The Hidden Crisis: Endangered Languages of Tibet

Gonpo Namgyal’s Tragic Story

Gonpo Namgyal, a Tibetan village leader, died just three days after his release from prison in December. His body showed signs of brutal torture during his imprisonment. What was his crime? Advocating for the preservation of the Tibetan language in China.

A Long-Standing Conflict

Gonpo Namgyal’s case highlights a conflict that has been ongoing for nearly 75 years, since China’s invasion of Tibet in the mid-20th century. Language has been at the heart of this struggle.

Tibetans have fought to protect their language, but their children are losing it through enrollment in state boarding schools. These schools educate them almost exclusively in Mandarin Chinese, with Tibetan taught only a few times a week.

The Complex Language Politics in Tibet

Research published in a new book in 2024 sheds light on the plight of other minority languages in Tibet, which receive little attention.

The findings reveal that language politics in Tibet are surprisingly complex and driven by subtle violence, perpetuated not only by Chinese authorities but also by other Tibetans. Moreover, efforts by outsiders to help are failing the minority languages at the highest risk of extinction.

Under Attack: Tibetan Culture

From 2005 to 2013, the author lived in Ziling, the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau, teaching at a university and supporting local non-government organizations.

Their research since then has focused on language politics in the Rebgong valley on the northeast Tibetan Plateau. From 2014 to 2018, they interviewed dozens of people, conducted hundreds of household surveys about language use, and analyzed Tibetan language texts.

Not Just Tibetan at Risk

Tibet is linguistically diverse, with about 60 other languages spoken in the region. Around 250,000 people, or 4% of Tibetans, speak a minority language.

Government policy forces all Tibetans to learn and use Mandarin Chinese. Those who speak only Tibetan face discrimination and violence from the dominant Han ethnic group. Meanwhile, support for Tibetan language education has been gradually reduced.

Linguistic minorities in Tibet need to learn and use Mandarin. Many also need to learn Tibetan to communicate with other Tibetans. In Rebgong, where the author conducted their research, locals speak a language called Manegacha. This language is increasingly being replaced by Tibetan.

The government refuses to provide opportunities to use and learn minority languages like Manegacha. It also tolerates constant discrimination and violence against Manegacha speakers by other Tibetans.

Why Does This Matter?

Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule dates back to the People’s Liberation Army invasion in the early 1950s. When the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, this resistance movement went global.

Outside efforts to support the Tibetan struggle are failing some of the most vulnerable people: those who speak minority languages. Manegacha speakers want to maintain their language and resist pressure to assimilate.

If Tibetans stop speaking Manegacha and other minority languages, this will contribute to the Chinese government’s efforts to erase Tibetan identity and culture. Even if the Tibetan language survives in China, the loss of even one of Tibet’s minority languages would be a victory for the Communist Party in the conflict it started 75 years ago.

Gerald Roche is Lecturer in Linguistics, La Trobe University.

This article was first published on The Conversation.