Colloquial Tibetan: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series) - Softcover

"This is an excellent book which accurately shows the way the actual Tibetan colloquial language is spoken today. Another useful thing about this book is its approach to learning language. You learn to speak the language right away without having to learn the alphabet first, instead gradually learning the alphabet as you go. Above all, it has covered some of the rhetoric, emphatic verbs and adverbs never explained in any other book before... I would definitely recommend it. This is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn to speak Tibetan quickly. The book contains many dialogues, language points, cultural points and exercises, helpful for any beginning student of the language." Karma T. Ngodup, The University of Chicago, USA

"A vital publication for those wishing to study a language witnessing renewed interest, Colloquial Tibetan addresses the practical aspects of conversation, using the standard Central Tibetan dialect of U-Tsang. The publication provides a clear phonetic breakdown for each lesson, as well as its English translation and Tibetan written form. Importantly, audio accompaniments are available to guide the reader, and will appeal to both dharma students and Tibetologists alike." - The Tibet Foundation

Colloquial Tibetan provides a step-by-step course in Central Tibetan as it is spoken by native speakers. Combining a thorough treatment of the language as it is used in everyday situations with an accurate written representation of this spoken form, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Tibetan in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

Key features include:

• progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills
• phonetic transliteration of the Tibetan script throughout the course to aid pronunciation and understanding of the writing system
• structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar
• an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises
• realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios
• useful vocabulary lists throughout the text
• additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar section, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues.

Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Tibetan will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and for students taking courses in Tibetan.

Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.