Do you know Tibetan is not Dalai Lama's 1st language? This is his 'BROKEN' mother tongue

When one thinks about the 14th Dalai Lama (born as Lhamo Thondup), the head of Tibetan Buddhism, what comes to mind immediately is the Tibetan culture. Everyone thinks that Tibetan must be the Dalai Lama's first language, but as an eye-popping revelation as it is - it is not the Dalai Lama's mother tongue. Initially, what the Dalai Lama spoke was a "broken" dialect of Mandarin Chinese. He was born in a small farming village called Taktser in Amdo, eastern Tibet, in 1935. His family used to speak a variant of Xining Chinese. The language was not a classical Tibetan of Lhasa, nor even the Amdo dialect prevalent in his region.

Rather, the language was a somewhat rudimentary form of Mandarin, shaped by the local interactions and influences of his birthplace. The 14th Dalai Lama described his initial speech as a “broken Xining language.” In his childhood, the 14th Dalai Lama moved to Lhasa and was immersed in the Tibetan language, which later became his primary language.

Dalai Lama reveals when his successor will be chosen

The Dalai Lama on Wednesday (Jul 2) said that the 600-year-old institution will continue after his death and that he would have a successor after he dies. “I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said in a video broadcast at the start of a meeting of religious leaders in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said that after he dies, a foundation appointed by him will choose his reincarnation and stressed that China won't play any role in appointing the 15th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama spoke about his reincarnation and dismissed China's participation in selecting his successor. He said that China, or anyone else, has no authority to interfere in this matter.