Writing Tamang (original) (raw)

1993, Syomhendo (Kathmandu, Nepal)

Abstract

In Lhasa Tibetan we can learn that in a word which begins with brgy-only gy in pronounced. This is the case in the word 'eight' pronounced gyeÚ , and also in other words, like '100', written brgya and pronounced gya . In comparing Tamang to Classical Tibetan, we could observe that in the word 'eight' the initial group brgy is pronounced br . But the word for '100' in Tamang is gyarca , with gy instead of br corresponding to Written Tibetan brgy. So while in Lhasa a single pronunciation rule can be learned, in Tamang we would need two different rules: 'brgy-is sounded gy', for the word '100', but 'brgy-is sounded br' for the word 'eight'. This will not make it easier for Tamang children to learn how to read and write! On the other hand, the Tibetan alphabet, simply as an alphabet, not as a spelling system, is one of the possible choices. In that option, 'eight' in Tamang would be written dC [-or something like that, as we will see later, and not d›X [-.

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