Khams Tibetan Language - Dialects

Dialects

There five dialects of Khams Tibetan:

• Central Khams, spoken in the Dêgê (W. Sichuan & Tibet) and Chamdo (Tibet) areas
• Southern Khams, spoken in the Dêqên TAP (Yunnan & Tibet). There are several subdialects due to the mountainous terrain, as well as contact with neighboring language communities for trade.
• Northern or Northeastern Khams, spoken in Nangqên and Yüshu (S. Qinghai) areas
• Eastern Khams, spoken in the Dardo area
• Hor, or Western Khams, spoken in the Nagqu area
• Gêrzê dialect is sometimes considered as Western Khams

These have relatively low mutual intelligibility, but are close enough to be considered a single language. However, several varieties traditionally considered Khams, such as Dongwang, are not mutually intelligible and are best considered distinct languages.