[citation needed] Grollmann & Gerber (2023) note that Tshangla is not particularly closely related to Bodish at all and should be placed in a separate part of the Trans-Himalayan linguistic phylum.

In addition, it is common for Western Bhutanese to learn some Tshangla through classmates in the school system (Yang Gyeltshen, p.c.).

Despite its predominance in eastern Bhutan, Tshangla is described by Andvik (2010: 4) as “an unwritten language”, meaning that it “is not in any country standardized by governing fiat, taught in the schools, recognized as an official language, or even given status as a minority language.” However, Ethnologue reports that 47% of L1 speakers are literate, mainly using the Tibetan Uchen script.

(It remains undetermined what kind of orthography is used for writing copy for those broadcasts; Yang Gyeltshen, p.c.)

Tshangla is found scattered throughout eastern Himalayan ridges as well as the southern regions,[10] spoken by around 175,000 people.

In the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, they are called Kalaktang Monpa (and are lexically distinct).

whereas about 7,000 Tshangla-speaking people also live in Pemako (Bomê and Mêdog County) in southeastern Tibet, China and India.

About 1000 to 15000 Tsangla speakers are also live in Tuting Town, Kopu, Bona, Gelling, Bishing along the Tsangpo (Siang) river and Nyering, Payingdem, Nyukong, Yortong, Mankota, Tashigong, Singa along the Yangsang Chu river, Upper Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh, India.

When written by native speakers, it is most often rendered in Tibetan script, however grammarians have devised a romanized transcription system.

Vowels in parentheses appear in non-native words inherited from Tibetan, Dzongkha, and the latter's archaic liturgical form, Chöke.

[9]: 12–14 Vowel clusters native to the Tshangla lexicon are /ai/ and /au/, and in derived contexts /oi/ and /ui/ also appear (e.g. a verbal ending: /bu-i/, take-IMP).

[9]: 15–16 Most dialects of Tshangla do not make lexical distinctions according to tone, however, the language overall may be in the process of tonogenesis.

Some dialects such as those of Central Monpa and Padma-bkod have replaced voiceless-voiced contrasts with a high-low tone distinction, respectively.

[9] While adjectives comprise a lexically distinct category in their own right, some adjectival words are grammatically nouns.

[9] In Arunachal Pradesh, Tshangla is spoken by the Monpa tribe in the Kalaktang and Dirang area of West Kameng.

The Bomê County region of Tibet, formerly known as Padma-bkod or Pemako, contains remnants of these Tshangla communities separated by hundreds of miles.