Tibetan pinyin is a phonetic transcription, and as such its spelling is tied to actual pronunciation (although tone is not marked).[4] Wylie on the other hand is a transliteration system, where mechanical conversion to and from Tibetan and Latin script is possible. Within academic circles, Wylie transliteration (with a v replacing the apostrophe) is more commonly used.
Overview
Onsets overview
Independent onsets in the initial syllable of a word are transcribed as follows:
The 17 vowels of the Lhasa dialect are represented in as follows:
IPA
Tibetan pinyin
IPA
Tibetan pinyin
i
i
ĩ
in
e
ê
ẽ
en
ɛ
ai/ä
ɛ̃
ain/än
a
a
ã
an
u
u
ũ
un
o
ô
õ
on
ɔ
o
ɔ̃
ǒn
y
ü
ỹ
ün
ø
oi/ö
ø̃
oin/ön
Ending a syllable, -r is usually not pronounced, but it lengthens the preceding vowel. In the same place, -n usually nasalises the preceding vowel. Consonants at the end of a syllable are transcribed as follows:
IPA
Tibetan pinyin
ʔ̞
b/•
ʔ
g/—
r
r
m
m
ŋ
ng
Single syllable orthography
The tone of a syllable depends mostly on its initial consonant. In this table, each initial is given in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) with the vowel a and a tone mark to present tone register (high/low).
Onsets
Below is a comprehensive transcription table of onsets of an initial syllable of a word. If the syllable to transcribe is not the first syllable of a word, see #Onset variation.
Below is a comprehensive transcription table of rimes of a final syllable of a word, with IPA transcription for the Lhasa dialect.[5] If the syllable to transcribe is not the final syllable of a word, see Coda variation.
^"一种基于拼音的藏文智能输入法". Google Patents. 2014-04-10. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
^"Geographical names of Tibet AR (China)". Institute of the Estonian Language. 2018-06-03. Retrieved 7 July 2020. Tibetan names have been romanized according to the official scheme, the so-called Tibetan pinyin. The romanization is based on actual pronunciation and is not always predictable if only written form is known.
Guójiā cèhuìjú dìmíng yánjiūsuǒ 国家测绘局地名研究所 (Institute for Place Names of the State Survey Bureau; ed.). Zhōngguó dìmínglù 中国地名录 / Gazetteer of China. (Beijing, SinoMaps Press 中国地图出版社 1997); ISBN7-5031-1718-4. Contains official spellings for place names.
Zàngwén Pīnyīn Jiàocái – Lāsàyīn 藏文拼音教材•拉萨音 / bod yig gi sgra sbyor slob deb, lha sa'i skad (Course in the Pöyig Kigajor of Lhasa dialect; Běijīng 北京, Mínzú chūbǎnshè 民族出版社 1983), ISBN7-105-02577-8. Pöyig Kigajor (ZWPY) is a modified version of the official transcription "Tibetan pinyin" (ZYPY), with tone letters.
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