Say It in Tibetan (Conversations in Colloquial Tibetan)

Note from the Publisher

This is the 17th edition of Say it in Tibetan, by Norbu Chophel. It gives us great pleasure in bringing out this latest edition. The book has been well received by the students of Tibetan as well as English Language as an ideal guide and reference.

The book was first published in 1989, mainly to fulfill the need of foreign tourist wanting to pick up some Tibetan conversational knowledge. But today it has become a best selling guide on the subject. The book is not only used by foreigners to study English but also by Tibetans to study English. Many students have benefited from the book.

To master the pronunciation effectively, we have audio cassette tape of the book too. Please note that some lessons toward the end of the book are not in the cassette. This is done only to maintain the standard time length of audio cassettes. We sincerely believe that the book will go a long way in promoting better and constructive communication between Tibetan people and our foreign friends.

Introduction

With the opening of Tibet to tourism, tourists have felt an urgent need to learn the Tibetan language and there was a frantic search for books catering to this need but, unfortunately, there were no books dealing exclusively with conversations and hence this book was written to fill the gap.

The conversations have been grouped according to different situations, so that the user can refer to them easily depending on his need. I hope this particular arrangement will make the book much more useful.

Mr. Losang Tenzin Rikha has contributed much to the writing of this book, and indeed initiated the whole idea in the first place. I am very grateful to him, for without his help, initiative and useful suggestions, I would not have been able to complete the book.

Readers are advised to read the PRONUNCIATION GUIDE carefully before proceeding to the conversations.