pan in how he

, A paSNlCC or work we would describe a!i n:KSll contains I lignirlCant numt'ot.:r or sucb
omissions.. Such. style may be experienced as difficult to process, since its rcatling requires
constant back-refcrenr.;c 10 chcc;k lbe idenlity or missi ng I"ITlid~nts .
PHRASES 197

manipulates the cohesiveness of his text-the amount of back·reference he

requires, the old information he repeats, and the density of the new
information he supplieJ. The skill of the reader lies in part in the ability to
unravel what the author has thus knit up.

1.3.3. The omission or ro'le particles

Every participant in a Tibetan proposition is marked in three ways fo r its
particular participant role-by its role particle, by its positio n, and by its
semantic content. For example, in the proposition rgyal.pru rdza-ma bllag
'1'he king broke the POt," the participant 'KYa/·po "king" is marked as the
agency of the act of breaking by its leftward position in the proposition, by
its role particle ·s, and by its semantic content-that is, a human capable of
agency. The participant rdza-ma "pot" is ma rked as the patient of the act of
breaking by its position just before the verb, by its role particle -8, and by its
semantic content-that is, an inanimate object incapable of agency, but quite
capable of being broken.

But, under the Telegram Principle, redundant elements of the message may
be-and frequently are-omitted. In the proposition rgyal-pru rdza-ma bf!ag
"The king broke the POt," the role particle ·s is redundant, because il
supplies information given as well by position and by semantic content. There
is little ambiguity in the proposition 'KYal.po rdza -ma btJag. which must stiJI-
except under the most peculiar textual constraints-be processed as "The king
broke the pot."

Since: the role particle uniquely specifies the participant role of the partici·
pant, the role particle can be: the clearest marker for participant role. Whe n
the role particle is omitted, the position and semantic cOnlent of the
participant are clueJ to its role in the proposition; when the role pa nicle is
presel,lt, the author may then mo re freely manipulate the other two markers
for participant role-position and semantic content.

Where panicipants arc: marked with their role particles, an author is free to
change the ORDER in which these participants appear in the proposition. Such
differences in participant order convey information about the place of
particular participants in the discourse, with llIEMATIC panicipanu appearing
for the first time shifted to the left of the other participants: compare, for
198 THE ClASSICAL TIBETAN LANOUAGE

example, rgyaJ-pos rdza-ma btJag "The king broke the pot" with rduJ-ma
rgyal-pos blJag "The pot-the king broke it.'"'

Conversely, the agency through which an event occurs is often perceived as

thematic, since what people talk ABOUT most often 8fC the actions of other
peopk. Thus. where a participam is not marked with a role particle, the
leftward participant is often processed as the agency, and the participant
dosest 10 the verb as the patient, where semantically possible: the otherwise
ambiguous rgyaf-po b/a-ma mlhon would normally be processed as "The king
sees the lama" unless there are good textual reasons to read it otherwise.1

Where participants are unambiguously marked with their role particles, an

author has some freedom 10 manipulate their SEMANTIC CONTENT, either
through such figures of speech as metaphor or metonymy, or through the
cr~alion of a world diff~rent from the normal one. Such a world might be
created by, say, the proposition rdo-sku-s rgyal-po-8 mlhoii '"The stone image
sees the king" in a discourse about a miraculously animated statue.

When an author, under the Telegram Principle, deletes too much information
from a proposition, that proposition becomes ambiguous. An ambiguous
proposition offers a choice of readings. Ambiguity is thus the opposite of
redundancy: ambiguity is an insufficiency of information, while redundancy is
OJ surfeit . Such ambiguous propositions can sometimes be: disambiguated by
f;;xtralinguislic knowledge of what is normal and expected in the world. In
fact, someti mes more sophist icat~d knowledge is necessary. Whether the
proposition sKrih·pa srid-ra skyed should be read as "Ignorance creates the

~ Once such a Iheme is eslablished, of course, il bccoma old informal ion-I hal is. il is
rcc;oV(: rable from contelt-and can be iel<:~raphically omitted, as in. SOIy, Na·ma rrbJ·
mkha,,·gyis bws ~'QI,poJ blfag"AI; [or the pots, Ihe poUCI made them and the king broke
Ihem."

, Anmher way of saying almost Ihe s.ame thing is 10 s.ay Ihal nO/mal Tibetan word order
i~ I\(jENCy·rATU;NT·VEKU. Dul nOle that scm~n!K: co ntent ~tm limi lS the reading of, say, rdc·
stu. '1(tll/.po mlhtNt to ~The king sees the Slone image," despite the order of hs participanls.
excepl ' IInQer the most peculiar textual oonmainlli-thal is, MSumin& a normal work! of
sightless Slone Statues unlc:;.s Ihe tex, insuucb \IS otherwise. Thus lhe proposition rdo bla·ma
bdng WQuld normally be processed as'"1lIc I~ma broke th e 510ne~ (or. perhaps beUer, '"TIle
Slone-the I~ma broke il") dcipite the fact lhat the order of panicip.mts suggC$lli the reading
"The slone broke the lama" (or "(Someone) broke Ib e lam, wil h a 510"e") ami ils
aSMlCiatcd image I)f an unrortunate and pcrh3p~ rrolen lama.
PIlH.ASES 199

world" or "Ignorance-the world creall!S it" turns on a fine point of theology;

and it is a question of lite rary scholarshi p which reading the author intended,

2. NOMINALS

2.1. DEFINITION

A NOMINAl, is any kxical word or combination of words that can occur before
a determiner such as fold; "'1 liS" in a nominal phrase, Nominals thus include
nOI on ly NOUNS (no "horse" no ,.,'d; "this horse") and ADJECOVES (bzoii-po
"virtuous" bzaii.po NIli "this virtue"), but also COMBINATIONS of nou ns a nd
adjectives (no " horse" tIIl/m-po "great" no tIhen·po Ndi " Ihis great horse")
and even entire NOM tN Al IZH) Plwposmm'l'S (rgyo /-pos no tJlu!II'po btu/"The
king tames the great horse" IID'a f-pas no t!lI en·po bll.l/·bo tid; " th is taming of
the great horse by Ihe king"),

2.2. HEAD AND MODIFIER

A nomina l is gene ra lly proce~sed as having a IIEAD-the leftmost comronent

of the nominal-followed by (me or more MOt>lI'tI'.KS,a Either a noun or an
adjective can be the head of a nominal, and either a noun or an adjective can
be the modifier of the hcad ,~

The modir;~r functions to remict the head in terms of S()nIe qualifying

a Th is St rllctllre is internal 10 Ihe nominal; the nomina l as a wMle ca n Ihen be a tIca(J

modiflC4 by a prc:ccdins ,.tU)NOMINAL, which is i nominal ph rase with t1'lc: beul}(! ad nomina l
panicle ,.01.\ For ClI.Implc:, in Ihe no mina l phrase biD-WID dhtll -po lhi phnii -bD ts"-po " that
, real lama', ) I'ltden rmary," th e NOMINIIJ , phft'ii·bD gS"'P" ",olden 1000ry-'-CQRSislin! o f
the IIr:Jl.O phun ,/xl "rO$aryM ~nd its MOOIFlF,M p tr-po "golde n" -is in turn modified by th e
pl~in, AONOMINIIJ._ bln-niD dhtll -f<! d(' "l h~1 !'tat lama"-a nominal pllIasc consisting
of the nominal blD-mn IIMft ,po ",r~ 1 I~m~ " and the determi ncl M " n-IAT," and thc
nominal bfD-mD rJlrm-p" ""e.1\ lama" CtlnSi~lins in Ilirn tlf Ihe head blD-mn " la ma" and its
modifier dhtft-p" "sreal,"

9 We may nOl e thai a Til'lC ta n adjcctiv..: hca(J mUSt ,en~raJly be 1lU.NStATEO into EnSlish
as an abstract n(llin - Ihu~ hl"ii-p" "virluous" Jill -Ill bw1!-po "very vinuolls" bWn,p" MJi ~ lhi1
vi rtue," K/""'-pt' " fur iu lIs" lift_Ill grum.po "wry furiolls" gTUm -p" lIdi "great fury_" This is a
peculiarity til Engli~h and nnt III Tihclan,
zoo TilE CI.ASSICAL TI/IFTAN .LANGUAG[

feature: the mooifier answe.rs the question "What type of - ' ! " with
refe rence to the head. All nominals rder \0 a scI of entities; the SCI
designated by a modified head is thus a proper subset of the set designated
by the head alone. For examp1c:, in the nominal bla-rna bzan-po "virtuous
lama" the modifier bzaii-po "virtuo us" restricts the head bla-rna "Iama," and
answers the question "What type of lama?" The modified head refers to the
set of virtuous lamas-a pmper subset of the set designated by the head
alone .

2.3. BASIC PAITERNS

(n Tibetan the lefllnosl component of the nominal is' generally proces...cd as

the head and componelllS to the right as its modifier. Since a noun or
adjective head car be followed by a noun or adjective modifier, the re arc
fou r basic patterns of head and modifier. A NOUN can be modified by an
A1)Jf.(..11VE, ,IS in siiags-p<l nag-po "htack magician"; a NOUN c;:tn be modified
by a NOUN, as ill bta-ma snags-po "lama who is :l magician"; a n AOJEC11VE
can be modified by an AVJECllVE. as in nag-po rJhen-po "greal blackness";
and-although certainly nO! common-an AUJECllVE can even be modified by
a NOUN, as in nag-po sem .. "blackness which ;s his mind."

2.4. EXTENDED PATmRNS

Since a modified head is itself a nominal, a combined head and modifier may
in-turn be a head or modifier wilhin a larger no minal, The processing of such
larger nominals generally proceeds through successive hifurcations of head
and modifier. For example, in the nominal bln·ma bzaii-po Lfhell-po "great
virtuous lama" the nominal bla-ma bza'i-po "virtuous lama"-;Isclf a head and
modifier-serves as a leflmost head modified by the adjective r!lIe/l -po
"greal." Similarly, in the nominal bla-ma lShell-po spml•.rku hza,,-po "great
lama who is a virtuous incarnation" the nominal bla-rna rJltell-po "great
lama" serves as a head modified by the nominal Sprul-.fku bzaii-po "virtuous
incarnation_ hlO

10 We may nOle here brieny that I naminal "tch as blu-mQ spruf-s/w bZQii-po is
ambilllOlis bctwccn the allern:l\l~e readin!'." (bhr -mQ (Jpn4f-sJaJ bZQiI-po)) "lama who is a
virtuous in,ca rnation" an<l «!lfQ-mQ s,,",J-sla.) bUl" -po) ·-vin IIOIlS lama .who-is-an-i ntarnllion··;
wmpare the si milar ambir,lIi ly of English old men and ..-omtn. Such amhiguity arises, o f
PIlIV.SES 201

Such combinations of head and modifier can be expanded to the limits of

stylistic tolerance. A nominal such as bla-rna bzan-po tJhen.po maI.Nbyor·pa
rni·la ras·po sprul-sku rin·po-tIlie "great virtuous lama who is the yogin the
precious incarnation Mi·la the cotton-dad" perhaps approaches but does not
exceed these limits. The nominal is thus the EXPANDABLE constituent of the
nominal phrase: Ihe various specifiers that follow the nominal are added only
after such expansion is complete.

2.5.>ADJECTIVES

An a=ljective-like a verb-may be preceded by one or more of several

IN"~N SIAERS, prima rily lin-tu "very" and ha-t!an "very," but including as well
such adverbs as Ihag-por "especially," rab-tu "particularly," te'bor "really,"
yoiis-su "completely," rnl!!Jog-/u "extremely," kun·tu "entirely."

Tibetan adjer.tive~ are not regularly innected for degree, as in English.

Comparisons are made simply with the source role particle -Ilu, as in rgyal-po-
las tJhen-po "greater than the king," na-nm·las bzan-po "more beautiful than
last year"; sometimes a particle -!'as, whose origin I do not know,lI is used
instead of the sou rce particle -las to mark the Object of comparison, as in
Nbras·idlO1i·bos graii.ba "colder than Sikkim," sna·ma·bas pllyug-pa "richer
than before." In this, adjectives are not different from verbs; nole, for
example, gtan-Ias NPllAG "be nobler than others," Tfa -bas nm; "be bigger
than a horse."

Again, in some texts, a formati~e yan- "STItl, YET, MORE" can give an
adjective a comparative sense-thus tJhuii-ba "small" yan.tIltwi "still smaller,"
dga-ba " happy" yan-dga "yet happier," bzan·po "good" yan.bzan "even
better." Thus, too, in Ihe epic, Ihe hero Ge·sar, in the lowly form of Dto-ru,
sings rna·nan NgOg·moj d1(>·ru no, skye·ijan naii·lIo.J yon-nail red "I, Df.o·ru, of
the miserable mother Ngog-mo, am among those of miserable birth yet more
miserable."

COline, because the process ul hifuro.:.: uin" iOlIl ho.'ad and modifier can begin al eieher tlr e-..u
places in Iht nominal.

II This comparalive particle .Pal is .:crl~ inly not the $ame as 'I'O'J. the rOTOIalive .P(J
'·NO MINAL.. plll$ the agen')" role panicle ·OlS.
202 TilE Cl.ASS ICAt TIIIETAN L\:-I (iLJAGE

A similar formalive, d1~- "MORE AND MOR~" IUrns a slativc verh stem
expressing a particular quality into a stalive verb .;)(pressing the incTC=:lse of
thai quality over time-Ihus MAN "be many" dte·MAN "bt! more and more,"
GSAL "be clear" die-GSA!. "be ever more clear," fIJRA "be thin" dte-I'IIRA "be
thinner and thinner," as in dte-gsal-du soii " It has become incrt:asingly dear,"
dIe-maii NgrO "They go on becoming more numerous." Such progressive
comparatives are quite fn!4Uently reduplicated-thus dle-rlm: dIe· rim: "be
bigger and bigger," dle-M71IO dle-MTHO "be hig;lcr and higher," dte-BlA.~ dIe-
/J7AN "be better and better," and even dIe· til/UN die-NUN "be smaller and
smaller," as in dIe-bzaii dle-bzaii-du son "She became ever more beautiful,"
Lfllu-pIU'l:m man-po dle-tIhe dtf!-tJlle'/1l rgyas "Maoy lillIe streams grew bigger
and bigger, and became swollen," This formative is old in Tibetan; no te the
following few verses, dating 10 the mid-seventh century and attributt::d to the
queen Sad-mar·kar, from an archaic chroniclt:: found nt::<Ir TUIl·huang:

dIe·lie Iii dle·lie'lia Nearer yes: nearer

rur-po IIi dguli-daii lie Yar-pa yes: is near the sky
dguTi.skar IIi sUi·[j Stars of the sky yes: si·[j·1i

d1.e·iie ni dle·ne·'ID Neart::r yes: ncart::r

siiur·ba IIi I.fllab-daii lie Sfiur-ba yes: is ncar the water
gyur-Jram Iii pyo-Iu.fa The otter yes: pyo·la-la

dle·lie ni tile·iiNw Nearer yes: neaTcr

mal.up ni klurn-daii iiI! Mal-lro yt::s: is near to K1um
skyi·bser IIi spu·ru ·(U The cold wind yes: spu·ru·ru

Superlatives are formed in several ways, The Object of compa rison, marked
with ·/as or -Pas, may simply be made very broad-thus tllams·t!ad·fos rtsub·
rno "rougher than alVroughest of all," kUII'/os Nphags·po "nobler than alV
noblest of a ll," Or the adjective may be applied to one member of a specified
group-for example, dge-sIOli.gi naTi-nas bsod-po "pleasing from among the
monks/most pleasing of the monks," Again, adjectives are here nOI different
from verbs; note, for example, kun-/us MlJl£S "be most beautiful of all," kun-
gyi naii-mu BTSOG "be nastiest among them all,"

Alternatively, the formative ·Jos "MOST" gives an adjective a superlative

sense-thus rgall-po "old" rgan·Jos "oldest," mklw'~'IFJU "wise" mkhas·Jos
"Wisest," rifj.po "long" fiJi -JO! "longest," tJlJ e·bu "great" 1~1J(!·JO.f "greatt::st,"
 203

as in buun-mo /iiQ·brgyai tJhuii-Ios "the youngest of the flYe hundred ladies,"

rtod tJhe-lm f8tld-fUJd "the greatest disease of all, which is the disease of old
age."

Finally, we should take note of the verb DRAGS "be too much," as in [Io-za-8
drag:s-na mtJ-Iu-baj NJd yon "If your food is excessive, there will be the
di~ease of indige.stion." Where the patient or this verb is a nominal with an
adjective head, - Ihe verb indicates an excessive amount of the quality
expressed by the adjective, as when Sa-skya pal)qita writes, in his I...egs-par
bJad-p.J rin-po-tIhLi gter, gnas ma-yin-pai dul drags-tiD, Ihams-tJad-kyis ni bkol-
bar ~ "If you are too gentle in the wrong circumstances you will be made
a servant by everyone."

2.6. HEADLESS MODlFlERS

Sometimes a nominal is processed as a modifier without a "preceding head.
Where the head of the nominal has been established by the context. it may
CaU under the operation of the Telegram Principle and be omitted as
redundant, leaving behind a headless modifier. In such cases English inserts
a dummy head such as one, while Tibetan simply leaves the leftmost position
vacant-thus "0 dhtn-po "great horse" tJ dhen-po "great one," g.yu snoll'PO
"blue turquoise" B snon-po "blue one," bla-ma bzaii-po dhen-po "great
vinuous lama" 8 bzaii-po tJhen-po "great virtuous one." Similarly, a head can
be omitted where it can be recovered not from the preceding text but from
common assumptions about the world: in lIhen-pas sbyill-po gton "The great
give gifts," or bzan-pos byams·pa sgam " Virtuous people contemplate love,"
the nominals lIhen-po "great" and bzaii-po "virtuous" are read as headless
modifiers whose absent head has an indefinite reference to people in general.

This means, too, that a nominal such as gtum-po can be processed as being
either an ADJECTIVE HEAD (thus "fury") or a HEADLESS ..... OJECTIVE MODIFIER
(thus "rurious one"). Such structural ambiguity is disambiguated only by the
context in which the nominal occurs. For example, compare the two
propositions 'ID"l1-pos bzan-po dilen-po bsad ''The king slew the great virtuous
one" and 'KYat.pos bzaii-po IIhell-po rhob "The king attained great virtue,"
where the verbs.$.([) "slay" and nlOB "attain"-requiring animate and abstract
patients respectively--determine the reading of the nominal.
204 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

3. PHRASES
Events and thl!ir participants arc expressed, respectively, by verb and nominal
PHRASES; it is these phrases which then carry the markers fo r tense and role.
A NOMINAL PHRASE is a nominal with its optional specifiers and modifiers; a
VERB PHRASE is a verb with its optional specifiers and modifiers. We will call
the modifier of a nominal within the nominal phrase an ADNOMINAL, and the
modifier of a verb within the verb phrase an ADVERB.ll

3.1. NOMINAL PHRASES

3.1.1. Simple nominal phrases

3.1.1./. Specifiers

In a nominal phrase, a nominal may be followed by from zero to six

S "I~C\HERS. A solitary nominal such as bla-rna "lama" or b1o-ma snags-pa nag-
po lI/tcl/.po "lama who is a great black magician" refers vaguely to any or ali
of the entities within the sel it defines. The specifier functions to SPECIFY TIlE
SCOPE of Ihis reference, as in, say, bfa·rna ",di "nils lama," b!a-ma·fig "SOME
lama," blQ·rna /iia "l'1VE lamas," bfa·ma-dag " MORE nlAN ONE lama," bfa·rna
gaii "ANY lama," bla-rna kUII "N.L lamas."

Somt! spc!cifiers, such as rllis or rllal, specify WIllCH m~mber or members of

Iht! sel denOled by Ihe nominal aTe rderred 10: we will call these DEUMITERS,

12 Adverhs and ad nominals arc interestin gly para11e! in Tibetan, They are both nominal
phr3SCS, "f any leng th and compleulY, ma rked respectively wilh lilt. adverb or adnomi nal
partide; adverbs and a..lnominals are IItIiS I>oth phrases embedded within phrasn_the adve rb
willtin a verb phrase and lhe a..lnuminal wi tbin a nominal phrase-w the JerI of Ihe head
wurd; in bollt ca'ICS $u!;ccSSivc cmbctlding.~ tan lake place 10 Ihe limiu of stylistic loleran".
Compa re. fur cumple, mKl"'$$,po· j rrd "[ast hll ~" tgytl/.po.j m~·po-i rro "the king's fast
hlllsc" rg)'o .n(lg.g1 '1(WIf·po·j mgyogs,po·i 1'/(1 "the ling of China's fast hOr5C" with mgyogs·po·,
XU'/J "arrive qukkly" "aii'fN/" n.,:;yuf,J·PO·' I IX/J "arrive qui~kly in the mOlning" spyi·' " oli,
p'''' m~'Of,J'f'<J" SU :'S "g.;ncraU)' arri\"e quickly in Ihe morning." and so on,

ScmanliQll1y bo.llh adverbs and adnllminals modify Iheir fullowing verb or numinal head, In
1I<..11t cases, 11K- modiri.;r limils o r qU31iries Ihc h.:ad hy adding informa tiOn about iI, and
anSwCr.< Ihe qu~sli<1n "Wha! so rl uf_',' " .. ilh re ference to Ihe head. In bolh casa, Ihe
ml>.Jified lte~oJ oJeSi,l!n~IC! a p"'pcr $ \lI'o:\<,'[ ('If Ihe ~I dc,o;ignalcoJ b~ Ihc head alone,
PIlRASES 205
Other specifiers, such as five o r som~, specify HOW MANY members ,of the set
de noted by the nominal an: referred to : we will call these OUANllFlERS. In
classical Tibetan, delimiters and quantifiers a re both optional parts of the
nominal phrase; but where either or both occur, their order is fIXed as
NOMINAL-DEUMITER-QUANllflEll..

There a re, furthermore. two different types of delimiter in the classical texu-
DETERMINERS and REFLEXIVES. Either or both may occur, but, where both
occur, two conditions must be mel: the determiner must precede the
reflexive, and the determiner mllst be a DEFlNITE determiner, as will be
discussed below. Similarly, we find in the classical telCtS four different types
of quan tifier: the no minal and its delimiter may be followed by one NUMERAL,
one PLURA4 one TOTAliZER, and o ne sELEcroR-always in that order. The
complete array of available specifiers may be diagrammed as follows:

SPECIflER
t
t t
DELIMITER OUAI'fl1FlER

Ii
DETERMINER
that
REA.EXJVE

·s~1f
NUMERAL
on.
PLURAL
.,
t

TOTALIZER
just
SELECl'OR
all
any two only som~
thm
~"

Thus the minimum no minal phrase consists simply of a NOMINAL, while the
maximum nominal phrase consists, at least theoretically, of the sequence
NOMINAL-DETERMINER-REFLEXIVE·NUMERAL-PLURAL-TOTALIZER ·SELECTOR.
Whether such a maximum sequence occurs (and I certainly have nOI seen it
anywhere, or I would display it here proudly) is a matter of stylislic
constraints o n syntax; but between these two extremes we fi nd nominal
phrases with various combina tions of these constituents, which occur !n the
o rde r set fo rth above-thus bla-rna Ndi-dag "!hese lamas" but not ?bla·ma-dag
Nd~ rta.dag·mams " horses" but not ?rta ·mams-dag. rgyal-po rna-fig "some five
kings" but not ?rgya l·po-fig lila, snags-po de-dag knn "aJlthose magicians" but
206 TilE Cv..ssICAL TIBETAN l..ANOUAOE

not ?.siiags-pa kun de-dog. mkhas-pa gon·fig "any wise man" but not ?mkhtu-
po-fig gan.

The specifier is the last component of a nominal phrase. We therefore

sometimes find a specifier-usually de "nlAT' or -rtig "oNE/s),4"-used simply
as a PHRA'iE-Cl..OSER, 10 signal the end of a nominal phrase which has the
invisible -8 role particle. especially wheT: that phrase, or the next, is long and
complex. Conversely, we frequently find HEADLESS SPf!OFlERS, where the
nominal head has been omitted by the Telegram Principle-for example, bltJ-
n;1Q de-dag "'hose lamas" 8 dt-dag "those ones," dge-slon gan-liB "any monk"
8 gan·lig "anyone," 'KYat-po khon "he the king" 8 Jchoij "he," dgon.pa ron
"the same monastery" IJ ran "the same one," blwl-po gsum-tig "some three
fools" D gsum-fig "some three ones," sems-/!an de-dag thoms-tIad "all those
sentient creatures" D de-dag tllOmN!ad "all those ones." and so on.

3.1.1.1.1. DELIMITERS

3././.1.1.1. DETERMINERS

A nominal may be followed by a single DETERMINER which de1imilS its scope

by specifying which of the named entities is referred to. Such specification in
Tibelan m:ly. first. be either l>H1Nrn, or INIlEI'1NITE-that is, may specify the
scope of the reference as some de terminate subset, as in sky~s-bu d~ "TIIAT
person," or as some indeterminate subset, as in s~s·bu gan "SOME/ANV
person." Second. ddinite determiners may specify the scope of that
determinate subset either in terms of its SPAT1A1. RELATION to the speaker, as
in dgoll.pa ya ·gi "the mon(lstery liP TIIERE." or in terms of its SPf.AX.JNG ROLE
in the discourse. as in maf'Nhyor.pa k/lyod "YOU the yogin." We therefore
distinguish SI'Al' AL DE1H~MtNERS fr(lm PERSONAL DIITERMINERS. Both personal
determiners and inddinite determiners, as we shall see, bear some resem·
hlance 10 English pronouns.

3.1.1.1.1.1.1. Definite delenniners

3././.1.1 .1.1.1. Spatial tUUrminus

dctermim:rs are (If two sorts. First. there are three VERTIC'.Al.
SI'''''I1I\1.
determiners-ya .},'i "1)1' ·I1IEIH:. " ma·J::i "DOWN 11IERE." and plla.gi "ACROSS
PIlRASES W7

TIiERE 1I0RIZONTAlLY." These determiners delimit the preceding nominal ,in

terms of its DECUNATION from the speaker-thus la ya-gi "the pass up there,"
fun ma-gi "the valley down there," sgaii pha-gi "the ridge over there."n
There are two HORIZONTAl determiners-Hdi "nns" and de "THAT." These
determiners delimit the preceding nominal in terms of ill NEARNESS to the
speaker-thus bla·rna Ndi "this lama here," bla-rna de "that lama there_" Such
nearness may be metaphorically extended to include temporal and textual
proximity as well-for example, tslug lid; "this word (just spoken)."

3.1.1.1.1.1.1.2. Pef'UNl4l iletumiNfS

Classical Tibetan PERSONAl. OETToRMtNERS such as na "'" and khyod "you" can
be seen 10 occur in exactly the same s9ntactic slots as such nonpersona!
determiners as Ndi ''11I1S'' and de "lliAT"-for ' example, bla-rna de "that
lama" bla-rna kll0n "he the lama," rni de-mams "those men" rni khyod-mams
"you men," dge-slon Ndi ~iis "these two monks" dge-slon na ~lis "we two
monks," mlllU-llhen yad-pa de "Ihe one who has magic power" .mthu-l1hell
yod-pa na "I who have magic power." Personal determiners, however, are

I) The word ph.a "that ~ide" 15 usually paired semantically with the word tshu "Illis sKle"-
for eumple, pha·roI "the other side·' IJhu·,o/ "tllis side. ~ pha·roI-pG "adversaryH IIhu·ro/·ptI
"aUy." Similarly, ya " up" is semantically p~i red with Ina "down'·_ror eumple, )'D ,mrJhu
" upper lip'· m(l·mlJhu "lower lip:' )'Q'/Mnl "Iinlel" ma·/h~m "sill," )'D./hog "ceiling" ma·/hog
" nom," YO'Tabs "upper eW!;" ma ·Tabs '· Io-.o;e/ c1U!:," yo-so "upper t«:III" mil'SO "to..-et
tuth." ror-no ''Waxing moon'· mar.no "waning moon." This do uble opposilion may be:
ehaned as rollows;

However, .. hen thL"SC Opposilions l Ie e.ploited as dete/minen, presumably tshu represents

the position o( the speaker, and tile oppositions yield a three-way Y1:rtical distinction:

)'D'gr ··IJ' nmRE"

/Shu ··HOIE"
_SPEAKER I ph, .• "ACRO" TI''''''

L _ _ _: ma_gI "[)OWN TIlER""

208 THE ClA"SICAI. TIIlETAr4 I..J\NGUAG f;

syntactically defined as a class by their occurrence before the plural .'.faX

(thus iia-dag "we" N(/i-dag " these," iia-tslto "we" Ndi·lSho "these," nO.fJag
"we" bul nOI ?N<1i-tJoj), as well as such forms as khoii.llag-mams "Ihcy"
parallel to de-dog-mams "those"), although in the lale r classical texts personal
determiners tend to be pluralized most frequently by the selector -manu.

3.1.1.1.I.l.1.2.1. UNMARKED AND SPECIALIZED mRMS There are three

personal determiners we can call UNMARKED-Ihe first person determiner iio
"I," thc second person determiner khyod "you," and the third person
determiner k.llo "h~." Each one has a co~ res ponding 1I0NORI I-1C-lhe firsl
"person honQrific determiner ned, the second person honorific determiner
kllyed. and the third person honorific determiner khon. In addition, we find
the first person EI.EGANT determiner hdag and the second person elegant
determiner 11id (and thus the plural forms bdug-l!ag and ;,id-dag). We can
schematize these determiners as follows:

PERSON UNMARKED HONORIFIC ELEGANT

I /10 n.ed bdag

2 klzyod kllyed iiid
3 kilO klzml

3_1.1.1.1.1.1 .2.2. IIONORlt' IC UETF.RMINERS H ONORI I-lC I ) EI1 : II.MINI'.~S an:

used to reft:r respectfully to peuons nf higher social or spiritual rank-thu~
till-po kflyod "you the farmer" but bla-ma khyed "you the lama."' The higher
status may be n:llltive either to the speaker or the addressee: for e1wmp\t:,
in the work o f Gtsan.smyun he-ru-ka we find that the maste r Mar-pa uses the
third person honorific determiner kllOii "he" when speaking to Ihe young Mi ·
la I\1I0tlT the l<1ma Rnog- pa and nlhtr senior disciples, hu t switchc~ In thc
second person unmarked determiner khyod "you" when s peaking TO them.

The first per~u n honorifi c Fwd ''I"' is used when a speaker expresses hilllsdf
as honmed by some relationShip with a s uperior: for exa mple , ag;lio ia the
work of Gtsan-smyon he-ru-ka, we find Mar-pOl's son saying iied-kyi plw-Ilto
.\'()d "There is my lord fath er," we fin d thc yogin Mi -l" politdy saying iie(i·:':l·i
iud·flfo khyed-kyis mi-oii "It docs not sui t yo u 10 imitate me," and we fin r: a
rx-;Isant couple s.:cking t(l arJopt Ihe famous Mi-I;! wit h Ih.: wnrd.~ ikd·kyi JIIl-
d,H./ mdwd "Be our foster s{)n~" Wht:n Mi-la descrihcs how h.: ,I/lt! M;r: ·pa·s
wife carried out 11 rJeception, hI! switches frum iI first persoll hOl1nrific
rJeterminer to a firs t person unm;u·k.:d lktl!rminl!r as .~o()n as he become.\ the
snle ac tnt-iied gliis·l..yis J:ms hYfI.I"-lIfIJ. ilU.f pft}'e-sK)'e lJhwl du-mrH!i).!·"i kll(lr
PIiRASES 209

dpN.fha-dan tJ/uu phran.tshegs yod.pa sbrags "We (ned) counseled toge ther,
and then J (na) piled the few books and possessions I had on lop of several
small sacks of 00ur.'·14

3. 1.1.1.1.1.1.1.3. SPEAKlNG ROlES Personal determiners occur almost

exclusively with nominals whose referents are human-thus, In the old texts,
mi Icl!yod "you the man," rna na " I the mother," but nOl, for example, ?rd.o
kJw "he the rock." Nonpersonal determiners, on the OIher hand. occur with
nominals of any sort: bzan .po de can mean either "that virtue" or "that
virtuous one," while bzaii.po khoii can only mean "he the virtuuus one."

One way of looking at personal determiners is as specifying the preceding

nominal in terms of its SPEAKI NG ROLL: in the discourse: a first person
determiner would me~n "TIlE PERSON "'"OW SPEAKING," a second person
determiner "TIlE PERSON NOW .... DDRFSSED," and a third person determiner
''TIlE PERSON NOW NemlER SPEAKIN G NOR .... DDRESSED." The identities of the
spea~r and addressee are, of course, often 01.0 INFORMATION to the
participants in a conversation, and thus quite often omi ued-for example, na
iiu ''The person now speaking, whose identity you know. weeps/I weep,"
Ichyud iiu "The person 1 now address, whose identity you know, weepsfYou
are weeping."

Especially where this telegraphic ellipsis <l\;curs, we can see how convenient
it is to TRANSL\TE such personal determiners as English pronouns; but then:
are still significant differences betweerl the two forms. Persona] determiners
in Tibetan are sim ply determiners that delimit or pick out a nominal in a
particular way-in terms of speaking role, according to the description offered
here-and behave syntactically just like other determiners. For example, a
personal determiner ca n specify the speaking role even of a complex nominal,
as when Mj·la speaks of pha mtshan·ldan bfa·ma kiron "'he my father .he
excellent lama," or when Mar-pa shouts at a disciple nlog,slon 1!IrO$·rdor zer·
bai ma·bl.fo/·ba byed·mkhan khyod "you who do what you are nOi supposed
to do named Riiog,slOn t!hos·rdor!" Further, personal determiners occur
much less frequently than English pronouns in any given running length of

I. Then I,ain, the IInmarked penonal dcc ermi ne r k~yod ')'ou" may be used 10 eJprCS$
intim~ wilh respect 10 an Ol\w:...... js.e superior addressee, as .... hen Mi·pnam, in I lilUrgy
Iddrased <0 tile Buddha ~~kyamuni, writes liil·dtJii dus Ndir ril1 · 'lh~11 mam.gJl.lm.g)"i. snaii .ba
dIi.silfil K1{YOl)·}';yi .vphrin·/us·ilid " In this world and age, m thc CXlcnl the Three Jewets
a ppur, it is JUSt TIIY doin&-"
210 THE Ct..AssICAt TIBETAN LANGUAGE

text: classical Tibetan tends to rely on ellipsiJ rather than on pronominaliza·

tion as a device for back-reference, sc that personal det~rminers are to a
large extent restricted to dialogue or correspondence, where it is important
tenuaJIy to keep track of who is saying what to whom.

3.1.1.1.1.1:1.1.4. IIUMIUFlCS In classical Tibetan we not infrequenrJy find a

nominal--such as a term of endearment, title of respect, or professional title-
used with a personal determiner where in English we would expect either a
pronoun or title bUI not both. For example, Ru-tJhun-pa addresses his
master Mi-Ia with the words RDU·BTSUN RlN-PO-nHE KHYEc>kyis gsuii-du g:sol
"I pray that YOU lliE PRECIOUS REVEREND speak," and Mar-pa's wife speaks
of her husband to Mi-la with the words BU-MA KHOR nas rgya-gar-nas blaiis-
pai dlros Ndi-nl4ms setru-fIan-la phall-du rNlas blaiis-pa yin gsun. "HE THE
lAMA says, These teaChings I brought from India were brought hoping to
benefit sentient creatures." Less respectful terms ate also often found in this
construction: when Mi-Ia is about to die, his disciple Ras~tJhun-pa is puzzled
at the celestial portents. ard several goddesses rebuke him, saying SKYES-BU
K1fYO~kyu mig-daii nla-ba bleag-llas sdod-pa yin-llam "Have YOU FELLOW been
standing around blocking up your eyes and ears?"

Sometimes, too, such nominals are used without personal determiners: fs>r
example, Ras-t~huii-pa speaks directly to Mi-Ia with the words RDtE-BTSVN-
gyis tllOg-mar dku-V'Yod-doii sgruh-pa gmlS goii-du mdlad "In what plal!e did
'nlE REVEREND first practice austerity and meditation?" and, similarly, Mi-Ia
is asked by some shepherd hays RlA-IllA-lo blugs-grogs med-pa lags-sam "Has
TILE I..NA A no companion'!" Hert! too we nOl infrequently find kinship terms,
as when Mar-pa asks /IV mlllOi'j·iium yid 1111~s-s~m "Did MY SON see? do you
believe?" o r when Ras-t~hun-pa dreams that a goddess takes his hand and
says to him n/H-/lO-S go-bar Ndug " My NEPIIEW understands_to

Simila rl y. nomina Is with humh1e or deprecatory connotations are found to

occur with-or inste:ld uf-first person determiners: here we find such
expressions ,IS iiull -bu "mise rahle fellow," plrrall "lowly person," mi-rgan "old
man:' .fprml-po "heggar," gUs-II/ruii "one of little (aith," nanu-t1lluii "destitute
nne:: gus ....bmls "faithful suhject," NbailS .t.fliuii -iiu " lowly subject," zag-pllun.
"miscrahlt: lump." Such nomiOllls we may conveniently cal1 HUMllIncs (in
contrast to liOI'lOlUncs). For example, in the work of Gtsan-smyon he-ru-ka,
we find a black magician saying MI-RGAN !lAoS mtllu:gtad-su gswn-lig-Ia las
byas " I 1111; OLD MAN have worked in magic, curses, and hai!storms," while
Mi·!a sings. in one of 'he songs anthologized over his name. sPRAR-PQ-i slcyid-
PHRASES 211

sdug kllyed-ran Ies "You know 1lilS Dl:GGAR'S happiness and sorrow," and, in
the ancient siories found among the Central Asian manuscripts. we find RAN-
BU ni bros-d~ rntIhis-so "TillS MISERAHLE ""LLOW ran away and came_"

Such humilifics are often found in correspondence: the Tibetan epistolary

style delights in such nowery locutions as the following, in a Jetter 10 the
Dalai Lama:

skyobs-rngon tIh~n-poi thugs-roles gan-gi blca-drin-lD rtog-tu

spyod-pai NBANS rSUN-NU 80AG /:yon gsar-slad rigs-rned tsam-nas
labs-Ndegs-Ia lhag-bsom-gyi spoils-po Ndegs-btin-par gnas lags

By your compassion, great lord protector, to whose grace

YOUR LOWLY SllIlJECT ev!!r have recours!!, I remain without new
corruption daring to hope that I may serve you.

Even in a rdatively informal leiter such as the following we find the humilific
phrall " 'owly person" where in English we would find a personal pronoun:

Ngyur-bo med-pai yid-gtJugs /dOIl-pa tIe-khae lags-ky; druii-du,

khyed-kyi gsuiis-hris ",blOr-bas fltRAN-daii PIlRAN.gyi zlo-bo K'iis
dga-spro dpag-IU med-pa skyes byuii

To the honorable presence of our unwaveringly beloved Jack:

Receipt of your honored leiter has made 1111S LOWLY PERSON
and 1111S LOWLY !,ERSON'S wife both immeasurably happy.

Something of this humilific style may occasionally be encountered in didactic

prose as well, as when a philosophical writer says BLUN-PO BlJAG-gi nnoiis-
IS/wd Iiar-IIO ''In the ignorant opinion of nils fQOLlSII PERSON ME ... " or
when even a grammarian can write 8WN-1'O RDAG IlAR-gi Nthad-pa /Jar-no "In
MY· OWN FOOUSH PERSON'S belief , . ,"

The classical texts contain some interesling humilifics. In Ihe epic of Ge-sar
we find that a heroine will speak of herself as ser-rno "finger" and ,fetl-rna
"fingernail," both perhaps in the sense of "appendage, dependent."
Interestingly, some humilifies appear 10 have the OLDER REI .....TIVE I'OR MA11VE
7a- prefixed to them: for example, we' find 7o-ur-mo "old finger" alongside
ser-rno "finger," The common expression 7a-bo-7a-pllo is a n affectionate
212 TilE CI.A£SICAt TrUl;TAN lANGIJAGI'

prefIX 10 the names and epilh';!ts of lay persOIlS, as in 7a-bo mrJIII-IIJz(!1Z

" Friend Magician," This term too is found as a humilific, as in 7a·bo iia "th is
o ld fellow,"

3.1.1.1.1.I.1.2.S. FROM IIUMIIJnC TO PI-]tSONAI.urITERMINF.R We can see

that a humilific such as pilTon "lowly person" can lose much of its deprecatory
connotation and behave SEMANTICALLY very much like an elegant first person
dClerminer-lhus, for example,phrulI·,'O'i z?a.bo " this lowly person's wife .... my
wife," Indeed, it seems that some humilifics have come, at various limes, W
behave SYNTACTlCAl.I.Y as personal determiners as well. For example, in an
archaic mythological text from Central Asia, we find the humilific iian·hu
" miserable fenow"-for example, in NAN-RU ni bms-de ml.fhis-so "Tills
MISERADLE FE LLOW ran away and came" and NAN-flU phu-yab-ky; mlsllUtI Ilf/ii-
de me-bJuu "Tills MIS EKAIILE ll;u .Ow's honorable falher's name is Lion·de
me-bkru." This humilific is then pluralized with the personal determiner
plural -tIug in the expression MYI .vAN·IIag SIJU/I gsum " WE M1S!;}I.AIII.I '
FE.LI.OWS, three brothers .. ." More recently, the term nos "side, direction"
(as in FJos-ky; zlu-bo "TillS SIDE'S wife - my wife") is found in the plural form
nos-tIug "wc"; the pn:scnt Dalai Lama, we may add, has written an
autobiography entitled iios-kyi yul-dtlii jios-kyj m;-moii "My land and My
People." In the case of /iclII-bu "mist:rablt: fellow" in the t:arly period and of
nos "side" in the l.ner pcri(xl, a humillfic has come to behave syntactically as
we ll as semantically as a first person determiner. It is tempting to st:e in such
elegant determiners as bdag a similOlr history. with a similar intermediate
phase of use as a humilific bdag "self."

3.1_1_1.1.1.1.2.6. SI-:X-MARKl-:n .. ERSONA \. n ETI-:R:\f)IIiERS Alongside na " I"

even in the earliest archaic Central Asian texts we find the term klio-bo used
with a first person rderence, as in Iu II; klra·bos Htshal-do "As for the meat,
I ate 11." The term persists through the classical language as a personal
determiner: we find such terms l iS mi kllO-bo "] the man" as wt:11 all the
plural form 1<11O-bo-IIog " we." Ye t we also find such syntactiC anomalies as
kho·bo na, suggesting that the term still retained. for somt: writers. a Oa'lor
of its presumably nomi nal origin, perhaps as a humi1ific rdated to the form
khyo "person, man." In the classical texts, too, at least as C!arly as in the
ninth-century translatio n of the Mdzuiir-blull tes byu-bai mdv from its Chinese
original, there appears the innovative form kho-rno as the feminine equivalent
of the earlier term; by the fourteenth century the first person semantic field
had enlarged to include k"o-bo as a first person masculine de te rmine r, used
by a male speaker to rder to himself, and klto·m o as a first person feminine
PIiRASES 213

determiner, similarly used by a female speaker. Note the similarly sex-marked.

derivatives khyo-ba "husband" and khyo-rna "wife" from kllyo "person, man."

In classical texts influenced by Middle Tibetan the same process seems to be

repealed with the noun rna "woman, female," which begins to function as a
third person feminine determiner: for example, in tho:: biography of Mi-la ras-
pa we find such phrases as rno-tgon mo "she the old mother," and such pro-
positions as bu-mo de-Io IJlled-gner-gjis bskul-bo.~, M(l-s dun.-rdog bdun plml
"They earnestly urged the girl, so SHE offered me seven small shells." Given
such usage, we find the third-person semantic field shifting to accommodate
the new term: the previo usly unmarked fo rm kho begins to be read as a
third person masculine determiner. We <:an schemati7.e the resulting pattern
of sex-specific determiners as follows:

PERSON UN MARKED MASCULINE 1-"EMIN1NE

1 na kho·bo kllO-rno
2 kllyod
3 kilo rno

3.1.1.1.1.1.1.2_7. PERSONAL Ot.."'~:RMINER TAILS Occasionally in more

colloquial registers we find a personal determiner preceding rather than
following the nominal head it delimits-for example, iied spun gsurn "we three
brothers," Ichyed grwo-pa-moms "you monb," klt{)/l grogs-po·mams "they my
friends." We may perhaps best consider such constructions to be parentheti-
cal idemifications of a personal determiner for purposes of clarification or
emphasis: .the nominal following the determiner is ;n the nature of an
afterthought or TAIL This analysis would seem to be supported hy the fact
that in such constructions the persona l determiner and· the nominal may
occasionally be quantified separately-for example-, bdog-IJog IS/lOii-po-moms
"we merchants," kho-mo-I!ag spun 8'iis "we two sisters." Thus we find an
ancestor of Mi-Ia shouting na khyuii-po dIo-sros OIl-gin yod-do "It is I-Khyuii-
po dfo..sras-who is coming!" and his mother crying out no myaii-tsho dkar-
'XYon-lo do-lan·los nams dgo-bo le-yoii llos-doii "Just see whether I-Myan-
ISha dkar.rgyan-will ever feel happier than now!" And, in a song to his
sister, Mi-Ia sings no; spyod-pa-lo bllas·no smyon·pa Ndra, khyod sriii-mos b/las-
kyill yi-mug skye "If you look at my behavior it is like a madman; you my
sistedook upon it and despair."
214 TilE CtAssICAL TIBETAN l...ANOUAGE

3.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.8. 111£ ARCIIAIC DETERMINER 0-" We can here take note of

an archaic determiner 0-14 with a ""ide variety of written reflcltes. When
pluralized with -tfag it appears to be a first person determiner: we find 0-
tJag-u-tJag-a-tIag-u-bu-tJag-yu-bu-tIag-yu-tJag ''we,'' as well as the forms
Q-skol-u-slwl '"we," persisting from the earliest Central Asian manuscripts
well into the nineteenth ccmury. In the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa. for
example, we find the forms Q-skol (as in Q-skol-/o g.yu Ndi go-nas byuii "Where
did we get this turquoise from?"), a-tIag (as in o-tIag bios ma-thom-pa min
"It's not that he didn't forsake us"), and u-tJag (as in lcJwij·tshoi mJhu-daii u-
tJag-gi nUhu mj·Ndrao "Our magic is not the same 81 their magic"). Such
forms arc particularly liable to textual variation: for example, one occurrence
is given as o-lJog by three blockprints of the Mi-Ia, but as u-tJag by the
fourth. iS

3.1.1.1.1.1.1. Indefinite detenniners

Definite determiners specify the scope of rdeTence of the preceding 'nominal

as extending to certain determinate members of the denominated set;
INDEANI11! determiners specify that scope as extending potentially to every
"member of that set. For example, in mi no "I the man," the definite
determiner no "1"limi15 the reference of the nominal mi "man" to the person
then speaking; but in mi goii "some man, any man," the indefinite determiner
gaii "some, any" specifies that the reference extends potentially to any
member of the set denominated by mi "man"-thus, for example, "in the
chronicle Rgya{·rabs gsol-boi mt-Ioii, suiir-rgyos GAN-gis kyoii n11l-btJogs-pa "not
trodden by ANY Buddha."

There are four \indefinite determiners in Tibetan---goii "'NDEFlNITE NOMINAli

any, some, whatever," tIi "'NDEFlNITE NONANI"u,wany, some, whatever,".ru
"INDEflNrIE HUMAN BEINo/any, some, whoever," nom "'NDEflNITE nME/any,
some, whenever." As the definitions indicate, these determiners occur only
with"certain types of nominal. The most general indefinite determiner is gon

IS It is 1'101 ,I .11 ~r whelher Ihis pcrson..1 dclerminer is lbe same as the ok!
determiner 0 "Ihllt" preserved in sicreotyped ronncctNc$---o-na-m ~jn IlllIt _ well, now,
but," on-k)'aJI "CYen in thai .... nevcnheless," Ott·lt '"belnl in IMI .... on Inc other !uloo." It is
perhaps Ihls lauer determiner whkh is 10 be compared wilh 0.lcpanI1\lw-1Ow, Garo-.
BurmtSC llui, Dhimal II --thai." .
PlUlASES 215

''whatever,'' which can act as specifier of any type of head;" but tIi "what-
ever" occurs only with nominals that have nonanimate referents, su "who-
ever" only ,!"ith those that have human referents, and nom "whenever" only
with those that refer generally or specifically to a period of time.

Q!4eJ pivot, j'enrends,. dam ees

umtTasteJ, J l'intelJigibiJiti? iJ
faut une gUllranrie-
La SynlfUt.

- Stephane Mallarme
Le MYSfere dOlls les leftres

These four forms actually perform three different chores in the Tibetan
language. First, as we have said, they can specify that the reference of a
preceding nominal extends potentially to any ~ember of the se~ that nominal
denominates, as in mi gaii bsad'lIa "Jf one has killed any man ... " Second,
they can serve as dummy role particle carriers in a relative construction, as
in mi gaii bsod.pa "The man whom one has killed ... " And, third, they can
mark the queried participant in an information question, as in mi gun bsad
"What man was killed?"

These three uses are not as easily confused as might at first appear. It is true
thai the sequence skye-bo gan by itself does not give us enough information
to tell which function the gan is performing. But, as these examples show,
there is seldom confusion when the sequence occurs in the context of
particular syntactic construct ions-thus skye-bo gaii -gis saiis-'X)'Os mlhan-na "If/
when SOME PERSON sees the Buddha . . ." skye-bo gaii-gir saiis-tg)'as mtllOii-ha
"the PERSON WHO sees the Buddha," skye-bo gan-gis saiis-fKYO.S mlhoii "Wl tAT
PERSON sees the Buddha?" The last {\to'O uses-relative and interrogative-will
be discussed in the appropriate sections later in this text.

16 The rorm pil is sometimes reduced to p. berore Ihe Iotll$ .nd achoerb panicles-ror
eumple. in the Tibetan .translation of the KmmaJDIDkil, bdom-IdDIr-MIDs G,4./iJ blugJ-lt,
bdag-IQ dgoi'u.lig.p MCouid Ihe Blessed O ne be dwcllin& SOMEWUEAE and Ihinkin& of me?"
216 TilE CLASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAG E

J.J .J.}.J ./.2.1. IItadhss indRfiniUs

Often it is perfectly clear from context or general knowledge what the

nominal head of an indefinite determiner is supposed to be; in such a case,
of course, the nominal head can be telegraphically omined, leaving a
HEADLESS Il'IDEflNITF... For example, in khyod slior su-la yan gsol-ba rna-blah-
bam "Haven't you previously sent an invitation to ANYONE?" the determiner
su "'NDEf1NITE !lUMAN IlEiNG" is processed as the specifier of an omitted
nominal head such as mi "person"-Ihus "Haven't you previously sent an
invitation to someJany/whoever (person)?:' In this example, 100, the fact that
the referent of the- omitted nominal is to human beings-or gods o r spirits or
demons, who are syntactically human-is given hy the determiner su, which
specifies only such human nominals. t7

Headless indefinite constructions are not uncommon, and are Ihe means by
which didactic authors make sweeping generalizations. For example, in the
Legs-par bJad-po rin-po·t/hei gter by Sa-skya pa~~ita, we read sems-lIan mas-
po sna-tsJiogs-pas, thoms-t!od mgu-bar su-s kyan dka "The pleasures of
sentient creatures are varied, so it is hard for ANYONE to please them all,"
GAR-lig phun-sum-tsllOgs Ndod-no, de-yis Ndu-NgOd maii-du bya "If ANYONE
desires excellence, he should mingle much with others," WlN-la blo-gros mi-
Idon-na, bs(an-blIos legs-kyan sU-lig len " If SOMEONE ;s without intelligence,
though a teaching be good, who accepts it?" Note, DS ;n these examples, that
indefinite determiners frequently co-occur with the selector -tiig and the
connective yan-thus su yan "anyone at all," gaii-lig "someone," nam yan
"whenever."

3.1.1.1.1.1.2.2. Inthfiniu advtrbs

The formative dli--which is apparently related 10 the indefinite determiner

l.f~
but is not the same-yields a special class of indefinite determiners which
we will here call tNDEJ-1N1TE A.OVERIlS. t8 These are adverbs primarily or

11 And note the followin, cumpte, from an artliai~ CCntral Asian m:lli l.lS(:ript-uii-MI
g'.lig-Ia gllig dmag drali'Jle, rrJ'NgQ SU·j rgyn( Tts'Hga SU·j pham ·har oij·ijo "Then they tell
armies one against the Olber, and it came 10 be thaI somcl imes 0 ,"10 OF ·ntEM/WIIOI,VEII.
woul<.l be victOfio\lS, and somctimes ONE OF TH EMfWllorlVEII. WOU lu be dcfealed."

18 Although tlie5C inacfinilc adverbs arc normally formc4 with Lhc dJ.i· prefi~. we
PHRASES 217

manner and extent,19 which most frequently utilize the IOwlizers siied "no
less than," lSam "as much as," srid "as long as," and the si mile-creating -blill
" like, as," -Ita--Ita-hu--lla -ba "like, as"-thus, for example, dlj-lta-r "IN-
DEFlNIll! MANNER/in whatever way, however," dti-srid-du "INDH1Nlll'. Exn:NT/
to whatever extent, however lo ng," Sinn: inddinite adverbs are distinctively
marked with the dli- pn:flX, the adverh particle -1U is redundant, and is,
accordingly, not infrequently omitted, espccia!ly under the constraints of
meter.

Note the following from the' Legs-pcr bJad-pa rill .po-t!/lei gter hy Sa-skya
pat;tQita-dli-srid rail-stobs ma.rdzogs-TIO, de-yi bar-du dgra-mamr bkur
"However long it takes to pcrfect one's own slTenglh, during that interval one
honors one's enemies," rUIII-pa db-Ita, bt$()s gyur.yall, raJI·blin bzail-po NhYllI1
mi·srid "However one may correct an evil person, it is impossible for him to
have a good nature," Nbab-tshu db-Itar hzloK gyur-kyail, Ihur-du Nbab·pa kho-
nar Ndod "Any way you dam up a river, it still wants nothing hUI 10 flow
downward," Sometimes an indefinite adverb of manner may as plausihly be
read as an adverb of extent- for example, again from Sa-skya pat;tQita, dam-
pa dlj·/tar rgud gyur.kyail, sdig-dail Ndrn'-fX4; zal' mi-za "However impoverished
a holy person becomes, he does not e:H food that is mi>.ed wilh sin," ,J/Ul n;
db-ltar skol gyur-kyQJ1, mc-rn ,..har-ha mi-srid-do "However long yo u boil water,
it still won't catch on fire," mkha.~-pa db-ltar rhabs brdugs·kyaii, hlull-po
Ndlug-pai lam mj'Ngro "Huwever much a wise man may be witho ut means.
he still will not go on the path taken by fools.,,20

someti mes find IIi substituted sporadically in some manuscripts: si milar t<lrm~ wilh gnii _ sueh
as gnil·blin·du_are also occasional1)' tuuntl.

1'1 This is presumably what the Tibetan grdmmalians 3re re(erring 10 when th.:y say d~ ·
dail sshad·g1.al-bD·la dli Ihob "The form dli olllain~ fm manner amI exten!." Aw,.3I1y. liIe
lerm d~ mc.3ns "example. si mile," bUI here clcottly rcfc ~ 10 the ~i m i lc·[fea1ing ·hlm and
,'ta, which, wiLh the dl;- prerLX, yield imkfinite atJvcrbs uf manner. The glamnm rian~
con tinue, by saying dCHI·la I!; Ihob '"The form IIi obtains for the th ing itself," which, i: :
understand it correctly, W(Il1ld seem 10 compo rl with the analysis given he re.

20 The prerlll dli. also 00:1115 more or ICM sporatJic.ally wi th terms ot her than Ihcs~ (,
indeed. it seems to be able 10 make ~n indefinite adverb or manner or eXLent OUI nf :' "
aboul anything. NUle, for e.l.1mplc, skad "spo.,<=c h, wurli.\" dli·sknd du "in whatcvcr I"(W'
hnwevcr it is said," I-F.C$ ""oc goo.r dlUtgs·,tu "however may be g(lo<,l"-Ihus. (rum a i'"
of archaic Ce nHal A~ian manuscripl currc.~pomk nce, dh i Itgsu nltUnd·par snr<Jl1 ·/Jhiii no l; '
"1 pray that yuu do as yuu l hi nk hc~t , " An at!\'c ft>. in lhi~ oon[e ~[ . i~ lit)! necessarily li nlt
218 Tile ClASSICAL TmETAN l...ANOUAGE

3./.1 .1.1.2. REFLEXIVES

A DEHNlle determiner-but apparently nOI an indefinite determiner-can ~

followed by either of two REFLEXIVES-ran "'SELF, same" and nid "-SELF,
same." These renexives specify Ihe scope of the nominal as limited 10 an
entity or sct of entities already stated or implied in the preceding text 21 -for
example, in the Tibetan translation of the Chinese Mdzafu-blun lts-bya·boi
milo. mi de ni 'KY0l-po ijid yin "Thai man is the KING I IlMSEl.l't lltAT SAME
KING," and, in the LAgs-par bIad-po rin-po-t!hei gter by Sa-skya pa~q i ta. wo -
skyes rgya/-po' bskos-pa -yis, Nkhor sdug ran yan bsad des grogs "It is a well·
known story that the EVIL A1TENDANTS were tormented by the fox they had
made the ir king and ll-lEY TIlEMSELVEstlll OSE SAME ONES kilkd him," blun-po
rafi-daii mtJul/I-pa.r dga "A FOOL is pleased by one who is like lIlMSELF."

This limitat ion may be simply to the immediately preceding nominal itself-
for example, again from Sa-skya pal)l!ita, rla -Ia rgyan-du byas-pa de, bdag-po
iiid·JIJ m;·mdus·sam " Is nOI what is done as an ornament 10 Ihe ho rse
becoming to the MASTER mMSELF?" 7$al-po iiifl·kyis ma-brrsis'lla, thams·dad
Ip.s-paan bkur mi'Ng)'ur "If he is not so accounted by the lUNG IilMSEl.I', even
o ne who is omniscient gets no respect," mkhas-pa ruii-gis Sf1}vd Ic.~-ky~ blun-
po grugs-poi rdles-su Nbruii "The WISE TIIEMSELVES know how 10 act, but the
foolis h follow what they hear."

The difference between the two renexives seems to be this: the renexive iiUl
occurs with nominals denoting-any type of e ntity- thus both, say, '1.O'ul.po nUl
"that same king, the king himself' and'dus de nUl "that same time"; but the
renexive ran occurs only with nominals denoting animate entities-thus rgyal.
po rail "'hat same king, the king himself' but not '!dw de roii. Whether for
that reason or not, it also seems to be the case that the reOexive ran is much
more likely Ihan Ilid to be found in headless constructions.::2

10 rorms $pct:in(;!.lly .... illl Ihe adverb p;!.rtielc, bUI ap('"IrcRl ly can include othe r p3r1ieip<lnl
rnlC$ runnioni ng scmantically to t~prw 1!'Ie manner or extenl of the event-thus, rOr
el\.3mple, NUS "be: able"' dlj,"lIs·k)u "10 Ihe uteRI one is able. tIowever o ne ean."

~1 The same sp«ification is oceasionall)' malic .... ilh the formative ·/w "SAME." as in blo·
mo /h-/w "Ihal wome lama," mar-po ur-ba dr _lui "Ihat S<l me ORC nameo.l Mar-pa." IIMJ'/w
"the ume teac hing,"

22 The derived form ran·ilUi "Cl" ESELI''' occurs, as (ar as I ean lell, eJlelusivcly in $uch
headla$ ('.OlISlruclions. The form is nOI a nominal-we do nol lind, for eumple, '!roll-nUi
PHRASES 219

Such headless constructions with raii are found where the head of the
reflexive is recoverable as referring to people in general, or to the addressee
-thus. from Sa-skya pa04ita, raii.giJ nan-spyod mo-byas;na. b~·byin-gyis
kyaii smod mi·nw "If ONE does not do bad things ONESElF, even the King of
the Gods cannot slander one," raii-/Q blo-gros mi-kum-na, blo-lIMn glan·1o
lqr-par dris "If YOU do not YOURSElF have understanding, thoroughly
question another who is wise," glan"9u tJuii·zad gtsa·pai ISM. raii·/Q bsam-pa
IIi Nbyung soms "Think of the thoughts which arise in YOURSElF when
another has harmed you even a little," ron-gis legs·par .fa-no yan, bya-ba
thanu-tJad gros-kyis sgrubs "Even though YOU YOURSElF know it well,
accomplish all your deeds with counse~" raii-Ia dgos·pai bstan-btfos-mams, ;U-
mo re-Ia tshig"i zuiis "Each day learn one line from the treatises that are
useful to YOURSELF," raij·gi yon·tan letS gnas·pa. skye-bo dIlm.pai IP1uhan·ifid
yin ''To abide well in ONE'S OWN vinues is the sign of a holy person," bs/w·
rrHu Icho-bo draij·no Its, raii·1a bstod·pa.s tIi·lig phan "What's the use of
praising ONESELF, saying ' I a m honest,' after one has been fooled?"

We also find such headless constructions in reflexive adnominal possessives,

where the head of the reflexive; is recoverable from the preceding text-for
example,in the Pad-rna thaii-rig. Ml de·s RAR.gi mo yin-par rig "The MAN
perceived that it was illS OWN mother," in the Tibetan translation of the
M4zoiis·bhul Ia bya-ba; milo. tlHuR-1l,4 de-' RAR·gi lw·1a tIhags "That WIfE

de-and we QD probably consider II a Specialized reOedYe IMt OCCUB in4ependently of a

modll\cd DOmIru.L Note the followin& c:xampk::l from. Sa4kya p"94ila-~-bd pItyi__
bII«-bd-yi, twr·~ mJl.1fid let-po ...... N(SludylDI) is lite ONESELf" acuptlnl wullb wllidl is
ttltl'\lStcd for a future lite,w don mlI.&"'b-pai bbuI.po "Po raII-liid "'flIP-it IClIli-bD yod "Some
foob who ba\'C DOl aa:omplisbed their aim clKlte THEMSELVES and die," ~DII-lD 1uJ-/HU mit
yo4 .tyGA, raII.llid IuJ'M me·1oII dJOI MEYCD one who has eyes to see Ollie" needs • mirror
if lie is to see HIMSElF," p." dgra·ta ".00 .>God' 1Id, rd-liid )Ql-IM JdM-par b}'Il M lf)'Ou
wisb 10 barm an enemy,)'OIl should acquire 'lllIue YOURSELF,"

/NI./OfI lMg-mil dgra-boi Wd

kNims /WI-m4IrU-daI! ,ram·IiDII-daI!
rip-rgyud 1iDII-daI! Jpyod.&m-rJUUfU
mtI-spel-lKJrJDIt mIt-/fid ~I

The remainder of l debt, kfloYCr ellCmies,

bad laws, bad DeWS.
a bad family, .ad bad OOnclllCl
ThlEMSE1.VES increase., with DO one Incrusin& :hem..
220 TilE Cu.sSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAOE

is in love with HER OWN tody," and, in the Legs-par bIDd-po rin-ptrdhei gte,
by Sa-skya paQQita, MKHAS-PA-S byo-ba IIi byed kyon, RAR-gi brod-nams brtags-te
bya "TilE WISE should do what deeds Ihey do with regard to THEIR OWN
merit," MKHAS'PA RAR-gi yul-bas kyan, yuJ-klwms glan-du mLfhod-pa thob "The
WISE gel more respect in other countries than in lltElR OWN land," GtuR-RAN
gtan-gyi bka-drin-las, byuii-ba RAR-gi tJhe-bar bsgom "THE OBllJse view what
comes about Ihrough Ihe grace of others as 1llEIR OWN grealness.'U

3.1.1.1.2. QUANTIFIERS

A nominal-and its optional delimiters-may be followed by up to four QUAN-

-nflERS, which limit its reference by specifying 1I0W MANY entities the nominal
head refers 10.1A These quantifiers are NUMERAlS, which specify the ~Iumber
of enlilies referred to in the sel denoted by the nominal; PLURALS, which

II Such oollocalions or rllii "selr and gillll "other" are quite oommon both in Buddhist
philoso phy and in Tibeta n writing generally: nOle, for example, Sanskrit nraJak4(11)(l/
parololqaf.l/l Tibelan roii _gi muhon ,flidlgIan -g,; mIJMn-1fid "own<haracteristic/other-characl-
e ristie," Sa nskrit svafllnrrafpor(l/anfTtJ Tibetan rf1il4baJlIg!Ml4/Jaii "own _power.lOtber_power,"
Sanskrit svapolqa/ptJrrlpolqa Tibetan rllii -gi phyopfgtall -fji phyogs "own oontenlion/Olber'S
conlenl ion," Sa nskril SVlIIO '$iddha/an)'OlarlJ$iditha Tibetan rail _1l1 ma .grub.palglan -Ia ma grub-
pn "not prove n for oneself/not prove n for OIhe~, "

No te the fo llowing ve rses from Sa-skya pa1)qita, firsl conlrasting rail and gfall_s!cyrs_mlJhog
raii _gl- $kyoII -la 1/(1, skyt -bo nan -po gfall-licyon uhol '''The noble look upon their own faullS;
llie wicked s« k o Ullhe faullS or o the~." rail-dlN:lli thoms-lJtJd bdt·blNlt, gflln-dbailthams-
IJ,uJ sdug-bsiial yin " Everyone is happy who has power over himself; everyone sufJe~ who
is in Ihe rower of Olhers," raii -don NbtJd-pas sgrub lidod-na, dt-yis tJaii-fKX FMI-don sgrub " If
onc wishes to strive and th us accompl is h o ne's aims, one sho uld first ao;:omplish the aims
of 0 1hers"; and Ihc n groupin g raii and p an togelher-blun-po /Vbyof'-bar ~-UM)'Ilii, m od-
pa k!;a-nu) raii-gIall blUg " A foo l, even when he has become rich, consumes himself and
OIh<: Tli wit h nmilin g bll t qua rrels," dam ,po duJ-bQ.J ran -pall sk)'o ii, iian -po rt1l.s-pas ran -pan
sdul: "TlIe holy protCC t Ihermclvcs and olhen wilh soflness: the wicked lorment tbemsclvai
and OI hers ""'Ih ha!dllcs.,," 1;'las'min ha-rJaii drllli -po-yaii. rail -pml sfli.r·/(.a /Nll1g-pa yod
"1110 u8h lie be q ui le upright , in Ihe wrong circumstances he will des troy both hirnKlf ind
o thers,"

Z-l Since lh.,sc q uantifie rs occur after ;'I dele rminer. we can distinguish them fro m $lIcll
fjuant l{yiilf, ,..,1),IJ'CflVt'$ as mail-po "ma ny;· du-ma "several," I<'8ll ''some,'· ma-/us -pn ''wilho ut
nccp tio,," w:tir h a rc f(lund before a deter millel- for ex.amplc, mi mail-po dt "those many
I1l<,: n," MiI -"''' ",,,_/us_po N<1i "ev<:1)' single one of th ese lam a~."
PHJV.SES 221

specify whether there is more than one entity referred to in the set denoted
by the nominal; TOTALIZERS, which specify the relation of the entities denoted
to some reference size or number; and SELF.CfORS, which 5{Kcify the range
of entities referred to in the set denoted by the nominal. Where quantifiers
occur, they occur in the order NUMERAL-PlURAL-TOTALIZER-SELECrOk; and,
as a general rule, each of these four slots can be filled by only onc member
at a time.:U

3.1.1.1.2.1. NUMERALS

Immediately following the delimiters-and before any further quantifiers-

there may occur a NUMERAL. such as gtJig "onc," gllis "two," gsum "three,"
and so on, which specifies the NUMBER of entities in the set designated by the
nominal-thus mi gnis "two men," mi d~ gnu "those two men," mi pha·gi /ria
"the five men over there.,,}4

3.1.1.1.2.1.1. From ODt to Ilintly-Diot

The Tibetan ltumerals are as follows-gtJig "one," gnu "two," g:rum "three,"
bI; "four," "Ina "five," drug "six," bdun "seven," b'8)lad "eight," dgu "nine,"
btJu. "ten,"

The numbers from eleven to nineteen are formed on the pauern TEN-ONE,
TEN-NO, and so on-thus bIIu-gt!ig "eleven," btJu-gnis "twelve," bl!u-gsum
"thirteen," bLfu-bii "fourteen," btJo;fiia "fifteen," bl!u-drug "sixteen," btJu-

lS Remember 11\.1.[ quantifien; Ire omONAI.. oonsli[\lents of I nomina] phrase: unlike

EA&Jisb, eLusial Tibetan marks nominal phrases for quan tity only when there is good reason
to do so. In English 'We must s.ay either hi",,, o r lamas, either sinl-ular o r plural; in Tibetan
the tonn b4NI'Ul is simply UNtMRKED for quantity, and thus may mean eilher " lama" o r
~lamas"-pre5\1mably made dur from tile oonto.l. A phrase: $\ldl 11$ bl"·,,,a-dlig "MOII.£
ntAH ONE lam&/lamas"-wbieh is MARkEO tor qllan tity-will be used o nly when 511eh spedlll'
information is tell 10 be necesury for undentand in&-

u. An o.ceptionlo Ihe: word order rule (:81 occasionally be found where I nume ral is pan
of a oommon co!JocaIKn" and is fell 10 be pari of the nominal itseJr, rather Ihan I specifici
of the nomilUll-for example. pM·rot phyin.p4 dIllg i'di ~ lheK Six Perfections" as opposed
10 pM·rot p/1yU1_p4 1Idi drvg "theK six pc:rfeaions," rgytJ/.po bti tk "those FO\lr Kings" as
opposed 10 '1J'GI.po tk IJti "thO$( four kin"."
222 THE CLASSICAl. TIBETAN l...ANQUAGE

bdun "seventeen." blIo-brgyad "eighteen," bl!u-dgu "nineteen.,,:n

Multiples of ten from twenty to ninety are formed on the pattern nvo-TEN,
TIIREE-TEN, and so on-thus iii-Iu "twenty," sum-tIu "thirty," bfi·btJu "forty,"
liia-bLfu "fifty," drug-du "sixty," fHfun-tJu "seventy," brgyad-tJu "eighty," dgu-
btlu "nincty.,,211

The numbers from twenty to ninety-nine regularly use the syllable -nsQ to
separate tens from uniu-for example, iii-Iu-rtsa gtJig "twenty...Qne," iii-Iu-ma
gtlis "twenty-two." iii-Iu-nsa gsum "twenty-three," sum-tIu-rtsa bli "thirty-
(our," bdun-tIu-rtsa ma "seventy-five." dgu-btIu-rrsa dgu "ninety-nine."

3.1.1.1.1.1.1. Clipped Dumerals

Quite often the numerals from twenty-one to ninety-nine are found in

peculiarly CLIPPED forms. We find ner < iii·lu-nsa, and thw iier-gtJig
"twenty-one," ner.gtl" "twenty-two," ncr-gsum "twenty-three"; so < sum-du-
rtsa, and thus so-gtJig "thirty-one." sO-gliis "thirty-two," so-gsum "thirty-th!ee";
It! < bti-bLfu-ltSa, and thus It!-gtJig "forty-one"; no < liia-btIu-nsa, and thw
iia-gtJig "fifty-one"; rt! < drug-tIu -rtsa, and thus re-gtJig "sixty-one"; don <
bdun-tIu-rtsa, and thw don-gtJig "seventy-one"; gya < brgyad-tIu-rtsa, and
thus gyu-gtJig "eighty-one"; and go < dgu-btIu-rtsa, and thw go-bdun "ninety-
seven," go-brgyad "ninety-eighl," go-dgu "ninety-nine." These clipped numerals
are invariably the rorms used in numbering the rolios or a Tibetan book.

Such clipped numerals are also round, in classical texts influenced by Middle
Tibetan, instead or -rtsa to separate tens rrom units-ror example, swn-tIu-so
bdull instead or swn-tIu-/'UQ bdun "thirty-seven," bli-bt.fu-Ie drug instead of
bti·btIu-rtsa drug "forty-six," ma-btIu-iia liia instead of tno-btIu-nsa tno "fifty-

V NOlc lhal lhe HIGH 8AO: vowel II of ~t1u "tCII" becomes tile LOW BACK vowel 0 o(
blJo. when il is followed by the LOW BACK wwcl Q of the lIumcnll /ftQ "ftye" and brgyod
··cight." This chance b tbe only lonauc HEIGHT assimilation I bow of Ullhe IanJIUIgc..

211 II is remarUble 10 find ,fj.Ju "!wenl)'" instead of the apcctcd "IfJir-kJw, and nun-t1u
"thirty" instead of tbe apcctcd -,pum-btJu. Funhcr, the preinitlal b. of bIJu "teD" b ckletcd
aftcr prcoecllnl cIo5cd syllables bul rctained al'lcr preudilll Opel syllablcs-for cumple.WI-
tH!" " (ony" but dfug-dv "sIny" instead of ~g·btJu.. This foreshadows similar dulnp
throulhoul tbe k:ziooll III several New TIbetan dbJect.s; il is illtcreslilll thai these pbollO-
Iolial c .... np bepn In tbe nllmber systcm beforc $preadinl cl5cwhcre.
 223
five," drng-I!u-re bti instead of drng-/Ju-nsa bIi "sixty-four," bdUfI·tiu4011
gsum instead of bdwHJu-nsa gsum "se\'cnty-thn:e," brgyad-I!u-gya giiu instead
of brgyad-t!u-rtsa giiir "eighty-two," dgu-btJu-go gtiig instead of dgu-bLfu -rtSQ
gtlig "ninety-one." Only the twenties are exceptions: we find only ni-Iu-nsa
and not ?,jj·!u-ner. This usage is now standard in several New Tibetan
29
dialects.

3.1.1.1.2.1.3. Numerals as "Iedors

In some archaic manuscripts from Central Asia, the numeral dgu "nine" is
used as a selector in the sense of "MANY" or "ALL" (for example, gnod-dgu
"all harms," Iha-dgu "the many goos," dgra-dgu "all enemies"), a sense
preserved in later texts in the use of.Jgu "A1.L" as a nominaiizer, as in Ndod-
dgu "all that one desires." In the same texts we also find tlie "numeral gsum
"three" used as a selector in the sense of ""I.L" or "EVERY" both with
common nouns (for example, lim-sum "every day," g_yan-sum "all good
fortune") and with place names (for example, gtG/i-sum "all of Gtan," rgyal-
sum "the whole of Rgyal,"), a sense preserved in such seteotyped phrases of
the later texts as miioll-sum "wholly manifest" and phun-sum "completely
perfect." In Ihese laler texts too the numaal Nbum "hundred thousand" takes
on the sense previously held by dgu " nine," and we find expressions such as
gswi-Nbum "hundr:ed thousand sayings'" the complete works" and mgur-Nbum
" hundred Ihousand songs ..... the comrle1e poems."

3.U.I.2.1.4. -Large numbers

The Tibetans inherited from the Indians not only their decimal system-which
passed through Arab intermedia ries to Europe as well-but also a love of
very large numbers and specific names for mllOY of them.» Thus we find the

29 For cumplc. we find New Tibetan (Lhasa) SlIm/jll S:lSom (loHlilkb) SlImtlll S<1Jllm
<Jllm./lII·Jo pilI?! > "thirty·lhroe." (Lllasa) 011" CNicu (Lallakll) 'XY'l"Ju gyogu <brgyod-l1l1-
IO"l dgu > "cighty·nine." Thll~. too. we find New Tibcliln (Lhasa) !fiJ" fJQIcsom (Ladakb) !filII
rfSQks"m <!fi·J"·rfSfJ p .. m > "twcnty. tllrcc" bllt not (Lllasa) Uipdll fJllSOtn (Ladilkh) ?lib,l"
rfSfJks"m <bli·bd" ·rfSll p"m> "rorty·three."

JO II li as plillisibly been sugC$\cd th,lI the Ind ia n love of large numbers oorrclalC$ wilh
a n intense dislike for fractions: the relill ion! of large·scale cycles such as planetary align.
224 TilE CI.A$SICAL TJI)ETAN lANOUAGE

the following names for the numbers from one hundred to one quintilJion-
brgya "100." ston "1,000," khri "10,000," Nbum "100,000," sa-ya "1,000,000,"
bye-ba "10,000,000," duii·phyur"lOO,OOO,OOO," ther-Nbum "1,000,000,000," ther-
Nbum dilen-po "10,000,000,000," khrog.klm'g "100,000,000,000," khrag.kJuig
tIhett-po " 1,000,000,000,000," rab·bkram "10,000,000,000,000," rab·bkram
Lfhen-po "100,000,000,000,000," gtams ~ 1,000,000,000,000,000," gtams I!hen.po
"10,000,000,000,000,000," dkrigs "100,000,000;000,000,000." and dlaigs l!hen.po
"1,000,000,000,000,000,000." It should come as no surprise that these names
arc not used with complete consistency.

Multiples of these larger numbers arc formed, like the multiples of ten, on
the pattern ONE-HUNDRED, rwo-TIIOUSAND, nIREE-TEN-TI-lOUSAND. and so on
-thus tJllig-b'l!:Yo or brgya "one hundred," ;jj·brgya "two hundred," sum.brgya
" three hundred," bti·brgyu "four hundred," liia-brgya "five hundred"; tIllig-
sian or stem "one thousand," iii-stan "two thousand," sum-stan "three
thousand," btj-sloii "four thousand," Ina-ston "five thousand"; tJhig-khri or
khri "ten thousand," iii-khri "twenty thousand," brgyad-klm' "eighty thousand,"
dgu-khri "ninety thousand." Note the reduced forms tJhig·for gtIig "one," iii·
for gnu "two," and sum · for gsum "three"; the other numerals are prerlXed
in their full forms .

Combinations of these numerals are straightforward if certain principles are

borne in mind, The numbers from one to nineteen form a single unit over
against those fom twenty to ninety-nine, An omitted number slot-that is, a
zero-is optionally but frequently filled with the place marker -dan, except for
the last empty slot: thus we find, for example, iii-bQfYa-daii gi'iis "two hundred
and two" and btj·ston-daii /iia-btIu "four thousand and fifty" but bdun-b'8ya
dgu -btIu "seven hundred ninety,,,)1 And a number such as "twenty-two thou-
sand" is in Tibetan iii·kliri iii-stan "two ten-thousands two thousands" rathe r
than, as in English, ?ii j-Iu ·r1$a Kllis slOn_ Thus note the following-giiis "2,"
btJu·bli "14," dgu-btJu-r1$a bfi "(9 x 10) + 4 '" 94," brgya-D1R gtJig "(I x
100) + (0 X 10) + 1 '" 101," iij-brg}'Q bdun-tIu "(2 X 100) + (7 X 10) ... 0 '"

menu. woliid be: CJ:pr~ nOt as II proportion !lut rat her a5 the length of time required for
the cycle 10 reac h its ~ta rtin& point a nd. say. the alignment to recur.

l t In thi s regard nOle the atypical adjective rham 'fHl"full, round, ev.: n" (comp<ln: GTAM -
LTAM "be: rull~) which not on ly oecun afler numera~ bul occun exclusively aft er numerals--
Jnd o nly nume rals Ihat are .mult iples o f len; thus we find, ror example, bdw /n(lm -pa "len:'
'»grad·/lw rluJm ·pa "a round eighty," brto'a 11I(lm-pa "a full hundred,"
PIlRA'>ES 225
270," dgu-brgya dgu-b/Iu-nsa drug "(9 X 1(0) + (9 x 10) + 6 .. 996," bti-stoii
lii-brgya-OA.Fl brIo-Ilia "(4 x 1,000) + (2 X 1(0) + (0 X 10) + 15 ;; 4,215,"
drug-ston bdul1-brgyo dgu-btIu "(6 X 1,000) + (7 X 1(0) + (9 X 10) + 0 '"
6,790," dgtHtoii ni-brgya "(9 X 1,(00) + (2 X 1(0) + (0 X 10) + 0 "" 9,200,"
dgu-ston dgu-brgya dgu-b/Iu-rtsa bdun "(9 X 1,000) + (9 X 100) + (9 X 10) +
=
7 9,997," iii-kltri iii-ston bdUll-brgya dgu-bLIu "(2 X 10.000) + (2 X 1,000) +
(7 X 100) + (9 X 10) + 0 '" 22,790," sum-Ichri-DAiJ cbug-brgya bciun·t/u-nsa
=
gtIig "(3 X 10,em) + (0 X 1,000) + (6 X 1(0) + (7 X 10) + 1 30,671," sum-
khri bli-stoii-DAFl bLIu-gliis "(3 X 10,000) + (4 X 1,000) + (0 X 100) + (0 X 10)
+ 12"" 34,012_"

3.1.1.1.2.1.5. Fractions

Tibetan fractions are constructed regularly with the formative -Llha "part,"
related to tJIJa "pan, portion, share." Thus we find gsum-tJha "third part,"
bli-tJha "fourth part," so-piu-/Iha "thirty-second part," btXYa-/Iha "hundredth
part," stOtI-/Iha "thousandth part." Such resulting nouns may in tum be
quantified by a ·numeral-thus gsum-t1ha gtJig "one third," gsum-lJha gnu
"two thirds," bli-tIlla gsum "three fourths," brgyad-tJ/la liia "five eighths,"
brgya-tIha go-dgu "ninety-nine hundredths."

The only fraction not regularly formed by this process is phyed "half." An
interesting locution should here be noted_ On the one hand we find,
expectedly, such combinations a5 gsum-daii phyed "three and a half," but, on
the other hand, we find. with the fraction preceding the integer, such
combinations as pllyed-daii brgyad "with a half makes eight - seven and a
half."

We can here mention the interesting expression ya-gt!ig "ONE OF lWO TIIINGS
TItAT GO TOGETIIER IN A PAlR"-for eKample, fham ya-gtIig "one of a pair of
boou, an odd boot." The expression is o ld in Tibetan; in an archaic
manuscript -preserved in Central Asia we find fa -fa Islllg bdel/-po d~ IhOS-l1a
yan, ma-ba ya-gtIig-tu Illos-l1a, ma-ba ya-gtIig-lu phyun "Even if someone
heard that true word, it went in one ear and o ut the other." Similarly, in the
fad-ma Ihan-yig we read mig ya-g/jig lon-ba "blind in one eye"; in the
Tibetan translation of the Chinese MdzallS-bfuli tes-bya-bai mdo we find fag-
po ya-gtIig-tu gs~r rhogs, lag-po ya-gt/ig-tu bu-mo khrid "'n one hand he held
the gold, with the other hand he led his daughter."
226 Til E CI.ASSICAL TmETAN LANGUAG F.

3.1.1.1.2.1.6. Collectivt nfluns and adjectives

Tht': rormative -plvog "" SET OF" produces nouns from numerals-thus bLfu
"ten" btJu.pllrag "decad," brgya "hundred" brgya.pllrag "centad," ston
"thousand" ston-phrag "chiliad," bdun "seven" bdun-pllrag ·'week." Such nouns
may (hernsc\vC$ be quantiried by a numeral-thus brgya-pllrag gtJig "one
centad ..... 100," brgya-phrag K'iis "two centads ..... 200," brgya-phrag btl« "ten
centads ..... 1,000," ston-phrag bli·btJu "rorty chiliads ..... 40,000." While a
number such as ijj·khri ij;·ston "22,000" cannot be expressed as ?iier·giiis ston,
we might well find such an expn:ssion as slOii-phrag ner-giiis "twenty-two
chiliads ..... 22,000."

Such quantified collective nouns are sometimes used much as we usc:

multiplication-for example, liia-btJu-phrag bdwl "seven fifties -0. 7 X 50,"
bflu-drog-phrag 'lj-Ju -rrsa dgu "twenty-nine sixteens ... 29 X 16." More 'often,
however, they are used simply as elliptical expressions for numbers in
common use-thus dgu-pllrag I:iiis " two nines ..... )8," btIu-gliis-phrag gsum
" three dozen .... 36."

In addition, the formative -po (and, lor the numerals one through three, -ka)
produces collective adjectives from numerals-thus /plis,po-/plif-ka "the two.
both," gsum·po-gsum·ka " the three, all three," bdull-po " the seven," dgu -po
"the nine."

3.1.1.1.2.1.7.0nlinal$

Ordinal numbers are produced from numerals by the formative -po, as in

: Ii is-pa "second,"gsum-po "third," b[i-pa " fourth," l1er-gsum -pa "twenty-third,"
b'KYa-pa "hundredth." The only o rdinal nO! formed regularly by this process
is daii .po " first."

3.1.1.1.2.1.8. Distributives

The word n is sometimes found as a substitute (or gtlig "o ne"-for example,
kllyed-/a bu re dgos " You need a son," 1011 re 1011 8'lis "one or two times," 10
re fso m "just one year," roS·go.f rkyQl1 re "o ne lone colton robe." More
inte resti ngly, however, the: word functions as a SELECfOR, after numerals only,
 227

with the distnbutive meaning "each"-for example, mi liia-lo lug tna ff! yod
"The fIVe men have: five sheep each.'.ll

The distributive clCpression "gtJig r f! is invariably reduced 10 ff! "one each,"

8J in mj liia-lo lug fe yod ''The five men have one sheep each" (and not ?m;
1iiIl-1o Jug gtJig rr yod). as opposed, say. to mi liIo-lo lug gtJig yod "The five
men have one sheep collectively." Similarly, OOIC: such palterRS as mi Ina re-/o
lug n yod "Each five men have one sheep," mi fe·la Jug fiUJ re yod "Each man
has ~ sheep," mi re-ItJ lug re yod "Each man has one sheep" (and not ?m;
rt-lQ lug gtJig yod). Thus too we: find such sentences as mi res lug liia re bsad
"Each man hUed five five sheep" and "in n-Ia lug rf! gsod "He: kills a sheep
each day,"

In addition, beginning with the earliest archaic tcxts, we: find distributives
exprcssed by reduplication of the numeral-for example, in an administrative
memorandum from a Central Asian garrison commander, li-tJen-monu kyon
log-Jog rug re ItJog btJu-btJui than-ru rgyob tJhod-gyis tJhod-por gtJado "Also,
the officers will punish them by flogging at a rale of ten lashes for each roll
of paper,'.3l Hence in the later classical texu as well we encounter such
distnoutive patterns as mi re-la lug lna ·fijQ yod "Each man has five sheep,"

:n The disuibutive selector Tr "EACH should be distinguishw (rom the't < "'rtS in the
M

stercotype4 Clpressioa Tr·fig ~a liule while; ono: upon a time." In the archaic manuscripts
(rom Central Asll, this laller Clpressioll Ippea n 10 be wrinen C01l$istently as Tr·llg.
iodialtin, an orilin In an earlier fIOun·selector col1()Q1fion "rts.!ig "one turn, one: lime, some
time."1k un4erlying noun ru "time, tum, reby" is round, (or eumple, in an administrative
IACaIOraDdum frOI!l .11 oais prrison commanckr, saying tki rts·lo N·/ug .Mdj·nulr1u ~b
bWr-tli I'I)i-IVII " It II not proper to tend bKk Ibc$e coats .nd sheep in lurn"; o r, in the
nbc...." translation or the Chinese Mdl* ,WlII tts bya·ba; wrdo, da fItd bytd.pai rtJ·la /lab
"'NOW'it he rome 10 be our tum 10 an" From there it is a shon step to, ror eumple, ,t·lig
rt~ldwr-N mdID dgu iii ~-1141 babslt "At one: time, one time, the snow bad rallen
rro. lhe.ty lIiDe reet deep," found in a mythk: tat rrom the caves ~r Tun.huang: or, in
uotbet 'c:n, telliftJ tile stoty or two mythical borlQ, da rt.Jig·1ta rill ">'d'"'" rlIor·bA7a!.dDII
.t:hItJ-nM nnd-4Gr ,«iJ.1cyU, na·skad iii gMr·rsMr, nnd.,kad iii u/ln.u/ltr Ito "N"," at otIe
WAc die. )'Oullger brotber RkyillI.roll rr.og.btrl aM Kbug.ron IllUIn.4ar bolh saki, 1ft bone
lanpagc. uII6-uh6, III need language, u~·UIttr."

13 Paper - . or coune, I valuable IXImlOOdir:y on the Gentfll Aslin frolliler. 1M I

umber of lQtak)rllIda Ire ~tcd to the 1ubjea. This ten, ill PIn. describes whli. will
IIIppea 10 I JIUr.ptl ~quanemwt«M wOO does IIOt fin bls piper qllOta. The rcduplk:atioa
la Iof-JDf "pipet" Is Icdca):aDd not d"trib~tive 'The term /i./kA "offtoer M
Ippartntly a
"

Middle Chi_ toinword, from ·Iyi·ywen ".,...cfnmellt offldal" or I 5imibr term.

228 THE ~ICAL TiBETAN LANGUAGE

instead of mi re-Ia lug Ina re yod. Sometimes the distributive re is itself

reduplicated, as in the proverb mi re-re-/a bsam-pa n-re yod "Each man has
his own thoughtffhere is no accounting fo r taste."

3.1.1.1.2.1.9. Weizbts and measures

Various weights and measures are found mentioned in the classical leXU.
Many of these seem relativeJy informal-thus, do "8 load of --," sgam "8
box of --," kila "s piece of _;.34 Nbo "a basket of --." Other terms are
apparently pari of measure systems: thus for I.ENGTII we find sor·me "inch,"
mlilD "span," khru "cubit," Ndom "fathom"; for VOLUME we find bre
"measure," kiwi "bushel/load = 20 bre"; for WEIGIIT we find slror-ma "one
point on the steelyard," 10 "d ram = iO sknr-ma," sran "ounce ,. 1010. "J,5

Weights and measures arc defined syn tactically by occurrence not only with
gtJig "one" and gllis "two" but also orten with gan "a full --'" and do "a
double --," as in mtho gan "one span," bre do "two measures," Ichru gan "a
full cubit," sran do "a double ounce." Numerals greater than two appear in
regular form-thus gser gtoiis-pa gaii "a tubful or gold" but gser to sum-brgya
"three hundred drams of go ld."

)4 In modern Tibetan, a kJrQ il; a $(juar<: of clo lh-Qf, put anolh<:f way, • piece of cloth
IS long IS that particular roll o f cloth is wide.

)S Money in Tibetan is o[t<:n e~prcsse4 as weights of sil\l<:f. The term for Mooin" or
money genefally il;doil·,u-doii·fJh~-doii -ru~ < Middle Chinese -dJwll·fJi. The Jeast ",,!\&able
ooin in use was traditionally the ooppc:r kJta, which was wonh, in terms of silver, • wei&ht
o f abollt two and a h.M sJwr·ma. Thus IWO IchQ were equivalent 10 sJw,-nut /lUi " rive pllnu
o n the steelyald," three JchD 10 s/w,·nw phytd·brgyad "seven and a hair points," and four kJuJ
to sluJr.mQ bt!u "I<:n points," which was the same as one fo "dram" or one-tenth dAul'lrali
"silver :!"ra/i
H

Silo: kJrQ were equivalent to o ne (/ji,,/.lO'i doil -,~ "silver ruin" or !a'!lkll-diiuJ·!a'!l < Sanskrit
{Iliilwka (oomp.te Hindi taiigiJ) "stamped si ll'C"f coin." r""Orty /cha, of COline, equalled ten to
o r o ne srllii of si lver. Firty silvcr srQ1! were the equivalent of a bar of silver buliioD, weichin,
.haul fo ut pounds, widely used fo r nad illg ill Central Asia, and variously called rdi).1S1uJd
"stonc. wdght." ffu·""ig·ma "horse. hOOf," ~nd ~m-bu "KlIlhmandu."
PHRASES 229
3.1.1.1.2.1.10. Pagination

In Tibetan books, VOLUME numbers are often expressed by letters in Tibetan

alphabetical order (the equivalenl of our formalized Roman numerals for the
same purpose )-thus leo =: I, Jc),a =: 2, ga :: 3, and so on through 7a :: 30;
then lei through 7i :: 31 through 60, ku through 7u .= 61 through 90, and so
on through 10 "" 150. Even larger numbers may be expressed using long
vowels, written with subscript a-l1hun-thus Icii through 7iI :c 151 through
ISO, kf through 7f "" 181 through 210, and so on through tii == 300.36

These numerals can be made into ordinals by suffIXing the formative -pa-
thus luJ.pa "the Icn rA (volume) ... Volume I," Iei-pa "the ki dt (volume) ...
Volume XXXI." These ordinals are often found with locus or adverb particles
in footnotes, indices, and catalogues-for example, na-pa-Ia "in the norA ... in
Volume IV," 7i-par "in the 7i llt ... in Volume LX."

PAGE numbers are always written out and are invariably clipped. Each folio
in a book is paginated separately, usuaUy along the left-hand margin of the
recto; the left-hand margin of the vellO often contains the short title of the
text. Where a distinction is made between sides of a folio, the reclO is called
gon-ma "upper" and the veno is called og·ma "lower"-thus re.gtJig gon.ma
"folio 61a," sum-brgya gO-MUll og-ma "folio 397b"-or sometimes mtiun
"front" and rgyab "back," respectively.

Occasionally folios are paginated in the margin with volume number as well-
for example,ga don-drug "Volume III folio 76," klla gya-sum gon .ma "Volume
II folio 83a." Where several independemly paginated texts have been
collected into a single volume (for example, in a uniform edition of several
different rituals for a particular deity), both volume and text may be given
alongside the folio number-thus tu dJa iier-gtIig "Volume IX Work VII folio
21," tIa ua btJo·brgyad "Volume V Work XVII folio 18." The final folio of
a text is often marked by the word byOll "finished" after the folio number;
where a text is only one folio long, that folio is sometimes paginated as gtJig-
puo "solitary," but more oCten as bse-ru "rhinocerous," an animal that tradi-
tionally wanders alone.

)6 There are var~nts on this scheme_for example, ICJJ ... I. lei _ 2, leu _ 3, U _ 4, Iw

- 5. kJia .. 6, and so on. Sometimes. Ilso. volume$ ilrc numbered by the use of stock
phrases-thus, for eumple. 0'fI .. 1. /J~ _ 2. hfirra ... 3; or iii '" I, lIn .. 2; or t .. 1, warra ,.,
2,mQ -3,,..,. 4;and$O o n.
230 TilE CLASSICAL. TmETAN lANGUAGE

3.1.1.1.2.2. PLURALS

The older PLURAl..s include -dag (perhaps the most common quantifier in the
archaic Central Asian manuscripts), -1s11O (in the most ancient materials
uhogs-NtShogs "mullitude"),l' and -dag (only after personal determiners
even in the oldest texIs). All these plurals may be glossed, simply, as "MORE
'11 1AN ONEil-thus, for example, bla-mo-dag "lamas," tshoii-pa-tsho "mer-
chants," ned-tIag "we.,,)8 Fairly frequent in the Central Asian manuscripts-
and completely absent in this usage in Ihe later material-is the plural -Q-
t!og--l!llOg; we find, for example, myw-tJog "people," srin.-no-tIhog
"demons," IIloo-tJhog "gods," nam-ti-go-/Jog "Nam-tig folk,"l')

In the course of lime, these older plurals fell inio disuse, 10 be largely
replaced by the newer SI::LECWR -mams. After the ninth century, the plural
-dag is found, where it is used at all, primarily after numerals and deter-
miners, sometimes in the collocation -dag·manu. Otherwise it is found only
to translate the Sanskrit dual number and vocative plural, a specialization that
is the mark of its demise. The plural -!slio similarly occurs, with decreasing
frequency, primarily after determiners and numerals of 100,000 or larger;
-dug continues to appear sporadically, Slill exclusively after personal
determiners.

J.I .I.I .2.3. TOTALIZERS

TOTAU7.ERS 3re terms of extent that occur after a plural and before a
selector-kllO-110 '" no more thnn," stied "no less than," LSam "as much as," srid
"as long as." As these glosses indicate, these four totalizers compare the
specified nominal to some stated ·or· implied reference size or number. The
totalizer kilO-lUI specifics the nominal as limited in quantity to that reference,

)1 For example. lus-.vtshcw "bodies," daJ·}lshogs ''wishC5.~ NOie the many earty variati.ons
in wh;o.t Ct)mt:!i la ter 10 he $tanoJa rdized as Ill-sagS'pa Mand so fonh"_fof uample, ID-Juop-
Inshm'/.os-llIj.hSQ/,'S.pa -lus·/.IlJI:S-whith, again, seem related to /Shogs -/ilshogs Mmultitu4c:."

)II NUle that 1111 of thCllC plurals can occur after personal dete:rminef$, as in ikd-4Dg-nnJ.
I.Iho-ii~d, 'J(lg '~"; it is just that .flllg OCCU[1 ONLY after personal determinef$.

:w Here -0 seems to he the same as the determiner Q discu55ed above; and ·/JOS-·tJhog
may be: related either to .rlag on th e one hand (compare the forms o-Ilag-w-Ilag ''"we,'' also
di5CUS.'led above). or to IJhogS-MShogl "multitude" on che: other.
PHRASES 231

which may, of course, be either one or more than one-thussons4X)'4J JehO-IIO

"the Buddha alone," sluld-tJig kho-na "no mort'. than a moment," sdig-pa Jeho-
na "only sin." In the Tibetan translation of the AbhidliannalcolobhiilYo by
Villubandhu we find dei p/iyir non-mons-pai sa rJhen-po-pa ni dlUg-po f(}io-NA-r
NgtUb-bo, de-dtlg kyan nag-tu non-mons-pa-tJan-gyi sems KlIQ-NA-1o Nbyuii-gi
gtan-du t1Ul-yin-no "Thus, the defiled elements are shown to be JUST the six;
and they always occur ONLY in defiled consciousness, and not elsewhere"; Sa-
skya paQqita, in his Legs-par bIad-pa rin-po-tJhei gte" writes bde-spyod sdug·
bsiia/ KHQ-NA-i 'X)'U "The practice of pleasure is the cause of NOniiNG BUT
suffering," bsad-noms KHo-NA phUll-tshogs 'XYU "Merit ALONE is the cause of
perfection.'...o In contrast, the totalizer sned specifies the nominal as being
at least the si%e of that reference if not more-ston siied "at least II
thousand," YOIl-tan Ndi-siied "so many virtues." The totalizer (sam specifies the
nominal as being just the same as-or, at least, just about the same as-the
reference in siz.e or number-thus Ina /Jam "jusl five," mi Ndi tsom "this ma ny
men," ri-rob tsam "the size of MOUn! Meru," yuns-Nbnt (sam "the size or a
mustard seed." In the Tibetan translation ohhe Vajracchedika Prajniipiiromifii
we find Sanskrit cOlU1piidikiim opi giitltiim udgmyo parebhyo de!ayet Tibetan
tshig bti-pai tsltigs-su btIad-po TSAM bzuii-nos g!all-dag·/a yon bIad-de "When
one has grasped JUST lhis rour-line verse and taught it to others .. ."; Sa-skya
paIJ4ila wriles bdog-niJ tIlie-lo phan ·btags-no, tJun-zad TSAM-faan Nbras-bu
Nbyin "Ir one is help£ul 10 a great being, it yidds its fruil even for JUST a
smallihing"; and, in the biography of Mi-la ras-pa, when Mar-pa summons
a magical army 10 subdue his kinsmen, they cry out mor-pa lo-tstshas dmog
de .: n:.ut gon-/1DS bru-po-na "Whence could Mar-pa the Translator have
summoned an army OF TIlAT SIZE?" And the totalizer SM specifies the
nominal as being just the same as the rererence in length, with regard both

.0 The Tibetan JrammarUiIlS, followin& lhe Sanskrit tradition, make this distinct ion: the
propositio n sallJ"l)'IU" kJw.fIQ )'OII-tan-daJI /dDt! Is a g!.lIf1./dmI f7IlII1I.gtlod "oompa ra live
limitation (/III)'I1)'OglI-l?'IIIvllCcMalIr and ttlus means "The BlMldha hu virtue. and no one
ebe," wbile the proposllion sllJls~ )IOf1 -IIUI-dlIft Idtm-J16 kho-NI ~ a mi·1dlIn m/ll7l -gdotl
"lIOlK"OmparltiYc lim ita tion (ayop·vyavaccludiJr and thus melllS "The BlMldha has vinuc,
and potbln, else."

NOle lOme: turtber examples (rom Si"kya pa~4ill-NNb-d'hu flli.1uu bUofP"J:)ao\ lhur-du
NblIb-ptl kJtD...Ntr IIdod "HOWC'ier you dilm up a river, II 11111 Wlnts noillinl but 10 now
dowDwarcl," bbue_po Ibyor.pm P'-Ww yaII, nsod'!H' kho-/UU MIt-gUm bq "Ao foot, C\len
wbeII be hal bca)me: rim, OOIlSUmc:s himself_tid others. with n<Xhinl bill qu.arrdst raA-don
kJtD..NJ JfMIr bywt-pa. 4k-F Id-don ~ mi.srid " II is imposaible 10 KICOmpllsll one's own
11111 by plluln, one's 0W1II aim alone foremost."
232 TilE CLASSICAL TIBETAN' l...ANGUAGE

to sit.e and time, as in de srid-kyi bar-du "for so long a time."

1.1.1.1.2.4. SELEC1VRS

The SElECTORS found in the classical texu are -mams, -"rtig. thoms-dad, and
Icun. Selectors, unlike plurals, do not specify simply that there is more than
one entity referred to; instead, selectors spel,':ify what we can call the RANOE
of entities referred to in the set denoted by the nominal, rather like English
one/a, SOTTU/mt, 41 alL

The selector -moms "SEPARATE U/'lrrs" is etymologically connected with the

noun nuJm-pa "piece, part, scction, item, installment, individual,'''': and thus
marks the nominal phrase as consisting of things or persons taken individual-
ly. and hence, by implication, as plural: we can compare odour mam-pa bli
"four (separate) beams of light" with od-ur-mams "beams of light." mi mam-
po gnu "two (soru of) man" with mj·mam.J "men," and Ial-zal mam-pa "the
separate dishes of a meal" with laf-zQl-mams "food/foods."

It should be borne in mind that -mams is not a plural: rdo-m1lms does not
mean "rocks/more than one rock" so much as it means "rocks/pieces of
rock," just as tdmu-marns means "portions of rice/grains of rice," tJhu-m1lml
means "bowls of water/bodies of water," ba-mams means "head of cattle,"
-fog-bu-mams means "pieces of paper," and x-mams means "appropriate
units of x." This reading is borne out by the archaic Central Asian manu-

~t In En&li5h we can distin,ui5h the: word SQmt in, say. Somt pwpIt art fltlltr sorisfiN
[rom the word 1_(lm in, llay. Givt m~ sm bttr. II i5 thi5 latter somt whkh i5 oomparable
to Tibetan selectors; the: former somt repraents the term "SOME/ANY" (note the re"te:([
question Art tvIy pwpk tl'tI' sOlisfitd?} and is expressed in Tibetan primarily by indefinite
determiners.

~2 Amonlthe archaic Tibetan manuscripts found It ttle oasis larrisoM of Cenual Asia
we find. fOI example, sA",. pol-gi mtJhid-yig S~O, RNAM du·mo -lig gsol'fla hm mo·mlJhis "AJ-
thoulh I luive previously sent respectful letters inquirinl about your illness on several
OCCl\StONS, you hayc nol made reply," blon toI'I -gi pol·llhig MMI-dllig·/4s btlag-gi phu-bo
1cJ,,-bttr kha,·ua-IJhin rfliA_ptJi SloJl4potl MIhill tts pol "In one EXAMPLE of a pelilion by
Minlster Kell be asks, 'Appoint my el~r brother Klu-bUr Commander~r·the·Thousand or
Old Khar·\SI.t!hin,"· 'IO'I'-god.kyi J1hYag-'f>'D RNAM grIhig Md-du pol "We ask 10 r«eiYe one
authOrization for openses," myes·poi mtJhid-4rill NtJi RNAM plis·ltu ma-mUhis "We have !lad
only these: two PIECES of kind correspon~ncc as to our ,randrather."
PHRASES 233
scripts, where the relationship "units OF" is made explicit by the adnominal
particle-for example, rgyud.Hph~uJ.lcyj moms "descendents," "phogs-poj moms
"nobility," sgo-'"oj moms "personal gods," dbon-t/uln·tJon-don gtan-liii-gi
moms "ones with power and with fixed fields." Thus, too, we find nj-og·gi
rgyol·khams-fUl rgyo'·phran mtIIW-poi moms sems myi-bd~-liJi srid Ior-du. dogs-
poi moms kyan srid·lQ myi-dbab-tIiii s~ms bd~ "In the kingdoms of the west,
even those who were lesser sovereigns, those who were unhappy and feared
to lose their dominion, were not cast down from their dominion and are
happy."

The selector -T.ftg "ONE/St.!" (which becomes ·tJig after preceding final -g, -d,
-b; becomes -lig after preceding fir,a l ·n, ·n, ·m, or, -I, and open syllables; and
becomes .Jig after preceding final or postfina) os) is clearly related to the
numeral gtIig "one," and it specifies the nomin~ l as consisting, not simply of
one entity, but of one or more entilies taken as a single unit rather than
individually-thus mj-lig "3 man/sm men/someone," Iiii ·lig "a tree/some
firewood," mi moii-po-Ijg "(a group of) many men," mi bli-Ijg "(a group of)
four men/some four men." Where the selector -moms implies internal
differentiation or multiplicity, the selector -T$ig implies internal homogeneity
or simplicity. Both ranges are inde pendent of plurality: we find both mi-dag-
mams "men" and-mi-dag.tlig "men." Note, too, the magic teacher's remark
to Mi-Ia, mi.rga'i nas mlllu.gtad·su gsum-fig.la las byas "This old man has
worked in three things-magic, curses, and hailstorms."

The selectors kun and thams·tJad ""u"·!) specify the nominal phrase as
consisting of the entirety of one or more things or persons, taken either
individually or as a unit, rather than as consisting of fewer or less than the
whole-thus Ius ,honu-tIad means "all bodies/the whole body," rgyal·k.lwlns
ku.n means "all kingdoms/the entire kingdom," dg~.sloFt tlloms·tIad means "all
monks/each monk/every monk," dge·~un leun means "all communities/the
whole community/every community." Again, the notion of entirety is inde pen'
dent of plurality-we find both mi ,ham.J-IJad-mi kun "all men" and mi-dag
tha'ms-t!.od-mi-dag kun "all men."

o The word (/ulnr : ·IJa4 may be letaled 10 the verb GTAM -LrAM ··be full" and the
speciaJiuA adjective Iham 'fNl ··full. round. cyen (of numerals)." In !.Qme archaic Central
Asian manuscripts we find Ihe form Iham .1Ut.
234

3.1.1.2. Ad"ominau

An AONOM INAL is a nominal phrase with the ....ONOMINAI. PARTICLE ·KYi whil' h
immediately precedes and modifies a nominal head-thus, for example, hyui
sder·mo "bird's claw," gser.gyi bum.pa "golden vessel," dka r·poi phren -btl
"while rosary," rgyaf-po dllell-poi mdzod "treasury of the great king." h/a-nlll
1.~lJen·po sdi-mams kUII·~'i bSoc/-llams " the me rit of aU these grt:at lamas,"
bfa-rna rgoll.poi siib1-rdIe tShen-poi miliu " the power of the old lama's greal
campassion," This subordinate adnominal always limits or qualifies the heluJ
in some way: the set designated by the modified head is a proper subset or
the set designated by the head alone; the adnominal answers the question
"What sort of --?" with reference to the head.

The adnominal pa rticle is -m The capitalizat ion indicates that the particle
und ergoe~ regular morphophonemic Changes according to the final or
postfinal of the preceding syllable. Thus -m becomes -gi after preceding final
-g and -ri; becomes -kyi a fter preceding final -li, -b, -5; and becomes -gyi after
prt:C<!dillg final -Ii, om, ·r, -i-thus bdag-gi, raii -gi, bod-Icy4 rab-k;'4 gas-Icyi, bOIl -
Kfi, lam-gyi, plllIr-ro>i, bul-gy;. A preceding open syllable beco mes a diphthong
with -i-thus dgai, spyii, rgyu;, bdei, bfoi. In poe try, when an exira syllahlc is
net:dec.! fo r metrical purposes, an open syllable may be foll owed by -y; instead
of -i-thus dga-),i instead of dgai, spyi-yi instead of spyii, and so on, All forms
in KY- undergo these same morphophonological cha nges,

3_ 1.1.2.1. BASIC MODIFICATION PATTERNS

Tln:re are fo ur basic adno minai modification patterns, where both head and
modifier consist ot' a single nominal-(l) l'lotm·Kli NOUN, as in gser.gyi ri
" mo untain of gold, golden mountain," ri; gsa "mountain gold, gold from the
mountains," (2) ADJE<."VE-K»' NOUN, as in dlwr-poi ph~ii·ba "rosary of white,
white rosary," bZ'l,i-poi rg)'al-po "king of virtue, virtuous king" o r-if the
adjective is read as a headless modifier-"king of the virtuous," (3) ADJEC-
nVE' KYi ADJECIWE, as in bzaii-poi t1Iien.po "greatness of virt ue, virtuous
grel:tnes5," or-read as a headless morlifie r-"greatness of the virtuous," dam·
pal bzaii-po "virtue of holiness, holy virtue," or-read as a headless modifier-
"virtue of the holy," and (4) NOUN-KYi ADJEcnvn, as in 'X>'al-poi IIlIen -po
"greatness of the king, royal greatness," dge·sloii.gi dam.po " holiness of the
monk, cenobitic holiness."
PIiRASES 2'5

This last modification pattern is relatively rare, but it is a favorite device of

the poet Pad-rna dkar-po, who often uses such phrases as snags-NtIhan-gi nag-
po "blackness of sorcerors," rgya-slag-gi khra-bo "spottedness of the tiger,"
brag~r-gyi mthon-po "heights of the red rocks," g.yu-mtsho-yi snon-ma
"blue of the turquoise lakes." ~ we will have occasion 10 note from time to
time in Ihis text, Part of the interest of Pad-rna dkar-po as a poet lies in his
willingness to utilize such previously unexploited Tibetan synlactic resourct:s.

3.1.1.2.2. 1YPES OF MODIFICATION

Where the head of Ihe modifying adnominal is a noun, the Tibetan

grammarians traditionally distinguish four sorts of Nbrel-ba "co nne ction~"
between that modifier and its head-yan-Iag-dan yon-lag-lIon "part and
whole," as in Iiii·gi yot-go "tree branch," byoi sder-mo "bird claws"; rtell-dOli
bnen-po "residence and resident," as in gron-pai mi "village man," yul-gyi 1110
"local deity"; no-bo gtIig-po "identical substance," as in gser.gyi bum-po
"golden vessel," tsan-don-gyi ka-bo "pillar of sandalwood"; and bdag·po-daii
yuf"owner and Object," as in 'KYaf.poi mdzod "king's treasury," bfa-rna; phrei"i-
ba "lama's rosary." The particular reading, of course, dept:nds on the
semanlics of the nouns involved. Note that Inere is in Tibetan no SYNTACnC
difference between, say, rgyaf-poi me-log and rii me-tog to rd1ect the fact that
the adnominal is animate in one phrase but not in the other. In EngliSh, that
fact can make a syntactic difference: we 'say kUlg's ftowen but nOl, generally,
?moun/ain's ftowen (but both royal flowers and mOUlllaul flowers); that wt:
would TRA.NSlATE those phrases, respectively, as "flowers or tht: king" and
"flowers ON the mountain" is simply a peculiarity of English. Note the paral1d
with the propositions rgyal-po-u me-tog yod "The king li AS flowers" and ri-t.A
me-tog yod "There are flowers ON the mountain."H

""' Note th.at adnominat modificalion is tke only way of exprcssin& such rclalKmsllif"' a~
pouc:s.sion and location wilhin a nominal phrase. The modil"icalion ot • nolln by anmher
no un in a nominal_tor example, bla-rna 1fNU/-skll-an be read only as no·bo gtJig.pD
"identical substance,H and thlll onty IS "~IN WHO IS an incarnal ion.HThus, 100, ~ can lind
rii me·/og "mou ntlin nowen" but nOI _l t least not in Lhe same ilCnsc-?mr.tog ri. Thl'
5emantlc relation -ot p<:I>55e5$ion seems 10 be relaled 10 lhe f,et Ihal a n adnomina l-bci n& a
nominal phrase-an be quantified independently of its head, wherta$ a nominal mOlliflc r
cannot. In bW'nul sfXII"~ "lama who is an incarnation" thcre are precisely as ma ny
incarnaliolU ali there are Jamu; but in spru/·sIa4i bla·rna the two desi&naled se LS may in fael
be iden lical-and thus "lama who is an incarM lionH-or they may be quanlified $Cparalety.
236 Tile Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN Lt.NOUACiE

3.1.1.1.3. RECURSION

The adnominaJ may itself be a nominal phrase of any length and complexity,
even one containing further adnominals. The modifying nominal phrase may
consist of a single nomina~ of a nominal plus determiner or quanimer, or a
nominal preceded by an adnominal. This recursiveness allows for successive
embeddings of adnominals within adnominab to the limits of stylistic
tolerance-normally perhaps three adnominals in a row, and perhap$ fIVe at
Ihe stylistic maximum-as in dgon-poi bla-mai gser-gyi phr6i-ba "the golden
rosary of the monastery's lama," dgon-pai b/Q-maJ gur-gyi pIum-bai mJhu·
slobs-kyi Nbras-bu "the results of the magi<: power of the golden rosary of the
monastery's lama."

A Tibetan aulhor clearly has considerable liberty both in the extent to which
he modifies the head nominals in his text and in the syntactic patterns he
may use to do so; such choices collecliveiy constitute what we can call the
MODIFIER STYLE or a particular author. A primal}; choice is simply how much
nominal modification there will be in the text. 5 Long modifier sequences

as in spru/.$1aJ grlig.gi b/a.m(l40g "the one inarnalioll" severalla-. ~ or sptW/o.Jb.mtIIfU-

k); b/(l·m(l "the lallUl of the several incarnations." Only I modifyin, IIOmhw pbrase call be
thus quantified independently of its head; IhllS il Is only the adnomiul modifier lbat can
indicate possession.

4S In English literary history, we filKl periods when highly medira .tyles were felt to be
"elevaled" or-as the eightunth<entury poets put It-~subUrne," u _II as oontrastin,
periods when more sparsely modirled styles were admired u "plain.~ Orten too the
individual style of I particular author can be related to prc40miupt ,,-uena of modifier and
head: the followin, passage fro m D. H. lawrePOC's short Siory 1M IJarJkr LiM Is
Characteristic or his modifier style:

The nat. grey. winlry landscape. plouahed fieldJ of yeyish earth that Socked
as if they were compounded or the clay of dead men. Palik!. lark, tbla Ueel
~tood like wire beside stnighl. abstract roadl. A ruined (arm behlleCa a few
more trees. And a disllUIl vilJace filed past. with smuhed housa like rottetl
tu th between the straight rows ,o f the: vilia,e street,

In this passage: there are eighteen adjectives 10 fifteen nouns; and we can fX)lUnsl Ibis sIyIe
with the following similarly cb.aTKteristic pas.5llce from Ernest Hemillpay'l BiI ~IJrU4
Ri,,«. which contain~ one modirlCf·he.ad combination to LawrellCJe" thirteen:

Nick Slipped orr his paCk and Jay dO'Nll in the shade. He lay on his bad: and
PHRASES 237

easily become rhythmic and incantatory, whether adjectives (as in Gerard

Manley Hopkins' "Earnest, eanhless, equal, attuneable, .vaulJY, voluminous,

kicked up Into the pine trccJ. His nccIr. and back and ·tbe uuU of bis beck
rested as he stretched. The eartb felt aood aplnst his bact.. He kxlked ap
at the sky, throup the bnmcbel., and then shut bls C)'CL He opened tbem
and looked up Ipin.

Similarly, we Cln cite the followinl stanza bom Robert 1..o\IIeU', "Ha"Mbomc." wbere the
effect of slow dellberateocss iI created· by Its pboftolopcal and I)'ZIIUCUc repetlUoa:

FOllow its lazy main street Ioungin,

from the Ilms house to Gillows Hill
lion, a flat, unvaried. surflCC
coverc:d wilb wooden houses
lzed by yellow drain
like tbe unh~ltby bair of In Old dol . . .

Compare tbis stanUo witb tbe poem "Tbe Hope" by David lpalo., wboIe lin&Je modifier.
held a>mbination arries, by its syntaaie Isolation as weU IS by iu final poIillon, I
proportionately Ireater shire of the semantic bunSen of tbe poem:

In the wood5 as the trees 'acie in the dusk

I 1m unable to speak or 10 pture.
1 lie down to WlIrm m~1f apinst tbe ,round.
U I live tbrough tbe nigbl
I will be a species
re laled to tbe tree
and the cold dark.

From the .rcbalc materials available to lIS, it appeart tb.t ~rly Tibetan poetry .nd prote
'.vorel! "pbin" rather thin "eLevated" stylc$, and was sparin, in modifiers, allhou,h rich In
simile. uter Tibetln poetry, on the otber lund, borr0wc4 In inacuin&IY ornate syle from
its Sanskrit model$; Indlc handbooks of poetic ornament-particularly the JavyUllrlQ of
Dat)4in-were translated Ind studie4, Ind tbeir complex Ind extended metaphors were ohen
rendercdjo Tibetan IS bi,hly layered modirlCrt. This was especially lTue of acnrC5 borrowed
from Sanskrit Buddblst devotional literature: TIbetan enanola, hymns, Ind pni)'el1 base both
their VOCIbullry and syntax on such oa:aslonally florid works as the ~.
cQl)'ilprtll;li4MNJ, th6- 8uddhoctJrilQ of AlYl,hob, the &utJptJllclJMM of MlI~" the
JlJliJJuJmlJlI of ArydDrI, Ind the BodhicQl)'ilvtllllrtl of Yntideva. "The naliYe TIbe.lan poeCie
,enres-the repanee sonp Ind riddles, smoke offerln, riluals, Ind the veal epic of Qe.Slr-
were less Iffectc:d by tile IOOie "Sublime. ud lOme Indie forms, Iud!. as tbe mystie IOn"
H

were In fact effectively Tibelaniu.d and lS5imillted to llbecan folksong..

"" Tlllo CLAssICAL TlSETAN U-NOUAGE

stupe'ndous evening ... ") or adnominals (as in D.H. Lawrence's "The pulse
of the:: blood of the teats of the cows beat into the pulse of the hands of the
men"). Such literary effects are sought in Tibetan particularly in the ritual
evocation of deities in contemplative texts. Thus, in the Siiafl·brgyud bskytd-
rim rgyos·pa of Pad-rna dkar-po-a ritual evocation of Cakrasarpvara-we find
such highly layered adjective sequences as blfom-Idan-Ndas dpal rdo-rdJ.~
sems-dpa sku-mdog dkar-po ta/-gtJig phyag·gfiis rdo-rdJ.e-dan. driJ-bu Ndzin-pas
yum-Ia Nkhyud-pa "the blessed glorious white-colored one-headed Vajrasattva
with two hands which hold vajra and bell embncing the Mother ... "; and
such highly layered adnominal sequences as iiQ./cu byuii-bai zill-bai steii-du
hii'!l.[as slcyes-pai roo-Idle "a vajra born from a hii'!t on top of a moon arisen
from an ii~1 ___ "

Another area of choice lies in the syntactic pattern of such modification_ A

poet in English, for example, can choose between left-branching modifier
seque nces (as in Matthew Arnold's "The unplumbed, salt, estranging sea")
<1m.! right-branching modifier sequences (as in Robert Creeley's "I can see
you, hairy, extended, vulnerable _ _ :). A poet in Tibetan can create often
complex modifier structures as a syntactic skeleton which is then clothed with
lexical flesh_ For example, Tson-kha-pa, in his Dgoiis-pa rab-gsa/ commentary
on the Madhyarnakiivatiira of Candrak'irti, writes as follows:

zab-lSii"j 'K)'a-lShei legs-b!ad kUII-gyi gter,

Ndlig-nclI kun-gyi ma·",-dris mdza-b!es·te,
sa·gsum ""Em·la /am-hzaij-m15lwlI .pai mig,
thub-dbaii smra·blli iii·mas r1ag·/u skyotl$

Treasure of all the deep broad maxims,

Unasked friend of all the world,
Eye which shows the good path to beings of the three realms,
Sun of the master's teachings-ever prOlect us!

This verse is huil! on the fourfold equation gter "neasure" "" mdza-blu
" friend" = mig "eye" "" iii·rna "sun_" Each of these four heads is modified
by two preceding adnominals, explicitly in the first line and implicitly in three
places ~n the following lines; the basic pattern of each of the four lines is thus
MODlFlEN-Kyj MODII'IL:N·Kll IlEAD; and this reiterate~ syntactic symmetry
underlit!s and reinforces the semantic parallelism of the metaphors expressed
in tht! vers.:_
A more complex pallern is fuund in a song by Mi-Ia ras-pa, when he rebukes
his wicked aunt-who sto le his lands from him-for her greed. The first few
verses estahlish the following modifier panern:

.fkye.boi SO-ilam sdig-pai Ic.t

spyad.na iiUlI·son.gi sdug.hstwl myoii
The husbandry of mankind is the doing of evil:
if you do it, you taste the suffe:ing of evil destiny.

iie-dui gdwi-J"ems bdud-}..}'i mkhar

bnsegs-lia me-obs-kyi IIcii.Ju tJlrud
The love of family is a castle of demons:
if you build it, you fall into a pit o f flames.

The basic pattcrn of each vcrs';: is thus

(MOI)II·1 ER-Kri m ,AD) = (MODJRE R-KYi I!I:AD)

(NOMINAuzm VEHIl)(MOI)IF1EII.-KYi IIEAD) VERB).

These general moral propositions arc continued for several more verses,
embodied in this repeated syntactic fnrm; and Ihis pattern is then applied,
with con~iderahle rhetorical force , to the particular occasion:

la-IIcj fili-rill ser-sllai rolas

WNW y;.dwags-kyi gllQHU skye
My aunt's cost for the fields is the sluff of grc:ed:
if you c:at it, you will he born among thc hungry ghosts.

3.1.1.2.4. HEADLESS ADNOMINALS

When the nominal phrase head of an adnominal modifie r has been omitted,
the remaining headicss adnominal may he a patient participa nt in an equative
construction. For example, in the proposition Nbrus Ndi bla -rna; yill "This rice:
is the lama's," the omitted head of the adnominal modifier bla-rnai is
processed as coreferential with some prior element of the discOUi se. If what
is being discussed is rice, the proposition would be processed as meaning
"This rice is the lama's RICE." But if what is being discussed is, say, nm rice
but offerings, the proposition would be read as "This rice is the lama 's
240 TME ClAsSiCAl TIBETAN LANGUAGE

OF'FERING." Where such ellipsis refers back to old information in the same
proposition, that information too may be omitted under the Telegram
Principle, and-depending on stylistic considerations of density-we might
encounter such laconic constructions as bla-rnai yin "What we are talking
aboul-that's the lama's," or even the minimal bla-maw.

3.1.2. Conjoined nominal phrases

A NOMINAL CONJUNcnO/'~ is a panicle that joins nominal phrases together. An

indefinite number of nominAl phrases can be linked together by such
con~unctions; this horizontal expansion can extend to the limits of styiislic
tolerance. which in the classical language seem to be quite broad. Thus the
series "PIiRASE and PHRASE and ... PHRASE" may reach some le ngth before
it becomes a PARTICIPANT by the addilion of a role particle.

All phrases so conjoined, no matter how long or complex the conjunction, still
constilute a single panicipanl-thus (b/o-mo.doii rgyal-po)-B NgrO ''The lama-
and-king go," bla-mos (bgegs.doii Ndre)-B blu' "The lama lamed demons-and-
spirits," tJhru (ri.don lun-po )-10 dar "The dharma spread to mountain-and-
valley," rgyol-pos (mduii-ijom rol-gri)-s dgro bsad "The king will slay the enemy
with lance-or-sword."

In the classical language the re arc two lYpes of nominal conjunction-

ALTERNATI VE ("PHRASE or ~IIRASE") and COORDINATIVE fPHRASE and
PIlRASE"). The AL11:RNATIVE CONJUNc;nON PARTICLE is -Am. The hyphen
indicates that thl: form is BOUND and occurs only with an immediately
preceding nominal. The capitalization indicates thai the vowel prefixes to
itself the 1asl consonant of the preceding syllable coda-thus dag-gam, mdan-
nom, skyid-dam, dben-nam, Ndab-bam, glum-mam, dar-ram, dal-Iam, and
phyogs-som. A preceding open syllable becomes a diphthong-thus mdaam,
khyitlm, rgyuom, d~am, and bloom. In the scansion of verse such diphthongs
may occasionally be cou nted as two syllables for the purposes of meter.

The alternative conjunction offers a choice between two or more possibilities,

" We win note here only bficny that this is clearly the same as the propositional
conju nctio n ·Am and the sentence·linal question ~Tlicle -Am. We can hypothesize-and will,
at ,reater len,th, later-thaI the Tibetan interro,ative is derived ultimately ffom an
ullderlyinllhernative conjunction.
 241

one or both of which may be truc"":'for example, 'K)'QI-poam bla-ma-s bgegs

gdul "'lbc king or the lama will tame the demon." The conjoined noun
phrucJ can be as long and complex as stylistic tolerance permiu--tgYol-po.t
sm--gyi ral-gri tJhen-poom snags gsaii-ba-s bg~ gdul "The king will tame tht:
demon with a great golden sword or secret spell."

The COORDINATIVE CONJUNCTION PARTICLE is -don..7 The coordinativc

conjunction asserts two or morc possibilities., all of which are taken to be:
true-for example, rgyal-po-daii bla-nul"os bgegs gduJ "the king and the lama
wiD tame the demon." Again, the conjoined noun phrases can be as long and
complex as stylistic tolerance permils-'XY0/-POs per-",; ral-gri tIhm-po-daii
snags g:saii-ba-s bgegs gduJ "The -king will tame the demon with a great golden
sword and a secret spell."

In both types of conjunction it is expected-and in an extended sense perhaps

even mandatory-for the conjoined phrases to have some theme in common;
thus we can expect also 10 find thematic eleme nts o mitted from latter
members of the conjunction, as in. for example, las dluJr-poam nag-po "gClOd
deeds or bad," dge-slon giiis-sam gsurn "two or three monks," mi dbul-ba-daii
phyug-po "men both rich and poor." In addition, we can find coordina!ions
of some length-for example, g.fer-dan diiul-daii !tIags "gold and silver and
iron," sa-daii I1hu-daii me-daii rluii "earth and water and fire and air." In
such cases, all the conjunction particles can be omitted-thus. for example,
skye 'Ka no NtJhi "birth and old age and sickness and death"; or one
conjunction can be retained, just as in English, except that in Tibetan what
is retained is generally the fint rather .than the last conjunction-thus, for
example, sa-daii I1hu me rluii "earth, fire, water, and air." Such lists are often
concluded with a summary numeral, as in IUJ nag yid gsum "the three: body,
speech, and mind," dpc)II g.yog 8'1i.r "the two: master a.nd servant," bzan nan
Nbriii glUm "the three: good, bad, and indifferent "; and then, too. the last
conjunction may be retained, as in sa tIliu me rluii-daii bli "the four: earth,
water, fire, and wind," mtllu ser brtad-dan gsum "the three: witchcraft and
hailstorms and curses."

(1 1lIe nomInal phras.e oonjunction 4aii is tile same as the accompaniment role panicle

-4aIL Thus l oolUtructlon $uch as b/D ·mD.dDFi rgyDl.po wo is $yntaaiclllly ambi!uous

berwcea tbe CONJUNcnON readi ng (bID.mtl.4.:lil '1fj(1/·po)-11 JOof:FO "The kin a-and_Jama go" and
\be AccOMPANtM ENT readin! (b/D-mtl-dtlil) (rgyDl.po_8) "Wo "The kin! AtJeS .... illlthe lama:'
0II11Ie olher band, (he oonstruction '1fj(1/-po b/D-mD4tl1i I>gM can only be read as ('1O"'I-pa-
I) (014-19141-4411) ~ '"The kin S &oes .... ith I ~e lama:'
242 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN LAHOUAGE

3.2. VERB PHRASES

3.2.1. Negation

We will in this grammar consider the optional NEGATION 10 be tl)e specifier

of the verb within a verb phrase. Negation is expressed by the negatM
particle mI· "NOT," The capitalization indicates that the vowel undergoes
changes according, in this case, to the TENSE of the following verb: the
negative particle mI· becomes mi· before the present and future stems of the
verb, and it becomes mao before the past and imperative stems of the
verb.'" The hyphen indicates thzt the particle is BOUND and can occur, in
this case, only immediately before a verb tense stem. The particle immediate-
ly precedes the stem even when the verb is morphologically complex-for
example, n.4R·RGl'.4 "become a Buddha" log-iloi sgo-nas NtShaii.mi'''DQ "One
does nOI become a Buddha through wrong views," miion-par ~£S "perceive
Clairvoyantly" dgra-btJom-pas lUi kun milon-par mi-Ies "An arh811 does not
clairvoyantly perceive all the Buddhafields," mgo-JOIOR "become confused"
khyed-kyi kha.sbyan·gis ned mgo-mi'/'lkhor "We are not taken in by your
elOlJuence ...

Two contractions should be noted. The equative verb Y1N "be," when negated,
may optionally be contracted to min "is not" in addition to ma·yin. Interest·
ingly, the verb YrN seems to occur only with the ma- and not the mi· form of
the negative particle. In addition, the verb YOD "exist spatiotemporally" occurs
in negated form only as med "not exist spatiotemporallylbe absent" and not
as ?ma.yod."

In Tibetan, the negative particle mI· "NoT' can precede only verbs, and
cannot precede nouns or adjectives; it is only the occurrence of an event that
can be denied, not the identity of a thing or the extent of a quality. Thus, for
example, the proposition 'KYa/-pos dgra ma-bsad "The king did not klll the

" The mo· allomorph of the negative partkle prcc:edes the ume tense siems as arc
marked with the inncaional sum.. 'l-anot!ICr indication I.... t paSl.nd impcfltM tense5 in
Tibetan are perceived as shari ng some oommon fealure, whkh we have liken to be the
specincllion o r tl'le event as either .ctually or polentially COMP1.EIl!D.

~ II is also intereslin& 10 note 1.... 1 11'Ie YeTb rN "be," like yin. seems 10 OCICIIr only wllh
the mao form of the ne&alive parlklc, and Ihe Yerb ~I " be present" only w:ilb tile mi·
form, excepl in Ihe imperative. I do not know why this is $0.
 243

enemy" denies that the killing took place. Other structures are available to
deny a particular participant: for example, the proposition '1D'0I-po ni dgra
bsad-pa ma.yin "It's not the king who ulled the enemy" denies the identifica-
tion of the king as the enemy-killer. Similarly, one cannot say "Nobody goes";
one must say su-fig mi·NgrO ''Anyone does not go."

3.2.1.1. Term ruga/ions

Since the negative particle ml- "NOT" cannot precede nouns or adjectives. but
only verb stems, we find the noun bram-u " brahman" but not ?mi-bram-u
for "non-brahman," and the adjective dmar-po "red" but not ?mi-dmar.po for
"nol-red.'- Similarly, we can find mi-/Illc-ba "not big" from the verb ITHE "be
big," but nol a parallel ?m;·tJhen-po from the adjective tJhen-po "big."$O

In Sanskrit, however, the: prefix a· "NOT" can precede virtually any nominal.
Without in the least straining the language, one can say both brahmo{lotr1l1o
paIyoti "He does -not see a brahman" and obri1hmo{lQtr1 paIyati "He sees a
non-brahman," To Buddhist philosophers, writing in Sanskrit, the first
proposition was an example of prusQjyQprali~edlUl "proposition negatio n" or
" verbally bound negatio n"; the secono was an example of paryudi1sQ "term
negation" or " nominally bound negation." The proposition negation denies
the seeing; the: torm negation denies the brahmanhood of the thing seen, and
thus implies that something was ill fa ct seen-something that was not a
brahman.'1 Such term negations are quite common in the Sanskrit lexicon,
and the distinction between proposition negation and term negation became

so That it is the ~erb T1H£ " be bi&H t~t is negated in m i·dh~-ba "not bi,," mller than
tile nominal dh~·bD "big,H can be shown by noting that we find ma .rig_pa "icnorance" < RIG
H
"lUIow bVI no t • parallcJ 1ma''1O'I$ < '1)'1$ "itnowledce," and we find mj·Jkyid·pa
~ untulppy" < SKYID " be happy" but not . paul1cJ ?mi-Jkyid-po < Jiryid-po "happy." We must
thus interpre t such nominaliz.atiolU a.s ma .rig'pa "ignorance H as «ltla .rig)-P'l) rather than as
?(mII-(rig-P'l», .nd rrrj'JIryid-ptI "unhappy" as «",j·llcyid)·po) rather thu as ?(",j.(slcyi4.po».

$1 IU AVlloltitavrlta CIlplilins in his PrnjllJp'adtpa[Tk.iJ, propos itio n negation gtall-f3i.r

khas blw-pa gait yiIt .pa ~ dgag·pa UIVn byttt.la dIIos-poi dt·kh a-nlllVn dMs·po mtd-paj~­
JcJw..na Igrub.par mi.byrd.pa "docs no t imply the existence o r noncmtencc of .ny entity, bllt
simply denies .... hat .nother has a.ucrtcd,M while term ne gation IShi, grJig.gis dAo$.po igrub.
P'lr ~d.pa . . , rllit·gi ISh jg.,u mi·SIQrI·pa "implics an entity ..... ith 1I term ..... hich is not its own
M
name.
244 TUE CL\ssICAl TI8ETAN UNGUAGE

quite importam in several areas of Buddhist thought.n

Since Tibetan, unlike Sanskrit. has no nominally bound negation, three

primary strategics were adopted to render Sanskrit term negations. One
strategy was to ignore the negation altogether and adopt a translation without
a negative particle-thus Sanskrit (J-mrta "immonal, imperishable -+ nectar
of the gods" Tibetan bdud-nsi "demon juice," Sanskrit a·mogha "unerring.
unfailing" Tibetan don yod.pa "effective. purposeful." Another strategy was
to nominalize a negated verb stem and use it either as a nominal head (thus
Sanskrit a-vidyiI Tibetan rna-rig-po "ignorance" < RIG "know," Sanskrit a-hu,uii
Tibetan mi-NtShe-ba "nonviolence" < TSE: "injure," Sanskrit a-niJyalii Tibetan
mi-rtag-pa "impermanence" < RTAG "persist") o r as the modifier of a nomina!
head (thus Sanskrit an-ogata Tibetan ma-byuii-ba "unoriginated" < BWN
"arise;' Sanskrit a-soma Tibetan mj·miiam-pa "unequalled" <: MNAM "be
alike," Sanskrit a-bhriinro Tibetan mo·nor·ba "unerring" < NOH. "be mis'
taken"}.')

A third strategy wa~ to find a nominal eq,uivalent for the affirmative part oC
the Sanskrit term negation, deny the nominal with an appropriate verb
(usually ma-nN-MIN "be not," but sometimes MED "have not," or even BRAL
"lack, be bereft"), and nominalize the resulting proposition. The resulting
relative construction could then be used either as a headless modifier (thus
Sanskrit a-dhanna Tibetan Lfhos·min "(a teaching) which is not the dharma/
non-dharma," Sanskrit o-briihmo')o Tibetan bram-u ma.yin.pa "(a person)
who is not a brahman/non-brahman," Sanskrit a.krrajnata Tibetan byas·pa
gzo-ba ma-yin-po "(something) which is not an acknowledgement oCwhat was
done/ingratitude," Sanskrit a-madllyomapratjpad Tibetan dbu-moi lorn rna-yin-

n For eumple. il was importanl 10 dcciOe whelher ccrtain uadilionai d.cnial5 aboul lhe
world-iballhillp "do nol arise from Il'Icmsclvcs" or Ihal things "arc empl)' of duality"-arc
'lCrbally or nomilllily bound. Bhllvavivcka, in his PrrlJ1tDpnufrpd. claims Ih" 'slid!. dellals
mllSl be undcnlooo u propo$ilion ncsalkln.s, for olherwisc there would be tbe unaootptlble
implication til" somethins like I n "unarisius IhinS" actWllly exis($. On Ille otber baQd,
RatnlkaraSllltl, iD bis Pr0J1tlJplJromilOjKJdda, says thai the absellCC of dualily-whkb Is tbe
biSbcst trulh--«lnstitulCS I lerm neption, and that there is indeed $Omcthins real called
"noDduality." .

'3 Sometimes fuller propo$ldons arc ncgJted and nominali7~, and enter the Ic.doon In
tbeir n.&U form-for example, San.skrit Q·cil1lya Tibetan bSQm .1¢s mi·khyab-fXl "unpcrvadcd
by thoupt - ineonccivable, ~ Sanskrit rl·JastTaJ1trl Tibetan bSfrlll-btJol mi-Jn-(XI "i&nOranl of
the commelliarics."
PIiRASf,S 245

po "(a teaching) which is not the Middle Path,"), or as a modifier (thus

Sanskrit a-/Unya Tibetan stoii-min "non-empty," Sanskrit unutponna Tibetan
skyeJ-po mil-yin "non-born," Sanskrit a-klina Tibetan iion-mo;u-t!an ma-yin-
po "non-defiled," Sanskrit a-liHvata Tibetan rfag med-po "non-eternal"),

Note particularly the following idiomatic use of such term negations_SanSkrit

tHtMno Tibetan gnas-min "(something) which is not a place/WRONG place/
impossibility," Sanskrit a-kala Tibetan dus-med "(something) which is not a
time/WRONG time," Sanskrit a-vastu Tibetan don l1Ied-po "(something) which
is not a thinglwoRTliLESS thing." Thus Sa-skya paQ4ita writes, in his Legs-par
Mad-po rin-po-tJhei gter, iies-po miion-,fUnJ mthoii-na-yan, gnas-ma-yin-la smra
mj-bya "Though you plainly see a sin, do not speak of it under inappropriate
circumstances," gnus-min ha-tJan draij-po-yaii, ran-gIan giiis-ka briag-po yad
"To be very honest under the wrong circumstances destroys both oneself and
others," gnas ma-yin-pai dul drags-nu, Iharn.$-tJad-kyis ni bkol-bar Hgyur "U you
are too gentle in the wrong circumstances you will be, made a servant by
everyone."

3.2.1.2. An idiom with MED

The classical literature has an idiom with 'MED which is worth pointing out.
We have already noted native compounds of the form Al}JF...crtVE +
ADJEC11VE -- NOUN, where the adjectives are opposite ends of a continuum,
and the resulting noun is a statement of the continuum itself-thus, for
example, ne-riii "near far __ distance" or bta/l-nlm "good bad -- virtue." When
such an adjective pair is the patient of the verb MED "havt: not," howt:ver, the
collocation means "make'no distinction between ADJECllVE or ADJEcnVE!have
no regard for NOUN"-for example, iie·riJl MED "make no distinction of near
or farlbe without regard for distance," phyug-dbul MED "make no distinction
of rich or poor/have no regard for wealth," guan-btsog MED "make no
distinction of clean and dirtylbe slovenly, uncouth, rude"; and the same
reading is given a similar collocation of MHO with semantically oppost:d no uns-
-for example, iiin·mlshan M£D ' "make no distinction of day or nightJbe
without regard for the time of day," rgan:byis MED "make no distinction of old
person or youth/have no regard for age," and even no-med lkog-med "making
no distinction of face-that is, the public self-and secrecy/without regard for
whether anyone is watching/acting in private as in public,"

Thus Mi-Ia ras-pa uses the term grQlI-dro "hot cold" in gran-dro med.pai ras-
246 Tw; ClAsSICAL TmETAN J....\NGUAGE

kyaii Hdi "This single whatever-the-weather piece of cloth," and the term mgo-
mdtug "head tail" in bandhe des naj mgo-mdlug med-pa-Ia yun riii-ba-/a bllas
"That monk looked me over from head to tail for a long time/That monk
looked over every bit of me without distinction for a long lime." In the epic
of Ge-sar. we find the hero Ge-sar. in the ugly and despised form of llio-ru,
saying gzl4gS-Ja bzoii-iian med-/e dgos, boii·Ja riii-thuii med-le dgos, '8J'U.JQ
phyug..dbuJ med-Ie dgos ''As to form-yoll should pay no heed to beauty; as
to size-you should pay no heed to height; as to substance-you should pay
no heed to wedlth."

3.2.1.3. Unj~trsaJ Mgalion

In English, we often form universal negations by using what we may caU

negative pronouns, as in No ONE went, NOTUfNG was there. or negative
adverbs, as in I NEVER saw him. Tibetan, on the other hand, forms universal
negations by using indefinite determiners with negative verbs-thus su-tig mi-
NgTO "No one goes," gan yan mi-Ies "No one knows," IIi mi-Ies "He knows
nothing," yon-tan IIi yan med "It has no qualities at all," de nam yan ma-
mthon "I have never seen that." As these examples show, the indefinite
determiner in such construclions is very frequent ly followed by Ihe conneclive
Yan "EVEN, ALSQ"--na-la IIi yaii ma-byuii "Nolhing happened to me," nom
yaii lum-pa med "He is never wearied." The great historian Bu-ston says, in
his. biography, gan-lig lIi-la yaii mi-sems, IIi }'an mi-bsam-pa de NIchor-ba-las
yoiis-su tluJr-pa Ng)'w-ro "That one who Ihinks of nothing, intt:nds nothing, will
become one completely freed from the ro und of rebirth"; an archaic mytho-
logical text from Central Asia, writing of a Time of Troubles for mankind,
says dgod bro-bai tshig-t1ig byas-kyon sw kyon myi-bgad "Though someone told
a joke, no one laughed." In fact, we oflen find the contraclion !Ian for IIi.ran
in such constructions-ror example, tIaii mi-Ndug "Nothing was there," dan
mi-Smrtl-bar gyur ''They became speechless," bdag-fa IIan dbuf-du m~ "We
have n/lthing to give."

Exceptions to such general negations are indicaled by marking the excepted

participant .with the source particle -las, in this conten perhapS best read as
"except for, save," as in Ichyod-la gw-pa-las lam gtan med "For you there is
no other path save devotion," ras-yug gtIig-/as mi-bdog "He possesses nothing
except a single piece of cloth." Such conslructions often translate well into
English constructions with onry-thus zla-ba liia-Ias ini-sdod " I will stay only
five months." brilas Nlchyer-ba-/as mi-yon "You will only come to despise me,"
 247

F FW'1as rdIe-buun 17t(l·mlhoii "We saw only a snow-leopard, nOI the

Reverend Master," mi·phan·liii gnod-pa-las med "It is useless. and does only
harm," When Mi-Ia is building towers for his master Mar-pa, he develops a
great sore on his back., but be is afraid 10 show it to Mar-pa, because, he
says.. bltJ-ntQ-/a pigs phuJ-run blcyon-pa-Ias mi-yoii "Though I show it to the
lama. I will only get a beating"; when Mi·!a trics to meditate wit~ another
teacher, without Mar-pats permission, I.hal teacher tdls him blD-mai bw rna·
groI-Nl yon-tan mj·s~·ba-las os mol "If you have not the leave of your lama,
this is worth nothing other than that the qualities do not arise."

Another way to indicate an exception to a general negation is to negate the

excepted participant with mO-YlN-MfN "is not," nominalize the resulting
proposition with -Pa, use it as a headless relative, and. often, specify the
omitted head with an indefinite determiner-thus, for example, klu mIl-yin-po
gtlJn. mj-thub "Anothcr (person) who is not a u:rpc:nt-god cannot do il/Only
a serpent-aod can do it," san,Nxyas ma-yin-po sw /cyan mi-Ju "Any (peN-on)
who is not a Buddha does not know itlOnly a Buddha kriows it," iias yud-gtJig
min-po mi-bsdtld "I did n'ot wait (a time) which was not a momentII waitcd
only a momcnt." When Mi-Ia first sludies black magic, yet finds his powcn
still insufficient for his contemplated rcvenge, he thinks mJhui-lUlgf rna-lhon-
par yuJ-du log-tuii la-mn ItJebs-te NtJhi-ba min-pa mi-yon "If I return withoul
showing thc signs of magic power. aUlhat will happen is that my mother will
commit suicide and die."s4

3.2.1.4. Double tUgtJlion

'This last-quoted construction is an example of one son of DOUBLE NEOATION

in Tibetan. Double negativcs are oflen a favored rhetorical dcvice in the
classical literaturc. When Mi-Ia wishes to return to his master Mar-pa aftcr
running away, Mar-pa says of this change of heart, o-rIag bios ma-thofir-pa
min, kho ran bios rna-thons-po yin "It's not that he's not renouncing us; it's
that he's not rcnouncing himu:IC'; on another occasion Mar-pa encourages
Mi-Ia by tcUing him Icha-pho mtd-pai tJhos mtd "I do not have a _teaching
that is without boast." When such doublc negatives occur with such Icnns as
thabs ''way, mcam" or mJhu "power, ability," there is an implication of strong

Sol NOIe, similarly, mD·gtop-pi1 "t:lcept Ior <

M
GTOGS "belona. be pan, be Inctvded"
(Q)m~rc NDOGS "bIJld., fashion. atlaCh")-thu. for aampk"d gtIig-kI
trttd "A maD has only two hanGs,M
f4J.p4 "'i.t mll-grop
248

necessity: when Mi-Ia is commanded 10 send II haihtorm down upon some

mountain bandits, he laments ser-ba mi-gtoii-baj thab! mi-Hdug 'There's no
way not to send a hailstorm/l must send a hailstorm"; Mar-pa wonders at the
lack of progress Mi-Ia is making, and thinks nai brgyud-pa Ndi-14 .•. iiams-
nogs.kyi yon-Ian myw-tbl mi-,IJcye-bai mlJw mal-po-lig yin ''This 'lineage of
mine is one which cannot but produce quickly tbe qualities of mystic insightJ
This lineage DC mine is onc which must produce quickly the qualities of mystic
insight."

3.2.2. Adverbs

An ADVERB is a nominal phrase with the ADVERB PARTla.E -TIl which

precedes and modifies a verb head-thus, for example, gsoii-bar RXU "steal
secretly," mi·ruii·bar snw "behave inappropriately," yun riii-du SOAD "wait .
for a long lime," khyim-du NGRO "go homeward," nan-par SUB "arrive in the
morning," phyir LOG "Iurn back." This subordinate adverb always limits or
qualifies the head in some way:"the event designated by the modified head
is a proper subset o[ the event designated by the head alone; the adverb
answers the question "What sort o[ - 1" with rderence to the head.

The adverb particle is -1lL The capitalization indicates that the partidt
undergoes regular morphophonemic changes according to the final or post-
firial o[ the preceding syllable. -TU becomes -du after preceding final -n, -d,
on, .m, -r, and -I; becomes -til after preceding final -g and -b; and becomes ·su
afler preceding final os-thus dban-du, dhM-du. lan-du. rim-du, phyir-du. riJ-
du. Ulag-tu, rab·tu, dus-su." A preceding open syllable becomes a closed syl-
lable in or-thus dgar, spyir, 'YJ'UT, bd~r, bfor. In poetry, ', nen an eXIra syllable
is needed [or metrical purposes, an open syllable mc:.y be followed by -ru
instead of or_thus dga-tu instead of J,;ar, spyi-tu instead of spyv, and so on.

Among the various ways of answering the question "What sort of --1" with
rde rence to an event. we can conveniently distinguish its TIME. its PU-CE, its
MANNER, and its EXTENT, Adverbs of time are regularly formed from temporal
nouns-thus, for example, nan-po "morning" nan-par "in the morning," dgons
"evening" dgoiis-su "in the evening," tshes-gnis "the second day of the month"
tsh~S·gni.Nu "on the second day of the month." Adverbs of place are regularly

~s 8111 nOle (he slcreol)'pCd forms kun·1I.< "complelclyK oc:: ·kwId-w and phlI-rol-Q4
" beyond" < ·phll _told.tII .
PHRASES 249

fanned from location nouns-thus, for example, rgya-gar "'ndia" rgya-gar-du

"tolin India," gro-bo luii "Red Valley" gro-bo lun-du "tolin Red Va'lIey"; or,
indeed, from any nominal which is the site of a verb of location or the target
of a verb of motion-thus, for example, bla·ma dgon-pa Lfhen·por sltbs "The
lama arrived at the great monastery," mtr mt·lha blugs "It is in fire thai the
Fire God dwells,"

Relator nouns are often found as the head nominal of such adverbs, Spatial
relators include Jeha "surface," khons "middle," glm "proximity," gon "upper
part," Ngram "side," mllui "end," druii "proximity," phyogs "direction," bar
"interva~" fUa "vicinity," mtshantS "border," slad "hindpart," gstb "midst,"
dkyiJ "center," Nkhor "circumference," snon "front," rdltS "rear," mtiun
"front," rgyab "back," sttii "lap," og "bottom," nan "inside," phyi "outside,"
g,yas "right," g,yon "Iefl," uhu "this side," pha "that side"; examples of
adverbs with such spatial relators would thus include khan-poi nan-du "intol
inside the house," yul dti phyogs-su "in the direction of thai country," 1iii
Lfhtn.J?Oi druii-du "near the great tree," lam·gyi bar.dJ.4 "in the middle of the
road," mi lcun-gyi gstb-tu "in the midst of all the people," rgyal-po Nkhor-daii
bt.fas·pai siion-du "in advance of the king and his relinue," sa; og·tu "beneath
the eanh,"S6 Note also the benefit relators-don "sake, purpose," phyir
"sake, purpose," Lfhtd "benefit, gain," and thus, again, such adverbs as Stnu ..
dan thantS-dad.kyi doll-dU "for the sake of all sentient creatures,"

Adverbs of manner are regularly formed from adjectives, both primary and
derived-thus, for example, mgyogs·po "quick" mgyogs·par "quickly," riiis·pa
"hasty" rillS-par "hastily," dal·ba "gentle" dal·bar "gently," gsaii-ba "secret"

S6 E1sewllere we find spatial relators used meLapllorical1y for time.-tllu.s goA "upper p~rl
... lime preuding. man M(roru _ time prto:lding. mdIa "end __ oonclusion,- bar Minterval --
8 8

time berwun," mUMIJIS "border -- junclure,8 or "bottom __ lime folJowinz," Jlad "lIindpaTl
-- lime following." There are also Illree specifically temporal rtiators-skobJ "occasion," dus
"time," ullr "time." Adverbs elpreuin, sucll lemporal relations consist Itmost exdu.sivcly
of nominalilC4 propositionS_for example, ,,,,IIs''!)'4J,/ryiI dhos bJtld-pGi m,luu "Afler the
Buddlla Iud taught Ille dlllrm. , , ,- bkl-mtu lJgtp mD-bll4l,Oai bDr-du "While tile lama 1Ia<!
not yet limed Ille demon , , ," 'fY'01-po dp-pa-liJ Jltbs 'pGi dllJ-su "At tile time tile king
arrived'l tile monaster)'. , ,"_and will be 4ealt witll in tile section on nominaliZllion, We
can nole llere, bowtvtr, tllat tile d.elerminer 4 ''nIAT' is frequently uX4 as the specifier
ot sucll I nominaliztd proposiliOn wilen Jucll I proposition can be understood from tile
COnltxl and I\.a$ lllus been omitted under Ille Tele&ram Principle-Illus, frequentty, tki dMs,su
"AI IlIlt time, , , ," 11ft rd1~J'''' "After 1hll, ' ,," ki mlJhom.s,,.. "Meanwhile. , , ," tki ml lul r
"NeIl, ' , ," 11ft s";Oft4u "Before IlIal" , ."
250 Tne Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN l...ANOUAGE

gsan-bar "secretly," ruii-ba "appropriate" run-bar "appropriately," nan-Ian

"earnest" 1I01l -1a tl -du "earnestly," bag-yod-pa "chaste" bag-yod-par "chastely,"
glol-po "clear" gsa/-per "clearly," and so on.!!1 Adverbs of manner can also
be fo rmed from othe r nominals by means of the simile<reating -blin "like,
as," and -/lo--lla -bu - -Ita-ba "like, as"_for example, tJhos "dharma" t.IIws-
blill -du "in accord with the dharma," yid "mind" yid-blin-du "to heart's
cOlllem ," fun-STAN "prt::dict" Iuii-bsllm-pD-lttlr "as predicted," phyag B1:4 "ma ke
a sal ute, pay reverence" pllyag byed-ptJ-llar "as if saluting." Adverbs of extent
ca n be similarly formed [rom nominals by mea ns of the totalizers sned " no
less than," tsa m "as much as," srid "as long as." Note, for example, in the
Tibetan translation of the C hinese Mdzaiis-bJUII fu bya-boi mdo, bo-spu /dQiis-
po Isam-du skrags " He was so frighte ned his hair stood up," dum-bur btJud-po
fsam-du sdug-bsiiaf-gyis gdufis "He suffered as much torment as being cut 10
pieces," bus rna mlhoii-ba uam -du dga "He wa'l as happy as a child seeing iu
m OlhtT."

Finally, there is a special class of adverbs we wi!! here call IN"reN S1A F.RS, The
m o~ t common of these acc Iill -Iu. "very" a·f1d ha-lIan "very," but they include
a~ well such adverbs as fhag-par "especially," rab -Iu "particula rly," It -bor
"re.IUy," yon.s-su "comple tely," mtIhog-tu "extremely: 'ku.n-/u. "entirely," ikr-
par " cena inly,"'egs-par "well." As we have seen, a numbe r of such inte nsifi-
ers v.·crc used to translate Sanskrit verb prefixes-for example, mum-par.fJ'.s
" particuJ.uly know .... perceive (vi·jjilii)," mnon-por SI:."S "ma nifestly know ....
perceive c(.,irvoyantly (ahhi-jjJiii)," so-sor ~G "i ndividually examine .... know
precisely (prary-(JI'(J -jllq)," rob-Ill GN.~ .'i "highly place .... consecrate (prod-
jJlhii)."

There is only one even! in each proposition, so, in each propositio n, there is,
or course, only one possihle head for any adverb. It is thus pos.~ ible to have

~1 The de riva tion al afrlllCo'i - /'{J and ./'I/l) a n also be droppcc1 in JUC" ~rb construc-
tions- thus myur·bll ·'quick·' myur-du '· quickly," ruil./)o "appropriate" nUI-boAT-tuJl-du
··appropriately:· rfaS-pa "conlinua l" rfag-par - naS·N "conl in ually," m/I(Nf-ptJ "ev1Iklll".m&In-
(XU- ,!lii(}ft.Ju --evid<:nt ly." In 11 fe .... cases, adve rbs of ma nne r appar 10 derive from nouns
rll he r Iha n adjectives-ror enmple, 'Xl-'III "m elm" 'X)'IUI--du "continuously," riIfI -pa " sericli
M

rim -par "suC(".CSs ivc ly," diWs "reality" dAas,S\! ~ Iea lly" "The idea of .... hat constitutes the
manner of an c.-c nl is no t nc;::es.'I-3rily co nglut n! in Tibetan and English; IIOte, for o;ample,
from lin .m:haic Centrat As ian mythological lext, uiJI·rdIe lIag·fNJ . . . la rlon-du w, khrag
r/OfI -du ~aJ, 1"'&1 rlon-du gyottd --The btllCk fiend lord ..• ate flesh ra ...., drank blood ra....,
dressed in s ki n~ ra ....:·
PURASES 251
several adverbs modifying the same head-for example,gro-bo fuii-du nan-par
sJebs "I arrived at Red Valley in the morning," bla-ma dgon-par nag-ru Mugs
''The lama always stays in the monastery," serns-tJan-kyj don-du bnson-par
sgrubs "Meditate diligently for the sake of sentient creatures." Thus too, while
an adnominal must immediately precede the head it modifies, an adverb is
MOBILE; and adverbs-especially adverbs of time and place-can often be
found appropriately in the setting slot of a proposition, while adverbs of
manner-and especially intensifiers-tend more often to be found immediate-
ly to the left of the verb head.

J-i~rt 9. Charm fQ Iccl.: Iht mOlilh of slwuJu

10 Simple Propositions

I. SYNTACfIC STRUCfURE

In classical Tibetan, a PROPOSITION consists of an EVENT preceded by the

various PAAllCIPANTS who take part in that even!. The event is what hap-
pened; the participants are those to whom the event happened, who made
it happen, where it happened, when it happened, with what or with whom it
happened, and so on. The part which the participant plays in the event can
be called ils participant ROLE.

The \:vcnt is expressed by a VERB PIIRASE, which carries on the verb what
Tibctn]ogisls have traditionally called TENSE. For example, the transitive verb
TV/I "chllp" has four tense stems-the prese nt stem Nthub "chops," the past
stem hluhs "chopped," the future stem btub "will chop," and the imperative
stem lImbs "chop!" while the inlransilive verb KURO "be angry" has two-
",Him "is angry" and khros "was angry."

Each of the pllrticipants is expressed by a ~OMI~Al PHRASE; the participant

rok which ij plays is indicated by a following ROLE PARTICLE. For example,
in the PTOllOsition nags-fa rgyal-po-s fili-n btubs "The king chopped wood in
the forest:' the participant nags "forest" is signaled as Ihe LOCUS of the event
hy the mit: particle -la, the participant rgyal-po "king" is signaled as the
A(',I'NCY of the event by the role panicle Os, and Ihe participant Jiii "wood"
is signaled as the PAn[~T of the event by the role particle -8. There are five
primal)' participant roles in the classical language-PATIENT, AGENCY, LOCUS,
SOU RCE, and ACCOMPA1'I'IM ENT.

1.1. EVENTS

We can syntactica lly distinguish thre_e types of event in Tibetan according 10

the participant roles which must accompany them in a proposition, whether
Ihese p.!rticipants are expressed explicitly or are understood from the context.
E\lCry event requires a PATIENT: that is, every event must HAPPE~ TO some-

m
SIMPLE PROPOSITIONS 253

body or something,) An INTRANSmVE VERB expresses an event that is not

specified as taking place through any agency external to this patient: such a n
event-bla-ma-fJ skyel "The lama is weary," bla-ma-IJ ~I "The lama fa lls
down," bla-ma- I} ",bros "The la ma flees"-must be accompanied by its
PATIENT participant but requires no AGENCY participant.

A "ffiANSI11VE V£JW, o n the o ther hand, indicates that the event occurs
through some age ncy other than its patient: such an event-bla-ma-s bgep-R
btu/ "The lama tamed the demon," dug-gis rgya/-po-R bsad "Poison killed the
king"- must be accompanied not o nly by its P....TIENT participant but also by
the ....OENCy participant whereby the event occurs,

For example, in IIlzu-fJ ",kllol "The water boils" Ihe event expressed by the
intransitive verb KlIOL "be boiling" can simply HAPPEN TO the patient without
a ny external agency; but in bla-ma-s fIfl lI -1} skoJ "The lama boiled the water"
the event expressed by the transilive verb SKOL " make 'boiling" not only
HAPPENS TO the patient but also must be CARRIED OlIT or IMPLEMENTED by
some agency or instrumt: ntality,

Finally, the EQU ....·IWE VERB YIN- and later R£D-- requires TWO patient
participants: it expresses the equation or identification of two terms, both of
which .u ~de~§o that identification, as in bfa-ma ·1} snags-poo R yin "The lama is
a maglcmn,

I In Tibelan Ihcre are thc refore no dllmmy slIbje<:IS like Ihe it in II is rommg or II is
forgy.Ins t~d we find slich expressions as 11/10' IIbob " Rain IS falling" and flo-bun M/libs
"Fog has gal hered."

2 The ve,b YIN "be" is the only equative verb in O ld Tibeta n, This verb sholiid nOI be
confllSed wilh the intransil ive verb roo "be" which asserts Ihe spatiotempor.1 ens ten«', of
I singlc paticR! pankiplnl rath er than Ihe t qllition of IWO palient participants-thus bltl·
mo·1I snags·po·1 yin "The lama is (idcnt ified as) I magicia n" bill blo·mo·,';-IIl rod "The
lama is (spat iOlcmpo rally) on the hill,'· Compa re, for eum ple, New Chinese shih "be
(eq\iatcd)" and )N "be (spatiolcmporally)"; Ihe problem, of COlirse, is that English has
collapsed_o r uprcsses homopho nollsly_lwo different OOl'lOepts.

In some IItet lexu, beginning protn.bly in Ihe founeent h ce ntury, Such 1$ the epic of Oe-sar,
Ihe Pud-mo IhtlA.)'.", Ind Ihe biography of Mi·la ras·pa, we find tbe Middle Tibe... n equalive
ve rb RED-lhllS, lor cxa mple, in the epic, g/o·btl mj·bdl!n s,O'll·mo rtd. '1lIe decs is 1101' real ,
it is In itlllSion," and, in Ihe biography of Mi· la,ldr~d ph)NgJ-rdzi mo-mJ rdo-nJh smu-dfHu
slUlil "YOli are nOI I herasman, bUI appear as V~j rasauva," The frequency of RED varies in
25' Ti l E CI.ASSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGIo

I NTH.ANSrTI VI '~ l1U.NSr!1vl'. and EQUAllV!! verbs are thus defintd not only
SEMMfl.1CAI.LY by the sort of event they express-for example, "be boiling"
as opposed 10 " make boiling"-but also SYJIlTACnCALLY by the participants
which must :!ccompany them,J This threefold categorization is exhaustive:
every Tibetan "erb belongs 10 one and only one of these three categories.
whalcvC=T other participants the part icula r verb may require. 4

the texts: Iht vcrb is quilt com mon in the epic, Iclati... cly rare in the Mi·la, and continues
1()be ahscn l in lear ned Irc,UiSCli; inuccd. lhe tI«urrcncc of RED in a classical leXI can be
used (l$ an indc~ of cuUI>quial regisler.

The verb REO is uneve nly dimi bulcd in New Tibetan. It is nm fou nd in Ladakh, where)in
olntinucs 10 be the only cqualillC "CIO. In Lh a.\a City, rt <: Middle Tibetan liED oas become
tllc primary cqua tive vetil, willi }iN < O ld Titletan YIN almost enti rely res tricted 10 cerlai n
oms tructions implying re po rta ge uf pe rso nal expe rience-tllus Ii Ihtp rtc "This is a hook" but
nl)l ?ri Ihtp >;.v, but Ilut h khl) Ihrp I:lpJ rr " He read tile book" and iit: Ihlp bpI yi.v " I read
the book."

J As we havt: discussell, uansitive anll inuansi live ,-crbs differ INfI.EcnmU\I,LY in

T ibe tan as well: tra nsitive IlC lhs have (our stems, with the past stem marked wit h . b·
prefIX; int ransiti"e IlC rhs have t·.w tense Slemi, .... ith the past ste m marked with a 8. pref...
Cum pare, fo r example. SOIUG "prodaim," .... ith the four stemssgroglbsgragslbsgraglsgrogs, and
GRAG "rcsllumJ"' wilh the two ~lems ~7:'(lgZI,.,ags. Also. so me pain of transitillC and
inlransitive ver lls wit h honwphonous rou ts differ inncctionally in the presc nt stem, wilh th e
Ir~ru;il ive "crll showin! an adlliliunal am" .1). Com pare 'ID"~ < N-RGW "moves" and rg,.1U1
< N·RGW·O "transmib," .\},'<U < N·GAS "becomes spli t" and ~~J < N_GAS·O "makes spli t."
Addil ionally, as we hallC !iCCn. there arc 31$11 pain o( u ansitive and intransitive verbs, clearly
relaled phonologically anll ~ma nl icatly, Ihat differ DER IVATI ONALLY, either by a
u ansitivizing prefIX J. (fu r cum pic, UN " r i~ " sUN "raise," GRAG "resound" SGRAG
"prOClaim") or by inil ial voicing (fo r example, TIION "emerge" DON "ejoel," DOli "be
sca llered" TOR "scalie r").

4 Some verbs ca n be described as requ iri ng-in some sensc_additional partieij»nlS. For
example, the intransitive ve rb ,.,R;f "belong" req uires nOI o nly its patient pan ici pant but a
LOCUS of possession as well_thus rgyal·po-In SrtlS·8 mila "The king has a so n," but nOl_at
leasl nOi OU I of a co ntexl providing Ihe miss ing 1ocU$-just ?sras· 8 m ila. Similarly, the
traMitive ycrb mUG "put" requires a loc us pallicipant; we might lind rgyal'pfH rdo. 811hu·lll
bllug "The ki ng put the slone in Ihe waler," but not-again, at least not without a co ntexl
in which the locw; is understoud_just ?7J!lI·po·J ,do·9 b/Jug. Olher verbs require an
...CCOMI'-'NIMENT-for eumple, the inlla ns;Iive ycrb NDRA "be similar," as in bfa-ma· 8 salls·
~J-daii lOdra "The lama is lile a Buddha," but not ?b/a.ma- 8 lIMa, o r ttlc trlMilive ve rb
rURAL "make M:parate, seve r." as in 'l-Y":'PfH dgra·1J srog·dtI i1 phral'"The king deprived the
ene my o r his lire," but not ?rgy<Il-po. , dgra .B phral. And so me Yerbs seem to require I n
SIMPLE PROPOSIl10NS 255

1.1.1. Equations

As we have noted, the equative velh YIN-and Ialer XF.D-expresses the

equation or identification of twO patient participants. Indeed, the presence of
two patient parlicipants-for example, bla-ma-f} "lama" a nd mkllan-po-IJ
"abbot" in bla-ma-IJ mkliulI-po-1J yill "The lama is an abbot"-uniquely
identifies the verh as equative.' Even more, the verb YIN is unique in that it

addilfonallNSTRUME;NT ~r!ici~nt The verb SKRAG "be afraid" gives every evidence of being
intransitive, yet we find I1:fiJ/·po-11 sbru/·gyiJ Jl:Tllg "The king is frightened of tbe snake," b",t
not-outside an appropriate con lCJ(t-just ?'!;Jfl/·po- H wilg. Similarly, we lind the transitive
verb GAN "fill, make r",lI" in such constructions as '1:fiJ/,po-l bum·PIl· N dhu-I.o.gri.J ''1lIc king
fills the put with wat er," bl,lt nOl ?rgyll/·po·J bUn!·ptl·H Hb~fIs. Such required panicipOlRI$
frcql,lently fill Ihe co~1o p3Tlicipant slO1 in th e proposition, immediately prec.eding the: verb.

It is clear that proposi t ion~ like ?blll.ma ""ira " ?The lama is si milar," and ?~/·po-$ rdo- l1
btJug " ?The king put the ruc k," are pU1.lling; it i, not clel1r to me whether our puzzlement
is syn tactic, or semantic, or pragmatic. Wc alleviate ol,lr pU1.z]cment by searching the contex t
ror the missing participant; ...·c are perhaps I~ PU1.l.led by, say, ?'1JYil/-po·$ butrt-ptJ-1J ~fIs
"?The king fills tile pol" because tile miss ing rarticipan t is more elIsily inferred from the
CO ntal or, indeed, from our llener~l kno wledge of the world , and of Ihe $OrIS of things
people usu ally fill potS with.

Ir. ~ddilion, we can nClte here brieny IIIaI cellai n verhs appear to rcql,lire Ihat panicipOlnlS
in certain roles have certain St;MANTtC propcn ics. It is 3 oommplacc to observe, for example,
that tile patient of a verb such 3$ .t-40 "kill" mus! be animate, or a t lca.st will be read as
animate in the COn tCJ(t of Ih e verb, Perhaps more intercs!ing,ly, we can observe !tIlIt !he verb
RiiF; "gel, find, obtain" can occur with any son of patien!, ...·hile the pa!ient o f the othcrwise
appa rently synonymol,ls verb mOB "ge t, lind, Obtain" mUSt h-c atl!itraC'! _ thuS both IJhoJ riitd
and IJhoJ Ihob "He gains the dharma" bl,lt ,n
riitd " lie finds a knife" and nOi ?gri Ihol>.
Thus too an exp ression such as SIlIiJ.lX"'Il! Ihob will o rd inarily be relld as "He gains
Buddhahood" and not as "He finds the B",<kIha," and rgytl/.po Ihob a~ " He bc(:omcs the
king" and not u "He find5 the kin~"

S The two patient partiCipants whicll thus undergo identificalio n can, of course, oonsist
o f nominal phra.'ICS of any length and complelity. In a tClt, Ihc le f.mO!it of tll<:se t~ patient
participants may be the TItEM": it ool,lld constitu te o ld infurma!i<ln recoverable from the text
Under the Telegram Principle, such old information can be omiucd. For cxa.mple, in such
prOpo$ilions as blo·mll yin "(The person .... e are di§cuss ing) i~ a lama" o r bla·mll 'W111 -poi
gs"-~ plvtn·ba yin " (That object we arc t al ~a ng about) is Ihe o ld lama's golden rosary," the
rellder proccs,'\CS tile sbgle pa!lent participant as the RI IEME, and a!.S",mc:s Ihat the mis..~i ng
patient participant is some prior elcment in the lext,
256 TilE CLASSICAL Tmrrt'AN LANGUAG l;

is often omined from the proposition entirely: since an equ3tive verb is

uniquely defined by the presence of two patient participants, the verh itself
becomes redundant in any proposition containing two patients. Under the
Telegram Principle, such a redundant constituent can simply be left out.

The equative verb is ohen omilled in verbal complements, metrical verst.

proverbs, and parallel poetry. Proverbs with the verb Y1N omitted at the end
of the proposition include such examples as phag.pas blla.f-na phag-tshan gtal.
yas-kJU2n "If a pig looks at it, a pigsty (is) a divine mansion," and pho-spun
dgra..fU son-yon fUS·pa per '"Though brothers turn enemies, yel family (is)
gold." Such proverbs frequently make use of a proportional form A:B::C:D.
with the verb YIN omitted in two para lid equ3tive constructions, Thus we find
pha tsan-4an-Di Mon.po, bu l.fhu-.f;n.gi om-bu "The father-a sandalwood
tree; the son-8 hollow reed," zas·iian lus·lcyi dgra, mi·iiall yul-gyi dgra "Bad
food-enemy of the body; bad men-'enemy of the land." The scholar Sa-skya
paQ4ita would sometimes use such equative proverb forms in his didactic
verse; we find, for example, smra·mai! iiu.pa Ndzul.poi 'KYIl, mi·smra iies·pa
spon.·bai gIi ~'Much talk-why you get into trouble; no talk-how you Slay out
of trouble."

The equative verb can also be omitted before the propositional conJunctinns
-STe "ANn," -Am "OR," and ·yaii "BUT," leaving a proposition with twO patient

The fact that lhe tl'lcmatic ~Iienl pallicipanl can be omincd me:.lns Ihat !>Ome equ3tive
col\5tructlons are amhiluoll5, For example, Ihe proposition blo-mo mkJum·po yin can be lUlU
either as (lUo,mo.,., (mkJuln·po-1T) yill ''The lama is an abbot" or as «blo·ma mkhon·po)·B)
yiJI "(The penon under di!oCUssion) is a Ilima·.... ho·is·an·abbol. Similarly. the proposition bfa·
M

lOla rgatf.po yin an be read ei ther as (bla-ma-') (rga"'po-I) yin "The lama is old/a n old one"
or as «lUa·mo rpt$'PO)'''' yin "(The o ne we're talkinl lbolll) is an old lama," In each case,
Ihe (orm.er rcadinl assumes that both palienl panicipants are present, and the laller readinl
a.uumes lhal a leftward palient has beer, leklraphically omilled,

The reason (or lhe ambiluily. 01 coum, is the fact lhal Ihe palient role particle ., is
invisible, and Ihus cannol unambiluously lIlark the end of a no minal phrase. Now such
ambiguity is noloflen a serious obstacle in Ihe proc:cssin& 01 a text, But, where an author
does feci a need 10 disambi,'J.Ile such I proposilion, a speciner-oflen Ihe determiner /U
..1H....T"-a.n be llsed, no t (o r its se mantic w ntc:nl, bill jll5t 10 mark the end o( a leftward
palienl participant. Thus bIn_mil /U rgDn·po yin can be read only as (bill-mil de- II) (rgan ·po·')
yin "'The lama is old/an old one," since the dC:lc:rm;lIer IInambiluoU5ly signals Ih e close of
Ihe flnt nominal phrlSC in Ihe equal ion,
SIMPLE PROPOSmONS 257

participants, a conjunction, and no verb.' The following three didactic verses,

from the LegJ.par bItJd-pa rin-po-tIhei gter by Sa-skya pa.,4ita, will illustrate
the telegraphic omission of YIN before each of these three conjunctiom:

mkhas-pa gfon-lo blad-paAM

yon-no li-boi nogs-su 19rub
nor-bll lpyi-guUg rgyan-byed-paAM
yon-no rgya-mtshoi gUn-no gnos
A wise man either (is) a teacher of others
or else meditates in a peaceful forest;
a gem either (is) one that adorns a crown
or else stays on its island in the sea_

gnod-pd bred-po tIhllii-iiu-YAR

mrllr~ blol-ba Ndlln-por bya
yur-ba tIhuii-ijui rdIes lugs-neu
od-pa tIhen-po ma-mlhan-nam
Though the harm one has done (is) small
one should wish to remedy it quickly;
have you not seen a great flood
flowing through a small channel?

ha-tIan byanu-pa pen-Iaan min

Iin-tu gnod-tJhen dgra-laan min
pen-/a n-ba Nkhon-gfi-STE
gnod-Ian Jcun -gyis ssrub-par sla
Too much friendliness is not even for kinsmen;
very great harm is not even for enemies;
relying on kinsmen (is) the cause of feuds
and-anyone can easily pay back harm.

, Bill the equatiYC verb cannol be omitle<! before the propositional oonJuDaion -J1il1
"AHD." I do not knI;?w why this Ihollid be $0; but this nondeletability of YIN before -rliA is
the primary syntact ic distinction between the conjunclions _71iii "AND" and -sn MAND"-I
distinction that affecu the way the twO conjunction$ Ire used in making identifications. The
ooftltrainlon 1M: omission or YIN before -tiiii is al$O willI allows OOCIIrrence before ·TJiJI
to be ctiagD05lic of the kJdeal caletory of YCfbs.
258 THE ClAssiCAl. TIBETAN l...ANOUACiE

!n these verses we can note the parallel constructions mkhru-pa-IJ gfan-Ill

bIad-po-a (Y1N)-Am ''A wise man (is) a teacher 10 others OR _ .. ," gnod-pa
byed-pa-B /Jlluii-iiu-8 (YlN)-yaii "The harm one does ( is) small BUT ... ," and
giien-Ia fe-bo- B Nkhon-gti-B (Y1N)-STe "Relying on kinsmen (is) the cause of
fcuds, ANO .. ,,,1

1.1.2. Transitive and Intransitive verbs

In a proposition with a transitive verb, either the agency or the patient can
be the theme, and S0, under the Telegram Principle, either can be omitted-
thus 'KYaf-po-s dgra-g bsad "The king slew the Cherny," 'KYaf-po-s bsad "The
king slew (someone)," dgra-B bsad "(Someone) slew the enemy.',s Since
much narrative concerns the activity of some particular acto r through whom
the events in the story take place, the agency is often the theme of the pro-
position; hence we not infrequently find a proposition with a transitive verb
and a patient participant, looking very much like a proposition with an
inlransilive verb and a patient participant-for example, nor spel "(Some-
one) increases the wealth " nor "'pilei "The wealth increases," tIhu skoJ
"(Someone) boils the water" tJhu Nkhol "The wa ter is boiling," sgo Nby~d
"(Someone) opens the door" sgo Nbyt "The door opens,"

Many such pairs of verbs exhibit an inte resting logical relationship: the
transitive verb ENTA.lLS the intransitive verb, but the intransitive verb does not
e ntail the transitive verb. Thus nor spel "(Someone) increases the wealth" is
true only if flor NpIIEI "The wealth increases" is true, and tIhu skol "(Some-
one) is boiling the wale r" similarly entails t!hu Nkhol"Th e water is boiling."

7 Sometimes the statement pan icle ·0 will mark the close o f I proposition from which
the eq ualive ve rb lias been omiued-for eumple, fZUP sloII·fXlo "Form (is) emply," blD·/Nl
dt rgan·poo "The taml (is) old ," mi·1D bla·mao ·'Mi·., (is) I lima," And if Mi-lihas . lready
bct; n Ihe suhjCCI of prior discussion, he may ~ telegraphically o mitted as well, leavin, tile
minimal equallvc oonM fllClio n bla·mao " (The person we arc taikin, lbout) (is) I lama. H

8 En,;lbh has a device for uprcssin, a transitive action while supprcssin& the
specification o f its agency_a passive oolUtrut:tion without I by phrase. h Ihus makes some
se nse [0 trlnslate, say, dgra·8 bmd as "The ene my was slai n," as opposed 10 ~(SomeollC)
slew [he enemy"; bllt convenience o r Iranslation doa not make the verb . nythin, other than
If:lnSit ive in Tibeta n. Of course, in the con text or I discourse, the most likely tnnsll tion o r,
say, dgro· 8 bsod wuu lu be "HE ~Icw lhe enemy," si nce the En&lisb pronoun has tile same
a nap hotic runclion as Ihe Ibse nce of I panicipanl does in TIbel,l.n.
SIMPLE PROPOSmONS 259

Again, sgo Nbyed "(Someone) opens the door" entails sgo Nbye "The door
opens." and bya spur "(So~eone) scares away the birds" entails bya Nphur
'The birds fly away." On the other hand, sgo Nbye ''The door opens" does
not entail sgo Nbyed "(Someone) opens the door": the door might be opening
by itself.

A thouIJht is R prapositiMJ JPith R sense.

ne torRJity ofpropofifionJ is liJngu"Be.
~l disguises th0t4ght.

-L Wiltgenstein,
Tractatus Logico.Philosop/ticw

Such pairs of verbs as SPEL "make increased" rUF:l. "become increased," SKOL
"make .boiling" KJiOL "become boiling," PYE "make open" Btl: "become
open," SPUR "make flyaway" PI/UR "fly awny" are thus quite closely related-
by logical entailment, by semantic content, and by phonetic shape. But we
must bear in mind that propositions containing different members of such
pairs auert quite different sorts of events. The transitive verb in effect claims
that the event is the result of some outside agency acting upon the patient;
the intransitive verb mak.es no such claim.

1.1.3, Ergativity

Intransitive verbs occur with a patient; transitive verbs occur with both a
patient and an agency. Many languages-including Latin and Sanskrit and
Chinese-syntactically identify the intransitive patient and the transitive
agency. In Englis'h and Chinese, they are both put BEFORE TIlE VERB (as in
English ThE 1F.ACHER griLv~s and THE 1F.ACIIER s~es tM pupil), and the
transitive patient is put AFTER mE VERa (as in The pupil sus mE 1F.ACHER).
In Sanskrit and Latin, they are both put in the NOMINAlTVE CASE (as in
Sanskrit ACARYAI/locoli "THE lFACHER grieves" and AcARYAI/ Ji$yam paIyari
''THE l"EACHeR""SeeJ the pupil"), and the transitive patient is put in the
ACCUSA11VE CASE (as in Sanskrit AColIIY..qt lqyatz paIyari "The pupil sees TIlE
TEACHER").
260 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

Other languages-including Basque and Eskimo and Tibetan-syntactically

identify the intransitive and transitive patients. In Tibetan they arc both given
the PATIENT ROLE PARTIClE ., (as in SLOS-DPON-' NgyOd ''TnE TEAOIEJI.
grieves" and slob-lfUl-s SLOS-DPOH-' mlhoFi "The pupil sees TIlE TEACiER').
and the transitive agency is given the AGENCY ROLE PARTIClE -ms (as in
SWB-DPOH-GYlS slob-ma-' mthoii "THE TEACHER sees the pupil"). In some
descriptions or these languages the patient is said to be in the ABSOumVE
CASE and the agency in the ERGATIVE CASE (from Greek irgates "work.er").

In an AOCUSAllVE lANGUAGE such as Sanskrit or English, the patient of a

Iransitive verb is singled out 85 special and given a distinctive accusative form
or position, while the other participants share a nominat~r unmarked-
form or position. In an ERGATIVE L\NGUAGE such as Basque or Tibetan, the
agency of a transitive verb is singled out as special and given a distinctive
ergative form or posilion, while the patient participants share an absolutive-
or unmarked-form or position.

We can observe that an ergative system such as Tibetan is patterned very

much like the PASSIVE of an accusative system such as English. In the English
passive, for example, the agency of a transiti.ve verb is given the distinctive
marker by (compare English The pupil is seen BY THE TEACHER with Tibetan
SLOB-OPON-GYIS slob-mo-8 mlhon), while the patient participants share the
unmarked position before the verb (compare English ThE TF.ACHER griLva and
n'E TE'.ACIIER is .seen by tilt pupil with Tibetan Sl..OB-DPON-' NgyOd and slob-ma-
s SL08-DPON-8 mlhon). This is the reason for the assertion, common in older
textbooks, that "all Tibetan conslructions are impersonal" or that "all Tibetan
verbs are passive." In fact, Tibetan apparently lacks an~ syntactic structure
corresponding to the passive of an accusative system; Tibetan transitive
constructions can, of course, t}e TRANSU.TED by an English passive (for
example, 'KY0/-po-s dgra-' bsad ''The king slew the enemy" or ''The enemy
was slain by the king"), but this, again, is a peculiarity of English and not of
Tibetan.

, III a number of er.allve langualC', we lind COll$trllClions tUI uve come to be callc4
ANTI'ASSIVES, with the transitive .agency in 1he unmarked absolutive case, the Inll5itivc
patient in an oblique or DATTYE ease, and the ycrb in I dist inctive "antipassiYC" form. I havc
DOl found a conYincin. example of such an anlipassiYe eomtruelion in Tibcun.
SIMPLE PR OPOS ITIONS 261
1.1.4. '''Thnse''

1.1.4.1. The tense system

Every Tibetan verb occurs in one of four tenses. The tense of the verb is
signaled by various more or less regular changes in its phonetic shape-for
example, Nthub "chops," btubs "chopped," btub "will chop," 'hubs "chop!" A
verb may have a maximum of fo ur such distinct shapes-for example, from
the root TU "gather" we find Ntlu.l./btwfb tufrhus. and from the root n llAD
"cut" we find gtJodfbtJadlgtJadltJhod. These four forms of the verb have
been denominated, by the native grammarians, t/a·lta-ba "present," Ndas-po
"past," ma-oiis·pa "future," and skul·lSilig "imperative." It is evident that a
simple linea r concept of tense- stretching from the past into the future-does
not adequately account for the meanings of these four verb forms.

Note too that the present a nd pa~t form a distinct entity as the two tenses
shown by intransitive verbs, and the future and imperative as the two tenses
peculiar to transitive verbs. Similarly, the present and future form a distinct
entity as taking the mi- form of the negative particle, and the past and
imperative as taking the rna· form; the past and imperative, too, are both
distinctively marked with the s- sufftx, while the present and future are not.

It thus seems plausible that these four tenses are in fact the product of two
intersecting semantic specifications-an ASPEer specification of completeness
a nd a MOOD specification of Potentiality. An eve nt specified as COMPUIE is
finiShed, terminated, acco mplish e~ t the time of speaking; the event has a
terminal boundary. An event speCified as PO'ffiNTIAL is one that is not fa ctual
but is in some way expected to be !actual. In Tibetan, then, the present
expresses an event not specified as being either complete or anticipatc:d, as
in rgyal·pos nor sgrub "The king gets/is getting wealth"; the past exprc:ssc$ an
elle nt specified as completed but not as anticipated, as in 'KYal·pm I/or hsgmh.f
"The king got/has gOllen wealth"; the future expresses an event specific:d as
anticipated but not as yet completcd, as in 'KYal.pm Iwr hsgruh "The king will
gel wealth"; and the imperatille expresses an event specified as expectc:d to
be completed, as in rgyal·pos 1I0r !I:mbs "Let/may the king gel wealth!""

10 Similar interactions of mood and aspect are fo und in OIhc r lan cuages. For exa mple.
in nga lo!. as in Tibe tan. the verb fOlm ind icating potentiality but no t co mpletio n is IIsed
fo r o rd imuy future even ts. and the verb form ind ica ting both pOlentiality and completion is
" sed for imperatives.
262 THE ClA'iSICAL TIBC"TAN WGtJAGE

The lenses we have characteri7.ed as indicating completion-Ihe transitive ane

intransitive past stem a nd the tra nsitive imperative stem-are all signaled ~
the -s suffIX; the -s suffIX thus appears to be the inflectional marker for
aspect. We may note, too, an interesting relationship between transitivity and
potentiality: the fact that only transitive verbs can normally be specified as
potential suggests tha i Ihe predicI3bility o f an event in Tibetan is connected
with its occurring through some outside agency-paradigmatically an animate
actor-rather than simply happening to the patient that undergoes it.

1.1.4.2. Periphrastic forms

In the earliest texts, such as the archaic rr.anuscripts discovered in Central

Asia, verbal tense was expressed primarily through such inflectional
modifications of the verb stem alone. In one such mythological text, for
example, the horse Khug-ron rman-dar swears revenr.;: against Wild Yello.",
Yak, who had killed his older brother, using the fl~ t ure tense of the verb5
Ttw "cut" and UN "repay," saying, sdan-gi siiiii g-.Jhado, Nbf(jii-g.yag skar·bai
siiiii gtJhado, byams-kyi Ian glan-no, phu. yid-Icyj gdafi-pyam-gi Ia n glan-no " !
will cut out the wrathful heart, I will cut out the heart of Wild Yellow Yak:
1 will repay the kindness, 1 will repay older brother Yid-kyi gdan-pyam." And,
after the yak is slain, he exults, in the past tense, slaii-gi siiiii bt5had, byams-gi
nj Ian blan "I have cut out the wrathful heart; his kindness, yes, have I
repaid,"

Periphrastic constructions, in which the job of expressing tense is spread out

over more than one verb stem in the sa me proposition, come from three
sources. First, we find , even in the archaic Central Tibeta n manuscripts.
CONJUNCflONS with the coordinating conjunction -'riiii > .kyin > -ky; > .gi
and, to a lesser extent, ·STe "AND," as in siii-la nna byeu.-tig Ih ogs.~Ii~ "'DUG
"A little peacock was there ta ngled in the snare," Second, we find NOMINALIZ-
AllONS with -Pa, 8S in khyed.raii ni iia·la dad-nas Oiis,PA YIN "You have come
to me in faith, " Third, we find COMPLEMENT coNsllwcno Ns, again even in
the earliest archaic texlS-ror example, ~a mgo nag-po de-Ia phyag·Ntshal·liii
des bkoJ-BAR oR-no "It came about that the Chinese masses paid homage to
him, and were by him enslaved"; in the translation of Sanskrit texts, such
complement constructions began to be used more frequently, in part, one
supposes, to express the Sanskrit passive-for example. Sanskrit iijiiniit;
Tibetan I~S·PAR BYED "He knows," Sanskrit siidhyat~ Tibetan bsgruh-PAR BYA
"It is proven"-but also in such conslruclions as me sreg-PAR 8YED "Fire
SIMPLE PROPOSmONS 263
bums" and me sreg'1'AR NGYUR "Fire Viill burn." By the time of New Tibelan l
we find-for example, in the diaieci of Uasa City-that several of these
various periphrastic forms, from differenl syntactic sources, have formed a
coherent inflectiona1 paradigm. I am not at all sure that such a development
can be discerned in the classical texts; and these periphrastic constructions
will be dealt with separately in Ihe appropriate seclions of Ihis text.

1.2. PAKI1CIPANTS

A proposition in Tibetan consists of an event and its participants; the event

is the last constituent of the proposition, with its panicipants preceding it in
various positions. A panicipant in turn is a nominal phrase marked with a
following bound role panicle: the role particle signals the particular role or
function of the panicipant in the stated even!. For example, in the proposi-
tion nags-la tgyal-pos dgra-11 bsad "The king slew the enemy in Ihe forest," the
participant nags "forest" is signaled as the LOCUS of the event.by the role
particle -la, the participant rgyal-po "king" is signaled as the AGENCY of the
event by the role particle os, and the participant dgra "enemy" is signaled as
the PATIEJO" of the event by the role particle -8. Similarly. in the proposition
tgyal-po b/a-mll-don dgon -pa-nos byon "The king arrived from the monastery
with the lama," the participant tgyal-po "king" is signaled as the PATIENT of
the event by the role particle -8, the participant dgon.pa "monastery" is
signaled as the SOURCE of the event by the role particle -nas, aDd the
participant b/a-mo is signaled as the ACCOMPANIMENT of the event by the role
particle -don..

There are five basic roles in the classical language-PATIENT, AGENCY, LOCUS,
SOIJRCE, and ACXl)MPANIMENT. These roles-and the different meanings that
they cany-will ~ disCussed in the following sections.

1.2.1. The patient role

The PATIEJO" of an event is the participant that suffers., endures, or undergoes
the particular state, process, or action; the patient is the one the event
HAPPENS TO. With verbs of motion the patient is that which undergoes the
motion;' with verbs of location it is that whose location is asserted; with verbs
of emotion it is the experiencer of the emotion. Whatever other participants
an "event 'may have, it must always have a patient: in classical Tibetan every
264 TilE Cu.s.'~]CAl. lIBETAN lANOUAGE

proposition must have one patient participant either stated or understood;

every event has to HAPPEN TO somebody or something. 1I And. with one
exception, any proposition can have only one patient panicipam; the
exception is a proposition containing an equative verb. which uniquely occurs
with two patient participants.

The role particle that signals the patient of the event is ZERO, which we write
herein. when occasion demands, as -8. ThIs means that the patient role is
signaled by the ABSENCE of any overt role particle: the proposition bla-ma nal
"The lama sleeps" is conveniently conceptualized as bla-ma-JJ nal. This
invisible panicle is just as functional as any o ther: the presence of ./J signals
the pacitn! of the event just as surely a~, say, the presence of ·10 signals its
spatial or temporal locus. The zero particle sometimes causes problems in
reading only because it is so hard to see.

1.2.2. The agency role

The patient of an event, we have said, is the participant that suffers, endures,
or undergoes the particular state, process, or action: in bla-mo-IJ ~I "The
lama fell down" the paiticipant bla·ma "lama" is the patient of the process
of falling; in bgq:s·kyis bla·ma·1J sgyef "The demon tripped the lama" the
participant bla-tno "lama" is the patient of the action of tripping. The
AGENCY of an event is the means or instrumentality whereby the event OCCiJrs:
in dgra-s rgya/-po., bsad "The enemy killed the king" or ser·ba·s rgyal·po-IJ
bsad "A hailstorm killed the king" the! participants dgra "enemy" and ser·ba
"hailstorm," respectively, are the agencies of the action of killing.

The role particle that signals the' agency of an e"ent is :KYis, whose initial
undergoes morphophonemic changes according tp the final or pDStfinal of the
preceding syllable: ·Klir becomes .gis after preceding final .g and ·iii becomes

II When Ihe palicnl parlicipanl is nUl bci r ,! aCled upon by some agency o r inslrumen.
lalily ulernallo ii, il can convenienlly be u:."slalcd as lhe English subJec1-lhus rf>Yl/·po·iJ
itfl/''1lIe king sleeps." When it is being aCled upon by some exlernal agency o r jnmume;,·
talily, it ClIn be translaled into English either as the objecl in an active conslruc1ion (If It>"
sulljccl in I passive one-thUS dgra ·l ~/.po . , bsad "The enemy slew Ihe king" or '·Tht'. 1.;.1r.g
was slain by the enemy." Inleralingly, it seems Ihal cLlMial Tibe~n can be ·,\llo roughly
descr ibed without rC$()tlin& to Ihe nOlion of crammalial subjecl or Object al nil; it is, in Ihal
sense, .... hal 5Omc: IinguL'LI have termed a ROLE·DQMIr-;"TI;:O lal''!uage.
SIMPLE PROPOSmONS 265

-kyis after preceding final -d, -b, and -So' and becomes -gyis after preceding
final -II, om, or, and -I-thus, for example, bdag-gis, raii-gis, bod-kyis, rab-kyis,
gos-kyis, bon-gyis, lam-gyis, phur-gyis, bol-gyis. A preceding open syll<lhk
becomes a closed syllable in os-thus, fo r example, dgas, SI'Yis, tgYus, bde.f,
bios-although in archaic manuscripts and ancien! monumental inscriptions
we encounter such forms as dgais and bdeis. In verse, when an extra syllable
is needed for metrical pU'iXlses, we find -yir following an open syllable- for
example, dga-yis instead of dgo-f.

The agency whereby an event takes place i§ quite often animate, although the
initiator of an event can also ~ a natural force, an institutio n. or a magic
spell: where we read an a~ency as being in some sense RI'.!'\ I'ONSIIlL.E for the
event we can speak of an AGENT. On the other hand, the agency m ilY he
some inanimate Object wielded by an agent, or in some other way not subject
to its own inclination: where we read an agency as being is some sense NOT
RF.s f'ON S1Ul .E for the even! we can speak of an INSTR UM ENT.

Thus, in a proposition such as rgyol-pos tho-btu rdo bt!ag "The king broke the
roc k with a hammer," there is little question that rgyal-po "king" is the agent
and fho-ba "hammer" is tne instrumem, despite the fact that they are markcll
with exactly the same role particle-except, pe rhaps, in the unlikely {:ontext
of a story about, say, an animated hammer and a frozen king. Knowledge o f
how the world usually works is often quite enough tu distinguish agents fr OITl
insfruments, even in unexpected combinatio ns-for example, bta ·mas sbrul-gyi:.·
bgegs brduiis "The lama hit the demon with a snake," or bfa -mu-f siiuXJ-kyi.1
,do bt!ag "The lama broke the rock wiih a magic spell .'·

Of course, where the proposition contains only o ne agency plitticipalll, one

can argue whet her that participant is "really" an agent, or "rea lly" a n
instrument with the ilgent telegraphically omitted : is the propositioll dUI:·gif
'KYat-po bsad to be processed as "Poison killed the king" ("If as "(SOlllt:OIl<!)
k.illed the king with'poison"? Such processing can bl..: ,-!uite cul ture-hound. T,)
an American, the proposition st:r·ba~ 'KYa f-IX) h.md can only be processed as
"A hailstorm killed the king"; a Tibetan would not [ule {)lIt :hl: reClJi l1~
"(Someone) killed the king with a hailstorm."

A transitive verb a_sserts that the event it expresses is the result of.HI out5:t:C
agency acting upon the patient, and thus requires an agency particip<:m t:llhc r
stated or understood. But agency panicip,lIIts can occur with intransitive ve llr.-
as well; compare, for example, Ihe proposit ions bfa·ma-s bya -fl .~pw ··· t ",·
266 TilE CtA'iSICAL TIBETAN I...ANGUAGE

lama chased/frightened away the birds" and bfa-ma-s bra-S pIuu "The birds
flew away/got frightened by/through/because of the lama." In the first
proposition, the traruitive verb SPUR "frighten/make fly" asserts that an
outside agency is responsible for what happened 10 the birds; in the second,
the intransitive verb PIIUR "become frightened/flyaway" makes rio assertion
thai the Slated agency controlJed or instigated the event. With an intransitive
verb, the agency participant is still the means or instrumentality whereby the
event occurred, but it is demoted in its responsibility.

In fa cl, we collid set up a sequence of propositions as a RESPONSIBIUn'

HIERARCHY with regard, say, to the frightening of a flock of birds, using the
transitive verb SPUR "make fly/frighten away" and the intransitive verb PIIUR
"fly away/be rrightened," and ranked rrom the clearest assignment or
responsibility to the vaguest, like this:

MOST ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBI LJ1T'

bfa-ma-s sgra l!hen- ''The lama rrightened away

I)(H bya-S spur the birds with a loud noise."
bfa-ma-s bya-S phur '"The birds got frightened
away by the lama."
sgra tlhen-po·s "The loud noise frightened
b.vQ -n spur away the birds" OR "(Some-
one) frightened away the
bi rd~ with a loud noise."

sgra l!ht'll·po-s --The· birds got frightened

bya-e pllllr away by a loud noise."
byo-IJ spur "(Someone/something)
frightened away the birds."
bya-8 plwr "The birds got frightened
away."

LEAST ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILm'

SIMPI.E PROPOSmONS 267

An instrument can be just about anything whereby or through which the

evenl-including one expressed by an intransitive verb-takes place. 12 Mi-Ia,
for example, mkhar-Ias-kyis mi-sdug "is/grows weary with tower work"; we find
such propositions as hla-ma yon-tan du·ma-s NPhags "The lama is noble with
many virtues," ri-bo nags-kyis mdzes "The mountain is beautiful with forests,"
bdag khyim-gyis skyo "I weary of the household lire," rgyal-po sbrul·gyis Ndtigs
"The king is scared of snakes." Dpal-sprul rin-po-t!he tells a story of how
rgan·mo khy;·so-s sans·'X)'as "an old woman became a Buddha by means of
a dog's tooth." And nole the proverb;

blo nse-gijis·lcyis don m;-HgfUb

"hab nse-gijis-kyis Ntshem-bu mi·len
The goal is not reached with an unsteady mind;
a stitch is not made with a two-pointed needle_

The notion of instrument is easily extended to include states of mind or other

abstra'"ctions, yielding expressions that can be Iranslated adverbally in English
-for example, tllugs-rdle-s "with compassion ... compassionately," tfhed-gijer.
gyis "with purpose ..... purposefully," tUll1-tall-gyis "with earnestness ... assiduous-
ly," raii·blin·gyis "by its own nature - spontaneously."

1.2.3. The locus and source roles

There are two role particles, -la and -na, which signal the LOCUS of an event,
and two Tole particles, -las and -nas, which signal its SOURCE. The locus of an
event is the lime or place it occurs; the SOUTce of an event is the place or
cause or material from or through which it takes place. With verbs of motion
the locus is the goal of the motion, and the· source is its departure point; a
transfer takes place from a SOUTce to .a locus. With verbs of emotion the locus
is that toward which the emotion is directed; with verbs of construction the
source is ·that out of which the patient is built.

12 NOte che following inte rescing difference between che ]p./SlllUJr04ENT used by an agent
and Ihe SOURce or ground of his action: I proposicion A-,ou lilg-OIS s-' tllldl m~ns chac
A graspc4 A hy ,.·s hand, while A·,ou IIlg·"'Al a-' /)111.11 means thai A grasped. 9 by s's hand ;
in che firs! case Ihe haml is !he iMlrUmen! uloOd by ..... and in the second cue !tIc hand is Ihe
m3lerill1 ,round of the lelion of ,raspin,. ThIlS, 100, we find, unambi,uoll51y, A-K11s Jltra-"'As
11·6 bzu.ll "A ,rasped a by his hair,·' bUI not, in mosl COnleJtS, ?A-K11s slaa·s 8-'/)11I11.
268 1'1110 CLASSICAL TIBETAN l..J.NGUAGF

It is clear that the two locus particles and two source particles are clos~ ly
related. The locus particle -fa and the source particle -las both begin wi'h
initiall, while the locus particle -na and the source particle -nas both begin
~ith initial n. The two source particles -las and -nas both end with final os,
while the two locus particles ·Ia and -1111 both end with final -8. I)

We can distinguish the t- locus from the n- locus, and the /- source from the
11- source, by the concept of BOUNOEDNESS: an n· locus participant or f1-
source participant is specified as constituting an ENCLOSED SPACE in or out of
which the even! occurs. For example, when a person sits by the water, or
fl oats on it, or goes toward it, so that the water is not specified as somehow
CONTAINING the action, the n tile water is an J. locus; but when a person sits
o r swims under the water, or dives into the water, or movcs within or through
the water, so that the water is specified as a closed space relative to the
action, thcn the water is an fl · locus. Similarly, when a person emerges from
the water, or a fish leaps up orf its surfacc, the water is an /- source; but
when a person comes out from under the water, so that the wate r contains
14
some component of his observed motiqn, the water is an n- source. We

Il A5 10 Ihe n · locus and source panicles, comparc the noun nan "inlerio r, inside. inner
~n" and _ lhough pcrhars un likety_Old Chinese '" w~b :> "nwJid "intcrior , inside, inner."
II is templing tU hypolhcsi1.c a Proto-Tibetan panicle affilt '-s "SOURCE" as a formative in
bOlh fh i: n- souru: and 1- source part;clcs; since the agency of an evt:nt is, in somc !lense. a
sourtc tJf thr.! eycnt, the agency role panicle -I.')1's might be furmed with the sarno; "-s afrllt
addctl III th e adnominal pa n icle ·m Indeed. the Tibetan grlm malic.al traditit)n has nou:d
Ihe r clation~hip belween such proposilions a51;;;·mkhan -gyis sta·rt·s Ii;; brIM "The woodS·
man CUI Iho:: tree with an axe" and Iiii ·mkhan·~ sta-u·s lUi brlad "The woodsman's axe CUI
the !ree."

l~ The gencral rule is suhjeci to scyc ral conventio ns. The sou rce of a Hansfer- in fal,1,
Ihe sourcc of mosl sorts of linear mOlion - is an n· source: th us we find blu·ma Iha ,s(l ·nas
pt'./J;ii .l(I Ngro "The lama goes' from Lha.\ a 10 Peking." Kuii .nas ";;"d "Where did you gel tha I
frum?" The larget of an elll<ltion is an 1_ locu$-thus bla·ma dhru·la dga ·'llte lama del ight~
in Ille d h3rm~," rwu1po 110·10 gduii "The king yearns for food," ~ ~I·po-Ia sdaii ''Tl!e
demon ~,a l 6; Ille king. " Wilh verbs of oonsUlI(tion, th e material of which the objcct is made
;~ u_~ ualJ y an I· source-Ih us phor·pa gU T-Ius bras " lie made ~ bowl OUI of gold," m(Htilt
diiu//IJs ~b "The vajra was made of silver": hut occasionally the m:uerial i~ e~prcs.wd 3S
an n- sou rce-fur Cltample. k/rajj·pa pha'f(U-nas brrsif{1 "He built a hou!le from bricks:' When
an allima' e being is an owner ur recipienl of an object, the animale being is an I ·l",o,:u_~ fOf
Illal (ll'tlcel _ th u5 bla·mn.la phrt ii·b(l gur.po)Od "The: lama hl\!; a golden rosary," sniiH70'aJ '
10 d;:t ·J/oii -gis mrJhod·pa phul"nlc monk ga\'e offe rin gs 10 the Buddha," mi maii·poi don ·11l
Jgt·sl(Jii-~s (.tho$ bJad "Thc monk taughl th e dharma fur the sake of Ihe many:'
 269

can thus diagram the four particles as follows:

l'IONBOUNDED BOUNDED

LOCUS
SOURCE
-Ia
-las
-na
-nas
1
These four particles do the same work as the whole array of English
preposilions-to, at, in, on, for. through. and so on. One reason the)' can do
so is because English prepositions are often cOnlextual1y determined. For
example. English ust:s different prepositions for location and direction: we: say
He fives AT Ille mOtUlSIery but H e goes TO tile monastery. in Tibetan, the same
locus particles afC used with verbs of locatio n and verbs of motion. There is
no confusion because, of course, the verbs 3TC different-thus dgcm-pa·L,A
blugs "He lives AT the monastery" and dgon.po.-u NgrrJ "He goes TO the
monastery"; the fact thai the locus panicle must be TRANSLATED differently
when it indicates a site rather than a target is a peculiarity of English.

Now such a site or targe t may be either animate or inanimate. The difference
is important in EngliSh, where animate sites and targets may be given special
syntactic treatment; again, Tibetan uses the same locus particle in either case,
with apparently little confusion. tl For example. Tibetan expresses POSSESSION
with the particle ·/a and the verb YOD "exist spatiotemporally"-thus b/a-ma-
la phreii-ba yod "The lama has a rosary," Tgya/-po·!a ral·gri. yod "The king has
a sword." The construction is the same as that for any assertion of spatia-
temporal location- compare Tgya-mtsho-Ia na yod "There are fish in the
ocean," liij-fa spreu yod "The monkey is in the tree.""· The fact that an

IS Note the similarity 10 the reading or age nts .nd instrumenl5. Both .re m.rkod with
the same panicle . .nis, but in any proposition-say, rgyal_po-I fal-gri·' dgrtl bJOd ''The: king
slew the e nemy with. sword·'_lhe a ninuote . gency is more likely \0 be read as the agent
and the inanimate agency as the instru menl.

14 Note, 100, assert ions o f location which in EngliSh c.an be exprc:sscd-mellphoric:ally'l-

as posses.sion, .nd 1l5..!oCrlions of possession whiCh can ·be elprC5$Cd-politely1-as toc::alion:
compare, for eumple, ri·la mt-wg yud "There are n~rs on the mounllin{T1le mou ntain
has flowers" with Tgttll·po.lil 1t11i·ba yud "The king has neas/There are fleas o n the king."

Simila rly, with verbs o f tra nsfer, English marks as recipients o r benertc:iaries those t.rgets
o f Ihe tranMer capahlc o f I>c:ing affeCied by the thin, transferred-for eumple, Itlil.r-'g)'Iu.Ayis
270 TilE ClASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

animate site is orten best TRANS lATED as a possessor is a peculia rity of

English.

When locus or source particles alone are relt to be insufficient, an author

may specify locus or source more precisely by using any of several REUr.TOR
NOUNS. Such relator constructions are parallel to such English expr~ssions as
on rhe fOp oJ. to the right oJ. or for rile sake of-for example, brag-gi kha-Ia
"on top of Ihe rock," de; dus-na "during that time," rii og-nas "from under
the mountain," dge-slon-g; gseb-nas "OUI of the midsl of the monks.',17

1.2,4, The accompaniment role

The I\CCOMPANIME."ITof an even! is the pan icipanl along with which the event
occ urs. The particle which expresses the accompaniment rolc is -dan-thus,

" a(;,·/a tJhO$ bJad '''The Budliha' taughl tile dha rma IN Ihe woods" bllt sans.tgYrls-.IcyU byIl./a
dhos Mad ''The Buddlla tauglll tile dllarma TO tile bi rds"; note fill·pas fill ·U tJhu dTa1U
''The far mer brought wate r TO/fOR the field." OaMical Tibetan does not_as the examples
show-require su.c:b a distinction; .... bere 11 tllrEet must be specified as a beneficiary, 11 benefi t
relator can be u.'oCd.

17 The followi ng are exa mples of the most commonly enrounl ered rela Mr nouns: SPATIAL
KEU.TOkS include /cha "surface." /chon. "int erio r," ~oiiJ " midlile," gall "prOxi mity," goil
"upper part," JoWam "side." 110 " face," thad "direction straight ahead," thog "uppermost
pan," mtha "end," drun "proximity:' ph)'OKJ "direction," bar "interval," nsa ......icinity,"
mlshams "border," Jlad " hindpa n ," (;'~b "midst." Among spatial relaton may be included
the compass points Jar "Wt," tho "souch," n~b ''WeSt.'' byaJi "nonh"; intermediate compass
points are consistently read off dock""i~-thu5 Jar .tho "southeast," thQ·nub "southwest,"
""b ·byan "northwest," byan·l", "nor th ca~t . " NO! unexpectedly, many spatial relaton are
seman tica lly paired---dkyir "ccnter" Nkhcw ''f,:i rcumferencc,'' slion " fro nt" rdfts "rear," mdun
"front" rgyab "back," mgo " head" mdlug "llIi l," s/ti! "to p" og "botto m," nan "inside" phyi
"outside," g.yw " right" &)'0'1 "left," I$hu "this side" pha " that side," pIw "the upper parI of
an asce nding valley" mdo " the lower part of I valley .... here it merges into tile plain."

There are three TEMPORAl_ relaton-Jkabs "oo::asio n," ~J "time," ts~ "time." Elsewhere
we find spa,ial relalon used metaphorically fur li me-t hus goii " upper pan .... time pre-
ceding," snon "front .... lime preceding," mtho "end'" conclusion," bar "interval -- time
between,- mt.sIIanu Hbordcr -- junclure." og Hbouom .... time I'oIlowi ng," Jiad "hindpart __ lime
lollowi ng." It is in terc:sting 10 note that lime is conccptualilCd as moving both from ahead
to behind a"ld lrom above to below. Finally, there arc IIEl'If.I'rT REt.ATOKS----dOII "sake,
purpose," phyir "sake, pu rpose," tJhfii "benefit, gai n."
SIMPLE PROPOSITIONS 271

for example, rgyal-po bla-ma-dan dgon-ptl-Ia slebs ''The king came 10 Ihe
monaslery with the lama.,,18

A number of verbs, both transitive and inlransitive, take an accompaniment

as a core panicipant. These include verbs of distance, such as RJN "be far"
and NE "be near"; verbs of similarity and agreement, such as MTSHUN "be like,
similar," NDRA "be similar, equal," MNAM "be like, the same," MfHUN "agree,
be in harmony," STUN "make agree, harmonize"; verbs of meeting, joining,
and mixing, such as MOlAL "meel," PURAD "meet, fall in with," SPRAD "bring
together, make meet," SBl'ItR "join, connect," SM8 "join, unite," GROOS "be
associated," DRlS "be accustomed, acq\Jainted," ULtN "be together," NDRE "be
mixed, ": SRE "mix"; verbs of opposition, such as KHON "bear a grudge, be
dissatiSfied," NTlWJ "fight, quarrel," GAL "be opposed," soo "bid defiance,
bear up against, risk, venlure"; verbs of connection and separation, such as
8REL "be connected," SBREL "connect, make joined," BRAl.. "be separaled,"
PHRAl.. "separate, deprive"; and verbs of conversation, such as SMRA "speak,"
GROS "consult," LAB "talk. ,,19

Thus we find, for example, propositions such as gna.J Ndi gron-khyer-DAR riii
"This place is far FROM town," dge-slon tlhos-DAR Nkhon ''The monk is dis-
satisfied wrrn/tire:d OF the dharma," bslu-baj mom-pas Ichyeu-DAR SmnlS "He
spoke wrntIro the: youth in a seductive way," lus-srog·DAR Jdo "He risks 8 his
life," mal-Nbyor-pa kha·tshub·DAfJ Nthab "The yogin struggles wmUAGAINST a
hailstorm," sem5 mig-DAR bsdebs-nas Ita, ma·ba-DAfJ bJdebs·nas nan "The mind
sees by joining WlTHlhe eye, and hears by joining WJTI-I the ear," naii-po-DAN
(,a·ba mi·mlhun-poi dus-lig yon "A time will come of views hostile TO/not in
accord wml Buddhism."

18 The accompaniment paniclc -dan is the samc as Ihe nominal phrase oonjlltlClion -dan.
Note, therdore, that. ooll$\ruct ion SIKh as bla·ma-dan rgyal·po Ng10 is syntaClk:alty ambi-
guous between Ihe phrasal oonjllnClion reading (bla-ma-dan rgyaf.po).' Ng10 "The king-and-'
lama SO" and the accompanimenl read ing (bl/l·ma-dali) (rgyaf·po-I) IoJFO "The king goes
wilh the lama," .llbough such ambigllity seems seldom of much moment. The oonSiruClion
'1fY'i1·po bla_ma-<k>iI "WO, on the other hand, is unambigl.lOus: il an only be given Ihe
lOCOmpanimcnl reading (rgyal_po. S) (bla ·ma-dail) Ngra "The king goes with Ihe lama."

It Note particul3rly Ihe verb5 LDAN "be endowed, pos.seu,".nd BJ1,ts --be aooompanied,
posseu," as in Jails·'K)'QS yrNt-/an-danldoll "The Buddha is endowed with excellellce," '1fY'il.po
H4hor-dDII brJ/lJ "TlIe king is accompanied. by his retinllC." These vtrb5 are disc\wod, with
InC lexical tormal ive -dall "POSSESSING," in the secllon on derivational morphology.
2n THE CLAssiCAL TtBeTAN l..J..NOUA02

2. THEMATIC STRUCTURE

2.1. PAf(fICIPANT ORDER

When a participant is marked by its role particle, its function in the-proposi-

tion is signalled by the particle rather than-as in, say, English-its position
relative to the other participants. It is not quile: accurate: to say that ''lORD
ORDER is free in classical Tibetan; a change DC word order within a nominal
phrase can change its meaning-for example, bla-mas I1hos bJad-pa "the
teaching of dharma by the la ma" tJhOJ bla-mas blad-pa "the dharma that the
Ian.a taught." But we am say that in classical Tibetan PARTICIPANT ORDER is
free: the two proposit)ons bla-mas dhos bIad and tIhos bJa.mas blad have
the same propositional content, at least in the sense that the: conditions under
which the: two propositions would be true: or false arc exactly the same.

But while the propositional conlent of these twO propositions is arguably the
same, their TIIEMAllC structure is different. 2O The proposition bID·mas IJho.r
bJad is ABOUT the lama; the proposition IJhQS bla-mas Mad is AIK>llT the
dharma. Now the notion of "aboutness" is itself far from clear. But the
proposition bla-mas tJlws bJad "The lama taught the dharma" is in sOme
natural way a response to the question "What about the lama?" or a lead
sentence in an essay about the lama; while the proposition tJho.r bla-1IUl.J
Mad "The dharma-the lama taught it" is in the same natural way 8
response to the question "What about the dharma?" Of a lead sentence in an
essay about the dharma.1 !

20 In this sense W(; can say 111011 Ihree kinds of information Ire encoded In I Tibellft
proposition _ the tEXtCAI. informatiOn liven by e.1Iell word (~·po.s dgrtJ·. b·rdull·J "llle
king lIil the enemy" con~ diffe rentlcxia,l informltion thin 'l\f6/.po.J b~•• b·rdWI·J
"The king lIil Ihe demun"); the SYI'o'TAC'nC in formatkln liven by role panicles and tense
.fnllCS (rgyol·IKI.J dxro·8 b·rdu;;·J "11M: kin, hit the enemy" conveys different $yn~lic
information Illan d/."o ·$ ry;ya1·po·8 b·rdu;; '"1lIe e nemy will hit the king"); and tbe TI-lEM--.TIC
in(orma lion (11nvt:ycd by Ihe position of (:JIch participant ('f:)'tli·po-s df?tJ·. b·/'duA·J '1ltc
king hit Ille encmy" con~ different thematic in(o~I)on than dgra·. rgyal.p(1-J b·rduil·J
"The enemy_ the king hit him").

2t When the pat ien t o f a tra nSitive verb is made the theme of I proposilion, the
propos ilion may orten be cnl:venicnUy lllAHSUTIill by I n EnJlish pusive-for eumple,
rd:i:o·",o nba.",khQlt.gyis bIOS rgyol·pos btlag· '11Ie pol-the POlltf mlde it Ind tile kin,
llroke itffhc pot _ malk by Ihe poller uJ broken by the ILin&-" This is. of CO Il rs.e. a
fcailife of English a nd not of Tibetan.
SIMPLE PROPOSITIONS 273

Given the proposition bfa-mas tIlws bJad "The lama taugh~ the dharma," we
would not be surprised to find the participant bla-rna "lama" telegraphically
omitted in a following proposition-for example, bla-mas t1hru blad-t1iii bgegs
btuJ "The lama taught the dharma and tamed demons"; gi~n the proposition
dhru bla-mas bJad "The dharma-the lama taught it." we would not be
surprised to find the participant dhru "dharma" telegraphically omitted in a
following proposition-for example, tJhru bla-mas bJad-tIiii mkhan-pos bkrtlf
'The dharma-the lama taught it and the abbot explained it." In these cases,
the missing participant in the second proposition is easily processed as being
the same as the theme in the first proposition; the sequences are easy to
read_ But a proposition such ·as bla-mas dhos bJad-din mlchan-pas bkml is
harder to process-although it can certainly be figured out-because it
defeats our thematic expectations: the apparent theme of the first proposition
cannot be processed as being the same as the missing participant in the
second. A proposition such as t1hos bla-mOJ blad-tIiij bgqs btul is thematical-
ly ambiguous between the readings "The lama taught the dharma and tiE
tamed demons" and "The dharma was taught by !he lama and IT tamed
demons." Note, again, that !he telegraphic omission of !hemes in Tibetan
corresponds to pronominalization in English.

The normal order of participants in a Tibetan proposition is as follows. The

proposition consists first of a SI::n1NG for the rest of the proposition, which
remainder is the AcnON; that action consists of a statement of the TIIEME,
followed by whatever information the proposition supplies about that theme,
which is called the RIIEME; that rheme consists of the PERIPIlERy-all the
incidental participants in the event-followed by the NUCI.EUS; and that
nucleus, finally, consists of the CORE participant in the proposition, followed
by the EVENT.

For example, in the proposition dei fsll~-/a rgya/-po-s ral-gri-s dgra-8 bsad "At
that time, the king slew the enemy y,i th 3 sword," the locus participant de;
fSfI~ "that time" is the ScrnNG of the proposition, while the remainder is its
action; the agent participant 'ID'al-po "king" is the llIr:Mr: of the action, while
the remainder is its rheme; the instrument participant ra/-gri "sword" is the
PERIPHERY of the rheme, while the remainder is its nucleus; and the patient
participant dgra "enemy" is the CORE of the nucleus, followed only by the
event.

The participant in the SETTII'lc, slot supplies the place, time, or circum5tances
which place the event among other ev!!nls; such seuings might be spatial ("'In
274 THE ClASSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

Ihe woods ... "), temporal ("From that day onward ... "), logical ("Therefore
.. ,"), or circumstantial ("Upon his arrival ... "). The selling slo t need nOl
be filled; but, when it is, the occupant may be a locus (de; dus-fa "At that
lime .. ,"), source (de-llus "After that . .. "), agency (de; /shig-gis "With those

The litera? ereRtar hIlI the right to distinugrau

the primRJ maNer of rwrdJ Impaud on him by tatbooJu
and tiicrionariu.

He has the right to J(Je word· of his uwn [lUhit:ming

and to dirrtgard existing gran/madcal and
l'}ntlUtj,a/ laR'I.

-Eugene Jolas,
Proc/amaljnn

words .. ,"), accompaniment (bla-mtJ-dan "Along with the lama ... "), o r
adverb (j:aii-xi rhyi,-du "For which reason ... "). As might be expected, locus
panicipants are found frequently in the setting slot; in fact, in temporal
expressions especially, the locus p,LTlicJe may be telegraphically omitted, as
easily recoverahle, from such a panicipam-thus dei dw "AI that time," NgrO-
boi nile "When he lefl," dd son "On the day after that," slebs.pai do-nub "On
the cn:ning of his arrivaL" Frequemly occurring selling collocations can also
be clipped-for example , de-Jus "At that time," goii-phyir "For which reasOn_"

The HI (:ME, as we have said, is what the proposition is about. Where one or
more of the participants in the proposition is human, we normally expect the
human participant-or, secondarily, any animate participant-to be the theme,
simply hecause the dOings of people, pr animals, or spirits, are what peojlle
often talk about. But any participant can be the theme of a proposition-for
example, a source (dgon-po IIhen·po-nos dge-slun um "It was from the greal
monastery that the monk came"), an instrument (ro/-gri Ndis 'KY0/-pos dgra
bsod "It was with this sword that the king slew the enemy"), or a palient
(rdzo·mo 'X)'uf-pos htIog 'The pot was broken by the king"),
SIMPLE PROPOSmONS 275

The COilE participant, immediately to Ihe lert of the event, is the participant
semantically required for the complete statement of the event-that is, the
participant thai "goes with" the verb, such as the site of a verb of location
(dgo/1'pG.la btup "dwells in the monastery"), the target of a verb of motion
(nags.la Ngro "goes to the woods"), the accompaniment of a verb of meeting
(blil-ma~aij mdIal "meets the lama"), or the patient of a transitive verb
(dgrg bsad "slew the enemy"), where the core participant has not been shifted
leftward to become the theme. The PERtPHERAL participants are all the
remaining participants-instruments, accompaniments, sources, loci-which
are not setting, theme, or core.

2.2. TOPICS

A TOPIC is part of a proposition which is singled Out by one of several

syntactic devices 95 TI-lAT WHICH IS TO BE TAI.Y.EO ABOUT. A topic-as
opposed to a theme-is always announced; most propositions, in fact, do not
have such an announced topic, although every proposition has a theme; the
topic and the theme of a proposition mayor may nOl be the same. For
example, in the proposition rgyal·pos dgra ni bsad grogs /1; bslcyans the
participant 'KYal-po "Icing" is the theme; but first dgra "enemy" and then grogs
"friend" is signalled as the topic by the topicaliter n~ and we might translate
"What the king did was this: enemies-he killed them; friends-he protected
them." On the other hand a theme may be brought into greater prominence
by being made the topic as well, as in na; mthw ni bgegs Ndul ser·ba Nbebs,
where the participant fuJi mthu "my magic power" is both theme and topic,
and we might translate '"My magic power-it tames demons; it casts down
hailstonns...

2.2.1. The I()picalizer n;

The TOPlCA.UZER ni may be placed anywhere in a proposition except in initial

position or before a bound constituent; it signals thaI what precedes is Ihe
topic-for example, Ichyod ni blo nor "You-your thought is in error," spon.-
bM byG-ba ni spo;is-lig "What you should renounce-renounce it'" mar-po ur'
N iii yod sJcyes-ml1hog mar-po ur·ba iii med "Someone called Mar-pa-there
is one; someone called Saint Mar·pa-there isn't." The source of this
topicalizer seems to be an archaic exclamatory particle ni that recurs regularly
at the end of the first foot in every line of the ancient bardic poetry. For
276 TIm CLAssICAl TmF.I'AN lANoUAGe

example, in the archaic chronicle preserved at 'IUn-huang, which daiel to the

mid-seventh century, we find the mighty Ndus-sroii, betrayed by h~ . vassal
Mgar, singing the following song:

kye
gna-; ni thog-ma-ru
gle_; ni daii-po-w
dguii-sno nl ma-og-gi
dcg-mon ni yo-slens-no
gtsug.gtsugs ni buugs-Iegs-II!
mthos-te ni dguii myj.rdib
dog-nwn ni sdiii myi-iiams
dglln ./a ni giii Jor-ba
dro-dro ni sa·la dro
sgro-btag:s ni btags-legH~
bUa-no ni dpal yan dpal
Nplwiis-pa ni Ja yan khums
Ia·khum.s ni my; yon glOl
f!Y<
di·riii 11; sanA/la-no
dog-sriii ni shUT-bu.·is
bya-ltar ni btsos-buos-Je
gnam-du ni NfJhur-Ndod-kyaii
Nphur-du 11; Ndab ma-m1Shis
tvphur-du 11; Ndab mJJhis·kyaii
dguii-siio ni phaii-rnthoNe
sprin ni go my; "ius
ya-ru 11; dguii rna-slehs
mo-ru l1i dog ma-slebr
ma-mtho ni ma-dma-ste
JehIQ-i 'Ii gzan-du gyurd
bya-pu 11; luii-tshuiis-na
Nbaij,s-lig ni rdlt-TU n
mgar-bu ni rdft-ru rt
sba/-po tli Hphur-du rr ...

Oh
at the beginning YES in the old times
in the first days YES of-lhe past
the b lue sky Y£.'i below it ·
SIMPLE PROPOSmONS

the broad earth YES above it

it was all laid out YES laid out well
the sky was high YES did nOl fall
the earth was deep YES did not crack
in the sky YES the sun rose
warmer warmer YES wann on the earth
arrows feathered YES feathered well
oh so fine YES fine 10 see
Ihey were loosed YES slew the deer
slain deer YES nourished the people
Oh
but today YES 1 look about me
the beetle YES waits in the earth
imitates YES imitates the birds
in the 5ky YES wants to fly
but has no wings YES to fly with
even had he wings YES \0 fly with
the blue sky YES is too high for him
could not pass YES beyond the clouds
could not reach YES the sky above
could not reach YES the earth below
not high enough YES nO( low enough
he becomes food YES for the hawk
in Ihis small valley YES in Bya·pu
a V8SS&1 hopes YES to be }ord
little Mgar hopes YES to be lord
a frog hopes YES to fly ...

Another archaic manuscript. also preserved at Thn·huang, entitled The

Proverbs of Mother Su.m·pa, contains a series of aphorisms using the particle
ni in a different and very effective way as a pure topicalizer. Here we read,
(or example, pluwg-dog·pai myi ni iNdDn m,Yt! ItDr Nbar-ro "An envious man
-his hate bums like fire," mIl.;w.par bsad-pa ni sbnJ-gdug )'Dn siiiii4'dteo
"1b kiD where there is no offense-evc:n a snake has more compassion,"'Juu
mIl-bies-par wp bJas·Po ni dmn NgYUN'O '1'0 slaughter a sheep not accepted
by the gods-it becomes polluted," byur·iian nad·bu·t!an-ia ni yi~gs Jcyaii
siiiii·rd1eo "For ~ sick fool-cven a demon feels sorry," "ag·m iies-pa IIi rnu.
su·la dgra yall myi-byed-do "Perpetual evil-even an enemy does not do it-lo
anyone," mil Ndzaiis bu Ndzaiis-na ,.i ~r-la g.yu spm-la, rna ;w,. bu. iia,.·na ni
khoii-rul-du Iud spuii-pa..tfan Ndrao "I{ a mother is wise and the son is wise-it
278 TilE CLASSICAL TIDETAN lANGUAGE

is like turquoise set in gold; if a mother is wicked and the son is wicked-it
is like dung piled in a rotten house."

The lopicalizer ni is also found in the translation literalUre rendering such

Sanskrit particles as hi (as in Sanskrit 110 hidam Tibetan de ni ma-lagNo
"That is nOi so," Sanskrit kleJii hi molqapriipler iillara~m Tibetan non-mons-
po-moms ni thor-po MllOh-po-la sgrib-pa "The defilements are impediments
10 obtaining enlightenment"), and tu (as in Sanskrit OYOI?1 tu lIi!qa~ Tibetan
Ndi ni khyad-par yin "This is different," Sanskrit aku.Iale lu iihrikyam
anaparrapii Tibetan mi-dge-Ia ni khref-med-daii no-tsha-med-pao ''Among the
impurities arc immodesty and shamelessness").

In the classical texis the lopicalizer IIi has been adapted to a variety of uses.
It sets off chapter titles and paragraph headings (as in leu daii-po ni "Chapter
One," daii-po IJllol dar-bai Ishul ni "Part One: How the Dharma Spread");
it topicalizes the theme of an equation (as in mi-Ia ni mal-Nbyor-pa yin "Mi-
la-he's a yogin," iia IIi bram-ze "Me-I'm a brahmin"); it topicalize5
elements embedded in larger syntactic struclUres (as in rgfa-mtsho ni tIhen-
po-Io iio maii-po yod "The ocean-in it so vast are many fish," iii-mai ni od-
u r Nbor "The sun-the light of it blazes"); it sets off the key term in
commentarial elaboration (as in bsiab-pa kun-gyj gIi Ndzi/t.#iii gsuns-te bslab-
po ni Ihag-pa tshul-khrims-daii Ihag-pa sel7LJ-daii Ihag-po Ies~b-kyi bslab-po
gsum-du naii-pa-Ia grogs-po " It is said: 'He holds the foundation of all
teaChings.' Teachings-these 8rc \mown among Buddhists as the three
teachings of morality and meditation and wisdom").

The topicalizer ni can, of course, be used excessively: in poetry especially it

is sometimes used only as a convenient device for filling out the meter. An
effective stylist uses it sparingly so that it can be most effective-for example,
GtS3fi-smyon he-ru-ka, in whose biography of Mi-)a ras~pa we find tidi ni siiar-
gyi de-ko yin "Why. this is the same one as before!" iiai tlhed-du $dig-po .JOB-
tu btoii-ba ni min "Well, I certainly didn't send you to accumulate sins for my
sake'" lur.pai ni yab mi-gson ") told him, but my lord won't listen," kun Mig-
{Xl iii min "This is certainly not to lear down all of it," iied-kyis ni khyod-kyj
gtis ph~-pa med "Well, it wasn't we who stole your inheritance!"

2.2.2. The particle ·la as topicalizer

A topic may also be placed in the setting slot of a proposition and be

SIMPLE PRoPOsmo","s 279

signaled with the locus particle -Ia. For example, we find the proverb lal-Ia
pad-ma Ndab-brgyad, thup-la dug-HUhu $doii·bu ''As for his mouth-an eight-
pctallotus; as for his heart-a thorny bush." The poet Pad-rna dkar-po uses
such topicalization in the refrain of a lOng. where he repealS, at the end of
each stanza, bar-lIad-/a mtd-do "As for hindrances-there aren't any'"

When Mi-!a recounts the story of his life, he uses such topicaiizing construc-
tions as gdult-gi mUMn-la mi-la Its grags-so "As for the name of my family-it
is known u Mi-Ia," lUi-gi miii-l4 mtluuJ.~n-du lIhap ''And the name of
that field-it came to be Lucky," brtsigl-pa dt-Ia noi gyad-rdor grogs-pa yin "As
for that which I built-it is known u my Hero Stone." And Mar-pa', wife,
puzzled by her hwband's behavior toward Mi-!a, says Sku-mdWl-dU khyi·lig
byuii·nUi lIhos pllii, Jchyod-la thup·la 171;-Ndop "He teaches the dharma even
should a dog appear before him; but as for you-he doe5 not take you to his
heart."

This topicalizer, like n~ is also used to set off Chapter titles and paragraph
headings, as in 'X)'Ql-sa mi-iiag·la !or-bai lo-rgyus-la ''As for the history of the
loss of the kingdom to the Tanguts , , ,If or gliii-btii miii-la ''As for the names
of the four continents. , ."

Occasionally, too, the two topicalization devices are used together: Mother
Sum-pa saY' myi phyug-po-la ni dbaii-po nor-dad·lIan-gyis phuii-la, myi Ndzaits·
paola ni lIan-p4 phra-dog-tJan·gyis rlag·go "As for a rich man-the greedy
powerful ruin him; as for a wise man-the envious wicked destrny him."

2.2.3. Identification and dennltlon with -S1I

Seginning with the translation literature, we find constructions with the

conjunction ·sn "AND" which approximate the topical constructions we have
been discussing. The conjunction -STt "AND" can be used to conjoin two
propositions with a common theme and with that theme telegraphically
omitted in the iecond member of the conjunction-for example, bfa·ma dgon-
pa-Ia byon-tt llhos bla.d "The lama came to the monastery and taught the
dharma." Now one-or both-of these conjunctS can be an equative
proposition, and that equative conjunct can frequently have the verb Y1N
omitted; in such cases we will speak of an IDEtrrm"YINO construction.

Some identifying constructions have the equative proposition as the ir SECONO

280 TIlE ClA'iSlCAl. TIBETAN U\NOUA(iE

member-for example, gzugs-kyi mom-por rig-po Nbyuii-ste phyii don-las yin

"The perception of form occurs: (it) is from an e){ternsl object," yul de-na
bram-ze Ndug-ste dbul-Hphoiis-po-lig-go "In that land dwelt a brahmin: (he)
(was) a poor man," In such constructions the equative second member
comments on or additionally characlcrizes the theme of the first member. 21

Other identifying constructions with -.'Ire have the equative proposition as

their FlRST member, It is here that the first conjunct begins to look very much
like a topic. Thus in the translation literature we find such constructions as
Sanskrit ye j'allVii~ WQrge sambhutiis tajja", su/cha'!1 pratyanubhallanri Tibetan
sems-dan gan-dag mlho-ns-/a Nbyuii-ba -dag-ste de-na yod-pai bde-ba so-sor
myoii-iio "Sentient creatures who are born in heaven-they taste the bliss that
is found there"; and in the classical literature we find such constructions as
li·lli na-ro mar·pa-SI< bla·ma gon-ma-mams-kyis mam·thar gsuiis "Tilli, Nilro,
Mar.pa-the lamas of the past have told their life stories."

Finally, we find highly stereotyped identifying coordinations with truncated

equative propositions in BOTI-I members. These are found frequently in the
classical texU, used to enumerate chapter titles and paragraph headings (as
in rma·byai slcytJ·pai rabs·1t skyu·pai rubs gnis·pa "The fable of the peacock-
this is fable number two," tJllos·kyi Nkhor·lo bskor·bai leu·Sle blJo-liia-pa "The
chapter on turning the wheel of dharma-this is number fifteen"); to
topicalizc a term being defined (as in saiis·rgyaNe ma·Tig·pai gnid saiis·pao

22 One: widespread use of this constrllctio~ is to give the: REASON for the: assc:rtio n of the:
former memher. In Sanskrit philosophical wri ti ng an a.ssc:nion is ofle:n followed by a nominal
compound in tbe ablallve case giving the: reawn for tbe fact or event iS$Cned; the Tibetan
Ir.Mlltors rendered such constructions using a conjunction with ·STt ""AND" whose second
equative member was a nominal complement with the abs tract noun head phyiT "reason,
cause, aCCOunt" and tbe tq"'tive verb Yl.V omitted. 1bc construction i,\ easier to read than
10 describe: we find Sanskrit MdJuuuvp siddJllJ'7I S\'(llumn(l"iplJklJdhiptltyllf Tibetan gnod·ptl
IogrUb·sle riJ/I.g.· ftu·kyi smill·ptJi dbaJI·gi phyir·fO "p.in COmeli about: th b i$ because of the
dominatint rorce or the ripening of personal karma," sanskrit lUI nlJr(l/(lJ yu,ryanu t(ll1·
du~pr(ltisll'7l"tdaItlIf Tibetan wou·dllJl dmyGf·tnu mi.rip',l iUi sdug·bslWl m' m)"Jl'l.boi
pItyit·,o "They cannoi be ronsidered to be in hell: th b is bea.usc: tiler do not experie:nce 115
surrerln,," Sanskrit "lIC41 til ~twun ,,_t /ilqllYiJqlJptq(;" ,; ; 'ibetan IIlIg·gi ni uhig
.sn\I'{l·bar byd-bfl·UJ dlHz/I'P9./lid ml! .yiII.(t slob-pai khytJd·par·UJ 11« • • 'lyi"'(l '"Language: is
not the controlling force ohpeech: this is bcc:ausc: il requires a p. ;:.. ~ .•,( I<AI ning proceu:'
Such coIIStrvctions were: borrowed from the Hanslation lal':> ~ :'" " ,to the class~l lan guage,
and mntirlcations of Ihis son are • comnlo n stylistic feature of Tibetan philO5Oph~1
tlIposilion.
SIWPLE PROPOSITIONS 281

"&ddha-he is one who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance," Ji-ra-sre
mgo-bo fu bya-Ixlo ''The word Jiras-lhis means head"); and to summarize
or identify lisla of terms (as in lus4iln srog4iln yid-dan btan-siioms-kyi dban -
po-dDg-su dbaii-po bl; ''The powers of body and life and mind and equanimi-
ty-these are the four powers," phyag-mlShan sa·bon sku-rdzogs-u rdo-rdle
tIItog pum-po '"The emblem, the seed, and the perfected body-these are the
three diamond rituals")_ '!Ie also find such identificatiofll combined with
other topicalizc~-for example, t1hos IIi gnis-te Ndus-byas-chJn Hdus-ma-byas-so
"Dharmas-thcy are of two sorts: to wit, caused and uncaused_"

~ -- 1("

F~ 10. Pdn of 1M GHar tpi.c, willi drawing!

0{ W dsDrocurJ by lilt wW
11 Complex Propositions

A1; we have said, propositions can be combined in twO different ways. TWo
or more propositions can be connected together on the same level with any
of several CONJUNcnONS-such as -tim "AND," -Am "OR," 'YD n "BuT'-to
form 8 single complex proposition. Or one proposition can be e mbedded at
tl lower level within another proposition by being NOMINALlZf.I)-that is,
lurned into a nominal by the affIXation of any of several nominlllw ng
particles. For example. the proposition bla-mlll bgegs btut "The lama tamed
the demon" can be nominaliud by the nominaJizing panicle ·M 10 become
blQ-mas bgegs hto.ll-ba "the taming of the demon by the lama." Such a
no mina lizcd proposition can then occur anywhere a nominal can occur. It can
be the head of a no minal, as in rgyal-pos [blo-ma! bgegs btu/-ba J-8 mthoii
"The king saw the taming of the demon by the lama"; or it can be a
CO MPI.E ME.NT that modifies a nominal or verbal head, as in {bfa-mas bgegr
btu/-bal-j sgmn "the tale of the taming of the demon by the lama," (Jf a
Jl.H.AnYl-: that modifies a nominal head, as in {bfa- mas ~ btu!-bal-j bgegs
" c1~m{}n which the lama tamed."

The coordination of propositions by juxtap05ing them on the same level is

mmetimcs called PARATAX IS; the subordinalion of propositions by embedding
one proposition witt)in another is sometimes called llYI'OTAX1S. A para tactic
construction thus relates a sequence; a hypotactic construction expresses a
hierarChy. Hyputaxis may be more confusing, since the reader must still
process the propositions sequemially and is thu~ often forced to store the
beginning of one proposition while processing anothe r; on the other hand,
parataxis may be more vague, since the reader q1US\ process the juxtaposed
propusitions ofte'1 without overt syntactic clues to thdr relation. l

1 Sometimes the style of an author un Ix relaled to ~ predilection for one o r the o the r
,ramllIatiu! SlulCture. Th e fo llowing passage ffom Faulkner's shon no~et Th~ iJtor is bol h
highly hypvtact ic and typically Faulknerian:

... a~d tne desk am! the shelf above ,l! o n ..... hieh ratOO the ledgers in
..... hieh McCaslin recordoo the ~10\\' o~t .... aTd tr ~ckle c~ rood and supplies and

282
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 283

equipment which returned each fan as eollon made and ginned and sold
(twO threa<h frail as truth and impalpable as equatono yet CIIbJe·strong to
bind for life them who made the colton \0 the land their sweat fell on). and
the older ledgeno clumsy and .rchaic in siu and sh.ilpe. On the yeUowed
pages of which wcre reoorded .

Here the cumulative hypotaxis (the slldf 0tI which • .. /ht ftdgm ill which • .• t~ rrickJt
wltit;h .. . thtm wlw ... 00 tht pogu of which . •. ) serves to reinforce an oppressive mood
of involuted relationships, and - perhaps even more-to subordinate the entire commercial
process to McCaslin's desk and shelf. Compare thiS pa.ssage with the following highly
p8ralaClic and similarly characteriStic description (rom John LeCarre's TIIIIu1', Toikr, So/ditr,
Spy:

The finot bunot shot off a hack wheeJ and turned the car over. He saw the
wheel Oyover the bonnetlli the car lOOk to the ditch on the Jert. The ditch
might have been ten feet deep but tbe snow let him Gown kindly. The CIIr
didn't burn SO he lay behind It and waited, facing across the track ' boping
to get a shot at the machine-Bunner. The nUl bunot came from behind and
threw him up against the car.

Here the cumulative plraw;is (WId, bul, so, ond, 4IIId) achieves an effect of hurried but
disjointed action: COhesion is ruinuined Ieli<:ally, rather than by explicit syntactic
relationships, as key descriplive terms Ire repelted (bunt . .. whttf . .. Cdt, whttl ... car
•• . dilcJr, dUe" .•. mow, Ctv • .. mD£NM-PIIMr, bunt ... Ctv)' Similarly, compare the
followinl hypotactk passage from Janel Rlnner's "At o.bicol CiI)I,

Her honesty and haul)' from which, now thai she was well est.ablishcd in
lire. sbe seemed 10 gather such stren&t~'. were lite a rich endoWment from
which she drew not only the apen.sive decoration of her grey fun tMt pve
her grey eyes the \'to/ue of semi-prcciollS $Iones but also her special free
attitude toward the COStly walls tluit housed her, the sum of all these
apenses only being a titbe of what was her fund of fCSOurcefulness and
aroplitude,

with Ute followins pauase from Slul Bellow's Humboldl's Cift:

Wonderful thinp are done by womeo for their hushands. She Ic:Md a rxt-
king and .11owed bim to hold her ClptiYe in the countf)'. She sipped beer
from a Pab$t can. The room was /ow-pitched. Husband and wife were l.arae.
They sat tascther on the Castro sola. Tbere wasn't ellOush room 00 tbe
wall for their Shadows. They overl1owcd onto the ceilinl-

As in EnSll~h. any panicu"-r Tibetan tUi is irtevitabty a mixture of paraw;is and hypotIDS;
2"" TIU~ Cu.ssICAL TiBeTAN lANOUAGI!

1. CONJOINED PROPOSITIONS

1.1. CONJUNCTIONS

A CONJUNC1lON is a particle that joins propositions together paratactically; in

classical Tibetan propositions are linked by conjunctions.. while sentences arc
not. In the classical language there arc three types o f conjunction-ALlERI'iAT'
IV!; ("PItOPOSIllON or PROI'OSIllON
M
), ADVERSATIVE ("PROPOSITION bw
PIWPOSI110N") and COORDINATIVE C'PROPOSITION and PRoPOSmON,,).l

An indefinite number of proposlllOns can be linked togeth~r by such

conjunctions. This horizontal expansion can extend to the limits of stylistic
tolerance, which in the classical language seem to be quite broad. Thus the
scries "PRoposmoN and ;>RoposmON and ... PRoposmON" may rear.h some
length ht!fore it becomes a SENTh:NCE by the addition of a performance
particle.

In all three type~ of conjunction it is expected-and in an extended sense

rcrhilps even mandatory-for the conjoined propositions to have some theme

still. we can spea k of Tibetan syntacl!c styles. beari ng in mind Uti, these arc broad
genCfa li7.i1tions. Ind ividual Altn!OIlS tend toward one o r Ihe other type of oonstruction:
Grags-pll !gya l - m~'han and Gl.ul\ -s myon he-ru _u, for e.umple, Ire rypially parluctle, .hile
TMJ i\-ktla -p3 or Ihe fifth Dalai Lama Bio-btall rgya-ml$ho arc: Iypially hypo.>laCtk:. Pntlcullr
(', I-.NII.I'S as .... ell a n he distinguished syn tactically: historical and ftlrnlltiYe prole aenerally
lend l0W3rd parataxis. while philosophical and tUhnial prose tends toward hypotub. Some
poeljj.: genres-SIKh as myst ic Mlnl;- 3rC prcoomina ntly p,aralaClic; otbcrs- such u tbe: norid
and htghly SilMkritil.cd encomia Ihlll often prefac;e expository tens-a.!I be quile hypotaclk.
Such hypnt:u.is also frequently !.elVes to m~r k an eleian, o r formal REG~: tbe loftS
honnrifl<: Ulul1l ti!ln 111 lhe head !If a Til>etan leller is highly hypotactk, as o pposed 10 lhe
pua(u i.~ that marks the ooll ...;uill l ur informal register o r slIeh a deliberately nonli terary
Myli'l a.'! Dpal.srr ul NdJjglo·mcd l<hus-kyi dbll\·po.

I G cncrall~ speaking, we can characlcril.c Ihe conju nct ions by makin, two distinctions:
the ~ltcfllati\'e conjunelion "OR" links pr uposi tio ns only o ne of.hielt is asserted to be 1nM,:,
"'hlk I'nth the JdVCT~ l ivc cnnjunc;tion "mIT" and the: coordi ruol ive oonjuTIC1ion MANDM link
P"'I''',ili\>n~ all of whkh are ass<:nCd 10 be t~ u e; the: adversa tive oonjuTIC1ion "BlIt" asserts
lh;o. the 1""I"'~ i I K!Il' il Ijnb arc: in :\Ome way semantically or prallmalially o ppoecd, .hile
lhe ..:"",<I,n", ;vc mniunctilln "",NO" a$!.erlS that Ihe: propositions il Jinks are in some way
...:man li..""Uy '" f"agmati<:.1lJy ..:ongr ucnt.
CoMPII:.X PRoposmONS 2BS
in common; thus we can expect also to find thematic participants omit.ted
from latter members of the conjunction, even to the extent of reducing such
a proposition to the event alone.

l.t.t. The alternative conjunction

The Al..TERN....nve CONJUl'lcnON PARTlCLE is -Am. 3 The hyphen indicates that

the form is BOUND and occurs only with an immediately preceding proposi-
lion. The capit<ilizalion indicates that the vowel prefixes to itself the last
consonant of the preceding syllable coda-thus dog-gam, nii-nam, yod4am,
yin-nom, /hub-bam, t.phom-motn, sgyur-ram, NbuJ-lam, and Jags-sam. A pre-
ceding open syllable becomes a diphthong-thus dgaam, Nbriam, tgyUam,
dgeam, and Ngroflm. In th(: scansion of verse such diphthongs may occasionally
be counted as two syllable ~ for the purposes of meter.

The alternative conjunction offers a choice between two or more possibilities,

only nne of which is asserted to be true. On the one hand. the proposed
alternatives may be-a~ with the adversative conjunction "BI.!f"-perceived
as semantkally or pragmatically opposed to each other-thus mii rigs m/hoam
mi; dgs dmall "Eitha a family is high or the family is lOW," nod-pa gsOl/-llam
M-fhi "The sick person either lives or dies," sans-flD'as-kyis tIhos blad-dam
rna-Mad "Buddhas have either taught the dharma or not," f1rYQ1-pOJ dJ711
gsod-J(lrn dJ.,'1'as gsod "Either the king kills the enemy or the enemy kills him. "

On the other hand, the proposed alternatives may be-as with the coordina-
tive conjunction "i\N o"-perceived as 5e mantically or pragmatically congruent,
although it is sti ll a~sc rted that only one of the propositions is true for any
single individual at anyone moment-thus mal-Nbyor-pa ri-Ia lidzeg-gam luli -
pa-Ia NgT"itns-$am pllug-pa-Ia blugs "A yogin asce nds the mountains or wanders
in the valleys or ahides in a cave," bj{cg.t-malm-kyis serns-tIa/! skrag-gam Sllad-
dam g.wd "D(:mons fr ighten or harm or kill sentient creatures," dge-slmi hzali-
PO$ IS/W.t I/ws-.ram hsarn -mam worn "A VIrtuouS monk studies the dharma,
or ponders it, or meditates upon it."

.l We will note here: o nl y hriefly tha t this is clearly tile s:oJme as tllc IoClltcllcc:fillal
questio n JIlI"idc ·Am. Wc c;an_an4. I~t.r o n, we will-hypolhC5il.c that thc Tibetan
int c rrogativc i~ IlcrivCiJ ultimately rrom an underlying alt ernal ive conjunction.
286 TilE Cu.sSlCAl. Tl aETAN l...ANGU ....GE

1.1.2. The adversative conJunclion

The ADVERSATIVE CONJUNcnON PARTICl.E is .Yon, which becomes ./cyan after

preceding final -g. -d, ·b, and os; becomes -yan after preceding final -ii, on, -m,
·r, .~ and open stressed syllables; and becomes -an after preceding open
\Instressed syllables.·

The adversative conjunction links propositions all of which Bre asserted 10 be

true. bul which are asserted to be in some way semantically or pragmatically
dissonant: propositions so joined are in a relation of thesis and anlithesis.
Thus we find such SEMANn c dissonances as gdon·pu dluJr-yafl bsam-pa /'lag
" His countenance is white but his thoughts are black," and such PRAOMATIC
dissonances as rgyal-po btud-kyan khros "The king bowed down but was
angry" and saru-rxras Ndlig·nen-Ia skyes-kyaii Ntilig·rte/l·gyis rna·gos "The
Buddha is born in the world but is not sullied by the world." The wit o f what
we can call ADVERSA.TIVE PROVERBS o ft en lies in their pointing out An
unexpected pragmatic" disso nance: for example, in the archaic Tun-huang
manuscript entitled The Sayings of Mother Sum-pa we find Nbrog·r1Sa bza;j·yan
rkaii.NgrOS dbyar rdlud-do "The pasture grass is good-but it tangles your feel
in summer." .

We can point out too that a conjunction such as gfOll·nu yin·lcyGii dbafj .po rn o
"He is young bUI his faculties are -keen" embodies a presupposition that being
yo ung and being sagacious are pragmatically dissonant, while a conjunction
such as glOll-rlU yin·lcyGii dbaiJ·po mi-nIO "He is young but his fac ulties a re
not keen" presupposes precisely the opposite. We may similarly no te the
presuppositions embodied in such C(lnjunctions in smras-kyafi mj·fion " He
speaks but does not listen" or NtShal-yaii mj·nled " He seeks but does nOI
find;' which assume that speaking and listening or seeking and finding are
pragmatically consonant.

4 This bound conjunction ·rd is clearly related to-but is not the same u-the
connective rd "ALSO,H which is not bound but free. We can polnl out too Ihlllhe classical
(orm ·YaA is the only (orm In Y· .monllhe piIIrticles, .nd . ppurs in faa to der ive from.
Prolo·TIbel.n form . ' K»II\ which alone time unlkrwent the same morphophonololica[
chlnp II ·n1s.nd ·m By the classical period, however. Ihe 'oOk:ed form of the particle-
Ihe (orm found 'fter prcced[n, IOnonnt finals_had become .)WI" nther Ihan Ihe expected
-·O'llll. .\thouah we ntu nnd the 'o01ced rorm .~.It spondlcally inslead of ')I'l.lt In Ihe arch.1c
Old TIt>eln manusmpu prelel'VCd II Tun·hu.na.
CoMPLEX PROPOSI110NS 287
Such presuppositional relations may be more remote. Thus, for example, we
make the pragmatic assumption that enemies rejoice at our misfonunes
rather than weep at them: hence Mi-Ia ras-pa, when he is starving in a cave,
sings dgra sdaii-ba blras-kyaii mtIhi-ma HlJhar "Though a bitter enemy see me
he would weep," linking the two antithetical propositions with the adversative
conjunclion. Similarly, Mar-pa promises Mi-Ja that he will not have to lear
down the tower he is to build, saying Ndi Mig-kya;; mi..Jgos "Though you tear
this down it is not necessaryfYou can te,a r Ihis down, but you don't have 10,"
expressing the pragmatic assumption that people tear down what they build
only when necessary. That this promise may most easily be lllANSLATEO into
English simply as "You will not have to tear this one down" does not change
its adversative character in Tibetan.'

1.1.2.1. Diakct variants

The adversative conjunction -Yan has twO DlALEt.i VARIANT'S. The older
variant-apparently related 10 the Proto-Tibetan form ·-KYaii-is -KYi, which
resembles the adnominal particle -Kyj but is almost certainly unrelated to it:
thus we find uhig brdlod-kyi don mi-wel."He says the words bUI does not
exrlain the meaning," bza-ba za-yi btw"j-ba mi-Ndod "I am eating the food but
don't want anything to drink," tgya-muho-Ia mll-tig Hbyun-gi gser man-po mi
Hbyuii "Pearls are found in the ocean but not much gold."

This variant is fo und predominantly in earlier material, especially in

translations from the Sansklit-for example, Sanskrit idam eva satya'!1- mollam
anyam Tibetan Hdi ni bden.gyi gtan ni rrizun.pao "This is truth but the o ther
is falsehood," Sanskril siifTI"'rtam trallaJqat;lafTI na piiramiirthikam Tibetan
mlshan-iiid Hdj ni Iwn·rdzob·po yin-gyi don-dam·pa ni ma·yin "This characteri·
stic is conventional rather Ihan absolute," Sanskrit k.at/lafTI lIayau va~a·
sadbhii\'a!l, Iraddhiinfyo qo 'rtho n iillumiinfya~1 Tibetan rluii-la Icha-dog dlj·

, Interestingly. we find ca5e5 ""lIere IWO oonjOf ntd anlilllelical proposiliolU a re identical:
here alt liner parlicipants are len OUI, leaving only tile verb. Suell propositions are found
prc60mina ntly with 51111ve verbs, and h~ye I I intensive meaning; stmanlieally they seem to
be asserting tha t there is no w;IIy the predk.at io n cou ld be o ppo$Cd-thus bhl·ma tlMaIt tJht
''T1'Ie lama b very &real,H bw·mo mdz't.s.l.yallmdus "Oil bUI the &irl is beautiful," kim rii! .yaii
rill ''The path Is so very lo n&." The OOnSIrUCIiOn is old in Tibclu. In the archaic ma nuscripts
preserved in Central Asia. for exa mple. we rll'1d /ma·na ni dpal·ynir dfXl/" ll you loot IlflC'n
It -how ,Io rious!"
288 TH E CLAssiCAl. TIBETAN l...ANOUAOE

ltar yod IlNUJ, don foIdi ni dad-par bya-ba yin-gyi rdleNu dpog-par bya-ba II;
rna-yin-no "How can air have color? This is a matter for faith rather than for
examination," Sanskrit vijMn~Q!ka", pravanate na tu Weid eko dr"af!osti
Tibetan mom-par Its-po drug Nbyuii-gi Ito.bo.po gtJig.po med "The six
perceplions occur but there is no single perceiver." NOIe the following 35
well, from the Tibetan translatio n of toe Buddhist ecclesiastical 13WS-khyim-
du Jehri-stan mlhon-po-10 Ntlug-par bya; der nol·bar ni mj·byao "You may sit
o n a high bed in a house, but you may nOI sleep there," dge-slon mgo-rtg Ndi·
dag ni tshod-tn(J ro sna-tshogs-dDn kkln-pa-dan. Nbras-tlhan za-bar os-po ma-
yiII-gy~ nas lUI-po za-bar os-po yin-no "These shave-headed monks are not
worthy to eat many-flavored dishes and boiled rice, but are worthy to eat
roUen barley," khyod m rgyal-po, os lags-kyi hdag ni os ma-Iags-so " You are
worthy to be king, but not I."

This variant is found too in the archaic chronicle preserved at Tun-huang: for
example, we find yi-dags ma-bab-kyi /IO-sbyor-du nes-so "You have not bee n
possessed by a demon, but surely you are hungry." As late as the thirteenth
century, in the Leg.r-pa, Mud-po rin-po-tJ/lei gter of Sa-skya paryqita, we find
such constructions as YOIl-lan-ldall'po YOI/-lall-/a dga-yi YOI/-lan-med-mams min
"The virtuous delight in virtue, but not the unvirt uous," skye-bo dmoll-mams
dam-pa-Ia khyad-gsod byed-Icyi dam-pas mill "Lowly persons despise holy
persons, hut holy perso ns do not." From that point-perhaps frOIll the
fourteenth century on-the frequency of this va riant diminishes markedly; its
use tends to become restricted 10 the verbs YIN "be the case" and Mon "be
true," and thc stereotyped expressionsyill-KYi-mod-kyi-yi/l-mod-kyi come to
function almost exactly like -yali, especially in philosophical texts.

The later dialect form is 'nln, found especially in the fifteenth-century

COlloquial prose ofGtsan -~myon he-ru-ka, the crazy saint of Gtsan, Ihe author
of Ihe famous biography of Mj·la ras-pa and the redactor of his collected
songs. Here we find such conjunctions as tes-fUn mi-Ies-pa Itar byed " He
knows, bUI acts like one who does not know," sku-mdun-du kllyi-tig byuii-ruFi
tJll(Js gsun "Though a dog appear before him he teaches dharma," thugs dgeJ-
po-lig byuFi-ruii rmi-lam-fa Nbyuii-sa med gswls " He was delighted, but said,
'Dreams have no meaning,'" sems-gso man-po m.dzad·nul (slings-fa ro/-poi Ndu-
tes S(O, "She comforted me greatly, but I had lost a ll thought o f enjoying the
ritual food." Such constructions wilh -run are found in tht prose of Gtsan-
smyon, but in the songs attributed 10 Mi-I" himself-most of which in all
likelihood conside rahly preda te their collection by Gtsan.smyon in the
fifteenth century-we lind the consistent u~e of -Yail rather than ·ruil-for
CoNP1.EX PRorosrnoNs 289

example, Mi-Ia sings bsgonu-pas ma-groI-yan mi-med luii-$Ioii-<w Ntfhi-bar Jog

-YOOugh I be not liberated by meditating, may I yet die in a lonely empty
valley.-

1.1.3. The coordinative conjunctions

There are two coorriulluive conjunction particle!. The first is the coordinative
conjunction .niij, which becomes -tIin after preceding final -g. -d, and -b;
becomes -lUi after preceding -n, .n, .m, -r, -~ and open syllables; and
becomes ·lUi after preceding final and postfinal os. The second is the
coordinative conjunction 'STe, which becomes ·$Ie after preceding final .g, .ii,
-b, om, and open syllables; becomes -Ie after preceding final -n, ·r, -/, and ·.f;
and becomes -de after preceding final -d.

These coordinative conjunctions link propositions all of which are asserted to

be true, and which are asserted to be in some was semantically or pragmatic-
ally consonant. Thus-to use the same example as before-the ·adversative
conjunction gton-nu yin-kyaii dbaii-po rna "He is young but his faculties are
keen" embodies a presupposition opposite to that embodied in the coordina-
tive conjunctiongton·nu yin-Ie dbaii .po mo "He is young and his faculties :ue
keen," the former llMuming the pragmatic incongruence of youth and sagacity
and the latter assuming their pragmatic congruence.

Among SEMANTIC congruences, we can group together what we can ..:all

PARAPHRASE coordinations, where the second conjunct says pretty much the
same thing as the first-for example, gnaa-tIUi HUhe "He hurts and harms,"
Ndtip-lUi $Jaags "He is frightened and terrified," b$i/-liii gran "It is cool and
cold," mdzu-te sdug "She is lovely and beautiful." And we can distinguish
those from what we can call PARAlLEL cooldinations, where the second
conjunct adds tq the first conjunct additional information of the same type-
for example, Ja-la za-lii'i khrag./a Nfhuii "They feed on nesh and gorge on
blood," byoii-tJhub Ndi-/a$ Nbyuii.ste sans' fID1OS Ndi·/a$ skye "Enlightenment
comes from this, and Buddhas are born from this:' mig.gis gzugs-manu mi·
nuhoij·liii yid-kyis tIhos-rnams mj·Ies "'The eye docs not see Corms, nor does
the mind perceive thoughLS," dmd. gnod-de b$jJ·ba phan "Heat is harmful and
cold beneficial.-

Similarly, among PRAGMATI C congruences, we can group together what we can

call SEQUENTlAL coordinations, where, as a practical matter, the second
290 Till, ClAssiCAl... TIBETAN WOUAGE

conjunct happens after Ihe first-for example, Nbros-fUi gab "He runs away
and hides," bu-mo Jiji-fa ",dzegs·1iJi mNog Nfhogs "The girl climbed up the
tree and picked the flower," and, from an archaic Central Asian manuscript,
Ihe couplet 50 siiegHe ni sleb, "pans-It ni bIigs "He pursued the deer, yes,
and caught it; he shot it, yes, and hil it." And we can distinguish those from
what we can call SIMULTANEOUS coordinations, where, as a practical malter,
the second conjunci happens at the same time as the first-for example, bla-
ma-daii mdlul-u tul mlllOii "He met the lama and saw his face," rgy<Jl-pos
dgra brdl.l.ns·(e sgye/ "The king struck the enemy and threw him down." iia
HtJllOr·tiii "'tsllO "They calch fish and make a living," NgugNe I; "He choked
and died:of>

I. J.J.l. Simultaneofls and periphrastic constructions

In many such simultaneous coordinations, it is ckar that the first conjunct is

narro .....er in scupe th;m the second conjunct, and specifies a condition under
which the second conjunct lakes place-for example, ske bsdams-Ie bS4d "He
squeezed his throat and killed him/He strangled him," Ndtigs- te bros " He was
frightened a nd ran a.....ayn-le ran a.....ay frightened," po-Ii lehrer-te soii "He
carried his books and wentIHe went off carrying his books, t. rgyal-pos K-yog-
pos bskor-liii blQ-mai druii-du. byon ''The king wa~ surrounded hy his servants
and came into the presence of the lama/fl,.;: king, surrounded by his servants,
came intn the pH'scnct nf the lama," or, from an archaic manuscript pre-
served in Central A~ia. m9:-J?Q rbeg-!i rma byeu gtJltig-du Hphtul-nas Npltur·1t

6 o r course, ~u(;h rocquent ial and simultaneous ooord inatioflli form a COIIlinuous scale,
{rom the dearly 5eq u..,ot ia t ~I one end (such I.S b/Q-ma dgtNl ·pa·/;!I bJkbJ-ft tlJtoI bJad ''1'bc:
lama arrived at the mona~ t try and taught thc dharma") \0 ttlt dearly simultaneous &1 tbe
other (such as ",, -tiij sdnd "He wccps and WlIi\5"), with. ,rey
.rea in between, wllcrt the
two types Shade into eat:h nthe r-for eumplc, gil< blaAs-tiA tQbs-bro 1PUIlad, wtl ich can be
read eittler a.< "He 5.lI ng and (I hen) dancal" or as "He $IIn& and danced (at the sanv I' me)."

We can nOle here 1hat. when such conjOi ned verbs are ne,lted, the nepli¥t panicle ml
"NoT"' precedes Ihe s«ond verb, as opposed. to English, wllcre the Kpti¥t mart!'.r ~
the fiBI vtrh_lhut, from the Lrp-ptu blad-~ rin -po-rJhri gru by SI-ltya paQ4ita, m/tJIQJ -pa
bruad.rliA mll-driJ .fId, Ik-yi ~-du griA mi-4pogJ "As lon, as one has not disputed Ind
qut1lioned a wise man, o ne has not measured his depth," or. from the biop-aphy of MI·t.
fU- pi by GIHti -smyon he ·ru ·ka, yul.,,/1J dmlllf.)'llbJ-te mQ -bs#Jd-1Ul, l'Idis d.r:I..twI,..1 Ndi plwlt -
du Ndll<g " II ""'C do nOI call a host lrom the vilble and kill him, this one will ruin the village
even more _ ~
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 291

son "Rheg-ga rbeg-!i, having changed into a lillie peacock, went flying away."

In fact, we not infrequently find such constructions where the first conjunct
functions almost adverbally to the second conjunct-for example, Ntsheiis-te
snom ''was happy and thought/thought happily," gsan-ste brlcus "acted in
secret and stole/stole secretly," bskyar·te btan "repeated and ,sent/sent
repeat~dly," Ntlwb·pa med·Lfiii Ii ''was without struggle and died/died
peacefully," bu Nkhrid-de oiis "brought his son and came/came with his son."
Hphar-te NgI'O "flies and goes/goes flying," tsheg.sgra-dtJij bLfas-te NiJar "is
possessed of a crackling sound and burnstburns with a crackling sound."

When the verb in the second conjunct is one with the broadest possible
scope, such as YOD "exist spatiotemporally" or NDVO "stay, abide, be there"
(or their elegant forms MTSHIS and oru, respectively), the construction
becomes PERIPHRASTIc-for example. from the same archaic Central Asian
manuscript cited above, sni·la rma byeu-lig thogs.!Ui tJd~g "A little peacock
was there tangled in the s~are," or, from the Ge-sar epic, ""bu rtsig-po plvu·gu
Me·rno lig·fa gyur-U yod ''The tiny worm was there become a beautiful
child," or, from other archaic Central Asian manuscripts, snar phyug-t!jn
phoiis-tt Ndug "He was rich before and was now poor," snn myig-mon-Icyis
mlhon-stt myi bros·le mtIhis "The sharp-eyed demon saw him, and the man
was there fled away."

1.1.3.2. Diakel variants

Probably the most common of these periphrastic forms in the classical tew
are -niii NOVG and --rnn YOD. Note the following examples from an archaic
divination manual found in Central Asia-lha bzan-po-lig Ngo-lUi Ndug ''A
good god is leading you," goon drag·po-ligyod-pas, gnod-par ums-lin Ntiug "A
fierce demon who is there is intending to harm you," rno Ndi ni ... nad-pa·la
btob·no myi Iha-dan thtll-ron ston-lUi Ndug "If this lot has been cast for a sick
person, then unavailing are men, gods, and demons," Ii-las lho des bskyabs-
lUi Ndug "That god has been protecting you ftom death." Similarly, nOle
these examples from the biography of Mi-la ras-pa--i1a gan to ur nu-lUi Ndug
"'What shall I eat?' she said, crying," mthu-tlhtn los tIi bytd-LfUi Ndug
"Great Magician, what work are you doing?" blo-ma riiog-pa grwa-pa man-po-
lo brtag·gnis Nt1had-tliii Ndug "Lama Riiog-pa was teaching the Hevajra Tantra
to many manics."
292 THE ClAssiCAL TlBETAN lANGUAOE

As time goes on, the conjunction -ITiii in such constructions begins to take
on different forms in Middle Tibetan, apparently in the sequence -rliii >
-JCYin > -gin > -gi. 7 Thus, for example, in the archaizing chronicle Rgyal-rabs
gsa/-bai me-loii we find bu-mo mdzes-ma-tJig rin-po-l!hei snod-no me-tog NtJw-
gin Ndug ''A beauliful girl was gathering flowers in a jeweled vase"; in the
biography of Mi-Ia we find nor yod-dgu-tIog Nbul-bar 1ch~r-tlllS Nbyon-gyin yod
"He has arrived bringing as an offering all the wealth he has." Apparently

the dirge disintegrRW to om Imd one IUUt

one alUl one
k~
the iJJumi1'J4tinB anRiyru of R umjunction ...

-Walter Lowenfels,
Apollifloin An Elqy

these various forms were more or Jess interchangeable. Among the block-
prints of the biography of Mi-Ia, for e~ample, we find the reading ned-mIltm
yon-lUI yod "We arc coming" in the Bslan-rgyas-glifi, Spo. and Bkra-Jis Ihun-
pO prints, but ned-mo ms yon-gill yod in the Spuns-than print; and the prints
give numerous examples of varia tion belween -gin and ·gi-thus bIig don
m~-par bJig-gul Ndug "He is tearing it down without a reason for tearing it
down" in the Spuns-than, Bstan-rgyas-glifi, and Bkra-Jis lhun-po prints, but
... blig-gi Ndug in the Spo prinl, na khyun -po dlo-.fras oii.giII yod " I, Khyufi-
po dto-sras, am coming" in the -Bstan-rgyas·gliii, Spo, and Bkra-!is lhun-po
prints, bUi ... on-gi yod in the Spuiis-Ihai'i pri~t.8

7 In conlemporary newspaper Tibetan we legularly find lhe form -Kl'ftI., as in lo -mul!ams·

10 Hrhob-"s bytd·lcyin yod ''They arc fighling on [he border,H rdu.1.phrtm nw,!ugl' bIO.gnwa.14
btd.¥TJOd-1cyin }'OIl "Atomic energy is being applied [0 induslty.H We find [he form -ri
<-K'ri> regularly used in Central Tibet, as i. I\a 4ogi)'C <AD IfgTO-Icyi yod> " I am SOin,,"
/eM /d:o Iltgi duk <kMI 14J'/co f¥d-Icyi ~g> "He is work.in,," and ·ki <.Kl'f> re'\lLarly
used in Lhau Ci ty, as in 11M sulci >'" <d.!o bJU;4 -kyi yod> -- I am churning the lea," dholMp
'h i siJd fIf <phyDg-deb ~ grigs·le); ICIug> "He i$ sludying [h i$ book."

8 I have a fecli ng lhal [he pr in! from Spa. ,.,II Kh is in soll[lIcaslern Tibet, lends to ravor
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 293

/.2. GAPPING

We have seen numerous examples. under the Telegram Principle. of the

baclcward-looking omission of a previously expressed participant. In the
syntactic device we will call GAPPING, on the other hand, we find the forward-
looking omission, in a prio r conjunct, of some portion of the proposition, in-
cluding the verb, which will be expressed in a later-and syn tactically paralld
-conjunct. The omitted portion is optionally but frequently replaced with the
phrasal conjunction -don.

Note, for example, the proverb I!lron NlIrU/:-bo-lo miion-por dga-bai m; bdag-Ia
pllan-daii gIan-la bde-a mi-nus ''A man who delights ill drinking beer is
incapable of benefit to himself or happiness to others." This propositiun is
processed as a conjunction of the CWu propositions 1!lIaii Ntlluii·ba·la miit)n·
par dgo-bai mi bdag.fa phan-a mi-IIUS "A man who ddighu in drinking beer
is incapable of benefit to him~elr' and I!haii Nlhun·ba·la miion ·por dgo-bai mi
gIal l.la bde-8 mi-nus ''A man who delights in drinking beer is incapable of
happiness to others"; the participant IIliaii Nlhun-bo·la miioll'pur dga-bai mi
"man who ddights in drinking beer" is-as we might expect-telegraphically
omitted in the second conjunct; but, in addition, the patient particle, verb
phrase, and conjunction particle · O mi.nu.s(.1"Sin) have been omitted from the
prior cunjunct and replaced ..... ith -dan, frum which they must he reconstructed
by tht: reader. Of course. such n:conSlfuction is impossihle until the reader
has reached the end of tht: second conjunct. llnd tht: inte rpretation of the
proposition as a whole is held in reserve until that time-and thus the sen~e
of 5uspension and resolution which can milkc a gapped conjunction an
effective stylistic device.

Similarly, note the proverh mkfws-pa fes ·rab-dtlii blul/-po (Iad·ptl; roles Nbraii.f
"A ..... ise man f.,llows the track of .....isd()m. and a fl x)1 of credulity." Here. the
adnpminal particle, patient participant. verh phrilse. and conjunction particle
-KYj rdll!s-D Nbraiis(.1"Siii ) have been omitted from the prior conjunct and
replaced with -duii, to bl! rcconstructed by the rcader. Alld , in the hiography
of Mi-Ia T<ls·pa ......e find sa sa·muJ-daii roo rdu·mal-j/II skY(Jf-tig "Take thc

COMtructiOM wilh .gi. while Ihe Gellual Tibelall ami BhutanC!iC prints tern! h I ramr oon·
slructiOM wilh ·gin-for cumplc, ntIii·du Jog gJu;j.gir. toitlug " He saY!', 'Come <In in!'" in Ihc
SpulU·thall, B5Ian-rgyas.ghll and Bkra·Sis thun·po prints, bu l .,' pun.,..,; ....au.c ;n Ihe 'Spo
prinl,pha·dlo khf1l1Iog·gifl yud "My lord ralher is phllJllhing" ill Ihe Spulls.lhal'J, B.~'an · rgyas_
gliil and Bkr3·Si~ lhun.po prints, bUI . . klag.g; yod ill the Spo prin'
294 THE CLo\SSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

earth back to where you gal the earth and the stone back to where you gal
the stone!" and-without the phrasal conjunction -daii- bu skytl-Po-!a miii,
t/han dram-pa·la glum bya.bar gda "When a son is born a naming ceremony,
and when beer is offered a story, should be done," khan-pal' nan $Q·tshub-daii
ras gan, phyi iiu-Lfhoii.gis gaii·ba d~ fW-,as mthoii "Pe-ta saw the inside of Ihe
house filled with dust and corpses, and the outside fiI!ed with lamentation."

2. NOMINALlZATION

NOMINALIZATION converts an entire proposition into 8 nominal by the

addition of a final nominalizing particle: 9 for example, given the proposition
bfa-mas bgegs btu/ "The lama tamed the demon," we could find the
nominalized proposilio~s bla-mas bgegs blul-ba "the taming of the demon by
the lama," bfa·mas bgegs bIUf,s(J "the place where the lama tamed the
demon," bfa·mas bgegs btuf·tshuf"the way the lama tamed the demon," and
50 on..

A nominalized proposition-of any length and complexity-can occur

anywhere that a nominal normally occurs. The syntactic distribution of, say,
the nominal dgoll.po "monastery" is exactly the same as that of the nominal
bla·mas bgegs btu/-sa "place where the lama tamed the demon"-for example,
dgon-pa ri-Ia yod "The monastery is on the mountain" and bfa-mas bgegs btu/-
S:1 ri-fa yod "The place where the lama tamed the demon is on the moun·
tain," dgon·poi ljjj·bkod "a map of the monastery" and bfa-mas bgegs btu/-sQj
ljjj·bkod "a map of the place where the lama tamed the demon."

Such nominalizatjon is eJ(tremely common in classical Tibetan. Like many

other Tibeto-Burrnan languages, Tibetan developed quile a number of
nominalizing particles, often by the syntactic specialization of nominals. 1o

, Note Ihal only Ihru kinds of particle can lmmtdialely follow a verb in a Tibetan
proposilion-pcrformalives, conjunctioru, .nd nominlliun.

10 We Cln tterc mcntion sevc ral such nominat!un wllleh will nOI be d[K'IISICd in morc
dctail below- ·uhul·......'y that PRuposmoN," U in b/IJ.l7U1 /O'f'U'.Uhul "ttte way that the lima
wa[ks"; ·IIm "d.anlcr of PROPOS t1lON," U ia dntytJl·bar "I"O,IIt'1I "thc 4ln,cr of JO[n, to
ttetJ"; -dl.is "time Ittlt PRO~ OS ITtO,";' as in IJ~ult-,"a-la /". bfllu-dl.is "ttte time th.t hl5 wife
bore I son"; ·Ttl "turn at PAoposmOl"," as in flhalt-Ia Mhull·ftJ "a tUfn II drink!n, beer";
-Iup "mcthod of PAOmStnON," IS In I1JoM -ras I1ltAl·lup "Ihe method or bulldin, &.m-
CoMPlEX PROPOSmONS 295

However, the single most important nominalizer in the classical language is

the nominalizer -Pa, which is the particle used not only for the most general
and semantically neutral proposition-centered nominalization but also in the
formation of complement and relative constructions. II Since the next several
sections will deal with such constructions, found only with the nominalizer -pa,
we will here first review a number of other nominalizers found in the classical
texts.

2.1 . THE NOMINALIZERS

The Tibetan nominaJizers fall into two groups. Some nominalizers, including
the nominalizer -Pa, yield nomina Is, as we might expect, expressing some
aspect of the proposition as a whole: th us, for example, given rgya/-pos bgegs-
,a mda-g tg}'Qg "The king shot a n arrow at. the demon," we might find rgya/-
pos bgegs-/a nuia-g tg}'ag-pa "the shooting of a n arrow at the demon by the
king," rgya/-pos bgegs-Ia mda-g rgyag-sa "the place whe re the king shot an
arrow al the demon," rgyat-pos bgegs-Ia mda-g rgyag-grabs "the preparation for
the lOng to shoot an arrow at the demon," and so on. We will call these
PROPOSITION-CENlCREO NOMINALI7..ERS. Other nominalizers, however, y ield

yas"; ·tlulbs "opporlunily tor ~R(lI'OSmON." as in U:Jm·lfj gtol·flulbJ "a chance 10 dismoum
on the ro,ad"; -grobJ "preparalio n ro r I'MOI'OSmON," as in Mi grOffS'PO IIlIII fog.Njro.grolu
"prep<lralions tor all my rrienili to return," In all Ihese cases_a nd in ot hers I have
unOOubtedly o mitted_we find thaI these nomina1izel"S at<;{) occur as Ihe head or nominal
oomplemenlS-thus not only btsas-dus "the time nr living bi nh" bUI also "W".bai dUJ "the
lime of lOinl." not o nly gtol· ,lzobs "a chance to dismount" but also /lbrQS-pci I/labs ".
chance to aca pe." not o nl y dmytlf./Iw' lo'gfo· iI~/I "che danger or going 10 heU" but also srog-fa
/JaT-tJ/uld ~iI·bai iI~/I "the danger of there occuHing ~ Ihrea c 10 )"Our life," nOI o nly p .)d.
grobs "prepa ration tor sia: ughu:r" but also "'gftrbai grobJ "preparation for leaving." In such
cases we have whal can be called OIlASr-I'OMrN.-.LtZ£RS--that ii, wh ~ 1 are still clearly
nomina ls COI Ugh l in the proces5 ot beoominl nominaliul"S.

II Perluips the least m.rked u.'Ie of a nom m81iuf is .... here a verb is CrCOlted a:s a nomilllll·
like obJe<:t for pur poses ot melalinlujslic ci tation: jllSt as speakers or English cite verbs .... ilh
the nominallzer /0. and th us spea k at " the ~crb /0 go." Ih e TibelaM invarialll), cite verbs with
tbe nominalizer .I'll, and thus spea k o r "the ve rb 'Wo·bo. ,. This is the source of Ihe peculiar
habit of listin, verbl in Tibetan dictionaries as nominaL~: a Iyp ical doubly nom inaliud entry
would read. fo r example, "Ngrtr/Ja, /0 IV." Matisoff has noted Ihat. as a general rule of
thumb. applicable th roughout the Ti be to·BurRlan fimily. whenever one discovers the parti(le
used in ve rb citation. such as ·1'0 in Tibetan. one ca n be ~lIre of having dL\OO\"ercd Ihe mOSl
importa nt nominalizer in the langua ge.
296 TilE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN WOUAGE

nominals expressing some aspect of the patient of the underlying proposition:

for example, from rgyaf-pos bgqs·la mda-8 IID'og "The king shot an arrow at
the demon," we might find 'KYat-pas bg~.IQ mda-S rgyag-go-tJog "all the
arrows the king shot allhe demon," 'KYo/-pas bgegs-ta mda-8 'KYag-Nphro " the
unused portion of the arrows the king shot at the demon," and so on. We will
call these PATIENT-CENTERED NOMINAJ-IZERS. Patient..centered nominalizers
may seem unusual to a native speaker of English; they are, however, very
common in Tibetan.

2.1.1. Patient-centered nomlnalizers

2.1.1.1. The nomifUllizer -rgyu " PATIENT OF PROPOSITION"

The nominalizer -rgyu "PAnENT Of PRoPOsmON"-apparently related 10 the

noun rgyu "mauer, substancc"-is the most general and semantically neutral
of the patient-centered nominaliurs. It is interesting, therefore, to compare
it with -Pa, the most general of the proposition-centered nominalizers-for
example, khrom-fa khyug-pa·8 MshOli "They are selling ice in the mark.el,"
khrom·fo. khyag-pa.g Nfshoii·ba "the selling of ice in the market," khrom-Ia
khyag·pa-8 Mshoii-f1{l'u "ice for sale in the market," and thus khrom·/a khyag·
pa.IJ Nlshoij·ba Ndug·gam "Are they selling ice in the: market?" but khrom·fa
kllyag-fkJ-1J l>1Shon-rgyli Ndug·gam "Is there ice for sale in the market?" or kha·
IIhems·8 blag "I have lefl a last testament," kha-llllerrl$·8 btag·pa "my
leaving of a lasl testament," kha-llheTm·8 blng-rgyu "a lasl testament to
leave," and Ihus khn-t!/rCTm-8 blag·pa med "I have nOIIe:ft a last testament"
but Jcha-t!hemJ·8 blag-rgyu med " I do not have a last testament to leave."

In propositions with the equative verb YlN, the nominalizer ·rgyu forms what
we can call QUASI-REUr.nVE constructions. parallel to the relative construc-
tions formed with the. proposition.centered nominalizer -po-thus, for
example, bftJ·ma oii "The lama comes," bfa·mQ OIl·ba "the lama who comes,"
bla·rna oii·'8}'U "the lama to come," and thus b1a-ma oii-ba yin "The lama ist
has come" bul bla-rna oii·rgyu yilt "The lama is to come," or, .similarly, dpe·
dlla nas Iclrjod·fa gron " I am sending you a book," dpe.t!11ll nQS khyod.la grOfi-
ba "a book which I send you," dpe-dha nas khyod.la groii.rgyu "8 book for me
10 send you," and thus dpe·tlha iias kltyod-/a gran-ba yin ''A book is beinglhas
been sent you" but dpe·tIllQ na$ kllyod·la gton·rxY.u yin "I am to send you
CoMPLEX PRorosmoNs 297

a book." Such constructions with -®,u connote both futurity and obliga-
tion. 12

Where the patient partICipant in the prop(»Itlon nominalizcd by -'X)'U is

recoverable, either from context or from general knowledge, it may, of
course, be omitted, leaving a quasi·headless quasi-relative construction. Such
constructions with -rgyu are used, like their headless relative coumerparu with
-Pa, to make statements about things in general-for example, na·/lJ dgos "I
need (something)" iia-ta dgos·'1D'U "(something) for me to need" na·/lJ dgos·
rgyu IJIuUi "My needs are few," smra "He says (something)" smra·'XYu
"(something) for him to say" smra-rgyu ma·byun "There was nothing for him
to say," wb "You say (something)" lab-rgyu "(something) for you to say"
khyod-la gan lab-rgyu yod "What do you have to say?" khyod·/a fab.'XYu yod-
dam "00 you have anr-hing to say?"

2./.1.2. Tht nomilUJ/izers -t;dogl-dgu/-1S1uul "ALL PATIENTS OF

PROPOSITION"

The patient-centered nominalizer -O-I!og "Al.L PATIENTS OF PRorosmoN" is

closely related to the archaic plural O-Llog--(Ihog. as in thao·dog "gods."
The nominalizer -G-rIog first appears in the translation literature-for
example, from the Tibetan translation of the KarmaJa(aiw, bu-dan bu-mo
buao·dog NtIhi-bar Ngyur "All the sons and daughters she bears will die"
(with bu-dan bu-ma buao·rIog "all the sons and daughters she bears" < bu·
dan bu·mo bua "She bears sons and daughters"), de ·nas de; kJlyim·bdag-pui
gos-dan 'XYall bskon.no-(!og mi-snofi-bar gyur "The reupon all his householJer
clothes and ornaments he had pUI on disappeared" (with de; khyim./xJag-pui
gos-dofi 'lYon bskon.no·IIog "all his householder clothes and ornaments he

12 We an here note an interesting fact of word order. Given, Sly, "liS dpt·tlhll tk khyod.
111,,011 ") 1m send in, you that book," , relat ive conmuclion formed with ·hJ and witll dpt_
/Jhll "book" as its head mu.sl read dpt·rlhll [(ilm ~ khyod'/II "OI1).OO[ tk "Ihal book
.... hich ·1 1m sending )'01,1," .... hile the qUllloi.relalive formed wilh .~ is under no sucll
c.onstrainl-Illu.s either il4s dpNfhll tk khyod·/II groil · 'l!Y~ or dpNJhn tk';nJ Idlyod·/a K'"fj.
IJ)\I "thai book fo r me to $Cnll yo ...... And somelimes-very rarely. I tllink - In a n~ltlgy Willi
these qua.si·rcll tivc.s, we find rel ative c.onstruClions willi what ap~r to be misplaced heath:
Ihu.s we would find, fo r eumple, iMtC.ld of dpNJha [(bla·mlls ~ ,vId!>-tr)·bal tk ".hat
book wllich Ihe lama i5 arrying," the word order [(b/a·mlJ.J dpt·dha .vkh)'I'T)·b<l1 tk. by
analogy willi, !ioOIy, bla·maJ dpt.dha tk .v/dr~"1J)\I "Illat book for tile lama to arry."
298 THE ClASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

put on" < de; Ich.yim-bdog-pai gos-daij rg)'Dn bskon "He put on his house-
holder clothes and ornaments"), ;'in-dig blin-du ri-dags bzafi-fio-l!og hsad
"Every day he killed all the deer who were good" (with ri-dags bzaR-no-dog
"all the deer who were good" < ri-dagf bzaJ "The deer were good"), /eye.rna
rgyal-po tIhen-po rrwm-thos-kyi bu gnod-sbyin IJhe-bar grags-so-tJog-dan Ihan-
tfig-tu ii4 blta-bai phyir on-na "Oh, if only the great king Kubera. together
with al1 the yalqas famed as great, came to see met" (with gnod-sbyin tJhe-
bar grags-so-tlog "all the yaJqas who were famed as great" < gnod-sbyifl IIlie-
bar grogs ''The yalqas were famed as great"). And note this quasi-headless
collstrllction-du.s-g.sum rgyal-ba yin-no-tIog (Jig-dar Ndw "All who were the
Buddhas oC the three times gathered together," with dus.gsum rgyal-ba yin-no-
tIog "ttU those who arc Buddhas of the three times" < dus-gsum rgyaf-ba yin
"(Some beings) are Buddhas of the three times."

We also find the nominalizer -dgu, related both 10 the archaic selector -dgu,
as in Jha-dgu "the many gods," and to the numeral dgu "nine," anti the
nominaliur -tshad, apparently related to the noun tshad "measure," both of
which are used in the same way as -o-tJog "All PATIENTS OF PR OPOS11l0N"-
thus, for example, Ndod-dgu "all one wants," nan-dgu "everything which is
bad," .rnan-tshad "all that happens," tshog.r-tshad "everyone who gathered
together," Ndir Idorn-bu -bo byun-tshad "all the beggars who appeared here."
Note too the hybrid form -dgu-tJog in this passage from the biography of Mi-
la ras-pa-g.rer g.yu-dan mdzo rto .rogs nor yod-dgu-t5og Nbuf-bor khyer-nas
Hbyon-gyin yod "He is coming, bringing all the wealth he has-gold and
turquoise, yaks and horses, and all-to give you."

2.1.1.3. The Mminaliur -Nphro "REMAINDER OF PATIENT Of'

PROPOSITION"

The patient-centered nominalizer -"'phro (sometimes -Hpllros) "JU; MAlNO E,H. OF

PATIENT OF PRoposmoN" is apparently related to the verb NPIfRO "proceed,
spread, continue." A nominal in -Nphro denoles a remaining or uncompleted
or leftover portion of the patient participanl in the nominalized proposi-
tion. i3 We find, tor example, khyod-ran-gi l!ho (hun "You drank your Ica"

U NOle, in lhe following cumples. 1hat t~e verb in the malrix propos ilion ,J~rly refers
to lhe I'A11ENT in lhe embedded proposition and nol 10 ttle proposilion as a wtlole-Illus.
for <::Dmple, ou rltu1i-i'IpiIrw /hun "I drank Ihe resl of lliE 11':A you were d rin king." )'l-O,&;
I/bri·NpNos mrhoil HI $311>' an uncompleled LETr1:.R 5OmCOlle was wriling." ·Ibcle arc. tlowc~er.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 299

khyod-ran-gi tIluJ thuJj-Nphros "the rlCJt of the tea of yours you were drinking"
ii4s khyod-ran-gi tIha lhuii-NJ1Iuw NtiJ' tJuUj-pa yin "I drank the rest of the tea
you were drinking," yi-gt Nbri "(Someone) is writing a letter" yi-ge Nbri-Nphros
"part of a letter that someone is writing" iias tfog-tsei gan-lo yi-ge Nbri-Hphros
gtJiB mlhoii byuii "It happened that I saw a half-finished letter on the table,."
khoii-gi Idstu slog "He was ploughing his eanh" Ichon.,; khru slog-Nphro
"leftover pan of the earth he was ploughing" nas kyon JcJwii-gi khru slog-Hphro
Ndi go-tIhod-tIig byed "And I finished off the rest of this earth of his he was
ploughing." tJhos blKlUT 'They were translating the dharma" tIhos ~­
Nphro "the remainder of the dharma they were translating" tJhos bsgyur-
Nphro-matru bskyur "They put aside tbe remainder of the dhanna they were
translating_" Here, too, we find quasi-headless constructions-for example,
referring to the pulse, Nphar-Nphro tJhad , "What remained of that which
throbs came to an end,"

2.1.2. Proposition..c:tnttrtd nomlnalizers

2.1.2.1. 17u IIOmiNllit.tr-1'G

The single most important nominalizer in the classical language is the
proposition-centered nominalizer -1'rl, which becomes -po after preceding final
-g. -do -II, -b, om, and os, and becomes -bD after preceding final -ii, -r. -I. and
open syllables. 14 The general nominalizer -Prl signalS only that the entire
proposition is functioning as a nominal. and contributes nothing further to the

a few instances 'Wbere tbls interpretation d;oes QOt seem to hold· -for aampk. NdIif-NpIaro
bdAd '1'bey stopped tbe rest o( the destruction," mkJuu-gyi ttsig-,.,wo 101 "Put aside 'A'hJ,t
Is left. of )'Our building of the tower,"

t4 In the epic of Ce-sar _ find I nomiulizcr -k I&Kd In ICYUlllOnp in a way entirely

plrallelto tblt of Ihe nominaliz.er -/'a found elsewberc. 'There Is evef)' reason to believe lhat
tbll -k Is a Kharns dialcct variant for .fa; note tbe (oliowiD, e:umpk:l~-~ rrwd-pai
blD.mtJ_Zig. mdtoIi-Nl tlDd_po oII-LE-Zig. md1aJ-IUl doII -/Io ~-LE-lig. pWllIIo.s·po-tsaM-fYU
voI-I.£-Zir "a Jail'll who came out of nowhere; throuJh 'WOOm, if)'Ou see hlln, faith Irbes;
'Woo, II you meet blm, brin" fonh deYotion: by wbom. by Jillt beatin, hift1 ,peat. )'Ou Ire
liberate4," pJ-tJhcI dotf-14 mllap-U)M. mtJ·bld4d ',)101-,0 oI'I-U: yitI "I ba-..e bce1I tent on
a matter of veat Importance: )'Our servant hal oome witbout delay.~ p p_14 bw-.llwl med-
L£ dgN. boll·'" riIl-lhu" mtd-U dgN. ~ _ID p/tyf4f-dbtd med-U: df:os .. ,.,. fOt' follll, you
lOOlild make no distinctIon of beauty; IS fOT slze.)'Ou lOOukl InIke ItO distlnction of !lei",t;
as for $Ubstlnce, )'Ou slKluld I1\.Ike no distlnetlon of 'Wealth."
300 THE 0Ass1CAl.. TIBETAN I...NIOUAOE

reading of the proposition-thus, for example. mtho-ris·1tJ dgt-sloii·' ~ '"The

monk is born in heaven" mlho-ris·lo dge-sloii.-lJ slcye-ba "the birth of the monk
ill heaven," saiis·~·kyis t!has-' bIad "The Buddha taught the dharma"
.mns-rgyas-kyis ahos-' bIad-pa "the teaching of the dhanna by the BQddha, ..
dge-slon-gis sans-rgyas-ta mtIhod-pa-1J NbuJ ''The monk gives offerings to the
Buddha" dgt:-sloii-gis saiiHg)'os·la mtJhod-pa-8 Nbul·ba "the giving of offerings
to the Buddha by the monk."

2.1.2.2. The nomitUJli:tr·sa "PUCE WHEB PMJ1"OSmON"

The proposition-centered nominalizer -sa "PlACE WHERE PRorosmoN" is

ckarly rdated to-but is not the same as-the noun sa "earth, land, place."
II is, next 10 ·ra, one of the mO$I commonly encountered of the nominaliurs;
as illustration. note, fo r example, blD-ma nu "The lama weeps" bla-mtJ nu-J'a
"the place where the lama weeps," sans-rgyas-kyis dhos Mad "The Buddha
taught the dharma" saiis-rgyas-kyis lIlies Mad-sa "the place where the Buddha
taught the dharma,"

Such nominals in -sa frequently function as heads of nominal phraseJ within

source or locus participants-fo r example, miglall-gyis mthan-sa-to dg<-.Iloii-gis
IJ/IOS Mad "The monk taught the dharma where others could see him,"
where Ihe locus participant mi glan-1D'is mlhon-.Ia "place where other people
sec" is a nominalization of the proposition mi gtan-t:lis mthon "Other people
.ICC (st)me: lhing)," Mi-Ia similarly nominalizcs the proposition Ms phyog-btsa/
,. ] hawed down" when he says nas pltyag-btsaf-sa de·fa phyis phyag-whal sgan-
dll grogf "That place where: I howed down-it later t>ecame knO'Nll as Bowing
Do ..... n R idge." We: find the proposition sen-ges mdhofi.s "The lion leaps"
Ilominaiized in Ihe prove rb sen-ges mttlio;u-sa-/a was mdhoiis rlud-pa HUhag
" The fox k;)ps where: the lion k aps-and breaks his neck,"\!

The prnposilion-ce:nlered nominalizer -.to is also found, combined with the

I' h~, pul>h,hcti a TilM:tan map which purports to sllow the IOCItion ofvariouf,
1<;_';0<.'111\'
,·\<.· nl ~ In Ih.· hlc u t the epi<: hcm Gc·r.ar, The map oontainssllch IIOtllions .,,-SN-tyb_,
\I"~\ ' ''' md., 'gl"llX·J/1 '" Iht pl~c<: where Gc·su shol an arrow II lhe demon:- wtkJIiuI·po~­
p., "-'''X'' '-'/I ",he place ...·here ,he youn, abbot siayed," tHWd 1cN-/k ri-~ bnd-UJ 11Ie pIKe
""heft ,he dcmtln KIIc·lk r; ·Ju WU oonqllCred:' khro-pm -r:tiJ p-SIII'-ltJ .,IIlInrl-UJ
HIlle
rl;u:.c whcl: KhrO"'um gave poi.wn 10 Gt-s.:ar," likJvuils·snj pho./Jrnl/ "Ihe palKe where (Oc:-
Uf) was h"rn:'
CoMPLEX PRorosmoNs 301

verb rmd < -ma-roo "be absent," with the broader sense "occasion,
opportunity, possibility"-thus -,Sa nud "There is no way for PROPOSmON to
happen." For example, we find gtan-du NgrO "He goes elsewhere" and thus
gtan-du. NgrO-$Q ma:I "He has nowhere else to go," M gtan-1tJ ur "I speak to
others" and thus M gtan-1tJ ur-sa med "I have no one else to turn to," Jus·1tJ
reg "I touch his body" and thus Ius·ta reg·sa ma:I "'There's no way I can get
near him," nor-gyis blu " One ransoms with money" and thus nor-fJ'is bllNa
mal "You can't buy yourself out of this."

2.1.2.3. The nomilllllizer -grogs uHELI' WITH /'ROl'OSrrION"

The propositio n-ccntcred nominalizer -grogs "HELP WIllI PRorosmoN" is

clearly related ' to-but is not the same as-the noun grogs "friend. "I' This
nominalizer is often found in elegant or polite commands: the proposition
expres.sing the requested actio n is nominalized with -grogs "HELP \oVlThI
PRorosmoN", and used as the patient of the imperative stem of an elegant
or honorific verb-for example, the imperative Item mdzod of the honorific
verb ItIOZAD "do," or the (irregular) imperative stem gyi.s of the elegant verb
BGYl"do." Thus., for example, Mar-pa's wife Bdag-med-ma asb her husband's
disciples bltNttIJ riiog.pa Nkhor-btIas-kyis M; 1u-OO NbuJ-grogs mdzod-lJig "Let
lama Rfiog-pa and his disciples help' me make my requestl" and Mar-pa says
elegantly to Mi-Ia dar-1n(J mdo-w Nbogs-pai mkhar-tig mig-grogs fJ'is "Give
a hand building a tower I can give to Dar-rna mdo-sde,"

2.1.2.4. 1M nominnJiurs ·mkhanl·mi "/'£RSON INYOlYED IN

JJ
/,ROl"O$rr'ON

The proposition-ccntered nominalizer -mkhan "PERSON INVOLVED 1\11

PRorosmoN" is clearly related to the syllabic formative -mlchDn "SKILLED IN,"
which is suffixed to nouns. 11 The nominalizer -mkhan, on the other hand,

I' 11tc lIOftlipallza .".. u..perblpa. more properly wril1en .g.rop. As carly IS in lbe
Pad· ma tbaa-yl, we IIDd lbe aJtemaliYc fornu .~ Iltcslcd; !\OtC 100 tbe New nbclan
!\OmlulUu oro "J!ELI WfI1( PROPOS maN," ucd with luch clcpnt or honorUIc verN IS di
"do" UId MIl "beatOW"'-for example., New Tibetan (UwI) 1IakI14pro IJI <!lo·41 Ulb-fOP
"u:> "Pkale Icil mc." 1IakI.fIIIIro MIl <1l4I.1.1 ,puII.rap &MIl:> " Please lell me (boROriftc)."

" NOie. for tamplc,.1IC.b OOIlOCllllons IS iii! "wood"IiII-mkNltt "atpenlcr,"/tDrI " path"
302 TIlF. ClAssiCAL TIBETAN I..ANOUAGE

is sufrlxed to-and makes a nominal from-entire propositions-for example.,

o-dod byas-kyan o;i-mkhufl med "Though I cried for help, there was no one
who came." Thus, 100, we find, in the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa by Gtsan-
sm)'an he-ru-ka. niog-ston lJllos-rdor leT-ba; ma-bt!oI-ba byed-mkJulfI Ichyod
"you who do what you are not lold to do named Riiog-slon t!hos-rdor."
Similarly for ·m~ as in Ihe following from the epic of Ge-sar-?a-rog zer-m;
rho-rug yUI, ktJ-kwi Ian byed-m; brag-lJhar yin, Ius NgrO-rog by«/-mi grib-mJJ yin
"The one who caUs me old friend is the crow; ahe one who answen my cry
is the echo; the one who accompanies my body is my shadow.""

2.2. NOMINALIZED PROPOSITIONS AS HEADS

A proposition that has been nominalized with -po can function-just like any
nominal-either as Ihe nominal head or as the modifier of the head. When
a nominalized proposition is the head of a nominal phrase. it can-jusl like
any no minal-be modified by further nominals. specified by determiners and
quantifiers. and so on. For example, from the nominalization dge-s/oij-gis sans-
'X\'as-Ja mtJJwd·pa-8 NbuJ·ha "the giving of offerings to the Buddha by the
monk," we might find Idge·sJDii.gU saiis-fID/tu-la mdhod·pa-8 Nbu/-ba] HOI
"TIllS giving of offerings to the Buddha by the monk," [dge-sIOii-gis .san.s-'X)W-
la mfJ/lOd-pa·e Nbul-ba) N DI-RNAMS "Til ESE givings of offerings to the Buddha
by the monk," Idge-sloii-gis saFu·rgyas·la mfJhod-pll-8 NbuJ-ba) nHEN-f'O ''THE
GItEAT givings of offerings 10 the Buddha by the monk," (dge-sloii-gir sans-
'XYQs-fu nlIJhod-pa-1J Nbu{·baj TSJlEN·PO NDI-DAG KUN "Au. TIIESE GREAT
givings of offerings to th~ Buddha by the monk."

Such a nominal phrase may then. in turn, play any participant role in the
propositio n-for example. the PATI ENT. as in (saiis-'X)'tu-kyu tJhos-/J blad-pa]-8
sems-tJQ/I-lu pha/l "The teaching of dharma by the Buddha brings benefit to
be ings." dJ{e-sloii-gis (sa'Lf-IID'uS.kyis tJllOs-8 bIad-paJ-B rhos "The monk heard

lam·mk}"lfI "J;lI,dc:' bw " hand icrafl" bw-,.,lho" "cr3ftsman." We also find IexiaIlized or
semi- ICJ<lCllil.ed collocalions or ,,.,khan with a preccdin, verb stem, usually presenllense-for
example. SHUN "proU:cl" JfUn ,,.,/JIOfl ",uardian," Rn.t.w' "compose, write" nsom-tnlrJulll
"a",lhor," lJtD "Idli" gs(ld,mkJtofl "murderer,".t.tM "think" JtmJ·mJcMfI "'ntemltnl penon,"
lMG "bind" lltiogs·mkltofl "one who blnd.\, " These u e .11 apparently nominalir.alkms of
propos il ions which have been rcd",ced to Ihe event Ilone, witl\o"'t participants.

I~ Note Ill e pia)' on worcb-7lI-rog "old friend." plio-reg "crow," ~ "companion."

CoMPLEX PROP9SmONS 303

the teaching of dharma by the Buddha," or (san.NX)-,tlJ-kyis IIhos-' bJad-pa)-1J

bslwl-pai gtsug-~n yin ''The teaching or dharma by the Buddha is the
diadem of the age"; the AOEI'ICY, as in (sans-IX)W-kyir IIhos-1J bIad-pa)-KY7S
senu-lIan Iharns..IJad-1J sgroi "The teaching of dharma by the Buddha saves
all beings" or (saiis-'XYa.t-kyis t.!hos-' bJad-pa ]-KYlS dge-sloii-IJ mya-;um-la.t Ndas
''The monk entered nirvana because of .the teaching of dharma by the
Buddha"; the LOCUS, as in (.ro;u-IX)-'a.t-kyis IIhos-' bIad-pa)-u serns-tIan
IMrns-lIad-' dga "All beings rejoice in the teaching of dharma by the
Buddha"; the SOURCE, as in (sa;u-'X)·a.t-kyir tJ!.ws-' bJad-pal-HAS snns-dan
IMms-dad-' NgrOI "All beings are saved through the teaching of dhanna by
the Buddha"; or the ACCOMPANIMENT, as in {saiis-IX)'QS-kyir tIlws-' Mad-pal-
DAR mu-Slegs-pa-' Ngal "Heretics oppose the teaching of dharma by the
Buddha."

2,2,1. Multiple embedding

A proposition can contain, as one of its panicipants, a nominaliud proposi-

tion which itself contains a nominalized proposition as one of its participants,
and so on; for example, note the following sequence of propositions~la-mar
tIhos bJad "The lama taught the dhanna," (bla·ma.t tJhos-bIad-pa)-HAS SDfU-
tItIn grot "Beings were saved through the teaching of dharma by the lama."
Ubla.ma.t tlhos bJDd-pa]-ntlJ unu-tIan gro/-ba)-u tgYtIl-po dgd 'The king
rejoiced at the saving of beings through the teaching of dhanna by the lama,"
(((bID-mas tlhos bJad-pa)-na.t serns-dall grot-bal·ID rgyaI-po dga-ba)-a blorl-pos
mlhoii ''The minister saw the rejoicing of the king at the saving of beinp
through the teaching of dharma by the lama," [(((bla-rna,s tJhos bJad-paJ-nas
senu·t!an grol-ba}·/o rgya/-po dga-baJ-§ blon-pos mthoii-ba)-s mtIhod-pa phuJ
' 'The minister gave offerings because of his seeing the rejoicing of the king
at the saving of beings through the teaching of dharma by the lama," t[([[bla-
mas tIhos bJad·paj-nas s~m.s-dan grol·ba}-la 'KYa/-po dga-ba)-B blon-pos
mlhon·bal-s mtfhod-pa phul·ba)-DAR ryJJal-mo nan-po Nkhon 'The wicked
queen was distressed at the giving of offerings by the minister because of his
seeing the rejoicing of the king at the saving of beings through the teaChing
of dharma by the lama."

When an appropriately role-marked nominalized proposition is in the setting

slot of the matrix, such sequences can be given a paratactic reading as well-
thus, for example, bla·mas tlilos Mod-po-HAS "From the teaching of the
dharma by the lama/After the lama taught the dhar~a!fhe lama taught the
304 TilE cv.ssICAL TIBETAN LANOUAGE

dharma, and then ..." dge-sloii-gis t!hos thOl-pa-KYlS "By the hearing of the
dharma by the monk/Bec8usc: the monk heard the dharma/I'he monk heard
the dharma, and so ... " rgyaf-po-s dgra-8 mlhon-bo-lA ''At the seeing of the
enemy by the kinglYlhen the !ting ~w the enc:myfThc: king saw the enemy,
and ... " Such co~tructions are processed by the Tibetan reader, I believe,
as at least quasi-paratactic rather than hypotactic, despite the: " fact that
structurally they can be embedded several layers deep; and they are thus
read-and written-as if they were: parallel with conjunctions-for example,
in the: Mkhas-pai mgul-rgyan mu-tig phrcii-mdus by the: grammarian Si-tu
mahiipal)~ita, the: paraphrase coordination gsa/-tlR dwans-U drj-m4 rrud
"clear AND pure AND unsullic:d," or, in the biography of Mi-la ras-pa by
Gtsaii-smyon he-ru-ka, the simultaneous coordinations tIhos-lil gtad-NIlS yofu
"He sought the dharma AND came," khru rem-liAS slog "I exerted myself AND
ploughed."I'

Nominalized propositions in the setting slot can be marked as the medium,

locus, source, or accompaniment of the event in the matrix proposition, or as
an adverb which modifies Ihat event; they can be marked as either the n-
locus or source or the I· locus or source. The role panicles marking such
nominalized propositions then carry much of Ihe same meaning as when
marking a simple: nominal-thus PROPOSITION-PQ-Kl'ir "by PROPOSITION/because
of PROPOSITION/PROPOSITION and 50 ... " PROPOSITION-PQ-lil "at PRoPOSmoN/
upon PROPOSITION/PROPOSITION and then . . ." PROPOSITION-PQ-na "in
PROPOSITION/while: PROPOSITION/if PROPOsmON ... " PROPOSITION-fa·las "out
of PROPOsmoN!because of PROPOSIllON . . ." PROPOSITION-PQ-nas "from
PROPOSITION/through PROPOSITION/PROPOSITION and then ... " PROPOSITION-PQ-
dan "with PROPOSITION/no sooner than PROPOSITION ... "

19 The$e oonstructions, with role· marked nominalized propositions in the setting slot, are
Ulremely oommon in the tlusk:al language: in fact, they are probably found more often than
oonjunaion!. Tht5e COnstructions are sometimes called "oontlnUltiVCI,H and are treated-and
tllnslated i(lto Englistl_rlther 11$ if ttley were Sanskrit gerunds in -)'It or ·,..,D. It iii true thll
these oonstruClions were oflen w.ed in Tibetu to render such Sanskrit gerllnd.s-for eumple,
from tbe VujrocclKdikA 1'rrlj1fD~rDmifD, Sanskrit canqpl1dik4m apt fD'~'" u.dgrhyo Tibelln
uhig bt/-pal uhip-sw tnJad·pa-lumt b!~ _nDS ~ Having grasped Just th" four· line stanu . . :.
or, from the AbhidlwmaJwjDbhlJf)'It by VlI$ub,lindllu, Sanskrit j1vita_JNUil~ram dimvlJ
Tibelln dgNbyoi1_gi NUho-bai yo.byad pll yollllJlI-bu phul-nDS "Having given ttle requisites
whlcb are appropriate to mai nllin a monk ..." Bllt I am nOi sure ItllI tlli! is alWays a
helpful characteriution of their struct ure.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS lOS

2.2.2. The omission or -PO

The nominalizer·PQ may be-and not infrequently is-omitted when it occurs

between the tense stem of a verb and a bound role particle.'" In the archaic
Central Asian manuscripts, we find .PQ retained in this position probably
more frequently than we do in the later texts, altho ugh usage is certainly far
from consistent-for example, sla·n~ phud-tIig btlulb-PA-U g.yu "al-Ie mJ.!hU
... sta-rt pud.l!ig bthab·NA g.y" rga/·tt mtIhis "He struck. the fint time with
the axe, AND TIIEN G.yu crossed over ... WHEN he struck the first time with
the axe, G .yu crossed over," mi khyod sgrin·rna Ndod·PA·NA 1cJuJ.rog.par Ndug-
NA bzaii-o "WHEN!tF you, man, desire prudence, it is good WHEf'I/JF you stay
silent," drug t.lhtn.poi rgyal·pol 10 bdun·t.lu-rtlo gnis dar-to. 10 bdwI·t.fu-rtsa
gnis dar.PA-LMR, Ilj·ma Jar·/ogs·lcyi dru-~-dai1, ijj·ma nub-pa logs·gyi dru·gu gfus
Nfhabs "The king of the Greal Drug nourished for seventy-two yean; AS SOON
AS he had nourished for seventy-two years, the Uttle Drug of tJ:te quarter
where the sun sets fought with the little Drug of the quarter where the sun
rises." In the classical texts, as a general rule, "'a is omitted before .ruu,
often omitted before ·Ia a nd ·na, often teta ined before -Iw, and retained
before -dan and .KYiJ".

1 heard words
and words foU

of """,
aehing. Speech
is a mouth.

-Robert Creeley,
Tht LAnguagt

For example, note the use of these constructio ns, parallel with conjunctions.
in the fo llowing from the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa by Gtsan-smyon he-ru-h:

20 Allhough Ihe urlmessed panicle -1'fJ appurs o rlen dispeTUable_ror eumpk. wilen
new disyllabic stress groups Ire rorme4-it is probably n fe 10 ny in Ihis reprd ttiat we
JCne~11y lind , ny, bolh ]i·ba-Ia and li·la "died Ind ... " bill we find only li·bG·1PWIIPU "ona
who died" and no t ?li·mumJ.
306 Tile ClASSICAL TIBETAN ~GUAGE

de-nos yi-ge taii-poi lag-tu blag-NAs lam-gyis mihan-bar byas·pAS,

khon.17Wms-lcyi.t grO! NgyUT-TE, /ag-mthui bsam-sbyor bor-HAs, fiii
or-nul gru-gsum yan la-khui lag-nos bloiis-TE la-ma-lo sprad
Ndug
Then we put the letter in the ~nd of my maternal uncle, AND
he showed it to everybody, "..'m so they look counsel, AND
forsook their plan of revenge, AND took the field Or-rna
Triangle from the hands of my paternal uncle, ..-.NO gave it to
my mOlher.

no de tWs 7a-ma..cfaii lon-J!ig phrad snom.PA-LAl', dgras Ndtigs-TE

myw-du bros-TE gna-nom bskor phyin-PA5, rkaii-pa-la khyis phug-
STE NdzOffl-$llr dus-Ia ma-slebs
I then thought, " I will meet my mother one more time," .... ~D
was afraid of my enemies AND quickJy ran away AND circled
around Gna-nam AND a dog bit me on the leg AND I did not
arrive on time at the meeting place.

gIon-pa-moms no-re, thos-pa-dga kho yin thog-tJhod, khos u-tJag

mthon-ba med-PAs yul-nas dmag g.yabs·n: ntlJ-bsad-NA, Ndis da-
dun yul Ndi phun-du Ndtug ur·tJR, log son-BA:-u, nai grogs-po
na-re, khyod.rall snon- Ia son, Ras khyod-raii yin-pa-Itar byas-n:
snm-tsltim btab-u on-gil zer
The younger ones said, "He is Thos-pa dga, certainly, He has
not seen us, so IF we do not summon a host from the village
AND kill him_ th is o ne will ruin our village even more," AND
they turned h<lck, AND my friend said, "You go on ahead. I
promise I will come WHEN I have acted as if I am yo u AND had
some fu n."

Gtsafi-smyon he-ru-ka often uses nominalizec! propositions marked with the

accompaniment particle -dan in the selling slot to indicate an immcJiate
succession of events- for example, ban-dJre de log-soii-ba-DAN, tJhaii llzag-rna
Iw.par btuM "As SOON AS that monk went back, I drank the rest of Ihe
beer," phyed-tsam fons-pa . DAiJ bla-ma byon "As SOON AS I had finished just
half of it, the iamfl came," mlllu h.rgrubs·nas 2ag bdulJ son-ba-OAP bfa -rna byon
" I cast the spell, :md, AS SOON AS seven days had ",,'used, the lama came,"
CoMPLEX PROPOSITIONS 307

phyed-tsam lonH'A-~ yan kho-ran Mig-Iu bl!ug-NAS sa-fdo-

moms ran-gnas-su skyel-du Ndlug-gin Ndug. Ndi yan Mig yon mi-
bJig-NA bsrun-bar l!hog bIig mi-bIig bltao zer-/iA-u, ma-blig-par
mlchar-las nor-mar byas-PAS, bdun thog-tu sO;;'-/iA-OAR nai rIc,ed-
pa-Iaan sgal-po-lig byun
They )aid, "As SOON AS it is just half done he has him tear it
down AND has him take the earth and rocks to their original
place. This one too will be torn dqwn. It will be enough for us
to stop him WJIEN/IF it is nOl torn down. We will see if it is
torn down or not," AND, not tearing it down, 1 worked on the
tower without stopping. AND, AS SOOt'll AS I reached the seventh
story, a sore developed on my back.

2_2.3. Propositional adverbs

Nominalized propositions marked with the adverb particle -lU may be found,
orten in the setting slot of the matrix proposition, serving to modify the
matrix event in terms of time, place, manner, or extent-for example, 10 man-
po-lig ma-Ioll-par "Before many years had passed .. ." rgyal-pu dug-gi.r bsad-
sar "At the place where the king had been poisoned . . ." skad-t!jg kyaii sdod-
pai Ion med-par "Without waiting even for a moment . .. " dgon-po de-daii ne-
bar "Near to thai monastery . . ." Relator nouns arc orten found as the head
of such propositional adverbs"":'for example, sails-rgyas-kyis tJhos Mad-pai
rnthar "Nter the Buddha had taught the dharma . .. " bla-mas b~s rna-btu/-
bai bar-du "While the lama had nOl yet tamed the demon/Until the lama had
tamed the demon .. ." rgyat-po dgOiI-pa-la sltbs-pai dus-su ''At the time the
king arrived at the monastery .....

Thus, in the L~-par Mad-pa rill -po-tJhei gter, Sa·skya paJ:l"ita writes nile-bas
Nbails-Ia mi-g1lod-par, rig-poi las-kyis dpyo-morrtS bsdu "A lord should gather
taxes in a wise way, without harming his subjects," rna-la dbyug-gus ma-bsnun-
par, de-srid glim-dan khyud IIi yod "Without having hit the drum with a stick.
how is it different from any other?" )'Ill gla/l legs.par ma-bnags-par, sija-mai
gnas ni dor mi-bya "You should not abandon your former abode unless you
have well examined the other place." In the biography of Mi-la by Gtsaii-
smyon he-ru-ka we find ma-gsan-par bla-rna byon "The lama left without
listening," yum uha-ba Ndrtn-ciu byuii "My Laoy appeared, bringing hot food,"
mkilar-Ias mdzad-don med-par mdzad, Mig..tfon med-por Mig-gin Ndug "He is
building towers without any reason to build the m, and destroying them
3Q8 THE ClASSICAl. TIBETAN lANGUAGE

without any reason to destroy them," bsam-po gfan-gyis ma..JJlwd-par bJa-ma-

daii mdlal·,e lal mlhan-bo-fig nom yon-no nom yoii-na bsam-lUi phyin
"Uninterrupted by any other thought, I went along thinking, When oh when
will I meet the lama and see his face?" tshe Ndi don-du gner-bai mi-dan Jab
ma~-par sgrub-pa-kl Nbuiis-Jig "Without speaking to any person who is
concerned with this life, apply yourself to meditation!" rna-Mig-par mJchnr·las
fIIU-mDr bras "Not tearing it down, I worked on Ihe tower unceasingly." And
note these satiric verses, taken from a poem by Pad-rna dkar-po-sdug-btsir-
gyis bslab-sbyaiis-lig ma-dgos-JXlr, blo mo-tiii gsal-hoi mJchos-JXlr gyur "Without
any need for strenuous study, I have become a scholar with mind sharp and
clear," sdug-Nkhums-kyis sgo gsum ma-mflor-bar, grogs Nphags-ma-mams ~s.
poi btsun-par gyur "Without oppressing my senses with hardship, I have
become a reverend pleasing to my friends the Noble Ladies. ,,21

2.3. NOMINALIZED PROPOSITIONS AS MODIFIERS

A proposition that has been nominaliz.ed with -PQ can functio n not only as the
head of a nominal, as we have discussed, but also as the MODI FIER of the
head. There are twO syntactic constructions in whic.b we find such a
nominalized proposition acting as a modifier. First, in a RELATIVE conSlruc-
tion, the nominalized proposition-here called a relative propositio n-can
modify any type of no minal head; and the relative proposition is processed
as having within it an omitted participant which is in some sense identical
with the nominal head it modifies: thus, for example, saiis-'XYQ$ mlhan-bai
dgt;sloii "monk who saw the Buddha" is a relative constructio n. Second. in
a COMPLEMENT construction, the nominalized proposition-here called a
complement-can modify cither verh or nominal heads, but only certain types
of verbs and nominais; and the complement is nOl processed as having any
omitted panicipam coreferential with the head it modifies: thus, for example,
ttge-sloli-gis safis-'XYQs m.lhon-bai /'Ibras-bu "result of the monk's seeing the
Buddha" is a NOMINAL complement construction; and dgt-slon-gis safis-'XYas
mlh.oll-bar run .. It is proper for the monk to see the Buddha" is a VEJlB
complemen~ construction. This distinction is more easily pOinled to than
descnbed; and the next seve ral sections will try to make these syntactic
constructions clear.

11 Pad-ma dklr.po offen his poem as la·so silmn sbru·p(J-ishoi l'Illu·smlln ", laxative
lor .~ b10aled lboughl$" and. IS khoII blll;'·por grogs-pu-uhoi bJcTu-smon "soap ro r those
famed u YiMUOUS."
 309

2.3.1. Relative constructions

What makes mAr~ mthoii-lHli dgNloii "monk who saw the Buddha" a
relative construction? The HEAD of the phrase is. clearly, ~-sJoii "monk."
The MODIFIER of this head iI 1QIis-rgyas mlhoii-ba, which is in tum a
nominalization of the proposition miir-rgyas-IJ mlhoii "(Someone) saw the
Buddha." with the agency participant unspecified. That unspecified participant
is then processed as oorefercntial with tbe head; in response to the question
"WHO saw the Buddha?" the answer can only be "The monk did." The
reconltrUCtion of these relationships by the reader can be written as [(•
.,..,.SQ1U-rgytU-' tnthoii)-J'a)-KYi ~-sloii "monk who saw the Buddha," with
the braekc" idcntifyin8Jhc. embedded modifier and the strikeout indicating
the deleted coreferenL It is the need for such processing that makes the
naminatized proposition RELATIVE to iu head.

Relative constructions arc a characteristic and productive hypotactic device

in the classical texU. Where a paratactic construction might rca~ saiis-rgas
dgon-pa-la bfugr-tt, dge-slofi-gis mJhoii-tiii mlIhod-pa phuJ ''The Buddha dwelt
in the monastery ANO a monk saw him AND he gave him offerings," a
.typically hypotactic construction would be dge-slon [saiLJ-rxvas (dgon-pa-la
blu,p-pa}-I mthoil-baJ-s mt!hod-pa-8 phuI"The monk WHO saw the Buddha
WHO ' was dwellina: in the monastery gave him offerings." Such relative
constructions occupy a central and distinctive place in Tibetan writing.

11 We will UK tbls Dlnatlon "lfhenevcr we need to indicate tb.at l n embedded panicipant

• am:(crent!afwith a panicipant in the matri:J: proposition_for cumplt.I(.we.- ~••
bfuI)-H)-iWG-m.II "!aN wbo tamc4 the demo~" (blll.ma-.. ~b"'l}lHIJ.i ~ "ckmoa
wbom tbc lama tamed," b4J-mo.' (~bgq:s-6 blUl}-baJ-I"oIIs "The lama ame 10 tame
tbc 4emon." In each of tbest CIUtI. the embedded oortrerent is 4eleted. alonl witb Its role
particle. or replaee4 by I OUMMY, in the form of an indtrinite determiner, wlIo5e on1y
tuoaion Is to arry the rolt pankle of tile deleted partidpant. The embedded p:,posioon
It alwJlys the onc buried inside the brackets; tile more bracketS tbere are, the more IkItply
embedded tbe proposltloIL The DOmlnal head Is atways ooreferential willi a panicipanl in
tlIe embedded proposition JUSI one layer benealh ii-for cumple, .-lIoit (dfr-..loII ~­
T"1' {laIII-.yyar dgott.pa.w. blwp-paJ-' mrholl-ba).J mlIhod·pa plwl, which betomes fiBt.-
s~ 1~-.lloII laIII ·'1I)·.u I~"* dgon_pa .", bluS"p<lJ" mrhoo'l-lHIJ.J MJJhod·pa pIwl, and
then ~-JIoII I~ laJI.r~ I~ ~., dgotl·pa-Ia btugJ-paj-' mtholl-b4J-.r nuJhcd-/Nl
~ '1'be DlOnk who laW the Buddba wbo was dv.'ellinl in the monastery pvc him
otleriDp."
310

2.3.1.1. Discursw on English re/oJivizalion

To understand Tibetan relative constructions. it may be helpful to look briefly

al relative constructions in English. The English proposition 1M IIlwyu who
wrot~ this book is handsome is actually composed of two propositions that
inlersect upon the single corderenl the lawyn-that is, the main or MATRIX
proposition The la~, is handJome. and the embedded or MODIFYING PI"(>
position The Iowyer wrote Ihil book. The latter proposition is IU!l.AllVlZED
-that is, embedded in the main proposition as the modifier of 8 nominal
head-by the following three steps:

(I) the modifying proposition is inserted in the matrix proposition

immediately foJlowing the coreferential nominal head it will
modify- thus The lawyer [the lawyer wrote thil book} is lumd-
sume,

(2) the corderential participant is deleted from the modifying

proposition-thus The lawyer [lite "'''ye'I'' wrote thu book) u
hwidsome, and

(3) the appropriate 'relative pronoun replaces the deleted co-

rderenlial participant-thus The lawyer [W1IO wrote this book)
u handsome.
Now the nominal head in the matrix proposition can have any panicipant
role in that proposition: it can be the ~ ubject, as in the example above, or the
object. as in / am uading the book which refute.r Darwin, which, again, is built
from two propositions that intersect upon the single corderentthe book-that
is, the main or matrill proposition J am rtading th~ book, and the embedded
or modifying proposition The book refuu.r Darwin. Again, ·the laner proposi~
tion is relativized in three steps:

(I) / am reading the book Ilhe book refules Darwin ).

(2) / am reading the book I~ refutes DalWin),

(3) / am reading fhe book iJtl1f1CII refUftS Darwin).

Similarly, the deleted panicipant in the MODlFYlNO proposition can have any
panicipant role in that proposition: it can be the": subject, as in the example
CoMPU1.X PROPOSmONS 311

above, or the object, as in I am reading tM book which you rtCOm/PInu:kd.

which. again, is built from two propositions that intersect upon the. single
corderen! the book-that is, the main or matrix proposition I am reading the
book, and the embedded or modifying proposition You r«ommendtd the
book. In English. however. relativizing the latter proposition requires an extra
step: the embedded coreferent is moved to the left-hand end or its proposi-
tion before being deleted: thus

(1) I am nading the book [you recommeQded the book1.

(2) J am nading the book (the book you rtcommended]..

(3) I am reading tM book [fhto h68k you recommended],

(4) I am nading the book (MilCH you recommended].

The deleted partici~nt in the modifying proposition can have still other roles
in that proposition;23 or one relative can be embedded within another, as

23 For eample, it can be the IocItion, as in 1M IwUI ill which ht Irayed was dism(ll,
wbkti is blillt from tbe rwo proposiliol'lS 1M holt! wat dismal and He Jrl1)'tfi in me h(Ht~ as
follows:

(1) 7Jv Mulllv Iraytd in W holti} Wat diJmtlJ,

(4) 7Jv houi!u. WHICH Iv srayed) Wat disnlllL

Or die ckklCd p-nicpnt in tbe modilyin& proposition can be tbe sollrce panicipant, IS In
~ itrwadt4 tJv llIItII from whlds Iv CIllPlt, apin bllilt from the rwo propositions TMy
IIIvad.ed tJv llIItIIand Ht aunt from ,~ wild, IS 10110\115:

(2) ~ IIIl'1/UW.w llIItII un- w IIlnd M came),

(3) ~ illlIad.ed 1M llIItII t/hIm ~ M camt),

312 THe Ct.AsstCAl.. nBETAN lANOUAGE

in I am nading the book which the man who worlu in the bookstore m:om-
mmd«J. as follows:
(1) I am reading the book [Ihe t1UlIJ [Ihe man works in the book-
SlOU] rrcof7&lMnded the book).

(2) J am reading the book [the boolc the man [the man works in tIu
book.rtore] recol'nlnended],

(3) (a> I am reading the nook (the book Ih e man (lite ".." works in
lhe bookstore) m:ommendtd),

(b) I am rrading the book [1M

the booJcnore) m:omnundN),
e. the man [lite ""lit works in

(4) (a> I am reading 1M book (lilt 888& the mQn (WHO works in the
bookston) m:ommerukd),

(b) J am reading the book (WHfCH the man [W7fO works in Ihe
bookstoreI ncommended).

Rclativization in English, of course, is more complicated than this: for

cumple, relative pronouns arc optional where thc ..omitted participant in the
modifying proposition is the object, as in I am reading 1M book you recom-
nKtuUd, and we have not even mentioned such constructions as Thq invad~
the "md he came from. But t think this brief-and far from universally
acccpted-description may help to shed some light on the parallel Tibetan
construction.

2J.l.2. IWlali .., proposiJiolU qfttr Ihe httul

Any modifier of a nominal can, as we have seen, follow the head which it
modifteS.....for enmple, blQ-mo I!hen-p" "great lama," bltJ-mo mol-Nbyor-ptl
"lama who is a yogin." Similarly, a f' ;.stive proposition can follow the head
which it modifies-fof example, saiis-'X)'4S' dgo"-pa-ltJ btugs-pa "Buddha who
dwells in the monastery," b~ bltJ-mcu bruJ-ba "demon ' which the lama
lIImed."

The: Tibetan proposition sa;u~as dgan -pa-la btug1-pas I!hru bJad "The
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 313

Buddha who dwells in the monastery taught the dhanna" is actually

composed of two propositions that intersect upon a single corcrerenl SUM-
lX}'as "Buddha"-that is, the main or MATRIX proposition suns-rgyas-kyis tIhos
bJad "The Buddha taught the dharma," and the embedded or MODIFYING
proposition sans-lfO'as-B dgofl-pa -la Mugs "The Buddha dwells in the
monastery," The latter proposition is RELo\TIVlI'..ED-that is, embedded in the
main proposition as the mcxlifier of a nominal head-in the fo llowing steps:

(I) the modifying proposition is nominalized with the nominalizer

-1'Vl-thus (sans-lX)'us-B dgon -po-Ia blugs)-PaJ,

(2) this nominalized proposition is inserted in the malrix proposi-

tion immediately following sans,tXYas, the corcfcrential nominal
head it will modiry, and, as in any Tibetan nominal phrase,
before the attached role particle-thus saiir-'X)'t:U [(s<liif-'X)'as-B
dgon-pa-Ia blugs)-PaJ-KYis tJhos Mad, and

(3) the corderential participant, along with its attached role

particle, i5 deleted from the modifying proposition-thus suns-
rgyas ((Milt ~a" 8 dgon-pa-Ia blugs)-Pa J-KYis tJhos Mad,

Under the appropriate rules of inflectional morphology, this proposition then

becomes sans-'X)'as dgofl-pa-la Mugs-pas (.fhos Mad "The Buddha who dwells
in the monaste ry taught the dharma,"

The modified nominal head in th~ M....nux proposition can have any
participant role in that proposition: it can be the agency, as in the example
above, or the patient, as in dge-slon-gil sailS-IX)'{u (.fllOs bJad-pu hs(rxi "The
monk praised the Buddha who taught the dharma," which, again, is built fro m
two propositio ns that intersect upun the single coic:fereot saiir-'XY!ls
"Buddha"-that is, the main or matrix proposition dge-slon-gis sofU-rgyas-8
bSltxi "The monk praised the Buddha," and the embedded or mcxlifying
proposition safU-rgyas-kyis t.fhos Mad "The Buddha taught the dharma,"
Again, the latter proposition is relalivlzed in the follow ing steps:

(1) the modifying proposition is nominalized with the nominalizer

-Pa-thusJ(sans-'X)'os-KlU 1.fllOf b.fud)-I'oj.

(2) this nominalized proposition i~ inserted in the matrix proposi-

tion immediately followingsulu-,Xt'(U, the cordcrcotial no minal
314

head it win modify, and, as in any Tibetan nominal phrase,

before the ,attached role particle-thus dge-sloii.gis saiis-tgYaS
(saiis-JXYOS-KYi.J tJhas blad}PaJ-B bstod, and

(3) the ooreferential participant, along with its attached role

partic1e,14 is deleted from the modifying propmition-thus ttge-
slon.-gir .JOiiH'gYas (.HIM 'f3df leyi4l!hos blad}Pa)-' bstod.

U nder the appropriate rules of inflectional morphology, this then becomes

dge-slon-gis saiis-f8YQS l!hos bJad-pa bstod "The monk praised the Buddha
who taught the dharma."

Similarly, the deleted participant in the MODlFYlNGproposition can have any

pMlidpant role in that proposition: in the fint example, above, the embedded
sllfu -rgyas "Buddha" was the patient of the intransitive verb Bt(lGS "dwell";
in the second example above, the embedded sans-1JYClS "Buddha" was the
agency of the lransitive verb T.tw "teach." Or the deleted partic.ipant in the
mO<iifyi ng proposition can be the patient of a transitive verb, ·as in dge-sloii-gis
I.Utos saiis-tgyas·kyir blad·pa bstod "The monk praised the dharma which the
Uud6ha taught," which, again, is built from two propositions that intersect
upun the single coreferent IIhos "dharma"-that is, the main or matrix
proposition dgNlon .gis IIhru·lf bstod "The monk praised the dharma," and
the embedded or modifying proposition sans·rgyas-kyis IIhos-JJ Mad 'The
B uddha laughl Ihe dharma." Again, the latter proposition is relativized in the
follCMing steps:

( 1) [(saiis·rgyas-k}'ir tlhru·1J blad)-Pfl),

14 Aaually, this step is bener described In two 51eps. FiB!, lhe oorderent nominal is
deleted.. kavinC its role particle unging in the air, as in dge-sloll I(""""nu md/wd-po
pJwI}I"l:lJ•.m:s $CJ1ts~ mtIwA "'The monk who cave offennp 5aW tile Buddha. ~ 5eoond,
either or two steps may be taken. The proposition an be used 15 is, Mlh the rules or
inRcctionai morpbolol)' ,ulorIUIliCilly deleli., the hangin, role particle. yieldin, dgt-sw«
mdhod-po phu/.IHJ-s SQJU-~I m'/wI! '"The monk wbo pYe offerinp saw the Buddha"; or
an indefinite detenniner Cln be. p1aocd in lhe now empty SIOI as • dummy 10 Clny !be
h'n"nl role panicle, as in .-JIoII/ f(GARrKN ""'hod-po po'ud)-hJ-$ UIIlI-IP'U mlIIoi\
whldl yiek1i ~-J/oll gmt-gil mlJ/Iod.ptl phul-lHu sQJU~ ~ "Tbe motlk t WHO; pw:
onerinp uw the Buddha.... Tbc:se rwo s teps hive boca cuUapsc:d hi tbiS ponioa of lbe lQt
for clarity ot eqIOSiliOn. NOIe the \lSC ot. Jubscriptlo IdenliIy !be CIOfduCllt oIll1e dummy
role particle carrier.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 315

(2) dgNJon-gis tfhos (sans-tgYas-kyis tJhos-B b~PQ}-' bnod,

(3) dge-sJon -gis lJhos (san.s-tgYa.r-k)ir IJItM--f blad}-Pa}-B bstod.

Under the appropriate rules of inflectional morphology, this then becomes

dge-sJon-gis tIhos .JQn.s-tgYa.r-fi'u blad-pa bstad ''The monk praised the dhanna
which the Buddha taught."

The deleted participant in the modifying proposition can have still other roles
in that proposition: it can be the locus, as in mal-Nbyor-pa nags-uMI ~-1Og
bkTtl-ba-la b!ugs ''The yogin dwells in woods where flowers bJoom." _hlch is
built from the two propositions mal-"byor-pa Mgs-tslull-/t.z blug:r ''The yogin
dwells in the woods" and nags-tshal-lD me-tag bkra "Flowers bloom in the
wcxxls," as follows:

(1) (l1Qgs-tshol-la me-tog bkra)-Pal,

(2) mal-Nbyor-pa 11Qg:r-tshal (nags-ahal-Ia me-tag bkra)-Pa1-1a btug:r,

(3) maJ-Nbyor-pa I1Qgs-tsho/(Mp #Mill HI me-lagblcra)-PaJ-iD btug:r,

which becomes mal-Nbyor-pa nags-uhal me-tag bJera-ba-la btug:r ''Th~ yogin

dwells in woods in which flowen bloom_" -

Similarly, the deleted participant in the modifying proposition can be the

source participant, as in nam-mkha IcJwJ Nbab-pa-14 sprin Mg-po Nfhibs "Black
clouds gather in the sky from which snow falls," which is built from the two
propositions num-mkho-14 sprin nog-po Nfhibs "Black clouds gather in the sky"
and nam-mkha-/a.r WID Nbab "Snow falls from the sky," as follows:

(1) (nam -mkha-Ios kha Nbab)-PaJ,

(2) nam-mkha r(nam -mkhll-Ja.r kha ....bab)-PaJ-la sprin nag-po Nlhiln,

(3) nam-mkha (,.09". ".klta tM kha Nbab)-PaJ-la sprin nag-po Nlhibs.

U II is of alursoe pososible 10 T1V.l'ISU"Y1': sItCh a relative OOl\$trllChon, wt\ere the

'mbcdded axeferent is the palienl of a IrJnsitive verb, witll an Enllisll passivc-illlll, '"The
IO nk pral$e.d tile dltarma IJUlht by the Buddlta. Thls capacity of Enllish doa nol leach
M

anythin, aboul the $UIICIUre of Tibetan.

316 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANOUAGE

whicl )me5 nam-mkJuJ Icha Nbab-pa-/a sprin nag-po Nthibs "Black clouds
gathe. It sky from which snow faDs."

2.3.1.3. RelDJi)'t propositions In/on 1M IutuJ

A modifier of a nominal can also precede. as an adno minal, the head which
it modifies-for example, dktlr-poi phreii-ba "white rosary," snags-poi bla·ma
" lama who is a magician." Similarly, a relative propositio n can precede, as an
adnominal, the head which it modifies-for example, dgon.-ptl-la btUgf-pai
sans-rgyas "Buddha who dwells in the monastery," bla-mas btul.bai bpgs
"demon which the lama tamed."

Such adnominal relatives are derived just as we have discusseci above. For
example. the proposition dgNJoii-gis dco.,,-pa.la blugs-poi saiis-rgytu bs.od
"The monk praised the Buddha who dwells in the mo nastery" is. again, built
fro m two propositions that intersect upon the single corderen! SIJiiJ-'K)'OS
"Buddha"-that is, the main or matrix proposition dge-doii-gis saru-rgyas-'
bsrod "The monk pra ised the Buddha," and the embedded or modifying
proposition saiis-'X}'as dgon-pa-Ia blup "The Buddha dwells in the monas-
tery." Here. though, the modifying proposition is inserted in the matrix
BEFORE the head rather tha n after, and is ma rked with the adno minal
Pilrticle, as follows:

(1) the modifying proposition is nominalized with the no minalizer

-Pa-thus [(saiis-rgyas- 8 dgon-pa-/a btug.r)-PaJ,

(2) this nominalized proposition is inserted in the matrix proposi-

tion immediately before sans-rgyas, the corefere ntia l nominal
head it will modify, and is marked with the adnominal particle
XYi-thus dge-sloii-gis [(saiis-rxYas- 8 dgon-pa-la blugs)-I'aJ-Kri
saiis-IXYas-D bSlod.

(3) tnc corcfercntial participant, along with its attached role

part icle, is deleted from the modifying proposition-thus dge -
sfmi-gis [(StH~8 dgon-pa-Ia btugs)-PaJ-Kri sar/S-rgyas-D
bSlod.

Undc c the appropriate rules of inflec tio nal morphology, this then becomes
dg,:-.floij -gi~
dgon-pu-Ia Mllgs-pili saiis-rgyas bstod "The monk praised the
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS

Buddha who dwells in the monastery."

Similarly, the proposition rgyal..po bla-mas btul-bGi bgqs./cyir sIaut '''The, tina
was 1C:~red of the demon the lama tamed" is. again. built from the two
propolitions bla-mas bgegs btul "The lama tamed the demon" and rrfGI-po
bgq!-JcyiJ sIcra,'The king was scared of the demon," as follows:

(I) «b/a-""" b_-8 blUi)-"'].

(2) '1J"'1-po «bla-nuu b_-' blUi)-"']-JOi b_-kyU 'kmf.

(3) '1J"'1-po «b/a-""" "-"* blUi)-"']-JOi bg<g<-kyU """"

which becomes 'KYal-po bla-mas btuJ·bai bgtgS-kyis slcTag 'The king is scared
of the demon tl)e lama tamed."

2.3.1.4. RtlJJ/illized proposiliotU and a4«li-,a

A proposition can, of course, consist of just an intransitive verb and its

patient panicipant-for example, bla-IM skyid "The lama is happy," b/a'm4
nu "The lama weeps," bla-fM Ngytl "The lama falls down." U such a
proposition is relativized, as in, say, bw-ma ('" RM ,nu}oN]. it beha"e11 just
as if it were an adjecti"e. It occurs in the same en";ronment as an adjecti1le:
compare, for example. bfa·rna tlhen-po "great lama" with bkl-fM slcyid-pt1
"happy lama," or dban-l!an.gyi bfa·fI1Q "powerful lama" with nu-bGi bla-ma
"weeping lama." It can occur. like an adjecti"e, as a headless modifier: com-
pare, for example, tlh ~n-po Ndi "this great one" with skyid-pt1 Ntii "this happy
one." or dban-tJan-nwm5 "powerful ones" with NgyeI-bG-marns "the ones who
fall down." It can, if it expresses a stale, occur, like an adjective, in a oompar·
ati"e degree: compare, for example, de-las tlhen.po "greater than that" with
de-las skyid·pt1 "happier than that." It can occur, like an adjecti1le. after an
intensifier, but not before the conjunction ·tliii: compare, for example, bla-
ma Iin·(u tlllen-po ""ery great lama" but not ?bkl·tnlJ tJMn·po-liii with bla·
rna Iin-iu nu·ba " lama really weeping" but not ?bla-rna nu-ba-lUi.

It is also possible for a proposition to consist of just a transitNe verb and its
patient participant, C f just a transiti"e verb and its agency panicipant, where
one participant has been omitted because it is, presumably, reCO\"erable either
from context or from general knowledge-for example, dgrtl·s gsod ''The
318

enemy kills (someone)," dgra-' &JOd "(Someone) kills the enemy." U.uch •
proposition is rclativized, the Te£ulting modifier is ambiguous: the form dIfrl
gsod-pa could be either dgnI [(......, swd}-Pl:J) ..the enemy who kills
(someone)lthe killing enemy" or dgra (tIgN-# pxl).m) "the enemy whom
(someone) killed/the slain enemy." Similarly, for example, bstod-pa; irYal-po
is ambiguous between the readings [("X)'tIl,., , bstod}-PQ)-Kli 'JYGl-po " the
king who praised (foOmeone)/the praising king" and (~JtM ,bstod)-l'a}-.oi
rgial-po "the king whom (someone) praised/the king who was praised." Yet,
despite this ambiguity, the modifier still acts just like an adjective: it can be
a headless modifier, as in bstod-pa Ndi "this praising one/praised onc"; it can
occur after an intensifier, but not before the conjunction -niii. &I in lin,","
hs/od-po "really praised/praising" but not ?bslod-pa-liii»

2.3.1.5. Dummy TiJU particu ClJrriers

When an embedded corderen! in a relative proposilion is deleted, jtJ role

particle is deleted along with it. In many cases, the reader is able to process
the relative construction without that information: the role of the embedded
cbreferent is RECOVERABLE. This is particularly so where the embedded co-
referent is the agent of the embedded verb and the patient is explicit, or
where the embedded coreferent is the patient of the embedded verb and the
agent is explicit: it is clear that dgra-B b~ad-paj '1!Ya1-po means "the king who
slew the enemy" and comes from (('l'wtp6 j dgra-8 bsad)-J'a}Kl'i rgyol-po, just
as it is clear that dgra.s bsad.pai '1!Yal·po means "the king whom the enemy
slew" and , comes from ((dgra·s f'gyfIlfJ6 (J bsad)-Frl)·m rgya/.po. Compare,

z.. "JkyiIJ'fNl ~ha ppy" really In adjective? Is /iu·ba ''wecpin,,'' or ~/.ba "r.lIin, down,"
o r pod·fNl "slayinglslai n" ? I Ihink we an say Ihey Ire Idjectives; tile qlM:ition Is wbctller
they Ire WORDS, ral her lhan unJcxicali7.cd fragments or relaliYized propositions. I think it
is fair to say that slcyid·fNl ':happy" hu been Iexicali1.cd in claaic:ll Tibcun, aDd Wt, say,
~f·ba "ralling down " and pod·fNl "sJayint/Slain" hive not , A good cumple oCsuch 1cxX:a1·
i1.alion ca n be found with regard to the transitive verb IRTSe "tove"-thus both soJII''I)'IU
[("" ... , ~.., ., .. Stms·/JQII . " lmst)·/'QI > SQIls''8)W Jtf1U.dm! bnst·1HJ ~11Ie Buddlla who
loves creat ures" and SQ.o\s,>xrd' f(ltIns·lJtJlI ·~IIM.r~" # bn.K}1'D1> SDJIs''I)W" UfJU·r.ftue·
J!:!is b;/st ·bQ "Ihe Buddha .... hum erenures love." We would Ihen CJlpcc1 lbe nominali#d
ph/ase' IQ.o\s.~s brut·btl to be ambiguous between "Ihe loving Buddha" QId "Ibe Iovc:d
Buddha," Jus t as. say. "~f·po bstod·pD is ambiguous belween Klhe praisin, tin," and "I)1,e
praisod king." BUI bm c·'JU U nol ambiguous; il·always muns"lovin," rather lhall ~1oYcd.­
The ffllgmcnt of rclal ivizcd proposilion has been tuicalil.cd u a word willi Ju:st one or lIS
possible meanings,
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS JI9

similarly, sans-rgyas mlhon-boi dge-slan "monk who saw the Buddha" with
sons-rgyas·kyis mllton-bai dge-sJoij "monk whom the Buddha saw," or blD-ma
rig-snags bsgyel-bo "lama who thwarted the magic spell" with blD-ma rig-siiags.
kyis bsgytl-bo "lama tripped up by the magic spell. ..27

To make !.he role of the deleted coreferent explicit. however, a further

optional step may be taken. Let us recall the analysis of our first example,
sans·rgyas dgon-pa-Ia blugs-pw tIhos bIad "The Buddha who dwells in the
monastery taught the dharma," as follows:

(1) the modifying proposition is nominalized with the nominalizer

-I'\:l-thus (sons-rgyas-8 dgon-pa./a bfugs)-Pa].

(2) this nominalized proposition is inserted in the matrix proposi-

tion immediately following saru-'XYas, the coreferenlial nominal
head it will modify, and, as in any Tibetan nominal phrase,
before the attached role particle-thussons-1X)IOJ (saiis-I8:)'QS-8
dgon·pa-Ia bfugs).PaJ-KYir tIh os bIad, and

(3) the coreferential nominal is deleted from the modifying propo-

sition-thus sans-'XY"s (saM ~ 8 dgon·po-/a bfugs}I'\:l]-KYir
tIhos Mad. 28

At this point an additional fourth step may be taken:

27 It is wilen BOUI me4ium and palienl participants are missin, Ihat the rebtivizcd
proposition becomes ambi,uous. as AOte4 above-for example, bJlod'pGi TfG/.po "prilise41
praisinl kin&." dgro bUMl·pG "enemy who slew/WaS sla in," Thus, too, compare, ror example,
IIu Ndi s1cyd.poi pilllofflO "parenlS WHO bore this boay" with All Ndi Ik'ftl-ptli pho.nIQ
MparenlS FROM WIIOM tllis body was born," or sprin-dkDr ifi-ma mi-sgrihs·pa "white clouas
WHICH did not block tile , un Mwith sprin-dJuJr ifi·ma mi-NgribJ-pG "white clouds BY WHICH
the sun was no t blocked.
M

U He re we are makin, explicit tile intermediate step Wf! ~kipped over in tile description
aboYc: the coreferent nominal is deleted , leavin, ilS role particle hanpng in tile lir, as in
dgt-JIo., 1<.-.w-K11s m/Jilnd_pG plwf)-PaJ·J Ja.ils·~ mfholl "The mo nk woo gne oITer-
inp uw the Buddha." Here, instead of using the pfopmilion as is, with the Nles of inl\<x:_
tklnat morpholoKY automatically deletin g Ihe hanging role part ide, an indefinite determiner
will be pbeed in the now empry slot as a d um my to carty Ihe hangin, role pankle, as in
dgt.sloit, (GANrKMS mdhod-po p"uf)''''I-J J~.iIs-rxrtU mfiloi\, which ykld$ dgN/oit gaTi·gU
mdhod.pa plud-blU saiiJ-rxrtU mlilon ''1lIe monk, WIIO; lave orrelinp saw tile Buddha."
320 THE 0Ass1CAl. TIBETAN" lANOUAGE

(of) an appropriate indennite detenniner is inserted. as a DUMMY to

carry the role particle of the deleted oorderential participant-
thUi saru-rxrasl [(GAR;' dgon-pa-la biugs)-Pa}-n'is tllws bItld,

which yields., after the application of the inflectional rules, saru~1 GARj '
dgott-p"-lil blugJ-pas tIhos blad 'The Buddha, WHO, dwells in the monastery
taught the dhanna_" Such an additional step would not usually be taken wben
the embedded participant was the patient, as in the present example; but, as
the role of the missing participant becomes more oblique and difficult to
recover, the use of such a dummy role particle carrier becomes more
frequent-for example, mol-Nbyor-pa fUlgJ-uh4J j GARrLA ~-IOg bJem-ba-la
blugs 'The yogin dwells in woods, IN WHIOI, flowen bloom," -analyzed as
follows:

(1) (nogs-tshal-Ja me-log bkra)-Pa],

(2) mol-Nbyor-pa fUlgs-tshal [(nags-tlhal-la me-togbkra)-Pa]-la blug3,

(3) mal-Nbyor-pa nags-tsha! [C

rt. alts! la rm-tog bkra)-Pa lola blug:s.
(4) mal-Nbyor-pa nags-tshal; I(GARrla 1M-tog bkra)-Prl)-la bIugs,

or fUlm-mkha; CAR,-LAS kha Nbab-pa-la sprin nag-po Nthibs "Black ~clouds

gather in the sky; FROM WHICH I snow falls," analyzed as follows:

(1) I(nam -mkha-/as kho Nbob}-ro],

(2) nam-mkho (nam -mkha-!as kho Nbob)-Pa )-/0 sprin nag-po Nthibs,

(3) nam-mJeho (ItS", ",khs las Jcho Nbab }-Pa]-Ia sprin nag-po Nthibs,

(4) nam-mkha; ( GAnj/as kho Nbob)-Pa]-la sprin nag-po N/hibs.

There are apparently several factors that determine the likelihood that a
dummy ·role particle carrier will be used 29 First is the relative ACCESSIBILIn'

2'J It musl be dearly borne in mind. thai lhe indefinile determiner in Ih is Q)lI5lruction is
nol a delimiter of a preoe<lin r, llead, bill rather a ooreferenlial pro·fo rm (or Illal liCK:. For
eumple, the prOp<lSil ion AlIm ·mJt),a gaFl.las /eM ~·ptJ.16 JpriIIltD,.po NlhibJ ~ Bl.ck clouds
galher in Ibe sky trom .... hicll ~now raus·' cannol be paned U ber,inninr, with (AlIm.mkhd
CoMPLEX PROPOSrnONS 321

of the role of the deleted panicipant: the more accessible the role, the less
likely it is to be carried by a dummy indefinite determiner. In fact. there
appean to be a fairly regular hierarchy of accessibility, with an agent most
accessible, patient next most accessible, .and the various oblique roles-locus,
source, instrument-least accessible .and therefore most likely to be carried
by an indefinite determiner. 3D Second. it seems that a relative that PRECEDES

,wI)-lar •.. "From some sty ..." but only as _.JCM ~.w ...) '1'be sty from wblcb
..." But, In any pankullr oonstruClio n, how can )'Ou leU wbelber 1he Indefialte 4elenllifter
is a 4eUml~r o r a clummy role panide1"Jbe primary clue Is the preteDCe of ·,. immec1ia1e1y
&flU 1he vub l1em, as OppolCcllO a oonjullClion, Of a b;us or IOQrte pankk w:l1boIat a
nGmlnallzinl ·N belween il anclthe verb n e ll-thus. for cumple, skye·bo pII.,u sa/IJ·'I>'GI
mdtcA· n; o r skye-bo fdlI -gi.r sdJ·'l)'I1S mdwli-NA mUll be read as (skyr-bo fG."I)-,u ... aad
tbus, respectively, IS "'SoME PERSON' sees lhe Buddha Ill(! ..." a dd "1 ti'Whcn SON8 1'ERSON
SCCIthe Bucldha .,.M while skyt.bo pJI.gi.r S41IlJ~ mtholl-JA must be read asskye·bo ~ ­
gi.r ,' • .) and thus IS "a PERSON WHO sees Ihe Buddha."

There is ambil uity rully only in IWO drtumsti nccs.. Fint, the syllable followtnl the vern
stem may hive been elided Cor metrical reasons; fot cump\e. in tbe Tibetan translation of
the V"jr«~ PrajitlJ~,ami~ we lincl Sa nskrit ye ma"t ~f,IIJ c1JdTlJlc.fur "" mI"t
draJqyaNi te jQIt/J~ Tibetan gWI -4DI ful-14 rzup.Ju mlhol'i, skyt· /Ioo d.t-4DI JIa mi·tItdf, whkll
can be read, on Ihe one lland. as "I(fwben ANY look upon me IS form, those per10M do nol
see me" or """SoME look upon me IS form, Ind those persons do not sec me," or. o n the
otller hind, IS "'PERSONS WHO look upon me as fo rm do I'IOt sec me." In th is cue. _ cal
I\IC5S from tile Sanskrit Ihl t the rela tive reail /nl was intended, but the structure o f the
Tibetan iueif re mains ambllllOus. Second. where the head can be read IS rd eninl to a
I...OCAn ON, in e ither space or IjlM, I oons trllCtion wi th 1I locus o r source pan icle becomes
.mbiIUOUS; for example, gnas gaIl·ta bfugJ-fUI ClIn be read e ither as (&nos fdlI)-14 •
MI(fwhe a he lives SOME pv.ce. , .~ o r as pas (gaiI.ta ... ) "the PLJ.CE WHERE he lives." Of
oourse, this sooond $Ource o f ambigui ty is not found where tbe verb ste m 15 followed by •
oonjuna ion; the exprc:s.sio n gnaJ gaII-ta bl ugHe can be read o nly as " He lives SONE P1-"CE.
and . .. Ne ither of these two types of amb igui ty would a ppear to be par ticularly tro ublin!.
M

)II Of these obliqu-e roles, the locus seems gene rally mOSt aCCC:55ible; fo r example, the

ptopcl5itions me I/b",-bai kJuVt-pa " ho use IN WHlo-t fire burns," srom ma -dgos.pai 14m "path
ON' Wlllo-t mccli tation is not noc::essa ry" lire 1101 di rriCUlt 10 proocs.5. The I dnom inal ro le is
the least I CCC:55 ible, and tbe lId nom ina l role pa rt icle MUST be ca rried by I dummy role
part icle carrier•• 1 leas l whe n Ihe rda livi1.e.:l propos itio n precedes the head il mod irte5_
Ihus, fo r cumple, I(G..tN,-ri driII .gyis bdag sgrol)-ba l-; bI,, -ma I!he" 'po,- j l.abJ·/iJ NdIul " 1 bow
to the fec i o f Ihe I ' ea l lamll l WlIOSEi ! raee rcscuc:5 me,"' but 1'101 ?1<.Mo _ fI"- ,e
fYis bd4lg sgrol)-ba l-j bla-rna Ilhm .poi tabs-ta lIdud, al though bot h b14-ma d hm .po, :ft]AN,-ri
j drill -

driII-fYis ... "Orea l la ma whose gnee . . ." Ind bln·mll r!ht,, ·po I(AoIol_ .,~u ,e; drin ·/O'U
. .. "Orea t I_rna "",hose gnee ... "' appear possi hle.
322

its head is more likely to contain a dummy role particle carrier than .one that
follows its head. There are probably good processing reasons (or thi!: among
other things, the indefinite determiner in this position can both alert the
reader that the proposition currently being processed is relative to an as yet
unknown head, and serve as a place-holder for that head in shon-term
memory. Finally, since Ihis construction appears similar to the relative
construction in Sanskrit-relative pronouns in Sanskrit afC also basically
dummy case.holders, and this construction seems to have first appeared in
Tibet in the translation literalureJ1_its use can signal an ornate and

31 See, for example, in lhe trans lation of the SacJd.IuurM.~ Sal\Siril'~

)'0 "'.lima f(lkklmlJlW bhavtla bhiJtJQ mDmQ lIiN.r1asytJ p'aJdJJ~1 stllram idam hi loh 1111 cllpi
Aa·,.
stJ",tryano '41)'0 kilci, Tibetan,llQ fli mya·iiQfI-Ndas_fIIlS dgr-s(oiii I(GAN,-8 Jpyod-yul Ndi
fli ,ab_Sl"Un _tiii tU iii flam ~fi tllm-pa med)-JHlI-yiJ Ndlig_mfl-du )'Gil mdo Ndi rab-Jod-llig
"After IlIave passed into nirvana, let the monk; WHO; keeps my rules of con4uct and is ever
unwuried therein prca(h th is scripture even in the world." Note, tOO, in the later tr.nslation
period, Tro m the PrajilllJKadfpa/~ of AYalokitavratl, dgag-pa j I(GAR,.' don -(3is go-bQ SfOft)
-hll-' ... dt fli ma_ytn_ptJ' dgag·ptJ)/iII "A ncg~tion; WHIOt ; states an impliQ.tion _ . . is •
term neption," gfafl-gyU kl!as-blaits-JHl i I(ClAN," yad)-JHlJ dt dgag-pa ~d "He den ies any
tOunter-ass.ertion l wlllCtt; o ne has."

I think il is dear Ihat the use of indefinite determiners as dummy role particle carri.ers,
although ~ perfectly Tibetan construction, became wide.spread in Tibetan through imitation
of rclalive ro nmuctions in Sanskrit. In Sansluil, Ille relallvizod proposi tion usually precedes
its maULl, and sometimes fo llows iI, but almosl never appears within it. Interestingly, when
the rclal iym» proposition precedes the matrix, Ihe ht<ld which it modifies Oln be moved Out
of Ihe matrix to tile immedillle righl of tile relative pronoun, and t~ relative pronoun is
normally echoed in Ille malrix by a demonstr.live pronoun-usWllly Ja~--as i\S "oonelaliye,"
mOM oflcn placc.4 al or nt<lr Ihe beginning of llle matrix_lllus both ya~ kartJrfl/ciJrori, Ja~
f'U1UIO~ tUvada{f~ nama and)'G~ punqaJ) kortJrfl Iuvori, Ja~ lkYad.ona~ ndma, bUI only JtI~
pu1Ula~ tUvadafra~ nama, y<I~ ko!1V!' JuuOO "TIle person WHO makes the ma t is named
Devac1atta:' NOle, fo r example, with the rclatiye preceding the matrix. cll(l4iya-caMra_
gufH~ pu!/willf klJra~d yo "Wc/a Urpodyalt, sa lltytmriJw /I/wYari "The eo>l(lIn&emc nl
between Clt)aJcya and Candragllpta WHICH arist:s from a strong cause is lasting~; and, with
Ihe relative following tllc matrix, lqrapclf,fYG t ya IlalldallO, ~ priyiJn1 rdr/rtrl klJn1ayifjlOli
"Really lucky is Nandana WHO will love such a beloved," rgy6 I" ..1l1cif!1 JcriyaIC, ya lUI dotdM
"WiIat is dane wilh tllc CXlW WIIICH Is nOI a yielucr of milk ?"

As a mallcr of fact, thele seems to ha\'e been somc conflilion at finl abolll the proper
translation of S~nskfit rela tives , and' some uncertai nty abollt the use of tllis dummy
QO nstruction. We find « ua dllmmy ro le particle carriers-for eumplc, In the truslation of
thc Saddharmapu'J4tirl/w, Sans krit ~ IIj,y!,!~ ga~c/aflri IImc dJrarmc IlpJJJ~1) "Piolll
laywomen ; 'NJIOj in tll is life sec k nirvana" but Tibetan dgr -bJilcfl-ma i I(GAH,-. uhe Hdi-Ia
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 323

Sanskritized literary register. Of course, the likelihood of finding a dumm,r

role particle carrier increases when several of these factors occur at once.

"I)'G--"wI Nda$-ptI GAR j ' uhol}-ba)_ We find. conversely. dollble-beaded CODunlCtions-(or

eu.mpk, in tbe translation of tbe M&lh~ of N:lglrjllDa, SaDskrit yasmiM ~II

kf~ podDrtho jlIymt uumiM ~II t4fMli YinAl)oIIti "At JUSt lhat moment; WHEN! I tbinS
lri$cI, II lbo Ibides Ind dislpptlrs~ bill Tibetan I~-diJ; (GAR J kJto-n.a-14 dItoI-po J/eyes-
pdr~-pG'J-i Jbd-dir / de kJto-n.a-41 gnM-pa-daA NdliJ-p.tJ)VI-IIO. AAd, somelimes, mispi4ed
litempts 10 t!"lnstale Sall$kril vene tiDe by Une make I bub 0111 0( Its rdltiYc: proposhions-
for eu.mple, in tbe translation of tbe ~ Ipin. Sanskrit yo /IotlIW1lltV1l
~ ••• I idmp IIltTtMtI ptakJUttwrr ..• I asmrurll~ Jucir bM>'ft "A bodbiJltMj WlIO I
miaht wish •.• to teacb. thil scriptllre ... sboliid be undefiled IDd pute" but TIbetan nuto.
Ide J>Idj ni In/IUI-pclr yoJI. byIIII·fllwb ums-dptl; (a..tN; M1od)-ptl)., ... Hdu-Mdzi med·14 guDli·
I>/IT /IyQ, ill$lead 0( ~·dhub ItmJ-dptl; ( GAN e ' mdo-uk Nth' /Ii bSflUl-pclr i'dod)-pIIJ., Hdu·
I«W Wled·fa pall-bar byo.

)l And, of COllrK, there are simply Ihe in ta ngibles of Slyle Ind personal preference.
GlSlft-5myon be-nl·ka, in hil blogrlphy 0( Mi-ll ras-pa. IuIppUy dektes ooreferenu In
oblique roles witOOlil providing I dllmmy role cauier-for eu.mpk:, IC......... bu.Jo ~ 'Jpu
huI Jyo}ba)-i bcU·~ "Joy FROM 'MIlCH IU lhe hairs on my body stood o n end," f("a'4
~ db4II-grol-fa ldud)'pIIJ-i dball,.,.. " Initialio n fee WHEREBY you stand in tbe Initiltioll
,M
Une," I(M"""" mfllli·mll .>lkhnIg)-pII]-i mos·,," " Flith FROM WHIOi lears flowed."

Sa-5kya pa-04IL1. on the o lher IuInd, was fo nd of dllmm)' role pIonkk carriers, III III
likellbooJ for metrical ftl30llS I ione, since he often used them where the ddeled oorefeulII
Was I perfectly ac:c.asible IIt!!t panlcipant. Ind wbere the meier forced the omiMlon 0( the
ro:e pankk·ntr In .n)' event-for eu.mple, Ini j «GAR; mdza-~ mi-bnm)-pd! dt..doll Np'Op-
F N-tig "'" HWho can be friends wilh I man, WHO ; ckIc:s not SIiPpon his friencb?" mi;
{(GAR/ b)w-po mi'llo}~1 de-' ni g!lIn.ltu rolI·/D gnod HA man; WHO; is not gritetuillarnu
himself more tluln Olben," Ind

mij I(GAR; Jkyt-bo dDm .pa-dQA

dnuu!.p4U khyfJd.pclr k-gt·JtNI(U
de·,;. byo-~ bJgrub kJ).pd]-'
pIuln-swm uhop.pai &ii-tlMII yilt

A man, WHO, well knowslbc difference

berw«1l nobk Ind base. and
knows how to ICaImplisb hil deed!,
is the foundation of excellence.

Note Ilso (OARr!ig nor-iGod)l Ikyt-bo; kyoI1I. tlMn lIid guo-bor b,vWI·kr byo " Even I
ptl'lOtlj WHO. dalra 1IIfta1lb looliid apecially gword the dlulrma," where lIdoJ·pai bas been
miuct4 10 MkMI for reasons of meter.
324 TilE CLt.ssICAL TIBETAN lANOUAGE

Although we have been using the indefinite determiner gan in our examples
so far, any appropriate indefinite de terminer can be used as a dummy carrier
for the role particle of a deleted coreferent-thus not only. say, mj Nd!ig.pai
tfhos l [(G.4Rr l1 Ndtig-por mi-,o,gyur}-ba ] h-ga·I yod-dam "Is there some un-
perishing dharma, WHIOI; will no t perish?" but also, for example, ii4u rgya-po;
[(sur la bu yod}-pa] de-' bstt n " I will serve the king, WlIO, has a son,"lchyod j
[(SUrD N8T0rbaJ-dag-, NgrOgS " Yo u; WHO, are going 8fe assembled," bdag-gis
mlhu/ [(Otli yod)-paJ-,s rgya-mtslwi tJJu" hLfw '" scooped the water of the sea
with the strength, WHICH, I had .~· This is true as well where the relatiYized
proposition precedes the head-thus not only, say, [(bdt-gIegs·' GAR•.-dIlsdi-ge
Ita-bur gzims}-po]-yi gnDSi de-/a phyag-NUhal "I bow to that place, WliERE,lhe
Well-Gone One slept like a lio n," but also, for example, [(slon-par NANj dUm}
pa )-yi bar-dorla Ndtigs-pa-Ias skyob "He prOlcclS, from the terrors in the
intermediate state; WIlEN ; one dissolves into emptiness."

Indefinite adverbs can also occur in relative propositions. Such indefinite

adverbs can be corererential with an explicit head: note the parallel Slnlcture
o f, say, tIhos OV-LTArr byun-bai tshuJ; "the way, HOW; the dharma arose" and
tIhos GAR,-du byuii-bai gnusl "the place, WHERE, the dharma arose," tIhos
HAM; byuii-bai dus; "the time, WHEN ; the dharma arose," and tJhos GAR,-F
byuii-bai bla-ma i " the lama l BECAUSE OF WHOM, the dharma arose." Indefmite
adverbs can also be-and, in fa ct, most oft en are-headless. In such headless
constructions, the relative proposition is often then specified by such expres-
sions as de -liar "in that way," de-srid "to that extent, for that long," de skDd-
du " in those words,,:l3 note the parallel structure of, say, (VV-l..1;(rr mi lam-
Ia byams-pal de-Ilar r "1n 'that waYI HOW; one loves all men" and [GAR, mi
Icun-la byams-pa l del "Thai one i wuo, loves all men," or (khyod-kyis W -SXAD,-
du smraJ'-pal de-skad,-du "In those words; IN WHICH I you spoke" and (khyod-
kyiJ cAR/,smras·pa] de; "That l WH ICH I you spoke." In the Ugs-par bIiJd-pa rill- "
po-Lfhei gter by Sa-skya pa~q.ita we find, for example, [VV-LTArr phD-rna bur
byams-pa I de-Ita , r bu-Wtas pha-mar min "The son does not Jove his parents
in the waYt HO W ; his parents love him,~ (VtJ.SRlD/ no-tsha yod gyW".pa 1de-srid;
yon·lall 'KYa/l-gy; m t!hog "Virtue is the best of ornaments to the extent l 10
WIIIClf i one has modesty, "~tJ-SIUD; raii-srobs rruJ-rdzogs-pa I de-yi bar,-du dgra-
mal'lU bkw "One hOftors one's enemies in the interval l DURING WI-IIO li one's
own strength is not perfected,"

lJ As we have noted before, these ate all perfectly TibeWl ronsttllCt~ bUI llIeIr . -
....as undoubtedly innuenad by $\lCh Sanskrit pallCrN u ytJ/M " " . uuh/j "in fticb way •••
in that wayK al'Kl )"a~D/" " , lilvllI ""to wh ich Cltent . " " 10 tha i atent.~
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS

[Dti-LTA Dti-LTA;r rdte-dpon-gyis

NIchor-la drin-~is bskyaiis gyur-pa]
tk lJa tk ltarr g.yDg-Nkhor-mams
rdte-dpon-ijid-Icyi bya-ba sgrub

The retinue of a lord

will accomplish his own deeds
to the extent; TO WHICHI the lord
cares for his tetinue with kindness.

2.3.1.6. H«U!Iess nlo.livn

Just as adjectives cun appear without heads-for example, rta tJllen-po "great
horse" 8 tIMn-po "great one," g.yu siion-po "blue turquoise" IJ siion-po "blue
one," blu-ma bzan-po tJhen-po "great virtuous lama" II bran-po dilen-po
"great virtuous one"-so too can relative propositions. For example, we might
find na (mgyoss--por tg)'Ug.:r-pa] "horse that fUns swiftly" , (mgyog:s-por rgyugs-
pal "one that runs swiftly," g.yu [/xyoI·pos nos.pa ] "turquoise which the king
bought" IJ [IXYal-pos nos·pa] "one bought by the king," bla·rna [dgon-pa-la
tIhos blad-pa] "lama who taught the dharma in the' monastery" , (dgon-pa·1o
tlhos blad~pal "one who taught the dharma in the monastery...3'

:M A beadlcss relative can aJso be spctirlCd by.n inUtfinile determinef, IS in tbis vene
from tbe 1Jhuj bS'aIl·bdm by BknI-1is bla-nu VI, BIo·buft thub·bsl:ln tlhOs· kyI rli·m.:

lItall-~ /)de·1Il plvOf-d~-fHli

mi-lnod byo.b)!td rtsOfn-pdi GAil
bye·1JulJI 'lY'4p.pdi Lffu,·khUI bfu.
rail .Rid iIa!·ba uam-du Illd

SoME/ANYone who seu about tile unbearable work

of en")'in, tbe ~pplne5$ of olbers
is like I stre.m ",onin, in !he desert:
just 'IoUryin, himself, be is lI5ed lip.

Tbe tint two Jinera:luld lbo be read IS I headless relative with tbe ga/l1S a dummy role
particle carrier, rather tban IS I spedfier-tbus l&fan'Di ~·ls phr(lI-4tJg·p<3~ mj·blod byo-
IrycwI mom·pa a.-tR]. Bill In tbls case the word order, I believe, suuau the reallin, siven
.bove. or COUr1C, botb re.dinp would probably be TRANS1--\TED into En&lish in pfttty mud,
the same way; but tblt d(N!'H "I01 rnu.n thl t Ihey 1ft not syntactically di:uinct in T ibel:ln.
326 Tile Cv.ssICAL TIBETAN WOUAOE

Such headless relatives are commonly found in Tibetan with dummy case
particle: carriers; they are frequently used in general statements, where: the
missing head is clearly, from the context, something like "person" or "place"
or "thing"-8(GAN-8 gos Ndod)-paJ-lagos byuii "Clothes appeared for (those)
WIIO wanted clolhes," saiiNKYas-J.yis B (GAN·n mj.Jes}-poj..dag-' b.s'afl '"The
Buddha will teach (one) WIIO does nOI know," 8 ('XYal·bu GAR..du UM
NpIIOS)-pa]-Ja son "They went to (the place) WHERE the prince: had died," ,
I(NAM mgroll-po K>'t's)-pa]-Ia rgyal1f byon "The king arrived at (the time)
WH EN the guests had departed." Sa-skya paQ"ita writes, in his lAgs-par
Mad-pa rin -po-tJhei gter, !gan-tig iiuii-nUl tIhog It's-pa] de-yi loiiHpyod ZJJd
mi-Ies "The: one: who knows that a lillie bit is enough will not know an end
10 abundance," (iies-po Ibag-r.f/wgs-dllii blJas-pa] gan-gis spans-palo' ~
sarlS-tg)'as- 6 "One who abandons sin with its traces is a perfect Buddha_"
Dpal-sprul rin-po-tihe writes, in his Kun-bzllii bfa-ma; fa/-Iun, (gan -gir gwl-ba
/oIdebs-poj de; dtuii-fla 'K}'ul-ba-iiid Mugs "The Buddha himself dwells near to
one who prays."

This sort of headless construction is o ften found in translations from the

Sanskrit-for example, from the Vnjrace/l edikii, Sanskrit ya imafFI dharma-
paryiiya",. dlliirayifyantj . _ . pa,om('~lo la iiJearye{la samanviigatii bhaviganri
Tibetan (su-l;g II/IOS-ky; nlam-grartS Ndi /m-pa-dan Ndzin-paj de-6 no-muhDr
rob-dan !dan-par Ng)'1lT "Those who take up and keep this scripture will
become endowed with the highest wonders"; from the Saddlrannapu1J4anko,
Sanskrit ye porvalt'!u t'va guiliinil'iIsi . te!ii'!l en valgil Jf7!.ule hi Jabdiin
Tibetan (ri-dan plrug-lla gaii-8 KlIOS-pa] de-dag-maf1U-kyi sgra-snan /oIdir lhos
"Here one hears the sweet sounds of those who live o n the hills and in the
caves"; from the Miidll)'amjkakiirikii of Nagarjuna, Sanskrit yo dhDrma'!l pal-
yot; sa buddha",. patyati Tibetan 15rH d1ros mthoii·ba) de·s sarlS-rgyas mthoii
"He who sees the dharma secs the Buddha."

3$ NOle l!we foltowinl further eumpta-[su-yis dJN Ndi rhob-pd) IM-14 fin Ibyin '" will
live tbe treasure 10 (Ihe person) wtlo fino:l.s Ihc book," f\Or-bu riI! _po-tJM I>IdiJ 1dtI.!dod-pdJ-'
duJiru·tJl\Q.d IlhaI blin-du Nbtbl '"This preciollS gem makC:5 come 00wn like rail! (lite Iblnp)
wbicb one wishea for," IbdDg-nid plt.ID mi-dgD_bD!_' gfDn·14 kun 'N 1M ".;.bytl ~(Thal) wllieb
one cIoe$ QOllike onaeif Ihould never be done 10 olhen,~ (-01.14 dDm _ptJi rlItoI md/W-pa-l·1
bdDI-lD nDfl UI (Ihe o ne) ....110 possesses Ihe holy dllanna leach il 10 me."
M
CoMPlEX PROPOSmONS 327

2.3.1.7. Slates and procesus

In an ADJECTIVE IOQU"TION, such as bla-ma 'Ban-po yin 'The lama is old/an

old one," the adjective is read as a headless modifier: that is, the adjective
'Ban-po "old" is processed as the modifier of a redundant or recoverable
head bla-ma "lama" which has been omitted under the Telegram Principle.
We have also already noted a tendem:y for such adjectives to be related to
intransitive verbs-for example, MAR "be many" man-po "many," DKA "be
difficult" dka-bo "difficult," SKYO "be weary" lkyo-mo "weary," m/£ "be
great" IIhen-po "great," RGA "be old" 'Ban-po "old." Thus a writer can often
choose between a verbal construction and an adjective equation-between
bla-ma dhe and bla-ma dhen-po yin "The lama is grea.." between dge-sloii
lkyo and dge-l/oii lkyo-mo yin "The monk is weary," and between sems-Lfan
man and sems-lIan man-po yin "Senlient creatures are many."

Now such intransitive verbs in Tibetan actually express what are both states
and processes-thus bla·ma rga "The lama is/grows ald." rgyal·po skyo "The
king is/grows weary," na.rgyal tIhe "His pride is/grows gfeat." Thus the choice
of an adjective equation serves to specify that the attribution is not a process
but a state-for example, bla-ma rgan-po yin "The lama is old/an old one."
rgya/-po llcyo·mo yin "The king is weary/a weary one," na-rgyal IIhen-po yin
"His pride is great/a great one." When a writer thus chooses an adjective
equation he specifies the amibution as in some sense abiding or chronic;
when he chooses the corresponding intransitive verb construction he does not
so specify, and the attribution may in fact be temporary or acute.

The same choice obtains between an equation with a headless relative and
the corresponding verb construction: for example,lIhol-rgyud Ndis lems-tJan-'
19rOi 'This religious tradition saves beings" states only that an event occurs;
but tJhos-rgyud Ndi-8 {ums-lIan-8 sgrol-ba]-B yin "This religious tradition is
one which saves beings" implies that the ability to save beings is inherent to
the tradition, that it saves beings more or less regularly, that it is the sort of
tradition whereby beings are usually saved. Similarly, rgyal-pos tJhaii-8 Nthuii
''The king drinks beer" states only that a particular event occurs; but rgyal-po-
8 {lIhaii-' NthWi-ba)-B yin "The king is one who drinks beer" implies lhallhe
Icing is a beer-drinking person, thai he drinks beer more or less regularly, that
he is the sort of person who drinks beer.

Thus Mi·la ras-pa describes himself like this-gdon-bgeg.r-mams·kyi la za

khrag Ntltun-ba yin "I am one who eats the flesh and drinks the blood of
3211 THE ClAsSICAL TIBETAN LANOUAGE

demons!!' Mar-pa's wife says of her husband, sku mdun-du Ichyi-lig byuii-ruii
tlhos gsuii-liii mdIug briio-bas bsdud-pa-lig Ndug-pa yin "He is one who
teaches dharma though it be a dog before him, and ends up by giving it his
merit." And Pad-rna dor-po describes the son of person he is-na d~.phyir
Ju-I'IIU Ntlhad-ptl yin. gtltJii-ba thob-nm rtsom-po yin, log-smra Ndug-nas rood-
pa yin " When I know something. I teach it; when I receive something given
me, I write it down; when there is a mistake. I argue with it."

1lot wwll IE in E"B1ish cqnuUns, IU It p;rus umttuns,

itJ prt«NIU 1fUSSRRl 0{ dRm4at, fbI UlteBori&iU
;",pm.";'" ofpnnuanmt umAirion.

-William S. BurroughS,
TIle Job

Such constructions arc similarly used to describe the character of things

rather than peopk. Mar-pa dreams that he must cleanse a tarnished vajra,
symbo1izinS the disciple Mi-Ia he would meet the next day, and-he is told,
fXYOl-ba goii-nu2-mafftS mMs-liii umNIatl-mams mgu-bar byas-po yin-pas. ran-
gtan-gyi don grub-pa yin-no "This is something that makes glad the Buddhas
of the past and brings delight to sentient creatures, and so it i$ something
that serves the aims of both oneself and others." Mar-pa says, nas rgya-gar-nas
bJans-pai tIhos Ndi-mams semHJan-la phan-du rNull blans-pa yin '"These
teachings I brought from India are what I brought in hope of benefit 10
sentient creatures." When Mi-Ia is unsuccessfully meditating with the lama
Ri'iog-pa, he ~ told, iiai brgyud-pa Ndi . .. nams-nags-Icyi yon-tan myur-du mi-
s~-lnli mthu med-po-fig yin ''This tradition of mine is o ne whereby o ne
cannot but quickly attai.n the qualities of knowledge." And Mi-Ia, when he has
himself become a teacher, sings

rmons-pa kh4-NtJhal smra-ba-/a

mi-w ras-pas gdams-nag bIad
de tJhu len tJhan-gis Ndla /-ba yin
iian len bzan-gis bskor-ba yin

To the speaking of no nsense by fools

Mi-Ia ras-pa has taught his leaching.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 329

That is to get water and pay back beer;

that is to get evil and return g()()(].

2.3.1.8. Mulliplt ~mbedding

It should be clear that a matrix proposition containing an embedded proposi.

tion can itself be relativized and embedded within yet another proposition:
for example, the proposition sans·'ID"lS dgon.pa.fa btugs "The Buddha dwells
in the monastery" can be relativized to modify the nominal head Joiis·rgyas
"Buddha" in the proposition d~.slon-gis saflS-rgyas mlhon "The mo nk saw the
Buddha," which in tum can be relativized to modify the nominal head dge-
.don "monk" in the proposition dge-sloii-gis tJhos bstod "The mo nk praised the
dhanna." This multiple embedding can take place in two ways: the term SELF-
EMBEDDINO will refer to the insenion of the modifying proposition AfTER the
nominal head it modifies; the term LEFT·BItANCIIINO will refer 10 the insenion
of the modifying proposition as an adnominal BEFORE the no minal head it
modifies. l6 If the three propositlonS are self.e mbedded, the result is:

l6 ScIt-cmbCiddinl can, tbcoretially. &0 on witboullimit: but it is cl~ r Iha t excessive ~Jr.
embtGdift, puU 100 gut a Ura in o n tile una ided memory. In English, for eu mple. il is
1YI'~k:a11y pouillle 10 $I)' w cJutst IMt t~ tDt IMI th.r cot thot I~ dog bit dwsta tJlt -lhll
ii, dI.t WtM 1!IIe tot (w CtJl Iw dog bit ___I chastd "'*-1 /lIt ~ t ~_tl bu.t it is
Klltler a likely nor an easily IIndentood IImriince. We . re mLltb more likely 10 say W dog
rNa btl w cot tJwJ thlualille rolllwu Olt tilt clw'~It-lllal is, lht dog l~ lIil I~ cot I~
.., Ui<utd IN rol f~ ott IIIe CMtStJJJ. 51ch • rlghl-Ilranching construction could wily
to 011 IndCftaitely.

1bc eboke between a xlr-cmbcd4ed Of branchinl constrLltlion is a choice of liter-II)' style.

1bc roUawinl Kntmoe (rom loeeph Conrad's ~ Xcltl Sluvu is largely righl·branching;

I wu in time 10 catcb an evanescenl glimpse of my ~bite bal lelt behind 10

mull the lpol ~bere IIIe SCCTCI shaler of my cabin .nd of my though ts. as
llIoup be were my second self. tu.d lowered himself in tbe water to take
1111 punllluDtlll ...

tieIuJ' lame&. 011 tbe Olb« hanel, Is chlracteristially KIf-c:mbcddinc; the fo llowin, sentence
rroar. 7Jw I'Of'hil 0( a LItdy II probably mort dirflClllt 10 proce:as ttu.n tbe sentence .bove::
Hil companioD, _urllli the IeIlJlII of tile lawn befl4e him, wu • penon
or qulee another pattern. ~bo. aJtbollp be miJ.ht have exQled a.rave curio-
330 TUE ClASSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

(1) (a) (saiis·~lls·l1 dgon-pa-Ia blugs)-N'] and

(b) (dgN/oii-gis miis-'X)'Qs.g mlliofi)-Pa],

(2) dge-slon [(dge-.floii-gis saiis-rgyas l(saiis-tXYas dgon-pa-Ia Mugs).

PIlJ-IJ mthoii)-PaJ-KYif llhos bstod.

(3) (a) dge-sloii [(dge-slan-giS' saiis-l8)'tlS (:M;if '!)'tH dgon-pa-ln

blugs)-raJ-tI mthoii)PaI-Klis tIhos bstod, and then

(b) dge -sloii (ag.e 516" gU sans-rgytu ((36''''' 'X)o1lf dgon-pa-la

blugs)-PQJ-g mthoii)-Paj-/O'ir alios bSlod,

which bt':comcs dge-slon SOIIS-fKYO.J dgon-pa-Ia Mugs-po mrllOn-bas tIhos bstod

"The monk who saw the Buddha who dwells in the monastery praised the
dharma," If the three propositions are left-branching, the result is

( J) (a) [(san.f-'K)IQs-B dgon-pa-Ia btugs)-po) and

(b) ( dge-sloii-gis sarl$~'XYQs.8 Inthoii)-Pa),

(2) I[ (.mils -'XYos -.8 dgon -po -Ia blugs } /'U ]-KYI' (dge-slon -gis sai"lS-rgyas-8
mlllOii )-I'OJ-KYi dge-slon-gis 1!lu)$ b.~lOd,

(3) (a) U(s6iif ''X)'tU 8 dgoll-pa .la blugs)-raJ-KYi (dge-slon-gis sans-

f],.'Yos-H mllwii)-f'oj-KYi dge-sloij -gis dh os bSlod, and then

(b) f[(.M iif tXrds 8 dgoll -pa-Ia blugs )-Pa J-.Kl-i (tlf::t: sl6ii tD sons-
'X},q.r- IJ mlhoii )-paJ-Kri dge-slon.-},ir IJll os bSlOd,

which beco m~ s dgo/l -pa-Io blugs-poi saiis-'XYos mlhon.pai dge-sloii-gis tJhos

hstod "The monk who saw the Buddha who dwells in the monastery praised
the dharma."

~ity, would nOl, like the ot her, have provoked you 10 wish yourstlr, almost
blindly. in his place.

In Tibetan. thC alternative 10 self.embeddinc is nol riCln.branChin" IS In EnJllsh, bUI raltler

[.EFT-BRANCHING. This is why nalive speake" 01 En&1is/t lend 10 feel lut cLusical Tibetan
is somehow ~ckwarli5. In a rip l-branchinl OOlI$lrucllon, lilt bead 11 presented berore iu
moditic,,: in a lefl-brloll(:hinl OlnStrUClion, the modifleB are preaenled before their bead. I
will lave il to o thers 10 speculate as to how this rel<ltC$ eitner to C\llllIre or 10 psychololY.
CoMPlEX PROPOSmONS 331

Similarly, the proposition saiis4EYas.kyis mllhod·pa dge·slon dgon.pa-Ia blugs·

pas phuJ-ba bIes "The Buddha accepted the offering which the monk who
dwells in the monastery gave" consists of the three propositions saiis-rgyas-kyis
mLfhod·pa bIes "The Buddha accepled the offering," dgNlon.gis mtlhod-pa
pllul"The monk gave the offering," and dge·slon dgon.pa-Ia Mugs "The monk
dwells in the monastery" in the following SEI.F-EMBEPOEO form:

(1) (a) (dge-slon·8 dgon·pa·la bIugs )·Pa J and

(b) [(dge-sloii·gil mtlhod·po-8 P/1I4/)·PO],

(2) saiis·rgyas-kyis mtIllod·po [(dgt'·slon I(dge·slon dgon.pa.la Mugs)·

Pa].KYif mLfhod·pa-8 phul}Pa]·8 bIes,

(3) (a) saiis·rgyas·kyis mtIllOd·pa [(dge·slon {(agt' jklii dgan·pa·la

bIugs).I'aj·AW mllhod·po·/J phul)·Pa]-8 bIu, and then

(b) saiis·tg)'as·kyis mllhod·pa (dge·slon (age jklii dgDlI·pa·la

bIugr)·Paj·Klis mt:f/too fM 9 phul)-pa)-8 bIes,

and the proposition sallS·rgyas·kyis dgem.pa-Ia Mugs-poi dge·slon-gis plJul-bai

mtlhod·pa bU.f "The Buddha accepted the' offering which the monk who
dwells in the monastery gave" consists of the same three propositions in the
following lEFr·nRANCIiING form:

(I) (a) [(dge·sloii-IJ dgon-pa-Ia btugs).Pa] and

(h) [(dge-sloii-gis mil/lOti-pa·R pltu/)-l'aJ.

(2) saiu -'1O'os.kyis [( (dge-sloii· 8dgoll-po -10 blugs )-PrlJ-Kl"l (dgNloii .giv
mtIllOd-po./J phul)·PQJ·Kri mtlhod-pa Mes,

(3) (a) saii.f-'1O'0.f-kyis [[(agt' skin 8 dgan.pa.la btugs)-paj·Kli (dge·

sloii·gif mii/iod-po·D phu/)'I'OJ-m ml!/lod-po bIes, and then

(b) saiis·rgyos-kyis l[(a'gIr Jl6ii 8 dgon·pa-/a bIugs).PaJ-Kri (dge-

slvii'Kis ".5h8tJ fM 8 pllul)-pa )-m mll/IOO.po btl'S.

In such a left·branching proposition, 100, we find all the modified nominal

heads moved as far to the left as possible, to make the leftward branching
both clearer and more symmetrical: thus, instead of saiis-~as-kyis dgan-po.la
332 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

blugs-poi dge-sloii-gis phuJ-bai mtJlwd-pa bles, we might find dgon-pa-lo

blugs-poi dge-sloii-gis pIud-bai mdlwd-pa saiLr-'1O'tu-Icyis bIt!! "The Buddha
accepted the offering which th~ monk who dwells in the monastery gave," as
follows:

(1) (.) [(dg'·'/oIi·' dgem·pa·., b'up)·I'a] .nd

(b) [(dg,.,/oii'gir mtJhod·pa·. ph:J).I'a].

(2) (.) ,ans·'!5YQS·kyis n(dg'·'/oIi·. dgon.pa •., b'u&<),I'a]'''; (dg"

sloii-gis mtJhod-pa-tJ phu/}-PaJ-ni mdhod-~ bIts,

(b) (((dgN/on-8 dgon-pa-1Il blug:s}Pr'l]-.m' (dge-sJon.gi.r md/lQd-

pa-IJ phul)-Pa J-KYi mtJhod-ptl saiis-rgyas-kyis blu,

(3) (a) (f(dgt'sis" 1/ dgon-pa-Ia btugs)-Pa I-rn' (dgNloii-gis mJJhod-

pil-8 phul).Pa)-KYi ml!hod-pa Jlliis-rgytu-kyis Mes,

(b) f[(dgt'slot. 8 dgon-pa-Ia blug:s)-PaJ-KYi (dgNloii-gis ~

ptt-8 phul)-raJ-KYi mtI/iod-pa soiis-'ID'as-kyis bIu

2.3.1.9. BalJJnced relal;"es

It is possible 10 have several self-embedded relaljvjz.alions, all of which have
the same corefercm J7 -for example, saiiNgyas tIhos bIad-po dgon-pa-Ia

37 Note, for example. Ihe double seU-embel.ldin& when Mar-pa tells Mi-" lol-gyi mlJm-poi
khyams kn-ba bll~-giliJ yod_po blsan-lcJu1ii.da;i bdiU-po-lig nsigr "Bllikl , collrtyard in the
form of an annex which Iw twelve pillars that is lilted with. tempk for the fierce deities."
Hele the matrix proposition is lol·gyi rruun-JHli kJrytlms-liS ruip "Bllikl , COllrtyard in the
form of an a nnex"; then the head klIyams "courtyard" is modified by nominllizations of the
two propositions klIyanu·1D kn·ba bllu-ptu yod '1be oollflylrd his twelve pillars" and
klIyanu buan _/chaii-4.Jii blJtlJ '11Ie courtyard is filted with a temple for the fieroc deities,"
1$ (ollows:

(I) (a) i(klIyanu.a bl$an·kJIlIii-dil1l bIJtlJ)·J'QJlnd

(b) i(khyanu-ID kn-ba bllu-giliJ yod}-paJ,

(2) to/-gyi mlJm-JHl; kJryoms (kJi}'GmS I(klIyams-/Q M-ba bllu-B'lis yod}-I'O)-.I

blS(IlI-IcJIIlJI~ btltlJ)·I'OJ·tig nsip.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS

blugs-pa sgom ''The Buddha who taught the dharma who dwells in the
monastery meditates.," which is made up of the matrix proposition.JQIIs-ffYGJ
.rgom ''The Buddha meditates" and the two modifying propositions.JQIIs-.rpGI
dgon-pa-Ja blug:r "The Buddha dwelb in the monastery" and saiis"f!J'GS-kyir
tJhos bJad "The Buddha taught the dharma," as follows:

(1) (.) (w;U.'XY",.kyi< rJhos bIod}"'i.nd

(b) (.Ja.1ir-'XYas-B dgon-pa-Ja blugs}Pa),

(2) sa.1ir-'XYas (.Ja.1ir-'XYa.J (saiis-IXYas-kyu tJhos b.fad}1'I2}-' dpI-

pa-/a blug.r)-Pa)-8 .Jgom,

(3) (a) .Jaiis-rgyo.J {(.JoiiJ-rgyas [(oMitf 'X)'d" kytI tJhos bJad)-1'I2}-'

dgon-pa-/o btugs)-Pa]-8 sgom,

(b) .Joiis-'XY'u [(56ita '&Y4" [(56M~" kytJ tJhos bIad}I'I2) dgon-

pa-Io blugs)-POJ-O sgorn.

Such constructions are, of course, syntactically permitted; they cannot be

recast into left-branching form, since only the self-embedding allows the
reader to process both relative propositions as modifying the same coreferent;
hut an alternative construction would be to place a relative proposition on
both sides of the coreferent nominal head-for example, tIho.J bJQd-pai saiis-
rgyas dgon-pa-Ia btug:r-pa .Jgom "The Buddha who teaches the dharma who
dwells in the monastery meditates," as follows:

(1) (a) [(sans-rgyas-Jcyis tJho$ bIad} m] and

(b) ((sanHK)'as-8 dgon-JXl-la bJugs)-ml.

(2) [(sans-rgyas-Jcyis tIhos bIad}Pu]-KYi saiis-'XYas (saiis-~s-'

dgon-pa-Ia blug:r)-raJ-8 sgom;

(3) [(sans '&Y4" hy~ tIhos b!ad)-PaI-KYi sans-'ID'fU [($1tiiJ~" ,

dgon-pa-Ia blugs}paJ-B sgom.

(3) (.) lol·gyi mam-pai khyams [(khyams (WI, .... MIw_/NJ bIhl-lfIis )Ud)-N)-I'
blStlll·kJmll-dD1l bIItl.f}I'tlJ.lig mip.

(b) loI·t:J'i rrttlm _ptli kJrytlms [(.w.,- 1("">-'" kIJ-ba bIhl-lflis )'Od}N[
11I$tlll·khtlii-dDii blItl.f).Ptl)-tig migs.
334 TilE CU,SSICAl TIBETAN LANGUAGE

A balanced pair of relative propositio ns such as Ihis can provide a framework

for further embedding of parallel propositions-for example, lha-manu-kyis
hstod·pai LfhOJ Mad-pai saiis-'XYQs dge-sloii-gis phuJ-bai mtIhod-pa bits-pa
dgon-pa-la blugs "The Buddha who taught the dharma praised by the gods
who accepled the offering the monks gave dwells in the monaste ry." I will
Icave it as a n exercise to de ri ve Ihis proposition from its components.

2.3.1.10. Comple:c relatMud propositions

Conjoined propositions aTC themselves propositions which can be relativized

\0 modify a nominal head-th us, for e)lample, with -KYoij "OUT," med-kyafi
dgoS -IJUi khra/-b:.dud " tax which is necessary though one does not have it," or,
as thl! title of a politicaliraci hy Kun-bzaii dpal-Nbyor, bsregs·kyaii mj·Ntshigs·
PlI; bod "Tihct-burncd but no t consumed "; with ·Am "OR," tJhos tllos·sam
hvoaLt·Jam bSROm.{·paj s~mS· IJIlII "creatures who have heard or pondered or
contemplated the dharma ," or saiis·rgyas tJhos bJad-darn rna ·b!ad.po " the
O<Jddha, whet her he has taught the dharma o r not"; wit h 'STi! "AND," 80S
hkruHe dag.pa "dothes thai have been washed and are pure"; and with ·tim
""Nil," Ndrc Ia·la za·fiii, khra·la Nlhuii·ba "demo ns who feed o n flesh and
gorge on hlood ," Ndfig·nc/I.gyj khams dpag.,u m ed·/Jm graiis med·pa-dag
"worldly rca 1m!> which lire measureless and wit hout number," or even slob·rna
dbus-XlSuII·"a.{ yon'X;/I yod'Pfl "disciplcs who are coming from Dbus and
G tsang." Similarly, propositions contai ni ng a nominalizcd proposition in the
setting slot can also be rc1ativized to modify a nominal head-for example,
tIhall pllall-/a tim-pa "beer which is refreShing and taS ty," nlllwlI'IIU sgroi·hai
bla-rna "a h, ma who fre es yo u if you hut sec him." Thcse las t constructions
strikc me as hcing vcry Tihctan.

2.3.2_ Comp lement constructions

In a complement const ruction, certain verh or nominill heads are modified

by a nominalized proposition, called a COMl'tn.H;I'H, whi,h is not relative to
the hc~d it modifies. In a NOM tNN . complemcnt construction, the complement
"D~O Mt N I\I .I.Y modifies certain types of noun head-thu~, for eXilmplc, saIlS'
rxras-I.:y u tJlw.f hJlld-I'A1 ISlle "the time TItAT th~ Buddha taught the dharma."
In a vmul :::omplcment construct ion, the complemenl "OVDU:lAl tY modifies
certain types of verb head-thus. for example, saiis-'K)'Qs·k)'u lJhos Mad·PAN
grags ''It is well known TIIAT the Budtlha laughl the dharma."
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 335

2.3.2.1. Complement heads

One of the distinguishing features of complement constructions-as opposed

to relative constructions-is that the complement can occur only with certain
verb or nominal heads. (A relative, on the other hand, can occur with any
nominal head.) NOMINAl. complement heads are always ABSTRACT NOUNS-
for example, don "purpose," uhuJ "way," uhe "time," as in soiir-'X)IQS-kyis
tJho.t Mad·poi DON "the PURPOSE of Buddha having taught the dharma," safu-
~-kyis tIho.t blod.pai TSIIUL "the WAY that the Buddha taught the
dhanna," saiis-'XYas-~ir tIhos blad-poi TSIIE "the TIME that the Buddha
taught the dhanna:' VERB complement heads are verbs that: can occur
with an ABSTRACT PATIENT-for example, DKA "be difficult" (thus both tJhos
dJuJ "The dharma is difficult" and dge-slon-gis dhos blad-por dka "It is
difficult for the monk to teach the dharma"), NAN " hear" (thus both Lfhos nan
"He heard the dharma" and dge-slofi-gir sons-rgyas-kyis Lfhos Mad-par nan
"He heard that the Buddha taught the dharma").»

2.3.2.2. Nominal complements

In a nominal complement construction, a nominalized proposition adnomin-

ally modifies a nominal head that is not coreferential with any participant in
the embedded proposition.- For example, given the proposition safis-rgyas-

]II Olller typk::al nominal romptement Pleads include shlbs "oc:casion." 'X)'Il ··cause.~ mIlia

"cntt," muhan·/tid "siln." Ittmu-bil "effect," IIIClbs "means:' phmI "bcne fit ,~ 'X)'Il.mIJMII
"reason," bdoI-po "truth," rdzwI "ralsehood," Hdod·ptJ "opinion." bIni-po "rontention,"/w·
1M MOOctrine," IIdu-J~J "ronoept." dmigs·pa "idu." IO'~1 "history." sgruJls "tale," and so
0'.
19 Verb and nomlnal romplement GOlistruaions arc inlcrcst]n,l), parallel in Tibetan. jusl
as adYert15 and adnominal5 arc interestingl)' parallel-thus mgyogs-poi na " fast hon.e" is to
"'C!OP·ptK'I)'Il "runs rast" as tUl 'X)'Ilgs-poi I'D" "the reason the hon.e runs fast" is to nCl
1fYI4fP-fMT /nIhQII "!:Je s.ec:s that the hon.e runs rasl." In fatt, man)' of the ycrbs that LIke verb
complcmenu become, when nominalized witll·l'a, nominals that take nominat romplemenu-
lOt" ezample, b1a_ ~ dgru "II Is ncoeuary for the lama 10 go" bkl.ma ,.",.,.bai dgos-
po "the necessity '.!Iat the "'ma go," blo·ma IWO-/)(lr dmigs "He visualizes thaI the lama
JOCI" ""'_ ~j tlmigs_pa "the visualization that the lama goes," blJI-mo NJ'l'./JaT rt
"He bopc:t tbat the lama goa" blJI·/PIlJ NgI'O-bai ft·ba "the hope that the lama lOCS."

40 All DOm/1ll1 complement ronstructions and man)' relative conslrvctlons ronslst of •

336 TtIE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN UNOUAOE

kyis tIhos Mad ''The Buddha taught the dhanna," we might find such
nominal complement constructions as sans-rgyas-kyis Lfhos Mad-poi tslwl "the
way that the Buddha taught the dharma," saiis-tgyOS.Jcyis t.fhos bItJd-pai libras-
bu "the result of the Buddha having taught the dharma," saiis-rgyas-lcyis dhos
hIad-poi lo-rgyus "the hislory of the Buddha baving taught the dbJu'ma, SIIM-
rgyas-kyis tIhos Mad-poi bled-pa "the assertion that the Buddha taught the
dharma."

Such nominal phrases may then, of course, play any participant role in the
proposition-for example, sans·f'Das-kyis tIhos bJ4d-pai dus-IJ Nbab ''1be time
for the Buddha to teach the dharma has come," soiis-rgyas.Jcyi.r tfhos bltJd-pai
tshNJ4 bslebs "He arrived at the time that the Buddha was teaching the
dharma," sans-rgyas-kyis l!hos blad-pai lta-ba-us ldog "He is oppose.d to the
doctrine that the Buddha taught the dharma," saiis"-lXYas-kyis tIhru blad-pai
Nbras-bu-lJAR /dan "He is endowed with the result of the Buddha's teaching
of the dharma," sa;u·tg,YQJ·ltyis tlhru bIad.pai bd~n·pa·s b~ kun li.Jnlr Jog
"By the truth that the Buddha taught the dharma may all hindering demons
be calmed!"

nominalized proposition adnominally modifying I followin& DOminal head. The ditrereDCe

is Ihis: a relative proposition is processed as having some omitted participant oorefercntlal
with Ihe head it modifies-Ihus tift." fit stJiir.rgyw.' nuhoII-bdi dge·sloll "monk woo sea
the Buddha." JtJii.r.rgyw.kyis 4tt 6'6; , mlhlM·bai dgN/oiI "monk whom Ihe Bu~1Ia sea";
a oomplemenl proposition is nOI processcd as havinC any omilled participant ooreferential
wilh the head il modirlCli - lhus dgt·slo;!·/)U so/ts·rgyw·' mdwit·bai mulwvi·llid "the sip thaI
Ihe monk sea Ihe Buddha," Stl;U~·k)U dgNloII·' mthoil-bDi muluUl·lIid "tbe Sip that
Ihe Buddha sees the monk,"

Mo reover, lbe head of a relatl\'e may be eilher an abstract or concrete IIO\lD, wbik lbe hea4
of a nominal complement is always an abslfiCl noun. 1b\lS, where tbe head of a prOpoll.
tional modifier is a ronerete noun, Ihe modifltr mU$I generally be prooessecl as I relative.,
no mailer how obliqlle lhe rcsuWn, readin~-lhllS not only lIi·mD sgrib.p<Ji sprin "do uds
WlIIDI darken the 511n" bUI also ifi·nul lIgrib.ptJi sprill"cIolI4s WHEREBY Ibe 511ft pows dark."
and nOI only 'ILl Ndi skytd' pDi phtHJlD "parenlS WHO bore this body" bill also bu IIdi squ·
pDi pha·nra "parents FROM WHOM Ihis body was born."

Bllt whele the head is In abmlCl noun. lhe modifying proposition mllSt be JQDI\ed for
missing panicipanlS: where none are (ound, Ihe Jeqllenc:c is read IS I oomplemenl oon~nw­
lion; where a par:iciplRt is missing from lbe lIodityinl proposilion. lbeoon.muctioa is 1m"'·
SIIOUS belween re!allve and oomplcmenl readings. TIllIS a leq1leDCe SlICti i t ~ ..t)V
bltld'p<li btk"·p<I is ambi,uous between the relative readiD& Mtbe tnalb whldl. lbe BlMSdha
M
leachcs .nd Ihe cumpJemcnl read!ns "Ihe trvlb thai the BlMSdha teachc:l (sometblnJ}."
CoMPU!.X PaOPOSmONS 337

Such nominal complement constructions are frequently found with a temporal

noun as the head, used in the setting slot of a proposition-for example, iia
gro-bo Juii.1tJ sleb·pai do-nub-1tJ "On the eve of my arriving in Red Valley ... "
tk-dl1n mdlal-bai tho-rans-1tJ "On the morning that I met him ... tt tJhos
hIad-pai mlhar "Afler he had taught the dharma ... " l\vo idioms may he
noted here as well. The word nan "nature, character," as head of a
complement corutruction, can be used in the setting slot to indicate a mood
or state of mind out of which the event occurs-for example, tlwgr 4g;es·liii
spro-btl-lig byuii·bai nan.1UU, yum t.sJw·ba Ndren "With glad and joyous
thoughts arising, the lAdy brought warm food," thugs-rgyal tJhuii-zad Nkhtuiis·
pai nan·nat mnal sad "She woke up with her pride growing a little." The
word sgo "gate, door," as head of a (OOmplement construction, can be used
in the selting slot to indicate the means 'whereby or the source from which
the event occurs-for example, rgyat·pas Ia sbyin-pai sgo·na$ phug-ron.gyi srog
bILLS ''Through giving his flesh, the king ransomed the .Iife of the dove."

2.3.2.3. ~rb compkmenls

In a verb complement construction, a nominalized proposition adverbally
41
modifies a verb head. 'For example, given the proposition bla·mas bgegs
blUl "The ' lama tamed the demon," we might find such verb complement
constructioru as bJa-mas bgegs btu/·bar ""is "He dreamed that the lama
lamed the demon," bla·mas bgep btll/·bar grags "It is well·lrnown that the
lama tamed the demon," bla·mas bgep btu/·bar bled "He maintains that the
lama tamed the demon."

Since every proposition nominalized with .PQ is abstract, every verb that can
occur with such a nominalized proposition as its PATIENT can also occur with
such a nominalized proposition as its COMPI.EMF.NT. Someti"mes this does not

U A verb oomplemcnl CQnuruction thus diffcrs from a nominalized proposition Simply

used as In adverb, usually in thc sellin, slot. Comp.lrc, for cumplc. the use of thc
proposition sgam-po mi-4gos "Mcd.italion is not necessary" in Ihe OOIro4I'UiMENT ool\5tl"\lCllon
bIII·mAS sgom.po WIi-drW·par btnl '1bc lama maintains that meditation Ii not nea:sury"
with lIS \1St as a simple ADVERB in blll.mas szorn·po mi-4x<JS·por bMn·po mlholl '1be lama,
wltbout mc4itatlon bein, nccess.ary, SCC$ Ihr trlllh." In many cases, Ihc oorrect rcadin,_
wbelber oomplemcnt or simple adverb-will depend on the pallitular verb head-for
example, aZED "maintain" as opposed to IflUoR "see"- and Ihe dislribl,llion of its
panidpants.
338 THE CLAssiCAL TIBETAN L\NOUAGE

seem to make much difference: compare, for example, [lX)'ol-pos yon Nbul-baJ-
II dka ''The giving of gifts by the king was difficult" with (tgl'Ql-pos yon NbuJ·
ba J-, dka "It was difficult for the king to give gifu." or nm [®'Ol-pas yon Nbul·
baJ·' Ndod " I desire the giving of gifts by the king" with iias ('X)'QI-pos yon
Nbul-baJ., Ndod " I desire that the king give gifts." With many verbs, however,
a patient construction seems to refer to an ACIlON, while 8 complement
construction seems to refer to a FACT. Note the foUowing comparisons:

ACTION FAcr

['KYat-pas yon NbuJ-ba)-1 [tgyal-pos)'01l Nbul-baJ-,

grags "The giving of gifts grags "It is weU known
by the king is well known." that the "king gives gifts."

nat {tgYo/-pos yon Nbul- Ms [IXYa[·pru yon Nbu./·

baJ-' brdled "I forgot the ba J·r brdted "I forgot th~t
giving of gifts by the king." the king gives gifts."

iias (/xya l-pos yon Nbu.l· nas (IXYal-pru yon Nbu.J-

baJ-8 nan " I heard the giving ba]-r fum "I heard
of gifts by the king." that the king gives gifts."

nas I'ID'Q/-pos yon Nbul- nas (IXYal-pos yon Nbu.J-

hal-n rig ". understand the baJ-r rig " I understand
giving o f gifts by the king." that the king gives gifts."

Note, too, that many verbs that occur with a complement cannot occur with
a nominalized proposition as patieni-for example, (lUi NfJut-ba]-, Ngro "He
10es to gather wood" but not 111m Htllu·baj·8 NgrO, (lUi N1'hu-baJ-r &mI "I
pray that you gather wood" but no t 1[Jiii Nfhu·ba}·8 gsoi, [lUi Nfhu·baJ·r.rmrtU
" He said tha t be gathers wood" but not ?Ilm Ntlru·baJ·a smras.

2.3.2.3.1. lYPES OF COMPLEMENT CONSTRUcnON

There are fo ur types of ve rb complement construction, according to two

intersecting distinctions. First, the verb head can be either transitive or
intransitive; seco nd. the verb head can either require or nOl require that a
participant in the complement be coreferenlial with its patient and be omitted
from the: complement. An intransitive verb head without obligatory corefer·
CoMPlEX PRorosmoNs 339

ence we will call TYPE I-for example, 8OE.N "be true" in blo-m4-s b~ btu/-
bar bthn "It is true that the lama tamed the demon"; an intransitive verb
head with obligatory coreference we will call TypE 2-for example, oR
"come" in bla-rna-B bgegs bnd-bar OM 'The lama came to tame the demon."
Similarly, a transitive verb head without obligatory corderence: we will call
TypE 3-for example, SGRA-O "proclaim" in blo-m4-s bgegs bnd-bar rgyal-pos
bsgrags ''The king proclaimed that the lama tamed the demon"; a transitive
verb with obligatory coreference we will call TYPE 4-for example, SKUL
"appoint" in blo-m4-' bgegs bnd-bar 'KYa/-pas bslwl "The king appointed the
lama to tame the demon.',",2

1.3.1.3.1.1. TYPE / COMPU.'MENT CONSTRUCTIONS

In a 'JYpc 1 complement construction, the complement replaces the patient

of its intransitive verb head: in such a construction, the verb has no patient
participanL 'JYpc 1 verb heads are, generally, what we can call STAllJS VERBS:
they expres.s the epistemic status of the complement-for example, G,t..U. "be
clear," /IIRON "be evident," BDI::N "be true," SRJD "be possible," RES ','be
certain," ORA-OS "be well-known,"; or its evaluativt: status-for example, RuR
"be proper," os "be appropriate in terms of status," DGOS "be necessary," BYA
"be requisite",",3 DKA. "be difficult," SHAN "be sweet-sounding"; or its onto-
logical status-for example, YIN "be the case," NDUG "be the cunent
condition," YOD "be present," BwR "occur," GYVR "eventuate," oR "be
coming," soN "have happened.· ...

42 Note 1IuII Ihese Ire syntaClk distinaions, dependin& on Ibe number Ind nalure of the
panlcipanu: whkh, in addition to 1!'Ie compkment, IIXOmpany 1!'Ie verb bead. If there turu
out to be lelNlntic correlates 10 s\Kb synlltlk distinctions-for eumple, If "verbs of
pen:epl1on" turn out to be laraely Type ) beld.$_then so much the beller.

4) 1be YCrb nA "be reqUisite" Is in fact tbe future stem b)'Q < b-6YA of tbe transitive

verb .YA (l1yuI/byGs/bya/t1yosJ "make. 00." In complement consUllCtlons. this stem Is

freqlleDtly OOrllUltive-tbus bl4 __ brtP pIul.bQr b)'d '"The lama should wrne tbe demoa,"
'fYtl/-JH».1I bJd·pIlT mi-byrl1'be kin, oupt DOtllay the eKmy." The IKlnnativity of tbeK
.....
«IaStnactiom coma from tbdr ori,inal u.sc: u translations of Sanskrit future passiYe verb

44 1be Yerb bead soR "bave Iuippc:nc:4" Is In fact what II usually considered to be the
bl&hJy lneplu plSt stem of NORD "10,"
 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN l.J.NoUAOE

Complement constructions with evaluative status verbs are often themselves

nominalized and used as relative modifiers of a nominal head-thus. for
example, bfa-ma mtJhod-por os-po "a lama wonhy of worship," b.rtall-btIos
rig-pordka-ba "a treatise which is difficult 10 understand," uhig Ndlitfs-su run-
ba "a word to be feared," dge-slon snod-du ruii-ba "a monk. worthy to be a
disciple," b.rtan-po Ies-por bya-ba "a doctrine one should know."

Even more important, ontological stalus verbs are widely found in PERIPHRAS-
TIC constructions. Such constructions are old in tibetan-for example, in an
archaic Central Asian manuscript, 'KYo mgo nag-po ck-la phyag-NtSluJl-1.iii des
blrol-BAR oR-no "It came about thai the Chinese masses paid homage to him,
and were by him enslaved. ,,.., In lhe later literature, note the following
examples from the biography of Mi-la ras-pa-Nd'w-bya.r Ihams-tIad mi-rtag-
PAR NGYUR "All caused things are impermanent," bod mun-nag-gigliii-na .rlcyn-
bu guns-Ia iii-rna Iar·ba Ndra-ba yan yod-I'AR NDUG' "Yet there are in this dark
land of Tibet people like Ihe sun rising on the glaciers;" Taii-.rems tIhos-skur
mthon-BAR NGYUR "You will see your own mind as the Dharma-body," Ndi IIi
yin mi-Ies-PAR NDVO "I don't know what this is," bla-mas lJhos kyaii mi pan-

.) In one Irchaic manuscript from Central Asil, disawin, a mythical A&e of Sorrows,
we find the following pasuges:

djN' pha-mo gffis·lo bu-s~fI g1iis bdcg-na, tn. grJig-gis pIIo.log_pa_1o fuUl4gw
tIyGs.pas, flO' bmlld·/e oilJ·1\Q pha·ma gRis.I:yaA bu d.ts nor IfItd MIzds-po lu
bsrod-I'AR oR·fIo, bu grJig drQA .mlcJvtlll I1Iu myi pIuJ-log-po.1o Ilall myi-byrd
nO' myi rshold·/t, grlllg./ag-gi myi IIi nan dtJ sniad·I'AR oR·ito

For example, if • father and mot her had two sons, and if one SOD did
everything evil 10 others. and 50 pined weallb.. tile falher Ind I!IOlKt
would prabe him. saying '"Tba,' son us found wealth, and is wise.." And if
one son wa.s very uprigb!, and did not do evil 10 otber men, and did not
gain we.tlh. this accomplished man would be reviled as evil.

myi dbt41.poi ':JUHIOS srid-Io pIulII-ptJi tshig bld·po bden'pd·lig ut·1Id .Jo'd
".,.·iJGI'I·A-tR oN·fIo, 10-10 wig bdtll-pa d.t rhos·IId)'4ll. tJUI· ba Y"-
1\I.S • .t)d
gdig·f1Ilhos·na, tJUI ·bQ Y"'I'Jig-11I p/I)'IIl'Jlt, yuMa myi.~-lWt oN-1Io, bdm
Its 1IU ~ myi·F!tuf myi-bstod·I'AR oR·1I.D

Thou&h I JOOd Ind IrtIC -..oro, benertci•• to Ufe. was spoken from lbe
moulh of a poor man, no one would' listen. If someone beard Ihlt lrue
word, it would SO in one e.r and OU1 tile olber, Ind he 1IIOukl nOI keep II
in mind. No one would lislen .nd praiSe il as lrue.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 341

lWR Gil.( "Yet the lama does not bestow the dharma_" Similarly, note the
following examples from the ugs-por bJad-po rin-po-dhei gter by Sa-skya
pa1J4ita-iii-mai odour lar-ba-na, Nbyuii-poi bya-mams /oii-BttR NGYUR "Owls
become blind when the sun's rays rise," Ndtam-pos Ndtam.po Ndloms byed-
din, NtiIam-pm ruub-moan Ndtoms-PAR. BYED "Gentleness conquers the gentle,
and gentleness conquers the rough," blD-idan bya·ba dhuii-zad /cyan, rgyun-du
gros-kyu bJgrub-pAR. BYA "An intelligent person should always accomplish even
a little deed ..ith counsel," !in·ru rga.N'AR. GYUR·uhe yan, thru-po man-du bsag-
PAR. BYA "Even when one has become very o ld, one should gather much
learning."

2.3.2.3./.2. TYPE 2 COMPLEMENT CONSTRUCrIONS

In a Type 2 complement construction, the complement does not replace the

patient of its intransitive verb head; instead, the complement has a missing
participant which is processed as coreferential with the patient participant of
the verb it modifies. Compare, for example, the Type 1 b/a-ma-J bg~ btu/-
bar bden "It is true that the lama tamed the demon" wilh the Type 2 bla-ma-
IJ bgegs btu/-bar ons "The lama came to tame the demon." The first
construction has no patient participant of the verb head, and can be
diagrammed as (bla-ma-s bgegs btu/-baJ-' bden. The second construction has
both a patient and a complement of the ve rb head, and can be diagrammed
as bla-ma-IJ [bla 1ft" " bgegs btu/·bal-' om.

Type 2 verb heads do not seem to be neatly classifiable, but many of them
are verbs of intention or ability-for example, NUS "he able," TIIUB "be able,"
flTSOL "endeavor," BKrsON "strive," KlIAM "begin," SES "know," NGRO "go,"
ON "come.'MI Olhers a re verbs indicating a Change of state, used with
equative complements-for example, SNAN "appear," DtU "melt," nllM
"dissolve," ruR "become visible."

~ I believe the ve rb$ NORO "go" and oN '·wme," use4 as Type 2 vcrb bead$. h,ave In
intentional quality about tbem_for eumple, dgr-sloft Iii! Nlhu·bar Iif'"O ·'TIIe monk JOCS (in
order) 10 ,ather wood," bla·ma I1Iun sgrog·fXI' oii.J ··The lama came (in order) to proclaim
the dharma." N~te that a vcrb can function as more than one type of wmplement head:
note the difference in the meanin, of the verb oN "wme" btlwoen the Type I wnstrllClkln
bla.mQ.J b~gs brw/·bQf oil "The lama WILL ume tbe demon and the Type 2 wMtrVCIion
H

b/Q·mQ·' bgqJ brwt·boT oil '11'Ie lama COMES TO tame tbe demOn."
342 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANaUAGE

2.3.2.3.1.3. 1YPE J COMPLEMENT CONSTRUCTIONS

In a 'JYpe 3 complement construction, the complement replaces the patient

of its transitive head: in such a construction, the verb has no patient
participant. Again, 'JYpe 3 verb heads are not neatly classifiable, but many of
them seem to involve the reception, processing, or transmittal of ~FORMA­
nON: for example, as to information RECEPTION, we find Ml1IoR "see," RAN
"hear," RIOG "recognize," fUJI "dream," DMIGS "visualize"; as to information
PROCESSING, we find SAM "think, G{) "understand," HOOD "desire," DRAN
"remember," RD2:ED "rorget," DzuR "grasp"; as to information TRANSMITTAl.,
we find B1.E.D "assert," sRAD "relate," SGMG "proclaim," SMRA "say."

Of course, any participant in a complement can optionally be omitted when

it is recoverable from the discourse. In a lYpe 3 complemcm construction
such an omission can be syntactically ambiguous: for example, dgt-sloii-gis
bgegs btu/-bar wag can be read as either "The monk proclaimed that
(someone) had tamed the demon" or "(Someone) proclaimed that the monk
had tamed the demon." One plausible r~ading of such a construction is that
an omitted complement participant is coreferential with the immediately
preceding agency of the transitive verb head-thus ·''THE MONK proclaimed
that HE had tamed the demon." Where such a reading is in fact intended, the
omitted complement participant may be marked by a reflexive delimiter-thus
dge-sloii-gis ("&'I' MtJii RAN-gil bg~ btul-ba J-r bsgrags ''The monk proclaimed
that he HIMSELF had tamed the demon."

2.3.2.3.1.4. TYPE 4 COMPLEMENT CONSTRUCTIONS

In a Type 4 complement construction, the complement does not replace the

patient of its transitive verb head; instead, the complement has a missing
participant which is processed as coreferential with the patient participant of
the verb it modifies. Compare, for example, the Type 3 bla-mas dge-slon-gis
bgeg:s btuI-bar rmis 'The lama dreamed that the monk tamed the demon"
with the Type 4 b/a-nuu dge-sloii-8 bgegs btul-bar bskuJ "The lama exhorted
the monk to tame the demon." The first construction has no patient
participant of the verb head, and can be diagrammed as b/a-mas [dge-sloii-gis
bgqs blUl-baJ-r rmis. The second construction has both a patient and a
complement of the verb head, and can be diagrammed as bla-mas dge-slon-'
[tip "Ie" 8Y b~ btul-ba]-r bslcul.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 343

Many 'JYpe 4 verb heads appear to be verbs of inducement-for example,

SKUL "exhon. induce," soo "order," 1l1l0L "appoint," Dtuo "cause, compel,"
tu "request," OSOL "pray." Others are verbs indicating 8 change of state, used
with equalive complements-for example, SGYUR "cause to change," Dtu
"make melt," STTM "cause to dissolve," RDZU "transform deceptively, disguise."

NO OBLIGATORY COREFERENCE

INTRANsmVE VERB HEAD lRANSITlVE VERB HEAD

(bla-ma·' nal-ba] ·r 8m;N "It 'KYa/-pos (bla-ma-' ;w/-

is true that the lama slept."
[bla.ma-s bgegs blul-baJ-r
BDEN "II is true that the
lama tamed the demon."
TYPE I
ba I-I RMIS "The king dreamed
that the lama slept."
'1rJ'o(-pos (Iila-ma-s bgep
bluf·ba )-r RMIS "The king
dreamed that the lama tamed
the demon."
TYPE'

OBLIGATORY COREFERENCE

INTRANSITIVE VERB HEAD 'mANSI11VE VERB HEAD

bIa-ma-D [hta ,"a 8 naf- 'KYa/-pas b/ti-ma-D (hht-

baJ-1 ONS "The lama came
to Sleep."
bla-ma·D (hltt "'8 , bgegs
bluJ-ba)-loNs 'The lama
came to tame the demon."
TYPE 2
IfttI-lI iial-baJ-1 BSKUL ''The king
exhorted the lama to sleep."
rg)·al-pos bla-ma-D (Wa-
bgegs btul-baJ-1 bskul
ffttt-1
"The king exhorted the lama
to tame the demon."
TYPE'

TobIt 14. T'yptl of compltmttU COtUrructiot!

 Tue ClASSICAL TiBETAN ~GUAGE

1.3.1.3.1. COMPLEX COMPLEMENTS

Just as in the case of complex relati\'iud propositions, conjoined propositions

can be nominalized with ·m and used as complement modifiers of verb or
nominal heads-for example, in the chronicle Roal-robs gfal-bai mL./on, ha-ba
yons-Jill spyod·lam lib-par mdzod "Make your view broad AND your practice
precise," or, in the Legs-par Mad·po rin-po·t.!hei gter by Sa-skya pal)4ita, gnod.
po byed-pa tJhuii-iiu yon, myur~ bsal-u Ndum-par bya "Though the harm
you have done be smal~ you should quickly remedy it AND make peace."

1.3.2.3.3_ THE OMISSION OF -'0

As we have discussed above, the nominalizer -PQ can be omined when it
would otherwise occur between a verb stem and a bound particle. Such
omissions are found in complement constructions as well-thus, for example,
bla-rna bgeg:r btul-du oiU "The lama came to tame the demon," 'KYal-pas bla·
rna tlhos sgrog-tu bskul "The king exhorted the lama 10 proclaim the
dharma.''''' In such cases, too, the adverb marker -7U may be omitted akmg
with the -Po-for example, in the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa by Gtsan-smyon
he-ru-b, la·khu.i khyim rdibs-tUls mi man.po Ii Hdug "My uncle's house fell
down, and many people died." Note, for example, the perceived parallelism
of these two lines by Sa-skya p31)4ita-Nd1'am-pos Ndlam·po NdIoms bred-J!iiI,
Ndlam-pos tUub-mooii Htitonu·JXlr byed "Gentleness conquers the gentle, and
gentleness conquers the rough."

1.3.2.3.4. EQUATIVE COMPLEMENTS

Verb complements can also be built from equative propositions-for example,

Nba;u-lig rd1e yin "A va~1 is king" Nbaiis-.fig rdlt' yin-par re "A vassal hope ~
to be king." When the equative verb YIN is mniued from the equative
proposition, the nominalizer -I'D which is attached to the verb disappears

47 I have I hunch thlt the omi:s.sio n of ./'0 before .7lI in thes.e oonmuctions is much
more frequent in-or even limited to-thme with Type 2 and Type: 4 verb heads. J have I
hunch tltat this mipt hive something to do with t~ fact that Type 2 and lYpe 4 verb hea~
illCludc those verbs of chance thai often 00;:1,11 wilh equatjve complements. and thai equalive
oompleJTK:nu normally omil both the equ.uiv.' ' -.:rb n" alll~ ilS allached nominatizcr .1'a. B\lt
I am not ' \Ire what thai something is.
CoMPLEX PROPOSmONS 345

along with it, and the adverb particle -TU attaches itself to the. patient
participant immediately to its left-thUJ the parallel construction, in an
archaic Central Asian manuscript, Noons-fig rai rdtNI.U re, sbot-po raj Nphur-DU
re "A vass~l, yc.s, hopes TO BE lUNG; a frog, yes, hopes TO FLY."

Such equative complement constructions with YIN omitted are quite common
with verbs expressing transformation in substance or appearance, such as Diu
"melt," T1l1","dissolve," STIM "cause to dissolve," GYUII "change" SGWII "cause
to change," T1.tII"become visible," sNAR "appear," Gw.. "appear vividly," II UL
"rot," IWZU "disguise," NGIIO "go to a state or condition"-for example, tho
ad yin "The god is light" lha od~ Ntilu "The god melts such that it is light!
The god melts into light:' rrn:-tog grer yin "The fl ower'S arc gold" mNog grer-
~ gyur "The flowers Changed such that they were goldffhe flowers changed
into gold," byaij-Lfhub ~ems..dpa bram·u rgan-po yin "The bodhisattva is an
old brahmin" byoii-lI/wb sems..dpa bram-u rgan-por snan "The bodh isattva
appears such thin he is an old brahmin/fhe bodhisattva appears as an old
brahmin," mi-[w mi-gtsaii-ba mom-po sna -uh~-kyj plum-po yin "The human
body is a lump of all kinds of filth" mj-/w mi-gtsaii-ba mom-po sna-uhogs-kyi
phuii-por n.d "The human body rots such that it is 8 lump of all kinds of filth/
The human body rots into a lump of all Idods of filth," NgOii-mo khyi-mo-lig
yin "The demoncss is a bitch" NgOn-mo khyi-mo lig-tu son "The demoness
went into the state in which she was 8 bitchfThe demoness became a bitch."
Thus Sa-skya p8t:l4ita writc.s, in his Ugs-par bJad-po rin-po-tIhei gter, lin-pas
lo-zwr Nbad-pai lUi, ser-btu sJcad-l!ig niuJ-du rlog "In an instant the hail
smashes into dust the field that the farmer worked on 811 year," gnod-por
bred-pai dgra-bo yon. thab:r-dan /dan -na grog:r-su NgyUT "Even a harmful enemy
turns into a friend, ir you have the skill."

2.3.2.3.5. ON TRANSLATING SANSKRIT VERBS

Oassical Sanskrit had an extraordinarily complex-enthusiaslS "say "rich"-

system of verbal inflection. In addition to the interaction of several tense and
mode rorms,· the verb system was premised on a pervasive distinction ~-

.. One way of COIICl:ptualizi n, the oyerall SalUult verb system is as fol~. 1lIere .....::rr.
tow" lENSES (ptCSCIlt, Mure. perfect. Ind IONI) ... hleh Intersected with fOUl MODe... .
(iDdkatJw., preterite, optative, Ind imperative) to yield I .. x .. matrix of poaible verb form~
Of IbcK .~een tbcorelic:aJly possible oornbinalkms, len were of sufficien tly rrcqu.~'1 "
occurrel'oe 10 .... mlll nolioe III Ihe gnmmalical tradition. Th us SalUktil I\.Id not only Sir'
346 TIH~ Q.ASS ICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

tween active and passive forms of verbs-a distinction which was absolutely
meaninglc5S in Tibetan.~9 Yet this distinction also underlay much of the
Buddhist philosophical terminology the Tibetans were so eager to master,
such as kiiralJ.oikiirya "cause/effect," grahaJca/griihya "subject/object," iidhiiral
iidheya "maQ(la la paiace/maQ(lala deities." The following sections will describe
how these Sanskrit verb forms were translated into Tibetan.

2.3.2.3.5.1. SIMPLE FORMS

As Inaba Sh6ju has described in detail for us, the Tibetans dealt with this
problem first by reducing all the different Sanskrit verb forms to four-
present, past, future, and imperative-to match their own verb system. Leaving
aside the imperative, Ihis meant that for all practical purposes the various
Sanskrit verbs and participles, both active and passive, could be reduced to
Six-PRESENT, PAST, and FUTURE ACI1VE; and PRfSENT, I'AST, and FlIltJkf.
I'ASS[VF._ Then the following convention was adopted: the Sanskrit PAST ACTIVE
and p....sr PASSIVE were both translated' with the Tibetan PAST stem; the
Sanskrit PRESENT AcnVE and FlJltJRE ACTTVE were hath translated with the
Tibetan PRESENT stem; and the Sanskrit PRf'.sENT PASSrvE and FUltJRE PASSIVE
were both trans lated with the Tibetan FUltJRE S1T:M_ We can diagram this
conv~ntion as follows:

relativcly slJaighl(orward (orm~ iI.\ a pre.'lent ind icllh-c or ,uture indica tive or pres.enl
opt,u;ye but also 5uth wmbinati(lAS as a tUllire prettrile ("conditional"), aoriM oputive
("prcativc"), and pc rfcct prctcritt ('"plupc r(ccf-)_ This complu sptem stood in wntf1o.\t 10
daMical Tibetan wilh il5 four len:ICS-present, past, future, and imperative.

.9 SallSklit, unlike Engl is ll_ allows paMiva from botlllr1l11uitiYe$ and inlllllUitiw:S-lllus
Wlr<J~ som<Jm pibat; "IndIa drinks soma:' iIIJr<J~ jJsle "lndra silS," illdre!W sotl'lo~ pfytlft
"Soml is drunk by Indra," as well as iltdn1)d cl.l)'Clfe -'Thefe b some sitting going o n, Ind
Indra is duing il.-' Nuw Tibetan is perfectly capable of sayin,dbDlt-po-J JO-rnll-' NthuJt " Indra
<.Irink.\ soma" and dbon -po-11 blugs "Indra silS"; il is certainly capable of makin! l O-m<J
-'soma\' the n tEME of a proposition willi a transitive verb, as in fo-mll-I d1xJA-po-s Jo'fhuJt "As
(or ~tlma, In<.lra dlinks it"; ami il can assign more or less REStONSl8tUTY 10 dbaA-po "!ndra"
Ihrollglllhe selection of a tranSitive or inlransitive verb-tor Qample,dboiI-~f s()-mIl_' nv-
III Nhtbs '"I ndra cam the soma into the fire" u-opposo:d to dbllii-po-/ JO-ma·1 nv-f,a J<IblIb
"The soma d=nds inlo tI" fife becallSt of Indra:' Dill il can make lillie syntaetk or
morphoi01ical sense out of lhe nOlion of tile tASSfVE in S.II'15ktit_
CoMl'LEX PRorosmoNs 347
PASSIVE

PRESENT Present stem I Future stem

PAST Past stem
FU11JRE Present stem I Future stem

This meant that all the various Sanskrit past tense forms, both verbs and
paniciples, were translated with the Tibetan PAST stem. This convention
applied to past AClTVE forms, as in Sanskrit aI~j pramuiical Tibetan mtJhi·
ma phyWi "He shed tears," Sansktit mtlhiiniigtlrf'l1 priivi/at Tibetangroii·khyer
tJhen-por lugs "He entered the great city"; and it applied as well to past
PASSTVE forms, as in Sanskrit sa ca biilaprthagjanair udgrIJltatl Tibetan de yan
byis·pa so·soi skye.bo-mams·kyis bzuii "And thai is grasped by fools," Sanskrit
mayii sattviitl parimocitiitl Tibetan nas sems-t!an-mnms bkrol "Semient
creatures are saved by me." Here the Tibetan PAST stems phyuii < b-PIIYUN·S
"shed," lugs < 8·D1.UG·l· "entered," blUii < b·DZUiJ·s "grasped," and bkrol <
b·GROL·S "saved" are used to Iranslate both PAST AClTVE and PAST PASSIVE
forms in Sanskrit.

Sanskrit PRES ENT ACllVE forms were transialed, similarly, with the Tibetan
PRESENT stem, as in Sanskrit i,tdlltlnam agnir dahati Tibetan mes bud-fiii sreg
"Fire burns the firewood," Sanskrit fiinyiin vyavalolwyati Tibetan sfOij·pa
mam·par I/a "He examines the empty." Hete the Tibetan PRESENT stems sreg
< N,SREG "burns" and 1M < N-LTA Mlooks" are used to translate San~krit
PRESf:NT AClTVE forms.

But, interestingly, Sanskrit PRESENT Pl\SStvE form~ were regularly translated

with the Tibetan FUTIJRE stem, as in Sanskrit riipa'!l vi.Jaya/venopadi.~tlle
Tibetan gzugs ni yul·iiid yin.par iie-bar bslan "Form is expl.,ined as being a
perceptual object," Sanskrit anya."ittlti gralia~ena daumlana.ryavarji/u'!1 Rrllyalt:
Tibetan /Slior gtan tes bya.ba smos·JXlS IIi yid mi-bde-ba,/u.f gtan·pni IJllor·ba
gluii "By the expression 'other consciousness' is understood a consciousness
other than a sorrowful one," Sanskrit kal)'a kiira~lQm iti pariku/pyutf! TIbetan
gaii-gi ~u yin·par bf1ag " It is determined of what it is tht: caust:." fkr e the
Tibelan FUTIJRE stems bstan < b'STAN " wilt explain," gzuii < u·n7.UN "will
understand," and bnag < b'RrAG "wilt determine" are used to translatt:
Sanskrit PRESENT PA.<;SIVE forms.

In the same way, Sanskrit FUTIJRE AcnVE forms were translated with the
Tihetan PRESE.NT stem, as in Sanskrit ol·ilqiplacilla manasika,.qyoli Tibetan
348 THE Cv.sslCAL TtBETAN l..ANOUAOE

g.yen·ha nwi-pai sems-kyis yid-w byed "The unwavering mind will ponder it,"
Sanskrit eva'1t darfana'fl paron eva drakjyaa M sviitmanmn Tibetan lk blin-4u
Ita-ba yan gfan kho-M·/a ItQ~ ron·gi bdog-nid-la .rna-yin ''Thus vision will see
only others, not itself," Sanskrit bodhisattvii maM.JQttva bhavijyanti Tibetan
byan·tJhub sem.s-dpa sems-dpa tIhen-po i'Jbyuii '''There will be bodhisattvas,
great beings." Here the Tibetan PRESENT stems byed < N-lJYA-D "does," lIa <
N-LTA "sees," and Nbyuii < N-BYUR "occurs" are used to translate Sanskrit
FUnJRE ACllVE forms.

Finally, under the same convention, Sanskrit FUruRE PASSIVE forms were
translated with the Tibetan ftJTURE STEM, as in Sanskrit laJqaf)QlJJlqaf)4tl1S
lDlhiigato dronavyah Tibetan de-blin-trfeg;r-pa-Ia mtshan-dlJii mtshan-mal-par
bl'a "The Thus-gone One is to be seen through signs and nansigns," Sanskrit
udgrah'flovyo niidhamu11) Tibetan tIhos ma-yin-pa yan mi·xzuii "Whal is not
the dharma is not to be grasped." Here the Tibetan future stems blta < b-
LTA. "will see" and gtuii < G-DzuR "will grasp" are used to. translate Sanskrit
n rnJRE PASStVE forms.

The same convention was used in translating Sanskrit nouns. Sanskrit nominal
derivatives from active verbs were translated into Tibetan by nominalizing
present stems; Sanskrit nominal derivatives from passive verbs were translated
into Tibetan by nominalizing future stems. Thus we find Sanskrit griihakal
griihya Tibetan Ndzin-palgtuii-ba "subject/object." using the present stem Ndzin
< N-DZUN-O and Cuture stem gzun < G-DzuR of the root DZUN "grasp";
Sanskrit kii,a~lalkii'Ya Tibetan byed-polbya-ba "cause/effect," using the present
stem byed < N-BrA.-D and Cuture stem bra < b-BYA. of the root BYA. "do," and
Sanskrit iidhiiraliidheya Tibetan rten·paJbrten-pIl "mal)(lala paiace/mal)4ala
deities," using the present stem rten < N-KTEN and future stem brten < b-
RJ7:N of the root IUfN "support."

2.3.2.3.5.2. PERIPHRASTIC FORMS

Similar conventions governed the translation of Sanskrit verbs PERIPHRAS-

TICALLY. Periphrastic translations of Sanskrit verbs used tense stems of two
verbs-BrA. "do" and GYlJR "evcntuate"-as verb h,e ads of VERB COMPLEMEI'IT
constructions. Sanskrit PAST forms, both active and passive, used primarily the
PA<;T stem byas of the head verb BrA.. Sanskrit PASSIVE FORMS, both present
and fulure, us.:d the FUTURE stem bya of the head verb BrA.. And Sanskrit
PRESENT AcnVE forms used the PRF..5EI'rr stem byed of the head verb BrA,
CoMPLEX PaOPOSmONS 349

while fUTURE ACTIVE forms used the PRESENT stem "®'W of the head verb
GYVR. In each such construction, the stem of the verb within the complement
conforms to the stem convention of simple translation forms." We can
diagram this periphrastic convention as follows:
PASSIVE

PRESENT PRESENT STEM-Fa"" bred I RmJRE ST(!M-Fa-r bya

PAST PAST STEM-Fa-r byas

FUnJRE PRESENT STEM-Fa"" NgYIU 1 flTTVRE S'TEM-Fa-r byo

This convention, again. meant that all Sanskrit past tense forms could be
translated periphrastically in the form PAST STEM-Fa"" bya!, as in Sanskrit
mayiiriIgiJiI iiriigya na viriigiJjj~ Tibetan "as miia-parbyas-u, miies-parbyas-IUU
thugs m4-byuii-bar byas ''They were pleased with me, and, having been
pleased, did not turn away."

Both Sanskrit PRESENT PASSIVE and FU11JRE PAS.'\IVE forms were translated
periphrastically in the form RJruRE STEM-Fa-r bya. Thus we find. for the
present tense, Sanskrit siidhyate Tibetan bsgrub-par bya .,It is proven,"
Sanskrit sal7lpradhiiryatt Tibetan dpyad-par bra "It is examined," and,
identically, for the future tense, Sanskrit jiiiitavya Tibetan Its-par byo "It is
to be known," Sanskrit vistartf)a gaQaniyam Tibetan tgtas-par brui-bar bra "It
is to be counted in detail. "SI

so Allbollp the had verb GWR was used primarily to translate ~nskrit Mllre active
forms, its pasl stem fJ'IU is occasionally fOllnd in the tl anslalion or Sanskril past Iora.-for
example, the lOti$! in Sanskrit aJlgll-prlltyoJiP-/fIlJ'!UlJny Iltclllliu'tl Tibeut! )OII-/4Ir-dAII Nn-I4f·
mmru btJlld.ptU fJ'IU "They CUI orr Ihei r limbs and second.uy limbs. It! addilioll, tbe ItC.Id
M

verb GYUR seems 10 be IISCd in Iranslaling • ...." rief)' of Sansbil irralis model. It is follnd
in uanslations of Ihe Sanskrit CONOITIONi\l or futllre preterhe, t;S ill Sanskrit IIIrytUh6 hi
lUIivQ smrukArQ .gMlltJI;WI1 ~tll Tibetan /k-ltQ lIUI-yiII-NJ 1IIb4-byft1 snws-pa mi-lltduJd.ptJT
"'I)VI' "Olberwise one woliid nol name Ihem condit ioned IUIes," Sanskrit JIlCt!IIoIuJ-4hlIfIIr
tJbJwIviI}'CU III ~Il pi{!I)D·grlJlto 'bMvqyaf Tibcll.n gal-It /chQnu-Jig mlJltiJ-par tfJN'-ItII Ik-llid
riJ-ptx Ntb.in-P'" "'I)VI' " If Ihere were a world, thefe woliid abo be uklng it to be real"; and
in mulliions of I~ Sanskril OPTA1l\'E, as in Sanskril ~ ~tutJJ"')'IMIi dltJJlIJWI
~Il ~ TIbetan pi-If kJtmJu·flid )'Cd-NJ phuiI _po-dall Jkytd-mrIMd-f'ftIImS yod'P"'''''' " If
lbere were elements, Ihere woliid be groups and 5e1lSCS_ M

SI Flltllre passive parliciplC$ are fairly common in Bllddhist tau in Saaskrit; in many
350 THE QJ.ssICAL TIBETAN Lo.NGUAGE

However, Sanskrit PRESENT ACTIVE forms were translated periphrastically in

the form PRESENT STEM-l'tH b~ as in Sanskrit Qgn~ parQrmanam eva @hoti
Tibetan m~ ni gfall-Di bdtJg-nid kho-lIlJ sreg-par byed "Fire bums only the
essence of others," Sanskrit lad eva iijiinati Tibetan de-nJd lam les-par byed
"He knows jusl thai"; while Sanskrit FUllJRE ACTIVE fonns were translalcd
periphrastically, with a different verb head, in the form PRESENT S1C.M-I'a-'
"'1:IUT, as in Sanskrit no teliim iitmlJ-SlJf!lj;;,o pravarr#yolt Tibetan de-dag-la ni
btkIg-tu Ntiu·les Nd1ug-par mj.~W' "The idea'of self will not occur to them,"
Sanskrit apriipro lIa dhalqyati Tibetan phrad med·RQ sreg-par mj-NrIUT "What
is not in contact will not bum,"

Figt<r~ II. Charm against lJsrr%gical mufrxrune

$u,h tC):1$ th":y are the major hortatory dcvic(. Note, for example, SaMkril ...·IIfT! draum)'u'FI
Sll,!ISkrmnl 1 ibctan .'ldus·bym de ltar bflll-bar bya "Quscd Ih inp afC In he looked upon likc
Ihal:' S~nskf i l !I/J put;lyaslcomJhn~ fKlrigrilhrw\yn~ Tibelan bsod-lIilnlJ . ~yi pltuil.po roN·su
Iluij·b/:Ir mi ·b)"Q "A Ile.Jp of meril is IMJI 10 be clun, 10:' Sanskril dhof1l1iJ e"a prnhiJln'ylI~
Tilletan IlhnJ·mamJ 4yui\ JpaIi ·(1Ur byo " E"cn events are 10 be cast aside." Fulure passive
paniciples CIIn also funclinn a!o absHaCI no minals in Buddhiu philosophical dis<:ourse-thus.
fo r eumple, Sarukrit dllhya ·fnk.~'J')n iN1hallllm Ti tJC tan bJrq,-par b)Ia' boi ;"ululn.ilid·!Jan IIi
bud·1Ui yill 'FircwoooJ is that wll i. :"! ~ the si gn of ria rnmability."
12 Sentences
A Tibetan SENTENCE consists of a proposition followed by a PERFORMANCE
PARTICLE: the performance particle signals the way the proposition is being
used. There are three basic ways of using a proposition in Tibetan-as a
STATEMENT ("I assert PROPOSmOW"), as a QUESllON ("I query PRorosmoN"),
or as a COMMAND ("I order PRoPOsmOt<l"). A particular propositional content
may thus remain coIUtant while its performance varies. For example, the
sentences dgra Nbros-so "The enemy flees," dgra Nbros-SQm "Does the enemy
flee ?" and dgra Nbros-!ig "Let the enemy flee!" can be considered different
performances oJ the same proposition dgra Nbros. I

1. PERFORMANCE PARTICLES

The STATEMENT PARTICLE is -0, the QUESTION PARTICLE is -Am, and the
COMMAND PARTICLE is -rlig. These are the three PRIMARY PERFORMANCE
PARTICl..f.S; every Tibetan sentence is one of these three sentence types. It is
important to remember that Tibetan performance particles do not necessarily
coincide with any overt punctuation in the text. The vertical stroke or Jad is
a guide to reading aloud rather than to grammar; although it is of course
often the case that the end of a sentence coincides with a reading pause, it
is not unusual to find._.two or more sentences written consecutively without
punctuation

Z. MODAL PERFORMATIVES

There is some reason to believe that Tibetan-in common with other Sino-
Tibetan languages-has had a richer array of sentence-final performance

1 Similarly, compare bkl·mo 1Ial-/Q '7he lama is sleepin,," bla·ma FfaJ·1tJm "Is lhe lima
sleepin,," bla -mo-lla/·lig wSleep, 0 lama!" and rr;tal-pos Hdr~ lmUu\J·w "The kin, hil lhe
demon," 'fY'CJl-poI /<Idn lmIullNam "Did Ihe kina hil Ihe Gc!"on'r' 1fY01.pos Ndre rdu/I.t./ig
" Lei lhe kin,liil Ihe demon!"

3S1
352 THE CUssICAl. TIBErrAN l..ANOUAGE

particles than is immediately apparent in the classical texu.1 We have caUed

the statement, question. and command particles the primary performance
particles., and noted that every Tibetan sentence falls into one of these three
sentence types; but we additionally find severa] MODAL PERFORMANCE
PARTIa.ES which can occur after the primary particle and specify more
precisely the son of statement, question, or command being uttered. For
example., compare rgyal-po bsad-do "He will kill the king" with rgyal-po b:Ad·
kyir "He will kill the king, I promise!" or fF3al-po b.uuJ-da-re "Be careful. he
may kill the king"; compare b/Q-tntl yin -nom "Is this the lama?" with bltJ.rnn
yin-nom -l;,-gu " Could this be the lama?" o r blll-mD yin-no "I wonder if this
is the lama"; compare lUi khytr-lig "Carry the wood!" with lUi khyer-lig..dan
"Carry the wood, OK?" Where such a modal performance particle is present.,
the primary performa nce particle is frequently omitted. Modal performance
particles are found prima rily in the early translations, in the epic, and in the
more colloquial classical tel{tS influenced by Middle Tibetan. In the sections
that follow we will discuss each modal performance particle in the context of
the primary performance particle with which it occurs.

3. STATEMENTS

3.1. THE STATEMENT PARTICLE

The STATEMENT PARTICLE is -0. The hyphen indicates that the fonn is BQUI'lD
and occurs o nly with an immediately preceding propositio n. The capitali7..ation
indicates that the vowel prerlXes to iuelf the last consonant of the preceding
syllable coda-thus dog-go, riii-iio, yod-do, yin-no, (hub -bo, Npham-mo, sgyur·ro,
Nbu[-Io, and lags-so. A preceding open syllable becomes a diphthong-thus
dgao, Nbrio, tgVUo, dgeo, a nd NgrOO. hi the scansion of verse sueh d iphthongs
may occasionally be counted as tWo syllables for the purpose of me ter.

3.2. REDUNDANCY

The overwhelming majo rity of Tibetan se ntences are statements rather than
questions or commands; in fact, we might well assume that any given

z In 11K: Tibeto...8urman language Us u, for exam ple. we find performance pilnldes ...hleh
indiclle that • proposition i5 a warning. I oomptainl, • plea. I surprise. Ind 50 0110-
info,matio n o nen oonveyed in English by in[Onll io n .Ione.
 353

sentence is a statement unless specifically informed otherwise. Given such an

assumption. the statement panicle: -0 becomes REDUNOAl'IT, and, u'ndcr the:
Telegram Principle, may be omincd. Thus we find sentences without an ovcrt
sentence signal. such as bla-rna iial "The lama sJeeps" instead of the more:
explicit bla-rna no/·/o.

The: omission of the: statement particle is always optiona~ but in any given
text such an omission may be more or less the norm: it is quite common in
narrative: prose, in COlloquial registcr, and in paTatae!ic styles; it is less
common in didactic prose, in formal registcr, and in hypotac!ic styles. The
statement particle: appears frequently in the: archaic manuscripts from Central
Asia; it occurs only infrequently in the biography of Mi-la ras-pa written by
Otsan·smyan hc:·ru-ka.

Now when the particle occurs in a text that normally omiu iI. the particle
may be processed as carrying extra information. It may be read as
emphasizing the assertive character or the performance: for example. in the
biography of Mi-Ia we find Bdag-med-ma rebuking her husband Mar-pa for
his apparently cruel treatment of Mi-Ia by sayingyab-kyis ma-Ihub-po; dgra de
Ihon-nos mj-gdao Ihug! bde {ags-soM ''The enemy my lord could not conquer
has left; he's not here, 1 tell you. Are you satisfied?" It may be read as
concluding a thought unit such a~ a philosophical argument, narrative
~ragraph, or side comment: for example, in the biography o f Mi-Ia we find
the particle marking a narrative su~unil in the sequence kun )'OII-bdag-daii
Nban.Hu I1hug-go, de-dus gtsaii-roii-gi mes-slon /SlIo/I'po bde-mIIhog.gi dbaii-
mo-ahe fur byuii-bas " .. , and they all became his patrons and followers.
Meanwhile, Mes-ston tshon-po of Gtsafi-roii. appea red for the great initiation
of the god Cakrasarp.vara, and so,. ," Finally, it may be read as marking the
end of a sentence which has been embedded as a direct quote within another,
as in dgos-so siiam "I thought, 'I have to,'" or from which the equative verb
has been omitted, as in pUg! sion-poo "Form (is) empty," khaii-po nao "( It
is) in t~e house,'~ bla-mai miion-Its ma-nor-ba yin-pas-so "( It is) because the
lama's clairvoyance is unerring."

3.3. THE PROMISE PARTICLE -KY's

Two modal performance particles arc found with statements: we will call
these STATEMENT MODA1.S, The modal performance particle -Kli$ occurs in
senlence-final position in direct address where the speaker is making a
354 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

promise or prediction of an event which is in some way under his control: in

this position .Kl'is constitutes what we will call the PROMISE ' panicle. For
example, in the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa, the lama Ri'iog-pa makes a
promise to Mi-la, ~ying dban..cJan 8'iatru-nag bya-yis "I will bestow the
initiation and teachings," and Bdag-med-rna similarly promises him' 17Ul-gnon-
no fias tu-yis "If he does not give them, I will ask him." The master Mar-pa
tells .Mi-la. without revealing his own identity, o-no iias mar-pa-dlJii. sprru:I-kyis
"Well, I will introduce you to Mar-pa," and later promises sgrub-pa-lo bIag-
rillS sgrub-'XYogs sbyaii-gis "When I have set you to meditation I will supply the
provisions," Similarly, Mar-pa commands Mi-Ia to build yet another tower,
and says to him Ndj btig-kyan mi-dgos-kyis "It will not be necessary to tear
this one down, t promise,"

Similar examples occur in the twelfth-century Mal')i bka-Nbum, where we find

such sentences as khyim nO-les-pa-Ia bu-mo sbyin-gyu "I will give my daughter
to the one who recognizes her house" and Md-1Ll mj-ster-na rgyal-khams m6
bsreg-giJ "If you do nOI give her to me I will bum your kingdom with fire."
In the epic we find Ge-sar threatening his enemies in verse-gal-te bka-/Q ma-
na,.-na, [na-pai [am-du gran-gis UT '''If you do not heed my command,' he
said, 'I will send you on the path of death.'" In the archaizing chronicle
Rgya[-Tabs gsa/-bai me-Ion we find this prophecy of Padmasambhava-sIob-
dpon pad-ma Nbyuii-gnas-kyu, brran-ma btIu-giiu dam-ta btags-pas, bod-du mu-
stegs-pa mj-yon-gis "'1 have bound the twelve goddesses to an oath,' said
Padmasambhava, 'so Ihat unbelievers will not come 10 Tibet.'"

In some manuscripts ·we.find what is clearly the same panicle written -ni. In
the biography of Gtsan-smyon he-r~-ka written by Sna-tshogs ran-grot, for
example, we find the mad yogin eating the rotten brains of impaled heads
dnd offering them to onlookers with the words dnos·grub dgos-nJJ sbyin-gyi "If
you want magiC powers 1 will give them to you." Further, different
manuscripts of the same text may sporadically make the same substitutkln:
in the Spo blockprint of the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pat for example, we find
the reading mar-pa-daii sprad-gy~ rather than the reading mar.pa-daii spmd-
kyu found in the woodblock prints from Spuiis-thaii, Bstan-rgyas-g1iii, and
Bkra-Jis Ihun-po, and cited in our discussion above; and where the Spa
bJockprinl reads gdams-pa bya-yis, as cited above, the &tan-rgyas-gliii and
Bk.ra-~i$ Ihun-po prints read gdams-pa bya.yi
SENTENCES 355
3.4. THE WARNING PARTICLE -A-re

Another statement modal is the particle -A-re, found primarily in the

translation literature and ust:d where a speaker is assening a warning: we will
ca ll -A-re the W,o.RNINO PARTICLE.) Warning statements predict consequences
which will a rise if somt: course of action is- or is not-fOllowed, and thus are
often found after commands and prohibitions, For example, in the Tibetan
translation of the Lalitavislara we find the warning dge-sloii-dag khyed de-Min-
gJegs-pa-Ia tslie-daii klan-pa les ma-rd1od-tIig, khyed-Ia yun-riii-por mi-phan-
pa-daii gllod-pa-dan mi·bde·bar KYur-la -re "Monks, do not call the Tathagata
'Venerable One'! There will be hurt and harm and unhappiness for you for
a lorg time," In the Tibetan translation of the Divyiivadiina we read tlhos,
Min ma-yin -pas '1fYal-srid ma-byed-tIig, .fems-IJan-dmyal-bar gtol-bar ~ur-ta·re
"Do not rule unjustly! You will fall 10 hdl." Sometimes the sequence is
reversed, as when we find in the Tibetan translation of the VmayavasfU the
sentences khyod bsad-da-re sgra ma-Nbyin-tIig " I will kill you, Don't make a
sound,"

There are 4ilJ'ertnt techniques,

Men write f(} be read, or spoken,
Or dtll4imed, or rhapfOdiud,
And quite difJerently f(} be JUng,

-Louis Zukofsky,
"A" 1

Again, warnings may be about things and persons rather than about courses
of conduct, In the Vmaya"ibllaiiga a fable about slander concludes with the
moral wa-skyes gron-po brdzwl-du smra-ba byed-pa, mdza-bJes Nbyed-par bytd-
po skyes-Ia -re "The fox is one who makes people tell lies; he is born as a
separator of friends," and in the same text we read de.Jag-gis dei STUn-mar
tJhom-rlwn-pa mi bli blag-sle, Ndi bros-par gy'ur-ta-re les bsgo "They set fou r

3 Note that, whereas tile promise partk:k -1('IoU marb a statement as promisin, some
eve nt that may be either desired. or IIndesired bllt is under the spa- ker's control, tbe ..... rnin'
pank:1c -A 'n! marks. statement as promisin, so me event thaI is not IIOIX:S$&rily IInller tbe
speaker'S con trol but which is invariably IIndesired by tbe IddrC$l(:lt,
356 THE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

thieves as his guards and said, 'He may escape.· .. In the Saddhormapu¢anka
we find the warninggnas Ndi-/a ni Ih t-tsllOm Ntshal-ba-yir, byaii.l!hub-stms-dpa
iian-NgTOT mtIhi,NQ-rt "By having doubt on this point a bodhisattva may fall
to an evil destiny," and in the La/ilQvistafQ the wicked Mara warns the
Buddha-ta-be od·rna; myu-gu liar do-mod bJ!ad-da-rt ''Today I will cut you
down like a green bamboo sta lk,'''

4. QUESTIONS

We can distinguish two different types of question-yes-no questions (Au you

ready? ~s Itt like Mozon ?) and information questio ns (When did he go?
What is your /lame?). A YES-NO QUFSnoll-SQ called because it can be
answered yes or 110 in Englil'>h-asks about the truth of a proposition a:'l a
whule; an II'fFORMAnON QUESTION-SO called because its answer requires a
specific piece of information-assumes the truth of the proposition but asks
amlUI the identity of a participant. The yes-no question Did John see Mary?
asks., in effect, "Is the proposition John saw Mary true?" The information
question Whom did Joh" set? presupposes that John saw someone and
requests the identity of the patient participant in the event. s

In classical Tibetan, performance particles ma rk propositions and nut partici-

pants; hence the question particle identifies yes-no questions. Participants, on
the other hand, are identified by determiners; hence in information questions
the queried participant is marked by an indefinite determiner .

• In many cases this warning panicle ~ w;od 10 translalc Bllddhist Hyhrid SaMkril
COnsUIICIioM wilh mll in the sense of " Icst, in o rdcr that nol:' and it may similarl y he
convcnient to l'RANSu.n SUC h Tibeta n warn ings into English using svch cxpr~sion s a~ l~fI
or frx~tJr Ihat_for cumple. dhos·bIin mtJ·yiJt·JHU rg)"tJ/'SM mtJ.~d, '!ig, umJ·/lon·dmyol,
/lIlT pol·/>Dr ~f.(tJ·rr "00 not rule unjuMty LEST )·o u fall to lIell" or "Do BOI rule unj u ~lly
so nv.T YOU DO NOT fall to hel l." Wc mW;1 bear in mind, howevcr, Ihal any ncgal itJn is
being crcatod by Ihc English-or the Sans kr it_and does nOI lie in Ihe Tibetan,

, Note thc close rel"ionShip Ihis cn tails bel .....ee n SUCh seR1e nces as WhtTt" art)'QU going?
and YOII (lit ro'"1 IOtPItw~rt. or Who hif JoM? and SomtOftt hif Jo/In, Which is rcOU:lcd in
lhe use oCTibclln indefinite dcterm inefll as inl errog_lives.
SENTENCES J51

4.1. THE QUESTION PARTICLE

The QUESTION PARTICl...E -Am marks yes-no questions in classical Tibetan. The
hyphen indicates that the form is BOUND and occurs only with a n immediately
preceding proposition. The capitalization indicates thai the vowel preflXes to
itseU the last consonant of the preceding syllable coda-thus dag-gam, riii·
nom, yod.Jam, yin-nam, Ihub-bam, NphDm-mam, sgyUT-ram. Nbul·lam, and logs-
sam. A preceding open syllable becomes a diphthong-thus dgaam, Nbriam,
'X)IUOm,dgeam, and NgrOOm. In the scansion of verse such diphthongs may
occasionally be counted as two syllables (o r the purposes of meter.

Note the following examples. Mar-pa performs a miraculous transformation

and then asks Mi·la the question bu mthoii -nom rid.lflles-sam "Did my son
see? did you believe?" Mi·la, in a fit of depression, thinks Ideb-bam lIJeb-
bam "Should I kill myself? Should I kill myself?" $a-skya pal)c,lita writes
k.h.yod-kyi bya-ba zin-/llJm Ies, NtSlli·bdag sdod·par mi.Ng}'UT "The Lord of
Death will not wait, saying, 'Have you finished your work?'" Complex
propositions can also be made into interrogatory sentences with the question
panicle-for example, lar mkhar gru·gsum hom·khuii Jlldra·bo Ndir iied·moms
bt!ug-ste mlhu-byed bsam.pa yin·nam "Well! Were you thinking of casting us
into this triangular tower, shaped like a pit of sacrifice, and working magic on
us?" Negative propositions can similarly be made interrogative and us~d as
rhetorical questions. Sa·skya pal)c,lita was particularly fond of this de\'ice; in
his Legs.par bIud.pa n'n·po-dhei gter we find, for example, dud.HgrO yill·yuii
n'gs·mtllUn.mam.s, khyu glSig.ill IIi mi·gJlas·sum "Even among beasts, do not
those of the same kind stay in one herd'!" na-fa 'ID'all.du byas·po de, bdag.po
iiid·la mi·mdzes·sam " Is not what is done to adorn the horse becoming to the
master himself?" (ug·pus dgra·bo mi·g.fod-lla. mlslw/I-/!11lJ lell-par mi.by£d-dam
"If one does nOI kill Ihe enemy with on.:'s hllOds, docs one not take up the
sword?"

4.2. QUESTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES

It ~cems clear that the 4uestion particlt: -Am is the same as the -Am which
murks an alternative conjunction. There is ce rlilinly reason to believe that
yes-no questions in Tibetan derive ultimately from alternative conjunctions,
which are sometimes made explicit: for example, in one archaic Central Asian
text, the first horse to be tamed by man says khyod t!hab gan-la-fU bgyt.am
myi-bgyi yaii ba-rab ·tu sbog-gam myj-sbog "Will you or will you not water me
358 THE Ci..Ass1CAL. TIBETAN lANGUAGE

on the mountain passes, and will you or will you not wade me in the callie
fords?" and, in his biography, Mi-Ia is told khyed-raii-la Jug gsuii-ba Ndug-pas
Ng1YXJm mi-NgrO "He has said to you, 'Come!' so afC you going or not?"

Often the negated alternative is replaced by the interrogative determiner t!i

"what?" yielding the question marker 'Am-tJi "or what?"-for example, in the
collection of tales called the Mdzans-blun, where we read no no-les·sam l!i
"00 you recognize me?" The Sanskrit word kinnora refers to heavenly
mu.sicians with the heads of horses; the term was given the folk etymology /cUrl
nara "Is this a man?" which was duly translated in the ninth-century
Mahi1vyulpatti dictionary as Tibetan minm iIi "Is this a man or what?" This
locution is found as late as the 13th-century Legs-par bIad-pa rin-po·t!hei gter
by Sa-skya pal)"ita, who probably liked ~he resulting three-syllable collocations
primarily for metrical reasons: we find, for example, mar·mei od-fa NdzUl-ba ·
yir, sbran-bu dpa -bar NgTO-am tIi "Does a fly become a hero by fighting with
the light of a lamp'!" gtJan-gza'l dug-pal nags.kilrod-du, sems-!es T1ag-tu sdod-
dam tJj "Does a smart person stay forever in a forest of poisonous beasts of
prey?" dpa-bos dgra-sde ma-thul-kyon, raii·phyogs gsod-par byed-dam tJi
"Though a hero does not subdue the enemy, does he kill his own side?" IIhu·
!et rru·rrJor byed-pa.y~ yul der t!hu-Je/ Ntlhoii-;;'am t!i "Does o ne sell crystal
in a country where they consider crystal to tie mnt?"

4.3. INFORMATION QUESTIONS

In a question asking the identity of a panicuiar participant, the queried

participant is indicated by one of four INTERROG....TIVE DETI::RMINERs-ga;;'
"what?" t!i "what?" su "who?" and nam "when?'.6 The determiner can

, 1be interroptive determiner gGIi ....... hat ?.. Is sometimes round in the re4uced form gtJ-
before It.e pilnick:s -1Ia, -/laS, .lD, ·Iiu, .tu, .nd -T. In the archlic Central Asian manU5aipls
we .lready rind be.! fO·/.tu pr soli Jolt "Child, whence and whither hive you lOne?" In the
blopap!ly of MI_lI we nnd pr Jolt NWbere did he: lOr Use of tbe forI!": p-14 "bow?" Is a
fl'tlOrite rhetorical deYk;e of Sa.skya paMlu in bis Up_par bJa4·pa rin .po-l1Mi gttr-for
cumple. IIIIf-stws./ pooH p·lo ~ "How is il ri&lu to nunure a poisonous snake1 N Nlryor-H
dwb-ptIT QW-)'IIJII. bwd'MM$ mtd·tUl p·Wl nag "lboup one has pthe:red wealth, if one
. . DO merie. bow can ilWI?" ilaM-JHlITOf-li: bab-M)'IIR. rall-bfin bzaJl-po ra·/a tCcr "Even
iI • .Itoly ODe: is in danrer of his life, bow an be abandon his innate JOOdnc:ss1" /Wr·bus
1pftU-pai,.... 1pIIII. mdu$.kyaII ba .laA p-Io:! /Ia "Thou&h l aolden ornament adorned with
ae- be beaulilu.l, bow wouki'n 0lI look at II?"
 359

occur both with and without a nominal head-for example. in the biography
of Mi-Ia we find, with a nominal head, mtlw·tJ~n khyod dbaii-gral-1tJ sdod-pai
DBAR-YON fll yod "Magician, WHAT lNrIlATION FEE do you have for standing
in the initiation line?" and, without a nominal head, 10 ser-bas brduiis rtiii. no
GAR zu "After the hail smashes my crops, WHAT will 1 eat?" Again, in the
Up-par blad-pa rin-po-tJh<i gttr by Sa-skya p3l)c;Jita we find, with a, nominal
head. ma-Ia dbyug-gw ma-bmun-par, ck-srid glan-daii KHYAlJ Til yod "Without
hitting a drum with a drumstick, ';\'HAT DIFFERENCE does it have Crom
another?" and, without a nominal head, bdtJg-nitI tIhen-po gnas-pai sar,
mJcJuu-pa g:fan~§ sv-yis rtsi "In a place where a saini lives, WHO counts
other wise: men?" And, just as we find indefinite adverbs., we also find
interrogative adverbs-thus, again from Sa-skya paT}4ita, mIcJuu-pa mIchns-pai
nan-na mdza, bJun-pos mlchas-pa D'lI-LTARgo "A wise man is beautiful among
the wise; IN WHAT MANNER/HOW can a fool understand a wise man?"

The InterroptiYe Ikterminer di ..... hat?" in mouclassical texIS is synlKlically parallclto the
other interropliYe Iktemtlners-for wmple, in the bloUlphy of Mi-la, IdryodolcyiJ sdig-fXl
tIi b)w "What sill haYe)'Ou done?M mthu-dhm l4s di bytd.dill MIilg "Oreat MaJidan, what
work are)'Ou dollll?" mthu_rJMlI kJryod./il dbAII.)'(o'fI tIi yod "Oreal Mapa, whal inilPlion
fee have you?" tIi ur "What are)'Ou sayln&?R Similar'oonstNCIions are found in lhe Irchaic
Cenlrll Asian manuscripts-for wmple, tk /tar b)w'1ID dti-/Il pIwf "If we did thai, wherein
is the bendit?M Bul in lbose II\JlI\lscripts too we nnd some evidence of di iii I marker for
yes-no q~tions iii well-for wmpk, bioi p.JM fat soII-SOI'I tIi myi di khyi "Child, whence
Ind whither have you cone? Ale )'Ou tiumall? Are you dol?" bo-mo di ur tIi brdcI wWh31
is my 4alipter "'-yin,? Is il true?" ArId IOIDt wmplCl croll. be read iii eithu yes-no or
information q\IQlions, sucb iii 1M Irdj JI\wI /nu I>I(O-la myi drQr.Nl tlti Ru "Since lbesc &Ods
are not powerful In (l("!mmand iii before, whit is lbe otrense?ib tbere In otrellKr 11m not
sure bow to account for Ihls. This use of the particle may be I remnanl of III earlier tNrJ'lAL
q~tion panicle, slmllar-or perhlps even related-Io, say, Old Chinese elchQr > Middle
CbIDt$C ekJryd "Haw In Ibe world . . .?M In any event, Ihis use of tIi Ipptll"S already
obJO~llt III tbe eipth or ninth centuries.

7 Wbere a DOmlnaJ pbrase wilh all l.IIterroplive determiner his no bead, presumably tile
mlMllIl beed is r«OYerabk from 00.1110:1 or from knowIcdJC of the world-tor eaampk, lID
~ UI "What (food) willi atr mkJuu·fXl gJ/Ul4ar If,I.yiJ rui "Whal (penoa) counts otller
"IIriIt trltllr Compare. from Sa-skya pa94hl , lhe beedka 1lIIWI_ ~ ·dd 1fWtr.Q-bo AaII,
,.".aI.po "--JM su·fit MDt "WHO relies 011 a bad wite. I bed frieo4, Of I bad tin,?" wilh
tbe beMcd ",".,.. WtuI'JM mi-bkw·HI, 1M' 4a I>IKHAS-'A slJ.lic IIIod "WHAT WISE MAN
'1Iyl bit • plaoe where lbey do DOt boDOr tbe vtnllO\lJr NOie tbe foDowtIlJ heWed and
bc.Id~ bl1errop1lve phrues III the lime 'lCrK-"-,S.t)vp khIoIt·ptJ su·fit IIoit, s.t)vp-JM
1>l1OU$'1'A su-liJ m)'IIII MWHO proba I weD of Yilt \'Omit? And WH....T WISE MAN Wtts
vom.ltr
300

Now the interrogative determiners are the same as the indefinite determiners:
an expression such as mkJuu·pa su-lig, taken in isolation, can be read 8S
either "some wise man" or ''what wise man?" Yet, in context, there is seldom
real confusion; when Sa-skya pat:l~ita writes skyug-pa mkJuu-pa su-t;, myaii,
he clearly intends the qUeJtion "What wise man eats vomit?" and not the
statement that there are some wise men who do. Similarly. when Mi-Ia is first
searching for his teacher Mar-pa, he asks everyone he meets sJcya-nuJhcg
mar·po lo-tstsha gaii-na btup "Where does Saint Mar-pa the Translator Jive?"
Finally, he meets someone who tells him mar-po ur-bo. ni rod. slcyes-mJ.!hog
mar-po lo-uuha zer·ba ni med "There is one who is called Mar-pa, but not
one called Saint Mar-pa the TransiatOf," and the following conversation takes
place:

o-na gro-bo Wii gaii-/Ul yod bytlJ-pos, gro-bo tun pha-gi yin zer
bstan byuii. pha.gi-na su blugs byas-pas, mar-pa UT-ba de-Ial rod
ur, th-Ia glan mlShan med-dam byas-pas, la-las bfa-ma maT-
paaii zu-tiii Ndug ur, bla-mai gdan-sa yin-par Ihag-dhod-de, la-
kha Ndi-la tJi ur byas-pas, Ndi-fa dhos fa-gan ur ur, tJhos la-
gan-nos bla-mai gdan-sa mt!uJii-ba rten -Nbref !in -tu legs si'iam
dga -ba-tig byuii
" Wel~ where is Gro-bo Valley'! " I said. "Gro-bo Valley is over
there," he said. and pointed. "Who lives over there?" I said.
"That same one called Mar-pa," he said. "Has he no OIher
name?" I said. "There are some who call him lama Mar-pa
too," he said. I decided that it was the lama's residence. "What
do they call this pass?" I said. ''They call it Dharma Ridge," he
said; and I had the happy thought that it was an excellent
omen to see the lama's residence from Dharma Ridge.

The flow of Ihis conversation makes it clear, what is intended to be a

question. Other textual cues life available as w .. ~ '· indefinite determiners are
often marked by the connective Yon-thus, in tile Legs-par blad-pa Tin-po-
tIhei gter of Sa-skya pal)qita, diios-po gan-daii gan-la yan, goms-na dlal-ba IIi
yaii met! "There is not any difficulty r any matter at all-if one practices";
a question is often indicated by the quote-closer :rte-na-thus, in the
translation of the Madhyamakavatiira of Candrakirti, Sanskrit blulVaru
gamanudvayaf11 leo dOfa iii eel Tibetan NgrO-ba gnis rod-mod skyon tJj yod tfe-
na "What is wrong with there being two. geers?" But even without such eues,
context can distinguish the indefinite from the interrogative-for example, in
the couplet from Sa-skya pal)qita, aAfMa blo-gros m;·!dan·fIQ, bstan-btIos '41-
St:N1l'.NC~ 361

kyuii SU-lig l(!n "If SOMEONE has no intdligence, though a tt:achi ng he: good,
olI
WI to accepts itT

4.4. Tf/E DOUBT PARTICLES

Two modal pcrformativcs are fuund with questions: we will call these
out'snON MOl)i\I.s . BOlh these part ides arc used where the speaker is
querying a propositiun-or seeking the identity uf a participant-hesitantly or
duhiously: the panicli:s thus const itute what we will call IX)\JIIT PEIlHlIlM-
AllVES.

The particle -T.~jg-gu is apparently found only in Ihe trans]:.uion lilt:ralure. We

find several ell:ampli:s of its usc in the Tibetan translation of the
Kanna!ataka. Among ye~-no questions in Ihe texl we find so-soi skye-bo )';"-
lig-gu "Could Ihis he an ordinary man"!" and bIJum-fdflll-NI1as ga-fa btugs-le,
bdag-Ia dgofu-Ji}:-1:u "Cou ld the Blessed One he dwdling somewht:re and
thinking or me'!" A similar duhilalive quality is found in questions with
interrogative deh:rminers-fm example, (la ~di sui yill-Zig-gu " Whose light
could Ihis he"!" h,JoIII-ldulI-,.,dtu-a/J/1 glum Zfff·hu su-.!ig-gu "Who wuld this he
who converses with Ihe Blessed One?"' limbs db flllr Oy,U-1ZI1 kl,y(,u ...ili; /JIll:
riji·bar Ng)'uf-lig-gu "What (,::111 I p(l~sihly do til lengthen Ihis hoy's lik".'''
There are cases as well where the prtm:.uy l.jueslion p.nticle ·Am is retained
hefore the modal partick-thus Ndtig·n('/I-II(J mj-Ndlig-puj li'lOJ guii Ndlig-ptlf
mi-"'lO'Uf-bu ,,'Xu yod-dum-lig-A'U' "Could there be in the world some imperish-
ahle dhltrma Ihat will not perish?'"

8 In the: Ll"gs·par bJlJJ .pa rill 'pIHJhl"i KI''''' Sa·skya Jlalll~lta I.' fulU/ uf the illteHug~II'e
lucution J".I,): ''wh,,'~:' p"'h~hly lUi metrial rca""n~ ..... here "Ilin wlilcl~ ...·"utd II.'\C only
$11. Fur eumrle. GtS<III ·~ myun he·ru .ka wrilcs ",kh", .'itI, J'" pII . .''' 1 h)~IS "Whose I.....el IS
this ? Who made il?"' and dl"·dus·l<yt dpllii·l"',· /a Ju )'Utl"WIIU do y"u havc as a ,,·itnc....s or Ihal
oa:23ion?--; while Sa . ~kya pal)t! ita wtil CS WIII·/Um Jrj·bwii JI<~"l"'bo dga, tU hSfl"1;$ so/·ba IU·t'g
1("11 "Peo ple: like: flagrant ~ndalwoot.l; but ""hcn it"s bU11lI wlln take.' the ella/coa l?" and
sbr1ll.la flOI"·b" yod·/lD yon. unrs·Jn Ju·lig d",ii ·/I" .rdoJ '"Though a snake have: a jewel ..... 1".1
wisc person Slays nearby?'"

Note: Ihat UJIllc.xl an :.tts<) d isti nguish ad\"C rDaI tIltc,,"n&ativC$ flom indclin it cs-lhu~. trom
Sa·~kya pat:lt!ila once agaIn. MU/l ·pos IIIkhm 'p'1 ,Ui./lw '.W "HlIw do r..ols undcrslanll Ihe
...·isc"!"· plum .",,; nllWf.:·rtll~ klrar ..dJ}1/l·P<I~ ,J/.,,,,·btJ .u.d,,): all-III", Itl"nl "How will unc def<:.:tl
those: enem;c..'1 who mllulh rhe ~uunlc l fc" .. I ~, .. ..J a"" ... e ·~··
362 THE Q...t.ssICAL TIBETAN !...AHOUAOE

By the time of Middle Tibetan the doubt particle -71ig-gu had apparently
been lost. and indeed iu precise meaning appears not to have been
understood by later writers: the grammarians-dearly influenced by its
similarity in appearance to the command particle -rlig-dccided that it
indicated a command. We read, for example, in the Li-lii gur-khan dictionary,
"The particle -gu, as in WUN!ig-gu, is an imperative." But the same function
continued to be served by the doubt particle -no, which seems to occur as
early as in the archaic Centra] Tibetan manuscripts: we find the perplexing
passage bab gaii-du bab-na, yuI fluJ-yrd guii-daii-gyi naii-du bab-te, dlwr suo;
dkor-tul, lha-za gun-tslum-gyi dlwr-dQn dad-du bobs-Ie "The descent was, I
wonder. a descent where? They descended into the sacred land of Gun-dan.
The province was, I wonder, whose province? They descended in the province
eud fief of Lha-r..8 gun-tshun." Less enigmatically, we find in the biography·
of Mi-Ia such dubitalive questions as tal mthoii-ba-Zig nam yon-na nom yon·
na "When oh when will I see his face?" tJi yin-na "What could it be?" bla-
rna gaii-na bZugs-no "Where could the lama be dwelling?" mar-po lo-tslShas
dmag th-lsam gaii.nas bas-po-no "Where could Mar-pa the Translator have
called such an army from?'"

S. COMMANDS

In English, commands generally have second-person subjects, but ....;th the

~econd-petson pronoun omitted: thus Go look! means "You go look!" and
Meditate! means "Yo u meditate!" First- and third-person commands are
expressed periphrastically in such constructions as those with lro and may; as
in I..<t'$ go look! or May tile lama medua/e! In Tibetan, however, \;rtually any
proposition can be made into a command by using the appropriate impera-
tive verb stem and the command particle-thus mnl-Nbyor iia sgoms-!ig "Let
me the yogin meditate!" mal-Nbyor-pa khyod $8oms-!ig "You the ~ogin
meditate!" mal-Nbyor-pa khan sgoms-Jig "Let him the yogin meditate!" 0

, This doubt p:oIrtick Is still found in New Tibeun-for eample. New TIbetan (LhaSliJ
mo.nl yiM <mo sui yin-no> "I wonder what ber amity name oould be?" kJtQl<l-/a ptfJO.ft'llo
<khoII-1D ~-dhQ yod·no> "Might he posSibly have a book'r

10 SIKh coMtructloM do operale under the Telegram Prindple; . n omitted p,irlidpant

is p~ as reoover.ble rrom oontext; in conversation•• second-peoon addrc:ssee Is
inberently letJll'YCrable. Thus. aenel11ty spealdng. Jgoms_Jig "MedilJle!n may. wilboul further
contextual duCll, be procesKd 1$ a command to 1M person addrc::MCd; or COUTK, one an-
SEHTIlNCES 363

5.1. THE COMMAND PAI<TICLE

The COMMAND PARTIctE is -T!ig. This bound particle becomes -dig after
preceding final -g. ..d, and -b; becomes -fig after preceding final -n, on, om, -r,
-~ and open syllables; and becomes ..Jig after preceding final or postfinal os.

In addition, many transitive verbs have special IMPERAllVE !ITEMS

characterized by aspirated initials, the rounding of the vowel Q in the root to
o in the stem, and the inflection suffIX -I-for example, thus < TU-S "gather!"
khwns < GUM-S "kim" zos < u-s "eat!" non < NA1H "listenl" skyogs <
SKYAG-S "spend!" lIaS < LTA-S "look!" mdzod < MDZAD-S "dO!,,1I

Since many transitive verbs have such distinctive imperative stems, the
command particle is REDUNDANT after some verb sterns. It is thus possible,
under the Telegram Principle, to find imperative siems without command

Ind, in Tibetan oonlcmplalive poet!')', not infreql.lentty cloc:s-address oneKlr in internal

convelUtion. In addition, the ad4reuee may cha nge abruptly: when o ne interlocutor 1rishc5
J('Od lock for the Other by ~yin& bbtl·Jis Jog "Let &ood luck come!" the oommand is
addres.sed 10 a third party.

II However, in any panicular text, it is not surprising to tiM a more familiar present or
past stem instead of the more ClI:otic.lookln& imperative stem, even where the intent is
clearly aoom man4-for eumple, byfil instead of byo.s < IYA.J "4o!~ or even a hybrid form
sucb as Ndlos inslead of either the present stem Ndlo or the impe rative stcm 10J < o1.o-J
"milk!" In tbe len of the biography of Mi·la ras·pa, for example, three alit of fOllr
manuscripts use the past stem bruip when Mar.pa tells Mi·la 101'/0-; ,"Qm·po; khyQrPls 'uHxl
br.l'u·gRir )od·po brsan·kJulit-dQii br!Q.J·po·fit bruits "Build a <.Dllflyard as an anne., with
twelve pillars and a lemple for the rterce 4ei tics"; o nly one manllscript-from Splllls.th~n
in Bhulan-has the grammatiOillLy correct r~ding migs < RTS!G·S "bllild!'

iNTRANSITIVE verbs, on the other hand, generally have no distinctive imperative stem at aLL.
Most often the present stem is uiCd in impera ti ve conStructions; Ihat the proposition is
intended as a oommand is indicatC'.d by contell, by the use of Ihe command ~rticle 'fli,
or by the presence of the rna· atlomorph of the nesalive particle mi· "NOT," instead of the
mi· aLLomorph normally found before the present stem in sta tements. For eumple, when Mi·
la ~ys 10 his SiMer /H·ra )'i.mIlK ma·taai!lWa·UMS IOJ " Pe'IlI,let not sadness arise! Eat some
nellie soup!" the TRANSlllVE verb lOJ < LH "eat!" is clearly an imperative Slem; the
INTRANSITIVE verb IdaJI < N·uN "arises is dearly a p.resent stem, but its fUnc1ion as I
M
'

command is jll$t as clearly in4jolllcd by the ",a, allomorph of tbe nepllvc particle before
a non·past stem aM by the COntUl of the followins Iransitlve imperative.
364 THE ClASSICAl. TI8ETAN lANGUAGE

particles;l2 but I have been unable to discern any very systematic ~iSlinclion
between commands with impera.live sIems a nd command panicles and com-
mands with imperative stems alone. 13 I do have an impression that
commands without Ihe command panicle are perhaps more deferential, or
more familiar, or al an)' cale less peremptory, than commands followed by
the command partide; at least commands without -nig seem to predominate
in prayers directed to the gods,'·

12 Th is is so even where: lhe impcnuivc ste m is nol phonologiCII l1y disti nclive: for
eumple, we find th e im pe rat ive sttm kAyo < IUfYER-s "like!" (idenlical"';lh the past stem
Idryn < tHomR-s " look" Ind future stem ""'Iff < b-KJfY£R ''Will uke when Mi-Ia 1.lI)'S to
M
)

the wind f(JS dga·flQ rD$ Idt~, "If you ~ nt my rube. lake: my robe!" It is tll us true as well
fut inlran~it ive ve rbs. wllic ~ generally have no dilil inctive imperative stem: in Ille biography
of Mi ·la. fur eumplc, we find botll na-rgyalma·IJhe-lig "Let no t )'OU I pride be gr~t!" wi th
the cummand pa rtkle. and ilan ma·lhun "LeI not your patie nce be shon!" withoul it.

1.1 In the lIfehaie manuscripts (rum Cent ral Asia, com mands are ITIOS I oflen rrnorked wilh
the command panicle; in some manuscripts we find the fo rm -4lig where in laler lexU we
Clpccl to find ·Iig. There is lillie consiste ncy in the use of imperative stems; for eu mple,
tlle·s sufrll! is uften omillcd, bu t the .fig allolllorpll of the com mand particle is IUed anyway,
a~ if the final or post final ·1 were present. The following arc typical eumples fro m the
"r,haie IUL\ _l.lhan lud·dJ.ig lIln /lYVI -dhig, reX·mo rutd·ma byo.Jig "Oive beerl Offcr food!
M;,ke music and spml!" Ishi.t:,< •.;./i yi'IW bris·/o IfJig.gis grJIg Jlon-4lig "Wrile thc:st words
In !cuers and ~how them onc 10 the OIher," pltai Jid Ihon·fig )'Db·/ci mdDd·mtoli IJhugs ..l ig
"Milk<.: )1JUr f~lhc"s funeral fcasl, hu ild your lutd'$ funeral pyre!" g.:rag Ina ni nP'la zo-Jig,
na HpYi ·na ni l1Jtu Nlhun ·Jig "!...c: t 'he ya k c.at gl;u.s before, let Ihe horse drink waler after!"
b)ln .~pll'·bn 'Ii ma ·bzun·Ji/:. mllhig khail·ma IIi ma-..mub·,fig, khri sbag-plta ni ma·bslcall ·Jig
" [).m·, gra.~ p al a Stlaling bird: tlo n', pu t a loof on a ruined lIo use; do n', sa tisfy a mangy
dug l"

I~ 1))1,1 5. (01 cum pie, we find \hi~ rdrain in a player wrillen by Kon.sprul rin-po- t.l:lle
- K,n n·"" Ndrhs·.w Ihu}(S...Jam 2o/·htts dgvlis, .<,.,(JfI·lam ~.S1l }iffnlb-ptV byin.gyiJ ,lobs '1ltus
I pray. Rememhc r tht: ~ow you made! Gran t Ihal my prayer is flilfilled!" And nOle the
ruU"wing Vt:ISC:\ by M j·l~ 1a5.pa. in which he t hidcs his own mind, and tclls ii, willlou\
cnmmand parlich.:l'. ttl behave i,sclf:

ltnU rna·spto ma·spro rail ·sa, tog

sproJ·na dQfl ·rnrd Jna-uhop drtl"
"''' 'yril.f m(l'reiis dra" ·pa .flell
yriiJ ·na dXC·sbytW "uil ·la ",JIIOf'
",,, .,,'g'" ma·"Wo na/·sa 1)ITQfl
soii -nu ~onlJ .pa ,do·/a Ihu~
SENlENCES 365

In the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa, for example, we find commands with

imperative stems and command panicles such 85 mot-po iia-ran yin pliyog-
tshol-tIig "I am Mar-pa. Bow down!" tglal·mtshan-gti nse-w phyor-dig "Hoist
it to the top of the banner!" dboii-bslau gdams-iiag ston-l1ig "'Teach him the
initiation and instructions!" snags-poi mlella, les byo-bo gru-gsum-pa-lig dgos-
po yin.pas tUigs-Ijg "A magician's tower, properly speaking, should be a tri-
angular one, so build it!" But we also find commands without command
panicles-for example, 110 gos glan-nos tshol "Seek your food and clothing
e1sewhete'" dbaii-gral-du ma·sdod "00 not stand in the initiation line!" rdzi-bu
senu-Ja de-har IIOS "Shepherd, look on your mind like thatl" IN-to )'i-mug mo-
ldaii zwa-tslw.r zos "Pe-ts, don't be .sad; eat some nettle soup'"

5.2. POLITE AND ELEGANT COMMANDS

One way to moderate the peremptoriness of a command is to nominalize the
proposition and use it as a complement or patient of the imperative stem of
a polite or elegant verb-for example, the imperative stem mdzod of the
honorific verb MDZAD "do," or the (irregular) imperative stem gyis of the
elegant verb BGYl"do." Such complements and patients are most often nom-
inalized with ·PQ-thus the elegant commands rgyal-bu tml-Ior-btl gyis-lig "00
not let the prince escape!" on-kyaii log-Ita ma-skya-po gyis "Wel~ don't get
any wrong ideas." where the nominalized proposition is a patient; and iiai
mthus iUln·soii-du mi-skye-ba$ dga.bar gyis-lig "Since, by my magic power, you
will nOI be born in an evil desliny, be happy!" khyod-raii no tml-brdled-por
gtis "00 not forget me," where the nominalized proposition is a complement.
But it is also possible to nominalize the proposition with the nominalizer
-grogs "HELP IN PROPOSIllON" and use it as the palient of the same polite or

ma-srii!s ma·sriils mgo-bo Mug

bSri~NW /ag-stolls MIlwl·bN NgrO .

Mind!
Don'l ICI busy, don'l I CI blUy! Slly in )'Our rillll place!
Once )'Ou've gol bUSy, )'Ou Ihint of all IOrts of useless Ibinp.
Don" wandcr, don', wandcr! Stud firm In mindflilnessl
Once )'Ou've ..... nde rcd. your skill is tcallcrcd 10 lhe winds.
Don', go. don'llo! Keep 10 )'Our bedl
Once you'vc lonc, )'Ollt Iraining smashes On 'he rocks.
Don', .each OUI. don ', r~h OU1! Bend IkIwn )'Our headl
Once you've fCilehcd OU', your emptiness becomes confused .
366 THE CtAssICAL TIBETAN LANGU ....GE

elegant verbs: Mar-pa's wife asks her husband's disciples bla-rna mug-po
Nkhor-bdas-Icyis na; fu-ba NbuJ-grogs mdzod-t!/g "Let Lama Riiog-pa and his
disciples help me make my request!" and Mar-pa S8yS 10 Mi-Ia dar-rna mdo·
sde Nbogs-pai mkhllr-lig mig-grc>gl gyis "Give a hand building a tower I can
give to Dar-rna mdo-sde,"

5.3. IMPERSONAL COMMANDS

We also find complemenl constructions with the anomalous imperative stem

f og "Come!"n These constructions generally function as optatives or
IMPERSONAL COMMANDS-for example, sgrub-lo bar-lJhad med-par Jog "Let it
come to pass that there are no obstacles 10 our medilationr" bu-Ion gron-
mklwn-/aaii ma-sKyes-par Jog, bU' /011 Jen-mkJIQn-!aaii ma-skyes-par Jog "May
yuu not be born as a moneylender! May you not be born as a debtor!" Such
constructions are very old in Tibetan. In the archaic Central Asian
manuscripts we find na khyod n; khor srob-l!J'is srobste klla drun. lu-ba Nkhor-
tlig, rgyab~u sgas stad~e rgyab~u sgal brun.-l;g, glo g/os mnon-te khon-no snjn
noms-par log·lig "You. horse-bridled with a bridle in your mouth. let sores
form by your mouth! a saddle laid upon your back, let loads be on your back!
yo ur side pressed by my side, may your heart fail within you!" In the Tibetan
translation of theSfimaliidev;siJrlhonadosiiiro we find bsod-nams de·yis mgon·
po kllyod, nog-tu bdQg-gis mlhon·bar log "By that merit may I fore1ler look

15 Suth COMPLEMENT c:onstructions should be dlstinguished from c:onstruttions with two

oonsetutive tMI'ERATIVI!. sterns, the second of wllitll is log ~Come!K -for example, (kr sv·bo·
liig phob log "Come cast down a hailstorm on them!" /a·lcJw ·btJ 1IIii.f7Ulms·~ m; lam pOI
i og:tJig "Come on. heal aU these men of the mountain tribes!" iIlli IIlJ -roi sbl-rgyan40H
fhup4llm -mams cUJ·/,tl-,WlIoiIJ Jog-/Jig "Came! Get my OlnamenlS I nd fO$;lI'y of Nlro right
now!" where we find Jog immediately pr«edcd by the imperalive stems pIwb < I'HA6 "cause
10 fall! cast down!" gws < GSO "cure! restore! heal! " 1onJ < IAN "gel! obtain!" Note, in the
sa me way, ;v,·kl ,Jhtlii mWi·po Ich~, Jog "BriDg me a 101 of bc.er!K tk·/Itl lia; m;';ltlII tkr rod
NtWg·pa tk)"Wi tk dus Id!rid fog "SO. al Ihal lime, bring wilh you also Ihal wicked fellow of
mine who is there!"

The form fog is traditiol1llly c:onsidered lhe impelalivc stem ot Ihe intransitive vcrb yoii
K
"comc. lnlll'nsilive ...erbs, of c:ourse. do no! normally havc imperative SIe ms al aU; and.
phonologk:aUy, the torm log has no discernable relalionShip to Ihe rool YOR. In fact. it
sums thai log is tnore liil:ely related 10 a rool -.fAG of uncerlain meanin&. now lost, but
whO$e plesenl stern "Pigs < ·O·.fAG·D has been frozen as Ihe OLd T ;betan honorifIC verb
G$£GS "c:ome. go."
SEI'fJ'ENCES 367

upon you, my lord!" As might be expected, impersonal commands are

frequently found in praY/'ls-for example,

bstan·pai dpal.gyur bla-rna tVH.!hell·mams

rwm-mJcha btin4u kun·/a khyab·par log
fij-zla btin-du kun-la gsa/-bar log
n'-bc btin4u rtag·ru brtan.par log

The precious la l 'as, glory of the teachings-

may they pervade everywhere like the sky!
may they shine everywhere like the sun and moon!
may they be steadfast forever like the mountains!I'

5.4. REQUESTS

In English, not all comMands are imperatives: statements (Shoes wiJJ not be
IWH7I in the gym) and questions (Could you shut that window for me?) can
ft::!ction as commands as well. In Tibetan, we find first-person statements
with the verbs tv "request" and GSOL "pray" used with com~lements as very
polite commands: we will call such constructions REQUESn. 7 Thus we find,
for e:tample, bla·mas tJhos bstan-paf gsol "I pray the lama to lea,h the
dharma," Nkhor·bai mlsho'/as sgro/-du gsoJ "I pray that I be delivered from
the ocean of transmigration," bla·ma dgoiif-SU gsol "I pray the lama to think
of me!" In the biography of Mi-Ia ras-pa, the wife of his master Mar·pa
pleads with her husband bu Ndi-/a tJhos·Iig gnan·bar Iu "I ask you 10 give
this boy some dharma!/Please give this boy some dharma!" and Mi·Ja says to
his masler thugs·rd1es Ndzin·par 1u '" ask that you hold me with compassion!"

I' Somelimes, of CQUrK, Ihe nomi na liur ·N and adverb particle are omitted, pril'llltil}'
tor metrical reasoM-for example. "'8W·mDMI bID'nw1 fllm'pili JiU pJryiII Jor "Mayall beipp
reacb the inromparable stlgeoCtreedom!" dgt-bas NJ?O.b/II gnas·skabs mlllilT./Jwg.fi, btk·kg1
'f)'D·muM dpaJ.Nbp m)W rJwb Jor " By this virtue, may all beillp quietly allaip the &lory
of the ocean of temporal alld ultimate bliss!" Such roMuuclions remIIip different from the
COll$OClltive imperative CQlIStruCtions discw.scd ip the footnote above.

11 In the Irenic translation of the SDddhDmlilfl'J~ found in maDlISCript at KlIotan.

_ tiDd sllth expressiolU as gnUJ·lig "Speak!~ /uII·srond·l1ig "Propbesy!" 110ft "Teacb!H 9y
the lime of the ClPoDlcal trall5Lation. these s.ame rommands were UilULated as IIIe rtq\leSl$
/)SI4ZII4u ,,01"1 pray you luch," IlII1·buDII "d'" pray you prophesyt and bJtQII ,,01'" pray
you teacb,H rapectively.
368 THE CtAssICAL TIBETAN lANOUAGE

Sometimes., using the same construction, a speaker will ask for something
which it is entirely within his power to do. This translates a bit strangely into
English. Such requests are perhaps best translated as requests for pennission,

111M rIOt Pn'Y j,"ereItell in tin jimrwIJ pombi/iti4s ttff""

'" .. IJnnN lii:t "'"BURfJ" pmtmlll1J. 111M MIt!H lID lIMmd
", tbe eJri.tunu of DlSCOUJUES, ", tbe flltt thlJl tpuJtina bill
tMm tIRu III l1li n-m'jn n:lMiIm 10 l1li oritJi"'" lilNlllion,
IUIII JIIUleft trllUJ .bi&h ummll" III uist tuUI unUu, j"
thtir ."., ~e .,jIm" history, "'" ItIUMer af ",.,glut
(Jr U~# fomrilms.

-Michel Foucault,
Sur les fa~otU d'icrin hirloVe

although that cenainly does not appear on the surface in the Tibetan. When
Mar-pa has Mi·)a choose berween getting the teachings from Mar-pa ' and
food and clothes from elsewhere, or getting food and clothes from Mar-pa
and the teaChings from someone else, Mi-!a 58)'5 ho gos glan-IUU NtsIwl·bar
tu "r ask that I seek food and clothes from elsewhere." When Mi-la wants
10 return home brieny~ he tells Mar-pa

lan -l!ig yul..du gtoii-bar fu

fabs·pllyir myur..du on-bar lu

I ask that you lei me go one time to my country;

1 ask that I quickly return to your presence.

5.5. LINKED IMPEI/,fT/YES

A command is frequently part of a series of instructions, so commands

frequently come in bunches. One way that imperatives are linked together js
simply by a sequence of ' command sentences which are made cohesive
through common participants, duly omitted in the second sentence-thus
NdIig-rten..du yafl..dag-par sgrogs-!ig stOll-dig ''Teach it, proclaim it well in the
world!" Or a series of instructions can be conveyed through v.veral PfOP"»i-
SE>m!HCES 369

lions with past or present stems linked by conjunction or embedding, and

made into a command sentence with a final imperative verb stem and
command particle-for example, gdams.;'og Ndi I~·par iion-rzas yid-ID zuiis-lig
"Having listened well to this leaching, hold it in your mind!"

By and large, however, we find a sequence of instructions conveyed by a

series of implicitly nominalized imperative stems linked by the locus particle
-la-for example.Jog-l4llos-Jig "Come and see!" mj de zuiis-la sod-dig "Seize
that man and lcill him!" lons-/o son-Zig "Take it and go'" skyol-la log "Bring
him here'" For reasons I do not understand, ·14 is the only particle used
when a nominali.z.ed proposition with an imperative stem is in the setting slot.
I do know the construction is old in Tibetan; in the archaic manuscripts from
Central Asia we find, for example, uhigJ Ndj yi-gtr bris·/a grJig-gis gtfig stOll-
dlig "Write these words in le tte rs :lnd show them one to the other," lho·14
phyag-wtshol·la /Shigs Ndi'Sktu/u byo·Jig "Let us worship the gods and say these
words."ul

5.6. TIlE INFORMAL COMMAND PARTICLE

One modal performative is found with co mmands: we will call UW the

COMMAND modal. 'me particle -dan (and its variant .7aii) occurs wh~re a
speaker is issuing a command informally or casually: the particle thus
constitutes what we will call an l NfO llMAL COMMAND PERFORMATIVE. This less
peremptory command mode seems to appear first in the more colloquial
literature innuenced hy Middle Tibetan, such as the prose portions of the
biography and songs of Mi·la ras- pa, perhaps around the fourteenth century;
by the middle of the e ighteenth century the grammatical commentator
Mkhas·grub dam·pa gilles the particle -dan simply as an alternative to .11ig.
In the literature we find such e )(ample ~ as ri·mo bris-dan "Draw a picture,
OK?" .fdoeJ-7an " Please just slay," rid-ta byos-!ig-dan bIad-do "Just pay
attention and I'll explain it," khyod-mams I~.pa' mlhon-dan "look at it well,
OK?" yuJ./a byOl·Jig-dan "Hey, pay attention!" Dpal.spru! rin-po-tlhe uses

It Funhc r cumplcs fro m Ih e bitlgr apby of Mi -La include ,do.rdlt Ndi; dri.IfUI b/mt .t]1w
1Idis 1cNw-/Q rgytI/-mlsha,,-gyi rm -/a phyo,.,Jir ··Ocan.o;e [be d in on th is \/lIra wllh this IIoty
~tcr. _nd hoist it to the lOp of tht: ban ner! " mflhod.ntll lJdi./Q N1b-~ gyiJ_/Q Iii 11$0 lot
"CoDSCCratc lhis reliqUlilI)' a nd place It o n the tOp o f lhe mouRl l ln!" lD ' mo bUlit.k.f;' tfiJ·
/Q llai I1$IU kJvid log ~Make so me "Xld fuod Ind brinK It 10 me!" SHiJI .1US JIt:yfil./Q IJO"'I.I;'
"Pul fonh oo ura&e. I nd mcdl late!" Ichm Ndi r~m -I(J fWp _Jig "Exert )'OUfle\f and plo..... !"
370

the particle in a story to show the naivele of a country bumpkin who comes
to Utasa City and invites the miraculous image of the Buddha to visit him at
home, saying na-ran-uhoi yul-du Iog-doii "Hey, come on over to our place!"
Mar-pat showing some Tarc sympathy for the labors of the young Mi-la, says
mthu-tJhen sgaJ-po "Ston-<iaii "Great Magician, let me take a look 8t your
sores," Mi-Ia's mother, rejoicing al hii destruction of their wicked kinsmen,
exults no myaii-uha dlcar-rgyQII-gyis gos hrul gyon Ito nan tOS-ruJS bui ~g:r
sbyaiis-pa-Ia don-byuii ?e-Ndug Ilos-dan ... no myaii-lSha dkar-rgyan-/Q dll·Wtl-
las iianu-dga-bo 7e-yoii lros-daii "I, Myaii-tsha dkar-rgyan, wore ragged clothes
and ale bad food, but just look whether there has been a profit Crom
providing my son with provisions! .. . Just look whether I. MyaiHsha dkar-
rgyan, will ever be happier than now!"

6. VOCATIVES

A VOCATIVE is a nominal phrase, added optionally to any sentence, denoting

the person to whom it is addressed and ~gnalling the fact that it is addreued
to him. A vocative is not part of the propositional structure of the sentence.
One function of the vocative is to sed the attention of the person addressed,
and especially to single him out from olheR who may be within hearing: here
personal names, titles, or special term, of address may be used to identify the
addressee. Another function, perhaps more subtle, is to express the atlitude
of the speaker toward the addressee, insofar as the vocative phrase incorpor-
ates terms of respect, familiarity. or conte mpt.

6.1. INITIAL AND FINAL VOCATJJlES

In Tibetan the majority o f such vocatives occur in initial position: for

example, Mi-Ia addresses a stranger with the words druii-pa log! "0 Sir ... "
before speaking to him;I' the wife of Mar-pa similarly first addresseJ her
hushand with the litle bia-rna rill .po.Lfhe "Precious lama ... "; and Mar-pa
addresses his disciple nhos·sku rdo-rdte by both geographical and personal
names as nlog,sloll 11hos·rdor "Reality Diamond, teacher of Rfiog ... " Mi-Ia

19 As Malllll:w !Upslein has poinled Ollt to me, Ihe lerm dFN,.·ptJ usually rden 10 IIIe
closest pl:f50nal alLendant or privale Io/Xretary.of an aristocratic or c:o;\e$iaslic::li btc:n.rd!. II
may be lhal Mi.!a IlSO il as a prudent way Of addra.sin, a stn.n,et of appt;rent, bill 1I1l'
determined , rank .
SENTENCES 37!

cries out la-rna la-rna la-khui khyim rdibs-nos mi man-po Ii Nd~g ltos-dan
"Mother, mother, look, uncle's house has fallen down, and many people are
dead." Such initial vocatives are often separated textually from the following
sentence by a vertical stroke or fad indicating a slight reading pause-for
example, bkra-lir, tIhan khyer log "Blaa-Jis, bring some beer!" sman-po lags,
iia-la bu-phrug med "0 apothecary, 1 have no children."

Occasionally we find vocative phrases extraposed to the end of the sentence,

to the right of the verb aRd the performance particle. This is not uncommon
in commands: for example, in a prayer to Avalokitdvara, traditionally
ascribed to the great king Sroi'i-buan 19am-po, we find a series of lines such
as dog-poi fiii-la skyol-fig spyan-ras-gzi81 "Lead me to the Pure land, 0
Avalokitdvara!" and fXYUI1-du ,hu81-rdtes gzigs-lig spyan.ras-gzigs "Ever look
on me with compassion, 0 Avalokitdvara'" Similarly, in the work of the poet
Pad-rna dkar-po we find such verses as sa-smas ser-ba-/as sruiis-lig snags-
Ntflwij-gi nag-po "Protect my lotus flowers from the hailstorm, 0 blackness
of sorcerors!" and blo "-liaS tl/iol-fig ska{-/dan-lsho "Let your minds be full
of hope. 0 my disciples!"

But such extra position is also found in statements. Pad-rna dkar-po is fond of
such constructions; in one poem, he builds a structure upon repeated verses
with extraposed vocative phrases-thus nags-mOw siiegs-po-Ia mi-dga slag-
phrug-gj gton-nu "You have no joy dashing about the woods, 0 young tiger!"
nam-Hphan spyod-pa-la mi-dga Ihaii-dkar-gyigton.nu "You have no joy soaring
in the sky: 0 young condor'" rgyaf-khatnS Ngrim.pa.la mi-dga bSla,,·Ndz;"·gyi
gfOlJ-nu "You have no joy wandering in the world, 0 young disciple! " In
another poem he uses the repeated refrain rid gfuiis-nas sg01ru.!ig pad-ma
dlcar "Meditate with heedful mind. 0 Pad-rna dkar-pol" and then. in the last
verse. switches to dbyallS mtJhod-par Nbul·/n dktm-mtIllOg gsum "I give my
song in offering, 0 Three Jewels''"

6.2. TITLES OF RESPECT

Nominal phrases containing titles of respect are often usee vocatively. Among
such titles of respect perhaps the most frequently encountered is lags, either
used by itself in the sense of "Sir ... '" or added to other litles, personal
names, epilhets, or kinship terms. Thus Mi-Ia addresses a stranger as druii-pa
lags "0 Sir ... " and his master Mar-pa as bla-ma lags "0 lama ...... The
yogin Mi-Ia is himself addressed by his disciple Ras-tlhun-pa as rdle-btsutl
372 Til E CL.\ssICAL TIBETAN l..ANOUAGE

tags "0 reverend sir .. ." The Grand Secretary of Tibet is properly addressed
as sial-glogs TUe-dtuii lags "Honorable Mister Secretary ... "

Other titles of respect t-nCQunlered as vocatives in the classical texu include:

the secular gtso-bo "my lord" and guo-rna "my lady," the: religious !d!e-btswl
"reverend sir" and rdte-buufI·ma " reverend madam," and the: intimate Min -
bzu" "handsome sir" and blill ·bzaii-ma "fairfaced lady." Such terms may form
pan of a more: complex nominal: in the drama Snaij·SQ od-Nbum we find a
man addressing his wife as uhe-rabs ktm-gyi gtan-grogs blin-bzaii-ma "0
fairfaced constanl wife through all my fo rmer lives ... "

Another series of terms, including s/(;u·gtogs, sku'Ms, sku-mdun, and sku-druii,

is found in the texts, all meaning "your honorable presence" and used in
direct address to a social or spiritua l superior. The term sku-glogs is often
written as <sku-tabs> " honora ble feet," in imitation of Indic terms of
address; but the original orthography is still reflected in such pronunciatio ns
as New Tibetan (Dbus) Wo.

An impona nt and frequently e ncountered title of respect is Tin-po-t/he

"precious one," used almost exclusively in addressing high lamas. The Dalai
Lama is addressed as 'KYa-mtslio rin-po·/Jlte "Precious Ocean" or 'KYal-ba fin-
po-Lfhe "Precious Conqueror," the Panchen Lama as paf)-tjhen rin·po-tlht
"Precious Scholar," and, a t one time, the King of Bhutan as t abs-druii rin-po-
tIhe "Precious Feet.,,20 We find Mar-pa addressed as bla-ma rin-po-tIht
"Precious lama" by his wife, by Mi-Ia, and by OI~e r lamas who are his
disciples.

Such titles of respect reach their mosl fl owery expression in the Tibetan
epistOlary style. For exa mple, a leiter 10 the Dalai Lama is sent with the
honorific salutation

NgrO-ba lha-da[j btIas-pai mgoll-skyabs dpuii-giien mtshufu-zla

ma-mtlhis·par rgya/-bai dbaij-po thams-dad mkhyen-tliii gzigs-pa
tlhen-po tabs-sltgs gser-Di Ndab·ston mam·par btad-pai drun-
du ...

20 The kinl of Bbutln W&$ called la/ls-dnofi when BlIlIlan 11&£1 I common te mponot I nd
spiri"a.1 had. Under Ille presen t dynas ty Bbutan is fU te4 by a owal·po-dJIl».rgytJI "ki n,~
and the highest ea:lesiaslial office is Ihal of ,dl, ",khan·po "lord abbot "
SEKl<NCES 373

Before the honorable presence of the smiling golden thousand-

petal lotus footstool of the great all-knowing all-seeing Lord
Buddha who is the peerless friend and refuge of all beings
including the gods ...

6.3. OTHER V0C4TlYE EXPRESSIONS

We find other nominals used in vocative phrases to indicate: the relative

status of the person addressed. Such \'ocativeJ may U5C pejoratives, as when
Mi·1a says iUm-lfiB dl1um·mc Ichyod "Listen. you lowly demoness'" or Mn-pa
gjia-rdir ur-MnUg gtam Nidi .ilOII "Set-smug you wicked stiff-necked one, hear
this wordl" Other vocatives may use respectful older relative terms, such as
la-dIo "older brother" and la-tJhe "older sister," not infrequently with lagJ
or other titles of respect, as in lo-t,Jht li1gs rin-po-tIhe "0 precious older
sister, . ," Other vocatives may use intimate younger relative terms such as
bu "son." uha·bo "nephew," bu-mo mdzu-pa "darling daughter."

What we can call professional titles 8rc frequently used vocatively-bla-ma

"lama," spnd-sku "incarnation," mklwn-po "abbot," khri-tJhen "abba,," dge-
bID "professor," dbu-mdzad "head monk," dge-sloii "monk," mo--buun "nun,"
lhIl "king," bJon-t!hen "minister of state," sde-srid "regent," lhIl-rd1e
"physician," yon-bdag "lay patron_" Here again we often find logr or other
titles of respect added to the addressee's professional title.lI

6.4. THE STRUCTURE OF TIBETAN NAMES

Quite frequently a vocative phrase contains the addressee's name. Since

persons--especially eminent persons-may possess severa] types of names and
titles simultaneously, it may be helpful here to discuss the structure of such
names as may be encountered in the classical texts.

21 We..,. DOte here Wt "'XItive ruJJW...! Ire of'tel:l lonncd willi . . , boOI ill 1faDI.-
..... rro. SaMbit IDd III claaakallheralwe-tlIlII ,._""".., "'0 IDODIcI •••" lyt °blba_
. . . . . "0 IludIome lin 0 1a-IdM-tIq "0 karIICId lin
• •" 0 0 Icyc 1fop--po-4«f "'0
."

fr1aIdI . 0 0-The illterjeaioD Icyc-hvtl-q-yt-ll:twl-yt Is IOmetime. ..eca to IDdkalc I

"'XItM tenD., apcclally ID tbe translati(lD Jileratusc. allbougb ills found elsewhere u_U-
llI. Icyc IIwIi 1M "'0 lord of lords 0 Icyc kJuJ_1o b~-lHl "0 belmsman
0 0" 0 0 lNlafof4
0"

4fFAI-Jir "'P-PO Iryt "TIIlnk of me, 0 lore!.!"

374 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN L-.NOUAGl!.

6.4.1. Personal names

The vast maJonty of Tibetan religious names-and the great majority of

secular names-consLsI of combinations of disyllabic tenns with a~spicious
connotations. These terms may dt:II01e such auspicious objects as ;U-tn4 "sun,"
zla-ba "moon," rdo-rd1~ "vajra," rgya.mtsho "ocean," rts~-mo "peak," rgyal.
mtshan "banner," pad·ma ")otus," nQr-bu "gem," un-gt "lion," rgyal-po
"king." and pon-nu "prince"; such auspicious . qualities as mshu-slobs
"strength," bsod-nams "merit." IshuJ·khrims "discipline," bstan-Ndzin "ad-
herence to the teachings," blan-po "virtue," I1hoHphtl"religious increase,"
NgYIU.mtd "wnstancy," grags-pa "fame," dbaii.phyug "dominion," blo-gros
"intelligence," tsht-fiij "long life," yon-tOI1 "excellence," mam-rgyal "victory,"
bkra·fis "blessing," don-grub "success," phrin-Ias "activity," ye-Its "know-
ledge," and I~s-rab "wisdom"; and such divine names as saiir-'X)'QJ' "Buddha,"
kun-dga "joy _ Ananda," sgroi-rna "savioress -. Tira," Nt!tam-dpal"sweet glory
- Maiijulri," Ndlam-dbyaij,s "sweet voice .... Manjugho:f8." byarru-pa
"friendliness .... Maitreya."

And I lAid, "Hty, pRJ, wh"~goin8 on bm7 W'ho

RTe ytN, "np"l?" And he JAut, 'W(]'I1, I JUrI the
soul dlKt(W'. And, you ktlOlP, Ja"BuRge is " virus
from outer SPRee. And hr.ring ,our Mmt is hater
th"n ueing ,our fRee."

-laurie Anderson,
DiffICult Listening

Thus we find such names as blo-gros 'rJ'al-mtslian "Intelligence Banner," ye-

Ies rdo·rdI~ "Knowledge Diamond," NdZQm-dbyaiir grogs-po "Sweet Voice
Fame," tshe-nii bkra-lis "Long Life Blessing." bsod·narru bfo.gros "Merit
Intelligence," zfa·ba nor-bu "Mo.)n Gem," bzan.po rgyal.muhon "Virtue
Banner," blo·gros bZQn·po " Intelligence Virtue," Ndtam-dbyaiir Its-rob un-ge
" Sweet Voice Wisdom Lion," YI!·I~s mlhu·SIObs dban.phyug "Knowledge
Strength Dominion," blo·gros yon·lan rgya.mllho phrin·las "Intelligence Excel-
lence Ocean Activity." We will call such combinations PERSOI'IAl. NAMES.
SENTENCES m
The predominantly disyllabic pattern may occasionally be broken by such
monosyllabic components as dpal "glory," /'Ibar "blaze," rtsal "skill," otJ
"light," grogs "fame," or $de "lord," as in phrin·/as dpaf bzaii.po "Activity
Glory Virtue," !es·rob ",'bar "Wisdom Blaze," yon·tan NgrO-HduJ rtsaf
"Excellence Converting Skill." Occasionally too we find components of a
personal name placed in an explicitly adnominal relationship-for example,
mkhyen·brtsei otJ·zer "Ught of Knowledge and Love," bstan·poi 'KYal·muMn
"Banner of the Teachings," t!hos·lcyi dbaii·po "Master of the Dharma," blo·
gros mlha·yas·pai $de "Lord of Infinite Intelligence."

Personal names are frequently I!neountered as clipped disyllables formed from

the stressed syllables of each of the original components-thus NdJam·gmgs
< /'Idlam-dbyaiis grags·pa "Swel!t Voice Fame," dban·rgyal < dban.phyug
'KYal·muhan "Dominion Banner," t!has·grap < I!hos·kyi gmp.po "Fame of
the Dharma," lhub·bslan < thub·poi bstan.pa "Teachings of the Sage," nag.
dban < iiag·gi dban·phyug "Master of Speech." Such clipped names may in
turn be components in longer sequences: for example, in the personal name
blo·bzaii grags.pa the first component blo·bzan is a clip of the combination
blo·gros bzan.po "Intelligence Virtue"; thus the clipped name blo·grags < blo·
bzan grags·po " Intelligence Virtue Fame" is a clip containing a clip.

6.4.2. Types of personal names

A person may poueu several personal names in the course of a lifetime.

Every child has a CIULDIiOOD NAME. often bestowed by a respected elder or
lama, and established at a naming celebration; a child may in addition have
one or more PET NAMES which can change in the course of time. Mi·la fas.
pa's father gives his child the childhood name thos·po dga "Happy to Hear
It," since he is so pll!ased to hear the nl!ws of the birth; Mi·la's sister is
similarly given the childhood name mgon·mo skyid "Lady Joy," as well as the
pet namepNa "Little Leech," by which Mi·la continues to address her even
after she is an adult. Sometimes the name includes the day on which the child
was born-for example, ni·rna lha·ma "Sunday Goddess." po·sans sgrol·ma
"Friday Tara." Often this D.... Y·NAME is only tentative, and a new name is
given at the first opportunity to have the child blessed by a lama, although
often the day·name sticks anyway. In addition. any of these names can be
changed for astrological reasons, if the name in use seems to be attended by
bad lucie
376 TilE Cl.AssICAL TIBETAN lANaUAGE

When a person enters the monastery, he is given a new name, usually at the
time of taking the vows of a novice, although. in some C:lses he may receive
a further new name at the time of taking the complete vows of a monk. A
typical account of such names is found in the contemporary autobiography of
a Sherpa lama, who writes,

buas-ston yail rgyas-par byas-nal miii-la gza.daii bSfwt-le, z/a-ha

bslan-Hdzin lu blags Ndug-go .' ran to ner-gtJig-/a bslehs-dus
bf4-ma JQiU-'XYQS tJhos-NfJh~I-gyi druii-nas sO-IMr dge-tshuJ
sdom-pai bar kgs.par IUS-pas, min mkhan-poi mtshan-nos draiis-
U. StJiis"'X)'tlf zhl·ba Its blag!

After having a big birth party, they connected my name with

the day of the week and called me z/a-ba bSlan·Ndzin "Monday
Adherent" ... When I turned twenly--onc I duly asked the
lama sa;u~as t!hos·NfJhel "Buddha's Dharma Increase" for
ordination up through the vows of a novice, and 1 was given
the name sans-rgyas zla-ba "Buddha Monday" after the name
of my preceptor.

Similarly, Mar-pa ordains his disciple Mi-Ia as a novice monk with the name
rdo-rrUe tgyal-mtshan "Diamond Banner," after a prophetic dream he had the
evening before the two first met.

In addition to this MONASllC NAME, a monk or layman may receive a flODHI-

SATIVA NAME when he takes his vow to save all sentient creatures; and he
may receive from his tantric teacher-or even from the deity itself-a SECRET
NAME when he is initiated into the rit.ual practices of a tanlnc deity. Thus Mi-
la -describes the acquisition of his secret name as follows:

Hkhor-lo sdom-pa-/a yut iii-!u-rtsa bt~ gllas sum-/Iu-nsa g11is,

dur-Jcltrod tIhm-po brgyad .kyi dpo-bo-d'l.1 mlcha-~gros bskor-nas
khra-la,"-InC blugr-pa diios-su mthon, de; tshc bla-ma-d!Jii dkyil-
NIchor-gi lhtu ,"grin gtIig-tu gran-mtsllan dpal blad-pa rdo·rd1cr
btags

J vMdly saw the deity Caluasamvara clearly seated there,

surrounded by the gods and gocldesses of the twenty-fo ur lands,
the thirty-two p.'aces, the eight great cemeteries; a nd at that
time the lama awl the gods of the mat:'<;IlIla with o ne voice gave
 me the secret name dpol blad-po rdo-rdlt "Glory Laughter
Diamond."

A writer may become known under one or more of these different names.
and he may even sign his works with a combination of them. For example,
Kon-sprul rin-po-dhe was given the NONAS1lC NAME iiag-dban yon-Ian rgya-
rnuho phrin-/o.s laut-Ichyah dpol bzan-po "Master of Speech E.xcellence Ocean
Activity Pervasion Glory Virtue," the BOomSATIVA NAME blo-gros mtha-yw-pai
.fIlt "Lord of Infinite IntelUgence," and the SECRET NAME pad-rna gar-gyi dban-
phyug phrin-/w Ngro-!duJ f1SlJl "Lotus Dominion of Dance Activity Converting
SkilL" He signed his works with abbreviated forms of his monastic name nag-
dbaii yon-Ian rgya-rnuho and yon-Ian 'K)'Q-m1Sho, and sometimes simply with
KWJ.a, the Sanskrit equivalent of yon-tan, or with a combination of his secret
and bodhisattva names-thuspod-ma &ar-gyi dbaii-phyug blo-gros mlha-ya.s-pai
.sdt.

Other personal names may be given for special purposes. After advanced
instruction in Sanskrit and poetics. a "choiar may be given a GRAMMAR-tAN'S
NAME, which he signs to works on grammar, lexicography, and rhetoric. A
religious practitioner who is agter-.ston "discoverer of hidden treasures"-and
thus able to locate the hidden texts concealed by the ancient Padmasamhhava
-may, upon his appoimment by an already practicing discoverer, be given in
addition a special DlSCOVERF.R's NAME, the particular name having been
prophesied by Padmasambhava and appearing in the hidden texts themselves.

6_4.3_ Geographical and ramily names

Individuals are often differentiated by a GEOGRAPHICAL NAME. The person's

place of birth 01 area of major religious activity may simply be preflXcd to his
personal name, as in bo..doii n"-tJhen .rUe-.m o "Jewel Peak of Bo-don," nseg
dbaii-phyug uii-gt "Dominion Lion of Rueg," sde..dge blo-gro.s ~al-mts"an
"Intelligence Banner of Sde-dge." Frequently we find the person's geographi-
cal provenance followed by the formative -pa "PERSON HAVlNG TO 00 Wn1I,"
as in mar-pa rdo-rdIt ytolu "Diamond Knowledge the man from Mar," gnal-
pa iii-rna Its-rob "Sun Wisdom Ihe man from Gnal," Ichamr-pa Its-rob rdo-
rdIe "Wisdom Diamond the man from Khams." Indeed, a famous scholar or
contemplative may be more widely known by his geographical name than by
any of his personal names: for example, nhos-kyi ble-gros is widely known
simply as mar-po "the man from Mar," Ble-bzaii grags-pa as tsoii-lcha-fNJ "Ihe
378 TIlE C~SJCAL TlBETAN LANGUAGE

man from Tson·kha," ;lnd Zla·od gfon·nu as sgam·po-pa "the man from
Sgam-po."

Sometimes geographic affiliations are expressed with the word SIOIl "teacher"
or IO-ISH -ba "translator" suffIXed to the person's geographic area: thus we find
fWa-ston gtoll·nu sen·ge "Prince Lion the teacher of Rgya," tan-slon b.wd-
/lQms grags-pa "Merit Fame the teacher of lan," go .mb lo-tsQ·ba t.!hos-kyj Ies-
rub "Wisdom of Dharma the translator of Go-rub," Hgns lo-uii-bll gton-nu
dp(lf "Prince Glory the translator of Ngos_" Such geographic titles are also
fmmd in dipped form, as in stag-Io gfon-nu bnson-NgTUS "Prince Striving the
translator of Stag" or smill-gliii Ng}'uNned rtio-rdle "Unchanging Diamond the
13m3 of Smin-grol monastery." A famous teacher or translator may be widely
known by such gecgraphie title alone: for example, Narn-mkha grags-pa is
often referred to simply 35 mtJliimHlOll "the teacher of Mt~him5," and
Tshul-khrims rgyal-bll is often referred to simply as nag-Isho lo-tsii-ba "the
translator of Nag-tsho.. ·

In carnation ~ may have geographical names with the suffix sprul·sku.

"incarnation," as in bde-than sprul-sku blo-bzaii fshul-Ichrims mam-rg}'al
"I ntelligence Virtue Discipline Victory the incarnation or Bde-Ihan," Of phur-
bu-lilog sprul-sku byams-pa tsllUl-khrims bstall-Ndzin "Friendliness Discipline
Adherent the incarnation of Phur-bu-It!og_" Famous incarnations again may
be Iderred to by this geographic title alone: for example, Yon-tan rgya-mtsho
is widely k·lOwn as koii-spru l rin-po-t.!he, the term koii·sprnl being a dipped
form of the geographical name koii-posprul-sku "the incarnation of Koii-po,"
since the monk of whom he was held to be an incarnation came originally
from Kon-po. Similarly. the contemporaneous Ndtigs-med I~hos -kyi dbaii-po
is widely known as dpal-spml rin-po-tJhe, the term dpal-spnll again being a
clipped form of the geographical name dpal.dge sprnl-sku "the incarnation of
Dpal-dge," since Ioe was held to be an incarnation of Dpal-dge Bsod-nams
sbyin-pa_

Some'times the various incarnations of a single spiritual progenitor are

distinguished by geographical names_ For example, Ndtam-dbyaiis mkhyen-
brtsci dbaii-po kun-dga bstan-pai rgyal-mtshan has been held 10 be incarnate
in several different persons simultaneously in several monastic centers: thus
we find nizoii-sar mkhyt.'lI-brtse sd!am-dbyaiis lIlIos-lcyi dban-po "Sweet Voice
Master of Dharma tbe Mkhyen·brtse at Rdzoil-sar," dpaf-spuflS mkhyen-brtse
karma mkhyen-brtsei odour "Karma Light 01 Knowledge and Love the
Mkhyen-brtse at Dpal-spufis," dis.mgo mkhyen-brtse rab-gsal zla-ba "Clarity
SENTENCES 379

Moon the Mkhyen-brue at Dis-mgo," rdzogs-tIhen mJchyen-bnse gu-ru tslze-

dban "Guru Lifepower Ihe Mkhyen-brt.se at Rdzogs-tJhen," and so on.

Additionally, names may incorporate FAM ILY NAMES. The great-great-

grandfather of Mi-Ia ras-pa acquired the name mi-la when he conquered an
evil demon, who cried oul in fear pha rna mi·la mi·/a "Father! Mother! Woe!
Woe!" This name was passed on to his son Mi-Ia Mdo-ston sen-ge, who
passed it on to his son Mi-Ia Rdo-rdie sen-ge, who passed it on to his son
Mi-Ia Ses-rab rgyal-mtshan, who passed 'it on to his son called Thos-pa dga.
Similarly we find such combinations of family and personal names as Nkhon
dkon-mtIlzog rgya/-po "Jewel King of the Nkhon," rgya ye-Ies mgon-po
"Knowledge Protector of the Rgya," myaii Ies-rab Nbyuii-gnas "Wisdom
Source of the . Myan." Sometimes family names and geographical names
overlap, where a family has the same name as its hereditary estate.

6.4.4. Epithets

In addition to such names, persons may acquire EPITIIETS in the course or

their lives, and it may be by such an epithet that a person is best known. The
epithet may be professional, as in sde-srid sans-rgyas 'X)'a-mtsho "Buddha
Ocean the Regent," dar·han lem-tIhi Ndtam-dbyaiis rgyal-mtslzan "Sweet
Voice Banner the Physician of Dar-han," dga-Idan khri-tIhen iiag-dbaii tshul-
khrims "Master of Speech Discipline the Abbot or Dga-Idan," spyi-klzyab
mkhan-po bde-tIhen rgya-mlsho "Bliss Ocean the Abbot of Spyi-khyab."
Sgam-po-pa is often referred to simply as dwags-po Iha-rdle "the Physician
or Dwags-po," and Mi-Ia becomes known as mlhu-IJhen " Magician" after he
demonstrates his professional abilities to his master Mar-pa:

thugs snuii-bai mi man-po gri-kI!ar Ii-ba gzigs-nas, khyod-fa mtnu

dhen-po yod ur-ba belen-par Ndug gsuiis-nas na-fa min mlhu-
tIhen-du blags

He saw many maddened men die at knire-poin!. He said, " It's

true what they say, that you have magic power"; and he gave
me the name mlhu-"tIhen "Magician."

An epithet may also be honorific, as when the first Black Hat Karma-pa
Tlhos-kyi grags-pa is known almost exclusively as dus-gsum mkhyen-pa "He
Who Knows the Past, Present, and Future," or the fifth Black Hat Karma -pa
380 Tllij Cu.ss1CAl. TIBETAN lANGUAGE

nhos-<lpaJ bzan-po is VlOwn almost exclusively as de-b1.in gIep-pa "He Who

Has Thus Come," an epithet of the Buddha. The name of the great yoginf
Ma-g1lig Lab-kyi sgron-rna combines the geographical name Lab-phyi and the
childhood name sgroll-ma "Lady Lamp" with the honorific epithet ntIl-gt!ig
"The One Mother." We may note here too that certain general honorific
expressions have become specialized as such personal epithets: for example,
unless otherwise specified, the expression dlo-bo rdle "Venerable Lotd"
refers to Ati~, rdle-bt.sUll "Reverend Sir" refers to Mi-la, rdte rin-po-t.!ht
"Precious Lord" refers to T soii-kha-pa, and gu-ru rin-po-tJ/K "Precious Guru"
refers 10 Padmasambhav3.

An epithet may also be generic. For example, a yogin often bears the epithet
flU -po"one who wears a colton cloth" combined with some individuating
component: thus Mgon-po rdo-rdle is called khyj-ra-ba ras-po "Hunler
Yogin," after his former occupation; Pad-rna rdo-rdle is called gliii ras-po
" Yogin of Gliil," after his geographic provenance; the young Thos-pa dga
eventually becomes known as Mi-Ia ras-pa "Yogin of the Mi-la," after his
family name. Similarly, Ye-~es rdo-nUe is known as gtsaij-pa tgYa-rIU "Yogin
of t,he Rgya family from Gtsaii," in a clipped form that combines both
geographical and family names with his epithet.

A similar generic epithet is smyoll·pa "madman," used of the crazy and

iconoclastic saint of the yogic tradition, as in such names as dbw·smyon kun-
dga hzaij-po "Joy Virtue Ihe madman of Dbu!>," or Nbrug-smyon kun-dga legs-
pa "Joy Goodness the madman of the Nbrug." The author of the life of Mi-la
ras-pa and the editor of his c611ected songs began life with the childhood
!lame t.fJlOs·'Wallltun-po "Dharm;\ King Mounlain," became a novice monk
with the monastic name saiis-tg)'as 'X)'al-muhan "Buddha Banner," and
recdved thc secret name khrag-Nfhuii tg}'al-po "Blood-drinking King" from his
tutelary deity; but he is best kno ..... n-and is spok.en of in his earliest
hingnlphy-by the epithet gIsan-smyon he-ru-Jw "Heruka the madman of
Gtsaii. "

An cj)!lhet may also be descriptive: such epithets are idiosyncratic to the

persons who bear them. Rdo-rd1.e gmgs-pa, the disciple of Mi-Ia ras-pa, is
calkd rGHfh wl-pa "Little Piece of Cotton" because he wears only a small
piece of cotton cloth; Mgon·po rdo-rd1.e is said to have worked SO lirelessly
fOl hIS fellow contemplativcs:1I Tsa-ri Ih:!t he became known to them as rriza-
khmd hoii-ser "Yellow Donkey of the Claypi!s." Gtsan-smyon he-ru·ka signed
his biography of Mar-pa with the epithet dur·khrotJ myuJ·bai maJ-Nbyor-pa
SE>m!NCES 381

"Yogin Who Wanders in Cemeteries" and his biography of Mi·la with the
epithet rus-pai rgyon-lJun "He: Who Has Ornaments of Bone," while Ndiigs-
mc:d t!hos-kyi dban-po-the great Dpal-sprul rin-pcHJhe-signed his works
with the epithet la-bu 1Ira/·po "Ragged Old Fellow...zz

6.4.5. Names and epithets In vocative phrases

Personal names are often found in vocative phrases, used both by friends and
intimates of the: addressee and by his superiors. It is interesting to note, (or
example:, that in the works of Gtsan-smyon he-ro-b lhe lama Mar-pa ad-
dresses his wife Bdag-mc:d-ma by her personal name, while she: addresses him
by his title as bla-rna rin-po-tJht "precious lama." Similarly Mar-pa addresscs
his disciple Riiog-pa by both family and personal names., using the form riiog-
slon tlhos-rdor, while the: disciple again uses bla-mo rin-po-tIhe in reply.

His instructors in black magic address Mi-Ia by his personal name: thos-ptJ
dga, while both Mar-pa and Riiog-pa address him by his epithet mtlul-tJMn
"Magician," occasionally with the affectionate prefIX 1a-OO added; Mi-Ia in
tum addres.~s all his teachers as blo-ma wgs or b/a-ma rin-po-dM. The
relation berween Mi-la and his own disciplCl is the same: Rdo-rd!e grags-pa
addresses. his master as bla-rna rdIt-btsun rin·po-t!he "precious reverend
lama" or rdI~-bLfWl rin -po·t!h~ lags "precious reverend sir," while Mi-Ia

tl The names of horses are also found in cla.\5ical Tibetan. In tile 1W-lI)'Ig "bone n<:;e"
chapler of t he epic of Ge-sar we find a long list of the pIInicipatin, horses and their ri4en
or
-the c:quivalen, 0( I Homeric catalogue 5~ ips. Many of tbese hones., as we mizht t:tpoct,
have nall'lt$ referrinlto their colo r-for example, IIOg-po /imIIt-1IIh41 KBIack Ylk-tamer,"IIDf'
khTa NpIIw-Ju "Black_5poUed J'lyer," ptr-mMA ili·mai /JrhnJ·NIkJior "Gokl-faced MalK:
We.apoo of the 5 .. n," ~·bo mol·14m! "Dun Skillful," $r~-ri rag-dkm "RlWtt-wbile o( lhe
[)csoll te MountaiM, Hplwr·ba rilo.l16g " wping Black·uil," SeYeral bor5e5 baY(; names
M

which refc:r to the Wind-rhill-lIDg rdlts-grlod "Blad·wind TJKker," /IDf'-bu rlNII·M1ziII "Jewel
Wind'irabber," rlull·gi wldtor-(Q "Wind Wheel": Ina a surprising number haYe Dlmt! lluil
refer to birds-for eumple, khyuIi ' /Illg /diII·Ju "Black-a.ate Soarer," mNI' byd gdoIt·1IDII
"PuCOI:k Fac:c," g.yu.bya m a·}dyo ''1'I:rljuolse-bird Spollod-a.t," tW./I' /J)'P f-)'II' rlIof "CoIlCh·
bird 'rurquoise.mant," 'XY".byo mj·1tJii .-.Mrvl·.-.tchor " China-bird UneqlUllled MagiC WClipon. M

A few n.ames. step! 10 have: 1I louch or SClf-dc:proaliing lIumor-.JQ-riIyQJI drtl.".go MWild_

bone Mule·!lead, ~ kD ·ba /dlri·skyid "Pillar Happy-lhroDe." But nKl5t of tbe Dlmti .re
siraiptforward and charmlng-.rIQA·ri dN·!oIdIams "Oesol..e-mountain Smoolb-as·lilk," ju_,.,
1«1Juun_l~ " Oance5-like-a-lamb," pAt-ri Id4ru·l~ "Glacier Soarer," 'M.ri ttIcItyiJ'Ju "Fire-
IDOUDtaia Twister," S/nU.gu ldii\ ·lu "F1oats·like-the·misl"
382 Tile CtAssICAL TIBETAN Lt.NOUAOE

addresses him not by his personal name but by his epithe t ras-dhuii-pa "Little
Piece of Cotton."

Figurt J2. Chtum /0 prOlK/ against dmroru. prots, and "umpires, pKfUrtd hrrt a.J wQmu
tllld scorpiQIU (nou 1M vuual pufIJ_,Jig_pa "JCorpiOtl " sdig-ptJ "sin, " sri-srin "d'.mOt1 '·
JM·bll "inMcl, womr "J
13 Beyond the Sentence

I. EXCLAMATIONS

An EXClAMATION is a partial :oentence- somelimes called a "sentence

fragment" or "minor sentencc"-that functions as an autonomous unit similar
to a sentence. An exclamation may be found anywhere a sentence may be
found, either within a discourse or embedded in a proposition as the patient
of a verb such as GSUN "say" or SNAM ":hink."

1.1. HYPOTHETICAL EXPRESSIONS

Some sentences, of course, are assertions with exclamatory force. The verbs
l.EGS "be good" and RUN "be right" are often used in such a way-thus legs-so
"Very well! Excellent!" run gSUiif '''All right!' he said." We often find such
IIYPOTIII;"TICA!. constructions as IlUs-IW till-/tl Ieg.v "If you can do it, very well!"
Jgom.z!h~n Ichu-rags ulQd'/1U legs "A meditator had best slay quiet!" 'KYa/-po
gfc.~-gyi.J Mag.po byed·nQ mi-legs "Another king had bener nOl become her
husband!" mi-riied-na mi-run "We'd beller find it!" /!i-i/ar byed-na legs "What
sho'Jld I do?"

Even stronger exclamatory force is foUnd in hypothetical constructions with

the expressions tJi ma-Iegs-tJj ma-fUn " What's wrong with that?"1 For
example, we find blom-no tfi ma-legs "What's wrong with think.ing about
il?/You ought to think about it!" de Nbyun-na tJi ma-run "Would that it
happencd!/Oh, may it happen!" Ndii te-.sdan Ndj tiona t!i ma-run "Best I quiet
this anger of his!" no rig-pa-dan /dan-lla tJj mel-run "Would that I were wise!"

I Comparc alsQ Ihc exptCS5ion IIlHli·smo,J-luJ.JmOJ.!li-dgo.J ''what need to say. need I

mention, urc I add. 10 say notlling of, wllat morc of,~ as in Ndi-dDg "oo/·ba lIa·tJj-s1l1OS
~, . • 10 say nothing of!he mnvcBion of !!lese!" mv g)W-ba ya.II riltJ-pardk4:J·rn;I dol·ba plum .
swn·u/wp·pa ba·!li·smOl "If it's difficult 10 be born as a hllman being. wllat then of perf«!
liberty!"

383
384 TilE ClASSICAL TIBETAN WGUAGE

no; bu-mo min-1lQ IIi rna-run "Would that she were not my daughte r!" sems·
l!an thams-t.fad $dug-bsiial-daii Hhra/·na l1i rna-run "Oh that all sentient
beings were free from suffering!" Ndi Ntira-boi sdug-bsiiol Nkhur-ba·1tJs Nf!hi·na
tJi rna-run "Better I should die than beat such suffering!"

1.2. HYPOTHETICAL ELLIPSIS

Such exclamatory hypothetical SENTENCES can become EXcu.MA1l0NS by

omIssion of the consequent, leaving only the antecedent locus participant in
the setting slot, rather like English exclamations in the form 1/ only __ . Thus,
in addition to, say. de Nbyuii-na legs " If it happens, it would be good," we
find, simply, de NbyulIg-na "If only it .....ould happen!" and, in addition to, say.
Mli bdag-gi yin-no IIi rna-run "Would that this were mine!" we find, simply.
Ndi bdag-gi yin-no "If only this were mine'" For example, in the Tibetan
translation of the Karma/alaka we read kye-ma rgya/-po t!hen-po no blla-bai
phyir oiis-na "Oh, if only the great king has come to see me!" and, in the
biography of Mi-Ia, we find semNian man-po Ii-no NtsheiiNt snam " I
thought happily, 'If only many senlient creatures had died!'"

1.3. EXCLAMATIONS IN -Pa-Ia

Another form of exclamation consists of a nominalized proposition followed

by the locus panicle -la, yielding what appears to be an autonomnus locus
participant, indicating an extreme degree of some variable factor, which is
expressed by the nominali7.ed verh, usually stative-for example, khyi tf/te -ba-
la "That dog is really big!IHow big that dog is!" gnam sdug-pa-Ia "The sky is
so beautiful!/What a beautiful .sky!" Sometimes the variable factor is
expressed by a noun, presumahly with an equative YIN omitted; for example,
when some young girls see the emaciated and ragged body of Mj-Ia ras-pa,
one exclaims sdug-sdug-gi Ndra-ba-Ia "How miserable he seems!" while
another cries out slji/1-rdle-ba-/a "What a pity!"

Such exclamations may also be made from hypotheticaJs: for example, when
rebuked by his master, Mi-]a cries out !i-na dga-ba-Ia "How happy J Wt)uld
be if J died!" and 50-/0 (/tim-no dga -bo-Ia "What happiness to sink into the
earth!" Similarly, in one of his songs Mi-Ia exclaims sgorn-no fIhog -pa-{a " If
I meditate that's surely e nough for me!M
BEYOND nm SI!N TENCI, 385

1.4. EXCLAMATIONS IN -re-

A compound may become an exclamation when the syllable -re-is inserted

between its two components-for example, silin-relle "compassion" siliii-re-rdle
"What a shame!" skyug-Iog "disgust" skyug-re-Iog " How disgusting! " Such an
exclamation can even be predicated of a participant-for example, sems-dan
siliii-re-rdIe "The PC:Xlt creatures!" "hyod-faii siiiii-re-rdle " How you are to be
pitied!" Or it can be nominalized wit h -Pa and used as the modifie r of a
nominal head-th ussi'iin-re-relle-bai sdig-dan dmyal-bor lluii "The sinne r-how
to be pitied!-falls to helL" Other such exclamatory compounds include iiams-
dga "joy" ilarrtS-re-dga "Wonderful !" blo-Me "happiness" bfo-re-bde " What
happinesst" o-brwol "fatigue" o-re-b'X;'al " How tired!" te-Ndtigs "fear" Ie-re-
NtlIigs " How frightfuJ!" yi-mug "despair" yi-re-mug "Alas!" Such exclamations
have apparently deep foots in the Tihetan language: in an archa ic ninth-
century manuscript from Central Asia we find the exclamation 0-"0 bu-re
stug-re-bsna/ "Oh my only son, what suffering!"

2. CONNECTIVES

2_1 _ THE CONNECTIVE ran

The connective Yair "EVEN, AL'iO" is clearly related to-hut is not the same
as-the bound adversative conjunction -mii "mfr." Like the conjunction
particle, the connective Yaii becomes kyaii after preceding final -g, -d, -h, <tnd
Os; becomes yaii after preceding final -ii, -Ii, om, -f, -I. and opcn stressed
syllahles; and becomes aii or yail ana precedi ng o pen unstressed syllah1cs.
The con nective Yair occurs within propositions but outside participants; since
the connective th us occurs frequently afta unstressed particlt:5 <tt the end of
participants. we nul infrequently find such resulting diphthongs as -(Jaml and
-duQn.

One functi on of thc connective YU/I is AllD\llVE: it serves to add the ~on ten t
of one sentence or proposition to the cOl11ent of a preceding one. The
connective generally follows the participant wh ich particularly supplies thc
additional information: compare rg}'a/.po hsod-llams-tlU/1 yan Idall "The king
has MERIT as well" with rgyo/-po yan bsoti·llam{-daii ldan "The KlNG tlX) has
merit."l A connective following the first participant in Ihe proposition Cflf!

1 NOle fuflher eJUlmp lcs fro m the biogt3phy o f Mf·La r3s-pa_iin·T/lii.gi rid·lonn dbon-J/wT
386 TilE C lASSICAL TIBETAN lANaUAGE

also indicate that the information being added is more general, as in Ichyeu
de yaii tshe Ndas-so "And thcn Ihc boy died," bsad-pa yon gram med-do "And
those slain were numberless.") Connectives in successive propositions can
emphasize their parallelism: the young Mi-la tells his prospective master Mar-
pa Ius ;wg yid gsum yan ,..hul, /10 gos tIllos gsum yan bfa-rna-fa iu "On the
one hand, I arrer you my body, speech, and mind; on the o ther, I ask the
lama for food. clothing, and teaching."

Sequential connectives within the same scr:lIence or proposition arc similarly

additive-for example, dge-tshul yan dge-slon yan Ndu "Both novices and
monks galher together," bu yaii bu-mo yaii 'KYo/-po nan-pas bsad "The
villainous king slew nOI on ly sons but daughters also," gser yan diiul yon mi·
sbyin-no " ) will give neither gold nor silver."

Another function of the connective Yon is to poi nt out when the informatio n
supplied in a sente nce or proposition appears improbable or unlikely in light
of the preceding text or in light of general knowledge or expectation. Again
the connective generally follows the participant which pa rticula rly sUFplies the
improbability: compare Ndre-bus rgyol·poaii sluag "Even the king is scared of
the lillie demon" with Ndre·bus kyO/I rgyaf-po sluag "The king is scared even
of a lillie demon." Other examples include ka r-fa.po ni Nbum yon .t hyin " I will
give even 100,000 cowries," siior-fns kyan lhag·pa yin "This is even bener than
before," dge·sloii gffig kyaii m~ "There is not even a single monk," no min
gtan.t!ig yin./lQ gsod-duan yon " If it were one other than myself he would
even ltill you," rifj·por ma·lotl·po; smra yon fa "Before long he could even
speak," iied·/a fog kyan mi·zer "They did not even invite us.'.4

paiI)'OII J~am.po b)tsil "The lhollah t occurred to my mind Ilso that he would bestow the
initia tion," /D./o.s bkl'mIl mll'·poail u,.·Iiii ~g '1bere I re some.,.ho call him una MIT'pa
as well," 1111 du ~ b/D·ma-daii mdlal·bai mlhun·'~n byas·pas.liii·gi miii·laaJI "wwn·rl')'en·
tJ.. tJhllp "Since Ihlt field sen'C4 as the ro nunate circumstance fo r meetina my ~m.a, its
name came to be Fortunate Circumstance as well," yum·gyi lal·1IDS do·lan Jchyod"llii )'Gil
dbWl ·lig fhob'JNl b)oN pun "The Mother said, 1bi! lime we shall have you tOO "': ;In
initiation.' "

] The choice o f rcadinp, of oourse, depe nds o n .... helher the immediately pl"COlldina
participant Is prOCll:$$c:4 as OLD tNFORMATIOH (kIIyni rk ~ UM IlliaNO " And lhen the boy
we have been talkina abo llt died") o r NEW INFORMATION (kIIyni tk ~ UM /Idm.SQ "The
boy also dlc:4, In add itio n 10 the other pcnons we have bocn talkin, abo ut").

• This usc: of YWi Is o fte n ro und after I nominaUzc:d prOp05llion in lhe sellinl 5101
marked with the locu! pan ide ·tIll "In Ihe case lhal ..." With YilA, th i! circulMlance Is
 387

2.2. DISCOURSE CONNECTIVES

One way of achieving textual cohesion is through what we will call DISCOURSE
coNNEcnVES- con nectives in the setting S[OI of the proposition which
explicitly connect that proposition or sentence to the text that has preceded
it. Such discourse conne~ljvcs may be phrases. such as de-nas "thereupon" or
bye-brag-tu "in panicula r"; or they may be propositions., such as Ndi /la -sle
"for instance" or yill-kyuii "neverthetess.'" Like the English discourse can-

pointed to as wnlrary \0 fact or expectation or dcsirc-lhl.lS "Allhough/Even IhOI.lgh/Even

if ... " Note the following examples from Ihe up-par bJad-fX' rin ,po' fJ~i 810 of s.a-skya
pal;J<;Iila-blo-grru 11hm -po l'gUlI_na ran, lhag-pilr blo-gros JlooS-/&'" ~'''A1lhough Ihe wise
grow frail, their understanding groW5 strOnger," bla.nan j~$'pa man-no ran. I'f{)u-sknr blin-du
pal ",i -nus "Even if fooliSh scholan arc many, like tile planets they Cilnnot illuminate:'
toiJ}'O'-bo Ihob-[HIT IO",-na yo;;' bsod-'lOms "ltd-no ga-Ia nag -'Even Ihough }'flu manage 10
galher weallh, how pn. il la~t if you have no merit?" dllm-pa srog-/a bab -m:. yo;;' raii.blin
b~aii·po 1:f/-/tl /JJ", "11'10ugh a holy man be in danger uf his life, how can he cast uide his
inherent vinue?" And nute Ihe following vcrses:

gllii·na blll·b/uil rod flu "IOu:

dI.'Qs·fH' ; brtl -ba blJol-)"';; /o'bros
grom·,u,;; btod-Klld Jts-na)",d
mdtug-ma med'fHli kJlyi 'Xun)'in

Hc rUM 10 ..... here there is fow and drink;

Ihough charged with nc!;.C,..... ary work. he OCCli.
Evcn thuugh he knows s l ori~ and jokes.
he is an old dllg ..... ithuut a t~il.

h/o-IJhu;; nraii .du /JJus·na rllii

byo·ba IJh r n-po sgrob ",i·nus
mi ril)'uii nrtl;; .Ju $dum· nll }'II;;
khoii ·pai gdllii-nlll blOr./-par dim

Even if many fooli~1I pcuplc gather

Ihey cannol accnmpJiSh great deeds;
even if you lie together many single ~lfa""5,
il is hard fo r th em to support a 1I0Ulie beam.

DisrouI'$C eonn«tives such as Ik-mu "thereupon" or )'in-k)'OII "nevcllhdes.s," which

uplkitly rder to tile oonlenl of Ille preceding texl. can be called Inaphotic or BACK.-
kEJ-"EkIl.INC oonnectives. Disooun(: oonn«:liva such as ~-b'/lg-III "in panieubr" or Ndi 110-
Ire "for iMunce," which ind iCilte lhal ..... hal follows is linked to the preceding tUi as an
«ample o r sp«ification, can be caUed IN~"ANTlAnNC connectives.
388 TH E CLASSICAl. TIBETAN LANGUAGE

nectives-such as therefort! .or hence or moreover-Tibetan discourse

connectives tend to be stereotyped in form and often archaic in navar. It is
only among discourse connectives, for example, that we find preserved the
archaic determiner 0 "TI1ERE"; and we find archaic contractions preserved as
well-for example, on < o-na and gal < go-fa < gon-Io, as in on·te "011 the
other hand" and gal-te "if,"

2.3. PHRASAL CONNECTIVES

Many discourse connectives are simply stercotyped nominal phrases,

frequently with an explicitly bClck-referring determiner, used in the selling slot
to link that proposition or sentence to Ihe preceding text-thus de-nos
"thereupon," de- Io "in that regard," drs "therdore," de YUHIU "in that case,"
0- /10 "now, well, but," gon yill-na "in any casc." Such connectives are often
adve rb~: note such back-referring adverbs as de llar "thus," de btin-du "thus,"
dei phyir-du-de phyir "for that reason, therefore," gan-gi phyir-du-gaii phyir
"for which reason, wherdore," and su~h instant iating adverbs as spyir
"generally," phal-dher "for the most part," bye-brag-Iu "particularly," khyad-
fXJr-du "especia lly:.6

2.4. Yan IN THE SETTING SLOT

When Yan occurs, stressed, in the setting slot of a proposition, it indicates

that all of the information in the following proposition or sentt:nce is to be
added to what has gone before; thu~ stressed initi:11 Yon may he glossed as
"moreover, further, in addition, al$O, again, once more"-for example, yaii
b/on-pos [us-pa, grsaii-pa-Ia mam-pa man "Moreover the minister said,
'Oeverness comes in many forms.'" In an archaic administrative invoice
found at an eighth-century Tibetan garrison in Central Asia, we readyan gro

, Some phTaHl connectives with the locus panicle ·1113 appear to derive from nominaliz.cd
propositions with omitted v<:rbs, yielding what $eCm to be: double role: panicles_for example,
~-fID ~ ror Qimple," presumably a stereotyped contract ion of a ?hTa.~ ~uch as dp<t brdlod·
fID "If one would loti it forth as an cumple .. . ," or mdtN·1IO "in briel," presumably a
stereotyped contraction of I phr~ such as miJlN b!tW.IIQ ·'If one would summarize it as In
.phorism ... Elsewhere the preSlolmlbly omiHc:d verb is less clear, but mly welt be simply
M

17H-ror ,Qimple, tU /lar.nD ~ in that ca!ol:,~ <US'IIQ "Ihe(erore,~ ck-bDS-rw ·'therefore."

BEYOND m E SENTENCE 389

bre drug phul./e rgyas blab "In addition, six bre of wheat were delivered and
were sealed"; in the biography of Mi·la ras·pa we find yon bla·mas byon.nas,
mlhu·t!hen khyod nsig-pai mkhar ~; sui yin gsun "Once again my lama
arrived and said, 'Magician, whose is this lower you aTe building1, ..1

The stereotyped expression Yan·na in the setting slot means, for reasons I do
not know, "or else, otherwise, on the other hand." For example, Sa-skya
pal)c;\ita writes yon·tan kun·rdzogs skye·bo sten, yan.na tha·mal NgT'OgS'po bdt
"Adhere to people of perfect virtue; olhelWise it is easy 10 be associaled with
the vulgar_" The connective Yan·na L.. thus often found in the setting slot of
a proposition which fo llows the alternative conjunction -Am "OR"-for
example, again from Sa·skya pal)c;\ita, rnda·yiJ pha·rol gsod·poam, yun.na rmi·
nid MIhag·par "'KYur "An arrow either kills the o!her person or else is itsdf
broken," mkhas·po giall-Ia Mad·paam, yan-na H-ba; nagHu sgrub "A wise
man is either a leacher 10 others, or else meditates in a peaceful forest."
Sometimes the connective Yan -nu is fuund ;n sequentiaJ sett ing slots to offer
a series of alternatives-Jot example, Mar-pa offers to Mi-Ia the choice yan-
110 flo-gos stet I!hos gtull-nus /Shof, yan-na I!hos steT lta-gos gtan-nas /S/lol
"Eithe r I give you food and clothing and you seek the dharma from
elst!where,' or I give you the dharma and you sed food and clothing from
elsewhere."

The connective Yan is also part of several back·referring phrasal conllectives

-de yan -dean "in that regard," gtan yan "furthermore," on /cyan "never-
theless," yin.naan "anyway," d~ Ilar-na yan " in any case," gan ltar·na yon "in
any case." After Mj·la has told his prospective master Mar-pa his whole sad
history, Mar.pa says. Ndug gan Ilar-naan Ius nag yid gsum Nbul zer d~ bzan

1 The txpTeMion )'QII-yoil-or )'Qii-dli )"IA-du or y.m.na.s )'<l1l·du-simi1llrly m~1U "again

and apin"_for eumple. in the following verse by sa·skya p,a1)4ila, who writes,

fJfun,poI sog·pai sdug-fJsillJ1.ilid

m)'Oil-gi spyod.poi lwk mi-mJOit
yuilJQ/I ifu/·till /1Q-fJQ-yi
NdIuns-poi na ni tryi-fJQ ,'J/ira

Fool$ wle the pain of pthering

but do not wle the pleasure of spendi ng:
the we.alth of I miser who again and again
sn~ks in and looks 11 il is ~ke Ih.a l of • rat.
390 TilE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

"Okay. In any event, I like the pan where you offer me your body. speech,
and mind."

2.5. PROPOSITIONAL CONNECTIVES

Some discourse connectives are stereotyped propositions (ollowed by

conjunction particles, which connect the second member of the conjunction
to the preceding text. The adversali\'c conjunction ·Yaii "Btrr" is found in
such stereotyped expressions as yin .lcyan "nevertheless" and gaii yin.qoii "in
any case"; the coordinating conjunction ·srt "AND" is similarly found in Ndi
flo-ste "for instance," de bIin-1t "in tbal case," do-Sft "hencefonh," and Lfi·
sle-(h-sle-on-tt-gal.tt "if." Note also the campou,nd stereotyped expressions
t!j.slt.na-on-tt·na-ga!-te-na "but if, if however, even supposing that,"

3. SENTENCES AS PATIENTS

It is possible for a SENTENCE to function as the patient of certain events, such

as those expressed by such verbs as GsuR "say," ZER say," SHAM "think," t»u
U

"ask.," tv "request," JES "know," LLt "see," and KI'OG "examine." That such
patients are sentences rather than propositions is shown by the presence of
sentence-final performance particles bero re such verbs-for example, Jar-
phfogs-nas on-no Jes "They came from the east, 1 know," lIJeb-bam hIeb-bam
siiam "I thought, 'Shall I kill myse lf? Shall I kill myself?'" fia-la tfhiJn nwn-po
Ichyer-lig glum "'Bring me a lot of beer!' he said."

The proposition containing a sentence as its patient participant can in tum

be nominalized, a device of which Gtsan-smyon he-ru-ka, among others, was
rond; for example, in his Mi-Ia ras-pa cycle, we find such a nominalized
proposition runctioning as a no minal HEAD in Ichyod-la mlhu dken-po yod zer-
ba de bden-par Ndug "It is true what they say, that you have great magic
power," and as a nominal MODIFIER in mi-Ia rru-pa-14 gler yod zer-bai mi-
rntJms-kyi /chQr skyag gofi-tig llhug-tJig "Put a piece of shit in the mouths of
those who say Mi-Ia ras-pa has gOld!"

Sometimes such sentential patients are quite brief, and the reader must be
alen to recognize a sentence even in a single word-for example, nUllag:s-sam
Ius tuii gsuiiJ "'Is it all right?' I asked, 'All right,' he said," t.fhog.,am siiam-
flQ mi-llhog "If you're wondering, Is it permitted?-well, it isn't," kJryeJ-raii-lil
BEYOND 11IE Sf!lO'EHCE 391

.for gsun-bQ Ndug "He says to you., 'Come! ' " ned-/o Jog kyaii mi-zer "They did
not even invite us," yin Ztr snon "He said, 'It is,' and lied," dgOs-so siiam "I
thought, I have to." Nominalized propositions with sentential patients can be
similarly laconic-thus gyis ztr-bai gzl.lg,f "images regarding which it was said,
'Make them!'" or even Nbras-bl.l tshur Jog-gi yid-mum "a wish. 'May the fruit
of this return to mel""

3.1. QUOTE OPENERS

Several expressions are used in the setting slot of a proposition to indicate

that an immediately following sentence is the patient of a fina: verb of
speaking: these expressions are conveniently called QUOTE OPENERS. One such
quote opener is 'the expression na-re. of uncertain origin. which immediately
fo llows the identification of the speaker; the speaker has no overt role
particle, even with a transitive verb. For example, in the Tibetan translation
of the Abhidhannako!abha~a by Vasuhandhu, the various competing
philosophical positions are set forth with such quote openers as Jeha- lSiX na-re
"Some say ... " glan-dog na-re "Others say .. ," siion-gyi slob-dpon M-rt:
"Masters of the past have said, . ." mdo-.~de-pa-mam.s M-re "The Sautriin-
tikas say , . ," ~-brag-tu smra-ba -mams M-re "The Vaibha~ikas say . .. "
lrJuJ-tIh.e-ba.--IJUlms nQ-Te' "The Kashmirians say , .. " nub-phyogs-pa-dag n(l-re
"The Westerners say ... " Note the following examples from the biography
0( Mi-Ia ras-pa, wher;e we find la-Ia nQ-re bdell-ptl bden-te da-Ian ha ·J.~aii drag
ur "Some said, '1hIth is truth, but this is too lillich,'" or rgan-po-mums na-re
mo bsad-pa.s t!i·/o phan . , . zcr "The elders said, 'What benefit will it b:: to
JrjU her?' "

OtheJ quote openers are marc clearly adverbs or foc us part icipan ts~- f(lr
example, iitJj yid-Iil ... snam "In my mind, I thought ... " Ndi skad-du ... l:er
''This., in words., he said ... " Ndi snam...:ll.l , , . bsarns "This, in his mind, he
thought, ••" Wbere the quote is from a text, the source is ciled with the
particle ./as (and often with the final veth byuR "occur, appear")-thus mdo-
las "From the scripture ... " Ndul-ba·las "From the ecclesiastical laws . . ,"
dbu-ma·la Hdtug-pa-/as "From the Madhyamakii vallira .. " or even such

• A. aenlentill patient differs from a rompJenlent ronsrrllction Wilt, the s..me verb. For
c:x&D1-PIe, tIhoI J1IDA III MBesIOW the dlurrn', I !lS1r." is a dirrerem c:oru truction than t1hru
pA-bM til '" ask Wt )'Ou bestow the <!hIlIlUI," and k t J.mrru ''' I Ir.now; he said" is a
dlllereDt ooDSttllCtion lhan JU-JII SItINU "He uid IIll1l he knew."
392 THE Q...t.ssICAL nBETAN L\N"OUAGE

combinations as IJhos miion-pa-Ias fold; skod-du "From the abhidhanna. this.,

in words ... " Quote openers with the honorific word lal "mouth" indicate
either a direct quote or an oral tradition descended from the indicated
person-for example, yab-kyi lal-nas bla-mai bka bsgrub dgoJ gmiis ·"My.
master said. 'One must accomplish the lama's commando'"~ bla·mai tal-nas,
khyed bud-med blo-mo zer·1uJ bden-par gda gsuiis "The lama said. "Ylle saying
is true, that you women are sharp-witted,'" rcHe-buWI-gyi Ial-nas, nan-pai nni-
wm mlhon-ba blin ma-daii Nphrad-pai skol-ba ma-byuii gsum "The Reverend
Master said, 'As I saw in my inauspicious dream;it was! not my fate to meet
with my mother.'"

When a large chunk of lext is to be quoted, such as when the speaker sings
a song or gives a metrical peroration, the quote opener may be marked with
the statement particle -0. When Mi-la. is about to sing, he narrates glu lid;
bluijs-so ") took up this song," often with a brief indication of the nature of
the song-for example, ran·ia /JJag·lldtbs-lcyi glu Nth' bia;u-so "I took up this
song of self-reproof," bdt-ba inai glu 1«1i bfaiis-so "I took up this song of the
five pleasan t things," mdhi·ma NkhlUS biill.poi iiaii-nas gtu Mii bfaiis-so "In
a state close to tears, I took up this song_'" In the archaizing chronicle Rgyaf·
robs gsa/-bai me-foii, the putatively historical characters frequently make long
melrical speeches to each other, and we find such highly stereotyped quote
openers as Hdi skad ur-ro-Ndi skod byas-sQ "This, in words, he said, , ," Mli
skod des Clol-to "This, in words, he thus besought ." Ndi skad IJp bkIJ
stsa/·lo "This, in words, he thus commanded, , ,"

3.2. THE QUOTE CLOSER TSes

How does a reader know when a quote is finished? One way is by noting the
verb of speaking immediately following its sentential patient-for example, as
when Mar-pa and Mi-Ia have the following interChange:

maT'po byon"las kllll-la gzigs-nog lib-mo mdzad-nas, bu·dhm

gsum·pos bsgril-bai rdo de-/a pllyag-mdzub btsugs-tt, mthu·tlhen
rdo lidi ga-nas byuii c;suR, tllUgs·srQ$ bu·dlrtn-'niams-kyis sku·
rtsed·/a bstlams byuii-ba lags tus-pas, a-no kiloii-tshoi mos
khyod-kyi mkhar.las·kyi go mj.tJll()d, rdo Adi il.OIl·/a dan.poi sar

, When Mi·Ja $ings 10 a superior, he sa)" gIw Hdi phul·/O '" olTered up Ihis son&- WbcA
H

a Jllpc:rior sings 10 Mi· la, Mi·la nanale:t Ihe evenl IIonoririeat/y as mgur _ pIlJ-slJ.
BEYOND TIlE SENTENCE 393

skyol GsuR, mkhar Ndi mi-bJig-pai tal-bIes yod tus-ptU, de yod-

de ... Jam bJig-pa ni min rdo lIdi thon·la raii-gna.s-su skyo/ GsuR

Mar-pa came and made a careful inspection of everything. He

pointed to the stone the three disciples had rolled up. "Magici-
an, where did this stone come from?" "Your three discipleJ
brought it in sport." "Wel~ their stone is inappropriate for your
tower work. Pull out this s~ne and take it back to its original
place." "You promised this tower would not be destroyed!"''So
I did. But this is no t to destroy the whole thing. Pull out this
stone and take it back to its own place."

I have capitalized the verbs of speaki ng in this passage for ease of reference.
Notice how easy it is to keep track of who is speaking at any time in this
exchange. The fint speaker must be Mar-pa, because he addresses the other
as mthu-lIhen "magician," the epithet by which Mi-Ia was then known; then
a tum by Mar-pa is indicated by the honorific verb of speaking GsuR "speak/'
and a turn by Mi-Ja by the humble vc:rb .?f speaking tu "request."tO

But, in addition, the particle ties can be used to indicate that a previous
quoted discourse has ended, and thus, too, to mark a preceding discourse as
attributed to one other than the present speaker-for example, from the
Tibetan translation of the Madhyamakiivtlliira by Candrakirti, NdiK'lis-ga rgyu
met/-par NgyUT-ro, Ia Nl!had-pa n~ NgQgs-na rlcytn yaii g(1ii-lig yin "And what
are the grounds for refuting those who contend, 'These both are without
cause?'" or, from the Ugs-par bJad-pa rin-po-tJhei gtu by Sa-skya pal)"ita,
sgom-na thos·pa mi-dgos la, blun-po blo-rgya IJhuii-iiu smra "1£ you meditate
you need not have learning, say fools of little inte lligence.,,11

10 Thb pasNfC, by the way, contains an inlercstingliule tmual puu.Je. The blockprint
from Spo I.n KhIIms bas the tc.4inl gzigs-IO( lib·mo, while those from Bsun·rtyU-llili in
UlaN Oly and from Bkra~is Ihun-po have the ru,4in& &tigs-Ior dgtl-lrlo, and that from
SpIIlb-thaft in BhuLin bas the reldinl gzigs.nor dga-mo.. There can be liule doubt that the
correct ra4inl of the fint 'NOr4 is gzigJ-nor "inspotlion, examination. presumably a
R

so::oaCSary hanoriric of nor-po < RTAG "cumine, consider, .search into." But was Ihis
im~k?a orf&lnally lib·/f'W ."CUC1, prcds.c, tboroup" 01 dp-mo "happy. cheerful", I
cenalnly tblnk lib-mo m. kQ more sense in thb conla!; but I must confea thai assuminl
that rca4ln& to be ori&lnal makea • hlsh out of .ny reasonable fililtion of tile texts..

II 1lIc panicle rlu ''nius .bould_ln parallel wilb tile plrticlcl -Tfir.1td .T!iII, which
M

bc&ln witb tbe same morpbopbonemc 11-beoomc dQ .fler prccedinl fiul .f, -d, .Itd .b;
394 TilE ClAssiCAl TI8ETAN Lo.NOUAOE

When the particle 1'kJ is present, also, the verb of speaking may be less
explicit than, say, the verbs n.w "contend" and Sit/ItA "say" in the prcceding
two exampleJ-thus, again from Sa-sJcya pal)~ita, fwn -pa gtan-don sgrub·bo
les, snad btagNI4f Iii kiig·lo shyor' .. 'We act for thl.. sake of others: falsely say
the wicked, and stick to sin," or Ndi Mes Ndi "i dgra-bo tes, blo·grw dhuii -
mams so.sor Nbyed "Fools make diSlinctions-this is a friend, this an enemy,"
0'

bdtlg.gis bya-ba mtl-zin-pas

('C-lig du'iii khyod btug3 fa
mtJhj·nws bmans-t( gsol btab-kyaii
Htfhj·bdng bl!os-$u ga-ta roii

" I have not finished my warx,

so wail, ~oday. just a linle while."
Though one thus pray, choked with tears,
hOw can the Lord of Dealh change his mind?

Indeed, when the particle: 11u is present, there need be no explicit verb of
speaking at all, the particle alone: sufficiently indicating th at Ihe preceding
discourse is a quotation, Note the foll owing examples from Sa-skya p.II,lQilf1 :

become tu .fter precedin g fina l _II, on, .m, ,r, .1. lin<! ope" syllable'>; Ino! beoome lts .fler
preocding tiM-I.1Id pOMfinal ,s. H()'W(:Ver, manll5(:rlplS not infrequently hav-; t n or fIts after
a pre«dinl syllable·final 'S, ralher tha n lu, probably because lhe La u et aJ lomu rph loon
confusingly like a stem of Ille verb Ju "know." Thus, for cumpJe, JIliny bJlXkprinlS of the
up.JXl' bfiJd.pil rin'P(Nlh<i srt,
II)' Sa·S~;)'3 p~ ~~ ita ~ive the leadi ng t t J in, ~y, Sgom ·fHl
fhos·pil mi·dgos t t l "If you me4it-.te, yo u don' t !lew I....a.rn ing, tlley say," ral h,,' Iba n the
"correct" Jgvtn·M IhoJ'JHl mi.dgos JtS, which oo u)d Ulotly b;': read as " !f you med lla lt1, you
don 'l need learning. Ihey know,"

The p.anicle 1.1#:1 iUlTUI t le.r.rly relille4 10 Ihe verb TIm : "s~k , say." The part itLe has
retained silllificalll Iraces o f verbality: it can, l'Ipparcnl ly , be no minali~..ed , as in InuII!tJ-pG
NJd·kyf nUll yin '11Ie word Jnun is .1 term fo r di!oC.l!oC"; il can be foll oww try I oonjunttiQn,
as In rd-", .I!Dn-Jtnu mtd ats·!t, phll·rot kl"'·/Il yid rn j·t/rftlll "You un uy. ' ! I:.w~ 1-.0 "art
thouJllts In)'Klf'; bUI ckIn't trwt anyone else"; il can be followed tJy a perfo rm r'lr ,.~ . 'l-
as when a quote endJ, si mply. 1J,,·so. A tIOminalizecl ne., is frequently t'l:' ,-~
ronclusion of a bllXkprint or manw.cript, in the StCrcOlyped expre<.sio Tl t::~ r' oJ , .... '
or "Tk1.ptJ Ndi)lOll . .. ..hith marks the col'l ei !/..~ion or , he lext pl(... ~; a nd the bc &inn ing o f
the colophon.
BBYOND ~E SarrENCE 39S

siiiii-lil Ichon-du sdaii blllii-nas

kJIIJ-1o tshig·bzaii smrao fa
dra1i-sroii gdug·pai gdams·iiag-stt
dJJm-pai IshuJ-daii NgtJI·ba yin
"Hate firmly in your heart,
and speak good words in your mouth."
This is the teaching of a vicious sage;
it contradicts the way of the holy.

dug.gi roa·ba Ndon·pa lh2r

dgra-bo mad·nos blIad-do fa
rgyal-poi lugs.las Nbyuii.mod·kyi
bu Min bskyans-nas bu blitz byed
''Tear out your enemy by the roots
as you would tear out a source of poison."
Though this is found in the book of DUgs,
jf you protect someone like a son, he will act like a son.

And the particle ms, without specirlC attribution to a source, can indicate
simply that the preceding statement is being reported as hearsay, or as based
upon tradition; for example, in the Ge-sar epic, we read the following
description of a magical chiid-libu min-po phtu-gu lxU·mo-lig-1il gyur.lt, ro-
ma·/a blaii-na f14 I§t l . grib-Nkhyagl-Ia bor-na Nkhyags del "The coarse worm
became a iender chi!d: if put in the sun would melt, they say; if left in the
shade would fre eze. they say:'

The expression B el bye, with the future stem of the verb 8'£01: "do, say," {and
the elegant equivalent T$es DCYI. with the future stem of the verb BGY1
"speak. say") follows a nominal with the meaning "be called, be named"-for
example, Sanskrit (cnocyarilt Wald dha1TJ1Q iii Tibetan dtNUJ dge·baj t1hos·
moms Ies byao "Thc.refore they are called 'virtuow elements ...• This exprel-
sian is frequently nominalized as T$es bya-ba (and the elegant equivalent l'ks
bgyi·ba) and modifies a nominal head with the meaning "so called, thus
named"-for example, Sanskrit hhiimir iii gati-llifaya/;l Tibetan sa its bya-ba
ni go-slwbs-kyi yui-te "What is called 'earth' is the realm of extension,"
Sanskrit moho lliimiillidylI Tibetan rmoiis'pa fa bya·ba ni ma-ri&-pa·ste "The
term 'delusion' meam ignorance," mal-Nbyor-gyi dbaii-phyugyul gna·nam grad.
po phug les bya-bai blti-gnas dam-po-na Mugs "The Lord of Yoga dWelt in
the holy pilgrimage place named Stomach Cave in the country of Gfta-nam. H
396 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

The nominal ~s bya-ba is also often found in book titles-for example,

Sanskrit Arya-sarradhi-ninnocana-niim(l-mahiiyiina-sWra Tibetan Nphags-pa
dgoiis-pa nu-par H8"1·ba lu bya-ba theg-pa 1J~It-poi mdc "The Noble
Mahayana Scripture entitled Clarifying the Intention," Sanskrit Subhii$ila-
ratnn-nidhi-nama-IQsml Tibetan legs-par bIad-po rin-po-tJhei gter les bya-bai
bstan-btIos 'Treatise entitled Precious Treasury of the Well-spoken," mal·
Nbyor dban-phyug dtJm-ptl rdIe-btsUII mi·fa ras-pai mom-tha, thar-pa-tklii
thams-tJad mJchyen-pai Jam ston les bya-ba "The Biography of the Holy Lord
of Yoga. the Reverend Mi·1a ras-pa, entitled Showing the Way to Freedom
and Omniscience."

Another member of this family is Ihe stereotyped expI;cssion Tk-na "If one
says . . ... 11 The expression is first found in the translation literature,
especially of Sanskrit commenta ries, where it marks both rhetorical questions
and statements by philosophical opponents which are 10 be refuted. For
example, in the Tibetan translation or the MadhyantavihhiippIcQ by Slhira-
mati, we read the quoted statement tJhO$-mams ran-hIin-gris od gsal·bo-nid-
du mi-nUi-iio fe-na ... "1£ one says, 'It is incorrect that events are inherently
colorless light ... '" or, in the Tibetan translation of the AbhidharmalinJo-
hhiiD'O by Vasubandhu, de Ita-no o·no ni mom-par Ies-pai khnms drug-po-dog
lIaii-gi yin-par mi-Ngyur-te, de-dag yid-kyi khams·iiid-du ma-gyur·pa ni sems-kyi
rt{'ll-du mi-Ngyur-ro fe-1Ul ... "If one says, 'Well, in that Case, the six fields 'o f
perception are not internal, and, not being within the mental field, they are
not a basis of thought ... '"

However, it is much more common in the translation literature-and

especially in the later classical texts-for ~-na to be preceded by a question.
Such a question can be an information question-for example, from the
MadhyQnlavihhaga(ilc4, gal-te tIhos-mams ran.MiII-grit ad g:sal-ba-;w yin-no
dli liar siiar kun·nas iion-mons-pa phyis mom-par byan fe-no . .. "If one ub,
'1£ events arc inherently colorless light, how can they first be obscured and
then cleansed?' .. ." or, from the AbhidhilrmakoIabhiil)la. rlun-la Icho-dog d1.i
Itar yod Lfe-na, don Ndi ni dad-par bya·ba yin-gri rdtes-su dpag-par ni rna-yin-
no "How can air have color? This is a matter of faith,! and not a matter for
investigation." Or it may be a yes-no question-for example, from the
AbhidJaannDkoIabhiiD'O, mig kyan Ius-Icyi dbaii-po blill-du yul de phrad-ptl-tiB
yin-nom leona . , . "1£ you ask, ']5 the eye, too, something that contaCU its

12 Tbe oprcsslon T.k'''Q is, '1Iin, clearl)' rclaled 1101 only 10 T'k$ '''IUS" bill also (0 (he
verb rolE "speak, u)'."
BEYOND TIlE SENTENCE 397

object, like the sense of touch?' ..." or Hdj-la don-f1IJJnLf kyan dbaii·byed·pa
ma.yin.nam !.~-na ... " If one asks, 'As for that, aren't external objects. also
organs?' ... " Indeed, the ~urrence of m-na with questions was sufficiently
expected that it became a way of marking an indefinite determiner as
interrogative: a proposition such as N,Jj-la ston-pa-iiid gt1n yin l~ ·na in the
MadhyilnlQvibhdga(l1cii is, context aside, clearly to be read as "As for that,
what is emptiness?"

3.3. QUESTIONS AS PATIENTS

k we have seen, question sentences can be patients of verbs of speaking-

for example, na gan ZQ zer nu·!.iii Hdug "'What willi eal?' she said, weeping,"
nuhu-tIMn las tIi ~-tIiii Hdug p un "He said, 'Magician, what work are you
doing?''' su yin dris Jog "Come ask, 'Who is it?'" gar son pun .. 'Where did
he go?' he said." But, in addition, question sentences can occur as the patient
of certain verbs which are not verbs of speaking-for example, lD. "see.,"
STON "ShOW," Sa "know," RfAG "examine," DRAN "remember." With
information questions the interpretation of such constructions is fairly
straightforward-for example, Hdj GAR yin iias brtag "I will find out WHAT this
is," na-bun HAM yat mj-ks "We do not know WHEN the fog will lift," su yin
blta "We will see WHO it is," rmi·lam -la byun-sa mN-pas NI yin mi-Jts "Since
dreams have no meaning, I don't know WHAT this one is." With yes-no
questions the analysis is slightly more complex. \3

\3 Two dilkrenl .na~ lie possible lIere. Look II IlIree prop05iliollJ fro m. poem by
J..o. ..... pa-IM.bun
HAM yal mi·kl "We do nol 1r.now WHEN lhe fOI willlirt," JbraA·rui SIIS
tpyod mi-Ju " We do IIOl know WHO will \UoC tile hoDCy," IGU pIt.aIt t£.dwp mj.Ju "We do
DOl 1r.Dow WH£rnER lbis";l1 brinl prOfiL ~ There is every reasoD 10 believe lhal lbe lulllor
relt lbele Q)lIIlrUC1ioN; 10 be palllileL Now OK .nalysis-lhe one propolCd bere-likes, u)',
1WI-bwI_)IIII II I q~tlon lenience " WIleD will lhe fOllifl?~ fuDCIIoDiDl1i lhe pallenl
of t!Je verb 1£s .. ~; Ibit ....lysil derives tbe readinl "We do nolinow when lbe foa";l1
lift" from IlIe readl. , "WIlen twill lbe fOI Un? We do fIOl know." The olber I"'lysis-
\.Ili1iaUy allnlCliYe-would Like IID'bun /lam ytd II a .bonened form, willloul lhe .1tl, ot a
relllMzcd prDp05ldoD modifyial an omincd bud uDdenlood 10 be IOmethinl like dw
"1."; lhit; ....lysil dertYa; !he mean.inl "We do DOl blow wbea lhe fal will lift" from In
IlDdeflyinl'(IWI-bws _~pGl_' mi·Ju " We do DOt know (Ihe time) when tbe foa";l1
IJJI.•

'IlIe IIoeCOGd 1...1yIb, I Ibini. cannol dell witb • prOJKl'illoa .ucb II IGU pI\mIN-1hop mI-
Ju "We do DOt know wbelber Ihis ";11 brinl profiL "1'bc: .nalysb propolCd bere L11r.es 1ItIiz
398 THE ClAssiCAl. TIBETAN l...-.J.iGUAGE

When a yes-no question is the patient of such a verb-and not when it is the
patient of a verb of speaking-the question particle -Am after the verb can
optionally be replaced by the particle le- BEFORE the verb: thus. for example,
we find both bden-par Ndug-gam bl1ag and bden-por le-Ndug bnag "We will
find OUI whether it is truc." Frequently the alternative nature of the question
sentence is made explicit in such a construction-thus. for example, la·lchu
Jiam .ma-!i biro " I will see whether or no t my uncle has died," la-ne skyid-
da m mj·skyid blla "I will see whether my aunt is happy or not"; or, with le-
replacing -Am in the first of the two altemativeJ, ?t-nus mi-nus mi-ks "I do
not know whether or not we can." Note the following examples of embedded
yes-no questions with the prefiX le- from the biography of Mi-la ras-pa-
Lfhan·fig ?e-g1lan ltos "See if they will give us some beer," m yor byon-IUU
bla-ma· /a fu-skabs ?e·Ndug bltQJ "Some of them went up and saw whether the
lama was in a mood to lislen," kilyed-dan ?e·phrad mi-Jes "I don't know if I
will meet with you again," khan -po 7e·Nphrod de-no . . . "If you ask whether
this house will prosper ... "; and, with ?e· replacing -Am in the first of tw{)
allcrna liv~s, na; gdams·nag sgom nU,f·na uhe Ndir .fam ?e''XYa mi''XYa yon stan·
pa yiJl "This doctrine of mine is one that will show, ir you can meditate on
it, w he th e r or nOl you will become a Buddha in this lifetime."

phlO fI ?!'··rho<,.:r u regularly derived from a qucstion sente nce NdU phD" fllllp·S"," or even Ndis
phi'" Ih0t;s ·f(l f{l nr; ·/hO"t:J "Will tll is bring pro~I?" whe n it runctio ns IS the pltient o f a verh
s "~h ~~ .tn "k now." ; am 11m a t all ~ lIre how the second anal)Sis Vo"(luid even begin 10 ha lMlk
a pmp()~i "o'l sueh as t h i~. (n iaet. ( tllink tile ~nd .nat)Sis has Ot her problenu as well.

!r: Iht: biography IIf Mi·). ralO ' pa we fi nd III1J'pa .III rl ht·/xI WID " We will see who is mo re
ab!c.· The nominal flU S' pD musr here be interpreted as having a human referenl, bea\.tSoC it
j~ f(:1;,l<:~ ~JIlI~ctically II> .III-thus, in this propositio n, "II.1·pa "person h.ving .biliry· .-:: NilS
"w; ai- Ie.'" ti m)":1 the seco nd anal~is, Ihe proposition would be: read IS fW.I'fNll(~ tfhl").pol!'
Ii 111'<1. In mh ~f wo rds. il would be read a~ having. t:Kp(i~itly. bolh lhe .I'n and Ihe IIu<I of
Ihe "':)~ ll",' cu tls,,,,,l i,,n which were o milu:d in, say,1W' bu" "am ya1. Under this reading. (lie
nIHIl,r_;': Iu-r.u "".1'(,(, " pcrson ha"ing ;bilily:' however modified, would be the pllient of tiw:
,,":Ih i /.: "-..x.' BUi tllis is, I hcli..:ve, an incollfxt reading or the proposilion: the speaker
L, 11m !h-'~!'~'hng tha i we will sa: an ahle person, eve n a ,real one, bUI rattler Ihal we wi:!
~ Iii': tJut.;omc o f ~ dtcisiun as to whdl perw n 1:; mote . ble lhan Ihe olber, Under the
ti"t ~ "al:"I~.. on ihc IlIh e r halld, "",j .pil s'" lillt./J/l would be: read as lhe quest ion senlenc:e
·· Wh, .. ~ i><'::""GI,·II~ '·i ;! cah , lity (is) Ihe grea tef une?" funetionin, as the pi!ien! or (he YCrtI
1_1 .40 ",I.lC:' WHO Inc pal le n! sc me ncc hnir'g the equa ljye ycrb ulI$\lrprisin,ty omitted; thi.\
~n aly<i ~ <!e llyr_, \I.e (COlI/.ng " We will 5((: wM ·ts HIe mure: .ble fro m Ihe readin, "Which
M

loc rMl n .h,;v,nK·ahiI I\Y i~ the: grcale r one? We will SoQC," whic:1!. etrlXlivc:1y embodieS II\(;
un derl),'"f, sc n~c of ..:lIoice without irwokin!!! any 5pecill Nk:I.
BeYOND niE SEN1l!NCE 399

To show that alternative questions and constructions with 1~- are virtually
interchangeable as patients of these verbs, we can compare two different
versions of one song. traditionally attributed to MHa ras-pa. One version is
found in his biography by Gtsaii-smyon he~ru-ka, and the other is found in
the B;"a-brgyud mgur-mtsho, an anthology of the mystic songs of the Bka-
brgyud masters. These two versions differ in several intereJting ways; but note
in particular that. in the following parallel verses selected (rom the poem, one
version will have a yes-no question with le- and the other with -Am.'

Mi-Ia mam-thar Bkil-bTDud mw-mJsJuj

rna-'8an lus·kyi sgrom-bu
de, da-Ita sku-khams ?e-bzan
b/la
The old mother who was the
container of my body-I
will see if her health is
now good.
bIos-lUi or-mo gru-gsum
de, da-Ita Ndlag·skya le-
Hphyur bIla
iia-yi la-rna lus.Jcyi sgrom-bu
de, dus da·ita lig-gam rna-fig
bIla
My mother who was the container
of my body-I will see whether
or not she has perished.
gIan-fiii or-mo gru.-gsum-
la, NdIag-skya phyur-ram
ma-phyur bila

The food field Or-nlO Triangle As for the valley field Or-rna
-I will see if it is now Triangle-I will see whether
overgrown with pale grass. or not it has now been over-
grown with pale grass.

dam-t.fhos dkon·mlIhog dum-Lfhos glegs-bam

bruegs-pa de, dUf do-
Ita thigs-pas le-brdufir
blla
The precious holy dharma
stacked up-I will set if
it has now been ruined by
raindrops.
mlIhod-gnas dkon-mtIhog
lha-Hbum de, da-lla Mugs-
sam ma-btugs blla
fID/os-pa de, dus da·lla
btugs-sam rna-blugs blla
The numerous books of holy
dharma-I will see whether
or not they now remain.
bla-mlIhod dkor·giier lha -
Nbum de, dus da-Ila sku-
idIOms ?e-bzoR blla
400 THE cu..ssICAL TIBETAN l...ANoUAGE

The priest Dkon-mt!hog Iha- The priesl steward Lha-Nbum

Nbum-l will see whether -I will see if his health
or not he now remains. is now good.

4. FIGURES OF SPEECH

4.1. METAPHOR

Metaphor is one way of manipulating the semantic content of participants;

metaphor can thus have syntactic consequences, even though it is not itself
created syntactically. Moreover, metaphor can function across sentences: an
extended metaphor is a device of textual cohesion, a~ much 85 any connec-
tive.

Some metaphors are lexical. NOIe the expression thag TSIIAD "cut the rope,"
for example. Mi-Ia rss-pa says bdog iie4u.&ln NbreJ.thag btJad "I have cut the
rope that binds me to my family." One can re-thag Ti'(AD "CUI the rope of
hope" and thus give up one's plans; one can o-thag 7~HAD "cui the: rope of
milk" and thus wean a baby. Most important, one can blo-thag tlHAD "cut
the rope of mind" and thus end deliberation, make a decision, be sure about
something. Eventually this particular metaphor becomes dead, and the verb
compound thag-tlHAD "cut the rope" comes to mean, simply, "decide."

We also find rather dry and academic metaphors, in the Indic style, in the
classical literature; Tsoii-kha-pa, for example, in his Dgons-pa rob-gsa!
commentary on Candrakirti's MadhY(Jm(J/div(Jliira, writes as follows:

zab-tIiii '8Ya-tIh~i 1~-bIad

kun-gyi gt~r
Nd1ig-rt~n
kun-gyi ma-Ndris mdza-b!es-t~
sa-gsum NgrO-l(J lam-bzan mUhon-pai mig
'hub-dbaii smra-ba; fi.;-mas I1ag-ru skyons

Treasure of all the deep broad maxims,

Unasked friend of all the world,
Eye which shows the good path to beings of the three realms,
Sun of the master's teachings-ever protect us!

The native Tibetan poetic tradition is particularly rich in metaphor. In the

epic of Ge-sar we read of mtho nam-mkha mlhiii-gi gur-kJU1f1 "the azure tent
BEYOND mE Sl!NfENCE 401
of heaven on high." The horses of Tibet are descnbed as foUows:

Ichm.mo gliii-gi mdo-tJhci'f11(JtnS

14-10 _.po phyw.phyw mJ
IIwd-14 ~·kJw NpIuv.NpIuv mJ
dwr./Q rlJab-rgOd yru·yar mi

The great spotted hoJ'Se$ of Olin

are a swirling fos: upon the passes,
are soaring hawks upon the plain.
are a leaping avalanche as they descend.

Or again:

ru'NgQ slcyjd-kyi iii·nul NtIIuu

ru'NgQ Ndli&r-snaii rhUi·rutg HfShub
nJij·,smu dgoiis-lcai tWr-tJug·la
Jioms·,moJi rluJi-gis bskyod-bsJcyod·/UU

Sometimes the sun of fortune rises;

sometimes the storm of fear whirls about.
The winds -of thought disturb
the silken banners of the mind.

We also fmd frequent metaphors in the genre of lyric poetry called ""'..,.
"mystic song." Pad·rna dur·po particularly would build his poems around a
framework of extended metaphon; here, for example, he uses a series of
syntactically parallel and interlocking metaphoR to express his sorrow at
havina to leave the beautiful ~brag vaJley, where he has been meditating
with his disciples, in order to fulfil) his political and administrative respon·
sibilities elsewhere:

Ndzmn·gIUi I!Iw-nwho-"" N/I)Ni·ba ku.mud.kyi sdoii·po

tk-la mdm'fIJuBs-su ldDn-pa tIhu·Jel-K!i zla-ba
tlw-tJlwd iUn-muIuUI~ bgrod·pas zla·IHJ ;w LfJuu·1UJS
gliIi-pun IIin·Hkhor-la byaJ-ruu IJw..gIiii Ndir skb-oii
od-dJuu dgo .....-<tu H/l)'Od-do ku·..,ud·kyi "",,·tshal
SQ-smo.t' ,ur-ba·lIu sru/is-Jig siiag.Nlt!haii-gi rutg-po
 THE CUssICAl. TIBETAN lANOUAGE

Haughty in the southern lakes

are the stalks of water lilies,
and their lover
is the crystal moon:
wandering through day and night
I am the moon and must depart
to circle the wo rld in a day;
will return he re to the south
and hold 9 feast of white moonbeams.
o blackness of magicians!
protect from the hailstorm
my fo rest of water lilies!

span-glom mlhon-po·na mdzes·po span-rgyan-tJ'i snon-mo

de-Ia mdza-gtIugHu [dan-po stag-tIhuii-gi buii·ba
dus-tshod bser-bu-yis bskul-bas buii-ba nos tIiuu·nas
nags-mlha yud-tsam-tJ'u bskor·nas span·glons Ndir sleb.cii
giu-s,VO dir-dir-gyis Ngdu,so span-rgyan.gyi tshal·dhen
me-tog ba-mo-Ias slcyobs-lig lho -sprin-/D'i smug-po

Beautiful upon the high meadows

is the blue of thc flowers,
and the ir lover
is l ~e young tiger-stripc=rI bee:
impelled by the cool breeze
I am the bee and must depart
to eircle the woods in an instant;
will return here to the meadow
and fill it with buzzing song.
a mists or southetIl clouds '
protc(:\ from thl.: frost
my f(}fest of meadow flowers!

fho-brag luii-gsum- lla skyid·pa X',a.f-dh~n-gyi mkhar-Lfhu

ddo mdza-gtlugs·su !dan -po mol'Nbyor-gyi pad-dkar
dW-lSllod bya-blag-gis bTt/-bas pad-dlu1r iias lJluls-nas
fha-gtsaij skad -tIig-gis bskor-nas gnos-dh~n Ndir sleb on
dam-lIllOs dga-ston -du Nf:I~d-do .Vliir blugs-poi ml.Ihod-yon
kl,y~d-tIQg bar-IIirad-/as skyobs-lig bla.ma-yi dkon -mtIhog
BEYOND nm SEmENCE 4113

Delightful in the three valleys of tho-brag

is the holy Rwer Mkhar,
and iu lover
is the yogin Pad-ma dkar-po:
busy with things that must be done
1 am Pad-rna dur-po and must depart
to circle Lho-kha and Quang in a moment;
will return here to this holy place
and hold a feast of the holy Law_
o jewel of lamas!
protect from hindrance
my friends and disciples!

The followlng song similarly consists in a series of extended metaphors: Pad-

ma dkar-po sings of his desire to cast aside his administrative responsibilities,
to cease his wandering among the kingdoms of the world, and to live in
meditation by the River Mkhar:

1UJg.t-ldt ons phaf-mo-la Ngrim-pa T"6Y'I-slag-gi khra-bo

tsan-dan nags-ma-dan phrad-pas smll-rid-fa for-nas
nags-mlha slieg-pa-Ia mi-dga sl ag-piuug-gi gIOII-nu
Ndzum-drug bstan-sa-Ia bya yin t.fan-dan-gyi nags-rna

Th= striped tiger

wanders in ordinary woods
until he is captivated
by find ing the sandalwood forest.
Then the young tiger
has no joy dashing about the woods:
Ihe forest of sandalwood is t:.lf: pIece
for him to show his grin.

gaiis-ri zur-Icha -la Ngrim-pa sen-ge-yi dkar-mo

gaiis-slod mlhon-po-dan phrad-pas sems-yid-Ia Jar-nos
zur-kha-Io siltg-pa-la mi-dga sen-pJltug-gi gton-nu
g.yu-ral gsig-sa-ia bya yin gaiis-uod-kyi mlhon-po

The white lion

wanders beneath the glaciers
until he is captivated
404 THE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN lANOUAGE

by finding the high snows.

Then the young lion
has no joy dashing beneath the glaciers:
the snowy heights are the place
for him to shake his turquoise mane:.

mlsho-mJha sgor.mo.lil Ngrim-pa HgyW-ldan-Kfi na-mo

Uhu-kkUi dwans-mo-dQii phrad-pas s~ms-yid-la Jor-nlU
mlsho-ml~ siiq-pa-la mi-dga llaii-dJuu-gyi na-pluug
per-mig blla-sa-la bra yin g.YU-mlSho-yi siion-mo

The wiggling fish

wanders around the lake
until he is captivated
by finding the clear stream.
Then the young fish
has no joy dashing around the lake:
the blue of the turquoise waters is the place
for him to roll his golden eyes.

dguii-siion mlhon-po-fa "grim-pa byo-rgyal-gyi fKOd-po

brag-dmor ri-bo-dan pllrad-pas sems-yid-la Ior-nQ.$
nam-Hpllaii spyod-pa·la mi-dga llan-dkar-gyi gion-nu
gtog-phrug brkyaii-sQ-la bya yin brag-dmar-gyi mihan-po

The kingly condor

wanders the high blue heavens
until he is captivated
by finding the red rock mountains.
Then the young condor
has no joy soaring the sky:
the heights of the red rocks are the place
for him to spread his pinions.

rgyat.khanu phyogs.med-la Ngrim-pa maJ-Hbyor-gyi dpon-slob

gnas-tJMn mJchar-tJhu-4aii phrad-pas sems-yid-ia lor-fUJS
rgyaJ-IcJuJms Hgrim·pa-Ia mi-dga bsran·Hd:in-gyi gton-nu
sgom·sgrub Ntlag·sbyar-la bya yin de·bi·yi /ro-ti
BEYOND TIlE Sam:.NCE

The yogin and his disciples

wander thr~ugh all kingdoms
until they are captivated
by finding the holy River Mkhar.
Then the young scholar
has no joy wandering the kingdoms:
Devakoli is the place
for him to be sealed in a cave to meditate.

4.2. SIMILES
Similes., on the other hand, are created by a syntactic device; and similes-
especially extended ones-can easily cross sentence boundaries. 1Wo terms
are used in Tibetan to create similes-·blin "like, as" and ·lla--Jbl-bu--lIa-ba
"like, as." When used to formulate a simile, -blin and -lta--Ita-bu-·lta-ba
normally appear in adverb form. although the adverb particle -lU may be
'omitted under the constraints of meter; note, for example, in the lAgs-par
blad-po rin-po-tJh~i gt~r by Sa-skya pal)i;lita, blags-pai 1IOr ni sbraii-nsi-bar,
nam-lig glan-gyulpyod-po( NgYur"Hoarded wealth, like honey, will eventually
be enjoyed by others," bzo·yi rig-by~d sbya;u-pa-bar, dnm-dhos dka·ba rrud-
par NgTUb "Like mastering the instructions ·of a craft, the holy dharma is
accomplished without difficulty," lkye-bo dam-pa rin-tJhtn-bfin, mam-po kun-
/u NgyUf-ldog med "A holy person, like a jewel, is always unchanging," tJhuii-
rna bsad-pai thj-ba-ltar, gt"Ogl.dan bral-baj mya-nan thob "Uke the pigeon who
killed his wife, he gains the suffering of being without friends," lUi-bal dhun-
nus g.yo·bo·ltar, dman-poi lpyod-pa fl'KYUr-ldag dh~ uLike the flullering of
cotton because of any small thing, the conduct of the ignoble is changeable,"

pha·rol gnad-/u Hb~bs-JXli ullig

dgra-bo-Ia ran lmrtl ,m-bya
brag-I!ha blin.du ran-Ijjd-/a
d~ ma-thag-Iu I~-Ian Nb}Wi

Even to an enemy you should not speak

a word that touches the quick of another;
like an echo, the consequence comes
immediately upon oneself.

In each case, the simile-creating -btin or -Ita is preceded by a nominal

 THE Cu.ssICAL TISETAN l.....-\NGUAGE

phrase. simple or compJelC, with or without specifiers or modifiers-thus

sbraii-TUi-luJr "like honey," rin -dlun-btin-du "like a jewel," brag-dha -b2in-du
"like an echo," tJhuii-ma bsad-pai thi-ba-Itllr "like the pigeon who killed his
wife"; and sometimes with a nominalized proposition as its head- thus bzo-yi
rit-byed sbyaii.J-jNJ-lJar "like mastering the ins!ructions of a eraU," !m-bai
tlhuii4iur g_yo-ba-IJQr "like the fluttering of cotton because of any smali
thing," Where the conte nt of such a phrase is deemed recrn:erahle from the

L ______________~~:: ~t --Gasten Bachelard,

les rlves _ _ _ _
J
preceding text. it may. of course, be omitted; however, ~incc the simile-
creating -bIin and -Ita are BOUND, as indicated by !he hyphen with which !
write them, the phrase is l epre~ nt!;d by the phrase-d osing determiner de
" TI{AT" -thus sbran-rtsi-l:ar "like hUlley" dc-IrQ r " like that" but not? D-Itar, Tin·
dlun-btin-Ju "like a jewel" dt-btin-du " like th"t" but not ?fJ-b!i,l -dlt. Thus
we fil1d, again in the l...£g$-par b,fad-pa rin -pc-tJhei gte' by Sa-s k"a oal,l<)ita,

sdon.-po gt.fig-fas skyc.t-pu-yi

11sa-mll ntS d un-gil phyop' bC!/JI' Nthor
vS-Him lhtln -dig sKyes·pa-yi
slc~-br; /t.s -kyis so-wr /l'bml

TIle wind scatters in the IV1 directions

grasses born from e single stalk.
Lure n lA:r, karma ~coarate~
. .,
persolls who wc::re born together,'

14 'The ronn /k-tlm "like thar" ca n, or course:, rde r bitk to any prior elemelll of dis ·
OOIlI'Se, nI)l ncces.sari!y I simile , b UI includinr: (:tJurscs of fction. Thus Sa·skyl! pa l)i.! ita \¥T ires:

m/chas·pd }'Off·tan dJXlc,m(d-kyafi

&1a".gyi )'Ofr'la" dhult."utlfi It"
BEYOND TIlE SEN'TENCE 407

Similes can be similarly formed from nominals by means of the totalizer (Sam
"as much as." Note, for example, in the Tibetan translation of the Chinese
Ndzans·blUII fa bya·bai mJo, dum·bur btIad·pa tsam-du sdug.bsiiaf-gyis gdu.ru
"He suffered as much torment as being cut 10 pieces," bus rna mthoii ·ba
tsam-du dgo "He was as happy as a child seeing its mother."I S

Df:· LTAR ~n411 spy<ld-pa·yis

myur411 Ilulflu -tlad mkh~n -par ~r

lboUlh a wise man hYe numbcr les.s acromplisbmeills

he aoccpts even a SIN II picoc or learn ing rrom others.
By always accing lJlOi THAT
be 'Iuk:kly be(lumes omnisc:ic:n1.

This. is as plod a place 15 any 10 puint UUI lhl, in some le~Ili, where Ibe palicnl of ~ ve rb
of inrolmatKm is reooYerabie flllm oonlCll or genclal knuw!wgc. the omiuc:d r~uie nt
pankipanl is. represented, nOl, as we would Clrcet, with 8 or dt:·R, hUI willi dt:./taf _ thus.
again from s..·Skyd p<I~4ita,

dhOJ-44,n dlms· min sm ff/ ·!w ·fa

mldlaJ'pu jin ·tll muii'lIa }'<Iii
" ': · I .TAH. J.-s·NU ;;'lnlJ · kn ·J'~
Ndl,g·nt:n N/li.lla li".11I dktNl

There ~re m~ny wll" alc s killCIJ

in speaking 'Jf rigll! "nu "" I<)IIg;
bUI one who knoW!> J"I' amI mkes it 10 IIC311
is very 13re in Ihi~ wm ld ,

ilams.tIhllii .nuln .., .l.yis raii .nul-lyi

Jmfu·ba Ih(.mJ.I$ad Nkltruf·baf bsmu
/JIo:· /.TAH. go .naj mi·smra ·hai
mi·fa gfan .l'J'i$ bkur·bu nr

Humble pwplc .....iIl tll ink

Illal all tllcir own word~ alc mist~ken ;
1I0nor Ily o th crs is near Iu lhe man
who undemands 111lS, and duo nll! spea k.

"Note JIio the verb HlPa '"reso: mble, be like . be equal:' which occurs .....ith an ~ccompani·
menl as ilS alre p"nicip,ml-Ihu.s, for example, in a relalive (:tJIIStructiun fronJ the biotlaphy
of Mi.la. las-p", bod mll" ,"og·gi g!iii."a slc)¥s·bll l~aill ·la jH·ma Jaf·ba ...:Ua·furl)'Qii yQipar
~g '"Ye t Illere are in Ihis dark land of T itle l people like the s un rising nn tile glacic u .'"
408 THE CLASSICAL TIBETAN l...AHGUAOE

s. METRICS
5.1. DEFINITIONS

The Tibetan VERSE or metrical line consists of two or more f>1::ET, most
commonly between three and five; each foot consists of two POSmONS-ii.
STRONG position and a WEAK position; thus, for example, a three·foot verse
has the underlying metrical pattern

[(strong)(weak)} [(strong)(weak») (strong)(weak»).

Every word in classical Tibetan has a single primary SlllF.5S that falls on the
first syllable; bound forms (conjunctions, nominalizers, role particles, bound
quantifiers) are thus considered unstn::ssed. as are also l1i and ran, unless the
latter is the firsl word of the proposition; free quantifiers, numerals, and
determiners may also be ullSiressed in a weak position. We will $ymbolize a
stressed syllable 85 } and an unstressed syllabic as O.

It il ,we "uesmry th:u R poem lhouJd rely on its

mun., but if it iloeJ rely 011 its "lUlU that music
InUIt be JUdJ aJ will delight rhe "pm.

-Ezra Pound,
A Retrosptcl

Stress, however, is NEUTRALIZED in the last syllable of c=very verse: that is,
both stressed and unstressed syllables in verse final position count as bearing
the same stress; there is no s!'5tematic distinction of stress in this position.
Metrical symmetry suggests that syllables with neutralized stress be counted
as unstressed; thus the last 0 of any sequence symbolizes either 0 or J.

We must distinguish between periodical and aperiodical meters. In a

PERIODICAL ·METER each verse exhibiu the same mapping of stress onto the
metrical pattern; in an APERIOOICAL MErnR the mapping exhibited by each
verse may be different.
BEYOND THE SENIl!NCE 409

5.2. BASIC MAPPING

In a periodical meter, the simplest mapping of stress onto the metrical

pattern il for each strong position to be filled with one stressed syllabic and
each weak position to be filled with one unstressed syllable, as folk>ws:

(strongXweak)) (strong)(weak)} [(strongXwealt)]

1 0 I 0 1 a
This basic MAPPING RULE is precisely the one found in a large number of
Tibetan folksongs, with metrical lines three feet long, as in these examples:

101010 Iho-sa skyid-pai Sto-Ia

101010 skyid-t1hu$ g.yaHkor rgyab byuii
101010 mUj-mu ma-tJig dpal-lhai
101010 yon·tIhab ""'Iwd-po yod-dQ

101010 luHIllii smin-pai Nbras-bu

101010 gtan-Jas kJuJ-miiar /dan-pas
101010 NdIlb-Nbras pad-nul; stan-iUU
101010 g.yu-sbraii serns-po sJcyo ~yuii

This meter is also found in the mguJ-glu "love songs" of the sixth Dalai Lama
'I\hafi-dbyafil rgya-mtsho. poems clearly based on folk: prototypes., as in the
following stanza:

101~10 Iia-daii tshoii-Ndus bu·moi

101010 tshig-gnun dam-btIai mdud-pa
101010 Ichrag-poi NgtUl-/Q ma-rgyab
101010 raii·ran sa-to grol son
Lonaer versions of this meter, wilh four feet, can be found occasionally in
translations from Sanskrit, as in the well-known hymn BtJom-id411 HdDs-ma
yali1ilJg-par tdzogs-pG saiis-IX)W bstod-pa gsuiis-pG to the twenty~ne fonns of
Ihe pldeIs Tiri,

10101010 plrya,-NtsIuJ/ bskoJ-pGi fha-mai I'M-iuu

10101010 Nbar-bai phrdi-bQi dbws-ruJ. gruu-ma
10101010 &.,w-brA.yoil g.yon-bskwn .bm-na.r bskof'-dgai
10101010 d&ra-yi dpuii ni mJJm-par Ndtonu-trUl
410 TillE ClASSICAl.. TIBETAN l.J.NOUAGE

This longer meter 100 is not unknovm in native Tibetan poetry, as in this
mgur or mystic song from the Rdo-rdlei mgur sklll-ldan rid-Icy; mun-se/ of
Stag-lShaii rss-pa Rag.<Jban rgya-muho:

10101010 siiiii-nas byon-tIhub bsgrub-Ndod yon-kyaii

10101010 glo-bur rna-rig Nlchrul-JXj gtJig-gis
10101010 bsliJii-/tIJS mn-no l eNt ma-tshugs
101O}OI0 no ni nushan-ldan rdlt-dan mdtaf byuii

5.3. SYNIILEPHA

It is also possible to map two unSiressed syllables onto a single weak position:
this mapping is tradi_tionally called SYNALEPII..... By far the single most
common meter in classical Tibetan-used as the standard translation of the
Sanskrit JloJca as well as in much native poetry-has a metrical line of three
feet with a single syna1epha in the last foot, as follows:

[(5Irong)(weak)] l(strong)(weak)1 [(slrong)(weak)]

1 0 I 0 1 00

We may cite as examples the (ollowing stanzas from the lAgs-par bJad·po rin·
po'l!h~j gt~r
by Sa·skya pal)4ita:

1010100 ran·la bla·grol mi·Jdan-na

1010100 blo·lJh~n Ktan./a l~gJ.par dri
1010100 Jag·pal dgra·bo ml.glod.na
1010100 mlShon·tJha len.par mj-bytd-dam

1010100 mkhtu·pa bya-ba ma.yin·poi

1010100 bya·ba Iu·kyaii mj·bya-o
1010100 glaii-pos dgra·sd~ bdom·pa-yis
1010100 fXYUn-du rgyal·pos btIiiis·kJ IUn

Other and longer versions of this periodical meter may have nine or even
more feet; four feet is the second most common length, as in this poem by
Pad-rna dkar-p:l, from his ritual text Slian-rgyud yid-blin nor·bul' blkyed·pai
rim -JXl rgyas.po Ndod.JXli TNlwii:
BEYOND TIlE SENTI;NCE 411

101010100 dzam-bui .gser-/as roii-byun lJe-ba zlwn

101010100 nsibs-sloii mu-khyud mtIhog-IU mam-Nphnd-bil
101010100 mkhil-la mb-NpJwgs phyogs-/as rgyal-byed-pai
101010100 Nlchor-fo rin-lIhen nam-mJchQ bkaii-su NbuJ

or in the inlroductory stanzas to Tson-kha-pa's &riln-btIos tlMn-pO dbu-ma-

10 Ndlug-pai mam-bJad dgons-pa rob-gsal commentary on the Madhytlmllk4va-
lara of Candrakirti:

101010100 zab-lIin rgya-t.fhei fegs-Mad kun-gyi gter

101010100 ~ig-mn kun-gyi mo-Ndris mdza-Mes-te
101010100 sa-gsum NgrO-/a lam-bzoii mt.shon·pai mig
101010100 thub-dban smra·bai iij·mas rtag·tu skyoiis

Even longer metrical lines can be found in translations of the complex meters
of Sanskrit Iu1vya as well as in the ornate native Tibetan pacify it inspired,
especially in the genre of bSlod·pa or encomium. We find the following eight.
foot lines, for example, in an encomium of Genghis Khan-of all people-
included in Ndfigs-med rigs-pai rdo-rdu's history of Buddhism in Mongolia
enlit1ed nhell-po Iwr-g)'; yul-du dam-pai tJhns dfi·lIar byuii ·ba; tshul bIad'-pa
rgja/-ba; bSlan-pa rill-po-IIlle gsal-bar bred-pai sgroll-me:

10101010101010100 phy;.y; spyod·pa nsub·mor

bSlan-rgyud iiams-lIlag Ngro-Ia
brtse·bas dam-du Nkhyud
101010 10 I01OlOHlO khyim-pai IIlIa. lugs bzun-naaii
rgyal·bslatl spel·bai fhag·bsam·
o-mai rgya-mts/w relol
10101010101010100 sao)'; tshaiis-pa yab-sTas
brgyud-fX1r bt.fas-pai iio-mtslJar
mazad-bzan sku-drin gzugs
10101010101010100 dali-pai yid·mu/lOr !ar-tshe
faX-pui ,.•uab-brgyu siiiii-gar
mi-zum dpyod-idan su

Blo-bzafi t~hos-kyi nl-ma uses nine-fooL lines in a stanza of praise to AtBa

that fo rms pan of the introduction 10 his Grub-mtlw thams-IIad-kyi khuilS-dan
Ndod·tshul ston-po legs-Mad !eI-gyi me-loll:
412 THE Cv.sstCAL TIBETAN l..J.N'GUAGE

1010101010101010100 dkiJ-ba du-mas gst!r-gyi gliii-IUU

gnt!r-bfans byan-tJhub st!ms-kyi
gdamr-pa dban-gi 'KYal
1010101010101010100 bod-yul gduJ-byar brtse-bas Hphans-m~
stsol-mdzad dto-bo t!ht!n-po
([j-ptJm ka-ra-dan
1010101010101010100 yoiis-rdzogs thub-bstan lxiag-gir btu-tt!
legs-bIad gtam-dan mom-thar
gtsan-mai nU-mUhar-gyis
1010101010101010100 kun·/as khyad·Nphag> dge·uuln sro/·Nbyld
'K)'al-ba gnis-ptJ srw-daii
bt!as-la snjjj-nQS Ntiud

We should mention here too the monstrous eighteen-foot tour dt! foret! with
which the crazy yogin Gtsan-smyon he-ro-ka begins his famous biography of
Mi-Ia ras-pa, Ihe first line of which reads 1010101010101010101010101010101 -
010100 alIOs-sku; fha -lam ma-rig t!hu-Ndzin gdod-bral dbyiiis-na gzugHku /4g-
po; nin-mlshon mgonni bdud-tIhui sgro-gI!an T1Sa-bral Nphrin-/as michyen-brtlt!i
od-NgYt!d mllla -kias dpaf-Nbar-bas.

Syna1epha is found also in feet OIher than the lasl. For example, in the
follo~ing verses fro m the praye r Mtshams sgrub-byt!d-skabs thU1l mgo-mdfug-ru
,w/.on-'XYu gsof-t¥dcbs bfa-ma rgyan-Nbod by Ndfig-rten blos-btan, we find syna-
lepha in the second foot:

1010010 tJhos-sku "ID'uf-mt!d-kyi iio-bo

1010010 lIhos-sku lcun-khyab-kyi iio-bo
1010010 tJllos-.fku bde-tJhen-gyi iio-bo
1010010 piis-med yt-Ies-kyi iio-bo
1010010 than-skyes ye-Ies-Icyi no-bo

The heroic poetry found in the archaic Central Nian manuscripts, dating·
back as far as the mid-seventh century, uses a verse of two feet with
synalepha in both:

100100 dgu-SiiO ni bdun-rim-gyi

100100 lha-yul ni guii-dan-nas
100100 Iha-sras n; myi-; mgon
100100 myi-yul n; thams-dad-daii
100100 myi-mtshuiif n; myi-Ndra-sle
BeYOND THE Smrn;NCE 413

The last syllable of the first foot is always an unstressed ni, and, as in the
later poetry, stress appears neutralized in the final syllable of each verse. This
ancient bardic structure is occasionally encountered in )ater worD. in such
lines as these from the Bon text Bka Hdus·pa riJa-pcrlIhe gur-myig-gi rgyud:

100100 mkhyen-mgar ni yag-po logs

100100 NphruJ-mgar ni kun-mkhyen log:r
100100 bzaij-mkJuJn ni yo.mii,u logs
100100 JUlij-gi ni dro-nuJ myoii,

Variations on this pattern are also sometimes found in the ancient manu-
scripts., as in the following two stanus from a mytholog:icaJ fragment found
in the caves near Thn-huang:

10010 flQ-1o ni gllii tngjOg:f

10010 muJij·lG ni T1JQt tIhe

10010 mag·tUJ ni myi-skbs

10010 IibI'ONUl iii mYi-thor
10010 tpl-IUI ni myi-rhub

The poet Pad·ma dkar-po, as a funher example, made extensive and

remarkably sltillful use of periodic meters With synalepha in altemat~ feet.
We may give the following two examples from a manuscript of his ronected
songs, entitled Rdo-rdte glui phreii·ba SM-rna:

1001010010 ~/·lcJuJms.kyi mJIhod-gnas mol-Nbyor·gyi dpon.sJob

l0010UX)I0 sgntb-b®'Ud-lcyi bstan·ldzin HgrtUI·mN4u Ndug-pas
1001010010 thcs-bsam-d4ij sgom-ptl tI;,-t1ar4u bgyis.ptI
1001010010 bar-lIhiJd·/a med-do byin.r!abs-kyi Ichyad-par

101001010010 nags·ld1oiis phal·mc-/a Ngrim-ptl rgya-stag·gi Jchro·bo

101001010010 tsan-dan nags-ma-d4" phrad·pas sems·yid·/Q Jor-1UU
101001010010 nags·mlila sMp·pa·1a mi-dga stag·phrug·gi gIon·tUA
101001010010 Ndzum-drug buan·sa·/a bya·yin tsan-d4n-gyi nags·rna

5.4. CATALEXIS
In the first foot of a verse it is possible for a weak position to be left empty.
414 TilE Ct..Ass ICAL TIB~,AN LANGU AGE

this mapping we will call CA1ALEX1S. A particularly popular meter fOf mgur
"mystic song," both periodically and aperiodicaJly, was a four-foot meter with
catalexis in the first foot and synaJepha in the last, as follows:

[(strong)(weak)] [(slrong)(weak)] [(Slrong)(weak)]

1 I 0 1 00

Used as a periodical meter, for example, we fin d the following couplets

forming part of the central section of a song by Mi·la ras-pa, as given in the
anthology Ml1hog-gi diios-grub miion-du byed-pai myur-wm blw-brgyud bla-mo-
moms-kyi rdo-rdJe mgur-dbyaiis yt-!es tJhar-Nbebs rajj.groIlhun-grub bde-tJhen
rab'Nbar iies4Dn rgyo-ml$hoi siiiii-po, which we will call by its short title 8ka-
brgyud mgur-mtsllO:

1-1010100 no; gtlQs-fa bltas-no ri-dwags Ndra

1-1010100 mi g!an-gyis mlhon-yan siiiii-rluii /dan
1-1010100 na: zas-/o bllas-no dud.Hg1'O Ndra
1-1010100 mi gtan-gyis mthan-na skyug-bro Idan
1-1010100 nai lus-la bltas-na keii-rus "rira
1-1010100 dgra scion-bas bllas-kyan ml!izi-ma NtIhor

The same meter is often exploited by Pad-rna dkar.po, as in the foll owing
st'anza from the Rdo-rdte glui phren-ba .rna-ma:

1-1010100 }'WI ,iii-po Isam-ran ma-sbyaiis·kyan

1· 1010100 tIhos lun-rigs uhad-mas gIal·ba·la
}-10 10100 dus den-san smra-bai sen-ger gyur
l- tlIi0 100 khon mkhas-pa tshogs-kyin iia-re brod

All r.x <Jmp~c (rom a Dge-lugs-pa poet is the well-known Gsuii-mgur !ur-gaiis
ri-ma by toe first. Dalai Lama Dge -..dlln-grub, of which the following are the
firs! tWL .!.Ulnzas:

' jOJv lOO Iar gaiis-ri dkar-poi me-ma-na

.. 1[~ t OW() .rprin dkar-po gnam-/a bsneg-Ndra-ba
;'}:O:OO de mthoii-ba mod-fa bla-rna dran
1- oHmiO dmn osams-Jiii bsoms-Jiii dad-rna skyes
'J0.{rlOO .fpri11 d"-ar-po Idlii-ba i !ar-phyogs-na
J. :Pl 9100 Nbrog d,;e-fdoll ma","por rgyal-ba der
BEYOND llJE SarrENCE 41S

1·1010100 muhan brrilod-ptJT dkn-bai rin-po-IIM

1-1010100 pha bJo-bzaii grags-po yab-mu bll4g.r

k a final example we may cite the following verses attn'butcd to the third
Dalai Lama Bsod-nams rgya-mtsho in the 11h~n-po hor-gyi yu/-du dIlm-pai
tIhos dli-bar byuii-bai IShuJ blDd-po rgyal-bai bS(Qn-pa rin-po-tJh4 grol-bar
bytd-pai sgron-nu by Nd1.igs-med rigs-pai rdo-rd!c:

1-1010100 ned sag-poi 'KYal-pas spyon~iis-nas

1-1010100 yuJ mlha-Nkhob gnas-su NgTO-Jar-Jcyan
1-1010100 dus mj-NgYOiiJ blin-du Nkhor bgyid-pas
1-1010100 ch bar-du s~ms-Ia blag-bya ni
1-1010100 gnas dpal-ldan Io'bras-Spuiis tIhos-kyi sde
1-1010100 glis dga-/dan pho·bran Nkhor-btIas-kyi
1-1010100 dOli Ndzin-Nbros Ie-par nul-Jor-1Ui
1-1010100 ran rgyu-Nbras tIhos-la yid-tIhu..dlzn
1-1010100 las dge-bQi phyogs-la Nbod-kyaii NUhaf

5.5. APERlODlCAL METERS

APERIODl~ METERS can orten be of great poetic interest. The simplest type
consists in simple metrical alternation, as in the following folksong stanzas:

1010100 do ni dog-mot bro-brduii lw

1-1010100 sleii fho -y; yul-du bro-trig brduii
1010100 dog-mot sa-Ia mum-po-Isam
1-1010100 bar bSlan-gyi yul-du bro -tJig brdun
1010100 dog-moi sa-fa mam-pa-rsam
l-lOlOHXl og kJu-yi yul-4u bra-dig brduli

The poet Mi-12 ras-pa is fond of Sl.:CO dev i ce~, and we: fi nd such stanzas as
the following, given in the BIca-brgyud mgw-mlSho:

1010100 la-fie khyun-bzai dpal-Ndren de

1-1010100 dw do -Ita skyid-dom mi-skyid blto
1010100 lcMii-ptl kn-bl; gduii -b'f'JIod d~
1-1010100 dus do-Ita Ngytl-lom fflo-NgYel btlo
416 THE Cv..ssICAL TlBIITAN lJ.NOUAGE

1010100 gtsan-khan zur-bIj logs-brgyad de

1-1010100 dus do-ftQ fig-gam mIJ-lig blla

The crazy yogin Nbrug-pa !tun-legs uses a similar alternation in the following
stanza, included in his autobiography Rnal-Nbyor-pai miii-dan kun.:clga lqs-paj
mam-thar byuii-uhu/ /hug-par smras-po Iib-moi mid-rna ha-k Jw.le ma-nn
spu-zin-nas bkod-pa:

1·1010100 iitl slcye-ba mJ1ii-poi plwii-ba-iIl

1-1010100 Ius ma-bloijJ bra-boi dgu-dig blons
1010100 gsal-gsa/ nz;i-tIig mi-Ndug-ste
1·1010100 tshod byas-fUJ NrJj·ftar slcycNam snam

and the yogin Lo-ras-pa UIoCS an even more irregular paltern in such stanzas
as the fol1 owi~g, again given in the Bko-brgyud mgur-multo:

1-1010100 blo las-su fUn-boi, sems-rgyud Ndi

1·1010100 gans dkar-po stoiii-kyi no·bun Ndro
101010100 na-bun nam-yal mi-In sgom.la gIqs
1-101010100 Ndi yal-bar fieND dam-poi I1hos-lo gIegs

We can nOie here thai such cataleclic first feet can be used as a device of
topicalizalion. In a poem by Mi-Ia ras-pa given in the Bko-brgyud mgur-mJsho,
the poet begins an admonitory address to his own wandering mind with a
single aperiodical verse before continuing with periodical lines of the form
lOlOHIO:

1-1010100 serns ma-spro ma-spro ran-sar fog

1010100 spros-lla dOll-med sna-tshDg$ dran
1010100 rna-yens rna-yens dran-pa brtt'll
1010J{1O yens-no dge-sbyor rluii-la Htfhor

The topical syllable urns "mind" is here set off by its position in an initial
catalectic foot. Similarly. in another poem. found in the Rag-mili skor siio-ma
of the Rdte-btsun mi-Ia ras-poi mom-thor rgyas-par ph~-bo mgur-Hbum, Mi-Ia
ras-pa begins with the line 1-1010100 no rigs-drug NIcJuuI-pai gron-/cJryn'--du..
establishing the syllable iia "I" as topic before continuing with several stan:taS
of periodical IOIOHIO verses; he then gives a series of metaphOrs about him-
self. again lopicalizing iiQ in a calalectic foot at the beginning of each stanza:
BEYOND TIlE SENIENCE 417
1·1010100 iia mol-Nbyor mj-yi sen.-ge yin
1010100 lJa-bo bzon.-poi g_yu-ro/ rgyas
1010100 bsgom-pa bzan.-poi m8M-sder-t.fon
1010HXl iiams-len gans-kyi ltons-m byas
1010100 yon-tan Nbras-bu ,hob-tu re

1-1010100 na mtll-Nbyor mi-yi rwo-stog yin

1010100 byon.-t.fhub senu-kyi n.fol-gmm rdzogs
1010100 thabs-Ies dbyer-med gro-Ndzunt.t.fon
1010100 Ndogs-la sman-ld1oru n4gs-io bsdad
1010100 gton-dim Nbras-bu Nbyiii-du re

H010100 na mol-Nbyor mi-yi rgod-po yin

Similar to such patterns of aperiodical catalexis are patterns of apcriodical

synalepha_ We find folksongs with loosely organized systems of apcriodical
synalepha in the final foot:

101010 ko-bIi gdun.-brgyod noii-du

1010100 rigs-bzon. mlcho-NgrO gtos-fo byon
1010100 de-riii skyid-poi ;jin-mQ-fa
1010100 dpa-bo mlcho-A'gTO glas-fo byon

1010100 phyog.gi don. -po yuJ-lho-lo

1010100 gtj-bdag yo-Io phyog-Ntshof-/o
101010 sno~-bu dluJr-po tIlJags-la
101010 mi-NgTO zer-rgyu yin-no
101010 aii-Ia bu-mo na nj
10101010 dam-poi t.fllos-fa NgrO-rgyu yin-no

More regul ~r patterns of alternation may be associated-as W8J the ease with
alternating catalexis-with systematic variation of the number of feet in each
line. For example, we find the following song recorded in the chronicle lA-
dwogs rgyal-robs, a history: of Buddhism in ladakh:

101010 sol-bas rrfo-gsum tus-nos

10100 diiul-zoUf Itlags-gsum stall
418 T ilE CLASSICAl. TUU;.'AN WGUAGE

101010 !ill·fa bug-pa bud-nas

10100 f ol-dan giiu-lin bl!os

101010 millun-gliis 8'ilHU sdt!bs- nas

10100 than -mums liii-du rmos
101010 rgya-mlSho yur-Ia dranHWS
10100 ISlm-la zam-pa Ndzugs

Mi-Ia ras-pa often utilizes such strictly organized patterns of alte rnati{'l n,
panicularly in the second ({XII, as we find in the following stan7.as of prayer
10 his master Mar-pa, given in the Bka-brgyud mgur-mtsho:

10:110100 .dryel-ma-daii bsu-mlJi thugs-dam mdzod

100100100 bar-tfhad-daii rk)'t'II.ij(J/I-~'i hz/ng-pa mdzod
10010100 (us-nag-dmi bsam-pai sTU ii-rna mdzod
100100100 smOIl-rna-dan Ihugs·kllIlr·~i nen-Nbrel nulzod
10010100 Ihugs .rdte-daii nus-po; dhan·b.~kur fTU/zod
1001001110 '1O'ud ·/uFI-«a ii mall -nag-" '1O'ub-hnen mdwd

Elsewhere in the poems of Mi-la fas-pa we elm find morc lo()sdy paucrned
for ms, as in these stanz(ls from the: Bku·o'K)'ud mgur·muho. wh.:re: he uses
allcrn(l ling synflle pha in the sc:cond arid Ihen in Ihe first foot:

JOI0100 Jkye·boi .WHwm .1 dip,pai las

IOH)(IH)O .f{lyud ·/Iu nan·.1ml.f.:i sdul].bsno/ myon

IOIUln(j Iie·dui gauII-semI bdud.kyi mkllor

WII )()]()(I brf.tl:XI-I!/I me·obj-kyi lIuii -du a/nul

IOUIOIIXl zu.Htor·,~·i J(soX·N'ltof.: mi-yi rgyu

WIOIIK) hsug'i· I,~lzll d sprm"j·poi h'X}'UWi-phye yin

Even more cumplex p;lIterns can he 'H.:hicve:d by comhining aperiodical Gi la ·

lexis and synalepha. as i11 Ihe folluwirlg song attributed to Padmasam hha\'a
in his biogra phy CU. ·'" fJad'l7!!I. ",bYll.ll·Xllus -kyi skyes·rabs mom-pa' Ihar-pa:

1-10 10100 lili bOIl 'f'o pad-ma ",I>yw ;-Xllus yin

1- IOliXlIOO I{/W.~ IllAs·firm g.ylJi"i· h!on.gyi gdoms-nlJg t:dog
1· IU JOIf)() lur r~?J dfUl] s(.,.1H5rln bde·fa hkod
1010 If)O U!f' ·~r;'l s<ie.hrx;·" d hru/I-d.. Nkiw/
BEYOND TI-lE SEHTENCE 419

The yogin Rgod-tshaii-pa Mgon-po rdo..rd!e uses a similarly loose alternation

in the chorus of a mystic song of prayer to the lineage of his masters. given
in the Bktl-brgyud msur-muho:

1010101010 snaii-ba Ndi-Iam zab-ta zob-tar Ndug-go

101-1010010 Jeun-rdzob Ndi wu-mai Nkhru/-Nkhor..du Ndug-go
101·1010010 rgyab-brag Ndi zan-ile thal-le-fU Ndug-go

As a final example we can cite a song attributed by the Bka-brgyud mgur-

mUho to three anonymous disciples of Sgam-po-pa. where aperiodical stanzas
alternate with a repealed aperiodical chorus as follows:

1-1010100 gnas og-mill tIhos-lcyi pllo-braii-na

1-10101010 8'las de-no blugs-po rdo-rdle M!haii-tIhen
10100101010 skabHfer gsol-ba-Zig 'h ob-dan rdo-rdle spun-tsho

101010100 bla-mas fOr-Jog gsun-gill yar-yar NgrO

101010100 mtho-ris them-skas Ndfogs-Jiii yar-yar NgfO
101010100 nan-son fdog-pas gnon-fiii yar-yar NgfO
HH00100100 IO-nlO nams-bzan-la dga-yo-dan re-spro-na

1-1010100 Iar za-hor nor-bui dgon-pa-ta

1-101010010 8'las de-no blugs-pa tai-Io-y; Ier-bzan
10100101010 skahs-der gsol-ba-fig thob-da/i fdo-rdfe spun-uho
101C10100 bla-mas yar-Iog gsuii -gill yar-yar NgrO
101010100 mtho-ris th em-sleas Ndfogs-lin yar-yar NgrD
101010100 nan-son rdag-pas guo/l-!in yar-yar NgfO
10100100100 Io-mo iiams-bzaii-Ia dga-yo-doii re-spro-no

5.6. UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES IN STRONG POSITIONS

In many periodical meters we can note certain consistent variations from the
mapping rules outlined above_ These variations seem to constitute a set of
optional metrical liberties a poet can take within the framework of the verse
sltucture_ One such permitted variation, not infrequently found, is for a strong
position to be filled with one unstressed syllable ra ther than with one stressed
syllable, as in the following folksong stanza:
.20
101000 bslwl-bzaii bde-ba-tlan-gyi
101010 nor-gliii kJu -yi pho-braij
101010 leoma de-Ndra mlhoii-dus
101010 W on-poi pho-braM dum Nbyuii

The same substitution -can be found in the hymn of praise to the goddess
Tiri called Bllom-ldan Hdas-ma sgroi-rna yaii-dag-par rdzogs-po sa;u-'XYas
bstod-pa gsuiis-po:

10101010 phyag-Ht.~hal sgroi-rna myur-ma dpa-mo

10101010 spyan ni .fwd-tlig glog-daii Ndra-ma
10101010 Ndlig-rten gsum-mgon tJhu-skyes lol-gyi
10100010 ge-sar phye-bo-las ni byuR.rna

10101010 phyag-NtSha! ston-lea; zla-ba Jeun -tu

10101010 gan-ba brgya 'Ii hruegs-pai tal-rna
10101000 slwr-ma stofi-phrag tshogs-pa-mams-kyi.s
10101010 rab-tu phye-bai od-rab Nbar-ma

and- in verses with synalepha in the last foot-in such stanzas as the
foll<>'Ning from Sa-skya palJ"ita '$ l1gs-par blad-po rin-po-Lfhei gtt,:

1010100 Jin -tu rgas-par gyur·rshe yan

1010100 rhas-pa maii-du bsags-par bya
1010100 phyi-mar thas-pa! phan-pa-tsam
1000100 sbyin-pa-yis kyoii go-lo phon

lOH)(XXl dw-su ma-bob-po-y; gtam

1010100 gaii-smra de-Io lam-gyis briias
1010100 man-po smra-baj gtam-tshig-las
1010100 smyon-par rdteNu mi-dpog-gam

Similar substitutions are found in apcriodical meten: in the following stanz.as

in his autobiography Rnol-Nbyor-pai miii-tIan kun-dga kgs-poi nwm-rlulr the
crazy yogin Nbru,-pa kun-Iegs maintains the parallel structure of his verses
by introducing the exclamatory extra syllable dan where the preceding strong
position has been filled with an unstressed syllable:
BEYOND THE SarrENCE 421

100010 nushan-Idan-pai dan bla-rna

100010 snod-Idan-pai dan slob-ma
101010010100 dam-tIhos (shul-bZin by~d-pa-la dgos-pa
yod-do 7ao
100010 dam -tIhos-poi dan Ndul-ba
100010 spon-sems-pai dan orton-po
101010010100 rab-byun wun-pa by~d-pa-Ia dgos-pa
yod-do l ao
101010 gtan -la mi-phod sniii-rd1~
101010 bdag-gtan brd1~-baj bsam-po
!OI01oo10100 th~g-tIhen byaii-sems sgom-pa-Io dgos-pa
yod-do 7ao

In the follow ing verses, given in the Bka-brgyud mgur-mtsho, Mi-Ia ras-pa.
integrates trisyllabic forms into his metric pattern by similarly allowing an
unstressed syllable to fill a strong position:

1010100 mi-m~d brag-gi phug-pa-na

1-1000100 skyo phyod·de-ba·la safu-'XYu med
1010100 bla-rna dam-pai sans-rgyas-la
1-1000100 yid dun-ne-ba-Ia Nbral-ba med

Sometimes we find an initial sequence of one snessed and two unstressed

syllables; in a meter with catalectic first feet, this is read as an unstressed
syllable in the strong position of the second foot after catalexis in the first
syllable-that is, as 1-00, rather than 100, in order to maintain parallel
scansion with verses clearly beginning 1-10_ This variation is found, for
example, in the long and often strictly periodical mystic songs by Pad-rna
dkar-po, where it is a permitted departure from the highly regular 1-1010100
line, as in this stanza from his Rdo-rdte glui plrreii-ba sna-ma:

1-1010100 raii gsot-ba Ndebs-pllyogs rna-log-no

1-1010100 tslte Ndi-phyii dgOS-Ndod dtj-sfred-pa
1-0010100 bde-blag-tu srer-bai nw-pa mfra
1·1010100 bl0 ISham-ISham med-pai gsol-Ndebs I>l$hal

Simila rly we can select the following stanzas from a long poem by Pad-rna
422 THE ClASSICAL TIBc,AN l..ANOU .... OE

dkar-po, from the same collection, which uses the same metrical structure and
variation:

1·1010100 yid gilen-poi lthu-fQn rna ·brall-Ie

1..Q()10100 Ndod-yon-gyi snaij·ba IIi-bkra-yaii
1·0010100 ler..,Jhags-kyi sred-po mi-ldaii-bas
1·1010100 khan bt5un-po tshogs-kyin na-rt brod

1-0010100 Ndag-sbyar-gyi bsgom-yWl rna-bras-Ie

1-1010100 lam iiQms-su myoii-bai drod-r1ags-la
1-0010100 dti-lla-bai spu-ris pllyed-pai phyir
1-1010100 grogs sgom-dhen tshogs-kyin iia-re brod

1-0010100 mi-bdag-pai b,od-pa Ndi-dag kyan

1·1010100 pha mlshan-Idan bla-ma khoii-gi drin
1-1010100 drill Nkhor-Iabs mtd-pas gsol·Ndebs Ndi
1-1010100 rrite dam-pai snall-la gzan-yaii byas

5.7. VARIATION IN THE LAST FOOT

Where there is synalepha in the final foot of a verse, a poet seems permitted
the occasional liberty of substituting a last foot of the form 110 for the usual
fina\I00. We can cite the following examples from Sa-skya pal)~ita's Ltgs-por
bJod-po rin-po-tJh~j gur:

1010100 nams-stohs tJhun-bai sky~-bo run

1010100 tJh~n-po glan.ta bs(~n-na Ng1Ub
1010100 tJhu-yi Ihigs-pa nam-tJhun yon
1010110 mtsho-daii Ndra-na skam mi-nus

1010l 10 su-/oan bdag.gi dgra yin-po

1010100 .-.go yon bdag-ta mi-byams f~
1000110 mi-byams-na yan d~ mi-sgrag
1010100 bsgrags-na d~-ijid Nbyed-pai s~t

1010110 gat-tt dgra-ta gnod Ndod-na

1010100 raii-iiid yon-tan Idan-par bya
1010110 de-yis dgra yan sems bsreg-tliii
1010100 ran yon bsod-nams Hplle(-bor f<I!l"IUT
BEYOND TIlE SENTENCE 423
We find the same variatio n perrnilled within a periodical meter in the
following diatribe against beer, attributed to the Buddha himself in Ndtigs-
med rigs-pai rdo-rdte's TIh en-po hor-Kli yul-du dam-poi tJhos tili-Itar byuii-bai
tshuJ bIad-po 'KYal-bai bSlan-pa rin-po-tJlu gsal-bar byed pai sgroll-me:

100010100 tIhan-mIlWi-ba-la miion-par dga-bai mi

101010110 bdag-Ia phan-daii gtan-la bdt mi-nw
101010110 rmollS-pa mdog-iian byed-po tJ/ion yin-Ie
101010110 titi-Itar ha-Iai dug-btin de mi-btuii

We can cite as a further example the following stanza from Ihe Rdo-rdte glut
phren-ba sna-ma by Pad-rna dkar-po:

1-1010100 ran liams-Iell byed-rsliul rna-log-no

1-1010110 r1Sa !<Ildior-/a dnlg-gi mdud grol-lias
1-00 10110 bde-tJlleli-gyi ""gras-bt; mtlwr sOli-poi
1-1010110 tshe gtJjg-gu SOIIS-rg}'OS Io-grtlb nes yill
14 Bibliography

I. CULTURAL BACKGROUND

BECKWTJl{, ChriJtopher I. '!he 'T'iMtan empire in Central Asia: 0 history of the

struggle for great power among TIbetans, 71ui.f, Arobs, allL Chinese during the
tarty Middlt Ages. Princeton: 'Princeton Uni\'ersity Press, 1987.
BEYER, Stephan V. 1he cuh o/Tara, Magic and rirual in TIbet. Berkeley: Uni·
versity of California Press, 1973.
DEMIi!VlUE, Paul. u condie de LhlHa, Biblioth~que de I'lnstitut des Haules
Etudes Chinoises 7. Paris: Presses U nivcrsitaires de France, 1957.
EKVALL, Robert B. Religious observances in Tibet: patterns and !UIICliotl.
Chicago: Univrsity of Chicago Press, 1964.
FllCHNER, Wilhelm. Kumbum. Lamaismw in Lehre und uben. Zurich:
Rascher Verlag, 1954.
HoF'J'JroCANN. HelmuL The religions of 1ibel. Edward Fitzgerald, trans. London:
George Allen and Unwin Ltd., H61.
LEssiNG, Ferdinand. Yung.ho-kung. An iconography of the lama it! cathedral in
PeJdng. In collaboration with Gosta Montell. Repons from the Scientific
Expedition to the Northwestern Provinces of China under the Leadership of
Dr. Sven Hedin 18. Stockholm: Goteborg Eland ~ f"$, 1942.
UNG, David Marshall. Tht wisdom fJf Balahva .... . • Christian legend of the
Buddha. london: George AJlen and Unwin Ltd., 1957.
SNELLGROVE, David. Buddhist Hin d aya. Oxford: Bruno Canirer, 1957.
SNEllGROVE, Divid and Hugh Richardson. A cultural history of Tibet. New
York: Frederick A Pratger, 1968.
STFJN, Rolf Alfred. lA civiJisaticn tiMtaint. Paris: Dunod, 1%7. Translated
as ~tall civilization. J.E. Stapleton Driver, trans. Stanford: Stanford
University Pre~. 1972.
TtsCCl, Giuseppe. IndQ·TIbttica. Rome: Reale Academie d'ltalie, 1932-41;

424
BIBUOGRAPHY 425

Lokesh Chandra, ed. Sata-Pitaka Series 347-<353>. New Delhi: Aditya Pra-
kashan, 1988-.
TuCCI, Giuseppe. 1M religions of 'TiMt. Geoffrey Samuel, trans. Berke ley:
University of California Press, 1980.
TuCCI, Giuseppe. 1lbet. land of snows. JoE. Staplelon Driver, Irans. Calculla :
Oxford &: rBH Publishing Co., 1967.
TUCCI, Giuseppe. 1Ibet4n painJed seroUs. Virginia Vae~a, trans. Rome: Lib·
reria della Stato, 1949.

2. BIBLIOGRAPHIES
GRON80LD, Gunter. "Verzeiehnisse tihetischer Handschriften und Block-
drucke. Ein bibliographische Obersicht." Zentralasiulisehe Srlldien 18:222-46,
1985.
HAl£, Awtin. Research on 1ibelo·Jjunnan languages, 63-155. Trends in
Linguistics, State of the Art Report 14. New York: Mouto n, 1982.
HUFFMAN, Franklin E. Bibliography alld index of mainla,uJ SoU/lleasl A.(WII
languages and linguistic:.r. Ne~ Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
LAPOLl..A, Randy J. and John B. lL"""'e, with Amy Dolcourt. Bibliography of
the Ifllentlliiotwi Conferences on Sino ·Tibetan LQI/guages and [.il/Ruis/ics /. ro.
Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus Mo nograph Sc rit:~ 1.
Berkeley: Centers for South and Southeast Asi3n Studies, University of
California-Berkeley, 1989.
NISHt Yoshio. "Bibliography of Tibeto-Burman languages of Nqwl." III
Hajime Kitamura, TalSuo Nishida, and Yoshio Nishi, cds. TibelO-B!lmlUll
studiu /, 85-104. Monumenta Serindica 6. Tokyo; Institute for the Stut.!y of
Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1979.
SHAfER, Robert. Bibliography of Sino· Tibetan lallguages. Wit:sbadcn: O U t)
Harrassowitt., Vol. 1, 1957; Vol. 2. 1963.

3. GRAMMARS

BACOT, Jacques. Grommaire du lib/win /if/haire . Paris. 1948.

42. TilE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN Lo.NGUAGE

BERNARD, Theos. A Jimp/ified grammar of the fiJerary TIbetan /angunge. Santa

Barbara: Tibetan Text Society, 1946.
CoRDIER, Palmyr. Cours de tibi!lain classique. Hanoi, 1908.
CsOMA D~ KoH.Os, Alexander. A grammar a/the TIbetan language in English.
Calcutla, 1834; New York: Altai, \970: Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1984.
DAS, Saral Chandra. An inrroduction to llu grammar of the TIbetan Jaflguag~,
with the texts of Situ sum-lag, Oag-jt so{wai me-fong, and Situi shot lung.
Darjeeling. 1915; Delhi: Malilal Banarsidass, 1972.
FOUCAUX. Philippe Edouard. Grammaire de 10 langue ,ibelaine. Paris, 1858.
HAl IN, Michael. Lehrbuch der klassischcn tibetischen Schrijtspraclle. Hamburg.
1971; Indica et Tibelica 10. Bonn: Indica et Tibetic:! Verlag, 1985.
HANNAII, Herbert Bruce. A grammar of the TIbetall language, li/erary a,ul col-
loquial. Calcutt;!, 1912; Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 1973.
IN""I\A Shoju. Chibeuo go kalell bWlpOgaku. Kyoto, 1954.
Jk;CH~, Heinrich Augusi. Tibefwl grammar. Addenda by A.H. Francke,
assisted by W. Simon. Bcdin: d.: Gruytc::r, 1929.
L \l nu, Marcelle. Mmwel tUme/l taire de (ibbuin classiljue: met/lOde empirUJue.
Paris. 1950.
MU.t ER. Roy Andrew. "A grammatical sketch of classica l Tibetan." Journal
of 1If(' Amcdcml Orienw/ Society 90;74·96, 1970.
PNUl OSOVICII , Y.M. Tibetskii pi.~ 'ml'/lIlyj iazyk.
Languages of Asia and Africa.
Moscow; Nauk,l Puhlishing House, 1970. Transiatcd as TIre wrilfen Tibelan
/(mgllage. S.S. Gitman, tr,ms. Lmgu ag~s of f~ia and Africa. Moscow: Nauka
Publish ing House. 1982.
POUCH", Pavel. "The Tihet<ln language." C£'llIrol Asiatic iOllmal 8:2 19-29,
1%3.
SCIIMII)T, Isaac J;!cob. Grammali/.;n tibl'lskllgo,inzyka. St. Petersburg, 1839.
Grammalik dertibeludll'lI Sp,ache. Leipzig, 1839: Leipzig: Zcntral-Antiquariat
der DCUI!>c hcn Demo kratisehc:n Rep ublik. 1%8.

4. DICTIONARIES

BSTAI'I-!'oOIV.1I1/ RNM..I-1WY,\1,. Rjc mkhan-po XI ',' . Raii-blo gsa/-ba i me·loil-las

BIBUOGRAl'UY 427

mnon-brdtod-kyi buan-blJos bsam-pllel nor-bu. Thimpu: Kunzang To pgey,

1976.
BSTAN-ND7.lN PIIUN-TSHOGS, DH-mar-Deu-dmar dge-bks. Bod-yul-gyi brdai
skad-Ias gyur-pa-mams gran-Ia pJlab-pa legs-par sbyar-bai sgra-bsgyur bSlan·blJos
le-lSlum sum-/Ju-pa. PaJampur: Sungrab Nyamso GyunpheJ Parkhang, 1973.
Buc K, Stuan H. Tibetan·Eng/ish dictionary. Washington. DC: Catholic Univer·
sity of America Press, 1969.
CItANDRA. Lokesh. Tibetan-Sanskril dictionary based on a close comparative
study of Sanslcril origiJ1QIs and Tibetan translations of several texIS. Sata-Pitaka
Series 3. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1959-6 1;
Kyoto: Rinsen Book Co., 1976; New Delhi: Sharada Rani, 1985.
CHANDRA. Lokesh, ed. Four Tlhetan-Mongolwm luicons. Sata.Pilaka Series
289-90. New Delhi: Sharada Rani, 1982.
CIIOS-KYl GRAGS-PA, Bur-yad-Sog-po dge-Mes. Brda-dag miii-tshig gsal-ba.
Dharamsala: Damchoe Sangpo, 1980. Translated as Tsang-w.tn tz'iI-tien.
Peking: Publishing House of the National Minorities, 1957.
CsoMA DE KOROS, Alexander. A dictionary Tibetan and English. Calcutta,
1834; Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1984.
DAS, Sarat Chandra. A TIbetan-English dictionary with Sanskrit l)'nO/ ryms.
Graham Sandberg and A. WilJiam Heyde, eds. A1ipore: West Bengal Govern-
ment Press, 1902; Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1970.
DESGODlNs, Auguste. Dictionnaire tlribttaill-latin-franfjais par les missiolllwires
catholiques du Thibet. Hong Kong, 1899.
JAscm:.E, Heinrich August. A TIbetan.English dictionary with specwl reference
to the prevailing dialects; to which is added a Tibeta/l-English vocabulary.
London, 1881; London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958; Dt:lhi: Motil<l l
Banarsidass, 1982.
PODSNEEV, A. Ucebnik tibetskoi meditsiny, 247-301. St. Petersburg, 1908.
R[ClfTER, Eberhard. Tibetisch-deutscltes Wonerbuch. Leipzig: VEB Verlag
EnzykJopadie, 1966.
ROER[CII, George Nicolas. Tlbetsko-ru.JSko-angliislcii slovar' s san.fJuiJsldmi
parallelitJmi. Tlbelan-Russian-English dictionary with Sanskrit parallelt. Y.
Parfionovich and V. Dylykova, eds. Moscow: Central Department of Oriental
Literature, 1983-87.
428 THE."ClASSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

SAKAKl Ry6zaburfi, ed. Hon 'yalcu meigi taishii (Mahiivyrupatti). Kyoto, 1916;
Kyoln, 1925 (with Sanskrit index); Tokyo: Suzuki Gakujutsu Zaidan. 1962
(with Tibetan index).
SANDBERG, Graham and A.W. Heyde. Tilman-English dictionary. Calcutta,
19(12.
SCHMIDT, Isaac Jacob. Tibetisch-deulSdu$ WOrrerouch, Mbsr deuucMm Won·
regi.fter. St. Petersburg, 1841 ; Osnabruck: Biblio Verlag. 1969.

Sc:IIMIt)T, Isaac Jacob. Tibetsko·russkii :riovar ', St. Petersburg. 1843.

SEMICIIOV, B.V" Y.M. Parfionovich, and 8.0. Dandaron. Kratlcii rihnsfw-
rusJkii .flavo r '. Moscow: Akademiia Nauk. 1963.
$t JMA"I1 RA"fNA. Bod ·lwr-gyi brda -yig min-tshjg don gsum gml-bar bred-poi m,un •
.w:lsgmll .m e. Corpus Scri ptor um Mo ngolo rum 6-7. Ulan-Bator, 19S9.
T!I(J M I\.~,
r-rcdcrick William a nd L. Giles. " A Tibelo·Chinese word and phrase
hook." Bull('/ill of tilt! School of Oriental and African Studin 12:753--69, 1948.
'I\ II ( ' ~ ! N l)Ui\N- IWY i\I ~ M do-mkhar fabs-druii. fie-bar mkho-bai lqs-sbyar-gyi
hoJ-kyi hrdll /(ii· lii phml ·bsK'igs no·mlthar tlor·bui do-la/. Dehra Dun: D.G.
Kh()('h h ~ 1l T rulku, 1975. Also Jacques Bacot. Dictionlloirt tibitoin-sa1J.!CrU par
l.\t·.n ll};-IJU lllliU,yai (Ole nTI Jhllii w all. Buddhica, 2d series, 2. Paris., 1930.

"[""' I : ·I AN / ,·\IIS·IlIIIIN . /Jllg •.!"i;: /Ium -mii dKoIIS-rgyUlI. nang-hon lz'it-hui. Hsi-
r:i:I!' J1}';7

Y I ' - ~I ' :-' lUlU · 1m/I· . IJmbkuj·kyi .hrdu g.mr-nliJi dkll-ba sog·sluJd-du kii-li sum-
1 ~lIi rim {!(J.I· J.:11ll1-hl phdl-pai brdll-yig mkhas-pa 'lO'0 -mtsho blo-gsa[ mgul-rgyon
I.C··.I-il)"lI.hll. Corpus Sniplnrum Mongolorum 4_ Ulan-Balor, 1959.
YOSill MIJ R,\ Shiiki. Tihctrm dieriollary. Kyoto: Ryiikoku University, 1955-56.

S. GLOSSARIES

Alus. Michael. Sources fm lite hi.t/m) o.f Bhuta/!, 187-98. Wiener Studien zur
'1 ihctnlo!!ic und Buddh ismusku mk 14. Wien : Arbeilskreis fUr Tibetische und
BUlklhlstlsdll" Studic n. Uniwrsitiit Wic: n, 198(,.
UIIl! FY. DR. Shackktun. Ph! SO lOpmi ciifal ko of Mal(ura, 211-32. Cam-
hril1gc:: CHnhridgc: Unive rsity Pr es~, 195 1.
C(l~/J ·.• Edw"r d.A hllil"amayiiialikiira. 179- 223. Sc rie Oric:nla1e Roma 6. Rome:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 429
lstltuto Italiano per II Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1954.
FRANCKE. August H ermann. A lower lAdakhi veflion O/IM Kesar Jago, 21·29,
74·83, 129-138, 160-163, 195·199,250-255,314-372. Biblil)theca Indica 1543.
Calcutta, 1905·41.
GRONWEDEL, Albert. Die Lege/wen des Nii-ro-pa, 159-233. Leipzig: Otto Har-
rassowitz. 1933.
l-iAl-lN, Michael. CwulragomulS Lokiinand!Jnii{alca. Nach dem tibetischen Tan-
JUT herausgegeben ulld iiberutzt. Ein beitrag zur indischm kJassischDI Schau-
spkldichtung, 228-273. Asiatische Forsctoungen 39. Wiesbaden: Otto Harras-
sowitz, 1974.
HAII N, Michael and Konrad Klaus. Das mrgajiilalca (Hariblul{tajiiwkamiilii
XI), 71-106. Indica et Tibetica 3. Bonn: Indica et Tibetica Verlag. 1983.
the Larger SWcJulvalfvyuha Siilra. A ~tan glouaty
I/'IAGAK.I Hisao. Index 10
with Sanskn', and Chinese equivalents. 1-138. Kyoto: Nagata Bunshado, 1978.
LAUI-"'ER, Berthold . Ein Siihngtdicht der Bonpo, ous einu Handschri/t der
OxJoro~ . ~od{tiana, 40-59. Denkschriften def Wiener Akademie def Wissen-
schaf!t:n XLVI.7. Wien. 1900.
N,\GAO, Gadjin M.II/dex to th~ Malliiyana -siitriilalJ1kiira (Sylliain Uvi uiition) ,
11.1-150. TOkyo: Nippon Gakujutsu Shinko-kai. 1961-
NAGAO, Gadjin M. Madhyiil1t(1IIibhiiga·bhii&a, 149-180. Tokyo: Suzuki Re-
search Foundation, 1964.
NEBESKY- WOJlmwIT7~ Rt:ne de. Oracles and demollS of Tibet: the Cull and
icon()graphy of till' Tibetan pmt~ct£ lI~ deilws. 605-52. London: Oxford University
Prt:ss. 1956.
NISIUO Kyo. Tibetan inda to the Mahiivyutpalti with So,tSkriJ equillD/ems.
Kyoto, 1936. Reprinted in Ryijzaburo Sakaki; ed. Hon'yaku meigi tauM
(MaitiiVYUlf>/Jtli). Tokyo: Suzuki Gakujulsu Zaidan, 1962

NOBEL. Johannes. Suvart)aprabhiisotlamasutra: das Goldglanzsu,ra. Vol. 2.

Wonerbuch Tibelisch-Deutsch·Sanskril. Lt:iden: E.J. Brill, )950.
NOBEL, J ohan~.es. Udriiya,)a, Konig lion Rom,",. Einf' buddhistische EnahlWlg.
D~ lib~tische UbersetzlJ.IIg des Sa1ulcrirlextes, Vol. 2, Wa,urbuch. Wiesbaden,
0110 f-Jarrassowitz, 1955.

S.....'i'nu, N. Aiyaswami. Arya Siilistamba Su.lfa, Pracftyasamutpiidavibhanga nu-

ddasiitra, 0I1d Pratftyasamutpiidagarhii SUlfa, 73·97. The Adyar library Series
'30 TilE ClAssICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

76. Adyar, Adyar Library, 1950.

SI'ffiUGROVE, David L 1M Htvajra Tanlra. A crilicol study. Pan 2, Sanskrit
and 7Jbdan tau, 161·177. London Oriental Series 6. London: Oxford Uni-
versity Press. 1959.
SNELLGROVE, David L The nine way.f of Bon. Excerpts from gZi-brjid ediJed
and rmnslllted, 291-312. London Orienlal Series 18. London: Oxford
University Press, 1967; Boulder: Praji'\ii Press, 1980.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. L'tpopie rib/laint! de Gesar, dans sa ver.rion lamo'ique de
Ling, 354-99. Annale.s du MUKC Guimet. Biblioth~que d'Etudes 61. Paris:
Presses Univc:rsitaires de France, 1956.
SlEJN. Rolf Alfred. "Yocabulaire tibetaine de Ja biographie de 'BlUg-pa Kun-
I~." ZmtralaritJrische StudiLn 8:129-78, 1974.

SUZUKl. Daisetz Teitaro. An indu /0 rhe LAnkavatara Surra, Nanjic editWn.

Kyoto: Sanskrit Buddhist Text Publication Society, 1934.
THOMAS, Frederick William. roman /iura,>, texIS and documents concerning
ChiMM Turiwlan, Part III, 112·192. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1955.
TSUDA Shinichi. Th~ Sa'!lIIarodaya-Tantro . Selected chapters, 384-408. Tokyo:
The Hokuseido Press, 1974.
WELLER, Friedrich. Indu to th~ 7Ib~tan translation of the KiifYapapari~Qna.
Harvard Sino-Indian Series 1. Cambridge: Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1937.
WEl.LER, Friedrich. Tlb~tisch·salUkriti.scher Indu zum BodhicaryQvatiira. Abo
handlungen der Leipziger A1cademie der Wis.senschaften 46-47. Berlin, 1952-
55.
ZIMMERMANN, Heinz. D~ Subhiifua-ratna-karalJ4aka-kathii (dem AryaJiira
ZUgeschriebefl) WId ihre tibelische UbersetzuflG' Ein Vetgleich zur Oorlegung der
Irrtwrurisikm bei der Awwenuflg tibeti!cher Ubel'$etzungen, 248-55. Freiburger
BeiuAge zur Indologie 8. Wiesbaden: Ono Harrassowit2., 1975.

6. PLACE NAMES

FERRARI, AUoma, Mk'yen brue's guide to the holy places of CenlraJ Tlbet.
Luciano Petech, ed, Serie Orientale Roma 16. Rome: 15tituto Italiano per il
Media ed Estremo Oriente, 1958.
L\Lou, Marcelle. "Catalogue des principautb du Tibet ancien." Journal
BIBUOGRAPHY 431

asullique 253:189·215, 1965.

MEISEZAlIL, R.O. D~ grosse Geschiclue des ribetiscMn Buddhismus Nlch alltr
Tradition. Driller Teil. Glossar dtr Eigennamen. J. Geographische NaIMn,
Kloster, Tempel· und Herlcunft,snllIMIl der Personell. 395·420. MOJ:l.urnenta
Tibetica H istorica. Abteilung I: Scriptores 3. Sankt Augustin: VGH Wissen·
schartsycrlag, 1985.
NEOESKY· WOJKOwrrz., Rent de. Oracles and demons of Tibet: 1M cull and
iconogra.phyofthe 1ibetan protective deities, 652·57. London: Oxf'ord University
Press, 1956.
ROCK, Joseph Francis. 1M Amnye Ma-<:hhen range and adjacent ngions, Q
monographic study. Serie Orientale Rama 12. Rome: Istituto Italiano per il
Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1956.
R UEGG, O. Seyfa". The life of Bu SIOIl Rin po che, with the Tibetan lUI of the
Bu ston rNam thor, 187·91. Serie Oricntale Rama 34. Rome: Istituto Italiano
per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1966.
ScIlL\GINTWErr. Hermann de. "Glossary or Tibetan geographical terms
collected by He rmann, Adolphe, and Robert de Schlaginrweit." Journal of the
Royal Asialic Society 20:67.98, 1863.
TlloMAS, Frederick William. Tibetan literary tUlS and documen/J concerning
Chinese Thrkeslan, Part IV, 40-84. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1955.
WYI.IE, Turrell V. nle geography of TIbet according to the 'Dzam.gling-rgyas.
bshad. Serie Orientale Roma 25. R ome: Istitu(o Italiano per il Media ed
Estrerno Oriente, 1962.
W YLI E, T urrell V. A place name index 10 George N. Roerich 's translation of the
Blue Annals. Serie Orientale Roma IS. Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio
ed .Estremo Oriellte, 1957.
ZACII, Erwin 'Ion. "Tibetische Ortsnarnen." Lex'icographische Bei/riige 1:83.98,
1902; 3: 108-35, 1905.

7. LEXICOGRAPHIC STUDIES
CaSLIN, Weldo n South. "An early T ibeta n wo rd for hone." Joumo/ of the
American Oriental Society 94:124-5, 1~74 . .
Co OLIN, Weldon South. "A no te on Tibetan mu." Linguistics of Ihe 1ibelQ·
432 Tile CtAssICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

BurmJln Area 10.1:166-8, 1987.

CoBUN, Weldon South. "Notes on Old Tibetan Rje-blas." Paper presented at

(he twenty-third annuallntemational Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages
and Unguislics, University of Texas, Arlington, 1990.
EIMER, Helmut. "dByans-can dga'·ba'j blo-gros' explanation of some expres-
sions from the Sa skya legs ~d." In Helmut Eimer, ed. VICUrakusumaijjali.
Volumt' presented to RKhtJrd Othon Meisaahl on 1M occasion of his tighMth
birthdily, 49-60. Indica et Tibetica 11. Bo~n: Indica et Tibetica Verlag, 1986.
EKVAl.L, Roben B. "Correlation of contradictions: a Tibetan semantic
de\-jce." In William C. McCormack and Stephen A Wurm. cds.LAnguo.gt and
Ihoughl: oruhropologica/ Wllt.f, 325-6. The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1977; also
in James F. Fisher, ed. Himalayan anthropology: 'he Indo-Tibetan inteifnu.
25 1-62. The Hague: Mouton, 1978.
EMMERICK. Ronald Eric. "Some lexical items from the Rgyud.bti." In Procud-
ings of th~ Csoma de K6rds M~morin l Symposium , 101-8. Bibliographia
Orientalis Hungarica 23. Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1978.
EMMERICK. Ronald Erie. "Some lexical items from the Siddhasiira." In Ernest
Steinke llne r and Helmut Tauscher, eds. ConJributions on Tibetan umguag~,
History, and Culture. Proceedings of the Csoma de K6rOs Symposwm held a!
Velm-VlefJna, AUSlria, ]3·19 September 1981, 1.61-68. Wiener Studicn zur
TibelOlogie und Buddhismuskundc to. Wien: Arbeits!c:.reis fUr Tibetische und
Buddhistische Studien, Universitat Wien. 1983.
EMMERtCK, Ronald Eric. "Some more loanwords in Khotanese," Ok Spmche:
Zeitschrift fUr SprachwissellScha[, 29:43-9, 1983.
EMMERk 'K, Ronald E ric. "Tibetan lexical notes." In Louis Ugeti, ed. Tibetan
and Buddhist sm.dies commemorating the 2001h anniversary of the birth of
Aluartder Csoma de K6rds, 1.207-1 0. Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1984,
EM Mf.RICK. Ronald Eric. "Tibetan nor·ra·re." Bulletin of the School of Orientul
alUi AfrUulI Studies 51:537-39, 1988.
HAMM, F.R. "Tibetsiche dbus and yul dbus." Indo·Jrall illn journal 4:1 :'-: ,l .
1959.
HOfFMANN, Helmut. "Probleme und Aufgaben de r tibetischen Philolobic,"
Z~iJschrift der deutschen morgenliilUiiscllen Gesellschoft 92:345·68, 1938.
Hon·"MAN, Helmut. "Th~ Tibetan names o f the Saka and the Sogdians." Asia·
ruCM Studien 25:440·55, 197 1.
BIBUOORAPHY .33
HOUSTON, Gary W. "Cig car, cig char, Slon : note on a Tibetan term." C~nlral
Asiatic Journal, 20:41-6, 1976.
IMAEDA Yoshiro. "Towards an interpretation of the wo rd chis." In Michael
V. Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi, eds. Tibetan sludks in honour of Hugh
RichiJrdson: proceedings of the International Seminar on Tibetan Studia,
Orford, 131-32. Westminster: Ads & Phillips, 1979; Atlantic Highlands, NJ:
Humanities Press, 1981.
JONG, Jan Willem de. "Tibetan blag-p!l and blags-pa." Bulletm of the School
of Oriental and African Studies 36:309. 12, 1972.
K.ANlA, lreneusz. "The seventh chapter of the rGyal-rabs gsal-ba'j me-long
and a problem of Tibetan etymo logy." Folia Orie/ltalia 15:247-58, 1974; also .
in Tib~t Journal 3.3:12-20,1978.
KOHALMI, Kata lin. "Ohcr die pfcifenden Pfeilc der innerasiatischen Reiter·
nomaden." Acta Orkmalia Hungaricat 3:45-71 , 1954.
LAUFER, Berthold. "Loan words in Tibetan." T'oulIg Pao 17:404-552, 1916;
Leiden: EJ. Brill, 1918. Reprinted in Hartmut Walravens and Lokestl
Chandra. eds. SillO-TIbetan studies, 11.483-632. Nc ..... Delhi: Rakesh Goel, :987.
u Fang-kuei. "Notes on Tibetan sog." Central Asiatic Jouma/3:139-42, 1957.
u Fang-kuei. "A Sino·Tibetan glossary from T un·huang." T'oung Pao 49:233-
356, 1962; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1963.
u Fang-kuei. "Tibetan Glo-ba· 'dn·ng." Sludia Serica Bernhard Karlgren
dedicalQ , 55-9. Copenhagen, 1959.
MAnsOl'l', James A. " Hearts and minds in South-East Asian languages and
English: an essay in the comparative lexical semantics of psycho-collocations."
Cnhkrs de linguistiqu~ Ask Orkllfa/e 15.1:5-57, 1986.
MEISElAIIL., R.O. "Tibelisch margad, smaragd·.·· Umf-Allaische Jahrbu cher 35:
204-12, 1963.
MORIYASU Talmo. "La nouvelle interpretation des mots Hor et Ho-yo·hor
dans Ie manuscrit Pelliol tibi!lain 1283." Acta Oncn/afia Hungaricae 34:171-84.
1980.
Oh"TKf.. Cla us. Die nus dem Chillesischell ilbersetUl1 tjbetischell Veniol/ell des
Suval7JaprabMisasutra. PJzilolugi.sche UluJ lit'KI,islische Beitriige lur k!assi[lZkr-
enden Characterisienmg ilbenetze Tale. AlI- und Neu-Indische Studien 18.
Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag. 1977.
4.14

RICIJAI{I)SON, Hugh E. "Narlle~ and tiiles in early Tibetan records." Bu.llelill

of Tihc/fIlo}..'\· 4.1:5·20, It)h7.
RJCIIAlWSOt'i. H ugh E. "Tihel :1Il chif lind IJcllis ." Asia Major 14:254·6, 1969.
RON A-T AS, Andr{ls. "Oil a h: rm of Iilxat iun in the Old ribetan Royal Annals."
In Proceedings of th e CJoma de K(jr/is Mt'mo,wl S)'mposwm, 357·63.
Bihliographia Orientalis H unga rica 21 BudilJ'R'st: Akademiai Kiad6, 1978.
RONA-T AS, Andril~ . "Sociill terms in tho;: list of granls of the Tibelan Tun-
huang chronicle." Acto Oriell/alia fflmgari('·IIl· 5:249·70.1955.
SAkKOZI. Alice . "Some words on the: Mongoli:m Mahavyutpani." Acta Ontllt·
olio ffullgan'cae 34:219-34, 198().
SARKO/.!, Alice. " A Tihell)· Mongniian m:lIlusrn pt of 1c:xicographic explana·
tiuns to tht: fWyud.hti. " In Louis ligeti. cd. Tih('/(II! [lIId Buddhist studies com-
memomtillx till' ZOOIIl WllliIWWIT)' ('f lin' hirlh of Ak.w./lda Csomll de Konis,
11 .249-79. IJUl.!;lpcst: Akaucm i: ti K i;IU{·•• IIJX4.
SIOIlI }.{:U:, Kalllil. "The numnal ~ys ll'm of c1as~i licatilln of catchwords in
Tibel:m kxic{lgraphy.'· Zcil"d;n!/ cia dr!idJc/"'1I m 0'Kl'lIliilldiKht'lI Gf!sellscha/t
11O: 74·H2. 196CJ.
SIMON. Walte r. "Cogn;ucs of Tlhct:tIl ,wIs'fill ('entire, complc:tc')." Academja
Sillica: Bulit-lill of ,h" hl.l'/illllc· of lliwory alld PhiloloK)' 39:2X7-9. 1%9.
SIMON. W'llter . "Some T illl' l;m l'I~l11ol ogics of semantic interest." Bul/elill of
(II{' School of Oricllwl amI Afr/ClIII SwJi~'J 43; 132-6, 1Will.
SIMON. Walter. "Tiht.·wn gr.'h :md CIlb",atl' wo rds." Bulf.,till of (Iu' School of
Ori('lIwl alld Af ri("fm SlIulit's 2osn·.'2. IIJS7.

SIM()N. Waltcr. "T iheta n lexicl,gr:l phy <L IlU c tynl()lugical research." .TrUll5oc-
.iol/.~ of /he /'hiftllrWic(// SI,ri('/I' ( 11)64 ): K~-I I 17. 19M.

SIMON, W"her. "T ihl.' l;m 1I.\·ill ·rrm.1 ami /i,·rWI.I." A ..ju Major 12: 179·R4, 1966.
SIMON, W"her. "Tibetan pllf. "flar. JPIJf. ;111\1 (ugnalc words." Bullt'/ill (.f rhe
Sdwol of On'I'II/II! (1/1(1 Aj';CIlII SIWJi('S 25:72-RO. 1%2.

StMON. Waher. ''The Tibetan p.lnide r.· ... Bullt'/;1I of thl' School of Oriell/al
and AfrictJl[ Stwii"J )0:117·26. 1%7.
SIMON, Waltc r. "Tibe tan re in its wider COll1cxt." Hldlet;1I of 11t~ Sch ool of
(111(/ Afn'ctm Sludi.·s 31:555·('2. 196H.
Orin'-wl
SIMON, Walta. "Tiheta n J(( 'J • .I"/('J. /( •• (Ic .• an.1 some o f Iheir Sanskrit corrcs·
BlBUOORAPHY 435
pondences." Bulletin of the School of Orienlal and African Siudies 42:334·6,
1979,
SIMONSSON, Nils. "Sanskrit na and Tibetan ma yin." Orientalin Suecana 9:11-
21, 1960.
SoMLAI, G. "Preliminary investigation of a Tibe!an medical chart." ,In Louis
Ugeti, ed. me.an and Buddhist studies commemora.ing .he 200th annivef:fary
of 1M birth of Alexander Csarna de KorOs, 11.313-19. Budapest: Akademiai
Kiad6, 1984.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. "Un ensemble semantique libtlain: creer et proc n~e r,
!tre et devenir, vivre, nourir, el guerir." Bullelill of the School of Oriellla/ alld
African Studies 36:412-23, 1973.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. "Notes d'etymologie tibttain." Bulletill de {'Ecolt!
Fran<;oise d 'Extrime·Orient 41 :203·3 1, 1941.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. ""SaiOl et divin .. , un tilre tibetain· et chinois des rois
tibttains." Journal Asiatique 269: 23 1-75, 1981.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. "Sudden illumination or simultaneous comprehension:
remarks on Chinese and Tibeta n terminology." In Peter N. Gregory, ed.
Sudden and gradual: approaches to enliglrtellmelll ill C/rinese thought, 41-65.
Studies in East Asian Buddhism 5 Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
1987.
STEIN, Rolf A1rred. "Tibetica aOliqua I. Les deux vocabulaires des traductio ns
indo-tibetaine et sino-tibetaine dans les manuscrits de To uen·Houang."
Bulletin de l'Ecole Franfaise d'utrime·Oriem 72: 149·236, 1983.
Sn::IN, Rolf Alfred. "Tibet ica antiqua III . A propos du mot g<.·ug·{ag et de la
religion indigene." Bulletin de {'Ecole Fmllfaise d'utrime ·Onelll 74:83- 133,
1985.
TAUDE, Manfred. "Zu e inige n Texlen cler tibetischen brda·gsor.niiii-LiteralUr."
In Eberhard Richter and Manfred Taube, eds. Asielll"issenschaftliche Beilriige:
Johannes Schubert ill memoriom, 169·201. Veroffentlichungen des Museums
f(jr V6Ikerkunde zu Leipzig 32. Berlin: Akade mie·Yerlag, 1978.
TERJ.£K, J. "Die Wo rterbikher der vorklassischen tibetischen Sprache." In
Proctedings of the Csoma de Koros Memorial Symposiu m, $03-9. Bibliogra phia
Orientalis Hungarica 23. Budapest: Alcademiai Kiad6, 1978.
UEB ....CIl, Helga. "Notes o n the Tibetan kinShip term dbon." In Michael Y.
Atis and Aung San Suu Kyi, cds. Tibetan studies ill honour 0/ Hugh Riclrard·
436 THE CL\ssICAL TIBETAN I....ANOU ....OE

son: proceftiing3 of the Inlentllti0n4i Seminar on Tibetan Studits, Orford, 301·9.

Westminster: Ans &: Phillips, 1979; Atlantic Highlands. NJ: Humanities Prcss,
1981.
URAY, Gb.a. "A propos du tibttain TfOd-g-yun." In Etudes liM/aims dIdiIes
d III memoire tk MarceUt Lalou, 553-57. Paris: Adrien·Maisonneuve. 1912.
URAY, Geza. "The four horns of Tibet according to the Royal Annals." A c/a
QriLrua/iQ Hungoricae 10:31-57, 1960.
URAY, Geza. "Grtn, Ihe alleged Old Tibetan equivalent of the clhnic name
Ch 'iang." Ac/a OrkfJta/io Hungaricot 19:245-56. 1966.
U RAY, Geza. "Notes on a Tibetan military document from Tun-huang." Acta
O,untalia Hungaricae 12:223-30, 1961.
U RAY, Geza. "Old Tibetan dm-mQ-drartJ." Acta OnenlO.litJ Hungaricae 14:219-
30, 1962.
URAY, Geza. "The old Tibetan ve rb bon," Acta Orienta fin HUligaricae 17:323-
34, 1964.
URAy-KOI-W..MI, Kathe. "Der pfeil bci den innerasiatischen Reiternomaden
und ihre Nachbarn." Acta Oriell/alw HUlIgalicae 6:109·61, 1956.
WtUIELM, Friedrich. "Ein Beitrag zur tibetischen Lexikographic." Cmtra[
Asiatic Journal 7:2 12·25, 1962.
WYLI E., Turrell V. "Etymology of Tibetan Bla-ma." Centrol Asiatic ioumal 21:
145·8, 1977.

8. TIBETAN TEXTS

ARtS, M ichael. Sources for the hislOry of Bhutan. Wie ner Stud ien zur Tibet·
o logie und Buddhism uskunde 14. Wicn: A r beit ~kre is fUr T ibctische IJnd
Buddhistische Studien, Universitat Wien, 1986.
BACOT, Jacques. La vie de Map;; Ie 'traducteur.' Buddhica, l Si series, 7.
Paris: Librairie OrienlaJiste Paul Geuthna, 1937.
BAC.:OT, Jacques. Zugiliima. C.,hiers tie fa Societe: Asi3tique 14. Paris, 1957.
BACOT, Jacques, F. W. Thomas and Ch. Toussaint. Docummls de rauen -
houallg relalifs a ['hisroi,e du Tibet. Annaks du Musce Guimet, BibliOlheque
d'Etudes 51. Paris, 1946.
BI8UOORAPHY 437

BAlBIR, Jagbans Kishore. L 'hi.stoin de Ramo en tWtlain d 'apns les manuscritr

de Touen·houang. Collection Jean Pnyluski 4. Paris: Adrien·Maisbnneuve,
1963.
BossON, James Evert. A treasury of aphoristic jewels: the SubhiIfuaratlUJnidhi
of Sa Skya Pa1J4ita in TIbetan and Mongolian. Ura1ic and A1taic Series 92.
Bloomington: Indiana University, 1969.
DARGYAY, Lobsang. Gun than dKon ,"chog bsTan pa 'j sgron me'j mom thilr
mdor bsdus btUgl. A concise biography of GWi than dKon mc:Jwg bsTan po 'j
sgron me. Wiener Srudien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 6. Wien:
Arbeitskreis fUr Tibetische und . Buddhistische Studien, UniversiUit Wien,
1981.
DEWAoNG, N. Norbu. "'Musical tradition of the Tibetan people. Songs in dance
measure." In Orielllalia Romano 2:205-347. Serie Orientale Roma 36. Rome:
Istitulo Italiano. per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1967.
EIMf.I/:. Helmut. R.IIam (11Or rgyas po. Materialen %u einer Biograpllie des AlBa
(Drpa",lu:lra5rrjiiiina). Asialische Forschungen 67. Wiesbaden: Ouo Harras·
sowitz, 1979.
El M Ell, Helm ut. '"Ein Saskya pa-Gebet." Zenlrafasialische 5tudicll 2:151-78,
1'168.
EMMElllr.K, Ronald Eric. Tibelan texts com:emitlg Khotall . London Oriental
Series 19. Lond(m: Oxfotd University Press. 1967.
Fll.IIIIOCK, Elena De Rossi. 7Wo Tuman guide books 10 n .Ie alld La phyi.
Monumenta Tibetica Historicil. Ablcilung I: ScripHlres 4. Bonn: VGH
Wisseosl:haflsverlag. 1988.
FltAN CKE, August Hc=rmann. Amiqui/icJ of Indian Tibet, Parr If: nle chronicles
of LaJukh ami millor chro"icles. Archeolngical Survey of India 50. Calculla,
1926.
FIl.ANCKF~ August Hermann. "gZer-myig. A book .;f the Tibetan Bon-pos,
edited and translated." Asia Major 1:243-346, 1924; 3:321·339, 1926; 4:161-
239,481-540,1927; 5:1-40,1930; 6:Z99·)14, 1930.
FRANCKE, August Hermann. A lower Ladaklti ve~io" of Ihe Kesar saga. Biblio-
theca Indica 1543. Calcutta, 1905·4 1.
GIlONWEOEl. Albert. Die Ll!gt'liden del Nii-ro-pa. Leipzig: Ouo Harrassowitt,
1933.
438 THE Cu.sSICAL TIBETAN l...ANOUAOE

HElFFER. Mireille. us chanu de /'tpopte riMtaint! tk Ge-sar d'aprts Ie livre

df: fa coune de clKva~ Ve/'l"wn chantit! de Blo-bZJ1ii bstan-1in. Centre de
Recherches d'Hisloire et de Philologie de Ja JY section de J'Ecole Pratique
des Haute! Etudes Z. Haute! Etudes Orientales 9. Gen~ve: Libraririe Dmz,
1977.
H OfFMANN, H "!ImUl Quel/en zur Gtschichle des tibetischen Bon-Religion.
Akademie der Wissenschaften und der LileraluT, Abhandlung der Geistes-
und Sozialwissenschaftlichen KJaSse 4. Wiesbaden, 1950.
HOUSTON, Gary W. Sources for a history of the bSarn yas debate. Monumenta
Tibetica Historica. Abteilung I: Scriplores 2. Sank! Augustin: VGH Wissen-
schaftsverlag, 1980.
Hlml, Georg. Geschichle de, Buddhismus in der Mongolei. Strassburg:
Trubner, 1893-96.
JONO, Jan Willem de. Mi la ras pa 'j mam lhar. Tale libttain de la vie de
Milar/pa. Indo-Iranian monographs 4. The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1959.
JONG, Jan Willem de. "The Tun-huang m:.nuscripts of the Tibetan Riimiiyal)a
story." Indo-/ronUln Journal 19:37-88, 1977.
KAMTAY, Samten G. The tretuury of good sayings: a Tibetan history of BOil.
London Oriental Series 26. London: Oxford University Press, 1912-
KASaIEWSKY, Rudolf. " Die Lehrworte des Pha-dam-pa." In Rudolf Kaschew-
sky, K1aus Sagaster, and Michael Weiers, eds. Sena TlbetO-Mollgolica. Fest-
schnft fUr Walther Heinig zum 60. Geburtslag, 171 -204. Wiesbaden: Otto
Harrassowitz, 1973.
KAscHEWSKY, Rudolf and Perna Tsering. Die Erobenmg der Burg von Sum-pa.
Asiatische Forschungen 94. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitl., 1987.
KAscIlEWSKY, Rudolf and Perna Tsering. "Gesars Abwehrkampf gegen
Kaschmir." Zentraltuiatische Sludiell 6:273-98, 1972.
KAscHEWSKY. Ruaolf and Perna Tsering. Dos Leben der Himmelsfee 'Gro-bo
bzoij-mo. EUI buddhistisches 1heatemuck. Tibetische Texte al.:s NepalI. Wien:
Octopus Verlag, 1975_
KAscHEWSKY, Rudolf and Perna Tsering. "Die Niederschlagung des ErnpOrers
von Nag-ron und andere Reminiszenzen des Dpal-sprul Rin-po-the." Zentraf-
asiatische Studit:n 7:443-75, 1973.
KlAus, Christa. ScllUiz vor dell Natu.rr,efallren . Tibetisclle Rituol!exte ous dem
BJBUOGRAI'IIY 439

Rin chen gter mdzod. Asiatische Forschungen 97. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrasso-
will., 1985.

KtAFxOWSKl, Piolr. The secret deliverance o[ the sixlh Dalai Lama a.f IUlrroted
by Dharmatala. Wiener Studien zur Tibelologie und Buddhlsmuskunde 3.
Wien: Arbeitskreis filr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Univer1itiit
Wien, 1979.
Kouv.S, Jose£. "Dezhung Rinpoche's summary and continuation of the $de-
dge'j rgyal-rabs." Acta Orientalin Hungaricae 42:119-52, 1988.
KuZJllETSQv, B.I. Rgyal rabs gsal ba 'j me long. Scripta Tibelana 1. Leiden: EJ.
Brill, 1966.
K VAERNE. Per. "A chronological table of the Bon Po. The Bslan reis of Ni rna
bstan 'jin." Acta Oriel/talia 33:205-82, 1971.
KVAERNE., Per. "Un nouveau document Telatir a l'epopte tibttaine de
Gesar." Bulletin de I'tc~/e Franrraise d'£xrlme-O~m 58:221-229, 1971.
LALOll, Marcelle . "Fiefs poisons et guerisseun." Journal asinliqUL 246:151-201,
1958.
LALou, Marcelle. "Sulfa du Bodhisattva 'Roi de la Loi.'" Joumal asiotique
249:321-32, 1%1.
L-.UfER, Bertho ld. Der Roman einu tibetischen KOlligen. Ti/ntischer TaJ und
Uiurserzullg. Lt:ipzig: Ouo Harrassowitz, 1911.
L-.UJ'ER. Be rthold. Ein SWmgt'diclrl der BOIlPO, aus eUler Handschrift der
Ox/order Bodlceiana, 40-59. Denkschriften der Wiener Akademie der Wissen-
scharten XLV!.7. Wien, 1900.
LESSING, Ferdinand D. and Alex Wayman. Mkhas grub rje's Fwuiamentals o[
the Buddhists Tcmtras. Indo- Iranian Monographs 8. The Hague: Mouton, 1968.
LJ Fang·kuei. "The inscription of th~ Sino-Tibetan treaty 821-822." T'oung
Pao 44:1·99, 1956.
UNOTNER. Christian. "AtiSa's introduction to the two truths. and its sources."
Journal o[ bldinn Philosophy 9:161-214, 198L
MACDONAW, Alexander W. MatlritJuz pour I'ltude de la liItlroturt popuIaiu
tjbltau'~ t. Annales du Musee Guimet, Bibliotheque d'Etudes 72. Paris:
Presses Universitaires de France, 1967.
M ACDONALD, Alexander W. MaliritJuz pour I'Ifud~ de la li.ttirarur~ popuJaire
 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN UNGUAGE

tibittlw II. Paris: ubrairie C. KJincksieck. 1972.

MJ.NEN, Johan van. Minor TIbetan tttlS, / : 1M song of the eastern snow
m()WIIaUu. Bibliotheca Indica, new series 1426. Calcutta, 191 9.

NOBEL, Johannes. UdrayaIJQ, KOnig von RonJco. EiM buddhistische Erziihlung.

Dk tibetische filnr.selZung d~ Sonskrinuus. Wiesbaden, Ouo Harrassowitz,
1955.
NORDU. Thubten Jigme and Robert B. Ekvall. The younger brother Don Yod.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.., 1969.
RIOIARDSON, Hugh E. Ancient historical edicu at Uw.sa and the Mu
Tswtg/Khri Guung Lde Bnsan treaty of A.D. 821-822 from the inscription at
Lhasa. Royal Asiatic Society Prize Publication Fund 19. London, 19.52.
RIOIARDSON, Hugh e. "A new inscription of Khri Srong Lde Brtsan." Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society ( 1964): 1-13, 1964.
RICHARDSON. Hugh E. ':A ninth-century inscription from Rkoi'i-po." Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society (1954):1.57-73, 1954.
RICHARDSON, Hugh E. "The Sino-Tibetan Ireaty inscriplion of A.D. 8211823
at lllasa." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1978):137-62, 1978.
RICHARDSQN, Hugh E. "The Skar-cung inscription." Journal of tile Royol
Asiatic Society (1973):12-20, 1973.
RICHARDSON, Hugh E. "Three ancient inscriptions from Tibet." Journal ofllie
Royal Asiatic Society of lkngal 1.5:45-64, 1949.
RICHARDSON. Hugh E. ''Tibeta n inscriptions at :l.va-hi Lha Khan, 1-11." Journal
of the RO)'ol Asiatic Sociery (1952): 133-.54, 1954; (19.53): 1-12, 1953.
RICHARDSON, Hugh E. A corpus of early Tibetan inscriptions. Hertford : Royal
Asiatic Society, 1985.
RUEGG, D. Seyfml. The life of Bu ston Rill po che, willi the Tibetan tat of tile
Bu ~ton rNam thor. Serie Orientale Roma 34. Rome: Istituto Italia no per iI
Media cd Estrcmo Oriente, 1966.
ScIllEFNER, Franz Anton von. Toranm/lae de doctrinae Buddhicae in India
propagatione nam1tio. Contextum Twelicum e codiciblls Petropolilanis ediliil. St.
Petersburg, 186&.
ScuIEFNER, Franz Anton von. fiber das Bon-po Surro, Dos Weisu I\ "'-~';~ ­
Hundemausnd. Mcmoires de I'Acadcmie Imperiale de St. Petersb..iurJ, ViI.
BIBUOORAPHY 441

28. SL Petersburg, 1880.

SoIUII, Dieter. "Der chinesische Steinkries. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der
sino· tibetischen Divinationskal kulationen ... ZenttalasiotiscM Studien 7:353·423,
1973.
ScHUlt, Dieter. "Ein Rechtsbrief der 7. Dalai Lama fUr den Tibetischen
Residenten am SHips von Bodhniith." Zentralasiotische Studien 8:423-53, 1914.
SNELI..GROVE., David L FoUT lamas of Oolpo: autobiographic of foUT Tlhetan
klmas (J5th-l&h centuri.ts). Oxford: Bruno CassircT, 1967.
SNELLGROVE., David L The nine ways of Bon. Excerpts from gZi-brjid ediJed
and translated. London Oriental Series 18. London: Oxford University Press,
1961; Boulder: Praj~a Press, 1980.
SoRENSEN, Per K. "Tibetan love lyrics: the love songs of the sixth Dalai
Lama: an annotated critical edition of Tshuns-dbyoFIS rgyo-mtsho'i mgul-glu."
Indo-lranion Journal 31:153-98, 1988.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. Une chronique oncie/'llle de bSam·yas; sBa-bled. Publica··
tions de I'Institut des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, Tcxles e t Documents I. Paris,
1961.
STEtN, Rolf Alfred. L 'ipopie libi/aine de Gesor, dans sa ve~u)ll /ama'ique de
Ling. Annales du Musee Guimet, Bibliotheque d'Etudes 61. Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France, 1956.
STElt-I, Rolf Alfred. "Le texte tibetain de 'Brug.pa KWI·!egs." Zelltroiasiatiscll,.
Studien 7:9-219, 1973.
STEtNKELLNER, Ernst. Rnom lhor sgo gsum gyi mom par Mag po, legs Mad
rgyo mlsho'i roo labs by Gun than Dlron mchog btsan pa 'i sgron me. Wiener
Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 7. Wien: Arbeitskreis fUr
Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universitlit Wien, ]981.
TERJe,K. lozsd. "Fragments of the Tibetan sulfa of 'The wise and the fool'
from Tun-huang." Acta O,untalia Hungoricoe 22:289-334, 1969; 23:55-83,
1970.
TUOMAS, Frederick William. Ancient folk-liJeroluu from nonh-easlem TIbt:t.
Abhandlungen def Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, KJassc
rur Sprachen, Literatur un Kunst, Jahrgang 1952 Nr. 3. Berlin: Akademie·
Verlag, 1957.
THOMAS, Frederick William. Tibetan /ilerary ttX1S and documents cotlc,.ming
442 Till: ClASSICAL TlIJETAN LANGUAGE

Chincse TUrh'SllJI1. London: R oy,1I Asiatic Society. 1935 -55 .

Tn .I.EMANS, Tom IF. "Two Tibetan texts on the 'neither one nor many' argu-
ment for Ji:illya lii ." l ou mal of /Julian Philosophy 12:357-BR. \984.
T UCCI, Giuseppe. Dch , 'f!( lllnar po g.wr mu. Tibc/(III chronicles hy bSod nams
J~fllgS (XI.
SeTie Orientale Ruma 24. Rome: Istituto Italiano per i\ Media ed
Cstremo Oriente, 1971.
TUCCI, Giuse ppe. Tibetan folksongs fmm C,.UII/U Illul Weoftem Tibet. Ascona:
Artibm A..~i<le, 1966.
TUCCI, Giuseppe. nit! IOmbs of Ihe Tiberall kVlgs. Serie Orientale Roma 1.
Rome: ISliluto Italiano per i1 Medio ed Eslremo Oriente. 1950.
Yo Tau-ch'ullfl and Chao Vuen-rell. tOl'C SWigs of IIII! .fUIII Dalai Lama
Ts'aiis-dbyailf-rgyu-mls'o. Academia Sinica Monograph S. Taipei. 1930.

9. TIBETAN TRANSLATIONS FROM SANSKRIT

BAII.I''(, D.R. Shaddcl(ln. n,e $Q1(lpaiiciiimka of Miil{C('r(l. Cambridge: Cam-

bridge Unive rsity Press. 1951.
DF"IlU .EN I'A.I.VY, G~la. "The $UI(lgaIlIG attributed to Vataruci." in Louis
Ligc!l. ed. Tihet(lll alld BueMhul slue/ii'S mmmemofOling Ihe 2{)()11t anl/iI'eno,)'
of ,II(' hin/, of A/cx(1Ildl'r Csomu de K(;rii.f, 1.17-58. Budapest: Akadcmiai
Ki;tdll, \9~4 .

BIIAITACllAAYA, Vidhushckhara. Blxlhi("uryiiHlliira of $iilltidem. Bibliotheca

Indic;t 151'lO. C'.a!culla; The Asiatic Society, l"X..o.
Vidhushekh;lra. nil! CatuMllwka of .-?f)'all.'~·a. SamkriJ mid
BII A lTAC' II A){YII.,
Tibetan texts Kill" copious extracts from lilt' commelltary of Calldrukimi.
Calcutta: Visva-Bharati. 193 1.
BUAll"ACIIAR"\'A, Vidhushekhara. NiiguIIOIu/a"lii[ako of Sn"1IQ~(/dela. Biblio-
then indica 1574. Calculla: The Asiatic Society. 1957.
BoSE, Phanindra Nalh. Pra/jm,i·miIIHJ.I{/k.~a~wm. Lahore' MOl; Lal Banarsi
Das. 1929; Delhi: BhlnaliY(l Puhlishing ' ·Iouse. \978.
CIlA1TOPADIlYAYA, Durgacharan. fktu[{lfI~'{/opadda IIf }ililri. RemmIn4('/t'd
SOrlS/aii lert willI lite Tibe[{/II I·"f)·io!/. CalcUli"; Unhersity of C,lcutt:l, 1939.
DA){C,YAY, Lohsang. Dit' Lt'K<'mk" 1(111 d"11 sh'h"11 Prim"'uilll1l'" (st/I'm-
BIBUOORAPflY 443

lcumiiriJcii..ovadQna) in de,- poetischcl Fassung VOn GuhyadillfQ./Gopadana

aufgnmd dl!r tibl!tischl!n Ubustezung. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und
Buddhismuskunde 2. Wien: Arbeitskreis rur Tibetische und Buddhistische
Studien, Universitiit Wien, 1978.
DIE'J7.. Siglinde. Die buddhistiscM BM/lilt!rarur lNikru. Nach tUm tibetischen
TanjUl. Asiatische Forschungen 84. Wiesbaden: OUo Harras.sowitz, 1984,
EIMER, Helmut. Bodhipathapradipa. Ein Lehrgedicht du AUla (DTpatflktJra-
Jrijiiiina) ill der tiMtische Uberlkfl!fU[lg. Asiatische Forschungen 59. Wies·
baden: Otto Harrasowit%, 1978.
EMMERICK, Ronald Eric. "A chapter from the Rgyud-bfi." Asill majnr
19.2: 141-62, 1975.
EMMERICK, Ronald Eric. The Siddhasiira of Ravigupla. Verzeichnis der orien-
talischen Handschriften in Deutschland Supplementband 23. Wiesbaden:
Franz Steiner Verlag, 1980-82
FILUOZAT, Jean. YogaJiJtakD: tau mtdica~ attribut d Nfigarjuna. Publications
de I'lnstitut Fran\ais d'indologie 62. Pondichery: Inslitut Fran4fais d'indologie,
1979.
HAlIN, Michael. Candragomilu Lokiinandanii(ah1. Nach dem tiMtischen Tan-
jiu herausgegeben und iiberset%f. Ein beitrag ZUI indischt!n lcJassisCMn SCMu,
spieldichtung. Asiatische Forschungen 39. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
1974.
HAlIN, Michael. miintUnmitras V,rttamfifiistuti. Eint /kispietsammlung zur
a/lindi.tchen Mtlrile.. Asialische Forschungen 33. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrasso-
witz, 1971.
HAHN, Michael. Nfigfirjuna's Ralniivaff. Indica et Tibetica I. Bonn: Indica et
Tibetica Verlag, 1982.
HAliN. Michael. "Ratnakara~anti's autocommentary on his Chandoratnakara."
In Helmut Eimer. ed. Vu:iJralcwumiilljali. VoIumt presl!lIttd to RichDrrl OthOll
Meistzah/ 011 thl! occasioll of his tighlklh birthday, 77-100. Indica et Tibetica
11. Bonn: Indica et Tibetica Verlag, 1986.
HAMM, Frank·Richard. R~b 11.1 'byuii ba'; gli. Die libl!fischt Ubtnttzung du
Pravrajyiivasfu ill VUlaya des MU/QSarviJsfivifdiru. Helmut Eimer, ed. Asiatische
Forschungen 82. Wit:sbaden: Ono Harrassowitz, 1983.
H...."I1"OI<1 Masaak.i. Digniiga on ptTCtplion: bl!ing tht pratyalqoparicchtda of
Diglliiga's Pramift;lasamuccaya from I~ SonslcriJ fragmmu aNi the Tibetan
444 TilE CtAssICAL TIBETAN l..ANouAOB

versions. Harvard Oriental Series 47. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

1968.
JAS"ffiAM, Judy Ann. 11vu clwptm from the Gal)ljDvyiiha siUTa: a crilicaJ
ediJwtl of the SalUJcriJ and Tibetan texts of the youlh Sudhana's visits to 1M
bhiJqw MegJumi, Siigaramegluz, and Supra(#Ihila. Dissertation AbstraCU
Internatiunal 37(01):0321, University Microfihm AOG76-1S237. Ph.D.
dissenalion, University of Calirornia-Berkeley, 1975.
UMOnc, Etienne. Sarrulhinirmoca1lQ siUra. L 'explication tks mysttres. Paris:
Adrien Maisonneuve, 1935.
lAMOlTE. Etienne. La fomme du grand ~hicuh (MahayaNUllfN'UIuJ). Publi-
cations de "Institute Orientalisle de Louvain 8. Louvain: Univenit~ de
Louvain, 1973.
LAUFEI/., Berthold. DOkumenlt! de' indiJchen Kunst. £rslU Heft. Maltrei. [)as
CiJralaksha')o: Leipzig: Quo Harrassowil2., 1913. Translated as An early
docurnellt of Indinn an: the "Citra/alqtH;lQ of NagnajiJ. " B.N. Goswamy and
A.L Dahmen-Dal1apiccola, trans. New Delhi: Manohar, 1976.
Ltyy, Sylvain. Mahiikamwvibhaiiga (La grande classi[u:ation des acres) er
Karrnovibhaiigopadefa (Discussitm sur Ie mahii kam1J1vibhaiiga). Paris:
Librairie Ernst Leroux, 1932.
LIN u- kouang. Dharrna-wmuccaya. Compendium de InloL Rtcueil de stances
extruiles du Saddlwrrna-sm{TtY-up<whiina,sulra par AvaloldJasifriha. Paris:
Adrien·Maisonncuve, VoLl, 1946; Vol. 2, 1969; Vol. 3, 1973.
L1NDTNER, Christian. "Cadrakirtj's PaikaskandhaprakaraT:la." AclO Onemu/ill
40:87. 145, 19"19.
LINI>TNEII., Christian. "Narakrxldharastava." Acra Oriefltalill 40:146-55, 1979.
M AY, JaCtjucs. Candrokirti. Prasannapadii madhyamakovrtti Collection Jean
Przyluski 2. Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1959.
N nfl E! ~ Johannes. Suvaf7)aprabhiisOltomasutra: dos GoldglanLfutra. Leiden: E.J.
8rm, 1950.
PANDEY, jagadishwar. Ralniikaro-fiimj's Chandoramiikora. Rahula Collection
Scrics 2. Patna: Bihar Research Society, 1988.
PATI'.! , Prabhub h~i Bhikhabhai. Cjua~iJuddhiprakara'!4 0/ Aryadeva. Sanskrit
mid Tibefwz texts. S'lntinikcta n: Visva·Bharati Research Publications, 1949.
PMII A K. Sunitikumar. Ciil)a/cyariijalllliJiistram (a Tibetan te.xJ wiJh SanskrU
BI8L1OGRAPIIY «5
parallels). Santiniketan: Visva·Bharati Research Publications., 19S9.
PATIIAK, Sunitikumar. Nititliltrt1 of Maswalqa. Santiniketan: VisYa·Bharati
Research Publications, 1961.
POUSSIN, Lous de la Vallee. Tibetan trQI'LSiation of tM NyQyabindu of Dharma·
k"irti with the com~ntary of Vlniradeva. Bibliotheca Indica 171. Calcutta: The
Asiatic Society, 1905-13; Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 1984.
SASTR[, N. Aiyaswami. Al)'a ~aiUlambQ lutra, ProtflYO-Slumupad4vibluJnga nir·
de!asutra, and PrQriryasamurpadagiirho surra. The Adyar Ubrary Series 76.
Adyar: Adyar Library, 1950.
SASTRI, N. Aiyaswami. Bhavasaiikranti sUlra and NagarjUTUJ'S BluJWUtliiJaanti
.fiillra with rite commtlltary of MaiJreya"litha. Adyar: Adyar library, 1938.
StERBAnKOJ, Fedor Ippolitovif. N>'liyabindu, buddhijVcij ulebniJc iogiJd,
solinenie Darmokirti, i tolkovanie no nego, NyliyabindufikD, sol~ Dorm-
ottarbi. rtbetskij perevod. BibliOlheca Buddhica 8. St. Petenburg. 1904.
Si:ERBATSKOJ, Fedor Ippolitovif. TibelSkij ptm'Od AbJUdhormalcofakiriJcih i
AbhidirannakOfobhii&om solintnlJ' Vasubandhu. Bibliotheca Buddhica 20.
Leningrad, 1930; Osnabrilck: Biblio Verlag, 1970.
SeERHATSKOJ, Fedor IppoJitovif. rtbetskijpel'n'Od socinenij $anIQMnlanuiddIti
Dharmakirti i Saflliifllimarcuiddhi/ilcd Vlllltadeva lI1rIate s libtrsldm tolJcJcva·
nitm, sostavlelillym Agvofl DandarllJ(lramboi. Bibliolheca Buddhica 19. St.
Pe tersburg, 1916.
Si":ERBATSKOJ, Fedor tppolitovit and Evgenij Evgenievif Obermiller. Abhi-
samaya lalikiI ra-prajllii pii ramiJii -upadefa ·.fii Slra. Bibliotheca Buddhica 23.
Leningrad. 1929_
SKORUPSKI, Tadeusz. nit! S!Jn'adu'K(;JlipariJodhana lantra. Elimination of oil
evil desrinks. Sa/ukriJ alld Tibe/an 1t!.XfS. Delhi: MOlilal Bananidass, 1983.
SNELLGROVE. David L. nle Hevajra Tallfra. A criticalltudy. London Oriental
Series 6_ London : Oxford University Press, 1959.
SORENSEN. Per K . COIwrakinis Wa,a~lalaplati. n'e septu4ginJ of lhe "vee
refug.es. Wiener Siudien zur TihelOlogie und Buddhismuskunde 16. Wien: At·
beitskreis fUr Tihetische und Buddhislische Studien, Univenitat Wien, 1986.
STAft-Hot S1ViN, Baton A. von. nit Kii\yapapan"vana. A MoMyituJSiJrra of
tht Rm/Jaku!(J class. Peking, 1925; Tokyo: Meicho·fu\cyu-kai, 1977.
S1T:.lNKHI.NF.R, Ernst . Dharmakrnis Paralokasiddlli. Nach~ird~ WJftl~bW1.
446 THE ClAssiCAL TIDETAN Lo.NOUAOE

Zugleich eine Eidulegung maleriLliis,irchu 'Ihnen lUI' Notur der Geistigkeu.

Wiener Studien zur Tibclologie und Buddhismuskunde 15. Wien: Arbeitskreis
fUr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studi~m. Univers:tiit Wien, 1986.
ToU\, Fernando and Carmen Dragoneni. "SUnyaliisaptan: the seventy karikis
on Voidness (according to the SV3vrtti) of Nagarjuna." Joumal 0/ Indian
Phaosop/l), Il:l-ll, 1987.
TSUDA Shinichi. 17K SOfJ1yorodaya- Tantra. Selected ClulpttT3. Tokyo: The Hoku-
seido Press, 1974.
VIDYABIfU~A, Salis Chandra. Amamkoja and Us 'T'ibetan tnlfUltlrion, 'Chi
met! mdzod. A mtlrical dictionary of flu Sanskrillanguage by AmarruiqW1 with
us 7ibeton trans/DtWn made by MahiipoQ4uo Klrticandra and Yar·/uiis Lo-uii-
ba Gratp-pa-rgyal-mtslum. Bibliotheca Indica 204. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of
Bengal, 1911·12; Gangtok: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1984.
VOGEL., aaus. The teachings 0/ the six heretics according to the PrallrQjyavastu
of llie Tibetan Miil4salViistiviida Vlltaya. Abhandlungen fur die Kunde des
Morgenlandes XXXIX.4. Wiesbaden: Kommwionsverlag FranzSteiner,l910.
VOOEl, Qaus. Viigbho{a's Alriingahrdayasarphilii. The first five chopttr.r 0/ its
Tibetan vtr.rion. Abhandlungen rur die Kunde des Morgenlandes XXXVI!. 2.
Wiesbaden: Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft, 1965.
WEUER, Friedrich. Brahmajiilosuml. 7ibetischer und mongolircher Tat.
Leipzig: Kommissionsverlag Otto Harrassowitl, 1934.
ZIMMERMANN, Heinz.. Die SubhiiJua-ratna-karalJ44ktJ-/wtha (dem AtyaJiira
zugeschMben) und ihre tibetische Uberwzung. Ein Vergleich zur Darl~ng der
ImwnsriJiJren bei der Awwertung tibetischer Ubtr.retzungen. Freiburger Beitrage
zur lndologie 8. Wiesbaden: Duo Harrassowitl, 1975.

10. WRITING

BACOT, Jacques. L'~criJun cw:Jilie tibetaine. Paris, 1912.

B~D, William L "In re classical Tibetan orthography. 'Fools rush in
where angels fear to tread.' ,. Paper presemed at the eleventh annual Inter-
national Conference on Sino-Tibetan Language! and linguistics, University
of Ariwna. Tucson, 1918.
DAS, Sarat Chandra. 1'he sacred and ornamental characters of Tibet."
Joumol of 1M Aswtic Society of Bengal 57:41-8, 1888.
BISUOGRAPIfY 447

FIWOZAT, Jean. "Sur l'origine de J'ccriture tibttaine." Joumal Aswriqu~ 231:

283, 1939.
F~cKE, August Hermann. "The Tibetan alphabet." Epigrophia Indica 11:
266-72, 1911-12.
HUNTER, David. Paptrmaking. The hiJtory and techniqIU of an anciem croft,
59, 111·114, 170, ISO, 240. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1947.
LAUFER, Berthold. "Origin of Tibetan writing." Journal of the Anurican
Oriental Society 38:34.46, 1917.
MIllER, Roy Andrew. "Phonemic theory and orthographic practice in Old
Tibetan." J0Utn41 of Ih~ TIbelan Society 1:45062, 1981.
MIUER, Roy Andrew. Th~ Tib~/an wriring 5}'st~m. American Council of
Learned Societies Program in Oriental Languages Series B, Aid 6. WaShing·
ton DC: American Council of Learned Societies, 1956.
NAKANO Miyoko. "The Rgya--dkar·nagrgya·ser ka·smi·ra hal bod hor·gyi yi·ge
dan dpe·ris rnam·grans maii·ba and some remarks on the ·Phags·pa Kript."
In Perala Ratnam, ed. Studies in Indo-Aswn art and cu//un. Comnumoratjv~
volume on the 71s1 birthday of Achorya Raghu Vva, 111.1·18. ~ala.Pitaka series,
Indo-Asian Literatures 209. Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture.
1973.
NARKYTD, Ngawangthondup. "The origin o f the Tibetan script." In Ernest
Steinkellner and Helmut Tauscher, eds. ContribuMfIJ on 'Jibelan lAngtUlge,
History, and CulJurt. Procudings of the Csoma de KOriis Symposium h~ld at
Vefm.V&tnna, Austria, 13·19 September 1981. 1.207·20. Wiener Studien zur
Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 10. Wien: Arbeil$kreis fUr Tibetische und
Buddhistische Siudien, Uni,.. ersi~t Wien, 1983.
SAMPSON, Geoffrey. Wriring systenu. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1985.
ScHARlIPP, Wo lfgang·Ekkehard. Eirlfohrung in die tiMtisch~ Schrift. Hamburg:
Buske, 1984.
STEVENS, John. Sacred calligraphy of the East, 71·96. Boulder: Shambhala
Publications, Inc., 1981.
URAY, Geza. "On the Tibetan letters ba and wa--contribution to the origin
and hislory of the Tibetan alphabet." Acto Orienlalia Hungarica~ 5:101·22.
1955.
448 THE CLASSICAl. TIBETAN 'LANGUAGE

11. LANGUAGE CLASSIFICATIONS

BoDMAN, Nicolas C. "On the place of Lepcha in Sino-Tibetan-a lexical

comparison." Linguistics o[ II!~ TlbelQ·Burman Area 11.1: 1·26, 1988.
FORREST, R.A.D. "The linguistic position of Rang (Lepcha)." Journal of the
American Oriental Society 82:331·5, 1962.
HALE, Austin. Research 011 Tibelo-BUf17Iol1 languages, 10-35. Trends in Linguis-
tics, State or the Art Report 14. New York: Mouton, 1982.
MA71SOFF, James M. "The languages and dialects of Tibelo-Burman: an
alphabetic/genetic listing. with some prefatory remaru on etnonymic and
glossonymic complicatiom." In John McCoy and Timothy Light, cds. Contri-
butiolls to Sino-TlhelQII studies. Cornell Linguistics Contributions 5. Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1985.
MICIWLOVSKY, Boyd. "Phonological typology of Nepal languages." Paper
pres~nled at the fifteenth annual International Conferenc~ on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, Peking, 1982.
NISIII Yoshio. "Classification of some Tibetan dialects of Nepal." Paper
presented at the first annual conference of the Linguistic Society of Nepal,
Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, 1980.
RUlILEN, Merrill. A guide fO fire world's languages. Vol. 1: classi[lCofWII , 141·
47,331-33. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1987.
SHAFER, Raben. "Classification of the Sino-Tibetan languages." Word 2:94-
111,1955.
SHAfER, Raben. "Classification of some languages of the Himalayas." Joumal
of ,he Bihar Research Society 34: 192.214, 1950.
SII .... FF.R, Roben. "The linguistic position of Owags." Oriens 7:)48-56, 1954.
THURGOOD, Graham. "Pronouns, pronominallPtion, and the suhgrouping of
Tibeto-Burman." In G raham Thurgood, James A. Matisoff, and DaVid
Bradley, cds. Lingui5lics of ,he Sino· Tibetan area: (h e SIOle of tile art PapH'S
presemed to Paul K. 8efU'dicl for his 71st bindhay, )76-400. Pacific Linguistics
Series C, 87. Canberra: Australian National University, 1985.
VOEGEI.IS, C.F. and F.M. Voegclin. Classificatioll alld index of Jill' K'o"d :~
IWlguuges. Ncw York : Elsevier, 1977.
BIBUOORAPIIY 449

12. RELATED LANGUAGES

CHANG Kun. "The phonology of the Gyarong dialect." Academio Sinko:

Bulletin 0/ the fnslitule 0/ History and Phi/ology 38:251-75, 1968.
OlANO Kun and Betty Shefts Chang. "Gyarong historical phonology." Aca-
demio Sinko: Bulletin 0/ the Institute of History and Philology 46:391-524, 1975.
DRElM, George van. "An exploration of Proto-Kiranti verbal morpholoj1Y."
Paper presented at the twenty-first annual International Conference on Sino-
Tibetan languages and Linguistics, University of Lund, 1988.
DRtEM, George van. "Le Proto-Kiranti revisitt: morphologie verbaJe de
LDhorung." Paper presented at the twenty-second annual International
Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, University of Hawaii,
Honolulu, 1989.
EBERT, Karen H . "More evidence for the relationship Kiranli-Rung." Paper
presented at the twenty-first annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, University of Lund, 1988.
FORREST, R.A.D. n,l' Cllinese languogt. London, 1965.
GLOVER, Warren W. Gluung phonemic summary. Tibeto-Bunnan phonemic
summaries l. Kirtipur: Summer tnstilLJle of Linguistics, 1969.
GLOVER, Warren W. SemefflU; and grammatical srructures in Gurung (Nepal).
Summer Institute of Linguistics publications in linguistics and related fields
49. Norman, OK: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1974.
HALE, Austin. ReSt'orch on rIbeto-BUlman languages. Trends in Linguistics,
State of the Art Report 14. New York: Mouton &. Co., 1982.
HALE, Austin, Maria Hari, and Burkhard SchOttelndreyer. ComporatiVt' vocab·
ularies 0/ lallguages of Nep<ll (Swadesh J{)()-word list). Kirtipur: Summer
Institute of iJnguistics and Tribhuvan University, 1972.
HAtE, Austin and Kenneth L Pike. TOile systems o/lIbeto-Burma" ia"guDgu
0/ Nepal. Occasional papers of the Wolfenden Society on Tibeto-Burman
Linguistics 3. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1970.
HALE, Austin and David E. Watters, eds. Clause, sentence, and discoune
patttnt.S in selected IOtlguages 0/ Nlpa~ PaffS I-IV. Summer Institute of
Linguistics Publicalions in Linguislics and Related Fields 40. Kathmandu:
Summer Institute or Linguistics and Tribhuvan University, 1973.
4S0 THE CL\ssICAL TIBETAN L..t.NOUAGE

HOfFMAN, Helmut. "Several1..afi·fuii etymologies." Oriens txtremw 19:193·

201, 1972-
HoF'F'MAN, Helmut. "Zan-tun, the holy language of the Tibetan Bonpo." ~ir·
schrift der deuuchen morgenJiindischen G~dlschnlt 117:376-81, 1967.
HUMMEL, Siegbert. "Materialen zu einem WOterbuch der :l.aii-fuii-Sprache."
MonumenlQ Serica 31:488-520, 1974-7S; 32:320-36, 1976.
HUMMEL, Siegbert. "Der Ursprung der Sprachc von Zhang-wung." Joumal
a/1M nMl Soci~ty 6:3-16. 1986.
KARLOREN, Bernhard. Grammala Senca R«ensa. Stockholm: Museum of Far
Eastern Antiquities, 1964.
MANSIER, Patrick. "Le lexique rgyaJ·ron et Ie vocabulaire archaique tibftain
(analyse d'UR cas d'allofamie en tibClo-birman)." Paper prcSc:nted at the
fi£teenth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and
Linguistics, Peking. 1982.
NAGANO Yasuhiko. "A historical study of rOyarong initials and preftxes."
Linguistics 01 the TIbeto·Bunnan Area 4.2:44..68, 1979.
NAGANO Yasuhiko. "A historical study of rGyarong rhymes." Linguistics olthe
Tweto·Burman Area 5.1:37-47, 1979.
NAGANO Yasuhiko. A historictll study 01 the rGytlrong verb system. Tokyo:
Seishido, 1984.
NAGANO Yasuhiko. "Preliminary remarks on rOyarong dialeclOlngy." Paper
presented at the eleventh annual International Conference on SinerTibetan
Languages and Linguistics., University of Arizona, Tucson, 1978.
NISHIDA Tatsuo. "On the linguistic position of the Kham language in West
Nepal-some provisional observations." Onsei Kagaku Kenleyu (Studio Phono-
logica) 21:1-9, 1987.
NISIflOA Tatsuo.· "The Hsihsia, Lolo, and Moso languages." In Graham
Thurgood, James A Matisoff, and David Bradley, eds. Linguistics ollht Sino·
TIbetan area: the state of the art. Papers pr&erUed to Paul K Be~tIOT his
7151 bindhtty, 23()...41. Pacific Linguistics Series C. 81. Canberra: Australian
National University, 1985.
N(SIflDA Tat$uo. "Hsihsia, Tosu and Lola-Burmese languages." Oll.Jei Kagalw.
Kelltyu (Sludia Phonologica) 10:1·15,1976.
PrnMAN, Richard S. and Jessie R. Glover. "Proto-Tamang·Gurung-Thakali."
BIBUOGRAPHY 451

In Austin Hale and Kenneth L Pike, eds. Tone sysltms of TiMto-Bumwn

languagu of Nepal 2:9-22. Occasional papers of the Wolfenden Society on
Tibeto-Burman Linguistics 3. Urbana: University of Illinois. 1970.
S1E.IN, Rolf Alfred. Us rribus ancietUUS des marchu sino-tiMtoins. Ligendu.
cUwi{lC4tiom et histoin. Bibliotheque de l'Institut des Hautes Etudes
Chinoises 15. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1961.
THOMAS, Frederick William. Nom, all ancient language of 1M Sino-1Umon
borrkrland. Publications of the Philological Society 14. London: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 1948.
THURGOOD, Graham. "The 'Rung' languages: notes on their proto-morpho-
syntax and subgrouping." Acta Orientalia 46:79-99, 1988.
WA~ David E. "Emergent word tone in Kham: a Tibeto-Burman halfway
house." Linguistics of the TIbeta-Bunrum Arl!'a 8.2:36-54, 1985.
WAlTERS. David E. '1'he evolution of a Tibeto-Burman pronominal verb
morphology: a case.study from Kham (Nepal)." Linguistics of thl!' TiMlo-
Bumwn Area 2.1:45·80, 1975.

13. COMPARISONS AND RECONSTRUCTIONS

BAUMAN, James John. "An historical perspective on ergativity in Tibeto-

Burman." In Frans Plank, ed. ErgativiJy: towards a .ht'Ory of grammatical
relations, 419-33. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
BAUMAN, James John. "Pro nominal verb morphology in Tibeto-Burman."
linguistics of 1M 1TM10-8urman Arl!'a 1.1:108-55, 1974.
BAUMAN, James John. "Pronominal roots in Tibeto-Burman." Paper
presented at the eighth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley, 1975.
BENEDICT, Paul K. Sino-TIbelan: a corupectus. Princeton-Cambridge studies
in Chinese lingustics 2. James A Matisoff, contributing editor. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1972
BEN"EOICT, Paul K. "Tibcto-Burman tones with a note on teleo-reconstruc-
tion." Acta OntTllalill 35:127-38, 1973.
BoDMAN, Nicolas C. "Evidence for I and r medials in Old Chinese and
associated problems." In Graham Thurgood, James A Matisoff, and David
.52 TJIF. ClASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE

Bradley, eds. Linguistics uJ ,he Sino-Tilman area: the state of the art. POfNf'S
presmud fu Paul K.. Benedict [or his 71st bindhay, 146-79. Pacific Linguistics
Series C, 87. Canberra: Australian National University, 1985.
BoDMAN, Nicolas C. "Finallabials in Tibetan and Chinese." Paper presented
al the second annual International wnference on Sino-Tibetan Languages
and Linguistil:s, Colurntlia University, 196~.

BODMAN. Nic(llas C. "Olll Chinese .~- clusters. some dialect alternations, and
traccs of the Sino·T;bclan $- causative," Paper presenled at the firth annual
International Conferem:e on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Univer-
sity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1972.
BOl)MAN, Nicolas C. " ProlO·Chines!: and Sinu-Tibcwn: data towards establish·
ing the nature of th~ relationship." In Frans van Coetsam and Linda R.
Waugh, cds. Cuntrihutions 10 hist()ricallil/gui~tics: iuues a,u/ mall!rUlls, 34·199.
LeitJen: E.1. Brill. 1980.
BoIlM .... N. Nichol<ls C. "S()m~ Chinese reOexcs of Sino·Tibetan s- clusters."
Journal of Chinese Linguistics 1:3R3·96, 1973.
BODMAN, Nicolas C. "Som~ phonological correspondences between Chinese
.and Tibetan." Papc:r presented at the four th annual lnt~rnationltl Conf~rence
on Sino-Tibetan Languages l'lnd Lingui.~tics. Indiana University, 191 1.
BR1U)U;Y. D<lvid. PrOfo· f...,o/uish . Scandinaviltn Institute of Asian Studies mono-
graph series 39. London: Curzon Press. 1979.
BUlU.lNG, Robbins. PrUlQ·Lo/f,)-Burmt'se. Indiana University Research Center
in Anthropolob'Y. Folklore: and Lingu.islics publication flO. 43. The Hague:
Mouton & Co., 1967.
CHANG, Bett)" Shefts and Chang Xun. "The pre nasalized stop initials of Miao-
Yao, Tibeto-Burman and Chinese: a result of diffusio~ or evidence of a
genetic relationship?" Academia Sinica: Bulletin of the Institute of History and
Philology 47:467·502, 1916; also in Mantaro J. Hashimoto, cd. Genetic
relationship, diffusioli alld typological simj/ariti£s of East and Southeast Asian
languages, 315·58. Papers of the (irs! Japan-U.s. joint seminar on East and
Southeast Asian linguistics. Tokyo: Japan SOCIety for the Promotion of
Science, 1976.
CIlANQ Kun. "Sino-Tibetan 'iron': · qMt'ks." Joumat of the American O,untal
Society 92;436-46, 1972.
C IIANQ Kun. "The Tibetan rol<! in Sino-Tibetan comparative linguistics." Aca-
BIBUOORAJ'HY 453

df!mia SiniaJ: BuJIf!rin of thf! /nstiJutf! of History and Philology 48:91-108. 1977.
DEL\NCEY, Scott. "The analysis-synthesis-Iellis cycle in Tibeto-Burman: a case
study in motivated change." In lohn Haiman, ed. /coni€ity in Synuu. Proceed-
intp of a symposium on iconkity in .syntax, Stanford, 367-89. Typological
Studies in Language 6. Amsterdam: John Benjarnins, 1985.

DEL\NcEY, Scott. "The category of direction in Tibeto-Burman." Linguistics

of thf! 'ltbf!to-Bunnat1 Ana 6.1:83-101, 1981.
DEL\NcEY, Scott. "Etymological notes on Tibeto-Burman case particles."
Linguistics of the 'Ilkto-Bunnan Arf!a fll:.59-77, 1983.
DEL\NCEY, Scott. "From ergative to accusative in Tibeto-Burman." Paper
presented al the tenth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, Georgetown University, 1977.
DEL\NCEY, Scott. "Mood particles in Sino-Tibetan." Paper presented at the
eleventh annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and
Linguistics, University of Arizona, Tucson, 1978.
DEL\NCEY, Scott. "Tangut and Tibeto-Burman morphOlogy." Linguistics of
the Tihf!to-Burmal1 Ana 7.2:100-8, 1983.
FORREST, R.AD. "On certain Tibetan initial consonant groups." Wennli 4:1-
16,1942.
FORREST, RAD. "Towards common Tibeto-Burman." WeMli 10:1-18, 1956.
GONG, Hwang-cherng. "A comparative: study of the Chinese, Tibetan, and
Burmese vowel system." Academia Sinica: Bullf!M of thf! /nstiIulf! of History
and Philology .51:4.5.5-90, 1980.
KARLOREN, Bernhard. "Tibetan and Chinese." roung Pao 28:2.5-70. 1931.
LAUFER, Berthold. "The prefIX a- in the Indo-Chinese: languages_" /ownal of
the Royal Asiatic Soc~1y (191.5):7.57-80. 191.5.
LucIO. Gordon H. A comparative wordJist of Old &umese, ChiMse. and
TWf!IQt1. Eug~nie J.A Henderson, ed. london: School of Oriental and African
Studies, J981.
MAnsoFF, James A "Stars, moon, and spirits: bright beings of the night in
Sino-Tibetan." Gf!t1gO KenkyU (Journal of the Linguistic Soc~ry o{ Japan) 77: 1-
45, 1980. .
MAzAUDON, Martine. "Tibeto-Burman lonogenelics." Linguistics ofthe Tibeta-
.54 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN l..J..NOUAO E

Bumum Arta 3.2:1-123, 1977.

MEl, Tlu-lin. "Some exampleJ of prenasais and -s-nasats in Sino-Tibetan." In
Graham Thurgood. James A Matisofl, and David Bradley, eds. Ungulstics of
1M Sino-1Jbetan aml: 1M mlk oftM olt. Paper! pusented to Paul K.. Berudict
for his 71st birldlury, 334-43. Pacific Linguistics Series C. 87. Canberra:
Australian National University, 1985.
MJOlAILOYKY, Boyd. -ribcto-Bunnan dental suffixes: evidence from Limbu
(NepaJ)."tn Graham Thurgood, Jamcs A Matisoff, and David Bradley, cds.
Linplrtic$ 0{ 1M Sin.o-Tfbttan Qrta: the "Slate of 1M an. Papers prestrJed to
Paul K. &n«Iict lex hir 7Ist bUtdhay, 363-75. Pacific linguistics Series C. 87.
Canberra: Australian National University, 1985.
MilLER, Roy Andrew. "The significance for comparative grammar of some
Bblauts in the Tibetan numbc:r-systt .n." T'oung Paa 43:287-96, 1955.
Mn.LER. Roy Andrew. "The Tibeto-Bunnan ablaut system." 1hlfUQCrions of
llu /fIlmuuioMJ Congress of Orknllllisu in Japan 1:29-56, 1956.
MIlLER, Roy Andrew. "The Tibeto-Burman infIX system:' Journal of 'he
American Oriental Sodny 78:193-204. 1958.
NISHIDA Tatsuo. "Some problems in the comparison of Tibetan. Burmese.
and leachin languages." Onsei KDga1cu KenIcyU (Studia Phonologica) 11 :1-24,
1977.
NISHIDA Tatsuo. "Some problems of morpheme stock in Sino-:ribetan: a pre-
liminary observation in genetic "relationship." In Mantaro J. Hashimoto, ed.
Gmnic reltltion.Jhi.p, diffwion and typological sinUJarilW of East and Southeast
Asian ItlIf8lUlBU, 30-38. Papers of the first Japan-U.s. joint seminar o n East
and Southeast Asian linguistics. Tokyo: Japan Society ror the Promotion or
Science, 1976.
Pt.1U.EYB~ Edwin O. 1'onogenetiJ "U an indo: or areal relationships in
wt Asia," LiIIguistics of llu '1tInto-Bunnan Ana 9.1:65-82, 1986.
SEDI.AC:a:, Kamil. "Existiene ein lautgesctz in zusammengesetzen Anlauten
~ Proto-Sino-Tibetischen?" Cmrrul Asiatic Jounuzl 7:270-311. 1962.

SEDu.i:B. Karrul. 'The law of phonetic change in initial clwlers in common

Sino-Tibetan." MOttUrtU!fIIa SerleQ 26:6-34, 1967.
SEDLAi:EK, Kamil. "00 some Tibetan s'; d- initial clusters and their meta-
thetical forms in Sino-Tibetan Jacmes." Orbis 13:556-67, 1964.
BmuooltAl'HY

SEDl...J.l:EI:, Kamil. "Zum InstrumentalsufflX HlUlng in Barmanisdlen und Dang

im Tibetilcben." ZAilschrift thrd~UJSChen morgenJiindisch~n Ges~Usclwft 112:
15_.1962.
5HAPmt, Roben. 'The 'IOC8lism of Sino-Tibetan." Joumal of Ih~ Ammcan
0tWnsa/ Socidy 61):302-37, 1940; 61:18--31, 1941.
SHAFER., Roben. "Problems in Sino-Tibetan phonetics." Journal 0/ the
~ Oriental Sociny 64:137-43.
SHAFER., Roben. "PrefIXes in Tibeto-Burmic." Harvard Journal of AsiDtic
SAMJi<s 9,45·50. 1945.
SHAFER., Roben. "The initials of Sino-Tibetan." Jouma/ of Ih~ AfMrican
OrWtJlQl Soci~ty 70:96-103, 1950.
SH.A.FEJl, Robert. "Newari and Sino-Tibetan." StudiD lingWsticQ 6:92-109.
1952.
SHAFER, Robert: Introduction 10 Sillo-Tibeta n. Wiesbaden: OUo Harrauowitz,
1966-73.
SIMON. Walter. "Tibetisch-chinesische Wongleichungen. Ein Versuch." Miltei/-
IUIgen des S~minQrs rUr on.entQuiche Sprachen Qn der koniglichen FriM.rich-
Wdhelms-Universiliit zu B~rlul 32:157-228, 1929.
SPRIGG. RK. " Prosodic analysis and phonological formulae in Tibeto-Burman
linguistic comparison." In Harry L Shono, ed. linguistic comparison in South·
~QSt Asia and (he PQcifIC, 78--108. Collected papers in Oriental and African
studies. London: School of Oriental and African Siudies, 1963.
SUN Hongkai. "On consonanl clusters in Tibela-Burman." Linguistics of the
Tlbelo·BunnQn Ar~Q 9.1:1-21, J986.
TIIURGOOD, Graham. "Lisu a nd ProlO-Lolo-Burmese." ActQ Orren tulia 3ft 147-
207. 1977.
WEIDERT, Alfons K. Tlhero-Bunnan tonology. C urrent Issues in Linguistic
Theory 54. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1987.
WOt.FENDEN, Stuart. "Conc(:rning the origins of Tibetan brgiad and Chin(:sc
pwdt. h T'oung Pao 34:165·73, 1939.
WOLFENDEf'I", Stuart N. OU/lules of Tiimo·Burmall lillguistic morphology, willI
special reference to 'he prrrurs, ulfues, wrd sulfues of classical Tibetan, Ulad th~
lanffUagrs of the Kachill, Bodo, Naga. Kuki ellin, alad Burma groups. Royal
Asialic SociclY Prize Publication 12. London: Royal AsiaTic Society, 1!n.9.
456 THE CtAssICAL TIBETAN l...ANGUAGE

YANO, Paul Fu-mien. "Proto-Otinese ·SK- and Tibe~Burman equivalents,"

Papcr presented at the eleventh annual Intcmationa1 Conference on Sino-
Tibetan Languages and Unguistics, University of Arizona, Tucson. 1978.
YANO, Paul Fu-mien. "Proto-Olinese -5-n- aod Tibete>Bunnan equivalents,"
Paper presented at the tenth annual International Conference on Sino-
Tibetan Languages Bnd linguistics. Georgetown University, 1977.

14. WORD FAMILIES

CoNRADY, AugWL Ein indochbwiscJu CausQriv·~nomiMtill-BUdung WId ihr

Zwanunenhang mil den Tonaccenten. Em. Beilrag zur wrgkichetukn Gram-
motile tUr Indochinesiscehn SpraCMTI, insotukrluu du TibetischDt, Barmanisch-
en, Siamesischen ulld Chinuischen. Leipzig: Otto HaITassowi~ 1896.
KARLGREH, Bernhard. "Word families in Chinese." Bulletin of 1M Museum of
Far Easlml AtUiquirks 5:5-120, 1933.
MAnsoFF, James A. "Out on a limb: arm, hand, and wing in Sino-Tibetan,"
In Graham Thurgood, James A. Matisoff. and David Bradley, cds. Linguistics
0/ lJu Sino-7JbeMn area: the .lmtl! of 1M aft. Papm praenud to Paul K.
Bewiet for hi.r 71st birtdJury, 421-50. Pacific Linguistics Seria C, 87.
Canberra: Australian National University, 1985.
MAnsoFF, James A "Universal semantics and aUofamic identifation: two
case studies-'straight/flat/full' and 'property/live£tock/talenL'" Paper pre·
Knted at the nineteenth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, Ohio State University, Columbus, 1986.
MAnsoFF, James A Variational wruuuia in TdJelo·Bunnon: 1M "organic"
approach 10 Iinguisric comparison. Occasional papers of the Wolfenden Society
on Tibeto--Burman Linguistics 6. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of
Human Issues, 1978.
PUUEYBlANK, Edwin G. "Some new hypotheses concerning word families in
Chinese." Journal of ChiMse Ungui.rric.~ 1:111·25, 1973.
SIMON, Walter. ''1be range of sound alternations in Tibetan word families."
Asia Major 1:3·1.5, 1949.
WOl..fENOEH. Stuart. "On certain alternations between dental finals in Tibetan
and Chinese." /oiurull of lhe ROYQl Asiatic Society (1936):401 .. 16, 1936.
WOLfENDEN, Stuan. "Concerning the variation of final consonants in the
BIBUOGRAPIIY 457

word families of Tibetan, teachin, and Chin est:. " Journal of th~ Royal A.;iatic
Society (1937):625-55, 1937.

15. NEW TIBETAN DIALECTS

Ami...., Asi!. Laicalstructur~ and grammatical ca(~gories in Ulasa Tib~tall.

Ph.D. dissertation, Univt:rsity of Chicago, 1990.
CHANG, Betty Shefts. "The Tibetan causative: phonology." Acad~mia Sinka:
Bulle/in 01 the ItUtuute 01 History and Philology 42:623-774, 1971.
CHANG, Betty Shefts and Chang Kun. "The certainty hierarchy among Spoken
Tibetan verbs of being." Academia SiJlic.o: Bulletin of the ItUlitute of Hislory
and Philology 55:603-34, 1984.
CIlANG, Betty Shefts and Chang Kun. "Ergativity in spoken Tibetan." Aca-
demia SUlica: Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology 51: 15-32, 1980.
CIlANG, Betty Shefts and Chang Kun. "Perfective and imperfective in spoken
Tibetan." AcademitJ Sinico: Bulletin olthe Institute of History and Philology 52:
303-21, 1981.
CIlANG, Belty Shefts and Chang Kun. "Tense and aspect in spoken Tibetan."
In Ernest Steinkellner and Helmut Tauscher, eds. Contributions on 7iheton
Language. HisiOry, and Cultur~. Proceeduigs of the Como de K6r6s Symposium
held 01 Velm.VU'nna, Austria. J3-J9 September 1981. 1.329-37. Wiener Siudien
zur Tibetologie und Buddhisflluskunde 10. Wit: n: Arbeitskrds fur Tibetische
und Buddhistische Studien, Universitat Wien, 1983.
OlANO Kun and Betty Shefts Chang. A munual 01 spok~n Tibetan (Ulasa dia-
fect). Seallle: University of Washington Press. 1964.
CIIANG Kun and Betty Shefls Chang. "A morphophonemic problem in the
spokt:n Tibetan of Lhasa." Journal of Ihe Am~rican O,unlal Society 85:34-9,
1965.

OiANG Kun and Betty Shdts Chang. "Spoken Tibetan morphophone mics: p."
Lal1guag~ 43:512-25. 1967.
CHANG Kun and Betty Shdts Chang. ''The spoken Tibetan verb "'w." In
Louis ligel;. ed. TIbela" and Buddhist studies commt morating the 200t/,
anniversary of the binh of Alexand~r Csoma de KOrQs, 1.1 31-42. Bud~?C ~. !.
Akadtmiai K..iad6, 1984.
458 THS CLAssICAL TlBBTAH LutoUAOl!

aVERA, Marro Bernard. The dislinclive phonology of Uuua CmIrOl'Ilbdan:

results of a [udd Irip 10 study rhe Himalayas as /lIZ aJtno.linguistit: llI'f!D..
Dissertation Abstracts International 32(04):2076, University Microfilms
ADG71·25225. Ph.D. dissertation, Georgetown University, 1971.
DARROCH, Vivian. "Verbal experience in Ladakh." /laourcu lor Feminist
Research 13,):.:n-8. 1984.
DAWSON, Willa. TIbetan phonology. Dissertati{1O Abstracu International
41(11):4699, University Microfilms ADG81· 09722. Ph.D. dissertation, Univer-
sity DC Washing;:on, 1980.
DA'NSON, Willa. "Tibetan tones: evidence fo r two-tiered representation."
Paper presented a t the fourteenth annual International Conference on Sino-.
Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1981.
In Chauncey QU, Weldon South Coblin, and Feng-fu Tsao. eds. Pop03 from
the /ouneenth annuol International Conference on Sino -Tibetan LAnguagd and
LinguUtia. Taipei: Student Book Publishing Co., 1983.
DAWSON, Willa. "The: vowel feature 'consuicted' in Tibetan...· In Suriya
Ratanakul, David Tho mas and Suwilai Premsirat, cds. SoUIMa.rI asian
lingwiJics slud~s pr~se"ted 10 Andre-G. Haudn"court, 158·77. Bangkok: Mahidol
University, 1985.
DElJ.NcEY, $con. "Agentivity and syntax." In Willia m H. EHrort, Paul D.
Kroeber, and Karcn L Peterson, eds. PQpefl from Ih~ parasession on causa-
rives and agentiviJy, fVt.'~t1ty-rllSt regional meeling. Chicago Ungustic Society, 1-12.
Chicago: <...l1icago Linguistic Society, 1985.
DE1..J..NCEY, Scott. "Categorics of non·volitional aCIOT in Lhasa Tibetan." In
Allene R. Zide, David Magier, and Eric Schiller, cds. Proceedings of W
conferet1ce on. participant roles: Soulh Asia and adjacent areas, 58-10.
Bloomington: Indiana University Linguistks Oub, 1985.
DELANCEY, Scott. "Contour tones from lost syllables in Central Tibetan,"
Linguislics of .he TiMlo-Burman Area 12.2:33-4, 1989.
D EW CEY, Scott. "Ergative case in modern Tibetan." Paper presented at the
founeenth annuallntemational Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and
Linguistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, 198 1.
D El...ANCEY, Scott. "Evidentiality and volitionality in Tibetan." In Wallace
Chafe and Johanna Nichols, cds. Evidt"rltialiry: rile linguisric coding of epislem-
ology, 203-13. Advance!t In Discourse Processes 20. Norwood, NJ: Ablex
Publishing Corporation, 1986.
BIBUOGRAPHY 459

DElANCEY, Scott. "Lhasa ribetan: a case study in ergative typology." Journal

of Linguistic R#!$<arch 2.1:21-31, 1982.
DE.l..ANCEY, Scott. "Modern Tibetan: a case study in linguistic typology."
Journal of Linguistic Reuarch 1.3:40.49, 1982.
DEl..ANCEY, Scott. "Tibetan evidentials and the semantics of causation." In
Prouedi.ng:s of th< eJev<mh a1llW(l1 meering of the Berkeley Linguistics SociLry,
65-72. Berkeley: Berkeley Linguistics Society, 1985.
DEl...AN'CEY, Scott. ''Transitivity and ergative case in Lhasa Tibetan." In
Qaudia Brugman, Monica Macauley, Amy Dahlstrom. Michele Emanatian,
Birch Moonwoman, and Catherine O'Connor, cds. Proceedings of the kmh
annual meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Sockty, 131-40. Berkeley: Berkeley
Linguistics Society, 1984.
DElANCEY, Scott. "Versatile verbs in Lhasa Tibetan." Paper presented at the
seventeenth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan languages and
Linguistics, University of Oregon, Eugene, 1984.
DENWOOD, Philip. "Linguistic studies in Ladakhi." In Michael V. Aris and
Aung San Suu Kyi, eds. Tibetan studies in honour of Hugh RicI"Jrdson:
procuding3 of 'he Inltmational Semitwr on Tilman StuJies, Oxford, 93-96.
Westminster: Aris & Phillips, 1979; Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press,
1981.
GIVON, Talmy. "The drift away from ergalivity: diachronic potential in
Sherpa." Folill Linguistica His/oriea 1:41-60, 1980.
Go Minoru, Aoki Bunkyo, Yamamoto Hajime, and Kitamura Hajime, eds. An
£astem TIbetall dictionary and a study of the Eastem Tibetan langua~, with
special reference to the initial consonants. Okayama, 1954.
GOLDSTEIN, Melvyn C. Modem literary TibetQn. Occasional papers of the
Wolfe nden Society on Tibeto-Burman Linguistics 5. Urbana: Center for Asian
Studies. 1973.
GOI.DSTEIN,Melvyn C. Tibetan·Englirh dictionary ofmodem Tibetan. Biblioleca
Himalayaea 11.9. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. 1975.
GOLOSTEIN, Melvyn C. and Nawang Nornang. Modem spoken Tibetan: Lhasa
dialect. Sea lilt'!: University of WaShington Press, 1970.
1-11\1(1. Maria. All investigation of Ille tones of Vlasa TIbetan. Asia-Pacific
se ries. language d.. la 13. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1980.
460 TilE ClASSiCAl TI8ETAN i...ANOtJAGE

HERMANNS, Matthias. "Tibelj~h,= Dialektc \Ion Aroda," AnlhroPOl 47:193-202,

1952.
KJEUJN, Olle. "How to explain the "ones' in Tibetan," Paper presented al
the eighth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibelan Languages and
linguistics, University of California, Berk!iey, 1975.
K.JlllIN, Olle. "ObselV8tions on consonant types and 'tonc' in Tibetan,"
Journal of PiwIlelics 5:317-38, 1977.
K(lSIIAl.., Sanyukt3. ConversarionolLAdakhi. Delhi: MotHal Banarsidass, 1982.
Koslw... Sanyukta. "Honorific systems of the Ladakhi language." Multilingua:
JO!4moi of Inferlanguage Communication 6.2:149-68. 1987.
KOSIiAl ... Sanyukta. LAdakhi grammar. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
. 1979.
KOSUAL. Sanyukl3. Ladakhi phonetjc reader. Central Institute of Indian
L....1nguages Phonetic Reader Series 18_ Mysore: Central Institute of Indian
Languages, 1976_
Lt u Feng-hsi. "Tones and tone sandhi in Eastern Tibetan." Paper presemed
at the seventeenth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, University of Oregon. Eugene, 1984.
MA7.... UDON, Martinc. "Dzongkha numcrals." In Suriya Ratanakul, David
Thomas and Suwilai Premsirat, cds. Soulheasl asian lingusiJics slUiJi£s presented
10 Andr/-G. lIaudricoun, 124-57. Bangkok: Mahi~ol University, 1985.
MA/AUlXlN, Martine and Boyd Michailovsky. "Syllabicity and supraseg-
menials: the Dzongkha monosyllahic noun." Paper prescnted at the
nint:teenth annual International Confercnce on Sino-Tibetan Languagcs and
Linguistics, Ohio State Univcrsi ty, Columbus, 1986_
MA7AUOON, Mart ine and Boyd Michailovsky. "Lost syllables and tonal con-
tour in Dzongkha." In David Bradley, Eugenie J.A. Henderson, and Mart ine
Mazaudon, eds. Prosodic allalysis and Asia,. linguistics: 10 honor R.K Sprigg,
1\5-36. Pacific Linguistics Series C, 104. Canherra: Austral ian National
University, 1989.
Mt{;OT, Andre. "Recherches su r les dialectcs tibetains du Si-k'ang (Province
de Khams)." Bullel;JI de {'tchle Franfaise d'ur/me-Onem 48:417-562, 1957.
MIlIHt, Roy Andrew. "The independent status of the Lhasa dialect within
Central Tibetan." Drhis 4:49-55, 1955.
MIl.I F.I4., Roy Andrew. " Morphologically determined allomorphs in spoken
BmuooRAPHY 461

Tibetan," Language 30:459-«), 1954,

ldlu.l!:R. 'Roy Andrew. "Scgmental diachronic phonology of a ladakhi
(Tibetan) dialcct." z.iJschrift tkr~n ~ndischm G"e/JscJw/, 106,
34~-62, 19~6.

MILl.J!R. Roy Andrew. "Studies in spoken Tibetan I: phonemics." Joumal of

"" American 0rlnu41 Society 7S,46-S1, 19S~.
NAGANO Yasuhiko. "Preliminary notes on gLo.-skad (Mustang Tibetan)." In
Graham Thurgood, James A Matisoff. and David Bradley, eds. Linguistics of
the Sino-Tibetan Ilml: the stille of the art. Papen presented to Paul K. &MeIict
for his 71$1 bindhay, 451-62. Pacific Linguistics Scries C. 87. Canberra:
Australian National University, 1985.
OLsoN, Robert F. "Central Khams Tibetan: a phonemic survey." KDilash 2:
211·2', 1974.
OssoRIO, Janel Rae W. Tsang Tibetan phonology. Dissenation Abstracts Inler·
national 43(04):1133, University Microfilms ADG82-21111. Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Colorado at Boulder, 1982.
RAy, Punya Sioka. "Kham phonology." Joumal of the American Ori.elllal
Sockty 85:336-42, 1965.
RAY, Punya Sloka. "Outline of Lhasa Tibetan structures." Indian Linguistics
25:241-61, 1964.
RICJrrER, Eberhard. Grundlagen der Pholletik des Utasa-DiIllekus. Schriften
zur Phonetik, Sprachwissenschaft und Kommunikationsfo rschung 8. Berlin:
Akademie-Verlag, 1964.
RICJflCR, Eberhard and Dieter Mehnert. "On the structure and function of
aspiration in modern Tibetan." In Eberhard Richler and Manfred Taube, eds.
AsknwisJtlUchaftliche Beuriige: Johannes Schuben in memoriam, 123-30.
VerOffentlichungen des Museums fUr Volkerkunde zu Leipzig 32. Berlin: Aka-
demie-Verlag, 1978-
ROERICH, George Nicolas. "Modem Tibetan phonetics." Journal and Pro·
ceedings of the Asiatic Soci~ry of Bengal 27:285·312., 1931.
ROERICH, George Nicolas. Le parler dt l'Amdo. Etude d'un dia/tete archal.que
du Tibet . Serie Orientale Roma 18. Rome: 151ilUIO Italiano per il Medio ed
Estremo Oriente, 1958.
ROERICH, George Nicolas. "The Tibetan diakct of Lahul." }oumal of the
462 THE Cu.ssICAL TIBETAN I...,.t..NOUAGE

Urusyoli HimDlayoll Res~arch IIIStiruk 3:83-189, 1933.

ROERIClI, George Nicolas and l.opsang Phuntsok U!alungpa. Tatbook 0/
colloquial Tibetan (dialect of Cenl7al 7tM1). Cakutta: Government of West
Bengal Education Bureau, 1957. Reprinted in Bibliotheca Himalayica lI.l.
H.K. KuIOy, ed. New Delhi: Mai\jufri Publishing House, 1972.
RONkT AS. Andris. "Some remarks on the vowel S)'1tcm of spoken Tibetan."
In Louis Ligeli, ed. 1lIxtan and Buddhist studies co~m{>nning 1M 200th
anmvenary of 1M birth of AltxQlUkr Csoma ch K6rOs, 11.215·35. Budapest:
Akademiai Kiad6. 1984.
SANDBERG. Graham. Handbook of coJ1oquial 7tbnan, Q practical guide to 1M
language of central Tibet. Calcutta, 1894.
ScnOTI"fumREYER, Burkhard. "aause patterns in Sh'crpa." In Awlin Hale,
cd. Collecud Paptn on Sherpa JiTtl, 1-57. Nepal Studies in Linguistics 2.
Kirtipur: Summer Institute of Linguistics, Institute of Nepal and Asian
Studies, 1975. .
ScIiOTIELNDREYER, Burkhard. "Vowels and tone in the Sherpa verb." In
Austin Hale, ed. Collected Papm on SMrptJ lint, 61-70. Nepal Studies in
LinguistiCS 2. Kirtipur: Summer Institute of Linguistics. Institute of Nepal and
Asian Studies, 1975.
SEDlACmc, KamiJ. "#:hongs and its grammaticized usage in modem :Written
Tibetan." Zeinclmlt der dtUlSchen morgtnlOndischtn Oesellschaft 118:367-72,
1968.
SEDLACEK, Kamil. "On the use of plural markers in modem Tibetan." Ctntral
killIk loumaI12:309-21 , 1969.
SEDLACEK, Kamil. "The tonal system of Tibetan (lhasa dialect)." Toung PdO
47;181·250, 1959.
SEDLACEK, Kamil. "The use of rlcjtn and Sldbs in modem written Tibetan."
MilttiJungen 4es InstilUlS for Orientfor.rchung 17:1~9, 1971.
SEDLACEK. Kamil. "Von den verbalen Partikeln Ie, zi, "Ill, und si der Osl·
tibetischen (Defge-Dialekt)." Zeincltrift tkr dtuuchm ntOfBtnliindi.rchen
GtSt/lschD/1 113:579-96, 1963.
'SEDLACEK, Kamil and B.V. Semichov. Tibelan newspaper ntJdu. Leipzig: Ver-
lag Enzyklopadie, 19n.
SU.AAMA, Suhnu R. "Phonological structure of Spiti." UnguUtics O/IM 'Tlbdo-
B!8L10CHVJ'liY 463

lhuman Arta 4.2:83-110. 1979.

SPRIOO, R.K.. "Assimilation and the definite nominal panick in Balti
Tibetan." Bulktin of 1fbetology 9.2:5-119, 1972.
SPRIOO, R.K. "Balti-Tibetan verb syllable finals, and a prosodic analysis." Aria
Major 13:187-210. 1967.
SPRIOO, R.K. ''The Chans-Shefts tonal analysis, and the pitch variation of the
lhasa Tibetan tones." Linguistia of tM 7lbeto-BuI7PUIn Arta 6.1:49-59, 1981.
SPRIOO, R.K.. "Lcpcha and Balti Tibetan: tonal or non-tonallanguap?" Aria
Major 12:185-201, 1966.
SPRTOO, R.K. "The role of R in the development of the modem spoken
Tibetan dialects." Acta Orkntalia HWlgaricae 21:301-11, 1968.
SPRIGG, R.K.. "The tonal system of Tibetan (lhasa dialect) and the nominal
phrase." BuJktin of the School of Oriental and African Studiu 17:133-53, 1955.
SPRIGG, R.K. "Verbal phrases in Lhasa Tibetan." Bulletin of the School of
Orkntal and African Stwiiu 16:134.56, 320-50, 5~91, 1954.
SPRIGG, R.K. "Vowel harmony in Lhasa Tibetan; prosodic analysis applied to
interrelated vocalic features of successive syllables." Bulktin of the School of
Orkntal and African Studiu 24:116-38, 1961.
SPRIGG, R.K. "Vowel harmony in noun-and-particle words in the Tibetan of
Baltistan." Bulletin of the School of Orknlal aNi African SlUlJjQ 43:511-19,
1980; also in Acta Orientalill Hungaricae 34:235-43, 1980.
SUN, Jackson T.s. "Aspects of the historical phonology of Amdo Ndzorge
Tibetan." Paper presented at !he fourteenth annual International Conference
on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, University of Florida, Gainesville,
1981.
TOMUUC. Rose. Manuel de rihe/ain parler de Lhasa. Paris: Arc-en-cie~ 1987.
TOURNADRE, Nicolas. 'The rhetorical usc of the Tibetan ergative." Paper
presented at the twenty·third annual International Conference on Sino-
Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, University of Texas, Arlington, 1990.
URA Y, Gfza. Keler-met nyelvjdrdsainQk omtdlyozma. Dissertationq Sodalium
Inslituli Asiae Interioris 4. Buda~st, 1949.
WANG, Stephen S. "Variants of Lhasa Tibetan verbs 'to be' and '10 exisL'H
Paper presented a! the twelfth annual International Conference on Sino-
 THE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN l.,.,v.iOUAOE

Tibetan Languages and unguistia, Paris, 1979.

WEN Yu. "Studies in Tibetan Phonetics, Sde-dge dialect." Studia Serica 7:63-
78, 1948.
WOODBURY, Anthony C "Interactions of tense and evidentiality: a study of
Sherpa and English." In Wallace Chafe and Johanna Nichols, eds. EYit:knlill-
lily: lite fin&uistic coding of epislemology, 188-202. Advances In Discourse
Proc:es.ses 20. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing CorpOration, 1986.
ZHANo, Uansheng. "The phonetic structure of ABC8 type words in modem
Lhasa Tibetan." In Barbara Nimri Aziz and Matthew Kapstein, eds. Sound-
inp fn 1ilnlan Civilization, 20-34. Proceedings of the 1982 seminar of the
International Association for Tibetan Studies, Columbia University. New
Delhi: Manohar, 1985.

16. MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX

AJoiOERSEN, Paul Kent. "Zero·anaphora and related phenomena in Cassical

Tibetan." Studia in Language 11:279-312, 1987.
CoSUN, Weldon South. "Notes o n Tibetan verbal morphology." T'oung Pao
62:45-70, ~976.
DEL\NCEY, Scott. "Relativization as nominalization in Tibetan and NewarL"
Paper presented at the nineteenlh annual Inte rnational Conference on Sino-
Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Ohio State University, Columbus, 1986.
DURR, Jacques A. Morphologie du verbe lib/rain. Heidelberg, 1950.
EIMER, Helmut. "Eine alttibetische Pe rfdtbildung." Itldo-Iraniim Journal
30:213-]4, 1987.
HAHN, Michael. "Grundfragen der ti bt:tischen Morphologic." Zentralasiarische
Studi.en 7:425·42. 1973.
KITAM URA, Hajime. "The honorifics in Tibetan." Ac/U Asiatica 29:56-74, 1975.
LYOVlN, Anatole. "Gaps in the verb paradigms o f Classical Tibetan." Working
PQpen in Lin!(Uutics. Univerliry of Hall-'aii 2.H: 129·35, I1J70.
LYOVlN, Anatole. "Gaps in the verh paradigms of wrillen T ibetan revisited."
Paper presented at the sixth ann uallntcrnatiOflal Conft:rt:nce on Sino·Tibelan
Languages and Linguistics, Univcrsity o f California, San Diego, 1973.
BIBUOOIlAPHY

MAzAUDON, Manine. "La formation des propositioN relative en tiWtain."

Bulktin de ltJ Socilu ~. Paris 73:401-14, 1978.
NARUID, Ngawang Thondup. "Gender markers in Tibetan morphology." In
MKhael V. Aris and Auna San Suu Kyi, eds. 1lbdan mMlia in honow of
Hugh ~ proc<edinp 0"'" lnunutrimwl S<miNu on 1IbdmI _
Oztord, 2()9..18. Westminster: Aris 4. Phillips, 1979; Atlantic Highlanda. NJ:
Humanities Press, 1981.
PAllLU. Suniti Kumar. "Synonym-c:oropounds in Tibetan." POONl OrimUIlist
n,556-71, 1955.
PA'lHAK. Suniti Kumar. "A note on synonym compounds in Tibetan. "/ndlDn
Linguistics 19,163·8, 1958.
PRZYLUSKI, Jean and Marcelle Lalou. "Le da~g tibttain." Bulletin of 1M
School of Oriental Studies 7:87-9. 1933.
REGAMEY, Constantin. "Considerations sur 1e systeme morphologique du
tibttain lilteraire." Cahi<n F~rdinand d~ Saussun 6:~ 1947.
SAXENA. Anju. "Ergative in Mi-la-r8s·pa'j mam thar." Linguistics of 1M
11Mto-BUlman Ana 122:3.5-9, 1989.
SEDLACEK.. Kamil. "Oi E-Verbalphrasen deJ zeitgenossischen Tibetischen."
C~fttral Asiotic Journal 7:96-118, 1962.

SSOv.cu.• Kamil. "Signs of partial phonetic reversion in Tibetan," CmlrtJl

AsulIic JoumaI9:60-75, J964.
SHAfER, Robert. "PrefIXed n-, ng- in Tibetan." Sitw-'T'iMrica 1:1-7, 1938.
SHAFER, Robert. "PrefIXed m· in Ti~tan." Sino·1ib~tica 3:11-28, 1938.
SIMON, Walter. "Certain Tibetan suffIXes and their combinations." Harvard
JOUI7IQI of Asioric Studi<s .5:372-91, 1940.
SIMON, Walter. ''Tibetan dan, cUi, kyin,yin, and !lam." BuJ/~tin of the School
of OriInlaJ and A/rican Studi<s 10:9.54-7.5, 1942.
SHAFER, Robert. "StudieJ in the morphology of Bodie verbs." BuJJ~tin of 1M
Schoal of Oriental and African Studies 13:702-24, 1017-31, 19S1.
SlIa.os, Bulcsu I. "The Tibetan verb: tense and nonsense." Bulletin of tM
School of Oriemal and African Studies 49:304-20, 1986.
SPRIGG, R.K.. "Vyanjanabhalcli and irregularities in Tibetan verbs." BuJktin of
T~lology 7.1:.5-20, 7.2:S-19, 1970.
 THE Cv..ss1CAl.. TIBETAN lANOUAOE

SPSlIOO, R.K. "The Golok dialect and written Tibetan past-tense verb forms."
Bulletin of the School of Gmntat and African Studies 42:53-60, 1979.
TAUBE, Manfred. "Das SufflX·rna in tibeti$chen Buchtiteln." Mitteilungen tks
IrJSIiJuls fUr Gmnt{orschung 16:107·17, 1970.
ULvrNG. Tor. "Umlaut in Tibetan numerals." roung Pao 47:75-89, 1959.
ULVINO, Tor. ''Tibetan vowel harmony re-examined." roung Pao 58:20j- 17,
1972.
URAY, G~za. "A Tibetan diminutive suffIX." ACla Oriental", HUJlgaricae 2:182-
220, 1952.
URA Y, G~za. "Some problems or the ancient Tibetan verbal morphology,
methodological observations on recent studies." ACla Linguistica Academiae
Scunti4rum Hungaricae 3:37-62, 1953.
URAY, GEza. "Duplication, gemination, and triplication in Tibetan," Acta
Gmnta[iQ Hungaricae 4:177·241, 1954.
URAY, GEza. "The surrlX ·e in Tibetan." Acta OrUfI(alia Hungaricae 5:229·44.
1955.
WALLESER, Max. "Affirmative and interrogative senlen~s in Tibetan." Indian
Linguistics 5:26-35, 1935.
WALLESER, Max. "Subordinate clauses in Tibetan." Indian Linguistics ~:18-26,
1935.
WOI.FENDEN, Stuart N. ''The prerlXed m· with ~rtain substantives in
Tibetan." LangtUlge 4:277-80. 1928.
ZIMMERMANN, Ham. Wonan WId Sprachstru/aur im Tihetischen. Freiburger
&iuAge zur Indologie 10. Wie5baden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1979.

17. HISTORY OF TIBETAN

BAWDEN, c.R. " Mongolian in Tibetan script." Studia Orientalia 25.3:3·15,

1960.
BIELMElERt Roland. "Problems of Tibetan dialectology and language history
with special reference to the sKyid.groii dialect." Zentrafusialisclu Studien 16:
405·25, 1982.
BIELMElER, Roland. "A survey of the development of western, and southwest-
BIBUOORAPHY 467

ern T ibetan dialects." In Barbara Nimri Aziz and Matthew Kapstein, eds.
SOwl'1i1tgs ill 7Jbetan Civilization, 3·19. Proceedings of the 1982 seminar of the
Inter.L:ttional Association for Tibetan Studies, Columbia University. New
Delhi: Manohar, 1985.
BIEL>.tEIER, Roland. "Zum Alter eines Lautwandels im Ladakhi." In Klaus
Saglbler and Michael$ Weiers, ew. Doc~rna &1rlu:1rorum. Festschrift fUr
WaltMr HeisJig nun 70. Gebwutag, 17·21. Ver~ffentlichen des Societas Urale.
Altaica 18. Wiesbaden: Ouo Harrassowitz, 1983.
alANO, Betty Shefts and Chang Kun. "Tibetan prenasalized initials." A ca·
demia Sinica: Bulletin oftM /1Uti.tUJe of Hislory and PhiJolcgy 48:229.43,1977.
CtAUSON, G.LM. and S. Yoshitake, "On the phonetic value of the Tibetan
characters 'a and !!a and the equivalent characters in the hphags.pa alpha·
bet." loumal of Ihe RO)'llI Asiati.c Society (1929):843·62, 1929.
CsoNGOIl, B. "Some Chinese texts in Tibetan script from Tun.huang." Acta
Orkntalia Hungaricae 10:97-140, 1960.
KEtv.NG, Tan. "On the evolution of Tibetan final "·5." Linguirti.cs of the
7Jbeto·BumUln Area 10.1:152·65,1987.
KRUEGER, John R. "Die tibetische n Lthnwone im Kalmuckischen." 'n Studies
in South, East, and Central Asia, presmted as a memorial volume to the late
ProfesJor Raghu VU'a try memben of the Permanenl International Altaistic
Conference, 53-60. Sata.Pilaka series, Indo-Asian Literatures 74. New Delhi:
Imernational Academy or Indian Culture, 1968.
Kuup, Leonard W.J. van der. "Studies in the life and thought of Mkhas·grul).
rje IV: Mkhas.grutrrje on regionalism and dialects." Berliner Indologische
Studien 2:23·50, 1986.
LAPOllA, Randy J. .. " ' .... netic development of Tibetan." Lillguistic.r of the
1ibelO·Bwman Area 11.2:93·97, 1988.
LAPOllA, Randy J. "PrefIX VI. initial in Tibetan: the question of ··r·... Paper
presented at the twenty·first annual International Conrerence on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, University of Lund, 1988.
~UFER, Berthold. "Bird divination among the Tibetans (notes on document
Pelliot no. 3530, with a study of Tibetan phonology of the ninth century)."
T'oung Pao 15:1-110, 1914. Reprinted in Hartmut Walravens and Lokesh
Chandra, eds. Sino· Tib etan studies, 11.354·463. New Delhi: Rakesh Gael, 1987.
LAUFER, Berthold. "Chinese transcriptions of Tibetan names." roung Pao 16:
468 THe ClAssiCAL TiBETAN U-NOUAOE

42~. 1915. Reprinted in Hartmut Walravens and Lokesh Chandra, eds.

Sino-1Tbetan studies, 1l.47s.s2. New Delhi: Rakesh Goel. 1987.
LAUfER. Berthold. "Obef das va tUI', ein Beitrag zur Phonetik der Tibetischen
Sprachen." Wu-ner ZeiJschriftfi1rd~ KUl'llhtkr MorgenIantks 12:289-307, 1898;
13:95-109, 199-226, 1899.
LI Fang-kuei. "Certain phonetic influences of the Tibetan prerlXeI upon the
root initials." Academia Sinico: Bulletin of 1M Il'lStUure of History and Philology
4:135-57, 1933.
l..J: Fang-kuei. "The Chinese transcription of Tibetan consonant clusten." ACD-
demia Sinica: Bulletin olthl! Inslilule of History and Philology 50:231-40, 1979.
u Fang-kuei. " A problem in the Sino-Tibetan treaty inscription." Acta Orim·
lalia Hungaricae 34:121-4, 1980.
u Fang-kuei and Wddon South Coblin. A study of the Old 11M/an inscrip-
tions. Academia Sinica, Institute of History and Philology, Special Publications
91. Taipei, 1987.
LiGEn, Louis. "Trois notes sur l'tcriture 'phags-pa." Acta Orientalill Hungari-
ca~ 13:201-37, 1961.
MILLER, Roy Andrew. "Early evidence for vowel harmony in Tibetan."
Longuag~ 42:252-77, 1966.

MILLER, Roy Andrew. "Notes on the Lllasa dialect of the early ninth
century." Ori~ns 8:284-91, 1955.
MILLER, Roy Andrew. "Some problems in Tibetan transcriptions of Chinese
from Tun-huang:' Monumenta Serica 26:123-48, 1967.
NAKANO Miya k.o. A phonological study in the 'Phags-pa script and tlu Meng-ku
Tzu-yun. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1971.
NISIIIDA Tatsuo. "On the development of tones in Tibetan." Acta AsilJrica 29:
43-55, 1975.
NORRU, Thublen J. "Gunglhangpa's text in colloquial Amdowa:' In Erne~t
Steink.ellner and Helmut Tauscher, eds. Contributions on Tibetan Language,
History, and CU/lurr. Proceedings 0/ (It~ Csoma th K6r& Symposium Mid at
V~/m-VU'nna, Austria, 13-19 S~ptember 198/, 1.222-42. Wiener Studien zur
Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 10. Wien: Atbeitskreis fUr Tibetische und
Buddhistische Studien, Universitat Wien, 1983.
PElllOT, Paul. Hisloir~ ancienn~ du Tib~t. Oeuvres posthumes de Paul PeH inl.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 469

Paris: Adiren-Maisonneuve, 1961.

PEWOT, Pau\. "Quelques transcriptions chinoises des noms tii>elains." T'owrg
Pao 16:1-26, 1915.
POPPE. Nicholas. The Mongo/ion monuments in l)P'ags.po script. John R.
Krueger, ed. Gotlingrr Asiatische Forschungen 8. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrasso-
witz. 1957.
QIAN Che. "Certain phonetic changes in Tibetan in the light of variant and
erroneous spellings in Old Tibetan documents of the Royal period."
Linguistic! of the Tibeto-Burman Area 13_1: 1·10, 1990.
ROERICH, George Nicolas. "Tibetan loan words in Mongolian." In Kshitis
Roy, ed. L~benthal Festschrift. Special publication of Sino·lndi(m Stud~ 5.3-
4:174-80, 1957.
RONA-TAS, Andras. "Linguistic notes on an Amdowa text." In Ernest
Steinkellner and Helmut Tauscher, eds. Contributions on 1lJntan Language,
HistOly, and Culture. Proceedings of the Ooma de K6ros Symposiwn Mid at
Velm-Vumna, Austria, 13·19 September 1981, 1.243-80. Wiener Studien zur
Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 10. Wien: Arbeitskreis fUr Tibetische und
Buddhistische Studien, Universit1i t Wien, 1983.
RONA-TAS, Andras. "Tibelological remarks on the Mongolian versions of the
Thar.po then-po. In tflwes tibituines dtdiles d fa mtmoire de MarceUe Lalou,
440-7. Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1972.
RONA-T AS, Andras. ribeto- Mongo/ica; the Tibetan loanwords of MOI1gUQf and
the development of the archaic ribetan dill/eets. Indo-Iranian monographs 7.
The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1966.
RONA·TAS, AndrAs. Wumer Vorlesungen zur Sprach- und KuJnugeschichte
Tibets. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 13. Wicn: Ar-
beitskreis fUr Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien. Universil1it Wien, 1985.
SEDUCE", Kamil. "On Tibetan transcription of Chinese characlen." MiI-
teilungen chs In.uiJws fur OrientforscllUng 5:91-112, 1957.
SIMON, Walter. "Alternation of final vowel with final dental nasal or pJosive
in Tibetan." Bulletin of the Schoo/ of Oriental and African Stud~ 40:51-7,
1977.
StMON, Walter. "A Chinese prayer in Tibetan script." In Kshilis Roy, ed.
Liebenthal Festschrift. Special publication of Sino-Indian Studies 5.3-4:192-199.
1957.
470 TilE ClAssiCAL TIBETAN l..ANOUAGE

SIMON, Walter. "Iotization and palatizatiou in c1assiall Tibetan," Bull~rin of

th.e School of OrkrUa/ and African Studies 38:611-14,1975.
SIMON, -Walter. "Loss of lor r in Tibetan initial consonantal clusters." Bu/krill
of the School of Oriental and African Studies 37:442-5, 1974.
SIMON, Walter. "A note on Chinese texts in Tibetan transcription," Bulktin
of the School of Oriental and African Srudies 21:33.....43, 195B.
SIMON, Walter. 'The reconstruction of the original cluster 'nasal plus r'
through Tibctan-Chinese word equations." Proceedings of the /nttrnlltiona{
Congress of Qrienlalisu 25:163-9, 1960.
SIMON, Walter. "Tibetan 'fifteen' and 'eighteen.'" In Etudes rib/lailles didi&s
It fa mtmwe de MarcefJe Lalou, 472-78. Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1972.
SIMON, Wa lte r. "Tibetan initial clusters of nasal and R," Asia Major 19:246-51 ,
1975.
SIMON, Walter. "Tibetan Ih· and hr· in alternation with other initial consonant
clusters, or with simple initial I· and r- ." Asin Major 17:21622, 1972.
SIMON, Walter. ''Two final consonant clusters in archaic Tibetan." Acad~mia
Sinica: Bullttin of th~ IlUtilul~ of History and Philology 29:87-90, 1957.
SIMON, Walter. "Vowel alternation in Tibetan." Asin Major 19:86-99, 1974.
SPRIGG, R.K. "A polysystemic approach. in Proto-Tibetan reconstruction. to
tone and syllable·initial consonanl clusters." Bullerin of rh~ School of Oriental
and African Srudies 35:546-87. 1972.
SPRIGG, R.K. "The syllable finals of Tibetan loan words in lepcha ortho-
graphy." Lillguistics of r"~ 7ibeto-Burmall AreQ 9.1:27-46, 1986.
SPRIGG, R.K. "Vocalic alternation in the Balti, the Lhasa, and the Sherpa
verb, as a guide to alternations in Written Tibetan, and to Proto-Tibetan
reconstruction." Bul/erill of Ih e School of Omma/ and A/ricall Studies 43: 110-
22, 1980.
Sl'EINKELI.NER, Ernst. "A literary source for 1ate 18th-century spoken Tibetan
(Amdowa)." Acta Onell/ajja HUlIgaricut 34:245-48. 1980.
TAKATA Tokio. "Sur la naissance des Io ns du tibelain." Journal Asialique 269:
277-85, 1981.
TANG lian. "Types and rorders or
vowel assimilatory processes in the Ancient
Tibetan language." Paper pn'sented ilt the twenty-first annual International
B'BUOGRAJ"IfY 471

Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languag« and Linguistics, University of Lund,

1988.
THOMAS, Frederick William and G.LM. aausen. "A Chinese Buddhist text
in Tibetan writing." Journal of the Royal Aswnc Soc~ty (1926):508:-26, 1926.
THOMAS, Frederick William and G.LM. aausen. "A second Chinese Buddhist
text in Tibetan characters." Journal of the Royal Aswric Sockty (1927):281-306,
85&-60, 1927.
THOMAS, Frederick William, S. Miyamoto, and G.LM. aauseo. "A Chinese
Mahayana catechism in Tibetan and Otinese characters." Journal of the Rayal
Asiatic Socilty (1929):37-76, 1929.
WANG, Stephen S. "Consonantal clusters of Tibetan loanwords in Stau."
Monumenta Serica 29:631-58, 1970-71.
W EIDERT, Alfons K. "Tonogenesis in the Tibetan dialects of Bhutan." Paper
presented at the nineteenth annual International Conference on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics, Ohio State University, Columbus, 1986.
y",o Wang. "A study on the ancient pronunciation of the word mig in
Tibetan." In Ernest Steinkellner and Helmut Tauscher, eds. Contributions on
1ibelan Language, History, and CulfUlt. Proceedings of the Csoma de K6rOs
Symposium held at Velm.VU'nna, Austria, /3·19 September 1981, 1.449-55.
Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 10. Wien: Arbeitskreis
fUr Tibetische und Buddhistische Siudieri, Universitat Wien, 1983.
ZHANG Liansneng. n,e consonant system of Middle·OId 1ibelan and the lema·
genelisofTibelan. Dissenation Abstracts International 48(09):2328, University
Microfilms ADG87-26423. Ph.D. dis!ttrtation, University of Califomia-
Berkeley, 1989.
ZHANG Liansheng. "A preliminary allempt to reconstruct Middle·Old Tibetan
consonants." Paper presented at the nineteenth annual International Con·
ference on Sino·Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Ohio Slate Ur.iversity,
Columbus, 1986.
ZHANG, Liansheng. "The puzzle of Ja+tirag in Tibetan." Linguistics of the
Tibeto·Burman Area 9.1:47-64, 1986.

18. LITERARY STUDIES

AROUSSI, John and Lawrence Epstein. "The 5aintly madman in Tibet." Tn

472 THE ClASSICAL TIfIETAN l...ANaUAGE

James F. Fisher, cd. Himalayan anthropology: lh~ Indo-1ibeum interface, 327-

38. The Hague: Mouton, 1978.
ARJs, Michael. Hiddtn trtruwts and secret lives. A study of Pemalingpa (1450-
1511) and 1M sixth Dalai LAma (1683-1706). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988.
A:n'L, Barbara Nimri. "The work of Pha-dam-pa Sangs-rgyas as revealed in
Ding-ri folklore," In Michael V. Ans and Aung San Suu Kyi, eds. Tibetan
stutlia in honour of Hugh Richardson: proceedings of fhe International Seminar
011 TIbetan Studw, Oxford, 21-29. Westminster: Aris & Phillips., 1979; Atlantic
Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1981.
BACK, Dieter Michael. Eme buddhistische JellSeiJsrrise. Das segenanllte "Toten-
buch de, T'ibeter" aus philologischer Siehl. Freiburger Stilrage zur Indologie
13. Wicsbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1979.
BALl(, Michael. "fndische Etymologien in einem tibetischen Kommentar," In
Helmut Eimer, ed. V/Curakusumiinja/i. Volume presented to Richard Olhon
Meisezahlon the occasion of his eightieth birthday, 1·22. Indica et Tibetica 11.
Bonn: Indica et Tibetica Verlag. 1986.
BECXH, Hermann. Bei/riige zur tiberischen Grammalik. Lajcographk. Sri/isrUc,
und Metrik. Berlin: Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1908.
BERN8AUM, Edwin Marshall. The mythic jouml!)' and its symbolism: a study of
the devtlopment of Buddhist guidebooks 10 SamMala in relation to their ante·
c~ent.J in Hindu mytllology. Dissertation Abstracts International 47(03}:0942,
University Microfilms ADG86-09940. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cali·
fomia-Berkeley, 1985.
BLONDEAU, Anne·Marie. "te «decouvreur .. du Ma,)i bko '. 'bum etail·il hon·
poT' In Louis ligeti. ed. Twetan and Buddhisl studies commemorating the
200th annivenary of tile birth of Alaander Coma de K6rru, 1.77·123.
Budapest: Akade miai Kiad6, 1984.
BLONDEAU, Anno-Marie. "Le Ua 'dre bka' thai'i." In Etudes (ibitaines dtdites
Ii fa mimoire de Marcelle Lalou, 29·126. Paris: Adrien·Maisonneuve, 1972.
BLONDEAU, Anne·Marie. Matiriaux pour I'itude de I'hippologie et de
"hippiarrie ribitaines Ii partir des manuscriu de Touen·Houung. Hautes Etudes
Orientalcs 2. Geneve: Libraririe Droz, 1972.
-
BROUGKTON, Jeffrey. "Early Ch'an schools in Tibet." In Robert M. Gimello
omd Peter N. Gregory, eds. Stud~s in Ch'ul1 and Hua·yel1, 1·68. Kuroda
Institute Studies in East Asian Buddhism L Honolulu: University of Hawaii
DIBUOGRAPHY

Press. 1983.
DASH, Dhagwan. 7Ibetan medicine, wiJh sp«iai refermu to Yoga wtaka.
Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. 1976.
DRAOHl, Paul ALexander. A comparauvt study of t~ tMme of the convenion
of a hUllltr in 7Ibelan, Bhulanae and medieval S()UIUS. Dissertation Abstracts
International 41(12):5090, University Microfilms ADGSI-124M. Pti.D.
dissertation, Indiana University, 1980.
DUltR, Jacques A "Wie ubersetze ich Tibelisch? oder Probleme der ver-
gJeichenden Sprachwissenschafl der tibetisch-bannanischen Sprachengruppe."
Asiatial, Farschrift FfVdrich Weller, 53-77. Leipzig, 1954.
EIMER, Helmut. "Editing the Sa skya legs b!ad." untrrJilJsiati.sc~ Srudim
21,20-28, 1988.
EpPLlNG, John Frederick. A cafculw of creative uprwion: t~ cenlTOl chapter
of Dat)/jin's Kiivyadat1a. Dissenation Absuacu International 50(10):3230,
University Microfilms ADG89-14S09. Ph.D. dissertation, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, 1989.
EPSTEIN, Lawrence. "On the hislOry and psychology of the 'diJs-Iog." The libel
JoumaI1.4:20-85, 1982.
FABER, .Flemming. 'The council of Tibet according to the sBo bzhed." Acta
Orlen/alia 47:·31.:6J, 19856
FABER, Flemming. "A Tibetan Dunhuang treatise on simultaneous enlighten-
ment: the dMyigs su myed pa uhul gcig pa'i gzhung." Acla Orien/alia 46:47-
11. 1985.
GOODMAN, Steven D. TIu kLong<lKn snying-thig: an n,hteen/h century
T~lan revelation. Dissertation Abstracts International46(05):I282, University
Microfilms ADGOS-S6172. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Saskatchewan,
1985.
GYATSO. Janet. A liJerary trrJnsmiJsion of (he tradUions of Thong-stong rOyal-po:
a study of visionary Buddhismin 7Ibrt Dissertation Abstracts Intemat;onal
43(05):1586, University Microfilms ADG82·11946. Ph.D. dissertation, Univer·
lity of California-Berkeley, 1989. '
HAHN, Michael. "Bcmerkungen zu zwei Texten aUi dem PhlJdraa-iCanjur." In
Helmut Eimer, ed. /NJoIogy and Indo-1lbnology. 1'J&irf) yeGn of lndJ,an ond
Indo-7flHian studw in Bonn. Indica et Tibetic.a 13. Bonn: Indica et Tibetica
Verlag, 1988.
414 TilE ClAssiCAl. TIBETAN Lt.NoU ....GE

HAHN, Michael. "Zu den QueUen einiger Strophen 8US Sa Skya Pal)~itas
SubMpuual1Ulnidhi." In LDuis [jgel~ ed. TIbetan and Buddhist studks com-
mmaomMg 1M 200rh Dnnivtflory of the binh of Alexander Csoma de Koros,
1.2.51-66. Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6. 1984.
HMRH. Erik. 1M Yar·!uii dylUUfy. A slUdy wiJh particular regard 101M canm-
i.unon Iry myths ,,,,d /qtnds 10 1M history of Anc~nl 7Ibel and 1m: origin and
tUJlUn of Us 1cingJ. KiJbcnhavn: G.E.C. Gad's Fariag, 1969.
HERRMANJII,PFANDT, Adc Iheid. "Zur Vorgeburtsgeschichte cincr ...e r)t6rpenen
J)alUl)i." In Helmut Eimer, ed. VJCi!ralcusumiHijali. Volume preslmled to
RicluJrd Othon Meisaahl on 1M occa.sion of his eightieth binhday, 113-24.
Indica el Tit>etica 11. Bonn: Indica et Tibctica Verlag, 1986.
HOUSTON, Gary W. ''The system of Ha Sang Mahayana." Central AsUlIic
JoumaI21:10S·10. 1977.
IMAEDA Yoshiro. "Documenu tiM:tains de Touen-ho uang concernant Ie
condie du Tibet." Jownal aswrique 263:125-46, 1975.
lMAEDA Yoshiro. "L'identification de I'original chinois du Pelliot Tibetain
1291. Traduction ti~taine du Zhanguoce." Acla Orienlalia Hungoricoe 34:53-
68, 1980.
JACXSON, ~oger. "Sa-skya paQQita's account of the Bsam-yas debate: history
as polemic." J0um41 oflile Interna/iollal A55OCwtion of Buddhisl Snufits 4.2:89-
99, 1981.
JAClSON, Roger. "Sa-skya paQ~ita's letter to th~ Tibetans: a lale and dubious
addition to hiJ collected works:' Journal of tl.1! Tibet Society 6:17·23, 1986.
JONG, Jan Willem de. "Encore une fois Ie Fonds PelliOl tibetain no. 610."
Central Aswlic JoumoI 12:1·1, 1968.
l ONG, Jan Willem de. "Un fragment de I'hisloire de Rama en Ti~lain." In
tludel ,iblloines didiles d la mimoire de Morre//e La/au, 127-41. Paris:
Adrien-Maisonncuve, 1912.
lONG, lan Willem de. "An old Tibetan version of the Ramiiyana." In Venka-
tarama Raghavan. ed. Proceedings of tile Fir.st III/emotional SOfUkriJ Confer-
ence, 11.1.289-302. New Delhi: R ashlriya Sanskrit Sanslhan, 1975.
KAtsTEIN. Matthew. "Religious syncretism in 13th century Tibet: The Limilless
Ocean Cycle." In Barbara Nimri Aziz and Matthew Kapslein, cds. Soulldings
in Tibetfm CilliJizotion, 358-71. Proceedings of the 1982 seminar of the Inter·
national Association for Tibetan Studies, Columbia University. New Delhi:
BIBUOORAPHY 475

Manohar, 1985.
KMMAY, Samten G. "L'apparition du petit homme ttte-noir (creation et pro-
creati<1n des Tibetains selon un myth indigene)." JoumalasiatiqUl! 274:19-138,
1986.
KARMAY, Samten G. A eala/ogue of Bollpo publicatimu. Tokyo: The Toyo
Bunko, 1977.
KARMAY, Samten G. "AgZer-mig version of the interview between Confucius
and Phyva Keii.-tse lan·med." Bulletin of the Se/lOol of O~nlal and A/rican
Studks 38:562·80, 1975.
KARMAY, Samten G. "The ordinance of IHa Bla·rna Ye·shes·'od." In Michael
V. Aris and Aung San Suu Kyi, cds. Tibetan studies ill IIOllour of Hugh
Richardson: proceedulgs of the lmemational Semular 0tI Tibetan Sludies,
Oxford, 150.62. Westminster: Aris & Phillips, 1979; Atlantic Highlands, NJ:
Humanities Press, 1981.
KAWAMURA, Leslie S. "Is reconstruction from Tibetan into Sanskrit possihle"!"
In Harold G. Coward, cd. LAnguage in Indian philosophy and reliKion, R3·93.
Wate"rloo: Wilfrid Laurier Uiliversity Pres~ 1978; also in Studks UI Religinn
5:83·93, 1978.
KJM ()ltA Ryiitnku. "Le dhyiina. chinoisc au T iht!t anci~n d'<lpr'::s Mahayana:'
Joumaf Asiafiquc 269:183·92, 198\.
KlRK1Alm, J. Russell. "The SpiTi! of th~ moumain: myth anJ stale in rr~·
Buddhist Tibet."' History of Rcligums 21:257·7 1. 19R2.
Kl.AI-'KO\vsIU, Piotr. "Hand and finger mcasurclno.!nts in Tiho.!tan:' /.i"RUo
Posnallien.(js 26:85·97, 1983.
KI.AUS, Christa. Ocr ous dem LOlos ellfS/alldelit. Ej" Bdlrag zur Ilc00U'f('apllie
UluJ JlcollO/ogie des Padmasambhul'a IWCI! d,'m Rill chell gter ,.,uJzod. Asiatische
FOTschung~n 85. Wiesbaden: 0110 Harrassowit2, 1982.

KUIJP. Lel)nard WJ . van der. "Marginalia to Sa·skya Pal)~jta's oeuvre."

l oumaf of Ilu Jlltematiollaf A SSOCia liol1 of Buddhist Studies 7:37.55, 1984.
KUIJP, Leo nard W,J. van der. " On the sources for Sa-skya Pal}~ila 'S notes on
the Bsam'Y3s debate." l Ol/mal of tht IIlfMwlimw/ A.nocimi(m ()f Buddhist
Studi¥s 9:147·53, 198f,.
KVAERI'o'E, Per. "The canon of the Tibetan Bonpos." llUJo-lmlliilll Jnuma!
16:18.56,96-144, 1975.
476 TUE Ci.AsslCAL TIBETAN l...A.NGUAGE

KVAERNP.. Per. ""The Greal Perfection' in the tradition of the Bonpos." In

Whalen Lai and Lewis lancaster, eds. Ec.rly Ch'an in China and 7lbn, 367·
92. Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series 5. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press,
1983.
KVAERNE, Per. "Mongols and Khitans in a 14th-century Tibetan Sonpo text."
Acta Onemalia Hungaricot 34:85-104, 1980.
KVAERNE. Per. "A preliminary study of chapter VI of the gZer-mig." In
Michael V. Aris Bnd Aung San Suu Kyi, eds. Tibelon studw in honour 0/
Hugh Richardson: proceedings a/1M Intemariona/ Seminor on 7Ybelan Studin,
Oxford, 185·91. Westminster: Aris &t Phillips. 1979; Atlantic Highlands, NJ:
Humanities Press, 1981.
WOE, Kristina. "Einige Bemerkungen zur Oronik des Wnflcn Dalai-Lama
als literaturdenkmal." Acta Orientalill HU!lgaricat 41:277-300, 1981.
LICHTER, David and Lawrence Epstein. "'rony in ribetan notions of the good
life," In Charks F. Keyes and E. Valentine Daniel, eds. /UJrma: an anthropo-
logical inquiry, 223-59. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
MACDONALD, Alexander W. "Religion in Tibet at the time of Srong-btsan
sgam-po: myth as history." In Louis Ligeti, ed. Tibetan and Buddhist .,tudw
commemorating the 200th anniversary of the binh of AIaD/tder Croma de
Kor6s, H.129-40. Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1984.
MAlANOVA. T. "On the Sanskrit Subha,ita·Literature in Tibet." In Louis
Ligeti, ed. Tibetan and Buddhist studies commemorating the 200th anni'm':fQry
of the binh of Alemnder Coma de KOrtis, II.141·51. Budapest: Akademiai
Kiad6, 1984.
MANEN, Johan van. "Three Tibetan repartee songs." Joumal of the Asiatic
Soc~ty
of Bengal17:287-31B. 1921.
MARTIN, Dan. "For love or religion? Another look at a 'love song' by the
sixth Dalai Lama." billchrift derdeutscllen morgenIiindischen Gesellschaft 138:
349-63, 1988.
MEl'TE, Adelheid. " Beobachtungen zur Oberlieferungsgeschichle einiger
Lieder des Mi Ia ras po 'j mgur 'bum." Indo-Iranian Joumal 18:255·12. 1976.
NATIlER, Jan. The Cartdragarbha-sutra in Central and East Asia: studies in a
Buddhist proph«y o{ decline. Dissertation Abstracts International 50(02):0466.
University Microfilms ADG89·08999. Ph.D. diss~nalion, Harvard Univenity.
1988.
BmuOGRAPllY 477

NEUMAIER. Eva. "bKa'-b'K)'ad ran·byw"j·ran-sar. ein rjogs-<:'en-Tantra." ail·

schrift der deutschen morgetlliindischen Gt/Sellschaft 120: 131-63, 1970.
POMMERf,." Fran1joise. Les revenants de l'au-delq dans Ie mende tibJUlin:
sources IjUtroues et rrudilion vivume. Paris: Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique, 1989.
POUCHA, Pavel. "Le ve rs tibetain." Archiv Onentdl1ti 18: 188-235, 1950; 22:563-
85, 1954.
RIIOTON, Jared r ouglas. A study of the sDom·gSum of Sa·pol). DisseNtion
Abstract! Interr Jtional 49(10):3060, University Microfilms ADG88-27637.
Ph.D. dissertati.Jn, Columbia U.niversity, 1985.
RICIIARDSON, Hugh E. "Dharma thai came down from heaven: a Tun-huang
fragment." In Leslie S. Kawamura and Keith Scott, eds. Buddhist thought and
Asian dvJizutMm; essays ill honor of Herbert V. Guenther on his s~th birth·
day, 219·29. Emeryville, CA: Dharma Publishing, 1977."
RUEGG, O. Seyfort. "Autour du ITa ba'i kllyad por de Ye ks we (version de
Touen-houang, Pellio Tibetain 814)." }oumal Asiatique 269:207·29, 1981.
S,Wrr;KY, LS. "Secular lyrical poetry in Tibet. Works of Tsangjang-jamtso
(1683-1706)." Proceedings of tile Cwma de K&Vs MemoriDl Symposium, 403-9.
Bibliographia Oric!ntalis Hungarica 2J. Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1978.
ScIlWiEGER, Pc!ler. "Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte des Gsol·'debs le'u bdun-ma
und des Gsol·'debs bsam·pa Ih un·gtub·ma." Zemralasiatirche Studien 21:29-47,
1988.
SEDlACEK, Kamil. "Tibetische Uberselzungweise von uitwortern des Ergeh-
nisse~ und der Richlung aus dem Otinesischen." }oumal of the American
Onelllal Sociery 82: 170-89, 1962.
SMm1, Ellis Gene. "Introduction." In Lokesh Chandra, ed. Kongmd's
EncydopediiJ of Ilido-Tibetan Culture, 1-78. ~ata.Pilaka Series, Indo·Asian
Lite ratures SO. Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture. 1970.
SNYDER, Jeanelte. "Some popular songs of Tibet." Maluhat Review 21:2()'39,
1972.
SoLOMON, Beth Ellen. Th~ Tale of Ihe Incomparable Prince: a study and
trarulation of tile Tlberall novel gZhOtl nu zla med Icy; gtam 'K)'ud by mOo
mklwr zhabs drung Tslle rUlg dbang rg;af (1697.1763). Dissertation Abstracts
International 48(04):0926, University Microfilms ADG87-081IS. Ph.D.
dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1987.
478 THE ClAsSICAL TIBETAN lANGUAGE

SoRENSEN, Per K.. DiviniLy secu.larized: an inquiry inlo the nQlUn and IQI'rn 0/
the songs ascribed to the .sixth DolJJ; LAma. Wiener Studien zue Tibetologie
und Buddhismuskunde 25. Wic:n: Arbeitskreis fur Tibetische und Buddhist-
ische Studien, Universitat Wien, 1990.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. "Du recit au riluel dans les manuscrits tibttains de
Touen·houang," In Etudes tibilaina dtdU"s d fa mbnoi« ck Marcelle Lalou,
479-547. Paris: Adrien·Maisonneuve, 1972.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. "Un genre pankulie r d'exposts du tantrisme ancien
tihetain et khotanais," Jounwl Asintique 275:265..82, 1987.
STEIN, Rolf Alfred. "Tibelica antiqua 2. L'usage de metaphores por de~
distinctions honorifiques a repoque des rois tibelains." Bulletin de [,Ecolt
Fra//roiJe d 'Exlrl!me-On'em 73 :25 7.72, 1984.

S1T:IN, Rolf Alfred. Vuo el cliants de 'Brug-pa KUI1-f~, Ie yogin. Paris: G.P.
Maisonneuve et Larose, 1972.
STERN8ACH, Ludwik. "General appeal of lublwfua literature in Sanskrit." In
Venkatarama Raghavan, ed. Proceedings of the FiTst IrnenuJtWnal Sanskril
Conference, 11.1.370-97. New Delhi: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, 1975.
Sll~RNBACJI. Ludwik. "Note on the ' identification' of some sayings in Sa Skya
Par:t~ita's Subhiifua-ratna-nidhi." Acla O,unlalio Hungaricae 34:249-62, 1980.
STODDARD, Heathe r. Le merniiont de /'Amdo. Paris: Sociele d'Ethnographie,
1985.
Manfred. Beurage zur GeKhiclue der mdhilliKhen Lileralur TIbei.f.
T,\UBE,
Monumt!nla Tibetica Historica. Ableilung I: Scriptores 1. S1nkt Augustin:
VGH Wissenschaftsverlag, 1981 .
TAU BE', Manfred. "Ti ~ti~che Autoren zur (;t' ~ t!.ichl e dt! r J">.g}·wi hli." Acta
On'ell/alia Htmgaricue 34:21}7-31l4, J9RO.
Tr.RJtJ:., Jozsef. \'Colloqc ial ir:fl .u:nce' I ' fl lI> · in".n Tibeta n. " A cto Oriellfalia
HUI/gancae 25:39-51, 1972.
T1SO, Francis VinC(:nl. A ~llld)' of rlll~ BI ;.fdhisf .mil!' in rd mif>/! 10 flu
biograpilicu/ [radiliOn of Mililrcpa. Dissertatiun Ahsiracts Imcrnalional
50(06):1697, University Micromms ADG89-19193. Ph.D. disse rtation.
Columbia Un ive r~:ty, lYSQ.
TSI'kINO. PC lT!d. "tin t'nzyklopadischer Text zur Geschichte der tibetischen
Hcil kunJe." ~ n I krher! Francke and Walther Heissig, eds. Hellen und
BI8UOORAPHY 479

scMnJcen. FUlsch.rift fUr GiinlMT Klinge rum 70. Geburtslag, 107-20. Asiatische
Forsc.hungen 71. Wisesbaden: Otto Harrassowil2, 1~.
Ttl<Xl, Giuseppe. ''The Fifth Dalai Lama as a Sanskrit scholar." In )(shilis
Roy, cd. LkMnlhol Festschlift. Special publication of Sino-lndiJJn Srudus 5.3-
4:235-40, 1957.
Tuu:u, Mynak R. "Grey wolf in Tibetan tradition." Bulletin o/Tfbelology 4.2:
97-103, 1967.
TuYl, Charles Oon van. An analysis 0/ chapter twenty-eight 0/ the "Hundred
'1Jwus(Jnd Songs" 0/ MiJa-raspa, a Buddhist poet and saini o/tibel. Dissertation
. Abstracts International 32(12):6869, University Microfilms ADG72-15933.
Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1972.
UEBACH, Helga. "Die Besitzurkunde des Se-ra snags-pa gra-c'an," In He rbert
Francke and Walther Heissig, eds. Heilen und schenken. Festschrift JUT Giinther
Klinge Zuni 70. Geburtstag, 121-27. Asiatische Forschungen 71. Wisesbaden:
Qtto Harrassowitz, 1980.
UEYAMA Daishun. "The study of Tibetan Ch'an manuscripts recovered from
Tun-huang: a review of the field and its prospects." K.W. Eastman and
Kyoko Tokuno, trans. In Whalen Lai and Lewis lancaster, eds. Early Ch 'an
in China and Tibet, 327-49. Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series 5. Berkeley:
Asian Humanities Press, 1983.
URAY, Gtza. ''The earliest evidence of the use of Ihe Chinese sexagenary
cycle in Tibetan." In louis Ligeti, cd. Tibetan and Buddhist studies com-
mem.oTtJting the 2001h anniversary o/the birth 0/ Alexander Csoma de Koros,
11.341-60. Budapest: Akademiai Kiad6, 1984.
URAY, Giza. "Oueen Sad-mar-kar's songs in the Old Tibetan Chronide."
Acta Orientalia Hungaricae 25:5-3.8. 1972.
VALBY. Ja mes M. The life and ideas 0/ the 8th century A.D. Indiiln Buddhist
mystic Vunafamilra: a compweT-assisted approach to TJbetan texts. Dissertation
Abstracu International 46(12);3722, University Microfilms ADG05-57843.
Ph.D. dissertation. University of Saskatchewan, 1985.
VEKERDI, J6zsd. "Some remarks on Tibetan prosody." Acta O,un/afia
Hungaricae 2:221-34, 1952.
Voo~ Qaus_ "On the m-ro-poi mom-thor." Centrol Asiatic JoumaiI2:8-30,
,968.
WALTER. Michael Lee. The role of alchemy and medicine in Indo-Tibetan
 TIlE: Cu.ssICAL T IBETAN l.AN'GUAGE

Ab~t l acts International 41(05):2115, University Micro-

tantrism. Disscrlation
films ADG8().24583. Ph.D. dissertation, Indiana University, 1980.
WAYMAN, Alek. "Observations on translation from the classical Tibetan
language into European languages." In.dIJ-/ranian JoumaI14:161-92, 1972.
WILLIS, Janice D. "On the nature of mam-thar. early Dge-Iugs-pa siddha
biographies." In Barbara Nimri Aziz and Matthew Kapstein, eds. Soundings
in TIbetan C;..,ilizatiQn, 304-19. Proceedings of the 1982 seminar of the
International Association for Tibetan S;tudies, Columbia University. New
Delhi: Manohar, 1985.

19. LITERATURE IN MOTION

BISCHOFF, Friedrich. "Theatre in Tibet" In Henry W. Wells, ed. Asian drama:
a collection of lestival [lt1{JCrI. 149-54. Vermillion: University of South Dakota
Departmcnt uf Spet:ch and Dramatic Arts, 1966.
CROS\.Ey-HoLl.AND. Peter. " Form and style in Tibetan folksong melody."
Mu.(ilur/ische Viilkakulldt 3:1·16, 1967.
Jallrbuc:h Jiir

CRosu:y·HoUANI). PCI ~r. "rGya-gUng hymns of the Karma-Kagyu: the

rhythmitollal ,Irchitecture of some Tibetan instrumental airs." Selected Rttpons:
ruhfictJIif}ll of Ille l'rugram i'l Elllllomusic%gy of Ih~ Ulli\'l!rsiJy of California
III LO.f AlIgclcs 1.3.1«1-114, 1980.
DRAmll. Paul Alexander. "The stag and the hunting dog: a Bhlltane~e
religious dance and its Tihe:tan source." Joumal of Poputur Culture 16:169.75,
1982.
ELLINGSON, Terry Jay. "'Don l1a dbyangs gsum: Tibetan chaRI tlnd melodic
categories." Asiall Mwic: Joumal of the Sockty for Asian Mllsic 10.2: 1122-.'i6,
1979.
ELLINGSON, Terry Jay. The mandala of soowt.ti: concepts alld SOUlW SfruClures
in Tibetan rilunk Dissertation Abstracts International 40(08):4292, lJniver~ity
M i:".·ofiln ;~ ADG en-C11136. Ph.D. dissertation. University Wisconsin-Mtldis!U1.
1985.
ELLINGSON, Terry Jay. "The mathematics of Tibetan rol-mo." Erllllomwic%KY
23:225-43. 1979.
FOLEY, Kathy and M. Joshua Karter. "Tibetan opera music and dance from
Lhasa : an iRlerview with Daeidan Duoji and Xiaozhaxi Ciren." TDR: nit
BIBUOORAPHY 481
Drama Review. A Joumol of Performallce Studie1 32.3:131-40, 1985.
FRNlCKF.. August Hermann. A lower LAdakh; version o/the Ke1ar 1aga, 313-
493. BibliOlheca Indica 1543. CaIcUIla, 1905-41.
GARAFOLA, Lynn. ''Tibetan opera troupe." Dance Magazine 61.10:98, Septem-
ber 1981.
HElSSIG, Wallher. "Geser-Kongruenzen." Acta Orientalia Hungaricae 34:41-51,
1980.
HElFFER, Mireille. "us airs dans \'epopte de Ge-sar: tradition o rale and
tradition ecrite." ln Walther Heissig, edt Fragen dermongoJischen Heldendich·
tung. Tell I/. Vonroge des 3. Epensympo1Wnu des Soru:lerfonchung1bereiclu 12,
Bonn, 231-44. Asiatische Forschungen 13. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz,
1982.
HELFFER, Mireille. "Le gaulJi: un simandre libelain d'origim: indienne."
Yearbook for Traditional Music 15:112·25, 1983.
HEu'l"ER, Mireille. "us instruments de musique lies A la pratique dt:s t<lnH >!.
d'apres un texte de Kon grol grav pa, 'la' mUMn snm po." In I:l11CSI
Steinkellner and Helmut Tauscher, eds. COntribuJiQlIS on Tibetall LOlIgufJ;:e.
History, and Culture. Proceedings of the Csoma de Koros Sympo.fiwrI held (II
Veim-V/entla, AUSlria, 13-/9 September 1981, 1.83-107. Wiener $tllu;..:n ;:.ur
Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 10. Wien: Arbeitskreis fUr Tibcti:...:he und
Buddhi~tische Studien. Universitat Wien. 1983.

HEU'FER, Mireille. "Ohservations CORelnan t Ie tambour libelain Olga et son

usage." In Nicole Marzac-Holland and .Nazir Ali Jilirazbhoy, c!.Is. £s.\'l/}S in
honor of Peter Cro.f/try-Holland on his sixty~fiflh birthday. 62·'P. Selectt:d
Reports in Ethn00lusicoiogy 4. Los Angelt:s: Univt!rsity of Califmnia-Los
Angeles Music Department, 1983.
HEUHR, Mireille. "Reflexi ons concernant Ie chant epique tibetaill." Asian
Music: Journal o/Ihe Society for Asian Mwic 10.2:1)2-111, 1979.
HERMANNS, P. Matthias. Das Naliollo/-E,)()< dt'r T;:JI'(<'f G/jii Kiillig Cr .far.
Regt:nsburg: Verltlg Joser Hahbod, 1965.
HERRMAN, Silke. "Stand der Epenforschung in Wt:~t·Tibet." In WlIltl.er
Heissig, ed. Fragen der mongoiischen HefJe,uliclwlIIg. Teil W. Vorrriige d" J 5.
E~luymposium.l· deJ SOllderfoncll/mgsbcre;c1~f J';', 801111. 406-11. Asi,"i~che
Forschungen 101. Wiesbaden: Ouo Harrrtssowitz, 1987.
HULTON-BAKER, Robert. TIbelan Budd/listdrama. D ;~se~t;lt io n Abst racts Inte l'
482 T "'E ClA'iSICAL T IBETAN LANGUAGE

national 48(05) : 1059, U niversity Mjcrofi[m~ ADG87-12490. Ph.D. dissenation.

New York University, 1987.
KAscIlEWSKY, Rudo lL "Vergle iche als Stilmittel im Cesar-Epos." In Walther
Heissig. ed. Fragen der mongolischen Jlddc/ulidllullg. TeiJ III. VonrQ~ tks 4.
E~l1S}'mposwnu des SOllderfoflchulljpbereic/u /2, &'111, 262-71. Asiatische
Forschungen 91. Wiesbade n: Otto Harrassowitl, 1985.
KAsIICf.WSKY, Rudolf and Perna Tsering. "Epische Motive in tibetischen
Volksmarchen," In Walther Hdssig, ed. Fragen der mongolischen HeldendJCh -
tung. TeiJ I/. Vanriige des J. EJHnsymposwms des SondeifOflchungsbereichs J2.
Bon", 262-71. Asiatischc Forschungen 73. Wiesbaden: QItO Harrassowill,
1982.
KAsCIIl,WSKY, Rudo lf and Perna Tsering. "Zur Erstellung cines Motiv- und
Inhaltsverzeichnisses tibetischcr Gesar·Versioncn." In Walther Heis.~ig, e~.
Fragen der motrgoliselre/l fleldclidichlWlg. Teil I. Vonrage des 2 £pensympos·
wms des SonderforselJungsbereichs 12, Bonn, 360-71. Asiatische Forschungen
72. Wiesbaden: Otto H ar rassowitz., 1981.
KAsclI1:wSKY, Rudolf and Perna Tsering. "Zur Frage deT Historizitat des
H eiden Gc=sar." In Walther Heissig, ed. Fragen der mongoliseller. Helde,u1ich·
tung T('illV. Vortriige des 5. Epensympmiums des Sonderforschungsbereichs 12,
&mn, 3I)(J-40S. Asiatischc Forschungen 101. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz,
1987.
KAm:MANN. Wa lter. Tibetan BudJllisl ellanl. Blooming to n: India na Univer~ ity
Prc=ss. 1975.
KOlI N, Richa rd Jay. /I.1rmi rinulu. T~I and lradiJion ill a TIbetan ritual.
DiSS(!rtation Abstracts International 49(06):1489, University Microfilms
ADGg&.()9033. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988.
MACKERR......., Colin . "Drama in thc T ibetan AUlOnomous Region." Asian
71teatreloumal 5.2:198-219,1988.
NEDESKY-WOJKOWlrL., R ene de. Tibelan religious dances: TIbetan text a,u1
annOlaled tramlation of the 'chams yig. Christoph von Fure r-Haimendo rf, ed.
The Hague: Mouton, 1976.
NORDU, Jamyang, ed. Zlos-gar: performing tradiJiom of Tibet. Dharzmsala:
LJbrary of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1986.
SAOMTER, Klaus. "Konig Gesar, zur Symbolik des tibetischen Nationalepos."
Syrnbolol1 4:163-71, 1978.
BIRIJOGRAPIIY 48J
SAMUEl, Geoffrey. ,·Stmgs ..,( l hJsa." ElhnlJmu.JicolDgtl 20.3407-49, 1916.
SMIDt, Huston, Kennett·, N. St('v~ns, and Raymond S. Tomlinson. "On an
unusual mode of chanting hy l:atain T ibetan lamas." )0W1Ul1 O/IM Acoustical
Society 0/ Amuic;o 41:1262-64, 1961.
SNYDER, Jeanette. ··A prelinllllill)' slUdy of the lho mo." Asicm Music: J~mal
of the Socic>ty for Asian ."'/wi:; lO,2 ;~3-62, 197Q.
STEI~, Rolf Alfre-.d. Rechl'n·he-s sure- I'tpople etle barrie au Tibet. Biblioth~quc
de l'lnstilul de.\ Ha ut t:~ Elude~ Chinoises 13. Paris: Presses Univtuitaires de
France, 1959.
STFIN, Rolf Alfred. ··Une sourcc ancienne pour \'histoire de 1'~JX)pee
tibttaine, Ie RlafiJ Po·ti bsc·ru." JounllIl cuinliqut 250:77.1()(}, 1962.
SmIN, Rolf Alfred. "Lc theatre au Tibet." In Thea/res, 245-56. Paris: Centre
National de la Rc:chen.:he Sciclltifique, 1978-
TSERING, Pema. "Die Eruberung del Goldburg von mNa'·ris." In Walther
Heissig, ed. FraKen clcr m onKuliKlltll Heldilliiicillullg. 1i:illll. Vonrage dc.r 4.
EpulJympruiums des SOIuleifurscllulIgJhereiciu 12, 801111, 555-88. Asiatische
Forschungen 91. Wieshaden: Otto HiJrrassuwitz, 19R5.
TSERING, Pem... "Histori!'che, ~piseht! und ikonographischc Aspecle des gUn
Cesar naeh tibetischcfI Quellen." In \Valther Heissig, ed. Dk mOlIJ:Oluclu'll
Epm : B~zuge. SiJlndt'ululIg Imd Uber/it'ferullg, 15M·HI). A~jat i!'che Forschungcn
AA. Wiesbaden : Otto lIarrassowitz, J479.
TSERING, Perna. "Neuere Ausglthcn des tibeti5Che n Gcsar-Epus." In Wahh~r
Heissig, ed. Fro!:.,/! dt:r lmlllxoliw:hen HddClldit'hrung. Tei! I/. Vortrii1:t des J.
l:."pel1sympo.~iums clt,~ SOllderfofSchungihereidu 12, Bonn, 245-61. Asiatische
Forschungen 13. Wiesh<lden: Otto H<lrrassowitz, 11J&2.
T SIJKAMOTO Abuko. "The music ofTibctan Buddhism in L;Jdakh: the musical
structure of Tibet an Ilutldhi:;t chant in the ritual hl/mn·KSo tlf the D1:c·lugs·pa
sect." Y('Q rbonk for r':ldi/i'mal MtHic 15:J26-40, 1983.
UI.:,\Y, Geza. "VI'm I'ji mi!>l;h~n K;lber his zum Konig Ge·sar vun Glin." In
Waltht·r t ieissig, d. Frugell. dc, m rJngoli.fdl('11 fJddtlldichtulig. Tt'illlI. Vonriige
des '4. £pclU)mposiums des Sonderfondllmg\helYic/u' /2, BO/iIl, 530-4R.
Asiatischc Fnr~('hungen 91. Wiesbatlcn: 0110 Harra~~owitz, 19R5.
VANOOR, Ivan. Lli musique du bOlIddJusmt /ib~l(/in. Les Traditiuncs Musi-
cales. P:tris: Buchct / Ch:lMe l, 1976. Tr<1nslatcd as Die MU.Jik dt's lihelLn;hen
Buddfti.~muJ . Ta~c henhiichct zur M u~i lo.w i.~scn.~c!l'lft 48. Wilhelmshaven: }-lein-
 THE CtAssICAL TI8ETAN lANGUAGE

richshofen, ~978.
YAO Wang. '"Tibetan operatic themes." In Barbara Nimri Az.Iz and Matthew
Kapstein, eels. Soundings in Tib~tan Civilization, 86-96. Proceedings of the
1982 seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Columbia
Univenity. New Delhi: Manohar, 1985.

lO. TIlE TIBETAN GRAMMARIANS

BAOOT, Jacques. u~ grammo.irt libltaim flu libltain c1twiqtu: les Jlokas

grtlnllrullicaux de 17wnmi Sambhola, av« /.tun comnumtairu. Annales du
Muste Guimet, Bibliothtque d'Etudes 37. Paris, 1928.
BECKH, Hermann. B~ilrii~ tur tibetisch~n Grammatik, /..Uicograi>h~, StiJistik.
und M~triJc. Berlin: Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1908.
BtrrZENBERGER, Klaus. "Ein orthographisch·grammatischer Text im Rgyal-
rabs pal-ba'i me-Ion." Zentralosiatische Studkn 21:48-61, 1988.
DAS, Sarat Chandra. An introduction to lhe grammar of the TIbetan langua~,
with the tats of Silu sum·tag, Dag-je salwai me·tong. and Silui shot lung.
Darjeeling, 1915; Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1972.
DURR, Jacques A Deux trouts grammaticau:c libltains. Heidelberg, 1950.
INABA Shoju. Chibeuo go kot~n bunpOgalw. Kyoto, 1954.
KiAFxOWSKl, Piotr. "Some remarks on Tibetan traditional grammar: the Sum-
cu·pa or Thirty Verses on Grammar by dByangs-Can-Rub-Pa'i-rDo-rJe."
LUtgun PosMnklUis 18:79-81, 1915; 21:25-38, 1918.
u..UFER, Benhold. "Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft der Tit>eter. Zamatog."
Silzungs~richlt d~r B~risch~n Akad~mi.t der WlSStllSchaft, PhiJosophisch.
historischt Klass (1898):519-94, 1898.
MILLER, Roy Andrew. "Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit iili, killi as grammatical
terms in Tibet." Ha",ard Journal of Asiatic Srudiu 26:125-47, 1966.
MIUER. Roy Andrew. "The first two Tibetan grammatical treatises as known
to the Sa Skya PaQ4ita." In Helga Uebach and J. Panglung, eds. TIbetan
studiu, 263-18. Studia Tibetica, Quellen und Studien zur tibetischen Lexico-
graphie 2. Munich: Kommission fUr Zentralasiatische Studien, Bayerische
Akademie der Wissenschaflen, 1983.
MIlLER, Roy Andrew. "Linguistic devices and techniques in the first Tibetan
BIBUOORAPHY

grammatical treatise." In louis Ugcti, ed. ~lan and Buddhist studies com-
memcmting the 200Ih annivenary of 1M binh of AIQ4ntkr Croma de K6r0s,
1I.17S-9S. Budapest: AkadE:miai Kiad6., 1984.
MIUEIl, Roy Aridrew. "Once more on Thon-mi Sambho18 and his grammati-
cal treatises." In J. Konks. P. Numetkund, and L Mall, eds. Orknlai Studia,
439-()(). Tartu: Tartu Univeaity, 1973.
MIllER. Roy Andrew. "Phone, phoneme, and graph in the old Tibetan gram-
marians." Acta Orientalia Hungaricae 34:1S3-62, 1980.
MIUER, Roy Andrew. "Some minor Tibetan grammatical fragments."
Z<iuchrift der deulSChen margenJiindischen GeselJschDft 11S:327-40, 1965.
MIUER. Roy Andrew •.Studies in tile gramfMtical tradition of 'Jibel. Amster-
dam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science III: Studies in the
history of linguistics 6. Amsterdam: John Bcnjamins, 1976.
MIl.LER, Roy Andrew. "Thon-mi Sambhop and his grammatical treatises."
Journal of the American Oriental Society 83:4S8-S02, 1963.
MIu.ER, Roy Andrew. ''Than mi Sambho\a and his grammatical treatises re-
visited." In Ernest Steinkellner and Helmut Tauscher, cds. Conrriburions on
1ibetan Longuoge, History, and Culture. Proceedings of the Csoma de K6r6s
Symposium held at Velm-Vumna, Awtrill, 13-19 September 1981, I. 183-20S.
Wiener Studien zurTibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 10. Wien: Arbeitskreis
fUr Tibetische und Buddhistische Sludien, Universitat Wien, 1983.
MillER, Roy And,ew. "A twelfth century Tibetan grammatical fragmenl:'
T'oung Pao SI:72-84, 1964.
ScHUBERT, JohanneJ. "Tibetische Nationalgrammalik." Mitteilungen des
Seminarr fUr oriemalischen Sprac~en and der kOnjglichen Friedrich-Wuhelms·
Universiliit zu Berlin 31:1-S9, 1928; 32:1-54, 1929.
ScIlUBERT, Johannes. 1ibetuche Nationalgrammatik.. Das Sum cu po and
Rlags·lcyi 'ajug po des Grosslamas von Peking Rol poi rdo-rje. Leipzig, 1937.
SIMONSSON, Nils. "On the co ncept of Kntence in ancient Indian and Tibetan
theory amJ on the function of cas!! particles in Tihct;m <ll.:l.:mding III Tihclan
grammarians." Fmno -Ugrica SuecallQ 5:281-91, 19R2.
Tn.LEMANs, Tom J.F. and D!!rek D. Herforth. Ag/.'IUJ alld aCfimLJ in Classical
Tibetan : tile ilUiigellow grammarilllls UlI .bdag alld },'tall'alld hya hyed las gsum.
Wiener Studi!!n zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskuntle 21. Wien: Arbeilskreis
fUr Tibetische untl Buddhistisch!! Siudien, Universilat Wien, 19H9.
486 1HE ClASSICAl. TIBETAN I....\NOUAGI:.

21. TIBETAN HERMENEUUCS

BROIDQ, Michael M. ''Abhipraya and implication in Tibetan linguistics."

JOUI7UlI of lndi4n Philosophy 12:1-34, 1984.
BROlDO, Michael M. "The term dngos-po'i gnas-Juss as used in Pad-rna dUr-
po's gZhung.'greL;' In Michael V. Aris and AUllg San Suu Kyi. eds. ~'Qn
stucfies in honour of Hugh Richardson: proceedings of 1M /nlQ7Ultiona/ Seminar
on ~Iart SlUdie.J, Oxford, 59-66. Westminster: Ails &: Phillips. 1979; Atlantic
Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1981.
CABEZON. Jose Ignacio. "The prasangikas' .. iews on logic: Tibetan Dge lugs
pa exegesis on the qucslion of SVQtantra..f." Journal of Indian Philosophy
16:217·24, 1988.
GOLDBERG, Margaret Ellen. Argumelltolion aNi understanding: a study of
'l'i«tan "Iigiow debole. Dissertation Abstracts Intemational 46(07):2090,
University Microfilms ADG85-21770. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Illinois
at Urbana.(:hampaign, 1985.
GOlDBERG, Margaret Ellen. "Entity and antonomy in Tibetan bsdus po
logic." JOWtIllI of Indian Philosophy 13:153-200, 273-304, 1985.
GUENTHER, Herben V . "Henneneutics in Tibetan Buddhism." Rtligious
TrodiJions 1:39·47, 1978.
JACKSON, David P. Tht tntrance gart for tht wife (section 111). Sa-skyo pafJ4iJa
on Indian and nhetanlradilioru of pramii/')a and philosophical debate. Wiener
Studien :l.ur Tibeto logie und Buddhismusxunde 17. Wien: Arbeitsitreis fUr
Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universitiit Wien, 1987.
KAPs'rEIN, Matthew. "Mi-pham's theory of interpretation." In Donald S.
Lopez, Jr., ed. Buddhift hermentUlics, 149-74. Honolulu: University of Hawaii
Press, 1988.
iCAPsTEIN, Matthew. ''The purificatory gem and its cleaning: a late Tibetan
polemical discussion of apocryphaltext5." History of Religions 28:217-44, 1989.
Kuup, Leonard W.J. van der. "Bhlimaha in Tibet." INio-lranian JoutnQI
29:31-39, 1986.
KUIJI'. Leonard W.J. van der. "An early Tibetan view of the soteriology of
Buddhist epistemology: the case of 'Bri-gung 'Jig-rten mgon-po." Journal of
Indian Philosophy 15:57·70, 1987.
BIBUOORAPHY 487

Kuup, Leonard WJ. van der. "On the interpretation or nvyiido'1d 11.274."
Studien "" I~ und Irwoistik 8-9,69-76, 1982-113.
Kum, Leonard WJ. van der. "Sa·skya PlUJ4ita Kun-dp' rgyaJ--mUhan on the
typology or literary genres." Studkn %UI" IndQI.ogi4 und InuWtik .U·12:41·52,
1986.
lIPMAN, Kennard. "Nilirtha, M)'lrtho, and lQJh4galQgatbJuJ in TibeL" Joumol
of Indian Philosophy 8:87.95, 1980.
PERDUE, Daniel Elmo. l"trJcti« and wory of phiJosophiaJI debok in 'Tfbdan .
Buddhisf tduc4rion. Dissertation Abstracts International 45(05):1433,
University Microfilms A008+ 15445. Ph.D. clisscrtation, Uoiversity or
Yirdinia, 1983.
RUEGO, D. Seyfort. " An Indian source ror the Tibetan hermeneutical term
dgoiis·gli 'intentional gro und.'" Joumd of Indion PIti/osophy 16:1-4, 1988.
RUEGO, D. Seyfort. " Purport, implicature and presupposition: Sanskrit aMi·
prlya and T ibetan dgoru·pd/dgoiu·gIi as henneneutical concepts." Joumtll of
Indion Philosophy 13:309-25, 1985.
RUEOO, D. Seyfort. "On translating the Buddhist canon (a dictionary or Indo-
Tibetan terminology in Tibetan and Mongolian: the Dag y;, mkJa4s pa'i 'byuii
of Rol-pa'j-rdo-rje)." In Perala Ra tnam, cd. Studia in IIJdo.Asi4n art and
cuJtun. Convnemoralive volume on W 71s1 birthday of AcJatuya RAgIui Vuu ,
III.243-ti1. ~ata·Pjtaka series, Indo-Asian literatures 209. Delhi: International
Academy of Indian Culture, 1973.
SIMONSSON, Nils. Indo-ribeliscM Studim, Vol I: IN Methodm do tibdischer
ilbm.tur, """"""hi 1m HUtblid< aUf die iW<unmg ihrrr iJ_ _ fUr die
SansJaiJpIUJologie. Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksel~ 1957.
SlMONSSON, Nils. "A note on the: knowledge of Indian grammar among the:
Tibetan translators of the ninth century." 0ricIuI/iQ Su«:tut4 33-35:385-89,
1984-86.
Tnuw.Ns. Tom J.F. " Formal and semant", &Speas of Tibetan Buddhist
debate logic." Jounud of Indion Philosophy 17:265-97, 1SJ8S..
WAYMAN, A1c:L 1be interlineaty.type commentary in Tibetan." In louis
used. ed. 7lbtt4n and Buddhisl'Studia c:onunnnotYlring tM 200lh annivmtuy
of tM binh of Aia.ander CJoma de K6tW, 11.367-79. Budapest: Aka~miai
Kiad6, 1984.
WILUAMS, Paul" A note o n lOme aspects. of Mi bIkyod rdo rje', critique of
.88 THE: Ct.Ass1CAl. TIBETAN lANGUAGE

Dge lugs pa madhyamaka." JOIJ/'fUlI of Indion PhiJcsophy 11:125-46, 1983.

WIWAMS, Paul. "rMa bya pa 8yang chub brtson 'gres on Madbyamaka
method," Journal of Indilln Philosophy 13:205·25, 1985.

n. TIBETAN GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT

ARIEL, Mira. Acceuing noun-phrase QltteudtrUS. London: Routledge, 1990.
BfAUGRANDE, Robert-Alain de and Wolfgang Ulrich Dressler. Jnl1'Oducticm
to tallingui.rlicJ. London: Longman, 1981.
BROWN, Gillian and George Yule. Discount analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge
Unrvcrsity Press, 1983.
BROWN, Penelope and Stephen C Levinson. Poliuness. Some univet:fa!s itt
language usage. Studies in Intcractional Sociolinguistics 4. Cambridge:
Cambridge UrtiYersity Press. 1981.
BYBEE, Joan L ''The diachronic dimension in explanation." In Johry A
Hawkins, ed. ExplI1ining wnguage univtnaiJ, 350-77. Oxford: Basil Blackwell
Ltd, 1988.
BYBEE, Joan L Morphology: a study 01 the feliltion betwttn meaning and form.
TyPOlogical Studies in Language 9. Amsterdam: Johh Benjamins, 1985.
BYl'O'ON, Theodora. Historical linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press., 1977.
CllAMBERS, J.K. and Peter Trudgill. Oiil/ectalogy. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press. 1980.
CIIEN, M.Y. and W.S.-Y. Wang. "Sound change: actuation and implementa-
tion." Languag~ 51:255·81, 1975.
CoMRIE, Bernard. "Coreferencc: and conjunction reduction in grammar and
discourse." In John A Hawkins, ed. Explaining JongwJg~ univtnals, 18&-208.
Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1988.
CoMIUE, Bernard. "Ergativity." In Winfred P. Lehmann, ed. SylltQClic typology,
329-394. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1978.
CoMRIl:., Bernard. LAlIguag~ univ~~Qls and lillguistic typology. ~ I cuitio n.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
C..oMRIE, Bernard. "Markt!d ness, grar;lmar, people and the world." In Fred R .
BIBUOGRAPHY 489

Eckman, Edith A Moravcsik, and Jessica R ..Wirth. ed$, Mariadness, 85-106.

New York: Plenum Press., 1986.
CoMRIE, Bernard. "Some general properties of reference-tracking systems."
In Doug Arnold, Martin Atkinson, Jacques Durand, aaire Grover, and
Louisa Sadler, cds. Essuys on gratnmJltical theory and un;venai grammar, 37·
St. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.
CoMRIE, Bernard and Edward Keenan. "Noun phrase accessibility revisited."
lAnguage 55:649-64. 1979.
CoNlE, Maria-Elisabeth, Jinos S. PetOfi. and Emel SOur, eds. Tat and
diswur.Je COfIJI«Iedness. Proceedings of the Conference on Conne~ty and
Coherence, Urbina. Studies in Language Companion Series 16. Amsterdam:
John Benjamins. 1989.
CROFT, William. "Semantic and pragmatic correlales to syntactic categories."
In David Testen. Veena Mishra, and Joseph Drogo, eds. Papen l 1m the
pGrasession on laical s~mantics, twentieth regional muting of the ,'hicago
Linguistic Society. 53-71. Chicago: Chicago Unguislics Society. 1984.
CROFT, William. Synlacric cattgOrUs and grammatical relations: the cognitive
organization of information. Chicago; University of Chicago Press, 1991.
DEl...ANcEY, Scott. "On active: typology and the: nature of age:ntivity." In Frans
Plank, ed. Relational typology, 47-6). Trends in Linguistics, Studies and
Monographs 28. Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 1985.
DEl.ANCEY. Scott. "Aspect. transitivity and viewpoint." In Paul Hopper. ed.
Tens~ and asp«t: b<tweell semanticJ and pragmatics, 167-84. Typological
Studies in language 1. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1982.
DENNY, J. Peter. "Locating the universals in lexical systems for spatial deixis."
In Donka Farkas. Wesley M. Jacobson, and Karol W. Todrys, eds. Papen
from lhe parosusion on the lexicon, fourteenth regional muting of th~ Chicago
Linguistic Society, 71·84. Chicago: Chicago Unguistic Society, 1978.
DUle, Teun A van. Tat and con/at. Explorations in the semantics and prag·
matics of discoune. London: Longman, 1977.
DuBoIs, John A "The discourse basis of ergativity." LAngr.mge 64:805·55 ,
1987.
FOLEY, William A and Robert O. van Valin, Jr. Functional syntar and um··
venal grammar. Cambridge Studies in Unguistic$ 38. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1984.
490 THE C LASSICAL TIBETAN I...ANGUAGE

GAlAMBOS, Sylvia Joseph. "A clarification of the notion of topic: evidence

from popular spoken French." In Jody Kreiman and A1merindo E. Ojeda,
eds. Paper! from the paraseSlion on pronou.ns and annphora, sirleenth regional
mt'eting of the Chicago Linguslic Society, 125- 138. Chhcago: Chicago
Linguistics Society, 1980.
GIVO~, Talmy. "from discourse to syntax: grammar as a processing strategy."
In Giv6n, Talmy, ed. Discouru and .syntax, 8 1-112. Syntax and semantics 12.
New York: Academic Press, 1979.
GIVON, Talmy. "Negation in language: pragmatics, function, o ntolOgy."
Working papers in language univenals 18:59·116, 1975.
GIVON, T almy. On uruierstanding grammar, Pe rspectives in Neurolinguislics
and Psycholinguistics. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
G IVON, T almy. " Promotio n, accessibility and case marking: toward under-
standing grammars." Workillg papers in language universals 19:55- 125, 1975.
GJV6N, Talmy. Syfllax. A functiollal-typological introduction. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins, 1984.
GtV6N, Tahny, cd. Discourse and syrllux. Syntax and seman tic.~ 12. New Yo rk:
Academic Press, 1979.
GREENBERG, Joseph H . "Some iconic relatio nships among place, time, and
discourse dcixis." In Joh n Haiman, cu. Iconicity in Syntax.. Proceedings of a
symposium 011 iconicity in syn.tax, Stallford, 271-87. Typological Studies in
Langullgc '). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1985.
HARIUS. Zellig. " The interrogative in a syntactic framework." In H enry Hiz,
ed. Questions, 1·35. Symhesc Language Library I. Dordrech t: D. Reidel, 1978.
H OCK, Hans Heinrich. Principles of historical linguistics. Berlin: MoulOn de
Gruyter, 1986.
G UI'JOH., Jeanette K. "Zero·N P anapho ra in R ussian: a case of topic.
prominence," In Jody Kleiman and Almerindo E. Ojeda, cds. Papers from the
para ~essioll
011 prOIiOUns alld anllphora, sixteenth regi(}IIo/ meetillg of the
Chicago Lingus(ic Society, 139· 146. Chhcago: Chicago Linguistics Society, 1980.
H Al MA!' , John. "Symmetry." In John Haiman, ed. lcollicily in Sylllax. Proceed-
ings of a symposium all icoII ;city in syntax, Stanford, 73-95. Typological Studies
in Language 6. Amsterdam: John &njamins, 1985.
HALLIDAY, M.A.K. and R uqaiya Hasa n. Cohesioll in English. Englisn
BIBUOGRAPHY 491

Language Series 9. London: Longman Group limited. 1976.

HAMOUN, C.L ImperativeJ. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1987.
HAYES, Bruce. "Metrics and phonological theory." In Frederick 1. Newmeyer,
cd. Linguisties: the Cambridge sUf\le}'. Volume 1I. Linguistic theory: dXtetlSions
and implications, 220.49. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
HOPPER, Paul, ed. Tense and l2$pt!Cf: berwten semanric.r and progmarics.
Typological Studies in Language 1. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1982.
HOPPER, Paul and Sandra A Thompson. "The discourse basis for lexical cate-
gories in universal grammar." LAngtUl~ 60:703·52, 19&4.
HORN, LR. "Some aspects of negalion." In Jospeh H. Greenberg. CA.
Ferguson and Edith A. Moravcsik, Univena/s 0/ human language. Vol. 4:
SynltU, 127-210. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 1978.
HUDSON, R.A. Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
KEENAN, Edward and Bernard Comrie. "Noun phrase accessibility and
universal grammar." Linguistic inquiry 8:63·99, 1977.
KEENAN, Edward and Bernard Comrie. "Data on the noun phrase accessibili·
ty hierarchy." LAnguage 55:33.3.51, 1979.
K.!PARSKY, Paul. "Stress, syntax and meter." In Donald C. Freeman, ed. Essays
in modem styJisties, 223·72. London: Methuen, 1981.
KONIG, Ekkehard. "Concessive connectives and concessive sentences: cross·
linguistic regularities and pragmatic principles." In John A. Hawkins, ed.
Explaining language univenab, 145-166. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1988.
Funclicmal syntax. Anaphora, discourse and empathy. Chicago:
KUNO SU! .t'ptu.
University of Chicago Press, 1987.
L.t.oEFOGED, P. PrtliminarUs 10 linguistic phonetics. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1971.
l..ASS., Roger. Phonology. An introduction 10 basic connepts. Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press, 1984.
LEHMANN, Christian. "On the typology of relative clauses." Linguistics 24:663·
SO, 1986.
LI, Charles, cd. Subjtct and topic. New York: Academic Press, 1976.
LYONS, John. Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
 TilE Cu.ssICAl TiBETAN U-NGUAGE

ODm·.N, Davitl. "Further evidence for the feature (gravel." Linguistic Inquiry
'1. 1"1·"4,1978.
\ 1,,-'JeA, Gllin. De{uling a lillguistic area: South Asia. Chicago: University of
Chic<lgo Press. 1976.
M I\llll EWS, A .C. Morphology. All introductioll to the theory ofword-strw:ture.
Camhridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974.
PAt.MI:.M, F.R. Mood and moda/fly. Cambrltlge: Cambridge l]niversity Press.
19XO.
PI:\NK. Frill'. ed. Ergalil'iry. Towards a II/eOly of gratnmlJtica, "1ations. New
York: Academic Press, 1981.
PI AN K. Fri iS. ed . Objects. To.....ards a theory of grammatical rtlatiotu." London:
Awdl'lllic Pr~ss, 1984.
PI(IN("I" Alan. " Metrical forms." In PaullQparsky and Gilben Youmans. eds.
RIIJlllm muJ meier, 45·80. Phonelics and Phonology J.. San Oiego: Acildemic
Press, I IJf\IJ.

1'II.INeE, Ellen F. "Tuwa rd a taxonomy of given/ne)'l information. II) Peter

Cole, ed. Radical pragmmics. 223·56. New Yor-k: Academic Pre~s, 1981.
51101'1'.1'1, Timothy, ed. LUI/guage typology and SYllldctic description. Vol. I:
Clau.se structure: Vol. 2: Complex c(mstfUctiollS; Vol. 3: Grammatical categories
Wid the lexicoll. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

STA.'i.<;EN, Leo n. ComparisrJ/l and universal grammar. Oxford: Basil Blackwell,

1985.
STtKKWEU .. Robt!rt P., Paul Schachtt! r, and Barbara Hall Partee. "Relativiza-
lion." In 771t: major SYlifactic stmcWres of English. New York: Hail, Rinehart
a nd Winston, Inc., 1973.
T(fOMPSON, Sandra A. "A discourse approach 10 the cross-linguistic category
'adjective.'" In Robe rta Corrigan, Fred Eckman, and Michael Noonan, eds.
UlIlfo1.istic C(l/eNonzatum , 245-65. C urrem Issues in unguistic Theory 61.
Am~te rd am: Jo hn Benjamins, 1980; a lso in Jo hn A. Hawkins, ed. Explaining
IUIiK/laXe ulli\'l!~uls, 167·185. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1988.

TOMLIN, Rus.~e ll, cd. Coilerence and grolmding ill discoune. Amsterdam : John
Bcnjamins, 19R7.
TOOl .IN,Michael J. No"mil'e. A crilicallinguislU: imroduclion. London: Rout·
ledge, 1988.
BlBUQ(iRAl'IIY 493

Tum:.., Kevin J., Asif Agha, and Randolph Graczyk. "Agentivity, transitivity,
and the question o f active typology." In William H. Eilfort, Paul D. )(roeber,
and Karen L Peterson, eds. PaJXfl from the panuessiolt 011 caUStJtiveJ and
agentivily, lwenty.[lr$t rqiolUll meering, Chkago Lingustic Socidy. 252·70.
Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society. 1985.
TfV.UGOlT, Elizabeth Closs, "Conditional markers. t. In John Haiman, ed,
Iconicity in Syntax. Proceedings of Q symposium 011 iconicily in .I)'ftUU. Slanford,
289·307. Typological Studies in Language 6. Amsterdam: John Benjamins,
1985.
TRAUGOTr, Elizabelh Closs, Alice ler Meulen, Judy Snitzer Reilly, and
Charles A Ferguson, eds. On conditionals. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1986.
TRUDGllL, Peter. On dialect. Socwf and geographical JXflp«Ii'.teS. New York:
New Yo rk University Press, 1983.
Wi\ROllAUGII, Ronald. An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford: Basil
Blackwell, 1986.
WEINREICH, Uriel. LAnguages in contact. The Hague: Mouton, 1968.
WIERZBICKA, Anna. "Oats and wheat: the fallacy of arbitrariness.." In John
Haiman. cd. /coniciJy in Syntax. Proceedings of Q symposium on iconicity in
.l}'nttu, Stanford, 311 ·42. Typological Studies in Language 6. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins, 1985.
ZUUlN, David A. and Soonja ChoL "Orientation and g~.stalt: conceptual
organizing principles in the lexicalization of space." In David Testen, Veena
Mishra, and Joseph Drogo, cds. PIlJXll from the palTUusion Oft laical
semafltics, Iwt mkth regional meeting of tile Chicago linguistic Society, 333·345.
Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society, 1984.

23. TEXTUAL CRITICISM

BAILEY, David R. Shackleton. "Editing ancient texts." In Herb;ert H. Paper,

ed. LAnguage &: tats. 77lt lIature of fUlguislic evidence, 21·32. Ann Arbor:
Center (or COOrdination of Ancient and Modem Siudies,. University of
Michigan, 1975.
DEARING, Vinton A. Principles and practice of literary IIMJysi.r. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1974.
494 THE ClASSICAL TIBETAN L.\NouAoE

HOUSMAN, AE. S~let:l~d prose. John Caner, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1961.
KENNEY, E.J. The classical lUI: asptcts of editing in lhe age of the prinJed
book. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974.
MMS, Paul. Tu/ull/ crilicism. London: Oxford University Press, 1958.
McGANN, Jerome J.A crilique of modnntUlUal criticism. Chicago: University
of,Chicago P(ess, 1983.
SIMONSSON, Nils. "Zur indo-tibetischen Textkriti~." Orientalia SuecalUJ 2:129-
52, 1953.
TIIORPE, James. Principles of textual criticism. San Marino, CA: The Hunting-
ton Library, 1972.

24. TRANSLATION

BKOWER, Reuben A, ed. 011 translation. New York: Oxford Universiiy Press,
1%6.
FRAWLEY, William, ed. TrallS/ation. Literary, linguisric, and philosophical per-
speclives. .Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1984.
G1\H.1I.10UE, Jean, ed. Tran.dations by American poets. Athens: Ohio University
Press, 1970.
Glv6N, Talmy. "Universal grammar, lexical structure and translatability." In
F. Guenthner and M. Guenther-Reutter, eds. Meaning alld /rans/alion. Philo-
sop/lical and linguirlic approaches, 235-72. London: Gerald Duckworth &
Company Limited,. 1978.
GRAIIAM. Joseph F., ed: Di!ferenu in translation. Ithaca: Cornell University
Press, 1985.
HOLL\NIl, Dorothy and Naomi Quinn, eds. Cullural models in language and
lhouglll. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
KEENAN, Edward L ''Some logical problems in translation." In F. Guenthner
and M. Guenther-Reutter, eds. M~aning and translation. Philosophical and
linguirtic approaches, 157-89. London: Gerald Duckworth & Company
Limited, 1978.
KU~ST, AHhur Egon. "Practical aspects of the translation seminar and work-
BJRJ.JOORAPJIY 491

shop." Sub-Stance 16:89-96. 1977.

lARso"" Mildred L Meaning-based rraru/mirm: a guide 10 cross-language equj-
valence. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984.
MAi.OI'lE, Joseph L 71le scknce of linguistics in the art of /ranslarion. Albany:
State University of New York Press. 1988.
MAl'lGO, Susan. "Alice in two wonderlands: Lewis Carroll in German." Sub-
Stance 16:63-84, 1977.
MERWIN, W.S. Selected lranslatiarIJ,# /948-/968. New York: Atheneum, 1975.
NIDI\, Eugene A Toward a scknce of /ranslating. Leiden: EJ. Brill. 1964.
NID ...., Eugene A. and Charles R. Taber. TIle theory and practice of/rans/an·on.
Leiden: EJ. Brill, 1969.
RN-TEl. Burton. 77le art of lralularj"K poetry. University Parle.: The Pennsylva-
nia State University Press, 1988.
ROlliNSON, Douglas. TI,e translator's tum. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1991. .
ScIiOGT, Henry G. Lillgui.uics, literary analysis. and literary troltslarian.
Tommo: University of TOTonlo Press, 1988.
SNELL-HoRt-'BY, Mary. TrallSlarion srudies. An integrated approach. Amsterdam:
John Benjamins, 1988.
St-'ELL-HoRNBY, Mary and Esther P6hl. eds. TrallSlalian and lexicography.
Papers read at the EURALEX Colloquium held a l Inosbru::k. 2·5 July 1987.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1987.
STEINER, George. After Babel. Londol1: Oxford University Press, 1975.
SULLIVAN, J.P. Ezra Pound and Sextus Propertius. A study in crealiw ttrJrIJ-
larion. London: Faber and Faber, 1964.
WEAVER, Warren. A/ice in many tongues. Madison: University of Wisconsin
Pres.~, 1964.

25. ETHNOPOETICS

BEt-'I\MOU, Michel and Jerome Rothenberg, eds. Etlinopoetics.· a [II'S' illter·

national symposium. Boslon: Boston University Press, 1976.
496 THE ClAssiCAl TIBETAN l..ANoUAGE

DoRIA. Charles and Harris l.enowitz. Origins: creation tats from the ancient
Medilerrantan . Garden City: Anchor Books, 1976.
DUNCAN, Robert. "Ideas of the meaning of form ." In Donald M. Allen and
Warren Tallman, The poetics a/the nnv American poetry. 195·211. New York:
Grove Press, Inc., 1973.
EsHl.EMAN, Clayton. A CATERPIlhf.R anthology. Garden City, NY: Anchor
Books, 1971.
GOODMAN, Sleven D. "Ocean woman .... ho already knows," Alcheringa: ElhfU}'
ptXtics 3.2:52·54, 1977.

GROSSINGER, Richard and Lindy Hough, eds. 10/4 (Alchtnty /SSIU). Berkeley:
Book People, 1973.
HYMES, Dell. "Discovering oral performance." New luerary history 8:431-57,
1977.
HYMES, Ocll. "Directions in (ethno.) linguistic theory,"'n A. Kimball Romney
and Roy G. d'Andrade. cds. TralUcuilUTal studies in cognition. Special
publication of American Anthropologist 66.3:6-56, 1964.
HYMES, Dell. In vain I tried to leff you. Philadelphia: University (jf Pennsylva-
nia Press, 1981.
HYMES, DeI1. "Some North Pacific Coast poems: a problem in anthropologi-
cal philology." American Anthropologist 67:316-339, 1965. Reprinted in Jerome
Rothenberg and Diane Rothenberg. eds. Symposium of the whole: a range of
discoune toward an tlhnopotlics, 343·66. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1983.
McAuESTER, David P. "The tenth horse song of Frank Mitchell: Ifanslalion
and comments." In George Quasha, ed. Siony Brook 3-4:306-15. 1969. Re·
printed in Jerome Rothenberg and Diilne Rothenberg, eds. Symposium of Ihe
whole: a runge of discoune toward an elhnopoetics, 393-98. Berkeley: Univer-
sity of California Press, 1983.
NGAL, N. "Literary creation in oral civilizations." New lueruf)' history 8:335-44,
1977.
ONG. Walter J. Orality and lueracy. The lechnologizing of Ihe word. London:
Routledge. ]982.
PAUL. Sherman. In search ollhe primUive: rereading David Amin, Jerome ROlh·
enbetg. and Gary Snyder. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. 1986.
BIBUOORAPHY 497

QUASHA, George, ed. Active anthology. Fremont, MI: Sumac Press, 1974.
QUASHA, George. "Dialogo$: between the written and the oral in contempo-
rary poetry." N~ LiJerary History 8:485-506, 1m. Reprinted in Jerome
Rothenberg ad Diane Rothenberg, cds. Symposium of the whok: a TGtrp 0{
discoune toward an elhnopoelics, 461-74. Berkeley: University of Califomia
Press. 1983.
ROTIiENBERG, Jerome. PRE-FA CES d: otherwrilillgs. New York.: New Direc1K>ns,
1981.
ROTIiENBERG, Jerome, ed. ShakiTJg the pumplOn: trGdiIiontJJ pont'j .of IN
Induln North Americas. Garden City: Doubleday de Company, Inc., 1972.
RQTIiEN8ERG, Jerome, ed. Techllicillnl of the sacred. New York: Doubleday
& Company, Inc. 1968.
ROTIIEN8ERG, Jerome. "Total translation: an experiment in the presentation
of American Indian poetry." In Jerome Rothenberg. PRE-FACES &: other
wriJiIIgs, 76-92. New York: New Directions, 1982. Reprinted in Jerome
Rothenberg and Diane Rothenberg, cds. Symposium of 1M whole: a fd~ of
discoune lowald an erhnopoetics, 381·93. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1983.
ROTIIEN8ERG, Jerome and Harris Lellowitt. Exiled ill lhe world: pcHms and
other visions of the Jews from tribal times to presenl. Port Townsend, WA:
Copper Canyon Press, 1989.
Ronu:.l'IUERG, Jerome and 'Diane Rothenberg. eds. Symposium of 1M whok:
a range of discourJe toward an ethnopoetics. Berkeley: Univel"lity of California
Press, 1983. .
SNYDER, Gary. Eanh howe hold. '!'lew York: New Directions. 1969.
TEDLOCK, Dennis. Finding the center: TUlrrative poems of lhe Zuni 1ndi41U. New
York: Dial Press, 1972.
T EDLOCK, Dennis. "Towards an oral poetics." New /iurary history 8:507-20,
1977.
TEDI,OCK, Dennis and Jerome Rothenberg, eds. Alchtringa: eduwpoetics.
Boston: Boston University, 197()'80.
TURNER, Viclar. "A review of Ethnopoetics." BotuJdary 2 6.2:583-90, 1978.
Reprinted in Jerome Rothenberg and Diane Rothenberg, cds. Symposium 0{
the whole: 0 range of discourJe toward an elhnopoetics, 337-42. Berkeley:
498 THE CtAssICAL TIBETAN L+.NOUAGE

University of California Press, 1983.

ZUMTliOR, Paul. Oral ptHtry: an introducticn. Kathryn Murphy-Judy, trans.
Theory and History of Literature 70. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 1990.

26. ODDS AND ENDS

DENUNGER, Paul B. "Tibetan and Mon-Khmer: a short communication." In

Andrew Gonzales and David Thomu. eds. Lingui5tics acnm continmlJ: stutlin
in honor of IGchllrd S. PilmuJII. 145-46. Unguistic Sociely of tbe Phillipines
Monograph Series 11. Manila: Summer Institite of Unguistics and Unguistic
Society of the Phillipines, 1981.
EooAR, J. HWlon. "Sumerian and Tibetan equivalents." Journal of the West
China Border Ruearch SociLty 5:6&-7, 1932.
MillER, Roy Andrew. "Is Tibetan genetically related to Japanese?" Proceed·
ings of tilt Crorna de K6r6s Mem0ri41 Symposium. 295-312. Bibliographia
Orientalis Hungarica 23. Budapest: Akademiai K.iad6, 1978.
ScHUHMAOIER, W.W. "Basque and the other Dene-Caucasian languages." u
langagt et I'lwmme 24:262..63, 1989.
SHAFER, Robert. "Athapaskan and Sino-Tibetan." [ntemotional JOIU7UlI of
American Linguirtics 18:12·19, 1952.
SHAFER, Robert. "A few more Athapaskan and Sino-Tibetan comparisons."
[nI~tional Journal 0/ Amrican Linguistics 35:1..67, 1969.
SHAFER, Robert. "Note on Athapaskan and Sino-Tibetan." Inlemotional
'oumal 0/ American Linguisrics 23:Il6-.I7, 1957.
SHAFER, Robert. "Some Uto-Aztecan and Sino-Tibetan comparisons." Otbir
13:104-9, 1964.
 A n<,""n~l 3.16_ ""h. ~.\1: types <.If, :B8;
1)-1'" I. ))'». l) pc 2., .w I; l}pc), 34 2;
A.ccomlM"ilDCRl . oIe,270 0'
1)'[1<' • • 301 2: Q,mplc •. :<44: "",;,..,ion
""""IIS.iI; dattlpdol\S., 63 ·N . J4.t: "'1.\1.,;"", .'44
Adjeaiva, 201; r~LIo\Ml:ed proplllitions ' n<!. 317 Cump! ... p">p<!5iliollJ, 282; o.)IIlpk:l 'Cbll~ ;1c.l
MDOmi ..... f;Jipo. 94 propositions.))4; <.:OfIIplc. IXImp"'rnelll>.
Ml>Ominals, 1)4: !laic lIIOditio.::lolioa panerns,
114; MOditlcalioll I)pCJ. 215
AlMrbl., 243; ladctla.he, 216; propoAlioMl, J07
'"
o.lmpollnds. 103; MiNe. 103: NOUN + NOUN ....
NOO!'!. 103; ADJECt'tYE + NOUN ....
Moe_1M COIIJ .. actloD, Z86; dial«1 variants of, NOON. 104: MOUN + ADlEC11Vl: ....
m t'lOUIO', 104; ADJ ECllVIl + ...vlECl1Vf. ....
Mil( r~1ea. 166 NOI'N. l OS: NOUN + Vf.1l~ - \11:118. Hll'o:
A&cncy role, 164 In"'~lion oompo~ncb. 107; ••,IllU,llVIi
AJLUll.lllivc _JuDCtIoa, l85 + i\,l)1f:CTJV1; -- NOUN. 1117: NOUN +
Aperlodical meK!$, 41 ' VOI R"" HO\lN. 10'1; n'TU<SIHI'. )I +
ArIkllIaIOf)' dc:Ktipllon., ,,: anio:1oll'ory ""')18 .... VElla. 110
aulmila'ion. 186 CoDn icr of ril les, 18)
Auilllihlion. artio;wLloIOI'j'. 186; "'flOu nce, 1811 ConjoiM<l nominal phrases. 240; ronjo,1\Cd
pfOp06il ioAs, 284
• O "'jllntlioM. 284; 11IUNI!Ye. W: a<J""~lr.'C,
2116: COOfdinali~ 2119
B6ekf0nns. 146 Conn<Xliycs.lIIS: rail, 385, ~ d isu)IIJ')(, :llI7:
8aLlIK'OOd relal jviw;! propositions.))2 ph._ I. 388: pfOposilional, )911
8onowi"a. \)11 eo.......... nu. S1
8rulhl-. dep n•• 26 CoftSlninl$ 0 11 pnshn ilials. 81: CO..,lIninl> "n
B"rmese, T ibeUon and. II prcinilials.81
o..I>Smocl ioM. 102
c CoGrdin.alC eli"" 9)
Co(",'ina livc wnjIlMIi<>n. 2119; s;m lll,.nct_ and
CaLloIc:UI, .1) ~'iphruli<: oonJlrllClions. 290; di~I""1
0.1_. Tibetan aDd, 10 YII rilon ts, 29 1'
Cla& membe"h lp, IIIl1h lp\e, 181
Claulcal T1betall, defined. 36 u
aipped UIIM:ralt. 222
aipa. 92; word, 92; 1l0III1l1li, 93; plIrlK, 93: Ddinite dc te.mlften;, 206
COOI'dlUIe, 93; MI""",ift&\, 904: .e la ll"". Dclimhcl1, 206
94; werb, ~ DellOUlioa ud oonllQ(alioli. ISS

""'~ "
~ COIIItrainlS, 1\
DeriYIILioD. Ill; inner. 111: ouu:r. 119
Dete,mine", 206; ddlallc. 206; '1"',"1. 206;
CoIIa;\M _ aad adjcc1i>a. 226 pcn;ooa~ 207, IIoftoriI\c, 208; 5CJI ·"""kcd
Commallda, J62; GMI ...rwI ""nide, 363; polite, pc_I. 212; Jfwk, 2\ • • Iftdcfinilc.
)65; "IePAI. l6S: 'lIIpeno ...1, J66; 214; 1IcI4k:N iftdcfillilc, 216
'eq_\I., 367; Ullkcd.l6&; IRlomIal, l6\l Di".plol; , nd diact'Jtica, )
Complcmc.1I a:>ftSlnctlons. llS: _ ,))6; Discourx COIIncctiYa, 381

'"
DWIallIauo., ¥Oic:e, I7&, Jrn'il)', 187 127; -mo ".-\OJEcrlVBIAClEm"', l 27:..,.

"""""- '"
DtayUabIc 'U- JfOUp. 90
Doubk IICJII tloD, 241
Doubt partldea. 361
DIl11UII)' ro\t. pvtlde Clnk!$, 318
"PlACl!!~,

I~
'f'II "MOl.Tnl", 132
Fraalons, ru
129;.,.., _ _ IMAL",
,£ "ADJI!C11VB", 131; -IJuI-IuI-

G
• OlpplllL 291
Elcpat IpoedI. 153; com..... 165 Ooopphlcalll.llllCS, 377
EUlillutlo. ot ro4~, 194 Oraphs, SOU~ m, 19
EaIliH.. relatl¥c COIIIInIClIoIIs III, 310 OI"lViIy,63
Epitbcu.,l79 Oravlly dlssilllllatJoa. It?
Eqllatlofts, 2$5
Eq ... tNc complement&, 344 H
ErptMI)',ll9
Efron, acrlbaI, 117 Head .nd modirlCr, 199
EupMRlIs.., 156 Hc.IdIcl5 modi/kn, 203: Itad'- llllkllD.ilC
E....nll., 2$2 delennlKn, 216; headlell -.lnolllIMIs,
Eroeplions, Irre,wla ntla and. 176; KfibAl erro"" 2J9; headless rellui¥e&, 315
117; lIIullipk dUllllClllbenllip, 181; Himal')1I11 1a1lP"P- f.IId TlbeUOlI, 14
mUltiple uMrllen., 182; oonnict of HonorU"io, 152; 11K. 152; prlllWy, 154;

..
rwks. til; Iwppletion, I ...; re",)f.r, lIS deDOlltioll and ODIlIIOUIlioa, ISS:
EKllmalions, 383; II)'potMt1ca1 apressloDS, 333; npbembm .114, 156; JeCoI>Cia'l', 156; ill
hypothetical ellipiis, 384: 'n 'I'd.IiI, )8.4: kilUh.p terms, iS7; penoul determinel,
In ~" 185
, Hwmmnca. 2 1 ~ .nd pe_1 dctCf1l\'IIU1, 212
HypolhctiCIl apft:ulofts, 3&3; hypothetical
ellipsis, 384
Family urnes, 377
filwrCl of speech. otOO; metaphor!., otOO; similes .
."
for maliva, lIOII'syl"'bic, III; m· "HONOII.lflC", ImitaliollS, 141
Ill: m· "t illMAN BOOY 'AAT'"', 114; ,. Impersoul 0DfIl1Olln<h, .l66
M""'tMA.\..M. liS: ,. I"lV<NSmVE"", 116: .. IlI<lefinile delerminen. 214: indefinite ad...ero"
117;," .. "'OM1N ...... M, 117;·r
Ml'IOtot tNA,L",
"tfONl"'AL", 118;
COt...t.f.CT1VE ,1I9 M
,-dis·" "kiNSHIP '"
Inl\caioll. 160; wltb'lIlyll.bles, 161; tellSC. 161:
!\cms. 162: 'YJ'CI o f rwle, 162; trlllSlti...e
formativa, syllabic, 119; .IUd "'NESS 119; 'I"l Ind intr'lISiliYe ...elM. 163; parldi&ms,
M
•

"'ElUOl'IliAV1N() TO 00 WITlI 120; . M

, 164; Irr.. rula., 166; pren. 1'1', 161;
m.!:MII: "Sklu..ED IN". 120; ·l'IIo-d~ plerlll G·, 161; prtrlll ." 168; sum. ·1,
M"O kI"'O Of", 121; ·,1""
"I'OSSESSIN()", 168; root rules, 169; """'" dlssimilltion,
121: ')'<11 "·LESS". 122: -lll41·U 170; ulIStoppin&. 171: Jabl.l rules, 17);
"OI "'INtJllVE", 122: sa. 123: · ... 0 pl_nt Stem doI""Q1. 175: KroSS
MFEJolALE" 111<1 _pM •• ......u;", 111; sylllbles, 186
Inimal sa. 124; ·ntO Ind ."", Informal oom ma nds, J69
.. FE......u;", 125: names, 126: ICOI"phy. lnform"lon qYeltiollS, )S8
 INDEX

llIiDrmalion, old and fteW, 19S

""
Nepllon. 242; lerm, W; RIwen.al, 2M.; .,....
IIIKt KrMtiort, III
IlItetjeaioN, 1'7
Intransitive wel'bt, 163
'"
New Tibetu, variIolro. ill, t9
NotIIiALl d1~ 93
IIMntlon, of wrill .." 40 No.u1'lJ fOIIllpllcatlo&, 134
tsopos.sa., Southern nbelU, 24
,.,
NotIIJaaI pmus. 204; lL.pIe. 204; -JoIrIed.
J KL No.ullll colllplc1lleall, lJ6
Noml4ll1utioG, 294
Kinship lerlN, ." NoIIII ...1izIed propoaitlolllas ItadI, J02; ..
LabUol rula, 171 modlfkrl, lOS
LabUols., pallllllutlon of, 22 NoIIIIII&Iiaen, 29$; pitlcllt_1Cfed, 296; "'II'"
Larie numbelS. 22l "rATtI'.IIT OF 1'II.Of'OIfT1ON, 296; _
L«kal morpbolo(Y, 99 rJorj-4p/·DIIo/I·AU. ,Anam OF
!...nia1 .;atelOl'f, dIInte of, III 'II;OI'O$~·, m: .1f*P ~
Unkc4 Impelilivea, 16II Of' M71EtfT Of' rROI'OSf11Otf'", 2SI8;
'-'»n IranslitlollS, 1'2; aeatloN, 143 proposillort«alerCd ~ m, .
l.«w role, 267 N, 299; ..,. "'r'IJ.a! WHEQ
rltol'O$tnON", 300; . . , . "'tIaP WlT1I
M rll;OI'O$I7lOH", 101; ~
"'EIUOfoI lHV(It..YEO IX rt'lOl'OSl11Oll"',
MUlliCript YlrlalloftS, 31 301;
Mwphor,400 Nomlruols., 199; KtI~11oIl, 199; IIcad aDd
Metria, <I0Il; ddillitlons, 408; basic mappin" 1tIOdll\cr, 199; bMk Plt1mll, 100:
409; 'l)'lllleplla, 411); CltaleQ, 411; extctldcd pllte... 'ZOO; llllject'-, 201;
aperlod l.;all!lClCn, 41S; uNtrasc4 beaclk:u ..adltkn, lQ)
S)'llIbla IlIlIron, posltloM, 419; "'lIlner,1s., 221; dipped, 222; as seleo;ton, 223;
Ylriallo. In ll1e last fOOl, 422 1Ir,e 1I';1DI!en, 22l; rr.aloca., 22S;
MiKd loan forlM, 14S coII«tk !lOll. ud aoIjeal-., 2216;
MooIal pe.fOfmat!va,lSI anll ... ,,- 226; dlJlrfWlha, 226; wctpll
Madmen, headlcu, 201 ,nd measures, 22S; pq:I....Uoa, 229
MOfPIlOIoIY, KOpe of, '1'1; " pailS 01 SpeDClI", 91;
1exiao1,99; Inllect101\ll, 160 o
Mo.pllopboncmcs 1CrOSIl)'l1abla, 186
Multiple cmbeddin" POminlb, J03; relatMzc4 Old and _ Inlonnlllon, 19S
p.opositlo .... l29 Old nbet.lll, YlriI,1oIt In, 24; pboM..1c
Multiple "n<krlicn, 1&2 l.IIwelllOl)', 65
Multiple dais IMmbenhip, lS I o.nbotoa of roJe panicIa, JCKfII\Iy 191: \II
- '....... Xl$; \II wert! compae.c.lI, ,...
O,,,,)[.uuopoda. 147

Nama., illllClure of,

"
Fl; penollll, 174;
Ordl ... b, Z26
Ovla KrMl\oB., 119
pel1Ol\l.l, Iypa. o f, 17S; JeOInIpblcal and
t.amily,l77; cpithe."179; ill VOCItlwe ,
pb...a, JIll
Nauli..,.,62 ',.in.alloa., 229
NalM DOfIIpotorids, 103 '.!.tt.allllltknt of "blals., 22
Pata4ipa., 164 ,.nkk, lS2
PatUdpaala, 26l; putlclpaal o~, 271 Rcd~plkallo .. 134; nomtlLlt, 134; ""'11\, U5
hrU of ..-... SIt Relleli¥cs,211
htbl rok, 26J ReJII'" iml"larilics, LSS
hliclIl...:a1C:reG _IMU ....... 296 RcLlljyc eli"" 90t
P~ panIdet, 351; IMICIaI, 351 Re~tivc CQalNCIiofts, lO9: ill Ea&lish, 110;
Pat~ *"-. 1lbeI&I 26l; III lf1;",lallll, .fier lite bad, 112; before 1M; heI4,
SUobiI ¥alia, ~ 116; and ....ja:ti¥a, 317;.114 d~1I\1I\1
I'enocIaI . . . . . 374; typc:I of, 37~ lole panicle cmien, )11l; b9dJ(&5, 3lS;
Penoul ~ '2t17: 1lUWte4, 2OS; Il&leI 1114 P'O<II:IoIeI, 327; emboiSdcd,
IpedalIIed, 2OS; IIoDorUk. 2OS; .114 129; b&~II«Id, ll2; a)II\pIQ. )J(
~ toIo, lW; • ..wlIc, 210. 212; Repro''''';lioIII, 142
--.atIiod. 2lZ; ~ 213 RC<l1ICI1S, )67

....... ....-..,'"
p~ ~

PIIBIe dI,.. 91
1; pllocleJak 1_10/)', liS Rok. IN'11o:1I1, 26l; 'ICIIC)', 264; locuIall4 to~Ice,
261; ao:omlN'nJlMftI, 270
Role IN'nldel, omission or, 197; III nominals,
Pu-, 191; ....... 1:04; "",11\, :42 JOS; JI ""Ttl c:ompkmelllS, }404
I'Iace of ~Iio!l, 51 Roo! NleI, 169
P,,,raII, 2JO Ruou aDd J.lCI'III, 162
Poetil; wool ,..,., 148 R~k:s, InlltlClloftal, rypeI of, 162; IN'radiJIIU. 164:
PoIIIe _ - - . )6.S . .Iflx, 166; rool. 169;,.gke 4bilmililloll.
ro.UaltlaI T, 14:" &1 1'70; IIJIJlOpplna. 111; ~biaJ, 113;
Prelb N·, 161; 00, 161; &., 161; 4, t61 oontJicts or, UO
hdalliU, ~ protIIaftI of, 34
Pn:IaI _ . . . .' 1'75 s

-'"
I'rI!IW)' ~ 1St
S. ... krll ""'Iba. 1r1l1Ula111lJ. 345; ,implc lor .....
ProporItIoa...:a.... --.uxn, :zr. 346; periphrullc Ior"",.)4
Propaloo-t 8OwertII, lO"I SaitNol erron, 177

.... -'"
PropaIUo.l-.....l9O Scrip!, nbelU, 51
Propoo.Iuo., . . . . . %52; COIIIpIa. 2S2; Sec:on41ry IIo!!oriIla, 156

_.
Selcaort, 232; nmcnll IS, 223
SeIlU:nc:eI, lSI; IS IN'lielllS, 390

• Sc:r,.mar\o:d
SimlIeI, «IS
penonal cltltrmincn. 2 12

-.""
QuclIkna, »6; 1(..00. putIde, 3S7; ud
SllllgLI&_ OOIISINCIions. 290
SocIal vcaon, IS)
1I11_tha, )$7; IafonIalk>ll q_doIIt,
:ua.
doQI ~ 361 SoIIoraDcc uailllilatlon. 188
o-uo. • patlcall, m SouD4, .1141"1,..39
Quote OJIICM'I'-l!I1; 111_ doKr .J1a, m SoIIDdI, of 1lbe1&~. S5; _T1iculaIOl}' cleaaipdonl.
55: _II. 55; oouounu, 57; plac:e of

• If\kulal!oA, 51; dOIlIR. ,'), ,.gK;e 0 ....,1

-'"
~ -'-"'-.3)
Rod\llldnf;:y, dI_""" 0(, 194; "'lemeIIt
tiIDe,6O; _iiI)'. 62; _ l i e
deIcrIptlou, 63; &r-"'I)'.63; SOftOIlIrK:e,
64; pboMmic laoclliory. liS
Som:e role. 267
 INDEX l03
So\Ilbent TItIeu.. ~ 2A n'lUilive alld 1Jt11U$;1M: -w. 1a000ion and.
SplIIlJ dc\mn1Den. 206
Spaoklll, rob, 209
SpedaJiJ:ed penou.l dcle.rmlllCn. 208
'"
nanshive Yf:rt., 16)
lhInslltvlty, and 'lOki!!" 112
Spedllen, 204 n&aaillioll mmpowldl, 107
SIadtll, mIIIlrallll, &9 1l1onslilcrllioll, 0( 'nbellll, ); pbontlllil: s)"DIbob,
Sl.Ile_1I, ~2; JI.IlelDt:1ll panlck, )52; nod 3: dlpplll and dlKriliQ, l; other
nd......IIC)'. 352; prom..... 353; I)'I1Iboh, 4; or Ollie, lin ....... S
wantllp, lSJ
SI.IICI .nd proc:aNIl. 3Z7 vv
SII"$ IfOOIpI, dllylilobic, 90: I)'llIobil: C)'C1cI. 'IS
Sypplel~ 114 Ullderlicn, II\lIlliple, III
Sylllobk: qo;ka, 'IS UnM:nlllICplloll, 2~
SyILibia. 68; Ien,,~ coflllraiMs. 68; 11cK·liller Uama •• cd pel1Oft.1 dclermillCn, 208
colISll.i~1I, 71 ; ./. Ind ..... 74; eo- UMtoppln" 171
I,lChncDCC Q)II$train". 'I, poltinilLiI Variatioti, In TIbeIlQ, 18: I. New TIhelin. 19; in
Cl)l\SIr.lnll, 81 ; poli ini tial " 81 , Old TIbcllll, 2S; IQ JIIaII\lKlipll, )1 ;
poliinitial t. 84 ; prcin!!;,,1 c:oIIIlralnll. 'CCONlrIlClOll, 33
87; ItackJ~, COIISIf.lnu.. 89; Ien,lh Verb (OIOIpLclllulI,)37
oollStflinu., 68; slot ·riller COIISIUlnu, 7 i; V.,b rcdllpUaulolI, 13S
C)'C1cI, '15 Verb dips. '15
Symlc:pM.410 Verb pbr_. 2A2
S)'IIllotI iI: Ilnoa",e. 252 Voc:aIM:s, 370; iaitlai alld fI..,l, 3~ lillel of
S)'IIIIl. IIIOI'pholo&Y.1Id . 191; CMI"YM:w. 191 respea In. )11: oUter ezpra&Ions III,
)7): . . _ la, )7)
'rokc dll.slmil .. km. 170
T 'rolcc 0fI5C1 lime. 6D
~lcin".1Id IIllISi';";!)', 112
"Dill, pcnc>nal determiner, 213 Wlweb.55
"RIe,,,m I'rincipk. 194; aDd ,edundancy. 194;
Ind Information, 1'15; ,nd om wion 0/ WIYZ
,olt pafl il:lc:I.. 197 Want inp, )5S
1hse. 161. 261 Wci&hu Ind IMI$wres, 221
"Rrm M,ltion, 243 Weole,,, Barbarian 11II&lI.Ip. Tibetan '1Id , 16
~n'IIlio: 1l""'I"'t. 272 Word !amil ia. 137
Tibctn. in COll ie",. 7; o$c:rined. 1 ; , .... related Word 'lips. 92
Iiln' .... "'". 8; and ChinGt, 10; Ind WOrd play. 1..-
lI .. r _ , 11 ; .1Id lite Hin'llll~n Words: <n
Lln'.... 'a. 14; I"d 1M Weale.n W" h ", S)1ICIII. )9, 41; invention Of. 4(}. K'tipt.
&.~ri," Lln, ,,,,a, 16; ~rialion in. Ill;
a-ical. derined. 36; ..... ' ilin' ')"lem. 39;
phru!cmk I n~nl Ol')' . 6,\;
"
T illca of raJlCC'I. 311
lbrlC<lliu:r ~;, 215; ./4 278; .srl , 279
lbpilll. 275
lbu" rtn. 2JO
Thn., fcn, 1.l'il
 ThE C LASSI CA L TIB ETAN LANG UAGE
Stephan V. Beyer
Among Asi;tn langu.l gt's.Tibet.lIl is second o llly to Chinese III the de pth of Its
histo ricAl record . with [('xu dmng hac k as f<IT as the e Ig hth and mnth centuries,
written 11\ dJl a1ptubetJc SCTlpt thai presel'\" the conte-mpor.meo us pho llo-
loweal features of the I.1nguage
]1.t: C1U$SKdITilK/<J1I LiIl3 '/'~(' is the first comprehe nsive descri ption o Cthe
Tlhetm buguage and IS d,stulcllve III th.u It nears the d.;asslcal TIbetan hn-
guJ.gt'a ll Its O\"'U te rlllS father than by means of d escriptive categOries .lppro-
pnJ.te to o lher lan guages. as has tr.uiJ.tJo lully been the case. Beyer presents tlu'
I;mgu;age as a mcdulln o finc rary exp ressio n with g reat r;mge. po'l.'.'C f . subtlety,
and humor, no t as an abst'rJ.cl object . lie lisa deals compre hensively with J.

w ide variety o f I.lIlg l.llStiC pheno m e na as t hey are actuall y en countered in the
classICal texts, with 1lt1lll(' roUS examples of idio llls, COllUnOIl locuu ons, transla-
tion devIces , ne ologisllU, and dl:tlectal v;m ations.

" Beye r's wo r k 15 the first g r:tllll1\ar o f c Luslcal hteraryTibt'tall th:n ado pts a
gellllllldy fresh approach to the l1ngll:tge, J.bando ni ng t he tired (and ont'll
inaccurate) conventio ns o f Indo-European g ramnu r that do nunJ.te the av.ul-
able textbooks. r ho ugh some of his conclusions and as.scrtiollS may be c o nlTO-
veni.ll, Be yer fo rces us to [hlllk .thout the distmctive fe.ltures of l Ibet;m ttl a
c hallcng m g .lnd ;l.llImatcd fashIo n . Il lS many ex..lmples, drawu from all brallCh cs
of the IlIe r;l.ture, .:lrt" superb.
.. I he fields o f Buddlust Studies. ASian I luto ry. and C o mp;lratlve L teld[ure
have all suffered .lS ;l result of the 11I1ute d access to I ibeun pri mary sources.
B~r's book wLlI significantly contnbute to rectifYing tlu s SLue o f a (f;un."
- Matthew Kapstel1l. C o lumbl.l Utllveulty

STEPHAN V. BE YER h,l$ a Ph .D. III Buddhist Studies ;l.nd IS autho r of 11,~

ClIll ofTara. Magi( and Rimals in TiMI ;uld 11,e Budd/lisl Ex perimu. l ie is cur-
ren tl y an J.uo rney ,wd pJ.rtner .1t SIdley .:lnd Austm m Chica go.

A vo lume 111 the SUNY sen cs III Buddh ISt StudJ(:S

Manh!,.·w Kapstelfl. e dito r

STATE UNI VER SITY O l~ NEWYO R..K PRESS

www.sunypress.edu