New Publication: Tiger and Frog · An Illustrated Kids Story Book as Language Educational Material
Congratulations to Dr. Mareike Wulff, postdoctoral researcher at the Central Asia Seminar, who co-edited an exciting new publication with Gwendolyn Hyslop!
Tiger and Frog · Eds.: Gwendolyn Hyslop, Mareike Wulff · Thimphu: Riyang Books · An Illustrated Kids Story Book as Language Educational Material
Book description:
Tsetanla tells Phurpala a story: In the jungle of the Black Mountains, a tiny frog is threatened by a hungry tiger. Facing an existential threat, the frog creates a witty plan to trick the majestic animal, and thereby avoids death. Tsetanla and Phurpala are members of the indigenous Mönpa community in Central Bhutan.
This book was born out of a collaborative research project between linguist Dr. Gwendolyn Hyslop (The University of Sydney) and anthropologist Dr. Mareike Wulff (The University of Sydney/Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) in cooperation with the indigenous Mönpa community in Bhutan, and funded by the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme.
The story is told and written down in their native tongue, the endangered Black Mountain Mönpa language, and translated into Dzongkha and English.
As the Mönpa language was previously unwritten, the Mönpa community requested teaching materials so that they could teach their younger generations in their unique and so far underdescribed oral language.
See video documentation and project information in the HU digital repository EthnOA here: https://doi.org/10.18450/ethnoa-medien/93
Book Launch at the Bhutanese Literature & Arts Festival: Bhutan Echoes on 3rd of August 2026, in Thimphu/Bhutan