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Tibetan Grammar: The Application of Gender Signs Clarified
Tibetan Grammar: The Application of Gender Signs Clarified
 
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Description Table of Contents
 
Title Tibetan Grammar: The Application of Gender Signs Clarified
Sub-title Advanced Tibetan Grammars by Yangchen Drubpay Dorje
Author Tony Duff
Details 170 pages, 6" X 9", available in paper and e-book (PDF) formats
ISBN paper book 978-9937-572-28-6, e-book 978-9937-572-27-9
Texts Tibetan texts in Tibetan script included (see listing below)
In the seventh century C.E. the Tibetan man Thumi Sambhota wrote eight treatises that defined Tibetan grammar and lettering, but only two of them still exist, the others have been lost about two centuries after they were composed. Of the eight treatises, the first one, called The Root of Grammar, The Thirty Verses, and the sixth one, called The Application of Gender Signs, still exist.

The sixth treatise is very difficult to understand, to the point that even well-educated Tibetans often have not studied and learned it. Yangchen Drubpay Dorje was a great Tibetan grammarian of the 19th century who wrote a short text that summarized the meaning of Thumi Sambhota’s Application of Gender Signs treatise. It was intended for easy memorization and needed explanation, so he wrote a second text to explain it. Together, the two texts go through the various topics of Thumi’s sixth treatise in depth. The two texts are the most popular ones in use these days for understanding the topic of application of gender signs. Amongst other things, these texts deal with the subject of transitive and intransitive verbs and how they work in the Tibetan language. It is essential for translators to understand the details of transitive and intransitive verbs, so this book is of special importance for translators.

The material in these texts is difficult, so there are many points that need clarification. For that, the author of this book, himself an accomplished Tibetan grammarian, has provided many footnotes and a complete glossary of grammar terms. In addition, the Tibetan texts in Tibetan script have been included in the book for those who would like to study grammar in more depth.

This book is one of several books on Tibetan grammar that feature native Tibetan grammar texts that present an understanding of Tibetan grammar the way that Tibetans themselves understand it. Go here for a complete listing of all of our works on Tibetan grammar.

The author of this book, who is well-known as an exceptionally capable translator of Tibetan Buddhism, has been concerned for many years at the mistaken translations of Tibetan Buddhism that arise because of a lack of understanding of the details of Tibetan grammar that exists amongst western translators. Therefore, he has published this and the other books on native Tibetan grammar in this series with a strong desire to make the Tibetan understanding of Tibetan grammar readily available. The end aim of course is that the western students studying Tibetan Buddhism will be able to gain a complete and correct understanding of the system through better translations of Tibetan works.

The book contains translations of the following texts:
“A Mirror Which Reveals the Difficult Points”, A Short Statement of the Essential Meaning of The Application of Gender Signs by Yangchen Drubpay Dorje
“A Golden Key of Knowledge”, Commentary to A Mirror that Reveals the Difficult Points of “The Application of Gender Signs” by Yangchen Drupbpay Dorje

Download Tibetan texts in TibetD format: not yet available.

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