Turrell V. Wylie
Encyclopedia
Turrell Verl Wylie was for many years Professor of Tibetan at the University of Washington
and the first chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature. Professor Wylie founded the Tibetan Studies Program at the University of Washington
, the first such program in the United States
.
In 1960, following the PLA
takeover of Tibet
, Turrel Wylie invited Sakya Dagchen Rinpoche, one of the main heirarchs of the Sakya
school of Tibetan Buddhism
, along with his family and his tutor Dezhung Rinpoche
to Seattle where they settled.
Amongst students of Tibetan, Professor Wylie is best known for the system of Tibetan transliteration
he described in his article A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription (1959). This has subsequently become the almost universally adopted scheme for accurately representing the orthography
of Tibetan
in the Roman alphabet and is commonly known as Wylie transliteration
.
Wylie died of cancer on August 25, 1984. Upon his death the Dalai Lama remarked, "Dr. Wylie's strong and genuine feelings for the Tibetan people and their just cause will long remain deeply appreciated. In the death of Dr. Wylie we have lost a true friend and a distinguished scholar of Tibetan studies."
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and the first chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature. Professor Wylie founded the Tibetan Studies Program at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, the first such program in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 1960, following the PLA
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
takeover of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, Turrel Wylie invited Sakya Dagchen Rinpoche, one of the main heirarchs of the Sakya
Sakya
The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug...
school of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
, along with his family and his tutor Dezhung Rinpoche
Dezhung Rinpoche
Dezhung Rinpoche, born Ngawang Zangpo, was a Tibetan lama of the Sakya school, one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . In 1960 he came to the Seattle, Washington in the United States of America, one of the first Tibetan Lamas to settle and teach in the United States.-External links:*...
to Seattle where they settled.
Amongst students of Tibetan, Professor Wylie is best known for the system of Tibetan transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
he described in his article A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription (1959). This has subsequently become the almost universally adopted scheme for accurately representing the orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
of Tibetan
Tibetan script
The Tibetan alphabet is an abugida of Indic origin used to write the Tibetan language as well as the Dzongkha language, Denzongkha, Ladakhi language and sometimes the Balti language. The printed form of the alphabet is called uchen script while the hand-written cursive form used in everyday...
in the Roman alphabet and is commonly known as Wylie transliteration
Wylie transliteration
The Wylie transliteration scheme is a method for transliterating Tibetan script using only the letters available on a typical English language typewriter. It bears the name of Turrell V. Wylie, who described the scheme in an article, A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription, published in 1959...
.
Wylie died of cancer on August 25, 1984. Upon his death the Dalai Lama remarked, "Dr. Wylie's strong and genuine feelings for the Tibetan people and their just cause will long remain deeply appreciated. In the death of Dr. Wylie we have lost a true friend and a distinguished scholar of Tibetan studies."
Books
- (1950) A Tibetan religious geography of Nepal (Serie Orientale Roma XLII), Rome, Istituto per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente
- (1957) A Place Name Index to George N. Roerich's translation of the Blue Annals (Serie Orientale Roma XV), Rome, Istituto per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente
- (1975) Tibet’s role in Inner Asia. Bloomington, Ind., Indiana University, Asian Studies Research Institute
Articles
- (1959) A Standard System of Tibetan Transcription. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies(Vol. 22) p. 261-267
- (1959) Dating the Tibetan Geography 'Dzam-glig-rgyas-bshad through its description of the western hemisphere. Central Asiatic Journal (vol. IV-4), p. 300-311
- The Tibetan Tradition of Geography. Bulletin of Tibetology, p. 17-26