Classical Literary Tibetan:
The Basics
For students new to classical Tibetan, we begin with the alphabet and the
rules for how letters combine to form syllables, and how they are pronounced.
This material corresponds to chapters 1 through 8 in Wilson's Translating
Buddhism From Tibetan.
Next we introduce the six categories of words: nouns, pronouns, adjectives,
verbs, adverbs and postpositions. This leads into the presentation of how
syllables relate to each other called the nine "uses" of the dot, a system for
understanding the range of relationships among syllables, particles, and words
that precede and follow the dots.
This initial material closes with a presentation of how syllables are
combined into phrases, clauses and sentences.
A Grammar of Nouns and Verbs
We teach in a systematic manner the full range of how Tibetan nouns and verbs are used,
employing simple
paradigm sentences for students to memorize. About 100 in all, they will be the
familiar key to seeing simple constructions within seemingly endless Tibetan
sentences.
Verb Class Paradigm
 Learning to read
classical Tibetan centers on understanding Tibetan verbs. In addition to
teaching the traditional verb forms and tenses, we emphasize an eight part system
of verb classification developed by Joe Wilson in Translating Buddhism from
Tibetan. This system groups verbs based on the subjects, agents, objects,
complements and qualifiers which regularly occur with them.
This system allows new students of classical Tibetan to know if a verb is
transitive or intransitive, whether it will have an subject or agent and object,
and most helpfully, whether further syntactic elements are qualifying the
activity expressed by the verb, or instead are saying something more about the
subject or object.
This material can be found in Wilson Translating Buddhism From Tibetan,
Appendix Four: Classes of Verbs.
Declension of Nouns
Next we show students the range of meanings indicated by the way nouns are
declined. Tibetan nouns are declined in eight cases. We will examine the uses of
use of each of these cases. We also show students how Tibetan verbs use agents,
subjects, and further elements to build complex sentences.
This material can be found in Wilson Translating Buddhism From Tibetan,
Appendix Five: Case Marking Particles.
Students Who Already Have Some Tibetan
For students with prior reading experience, we start with a review of
paradigms of verbs and nouns, about 100 in all. These paradigms serve as simple
examples of the range of Tibetan constructions. I have found that students who
know these paradigms rapidly come to understand the more complex patterns of
grammar found in longer Tibetan sentences.
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