Sino-Tibetan

[ sahy-noh-ti-bet-n, sin-oh- ]

noun

1. a family of languages including especially Burmese, Tibetan, and the various local languages and dialects whose speakers share literary Chinese as their standard language.

Sino-Tibetan

/ ˈsaɪnəʊ- /

noun

1. a family of languages that includes most of the languages of China, as well as Tibetan, Burmese, and possibly Thai. Their most noticeable phonological characteristic is the phonemic use of tones

adjective

1. belonging or relating to this family of languages

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sino-Tibetan¹

First recorded in 1915–20; Sino- + Tibetan