Fluent Tibetan

The most systematic and extensive course system available for learning the Tibetan language independently.

Fluent Tibetan was developed by language experts working in conjunction with indigenous speakers at the University of Virginia. Based on courses for diplomats needing to learn a language quickly, the method acquaints students with the sounds and patterns of Tibetan speech through repetitive interactive drills, enabling the quick mastery of increasingly complex structures and thereby promoting rapid progress in speaking the language. It is the first text recommended for language study by the Sera IMI House at Sera Monastery for Western monks as preparation for entry into the Geshe studies program.WILLIAM MAGEE has a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia. For the past twelve years, he has taught the University of Virginia's internationally famed summer Tibetan language program. Magee currently teaches at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. ELIZABETH S. NAPPER is an independent scholar who has translated and edited Tibetan Buddhist works. She lives in India. JEFFREY HOPKINS, PhD, served for a decade as the interpreter for the Dalai Lama. A Buddhist scholar and the author of more than thirty-five books, he is Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, where he founded the largest academic program in Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.