CLASSIC TIBETAN MOD.2

The Classical Tibetan Course is included in the Bachelor's Degree Programme in "Languages, cultures and societies of Asia and Mediterranean Africa". In line with the aims of the degree programme, the Classical Tibetan Course contributes to the development of linguistic skills in Asian languages ​​and of solid knowledge of the related cultures and societies. Therefore, this course helps to develop cultural mediation skills concerning the Asian area, which is one among the aims of the aforementioned degree programme.
In particular, by providing philological and linguistic knowledge of classical Tibetan, this course lays a solid foundation for the study of Tibetan tradition, as well as the translation of its texts. Moreover, by providing a general introduction to Tibetan literature, this course offers the opportunity to deepen the knowledge of Asian cultural heritage. Specifically, the study of classical Tibetan is a fundamental tool for accessing the philosophical and literary sources of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Students will acquire in-depth knowledge of the syntax of Tibetan language and will be able to apply them in reading, understanding and translating literary sources. They will also learn how to consult dictionaries and argue their translation renderings. Students will also learn how to frame different texts within their literary contexts, and will be required to show their understanding of the distinctive characteristics of the literary and philosophical genres examined during the course. Students will thus acquire the fundamental methods for accessing the Tibetan literary sources.

This course requires basic knowledge of Tibetan language, consistent with the level achieved by attending Module 1. Furthermore, good English language skills are recommended for consulting dictionaries and other materials.

This course will deepen the topics that are introduced in Module 1. In particular, the study of Tibetan grammar and syntax will continue, by focusing on the following elements:
- connectors and their use in complex sentences;
- further elements of the structure of the Tibetan sentences;
- variable syntactic connectors;
- the verb (a few important types of verbs, verbal suffixes and analytic verbal forms).
During the course, simple and complex sentences, as well as excerpts taken from different literary genres, will be analysed and translated together with the students.

Required readings:
- F. Sanders, LA LINGUA TIBETANA CLASSICA, Hoepli 2016.

Additional readings:
- S. Beyer, THE CLASSICAL TIBETAN LANGUAGE, SUNY 1992.
- M. Hahn, TEXTBOOK OF CLASSICAL LITERARY TIBETAN, 2008.
- P.G. Hackett, A TIBETAN VERB LEXICON: VERBS, CLASSES, AND SYNTACTIC FRAMES, Snow Lion 2005.

Recommended dictionaries:
- H.A. Jaschke, TIBETAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY, Motilal Banarsidass.
- S. Chandra-Das, TIBETAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY, Motilal Banarsidass.
- RANJUNG YESHE DHARMA DICTIONARY, available here: http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Main_Page
- THE TIBETAN AND HIMALAYAN LIBRARY DICTIONARIES, available here: http://www.thlib.org/reference/ (in particular, see THL TIBETAN TO ENGLISH TRANSLATION TOOL)
- TIBETAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY - CHRISTIAN STEINERT, available here: https://dictionary.christian-steinert.de/#home
- TIBETAN-ENGLISH ILLUMINATOR DICTIONARY, available here for purchase: http://www.pktc.org/pktc/tibddiction.htm#ILL

Additional materials (handouts, exercises, textual materials and links for online resources) will be provided by the teacher during the course.

During the course, the students will be encouraged to participate actively and will be asked to read, analyse, understand and translate complex sentences. Thus, their level of understanding will be continuously checked.
During the final oral examination, the students will have to analyse a few short exceprts taken from literary sources. Thus, the final examination will evaluate the students’ knowledge of the Tibetan grammar and syntax, their analysis and translation skills, and their ability to identify and contextualize texts belonging to different genres of Tibetan literature.

Lectures supported by PowerPoint (and further audio-visual materials); guided analysis and translation of complex sentences and short excerpts taken from literary texts.

Italian

Lecture attendance is strongly recommended.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development