IT helps develop Tibetan language

YANGKYE, a Tibetan housewife, regularly uses smartphone apps to plan her life.

“I check the weather on my phone so that I can know when to dry my barley. I know how many steps I need to finish circling the Taer Monastery,” said Yangkye, 52, who lives in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province in northwest China.

An increasing number of mobile phone apps in the Tibetan language have made life more convenient for Tibetans.

Drakpa works at the Qinghai Tibetan Medical Research Institute and uses the app “Wise Tibetan Calendar” to assist his work.

“The calendar sends reminders when certain Tibetan traditional medicine needs be collected. For example on March 21 the soul position says the first knucklebone, which means the first knucklebone of one’s hand, cannot be subject to blood-letting or fire acupuncture treatment,” Drakpa said.

“If you check the timing it states the first half of the day, which means it is better for patients to receive treatment before 11am,” he added.

The app was launched by the institute and a company from Sichuan last year, and has been downloaded 27 000 times. Up to 100 new users download it every day.

“Information technology, like mobile phone apps, does not only change the way people live. It helps develop the language and culture,” Drakpa said.