The Tibetan alphabet is an abugida of Indic origin used to write the Tibetan language as well as the Dzongkha language, Denzongkha, Ladakhi language and sometimes the Balti language. The printed form of the alphabet is called uchen script (Tibetan: དབུ་ཅན་, Wylie: dbu-can; "with a head") while the hand-written cursive form used in everyday writing is called umê (Tibetan: དབུ་མེད་, Wylie: dbu-med; "headless").
The alphabet is very closely linked to a broad ethnic Tibetan identity. Besides Tibet, it has also been used for Tibetan languages in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The Tibetan alphabet is ancestral to the Limbu alphabet, the Lepcha alphabet, and the multilingual 'Phags-pa script.
The Tibetan alphabet is romanized in a variety of ways. This article employs the Wylie transliteration system.
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History of the alphabet Read more about Tibetan Alphabet: History, Description, Unicode Famous quotes containing the word alphabet:“I believe the alphabet is no longer considered an essential piece of equipment for traveling through life. In my day it was the keystone to knowledge. You learned the alphabet as you learned to count to ten, as you learned “Now I lay me” and the Lord’s Prayer and your father’s and mother’s name and address and telephone number, all in case you were lost.” |