China adds over 150 new words, terms to Tibetan language

BEIJING: More than 150 new words and terms related to politics and economy have been translated into the Tibetan language, officials in north-west China said today.

Qinghai Province's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee said the 154 words and terms related to politics, economy and technology such as "e-commerce," "car-hailing app," "digital economy" and "Internet plus" have been translated into Tibetan.

"It is important that we translate new words and terms into accurate Tibetan," committee official Me-Tsering said.

"So that new words can be used and understood," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

Qinghai, adjacent to the Tibet Autonomous Region, started a project to collect and translate new vocabulary in 1999.

About 8,100 emerging words and terms have been translated since the project began. Tibetan is one of the most ancient languages dating back to the seventh century.

Beside Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibetan-speaking people also live in parts of Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu provinces.