Foreword I II III IV V VI VII Conclusion
I.The Spoken and Written Tibetan Language
Is Widely Studied and Used, and Being Developed
The Tibet Autonomous Region is an area where Tibetan people live in concentrated
communities, constituting more than 95 percent of the population of the region. In Tibet,
the spoken and written Tibetan language is universally used. In accordance with the
stipulations of the Constitution and the Law on Ethnic Regional Autonomy, the Tibet
Autonomous Region has paid great attention to maintaining and safeguarding the Tibetan
people's right to study, use and develop their spoken and written language.
It promulgated and implemented Some Provisions of the Tibet
Autonomous Region on the Study, Use and Development of the Spoken and Written Tibetan
Language (Draft) and the Rules for the Implementation of "Some Provisions of the
Tibet Autonomous Region on the Study, Use and Development of the Spoken and Written
Tibetan Language (Draft)" in 1987 and 1988, respectively. These two laws put the work
related to the study, use and development of the spoken and written Tibetan language on a
legal track. The governments at all levels in Tibet have implemented the provisions on
protecting and developing the spoken and written Tibetan language according to law,
safeguarding the Tibetan people's right to study and use their native language, and making
the language develop continuously together with the development of politics, economy and
culture.
The spoken and written Tibetan language is widely used in every aspect of social life in
Tibet. Since the Democratic Reform in 1959, the Tibetan and Han Chinese languages have
been used for all the resolutions, laws and regulations adopted by the People's Congress
of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and the official documents and proclamations issued by the
governments at all levels or their departments in Tibet. In judicial proceedings, the
spoken and written Tibetan language is used in trying cases and in the relevant legal
documents if the litigant participants are Tibetans. Both the Tibetan and Han Chinese
languages are used for all work units' official seals, certificates, forms, stationery,
and signs, and signboards of institutions, factories, mines, schools, railway stations,
airports, stores and shops, hotels, cinemas, theaters and gymnasiums, street and road
signs, and traffic signs.
At present, the radio and TV stations in the Tibet Autonomous Region broadcast in the
Tibetan language for over 20 hours per day.
On October 1, 1999, the Tibet Television started its satellite broadcasting channel, which
broadcast telefilms and other programs in the Tibetan language every day. The cinema is
oriented toward grassroots and farming and pastoral areas, guaranteeing that at least 25
movies newly dubbed into the Tibetan language are shown in the various places in Tibet
every year. Meanwhile, the publication of Tibetan books, magazines and newspapers has made
rapid progress. Since 1989 alone, 441 titles of books have been published in the Tibetan
language, of which many have won domestic or international awards. There are altogether 14
magazines and 10 newspapers published in the Tibetan language in Tibet. The Tibetan
edition of the Tibet Daily is published every day, with a large number of articles and
news dispatches written or edited in the Tibetan language directly. The newspaper has said
good-bye to sort typesetting by investing a considerable sum of money to establish Tibetan
computer editing and typesetting systems. Both Tibet Science and Technology News and Tibet
Scientific and Technological Information have their Tibetan-language editions, which are
very popular among the farmers and herdsmen. All the art troupes in Tibet create programs
and perform in the Tibetan language.
The study of the Tibetan language is protected by law.
Educational institutions in the Tibet Autonomous Region universally practice a bilingual
educational system whereby teaching is done principally in the Tibetan language.
Furthermore, the teaching and reference materials for all the courses from primary school
to senior high school have been edited in or translated into the Tibetan language.
As the times progress and society advances, the Tibetan language develops in tandem, with
its vocabulary and grammar continuously enriched. Much headway has been made in the
normalization of technical terms and standardization of information technology in the
Tibetan language. The encoded Tibetan language has been formally recognized by the Chinese
state and international standards, and the promotion of the Tibetan language as an
Internet communication tool is proceeding apace.