Tibetan
Tibetan language's origins are quite unclear prior to the seventh century, and our first clear documentation stems from the seventh century with the rise of a powerful Tibetan Empire. We know that at least by the seventh century the Tibetan language was written down in native scripts used by both the government and religious-intellectual circles. Traditional Tibetan histories ascribe the formation of Tibetan script to the early seventh century Tibetan minister Thonmi Sambhota (thon mi sam bho ta) who was supposedly given the task by the Emperor Songtsen Gampo (srong btsan sgam po) as part of the formation of the Tibetan Empire during that time. He is said to have simultaneously created Tibetan script, grammar and lexicography as formalized traditions, all fashioned by adapting Indian precedents to the very different realities of the Tibetan language.
Ortography in particular in Tibetan remained an extremely conservative tradition after the eleventh century and until recent events over the last century underwent no significant changes. Phonologically, however, the various dialects have undergone extensive change and especially the dialect of Lhasa (Iha sa) which gradually emerged as the political, cultural and sacred center of Tibetan culture.
