Bloomfield, Andrew and Tshering, Yanki: Learning Practical Tibetan

Whether you are looking for a room, visiting a monastery, or bargaining for a bus seat, Learning Practical Tibetan will make immediate communication with Tibetans easy and fun. This book is designed for anyone wishing to communicate with Tibetans, either in Asia or in the West, and is suitable for beginners as well as for students familiar with the Tibetan language.

Learning Practical Tibetan begins with a simple but complete grammar so that you can immediately begin to form your own sentences. Using both Tibetan script and an easy-to-understand phonetic system, the book then presents useful vocabulary, phrases, and dialogues related to situations you might encounter with Tibetans: eating in restaurants, shopping, speaking to monks, traveling with pilgrims, or visiting a Tibetan doctor. The appendix provides helpful sections on Tibetan numbers, dates, telling time, festivals, religious terms, and an extensive vocabulary list.

To help you learn how to speak Tibetan correctly, mp3 files of Tibetan pronunciation are provided on the “Extras” tab above, featuring the clear Tibetan voice of Yanki Tshering reading text found in the book.