Langenesis

Sino-Tibetan family

Tibetan

1600 CE – today Living

Tibetan (1600 CE – today) is a living Sino-Tibetan language. Lineage: Proto-Sino-Tibetan → Proto-Tibeto-Burman → Old Tibetan → Classical Tibetan → Tibetan.

See Tibetan on the interactive map
Speakers
6M (6,000,000)
ISO 639-3
bod
Glottocode
tibe1272

Standard (Lhasa) Tibetan, the prestige variety since the 17th c. Spoken varieties descend from Old Tibetan; Classical Tibetan as parent is a simplification reflecting the shared literary standard. Amdo and Khams are divergent sister varieties.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Sino-Tibetanc. 4,000 BCE – 2,500 BCE
  2. Proto-Tibeto-Burmanc. 2,500 BCE – 1,000 BCE
  3. Old Tibetanc. 650 CE – 1000 CE
  4. Classical Tibetanc. 900 CE – 1900 CE
  5. Tibetan1600 CE – today

Sister languages 1

Also descended from Classical Tibetan.

Sources