The more divergent languages are spoken in the north and east, likely due to
language contact with the
Qiangic,
Rgyalrongic languages. The divergence exhibited in
Khalong may also be due to
language shift. In addition, there is
Baima, which retains an apparent Qiangic
substratum, and has multiple layers of
borrowing from
Amdo,
Khams, and
Zhongu, but does not correspond to any established branch of Tibetic. The two major Tibetic languages used for broadcasting within China are
Standard Tibetan and
Amdo Tibetan.
Tournadre & Suzuki (2023) Tournadre & Suzuki (2023) recognize 8 geographical
sections, each with about 7-14
groups of Tibetic dialects. This classification is a revision of Tournadre (2014). The Eastern and Southeastern branches have lower internal
mutual intelligibility, but it is more limited in the Northwestern branch and between certain southern and northern
Khams dialects. These continua are spread across five countries with one exception, this being Sangdam, a
Khams dialect in
Kachin,
Myanmar. •
Tibetic •
North-Western:
Ladakhi,
Zangskari,
Balti,
Purki •
Western:
Spiti,
Garzha,
Khunu,
Jad •
Central:
Dbus,
Tsang,
Phenpo,
Lhokha,
Tö,
Kongpo (in （Kongpo） with
Basum) •
South-Western:
Sherpa and
Jirel; other languages/dialects along the Sino-Nepalese border:
Humla,
Mugu,
Dolpo,
Lo-ke,
Nubri,
Tsum,
Langtang,
Kyirong,
Yolmo,
Gyalsumdo,
Kagate,
Lhomi,
Walungge,
Tokpe Gola. •
Southern:
Dzongkha,
Drengjong,
Tsamang,
Dhromo Lakha,
Dur Brokkat,
Mera Sakteng Brokpa-ke •
South-Eastern:
Hor Nagchu,
Hor Bachen,
Yushu, Pembar, Rongdrak, Minyak,
Dzayul, Derong-Jol, Chaktreng, Muli-Dappa, Semkyi Nyida • 'Northern route' dialects: '
Chamdo (Chab-mdo),
Derge (sde-dge), and
Kandze (dkar-mdzes) • 'Southern route' dialects:
Markham (smar-khams),
Bathang ('ba'-thang),
Lithang (li-thang) •
Eastern:
Drugchu,
Khöpokhok,
Thewo-Chone,
Baima,
Sharkhok,
Palkyi (or Pashi; four
dialects, including Chos-rje), and
Zhongu •
North-Eastern •
Amdo •
Gser-Rdo:
Gserpa,
Khalong Tournadre (2005, 2008) Tournadre (2005) classifies the Tibetic languages as follows. •
Tibetic •
Central Tibetan • The basis of
Standard Tibetan that includes various Nepalese varieties •
Khams •
Amdo •
Dzongkha–Lhokä •
Dzongkha,
Sikkimese,
Lakha,
Naapa,
Chocangaca,
Brokkat,
Brokpa and probably
Groma •
Ladakhi–Balti •
Ladakhi,
Burig,
Zangskari,
Balti •
Lahuli–Spiti •
Kyirong–Kagate •
Sherpa–Jirel •
Sherpa,
Jirel The other languages (
Thewo-Chone,
Zhongu,
Khalong,
Dongwang,
Gserpa,
Zitsadegu,
Drugchu,
Baima) are not
mutually intelligible, but are not known well enough to classify.
mDungnag, a Tibetan language spoken in
Gansu, is also divergent and is not mutually intelligible with either
Khams or
Amdo. Tournadre (2013) adds
Tseku and
Khamba to
Khams, and groups
Thewo-Chone,
Zhongu, and
Baima as an Eastern branch of Tibetic.
Bradley (1997) According to Bradley, the languages cluster as follows (dialect information from the
Tibetan Dialects Project at the University of Bern): •
Tibetic •
Western Archaic Tibetan (non-tonal), including
Ladakhi,
Balti and
Burig •
Amdo Tibetan (including
Thewo-Chone) (non-tonal) •
Khams Tibetan (tonal) •
Western Innovative Tibetan (Lahuli–Spiti) (slightly tonal) • Dialects of Upper
Ladakh and
Zanskar, of the Northwest Indian Border Area (
Lahaul and Spiti district and
Uttarakhand), and of
Zanda County (westernmost Tibet) •
Central Tibetan (slightly tonal) • Most dialects of
Ngari Prefecture in western Tibet, of the northern Nepalese border area in Nepal,
Tsang dialects of
Shigatse Prefecture, and
Ü dialects (
Lhokha,
Lhasa, etc.). The basis of
Standard Tibetan. •
Northern Tibetan (slightly tonal) • Dialects of
Gêrzê, of
Nagqu Prefecture in north-central Tibet, and of
Nangqên County in South
Qinghai(Considered dialects of Khams by Tournadre) •
Southern Tibetan (slightly tonal) •
Groma language of
Chumbi Valley in southern Tsang,
Sikkimese in India,
Sherpa and
Jirel in Nepal, and various languages of
Bhutan:
Dzongkha,
Brokkat,
Brokpa,
Chocangaca,
Lakha,
Laya dialect,
Lunana dialect. ;Other Some classifications group Khams and Amdo together as Eastern Tibetan (not to be confused with
East Bodish, whose speakers are not ethnically Tibetan). Some, like Tournadre, break up Central Tibetan. Phrases such as 'Central Tibetan' and 'Central Bodish' may or may not be synonymous: Southern (Central) Tibetan can be found as Southern Bodish, for example; 'Central Tibetan' may mean dBus or all tonal lects apart from Khams; 'Western Bodish' may be used for the non-tonal western lects while 'Western Tibetan' is used for the tonal lects, or 'Bodish' may even be used for other branches of the
Tibeto-Kanauri languages.
Lexical similarity Amdo Tibetan has 70% lexical similarity with Central Tibetan and Khams Tibetan, while Khams Tibetan has 80% lexical similarity with Central Tibetan. == Geographical distribution ==