The Sino-Tibetan language family is a major language group that includes languages spoken primarily in China and the Himalayan region. It is divided into two main branches: Sinitic, which encompasses the various forms of Chinese, and Tibeto-Burman, which includes languages like Tibetan and Burmese. This language family is one of the largest in the world, with over a billion speakers. The languages within this family are known for their tonal qualities and complex writing systems, particularly in the case of Chinese, which uses characters to represent words and meanings.