Tibetan Grammar Notes: Understanding the Relation of Self and Other with Verbs

Introduction

Tibetan language has a unique way of structuring sentences, especially when it comes to distinguishing between Self (བདག) and Others (གཞན་). This distinction affects verb usage, making it an essential aspect of learning spoken Tibetan. Additionally, Tibetan grammar relies heavily on particles and different forms of 'to be' verbs, which vary depending on whether the subject is self-referential or referring to someone else. In this article, we will explore these concepts in depth.

1. Understanding Self (བདག་) and Others (གཞན་)

In English, verbs generally stay the same regardless of who the subject is (e.g., "I am happy" and "He is happy"). However, in Tibetan, verbs change based on whether the statement is about oneself or another person.

Self (བདག་)

Used when referring to oneself or directly addressing someone.

Example:

ང་སློབ་ཕྲུག་ཡིན། – "I am a student."

Others (གཞན་)

Used when talking about another person or even oneself from another perspective.

Example:

ཁོང་སློབ་ཕྲུག་རེད། – "He is a student."

By distinguishing between self and other, Tibetan speakers communicate perspective more clearly.

2. Essential and Existential Modes of the Verb

Tibetan has two primary modes of the verb "to be": the essential mode and the existential mode. 

Essential Mode: Expressing Identity

The essential mode of "to be" is used when identifying or describing the inherent or unchanging nature of the subject. This is equivalent to the English "is/am/are."

ཡིན་ – Used for self.

མིན་ - Used for self(negation).

རེད་ – Used for others.

མ་རེད་ - Used for others(negation).

For Example: 

བདག་དགེ་རྒན་ཡིན། - I am a teacher.

ཁོང་དགེ་རྒན་རེད། - He is a teacher.

However, they are not linked to the first person, second person or the third person. Rather, they are linked to བདག and གཞན.

If you are stating something about yourself which others already know, you use the form linked to གཞན.

For Example:

ང་བོད་པ་མ་རེད། - [As you know] I am not (a) Tibetan.

ང་ཁྱེད་རང་ཚོའི་དགེ་རྒན་རེད། - [As all of you know] I am the teacher of all of you.

Similarly, if you wish to emphasise your relationship with somebody, you use the form linked to བདག.

For Example:

ཁོང་ངའི་སྐྱེས་དམན་ཡིན། - She is my (beloved) wife.

Existential Mode: Expressing Presence or Possession

The existential mode is used to indicate existence or presence rather than identity. It is equivalent to the English "there is" or "I have."

ཡོད་ – Used for self.

མེད་ – Used for self(negation).

Inferential statements

Used when speaker knows but does not have direct experience of something.

ཡོད་རེད་ - Used for others.

ཡོད་མ་རེད་ - Used for others(negation).

Direct statements

Used when speaker has direct experience of something.

འདུག་ – Used for others. Direct statements.

མི་འདུག་ - Used for others(negation). Direct statements.

Mode	Self བདག		Others གཞན
	Affirmation	Negation	Affirmation	Negation
Essential Mode: Expressing Identity The essential mode of "to be" is used when identifying or describing the inherent or unchanging nature of the subject. This is equivalent to the English "is/am/are."	ཡིན་	མིན་	རེད་	མ་རེད་
Existential Mode: Expressing Presence or Possession The existential mode is used to indicate existence or presence rather than identity. It is equivalent to the English "there is" or "I have." Inferential statements Used when speaker knows but does not have direct experience of something.	ཡོད་	མེད་	ཡོད་རེད་	ཡོད་མ་རེད་
Direct statements Used when speaker has direct experience of something.			འདུག་	མི་འདུག་

 

Bibliography

Oertle, Franziska. 2021. The Heart of Tibetan Language Textbook Volume 1. New Delhi: Dharma Publishing.