Breaking the Line

Since the establishment of the Tibetan language’s written form in the seventh century, there have been arguments and debate for reform and innovation. In recent times, one proposal that has generated a considerable amount of discussion has focused on the use of punctuation and spacing in Tibetan. It has been argued that it is difficult to recognize words in a system where punctuation is used only between syllables and sentences or phrases, and this is prohibitive to learning. The spacing out of words as such would make the act of reading Tibetan for many among the younger generations more accessible and attractive. Other ideas for reform include the use of new punctuation to indicate words, and to shorten long and grammatically complicated sentences. At the same time many have argued that the existing Tibetan writing system is uniquely suited to Tibetan grammar, and that proposed reforms may be more detrimental than beneficial. These ideas have been hotly debated in the Tibetan community and in the blogosphere of late. Three speakers representing different viewpoints will join us for what is sure to be a lively roundtable discussion.