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			{{Short description|Sino-Tibetan language of Nepal}}
	{{Infobox language		{{Infobox language
	|name=Yolmo		| name = Hyolmo
	|nativename= ''Hyolmo''		| nativename = ''Hyolmo''
	|altname=Helambu Sherpa		| altname = Helambu Sherpa
	|states= ]		| states = ]
	|ethnicity=]		| ethnicity = ]
	|speakers={{sigfig|10,200|2}}		| speakers = {{sigfig|10,200|2}}
	|date=2011 census		| date = 2011 census
	|ref=e18		| ref = e18
	|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan		| familycolor = Sino-Tibetan
	|fam2=] ?		| fam2 = ] ?
	|fam3=]		| fam3 = ]
	|fam4=]		| fam4 = ]
	|fam5=]		| fam5 = ]
	|dia1 = Eastern Yolmo (Sermathang, Chhimi)		| dia1 = Eastern Yolmo (Sermathang, Chhimi)
	|dia2 = Western Yolmo (Nuwakot District)		| dia2 = Western Yolmo (Nuwakot District)
	|dia3 = Lamjung Yolmo|dia4 = Ilam Yolmo		| dia3 = Lamjung Yolmo
			| dia4 = Ilam Yolmo
	|iso3 = scp		| iso3 = scp
			| map = Yolmo Map 2016.png
	|glotto=yolm1234
			| glotto = hela1238
	|glottorefname=Helambu Sherpa
			| glottorefname = Lamjung-Melamchi Yolmo
	}}		}}
	'''Yolmo''' (Hyolmo), or '''Helambu Sherpa''', is a ] of the ] people of ]. Yolmo is spoken predominantly in the ] and ] valleys in northern ] and northwestern ]. Dialects are also spoken by smaller populations in ] and ], and also in ] (where it is known as ]). It has a very high level of similarity with ]<ref name=":10" /> and weaker but still observable similarities to ] and ].<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=Yolmo Sketch Grammar|last=Hari|first=Anne Marie|publisher=Ekta Books|year=2010|location=Kathmandu}}</ref>		'''Yolmo''' (Hyolmo) or '''Helambu Sherpa''', is a ] of the ] of ] (ISO 639-3: ], GlottoCode:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/yolm1234|title=Helambu Sherpa|date=2017|editor-last=Hammarström|editor-first=Harald |editor2=Forkel, Robert |editor3=Haspelmath, Martin|website=Glottolog 3.0|publisher=Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.|location=Jena, Germany|language=en|access-date=2018-08-22}}</ref> ). Yolmo is spoken predominantly in the ] and ] valleys in northern ] and northwestern ]. Dialects are also spoken by smaller populations in ] and ] and also in ] (where it is known as ]). It is very similar to ]<ref name=":10" /> and less similar to ] and ].<ref name=":15" /> There are approximately 10,000 Yolmo speakers,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/scp/index.html|title=Helambu Sherpa|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World (18th Edition)|access-date=2018-08-22|publisher=SIL International|year=2015|editor-first=M. Paul|editor-last=Lewis |editor2=Gary F. Simons |editor3=Charles D. Fennig|location=Dallas, Texas|language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425230950/https://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/scp/index.html |archive-date=2019-04-25}}</ref> although some dialects have larger populations than others.
			{{TOC limit|2}}
	== Language Name ==
	Yolmo is both the name of the language (]), and the ethnic group of ] (]). Yolmo is also written ''Hyolmo, Yholmo'' or ''Yohlmo''. The 'h' in all of these spellings marks that the word has low tone.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2013|title=Notes on the relationship between Yolmo and Kagate|url=http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/HimalayanLinguistics/articles/2013/HLJ1202A.html|journal=Himalayan Linguistics|volume=12(2)|pages=1-27|via=}}</ref> Sometimes the language is referred to as ''Yolmo Tam'', ''tam'' is the Yolmo word for 'language'.<ref name=":3">{{cite book|title=Yolmo-Nepali-English Dictionary|last=Hari|first=Anne Marie|author2=Lama, C.|publisher=Central Dept. of Linguistics, Tribhnvan University|year=2004|location=Kathmandu}}</ref>
			== Language name ==
	The language is also referred to as Helambu Sherpa. This usage was common in the 1970s (see, for example, Clarke's work from the early 1980s).<ref name=":4" /> This name appears to have been an attempt by Yolmo speakers to align themselves with the widely recognised and prosperous ] of the ] district. While there are many cultural affinities between the two groups, the ] is not mutually intelligible with Yolmo. With a growing recognition of Nepal's ethnic minorities (]), Yolmo people have moved away from associating themselves with the Sherpas in recent decades.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52872722|title=Sensory biographies : lives and deaths among Nepal's Yolmo Buddhists|last=Desjarlais|first=Robert|date=2003|publisher=University of California Press|year=2003|isbn=9780520936744|location=Berkeley, CA.|pages=8|oclc=52872722}}</ref>
			Yolmo is both the name of the language (]), and the ethnic group of ] (]). Yolmo is also written ''Hyolmo, Yholmo'' or ''Yohlmo''. The 'h' in all of these spellings marks that the word has ].<ref name="Gawne" /> Sometimes the language is referred to as ''Yolmo Tam'', ''tam'' is the Yolmo word for 'language'.<ref name=":3">{{cite book|title=Yolmo-Nepali-English Dictionary|last=Hari|first=Anne Marie|author2=Lama, C.|publisher=Central Dept. of Linguistics, Tribhnvan University|year=2004|location=Kathmandu}}</ref>
			The language is also referred to as Helambu Sherpa. This usage was common in the 1970s (see, for example, Clarke's work from the early 1980s).<ref name=":4" /> This name appears to have been an attempt by Yolmo speakers to align themselves with the widely recognised and prosperous ] of the ] district. While there are many cultural affinities between the two groups, the ] is not mutually intelligible with Yolmo.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book|title=Yohlmo grammar sketch|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|date=2010|publisher=Ekta Books|others=SIL International.|isbn=9789937101080|location=Kathmandu|pages=4|oclc=707486953}}</ref> With a growing recognition of Nepal's ethnic minorities (]), Yolmo people have moved away from associating themselves with the Sherpas in recent decades.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Sensory biographies : lives and deaths among Nepal's Yolmo Buddhists|last=Desjarlais|first=Robert|publisher=University of California Press|year=2003|isbn=9780520936744|location=Berkeley, CA.|pages=8|oclc=52872722}}</ref>
	== Language Family ==
	Yolmo is part of the family of languages called ].<ref name=":12">N. Tournadre (2005) "L'aire linguistique tibétaine et ses divers dialectes." ''Lalies'', 2005, n°25, p.&nbsp;7–56 </ref> The languages of this family are located along the Himalayan hills and mountains mostly on the Nepal side of the border, although Kyirong is in the ]. Along with Yolmo, Kyirong and Syuba, other languages in the family include ], Nubri and Gyalsumdo.
			== Language family ==
	The language family is better considered be Kyirong-Yolmo.<ref name=":02">{{cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=|year=2013|title=Notes on the relationship between Yolmo and Kagate|url=http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/nepling/|journal=Himalayan Linguistics|volume=12(2)|pages=1-27|via=}}</ref> Yolmo has far more speakers (at least 10,000) than Kagate (Syuba) (1,500), Yolmo speakers are found in multiple districts, including Melamchi, Lamung and Ilam, while Kagate speakers are based in Ramechhap. Also, ''Kagate'' is an ], and speakers now prefer the ] ''Syuba,'' which carries less pejorative stigma than the ]-associated term ''Kagate'' ('papermaker)''.''
			Yolmo is part of the family of languages called ].<ref name=":12">{{cite journal|last1=Tournadre|first1= Nicholas|date=2005|title= L'aire linguistique tibétaine et ses divers dialectes|journal=Lalies|volume= 25|pages=7–56|url= http://www.nicolas-tournadre.net/wp-content/uploads/multimedia/2005-aire.pdf|language=fr}}</ref> The languages of this family are located along the Himalayan hills and mountains mostly on the Nepal side of the border, although Kyirong is in the ]. Along with Yolmo, ] and ], other languages in the family include ], ] and ].
			The language family is better considered be Kyirong-Yolmo.<ref name="Gawne" /> Yolmo has far more speakers (at least 10,000) than Kagate (Syuba) (1,500), Yolmo speakers are found in multiple districts, including Melamchi, Lamjung and Ilam, while Kagate speakers are based in Ramechhap. Also, ''Kagate'' is an ], and speakers now prefer the ] ''Syuba'', which carries less pejorative stigma than the ]-associated term ''Kagate'' ('papermaker').
			This is part of a larger cluster of ], which all have their roots in the language that was the basis for ].<ref>{{cite book|title=Trans-Himalayan Linguistics: Historical and Descriptive Linguistics of the Himalayan Area|surname=Tournadre|given=Nicolas|publisher=De Gruyter|year=2014|isbn=978-3-11-031074-0|editor1-surname=Owen-Smith|editor1-given=Thomas|pages=103–129|chapter=The Tibetic languages and their classification|editor2-surname=Hill|editor2-given=Nathan W.}} ()</ref>
	This is part of a larger cluster of ], which all have their roots in the language that was the basis for ].<ref>{{cite book|title=Trans-Himalayan Linguistics: Historical and Descriptive Linguistics of the Himalayan Area|surname=Tournadre|given=Nicolas|publisher=De Gruyter|year=2014|isbn=978-3-11-031074-0|editor1-surname=Owen-Smith|editor1-given=Thomas|pages=103–129|chapter=The Tibetic languages and their classification|editor2-surname=Hill|editor2-given=Nathan W.}} ()</ref>
	== History ==		== History ==
			Yolmo speakers traditionally reside in the ] and Melamchi Valley regions in the ] and ] districts of Nepal. Yolmo speakers migrated to the area, across the ], from the ], in what is now Southwest Tibet, over 300 years ago.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Graham E.|date=1980|title=A Helambu History|journal=Journal of the Nepal Research Centre|volume=4|pages=1–38}}</ref> This migration appears to have occurred slowly over multiple generations, rather than one large migration event.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pokharel|first=Binod|date=2005|title=Adaptation and identity of Yolmo|journal=Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology|language=en|volume=9|pages=91–119|doi=10.3126/opsa.v9i0.1137|issn=2091-0312|doi-access=free}}</ref> Main villages where Yolmo speakers reside include Melamchi Ghyang, Tarke Ghyang, Nakote, Kangyul, ], Norbugoun, Timbu, and Kutumsang.
	For more on the history of Yolmo speakers, see the ] page.
			Yolmo speakers are ], with the role of head Lama ].<ref name=":4" /> Yolmo Lamas are called upon to perform religious rituals for the ]-speaking communities that live in villages below the Yolmo-inhabited areas. This has created a strong socio-cultural link between the two groups that is reflected in traditional marriage practice where Tamang women marry into Yolmo villages.<ref name=":18">{{Cite book|title=Tibetan Studies in honor of Hugh Richardson|last=Clarke|first=Graham E.|publisher=Phillip|year=1980|editor-last=Richardson|editor-first=Hugh|location=Warminster|pages=79–86|chapter=Lama and Tamang in Yolmo|editor-last2=Aris & Phillip|editor-first2=Michael|editor-last3=Aung San Suu Kyi}}</ref> There is also a distinct local tradition of ''pòmbo'' (often referred to as 'shamanism' in the literature on this topic<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Torri|first1=Davide|date= 2016|title= To Kill or not to Kill? Helambu valley as a no kill zone, the issue of blood sacrifice and the transformation of ritual patterns in Hyolmo shamanism|journal= European Bulletin of Himalayan Research|volume= 47|pages= 15–39}}</ref>). The ''pòmbo'' tradition, passed from father to son, is focused on healing, particularly with regard to 'soul loss'.<ref name=":2" /> This practice appears to be evolving fit with the modern focus on Buddhism among Yolmo people. For example, ''pòmbo'' blood sacrifices are no longer performed as commonly.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Il Lama e il Bombo : sciamanismo e buddhismo tra gli Hyolmo del Nepal|last=Torri|first=Davide|publisher=Sapienza Sciamanica|isbn=9788868123536|location=Rome|oclc=903903900|date = 2015-01-12}}</ref> While there are similarities, including a shared etymology, these local practitioners are not formally associated with the ] of Tibet.
	Yolmo speakers traditionally reside in the ] and Melamchi Valley region. Yolmo speakers migrated to the area across the Himalaya from the ], in what is now Southwest Tibet, over 300 years ago.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Graham E.|date=1980|title=A Helambu History|url=|journal=Journal of the Nepal Research Centre|volume=4|pages=1-38|via=}}</ref> This migration appears to have occurred slowly over multiple generations, rather than one large migration event.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pokharel|first=Binod|date=2010|title=Adaptation and Identity of Yolmo|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxjQUMiQ-SYTemVVcHNrSWo1c1E/view|journal=Occasional Papers|doi=|pmid=|access-date=May 2, 2016}}</ref> Main villages where Yolmo speakers reside include Melamchi Ghyang, Tarke Ghyang, Nakote, Kangyul, Sermathang, Norbugoun, Timbu, and Kutumsang. Melamchi Ghyang, Tarke Ghyang, and Sermathang.
			Traditionally Yolmo people were yak herders and traders.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bishop|first=Naomi H.|date=1989|title=From zomo to yak: Change in a Sherpa village|journal=Human Ecology|volume=17|issue=2|pages=177–204|doi=10.1007/BF00889712|bibcode=1989HumEc..17..177B |s2cid=154399059}}</ref> They currently practice a combination of mixed agriculture involving livestock herding, hotel management, restaurants, and trading. Although outward migrants would often return to village life,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bishop|first=Naomi H.|date=1993|title=Circular migration and families: A Hyolmo Sherpa example|journal=]|volume=13|issue=1/2|pages=59–66|doi=10.1215/07323867-13-1_and_2-59}}</ref> speakers of Yolmo are increasing settling in Kathmandu, or moving overseas, which has an effect on transmission of the language as speakers move towards dominant languages of formal education such as Nepal and English.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Yolmo-Nepali-English Dictionary|last1=Hari|first1=Anna Maria|last2=Lama|first2=Chhegu|publisher=Central Dept. of Linguistics, Tribhnvan University|year=2004|location=Kathmandu|pages=702}}</ref>
	Yolmo speakers are ] of the ] school. Yolmo Lamas are called upon to perform religious rituals for the ]-speaking communities that live in villages below the Yolmo-inhabited areas. This has created a strong socio-cultural link between the two groups that is reflected in traditional marriage practice where Tamang women marry into Yolmo villages.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tibetan Studies in honor of Hugh Richardson|last=Clarke|first=Graham E.|publisher=Phillip|year=1980|isbn=|editor-last=Richardson|editor-first=Hugh|location=Warminster|pages=79-86|chapter=Lama and Tamang in Yolmo|editor-last2=Aris & Phillip|editor-first2=Michael|editor-last3=Aung San Suu Kyi|editor-first3=}}</ref> There is also a tradition of ] shaman practice in the Yolmo area. This practice appears to be evolving to change to fit with the modern focus on Buddhism among Yolmo people. For example, blood sacrifices are no longer performed as commonly.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/903903900|title=Il Lama e il Bombo : sciamanismo e buddhismo tra gli Hyolmo del Nepal|last=Torri|first=Davide|publisher=Sapienza Sciamanica|year=|isbn=9788868123536|location=Rome|pages=|oclc=903903900}}</ref>
			For more on the history of Yolmo speakers, see the ] page.
	Traditionally Yolmo people were yak herders and traders.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bishop|first=Naomi H.|date=1989|title=From zomo to yak: Change in a Sherpa village|url=|journal=Human Ecology|volume=17(2)|pages=177-204|doi=|via=}}</ref> They currently practice a combination of mixed agriculture involving livestock herding, hotel management, restaurants, and trading. Although outward migrants would often return to village life<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bishop|first=Naomi H.|date=1993|title=Circular migration and families: A Hyolmo Sherpa example|url=|journal=South Asia Bulletin|volume=13(1&2)|pages=59-66|via=}}</ref>, speakers of Yolmo are increasing settling in Kathmandu, or moving overseas, which has an effect on transmission of the language as speakers move towards dominant languages of formal education such as Nepal and English.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Yolmo-Nepali-English Dictionary|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|last2=Lama|first2=Chhegu|publisher=Central Dept. of Linguistics, Tribhnvan University|year=2004|isbn=|location=Kathmandu|pages=702}}</ref>
	== Dialects ==		== Dialects ==
	Hari documented the variety of Yolmo mostly spoken around the villages of ] and Chhimi. She also encountered speakers from other areas in the Melamchi and Helambu valleys, and suggested there are two dialects across this area mostly distinguished by vocabulary, the 'western' (mostly in ] district) and 'eastern' dialects.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/707486953|title=Yohlmo grammar sketch|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|date=2010|publisher=SIL International and Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University|others=SIL International.|year=|isbn=9789937101080|location=Kathmandu|pages=4|oclc=707486953}}</ref> While discussing these dialects Hari also observes that the variety spoken around Tarkeghyang is again different, suggesting there may be more than two dialects spoken in the area. There are also varieties of Yolmo spoken in other areas of Nepal, thanks to migration in recent centuries, including in Lamjung<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961180469|title=A sketch grammar of Lamjung Yolmo|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|publisher=Asia Pacific Linguistics|others=|year=2016|isbn=9781922185341|location=|publication-place=Canberra|pages=|oclc=961180469}}</ref> and Ilam.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Thokar|first=Rajendra|date=2009|title=Linguistic fieldwork in Jhapa and Ilam districts|url=|journal=Paper presented at the Linguistics Society of Nepal Annual Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal.|volume=|pages=|via=}}</ref> There are also closely related languages that should be considered when discussing Yolmo, including ] and Langtang.		There are a number of ] of Yolmo, spread throughout Nepal, thanks to migration in recent centuries, including in Lamjung<ref name=":5">{{harvp|Gawne|2016}}</ref> and Ilam.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Thokar|first=Rajendra|date=2009|title=Linguistic fieldwork in Jhapa and Ilam districts|journal=Paper Presented at the Linguistics Society of Nepal Annual Conference, Kathmandu, Nepal}}</ref> There are also closely related languages that should be considered when discussing Yolmo, including ] and Langtang. Some of these varieties have been documented in more detail than others. Some of the dialects also have more ], which means it is easier for the speakers to understand each other. Below is a list of established dialects, including what is known about each.
	=== Melamchi Valley Yolmo ===		=== Melamchi Valley Yolmo ===
			]
	The variety of Yolmo documented by Anna Marie Hari is mostly spoken in the Melamchi Valley area. Hari produced a Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary of the language with Chhegu Lama,<ref name=":3" /> and a sketch grammar.<ref name=":0" />Hari's also translated the ] of the ] into Yolmo.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Good news, the New Testament in Helambu Sherpa|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|publisher=Samdan Publishers|year=2000|isbn=|location=Kathmandu|pages=}}</ref> Original cassette recordings of her work have been digitised and archived with ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/AH1|title=Hyolmo songs, stories and grammar drills|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|date=1980|website=Paradisec|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> Unless otherwise stated, all discussion of the grammar of Yolmo on this page is drawn from the work on Melamchi Valley Yolmo.
			The variety of Yolmo documented by Anna Marie Hari is mostly spoken in the Melamchi Valley area. Hari documented the variety of Yolmo mostly spoken around the villages of ] and Chhimi. Hari also encountered speakers from other areas in the Melamchi and Helambu valleys, and suggested there are two dialects across this area. mostly distinguished by vocabulary. The two dialects are the 'western' dialect, mostly in ] district and the 'eastern' dialect, which Hari's work focuses on.<ref name=":15" /> While discussing these dialects Hari also observes that the variety spoken around Tarkeghyang is different again, suggesting there may be more than two dialects spoken in the area.
			Hari produced a Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary of the language with Chhegu Lama,<ref name=":3" /> and a sketch grammar.<ref name=":15" /> Hari also translated the ] of the ] into Yolmo.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Good news, the New Testament in Helambu Sherpa|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|publisher=Samdan Publishers|year=2000|location=Kathmandu}}</ref> Original cassette recordings of her work have been digitised and archived with ].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/AH1|title=Hyolmo songs, stories and grammar drills|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|date=1980|website=Digital collection managed by PARADISEC.|doi=10.4225/72/56E9795C3C78B}}</ref> Unless otherwise stated, all discussion of the grammar of Yolmo on this page is drawn from the work on Melamchi Valley Yolmo.
	=== Langtang ===		=== Langtang ===
	Northwest of the Yolmo-speaking areas in the ] of the ] are three villages that speak a language that is mutually intelligible with Yolmo.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Kvicalova|first=Radka|last2=Slade|first2=Rebekha|last3=Gawne|first3=Lauren|date=2017|title=BOLD documentation of the Langtang language (Rasuwa).|url=|journal=Nepalese Linguistics|volume=32|pages=33-39|via=}}</ref> This language also shares features with ] and is likely part of a ] between Yolmo and Kyirong.		Northwest of the Yolmo-speaking areas in the Langtang valley of the ] are three villages that speak a language that is mutually intelligible with Yolmo.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Kvicalova|first1=Radka|last2=Slade|first2=Rebekha|last3=Gawne|first3=Lauren|date=2017|title=BOLD documentation of the Langtang language (Rasuwa).|journal=Nepalese Linguistics|volume=32|pages=33–39}}</ref> This language also shares features with ] and is likely part of a ] between Yolmo and Kyirong.
	=== Lamjung Yolmo ===		=== Lamjung Yolmo ===
			]
	Lamjung Yolmo is spoken by around 700 people in five villages of the ] of Nepal.<ref name=":5" /> Yolmo speakers have been residing in this area for over a century.<ref name="Gawne" /> Gawne has written a sketch grammar<ref name=":5" /> and a Lamjung Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=Lamjung Yolmo - Nepali - English Dictionary|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|publisher=Custom Book Centre, The University of Melbourne|year=2010|location=Melbourne}}</ref> There is also a digital archive of Lamjung Yolmo recordings archived with ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/LG1|title=Yolmo (also known as Helambu Sherpa, Nepal)|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2009-2016|website=Paradisec|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>
			]
			Lamjung Yolmo is spoken by around 700 people in five villages of the ] of Nepal.<ref name=":5" /> Yolmo speakers have been residing in this area for over a century.<ref name="Gawne" /> Gawne has written a sketch grammar<ref name=":5" /> and a Lamjung Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|title=Lamjung Yolmo - Nepali - English Dictionary|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|publisher=Custom Book Centre, The University of Melbourne|year=2011|location=Melbourne}}</ref> There is also a digital archive of Lamjung Yolmo recordings archived with ].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/LG1|title=Yolmo (also known as Helambu Sherpa, Nepal)|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2009–2016|website=Paradisec|publisher=Digital collection managed by PARADISEC|doi=10.4225/72/56E825B0B80EA}}</ref>
	=== Ilam Yolmo ===		=== Ilam Yolmo ===
	A dialect of Yolmo is reportedly spoken in the ] of far east Nepal,<ref name=":7" /> although there is very little documentation of this variety. It is mutually intelligible with Syuba,<ref name=":6" /> and recordings from the dialect are available as a subset of an online collection of Syuba materials archived with ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/SUY1|title=Kagate (Nepal)|last=|first=|date=2016|website=Paradisec|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>		A dialect of Yolmo is reportedly spoken in the ] of far east Nepal.<ref name=":7" /> There is very little documentation of this variety, but it is mutually intelligible with Syuba.<ref name=":6" /> Recordings from the dialect are available as a subset of an online collection of Syuba materials archived with ].<ref name=":0" />
	=== Syuba (Kagate) ===		=== Syuba (Kagate) ===
	Although ] has a distinct name, and a separate ], linguistically it can be considered a dialect of Yolmo.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2017|title=Syuba (Kagate)|url=http://www.elpublishing.org/itempage/147|journal=Language Documentation and Description|volume=13|pages=65-93|via=}}</ref> Syuba speakers say their families migrated to the area more than a century ago.<ref name=":6" /> Hari, who worked on both Yolmo<ref name=":0" /> and Syuba<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|title=Kagate phonemic summary|last=Höhlig|first=Monika|last2=Hari|first2=Anna Maria|publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics Institute of Nepal and Asian Studies|year=1976|isbn=|location=Kathmandu|pages=}}</ref> observes that "to quite a large extent they are mutually intelligible dialects".<ref name=":0" /> The lexical similarity between Syuba and Melamchi Valley Yolmo is at least 79%, with the similarity between Syuba and Lamjung Yolmo even higher (88%). There is a higher level of similarity between Yolmo and Syuba than there is between either of these languages as Kyirong.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|title=An investigation of the relationship between the Kyirong, Yòlmo, and Standard Spoken Tibetan speech varieties (unpublished MA thesis)|last=Hedlin|first=Matthew|publisher=Payap University|year=2011|isbn=|location=Chiang Mai, Thailand|pages=}}</ref> This all suggests that the separated dialects may have more in common with each other than with the main dialect area.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2010|title=Lamjung Yolmo: a dialect of Yolmo, also known as Helambu Sherpa|url=|journal=Nepalese Linguistics|volume=25|pages=34-41|via=}}</ref>		Although ] has a distinct name, and a separate ] (SYW), linguistically it can be considered a dialect of Yolmo.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2017|title=Syuba (Kagate)|url=http://www.elpublishing.org/itempage/147|journal=Language Documentation and Description|volume=13|pages=65–93}}</ref> Syuba speakers say their families migrated to the area more than a century ago.<ref name=":6" /> Hari, who worked on both Yolmo<ref name=":15" /> and Syuba<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|title=Kagate phonemic summary|last1=Höhlig|first1=Monika|last2=Hari|first2=Anna Maria|publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics Institute of Nepal and Asian Studies|year=1976|location=Kathmandu}}</ref> observes that "to quite a large extent they are mutually intelligible dialects".<ref name=":15" /> The lexical similarity between Syuba and Melamchi Valley Yolmo is at least 79%, with the similarity between Syuba and Lamjung Yolmo even higher (88%). There is a higher level of similarity between Yolmo and Syuba than there is between either of these languages and Kyirong.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|title=An investigation of the relationship between the Kyirong, Yòlmo, and Standard Spoken Tibetan speech varieties (unpublished MA thesis)|last=Hedlin|first=Matthew|publisher=Payap University|year=2011|location=Chiang Mai, Thailand}}</ref> This all suggests that the separated dialects may have more in common with each other than with the main dialect area.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2010|title=Lamjung Yolmo: a dialect of Yolmo, also known as Helambu Sherpa|journal=Nepalese Linguistics|volume=25|pages=34–41}}</ref> In 2016 the Syuba community published a Syuba-Nepali-English dictionary.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|title=Syuba-Nepali-English Dictionary|last=SIL International and HIS Nepal|publisher=Himalayan Indigenous Society Nepal|year=2015|location=Kathmandu}}</ref>
			Three open access collections of Syuba, digitised from Monika Hölig's 1970s recordings,<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/SUY1|title=Kagate (Nepal)|last=Hölig|first=Monika|date=1972|website=catalog.paradisec.org.au|publisher=Digital collection managed by PARADISEC.|doi=10.4225/72/5a2aa8fa3fde0|access-date=2018-08-21}}</ref> documentation by Lauren Gawne (2009-2016),<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/SUY1|title=Kagate (Nepal)|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2009|website=catalog.paradisec.org.au|publisher=Digital collection managed by PARADISEC|doi=10.4225/72/56E976A071650|access-date=2018-08-21}}</ref> a 2013 BOLD documentation by the Mother Tongue Centre Nepal.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/MTC1|title=Syuba audio recordings from the Mother Tongue Centre Nepal (MTCN)|last=Mother Tongue Centre Nepal|date=2013|website=catalog.paradisec.org.au|publisher=Digital collection managed by PARADISEC|doi=10.4225/72/5a2aa8fe9880e|access-date=2018-08-21}}</ref>
			== Language vitality ==
			Using the ] (EGIDS), Ethnologue gives Yolmo a vitality rating of 6a 'Vigorous', but does not cite a source for this claim.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/|title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|last1=Simons|first1=Gary F.|last2=Fennig|first2=Charles D.|website=Ethnologue|publisher=SIL International|location=Dallas, Texas|language=en|access-date=2018-11-14|edition=Twenty-first}}</ref> The vitality of the language varies depending on the location. In the Melamchi Valley area the language is spoken mostly by older adults. The younger generations having largely shifted to Nepali, though the language is being maintained for religious practices.<ref name=":15" /> The shift towards Nepali for younger speakers has also been observed in Lamjung, as this is the language used in schools.<ref name=":11">{{harvp|Gawne|2016|pages=5–6}}</ref> The Syuba variety in Ramechhap is currently still spoken across all generations, including children. Mitchell & Eichentopf give it an EGIDS rating of 6a 'Vigorous', which is the likely reference for the Ethnologue rating.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":022">{{Cite book|title=Sociolinguistic survey of Kagate: Language vitality and community desires.|last=Mitchell, Jessica R. & Stephanie R. Eichentopf|publisher=Central Department of Linguistics Tribhuvan University, Nepal and SIL International|year=2013|location=Kathmandu}}</ref> This is a recent survey with primary data presented, and is in concord with the first author's own observations of this community. There is insufficient data on the Ilam or Langtang variety to assess their vitality at this stage.
			== Language contact ==
			The majority of Yolmo speakers are minimally bilingual in the national language Nepali. For older speakers Nepali was mostly used for interaction with people outside their community, and they may be less proficient, while younger speakers are likely to have attended school in Nepali and are proficient.
			While there is relatively little influence of Nepali on basic vocabulary (such as the Swadesh list below), Nepali words are commonly adopted into Yolmo. In Hari & Lama's dictionary of over 4000 entries there are over 200 entries marked with some kind of Nepali influence.<ref name=":3" /> The extent to which Nepali words have been reconfigured to Yolmo phonology has not been systematically studied. One observation is that Nepali verbs take a suffix ''-ti'' before any tense or aspect marking. This suffix is not voiced in any environment, unlike the ] marker ''-ti''.<ref name=":5" />
			In the Helambu area Tamang women would marry into the villages, but they appeared to move to Yolmo-speaking when they married in<ref name=":18" /> (although contact with Tamang may account for some features of Yolmo, such as the general fact evidential, below).<ref>Lauren Gawne & Thomas Owen-Smith. 2016. The ‘General Fact’ copula in Yolmo and the influence of Tamang. ''2016 Annual Meeting of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain (LAGB)''. University of York''':''' September 6–9.</ref>
			Individuals may also have other languages in their personal repertoire, through marriage to someone from a different language group, international work or engagement with tourists from different countries. English is increasingly common as a language of education.
	== Language Vitality ==
	The vitality of the language varies depending on the location. In the Melamchi Valley area the language is spoken mostly by older adults. The younger generations having largely shifted to Nepali, though the language is being maintained for religious practices.<ref name=":0" /> The shift towards Nepali for younger speakers has also been observed in Lamjung, as this is the language used in schools.<ref name=":11">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961180469|title=A sketch grammar of Lamjung Yolmo|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|publisher=Asia Pacific Linguistics|others=|year=2016|isbn=9781922185341|location=Canberra|pages=5-6|oclc=961180469}}</ref> The Syuba variety in Ramechhap is currently still spoken across all generations, including children.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book|title=Sociolinguistic survey of Kagate: Language vitality and community desires.|last=Mitchell, Jessica R. & Stephanie R. Eichentopf|first=|publisher=Central Department of Linguistics Tribhuvan University, Nepal and SIL International|year=2013|isbn=|location=Kathmandu|pages=}}</ref> There is insufficient data on the Ilam variety to assess its vitality at this stage.
	== Orthography ==		== Orthography ==
	Yolmo does not have a written tradition although there are incipient attempts in Nepal to develop an orthography based on ], as seen in the publication of two dictionaries.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> Syuba speakers also settled on a Devanagari orthography for their dictionary.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|title=Syuba-Nepali-English Dictionary|last=SIL International and HIS Nepal|first=|publisher=Himalayan Indigenous Society Nepal|year=2015|isbn=|location=Kathmandu|pages=}}</ref> All of these dictionaries also present the languages in ] orthographies as well.		Hyolmo does not have a written tradition although there are attempts to develop an orthography based on ], the script used to write the national language ], as seen in the publication of two dictionaries.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> Syuba speakers also settled on a Devanagari orthography for their dictionary.<ref name=":03"/> All of these dictionaries also present the languages in ] orthographies.
	=== Devanagari ===		=== Devanagari ===
	The modifications to ] are minor, and are intended to ensure that all sounds in the language can be represented. None of the orthographies use the ']', meaning that a consonant without an overt vowel is not treated as having an implied vowel. Consonants remain the same as in the existing Devanagari tradition, with the use of joined ] to represent additional sounds in the language, such as the combination of क (k) and य (y) for the palatal stop क्य ( 'kh'), स (s) and य (y) for the palatal fricative स्य ( 'sh'), र and ह for the voiceless liquid र्ह ( 'rh'), and ल and ह for the voiceless lateral ल्ह ( 'lh').		The modifications to ] are minor, and are intended to ensure that all sounds in the language can be represented. None of the orthographies use the ']', meaning that a consonant without an overt vowel is not treated as having an implied vowel. Consonants remain the same as in the existing Devanagari tradition, with the use of joined ] to represent additional sounds in the language, such as the combination of क (k) and य (y) for the palatal stop क्य ( 'kh'), स (s) and य (y) for the palatal fricative स्य ( 'sh'), र and ह for the voiceless liquid र्ह ( 'rh'), and ल and ह for the voiceless lateral ल्ह ( 'lh') ह्य ('hy').
	Vowel length is unmarked in the Syuba dictionary, in the two Yolmo dictionaries the standard Devanagari length distinctions are made, with the addition of a small diacritic below the 'a' vowel ( ा) to indicate a longer vowel. The Hari & Lama<ref name=":3" /> and Gawne<ref name=":1" /> dictionaries both use ह (h) after the vowel to mark low tone (e.g. टाह ''ʈà'' 'pheasant'), while in (the Syuba orthography a colon represents the low tone (टाः ''ʈà'' 'pheasant'). High tone is left unmarked.		Vowel length is unmarked in the Syuba dictionary, in the two Yolmo dictionaries the standard Devanagari length distinctions are made, with the addition of a small diacritic below the 'a' vowel ( ा) to indicate a longer vowel. The Hari & Lama<ref name=":3" /> and Gawne<ref name=":1" /> dictionaries both use ह (h) after the vowel to mark low tone (e.g. टाह ''ʈà'' 'pheasant'), while in (the Syuba orthography a ] represents the low tone (टाः ''ʈà'' 'pheasant'). High tone is left unmarked.
	=== Roman ===		=== Roman ===
	All three dictionaries also make use of variations on a Romanised orthography, although this does not appear to be used or preferred by Yolmo speakers, and is intended for the English-speaking audience of the dictionaries. Consonants predominantly take the form from the ], with some exception where there is a more common preference in English, such as digraphs for the palatal stops ( 'ky', 'khy', 'gy') and non-superscript for aspiration (e.g. ''phá'' 'pig). This is represented in the Consonant chart in the Phonology section below.		All three dictionaries also make use of variations on a Romanised orthography, although this does not appear to be used or preferred by Hyolmo speakers, and is intended for the English-literate audience of the dictionaries. Consonants predominantly take their form from the ], with some exception where there is a more common preference in English, such as digraphs for the palatal stops ( 'ky', 'khy', 'gy') and non-superscript for aspiration (e.g. ''phá'' 'pig'). This is represented in the ] in the Phonology section.
	The vowels in Yolmo follow the ], except for which uses 'o' for ease of representation. Long vowels are represented by double characters, e.g. 'two' represented as ''ɲíi'', except in the Syuba dictionary<ref name=":03" /> where vowel length is not indicated in either the Devanagari or Roman scripts. For tone Hari<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /> uses a 'h' after the vowel to represent low tone, (e.g. ''toh'' 'stone') with high tone unmarked, Gawne<ref name=":1" /> uses the ] convention of using accents over the vowel to mark high and low tone (e.g. ''tó'' 'rice' and ''tò'' 'stone'), while the Syuba dictionary uses a superscript <sup>L</sup> at the start of the syllable to mark low tone (e.g. ''<sup>L</sup>to'' 'stone') with high tone unmarked.<ref name=":03" />		The vowels in Hyolmo follow the ], except for which uses 'o' for ease of typing. Long vowels are represented by double characters, e.g. 'two' is represented as ''ɲíi'', except in the Syuba dictionary<ref name=":03" /> where vowel length is not indicated in either the Devanagari or Roman scripts. For tone Hari<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":3" /> uses a 'h' after the vowel to represent low tone, (e.g. ''toh'' 'stone') with high tone unmarked (e.g. ''to'' 'rice'), Gawne<ref name=":1" /> uses the ] convention of using accents over the vowel to mark high and low tone (e.g. ''tó'' 'rice' and ''tò'' 'stone'), while the Syuba dictionary uses a superscript <sup>L</sup> at the start of the syllable to mark low tone (e.g. ''<sup>L</sup>to'' 'stone') with high tone unmarked.<ref name=":03" />
	On this page the orthography mostly follows Hari's transcription,<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" /> as outlined in the phonology. Unlike Hari, representation of tone follows the ], with accents to mark high and low tone (e.g. ''tó'' 'rice' and ''tò'' 'stone' respectively). This avoids Hari's use of 'h' to represent both low tone and the sound .<ref name=":11" />		On this page the orthography mostly follows Hari's transcription,<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":3" /> as outlined in the phonology. Unlike Hari, representation of tone follows the ], with accents to mark high and low tone (e.g. ''tó'' 'rice' and ''tò'' 'stone' respectively). This avoids Hari's use of 'h' to represent both low tone and the sound .<ref name=":11" />
	== Grammatical Overview ==		== Grammatical overview ==
	The sections below contain an overview of the key features of the grammar of Yolmo. Information is mostly drawn from Hari's grammar of the language,<ref name=":0" /> supplemented by the Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary she co-wrote with Chhegu Lama.<ref name=":3" /> Differences between this variety and other documented dialects are indicated where relevant. Links to other related languages will also be made where relevant.		The sections below contain an overview of the key features of the grammar of Hyolmo. Information is mostly drawn from Hari's grammar of the language,<ref name=":15" /> supplemented by the Yohlmo-Nepali-English dictionary she co-wrote with Chhegu Lama.<ref name=":3" /> Differences between this variety and other documented dialects are indicated where relevant. Links to other related languages will also be made where relevant.
	All example sentences are presented with an interlinear gloss. This breaks down the words on a ]-level, giving information about the meaning of each morpheme using a standard set of ]. All examples are cited back to the original publication they are drawn from. Some glossing has been changed or added where it was not included in the original.		All example sentences are presented with an interlinear gloss. This breaks down the words on a ] level, giving information about the meaning of each morpheme using a standard set of ]. All examples are cited back to the original publication they are drawn from. Some glossing has been regularised, or added where it was not included in the original.
	==Phonology==		==Phonology==
	=== Consonants ===		=== Consonants ===
	There are 36 consonants in Yolmo, which are summarized in the table below. The form is given in IPA and then to the right in brackets is given the form more frequently used in Roman orthography if different.<ref name=":0"/>		There are 36 consonants in Yolmo, which are summarized in the table below. The form is given in IPA and then to the right in brackets is given the form used in this article, if different.<ref name=":15" />
	:{| class="wikitable IPA"
			:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
	|-		|-
			! colspan="2" |
	!
	! Labial		! ]
	! Apico-Dental		! ]
	!Lamino-post-alveolar		! ]
	! Retroflex		! ]
	! Palatal		! ]
	! Velar		! ]
	!Glottal		! ]
	|-		|-
			! rowspan="3" | ]
	! Voiceless stop
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiceless
	| p
			| {{IPAlink|p}}
	| t
			| {{IPAlink|t}}
	|
	|ʈ		|
			| {{IPAlink|ʈ}}
	|c (ky)
			| {{IPAlink|c}} {{angbr|ky}}
	| k
			| {{IPAlink|k}}
	|
			|
	|-		|-
			! style="font-size:x-small" | aspirated
	! Aspirated stop
	| {{IPA|pʰ}} (ph)		| {{IPAlink|pʰ}} {{angbr|ph}}
	| {{IPA|tʰ}} (th)		| {{IPAlink|tʰ}} {{angbr|th}}
	|		|
	|ʈʰ (ʈh)		| {{IPAlink|ʈʰ}} {{angbr|ʈh}}
	|cʰ (khy)		| {{IPAlink|cʰ}} {{angbr|khy}}
	| {{IPA|kʰ}} (kh)		| {{IPAlink|kʰ}} {{angbr|kh}}
	|		|
	|-		|-
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiced
	! Voiced stop
			| {{IPAlink|b}}
	| b
			| {{IPAlink|d}}
	| d
	|		|
			| {{IPAlink|ɖ}}
	|ɖ
	|ɟ (gy)		| {{IPAlink|ɟ}} {{angbr|gy}}
	| ɡ		| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
	|		|
	|-		|-
			! rowspan="2" | ]
	! Voiceless fricative
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiceless
	|
	|s		|
			| {{IPAlink|s}}
	|ɕ
			| {{IPAlink|ɕ}}
	|
	|		|
	|		|
	|h		|
			| {{IPAlink|h}}
	|-		|-
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiced
	!Voiced fricative
	|		|
			| {{IPAlink|z}}
	|z
			| {{IPAlink|ʑ}}
	|ʑ
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|-		|-
			! rowspan="3" | ]
	! Voiceless affricate
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiceless
	|
	|ts		|
			| {{IPAlink|ts}}
	|tɕ
			| {{IPAlink|tɕ}}
	|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
			|
	|-		|-
			! style="font-size:x-small" | aspirated
	!Aspirative affricate
			|
			| {{IPAlink|tsʰ}} {{angbr|tsh}}
			| {{IPAlink|tɕʰ}} {{angbr|tɕh}}
			|
			|
	|		|
	|tsʰ (tsh)
	|tɕʰ (tɕh)
	|
	|		|
	|
	|
	|-		|-
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiced
	! Voiced affricate
			|
			| {{IPAlink|dz}}
			| {{IPAlink|dʑ}}
			|
			|
	|		|
	|dz
	|dʑ
	|
	|		|
	|
	|
	|-		|-
			! colspan="2" | ]
	! Nasal
			| {{IPAlink|m}}
	| m
			| {{IPAlink|n}}
	| n
	|		|
	|		|
			| {{IPAlink|ɲ}}
	|ɲ
	| {{IPA|ŋ}}		| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}
	|		|
	|-		|-
			! rowspan="2" | ]
	!Voiceless liquid
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiceless
	|
	|r̥ (rh)		|
			| {{IPAlink|r̥}} {{angbr|rh}}
	|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
			|
	|-		|-
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiced
	!Voiced liquid
	|		|
			| {{IPAlink|r}}
	|r
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|-		|-
			! rowspan="2" | ]
	!Voiceless lateral
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiceless
	|
	|l̥ (lh)		|
			| {{IPAlink|l̥}} {{angbr|lh}}
	|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
			|
	|-		|-
			! style="font-size:x-small" | voiced
	!Voiced lateral
	|		|
			| {{IPAlink|l}}
	| l
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
	|-		|-
	! Semivowel		! colspan="2" | ]
			| {{IPAlink|w}}
	|w
	|		|
	|		|
	|		|
			| {{IPAlink|j}} {{angbr|y}}
	|j (y)
	|		|
	|		|
	|}		|}
	Not all consonants are equally prominent. In particular , and are not particularly frequent, nor are vowel-initial words.
			Not all consonants are equally frequent. In particular , and are not particularly frequent, nor are vowel-initial words.
	=== Vowels ===		=== Vowels ===
	There are five places of articulation for vowels. There is a length distinction at each place of articulation. The form of each vowel is given in IPA and then to the right in brackets is given the form more frequently used in Roman orthography if different.		There are five places of articulation for vowels. There is a length distinction at each place of articulation. The form of each vowel is given in IPA and then to the right in brackets is given the form used in this article, if different.
	:{| class="wikitable IPA"
			:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
	!		!
	!Front		!]
	!Mid		!]
	!Back		!]
	|-		|-
	!'''High'''		!]
			|{{IPA link|i}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|iː}} {{angbr|ii}}
	|i iː (ii)
	|		|
			|{{IPA link|u}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|uː}} {{angbr|uu}}
	|u uː (uu)
	|-		|-
	!'''Mid'''		!]
			|{{IPA link|e}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|eː}} {{angbr|ee}}
	|e eː (ee)
	|		|
			|{{IPA link|ɔ}} {{angbr|o}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|ɔː}} {{angbr|oo}}
	|ɔ (o) ɔː (oo)
	|-		|-
	!'''Low'''		!]
			|
			|{{IPA link|a}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|aː}} {{angbr|aa}}
	|		|
	|a aː (aa)
	|}		|}
	Below are some minimal pairs that demonstrate the vowel length distinction:
			Below are some minimal pairs that demonstrate the vowel length distinction. The diacritic above the vowel is the tone marker, the acute accent indicates that all of these examples are high tone. This is explained in more detail in the section on ].
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 264:		Line 297:
	|'be hungry'		|'be hungry'
	|}		|}
	Vowel-length distinctions are not common across Tibetic language, but they are also attested in Syuba<ref name=":9" /> (although Syuba speakers do not consider them salient enough to encode in the orthography<ref name=":03" />) and in Kyirong for open syllables.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60613565|title=The Tibetan dialect of Lende (Kyirong) : a grammatical description with historical annotations|last=Huber|first=Brigitte|date=2005|publisher=VGH Wissenschaftsverlag|year=|isbn=3882800690|location=Bonn|pages=20-21|oclc=60613565}}</ref>
			Vowel-length distinctions are not common across Tibetic language, but they are also attested in Syuba<ref name=":9" /> (although Syuba speakers do not consider them salient enough to encode in the orthography<ref name=":03" />) and in Kyirong for open syllables.<ref name=":16">{{Cite book|title=The Tibetan dialect of Lende (Kyirong) : a grammatical description with historical annotations|last=Huber|first=Brigitte|date=2005|publisher=VGH Wissenschaftsverlag|isbn=3882800690|location=Bonn|pages=20–21|oclc=60613565}}</ref>
	Unlike many other Tibetic languages, including ], and ], Yolmo does not have a ] . This is true for all dialects of Yolmo documented to date, including Syuba. Langtang does have this vowel.<ref name=":8" />
			Unlike many other Tibetic languages, including ], and ], Yolmo does not have a ] . This is true for all dialects of Yolmo documented to date, including Syuba. Langtang, however, does have this vowel.<ref name=":8" />
	=== Tone ===		=== Tone ===
	Like other Tibetic languages, Yolmo has tone, which is located on the first vowel of a word. Hari presents a four tone contrast of Melamchi Valley Yolmo; high level, high falling, low level and low falling.<ref name=":0"/> Acoustic evidence from Lamjung Yolmo and Kagate indicates that there is only acoustic evidence for a contrast between two tones; low and high.<ref name=":1"/> Below are some examples of tone minimal pairs:		Like other Tibetic languages, Yolmo has tone, which is located on the first vowel of a word.<ref>Hildebrandt, Kristine A. and Amos B. Teo (2016). Tibeto-Burman Tone Typology. ''International Workshop on the Typological Profiles of Language Families of South Asia''. Uppsala, Sweden, September 16, 2016.</ref> Hari presents a four tone contrast of Melamchi Valley Yolmo; high level, high falling, low level and low falling.<ref name=":15" /> Acoustic evidence from Lamjung Yolmo and Kagate indicates that there is only acoustic evidence for a contrast between two tones; low and high.<ref name=":1"/> Below are some examples of tone minimal pairs:
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 284:		Line 319:
	|‘temple’		|‘temple’
	|}		|}
	Low tone words can be marked with breathy voice, but this is not always the case. Some Roman orthographies indicate low tone with a 'h' following the vowel, which indicates the breathy property of the low tone. The high tone is then left unmarked. In the first example above that would be ''pu'' 'body hair' and ''puh'' 'son'. The complication of this system is that is also a consonant in the language.
			Low tone words can be marked with ], but this is not always the case. The practice of indicating low tone with a 'h' following the vowel in ] is related to this breathy property of low-tone vowels. The high tone, which uses ], is left unmarked.
	Tone is predictable in some environments. It is always high following ] ], aspirated ] and ] ] (which speakers treat as equivalent to aspirated). Examples of all of these include:
			Tone is predictable in some environments. It is always high following ] ], aspirated ] and ] ] (which speakers treat as equivalent to aspirated). Examples of all of these include:
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 316:		Line 353:
	|'god'		|'god'
	|}		|}
	Tone is always low following ] stops, voiced fricatives and voiced affricates. Examples of all of these include:		Tone is always low following ] stops, voiced fricatives and voiced affricates. Examples of all of these include:
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 346:		Line 383:
	|'udder'		|'udder'
	|}		|}
	The only prefixes in the language are the ] prefixes ''mà-'' and ''mè-''. Both have low tone, however if the following root has high tone it will not change tone because of the preceding low suffix.<ref name=":0" />
			On words with more than one syllable the tone is marked on the initial syllable. Subsequent syllables eventually level off. Tone on all words is influenced by prosody, and may become more or less neutralised in running speech.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Teo |first1=Amos |first2=Lauren |last2=Gawne |first3=Melissa |last3=Baese-Berk |title=Tone and intonation: A case study in two Tibetic languages |journal=Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Phonetic Sciences |date=2015 |location=Glasgow, UK |publisher=University of Glasgow |isbn=978-0-85261-941-4 |id=Paper number 0893 |url= http://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/icphs-proceedings/ICPhS2015/Papers/ICPHS0893.pdf}}</ref>
			The only prefixes in the language are the ] prefixes ''mà-'' and ''mè-''. Both have low tone, however if the following root has high tone it will not change tone because of the preceding low suffix.<ref name=":15" />
			There are no morpho-phonemic variations discussed for the language. The only related feature are a small set of verb minimal pairs where transitivity is distinguished by tone:
			:{|
			|-
			|''làŋ''
			|'to rise'
			|-
			|''láŋ''
			|'to raise'
			|-
			|''tàp''
			|'to fall'
			|-
			|''táp''
			|'to be scattered'
			|-
			|''ròp''
			|'to break'
			|-
			|''róp''
			|'to break something'
			|}
	=== Syllable structure ===		=== Syllable structure ===
	Yolmo has the ] (C)(C)V(C).<ref name=":5" /> This means that the minimum a syllable needs is a ]. Syllables can also have up to two consonants before the vowel and one after the vowel.		Yolmo has the ] (C)(C)V(C).<ref name=":5" /> This means that the minimum a syllable needs is a ]. Syllables can also have up to two consonants before the vowel and one after the vowel.
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 381:		Line 443:
	=== Morphophonemic processes ===		=== Morphophonemic processes ===
	There is a regular process by which the suffixes undergo a change depending on the nature of the verb that they are attached to. Suffixes that begin with a ] ], such as the ], the ] or the ]'','' all undergo regular morphophonological processes. If they occur after a syllable with a final sound that is voiced they will also be voiced, if they occur after an unvoiced final sound, or an /r/ the start of the suffix will be unvoiced. The examples below are with the ]'':''		There is a regular process by which the suffixes undergo a change depending on the nature of the verb that they are attached to. Suffixes that begin with a ] ], such as the ], the ] or the ]'','' all undergo regular morphophonological processes. If they occur after a syllable with a final sound that is voiced they will also be voiced, if they occur after an unvoiced final sound, or an /r/ the start of the suffix will be unvoiced. The examples below are with the ]'':''
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 396:		Line 458:
	|chew-{{Smallcaps|non.pst}}		|chew-{{Smallcaps|non.pst}}
	|}		|}
	The only forms that cannot be predicted by this process is if the suffix is after /i/ or /e/, both of which are ]. The voicing cannot be predicted in this context, and the suffix is sometimes voiced and sometimes unvoiced. Below are examples of verbs with both /i/ and /e/:		The only forms that cannot be predicted by this process is if the suffix is after /i/ or /e/, both of which are ]. The voicing cannot be predicted in this context, and the suffix is sometimes voiced and sometimes unvoiced. Below are examples of verbs with both /i/ and /e/:
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 412:		Line 474:
	|}		|}
			There is also a tendency for suffixes that begin with -k/ -g to omit the initial sound after a vowel. This is not as regular a process as the voicing alterations described above. Below are some examples of this process:
	== Word order ==
	Yolmo has the basic word order of ].
			:{| class="wikitable"
	:{|
			|{{interlinear|ŋà{{=}}i|1{{=}}SG{{=}}GEN|'my'}}
	|-
			|{{interlinear|ɖò-en|go-NPST|'go'}}
	| ''ŋà=ki'' || ''tó'' || ''sà-sin''
	|-
	| 1{{Smallcaps|sg-erg}} || rice.cooked || eat-{{Smallcaps|pst}}
	|-
	| colspan= 3 | 'I ate rice'
	|}		|}
			Tappu LAMA
	== Nouns/Nominals ==
	The ] in Yolmo includes either a ] or a ]. The noun phrase with a noun can also include a determiner, adjective and number marker, while the options are more limited with a pronoun or ]. Noun suffixes include case markers, plural marker and numeral classifiers.
			== Nouns/nominals ==
			The ] in Yolmo includes either a ] or a ]. The noun phrase with a noun can also include a ], ] and ], while the options are more limited with a pronoun or ]. Noun suffixes include ], ] and numeral classifiers.
	The order of the noun phrase is (Determiner) '''Noun'''=Plural(-Focus Marker)(=Case) (Numeral Classifier) (Number) (Adjective).<ref name=":5" />		The order of the noun phrase is (Determiner) '''Noun'''=Plural(-Focus Marker)(=Case) (Numeral Classifier) (Number) (Adjective).<ref name=":5" />
	=== Determiners ===		=== Determiners ===
	The Yolmo ] ] is ''dì'' the same as the third person inanimate pronoun 'it/this'. It occurs before the noun:		The Yolmo ] ] is ''dì'' the same as the third person inanimate pronoun 'it/this'. It occurs before the noun:
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|'''dì''' pèza
			|'''DET''' child
			|'The child' (Hari 2010: 31)}}
			The ] is marked using the numeral ''tɕíi'' 'one', which comes after the noun, like other numbers:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|mì '''tɕíi'''
			|person '''one'''
			|'A person' (Hari 2010: 91)}}
			=== Pronouns ===
			Yolmo pronouns are presented in the table below. There is an ] distinction for first person plural pronouns, a ] distinction for third person singular and an ] distinction for third person.
			:{| class="wikitable"
	|-		|-
			! colspan="2" |
	|''dì''||''pèza''
			! Singular
			! Plural
	|-		|-
			! rowspan="2" | 1st person
	|{{Smallcaps|det}}|| child
			! exclusive
			| rowspan="2" | ŋà
			| ɲì
	|-		|-
			! inclusive
	| colspan="2" | 'the child' (Hari 2010: 31)
			| òraŋ/ùu
	|}
	The ] is marked using the numeral ''tɕíi'' 'one', which comes after the noun, as per other numbers:
	:{|
	|-		|-
			! colspan="2" | 2nd person
	|''mì''||''tɕíi''
			| khyé
			| khyá
	|-		|-
			! rowspan="3" | 3rd Person
	| person || one
			! masc.
			| khó
			| rowspan="2" | khúŋ
	|-		|-
			! fem.
	| colspan="2" | 'a person' (Hari 2010: 91)
			| mò
	|}
	=== Pronouns ===
	:{| class="wikitable"
	!
	!Singular
	!Plural
	|-		|-
			! inanimate
	!'''First person'''
			| dì
	|ŋà
			| dìya
	|òraŋ/ùu (inclusive)
	ɲì (exclusive)
	|-		|-
			! colspan="2" | Reflexive
	!'''Second person'''
			| ràŋ
	|khyé
			|
	|khyá
	|-
	!'''Third Person'''
	|(masc.) khó
	(fem.) mò
	(inanimate) dì
	|khúŋ
	(inanimate) dìya
	|-
	!'''Reflexive'''
	|ràŋ
	|
	|}		|}
	The first person plural ''òraŋ'' is more commonly found in the Western dialects of Melamchi and Helambu Valley Yolmo, as well as Lamjung Yolmo, while ''ùu'' is more common in the Eastern dialects. It is possible to create a dual form by adding ''ɲíi'' to the plural form (e.g. khyá ɲíi 'you two'), although this is optional.		The first person plural ''òraŋ'' is more commonly found in the Western dialects of Melamchi and Helambu Valley Yolmo, as well as Lamjung Yolmo, while ''ùu'' is more common in the Eastern dialects. It is possible to create a dual form by adding ''ɲíi'' to the plural form (e.g. ''khyá ɲíi'' 'you two'), although this is optional.
	The third person plural ''khúŋ'' can also be used as a polite form for a single third person.		The third person plural ''khúŋ'' can also be used as a polite form for a single third person.
	Pronouns do not take determiners, number, or adjectives.		Pronouns do not take determiners, number, or adjectives.
	==== Interrogative pronouns ====		==== Interrogative pronouns ====
	] are used to form questions. Yolmo has the following attested interrogative pronouns:		] are used to form questions. Yolmo has the following attested interrogative pronouns:
	:{|		:{|
	|-		|-
Line 512:		Line 576:
	|'how'		|'how'
	|}		|}
	Hari gives both ''kà'' and ''kàla (kà'' with the dative suffix) as forms for 'where' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but only ''kàla'' is attested in Lamjung Yolmo.<ref name=":1" /> There are also a number of forms for 'why', ''tɕípe'' and ''tɕíle'' are attested in both Melamchi Valley Yolmo and Lamjung Yolmo, but only ''tɕí mée'' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo. This is because it uses the verb ''mée'' 'say' as part of the construction, which is not in Lamjung Yolmo (see the section on reported speech, as well as the ]). The ''kànmu'' form of 'how' is attested in Lamjung Yolmo, while ''kànɖu'' is used in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, with an optional ''-mu'' suffix to make ''kànɖu-mu.'' Hari and Lama also note the form ''kànɖu-bar'' in the Western regions.<ref name=":13" />		Hari gives both ''kà'' and ''kàla (kà'' with the dative suffix) as forms for 'where' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but only ''kàla'' is attested in Lamjung Yolmo.<ref name=":1" /> There are also a number of forms for 'why', ''tɕípe'' and ''tɕíle'' are attested in both Melamchi Valley Yolmo and Lamjung Yolmo, but only ''tɕí mée'' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo. This is because it uses the verb ''mée'' 'say' as part of the construction, which is not in Lamjung Yolmo (see the section on ], as well as the ]). The ''kànmu'' form of 'how' is attested in Lamjung Yolmo, while ''kànɖu'' is used in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, with an optional ''-mu'' suffix to make ''kànɖu-mu.'' Hari and Lama also note the form ''kànɖu-bar'' in the Western regions.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=Yohlmo-Nepali-English Dictionary|last1=Hari|first1=Anna Maria|last2=Lama|first2=Chhegu|publisher=Central Department of Linguistics|year=2004|location=Kathmandu|pages=710}}</ref>
	Note that the words ''súgi'' and ''súla'' are complex forms, ''súgi'' is ''sú'' 'who' with the genitive case suffix, and ''súla'' is ''sú'' with the dative case suffix.		Note that the words ''súgi'' and ''súla'' are complex forms, ''súgi'' is ''sú'' 'who' with the genitive case suffix, and ''súla'' is ''sú'' with the dative case suffix.
	For more on the structure of interrogative clauses, see the section on interrogatives.		For more on the structure of interrogative clauses, see the section on ].
	=== Proper Nouns ===		=== Proper nouns ===
	Proper nouns include people's names, place names and the names of deities. They do not take determiners, number, or adjectives.		Proper nouns include people's names, place names and the names of deities. They do not take determiners, number, or adjectives.
	=== Plural ===		=== Plural ===
	The ] marker in Melamchi and Lamjung Yolmo is ''=ya''.The plural is treated as a ] as it occurs after an ] if there is one:		The ] marker in Melamchi and Lamjung Yolmo is ''=ya''. The plural is treated as a ] as it occurs after an ] if there is one, rather than always attaching directly to the noun:
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
	|''kháŋba''||''tɕímbu''||''tɕhímbu=ya''		|kháŋba tɕímbu tɕhímbu{{=}}'''ya'''
			|house big big{{=}}'''PL'''
	|-
			|'The big houses' (Hari 2010: 28)}}
	| house || big || big-{{Smallcaps|pl}}
	|-
			Plural marking is optional if an overt number is used with the noun, or if the number is clear from context:
	| colspan="3" | 'the big houses' (Hari 2010: 28)
	|}
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	Plural marking is optional if an overt number is used with the noun, or if the number is clear from context:
			|pèmpiʑa '''súm''' dù
	:{|
			|women '''three''' COP.PE
	|-
			|'There are three women' (Gawne 2016: 55)}}
	|''pèmpiʑa'' ||''súm'' ||''dù''
	|-
			The plural form in Syuba is =''kya'',<ref name=":9" /> which is more similar to the Kyirong form,<ref name=":16" /> suggesting the Yolmo ''=ya'' is an innovation.
	| women || three ||{{Smallcaps|cop.pe}}
	|-
	| colspan="3" | 'there are three women' (Gawne 2016: 55)
	|}
	The plural form in Syuba is =''kya'', which is more similar to the Kyirong form, suggesting the Yolmo ''=ya'' is an innovation.
	=== Focus marker ===		=== Focus marker ===
	Yolmo has a nominal focus marker ''-ti''. The focus marker gives prominence to the noun it is attached to. In the example below, the older brother is singled out, contrasted with other relatives who perhaps did not obtain such wealth:		Yolmo has a nominal focus marker ''-ti''. The focus marker gives prominence to the noun it is attached to. In the example below, the older brother is singled out, contrasted with other relatives who perhaps did not obtain such wealth:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|áda-'''di''' ɲìma ɲèdzen tɕhúkpu kàl-di oŋ-sin dù
	|-
			|older.brother-'''FOC''' day every rich went-PFV come-PST AUX.PE
	|''áda-'''di'''''
			|'The older brother became richer every day.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 271)}}
	|''ɲìma''
	|''ɲèdzen''
			Hari also notes for Melamchi Valley Yolmo that there is a focus marker ''-ka'', which is used specifically to mark something as contrary to expectation.
	|''tɕhúkpu''
	|''kàl-di''
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|''oŋ-sin''
			|kháŋba tɕhímbu tɕhímbu{{=}}ya-la-'''ga''' tè-ku dù
	|''dù''
			|house big big{{=}}PL-LOC-'''FOC''' reside-IPFV AUX.PE
	|-
			|'I realize that they are living in big houses.' (Hari 2010: 27)}}
	| older.brother{{Smallcaps|1=-foc}}|| day ||every
	|rich
	|went-{{Smallcaps|pfv}}
	|come-{{Smallcaps|pst}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop.pe}}
	|-
	| colspan="7" | 'The older brother became richer every day.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 271)
	|}
	Hari also notes for Melamchi Valley Yolmo that there is a focus marker ''-ka'', which is used specifically to mark something as contrary to expectation.
	:{|
	|-
	|''kháŋba''
	|''tɕhímbu''
	|''tɕhímbu-ya-la-'''ga'''''
	|''<nowiki/>'teh-ku''
	|''dù''
	|-
	| house||big
	|big-{{Smallcaps|pl-loc-foc}}
	|reside-{{Smallcaps|ipfv}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop.pe}}
	|-
	| colspan="5" | 'I realize that they are living in big houses' (Hari 2010: 27)
	|}
	Nouns can also take the emphatic suffixes ''-ni'' and ''-raŋ'', which are also used for other parts of speech (see ]).		Nouns can also take the emphatic suffixes ''-ni'' and ''-raŋ'', which are also used for other parts of speech (see section on ]).
	=== Case marking ===		=== Case marking ===
	Yolmo uses ] suffixes to mark the ] of nouns. Similar to other Tibetic languages, Yolmo uses a single case form for multiple functions. Clitics come at the end of the whole noun phrase, rather than directly attaching to only the noun, which is why they are treated as ]. Below the cases are listed with their functions:		Yolmo uses ] suffixes to mark the ] of nouns. Similar to other ] languages, Yolmo uses a single case form for multiple functions. Case marking is treated as a ], as clitics come at the end of the whole noun phrase, rather than directly attaching to only the noun. Below the cases are listed with their functions.
	:{| class="wikitable"		:{| class="wikitable"
	!Case marker		!Case marker
Line 589:		Line 626:
	|-		|-
	|=ki		|=ki
	|], ], ]		|], ], ]
	|-		|-
	|=la		|=la
	|], ], ]		|], ], ]
	|-		|-
	|=le(gi)		|=le(gi)
	|]		|]
	|}		|}
	The case markers are phonologically bound, with the =''ki'' form becoming voiced in some environments, it is also reduced to =''i'' in some environments.		The case markers are phonologically bound, with the =''ki'' form becoming voiced in some environments, it is also reduced to =''i'' in some environments. See the section on ] for more on this.
	Where there is also a plural the case marker comes after the plural, as in the example below:		Where there is also a plural the case marker comes after the plural, as in the example below:
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
	|''tɕàmu=ya=gi''		|tɕàmu{{=}}ya{{=}}'''gi''' kòŋa tɕú thál kyée dù
			|hen{{=}}PL{{=}}'''ERG''' egg ten NUM.CLF lay COP.PE
	|''kòŋa''
			|'The hens laid ten eggs' (Hari 2010: 23)}}
	|''tɕu''
	|''thál''
	|''kyée''
	|''dù''
	|-
	| hen{{Smallcaps|1==pl=erg}}|| egg ||ten
	|{{Smallcaps|num.clf}}
	|lay
	|{{Smallcaps|cop.pe}}
	|-
	| colspan="6" | 'the hens laid ten eggs' (Hari 2010: 23)
	|}
	==== Ergative case ====		==== Ergative case ====
	Yolmo has optional ] case-marking. Ergative marking means that ] of ] are unmarked, the same as ] of ]. Subjects of transitive verbs are distinguistshed from both of these with the ''=ki'' marker (in contrast with ] languages like English, where the subjects of both intransitive and transitive verbs are marked in contrast with objects of transitive verbs).		Yolmo has optional ] case-marking. Ergative marking means that ] of ] are unmarked, the same as ] of ]. Subjects of transitive verbs are distinguished from both of these with the ''=ki'' marker (in contrast to ] languages like English, where the subjects of both intransitive and transitive verbs are marked in contrast with objects of transitive verbs).
	Below is an intransitive sentence, with the subject ''ŋà'' taking no marking:		Below is an intransitive sentence, with the subject ''ŋà'' taking no marking:
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà ŋù-sin
			|1SG cry-PST
			|'I cried'}}
			In contrast with this ergative-marked transitive, where the subject ''ŋà'' is marked with the ergative:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà{{=}}'''gi''' ɕò úp-sin
			|1SG{{=}}'''ERG''' yoghurt cover-PST
			|'I covered the yoghurt' (Hari 2010: 39)}}
			Speakers do not always use the ergative case, which is why it is considered 'optional':
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà tó sà-ke
			|1SG rice.cooked eat-NPST
			|'I eat rice' (Gawne 2016: 69)}}
			Ergative marking is more common for ], and non-] actions. There also appears to be some effect of animacy, and the ergative appears to be used as a strategy in discourse to mark ].<ref>{{harvp|Gawne|2016|pages=66–68}}</ref> This form of optional ergativity is common across the Tibeto-Burman family.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chelliah|first1=Shobhana L.|last2=Hyslop|first2=Gwendolyn|date=2011|title=Introduction to Special Issue on Optional Case Marking in Tibeto-Burman|journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area|volume=34|issue=2|pages=1–7|doi=10.15144/LTBA-34.2.1}}</ref>
			==== Dative case ====
			] is typically used to indicate, broadly, the noun to which something is given. The Yolmo dative has this function, but it also has a function in 'dative subject' constructions. The dative subject occurs with a small set of ], and denote personal, and usually internal, states.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà{{=}}'''la''' hé kà-en
			|1SG{{=}}'''DAT''' potatoes like-NPST
			|'I like potatoes.' (Hari 2010: 42)}}
			The use of dative subjects is common in languages of this area, and is also ].
			=== Number ===
			Yolmo has a base-20 counting system.<ref name=":13" /> As can be seen in the examples above, ] can be used in noun phrases.
			The Yolmo number system is very similar to that of Standard Tibetan and other Tibetan varieties. In the table below is the Yolmo number, taken from Hari's dictionary.<ref name=":3" />
			{| class="wikitable"
			!Yolmo
			!English
			!
			!Yolmo
			!English
			!
			!Yolmo
			!English
	|-		|-
			|tɕíi
	|''ŋà''
			|1
	|''ŋù-sin''
			|
			|khál tɕíi tɕíi
			|21
			|
			|ʑìpkha
			|400
	|-		|-
			|ɲíi
	|{{Smallcaps|1=1sg}}||cry-{{Smallcaps|pst}}
			|2
			|
			|khál tɕíi ɲíi
			|22
			|
			|ŋápkya
			|500
	|-		|-
			|súm
	| colspan="2" | 'I cried'
	|}		|3
			|
	In contrast with this ergative-marked transitive, where the subject ''ŋà'' is marked with the ergative:
			|khál tɕíi súm
	:{|
			|23
			|
			|ʈùpkya
			|600
	|-		|-
			|ʑì
	|''ŋà='''gi'''''
			|4
	|''ɕò''
			|
	|''úp-sin''
			|khál tɕíi ʑì
			|24
			|
			|tìngya
			|700
	|-		|-
			|ŋá
	|{{Smallcaps|1=1sg=erg}}|| yoghurt ||cover-{{Smallcaps|pst}}
			|5
			|
			|khál tɕíi ŋá
			|25
			|
			|kyèkya
			|800
	|-		|-
			|ʈùu
	| colspan="3" | 'I covered the yoghurt' (Hari 2010: 39)
	|}		|6
			|
	Speakers do not always use the ergative case:
			|khál tɕíi ʈúu
	:{|
			|26
			|
			|kùpkya
			|900
	|-		|-
			|tìn
	|''ŋà''||''tó''||''sà-ke''
			|7
			|
			|kál tɕíi tìn
			|27
			|
			|tóŋra
			|1000
	|-		|-
			|kyèe
	| 1{{Smallcaps|sg}}|| rice.cooked || eat-{{Smallcaps|non.pst}}
			|8
			|
			|khál tɕíi kyèe
			|28
			|
			|
			|
	|-		|-
			|kù
	| colspan="3" | 'I eat rice' (Gawne 2016: 69)
	|}		|9
			|
			|khál tɕíi kù
	Ergative marking is more common for ], non-] actions. There also appears to be some effect of animacy, and a appears to be used as a strategy in discourse to mark ].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/961180469|title=A sketch grammar of Lamjung Yolmo|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|publisher=Asia Pacific Linguistics|others=|year=2016|isbn=9781922185341|location=Canberra|pages=66-68|oclc=961180469}}</ref> This form of optional ergativity is common across the Tibeto-Burman family.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chelliah|first=Shobhana L.|last2=Hyslop|first2=Gwendolyn|date=2011|title=Introduction to Special Issue on Optional Case Marking in Tibeto-Burman|url=|journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area|volume=34(2)|pages=1-7|via=}}</ref>
			|29
			|
	==== Dative case ====
			|
	] is typically used to indicate, broadly, the noun to which something is given. The Yolmo dative has this function, but it also has a function in 'dative subject' constructions. The dative subject occurs with a small set of ], and denote personal, and usually internal, states.
			|
	{|
	|-		|-
			|tɕú
	|''ŋà-'''la'''''||hé||''kà-en''
			|10
			|
			|khál tɕíi tɕú
			|30
			|
			|
			|
	|-		|-
			|tɕúuʑi
	| 1{{Smallcaps|sg-dat}}|| potatos || like{{Smallcaps|-non.pst}}
			|11
			|
			|khál ɲíi
			|40
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|tɕíŋii
			|12
			|
			|khál tɕú
			|50
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|tɕúusum
			|13
			|
			|khál súm
			|60
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|tɕúpɕi
			|14
			|
			|khál súm tɕú
			|70
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|tɕéeŋa
			|15
			|
			|khál ʑì
			|80
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|tɕíiru
			|16
			|
			|khál ʑì tɕú
			|90
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|tɕúptin
			|17
			|
			|khál ŋá
			|100
			|
			|
			|
	|-		|-
			|tɕápkye
	| colspan="3" | 'I like potatos.' (Hari 2010: 42)
	|}		|18
			|
	The use of dative subjects is common in languages of this area, and is also ].
			|khál tìn tɕú
			|150
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|tɕúrku
			|19
			|
			|khál tɕú
			|200
			|
			|
			|
			|-
			|khál ɕíi
			|20
			|
			|khál tɕéeŋa
			|300
			|
			|
			|
			|}In Lamjung Yolmo, the base-20 system is only used by a small number of older speakers, with others using a base-10 system. For example, 'twenty' is ''ɲídʑu'', 'thirty' is ''súmdʑu'', 'forty' is ''ɕíptɕu'', etc. Even then, once people reach 20 the usually switch to counting in Nepali.<ref name=":5" />
			Ordinal numbers are formed by addition of the suffix ''-pa'', or alternatively with the suffix ''-pu'' for ordinals relating to people, in Melamchi Yolmo. Ordinals are typically only formed up to 20.
	=== Number ===
	As can be seen in the examples above, ] can be used in noun phrases. A list of numbers in Yolmo is given in the section on ] below.
	==== Numeral classifiers ====		==== Numeral classifiers ====
	Yolmo also has an optional ] ''thál''. This is used to emphasise number. In the example above, the speaker is emphasising that the hens laid a large number of eggs.		Yolmo also has an optional ] ''thál''. This is used to emphasise number. In the example in the ] above, the speaker is emphasising that the hens laid a large number of eggs.
	Lamjung Yolmo also has the classifier ''mènda'' which can only be used with humans.<ref name=":5" />		Lamjung Yolmo also has the classifier ''mènda'' which can only be used with humans.<ref name=":5" />
	=== Adjectives ===		=== Adjectives ===
			] occur within the ]. Adjectives usually come after the noun so 'small child' would be ''pìʑa tɕháme'' (lit. 'child small'). Adjectives can also occur before the noun, especially in casual speech.<ref name=":5" /> Many adjectives are derived from verb forms, and often end with ''-pu, -po, -pa'' or ''-mu'', but they do not act as verbs, as we see in languages like Magar and Manage.<ref>Genetti, C. and K.A. Hildebrandt. 2004. The two adjective classes in Manange. In R.M.W. Dixon and A.Y. Aikhenvald (eds.) Adjective Classes: A Cross-Linguistic Typology. 74-97. Oxford University Press.</ref> Hari also notes that there are some adjectives that appear to not have a known verbal origin.<ref name=":04" /> Adjectives can occur as the head of a noun phrase, but this is very uncommon.
	] occur within the ]. Adjectives usually come after the noun so 'small child' would be ''pìʑa tɕháme'' (lit. 'child small').
			{| class="wikitable"
			|-
	Adjectives can also occur before the noun, especially in casual speech.<ref name=":5" />
			|''tɕhómbo''
			|'big'
			|-
			|''rìŋbu''
			|'long'
			|-
			|''màrmu, màrpu''
			|'red'
			|-
			|''kárpu, kármu''
			|'white'
			|-
			|''dzìba''
			|'afraid'
			|-
			|''ʈòmbo''
			|'warm'
			|}
			It is possible to create a new adjective from a verb, using the ''-pa'' ] suffix. The verb stem is often reduplicated; ''rùl-'' 'to rot' becomes ''rùl rùlba'' 'rotten' and ''pàŋ-'' 'to be wet' becomes ''pàŋ pàŋba'' 'wet'.<ref name=":5" />
	== Verbs ==		== Verbs ==
	There are three main types of verbs in Yolmo, lexical verbs, auxiliary verbs and copula verbs. The lexical verbs inflect for tense, aspect, mood and evidence and can take negation. The infinitive form of verbs takes the suffix -''tɕe.'' The infinitive is used in a number of constructions, including the ].		There are three main types of verbs in Yolmo, ], ] and ]. The lexical verbs inflect for ], ], ] and ] and can take ]. The ] form of verbs takes the suffix -''tɕe.'' The infinitive is used in a number of constructions, including the ] and ].
	=== Copula verbs ===		=== Copula verbs ===
	The copula verbs and their functions are given in the table below. Copulas are not inflected for person, number or politeness level and many do not distinguish tense:<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Gawne">{{cite journal|last1=Gawne|first1=Lauren|title=Report on the relationship between Yolmo and Kagate|journal=Himalayan Linguistics|date=2013|volume= 12 |issue= 2|pages=1–27|url=http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/HimalayanLinguistics/articles/2013/PDF/HLJ1202A.pdf}}</ref>		The copula verbs and their functions are given in the table below. Copulas are not inflected for person, number or politeness level and many do not distinguish tense:<ref name=":15" /><ref name="Gawne">{{cite journal|last1=Gawne|first1=Lauren|title=Report on the relationship between Yolmo and Kagate|journal=Himalayan Linguistics|date=2013|volume= 12 |issue= 2|pages=1–27|url=http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/HimalayanLinguistics/articles/2013/PDF/HLJ1202A.pdf|doi=10.5070/h912223716|s2cid=60243555 }}</ref>
	:{| class="wikitable"		::{| class="wikitable"
	!		!
	!Egophoric		!Egophoric
Line 692:		Line 918:
	|-		|-
	!Equation		!Equation
	|yìn/yìngen/yìmba		|''yìn/yìngen/yìmba''
	|yìnɖo		|''yìnɖo''
			| rowspan="2" |''dù''
	|
			''dùba''
	|		|
	|-		|-
	!Existential		!Existential
	|yè/yèba		|''yè/yèba''
	yèken/yèba (past tense)
	|yèʈo
	|dù
			''yèken/yèba'' (past tense)
	dùba
			|''yèʈo''
	|òŋge
			|''òŋgen/òŋge''
	|}		|}
	Equation copulas are used to link to noun phrases, while existential copulas are used for functions of existence, location, attribution and possession.<ref name="Gawne"/> The ] and ] are evidential distinctions, while the dubitative is used for reduced certainty. The general fact form is used for uncontroversial and universally known facts. Different varieties of Yolmo prefer different forms of the egophoric as the default; In Helambu they prefer ''yìn'', in Lamjung ''yìmba'' and Ilam ''yìŋge''. ''yèken/yèba'' are past tense forms of the existential. Some copula verbs can also be used as verbal auxiliaries, where they contribute evidential, tense or epistemic information.
			Equation copulas are used to link two noun phrases, while existential copulas are used for functions of existence, location, attribution and possession.<ref name="Gawne"/> Hari describes the forms that end in ''-pa'' (voiced in this environment so they become ''-ba)'' as more emphatic, unlike lexical verbs with a ''-pa'' suffix they do not indicate ], and are not used exclusively in ].<ref name=":15" />
			Some copula verbs can also be used as verbal auxiliaries, particularly in constructions ], where they contribute evidential, tense or epistemic information. The negative forms of each copula are given in the section on ].
			Below the different ] and ] functions of each copula type are discussed.
			==== Egophoric ====
			The ], or personal,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2017-01-24|editor-last=Gawne|editor-first=Lauren|editor2-last=Hill|editor2-first=Nathan W|title=Egophoric evidentiality in Bodish languages|journal=Evidential Systems of Tibetan Languages|language=en|pages=61–94|doi=10.1515/9783110473742|isbn=9783110473742}}</ref> is used to indicate that the speaker has personal knowledge about the information. In the example below, the speaker would not be reading the name of the book, but already know the name as they show it to someone else:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|òo tɕhée{{=}}gi mìn gyàldzen tsému púŋgyen má-ẽ '''yìmba'''
			|that book{{=}}GEN name gyaldzen tsemu puŋgyen say-NPST '''COP.EGO'''
			|'This book is called 'Gyaldzen Tsemu Punggyen.' (Hari 2010: 66)}}
			Unlike in Standard Tibetan,<ref>{{cite book |last=Tournadre |first=N. |year=2008 |chapter=Arguments against the Concept of ‘Conjunct’/‘Disjunct’ in Tibetan |title=Chomolangma, Demawend und Kasbek. Festschrift für Roland Bielmeier zu seinem 65. Geburtstag |editor1=B. Huber |editor2=M. Volkart |editor3=P. Widmer |editor4=P. Schwieger |volume=1 |pages=281–308 |chapter-url=http://tournadre.nicolas.free.fr/fichiers/2008-Conjunct.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720224934/http://tournadre.nicolas.free.fr/fichiers/2008-Conjunct.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the speaker does not need to be personally close to an individual to use the egophoric while talking about them.
			Different varieties of Yolmo prefer different forms of the egophoric as the default; In Helambu they prefer ''yìn'', in Lamjung ''yìmba'' and Ilam ''yìŋge''. ''yèken'' is past tense forms of the existential (''yèke'' in Lamjung), with the form ''yèba'' also often used in past tense structures, as well as questions. The past form cannot be further decomposed, as the form ''-ken/-ke'' is the ] for lexical verbs.
			There are some structures where the egophoric is used as the default, such as ].
			==== Dubitative ====
			Unlike the other copulas, which mark evidential distinctions, the dubitative copulas are epistemic forms used for reduced certainty. They are related to the ] for lexical verbs. In the example below, the speaker does not have any direct evidence that Rijan is in the house, but thinks that is where he might be:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|rídʑan khím{{=}}la '''yèʈo'''
			|Rijan house{{=}}DAT '''COP.DUB'''
			|'Rijan is probably in the house.' (Gawne 2016: 88)}}
			==== Perceptual ====
			The perceptual, or sensory, evidential is used to mark information acquired through direct sensory evidence, either through sight, one of the other ], or internal state (such as feeling an ache).
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|dèla ʈháa '''dù'''
			|here blood '''COP.PE'''
			|'I see there is some blood here.' (Hari 2010: 60)}}
			Hari calls the perceptual forms ], as indicating knowledge through sense often occurs for information recently acquired. Only the ''dùba'' form, with the emphatic suffix ''-pa'', appears to indicate some amount of surprise or counter-expectation.
			==== General fact ====
			The general fact form is used for uncontroversial and universally known facts. This verb is used in functions of existence, location, attribution and possession, and is not used in equational structures.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ɲì yùl{{=}}gi hé ɕìmbu '''òŋgen'''
			|2PL.EX village{{=}}GEN potato tasty '''COP.DUB'''
			|'The potatoes of our village are tasty.' (Hari 2010: 52)}}
			The form is ''òŋgen'' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo and ''òŋge'' in Lamjung Yolmo, demonstrating a link with the ]. The verb itself is from the lexical verb ''òŋ-'' 'come'. It cannot be used for facts about the past. This copula is not attested in ] or any other Tibetic language outside of Yolmo.
	=== Lexical verb stems ===		=== Lexical verb stems ===
	The Melamchi and Helambu Valley varieties of Yolmo exhibit verb stem alterations in the context of some verb structures.		The Melamchi Valley variety of Yolmo exhibit verb stem alterations in the context of some verb structures.
			Verb stems with short front vowels have their vowels lengthened (e.g. /i/→/ii/), short back vowels are fronted and lengthened (e.g. /o/ and /a/→/ee/, /u/→/i/). These changes occur mostly with ] structures and ]. Below are some examples of this alternation using the verb ''má-'' 'say':
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà '''má'''-ke
			|1SG '''say'''-NPST
			|'I say' (Hari 2010: 35)}}
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà '''mée'''-di yè
			|1SG '''say'''-PFV AUX.EGO
			|'I have said' (Hari 2010: 35)}}
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|'''mée'''-doŋ
			|'''say'''-IMP
			|'say it!' (Hari 2010: 35)}}
	Verb stems with short front vowels have their vowels lengthened (e.g. /i/→/ii/), short back vowels are fronted and lengthened (e.g. /o/ or /a/→/ee/, /u/→/i/). These changes occur mostly with perfective structures and imperatives. Below are some examples of this alternation using the verb ''má-'' 'say':
	:{|
	|-
	|''ŋà''||'''''má'''-ke''
	|-
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|say-{{sc|non.pst}}
	|-
	| colspan="2" |'I say'
	|}
	:{|
	|-
	|''ŋà''||'''''mée'''-di yè''
	|-
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|say-{{sc|pfv cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="2" |'I have said'
	|}
	:{|
	|-
	|'''''mée'''-doŋ''
	|-
	|say-{{sc|imp}}
	|-
	|'say it!'
	|}
	When these structures are negated, the negative prefix is lengthened rather than the verb stem, which maintains the vowel change (this does not occur in the imperative).		When these structures are negated, the negative prefix is lengthened rather than the verb stem, which maintains the vowel change (this does not occur in the imperative).
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
	|''ŋà''||'''''màa-'''mé yè''		|ŋà '''màa'''-mé yè
			|1SG say-PFV AUX.EGO
	|-
			|'I have not said' (Hari 2010: 35)}}
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|say-{{sc|pfv cop}}
			These alterations do not occur in Lamjung Yolmo<ref name=":5" /> or Syuba.<ref name="Gawne" />
	|-
	| colspan="2" |'I have not said'
	|}
	These alterations do not occur in Lamjung Yolmo<ref name=":5" /> or Syuba.<ref name=":2" />
	=== Auxiliary verbs ===		=== Auxiliary verbs ===
	There is a small set of auxiliary verbs in Yolmo. The auxiliary ''tè''- is the same as the lexical verb ''tè''- 'sit' and is used to add imperfective aspect:<ref name=":0"/>		There is a small set of auxiliary verbs in Yolmo. The auxiliary ''tè''- is the same as the lexical verb ''tè''- 'sit' and is used to add imperfective aspect:<ref name=":15" />
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|mò sà '''tè'''-ku dù
	|-
	| ''mò'' || ''sà'' || '''''tè'''-ku'' || ''dù''		|she eat '''AUX'''-IPFV AUX.PE
			|'she is eating'}}
	|-
	| she || eat || '''{{Smallcaps|aux}}'''{{Smallcaps|-ipvf}} || {{sc|aux}}
	|-
	| colspan=4 | 'she is eating'
	|}
	A subset of the copulas can also be used as verbal auxiliaries; ''yìn, yè, yèken ''and'' dù''. These contribute evidential information and for ''yè/yèken'' also some tense information. As you can see in the example above the dù copula is being used as an auxiliary, so they can co-occur with the other auxiliaries.		A subset of the copulas can also be used as verbal auxiliaries; ''yìn, yè, yèken ''and'' dù''. These contribute evidential information and for {{transliteration|scp|yè/yèken}} also some tense information. As you can see in the example above the ''dù'' copula is being used as an auxiliary, so they can co-occur with the other auxiliaries.
	=== Tense ===		=== Tense ===
	Yolmo has a major tense distinction between past and non-past. These are marked with suffixes on the lexical verb, ''-sin ''is the past tense marker and -''ke'' or -''ken ''is the non-past marker.<ref name=":0"/>		Yolmo has a major tense distinction between past and non-past. These are marked with suffixes on the lexical verb, ''-sin ''is the past tense marker and -''ke'' or -''ken ''is the non-past marker.<ref name=":15" />
	==== Past Tense ====		==== Past tense ====
	The past tense form is ''-sin.''		The past tense form is ''-sin.''
	:{|
	|-
	|''ŋà=gi''||''ɕò''||''úp-'''sin'''.''
	|-
	| 1{{Smallcaps|1=sg=erg}}|| yoghurt || cover'''{{Smallcaps|-pst}}'''
	|-
	| colspan="3" | 'I covered up the yoghurt.' (Hari 2010: 23)
	|}
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	Melamchi Valley Yolmo also has a past tense for ''-kyo'' that Hari refers to as the 'main-point past/ telling past’,<ref name=":0" /> this form is not found in Lamjung Yolmo.
			|ŋà{{=}}gi ɕò úp-'''sin'''.
			|1SG{{=}}ERG yoghurt cover-'''PST'''
			|'I covered up the yoghurt.' (Hari 2010: 23)}}
			The past tense form ''-sin'' can also occur with the ] ''dú'' in an auxiliary position. This is not possible with the non-past tense suffix, nor can any other copula be used as an auxiliary with the past tense suffix. Hari suggests this structure is inferential, in that the speaker did not have to witness the event,<ref name=":15" /> Gawne describes it as 'narrative past'.<ref name=":5" />
	There is also the form ''-pa'', which Hari says is always used in ]. In Lamjung Yolmo there are some examples where it is used in declaratives rather than questions.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|tɕhú-kúla tshúr gyùr-'''sin''' '''dù'''
			|{water channel} this.side change-'''PST''' '''AUX.PE'''
			|'I see, the water channel has changed course to this side.' (Hari 2010: 45)}}
			Melamchi Valley Yolmo also has a past tense form ''-kyo'' that Hari refers to as the 'main-point past/ telling past’,<ref name=":15" /> this form is not found in Lamjung Yolmo.
			There is also the form ''-pa'', which Hari says is always used in ]. In Lamjung Yolmo there are some examples where it is used in declaratives rather than questions, with a past-tense meaning.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà tɕhám-'''pa'''
			|1SG dance-'''PST'''
			|'I danced.' (Gawne 2016: 107)}}
			==== Non-past tense ====
			The non-past tense is used for both present and future constructions. Hari gives the forms ''-ke'' and -''ken ''for Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but only ''-ke'' is attested in Lamjung Yolmo.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà{{=}}'''la''' hé kà-'''en'''
			|1SG{{=}}'''DAT''' potatoes like-'''NPST'''
			|'I like potatoes.' (Hari 2010: 42)}}
	{|
	|-
	|''ŋà''||''tɕhám'''-pa'''''
	|-
	| 1{{Smallcaps|sg}}|| cover'''{{Smallcaps|-pst}}'''
	|-
	| colspan="2" | 'I danced.' (Gawne 2016: 107)
	|}
	==== Non-past Tense ====
	The non-past tense is used for both present and future constructions. Hari gives the forms ''-ke'' and -''ken ''for Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but only ''-ke'' is attested in Lamjung Yolmo.
	:{|
	|-
	|''ŋà-la''||hé||''kà-'''en'''''
	|-
	| 1{{Smallcaps|sg-dat}}|| potatos || like'''{{Smallcaps|-non.pst}}'''
	|-
	| colspan="3" | 'I like potatos.' (Hari 2010: 42)
	|}
	Hari refers to this form as the 'intentional present' but it can also be used in future constructions:		Hari refers to this form as the 'intentional present' but it can also be used in future constructions:
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|dì kyée-di ɲì-ti pèza ɕi ɖò-'''en'''
	|''dì''||''kyée-di''
			|this be.born-PERF 2PL-EMPH child four go-'''NPST'''
	|''ɲì-ti''
			|'After this one is born we will have four children.' (Hari 2010: 53)}}
	|''pèza''
	|''ɕi''
	|''ɖò-'''en'''''
	|-
	|this
	| be.born{{Smallcaps|-perf}}|| 2{{Smallcaps|pl-emph}}
	|child
	|four
	|go-'''{{Smallcaps|non.pst}}'''
	|-
	| colspan="6" | 'After this one is born we will have four children.' (Hari 2010: 53)
	|}
	=== Aspect ===		=== Aspect ===
	There are a number of verb suffixes that are used to mark aspect, these broadly fall into categories of ] and ], as well as ]. When an aspect form is used, a ] is also used.		There are a number of verb suffixes that are used to mark aspect, these broadly fall into categories of ] and ], as well as ]. When an aspect form is used, a ] is also used.
	==== Imperfective ====		==== Imperfective ====
	The imperfective is used for events that are ongoing or not complete. The ''-ku'' suffix is attested in both Melamchi Valley and Lamjung Yolmo. It can only be used with the ''dù'' ].		The imperfective is used for events that are ongoing or not complete. The ''-ku'' suffix is attested in both Melamchi Valley and Lamjung Yolmo. It can only be used with the ''dù'' ].
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|tìriŋ {kháwa là} thóŋ-'''gu''' dù
	|-
			|today {snow mountains} be.seen-IPFV AUX.PE
	|''tìriŋ''
			|'Today the snow mountains can be seen.' (Hari 2010: 43)}}
	|''kháwa là''
	|''thóŋ-'''gu'''''
	|''dù''
	|-
	|today
	| snow mountains|| be.seen{{Smallcaps|-impf}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="4" | 'today the snow mountains can be seen.' (Hari 2010: 43)
	|}
	The imperfective form -''teraŋ'' can be used with either the ''dù'' or ''yè'' ]. In Lumjung Yolmo some speakers pronounce it as ''-tiraŋ.''<ref name=":5" /> Hari refers to the -''teraŋ'' construction as the 'perfect continuous aspect', because it can be used to refer to something that was ongoing until a particular point, as per this first example:		The imperfective form -''teraŋ'' can be used with either the ''dù'' or ''yè'' ]. In Lumjung Yolmo some speakers pronounce it as ''-tiraŋ.''<ref name=":5" /> Hari refers to the -''teraŋ'' construction as the 'perfect continuous aspect', because it can be used to refer to something that was ongoing until a particular point, as per this first example:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|tànda sámma-ni ɖìbu tér-'''teraŋ''' yè
	|-
			|now until-FOC money give-'''IPFV''' AUX.EGO
	|''tànda''
			|'Up to now he has been giving money.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 278)}}
	|''samma-ni''
	|''ɖìbu''
	|''tér-'''teraŋ'''''
	|''yè''
	|-
	|now
	| until{{Smallcaps|-foc}}|| money
	|give{{Smallcaps|-impf}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="5" | 'Up to now he has been giving money.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 278)
	|}
	Gawne describes it as an imperfective, as it does not appear to have this perfect aspect function in Lamjung Yolmo, as per this second example:		Gawne describes it as an imperfective, as it does not appear to have this perfect aspect function in Lamjung Yolmo, as per this example:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|mò kòlela tè-'''teraŋ''' dù
	|-
			|3SG.F slowly sit-'''IPFV''' AUX.PE
	|''mò''
			|'She is slowly sitting down.' (Gawne 2016: 109)}}
	|''kòlela''
	|''tè-'''teraŋ'''''
	|''dù''
	|-
	|3{{Smallcaps|sg.f}}
	| slowly|| sit{{Smallcaps|-impf}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="4" | 'she is slowly sitting down.' (Gawne 2016: 109)
	|}
	The ] can also be used to mark an imperfective construction. Neither ''-ku'' nor -''teraŋ'' are used if the negative prefix is on the main verb. The auxiliary verb can be used in negative constructions, and takes the negative prefix, rather than the main verb. In the example below, the -''teraŋ'' imperfective is used as the negative prefix is on the auxiliary:		The ] can also be used to mark an imperfective construction. Neither ''-ku'' nor -''teraŋ'' are used if the negative prefix is on the main verb. The auxiliary verb can be used in negative constructions, and takes the negative prefix, rather than the main verb. In the example below, the -''teraŋ'' imperfective is used as the negative prefix is on the auxiliary:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà lèn-'''diraŋ''' mà-tè yè
			|1SG sing-'''IPFV''' NEG.PST-AUX AUX.EGO
			|'I was not singing.' (Gawne 2016: 111)}}
	:{|
	|-
	|''ŋà''
	|''lèn-diraŋ''
	|''mà-'''tè'''''
	|''yè''
	|-
	|1{{Smallcaps|sg}}
	| sing{{Smallcaps|-impf}}||{{Smallcaps|neg.pst-aux}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="4" | 'I was not singing.' (Gawne 2016: 111)
	|}
	==== Perfective ====		==== Perfective ====
	The ] suffix is used for events that can be described as whole, without reference to the duration in the way we say with the imperfective. The perfective form in Yolmo is ''-ti.''		The ] suffix is used for events that can be described as whole, without reference to the duration like the imperfective. The perfective form in Yolmo is ''-ti.''
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|mèŋgaŋ-la-ni thóola tɕhám tɕhímbu káp-'''ti''' yè
	|-
			|cooking.shed-LOC-FOC above board large cover-'''PFV''' AUX.EGO
	|''mèŋgaŋ-la-ni''
			|'The cooking shed was covered with large boards.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 270)}}
	|''thóola''
	|''tɕhám''
	|''tɕhímbu''
	|''káp-ti''
	|''yè''
	|-
	|cooking.shed{{Smallcaps|-loc-foc}}
	| above|| board
	|large
	|cover{{Smallcaps|-pfv}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="6" | 'The cooking shed was covered with large boards.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 270)
	|}
	Mutliple verbs with perfective aspect can be used together to create a ] structure. It is distinct from the nominal focus suffix ''-ti.''		Multiple verbs with perfective aspect can be used together to create a ] structure. It is distinct from the ] ''-ti.''
	==== Habitual ====		==== Habitual ====
	] marks that an event is usual, customary or frequent. There is no specific habitual aspect suffix for Yolmo. Speakers will either use a verb with an infinitive, or with no suffix.		] marks that an event is usual, customary or frequent. There is no specific habitual aspect suffix for Yolmo. Speakers will either use a verb with an infinitive, or with no suffix.
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|ŋà ɲìma ʈàŋmaraŋ khúra sà yè
	|''ŋà''
			|1SG day every bread eat AUX.EGO
	|''ɲìma''
			|'I eat bread every day.' (Gawne 2016: 112)}}
	|''ʈàŋmaraŋ''
	|''khúra''
	|''sà''
	|''yè''
	|-
	|1{{Smallcaps|sg}}
	| day|| every
	|bread
	|eat
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="6" | 'I eat bread every day.' (Gawne 2016: 112)
	|}
	=== Mood ===		=== Mood ===
Line 938:		Line 1,119:
	|-		|-
	| -''toŋ''		| -''toŋ''
	|]		|]
	|-		|-
	|''-ka ''or ''-tɕo/tɕu''		|''-ka ''or ''-tɕo/tɕu''
	|]		|]
	|-		|-
	|''-ɲi''		|''-ɲi''
	|]		|]
	|-		|-
	|''-ʈo''		|''-ʈo''
	|]		|]
			|}
	|}It is worth noting that there is a small class of irregular imperatives; ''sà''- 'eat' becomes ''sò''.
	==== Imperative ====		==== Imperative ====
	The polite imperative suffix is -''toŋ'' (voiced as ''-doŋ'' after voiced codas and some vowels). An overt subject is not used, and the same imperative form is used regardless of person or number:		The polite imperative suffix is -''toŋ'' (voiced as ''-doŋ'' after voiced codas and some vowels). An overt subject is not used, and the same imperative form is used regardless of person or number:
	:{|
	|-
	|''mée-'''doŋ'''!''
	|-
	|speak-{{sc|imp}}
	|-
	|'Speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)
	|}
	The less polite form of the imperative is consists of an unmarked verb stem:
	:{|
	|-
	|''mée!''
	|-
	|speak.{{sc|imp}}
	|-
	|'Speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)
	|}
	There are also a small number of irregular imperatives that are used without the verb stem, particularly ''sò'' 'eat!'
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	If there is an honorific form of the verb it can be used, unmarked, as the most polite form of the imperative:
			|mée-'''doŋ'''!
	:{|
			|speak-'''IMP'''
	|-
			|'Speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)}}
	|''ɕè''
	|-
			The less polite form of the imperative consists of an unmarked verb stem:
	|eat.{{sc|hon}}
	|-
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|'Please eat' (Hari 2010: 113)
			|mée!
	|}
			|speak.IMP
	The negative form of the imperative (the ]) uses the ''mà-'' form of the negator prefix with the verb stem. The imperative suffix is not included.
			|'Speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)}}
	:{|
	|-
			There are also a small number of irregular imperatives that are formed without the imperative suffix, particularly ''sò'' 'eat!', from ''sà''- 'eat'.
	|'''''mà'''-má!''
	|-
			If there is an honorific form of the verb it can be used, unmarked, as the most polite form of the imperative:
	|{{sc|neg}}-speak
	|-
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|'Don't speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)
			|ɕè
	|}
			|eat.HON
			|'Please eat' (Hari 2010: 113)}}
			The negative form of the imperative (the ]) uses the ''mà-'' form of the ] with the verb stem. The imperative suffix is not included.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|'''mà'''-má!
			|'''NEG'''-speak
			|'Don't speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)}}
	==== Hortative ====		==== Hortative ====
			Gawne notes two verbal suffix forms for the hortative in Lamjung Yolmo, a ''-ka'' and a ''-tɕo.''
			The ''-ka'' form is used with all persons except first person singular.
	Gawne notes two verbal suffix forms in Lamjung Yolmo, a ''-ka'' and a ''-tɕo.''
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	The ''-ka'' form is used with all persons except first person singular.
			|òraŋ sà-'''ka'''
	:{|
			|1PL.INCL eat-'''HORT'''
	|-
			|‘Let's eat!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)}}
	|''òraŋ'' ||''sà'''-ka'''''
	|-
			The suffix remains in negated horatitves:
	|1{{sc|pl.incl}}
	|eat-{{sc|hort}}
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|ɲì '''mà'''-tɕhám-'''ka'''
	| colspan="2" |‘let’s eat!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)
			|1PL.EXCL '''NEG'''-dance-'''HORT'''
	|}
			|‘Let's not dance!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)}}
	The suffix remains in negated horatitves
	:{|
			The ''-tɕo'' form is used with first person singular, as well as with other persons. It also remains in negative constructions.
	|-
	|''ɲì''||''mà-tɕhám'''-ka'''''
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|ŋà khím{{=}}ki lè pè-'''tɕo'''
	|1{{sc|pl.excl}}
			|1PL.EXCL house{{=}}GEN work do-'''HORT'''
	|{{sc|neg}}-dance-{{sc|hort}}
			|‘Let me do the house work!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)}}
	|-
	| colspan="2" |‘let’s not dance!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)
			''-tɕo'' appears to be less strong, and tends to be used more frequently. Hari gives the form as ''-tɕo'' (she also calls it an optative, but it appears to be a hortative)
	|}
	The ''-tɕo'' form is used with first person singular, as well as with other persons. It also remains in negative constructions.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|tìriŋ khó dèla-raŋ tè-'''tɕo'''
	|-
			|today 3SG.M here-EMPH sit-'''HORT'''
	|''ŋà'' ||''khím=ki''
			|‘Let him stay here today.’ (Hari & Lama 2004: 174)}}
	|''lè''
	|''pè'''-tɕo'''''
	|-
	|1{{sc|pl.excl}}
	|house={{sc|gen}}
	|work
	|do-{{sc|hort}}
	|-
	| colspan="4" |‘let me do the house work!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)
	|}
	''-tɕo'' appears to be less strong, and tends to be used more frequently. Hari gives the form as ''-tɕo'' (she also calls it an optative, but it appears to be a hortative)
	:{|
	|-
	|''tìriŋ''||''khó''
	|dèla-raŋ
	|''tè-'''tɕu'''''
	|-
	|today
	|3{{sc|sg}}
	|here-{{sc|emph}}
	|sit-{{sc|hort}}
	|-
	| colspan="4" |‘let him stay here today’ (Hari & Lama 2004: 174)
	|}
	==== Optative ====		==== Optative ====
			Hari does not list an ] suffix.<ref name=":15" /> Gawne gives the optative -''ɲi'' in Lamjung Yolmo.<ref name=":5" />
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	Hari does not list an ] suffix.<ref name=":0" /> Gawne gives the optative -''ɲi'' in Lamjung Yolmo.<ref name=":5" />
			|ŋà ɲàl-'''ɲi''' tè-ku dù
	:{|
			|1SG sleep{{=}}'''OPT''' AUX-IPFV AUX.PE
	|-
			|‘I want to sleep.’ (Gawne 2016: 115)}}
	|''ŋà''||''ɲàl'''-ɲi'''''
	|''tè-ku''
			Hari & Lama (2004: 146) list ''ɲi-'' as a verb that expresses a 'strong wish’, clearly linking to the Lamjung Yolmo optative form.
	|''dù''
	|-
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|sleep={{sc|opt}}
	|{{sc|aux-ipfv}}
	|{{sc|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="4" |‘I want to sleep.’ (Gawne 2016: 115)
	|}
	Hari & Lama (2004: 146) list ''ɲi'' as a verb that expresses a 'strong wish’, clearly linking to the Lamjung Yolmo form.
	==== Dubitative ====		==== Dubitative ====
			Hari describes the ] as 'probable future',<ref name=":15" /> indicating the sense of decreased certainty that the dubitative mood marks. The forms ''-ʈo, -ɖo'' and ''-ro'' are found in Melamchi Valley Yolmo as part of the ], but the ''-ro'' form is not found in Lamjung Yolmo.<ref name=":5" />
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|khúŋ-gi sèn sà-'''ro'''
			|3PL-ERG corn.mash eat-'''DUB'''
			|'they will probably eat corn mash’ (Hari & Lama 2004: 237)}}
	Hari describes the ] as probable future,<ref name=":0" /> indicating the sense of decreased certainty that the dubitative mood marks. The forms ''-ʈo, -ɖo'' and ''-ro'' are found in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but the ''-ro'' form is not found in Lamjung Yolmo.<ref name=":5" />
	:{|
	|-
	|''khúŋ-gi''||''sèn''
	|''sà-'''ro'''''
	|-
	|{{sc|3pl-erg}}
	|corn.mash
	|eat-{{sc|dub}}
	|-
	| colspan="3" |'they will probably eat corn mash’ (Hari & Lama 2004: 237)
	|}
	This verb suffix is related to the dubitative form of the copula.		This verb suffix is related to the dubitative form of the copula.
	=== Negation ===		=== Negation ===
	Negation is marked on lexical verbs by ]. There are two prefix forms, ''mè-'' is for negation in ] (present and future), while ''mà''- is used for past tense, as well as negation of imperatives (''mà-tàp!'' 'don't fall'!).		Negation is marked on lexical verbs by ]. There are two prefix forms, ''mè-'' is for negation in ] (present and future), while ''mà''- is used for past tense, as well as negation of imperatives (''mà-tàp!'' 'don't fall'!).
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
	|''ŋà''||'''''mè'''-tàp''		|ŋà '''mè'''-tàp
			|1sg '''NEG.NPST'''-fill
	|-
			|'I do not/will not fall.' (Hari 2010: 132)}}
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|{{sc|neg.non.pst}}-fill
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|ŋà '''mà'''-tàp
	| colspan="2" |'I do not/will not fall' (Hari 2010: 132)
			|1sg '''NEG.PST'''-fill
	|}
			|'I did not fall.' (Hari 2010: 132)}}
	:{|
	|-
	|''ŋà''||'''''mà'''-tàp''
	|-
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|{{sc|neg.pst}}-fill
	|-
	| colspan="2" |'I did not fall' (Hari 2010: 132)
	|}
	The negated forms of copulas are slightly irregular. They are listed in the table below in brackets underneath the regular forms:		The negated forms of copulas are slightly irregular. They are listed in the table below in brackets underneath the regular forms:
	:{| class="wikitable"		:{| class="wikitable"
Line 1,109:		Line 1,237:
	|''yìn/yìngen/yìmba''		|''yìn/yìngen/yìmba''
	(mìn/mìngen/mìmba)		''(mìn/mìngen/mìmba)''
	|''yìnɖo''		|''yìnɖo''
	(mìnɖo)		''(mìnɖo)''
	|		|
	|		|
Line 1,119:		Line 1,247:
	|''yè/yèba''		|''yè/yèba''
	(mè/mèba)		''(mè/mèba)''
	''yèken/yèba'' (past tense)		''yèken/yèba'' (past tense)
	(mèke/méba)		''(mèke/méba)'' (past tense)
	|''yèʈo''		|''yèʈo''
	(mèʈo)		''(mèʈo)''
	|''dù''		|''dù''
	(mìndu)		''(mìndu)''
	''dùba''		''dùba''
	(mìnduba)		''(mìnduba)''
	|''òŋge''		|''òŋge''
	(mèoŋge)		''(mèoŋge)''
			|}
			=== Verb paradigm ===
			Below are verb paradigms for two verbs, the first is the intransitive verb ''ŋù'' 'cry' and the second is the transitive verb ''sà'' 'eat'. Both are given mostly with third person subject, although this is not particularly important as subject person does not affect the form of the verb. For both verbs you can see the change in verb stem. For dialect specific variation, click on the link back to each specific form.
			{| class="wikitable"
			|+
			!Form
			!Syuba
			!English
			!
			!Syuba
			!English
			|-
			|]
			|''ŋù-dʑe''
			|'to cry'
			|
			|''sà-tɕe''
			|'to eat'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋù-en''
			|'he cries'
			|
			|''khói tó sà-en''
			|'he eats rice'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋù-sin''
			|'he cried'
			|
			|''khói tó sà-sin''
			|'he ate rice'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋù-gyo''
			|'he cried'
			|
			|''khói tó sà-gyo''
			|'he ate rice'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋìi-ba''
			|'did he cry?'/'he cried'
			|
			|''khói tó sèe-ba''
			|'did he eat rice?'/'he ate rice'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋù-gu dù''
			|'he is crying'
			|
			|''khói tó sà-gu dù''
			|'he is eating rice
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋìi-deraŋ yè''
			|'he is crying'
			|
			|''khói tó sèe-deraŋ yè''
			|'he is eating rice
			|-
			|]
			|khó ŋìi tè-ku dù
			|'he is crying'
			|
			|khói tó sèe tè-ku dù
			|'he is eating rice
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋìi-deraŋ yè''
			|'he has cried'
			|
			|''khói tó sèe-di yè''
			|'he has eaten rice'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋù yè''
			|'he cries (every day)'
			|
			|''khói tó sà yè''
			|'he eats rice (every day)'
			|-
			|]
			|''ŋíi''
			|'cry!'
			|
			|''tó sò''
			|'eat the rice!'
			|-
			|]
			|''ŋù-ka / ŋù-tɕo''
			|'let's cry!'
			|
			|''sà-ka / sà-tɕo''
			|'let's eat!'
			|-
			|]
			|''ŋù-ɲi''
			|'I want to cry'
			|
			|''sa-ɲi''
			|'I want to eat'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó ŋù-ʈo''
			|'he is probably crying'
			|
			|''khói tó sà-ro''
			|'he is probably eating rice'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó mà-ŋì''
			|'he is not crying'
			|
			|''khói tó mè-sà''
			|'he is not eating rice'
			|-
			|]
			|''khó mà-ŋì''
			|'he did not cry'
			|
			|''khói tó mà-sèe''
			|'he did not eat rice'
	|}		|}
	== Clause structure ==		== Clause structure ==
	This section outlines some of the main features of the structure of clauses in Yolmo.		This section outlines some of the main features of the structure of ] in Yolmo.
	=== Nominalisation ===		=== Nominalisation ===
			] is the process by which words undergo a change that allows them to act as nouns. While nominalisation is common process, it is particularly pervasive in ], where it can be used for a variety of functions, including the formation of ] and ].<ref>{{Citation|last=Noonan|first=Michael|chapter=Nominalizations in Bodic languages|date=2008|pages=219–237|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|language=en|doi=10.1075/tsl.76.11noo|isbn=9789027229885|title=Rethinking Grammaticalization|volume=76|series=Typological Studies in Language|chapter-url=http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/216/1/Nominalizations_Bodic_Languages.pdf}}<!--http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/216/1/Nominalizations_Bodic_Languages.pdf--></ref> The common Bodic nominaliser ''-pa <ref>{{Cite journal|last=De Lancey|first=Scott|date=2002|title=Relativization and Nominalization in Bodic|journal=Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: Special Session on Tibeto-Burman and Southeast Asian Linguistics|pages=55–72}}</ref>'' productively functions in Yolmo as a suffix that can mark ], ] or ]. There are other nominalising forms in Yolmo.
			Hari describes a number of nominalisers in Melamchi Valley Yolmo. The first is the nominalising suffix ''-ka'':
	=== Adverbials ===
	An ] modifies the verb in some way. There are a some major adverbial types in Yolmo.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	==== Temporal adverbial subordination ====
			|dì saudʑi kár-'''ka''' yàabu tér-ku dù
	Temporal adverbs can create subordinated clauses.
			|this shopkeeper weight-'''NMLZ''' good give-IPFV AUX.PE
			|‘This shop keeper gives good weight.’ (Hari 2010: 30)}}
			A number of other nominalising suffixes that attach to verbs have more specific functions:
	:{|
			:{| class="wikitable"
			!Suffix
			!Function
	|-		|-
	|''sà-kandi''		|''-naŋ''
			|appearance of state or action
	|'''''tòŋla'''''
	|''ŋà''
	|''làkpa''
	|''ʈhú-ke''
	|-		|-
			|''-taŋ''
	|eat-{{sc|nmlz}}
			|displaying a forceful show
	|'''before'''
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|hand
	|wash-{{sc|non.pst}}
	|-		|-
			|''-luŋ''
	| colspan="5" |‘I wash my hands before eating.’ (Gawne 2016: 130)
			|have time for an activity
	|}
			|-
			|''-lu''
			|way of doing something
			|}
			In Lamjung Yolmo the most productive nominaliser is ''-kandi''.<ref name=":5" /> None of the others described above have been attested. This form is not attested in Hari's description of Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but is probably related to the ''-ka'' form described above.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà{{=}}ki ʈìlbu yúŋ-'''kandi''' thé-ku dù
			|1SG{{=}}ERG bell ring-'''NMLZ''' hear-IPFV AUX.PE
			|‘I hear the ringing of bells.’ (Gawne 2016: 132)}}
			There is also a locative nominaliser ''-sa'', which creates a noun that denotes location:
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|ŋà dzàra sà-'''sa'''{{=}}la ɖò-en
			|1SG snack eat-'''NMLZ.LOC'''{{=}}LOC go-NPST
			|‘I want to go to the snack place.’ (Hari 2010: 33)}}
			=== Adverbials ===
			An ] modifies the verb in some way.
			==== Temporal adverbial subordination ====
			Temporal adverbs can create subordinated clauses.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|sà-kandi '''tòŋla''' ŋà làkpa ʈhú-ke
			|eat-NMLZ '''before''' 1SG hand wash-NPST
			|‘I wash my hands before eating.’ (Gawne 2016: 130)}}
	Below is the list of temporal adverbs observed in Yolmo to date, some are independent words, and others are verbal suffixes:		Below is the list of temporal adverbs observed in Yolmo to date, some are independent words, and others are verbal suffixes:
			:{| class="wikitable"
	:{|
			!Adverb
			!Translation
			!Additional information
			|-
	|''nàm''		|''nàm''
	|'when'		|'when'
Line 1,207:		Line 1,490:
	==== Manner adverbs ====		==== Manner adverbs ====
	Manner adverbs create a subordinated clause that expresses the manner of an action. The manner adverb ''lèemu'' (''lìmu'' in Lamjung) is attested in all varieties.		Manner adverbs create a subordinated clause that expresses the manner of an action. The manner adverb is ''lèemu'' (''lìmu'' in Lamjung).
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|khúŋ tábu '''límu''' gyùbu tɕóŋ-ku dù
	|-
			|3PL house '''like''' fast run-NMLZ AUX.PE
	|''khúŋ''
			|‘He runs fast like a horse.’ (Gawne 2016: 129)}}
	|''tábu''
	|'''''límu'''''
			The forms ''tíle'' and ''dènmu'' are also found in Lamjung Yolmo,<ref name=":5" /> but not yet attested in other varieties.
	|''gyùbu''
	|''tɕóŋ-ku''
	|''dù''
	|-
	|3{{sc|1=pl}}
	|house
	|'''like'''
	|fast
	|run-{{sc|1=nmlz}}
	|{{sc|1=cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="6" |‘he runs fast like a horse.’ (Gawne 2016: 129)
	|}
	The forms ''tíle'' and ''dènmu'' are also found in Lamjung Yolmo, but not yet attested in other varieties.
	=== Conditional ===		=== Conditional ===
	] are formed through the use of the suffix ''-na'' on the verb in the ] clause (the 'if' clause). Speakers will either use the ''-na'' suffix directly on the verb, or leave the verb unmarked at attach the ''-na'' suffix to the verb meaning ‘say’ (''mée'' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, ''làp'' in Lamjung Yolmo).		] are formed through the use of the suffix ''-na'' on the verb in the ] clause (the 'if' clause). Speakers will either use the ''-na'' suffix directly on the verb, or leave the verb unmarked at attach the ''-na'' suffix to the verb meaning ‘say’ (''mée'' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, ''làp'' in Lamjung Yolmo).
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|nám mà-kyàp làp-'''na''' ŋà phíla ɖò-ke
	|''nám''
			|rain NEG.PST-fall say-'''COND''' 1SG outside go-NPST
	|''mà-kyap''
			|‘If it doesn't rain I will go outside.’ (Gawne 2016: 130)}}
	|''làp'''-na'''''
	|''ŋà''
	|''phíla''
	|''ɖò-ke''
	|-
	|rain
	|{{sc|neg.pst}}-fall
	|say-'''{{sc|cond}}'''
	|1{{sc|sg}}
	|outside
	|go-{{sc|non.pst}}
	|-
	| colspan="6" |‘if it doesn’t rain I will go outside.’ (Gawne 2016: 130)
	|}
	=== Complementation ===		=== Complementation ===
	A ] is a clause that functions as an argument of another clause. In Yolmo the embedded complement clause takes the infinitive suffix ''-tɕe''.		A ] is a clause that functions as an argument of another clause. In Yolmo the embedded complement clause takes the infinitive suffix ''-tɕe''.
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|ɲì{{=}}la yìgi prù-'''tɕe''' {ʈèmba sàl-toŋ}
	|''ɲì=la''
			|1PL.EXCL{{=}}DAT letter write-'''INF''' remember-IMP
	|''yìgi''
			|‘Remember to write us a letter!’ (Gawne 2016: 134)}}
	|''prù'''-tɕe'''''
	|''ʈèmba sàl-toŋ''
			The ] in Yolmo can also be said to be acting as a complementiser.
	|-
	|1{{sc|1=pl.excl=dat}}
	|letter
	|write-'''{{sc|inf}}'''
	|remember-{{sc|imp}}
	|-
	| colspan="4" |‘Remember to write us a letter!’ (Gawne 2016: 134)
	|}
	The ] in Yolmo can also be said to be acting as a complementiser.
	=== Relativisation ===		=== Relativisation ===
	A ] is depended on a main clause. Different relativising strategies are used in the two described varieties of Yolmo. In Melamchi Valley Yolmo the non-past tense form ''-ken(-gi)'' is used for non-past constructions, and the past tense form ''-kyo(-gi)'' is used for past tense constructions (for each the ''-gi'' is optional). Similarly, in Lamjung Yolmo, ''-ke-ki'' can be used for non-past relativised clauses and -''pa-ki f''or past relativised clauses. This difference reflects the fact that the past tense form ] in Lamjung Yolmo.		A ] is depended on a main clause. Different relativising strategies are used in the two described varieties of Yolmo. In Melamchi Valley Yolmo the non-past tense form ''-ken(-gi)'' is used for non-past constructions, and the past tense form ''-kyo(-gi)'' is used for past tense constructions (for each the ''-gi'' is optional). Similarly, in Lamjung Yolmo, ''-ke-ki'' can be used for non-past relativised clauses and -''pa-ki f''or past relativised clauses. This difference reflects the fact that the past tense form ] in Lamjung Yolmo.
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|òze bèle aʑi{{=}}gi gòo thóo{{=}}la tɕáŋ-'''gyo-gi''' làawor phók táŋ-sin dù ló
	|''òze''
			|that time sister{{=}}GEN head above{{=}}LOC hang-'''REL''' mill.stone INT send-PST AUX.PE RS
	|''bèle''
			|'At that moment (the monster) swiftly loosened the mill stone which was hanging just above the head of the elder sister.' (Hari 2010: 76)}}
	|''aʑi=gi''
	|''gòo''
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|''thóo-la''
	|''tɕáŋ-'''gyo-gi'''''		|khyá{{=}}ki prù-prù-'''pa-ki''' yìgi
			|2PL{{=}}GEN write-write-'''REL''' letter
	|''làawor''
			|'The letter that you wrote.' (Gawne 2016: 134)}}
	|''phók''
	|''taŋ-sin''
	|''<nowiki/>'du''
	|''ló''
	|-
	|that
	| time|| sister={{Smallcaps|gen}}
	|head
	|above-{{Smallcaps|loc}}
	|hang-'''{{Smallcaps|rel}}'''
	|mill.stone
	|intensifier
	|send-{{Smallcaps|pst}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|{{Smallcaps|rs}}
	|-
	| colspan="11" | 'At that moment (the monster) swiftly loosened the mill stone which was hanging just above the head of the elder sister.' (Hari 2010: 76)
	|}
	:{|
	|-
	|''khyá=ki''
	|''prù-prù'''-pa-ki'''''
	|''yìgi''
	|-
	|{{Smallcaps|1=2pl=gen}}
	| write-write-'''{{Smallcaps|rel}}'''|| letter
	|-
	| colspan="3" | 'The letter that you wrote.' (Gawne 2016: 134)
	|}
	In Lamjung Yolmo, the nominaliser ''-kandi'' can be used to make a relative clause:		In Lamjung Yolmo, the nominaliser ''-kandi'' can be used to make a relative clause:
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
			|khím sáŋma pè-'''kandi''' mì nà-sin dù
	|''khím''
			|house clean do{{=}}'''NMLZ''' person ill-PST AUX.PE
	|''sáŋma''
			|'The person who cleans the house is ill.' (Gawne 2016: 135)}}
	|''pè'''-kandi'''''
	|''mì''
	|''nà-sin''
	|''dù''
	|-
	|house
	| clean|| do='''{{Smallcaps|nmlz}}'''
	|person
	|ill-{{Smallcaps|pst}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop}}
	|-
	| colspan="6" | 'The person who cleans the house is ill.' (Gawne 2016: 135)
	|}
	=== Clause chaining ===		=== Clause chaining ===
	The ] is used to chain clauses together. Verbs with this suffix are chained together.		The ] is used to chain clauses together. Multiple verbs with this suffix can be stacked to create a complex series of events.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|tɕádzuŋma tɕíi òŋ-'''ti''' ʈúu-'''ti''' khér-sin
			|bird one come-'''PFV''' pick.up-'''PFV''' carry.away-PST
			|'A bird came, picked up (a fish) and took (it) away.' (Gawne 2016: 136)}}
	:{|
	|-
	|''tɕádzuŋma''
	|''tɕíi''
	|''òŋ-'''ti'''''
	|''ʈúu'''-ti'''''
	|''khér-sin''
	|-
	|bird
	| one|| come-'''{{Smallcaps|pftv}}'''
	|pick.up-'''{{Smallcaps|pftv}}'''
	|carry.away-{{Smallcaps|pst}}
	|-
	| colspan="5" | 'A bird came, picked up (a fish) and took (it) away.' (Gawne 2016: 136)
	|}
	=== Question formation ===		=== Question formation ===
	Word order does not change to form questions in Yolmo. Rising intonation at the end of the utterance can indicate it is a question. ] are used for open content questions.		Word order does not change to form questions in Yolmo. Rising intonation at the end of the utterance can indicate it is a question. ] are used for open content questions.
	The ''-pa'' suffix, which was introduced in the section on ] is used in question structures.		The ''-pa'' suffix, which was introduced in the section on ] is used in question structures.
			{{interlinear|indent=3
			|khé tó sà-'''pa'''
			|2SG rice.cooked eat-'''Q'''
			|‘Did you eat cooked rice?’ (Gawne 2016: 139)}}
	:{|
	|-
	|''khé''
	|''tó''
	|''sà'''-pa'''''
	|-
	|2{{Smallcaps|sg}}
	|rice.cooked
	|eat{{Smallcaps|-q}}
	|-
	| colspan="3" |‘did you eat cooked rice?’ (Gawne 2016: 139)
	|}
	The reply would be with the regular past tense, and not the ''-pa'' suffix:		The reply would be with the regular past tense, and not the ''-pa'' suffix:
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
	|''ŋà''		|ŋà tó sà-'''sin'''
			|1SG rice.cooked eat-'''PST'''
	|''tó''
			|‘I ate rice.’ (Gawne 2016: 139)}}
	|''sà'''-sin'''''
	|-
			The ] used in a question matches the form the question-asked anticipates the question-answerer will use in their answer. That is, if they anticipate the answer will use the perceptual evidential ''dù'', this is the form they will use in asking the question.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2016a|title=Questions and answers in Lamjung Yolmo|journal=Journal of Pragmatics|volume=101|pages=31–53|doi=10.1016/j.pragma.2016.04.002|issn=0378-2166|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/23716/1/questions-answers-lamjung-yolmo-gawne.pdf}}</ref>
	|1{{Smallcaps|sg}}
	|rice.cooked
	|eat{{Smallcaps|-pst}}
	|-
	| colspan="3" |‘I ate rice.’ (Gawne 2016: 139)
	|}
	The ] used in a question matches the form the question-asked anticipates the question-answerer will use in their answer. That is, if they anticipate the answer will use the perceptual evidential ''dù'', this is the form they will use in asking the question.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2016|title=Questions and answers in Lamjung Yolmo|url=http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378216616300820|journal=Journal of Pragmatics|volume=101|pages=31–53|doi=10.1016/j.pragma.2016.04.002|issn=0378-2166|via=}}</ref>
	=== Reported speech ===		=== Reported speech ===
	Yolmo has two strategies for reporting speech, the first is using the lexical verb ''má'' or ''làp'' 'say', the second is using the ] ''ló.''<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2015|title=The reported speech evidential particle in Lamjung Yolmo|url=http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/ltba.38.2.09gaw|journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area|language=en|volume=38|issue=2|pages=292–318|doi=10.1075/ltba.38.2.09gaw|issn=0731-3500|via=}}</ref>		Yolmo has two strategies for reporting speech, the first is using the lexical verb ''má'' or ''làp'' 'say', the second is using the ] ''ló.''<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal|last=Gawne|first=Lauren|date=2015|title=The reported speech evidential particle in Lamjung Yolmo|journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area|language=en|volume=38|issue=2|pages=292–318|doi=10.1075/ltba.38.2.09gaw|issn=0731-3500|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/22695/1/Gawne%202015%20RSTB.pdf}}</ref>
	==== Lexical verb ====		==== Lexical verb ====
	In Melamchi Valley Yolmo the main lexical verb of saying is ''má,'' in Lamjung Yolmo it is ''làp''. Hari and Lama note that ''làp'' is found in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but in restricted use.<ref name=":3" />If the speaker, and the person the speech is directed at are overtly marked, these usually proceed the reported content (although they are frequently not overt in natural speech). The 'say' verb prototypically occurs after the reported content, although if the reported content is quite long the verb may occasionally come before it.<ref name=":14" />		In Melamchi Valley Yolmo the main lexical verb of saying is ''má,'' in Lamjung Yolmo it is ''làp''. Hari and Lama note that ''làp'' is found in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but in restricted use.<ref name=":3" /> If the speaker, and the person the speech is directed at are overtly marked, these usually proceed the reported content (although they are frequently not overt in natural speech). The 'say' verb prototypically occurs after the reported content, although if the reported content is quite long the verb may occasionally come before it.<ref name=":14" />
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	:{|
			|khó-ni níŋdʑi ɕóŋ-gen-gi pèza-raŋ mìmba áma-gi mì pò-la '''má'''-en
	|-
			|3SG-FOC love feel child-EMPH COP.NEG.EMPH mother-ERG people near-DAT '''say'''-NPST
	|''khó-ni''
			|'Mother says to people nearby, "He is not a lovable child!"' (Hari & Lama 2004: 383)}}
	|''níŋdʑi''
	|''ɕóŋ-gen-gi''
			The lexical verb 'say' is also used in a number of other constructions, including ].
	|''pèza-raŋ''
	|''mìmba''
	|''áma-gi''
	|''mì''
	|''pò-la''
	|'''''má'''-en''
	|-
	|3{{Smallcaps|sg-foc}}
	| love|| feel
	|child-{{Smallcaps|emph}}
	|{{Smallcaps|cop.neg.emph}}
	|mother-{{Smallcaps|erg}}
	|people
	|near-{{Smallcaps|dat}}
	|'''say'''{{Smallcaps|-non.pst}}
	|-
	| colspan="9" | 'Mother says to people nearby, "He is not a lovable child!"' (Hari & Lama 2004: 383)
	|}
	The lexical verb 'say' is also used in a number of other constructions, including ].
	==== Reported speech evidential ====		==== Reported speech evidential ====
	The reported speech particle also indicates that the speaker is reporting a prior utterance, but has a different focus. The reported speech particle does not account for who the speaker way, but instead primarily serves to focus on the fact the information is reported, and not directly witnessed by the speaker. In the example below from Syuba, it is not made explicit if the report comes from Maila, or another person. The reported speech evidential occurs frequently in narratives.		The reported speech particle also indicates that the speaker is reporting a prior utterance, but has a different focus. The reported speech particle does not account for who the speaker way, but instead primarily serves to focus on the fact the information is reported, and not directly witnessed by the speaker. In the example below from Syuba, it is not made explicit if the report comes from Maila, or another person. The reported speech evidential occurs frequently in narratives.
	:{|
			{{interlinear|indent=3
	|-
	|''tíriŋ''		|tíriŋ Maila tóm phré-si ló
	|''Maila''		|today Maila bear meet-PST RS
			|‘Today Maila met a bear.’ (Höhlig 1978: 22)<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Höhlig|first=Monika|date=1978|editor-last=Grimes|editor-first=Joseph E|title=Speaker orientation in Syuwa (Kagate)|journal=Papers on Discourse|location=Kathmandu|publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics|volume=50|pages=19–24}}</ref>}}
	|''tóm''
	|''phré-si''
			This is part of the wider evidential system of Yolmo, which is also found in the ] above.
	|''ló''
	|-
	|today
	|Maila
	|bear
	|meet-{{sc|pst}}
	|{{sc|rs}}
	|-
	| colspan="5" |‘Today Maila met a bear.’ (Höhlig 1978: 22)<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Höhlig|first=Monika|date=1978|editor-last=Grimes|editor-first=Joseph E.|title=Speaker orientation in Syuwa (Kagate)|url=|journal=Papers on discourse|location=Kathmandu|publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics|volume=50|pages=19-24|via=}}</ref>
	|}
	=== Lexical emphasis ===		=== Lexical emphasis ===
	There are two emphatic suffixes that can be used on a number of word classes. This is in contrast to the ], which is only used with nouns. The first is ''-ni, and t''he second is ''-raŋ'', which Hari & Lama note is a frequently used emphatic marker in informal speech. The distinction between all of these forms is unclear, although Hari refers to the ''-ni'' form as used for 'moderate focus',<ref name=":04">{{cite book|title=Yolmo Sketch Grammar|last=Hari|first=Anne Marie|publisher=Ekta Books|year=2010|location=Kathmandu}}</ref> so it is perhaps less emphatic for nouns than the ''-ti'' suffix.		There are two emphatic suffixes that can be used with a number of word classes. This is in contrast to the ], which is only used with nouns. The first is ''-ni, and'' the second is ''-raŋ'', which Hari & Lama note is a frequently used emphatic marker in informal speech.<ref name=":3" /> The distinction between all of these forms is unclear, although Hari refers to the ''-ni'' form as used for 'moderate focus',<ref name=":04">{{cite book|title=Yolmo Sketch Grammar|last=Hari|first=Anne Marie|publisher=Ekta Books|year=2010|location=Kathmandu}}</ref> so it is perhaps less emphatic for nouns than the ''-ti'' suffix.
	=== Clause final particles ===		=== Clause final particles ===
	Yolmo has a series of sentence final ] that can be used to achieve a range of effects. The table below gives some of the particles in Yolmo and a brief description of their function.<ref name=":0"/><ref name="Gawne"/>		Yolmo has a series of sentence final ] that can be used to achieve a range of effects. The table below gives some of the particles in Yolmo and a brief description of their function.<ref name=":15" /><ref name="Gawne"/>
	::{| class="wikitable"		::{| class="wikitable"
	!Particle		!Particle
Line 1,456:		Line 1,617:
	|invoking/encouraging		|invoking/encouraging
	|}		|}
	The reported speech marker ''ló ''is an ] form, as it indicates the source of the information as someone else. This structure is described in the section on ]. This is part of the wider evidential system of Yolmo, which is also found in the copula verbs above.		The reported speech marker ''ló ''is an ] form, as it indicates the source of the information as someone else. This structure is described in the section on ].
	== Honorifics ==		== Honorifics ==
	Yolmo has a subset of ] vocabulary which is used when talking to, or about, people of higher social status, particularly ] ]. Honorific lexicon includes nouns, verbs and adjectives. The table below gives some examples, including the regular word, the honorific form, and the English.<ref name=":0"/>		Yolmo has a subset of ] vocabulary which is used when talking to, or about, people of higher social status, particularly ] ]. Honorific lexicon includes nouns, verbs and adjectives. The table below gives some examples, including the regular word, the honorific form, and the English translation.<ref name=":15" />
	:{| class="wikitable"		:{| class="wikitable"
	!Regular form		!Regular form
Line 1,497:		Line 1,659:
	|'tasty'		|'tasty'
	|}		|}
	The use of honorifics in Ilam and Lamjung is not as common, although some speakers still recognise and use these forms.<ref name="Gawne"/>
			The use of honorifics in Syuba and Lamjung Yolmo is not as common, although some speakers still recognise and use these forms.<ref name="Gawne"/>
	== 100 Word Swadesh List ==
	Below is a 100 word ] in Yolmo. The Yolmo forms are taken from Hari and Lama,<ref name=":3" /> who note some variation between the Eastern (E) and Western (W) varieties in the Melamchi and Helambu Valley area. Where the form is different in other varieties this is indicated in the right-hand column of the table. This variation shows that the Lamjung variety and Syuba have more in common with each other lexically than they do with the Melamchi Valley variety.
			== 100 word Swadesh list ==
			Below is a 100 word ] in Yolmo. The Yolmo forms are taken from Hari and Lama,<ref name=":3" /> who note some variation between the Eastern (E) and Western (W) varieties in the Melamchi and Helambu Valley area. Where the form is different in other varieties this is indicated in the right-hand column of the table. This variation shows that the Lamjung variety and Syuba have more in common with each other lexically than they do with the Melamchi Valley variety.
	:{| class="wikitable"		:{| class="wikitable"
Line 1,570:		Line 1,733:
	|-		|-
	|13.		|13.
			|a
	|big
	|''tɕhímbu, tɕhómbo''		|''tɕhímbu, tɕhómbo''
	|only ''tɕ<sup>h</sup>ómbo'' reported in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba		|only ''tɕ<sup>h</sup>ómbo'' reported in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
Line 1,586:		Line 1,749:
	|16.		|16.
	|woman		|woman
	|''pìihmi''		|''pìihmi''
	|''pèmpiʑa'' in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba		|''pèmpiʑa'' in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
	|-		|-
	|17.		|17.
	|man		|man
	|''khyówa''		|''khyówa''
	|''k<sup>h</sup>yópiʑa'' in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba		|''k<sup>h</sup>yópiʑa'' in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
	|-		|-
	|18.		|18.
Line 2,010:		Line 2,175:
	|}		|}
			:
	== Numbers ==
	Yolmo has a base-20 counting system.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=Yohlmo-Nepali-English Dictionary|last=Hari|first=Anna Maria|last2=Lama|first2=Chhegu|publisher=Central Department of Linguistics|year=2004|isbn=|location=Kathmandu|pages=710}}</ref>
			== See also ==
	The Yolmo number system is very similar to that of Standard Tibetan and other Tibetan varieties. In the table below is the Yolmo number, taken from Hari's dictionary<ref name=":3" />, alongside the Standard Tibetan<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/53477676|title=Manual of Standard Tibetan: Language and civilization|last=Tournadre|first=Nicolas|last2=Dorje|first2=Sangda|date=2003|publisher=Snow Lion Publications|others=|year=|isbn=1559391898|location=Ithaca, N.Y.|pages=|oclc=53477676}}</ref> in both the ] and a ] for those unfamiliar with Written Tibetan.
	In Lamjung Yolmo, the base-20 system is only used by a small number of older speakers, with others using a base-10 system. For example, 'twenty' is ''ɲídʑu'', 'thirty' is ''súmdʑu'', 'forty' is ''ɕíptɕu'', etc. Even then, once people reach 20 the usually switch to counting in Nepali.<ref name=":5" />
	Ordinal numbers are formed by addition of the suffix ''-pa'', or alternatively with the suffix ''-pu'' for ordinals relating to people, in Melamchi Yolmo. Ordinals are typically only formed up to 20.
	:{| class="wikitable"
	!Yolmo
	!Written
	Tibetan
	!Tibetan
	(Roman)
	!English
	!
	!Yolmo
	!Written
	Tibetan
	!Tibetan
	(Roman)
	!English
	!
	!Yolmo
	!Written
	Tibetan
	!Tibetan
	(Roman)
	!English
	|-
	|tɕíi
	|{{bo-textonly|གཅིག}}་
	|chig
	|1
	|
	|khál tɕíi tɕíi
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩ་གཅིག་}}
	|nyishu tsa ji
	|21
	|
	|ʑìpkha
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་བཞི་}}
	|kya zhi
	|400
	|-
	|ɲíi
	|{{bo-textonly|གཉིས་}}
	|nyi
	|2
	|
	|khál tɕíi ɲíi
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩགཉིས་}}
	|nyishu tsa nyi
	|22
	|
	|ŋápkya
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་ལྔ་}}
	|kya nyi
	|500
	|-
	|súm
	|{{bo-textonly|གསུམ་}}
	|sum
	|3
	|
	|khál tɕíi súm
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩགསུམ་}}
	|nyishu tsa sum
	|23
	|
	|ʈùpkya
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་དྲུག་}}
	|kya drug
	|600
	|-
	|ʑì
	|{{bo-textonly|བཞི་}}
	|zhi
	|4
	|
	|khál tɕíi ʑì
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩབཞི་}}
	|nyishu tsa zhi
	|24
	|
	|tìngya
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་བདུན་}}
	|kya dün
	|700
	|-
	|ŋá
	|{{bo-textonly|ལྔ་}}
	|nga
	|5
	|
	|khál tɕíi ŋá
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩ་ལྔ་}}
	|nyishu tsa nga
	|25
	|
	|kyèkya
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་པརྒྱད་ }}
	|kya kyed
	|800
	|-
	|ʈùu
	|{{bo-textonly|དྲུག་}}
	|drug
	|6
	|
	|khál tɕíi ʈúu
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩདྲུག་}}
	|nyishu tsa drug
	|26
	|
	|kùpkya
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་དགུ་}}
	|kya ku
	|900
	|-
	|tìn
	|{{bo-textonly|བདུན་}}
	|dün
	|7
	|
	|kál tɕíi tìn
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩབདུན་}}
	|nyishu tsa dün
	|27
	|
	|tóŋra
	|{{bo-textonly|སྟོང་}}
	|tong
	|1000
	|-
	|kyèe
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱད་}}
	|gyed
	|8
	|
	|khál tɕíi kyèe
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩཔརྒྱད་}}
	|nyishu tsa gyed
	|28
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|kù
	|{{bo-textonly|དགུ་}}
	|gu
	|9
	|
	|khál tɕíi kù
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ་རྩདགུ་ }}
	|nyishu tsa gu
	|29
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕú
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་}}
	|chu
	|10
	|
	|khál tɕíi tɕú
	|{{bo-textonly|སུམ་ཅུ}}
	|sum cu
	|30
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕúuʑi
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་གཅིག་}}
	|chugchig
	|11
	|
	|khál ɲíi
	|{{bo-textonly|བཞི་བཅུ}}
	|ship cu
	|40
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕíŋii
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་གཉིས་}}
	|chunyi
	|12
	|
	|khál tɕú
	|{{bo-textonly|ལྔ་བཅུ}}
	|ngap cu
	|50
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕúusum
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་གསུམ་}}
	|choksum
	|13
	|
	|khál súm
	|{{bo-textonly|དྲུག་ཅུ}}
	|trug cu
	|60
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕúpɕi
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་བཞི་}}
	|chushi
	|14
	|
	|khál súm tɕú
	|{{bo-textonly|བདུན་ཅུ}}
	|dün cu
	|70
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕéeŋa
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅོ་ལྔ་}}
	|chonga
	|15
	|
	|khál ʑì
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱད་ཅུ}}
	|gyed cu
	|80
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕíiru
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་དྲུག་}}
	|chudrug
	|16
	|
	|khál ʑì tɕú
	|{{bo-textonly|དགུ་བཅུ}}
	|gup cu
	|90
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕúptin
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་བདུན་}}
	|chubdun
	|17
	|
	|khál ŋá
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་}}
	|kya
	|100
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕápkye
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅོ་བརྒྱད་}}
	|chobgyed
	|18
	|
	|khál tìn tɕú
	|{{bo-textonly|ཁལ་ལྔ་དང་གཅིག}}
	|kya tang ngap cu
	|150
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|tɕúrku
	|{{bo-textonly|བཅུ་དགུ་}}
	|chudgu
	|19
	|
	|khál tɕú
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་གཉིས་ }}
	|kya nyi
	|200
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|-
	|khál ɕíi
	|{{bo-textonly|ཉི་ཤུ།་}}
	|nyishu
	|20
	|
	|khál tɕéeŋa
	|{{bo-textonly|བརྒྱ་གསུམ་}}
	|kya sum
	|300
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|
	|}
	== See Also ==
	* ]		* ]
	* ]		* ]
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	* ]		* ]
	== External Resources ==		== External resources ==
	* Open access digital collection of ]'s from the 1970s and 1980s at ].		* Open access digital collection of Anna Marie Hari's from the 1970s and 1980s at ].
	* Digital collection of Lauren Gawne's (2009-2016) at ] (partly open access)		* Digital collection of Lauren Gawne's (2009-2016) at ] (partly open access)
	* Three open access collections of Syuba, a dialect closely related to Yolmo, digitised from 1970s recordings, documentation by Lauren Gawne (2009-2016), ] a 2013 ] documentation by the Mother Tongue Centre Nepal.		* Three open access collections of Syuba, a dialect closely related to Yolmo, digitised from 1970s recordings, documentation by Lauren Gawne (2009-2016), ] a 2013 ] documentation by the Mother Tongue Centre Nepal.
	== Key References ==		== Key references ==
	* {{cite journal |last1=Clarke|first1=Graham E|year=1980|title=A Helambu History|url=|journal=Journal of the Nepal Research Centre|volume=4|issue=|pages=1–38}}		* {{cite journal|ref=none |last1=Clarke|first1=Graham E.|year=1980|title=A Helambu History|journal=Journal of the Nepal Research Centre|volume=4|pages=1–38}}
	* Clarke, Graham E. (1980). "Lama and Tamang in Yolmo." ''Tibetan Studies in honor of Hugh Richardson''. M. Aris and A. S. S. Kyi (eds). Warminster, Aris and Phillips: 79-86.		* Clarke, Graham E. (1980). "Lama and Tamang in Yolmo." ''Tibetan Studies in honor of Hugh Richardson''. M. Aris and A. S. S. Kyi (eds). Warminster, Aris and Phillips: 79-86.
	* Gawne, Lauren (2011). ''Lamjung Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary.'' Melbourne, Custom Book Centre; The University of Melbourne.		* Gawne, Lauren (2011). ''Lamjung Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary.'' Melbourne, Custom Book Centre; The University of Melbourne.
	* Gawne, Lauren (2016). ''A sketch grammar of Lamjung Yolmo''. Canberra: Asia Pacific Linguistics.		* {{Cite book |title=A Sketch Grammar of Lamjung Yolmo |last=Gawne |first=Lauren |publisher=Asia Pacific Linguistics |year=2016 |isbn=9781922185341 |location=Canberra |hdl=1885/110258 |oclc=961180469 |hdl-access=free }}
	* Hari, Anna Maria & Chhegu Lama (2004). ''Dictionary Yolhmo-Nepali-English''. Kathmandu: Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University.		* Hari, Anna Maria & Chhegu Lama (2004). ''Dictionary Yolhmo-Nepali-English''. Kathmandu: Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University.
	* Hari, Anna Maria (2010). ''Yohlmo Sketch Grammar''. Kathmandu: Ekta books.		* Hari, Anna Maria (2010). ''Yohlmo Sketch Grammar''. Kathmandu: Ekta books.
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	==References==		==References==
			{{Academic peer reviewed|Q71424678|doi-access=free}}
	{{Reflist}}		{{Reflist}}
			<section begin="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/><div style="display:none;">
			EGO:egophoric
			PE:perceptual
			RS:reported speech marker
			</div><section end="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/>
			{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}
	{{Bodic languages}}		{{Bodic languages}}
	{{Languages of Northeast India}}		{{Languages of Northeast India}}
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	]		]
	]		]
			]

---

Latest revision as of 00:32, 17 September 2024

Sino-Tibetan language of Nepal

Hyolmo
Helambu Sherpa
Hyolmo
Native to	Nepal
Ethnicity	Hyolmo
Native speakers	10,000 (2011 census)
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Tibeto-Kanauri ? Bodish Tibetic Kyirong-Kagate Hyolmo
Dialects	Eastern Yolmo (Sermathang, Chhimi) Western Yolmo (Nuwakot District) Lamjung Yolmo Ilam Yolmo
Language codes
ISO 639-3	scp
Glottolog	hela1238
ELP	Helambu Sherpa

Yolmo (Hyolmo) or Helambu Sherpa, is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Hyolmo people of Nepal (ISO 639-3: scp, GlottoCode: yolm1234). Yolmo is spoken predominantly in the Helambu and Melamchi valleys in northern Nuwakot District and northwestern Sindhupalchowk District. Dialects are also spoken by smaller populations in Lamjung District and Ilam District and also in Ramecchap District (where it is known as Syuba). It is very similar to Kyirong Tibetan and less similar to Standard Tibetan and Sherpa. There are approximately 10,000 Yolmo speakers, although some dialects have larger populations than others.

Language name

Yolmo is both the name of the language (glottonym), and the ethnic group of people who speak the language (ethnonym). Yolmo is also written Hyolmo, Yholmo or Yohlmo. The 'h' in all of these spellings marks that the word has low tone. Sometimes the language is referred to as Yolmo Tam, tam is the Yolmo word for 'language'.

The language is also referred to as Helambu Sherpa. This usage was common in the 1970s (see, for example, Clarke's work from the early 1980s). This name appears to have been an attempt by Yolmo speakers to align themselves with the widely recognised and prosperous Sherpas of the Solu-Khumbu district. While there are many cultural affinities between the two groups, the Sherpa language is not mutually intelligible with Yolmo. With a growing recognition of Nepal's ethnic minorities (Janajati), Yolmo people have moved away from associating themselves with the Sherpas in recent decades.

Language family

Yolmo is part of the family of languages called Kyirong-Kagate. The languages of this family are located along the Himalayan hills and mountains mostly on the Nepal side of the border, although Kyirong is in the Tibet Antonymous Region. Along with Yolmo, Kyirong and Syuba, other languages in the family include Tsum, Nubri and Gyalsumdo.

The language family is better considered be Kyirong-Yolmo. Yolmo has far more speakers (at least 10,000) than Kagate (Syuba) (1,500), Yolmo speakers are found in multiple districts, including Melamchi, Lamjung and Ilam, while Kagate speakers are based in Ramechhap. Also, Kagate is an exonym, and speakers now prefer the endonym Syuba, which carries less pejorative stigma than the caste-associated term Kagate ('papermaker').

This is part of a larger cluster of Tibetic languages, which all have their roots in the language that was the basis for Classical Tibetan.

History

Yolmo speakers traditionally reside in the Helambu and Melamchi Valley regions in the Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk districts of Nepal. Yolmo speakers migrated to the area, across the Himalaya, from the Kyriong, in what is now Southwest Tibet, over 300 years ago. This migration appears to have occurred slowly over multiple generations, rather than one large migration event. Main villages where Yolmo speakers reside include Melamchi Ghyang, Tarke Ghyang, Nakote, Kangyul, Sermathang, Norbugoun, Timbu, and Kutumsang.

Yolmo speakers are Buddhist, with the role of head Lama patrilineal. Yolmo Lamas are called upon to perform religious rituals for the Tamang-speaking communities that live in villages below the Yolmo-inhabited areas. This has created a strong socio-cultural link between the two groups that is reflected in traditional marriage practice where Tamang women marry into Yolmo villages. There is also a distinct local tradition of pòmbo (often referred to as 'shamanism' in the literature on this topic). The pòmbo tradition, passed from father to son, is focused on healing, particularly with regard to 'soul loss'. This practice appears to be evolving fit with the modern focus on Buddhism among Yolmo people. For example, pòmbo blood sacrifices are no longer performed as commonly. While there are similarities, including a shared etymology, these local practitioners are not formally associated with the Bon of Tibet.

Traditionally Yolmo people were yak herders and traders. They currently practice a combination of mixed agriculture involving livestock herding, hotel management, restaurants, and trading. Although outward migrants would often return to village life, speakers of Yolmo are increasing settling in Kathmandu, or moving overseas, which has an effect on transmission of the language as speakers move towards dominant languages of formal education such as Nepal and English.

For more on the history of Yolmo speakers, see the Yolmo people page.

Dialects

There are a number of dialects of Yolmo, spread throughout Nepal, thanks to migration in recent centuries, including in Lamjung and Ilam. There are also closely related languages that should be considered when discussing Yolmo, including Kagate (Syuba) and Langtang. Some of these varieties have been documented in more detail than others. Some of the dialects also have more mutual intelligibility, which means it is easier for the speakers to understand each other. Below is a list of established dialects, including what is known about each.

Melamchi Valley Yolmo

The variety of Yolmo documented by Anna Marie Hari is mostly spoken in the Melamchi Valley area. Hari documented the variety of Yolmo mostly spoken around the villages of Sermathang and Chhimi. Hari also encountered speakers from other areas in the Melamchi and Helambu valleys, and suggested there are two dialects across this area. mostly distinguished by vocabulary. The two dialects are the 'western' dialect, mostly in Nuwakot district and the 'eastern' dialect, which Hari's work focuses on. While discussing these dialects Hari also observes that the variety spoken around Tarkeghyang is different again, suggesting there may be more than two dialects spoken in the area.

Hari produced a Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary of the language with Chhegu Lama, and a sketch grammar. Hari also translated the New Testament of the Bible into Yolmo. Original cassette recordings of her work have been digitised and archived with PARADISEC. Unless otherwise stated, all discussion of the grammar of Yolmo on this page is drawn from the work on Melamchi Valley Yolmo.

Langtang

Northwest of the Yolmo-speaking areas in the Langtang valley of the Rasuwa District are three villages that speak a language that is mutually intelligible with Yolmo. This language also shares features with Kyirong and is likely part of a dialect continuum between Yolmo and Kyirong.

Lamjung Yolmo

Lamjung Yolmo is spoken by around 700 people in five villages of the Lamjung District of Nepal. Yolmo speakers have been residing in this area for over a century. Gawne has written a sketch grammar and a Lamjung Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary. There is also a digital archive of Lamjung Yolmo recordings archived with PARADISEC.

Ilam Yolmo

A dialect of Yolmo is reportedly spoken in the Ilam District of far east Nepal. There is very little documentation of this variety, but it is mutually intelligible with Syuba. Recordings from the dialect are available as a subset of an online collection of Syuba materials archived with PARADISEC.

Syuba (Kagate)

Although Syuba has a distinct name, and a separate ISO 639-3 code (SYW), linguistically it can be considered a dialect of Yolmo. Syuba speakers say their families migrated to the area more than a century ago. Hari, who worked on both Yolmo and Syuba observes that "to quite a large extent they are mutually intelligible dialects". The lexical similarity between Syuba and Melamchi Valley Yolmo is at least 79%, with the similarity between Syuba and Lamjung Yolmo even higher (88%). There is a higher level of similarity between Yolmo and Syuba than there is between either of these languages and Kyirong. This all suggests that the separated dialects may have more in common with each other than with the main dialect area. In 2016 the Syuba community published a Syuba-Nepali-English dictionary.

Three open access collections of Syuba, MH1 digitised from Monika Hölig's 1970s recordings, SUY1 documentation by Lauren Gawne (2009-2016), MTC1 a 2013 BOLD documentation by the Mother Tongue Centre Nepal.

Language vitality

Using the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), Ethnologue gives Yolmo a vitality rating of 6a 'Vigorous', but does not cite a source for this claim. The vitality of the language varies depending on the location. In the Melamchi Valley area the language is spoken mostly by older adults. The younger generations having largely shifted to Nepali, though the language is being maintained for religious practices. The shift towards Nepali for younger speakers has also been observed in Lamjung, as this is the language used in schools. The Syuba variety in Ramechhap is currently still spoken across all generations, including children. Mitchell & Eichentopf give it an EGIDS rating of 6a 'Vigorous', which is the likely reference for the Ethnologue rating. This is a recent survey with primary data presented, and is in concord with the first author's own observations of this community. There is insufficient data on the Ilam or Langtang variety to assess their vitality at this stage.

Language contact

The majority of Yolmo speakers are minimally bilingual in the national language Nepali. For older speakers Nepali was mostly used for interaction with people outside their community, and they may be less proficient, while younger speakers are likely to have attended school in Nepali and are proficient.

While there is relatively little influence of Nepali on basic vocabulary (such as the Swadesh list below), Nepali words are commonly adopted into Yolmo. In Hari & Lama's dictionary of over 4000 entries there are over 200 entries marked with some kind of Nepali influence. The extent to which Nepali words have been reconfigured to Yolmo phonology has not been systematically studied. One observation is that Nepali verbs take a suffix -ti before any tense or aspect marking. This suffix is not voiced in any environment, unlike the perfective aspect marker -ti.

In the Helambu area Tamang women would marry into the villages, but they appeared to move to Yolmo-speaking when they married in (although contact with Tamang may account for some features of Yolmo, such as the general fact evidential, below).

Individuals may also have other languages in their personal repertoire, through marriage to someone from a different language group, international work or engagement with tourists from different countries. English is increasingly common as a language of education.

Orthography

Hyolmo does not have a written tradition although there are attempts to develop an orthography based on Devanagari, the script used to write the national language Nepali, as seen in the publication of two dictionaries. Syuba speakers also settled on a Devanagari orthography for their dictionary. All of these dictionaries also present the languages in Roman orthographies.

Devanagari

The modifications to Devanagari are minor, and are intended to ensure that all sounds in the language can be represented. None of the orthographies use the 'inherent schwa vowel', meaning that a consonant without an overt vowel is not treated as having an implied vowel. Consonants remain the same as in the existing Devanagari tradition, with the use of joined digraphs to represent additional sounds in the language, such as the combination of क (k) and य (y) for the palatal stop क्य ( 'kh'), स (s) and य (y) for the palatal fricative स्य ( 'sh'), र and ह for the voiceless liquid र्ह ( 'rh'), and ल and ह for the voiceless lateral ल्ह ( 'lh') ह्य ('hy').

Vowel length is unmarked in the Syuba dictionary, in the two Yolmo dictionaries the standard Devanagari length distinctions are made, with the addition of a small diacritic below the 'a' vowel ( ा) to indicate a longer vowel. The Hari & Lama and Gawne dictionaries both use ह (h) after the vowel to mark low tone (e.g. टाह ʈà 'pheasant'), while in (the Syuba orthography a visarga represents the low tone (टाः ʈà 'pheasant'). High tone is left unmarked.

Roman

All three dictionaries also make use of variations on a Romanised orthography, although this does not appear to be used or preferred by Hyolmo speakers, and is intended for the English-literate audience of the dictionaries. Consonants predominantly take their form from the International Phonetic Alphabet, with some exception where there is a more common preference in English, such as digraphs for the palatal stops ( 'ky', 'khy', 'gy') and non-superscript for aspiration (e.g. phá 'pig'). This is represented in the consonant chart in the Phonology section.

The vowels in Hyolmo follow the International Phonetic Alphabet, except for which uses 'o' for ease of typing. Long vowels are represented by double characters, e.g. 'two' is represented as ɲíi, except in the Syuba dictionary where vowel length is not indicated in either the Devanagari or Roman scripts. For tone Hari uses a 'h' after the vowel to represent low tone, (e.g. toh 'stone') with high tone unmarked (e.g. to 'rice'), Gawne uses the International Phonetic Alphabet convention of using accents over the vowel to mark high and low tone (e.g. tó 'rice' and tò 'stone'), while the Syuba dictionary uses a superscript at the start of the syllable to mark low tone (e.g. to 'stone') with high tone unmarked.

On this page the orthography mostly follows Hari's transcription, as outlined in the phonology. Unlike Hari, representation of tone follows the International Phonetic Alphabet, with accents to mark high and low tone (e.g. tó 'rice' and tò 'stone' respectively). This avoids Hari's use of 'h' to represent both low tone and the sound .

Grammatical overview

The sections below contain an overview of the key features of the grammar of Hyolmo. Information is mostly drawn from Hari's grammar of the language, supplemented by the Yohlmo-Nepali-English dictionary she co-wrote with Chhegu Lama. Differences between this variety and other documented dialects are indicated where relevant. Links to other related languages will also be made where relevant.

All example sentences are presented with an interlinear gloss. This breaks down the words on a morpheme level, giving information about the meaning of each morpheme using a standard set of glossing abbreviations. All examples are cited back to the original publication they are drawn from. Some glossing has been regularised, or added where it was not included in the original.

Phonology

Consonants

There are 36 consonants in Yolmo, which are summarized in the table below. The form is given in IPA and then to the right in brackets is given the form used in this article, if different.

		Labial	Dental	Post- alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		ʈ	c ⟨ky⟩	k
	aspirated	pʰ ⟨ph⟩	tʰ ⟨th⟩		ʈʰ ⟨ʈh⟩	cʰ ⟨khy⟩	kʰ ⟨kh⟩
	voiced	b	d		ɖ	ɟ ⟨gy⟩	ɡ
Fricative	voiceless		s	ɕ				h
	voiced		z	ʑ
Affricate	voiceless		ts	tɕ
	aspirated		tsʰ ⟨tsh⟩	tɕʰ ⟨tɕh⟩
	voiced		dz	dʑ
Nasal		m	n			ɲ	ŋ
Rhotic	voiceless		r̥ ⟨rh⟩
	voiced		r
Lateral	voiceless		l̥ ⟨lh⟩
	voiced		l
Semivowel		w				j ⟨y⟩

Not all consonants are equally frequent. In particular , and are not particularly frequent, nor are vowel-initial words.

Vowels

There are five places of articulation for vowels. There is a length distinction at each place of articulation. The form of each vowel is given in IPA and then to the right in brackets is given the form used in this article, if different.

	Front	Mid	Back
High	i   iː ⟨ii⟩		u   uː ⟨uu⟩
Mid	e   eː ⟨ee⟩		ɔ ⟨o⟩   ɔː ⟨oo⟩
Low		a   aː ⟨aa⟩

Below are some minimal pairs that demonstrate the vowel length distinction. The diacritic above the vowel is the tone marker, the acute accent indicates that all of these examples are high tone. This is explained in more detail in the section on tone.

tɕí	'one'
tɕíi	'what'
tó	‘rice (cooked)'
tóo	'be hungry'

Vowel-length distinctions are not common across Tibetic language, but they are also attested in Syuba (although Syuba speakers do not consider them salient enough to encode in the orthography) and in Kyirong for open syllables.

Unlike many other Tibetic languages, including Kyirong, and Standard Tibetan, Yolmo does not have a front rounded . This is true for all dialects of Yolmo documented to date, including Syuba. Langtang, however, does have this vowel.

Tone

Like other Tibetic languages, Yolmo has tone, which is located on the first vowel of a word. Hari presents a four tone contrast of Melamchi Valley Yolmo; high level, high falling, low level and low falling. Acoustic evidence from Lamjung Yolmo and Kagate indicates that there is only acoustic evidence for a contrast between two tones; low and high. Below are some examples of tone minimal pairs:

pú	'body hair'
pù	‘son’
kómba	‘thirsty’
kòmba	‘temple’

Low tone words can be marked with breathy voice, but this is not always the case. The practice of indicating low tone with a 'h' following the vowel in some orthographies is related to this breathy property of low-tone vowels. The high tone, which uses modal voice, is left unmarked.

Tone is predictable in some environments. It is always high following aspirated stops, aspirated affricates and voiceless liquids (which speakers treat as equivalent to aspirated). Examples of all of these include:

pháa	'pig'
thí	'ruler (for measuring)'
ʈháa	'blood'
khyá	'you, plural'
khá	'mouth'
tshá	'salt'
tɕhá	'pair'
rhílmu	'round'
lhá	'god'

Tone is always low following voiced stops, voiced fricatives and voiced affricates. Examples of all of these include:

bù	'insect'
dà	'arrow'
ɖù	'grain'
gyàa	'place'
gùri	'cat'
dzàdi	'nutmeg'
dʑùbu	'huge/much'
zà	'rainbow'
ʑèe	'udder'

On words with more than one syllable the tone is marked on the initial syllable. Subsequent syllables eventually level off. Tone on all words is influenced by prosody, and may become more or less neutralised in running speech.

The only prefixes in the language are the negator prefixes mà- and mè-. Both have low tone, however if the following root has high tone it will not change tone because of the preceding low suffix.

There are no morpho-phonemic variations discussed for the language. The only related feature are a small set of verb minimal pairs where transitivity is distinguished by tone:

làŋ	'to rise'
láŋ	'to raise'
tàp	'to fall'
táp	'to be scattered'
ròp	'to break'
róp	'to break something'

Syllable structure

Yolmo has the syllable structure (C)(C)V(C). This means that the minimum a syllable needs is a vowel. Syllables can also have up to two consonants before the vowel and one after the vowel.

V	òo	'there'
VC	ùr	'fly'
CV	pù	'son'
CVC	pùp	'keep warm'
CCV	prù	'write'
CCVC	prùl	'snake'

All consonants and vowels can occur word-initial, with a restricted set able to occur in the second syllable. The set of syllable initial consonant clusters includes /pr, br, kr, py, phy, sw, kw, thw, rw/.

All vowels can occur syllable-final, and final consonants include voiceless unaspirated bilabial /b/ and velar stops /k/, voiced liquids /l,r/, the voiced labio-velar /w/ and all nasals except the palatal /m, n, ng/.

Morphophonemic processes

There is a regular process by which the suffixes undergo a change depending on the nature of the verb that they are attached to. Suffixes that begin with a voiceless stop, such as the non-past -ke, the imperative -toŋ or the hortative -ka, all undergo regular morphophonological processes. If they occur after a syllable with a final sound that is voiced they will also be voiced, if they occur after an unvoiced final sound, or an /r/ the start of the suffix will be unvoiced. The examples below are with the non-past -ke:

tá-ge	watch-non.pst
tén-ge	show-non.pst
zàp-ke	dress.up-non.pst
mùr-ke	chew-non.pst

The only forms that cannot be predicted by this process is if the suffix is after /i/ or /e/, both of which are high front vowels. The voicing cannot be predicted in this context, and the suffix is sometimes voiced and sometimes unvoiced. Below are examples of verbs with both /i/ and /e/:

pí-ge	pull.out-non.pst
ɕí-ge	die-non.pst
ɕé-ke	tell-non.pst
kyé-ke	give.birth-non.pst

There is also a tendency for suffixes that begin with -k/ -g to omit the initial sound after a vowel. This is not as regular a process as the voicing alterations described above. Below are some examples of this process:

ŋà=i 1=SG=GEN ŋà=i 1=SG=GEN 'my'

ɖò-en go-NPST ɖò-en go-NPST 'go'

Tappu LAMA

Nouns/nominals

The noun phrase in Yolmo includes either a noun or a pronoun. The noun phrase with a noun can also include a determiner, adjective and number marker, while the options are more limited with a pronoun or proper noun. Noun suffixes include case markers, plural marker and numeral classifiers.

The order of the noun phrase is (Determiner) Noun=Plural(-Focus Marker)(=Case) (Numeral Classifier) (Number) (Adjective).

Determiners

The Yolmo definite determiner is dì the same as the third person inanimate pronoun 'it/this'. It occurs before the noun:

dì

DET

pèza

child

dì pèza

DET child

'The child' (Hari 2010: 31)

The indefinite is marked using the numeral tɕíi 'one', which comes after the noun, like other numbers:

mì

person

tɕíi

one

mì tɕíi

person one

'A person' (Hari 2010: 91)

Pronouns

Yolmo pronouns are presented in the table below. There is an inclusive/exclusive distinction for first person plural pronouns, a gender distinction for third person singular and an animacy distinction for third person.

		Singular	Plural
1st person	exclusive	ŋà	ɲì
	inclusive		òraŋ/ùu
2nd person		khyé	khyá
3rd Person	masc.	khó	khúŋ
	fem.	mò
	inanimate	dì	dìya
Reflexive		ràŋ

The first person plural òraŋ is more commonly found in the Western dialects of Melamchi and Helambu Valley Yolmo, as well as Lamjung Yolmo, while ùu is more common in the Eastern dialects. It is possible to create a dual form by adding ɲíi to the plural form (e.g. khyá ɲíi 'you two'), although this is optional.

The third person plural khúŋ can also be used as a polite form for a single third person.

Pronouns do not take determiners, number, or adjectives.

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to form questions. Yolmo has the following attested interrogative pronouns:

sú	'who'
nàm	'when'
kàla	'where'
tɕípe, tɕíle, tɕí mée	'why'
tɕí	'what'
kàndi	'which one'
súgi	'whose'
súla	'whom'
kànɖu, kànmu	'how'

Hari gives both kà and kàla (kà with the dative suffix) as forms for 'where' in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but only kàla is attested in Lamjung Yolmo. There are also a number of forms for 'why', tɕípe and tɕíle are attested in both Melamchi Valley Yolmo and Lamjung Yolmo, but only tɕí mée in Melamchi Valley Yolmo. This is because it uses the verb mée 'say' as part of the construction, which is not in Lamjung Yolmo (see the section on reported speech, as well as the word list). The kànmu form of 'how' is attested in Lamjung Yolmo, while kànɖu is used in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, with an optional -mu suffix to make kànɖu-mu. Hari and Lama also note the form kànɖu-bar in the Western regions.

Note that the words súgi and súla are complex forms, súgi is sú 'who' with the genitive case suffix, and súla is sú with the dative case suffix.

For more on the structure of interrogative clauses, see the section on question formation.

Proper nouns

Proper nouns include people's names, place names and the names of deities. They do not take determiners, number, or adjectives.

Plural

The plural marker in Melamchi and Lamjung Yolmo is =ya. The plural is treated as a clitic as it occurs after an adjective if there is one, rather than always attaching directly to the noun:

kháŋba

house

tɕímbu

big

tɕhímbu=ya

big=PL

kháŋba tɕímbu tɕhímbu=ya

house big big=PL

'The big houses' (Hari 2010: 28)

Plural marking is optional if an overt number is used with the noun, or if the number is clear from context:

pèmpiʑa

women

súm

three

dù

COP.PE

pèmpiʑa súm dù

women three COP.PE

'There are three women' (Gawne 2016: 55)

The plural form in Syuba is =kya, which is more similar to the Kyirong form, suggesting the Yolmo =ya is an innovation.

Focus marker

Yolmo has a nominal focus marker -ti. The focus marker gives prominence to the noun it is attached to. In the example below, the older brother is singled out, contrasted with other relatives who perhaps did not obtain such wealth:

áda-di

older.brother-FOC

ɲìma

day

ɲèdzen

every

tɕhúkpu

rich

kàl-di

went-PFV

oŋ-sin

come-PST

dù

AUX.PE

áda-di ɲìma ɲèdzen tɕhúkpu kàl-di oŋ-sin dù

older.brother-FOC day every rich went-PFV come-PST AUX.PE

'The older brother became richer every day.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 271)

Hari also notes for Melamchi Valley Yolmo that there is a focus marker -ka, which is used specifically to mark something as contrary to expectation.

kháŋba

house

tɕhímbu

big

tɕhímbu=ya-la-ga

big=PL-LOC-FOC

tè-ku

reside-IPFV

dù

AUX.PE

kháŋba tɕhímbu tɕhímbu=ya-la-ga tè-ku dù

house big big=PL-LOC-FOC reside-IPFV AUX.PE

'I realize that they are living in big houses.' (Hari 2010: 27)

Nouns can also take the emphatic suffixes -ni and -raŋ, which are also used for other parts of speech (see section on lexical emphasis).

Case marking

Yolmo uses post-positional suffixes to mark the case of nouns. Similar to other Tibetic languages, Yolmo uses a single case form for multiple functions. Case marking is treated as a clitic, as clitics come at the end of the whole noun phrase, rather than directly attaching to only the noun. Below the cases are listed with their functions.

Case marker	Function
=ki	genitive, ergative, instrumental
=la	locative, allative, dative
=le(gi)	ablative

The case markers are phonologically bound, with the =ki form becoming voiced in some environments, it is also reduced to =i in some environments. See the section on morphophonemic processes for more on this.

Where there is also a plural the case marker comes after the plural, as in the example below:

tɕàmu=ya=gi

hen=PL=ERG

kòŋa

egg

tɕú

ten

thál

NUM.CLF

kyée

lay

dù

COP.PE

tɕàmu=ya=gi kòŋa tɕú thál kyée dù

hen=PL=ERG egg ten NUM.CLF lay COP.PE

'The hens laid ten eggs' (Hari 2010: 23)

Ergative case

Yolmo has optional ergative case-marking. Ergative marking means that subjects of intransitive verbs are unmarked, the same as objects of transitive verbs. Subjects of transitive verbs are distinguished from both of these with the =ki marker (in contrast to nominative-accusative languages like English, where the subjects of both intransitive and transitive verbs are marked in contrast with objects of transitive verbs).

Below is an intransitive sentence, with the subject ŋà taking no marking:

ŋà

1SG

ŋù-sin

cry-PST

ŋà ŋù-sin

1SG cry-PST

'I cried'

In contrast with this ergative-marked transitive, where the subject ŋà is marked with the ergative:

ŋà=gi

1SG=ERG

ɕò

yoghurt

úp-sin

cover-PST

ŋà=gi ɕò úp-sin

1SG=ERG yoghurt cover-PST

'I covered the yoghurt' (Hari 2010: 39)

Speakers do not always use the ergative case, which is why it is considered 'optional':

ŋà

1SG

tó

rice.cooked

sà-ke

eat-NPST

ŋà tó sà-ke

1SG rice.cooked eat-NPST

'I eat rice' (Gawne 2016: 69)

Ergative marking is more common for past tense, and non-habitual actions. There also appears to be some effect of animacy, and the ergative appears to be used as a strategy in discourse to mark agentivity. This form of optional ergativity is common across the Tibeto-Burman family.

Dative case

Dative case is typically used to indicate, broadly, the noun to which something is given. The Yolmo dative has this function, but it also has a function in 'dative subject' constructions. The dative subject occurs with a small set of intransitive verbs, and denote personal, and usually internal, states.

ŋà=la

1SG=DAT

hé

potatoes

kà-en

like-NPST

ŋà=la hé kà-en

1SG=DAT potatoes like-NPST

'I like potatoes.' (Hari 2010: 42)

The use of dative subjects is common in languages of this area, and is also attested more broadly.

Number

Yolmo has a base-20 counting system. As can be seen in the examples above, cardinal numbers can be used in noun phrases.

The Yolmo number system is very similar to that of Standard Tibetan and other Tibetan varieties. In the table below is the Yolmo number, taken from Hari's dictionary.

Yolmo	English		Yolmo	English		Yolmo	English
tɕíi	1		khál tɕíi tɕíi	21		ʑìpkha	400
ɲíi	2		khál tɕíi ɲíi	22		ŋápkya	500
súm	3		khál tɕíi súm	23		ʈùpkya	600
ʑì	4		khál tɕíi ʑì	24		tìngya	700
ŋá	5		khál tɕíi ŋá	25		kyèkya	800
ʈùu	6		khál tɕíi ʈúu	26		kùpkya	900
tìn	7		kál tɕíi tìn	27		tóŋra	1000
kyèe	8		khál tɕíi kyèe	28
kù	9		khál tɕíi kù	29
tɕú	10		khál tɕíi tɕú	30
tɕúuʑi	11		khál ɲíi	40
tɕíŋii	12		khál tɕú	50
tɕúusum	13		khál súm	60
tɕúpɕi	14		khál súm tɕú	70
tɕéeŋa	15		khál ʑì	80
tɕíiru	16		khál ʑì tɕú	90
tɕúptin	17		khál ŋá	100
tɕápkye	18		khál tìn tɕú	150
tɕúrku	19		khál tɕú	200
khál ɕíi	20		khál tɕéeŋa	300

In Lamjung Yolmo, the base-20 system is only used by a small number of older speakers, with others using a base-10 system. For example, 'twenty' is ɲídʑu, 'thirty' is súmdʑu, 'forty' is ɕíptɕu, etc. Even then, once people reach 20 the usually switch to counting in Nepali.

Ordinal numbers are formed by addition of the suffix -pa, or alternatively with the suffix -pu for ordinals relating to people, in Melamchi Yolmo. Ordinals are typically only formed up to 20.

Numeral classifiers

Yolmo also has an optional numeral classifier thál. This is used to emphasise number. In the example in the section on case marking above, the speaker is emphasising that the hens laid a large number of eggs.

Lamjung Yolmo also has the classifier mènda which can only be used with humans.

Adjectives

Adjectives occur within the noun phrase. Adjectives usually come after the noun so 'small child' would be pìʑa tɕháme (lit. 'child small'). Adjectives can also occur before the noun, especially in casual speech. Many adjectives are derived from verb forms, and often end with -pu, -po, -pa or -mu, but they do not act as verbs, as we see in languages like Magar and Manage. Hari also notes that there are some adjectives that appear to not have a known verbal origin. Adjectives can occur as the head of a noun phrase, but this is very uncommon.

tɕhómbo	'big'
rìŋbu	'long'
màrmu, màrpu	'red'
kárpu, kármu	'white'
dzìba	'afraid'
ʈòmbo	'warm'

It is possible to create a new adjective from a verb, using the -pa nominalising suffix. The verb stem is often reduplicated; rùl- 'to rot' becomes rùl rùlba 'rotten' and pàŋ- 'to be wet' becomes pàŋ pàŋba 'wet'.

Verbs

There are three main types of verbs in Yolmo, lexical verbs, auxiliary verbs and copula verbs. The lexical verbs inflect for tense, aspect, mood and evidence and can take negation. The infinitive form of verbs takes the suffix -tɕe. The infinitive is used in a number of constructions, including the habitual and complementation.

Copula verbs

The copula verbs and their functions are given in the table below. Copulas are not inflected for person, number or politeness level and many do not distinguish tense:

	Egophoric	Dubitative	Perceptual	General Fact
Equation	yìn/yìngen/yìmba	yìnɖo	dù dùba
Existential	yè/yèba yèken/yèba (past tense)	yèʈo		òŋgen/òŋge

Equation copulas are used to link two noun phrases, while existential copulas are used for functions of existence, location, attribution and possession. Hari describes the forms that end in -pa (voiced in this environment so they become -ba) as more emphatic, unlike lexical verbs with a -pa suffix they do not indicate past tense, and are not used exclusively in question structures.

Some copula verbs can also be used as verbal auxiliaries, particularly in constructions marked for aspect, where they contribute evidential, tense or epistemic information. The negative forms of each copula are given in the section on negation.

Below the different evidential and epistemic functions of each copula type are discussed.

Egophoric

The egophoric, or personal, is used to indicate that the speaker has personal knowledge about the information. In the example below, the speaker would not be reading the name of the book, but already know the name as they show it to someone else:

òo

that

tɕhée=gi

book=GEN

mìn

name

gyàldzen

gyaldzen

tsému

tsemu

púŋgyen

puŋgyen

má-ẽ

say-NPST

yìmba

COP.EGO

òo tɕhée=gi mìn gyàldzen tsému púŋgyen má-ẽ yìmba

that book=GEN name gyaldzen tsemu puŋgyen say-NPST COP.EGO

'This book is called 'Gyaldzen Tsemu Punggyen.' (Hari 2010: 66)

Unlike in Standard Tibetan, the speaker does not need to be personally close to an individual to use the egophoric while talking about them.

Different varieties of Yolmo prefer different forms of the egophoric as the default; In Helambu they prefer yìn, in Lamjung yìmba and Ilam yìŋge. yèken is past tense forms of the existential (yèke in Lamjung), with the form yèba also often used in past tense structures, as well as questions. The past form cannot be further decomposed, as the form -ken/-ke is the non-past tense suffix for lexical verbs.

There are some structures where the egophoric is used as the default, such as conditionals.

Dubitative

Unlike the other copulas, which mark evidential distinctions, the dubitative copulas are epistemic forms used for reduced certainty. They are related to the -ʈo dubitative suffixes for lexical verbs. In the example below, the speaker does not have any direct evidence that Rijan is in the house, but thinks that is where he might be:

rídʑan

Rijan

khím=la

house=DAT

yèʈo

COP.DUB

rídʑan khím=la yèʈo

Rijan house=DAT COP.DUB

'Rijan is probably in the house.' (Gawne 2016: 88)

Perceptual

The perceptual, or sensory, evidential is used to mark information acquired through direct sensory evidence, either through sight, one of the other senses, or internal state (such as feeling an ache).

dèla

here

ʈháa

blood

dù

COP.PE

dèla ʈháa dù

here blood COP.PE

'I see there is some blood here.' (Hari 2010: 60)

Hari calls the perceptual forms mirative, as indicating knowledge through sense often occurs for information recently acquired. Only the dùba form, with the emphatic suffix -pa, appears to indicate some amount of surprise or counter-expectation.

General fact

The general fact form is used for uncontroversial and universally known facts. This verb is used in functions of existence, location, attribution and possession, and is not used in equational structures.

ɲì

2PL.EX

yùl=gi

village=GEN

hé

potato

ɕìmbu

tasty

òŋgen

COP.DUB

ɲì yùl=gi hé ɕìmbu òŋgen

2PL.EX village=GEN potato tasty COP.DUB

'The potatoes of our village are tasty.' (Hari 2010: 52)

The form is òŋgen in Melamchi Valley Yolmo and òŋge in Lamjung Yolmo, demonstrating a link with the non-past tense suffix. The verb itself is from the lexical verb òŋ- 'come'. It cannot be used for facts about the past. This copula is not attested in Standard Tibetan or any other Tibetic language outside of Yolmo.

Lexical verb stems

The Melamchi Valley variety of Yolmo exhibit verb stem alterations in the context of some verb structures.

Verb stems with short front vowels have their vowels lengthened (e.g. /i/→/ii/), short back vowels are fronted and lengthened (e.g. /o/ and /a/→/ee/, /u/→/i/). These changes occur mostly with perfective structures and imperatives. Below are some examples of this alternation using the verb má- 'say':

ŋà

1SG

má-ke

say-NPST

ŋà má-ke

1SG say-NPST

'I say' (Hari 2010: 35)

ŋà

1SG

mée-di

say-PFV

yè

AUX.EGO

ŋà mée-di yè

1SG say-PFV AUX.EGO

'I have said' (Hari 2010: 35)

mée-doŋ

say-IMP

mée-doŋ

say-IMP

'say it!' (Hari 2010: 35)

When these structures are negated, the negative prefix is lengthened rather than the verb stem, which maintains the vowel change (this does not occur in the imperative).

ŋà

1SG

màa-mé

say-PFV

yè

AUX.EGO

ŋà màa-mé yè

1SG say-PFV AUX.EGO

'I have not said' (Hari 2010: 35)

These alterations do not occur in Lamjung Yolmo or Syuba.

Auxiliary verbs

There is a small set of auxiliary verbs in Yolmo. The auxiliary tè- is the same as the lexical verb tè- 'sit' and is used to add imperfective aspect:

mò

she

sà

eat

tè-ku

AUX-IPFV

dù

AUX.PE

mò sà tè-ku dù

she eat AUX-IPFV AUX.PE

'she is eating'

A subset of the copulas can also be used as verbal auxiliaries; yìn, yè, yèken and dù. These contribute evidential information and for yè/yèken also some tense information. As you can see in the example above the dù copula is being used as an auxiliary, so they can co-occur with the other auxiliaries.

Tense

Yolmo has a major tense distinction between past and non-past. These are marked with suffixes on the lexical verb, -sin is the past tense marker and -ke or -ken is the non-past marker.

Past tense

The past tense form is -sin.

ŋà=gi

1SG=ERG

ɕò

yoghurt

úp-sin.

cover-PST

ŋà=gi ɕò úp-sin.

1SG=ERG yoghurt cover-PST

'I covered up the yoghurt.' (Hari 2010: 23)

The past tense form -sin can also occur with the perceptual evidential dú in an auxiliary position. This is not possible with the non-past tense suffix, nor can any other copula be used as an auxiliary with the past tense suffix. Hari suggests this structure is inferential, in that the speaker did not have to witness the event, Gawne describes it as 'narrative past'.

tɕhú-kúla

water channel

tshúr

this.side

gyùr-sin

change-PST

dù

AUX.PE

tɕhú-kúla tshúr gyùr-sin dù

{water channel} this.side change-PST AUX.PE

'I see, the water channel has changed course to this side.' (Hari 2010: 45)

Melamchi Valley Yolmo also has a past tense form -kyo that Hari refers to as the 'main-point past/ telling past’, this form is not found in Lamjung Yolmo.

There is also the form -pa, which Hari says is always used in question structures. In Lamjung Yolmo there are some examples where it is used in declaratives rather than questions, with a past-tense meaning.

ŋà

1SG

tɕhám-pa

dance-PST

ŋà tɕhám-pa

1SG dance-PST

'I danced.' (Gawne 2016: 107)

Non-past tense

The non-past tense is used for both present and future constructions. Hari gives the forms -ke and -ken for Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but only -ke is attested in Lamjung Yolmo.

ŋà=la

1SG=DAT

hé

potatoes

kà-en

like-NPST

ŋà=la hé kà-en

1SG=DAT potatoes like-NPST

'I like potatoes.' (Hari 2010: 42)

Hari refers to this form as the 'intentional present' but it can also be used in future constructions:

dì

this

kyée-di

be.born-PERF

ɲì-ti

2PL-EMPH

pèza

child

ɕi

four

ɖò-en

go-NPST

dì kyée-di ɲì-ti pèza ɕi ɖò-en

this be.born-PERF 2PL-EMPH child four go-NPST

'After this one is born we will have four children.' (Hari 2010: 53)

Aspect

There are a number of verb suffixes that are used to mark aspect, these broadly fall into categories of imperfective and perfective, as well as habitual. When an aspect form is used, a copula verb is also used.

Imperfective

The imperfective is used for events that are ongoing or not complete. The -ku suffix is attested in both Melamchi Valley and Lamjung Yolmo. It can only be used with the dù copula verb.

tìriŋ

today

kháwa là

snow mountains

thóŋ-gu

be.seen-IPFV

dù

AUX.PE

tìriŋ {kháwa là} thóŋ-gu dù

today {snow mountains} be.seen-IPFV AUX.PE

'Today the snow mountains can be seen.' (Hari 2010: 43)

The imperfective form -teraŋ can be used with either the dù or yè copula verb. In Lumjung Yolmo some speakers pronounce it as -tiraŋ. Hari refers to the -teraŋ construction as the 'perfect continuous aspect', because it can be used to refer to something that was ongoing until a particular point, as per this first example:

tànda

now

sámma-ni

until-FOC

ɖìbu

money

tér-teraŋ

give-IPFV

yè

AUX.EGO

tànda sámma-ni ɖìbu tér-teraŋ yè

now until-FOC money give-IPFV AUX.EGO

'Up to now he has been giving money.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 278)

Gawne describes it as an imperfective, as it does not appear to have this perfect aspect function in Lamjung Yolmo, as per this example:

mò

3SG.F

kòlela

slowly

tè-teraŋ

sit-IPFV

dù

AUX.PE

mò kòlela tè-teraŋ dù

3SG.F slowly sit-IPFV AUX.PE

'She is slowly sitting down.' (Gawne 2016: 109)

The auxiliary verb tè can also be used to mark an imperfective construction. Neither -ku nor -teraŋ are used if the negative prefix is on the main verb. The auxiliary verb can be used in negative constructions, and takes the negative prefix, rather than the main verb. In the example below, the -teraŋ imperfective is used as the negative prefix is on the auxiliary:

ŋà

1SG

lèn-diraŋ

sing-IPFV

mà-tè

NEG.PST-AUX

yè

AUX.EGO

ŋà lèn-diraŋ mà-tè yè

1SG sing-IPFV NEG.PST-AUX AUX.EGO

'I was not singing.' (Gawne 2016: 111)

Perfective

The perfective aspect suffix is used for events that can be described as whole, without reference to the duration like the imperfective. The perfective form in Yolmo is -ti.

mèŋgaŋ-la-ni

cooking.shed-LOC-FOC

thóola

above

tɕhám

board

tɕhímbu

large

káp-ti

cover-PFV

yè

AUX.EGO

mèŋgaŋ-la-ni thóola tɕhám tɕhímbu káp-ti yè

cooking.shed-LOC-FOC above board large cover-PFV AUX.EGO

'The cooking shed was covered with large boards.' (Hari & Lama 2004: 270)

Multiple verbs with perfective aspect can be used together to create a clause chaining structure. It is distinct from the nominal focus suffix -ti.

Habitual

Habitual aspect marks that an event is usual, customary or frequent. There is no specific habitual aspect suffix for Yolmo. Speakers will either use a verb with an infinitive, or with no suffix.

ŋà

1SG

ɲìma

day

ʈàŋmaraŋ

every

khúra

bread

sà

eat

yè

AUX.EGO

ŋà ɲìma ʈàŋmaraŋ khúra sà yè

1SG day every bread eat AUX.EGO

'I eat bread every day.' (Gawne 2016: 112)

Mood

Mood is marked in Yolmo with a set of verb suffixes. The main mood suffixes are given in the table below

Particle	Function
-toŋ	Imperative
-ka or -tɕo/tɕu	Hortative
-ɲi	Optative
-ʈo	Dubitative

Imperative

The polite imperative suffix is -toŋ (voiced as -doŋ after voiced codas and some vowels). An overt subject is not used, and the same imperative form is used regardless of person or number:

mée-doŋ!

speak-IMP

mée-doŋ!

speak-IMP

'Speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)

The less polite form of the imperative consists of an unmarked verb stem:

mée!

speak.IMP

mée!

speak.IMP

'Speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)

There are also a small number of irregular imperatives that are formed without the imperative suffix, particularly sò 'eat!', from sà- 'eat'.

If there is an honorific form of the verb it can be used, unmarked, as the most polite form of the imperative:

ɕè

eat.HON

ɕè

eat.HON

'Please eat' (Hari 2010: 113)

The negative form of the imperative (the prohibitive) uses the mà- form of the negator prefix with the verb stem. The imperative suffix is not included.

mà-má!

NEG-speak

mà-má!

NEG-speak

'Don't speak!' (Hari 2010: 46)

Hortative

Gawne notes two verbal suffix forms for the hortative in Lamjung Yolmo, a -ka and a -tɕo.

The -ka form is used with all persons except first person singular.

òraŋ

1PL.INCL

sà-ka

eat-HORT

òraŋ sà-ka

1PL.INCL eat-HORT

‘Let's eat!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)

The suffix remains in negated horatitves:

ɲì

1PL.EXCL

mà-tɕhám-ka

NEG-dance-HORT

ɲì mà-tɕhám-ka

1PL.EXCL NEG-dance-HORT

‘Let's not dance!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)

The -tɕo form is used with first person singular, as well as with other persons. It also remains in negative constructions.

ŋà

1PL.EXCL

khím=ki

house=GEN

lè

work

pè-tɕo

do-HORT

ŋà khím=ki lè pè-tɕo

1PL.EXCL house=GEN work do-HORT

‘Let me do the house work!’ (Gawne 2016: 114)

-tɕo appears to be less strong, and tends to be used more frequently. Hari gives the form as -tɕo (she also calls it an optative, but it appears to be a hortative)

tìriŋ

today

khó

3SG.M

dèla-raŋ

here-EMPH

tè-tɕo

sit-HORT

tìriŋ khó dèla-raŋ tè-tɕo

today 3SG.M here-EMPH sit-HORT

‘Let him stay here today.’ (Hari & Lama 2004: 174)

Optative

Hari does not list an optative suffix. Gawne gives the optative -ɲi in Lamjung Yolmo.

ŋà

1SG

ɲàl-ɲi

sleep=OPT

tè-ku

AUX-IPFV

dù

AUX.PE

ŋà ɲàl-ɲi tè-ku dù

1SG sleep=OPT AUX-IPFV AUX.PE

‘I want to sleep.’ (Gawne 2016: 115)

Hari & Lama (2004: 146) list ɲi- as a verb that expresses a 'strong wish’, clearly linking to the Lamjung Yolmo optative form.

Dubitative

Hari describes the dubitative as 'probable future', indicating the sense of decreased certainty that the dubitative mood marks. The forms -ʈo, -ɖo and -ro are found in Melamchi Valley Yolmo as part of the morphophonemic voicing process, but the -ro form is not found in Lamjung Yolmo.

khúŋ-gi

3PL-ERG

sèn

corn.mash

sà-ro

eat-DUB

khúŋ-gi sèn sà-ro

3PL-ERG corn.mash eat-DUB

'they will probably eat corn mash’ (Hari & Lama 2004: 237)

This verb suffix is related to the dubitative form of the copula.

Negation

Negation is marked on lexical verbs by prefix. There are two prefix forms, mè- is for negation in non-past tense (present and future), while mà- is used for past tense, as well as negation of imperatives (mà-tàp! 'don't fall'!).

ŋà

1sg

mè-tàp

NEG.NPST-fill

ŋà mè-tàp

1sg NEG.NPST-fill

'I do not/will not fall.' (Hari 2010: 132)

ŋà

1sg

mà-tàp

NEG.PST-fill

ŋà mà-tàp

1sg NEG.PST-fill

'I did not fall.' (Hari 2010: 132)

The negated forms of copulas are slightly irregular. They are listed in the table below in brackets underneath the regular forms:

	Egophoric	Dubitative	Perceptual	General Fact
Equation	yìn/yìngen/yìmba (mìn/mìngen/mìmba)	yìnɖo (mìnɖo)
Existential	yè/yèba (mè/mèba) yèken/yèba (past tense) (mèke/méba) (past tense)	yèʈo (mèʈo)	dù (mìndu) dùba (mìnduba)	òŋge (mèoŋge)

Verb paradigm

Below are verb paradigms for two verbs, the first is the intransitive verb ŋù 'cry' and the second is the transitive verb sà 'eat'. Both are given mostly with third person subject, although this is not particularly important as subject person does not affect the form of the verb. For both verbs you can see the change in verb stem. For dialect specific variation, click on the link back to each specific form.

Form	Syuba	English		Syuba	English
Infinitive	ŋù-dʑe	'to cry'		sà-tɕe	'to eat'
Simple non-past	khó ŋù-en	'he cries'		khói tó sà-en	'he eats rice'
Simple past	khó ŋù-sin	'he cried'		khói tó sà-sin	'he ate rice'
'Telling' past	khó ŋù-gyo	'he cried'		khói tó sà-gyo	'he ate rice'
Past/question form	khó ŋìi-ba	'did he cry?'/'he cried'		khói tó sèe-ba	'did he eat rice?'/'he ate rice'
Imperfective	khó ŋù-gu dù	'he is crying'		khói tó sà-gu dù	'he is eating rice
Imperfective	khó ŋìi-deraŋ yè	'he is crying'		khói tó sèe-deraŋ yè	'he is eating rice
Imperfective (Aux)	khó ŋìi tè-ku dù	'he is crying'		khói tó sèe tè-ku dù	'he is eating rice
Perfective	khó ŋìi-deraŋ yè	'he has cried'		khói tó sèe-di yè	'he has eaten rice'
Habitual	khó ŋù yè	'he cries (every day)'		khói tó sà yè	'he eats rice (every day)'
Imperative	ŋíi	'cry!'		tó sò	'eat the rice!'
Hortative	ŋù-ka / ŋù-tɕo	'let's cry!'		sà-ka / sà-tɕo	'let's eat!'
Optative	ŋù-ɲi	'I want to cry'		sa-ɲi	'I want to eat'
Dubitative	khó ŋù-ʈo	'he is probably crying'		khói tó sà-ro	'he is probably eating rice'
Negative, non-past	khó mà-ŋì	'he is not crying'		khói tó mè-sà	'he is not eating rice'
Negative, past	khó mà-ŋì	'he did not cry'		khói tó mà-sèe	'he did not eat rice'

Clause structure

This section outlines some of the main features of the structure of clauses in Yolmo.

Nominalisation

Nominalisation is the process by which words undergo a change that allows them to act as nouns. While nominalisation is common process, it is particularly pervasive in Bodic languages, where it can be used for a variety of functions, including the formation of complement clauses and relative clauses. The common Bodic nominaliser -pa productively functions in Yolmo as a suffix that can mark past tense, question structures or emphasis. There are other nominalising forms in Yolmo.

Hari describes a number of nominalisers in Melamchi Valley Yolmo. The first is the nominalising suffix -ka:

dì

this

saudʑi

shopkeeper

kár-ka

weight-NMLZ

yàabu

good

tér-ku

give-IPFV

dù

AUX.PE

dì saudʑi kár-ka yàabu tér-ku dù

this shopkeeper weight-NMLZ good give-IPFV AUX.PE

‘This shop keeper gives good weight.’ (Hari 2010: 30)

A number of other nominalising suffixes that attach to verbs have more specific functions:

Suffix	Function
-naŋ	appearance of state or action
-taŋ	displaying a forceful show
-luŋ	have time for an activity
-lu	way of doing something

In Lamjung Yolmo the most productive nominaliser is -kandi. None of the others described above have been attested. This form is not attested in Hari's description of Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but is probably related to the -ka form described above.

ŋà=ki

1SG=ERG

ʈìlbu

bell

yúŋ-kandi

ring-NMLZ

thé-ku

hear-IPFV

dù

AUX.PE

ŋà=ki ʈìlbu yúŋ-kandi thé-ku dù

1SG=ERG bell ring-NMLZ hear-IPFV AUX.PE

‘I hear the ringing of bells.’ (Gawne 2016: 132)

There is also a locative nominaliser -sa, which creates a noun that denotes location:

ŋà

1SG

dzàra

snack

sà-sa=la

eat-NMLZ.LOC=LOC

ɖò-en

go-NPST

ŋà dzàra sà-sa=la ɖò-en

1SG snack eat-NMLZ.LOC=LOC go-NPST

‘I want to go to the snack place.’ (Hari 2010: 33)

Adverbials

An adverbial structure modifies the verb in some way.

Temporal adverbial subordination

Temporal adverbs can create subordinated clauses.

sà-kandi

eat-NMLZ

tòŋla

before

ŋà

1SG

làkpa

hand

ʈhú-ke

wash-NPST

sà-kandi tòŋla ŋà làkpa ʈhú-ke

eat-NMLZ before 1SG hand wash-NPST

‘I wash my hands before eating.’ (Gawne 2016: 130)

Below is the list of temporal adverbs observed in Yolmo to date, some are independent words, and others are verbal suffixes:

Adverb	Translation	Additional information
nàm	'when'
gàrila	'at the time'	Nepali loanword
bèlala	'at the time'	Nepali loanword
-kamu	'at the time'	only attested in Lamjung Yolmo
tòŋla	'before'
tíŋla	'after'
-tile	'after'
-timaraŋ	'after'
yìndʑu	'since'	only attested in Melamchi Valley Yolmo

Manner adverbs

Manner adverbs create a subordinated clause that expresses the manner of an action. The manner adverb is lèemu (lìmu in Lamjung).

khúŋ

3PL

tábu

house

límu

like

gyùbu

fast

tɕóŋ-ku

run-NMLZ

dù

AUX.PE

khúŋ tábu límu gyùbu tɕóŋ-ku dù

3PL house like fast run-NMLZ AUX.PE

‘He runs fast like a horse.’ (Gawne 2016: 129)

The forms tíle and dènmu are also found in Lamjung Yolmo, but not yet attested in other varieties.

Conditional

Conditional constructions are formed through the use of the suffix -na on the verb in the protasis clause (the 'if' clause). Speakers will either use the -na suffix directly on the verb, or leave the verb unmarked at attach the -na suffix to the verb meaning ‘say’ (mée in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, làp in Lamjung Yolmo).

nám

rain

mà-kyàp

NEG.PST-fall

làp-na

say-COND

ŋà

1SG

phíla

outside

ɖò-ke

go-NPST

nám mà-kyàp làp-na ŋà phíla ɖò-ke

rain NEG.PST-fall say-COND 1SG outside go-NPST

‘If it doesn't rain I will go outside.’ (Gawne 2016: 130)

Complementation

A complement clause is a clause that functions as an argument of another clause. In Yolmo the embedded complement clause takes the infinitive suffix -tɕe.

ɲì=la

1PL.EXCL=DAT

yìgi

letter

prù-tɕe

write-INF

ʈèmba sàl-toŋ

remember-IMP

ɲì=la yìgi prù-tɕe {ʈèmba sàl-toŋ}

1PL.EXCL=DAT letter write-INF remember-IMP

‘Remember to write us a letter!’ (Gawne 2016: 134)

The optative mood suffix -ɲi in Yolmo can also be said to be acting as a complementiser.

Relativisation

A relative clause is depended on a main clause. Different relativising strategies are used in the two described varieties of Yolmo. In Melamchi Valley Yolmo the non-past tense form -ken(-gi) is used for non-past constructions, and the past tense form -kyo(-gi) is used for past tense constructions (for each the -gi is optional). Similarly, in Lamjung Yolmo, -ke-ki can be used for non-past relativised clauses and -pa-ki for past relativised clauses. This difference reflects the fact that the past tense form -kyo is not found in Lamjung Yolmo.

òze

that

bèle

time

aʑi=gi

sister=GEN

gòo

head

thóo=la

above=LOC

tɕáŋ-gyo-gi

hang-REL

làawor

mill.stone

phók

INT

táŋ-sin

send-PST

dù

AUX.PE

ló

RS

òze bèle aʑi=gi gòo thóo=la tɕáŋ-gyo-gi làawor phók táŋ-sin dù ló

that time sister=GEN head above=LOC hang-REL mill.stone INT send-PST AUX.PE RS

'At that moment (the monster) swiftly loosened the mill stone which was hanging just above the head of the elder sister.' (Hari 2010: 76)

khyá=ki

2PL=GEN

prù-prù-pa-ki

write-write-REL

yìgi

letter

khyá=ki prù-prù-pa-ki yìgi

2PL=GEN write-write-REL letter

'The letter that you wrote.' (Gawne 2016: 134)

In Lamjung Yolmo, the nominaliser -kandi can be used to make a relative clause:

khím

house

sáŋma

clean

pè-kandi

do=NMLZ

mì

person

nà-sin

ill-PST

dù

AUX.PE

khím sáŋma pè-kandi mì nà-sin dù

house clean do=NMLZ person ill-PST AUX.PE

'The person who cleans the house is ill.' (Gawne 2016: 135)

Clause chaining

The perfective suffix -ti is used to chain clauses together. Multiple verbs with this suffix can be stacked to create a complex series of events.

tɕádzuŋma

bird

tɕíi

one

òŋ-ti

come-PFV

ʈúu-ti

pick.up-PFV

khér-sin

carry.away-PST

tɕádzuŋma tɕíi òŋ-ti ʈúu-ti khér-sin

bird one come-PFV pick.up-PFV carry.away-PST

'A bird came, picked up (a fish) and took (it) away.' (Gawne 2016: 136)

Question formation

Word order does not change to form questions in Yolmo. Rising intonation at the end of the utterance can indicate it is a question. A set of interrogative pronouns are used for open content questions.

The -pa suffix, which was introduced in the section on past tense is used in question structures.

khé

2SG

tó

rice.cooked

sà-pa

eat-Q

khé tó sà-pa

2SG rice.cooked eat-Q

‘Did you eat cooked rice?’ (Gawne 2016: 139)

The reply would be with the regular past tense, and not the -pa suffix:

ŋà

1SG

tó

rice.cooked

sà-sin

eat-PST

ŋà tó sà-sin

1SG rice.cooked eat-PST

‘I ate rice.’ (Gawne 2016: 139)

The copula form used in a question matches the form the question-asked anticipates the question-answerer will use in their answer. That is, if they anticipate the answer will use the perceptual evidential dù, this is the form they will use in asking the question.

Reported speech

Yolmo has two strategies for reporting speech, the first is using the lexical verb má or làp 'say', the second is using the clause final evidential particle ló.

Lexical verb

In Melamchi Valley Yolmo the main lexical verb of saying is má, in Lamjung Yolmo it is làp. Hari and Lama note that làp is found in Melamchi Valley Yolmo, but in restricted use. If the speaker, and the person the speech is directed at are overtly marked, these usually proceed the reported content (although they are frequently not overt in natural speech). The 'say' verb prototypically occurs after the reported content, although if the reported content is quite long the verb may occasionally come before it.

khó-ni

3SG-FOC

níŋdʑi

love

ɕóŋ-gen-gi

feel

pèza-raŋ

child-EMPH

mìmba

COP.NEG.EMPH

áma-gi

mother-ERG

mì

people

pò-la

near-DAT

má-en

say-NPST

khó-ni níŋdʑi ɕóŋ-gen-gi pèza-raŋ mìmba áma-gi mì pò-la má-en

3SG-FOC love feel child-EMPH COP.NEG.EMPH mother-ERG people near-DAT say-NPST

'Mother says to people nearby, "He is not a lovable child!"' (Hari & Lama 2004: 383)

The lexical verb 'say' is also used in a number of other constructions, including conditionals.

Reported speech evidential

The reported speech particle also indicates that the speaker is reporting a prior utterance, but has a different focus. The reported speech particle does not account for who the speaker way, but instead primarily serves to focus on the fact the information is reported, and not directly witnessed by the speaker. In the example below from Syuba, it is not made explicit if the report comes from Maila, or another person. The reported speech evidential occurs frequently in narratives.

tíriŋ

today

Maila

Maila

tóm

bear

phré-si

meet-PST

ló

RS

tíriŋ Maila tóm phré-si ló

today Maila bear meet-PST RS

‘Today Maila met a bear.’ (Höhlig 1978: 22)

This is part of the wider evidential system of Yolmo, which is also found in the copula verbs above.

Lexical emphasis

There are two emphatic suffixes that can be used with a number of word classes. This is in contrast to the emphatic form -ti, which is only used with nouns. The first is -ni, and the second is -raŋ, which Hari & Lama note is a frequently used emphatic marker in informal speech. The distinction between all of these forms is unclear, although Hari refers to the -ni form as used for 'moderate focus', so it is perhaps less emphatic for nouns than the -ti suffix.

Clause final particles

Yolmo has a series of sentence final particles that can be used to achieve a range of effects. The table below gives some of the particles in Yolmo and a brief description of their function.

Particle	Function
ló	reported speech
nà	emphasis/insistence
yàŋ	emphasis/focus
làa	polite
lé	pleading
lò	friendly/encouraging
óo	invoking/encouraging

The reported speech marker ló is an evidential form, as it indicates the source of the information as someone else. This structure is described in the section on reported speech.

Honorifics

Yolmo has a subset of honorific vocabulary which is used when talking to, or about, people of higher social status, particularly Buddhist Lamas. Honorific lexicon includes nouns, verbs and adjectives. The table below gives some examples, including the regular word, the honorific form, and the English translation.

Regular form	Honorific form	English
tér	nàŋ	'give'
ɲí lòo	zìm	'sleep'
sà	ɕè	'eat'
ába	yàp	'father'
áma	yùm	'mother'
káŋba	ɕàp	'foot/leg'
gòo	ú	'head'
ɕìmbu	ɲéebu	'tasty'

The use of honorifics in Syuba and Lamjung Yolmo is not as common, although some speakers still recognise and use these forms.

100 word Swadesh list

Below is a 100 word Swadesh list in Yolmo. The Yolmo forms are taken from Hari and Lama, who note some variation between the Eastern (E) and Western (W) varieties in the Melamchi and Helambu Valley area. Where the form is different in other varieties this is indicated in the right-hand column of the table. This variation shows that the Lamjung variety and Syuba have more in common with each other lexically than they do with the Melamchi Valley variety.

Swadesh item	English	Yolmo	Variation
1.	I	ŋà
2.	thou	khyá
3.	we	ɲì
4.	this	dì
5.	that	òo	òodi in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
6.	who?	sú
7.	what?	tɕí
8.	not	mè-, mì-
9.	all	thámdʑi	dzàmma in Lamjung Yolmo, támdze in Syuba
10.	many	màŋbu
11.	one	tɕíi
12.	two	ŋyíi
13.	a	tɕhímbu, tɕhómbo	only tɕómbo reported in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
14.	long	rìŋbu
15.	small	tɕhéemu	tɕéemi in Lamjung YOlmo
16.	woman	pìihmi	pèmpiʑa in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
17.	man	khyówa	kyópiʑa in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
18.	person	mì
19.	fish	ɲà
20.	bird	tɕà-tɕìwa	tɕádzuŋma in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
21.	dog	kyíbu, khyí	khí in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
22.	louse	kiɕíkpa, kyíɕi	ɕí in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
23.	tree	tòŋbo, tùŋbu	only tòŋbo reported in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
24.	seed	sén
25.	leaf	làpti, lòma
26.	root	tsárkyi, tsárŋyi, tsárnɲe
27.	bark	páko, phíko, kóldaŋ	phába in Lamjung Yolmo
28.	skin	páaba (E), páko (W)	gòoba in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
29.	lesh	ɕá
30.	blood	ʈháa
31.	bone	rèko, rìiba (E)	ròko in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
32.	grease	khyákpa tɕháa
33.	egg	tɕàmu kòŋa
34.	horn	ròwa	rùwa in Syuba
35.	tail	ŋáma, ŋéma	ŋámaŋ in Lamjung Yolmo
36.	feather	ʈò (E), ʈòo (W)	ɕókpa in Lamjung Yolmo
37.	hair	ʈá
38.	head	gòo
39.	ear	námdʑo
40.	eye	míi
41.	nose	náasum (E), nárko (W)	only náasum reported in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
42.	mouth	khá
43.	tooth	só
44.	tongue	tɕéle	tɕé in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
45.	fingernail	sému
46.	foot	káŋba
47.	knee	káŋba-tshíi	tshíiŋgor in Lamjung Yolmo, pìmu in Syuba
48.	hand	làkpa
49.	belly	ʈèpa
50.	neck	dzìŋba
51.	breast	òma
52.	heart	níŋ
53.	liver	tɕìmba
54.	drink	thúŋ-
55.	eat	sà-
56.	bite	kàp-, áa táp-
57.	see	tá, thóŋ-
58.	hear	thée-, ɲìn-	thée-, ɲèn in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
59.	know	ɕée-
60.	sleep	ɲí lòo-	ɲàl- in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
61.	die	ɕí-
62.	kill	sé-
63.	swim	tɕál kyàp-
64.	fly	ùr-
65.	walk	ɖò-
66.	come	òŋ-
67.	lie	ɲàl-
68.	sit	tè-
69.	stand	làŋ-di té-
70.	give	tér-
71.	say	má-, làp-	only làp- in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
72.	sun	ɲìma
73.	moon	dàwa, dàyum	dàgarmu in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
74.	star	kárma
75.	water	tɕhú
76.	rain	nám kyàp-
77.	stone	tò
78.	sand	pèma
79.	earth	sása, thása, sáʑa, sáptɕi	sébi in Syuba
80.	cloud	múkpa
81.	smoke	tìpa, tèpa	only tìpa reported in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
82.	fire	mè
83.	ash	thála
84.	burn	tìi-, bàr-, tshíi-
85.	path	làm
86.	mountain	kàŋ
87.	red	màrmu, màrpu
88.	green	ŋòmbo, ŋùmbu
89.	yellow	sérpu
90.	white	kárpu, kármu
91.	black	nàkpu
92.	night	kùŋmu
93.	hot	ʈòmo	ʈòmbo in Lamjung Yolmo and Syuba
94.	cold	ʈàŋmu
95.	full	kàŋ
96.	new	sámba
97.	good	yàabu
98.	round	kòrmu (circular), rhílmu (spherical)
99.	dry	kámbu
100.	name	mìn	Unlike almost all other Tibetic languages, this word is mìn and not mìŋ

See also

• Kyirong–Kagate languages
• Kyirong language
• Kagate language
• Tibetic languages

External resources

• Open access digital collection of Anna Marie Hari's cassette recordings of Melamchi Valley Yolmo from the 1970s and 1980s at PARADISEC.
• Digital collection of Lauren Gawne's documentation of Lamjung Yolmo (2009-2016) at PARADISEC (partly open access)
• Three open access collections of Syuba, a dialect closely related to Yolmo, MH1 digitised from 1970s recordings, SUY1 documentation by Lauren Gawne (2009-2016), MTC1 a 2013 BOLD documentation by the Mother Tongue Centre Nepal.

Key references

• Clarke, Graham E. (1980). "A Helambu History". Journal of the Nepal Research Centre. 4: 1–38.
• Clarke, Graham E. (1980). "Lama and Tamang in Yolmo." Tibetan Studies in honor of Hugh Richardson. M. Aris and A. S. S. Kyi (eds). Warminster, Aris and Phillips: 79-86.
• Gawne, Lauren (2011). Lamjung Yolmo-Nepali-English dictionary. Melbourne, Custom Book Centre; The University of Melbourne.
• Gawne, Lauren (2016). A Sketch Grammar of Lamjung Yolmo. Canberra: Asia Pacific Linguistics. hdl:1885/110258. ISBN 9781922185341. OCLC 961180469.
• Hari, Anna Maria & Chhegu Lama (2004). Dictionary Yolhmo-Nepali-English. Kathmandu: Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University.
• Hari, Anna Maria (2010). Yohlmo Sketch Grammar. Kathmandu: Ekta books.
• Hedlin, Matthew (2011). An Investigation of the relationship between the Kyirong, Yòlmo, and Standard Spoken Tibetan speech varieties. Masters thesis, Payap University, Chiang Mai

References

This article was submitted to WikiJournal of Humanities for external academic peer review in 2018 (reviewer reports). The updated content was reintegrated into the Misplaced Pages page under a CC-BY-SA-3.0 license (2019). The version of record as reviewed is: Lauren Gawne; et al. (25 April 2019). "A grammatical overview of Yolmo (Tibeto-Burman)" (PDF). WikiJournal of Humanities. 2 (1): 2. doi:10.15347/WJH/2019.002. ISSN 2639-5347. Wikidata Q71424678.

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EGO:egophoric PE:perceptual RS:reported speech marker

v t e Sino-Tibetan branches
Western Himalayas (Himachal, Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim)	West Himalayish Tamangic Newaric Newar Baram–Thangmi Kiranti Dhimalish Dhimal Toto Lhokpu Lepcha Greater Magaric Magaric Magar Kham Chepangic Chepang Bhujel Raji–Raute Dura–Tandrange
Eastern Himalayas (Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal)	Bodish Tibetic East Bodish Tshangla Basum Nam? Gongduk ʼOle Tani Chamdo
Myanmar and Indo- Burmese border	Karbi Kuki-Chin Mruic Mru Hkongso Pyu Taman "Naga" Ao Angami–Pochuri Meitei Tangkhulic Zeme Sal Boro–Garo Konyak Jingpho–Luish
East and Southeast Asia	Sinitic Bai Tujia Nungish Karenic Gong Kathu Cai–Long Caijia Longjia Luren Burmo-Qiangic Qiangic Gyalrongic Ersuic Naic Lolo-Burmese Mondzish Burmish Loloish
Dubious (possible isolates) (Arunachal)	Hrusish Hruso Mijiic Kho-Bwa Puroik Miju–Meyor Songlin Greater Siangic Siangic Koro Milang Idu–Taraon
Proposed groupings	Central Tibeto-Burman Kuki-Chin–Naga Macro-Bai Mahakiranti Rung Tibeto-Burman Tibeto-Kanauri
Proto-languages	Proto-Sino-Tibetan Proto-Tibeto-Burman Proto-Loloish Proto-Karenic Proto-Min Proto-Hakka
Italics indicates single languages that are also considered to be separate branches.

v t e Bodic (Tibeto-Kanauri) languages
West Himalayish (Kanauric)	Western Kinnauric Kinnauri Chitkuli Kinnauri Sunam Lahaulic Pattani Tinani Eastern Central Bunan Rongpo Tolcha Sunam Zhangzhung Almora Rangas Darmiya Byangsi Dhuleli Chaudangsi
Bodish	Tibetic Central Tibetan Central Tibetan (Ü-Tsang) Standard Tibetan Mugom Amdo Amdo Tibetan Gserpa Khalong mDungnag Kham (Eastern) Khams Tibetan Tseku Baima Choni Zhongu Dongwang Drugchu Zitsadegu Southern Sikkimese Dzongkha (Bhutanese) Khamba Laya Lunana Groma Brokkat Brokpa Chochangachakha Lakha Naapa Western Ladakhi–Balti (Western Archaic) Ladakhi Zangskari Changthang Purgi Balti Lahuli–Spiti (Western Innovative) Lahuli (Stod Bhoti) Spiti Bhoti Nyamkat Bhoti Kinnauri Tukpa Sherpa-Jirel Sherpa Jirel Kyirong–Kagate Kyirong Kagate Tsum Yolmo Nubri Gyalsumdo Tshangla-East Bodish Tshangla Tshangla East Bodish Takpa Dzala Nyen Chali Bumthang Kheng Kurtöp Nupbi ʼOle Basum Basum
Tamangic	TGTM Tamang Gurung Thakali Manang Chantyal Ghale Ghale Kutang Kaike Kaike

v t e Languages of Northeast India
Arunachal Pradesh	Sal Deori Nocte Singpho Tangsa Tutsa Wancho Tani Adi Apatani Bori Gallong Nishi Tangam Yano Other Assamese Hajong Karbi Milang Nefamese Puimei
Assam	Indo-Aryan Assamese‎ Bengali Bishnupriya Manipuri Haflong Hindi Sylheti Sino-Tibetan Kuki-Chin Amri Bawm Biate Chiru Gangte Hmar Hrangkhol Karbi Paite Ranglong Saihriem Sakachep Vaiphei Sal Barman Bodo Deori Dimasa Garo Kachari Koch Kokborok Moran Nocte Rabha Singpho Tangsa Tiwa Turung Tutsa Wancho Tani Adi Bangni-Tagin Bokar Hill Miri Mising Na Nishi Zeme Inpui Khoirao Maram Rongmei Zeme Other Hajong Meitei Kra-Dai Ahom Khamti Khamyang Tai Aiton Tai Phake
Manipur	Kuki-Chin Northern Anal Biate Chiru Chothe Gangte Hrangkhol Kom Lamkang Moyon Paite Purum Ralte Simte Thadou Vaiphei Zou Other Hmar Mizo Monsang Sakachep Sorbung Tarao Zeme Inpui Khoirao Maram Puimei Rongmei Zeme Other Chairel Maring Uipo Meitei Sopvoma Tangkhul
Meghalaya	Kuki-Chin Amri Biate Gangte Karbi Khelma Mizo Vaiphei Khasic Khasi Lyngngam Pnar War Other Atong Garo Hajong Koch
Mizoram	Biate Falam Hakha Chin Hmar Khelma Kokborok Mara Mizo Nga La Ranglong Paite Ralte Tedim Zyphe
Nagaland	Sino- Tibetan Angami- Pochuri Angami Chokri Kuzhami Moyon Ntenyi Pochuri Rengma Sema Sopvoma Ao Ao Lotha Mongsen Ao Sangtam Wui Yimchungrü Sal Chang Dimasa Khiamniungan Konyak Nocte Phom Wancho Zeme Inpui Lamkang Mzieme Rongmei Zeme Other Chiru Chothe Khelma Makury Tangkhul Other Assamese Nagamese creole
Sikkim	Gurung Lepcha‎ Limbu‎ Magar Nepali Newar‎ Sherpa Sikkimese Sunwar‎ Tamang Yakkha Yolmo
Tripura	Indo-Aryan Bengali Bishnupriya Manipuri Sylheti Sino-Tibetan Bawm Darlong Koch Kokborok Meitei Mizo Paite Ralte Ranglong Tangkhul Thadou Vaiphei Zeme

v t e Languages of Nepal
Official language	Nepali
Indigenous languages	Sino-Tibetan Kiranti Bahing Bantawa Belhare Chamling Dumi Limbu Sampang Sunwar Thulung Vayu Waling Yakkha Magaric Bhujel Chepang Dura Kham Magar Tamangic Chantyal Gurung Manang Tamang Tibetic Jirel Kagate Kyirong Lepcha Mugomt Naapa Nubri Sherpa Sikkimese Yolmo Other Baram Dhimal Kaike Lepcha Newar Raji Raute Thangmi Indo-Aryan Angika Awadhi Bajjika Bhojpuri Danwar Doteli Hindi Jumli Maithili Majhi Marwari Rangpuri Tharu Kochila Urdu Sign language Ghandruk Sign Language Jhankot Sign Language Jumla Sign Language Maunabudhuk–Bodhe Sign Language Nepali Sign Language Other English Kusunda Kurukh Majhwar Mundari Santali

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• South Bodish languages
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