Learn to speak Tibetian  

Tibetian Language

Tibetian CD-ROM
RRP: £24.95
Our Price: £19.99
with FREE P&P

Where does Tibetian come from?
Tibetan is a member of the Tibeto-Burman sub-group of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages and is most closely related to Burmese. The Tibetan alphabet dates from the 7th century A.D. and is based on the Sanskrit alphabet.

How many people speak Tibetian?
About 4.5 million people speak Tibetan as their first language with a further 1 million having it as their second language.

In how many countries?
About 1 million people in what was formerly Tibet, now the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, speak Tibetan. Another 3 million speakers live in the Chinese provinces of Szechwan, Tsinghai, and Kansu.

Tibetian Culture

Tibetian Music and Dance
Music plays an important part in Tibetan life and has three aspects: folk-music - found in the daily lives of the people; art music - cultivated especially by professional minstrels; the sacred chant and instrumental music of the Buddhist Liturgy and other rites - centering around the monasteries. The Lamas say "Religion is sound". The recitation of mantras, chanting and the playing of instrumental music are fundamental in their worship.

Tibet has a number of traditional wind instruments such as rGaling - a reed instrument; and Dung - a long metal trumpet, as well as traditional percussion instruments such Drilbu - a hand-bell; Damaru - a hand-drum shaped like an hour-glass; and Rolmo - cymbals with broad central bosses

Tibetian Food and Drink
Tibet has food of a very distinctive character. Among the great variety, zanba and buttered tea are the most popular and distinguished. The former, made of qingke (barley flour) and tasting a little bit sour, is very nutritious and easy to take, while the latter, a mixture of butter, tea and salt, claims to be a good energy-giving beverage.

Other typical Tibetan foods include dried meat, mutton served with sheep's trotters, roast sheep intestine, yoghurt and cheese.

Qinke wine is popular with the locals. Chang (barley beer) which is mildly intoxicating, is thick and white and has a sweet and pungent taste.

Tibetian Attractions
Lhasa, the heart and soul of Tibet and an object of devout pilgrimage, is still a city of wonders. The Potala, a vast white and ochre fortress, dominates the Lhasa skyline. Today though, it is the Jokhang temple which is the spiritual heart of the city. The medieval push and shove of crowds, the street performers, the stalls hawking everything from prayer flags to jewel-encrusted yak skulls, and the devout tapping their foreheads to the ground at every step is an exotic brew.

Among Tibet's other attractions are Shigatse, around 250km south-west of Lhasa and Mt Kailash, a beautiful range of peaks.

About Talk Now! Language CD-ROMs
This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun, easy and relaxing. There is no better way to teach an old dog new tricks and this fun element of the program means that your fears are forgotten as you absorb words and phrases without even realising you are learning them.

Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than three million people to date. It's ideal for travellers, holidaymakers, business people, schoolchildren, students and families.

Anyone over 10 years of age will find the disc indispensable for improving listening, understanding and spoken language skills. There are nine topics: first words, food, colours, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

The games and quizzes included on the disc ensure that users have fun whilst using the disc, without realising that they're learning. The "intelligent" software feature remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.

"This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! Uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun and relaxing." - PC Answers

"I bought your Learn Malay CD today - I've only just begun, but I wanted to say how much I am enjoying it. I studied Malay from a book all day yesterday, making some 25 pages of notes on grammar and vocab, but I remember more from your CD from just an hour!" - James Bryce