The impressive selection of languages and linguistic topics dealt with in this book underlines the diversity of the Tibeto-Burman languages in Central and South Asia and highlights their place within present-day linguistic research. For the first time emphasis is put on the study of the many different Tibetan dialects spoken from Pakistan in the west to the Blue Lake in the east. Therefore, the results achieved by leading experts are remarkable in general and the book will be an important research tool for linguists, anthropologists and geographers.