The Linguistic Landscape of the Indian Himalayas

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 Brill’s Studies in South and
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The Linguistic Landscape of
the Indian Himalayas
Languages in Kinnaur

By

Anju Saxena

leiden | boston

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 This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the cc by-nc-nd 4.0 license,
which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided no alterations are made and the original author(s) and source are credited.
Further information and the complete license text can be found at
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permission from the respective copyright holder.

Cover illustration: Apple orchards in Kinnaur. Photo by the author.

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov

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Copyright 2022 by Anju Saxena. Published by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Contents

Acknowledgements ix
List of Figures and Tables xi
Notation, Terminology and Abbreviations xiv

1 Introduction—Kinnaur: Geography, Demography and Languages 1

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Linguistic Description, Language Documentation and Empirical
Linguistics 2
2 The Geography of Kinnaur 3
3 Administrative Units in Kinnaur 8
4 Demography of Kinnaur 10
5 Number of KST Speakers 15
5.1 What the Census Figures Tell Us about the Status of KST 16
6 Some Questions to Be Addressed in This Work 19

2 A Linguistic Sketch of Kinnauri 20

1 Introduction 20
2 Phonology 21
2.1 Consonants 21
2.2 Vowels 29
2.3 Morphophonological Stem Alternations 32
2.4 Suffix Suppletion 33
3 Noun Phrase 34
3.1 Noun Phrase Structure 34
3.2 Nouns 35
3.3 Pronouns 57
3.4 Adjectives 64
3.5 Numerals 69
4 The Verb Complex 71
4.1 Verb Lexemes and Their Structure 72
4.2 Subject Indexing 86
4.3 “Affected Object” Indexing 86
4.4 Copula Constructions 91
4.5 Non-Copula Constructions 97
4.6 Negation 109
4.7 Imperative and Prohibitive 113

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vi contents

5 Clauses and Sentences 118

5.1 Experiencer Subjects 118
5.2 Questions 121
Appendix 2A: Kinnauri Basic Vocabulary (by Anju Saxena and
Santosh Negi) 123

3 A Linguistic Sketch of Navakat 169

1 Introduction 169
2 Phonology 171
2.1 Consonants 171
2.2 Vowels 173
3 Noun Phrase 176
3.1 Noun Phrase Structure 176
3.2 Nouns 177
3.3 Pronouns 194
3.4 Adjectives 198
3.5 Numerals 203
4 The Verb Complex 205
4.1 Verb Lexemes and Their Structure 205
4.2 Verbal Inflectional Categories 208
4.3 Copula Constructions 209
4.4 Non-Copula Constructions 215
4.5 Final Auxiliaries 223
4.6 Negation 225
4.7 Imperative and Prohibitive 226
5 Clauses and Sentences 229
5.1 Experiencer Subjects 230
5.2 Questions 231
5.3 Clausal Nominalization 232
Appendix 3A: Classical Tibetan Verb Stems and Their
Correspondences in Navakat 234
Appendix 3B: Navakat Basic Vocabulary (by Anju Saxena and Padam
Sagar) 236

4 A Linguistic Sketch of Kinnauri Pahari 272

1 Introduction 272
2 Phonology 274
2.1 Consonants 274
2.2 Vowels 277
2.3 Words with Special Prosody 284

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contents vii

3 Noun Phrase 285

3.1 Noun Phrase Structure 285
3.2 Nouns 286
3.3 Pronouns 303
3.4 Adjectives 310
3.5 Numerals 312
4 The Verb Complex 313
4.1 Verb Lexemes and Their Structure 313
4.2 Copulas and Auxiliaries 315
4.3 Periphrastic Verb Forms 323
4.4 Negation 330
4.5 Imperative and Prohibitive 331
5 Clauses and Sentences 332
5.1 Experiencer Subjects 333
5.2 Questions 334
5.3 Conjunction and Disjunction 335
5.4 Relative Clauses 336
Appendix 4A: Some Comparisons between Kinnauri Pahari and
Other Pahari Languages 338
Appendix 4B: Kinnauri Pahari Basic Vocabulary (by Anju Saxena and
Vikram Negi) 340

5 Linguistic Relationships in Kinnaur i: Sino-Tibetan 376

1 Introduction 376
2 Data Collection 377
3 Methodology 379
4 Towards Linguistically Informed Computational
Lexicostatistics 381
5 Results: Vocabulary 384
5.1 Basic Nouns 385
5.2 Basic Adjectives 390
5.3 Some Adverbs of Time 390
5.4 Numerals and Numeral Systems 392
5.5 Basic Question Words 395
5.6 Personal Pronouns 396
5.7 Basic Vocabulary: Summary and Discussion 398
5.8 Reflections on the Methodology 401
6 Results: Grammatical Features 402
6.1 Reflexive and Possessive Pronominal Forms 402
6.2 Adjective—Noun Order 404

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viii contents

6.3 Some Preliminary Observations about the Grammatical Structure

of KST Varieties 405
7 KST Varieties and Their Classification 405
Appendix 5A: Questionnaire Items and Vocabulary Comparison
Tables 414

6 Linguistic Relationships in Kinnaur ii: Language Contact between

Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Aryan 435
1 Introduction 435
2 Language Contact in Kinnaur 435
3 Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari: Shared Linguistic Features 436
3.1 Lexicon: Names of the Days and Months 436
3.2 Lexicon: Words for Past and Future Time Adverbs 440
3.3 Lexicon: Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ 443
3.4 Lexicon: Convergence in the Numeral System 448
3.5 Lexicon/Grammar: the Agentive Nominalizer 450
3.6 Grammar: Perfective and Imperfective Aspect Markers 452
3.7 Grammar: the 1pl Inclusive–Exclusive Distinction 454
3.8 Grammar: the Finite Verb System 456
4 Summary 456

7 The Many-Faceted Linguistic Landscape of Kinnaur 458

References 463
Index 473

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Acknowledgements

My deepest gratitude goes out to the speakers of Kinnauri, Kinnauri Pahari and
Navakat who provided me the opportunity to learn about their languages. This
work would not have been possible without their encouragement, help and
support.
Special thanks to Mrs. Santosh Negi and Mr. Padam Sagar (Giatso). I thank
Santosh Negi for her patience and companionship during my fieldwork visits
and for her insights about Kinnauri. I met Giatso by accident, which initiated
my interest in documenting Navakat. He guided me in learning about Navakat,
through his insightful comments about his language and his patience during
many and long field sessions. A special note of thanks is also due to Mr. Vikram
Negi and Mrs. Rameshwari for their insight about Kinnauri Pahari and for their
help.
I would also like to thank my many other language consultants who have
contributed to my learning in many different ways: Professor Sudesh Negi for
welcoming me warmly during my first fieldwork visit and introducing me to
many Kinnauri speakers and for her continous support and encouragement;
Mrs. Santosh Negi’s family and relatives for their warm welcome to their homes;
Mr. Chetan Negi, Miss Priya Negi and Mrs. Krishan Bhagti deserve a special
note of thanks for teaching me about the more detailed nuances of the Kin-
nauri lexicon and for helping me understand the Kinnauri structure better. I
also warmly thank the following for their help and support during various field-
work visits: Mrs. Chhimet Dolma, Mrs. Yangzin Dolma, Mrs. Suraj Kumari, Mr.
Bansi Lal, Mr. Sunder Lal, †Mr. Arjun Negi, Mr. B.J. Negi, † Mrs. Jwala Sukhi
Negi, Mrs. Lakshmi Negi, Mr. Ramesh Negi, Mrs. Sneh Negi, Miss Sneh Negi,
Miss Swati Negi, Mr. Vikram Negi, Mrs. Rameshwari, Mr. Chandar Sagar, Mr.
Rattan Sagar, Mr. Devi Singh, Mr. Harvinder Singh, Mr. Mohinder Singh, Mr.
Puran Singh, Mr. Bhim Sukh, †Mrs. Evi Dolma Tshering, and Mr. Gulab Tsher-
ing.
I would like to thank David Bradley, Stig Eliasson, Harald Hammarström and
Lars Borin for their comments and feedback. Bettina Zeisler deserves special
thanks for her numerous comments on the Navakat chapter, and also for many
discussions we had about the languages of the Indian Himalayas in Tübingen,
Uppsala and Gothenburg. Thanks to †Roland Bielmeier for sharing his unpub-
lished manuscript with me.
Thanks to David Karlander, Anna Sjöberg, Freja Lindgren and Allahverdi
Verdizade for project assistance, and to Ljuba Veselinova, Taraka Rama, Shafqat
Mumtaz Virk and Anna Sjöberg for preparing the maps.

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x acknowledgements

I would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful com-
ments which have improved the quality of this book, and Elisa Perotti at Brill
for her co-operation and help with all the practical and adminstrative details
in connection with manuscript preparation and submission.
The preparation of the present volume has been made possible thanks to
the following research grants awarded by the Swedish Research Council, and
which I hereby gratefully acknowledge: Digital areal linguistics: a lexical view
of the Himalayan microarea (2010–2014, grant 2009–1448), South Asia as a lin-
guistic area? Exploring big-data methods in areal and genetic linguistics (2015–
2019, grant 2014–969), and Documentation of an endangered language: Kunashi
(2015–2018, grant 2014–560). Part of the costs for open-access publication of
the volume has been defrayed by a grant from Magnus Bergvalls Stiftelse (grant
2016–01329).
Last but not least I would like to thank Lars Borin for his constant encour-
agement and support.

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Figures and Tables

Figures

1 Kinnaur and surrounding districts in Himachal Pradesh 4

2 Lower, Middle and Upper Kinnaur 5
3 (Sub-)tahsils in Kinnaur 7
4 The Kinnaur 1971 District Census Handbook 9
5 Spectrograms illustrating phonemic vowel length distinctions 30
6 Duration of geminate and nongeminate /m/ 278
7 Duration of geminate and non-geminate /t/ 278
8 Formant plot of Kinnauri Pahari vowel phonemes 279
9 kam ‘less’ 279
10 kaːm ‘work’ 280
11 bil ‘the end’ 280
12 biːʃ ‘twenty’ 280
13 Long and short final /ɔ/ 282
14 Two stress patterns in bisyllabic words 285
15 Location of the villages in Kinnaur for which data was collected 377
16 Preliminary grouping of the nine investigated KST varieties 400
17 Placement of the West Himalayish and Tibetic subbranches among the
Sino-Tibetan languages 408
18 Resulting lower-level classification of the investigated KST varieties 409
19 Words for past and future time adverbs 443
20 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ 447
21 Numeral systems 449
22 Past/perfective same as participle 454
23 Lower-level classification of the investigated KST varieties 460

Tables

1 Administrative divisions of the Kinnaur district and number of villages 10

2 Population statistics for Kinnaur in some recent census reports 11
3 (Sub-)tahsil population figures 12
4 Kinnauri Pahari population village-wise in each (sub-)tahsil according to the
1981 census handbook 13
5 Proportion of the Kinnauri Pahari population to the total population in villages
according to the 1981 and 1991 census handbooks 14

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xii figures and tables

6 Proportion of the KST population to the total population in villages according

to the 1981 and 1991 census handbooks 15
7 The number of Kinnauri speakers in five census reports 16
8 Bilingualism statistics for Kinnaur (1991 census) 17
9 Consonant phonemes in Kinnauri 21
10 Attested syllable structures in Kinnauri 25
11 Word-initial consonant clusters 26
12 Word-final consonant clusters 26
13 Dialect variation: [ʈ(ʰ)(r)] and [ʧ(ʰ)(r)] 27
14 Dialect variation [ʈ(ʰ)(r)] without [ʧ(ʰ)(r)] 28
15 Kanashi counterparts of Kinnauri [ʈ(ʰ)(r)] and [ʧ(ʰ)(r)] 28
16 Vowel phonemes 29
17 Place names and nouns denoting inhabitants 44
18 Case markers in Kinnauri 45
19 Dative–possessive–locative with different stem types 53
20 Subject indexing markers 86
21 Kinnauri copula paradigm (declaratives): Past tense 94
22 Kinnauri copula paradigm (declaratives): Present tense 94
23 Kinnauri copula paradigm (declaratives): Future tense 94
24 Set 1 and Set 2 past tense markers 100
25 Negation: Equational and existential copula (Present tense) 110
26 Equational and existential copula negation: Future tense 112
27 Consonant phonemes in Navakat 171
28 Vowels in Navakat 173
29 Place names and nouns denoting inhabitants 186
30 Case markers in Navakat 187
31 Verbal inflectional categories in Navakat 209
32 Consonant phonemes in Kinnauri Pahari 275
33 Oral vowel phonemes in Kinnauri Pahari 279
34 Case markers in Kinnauri Pahari 295
35 The personal pronouns of Kinnauri Pahari 305
36 Basic information on the villages for which data was collected 378
37 Summary statistics for kinship terms 386
38 Summary statistics for body part terms 388
39 Summary statistics for basic nouns 389
40 Summary statistics for basic adjectives 390
41 Summary statistics for time adverbs 391
42 Summary statistics for KST numerals 392
43 Numerals 1–10 in KST varieties in comparison with reconstructed
Proto-Sino-Tibetan 394

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figures and tables xiii

44 Summary statistics for basic question words 396

45 Summary statistics for personal pronouns 397
46 Summary statistics for all nouns 399
47 Summary statistics for the full lexical questionnaire 400
48 Summary statistics for all Swadesh list items 401
49 Summary statistics for the 25 most stable Swadesh items 402
50 KST varieties according to the Ethnologue 407
51 A comparison of Kinnauri and Navakat with (Lhasa) Tibetan 409
52 Automatic comparison of kinship terms 418
53 Automatic comparison of terms for body parts 420
54 Automatic comparison of other basic nouns 421
55 Automatic comparison of adjectives 427
56 Automatic comparison of some adverbs of time 429
57 Automatic comparison of numerals 430
58 Automatic comparison of question words 433
59 Automatic comparison of personal pronouns 434
60 The days of the week in Kinnauri and Indo-Aryan 437
61 The calendar system in Kinnauri and IA languages 438
62 The calendar system in Navakat and Tinani 438
63 The weekdays in Tinani 439
64 Past and future time adverbs in West Himalayish (ST) 441
65 Past and future time adverbs in IA languages 441
66 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ in IA languages 445
67 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ in ST languages outside Kinnaur 446
68 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ in Kinnauri Pahari and ST varieties in
Kinnaur 447
69 Vigesimal numeral system in Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari 448
70 Deverbal agent nouns in Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari 451
71 Past/perfective = past participle in some IA languages of the Himalayas 452
72 Present/imperfective = present participle in some IA languages of the
Himalayas 453
73 Borrowing between Kinnauri (ST) and Kinnauri Pahari (IA) 457
74 Borrowing between Kinnauri (ST) and Kinnauri Pahari (IA) 461

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Notation, Terminology and Abbreviations

Phonological segments are written without any special delimiters and their
status as phonemes or allophones is often left open, in order to present as
undistorted a picture as possible of these linguistic systems, where the amount
of empirical data to date is quite limited. As an exception to this, in a few
cases in the phonology sections of the grammar sketches, phonetic variants
are explicitly marked using surrounding square brackets. Further, in the tran-
scriptions, optionality (free variation) is indicated with ordinary parentheses,
e.g., Sangla Kinnauri (s)kad ‘language’ can be pronounced kad or skad, and Kin-
nauri Pahari seb(-e) [all(-emp)] can occur with or without the -e [-emp] in the
example where it appears. A special case is the notation “(-)” used with some
grammatical items to indicate that their status as bound affixes (e.g., case end-
ings), clitics or independent words (e.g., postpositions) is not clear (e.g., the
(-)rǝŋ comitative marker in Kinnauri). The boundary symbol “+” is used in some
cases instead of “-” to indicate a compound boundary, i.e. a boundary between
two lexical units combined in one word.
The abbreviations and grammatical glosses used are those of the Leipzig
Glossing Rules1 as far as possible. My own additions and modifications to these
used in the examples and in running text are preceded by “*” in the table
below. In running text, glosses (corresponding to the middle line in the inter-
linear examples) are surrounded by square brackets and free translations (cor-
responding to the last line in the interlinear examples) are written in single
quotes. Parentheses are used in the interlinear glosses for clarifications and
added information, such as inferred words or phrases or explanations of literal
glosses.
Small caps are used in the glosses of grammatical features and values, includ-
ing the standard abbreviations listed in the table below, while labels for part-of-
speech, phrases, syntactic functions, etc., are written either with all caps (NP)
or initial capital (Adj). Small caps are also used in Chapter 5 for the labels of the
items in the lexical concept lists used in the comparative study reported there.
The notation “a ~ b” expresses that there is (free) variation between a and
b, i.e., they are alternative ways of expressing the same thing.2 An expression
on the form “a : b” (or sometimes “a/b”, especially in the case of affix allomor-
phy) says that there is some kind of relevant linguistic contrast—formal or

1 https://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/resources/glossing‑rules.php.
2 Although in paradigm tables and the vocabulary appendices, alternatives are separated by
commas and semicolons, and in the interlinear glossed examples, a forward slash is used.

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notation, terminology and abbreviations xv

semantic—between a and b, i.e., that they stand in some kind of paradigmatic

opposition.

* Abbreviation Feature

1 first person
2 second person
3 third person
A agent-like argument of canonical transitive verb
abl ablative
Adj adjective
Adv adverb(ial)
agr subject agreement
all allative
* ana anaphoric
* anim animate
* asp aspect
aux auxiliary
* C consonant
* chrt cohortative
* CL clause
clf classifier
* cmp comparative
* cnt count(able)
* cntr contrastive specifier
com comitative
* conj conjunctive coordinator
* cont contrast particle/marker (‘than’)
cop copula
* crl correlative
dat dative
def definite
dem demonstrative
* dim diminutive
* dir direct knowledge
* disj disjunctive coordinator
dist distal
* dsm discourse marker/particle
du dual

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xvi notation, terminology and abbreviations

* dui dual inclusive

* echo echo word
* ego egophoric actor
* emp emphasis
* ena egophoric non-agent
erg ergative
excl exclusive
* expl expletive
f feminine
* fact factual (non-direct) knowledge
foc focus
fut future
* given given information
* h honorific
* hi high intentionality
* hum human
* idx index(ing)
imp imperative
* i.name proper name of individual (human, mythological, etc.)
* inch inchoative
incl inclusive
inf infinitive (= nominalizer used as citation form)
ins instrumental
intr intransitive
ipfv imperfective
* lnk linking element
loc locative
m masculine
* mdl middle
* mnr manner
* N, n noun
n- non- (e.g. nnom non-nominative, npst nonpast)
neg negation, negative
* nh non-honorific
* nlc connecting morph in numerals
nmlz nominalizer/nominalization
nom nominative
* now (result of witnessed) change of state/situation
* NP noun phrase
* Num numeral

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notation, terminology and abbreviations xvii

* nvis direct non-visual knowledge

* O, o object
* P phrase
pfv perfective
pl, PL plural
* ple plural exclusive
* pli plural inclusive
* p.name place name, geographical name
poss possessive
prog progressive
proh prohibitive
prox proximal/proximate
prs present
pst past
ptcp participle
q question marker
quot quotative
recp reciprocal
refl reflexive
rel relativizer/relative pronoun
res resultative
S single argument of canonical intransitive verb
* SAP speech act participant (1st or 2nd person)
sg, SG singular
* snd sound-imitating
* subo subordinator
* sup superlative
* tae tense/aspect/evidentiality
* term terminative
* tns tense
* too ‘too, also’
tr transitive
* V, v verb
* V vowel
* vis direct visual knowledge; visible
* vol volitional

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 chapter 1

Introduction—Kinnaur: Geography, Demography

and Languages

1 Introduction

This book is about Kinnaur, its languages and its people. At the same time, it
is a contribution to the documentation of some aspects of the linguistic situ-
ation of a region—the Indian Himalayas—which so far has been very poorly
described.
Historically, the linguistic scene of Kinnaur has been dominated by Sino-
Tibetan languages. There are a number of Sino-Tibetan varieties spoken in
the region, but exactly how these are interrelated has not been investigated
in depth. The term “Kinnauri” is ambiguous; it may refer (at least) to a par-
ticular language, to a lower-level branch of Sino-Tibetan—spelled “Kinauri” in
the Ethnologue (Eberhard et al. 2021)—or simply as an adjective referring to
any language spoken in Kinnaur. For this reason, I will use the acronym “KST”
(Sino-Tibetan of Kinnaur) as a cover term for the various Sino-Tibetan varieties
spoken in Kinnaur, pending the more thorough investigation of their genealog-
ical and areal relationships presented in Chapters 5 and 6 below, and the label
“Kinnauri (language)” will be used only about the variety spoken in and around
Sangla.1
One purpose of this book is to throw light on the relationship among the
KST varieties, and another of my aims is to elucidate the extent and character of
language contact in Kinnaur, primarily between the local KST and Indo-Aryan
varieties, but also taking into consideration the greater Himalayan region. Two
things are noteworthy:
(1) What little has been written earlier about the KST varieties has focused
almost exclusively on what is known as (Standard) Kinnauri, spoken in
Lower Kinnaur, while the KST varieties of other parts of Kinnaur have
received much less attention.2
(2) There is next to no information available in the literature on Kinnauri

1 However, in Section 5 below, “Kinnauri” refers specifically to the (self-reported) language label
found in national census data.
2 The situation is improving; in addition to this volume, there is some recent work on Shumcho
by Huber (2014a, 2014b, 2019) and a PhD dissertation on Chhitkuli by Martinez (2021).

© Anju Saxena, 2022 | doi:10.1163/9789004513648_002

This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the cc by-nc-nd 4.0Anju
license.
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2 chapter 1

Pahari, the Indo-Aryan varieties spoken alongside the KST varieties in

some parts of Kinnaur.
It is easy to come up with plausible reasons why this should be so: Lower Kin-
naur is the region in Kinnaur which is relatively more accessible to outsiders,
being closest to Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh and the natural point
of entry into the state from most parts of India. Also, because of the weather
conditions, this region has been more accessible than Upper Kinnaur, which at
least earlier used to be cut off from the rest of the world for longer or shorter
periods during the winter season.

1.1 Linguistic Description, Language Documentation and Empirical

Linguistics
The only reasonable way in which linguistics can advance as an empirical sci-
ence involves as central activities collecting, analyzing and publishing as much
and as diverse data as possible about languages and language communities
throughout the world. As linguists, one of our primary goals is to find out what
defines language as a general phenomenon. Linguistic universals proposed on
the basis of a small genealogically and geographically limited set of languages
can be no more than tentative and subject to revision in the face of more and
more varied empirical language data (see, e.g., Evans and Levinson 2009).
This is closely connected to the rapidly expanding field of language docu-
mentation (or documentary linguistics; Himmelmann 1998; Gippert et al. 2006;
Rau and Florey 2007; Grenoble and Furbee 2010; Austin and Sallabank 2011). On
the face of it, language documentation has explicitly somewhat different goals
from descriptive linguistics and language typology, for instance the goal of pro-
viding resources and tools for aiding in the preservation and revitalization of
threatened languages. However, any conflict is more apparent than real; bet-
ter language documentation cannot but result in better linguistic descriptions,
which in turn make a better basis for the generalizations of language typol-
ogy. Better linguistic descriptions and typological generalizations will also feed
back into language documentation, for instance by uncovering “new” kinds of
linguistic action and interaction that should be looked for and documented if
found in a language.
The central characteristics of language documentation/documentary lin-
guistics (see, e.g. Himmelmann 2006) have in fact long been embraced by field
linguists as essential to their goal of faithful language description. Language
documentation tends to emphasize methodology enabled by recent techni-
cal developments, such as video recording and widely shared digital linguistic
databases, which obviously does not in any way stand in opposition to more
traditional linguistic research.

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introduction—kinnaur: geography, demography and languages 3

Science by its very nature is empirical and cumulative, and arguably some of
the central ideas of documentary linguistics simply flow from the recognition
that a linguistics aspiring to the status of a science must be empirical and cumu-
lative. These two requirements, then, imply many of the features that have been
attributed to documentary linguistics. Empiricalness implies a focus on collect-
ing primary data with the active involvement of the speech community, and
cumulativeness implies that the primary and secondary data resulting from
linguistic investigations be made available to the linguistic research commu-
nity. In the present work, such data is made available in the form of a wealth
of glossed examples to be found in the three language sketches (Chapters 2–
4), in the vocabularies provided in appendices to the sketches, as well as in the
detailed comparison tables presented in Appendix 5A in Chapter 5.

2 The Geography of Kinnaur

The topic of this book is the linguistic situation in one of the districts in the
state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. This district is referred to in Indian
official documents as “Kinnaur” and its people as well as its main language as
“Kinnauri”. This section provides general background information on Kinnaur,
its geography, administrative organization, demography and linguistic situa-
tion, including census data on bi- and multilingualism. This information is
provided in order to place the linguistic situation in Kinnaur in its wider geo-
graphical and societal context.
Kinnaur is the third largest district of Himachal Pradesh. In older sources,
the corresponding region goes under various names: “Kanaur” (Bailey 1909),
“Kanawar” (Konow 1905), “Kunawar” (Fraser 1820; Cunningham 1844), “Koon-
awur” (Gerard 1841; Thornton 1862), “Kunawur” (Gerard 1842), and “Kinnaur”
(Bajpai 1991).3 In a description of this region written in Hindi, the region is

3 Thomson (1852) describes some of the difficulties arising in transcribing foreign words, lead-
ing to situations where names are spelled variously by different persons: “The orthography
of oriental proper names is a question of great difficulty, and grave objections may be urged
against any system which has been proposed. If each European nation represents the sound
of the vowels and variable consonants after the mode which prevails in its own language, then
proper names must be translated, as it were, when rendered from one of these languages into
another; whereas, if the mode of spelling the names remain fixed, then the value of the letters
must be different in the majority of the languages from that which usually prevails. For purely
popular purposes the former method would probably be the most judicious; and the English
language has peculiar facilities for rendering oriental sounds, in consequence of its possess-
ing the open sound of u, as in but, which is wanting in other European languages, though so
common in Arabic, Persian, and Hindee, and all cognate tongues.” (Thomson 1852: V).

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4 chapter 1

figure 1 Kinnaur and surrounding districts in Himachal Pradesh

referred to as “Kinnar” (“िकन्नर”; B.R. Sharma 1976). Its major language, too,
is called variously in different works: “Kanaawarii” (Konow 1905), “Kanawari”
(Joshi 1909), “Kanauri” (Bailey 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1920, 1938), “Kanooring
skad” (Bailey 1909), “Kanooreanu skad” (Bailey 1909), and “Kinnauri” (D.D.
Sharma 1988; Saxena 1992, 1995a, 1995b).
Kinnaur is located in the easternmost part of Himachal Pradesh (latitudes
31° 05′ 50″ N to 32° 05′ 15″ N and longitudes 77° 45′ 00″ E to 79° 00′ 35″ E).4 It bor-
ders on the autonomous region of Tibet in China in the east, on the Uttarkashi
district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand in the south, the Shimla district in
the southwest, the Lahaul and Spiti district in the north, and the Kullu district
in the northwest.5 See Figure 1.
Kinnaur is a region of mountains and valleys, with altitudes ranging between
2,350 and 6,791 meters above sea level. There are three mountain ranges in this
region: Zanskar, the Great Himalaya and the Dhauladhar mountain range. Zan-
skar forms a natural border between Kinnaur and the autonomous region of

4 Gerard (1841) provides somewhat different coordinates for Kinnaur. According to Gerard, the
coordinates for Kinnaur were latitude 30° 15′ to 32° 4′, and longitude 77° 50′ to 78° 50′. It is,
however, important to point out here that the organization of Kinnaur at that time was some-
what different from the present Kinnaur. For instance, during that time Kinnaur was part of
Bashahr, and as a result of the administrative reorganization in 1960 fourteen villages which
did not earlier belong to Kinnaur were made part of the Kinnaur district.
5 The districts of Shimla, Lahaul and Spiti, and Kullu belong to the state of Himachal Pradesh.
The city of Shimla (Shimla district) is the capital of Himachal Pradesh.

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figure 2 Lower, Middle and Upper Kinnaur

Tibet in China. The Great Himalaya runs through the district from the north-
west to the southeast. Parts of the Dhauladhar range form the southern end
of Kinnaur, merging finally with the Great Himalaya in the southeast. Beyond
Kullu, Dhauladhar is known as the Pir Panjal mountain range. The mountain
ranges in Kinnaur have peaks ranging in height between 5,190 and 6,791 meters
above sea level. The highest peak in Kinnaur is Leo Pargail in the Zanskar. It
is also the highest mountain in Himachal Pradesh. The Kinner Kailash moun-
tain in the Greater Himalaya range which separates the Sangla valley (see the
description below) from the Tidong valley, is the home of lord Shiva and Parvati
according to a popular belief.
The district covers a total area of about 6,400 km2. Only about 3 % of this
area is populated; the remaining 97% consist of uninhabited and inaccessible
mountainous terrain. The populated regions are generally in the river valleys.
Kinnaur is sometimes divided into three geographical regions based on their
altitude: Lower Kinnaur, Middle Kinnaur and Upper Kinnaur (see the map in
Figure 2). Lower Kinnaur extends from the southern border of Kinnaur to Kalpa
(see Figure 2). This region includes the Nichar and Sangla valleys. Middle Kin-
naur extends from Kalpa to Kanam, about midway between Kalpa and Nako.
Upper Kinnaur is used to refer to the rest of Kinnaur.
Three rivers along with their tributaries run through Kinnaur: Satluj, Spiti
and Baspa. Satluj runs through the entire district from the east to the west. Spiti
flows through the Hangrang valley in Upper Kinnaur. At the village Khab (in the

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Hangrang valley) it merges with the river Satluj. The Baspa river flows through
the Sangla valley. It merges with the Satluj river at village Karcham. The same
river or a tributary is sometimes called by different names in different regions.6
There are several valleys in this region. The valley of the river Satluj is approx-
imately 140km long, and like other valleys of the region, it is quite narrow. There
is very little flat land in this valley—relatively more on the left (south) than
on the right (north) bank. Villages such as Sungra, Nichar, Kilba, Pawari, Ribba,
Morang and Nymgya are situated on the left river bank in this valley. Rupi, Cha-
gaon, Urni, Kalpa, Kothi, Pangi, Rarang, Jangi, Kanam, and Poo are some of the
villages on the right river bank. Mountains found in this valley include Taranda,
Wangtu and Rogi.
The valley of the river Baspa is known as the Sangla valley after a major vil-
lage of the valley. It has the largest flat area in the district with rich soil and
pastures. The remotest village of this valley is Chitkul, situated south of the
Chungsakhago pass.
The Ropa valley (also known as Syso, Shiaso, Shyasu, Chhiasu, Sangam or
Sunam) is the valley of the Ropa stream, a tributary of the Satluj. It has very
little forest, only some pines and birches. There are apple and apricot orchards
and vineyards. Notable villages in this valley are Ropa, Giabong, Sangnam and
Skyaso.
The Hangrang or Spiti valley is approximately 32 km in length. Its upper
region is in the Lahaul and Spiti district. Spiti (also called Lee) is the impor-
tant river of this valley. At the village Khab this valley joins the Satluj valley.
The valley has a barren landscape, with very little area suitable for cultivation.
Important villages in this valley are Sumra, Shyalkhar, Hango, Chuling, Nako,
Chango, Malling and Lee. The Nako village is the highest populated spot in
Kinnaur, at an altitude of 3,662 meters, and the Nako lake is the highest lake
in Kinnaur.
Other valleys in the Kinnaur district include the Wangpo or Bhabha valley,
the Gyanthang or Nesang valley, the Tejur or Leppa valley, the Kashang valley,
the Mulgoon valley and the Yula valley.
The climate in Kinnaur varies depending partly on the elevation, location
and direction of a valley. Generally speaking, Kinnaur has four seasons: Spring
is usually between mid-March to mid-May, summer from mid-May to mid-

6 A clear illustration of this is provided by Gerard (1841: 28): “In Chinese Tartary it [the Satluj
river] is called Langzhing-Khampa […], and near Numgea its usual name is Muksung, […]
lower down, Sampoo, Sangpoo, and Sanpo, […] At a sandy place below Murung, […] it is com-
monly Zung-Tee; […] In the lower parts of Koonawur, its only appellation is Sumudrung, or
the river. Near the capital of Busehur it is called Sutroodra, or Sutoodra.”

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figure 3 (Sub-)tahsils in Kinnaur

September, fall from mid-September to the end of November and winter from
December to mid-March. In regions where there is rainfall, it rains in July–
September, though not as heavily as in the lower hills of Himachal Pradesh, out-
side Kinnaur. The rainfall decreases sharply from the southwest to the north-
east and beyond Wangtu. Similarly, snowfall, too, varies in different regions in
Kinnaur—it is least in the extreme southwestern region. The depth of the snow
cover varies from about 0.5m at higher altitudes to 1–1.5 m at 2,500 m above
sea level. Snow usually falls from November and remains until April. Winds are
hard from October onwards, their direction varying depending on the valleys,
but it is generally from the west or southwest at altitudes of 5,000 m, peaking
in the late afternoon. Until recently, many parts of Kinnaur were physically cut
off from the rest of the world for about half the year, as roads and paths became
impassable in the winter season.
Kinnaur has two very different climatic zones, where the Sangla valley is
characterized by wet weather, while on the northern side of the Great
Himalayan range both the rainfall and vegetation decreases and one encoun-
ters a completely arid zone beyond Spello and Kanum.
Sangla and Nako form polar opposites in Kinnaur in more than one respect.
Geographically Sangla is a verdant valley with lots of vegetation in the village
and in the surrounding areas, whereas Nako is surrounded by an arid, barren,
mountainous desert-like region. Both are very beautiful, although quite unlike
each other. Similarly, the Sino-Tibetan languages of these two regions are also
very different, as we will see in this volume.

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8 chapter 1

3 Administrative Units in Kinnaur

Before the Indian independence in 1947 Kinnaur was administratively a part

of the princely state of Bashahr (Riyasat Bashahr). It had the status of a tah-
sil (also written “tehsil” in English-language sources)—a traditional lower-level
administrative unit. This term is still used about an administrative unit below
the level of district in the present Indian administrative system. As the Chini
village7 was the district capital of this tahsil, the Kinnaur tahsil itself was also
known as the Chini tahsil. The Himachal Pradesh state (of which Kinnaur is
now a part) was established on 15 April 1948 and Chini was made a tahsil of the
Mahasu district in this newly established state. The present-day Kinnaur dis-
trict was established on 1 May 1960, including in addition to the Chini tahsil 14
villages which previously had belonged to the Rampur tahsil.
This section presents an overview of the present administrative organiza-
tion of the Kinnaur district. Much of the information provided here is based
on the successive editions of the District census handbook from the censuses of
1971, 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011 (see Figure 4).8
The district census handbooks have been published since 1951. Apart from
the information about the population, these handbooks also provide informa-
tion about other aspects of a district (e.g., language, level of education, gender
distribution, available health, education and banking facilities). However, dif-
ferences in the organization (including the information provided) of the vari-
ous census handbooks, make it impossible in some cases to do a comparative
study of a given factor across censuses.
The district headquarter of Kinnaur is Reckong Peo. Administratively the
Kinnaur district has a three-level hierarchical organization. The district con-
sists of three subdivisions, which in turn are organized into (sub-)tahsils (six in
total in Kinnaur; see Table 1 and Figure 3), and at the lowest level each (sub-)tah-
sil consists of a number of villages. The organization and names of the various
administrative units in the Kinnaur district are the same in all five census hand-
books, except for one thing: Starting with the 1991 census handbook, the former
subdivision is called community development block (C.D. Block).

7 This village is now called Kalpa.

8 Sources: (i) Census 1971. Series-7 Himachal Pradesh. District census handbook. Parts x-A &
B. Town & Village directory. Village & townwise primary census abstract. Kinnaur district; (ii)
Census of India 1981. Series-7. Himachal Pradesh. District census handbook. Parts xiii-A&B vil-
lage & town directory. Village & townwise primary census abstract. Kinnaur district; (iii) Census
of India 1991. Series-9. Part xii-A & B. District census handbook. Kinnaur. Village & town direc-
tory. Village & townwise primary census abstract; (iv) online 2001 and 2011 census data from
http://www.censusindia.gov.in.

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introduction—kinnaur: geography, demography and languages 9

figure 4 The Kinnaur 1971 District Census Handbook

The definition of a village in all these four censuses is that of a “revenue vil-
lage”, that is, a unit (consisting of one or more physical villages) which has its
own separate village budget account in the district administration. According
to the 1971 and 1981 censuses, Kinnaur had a total of 77 villages (see Table 4).
The number of villages increased dramatically in the 1991 census, where the
total number of inhabited villages9 increased to 228. The number of inhabited
villages in the 2011 census is 241. This sharp increase in the number of villages

9 In the 1971 and 1981 census handbooks all villages which were included in the report were
inhabited villages, while in the 1991, 2001 and 2011 census handbooks the total number of vil-
lages included both inhabited and uninhabited villages. According to the 1991 census, the total
number of villages were 662, of which 228 villages were inhabited and 434 were uninhabited,
and the proportions have remained approximately the same in the later censuses.

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table 1 Administrative divisions of the Kinnaur district and number of villages

Subdivisions (C.D. Block) (Sub-)tahsils No of villages

1971/81 1991 2001 2011

Nichar CDB 85 85
Nichar tahsil 22 88

Kalpa CDB 63 75
Kalpa tahsil 12 38
Sangla tahsil 11 28

Poo CDB 80 81
Morang tahsil 12 38
Poo tahsil 12 27
Hangrang sub-tahsil 8 15

Total in Kinnaur 77 228 234 241

between the 1981 and the 1991 censuses is due partly to the fact that in the previ-
ous censuses villages which were located in difficult-to-reach remote locations
were not taken into consideration, partly to major resettlement operations con-
ducted during the period 1985–1987, and partly to changes made in determining
how villages are defined for the purpose of the census.
Table 1 provides information about the administrative divisions of Kinnaur
district and about the number of villages in each (sub-)tahsil, according to the
District census handbooks.

4 Demography of Kinnaur

Since 97% of the total area of Kinnaur is uninhabitable, the average population
density of the district is predictably low, around 13 persons/km2 (see Table 2).
The most densely inhabited regions in Kinnaur are located in the lower Satluj
and Sangla valleys in Lower Kinnaur.
The two ethnolinguistic communities which have traditionally resided in
this region are the KST and the Indo-Aryan community. The KST community
is also known as Rajput, Kanet, and Khasia, and in this volume I will refer to

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table 2 Population statistics for Kinnaur in some recent census reports

Census Total pop. Pop./km2 Growth (%) Kinnauri (%) K. Pahari (%) K+P (%)

1971 49,835 7.8 21.61 68.41 19.40 87.81

1981 59,547 9.3 19.49 74.87 10.63 85.50
1991 71,270 11.1 19.69 55.58 26.87 82.45
2001 78,334 12.2 9.91 72.00 10.00 82.00
2011 84,121 13.1 7.39 57.95 17.53 75.48

the Indo-Aryan community using the cover term Kinnauri Pahari. Tradition-
ally the members of the KST community are agriculturalists and the Kinnauri
Paharis farmworkers and artisans (e.g. ironsmiths, goldsmiths, carpenters, cob-
blers). According to the Indian Constitution (articles 341 and 342) the Kinnauri
Pahari community is classified as a “scheduled caste” community and the KST
community is classified as a “scheduled tribe”. The whole district is classified as
a tribal region.10
The population statistics for Kinnaur, as recorded in some recent census
reports, are shown in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2 gives the proportions of the KST
and Kinnauri Pahari populations as percentages of the total population of Kin-
naur, and Table 3 provides a breakdown of the two population groups according
to (sub-)tahsil. The percentages in the tables do not add up to 100 %, because
apart from these two communites, there were also other groups (e.g., migrating
workers) living in Kinnaur at the time the census surveys were conducted. As
the focus here is on the KST and the Kinnauri Pahari communities and their
languages, information is provided only about these two populations.
There are further sub-groupings within the two communities. The major
sub-groups within the Kinnauri Pahari community are Chamang (also known
as Koli), Domang (including Lohar ‘ironsmith’ and Ores ‘carpenter’) and Chanal.
Traditionally Domangs prepare jewellery for gods and play musical instru-
ments. Chanals live mostly in the Nichar region. Traditionally they are weavers,

10 Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe are official terms used in Indian legislation to refer
to certain “disadvantaged and vulnerable” (Planning Commission 2008: 101) strata of the
Indian population. Historically, the scheduled castes originate from the former “untouch-
ables” in the traditional Hindu caste system, while scheduled tribes are constituted by
(rural) ethnic minorities who were largely outside the Hindu religious system. The sched-
uled castes constitute 16 % of the Indian population and the scheduled tribes make up
8 % of the population (Planning Commission 2008, Chapter 6).

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table 3 (Sub-)tahsil population figures (T = total; P = Kinnauri Pahari; K = KST)

(%) Population / census year

1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

T 14,205 18,931 23,861 26,630 27,683 T

Nichar CDB P (29%) 4,170 (13%) 2,485 (32%) 7,553 (13%) 3,513 (25%) 6,998 P
K (63%) 8,922 (69%) 13,093 (48%) 11,339 (64%) 17,153 (50%) 13,933 K
T 14,205 18,931 26,630 27,683 T
Nichar P (29%) 4,170 (13%) 2,485 (13%) 3,513 (25%) 6,998 P
K (63%) 8,922 (69%) 13,093 (64%) 17,153 (50%) 13,933 K
T 19,217 22,184 26,137 29,361 33,232 T
Kalpa CDB P (21%) 4,123 (12%) 2,607 (30%) 7,828 (8%) 2,206 (14%) 4,647 P
K (63%) 12,168 (72%) 15,914 (53%) 13,800 (76%) 22,361 (59%) 19,475 K
T 10,789 12,730 17,630 19,190 T
Kalpa H (24%) 2,560 (8%) 1,037 (8%) 1,419 (12%) 2,299 H
K (53%) 5,734 (68%) 8,640 (72%) 12,651 (58%) 11,122 K
T 8,428 9,454 11,731 14,042 T
Sangla P (19%) 1,563 (17%) 1,570 (7%) 787 (17%) 2,348 P
K (76%) 6,434 (77%) 7,274 (83%) 9,710 (59%) 8,353 K
T 16,413 18,432 21,272 22,343 23,206 T
Poo CDB P (8%) 1,376 (7%) 1,239 (18%) 3,772 (9%) 1,906 (13%) 3,105 P
K (79%) 12,999 (84%) 15,576 (68%) 14,470 (75%) 16,754 (66%) 15,338 K
T 7,447 8,784 10,383 10,238 T
Morang P (6%) 475 (7%) 576 (3%) 326 (10%) 989 P
K (87%) 6,510 (84%) 7,391 (80%) 8,345 (72%) 7,368 K
T 5,841 6,254 7,898 8,309 T
Poo P (14%) 797 (10%) 644 (16%) 1,290 (23%) 1,925 P
K (67%) 3,913 (81%) 5,086 (63%) 4,942 (49%) 4,038 K
T 3,125 3,394 4,062 4,659 T
Hangrang P (3%) 104 (1%) 19 (7%) 290 (4%) 191 P
K (82%) 2,576* (91%) 3,099 (85%) 3,467 (84%) 3,932 K

making baskets etc from nangal, a creeper (because of this the community is
also called Nangalu). The traditional occupation of Chanals is working with
leather. They reside throughout Kinnaur.
Within the KST community too, there is some further sub-classification
(referred to as khel or khandana). The sub-classification system is, however,

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table 4 Kinnauri Pahari population village-wise in each (sub-)tahsil according to the 1981 census
handbook

None 0–10 % 11–20% 21–30% 31+%

Nichar Bara Khamba, Chauhra, Bari, Chagaon, Jani, Kan- Nichar Bhabha,
Chhota Khamba, Garsun, gos, Sungra, Taranda, Urni Panwi
Kandar, Natpa, Miru, Paun-
da, Punang, Ramni, Yula
Kalpa Mehbar Arrang, Duni, Khawangi, Kalpa Purbani Pawari
Kothi, Pangi, Rogi, Telangi,
Yuwarangi
Sangla Batseri (Bosering), Chasu, Kamru, Kanahi, Sangla Chitkul, Barua, Sapni,
Shaung Rakchham Kilba
Morang Asrang, Nesang, Rispa Akpa, Charang, Jangi, Rarang,
Kuno, Lippa, Morang, Ribba
Thangi
Poo Dabling, Khab, Ropa, Giahong, Namgia, Poo Spilo Labrang Kanam
Rushkalang, Sannam, Shyaso
Hangrang Chango, Hango, Loo, Chuling, Malling, Nako
Shialkar, Sumra

neither equally widespread nor equally prominent throughout Kinnaur. It is

more visible in Lower and Middle Kinnaur than in Upper Kinnaur.
Similarly, the social roles of the KST community and Kinnauri Paharis in vil-
lage life are more well-defined and more fixed in Lower and Middle Kinnaur
than in Upper Kinnaur. For example, in Lower and Middle Kinnaur only the
Kinnauri Paharis function as drumbeaters during festivals in the procession of
the village god and are responsible for certain chores in the temple, whereas in
Upper Kinnaur (e.g. in the Nako village), if no Kinnauri Paharis are available,
members of the KST community will take care of these duties.11
In line with this, as we will see in Chapter 4, the Kinnauri Pahari commu-
nity speaks a local Indo-Aryan (Western Pahari) language in Lower and Middle
Kinnaur, while the corresponding groups in Upper Kinnaur speak the local KST
variety, even though the two groups (KST and Kinnauri Paharis) maintain their
separate social group identities throughout Kinnaur, including Upper Kinnaur.
As Tables 2 and 3 show, in terms of the population size the KST community is
much larger than the Kinnauri Pahari community. This difference in the size of
the two communities can also be seen in Table 4, which presents the Kinnauri
Pahari proportion of the population at the village level.

11 Santosh Negi (p.c) and Padam Sagar (p.c.).

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table 5 Proportion of the Kinnauri Pahari (KP)12 population to the total popula-
tion in villages according to the 1981 and 1991 census handbooks

1981 1991

% KP No. of villages % of villages No. of villages % of villages

0 29 37.66 64 28.07
1–5 26 33.77 23 10.09
6–10 5 6.49 18 7.89
11–15 2 2.60 17 7.46
16–20 5 6.49 12 5.26
21–30 3 3.90 28 12.28
31– 7 9.09 66 28.95
District 77 100.00 228 100.00

Unlike the 1971 census handbook, the 1981 handbook also provides information
about the distribution of the Kinnauri Pahari and KST population village-wise.
The data in Table 4 from the 1981 census handbook show that while there are
some villages (e.g., Sumra, Shialkar, Chango, Loo and Hango in the Hangrang
sub-tahsil) which lack a Kinnauri Pahari population completely, there is no vil-
lage in the Kinnaur district which lacks a KST population completely. Further,
there is no village in this census report which has a predominantly Kinnauri
Pahari community. In 40% of the villages (31 out of 77 villages) the Kinnauri
Pahari community is relatively small (1–10%).
Tables 5 and 6 show summary data from the 1981 and 1991 census handbooks
on the proportion of Kinnauri Paharis (Table 5) and the KST population (Table
6) in villages in Kinnaur. As mentioned earlier, villages are not defined in the
same way in the two censuses.
To summarize, according to the most recent census reports the KST com-
munity is comparatively larger than the Kinnauri Pahari community. From
Tables 2, 3, 5 and 6 a downward trend in the size of the Kinnauri Pahari com-
munity is evident. At the same time, even though the Kinnauri community is
relatively much larger than the Kinnauri Pahari community and relatively sta-
ble in terms of its proportion of the population as a whole, the information

12 For the sake of consistency I use the label “Kinnauri Pahari” in this table. The acronym SC
(scheduled caste) is used in the population tables in the census reports.

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introduction—kinnaur: geography, demography and languages 15

table 6 Proportion of the KST population to the total population in villages according to
the 1981 and 1991 census handbooks

1981 1991

% KST No. of villages % of villages No. of villages % of villages

0 0 0 15 6.58
1–5 0 0 4 1.75
6–15 0 0 8 3.51
16–25 0 0 10 4.39
26–35 1 1.30 18 7.89
36–50 8 10.39 25 10.97
51 and above 68 88.31 148 64.91
District 77 100.00 228 100.00

available in the census reports about the prevailing language attitudes towards
the Kinnauri language in Kinnaur raises some concern about the stability of
the Kinnauri language. See Section 5.1 for details.
The focus in this section has been on the KST and the Kinnauri Pahari
communities—the two indigenous communities of Kinnaur. The focus in the
following section will be on the language(s) of Kinnaur, based on the census
reports.

5 Number of KST Speakers

One special feature of the Indian census reports is that they also provide some
information about languages. This section presents information about the
number of the speakers of the Kinnauri language,13 based on the four census
reports examined here. Since Indian census information is ultimately based on
self-reporting, and since the tabulation of census figures is complex and non-
transparent, the information provided here should be taken as indicative only.
The Indian census reports mention explicitly only those languages which
have 10,000 or more speakers. Languages with fewer than 10,000 speakers

13 People who have indicated Kinnauri as their mother tongue. This number may not neces-
sarily include all KST speakers.

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16 chapter 1

table 7 The number of Kinnauri speakers

in five census reports

No. of speakers Increase (%)

1971 45,472 —
1981 52,864 16.26
1991 61,794 16.89
2001 65,097 5.35
2011 83,827 28.36

are lumped together into a general category, referred to as “other”. Kinnauri

is the only language of Kinnaur which is mentioned explicitly in the cen-
sus reports. Kinnauri Pahari—the Indo-Aryan language of the Kinnauri Pahari
community—is not mentioned in the census reports, apparently because it has
fewer than 10,000 speakers. According to the Ethnologue (Eberhard et al. 2021),
Kinnauri Pahari (referred to as “Kinnauri, Pahari”) has 6,330 speakers (1998).
Table 7 presents the number of individuals who claimed Kinnauri as their
mother tongue in the five censuses 1971–2011.14 The table also shows the decadal
percentage increase in the number of Kinnauri speakers. It is noteworthy that
the number of Kinnauri speakers is greater than the Kinnauri (ST) population
in Kinnaur. This is most likely both because the Kinnauri Pahari population also
report themselves as Kinnauri speakers first (and Hindi speakers second) and
because many Kinnauri speakers live outside Kinnaur (the figures in Table 7
are all-India counts).

5.1 What the Census Figures Tell Us about the Status of KST
The Indian census reports also provide some information about multilingual-
ism, in particular, information about the number of speakers who consider
themselves monolinguals, bilinguals and trilinguals (including in which lan-
guages). Table 8 reproduces multilingualism data from the document ST-17:
Mother tongue, bilingualism and trilingualism—for scheduled tribes from the
1991 census, which show some interesting trends concerning language attitudes
in Kinnaur.

14 The source of information for this section is: The statement-8 Growth of non-scheduled
languages—1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011 (source: http://www.censusindia.gov.in).

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introduction—kinnaur: geography, demography and languages 17

table 8 Bilingualism statistics for Kinnaur (1991 census)

Second language Kinnauri speakers Hindi speakers Bhotia speakers

Kinnauri — 8
Hindi 24,103 — 20
Tibetan 63 4
English 50 94
Bhotia 47 —
Urdu 15
Bodo/Boro 1
Malto 1
Nepali 1
Punjabi 1 2
Other languages 59

Sum (bilinguals) 24,341 108 20

Monolinguals 14,545 256 8
Total 38,886 364 28

As the data in Table 8 illustrate, an overwhelming majority of Kinnauri speak-

ers claimed that they were bilinguals (including trilinguals).15 The document
mentions ten languages explicitly by name (provided in decreasing order by
number of speakers in the table), plus an “other languages” category, which the
Kinnauri speakers have provided as their second language. As is clearly seen
here, a very large number of Kinnauri speakers claimed Hindi as their second
language.
Quite distinct from this, only a very small percentage of the Hindi speakers
residing in Kinnaur at the time of census provided Kinnauri as their second
language. According to the census data, the total number of Hindi speakers
residing in Kinnaur was 364, out of which 108 claimed to be bilingual (including
trilingual). As shown in Table 8, only 8 out of these 108 Hindi speakers provided
Kinnauri as their second or third language. Interestingly, 6 out of these 8 were
female.

15 Of the total 14,928 speakers of Kinnauri who claimed to be monolinguals, 9,310 were
women and 5,618 were men.

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18 chapter 1

In the same vein, among the Bhotia16 speakers residing in Kinnaur—28 indi-
viduals in total in the 1991 census—20 claimed to be bilingual (including trilin-
gual), and all 20 claimed Hindi (and not Kinnauri) as their second language.
Similar trends can be seen concerning the choice of third language. Of the Bho-
tia speakers, 7 individuals claimed that they were trilinguals—6 out of which
reported English as their third language and 1 claimed a language under the
category “other”. In sum, not even one of them indicated Kinnauri—the largest
local language of this region, as their second or third language.
These examples clearly show the unidirectionality in bilingualism—while
most Kinnauris claim to speak Hindi, non-Kinnauri populations living in Kin-
naur do not claim to speak Kinnauri, a case in point being Tibetan and Lahauli
speakers—these languages are spoken in the neighboring regions or even in
Kinnaur, but speakers of these languages did not provide Kinnauri as their sec-
ond or third language, reporting instead Hindi and English.
Another interesting observation concerns the prevalence of bilingualism
and gender. Bilingualism is more prevalent among the male population than
the female population. This is the case both among those who have indicated
Kinnauri as their first language as well as other those who indicated some
other language as their first language. Clear exceptions were Hindi speakers
who reported Kinnauri as their second language (2 men as against 6 women)
and Kinnauri speakers who claimed Bhotia as their second language (15 men
vs. 32 women). An approximately equal proportion of men and women was
seen among Kinnauri speakers who claimed a language belonging to the “other”
language category as their second language (27 men vs. 32 women), Punjabi
speakers who claimed Hindi to be their second language (5 men vs. 8 women),
or Kinnauri as their second language (1 man, 3 women), Kinnauri speakers who
claimed Tibetan as their second language (33 men, 30 women), and Sherpa
speakers who claimed Nepali as their second language (2 men, 2 women). In
all other cases bilingualism was more prevalent among men as compared to
women. The exceptional cases noted here could be a result of intermarriages,
with women learning the language of the household.

16 Bhotia is the language label provided in the census data. The Ethnologue lists “Bho-
tia/Bhotea” as one of the alternative names for 13 languages, mostly Tibetic, including a
language indigenous to Kinnaur, Bhoti Kinnauri (nes), i.e. Navakat (see Chapter 3).

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introduction—kinnaur: geography, demography and languages 19

6 Some Questions to Be Addressed in This Work

To summarize, in terms of the population size of the Kinnauri Pahari and the
KST communities, the latter community is larger. Similarly, in terms of the
number of speakers, Kinnauri has a larger number of speakers than Kinnauri
Pahari. However, it is important to note that even though the total number of
Kinnauri speakers and the KST community are showing a positive trend—a
growth in numbers over the four census reports—the degree of bilingualism
among the Kinnauri speakers and the low interest among non-Kinnauri speak-
ers in using Kinnauri as a second language are noteworthy.
Plausibly this is indicative of the diminishing dominance of the traditionally
locally dominant language—Kinnauri—in favor of larger, more globally dom-
inant language(s)—Hindi and English. Further, in the census reports Kinnauri
is presented as one language. If however more than one KST variety is sub-
sumed under this label, and if the KST varieties in fact are different enough,
this may stimulate the use of a widely known lingua franca such as Hindi even
among KST speakers.
A lack of comparative linguistic analyses of the KST varieties makes it diffi-
cult to discern if what is labelled as the Kinnauri language in the census reports
is indeed to be considered one language linguistically. This is in no small part
due to the fact that all the KST varieties are poorly described.17 The present
monograph endeavors to fill this gap in our knowledge, and it also aspires to
provide a better overview of the whole language ecology of Kinnaur, which also
includes the local Indo-Aryan varieties. For reasons of space, the focus will be
on the traditional languages of Kinnaur, while the more recent incursions of
Hindi and English regrettably must be left out of the present investigation.
To start addressing these questions, Chapters 2 and 3 provide linguistic
sketches of two of the KST varieties, selected from the geographical extremes
of Lower Kinnaur (the Sangla village in the southernmost part of Kinnaur)—
Kinnauri (Chapter 2)—and Upper Kinnaur (the Nako village in the northern-
most part of Kinnaur)—Navakat (Chapter 3). Chapter 4 contains a similar lin-
guistic sketch of Kinnauri Pahari (Indo-Aryan). All three sketches are based on
primary fieldwork data that I have collected over many years.
In Chapter 5, the genealogical relationships among the KST varieties are
investigated using a computational methodology inspired by lexicostatistics,
followed by a comparison between Kinnauri and Navakat based on the linguis-
tic sketches presented in Chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 6 addresses the question of
language contact between Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari.
17 But see Huber’s (2014a, 2014b, 2019) work on Shumcho and Martinez’s (2021) PhD disser-
tation on Chhitkuli.

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 chapter 2

A Linguistic Sketch of Kinnauri

1 Introduction

Kinnauri is subsumed under what is usually referred to as (Standard) Kinnauri

in the literature, the Sino-Tibetan (ST) language of Lower Kinnaur. In older
literature it is referred to as “Milchan” (Gerard 1841), “Milch(an)ang” (Konow
1909), “Malhasti” (Konow 1909), “Kunawar” (Gerard 1842), “Kanaawarii” (Ko-
now 1905), “(Lower) Kanauri” (Bailey 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1920, 1938), “Kanoor-
ingskad” “Kanooreanu skad” (Bailey 1909) and “Kanáwarí” (Joshi 1909). In more
recent works the term “Kinnauri” is used to refer to this ST variety (D.D. Sharma
1988; Saxena 1995a, 1995b, 1997b, 2000a, 2000b, 2004, 2007, 2017). According
to Ethnologue (Eberhard et al. 2021), its genealogical classification is as fol-
lows: Sino-Tibetan > Tibeto-Burman > Western Tibeto-Burman > Bodish >
West Himalayish > Kinauri > Kinnauri. The classification according to Glottolog
(Hammarström et al. 2020) is: Sino-Tibetan > Bodic > West Himalayish > West-
ern West Himalayish > Kinnauric > Kinnauri.
Chapter 1 provided basic socio-cultural and geographical information on
Kinnaur (including Lower Kinnaur). As this region is rather large, with some
linguistic differences attributed to regional differences (Bailey 1909, 1920; D.D.
Sharma 1988; see also Chapter 5 below), the focus here is on the Kinnauri vari-
ety spoken in the Sangla tahsil. The Sangla tahsil belongs administratively to
the Kalpa CDB in the Kinnaur district (see Chapter 1). According to the 2011
Indian census, Sangla tahsil has 36 villages (e.g. Kilba Khas, Kanahi, Sapni Khas,
Baturi, Barua Khas, Chasu Khas, Kamru Khas, Sangla, Batseri, Rakchham and
Chitkul).1 With the exception of Rakchham and Chitkul, the ST speech of these
villages is very similar, with a high degree of mutual intelligibility (cf. the results
presented in Chapter 5).
As members of these villages interact actively (e.g. marriages among the
members of different villages is commonplace), it is not always possible to
determine the exact characteristics of the speech of a particular village. For
this reason, the linguistic variety described in this chapter reflects the speech

1 The names provided here are the official names of these villages (www.census2011.co.in). See
Chapter 1 for details concerning the size of the population, number of speakers and other
such details.

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 21

of the ST community of the Sangla tahsil, with the exception of Rakchham and
Chitkul. This variety is referred to as Kinnauri here.2
The analysis presented in this chapter represents primarily the speech of
Brua and Sangla villages, although some observations are also made concern-
ing Kinnauri of other regions (Lower and Middle Kinnaur). This includes the
speech of both older and younger speakers, formally educated and those who
did not receive formal education. Our most senior consultant Mrs Jwala Sukhi
Negi never left Kinnaur except for some visits to Shimla, the capital city of
Himachal Pradesh for health checkups etc. She could understand and speak
some Hindi. Similarly, Mrs Krishan Bhagti did not receive formal education.
She was born, grew up and still lives in the Sangla region. Among young adult
speakers the analysis represents primarily the speech of Santosh Negi (Brua,
married to a person from Sangla), Chetan Negi (Sangla) and Priya Negi (Sangla).

2 Phonology

2.1 Consonants
The consonant phonemes of Kinnauri are shown in Table 9 and examples of
contrasting minimal pairs are given below. The aspirated consonants have com-
paratively lower degree of aspiration than in many IA languages. The voiced
palatal nasal ɲ is rather infrequent in our material. There is, however, a mini-
mal pair found: -ɲ [-2sg.h] : -n [-2sg.nh].

table 9 Consonant phonemes in Kinnauri

Bilabial Alveolar Palatoalveolar Palatal Retroflex Velar Glottal

Stop pb td ʈɖ kg
Aspirated stop pʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ
Fricative s ʃ h
Affricate ʦʣ ʧʤ
Aspirated affricate ʦʰ ʧʰ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Lateral l
Trill r
Approximant ʋ2 j

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22 chapter 2

Minimal (or near-minimal) pairs: Consonants

p : b paŋ ‘lineage’ baŋ ‘foot, leg’
p : pʰ pja ‘bird’ pʰjaː ‘forehead’
t:d tammu ‘to smell (tr)’ dammu ‘to roast (tr)’
t : tʰ taŋmu ‘to observe’ tʰannu ‘to drop (tr)’
t:ʈ tuŋmu ‘to drink’ ʈuŋmu ‘to plant, to stand (tr)’
ʈ:ɖ ʈanaŋ ‘shelf’ ɖaːnaŋ ‘punishment’
tʰ : ʈʰ tʰug ‘at, above’ ʈʰog ‘white’
ʈ : ʈʰ boʈaŋ ‘soybean-like seeds’ boːʈʰaŋ ‘tree’
k : kʰ ka [2sg.nh] kʰa ‘shit’
k:g kud [call.imp] gud ‘hand, arm’
k:g rak ‘an alcoholic beverage’ rag ‘stone, rock’
k:g kar ‘tax’ gar ‘tooth’
d : ɖ dam ‘good’ ɖam ‘a kind of cattle shed’
h : kʰ hoŋ ‘insect’ kʰoŋ [bend.imp]
s:ʃ sa [kill.pst] ʃa ‘meat, flesh’
s:h seː [cntr.f] he ‘again’
t:ʦ to [cop], [aux] ʦo ‘thorn’
ʧ : ʤ ʧabmu ‘to pull down (tr)’ ʤabmu ‘to come down’
ʧ:ʃ ʧi ‘grass’ ʃi ‘leaf compost’
ʧ : ʧʰ ʧu ‘word’ ʧʰu ‘why’
tʰ : ʈʰ tʰis ‘soft, loose’ ʈʰis ‘join’
ʦ : ʦʰ ʦam ‘wool’ ʦʰam ‘ladder’
s : ʣ saŋ ‘a kind of kindling wood’ ʣaŋ ‘gold’
s : ʣ sod ‘brahmin priest’ ʣod ‘wheat’
s : ʣ ʦis ‘rotten’ ʦiːʣ ‘thing’
ʦ : ʧ ʦuː ‘cough (n)’ ʧu ‘soot; word’
d : ʤ du [cop], [aux] ʤu ‘cloud’
m : n baːm ‘a kind of drum’ baːn ‘bow’
b : m bal ‘head, top’ maːl ‘wealth’
m : n gompa ‘leg’ gonpa ‘Buddhist temple’
n : d no [3sg.dist.vis] do [3sg.dist.nvis]
n : ŋ rin ‘ell, cubit’ rəŋ [tell.1/2o.imp]
n : ŋ an [3sg.ana] aŋ [1sg.nnom]
n : ɲ -n [-2sg.nh] -ɲ [-2sg.h]

2 This chapter elaborates, revises in part and extends a much shorter and considerably less
detailed earlier description of Kinnauri which appeared as Saxena (2017), in the second edi-
tion of the survey volume The Sino-Tibetan languages (Thurgood and LaPolla 2017).
3 The articulation of ʋ is labio-dental rather than bilabial.

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 23

r:l raŋ ‘horse’ laŋ ‘cow’

l:n ʋal ‘much, many’ ʋan ‘steam’
ʋ:j ʋan ‘steam’ jaŋ ‘flea’
b:ʋ bal ‘head, top’ ʋal ‘much, many’

2.1.1 Consonant Allophony and Variation

ɖ has two allophones: [ɖ] and [ɽ], where [ɽ] occurs intervocalically and [ɖ]
occurs elsewhere. For example:

[ʤoɽi] ‘pair’ [malɖogaŋ] ‘life’

[gəɽi] ‘clock’ [kunɖa] ‘statue (of god)’
[reɽu] ‘radio’ [ɖabmu] ‘to pull’
[mʊɽǝlo] ‘limbless’ [bulɖjaːmu] ‘to roast, fry’
[goɽagaɽi] ‘horse carriage’ [ɖig] ‘pot’

The only apparent exceptions to this complementary distribution principle are

[ɖʊɖʊ] ‘owl’ and [ʈʰãːɖi] ‘cold’. In both these examples there is a clear [ɖ] inter-
vocalically. But the prosody of these words diverges from the default prosody of
Kinnauri words. In these words either there is a pause between the first and the
second syllable ([ʹɖʊ.ˌɖʊ]), or the vowel of the first syllable is long ([ʈʰãːɖi]). It is
plausible that [ɖʊɖʊ] might perhaps be an onomotopoeic reduplicated form.4
Variation is also found in the phonetic realization of ʃ. The allophones are [ʃ]
and [ʂ]. According to Takahashi (2001: 104), [ʂ] occurs before back vowels and
[ʃ] occurs elsewhere. In our material the younger consultants from Sangla use
[ʃ] everywhere (e.g., [ʃɔnʃeres] ‘Saturday’). Both [ʃ] and [ʂ] occur in the speech
of the older female speaker from Brua, but without any systematic distribution.
In her speech both [ʃ] and [ʂ] occur with both front and back vowels. For exam-
ple, [ʂɔʂɔ] ‘ripen’, [prɔʃɔl] ‘a type of bread’, [kʰaʂe] ‘rough’, [ʃepa] ‘a dog name’,
[bɔʂaŋ] ‘year’, [kiʃaŋ] [1pli]. Furthermore, in her speech, the same lexical item
can be rendered once with [ʃ] and on a different occasion with [ʂ] (e.g., [ʂum]
~ [ʃum] ‘three’, [ʃɛkʰi] ~ [ʂɛkʰi] ‘pride’).
In addition, ʤ is realized as [ʤ], [ʒ] and at times, also as [ʐ]. For example,
ʤəgmu [ʤəgmu] ~ [ʒəgmu] ‘to break (intr)’.
We also find variation in the pronunciation of recognizably Indo-Aryan (IA)
words. For examples, IA lexical items with a [h] are regularly pronounced with-
out [h] in Kinnauri, e.g. [mɛl] ‘palace’, [bramən] ‘priest’, [pɛlɛ] ‘earlier’ and [hã]
~ [ã] ‘yes’. Similarly, IA words with voiced aspirated consonants are regularly

4 The same phenomenon occurs in Kinnauri Pahari; see Chapter 4.

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24 chapter 2

pronounced without aspiration (e.g. [b] instead of [bʰ], e.g. [bɛm] ~ [bʰɛm]
‘doubt’). But in the speech of literate Kinnauri speakers we find both the typ-
ical Kinnauri pronunciation of IA words without [h] and [bʰ] and also the
Hindi pronunciation of the same items with [h] and [bʰ]. Similarly, in par-
ticular among literate Kinnauri speakers [ʣ] and [z] are in free variation (e.g.
[baʣɛnnu] ~ [bazɛnnu]) ‘to play (intr)’. [pʰ] is also realized as [f] (e.g., sapʰi
[safi] ~ [sapʰi] ‘handkerchief, rag’).
According to Takahashi (2001: 104), [ɳ] occurs between vowels and [n] else-
where. This is not attested in our material, where [n] occurs also intervocali-
cally (e.g., [ganam] ‘bad odor’, [gɔniŋ] ‘tree stem’), but the retroflex nasal [ɳ]
is always followed by a retroflex consonant (e.g., [raɳɖɔle] ‘widow’, [raɳɖɔlɛs]
‘widower (negative connotation)’, [maɳʈ(r)] ‘female (animal)’). In each such
instance in the speech of the older language consultant, we also get a vari-
ant without [ɳ]. Instead the adjacent vowel is nasalized: [rãɖole], [rãɖɔlɛs],
[mãʈ(r)]. Distinct from this the younger consultants from Sangla village use [n]
in these words.
Consonant variation is also found in the word-final position. While b, d
and g are consistently realized as voiced stops word-initially, and even though
the voicing is largely retained in word-final position, there are some instances
where, in casual speech, the word-final voiced stops were realized as voiceless
stops or as voiced fricatives. When asked to repeat, language consultants invari-
ably produced a voiced consonant. The following examples represent the Brua
variety.

tag [tag] ~ [tak] ‘pus’

ʃag [ʃag̚] ~ [ʃak̚] ‘birch’
ʃub [ʂub] ~ [ʂuβ] ‘foam’
ʦʰag [ʦʰag] ~ [ʦʰaɣ] ‘light’ (n)
mig [mɪg] ~ [mɪɣ] ‘eye’
baŋmod [baŋmɔd] ~ [baŋmɔð]5 ‘footprint’
raːg [raːg] ~ [raːɣ] ‘green, blue’
ʣabug [zabug] ~ [zaβuɣ] ‘claw’
ʈəgmu [ʈ(r) əgmu] ~ [ʈ(r) əɣmu] ‘to break’

In some cases the duration of the word-final stop is very short, although the
language consultants can still identify the consonant. This is indicated in the
phonetic transcription used here as unreleased stops (⸣). For example, [jʊme]

5 d is, however, normally neither realized as a fricative/spirantized nor as a prototypical stop

in these positions. Its articulation is somewhere in-between stop and fricative.

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 25

~ [jʊmɛd⸣] ‘mother-in-law, mother’s brother’s wife’, [ʧʰad⸣] ‘son-in-law’, [bɪd⸣]

‘shoulder’, [bɔd⸣] ‘dead skin (due to e.g., illness), bark, peel’, [karkɛb⸣] ‘awl’,
[bɔk⸣] ‘hot’, [bɔnsak⸣] ‘wild entities (animal, plant)’. However, when a plural
marker is affixed to a noun, the stem final consonant occurs explicitly. For
example, [ʧɪmɛd⸣] ‘girl, daughter’, [ʧɪmedɔː] [girl.pl].

2.1.2 Syllable Structure and Consonant Clusters

The attested syllable structures in my data are shown in Table 10. The syllable
nucleus is always a single (short or long) vowel. Hence, description of the sylla-
ble structure of Kinnauri boils down to describing possible syllable-initial and
final consonant clusters.

table 10 Attested syllable structures in Kinnauri

CV do [3sg.dist.nvis]
ʃa ‘meat, flesh’
CVC rag ‘rock, stone’
pom ‘snow’
CCV pʰjaː ‘forehead’
kraː ‘hair’
CCCV (s)kjo- ‘male (animal)’
CCVC djaːr ‘day’
(s)kar ‘star’
CCVCC bjonʦ ‘grasshopper’
krũːnʦ ‘elbow’
CVCC holɖ ‘flood’
V uː ‘flower’
VC ag ‘cave’
om ‘path’
VCC uʃk ‘old (non-human)’
oms ‘before’

2.1.2.1 Word-Initial Clusters

There is a limited number of word-initial three-consonant clusters, all of the
form sibilant + stop + approximant (e.g. (s)kjo- ‘male (animal)’) in the speech
of some older speakers. Younger speakers consistently provide the forms with-
out the first consonant. Otherwise initial clusters are of the form stop + [r/l/j/ʋ]
(only [pʰ] and [kʰ] occur aspirated), sibilant + stop, sibilant + approximant, [ʤ]
+ [r/ʋ] and [ʋ] + [j]. See Table 10. and additional examples in Table 11.

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table 11 Word-initial consonant clusters

[pr] pramu ‘to spread’ [st] stal ‘plough’

[pj] pja(ʦ) ‘bird’ [tr] tremu ‘to knead’
[br] bragmu ‘to chew’ [sk] (s)kad ‘voice’
[bj] bjomu ‘to go’ [sʋ] sʋamu ‘to spoil, ruin’
[tʋ] tʋaːr ‘Sunday’ [ʣj] ʣiʋa ‘heart, soul, spirit’
[tj] tjoŋ ‘more’ [ʣʋ] ʣʋalno ‘shining’
[dʋ] dʋǝnnu ‘to come out’ [sj] sjano ‘old (human)’
[ɖj] djaːr ‘day’ [kʰj] kʰjar ‘goat’s wool blanket’
[kr] kraː ‘hair’ [ʃʋ] ʃʋiːg ‘red’
[kʋ] kʋasmu ‘to boil’ [pʰr] pʰralmu ‘to fell’
[kj] kjar ‘plait, braid’ [kʰr] kʰramu ‘to be late’
[gr] gruːmu ‘to burn (intr)’ [ʤr] ʤrakʰraŋ ‘bush with thorns’
[gʋ] gʋamu ‘to jump’ [ʤʋ] ʤʋarat ‘jewel’
[gj] gjaːmu ‘to want’ [ʋj] ʋjapar ‘business’
[pʰj] pʰjaː ‘forehead’ [kʰʋ] kʰʋaʧimu ‘to boil’
[mj] mja ‘day’

2.1.2.2 Word-Final Clusters

Word-final consonant clusters are of the form [nasal/liquid + stop/affricate],
[fricative + stop], [stop + affricate] and also [t + k]. See Table 10. Additional
examples are provided in Table 12.

table 12 Word-final consonant clusters

[kʦ] botokʦ ‘spider’ [mp] lomp ‘small kerosene lamp’

[tk] ʦʰatk ‘light’ [nʦ] bjonʦ ‘grasshopper’
[ms] oms ‘before’ [mʦ] gumʦ ‘knife’
[ns] lesəns ‘license’
[nt] banbant ‘much’ [nʈ] ʈenʈ ‘tent’
[nɖ] homaŋ kunɖ ‘altar’ [nʈʰ] banʈʰ ‘share, portion’
[ŋk] raŋk ‘high, tall’ [rt] ʃǝrt ‘bet’
[st] ʧust ‘clever’ [ʃk] kʰuʃk ‘dry (inan. objects)’
[mb] bomb ‘bomb’ [nʧ] kunʧ ‘wide (inan. objects)’
[lɖ] holɖ ‘flood’ [pʦ] pətrapʦ ‘kidney’
[lk] melk ‘low’ [rg] sorg ‘heaven’
[rk] surk ‘salty, sour’ [rʦ] ʦʰarʦ ‘dry (e.g. grass)’
[rs] nors ‘nurse’ [rʧ] bǝrʧ ‘leave behind’

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table 13 Dialect variation: [ʈ(ʰ)(r)] and [ʧ(ʰ)(r)]

Razgramang (Sangla) Tukpa (Brua)

liːʈ [liʈ(r)], [liʧʰ(r)] [liʈ(r)], [liʧʰ(r)] ‘egg’

ʈʰanaŋ [ʈʰanaŋ], [ʧʰ(r)anaŋ] [ʈʰ(r)anaŋ], [ʧʰ(r)anaŋ] ‘ice’
ʈʰab [ʈʰab⸣], [ʧʰ(r)ab⸣] [ʈʰ(r)ab⸣], [ʧʰ(r)ab⸣] ‘lung’
ʈod [ʈɔd⸣], [ʧ(r)ɔd⸣] [ʈ(r)ɔd⸣], [ʧ(r)ɔd⸣] ‘disease’
ʈəgmu [ʈəgmu], [ʧ(r)əgmu] [ʈ(r)əgmu], [ʧ(r)əgmu] ‘to break’
manʈ- [mãʈ], [mãnʈ] [maɳʈ(r)] ‘female (animal)’

2.1.3 Geographical Variation in the Consonant System

On the whole, the speech varieties of Kinnauri speakers of the Brua and the
Sangla villages are very similar, including their judgements concerning various
aspects of Kinnauri grammar. But there are some minor differences which can
be attributed to dialect differences. According to the locals the Kinnauri speech
of the Brua village represents the Tukpa Kinnauri variety, while the speech of
the Sangla village represents a form of speech associated with the Razgramang
variety.
In a restricted set of Kinnauri lexical items, variation is noted between [ʈ]
and [ʧ] and between [ʈʰ] and [ʧʰ] in both varieties. In this set, as illustrated by
the examples in Table 13, in the Tukpa (Brua) variety a short [r] is heard after
both the [ʈ(ʰ)] and the [ʧ(ʰ)] variants.6 Distinct from this, in the speech of the
Razgramang (Sangla) speakers, a short [r] is heard mostly in the [ʧ(ʰ)] variants
of this set.
In the Tukpa variety, a short [-r] is also heard after a retroflex consonant
([ʈ(ʰ)]) in lexical items which do not show the [ʈ] and [ʧ] variation, as shown
in Table 14.
The corresponding lexical items in closely related Kanashi have [ʧ], and [ʃ]
in one instance (‘ice’). See Table 15.

6 In the Tukpa variety a short [r] is also heard after a [ʤ] (ʤogiʦ ‘warm (weather)’: [ʒ(r)ogɪʦ]).
In addition, ʤ is realized as [ʐ] more frequently in the Tukpa variety than in the Razgramang
variety.

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table 14 Dialect variation [ʈ(ʰ)(r)] without [ʧ(ʰ)(r)]

Phonemic Razgramang (Sangla) Tukpa (Brua)

representation

ʈʰo [ʈʰo] [ʈʰo], [ʈʰro] ‘charcoal’

ʈʰog [ʈʰog] [ʈʰog], [ʈʰrog] ‘white’
paːʈ [paːʈ] [paːʈ], [paːʈr] ‘ankle’
ʈuʈu [ʈuʈu] [ʈuʈu], [ʈruʈru]7 [swell.pfv]
kjarʈʰaŋ tʰomu [kjarʈʰaŋ tʰomu] [kjarʈʰaŋ tʰomu], ‘to carry under
[kjarʈʰraŋ tʰomu] the arm’

table 15 Kanashi counterparts of Kinnauri [ʈ(ʰ)(r)] and [ʧ(ʰ)(r)]

Razgramang (Sangla) Tukpa (Brua) Kanashi

liːʈ [liʈ(r)], [liʧʰ(r)] [liʈ(r)], [liʧʰ(r)] [li(ː)ʧ] ‘egg’

manʈ- [mãʈ], [mãnʈ] [maɳʈ(r)] [mĩʧ], [miʧ] ‘female’
ʈʰo ʈʰo ʈʰ(r)o [ʧopʈu] ‘charcoal’
ʈʰog [ʈʰog] [ʈʰ(r)og] [ʧʰo(g)] ‘white’
ʈuʈu ʈuʈu [ʈ(r)uʈ(r)u] [ʧuːrʣ] ‘swelling’
ʈʰanaŋ [ʈʰanaŋ], [ʧʰ(r)anaŋ] [ʈʰ(r)anaŋ], [ʧʰ(r)anaŋ] [ʃaɳaŋ], [ʃanaŋ] ‘ice’

It is important to note that this type of variation occurs in a restricted set of

words. In the following instances the retroflex stop consonant [ʈ(ʰ)] occurs
without an [r] in both the Razgramang and Tukpa varieties.
1. In words where [ʈ(ʰ)] is immediately followed by the transitivizer -jaː (e.g.
meʈjaːmu ‘to gather (tr)’).
2. In words where [ʈ(ʰ)] is immediately followed by the detransitivizer -ed
(e.g. meʈed-o [gather(intr)-prog])
3. [r] does not occur in recognizably IA words with retroflex consonants
(e.g. beʈa ‘son’).

7 This example shows that [r] can also intrude in reduplicated perfective verb forms, where it
is in word-medial position.

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2.2 Vowels
Table 16 shows the oral vowel phonemes of Kinnauri and a list of minimal pairs
is provided below. See Section 2.2.2 for a discussion of the phonemic status of
nasal vowels.

table 16 Vowel phonemes

i, iː u, uː
e, eː ə o, oː
a, aː

Minimal (or near-minimal) pairs: Vowels

i : e ʧimu ‘to wash’ ʧemu ‘to write, to draw’
e : a eŋe ‘fourth day after today’ aŋ [1sg.nnom]
ə : a əpa ‘father-in-law’ api ‘grandmother’
a : i ka [2sg.nh] ki [2sg.h]
o : u pʰor ‘floor’ pʰur ‘boil, blister’
i : u kim ‘house, home’ kum ‘pillow’
i : iː ligmu ‘to put on’ liːg ‘heavy’
e : eː le ‘day’ le ‘tongue’
a : aː ka [2sg.nh] kaː ‘walnut’
a : aː rag ‘stone, rock’ raːg ‘green, blue’
o : oː kʰolaŋ ‘threshing floor’ kʰoːlo ‘box’
u : uː sumu ‘to bathe (tr)’ ʃuːmu ‘to preach’
o : aː om ‘path, mountain pass’ aːm ‘mango’

Vowel length is phonemic in Kinnauri, although I have found no instances of

disyllabic words which have long vowels in both syllables. Minimal pairs for
vowel length are also provided among the examples above. It is important to
note that the difference between long and non-long vowels is fairly small. Thus,
there is very little difference in length between raŋ ‘horse’ and raːŋ ‘mountain’
in (1). See also Figure 5.

(1) raŋ-rǝŋ raːŋ den bjo-k

horse-com mountain over go-1sg
‘(I) went over the hill with (my) horse.’

When a vowel-initial suffix is added to a stem which ends in a vowel, there is an

intervening [j] or [ʋ], the former occurs with front vowels and the latter with
back vowels. E.g. ʃi-e rəŋ [die-mnr com] [ʃije rǝŋ] ‘at the time of (his) death’.

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figure 5 Spectrograms illustrating phonemic vowel length distinctions ka [2sg.nh] (top) and kaː ‘wal-
nut’ (bottom)

2.2.1 Vowel Allophony and Variation

Some variation is found in the phonetic realization of vowel phonemes in
Kinnauri. The phonetic realization of vowel phonemes varies both within the
speech of an individual and across speakers: i is realized along the entire spec-
trum of [i]–[ɪ]. Similarly, u : [u]–[ʊ], e : [e]–[ɛ], o : [o]–[ɔ] and a : [a]–[ɐ]–[ɑ].

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2.2.1.1 o : [o] ~ [ɔ]

In several cases, the same word is pronounced with [o] in one sitting and [ɔ] in
another by the same speaker (e.g. [kɔʧaŋ] ~ [koʧaŋ] ‘direction, side’) and across
speakers (e.g. [rãɖɔle] ~ [rãɖole] ‘widow’). At the same time, some systematic
distributional tendencies are also observed:
First, o tends to be realized as [ɔ] before a consonant cluster. Example: [hɔlɖ]
‘flood (N)’, [ɔms] ‘before’, [sɔrg] ‘heaven’. Second, word-initially o tends to be
realized as a [ɔ]. Third, in di-/polysyllabic words which contain o in consecu-
tive syllables, there are a few lexical items with either [o] or [ɔ] in both syllables
([poʈo] ‘seed’, [bɔtɔkʦ] ‘spider’, [bɔʈɔn] ‘button’, [dɔrɔm] ‘religion’), but more
frequently in such disyllabic lexical items [o] occurs in one syllable and [ɔ]
in the other (e.g. [ɖɔrko] ‘skeleton’, [kɔkpol] ‘a kind of cheese’, [pʰɔgdori] ‘felt’,
[tɔŋlo] ‘acorn, cone’, [sɔkʰo] ‘scorpion’, [sɔrglok] ‘heaven’ and [ɪbrobɔr] ‘simi-
lar’).

2.2.1.2 e : [e] ~ [ɛ]

As was the case with [o] and [ɔ], variation is found both within and across
speakers. One example of variation within the speech of one speaker: [damɛs]
~ [dames] ‘ox’, [kɔnes] ~ [kɔnɛs] ‘male friend of a man’.
There is also some systematicity where the distribution of [e] and [ɛ] holds
across speakers.
First, there is some dialectal variation among my language consultants. In
the speech of Brua village, in some compound words where the first member is
meː ‘fire’, its vowel is realized as [ɛ] (e.g. [mɛʃɪŋ] ‘match’, [mɛhoŋ] ‘firefly’), but
the vowel quality does not change in [melɪŋ] ‘fireplace, oven’. The language con-
sultants from Sangla, however, consistently have an [e] in all the compounds
involving meː ‘fire’.
Secondly, in recognizably IA words, Kinnauri tends to retain the IA vowels
[e] and [ɛ]. For example, [sɛnɖal] ‘sandal’, [ʃɛ(ː)r] ‘town’, [tʰɛlaː] ‘bag’, [deʃaŋ]
‘village, country’, [kaleʤi] ‘liver’, [mela] ‘carnival’.
Third, the distribution of [e] and [ɛ] seems to be sensitive to stem structure.
In many stems ending in -e(C) this e is pronounced [e] when stem-final, but [ɛ]
when followed by a stem consonant, e.g. [jʊme] ~ [jʊmɛd⸣] ‘mother-in-law’,
[rãɳɖɔle] ‘widow’ ~[rãɖɔlɛs] ‘widower’.
In particular, intransitive verbs formed with the suffix -ed show [ɛ] in forms
where the stem ends in a consonant, i.e., in the allomorphs -ed and -en (the lat-
ter occurring in the infinitive: -ed-mu > -ennu; see Section 4.1.3.4.2), while in the
reduplicated perfective, where the stem ends in -e, this is pronounced [e]. This
variation in vowel quality does not occur in verbs with a single stem ending in
-e. In these cases [e] occurs in all forms, as expected:

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Infinitive Progressive Perfective

polʈen-nu [pɔlʈɛnnu] polʈed-o [pɔlʈɛdo] polʈe~ʈe [pɔlʈeʈe] ‘to turn around’

ʈʰuren-nu [ʈʰʊrɛnnu] ʈʰured-o [ʈʰʊrɛdo] ʈʰure~re [ʈʰʊrere] ‘to run’
ʃen-nu [ʃɛnnu] ʃed-o [ʃɛdo] ʃe~ʃe [ʃeʃe] ‘to send’
ren-nu [rɛnnu] red-o [rɛdo] re~re [rere] ‘to sell’
halaŋ he-mu [halaŋ hemu] halaŋ he-( j)o [halaŋ he(j)o] halaŋ he~he [halaŋ ‘to plough’
hehe]
tre-mu [tremu] tre-jo [trejo] tre~tre [tretre] ‘to knead’

2.2.2 Nasal Vowels

Vowels preceding nasal consonants are regularly nasalized. However, in a re-
stricted set of words nasalized vowels occur, even when there is no nasal con-
sonant following it. For example ɖãs ‘gnat’, tãziraŋ ‘a horse name’, suãraŋ ‘mon-
day’, sujĩ ‘tailor (who makes traditional cap and coat)’, ũʈ ‘camel’.8 There is at
least one minimal pair: bas ‘fragrant’ : bãs ‘bamboo’, both IA. If nasal vowels
have a phonemic status, it is marginal at best. In this chapter, nasalization will
be marked only when there is no following nasal consonant following a nasal-
ized vowel.

2.3 Morphophonological Stem Alternations

2.3.1 Nominal Morphophonology
Kinnauri has two kinds of systematic stem alternation which recur in several
places in the nominal inflectional system, triggered by particular suffixes.
Polysyllabic stem truncation: As we will see, when certain inflectional suf-
fixes are added to a disyllabic or polysyllabic noun stem ending in -aŋ, -iŋ or -es,
this final part of the stem is replaced by the inflectional suffix.
Final vowel elision: When certain vowel-initial inflectional suffixes are
added to a disyllabic or polysyllabic stem ending in -a or -e, the stem-final vowel
is deleted (stems in -a) or replaced by a high glide (stems in -e). This is normally
accompanied by a lowering of the suffix vowel (-u > -o).

2.3.2 Verbal Morphophonology

There are some verbs (e.g. bənnu ‘to come’, lonnu ‘to tell’, sannu ‘to kill’, ʋannu
‘to laugh’, as well as all intransitive verbs formed with the suffix -ed; see

8 Notably, several of these items are IA loanwords in Kinnauri.

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Section 4.1.3.4.2), which have three stem allomorphs whose distribution is mor-
phophonologically determined: -V, -Vd, and -Vn.
The n-final allomorph appears in the infinitive, which ends in -nnu in these
verbs (e.g. sannu ‘to kill’), most likely due to a mutual assimilation process
between the stem-final -d and the affix-initial -m, where the d assimilates in
nasality and the m in place of articulation.
The d-final allomorph appears in the following contexts: In the progressive
aspect (e.g. sad-o [kill-prog]); when the manner marker -e is suffixed to the
verb (e.g. ʋad-e [laugh-mnr]) and in the imperative (e.g. sad [kill.imp]).
The vowel-final allomorph appears in the past tense (e.g. sa-kjo [kill-pst])
and in the reduplicated perfective (e.g. sa~sa [kill~pfv]). The default verbal
past tense markers are -gjo and -ge, but with this set of verbs the past tense
markers are realized as -kjo and -ke/-ki.9

V (inf) V (pst) V (pst-3sg.h) V (prog)

lonnu lo-kjo lo-ki-ʃ lod-o ‘to tell’

bənnu bə-kjo bǝ-ki-ʃ bǝd-o ‘to come’
tonnu to-kjo to-ki-ʃ tod-o ‘to take out’
ʋannu ʋa-kjo ʋa-ki-ʃ ʋad-o ‘to laugh’
tannu ta-kjo ta-ki-ʃ tad-o ‘to do’

2.4 Suffix Suppletion

Some inflectional categories in Kinnauri exhibit suffix suppletion, with (mor-
pho)phonologically determined distribution of the alternants. This holds for
the dative (-u/(-)pəŋ; Section 3.2.4.3), for the perfective (-is/[~red]; Section
4.5.2.2), for the habitual (-id/-ʦ; Section 4.5.2.3), and marginally for the locative
(-o/-r; Section 3.2.4.5). In all these cases, we seem to be dealing with genuine
suppletion, and not, e.g., distinct items with overlapping functions.

9 A reviewer suggests that these alternations together indicate that we are dealing with an orig-
inal stem-final -t. Notably, Shumcho has a number of ST verbs which in some morphological
contexts show a final -t, which Huber (2014a: 232f./fn. 17) refers to as a “root augmentation
marker”. Shumcho also has an intransitive marker -(ɐ)t (Huber 2014a: 252f./fn. 33) which may
be related to Kinnauri -e/-ed/-en (described in Section 4.1.3.4.2). On the other hand, note that
Navakat, too, shows the stem sád- for ‘to kill’ (and not *sát-); see Chapter 3.

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3 Noun Phrase

3.1 Noun Phrase Structure

The noun phrase in Kinnauri has the following basic structure:

(dem / NPPOSS) (Num) ((Adv) Adj) N(-dim)(-pl/-du)(-case)(-emp)

(foc/too)

For example:

(2) do tiʃ ʋal gaʈo-ʦ ʦʰeʦa-ʦ-oː-s le

dem.dist.nvis seven very small-dim girl-dim-pl-erg too
‘Those seven very small girls, too, …’

(3) ka-s-i ta rəŋ-o-n

2sg.nh-erg-emp foc tell.1/2o-pst-2sg.nh
‘You (yourself) told (me that).’

The N can consist of a title plus a name. In such cases both orderings, [name
title] and [title name], are possible.

(4) daʃratʰ raːʣ-o ʃum raːni

i.name king-poss three queen
‘The three queens of King Dashrath’

(5) dok raːʣa daʃratʰ-is

then king i.name-erg
‘Then the king Dashrath …’

In some discourse contexts, the emphatic marker may precede the locative case
marker (e.g., obor-i-o [dungeon-emp-loc]). The most frequent order is, how-
ever, where the emphatic marker occurs after the case marker.

(6) do rapja neraŋ-o-i bəd-o du-gjo

3sg a.bird near-loc-emp come-prog aux-pst
‘She was coming near the bird.’

We now turn to a description of the components of the noun phrase.

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3.2 Nouns
3.2.1 Noun Structure and Word Formation
3.2.1.1 Noun Structure
Most nouns in Kinnauri are monosyllabic or disyllabic.10 Monosyllabic nouns
can end in both vowels and consonants, e.g.:

ti ‘water’ pju ‘mouse’ ʃub ‘foam’

kraː ‘hair’ (s)kad ‘language’ ʧʰaŋ ‘boy’
uː ‘flower’ mig ‘eye’ ʣod ‘wheat’
haːp ‘jackal’ ʦam ‘wool’ (s)kar ‘star’

Disyllabic nouns in Kinnauri often end in -Vŋ, -Vs or -pa. Disyllabic nouns may,
however, also end in other syllables. The endings -Vŋ and -Vs appear on IA
loanwords and words of unknown etymology (nouns and adjectives), never
on ST items, and seem to function as adaptive markers, which simultaneously
accomodate the non-ST items to the inflectional system of Kinnauri, and mark
them as foreign. They show special behavior in derivation11 and inflection (see
below).

ɖejaŋ ‘body’ eraŋ ‘hunting’

ɖokʰaŋ ‘mountain’ kʰiraŋ ‘milk’
bruaŋ ‘a village name’ raːpaŋ ‘a village name (Sapni)’
koʈiŋ ‘a kind of basket’ baniŋ ‘pots and pans’
gaʧʰiŋ ‘traditional belt’ ʈʰepaŋ ‘traditional cap’
bitiŋ ‘wall’ gubiŋ ‘storey, level’
dames ‘ox’ sapes ‘snake’
ʧʰunpa ‘maidservant’ gompa ‘step’
bospa ‘ash’ ʃupa ‘evening’

10 There is a large number of IA words in Kinnauri. As many of them are part of the core
vocabulary, they are included in the present discussion. Only those words which are iden-
tifiably recent loanwords (e.g. seʈelajʈ ʈiʋi ‘satellite television’) are excluded. In the IA
expressions with the IA honorific marker -ʤi in Kinnauri, case markers follow -ʤi (e.g.,
brahmənʤi-ju [priest.h-poss], hənumanʤi-ju [a.hindu.god.h-poss]). -ʤi is treated here
as part of the lexical item, and not as a separate functional morpheme.
11 These words tend not to take derivational suffixes, although there are a few instances of
nouns where the adaptive marker -aŋ is followed by the diminutive marker -ʦ. E.g. “to-ta-
li ma-ta-li jali panʈʰaŋ-ʦ-o” lod-o [cop-fut-emp neg-fut-emp downstairs living.room-
dim-loc tell-prog] ‘ “If it is there or is not there, (those two) are downstairs in the living
room” (the fox) is saying’.

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sutʰon ‘traditional trousers’ june ‘sun’

sokʰo ‘scorpion’ ʧimed ‘daughter’
əkʰa ‘pain’ ʦʰemar ‘lizard’

There are some nouns in Kinnauri which are longer. Most of them are, however,
compounds (e.g. kaːnaŋ-kʰə [ear-shit] ‘earwax’) or seemingly compounds (e.g.
ʤanekaŋ ‘marriage’, purʧuʈiŋ ‘dust’).
As the examples below illustrate, there are no structural differences between
(i) count and mass nouns, (ii) concrete and abstract nouns, and (iii) inanimate,
animate and human nouns. Such nouns can be mono- or disyllabic, ending in
similar vowels and consonants.

(i) Count nouns Mass nouns

(s)toː ‘face’ (s)puː ‘body hair’

pja ‘bird’ ʦʰa ‘salt’
rud ‘horn’ kʰod ‘dandruff’
mi ‘man’ meː ‘fire’

(ii) Concrete nouns Abstract nouns

bal ‘head, top’ laːn ‘air, wind’

ɖokʰaŋ ‘mountain’ miʧʰaŋ ‘envy, jealous’
rag ‘stone, rock’ ʦʰag ‘light (n)’

(iii) Inanimate nouns Animate nouns

ʣaŋ ‘gold’ raŋ ‘horse’

tromaŋ ‘copper’ ʃokraŋ ‘orphan’
ʋaː ‘nest’ pja ‘bird’

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3.2.1.2 Word Formation of Nouns

In Kinnauri there is a small set of derivational morphemes deriving nouns from
nouns. These are maɳʈ-, (s)kjo-, bi-, ran-, -(o)nig and -ʦ. With the exception of
-ʦ (which also attaches to other parts of speech), they are not productive in the
modern language.

manʈ- ‘female (animals)’ manʈ-kukəri ‘hen’

(s)kjo- ‘male (animals)’ (s)kjo-kukəri ‘cock/rooster’
bi- ‘step- (kinship)’ bi-bon, bi-boba ‘stepfather’
bi- ‘step- (kinship)’ bi-ama, bi-mən ‘stepmother’
ran- ‘defective’ ran-ʦʰesmi ‘widow’
-onig [-female] rikʰ-onig ‘she-bear’
-onig [-female] sod-onig ‘priest’s wife’
-ʦ [-dim] pja-ʦ [bird-dim]
-ʦ [-dim] ʦʰeʦa-ʦ [girl-dim]

A more productive process of forming complex nouns is compounding. By

“compound” in this work I mean a single word unit, which consists of at least
two independent stems. Most frequently the compounds in Kinnauri consist
of two stems. Structurally, they are made up by N-N or Adj-N.

N-N
meʃiŋ meː+ʃiŋ [fire+wood] ‘match’
mehoŋ meː+hoŋ [fire+worm] ‘firefly’
ʋasjaŋ ʋas+jaŋ [honey+fly(n)] ‘bee’
misti mig-s+ti [eye-lnk+water] ‘tear’

Adj-N
rokmig rok+mig [black+eye] ‘pupil’
pəʣər pə+ʣər [four+corner] ‘square’

The following phonological modifications have been observed to occur when

the element stems become a part of a nominal compound. The vowel of the
first stem is reduced (e.g., [i] > [ɪ], [iː] > [i]). For example, ti+daːmes [water+ox]
> [tɪdamɛs] ‘(non-castrated) bull’. When the first component of a compound
ends with an adaptive marker (-Vŋ), the adaptive marker is frequently deleted
(e.g. boniŋ+sak [forest+wild.creature] > [bɔnsak] ‘wild animal’, boniŋ+mi-ʦ
[forest+man-dim] > [bɔnmiʦ] ‘fairy, elf’, haraŋ+koʈiŋ [bone+kind.of.basket] >
[harkɔʈɪŋ] ‘skull’).
Further, if the first stem ends in a consonant, in some cases, the stem
final consonant is deleted (e.g. gud+sab [hand+narrowness] > [gʊsab] ‘glove’,

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piːg+jaŋ [yellow+flea] > [pijaŋ] ‘wasp’, juŋʣ+riŋʣ [brother+sister] > [jʊŋrɪŋ]12)

or it gets assimilated for voicing (e.g. sag+ti [core+water] > [sagti] ~ [sakti]
‘whirpool’). There does not seem to be any specific phonological context which
determines when a final consonant will be deleted. In the following examples,
the phonological shape of the first component of a compound remains unaf-
fected.

migbod mig-bod [eye-skin] ‘eyelid’

sakpju sak-pju [wild.creature-rat] ‘outdoor rat’
bonpraʦ bon-praʦ [father-finger] ‘thumb’
ʋasjaŋ ʋas-jaŋ [honey-fly(n)] ‘bee’
balrig bal-rig [head-louse] ‘head louse’
baŋmod baŋ-mod [foot-impression] ‘footprint’
mənbon mən-bon [mother-father]13 ‘parents’

In a restricted sub-set an additional -s14 occurs as a linking element between

the stems (e.g. mig-s-ti [eye-lnk-water] > [mɪsti] ‘tear’, mig-s-pu [eye-lnk-
body.hair] > migspu ‘eyebrow, eyelash’).15

3.2.2 Number
Generally, a two-way number distinction—singular vs. plural—is made in Kin-
nauri nouns (but see Section 3.3.2.1 below for some instances of dual marking).
The singular is zero-marked. Mass nouns such as ti ‘water’, meː ‘fire’, ʤu ‘clouds’
do not take a plural marker. Similarly, nouns denoting unique natural objects
such as ‘sky’, ‘moon’ and ‘sun’ do not take the plural marker.
The following plural markers are found in our material: -aː, -eː, -oː/-goː and
lengthening of the stem-final vowel. The distribution of the plural markers on
nouns is not completely systematic, but some tendencies are observable.
Nouns which end in one of the adaptive markers (-Vŋ/-Vs) permit polysyl-
labic stem truncation (see Section 2.3.1) and the plural marker -aː is added to
the resulting truncated stem. Additionally, with noun stems ending in the front-
vowel adaptive suffixes -iŋ/-es, a -j normally appears between the truncated
stem and the plural ending.

12 -ʣ occurs obligatorily when ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ occur independently, but is not permit-
ted when they form part of a compound.
13 ban ‘papa’, man ‘mama’ (source: Joshi 1909).
14 -s occurs also in complex verbs. E.g. [tɪskarmu] ‘to be thirsty’ ti-s-karmu [water-lnk-
bring.inf].
15 Kanashi has a similar compound construction where -ʃ occurs as the linking element:
jaː-ʃ-baː [mother-lnk-father] ‘parents’.

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Singular Plural

haraŋ har-aː ‘bone’

ãʤaŋ ãʤ-aː ‘intestine’
moraŋ mor-aː ‘mask for gods made of gold/silver’
ʈaːnaŋ ʈaːn-aː ‘jewelry’
ɖokʰaŋ ɖokʰ-aː ‘mountain’
dames dam-aː ‘ox’
bitiŋ bitj-aː ‘wall’
takʃuliŋ takʃulj-aː ‘nostril’
ores orj-aː ‘carpenter, name of a social group’
banes banj-aː ‘pot’
kones konj-aː ‘male friend of a man’
gales galj-aː ‘abuse’

In nouns with the adaptive markers, the adaptive suffix can be retained—
apparently with no difference in meaning. In such instances the regular plural
marker -oː/-goː occurs.

Singular Plural

gaːraŋ gaːraŋ-oː, gaːr-aː ‘river’

ɖejaŋ ɖejaŋ-oː, ɖej-aː ‘body’
koʈiŋ koʈiŋ-oː, koʈj-aː ‘basket which is carried on the back’
junnaŋ junnaŋ-oː, junn-aː ‘mortar’
hasgoʈaŋ hasgoʈaŋ-oː, hasgoʈ-aː ‘hand.grinding.stone’
patʰraŋ patʰraŋ-oː, patʰr-aː ‘leaf’

In a few nouns, the stem-final vowel is lengthened to mark plurality by our

Tukpa language consultant, but our Razgramang (Sangla) younger language
consultants did not permit vowel lengthening as a plural marking device here,
instead selecting -goː as the plural marker in all the following examples, except
‘sheep/goat’ (which is also irregular in losing the stem-final consonant).

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Singular Plural

ate ateː, ate-goː ‘older brother’

rikʰa rikʰaː, rikʰa-goː ‘bear’
le leː, le-goː ‘tongue’
mi miː, mi-oː, mi-goː ‘man’
ʣed ʣeː ‘sheep/goat’

In a restricted set of nouns the plural marker is -eː.

Singular Plural

roʈ roʈ-eː ‘chapati’

ʦʰatig ʦʰatig-eː ‘mosquito’
elkar elkar-eː ‘minister’
riŋʣ riŋʣ-eː ‘sister’
sok sok-eː ‘co-wife’
haːp haːp-eː ‘jackal’
gambuːʈ gambuːʈ-eː ‘boot’

The plural marker -eː also occurs with the numeral id ‘one’, forming a generic
pronoun (7–8).

(7) id-eː-s aŋ ʧʰaŋ-ʦ lod-o du

one-pl-erg 1sg.nnom boy-dim tell-prog aux.prs
‘Some are saying: “(You are) my son”.’

(8) id-eː-nu naːne lod-o

one-pl-dat.pl aunt tell-prog
‘(He is) calling some (women) “Aunt”.’

In the remaining cases, the default plural marker is -oː/-goː, where -goː [gɔː]
occurs after a stem-final vowel and -oː [ɔː] after a stem-final consonant. These
plural markers also occur after an agentive nominalizer. The plural marker
-aː/-gaː, too, occurs in our material, e.g. baniŋ : baniŋ-aː ~ banj-aː ‘kitchen uten-
sils’. According to our Sangla consultants -aː/-gaː reflects the speech of some
other Kinnauri varieties, but not that of Sangla.

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Singular Plural

tʰar tʰar-oː ‘leopard’

rag rag-oː ‘stone, rock’
krog krog-oː ‘ant’
raŋ raŋ-oː ‘horse’
mig mig-oː ‘eye’
gud gud-oː ‘hand, arm’
kʰjar kʰjar-oː ‘blanket made of goat’s hair’
stal stal-oː ‘plough’
gar gar-oː ‘tooth’
ʧin ʧin-oː ‘fingernail’
ʃiŋ ʃiŋ-oː ‘wood’
kep-ʦ kep-ʦ-oː ‘small needle’
mul mul-oː ‘silver’
mig mig-oː ‘eye’
bed bed-oː ‘traditional doctor’
bod bod-oː ‘peel’
ʧimed ʧimed-oː ‘girl, daughter’
gone gone-goː ‘wife’
piʃi piʃi-goː ‘cat’
ama ama-goː ‘mother’
lanʦjaː lanʦjaː-goː ‘maker’
bore bore-goː ‘brother’s wife’
gora gora-goː ‘stone.house’
porʣa porʣa-goː ‘citizen’
sjano sjano-goː ‘old man’
jaŋʣe jaŋʣe-goː ‘old woman’
ʣuʈi ʣuʈi-goː ‘hair ribbon’
pʰoʃa pʰoʃa-goː ‘deer meat’
raːni raːni-goː ‘queen’

The plural marker occurs also in noun phrases which include a numeral.

(9) niʃ ʧimed-oː to-ke

two girl-pl cop-pst
‘There were two girls.’

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3.2.3 Gender
Gender is not a grammatical category in Kinnauri nouns, other than in the
restricted sense that the language has a “variable” class of adjectives, which
distinguish a masculine and a feminine form reflecting natural sex in animate
nouns (see Section 3.4). There are also some word-formation devices for creat-
ing nouns denoting female and male humans and animals.16 With two excep-
tions to be described below, these processes are not productive.
A few nouns denoting female referents end in -mo or in -ma (e.g. ama
‘mother’). In Tibetan loanwords, Tibetan rules for gender distinction are fol-
lowed (for example ʣo ‘mountain ox’ : ʣomo ‘mountain cow’).
Further, with animal names the gender distinction can be encoded by means
of the prefixes (s)kjo- and manʈ-. (s)kjo- denotes male and manʈ- denotes female
animals. As the following examples illustrate, the ST gender prefixes (s)kjo- and
manʈ- can also be affixed to loan nouns in Kinnauri. However, (s)kjo- and manʈ-
do not occur frequently in natural texts.

(s)kjo-raŋ ‘stallion’ manʈ-raŋ ‘mare’

(s)kjo-kui ‘dog’ manʈ-kui ‘bitch’
(s)kjo-kukəri ‘rooster’ manʈ-kukəri ‘hen’
(s)kjo-piʃi ‘cat (male)’ manʈ-piʃi ‘cat (female)’
(s)kjo-tʰar ‘leopard (male)’ manʈ-tʰar ‘leopard (female)’
(s)kjo-kangaru ‘kangaroo (male)’ manʈ-kangaru ‘kangaroo (female)’

There is also a restricted set of feminine nouns characterized by the suffix -onig,
e.g.:

rakses ‘demon’ raksonig ‘demoness’

rikʰa ‘bear’ rikʰonig ‘she-bear’
suːres ‘pig (male)’ suːronig, manʈ-suːres ‘sow’
sod ‘priest’ sodonig ‘priest’s wife’
ores ‘male belonging to a oronig ‘female belonging to a
certain caste’ certain caste’

A possible IA influence could be seen in some noun pairs, where the feminine
noun forms end in -i or -e, and the corresponding masculine forms in most cases
end in an -o.

16 As just mentioned, Kinnauri does not have grammatical gender, and below we use “mascu-
line” (m) and “feminine” (f) about nouns denoting male and female referents, respectively.

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laro ‘bridegroom’ lari ‘bride’

ʤaro ‘deaf (m)’ ʤare ‘deaf (f)’
kano ‘one-eyed (m)’ kane ‘one-eyed (f)’
ʃaro ‘beautiful (m)’ ʃare ‘beautiful (f)’
ʧores ‘thief (m)’ ʧore ‘thief (f)’

The following two almost-grammatical processes are, however, productive. In

the agentive nominalization the choice of the nominalizers: -ʦjaː and -ʦeː,
signals gender, where -ʦjaː denotes male referents and -ʦeː denotes female ref-
erents.17

gas-oː ʧi-ʦjaː ‘washer of clothes (m)’ gas-oː ʧi-ʦeː ‘washer of clothes (f)’
gas-oː pon-ʦjaː ‘tailor (m)’ gas-oː pon-ʦeː ‘seamstress (f)’
ne-ʦjaː ‘knower (m)’ ne-ʦeː ‘knower (f)’

In the contrastive specifier markers too, a gender distinction is made: -sjaː

[-cntr.m] and -seː [-cntr.f]. For example, ʧad-sjaː [son.in.law-cntr.m] and
ʧimed-seː [girl-cntr.f].18
The gender distinction is also indicated in the terms used to describe inhab-
itants of villages in Kinnaur or of Kinnaur. This is done by affixing two distinct
sets of bound morphemes to the village name (see Table 17). In some cases the
stem is modified in the process. The -pa and -meʦ suffixes are ST in origin, while
the other suffixes appear to be IA.

3.2.4 Case
The case markers in Kinnauri are shown in Table 18. The nominative is un-
marked. Other case markers are suffixes.19 They are generally agglutinated to
the last element of the noun phrase, normally a noun or pronoun (in the sin-
gular, dual or plural), although it also appears in headless NP s, e.g., added to an
adjective or numeral.

17 In natural speech the masculine form occasionally occurs with female referents.
18 The contrastive specifier -sjaː/-seː is distinct from the agentive nominalizer -ʦjaː/-ʦeː. The
agentive nominalizer is affixed to a verb while the contrastive specifier is affixed either
to a noun (animate male or female), a pronoun, or an adjective when not followed by a
noun.
19 Since the head noun is the last constituent of the NP, establishing the status of the case
markers as noun suffixes or NP clitics would require more data (non-nominative marked
NP s with extraposed constituents after the head noun). In two cases—dative (-)pəŋ and
comitative (-)rǝŋ—the markers show word-like prosody in some individual instances.

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3.2.4.1 Nominative
The nominative form is the stem of a noun or pronoun without any other case
suffixes. This form can be used for subjects (intransitive and transitive)—i.e.,
the NP triggering subject indexing in the verb—and direct objects.

table 17 Place names and nouns denoting inhabitants

Official Place name Men (or people) from this Women from this place
name in Kinnauri place

Kinnaur kənoriŋ kənores kənorije

Baturi boʈriŋ boʈres boʈre(ʦ)
Batseri boseriŋ boseres bosere(ʦ)
Kanai kone konpa konmeʦ
Kamru mone monpa monmeʦ
Pangi paŋe paŋpa paŋmeʦ
Bhaba ʋaŋpo ʋaŋpa ʋaŋmeʦ
Sangla saŋla saŋlagja, saŋlagpa, saŋlakpa saŋlage
Kothi koʃʈampi koʃʈampa, koʃʈampipa koʃʈammeʦ, koʃʈampimeʦ
Poo puː pupa pumeʦ
Kadogri kaːɖogri kaːɖogripa kaːɖogrimeʦ
Nako nako nakopa nakomeʦ
Leo lijo lijopa lijomeʦ
Kanam kanam kanampa kanammeʦ
Sungra grosnam grosnampa, grospa grosmeʦ, grose
Purbani pənnam pənnampa, pənnamja pənnammeʦ, pənname
Punang punaŋ punaŋpa punaŋmeʦ, puːneʦ
Brua bruaŋ brumpa brumeʦ
Shong ʃoŋ ʃompa ʃomeʦ
Chansu ʧaːsaŋ ʧaːsaŋpa ʧaːsaŋmeʦ, ʧaːse
Labrang labraŋ labraŋpa labraŋmeʦ, labre
Rarang raraŋ raraŋpa, rapa raraŋmeʦ, rameʦ
Nichar nalʦe nalʦinpa nalʦinmeʦ
Telangi tele teliŋpa teliŋmeʦ
Kilba kilba kiliŋpa kiliŋmeʦ
Chitkul ʧʰitkul ʧʰitkulja, ʧʰitkula ʧʰitkulmeʦ, ʧʰitkule

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table 18 Case markers in Kinnauri

Case Case marker(s)

Nominative Ø
Ergative/instrumental -is/-s
Dative -u, -n(u), (-)pəŋ
Possessive -u, -n(u)
Locative -o, -n(o), -r
Ablative -ʧ
Comitative (-)rǝŋ
Manner -e

3.2.4.2 Ergative/Instrumental
The case marker -is/-s functions both as an ergative marker and as an instru-
mental marker. It has two allomorphs: -s and -is [ɪs] ~ [ǝs].20 Their distribution
is phonologically determined: -s occurs with stems ending in a vowel and -is
occurs with stems ending in a consonant.
The ergative marker occurs only on the subject of transitive verbs,21 but its
occurrence is not obligatory. Examples (10–13) show that the occurrence of the
ergative marker is not restricted to any specific tense, aspect or person. These
examples further illustrate that the ergative marker occurs in descriptive narra-
tion (10, 12), as well as inside direct speech (11) and in clauses which introduce
direct speech (12).

(10) ruʣa22-ʦ-is id kuʈon pʰjo-gjo

o.man-dim-erg one demon(f) take.away-pst
‘The old man took away a female demon.’

20 The ergative marker -is [ɪs] represents the speech of Mrs Jwala Sukhi Negi (from Brua),
while [əs] represents the speech of Ribba and its surrounding region.
21 One exception is maŋmu ‘to dream’, which permits the ergative marking but not a direct
object argument: raːm-is maŋ~maŋ [i.name-erg dream~pfv] ‘Ram dreamt.’; raːm-u
maŋ-ǝm de~de [i.name-dat dream-nmlz feel.internally(intr)~pfv] ‘Ram had a dream’.
22 The literal interpretation of ruʣa is ‘old’. It occurs with masculine, animate head nouns
(e.g. ruʣa mi ‘old man’, ruʣa dames ‘old ox’). In natural discourse ruʣa also occurs by
itself, without its head noun. It then has the interpretation of ‘an old, frail, pitiable man’.
For this reason, it is glossed here as ‘o.man’.

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(11) ki-s ase taː-ti-ɲ

2sg.h-erg torture(n) keep-fut-2h
‘You will torture (her).’

(12) ʃepa rǝŋ ʃampa-ʦ-is lod-o

i.name com i.name-dim-erg tell-prog
‘Shepa and Shampa were telling.’

(13) do tʰar ʧʰaŋ-ʦ-oː-s ta ne-o du

dem.dist.nvis leopard child-dim-pl-erg foc know-prog aux.prs
‘Those leopard cubs are knowing (know) (this).’

Kinnauri allows both an ergative and a dative marker in a simple finite clause.
For example:

(14) do-s id ʃu-pǝŋ piʤ-a

3sg-erg one god-dat pray-pst
‘He prayed to one god.’

The only bound morpheme which may be suffixed to the ergative marker is the
emphatic suffix -i (see example 15). Discourse markers which refer to an NP
(e.g. ta in example 15) occur after the NP.

(15) ka-s-i ta rəŋ-o-n

2sg.nh-erg-emp foc tell.1/2o-pst-2sg.nh
‘You (yourself) told (me that).’

The ergative marker in Kinnauri narratives functions as a linguistic tool to

describe a shift in perspective (Saxena 2007). An examination of the occur-
rence of the ergative marker in traditional narratives shows that the ergative
marker occurs almost obligatorily on the subject in the he said-construction
(the direct-speech introducing statement “he said: Direct speech”). The occur-
rence of the ergative marker here can be seen as a deictic marker which draws
the listener’s attention to the change in the mode of narration—from the
descriptive to the expressive mode. Similarly, the ergative marker in other con-
texts in narratives occurs regularly in situations where the clause describes
something which runs counter to expected behavior (including social norms).
The ergative marker in such situations, too, functions as a discourse marker, the
aim of which is to highlight the shift in the perspective—to draw the listeners’
attention away from the default expectation mode.23

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The case marker -is/-s also functions as the instrumental case marker. As an
instrumental marker, it occurs with both concrete and abstract nouns.

(16) isan ta rakses-is bukraŋbuk bal-is boːʈʰaŋ-u ran-gjo

briefly foc demon-erg with.a.thud head-ins tree-dat give-pst
‘For a while, the demon banged the tree with (his) head.’

(17) radʰa-s gas-oː ti-s ʧi-o

i.name-erg garment-pl water-ins wash-pst
‘Radha washed clothes with water.’

(18) du ɲum-s24 ʋal kʰuʃ-is ɲal-is du-gjo

3sg.poss after-ins much happiness-ins enjoyment-ins cop-pst
‘After that, (they) lived with much happiness and enjoyment.’

(19) peʈiŋ əkʰa-s ʃi-o du-k

stomach/belly pain-ins die-prog aux-1sg
‘(I) am dying of stomach/belly ache.’

The instrumental marker also occurs with directional expressions, such as beriŋ
‘outside’, tʰug ‘above’.

(20) ʧʰad-sjaː tʰug~tʰug-s25 bjo~bjo

son.in.law-cntr.m above~echo-ins go~pfv
‘The son-in.law went up there.’

3.2.4.3 Dative26
The dative case markers are -u and (-)pəŋ in the singular and -n(u) in the plural.
-nu and -n are interchangeable, without any apparent change in the meaning,
although -n tends to occur more frequently in fast speech.27 The dative suffixes
never trigger polysyllabic stem truncation.

23 The functional distribution of the ergative marker noted here is not unique to Kinnauri.
There are a number of other ST languages, which are reported in Saxena (2007)—Pattani,
Lhasa Tibetan, Qiang (LaPolla 2017b), Baima (Chirkova 2005; Katia Chirkova, p.c.)—as
well as Tibetic varieties (Bettina Zeisler, p.c.), that show similar behavior (see also Chel-
liah and Hyslop 2011–2012).
24 See Saxena (2008) for the grammaticalized usages of oms [ɔms] and ɲums.
25 There is no vowel between the stem-final -g and the instrumental marker -s.
26 “Objective” would perhaps be a more apt name, but I follow a long tradition in the descrip-
tion of South Asian languages, where “dative” designates a case which can appear on both
direct and indirect objects, and in the so-called “experiencer subject” construction.

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With nouns in the singular, the dative marker -u occurs predominantly with
stems ending in a consonant and (-)pəŋ occurs predominantly with stems end-
ing in a vowel. There are, however, instances in narratives and in the direct-
elicited material, of one and the same noun taking the dative marker -u at one
place and (-)pəŋ at another.

Nom Dat Nom Dat

baiʦ baiʦ-u ‘y. sibling’ maːduri maːduri(-)pəŋ ‘i.name’

pjaʦ pjaʦ-u ‘(small) bird’ ʦʰesmi ʦʰesmi(-)pəŋ ‘woman’
ɖig ɖig-u ‘pot’ mi mi(-)pəŋ ‘man’
bakʰor bakʰor-u ‘goat’ ʧʰanli ʧʰanli(-)pəŋ ‘shawl’
ʧʰaŋ ʧʰaŋ-u ‘boy’ raːni raːni(-)pəŋ, raːni-u ‘queen’

(21) ʈan-aː~tʰanaː ʦeik raːni-u ran~ran

jewelry-pl~echo all queen-dat give~pfv
‘(The king) gave all, jewelry etc, to the queen.’

-n(u) occurs only with plural arguments. The language consultants exhibit free
variation between -nu and -n in their speech.

(22) gə mi-oː-nu28 ʃa ran-ta-k

1sg.nom man-pl-dat.pl meat give-fut-1sg
‘I will give meat to the men.’

The following examples illustrate -u and (-)pəŋ with singular direct objects and
-n(u) with plural nominal direct objects.

(23) do-s do ʦiʈʰi(-)pəŋ ʦer-ʦ

3sg-erg dem.dist.nvis letter(-)dat tear-hab
‘He tears up that letter.’

(24) ʧimed-u ku~ku

daughter-dat call~pfv
‘(He) called (his) daughter.’

27 Exceptions are [2du.nhon] and [2du.hon], where the dative marker is always -nu.
28 mi-nu [man-dat.pl] is also permissible here.

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(25) ʦeik ʧimed-oː-nu ʣaː-u du-gjo

all daughter-pl-dat.pl eat-prog aux-pst
‘(The demon) was eating all the daughters.’

The occurrence of the dative marker is, however, not obligatory. In natural dis-
course its occurrence correlates strongly with semantic factors such as animacy
and definiteness, where direct objects which are higher on the animacy and
agency hierarchies tend to receive an explicit case marker.
As is the case with many South Asian languages, Kinnauri, too, has the dative
experiencer construction; see Section 5.1.

3.2.4.4 Possessive
The possessive markers in Kinnauri are -u in the singular and -n(u) in the plural.
-nu and -n are interchangeable, without any apparent change in meaning.

(26) id jaŋʣe-ʦ-u kim-o toʃ-gjo

one o.woman-dim-poss house-loc sit-pst
‘(They) stayed at an old woman’s house.’

(27) ʃum ate-goː-nu bore-goː ʋal-i mari

three o.brother-pl-poss.pl brother’s.wife-pl much-emp bad
ʦʰeʦ-aː du-gjo
woman-pl cop-pst
‘The wives of (her) three brothers were very bad women.’

The possessive singular suffix -u optionally triggers polysyllabic stem trunca-

tion (see Section 2.3.1), being realized as -o in this case (e.g., boːʈʰaŋ ‘tree’, boːʈʰ-o
[tree-poss]). It also optionally triggers final vowel elision (see Section 2.3.1).

Nom Poss Nom Poss

ri rj-u, ri-u ‘a kind of tree’ jaŋʣe jaŋʣj-o, jaŋʣe-u ‘old woman’

dasi dasj-u, dasi-u ‘female servant’ ʃibʤi ʃibʤi-u ‘i.name’
sena sen-o, sena-u ‘army’ laːʧʰa laːʧʰ-o, laːʧʰa-u ‘metal’
ate atj-o, ate-u ‘older brother’ rikʰa rikʰ-o, rikʰa-u ‘bear’

The following examples illustrate the attributive use of the possessive markers
with singular and plural possessors.

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-u -n(u)29

atjo kim ‘o.brother’s house’ ategoːn(u) kim ‘o.brothers’ house’

atjo rim ‘o.brother’s field’ ategoːn(u) rim ‘o.brothers’ field’
atjo pǝ boːʈʰaː ‘o.brother’s four ategoːn(u) pǝ boːʈʰaː ‘o.brothers’ four
trees’ trees’
miu ʧimedoː ‘the man’s daugh- minu ʧimedoː, ‘the men’s daugh-
ters’ mijoːnu ʧimedoː ters’

3.2.4.5 Locative
The locative markers are -o, -n(o) and -r. Of these, -o and -n(o) are productive:
-o occurs in the singular (with stems ending in both consonants and vowels30)
and -n(o) in the plural. -no and -n are interchangeable, without any apparent
change in the meaning.

Nom Loc Sg Loc Pl

kim kim-o kim-oː-n(o) ‘house’

deʃaŋ deʃaŋ-o, deʃ-o deʃaŋ-oː-n(o), deʃ-aː-no ‘village’
ʈʰepiŋ ʈʰepiŋ-o ʈʰepiŋ-oː-no, ʈʰepjaː-n(o) ‘traditional cap’
le le-o le-oː-n(o) ‘tongue’
pagaɽi pagaɽi-o pagaɽi-oː-no ‘turban’

(28) obor31-o ʃe-ta-k

dungeon-loc send-fut-1sg
‘(I) will send (this person) into the dungeon.’

(29) dok om-oː-no bospa raʃaŋ-oː kis-i ni-ʦ to

then path-pl-loc.pl ash pile-pl many-emp stay-hab aux.prs
‘Then, on the way there are lots of piles of ashes.’

29 Though both -nu and -n are permissible here, language consultants prefer the form with
-nu.
30 When the locative marker is affixed to a stem ending in -i or -e, it is realized as -jo.
31 obor ([obor] ~ [oβor]) is traditionally a cold, dark and dingy place, where, for example,
those caught stealing used to be kept.

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The locative marker -r occurs only with demonstrative pronouns.

(30) do-r pʰolaŋ lag-e-kjo

dem.dist.nvis-loc fruit attach-intr-pst
‘There fruits came.’

(31) gə hojo-r to-k

1sg.nom dem.prox-loc cop-1sg
‘I’m here.’

The locative singular marker -o optionally triggers polysyllabic stem truncation

(see Section 2.3.1):

Nom Loc Nom Loc

boːʈʰaŋ boːʈʰaŋ-o, boːʈʰ-o ‘tree’ pabaŋ pabaŋ-o, pab-o ‘pasture’

panʈʰaŋ panʈʰaŋ-o, panʈʰ-o ‘floor’ maʤaŋ maʤaŋ-o, maʤ-o ‘middle’
kʰakaŋ kʰakaŋ-o, kʰak-o ‘mouth’ kʰuraŋ kʰuraŋ-o, kʰur-o ‘stable’
baniŋ baniŋ-o, banj-o ‘pots/pans’ ɖibaːliŋ ɖibaːliŋ-o, ɖibaːl-o ‘swamp’

It also triggers final vowel elision (see Section 2.3.1). In the case of diʃa ‘direction’
both diʃ-o and diʃa-o are permissible.

Nom Loc Nom Loc

laŋka laŋk-o ‘p.name’ ɖoŋa ɖoŋ-o ‘tree stump’

ʣaga ʣag-o ‘place’ bagiʦa bagiʦ-o ‘garden’
ʣila ʣil-o ‘district’ diʃa diʃ-o, diʃa-o ‘direction’

With stems ending in other vowels, the locative marker -o is affixed to the final
vowel of the noun stem. In fast speech, in noun stems ending in -o, one does
not always hear both the stem final vowel and the locative marker, but when
asked, the language consultants provide a long -o and separate the noun stem
and the locative marker. When the stem ends with a front vowel, this stem final
vowel can be realized as -j before the locative marker.

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Nom Loc Nom Loc

raɳɖole raɳɖole-o ‘widow’ prai prai-o ‘in-law’

nane nane-o ‘aunt’ dorko dorko-o ‘skeleton’
kui kui-o ‘dog’ to to-o ‘face’
nukuri nukuri-o ‘employment’ ʦaku ʦaku-o ‘knife’
ʦiʈʰi ʦiʈʰi-o ‘letter’ kʰou kʰou-o ‘food’

Nouns in the locative are sometimes lexicalized into adverbs. For example,
djaːr-o [day-loc] ‘daily’.

3.2.4.6 Relationship among the Dative, Possessive and Locative Case

Markers
As seen above, the dative, possessive and locative case markers coincide in form
to some extent. Nevertheless, there are distributional facts which support the
division made here into three different case forms.
Firstly, even if there is some overlap in form, there are also unambiguous
exponents of each of the three cases. Thus, (-)pəŋ is an exclusive signal of the
dative (after a stem-final vowel).
The locative marker always has the vowel -o, never -u. Hence, -u/-nu can only
ever signal dative or possessive.
The dative singular suffix never triggers polysyllabic stem truncation, while
both the possessive and locative singular suffixes are optionally accompanied
by this morphophonological alternation.
Possessive and to some extent locative singular both trigger final vowel eli-
sion, which the dative singular does not (since it has a completely different allo-
morph after vowel-final stems: (-)pəŋ). With stems ending in -e, the stem-final
vowel may disappear in the locative (just as in the possessive), but normally it
is reduced to a glide (-j) instead.
Table 19 shows some concrete examples of how these differences manifest
themselves.

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table 19 Dative–possessive–locative with different stem types

Stem type Nominative Dative Possessive Locative

Adapted IA boːʈʰaŋ ‘tree’ boːʈʰaŋ-u boːʈʰaŋ-u, boːʈʰ-o boːʈʰaŋ-o, boːʈʰ-o

e-final ate ‘o.brother’ ate(-) pəŋ atj-o atj-o
C-final kim ‘house’ kim-u kim-u kim-o
V-final boba ‘father’ boba(-) pəŋ bob-o bob-o

3.2.4.7 Ablative
The case marker -əʧ/-ʧ functions as the ablative marker. -əʧ occurs with stems
ending in a consonant and -ʧ occurs with stems ending in a vowel or in a nasal.
The ablative marker occurs in the following structures: N-abl, N-loc-abl and
N-poss dok-abl.32 N-abl and N-loc-abl occur only with non-human head
nouns, where n-loc-abl occurs with nouns whose referents are physically or
conceptually viewed as finite, with clearly defined boundaries; N-abl occurs
elsewhere. N-poss dok-abl occurs only with human head nouns.

ham-ʧ [where-abl] ‘from where’

dilli-ʧ [p.name-abl] ‘from Delhi’
dəŋ-ʧ [over.there(nvisible)-abl] ‘from over there’

dusraŋ-o-ʧ [chimney-loc-abl] ‘from inside of the chimney’

ti-o-ʧ [water-loc-abl] ‘from inside of the water’
lag-o-ʧ [sleeve-loc-abl] ‘from inside of the sleeve’

(32) kuʈon-u ʧimed-u dokʧ ʈaːn-aː gas-oː kʰaŋ~kʰaŋ

witch-poss daughter-poss from jewelry-pl garment-pl grab~pfv
‘(He) grabbed jewelry and clothes from the witch’s daughter.’

3.2.4.8 Comitative
The case marker (-)rǝŋ functions as the comitative (or associative) marker,33
with a ‘together with, along with’ interpretation. Unlike other case markers, in

32 Treated as a postposition in the examples: dokʧ ‘from’. The origin of dok in [dok-abl] is
not completely clear. It could be identical to the dok appearing in the personal pronominal
dual form dok-suŋ ‘the two (who are not in sight)’ (see section 3.3.2.1).
33 As we will see in Chapter 3, Navakat, too, has an (instrumental/)comitative marker =raŋ.
But unlike Kinnauri, =rǝŋ in Navakat has three phonologically conditioned allomorphs:

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most cases (-)rǝŋ patterns prosodically like an independent word, a postposi-

tion rather than a suffix, although it does also sometimes behave like a bound
suffix (e.g., tʰar-rǝŋ laŋ [tʰarǝŋ laŋ] ‘the leopard along with the cow’).

(33) do rag-u joʈʰaŋ id raksonig an-u

dem.dist.nvis stone-poss under one demon(f) 3sg.ana-poss
tiʃ ʧʰaŋ-aː rǝŋ ni-ʦ du-gjo
seven child-pl com stay-hab aux-pst
‘Under that stone a demoness used to live along with her seven children.’

(34) gǝ ki-n rǝŋ dəŋ bjo-k

1sg.nom 2sg.h-poss com over.there(nvisible) go-1sg
‘I went there with you.’

(35) santoʃ ʧʰoŋmi rǝŋ bjo

i.name husband com go.pst
‘Santosh went with (her) husband.’

While the comitative marker occurs predominantly with human nouns, there
are also instances of (-)rǝŋ occurring with non-human, animate nouns and with
inanimate nouns.

(36) miː=le hatʰi rǝŋ bjo-gjo

man.pl=too elephant com go-pst
‘Men, too, went along with the elephant.’

(37) maːr rǝŋ duː gjaː-ti-ɲ-a

butter com salted.porridge want-fut-2h-q
‘Do (you) want butter with salted porridge?’

(38) raːʣa gaʤa=baʤa rǝŋ raːni pʰjo-mu bǝ-ki-ʃ

king pomp=echo com queen take.away-inf come-pst-3h
‘The king came with pomp etc. (and show) to take the queen.’

=raŋ, =taŋ and =daŋ. In Kinnauri (-)dǝŋ, as the comitative marker, occurs only with first
and second person pronouns (aŋ dǝŋ/*aŋ-u dǝŋ [1sg.nnom com], ki-n dǝŋ/*ki-nu dəŋ
[2sg.h-poss com], niŋo-n(u) dəŋ [1pli-poss com]), where even (-)rǝŋ is permissible (e.g.
aŋ-rǝŋ/*aŋ-u rǝŋ, niŋo-rǝŋ/niŋo-n(u) rǝŋ).

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(-)rǝŋ is also used to form a coordinate construction with the structure: N

(-)rǝŋ N((-)case marker34).

(39) ama rǝŋ boa lo-ʃi-gjo

mother com father tell-mdl-pst
‘Mother and father told themselves:’

(40) jug rǝŋ tʰug haled-o du-gjo

down com over.above roam-prog aux-pst
‘(The mouse) was roaming up and down (on all the floors of the house).’

(41) june-rǝŋ golsaŋ-u dǝŋ krab-o krab-o

sun-com moon-poss near cry-prog cry-prog
‘To Sun and Moon, (she) is crying (complaining), crying’

The comitative marker also follows the verb in non-final clauses. The verb in
such constructions has either a nominalized verb form or is immediately fol-
lowed by the manner marker -e. Such non-final clauses have a temporal adver-
bial interpretation.

(42) nǝŋ pǝn-nu rǝŋ ʧʰaŋ-u boːʈʰ-o ʦʰu~ʦʰu

over.there(visible) reach-inf com boy-dat tree-loc tie~pfv
du
aux.prs
‘As soon as (he) reached over there, (he) tied (the) boy to the tree.’

(43) dok ner-o ner-o bǝd-e rǝŋ trǝʋal-u kʰoŋ-o

then near-loc near-loc come-mnr com sword-dat turn-prog
du
aux.prs
‘Then while coming near (closer), he is turning the sword.’

34 Here the case marker could also be a comitative marker [N(-rǝŋ) N(-rǝŋ)]. For example,
dok do kim-o an-u borets rǝŋ bore rǝŋ ek-e bəsma-j-o du [then det house-loc 3sg.nnom-
poss brother.in.law com sister.in.law com together care.for-trans-prog aux.prs] ‘Then
her/his brother-in-law along with her/his sister-in-law together are taking care of that
house’.

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3.2.4.9 Manner
The case marker -e forms constituents answering questions like: “How?”, “In
what manner?”, “By which means?”.35

bal-e tʰomu [head-mnr to carry] ‘to carry on head’

bid-e tʰomu [shoulder-mnr to carry] ‘to carry on shoulder’
ek-e bjomu [one-mnr to go] ‘to go together or to accompany’

raŋ-e36 [exterior.of.a.shoulderblade-mnr]
bag-e [last.place.in.traditional.dance-mnr]
bal-e [head-mnr] ‘first in a queue’
kal37-e [last.in.a.queue-mnr]

The manner marker -e can be affixed to demonstrative pronouns (e.g. (ho)do

(dist, non-visible), (ho) jo38 (prox), no (dist, visible)) for expressing, e.g., ‘in
this manner’, ‘in that manner’. When -e is affixed to the demonstrative pro-
nouns, the stem final vowel is lost and the resulting forms are hod-e, hoj-e hoʤ-e
and ne, respectively.

(44) gə hojo-r hoj-e to-k

1sg.nom dem.prox-loc dem.prox-mnr cop-1sg
‘I am in this (the tree) like this (in this manner).’

(45) niʃi ta hoj-e pǝ~pǝ

1du.incl foc dem.prox-mnr reach~pfv
‘(We) two reached (the palace) in this condition.’

(46) ne ʧʰǝ lod-o du -n

dem.dist.vis.mnr what tell-prog aux-2nh
‘What are (you) telling like that?’

35 This is an adverbial case form, similar in usage to the Finnish instructive or the Hungarian
essive-modal (see Anhava 2010).
36 raŋ occurs in contexts such as ‘I am carrying the bag on my shoulder.’
37 kal refers metaphorically to the bottom part of the body. It occurs in expressions such as
‘from head to toe’, ‘from top to bottom’. kal, however, does not mean ‘foot’ or ‘toe’ in Kin-
nauri.
38 This is, at times, also realized as hoʤo.

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Further, -e occurs with the third person anaphoric pronoun an (see Section
3.3.2). an-e has an intensifying function (‘(all) by him/herself’).

(47) dok an-e bjo-ge-ʃ

then 3sg.ana-mnr go-pst-3h
‘Then (he) himself went.’

The manner marker -e also occurs with the IA numeral ek ‘one’. ek-e indicates
togetherness.

(48) do niʃ ek-e bjo-gjo

3sg two one-mnr go-pst
‘Those two went together.’

Finally, -e is also suffixed to the verbs of non-final clauses. Such clauses have an
adverbial interpretation. In many—though not in all constructions, the comi-
tative marker (-)rǝŋ follows the non-final verb with -e.

(49) gas-oː ʧi-e rǝŋ id-is ʧimed-u lod-o

garment-pl wash-mnr com one-erg girl-dat tell-prog
‘At the time of washing (their) clothes, one (woman) is telling the girl:’

3.3 Pronouns
3.3.1 Demonstrative Pronouns
The demonstrative pronouns are (ho)do [dem.dist.nvis], (ho)no [dem.dist.
vis] and (ho)ʤo ~ (ho) jo [dem.prox] in the singular, and the corresponding
plural forms are (ho)do-goː, (ho)no-goː and (ho)ʤo-goː, (ho) jo-goː. The shorter
forms are used as third-person personal pronouns (see Section 3.3.2).
Plural forms can be used with singular head nouns, as a marker of respect
(e.g. do-goː lamaː [dem.dist.nvis-pl lama.sg] ‘that lama’). The opposite can
happen in non-honorific situations, where the singular demonstrative form
occurs with plural head nouns, for example, do kim-oː [dem.dist.nvis.sg
house-pl] ‘those houses’, do ʦʰesmi-goː [dem.dist.nvis.sg woman-pl] ‘those
women’.

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3.3.2 Personal Pronouns

Singular Dual Plural

1 gə (nom), aŋ (nnom) kiʃaŋ niŋo (excl), kiʃaː (incl)

2nh ka kaniʃ kano, kanegoː39
2h ki40 kiʃi, kisi kino, *kinogoː
3 do (dist, nvis) doksuŋ dogoː41
no (dist, vis) noksuŋ nogoː
ʤo (prox) ʤoksuŋ ʤogoː
an (ana) anegsuŋ anegoː

The 1sg person pronoun has two forms, referred to here as nominative and non-
nominative. gǝ [1sg.nom] is used as subject and also to form the ergative: gǝ-s.
The non-nominative pronominal form aŋ [1sg.nnom] is used as object, as pos-
sessive and as the stem to which other case suffixes are added (including those
for dative and possessive). In the reflexive construction, the dative case marker
is affixed to the non-nominative pronominal form.
The dative forms of the personal pronouns are as follows:

Singular Dual Plural

1 aŋ-u niʃ-u niŋo-n(u) (excl), kiʃaː-n(u) (incl)

2nh ka-nu kaniʃ-u42 kano-n(u)
2h ki-nu kis-u kino-n(u)
3 do-pəŋ, du43 do-goː-n(u)
no-pəŋ, nu no-goː-n(u)
ʤo-pəŋ, ʤu ʤo-goː-n(u)

39 Even though both kano and kanegoː are possible, in everyday speech kano is more fre-
quent.
40 In the dictionary by Joshi (1909: 88) the pronoun ki is glossed as ‘2nd person plural (Tib:
khye)’. In Kanashi ki is [2pl].
41 Joshi (1909: 51, 53) provides da ‘he/def article’ and da-gó ‘she, pl’, dago-gá ‘they’.
42 In the direct-elicited material kaniʃ-u and kis-u are found as the [2du.nh] and [2du.h]
dative forms, respectively, but these forms almost never occur in natural speech. The
default pattern is to use the plural forms instead.
43 The third person pronouns with the dative case marker (-)pəŋ, are also, at times, realized
as du-pəŋ, nu-pəŋ and ʤu-pəŋ, i.e., with “double” dative marking.

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Both (-)pəŋ and -u are permissible with third person pronouns (e.g. do-pəŋ
[dɔpəŋ] and du for the 3sg.dist pronoun), without any apparent difference in
meaning; -nu occurs with 2sg pronouns and -u with dual pronominal forms.
The possessive forms of the personal pronouns are as follows:

Singular Dual Plural

1 aŋ kiʃaŋ-u niŋo-n(u) (excl)

kiʃaː-n(u)44 (incl)
2h ki-n45 kino-n(u)
2nh ka-n46 kanegoː-n(u), kano-n(u)
3 an (ana) anegsuŋ47-u (ana) anegoː-n(u) (ana)
du/do-u (nana) doksuŋ-u (nana) noksuŋ-u (nana)
ʤu (nana) dogoː-n(u) (nana)
nu (nana) ʤogoː-n(u) (nana)
nogoː-n(u)48 (nana)

As stated above, the third person pronouns are the short forms of the demon-
strative pronouns (see Section 3.3.1). As with demonstrative pronouns the plu-
ral forms of the personal pronouns (e.g. dogoː and nogoː) can also occur with a
singular referent, as a marker of respect.

(50) do-goː ɖokʈar to-ke-ʃ

3-pl doctor cop-pst-3h
‘S/He was a doctor.’

(51) no-goː ɖokʈar to-ke-ʃ

3-pl doctor cop-pst-3h
‘S/He was a doctor.’

44 A variant of kiʃaː-n(u) is kaʃaː-n(u), with no apparent change in meaning.

45 *ki-nu is not possible here.
46 *ka-nu is not possible here.
47 This, at times, is also heard as [aneksuŋ].
48 ʤogoː-n(u) and nogoː-n(u) are also realized as ʤugoː-n(u) and nugoː-n(u), without any
apparent change in meaning.

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60 chapter 2

(52) kino ɖokʈar to-ke-ʧ

2pl.h doctor cop-pst-2pl.h
‘You (pl) were a doctor.’

The most common usage of third-person anaphoric pronouns is as reflexive

pronouns (see Section 3.3.4). The third-person anaphoric pronoun also func-
tions as an emphatic pronoun, where it can be preceded by its head noun or a
regular (non-anaphoric) third-person pronoun.

(53) do an tʰas~tʰas du-gjo

3sg 3sg.ana hear~pfv aux-pst
‘He himself heard (this).’

(54) mohan-is kuaŋ-o laːŋ ʃe~ʃe an-i ʃi~ʃi

i.name-erg well-loc jump(n) send~pfv 3sg.ana-emp die~pfv
‘Mohan jumped into the well and died.’

In such cases, the case marker may appear both on the head noun and on the
anaphoric pronoun.

(55) do-s an-is ʧe~ʧe

3sg-erg 3sg.ana-erg write~pfv
‘He himself wrote (a letter).’

3.3.2.1 Dual Number in Pronouns

Personal pronouns can be marked for dual number.
kiʃaŋ functions as the first person dual pronoun.

(56) kiʃaŋ ʤanekaŋ-o bə-te

1du wedding-loc come-fut.1du
‘We (two) will come for the wedding.’

-suŋ is suffixed to third person pronouns to indicate duality. It also empha-

sizes togetherness. This suffix is attached to a special stem of the third per-
son pronouns, which ends in -k (dok-suŋ, nok-suŋ, ʤok-suŋ, anek-suŋ) or in -g
(aneg-suŋ). These pronominal stems do not occur in any other context, except
possibly in the ablative form dokʧ (see Section 3.2.4.7). Possibly, these repre-
sent apocopated plural forms (with assimilative devoicing of g before the s of
-suŋ).

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dok-suŋ [3sg-du] ‘those two (who are not in sight)’

nok-suŋ [3sg-du] ‘those two (who are in sight)’
ʤok-suŋ [3sg-du] ‘these two (who are in sight)’

In natural discourse -suŋ rarely occurs with common nouns. However, in direct-
elicitation language consultants accepted -suŋ with a few [+human] common
nouns.

ʦʰeʦaʦ-suŋ ‘girl-du’ tete-suŋ ‘grandfather-du’

ɖekʰraːʦ-suŋ ‘young man-du’ ruʣa-suŋ ‘o.man-du’
* ʦʰesmi-suŋ ‘woman-du’ * kim-suŋ ‘house-du’
* mi-suŋ ‘man-du’ * boːʈʰaŋ-suŋ ‘tree-du’

-suŋ also occurs as a verb indexing marker with third person dual subjects.
Its occurrence is, however, not obligatory. More frequently the plural indexing
marker occurs also with dual subjects.

(57) sjano mi rǝŋ an-u ʦʰesmi ʤanekaŋ-o

old man com 3sg.ana-poss woman wedding-loc
bə-ti-suŋ
come-fut-3nh.du
‘The old man and his woman (= his wife) will come for the wedding.’

(58) sjano mi rǝŋ ʦʰesmi ʤanekaŋ-o bə-suŋ

old man com woman wedding-loc come-3nh.du
‘The old man and woman came for the wedding.’

(59) sjano mi rǝŋ ʦʰesmi ʤanekaŋ-o bə~bə to-ge-suŋ49

old man com woman wedding-loc come~pfv aux-pst-3nh.du
‘The old man and woman came for the wedding.’

(60) sjano mi rǝŋ ʦʰesmi ʤanekaŋ-o bə~bə to-ke

old man com woman wedding-loc come~pfv aux-pst
‘The old man and woman came for the wedding.’

49 While the plural indexing marker -oː may be affixed to the third-person honorific index-
ing marker -ʃ (e.g. bǝ-ti-ʃ-oː [come-fut-3h-pl] ‘They (h) will come.’), -suŋ [du] does not
occur with this marker -ʃ (e.g.*bǝ-ti-ʃ-suŋ [come-fut-2h-3nh.du] ‘the two of them (h)
will come’; *bə~bə to-ke-ʃ-suŋ ‘the two of them (h) came’).

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The numeral niʃ ‘two’ occurs, at times, after the second and third person
pronouns to indicate duality.

do-niʃ [3sg-two] ‘those two’

ka-niʃ [2sg.nh-two] ‘you two’
kiʃi,50 ki-niʃ [2sg.h.two], [2sg.h-two] ‘you (h) two’

Without a preceding pronoun niʃi51 has a first person dual inclusive interpreta-
tion.

(61) niʃi ʤanekaŋ-o bə-ti-ʧ

1dui wedding-loc come-fut-1ple
‘We (two) will come for the wedding.’

3.3.3 Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs

Some interrogative pronouns (and adverbs) in Kinnauri are:

hat ‘who, which’ tʰu, ʧʰu52 ‘why’

ham ‘where’ teta, te, tetra ‘how much, many’
ʧʰəd, ʧʰa53 ‘what’ teraŋ, tetraŋ ‘when’
hala ‘how (action)’ hales ‘how (quality)’

te ‘how much’ is frequently repeated (i.e., te~te [te~echo]). For example, a

group of customers in a shop can use te~te to ask how much each one of them
owes. tetra ‘how much’ is used when asking about one specific object. teraŋ
‘when’ is an open question. The speaker does not have any specific time-frame
in mind. It could be today, tomorrow, in one month or one year or in distant
future. When there is a more specific time-frame in mind (e.g. ‘after lunch
today’, ‘before 10pm’), tetraŋ is used instead. See also Section 5.2.

3.3.4 Reflexive Pronouns

As mentioned above, Kinnauri has distinct subject and non-subject pronomi-
nal forms for the first person singular (gǝ vs. aŋ; see Section 3.3.2), and it is the
latter form which is used as the first-person singular reflexive pronoun. In the

50 Upon investigation, language consultants accepted its detailed form as ki-niʃ.

51 While niʃ in niʃi is very likely the same as niʃ ‘two’, the analysis of the final -i is unclear.
Note that niʃi allows the addition of the emphasis marker -i (i.e., niʃi-i [1dui-emp]).
52 Both tʰu and ʧʰu are possible here. ʧʰu is, however, more frequent in my material.
53 ʧʰa ‘what’ also functions as indefinite pronoun ‘someone’.

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third person, the anaphoric pronouns an, anegsuŋ and anegoː are used as the
reflexive pronouns. In all other cases the same pronominal forms occur in both
subject and non-subject positions (including with the ergative marker). In the
reflexive pronoun construction, the dative marker is affixed to the pronoun in
the direct object position.

(62) maŋ-o gǝ-s aŋ-u sa-k

dream-loc 1sg-erg 1sg-dat kill-1sg
‘In the dream I kill myself.’

(63) maŋ-o kiʃaŋ-is kiʃaŋ-u sa~sa

dream-loc 1du-erg 1du-dat kill~pfv
‘In the dream we (two) killed ourselves.’

(64) maŋ-o niŋo-s niŋo-nu sa~sa

dream-loc 1ple-erg 1ple-dat.pl kill~pfv
‘In the dream we killed ourselves.’

(65) do-s an-u-i lo-kjo

3sg-erg 3sg.ana-dat-emp tell-pst
‘He told himself.’

(66) do-goː-s ane-goː-n(u) taŋ~taŋ

3-pl-erg 3pl.ana-pl-dat.pl observe~pfv
‘They looked at themselves.’

As will be discussed in Section 4.1.3.3, the middle voice marker -ʃi also occurs in
the reflexive construction. As the examples (67–68) illustrate both the reflexive
pronoun and the middle marker -ʃi can co-occur in the same clause.

(67) niŋo niŋo-nu kʰja-ʃ-o du-ʧ

1ple.nom 1ple-dat.pl see-mdl-prog aux-1ple
‘We (excl) saw ourselves (in the mirror).’

(68) kiʃaː kiʃaː-nu kʰja-ʃ-o to-me

1pli.nom 1pli-dat.pl see-mdl-prog aux-1pli
‘We (incl) saw ourselves (in the mirror).’

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3.4 Adjectives
Adjectives in Kinnauri precede their head nouns.

(69) ʃum uʃk kim-oː

three old house-pl
‘Three old houses’

(70) do-s ʈʰog rǝŋ rok gas-oː gaʤ-is du

3sg-erg white com black garment-pl wear-pfv aux.prs
‘He has worn black and white clothes.’

(71) ʧʰaŋ ka boːlaː gaːraŋ-u ner-o tʰa-bjo

child 2nh rough river-poss near-loc proh-go
‘Child, don’t go near the rough river!’

(72) dam gas-oː ʈan-aː taŋ~taŋ

good garment-pl jewelry-pl observe~pfv
‘(She) looked at nice clothes and (pieces of) jewelry.’

(73) imandaːr ʧʰaŋ dake ma-taŋ-ʦ

honest boy problem neg-observe-hab
‘The honest boy does not have (any) problem(s).’

As is the case with nouns, most adjectives, too, are mono- or disyllabic in Kin-
nauri. As with nouns, some disyllabic adjectives, too, end in -aŋ.

dam ‘good’ tʰaːsaŋ ‘bottom’

kaːg ‘bitter’ ajãːraŋ ‘dark’
bok ‘hot (objects)’ ʦuʈkaŋ ‘quiet’

Quantifiers such as ‘all’, ‘whole’, etc., pattern like adjectives.

dam bataŋ [good news] ‘good news’

ʦeik kʰiraŋ [all milk] ‘all milk’
gui raːtiŋ [whole.duration night] ‘whole night’54
ʃar-e ʦʰeʦaʦ [beautiful-f girl] ‘beautiful girl’
ɖekʰres mi [male man/person] ‘male (of any age)’

54 gui here, as also in constructions such as gui djaːr ‘whole day’, emphasizes the long dura-
tion.

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Modifying adverbs, such as ʋal ‘much’, bodi ‘more, much (cnt)’, goma ‘very’,
san ‘some’ and kjalekʰa ‘enough, sufficient’ precede adjectives.

(74) ʃiml-o55 mosam ʋal-i dam

p.name-poss weather much-emp good
‘Shimla’s weather is very good.’

(75) do-mja56 san-ʦ dam haʧ-is

dem.dist.nvis-day some-dim good become-pfv
‘That day (she) got a bit better.’

3.4.1 Adjective Inflection

Used attributively, i.e. in combination with a head noun, adjectives in Kin-
nauri behave similarly to IA adjectives with respect to gender inflection, and
optionally also with respect to number marking. As in IA languages, Kinnauri
distinguishes between a category of “invariable” adjectives and one of “variable”
adjectives (Masica 1991: 250–251).

3.4.1.1 Invariable Adjectives

The adjectives in this category do not inflect for gender and/or number of their
head nouns. In the following examples, the same adjectival form occurs with
singular and plural head nouns, as also with male and female head nouns.

Invariable adjectives: gender and number

sjano mi ‘old man’ sjano ʦʰesmi ‘old woman’57
ɖalɖis mi ‘poor man’ ɖalɖis ʦʰesmi ‘poor woman’
saukar mi ‘rich man’ saukar ʦʰesmi ‘rich woman’
braːʈ mi ‘stingy man’ braːʈ ʦʰesmi ‘stingy woman’
teg mi ‘older man’ teg ʦʰesmi ‘older woman’
ʃuʃkes mi ‘clean man’ ʃuʃkes ʦʰesmi ‘clean woman’
baːdur mi ‘brave man’ baːdur ʦʰesmi ‘brave woman’
ʦəlak mi ‘clever man’ ʦəlak ʦʰesmi ‘clever woman’
mari ʧʰaŋ ‘weak boy’ mari ʦʰesmi ‘weak woman’

55 Also occurs as: ʃimla-u [p.name-poss].

56 mja ‘day’ occurs in some compounds, forming temporal adverbs, e.g., domja ‘that day’,
nabja ‘the next day’ (nab ‘tomorrow’), tormja ‘these days’ (toro ‘today’), imja ‘once, at one
time’ (id ‘one’), hunnja ‘now then’ (hun ‘now’). It also occurs at the end of a clause where
it functions as a tag question marker (e.g. kasi ta rǝŋon mja ‘You yourself told (me that),
isn’t it?’, ʧoraːmoraː bjots mja ‘thief etc. goes (into the house), isn’t it?’).
57 sjano ‘old’ occurs only with human head nouns. uʃk ‘old’ occurs with inanimate objects
(e.g. uʃk kim ‘old house’).

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66 chapter 2

muʃʈiŋ ʧʰaŋ ‘strong boy’ muʃʈiŋ ʦʰesmi ‘strong woman’

aːlsi ʧʰaŋ ‘lazy boy’ aːlsi ʦʰesmi ‘lazy woman’
dam ʧʰaŋ ‘good boy’ dam ʦʰesmi ‘good woman’
salgi ʧʰaŋ ‘naked boy’ salgi ʦʰesmi ‘naked woman’
ãdoliŋ ʧʰaŋ ‘blind boy’ ãdoliŋ ʦʰesmi ‘blind woman’
saukar ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘rich boys’ saukar ʦʰesmi-oː ‘rich women’
baːdur ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘brave boys’ baːdur ʦʰesmi-oː ‘brave women’
ɖalɖis ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘poor boys’ ɖalɖis ʦʰesmi-oː ‘poor women’
mari ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘weak boys’ mari ʦʰesmi-oː ‘weak women’
muʃʈiŋ ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘strong boys’ muʃʈiŋ ʦʰesmi-oː ‘strong women’
aːlsi ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘lazy boys’ aːlsi ʦʰesmi-oː ‘lazy women’
dam ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘good boys’ dam ʦʰesmi-oː ‘good women’
salgi ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘naked boys’ salgi ʦʰesmi-oː ‘naked women’
ãdoliŋ ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘blind boys’ ãdoliŋ ʦʰesmi-oː ‘blind women’

3.4.1.2 Variable Adjectives

Some adjectives of the variable category have distinct adjectival forms with ani-
mate and inanimate head nouns. E.g., for ‘black’, rok is the form used with inan-
imate nouns, while with humans (e.g. ‘black, dark-skinned (man woman)’),
we get either rokalo (m) and rokale (f), or the adjective paŋk ‘dark-skinned
(man/woman)’.
Adjectives in this category display complex behavior. In the following exam-
ples adjectives can optionally inflect for number, but not for gender. The adjec-
tive in this sub-set takes the plural marker -oː/-goː or -eː (with both masculine
and feminine head nouns). As with nouns, which adjectives take -eː or -oː/-goː
is lexically determined. The plural marker is optional on adjectives in this set,
however.

gaʈo ʧʰaŋ ‘small boy’ gaʈo ʦʰeʦaʦ ‘small girl’

raŋk ʧʰaŋ ‘tall boy’ raŋk ʦʰeʦaʦ ‘tall girl’
nakiʦ ʧʰaŋ ‘thin boy’ nakiʦ ʦʰesmi ‘thin woman’
soukar mi ‘rich man’ soukar ʦʰesmi ‘rich woman’
teg mi ‘big man’ teg ʦʰesmi ‘big woman’
braːʈ mi ‘stingy man’ braːʈ ʦʰesmi ‘stingy woman’
gaʈo-goː ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘small boys’ gaʈo-goː ʦʰeʦaʦ-oː ‘small girls’
raŋk-eː ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘tall boys’ raŋk-eː ʦʰeʦaʦ-oː ‘tall girls’
nakiʦ-eː ʧʰaŋ-oː ‘thin boys’ nakiʦ-eː ʦʰesmi-oː ‘thin women’
soukar-eː mi-goː ‘rich men’ soukar-eː ʦʰesmi-oː ‘rich women’
teg-eː mi-goː ‘big men’ teg-eː ʦʰesmi-oː ‘big women’
braːʈ-eː mi-goː ‘stingy men’ braːʈ-eː ʦʰesmi-oː ‘stingy women’
raŋk-eː ʧʰaŋ-o ‘tall boys’ raŋk-eː ʦʰetsaʦ-oː ‘tall girls’

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 67

Distinct from this, some adjectives which take the adaptive marker -Vs with
masculine singular head nouns, also permit inflection for the natural gender of
the animate head noun. The masculine marker in such instances is -a and the
feminine marker is -e. As can be seen in the examples below, with masculine
head nouns both the default adjectival form with the adaptive marker and trun-
cated adjective with the masculine marker -a are permitted. The corresponding
feminine forms take the suffix -e.

moʈʰes ɖekʰraːʦ, ‘fat y.man’ moʈʰ-e ʦʰeʦaʦ ‘fat y.woman’

moʈʰ-a58 ɖekʰraːʦ
laʈas mi, laʈ-a mi ‘mute man’ laʈ-e ʦʰesmi ‘mute woman’
ʧʰoʈas ʧʰaŋ, ‘short boy (in ʧʰoʈ-e(-ʦ) ʦʰesmi ‘short woman’
ʧʰoʈ-a ʧʰaŋ height)’
kan-es ʧʰaŋ, ‘blind boy’ kan-e ʦʰesmi ‘blind woman’
kan-a ʧʰaŋ
ʃares mi ‘handsome man’ ʃar-e ʦʰesmi ‘handsome woman’

In this set of adjectives, the singular and plural forms are the same (cf. the
examples above and below).

moʈʰes ɖekʰraːʦ-oː, ‘fat y.men’ moʈʰ-e ʦʰeʦaʦ-oː ‘fat y.women’

moʈʰ-a ɖekʰraːʦ-oː
laʈ-a ɖekʰraːʦ-oː ‘mute y.men’ laʈ-e(-goː)59 ʦʰesmi-oː ‘mute women’
ʧʰoʈ-a ʧʰaŋ-oː, ‘short boys’ ʧʰoʈ-e ʦʰesmi-goː ‘short women’
ʧʰoʈas ʧʰaŋ-oː
kan-a mi-oː ‘blind men’ kan-e tsʰesmi-oː ‘blind women’

It is possible that gender as a grammatical category is finding its way into

Kinnauri. If a particular adjective which inflects for gender can occur with
inanimate head nouns, the inanimate head noun takes the feminine adjecti-
val form. For example, ʃar-eː ɖani(ʦ) ‘beautiful hill’; ʃar-eː rag ‘beautiful stone’.
Even though adjectives which inflect for number with animate head nouns
in principle permit number agreement with inanimate head nouns, this is
only marginally acceptable (uʃk-e gas-oː ‘old garments’; rok(-e) patraŋ-oː ‘black
leaves’).

58 The masculine suffix -a, although reminiscent of the plural marker -aː, is more likely the
result of IA influence.
59 With the adjective form with the plural marker -goː, the head noun is not necessary.

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68 chapter 2

As seen in the examples above, the plural form of adjectives which permit
number inflection may also occur with explicit head nouns. But if the iden-
tity of the head noun is clear in a given context, the head noun need not occur
explicitly. The form of the adjective remains the same irrespective of if the head
noun is there explicitly or not. When an adjective occurs without a head noun,
the same nominal inflectional endings are affixed to the adjectives.

(76) ʦeik-u-i ʣaː-mu ran-gjo

all-dat-emp eat-inf give-pst
‘(They) gave (food) to everyone to eat.’

3.4.2 Predicative Adjectives

Apart from adjectives functioning as a modifier to a nominal argument, they
also occur as the second argument in predicative constructions. As seen in
example (74) above, the copula is not obligatory.

(77) gǝ dam to-k

1sg.nom good cop-1sg
‘I (m,f) am good (well).’

(78) gǝ moʈʰe to-k

1sg.nom fat.f cop-1sg
‘I (f) am fat.’

(79) gǝ moʈʰes to-k

1sg.nom fat.m cop-1sg
‘I (m) am fat.’

(80) niŋo moʈʰaː to-ʧ

1ple fat.m.pl cop-1pl
‘We (m) are fat.’

(81) niŋo moʈʰe-goː to-ʧ

1ple fat.f.pl cop-1pl
‘We (f) are fat.’

3.4.3 Degrees of Comparison

Adjectives have no comparative forms. Comparison is expressed by affixing a
combination of the locative marker (-o) and the ablative marker (-ʧ ) to the
standard of comparison.

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(82) sjo dakʰaŋ-o-ʧ sost-aː du

apple grape-loc-abl cheap-pl cop.prs
‘Apples are cheaper than grapes.’

(83) hojo mi ʦʰesmi-o-ʧ soukar du

dem.prox man woman-loc-abl rich cop.prs
‘This man is richer than the woman.’

(84) bəgiʦ-o sjo ʣaŋgal-o seo-ʧ em du

orchard-poss apple forest-poss apple.loc-abl sweet cop.prs
‘The orchard’s apples are more tasty than wild apples.’

(85) hojo ʧʰaŋ hodo-ʧ gaʈo-ʦ du

dem.prox child dem.dist.nvis-abl small-dim cop.prs
‘This child is younger than that one.’

The superlative is expressed by putting either ʦeik-o-ʧ [all-loc-abl] or ʣo

[sup] before the adjective.

(86) ʤo ʦeik-o-ʧ teg60 gaːraŋ du

3sg.prox all-loc-abl big river cop.prs
‘This is the longest river.’

(87) do ʦeik-o-ʧ takraː du

3sg all-loc-abl strong cop.prs
‘He is the strongest amongst all.’

(88) id ʃare-ʦ pja-ʦ ʣo gaʈo-ʦ ate-o ɲums

one beautiful.f-dim bird-dim sup small-dim brother-poss after
bəd-o du-gjo
come-prog aux-pst
‘One beautiful bird was coming after (following) the youngest brother.’

3.5 Numerals
Like adjectives, numerals in Kinnauri precede their head nouns. Modifying
adjectives occur between a numeral and the head noun. In Kinnauri the plu-
ral marker may also appear in a noun phrase which contains a numeral (89),
although its appearance is optional with numerals (90).

60 bodi ‘much’ can occur here instead of teg, if the sentence refers to the amount of water.

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(89) ʃum uʃk kim-oː

three old house-pl
‘Three old houses’

(90) hodo niʃ pʰolaŋ lig-ʃ-is bjo-o du

dem.dist.nvis two fruit put-mdl-pfv go-prog aux.prs
‘Having taken those two fruits, (he) is going.’

3.5.1 Nondecomposable Numerals

The numerals in Kinnauri which are not (synchronically) decomposable into
simpler parts—“atoms” in the sense of Greenberg (1978)—are those for 1–11,
and the numerals for ‘twenty’, ‘hundred’ and ‘thousand’. These numerals are as
follows.

id ‘one’ ʈug : rug61 ‘six’ sigid ‘eleven’

niʃ ‘two’ (s)tiʃ ‘seven’ niʣa ‘twenty’
ʃum, sum ‘three’ re ‘eight’ ra ‘hundred’
pə ‘four’ (s)gui ‘nine’ həʣar ‘thousand’
ŋa ‘five’ se ‘ten’

sigid ‘eleven’ and niʣa ‘twenty’ are in all likelihood historically derivable from
the combinations se ‘ten’ plus id ‘one’ and niʃ ‘two’ plus se ‘ten’, respectively.
Except for the IA loanword həʣar ‘thousand’, the nondecomposable numerals
in Kinnauri are of ST origin. See also Chapter 5 for numerals in other ST vari-
eties of Kinnaur. In modern times the use of Hindi numerals is gaining ground.

3.5.2 Complex Numerals

The remaining numerals are complex, formed from nondecomposable numer-
als (and recursively from other complex numerals) by formal devices corre-
sponding to the arithmetic operations multiplication, addition and (rarely)
subtraction.
The hundreds are formed by multiplication, formally expressed as juxtapo-
sition of the terms for 2–9 and ra ‘hundred’, e.g., ŋara ‘five hundred’.
There are two ways of forming numerals higher than 1,000, corresponding to
the patterns sigid ra [eleven hundred] and həʣar-is ira [thousand-ins one.hun-
dred] ‘1,100’.62

61 ʈug is the standalone form and the allomorph rug is used when part of a complex numeral
(see Section 3.5.2).
62 ira is a regularly formed compound from id ‘one’ and ra ‘hundred’, with loss of the final
consonant of id (see Section 3.2.1.2).

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The Kinnauri numeral system is basically vigesimal, i.e., the interval between
20 and 100 is subdivided into twenties, not into decades, e.g. niʣ-o sigid
[twenty-nlc eleven] ‘thirty-one’. The words for the decades 30–90 are as fol-
lows.

niʣo se ‘thirty’ ʃumniʣa ‘sixty’ pəniʣa ‘eighty’

niʃniʣa ‘forty’ ʃumniʣo se ‘seventy’ pəniʣo se ‘ninety’
niʃniʣo se ‘fifty’

The words for the units (1–19) are added after ‘ten’ and the terms for twenties,
with an intervening connecting morph -o/-a(ː) (-nlc). This could be an origi-
nal possessive or locative suffix.63 E.g., s-a pa/s-o pa [ten-nlc four] ‘fourteen’,
s-o ŋa [ten-nlc five] ‘fifteen’, niʣ-o s-o rug [twenty-nlc ten-nlc six] ‘thirty-
six’, niʃ-niʣ-o gui [two-twenty-nlc nine] ‘forty-nine’, ʃum-niʣ-o s-a pa [three-
twenty-nlc ten-nlc-four] ‘seventy-four’.
Complex numerals in Kinnauri can also be formed by subtraction. The
smaller subtracted value appears before the larger base value (a decade), with
the expression ma(ː)ts [neg.cop] ‘without’ (see Section 4.6.1)—or alterna-
tively the IA loanword kam ‘less’—between the two expressions. E.g, ŋa maːts
ʃum-niʣa [five neg.cop three-twenty] ‘fifty-five’, ʃum maːts pa-niʣ-o se [three
neg.cop four-twenty-nlc ten] ‘eighty-seven’.

4 The Verb Complex

The verb complex in Kinnauri exhibits one of the following structures.

Copula construction: (neg-)cop(-tns)-idx

Non-copula (proh/neg-)V(-o.idx/mdl)-tns-idx
constructions: N Vlight-tns-idx
V.pfv Vlight(-o.idx/mdl)-tns-idx
V(-o.idx)-asp (aux(-tns)-idx)
N Vlight-asp (aux(-tns)-idx)
V.pfv Vlight(-o.idx)-asp (aux(-tns)-idx)

63 Since ultimately only two items are involved—se ‘ten’ and niʣa ‘twenty’—we could per-
haps more economically simply posit the combining allomorphs sa(ː)-/so- and niʣo-
instead.

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In non-copula constructions the following combinations are attested in our

material:64

V-jaː-mdl(-tns)-idx V-jaː-o.idx(-tns)-idx
V(-mdl)-tns-idx V-o.idx-tns-idx
V-ed-tns-idx
V.intr(-tns)-idx

In the following sections, we describe the structure of verb lexemes, including

valency-changing morphology, subject and “object” indexing, and the two main
types of construction listed above, copula and non-copula constructions with
their accompanying tense and aspect markers. Negation and imperatives/pro-
hibitives are treated in separate sections.

4.1 Verb Lexemes and Their Structure

4.1.1 Simplex Verbs
The simplex verbs, like nouns and adjectives, are mostly mono- or disyllabic.
There are no formal characteristics which distinguish different semantic
classes of verbs, as can be seen from the following examples.

onnu ‘to be hungry’ kriŋmu ‘to shiver’

pʰasmu ‘to vomit’ gismu ‘to sneeze’
bjomu ‘to go’ bənnu ‘to come’
bragmu ‘to chew’ koːrmu ‘to dig’
tuŋmu ‘to drink’ məlmu ‘to cut’
ʦʰunnu ‘to tie’ ʧimu ‘to wash’
gomu ‘to understand’ gjaːmu ‘to want’
nemu ‘to know’ ʦalmu ‘to feel, to think’
tammu ‘to smell’ ʈʰəŋmu ‘to touch’
kunnu ‘to call’ lonnu ‘to tell.n1/2o’

Unlike other ST languages of this region such as Bunan and Navakat, verbs in
Kinnauri do not have different verb forms for honorific and nonhonorific sub-
jects, beyond the use of the plural marker with singular subjects.

64 There are no instances of V-ed-mdl-idx, V-ed-o.idx-idx or V-mdl-ed-idx.

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4.1.2 Complex Verbs

Complex—multi-word—verbs are frequently encountered in Kinnauri. One of
the two main types consists of a nominal argument followed by a light or sup-
port verb. A frequently occurring verb in such constructions is lannu ‘to do, to
make’. The nominal argument in this construction contains the primary seman-
tic content, while the verb takes the verbal inflectional endings.

maʤbur lan-nu [helpless(n) make-inf] ‘to force’

bok lan-nu [warm(n) make-inf] ‘to warm’
puʤa lan-nu [prayer(n) make-inf] ‘to pray’
puʤa ma-lan-nu [prayer(n) neg-make-inf] ‘to not pray’
sapʰ lan-nu [clean(n) make-inf] ‘to clean’
ipəŋ lan-nu [save(n) make-inf] ‘to save’
məna lan-nu [refuse(n) make-inf] ‘to refuse’

Unlike instances where lannu ‘to make’ functions as a lexical verb, in this com-
plex verb construction the dative marker does not occur after the nominal
component of the verb complex (e.g. after maʤbur ‘helpless(n)’ in maʤbur
lannu ‘to force’), suggesting that the noun (maʤbur ‘helpless(n)’ here) forms
part of the complex verb. Further, in many cases an additional argument occurs
in such constructions, which optionally can take the dative marker (91–92).

(91) ama-s kim-u sapʰ lan-a-ʃ

mother-erg house-dat clean(n) make-pst-3h
‘Mother cleaned the house.’

(92) ama niʃ-u ʦeik-is-i ase taː-ʧ-o du

mother two-dat all-erg-emp torture(n) keep-1/2o-prog aux.prs
‘“Mother, everyone is torturing us (two).”’

The negative marker (including the prohibitive marker) is, however, affixed to
the verb (e.g., puʤa ma-lan-nu [prayer(n) neg-make-inf] ‘to not pray’).
The compound verb construction is the other frequently used complex verb
construction in Kinnauri. Here the main verb (in the perfective) is followed by
a light or vector verb such as nimu ‘to stay’, rannu/kemu ‘to give’, bjomu ‘to go’,
taːmu ‘to keep’ or ʃennu ‘to send’. The vector verb may be followed by an auxil-
iary. Each vector verb adds a specific semantic dimension to the main verb. For
example, the vector verb nimu ‘to stay’ indicates the continuation of the state
indicated in the main verb.65 The verbs ʃennu ‘to send’ and rannu/kemu ‘to give’

65 Cf. Navakat dug and sdod (see Chapter 3).

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as vector verbs indicate the completeness or totality of the action expressed in

the main verb. All instances of these vector verbs involve active main verbs.66

(93) kim-o [toʃ-is ni-ʦ du-gjo]

house-loc [sit-pfv stay-hab aux-pst]
‘(He) used to sit at home.’

(94) do-s kʰou [ʣaː~ʣaː ʃe~ʃe]

3sg-erg food [eat~pfv send~pfv]
‘He ate (up everything).’

4.1.3 Valency Changing Mechanisms

Transitivity is determined only by means of formal criteria—transitive verbs
can take objects. Objects do not need to be explicitly present in order for a
verb to be considered transitive. Intransitive verbs take nominative subjects.
Subjects of transitive verbs can be either in the ergative or in the nominative.
Objects can be in the dative or in the nominative. The case marking possibili-
ties in simple transitive clauses (except with ditransitive verbs and the verb ‘to
say’) with explicit A and O are (nominative left without indication):

A-erg O-dat V
A-erg O V
A O V
A O-dat V

(95) raːni-s do niʃ-u taŋ-gjo

queen-erg dem.dist.nvis two-dat observe-pst
‘The queen saw those two.’

(96) raːm-is rak tuŋ~tuŋ

i.name-erg alcohol drink~pfv
‘Ram drank alcohol.’

(97) ama pol-eː lan-ʦ

mother fried.bread-pl make-hab
‘Mother makes (prepares) fried bread.’

66 Cf. taŋ in Navakat.

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(98) hat-u raːʣa67 ʦum-ta

who-dat king catch-fut
‘Whom will (they) catch (as their) king.’ (Who will become the king?)

(99) aŋ-u ʋal-i ʤãŋk bǝ

1sg-dat much-emp very warm (weather) come.pst
‘I felt very hot.’

In ditransitive clauses where both a direct object and an indirect object occur,
the indirect object gets the dative marker, and the direct object remains in the
nominative.

(100) gǝ-s ka-nu id bakʰor ke-ta-k

1sg-erg 2sg.nh-dat.pl one goat give.1/2o-fut-1sg
‘I will give a goat to you.’

(101) raːʣa-s raːni-pəŋ nukur*-u ran-o

king-erg queen-dat servant*-dat give-pst
‘The king gave the servant to the queen.’

(102) do-s uː-nu68 ti ran-o-ʃ

3sg-erg flower-dat.pl water give-pst-3h
‘She gave water to the flowers (plants).’

(103) do-s uː-pəŋ69 ti ran-o-ʃ

3sg-erg flower-dat water give-pst-3h
‘She gave water to the flower (SG).’

4.1.3.1 (De)transitivizing Voicing Alternation

Most Sino-Tibetanists posit an original de-transitivizing prefix *n- whose reflex
in modern forms is voicing of the root-initial consonant. In a small set of verbs,
when the intransitive verb form begins with a voiced obstruent (a stop or an
affricate), the corresponding transitive verb form begins with a voiceless con-
sonant. This is also observed in Kinnauri, although not as a productive process.

67 Both [raːʤa] and [raːza] ‘king’, are found in Kinnauri. The former reflects a more direct
influence of its Hindi pronunciation. The same is the case with other IA loanwords with
[z] in Kinnauri.
68 The dative marker on ‘flowers’ is obligatory.
69 The dative marker on ‘flower’ is obligatory.

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In such verbs the transitive marker -jaː is not permitted (see Section 4.1.3.4.1 for
-jaː).

V (intr) V (tr)

bəŋmu pəŋmu ‘to fill’

bogmu pogmu ‘to burn’
grumu krumu ‘to burn (food items)’
bannu pannu ‘to cook’
bjugmu pjugmu ‘to blow off fire’
gjulmu kʰjulmu ‘to scrape’
ʤogmu ʧogmu ‘to drip’
bralmu pʰralmu ‘to fall, to fell’

The middle marker -ʃi (see Section 4.1.3.3), too, can be affixed to some transi-
tive verbs of this set to decrease their valency, e.g., pog-ʃi-mu ‘to get burnt by
inadvertently touching a hot pan’ < pogmu ‘to burn (tr)’.

4.1.3.2 The Transitivizing Prefix s-

There are some Kinnauri transitive verb forms in the speech of older consul-
tants (or attested in the examples provided in older literature) which contain
the prefix s-. For example, (s)kʋamu ‘to jump (tr)’, (s)tugmu ‘to push’. Bailey
(1920) provides the following: tuŋmū ‘to drink’ : stuŋmū ‘to cause to drink, give
to drink’. In all such cases, the forms without the prefix also occur as indepen-
dent transitive verbs. It is noteworthy that some language consultants (espe-
cially the younger ones) use and recognize only the variants without the prefix
s-.

4.1.3.3 The Middle Marker -ʃi

Kinnauri has a multifunctional verbal suffix -ʃi with cognates in several other
ST languages.70 This suffix is realized as -ʃ when the suffix following it starts
with a vowel. The -ʃ in -ʃi never assimilates to surrounding consonants or vow-

70 Similar morphemes with related meanings have been reported for several other ST lan-
guages. E.g. -ʃi (Byangsi; Willis Oko 2019: 275), -si/-xi (Darma; Willis Oko 2019: 273ff.), -si
(Thulung Rai; Lahaussois 2003). LaPolla (1996) also reports similar morphemes in other
ST languages: x (Rawang/Dulong), -siŋ (Limbu), (na) ci (Bantawa), sit (Thulung), si (Khal-
ing), -s (Rongpo), -su (Padam-Mishing) and -s (Nishi).

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els (e.g. with regard to voicing), which otherwise is a common phenomenon in

Kinnauri. With a restricted set of verbs, however, it is realized as -ʧi, and not
as -ʃi (e.g., legmu ‘to burn’, legʧimu [lɛkʧimu] ‘to get burned’, but not *legʃimu).
With all other verbs -ʧ as the middle marker is not permitted. The distribution
of the middle marker -ʃi and -ʧi is not morphophonologically conditioned. It is
unclear why some verbs take -ʧi, and not the default -ʃi. It is possible that forms
with -ʧi are borrowed from some other language.
Kinnauri -ʃi expresses functions which are typically associated with the mid-
dle marker, as shown below, but it also occurs in some other, distinctly non-
middle constructions. However, regardless of the varying semantics of the
verbs containing -ʃi, it will be consistently referred to and glossed as “middle”
(mdl) in this chapter, including the word list in Appendix 2A.

(104) sapes-is radʰa-pəŋ ʈok~ʈok

snake-erg i.name-dat sting.pfv
‘The snake stung Radha.’

(105) gə ʈok-ʃi-s to-k

1sg.nom sting-mdl-pfv aux-1sg
‘I am bitten (by a snake).’

(106) sapes-is aŋ-u ʈok-ʧ-is

snake-erg 1sg-dat sting-1/2o-pfv
‘The snake stung me.’

The middle marker occurs with both ST and non-ST verbs. Among non-ST
verbs, the focus here will be on IA loans. With IA verbs, as can be seen in the
examples provided here, it occurs only on verb stems which contain the tran-
sitive marker -jaː (see Section 4.1.3.4.1).

ST/IA V (tr) V (mdl) V (intr)

ST pramu praʃimu ‘to spread’

ST ʧimu ʧiʃimu ‘to wash’
ST tʰannu tʰaʃimu ‘to drop’
ST sǝrmu sǝrʃimu ‘to wake up’
IA polʈjaːmu polʈjaːʃimu polʈennu ‘to turn (around)/roll’
IA rokjaːmu rokjaːʃimu rukennu ‘to stop’

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Kinnauri has a reflexive construction involving a transitive verb and a reflex-

ive (anaphoric) pronoun, with the verb form remaining the same in a regular
transitive clause. Most likely this reflexive construction in Kinnauri is due to its
contact with IA languages.

(107) do-s an-u kʰjo-o du

3sg-erg 3sg.ana-dat see-prog aux.prs
‘S/He is seeing her/himself (in the mirror).’

As in many other ST languages, a reflexive reading in Kinnauri can also be

accomplished by suffixing the middle marker -ʃi to a transitive verb. The reflex-
ive pronoun is optional in constructions with the middle marker (67–68, re-
peated here slightly modified as 108–109).

(108) niŋo (niŋo-nu) kʰja-ʃ-o du-ʧ

1ple.nom (1ple-dat.pl) see-mdl-prog aux-1ple
‘We (excl) are seeing ourselves (in the mirror).’

(109) kiʃaː (kiʃaː-nu) kʰja-ʃ-o to-me

1pli.nom (1pli-dat.pl) see-mdl-prog aux-1pli
‘We (incl) are seeing ourselves (in the mirror).’

The middle marker occurs also in reciprocal constructions.

(110) do-goː me ama-bua taŋ~taŋ du

3-pl yesterday mother-father observe~pfv aux.prs
‘Yesterday they looked at (someone’s) parents.’

(111) do-goː me taŋ-ʃ-is du

3-pl yesterday observe-mdl-pfv aux.prs
‘Yesterday they looked (at one another).’

The reciprocal construction with -ʃi, too, can optionally contain the anaphoric
pronoun.

(112) ʦʰets-oː (ane-goː) baːt-jaː-ʃ-o du

woman-pl ana-pl talk-tr-mdl-prog aux.prs
‘The women are talking among themselves.’

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(113) ʧʰaŋ-oː (ane-goː) kul-ʃ-o du

child-pl ana-pl beat-mdl-prog aux.prs
‘The children are fighting among themselves.’

As in several other ST languages, in Kinnauri too, -ʃi as the middle marker is

used to decrease verbal valency. Thus, the ergative and the dative marker are
not permitted on the core arguments of a transitive verb when the middle
marker -ʃi has been added to it, while with the same verb without the middle
marker, the core arguments may take the ergative and the dative marker.

(114) ʧʰaŋ-oː-s ʈokʰ-jaː-o71 lod-o du

boy-pl-erg call.out-tr-prog tell-prog aux.prs
‘The boys are telling (others), by calling out to (them).’

(115) ʧʰaŋ-oː*-s ʈokʰ-jaː-ʃ-o lo-ʃ-o du

boy-pl*-erg call.out-tr-mdl-prog tell-mdl-prog aux.prs
‘The boys are telling one another, by calling out to one another.’

Alternatively, the original subject can be suppressed (117, 119 compared to 116,
118).

(116) gǝ pitaŋ pid-o du-k

1sg.nom door close-prog aux.prs-1sg
‘I am closing the door.’

(117) pitaŋ pi-ʃ-o du

door close-mdl-prog aux.prs
‘The door is closing (on its own).’

(118) mi-s murti ti-o bojaː~jaː ʃe~ʃe

man-erg statue water-loc flow.tr~pfv send~pfv
‘The man floated ([+control]) the statue in the water.’

(119) ŋa ʧʰaŋ-oː ti-o bo-jaː-ʃ-is du-ge

five boy-pl water-loc flow-tr-mdl-pfv aux-pst
‘Five boys were swept ([-control]) into the water.’

71 In fast speech the form is realized as [ʈɔkʰjo].

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-ʃi in Kinnauri occurs also in constructions which are not normally associ-
ated with the middle voice.
First, there is a kind of generalization of the reflexive usage of -ʃi in Kinnauri,
reminiscent of possessor raising (Deal 2017), where the verb retains the object
or other non-subject argument, and -ʃi indicates that its referent belongs to
the subject, e.g., through a kinship relation, or by being part of their body (the
subject doing something to/with their body part) or through possession/own-
ership.

(120) do raːʣkumar an-u ʈʰepiŋ-o ʦisaŋ lig-ʃ-is

dem.dist.nvis prince ana-poss cap-loc flour put-mdl-pfv
kim-o-ʧ dʋǝ~dʋǝ bjo-gjo
house-loc-abl come.out~pfv go-pst
‘That prince, taking flour in (his) cap, came out of the home and went.’

(121) bag-e bal-e pitaŋ lig-ʃ-is

rear.of.dance-mnr head-mnr door put-mdl-pfv
‘(The priest’s wife said: “the smart prince) is dancing, carrying (our
home’s main) door on (his) head”.’

(122) raːʣa somsi raŋ-u den ʃog-ʃ-is ane-nu

king early.morning horse-poss on ride-mdl-pfv ana.pl-poss
dǝrbar-o bǝ-ʧ-is
court-loc come-mdl-pfv
‘the next day the king rode on (his) horse, and came to (his) court.’

Second, -ʃi occurs in constructions where it highlights that more than one per-
son is involved in an activity and that the action is done collectively. The corre-
sponding clauses with singular subject occurs with the same verb, but without
-ʃi. This happens with both transitive (123–126) and intransitive (127–128) verbs.

(123) nane ʧʰu krab-o du-ʃ

aunt why cry-prog aux.prs-3sg.hon
‘aunt, why is (she) crying?’

(124) isan ta krab-ʃ-o du

briefly foc cry-mdl-prog aux.prs
‘For some time (those two) are crying.’

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(125) raːʣa hal-ed-o du

king walk-intr-prog aux.prs
‘The king is taking a walk’

(126) kon-jaː ek-e hale-ʃ-o du

friend-pl one-loc walk-mdl-prog aux.prs
‘Friends are walking (together).’

(127) do-goː ʃum-is ʦʰeʦaʦ-u san-ǝm

dem.dist.nvis-pl three-erg girl-dat kill-nmlz
rujaː-ʃ-is du-gjo
prepare-mdl-pfv aux-pst
‘Those three (sisters-in-law) prepared to kill the girl.’

(128) ʃum-ki72 lo-ʃ-o du

three-emp tell-mdl-prog aux.prs
‘All three are telling (at the same time to one another).’

-ʃi also occurs in constructions where the agency/volitionality of the subject

is emphasized; that the subject acted on his/her own free will. The regular
active clause case marking on core arguments is retained. This usage has been
reported as the primary function of cognate items in the Macro-Tani languages
by Modi and Post (2020) under the label “subject autonomy”.

(129) somsi sǝr-o du

early.morning rise-prog aux-pst
‘In the early morning (the prince) is waking up.’

(130) jaŋʣe-s raːtiŋ sǝr-ʃ-is do ɖig-u

o.woman-erg night rise-mdl-pfv dem.dist.nvis pot-dat
maŋ-gjo
hide-pst
‘In the night the old woman woke up (and) hid the bowl [she woke up
in the middle of the night as she wanted to hide the bowl before every-
one else wakes up in the morning].’

72 The emphatic marker -i is realized as -ki/-gi with a few numerals: niʃ ‘two’, ʃum ‘three’,
pə ‘four’ and ŋa ‘five’. In all these cases, the emphatic marker -i, too, is permissible (e.g.
ʃum-i [three-emp]). Similarly, the ergative marker is realized with an initial -k- after these
numerals (e.g., ŋak-is [five-erg]).

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(131) ʧoraː saŋ-ʃ-is ʧʰǝʦ-i maː-ʦ ʦeik luʈjaː~ʈjaː

thief.pl enter-mdl-pfv some-emp neg.aux-hab all loot.tr~pfv
‘(The priest’s wife said:) “thieves entered the house. Nothing is there (=
left). (They) looted (us).”’

Finally, the verb forms with the middle marker can also occur in non-final
clauses. For example in relative clauses (e.g. gjaː-ʃ-id [want-mdl-hab] ‘(the
queen) who is desired)’ and in non-final clauses in a complex construction.

(132) niʃ -i ʧʰaŋ-oː krab-ʃ-o krab-ʃ-o ma-han-am

two-emp child-pl cry-mdl-prog cry-mdl-prog neg-can-nmlz
nipi sunts-jaː-ʃ-o du-gjo
after think-tr-mdl-prog aux-pst
‘Those two children, sobbing, after not agreeing (to stay behind), were
(collectively) thinking’

4.1.3.4 (De)transitivizing Morphology in IA Loanwords

In a subset of IA loanwords, -e/-ed/-en is suffixed to form an intransitive verb
and -j/-jaː in the same slot is suffixed to form the corresponding transitive verb.

V (intr) V (tr)

polʈennu polʈjaːmu ‘to turn around, to roll’

baːsennu baːsjaːmu ‘to smell’
paːlennu paːljaːmu ‘to grow’
bojennu bojaːmu ‘to float, to blow’
somʣennu somʣjaːmu ‘to understand’
ʤonlennu ʤonljaːmu ‘to swing’

Both suffixes are subject to morphophonologically conditioned variation (see

Sections 2.3.2 and 4.5.2.4).

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 83

4.1.3.4.1 The Transitive Marker -j/-jaː

All Kinnauri disyllabic verb stems with -j/-jaː in the final syllable are transitive
verbs.73 The allomorph -j appears before the progressive aspect marker -o (see
Section 4.5.2.4), and -jaː occurs in all other contexts. -j/-jaː is suffixed to IA loans
and to verbs of unknown etymologies, but never to ST verbs. All the following
verbs are of IA origin.

monjaːmu ‘to make someone agree’

pʰuljaːmu ‘to blow (something)’
arjaːmu ‘to call (someone)’
somʣjaːmu ‘to explain (something)’
pʰikjaːmu ‘to throw (something)’
polʈjaːmu ‘to flip over (e.g. bread, quilt)’
ʦʰuʈjaːmu ‘to release (something)’
toljaːmu ‘to weigh (something)’

Once the transitivizer -j/-jaː is affixed to the verb stem, it becomes part of the
lexical item, which then undergoes the same processes as a regular lexical verb.
As we will see in Section 4.5.2.2, the monosyllablic verb stem is reduplicated
in the perfective aspect, if the verb stem does not end in -ʧ or -ʃ. If the verb
stem is disyllabic, there is partial reduplication, where only the second sylla-
ble is reduplicated. In the perfective form of the verb stems with -j/-jaː, it is the
last consonant of the penultimate syllable together with the final syllable (-jaː)
which is reduplicated.

V (tr, inf) V (pfv)

pʰikjaːmu pʰikjaːkjaː ‘to throw (something)’

ʦʰinjaːmu ʦʰinjaːnjaː ‘to cut (e.g. vegetables)’
polʈjaːmu polʈjaːʈjaː ‘to flip over (e.g. bread)’
bodjaːmu bodjaːdjaː ‘to increase (something countable)’
rokjaːmu rokjaːkjaː ‘to stop (someone)’
meʈjaːmu meʈjaːʈjaː ‘to gather (something)’
kuʃjaːmu kuʃjaːʃjaː ‘to wipe, to sweep (something)’
ʤonljaːmu ʤonljaːljaː ‘to swing (something)’

73 These verbs often have an intransitive IA base. In some ways, the transitive verb forms with

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(cont.)

V (tr, inf) V (pfv)

ʤekʰjaːmu ʤekʰjaːkʰjaː ‘to rub (e.g. clothes)’

ʃoʈʰjaːmu ʃoʈʰjaːʈʰjaː ‘to leave (something)’

4.1.3.4.2 The Intransitive Marker -e/-ed/-en

Disyllabic verb stems with -e/-ed/-en as the final syllable are intransitive verbs
in Kinnauri. As was the case with the transitive marker -j/-jaː above, -e/-ed/-en
too occurs only with IA loans or verbs of unknown etymology, never with
ST verbs. The suffix appears in three different shapes determined by mor-
phophonological context; see Section 2.3.2.
As some of the previous as well as the following examples show, some
verbs permit two de-transitivized verb forms, one with the middle marker and
another with the intransitive marker -e/-ed/-en.

V (tr) V (mdl -ʃi) V (intr -ed)

polʈjaːmu polʈjaːʃimu polʈennu ‘to flip’

baːsjaːmu baːsjaːʃimu baːsennu ‘to smell’
paːljaːmu paːljaːʃimu paːlennu ‘to grow’
ɖubjaːmu ɖubjaːʃimu ɖubennu ‘to drown’
somʣjaːmu somʣjaːʃimu somʣennu ‘to explain’
sikjaːmu sikjaːʃimu sikennu ‘to move’
bodjaːmu bodjaːʃimu bodennu ‘to increase’
rokjaːmu rokjaːʃimu rukennu ‘to stop’
ʤonljaːmu ʤonljaːʃimu ʤonlennu ‘to swing’

-j/-jaː in Kinnauri show parallels to a similar transitivizing device in Hindi, where the tran-
sitive form has a long -aː in the final syllable. For example, palaʈnaː ‘to turn over (intr)’ vs.
palʈaːnaː ‘to turn over (tr)’, laʈaknaː ‘to hang (intr)’ vs. laʈakaːnaː ‘to hang (tr)’, palanaː
‘to be raised (intr)’ vs. paːlnaː ‘to raise (tr)’. However, in Kinnauri, the -j/-jaː transitivizing
strategy also occurs in verbs where Hindi instead changes the stem vowel. For example, in
Hindi ʈuʈnaː ‘to break (intr)’ vs. toɽnaː ‘to break (tr)’, ʧʰuʈanaː ‘to leave (intr)’ vs. ʧʰoɽnaː
‘to leave (tr)’, ruknaː ‘to stop/stay (intr)’ vs. roknaː ‘to stop (tr)’. Another potential ety-
mological source of -j/-jaː could be an element cognate with Tibetan byed ‘do’.

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In such instances there seems to be some difference in their distribution:

-e/-ed/-en occurs with singular subjects, while -ʃi (i.e., -jaː-ʃi), has the interpreta-
tion that more than one participant is involved and that they acted collectively:

V (intr -ed) V (mdl -jaː-ʃi)

polʈennu ‘to turn around, to roll’ polʈjaːʃimu ‘to turn around, to roll’ (pl, col-
(sg) lectively)
baːsennu ‘to smell’ (sg) baːsjaːʃimu ‘to smell’ (pl, collectively)
paːlennu ‘to grow’ (sg) paːljaːʃimu ‘to grow’ (pl, collectively)
bojennu ‘to float, to blow’ (sg) bojaːʃimu ‘to float, to blow’ (pl, collectively)
rukennu ‘to stop’ (sg) rokjaːʃimu ‘to stop’ (pl, collectively)
somʣennu ‘to understand’ (sg) somʣjaːʃimu ‘to understand’ (pl, collectively)
ʤonlennu ‘to swing’ (sg) ʤonljaːʃimu ‘to swing’ (pl, collectively)

However, as the following examples show, some verbs which take the transitive
marker -j/-jaː, do not permit the intransitive marker -e/-ed/-en.

V (tr -jaː) V (mdl -jaː-ʃi) V (intr -ed)

ʈ(r)uːtʰjaːmu ʈ(r)uːtʰjaːʃimu *ʈ(r)uːtʰennu ‘to squeeze’

ʃoʈʰjaːmu ʃoʈʰjaːʃimu *ʃoʈʰennu ‘to leave’
pʰurkjaːmu pʰurkjaːʃimu *pʰurkennu ‘to blow’
arjaːmu arjaːʃimu *arennu ‘to call’
pʰikjaːmu pʰikjaːʃimu *pʰikennu ‘to throw’
ʦʰinjaːmu ʦʰinjaːʃimu *ʦʰinennu ‘to cut’
ʤekʰjaːmu ʤekʰjaːʃimu *ʤekʰennu ‘to rub’
toljaːmu toljaːʃimu *tolennu ‘to weigh’
meʈjaːmu meʈjaːʃimu *meʈennu ‘to gather’
kuʃjaːmu kuʃjaːʃimu *kuʃennu ‘to wipe/sweep’
meʈjaːmu meʈjaːʃimu *meʈennu ‘to gather’

In this set of verbs, as the following examples illustrate, the verb form with the
middle marker occurs with singular as well as plural subjects. It is unclear why
the -ed verb forms are not permitted with this set of verbs.

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(133) id kamiːʣ laːn-is pʰik-jaː-ʃ-is du

one shirt wind-ins throw-tr-mdl-pfv aux.prs
‘One shirt fell down in the wind.’

(134) ʦeik [ʦei] kamiːʣ-eː laːn-is pʰik-jaː-ʃ-is du

all shirt-pl wind-ins throw-tr-mdl-pfv aux.prf
‘All shirts fell down in the wind.’

4.2 Subject Indexing

Both nominative and ergative subject arguments control subject indexing. The
subject indexing markers occur in both copula and non-copula constructions.
Table 20 presents the subject indexing markers. -oː functions as the plural
indexing marker with 2nh and 3h and -suŋ functions as the dual subject index-
ing marker with 3nh. In natural discourse the plural marker does not occur
obligatorily with plural subjects. Similarly, with dual subjects, the plural marker
-oː occurs more frequently than the dual indexing marker -suŋ.

table 20 Subject indexing markers

Person SG PL/DU

1 -k -ʧ (du, ple), -me (pli)

2nh -n -n(-oː) (du, pl)
2h -ɲ -ʧ (du, pl)
3nh Ø Ø (du, pl), -suŋ (du)
3h -ʃ -ʃ (-oː) (du, pl)

4.3 “Affected Object” Indexing

The object indexing marker is -ʧ/-ʧi (except with the verbs ‘to give’ and ‘to tell’
where there is a change in the verb form; see below) is suffixed to the verb.
When the following suffix begins with a vowel, the -ʧ allomorph appears. The
object index occurs with speech act participants in both singular and plural.
The characterization “most affected object” captures the distribution of the
“1st/2nd object” index better than simply calling it an “object” marker. -ʧ/-ʧi
occurs when a speech act participant is the most affected—zero or dative
marked—participant in a clause (finite or non-final). This could be a patient,
a recipient, or a beneficiary, including a speech act participant in the “subject”
position in dative subject construction (see below). The speech act participant
is [-control] in such constructions.

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 87

(135) dok meː leg-ʧ-a-k

then fire burn-1/2o-fut-1sg
‘I will set you on fire.’

(136) aŋ-u ama-boba-s birmaʧʰosten rakses-u dor

1sg-poss mother-father-erg i.name demon-poss near
ʃe-ʧ-is
send-1/2o-pfv
‘My parents sent me with the demon Birma Chostin,’

(137) gə me ki-n dokʧ ral un-ʧi-mu

1sg.nom yesterday 2sg.h-poss from rice take-1/2o-inf
to-ʧ-e-k
aux-pst-1sg
‘Yesterday I was (thinking of) taking rice from you.’

The “object” index marker -ʧ/-ʧi, like middle -ʃi, does not assimilate. The excep-
tion is a set of verbs where the object index is realized as -ʤ/-ʤi, but never
as -ʧ/-ʧi. In my material, this applies to the following verb stems: ʣaː- ‘eat’,
gjaː- ‘want’, mjaː- ‘not.want’, kʰo- ‘skin(v)’, and ruŋ- ‘watch’. A few verbs (e.g.
pʰjo- ‘take away’, taː- ‘put’) seem to permit both -ʧ/-ʧi and -ʤ/-ʤi as the object
marker.

(138) boba-s gaːraŋ-u deŋ-staŋ kǝr-ʧ-is kiʃaŋ-u

father-erg river-poss there-until bring-1/2o-pfv 1du-poss
id-u nǝŋ pʰjo-ʧ-is id-u ʤaŋ taː-ʤ-is
one-dat there take.away-1/2o-pfv one-dat there put-1/2o-pfv
dok kiʃaŋ-u dobi bajaːraŋ-is pal-jaː-ʧ-is
then 1du-dat washerman couple-erg raise-tr-1/2o-pfv
‘“(Our) father took us to the river. He took away one of us. The other
one was left there. Then the washerman couple raised us two.” ’

(139) aŋ-u pʰjo-ʤi-mu

1sg-dat take.away-1/2o-nmlz
‘While coming to take me,’

The object indexing marker occurs when the speech act participant is the most
affected argument in a clause. If the proper conditions are met, both subject
indexing and object indexing can occur in the same clause. The object index-
ing marker occurs before the tense/aspect markers.

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(140) do-s aŋ dokʧ rupja un-ʧ-e-ʃ

3sg-erg 1sg.nnom from money ask-1/2o-pst-3h
‘S/He then asked me for money.’

(141) aŋ-u birma=ʧʰosten rakses-u dor ʃe-ʧ-is

1sg-dat i.name demon-poss near send-1/2o-pst
‘I was sent with the demon Birma Chosten.’

(142) do-s aŋ-u kamaŋ rju-ʧ-e

3sg-erg 1sg-dat work(n) make.do-1/2o-pst
‘S/He made me do the work.’

(143) do raːm-u kamaŋ rju-o

3sg i.name-dat work(n) make.do-pst
‘S/He made Ram do the work.’

(144) maŋ-o aŋ-u rakses-is ʣaː-ʤ-e

dream-loc 1sg-dat demon-erg eat-1/2o-pst
‘In the dream the demon ate me.’

(145) raːm-is aŋ-u ʣali baːt-en-nu ʃe-ʧ-e

i.name-erg 1sg-dat lie(n) talk-intr-inf send-1/2o-pst
‘Ram made me tell a lie.’

Clauses involving the object indexing marker can have all three persons as their
subjects (see examples above and below). The subject indexing marker remains
the same (including its placement), as described in Section 4.2.

(146) aɲaːres-o raːm-is aŋ-u taŋ-ʧ-e-ʃ

darkness-loc i.name-erg 1sg-dat observe-1/2o-pst-3h
‘In the darkness Ram saw me.’

(147) do-s lo-kjo “gjaː-ʤ-a-k gjaː-ʤ-a-k”

3sg-erg tell-pst want-1/2o-pst-1sg want-1/2o-pst-1sg
‘He (= the priest) said: “I want, I want (you as my servant).” ’

Although -ʧi is the default object indexing marker, in the case of the verbs
‘give’ and ‘tell’ there is verb stem suppletion instead. The stem variants kemu
[to.give.1/2o]74 and rəŋmu [to.tell.1/2o]75 occur when the clause has a speech

74 kemu [to.give.1/2o] occurs with all inflectional endings, except with the progressive aspect

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act participant as affected object; the variants rannu ‘to give’ and lonnu ‘to tell’
occur with third person objects. The object indexing marker -ʧ/-ʧi does not
occur with these verbs.76

(148) arʤun-is mohan-u kǝtab ran-o-ʃ

i.name-erg i.name-dat book give-pst-3h
‘Arjun gave a book to Mohan.’

(149) ama-s aŋ-u kʰou ker-o-ʃ

mother-erg 1sg-dat food give.1/2o-pst-3h
‘Mother gave me food.’

(150) ka-s-i hudu77 lo~lo / *rəŋ~rəŋ

2sg.nh-erg-emp dem.dist.nvis.dat tell~pfv
‘You (yourself) told (this) to him.’

(151) raːm-is ki-nu rəŋ~rəŋ / *lo~lo

i.name-erg 2sg.h-dat.pl tell.1/2o~pfv
‘Ram told (this) to you.’

The object index marker is also suffixed to verb stems with the transitive marker
-j/-jaː. For example,

(152) raːm aŋ-u id baːtaŋ somʣ-jaː-ʧ-e78

i.name 1sg-dat one talk(n) understand-tr-1/2o-pst
‘Ram explained me one thing.’

and with the past tense marker -o. In the last-mentioned cases, it is realized as ker (i.e.,
ker-o du and ker-o, respectively). The verb form ker is not permitted elsewhere, e.g. ke~ke
[give.1/2o~pfv], but not *kerker; ke-ts [give.1/2o-pst-3h], but not *ker-ts; ma-ke-ʃ, but not
*ma-ker-ʃ ‘(Please) don’t give’. The ke ~ ker variation does not seem to represent any dialec-
tal variation. Both verb forms occur in a stable fashion in the speech of my language
consultants from Brua.
75 rəŋmu (Sangla) : riŋmu (Brua).
76 Kanashi also exhibits this suppletive verb form to indicate 1/2o, and Bunan (Widmer 2014)
seems to show a similar suppletive verb pattern. riŋ-men ‘say (to SAP)’, lot-tc-um ‘to say (to
non-SAP)’.
77 There are some instances of vowel harmony. E.g., hodo [dem.dist.nvis] but hudu [dem.
dist.nvis.poss].
78 -e occurs as the past tense marker with the object indexing marker.

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(153) do-s aŋ-u tol-jaː-ʧ-o to-ʃ

3sg-erg 1sg-dat weigh-tr-1/2o-prog aux-3h
‘He is weighing me.’

(154) ki aŋ-u somʣ-jaː-ʧi-ɲ-a

2sg.h 1sg-dat understand-tr-1/2o-2h-q
‘Will you explain (X) to me?’

The object index marker (or the corresponding suppletive verb stem) also
occurs in non-final clauses, nominalized clauses (e.g. ke-ma ‘(if it is) given to
me …’ from kemu ‘to give-1/2o’) as well as in finite verbs.
The dative-marked argument in the dative experiencer construction does
not control subject indexing (see Section 5.1). If the dative-marked argument
is a speech act participant, it triggers object indexing instead, suggesting that
it has not yet acquired the full subject status.

(155) ki-nu əkʰa ker-o du-ge

2sg.h-dat.pl pain give.1/2o-prog aux-pst
‘You were having pain.’

As described in Section 4.2, Kinnauri has -ʧ also as the subject index marker
with 1du, 1ple, 2du and 2pl subjects. The subject index marker -ʧ and the
object index marker -ʧ/-ʧi occur in two different slots; further, the subject
index marker is never realized as -ʤ/-ʤi, which, as shown above, is the case
with the 1/2o marker. This is the case in both declarative and imperative
clauses.

(156) ki-s aŋ dokʧ rupja un-ʧ-e-ʧ

2sg.h.erg 1sg.nnom from money take-1/2o-pst-2du/pl.h
‘You asked me for money.’

(157) kiʃaŋ-s ki-n dokʧ rupja un-ʧ-e-ʧ

1du-erg 2sg.h-poss from money take-1/2o-pst-2du/pl.h
‘We (dual) asked you for money.’

(158) kino-s aŋ dokʧ rupja un-ʧ-e-ʧ

2pl.h-erg 1sg.nnom from money take-1/2o-pst-2du/pl.h
‘You (hon, pl) asked me for money.’

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(159) hod-e rǝŋ aŋ-u baːt-jaː-ʤi-ri-ʧ

dem.dist.nvis-loc time 1sg-dat talk-tr-1/2o-imp-2du/pl.h
‘(When you will get tired,) that time you call me.’

Similarly, the following examples illustrate the difference between the 1/2
affected participant marker -ʧ/-ʧi and the middle marker allomorph -ʧi.

(160) somsi sǝr-o du

morning raise-prog aux.prs
‘In the morning (the prince) is raising (the priest from his sleep).’

(161) nasom niŋo-nu le sǝr-ʧi-ra

tomorrow 1ple-dat.pl emp raise-1/2o-imp
‘Tomorrow you should wake me up!’

(162) ʦʰeʦaʦ-oː sǝr-ʃ-e

girl-pl raise-mdl-pst
‘The girls woke up (on their own).’

This category is slightly reminiscent of egophoricity in Tibetic (e.g., in Navakat;

see Chapter 3), in that it concerns SAP verb arguments. The similarity ends
there, however, since the referent of the object index marker remains the same
in declaratives and in interrogatives. The “Object” index (including verb sup-
pletion of ‘give’ and ‘tell’) in Kinnauri occurs everytime we have a speech act
participant as the most affected participant (including in the dative subject
construction, see below).
And lastly, the deictic center in Kinnauri is broader than in some other ST
languages such as Lhasa Tibetan and Ladakhi in that in Kinnauri it includes
second person. In Lhasa Tibetan and Ladakhi a distinction is made between
first vs. non-first person, while in Kinnauri it is third person vs. non-third per-
son.

4.4 Copula Constructions

to, du and ni function both as equational and existential copulas (glossed here
as [cop]).79 The copulas to and du occur in non-future tenses, where clauses

79 ni can also function as a lexical verb. It then takes tense, aspect and subject indexing mark-
ers, e.g., raːm kim-o ma-ni-ts to ho [i.name house-loc neg-stay-hab aux.prs dsm.proba-
bly] ‘Ram probably does not stay at home.’ Joshi (1909) provides dush [be.3pl] (of the verb
nimig ‘to be’).

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involving the copula to may occur with all three persons as their subjects; the
copula du occurs here only with third person subjects. The copula ni, on the
other hand, occurs in all tenses. In the future tense it occurs with all persons,
where it takes the tense and subject indexing markers, but in the past and
present tenses it occurs only with third person subjects, where it does not take
any inflectional ending.

(163) gǝ maʃʈor to-k / *du-k

1sg.nom teacher cop.prs-1sg
‘I am a teacher.’

(164) ka maʃʈor to-n / *du-n

2sg.nh teacher cop.prs-2sg.nh
‘You are a teacher.’

(165) kǝtab dam to / du / ni

book good cop.prs
‘The book is good.’

(166) id raʣa du-gjo

one king cop-pst
‘There was a king.’

The distribution of to, du and ni with third person honorific and non-honorific
subjects is semantically conditioned. The semantic interpretations of to and
du with honorific subjects are different from their interpretations with non-
honorific subjects.
We will first consider the semantic interpretations associated with the cop-
ulas in clauses involving non-honorific subjects.
to in such constructions indicates that the subject is somehow related to the
speaker. This may either be because they are members of the same family or
because they are in physical proximity to each other.
du occurs in contexts where the subject does not belong to the speaker and
the speaker has no information or knowledge about the subject.
ni occurs where the hearer has some doubts either about the very existence
of the subject, or in identifying the subject as either A or B, while the speaker
definitely knows the answer (either because they saw it themselves or because
they have some way of knowing the truth).
to is used in example (165), when the book either belongs to the speaker or
is in their possession; du is used when the book neither belongs to the speaker

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nor is in their possession; ni is used if the hearer has some doubts concerning
the book being good, while the speaker knows that it is good.
The distribution and the semantic interpretations of the copulas (to, du and
ni), as described here, remain the same in the past tense.
The choice of the copulas to and du with honorific subjects in the copula
constructions is, on the other hand, determined by the animacy of the subject.
In non-experiencer subject copula constructions, to-ʃ occurs with animate sub-
jects and du-ʃ occurs with inanimate subjects. The semantic interpretation of
ni with honorific subjects remains the same as with non-honorific subjects (see
above).

(167) sudeʃ ʃare to-ʃ / *du-ʃ

i.name(f) beautiful.f cop-3h
‘Sudesh is beautiful.’

(168) sudeʃ ʃare to-ke-ʃ / *du-ge-ʃ

i.name(f) beautiful.f cop-pst-3h
‘Sudesh was beautiful.’

(169) do-goː-nu gas-oː dam du-ge(- ʃ) / *to-ke(- ʃ)

3-pl-pl.poss garment-pl good cop-pst(-3h)
‘Their clothes were good.’ (With inanimate subjects du is permitted.)

(170) ki-n gas-oː dam du-ge(- ʃ) / *to-ke(- ʃ)

2h-poss garment-pl good cop-pst(-3h)
‘Your clothes were good.’ (With inanimate subjects du is permitted.)

Tables 21–23 present the Kinnauri copula paradigms in the past, present and
future tenses in the declaratives. Here we can see the distribution of the copu-
las as well as the distribution of the subject indexing markers. As we can see in
these paradigms, while the copula du takes the past tense marker -ge and -gjo
(du-ge, du-gjo), the other copula to takes the past tense markers -ke and -kjo (to-
ke, to-kjo). As we saw in Section 2.3.2 above, the past tense marker -kjo occurs
with a sub-set of verbs where the verb-stem historically had a final -d. Since the
copula to also takes the past tense marker -kjo, it is possible that the copula to
historically had a stem-final -d.

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table 21 Kinnauri copula paradigm (declaratives): Past tense

Person SG PL

1 to-ke-k to-ke-ʧ (du, ple), to-ke-me (pli)

2nh to-ke-n to-ke-n(-oː) (du, pl)
2h to-ke-ɲ to-ke-ʧ (du, pl)
3nh to-ke, du-ge, to-kjo, du-gjo to-ke, du-ge, to-kjo, du-gjo (du, pl)
3h to-ke-ʃ, du-ge-ʃ to-ke-ʃ (-oː), du-ge-ʃ (-oː) (du, pl)
3du.h to-ke-suŋ, du-ge-suŋ (du), ni

table 22 Kinnauri copula paradigm (declaratives): Present

tense

Person SG PL

1 to-k to-ʧ (du, ple), tonne80 (pli)

2nh to-n to-n(-oː) (du, pl)
2h to-ɲ to-ʧ (du, pl)
3nh to, du, ni to, du, ni (du, pl)
3h du-ʃ, to-ʃ, ni to-ʃ (-oː), du-ʃ (-oː), ni (du, pl)
3du.h to-suŋ, du-suŋ, ni (du, pl)

table 23 Kinnauri copula paradigm (declaratives):

Future tense

Person SG PL

1 ni-tə-k ni-ti-ʧ (du, ple), ni-te (du, pli)

2nh ni-tə-n ni-ta81-n(oː) (du, pl)
2h ni-ti-ɲ ni-ti-ʧ (du, pl)
3nh ni-to ni-to(-goː) (du, pl)
3h ni-ti-ʃ ni-ti-ʃ (-oː) (du, pl)
3du.h ni-ti-suŋ (du), ni (du, pl)

80 to-me is not acceptable here.

81 This suffix is also frequently realized as -tə.

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Although the occurrence of the copula is not obligatory in declaratives, it

occurs rather frequently.

(171) ʦʰeʦaʦ-u naːmaŋ laʈeserzaŋ

girl-poss name i.name
‘The girl’s name (was) Latiserzang.’

(172) toro ta ama dam to-ʃ

today foc mother good cop-3h
‘Today mother is (feeling) good.’

While the copula du is not acceptable in declaratives with honorific human

subjects, it is permitted in the corresponding interrogative sentences with
(honorific) subjects:

(173) boa kim-o to-ʃ / *du-ʃ

father house-loc cop-3h
‘Father is at home’ (Both when the speaker has seen him at home and
when the speaker draws inference.)

(174) boa kim-o du-a / to-a / to-ʃ-a / du-ʃ-a

father house-loc cop-q cop-3h-q
‘Is father at home?’

(175) baːdur kim-o du-a / to-a

(Nepali.)farm.hand house-loc cop-q
‘Is the Nepali worker at home?’

(176) ki-n baja-ʦ kim-o du-a / ?to-a / to-ʃ-a / du-ʃ-a

2sg.h-poss brother-dim house-loc cop-q cop-3h-q
‘Is your brother at home?’

In possessive constructions while the copula to is preferred with human sub-

jects, the copula du is also acceptable among equals. This happens also with
third person honorific subjects.

(177) aŋ ʧʰaŋ dam to / du / to-ʃ / du-ʃ

1sg.nnom child good cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘My son is good.’

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(178) ki-n ama-boa dam to-ke-ʃ / du-ge-ʃ / du-ge

2sg.h-poss mother-father good cop-pst-3h cop-pst
‘Your parents were good.’

(179) ki-n ʧaʰŋ-oː dam du-ge / to-ke82

2sg.h-poss child-pl good cop-pst
‘Your children are good.’

(180) do-goː-nu ʧaʰŋ-oː dam to-ke-ʃ / du-ge-ʃ / to-ke / du-ge

3-pl-pl.poss child-pl good cop-pst-3h cop-pst
‘Their children are good.’

(181) ki-n kui ruʣa du / to / *du-ʃ / *to-ʃ

2sg.h-poss dog old cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘Your dog is old.’

Whether the object is honorific or nonhonorific (e.g. difference between a reli-

gious book and a fiction book) is not a significant factor in the choice of the
copula. As we can see below the copula choice remains the same with both a
religious and a non-religious book.

(182) aŋ kataːb dam to / du / *to-ʃ * / du-ʃ

1sg.nnom book good cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘My book (fiction) is good.’

(183) aŋ pothi dam du / to / *to-ʃ * / du-ʃ

1sg.nnom religious.book good cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘My religious book is good.’

Similarly, the copula choice is not sensitive to if the information which the lis-
tener receives is new to the listener or not.

(184) aŋ dəŋ (hodo) kitab to / *du

1sg.nnom com (dem.dist.nvis) book cop.prs
‘I have that book.’ (This occurs regardless of whether the listener knows
which book is being referred to.)

82 du-ge is preferred.

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(185) aŋ dəŋ id kinori ʃol to / *du / *to-ʃ / *du-ʃ

1sg.nnom com one kinnauri shawl cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘I have a kinnauri shawl.’ (This occurs regardless of whether the listener
knows which shawl is being referred to.)

4.5 Non-Copula Constructions

4.5.1 Non-Copula Constructions without Auxiliaries
The indexing markers are already described above. Here we will describe the
tense distinction. In this finite verb structure a future and past tense distinction
is made. This non-copula construction does not occur in the present tense.83

4.5.1.1 Future Tense

The future tense markers (-a/-ta, -i/-ti, -o/-to) and their distribution here are
the same as in the copula constructions (see Tables 23 and 26 above). The future
tense marker -a/-ta occurs with 1sg, 2sg.nh and 2pl.nh subjects. -a occurs with
verb stems ending in ʧ or ʃ and -ta elsewhere.

(186) pan-ʦ-i poʧ-a-k

grinding.stone-dim-emp search-fut-1sg
‘(I) will search for a grinding.stone.’

(187) gǝ ta ʦeik-u lo-ta-k

1sg.nom foc all-dat tell-fut-1sg
‘I will tell everyone.’

(188) ka ʧʰǝ gjaː-ta-n

2sg.nh what want-fut-2sg.nh
‘What do you want?’

As is the case in the copula construction, the future tense marker -i/-ti occurs,
here, too, with 1pl.excl, 2sg.h, 3sg.h and 3pl.h. -i occurs with verb stems end-
ing in -ʧ or ʃ, and -ti elsewhere.

(189) niŋo ham bjo-ti-ʧ

1ple where go-fut-2du/pl.h
‘Where will we go?’

83 A similar situation is found in some IA languages such as Hindi.

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(190) ʤo ki ʧʰǝ baːtaŋ ʃe-ti-ɲ

dem.prox 2sg.h what talk (n) send-fut-2h
‘What are you saying to her!? (to express astonishment)’

(191) dogoː84 raːʣgadi-u den ma-toʃ-i-ʃ

3pl throne-poss on neg-sit-fut-3h
‘He will not sit on the throne.’

(192) jumed tʰas-ti-ʃ

mother.in.law hear-fut-3h
‘(Your) mother-in-law will hear (the noise).’

The future tense marker -o/-to occurs with 3sg.nh and 3pl.nh subjects. -o
occurs with verb stems ending in -ʧ or -ʃ and -to elsewhere.

(193) ŋa ʧʰoŋ-oː rǝŋ ʃadi haʧ-o

five husband-pl com wedding become-fut
‘(Dropadi) will marry with five husbands.’

(194) ʤo-s kʰou ke-to

3sg-erg food give.1/2o-fut
‘S/He will give (you) food.’

(195) baniŋ ʤǝg-to

pot break-fut
‘The pot will break.’

(196) baniŋ-oː ʤǝg-to

pot-pl break-fut
‘The pots will break.’

In addition, a future marker -e/-te occurs in narrative text with 1du subjects. -e
occurs after the middle voice marker -ʃ,85 while -te occurs with transitive verb
forms. It has a cohortative (‘let’s’) interpretation.86

84 The plural pronominal form is being used here to refer to a singular person (Bharat ‘a
mythical character in Ramayana’) as a marker of respect.
85 The middle voice is realized here as -ʃ, and never as -ʃi.
86 -e in this position can also have the past tense interpretation. E.g. sa-ʃ-e can mean both
[wake.up-mdl-chrt] ‘Let’s wake up!’ and [wake.up-mdl-pst] ‘(s/he) woke up (on her/his
own)’.

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 99

(197) ʤanekaŋ bjo-mu ʈu-jaː-ʃ-e

wedding go-inf get.ready-tr-mdl-chrt
‘Let’s get ready for the wedding.’

(198) ʤanekaŋ bjo-mu ʧʰaŋ-u ʈu-jaː-te

wedding go-inf child-dat get.ready-tr-chrt
‘Let’s get the child ready for the wedding.’

(199) ʃel-ʃ-e
smear-mdl-chrt
‘Let’s smear oil!’87

(200) tete-pəŋ telaŋ ʃel-te

grandfather-dat oil smear-chrt
‘Let’s smear some oil on grandfather!’

4.5.1.2 Past Tense

The past tense markers which occur in this finite verb structure are: -ge/-gi/
-ke/-ki, -gjo/-kjo, -a/-ja, -gjə, -e, -o and Ø. They are grouped here in three sets: Set
1: -ge/-gi/-ke/-ki, -gjo/-kjo, and Set 2: -o, -a/-ja, -e, Ø and Set 3: -gjə.
Set 1 occurs in both copula and non-copula constructions, where -gjo/-kjo
occurs with third person (sg, pl) non-honorific subjects.88
The k-initial allomorphs in Set 1 appear after voiceless consonants and also
in some other contexts, notably in verbs whose infinitives end in -nnu. For
example, bə-kjo, bə-ki-ʃ (bəd-o ‘come-prog’, bənnu ‘to come’), sa-kjo (sad-o [kill-
prog], sannu ‘to kill’).

87 This could mean that they smear oil onto one another. It can also occur in a context where
the smearing of oil is presented as a group activity.
88 -gjo occurs in Kanashi, too. In the following IA languages we have found -gjo as a (remote)
past tense/participle: In Hadoti, an IA language spoken in Rajasthan (Dwivedi 2012), -gjo
functions as the remote past participle. -gjo in Hadoti inflects for gender and number (-gjo
(m), -gi (f)). E.g. khagjo [ate.m.sg], khagja [ate.m.pl], khagji [ate.f.sg], khagje [ate.f.pl].
In Hadoti the past participle (i.e., non-remote past) markers are -to (m)/-ti (f). Marwari,
too, has -gjo in past tense (e.g. margjɔ ‘(he) died’, ʤalgjɔ ‘got burnt’). It is very likely that
the past tense interpretation in such languages is a grammaticalized function of the past
form of the verb ‘go’ in Hindi: gajaa ‘went’. Unlike Hindi, in these languages the forms end
in -o/-ɔ. In terms of its form and function, -gjo shows similarities with -gjo in Kinnauri.
But in Kinnauri and Kanashi it does not inflect for gender. Another possible IA alterna-
tive could be the IA/Hindi kijaa ‘did’ as the source of this past tense marker -kjo/-gjo. If
this hypothesis holds, the influence is from IA to Kinnauri/Kanashi.

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Further, the past tense marker in non-copula constructions is always fol-

lowed by the honorific marker -ʃ. The forms without the honorific marker are
unacceptable (e.g. *lo-ke [say-pst] but lo-ki-ʃ is acceptable, *kar-ge [bring.1/2o-
pst], but kar-gi-ʃ is acceptable, *taŋ-ge [observe-pst] but taŋ-gi-ʃ is accept-
able).
-gi (not -ge) is always used before the 3h indexing marker and -ki (not -ke)
in some lexically conditioned cases, notably in verbs whose infinitives end in
-nnu (e.g. toʃi-gi-ʃ [sit-pst-3h]; stuk-ki-ʃ [push-pst-3h], stugmu ‘to push’; ʣok-
ki-ʃ [buy-pst-3h], ʣogmu ‘to buy’).
When the verb stem ends with a nasal, the consonant of the past tense
marker (-g/-k) is not always articulated explicitly in fast speech (e.g. paːŋ-i-ʃ
[build-pst-3h]).
The Set 2 and Set 3 past tense markers occur only in the non-copula con-
struction. The Set 2 past tense markers -a/-ja, -o, Ø occur with all persons and
numbers. Their distribution is complementary. Some verbs (e.g. ʧimu ‘to wash’)
only take the past tense marker -o whereas other verbs (e.g. bjomu ‘to go’, ʣaːmu
‘to eat’, toʃimu ‘to sit’) only permit Ø as their past tense marker (e.g. bjo-k [go-
1sg]).
Table 24 illustrates Set 1 and Set 2 past tense markers (see in the text below
for a description of Set 3). The Set 1 finite verb forms are illustrated here with
3sg.nh and 3sg.h (in this order, see column 2). It shows that all verbs permit
both past tense makers of this set. The Set 2 finite verb forms are illustrated
here with the 1sg, 3sg.nh and 3sg.h subject indexing markers (in this order).
As we see here a verb permits either the past tense marker Ø (column 3), -o
(column 4) or -a/-ja (column 5).

table 24 Set 1 and Set 2 past tense markers

Infinitive form Set 1: Set 2: Ø Set 2: -o Set 2: -a/-ja

-gjo/-kjo (3sg.nh), (1sg, 3sg.nh,

-ge/-gi/-ke/-ki (3sg.h) 3sg.h)

bjomu ‘to go’ bjo-gjo, bjo-gi-ʃ bjo-k, bjo, bjo-ʃ

ʋannu ‘to laugh’ ʋa-kjo, ʋa-ki-ʃ ʋa-k, ʋa, ʋa-ʃ
ʣaːmu ‘to eat’ ʣaː-gjo, ʣaː-ge-ʃ ʣaː-k, ʣaː, ʣaː-ʃ
ʧimu ‘to wash’ ʧi-gjo, ʧi-ge-ʃ ʧi-o-k, ʧi-o, ʧi-o-ʃ
ʧemu ‘to write’ ʧe-gjo, ʧe-ge-ʃ ʧe-o-k, ʧe-o, ʧe-o-ʃ
taŋmu ‘to observe’ taŋ-gjo, taŋ-ge-ʃ taŋ-o-k, taŋ-o, taŋ-o-ʃ
karmu ‘to bring’ kar-gjo, kar-ge-ʃ kar-a-k, kar-a, kar-a-ʃ

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri 101

When the finite verb has the object indexing marker -ʧ, -e occurs as the Set
2 past tense marker.

(201) ʧʰaŋ-is ʦʰeʦaʦ-u kul-o

boy-erg girl-dat beat-pst
‘The boy beat the girl.’

(202) ʧʰaŋ-is aŋ-u kul-ʧ-e

boy-erg 1sg-dat beat-1/2o-pst
‘The boy hit me.’

(203) raːm-is ʦʰeʦaʦ-u ar-jaː-ʃ

i.name-erg girl-dat call-tr-3h
‘Ram called the girl.’

(204) raːm-is aŋ-u ar-jaː-ʧ-e-ʃ

i.name-erg 1sg-dat call-tr-1/2o-pst-3h
‘Ram called me.’

Similarly, when the verb stem has the middle voice marker -ʃi (see Section
4.1.3.3), -e functions as the past tense marker.

(205) sjano-goː ʧʰuk-ʃ-e-ʃ

o.person-pl meet-mdl-pst-h
‘(Those) old people met (each other).’

As we saw earlier, both Set 1 and Set 2 past tense markers are permitted with
third person subjects. Their distribution is evidentially determined. With non-
honorific subjects the Set 1 past tense markers (-ge/-gi/-ke/-ki and -gjo/-kjo)
occur when the speaker has not seen with their own eyes that which is being
described. The Set 2 past tense markers (-o, -a/-ja, -e, Ø) occur, on the other
hand, when the speaker saw with their own eyes that which is being described.
This distinction holds also with third person honorific subjects. The Set 2
marker occurs when the speaker has direct knowledge—having seen it them-
selves; but if the speaker does not have direct knowledge, the Set 1 past tense
marker -ge occurs instead (compare 206 and 207).

(206) lamaːʤi kim-o bjo-ʃ

lama.h house-loc go-h
‘The honorable lama went home. (Direct knowledge)’

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102 chapter 2

(207) lamaːʤi kim-o bjo-gi-ʃ

lama.h house-loc go-pst-h
‘The honorable lama went home. (Indirect knowledge)’

The Set 3 past tense marker -gjə occurs with subjects in all persons (e.g. ʣaː-gjə-
n [eat-pst-2sg.nh], bjo-gjə-n [go-pst-2sg.nh], ʋa-gjə-ʃ [laugh-pst-3h], ʧi-gjə-
k [wash-pst-1sg], ʧe-gjə-k [write-pst-1sg], taŋ-gjə-k [observe-pst-1sg], kər-
gjə-k [bring-pst-1sg], kul-gjə [beat-pst], ʧʰuk-ʃi-gjə-ʃ [meet-mdl-pst-3h], ar-
jaː-ʧi-gjə [call-tr-1/2o-pst] for example). It is also realized as -gji with the 3h
subject indexing marker. It expresses that something was contrary to expecta-
tions. For instance, if the speaker first believes that s/he has not brought X, or an
interlocutor expresses doubts about this, and it then turns out that the speaker
in fact has brought X, s/he can use -gjə to convey this: kər-gjə-k [bring-pst-1sg]
‘I did bring (it)’.

4.5.2 Auxiliary Construction

4.5.2.1 Auxiliaries
In this finite structure to and du (originating in copulas) function as auxiliaries
(glossed here as [aux]). The auxiliary carries the tense and the subject index-
ing markers, while the aspect marker and object indexing marker is affixed to
the main verb. Kinnauri makes a three-way aspectual distinction: perfective,
habitual and progressive.
The auxiliaries to and du occur with all persons, numbers and aspects in the
finite verb structure V(-o.idx)-asp (aux(-tns)-idx). Their occurrence is, how-
ever, not obligatory. Unlike copula constructions, in non-copula constructions
du (along with to) occurs as an auxiliary also with first and second person sub-
jects (210–214), apparently without any change in meaning (including if the
duration of an event is or is not in focus).

(208) gə kamaŋ lan-o du-k

1sg.nom work(n) make-prog aux.prs-1sg
‘I am working.’

(209) sonam-is id tʰar sa~sa du-ge

i.name-erg one leopard kill~pfv aux-pst
‘Sonam killed a leopard.’

(210) gǝ jal~jal jag-o du-k / to-k

1sg.nom tire~pfv sleep-prog aux-1sg
‘Having gotten tired, I am sleeping’

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(211) niŋo baʣaːr-o bjo-u du-ʧ / to-ʧ

1ple market-loc go-prog aux-1du/pl.excl
‘We are going to the market.’

(212) ki baʣaːr-o bjo-u du-ɲ / to-ɲ

2sg.h market-loc go-prog aux-2sg.h
‘You are going to the market.’

(213) gǝ jal~jal jag-o du-ge-k / to-ke-k

1sg.nom tire~pfv sleep-prog aux-pst-1sg
‘Having gotten tired, I was sleeping.’

(214) ka kǝnoriŋ toʃ-o du-ge-n / to-ke-n

2sg.nh p.name sit-prog aux-pst-2sg.nh
‘You were living in Kinnaur.’

(215) hodo kui maʈiŋ-u den din~din du / to

dem.dist.nvis dog floor-poss on lie~pfv aux.prs
‘That dog has lain down on the floor.’

However, in the following two instances some traces of evidentiality associated

with the copulas to and du can be inferred from remarks made by a language
consultant. In (216), according to the language consultant to-ke occurs in this
example when the speaker has the direct knowledge that Tanzin used to live
in Kinnaur. This could, for example, be because the speaker, too, used to live in
Kinnaur then. In example (217) du is preferred when the subject is not known to
the speaker. But in the previously given examples the same language consultant
refused to entertain any such interpretation in the choice of the auxiliaries.

(216) tanʣin kǝnoriŋ toʃ-o du-ge / to-ke

i.name p.name sit-prog aux-pst
‘Tanzin was living in Kinnaur.’

(217) sonam jal~jal jag-o du-ʃ / to-ʃ

i.name tire~pfv sleep-prog aux.prs-3h
‘Having gotten tired, Sonam is sleeping.’

The object indexing marker has already been described. Its distribution in this
construction remains the same as described above. In the following sections
we will describe the distribution of the various aspect markers.

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4.5.2.2 Perfective Aspect

The perfective aspect is marked by -is or reduplication of the final syllable of
the verb (e.g. taŋ~taŋ [observe~pfv], cf. taŋmu ‘to observe’). Their distribution
is phonologically conditioned. -is occurs when the verb ends in -ʧ or -ʃ. Redu-
plication occurs in all other cases.

(218) sonam-is me id kǝtab huʃ-is du

i.name-erg yesterday one book read-pfv aux.prs
‘Sonam has read a book yesterday.’

(219) sonam-is raːm ʃi-mu baːtaŋ tʰas~tʰas du

i.name-erg i.name die-inf talk(n) hear~pfv aux.prs
‘Sonam has heard the news of Ram’s death.’

Most Kinnauri verbs are monosyllabic. Thus, the perfective is the reduplicated
form of the whole verb stem. However, when the verb stem is longer, the per-
fective is formed by reduplicating the final syllable of the verb stem (compare
219 and 220) (see Section 4.1.3.4.1 for a possible exception).
Two verbs, lannu ‘to do, make’ and rannu ‘give’, permit two variants each in
PFV: lan~lan ~ la~la; ran~ran ~ ra~ra. According to language consultants there
is no difference in meaning and this is not a dialectal difference either.

(220) gǝ dilli bjo-mu sunʦe~ʦe to-k

1sg.nom p.name go-inf think~pfv aux-1sg
‘I have thought of going to Delhi.’

The perfective aspect occurs in finite clauses with all tenses and numbers. It
also occurs in four non-final constructions. First, it occurs in non-final clauses
in the clause chain construction (see example 221). Second, it occurs as the
main verb in a complex verb construction (e.g., 222).

(221) do kǝtab huʃ-is kʰou ʣaː~ʣaː jag-o

3sg book read-pfv food eat~pfv sleep-pst
‘S/He read a book, ate food and (then) slept.’

(222) hudu dak-ʧ baniŋ ʤǝg~ʤǝg bjo

dem.dist.nvis.poss near-abl pot break(intr)~pfv go.pst
‘The pot got broken through him.’

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Third, it also occurs as a non-final clause where it has a temporal adverbial

interpretation:

(223) gǝ-s mi-pǝŋ gitʰaŋ lan~lan nipi taŋ-o-k

1sg-erg man-dat song make~pfv subo observe-pst-1sg
‘I looked at the man after the man sang a song.’
‘I looked at the man after I sang a song.’

Fourth, it also functions as the past participle verb form (compare 224 and 225).

(224) raːm bǝ~bǝ

i.name come~pfv
‘Ram came.’

(225) dilli-ʧ bǝ~bǝ mi

p.name-abl come~pfv man
‘The man who came from Delhi’

4.5.2.3 Habitual Aspect

Habitual aspect in Kinnauri is marked by -id/-ʦ. -id occurs after -ʧ or -ʃ (verb-
stem final or the object indexing marker); -ʦ occurs elsewhere.

(226) gǝ djaːro ʧʰaŋ-oː-nu taŋ-ʦ du-k

1sg.nom every.day boy-pl-dat.pl observe-hab aux-1sg
‘I look at the boys every day.’

(227) niŋo hojo kim-o toʃ-id

1ple dem.prox house-loc sit-hab
‘We live in this house.’

The habitual marker describes non-referential situations (229, 231), while the
progressive aspect marker describes specific, referential situation (228, 230).

(228) sonam jal~jal jag-o

i.name tire~pfv sleep-prog
‘Having gotten tired, Sonam is sleeping (right now).’

(229) sonam jal~jal jag-ʦ

i.name tire~pfv sleep-hab
‘Having gotten tired, Sonam sleeps (= has the habit of falling asleep).’

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(230) ʦʰeʦʰaʦ gas-oː ʧi-o to-ʃ

girl garment-pl wash-prog aux-3h
‘The girl is washing clothes (just now).’

(231) ʦʰeʦʰaʦ gas-oː ʧi-ʦ to-ʃ

girl garment-pl wash-hab aux-3h
‘The girl washes clothes (e.g. every day).’

As was the case with the perfective aspect marker, the habitual aspect marker,
too, has certain additional functions. It functions as the present participle
marker89 (e.g. 232–233) and as the agentive nominalizer (e.g. 234–235).

(232) gǝ-s gitʰaŋ lan-ʦ mi-pǝŋ taŋ-o-k

1sg-erg song make-hab man-dat observe-pst-1sg
‘I looked at the man while he (= the man) was singing.’
‘I looked at the man while I was singing.’

(233) gǝ-s sita uʧ-id taŋ-o-k

1sg-erg i.name sulk-hab observe-pst-1sg
‘I saw Sita sulking.’

(234) jag-ʦ [ jakʦ] ʧʰaŋ-oː

sleep-hab child-pl
‘Children who are sleeping’

(235) maʈiŋ-u den toʃ-id ʧʰaŋ

floor-poss on sit-hab child
‘The child who is sitting on the floor’

4.5.2.4 Progressive Aspect

The progressive aspect marker is -o. The verb stem with the progressive aspect
can optionally be followed by an auxiliary (to(-idx) or du(-idx)). Examples are
illustrated here with the auxiliary du.

89 ʃi-ʦ-oː [die-hab-pl] occurs as a frozen expression to refer to those who have died, but
whose souls have not rested completely (their presence is felt by their living relatives in
the form of illness/difficult times).

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V (inf) V-prog aux.prs

ʧʰomu ʧʰo-o du [tan-prog aux.prs]

sumu su-o du [bathe(tr)-prog aux.prs]
gʋaʃimu gʋaʃi-o du [jump-mdl-prog aux.prs]
grumu gru-o du [burn(intr)-prog aux.prs]
hunnu hun-o du [teach-prog aux.prs]
kʰerjaːmu kʰer-j-o du [chase-tr-prog aux.prs]
nimu ni-o du [nijo du] [stay-prog aux.prs]
ʈujaːmu ʈu-j-o du [make-tr-prog aux.prs]
piʤjaːmu piʤ-j-o du [pray-tr-prog aux.prs]
toljaːmu tol-j-o du [weigh-tr-prog aux.prs]
ʃojaːmu ʃo-j-o du [sweep-tr-prog aux.prs]
ʧimu ʧi-o du [wash-prog aux.prs]
tremu tre-o du [knead-prog aux.prs]
arjaːmu ar-j-o du [invite-tr-prog aux.prs]
najpjaːmu nap-j-o du [measure-tr-prog aux.prs]
rokʰjaːmu rokʰ-j-o du [prevent-tr-prog aux.prs]
ʧemu ʧe-o du [write-prog aux.prs]
kʰimu, kʰjamu kʰi-o du [see-prog aux.prs]
imu i-o du [ask-prog aux.prs]
buʈrjaːmu buʈr-j-o du [rub-tr-prog aux.prs]
kulugmu kulug-o du [fold-prog aux.prs]
buʈrjaːʃimu buʈr-jaː-ʃ-o du [rub-tr-prog aux.prs]
ɖabʃimu ɖab-ʃ-o du [pull-mdl-prog aux.prs]
sikjaːʃimu sik-jaː-ʃ-o du [move-tr-prog aux.prs]
ʧʰukʃimu ʧʰuk-ʃ-o du [meet-mdl-prog aux.prs]
legʧimu leg-ʧ-o du [burn-mdl-prog aux.prs]

(236) ʦʰeʦʰaʦ gas-oː ʧi-o to-ʃ

girl garment-pl wash-prog aux-3h
‘The girl is washing clothes.’

(237) aŋ-u əkʰa ker-o du-ge

1sg-dat pain give.1/2o-prog aux-pst
‘I was having pain.’

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With a restricted set of verbs the progressive aspect marker is realized as -u.
In some of these instances the regular progressive aspect marker is also attested
in our material. Examples, ʣo-u [eat-prog]; to-u [keep-prog] ~ phjo(-o), pʰjo-
u [take.away-prog]; bjo-u ~ bo-o [go-prog].
The progressive aspect marker, like other aspect markers, also occurs in some
non-final clauses. First, it functions in some cases in a participial usage as a
noun modifier indicating an ongoing action.

(238) ʃi-o mi
die-prog man
‘The dying man (= he is not dead yet; he is in the process of dying)’

But in other instances the progressive aspect is not possible, and the habitual
aspect marker occurs instead. For example,

(239) krab-ʦ / *krab-o ʧʰaŋ

cry-hab / cry-prog boy
‘the crying boy’

(240) jag-ʦ / *jag-o ʧʰaŋ

sleep-hab / sleep-prog boy
‘the boy who is sleeping’, ‘the boy who sleeps’

(241) maʈiŋ-u den toʃ-id / *toʃ-o ʧʰaŋ

floor-poss on sit-hab child
‘The child who is sitting on the floor’

(242) gǝ-s gitʰaŋ lan-ʦ / *lan-o mi-pǝŋ taŋ-o-k

1sg-erg song make-hab / make-prog man-dat observe-pst-1sg
‘I looked at the man while he (= the man) was singing.’
‘I looked at the man while I was singing.’

Second, it also occurs as a non-final clause verb in the clause chain construc-
tion, where it describes temporal overlap.

(243) suraʤ-is krab-o=gi ʦeik rəŋ-o

i.name-erg cry-prog=emp all tell.1/2o-pst
‘Crying, Suraj told (me) everything.’

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The progressive marker is also used for the immediate future:

(244) gǝ hun bjo-u / *bjo-ts to-k

1sg.nom now go-prog / go-hab aux-1sg
‘I am going now’

(245) gǝ nasom hju taim-o bus-o toʃ-o

1sg.nom tomorrow now time-loc bus-loc sit-prog
ni-ta-k
aux-fut-1sg
‘Tomorrow by this time I’ll be in the bus’

In some instances the time-span of an event is longer than the speech-time.

In the following example the progressive marker occurs in a situation which
could be taken as a habitual description.

(246) gun-o june no baʣe ʣǝr-o du / to-ʃ

winter-loc sun nine time rise-prog aux.prs / aux.prs-3h
‘(This year) during winter sun rises at nine o’clock’

While if we want to say ‘during winters’ (not a particular year’s winter, but dur-
ing winter generally speaking), the habitual marker occurs instead.

(247) gun-o june no baʣe ʣǝr-ts du / to-ʃ

winter-loc sun nine time rise-ipfv aux.prs / aux.prs-3h
‘During winters the sun (normally) rises at nine o’clock’

4.6 Negation
4.6.1 Copula Negation
As Table 25 shows, the two negative copula forms in the present tense, are: (i)
ma-ni and (ii) neg-idx. The latter has a neutral negative interpretation, while
ma-ni has a contrastive interpretation. Like the copula ni in the declarative
clauses, ma-ni negates what the other person is claiming. Further, as in the
declarative clauses, in the negative construction too, it does not take any inflec-
tional ending.
In the past tense, maʦʰ, ma-ke-idx, ma-du-ge and ma-du-gjo function as the
negative copula (equational, existential) forms. ma-du-ge occurs with third per-
son non-honorific subjects and ma-ke-idx occurs with third person honorific
subjects as well as with first/second person subjects. Note that in ma-ke-idx
[neg-pst-idx] there is no copula. One possible scenario could be that the cop-

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ula to gets deleted in the negative copula constructions with non-3 subjects, but
retains the past allomorph -ke, resulting in ma-ke-idx (neg-pst-idx).

table 25 Negation: Equational and existential copula (Present tense)

SG DU/PL

1 ma-ni ma-ni
ma-k ma-ʧ (du, excl)
ma-me (incl)
*ma-suŋ
2h ma-ni ma-ni
ma-ɲ ma-ʧ
*ma-suŋ
2nh ma-ni ma-ni
ma-n ma-n(-oː)
*ma-suŋ
3nh (animate, inanimate) ma-ni ma-ni
ma-du ma-du
*ma-to *ma-to, *ma-suŋ
3h (animate, inanimate) ma-ni ma-ni
ma-ʃ ma-ʃ (-oː)
*ma-du-ʃ,90 *ma-to-ʃ ma-suŋ (h, du)
*ma-du-ʃ, *ma-to-ʃ

(248) gə kim-o maʦʰ / ma-ke-k

1sg.nom house-loc neg.cop.pst neg-pst-1sg
‘I was not at home.’

(249) ka kim-o maʦʰ / ma-ke-n

2sg.nh house-loc neg.cop.pst neg-pst-2sg.nh
‘You were not at home.’

(250) do kim-o maʦʰ / ma-du-ge / ma-du-gjo

3sg house-loc neg.cop.pst neg-cop-pst neg-cop-pst
‘S/He was not at home.’

90 ma-du-ʃ occurs in the experiencer subject construction. For example, do-goː-n(u) dukʰaŋ
ma-du-ʃ [3-pl-dat.pl sad neg-cop-3sg.h] ‘They are not sad’.

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(251) do-goː kim-o maʦʰ / ma-du-ge

3-pl house-loc neg.cop.pst neg-cop-pst
‘They were not at home.’

(252) gə raŋk maʦʰ / ma-ke-k

1sg.nom tall neg.cop.pst / neg-pst-1sg
‘I was not tall.’

(253) ka raŋk maʦʰ / ma-ke-n

2sg.nh tall neg.cop.pst / neg-pst-2sg.nh
‘You were not tall.’

(254) do raŋk maʦʰ / ma-du-ge / ma-du-gjo

3sg tall neg.cop.pst / neg-cop-pst
‘S/He was not tall.’

(255) do-goː raŋk maʦʰ / ma-du-ge / ma-du-gjo

3-pl tall neg.cop.pst / neg-cop-pst
‘S/He was not tall.’

maʦʰ also has a ‘without’ interpretation. It occurs in all tenses.

(256) ʦiːni maʦʰ ʧa(ː) to / to-ke / ni-to

sugar neg.cop.pst tea cop.prs / cop-pst / cop-fut
‘The tea is / was / will be without sugar.’

(257) kʰou matsʰ kim-o-ʧ hala bjo du-ɲ

food neg.cop.pst house-loc-abl how go.prog aux-2sg.h
‘How are you leaving home without food.’

The negative copulas also occur in the following ‘or not’-constructions.

(258) kisi babu to-ʧ-a ma-ʧ

2du clerk cop-2pl.h-q neg-2pl.h
‘Are the two of you clerks or not?’

(259) do kim-o du-a ma-du

3sg house-loc cop.prs-q neg-cop.prs
‘Is he in the house or not?’

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(260) do babu du-ge-a ma-du-ge

3sg clerk cop-pst-q neg-cop-pst
‘Was he a clerk or not?’

Table 26 summarizes the distribution of the negative copulas in the future

tense.

table 26 Equational and existential copula negation:

Future tense

SG PL

1 ma-ni-kma-ni-ʧ (du, excl)

ma-ni-me (incl)
2h ma-ni-ɲ ma-ni-ʧ
2nh ma-ni-n ma-ni-n(-oː)
3nh ma-ni-to ma-ni-to
3h ma-ni-ʃ ma-ni-suŋ (du, h), ma-ni-ʃ (-oː)

4.6.2 Negation in Non-Copula Constructions

In the non-prohibitive non-copula constructions in Kinnauri, the negative
marker is ma-. It occurs in all tenses and aspects. In the negative finite verb
structure neg-V(-o.idx)(-tns)-idx, in most cases, there is no explicit tense
marker when there is an indexing marker. Temporal interpretation is gathered
from the context. There are some verbs which permit an explicit past tense
marker. E.g. ma-tuŋ-o-k [neg-drink-pst-1sg], but even with verbs such as these
which allow the past tense marker, the alternative verb form with no past tense
marker is also possible here. For example, ma-tuŋ-k [neg-drink-1sg] can have
a past as well as a future interpretation in appropriate context.
In the finite verb structure V(-o.idx)-asp aux(-tns)(-idx), ma- may be pre-
fixed either to the main verb or to the auxiliary.

(261) hun-nja ʧʰə-ʦ-i ma-taː~taː ker-o-n

now-day what-dim-emp neg-keep~pfv give-pst-2nh
‘Now there was nothing left.’

(262) gə-s sara baʣaːr ʣog~ʣog ma-ʃe-k

1sg-erg whole market buy~pfv neg-send-1sg
‘I did not buy the entire market.’

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The negative marker ma- also occurs in non-final clauses.

(263) hasəl ma-jun-mig dam ni-ʦ

fast neg-walk-nmlz good stay-hab
‘It is good not to walk fast.’

(264) ki ma-kʰja~kʰja baːte~te

2sg.h neg-see~pfv speak~pfv
‘You spoke without having seen.’

Lastly, the negative marker occurs also in a frozen expression ma-ni-ma, rough-
ly meaning ‘otherwise’.

(265) ma-ni-ma ta ʃi-tə-k

neg-stay-nmlz foc die-fut-1sg
‘(Give me food), Otherwise, (I) will die.’

The IA negative morpheme na occurs, at times, in natural discourse as a tag

question.

(266) ki ta nasom bjo-ti-ɲ be na

2sg.h foc tomorrow go-fut-2sg.h dsm neg
‘You will go tomorrow, right?’

4.7 Imperative and Prohibitive

4.7.1 Imperative
The verb ‘come’ is the only verb that has two separate verb forms for non-
imperative and imperative, namely, bə (nimp) and ʤi91 (imp).

(267) bapu pəŋ kʰja~kʰja ʤi-ri-ɲ

father dat see~pfv come.imp-imp-2h
‘(After) having seen (our) father, (please) come (back)!’

Other verbs take one of the following inflectional endings (Saxena 2002):

(proh-)V-imp(-1/2o) -imp: -riɲ : -iɲ/-ɲ : -iʧ/-ʧ : -ra : -o : -u : Ø

91 ʤi is realized as ʤə in the narratives when it is followed by the imperative marker -ra (i.e.,
ʤə-ra).

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While most verbs permit the zero imperative marker (e.g. bjo [go.imp],92 rəŋ
[tell.1/2o.imp], haled [stroll/take.a.walk.imp], vad [laugh.imp], sad [kill.imp],
ran [give.imp], pa [depart.imp], tuŋ [drink.imp], pʰjo [take.away.imp], pʰol
[tear.imp], gol [tear.imp]), a restricted set of verbs take -o or -u instead (e.g.
ni-ju [stay-imp], kʰj-o [see-imp]). Note that verbs permit either the zero alter-
native or the -o/-u alternative (except for the verb ʤi [come.imp] which does
not allow either of the two alternatives). The occurrence of -i in the suffixes
-iɲ/-ɲ and -iʧ/-ʧ is phonologically conditioned. It occurs when the verb stem
ends with a consonant. The various inflectional endings are exemplified here:

-riɲ -iɲ/-ɲ -iʧ/-ʧ -ra Ø

rannu ‘to give’ ran-riɲ ran-iɲ ran-iʧ ran-ra ran

kemu [give.1/2o.inf] ke-riɲ ke-ɲ ke-ʧ ke-ra kjo *ke
ʧemu ‘to write’ ʧe-riɲ ʧe-ɲ ʧe-ʧ ʧe-ra ʧjo *ʧe
ʣaːmu ‘to eat’ ʣaː-riɲ ʣaː-ɲ ʣaː-ʧ ʣaː-ra ʣo
lannu ‘to make’ lan-riɲ lan-iɲ lan-iʧ lan-ra lan
pannu ‘to depart’ pa-riɲ pa-iɲ pa-iʧ pa-ra pa
ʈhismu ‘to hit the ground’ ʈhis-riɲ ʈhis-iɲ ʈhis-iʧ ʈhis-ra ʈhis
ʤi [come.imp] ʤi-riɲ ʤi-ɲ ʤi-ʧ ʤi-ra *ʤi, *ʤo, *ʤu

The following examples illustrate the imperative verb inflectional suffixes.

(268) hales ni-ma=le taː~taː taː-riɲ

how stay-nmlz=too keep~pfv keep-imp
‘(The king wrote): “Whatever he is like, please keep (our son).” ’

(269) hode-rǝŋ aŋ-u baːt-jaː-ʤi-ri-ʧ

dem.dist.nvis.loc-com 1sg-dat talk-tr-1/2o-imp-2pl
‘(When you get tired,) then call me.’

92 In a small set of verbs, the zero-marked imperative is the same as one of the past verb
forms with third person non-honorific subjects (do bjo [3sg go.pst] ‘he went’, bjo [go.imp]
‘Go!’; rakses-is pʰjo [demon-erg take.away.pst] ‘The demon took away (the daughter)’, pʰjo
[take.away.imp] ‘take off!’). The distinction in function is indicated here by means of into-
nation/prosody and the discourse context of the utterance. Further, while the verb form
is often repeated while giving orders, this seldom occurs with declaratives in natural dis-
course.

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(270) bjo-ɲ / bi-ɲ93

go-imp
‘(Please) go!’

(271) kʰou taː~taː to ʣaː-ra94

food keep~pfv cop.prs eat-imp
‘The food is kept there. Eat (it)!’

(272) kui-u haraː ran

dog-dat bone.pl give.imp
‘Give the bones to the dog!’

-ɲ is the 2sg.h subject indexing marker and -ʧ is the 2pl.h subject indexing
marker (see Section 4.2). In the imperative constructions -ʧ also occurs, at
times, with singular subjects and in situations where the referent is a mem-
ber of a group (e.g. while the direct referent is one sister, who, in this scene, is
together with her other sisters).

(273) pǝ mi ʃiŋ-oː kar-mu bjo- ʧ id aŋ rig-oː

four man wood-pl bring-inf go-2pl one 1sg.nnom louse-pl
ʦʰǝgoː95 kʰja-mu / kʰi-mu96 kim-o toʃ-i-ʧ
whatnot see-inf house-loc sit-imp-2pl
‘“Four (of you) go to take (bring) wood! One (of you) stay at home to
see my lice, etc.!”’

The distribution of the imperative verb inflectional morphology reflects a com-

plex interplay of a range of semantic and pragmatic factors. Variables such as
honorificity, social hierarchy, cultural norms about displaying respect, relative
age of interlocutors, and whether the utterance should be viewed as a con-
cise instruction, a suggestion, an advice or a command are some determinant
factors concerning the choice of the imperative markers (see Saxena 2007 for
details).

93 Dialectal difference.
94 When the verb stem ends with an -r before the imperative suffix -ra, the former is deleted.
E.g. ʃupa ibaraŋ pʰoʃa rǝŋ ʃiŋo kara ‘in the evening bring a sackfull of deer meat and a sack-
full of wood.’ (karmu ‘to bring’).
95 ʦʰǝ-goː [what-pl].
96 Dialectal difference.

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The various imperative suffixes encode different points on the continuum.

-riɲ is the most polite form of requesting (weak command) and Ø (zero) / -o /
-u is the most “direct” form of command. There are examples which could be
viewed both as an advice urging and as an instruction in the narrative data cor-
pus. The choice of the imperative marker by the speaker seems to reflect the
perspective which s/he takes in such cases.
An example illustrating the use of the imperative markers in Kinnauri nar-
ratives is presented below.97 It illustrates the determinant role socio-cultural
factors play in the choice of the imperative markers. In (274) we have two
instances of the imperative markers (bi-ɲ and lo-riɲ).
The choice of two different types of imperatives within the same context
by the same speaker (narrator of the story as well as the speaker in the story)
illustrate how the socio-cultural and pragmatic values are discretely encoded
in the choice of the grammatical markers in Kinnauri. In the Kinnauri speech
community one may give instructions to one’s sisters (even in respectful situ-
ations), whereas giving concise instructions command to (about) one’s father
normally is to be avoided.

(274) jal~jal lo-kjo ʦeik-u gaʈo-ʦ-(s)eː pəŋ bi-ɲ bapu

tire~pfv tell-pst all-poss small-dim-cntr.f dat go-imp father
pəŋ lo-riɲ
dat say-imp
‘Having gotten tired, they told the youngest (sister): “Please go, and tell
(call) our father!”’

The imperative verb form is, at times, followed by (-)leː [lɛː].98 It functions as a
request marker.

(275) pitaŋ toŋ-i-ɲ leː baiʦ-e99

door open-imp-sg.h request sister-vocative
‘Please open the door, sister!’

97 This example represents the speech of the Brua village.

98 This -le: is distinct from the emphasis marker -le.
99 -e is an affectionate vocative marker which occurs with some kinship terms, e.g., ʧʰaŋ-ʦ-
e [child/son-dim-vocative], douʦ-e [o.sister-vocative], ama-ʦ-e [mother-dim-voca-
tive], paːʦ-e [grandchild-vocative], beiʦ-e [younger.sibling-vocative]. It does not
occur with other common nouns than kinship terms, nor with proper nouns.

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(276) dim-leː boːʈʰaŋ

close-request tree
‘Please, close (yourself), tree!’

4.7.2 Prohibitive
As the following examples illustrate, prohibitives in Kinnauri have the same
structure as the imperatives, except for the additional prohibitive morpheme
tʰa- which is prefixed to the verb.

tʰa-V-riɲ
(277) gǝ ʧʰǝ da~da ʃi-ma aŋ-u tʰa-pog-ʧi-riɲ
1sg.nom what fall~pfv die-nmlz 1sg-dat proh-burn-1/2o-imp
‘Irrespective of what happens to me, please don’t burn me.’

tʰa-V-ʧ / tʰa-V-iʧ
(278) tʰa-ni-ʧ
proh-stay-2pl.h
‘Don’t stay (here)!’

tʰa-V-iɲ / tʰa-V-ɲ
(279) aŋ ner-o tʰa-ʤi-ɲ
1sg.nnom near-loc proh-come.imp-imp
‘Don’t come near me!’

(280) ki-nu rəŋ-o-k tʰa-bjo-ɲ / tʰa-bi-ɲ

2sg.h-dat.pl tell.1/2o-pst-1sg proh-go-imp
‘(I told) you “Don’t go”.’

tʰa-V-ra
(281) aŋ ʧʰaŋ-oː tʰa-ʣaː-ra
1sg.nnom son-pl proh-eat-imp
‘Don’t eat my sons!’

(282) tʰa-ʣaː
proh-eat
‘Don’t eat!’

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5 Clauses and Sentences

The most frequent word order in Kinnauri is SOV.

(283) gə ta ʦeik-u lo-ta-k

1sg.nom foc all-dat tell-fut-1sg
‘I will tell everyone.’

(284) do rakses-is ama-boa-nu ʈʰəgai-a

dem.dist.nvis demon-erg father-mother-dat.pl cheat.pst
‘That demon duped the parents.’

(285) ama ʧʰaŋ-u gas-oː ran-o-ʃ

mother child-dat cloth-pl give-pst-3h
‘Mother gave the child clothes.’

(286) do-s aːrti-pǝŋ seo re-ʃ

3sg-erg i.name-dat apple sell-3h
‘He sold Aarti an apple.’

There are, however, also many instances where a varying word order is found.

(287) id du-gjo ruʣa-ʦ100

one cop-pst o.man-dim
‘(There) was an old (pitiful) man.’

(288) kiʃ-u baiʦ-oː-nu ta rakses-is ʣaː~ʣaː

2sg.h=two-poss y.sibling-pl-dat.pl foc demon-erg eat~pfv
‘The demon has eaten your sisters.’

5.1 Experiencer Subjects

As is the case with many South Asian languages, Kinnauri, too, has the so-called
experiencer subject (or dative subject) construction, where a dative marked
argument occurs with non-volitional verbs such as porennu ‘to find’, gjaːmu ‘to
like, to want’, ʦalmu ‘to feel’ and tʰasmu ‘to hear’.

100 ruʣaʦ indicates a pitiful old man.

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(289) do-pəŋ kǝtab por-e-kjo

3sg-dat book find-intr-pst
‘He found a book (accidentally).’

(290) aŋ-u tʰas-im bǝd-o du / to / *to-ʃ /*du-ʃ

1sg-dat hear-nmlz come-prog aux.prs aux.prs-3h
‘I can hear.’ (I am able to hear; it is possible for me to hear.)

The dative marked argument occurs in a variety of constructions. It occurs,

for example, in constructions which describe bodily conditions and emotional
states.

(291) aŋ-u ǝkʰa to / ?du / *to-ʃ / *du-ʃ

1sg-dat pain cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘I have pain.’

(292) ama (-)pəŋ dukʰaŋ du-ʃ / *to-ʃ

mother (-)dat sad cop.prs-3h
‘Mother is sad.’

It also occurs in the obligative construction.

(293) do-pəŋ ʤəŋ ma-bǝ-n gjaː-mig du-ge / to-ke /

3sg-dat here neg-come-nmlz want-nmlz cop-pst
*du-ge-ʃ / *to-ke-ʃ
cop-pst-3h
‘He should not have come here.’

(294) aŋ-u ʤəŋ ma-bǝ-n gjaː-mig to-ke / du-ge /

1sg-dat here neg-come-nmlz want-nmlz cop-pst
*to-ke-ʃ *du-ge-ʃ
cop-pst-3h
‘I shouldn’t have come here.’

The experiencer subject occurs in copula constructions (e.g. [N-dat pain(n)

cop]) as well as in non-copula constructions. The copula constructions take the
copulas to and du. The copulas here occur with all persons in past and present
tenses (see examples 291–294). This indicates that the experiencer subject con-
struction has a structural third person subject, since du normally occurs only
with third person subjects (see Section 4.4).

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(295) niŋo-nu əkʰa to / *du / *to-ʃ / *du-ʃ

1pl.excl-dat.pl pain cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘We have pain.’

(296) ka-nu əkʰa du-ge / to-ke / *du-ge-n

2sg.nh-dat.pl pain cop-pst cop-pst-2sg.nh
‘You had pain.’

(297) ki-nu əkʰa du-ge / to-ke / *du-ge-ʃ / *to-ke-ʃ

2sg.h-dat.pl pain cop-pst cop-pst-3h
‘You had pain.’

(298) do-pǝŋ əkʰa du101 / to / du-ʃ / *to-ʃ

3sg-dat pain cop.prs cop.prs-3h
‘He has pain.’

The following examples illustrate the experiencer subject construction in non-

copula constructions—in the finite verb structures V(-o.idx)-asp aux(-idx)
and V(-o.idx)-tns(-idx).

(299) aŋ-u ta-o lan-ʧ-o du / to / *du-ʃ / *to-ʃ

1sg-dat fever-loc make-1/2o-prog aux.prs aux.prs-3h
‘I am having fever.’

(300) ki-nu əkʰa kar-o du-ge102 / *to-ke / du-ge-ʃ / to-ke-ʃ

2sg.h-dat.pl pain bring-prog aux-pst aux-pst-3h
‘You were having pain.’

(301) raʋi pǝŋ jaːd de-o hat bǝ~bǝ

i.name dat memory feel.internally-pst who come~pfv
to-ʃ
aux.prs-3h
‘Ravi is remembering who has come.’

These examples also show that the dative marked argument does not control
the subject indexing on the verb. Further, as these examples illustrate, if the

101 du is preferred here.

102 du is preferred here.

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dative marked argument is either first or second person, in a clause with a

transitive verb the object indexing marker (-ʧ or a change in the verb form
in the case of the verb ‘to give’) occurs on the verb, also suggesting that the
dative marked argument does not behave like a subject. Concerning the word
order, however, the dative marked argument occurs in the same position as
non-experiencer subjects which is the default, the most frequently occurring
position of a subject.
Dative experiencers are subject-like in their word order, but non-subject-like
when it comes to indexing patterns. Even though the word order is relatively
free in Kinnauri, the most frequent order of constituents in natural discourse is
SOV. In the dative experiencer construction, the default order of constituents
is one where the dative marked argument comes first, before any other verb
arguments.

5.2 Questions
In content questions the word order and the verb inflectional endings remain
the same as in the corresponding declarative statements. See Section 3.3.3 for
a description of the interrogative pronouns and adverbs.

(302) raʋi boʃ-is hat-eː bə~bə to-ʃ (-oː)

i.name forget-pfv who-pl come~pfv aux-3h(-pl)
‘Ravi forgets who (all) came.’

(303) ki hat-sjaː deʃ-o-ʧ to-ɲ

2sg.h which-cntr.m village-loc-abl cop-2sg.h
‘Which village are you from?’

(304) bei niŋo-nu baiʦ ham to-ʃ

expl 1ple-poss.pl y.sibling where cop-3h
‘Oh! Where is our younger sister?’

(305) do-s tetra roʈ-eː ʣaː-gjo

3sg-erg how.many bread-pl eat-pst
‘How many (pieces of) bread did he eat?’

(306) pja-ʦ aŋ ɲums tʰu bəd-o du

bird-dim 1sg.nnom after why come-prog aux.prs
‘Why is the bird coming after (following) me?’

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(307) ki bruʃ hala lan-ti-ɲ

2sg.h brush how make-fut-2sg.h
‘How will you brush (your teeth)?’

(308) ki bruʃ hales un-ti-ɲ

2sg.h brush which.kind take-fut-2sg.h
‘Which type of brush (soft, hard, small, large) will you buy?’

Polar questions are formed by affixing -a to the finite verb. The question suffix
-a does not occur in content questions.

(309) gə ʃaŋgi to-k-a

1sg.nom alive cop-1sg-q
‘Am I alive (or, am I dreaming)?’

(310) ʣaŋ-u ɖejaŋ gjaː-ti-ɲ-a

gold-poss body want-fut-2h-q
‘Do (you) want a body of gold?’

(311) ʧʰǝ ʧũʧũ pju-ʦ niʃ-u baiʦ-oː taŋ-o-n-a

what snd mouse-dim two-poss y.sibling-pl observe-pst-2nh-q
‘(The girls said:) “chuchu, mouse, have you seen (our) two sisters?” ’

(312) hodo niʃ ʦʰeʦaʦ-oː bǝ-a

dem.dist.nvis two girl-pl come-q
‘Did those two girls come (here)?’

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Appendix 2A: Kinnauri Basic Vocabulary

(by Anju Saxena and Santosh Negi)

This is the Kinnauri IDS/LWT list. It has been compiled on the basis of the 1,310
items of the original Intercontinental Dictionary Series concept list (Borin et al.
2013) plus the 150 items added to it in the Loanword Typology project, for a total
of 1,460 concepts (Haspelmath and Tadmor 2009). Further, some new entries
have also been added in the present project. In the new entries the minor part
of their concept ID (the part after the point) begins with “999”, e.g. “S24.99910
someone”. There are 78 such additions in the Kinnauri list. Some IDS/LWT
items have been left out from this list, as there were no equivalents in Kinnauri
or in my material. The resulting list as given below contains 1,348 items (con-
cepts), where occasionally more than one Kinnauri equivalent is provided. The
list also includes loanwords.

2A.1 Notational Conventions

For ease of comparison we have kept the original IDS/LWT glosses unchanged
in all cases, and Kinnauri senses which do not fit the IDS/LWT meaning com-
pletely are given more exact glosses in the Kinnauri column. Sometimes there
will be multiple (separately glossed) items in the Kinnauri column when Kin-
nauri exhibits lexical or dialectal differentiation of meaning or form within an
IDS/LWT item. Pronunciation or form variants are separated by commas, and
formally distinct items are separated by semicolons. Glosses and notes belong
with their enclosing “semicolon grouping”.
As in the main text, Kinnauri items are set in italics without morphological
decomposition, i.e. affixes and clitics are written solid with their stem or host.
Glosses are set in roman, either in single quotes (translation, corresponding to
the last line in an interlinear glossed text unit) or in square brackets (morpho-
logical analysis, corresponding to the middle line in interlinear glossed text,
and adhering to the Leipzig Glossing Rules, in some cases preceded by a mor-
phologically segmented representation of the Kinnauri item in italics, corre-
sponding to the first line in interlinear glossed text).
The Kinnauri data has been collected in three villages where slightly dif-
ferent local varieties of Kinnauri are spoken, and some items in the Kinnauri
column are marked with their geographical origin: “(S)”: Sangla; “(R)”: Ropa;
“(B)”: Brua.

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2A.2 The Kinnauri IDS/LWT List

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S01.100 the world dunijaː; sansaːr, sensaːr

S01.210 the land milkus; maːlɖogaŋ
S01.212 the soil maʈiŋ
S01.213 the dust purʧuʈiŋ
S01.214 the mud ʦikar; laːs
S01.215 the sand baːlaŋ; baːliŋ
S01.220 the mountain or hill raːŋ; ɖokʰaŋ ‘tall, big mountain’; ʈʰoll ‘small moun-
tain’
S01.222 the cliff or precipice daːr, daːraŋ; kʰoro ɖokʰaŋ
S01.230 the plain soːmaŋ
S01.240 the valley gaːʈi; kʰago; kʰunaŋ
S01.250 the island ʈaːpu
S01.270 the shore garaːʈiŋ
S01.280 the cave ag
S01.310 the water ti
S01.320 the sea somodraŋ ‘sea; ocean; river’
S01.322 calm sululuʧis
S01.323 rough(2) boːlaː
S01.324 the foam ʃub
S01.329 the ocean somodraŋ ‘sea; ocean; river’
S01.330 the lake soraŋ ‘natural pond’
S01.350 the wave ʦʰaʈeraŋ
S01.360 the river or stream gaːraŋ ‘river’; naːlaŋ ‘stream’; somodraŋ ‘sea; ocean,
river’
S01.362 the whirlpool sagti
S01.370 the spring or well kuaŋ, koaŋ ‘well’
S01.380 the swamp ɖibaːliŋ
S01.390 the waterfall ʧʰodaŋ
S01.410 the woods or forest boniŋ, baunaŋ; ʣaŋgal
S01.430 the wood ʃiŋ
S01.440 the stone or rock rag; pan ‘stone; slate’; kʰaʈlaŋ ‘round red stones
found in rivers’; ʃaŋ ‘pebble’
S01.450 the earthquake bunʧilaŋ
S01.510 the sky sorgaŋ
S01.520 the sun june; suraʤ

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S01.530 the moon golsaŋ; ʧand

S01.550 the lightning biʣul ‘lightning (bolt)’
S01.540 the star (s)kar
S01.560 the thunder gurgur
S01.570 the bolt of lightning biʣul ‘lightning (bolt)’
S01.580 the storm ɖaro ‘rainstorm’
S01.590 the rainbow tilaːnmeʦ
S01.610 the light ʦʰatk
S01.620 the darkness ãjares (S), aɲaːres (B)
S01.630 the shade or laː; ʃilaŋ; ʧʰaːjaŋ
shadow
S01.640 the dew oʃaŋ
S01.710 the air laːn ‘air; wind’
S01.720 the wind laːn ‘air; wind’
S01.730 the cloud ʤu; ʤuʃa (R)
S01.740 the fog dumaŋ ‘fog; smoke’; dumaːsaŋ, dumaːso
S01.750 the rain goeniŋ; ʧʰarʋa (R)
S01.760 the snow pom; titʰokolʦ ‘watery snow’
S01.770 the ice ʈʰanaŋ
S01.7750 to freeze ʃaːnennu
S01.780 the weather mosam
S01.810 the fire meː
S01.820 the flame melab; ləpəŋ
S01.830 the smoke dumaŋ ‘fog; smoke’
S01.8310 the steam ʋan
S01.840 the ash bospa
S01.841 the embers ʈʰo; ʃuʈʰol
S01.851 to burn(1) pogmu (tr); legmu (tr)
S01.852 to burn(2) barmu (intr); bogmu ‘to get burned’; legʧimu ‘to get
burned’;
S01.860 to light ʧonnu (tr); parmu (tr) ‘to set on fire’
S01.861 to extinguish pjugmu
S01.870 the match meʃiŋ, meːʃiŋ
S01.880 the firewood parʃiŋ; saŋ ‘a wood-type with natural oil, used as
kindling’
S01.890 the charcoal (ʃiŋ)ʈʰo

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S01.99903 the coal relu ʈʰo

S02.100 the person manuʃ; mi
S02.210 the man morʧʰaŋ; mi
S02.220 the woman ʦʰeʦes ‘adult woman (usually married)’; ʦʰesmi
‘woman, married; wife’
S02.240 female(1) manʈ- ‘female (animals)’
S02.250 the boy ʧʰaŋ ‘boy (newborn to appr. 16–18 years of age);
son (one’s own or family’s child)’; kuʈu; tunaː;
ɖekʰraːʦ; ʧʰak ‘boy, son’
S02.251 the young man ɖekʰraːʦ ‘boy; young man appr. 18–30 years of age,
usually unmarried’
S02.260 the girl ʧimed ‘girl; daughter’; ʦʰeʦaʦ ‘girl; young woman
(from birth to marrying age); daughter’; ɖekʰoriʦ
‘young girl (before she reaches marrying age)’
S02.261 the young woman ɖekʰor
S02.280 the baby ãjanaŋʦ; ʣormeʦ
S02.310 the husband ʧʰoŋ(mi); daːʦ
S02.320 the wife gone; tsʰesmi ‘wife; married woman’; lari ‘bride;
wife; daughter-in-law’; sok ‘co-wife; sister-in-law’;
gunjale ‘bride’
S02.330 to marry ranekaŋ lannu; ʃadi lannu; bajaŋ lannu
S02.340 the wedding bajaŋ; ranekaŋ; ʃadi
S02.350 the father bon; boa, boba ‘father; paternal uncle’; bapu ‘father;
father’s younger brother’
S02.360 the mother ama; mən; mata
S02.370 the parents mənbon; amaboa
S02.380 the married man ranekaŋ lanʦ mi
S02.390 the married woman ʦʰesmi ‘married woman, wife’; ʦʰeʦes ‘woman,
adult (usually married)’; ranekaŋ lanʦ ʦʰesmi
S02.410 the son ʧʰak; kuʈu; ʧʰaŋ(ʦ) ‘boy; son of the speaker or some-
one belonging to the speakers family’; beʈa
S02.420 the daughter ʧimed ‘girl; daughter’; beʈi
S02.440 the brother bai; juŋʣ
S02.444 the older brother ate
S02.445 the younger brother beits ‘woman’s younger brother’; baja(ʦ) ‘man’s
younger brother’

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S02.450 the sister riŋʣ; ben (B); baiʦ (S)

S02.454 the older sister (teg) dau(ʦ); tege; teg riŋʣ; apuʦ (Ribba)
S02.455 the younger sister(ʦʰeʦaʦ) beiʦ (B); baja(ʦ) (S)
S02.456 the sibling juŋriŋ
S02.4562 the younger sibling
bai(ʦ) (S); beiʦ (B)
S02.458 the twins ʣoːla
S02.460 the grandfather tete
S02.461 the old man ruʣa(ʦ) ‘old and weak man’
S02.470 the grandmother api; mapo api ‘maternal grandmother’
S02.471 the old woman jaŋʣe(ʦ) ‘old (human female, animate female)’
S02.4711 the grandparents teteapi
S02.480 the grandson ɖekʰraːʦ paːʦ ‘grandson’; ɖekʰraːʦ rimpaːʦ ‘daugh-
ter’s son’; ɖekʰraːʦ kimpaːʦ ‘son’s son’; (s)paːʦ
‘grandchild’
S02.5000 the grandchild (s)paːʦ; rimpaːʦ ‘daughter’s child’; kimpaːʦ ‘son’s
child’
S02.511 the mother’s əpa ‘mother’s brother; father-in-law’; mumaː,
brother maːmaː ‘mother’s brother; father-in-law’
S02.512 the father’s brother bapu ‘father, father’s brother’; boa ‘father; father’s
brother’; boba ‘father; father’s brother’; teg bua
‘father’s older brother’
S02.520 the aunt naːne ‘aunt (mother’s brother’s wife; father’s sister)’
S02.521 the mother’s sister amaʦ; amri
S02.522 the father’s sister naːne ‘aunt (mother’s brother’s wife; father’s sister)’
S02.530 the nephew banʤo ‘man’s sister’s son’; ʧʰaŋ(ʦ) ‘woman’s sister’s
son’; (ɖekʰraːʦ) banuʦ ‘woman’s brother’s son’
S02.540 the niece (ʦʰetsaʦ) banuʦ ‘woman’s brother’s daughter’;
ʧimets ‘woman’s sister’s daughter’
S02.5410 the sibling’s child juŋriŋu ʧʰaŋ ‘sibling’s son’
S02.560 the ancestors əglaː (pl), əgles (sg)
S02.570 the descendants paːʦokoʦo
S02.610 the father-in-law (of ʃores; əpa; mumaː, maːmaː ‘mother’s brother; father-
a man) in-law’
S02.611 the father-in-law (of ʃores; əpa; mumaː, maːmaː ‘mother’s brother; father-
a woman) in-law’

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S02.620 the mother-in-law jumed ‘mother-in-law; mother’s brother’s wife’

(of a man)
S02.621 the mother-in-law jumed ‘mother-in-law; mother’s brother’s wife’
(of a woman)
S02.6220 the parents-in-law jumedəpa
S02.630 the son-in-law (of a ʧʰad
man)
S02.631 the son-in-law (of a ʧʰad
woman)
S02.640 the daughter-in-law tem
(of a man)
S02.641 the daughter-in-law tem
(of a woman)
S02.710 the stepfather bibon; biboba
S02.720 the stepmother biama; bimən
S02.730 the stepson soku ʧʰaŋ
S02.740 the stepdaughter soku ʧimed
S02.750 the orphan ʃokraŋ
S02.760 the widow rãɖole; ranʦʰesmi
S02.770 the widower rãɖoles ‘widower (negative connotation)’
S02.810 the relatives naːtarista; iʃpənek; peraʤora ‘closely related rela-
tives’
S02.820 the family ʈobor ‘family (members)’; pera(ŋ) ‘kinsman, clans-
man’
S02.910 I gə
S02.920 you (singular) ki (h); ka (nh)
S02.930 he/she/it do [3sg.dist.nvis]; no [3sg.dist.vis]; ʤo
[3sg.prox]; an [3sg.ana]
S02.940 we niŋo [1ple]; kiʃa [1pli]; kiʃaŋ [1du]
S02.941 we (inclusive) kiʃa [1pli]; kiʃaŋ [1du]
S02.942 we (exclusive) niŋo [1ple]; kiʃaŋ [1du]
S02.950 you (plural) kino (h); kano (nh); kanegoː (nh); kiʃi, kisi (2du.h);
kaniʃ (2du.nh)
S02.960 they dogoː [3pl.dist.nvis]; nogoː [3pl.dist.vis]; ʤogoː
[3pl.prox]; anegoː [3pl.ana]
S03.110 the animal ʤaːnʋar, ʤanvar; semʧen

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S03.120 male(2) (s)kjo-; ɖekʰres

S03.130 female(2) manʈ-
S03.150 the livestock noro
S03.160 the pasture pabaŋ ‘pasture in the upper hills’; panaŋ ‘pasture
close to the village’
S03.180 the herdsman paːles
S03.190 the stable or stall kʰuraŋ; ʈʰaʈaŋ
S03.200 the cattle norʧag; ʣed/ʣeː ‘sheep; goat (sg/pl)’
S03.210 the bull tidaːmes (noncastrated); daːmes (castrated); ʣo
‘mountain ox’
S03.230 the cow gau; laŋ; ʣomo ‘mountain cow’
S03.240 the calf raʦ; manʈraʦ (f); ʃakuriː (f); ʃakur (m); ʃakras
S03.250 the sheep ʣed
S03.260 the ram kar (castrated); hules (non-castrated)
S03.280 the ewe kʰas
S03.290 the lamb kʰaːʦ; ʃakras (m)
S03.320 the boar suːres
S03.340 the sow suːronig; manʈsuːres
S03.350 the pig suːres (m); suːronig (f); mansuːres (f)
S03.360 the goat bəkʰaraŋ
S03.370 the he-goat bakʰor; ãːʤ
S03.380 the kid maːʦ
S03.410 the horse raŋ
S03.420 the stallion (s)kjoraŋ; sʋaːrjarja raŋ ‘gelding’; puʈkjakja raŋ ‘geld-
ing’
S03.440 the mare manʈraŋ
S03.450 the foal or colt tʰuru
S03.460 the donkey pʰoʦ
S03.470 the mule kʰoʦor
S03.520 the cock/rooster (s)kjokukəri; kukkras
S03.540 the hen maɳʈkukəri
S03.550 the chicken kukəri; ʧikan
S03.560 the goose kʰjuŋpja
S03.570 the duck tiares (domesticated)
S03.580 the nest ʋaː(ʦ)
S03.581 the bird pja(ʦ)

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S03.584 the eagle laːnpja

S03.585 the hawk daŋʃuːres ‘hawk; falcon’
S03.586 the vulture golɖes
S03.591 the bat turpjaʦ
S03.592 the parrot totaː
S03.593 the crow kaːg; kaur
S03.594 the dove gugtiːʦ
S03.596 the owl ɖuɖu
S03.610 the dog kui (m, f)
S03.614 the rabbit kʰargoʃ ‘rabbit; hare’
S03.620 the cat bilaːri; piʃi
S03.630 the mouse or rat pju(ʦ) ‘house rat’; sakpju ‘outdoor rat’
S03.650 the fish maʧʰes, maʧʰli
S03.652 the fin maʧʰesu pakʰaŋ
S03.720 the lion siŋ
S03.730 the bear hom; rikʰaː (m); bonjoʦ; rikʰonig (f)
S03.740 the fox ʃaliʦ
S03.750 the deer pʰo; pʰomaːʦ ‘young deer’; bena ‘(musk) deer’
S03.760 the monkey bandres
S03.770 the elephant hatʰi
S03.780 the camel ũʈ
S03.810 the insect ʦʰatig; hoŋ
S03.811 the head louse ʃəmanʦ ‘young louse (hair, body)’
S03.8112 the body louse (gas)rig
S03.812 the nit rukʦ
S03.815 the scorpion sokʰo
S03.817 the ant krog
S03.818 the spider botokʦ
S03.819 the spider web botokʦu ʤaliŋ; botokʦu ʋaː
S03.820 the bee ʋasjaŋ
S03.821 the beeswax sitʰaŋ
S03.822 the beehive jaŋɖoraŋ; jaŋkoʈ
S03.823 the wasp pijaŋ
S03.830 the fly (kʰə)jaŋ
S03.831 the sandfly or midge ɖãs ‘gnat’
or gnat

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S03.832 the mosquito ʦʰatig

S03.8340 the termites koʈkehoŋ103 (sg)
S03.8350 the tick nəkanʦ
S03.840 the worm hoŋ; lashoŋ ‘mud worm’
S03.850 the snake sapes; naːges ‘mythical snake’
S03.8630 the hare kʰargoʃ ‘rabbit; hare’
S03.8650 the quail holaʃaŋpjaʦ
S03.8690 the squirrel raŋronʈ
S03.8710 the reindeer/cari- barasiŋa
bou
S03.910 the firefly mehoŋ
S03.9170 the buffalo bẽːs
S03.920 the butterfly ʃupjaʦ
S03.930 the grasshopper bjonʦ
S03.940 the snail goʈaŋhoŋ ‘snail with shell’; tiʃam ‘snail without a
shell’
S03.950 the frog tiʃpolokʦ
S03.960 the lizard ʦʰemar
S03.970 the crocodile or magarmaʧʰ
alligator
S03.980 the turtle keʧʰua
S04.110 the body ɖejaŋ
S04.120 the skin or hide ponaŋ ‘skin, hide, leather (of cows, oxen, buffaloes
etc.)’; kʰul ‘skin, hide (of sheep, goats, birds)’
S04.130 the flesh ʃa
S04.140 the hair kraː ‘head hair; pubic hair’
S04.142 the beard muʦʰẽ; dəri
S04.144 the body hair (s)puː
S04.145 the pubic hair kraː ‘head hair; pubic hair’
S04.146 the dandruff kʰod
S04.150 the blood polaːʦ; ʃui
S04.151 the vein or artery siːraŋ
S04.160 the bone haraŋ

103 A compound: Hindi koʈ-ka [wood-poss] and Kinnauri hoŋ ‘insect’.

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S04.162 the rib ribharaŋ ‘ribs; ribcage’; riboː ‘ribs; ribcage’

S04.170 the horn ʃiːŋ; rud
S04.180 the tail pəʧniŋ
S04.190 the back piʃʈiŋ
S04.191 the spine piʃʈiŋharaŋ
S04.200 the head bal; ʃiraŋ
S04.202 the skull harkoːʈiŋ; balkʰopʈi; kraːnaŋ
S04.203 the brain dimaːg
S04.204 the face mukʰaŋ ‘mouth; face’; (s)to
S04.205 the forehead pʰjaːkonʈaŋ; pʰjaː
S04.207 the jaw ʦoːnniŋ
S04.208 the cheek piŋ
S04.209 the chin ʧʰotkaŋ, ʧʰopkaŋ
S04.210 the eye mig
S04.212 the eyebrow migspuː, mikspuː
S04.213 the eyelid migbod
S04.214 the eyelash mig(s)puː mikspuː
S04.215 to blink ʦipʦipjaːmu
S04.220 the ear kaːnaŋ
S04.221 the earlobe (kaːnaŋ)poʦ
S04.222 the earwax kaːnaŋkʰə
S04.230 the nose takuʦ ‘nose; beak’
S04.231 the nostril takʃuliŋ
S04.232 the nasal mucus ʃəʈaŋ
S04.240 the mouth kʰakaŋ; kʰak; mukʰaŋ ‘mouth; face’
S04.241 the beak ʃonaŋ
S04.250 the lip tunaŋ
S04.260 the tongue le
S04.270 the tooth gar
S04.271 the gums (s)til
S04.272 the molar tooth kongar
S04.280 the neck golaŋ; kakʦ
S04.281 the nape of the (kaːkts) mugro
neck
S04.290 the throat golaŋ ‘throat; neck’; ʃaŋ ‘throat; narrow passage
inside throat’; ʈiŋ ‘windpipe, trachea’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S04.300 the shoulder bid; raŋ ‘external part of shoulder’

S04.301 the shoulderblade pʰəʃoʈ
S04.302 the collarbone tiŋharaŋ
S04.310 the arm gud ‘arm; hand’; həst ‘arm; hand’; kʰjuʦ ‘part of the
arm between wrist and elbow’; pʰarʦ ‘part of the
arm from elbow to shoulder’
S04.312 the armpit kjasaŋ, kjas
S04.320 the elbow krũːʦ
S04.330 the hand gud ‘arm; hand’; həst ‘arm; hand’
S04.331 the palm of the (həs)talaŋ; potilaŋ; ʃe(ʦ) ‘palm, hollowed palm to
hand receive water/alchohol’
S04.340 the finger praʦ ‘finger; toe’
S04.342 the thumb bonpraʦ
S04.344 the fingernail (praʦu) ʧin ‘fingernail; toenail’
S04.345 the claw ʣabug
S04.350 the leg peraŋ; latʰaŋ; gompa; baŋ ‘leg; foot’
S04.351 the thigh lum ‘thigh; hip’
S04.352 the calf of the leg piliŋ(ʦ)
S04.360 the knee pəʃbaŋ
S04.370 the foot baŋ ‘leg; foot’
S04.371 the ankle paːʈ
S04.372 the heel ʈʰoŋgol
S04.374 the footprint baŋmod
S04.380 the toe baŋpraʦ
S04.392 the wing pakʰaŋ ‘wing; feather’
S04.393 the feather pul; pakʰaŋ ‘wing; feather’
S04.400 the chest (s)ʈug ‘breast; chest’; nunuː ‘breast; chest’
S04.410 the breast (s)ʈug ‘breast; chest’; nunuː ‘breast; chest’
S04.412 the nipple or teat nuni(bal)
S04.420 the udder ainaŋ, eniŋ
S04.430 the navel naiŋʦ
S04.4310 the belly peʈaŋ ‘stomach; belly’; peʈiŋ ‘stomach; belly’
S04.440 the heart ʃin ‘heart; liver’; dil ‘heart; desire’; monaŋ ‘heart;
desire’; ʣiʋa ‘heart; soul; spirit’
S04.441 the lung ʈʰab
S04.450 the liver kaleʤi; ʃin ‘heart; liver’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S04.451 the kidney pətrapʦ

S04.460 the stomach peʈaŋ, peʈiŋ ‘stomach; belly’
S04.461 the intestines or ãʤaŋ
guts
S04.462 the waist kʰoː; gaʧko
S04.463 the hip lum ‘thigh; hip’
S04.464 the buttocks guliŋ
S04.470 the womb kukʰiŋ
S04.490 the testicles halgaŋʦoː (pl), halgaŋʦ (sg)
S04.492 the penis pjaʦ (when talking to children)
S04.4930 the vagina teptepʦ (when talking to children)
S04.510 to breathe saːsaŋ unnu
S04.520 to yawn haʃ kamʃimu; ʦonʃimu ‘to stretch; to yawn by
stretching (one’s arms)’
S04.521 to hiccough gəlʧimu
S04.530 to cough ʦuːmu; ʦuː lannu
S04.540 to sneeze gismu
S04.550 to perspire dustiː donnu
S04.560 to spit tʰukaŋ pʰikjaːmu
S04.570 to vomit pʰasmu
S04.580 to bite ʧigmu
S04.590 to lick lemmu
S04.591 to dribble laːlaŋ pʰakʃimu
S04.610 to sleep jagmu
S04.612 to snore kʰrõgennu; kʰorennu ‘to limp; to snore’
S04.620 to dream maŋmu
S04.630 to wake up sǝrmu (tr) ‘to raise up; to wake up’; sǝrʃimu (human
subject); janʧimu ‘to experience first moment of
waking up’
S04.640 to fart kʰə sunnu
S04.650 to piss kəli ʃennu
S04.660 to shit kʰə ʃennu
S04.670 to have sex meʈjaːʃimu
S04.680 to shiver kriŋmu
S04.690 to bathe suʃimu (mdl); sumu (tr)
S04.710 to beget ʧʰaŋ taːmu

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S04.720 to be born ʣormennu

S04.730 pregnant garbʋati (human); ɲumʦu (human); magore
(human); gaːbin (animal)
S04.732 to conceive tʰobmu
S04.740 to be alive ʃaŋi nimu
S04.7410 the life ʣan; malɖogaŋ
S04.750 to die ʃimu
S04.7501 dead ʃiʃi
S04.751 to drown ɖubennu ‘to drown; to sink’
S04.760 to kill sannu
S04.770 the corpse moro; ʃimi; ʃiʃi
S04.7710 the carcass ʃiloːʈaŋ; ʃinor
S04.780 to bury kʰaro ʃennu
S04.810 strong ʣob; ʣobonsjaː; takraː
S04.820 weak bilaːjeʦ; ʈorʦ ‘weak (healthwise)’; koːrkoːr ‘weak;
very thin’; kaːʈʰes ‘weak, malnourished or dehy-
drated’; ʤunʈʰa ‘weak (healthwise, humans or
animals)’
S04.830 healthy mutag; muʃʈiŋ ‘healthy; strong’
S04.840 sick/ill dukʰis ‘sick (person); sad (person)’
S04.841 the fever tao; bukʰaːr
S04.842 the goitre/goiter gaːnuŋ
S04.843 the cold ʈʰãɖi
S04.8440 the disease ʈod; dukʰaŋ ‘disease; grief’
S04.850 the wound or sore akʰa ‘wound; sore; pain’
S04.852 the bruise ʃukʰreb
S04.853 the swelling ʈuʈu
S04.854 the itch hərʧo
S04.8541 to scratch hərmu; bal ʧikʧimu ‘to scratch head (hair)’
S04.855 the blister ʈipol
S04.856 the boil pʰur
S04.857 the pus tag
S04.858 the scar paːraŋ
S04.860 to cure ʃelman lannu
S04.870 the physician ɖakʈar ‘physician (modern medicine)’; bed ‘tradi-
tional healer’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S04.880 the medicine ʃel

S04.890 the poison biʃaŋ
S04.910 tired jaljal ‘physically tired’; kaniŋ ‘mentally tired’
S04.912 to rest araːm lannu; rana ʃennu; naʃimu ‘to sit; to stay; to
rest’
S04.920 lazy aːlsi; lises
S04.930 bald (pi)toŋlo; pitogtog ‘(completely) bald’
S04.940 lame kʰorjaː; laŋrjaː
S04.950 deaf ʈonjaː (m, impolite), ʈone (f); ʤaro
S04.960 mute laʈaː (m), laʈeː (f) ‘dumb; mute’
S04.970 blind kaːnes (m), kaːne (f); kaːnaŋ; ãdoliŋ
S04.980 drunk pʰasurijaː
S04.990 naked salgi
S05.110 to eat ʣaːmu; pasmu ‘to eat (something dry, flour-like)’
S05.120 the food kʰou ‘food; meal’
S05.121 cooked papa; baba
S05.122 raw kaʧas, kaʧes; maʃoʃo ‘uncooked’; mababa ‘uncook-
ed’; mapapa ‘uncooked (raw, e.g; carrots which can
be eaten raw)’
S05.123 ripe pakiʦ; ʃoʃo
S05.124 unripe ʦispru
S05.125 rotten ʦis; namnam (kʰou) ‘stale (food, rotten as well as
non-rotten)’
S05.130 to drink tuŋmu ‘to drink; to smoke’
S05.140 to be hungry onnu
S05.141 the famine (an)kaːlaŋ
S05.150 to be thirsty tiskarmu
S05.160 to suck ʈubmu; ʈəbmu ‘to suck (mother’s milk)’
S05.180 to chew bragmu
S05.181 to swallow mjuŋmu
S05.190 to choke sakubʃimu; saːlubʃimu
S05.210 to cook pannu; kʰou lannu; bannu (intr) ‘to get cooked’
S05.220 to boil kʋasmu; kʰʋaʧimu (intr)
S05.230 to roast or fry pogmu ‘to roast’; dammu ‘to roast (wheat, oats)’;
bulɖjaːmu ‘to deep-fry’; polʈennu ‘to turn over egg
(in the frying pan)’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S05.240 to bake siʈjaːmu ‘to bake, flip over and roast pancake’
S05.250 the oven meliŋ; pʰaːliŋ ‘oven; fireplace’
S05.260 the pot pətila; banes; ɖig ‘pot with narrow neck’; baniŋ
‘kitchen utensils (e.g., pots, cups)’
S05.270 the kettle ketəli
S05.280 the pan bogunʦ
S05.320 the plate tʰaːl; pəleʈ; prat; kʰon; naŋ ‘a kind of bronze plate’;
tenle tʰaːl ‘flat plate’; ɖuga tʰaːl ‘deep plate’
S05.330 the bowl ɖunaːʦ; baʈiʦ ‘brass bowl’
S05.340 the jug/pitcher suraji(ʦ)
S05.350 the cup baʈiʦ ‘brass cup with a foot’
S05.370 the spoon kʰeŋʈ
S05.380 the knife(1) ʦəku ‘knife (instrument to cut e.g., vegetables)’;
gumʦ ‘knife (occurs only in folktales)’
S05.390 the fork ʦuka ‘the fork (a fork-like cooking utensil to take
out fried bread from hot oil)’
S05.391 the tongs ʃoneʃaŋ; ʦimʈo ‘tongs (cooking utensil)’
S05.420 the breakfast ʧajudo
S05.430 the lunch ʃil
S05.440 the dinner raːtiŋ kʰou
S05.460 to peel ʦʰinjaːmu
S05.470 to sieve or to strain ʧaljaːmu ‘to strain; to sieve (e.g. flour)’; ʧʰarmu ‘to
strain; to sieve (milk, tea, puri from oil, churn but-
ter)’
S05.480 to scrape kʰjulmu (tr); gjulmu (intr), gjulʃimu (mdl)
S05.490 to stir or to mix kəsmu
S05.510 the bread hod ‘barley bread’; ʦapʈi ‘chapati’; roʈ ‘chapati’; pol
‘puri’; tʰispol ‘fried bread made of watery dough’
S05.530 the dough ʦisaŋ pinʈu
S05.540 to knead tremu
S05.550 the flour ʦisaŋ; meda; piʈʰas; gaːʃaːŋ ‘buckwheat flour’;
konikaːŋ ‘wheat flour’; ʦʰəlija piʈʰas ‘corn flour’; jud
‘roasted barley flour’
S05.560 to crush or to grind rabmu ‘to crush edibles in mortar’; junnu ‘to grind
cereal to flour’; pʰramu ‘to crush (potatoes)’
S05.570 the mill karkʰanaː
S05.580 the mortar(1) kaniŋ; hasgoʈaŋ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S05.590 the pestle muslaŋ

S05.610 the meat ʃa ‘meat; flesh’
S05.630 the sausage gʰimaː
S05.640 the soup ʧʰob ‘meat soup’
S05.650 the vegetables kan; baːʣi ‘cooked vegetable’
S05.660 the bean ʃimin
S05.700 the potato halgaŋ
S05.710 the fruit pʰolaŋ; pʰruʈ
S05.712 the bunch ʧʰonʈaŋ
S05.760 the grape aŋguːr (cultivated); daːkʰaŋ (wild indigenous)
S05.790 the oil telaŋ
S05.791 the grease or fat ʦʰos
S05.810 the salt ʦʰa
S05.821 the chili pepper pipli
S05.840 the honey ʋas
S05.850 the sugar ʦiːni; kʰanɖ
S05.860 the milk kʰiraŋ
S05.870 to milk (kʰiraŋ) ʦurmu
S05.880 the cheese kokpol (a traditional food item which has a similar
preparation method as cheese); panir
S05.890 the butter makʰan; gi ‘ghee (clarified butter)’; mar ‘butter;
ghee’
S05.910 the mead ʋas pʰaːsur ‘fermented honey drink’
S05.940 the fermented drink rak ‘a local alcoholic beverage’; pʰaːsur, ti pʰaːsur
‘a local alcoholic beverage’; ɖaŋle ‘a local alcoholic
beverage’; bijər ‘beer (modern)’
S05.970 the egg anɖa; liːʈ; ʃaraŋ
S05.971 the yolk golɖuŋ
S05.99906 the biscuit biskuʈ
S05.99908 the cabbage (band)gobi
S05.99910 the cream pon
S05.99922 the vinegar sirka
S06.110 to put on ligmu (tr) ‘to put on (clothes, jewelry)’; likʃimu
(mdl) ‘to put on (clothes, jewelry)’; lanʧimu (mdl)
‘to put on (clothes, jewelry)’; gaːʤimu, gaːʧimu
(mdl) ‘to put on clothes, also in group’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S06.120 the clothing or gasaː (pl)

clothes
S06.130 the tailor sujĩ ‘tailor making traditional coat and cap (also a
subcategory of the IA Chamang group)’
S06.210 the cloth gas; kapʰraː ‘cloth, fabric’; ʧuʣ ‘kitchen cloth’
S06.220 the wool ʦam
S06.240 the cotton suːt
S06.250 the silk silk
S06.270 the felt pʰogdori ‘wool felt’
S06.280 the fur puː ‘body hair; fur’
S06.290 the leather ʦəmra; ponaŋ ‘skin; hide; leather (of cows, oxen,
buffaloes etc.)’
S06.310 to spin pannu ‘to spin wool’
S06.320 the spindle paŋʈ
S06.330 to weave tagmu ‘to weave; to knit’
S06.340 the loom ʣag
S06.350 to sew ponnu ‘to sew (with a sewing machine)’
S06.360 the needle(1) kepʦ; keb ‘needle; awl’; sua ‘large needle; injection
needle’
S06.370 the awl karkeb; keb ‘needle; awl’
S06.380 the thread rid
S06.390 to dye raŋgjaːmu
S06.410 the cloak tʃʰ(r)uba
S06.420 the (woman’s) dress gasaː; ʦʰesmju gas
S06.430 the coat koːʈ; ʦamukoːʈ ‘men’s traditional long (woolen)
coat’; ʧʰuba ‘long woollen cloak/coat worn by
bridegroom’; ʧoːli ‘traditional (green) women’s
jacket’
S06.440 the shirt kurta (traditional); kamiʣ (modern)
S06.450 the collar bran
S06.480 the trousers sutʰon ‘traditional men’s woolen trousers’; penʈ
(modern)
S06.490 the sock or stocking gusab; baŋsab ‘woolen socks or shoes which cover
feet, but not ankles, worn indoors’
S06.510 the shoe pon
S06.520 the boot gambuːʈ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S06.540 the shoemaker muʦiː ‘cobbler’; ʧamaːres; ʧamaŋ ‘male member of

a particular community’
S06.550 the hat or cap ʈop ‘hat, cap, helmet’; ʈʰepaŋ ‘traditional cap’;
peʈʈʰepaŋ ‘black cap worn by bride’; paːguri ‘turban’;
paːg ‘turban worn by bridegroom’
S06.570 the belt gaʧʰiŋ, gaʧʰaŋ ‘traditional woven belt worn by
women’; ɖori ‘belt; rope’
S06.580 the glove gud baŋgusab; gusab
S06.610 the pocket kʰisog
S06.620 the button boʈon
S06.630 the pin kobʣa (traditional pin worn by women)
S06.710 the ornament or ʈaːnaŋ
adornment
S06.720 the jewel ʤʋarat
S06.730 the ring mundi
S06.740 the bracelet paʈaŋ ‘traditional broad gold bracelet’; ʈoːru ‘tradi-
tional broad silver bracelet’
S06.750 the necklace trəmol ‘traditional necklace’; tsandrahaːr ‘tradi-
tional necklace’; maːlaŋ, maːliŋ ‘necklace, garland of
dried fruit’; uːmaːlaŋ ‘necklace, garland of flowers’
S06.760 the bead proʃoll ‘a kind of bead (red and large)’
S06.770 the earring kaːnʈʰe ‘traditional earring’
S06.810 the handkerchief or safi
rag
S06.820 the towel tolija
S06.910 the comb kotʰaŋ; kuʃ; ʃor ‘wool carding tool’
S06.920 the brush bruʃ
S06.921 the plait/ kjarːʃid kraː ‘plaited/braided hair’
braid
S06.930 the razor kʰurʦ ‘large knife; large razor’
S06.940 the ointment ʃelʃimag kriːm
S06.950 the soap samon
S06.960 the mirror arʃuk; sisoː, ʃiʃaː ‘mirror; glass’
S06.99901 the bag tʰelaː; ʣolaː; beg; kʰul ‘leather bag for storing food
items’; boʈua ‘purse’
S06.99907 the sandal senɖal
S06.99911 to wear gaːʤimu ‘to put on (clothes)’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S07.110 to live nimu; naʃimu ‘to sit; to stay; to rest’

S07.120 the house kim ‘house, home’; arsisi kim ‘modern house, built
with bricks and cement’; gora ‘stone house’
S07.130 the hut ɖog ‘small house’; ʃennaŋ ‘small house in mountain
or fields’
S07.131 the garden-house urʧʰ ‘separate storehouse traditionally used to store
grains, alchohol, butter etc’
S07.140 the tent ʈenʈ ‘tent for ceremonies’; tombua ‘tarpaulin’
S07.150 the yard or court kʰataŋ
S07.160 the men’s house mjuŋ kim; mikim
S07.170 the cookhouse panʈʰaŋ ‘room with stove in traditional house’; kuʈiŋ
‘outside kitchen for preparing large amount of food
for celebrations etc’
S07.180 the meeting house dumsa kim; ʦoːriŋ ‘raised platform in the center of
the temple complex for placing devta on, where
people gather’
S07.210 the room panʈʰaŋ ‘room with stove in traditional house; floor
(in a traditional house); the main residential room
in a house’
S07.220 the door or gate dʋaraŋ; pitaŋ ‘gate, door’; kajaŋ ‘door with door-
frame’
S07.230 the lock ʃaːnaŋ, ʃaːniŋ ‘traditional large iron lock on the
main door’
S07.231 the latch or door- ʋanʈʰaŋ
bolt
S07.240 the key talaŋ(ʦ), taːliʦ
S07.250 the window bodiŋ
S07.260 the floor pʰor ‘floor; ground’; panʈʰaŋ ‘floor (inside a tradi-
tional house); room’
S07.270 the wall bitiŋ
S07.310 the fireplace meliŋ; pʰaːliŋ ‘oven, fireplace’
S07.320 the stove geːs ‘modern (gas) stove’
S07.330 the chimney dusraŋ
S07.370 the ladder tʰem(ʦ); ʦʰam ‘ladder; bridge’
S07.420 the bed palaŋg ‘modern bed’; ʦaːrpaːj ‘cot with wooden
frame; matress part of a bed made of woven ropes’;

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

poʃ ‘bedding (traditionally people sleep on bedding

on the floor)’
S07.421 the pillow kum
S07.422 the blanket kambal; ruʤai; kʰjar ‘blanket made of goat’s hair’
S07.430 the chair k(ʰ)ursi
S07.440 the table meʣ
S07.450 the lamp or torch beʈri ‘flashlight’; lalʈen ‘kerosene lamp’; lomp ‘small
kerosene lamp’; diʋaŋ ‘earthen lamp’
S07.460 the candle mumbati
S07.480 the trough kʰoːlo; ʦoriŋ
S07.510 the roof ʦʰapraŋ ‘A-shaped roof of a traditional house or a
temple’; ʃoll ‘flat stone roof’; lenʈer ‘modern brick-
tile roof’; məltʰaŋ ‘thatched roof’
S07.550 the beam baːʃaŋ; ʤaldaːraŋ ‘roof beam’
S07.560 the post or pole tʰamgaŋ ‘pole (in traditional Kinnauri homes there
used to be a pole adorned with decorative intricate
carving in the middle of a house)’
S07.570 the board rots
S07.610 the mason mistri
S07.620 the brick ĩːʈ
S07.630 the mortar(2) simenʈ
S07.6500 the camp ʦatʰaŋ
S07.6700 to tan ʧʰomu
S07.99905 the mosquito net maʧʰardaːni
S08.110 the farmer ʣimdaːr
S08.120 the field rim; ropaŋ ‘large farming field’; seːriŋ ‘large farm-
ing field’; ɲol ‘farm below village’; kanɖa ‘farm just
below mountain top’; ɖabəraŋ ‘farm with many
rocks/stones’; paʈaŋ ‘terraced farm’
S08.1210 the paddy daːn
S08.130 the garden bagiʦa ‘garden; orchard’
S08.150 to cultivate pəʃmu ‘to sow; to cultivate’
S08.160 the fence baːʈaŋ
S08.170 the ditch kʰaːruŋ
S08.210 to plough/plow halaŋ hemu; stal hemu
S08.212 the furrow siːtʰaŋ
S08.220 to dig koːrmu

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S08.230 the spade pʰorua ‘spade; hoe’

S08.240 the shovel bilʦa ‘shovel with a wooden handle and aluminium
base, used in farming’; korpanaŋ ‘wooden shovel for
snow shuffling’
S08.250 the hoe ʃor; kudali; pʰorua ‘spade; hoe’
S08.270 the rake ʃorʦ
S08.2800 the digging stick ʣabəl
(=yamstick)
S08.310 to sow pəʃmu ‘to sow; to cultivate’
S08.311 the seed poʈo; bijaŋ; boʈaŋ ‘soybean-like seed’; reːmoː ‘apricot
seeds’; mog ‘bird seed’; pug ‘roasted seeds’
S08.320 to mow labmu
S08.330 the sickle or scythe ʣitʰraŋ
S08.340 to thresh pʰammu ‘to thresh manually using a stick’;
ʦʰaʈjaːmu ‘to thresh manually while holding the
sheaf in hand and beating it against a hard surface’
S08.350 the threshing-floor kʰolaŋ
S08.410 the harvest pʰosol
S08.420 the grain ʧʰoa
S08.430 the wheat ʣod
S08.440 the barley ʈag
S08.470 the maize/corn ʦʰəli, ʦʰəlija
S08.480 the rice ral ‘modern rice (cooked or uncooked)’; koni ‘a local
rice variety (cooked or uncooked)’
S08.510 the grass ʧi
S08.520 the hay kʰolaŋ; ʃor; braʧi
S08.530 the plant ɖaːlaŋ; baːlaŋ ‘seedling’
S08.531 to plant pǝʃmu; ʈuŋmu ‘to plant; to make stand’
S08.540 the root ʤiːlaŋ
S08.550 the branch ɖalaŋ, ɖaliŋ; bar
S08.560 the leaf patʰraŋ
S08.570 the flower pʰul; uː
S08.600 the tree boːʈʰaŋ
S08.630 the birch ʃag
S08.640 the pine liːm; kjalmaŋ ‘Deodar cedar’
S08.650 the fir pan
S08.680 the tobacco tomaːku

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S08.690 to smoke tuŋmu ‘to drink; to smoke’; sigriʈ tuŋmu ‘to smoke a
cigarette’
S08.691 the pipe nodi; ʃoʈʰes; hukka
S08.720 the tree stump goniŋ ‘tree stump; tree trunk’; ɖoŋa ‘tree stump; tree
trunk’
S08.730 the tree trunk goniŋ ‘tree stump; tree trunk’; ɖoŋa ‘tree stump; tree
trunk’; boːʈʰaŋu ɖuza
S08.740 the forked branch bragʤa ‘forked tree branch; crossroads’
S08.750 the bark bod ‘(human) skin; bark; peel’; pəd ‘bark of the
Himalayan birch’
S08.760 the sap ʧʰiti
S08.820 the coconut gori
S08.840 the banana kela
S08.931 the pumpkin or reʈʰo ‘pumpkin with hard peel, inedible’; kondu
squash ‘pumpkin with soft peel, edible’; kaddu ‘pumpkin’
S08.940 the bamboo bãs
S08.941 the sugar cane gənna
S08.960 the fish poison maʧʰesu biʃaŋ
S08.980 the mushroom ʤaŋmuts
S08.9930 the needle(2) ʈon
S08.9960 the cone toŋlo; pʰrus; ʈʰaːŋgaːle
S08.99901 the almond bədam
S08.99905 the apple sjo, seo (modern); pal (indigenous, traditional)
S08.99910 the carrot gaːʤar
S08.99911 the cashew kaʤu
S08.99918 the dung molaŋ
S08.99930 the mango aːm
S08.99935 the onion pjaːʣ
S08.99936 the orange sontra
S08.99937 the pea maʈar
S08.99938 the pear naspoti
S08.99941 the plum luʦa ‘wild plum’
S08.99952 the turnip ʃakar
S08.99961 to pick tʰomu
S08.99962 to raise or grow jogmu (tr) (animals, humans); paːljaːmu (tr) (ani-
mate); poʣjaːmu (tr) (inanimate)

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S09.110 to do lannu ‘to do; to make’

S09.1110 to make lannu ‘to do; to make’; ʈujaːmu ‘to prepare; to make
ready (with 3 person object)’; ʈujaːʃimu (mdl) ‘to
get oneself prepared’
S09.120 the work kamaŋ; nukuri ‘service; job’
S09.140 to bend kʰoŋmu (tr); kʰoŋʃimu (mdl) ‘to bend; to bow
slightly (e.g., for greeting)’
S09.150 to fold kulugmu
S09.160 to tie ʦʰunnu
S09.161 to untie ʈʰormu
S09.180 the chain ʃaŋliŋ
S09.190 the rope bəʃ; ɖori; ʃakʰro; ʧʰoːnliŋ ‘clothesline’
S09.192 the knot ganʈʰaŋ
S09.210 to strike or hit or kulmu; pʰoʈnoː rannu; tugmu
beat
S09.220 to cut kaʈjaːmu; məlmu; pʰralmu ‘to cut down’; pʰolmu ‘to
cut/chop wood’
S09.222 to chop kuʈkuʈaŋ ʃennu; pʰolmu ‘to cut/chop wood’
S09.223 to stab ʧʰuris rannu
S09.230 the knife(2) ʦaku
S09.240 the scissors or kətu ‘modern scissors’; ʧʰəmpa ‘traditional scissors’
shears
S09.250 the axe/ax lasta; ostorsostor ‘battle axe’
S09.251 the adze basiŋ
S09.260 to break ʈəgmu (tr); ʤəgmu (intr); ʈəgʃimu (mdl); baʃmu
(intr)
S09.261 broken ʤəgʤəg
S09.270 to split pʰərmu ‘to split; to tear’
S09.280 to tear pʰərmu ‘to split; to tear’; ʦermu ‘to tear; to cut with
knife/scissors’
S09.290 to skin kʰoːmu ‘to remove skin, bark, etc.’
S09.310 to rub baʈrjaːmu (S), buʈrjaːmu (B) (tr); baʈrjaːʃimu (S),
buʈrjaːʃimu (B) (mdl)
S09.3110 to wipe kuʃjaːmu (tr); kuʃjaːʃimu (mdl)
S09.320 to stretch ʦonnu (tr); ʦonʃimu (mdl) ‘to stretch (oneself); to
yawn by stretching (one’s arms)’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S09.330 to pull ɖabmu (tr); ɖabʃimu (mdl)

S09.340 to spread out pramu (tr) (cereals etc); bramu (intr); praʃimu
(mdl); sunnu (tr) (batter)
S09.341 to hang up ʤonʈaŋ ʃennu
S09.342 to press dobjaːmu; letʰjaːmu ‘to press edibles or cow dung’;
setʰjaːmu ‘to press to straighten something’
S09.343 to squeeze ʈrumu (tr); ʈrutʰjaːmu (tr)
S09.350 to pour osmu
S09.360 to wash ʧimu (tr) (non-living objects); ʧiʃimu (mdl);
ʤiʃimu (mdl) ‘to wash one’s hands’
S09.370 to sweep kuʧaŋ lannu ‘to sweep with a broom’; ʃojaːmu ‘to
sweep/clean (in general)’
S09.380 the broom kuʧaŋ; kuʧoʦ ‘small broom for clearing ash around
traditional stove in the middle of living room’
S09.422 the tool joʤaŋ
S09.430 the carpenter ores ‘male member of the ores community (a social
sub-group which traditionally were carpenters)’;
oronig ‘female member of the ores community’
S09.440 to build paŋmu
S09.460 to bore dʋǝnnu; ɖogiŋ lannu; ɖogiŋ tonnu ‘to bore, to take
out something’
S09.461 to hollow out ɖogiŋ koʈjaːmu ‘to cut a hole’; ɖogiŋ tonnu ‘to bore;
to take out something’
S09.480 the saw aːra
S09.490 the hammer hatʰoɽa
S09.500 the nail kilaŋ
S09.560 the glue ʧʰiti
S09.600 the blacksmith ɖomaŋ ‘traditional blacksmith community’; ɖomes
‘male member of this community’
S09.610 to forge gaːŋ ʃennu
S09.640 the gold ʣaŋ
S09.650 the silver mul
S09.660 the copper ʈromaŋ
S09.670 the iron ron
S09.680 the lead siːkʰ
S09.690 the tin or tinplate ʦadər

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S09.710 the potter kʰəmar

S09.720 to mould/mold kʰoŋmu (tr); kʰoŋʃimu (mdl)
S09.730 the clay ma(ː)ʈiŋ ‘land; soil; clay’
S09.740 the glass ʃiʃa; siso ‘glass; drinking glass; mirror’
S09.750 to weave or tagmu ‘to weave’; kjarmu ‘to braid (someone’s hair)’;
plait/braid kjarʃimu (mdl) ‘to braid (one’s own hair)’
S09.760 the basket ʈokri; koʈiŋ ‘basket carried on the back’; ʧaŋger
‘woven basket without handle or lid’; ʦʰaʈoʦ ‘basket
with handle’; ɖanli ‘large bamboo basket used for
storing large quantities of cooked food at gatherings
(not used these days)’
S09.770 the mat kʰjar ‘blanket made of goat’s hair; mat (rough, to sit
on)’
S09.790 the fan paŋkʰa
S09.810 to carve mərap tonnu
S09.820 the sculptor kunɖa ʤaŋʦjaː ‘sculptor of clay statues’
S09.830 the statue kunɖa ‘(full-body) statue (of a god)’; murti
S09.840 the chisel ʦʰeniŋ
S09.880 the paint raŋg ‘paint, color’
S09.890 to paint raŋgjaːmu; raŋgʃennu; siː tonnu ‘to paint (a special
kind of Buddhist painting on silk or cotton, created
by lamas)’; ʧemu ‘to write; to draw; to paint’
S09.9000 to draw water ti ʈimu
S09.9100 the peg kʰunʈi
S09.99915 the pencil pensil
S09.99916 the rust kʰoiŋ
S09.99917 the sack boraŋ, bori
S09.99931 to dwell or stay nimu
S09.99934 to prepare ʈujaːmu (tr); ʈujaːʃimu (mdl)
S09.99936 to smear ʃelmu (tr); ʃelʃimu (mdl)
S09.99938 to support gudrannu (tr); gudranʃimu (mdl)
S10.110 to move sikjaːmu (tr); sikjaːʃimu (mdl) ‘to get moved,
shaken’
S10.120 to turn ʃurjaːmu; kʰoŋmu ‘to turn; to bend; to mold’;
polʈjaːʃimu (mdl) ‘to turn around; to roll (pl) (col-
lectively)’; polʈjaːmu ‘to flip over (e.g., chapati,
quilt)’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S10.130 to turn around polʈennu (intr) ‘to turn around, to return, to come
back’; ʃurjaːʃimu (mdl) ‘to circle back’; kʰoŋʃimu
(mdl) ‘to get turned, bent, molded’
S10.140 to wrap meʃnjaːmu (tr); brinljaːmu (tr); brinljaːʃimu (mdl)
S10.160 to drop tʰannu; ʧogmu; pʰralmu ‘to fell; to drop; to topple’;
gərmu (tr) ‘(unintentionally) to drop; to topple’
S10.170 to twist mekjamu (sth inanimate) (tr); mekjaʃimu (mdl)
S10.210 to rise tʰoʃimu (mdl); donnu, dʋǝnnu ‘to come out (intr),
to rise (sun)’; ʣərmu (sun, moon); sarʃimu (mdl)
(human); janʧimu ‘to wake up (mdl)’
S10.220 to raise or lift tʰomu; sǝrmu ‘to raise, to wake up (tr)’
S10.230 to fall bralmu; dannu ‘to get dropped, by natural force’;
tʰaʃimu (mdl) ‘to get dropped (on its own or unin-
tentionally)’
S10.240 to drip ʧogmu (tr); ʤogmu (intr)
S10.250 to throw pajaːmu; pʰikjaːmu ‘to throw out; to discard’;
bǝrʃjaːmu ‘to throw; to leave behind (a devta) and
return to the village’; ʃoʈʰjaːmu ‘to throw; to leave
(forever)’
S10.252 to catch ʦummu ‘to grasp, to catch’
S10.260 to shake ʣuŋljaːmu (tr) (animate); ʧʰokljaːmu (tr) (liquid);
ʈʰoŋʃimu (mdl) ‘to shake dust off clothes’
S10.320 to flow bojennu (intr) ‘to blow; to flow’; bojaːʃimu (mdl)
‘to blow; to float (pl) (collectively)’
S10.330 to sink ɖubjaːmu (tr); ɖubennu (intr)
S10.340 to float bojennu (intr)
S10.350 to swim trabʃimu (mdl) ‘to swim or to cross the river on a
rope’
S10.352 to splash ʦʰaʈjaːmu
S10.360 to sail ʦaljaːmu ‘to drive a vehicle, boat, etc.’
S10.370 to fly jabmu (tr)
S10.380 to blow pʰuljaːmu (tr)
S10.410 to crawl ɖabʃimu (mdl)
S10.412 to kneel ɖoliŋmu ‘to kneel (in front of a god); to touch elders’
feet as a sign of respect’
S10.413 to crouch gʋaʃimu (mdl); laːŋ ʦʰerjaːmu (tr)

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S10.420 to slide or slip breʧimu

S10.430 to jump gʋaʃimu (mdl); gʋamu (tr); laːŋ ʦʰerjaːmu (tr);
(s)kʋamu ‘to make jump’ (causative)
S10.431 to kick latʰos rannu
S10.440 to dance ʧaːmu
S10.450 to walk junnu (intr); halennu (intr) ‘to take a walk, to
roam’; junnu ʃennu (tr); haljaːmu (tr) ‘to walk, to
roam’
S10.451 to limp kʰorennu ‘to limp; to snore’
S10.460 to run ʈʰurennu (intr); ʈʰurjaːmu (tr)
S10.470 to go bjomu (S), bimu (B)
S10.471 to go up tʰug bjomu
S10.472 to climb (tʰug) bjomu
S10.473 to go down ( jug) ʤabmu
S10.474 to go out baːriŋ donnu
S10.480 to come bǝnnu
S10.481 to come back polʈennu (intr); polʈjaːmu (tr)
S10.490 to leave ʃoʈʰjaːmu ‘to throw; to leave (for ever)’; bǝrʃjaːmu ‘to
throw; to leave behind (a devta) and return to the
village’
S10.491 to disappear ʃo bjomu
S10.510 to flee bjomu ‘to leave; to go away; to run away’; ʃoʈʰjaːmu
‘to throw; to leave (for ever)’
S10.520 to follow ɲumʧ junnu
S10.530 to pursue piʧʰa lannu; kʰerjaːmu ‘to chase (tr)’; kʰabmu ‘to
chase’
S10.550 to arrive pǝnnu ‘to arrive; to approach’
S10.560 to approach pǝnnu ‘to arrive; to approach’
S10.570 to enter komo bjomu; saŋʃimu (mdl) (forcefully, e.g., thief)
S10.5800 to go or return polʈeʈe bjomu
home
S10.610 to carry tʰomu; kjubmu ‘to carry on one’s back’
S10.612 to carry in hand gudo tʰomu
S10.613 to carry on shoulder raŋe tʰomu; bide tʰomu
S10.614 to carry on head bale tʰomu
S10.615 to carry under the kjarʈʰaŋ tʰomu
arm

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S10.620 to bring karmu

S10.630 to send ʃennu
S10.640 to lead ʣaŋmu
S10.650 to drive ʦaljaːmu
S10.660 to ride ʃokʃimu (mdl)
S10.670 to push (s)tugmu ‘to push; to strike; to hit’; pʰutugmu ‘push
(to hurt the other person)’
S10.710 the road solok
S10.720 the path om ‘mountain path’
S10.740 the bridge ʦʰam
S10.750 the cart or wagon goɽagaɽi
S10.760 the wheel paija
S10.780 the yoke golɖuŋ
S10.810 the ship paniʤaʣ
S10.830 the boat kiʃti
S10.850 the oar ʧappu
S10.890 the anchor lǝŋgǝr
S10.910 the port bandarga
S10.920 to land rebʧimu
S10.99901 to accompany eke bjomu
S10.99903 to carry on the back piʃʈe tʰomu
S10.99904 to dip ʈ(r)agmu
S11.110 to have haʧimu ‘to have; to become’
S11.130 to take unnu ‘to take; to seize’
S11.140 to grasp ʦummu
S11.160 to get tʰobmu (tr); porennu (intr) ‘to get; to find’
S11.170 to keep taːmu ‘to keep; to put’
S11.180 the thing bastuŋ; ʦiːʣ
S11.210 to give rannu (non-1/2o), kemu (1/2o)
S11.220 to give back polʈjaːʈjaː rannu
S11.240 to preserve mapipi taːmu
S11.250 to rescue boʦjaːmu
S11.270 to destroy ʦʰaka lannu
S11.280 to injure akʰa bjomu
S11.2900 to damage nuksaːn lannu
S11.310 to look for poʧimu

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S11.320 to find porennu (intr); pajaːmu (tr)

S11.330 to lose piːʃimu (mdl)
S11.340 to let go ʦʰerjaːmu
S11.430 the money ʃugu
S11.440 the coin pesaʦ
S11.510 rich soukar
S11.520 poor ɖaːlɖis; biʧaːres, biʧaːrikas ‘helpless, poor’; alaːʦar
‘poor (man)’
S11.530 the beggar unʦjaː
S11.540 stingy braːʈ
S11.620 to borrow rin rannu
S11.630 to owe rin haʧimu
S11.640 the debt rin
S11.650 to pay ʃugu rannu
S11.690 the tax ʈeks; kar, kǝr
S11.780 the wages pəgar
S11.790 to earn kəmaj lannu; kəmajaːmu
S11.810 to buy ʣogmu
S11.820 to sell rennu
S11.830 to trade or barter bjepar lannu
S11.840 the merchant dukandaːr; bepari
S11.850 the market baʣaːr
S11.860 the shop/store haːʈi; dukaːn
S11.870 the price molaŋ; kimot
S11.880 expensive me(h)eŋga, mẽga; tjoŋ molaŋ
S11.890 cheap sostas, sosta
S11.910 to share kagmu ‘to distribute’; kagʧimu (mdl) ‘to distribute’
S11.920 to weigh toljaːmu
S11.99904 the property maːja; gorbon; maːl
S11.99907 to receive porennu (intr) ‘to receive; to find’
S12.0100 after ɲum; nipi
S12.0110 behind ɲumsko; ɲums; piʃʈiŋ
S12.0120 in dor ‘in; near’; komo ‘inside’
S12.0130 at tʰug ‘at; up; above’; den ‘on; above; over’
S12.0200 beside dǝŋ ‘near; beside; next’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S12.0300 down joʧriŋ ‘below’, jeʈʰaŋ ‘under; inside; down’; jug

‘down; below’
S12.0400 before oms
S12.0410 in front of omsko
S12.0500 inside komo
S12.0600 outside baːraŋ; baːriŋ (B); beːriŋ (S)
S12.0700 under jeʈʰaŋ ‘under; inside; down’
S12.0800 up tʰug ‘at; up; above’; den ‘on; above; over’
S12.0810 above den ‘on; above; over’
S12.110 the place ʣaːga
S12.120 to put taːmu ‘to keep; to put’
S12.130 to sit toʃimu (mdl) ‘sit’; naʃimu ‘to sit; to stay; to rest’
S12.140 to lie down dinnu
S12.150 to stand ɖen nimu
S12.160 to remain dakʧimu
S12.170 the remains dakʧiʃid
S12.210 to gather meʈjaːmu (tr); meʈjaːʃimu (mdl); ʣabmu (tr)
(small-size objects)
S12.212 to pick up tʰomu
S12.213 to pile up ɖeri ʃennu
S12.220 to join ʈigmu
S12.230 to separate kʰeʦi lannu (tr); ʈomu ‘to take apart a man-made
object’
S12.232 to divide kʰaːmu (tr) ‘to distribute’; kagmu (tr) ‘to distribute’
S12.240 to open toŋmu (tr)
S12.250 to shut pinnu (tr); piʃimu (mdl); binnu (intr)
S12.260 to cover pʰogmu (tr) (animate objects); lubmu (tr)
(inanimate objects, e.g., large pots, but not
grass); gorjaːmu (tr) (inanimate objects such as
grass)’
S12.270 to hide məŋmu
S12.310 high raŋk ‘high, tall (human, animate, inanimate)’
S12.320 low melk
S12.330 the top bəll ‘head; top’
S12.340 the bottom tol; tʰaːsaŋ
S12.350 the end(1) ʣo ɲumsko ‘last; end (spatial)’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S12.353 the edge daːr

S12.360 the side paʃ
S12.370 the middle maʤaŋ
S12.410 right(1) ʣakʰaŋ ‘right; south’
S12.420 left kʰoʤaŋ ‘left; north’
S12.430 near dor; dǝŋ ‘nearby (visible); beside’; neraŋ ‘near, close’
S12.440 far ʋarko
S12.450 the east ʣərko
S12.460 the west redko
S12.470 the north kʰoʤaŋ ‘left; north’
S12.480 the south ʣakʰaŋ ‘right; south’
S12.530 to grow paːlennu (intr)
S12.540 to measure pəgmu (edible objects); rinnu (non-edibles);
napjaːmu (non-edibles)
S12.550 big teg
S12.560 small gaʈo(ʦ) (S); ʣigiʦ (B) ‘small; young’
S12.580 tall laːmes ‘long; tall’; raŋk ‘high; tall (human, animate,
inanimate)’
S12.590 short ʧʰoʈaʦ (human)
S12.610 wide kʰulas ‘wide; open (e.g., landscape or a large house
with more open space)’; kunʧ ‘wide (inanimate
objects, e.g., clothes, facial features, road)’
S12.620 narrow gaʈes
S12.630 thick moʈʰes ‘thick; fat (e.g., dog, tree, man)’; bakʰles (non-
human)
S12.650 thin bagiʦ; nakiʦ (e.g., tree, man, child but not domestic
animals)
S12.670 deep ɖuges (e.g., river, well); ɖuga (e.g., plate)
S12.710 flat somaŋ; podres; maʃʈiːʦ ‘smooth; flat (cloth)’; pen-
tenle (e.g., plate)
S12.730 straight solɖes ‘straight; simple-natured (person)’; solɖi
‘straight; humble; non-crooked (person)’
S12.740 crooked koŋʈa (m), koŋʈi (f) ‘crooked; humpbacked’
S12.760 the corner ʣər
S12.780 the square pəʣər( jaː)
S12.810 round baːʈles (inanimate objects); gola ‘round; circle’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S12.820 the circle gola ‘round; circle’; goliŋ ‘hoe balls’

S12.830 the ball gĩdu; pinʈu
S12.840 the line len; rekʰ (only in Hindu mythological narratives)
S12.850 the hole ɖogiŋ; ʣabraː
S12.920 similar ibrobar (in personality); iruaŋ (in appearance)
S12.930 to change kʋalmu
S13.0100 one id; ek
S13.0200 two niʃ
S13.0300 three ʃum, sum
S13.0400 four pǝ
S13.0500 five ŋa
S13.0600 six ʈug
S13.0700 seven (s)ʈiʃ
S13.0800 eight re
S13.0900 nine (s)gui; id mats se
S13.100 ten seː
S13.101 eleven sigid
S13.102 twelve soniʃ
S13.103 fifteen soŋa
S13.104 twenty niʣa
S13.105 a hundred raː
S13.106 a thousand haʣaːr
S13.107 to count narmu
S13.140 all ʦeik ‘all; whole’; saləm ‘all; whole (objects)’; pura
‘whole (e.g., city, village, country)’; gui ‘all; whole
(duration)’; sares ‘all; whole’
S13.150 many banbant; kus ‘much, many (countable objects)’; ʋal
‘much, many (non-countable objects)’; botabot (this
is used only in connection with beating or fighting
with solid round objects)
S13.160 more tjoŋ (non-countable objects); bodi (countable
objects)
S13.170 few san; sanʦ
S13.180 enough kjalekʰa
S13.181 some ʧʰəd ‘what; some’; domri; san; sanʦ
S13.190 the crowd ʣomgoʈ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S13.210 full bəŋgi

S13.220 empty ʃagi
S13.230 the part hisa
S13.2310 the piece kʰanaŋʦ
S13.240 the half kʰaːnaŋ (non-liquids); aːdaŋ (liquids)
S13.330 only eko
S13.3310 alone erʦʰi
S13.340 first ʣo oms; pele
S13.350 last ʣo ɲums
S13.360 second ʣo omskoʧ ɲums
S13.370 the pair ʤoɽi
S13.380 twice/two times niʃ beraŋ ‘two times’; dugna ‘twice’
S13.420 third ʃumu densjaː; ʃum baːg; ʃum hisaː ‘one third’
S13.440 three times ʃum beraŋ
S13.99901 a little tʰoɽa; saːnʦ
S13.99903 each or every rere
S13.99905 the yard gəʣ
S13.99906 thirty niʣo se
S13.99907 to fill bəŋmu (intr); pəŋmu (tr)
S13.99908 to substitute bodljaːmu
S14.110 the time ʈʰonaŋ; laːmdes ‘duration, time period’; rǝŋ ‘times’
(e.g., pǝ rǝŋ ‘four times)’
S14.120 the age umor (human); aʤokʰa; ʦʰe (in buddhism)
S14.130 new ɲuːg ‘young; new’
S14.140 young ɲuːg ‘young; new’; gaʈoʦ ‘young; small’; ʣigiʦ
‘young; small’; ɖekʰor (human); ʣuan (m) (human);
konsaŋ ‘young(er) in kinship relation’
S14.150 old uʃk (non-human); sjano (human); jaŋʣe(ʦ) (ani-
mate f)
S14.170 late kʰrakʰra
S14.180 now hun
S14.190 immediately hunei
S14.210 fast hasəl ‘soon; fast (speed)’; dele ‘quickly’; pʰaʈak
‘quickly’
S14.220 slow mesaŋ; sulus
S14.230 to hurry ʃumu (intr)

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S14.240 to be late kʰramu

S14.250 to begin duʃimu (mdl)
S14.2510 the beginning ʃuru; ʣode beraŋ
S14.270 to finish (ʃuŋmu) ʦʰekjaːmu (tr); purjaːmu (tr) ‘to finish; to
complete’; ʃuŋmu (intr)
S14.280 to cease rokjaːmu (tr) ‘to stop; to cease’; rukennu (intr) ‘to
stop; to cease’; rokjaːʃimu (mdl) ‘to stop; to cease’
S14.310 always djaːro ‘always; every day, daily’
S14.320 often ipaipa
S14.330 sometimes ipa; isən
S14.331 soon hasəl ‘soon; fast (speed)’
S14.332 for a long time kusistaŋ
S14.340 never teraŋi
S14.350 again he; dema (S), tema (B) ‘then; again’
S14.410 the day(1) mja; laje, le
S14.4110 the day(2) djaːr; djusaŋ; tʰaːro
S14.420 the night raːtiŋ
S14.430 the dawn somsi
S14.440 the morning som
S14.450 the midday maʤaŋ laje, maʤaŋ le
S14.451 the afternoon ɲum laje, ɲum le
S14.460 the evening ʃupa; ʃupelaŋ
S14.470 today toro
S14.480 tomorrow naːb
S14.481 the day after tomor- romi
row
S14.490 yesterday meː
S14.491 the day before yes- riː
terday
S14.510 the hour ganʈa
S14.530 the clock gəɽi, gaɽiː
S14.610 the week həpta
S14.620 Sunday tʋaːr, tʋaːraŋ
S14.630 Monday suãraŋ
S14.640 Tuesday maŋglaːraŋ
S14.650 Wednesday budaːraŋ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S14.660 Thursday brespot

S14.670 Friday ʃukaraŋ
S14.680 Saturday ʃonʃeres
S14.710 the month gol
S14.730 the year boʃaŋ
S14.740 the winter gun
S14.750 the spring(2) renam
S14.760 the summer ʃol
S14.770 the autumn/fall ʦʰarmi
S14.780 the season mosəm; kalaŋ
S14.99902 long ago omi
S14.99903 New Year saʣo104
S15.210 to smell(1) baːsennu (intr) (one entity); baːsjaːʃimu (mdl)
(collectively); tamʃimu (mdl); basennu (intr)
S15.212 to sniff baːsjaːmu (tr); (baːs) tammu (tr)
S15.250 fragrant bas
S15.260 stinking ganam
S15.350 sweet tʰiːg; em
S15.360 salty ʦʰakore; surk ‘salty; sour’
S15.370 bitter kaːg
S15.380 sour surk ‘salty; sour’
S15.390 brackish ʦʰati
S15.410 to hear tʰəsmu
S15.420 to listen ronʧimu
S15.440 the sound or noise (s)kad
S15.450 loud ʣores
S15.460 quiet ʦuʈkaŋ
S15.510 to see kʰjamu (S), kʰima (B)
S15.520 to look taŋmu ‘to observe’
S15.550 to show ʣaŋmu
S15.560 to shine ʣəlməlennu (intr); ʣəkməkennu (intr)
S15.570 bright ʣələmələ
S15.610 the colour/color raŋg ‘paint; color’

104 The name of a festival which marks the beginning of a new year.

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S15.620 light(2) ʦʰag; ʦʰatk

S15.630 dark ajãːraŋ; tur
S15.640 white ʈʰog
S15.650 black rok
S15.660 red ʃʋiːg
S15.670 blue əsmani; raːg ‘blue; green’
S15.680 green raːg ‘blue; green’
S15.690 yellow piːg ‘yellow’; pigulgulo ‘orange’
S15.710 to touch ʈʰəŋmu
S15.712 to pinch ʧũɖus rannu
S15.720 to feel demu ‘touch; feel’; ʦalmu
S15.740 hard ʈal ‘hard (objects)’; ʈalkaʈal ‘very hard (objects)’
S15.750 soft koles; sapsapo; tʰis ‘soft; loose (e.g., knot)’
S15.760 rough(1) kʰaʃe
S15.770 smooth maʃʈiʦ
S15.780 sharp ʣərəʣərə, ʦərəʦərəi
S15.790 blunt bəʧag; ʈʰuntsu
S15.810 heavy garkas; liːg
S15.820 light(1) lamgiʦ
S15.830 wet ʧiʦ; pinʧ
S15.840 dry ʦʰarʦ (e.g., plant leaves, stems); kʰuʃk (inanimate
objects)
S15.850 hot bok
S15.851 warm ʤogiʦ; ʤ(r)ãŋk ‘very warm (weather)’
S15.860 cold lis(k)
S15.870 clean sapʰ; ʦokʰes; ʃuʃes, ʃuʃkes ‘clean (human)’; niraːnes
‘clean; pure (liquids)’
S15.880 dirty kriː ‘dirty (internally generated dirt in humans)’; ʋaʃ
‘dirty, impure’; maːri ‘filthy (human)’
S15.890 wrinkled ʣutʰrupʃis ‘wrinkled (men, women)’
S15.99901 brown buro
S15.99902 grey ʈʰ(r)oraːg
S15.99903 orange pigulgulo
S15.99904 pink gulaːbi ‘pink; violet’
S15.99906 violet gulaːbi ‘pink; violet’
S16.110 the soul or spirit ʣiʋa

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S16.150 surprised or aston- biʃaraŋ

ished
S16.180 the good luck dam kismot
S16.190 the bad luck mari kismot
S16.230 happy kʰusi, kʰuʃi
S16.250 to laugh ʋannu
S16.260 to play joʧimu; baʣjaːmu (tr); baʣennu (intr)
S16.270 to love bennaŋ lannu; bennjaːmu
S16.290 to kiss pʰapu rannu
S16.300 to embrace kakʦ tsummu
S16.310 the pain əkʰa (physical); piraŋ (mental)
S16.320 the grief dukʰaŋ ‘disease; grief’
S16.340 to regret or be sorry golti monjaːmu
S16.350 the pity paːpu; paːpaŋ
S16.370 to cry krabmu
S16.380 the tear misti
S16.390 to groan ʤĩgennu
S16.410 to hate migo boŋ ʦalmu
S16.420 the anger roʃaŋ
S16.440 the envy or jealousy miʧʰaŋ
S16.450 the shame sorom; pəʦit
S16.480 proud ʃaːn
S16.510 to dare himmot lannu
S16.520 brave roʈʰas; baːdur
S16.530 the fear bjaŋ, bjaŋməg
S16.540 the danger kʰətərnak
S16.620 to want gjaːmu
S16.622 to choose kʰjalmu
S16.630 to hope ʦalmu
S16.660 true soʦkolaŋ
S16.670 to lie(2) alkoləŋ baːtennu
S16.690 to forgive maːpʰ lannu
S16.710 good dam
S16.720 bad maːri ‘bad, filthy (human)’; narək ‘bad; sorrow; hell;
evil’; paːpaŋ ‘evil (n)’
S16.730 right(2) dimaŋ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri

S16.740 wrong ʋamaŋ

S16.760 the fault golti
S16.770 the mistake golti
S16.780 the blame bodi
S16.790 the praise ʃəŋarəŋ
S16.810 beautiful ʃaro (m), ʃare (f)
S16.820 ugly maʃare (f)
S16.830 greedy lalʦi
S16.840 clever ʦəlak; ʧust
S16.99903 thank you! hoːlase
S16.99914 wild bonsak ‘wild entities (animal, plant) (n)’
S17.110 the mind dimaːk
S17.130 to think(1) sunʦennu (intr); ʦalmu ‘to think; to feel’
S17.140 to think(2) sunʦjaːmu (tr)
S17.150 to believe diʤennu
S17.160 to understand somʣennu (intr); gomu (intr); somʣjaːmu (tr)
‘to understand; to explain’
S17.170 to know nemu
S17.171 to guess tʰog lannu
S17.172 to imitate nokol lannu
S17.180 to seem ʦalmu ‘to think; to feel’
S17.190 the idea sunʦo
S17.210 wise okolsjaː ‘wise (n)’
S17.220 stupid muruk ‘foolish’; pagal ‘mad; idiot’
S17.230 mad boːlaː ‘mad (person)’; pagal ‘mad; idiot’
S17.240 to learn huʃimu (mdl) ‘to learn; to read’
S17.242 to study bənʦjaːmu
S17.250 to teach hunnu
S17.260 the pupil huʃid ʧʰaŋ
S17.270 the teacher maʃʈor
S17.280 the school səkul
S17.310 to remember jaːd lannu (vol); kolaŋ lannu (vol); kolaŋ bǝnnu
(nvol); jaːd bǝnnu (nvol)
S17.320 to forget boʃimu (mdl)
S17.360 secret gupti
S17.380 to explain hagom ʃennu

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S17.420 the cause ʧʰəbas

S17.430 the doubt ʃok; bem
S17.440 to suspect ʃok lannu
S17.441 to betray dokʰa rannu; gjab rannu; kjab rannu
S17.450 the need or neces- gjaməg
sity
S17.470 difficult koʦaŋ; muʃkil
S17.480 to try koʃiʃ lannu
S17.490 the manner ʈʰims
S17.510 and raŋ; aj
S17.520 because ʧʰu lonna
S17.540 or kʋe, kue
S17.550 yes ã
S17.560 no mani; nei; maːʦ
S17.610 how? hales; hala
S17.630 how much? te; tetra; teta ‘how many, how much’;
S17.640 what? ʧʰəd ‘what; some’
S17.650 when? teraŋ
S17.660 where? ham
S17.670 which? hat; haʦjaː
S17.680 who? hat
S17.690 why? ʧʰu, tʰu
S17.99903 the same iruaŋ ‘same; similar; identical’
S18.110 the voice (s)kad; aʋaʣ
S18.120 to sing gitʰaː lannu
S18.130 to shout ʈokʰennu (intr) ‘to shout; to shriek; to call out
loud’; ʈokʰjaːmu (tr) ‘to shout; to shriek; to call out
loud’
S18.150 to whisper kʰuʃ puʃjaːmu (tr); ʃutputjaːmu (tr)
S18.160 to mumble guʤ buʤennu
S18.170 to whistle ʃʋĩgjaːmu
S18.180 to shriek ʈokʰennu (intr) ‘to shout; to shriek; to call out
loud’; ʈokʰjaːmu (tr) ‘to shout; to shriek; to call out
loud’
S18.190 to howl haːpe ʤĩgjaʃimu (mdl)

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S18.210 to speak or talk lonnu (non-1/2o) ‘to tell; to speak; to talk’, riŋmu
(B), rəŋmu (S) (1/2o) ‘to tell; to speak; to talk’
S18.211 to stutter or stam- pʰappʰapennu
mer
S18.220 to say baːtjaːmu (tr); baːtennu (intr)
S18.221 to tell baːtjaːmu (tr); baːtennu (intr); lonnu (non-1/2o)
‘to tell; to speak, to talk’, riŋmu (B), rəŋmu (S) (1/2o)
‘to tell; to speak; to talk’
S18.222 the speech baʃən; baːt, baːtaŋ, baːtiŋ; galaŋ
S18.230 to be silent ʦurkaŋ nimu (S), ʦuʈkaŋ nimu (B)
S18.240 the language boli; b(ʰ)aːʃa; (s)kad
S18.260 the word ʧu
S18.280 the name naːmaŋ
S18.310 to ask(1) imu; unnu ‘to take; to ask for’
S18.320 to answer ʣəbab rannu
S18.330 to admit hã kʰurmu
S18.340 to deny hurʃimu (mdl)
S18.350 to ask(2) unnu ‘to take; to ask for’
S18.360 to promise dorom rannu; ren rannu
S18.370 to refuse məna lannu
S18.380 to forbid malannu
S18.390 to scold dopkjaːmu; galjaː rannu ‘to abuse’
S18.410 to call(1) ʈokʰjaːmu; arjaːmu ‘to call; to invite’
S18.440 to threaten pjaŋmu
S18.450 to boast ʃəŋa rennu
S18.510 to write ʧemu ‘to write; to draw’
S18.520 to read huʃimu (mdl)
S18.560 the paper kagli
S18.570 the pen pen; kolom
S18.610 the book kətab; kotʰi ‘Buddhist scriptures’
S18.670 the poet kaʋita ʧeʦjaː (m), kaʋita ʧeʦeː (f)
S18.710 the flute banʃuri; murli; baːʃaŋ
S18.720 the drum ɖol ‘drum with a leather membrane on both ends’
S18.730 the horn or trumpet raɳsiŋ ‘trumpet’
S18.740 the rattle ʧʰunʧʰun
S19.110 the country deʃaŋ; muluk ‘country; village’

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S19.120 the native country ʣonom tʰanaŋ

S19.150 the town ʃer
S19.160 the village graːmaŋ; nogriŋ; muluk ‘country; village’
S19.170 the boundary simaŋ; bəna
S19.210 the people lokas; pakres
S19.230 the clan gor
S19.240 the chieftain gobaʦ; kardaːr
S19.250 the walking stick ʧʰummaː
S19.310 to rule or govern raːʣ lannu
S19.320 the king raːʤa
S19.330 the queen raːni
S19.360 the noble damgoru (dam-gor-u [good-clan-poss])
S19.370 the citizen muluku mi; porʣa
S19.410 the master maːlik
S19.420 the slave lanʦjaː (m) ‘slave; worker’; dasi (f); ʦʰokri (f) ‘slave
at king’s service’
S19.430 the servant ʧʰunpa(f); lanʦjaː (m) ‘slave; worker’; nukur (m, f)
S19.440 the freeman aːʣat mi
S19.4450 to liberate aːʣat lannu
S19.450 to command or hukum lannu
order
S19.460 to obey hukum monjaːmu
S19.470 to permit lannu; ʃennu
S19.510 the friend dost; saŋgis; gurbaːi; kones ‘male friend of a man’;
koneʦ ‘female friend of a woman’
S19.520 the enemy dusmon
S19.540 the neighbour paʃpaŋ
S19.550 the stranger naːmaŋ mi
S19.560 the guest ponukes
S19.5650 to invite arjaːmu (tr) (formal); kunnu (tr) (informal);
arjaːʃimu (mdl)
S19.570 the host memani lantsja
S19.580 to help seta rannu
S19.590 to prevent rokʰjaːmu
S19.610 the custom riʋaːʣ ‘tradition; custom’
S19.620 the quarrel daːʃo

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S19.630 the plot saːʤiʃ

S19.650 to meet ʧʰukmu (tr); ʧʰukʃimu (mdl)
S19.720 the prostitute ɖekʰra meʈjaʦe
S19.99902 Australia asʈrelia
S19.99903 China ʧiːn
S19.99904 Egypt misar
S19.99906 Greece junan
S19.99907 India baːrat
S19.99910 sir ʤənab
S19.99911 Spain səpen
S19.99913 Brazil braʣilu
S19.99914 the certificate serʈifikaʈ
S19.99915 the Chinese person ʧiːnu
S19.99917 the European juropu
S19.99922 the French person pʰrãsu
S19.99925 the hockey hoki
S19.99930 the policeman pulsija; pulis
S19.99935 the sport kʰel
S19.99936 the student huʃidja
S20.110 to fight kulʃimu (mdl); daːʃimu (mdl) ‘to fight verbally; to
quarrel’
S20.130 the war or battle lorai
S20.140 the peace ʃaːnti ‘peace; happiness’
S20.150 the army pʰoʤ
S20.170 the soldier pʰoʤi
S20.210 the weapon oʣar
S20.222 the battle-axe ostorsostor
S20.240 the bow danuʃ
S20.250 the arrow baːn; tiːr
S20.260 the spear bala
S20.270 the sword trǝʋal
S20.280 the gun tupuk
S20.330 the helmet ʈop
S20.340 the shield ɖaːl
S20.360 the tower kʰãba
S20.440 to defend boʦjaːmu

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S20.470 the captive or pris- kedi

oner
S20.471 the guard gaːɖ
S20.510 the fisherman maʧʰaːres
S20.540 the fishnet ʤaːl
S20.610 to hunt eraŋ lannu
S20.620 to shoot tupuk baʣjaːmu
S20.630 to miss ʣilmu
S20.640 the trap pinʣor; koŋ
S21.110 the law kaːnun
S21.150 the court koʈ
S21.160 to adjudicate pʰesla rannu
S21.170 the judgment pʰesla
S21.180 the judge ʤəʤ
S21.210 the plaintiff mukədma lanʦjaː
S21.220 the defendant mukədəma loreʦjaː
S21.230 the witness gʋa
S21.240 to swear ren ʣaːmu
S21.250 the oath kosom
S21.310 to accuse bodi rannu
S21.340 to acquit bori lannu; doʃi lannu
S21.350 guilty mulʣim
S21.360 innocent saːdaŋ ‘innocent; simple (character-wise)’; beksur
S21.370 the penalty or pun- ɖaːnaŋ
ishment
S21.380 the fine səʣa, saʣa
S21.390 the prison ked; obor ‘dungeon’
S21.460 the arson mekrub
S21.510 to steal kʰuʧimu; ʧorjaŋ lannu
S21.520 the thief ʧoras, ʧores
S22.110 the religion dorom, daram
S22.120 the god bogan ‘Hindu god’; deʋi ‘Hindu godess’; deʋtaː
‘Hindu god’; pormeʃeres (m); ʃu ‘village god,’;
ʤʰoŋraːʤas (m) ‘death god’
S22.130 the temple deoraŋ; deoriŋ; koʈʰi; koʈʰiʃelaŋ; gonpa ‘Buddhist
temple’; santʰaŋ ‘temple compound’

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S22.1310 the church ʧərʧ

S22.1320 the mosque məsʤid
S22.150 the sacrifice pəʣa ‘ritual sacrifice’
S22.160 to worship piʤjaːmu
S22.170 to pray donʈrennu ‘to pray (in one’s heart)’; orʣ lannu ‘to
pray (orally)’
S22.180 the priest piʤares; ʤomo (f) ‘lama’; sod (m), sodonig, sodnig
(f); bramən ‘priest; brahmin’
S22.190 holy ʃuːranu ʣaga; alaŋes
S22.220 to preach ʃuːmu
S22.240 to curse ʃaːp rannu
S22.260 to fast kadaʃ lannu
S22.310 the heaven sorg; soroglok
S22.320 the hell norok, narək
S22.350 the demon rakʃas (m)
S22.370 the idol kunɖaʦ
S22.420 the magic ʣaːdu
S22.430 the sorcerer or ɖagin ‘sorcerer; witch’; ʧuɽel (f)
witch
S22.440 the fairy or elf bonmeʦ
S22.450 the ghost rakʃas; ʃuna
S22.470 the omen apʃagun
S22.99905 the funeral dag
S22.99909 the muslim musəlman
S22.99910 the rosary konʈʰi
S23.1000 the radio reɽu
S23.1100 the television ʈibi
S23.1200 the telephone mobajl; (ʈeli)pʰon
S23.1300 the bicycle sajkal
S23.1350 the motorcycle moʈarsajkal
S23.1400 the car gaːɽi; kaːr
S23.1500 the bus bos, bas
S23.1550 the train rel; ʈren
S23.1600 the airplane (haʋai)ʤaʣ
S23.1700 the electricity biʣəli
S23.1750 the battery sel(l)

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S23.1850 the motor moʈor

S23.1900 the machine maʃin
S23.2000 the hospital aspətal
S23.2100 the nurse nors
S23.2200 the pill or tablet goliʦ
S23.2300 the injection sua
S23.2400 the spectacles/ enək; ʧaʃma
glasses
S23.3000 the government gormenʈ
S23.3100 the president raʃʈrəpati
S23.3200 the minister mantri; elkar; ʤeʃʈʰas, gobaʦ; ʤeʃʈʰaŋ ‘elder (n)’
S23.3300 the police pulis
S23.3400 the driver’s license gaːɽi ʧaljaːmu lesəns
S23.3500 the license plate lesəns pəleʈ
S23.3600 the birth certificate ʣormaŋ sarʈipʰikeʈ
S23.3700 the crime paːp
S23.3800 the election elekʃən, ilekʃən
S23.3850 the address pota
S23.3900 the number nar
S23.3950 the street goːliŋ
S23.4000 the post/mail ɖaːk
S23.4100 the postage stamp ɖaːk ʈikoʈ
S23.4200 the letter ʦiʈʰi, ʧiʈʰi
S23.4300 the postcard posʈkaɽ
S23.4400 the bank (financial beŋk
institution)
S23.5000 the tap/faucet nəlka; ʈunʈi
S23.5100 the sink arbo ‘bronze vessel for washing hands’
S23.5200 the toilet kʰəsuriŋ
S23.5300 the mattress poʃ
S23.5400 the tin/can ʈiːn ‘tin’; ken ‘can’
S23.5500 the screw peʧ
S23.5550 the screwdriver peʧkəs
S23.5600 the bottle botol
S23.5650 the candy/sweets emeʦ; mitʰai
S23.5700 the plastic pəlasʈik

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri

S23.5750 the bomb bomb

S23.5900 the cigarette sigriʈ
S23.6000 the newspaper əkʰbar
S23.6100 the calendar kəlenɖər
S23.6200 the film/movie pʰilam
S23.6300 the music baʣgi
S23.6400 the song gana; gitaŋ, gitʰaŋ
S23.9000 the tea ʧaː
S23.9100 the coffee kopʰi
S23.99901 the license lesəns
S24.0100 to be to; du; nimu ‘to exist; to stay’
S24.0200 to become haʧimu ‘to have; to become’
S24.0300 without maːʦ
S24.0400 with (-)rəŋ [(-)com]
S24.0500 through maʤaŋ-s
S24.0600 not ma-
S24.0700 this hojo, ʤo [dem.prox]
S24.0800 that hodo; no, hono [dem.dist.vis]
S24.0900 here həʤəŋ
S24.1000 there dǝŋ [there.vis]; nəŋ [there.nvis]
S24.1100 other aid
S24.1200 next daŋ ‘near; next; beside’
S24.1300 same idi
S24.1400 nothing ʧʰəʦi, mani
S24.99910 someone hatta (hat-ta [who-dsm])
S24.99912 then dok ‘then; after’; dema (S), tema (B) ‘then; again’
S24.99913 they (dual) doniʃ
S24.99914 we (dual inclusive) kiʃaŋ
S24.99917 which hat
S24.99919 you (dual) kiʃi

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 chapter 3

A Linguistic Sketch of Navakat

1 Introduction

Nako is a small, high-altitude village (3,600m above sea level) in Upper Kin-
naur.1 Like a green oasis amidst its immense, dry and barren mountainous
surroundings,2 it is situated in the north-east corner of the district of Kinnaur.
It is about 100km north-east of Reckong Peo, the district headquarter of Kin-
naur (see Chapter 1, Section 3). On its east is the autonomous region of Tibet in
China and on its north-west is the Spiti valley.
Nako belongs administratively to the Hangrang sub-tahsil of the Poo tahsil
(see Chapter 1). As Nako is located within the restricted zone region in India,
foreign nationals are required to seek an inner line permit to visit this village.3
According to the 2011 Indian census report,4 Nako had 128 households, with a
total population of 572 (274 males and 298 females). The population tradition-
ally belongs to two social communities. Administratively the two communities
are officially referred to as the “scheduled caste” community and the “sched-
uled tribe” community (see Chapter 1, Section 4). The latter is the largest group
in the village, with a total population of 532 (255 male and 277 female). Dis-
tinct from the Sangla region, the scheduled caste community in Nako speaks
the same language as the scheduled tribe community, even though socially the
two communities maintain separate identities.5
The Nako village is known as nau among its residents. In more official con-
texts, the village is referred to as “Nako”, and this is the name which will be used
in this work to refer to this village, in accordance with the wishes of my lan-

1 Nako is traditionally an important place for Buddhists in Western Himalaya. There are at least
seven temples from different periods in and around Nako, including a monastic complex.
Some temples of this monastic complex are claimed to be from the first half of the 12th cen-
tury (Luczanits 2003). Buddhists come from far off places to visit Nako. The Nako lake (3,662
metres above sea-level), too, is regarded as a sacred lake by Buddhists.
2 The highest peak near Nako is Leo Pargil (6,791m). It is situated to the east of the Nako village.
3 For access to areas close to the Indian border with China an inner line permit is required. In
Kinnaur this applies to parts of Upper Kinnaur (e.g., Nako), while areas in the Lower Kinnaur
region (e.g., Sangla, Reckong Peo, Kalpa) do not require this permit.
4 Source: Census of India online (retrieved in July 2016).
5 This is also the case in some other Tibetan communities, for instance, the gara (‘blacksmith’)
community in Ladakh.

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170 chapter 3

guage consultants. The speech of this village is referred to as nàʋa-kat [p.name-

speech] [nàʋakat]̚ in the local language. The form Navakat will be used here to
refer to this language,6 which is known in the literature as Bhoti Kinnauri (nes)
or as a “Bhoti dialect”.
All Sino-Tibetan (ST) varieties of Upper Kinnaur are in a sorry state with
respect to their documentation. There is a sketch grammar by D.D. Sharma
(1992: 97–196) where the language is referred to as Nyamkad, based on the
speech of the Poo and Namgya villages. The language of the Nako village is
mentioned only in the following works, where some data can also be found:
Saxena (2011, 2012), Saxena and Borin (2011, 2013) and the Comparative dictio-
nary of Tibetan dialects (CDTD; Bielmeier et al. MS 2008), where the language
(called “Nako”) is classified as belonging to the IBA (North West Indian border
area dialects) sub-group of Western Innovative Tibetan.
The analysis of Navakat presented in this chapter is based on direct-elicited
data and free narratives, which I collected. The direct-elicited material was pri-
marily collected from Mr. Padam Sagar, a native of the Nako village, who was in
his mid-thirties when I began working on Navakat in 2009. The free narratives
were collected from older Nako speakers. As this is the first linguistic descrip-
tion of the speech of the Nako village, most examples provided here represent
the direct-elicited speech to get the basic paradigm-like information of this lan-
guage. As this description will show, the linguistic structure of Navakat is very
similar to other Tibetan varieties.

6 When interacting with people from outside Kinnaur, the local Nako villagers refer to them-
selves as [kínɔːra] (if the speaker is a man) or as [kínɔːri] (if the speaker is a woman). When
they communicate with people who are from Middle and Lower Kinnaur (see Chapter 1), they
communicate in Hindi and describe themselves as coming from the Nako village. But when
they communicate with people from Upper Kinnaur, they refer to themselves as nàoʋa (see
Section 3.2.3) and their village as nàu.

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a linguistic sketch of navakat 171

2 Phonology

2.1 Consonants
The consonant phonemes in Navakat are shown in Table 27, and a list of mini-
mal pairs is provided below. The status of prenasalized consonants is discussed
separately in Section 2.1.1.

table 27 Consonant phonemes in Navakat

Bilabial Alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal

Plosive pb td ʈɖ kg
Aspirated plosive pʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ
Nasal m n ɲ ŋ
Fricative sz ʃ ʒ7 h
Affricate ʦʣ ʧʤ
Aspirated affricate ʦʰ ʧʰ
Lateral l
Trill r
Approximant ʋ n̆ 8 j

Minimal (or near-minimal) pairs: Consonants

p : b pénba ‘Saturday’ bámba ‘lamp’
p : pʰ páŋ ‘tree’ pʰáŋ ‘spindle’
t:d tà ‘now’ ⁿdàʧa ‘to chew’
t:ʈ tá ‘stallion’ ʈá ‘hair (head)’
ʈ:ɖ ʈàŋmo ‘cold’ ɖùmpo ‘thick (round objects)’
tʰ : ʈʰ tʰúkpa ‘soup (traditional)’ ʈʰúkpa ‘quarrel’
ʈ : ʈʰ ʈá ‘hair’ ʈʰá ‘hawk’
k : kʰ káŋba ‘leg’ kʰáŋba ‘house’
s:ʃ sákʧa ‘to collect, to hoard’ ʃákʧa ‘to split’
ʧ : ʤ ʧéŋa ‘fifteen’ ̀
(ⁿ)ʤèŋu ‘green’
ʧ : ʧʰ ʧú ‘ten’ ʧʰú ‘water’
k:g kúnma ‘thief’ gùnga ‘winter’
ʦ : ʣ ʦákʧa ‘to sieve, to strain’ ⁿʣàkʧa ‘to climb’

7 The articulation of ʃ actually varies between [ʃ] and [ʂ]. The same is the case concerning the
articulation of ʒ.
8 See the separate discussion of prenasalization in Section 2.1.1 below.

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ʦ : ʦʰ ʦáː ‘bottom’ ʦʰám ‘meditation’

s : ʦʰ sá ‘vein’ ʦʰá ‘salt’
s:ʒ sèrʧa ‘to say’ ʒètʧa ‘to forget’
ʦ:ʧ ʦán ‘nest’ ʧàŋ ‘north’
m:n má ‘wound’ ná ‘nose’
n:ŋ ná ‘nose’ ŋá ‘five’
m:ŋ mán ‘medicine’ ŋán ‘early’
n:ɲ nám ‘sky’ ɲámbo ‘together’
m:ŋ nàm ‘when’ nàŋ ‘inside’
r:l ràma ‘goat’ làm ‘path’

The word-final stops seem to be slowly disappearing in Navakat.9 They are

frequently realized as voiceless stops or they remain unreleased (e.g. [gjèp̚ ]
‘behind’; [gjèt]̚ ‘eight’; [ʧálak̚] ‘thing’; [jòp̚ ] ‘many (cnt)’). At the present stage
of its development though, it is still possible to identify these word-final con-
sonants in slow speech and, when asked to clarify, the language consultants
were able to identify the consonant. However, when the same stop occurs in
initial or medial position, it is articulated more clearly. In a very few cases, the
loss of a final stop correlates with a compensatory lengthening of the preceding
vowel, e.g., [ʧáː] ‘iron’ vs. [ʧáktʰap] ‘fireplace made of iron’. The final consonant
in recent loanwords is, however, articulated more clearly. For example, [ìːnʈ]
‘brick’ (Indo-Aryan loanword), [bɛ̀lʈ] ~ [bèlʈ] ‘(modern) belt’.
Navakat retroflex consonants are not distinctly retroflex. Their place of artic-
ulation is more towards post-alveolar. In some instances, there is variation in
their phonetic realization, where at times, their realization is more like an alve-
olar stop followed by an r. The latter is indicated as “(r)” in examples. For exam-
ple, [ʈ(r)ò] ‘wheat’, [ⁿɖ(r)ùl] ‘snake’.
Similarly, the intensity of the aspiration is very low, if any, in loanwords
which contain voiced aspirated consonants, e.g., [bʰàgʋaːn] ‘god’, [b(ʰ)àːlaː]
‘spear’. pʰ is sometimes realized as [f] (see Appendix 3B for examples).
An alternation between p, pʰ and b; t, tʰ and d; and ʈ, ʈʰ and ɖ is found when
the consonant occurs word-initially and the first syllable has a low tone. For
example, [bàl] ~ [pʰàl] ~ [pàl] ‘wool’, [bètlu] ~ [pʰètlu] ~ [pètlu] ‘manner’,
[bɛ̀ma] ~ [pʰɛ̀ma] ~ [pɛ̀ma] ‘sand’, [bèʧa] ~ [pʰèʧa] ~ [pèʧa] ‘to do (npst)’,
[dùtpa] ~ [tʰùtpa] ~ [tùtpa] ~ [tʰỳtpa] ‘to smoke’.

9 “Word-final” is perhaps not the best characterization, since this phenomenon seems to occur
also at some word-internal morpheme boundaries (e.g. [tùtp̚ a], tʰỳtp̚ a ‘smoke’, [ʒètʧ̚ a] ‘to for-
get’, kʰoʃak̚-re [3pl.nh-refl]).

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2.1.1 Prenasalization
There are some instances of prenasalization in Navakat, and the existence of
minimal pairs requires us to recognize prenasalization as phonemic, even if
only marginally so. It occurs only word-initially in my data, and almost exclu-
sively with bilabial, dental and retroflex voiced stops and affricates, although
there are also occasional instances of other prenasalized consonants (e.g. ⁿzùːn
‘finger’). Rather than positing a full series of prenasalized consonants, I have
chosen to treat prenasalization as a reduced (extra-short) variant of n: [n̆ ] (writ-
ten ⁿ in the phonemic orthography adopted here).

Minimal pairs: Prenasalization

dàmʤa ‘to tie’ ⁿdàmʤa ‘selection’
dàʧa ‘to chase’ ⁿdàʧa ‘to chew’
dỳn, dùn ‘seven’ ⁿdỳn ~ (ⁿ)dùn ‘front’

2.2 Vowels
The vowel phonemes of Navakat are shown in Table 28, and a list of minimal
pairs is provided below. For a discussion of the status of nasal vowels, see Sec-
tion 2.2.1.

table 28 Vowels in Navakat

i (y) / iː (yː) (ʉ) / (ʉː) u / uː

e (ø) / eː (øː) o / oː
a / aː

Minimal (or near-minimal) pairs: Vowels

i : e kírkir ‘round (of small objects), circle’ kérker ‘standing position’
e : a ʧʰétpo ‘big’ ʧátpa ‘penalty’
a : o kʰá ‘mouth’ kʰó [3sg.nh]
o : u só ‘tooth’ sú ‘who’
i : u ʧík ‘word’ tùk ‘poison’

The status of y, ʉ and ø in Navakat is unclear. In some cases these non-

back rounded vowels and the back rounded vowels occur as variants of the
same vowel. Further, as the following examples illustrate, the front and cen-
tral rounded vowels mostly occur, when they are followed by t, d, r, n and
l.

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[tỳtp̚ a] ~ [tùtp̚ a] ‘smoke’ [ⁿɖỳl] ~ [ⁿɖùl] ‘snake’

[ɖʉ̀ lma] ~ [dɔ̀ lma] ‘a name’ [sʉ́ r] ~ [súr] ‘piece’
[ⁿɖỳl] ~ [ⁿɖùl] ‘snake’ [lʉ̀ tp̚ a] ~ [lùtp̚ a] ~ [lòtpa] ‘cough’
[bòenʉt]̚ ‘womb’ [sʉ́ rtup̚ ] ~ [súrtuːp̚ ] ‘ring’
[nǿnpo] ~ [nɔ́ npɔ] ‘sharp, pointed’ [nòʧʉn] ~ [nòʧun] ‘y.brother’
[sáŋʉn] ~ [sáŋɔn] ‘seed’ [sɛ̀ʋʉn] ~ [sɛ̀ʋʊn] ‘itch’

There are, however, also some cases where the front and central rounded vow-
els occur, even though the vowels are not followed by one of the aforemen-
tioned consonants.

[gø̀ emo] ~ [gòemo] ‘night’ [kø̀ elak̚] ~ [kòelak̚] ‘cloth’

[ʧʰǿe] ‘religion’ [lèdʉi] ~ [lèdui] ‘initiation ceremony’
[gjø̀ ʤa] ~ [gjùʤa] ‘to have sex’ [maʦʰǿʋa] ~ ‘unripe’
[maʧɔ́ ɛʋa] ~
[maʧóeʋa]

There is free variation between close-mid and open-mid vowels; e is also real-
ized as [ɛ] and o is, at times, also realized as [ɔ], without affecting the meaning.
This includes also some IA loans (e.g. [rɔ̀ ʈi] ~ [ròʈi] ‘chapati’). [a] and [o] vari-
ation is also observed in IA loans (e.g. [ʤàŋgal] ~ [ʤàŋgol] ‘forest’).

[lép] ~ [lɛ́p] ‘arrive (h)’ [ʧʰétpo] ~ [ʧʰɛ́tpɔ] ‘big’

[só] ~ [sɔ́ ] ‘tooth’ [zòʤa] ~ [zɔ̀ ʤa] ‘to make’

A short “h” is heard word-initially when the word begins with a vowel (e.g.
[(h)òŋʤa] ‘to come’, [(h)àʦe] ‘fox’). Similarly, a short “h”-like sound is heard
when a word ends in a vowel (e.g. [(ⁿ)bù(h)] ‘insect, worm’).
Length is phonemic in Navakat. Some minimal pairs for vowel length are
provided here.

kʰá ‘mouth’ kʰáː ‘snow’

gà ‘saddle’ gàː ‘better’
ná ‘nose’ náː ‘day after tomorrow’
lù ‘music’ lùː ‘tradition, custom’
là ‘mountain’ làː ‘work(n)’

Apart from this, there are also instances where a sequence of two vowels
appears (e.g. líu ‘flute’; bòa ‘foam’). Here, too, some variation is found, without
any change in meaning. For example,

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[gjàʧo] ~ [gìaʧo] ‘sea’ [rìa] ~ [rìja] ‘woods or forest’

[ʧéːra] ~ [ʧáera] ‘garden’ [gũ̀ã] ~ [gõ̀ ã] ‘egg’
[ⁿɖàe] ~ [ⁿɖèː] ‘rice’ [rèan], [rìen] ‘beggar’
[ʃóa] ~ [ʃúa] ‘boil (n)’ [ʈíu] ~ [ʈéu] ‘monkey’

Finally, as mentioned earlier, word-final consonants are, at time, realized as

their corresponding voiceless consonants or as unreleased consonant. When
the word-final consonant is a nasal, the vowel preceding it is nasalized and in
some cases lengthened, and the consonant is dropped (e.g., [ⁿzùːn] ~ [ⁿzũ̀ː] ‘fin-
ger’; [lúŋ] ~ [lṹː] ‘air’; [pʰúːn] ~ [pʰṹː] ‘cave’). In the word list in Appendix 3B we
have provided the more detailed forms (e.g. lúŋ instead of lṹː for ‘air’). There are
also instances of nasal vowels occurring without a following nasal consonant
(e.g. [gũ̀ã] ~ [gõ ã̀ ] ‘egg’), possibly making nasal vowels marginally phonemic.
Nasalization is marked here only in the last-mentioned cases.

2.2.1 Tone
Tone is phonemic in Navakat in that there are minimal pairs where the only
distinguishing linguistic feature is the tonal distinction. Such pairs display a
difference in intonation as well as in pitch, with the vowels with a low tone dis-
playing a falling-rising tonal contour and the vowels with a high or neutral tone
exhibiting a level tonal contour.

Minimal pairs: Tone

làm ‘path’ lám ‘shoe’
nàm ‘when’ nám ‘sky’
mà [1sg] má ‘wound’
ŋà [1sg] (h towards listener) ŋá ‘five’
lá ‘tantra performer (m)’ là ‘mountain’

In the following instances difference in transitivity is indicated by tonal con-

trast only.

kònʤa ‘to put on (intr)’ kónʤa10 ‘to put on (tr)’

kùkʧa ‘to bend (intr)’ kúkʧa ‘to bend (tr)’
ʃàːʃa ‘to blow (intr)’ ʃáːʃa ‘to blow (tr)’
lùkʧa ‘to untie (intr)’ lúkʧa ‘to untie (tr)’

10 [kṍʒa].

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ʃìkʧa ‘to self-destruct (intr)’ ʃíkʧa ‘to destroy (tr)’

ʧàʧa ‘to break (intr)’ ʧáʧa ‘to break (tr)’

Grammatical morphemes, such as the case markers and conjunctions, do not

take tone. Exceptions are some grammatical morphemes in the verb complex:
(-)sṍŋ [pst.vis], ʈò [probability], túk [inference].
The tonal distinction is predictable to a large extent. This is consistent with
the correlates of the tonal distinctions found in Tibetan in general, i.e., that the
main tonal distinction is found only in the first syllable, where plain nasals and
liquids tend to co-occur with low tone, but nasals and liquids with preradicals
correlate with high tone (Huang 1995; Zeisler 2004: 250–257).11 Vowels follow-
ing word-initial voiced consonants tend to have low tone. A slight aspiration
on the first syllable correlates with the presence of the low tone.12 The tone of
the first vowel determines the tone of the following syllable.

3 Noun Phrase

3.1 Noun Phrase Structure

The noun phrase in Navakat has the following basic structure:

(dem / NPPOSS / CL-nmlz) N(-pl) ((Adv) Adj) (Num) (=case)

Demonstrative pronouns precede nouns (see Section 3.3.1). NPPOSS is a posses-

sive-marked NP, with the same structural possibilities as the NP of which it is a
part, including the possibility of containing another embedded NPPOSS. Nom-
inalized clauses (CL-nmlz) also go into the determiner slot before the head
noun (see Section 5.3), rather than the modifier position after it.

(1) íː kʰáŋba ʧʰétpo=raŋ márʋo ɲíːʋo mà=ji áʒo

this house big=com red both 1sg=poss o.brother
ɲò-ʋãː(k)
buy-pst.fact
‘My older brother bought these two big red houses.’ (Indirect knowledge)

11 I.e., plain segments vs. segments with preradicals in written Tibetan.

12 Some phonological correlates to tone split noted in Sino-Tibetan languages are: breathy
voice, prenasalization, fortis and lenis articulation of consonants, vowel length, and tense-
ness (Hombert 1978).

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a linguistic sketch of navakat 177

Adverbs (or intensifiers) such as ⁿʤìːʃa ‘much, very’ precede the adjective.

(2) píti=na òːkʋeɲ ʧándertal-ʦʰó ⁿʤìːʃa ʧʰétpo ò-kãːk

p.name=loc specifier p.name-lake much big cop-npst.fact
‘The Chandertal lake which is in Spiti, is very big.’ (Indirect knowledge)

The following two constructions are used to express NP disjunction.

Construction 1
(3) jàŋ=na ɖòlma jàŋ=na ságar nàu=na òŋ-ãː(k)
either=loc i.name either=loc i.name p.name=loc come-npst.fact
‘Either Dolma or Sagar will come to Nako.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(4) nàŋbar mà jàŋ=na sáŋgla=la jàŋ=na píti=la

next.year 1sg either=loc p.name=all either=loc p.name=all
ⁿɖò-an
go.npst-fut.ego
‘Next year, I will either go to Sangla or to Spiti.’

Construction 2
(5) nàŋbar mà sáŋgla=raŋ píti=nasu sá ʧík=tu13
next.year 1sg p.name=com p.name=abl place one=term
ⁿɖò-an
go.npst-fut.ego
‘Next year, among Sangla and Spiti, I will go to one place.’

(6) ságar=taŋ ɖòlma=nasu ʧík~ʧík14 dìlli=la òŋ-ʋãː(k)

i.name=com i.name=abl one~echo p.name=all come-pst.fact
‘Among Sagar and Dolma, one of them came to Delhi.’ (Indirect knowl-
edge)

3.2 Nouns
3.2.1 Noun Structure
Most simplex nouns in Navakat are mono- or disyllabic.

13 A variant of the locative marker ⁿdu.

14 ʧík~ʧík is preferred here, though a single ʧík is also possible.

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3.2.1.1 Monosyllabic Nouns

Monosyllabic nouns may end in vowels (long or short) or consonants. As men-
tioned above, in the word-final position stops tend to be realized either as
voiceless stops (p, t or k) or they remain unreleased (p̚, t,̚ k̚). Monosyllabic nouns
may also end in sonorant consonants (nasals, r or l).

kʰí ‘dog’ rèː ‘cotton’

ⁿɖè ‘ghost’ nùp ‘west’
gà ‘saddle’ mík ‘eye’
ʧʰú ‘water’ ʧák ‘boundary’
ná ‘nose’ kùr ‘tent’
lò ‘year’ múl ‘silver’
ⁿdũ̀ː ‘bracelet’ dén ‘mat (to sit on)’
líu ‘flute’ mìn15 ‘name’

3.2.1.2 Disyllabic Nouns

The final syllable in the disyllabic nouns is frequently one of the following: -mo,
-po, -ma or -pa.

-mo: Many, though not all, disyllabic nouns which end in -mo, have female ref-
erents.

pòmo ‘girl, daughter’ támo ‘mare’

ʈíŋmo ‘sister’ g( j)èlmo ‘queen’
nòmo ‘younger sister’ ʦóŋmo ‘prostitute’
gènmo ‘old woman’ ʦʰámo ‘granddaughter, niece, daughter-in-law’
ɲìnmo ‘day, midday’ sénmo ‘fingernail’
rìmo ‘line’ píːmo ‘knee’

-po: Nouns ending in -po refer to animate objects (including humans), to inan-
imate objects, as well as to abstract phenomena. Human nouns ending in -po
always have a male referent. -po is realized as -po or -bo/-ʋo. -bo and -ʋo, which
are in free variation, occur when the preceding syllable ends in a sonorant con-
sonant or a vowel; -po occurs when the preceding syllable ends in a voiceless
consonant.

15 The Nàvakat word for ‘name’ is mìn. In this regard, Nàvakat differs from its closely related
languages, where the term for ‘name’ is mìŋ.

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a linguistic sketch of navakat 179

jókpo ‘servant, slave’ páŋbo ‘witness’

ʧʰúkpo ‘noble, rich (man)’ mìŋbo, mìnbo16 ‘brother’
ʧàʋo ‘rooster, fowl’ g( j)èlʋo ‘king’

-pa: Nouns ending in -pa primarily have inanimate referents (see Set 1 below),
but there are some nouns which have human referents. Such nouns have an
agentive nominalized interpretation ‘(the) one who …’ (see Set 2 below). This is,
however, not a productive process in Navakat. -pa is realized as -pa or -ba/-ʋa.
To a large extent, the distribution of -pa and -ba/-ʋa is phonologically deter-
mined, where -pa predominantly occurs when the preceding syllable ends with
a voiceless consonant and -ba/-ʋa tends to occur when the last element of the
preceding syllable is voiced.17

Set 1
látpa ‘brain’ kútpa ‘thread’
bìkpa ‘walking stick’ tʰúkpa ‘soup’
líkpa ‘testicles’ ʃúkpa ‘wing’
púŋba ‘shoulder’ sàmba ‘bridge’
ⁿɖàmba ‘cheek’ kʰáŋba ‘house’

Set 2
ʦʰóŋba ‘merchant (male, female)’ cf. ʦʰóŋ ‘business’
ʦʰámba ‘one who meditates’ cf. ʦʰám ‘meditation’

-ma: This noun ending always has either a sonorant consonant or a vowel as
the last segment of the syllable preceding it. Nouns ending in -ma may refer
to animate objects (including humans), inanimate objects or to abstract phe-
nomena. Their referents can be masculine or feminine.

náma ‘wife, daughter-in.law’ áma ‘mother’

ʦʰéma ‘twins’ kúnma ‘thief’
ràma ‘goat’ kʰálma ‘kidney’
gjùma ‘sausage, intestine’ tʰúrma ‘spoon’
òma ‘milk’ ɲìma ‘sun’
tʰáma ‘famine’ ʈìma ‘odor’18

16 The velar nasals tend to be realized as dental nasals when they precede labials. However,
in some cases, such as this, both the dental and the velar nasal options are permitted.
17 All instances of the latter have nasal consonants in my material.
18 It can be a pleasant or a non-pleasant odor.

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Apart from this, disyllabic nouns may end in other consonants and vowels,
too. At least some of them are historically compounds.

zúpʰo ‘body’ sèptuŋ ‘food’

pèrak ‘a type of flat cap with precious stones’ kúʃu ‘apple’

3.2.1.3 Polysyllabic Nouns

This category has both animate and inanimate common nouns. It is very pos-
sible that at least some of these nouns are morphologically complex, i.e., com-
pounds or derived nouns.

néruma ‘pan’ gùʦʰiʋa ‘spine’

kʰánɖoma ‘witch, spirit’19 nàktara ‘lizard’
kʰímamo ‘woman’ ʈʰìpkja ‘shadow’
mòraŋmo ‘widow’ zèmbuliŋ ‘world’

3.2.1.4 Noun Types

As the examples below illustrate, there are no formal differences between (i)
count and mass nouns, (ii) abstract and concrete nouns, (iii) animate, inani-
mate and human nouns and (iv) proper and common nouns. Mono- and disyl-
labic nouns with the same word-final vowels or consonants are found in all
these noun types.

(i) Count nouns Mass nouns

éʋu ‘breast’ pú ‘hair (body)’

lùk ‘sheep’ ⁿɖùk ‘thunder’
pʰák ‘pig’ ʈʰák ‘blood’
ràʧo ‘horn’ lókʃu ‘dandruff’

(ii) Concrete nouns Abstract nouns

lák ‘eagle’ sùk ‘pain’

gìtpa ‘calf of the leg’ ʦʰíkpa ‘anger’
ʧálak ‘utensil(s), equipment’ ʈàzak ‘envy, jealousy’

19 This corresponds to the concept ḍākinī in Sanskrit.

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(iii) Inanimate nouns Animate nouns Human nouns

ʃúː ‘paper’ lùː ‘lamb’ ʈúː ‘boy’

tʰákpa ‘rope’ ʈákpa ‘quail, partridge’ mákpa ‘husband’

(iv) Proper nouns Common nouns

pú ‘a place name’ ʈúː ‘boy’

kálpa ‘a place name’ mákpa ‘husband’
áŋmo ‘a woman’s name’ ʈàŋmo ‘cold(n)’

3.2.1.5 Complex Nouns

Navakat also has complex nouns. Reduplication, although found in some cases,
is not a productive process in Navakat.

ⁿdàŋdaŋ ‘lying down (position)’ mème ‘grandfather’

kírkir ‘standing position’ táktak ‘shelf’

Compound nouns, on the other hand, are relatively frequent in Navakat.

Noun + sá ‘land, place’

jàrsa ‘summer residence’ ( jàr(ka) ‘summer’)
ɲàlsa ‘bed’ ( ɲàl ‘sleep’)
ʧʰáksa ‘toilet’ (ʧʰák ‘defecate’)

Noun + rá ‘fence’
jákra ‘stable for yaks’ ( ják ‘yak’)
lùkra ‘stable for sheep’ (lùk ‘sheep’)
tára ‘stable without roof’ (tá ‘horse’)

mík ‘eye’ + Noun

míkʃel ‘spectacles, glasses’ ( ʃél ‘glass’)
míklam ‘dream’ (làm ‘path’)
míkpu ‘eyebrow’ (pú ‘hair (body)’)

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182 chapter 3

Noun/Adjective + ⁿbù ‘insect’

sérnbu ‘bee’ (sér ‘yellow’)
tóraŋbu ‘spider’ (tóraŋ ‘net, web, ropeway’)

Some additional examples of compound nouns are:

mánkʰaŋ ‘hospital’ (mán ‘medicine’ + kʰáŋba ‘house’)

ʧáktʰap ‘fireplace’ (made of iron) (ʧák ‘iron’ + tʰápka ‘oven’)
ʧáktʰak ‘chain’ (ʧák ‘iron’ + tʰákpa ‘rope’)

3.2.1.6 Suppletive Honorific Noun Stems

There are some nouns in Navakat which have distinct honorific and non-
honorific stems. For example,

h form nh form

súŋ (h) ʧì, ʧʰì ‘speech’

ʃàp káŋba ‘foot’

The honorific forms (nouns as well as verbs, see below) are used when the
speaker wants to show his respect to the person s/he is talking to or about. This
may be due to the social status of that person or that the person is older than
the speaker and the speaker wants to show respect to this person. The use of
the honorific and non-honorific (or neutral) forms may also indicate the degree
of formality or distance between the interlocutors. For example, if the speaker
is meeting a person for the first time, s/he frequently uses the honorific form.

3.2.2 Number
A two-way number distinction is made in Navakat. The singular is zero-marked.
Plural is marked by one of the following suffixes: -ʃak (and its allomorph -ʤak),
-ʋat or -ja. -ʃak occurs only in pronouns. For example, mà-ʃak [1sg-pl], kʰóŋ-ʃak
~ kʰóŋ-ʤak [2sg.h-pl] and kʰó-ʃak20 [3sg.nh-pl]. The plural markers -ʃak and
-ʋat occur with their respective, restricted sets of nouns and/or pronouns; they
are not interchangeable with each other (except for the 3sg.nh pronoun which
can take both). The plural suffix -ja, on the other hand, occurs in a wide range

20 The plural marker -ʋat can also occur with 3sg.nh (i.e. kʰó-ʋat).

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a linguistic sketch of navakat 183

of contexts. It is the default plural marker on nouns. It may also be affixed to

plural pronominal forms—apparently with no difference in meaning.21

(7) mà-ʃak(- ja) sèptuŋ sòe-ʋan

1sg-pl-pl food eat.pst-pst.ego
‘We ate food.’

(8) kʰó-ʋat(- ja) ʃìŋga=la pùt-sṍ(ŋ)

3sg.nh-pl-pl field=all go.pst-pst.vis
‘They went to the fields.’

(9) kʰó-ʃak(- ja) síku(l)=la pùt

3sg.nh-pl-pl school=all go.pst
‘They went to the school.’

The following examples illustrate -ja as the plural marker on nouns.

Noun (sg) Noun-pl

là ‘mountain’ là-ja [mountain-pl]

ʧìʋa ‘child’ ʧìʋa-ja [child-pl]
ⁿzùn22 ‘finger’ ⁿzũ̀ː-ja [finger-pl]
mèndok ‘flower’ mèndok-ja [flower-pl]
gèlʒuː ‘livestock’ gèlʒuː-ja [animal-pl]
ʈṹː, ʈúːŋ ‘story’ ʈṹː-ja [story-pl]

With coordinated nouns, the plural marker -ja normally occurs only once—
after the last noun. But, if asked, language consultants will provide a variant
where the plural marker is suffixed to each coordinated noun.

(10) ʈúː=raŋ pòmo-ja

boy=com girl-pl
‘Boys along with girls’ (Boys and girls)

21 When the plural marker -ja is affixed to -ʃak or to -ʋat, the articulation of -k/-t in -ʃak and
-ʋat, respectively, becomes more audible.
22 [ⁿzũ̀ː].

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(11) ʈúː-ja=raŋ pòmo-ja

boy-pl=com girl-pl
‘Boys along with girls’ (Boys and girls)

Unlike Kinnauri (see Chapter 2), in Navakat the plural marker is not permitted
with numerals.

(12) ràma súm

goat three
‘Three goats’

3.2.3 Gender
Gender is not a grammatical category in Navakat. There are, however, some
instances where the information about the natural gender of an animate ref-
erent is encoded linguistically, through word-formation devices. None of these
processes are, however, productive.
In some cases the gender distinction is indicated by having separate lexical
items. For example,

Nouns (m) Nouns (f)

mákpa ‘husband, son-in-law’ náma ‘wife, daughter-in-law’

éu ‘paternal uncle’ áne ‘paternal uncle’s wife, woman,
aunt’
jùksa ‘widower’ mòraŋmo ‘widow’

In addition, as mentioned above, there are instances where nouns with female
referents end in -mo.23 The corresponding nouns with male referents have, at
times, completely distinct lexical forms (e.g. ʈúː ‘boy, son’ vs. pòmo ‘girl, daugh-
ter’), while in other cases, -mo is suffixed to the masculine form (e.g. zò ‘black-
smith’ vs. zòmo ‘blacksmith’s wife’). There are also nouns where the masculine
form ends with a -po and the feminine form ends with a -mo (e.g. gètpo ‘old
man’ vs. gènmo ‘old woman’; ʧàʋo ‘rooster’ vs. ʧàmo ‘hen’).

23 As seen above, -mo also occurs in nouns which do not have female referents.

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Noun (m) Noun (f)

lá ‘male tantra performer’ lámo ‘female tantra performer’

zò ‘blacksmith’ zòmo ‘blacksmith’s wife’
bàʋu ‘teacher, male’ bàmo ‘teacher, female’
ʦʰáo ‘nephew, grandson’ ʦʰámo ‘niece, granddaughter’
tápo ‘stallion’24 támo ‘mare’
gètpo ‘old man’ gènmo ‘old woman’
gjèlʋo ‘king’ gjèlmo ‘queen’

Further, -pa and -ma/-mo, respectively, are sometimes suffixed in Navakat to

place names to denote ‘men’ (or ‘people’ in general) and ‘women’ from this
place. While this is a rather productive process in Navakat, it is not permit-
ted with all place names (for example, with kínoːr ‘Kinnaur’). Further, while
in some cases, the feminine marker -mo is affixed directly to the place name, in
other cases, -ma/-mo is affixed to the masculine form, as shown in Table 29.
In this table place names are shown both in their Navakat form (Heading
“Place name”) and how these villages are referred to officially (Heading “Offi-
cial name”). The terms denoting ‘Men (people) from this place’, ‘Women from
this place’ and the Navakat names for the languages spoken in this village are
provided in subsequent columns in this table. The terms referring to ‘men’ (or
more generally to ‘people’ from this place) are formed here (exception, kínoːra)
by affixing -pa (allomorphs -pa, -ba/-ʋa) to the place names. In some cases the
stem undergoes some changes. Finally, language names are formed similarly as
compound nouns or possessive NPs. Possessive NP s are described in Section
3.2.4.4 (they are marked “[poss]” in the table). In the compound noun case, the
first part (the place name) may appear in its uninflected form (marked “[–]” in
the table), or in a form derived using a noun-forming suffix—sometimes the
same suffix used for denoting inhabitants, sometimes another suffix (marked
“[n>n]” in the table).

24 tá is the generic word for ‘horse’. It is frequently used to refer to both stallions and mares.
But, when one wants to specify if a horse is ‘mare’ or a ‘stallion’, támo and tápo are used.

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table 29 Place names and nouns denoting inhabitants

Place Official Men (people) Women from Language of this

name name from this place this place25 place

ʧàːŋ Chango ʧàːŋgopa, ʧáːŋba ʧàːŋbamo ʧàŋgopakat [n>n]

hàŋ Hango hàŋba hàŋbamo hàŋbakat [n>n]
lì, lìju Leo lìʋa lìʋamo lìʋakat [n>n]
súmra Sumra súmraʋa súmrama súmrakat [–]
nàu Nako nàoʋa, nàʋa nàoma, nàma nàʋakat [n>n]
mèliŋ Maling mèliŋpa, mèlijãː mèliŋma mèlijakat [n>n]
sáŋgla Sangla sáŋglakpa26 sáŋglakma sáŋlajikat [poss]
píti Spiti pítija, pítiʋa27 pítima pítijakat [n>n]
nàmgja Namgya nàmgjaː nàmgjamo nàmgjakat [–]

kínoːr Kinnaur kínoːra kínoːra, kínoːri kínoːrikat[poss]

3.2.4 Case
The Navakat case markers are phrasal enclitics (see Table 30), i.e., they typically
come at the end of an NP, after any adjectives and numerals which follow the
noun. The comitative marker can also appear after other kinds of phrases when
used in a coordinating function.

3.2.4.1 Nominative
The nominative form is the stem of a noun or a pronoun without any other case
suffixes.

3.2.4.2 Ergative
The case marker =su functions as an ergative marker. It occurs with all persons
and numbers as well as in all tenses. As the following examples show, the erga-
tive marker occurs in transitive clauses.28

25 The double derivation seen in some of these formations could possibly be a comparatively
new development after the masculine form had ceased to be productive.
26 Notice a short k before p here.
27 Though pítiʋa is acceptable, speakers prefer pítija.
28 There were no examples of the ergative marker with intransitive verbs in my material.
More work is needed here.

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table 30 Case markers in Navakat

Case Case marker(s)

Nominative Ø
Ergative =su
Dative/allative =la
Possessive =ki, =i/=ji
Locative =na
Terminative =ru
Ablative =nasu
Instrumental/comitative =raŋ

(13) mà=su mà-raŋ=la táe

1sg=erg 1sg-refl=dat observe.pst
‘I observed myself.’

(14) kʰóŋ=su kúnma=la ʒùmb-ãːk

2sg.h=erg thief=dat catch-pst.fact
‘You caught a thief.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(15) pìa-ja=su nã̀e màŋbo sòe-tãŋ ⁿdùk

rat-pl=erg grain much eat.pst-hi aux.nfut.vis
‘Rats have eaten a lot of grains.’ (Direct knowledge)

(16) áŋmo=su kúnma=la ʒùmb-ãːk

i.name=erg thief=dat catch-pst.fact
‘Angmo caught the thief.’ (Indirect knowledge)

The following examples show that the ergative marker does not obligatorily
occur in all transitive clauses.

(17) mà kʰáŋba ʧík zòe-ʋan

1sg house one build.pst-pst.ego
‘I built a house.’

(18) kʰó kʰóŋ=la tá-ãːk

3sg.nh 2sg.h=dat observe-pst.fact
‘He observed you.’ (Indirect knowledge)

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(19) ténzin ɖì=raŋ kúʃu ʧá-kãːk

i.name knife=ins apple cut-npst.fact
‘Tenzin will cut the apple with a knife.’

=su does not usually have an instrumental function. In such cases, normally
the instrumental/comitative case marker =daŋ occurs. However, =su occurs in
some constructions where it might be considered as having a ‘cause’ or a ‘rea-
son’ interpretation.

(20) ⁿgò sùk=su ma-ɲàl-ʤa

head pain=ins neg-sleep-inf
‘Because of headache, I did not sleep.’

(21) sèptuŋ ʃìmbo=su ⁿzùːn síŋ ⁿdàk-tãŋ

food good=ins finger all lick-hi
‘The food was so tasty that I have licked all (my) fingers.’

In the following example the case marker =su is affixed to the weather phe-
nomenon. The verb has the typical agentive verb inflectional ending (see Sec-
tion 4).

(22) ùrjuk=su ⁿdàŋ páŋ ʧák-tãŋ ⁿdùk

storm=erg yesterday tree break-hi cop.nfut.vis
‘Yesterday the storm has broken the tree.’ (Direct knowledge)

3.2.4.3 Dative/Allative
The case marker =la functions as the dative marker as well as the allative
marker. It occurs with all numbers and persons.

3.2.4.3.1 Dative29
In the following example, =la functions as an indirect object marker.

(23) íː gàɖi mà=la áʒi=su táŋ-ʧuŋ

dem.prox watch 1sg=dat o.sister=erg leave-pst.ena
‘(My) older sister gave this watch to me.’

29 “Objective” would perhaps be a more apt name, but I follow a long tradition in the descrip-
tion of South Asian languages, where “dative” designates a case which can appear on both
direct and indirect objects, and in the so-called “experiencer subject” construction.

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The following examples illustrate =la occurring with a direct object.

(24) kʰó(=su) kʰóŋ=la tó-ãːk

3sg.nh(=erg) 2sg.h=dat see.pst-pst.fact
‘He looked at you.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(25) ŋà=ji ʦʰámo=la sú=su dùŋ-ãːk

1sg=poss niece=dat who=erg beat-pst.fact
‘Who beat (past) my niece?’ (Indirect knowledge)

(26) kʰó-ʋat kʰóʋ=i ʦʰámo=la tʰúk-ãːk

3sg.nh-pl 3sg.nh=poss niece=dat meet-pst.fact
‘They met his/her niece.’ (Indirect knowledge)

The direct object may take =la, also in constructions where the subject has the
ergative marker. For example,

(27) giatsó=sú kʰáŋba=la tó-ãːk

i.name=erg house=dat see.pst-pst.fact
‘Giatso looked at the house.’

The dative marker also occurs in the reflexive construction.

(28) kʰó=su kʰó-raŋ=la sát-ãːk

3sg.nh=erg 3sg.nh-refl=dat kill-pst.fact
‘He killed himself.’ (Background: The speaker knows that this has hap-
pened, but he did not see this himself.)

(29) kʰó=su kʰó-raŋ=la ʧát-ãːk

3sg.nh=erg 3sg.nh-refl=dat break-pst.fact
‘He cut himself.’

(30) kʰó=su kʰó-raŋ=la ʈúi-ʋãːk

3sg.nh=erg 3sg.nh-refl=dat wash-pst.fact
‘He washed himself.’

The dative marker also occurs in the experiencer subject construction and the
related possessive construction (see Section 5.1).
Additionally, it also functions as a subordinator, where it is suffixed to the
non-final verb. The non-final verb has either a bare verb form or it has an infini-
tive form. The non-final clause, in such cases, has a purposive interpretation.

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(31) dùa=raŋ ʈàk síŋ kʰáŋba zò-ʤa=la ʧák-tãŋ ⁿdùk

stone=ins rock all house make-inf=dat break-hi cop.fut.vis
‘All the stones and rocks have been broken to construct houses.’ (Direct
knowledge)

3.2.4.3.2 Allative
In addition to its use as a grammatical case, =la also functions as a local case
marker, denoting the allative (which is also used in an adessive function, i.e.,
denoting position rather than direction; cf. examples 33–35).

(32) mà rèl ŋán-ʃo=la ʃú-ʤa ʃímla=la pùt

1sg train early-cmp=dat get.into-inf p.name=all go.pst
‘I went with the earliest train to Shimla.’

(33) ʦáːnpʰo=ki tʰà=la sá ŋǿnpo30 kéː dèt-uk

river=poss shore=all grass blue grow aux-nfut
‘The green grass has grown on the shore of the river.’ (Direct knowledge)

(34) kínoːr=ki làm=la bàmzar màŋbo ò-kãːk

p.name=poss path=all waterfall many cop-npst.fact
‘There are many waterfalls on the way to Kinnaur.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(35) kʰóʃ=i ʈúː jòk=la31 láp-kãːk

3pl.nh=poss son city=all study-npst.fact
‘Their son studies in the city.’ (Indirect knowledge)

3.2.4.4 Possessive
The possessive markers are =ki (allomorph =gi when preceded by a voiced con-
sonant/vowel) and =i/=ji. Their distribution is not phonologically determined.
There are instances where the same noun occurs with two different possessive
markers.

dòrʒe=ji ~ dòrʒe=ki [i.name=poss] pàlaŋ=i ~ pàlaŋ=ki [cow=poss]

jùl=ì ~ jùl=ki [village=poss] éʋi=ji ~ éʋi=ki [grandmother=poss]
rìja=ji ~ rìja=ki [forest=poss] gètpo-ji ~ gètpo=ki [old man=poss]
jào=ji ~ jào=ki [friend=poss] ɖòlma=ji ~ ɖòlma=i [i.name=poss]

30 In Navakat ŋǿnpo ‘blue’ (and not (ⁿ)ʤéŋu ‘green’) is the color of grass and vegetation.
31 jòk literally means ‘below’. Since the cities (e.g. Rampur, Shimla) are located lower than
Nako, jòk is also used nowadays to refer to a ‘city’.

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With the pronouns (including the demonstratives), however, only the pos-
sessive marker =i/=ji occurs.

Singular Plural

1-poss ŋà=ji, mà=ji màʃak=i, màʃ=i32 (1ple), ò=ji (1pli)

2nh-poss kʰjǿ=ji kʰóʋat=i, kʰóʃak=i
2h-poss kʰóŋ=i kʰóŋʃak=i, kʰóŋʤak=i, kʰóŋʤ=i
3nh-poss kʰó=ji, íː kʰóʃak=i, kʰóʃ=i33

(36) kʰó=ji péraŋ síŋ=gi káŋba ìzuk rìŋpo ò-kãːk

3sg.nh=poss family all=poss leg like.this long cop-npst.fact
‘In their family everybody’s legs are long like this.’

3.2.4.5 Locative
The case marker =na indicates location.

(37) mà=ji jùl=na ɲìriŋ màŋbo mèt

1sg=poss village=loc relatives many neg.exist
‘I don’t have many relatives in the village.’

(38) nàu=na mì màŋbo mè-kãːk

p.name=loc man much neg.cop-npst.fact
‘There are not many people in Nako.’

The locative case marker also functions as a subordinator.

(39) gùnga kʰálʋa=ki ʃá sà-ʤa=na zúpʰo ʈònmo dè-kãːk

winter ram=poss meat eat-inf=loc body warm cop-npst.fact
‘Eating ram meat in winter keeps the body warm.’ (Indirect knowledge)

3.2.4.6 Terminative
The terminative marker =ru has the following allomorphs: =ru, =tu and =ⁿdu.
All instances of the allomorph =ru in the dataset occur with stems ending in

32 The slow-speech form is màʃak=i.

33 The slow-speech form is kʰóʃak=i.

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vowels; =tu and =ⁿdu occur with stems ending in consonants.34 Like the alla-
tive marker (see Section 3.2.4.3.2), the terminative is used to express position
in addition to direction (42).

(40) mà=ji káŋʦʰiʋa=ru dùa pʰók-ʧũŋ

1sg=poss ankle=term stone hit-pst.ena
‘A stone has hit my ankle.’

(41) píti=ki ʦáːnpʰo kʰáp=tu sátluʤ ʦáːnpʰo=ru ⁿdèː

p.name=poss river p.name=term river.name river=term merge
ⁿɖò-ʋãːk
go.npst-pst.fact
‘The Spiti river merges into the Satluj river at Khab.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(42) ŋà jùl=du dè-kan

1sg village=term cop-fut.ego
‘I will be in the village.’

(43) nàu=ru kjǿt sèr-ak

p.name=term come.imp say-auditory.evidential
‘(They) say: “Come to Nako!”’

3.2.4.7 Ablative
The ablative marker is =nasu, possibly representing a combination of locative
=na and ergative =su.

(44) sémba=nasu kʰó mì ètpo ò-kãːk

heart=abl 3sg.nh man good cop-npst.fact
‘He is a good man at heart.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(45) píti lùŋba=nasu ʦʰóŋba ɲíː léb dèt-ok

p.name valley=abl trader two arrive(h) aux-nfut.vis
‘Two traders have arrived from the Spiti valley (and they are still here).’
(Direct knowledge)

34 Interestingly, while the term for ‘here’ (íː-ru ‘dem.prox-term’) has the terminative
marker, the term for ‘there’ (pʰíː-na ‘dem.dist-loc’) has the locative marker.

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(46) ⁿdàŋ=nasu mà=ji kùŋ sùk ʈàk

yesterday=abl 1sg=poss back pain cop.nfut.nvis
‘Since yesterday my back has pain.’ (Since yesterday I have back pain.)

(47) mà=ji áne=ki mík=nasu sírisak ʧʰú tõ ̀

1sg=poss p.aunt=poss eye=abl often water come.out
ⁿdùk
cop.nfut.vis
‘From my aunt’s eyes water often flows.’ (Direct knowledge)

3.2.4.8 Instrumental/Comitative
=raŋ functions as the instrumental and the comitative (or associative) marker.
It has three allomorphs: =daŋ, =taŋ and =raŋ.35 =daŋ occurs when the preced-
ing noun ends with a voiced consonant; =taŋ occurs when the preceding noun
ends in a voiceless consonant and =raŋ occurs when the preceding noun ends
with a vowel.

(48) ténzin=su dùa=raŋ ⁿdàmbak=taŋ kʰáŋba zòe-ʋãː(k)

i.name=erg stone=ins mud=ins house build.pst-pst.fact
‘Tenzin built the house with stone and mud.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(49) kʰó=su tíŋba=raŋ sáʒa kóe

3sg.nh=erg heel=ins surface dig.pst
‘He dug a hole with (his) heel.’

The case marker =raŋ also functions as the comitative (or associative) marker,
with a ‘together with, along with’ interpretation. The distribution of its allo-
morphs =taŋ, =daŋ and =raŋ here is the same as described above for the instru-
mental.

(50) giatsó=raŋ giatsó=ji péraŋ òŋ-kãːk

i.name=ins i.name=poss family come-npst.fact
‘Giatso along with his family will come.’

35 Cf. the Kinnauri comitative marker -raŋ (see Chapter 2, Section 3.2.4.8).

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(51) tánzin kʰó=ji áʒo=raŋ36 ɲámbo dìlli=la

i.name 3sg.nh=poss o.brother=ins together p.name=all
pùt-ãː(k)
go.pst-pst.fact
‘Tenzin went to Delhi along with his brother.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(52) ràm=daŋ tánzin nǿl sṍ(ŋ)

i.name=ins i.name fight pst.vis
‘Tenzin fought with Ram.’ (Direct knowledge)

3.3 Pronouns
3.3.1 Demonstrative Pronouns
The demonstrative pronouns in Navakat are íː, pʰíː and òti. Their distribution
is as follows. íː occurs when the object is in close proximity to the speaker; pʰíː
occurs when an object is not in close proximity to the interlocutors, but they
can see it; òti is used to refer to an object which the interlocutors have seen
before, but which may or may not be visible to them at the time of speaking. It
seems to have the discourse interpretation ‘this/these very thing(s)/person(s)’.
As mentioned already, the demonstrative pronouns are placed before their
head noun, and remain invariant to the number and gender of the head noun.

íː mì ‘this man’ íː mì-ja ‘these men’

íː pòmo ‘this woman’ íː pòmo-ja ‘these women’
íː kʰáŋba ‘this house’ íː kʰáŋba-ja ‘these houses’
íː tá ‘this horse’ íː tá-ja ‘these horses’
pʰíː kʰáŋba ‘that house’ pʰíː kʰáŋba-ja ‘those houses’
pʰíː pòmo ‘that woman’ pʰíː pòmo-ja ‘those women’
pʰíː tá ‘that horse’ pʰíː tá-ja ‘those horses’
òti pòmo ‘that woman’ òti pòmo-ja ‘those women’
òti mì ‘that man’ òti mì-ja ‘those men’
òti tá ‘that horse’ òti tà-ja ‘those horses’
òti kʰáŋba ‘that house’ òti kʰáŋba-ja ‘those houses’

36 aʧo ‘older brother’ does not occur in Nàvakat, but it occurs in neighboring villages such as
Dubling, Khab and Nyamgya.

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3.3.2 Personal Pronouns

SG PL

1 mà, ŋà màʃak (1ple), ɲèt (1ple)

1pli òn
2h kʰóŋ kʰóŋʃak, kʰóŋʤak
2nh kʰjǿt kʰjǿtʋat
3h kʰóŋ kʰóŋʃak, kʰóŋʤak
3nh kʰó kʰóʃak, kʰóʋat

The distribution of the first person singular pronouns mà and ŋà is pragmat-

ically conditioned. In everyday situations, mà is used by the younger partic-
ipants in a conversation to refer to himself/herself, as a symbol of respect
towards the other participant(s).37 The older participant, on the other hand,
uses ŋà while talking about himself/herself in the same conversation. Friends
normally use ŋà irrespective of their age. In a conversation between a lay-
man and a lama, the lama normally uses ŋà to refer to himself/herself, while
the layman (irrespective of his/her age) uses mà to refer to himself/herself.
In situations where the participants do not know each other too well, thus
they don’t know what social role they have in the conversation, mà is nor-
mally used by the participants to refer to themselves as a precautionary mea-
sure.
These pragmatic factors are also relevant in the distribution of the first per-
son exclusive plural pronoun (màʃak and ɲèt) and the third person pronouns
(kʰó and kʰóŋ). Between the two 1ple pronouns ɲèt occurs in situations cor-
responding to 1sg ŋà and màʃak occurs in situations corresponding to 1sg mà.
Similarly, in the third person, kʰóŋ (which otherwise occurs as the 2sg.h pro-
noun) occurs where the speaker wants to pay respect to the listener; kʰó occurs
elsewhere.38
Unlike Kinnauri (see Chapter 2), the same pronominal form occurs in nom-
inative and non-nominative positions in Navakat.

37 It is very likely that mà means ‘low’ and, thus, a way to indicate humility.
38 In Classical and Lhasa Tibetan, too, khong functions as a third person honorific pronoun
(DeLancey 2017a, 2017b).

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Possessive Dative/allative

1sg mà=i mà=la

2sg.h kʰóŋ=i kʰóŋ=la
2sg.nh kʰjǿt=i kʰjǿt=la
3sg.h kʰóŋ=i kʰóŋ=la
3sg.nh kʰó=i, í=i kʰó=la, íe=la
1ple màʃak=i, màʃ=i màʃak=la
2pl.h kʰóŋʃak=i, kʰóŋʤak=i, kʰóŋʤ=i kʰóŋʃak=la, kʰóŋʤak=la
3pl.nh kʰóʃak=i, kʰóʃ=i kʰóʃak=la

3.3.3 Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs

Some interrogative pronouns and adverbs in Navakat are as follows.

ʦúk ‘how’ kàndu ‘where (specific location)’

ʦám ‘how much, how many’ kàna ‘where (non-specific location)’
ʧí ‘what’ kàŋ(te) ‘which’
nàm ‘when’ sú ‘who’

The interrogative pronouns occur with animate (including, human) as well as

inanimate arguments, with singular as well as plural arguments. See Section 5.2
for the structure of WH-questions.

3.3.4 Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are formed by suffixing -raŋ to the pronoun.

(53) kʰó kʰóŋ=la táe-ʋãːk

3sg.nh 2sg.h=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘He observed you.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(54) kʰó=su kʰó-raŋ=la39 táe-ʋãːk

3sg.nh=erg 3sg.nh-refl=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘He observed himself.’ (Indirect knowledge)

39 In fast speech kʰó-raŋ la is pronounced as kʰraŋ la.

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(55) mà=su mà-raŋ=la táe

1sg=erg 1sg-refl=dat observe.pst
‘I observed myself.’

(56) màʃak=su màʃak-raŋ=la táe

1ple=erg 1ple-refl=dat observe.pst
‘We observed ourselves.’

(57) kʰóŋ=su kʰóŋ-raŋ=la táe-ʋãːk

2sg.h=erg 2sg.h-refl=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘You observed yourself.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(58) kʰóʋat=su kʰóʋat-raŋ=la táe-ʋãːk

3pl.nh=erg 3pl.nh-refl=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘They observed themselves.’ (Indirect knowledge)

In fast speech, the reflexive marker -raŋ is, at times, realized as -re.

(59) ʧìʋa-ja kʰóʃak-re áʒaŋ=la tʰúk-pãː(k)

child-pl 3pl.nh-refl uncle=dat meet-pst.fact
‘The children met their (own) uncle.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(60) ʧìʋa-ja=su kʰóʃak-re=la táe-ʋãːk

child-pl=erg 3pl.nh-refl=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘The children observed themselves.’ (Indirect knowledge)

3.3.5 Reciprocal Pronoun

An invariant form ʧík+taŋ+ʧík [one+com+one] ‘each other’ occurs in the recip-
rocal construction.

(61) màʃak-ja ʧíktaŋʧík=la táe-ʋan

1ple-pl each.other=dat observe.pst-pst.ego
‘We observed each other.’

(62) òn-ja ʧíktaŋʧík=la táe-ʋan

1pli-pl each.other=dat observe.pst-pst.ego
‘We observed one another.’

(63) kʰóŋʤak=su ʧíktaŋʧík=la táe-ʋãːk

2h.pl=erg each.other=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘You (pl) observed one another.’ (Indirect knowledge)

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(64) ʈúː=raŋ pòmo ʧíktaŋʧík=la táe-ʋãːk

boy=com girl each.other=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘The boy and the girl observed each other.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(65) kʰóʋat=su ʧíktaŋʧík=la táe-ʋãːk

3pl.nh=erg each.other=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘They observed one another.’ (Indirect knowledge)

3.4 Adjectives
Adjectives in Navakat follow their head nouns. In case the adjective has an
adverbial modifier, such as an intensifer (e.g. ⁿʤìːʃa ‘much’), this precedes the
adjective (N Adv Adj; see example 63 below). Coordinated adjectival phrases
(Adj=com Adj) go into the same slot as simple adjectives, i.e., they follow their
head nouns (see example 64 below).

kítaːp ʈápo40 [book thin] ‘thin book’

ʦʰó òptoŋ41 [lake deep] ‘deep lake’
pòmo ʈʰámo [girl thin] ‘thin girl’
mì ɖùmpo [man fat] ‘fat man’
sólok ʈʰáŋbo [road straight] ‘straight road’

(66) kʰó=ji ʧé ní ⁿʤìːʃa rìŋpo ⁿdùk

3sg.nh=poss tongue emp much long cop.nfut.vis
‘His tongue is very long.’ (Direct knowledge)

(67) íː kʰáŋba ɲíŋba=raŋ márʋo ɲámbo mà=ji

dem.prox house old(nhum)=com red together 1sg=poss
áʒo ɲø̀ e-ʋãk
o.brother buy.pst-pst.fact
‘My older brother bought this old, red house.’ (Indirect knowledge)

Adjectives do not inflect in Navakat. In examples (68–69) below the same

adjectival form (ɖùmpo ‘thick, fat (round objects)’) occurs with nouns denoting
both males and females. Examples (70–71) show that adjectives do not inflect
for number.

40 ʈápo is used with flat objects, for example, tables, books, mattresses. ʈʰámo, on the other
hand, is used with cylindrical objects, for example, cylinders, pillars, pipes, pencils.
41 [òptõ(ŋ)].

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(68) mì ɖùmpo
man fat
‘Fat man’

(69) pòmo ɖùmpo

woman fat
‘Fat woman’

(70) ʧìʋa kítpu

child happy
‘Happy child’

(71) ʧìʋa-ja kítpu

child-pl happy
‘Happy children’

3.4.1 Adjective Structure

Adjectives in Navakat are mono- or disyllabic. With a few exceptions, monosyl-
labic adjectives end either in nasals (m, n, or ŋ) or in vowels.

ʃàu ‘lame’ ʦʰéu ‘salty’

ŋán ‘early’ tún ‘short’
ʧyn, ʧún ‘small (non-long objects)’ ʧʰóm ‘ready’
ʃàŋ ‘wide’ kól ‘deaf; mute’

As with nouns, disyllabic adjectives, too, frequently end in -po, -pa,42 -mo or
-ma. However, the largest group of adjectives end in -po. There is no clear dis-
tinguishing factor determining the distribution of the various adjectival end-
ings.

ʧʰúkpo ‘rich’ kámpo ‘dry’

ʃímbo ‘good (edibles)’ ʈàŋbo ‘true, honest’
ⁿbòlmo ‘soft’ kʰémo ‘cheap’
sóma ‘new’ ɲérma ‘wrinkled’
ɲíŋba ‘old (nhum)’ rìtpa ‘weak’

42 As was the case with nouns, -po and -pa are sometimes realized as -bo/-ʋo and -ba/-ʋa,
respectively.

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As was the case with nouns, disyllabic adjectives, too, may end in other vow-
els or consonants.

(ⁿ)ʤéŋu ‘green’ kàːpo ‘difficult’

(ⁿ)bàːpʰa ‘dirty’ gùrkøk ‘crooked’
ʧínte ‘heavy’ lánte ‘wet’
gìrgir43 ‘round (large objects)’ nèʒuŋ ‘young (hum)’

Descriptive adjectives are classified according to whether they refer to, for
example, age, dimension, value or color. The following are some examples of
descriptive adjectives.

Age
nèʒuŋ ‘young (hum)’ ɲérma ‘wrinkled’
dàŋbo ‘old (time)’ gètpo ‘old (anim)’

(72) kʰó=ji tá gètpo ʃí-s-ãːk

3sg.nh=poss horse old(anim) die-mdl-pst.fact
‘His old horse died.’ (Indirect knowledge)

Dimension
ɖùmpo ‘thick (round)’ tʰúpo ‘thick (non-round objects)’
ʈʰámo ‘thin (round objects)’ ʈápo ‘thin (objects with surface)’
rìŋpo ‘long, tall’ ʧʰétpo ‘big’
ʈòkpo ‘narrow’ ʈʰáŋbo ‘straight’

(73) kʰó=ji ʈá rìŋpo=raŋ nàkpo ⁿdùk

3sg.nh=poss hair long=com black cop.nfut.vis
‘Her hair is long and black.’ (Direct knowledge)

Value
ètpo ‘good (anim)’ ʃímbo ‘delicious (eatables)’
dèmo ‘good (external qualities)’ zàŋbo ‘good (internal qualities)’
kʰámlokʧa ‘bad (disgusting)’ ŋànba ‘bad’

43 gìrgir is used when the focus is on how large and round the object is. kírkir describes small,
round objects.

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ʈúː ètpo [boy good] ‘good boy’

ʈúː dèmo [boy good (exterior)] ‘handsome boy’
káʧa dèmo [news/rumour good] ‘good news’
sèptuŋ ʃímbo [food delicious] ‘delicious food’
námla ŋànba [weather bad] ‘bad weather’
káʧa ŋànba [news/rumour bad] ‘bad news’
ʧìʋa-ja ŋànba [child-pl bad] ‘bad children’
ʈúː ŋànba [boy bad] ‘bad boy’

Most color terms in Navakat end in -po (allomorphs -po, -bo/ʋo).

Color
kárʋo ‘white’ ŋónpo, ŋǿnpo ‘blue’
nàkpo ‘black’ sér(ʋo) ‘yellow’
márʋo ‘red’ (ⁿ)ʤéŋu ‘green’

Properties relating to physical characteristics, personality traits and speed are

also expressed by adjectives in Navakat.

Physical characteristics
kjòŋbo ‘hard’ dùmpa ‘blunt’
ⁿbòlmo ‘soft’ ʧínte ‘heavy’
ɲø̀ npo ‘sharp’ jàŋmo ‘light’
kámpo ‘dry’ lánte ‘wet’

sáʒa ⁿbòlmo44 [land soft] ‘soft surface’

sáʒa kjòŋbo [land hard] ‘hard surface’

Personality traits
gèri ‘happy, proud’ ʧáŋbo ‘clever’

Speed
ŋán ‘early’ ⁿgjòpʰa45 ‘fast’
ʈíːn, ʈíːŋ ‘late’ gùlejraŋ ‘slow’

44 The final vowel of ‘surface’ is nasalized due to the prenasalization of ‘soft’.

45 [ⁿgjòfa].

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(74) mà rèl tíːŋ-ʃo ʃú-ʤa ʃímla=la pùt

1sg train after-cmp get.into-inf p.name=all go.pst
‘I went with the earliest train to Shimla.’

(75) mà rèl ŋán-ʃo=la ʃú-ʤa ʃímla=la pùt

1sg train early-cmp=dat get.into-inf p.name=all go.pst
‘I went with the earliest train to Shimla.’

Non-numeral quantifier adjectives

jòp ‘many (cnt)’ màŋbo ‘many (ncnt)’
kónbo ‘few’ ʦám ‘approximately’

At times, when the speaker either does not need to or want to specify the exact
amount, màŋbo ‘many’ occurs even with countable objects (77).

(76) tà lò ʧʰã́rʋa màŋbo gjè(p) ma-ʒṍ(ŋ)46

now year rain many shoot neg-pst.vis
‘This year it didn’t rain much.’

(77) òti lò séŋgul=su kʰáŋba màŋbo dìp sṍ(ŋ)

that year earthquake=ins house many fell.down pst.vis
‘That year the earthquake destroyed many houses.’ (Direct knowledge)

màŋbo ‘many’ also functions as an adverb.

(78) bàs=ki nàŋ=du màŋbo dè-ʧa ʧónto sùk ʈàk

bus=poss inside=loc many sit-inf buttock pain cop.nfut.nvis
‘(My) buttock is aching because of (my) sitting in the bus for a long time.’

3.4.2 Degrees of Comparison

The superlative is formed by suffixing -ʃo to an adjective. If the stem is a disyl-
labic stem, the final syllable is deleted in the process.

ʧúŋ-ʃo ‘smallest’ < ʧún ‘small (objects which are not elongated)’
tíːn-ʃo ‘very late’ < tíːn, tíːŋ ‘late’
màŋ-ʃo ‘most’ < màŋbo ‘many(ncnt)’

46 -sṍ(ŋ) is realized as [ʒṍ(ŋ)] here.

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In the contrastive construction (also called “comparative construction”)

sãː47 occurs between the objects which are being compared.

(79) rìa=ki kúʃu sãː ʦʰáera-i kúʃu ʃim-kãːk

forest=poss apple cont orchard-poss apple tasty-npst.fact
‘Orchard apples are sweeter than wild apples.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(80) ténzin sãː dòrʒe rìŋ-ãːk

i.name cont i.name tall-npst.fact
‘Tenzin is taller than Dorje.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(81) íː kʰáŋba sãː pʰíː kʰáŋba ɲìŋba jìn-uk

this house cont that house old(nhum) cop-nfut.vis
‘This house is older than that house.’ (Direct knowledge)

3.5 Numerals
Like adjectives, numerals in Navakat come after the head noun. Any adjectives
are placed between the noun and the numeral. Numerals can be suffixed with
-bo, marking the NP as given information.

(82) ràma súm

goat three
‘Three goats’

(83) kʰáŋba ɲìŋba=raŋ márʋo súm mà=i áʒo

house old(nhum)=com red three 1sg=poss o.brother
ɲòe-ʋãːk48
buy.pst-pst.fact
My older brother bought three old red houses.

(84) kʰáŋba ɲìŋba=raŋ márʋo súm=bo mà=i áʒo

house old(nhum)=com red three-given 1sg=poss o.brother
ɲòe-ʋãːk
buy.pst-pst.fact
My older brother bought the three old red houses.

47 sãː has an audible nasalization, though there is no nasal consonant following the vowel.
48 [ɲòɛʋãːk̚].

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The numerals 1–10 are as follows.

ʧík ‘one’ ʈùk ‘six’

ɲíː ‘two’ dùn, dỳn ‘seven’
súm ‘three’ gjèt ‘eight’
ʒì ‘four’ gù ‘nine’
ŋá ‘five’ ʧú ‘ten’

Navakat exhibits a consistent decimal system. See Chapter 5 for more informa-
tion on Navakat numerals. As the following examples illustrate, several con-
necting morphemes (e.g. sok-,49 ŋak-) occur in higher numerals. These connect-
ing morphemes are neither in free variation nor is their distribution phonolog-
ically determined.50

ɲìːʃu ‘20’ ɲìː ‘2’ × ʧú ‘10’

súmʤu ‘30’ súm ‘3’ × ʧú ‘10’
súnʤu sokʃík ‘31’ súmʤu ‘31’ sok- ʧík ‘1’51
ʒìpʧu ‘40’ ʒì ‘4’ × (p)ʧú ‘10’
ʒìpʧu ʒakʃík ‘41’ ʒìpʧu ‘40’ ʒak- ʧík ‘1’
ŋépʧu52 ‘50’ ŋá ‘5’ × (p)ʧú ‘10’
ŋépʧu ŋakʃík ‘51’ ŋépʧu ‘50’ ŋak- ʧík ‘1’
ʈùkʧu ‘60’ ʈùk ‘6’ × ʧú ‘10’
ʈùkʧu rakʃík / *rokʃík ‘61’ ʈùkʧu ‘60’ rak- ʧík ‘1’
dùnʤu ‘70’ dùn ‘7’ × ʧú ‘10’
dùnʤu tokʃík / tonʃík53 ‘71’ dùnʤu ‘70’ tok-/ton- ʧík ‘1’
gèʤu, gètʧu ‘80’ gèt ‘8’ × ʧú ‘10’
gèʤu kakʃík ‘81’ gèʤu ‘80’ kak- ʧík ‘1’
gòpʧu ‘90’ gù ‘9’ × (p)ʧú ‘10’
gòpʧu kokʃík ‘91’ gòpʧu ‘90’ kok- ʧík ‘1’

49 This is not realized as [ʒʰak], which is the case in some other related linguistic varieties.
50 These elements largely coincide with those used in (Lhasa) Tibetan, and also seem related
to the multipliers of the corresponding decades where they appear.
51 Historically, the morpheme is so. The k in sok is the migrated prefix of gcig.
52 One possible analysis of ŋépʧu is ŋá-p-ʧú, where -a becomes -e because of the vowel fol-
lowing it.
53 Both tokʃík and tonʃík are possible here, with no difference in meaning.

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4 The Verb Complex

The verb complex in Nàvakat is considerably simpler than that of Kinnauri.

There is no subject or object indexing, tense and evidentiality information is
conveyed by combinations of lexical verbs, nominalizers, suffixes/clitics and
auxiliaries.

4.1 Verb Lexemes and Their Structure

4.1.1 Simplex Verbs
The focus here is on simplex verbs. Below we give some examples of verbs of
different semantic types, illustrating that there is no formal differentiation of
these types. The verbs are provided here in their infinitive forms (ending either
in -ʧa or -ʤa).54

Involuntary processes
ⁿɖòʤa ‘to flow (nh)’ ʒètʧa ‘to forget’
ʈè(t)ʧa ‘to drift (intr)’ ʃíʤa ‘to die (nh)’

Bodily functions
kjúkʧa ‘to vomit’ ⁿdàrʧa ‘to shiver’
ŋùʤa ‘to cry’ gjùʤa ‘to have sex’
mìkʧa ‘to swallow’ ⁿdàʧa ‘to chew’

Motion verbs
ⁿɖòʤa ‘to go (npst)’ ⁿʣàkʧa ‘to climb’
òŋʤa ‘to come’ táŋʤa ‘to leave’
pʰúrʧa ‘to fly’ ʧʰóŋʤa ‘to jump’

Action verbs
ʈúʧa ‘to wash’ kóʧa ‘to dig’
kúŋʤa ‘to bury’ dàmʤa ‘to tie’
ⁿdàʧa ‘to chew’ ʒàŋʤa ‘to build (h)’

Cognition verbs
ʃéʃa ‘to know’ ʒètʧa ‘to forget’

54 Two types of variation are observed here. First, the infinitive marker -ʤa is also realized
as -ʒa. Second, in many instances speakers use -ʧa and -ʤa with the same verb, seemingly
in free variation.

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Utterance verbs
sèrʧa ‘to say’, ‘to tell’ ʈíʤa ‘to ask’

Focussed attention verbs

táʤa ‘to observe’ númʤa ‘to smell (tr)’

4.1.2 Honorific and Non-Honorific Verb Stems

Some verbs in Navakat have distinct honorific and non-honorific verb stems.

h verb form nh verb form

‘to arrive’ pʰéʧa lépʧa

‘to go’ kjǿtʧa ⁿɖòʤa
‘to come’ pʰéʧa òŋʤa
‘to be born’ ʈʰúŋʤa kéʤa
‘to die’ ʈònʃa ʃíʤa
‘to drink’ ʧʰǿtʧa tʰúŋʤa
‘to give’ púlʤa térʧa
‘to know’ kʰénʤa ʃéʃa
‘to sit, to stay’ ʒùːʃa dèʧa

4.1.3 Complex Verbs

Navakat has a kind of light or support verb construction, consisting of a noun
without case marking and a verb. In this construction, the noun carries the
main semantic content and the verb functions primarily as the carrier of the
verb inflectional morphology. Verbs which occur in this construction are: òŋʤa
‘to come’, òʧa ‘to exist’, g( j)èpʧa ‘to shoot’, pèʧa ‘to do’, lènʤa ‘to take’, táŋʤa ‘to
send’, and térʧa ‘to give (nh)’.
Complex verbs with òŋʤa ‘to come’ describe non-voluntary situations.

tókri òŋ-ʤa [hunger(n) come-inf] ‘to be hungry’

míklam òŋ-ʤa [dream(n) come-inf] ‘to dream (nvol)’
tʰìːfa55 òŋ-ʤa [drip(n) come-inf] ‘to drip, to dribble(intr)’
ʈìma òŋ-ʤa [smell(n) come-inf] ‘to smell (intr)’

55 [f] in Nàvakat occurs only intervocalically.

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With the verb òʧa ‘to exist’, we get states.

ʧá ò-ʧa [knowledge(n) exist-inf] ‘to know about’

sónpo ò-ʧa [alive(n) exist-inf] ‘to be alive’
ʧóreʒik ò-ʧa [resemblance(n) exist-inf] ‘to seem similar’

g( j)èpʧa ‘to shoot’ provides a volitional interpretation.

mónlam gjèp-ʧa [pray(n) shoot-inf] ‘to pray’

ʧík gjèp-ʧa [word(n) shoot-inf] ‘to paint’
gùrma gjèp-ʧa [crawl(n) shoot-inf] ‘to crawl’

The verb pèʧa ‘to do’ derives complex activity verbs. The activity can be abstract
(e.g. ‘to hope’) or concrete (e.g. ‘to perform a religious activity’).

rèʋa pè-ʧa [hope(n) do-inf] ‘to hope’

ʧʰǿe pè-ʧa [religious.activities(n) do-inf] ‘to preach’
jào pè-ʧa [friend do-inf] ‘to help’

All instances of complex verbs constructed with lènʤa ‘to take’ involve bodily
actions.

ɖìtpa lèn-ʤa [sneeze(n) take-inf] ‘to sneeze’

hùiɖa lèn-ʤa [snore(n) take-inf] ‘to snore’
jàl lèn-ʤa [yawn(n) take-inf] ‘to yawn’

táŋʤa ‘to send’ and térʧa ‘to give (nh)’ both derive complex verbs which
describe activities.

lú táŋ-ʤa [song(n) send-inf] ‘to sing’

kjákpa táŋ-ʤa [feces(n) send-inf] ‘to defecate’
kʰíreː táŋ-ʤa [hunting(n) send-inf] ‘to hunt’

ʧìmleː tér-ʧa56 [blessing(n) give-inf] ‘to bless’

ʈèu tér-ʧa [permission(n) give-inf] ‘to permit’

56 ster ‘give’ is a Classical Tibetan form. ter ‘give’ occurs in Tabo, too.

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4.1.4 Intransitive, Transitive and Ditransitive Verbs

The direct object in transitive clauses may take the dative marker. Ditransitive
verbs take three core arguments. As is the case with transitive verbs, even in
this case, the direct object and the indirect object need not occur explicitly in
the clause.

(85) ɲìma ʃár-sṍ(ŋ)

sun rise-pst.vis
‘The sun rose.’ (Direct knowledge)

(86) kʰóʃak ʃíŋ ʧá-sṍ(ŋ)

3pl.nh wood break-pst.vis
‘They cut the wood.’ (Direct knowledge)

(87) áŋmo=su kúnma=la ʒùm-ãːk

i.name=erg thief=dat catch-pst.fact
‘Angmo caught the thief.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(88) àŋmo=su ténzin=la múl tát-ãːk

i.name=erg i.name=dat money give.pst-pst.fact
‘Ram gave (some) money to Tenzin.’ (Indirect knowledge)

4.2 Verbal Inflectional Categories

Navakat verbs do not exhibit subject or object indexing, but like most other
Tibetic languages, Navakat has an extensive set of grammatical morphemes
which combine the expression of evidentiality and tense in complex ways (Sax-
ena 1997a; Zeisler 2004; Tournadre 2008; DeLancey 2012, 2018; Tournadre and
LaPolla 2014). With respect to the categories recognized and (to some extent)
the terminology used, the present description of the Navakat verbal inflectional
system draws on earlier descriptions of West Tibetic language varieties—and
especially the varieties classified together with Navakat under “Western Inno-
vative Tibetan” in Bielmeier et al. (MS 2008)—e.g., those of Hein (2001) and
Zeisler (2004, p.c.), although with due consideration of the fact that the gram-
matical systems of even closely related Tibetic varieties may differ considerably
in their details (Tournadre and LaPolla 2014: 252–256). Table 31 provides an
overview of the verbal inflectional categories in Navakat.57

57 It is important to mention here that we find considerable variation in the realization of

various inflectional endings. For example, normally the first person future ending is -(k)an,

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table 31 Verbal inflectional categories in Navakat

Copulas and their inflectional categories

Equational Existential

nfut fut nfut fut

ego jìn ʧʰá-na jìn ò-at dèt-kan58

fact jìn-ɖo ʧʰá-kãːk ò-kãːk dèt-kãːk
vis jìn-uk ⁿdùk
now dèt-uk
nvis ʈàk

Verbal inflectional categories in non-copula constructions

npst pst fut

ego -at -an/-ʋan, V.pst -(k)an

ena -ʧuŋ
fact -(k)ãːk -ãːk/-ʋãːk -(k)ãːk
vis V-nmlz jìn-uk, (tã(ŋ)) ⁿdùk (-)sõ(ŋ)
now -uk V dèt-uk
nvis ʈàk
hi (-)tã(ŋ)

4.3 Copula Constructions

4.3.1 Non-Future Tense
jìn, ò, ⁿdùk, dèt and ʈàk occur in non-future copula constructions, where jìn
occurs in the equational copula construction in non-future and the rest occur
in the existential copula construction. jìn with no inflectional ending is ego-
phoric, while the copula jìn with -uk indicates that the speaker has direct
knowledge of that which is being described as s/he has seen it personally, while
jìn with the suffix -ɖo indicates that the speaker does not have direct (factual)
knowledge.

but at times it is also realized as [(k)ɛn] or [(k)en]. This also holds true for other inflec-
tional endings: [(ʋ)an] [pst.ego] and [at]̚ [prs.ego].
58 The copula dèt is realized here as dè.

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(89) ŋà ʃìŋba jìn

1sg farmer cop.nfut.ego
‘I am/was a farmer.’

(90) ɲèt ʃìŋba jìn

1ple farmer cop.nfut.ego
‘We are/were farmers.’

(91) kʰjǿt ʃìŋba jìn-uk

2sg.nh farmer cop-nfut.vis
‘You are/were a farmer.’ (Direct knowledge)

(92) kʰó ʃìŋba jìn-ɖo

3sg.nh farmer cop-nfut.fact
‘He is/was a farmer.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(93) kʰóʋat ʃìŋba jìn-uk

3pl.nh farmer cop-nfut.vis
‘They are/were farmers.’ (Direct knowledge)

(94) ʈúː lò ʧúkʃik=i jìn-uk

son year eleven=poss cop-nfut.vis
‘(His) son is eleven years old.’ (Direct knowledge)

In the following example, jìn-uk occurs, if, the speaker has personally seen that
the meat is/was fresh.

(95) íː ʃá sóma jìn-uk

this meat fresh cop-nfut.vis
‘This meat is/was fresh.’ (Direct knowledge)

In non-future tense constructions, time adverbials are used to specify the tem-
poral framework of a copula construction.

(96) ŋà ʃìŋba jìn

1sg farmer cop.nfut.ego
‘I am/was a farmer.’

(97) lò ɲíː ŋàn=la ŋà ʃìŋba jìn

year two inside=all 1sg farmer cop.nfut.ego
‘Two years ago I was a farmer.’

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ò, ⁿdùk, dèt and ʈàk occur in the existential copula construction. The copula
ò followed by the suffix -at occurs in egophoric and factual contexts (98–99),
while ò-kãːk occurs when the speaker does not have direct knowledge, but
knows it for a fact (100–103).

(98) ŋà jùl=na ò-at

1sg village=loc cop-prs.ego
‘I am in the village.’

(99) ɲèt jùl=na ò-at

1ple village=loc cop-prs.ego
‘We are in the village.’

(100) kʰjǿt jùl=na ò-kãːk

2sg.nh village=loc cop-npst.fact
‘You are in the village.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(101) kʰó jùl=na ò-kãːk

3sg.nh village=loc cop-npst.fact
‘He is in the village.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(102) kʰóʋat jùl=na ò-kãːk

3pl.nh village=loc cop-npst.fact
‘They are in the village.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(103) píti=na gùnba màŋbo ò-kãːk

p.name=loc temple many cop-npst.fact
‘Spiti has many temples.’ (Indirect knowledge)

Similarly, the distribution of the remaining existential copulas (i.e., ⁿdùk, dèt
and ʈàk), too, is evidentially conditioned. ⁿdùk indicates that the speaker has
direct knowledge of that which is being described by having seen it personally
(104).

(104) kàkʦe=ji kʰá=na púli ʧík ⁿdùk

crow=poss mouth=loc bread one cop.nfut.vis
‘There is somebread in the crow’s beak.’ (Direct knowledge)

dèt-uk, on the other hand, marks a change of state, where the speaker was a
witness to the change (105).

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(105) nám59 ʈín dèt-uk

weather cloud cop-nfut.now
‘The weather is cloudy.’ (It is cloudy.) (Background: it was sunny just a
while ago, but now it is cloudy; the speaker witnessed the change.)

Finally, the copula ʈàk (allomorph ɖàk60) indicates that the information con-
veyed in this clause is direct knowledge, but based on the speaker’s non-visual
perceptions. This includes expressing internal feelings as well as perceptions of
touching and smelling. See (106–109).

(106) tʰérmos=ki nàŋ=na ʧà ʈàk

thermos=poss inside=loc tea cop.nfut.nvis
‘There is tea in the thermos.’ (Background: The speaker feels the weight
of a thermos, and inferes/guesses/assumes that there is tea in the ther-
mos.)

(107) tʰérmos=ki nàŋ=na ʧà ⁿduk

thermos=poss inside=loc tea cop.nfut.vis
‘There is tea in the thermos.’ (Direct knowledge)

(108) kʰáŋb=i61 nàŋ=na kʰí ʈàk

house=poss inside=loc dog cop.nfut.nvis
‘There is a dog in the house.’ (Background: The speaker hears the noise
of the barking coming from the house. Thus he assumes that there is a
dog in the house.)

(109) kʰáŋb=i nàŋ=na kʰí ⁿduk

house=poss inside=loc dog cop.nfut.vis
‘There is a dog in the house.’ (Direct knowledge)

The existential copulas (excluding dèt-uk) also occur in constructions with

adjectival predicates.62 The existential copulas in such constructions retain
their evidential properties, described above (110–118).

59 nám literally means ‘sky’.

60 In the negative existential construction, this is always realized as ɖàk. For example, ɲìnmo
ɲìma ʦàntɛj raŋ ʦʰátpa su ʃìŋga ji làː ŋànna minɖàk ‘Due to sun during the day time, which
causes perspiration, one should not work during midday.’
61 The detailed form is: kʰáŋba=i.
62 This is also the case in Ladakhi (Bettina Zeisler, p.c.).

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(110) mà rìŋpo63 ò-at

1sg tall cop-prs.ego
‘I am tall.’

(111) kʰó lã̀ːpʰo64 ⁿdùk

3sg.nh beautiful cop.nfut.vis
‘She is/was beautiful.’ (Direct knowledge)

(112) màʃ=i65 mème=ki màlej ⁿʤìːʃa rìŋpo ò-kãːk

1ple=poss grandfather=poss chin much long cop-npst.fact
‘My grandfather has a very long chin.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(113) tá nàkpo té táeŋ-an ò-kãːk

horse black foc agressive-nmlz cop-npst.fact
‘The black horse has agressivity.’ (The black horse is agressive) (Indirect
knowledge)

(114) dòrʒə=ki náma té lã̀ːpʰo ʧík ⁿdùk

i.name=poss wife foc beautiful one cop.nfut.vis
‘Dorje’s wife is beautiful.’ (Direct knowledge)

(115) nám=la ʦʰátpa ʈàk66

weather=all hot cop.nfut.nvis
‘The weather is hot.’ (It is hot.) (Background: The speaker is sweating
and he feels that it is hot today.)

(116) tìriŋ lágde ʈákpo ʈàk

today wind fierce cop.nfut.nvis
‘The wind is fierce today.’ (Background: The speaker experiences strong
wind.)

(117) ʧà ʈ(r)ã́ː saŋ ⁿdùk

tea cold completely cop.nfut.vis
‘The tea has become cold.’ (Direct knowledge).

63 This is also realized as rìŋbo.

64 This is also realized as lã̀ːfo.
65 The detailed form is: màʃak=i.
66 [ɖàk].

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(118) ʧà ʈ(r)ã́ː saŋ ʈàk

tea cold completely cop.nfut.nvis
‘The tea is cold. (Background: After the speaker drank the tea, s/he feels
that the tea has turned cold).’

4.3.2 Future Tense

In the future tense, the regularly inflected verbs ʧʰá ‘become’ and dèt ‘sit,
remain, live’ function as the equational and existential copula, respectively. The
egophoric form is ʧʰá-na jìn [become-nmlz aux.nfut.ego]. This verbal form
occurs also in the obligative construction. In other contexts the verb (ʧʰá) takes
the inflectional ending -kãːk, which also occurs in noncopula constructions as
a mark of indirect (factual) evidentiality.

(119) ŋà ʃìŋba ʧʰá-na jìn

1sg farmer become-nmlz aux.nfut.ego
‘I will be a farmer.’

(120) ɲèt ʃìŋba ʧʰá-na jìn

1ple farmer become-nmlz aux.nfut.ego
‘We will be farmers.’

(121) kʰjǿt ʃìŋba ʧʰá-kãːk

2sg.nh farmer become-npst.fact
‘You are/will be a farmer.’

(122) kʰó ʃìŋba ʧʰá-kãːk

3sg.nh farmer become-npst.fact
‘(S)he is/will be a farmer.’

(123) kʰóʋat ʃìŋba ʧʰá-kãːk

3pl.nh farmer become-npst.fact
‘They are/will be farmers.’

In the existential copula construction in the future tense dèt ‘sit, remain, live’
functions as the copula. The inflectional endings here are the same as those in
the noncopula construction (see the next section).

(124) ŋà jùl=ⁿdu dèt-kan [dèkan]

1sg village=term sit-fut.ego
‘I will be in the village.’

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(125) ɲèt jùl=ⁿdu dèt-kan [dèkan]

1ple village=term sit-fut.ego
‘We will be in the village.’

(126) kʰjǿt jùl=ⁿdu dèt-kãːk [èkãːk]

2sg.nh village=term sit-npst.fact
‘You are/will be in the village.’

(127) kʰó jùl=ⁿdu dèt-kãːk [dèkãːk]

3sg.nh village=term sit-npst.fact
‘(S)he are/will be in the village.’

(128) kʰóʋat jùl=ⁿdu dèt-kãːk [dèkãːk]

3pl.nh village=term sit-npst.fact
‘They are/will be in the village.’

4.4 Non-Copula Constructions

4.4.1 Past Tense
The distribution of the finite verb inflectional endings in the past tense is as
follows. The two allomorphs of egophoric -an/-ʋan are distributed as follows:
-an occurs when the verb stem ends in a consonant and -ʋan67 occurs when
the verb stem ends in a vowel.

(129) mà ʈì-ʋan
1sg write-pst.ego
‘I wrote.’

(130) màʃak ɲámbo ⁿɖùl-an

1ple together walk-pst.ego
‘We walked together.’

Some verbs have suppletive forms in the past tense, e.g., ‘go’ and ‘do’: ⁿɖò
[go.npst] : pùt [go.pst]; pè [do.npst] : ʧè [do.pst]. The same set of verb
inflections is used with the verbs which have suppletive verb forms and those
which do not have suppletive forms in past and non-past. To some extent the
Navakat verb forms reflect the stem formation of Old and Classical Tibetan (see
Appendix 3A to this chapter).

67 -ʋan is also realized as -pan. For example, ʧák-pan ‘break-pst’.

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There are some instances of finite clauses where a bare verb occurs in the
past tense, without any inflectional ending. When asked to clarify, the language
consultants provided the corresponding sentence with inflectional endings.

(131) mà kʰó=la tʰóŋ

1sg 3sg.nh=dat see(nvol)
‘I saw him.’

(132) mà rèl ŋán-ʃo=la ʃú-ʤa ʃímla=la pùt-an

1sg train early-sup=dat board-inf p.name=all go.pst-pst.ego
‘I took the earliest train to Shimla.’

Other verb inflectional endings in the past tense are -ãːk/-ʋãːk and (-)sõ(ŋ).
-ʋãːk occurs often, but not only, when the stem ends with a vowel and -ãːk
occurs when the verb stem ends with a consonant.
When (-)sõ(ŋ) functions as a verb ending, it immediately follows the main
verb.68 The phonological status of (-)sõ(ŋ) seems to fall somewhere between a
free auxiliary and a bound morpheme as the place of articulation of s in (-)sõ(ŋ)
is sometimes assimilated to the place of articulation of the stem-final conso-
nant of the preceding verb, whereas in other contexts, there is no assimilation.
Similarly, ŋ in (-)sõ(ŋ) is not always articulated clearly. The vowel in (-)sõ(ŋ) is
nasalized with or without the final ŋ. (-)sõ(ŋ) occurs with agentive (transitive,
intransitive) as well as with non-agentive verbs.

(133) mà=ji nò lùk ʦó=ru pùt-sṍ(ŋ)

1sg=poss y.brother sheep graze=term go.pst-pst.vis
‘My younger brother went to herd lambs.’ (Direct knowledge)

(134) ràm kjúk sṍ(ŋ)

i.name vomit pst.vis
‘Ram vomited.’ (Direct knowledge)

The distribution of the verb endings -ãːk/-ʋãːk and (-)sõ(ŋ) is evidentially con-
ditioned: (-)sõ(ŋ) occurs when the speaker has direct knowledge of that which
is being described by having seen it; -ãːk/-ʋãːk occurs when the speaker does
not have direct evidence, but knows it for a fact.

68 In my dataset there is only one instance of sõ(ŋ) as a lexical verb, where it functions as a
non-honorific imperative verb form.

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(135) kʰóŋ pùt-ãːk / *pùt-ʋãːk

3sg.h go.pst-pst.fact
‘He went.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(136) kʰjǿt pùt-ãːk/ *pùt-ʋãːk

2sg.nh go.pst-pst.fact
‘You went.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(137) kʰó mà=la táe-ʋãːk

3sg.nh 1sg=dat observe.pst-pst.fact
‘He observed me.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(138) kʰó mà=la táe-sṍ(ŋ)

3sg.nh 1sg=dat observe.pst-pst.vis
‘He observed me.’ (Direct knowledge)

(139) dòrʒe=su kʰó=la dùn-sṍ(ŋ)

i.name=erg 3sg.nh=dat beat-pst.vis
‘Dorje beat him.’ (Direct knowledge)

(140) dòrʒe kʰó=la dùn-ʋãːk

i.name 3sg.nh=dat beat-pst.fact
‘Dorje beat him.’ (Indirect knowledge)

Finally, -ʧũ(ŋ), (-)tã(ŋ), túk and ʈò too, occur as verbal inflectional endings in
the noncopula constructions.
When the first person argument is the affected (i.e., non-agent) argument in
the past tense, the verb takes the suffix -ʧu(ŋ) (allomorph [ʤɔ̃ (ŋ)]). It always
occurs as the last element in a finite sentence. The first person argument may,
but need not necessarily, be the grammatical subject in the clause.

(141) tìriŋ pʰírok ná=nasu mà=ji ná-ʈʰák69 tø̀ n-ʤu(ŋ)

today evening nose=abl 1sg=poss nose-blood come.out-pst.ena
‘Today evening the blood came out from my nose.’

69 ná+ʈʰák seems to function as a compound. The possessive marker is not possible after ná
in ná+ʈʰák.

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(142) mà=ji ʈø̀ tpa=ru kʰó=ji ʈʰímoʒoŋ pʰók-ʧũ(ŋ)

1sg=poss stomach=term 3sg.nh=poss elbow hit-pst.ena
‘His elbow hit my stomach.’

The following two pairs of examples show that the first person argument has
to be the recipient (i.e., the non-agentive argument) for -ʧũ(ŋ) to occur.

(143) mà=su kʰó=ji làkpa=ru sóa gjèp-tã(ŋ)

1sg=erg 3sg.nh=poss hand=term tooth.pl shoot-hi
‘I bit his hand.’

(144) ʧìʋa=su mà=ji làkpa=ru sóa gjèp-ʧũ(ŋ)

child=erg 1sg=poss hand=term tooth.pl shoot-pst.ena
‘The baby bit my hand.’

(145) íː gàɖi mà=su áʒi ʧʰétpo=la tát tã(ŋ)

this watch 1sg=erg o.sister big=dat give.pst hi
‘I gave this watch to my elder sister.’

(146) íː gàɖi mà=la áʒi ʧʰétpo=su tá-ʧũŋ

dem.prox watch 1sg=dat o.sister big=erg give-pst.ena
‘My elder sister has given this watch to me.’

As these examples show, (-)tã(ŋ) too, occurs with first person subjects. Unlike
-ʧũ(ŋ), (-)tã(ŋ) occurs in constructions where the first person argument is also
the agent. Further, unlike ʧũ(ŋ), (-)tã(ŋ) also occurs with all persons. Phono-
logically the status of (-)tã(ŋ) is somewhere between a bound morpheme and
a free auxiliary. At times, it is also realized as -sã(ŋ). It indicates heightened
intentionality.70 (-)tãŋ is the grammaticalized form of the verb meaning ‘give’.
The verb inflectional ending (-)tã(ŋ) is frequently, but not necessarily, followed
by the auxiliary ⁿdùk.

(147) púʃi=su òma síŋ tʰúŋ-tã́(ŋ) ⁿdùk

cat=erg milk all drink-hi aux.nfut.vis
‘The cat drank all the milk.’

70 The choice of the form and its semantic interpretation in Nàvakat is similar to the present
perfect construction in Ladakhi (Bettina Zeisler, p.c.).

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a linguistic sketch of navakat 219

(148) ràm=su ʧák tã́(ŋ) ⁿdùk

i.name=erg break hi aux.nfut.vis
‘Ram has broken (X).’

As the ungrammaticality of the following example illustrates, (-)tã́(ŋ) cannot

be followed by the auxiliary jin (see below).

(149) *mà síkul=la pùt-tã(ŋ) jìn

1sg school=all go.pst-hi aux.nfut.ego
‘I have gone to the school/I went to the school.’

Further, (-)tã(ŋ) does not occur with non-past verb forms. For example:

(150) *mà síkul=la ⁿɖò-tã(ŋ) jìn

1sg school=all go.npst-hi aux.nfut.ego
‘I have gone to the school/I went to the school.’

The copula forms jìn-uk and ⁿdùk occur in noncopula constructions, where
they function as auxiliaries. In my material the auxiliary jìn-uk is always pre-
ceded by a nominalized verb form. For example:

(151) ɖòlma náma=la pùt dè-kan71 jìn-uk

i.name wife=all go.pst sit-nmlz aux-nfut.vis
‘Dolma has gone as a wife (and has stayed there that way).’ (Direct
knowledge)

ⁿdùk as an auxiliary is frequently preceded by tã(ŋ). Such constructions can

have an agentive or a non-agentive interpretation. ⁿdùk here indicates that the
speaker has direct knowledge of that which is being described.

(152) tʰápka=ji nàŋ=i ʃíŋ-ja síŋ tùk-sãŋ

oven=poss inside=poss wood-pl all burn(intr).pst-hi
ⁿdùk
aux.nfut.vis
‘All the wood inside the oven has burnt (non-volitional).’ (Direct knowl-
edge)

71 This is an example of a complex (or serial) verb construction with a sequence of two verbs
without any intervening non-final particle.

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(153) kʰóʃak-ja màma=la72 pùt ⁿdùk [pùⁿduk̚]

3pl.nh-pl city=all go.pst aux.nfut.vis
‘They have gone to the city.’ (Direct knowledge)

(154) kʰóŋ màma la pùt ⁿdùk [pùⁿduk̚]

2sg.h city all go.pst aux.nfut.vis
‘You (h) have gone to the city.’ (Direct knowledge)

4.4.2 Non-Past Tense

The verbal ending -at occurs as an egophoric marker in non-past.

(155) mà ʃàktaːn làː=la ⁿɖò-at

1sg every.day work=all go.npst-prs.ego
‘I go to work every day.’

(156) màʃak ʃàktaːn ɲámbo ⁿɖúl-at

1ple every.day together walk-prs.ego
‘We walk together every day.’

The verb ending -(k)ãːk73 indicates indirect (factual) knowledge of that which
is being described. While the verbal inflection -uk74 indicates a change of state
which the speaker has direct knowledge of. Depending on the context, the verb
can have a present or a future tense interpretation, but never past.

(157) kʰí-ja mú-kãːk75

dog-pl bark-npst.fact
‘The dog will bark’ or ‘The dog barks.’ (Indirect knowledge)

72 màma ‘downwards (direction)’ is also used to refer to ‘city’, ‘town’ as all cities and towns are
located to the south and in lower altitudes as compared to the Nako village. As mentioned
above, jòk ‘down’ is also used to refer to a city.
73 -(k)ãːk can also occur with egophoric arguments in some restricted contexts, where it
has an irrealis-modality interpretation, for instance referring to the speaker’s intention
of doing something in the future. For example, mà láʋ-(k)ãːk ‘I WILL study/teach.’ (Back-
ground: This verb form occurs when someone doubts the speaker’s intention, and, the
speaker reasserts his/her intention of studying/teaching.); mà ʈì-ãːk ‘I WILL write.’ (Back-
ground: Similar background as in the preceding example).
74 -uk is also realized as -ok.
75 múkʧa ‘to bark’.

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(158) dòrʒe síkul=la ⁿɖò-ãːk

i.name school=all go.npst-npst.fact
‘Dorje goes to school.’ (Indirect knowledge)

The semantic differences between -(k)ãːk and -uk can also be seen by compar-
ing examples (157, 159) with examples (158, 160). When -(k)ãːk is replaced with
-uk, the semantic interpretation of the clause changes too.

(159) kʰóʃak ʃíŋ ʃá-kãːk

3pl.nh wood break-npst.fact
‘They cut wood (every day) or They will cut wood.’ (Indirect knowl-
edge)

(160) kʰóʃak ʃíŋ ʃák-uk

3pl.nh wood break-npst.vis
‘They cut wood (every day) or They will cut wood.’ (Change of state,
direct knowledge)

(161) ʧìʋa ʦé-ãːk

child play-npst.fact
‘The child plays (every day)’ or ‘The child will play.’

(162) ʧìʋa ʦé-uk

child play-nfut.now
‘The child is playing.’ (Change of state, direct knowledge)

The following examples illustrate that -(k)ãːk and -(ʋ)ãːk have different tempo-
ral reference.

(163) kʰjǿt ʃíŋ túp-kãːk

2sg.nh wood chop-npst.fact
‘You (nh) (will) chop wood.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(164) kʰjǿt ʃíŋ túp-ʋãːk

2sg.nh wood chop-pst.fact
‘You (nh) chopped wood.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(165) dòlma ʃé-kãːk

i.name know-npst.fact
‘Dolma knows/will know (X).’ (Indirect knowledge)

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(166) dòlma ʃé-ʋãːk

i.name know-pst.fact
‘Dolma knew (X).’ (Indirect knowledge)

The copulas dèt-uk and ʈàk occur in noncopula constructions, where they func-
tion as auxiliaries.
dèt-uk in a non-copula construction indicates that there is a change of state
and that the resulting state prevails. It further indicates that the speaker has
direct knowledge of this change of state, having witnessed it personally. The
main verb in its bare form immediately precedes this auxiliary.

(167) pʰíː=na pàlaŋ ʃí dèt-uk

that=loc cow die aux-nfut.now
‘A cow has died there.’ (Background: A cow was alive and suddenly,
right in the front of the speaker’s eyes, she fell off and died; the cow
is still lying there.) (Direct knowledge)

(168) píti lùŋba=nasu ʦʰóŋba ɲíː lép dèt-uk

p.name valley=abl businessman two arrive aux-nfut.now
‘Two traders from the Spiti valley have arrived (here).’ (Background:
The speaker saw the two businessmen from Spiti arrive here; they are
still here.) (Direct knowledge)

(169) mà=ji ʧìʋa=ji ʈála tʰúg dèt-uk

1sg=poss child=poss forehead hurt/collide aux-nfut.now
‘My child’s forehead is hurt.’ (Background: The speaker’s child was well
just a while ago, but now he got hurt and his forehead is hurting; the
speaker himself saw the child getting hurt.) (Direct knowledge)

The copula ʈàk, too, retains its semantic qualities when it occurs as an auxiliary
in non-copula constructions.

(170) mà=ji púŋba sùk ʈàk

1sg=poss inside pain cop.nfut.nvis
‘My shoulder has pain.’ (The speaker is feeling the pain)

4.4.3 Future Tense

-(k)an is the future tense egophoric suffix. It is realized as -kan and -an. Their
distribution is, however, not phonetically conditioned. -kan occurs also with
verb stems endings in consonants, e.g. kór-kan [drive-fut.ego] (cf. kórʧa ‘to

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drive’); kól-kan76 [cook-fut.ego] (cf. kólʤa ‘to cook’). Similarly, the allomorph
-an occurs, too, with the verb stems ending in vowels, e.g. zò-an, *zò-kan [make-
fut.ego] (cf. zòʤa ‘to make’); ʦé-an, *ʦé-kan [play-fut.ego] (cf. ʦéʤa ‘to
play’).

(171) mà láp-kan
1sg teach/study-fut.ego
‘I will teach/study.’

(172) mà ʈì-an / *ʈì-kan

1sg write-fut.ego
‘I will write.’

4.5 Final Auxiliaries

Finally, túk and ʈò which occur sentence-finally, indicate probability. They dif-
fer, however, in their semantic qualities. túk indicates that the speaker is draw-
ing an inference, based on some observation. For example,

(173) kʰó=ji ʈúː=ki látpa ètpo ò-ta77 túk

3sg.nh=poss son=poss brain good cop-? inference
‘His son (seems to) have good brain.’ (Indirect inference) (Background:
His son is securing good results in his exams, even though he is seen
playing all the time)

(174) sèptuŋ ʃìmbo kól pòr-a túk

food good cook keep inference
‘There is delicious cooked food.’ (Background: Good smell of food is
coming, therefore the speaker infers that there is good food.)

Distinct from this, ʈò78seems to convey probability, without reference to any

external perceivable cause. It occurs with all persons in copula and non-copula
constructions. In the copula construction it occurs with òt and jìn in my mate-
rial.

76 kór-an and kól-an have the past tense interpretation, i.e., ‘(I) drove’ and ‘(I) cooked’, respec-
tively.
77 The ta here is not the same as tã́(ŋ).
78 ʈò is also realized as [ʈɔ̀ ].

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(175) màʃak sàt ʈò

1ple eat probability
‘We might eat.’

(176) kʰó dìlli=na òt ʈò

3sg.nh p.name=loc cop probability
‘He may be in Delhi.’

(177) ʧʰòdon=gi ʈòtpa pʰítaː=la tòn / tø̀ n dèt-uk

i.name=poss stomach outside=loc come.out aux-nfut.now
ʧìʋa òt ʈò
child exist probability
‘Choden’s belly has come out, maybe she is pregnant.’

(178) táːn=na kàkʦe kʰá gjá-irak ⁿdònbo òŋ-na

roof=loc crow mouth shoot-aux.nfut.nvis guest come-nmlz
jìn-ɖò
aux-probability
‘(The speaker hears that) A crow is cawing on the roof, (some) guest
may come.’

When ʈò follows the copula jìn the two comprise one prosodic unit. In such
constructions ʈò is always realized as ɖo ([jìnɖo]). [jìnɖo] occurs with all per-
sons.

(179) íː mi-láp-ʧa=na mà tàksaŋ lùkzi

this neg-educate-inf=loc 1sg immediately herdsman
jìn-ɖò
aux-probability
‘Without this education, I might probably be be a herdsman (now).’

(180) táːn79=na kàkʦe tágera ⁿɖònbo òŋ-na jìn-ɖò

roof=loc crow caw(n) guest come-nmlz aux-probability
‘The crow is cawing on the roof, some guest may come.’

ʈò also occurs in constructions with non-first person subjects, where the pre-
ceding verb takes the egophoric marker -at, which may serve to indicate that
the statement is a judgement (a guess) on the part of the speaker.

79 This is realized as [tã́ː].

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(181) kʰó gàːdi kór-ʧa láp-at ʈò

3sg.nh vehicle drive-inf learn/study-prs.ego probability
‘He might be learning to drive.’

In constructions with suppletive past-tense verb stems, ʈò can follow the bare
verb.

(182) mà pùt ʈò
1sg go.pst probability
‘I might go.’

4.6 Negation
mi- and ma- function as negative markers in Navakat and mèt functions as
a negative existential. mi- occurs in copula and noncopula constructions in
the non-past tenses in finite and non-finite clauses (including nominalized
clauses).

(183) tʰúr=la rìʋoŋ gjùk-gui80

downhill=all rabbit run-internal.capability
mi-ʃór-kãːk
neg-run-npst.fact
‘Rabbits can’t run downwards.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(184) mi-sìn-na làː

neg-finish-nmlz work
‘The work which does not get finished’

ma- occurs in the past tense with all persons in copula and noncopula con-
structions.

(185) ŋà ɖàgdar màːn

1sg doctor neg.cop
‘I was not a doctor.’

80 The slow-speech form is gjùk-gui. While in Nàvakat -gui is obligatory here, in the neigh-
boring villages such as Chango, it does not occur. -gui here indicates internal capacity.
Contrast this with the following example: rìʋõ(ŋ) tʰúr la gjùk mi-ʃór-kãːk [rabbit downward
all run neg-run-npst.fact] ‘Rabbits can’t run downwards (due to created obstructions
like fencing or walls erected)’.

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(186) tà lò ʧàmo-ja gùã màŋbo tát81 ma-sṍ(ŋ)

now year hen-pl egg many give. pst neg-pst.vis
‘This year the hens did not produce many eggs.’ (Direct knowledge)

mèt functions as the negative existential. It occurs with all persons and num-
bers in all tenses.

(187) mà jùl=na ɲìriŋ màŋbo mèt

1sg village=loc relative many neg.cop
‘I don’t have many relatives in the village.’

(188) ɲèt jùl=na mèt

1ple village=loc neg.cop
‘We are not in the village.’

(189) kʰó jùl=na mè-kãːnk

3sg.nh village=loc neg.cop-npst.fact
‘He will not be in the village.’

In constructions where the finite verb consists of a main verb and an auxiliary,
the negative prefix is affixed to the auxiliary.

(190) ⁿgò sùk=su dìriŋ làː pè-ʧa mi-ɖàk

head pain=ins today work do-nmlz neg-aux.nfut.nvis
‘Because of headache, (I) am not feeling like working today.’

4.7 Imperative and Prohibitive

4.7.1 Imperative
As seen in Section 4.1.2, Navakat has a small set of verbs which have dis-
tinct honorific and non-honorific verb forms. This distinction in this verb set
is maintained in the imperatives. Further, in the non-honorific verb forms,
as shown below, there is a change in the stem vowel in two instances (sò,
dòt); in other cases the non-honorific imperative verb forms are suppletive
forms.

81 As mentioned earlier, the word-final consonant is barely audible. When asked, the lan-
guage consultant, at times, provided the word-final consonant as [t], while at other times,
as [d]. This, however, cannot be attributed to the Tibetan writing system, as my language
consultant did not know any Tibetan (including its writing system).

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Infinitive h Imperative nh Imperative

‘to eat’ ʧʰǿtʧa (h), sàʤa (nh) ʧʰǿt sò

‘to drink’ ʧʰǿtʧa (h), tʰúŋʤa (nh) ʧʰǿt tʰúŋ
‘to go’ kjǿtʧa (h), ⁿɖòʤa (nh) kjǿt sóŋ
‘to sit’ ʒùːʃa (h), dèʧa (nh) ʒùː dòt

Besides this rather small set of verbs, the honorific imperative verb form is
formed by adding the suffix -roʧì [rɔʧi] to the verb stem. The formation of the
non-honorific imperative verb forms, on the other hand, exhibits more than
one strategy. First, it could just be a bare verb stem (i.e., the verb form without
the infinitive marker).

Infinitive h Imperative nh Imperative

‘to burn’ túkʧa túk-roʧi túk

‘to put on’ kónʤa kón-roʧi kón
‘to cook’ kólʤa kól-roʧi kól
‘to throw’ ʈìmʤa ʈìm-roʧi ʈìm

Next, there are also some instances, as illustrated below, where the nonhonori-
fic imperative verb form involves a change in the stem vowel (as compared to
the vowel in the infinitive). Most infinitive verbs in this set have a as the stem
vowel in their infinitive forms; some have e as the stem vowel in their infinitive
forms. Their imperative verb stems have [o] as the stem-final.82

Infinitive h Imperative nh Imperative

‘to sleep’ ɲàlʤa ɲàl-roʧi ɲòl

‘to live’ dèʧa dèt-roʧì dòt

82 At least in some cases the verb stems with e are etymologically related to Tibetan forms
with a, e.g. the original root has an a: sdad > det, where the e-vowel appears because of final
-t. In the case of gjep, CT rgyab, the change of the vowel seems to have been triggered by
the preceding palatal.

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(cont.)

Infinitive h Imperative nh Imperative

‘to fold’ tápʧa táp-roʧi tóp

‘to tie’ dàmʤa dàm-roʧi dòm
‘to carry’ ʈàkʧa ʈàk-roʧì ʈò

In addition, there are some instances where the non-honorific imperative verb
form takes an additional final vowel (-i or -e).

Infinitive h Imperative nh Imperative

‘to dig’ kóʧa kót-roʧi kó-e

‘to gather’ ⁿdùʧa ⁿdùt-roʧi ⁿdù-i
‘to hide’ bàʧa bàt-roʧì bò-e
‘to bathe, to wash’ ʈúʧa ʈút-roʧi ʈú-i

Finally, while the honorific imperative verb form continues to be formed by

adding -roʧi to the verb stem, in the following instances in the non-honorific
imperative verb forms the stem-final consonant is deleted and there is a com-
pensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel.

Infinitive h Imperative nh Imperative

‘to bury’ kúŋʤa kúŋ-roʧi kṹː

‘to plant’ ʦúkʧa ʦúk-roʧi ʦúː
‘to beat’ dùŋʤa dùŋ-roʧi dũ̀ː
‘to play, to dance’ ʦéʤa ʦé-roʧì ʦéː

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4.7.2 Prohibitive
The honorific and nonhonorific distinction is also maintained in the pro-
hibitives.

h.inf nh.inf h.proh nh.proh

‘to say, to tell’ súŋ-ʤa sè(r)-ʧa83 ma-súŋ ma-sèr

‘to sleep’ zìm-ʤa ɲàl-ʤa ma-zìm ma-ɲàl
‘to stay’ ʒùːʃa dè-ʧa ma-ʒùː ma-dèt
‘to put on (clothes)’ nám-ʤa kón-ʤa ma-nám ma-kón

Apart from this limited set, the non-honorific prohibitive verb forms are formed
by prefixing the negative morpheme ma- to the infinitive verb stem. The hon-
orific prohibitive verb form, on the other hand, is composed by suffixing -ro to
the verb stem, and adding mapèt to this verb form (i.e., V-ro mapèt).

inf h.proh nh.proh

‘to do’ pè-ʧa pèt-ro mapèt ma-pèt

‘to burn, to light’ tùk-ʧa tùk-ro mapèt ma-tùk
‘to sew (by hand)’ ʦém-ʤa ʦém-ro mapèt ma-ʦém
‘to wrap’ ʈíl-ʤa ʈíl-ro mapet ma-ʈíl
‘to get’ tʰóp-ʧa tʰóp-ro mapet ma-tʰóp
‘to kill’ sá-ʧa sát-ro mapèt ma-sát
‘to scrape’ dàr-ʧa dàr-ro mapèt ma-dàr

5 Clauses and Sentences

Navakat is a verb-final language.

(191) nám=la kárma ʃár-sṍ(ŋ)

sky=all star rise-pst.vis
‘Stars rose (appeared) in the sky.’ (Direct knowledge)

83 [sè(r)ʧa].

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(192) tʰá=su pʰíː=na ʧíltik ʧík sát pór-uk

hawk=erg dem.dist=loc sparrow one kill keep-nfut.now
‘The hawk has killed a sparrow over there.’ (Direct knowledge)

While SOV is the most frequent word order in Navakat, other word orders are
also encountered.

(193) nòʧʉŋ=gi kítaːb ʧìʋa-ja=su ʃá-tãŋ ⁿdùk

y.brother=poss book child-pl=erg tear-hi cop.nfut.vis
‘The children have torn (my) younger brother’s book.’ (Direct knowl-
edge)

5.1 Experiencer Subjects

As other languages of this region, Navakat, too, has the so-called experiencer
subject construction (or dative subject construction). When the “subject” is not
a volitional participant, it takes the dative marker.

(194) éʋi=ki ʈúːŋ-ja mà=la àtlə

grandmother=poss story-pl 1sg=dat remember(n)
mi-nɖàk
neg-cop.nfut.nvis
‘I don’t remember grandmother’s stories.’

(195) mà=la ʈàŋmo ʈàk

1sg=dat cold(n) cop.nfut.nvis
‘I feel cold.’

A similar construction is used for expressing possession in a wide sense.

(196) ɖòlma=la mìŋbo ŋá ò-kãːk

i.name=dat brother five cop-npst.fact
‘Dolma has five brothers.’ (Indirect knowledge)

(197) mà=la ʧìʋa súm ò-at

1sg=dat child three cop-prs.ego
‘I have three children.’

As in Kinnauri, the verb forms are differently distributed in the experiencer

subject constructions, compared to clauses with regular nominative or erga-
tive subjects, with respect to the egophoric and evidential markers.

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5.2 Questions
In content questions the question word (see Section 3.3.3) tends to “right”-
dislocate towards the focus position immediately before the verb (see example
196–199). The verbal inflection in the interrogative constructions remains the
same as in the declarative sentences, except that the verb takes the question
suffix (-aː/-ʋaː or -eː/-ʋeː), where -aː/-ʋaː functions as the honorific interroga-
tive suffix and -aː/-ʋaː functions as the non-honorific interrogative suffix.84 The
allomorphs with -ʋ occur when the verb stem ends with a vowel.

(198) kʰó kànɖu ɲàl-sṹ85-(ʋ)ãː

3sg.nh where sleep-pst.vis-q.h
‘Where did he sleep?’ (Direct knowledge)

(199) kʰóʋat ʧíla pùt-sṹ-(ʋ)ãː86

3pl.nh why go.pst-pst.vis-q.h
‘Why did they go?’ (Direct knowledge)

(200) kʰáŋba sú-su zòe-sṹ-(ʋ)ãː

house who-erg build.pst-pst.vis-q.h
‘Who built the house.’ (Direct knowledge)

(201) kʰjǿ ʦúk ʧè-ʤa òŋ-ʋeː

2sg.nh how play-inf come-q.nh
‘How did you come.’

The polar (yes-no) question construction, on the other hand, is formed by sim-
ply affixing the interrogative suffix -aː/-ʋaː or -eː/-ʋeː to the verb stem.

(202) kʰóŋ=su kʰóŋ-raŋ=la táe-ʋaː

2sg.h=erg 2sg.h-refl=dat observe.pst-q.h
‘Did you observe yourself?’

(203) áŋmo sèptuŋ ma-sòe-ʋaː

i.name food neg-eat.pst-q.h
‘Didn’t Angmo eat?’

84 This honorific–non-honorific distinction in the yes-no question construction is not

marked in the neighboring village Chango. In Chango the yes-no question suffix is -e with
both honorific and non-honorific referents.
85 This is a shortened form of -sṍ(ŋ).
86 The slow-speech verb form is pùt-sṍŋ-ãː.

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(204) kʰjǿ ʃimla=la pùt-eː

2sg.nh p.name=all go.pst-q.nh
‘Did you go to Shimla?’

(205) kʰjǿ jè( j) láp-eː

2nh script learn-q.nh
‘Did you study?’

5.3 Clausal Nominalization

-po, -kan and -na function as nominalizers in Navakat. While -po occurs in a few
lexicalized, frozen expressions (e.g. jókpo ‘servant’), -kan and -na are productive
nominalizers. The nominalizer -kan functions as a non-patientive nominalizer.
Its head noun is someone who has the qualities to carry out the described
action.87 That seems to be the reason why examples such as, ‘bird which will
die (on its own)’ and ‘mirror which will break (because it is old)’, too, take the
nominalizer -kan.

(206) òma tér-kan pàlaŋ

milk give-nmlz cow
‘Cow which gives milk’

(207) tʰúŋ-an (mì)

drink-nmlz (man)
‘Man who drinks’

(208) mi-pʰúr-kan ʧà
neg-fly-nmlz bird
‘Bird which does not fly’

(209) múk(ʰ)88-an kʰí

bark/bite-nmlz dog
‘The dog which barks/bites’

87 The names of some professions are not formed with the nominalizer -an. For example, zò
‘blacksmith’, zìla ‘weaver’, èmʤi ‘traditional doctor’.
88 This lexical item occurs both for ‘to bark’ and ‘to bite’. There is a slight aspiration [ʰ] at the
end.

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(210) ʃí-an89 ʧà
die-nmlz bird
‘Bird which is to die (on its own)’

This nominalization exhibits some noun-like characteristics. For example, the

plural marker can be suffixed to the nominalized verb, e.g. dùŋʤa ‘to beat’,
dùŋan ‘drummer’: dùŋ-an-ja ‘drummers’; lútaŋ-an ‘singer’: lútaŋ-an-ja ‘singers’
(cf. lú ‘song’, táŋʤa ‘to leave’). The nominalized clause also retains some verb-
like characteristics. For example, it takes the negative marker mi-, and when
there is a direct object in a nominalized clause, it precedes the nominalized
verb, obeying normal intraclausal constituent order. Syntactically, the nomi-
nalized clause behaves like a determiner rather than like an adjective, in that it
precedes the head noun.
The nominalizer -na, on the other hand, occurs in constructions where the
head noun is a patient. The head noun follows the nominalized verb. As is the
case with the nominalizer -kan, -na, too, can take the negative marker mi-. As we
can see in these examples, a stem-final consonant appears when the nominal-
izer is suffixed to the verb stem (ʈút-na, sád-na, ʃík-na), which does not appear
in the corresponding infinitive verb forms (ʈúʧa ‘to wash (clothes etc.)’, sáʧa ‘to
kill’, and ʃíʤa ‘to die’).

(211) ʈút-na kòelak(- ja)

wash-nmlz garment(-pl)
‘Clothes which will be or are to be washed’

(212) sád-na ʧà
kill-nmlz bird
‘Bird which will be or is to be killed (by someone)’

(213) ʃík-na kʰáŋba

die-nmlz house
‘House which will be or are destroyed (by someone)’

(214) mi-sìn-na làː

neg-finish-nmlz work
‘Work which will not be get finished’

89 [ʃéan].

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Appendix 3A: Classical Tibetan Verb Stems and Their

Correspondences in Navakat

To some extent the Navakat verb forms reflect the stem formation of Old
and Classical Tibetan. The verb stem system of Classical Tibetan (CT) can be
described in broad outline as follows:90
The Classical Tibetan stem iii (future stem) has become obsolete in all mod-
ern Tibetan varieties.
Classical Tibetan consonant alternations (eg. kʰ vs. k) are levelled out, typi-
cally towards stem ii (past stem) and implicitly also towards the former stem
iii.
Classical Tibetan vowel alternations between stem i (present stem) and stem
ii (or stem iii) have been levelled (exception: CT byed), typically towards stem
ii.
The -d suffix of the Classical Tibetan stem I may or may not be preserved in
certain tense and modal forms in Navakat. In a few cases, it also appears where
the attested Classical Tibetan verb does not have any such suffix, e.g. CT rko
‘dig’.
Hence almost all Navakat verbs with an originally closed syllable root, apart
from the imperative forms, correspond to the Classical Tibetan stem ii, minus
its prefix and suffix. And, in most, but not all cases, they thus also correspond to
stem iii minus their prefixes. One exception is the verb lèndʒa ‘to take’, which
corresponds to the Classical Tibetan stem i.

CT root Navakat correspondence Stem i Stem ii Stem iii Stem iv

CT lta ‘look at’ lta b-lta-s b-lta lto-s

Navakat ta tá- tá-e- — tó-e
CT za ‘eat’ za zo-s — zo
Navakat sà sà- sò-e- — sò
CT rʦe ‘play’ rʦe b-rʦe-s b-rʦe rʦe-s
Navakat ʦé ‘dance, play’ ʦé ʦé-e- — ʦé-e
CT khru ‘wash, bathe’ khru-d b-kru-s b-kru khru-s
Navakat ʈú ʈú-t- ʈú-i- — ʈú-i
CT sba ‘hide’ sbe-d sba-s sba sbo-s
Navakat ba bà-t- bà-e- — bò-e

90 In compiling the information presented in this appendix I have benefitted greatly from
discussions with Bettina Zeisler.

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(cont.)

CT root Navakat correspondence Stem i Stem ii Stem iii Stem iv

CT rmo ‘plough’ rmo-d rmo-s rmo rmo-s

Navakat mó mó-ø- mó-e- — mó-e
CT rko ‘dig, carve’ rko-ø b-rko-s b-rko rko-s
Navakat kó kó-t- kó-e- — kó-e
CT bya ‘do’ bye-d bya-s bya byo-s
Navakat pè pè-t- ʧè-j- — ʧì

In the case of the last verb, the split-palatalisation rule of West Tibetan (labial
plus glide > palatal affricate only before back vowels, loss or neutralisation of
the palatal glide before front vowels) has yielded these seemingly unrelated
forms.
After an open syllable root, the Classical Tibetan -s suffix of stem ii and iv
(imperative stem) becomes -e or -i in the Navakat past tense, resulting in a diph-
thong after back vowels (-ae, -oe, -ui) and to a lengthening of the front vowels
(eː, iː):

pst.ego prs.ego fut.ego

sàʤa ‘to eat’ sòe-ʋan sà-at sàn
móʤa ‘to plough’ móe-ʋan mó-at mó-an
zòʤa ‘to make’ zòe-ʋan zò-at zò-an
ʈúʧa ‘to wash’ ʈúi-ʋan ʈút-at ʈú-kan

kílʤa ‘to sweep’ kíl-an kíl-at kíl-kʰan

ʧáʧa ‘to cut’ ʧát-an ʧát-at ʧát-an
ʧákʧa ‘to break’ ʧák-pan ʧá-at ʧák-an

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236 chapter 3

Appendix 3B: Navakat Basic Vocabulary

(by Anju Saxena and Padam Sagar)

This is the Navakat IDS/LWT list. It has been compiled on the basis of the 1,310
items of the original Intercontinental Dictionary Series concept list (Borin et al.
2013) plus the 150 items added to it in the Loanword Typology project, for a total
of 1,460 concepts (Haspelmath and Tadmor 2009). However, some IDS/LWT
items have been left out from this list, as there were no equivalents in Navakat
or there were gaps in our material. The resulting list as given below contains
1,135 items (concepts). The list also includes loanwords.

3B.1 Notational Conventions

For ease of comparison we have kept the original IDS/LWT glosses unchanged
in all cases, and Navakat senses which do not fit the IDS/LWT meaning com-
pletely are given more exact glosses in the Navakat column. Sometimes there
will be multiple (separately glossed) items in the Navakat column when Na-
vakat exhibits lexical differentiation of meaning or form within an IDS/LWT
item. Pronunciation or form variants are separated by commas, and formally
distinct items are separated by semicolons. Glosses and notes belong with their
enclosing “semicolon grouping”.

3B.2 The Navakat IDS/LWT List

Id Gloss Navakat

S01.100 the world zèmbuliŋ

S01.210 the land sáʒa
S01.212 the soil tʰáʋa
S01.213 the dust pùʧur
S01.214 the mud ⁿdàmbak
S01.215 the sand pèma
S01.220 the mountain là
S01.222 the cliff pʰáloŋ
S01.230 the plain tʰáŋa ‘plain; plateau’
S01.240 the valley lùŋba
S01.270 the shore tʰà
S01.280 the cave pʰúːn

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S01.310 the water ʧʰú; ti91

S01.320 the sea gjàʦʰo
S01.322 calm zàŋbo
S01.323 rough(2) ʈákpo
S01.324 the foam bòa
S01.330 the lake ʦʰó
S01.360 the river ʦáːnpʰo
S01.370 the spring ʧʰúmik
S01.390 the waterfall bàmzar
S01.410 the woods or forest ʤàŋgal, ʤàŋgol; rìa
S01.430 the wood ʃíŋ
S01.440 the stone dùa
S01.450 the earthquake séŋgul
S01.510 the sky nám, námkʰa
S01.520 the sun ɲìma
S01.530 the moon ⁿdàːr
S01.540 the star kárma
S01.580 the storm ùrjuk
S01.590 the rainbow ⁿʤà
S01.620 the darkness mùnna
S01.630 the shadow ʈʰìpkja
S01.640 the dew sìlʋa
S01.710 the air lúŋ
S01.720 the wind lágdai
S01.730 the cloud ʈín
S01.740 the fog múkpa
S01.750 the rain ʧʰã́rʋa
S01.760 the snow kʰáː
S01.770 the ice tàr
S01.7750 to freeze ́
kʰĩãʃa
S01.780 the weather námla
S01.810 the fire mè ‘fire; flame’
S01.820 the flame mè ‘fire; flame’

91 ti is used in child-directed speech.

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S01.830 the smoke tùtpa

S01.8310 the steam lã́ː(n)fa
S01.840 the ash kò(k)tal
S01.841 the embers mèlo
S01.851 to burn(1) túkʧa92(vol)
S01.852 to burn(2) tùkʧa (general, nvol)
S01.860 to light túkʧa
S01.861 to extinguish sáʧa
S01.870 the match mèʧ
S01.890 the charcoal sólaː
S02.100 the person mì
S02.210 the man mì; pʰúʒa
S02.220 the woman kʰímamo; áne ‘father’s sister; woman’
S02.230 male(1) pʰó
S02.240 female(1) mò
S02.250 the boy ʈúː
S02.251 the young man kʰókʈõ(ŋ)
S02.260 the girl pòmo
S02.261 the young woman pòmo
S02.270 the child(1) ʧìʋa
S02.280 the baby ʧìʋa
S02.310 the husband mákpa
S02.320 the wife náma ‘wife; bride’
S02.330 to marry pàklen táŋʤa
S02.340 the wedding pàklen
S02.341 the divorce tʰákʧat
S02.350 the father áʋa
S02.360 the mother áma
S02.410 the son ʈúː
S02.420 the daughter pòmo
S02.430 the child(2) ʧìʋa
S02.440 the brother mìŋbo, mìnbo
S02.444 the older brother áʒo (ʧʰétpo), áʒu (ʧʰétpo)

92 The only difference between the vol and nvol form is in the tone.

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S02.445 the younger brother nò(ʧʉn), nò(ʧun)

S02.450 the sister ʈíŋmo
S02.454 the older sister áʒi (ʧʰétpo)
S02.455 the younger sister nòmo(ʧʉn), nòmo (ʧun)93
S02.456 the sibling mìʈiŋ
S02.458 the twins ʦʰéma
S02.460 the grandfather, old man mème
S02.461 the old man gètpo;94 mème ‘grandfather; old man’
S02.470 the grandmother éʋi, áʋi
S02.4711 the grandparents gèngun
S02.471 the old woman gènmo
S02.480 the grandson ʦʰáo
S02.510 the uncle áʒã(ŋ); éu
S02.511 the mother’s brother áʒã(ŋ)95
S02.512 the father’s brother éu
S02.520 the aunt áne; mèʒõ(ŋ)
S02.521 the mother’s sister mèʒõ(ŋ)
S02.522 the father’s sister áne
S02.530 the nephew ʦʰáu
S02.540 the niece, wife ʦʰámo
S02.5410 the sibling’s child ʦʰáu
S02.560 the ancestors gèndok
S02.570 the descendants pʰadokpʰudok
S02.610 the father-in-law (of a man) áʒã(ŋ)
S02.611 the father-in-law (of a woman) áʒã(ŋ)
S02.620 the mother-in-law (of a man) áne
S02.621 the mother-in-law (of a áne
woman)

93 It seems Navakat is regularizing a system where ‘older’ and ‘younger’ appear also as mod-
ifiers, redundantly in addition to the noun which already in itself specifies if it is an older
or a younger relative.
94 gètpo and gètmo are also used to refer to old animals, but not for inanimate objects for
which there is a separate word for ‘old’.
95 This is also used to refer to older men in general, including those who are not related by
kinship.

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S02.6220 the parents-in-law áʒãŋane

S02.630 the son-in-law (of a man) mákpa
S02.631 the son-in-law (of a woman) mákpa
S02.640 the daughter-in-law (of a ʦʰámo; náma
man)
S02.641 the daughter-in-law (of a ʦʰámo; náma
woman)
S02.710 the stepfather pʰájer
S02.720 the stepmother màjar
S02.750 the orphan tèʈuk
S02.760 the widow mòraŋmo
S02.770 the widower jùksa
S02.810 the relatives ɲìriŋ
S02.820 the family péraŋ
S02.910 I ŋà (h towards listener); mà
S02.920 you (singular) kʰóŋ (h); kʰjǿt (nh)
S02.930 he/she/it kʰó (nh)
S02.940 we òn [1pli]; màʃak, ɲèt [1ple]
S02.941 we (inclusive) òn
S02.942 we (exclusive) màʃak, ɲèt
S02.950 you (plural) kʰóŋʤak, kʰóŋʃak (h)
S02.960 they kʰóʃak (h); kʰóʋat (nh)
S03.110 the animal gélʤu; sémʧen
S03.120 male(2) pʰó
S03.130 female(2) mò
S03.150 the livestock gèlʒuː
S03.160 the pasture rìa
S03.180 the herdsman lùkzi
S03.190 the stable without a roof tára
S03.200 the cattle gèlʒuː
S03.220 the ox lẽṹ (n)
S03.230 the cow pàlaŋ
S03.240 the calf pèo
S03.250 the sheep lùk
S03.260 the ram kʰálʋa
S03.280 the ewe màmo

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S03.290 the lamb lùː

S03.320 the boar pʰák
S03.340 the sow pʰák
S03.350 the pig pʰák
S03.360 the goat ràma
S03.420 the stallion tápo, tá
S03.440 the mare támo
S03.450 the foal téʈuk
S03.460 the donkey põː̀
S03.470 the mule ʈìju
S03.500 the fowl ʧàʋo
S03.520 the cock/rooster ʧàʋo
S03.540 the hen ʧàmo
S03.550 the chicken ʧà
S03.570 the duck ʧàlõ(ŋ)
S03.580 the nest ʦán
S03.581 the bird ʧà
S03.584 the eagle lák
S03.585 the hawk ʈʰá
S03.586 the vulture ʧárgʉt
S03.592 the parrot tóta
S03.593 the crow kàkʦe
S03.610 the dog kʰí
S03.614 the rabbit rìʋõ(ŋ) ‘rabbit; hare’
S03.620 the cat púʃi
S03.630 the rat pìa
S03.650 the fish ɲà; màʧʰli
S03.730 the bear bàːlu
S03.740 the fox àʦe
S03.760 the monkey ʈíu, ʈéu
S03.770 the elephant láŋboʧi
S03.780 the camel ùːnʈ
S03.810 the insect, worm ⁿbù
S03.811 the head louse ʃík
S03.8112 the body louse ʃík
S03.813 the flea (ⁿ)ɖẽò

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S03.815 the scorpion dìkpa ràʧu

S03.816 the cockroach màʧʰar
S03.817 the ant ʈìmaŋbu
S03.818 the spider tóraŋbu
S03.819 the spider web ʦʰáː(n)
S03.820 the bee sérnbu
S03.822 the beehive ʦʰáː(n)
S03.830 the fly (ⁿ)ɖẽò
S03.832 the mosquito màʧʰar
S03.8340 the termites ʃíŋ tʰárambu
S03.840 the worm (ⁿ)bù ‘worm; insect’
S03.850 the snake ⁿɖỳl, ⁿɖùl
S03.8630 the hare rìʋõ(ŋ) ‘rabbit; hare’
S03.8650 the quail ʈákpa
S03.8800 the kangaroo káŋgaːru
S03.9170 the buffalo bẽs̀ , bɛ̃s̀
S03.920 the butterfly pʰéma lápʦe
S03.930 the grasshopper àŋbu
S03.960 the lizard nàktara
S03.970 the crocodile or alligator màgarmaʧʰ
S03.980 the turtle káʧʰua
S04.110 the body zúpʰo
S04.120 the skin or hide pã́ː(n)pʰo
S04.140 the hair ʈá
S04.142 the beard kʰépu ‘beard; moustache’
S04.144 the body hair pú
S04.145 the pubic hair pú
S04.146 the dandruff lókʃu
S04.150 the blood ʈʰák
S04.151 the vein or artery sá ‘vein; artery; grass’
S04.160 the bone rùːgok
S04.162 the rib ʦíu
S04.170 the horn ràʧo
S04.180 the tail ŋáma
S04.190 the back kùŋ
S04.191 the spine gùʦʰiʋa

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S04.200 the head (ⁿ)gò ‘top; peak; head’

S04.202 the skull kùrʒok
S04.203 the brain látpa
S04.204 the face ŋòdo(ŋ)
S04.205 the forehead ʈála
S04.207 the jaw ⁿɖàm
S04.208 the cheek ⁿɖàmba
S04.210 the eye mík
S04.212 the eyebrow míkpu
S04.214 the eyelash míkpu
S04.215 to blink míkʦup gjèpʧa
S04.220 the ear námʤok
S04.222 the earwax náʋorok
S04.230 the nose ná
S04.231 the nostril néhõŋ
S04.240 the mouth kʰá
S04.241 the beak kʰá
S04.250 the lip ʧʰúto
S04.260 the tongue ʧé
S04.271 the gums ɲíl
S04.300 the shoulder púŋba
S04.310 the arm làkpa
S04.312 the armpit kílikʦe
S04.320 the elbow ʈʰímoʒoŋ
S04.321 the wrist làkpa
S04.330 the hand làkpa
S04.331 the palm of the hand làktʰil
S04.340 the finger ⁿzùːn
S04.342 the thumb tʰéʋoʦʰi
S04.344 the fingernail sénmo
S04.345 the claw ʈánʦe
S04.350 the leg káŋba
S04.351 the thigh l(ʰ)áʃa
S04.352 the calf of the leg gìtpa
S04.360 the knee píːmo
S04.370 the foot káŋba; ʃàp (h)

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S04.371 the ankle káŋʦʰiʋa

S04.372 the heel tíŋba
S04.374 the footprint ʃàpʒej
S04.380 the toe kíŋtil
S04.392 the wing ʃúkpa
S04.393 the feather pú
S04.400 the chest ʈàŋ
S04.410 the breast éʋu
S04.420 the udder éʋu
S04.430 the navel ʈíja
S04.4310 the belly ʈòtpa
S04.440 the heart ɲíŋ; sémba ‘mind; heart’
S04.441 the lung lóa
S04.451 the kidney kʰálma
S04.460 the stomach ʈòtpa, ʈø̀ tpa
S04.461 the intestines or guts gjùma ‘intestines; sausage’
S04.462 the waist kétpa
S04.463 the hip ʧṍ(n)to
S04.464 the buttocks ʧṍ(n)to
S04.470 the womb pùinʉt
S04.490 the testicles líkpa
S04.492 the penis kóto
S04.4930 the vagina kúp
S04.510 to breathe ú lènʤa
S04.520 to yawn jàl lènʤa; kjǿʃat lènʤa, kjóʃat lènʤa
S04.530 to cough lʉ̀ tpa lùʧa, lòtpa lùʧa
S04.540 to sneeze ɖìtpa lènʤa
S04.550 to perspire ʦʰátpa tónʤa
S04.560 to spit ʧʰímak póʤa
S04.570 to vomit kjúkʧa
S04.580 to bite sóa gjèpʧa
S04.590 to lick ⁿdàkʧa
S04.591 to dribble tʰíːfa òŋʤa
S04.610 to sleep ɲàlʤa
S04.612 to snore húiɖa lènʤa

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S04.620 to dream míklam òŋʤa96 (nvol)

S04.630 to wake up lã̀ːʃa (intr)
S04.640 to fart tùkri táŋʤa
S04.650 to piss ʧíʋi táŋʤa
S04.660 to shit kjákpa táŋʤa
S04.670 to have sex gjùʤa
S04.680 to shiver ⁿdàrʧa
S04.690 to bathe, wash ʈúʧa
S04.720 to be born kéʤa (nh); ʈʰúŋʤa (h)
S04.730 pregnant ʈòtpala ʈúː
S04.732 to conceive ʈúː kʰíjanʃa
S04.740 to be alive sónpo òʧa
S04.7410 the life mìʦʰe; ʦʰéʋa
S04.7501 dead ʃíro (nh), dua (h)
S04.750 to die ʃíʤa (nh); ʈònʤa (h)
S04.751 to drown dùrʧa, tùrʧa (nvol)
S04.760 to kill sáʧa
S04.770 the corpse ʃíro
S04.780 to bury kúŋʤa
S04.810 strong ʃéʧen
S04.820 weak rìtpa
S04.830 healthy gjàpʰa, gjàfa
S04.841 the fever ʈòt
S04.843 the cold ʈàŋmo
S04.8440 the disease nàza
S04.850 the wound má
S04.853 the swelling bòepʰo
S04.8541 to scratch dàrʧa
S04.854 the itch sàʋun, sèʋʉn
S04.855 the blister ʧʰúrgãː
S04.856 the boil ʃóa
S04.857 the pus nák

96 The folk etymology of this is mík ‘eye’ + làm ‘path’ > ‘dream (n)’. In other dialects the final
k in ‘eye’ does not occur. mik in other dialects is realized as rme, me or mi, etc.

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S04.870 the physician ɖògdar (m); ɖagdarni (f)

S04.880 the medicine mán
S04.890 the poison tùk
S04.910 tired túkʧʰat
S04.912 to rest ɲàl sóʤa
S04.920 lazy áret ʧíøt
S04.930 bald kátʰak
S04.940 lame ʃàu
S04.950 deaf kól ‘deaf; mute’
S04.960 mute kól ‘deaf; mute’
S04.970 blind ʃàra
S04.990 naked ʧírgok
S05.110 to eat sàʤa
S05.120 the food sèptuŋ97
S05.121 cooked kólma
S05.123 ripe ʧóeʋa
S05.124 unripe maʧóeʋa
S05.125 rotten rùlʋa; ʃúrʋa
S05.130 to drink tʰúŋʤa(nh), ʧʰǿtʧa (h)
S05.140 to be hungry tókri òŋʤa
S05.141 the famine tʰáma
S05.150 to be thirsty kómɖi òŋʤa (nvol)
S05.160 to suck (ⁿ)ʤìpʧa
S05.180 to chew ⁿdàʧa
S05.181 to swallow mìkʧa
S05.190 to choke úː tʰúk péʧa
S05.210 to cook kólʤa(vol)
S05.220 to boil kòlʤa98 (nvol)
S05.230 to roast or fry lámʤa
S05.240 to bake ʈákʧa
S05.250 the oven tʰápka
S05.260 the pot háʃaŋ ‘saucepan’

97 < za-btuŋ [food-drink].

98 The only difference between the vol and nvol form is in the tone.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S05.280 the pan nèruma

S05.310 the dish, saucepan ʧálak
S05.320 the plate tʰéli
S05.330 the bowl gom
S05.340 the jug/pitcher ʤàg
S05.350 the cup kárjøl; káp
S05.370 the spoon tʰúrma
S05.380 the knife(1) ʈì, ɖì
S05.390 the fork ʦʰérmaː
S05.410 the meal tʰáktuk
S05.430 the lunch ⁿzàːra
S05.460 to peel (kómbo) ʃúʤa
S05.470 to sieve or to strain ʦákʧa
S05.480 to scrape, rub də̀rʧa
S05.510 the bread púli ‘fried bread’; ròʈi ‘chapati’
S05.530 the dough pàkzan
S05.540 to knead ̀
zĩːʤa
S05.550 the flour pàkpe
S05.560 to crush, to grind or to beat dùŋʤa
S05.610 the meat ʃá
S05.630 the sausage gjùma ‘intestines; sausage’
S05.640 the soup tʰúkpa (traditional)
S05.650 the vegetables ʦʰǿnma; sábʤi, sábzi
S05.700 the potato hèlu
S05.712 the bunch pikʦe
S05.760 the grape gùn
S05.770 the nut bèdaːm ‘nut; almond’
S05.790 the oil mèrku
S05.791 the grease or fat ʧʰílu
S05.810 the salt ʦʰá
S05.821 the chili pepper píʋili
S05.840 the honey ʃɛ́had, ʃéhad
S05.850 the sugar ʧíːni
S05.860 the milk òma
S05.880 the cheese ʧʰúra
S05.890 the butter màr

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Id Gloss Navakat

S05.920 the wine árak

S05.930 the beer ʧʰáŋ
S05.940 the fermented drink árak; ʧʰáŋ
S05.970 the egg gù̴ã
S06.110 to put on kónʤa (tr, non-reflexive object)
S06.120 the clothing or clothes kòelak, kø̀ elak
S06.130 the tailor ʦʰémbua (m, f)
S06.210 the cloth kòelak, kø̀ elak
S06.220 the wool bàl
S06.240 the cotton súːt; rèː
S06.250 the silk rɛ̀ʃam, rèʃãm
S06.270 the felt bérgi
S06.280 the fur pú
S06.290 the leather kúa
S06.320 the spindle pʰáŋ
S06.340 the loom táʃa
S06.350 to sew túkʧa (by hand); ʦémʤa (by machine)
S06.360 the needle(1) kʰáp
S06.380 the thread kútpa
S06.390 to dye ʦʰóe gjèpʧa
S06.410 the cloak kòe
S06.420 the (woman’s) dress pòmoi kø̀ elak
S06.440 the shirt rague
S06.450 the collar kò̴ã
S06.480 the trousers súːtʰon
S06.490 the sock or stocking kíŋʃu
S06.510 the shoe lám
S06.520 the boot bùt
S06.540 the shoemaker mòʧi
S06.550 the cap ʃèu
S06.570 the belt bèlʈ (modern)
S06.580 the glove làkʃuː
S06.610 the pocket kʰíso
S06.620 the button tʰúpʧi
S06.630 the pin kʰáp
S06.710 the ornament or adornment tákʧa

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Id Gloss Navakat

S06.720 the jewel júʧʰùru99

S06.730 the ring súrtuːp, sʉ́ rtup
S06.740 the bracelet ⁿdũ̀ː
S06.750 the necklace hàːr
S06.760 the bead ʈʰéjãː
S06.770 the earring kónʤu(ŋ)
S06.810 the handkerchief or rag rùmaːl
S06.820 the towel tólijaː
S06.910 the comb káŋgiː
S06.920 the brush brʉ̀ ʃ, bùruʃ
S06.921 the plait/braid lènbu
S06.940 the ointment mán
S06.950 the soap sábun
S06.960 the mirror mèlõ(ŋ)
S06.9800 the snowshoe bùt
S07.110 to live dèʧa
S07.120 the house kʰáŋba
S07.140 the tent kùr
S07.150 the yard or court ràpsal
S07.210 the room nàŋ
S07.220 the door gò
S07.231 the latch or door-bolt gùlik; ʧíʈkeni
S07.2320 the padlock gùlʧa
S07.240 the key kúlik
S07.250 the window kírkuŋ
S07.260 the floor sáʒa ‘surface; floor’
S07.270 the wall ⁿdàn
S07.310 the fireplace ʧáktʰap100 (made of iron); tʰáp(ka) (made
of stone)
S07.330 the chimney ⁿdòŋmo
S07.370 the ladder tʰémba
S07.420 the bed ɲàlsa

99 jú-ʧʰùru [a.kind.of.green.gemstone-another.kind.of.gemstone].
100 Fireplaces made of stone used to be more common earlier, but they are now being
replaced by iron fireplaces.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S07.421 the pillow ŋáːe

S07.422 the blanket kámbal
S07.430 the chair kúrsi
S07.450 the lamp bámba (traditional)
S07.460 the candle mòmbatti
S07.470 the shelf táktak
S07.480 the trough ʧílʋuk
S07.510 the roof tã́ː(n)
S07.550 the beam káː
S07.560 the post or pole káː
S07.570 the board pã́ːlep
S07.580 the arch ⁿdà
S07.610 the mason mìstri
S07.620 the brick ìːnʈ
S07.630 the mortar(2) màsaːla
S07.6500 the camp ɖèraː
S08.110 the farmer ʃìŋba
S08.120 the field ʃìŋga; sá ‘plot of land’
S08.1210 the paddy dàːn
S08.130 the garden ʦʰáera ‘garden; orchard’
S08.160 the fence kjǿra; rá
S08.170 the ditch jùra
S08.210 to plough/plow ʃíŋ móʤa
S08.220 to dig kóʧa
S08.250 the hoe mòntok
S08.260 the fork(2)/pitchfork ʦʰérmaː
S08.270 the rake làŋkãː
S08.2900 the lasso tʰàkpa
S08.311 the seed sáŋon, sáŋøn
S08.340 to thresh pʰúŋma tónʤa
S08.350 the threshing-floor úndak
S08.420 the grain nã̀e
S08.430 the wheat ʈò
S08.440 the barley nèː
S08.450 the rye sóa
S08.470 the maize/corn ʧʰálli

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Id Gloss Navakat

S08.480 the rice ⁿɖàe

S08.520 the hay sókja
S08.531 to plant (páŋ) ʦúkʧa
S08.540 the root pàdak
S08.550 the branch jàlga
S08.560 the leaf lìp
S08.570 the flower mèndok
S08.600 the tree páŋ
S08.650 the fir dèudaːr
S08.680 the tobacco tómbak
S08.690 to smoke tùtpa tʰòŋʤa
S08.691 the pipe nàliː
S08.720 the tree stump páŋgi ʤùŋma
S08.730 the tree trunk páŋgiŋo
S08.750 the bark páŋgi kómbo (h)
S08.760 the sap tʰéŋʤu
S08.820 the coconut gàɽi
S08.830 the citrus fruit nìmbu
S08.850 the banyan pípal
S08.930 the gourd rèʈo
S08.931 the pumpkin or squash rèʈo
S08.940 the bamboo pèrim, bèrim
S08.941 the sugar cane gə̀nna
S08.960 the fish poison màʧʰli tùk
S08.980 the mushroom ʃṍmba
S08.9910 the larch kóɲʉnʦe ìːpaŋ
S08.9930 the needle(2) kʰáp
S08.9960 the cone kóɲʉnʦe
S09.110 to do pèʧa101 (npst), ʧèʧa [do.pst]
S09.1110 to make zòʤa (nh)
S09.120 the work làː
S09.140 to bend kúkʧa (tr)
S09.150 to fold tápʧa

101 This is also realized as [pʰèʧa] and [bèʧa].

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Id Gloss Navakat

S09.160 to tie dàmʤa

S09.161 to untie lúkʧa (tr); lùkʧa (intr)102
S09.180 the chain ʧáktʰak
S09.190 the rope tʰákpa
S09.192 the knot ⁿdỳtpa
S09.210 to strike tʰúkʧa
S09.211 to pound, beat dùŋʤa
S09.220 to cut ʧákʧa (tr) ‘to cut; to break; to damage’;
ʧàʧa (intr) ‘to cut; to break; to damage’103
S09.222 to chop túpʧa
S09.223 to stab, penetrate gjùʧa, gʉʧa
S09.230 the knife(2) ʈì, ɖì
S09.240 the scissors or shears kénʧiː
S09.250 the axe/ax téri
S09.251 the adze àːra
S09.260 to break ʧákʧa (tr) ‘to cut; to break; to damage’;
ʧàʧa (intr) ‘to cut; to break; to damage’104
S09.261 broken ʧák pórkan
S09.270 to split ʃákʧa (tr)
S09.280 to tear ʧʰímak tṍʤa
S09.290 to skin páːfo ʃúʤa, páːfo ʃʉ́ ʤa
S09.310 to rub dàrʧa
S09.3110 to wipe píʧa
S09.320 to stretch tʰénʤa (vol)
S09.330 to pull tʰénʤa
S09.340 to spread out tíŋʤa
S09.341 to hang up tónton la táŋʤa
S09.342 to press nánʤa
S09.343 to squeeze ʦírʧa
S09.350 to pour ʧùkʧa
S09.360 to wash (clothes, etc.) ʈúʧa
S09.370 to sweep kílʤa

102 The only difference between the tr and intr form is in the tone.
103 The only difference between the tr and intr form is in the tone.
104 The only difference between the tr and intr form is in the tone.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S09.380 the broom ʤàːɽu

S09.422 the tool làkʧa
S09.430 the carpenter mìstri
S09.440 to build ʒàŋʤa (h); zòʤa (nh)
S09.461 to hollow out míaŋ púkʧa
S09.480 the saw àːri
S09.490 the hammer tʰóro
S09.610 to forge ʒòkʤa
S09.620 the anvil kámpa
S09.630 to cast ʧúkʧa
S09.640 the gold sér
S09.650 the silver múl
S09.660 the copper sã́ː
S09.670 the iron ʧák
S09.680 the lead ʃél
S09.690 the tin or tinplate ʈín
S09.730 the clay tʰàʋa
S09.740 the glass ʃél
S09.760 the basket pàkʦe
S09.790 the fan páŋkʰaː
S09.810 to carve ʒø̀ kʧa
S09.830 the statue kúnɖa
S09.840 the chisel ʧʰéni
S09.880 the paint ràŋg
S09.890 to paint ʧík gjèpʧa ‘to paint (a picture)’
S09.9000 to draw water ʧʰú tʰénʤa
S09.9100 the peg (ⁿ)díŋbu
S10.110 to move (ⁿ)gùlʤa (to push slightly); pùlʤa (to push
with force)
S10.130 to turn around lòkʧa ‘to turn around; to return’
S10.140 to wrap ʈílʤa
S10.150 to roll (ⁿ)ɖìlʤa
S10.160 to drop dénkjel pèʧa
S10.170 to twist (ⁿ)gùlʤa
S10.210 to rise lã̀ːʃa; ʃárʧa ‘to rise (sun, moon)’
S10.220 to raise or lift tákʧa

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Id Gloss Navakat

S10.230 to fall ⁿɖìlʤa

S10.240 to drip tʰíːfa òŋʤa
S10.250 to throw ʈìmʤa, ɖìmʤa
S10.252 to catch ʒùmʤa
S10.260 to shake (ⁿ)gùlʤa
S10.320 to flow ⁿɖòʤa
S10.330 to sink dùrʧa, tùrʧa (intr)
S10.340 to float (ⁿ)dìŋʤa
S10.350 to swim ʧáli gjèpʧa
S10.351 to dive ʧʰóŋʤa
S10.352 to splash tórʧa105 (tr)
S10.370 to fly pʰúrʧa
S10.380 to blow ʃàːʃa106 (intr)
S10.410 to crawl gùrma gjèpʧa
S10.412 to kneel puŋmo ʦúkʃa
S10.413 to crouch kʰṍʃa
S10.420 to slide or slip ⁿɖèʧa
S10.430 to jump ʧʰóŋʤa
S10.431 to kick dòkril gjèpʧa
S10.440 to dance, play ʦéʤa
S10.450 to walk ⁿɖùlʤa
S10.451 to limp ʃàu tʰáŋʤa, ʃàu tʰoŋʤa
S10.460 to run ʃórʧa
S10.470 to go ⁿɖòʤa (npst), pùt (pst)
S10.471 to go up jàjala ⁿɖòʤa (in that direction) [up.loc
go.inf]; tákpa la ⁿɖòʤa (on a path over
there)
S10.472 to climb ⁿʣàkʧa
S10.473 to go down màmala ⁿɖònʤa ‘to go down; to go down-
ward’
S10.474 to go out pʰítala ʈònʤa, pʰítala (ⁿ)ɖònʤa, pʰítala
ʈònʤa
S10.480 to come òŋʤa

105 The only difference between the tr and intr form is in the tone.
106 The only difference between the tr and intr form is in the tone.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S10.481 to come back lòkʧa òŋʤa

S10.490 to leave táŋʤa ‘to leave; to let go of’
S10.491 to disappear kjàlʤa (nvol)
S10.510 to flee ʃórʧa, ʃʉ́ rʧa
S10.520 to follow (ⁿ)gàpla (ⁿ)ɖòʤa
S10.530 to pursue zúmdu ⁿɖóʤa
S10.550 to arrive lépʧa (nh)
S10.560 to approach lépʧa (nh)
S10.570 to enter nàŋla ⁿɖòʤa
S10.5800 to go ⁿɖòʤa (nh)
S10.610 to carry tʰàkʧa (nvol)
S10.612 to carry in hand làkpa raŋ tàkʧa
S10.613 to carry on shoulder púŋbaraŋ ʈàkʧa
S10.615 to carry under the arm làkpeː gàptu tàkʧa, làkpi gàptu tàkʧa
S10.620 to bring kʰúr òŋʤa ‘to bring; to carry’; kʰérʧa ‘to
bring; to take away’
S10.630 to send kúrʧa
S10.640 to lead ⁿgòʋa pèʧa
S10.660 to ride ʃó ònʤa
S10.670 to push pʰúlʤa
S10.710 the road sólok
S10.720 the path làm
S10.740 the bridge sàmba
S10.750 the cart or wagon gàːɽi
S10.760 the wheel kʰórlo
S10.810 the ship ʧʰúi ʤàhaʤ
S10.831 the canoe ɖònaː
S10.840 the raft ràːfʈ, ràːpʈ
S10.850 the oar ʧáppu
S10.890 the anchor làŋgar
S11.110 to have òʧa
S11.120 to own ʒìndak tònʤa
S11.130 to take kʰúrʧa; lènʤa
S11.140 to grasp ʒùmʤa ‘to grasp; to hold’
S11.160 to get tʰópʧa
S11.170 to keep pòrʧa

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Id Gloss Navakat

S11.180 the thing ʧálak

S11.210 to give térʧa (nh), púlʤa (h)
S11.220 to give back lókʧa
S11.250 to rescue ʈók lùŋʤa ‘to rescue; to give life; to blow life
into’
S11.270 to destroy ʃìkʧa, ʃìkʧ( j)a (nvol); ʃíkʧ( j)a (vol)
S11.280 to injure nǿtʧa ‘to injure; to hurt’
S11.2900 to damage ʧákʧa (tr) ‘to cut; to break; to damage’;
ʧàʧa (intr) ‘to cut; to break; to damage’;107
ʃíkʧ( j)a
S11.310 to look for pʰáʧa
S11.320 to find pʰáʧa
S11.330 to lose pʰámʤa ‘to lose, to be defeated’
S11.340 to let go ⁿɖòru ʧúkʧa
S11.430 the money (ⁿ)ʤèu; múl
S11.440 the coin ʧã́ːdi
S11.510 rich ʧʰúkpo
S11.520 poor mètpo
S11.530 the beggar rèan
S11.540 stingy kánʤuːs
S11.610 to lend ́
kĩ(n)ʤa
S11.620 to borrow járʧa (non-consumable objects); kínʤa
(consumable objects)
S11.630 to owe púlon òʧa
S11.640 the debt kínbo
S11.650 to pay térʧa
S11.660 the bill bìl
S11.690 the tax ʈʰál
S11.770 to hire kíraela lènʤa
S11.780 the wages lá
S11.790 to earn kámaːj zòʤa108
S11.810 to buy ɲòʤa
S11.820 to sell ʦʰónʤa
S11.830 to trade or barter ʦʰóŋ táŋʤa

107 The only difference between the tr and intr form is in the tone.
108 kámaːj is an IA loanword.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S11.840 the merchant ʦʰóŋba (m, f)

S11.850 the market bàzaːr
S11.860 the shop/store dùkaːn
S11.880 expensive kʰùnbo
S11.890 cheap kʰémo
S11.910 to share gòʧa
S11.920 to weigh kárʧa
S12.0100 after tíːn, tíːŋ ‘later’; tʰène ‘after; then; so’;
(ⁿ)gàpla109 [low-loc] ‘after; below;
beneath’
S12.0110 behind gjèp
S12.0200 beside ⁿdòru
S12.0300 down jòk (direction)
S12.0410 in front of ⁿdòru
S12.0500 inside nàŋ
S12.0600 outside pʰítaː
S12.0700 under ⁿgàp
S12.0800 up táːn ‘up; above; on top of’
S12.110 the place sá
S12.120 to put ʧúkʧa
S12.130 to sit dèʧa (nh), ʒùːʃa (h)
S12.150 to stand kérker la lã̀ːʃa
S12.160 to remain dèʧa
S12.210 to gather ⁿdùʧa, ⁿdỳʧa ‘to gather, to collect’
S12.212 to pick up dùʧa
S12.213 to pile up púŋʤa
S12.220 to join tʰúʧa
S12.240 to open pèʤa (intr)
S12.260 to cover kápʧa
S12.270 to hide bàʧa (tr)
S12.310 high tʰóŋpo, tʰǿnpo
S12.320 low mámõ110

109 This occurs to describe, e.g. ‘after you’, ‘after 5 o’clock’.

110 mámõ is also used to refer to ‘city’, as all large cities in Kinnaur are to the south of (and
consequently below) Nako.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S12.330 the top (ⁿ)gò ‘top; peak; head’

S12.340 the bottom ʦáː
S12.350 the end(1) (ⁿ)ʤùŋma; ʦã́ːʃo; tíŋʃoː
S12.352 pointed, sharp nø̀ npo
S12.353 the edge nø̀ npo
S12.360 the side ⁿdànba
S12.370 the middle ʒùŋ
S12.410 right(1) jépʰa, jéfa
S12.420 left júnma
S12.430 near ɲémo
S12.440 far tʰákrin
S12.450 the east ʃár
S12.460 the west nùp
S12.470 the north ʧàŋ
S12.480 the south l(ʰ)úː
S12.540 to measure tàpʧa
S12.550 big ʧʰétpo ‘big (adj); much (adv)’
S12.560 small kúrkur (bent objects); ʧyn, ʧún (objects
which are not elongated)
S12.570 long rìŋpo
S12.580 tall rìŋo
S12.590 short tún
S12.610 wide ʃàŋ
S12.620 narrow ʈòkpo
S12.630 thick ɖùmpo (round) ‘thick; fat’; tʰúpo (objects
which are not round) ‘thick; fat’
S12.650 thin ʈʰámo (round objects); ʈápo (flat objects)
S12.670 deep òptõ(ŋ)
S12.710 flat téltel (surface)
S12.730 straight ʈʰáŋbo
S12.740 crooked gùrkøk
S12.750 the hook nèlʤu
S12.760 the corner sùr, sʉ̀ r
S12.780 the square ʈùpʤi
S12.810 round gìrgir (large objects); kírkir ‘round; circle’
(small objects)

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Id Gloss Navakat

S12.830 the ball pólo ‘ball, game’

S12.840 the line rìmo
S12.850 the hole míaŋ
S12.930 to change dèpʧa
S13.0100 one ʧík
S13.0200 two ɲíː
S13.0300 three súm
S13.0400 four ʒì
S13.0500 five ŋá
S13.0600 six ʈùk
S13.0700 seven dỳn, dùn
S13.0800 eight gjèt
S13.0900 nine gù
S13.100 ten ʧú
S13.101 eleven ʧúkʃik
S13.102 twelve ʧúnɲiː
S13.103 fifteen ʧéŋa
S13.104 twenty ɲíːʃu
S13.105 a hundred gjà
S13.106 a thousand tóŋ
S13.107 to count ʦíkʧa (vol); ʦìkʧa (nvol)111
S13.140 all síŋ
S13.150 many jòp (cnt); màŋbo (ncnt)
S13.160 more tùnaː ‘more; yet’
S13.170 few kónbo
S13.180 enough dènak
S13.181 some ʦíʦiː
S13.190 the crowd mìmaŋ
S13.210 full kàŋkàŋ
S13.220 empty tóŋba
S13.230 the part, share kála
S13.2310 the piece súr, sʉ́ r
S13.240 the half pʰét

111 The only difference between the vol and nvol form is in the tone.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S13.330 only lèm

S13.3310 alone ʧíkpo
S13.340 first ⁿgòma
S13.350 last (ⁿ)ʤùŋma; ʦã́ːʃo; tíŋʃoː
S13.360 second ɲíːʋa
S13.370 the pair ʤòɽi
S13.380 twice/two times lèɲiː
S13.420 third súmba
S14.110 the time ʧʰùzət
S14.120 the age lò
S14.130 new, fresh sóma
S14.140 young nèʒuŋ (hum)
S14.160 early ŋán
S14.170 late pʰímo
S14.180 now tà
S14.190 immediately tàksaŋ
S14.210 fast ⁿgjòpʰa, ⁿgjòfa
S14.220 slow gùlerãŋ ‘slow, slowly’
S14.230 to hurry ⁿgjòpʰa pèʧa
S14.240 to be late pʰíːʃa
S14.250 to begin súkʧa
S14.2510 the beginning ⁿgòma
S14.252 to last lùiʃa
S14.260 the end(2) (ⁿ)ʤùŋma; ʦã́ːʃo; tíŋʃoː
S14.270 to finish sìnʤa
S14.280 to cease kàkʧa
S14.290 ready ʧʰóm
S14.310 always mizej ‘always; forever; life-long’
S14.320 often sírisak
S14.330 sometimes nàmnàmre
S14.331 soon ⁿgjòfa
S14.332 for a long time jùn rìŋbo
S14.340 never nàm ⁿgàŋ
S14.350 again jàn
S14.410 the day(1) ⁿgòmaʃak
S14.4110 the day(2) ɲìnmo

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Id Gloss Navakat

S14.420 the night gø̀ emo, gòemo

S14.430 the dawn ɲìʃar
S14.440 the morning ɲèrok
S14.450 the midday ɲìnmo
S14.460 the evening pʰírok
S14.470 today tìriŋ
S14.480 tomorrow nàŋmo
S14.481 the day after tomorrow náː
S14.490 yesterday ⁿdàŋ
S14.491 the day before yesterday kʰéniʃak
S14.510 the hour gànʈaː
S14.610 the week dùn
S14.620 Sunday (zà) ɲìma112
S14.630 Monday ⁿdàʋa
S14.640 Tuesday mìnmar
S14.650 Wednesday lákpa
S14.660 Thursday pʰúrʋu, pʰʉ́ rʋu
S14.670 Friday pásaŋ
S14.680 Saturday pénba
S14.710 the month ⁿdàː
S14.730 the year lò
S14.740 the winter gùnga
S14.750 the spring(2) píka
S14.760 the summer jàrka
S14.770 the autumn/fall tónga
S14.780 the season dòjʦøt, døeʦot
S15.210 to smell(1) ʈìma òŋʤa (nvol)
S15.212 to sniff númʤa (tr)
S15.220 to smell(2) númʤa (tr)
S15.250 fragrant ʈìma113

112 In Nako today most people use a mixture of English and IA terms for the days of the week.
Only those who have a training in Buddhism use the terms provided here for the days of
the week.
113 Both pleasant and unpleasant smell.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S15.260 stinking ʈìma114

S15.310 to taste ʦʰá ɲàŋʤa
S15.360 salty ʦʰéu
S15.370 bitter kʰánte
S15.380 sour ʧúrmo, kjʉ́ rmo
S15.390 brackish ʧá(h)ar
S15.410 to hear ʦʰórʧa (nvol)
S15.420 to listen ɲàʤa (vol)
S15.440 the sound or noise kát
S15.450 loud kúʒõ(ŋ)
S15.460 quiet ʧáme( j)
S15.520 to look táʤa ‘to look; to observe’
S15.550 to show tónʤa
S15.560 to shine òt gjèpʧa
S15.570 bright ʈákpo ‘bright; fierce (e.g. wind)’
S15.610 the colour/color ràŋ(g)
S15.620 light(2) sálʋo
S15.630 dark mùnna
S15.640 white kárʋo
S15.650 black nàkpo
S15.660 red márʋo
S15.670 blue ŋǿnpo, ŋónpo
S15.680 green (ⁿ)ʤéŋu
S15.690 yellow sér(ʋo)
S15.710 to touch ɲùkʧa
S15.712 to pinch akʧja gjèpʧa, sénto gjèpʧa
S15.720 to feel nòksam táŋʤa
S15.740 hard kjòŋbo
S15.750 soft ⁿbòlmo
S15.760 rough(1) ⁿzàːranzere (in physical appearance)
S15.770 smooth ⁿʤàmpo
S15.790 blunt dùmpa
S15.810 heavy ʧínte

114 Both pleasant and unpleasant smell.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S15.820 light(1) jàŋmo

S15.830 wet lánte
S15.840 dry kámpo
S15.850 hot ʦʰánte
S15.851 warm tònmo, ʈø̀ nmo
S15.870 clean lã̀ːpʰo, lã̀ːfo ‘clean; beautiful; clear’
S15.880 dirty (ⁿ)báːpʰa
S15.890 wrinkled ɲérma
S16.110 the soul or spirit námʃet
S16.150 surprised or astonished hà lã̀e̴ʃa
S16.180 the good luck ʈála zàŋbo115
S16.190 the bad luck ʈála ŋànba
S16.230 happy gèri; kítpu
S16.250 to laugh gòʧa
S16.260 to play ʦéʤa
S16.270 to love ʦʰéŋun pèʧa
S16.290 to kiss pók laŋʤa
S16.300 to embrace pàŋ dàmʤa
S16.310 the pain sùk
S16.320 the grief dùkpo
S16.330 the anxiety míksotma ‘anxiety; irritation’
S16.340 to regret or be sorry (ⁿ)gøtpa pèʧa, (ⁿ)gjòtpa pèʧa
S16.350 the pity ɲíŋʤja
S16.370 to cry ŋùʤa (nvol, nh)
S16.380 the tear ʧʰímak
S16.410 to hate migàʤa
S16.420 the anger ʦʰíkpa
S16.440 the envy or jealousy ʈàzak
S16.450 the shame ŋòza
S16.480 proud gèri
S16.510 to dare hámba pèʧa
S16.520 brave mìnʤikʰən
S16.530 the fear (ʧé) zìŋe

115 [forehead-very.good].

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Id Gloss Navakat

S16.540 the danger (ʧé) zìŋe

S16.620 to want gòeʃa
S16.622 to choose péʤa
S16.630 to hope rèʋa pèʧa
S16.650 faithful gòkʰi116
S16.660 true dìmã(ŋ)
S16.670 to lie(2) zỳn ʧùʤa, zùn ʧùʤa
S16.680 the deceit ɖòkʰja
S16.710 good ètpo (anim); ʃímbo ‘good (eatables, tasty)’;
zàŋbo (internal beauty, e.g. calmness);
dèmo (external qualities); káʧa; àʧʰa
S16.720 bad ŋànba; mànlok; kʰámlokʧa ‘disgusting’
S16.730 right(2) dìmã(ŋ) ‘right; true’
S16.740 wrong mànlok
S16.790 the praise mòn
S16.810 beautiful dèmo; làːpo ‘clean; beautiful; clear’
S16.820 ugly kʰámlokʧa
S16.830 greedy ⁿdòtpa
S16.840 clever ʧáŋbo
S17.110 the mind sém, sémba
S17.130 to think(1) nòksam táŋʤa
S17.150 to believe tátpa pèʧa
S17.160 to understand hã kòʤa
S17.170 to know séjsa (nh), kʰénʤa (h) ‘know’; ʧá òʧa ‘to
know about’
S17.171 to guess ʦʰǿt pèʧa
S17.172 to imitate pé( j)taʤa
S17.180 to seem ʧóreʒik òʧa ‘to seem; to look similar in kind’
S17.190 the idea nòksam
S17.210 wise ʃékʰan, ʃékan
S17.230 mad ɲʉ́ npa
S17.240 to learn lápʧa ‘to learn; to study; to teach; to gossip’
S17.242 to study lápʧa ‘to learn; to study; to teach; to gossip’

116 gò-kʰi [door-dog].

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Id Gloss Navakat

S17.250 to teach lápʧa ‘to learn; to study; to teach; to gossip’

S17.260 the pupil lépʈuk
S17.270 the teacher bàʋu (m); bàmo (f)
S17.280 the school síkul
S17.310 to remember àtla porʧa117 ‘to keep in memory (vol)’
S17.320 to forget ʒètʧa
S17.340 clear lã̀ːpʰo, lã̀ːfo ‘clean; beautiful; clear’
S17.350 obscure hã̀ mikòna
S17.360 secret pʰák
S17.370 certain táktak; tántan
S17.380 to explain ʃátʧa
S17.430 the doubt sémpa ŋànpa
S17.441 to betray ɖòkʰja táŋʤa
S17.460 easy làe lámo
S17.470 difficult kàːpo
S17.480 to try ʃèrui
S17.490 the manner bètlu
S17.520 because ʧíla sénə ‘because; that’s why’
S17.530 if kàlʈe
S17.540 or jàna
S17.550 yes ʋòi, òi
S17.610 how? tsúk
S17.620 how many? ʦám118 ‘how many?; how much?’
S17.630 how much? ʦám119 ‘how many?; how much?’
S17.640 what? ʧí
S17.650 when? nàm
S17.660 where? kàna (non-specific location); kàndu (spe-
cific location)
S17.670 which? kàŋte, kàŋ
S17.680 who? sú
S17.690 why? ʧíla; òti ʧʰésu
S18.110 the voice kát

117 Concerning concrete things, e.g. ‘I don’t remember where I put my keys?’.
118 It also has the interpretation ‘approximately’.
119 It also has the interpretation ‘approximately’.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S18.120 to sing (lú) táŋʤa

S18.130 to shout kʰá gjèpʧa
S18.150 to whisper pʰákla ùrtaŋʤa
S18.160 to mumble màlakmuluk sèʧa
S18.180 to shriek kúʒõ(ŋ) káŋʤa [noise(n) fill.inf]
S18.190 to howl kát tónʤa
S18.210 to speak or talk (ʋ)ùr táŋʤa
S18.211 to stutter or stammer ápʧa
S18.220 to say sèrʧa
S18.221 to tell sèrʧa
S18.222 the speech ʧì, ʧʰì (nh), súŋ (h); bʰàʃan, bàʃan (IA)
S18.230 to be silent kʰá dùiʤa dèʧa
S18.240 the language kát
S18.260 the word ʦʰík
S18.280 the name mìn
S18.320 to answer lèn lókʧa
S18.340 to deny ⁿgò (ⁿ)ɖìlʤa
S18.350 to ask(2) ʈíʤa
S18.370 to refuse kʰá milènʤa
S18.380 to forbid mipèʧa
S18.390 to scold kʰá gjèpʧa
S18.410 to call(1) ká gjèpʧa
S18.430 to announce dá gjèpʧa
S18.440 to threaten ŋám tónʤa
S18.450 to boast péte pèʧa
S18.510 to write ʈìʤa
S18.520 to read sílʤa
S18.560 the paper ʃúː
S18.570 the pen pén
S18.610 the book kítaːb, kítab
S18.710 the flute líu
S18.720 the drum ɖòːl
S18.730 the horn or trumpet gèliŋ120 (made of a human thigh bone);
súĩna, sʉ́ ina (made of metal)

120 Only monks play this musical instrument.

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Navakat

S19.150 the town gjàlsa

S19.160 the village jùl
S19.170 the boundary ʧák
S19.230 the clan kʰándaːn; pʰíliŋ
S19.240 the chieftain gjètpo
S19.250 the walking stick bìkpa
S19.310 to rule or govern ràːz pèʧa
S19.320 the king gjèlʋo
S19.330 the queen gjèlmo
S19.360 the noble, rich ʧʰúkpo
S19.370 the citizen mì
S19.410 the master, owner ʒìndak
S19.420 the slave, servant jókpo
S19.440 the freeman àzaːd
S19.450 to command or order òrɖer táŋʤa
S19.460 to obey kʰála ɲànʤa
S19.470 to permit ʈèu térʧa, ɖì( j)u térʧa
S19.510 the friend jàdo, jào
S19.540 the neighbour kʰímʣe
S19.550 the stranger ŋòmiʃe
S19.560 the guest ⁿɖø̀ nbo, ⁿdònbo
S19.5650 to invite ká gjèpʧa
S19.580 to help jào pèʧa
S19.590 to prevent mipèʧa
S19.610 the custom, tradition lùː
S19.620 the quarrel ʈʰúkpa
S19.650 to meet tʰúkʧa
S19.720 the prostitute ʦóŋmo
S20.110 to fight nǿlʤa
S20.130 the war or battle ɖà ʈʰúkpa121
S20.150 the army máŋmi
S20.170 the soldier mákmi
S20.210 the weapon làk ʧálak

121 ʈʰúkpa refers only to small conflicts, ɖà ʈʰúkpa may also refer to large conflicts, wars etc.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S20.220 the club kálab

S20.240 the bow ʒù
S20.250 the arrow ⁿdà
S20.260 the spear bàːla
S20.270 the sword ʈʰí
S20.280 the gun tùmbaːk
S20.350 the fortress kʰár
S20.440 to defend ʧʰǿ pèʤa, ʧʰó pèʤa
S20.450 to retreat lòkʧa ‘to retreat, to return’
S20.471 the guard ʧókidaːr
S20.520 the fishhook káːnʈaː
S20.610 to hunt kʰíreː táŋʤa
S20.620 to shoot túmbak gjèpʧa
S20.630 to miss ʈã̀ʤa
S20.640 the trap ʤàːli
S21.110 the law káːnuːn
S21.150 the court kóːrʈ
S21.170 the judgment pʰésla
S21.180 the judge ʤàʤ
S21.230 the witness páŋbo
S21.240 to swear ná kjálʤa
S21.250 the oath ná
S21.370 the penalty or punishment ʧátpa ‘penalty; punishment; fine’
S21.380 the fine ʧátpa ‘penalty; punishment; fine’
S21.390 the prison ʤèːl
S21.470 the perjury zùŋgi páŋbo [lie.poss witness]
S21.510 to steal (kúnma) kúʤa
S21.520 the thief kúnma
S22.110 the religion ʧʰǿe
S22.120 the god làma kónʤok ‘god; lama; saint’
S22.130 the temple gùnba122
S22.150 the sacrifice púzaʧ
S22.160 to worship sólʋa táŋʤa

122 This is also realized as [gɔ̀ nba].

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Id Gloss Navakat

S22.170 to pray mónləm gjèpʧa

S22.180 the priest kóɲer (m, f)
S22.190 holy ʦáŋma ‘holy; neat; clean’
S22.220 to preach ʧʰǿe pèʧa
S22.230 to bless ʧìmleː térʧa
S22.240 to curse làjo òŋʤa
S22.260 to fast ɲène ʈúŋʤa
S22.310 the heaven jàr tʰóri
S22.320 the hell màɲansõ(ŋ)
S22.370 the idol, statue kúnɖa
S22.420 the magic ʤàːdu
S22.430 the sorcerer or witch lànɖe123
S22.440 the fairy or elf kʰanɖoma124 (female)
S22.450 the ghost lànɖe ‘demon; ghost’; ⁿɖè ‘demon; ghost’
S22.470 the omen témɖel (positive)
S22.5100 the initiation ceremony lèdui, lèdʉi
S23.1000 the radio rèɖio
S23.1100 the television ʈíʋi
S23.1200 the telephone télepʰone, télefone
S23.1300 the bicycle sã́ɛk̃ il
S23.1350 the motorcycle mòtarsaikil
S23.1400 the car káːr
S23.1500 the bus bàs
S23.1550 the train reːl; ʈrain
S23.1600 the airplane námndel
S23.1700 the electricity biʤili
S23.1750 the battery sél
S23.1800 to brake brèk gjèpʧa125
S23.1850 the motor mòʈar
S23.1900 the machine mìʃin
S23.2000 the hospital mánkʰaŋ
S23.2100 the nurse nàrs

123 This exists in a spirit form. It does not have a physical form, like a human body.
124 This corresponds to the concept ḍākinī in Sanskrit.
125 brèk is an English loanword.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S23.2200 the pill or tablet ɖìlʋu

S23.2300 the injection kʰáp
S23.2400 the spectacles/glasses míkʃel
S23.3000 the government serkaːr
S23.3100 the president ràʃtarpati, ràʃʈrapati
S23.3200 the minister màntri
S23.3300 the police púlis
S23.3600 the birth certificate ʃúː126
S23.3800 the election ìlekʃen
S23.3850 the address pataː
S23.3950 the street ⁿgjàk
S23.4000 the post/mail jèː, jèj
S23.4100 the postage stamp ʈíkeʈ
S23.4200 the letter jèː, jèj127
S23.4400 the bank (financial institu- bẽã(ŋ)
tion)
S23.5200 the toilet ʧʰáksa
S23.5300 the mattress gədda; dén ‘mat (to sit on)’
S23.5400 the tin/can ʈín
S23.5500 the screw zèr
S23.5550 the screwdriver péʧʰkas
S23.5600 the bottle bodʉl
S23.5650 the candy/sweets mìʈʰaːi
S23.5700 the plastic òmi ʃúː128
S23.5750 the bomb bàm
S23.5900 the cigarette tómak
S23.6000 the newspaper àgbaːr
S23.6100 the calendar lòdo
S23.6200 the film/movie sílima
S23.6300 the music lú

126 As official papers such as birth certificates are a new phenomenon in this community, they
are simply called ʃúː meaning ‘paper’.
127 Also ‘letter of the alphabet’ (as in English).
128 [milk.poss paper]. Plastic bags were introduced in Nako in the form of plastic bags con-
taining dry milk. Now omi is used to refer to plastic (bags) in general.

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Id Gloss Navakat

S23.6400 the song lú

S23.9000 the tea ʧà
S23.9100 the coffee kófi, kɔ́ fi
S24.0100 to be, to exist òʧa
S24.0200 to become ʦʰáːʃa
S24.0700 this íː; ⁿdì
S24.0800 that pʰíː, òti
S24.0900 here íru
S24.1000 there pʰíːru
S24.1100 other ʒènma
S24.1200 next tíŋmaː
S24.1300 same téjaː; ʧíkpa ‘same, identical’

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 chapter 4

A Linguistic Sketch of Kinnauri Pahari

1 Introduction*

A few works (Cunningham 1844; B.R. Sharma 1976; Bajpai 1991; D.D. Sharma
1988; Saxena 2006b; Eberhard et al. 2021; Kumar and Bezily 2015) and Census
of India report an Indo-Aryan (IA) community in Kinnaur, administratively
officially classified as a “scheduled caste”.1 In this chapter this indigenous IA
community will be referred to as the IA community of Kinnaur and its lan-
guage will be referred to as Kinnauri Pahari. According to the 1991 Census of
India report, the total population of this community in the Kinnaur district was
19,153 (9,882 male and 9,271 female). In the 2011 census the size of this commu-
nity had decreased to 14,750 individuals (7,433 males and 7,317 females).2 While
this community is found in the whole of Kinnaur, in lower Kinnaur (including
Sangla) it has its own language, distinct from the Sino-Tibetan (ST) language of
this region (Kinnauri; see Chapter 2), whereas in the Upper Kinnaur region the

* I would like to express my gratitude to the Kinnauri Pahari speakers for their help and for shar-
ing their knowledge of Kinnauri Pahari with me. I would also like to thank professor Stig Elias-
son for his comments on the section on the sound system of Kinnauri Pahari, and to Anna
Sjöberg for her help with the spectrograms. Notational conventions: long vowels are indicated
with a following IPA length sign (ː) both in the phonetic transcription and the phonemic
orthography adopted in this chapter, but long consonants are written doubled in the latter
(ʧʰummaː [ʧʰumːaː] ‘walking stick’). Stress normally falls on the first syllable of a word, and
will not be explicitly marked in such cases. However, a small number of di- and polysyllabic
words carry a strong secondary stress on one or several following syllables, and there is also
a perceptible syllable break, which will be indicated in the phonetic transcription, but not
in the phonemic orthography: tɛtɛ [ʹtɛ.ˌtɛ] ‘grandfather’. Phonetic transcriptions are used for
illustrating details of pronunciation, and also—together with a phonemic representation—
for showing alternative, different pronunciations to that implied by the phonemic represen-
tation.
1 According to the District census handbook: “The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are
those castes and tribes which have been notified as such by the Presidential Order in accor-
dance with the Article 341 and 342 of the constitution.” (source: 1991 District census handbook,
p. 4). See also Chapter 1.
2 Note that these figures refer to the “scheduled caste” category, and not directly to language.
The 2011 census reports only 2,918 Pahari mother-tongue speakers in Kinnaur (1,735 male
and 1,183 female). Presumably many Kinnauri Pahari speakers have reported their language
as Hindi. See Chapter 1 for information about the complicated nature of the Indian census
reporting and tabulation.

© Anju Saxena, 2022 | doi:10.1163/9789004513648_005

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license.
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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri pahari 273

corresponding community speaks the local ST language, for example, Navakat

(see Chapter 3) in the Nako village.
Of the works mentioned above, only Cunningham (1844), B.R. Sharma
(1976), Saxena (2006b), Eberhard et al. (2020), and Kumar and Bezily (2015)
even note the existence of the language of this community. D.D. Sharma states
that this community speaks “a variety of Indo-Aryan” (1988: 5), but he does not
provide any further details. Both Ethnologue (Eberhard et al. 2021) and Glot-
tolog (Hammarström et al. 2020) include the language of this community in
their classification (ISO 639 code kjo; referred to as “Kinnauri, Pahari” in Eth-
nologue and “Indo-Aryan Kinnauri” in Glottolog), as belonging to the Western
Pahari subgroup of Indo-Aryan.
According to Cunningham (1844: 224), “[Kinnauri Pahari] differs as much
from the Kunawaree, as that does from the Bhotee”. He provides a word-list
(92 items). B.R. Sharma (1976) provides a short text (6 lines) in two Kinnauri
Pahari varieties from five different localities (Chaura-Kafor, Rajgramang, Ribba,
Morang, and Ropa). Saxena (2006b) presents a set of linguistic features in Kin-
nauri and Kinnauri Pahari in order to discuss the socio-cultural and linguistic
situation in Sangla. Kumar and Bezily (2015) present an analysis of the phone-
mic inventory of Kinnauri Pahari, but do not specify in which village or region
in Kinnaur the variety is spoken on which their analysis is based. Similarly
to the local ST varieties, IA spoken in Kinnaur exhibits variation, too. Con-
sequently, the differences between the analysis presented below and earlier
studies could be due to variety differences.
The Kinnauri Pahari data for the present study were collected during a series
of fieldtrips to Kinnaur, beginning in 2002. The data represent the speech of
the Chamang sub-community in Sangla tahsil (Brua and Sangla villages) and
in Nichar tahsil (Chagaon village).3 An informal comparison of the data col-
lected from these villages shows minor variation. If these differences reflect
regional dialectal differences or not, is difficult to ascertain at this stage. It
is important to note that because of the small size of the sub-groups of this
community, it is commonplace that young Kinnauri Pahari men get married
to women from outside Kinnaur (primarily from the lower Himachal Pradesh
region), who speak a different language, but they belong to the same IA sub-

3 The IA community in Kinnauri is classified into sub-groups based on their traditional occu-
pations. Ores ‘carpenter community’ as well as sui ‘the name of the social group traditionally
associated with tailoring’ (sui ‘tailor’ in both Kinnauri Pahari and in Kinnauri) belong to
the Chamang community. There are families belonging to the Ores and Sui communities in
Sangla. In the ST Kinnauri language, the Chamang community is called Chamang and women
of this sub-community are called chamaːrig. Chanals are not found in Sangla. Chanals are
found in lower areas of Kinnaur—south of Sangla.

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community. After getting married, many of these married couples settle down
in the husband’s village in Kinnaur and the wives slowly adjust to their new
surroundings (including learning a new language or languages). In the present
work, the focus is on the speech of the Kinnauri Pahari community members
who have been long-time residents of these villages. All my consultants were
either born in Kinnaur or had lived in Kinnaur for more than twenty years at
the time of data collection.

2 Phonology

2.1 Consonants
The Kinnauri Pahari consonant phoneme inventory is presented in Table 32
and a list of minimal pairs is given below. Retroflex consonants tend to a
relatively forward articulation in Kinnauri Pahari. This phenomenon is also
observed in some other IA languages (e.g. Kvāri and Bangani, cf. Jouanne 2014).

2.1.1 Consonant Realization and Allophony

As in ST Kinnuari, lexical items which in other IA languages such as Hindi con-
tain a clearly separate phoneme /bʰ/, show free variation between [bʰ] and [b]
in Kinnauri Pahari. For example, [b(ʰ)ai] ‘brother’, [b(ʰ)aːg] ‘fate’, [b(ʰ)anʣaː]
‘sister’s son’. This variation is found in our material only in word-initial position.
There are no instances of [bʰ] in non-initial position in our material, whereas
[b] occurs in all positions. There are also many instances of non-varying word-
initial [b]. For this reason, /bʰ/ is posited as a (marginal) phoneme of Kinnauri
Pahari, as the most straightforward way of indicating the instances of varia-
tion. Unlike the [b] ~ [bʰ] variation, we do not find similar variation between
[d] and [dʰ], or between [g] and [gʰ]. Here we find only [d] and [g] in all
positions, even where other IA languages have the aspirated counterparts as
phonemes. For example, [goːri] ‘mare’, [gjuː] ‘clarified butter’, [kaːŋgi] ‘comb’,
[gãːd] ‘smell’. One exception is [budʰ] ‘Wednesday’. This as well as other occa-
sional instances of voiced aspirated consonants in modern Kinnauri Pahari
may reflect the growing influence of Hindi.
The voiceless aspirated stops pʰ and kʰ are also realized as voiceless frica-
tives ([f] and [x]) in Kinnauri Pahari. According to Kumar and Bezily (2015),
this happens only in non-initial positions. But in the speech of some language
consultants, [pʰ] is in free variation with [f] in all positions. For example, pʰajul
[pʰajul] ~ [fajul] ‘valley’; pʰo [pʰoh] ~ [foh] ‘deer’; pʰirnɔ [pʰirnɔ] ~ [firnɔ] ‘to
have, to become’; saːpʰ [saːpʰ] ~ [saːp] ~ [saːf] ‘clean’. As can be seen from the
last example, [pʰ] also alternates with unaspirated [p] in word-final position.

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 a linguistic sketch of kinnauri pahari 275

table 32 Consonant phonemes in Kinnauri Pahari

Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Palatoalveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal

Plosive pb td ʈɖ kg
Aspirated pʰ (bʰ) tʰ ʈʰ kʰ
Fricative s ʃ h
Affricate ʦ ʦʰ ʧ ʧʰ
ʣ ʤ
Nasal m n ŋ
Lateral l
Trill r
Approximant ʋ j

Minimal (or near-minimal) pairs: Consonants

p : b pɔʃ ‘mat’ bɔːʃ ‘liver’
p : b paːr ‘wound, sore’ baːra(ː) ‘twelve’
p : pʰ saːp ‘snake’ saːpʰ ‘clean’
p : d ʃapat ‘oath’ ʃadot ‘witness’
t : d dãːt ‘tooth’ gãːd ‘smell’
t : d tɛar [tɛjar] ‘ready’ dɛar [dɛjar] ‘always’
t : tʰ baːt ‘path’ haːtʰ ‘hand’
ʈ : ɖ ʈiːʃ ‘thirst’ ɖiːʃ ‘whit’
d : ɖ diː ‘daughter’ ɖeː ‘body’
d : ɖ deːn ‘adult woman’ ɖeːŋ ‘divorce’
k : g kaɔ ‘crow’ gaɔ ‘cow’
k : kʰ kaːnɔ ‘one-eyed/blind’ kʰaːnɔ ‘to eat’
ʈ : ʈʰ gaʈɔ [gaʈɔh] ‘narrow’ kaʈʰɔ ‘hard’
d : s dɛo ‘god’ sɛo ‘apple’
s:ʃ siːr ‘vein, artery’ ʃĩːg ‘horn’
ʦ : ʃ naʦnɔ ‘to dance’ naʃnɔ ‘to go’
s : ʦʰ sɔ ‘hundred’ ʦʰɔ ‘six’
ʦ : ʦʰ ʦaːr ‘four’ ʦʰaːr ‘ash’
ʦ : ʦʰ ʦaːlnɔ ‘to strain, to seive’ ʦʰaːlu ‘blister’
ʦ : ʧ ʦumnɔ ‘to crouch’ ʧumaːnɔ ‘to squeeze’
ʃ : ʧ ʃaːn ‘ice’ ʧaːn [ʈraːn] ‘ornament’
ʃ : ʧ ʃeːlɔ [ʃeːlɔh], [ʃeːlo] ‘cold’ ʧeːr ‘west’
ʣ : ʤ ʣor [zor] ‘forceful’ ʤɔr ‘pile, heap’
t : r suːt ‘cotton’ suːr ‘fermented drink’
b : m bɔ ‘grease, fat’ mɔ [mɔh] ‘honey’
d : n dɔʃ ‘ten’ nɔʃ ‘fingernail’

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g : ŋ ʃaːg ‘vegetable’ ʃaːŋli [ʃaːŋgli] ‘chain’

m : n kaːm ‘work’ kaːn ‘ear’
n : ŋ ʃaːn ‘ice’ ʃaːŋli [ʃaːŋgli] ‘chain’
l:r taːlɔ ‘key’ taːrɔ ‘star’
j : ʋ : h jaː ‘or’ ʋaː ‘nest’
haːr ‘defeat’

ɖ has two allophones: [ɖ] and [ɽ]. According to Kumar and Bezily (2015: 7), “[ɖ]
occurs word-initially, after homorganic nasal and in gemination […] [ɽ] occurs
elsewhere”. As the following examples show, in our material, [ɖ] also occurs
after [l].

sɔlɖɔ [sɔlɖɔ] ‘straight’ kanalɖi [kanalɖi] ‘granddaughter’

ʦʰɛlɖu [ʦʰɛlɖu] ‘son’ ranɖolo [ranɖolo] ‘widower’
ʦʰɛlɖi [ʦʰɛlɖi] ‘daughter’ kʰunɖi [kʰunɖi] ‘leg’
kanalɖu [kanalɖu] ‘grandson’ ʈʰanɖi [ʈʰanɖi], [ʈʰãɖi] ‘cold (illness)’
pãːɖ [pãːɖ] ‘floor’ ɖanɖoriŋ [ɖanɖoriŋ] ‘dust’
ʃõːɖ [ʃõːɖ] ‘beak’ ɖuɖɖu, ɖuɖu [ɖuɖːu], ‘owl’
[ʹɖuˌɖu]

Except for kɔɖʋɔ [kɔɽʋɔ] ‘bitter’, pɔɖnɔ [pɔɽnɔ] ‘to study’, grɔɭɖuŋ [grɔɭɽuŋ]
‘wooden yoke on ox’, lomɖiː [lomɽiː] ‘fox’, [ɽ] in our material occurs only inter-
vocalically.

uɖaːr [uɽaːr] ‘cave’ hatʰɔɖaː [hatʰɔɽaː] ‘hammer’

bɔɖɔ [bɔɽɔ] ‘big, older (m)’ baːɖi [baːɽi] ‘carpenter’
buɖi [buɽih] ‘old (f)’ uɖijaːnɔ [uɽijaːnɔ] ‘to fly’
ʤoɖiː [ʤoɽiː] ‘pair’ rɛlgaːɖi [rɛlgaːɽi] ‘train’
rɛɖu(ː) [rɛɽu(ː)], ‘radio’ diʋaːrgaɖi(ː) [diʋaːrgaɽi(ː)] ‘clock’
[rɛɖu(ː)]

[ʣ] and [z] are in free variation in Kinnauri Pahari. As can be seen below, both
[z] and [ʣ] occur word-initially, word-medially and word-finally. The same lan-
guage consultant uses [z] in one recording and [ʣ] in another in the same
word. As [ʣ] occurs more frequently, we treat ʣ as the phoneme.

ʣanʈi [zanʈi] ‘stone’ hiːʣ [hiːz] ‘yesterday’

ʣoŋgai [zoŋgai] ‘son-in-law’ bʰanʣaː [bʰanzaː] ‘nephew’
aːʣ [aːz] ‘today’ punʣar [punzar] ‘tail’
biːʣ [biːz] ‘female’ bɛʣnɔ [bɛznɔ] ‘to send’

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While h in word-initial position is always audible (e.g. [haːr] ‘necklace’, [hãũ]

[1sg.nom], [harko] ‘bone’), in medial position it is often not audible. For exam-
ple, [mɛ(h)ŋga(ː)] ‘expensive’, [mɛ(h)maːn] ‘guest’, [ʃɛr] ‘town’, [mɛdi] ‘henna’.
ʧ in Kinnauri Pahari, too, shows some variation. In some lexical items it is
also realized as [ʈr] (e.g., ʧaːn [ʧaːn] ~ [ʈraːn] ‘ornament’; paːʧ [paːʧ] ~ [paːʈr]
‘leaf’) or as [ʈ] ʧɔprin [ʈɔprin] ~ [ʧɔprin] ‘scold’.4 In word-final position a vari-
ation [ʧ] ~ [ʦ] is found in examples such as bukʧ [bukʧ] ~ [bukʦ] ‘bunch’.5
As these variations occur only in a restricted set of lexical items, they may be
results of different diachronic changes.
According to Kumar and Bezily (2015: 15–16), ʃ has two allophones, with [ʂ]
occurring before a retroflex plosive and [ʃ] elsewhere. This does not seem to be
the case in my material.
Unlike Kinnauri and Kanashi, we have not noticed any variation in the pho-
netic realization of word-final voiced stops e.g. garib [gariːb] ‘poor’. In Kinnauri
Pahari they are articulated clearly as voiced stops.

2.1.2 Geminated Consonants

The following are some examples of geminates.

samuddar [samudːar] ‘sea, ocean’ mumbatti [mumbatːi] ‘candle’

gɔʈʈ [gɔʈː] ‘mill’ himmɔt [himːɔt] ‘courage’
ʃukkur [ʃukːur] ‘Friday’ ʧʰummaː [ʧʰumːaː] ‘walking stick’

As shown in Figures 6–7, there is a clear difference in the duration of geminates

and singletons.

2.2 Vowels
2.2.1 Oral Vowel Phonemes
The oral vowel phonemes of Kinnauri Pahari are listed in Table 33. In addition,
Kinnauri Pahari has nasal vowel phonemes (see Section 2.2.2).
Figure 8 shows a formant plot of these phonemes (except o, for which we
had insufficient data).
Kumar and Bezily (2015) make a phonemic distinction between lax and
tense vowels, but not vowel length. In our analysis length is phonemic in Kin-
nauri Pahari. The spectrograms in Figures 9–12 show a clear difference in quan-
tity between short and long vowels.

4 Similar variation is also found in Kinnauri.

5 According to our language consultant this is in free variation.

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figure 6 Duration of geminate and nongeminate /m/: ʧʰummaː ‘walking stick’

(left) and tʃamai ‘unload’ (right)

figure 7 Duration of geminate and non-geminate /t/: kittɛg ‘how many’ (left) and bitɛ
‘inside’ (right)

For i, a, u, length and quality are tied together. When short, a is more central
and schwa-like. In some cases it is realized as [ə], but when long, it is clearly
[aː]. Similarly short i is more like [ɪ], but it is clearly [iː] when long. The same is
the case with u, where the short version is the somewhat more open and central
[ʊ], but [uː] when long.
eː and ɛː are separate phonemes, as are oː and ɔː. Note the near-minimal pairs
[deːn] ‘female’ : [ʦʰɛːn] ‘peace’, [ɖeː] ‘body’ : [tɛː] ‘if’, [doːʃ] ‘ten’ : [bɔːʃ] ‘lung’,
and [ʣoː] ‘yak’ : [ʣɔː] ‘grain’. In these lexical items, the vowel quality is clearly
different but there is no clear difference in length. This is so both in auditory
impression and in measurements.

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table 33 Oral vowel

phonemes in
Kinnauri Pahari

i, iː u, uː

eː o, oː

ɛ, ɛː ɔ, ɔː

a, aː

figure 8 Formant plot of Kinnauri Pahari vowel

phonemes

figure 9 kam ‘less’

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figure 10 kaːm ‘work’

figure 11 bil ‘the end’

figure 12 biːʃ ‘twenty’

All vowel phonemes occur as both long and short, with one exception: There
is no clear evidence for short e and ɛ as two distinct phonemes. It seems that
these two have merged into a single phoneme, which is phonetically most like
[ɛ].

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Minimal (or near-minimal) pairs: vowels

i : ɛ tsʰiknɔ ‘to sneeze’ ʦʰɛknɔ ‘to finish’
a : o tamori ‘we (incl)’ tomori ‘you (pl)’
ɔ : a ʃɔl ‘roof’ baʃal ‘summer’
o : ɔ ʣor ‘much’ ʣɔt ‘moon’
o : ɔ noʃ ‘fingernail’ nɔr ‘animal’
u : o puʃãː ‘husband’ poʃɔ ‘male’
i : u ʦʰɛlɖi ‘daughter’ ʦʰɛlɖu ‘son’
i : u bai ‘arm’ bau ‘p.uncle’
i : o ranɖoli ‘widow’ ranɖolo ‘widower’

Minimal (or near-minimal) pairs: vowel length

i : iː rin ‘a kind of thread’ riːn ‘loan, debt’
i : iː pʰir ‘become’ siːr ‘vein’
i : iː bid ‘shoulder’ biːt ‘wall’
a : aː kam ‘less’ kaːm ‘work’
a : aː ʤag ‘keep’ ʣaːt ‘caste, race’
u : uː kul ‘descendant’ kuːl ‘ditch’
ɛ : ɛː hɛnʈi ‘jaw’ ʧɛːn ‘peace’
ɛ : ɛː brɛnʦ ‘grasshopper’ bɛːnt ‘cane’
ɔ : ɔː sɔrgo ‘sky’ sɔːr ‘small man-made pond’
ɔ : ɔː pɔʃ ‘mat’ bɔːʃ ‘lung’
ɛː : aː tɛː ‘because’ taː ‘if’
uː : ɔː suːr ‘wine’ sɔːr ‘small man-made pond’

With regard to the vowels i, a and u there is a clear difference between long and
short vowels. The difference in quantity is much more obvious than the differ-
ence in their quality. But when it comes to ɛ and e the difference between long
and short is not that clear.
Vowels tends to sound longer in final open syllables. The (perceived) length
in some cases may also be a result of extra stress on that vowel. However, there
is also a clear difference in some items between long and short final vowels, as
illustrated in Figure 13.
What we hear as long vowel, may in fact, in some cases, be stress. But in
some cases it is very clear that there is a long vowel. It is not always clear if
the vowel is long or short in word-final position, and there seems to be some
variation both among speakers and even in the speech of the same individual.
This appears to be especially common with word-final a, where it is often hard
to know whether to transcribe with -aː or -a. However, some word-final vowels
are clearly short, for example, in likʰɛ ‘nit’.

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figure 13 Long and short final /ɔ/: ʣɔː ‘grain’ (left) and ʤɔ ‘this’ (right)

2.2.2 Nasal Vowels

Vowels preceding a nasal consonant are regularly nasalized in Kinnauri Pahari.
There are also some instances where there are two possible phonetic realiza-
tions of a word—one where the nasalized vowel has a nasal consonant follow-
ing the vowel, and one without a following nasal consonant. In some cases a
compensatory vowel lengthening is also observed, when the following nasal
consonant is not there explicitly.

hanɖnɔ [hãnɖnɔ], [hãɖnɔ] ‘to walk’

ganɖɔ [gãnɖɔ], [gãɖɔ] ‘knot’
kunɖɔ [kũnɖɔ], [kũːɖɔ] ‘stove’
bandar [bãndar], [bãdar] ‘monkey’
kuaŋ [kũãŋ], [kũã] ‘well (n)’
kʰoʤaŋ [kʰoʤãŋ], [kʰoʤãː] ‘left (direction)’

In addition to the phonetic realization of nasalized vowels, nasalization is also

phonemic in Kinnauri Pahari.

puː ‘feather’ dũː ‘smoke (n)’

baːt ‘path’ dãːt ‘tooth’
dɛo [dɛo], [djo] ‘god’ dɛ̴õ [give.imp]
bɛ̴t [bẽːt] ‘walking stick’
ʃiːl ‘grinding stone’ ʃĩːg ‘horn’
hĩũ ‘snow’
kam ‘less’ kãɖɔ ‘(grassy) mountain’
kaːm ‘work’ kãːɖɔ ‘fishhook, thorn’
kʰau ‘meal’ hãũ ‘I’ [1sg.nom]

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ʃiʃa(ː) [ʃiʃah] ‘glass’ puʃãː ‘husband’

ʃɔk ‘doubt’ ʃɔ̃ k ‘interest’

In this chapter nasalization is marked only in those instances where there is no

nasal consonant following a nasalized vowel.

2.2.3 Vowel Variation

When a word ends with a vowel, [h] is heard at times after the final vowel. As
can be seen in the examples provided below, [h] can occur after both front and
back vowels, rounded as well as unrounded. This is more often the case when
the vowel is short.

si [si(h)] ‘with’ mɔ [mɔ(h)] ‘honey’

lɛʈi [lɛʈi(h)] ‘glue’ halkɔ [halkɔ(h)] ‘light (2)’
gɔri [gɔri(h)] ‘coconut’ ʃuklɔ [ʃuklɔ(h)] ‘white’
dari [dari(h)] ‘beard’ kɔŋglɔ [kɔŋglɔ(h)] ‘soft’
ʦandi [ʦandi(h)] ‘silver’ ʈikʰɔ [ʈikʰɔ(h)] ‘sharp, pointed’
kɛ [kɛ(h)] ‘at’ gɔrkɔ [gɔrkɔ(h)] ‘heavy’
ʧa [ʧa(h)] ‘tea’ ʃukɔ [ʃukɔ(h)] ‘dry’
ʃiʃa [ʃiʃa(h)] ‘glass’ taːtɔ [taːtɔ(h)] ‘warm’
piʧʰu [piʧʰu(h)] ‘after’ ʃɛlɔ [ʃɛlɔ(h)] ‘cold’
ʤuː [ʤuː(h)] ‘cloud’ ʃaːrɔ [ʃaːrɔ(h)] ‘beautiful’

Similarly, in words beginning with [ɔ], a [h] is heard word-initially. For exam-
ple, [(h)ɔnʧʰɛ] ‘there’, [(h)ɔrɛs] ‘a community name’.
There is also some variation found between [a] and [ɔ] in words which in
Hindi have an [a] (e.g., [maʃʈar] : [maʃʈɔr] ‘teacher’).

2.2.4 Diphthongs
The following diphthongs are found in our material.

[ai] ain ‘spline’ [ãːĩ] nãːĩ ‘navel’

[ao] nao ‘name’ [ãõ] kɛlɛãõ ‘fir’
[aɔ] taɔ ‘fever’
[au] kʰau ‘food’ [ãũ] hãũ ‘I’ [1sg.nom]
[ɛa] tɛar ‘ready’ [ãːɛ̴] piʦʰãːɛ̴ ‘behind’
[ɛi] ɛisa ‘twenty’ [ɛ̃ĩ] mɛ̃ĩjɛ [1sg.erg]
[ɛo] sɛo ‘apple’ [ɛ̴ũ] gɛ̴ũ ‘wheat’
[iɛ] maːriɛn ‘quarrel’
[iu] dius ‘sun’ [ĩũ] hĩũ ‘snow’

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[ɔa] bɔa ‘father’

[ɔɛ] gɔɛn ‘rain’
[ɔi] ɖɔinɔ ‘to burn (intr)’
[ɔu] lɔuɖi ‘older’
[ua] kuaŋ ‘well (n)’
[ui] dui ‘two’ [ũɛ̴] ʤũɛ̴ ‘louse’

In the orthography adopted for this chapter, we write all diphthongs as se-
quences of two vowel symbols. Especially the [i] and [u] components exhibit
variation between a more vocalic realization and one closer to [i̯]/[u̯ ] or [j]/[ʋ]:
[dui] : [dui̯] : [duj], [duar] : [du̯ ar] : [dʋar].

2.3 Words with Special Prosody

There is a restricted set of words whose prosodic structure is markedly differ-
ent from Kinnauri Pahari’s default stress pattern. In this set of words there is a
clear secondary stress on the syllable following the stressed (first) syllable, and
also a slight break between the syllables.

tɛtɛ [ʹtɛ.ˌtɛ]6 ‘grandfather’

[ʹapi(ː).ˌtɛ.ˌtɛ], [ʹaʋɛ(ː).ˌtɛ.ˌtɛ] ‘grandparents’
[ʹbiː.ˌbaːp] ‘stepfather’
[ʹɖu.ˌɖu] ‘owl’
[ʹlaː.ˌʃaːnɔ] ‘to look for’
[ʹbiː.ˌdiː] ‘stepdaughter’
[ʹbiː.ˌajũː] ‘stepmother’

This can be seen clearly when we compare the spectrograms of tɛtɛ ‘grandfa-
ther’ and ʈʰaʈɛ ‘joke’ (see Figure 14).
As we can see in Figure 14, there is a marked syllable boundary in tɛtɛ
‘grandfather’, which is not found, e.g. in ʈʰaʈɛ ‘joke’. It is possible that [ʹtɛ.ˌtɛ]
‘grandfather’ had originally a longer mid-word consonant, which is not audible
synchronically, resulting in a marked prosodical stress structure. In Kinnauri
Pahari di- and polysyllabic words the primary stress appears on the first syl-
lable, and the stressed syllable is much more prominent than other syllables
in the word, as in ʈʰaʈɛ ‘joke’. In tɛtɛ ‘grandfather’, however, it seems that both
syllables have approximately equal prominence.

6 This is the case also in Kinnauri (tete ‘grandfather’), including a slight break between the syl-
lables.

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figure 14 Two stress patterns in bisyllabic words: tɛtɛ ‘grandfather’ (left) and ʈʰaʈɛ ‘joke’
(right)

3 Noun Phrase

3.1 Noun Phrase Structure

The noun phrase in Kinnauri Pahari has the following basic structureː

(dem / NPPOSS) (Num) ((Adv) Adj(-m/-f))

N(-dim)(-pl)(def.hum)(pl)((-)case)

(1) hɔsɔ hɔnɔri dui bɔɖ-ɔ ʃukl-ɔ ʣanʈi-rɔ

3sg.dist.nom dem.dist.pl two big-m white-m stone-poss.m
gɔr-rɔ maːlik
house-poss.m owner
‘He is the owner of those two big white houses of stone.’

With pronouns, however, the non-numeral quantifier adjectives (e.g. sɛb ‘all’)
follow the pronoun.

(2) hɔtɛnɔri sɛb(=ɛ) ɔrɛs pʰir-ɛs

3pl all(=emp) carpenter become-aux.prs.3
‘They all will be carpenters.’

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3.2 Nouns
3.2.1 Noun Structure
3.2.1.1 Noun Stems
Unlike what we encounter in some other IA languages, Kinnauri Pahari does
not exhibit a distinction in its noun declension between a nominative and
oblique noun stem form. Further, on the whole all nouns—both masculine and
feminine nouns and both native items and loanwords—inflect in the same way.
They take the same set of plural markers and the case markers are the same in
both numbers.
The nominal morphology of Kinnauri Pahari is close to the agglutinative
ideal, but as in any language, there are some exceptions. Many nouns do not
express the plural formally, there is some phonologically conditioned allomor-
phy and some lexically determined idiosyncrasies in the system of case end-
ings, and the expression of the plural is partially conditioned by animacy.
Most IA-origin nouns and adjectives which take an adaptive marker in Kin-
nauri (see Chapter 2), occur in Kinnauri Pahari without the adaptive marker.
The following are all the nouns and adjectives which end in the adaptive
marker -aŋ, -iŋ, -es in the Kinnauri Pahari IDS/LWT list (see Appendix 4B). All
are the same in ST Kinnauri, although grɔlɖuŋ ‘yoke’ also appears in the variant
form golɖuŋ in Kinnauri.

paːlɛs ‘herdsman’ ʣolaŋ ‘twins’

tijarɛs ‘duck’ ʃɔkraŋ ‘orphan’
ɔrɛs ‘name of a social group’ masaŋ ‘flesh, meat’
kʰusiɛs ‘happy’ ʃiʈaŋ ‘nasal mucus’
ʦɔriŋ ‘trough’ dusraŋ ‘chimney’
ʋaːmaŋ ‘wrong, fault’ joʤaŋ ‘tool’
siːmaŋ ‘boundary’ kʰoʤaŋ ‘left’
kuaŋ ‘well (n)’ ʦuʈkaŋ ‘quiet’
ʧʰodaŋ ‘waterfall’ grɔlɖuŋ ‘yoke’
mɛsaŋ ‘match (n)’ multʰaŋ ‘roof’

3.2.1.2 Nominal Compounds

In Kinnauri Pahari noun compounds are formed by a combination of two bare
nouns (i.e., [N N]) or with a possessive marker affixed to the first noun (i.e.,
[N-poss N]). The former kind comprises both copulative and endocentric com-
pounds.

[N N]
ajũː+bɔa [mother+father] ‘parents’
b(ʰ)aːi+bɔɛn [brother+sister] ‘sibling’

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aːʋi+tɛtɛ [grandmother+grandfather] ‘grandparents’

ʃɔrɔ+ʃɔʃaːj [father.in.law+mother.in.law] ‘parents-in-law’
diʋaːr+gaɖiː [wall+watch] ‘clock’
piːʈʰ+harko [back+bone] ‘spine’

[N-poss N]
maʦʰi-rɔ pãːkʰ [fish-poss.m feather/wing] ‘fin’
maʦʰi-rɔ harkɔ [fish-poss.m bone] ‘scale’
muʈkan-rɔ ʤũɛ̴ [head-poss.m louse] ‘head louse’
ɖeː-rɔ ʤũɛ̴ [body-poss.m louse] ‘body louse’
mɔ-rɔ maːkʰi [honey-poss.m fly] ‘bee’
duraː-rɔ kiːrɛ [wood-poss.m insect] ‘termite’
ɖeː-rɔ baːl [body-poss.m hair] ‘body hair’
piʃi-ro noʃ [cat-poss.m fingernail] ‘claw’
nuniː-rɔ muʈkan [breast-poss.m head] ‘nipple or teat’
paːni-rɔ ʣaːʣ [water-poss.m ship] ‘ship’ (any kind of naval
vehicle)
mulk-rɔ manuʃ [country-poss.m man] ‘citizen’
ɔʃʈi-rɔ goliː [medicine-poss.m tablet] ‘pill or tablet’
ʣɔnɔm-nɔ sarʈifikaʈ [birth-poss.m certificate] ‘birth certificate’
ɖrajʋar-ɔ lɛsɛns [driver-poss.m license] ‘driver’s license’

biː- ‘step-’ which occurs in some kinship relationships should perhaps be

treated as a derivational prefix as it never occurs on its own, and it occurs only
in a few words (cf. Kinnauri: Chapter 2, Section 3.2.1.2).

biːbaːp (baːp ‘father’) ‘stepfather’

biːajũː (ajũː ‘mother’) ‘stepmother’
biːʦʰɛlɖu (ʦʰɛlɖu ‘boy’) ‘stepson’
biːdiː (diː ‘girl/daughter’) ‘stepdaughter’

3.2.2 Number
Kinnauri Pahari makes a two-way number distinction: singular and plural. The
singular is zero-marked. A restricted set of nouns take one of the following
plural suffixes: -ɛ, -ɔ or -aː. The distribution of the plural suffixes is not phono-
logically conditioned. In each such case, only one of the three plural suffixes is
permitted.

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SG PL SG PL

kukur ‘dog’ kukur-aː beːri ‘sheep’ beːr-ɛ

manuʃ ‘person, man’ manuʃ-aː baːt ‘talk(n)’ baːt-ɛ
raːkaːs ‘demon’ raːks-aː gaːʦʰ ‘garment’ gaːʦʰ-ɔ

A noun phrase with a numeral can also receive plural marking.

(dui) manuʃ-aː [(two) man/human.being-pl]

dui kukur-aː [two dog-pl]
dui beːr-ɛ [two sheep-pl]

However, plural suffixes do not occur with all nouns; for example, the following
nouns do not take plural suffixes:

ʣanʈi ‘stone’ ʧammaʧ ‘spoon’

taːrɔ ‘star’ zimadaːr ‘farmer’
gɔr ‘house’ bapuː ‘uncle’
pãːkʰ ‘feather, wing’ ʦʰɛlɖu ‘boy’
dukaːn ‘shop’ ʦʰɛlɖi ‘girl’
sɔlɔkʰ ‘road’ ɖakʈar ‘physician’
daːmɔ ‘ox’ puʃãː ‘man’

In such instances, as we will see below, plurality may be indicated either by

means of a separate plural marker (hɔri and/or pɛrɛ) and/or by means of a
quantifier adjective (e.g. baːdɔ ‘many’). Most recent loanwords,7 too, do not take
the plural suffixes. The loanwords polis ‘police’ and pʰɔʤi ‘army man’ are excep-
tions, taking two different plural suffixes (-aː and -e, respectively).

pʰilam hɔri ‘movies’ ɖiʋiɖi hɔri ‘DVD s’

ʤiːns hɔri ‘jeans’ haʋaːi-ʤaːʤ hɔri ‘airplanes’
mɛz hɔri ‘tables’ rɛl hɔri ‘trains’
kurasi hɔri ‘chairs’ polis hɔri, polis pɛrɛ, polis-aː ‘police (pl)’
kamiːz hɔri ‘shirts’ pʰɔʤi hɔri, pʰɔʤi pɛrɛ, pʰɔʤi-ɛ ‘army men’

7 All these loanwords have been borrowed into Kinnauri Pahari via some other IA language
(most likely Hindi).

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pɛrɛ and hɔri both mark plurality.8 In addition, pɛrɛ—which also appears
as an independent lexical item ‘family, clan’,9 e.g. mɛ-rɔ pɛrɛ [1sg-poss.m fam-
ily/clan] ‘my family, my clan’—indicates animacy. Thus, with animate nouns,
both hɔri and pɛrɛ can occur, while hɔri occurs only with inanimate nouns.10

raːkaːs ‘demon’ raːks-aː, raːkaːs pɛrɛ, raːkaːs hɔri

manuʃ ‘man, person’ manuʃ-aː, manuʃ hɔri, manuʃ pɛrɛ
ʧammaʧ ‘spoon’ ʧammaʧ-aː, ʧammaʧ hɔri
padʒaːrɔ ‘priest’ padʒaːro hɔri, padʒaːro pɛrɛ
ʦʰɛlɖu ‘boy’ ʦʰɛlɖu hɔri, ʦʰɛlɖu pɛrɛ
ʦʰɛlɖi ‘girl’ ʦʰɛlɖi hɔri, ʦʰɛlɖi pɛrɛ
beːri ‘sheep’ beːri hɔri, beːri pɛrɛ, bɛːrɛ
ʦɔrkʰi ‘bird’ ʦɔrkʰi hɔri, ʦɔrkʰi pɛrɛ
ɖakʈar ‘physician’ ɖakʈar hɔri, ɖakʈar pɛrɛ
ʣanʈi ‘stone’ ʣanʈi hɔri
taːrɔ ‘star’ taːro hɔri
pãːkʰ ‘feather’ pãːkʰ hɔri
dukaːn ‘shop’ dukaːn hɔri
sɔlɔkʰ ‘road’ sɔlɔkʰ hɔri
paːʧʰ ‘leaf’ paːʧʰ hɔri
gaːʦʰ ‘garment’ gaːʦʰ(-ɔ) hɔri

The following examples illustrate pɛrɛ and hɔri as plural markers.

8 In Nepali -haru functions as the plural marker (Acharya 1991). It usually occurs with ani-
mate nouns and pronouns. In Nepali when haru occurs with inanimate non-countable
nouns (e.g. rice), it means ‘and other such things’. Rajasthani, too, has a plural suffix
hōr/hōro/hōnō. In Chattisgarhi har occurs with nouns to denote definiteness (Bailey 1920;
Grierson 1928). According to Masica (1991: 229), this plural marker derives from Old Indo-
Aryan sarva ‘all’. Nepali exhibits similar function of haru (Acharya 1991).
9 We have not found any lexical usage of hɔri in Kinnauri Pahari.
10 In Bailey (1908, 1920), a similar function is mentioned in the descriptions of Nepali and
Baghati. In Nepali janās occurs with humans (e.g., yak-janās manis-ko [of one-person
man] ‘of a certain man’) and waṭa/oṭa occurs with inanimate objects. However, unlike
Kinnauri Pahari, janās and waṭa/oṭa precede the head noun. Grierson notes that in Sir-
mauri Giripari and in Kiunthali, ʈu can be optionally added to a noun “without changing
its meaning” (Grierson 1928: 478) and in Satlaj (Kotgarhi) “A very common termination
for nouns and adjectives is ṭau (or ṭṛau) added without changing the meaning. Thus we
have bāhrṭau, a load.” (Grierson 1928: 652). As can be seen here, at least form-wise these
languages do not show similarities with Kinnauri Pahari pɛrɛ/hɔri.

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(3) gɔr hɔri11 ʣɔl-i

house pl light-pfv
‘The houses lit (burned).’

(4) bjopaːri-jɛ baːdɔ ʃuklɔ baːkri hɔri/pɛrɛ lɔj-i

businessman-erg many white she-goat pl/pl.anim buy-pfv
‘The businessman bought many white female goats.’

(5) aːmɔri zimidaːr hɔri / pɛrɛ si

1ple farmer pl/pl.anim cop.prs.1pl
‘We are farmers.’

Further, noun phrases with hɔri/pɛrɛ may also take quantifier adjectives (e.g.
baːdɔ ‘many’).

SG PL

kukur ‘dog’ kukur hɔri ‘dogs’

kukur pɛrɛ
baːdɔ kukur ‘many dogs’
baːdɔ kukur hɔri
baːdɔ kukur pɛrɛ
daːmɔ ‘ox’ daːmɔ hɔri ‘oxen’
daːmɔ pɛrɛ
baːdɔ daːmɔ ‘many oxen’
baːdɔ daːmɔ hɔri
baːdɔ daːmɔ pɛrɛ

They may also occur when the NP contains a numeral.

(6) dui gɔr hɔri ʣɔl-i

two house pl light-pfv
‘Two houses lit (burned).’

11 gɔr hɔri is pronounced as one prosodic unit.

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(7) hɔtɛn dui-rɔ dui ʦʰɛlɖu hɔri / pɛrɛ tʰɛo

3sg two-poss.m two boy pl / pl.anim cop.pst.m
‘Those two had two boys.’

Further, the grammaticalized function of manuʃ (see Section 3.2.5) may also
occur in noun phrases where plurality is indicated by one of the plural markers
and/or by means of a plural quantifier adjective.

(8) sɛb(=ɛ)12 puʃãː manuʃ maʃʈɔr pʰir-ɛs

all(=emp) man def.hum teacher become-aux.prs.3
‘All the men will be teachers.’

(9) deːn13 manuʃ hɔri / pɛrɛ gɔr ʣurja-ɛs

woman def.hum pl/pl.anim house make-aux-prs.3
‘The women will build a house.’

Normally, noun phrases with hɔri/pɛrɛ do not carry the plural suffix. Its occur-
rence, however, is not prohibited. This means that some animate nouns can
exhibit up to five different plural forms.

SG PL

ʦor ‘thief’ ʦor-aː

ʦor hɔri
ʦor pɛrɛ
ʦor-aː hɔri
ʦor-aː pɛrɛ

According to the language consultants, there is no difference in meaning if

there is one plural marker or more than one plural marker in an NP.

12 In other IA languages, such as in Jaunsari, the cognate clitic =i functions as an emphasis

marker, meaning ‘even (with inclusion)’ (Bailey 1920).
13 deːn ‘woman’ may refer to an adult woman or to a female in her teens, but not to pre-
pubertal females or to infant girls.

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3.2.3 Gender
Gender is a grammatical category in Kinnauri Pahari, which manifests itself
through various agreement phenomena. Kinnauri Pahari has two genders: mas-
culine and feminine. Nouns have inherent gender, adjectives and some verb
complex elements exhibit gender (and number) agreement with a head noun.
There are also some word formation devices deriving nouns where a gender dis-
tinction is indicated. For example, the suffix -aːni is suffixed to the masculine
noun form (which is also the default form in Kinnauri Pahari) which describes
a man’s profession, to denote the corresponding female professional.14

zim(i)daːr ‘farmer (m)’ zimdaːrni ‘farmer (f)’

ɖɔkʈar ‘physician (m)’ ɖɔkʈaraːni ‘physician (f)’
maʃʈar ‘teacher (m)’ maʃʈaraːni ‘teacher (f)’15

The gender distinction is also indicated in animate nouns, such as the follow-
ing. Here feminine nouns end in -i, with some exceptions. In the latter cases the
feminine nominal forms end in a -e (e.g. ʦor ‘thief’, ʦor-e, *ʦor-i ‘female thief’;
see below).

ʦʰɛlɖu ‘boy, son’ ʦʰɛlɖi ‘girl, daughter’

laːro ‘bridegroom’ laːri ‘bride’
kanalɖu ‘grandson’ kanalɖi ‘granddaughter’
kutuː ‘nephew’ kutiː ‘niece’
ranɖɔlɔ ‘widower’ ranɖɔli ‘widow’
gablu ‘ram’ gabli ‘lamb (f)’
suŋgaːr ‘boar’ suŋgaːri ‘sow’
goːro ‘stallion’ goːri ‘mare’
baːkrɔ ‘goat (m)’ baːkri ‘goat (f)’
kukur ‘dog’ kukuri ‘bitch’

Similarly, adjectives, too, are, to some extent, sensitive to the gender of the head
noun. A subset of adjectives end in -ɔ with masculine nouns, and the corre-
sponding feminine forms end in -i (see Section 3.4 for details).

14 Traditionally, the derivational suffix -aːni/-ni was used to indicate the wife of a man with
the profession denoted by the base word.
15 In allegro pronunciation these feminine forms drop the last stem vowel before the deriva-
tional suffix (e.g., maʃʈraːni ‘teacher (f)’).

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(10) tu buɖ-ɔ manuʃ sɔ

2sg.nom old-m man cop.prs.2pl
‘You are an old man.’

(11) tu buɖ-i deːn sɛ

2sg.nom old-f woman cop.prs.2sg
‘You are an old woman.’

Further, in a possessive construction the gender of the head noun determines

the form of the possessive marker (-rɔ or -ri). The possessive marker -ri occurs
with feminine and -rɔ with masculine head nouns.

sitaː-ri ʦʰɛlɖi [i.name(f)-poss.f girl] ‘Sita’s daughter’

ʋikram-ri bɔɛn [i.name(m)-poss.f sister] ‘Vikram’s sister’
ʋikram-ri gori [i.name(m)-poss.f mare] ‘Vikram’s mare’
ʋikram-ri kukrauʈi [i.name(m)-poss.f bitch] ‘Vikram’s bitch’
ʋikram-rɔ ʦʰɛlɖu [i.name(m)-poss.m son] ‘Vikram’s son’
sitaː-rɔ ʦʰɛlɖu [i.name(f)-poss.m son] ‘Sita’s son’
ʋikram-rɔ gaɔ [i.name(m)-poss.m cow] ‘Vikram’s cow’
ʋikram-rɔ piʃiː [i.name(m)-poss.m cat] ‘Vikram’s cat’
mɛ-rɔ balʈi [1sg-poss.m bucket] ‘My bucket’

Similarly, the distribution of the relative clause suffixes -sjaː16 and -seː is also
sensitive to the gender of their referents: -seː occurs with feminine referents
and -sjaː with masculine referents (see Section 5.4 for details).

(12) naʦ-dɔ-sjaː
dance-hab.m-rel.m
‘(male) who dances’

(13) naʦ-di-seː
dance-hab.f-rel.f
‘(female) who dances’

Finally, the distribution of the habitual aspect markers (-dɔ/-ndɔ and -di/-ndi),
and the distribution of the past tense markers (tʰɔ vs. tʰi), too, are sensitive to
the gender of the subject. -di/-ndi and tʰi occur when the subject has feminine

16 Note that Kinnauri has a similar (deverbal agent-forming) suffix: -ʦjaː/-ʦeː (see Chapter 2).

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gender; -dɔ/-ndɔ and tʰɔ occur with masculine subjects (see Sections 4.2.2 and
4.3.2.1 for details).

(14) raːdʰaː ʦiʈʰiː banʧjaː-ji piʧʰu haːs-di

i.name(f) letter read-pfv after laugh- hab.f
‘Radha laughs after reading the letter.’

(15) raːm kʰau kʰaː-ndɔ

i.name(m) food eat-hab.m
‘Ram eats food.’

While the gender distinction described above holds for the most part, there are
some instances, where the default form (i.e. the masculine form) was sponta-
neously provided in constructions where we should, in principle, get the fem-
inine form (16). When asked, the language consultant provided the “correct”
form.

(16) amaː-jɛ ap-rɔ ɖiː la lɔs-indɛ

mother-erg self-poss.m girl dat beat-pfv
‘Mother beat her own daughter.’

In general, apart from the tendencies mentioned above, there are no salient
formal indicators showing the gender of Kinnauri Pahari nouns. Nouns of both
genders can end in various vowels (bɔbaː ‘father (m)’; amaː ‘mother (f)’; hatʰiː
‘elephant (m)’; apiː ‘grandmother (f)’ baːkri ‘goat (f)’) or consonants (bɔɛn ‘sis-
ter (f)’; nɔr ‘animal (m)’; deːn ‘woman (f)’; dɛkʰraʦ ‘young man (m)’; nars ‘nurse
(f)’). Together with the contact situation where the historically dominant lan-
guage ST Kinnauri is one without systematic gender distinctions (see Chap-
ter 2), this accounts at least in part for the peripheral role of gender in the
grammar of Kinnauri Pahari, where this distinction is upheld mainly for ani-
mate nouns.

3.2.4 Case
The Kinnauri Pahari case markers are shown in Table 34. Following a long tra-
dition in IA grammatical description, the case markers are analyzed as post-
positions, except in those cases where morphophonology indicates that they
should be classified as suffixes (cf. Masica 1991: 223 f.).17

17 Since the head noun is the last constituent of the NP in Kinnauri Pahari, an alternative

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table 34 Case markers in Kinnauri Pahari

Case Case marker(s)

Nominative Ø
Ergative/instrumental -ɛ
Dative la, na
Possessive -rɔ/-ri
Locative -ɛ, kɛ
Allative bilɛ
Ablative ka

3.2.4.1 Nominative
The nominative form is the stem of a noun or pronoun without any other case
suffixes. This form can be used for subjects (intransitive and transitive)—i.e.,
the NP triggering subject indexing in the verb—and direct objects.

3.2.4.2 Ergative/Instrumental
The suffix -ɛ functions as the ergative marker. It is realized as -jɛ when the stem
ends with a vowel, and optionally as -ʋɛ when the stem ends with a round vowel;
-ɛ occurs after consonants.18 The ergative marker occurs with all persons and
numbers in all tenses and aspects.19

analysis of the case suffixes as NP clitics would require additional data (non-nominative
marked NP s with extraposed constituents after the head noun).
18 In my data there are occasional examples of -jɛ appearing after some sonorant consonants
(e.g., 204–205).
19 Unlike many other IA languages, Kinnauri Pahari does not seem to exhibit split ergativity,
which could point to ST influence. However, since almost all my examples of ergative-
marked subjects are accompanied by verbs in the perfective, this may indicate the pres-
ence of a tense-aspect based alignment preference. In Grierson (1928) there is only one
Western Pahari language (Sirmauri Dharthi) which exhibits a consistent ergative marking
system. Based on the language descriptions in Grierson (1928), we can distinguish three
different alignment types among the Pahari languages (page references are to Grierson
1928 but language names have been normalized):
Split ergativity: Nepali (46–55), Kumaoni (108–157), Jaunsari (383–400), Gujari of Hazara
(930–934).
Consistent ergativity: Sirmauri Dharthi (458–467).
Insufficient information or some other case-marking system: Sirmauri Giripari (477–
486), Baghati (495–505), Kului (670–679), Mandeali (721–728), Chambeali (769–784),

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(17) mẽĩ-jɛ gɛt na-lja-ji

1sg-erg song neg-sing-pfv
‘I did not sing (a) song.’

(18) ʧʰokru hɔri-jɛ pʰɔl kʰa-ɛn

boy pl-erg fruit eat-prog
‘Boys (are) eating fruit(s).’

(19) aːmɔri-jɛ sɛo gar-indɛ

1ple-erg apple take-pfv
‘We took apples.’

(20) tɛnori-jɛ tãu -la ki bɔl-ɔ

3pl-erg 2sg-dat what tell-pfv.dir
‘What did they tell you?’

The ergative marker occurs only in transitive clauses. Its occurrence is, how-
ever, not obligatory.

(21) raːm gɔr-ɛ naʃ-i

i.name(m) house-loc go-pfv
‘Ram went home.’

(22) hãũ / mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ʧunni baːn-indɛ

1sg.nom 1sg-erg scarf tie-pfv
‘I tied the scarf.’

The ergative marker is affixed to the last element of an NP (e.g., 18, 23).20

(23) hɔsɔ buɖɛ-buɖi-rɔ sɛb ka lɔuɖo ʦʰɛlɖu-jɛ gɔr

dem.dist o.man-o.woman-poss.m all abl young boy-erg house
lɔj-i
buy-pfv
‘The youngest son of the old man and woman bought the house.’

Gaddi. (792–803), Pangwali (846–854), Bhadrawahi and Bhalesi (888–899). In Kiun-

thali (549–574) the ergative marker also occurs, at times, with intransitive verbs.
20 Examples such as the following are instances of apposition: tin-jɛ manuʃ-jɛ braːg dɛkʰ-undɔ
[3sg-erg man-erg lion see-hab.m] ‘He, the man, sees the lion.’

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The case marker -ɛ also functions as the instrumental marker (24–26) and as
one of the two locative case markers (see below).

(24) ʃuriː ʈikʰɔ ʧʰuri-jɛ ʃaːg kaːʈ-ɛn-s

i.name(f) sharp knife-ins vegetable cut-prog-aux.prs.3
‘Shuri is cutting vegetables with a sharp knife.’

(25) sonam-ɛ ap-rɔ haːtʰ-ɛ gɔr ʈua-ji

i.name(f)-erg self-poss.m hand-ins house build-pfv
‘Sonam built the house with her own hands.’

(26) raːdʰaː-jɛ paːni-jɛ gaːʦʰ-ɔ dɔ-ji

i.name(f)-erg water-ins garment-pl wash-pfv
‘Radha washed clothes with water.’

3.2.4.3 Dative21
The postposition la functions as the dative case marker. With the first person
singular pronoun, na can also appear as an alternative to la.22

(27) bɔa(- jɛ) ma la / na ra rupjaː dɛ-ndɔ

father(-erg) 1sg.nnom dat 100 money give-hab.m
‘Father gives me hundred rupees.’

(28) raːm-ɛ mohan la / *na gɔr bikin-i

i.name(m)-erg i.name(m) dat house sell-pfv
‘Ram sold the house to Mohan.’

la also occurs with direct objects. Again, na can be used with the 1sg pronoun.
The occurrence of the dative marker is, however, not obligatory. Semantic
factors such as animacy and definiteness determine its occurrence.

(29) raːm-ɛ kataːb dɛ-ji

i.name(m)-erg book give-pfv
‘Ram gave the book.’

21 “Objective” would perhaps be a more apt name, but I follow a long tradition in the descrip-
tion of South Asian languages, where “dative” designates a case which can appear on both
direct and indirect objects, and in the so-called “experiencer subject” construction.
22 Note that Nàvakat has a similar dative(/allative) marker—=la (see Chapter 3)—although
a more relevant parallel may be the Nepali dative -laːi (see Appendix 4A to this chapter).

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(30) hãũ tãũ la ʃa-ɛn su

1sg.nom 2sg.nnom dat look-prog aux.prs.1sg
‘I am looking at you.’

(31) ardʒun-ɛ kũã kɛ laːŋ ʦʰarja-indɛ ap la maːr-i

i.name(m)-erg well(n) loc jump(n) leave-pfv self dat kill-pfv
‘Arjun jumped into the well and killed himself.’

The case marker la (and na) also occurs in the following constructions.

(32) raːm-ɛ mohan la ɛk(k) ganʈaː pɔkʰ-i

i.name(m)-erg i.name(m) dat one hour wait-pfv
‘Ram waited for Mohan for an hour.’

(33) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ʧʰɔkur pɛrɛ la gaːʦʰ-ɔ lɔj-i

1sg-erg m.child pl.anim dat garment-pl buy-pfv
‘I bought clothes for the children.’

The dative marker la also occurs in complex constructions, where it follows the
nominalized forms of the subordinate clause verb.

(34) hɔsɔ bazaːr naʃ-mɛ la tɛaːr pʰir-i

dem.dist.nom market go-nmlz dat ready become-pfv
‘He got ready to go to the market.’

(35) ʃiki-mɛ la bɔlɔ kataːb

learn-nmlz dat good book
‘The book which is worth learning (reading)’

(36) hãũ raːm-rɔ kad ʃun-mɛ la uzi-jɔ

1sg.nom i.name(m)-poss.m voice hear-nmlz dat stand-pfv.dir
‘I got to hear Ram’s voice.’

The dative case markers also occur in Kinnauri Pahari in the so-called experi-
encer subject construction (see Section 5.1).

3.2.4.4 Possessive
The case marker -rɔ/-ri functions as the possessive marker in Kinnauri Pahari
with singular and plural nouns and pronouns. As mentioned above, it has two
allomorphs: -rɔ and -ri. Generally speaking, -ri occurs on possessive modifiers

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of feminine head nouns and -rɔ with masculine head nouns, though there are
some instances in my material where -rɔ was also provided with feminine head
nouns.

(37) mɛ-ri ʦʰɛlɖi-jɛ ʃɔl bun-indɛ

1sg-poss.f girl-erg shawl weave-pfv
‘My daughter wove a shawl.’

(38) mɛ-rɔ ʦʰɛlɖu-jɛ ʃɔl bun-indɛ

1sg-poss.m boy-erg shawl weave-pfv
‘My son wove a shawl.’

(39) hatʰiː-rɔ dãːt-rɔ kaːʦɛ

elephant-poss.m tooth-poss.m necklace
‘The elephant’s-tooth necklace.’

(40) ʃimla-rɔ mɔsɔm bɔlɔ na-i

p.name-poss.m weather good neg.pfv
‘Shimla’s weather is not good.’

(41) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ hɔi kataːb mɛ-rɔ ajũːbɔa-rɔ tɛ̃ĩ=ɛ

1sg-erg dem.prox book 1sg-poss.m parents-poss.m for=emp
lɔj-i
buy-pfv
‘I bought this book for my parents.’

When the noun ends in -r, the possessive is realized as -ɔ/-i: ɖrajʋarɔ lɛsɛns
‘driver’s license’ (ɖrajʋar ‘driver’); gaːrɔ tʰaːs ‘river bottom’ (gaːr ‘river’).
In some restricted instances when the stem ends in a sonorant consonant
(e.g. hɔtɛn [3sg.nnom], ʣonom ‘birth’, b(i)jal ‘evening’), the consonant of the
possessive marker assimilates to the stem-final consonant. For example, hɔtɛn-
(n)ɔ [3sg-poss.m], bijal-lɔ kʰau [evening-poss.m food] ‘dinner’. The regular
possessive form -rɔ (e.g hɔtɛn-rɔ) is also found in the data in such contexts. In
one case (ʣonom-nɔ sarʈifikeʈ ‘birth certificate’ [birth-poss.m certificate]), -nɔ
occurs as the possessive marker.
The possessive marker also occurs in a construction which describes that a
person belongs to a particular region (42–43).

(42) raːm kinnɔr-ɔ (sa)

i.name(m) p.name-poss.m (cop.prs.3)
‘Ram is of Kinnaur.’ (Ram is from Kinnaur.)

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(43) aːmɔri kinnɔr-i (sɛ)

1ple p.name-poss.f (cop.prs.1pl)
‘We (females) are of Kinnaur.’ (We are from Kinnaur.)

Finally, the possessive marker -rɔ also occurs after a non-finite subordinate
clause with the verb in the infinitive.

(44) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ hɔtɛn-nɔ mɔr-nɔ-rɔ baːtɛ ʃun-ɔ

1sg-erg 3sg-poss.m die-inf-poss.m talk(n).pl hear-pfv.dir
‘I heard the news of his dying’

3.2.4.5 Locative
All Western Pahari languages (as also many other IA languages) have the same
case marker for ergative and locative. This is also the case in Kinnauri Pahari,
where -ɛ expresses both the locative and the ergative. The suffix -ɛ is realized
as -jɛ after a vowel, and may optionally be realized as -ʋɛ after a round vowel.
However, unlike other Western Pahari languages, Kinnauri Pahari exhibits an
additional locative marker kɛ (with the occasional variant ʧɛ).
Both kɛ and -ɛ occur with stems ending in consonants and vowels. While a
restricted set of nouns (e.g. baʣaːr ‘market’) allow both, only one of the two
case markers is permitted in most cases (see examples below). At this stage it
is not clear what determines their selection.

(45) raːm bazaːr-ɛ (/ bazaːr kɛ) naʃ-i

i.name(m) market-loc (/ market loc) go-pfv
‘Ram went to the market.’

(46) hãũ gɔr-ɛ (/ *gɔr kɛ) naʃ-i

1sg.nom house-loc (/ house loc) go-pfv
‘I went home.’

(47) raːm dilli ka ʃiml-ɛ / *ʃimla kɛ rel kɛ / *rel-ɛ aʦʰ-i

i.name(m) p.name abl p.name-loc train loc come-pfv
‘Ram came from Delhi to Shimla on the train.’ (by train)

(48) hãũ hɔtɛn ʧɛ naʃ-mɛ

1sg.nom 3sg.nnom loc go-nmlz
‘I need to go there (= to it).’

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(49) saŋgla kinnɔr kɛ=s

p.name p.name loc=cop.prs.3
‘Sangla is in Kinnaur.’

(50) ʧa kɛ ʧiniː=s
tea loc sugar=cop.prs.3
‘There is sugar in the tea.’

(51) ʋikram dukaːn kɛ-s

i.name(m) shop loc-cop.prs.3
‘Vikram is in the shop.’

The locative marker kɛ also occurs in constructions where it indicates owner-

ship; -ɛ is not permitted here.

(52) mu kɛ /*-jɛ ɛk(k) gɔr=ɛs [gɔrǝs]

1sg.nnom loc one house=cop.prs.3
‘I have a house.’

(53) tãũ kɛ (/ *-jɛ) ɛk(k) gɔr=ɛs [gɔrǝs]

2sg.nnom loc (/ -loc) one house=cop.prs.3
‘You have a house.’

(54) raːm kɛ (/ *-ɛ) ɛk(k) gɔr=ɛs [gɔrǝs]

i.name(m) loc (/ -loc) one house=cop.prs.3
‘Ram has a house.’

(55) hɔtɛnɔri kɛ (/ *-jɛ) ɛk(k) gɔr na-i

3pl loc (/ -loc) one house neg-pfv
‘They do not have a house.’

3.2.4.6 Allative
Like many other Western Pahari languages, Kinnauri Pahari, too, has a distinct
allative case marker. It is bilɛ.

(56) sɛb=ɛ bɔs kaːlkaː bilɛ naʃ-dɔ

all=emp bus p.name all go-hab.m
‘All buses go towards Kalka.’

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3.2.4.7 Ablative
ka functions as the ablative marker.

(57) manuʃ dʒun dilli ka a-ɔ

man rel p.name abl come-pfv.dir
‘The man who came from Delhi’

(58) kʰisɔ ka rupjaː gaːr

pocket abl money take.imp
‘Take the money from (your) pocket!’

The ablative marker occurs in the comparative construction.

(59) hãũ lija-nɔ ka naʦ-nɔ bɔdi ba-ndɔ su

1sg.nom sing-inf abl dance-inf many like-hab.m aux.prs.1sg
‘I (m) like dancing more than singing.’

Finally, the ablative marker can also follow a nominalized subordinate clause
verb.

(60) sunʦi-nɔ ka aukʰa nɔ-bɔl-nɔ

think-inf abl before neg-say-inf
‘Don’t speak before thinking!’

3.2.4.8 A Comparison with Other Western Pahari Languages

A comparison of the Kinnauri Pahari case markers with some other West-
ern Pahari languages (Jaunsari, Sirmauri, Baghati, Kiunthali, Kului, Mandeali,
Chambeali; see Appendix 4A to this chapter) reveals that there are only two
case markers which Kinnauri Pahari shares with other Western Pahari lan-
guages: (i) the possessive marker (-rɔ/-ri, including its gender agreement) and
(ii) the ergative case marker (-ɛ). As in other IA languages, Kinnauri Pahari, too,
has separate locative and allative case markers, but the case markers (forms)
are different. Finally, la which functions as a dative marker in Kinnauri Pahari,
is not listed for any Western Pahari language in Grierson (1928). This is possibly
a borrowing from the coterritorial Kinnauri (see Chapter 2).

3.2.5 The Definiteness Indicator manuʃ

manuʃ in Kinnauri Pahari functions both as a lexical noun and as a grammati-
cal word. As a lexical noun it refers to a person or to a male human being (61).
As a grammatical word, it seems to indicate about a human referent that it is

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known to the interlocutor, i.e., a kind of definiteness marking. It is similar in

syntactic behavior and function to a noun classifier (Grinevald 2000: 64 f.), but
it contrasts only with its absence, i.e., there is no classifier system of which it is
a part. It follows a human nominal argument in the singular (62–63). Its occur-
rence is optional. Plural and case markers follow it.

(61) gariːb manuʃ aːʣ dukʰ-is

poor man today grief-cop.prs.3
‘The poor man is sick today.’

(62) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ʦʰɔkur (manuʃ) la kʰɛl-ɛn dɛkʰ-i

1sg-erg boy def.hum dat play-prog see-pfv
‘I saw the boy playing.’

(63) deːn (manuʃ)-ɛ hɔtɛn-ʧɛ naʃ-mɛ la manaː kɔr-i

woman def.hum-erg 3sg-loc go-nmlz dat refuse(n) do-pfv
‘The woman refused to go there.’

This grammaticalized use of manuʃ is highly dispreferred with the lexical head
noun manuʃ ‘man’ (64).

(64) *? ʣʋan manuʃ manuʃ-ɛ kʰou ʣurja-ji

young man def.hum-erg food make-pfv
‘The young man prepared the food.’

3.3 Pronouns
3.3.1 Demonstrative Pronouns
The demonstrative pronouns in Kinnauri Pahari are hɔi, hɔsɔ and hɔ(tɛ)nɔri.
hɔi and hɔsɔ23 occur with singular head nouns. They can also occur with plural
inanimate head nouns. hɔ(tɛ)nɔri occurs only with plural head nouns. hɔi func-
tions as the proximate demonstrative; hɔsɔ and hɔtɛnɔri function as the distant
demonstratives. They occur with both masculine and feminine head nouns, in
both nominative and non-nominative positions.

(65) hɔsɔ deːn manuʃ-ɛ duraː nu-ʦuŋg-di

dem.dist woman def.hum-erg wood neg-pick-hab.f
‘That woman does not pick wood.’

23 This occurs in Jaunsari, too (Bailey 1920).

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(66) hɔtɛnɔri deːni pɛrɛ-jɛ nɔr la maːr-i

dem.dist.pl woman.pl pl.anim-erg animal dat kill-pfv
‘Those women killed the animal.’

(67) hɔtɛnɔri puʃãː pɛrɛ gɔr-ɛ naʃ-i

dem.dist.pl man pl.anim house-loc go-pfv
‘Those men went home.’

The demonstrative pronouns also function as third person pronouns (see the
next section).

(68) hɔsɔ bazaːr naʃ-i ʈʰjɔ

3sg.dist.nom market go-pfv aux.pst.m
‘He went to the market.’

(69) hɔi la ʃik-indɛ hɔtɛn la ruː-nɔ aʦʰ-i

3sg.prox dat learn-pfv 3sg.nnom dat cry-inf come-pfv
‘Having learnt this, s/he cried.’

3.3.2 Personal Pronouns

Kinnauri Pahari uses the same set of personal pronouns with both masculine
and feminine referents, in all persons and numbers; see Table 35. Kinnauri
Pahari does not mark honorificity, neither on the pronouns nor in its verbal
inflection. As we can see in Table 35, Kinnauri Pahari makes the exclusive-
inclusive distinction in first person plural.

3.3.2.1 First Person

The distribution of the different first person singular pronoun allomorphs is as
follows: hãũ functions as the nominative; the bound forms mɛ̃ĩ and mɛ occur
with the ergative and the possessive marker, respectively; ma occurs with the
dative and locative markers.

(70) hãũ dilli naʃ-i

1sg.nom p.name go-pfv
‘I went to Delhi.’

(71) hãũ ʧunniː baːn-idɛ

1sg.nom scarf tie-pfv
‘I tied the scarf.’

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table 35 The personal pronouns of Kinnauri Pahari

Singular Plural

1 hãũ (nom) aːmɔri (excl)

mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ (erg) taːmɔri (incl)
mɛ-rɔ/mɛ-ri (poss.m/poss.f)
ma (nnom: dat/loc)
2 tu (nom) tomɔːri24
tɛ̃ĩ-jɛ (erg)
tɛ-rɔ/tɛ-ri (poss.m/poss.f)
tãũ (nnom: dat/loc)
3 (hɔ)sɔ (nom) (hɔ)tɛnɔri, tinɔri
hɔi (nom, nnom) hɔnɔri
(hɔ)tɛn, (hɔ)tin (nnom)

(72) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ mɛ-ri bɔɛn la pʰɔl dɛn-ɔ

1sg-erg 1sg-poss.f sister dat fruit give-pfv.dir
‘I gave (some) fruits to my sister.’

(73) ʧʰɔkur pɛrɛ ma na lɔs-i

m.child pl.anim 1sg.nnom dat beat-pfv
‘Boys beat me.’

Distinct from this, aːmɔri, the first person plural exclusive (1ple) pronoun, has
a single form occurring in all positions.

(74) aːmɔri sukul kɛ naʃ-i

1ple school loc go-pfv
‘We went to the school.’

(75) aːmɔri-jɛ sɛo gaːr-indɛ

1ple-erg apple take-pfv
‘We took apples.’

24 Note the difference in the forms: taːmɔri [1pli] and tomɔːri [2pl].

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In fast speech -i of aːmɔri is, at times, not heard.

(76) raːm-ɛ aːmɔr la ajãːrɔ kɛ dekʰ-i

i.name(m)-erg 1ple dat darkness loc see-pfv
‘Ram saw us in the dark.’

taːmɔri, the first person plural inclusive (1pli) pronoun, too, has an invariant
form in all contexts.

(77) taːmɔri sukul kɛ naʃ-i

1pli school loc go-pfv
‘We went to the school.’

(78) taːmɔri-jɛ sɛo gaːr-indɛ

1pli-erg apple take-pfv
‘We took apples.’

3.3.2.2 Second Person

As in the first person singular, the second person singular pronoun, too, has sev-
eral allomorphs: tu occurs in the nominative, and the bound morphs tɛ̃ĩ and tɛ
occur with the ergative and the possessive marker, respectively.

(79) tu ɔrɛs tʰjɔ

2sg.nom carpenter cop.pst.m
‘You (m) were a carpenter.’

(80) tu kinnɔr kɛ tʰak-dɔ

2sg.nom p.name loc live-hab.m
‘You (m) live in Kinnaur.’

(81) tu kʰau kʰɔ

2sg.nom food eat.imp
‘You (polite/non-polite), eat food!’

(82) tɛ̃ĩ-jɛ kataːb na-an-i

2sg-erg book neg-bring-pfv
‘You did not bring the book.’

(83) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ tɛ-rɔ gɔr dɛkʰ-ɔ

1sg-erg 2sg-poss.m house see-pfv.dir
‘I saw your house’

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(84) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ tɛ-ri bɔɛn dɛkʰ-i

1sg-erg 2sg-poss.f sister see-pfv
‘I saw your sister’

The allomorph tãũ occurs in the dative and locative. In can also appear in the
dative function without a following dative marker (86).

(85) tãũ kɛ ɛk(k) gɔr na-i (tʰjɔ)

2sg.nnom loc one house neg-pfv (cop.pst.m)
‘You did not have a house.’

(86) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ tãũ (la) ʦʰuŋg-i

1sg-erg 2sg.nnom (dat) touch-pfv
‘I touched you.’

As was the case with the first person plural pronouns, in the second person plu-
ral too, there is only one morph, tomɔːri, which occurs in both nominative and
non-nominative positions.

(87) tomɔːri (sɛb(=ɛ)) buɖ-i hɔri/pɛrɛ sɔ

2pl (all(=emp)) old-f pl/pl.anim cop.prs.2pl
‘You (f) (all) are old.’

(88) tomɔːri-jɛ hasal gɔr-ɛ naʃ-i

2pl-erg early house-loc go-pfv
‘You all went home early.’

3.3.2.3 Third Person

As mentioned above, the demonstratives hɔi and (hɔ)sɔ also function as the
third person singular pronouns, with both masculine and feminine referents.
While hɔi occurs in both nominative and non-nominative positions (e.g., 69,
89), (hɔ)sɔ occurs only in the nominative position.

(89) hɔi hiːʣ gɔr-ɛ aʦʰ-i

3sg.prox.nom yesterday house-loc come-pfv
‘S/He came home yesterday.’

(90) (hɔ)sɔ kinnɔr-ɔ sa

3sg.dist.nom p.name-poss.m cop.prs.3
‘He is of Kinnaur.’ (from Kinnaur)

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The third person singular pronoun (hɔ)tɛn occurs only in the non-
nominative positions. It, too, can have masculine or feminine referents.

(91) ʣɛtrɛ (hɔ)tɛn-ɛ ʧʰɔkur manuʃ la ruːn-ɔ dɛkʰ-i

while 3sg-erg boy def.hum dat cry-pfv.dir see-pfv
hɔsɔ biʃaːru-i
3sg.dist.nom be.afraid-pfv
‘When she saw the boy cry, she got afraid.’

(92) (hɔ)tɛn-kɛ ɛk(k) gɔr sa

3sg-loc one house cop.prs.3
‘S/He has a house.’

(hɔ)tɛnɔri and hɔnɔri function as the third person plural pronouns. They occur
in both nominative and non-nominative positions. There is apparently no dif-
ference in meaning between (hɔ)tɛnɔri and hɔnɔri.

(93) hɔtɛnɔri ɔrɛs (tʰjɔ)

3pl carpenter (cop.pst.m)
‘They (m) were carpenters.’

(94) hɔtɛnɔri la tin ʧɛ na-aʦʰ-nɔ ʦaːn-ɔ

3pl dat 3sg.nnom loc neg-come-inf want-pfv.dir
‘They should not come here.’

3.3.2.4 Comparison with Other Western Pahari Languages

A comparative study of personal pronouns in Kinnauri Pahari and other West-
ern Pahari, and also Pahari languages more generally (see Appendix 4A to this
chapter) suggests that Kinnauri Pahari is very similar to other Western Pahari
languages. Kinnauri Pahari, like most other Western Pahari languages, has dis-
tinct nominative and non-nominative pronouns to a large extent. In addi-
tion, the forms of the pronouns (both nom and nnom) are cognates in these
languages. Kinnauri Pahari, however, distinguishes itself from other Western
Pahari languages in one crucial way, namely, its inclusive–exclusive distinction
in first person plural pronouns.25

25 Among the IA languages of the north this feature exists in only two other languages: Pra-
sun, a language of Nuristan (Claus Peter Zoller, p.c.) and Chinali, an IA language spoken
in the Lahaul region in India.

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3.3.3 Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs

The interrogative pronouns and adverbs in Kinnauri Pahari are the following.

kun ‘who’ kjũː ‘why’

kunkun ‘who all’ kindjɔ, kindʒɔ ‘which’
kiː ‘what’ kindɛ, kinʧʰɛ ‘where’
kɛtrɛ ‘when’

See also Section 5.2.

3.3.4 Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive pronouns in Kinnauri Pahari are ap (sg) and apʰɔri (pl).26 ap (sg)
is also, at times, realized as apʰ. They occur with all persons, numbers and gen-
ders.

(95) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ap la maːr-i

1sg-erg self dat kill-pfv
‘I killed myself.’ (As said, e.g., when recounting a dream.)

(96) aːmɔri-jɛ apʰɔri la maːr-i

1.ple-erg self.pl dat kill-pfv
‘We killed ourselves.’ (As said, e.g., when recounting a dream.)

(97) tɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ap la maːr-i

2sg-erg self dat kill-pfv
‘You killed yourself.’ (As said, e.g., when recounting a dream.)

(98) hɔtɛni-jɛ ap la maːr-i

3sg-erg self dat kill-pfv
‘S/He killed herself/himself.’

(99) hɔtɛnori-jɛ apʰɔri la dukʰaː-ji

3pl-erg self.pl dat grief-pfv
‘They hurt themselves’.

They also function as possessive reflexives.

26 In Jaunsari apu functions as the reflexive pronoun in both singular and plural (Bailey
1920).

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(100) amaː-jɛ ap-rɔ ʧʰɛlɖu la lɔs-indɛ

mother-erg self-poss.m boy dat beat-pfv
‘Mother1 beat her1 son.’

(101) hɔsɔ apu-rɔ ʧʰɛlɖu la nɛ-bɛz-dɔ

3sg.nom self.pl-poss.m boy dat neg-send-hab.m
‘He1 does not send his1 sons.’

Apart from these invariant reflexive pronouns, the non-nominative personal

pronouns can also occur in the reflexive construction in Kinnauri Pahari. While
the invariant form ap/apʰɔri is consistent with the typical IA pattern, the use
of personal pronouns in the reflexive construction is similar to the ST pattern
(Saxena 1984; see also Chapters 2 and 5).

(102) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ma na / ap la ʃa-i

1sg-erg 1sg.nnom dat / self dat look-pfv
‘I looked at myself.’

3.4 Adjectives
The adjective precedes its head noun. Modifying adverbs precede adjectives.

3.4.1 Adjective Inflection

The focus here is on simple (synchronically underived) adjectives. For example:

laːm-ɔ [long-m] ad-ɔ [half-m]

kʰaːʈ-ɔ [sour-m] patl-ɔ [thin-m]
ʃaːr-ɔ [beautiful-m] mɔʈ-ɔ [fat-m]
nɔŋgu-ɔ [new-m] taːt-ɔ [hot-m]
puraːn-ɔ [old(inanimate)-m] buɖ-ɔ [old(animate)-m]
halk-ɔ [light-m] ʃukl-ɔ [white-m]
gɔrk-ɔ [heavy-m] raːt-ɔ [red-m]
pur-aː [whole(all parts of a unit)-m] kaːl-ɔ [black-m]
sahukaːr [rich(m/f)] ʣɔan [young(m/f)]
kamzɔr [weak(m/f)] gariːb [poor(m/f)]

Used attributively, i.e. in combination with a head noun, adjectives in Kinnauri

Pahari display the general IA distinction between a class of “variable” and one
of “invariable” adjectives (Masica 1991: 250–251).
Adjectives in the “variable” class inflect for the gender and number of their
head noun. The masculine singular form ends in -ɔ, the feminine singular has
the ending -i, and the plural of both genders is marked with -ɛ.

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buɖɔ manuʃ ‘old man’ buɖi deːn ‘old woman’

lɔuɖɔ bapu ‘younger uncle’ lɔuɖi bɔɛn ‘younger sister’
ʃuklɔ gɔr ‘white house’ ʃukli baːkri ‘white female goat’

(103) baːdɔ buɖ-ɛ manuʃ-aː (hɔri / pɛrɛ)

many old-pl man-pl (pl / pl.anim)
‘Many old men’

(104) baːdɔ buɖ-ɛ deːn (hɔri / pɛrɛ)

many old-pl woman (pl / pl.anim)
‘Many old women’

In the remaining cases—the “invariable” adjectives—the same adjectival form

occurs with both masculine and feminine head nouns in both numbers.

gariːb manuʃ ‘poor man’ gariːb deːn ‘poor woman’

sahukaːr manuʃ ‘rich man’ sahukaːr deːn ‘rich woman’
ʣɔan manuʃ ‘young man’ ʣɔan deːn ‘young girl’

(105) baːdɔ ɖaːlɖis27 manuʃ

many poor man
‘Many poor men’

(106) baːdɔ ɖaːlɖis deːn hɔri / pɛrɛ

many poor woman pl / pl.anim
‘Many poor women’

The same adjectival form occurs in both nominative and non-nominative posi-
tions.

(107) buɖ-ɔ manuʃ hiːʣ mɔr-i

old-m man yesterday die-pfv
‘The old man died yesterday.’

(108) santoʃ-ɛ buɖ-ɔ manuʃ-rɔ gaːʦʰ-ɔ dɔː-ji

i.name(f)-erg old-m man-poss.m garment-pl wash-pfv
‘Santosh washed the old man’s clothes.’

27 There is apparently no difference in meaning between ɖaːlɖis and gariːb.

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3.4.2 Non-Numeral Quantifier Adjectives

ʋal ‘much’ baːdɔ, bɔdi ‘many’28

sɛb(b) ‘all’ utuːriː ‘few, some’

(109) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ utuːriː gaːʦʰ-ɔ lɔj-i

1sg-erg some garment-pl buy-pfv
‘I bought some clothes.’

The same non-numeral quantifier adjectival form occurs with both masculine
and feminine head nouns as well as with both animate and inanimate head
nouns.

bɔdi ʦʰɛlɖu (pɛrɛ) ‘many boys’ bɔdi ʦʰɛlɖi (pɛrɛ) ‘many girls’
bɔdi ʦɔrkʰi (hɔri) ‘many birds’ bɔdi ʣanʈi (hɔri) ‘many stones’

3.5 Numerals
The numerals 1–20 in Kinnauri Pahari are clearly originally IA.

ɛk(k) ‘one’ gjaːraː ‘eleven’

dui ‘two’ baːraː ‘twelve’
trɔn, gɔn ‘three’ tɛraː ‘thirteen’
ʦaːr ‘four’ ʧɔudaː ‘fourteen’
pa̴ːʦ ‘five’ pandraː ‘fifteen’
ʦʰɔ ‘six’ solaː ‘sixteen’
saːt ‘seven’ satraː ‘seventeen’
aʈʰ ‘eight’ (a)ʈʰaːraː ‘eighteen’
nɔu ‘nine’ unniːs ‘nineteen’
dɔʃ ‘ten’ biːʃ, ɛisa ‘twenty’

Kinnauri Pahari has two words for ‘hundred’: ra (ST), sɔ (IA). The term for ‘thou-
sand’ is hazaːr.
The language exhibits the vigesimal system for building higher numerals.
The Hindi numerals occur frequently in day-to-day conversations. This is due
to the dominant role of Hindi in the society today.

28 baːdɔ and bɔdi can both occur with nouns such as ‘man’, ‘milk’ and ‘water’.

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ɛisa pa̴ːʦ, biːʃɔ pa̴ːʦ [20+5] ‘twenty five’

ɛisa dɔʃ, biːʃɔ29 dɔʃ [20+10] ‘thirty’
biːʃɔ gjaːraː [20+11] ‘thirty one’
biːʃɔ baːraː [20+12] ‘thirty two’
biːʃɔ tɛraː [20+13] ‘thirty three’
duibiːʃɔ ɛk(k) [2×20+1] ‘forty one’
duibiːʃɔ dɔʃ, dʋeːsa dɔʃ [2×20+10] ‘fifty’
trɔnbiːʃɔ [3×20] ‘sixty’
trɔnbiːʃɔ ɛk(k) [3×20+1] ‘sixty one’
trɔnbiːʃɔ dui [3×20+2] ‘sixty two’
trɔnbiːʃɛ dɔʃ [3×20+10] ‘seventy’
trɔnbiːʃɛ gjaːra [3×20+11] ‘seventy one’
ʦaːrbiːʃɛ [4×20] ‘eighty’
ʦaːrbiːʃɛ ɛk(k) [4×20+2] ‘eighty one’
ʦaːrbiːʃɛ dɔʃ [4×20+10] ‘ninety’

4 The Verb Complex

The verb complex in Kinnauri Pahari exhibits one of the following structures.

Copula construction: (neg-)VCOP(-sg/-pl)

Periphrastic verb forms: (neg-)V aux
N (neg-)Vlight aux
(neg-)V-asp (aux)
(neg-)N Vlight-asp (aux)

There is no object marking on the verb. Subject indexing is expressed by a suffix

on copulas and auxiliaries, reflecting subject person, number and gender (e.g.
maːr-ɛn tʰjɔ [kill-prog aux.pst.m.sg]). Gender is sometimes also expressed in
an aspect suffix on the main verb. The auxiliaries are identical to the copulas
used in the copula constructions, both regarding their form and their distribu-
tion, and in all likelihood historically derived from the copulas.

4.1 Verb Lexemes and Their Structure

Verb lexemes in Kinnauri Pahari may consist of a simplex verb (e.g. ikilnɔ ‘to
drip’, pʰikʰjaːnɔ ‘to throw’) or a support verb construction consisting of a noun

29 In all these higher numerals biːʃɔ and biːʃɛ are equally permitted.

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followed by a light verb (e.g. dusti ikil-nɔ [perspiration drip-inf] ‘to perspire’,
tʰuːk pʰikʰjaː-nɔ [spit(n) throw-inf] ‘to spit’) or a complex verb consisting of a
main verb followed by an auxiliary (maːr-ɛn tʰjɔ [kill-prog aux.pst.m.sg]). In
this section the focus will be on simplex verbs.

4.1.1 Simplex Verbs

Some verbs are formed by affixing verbal inflectional or derivational affixes
directly to a noun, adjective, or adverb stem as if it were a verb stem, in effect
a form of conversion. This then is similar to what is commonly found in ST
languages.

ʃaːninɔ ‘to freeze (intr)’ ʃaːn ‘ice’

siunɔ ‘to sew’ siu ‘tailor’
bɛriːnɔ ‘to be late’ bɛri ‘late’
lonnɔ ‘to salt’ lon ‘salt’
haːsnɔ ‘to laugh’ haːs haːs ‘laugh(n)’
rɔnmaːinɔ ‘to ponder’ rɔnmaːjĩ ‘thought’
bɛʈʰinɔ ‘to meet’ bɛʈʰiː ‘meeting (n)’
pʰuʈaːnɔ ‘to make a hole’ pʰuʈɔ ‘hole’

4.1.2 Valency Changing Mechanisms

Some generalized patterns observed in Kinnauri Pahari are as follows:
First, intransitive verbs where the verb stem ends in a consonant have corre-
sponding transitive verbs with suffixed -aː. For example, ʣalnɔ ‘to burn (intr)’,
ʣalaːnɔ ‘to burn (tr)’; lagnɔ ‘to get attached/joined’ lagaːnɔ ‘to attach’; lɔʈnɔ
‘topple (intr), fall’, lɔʈaːnɔ ‘to topple (tr), fell’.
Second, and conversely, some transitive verbs have corresponding intransi-
tive verbs with -inɔ/-iːnɔ suffixed to the transitive stem (which itself may con-
tain the transitivizing -aː suffix).

ɖɔːnɔ ‘to burn (tr)’ ɖɔinɔ ‘to burn (intr)’

kʰɔlʦnɔ ‘to peel (tr)’ kʰɔlʧiːnɔ ‘to peel (intr)’
hiraːnɔ ‘to lose (tr)’ hiraːinɔ ‘to disappear (intr)’

Third, as in Kinnauri (see Chapter 2), in Kinnauri Pahari too, -jaː functions as a
transitivizer. It is very likely that its appearance in Kinnauri Pahari is the result
of language contact, i.e., that the verbs containing it are loanwords from Kin-
nauri.30 The same verb in other IA languages (e.g. Kotgarhi and Hindi) does

30 These items are in their turn IA loans in Kinnauri, except for the -jaː transitivizing suffix
which has not been attested in any possible IA donor language.

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not contain this -jaː. (but sometimes shows -aː, which may indicate a histori-
cal connection between these two transitivizing suffixes). It could be analyzed
as an allomorph of transitivizing -aː described above, with a lexically comple-
mentary distribution.

Kinnauri Pahari Hindi (H); Kotgarhi (K)

to vomit pɔlʈjaːnɔ H: palʈaːnaː; K: pɔlʈɳõ

to bury kʰaːrkɛ dabaːjaːnɔ H: dabaːnaː; K: dabɳõ ‘to bury’, dabauɳõ ‘to
press down’
to throw pʰikjaːnɔ H: pʰikaːnaː; K: pʰeŋkɳõ
to fly uɖijaːnɔ H: uɽaːnaː; K: ɽauɳõ ‘cause to fly away’
to leave ʃɔʈʰjaːnɔ H: choɽnaː; K: ʃoʈɳõ
to earn kamajaːnɔ H: kamaːnaː; K: kamauɳõ
to weigh tɔljaːnɔ H: tolnaː; K: tolɳõ
to open kʰulɛjaːnɔ H: kolnaː; K: kʰoːlɳõ
to change bɔdljaːnɔ H: badlaːnaː
to deceive ʈʰakajaːnɔ H: tʰagaːnaː
to measure napɛjaːnɔ H: naːpnaː

4.2 Copulas and Auxiliaries

4.2.1 Present Tense
In the present tense the same set of copulas occurs in equational and existen-
tial copula constructions, with both masculine and feminine subjects. Several
of these copulas end abruptly with a bit of aspiration at the end ([suʰ] [1sg],
[sɛʰ] [2sg], [siʰ] [1pl], [soʰ] [2pl]).31

31 In Bailey (1920) we can find some information about the copulas in several Indo-Aryan lan-
guages of the Himalayan region. According to this information, the present tense copula
form in Mandi Siraji, Eastern Mandeali, Bilaspuri, Western Bilaspuri, Northern Bilaspuri,
Dami and Handuri, is a form related to ha. In all these languages (except Eastern Mandeali,
Bilaspuri, Western Bilaspuri and Northern Bilaspuri), the copula inflects for gender and
number. In the remaining languages (i.e. Rohru, Rampur dialect, Baghi dialect, Surkhuli
dialect, Kuari, Barari, Bishshau, Mandi and Sukut Siraji), the copula in the present tense is
either a vowel, e.g. ēēhai in Rohru (indeclinable), ā in Rampur (indeclinable), or some form
directly resembling the Kinnauri Pahari present tense copula, where the copula inflects
for gender and number.

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Copula: Present tense

sg pl

1 (m / f) su si
2 (m / f) sɛ so
3 (m / f) sa ~ =(ɛ)s sa ~ =(ɛ)s

Present tense equational copula

hãũ zimdaːr su ‘I am a farmer (m).’
hãũ zimdaːrni su ‘I am a farmer (f).’
aːmɔri maʃʈɔr si ‘We (excl) are teachers (m).’
taːmɔri maʃʈɔr si ‘We (incl) are teachers (m).’
tu maʃʈɔr sɛ ‘You are a teacher (m).’
tomɔːri maʃʈɔr so ‘You (pl) are teachers (m).’
hɔi maʃʈɔr=s / maʃʈɔr sa ‘He is a teacher (m).’
hɔtinɛ maʃʈɔr=s / maʃʈɔr sa ‘They are teachers (m).’

Present tense existential copula

hãũ gɔr-ɛ su ‘I am at home.’
aːmɔri gɔr-ɛ si ‘We (excl) are at home.’
tamɔːri gɔr-ɛ si ‘We (incl) are at home.’
tu gɔr-ɛ sɛ ‘You are at home.’
tomɔːri gɔr-ɛ sɔ ‘You (pl) are at home.’
hɔi gɔr-ɛ-s/gɔr-ɛ sa ‘S/He is at home.’
hɔtɛnɔri gɔr-ɛ-s/gɔr-ɛ sa ‘They are at home.’

We will now look at each present tense copula in more detail.

4.2.1.1 First Person Singular: su

As mentioned above, the copula su occurs with first person singular subjects in
the present tense. It also occurs in the following construction.

(110) hãũ kinnɔr-ɔ su

1sg.nom p.name-poss.m cop.prs.1 sg
‘I am of Kinnaur.’ (I am from Kinnaur.)

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su also functions as an auxiliary in the non-copula construction, where it

follows the main verb. The main verb either is the bare verb stem or it has an
aspect marker.

(111) hãũ ʈʰuːr su

1sg.nom run aux.prs.1sg
‘I run.’

(112) hãũ dɛdjaːr ʈʰuːr-dɔ su

1sg.nom every.day run-hab.m aux.prs.1sg
‘I (m) run every day.’

(113) hãũ ʈʰuːr-ɛn su

1sg.nom run-prog aux.prs.1sg
‘I am running.’

4.2.1.2 First Person Plural: si

The copula si occurs with first person plural (1ple, 1pli) subjects in the present
tense.

(114) taːmɔri maʃʈraːni si

1pli teacher.f cop.prs.1pl
‘We (f) are teachers.’

(115) taːmɔri kinnɔr-ɔ si

1pli p.name-poss.m cop.prs.1pl
‘We are of Kinnaur.’ (We are from Kinnaur.)

As was the case with the copula su, the copula si, too, functions as an auxiliary
in the noncopula construction. The main verb, here too, is either the bare verb
stem or it has an aspect marker. All examples of the latter have the progressive
aspect in my material.

(116) taːmɔri ʈʰuːr si32

1pli run aux.prs.1pl
‘We will run.’

32 ʈʰuːr si constitutes one prosodic unit.

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(117) aːmɔri kinnɔr kɛ na-tʰak-ɛn si

1ple p.name loc neg-live-prog aux.prs.1pl
‘We are not living in Kinnaur.’

4.2.1.3 Second Person Singular: sɛ

sɛ functions as a copula with second person singular subjects in the present
tense. It also occurs in the following construction.

(118) tu kinnɔr ka sɛ
2sg.nom p.name abl cop.prs.2sg
‘You are from Kinnaur.’

Further, se occurs in non-copula constructions where it functions as an auxil-

iary.

(119) tu gɔr ʣurja-ndi sɛ

2sg.nom house make-hab.f aux.prs.2sg
‘You (f) build a house.’

(120) tu ʦɔrkʰi maːr-ɛn sɛ

2sg.nom bird kill-prog aux.prs.2sg
‘You are killing a bird.’

4.2.1.4 Second Person Plural: so

The copula so occurs with second person plural subjects in the present tense
in similar contexts as the copulas described above.

(121) tomɔːri sɛb=ɛ kinnɔr-i so

2pl all=emp p.name-poss.f cop.prs.2pl
‘You are all of Kinnaur.’ (You are all from Kinnaur.)

(122) tomɔːri kinnɔr kɛ tʰak-ɛn so

2pl p.name loc live-prog aux.prs.2pl
‘You (pl) are living in Kinnaur.’

4.2.1.5 Third Person: sa ~ =(ɛ)s

The copula sa ~ =(ɛ)s33 occurs with third person (sg, pl) subjects in the present
tense. =(ɛ)s is also sometimes realized as [ǝs] (e.g., (52)–(54)).

33 sa can also be analyzed in appropriate contexts as =s=a(ː) [=cop.prs.3=q], i.e. as express-

ing a polar question (see Section 5.2).

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(123) baːdɔ deːni34 pɛrɛ zimdaːr=s / zimdaːr sa

many woman.pl pl.anim farmer=cop.prs.3 farmer cop.prs.3
‘Many women are farmers.’

(124) hɔsɔ bɔlɔ=s (/ bɔlɔ sa)

3sg.dist.nom good=cop.prs.3 (/ good cop.prs.3)
‘S/He is good (well).’

(125) hɔsɔ kinnɔr-ɔ=s (/ kinnɔr-ɔ

3sg.dist.nom p.name-poss.m=cop.prs.3 (/ p.name-poss.m
sa)
cop.prs.3)
‘S/He is of Kinnaur.’ (S/He is from Kinnaur.)

(126) hɔtɛnɔri kinnɔr-ɔ=s / kinnɔr-ɔ sa

3pl p.name-poss.m=cop.prs.3 / p.name-poss.m cop.prs.3
‘They are of Kinnaur.’ (They are from Kinnaur.)

=(ɛ)s also functions as an auxiliary in the non-copula construction. It is affixed

to the last element in the verb complex.

(127) deːn manuʃ nɔr hɔri la maːr-di=s

woman def.hum animal pl dat kill-hab.f=aux.prs.3
‘The woman kills the animals.’

Further, it also occurs in the experiencer subject construction (see Section 5.1
for details).

(128) ma na panʧis aʦʰ-ɛn=s

1sg.nnom dat thirst(n) come-prog=aux.prs.3
‘I am (feeling) thirsty.’

The occurrence of the present tense copula is not obligatory in Kinnauri Pahari.

(129) lɔs-nɔ bɔlɔ

beat-inf good
‘Beating (someone) is good.’

34 -i in deːni is obligatory (deːn ‘woman’), but its analysis is unclear.

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(130) hɔi gɔr nu-a hɔi saːnd

dem.prox house neg-cop.prs dem.prox temple
‘This is not a house; this is a temple.’

4.2.2 Past Tense

tʰjɔ functions as the (equational and existential) copula in the past tense with
all persons. It has three allomorphs: tʰjɔ (or the equally frequent variant tʰɛo),
tʰi and tʰɛ. tʰjɔ and tʰi occur with singular masculine and feminine subjects,
respectively, while tʰɛ is used with plural subjects of both genders.35

Past tense equational copula

hãũ maʃʈɔr tʰjɔ ‘I was (m) a teacher.’
aːmɔri maʃʈɔr tʰɛ ‘We (excl) were teachers.’
taːmɔri maʃʈɔr tʰɛ ‘We (incl) were teachers.’
tu maʃʈɔr tʰɛo ‘You were (m) a teacher.’
tomɔːri maʃʈɔr tʰɛ ‘You (pl) were teachers.’
hɔi maʃʈɔr tʰjɔ ‘He was (m) a teacher.’
hɔtɛnɔri maʃʈɔr tʰɛ ‘They were teachers.’

Past tense existential copula

hãũ gɔr-ɛ tʰjo ‘I was (m) at home.’
aːmɔri gɔr-ɛ tʰɛ ‘We (excl) were at home.’
taːmɔri gɔr-ɛ tʰɛ ‘We (incl) were at home.’
tu gɔr-ɛ tʰɛo ‘You were (m) at home.’
tomɔːri gɔr-ɛ tʰɛ ‘You (pl) were at home.’
hɔi gɔr-ɛ tʰjo ‘He was (m) at home.’
hɔtɛnɔri gɔr-ɛ tʰɛ ‘They were at home.’

The past tense copulas also function as auxiliaries in the noncopula construc-
tion. The main verb here has an aspect marker.

(131) ma na hɔi pɛn baːt kɛ pɔr-indɛ tʰjɔ

1sg.nnom dat dem.prox pen path loc find-pfv aux.pst.m
‘I found this pen on the path (way).’

35 Copula information for 16 Indo-Aryan linguistic varieties of the northern Himalayan

regions is found in Bailey (1920). In all the languages for which we have the relevant infor-
mation, the past tense copula form is related to tʰjɔ. In some of these languages the copula
in indeclinable, whereas in other languages the copula inflects for number and gender, just
as in Kinnauri Pahari.

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(132) tu hiːʣ utuːriː pʰɔl lɔj-ɛn tʰi

2sg.nom yesterday some fruit buy-prog aux.pst.f
‘You were buying some fruits yesterday.’

(133) raːm pʰɔl maːg-ɛn tʰjo

i.name(m) fruit request.take-prog aux.pst.m
‘Ram was requesting a fruit.’

In similar constructions hundɔ [become.pfv.m] (feminine: hundi, plural:

hundɛ, negative: nundɔ, nundi, nundɛ) can also occur.36

(134) hãũ raːza hundɔ

1sg.nom king become.pfv.m
‘I have become a king.’

(135) taːmɔri raːni hundɛ

1pli queen become.pfv.pl
‘We have become queens.’

(136) hɔsɔ raːni hundi

dem.dist.nom queen become.pfv.f
‘She has become a queen.’

(137) hɔsɔ ɔrɛs hundɔ

dem.dist.nom carpenter become.pfv.m
‘He has become a carpenter.’

(138) hɔtɛnɔri sɛb=ɛ ɔrɛs hundɛ

3pl all=emp carpenter become.pfv.pl
‘They have all become carpenters.’

4.2.3 Future Tense

The verb pʰir ‘become’ functions as a lexical verb, where it takes the usual non-
copula verb inflectional endings (e.g. aspect markers).

36 hundɔ/hundi/hundɛ continue (original) present participle forms of an inherited copular

verb (Sanskrit √bhū ‘become’; Masica 1991: 285; Stroński 2014). This participle corresponds
formally to the modern habitual form in Kinnauri Pahari. However, the semantics of
hundɔ/hundi/hundɛ seem to be perfective rather than habitual. Here we have elected to
gloss it as [become.pfv.m/f/pl] without further segmental analysis.

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(139) ʦintiː nɔ-bɔl-indɛ kaːm pʰir-dɔ

lie(n) neg-say-pfv work become-hab.m
‘Without telling lies, work gets done.’

The bare verb stem (pʰir) followed by the present tense auxiliary (see Section
4.3.1) has a future tense interpretation.

(140) hãũ maʃʈɔr pʰir su

1sg.nom teacher(m) become aux.prs.1sg
‘I will be a teacher.’

(141) hãũ maʃʈaraːni pʰir su

1sg.nom teacher(f) become aux.prs.1sg
‘I will be a teacher.’

(142) tu maʃʈɔr pʰir sɛ

2sg.nom teacher become aux.prs.2sg
‘You (m) will be a teacher.’

(143) deːn manuʃ maʃʈaraːni pʰir=ɛs

woman def.hum teacher(f) become=aux.prs.3
‘The woman will be a teacher.’

(144) sɛb=ɛ deːn manuʃ (-aː) maʃʈaraːni pʰir=ɛs

all=emp woman def.hum(-pl) teacher(f) become=aux.prs.3
‘All the women will be teachers.’

In the existential copula construction in the future tense the verb hugɔ/hugɛ
[become.fut.sg/pl] occurs. The verb here inflects for number, where hugɔ
occurs with singular subjects and hugɛ occurs with plural subjects.37

hãũ gɔrɛ hugɔ ‘I will be at home.’

aːmɔri gɔrɛ hugɛ ‘We will be at home.’
taːmɔri gɔrɛ hugɛ ‘We will be at home.’
tu gɔrɛ hugɔ ‘You will be at home.’
tomɔːri gɔrɛ hugɛ ‘You (pl) will be at home.’

37 There are no examples of this type with feminine subjects in my material. Again, we gloss
the forms hugɔ/hugɛ without further segmental analysis, even though the initial element
hu- is presumably the same as in hundɔ/hundi/hundɛ discussed above.

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hɔi gɔrɛ hugɔ ‘She will be at home.’

hɔtɛnɔri gɔrɛ hugɛ ‘They will be at home.’

hugɔ/hugɛ also occurs in the possessive construction in the future tense. It

occurs with all persons in both affirmative and negative constructions.

(145) mu kɛ ɛk(k) gɔr nu-hugɔ

1sg.nnom loc one house neg-become.fut.sg
‘There will not be a house for me.’ (I will not have a house.)

(146) tãũ kɛ gɔr nu-hugɔ

2sg.nnom loc house neg-become.fut.sg
‘There will not be a house for you.’ (You will not have a house.)

(147) hɔtɛn-ʧe ʦiʈʰiː hugɔ

3sg-loc letter become.fut.sg
‘There will be a letter for him/her there.’ (S/He will have a letter.)

4.2.4 Comparison with Other Western Pahari Languages

The copulas and their distribution in Kinnauri Pahari are very similar to their
counterparts in other Western Pahari languages. The copulas su (and its allo-
morphs) in the present tense, tʰjɔ (and its allomorphs) in the past tense and
hugɔ/pʰir which occur in future tense copula constructions are also found
in other Western Pahari languages. Similarly, the past tense copula is regu-
larly inflected for gender and number of the subject throughout the Western
Pahari languages. There is however variation in the present tense copula forms
in Western Pahari, even though the various forms are etymologically related.
Finally, in Kinnauri Pahari, one of the present tense copula forms is also real-
ized as a bound clitic =s. This is the case also in Inner Siraji and Kului (Bailey
1908). Kiunthali allows both the short variant and the longer variant. but, unlike
Kinnauri Pahari, the shorter variant contains only the vowel.

4.3 Periphrastic Verb Forms

The auxiliaries appearing in the periphrastic verb forms are identical to the
copulas used in the copula constructions, both regarding their form and their
distribution, and are in all likelihood historically derived from the copulas (111–
113).

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4.3.1 Aspect
Kinnauri Pahari makes a three-way aspectual distinction into habitual, progres-
sive and perfective aspects. -di/-ndi and -dɔ/-ndɔ function as the habitual aspect
markers. -ɛn functions as the progressive aspect marker and -indɛ functions as
the perfective aspect marker.

4.3.1.1 The Habitual Aspect Markers -di/-ndi and -dɔ/-ndɔ

The distribution of the habitual aspect markers -di/-ndi38 and -dɔ/-ndɔ is as fol-
lows.39 -di/-ndi occurs with animate feminine subjects and -dɔ/-ndɔ (glossed as
‘masculine’) occurs elsewhere. The allomorphs with -n (i.e., -ndi and -ndɔ) occur
when the verb stem ends with a vowel and the allomorphs without -n (i.e., -dɔ
and -di) occur elsewhere.40 The habitual aspect markers occur with all persons
and numbers. The aspect-marked verb is optionally followed by an auxiliary in
the present and past tenses.

(148) hãũ rɔʈi kʰaː-ndi (su / tʰi)

1sg.nom bread eat-hab.f (aux.prs.1sg / aux.pst.f)
‘I eat bread / ate bread.’

(149) aːmɔri kʰau kʰaː-ndi (si)

1ple food(n) eat-hab.f (aux.prs.1pl)
‘We eat food.’

(150) hãũ ʧiːz na-an-dɔ (su / tʰjɔ)

1sg.nom thing neg-bring-hab.m (aux.prs.1sg / aux.pst.m)
‘I do(/did) not bring things.’

(151) raːm mohan la kataːb dɛ-ndɔ(=s /

i.name(m) i.name(m) dat book give-hab.m(=aux-prs.3 /
tʰjɔ)
aux.pst.m)
‘Ram gives(/gave) Mohan a book.’

The habitual aspect markers also occur in the relative clause construction (see
Section 5.4) and in the adverbial construction. The distribution of the habit-
ual aspect markers in the relative clause construction remains the same as

38 At times, it is also realized as -dɛ/-ndɛ.

39 In Kotgarhi -ndo functions as a participial marker (Hendriksen 1986: 60).
40 This is also the case in the closely related language Sirmauri Dharthi (Grierson 1928).

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described above. The habitual aspect marker in the relative clause construc-
tion is followed by the relative clause pronominal suffix (-sjaː/-seː) and a head
noun.
The gender distinction is manifested here both in the choice of the aspect
marker (-dɔ/-ndɔ vs. -di/-ndi) and in the choice of the relative clause pronom-
inal suffix (-sjaː vs. -seː). When the relative clause is a transitive clause, the
factors determining the occurrence of the case marking on the direct object
in the relative clause are the same as in the simple finite clause.

(152) lɔs-dɔ-sjaː manuʃ

beat-hab.m-rel.m man
‘The man who beats’

(153) ruːn-dɔ-sjaː ʧʰɔkur

cry-hab.m-rel.m child(m)
‘The boy who cries’

In the absence of a head noun, the nominal inflectional endings, where rele-
vant, are affixed to -sjaː.

(154) dura kaːʈ-dɔ-sjaː-ɛ bɔl-ɔ

wood cut-hab.m-rel.m-erg say-pfv.dir
‘The wood-cutter said.’

The following examples illustrate the habitual aspect marker occurring in tem-
poral adverbial subordinate clauses. Since these are constructed with bɛr-ɛ
[time(f)-loc] obligatorily following the non-final verb with the habitual aspect
marker, the marker appears in its feminine form.

(155) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ hanɖ-(ɖ)i bɛr-ɛ hɔi bɔl-ɔ

1sg-erg walk-hab.f time-loc dem.prox say-pfv.dir
‘At the time of walking, I said’

(156) ʋikram-jɛ hanɖ-(ɖ)i bɛr-ɛ hɔi bɔl-ɔ

i.name(m)-erg walk-hab.f time-loc dem.prox say-pfv.dir
‘At the time of walking, Vikram said.’

4.3.1.2 Progressive Aspect

The progressive aspect marker -ɛn is affixed to the main verb. It, too, can be
optionally followed by an auxiliary.

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(157) hãũ kaːlɛ ʃimlaː naʃ-ɛn (su)

1sg.nom tomorrow p.name go-prog (aux.prs.1 sg)
‘I am going to Shimla tomorrow.’

(158) aːmɔri kinnɔr kɛ tʰak-ɛn (si)

1ple p.name loc live-prog (aux.prs.1pl)
‘We are living in Kinnaur.’

(159) deːn manuʃ pʰɔl na-maːg-ɛn (tʰi)

girl def.hum fruit neg-request.take-prog (aux.pst.f)
‘The girl was not requesting to take fruit.’

(160) kukur gʰuŋg-ɛn-s

dog bark-prog-aux.prs.3
‘The dog is barking.’

The progressive aspect marker also occurs in the present adverbial construc-
tions. In such instances the non-final clause may be followed by a discourse
marker pɔ, which seems to add an element of surprise.

(161) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ʧʰɔkur la kʰɛl-ɛn (pɔ) dɛkʰ-ɔ

1sg-erg child(m) dat play-prog (dsm) see-pfv.dir
‘I saw the boy playing!’ (I saw the boy while he was playing.)

(162) ʣɛtrɛ (hɔsɔ) bɔl-ɛn (pɔ) hɔsɔ kʰuŋg-ɔ

while (dem.dist.nom) say-prog (dsm) 3sg.nom cough-pfv.dir
‘While saying (that), he coughed!’

(163) tɛ̃ĩ-jɛ haːs-ɛn (pɔ) bɔl-i

2sg-erg laugh-prog (dsm) say-pfv
‘You spoke laughingly.’

4.3.1.3 Perfective Aspect

There seem to be two sets of perfective aspect markers: (i) -indɛ/-ndɛ and (ii) -ɔ
and -i. Both may optionally be followed by an auxiliary.
The perfective aspect marker -indɛ/-ndɛ occurs with all persons, numbers
and genders. After a consonant-final verb stem, the form of the marker is -indɛ.
When the verb stem ends in a vowel, some variation is found in the form of
the perfective aspect marker. It is realized as -jindɛ, -indɛ or -ndɛ. The subject in
the clauses containing the perfective aspect marker can be in the nominative

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a linguistic sketch of kinnauri pahari 327

and the ergative, and it also appears with so-called experiencer subjects (see
Section 5.1).

(164) raːm dukʰ-indɛ=s

i.name(m) sick-pfv=aux.prs.3
‘Ram has been sick.’

(165) ʦʰori pɛrɛ baːdɔ baːtɛ bataː-ndɛ / bata-jindɛ

girl pl.anim many talk(n) talk-pfv
‘The girls talked a lot.’

(166) ʧʰɔkur pɛrɛ tãũ la bɔlɔ kɔla-ndɛ(=s)

child(m) pl.anim 2sg.nnom dat good like-pfv(=aux.prs.3)
‘The boys liked you.’

(167) mu ka rupjaː hiraʋ-indɛ=s

1sg.nnom abl money lose(nvol)-pfv=aux.prs.3
‘Money got lost from me.’ (I lost (some) money.)

(168) aːmɔri-jɛ sɛ gaːr-indɛ (tʰjɔ)

1ple-erg apple take-pfv (aux-pst.m)
‘We took apples.’

(169) mɛ-rɔ haːtʰ uʃa-jindɛ (tʰjɔ)

1sg-poss.m hand swell.intr-pfv (aux-pst.m)
‘My hand had some swelling.’

(170) tɛ̃ĩ-jɛ hɔi kaːdu ʃun-indɛ se

2sg-erg dem.prox when hear-pfv aux.prs.2sg
‘When did you hear this?’

When the verb stem ends with a nasal, the perfective aspect marker -indɛ is, at
times, realized as -idɛ. While the language consultants always accepted replac-
ing -idɛ with -indɛ, without any apparent difference in meaning; they did not
accept replacing -indɛ with -idɛ with stems ending in non-nasal consonants.

(171) bɔːba-ɛ bʰaːr-ɔ gin-idɛ / gin-indɛ

father-erg weight-pl carry-pfv
‘Father carried the bagage.’

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(172) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ taːt-ɔ ɖakkʰan ʦuŋ-idɛ / ʦuŋ-indɛ

1sg-erg warm-m lid carry-pfv
‘I lifted the warm cover.’

(173) mɛ-rɔ ʦʰɛlɖu-jɛ ʃɔl bun-idɛ / bun-indɛ

1sg-poss.m boy-erg shawl weave-pfv
‘My son wove a shawl.’

(174) mɛ-ri ʦʰɛlɖi-jɛ ʃɔl bun-idɛ / bun-indɛ

1sg-poss.f daughter-erg shawl weave-pfv
‘My daughter wove a shawl.’

The perfective aspect marker also occurs on the non-final verb in the clause
chain construction.

(175) raːm-ɛ dʒuʈ-indɛ gɔr zalaː-ji

i.name(m)-erg drink-pfv house burn(tr)-pfv
‘Ram drank and (then, he) burnt the house.’

(176) gɔr bɔnd nɔ-kɔr-indɛ raːm bazaːr naʃ ʈʰjɔ

house close neg-do-pfv i.name(m) market go aux.pst.m
‘Without closing (his) house, Ram went to the market.’

Kinnauri Pahari also seems to have a double-finite construction with a past

tense/perfective interpretation, where -ɔ or -i41 is suffixed to the verb. This verb
may then be followed by an auxiliary. These suffixes occur in the non-copula
construction with all persons, numbers and genders, in both agentive and non-
agentive clauses in affirmative and negative sentences. The subjects in such
constructions can have the nominative or the non-nominative form.
The distribution of -ɔ and -i is not correlated with the gender of the subject,
but rather it is semantically determined, where -ɔ occurs when the speaker has
direct knowledge of the situation, and -i occurs when the speaker either does
not want to reveal the source of the information or does not wish to claim to
have first-hand knowledge.

41 -i is realized as -ji after stems ending in -a. The articulation of -i is barely audible in fast
speech.

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(177) buːɖɔ manuʃ hiːʣ mɔr-i / mɔr-ɔ (ʈʰjɔ)

old man yesterday die-pfv / die-pfv.dir (aux.pst.m)
‘The old man died yesterday.’

(178) hɔsɔ boʈ paʈ bɛʃ-i / bɛʃ-ɔ

dem.dist.nom tree under sit-pfv / sit-pfv.dir
‘S/He sat under the tree.’

(179) ʋikram-ɛ gɛt na-lja-i / na-lja-ɔ

i.name(m)-erg song neg-sing-pfv / neg-sing-pfv.dir
‘Vikram did not sing a song.’

The suffix -i (but not -ɔ) also occurs on the non-final verb in adverbial clauses.
In several (though not all) such constructions piʧʰu ‘after’ follows the adverbial
clause.

(180) sunʦ-i piʧʰu bɔl-nɔ

think-pfv after say-inf
‘Speak after thinking!’ (Think before you speak!)

(181) hɔtɛn-jɛ kapʰra lɔʋ-i42 piʧʰu kamiːz ʣurja-ɔ / ʣurja-ji

3sg-erg cloth buy-pfv after shirt make-pfv.dir / make-pfv
‘He made a shirt after buying the cloth.’

(182) na-ʃa-ji nɔ-bɔl-nɔ

neg-look-pfv neg-say-inf
‘One should not speak without looking.’

In short, the finite verb inflectional endings in Kinnauri Pahari, as we have seen
here are, to some extent, sensitive to the gender of the subject. This is distinct
from Kinnauri, which also has subject markers, but where the subject marker
is not sensitive to the gender of the subject. Further, unlike Kinnauri, Kinnauri
Pahari does not have “object” indexing. Thus, the verb endings in the following
two Kinnauri Pahari examples remain the same.

(183) amaː-jɛ ap-rɔ ʦʰɛlɖu la lɔs-indɛ

mother-erg self-poss.m boy dat beat-pfv
‘Mother beat (her) own son.’

42 lɔʋ-i sounds, at times, like lɔj-i.

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(184) amaː-jɛ ma la lɔs-indɛ

mother-erg 1sg.nnom dat beat-pfv
‘Mother beat me.’

4.4 Negation
Kinnauri Pahari has two negative morphemes: na- and ma-. na- is the default
marker. It negates assertions. It occurs with all persons and numbers in both
copula and non-copula constructions. In the past tense copula constructions
nɛi (variant: na-i)43 precedes the copulas. The negative marker ma-, on the
other hand, occurs predominantly in the prohibitive construction (see below),
but the negative marker na- can also occur in prohibitives.44 The distribution
of the negative markers in Kinnauri Pahari is, thus, similar to the pattern found
in many other IA languages.
For the most part—but not always—the negative marker na- is realized as
a bound affix. Further, its vowel quality often assimilates to the vowel quality
of the first syllable of the verb to which it is prefixed, as can be seen in many of
the examples provided below.

Equational copula (negative): Present tense

hãũ maʃʈɔr nu-su ‘I am not a teacher.’
amɔːri maʃʈɔr ni-si ‘We (excl) are not teachers.’
taːmɔri maʃʈɔr ni-si ‘We are not teachers.’
tu maʃʈɔr nu-sɛ ‘You are not a teacher.’
tomoːri maʃʈɔr nu-so ‘You (pl) are not teachers.’
hɔi maʃʈɔr nu-a45 ‘He is not a teacher.’
hɔtɛnɔri maʃʈɔr nu-a ‘They are not teachers.’

Equational copula (negative): Future tense

hãũ maʃʈɔr ni-phir su ‘I will not be a teacher.’
amoːri maʃʈɔr ni-phir si ‘We (excl) will not be teachers.’
tamɔːri maʃʈɔr ni-phir si ‘We (incl) will not be teachers.’
tu maʃʈɔr ni-phir sɛ ‘You will not be a teacher.’
tomoːri maʃʈɔr ni-phir sɔ ‘You (pl) will not be teachers.’
hɔi maʃʈɔr ni-phir-ɛs ‘He will not be a teacher.’
hɔtɛnɔri maʃʈɔr ni-phir-ɛs ‘They will not be teachers.’

43 It is plausible that -i in nɛi is the same as the perfective -i discussed in the preceding sec-
tion.
44 There is one example in my data, where ma- occurs in a non-prohibitive construction:
mãẽ kʰau ma-kʰa-ji ‘I did not eat.’
45 The regular copula forms sa/=s are not permitted here with third person subjects.

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Existential copula (negative): Future tense

hãũ gɔr-ɛ nu-hugɔ ‘I will not be at home.’
amɔːri gɔr-ɛ nu-hugɛ ‘we (excl) will not be at home.’
tamɔːri gɔr-ɛ nu-hugɛ ‘we (incl) will not be at home.’
tu gɔr-ɛ nu-hugɔ ‘You will not be at home.’
tomoːri gɔr-ɛ nu-hugɛ ‘You (pl) will not be at home.’
hɔi gɔr-ɛ nu-hugɔ ‘He will not be at home.’
hɔtɛnɔri gɔr-ɛ nu-hug-ɛ ‘They will not be at home.’

The allomorph distribution of na- in non-copula constructions (final as well as

non-final clause verb) remains the same as described above.

(185) ʧʰɔkur pɛrɛ braːg na-maːr-i

child(m) pl lion neg-kill-pfv
‘The boys did not kill the lion.’

(186) likʰ-i piʧʰu raːm nu-sut-ɔ

write-pfv after i.name(m) neg-sleep-pfv.dir
‘Ram did not sleep, after writing (the letter).’

(187) aːmɔːri na-kʰa-jɛn si

1ple neg-eat-prog aux.prs.1pl
‘We are not eating.’

(188) ʦintiː nɔ-bɔl-indɛ keʧʰɛ ni-pʰir-dɔ

lie(n) neg-say-pfv anything neg-become-hab.m
‘Without telling a lie, nothing gets done.’

4.5 Imperative and Prohibitive

4.5.1 Imperative
The bare verb stem—without an auxiliary—expresses the imperative. No hon-
orific–non-honorific distinction is made here.

(189) (tu) bazar-ɛ naʃ

(2sg.nom) market-loc go
‘(You (h/nh)) go to the market!’

(190) kʰou kʰɔ

food eat
‘Eat the food!’

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(191) inʧɛ bʰɛʃ

here sit
‘Sit here!’

(192) ʈʰuːr
run
‘Run!’

(193) upʈ
tear.down
‘tear down (the paper)!’

4.5.2 Prohibitive
The negation markers ma- and na- are added to the imperative to form the pro-
hibitive. As mentioned above, while ma- only occurs in the prohibitive, na- is
a general negation marker. In all the following examples na- can be replaced
by ma-. However, one language consultant permitted only na- in prohibitive
constructions.

(194) paːni ni-pju / ma-pju

water neg-drink
‘Don’t drink the water!’

(195) nu-ru / ma-ru

neg-cry
‘Don’t cry!’

(196) inʧɛ nɛ-bʰɛʃ / ma-bʰɛs

here neg-sit
‘Don’t sit here!’

5 Clauses and Sentences

As illustrated by the examples already given in this chapter, the default word
order in Kinnauri Pahari is SOV. Other word orders are also attested, though
they are less frequent.

(197) tɛ-rɔ bɔa-ɛ tãũ la dɛʃ kɛ dekʰ-ɔ

2sg-poss.m father-erg 2sg.nnom dat village loc see-pfv.dir
‘Your father saw you in the village.’

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5.1 Experiencer Subjects

Kinnauri Pahari has a construction which is widespread in South Asia, and
which in the South Asian context is referred to as the experiencer subject con-
struction (or the dative subject construction). Rather than ergative or nomina-
tive, we encounter numerous cases where the dative case marker occurs on the
“subject” of a clause when this does not refer to a volitional participant.

(198) raːm la ɛk(k) kataːb pɔr-i

i.name(m) dat one book find(nvol)-pfv
‘Ram found a book.’

(199) tãũ la miʈʰaːj pasand sa

2sg.nnom dat sweets like aux.prs.3
‘You like sweets.’

(200) ma na ʤao aʦʰ-ɛn-s

1sg.nnom dat thirst(n) come-prog-aux.prs.3
‘I am thirsty.’

The experiencer subject also occurs in constructions which describe a bodily

state or condition.46

(201) tin la ʈʰanɖ-is

3sg.nnom dat cold-aux.prs.3
‘He (distant, non-visible) is cold.’

(202) ma na dukʰ-ɛn tʰjɔ

1sg.nnom dat grief-prog aux.pst.m
‘I was hurting.’

The experiencer subject also occurs in the obligative construction.

(203) tãũ la tin-ʧʰɛ naʃ-nɔ ʦaːn-dɔ=s / ʦaːn-dɔ (sa / tʰjɔ)

2sg.nnom dat there-loc go-inf want-hab.m=aux-prs.3
‘You ought to go there.’

46 There is a parallel construction with a nominative subject. Unlike the experiencer subject
construction, this construction does not highlight the non-volitional participation of the
subject: hɔsɔ dukʰ-ɔ [3sg.dist.nom grief-pfv.dir] ‘he got sick.’

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However, the experiencer subject does not control verb inflection, e.g. the
selection of the habitual aspect marker (-dɔ/-ndɔ or -di/-ndi) and the past tense
copula form (tʰjɔ, tʰi or tʰɛ) (199, 200, 203).

5.2 Questions
As the following examples illustrate, the verb inflection and the word order in
content questions remain the same as in the declarative sentences.

(204) hɔi tãũ la kun-jɛ bɔl-i

dem.prox 2sg.nnom dat who(sg)-erg say-pfv
‘Who told you this?’

(205) tɛnor-jɛ tãũ la ki bɔl-ɔ

3pl-erg 2sg.nnom dat what say-pfv.dir
‘What did they tell you?’

(206) tɛ̃ĩ-jɛ tin la kindɛ dɛkʰ-i

2sg-erg 3sg.nnom dat where see-pfv
‘Where did you see him?’

(207) tu dɛʃ kɛ kjũː aʦʰ-i

2sg.nom village loc why come-pfv
‘Why did you come to the village?’

(208) mɛ-rɔ gɔr kɛtrɛ dɛkʰ-ɔ

1sg-poss.m house when see-pfv.dir
‘When did (you) see my house?’

As in content questions, in polar questions, too, the word order and verb inflec-
tion remain the same as in declarative sentences, with the difference that the
question enclitic =aː is added to the clause final element.

(209) tu kinnɔr ka=aː

2sg.nom p.name abl=q
‘Are you from Kinnaur?’

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5.3 Conjunction and Disjunction

ai functions as the conjunctive coordinator at the phrasal and clausal levels,
while =si functions as the conjunctive coordinator only in noun phrases.

(210) hãũ kʰau ʧaːn-ɛn su ai kʰa-jɛn

1.sg.nom food cook-prog aux.prs.1sg conj eat-prog
su
aux.prs.1sg
‘I am cooking and eating.’

(211) mɛ̃ĩ-jɛ ɛk(k) bɔɖ-ɔ laːl gɔr=si ɖɔkʰrɔ lɔj-i

1sg-erg one big-m red house=conj field buy-pfv
‘I bought one big red house and field.’

(212) raːm(-ɛ) gɔr=si ɖɔkʰrɔ lɔj-ɔ

i.name(m)(-erg) house=conj field buy-pfv.dir
‘Ram bought the house and the field.’

jaː functions as the disjunctive coordinator, both at the noun phrase level as
well as at the clause level. In constructions with more than two disjunctive
clauses, jaː may optionally occur before each clause.

(213) hãũ raːmpur jaː ʃimla naʃ su

1sg.nom p.name disj p.name go aux.prs.1sg
‘I will either go to Rampur or to Shimla.’

(214) raːm gɔr jaː ɖɔkʰrɔ lɔj=ɛs

i.name(m) house disj field buy=aux.prs.3
‘Ram will either buy the house or the field.’

(215) jaː raːm naʃ=ɛs jaː suradʒ naʃ=ɛs

disj i.name(m) go=aux.prs.3 disj i.name(m) go=aux.prs.3
‘Either Ram will go or Suraj will go.’

(216) hãũ sut su jaː kaːm kʰɔʈ su

1sg.nom sleep aux.prs.1sg disj work(n) do aux.prs.1sg
‘I will either work or sleep.’

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5.4 Relative Clauses

The relative clause suffix is sensitive to gender, where -sjaː occurs with mascu-
line referents and -seː occurs with feminine referents. It can be affixed at least
to the habitual-aspect verb form in -di/-ndi/-dɔ/-ndɔ (217–218) (see also Section
4.3.1.1) and to the infinitive (functioning as a deverbal noun: 219–222).

(217) kʰiːr dɛ-ndi-seː baːkri

milk give-hab.f-rel.f goat(f)
‘The goat which gives milk’

(218) ijanɖanɖub la ʦan-di-seː deːn

i.name(m) dat want-hab.f-rel.f woman
‘The woman who likes Iyandadub’

(219) manuʃ-rɔ l(i)jaː-nɔ-sjaː gɛt

man-poss.m sing-inf-rel.m song
‘The song which is sung by a man/the man’

(220) raːza-rɔ paː-nɔ-sjaː hatʰiː

king-poss.m hold-inf-rel.m elephant
‘The elephant (m) which is to be caught by the king’

(221) raːmi-rɔ pʰɔl dɛ-nɔ-seː deːn maːnuʃ

i.name(f)-poss.m fruit give-inf-rel.f woman def.hum
‘The woman to whom Rami gives the fruit’

(222) raːza la paː-nɔ-seː deːn maːnuʃ

king dat catch-inf-rel.f woman def.hum
‘The woman who catches the king’

The relative clause suffix also occurs in the correlative relative clause construc-
tion. In this construction the head noun, followed by a relative pronoun (e.g.
ʣas in 223–224) precedes the modifying clause, while the relative clause suffix
is affixed to the verb of the modifying clause. The distribution of -sjaː and -seː
remains the same as described above.

(223) manuʃ ʣas la47 miʈʰaːj dɛ-nɔ-sjaː

man crl dat sweet give-inf-rel.m
‘The man to whom the sweets are to be given’

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(224) deːn manuʃ ʣas la miʈʰaːj dɛ-nɔ-seː

woman def.hum crl dat sweet give-inf-rel.f
‘The woman to whom the sweets are to be given’

(225) gilaːs ʣin la ban-nɔ-sjaː

glass crl dat break-inf-rel.m
‘The glass which is to be broken’

47 The case marker la is obligatory here, and also in (224–225). Further, ʣas can be replaced
by ʣin in examples (223–224).

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Appendix 4A: Some Comparisons between Kinnauri Pahari and

Other Pahari Languages48

4A.1 Dative and Locative Markers

The table shows the dative and locative case markers in Kinnauri Pahari com-
pared with other Pahari languages (source: LSI 9:4, Grierson 1928).

Language Dative Locative

(LSI 9:4 page refs)

Baghati (495–505) kheː meː, mẽː, manjheː ‘in’; deː ‘in, on’; pãːdeː
‘on’; paːeː ‘on’
Chambeali (769–784) joː (this is old loc jaː); tikar ‘for’; eː (same as erg); bichch; mañjh
kariː ‘on account of’
Gaddi (792–803) joː; boː; goː ‘to’ or ‘for’ eː (same as erg); mañjh; mãː; maːh;
malleː ‘near’
Gujuri of Hazara (930–934) na; keː mãː ‘in’; bichch ‘in’; taːrũː ‘up to’
Jaunsari (383–400) kh mũːjh ‘in’; pũːɖaː ‘in’; dãː ‘on’; chh ‘on,
upon’; bheːr ‘near’; ɖhaːiyaː ‘near’
Kumaoni (108–157) kaṇi, kaĩ, thaĩ (or thẽː); huṇi, hũː; suː; -mẽː (or -meː) ‘in’; par ‘on’; jãːlai
Kiunthali (549–574) kheː, haːgeː, geː, riː teːiː, riː khaːtar ‘to’ eː + daː / doː; mãːjeː|
or ‘for’
Kinnauri Pahari (this chapter) la, na kɛ, -ɛ
Kului (670–679) bé ‘to’ na ‘in’; móñjheː or maːñjeː ‘in’
Mandeali (721–728) joː; kaneː mañjh or mañjhaː
Nepali (46–55) -laːi -maː (allomorphs: ma, maː or mãː)
Sirmauri Dharthi (458–467) kheː, geː daː ‘in’; moː ‘in’; pãːdeː ‘on’
Sirmauri Giripari (477–486) kheː; eːkh, geː; riː (reː)-taĩː daː; meː; mũːjeː ‘in’; geːś; geːśiː; gaːśiː ‘on’

48 All languages in this comparison are classified as Western Pahari except Kumaoni (Central
Pahari) and Nepali (Eastern Pahari).

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4A.2 Pronouns
The following table shows the SAP pronouns in Kinnauri Pahari in comparison
to other Pahari languages (source LSI 9:4, Grierson 1928).

Kinnauri Pahari Other Pahari languages

1sg hãũ (nom) Distinct nominative and non-nominative pronouns are also found in Jaunsari,
mɛ̃ĩ -, mɛ-, ma Sirmauri-Dharthi, Sirmauri-Giripari, Bhagati, Mandeali, Chameali, Gadi, Pang-
(nnom) wali, Bhadrawahi-Bhalesi, Gujuri of Hazara. The forms, too, in these languages
are similar to those of Kinnauri Pahari.
The languages which deviate from this are Kumaoni (Central Pahari) and Nepali
(Eastern Pahari). In both these languages, m+vowel occurs for both nom and
nnom.
2sg tu (nom) Distinct nominative and non-nominative pronouns are also found in Kumaoni,
tɛ̃ĩ -, tɛ-, tãũ (nnom) Jaunsari, Sirmauri-Dharthi, Sirmauri-Giripari (partly), Bhagati (for the most
part), Kiunthali, Kului, Mandeali, Chameali, Gadi, Pangwali, Bhadrawahi-
Bhalesi, Gujuri of Hazara. The forms, too, in these languages are similar to those
of Kinnauri Pahari.
Nepali (Eastern Pahari) is the only language which deviates from this. It uses the
same form for both nom and nnom.
1pl aːmɔri (1ple) No other language exhibits the excl–incl distinction.
taːmɔri (1pli) The 1ple pronoun in Kinnauri Pahari form may be related to the first syllable
of the 1pl form in the following languages: Nepali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari, Sirmauri-
Dharthi, Sirmauri-Giripari, Bhagathi, Kiunthali, Gujuri of Hazara.
In the following languages, a completely different form (asse) occurs: Kului,
Mandeali, Chameali, Gadi, Pangwali and Bhadrawahi
2pl tomɔːri tũ(m)/timi/tum occurs in Nepali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari, Sirmauri-Dharthi, Sirmauri-
Giripari, Bhagati, Gujuri of Hazara (except gen).
tus occurs in Mandeali, Chameali (except gen, where tum occurs), Gadi (except
gen), Pangwali (except gen), Bhadrwahi.
In Kului and Kiunthali both forms (tum, tus) occur in parallel.

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Appendix 4B: Kinnauri Pahari Basic Vocabulary

(by Anju Saxena and Vikram Negi)

This is the Kinnauri Pahari IDS/LWT list. It has been compiled on the basis
of the 1,310 items of the original Intercontinental Dictionary Series concept
list (Borin et al. 2013) plus the 150 items added to it in the Loanword Typology
project, for a total of 1,460 concepts (Haspelmath and Tadmor 2009). Further,
some new entries have also been added in the present project. In the latter the
minor part of their concept ID (the part after the point) begins with “999”, e.g.
“S24.99910 someone”. There are 12 such additions in the Kinnauri Pahari list.
Some IDS/LWT items have been left out from this list, as there were no equiv-
alents in Kinnauri Pahari or in my material. The resulting list as given below
contains 1,215 items (concepts). The list also includes loanwords.

4B.1 Notational Conventions

For ease of comparison we have kept the original IDS/LWT glosses unchanged
in all cases, and Kinnauri Pahari senses which do not fit the IDS/LWT meaning
completely are given more exact glosses in the Kinnauri Pahari column. Some-
times there will be multiple (separately glossed) items in the Kinnauri Pahari
column when Kinnauri Pahari exhibits lexical differentiation of meaning or
form within an IDS/LWT item. Pronunciation or form variants are separated
by commas, and formally distinct items are separated by semicolons. Glosses
and notes belong with their enclosing “semicolon grouping”.
As in the main text, Kinnauri Pahari items are set in italics without morpho-
logical decomposition, i.e. affixes and clitics are written solid with their stem or
host. Glosses are set in roman, either in single quotes (translation, correspond-
ing to the last line in an interlinear glossed text unit) or in square brackets (mor-
phological analysis, corresponding to the middle line in interlinear glossed text,
and adhering to the Leipzig Glossing Rules, in some cases preceded by a mor-
phologically segmented representation of the Kinnauri Pahari item in italics,
corresponding to the first line in interlinear glossed text). In a few instances,
alternative pronunciations of Kinnauri Pahari items are indicated by phonetic
transcriptions in square brackets.
Unless otherwise indicated, here we will provide the default form (e.g., only
the singular form of nouns, the masculine singular form of adjectives, and the
nominative form of pronouns). Borrowings from Kinnauri are indicated by
“(Kinn.)” after the item in question in the Kinnauri Pahari column.

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4B.2 The Kinnauri Pahari IDS/LWT List

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S01.100 the world dunijaː

S01.210 the land ɖɔkʰrɔ ‘land; field’
S01.212 the soil maʈʈi
S01.213 the dust ɖanɖoriŋ; diːʃ ‘dirt; dust’
S01.214 the mud ʦaraːɔ
S01.215 the sand baːlu
S01.220 the mountain or hill ɖɔ̃ ːkʰ (with bare rock); kãɖɔ (grass-
covered)
S01.240 the valley pʰajul
S01.270 the shore kanaːrɛ
S01.280 the cave uɖaːr; ɖabar ‘big hole; cave’
S01.310 the water paːni
S01.320 the sea samuddar
S01.322 calm sululu
S01.323 rough(2) kʰadulaː
S01.324 the foam ʃuptsɔ
S01.330 the lake til ‘(larger) pond’; sɔːr ‘(smaller) pond’
S01.360 the river or stream gaːr
S01.362 the whirlpool ʃuːriːndɔ paːni
S01.370 the spring or well sɔːr ‘spring’; kuaŋ [kũã] ‘well’
S01.380 the swamp ʦaŋʦɔ
S01.390 the waterfall ʧʰodaŋ
S01.410 the woods or forest ʣaŋgal
S01.430 the wood duraː
S01.440 the stone or rock ʣanʈi (a commonly found stone in
Sangla); ɖɔ̃ ːkʰ ‘large rock’; ʃiːl ‘grinding
stone’
S01.450 the earthquake munʦuːliŋ
S01.510 the sky sɔrgo
S01.520 the sun dius
S01.530 the moon ʣɔt
S01.540 the star taːrɔ
S01.550 the lightning biʣul
S01.560 the thunder gurgur
S01.580 the storm ʣor bagur

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S01.590 the rainbow tiralmɛʦ

S01.610 the light pjãːʃo
S01.620 the darkness ãjaːrɔ ‘darkness, dark’
S01.630 the shade or shadow laːʧʰaː [ʹlaː.ˌʧʰaː]; ʃɛlaːo
S01.640 the dew oʃ
S01.710 the air bagur
S01.720 the wind ʣor(ɛ) bagur
S01.730 the cloud ʤuː; ʃoʤuː ‘snow/rain cloud’; baldo ‘storm
cloud’
S01.740 the fog dumaːso
S01.750 the rain gɔɛn
S01.760 the snow hĩũ
S01.770 the ice ʃaːn
S01.7750 to freeze ʃaːninɔ (intr)
S01.780 the weather mosam
S01.810 the fire aːg
S01.820 the flame lɛmkaŋ
S01.830 the smoke dũː
S01.8310 the steam baːp
S01.840 the ash ʦʰaːr; bɔsɔm
S01.841 the embers aŋgaːr ‘embers; coal’
S01.851 to burn(1) ɖɔːnɔ; ʣalaːnɔ (tr)
S01.852 to burn(2) ɖɔinɔ; ʣalnɔ (intr)
S01.860 to light ʣalaːnɔ
S01.861 to extinguish (aːg) hiʈaːnɔ
S01.870 the match mɛsaŋ
S01.880 the firewood ʣalnɔ duraː [burn(intr).inf wood]
S01.890 the charcoal rɛllɔ aŋgaːr (rɛl-rɔ aŋgaːr [train.poss.m
coal])
S01.99903 the coal aŋgaːr
S02.100 the person manuʃ
S02.210 the man puʃãː
S02.220 the woman deːn (adult); ɖɛkʰorɛ (young)
S02.230 male(1) poʃɔ
S02.240 female(1) biːʣ

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S02.250 the boy ʦʰɔkur; ʦʰokru ‘boy of up to around 10

years of age’
S02.251 the young man dɛkʰraʦ
S02.260 the girl ʦʰɔkri
S02.261 the young woman ʣɔan deːn
S02.270 the child(1) ʦʰɔkur
S02.280 the baby lɔuɖɔ ʦʰɛlɖu
S02.310 the husband puʃãː
S02.320 the wife deːn
S02.330 to marry ʃaːdiː kɔrnɔ
S02.340 the wedding ʤaneːʧ; ʃaːdiː
S02.341 the divorce ɖeːŋ
S02.350 the father bɔa, bɔbaː
S02.360 the mother amaː; ajũː
S02.370 the parents ajũːbɔa
S02.380 the married man lɔgiundɔ
S02.390 the married woman lɔgiindɛ
S02.410 the son ʦʰɛlɖu; ʈunu
S02.420 the daughter ʦʰɛlɖi; ʈuniː; diː
S02.440 the brother bʰai; bau; atɛ
S02.444 the older brother bɔɖɔ bʰai; bɔɖɔ bau; bɔɖɔ atɛ
S02.445 the younger brother bʰai; lɔuɖɔ bau
S02.450 the sister bɔɛn; dai
S02.454 the older sister bɔɖi bɔɛn; bɔɖi dai
S02.455 the younger sister lɔuɖi bɔɛn; lɔuɖi dai
S02.456 the sibling baibɔɛn
S02.4561 the older sibling bɔɖɔ baibɔɛn
S02.4562 the younger sibling lɔuɖɔ baibɔɛn
S02.458 the twins ʣolaŋ
S02.460 the grandfather tɛtɛ
S02.461 the old man sjaːnɔ manuʃ
S02.470 the grandmother apiː
S02.471 the old woman buɖi (deːn); sjaːni deːn
S02.4711 the grandparents apiːtɛtɛ
S02.480 the grandson kanalɖu
S02.490 the granddaughter kanalɖi

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S02.510 the uncle bapu (paternal); mɔmaː (maternal)

S02.511 the mother’s brother mɔmaː
S02.512 the father’s brother bapu
S02.520 the aunt lɔuɖi ãjuː; lɔuɖi amaː (younger than
mother/father)
S02.521 the mother’s sister lɔuɖi ãjuː; lɔuɖi amaː (younger than
mother/father)
S02.522 the father’s sister naneː
S02.530 the nephew bʰanʣaː (maternal); baupurɔ kutu (pater-
nal); (baurɔ) tsʰɛlɖu (paternal)
S02.540 the niece bʰanʣiː (maternal); (baurɔ) kuti49 (pater-
nal)
S02.550 the cousin bai (f); bau (m)
S02.560 the ancestors aːglɔ; purkʰɛ
S02.570 the descendants kʰande; kul; puʃt
S02.610 the father-in-law (of a man) ʃɔrɔ
S02.611 the father-in-law (of a ʃɔrɔ
woman)
S02.620 the mother-in-law (of a man) ʃoʃai
S02.621 the mother-in-law (of a ʃoʃai
woman)
S02.6220 the parents-in-law ʃɔrɔʃoʃai
S02.630 the son-in-law (of a man) ʣoŋgai
S02.631 the son-in-law (of a woman) ʣoŋgai
S02.640 the daughter-in-law (of a bɔari
man)
S02.641 the daughter-in-law (of a bɔari
woman)
S02.710 the stepfather biːbaːp
S02.720 the stepmother biːajũː
S02.730 the stepson biːʦʰɛlɖu
S02.740 the stepdaughter biːdiː
S02.750 the orphan ʃɔkraŋ

49 kuti is used to refer lovingly to a female who is younger than the speaker.

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S02.760 the widow ranɖoli50

S02.770 the widower ranɖolo
S02.810 the relatives pɛrɛʣɔrɛ
S02.820 the family pɛrɛ
S02.910 I hãũ
S02.920 you (singular) tu
S02.930 he/she/it (hɔ)sɔ
S02.940 we taːmɔri[1pli];aːmɔri [1ple]
S02.941 we (inclusive) taːmɔri
S02.942 we (exclusive) aːmɔri
S02.950 you (plural) tomɔːri
S02.960 they hɔnori, (hɔ)tɛnori, tinɔri
S03.110 the animal nɔr; pɔʃu; kɛo ‘male animal’
S03.150 the livestock ʃaːlaŋ
S03.160 the pasture paːbɔ; panuŋ
S03.180 the herdsman paːlɛs
S03.190 the stable or stall kʰuːr
S03.220 the ox daːmo; bɔlad
S03.230 the cow gaɔ
S03.240 the calf baʦʰro
S03.250 the sheep bɛrɛ
S03.260 the ram gablu
S03.280 the ewe beːri
S03.290 the lamb gabli (f); kʰaːʦ (m)
S03.320 the boar suŋgar
S03.340 the sow suŋgaːri
S03.350 the pig suŋgar
S03.360 the goat bakri ‘she-goat’
S03.370 the he-goat bakrɔ
S03.380 the kid ʦɛlʈu
S03.410 the horse goːrɔ
S03.420 the stallion goːrɔ

50 The base in ‘widow’ and ‘widower’ is the same as in Kinnauri, but notice that while Kin-
nauri Pahari uses -i/-o, the feminine/masculine marker, Kinnauri does not have these
gender markers. Instead the adaptive morphemes occur in Kinnauri. (Cf. Chapter 2.).

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S03.440 the mare goːri

S03.450 the foal or colt tʰuruʦ
S03.460 the donkey pʰoʦ
S03.470 the mule kʰɔʦɔr
S03.520 the cock/rooster poʃɔ kukʰ(a)ri
S03.540 the hen biːʣ kukʰ(a)ri
S03.550 the chicken kukʰ(a)ri
S03.570 the duck tijarɛs
S03.580 the nest ʋaː
S03.581 the bird ʦɔrkʰi
S03.584 the eagle gɔlɖ
S03.585 the hawk laːnpja
S03.586 the vulture gɔlɖ
S03.591 the bat raːʧ hanɖɔ ʦɔrkʰi
S03.593 the crow kaɔ
S03.594 the dove gukti; kõjã
S03.596 the owl ɖuɖɖu
S03.610 the dog kukur
S03.614 the rabbit kʰargoʃ, kʰargos
S03.620 the cat birali; piʃiː
S03.630 the mouse or rat muʃɔ
S03.650 the fish maʦʰi
S03.652 the fin maʦʰirɔ pãːkʰ
S03.653 the scale maʦʰirɔ harko
S03.720 the lion braːg; siː
S03.730 the bear riːkʰ
S03.740 the fox lomɖiː; ʃɛlʈi
S03.750 the deer pʰo
S03.760 the monkey bandar
S03.770 the elephant hatʰi
S03.780 the camel ũːʈʰ
S03.810 the insect kiːrɛ ‘insect; worm’
S03.811 the head louse muʈkanrɔ ʤũɛ̴
S03.8112 the body louse ɖeːrɔ ʤũɛ̴
S03.812 the nit likʰɛ
S03.813 the flea upaː

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S03.815 the scorpion sɔkɔ

S03.816 the cockroach ʃɛrguli
S03.817 the ant ʧĩːʈɛ
S03.818 the spider botokʦ, botok
S03.819 the spider web botokʦrɔ laːlɔ
S03.820 the bee mɔrɔ makʰi
S03.821 the beeswax sitʰɔ
S03.822 the beehive bɔŋgaːri
S03.823 the wasp rɛŋgɛl
S03.830 the fly makʰi
S03.832 the mosquito ʦʰaʦɛ
S03.8340 the termites duraːrɔ kiːrɛ
S03.8350 the tick sɔrus
S03.840 the worm kiːrɛ ‘insect; worm’
S03.850 the snake saːp
S03.8690 the squirrel njuliʦ
S03.9170 the buffalo poʃɔ bɛ̴ːs; poʃɔ mɔɛʃ
S03.920 the butterfly ʃupjaːʦ
S03.930 the grasshopper brɛnʦ
S03.940 the snail ʃiʈnaːliŋ
S03.950 the frog miʈku
S03.960 the lizard ʦʰɛmar
S04.110 the body ɖeː
S04.120 the skin or hide kʰalʦu
S04.130 the flesh masaŋ ‘flesh; meat’
S04.140 the hair baːl
S04.142 the beard dari
S04.144 the body hair ɖeːrɔ baːl
S04.146 the dandruff kʰɔdu
S04.150 the blood pɔlaʦ
S04.151 the vein or artery siːr
S04.160 the bone harko
S04.162 the rib paːʃurirɔ harko
S04.170 the horn ʃĩːg
S04.180 the tail punʣar
S04.190 the back piːʈʰ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S04.191 the spine piːʈʰrɔ harko, piːʈʰarko

S04.200 the head muʈkan
S04.203 the brain meːʣu
S04.204 the face mũː; mukʰ
S04.205 the forehead niraːl
S04.207 the jaw hɛnʈi
S04.208 the cheek piŋʦɔ
S04.209 the chin ʦʰɔ̃ ʈi
S04.210 the eye akʰi
S04.212 the eyebrow mikpuː; mispuː
S04.214 the eyelash mikpuː
S04.215 to blink ʤipkaːnɔ
S04.220 the ear kaːn; kanʤilaŋ ‘the inside of the ear’
S04.222 the earwax kaːnkʰa
S04.230 the nose naːk
S04.231 the nostril naːkrɔ duji
S04.232 the nasal mucus ʃiʈaŋ
S04.240 the mouth kʰaːk
S04.241 the beak ʃõɖ
S04.250 the lip õʈʰ
S04.260 the tongue ʣiːb
S04.270 the tooth dãːt
S04.271 the gums tilʦɔ
S04.272 the molar tooth kɔngar
S04.280 the neck kjaːrɔ
S04.290 the throat ʃaŋɔ
S04.300 the shoulder bid
S04.301 the shoulderblade kamarɔ harko
S04.302 the collarbone krɛklirɔ harko
S04.310 the arm bai
S04.312 the armpit kɛspaʈ
S04.320 the elbow krõʦu
S04.321 the wrist tsʰikʦɔ
S04.330 the hand haːtʰ
S04.331 the palm of the hand hastanʦɔ
S04.340 the finger ãũʈʰi

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S04.342 the thumb mɔʈɔ ãũʈʰi

S04.344 the fingernail noʃ
S04.345 the claw piʃiːrɔ noʃ
S04.350 the leg kʰunɖi
S04.351 the thigh gulʈʰi
S04.352 the calf of the leg ʃɔŋgar
S04.360 the knee ʣanu
S04.370 the foot kʰunɖi
S04.372 the heel ʧʰɔŋgɔl
S04.374 the footprint kʰunɖirɔ mɔd
S04.380 the toe kʰunɖirɔ mɔʈɔ ãũʈʰi
S04.392 the wing pãːkʰ
S04.393 the feather puː
S04.400 the chest ʈukʦɔ
S04.410 the breast nuniː
S04.412 the nipple or teat nuniːrɔ muʈkan
S04.430 the navel nãːĩ, nãiŋʦ
S04.4310 the belly peːʈ ‘belly; stomach’
S04.440 the heart ʣiʋa
S04.441 the lung bɔːʃ
S04.450 the liver kalʣo
S04.451 the kidney patrab
S04.452 the spleen ain
S04.461 the intestines or guts ãːʤ
S04.462 the waist ʧeːr
S04.463 the hip kʰatanʦ
S04.464 the buttocks gulʈʰi
S04.490 the testicles pɔʈɔk
S04.492 the penis kɔʈɔl
S04.4930 the vagina pʰɔʧi
S04.4940 the vulva pʰɔʧi
S04.510 to breathe saːs giːʃnɔ
S04.520 to yawn haʃkam ʧajnɔ
S04.521 to hiccough gal ʧajnɔ
S04.530 to cough kʰuŋgnɔ
S04.540 to sneeze tsʰiknɔ

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S04.550 to perspire dustiː ikilnɔ

S04.560 to spit tʰuːk pʰikʰjaːnɔ
S04.570 to vomit pɔlʈjaːnɔ
S04.580 to bite ʧɔŋmaːnɔ
S04.590 to lick ʦaːʈnɔ
S04.591 to dribble laːlɔ ʦʰaːrjinɔ
S04.610 to sleep sutnɔ
S04.612 to snore kʰɔŋnɔ
S04.620 to dream sʋinɛ aʦʰnɔ
S04.630 to wake up uʣiːnɔ
S04.650 to piss muːʧʰarnɔ
S04.660 to shit guʧʰarnɔ
S04.680 to shiver kʰasuraŋ ljaːnɔ
S04.690 to bathe dɔjnɔ
S04.720 to be born ʣɔrmɔnɔ
S04.730 pregnant piʦʰãːɛ̴nla
S04.740 to be alive ʣuindɔ pʰirnɔ
S04.7410 the life ʣindagi
S04.750 to die mɔrnɔ
S04.7501 dead mɔrindɛ
S04.751 to drown ɖuːbnɔ
S04.760 to kill maːrnɔ
S04.770 the corpse mɔrundɔ manuʃ
S04.7710 the carcass mɔrundɔ nɔr
S04.780 to bury kʰaːrkɛ bɛʣnɔ; kʰaːrkɛ dabaːjaːnɔ
S04.810 strong takraː
S04.820 weak kamʣor
S04.830 healthy bɔlɔ ‘healthy; good’
S04.840 sick/ill bjaːʣ
S04.841 the fever taɔ
S04.843 the cold ʈʰanɖi
S04.8440 the disease bjaːʣ
S04.850 the wound or sore paːr
S04.853 the swelling guʈ
S04.854 the itch kʰɔrʣ
S04.8541 to scratch kʰorotsnɔ

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S04.855 the blister ʦʰaːlu

S04.857 the pus puːp
S04.858 the scar paːr; naʃaːn
S04.860 to cure ilaːʣ karnɔ
S04.870 the physician ɖakʈar
S04.880 the medicine ɔʃʈi
S04.890 the poison biːʃ
S04.910 tired ʃandui
S04.912 to rest bɛʃ tʰaknɔ
S04.920 lazy sust
S04.930 bald pitaklo
S04.940 lame adraŋgi; laŋrɔ
S04.950 deaf ʈolɖɔ
S04.960 mute laːʈɔ
S04.970 blind kaːnɔ ‘blind; one-eyed’
S04.980 drunk ʤjuʈdɔsja
S04.990 naked salgiː
S05.110 to eat kʰaːnɔ
S05.123 ripe paʦundɔ
S05.124 unripe ai kaːʦɔ; napaʦundɔ
S05.125 rotten kiːʣi; kiːʣundɔ
S05.130 to drink ʤuʈnɔ
S05.140 to be hungry bɔkʰɛ tʰaknɔ
S05.141 the famine kaːl
S05.150 to be thirsty ʧiːʃunɔ
S05.160 to suck ʦupli piːnɔ; ʧuːʃnɔ
S05.181 to swallow guʈnɔ
S05.190 to choke ʃaːŋɔ guʈnɔ
S05.210 to cook kʰau ʣurjaːnɔ; ʧannɔ
S05.220 to boil ublaːnɔ
S05.230 to roast or fry taːnɔ
S05.240 to bake pɔːnɔ
S05.250 the oven kũɖɔ
S05.260 the pot bandru
S05.270 the kettle timril
S05.280 the pan pʰraːjpɛn

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S05.310 the dish paraːt

S05.320 the plate tʰaːli
S05.330 the bowl ʦɛnaŋ; ʣɔŋ baʈits
S05.340 the jug/pitcher ʤag; lɔʈriː
S05.350 the cup kɔp
S05.370 the spoon ʧimaʧ
S05.380 the knife(1) ʦaːku; ʧʰuri
S05.391 the tongs palaːs
S05.410 the meal kʰau
S05.420 the breakfast dɔtʰirɔ kʰau
S05.430 the lunch arbal
S05.440 the dinner bjaːllɔ kʰau
S05.460 to peel kʰɔlʦnɔ (tr); kʰɔlʧiːnɔ (intr)
S05.470 to sieve or to strain ʦaːlnɔ
S05.480 to scrape kʰoːrnɔ
S05.490 to stir or to mix raːlnɔ; miʃjaːlnɔ
S05.510 the bread rɔʈi
S05.530 the dough pinʈu
S05.540 to knead muːʧnɔ
S05.550 the flour ʧikas
S05.560 to crush or to grind piːʃnɔ
S05.570 the mill gɔʈʈ
S05.580 the mortar(1) kaːni
S05.590 the pestle musliː
S05.610 the meat masaŋ ‘flesh; meat’
S05.640 the soup ʧʰɔb
S05.650 the vegetables ʃaːg
S05.660 the bean balija
S05.700 the potato alu
S05.710 the fruit pʰɔl
S05.712 the bunch ʣɔnaː; bukʧ, bukts; pulʈu
S05.760 the grape ɖakʰ
S05.770 the nut akʰur ‘walnut’
S05.790 the oil teːl
S05.791 the grease or fat bɔ
S05.810 the salt lon

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S05.820 the pepper pipliː

S05.821 the chili pepper raːtɔ pipliː
S05.840 the honey mɔ
S05.850 the sugar ʧiniː
S05.860 the milk kʰiːr
S05.870 to milk kʰiːr dɔnɔ
S05.880 the cheese kɔkpɔli
S05.890 the butter gjuː ‘ghee, clarified butter’
S05.910 the mead mɔrɔ suːr
S05.940 the fermented drink rak; suːr; tipʰaː suːr ‘a local fermented
drink’
S05.970 the egg ʃaːraŋ; anɖaː
S06.110 to put on bidiːnɔ
S06.120 the clothing or clothes gaːʦʰɔ
S06.130 the tailor sui
S06.210 the cloth gaːʦʰɔ; kapʰraː
S06.220 the wool uːn
S06.240 the cotton suːt
S06.250 the silk silk
S06.270 the felt ʧadar; pʰɔgdɔri; ʧʰalniː ‘felt; shawl’
S06.280 the fur uːn
S06.290 the leather ʦaːm
S06.310 to spin kaːtnɔ
S06.320 the spindle naːli
S06.330 to weave bunnɔ
S06.340 the loom ʣag
S06.350 to sew siunɔ
S06.360 the needle(1) sɛjɔn
S06.370 the awl barma
S06.380 the thread daːgɔ ‘thread’; pit(t); rin ‘a kind of weaving
thread’
S06.390 to dye ʧʰomaːnɔ
S06.430 the coat ʧʰuba ‘a kind of long coat’
S06.440 the shirt kamiːʣ; kʰilka
S06.450 the collar kalar
S06.480 the trousers sutan

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S06.490 the sock or stocking gusaːpʦɔ

S06.510 the shoe ʦindari
S06.540 the shoemaker muʦiː
S06.550 the hat or cap ʈɔpʰi
S06.570 the belt gaʧi
S06.580 the glove haːtʰrɔ gusaːpʦɔ
S06.610 the pocket kʰisɔ
S06.620 the button bɔʈɔn
S06.630 the pin pin; pinʈu
S06.710 the ornament or adornment ʧaːn [ʈraːn]
S06.720 the jewel ʧaːn [ʈraːn]
S06.730 the ring mundi
S06.740 the bracelet daglu; ʧɔrku
S06.750 the necklace kaːʦɛ; ʦɔndɔr haːr
S06.760 the bead kɔnʈʰi
S06.770 the earring kɔnʈai
S06.810 the handkerchief or rag saːpʰi
S06.820 the towel tɔljaː
S06.910 the comb kaːŋgi
S06.920 the brush bur(u)ʃ
S06.921 the plait/braid baːlin
S06.930 the razor rɛʣar
S06.950 the soap samun
S06.960 the mirror aʃu
S07.110 to live tʰaknɔ
S07.120 the house gɔr
S07.130 the hut kuʈiŋ
S07.140 the tent tambua
S07.150 the yard or court kʰaːt
S07.160 the men’s house gɔr
S07.170 the cookhouse rasoi
S07.210 the room kɔmra
S07.220 the door or gate duar
S07.231 the latch or door-bolt huraʈ
S07.2320 the padlock ʃaːn; taːl; taːlʈu
S07.240 the key taːlɔ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S07.250 the window ʈiːri

S07.260 the floor pãːɖ
S07.270 the wall divaːr; biːt
S07.310 the fireplace kunɖɔ
S07.320 the stove kunɖɔ
S07.330 the chimney dusraŋ
S07.370 the ladder ʃiri
S07.420 the bed kuʧʰan; uʧʰan; ʧarpai ‘bed; cot’
S07.421 the pillow ʃiraːn
S07.422 the blanket pʰɔgdori
S07.430 the chair kursi
S07.440 the table mɛʣ
S07.450 the lamp or torch bɛʈri51 ‘flashlight’
S07.460 the candle mumbatti
S07.470 the shelf almaːri kʰaːnaː
S07.480 the trough ʦɔriŋ
S07.510 the roof ʃɔl; multʰaŋ
S07.520 the thatch maːʈirɔ lɛpni
S07.530 the ridgepole kurniŋ
S07.550 the beam bɔran
S07.560 the post or pole kʰambaː
S07.570 the board pʰɔnʈi
S07.610 the mason mistri
S07.620 the brick ĩːʈ
S07.630 the mortar(2) masaːla
S07.6700 to tan ɖaŋgjaːjnɔ
S08.110 the farmer ʣim(i)daːr, ʣam(i)daːr
S08.120 the field ɖɔkʰrɔ ‘field; farm’
S08.1210 the paddy daːn
S08.130 the garden bagiʦaː
S08.150 to cultivate ɖɔkʰrɔ kʰɔʈnɔ
S08.160 the fence baːrljaːnɔ
S08.170 the ditch kuːl

51 From English battery.

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S08.210 to plough/plow haːlbaːnɔ

S08.212 the furrow siːt
S08.220 to dig kotnɔ
S08.230 the spade pʰɔrʋa
S08.240 the shovel bilʦaː; kurpaːnu ‘wooden snow shovel’
S08.250 the hoe kuʈiʦ
S08.270 the rake ʣaːm
S08.2800 the digging stick (=yamstick) ʣabal
S08.310 to sow bɔːnɔ
S08.311 the seed bju
S08.320 to mow kʰɔr lɔnɔ
S08.330 the sickle or scythe daʧi
S08.350 the threshing-floor panʦaːniŋ
S08.420 the grain naːʣ
S08.430 the wheat gɛ̴ũ
S08.440 the barley ʣɔ
S08.470 the maize/corn ʦʰalija
S08.480 the rice kaɔni; ʦaːʋal
S08.510 the grass kʰɔr
S08.520 the hay ʃuknɔ
S08.530 the plant pɔdaː; sɔlʦ
S08.531 to plant ʈuŋmaːnɔ
S08.540 the root ʣiːl
S08.550 the branch ɖaːl, ɖaːli
S08.560 the leaf paːʧ [paːʈr]
S08.570 the flower pʰul
S08.600 the tree boʈ
S08.680 the tobacco tɔmaːku, tamaːku
S08.690 to smoke sigrɛːtɛ ʤuʈnɔ
S08.691 the pipe nɔlka
S08.720 the tree stump ɖɔŋa
S08.730 the tree trunk ɖɔŋa
S08.740 the forked branch bargja
S08.750 the bark tsʰaːl
S08.820 the coconut gɔri
S08.840 the banana kɛla

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S08.931 the pumpkin or squash rɛʈʰo

S08.941 the sugar cane ganna
S08.980 the mushroom ʤaŋmu (inedible, wild); kʰɔʈɔk (a large
wild black edible mushroom)
S08.9930 the needle(2) pɔʃ
S08.9960 the cone tɔŋlo
S08.99901 the almond badaːm
S08.99905 the apple sɛo
S08.99910 the carrot gaːʤɛr
S08.99911 the cashew kaːʤu
S08.99918 the dung gɔbar
S08.99935 the onion pɛaʣ
S08.99937 the pea maʈar
S09.110 to do kɔrnɔ
S09.1110 to make ʣurjaːnɔ
S09.120 the work kaːm
S09.140 to bend kʰaŋmaːnɔ
S09.150 to fold kuluŋmaːnɔ
S09.160 to tie bannɔ
S09.161 to untie pʰuʦaːnɔ
S09.180 the chain ʃaːŋli
S09.190 the rope bɔlʧɔ
S09.192 the knot ganɖɔ
S09.210 to strike or hit or beat tuŋmaːnɔ
S09.211 to pound ʈukra ʈukra ʣurjaːnɔ
S09.220 to cut kaːʈnɔ
S09.221 to cut down kaːʈi bɛʣnɔ
S09.222 to chop pʰaːrnɔ
S09.223 to stab lɛjaːnɔ
S09.240 the scissors or shears katu
S09.250 the axe/ax lasta
S09.251 the adze baːs
S09.260 to break bannɔ
S09.261 broken banundɔ
S09.270 to split praːmaːnɔ
S09.280 to tear pʰaːrnɔ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S09.290 to skin kʰil ʃjaːjinɔ

S09.310 to rub gulɖinɔ
S09.3110 to wipe kuːʃnɔ
S09.320 to stretch ʦɔnmaːnɔ
S09.330 to pull giːʃnɔ
S09.340 to spread out praːmaːnɔ
S09.341 to hang up ʤɔnʈaŋ bɛʣnɔ
S09.342 to press sɛtʰjaːnɔ
S09.343 to squeeze ʧumaːnɔ
S09.360 to wash dɔːnɔ
S09.370 to sweep ʃak ljaːnɔ
S09.380 the broom guːʃ
S09.422 the tool joʤaŋ
S09.430 the carpenter mistri; baːɖi ‘carpenter; blacksmith’; ɔrɛs
(a social group traditionally employed as
carpenters)
S09.440 to build ʈunɔ
S09.460 to bore pʰuʈɔ gaːrnɔ
S09.461 to hollow out pʰuʈɔ gaːrnɔ
S09.480 the saw haːri
S09.490 the hammer hatʰɔɖaː
S09.500 the nail kiːl
S09.560 the glue lɛʈi
S09.600 the blacksmith baːɖi ‘carpenter; blacksmith’
S09.640 the gold suːnɔ
S09.650 the silver rupɔ; ʦandi
S09.660 the copper tramɔ
S09.670 the iron lɔ
S09.680 the lead siːkʰ
S09.730 the clay maʈ(ʈ)i
S09.740 the glass ʃiʃa
S09.760 the basket ʤɛraː; jaraː; ʦanar; ʦaŋg(ɛ)ri
S09.770 the mat kʰɛrʦɔ; pɔʃ
S09.771 the rug uʧʰan
S09.810 to carve ʧumaːnɔ
S09.830 the statue murti

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S09.840 the chisel jaːn

S09.880 the paint raŋg
S09.890 to paint raŋgjaːnɔ
S09.9000 to draw water ʈiːmaːnɔ
S09.9100 the peg kʰunʈi
S10.110 to move sikaːnɔ
S10.120 to turn ʃuːriːnɔ
S10.130 to turn around pʰindra ʃuːriːnɔ
S10.140 to wrap bannɔ
S10.150 to roll ʈʰɔrijɛ bɛʣnɔ
S10.160 to drop ʃaːraːnɔ
S10.170 to twist mɛʃrɛjaːnɔ
S10.210 to rise ʦilkanɔ
S10.220 to raise or lift ʦuŋgnɔ
S10.240 to drip ikilnɔ
S10.250 to throw pʰikjaːnɔ
S10.252 to catch paːnɔ
S10.260 to shake sikaːnɔ
S10.320 to flow bɔjɛjinɔ
S10.330 to sink ɖuːbnɔ
S10.352 to splash ʦʰaʈɛjaːnɔ
S10.370 to fly uɖijaːnɔ
S10.380 to blow bagur lagnɔ
S10.410 to crawl giːʃiːnɔ
S10.413 to crouch ʦumnɔ
S10.420 to slide or slip pʰɔʃiːnɔ
S10.430 to jump laːŋ ʦʰaraːnɔ
S10.431 to kick lattɛ lɛjaːnɔ
S10.440 to dance naʦnɔ
S10.450 to walk hanɖnɔ
S10.451 to limp laːrɛjinɔ
S10.460 to run ʈʰuːrnɔ ‘to run; to flee’
S10.470 to go naʃnɔ
S10.471 to go up agaʃ naʃnɔ
S10.472 to climb boːʈɛ naʃnɔ
S10.473 to go down toːl naʃnɔ

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S10.474 to go out baːjɛ naʃnɔ

S10.480 to come aʦʰnɔ
S10.481 to come back ʋaːpis aʦʰnɔ
S10.490 to leave ʃɔʈʰjaːnɔ
S10.491 to disappear hiraːjinɔ
S10.510 to flee ʈʰuːrnɔ ‘to run; to flee’
S10.520 to follow piʦʰãːɛ̴ aʦʰnɔ
S10.550 to arrive poːʦʰnɔ
S10.560 to approach poːʦʰnɔ
S10.570 to enter bitɛ naʃnɔ
S10.610 to carry ʦuŋgnɔ
S10.612 to carry in hand haːtʰkɛ ʦuŋgnɔ
S10.613 to carry on shoulder kamargaːʃ ʦuŋgnɔ
S10.614 to carry on head muʈangaːʃ ʦuŋgnɔ
S10.615 to carry under the arm bajpaʈ ʦuŋgnɔ
S10.620 to bring annɔ
S10.630 to send bɛʣnɔ; ʦʰarjaːnɔ
S10.640 to lead baːt dikʰaːnɔ
S10.650 to drive ʦalaːnɔ
S10.660 to ride ʧʰɔk ʃaːjnɔ
S10.670 to push tuŋmaːnɔ
S10.710 the road sɔlɔk(ʰ)
S10.720 the path baːt
S10.740 the bridge geːʃ; ʦʰam
S10.760 the wheel paija
S10.780 the yoke grɔlɖuŋ; kɔl
S10.810 the ship paːnirɔ ʣaːʣ (any kind of naval vehicle)
S10.910 the port bandarga
S10.920 to land uturnɔ ‘to land; to descend’
S11.110 to have pʰirnɔ ‘to have; to become’
S11.120 to own aprɔ ʣurjaːnɔ
S11.130 to take maŋgnɔ ‘to take; to request’
S11.140 to grasp paːnɔ
S11.150 to hold paːnɔ
S11.160 to get pajaːnɔ
S11.170 to keep ʤagnɔ

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S11.180 the thing ʧiːʣ

S11.210 to give dɛnnɔ
S11.220 to give back ʋaːpis dɛnnɔ
S11.240 to preserve sambaːlɛ ʣagnɔ
S11.250 to rescue bɔʦaːnɔ
S11.270 to destroy barbaːd kɔrnɔ
S11.280 to injure dukʰaːnɔ
S11.2900 to damage naksaːn poʦʰaːnɔ
S11.310 to look for laːʃaːnɔ
S11.320 to find pajaːnɔ; pɔrnɔ
S11.330 to lose hiraːnɔ (nvol)
S11.340 to let go naʃnɔ bɛʣnɔ
S11.430 the money rupja
S11.440 the coin pɛsa
S11.510 rich amiːr; sahukaːr
S11.520 poor ɖaːlɖis; gariːb
S11.530 the beggar maŋgta
S11.540 stingy kanʤuːs
S11.620 to borrow (udaːr) maŋgnɔ
S11.630 to owe riːn kaʈɛjaːnɔ
S11.640 the debt riːn
S11.650 to pay dɛnnɔ
S11.660 the bill bil
S11.690 the tax ʈɛks
S11.770 to hire krajaːgaːʃ maŋgnɔ
S11.780 the wages kamaːji
S11.790 to earn kamajaːnɔ
S11.810 to buy lɔjinɔ
S11.820 to sell bikinnɔ
S11.830 to trade or barter kɔlmaːnɔ
S11.840 the merchant dukandaːr
S11.850 the market baʣaːr
S11.860 the shop/store dukaːn
S11.870 the price kiːmat
S11.880 expensive mɛŋga
S11.890 cheap sɔsta

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S11.910 to share banʈɛnnɔ

S11.920 to weigh tɔljaːnɔ
S12.0100 after pitsʰu (temporal; spatial)
S12.0110 behind pitsʰãːɛ̴
S12.0120 in bitɛ
S12.0130 at kɛ
S12.0200 beside laːʋaː
S12.0300 down toːl
S12.0400 before aukʰa
S12.0410 in front of aŋmaj
S12.0500 inside bitɛ (direction)
S12.0600 outside baːj (direction)
S12.0700 under toːl; paʈ; ɔrandi, ɔndi ‘below’
S12.0800 up agaʃ
S12.0810 above agaʃ; unʤi
S12.110 the place ʣaːgaː
S12.120 to put ʣagnɔ
S12.130 to sit bɛʃnɔ
S12.140 to lie down titʦʰɔ naʃnɔ
S12.150 to stand uʣiːnɔ
S12.160 to remain tʰaknɔ
S12.170 the remains tʰakundɔ
S12.210 to gather ʤarɛjaːnɔ
S12.213 to pile up ʣɔr bɛʣnɔ
S12.220 to join ʤɔɖɛjaːnɔ
S12.230 to separate kʰaːmaːnɔ
S12.232 to divide banʈnɔ
S12.240 to open kʰulɛjaːnɔ
S12.250 to shut budnɔ
S12.260 to cover budnɔ
S12.270 to hide ʦornɔ
S12.310 high uʃʈɔ
S12.320 low niʃʈɔ
S12.330 the top muʈkan
S12.340 the bottom tʰaːs
S12.350 the end(1) ɔnt

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S12.352 pointed ʈikʰɔ ‘sharp; pointed’

S12.353 the edge daːr; bilɛ, billa (e.g. of a mountain)
S12.360 the side kanaːrɛ
S12.370 the middle maʣar, maʣ; maʃʈãjɛ̴
S12.410 right(1) dakʰnɔ
S12.420 left kʰoʤaŋ, kʰoʤaː
S12.430 near neːr
S12.440 far duːr
S12.450 the east kʰoʤaŋ
S12.460 the west dakʰnɔ
S12.470 the north ʣarko
S12.480 the south rɛtko
S12.530 to grow raʣaːnɔ
S12.540 to measure napɛjaːnɔ; pʰɛŋmaːnɔ
S12.550 big bɔɖɔ; sjaːnɔ ‘big; older’
S12.560 small lɔuɖɔ ‘small; younger; short’
S12.570 long laːmɔ
S12.580 tall uʃʈɔ
S12.590 short ʦʰɔʈɔ
S12.610 wide bjuŋlɔ
S12.620 narrow gaʈɔ
S12.630 thick bakʰlɔ
S12.650 thin patlɔ
S12.670 deep ɖugɔ
S12.680 shallow kutʰiː
S12.710 flat sɔ̃
S12.730 straight sɔlɖɔ
S12.740 crooked ɛkʃɔpɛkʃɔ
S12.750 the hook kʰunʈiː
S12.760 the corner tɔkʦ
S12.770 the cross barg( j)a
S12.780 the square ʣirʦɔ
S12.810 round pʰanɖɛri
S12.820 the circle gola
S12.830 the ball gindu
S12.840 the line lɛːn

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S12.850 the hole pʰuʈɔ

S12.920 similar ɛkʣɛnɔ
S12.930 to change bɔdljaːnɔ; kɔlmaːnɔ
S13.0000 zero sifar
S13.0100 one ɛk
S13.0200 two dui
S13.0300 three gɔn; trɔn
S13.0400 four ʦaːr
S13.0500 five pã ːʦ
S13.0600 six ʦʰɔ
S13.0700 seven saːt
S13.0800 eight aʈʰ
S13.0900 nine nɔu
S13.100 ten dɔʃ
S13.101 eleven gjaːra
S13.102 twelve baːra
S13.103 fifteen pɔndra
S13.104 twenty biːʃ, beːʃ; ɛisa
S13.105 a hundred ra; sɔ
S13.106 a thousand haʣaːr
S13.107 to count gɔnnɔ
S13.140 all sɛb
S13.150 many badɔ, bɔdi; bant; muluk; ʋaːl52
S13.170 few doŋk ‘few; some’; utuːriː ‘few; some’; kam
‘few; less’
S13.180 enough garab; kjalɛkʰa
S13.181 some utuːriː ‘few; some’
S13.210 full bɔriː
S13.220 empty kʰaliː
S13.230 the part hissa
S13.2310 the piece ʈukra
S13.240 the half adɔ; kʰanʦi53

52 All these can occur in a sentence such as: ‘He has a lot of fields’.
53 Both can occur to describe, e.g. half of an apple.

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S13.330 only ɛkʰɔ

S13.3310 alone ɛkʰalɛ, ɛkʰalɔ
S13.340 first pɛlaː
S13.350 last sɛ(p)ka pitsʰãː( j)ɛ̴
S13.360 second pɛlaːka pitsʰãː( j)ɛ
S13.370 the pair ʤoɖiː
S13.380 twice/two times duibɛrɛ
S13.440 three times gɔnbɛrɛ; trɔnbɛrɛ
S13.99906 thirty biʃɔ dɔʃ
S14.120 the age umbar
S14.130 new nɔ̃ uvõ, nɔ̃võ
S14.140 young ʣɔan
S14.150 old buɖɔ (animate); sjaːnɔ (animate) ‘old;
wise’; puraːnɔ (non-animate)
S14.160 early hasal ‘early, fast’
S14.170 late bɛrui
S14.180 now ɛː; im(a)ri
S14.210 fast hasal ‘early; fast’; ʣɔdɛ ‘quickly’
S14.220 slow meːse ‘slowly’
S14.230 to hurry hasal kʰɔʈ(a)nɔ
S14.240 to be late bɛriːnɔ
S14.250 to begin duʃaːjinɔ
S14.2510 the beginning duʃaːjindɛ bɛrɛ
S14.260 the end(2) kʰatam
S14.270 to finish ʦʰɛkiːnɔ (intr); ʦʰɛknɔ (tr)
S14.290 ready tɛar
S14.310 always dɛar
S14.320 often bɔdibaːg
S14.330 sometimes kaːdukaːdu
S14.332 for a long time baːdɔ aukʰaka
S14.340 never kaːduinuã
S14.350 again pʰiri
S14.410 the day(1) djusɛ
S14.4110 the day(2) djaːr
S14.420 the night raːʧ
S14.440 the morning dɔtʰi; kaltʰaːn

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S14.450 the midday djusɛ

S14.451 the afternoon djusɛ
S14.460 the evening bjaːl; bjaːltʰaːn (the time from sunset until
it gets dark)
S14.470 today aːʣ
S14.480 tomorrow kaːlɛ
S14.481 the day after tomorrow pɔːʃi
S14.490 yesterday hiːʣ
S14.491 the day before yesterday pʰɔriʣ
S14.510 the hour ganʈaː
S14.530 the clock diʋaːrgaɖi
S14.610 the week hapta
S14.620 Sunday itʋaːr
S14.630 Monday sumaːr
S14.640 Tuesday maŋgɔl
S14.650 Wednesday budʰ
S14.660 Thursday brɛst
S14.670 Friday ʃukkur
S14.680 Saturday ʃɔnʃar
S14.710 the month maːs
S14.730 the year bɔrɔʃ
S14.740 the winter himad
S14.750 the spring(2) rɛnam
S14.760 the summer baʃal
S14.770 the autumn/fall ʦʰarmiː
S14.780 the season mɔsam
S15.210 to smell(1) gãːd aʦʰnɔ
S15.212 to sniff ʃiŋgiːnɔ
S15.220 to smell(2) ʃiŋgiːnɔ
S15.250 fragrant baːs
S15.260 stinking gãːd ‘stinking; smell’
S15.310 to taste ʤamjaːnɔ
S15.350 sweet miʈʰɔ
S15.360 salty lonnɔ
S15.370 bitter kɔɖʋɔ
S15.380 sour amlɔ; kʰaːʈo

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S15.410 to hear ʃunnɔ

S15.420 to listen ʃunnɔ
S15.440 the sound or noise kanijaː
S15.450 loud ʣorɛ
S15.460 quiet ʦuʈkaŋ
S15.510 to see dɛkʰaːnɔ
S15.520 to look ʃaːnɔ
S15.560 to shine ʦamaknɔ
S15.570 bright pjãːʃɔ; ʦamukdɔ
S15.610 the colour/color raŋg
S15.620 light(2) halkɔ
S15.630 dark ãjaːrɔ
S15.640 white ʃuklɔ
S15.650 black kaːlɔ
S15.660 red raːtɔ
S15.670 blue haːrɔ
S15.680 green haːrɔ
S15.690 yellow piːlɔ
S15.710 to touch ʦʰuŋgnɔ
S15.712 to pinch ʧunɖʋɛ lɛjaːnɔ
S15.720 to feel ʣannɔ
S15.740 hard kaʈʰɔ
S15.750 soft kɔŋglɔ ‘soft; smooth’
S15.760 rough(1) kʰaʃru
S15.770 smooth kɔŋglɔ ‘soft; smooth’
S15.780 sharp ʈikʰɔ ‘sharp; pointed’
S15.790 blunt ʈʰulnu; ʈʰunʦuː
S15.810 heavy gɔrkɔ
S15.820 light(1) halkɔ
S15.830 wet siːnɔ
S15.840 dry ʃukɔ
S15.850 hot ʤaɔ; taːtɔ
S15.851 warm taːtɔ
S15.860 cold ʃeːlɔ; ʈʰanɖa
S15.870 clean saːpʰ
S15.880 dirty maːri; dɔliːdar ‘dirty; untidy’

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S15.890 wrinkled ʧʰiŋʧɔ

S16.110 the soul or spirit aːtmaː
S16.150 surprised or astonished biʃaː diːnɔ
S16.180 the good luck bɔlɔ baːg
S16.190 the bad luck maːri baːg
S16.230 happy kʰusiɛs; ʃɔ̃ k
S16.250 to laugh haːsnɔ
S16.251 to smile sululuʦɛ haːsnɔ
S16.260 to play kʰɛlnɔ
S16.270 to love ʤaːʃ ljaːnɔ
S16.300 to embrace kjaːrɔ paːnɔ
S16.310 the pain ʤaːʃ
S16.320 the grief dukʰ; ʃoːp
S16.340 to regret or be sorry paʧtajaːnɔ
S16.350 the pity paːp
S16.370 to cry ruːnɔ
S16.380 the tear mistiː
S16.390 to groan kʰroŋaːjinɔ
S16.410 to hate kʰuraːjinɔ
S16.420 the anger ŋar; roʃ
S16.440 the envy or jealousy ʣid
S16.450 the shame laːʣ
S16.480 proud ʃiŋgaːraŋ; ʃɛkʰiː ‘proud, pride’
S16.510 to dare himmɔt ʣagnɔ, himmat ʣagnɔ
S16.530 the fear ɖɔr
S16.540 the danger kɔʦrɔ
S16.620 to want ʦaːnɔ
S16.622 to choose kʰɛlmaːnɔ
S16.630 to hope aːʃaː kɔrnɔ; aːʃaː lɛjinɔ
S16.650 faithful bɔlis, bɔlɔs
S16.660 true sɔʦ, sɔʦkɔ
S16.670 to lie(2) alkɔ bɔlnɔ; ʦintiː bɔlnɔ
S16.680 the deceit dokʰaː
S16.690 to forgive ʦʰaraːjaːnɔ
S16.710 good bɔlɔ; eːsa, ɛsaː
S16.720 bad mar

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S16.730 right(2) ʈɔb

S16.740 wrong ʋaːmaŋ ‘wrong; fault’
S16.760 the fault gɔlti; kusur; ʋaːmaŋ
S16.770 the mistake gɔlti, galti
S16.780 the blame kʰoːʈɔ
S16.790 the praise taːripʰ
S16.810 beautiful ʃaːrɔ
S16.820 ugly maʃaːrɔ
S16.830 greedy laːlʦi
S16.840 clever ʦalaːk
S16.99903 thank you! dʰanjaʋaːd
S17.110 the mind dimaːk
S17.130 to think(1) rɔnmaːinɔ; sunʦiːnɔ
S17.150 to believe b(a)rosaː kɔrnɔ
S17.160 to understand haːgɔ mannɔ
S17.170 to know ʣannɔ
S17.171 to guess tʰoːg kɔrnɔ
S17.172 to imitate nɔkɔl kɔrnɔ
S17.180 to seem ʣannɔs kɔrnɔ
S17.210 wise ɔkɔlsja
S17.220 stupid mur(u)kʰ
S17.230 mad b(ʰ)ɔlaː
S17.240 to learn ʃikʰiːnɔ
S17.242 to study pɔɖnɔ
S17.250 to teach ʃikʰaːnɔ
S17.260 the pupil ʦɛlaː
S17.270 the teacher masʈar, masʈɔr, maʃʈɔr, maʃʈar
S17.280 the school sakul, sukul
S17.310 to remember jaːd ʣaːgnɔ
S17.320 to forget bisriːnɔ
S17.350 obscure ʃuraːj
S17.360 secret gupt
S17.410 the intention nijɛt
S17.430 the doubt ʃɔk
S17.441 to betray ʈʰakajaːnɔ
S17.450 the need or necessity ʦaːnɔ

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S17.460 easy bɔlɔ ‘easy; good; healthy’

S17.470 difficult aseː ‘rough (e.g. road)’; bɛru ‘with diffi-
culty’; kaʈʰɔ ‘hard; trouble’
S17.480 to try kɔʃiʃ kɔrnɔ
S17.490 the manner pʰɔrjai
S17.510 and ai
S17.520 because tɛː
S17.530 if taː lɛkin
S17.540 or jaː
S17.550 yes ãː
S17.560 no nua
S17.610 how? kju
S17.620 how many? kittɛg, kɛti
S17.630 how much? kɛti
S17.640 what? ki
S17.650 when? kaːdu; kɛtrɛ
S17.660 where? kindɛ
S17.670 which? kindjɔ
S17.680 who? kun
S17.690 why? kjũː
S18.110 the voice kad
S18.120 to sing ljaːnɔ
S18.130 to shout ʤiŋjaːnɔ
S18.150 to whisper kuʃpuʃjaːnɔ
S18.160 to mumble ʧɔkljaːnɔ
S18.170 to whistle ʃʋiŋjaːnɔ
S18.180 to shriek ʧɔninɔ
S18.190 to howl kukurrɔ ronɔ
S18.210 to speak or talk bataːnɔ
S18.211 to stutter or stammer pʰapiː bataːnɔ
S18.220 to say bɔlnɔ
S18.221 to tell sunaːnɔ
S18.222 the speech baːʃan
S18.230 to be silent ʦuʈuk tʰaknɔ
S18.240 the language kad
S18.260 the word ʧuː

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S18.280 the name nao

S18.310 to ask(1) puʧʰ(a)nɔ
S18.320 to answer ʣabaːb dɛnnɔ
S18.330 to admit gɔlti mɔnjaːnɔ, galti mɔnjaːnɔ
S18.340 to deny nɔmɔnjaːnɔ
S18.360 to promise dɔrɔm dɛnnɔ; reːn dɛnnɔ
S18.370 to refuse hurʃɛnnu
S18.380 to forbid ʃɔʈʰ(ɛ)jaːnɔ
S18.410 to call(1) araːnɔ
S18.430 to announce ʃunaːnɔ
S18.440 to threaten ɖɔraːnɔ
S18.450 to boast ʃɛkʰiː kɔrnɔ
S18.510 to write likʰnɔ; ʧɛmaːnɔ
S18.520 to read banʦjaːnɔ ‘to read, to study’
S18.560 the paper kagliː; patraŋ; pɛʧaː
S18.570 the pen pɛn
S18.610 the book kataːb, kitaːb
S18.710 the flute bãʃuriː
S18.720 the drum nagaːrɔ
S18.730 the horn or trumpet ʃɔnnaːl
S19.110 the country muluk
S19.120 the native country sɔsɔrɔ mul(u)k
S19.150 the town ʃɛr
S19.160 the village dɛʃ; gãʋ
S19.170 the boundary siːmaŋ
S19.210 the people manuʃ
S19.230 the clan pɛrɛ
S19.240 the chieftain bɔɖɔ; sjaːnɔ
S19.250 the walking stick bɛ̴ːt; ʧʰummaː
S19.310 to rule or govern raːʣ kɔrnɔ; raːʣ ʦalaːnɔ
S19.320 the king raːʣaː
S19.330 the queen raːniː
S19.370 the citizen mul(u)krɔ manuʃ
S19.410 the master maːlik
S19.420 the slave daːs; gulaːm
S19.430 the servant nukur

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S19.450 to command or order bɔlnɔ ‘to say’

S19.460 to obey baːtɛ ʃunnɔ
S19.510 the friend kɔnɛs; ʣɔkʰjaː
S19.520 the enemy duʃmɔn, duʃman
S19.540 the neighbour paːdɛʃ
S19.550 the stranger naːbɔ manuʃ
S19.560 the guest mɛ(h)maːn
S19.5650 to invite araːnɔ
S19.580 to help madat kɔrnɔ
S19.590 to prevent rɔkʰjaːnɔ
S19.610 the custom rusum; riʋaːʣ, raʋaːʣ
S19.620 the quarrel maːriɛn; paijɛn ‘squabble’
S19.650 to meet bɛʈʰinɔ
S19.720 the prostitute kanʣar
S20.110 to fight lɔsiːnɔ ‘to fight; to beat’
S20.140 the peace saŋna; ʧɛːn
S20.150 the army pʰɔʤ; sɛnaː
S20.170 the soldier sɛnik
S20.210 the weapon ʃastar
S20.220 the club dummaː
S20.222 the battle-axe ɖaŋrɔ
S20.250 the arrow danuʃ
S20.270 the sword trɔʋaːl
S20.280 the gun tupuk
S20.330 the helmet ʣitiːnɔ
S20.340 the shield hariːnɔ
S20.410 the victory ʣiːt
S20.420 the defeat haːr
S20.430 the attack hamla
S20.440 to defend bɔʦaːnɔ
S20.471 the guard pɛrɛdaːr; sɔnʈriː
S20.510 the fisherman maʦʰi paːndɔsja
S20.520 the fishhook kãːɖɔ ‘fishhook; thorn’
S20.610 to hunt airɛ kɔrnɔ
S20.620 to shoot goli ʦalaːnɔ
S20.630 to miss hirajiːnɔ

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(cont.)

Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S20.640 the trap paːnɔsja

S20.650 to trap paːnɔ
S21.110 the law kajdaː; kaːnun
S21.150 the court kɔʈ
S21.170 the judgment pʰɛsla
S21.180 the judge ʤaʤ
S21.230 the witness gɔa; ʃaːdot
S21.240 to swear kɔsɔm kʰaːnɔ
S21.250 the oath ʃapat
S21.310 to accuse ʦor ʣurmaːnɔ
S21.370 the penalty or punishment saʣaː
S21.380 the fine ɖanɖ
S21.390 the prison ʣɛl
S21.440 the rape blatkaːr
S21.460 the arson aːg lɛjaːnɔ
S21.510 to steal ʦor kʰɔʈnɔ
S21.520 the thief ʦor
S22.110 the religion dɔrɔm
S22.120 the god dɛo
S22.130 the temple kɔʈʰi; saːnd
S22.150 the sacrifice dijuːnɔ
S22.160 to worship puːʣnɔ
S22.170 to pray dɔnʧinɔ
S22.180 the priest paʤaːro
S22.190 holy ʦɔkʰɔ
S22.230 to bless ʣar kɔrnɔ
S22.240 to curse ʧul kɔrnɔ
S22.260 to fast brɔt kɔrnɔ
S22.310 the heaven sɔrgɔ
S22.320 the hell nɔrɔk
S22.350 the demon rakas
S22.370 the idol murtiː
S22.420 the magic ʣaːdu(ː)
S22.470 the omen ʃɔkun
S23.1000 the radio rɛɖu(ː)
S23.1100 the television tiʋiː, tibiː

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S23.1200 the telephone pʰɔn

S23.1300 the bicycle sajkal
S23.1350 the motorcycle mɔʈarsajkal
S23.1400 the car kaːr
S23.1500 the bus bɔs
S23.1550 the train rɛl(gaːɖi)
S23.1600 the airplane (haʋaːi) ʣaːʣ
S23.1700 the electricity biʣli
S23.1750 the battery sɛl
S23.1800 to brake brɛk lɛaːnɔ
S23.1850 the motor mɔʈar
S23.1900 the machine miʃiːn
S23.2000 the hospital aspataːl
S23.2100 the nurse nars
S23.2200 the pill or tablet ɔʃʈirɔ goli
S23.2300 the injection sua
S23.2400 the spectacles/glasses mikʰrab
S23.3000 the government gɔrmɛnʈ
S23.3100 the president raʃʈpati
S23.3200 the minister mantriː
S23.3300 the police pulsiaː, polis
S23.3400 the driver’s license ɖrajʋarɔ lɛsɛns
S23.3500 the license plate nambar palɛ( j)ʈ
S23.3600 the birth certificate ʣɔnɔmnɔ sarʈifikaʈ
S23.3700 the crime ʣurum
S23.3800 the election ʧunaːʋ
S23.3850 the address pɔtaː
S23.3900 the number nambar
S23.3950 the street gɔli
S23.4000 the post/mail ɖaːkʰ
S23.4100 the postage stamp ʈikaʈ
S23.4200 the letter ʦiʈʰiː
S23.4400 the bank (financial institu- bɛŋk
tion)
S23.5000 the tap/faucet nɔlkʰaː
S23.5100 the sink ʧɛlaː

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Id Gloss Kinnauri Pahari

S23.5200 the toilet kʰusuːriŋ

S23.5300 the mattress gaddaː
S23.5400 the tin/can kanastar
S23.5500 the screw kiːl
S23.5550 the screwdriver pɛʧkas
S23.5600 the bottle botol
S23.5650 the candy/sweets miʈʰai
S23.5700 the plastic pɛlaːsʈik
S23.5750 the bomb bamb
S23.5800 the workshop (maʃiːnrɔ) gɔʈ(ʈ)
S23.5900 the cigarette sigrɛːʈ
S23.6000 the newspaper akʰbaːr
S23.6100 the calendar kalɛnɖɛr
S23.6200 the film/movie pikʧar; pʰilam
S23.6400 the song gɛt, giːt
S23.9000 the tea ʧa
S23.9100 the coffee kɔfiː
S24.0100 to be hunɔ; pʰirnɔ
S24.0300 without bina
S24.0400 with si
S24.0600 not nua
S24.0700 this hɔi; jɔ
S24.0800 that hɔsɔ
S24.0900 here inʧʰɛ
S24.1000 there hɔtin; ɔnʧʰɛ; tinʧʰiː ‘from there’
S24.1100 other ajkʰ
S24.1200 next ajkʰ
S24.1300 same rukʃã( j)i
S24.1400 nothing kiʦɛ nua
S24.99910 someone kunta
S24.99912 then tɛː

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 chapter 5

Linguistic Relationships in Kinnaur i: Sino-Tibetan

1 Introduction

There has been a general lack of systematic, comparative linguistic studies of

the Sino-Tibetan language varieties of Kinnaur (referred to as “KST varieties”
in this book). Some comparative data are found in older works (e.g. Gerard
1842; Cunningham 1844; Bailey 1909). More recent works on the languages of
this region (e.g., Neethivanan 1976; D.D. Sharma 1988; Saxena 1992, 1995b, 1997b,
2002, 2007, 2017; Takahashi 2001, 2007, 2012; Negi and Negi 2015; Negi 2017) have
generally focused their attention on the linguistic analysis of one specific KST
variety, the speech of Lower Kinnaur (Sangla, Pangi, Kalpa), the main excep-
tions being some work on Chhitkuli (Martinez 2019, 2021), and on the Middle
Kinnaur variety Shumcho (Huber 2007, 2014a, 2014b) and a very brief “language
snapshot” (descriptions of genealogy and sociolinguistic status) of Sunam by
Negi (2020). Consequently, we have had no good grounds for examining how
the various KST varieties relate to one another. The closest thing to such a study
that I am aware of are the sociolinguistic surveys by Webster (1991) and Cham-
berlain et al. (1998).
This chapter presents such an investigation based on data collected in a
questionnaire-based study carried out in Kinnaur. The KST varieties examined
here represent the speech of nine villages located in different parts of Kinnaur.
The results of the study are then compared with existing accounts of Sino-
Tibetan languages in Kinnaur and their classification.
Summarizing briefly the results that are presented in detail below, the inves-
tigated KST varieties can be classified into three (or possibly four) groups,
where the KST varieties spoken in Sangla, Nichar, Ropa and Kalpa (referred
to below as the Sangla group or Kinnauri; see Chapter 2) form one exter-
nally distinct and internally cohesive group. The KST varieties spoken in Poo,
Kuno and Nako (referred to as the Nako group or Navakat; see Chapter 3)
form another clear grouping. The KST varieties of Chitkul and Labrang fall
somewhere in between, where Chitkul and/or Labrang are more similar to
one or the other group concerning some linguistic features, but with regard
to other linguistic features Chitkul and/or Labrang behave distinctly from both
Kinnauri and Navakat. At the same time, Chitkul and Labrang are not close
enough to each other that we could say that they jointly make up a third group-
ing.

© Anju Saxena, 2022 | doi:10.1163/9789004513648_006

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 linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 377

figure 15 Location of the villages in Kinnaur for which data was collected
robinson projection. map design: ljuba veselinova

2 Data Collection

Data was collected representing the speech of the following villages in Kinnaur:
Nichar, Sangla, Chitkul, Kalpa, Kuno, Labrang, Poo, Ropa and Nako (shown
on the map in Figure 15).1 The main motivation for selecting the speech of
these villages was to include a representative range of language data from as
diverse geographical regions as possible. Table 36 contains basic information
on these villages. In general, Kinnaur is multilingual (see Chapter 1), and in
several places, different traditional social groups in a village are known to use
separate languages (Huber 2014b: 194f.). In such cases, the KST variety dis-
cussed here reflects the speech of the majority group in that village. For the
purposes of the study presented in this chapter the investigated KST varieties
will consistently be referred to by the names of the villages where the corre-
sponding KST varieties are spoken: for example, “Sangla” rather than “(Sangla)
Kinnauri” and “Nako” rather than “Navakat” or “Bhoti Kinnauri”.
Since the comparison of the KST varieties will be based primarily on a
lexicostatistical investigation of basic vocabulary, the longer version of the

1 The first four villages are situated in Lower Kinnaur, Kuno and Labrang are located in Middle
Kinnaur, while the last three are villages of Upper Kinnaur (see Chapter 1).

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378 chapter 5

table 36 Basic information on the villages (ordered south to north) for which data was
collected

Village (tahsil; coordinates) Some information about the village

Chitkul (Sangla; 31° 21′ N, 78° 26′ E) Located in Sangla valley on the right bank of the
Baspa river. It is the highest village in the Sangla
valley (3,450m).
Sangla (Sangla; 31° 25′ N, 78° 15′ E) Located in Sangla valley on the right bank of the
Baspa river.
Kalpa (Kalpa; 31° 32′ N, 78° 15′ E) Located in Satluj valley. The Kalpa village was
earlier the district capital of Kinnaur.
Nichar (Nichar; 31° 33′ N, 77° 59′ E) Located in Satluj valley between Taranda and
Wangtu, on the right bank of the Satluj river.
Kuno (Morang; 31° 38′ N, 78° 22′ E) Located in Satluj valley.
Labrang (Poo; 31° 41′ N, 78° 26′ E) Located in Satluj valley.
Poo (Poo; 31° 46′ N, 78° 35′ E) Located in Satluj valley.
Ropa (Poo; 31° 48′ N, 78° 25′ E) Located in Ropa valley.
Nako (Poo; 31° 53′ N, 78° 37′ E) Located in Hangrang valley. It is the highest vil-
lage in the valley (3,600m).

Swadesh basic vocabulary list (207 entries; Swadesh 1950, 1952, 1955) was used
as the point of departure for preparing our primary questionnaire. The Swadesh
list was, however, modified extensively. This included both removing almost
a third of the entries in the Swadesh list as expressing concepts not suitable
for this region for pragmatic reasons (e.g., some entries expressing concepts
connected with the ocean), and instead adding a number of entries important
for the present study (e.g., numerals, the honorific–non-honorific distinction
in pronouns, reflexive pronouns). The length of the list increased somewhat,
resulting in a concept list for the primary questionnaire with 237 entries. The
complete list can be found in Appendix 5A to this chapter. Some items designed
to elicit noun phrases and some sentence types were also included in the ques-
tionnaire, to examine, for example, the order of constituents at the phrase and
clause levels, and also to examine the reflexive construction. In addition to the
entries in the questionnaire, some additional data were also collected in each
case, e.g., data on pronominal possessive constructions, example sentences to
understand the linguistic status of a lexical item, as well as other lexical items,
to understand the relationship of the lexical item in question to other words
in the same semantic field. In the case of Kinnauri and Navakat (as well as

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linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 379

Indo-Aryan Kinnauri Pahari), we also collected lexical data based on the longer
(1,460 entries) loanword typology list (Haspelmath and Tadmor 2009; Borin
et al. 2013). These lists are provided in the chapters on Kinnauri (Chapter 2,
Appendix 2A; 1,348 items), Navakat (Chapter 3, Appendix 3B; 1,135 items), and
Kinnauri Pahari (Chapter 4, Appendix 4B; 1,215 items). All data items were tran-
cribed in a broad phonetic transcription.

3 Methodology

The present investigation falls under the heading of lexicostatistics, a long tradi-
tion of describing and (implicitly or explicitly) quantifying similarities and dif-
ferences among language varieties using basic vocabulary lists. For an overview,
see the chapters in Borin and Saxena (2013), especially Borin (2013). A revised
Swadesh list has been the main basis for comparison of the KST varieties exam-
ined here (see Section 2). Using such concept lists presents its own method-
ological challenges (Borin 2012; Borin et al. 2021). A fundamental decision in
this context is whether a particular concept is represented by the same item
(word) in two language varieties.
Here we must first define what we mean by “the same item”. In Swadesh-
style lexicostatistics, this is normally interpreted as cognacy, i.e., whether the
items are reflexes of the same proto-language item. Finer points of (deriva-
tional) morphological structure are often disregarded in this context, and only
cognacy of roots or stems is important. Even in this case, determining that two
items are cognate is far from straightforward and requires expert knowledge,
especially if the languages are only distantly related.
This arguably means that the information about genealogical grouping
sought by these methods, to a large extent is already known by other means,
e.g., the classical comparative method. The requisite expert knowledge is a
scarce resource, and if we would like to conduct larger-scale genealogical lin-
guistic investigations encompassing also poorly documented languages, we
need some other way of doing this. When the expert knowledge is available,
it serves as a valuable yardstick, a known gold standard against which less
knowledge-intensive methods can be judged before being applied to those
cases where less is known beforehand.
Lexicostatistical investigations such as that presented by Holman et al.
(2008) rely on a mechanical procedure—automatically computed Levenshtein
distance (also called edit distance) between strings transcribed using a stan-
dardized coarse phonetic transcription—for determining cognacy. This has the
advantage of being totally consistent, and the disadvantage of both missing

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380 chapter 5

some cognates and misclassifying some non-cognate pairs as cognates. How-

ever, the primary, most important requirement on such a method is that it is
repeatable and objectively verifiable.
In dialect studies, the judgement of sameness may include also the sound
shape and morphological structure of obviously cognate items in the sense
of the preceding paragraph. This is the method chosen here when comparing
the Kinnauri basic vocabulary lists: Certain—but not all—sound correspon-
dences, and certain—but not all—morphological structures, are considered
equal for the purpose of comparing lexical items among KST varieties.
A frequent presupposition in Swadesh-style lexicostatistics is that only one
word from each language will represent each concept in the list. Here, we do
not impose this restriction, however. Generally, with larger-scale investigations
involving poorly documented language varieties that the researcher may not
know well, this seems to be the only feasible alternative. In working with sec-
ondary sources and language consultants, presumably we will end up with
one or several common expressions of the concept sought, regardless of their
genealogical relationship to the corresponding expressions in related language
varieties.
In our investigation, every correspondence gets one point, but multiple cor-
respondences for the same concept still count as only one correspondence. Let
us assume that a particular concept is expressed in the following way in four
languages (capital letters represent forms/words):

Language 1 Language 2 Language 3 Language 4

A A, B A, B B

With this way of calculating similarity, languages 2 and 3 are as similar to each
other as each of them is to language 1 and 4, although languages 2 and 3 share
two items in this concept slot. This solution is not completely arbitrary, but not
very strongly motivated either. However, it can easily be reconsidered—e.g.,
if more information becomes available on these language varieties—and the
results recalculated. The main point to be made here is that the calculation is
completely deterministic and repeatable.
As has perhaps become clear from the preceding, compiling comparable sys-
tematic linguistic data for the present investigation has presented something
of a challenge. One complicating factor here is that a language can have more
than one word for a concept, and it is largely fortuitous which alternative or

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linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 381

alternatives the language consultants provide (Slaska 2005). Thus the data pre-
sented in the present work cannot be seen as complete. There may exist terms
in a KST variety which have cognates in other varieties, which however do not
happen to show up in our material. On the other hand, the terms provided by
a consultant may say something about terms which are more neutral or more
frequent or more basic than the other possible alternative forms which were
not provided.

4 Towards Linguistically Informed Computational Lexicostatistics

The following proceedure was used in this investigation, developed in collabo-

ration between a computational linguist (Lars Borin) and the author (see also
Saxena and Borin 2011, 2013):
– After the data collection and initial processing of the data,
– a list of observations of relationships among varieties was made by the
author.
– This list formed the basis for developing a set of principles for comparing the
linguistic correspondences in these KST varieties. These were formulated by
the author and the computational linguist together and their purpose was
to determine which segmental differences to disregard for the purpose of
considering items in different varietes the same.
– The principles were encoded by the computational linguist as context-sensi-
tive phonetic segment transformation and equivalence rules in a small com-
puter program for comparing items fully automatically in order to achieve
consistency.2
– The program was then applied to the data, the result inspected, the rules
revised, and the modified program run again on the data. This process went
through a few iterations.
The procedure is a variant of automated lexicostatistics, a methodology that
has seen a strong revival in recent years (see Borin and Saxena 2013), but in our
case with a clear qualitative element (somewhat in the spirit of Grant 2010).
Rather than adopting the standard solution of designing a completely auto-
mated method applying a similarity metric to orthographic words, we have

2 Because the investigations described in this chapter were conducted before undertaking the
more detailed phonological analysis underlying the phonemic orthography used in Chapter 2,
the transcription system used for (Sangla) Kinnauri in this chapter for all lexical comparisons
differs in some details from that used in Chapter 2. However, in the interest of verifiability and
reproducibility of results, we have elected to retain the earlier, less phonemic transcription
here.

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382 chapter 5

endeavored to include linguistic information into the process at an early stage.

The results from the comparison come in the form of two kinds of tables:
– tables of individual concepts and lexical items expressing them, where each
language variety gets a numerical index (1–9), and each concept/language
variety combination is provided with a list of indices showing which vari-
eties share one or more expressions of this concept (see Appendix 5A to this
chapter);
– summary tables, where similarities among all lexical items of a particular
grammatical or semantic category (nouns, kinship terms, etc.) are shown as
ratios and percentages (see Section 5).
In the present investigation, the following principles were used in comparing
word list items among varieties (in the list below, the following symbols are
used: C: consonant; V: vowel; T: stop; Ø: zero/no segment).

Vowels: The following vowels appear to be in free variation in many of these

varieties, and consequently the two members of each pair are considered equal
for the purposes of our comparison, in any position:

a ~ ǝ; a ~ ɔ; i ~ ɪ; u ~ ʊ; e ~ ɛ; o ~ ɔ; o ~ ø

Note however that the similarities are not to be construed as transitive: e.g., ǝ
and ɔ do not count as the same.

Vowel length: Long and short vowels are not distinguished for the purposes of
the comparison.

Vowel nasalization and phonemic tone: Nasalization is disregarded in the

comparison, as is tone (orthographically marked on vowels in the transcrip-
tion).

Consonants: The following consonants appear to be in free variation in many

of these varieties, and consequently the members of each group are considered
equal, in any position:

ʤ ~ ʣ ~ z ~ ʒ; p ~ pʰ ~ f; ʧ ~ ʧʰ ~ ʈʃ; s ~ ʦ ~ ʦʰ

Consonant gemination: Short and long consonants are treated as one and the
same, in any position:

C1ː ~ C1

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linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 383

In the preliminary analysis of the sound systems of these varieties, there has
been no indication that geminates are phonemic in any of them.

Prenasalization: Prenasalization of consonants is disregarded in the compari-

son.

Unreleased stops: Unreleased stops are treated as equal to the corresponding

fully released stops in the comparison, ignoring voicing.

Sound sequences: The following sequences will be treated as equal for the pur-
poses of the comparison, in any position:

ɖr ~ ɖ; ʈr ~ ʈ; V1jV2 ~ V1V2

Word endings: The following word ending alternants will be treated as equal
for the purposes of the comparison:

-h ~ -Ø; -ʦ ~ -Ø; -j ~ -Ø;

-pa ~ -ba ~ -ʋa; -po ~ -bo ~ -ʋo;
-V1T ~ -V1

Illustrating with a concrete example, the last item in this list states that word-
final stops are counted equal to Ø following a vowel, as there is dialect-internal
variation in this respect. Different stops are considered as separate, however.
Thus, ja counts as the same as both jag and jak, but the latter two count as
different forms (see yak in Table 54 in Appendix 5A).

Phrases: For terms such as older brother, younger brother, maternal

aunt, paternal aunt, if the term consists of more than one word, e.g., ‘old
sister’, then the modifier is disregarded; only the noun is used for the compari-
son.

In order to achieve consistency of judgement, the above principles were en-

coded in a small computer program which then was used to compare items
fully automatically. In practice, the principles were initially manually devel-
oped and then successively refined by an iterative process where the program
was applied to the data and the results subsequently inspected. Typically dur-
ing such a round we would find that the program had missed some correspon-
dence that should have been found. Because the principles tended to be fairly
conservative, the opposite almost never occurred. The great advantage of hav-

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384 chapter 5

ing automated the application of the principles emerged in these situations,

since a revision of the principles made on the basis of one or a few correspon-
dences could be immediately tested on all the data in order to check that it
would not introduce errors elsewhere.
This methodology is similar to recent work in dialectometry (e.g., Nerbonne
and Heeringa 2009) and lexicostatistics (e.g., Holman et al. 2008; Wichmann
et al. 2010) in relying on a completely automatic comparison of the items in
the word lists. However, it differs from most of this work—a notable exception
being the work reported on by McMahon et al. (2007)—in its usage of rules
tailored to the particular linguistic configuration under investigation, rather
than a general method for string comparison. In this respect, it falls some-
where in between traditional lexicostatistics—where expert statements are
required about the cognacy of items—and these modern approaches—which
rely entirely on surface clues for determining identity of items—although
closer to the latter than the former.
The main methodological advantage of the approach used here is its con-
sistency, and not as claimed for the work just referred to, that it should be
language-independent. Instead, in our work we have tried to apply a prin-
ciple sometimes formulated in computational linguistics as “Don’t guess if
you know” (Tapanainen and Voutilainen 1994: 47), which inevitably leads us
to include language-specific knowledge in the form of correspondence rules
among dialects.

5 Results: Vocabulary

In this section we will examine how much of basic vocabulary the investigated
KST varieties share. We will look at the following kinds of basic vocabulary: a
set of open-class words (nouns and adjectives),3 some adverbs of time, numer-
als and numeral systems, question words, and personal pronouns. Among the
nouns, kinship and body-part terms are investigated separately.
In the vocabulary correspondence tables presented in this section we use
the following notational conventions. Abbreviations (italicized in the tables)
are used for the village names: Sangla (Sa), Nichar (Ni), Kalpa (Ka), Ropa (Ro),
Chitkul (Ch), Labrang (La), Poo (Po), Kuno (Ku), Nako (Na). The full correspon-

3 No verbs are included in the comparisons. Verbs were included in the basic vocabulary ques-
tionnaire (see Appendix 5A to this chapter), but were provided in such a variety of different
(basic) forms by language consultants, that it was not feasible to attempt to harmonize them
at this stage, without much more knowledge of each of the varieties.

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linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 385

dence tables are found in Appendix 5A at the end of this chapter (Tables 52–59).
Vocabulary items refer to concepts and are identified by English words (or
phrases on a few occasions) in small caps, both in the text and in the tables
in Appendix 5A. Swadesh list items are further identified by their Swadesh list
number added to the end of the English word and separated from the word by
a slash: laugh/100. Items without a number do not appear in the Swadesh list.
There are 88 Swadesh list concepts in the questionnaire (see Appendix 5A). If a
Swadesh list item is marked with an asterisk, this means that the item is in the
subset of 40 Swadesh list items found to be the most stable globally by Holman
et al. (2008). There are altogether 25 out of these 40 items in the questionnaire
(see Section 5.7).
The longer noun and adjective tables (Tables 54 and 55 in Appendix 5A)
are arranged with the English words in alphabetical order. The other tables are
arranged according to other principles (semantically or by Swadesh number).
In the correspondence tables, numerical indices in square brackets appear in
each cell to identify the language varieties which share a form for this concept,
i.e. items considered the same according to the formal principles presented
above in Section 4. Multiple indices in the same cell are separated by slashes.
Each subsection below is structured in a similar way. One or more tables
are presented containing summary statistics on shared vocabulary between
all pairs of varieties, calculated from the full correspondences presented in
Tables 52–59 in Appendix 5A. Two figures are provided for each pairwise com-
parison: a fraction and a percentage (rounded to an integer). In the fraction,
the denominator represents the total number of concepts where some form is
recorded for both varieties (for a number of reasons, sometimes a particular
concept has not been recorded for some variety), and the numerator indicates
how many of these forms that have been computed to be the same by the
automatic procedure. Finally, we discuss some salient linguistic points of the
comparison.

5.1 Basic Nouns

5.1.1 Kinship Terms
Table 52 shows the investigated kinship terms and the automatically computed
correspondences among varieties, and Table 37 contains the summary statistics
extracted from Table 52.
We will now look more closely at some of the individual kinship terms.
grandfather: Nako, Poo and Kuno use the term meme for grandfa-
ther, while the other varieties use another term, tete. A modifier is added
to specify maternal relationship in some varieties. Nichar, Kalpa, Ropa and
Chitkul add this additional component. In all varieties where it appears it pre-

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table 37 Summary statistics for kinship terms

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 12/18 13/18 9/18 10/18 6/18 1/18 1/18 1/18

(66%) (72%) (50%) (55%) (33%) (5%) (5%) (5%)
Ni 9/18 6/18 7/18 3/18 0/18 0/18 0/18
(50%) (33%) (38%) (16%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ka 9/18 8/18 5/18 1/18 1/18 1/18
(50%) (44%) (27%) (5%) (5%) (5%)
Ro 7/18 7/18 5/18 4/18 3/18
(38%) (38%) (27%) (22%) (16%)
Ch 4/18 1/18 1/18 1/18
(22%) (5%) (5%) (5%)
La 6/18 6/18 5/18
(33%) (33%) (27%)
Po 13/18 13/18
(72%) (72%)
Ku 13/18
(72%)

cedes the base form, and seemingly related forms (maperɔŋ, mapɔ and maʧa)
are used. This modifier occurs also in the terms for maternal grandmother
in the same varieties.
grandmother: It is plausible that the terms for grandmother in all
these varieties has the same origin: In Sangla, Kalpa, Ropa, Chitkul and Labrang
it is api, in Nichar it is ai, and in Nako, Poo and Kuno it is aʋi.
mother: The same term occurs in all varieties for mother. It is ama,
except in Nichar, where it is aʋ.
father: It is plausible that the terms for father in all these varieties have
the same origin, but has developed in three different ways, classifying these
varieties in three groups. The term for father in Sangla, Nichar and Kalpa is
boʋa/baba/bɔba. In Ropa, Labrang, Poo, Kuno and Nako it is apa/aʋa and in
Chitkul we find au, presumably related to aʋa. au also occurs as an alternate
form in Kuno. The terms for mother and father in all KST varieties are ety-
mologically related. They are: ama and (b)aba/aʋa (with the possible exception
of Chitkul au if unrelated to aʋa).
husband and wife: Except for some similarities in the terms for husband
in some varieties, the terms for husband and wife do not exhibit a consistent

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pattern. This may be partly due to the fact that there are several different ways
of referring to the person who is a husband/wife, thus it is possible that differ-
ent language consultants have provided different terms.
brother and sister: The terms for older brother classify these vari-
eties into two groups. In Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa and Chitkul it is ate, while in
Ropa, Labrang, Poo, Kuno and Nako it is aʧo/aʒo. It seems that there are several
terms for younger brother in each variety, with different social functions.
Some of these terms are borrowed from Indo-Aryan languages (e.g baja and
other related terms in Table 52). The same is true also about the terms for
younger sister and older sister (including the use in many varieties of
an Indo-Aryan term).
son and daughter: The terms for son and daughter classify these vari-
eties into three groups. Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa, and Labrang have the terms ʧʰaŋ
and ʧimɛd; Nako, Poo and Kuno have the terms ʈuː and pomo and Chitkul has
the terms ɖe aʧi and ɖju aʧi, son, daughter, respectively.
uncle and aunt: In Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa, Chitkul and Labrang, an Indo-
Aryan loanword is used for maternal uncle, viz. mɔma, whereas in Nako,
Poo, Kuno and Ropa, the term is aʒaŋ. The words for paternal uncle at least
in some cases are probably related to the terms for father. It seems that the
terms for paternal aunt in most of the varieties have the same origin, which
has developed in three different ways: nane in Sangla, Nichar and Kalpa, ane in
Labrang, Poo, Kuno and Nako, and ene in Chitkul. Only Ropa exhibits a diver-
gent term: ʦima.
To summarize, looking at the kinship terms we can clearly differentiate a
core Sangla group (Sangla, Nichar and Kalpa) from a core Nako group (Nako,
Poo and Kuno), where these groups differ from each other regularly and consis-
tently in all cases when the same term is not used in all varieties. With regard to
the kinship terms Chitkul is generally similar to the Sangla group. Labrang and
Ropa present interesting cases. In some cases (though not in identical cases)
Labrang, for instance, has terms which are similar to the terms found in the
Sangla group (e.g., the terms for grandmother, son, daughter, mater-
nal uncle), but with regard to other terms (e.g., the terms for grandfather,
father and brother) it has terms which are similar to the terms found in the
Nako group.

5.1.2 Body Parts

Table 53 shows the investigated basic body part words and the automatically
computed correspondences among varieties, and Table 38 contains the sum-
mary statistics extracted from Table 53.
Generally, these KST varieties display the same Sino-Tibetan cognate forms
for the terms for eye, mouth and hair. Concerning the term for hair in these

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table 38 Summary statistics for body part terms

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 8/11 10/11 10/11 2/11 3/11 1/11 1/11 1/11

(72%) (90%) (90%) (18%) (27%) (9%) (9%) (9%)
Ni 8/11 8/11 2/11 3/11 1/11 1/11 1/11
(72%) (72%) (18%) (27%) (9%) (9%) (9%)
Ka 10/11 2/11 3/11 1/11 1/11 1/11
(90%) (18%) (27%) (9%) (9%) (9%)
Ro 2/11 3/11 1/11 1/11 1/11
(18%) (27%) (9%) (9%) (9%)
Ch 2/11 1/11 1/11 1/11
(18%) (9%) (9%) (9%)
La 1/11 1/11 1/11
(9%) (9%) (9%)
Po 8/11 10/11
(72%) (90%)
Ku 8/11
(72%)

varieties, all of them exhibit reflexes of the same proto-item, reconstructed as

*kra for Proto-Sino-Tibetan. This item is realized in two different ways, how-
ever: kra and ʈa, the latter occurring in Poo, Kuno and Nako, while the former
occurs in all the other varieties. The correspondence kr ~ ʈ reflects a deeper (in
time) sound change than what the automatic correspondence rules used here
are meant to capture. Hence, in Table 53, the varieties are classified into two
groups with respect to the item hair.
Perusing Table 53, it is quite clear that in those cases where the KST varieties
do not share a body part vocabulary item, the Sangla group and the Nako group
consistently use different sets of terms.
Labrang and Chitkul fall somewhere in the middle, where they sometimes
show more similarities to the forms in the Sangla group (e.g., foot and hand),
while in other cases they show more similarities with the forms in the Nako
group (e.g., tooth). Chitkul and Labrang form a separate group with regard
to the terms used for head, eye, tail and face. There are also cases where
Labrang and Chitkul use terms which they neither share with each other nor
with any of the other two groups (e.g. nose). Apart from this, there are some
terms either in Labrang (e.g. hand, foot) or in Chitkul (e.g., hand) which are
unique.

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table 39 Summary statistics for basic nouns

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 47/58 49/59 39/59 35/59 22/59 9/59 12/58 11/58

(81%) (83%) (66%) (59%) (37%) (15%) (20%) (18%)
Ni 44/58 34/58 29/58 20/58 9/58 11/57 11/57
(75%) (58%) (50%) (34%) (15%) (19%) (19%)
Ka 38/59 34/59 21/59 8/59 11/58 10/58
(64%) (57%) (35%) (13%) (18%) (17%)
Ro 29/59 27/59 11/59 14/58 13/58
(49%) (45%) (18%) (24%) (22%)
Ch 22/59 9/59 11/58 10/58
(37%) (15%) (18%) (17%)
La 15/59 18/58 16/58
(25%) (31%) (27%)
Po 35/58 39/58
(60%) (67%)
Ku 36/58
(62%)

On the whole, the pattern which emerges here is similar to the one as
observed above, where Sangla, Nichar and Kalpa form a group—but now
clearly with Ropa, too, belonging in the Sangla group—and Poo, Kuno and
Nako form another group, with Chitkul and Labrang standing out as different
from both the Sangla and Nako group and from each other.

5.1.3 Other Basic Nouns

Table 54 shows the investigated other basic nouns—i.e., other than kinship
terms and body parts—and the automatically computed correspondences
among varieties, and Table 39 contains the summary statistics extracted from
Table 54.
Looking at the larger data set of Table 39, we again find the earlier two clear
groupings: (1) Sangla, Nichar, and Kalpa; and (2) Poo, Kuno, and Nako. Ropa
appears as slightly closer to the Sangla group than Chitkul is, whereas Labrang
emerges as distinct from both the Sangla and Nako groups, although closer to
the former.
Again we find cases where the simple automatic word comparison seems
to miss obviously related words (e.g., egg, star, winter) but this does not in
itself mean that we need to revise the comparison rules (see Section 5.8).

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table 40 Summary statistics for basic adjectives

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 14/19 11/19 11/19 2/19 2/19 1/19 1/19 1/19

(73%) (57%) (57%) (10%) (10%) (5%) (5%) (5%)
Ni 12/19 10/19 1/19 1/19 0/19 0/19 0/19
(63%) (52%) (5%) (5%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ka 12/19 1/19 1/19 0/19 0/19 0/19
(63%) (5%) (5%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ro 2/19 3/19 1/19 0/19 1/19
(10%) (15%) (5%) (0%) (5%)
Ch 9/19 1/19 0/19 1/19
(47%) (5%) (0%) (5%)
La 1/19 0/19 1/19
(5%) (0%) (5%)
Po 12/19 14/19
(63%) (73%)
Ku 11/19
(57%)

5.2 Basic Adjectives

Table 55 shows the investigated basic adjectives and the automatically com-
puted correspondences among varieties, and Table 40 contains the summary
statistics extracted from Table 55.
The adjectives, too, confirm the grouping that we have observed above. Even
though the data set is small, the trend is obvious: Poo, Kuno and Nako form one
group, and Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa and Ropa form another group. This is very
clear for the majority of the adjectives in Table 55. Again, Chitkul and Labrang
stand apart: In some cases a similar form occurs in both languages (e.g. fɔsi
dry in both Labrang and Chitkul and also some of the color terms). But there
are also cases (e.g., good, wet) where separate forms occur in Labrang and
Chitkul. If the forms in Labrang and Chitkul show similarity with any of the
two clearer groupings, it is rather with the Sangla group than the Nako group;
see, e.g., the terms for beautiful, old and new.

5.3 Some Adverbs of Time

Table 56 shows the investigated adverbs of time and the automatically com-
puted correspondences among varieties, and Table 41 contains the summary
statistics extracted from Table 56.

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table 41 Summary statistics for time adverbs

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 4/10 8/10 4/10 0/8 2/9 0/9 0/8 0/10

(40%) (80%) (40%) (0%) (22%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ni 5/10 5/10 0/8 3/9 0/9 0/8 0/10
(50%) (50%) (0%) (33%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ka 5/10 0/8 2/9 0/9 0/8 0/10
(50%) (0%) (22%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ro 0/8 2/9 0/9 0/8 0/10
(0%) (22%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ch 0/7 0/8 0/7 0/8
(0%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
La 0/8 0/8 0/9
(0%) (0%) (0%)
Po 4/8 6/9
(50%) (66%)
Ku 4/8
(50%)

This material is too small to draw any conclusions beyond the fact that it sup-
ports the same groupings of the language varieties as the previously presented
vocabulary subsets. The time expressions are a bit too complex for the sim-
ple mechanical comparison used here to work well. Manual inspection of the
expressions shows some fairly obvious connections which are not captured by
the rules, e.g., Sangla rɪgʦɔmja versus Nichar/ Kalpa/ Ropa rɪkʦɔmja/rikʦɔmja
2 days before tomorrow.
This set of terms seems to classify the KST varieties into roughly the same
groups as other lexical-semantic fields discussed in this chapter, Sangla, Nichar,
Ropa, Kalpa form one group. Concerning the terms for future time points too,
these languages are similar to one another. They form one group. All languages
in this group make (at least) a five-way distinction in the future (tomorrow,
1–4 days after tomorrow) and the terms used to express these concepts in
these languages are also very similar.
Generally speaking, Poo and Nako form another group, though they also dif-
fer slightly from each other—both in terms of the number of distinctions made
lexically in referring to the past and to the future, as well as the forms used. Nako
has a more detailed system, with separate lexical terms for up to 4 days before

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table 42 Summary statistics for KST numerals

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 17/25 16/25 16/25 13/25 7/25 1/25 2/25 2/25

(68%) (64%) (64%) (52%) (28%) (4%) (8%) (8%)
Ni 17/25 16/25 12/25 6/25 1/25 2/25 2/25
(68%) (64%) (48%) (24%) (4%) (8%) (8%)
Ka 18/25 15/25 7/25 1/25 2/25 2/25
(72%) (60%) (28%) (4%) (8%) (8%)
Ro 14/25 7/25 1/25 2/25 2/25
(56%) (28%) (4%) (8%) (8%)
Ch 5/25 1/25 2/25 2/25
(20%) (4%) (8%) (8%)
La 3/25 5/25 4/25
(12%) (20%) (16%)
Po 18/25 16/25
(72%) (64%)
Ku 17/25
(68%)

yesterday and 4 days after tomorrow, whereas Poo has distinct terms for
up to 2 days before yesterday and 2 days after tomorrow. Despite this
difference, the forms (when the distinction is there in both languages) are quite
similar in Nako and Poo. The manual and automatic analysis agree with respect
to the positions of Labrang and Chitkul: If Labrang displays any similarity with
any of the other groups, it is with the terms found in the Sangla group, e.g., in
the terms for today, 1 day after tomorrow and 3 days after tomorrow.
Chitkul, which exhibits a detailed system in this regard, does not show similar-
ities with any of the other varieties.

5.4 Numerals and Numeral Systems

Table 57 shows the investigated numerals and the automatically computed cor-
respondences among varieties, and Table 42 contains the summary statistics
extracted from Table 57.
The examination of the numerals 1–10 suggests a similar grouping of the
KST varieties as observed above, where Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa, and Ropa consti-
tute one group and Poo, Kuno and Nako constitute another group. Except for
gɛt eight in Labrang, Chitkul and Labrang numerals are similar to the forms

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found in the Sangla group. The numerals 1–10 in the KST varieties are cognate
to a very large extent (see Table 43 below). They are consistent with the Sino-
Tibetan numeral forms noted by Hodson (1913).
For the numerals two, three, five, six and nine the same cognates are
found in all varieties (with some phonological modifications). The case of the
numeral three is interesting: Even though the same cognate occurs in all vari-
eties, it is realized in three different ways: Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa and Ropa form
one group ( ʃum/ʂum), Chitkul and Labrang form another group (homo/hʊm)
and Nako and Poo form a third group (sum). For the numerals one, four,
seven, eight and ten these varieties use two distinct cognate forms: Poo,
Kuno and Nako agree among themselves and use the same form as is noted
by Hodson (1913) for Central Tibetan (namely, ʧɪk, ji/ʒik, dʊn, get/gjat, respec-
tively), Nichar, Sangla, Kalpa, Ropa, Chitkul and Labrang use another set of
forms (namely, ɪd, pa, (s)tɪʃ, rɛ/rajɛ, sɛ/sajɛ, respectively). This set of forms, too,
is noted by Hodson (1913). In Table 43, the forms for the numerals 1–10 in the
KST varieties are shown together with the reconstructed Proto-Sino-Tibetan
(PST) forms for these numerals (Matisoff 2003).
A similar subgrouping pattern emerges also concerning the formation of
higher numerals in the KST varieties. Generally speaking, two different systems
for forming the numerals 20–99 are found in these varieties. Sangla, Nichar and
Kalpa form one group. They exhibit a vigesimal system, i.e., one where the basic
units are multiples of twenty. Multiples of ten which are not also multiples of
twenty (thirty, fifty, seventy, ninety) are indicated as ‘plus ten’, with one
exception: The term for fifty in Ropa is is nɪʃ nɪʣʊ adʰaŋ (‘two twenty half’).
Concerning all other higher numerals, Ropa is consistent with the pattern (and
forms) of the Sangla group. Nako and Poo, on the other hand, exhibit a consis-
tent decimal system. Labrang is interesting in this regard. It shows a decimal
system for 30, but for higher multiples of ten it exhibits the same kind of viges-
imal system as in the Sangla group.
The numeral system in Kuno distinguishes itself remarkably from the sys-
tems found in the other varieties. First, Kuno has both a decimal and a vigesimal
system side by side.4 In the vigesimal system there are important differences
between the patterns exhibited in Kuno and in the Sangla group. This con-
cerns both the ordering of smaller numerals in forming higher numerals (e.g
2 ×20 in Sangla, but 20×2 in Kuno) as well as the structure of higher numer-
als in Kuno and in the Sangla group. In Kuno ʋa and naŋ occur in higher

4 Kuno is not unique in this respect among ST languages. Mazaudon (2010: 124–131) describes
parallel decimal and vigesimal numeral systems in Dzongkha (dzo), and a similar situation is
found in Bunan (bfu) (Widmer 2017) and Kanashi (xns) (Saxena and Borin 2022a).

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table 43 Numerals 1–10 in KST varieties in comparison with reconstructed Proto-Sino-

Tibetan (PST)

Sa Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na PST

1 ɪd ɪd/i i ʧik̚ *t(y)ak ~ *gt(y)ik; *ʔit

2 nɪʃ niʃi niʃ ɲiː *gnis

3 ʂʊm homo hʊm sum *gsum

4 pa/pǝ ʒi *blǝy

5 ŋa *bŋa, lŋa

6 ʈug ʈuk̚ ʈu ʈʰok ʈuk̚ *druk, *kruk

7 (s)tɪʃ tiʃ ʃiniʃ dun *snis

8 rɛ rajɛ/raje rea gɛt ̚ gjet *brgyat ~ *bgryat

9 gui sgui gui gu gu *dgǝw, *skǝw

10 sɛ sajɛ/saje sja sa ʧu *g(y)ip; *ʦ(y)i(y) ~ *ʦyay

numerals, ʋa indicating multiplication and naŋ addition, so that, e.g., fifty

is literally expressed as ‘twenty times (ʋa) two plus (naŋ) ten’ in Kuno, whereas
it is ‘two twenty ten’ in the Sangla group. However, in the decimal system
also used in Kuno, the order is multiplier–base–addend, as in all the other
varieties: dunʧu ʧik [seven.ten one] seventy-one (also ɲiʃuʋa sumnaŋ ʧugʃɪk
[twenty.ʋa three.naŋ eleven]).
Two separate terms (ra and gja/gʰeja) occur for the numeral 100 in the KST
varieties. ra occurs in Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa and Chitkul and gja/gʰeja occurs in
Labrang, Poo, Kuno and Nako. According to Hodson (1913), both ra and gja are
variations of the Central Tibetan form rgya. In Hodson’s view, this form can-
not be analyzed as forming part of a decimal or vigesimal system, instead it is
a separate distinct form.
Interesting differences are observable in the composition of the words for
500, 1,000 and 1,001 between the Sangla group (including in this case Labrang

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and Chitkul) and the Nako group. The order of constituents is 5 × 100 for 500 in
all varieties. The term for 1,000 in the Sangla group is hǝzar (which is a loanword
from Indo-Aryan), but it is tɔn in the Nako group.5
Despite these differences, all KST varieties (except the Kuno vigesimal sys-
tem) examined here form their composite numerals in the same way. When
higher numerals are made by multiplication, the multiplier precedes the base,
regardless of whether the variety uses a decimal or vigesimal numeral system.6
For example, forty will be expressed as 2×20 or 4 × 10, and not 20 × 2/10 × 4.
In the case of the formation of higher numbers by addition, the base precedes
the (smaller) number which is being added to it. For example, so niʃ (10 + 2)
twelve; soŋa (10+5) fifteen in Kinnauri, and ʧʊkɳi (10 + 2) twelve; ʧeŋga
(10+5) fifteen in Navakat. In higher numbers formed by both multiplication
and addition, the order becomes multiplier–base–addend, as expected. e.g.:
3 ×10+2=32. Further, all KST varieties use their ordinary numerals for forming
higher numerals, although sometimes this is obscured by the result of phono-
logical or morphophonological changes.
In all the varieties, except Poo, Kuno and Nako, no functional morpheme is
added between the base (20 or 10) and the smaller numeral. In Poo and Nako
more than one morpheme is found (see items thirty-one, forty-one, and
seventy-one in Table 57).7 As seen above, in Kuno, there are additional mor-
phemes for both multiplication (ʋa) and addition (naŋ).
On the whole, the numerals examined here are quite consistent with the
observations made by Hodson (1913) for Sino-Tibetan languages. The forms of
the numerals support the observations made above concerning the classifi-
cation of KST varieties, where Sangla, Kalpa, Ropa, Chitkul and Labrang and
Nichar form one group and Nako and Poo form another group—the former,
for example, exhibiting a modified vigesimal system and the latter exhibiting a
decimal system.

5.5 Basic Question Words

Table 58 shows the investigated basic question words and the automatically
computed correspondences among varieties, and Table 44 contains the sum-
mary statistics extracted from Table 58.

5 Written Tibetan: stoṅ ‘thousand’ (Bielmeier et al. MS 2008).

6 The term “base” is used here to refer to the number system base, 10 or 20 in the KST varieties
under discussion, and its multiples.
7 The elements added between tens and ones in Poo and Nako resemble those of the (Lhasa)
Tibetan system, where a different element is used for each decade (Bell 1939: 68f.). See also
Chapter 3, Section 3.5.

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table 44 Summary statistics for basic question words

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 3/5 3/5 3/5 0/5 0/4 0/5 0/4 0/5

(60%) (60%) (60%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ni 3/5 3/5 0/5 0/4 0/5 0/4 0/5
(60%) (60%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ka 4/5 1/5 0/4 0/5 0/4 0/5
(80%) (20%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ro 1/5 0/4 0/5 0/4 0/5
(20%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ch 0/4 1/5 1/4 1/5
(0%) (20%) (25%) (20%)
La 0/4 0/4 0/4
(0%) (0%) (0%)
Po 4/4 4/5
(100%) (80%)
Ku 4/4
(100%)

In all cases, Poo, Kuno, and Nako exhibit the same cognate for the question
words (even if the automated comparison does not always show this; see Sec-
tion 4). On the whole, it seems that the forms in Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa, and Ropa
are also etymologically related. As earlier, Chitkul and Labrang stand apart,
sometimes siding with the Nako group (who in Chitkul), sometimes with the
Sangla group (how in both Chitkul and Labrang), and sometimes exhibiting
unique forms (who in Labrang; where in Chitkul).

5.6 Personal Pronouns

Table 59 shows the investigated personal pronouns and the automatically com-
puted correspondences among varieties, and Table 45 contains the summary
statistics extracted from Table 5A.8.
All the KST varieties examined here share some similarities with regard
to their pronominal systems: First, in the second person the honorific–non-
honorific distinction is made in all varieties (e.g., kǝ 2sg.nh, ki 2sg.h in Sangla;
kʰóŋ 2sg.h, kʰøt 2sg.nh in Nako). Further, the plural pronominal forms are
made by suffixing a plural marker to the corresponding singular pronominal
form.

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table 45 Summary statistics for personal pronouns

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 6/8 6/8 4/8 4/7 3/8 0/7 0/6 0/9

(75%) (75%) (50%) (57%) (37%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ni 5/7 5/7 5/7 3/7 0/7 0/6 0/8
(71%) (71%) (71%) (42%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ka 4/7 4/7 3/8 0/6 0/6 0/8
(57%) (57%) (37%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ro 5/6 3/7 0/6 0/5 0/8
(83%) (42%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
Ch 3/7 0/6 0/6 0/7
(42%) (0%) (0%) (0%)
La 0/6 0/6 0/8
(0%) (0%) (0%)
Po 3/6 3/7
(50%) (42%)
Ku 4/6
(66%)

Apart from this, with regard to the pronominal forms, varieties fall into two
groups: Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa, Ropa, Chitkul, and Labrang form one group and
Poo, Kuno and Nako constitute another group. The two groups differ from each
other consistently in this regard. Generally speaking, there is more homogene-
ity within the first group than within the second group regarding the pronom-
inal forms. The same base forms for 2sg.h (ki) and 2sg.nh (kǝ) occur in the
Sangla, Kalpa, Nichar, Ropa, Chitkul and Labrang varieties. Poo, Kuno and Nako
have the same base form for the 2sg non-honorific: kʰøt,̚ but they have three
distinct forms for the 2sg honorific pronoun: ɲet ̚ in Poo; rue in Kuno; and kʰóŋ
in Nako. In all KST varieties, the 2pl is formed by affixing a plural marker to
the 2sg pronoun (for example, ki 2sg.h and ki-nɔ 2sg.h-pl in Sangla). This is
the case in both the second person honorific as well as non-honorific forms
in all varieties. These varieties, however, do not use the same plural markers.
If we concentrate our attention on the Sangla group it is, -nɔ in Sangla (e.g.,
kinɔ 2pl.h), but it is -ʃ in Kalpa, -ʧaŋ in Chitkul (e.g. kaʧaŋ 2pl.nh) and -paŋ in
Labrang (e.g. kɪnpaŋ).
The 3sg and 3pl forms in KST varieties, too, classify these varieties in two
groups: Poo, Kuno, and Nako form one group. They have the same base form

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3sg. It is kʰɔ. This is distinct from the forms (e.g., dɔ) found in the Sangla group
(including Chitkul and Labrang).8 With the exception of Ropa which in our
material has ʊno as the 3sg pronoun, all other varieties of this group (including
Chitkul and Labrang) have forms which are also found in Sangla.9 The forma-
tion of the plural form in the third person is the same as that of the second
person in these varieties—the plural marker is suffixed to the pronoun. But
it seems that the plural markers are not necessarily the same in second and
third person pronouns. Compare ki-nɔ 2sg.h-pl, but dɔ-gɔ 3sg-pl in Sangla, ki-
ʃi 2sg.h-pl and nʊ-go 3sg-pl in Kalpa. This seems to be the case in all varieties,
except Nako and Poo, where the same plural markers occur in all persons. See
Chapters 2 and 3 for more detailed information on plural formation in Kinnauri
and Navakat.
To summarize, the pronominal systems (including the pronominal forms)
in these varieties classify Sangla, Nichar, Ropa, Kalpa, Chitkul and Labrang
varieties in one group and Poo, Kuno and Nako as a separate group. The two
groups differ from each other in all cases concerning their pronominal forms.
The only similarities between these two groups are structural: Both groups
make a honorific–non-honorific distinction in the second person, and the plu-
ral pronouns are formed in both groups by suffixing the plural marker to the
corresponding singular pronouns.

5.7 Basic Vocabulary: Summary and Discussion

In Table 46 the combined statistics from a comparison of all nouns is presented,
i.e., the figures from Tables 37 (kinship terms), 38 (body part terms) and 39
(other basic nouns) are combined into one in Table 46.
Since the individual comparisons of the noun subsets painted a unanimous
picture of the classification of the KST varieties, it should come as no surprise
that the combined noun statistics provides evidence for the same groupings.
Table 47 summarizes the comparison statistics for the whole lexical ques-
tionnaire. As can be seen from the denominators in the fractions, there is no
single pair of varieties where all the 157 questionnaire concepts have been
recorded in both members of the pair. However, they share from 149 (e.g.,
Kuno–Nako) to 155 recorded concepts (e.g., Sangla–Nako).

8 We have more detailed data of Kinnauri, which exhibits a range of third person pronominal
forms (see Chapter 2). The forms found in the various KST varieties of the Sangla group show
some similarity with one or the other form found in Kinnauri. The only exception is Ropa,
which has ʊno as the third person singular pronoun. This form is not found in Kinnauri.
9 Out of all the KST varieties investigated, the data on the Sangla variety is the most extensive
(see Chapter 2).

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table 46 Summary statistics for all nouns

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 67/87 72/88 58/88 47/88 31/88 11/88 14/87 13/87

(77%) (81%) (65%) (53%) (35%) (12%) (16%) (14%)
Ni 61/87 48/87 38/87 26/87 10/87 12/86 12/86
(70%) (55%) (43%) (29%) (11%) (13%) (13%)
Ka 57/88 44/88 29/88 10/88 13/87 12/87
(64%) (50%) (32%) (11%) (14%) (13%)
Ro 38/88 37/88 17/88 19/87 17/87
(43%) (42%) (19%) (21%) (19%)
Ch 28/88 11/88 13/87 12/87
(31%) (12%) (14%) (13%)
La 22/88 25/87 22/87
(25%) (28%) (25%)
Po 56/87 62/87
(64%) (71%)
Ku 57/87
(65%)

Again, the same picture as before emerges (see Figure 16):

– Sangla, Nichar, and Kalpa form a clear grouping,
– with Ropa closely associated.
– Poo, Kuno, and Nako form another grouping, possibly somewhat less close
than the Sangla group.
– Finally, Chitkul and Labrang show greater affinity to the Sangla group than
to the Nako group, but are distant from both. At the same time, Chitkul and
Labrang are equally—or in some instances more—distant from each other
as they are individually from the Sangla group.
Since Swadesh lists are often used in this kind of lexicostatistical investigation,
summary statistics for all Swadesh list items in the questionnaire (88 concepts)
are shown in Table 48, and in Table 49 we show corresponding statistics for the
25 concepts used in the questionnaire from the 40-item globally most stable
Swadesh subset defined by Holman et al. (2008). If anything, the Swadesh list
comparison ties Ropa closer to the Sangla group. Otherwise, nothing substan-
tial changes.

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table 47 Summary statistics for the full lexical questionnaire

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 111/154 116/155 96/155 66/152 45/153 13/153 16/149 16/155

(72%) (74%) (61%) (43%) (29%) (8%) (10%) (10%)
Ni 103/153 87/153 56/151 39/151 11/152 14/148 14/153
(67%) (56%) (37%) (25%) (7%) (9%) (9%)
Ka 100/154 65/152 42/153 11/152 15/149 14/154
(64%) (42%) (27%) (7%) (10%) (9%)
Ro 60/151 52/152 19/152 21/148 20/154
(39%) (34%) (12%) (14%) (12%)
Ch 45/150 14/151 16/148 16/151
(30%) (9%) (10%) (10%)
La 26/150 31/149 27/152
(17%) (20%) (17%)
Po 97/149 105/152
(65%) (69%)
Ku 97/149
(65%)

figure 16 Preliminary grouping of the nine investigated KST varieties (branch lengths
are not significant)

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table 48 Summary statistics for all Swadesh list items

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 65/87 64/87 59/87 33/86 28/86 9/86 10/83 11/87

(74%) (73%) (67%) (38%) (32%) (10%) (12%) (12%)
Ni 58/86 53/86 28/86 25/85 7/86 9/83 9/86
(67%) (61%) (32%) (29%) (8%) (10%) (10%)
Ka 58/86 31/86 25/86 7/85 9/83 9/86
(67%) (36%) (29%) (8%) (10%) (10%)
Ro 31/85 33/85 12/85 13/82 14/86
(36%) (38%) (14%) (15%) (16%)
Ch 31/85 10/85 10/83 11/85
(36%) (11%) (12%) (12%)
La 15/84 17/83 16/85
(17%) (20%) (18%)
Po 57/83 62/85
(68%) (72%)
Ku 58/83
(69%)

5.8 Reflections on the Methodology

In this chapter, we have made a systematic comparison of nine KST varieties in
order to throw some light on the genealogical classification of these underde-
scribed linguistic systems. The comparison has focused on the lexicon, which
was investigated using an automatic, computational and purely quantitative
method inspired by recent work on lexicostatistics and dialectometry, com-
bined with traditional linguistic analysis and reasoning.
In Figure 16 we show the subgrouping of these nine KST varieties resulting
from applying the method to our lexical data.
As has been pointed out a number of times above, the automatic comparison
of lexical items often failed to pick out lexical item identities among varieties
which were glaringly obvious to the linguist. At this point we should remind
ourselves that this kind of computer program is simply a tool among many
others in the linguist’s toolbox. Correctly used, it can be very helpful and save
a lot of effort. In the present investigation it has turned out to be quite help-
ful to have an automated way of quickly calculating similarities among the
language varieties under scrutiny, not least as a “generator” of new research
questions.

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table 49 Summary statistics for the 25 most stable Swadesh items

Ni Ka Ro Ch La Po Ku Na

Sa 20/25 22/25 20/25 11/25 11/25 3/25 3/25 3/25

(80%) (88%) (80%) (44%) (44%) (12%) (12%) (12%)
Ni 19/25 19/25 11/25 11/25 3/25 3/25 3/25
(76%) (76%) (44%) (44%) (12%) (12%) (12%)
Ka 18/25 9/25 10/25 3/25 3/25 3/25
(72%) (36%) (40%) (12%) (12%) (12%)
Ro 10/25 14/25 4/25 4/25 4/25
(40%) (56%) (16%) (16%) (16%)
Ch 11/25 4/25 4/25 4/25
(44%) (16%) (16%) (16%)
La 5/25 5/25 5/25
(20%) (20%) (20%)
Po 19/25 21/25
(76%) (84%)
Ku 19/25
(76%)

It has helped to provide some answers and in the process proved its worth.
Given that one accepts lexicostatistics using Swadesh-style core vocabulary
lists as producing valid results, the refinement of this method that we have pre-
sented here seems to be a step in the direction of making this methodology
more useful for teasing out the relationships among closely related language
varieties.

6 Results: Grammatical Features

In this section some preliminary observations about grammatical phenomena

in the investigated KST varieties will be made on the basis of the noun phrase
and sentence items in the questionnaire, as well as some additional grammat-
ical data on reflexive and possessive pronouns collected during the fieldwork.

6.1 Reflexive and Possessive Pronominal Forms

In this section we will examine the forms as well as the composition of the
reflexive pronominals in the KST varieties. In all the KST varieties examined

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here, the reflexive pronouns inflect for number and person of their coreferen-
tial antecedents. This is illustrated below with data from Sangla and Nako.

Sa maŋ-o gǝs aŋ-u sa-k ‘In the dream I killed myself.’

maŋ-o ka-s kan-u sa-n ‘In the dream you (nh) killed yourself.’
do-s an-u-i lo-kjo ‘He said to himself.’
do-goː-s ane-goː-n(u) taŋtaŋ ‘They looked at themselves.’

Na mà=su mà-raŋ=la tá(e) ‘I observed myself.’

màʃak=su màʃak-raŋ=la táe ‘We observed ourselves.’
kʰóŋ=su kʰóŋ-raŋ=la táe- ‘You (sg) observed yourself.’ (indirect
ʋãːk knowledge)
kʰó=su kʰráŋ=la táe-ʋãːk ‘He observed himself.’ (indirect knowledge)
kʰóʋat=su kʰóʋat-raŋ=la ‘They observed themselves.’ (indirect
táe-ʋãːk knowledge)
kʰó kʰóŋ=la táe-ʋãːk ‘He observed you.’ (indirect knowledge)

The composition of the reflexive pronoun is, however, not the same in all KST
varieties. In Sangla, Kalpa, Nichar, and Ropa the reflexive form is the same as
the non-nominative personal pronominal forms in the first and second per-
sons (for example, aŋ ‘my/me’, kan ‘your/to you’ in Sangla), to which the dative
case marker is suffixed. In the third person the third person non-nominative
anaphoric pronoun10 an, functions as the reflexive pronoun. This can be seen
by comparing the examples of Sangla reflexives, provided above, with the
examples of possessive pronouns in Sangla, provided below (see also Chap-
ter 2):

Sa aŋ laː ‘my shadow’

kin bapu ‘your father’
an gas-oː ‘his (own) clothes’
do-goː-n gas-oː ‘their (someone else’s) clothes’

The reflexive pronominal formation in Nichar, Kalpa, and Ropa is the same as
described here for Sangla, and the forms aŋ, kan, kin, an for 1sg, 2sg.nh, 2sg.h,
3sg, respectively, are also the ones used in Nichar, Kalpa, and Ropa.
Distinct from this, in the Poo, Kuno and Nako varieties, the base of the reflex-
ive forms is the nominative form of the pronouns. The reflexive pronoun is

10 Third person non-anaphoric pronouns (in object form) in Sangla are, for example, hudu,
do-u.

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formed in all three varieties by adding the suffix -raŋ to the nominative forms
of the personal pronouns. See the Nako examples above and Chapter 3.
Labrang exhibits some similarity to the Sangla group in the reflexive pro-
nouns, in that the non-nominative pronominal form functions also as the
reflexive pronoun in the first person. It is aŋ in Labrang, as in the Sangla group.
However, the second and third person reflexive pronoun raŋ—not similar to
the other pronouns in Labrang—is shared with neither the Sangla group nor
the Nako group, although it could be related to the reflexivizing suffix -raŋ of
the Nako group and/or reflexive raŋ ‘self’ of Modern Tibetan.
Chitkul is distinct from all the other varieties in its reflexive pronouns. In
Chitkul the first person reflexive is the same as the nominative pronoun (gǝ).
Like in Labrang, a special reflexive pronoun—e—is used in both second and
third person, distinct from the non-reflexive second and third person pronouns
in this variety.
To summarize this section, as in the case of the personal pronouns, also with
regard to reflexive pronouns the KST varieties form two groups: Sangla, Nichar,
Kalpa, and Ropa form one group and Poo, Kuno and Nako form the other group.
The reflexive form in the Sangla group is the non-nominative forms of pro-
nouns, but in the Nako group it is the nominative pronominal form which is
the base form(s) for reflexives, to which a reflexive affix is suffixed. Labrang
and Chitkul do not clearly belong to one or to the other group, but also do not
form a third group together.

6.2 Adjective—Noun Order

The order of constituents within the noun phrase in most of the investigated
varieties seems to be Adjective–Noun. The exception is Nako, where the nor-
mal constituent order is Noun–Adjective. This is illustrated here with examples
from Kinnauri and Navakat (see also Chapters 2 and 3):

Kinnauri Navakat

moʈʰes ʧʰaŋ ‘fat boy’ ʈúː ɖùmpo ‘fat boy’

uʃk kim ‘old house’ kítaːp ʈápo ‘thick book’
ʃare ʦʰeʦʰaʦ ‘beautiful girl’ ʧìʋa kítpu ‘happy child’

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6.3 Some Preliminary Observations about the Grammatical Structure of

KST Varieties
Based on the sentences provided in the questionnaire (see Appendix 5A to
this chapter), some very preliminary observations on their grammatical struc-
ture are presented below. The groupings among the KST varieties which we
observed above are less clear when we consider the linguistic features which
we examine on the basis of these sentences, perhaps because the grammatical
features that we investigate are more abstract and change more slowly than the
lexicon. It is still worthy of note that many of these varieties show different and
noncognate endings for the same grammatical feature.
Case markers in nouns: All KST varieties have ergative and dative markers,
although different markers are used in different varieties. The ergative markers
in all varieties has some form of -(ǝ)s or -ʧi or -su. At least -(ǝ)s and -su may be
related. The dative markers are -la (sg)/-nu (pl) or -ra or -u.
Plural markers in nouns: All varieties seem to have -a as a nominal plural
marker. The plural marker precedes the case marker. Personal pronouns have
distinct plural markers (see above).
Constituent order: The order of sentence constituents in all varieties is SOV.
As we saw above, the noun phrase constituent order is Adj–Noun except in
Nako, where we find the reverse order.
Verbal morphology: It seems that future and past tense markers are suffixed
to the verb. In the case of Kalpa (future), Nichar/Poo/Chitkul (past) tense mark-
ers are similar to those in Kinnauri. In some varieties an -ʃ occurs as the 3.h
marker on the verb, while Nako exhibits no person or number indexing.

7 KST Varieties and Their Classification

Gerard (1841) lists five Sino-Tibetan varieties spoken in Kinnaur (“Koonawur”):

(1) “Milchan or common Koonawuree”; (2) “T,heburskud”; (3) the dialect spo-
ken in “Lubrung” and “Kanum”; (4) the dialect spoken in “Leedung”; and (5)
“B,hoteea or Tartar”. According to this account, while Milchan and B,hoteea
and, possibly also, T,heburskud are distinct languages (“tongues”), the varieties
spoken in Lubrung/Kanum and Leedung are “dialects” of Milchan.
Gerard (1842) provides a word list (containing approximately 1,190 entries11),
98 direct-elicited phrases and clauses, and short descriptive notes on nouns and
verbs in three KST varieties: Milchan, T,heburskud and B,hoteea/Tartar. The

11 Parallel entries for all three dialects are found for many, but not in all cases.

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word list contains primarily nouns, adjectives, numerals and infinitive forms
of verbs. There is also a word list of “Shoomchoo” (246 entries).
Cunningham (1844) adds Kinnauri Pahari (speech of the “Kohlis or Chu-
mars” to use Cunningham’s terminology) to the list of “tongues”/ “dialects”
mentioned by Gerard (1842), and provides a short comparative word list of
“Milcháng or common”, “Tibberkad”, “Chamangee” (Kinnauri Pahari) and “Bho-
tee of Pitti, Hangrang, Rungchung, &c”. In total there are 110 entries, most for
Milchan and Bhotee and relatively fewer for the other two (Cunningham 1844:
225–228).
Bailey (1909: 661–662) classifies Kinnauri into four dialects: (i) “Kanauri
proper”, (ii) “Lower Kanauri”, (iii) “Thĕbör skad‘ ” and (iv) the variety spoken
in Rakcham and Chitkul. The only difference between Kanauri proper and
Lower Kanauri, according to Bailey, is in the lexicon—where Lower Kanauri
has borrowed many lexical items from the neighboring Indo-Aryan languages.
He regards the variety spoken in Chitkul and Rakcham as a distinct dialect of
Kanauri, and classifies the KST varieties of Upper Kinnaur as Tibetan (Bailey
1909: 662). This information is also provided in later work by Bailey (1910), and
is also included in the 1981 Indian Census Handbook (p. 9).
More recent accounts of the linguistic situation in Kinnaur extend these
older accounts and recognize approximately eight languages indigenous to the
region. Common to these accounts—e.g., Chamberlain et al. (1998), Huber
(2007), and Saxena (2011)—is that they essentially rely on the Ethnologue
(Eberhard et al. 2021 and earlier editions) for this assessment.12
The seven Sino-Tibetan languages recognized by the Ethnologue and also
other sources (e.g., Glottolog; Hammarström et al. 2020) as spoken in Kinnaur
are described in Table 50. Genealogically, these languages are generally classi-
fied under two different subbranches of Sino-Tibetan, with Bhoti Kinnauri and
Tukpa classified as Tibetic and the other five languages as West Himalayish.
The Ethnologue places all seven languages under the subbranch Kinauri
(earlier Kanauri), which in other respects corresponds to West Himalayish
or Tibeto-Kanauri in more accepted classifications among experts on Sino-
Tibetan languages (e.g., Bradley 1997, 2002; LaPolla 2006, 2017a; Thurgood
2017), which in their turn largely coincide with Benedict (1972). The place-
ment of the Tibeto-Kanauri (or [West] Himalayish) subbranch among the Sino-
Tibetan languages varies somewhat, on the other hand. In the most common
classification, (West) Himalayish forms a sister branch of Bodic under Bod-
ish (Benedict 1972; Bradley 1997, 2002; Hyslop 2014), whereas LaPolla (2006,

12 An exception in this regard is Webster (1991).

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table 50 KST varieties according to the Ethnologue

Name (ISO 639-3 Alternative names / village(s) (tahsil) where spoken in

code) Kinnaur

Jangshung (jna) Jangrami, Zangram, Zhang-Zhung, Jangiam, Thebor, Thebör

Skadd, Thebarskad, Central Kinnauri / Jangi, Lippa, Asrang
(Morang)
Kinnauri (kfk) Kinnaura Yanuskad, Kanoreunu Skad, Kanorug Skadd,
Lower Kinnauri, Kinori, Kinner, Kanauri, Kanawari, Kanawi,
Kunawari, Kunawur, Tibas Skad, Kanorin Skad, Kanaury
Anuskad, Koonawure, Malhesti, Milchanang, Milchan,
Milchang / From Chaura to Sangla and north along Satluj
River to Morang, upper Ropa valley villages.
Kinnauri, Bhoti (nes) Nyamskad, Mnyam, Myamskad, Myamkat, Nyamkat, Bud-
Kat, Bod-Skad, Sangyas, Sangs-Rgyas, Bhotea of Upper
Kinnauri / Nisang [Nesang] and possibly also Kuno and
Charang (Morang); Poo (Poo)
Kinnauri, Chitkuli (cik) Chitkuli, Chitkhuli, Tsíhuli, Tsitkhuli, Kinnauri, Kanauri,
Thebarskad / Rakcham, Chitkul (Sangla)
Shumcho (scu) Sumchu, Sumtsu, Shumcu, Thebor, Thebör Skadd, The-
barskad, Central Kinnauri, Sumcho / Kanam, Labrang,
Spilo, Shyaso, Taling, Rushkaling (Poo)
Sunam (ssk) Sungam, Sungnam, Thebor, Thebör Skadd, Thebarshad,
Central Kinnauri, Sangnaur / Sunam (Poo)
Tukpa (tpq) Nesang / Nesang, Charang, Kunnu [Kuno] (Morang)

2017a) and Thurgood (1984, 1985) place West Himalayish and Tibetic further
apart in the family tree, under different primary branches of Sino-Tibetan (see
Figure 17).13
Based on our results, we could then classify Sangla, Nichar, Kalpa, and possi-
bly Ropa as the language (Lower) Kinnauri (kfk), Chitkul as Chhitkuli Kinnauri
(cik), and Labrang as Shumcho (scu). Overall, the lexical comparison made

13 While the “Rung” label has been used at least since Thurgood (1984), its actual content
has varied, it is not generally accepted among Sino-Tibetanists, and Thurgood (2017: 24f.)
himself seems to have abandoned it (although this is not completely clear from the pre-
sentation in Thurgood 2017). However, the fact that it is presented in a handbook-style
publication such as Thurgood and LaPolla (2017) motivates its inclusion here.

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408 chapter 5

figure 17 Placement of the West Himalayish (WH) and Tibetic sub-

branches among the Sino-Tibetan languages according to
the most common view (left) and according to LaPolla (2006,
2017a) (right)

here shows Poo and Nako to be slightly closer to each other than either is to
Kuno, but the differences are small and with some vocabulary subsets actually
go the other way (e.g., Tables 42, 44, and 45). If we are to speak of languages
rather than a dialect continuum, these results indicate that we should recog-
nize three languages or one language, but not two. The Nako group is consis-
tently different from the Sangla group by a large margin in all cases, and thus the
results shown here suggest a classification of these three varieties—Poo, Kuno,
and Nako—as Tibetic (rather than West Himalayish) languages or varieties,
namely as Bhoti Kinnauri (nes), completely in agreement with the traditional
view (see Figure 18).
The Nako group is certainly distant enough from the other varieties for this
to be conceivable. Further, all three varieties of the Nako group exhibit the
probative lexical features of Tibetic, namely the form of the personal pro-
nouns for second person singular (Navakat kʰjǿt) and third person singular
(kʰó) (see Table 59 in Appendix 5A), plus the numeral ‘seven’ (dùn, dỳn) (Thur-
good 2017: 11). Further, the finite verb forms in Kinnauri and Navakat differ more
or less along the lines discussed by DeLancey (2014), the former exhibiting
an “archaic” inflectional system, conveying information about the argument
structure of its clause, while in the latter we find a “creoloid” structure, which
encodes only discourse-grounding information. In this sense, too, Navakat is a
typical Tibetic language, and not a West Himalayish one (DeLancey 2014: 58 ff.).

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figure 18 Resulting lower-level classification of the investigated KST varieties (branch

lengths are not significant)

Also, going back to the more detailed descriptions of Kinnauri and Navakat
in Chapters 2 and 3, we note some striking differences between the respective
linguistic systems (Table 51). In all these cases, as also mentioned in Chapter 3,
Navakat is similar to Modern Tibetan, exemplified here by Lhasa Tibetan (Bell
1939; DeLancey 2017b).

table 51 A comparison of Kinnauri and Navakat with (Lhasa) Tibetan

Lhasa Tibetan Navakat Kinnauri

Phonetics: Is there phonemic tone?

Yes Yes No

Case markers

erg = ins case marker?

Yes No. -su [erg]; daŋ [ins] Yes. It is -s

Is the dat marker la?

Yes Yes No. It is -u, -n(u), -pǝŋ

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table 51 A comparison of Kinnauri and Navakat with (Lhasa) Tibetan (cont.)

Lhasa Tibetan Navakat Kinnauri

Is the poss marker (-)ki?

Yes Yes No. It is -n(u)

Are the loc markers ru, na?

No. loc = dat (C-la, V-r) Yes No. It is -o, -no, -r

Is the case marking system consistently ergative?

No Insufficient data Yes

Honorificity

Are there distinct honorific and non-honorific verb stems?

Yes, for a set of verbs Yes, for a set of verbs No

Is honorificity marked on the verb with an inflectional ending?

Yes No, exception: some verbal Yes

categories (e.g. imperative)
distinguish h/nh

Are there distinct honorific and non-honorific second person pronouns?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

khyedrang [2sg.h]; kʰóŋ [2sg.h]; ki [2sg.h];
khyedranggnyis [2du.h]; kʰóŋʃak, kʰóŋʤak [2pl.h]; kiʃi [2du.h];
khyedrangʦho [2pl.h]; kʰjǿt [2sg.nh]; kino [2pl.h];
khyodrang [2sg.nh]; kʰjǿtʋat [2pl.nh] ka [2sg.nh];
khyodranggnyis [2du.nh]; kaniʃ [2du.nh];
khyodrangʦho [2pl.nh] kano, kanego [2pl.nh]

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table 51 A comparison of Kinnauri and Navakat with (Lhasa) Tibetan (cont.)

Lhasa Tibetan Navakat Kinnauri

Pronouns

Is there an incl–excl distinction in the first person pronoun?

Yes. ŋā=ʦho (excl); Yes. màʃak, ɲèt (excl); Yes. niŋɔ (excl);
ŋa=rang=ʦho (incl) òn (incl) kiʃa (incl)

Are there distinct nominative and non-nominative pronominal forms?

No No Yes. It has distinct forms

for 1sg & 3.ana pro-
nouns: gǝ [1sg.nom];
aŋ [1sg.nnom]; do, no
[3sg.nom]; an [3sg.ana]

How are reflexive pronouns formed?

One reflexive pronoun for Personal pronoun + -raŋ The non-nominative pro-
all persons: raŋ ‘self’ noun

Constituent ordering: Adj, N

N–Adj N–Adj Adj–N

Verb inflection

Are there different verb stems to mark tense/aspect and/or imperative?

Yes Yes, in some cases Only in one case: the verb

‘come’ has a distinct imper-
ative verb form (ʤi)

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table 51 A comparison of Kinnauri and Navakat with (Lhasa) Tibetan (cont.)

Lhasa Tibetan Navakat Kinnauri

Are tense and aspect two distinct inflectional grammatical categories?

No No. There are fusional Yes

grammatical morphemes
signalling tense and evi-
dentiality.

Is there a subject indexing marker?

No. There is an egophoric No. There is an egophoric Yes

system combined with system combined with
evidentiality evidentiality

Negation: Is the negative marker sensitive to tense/ aspect?

Yes. ma- (pfv, fut) and Yes. ma- (pst) and mi- No. ma- occurs in all tenses
mi- (ipfv) (npst)

How are imperatives formed?

The basic imperative is A small set of verbs have Only in one case: the verb
equivalent to the present distinct h/nh forms, ‘come’ has a distinct imper-
or perfect verb root, some- including the imperatives ative verb form (ʤi). In all
times with vowel changes in this verb set. other cases, one of the fol-
(e.g. a > o). To this can be Apart from this, the h.imp lowing suffixes is added to
added various endings form is formed by adding the verb:
reflecting degree of hon- the suffix -rɔʧì to the verb -riɲ : -iɲ/-ɲ : -iʧ /-ʧ : -ra : -o :
orificity, e.g. -ronaŋ, -roʧe stem. The nh.imp form- -u : Ø
(h) and -ʃi (nh). ing strategies: (i) bare verb
form; (ii) a change in the
stem vowel (a or e > o); (iii)
-i or -e is suffixed to the
verb; (iv) lengthening of
the stem vowel

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linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 413

table 51 A comparison of Kinnauri and Navakat with (Lhasa) Tibetan (cont.)

Lhasa Tibetan Navakat Kinnauri

How are prohibitives formed?

ma- is prefixed to the nhon: ma- is prefixed to tʰa- is prefixed to the

imperative form the bare verb stem. imperative verb form
hon: V-ro mapèt

In conclusion, here we have seen that the two KST varieties examined in this
monograph—Kinnauri and Navakat, differ from each other at the phonolog-
ical, lexical as well as at the grammatical level. In almost all the cases where
the two languages differ, Navakat shows affinity with Tibetan, confirming the
conclusions of the vocabulary comparison described in Section 5 above.

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414 chapter 5

Appendix 5A: Questionnaire Items and Vocabulary Comparison

Tables

5A.1 Questionnaire Items14

5A.1.1 Lexical Items
In the following list, all 237 questionnaire concepts are listed, and the 157 items
used for the lexicostatistical investigation reported on in Section 5 of this chap-
ter are shown in italics. For the latter set, Swadesh list items (88 concepts) are
marked by their Swadesh list number, and Swadesh items in the set of 40 glob-
ally most stable items identified by Holman et al. (2008) are marked by an
asterisk after the number (25 concepts).

i/1* maternal grandfather animal/44

you (sg h)/2 maternal grandmother goat
you (sg -h)/2* paternal grandfather bird/46
(s)he/3 paternal grandmother dog (f, m)/47*
we (incl)/4* woman/36 cat (f; m)
we (excl)/4 man (adult male)/37 sheep
you (pl h)/5 man (human being)/38 snake/49
you (pl -h)/5 child/39 lamb
they/6 daughter tree/51*
this son forest/52
that wife/40 hen
here husband/41 fruit/54
there mother/42 seed/55
who/11 father/43 leaf/56*
what/12 older sister root/57
where/13 younger sister bark
when/14 older brother beautiful a.
how/15 younger brother grass/60
not maternal aunt rope/61
all paternal aunt cat (m, f)
many maternal uncle meat/63
some paternal uncle blood/64*
girl yak bone/65*
boy yak (female)

14 Hindi, which is the official state language of Himachal Pradesh, is generally understood
by the people of Kinnaur. During data collection, when needed, Hindi was used as the
contact language, as it is more widely understood than, e.g., English.

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linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 415

milk dig v. wind/163

egg/67 swim v. snow/164
food fly v. ice
tail/69 walk v. spring (season)
sugar come v. fire/167*
face lie v. mountain/171*
hair (head)/71* sit v. red a./172
head/72 stand v. green a./173
ear/73* fall v. yellow a./174
eye/74* give v. white a./175
nose/75* hold v. black a./176
mouth/76 wash v. night/177*
tooth/77* wipe v. day/178
foot/80 pull v. year/179
leg push v. warm a./180
hand/83* throw v. cold a./181
butter tie v. small a./32
glacier say v. big a./27
village sing v. long a./28
breast play v. new a./183*
heart flow v. old a./184
drink v. gold good a./185
eat v. silver bad a./186
bite v. copper straight a./189
suck v. sun/147* round a./190
laugh v. moon/148 wet a./194
see v. star/149* dry a./195
hear v. water/150* near a.
know v. rain/151 far a.
think v. river/152 right a.
smell v. pond; lake left a.
fear v. iron one/22*
sleep v. salt/155 two/23*
live v. stone/156* three/24*
die v. summer four/25
kill v. winter five/26
fight v. earth six
hunt v. cloud/160 seven
hit v. autumn eight
cut v. sky/162 nine

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416 chapter 5

ten thirty-three one thousand one

eleven forty today
twelve forty-one yesterday
thirteen fifty 1 day before y.-day
fourteen sixty 2 days before y.-day
fifteen sixty-one 3 days before y.-day
twenty sixty-two 4 days before y.-day
twenty-one seventy tomorrow
twenty-two seventy one 1 day after tomorrow
twenty-three eighty 2 days after tomorrow
twenty-four eighty-one 3 days after tomorrow
twenty-five ninety 4 days after tomorrow
twenty-six one hundred carpenter
thirty one hundred one singer
thirty-one five hundred
thirty-two one thousand

5A.1.2 Noun Phrases

‘green grass’ ‘fresh food’ ‘water spring’

‘dry grass’ ‘black hair’ ‘barren land’
‘cold milk’ ‘mountain top’ ‘hot summer’

5A.1.3 Sentences

‘Santosh cooked food’ ‘Ram saw a/the small boy today’

‘The children played and got tired’ ‘Ram saw a/the small girl today’
‘Ram saw (the) small children today’
‘Ram saw a/the small house today’

5A.2 Vocabulary Comparison Tables

The vocabulary comparison tables are provided in full on the following pages.
In the tables we use the following notational conventions. Abbreviations
(italicized in the tables) are used for the village names: Sangla (Sa), Nichar (Ni),
Kalpa (Ka), Ropa (Ro), Chitkul (Ch), Labrang (La), Poo (Po), Kuno (Ku), Nako
(Na). Vocabulary items refer to concepts and are identified by English words
(or phrases on a few occasions) in small caps. Swadesh list items are further
identified by their Swadesh list number added to the end of the English word
and separated from the word by a slash: laugh/100. Items without this num-
ber do not appear in the Swadesh list. There are 88 Swadesh list concepts in

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linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan 417

the questionnaire (see above). If a Swadesh list item is marked with an aster-
isk, this means that the item is in the subset of 40 Swadesh list items found to
be the most stable globally by Holman et al. (2008). There are altogether 25 out
of these 40 items in the questionnaire (see Section 5.7).
The longer noun and adjective tables are arranged with the English concept
glosses in alphabetical order. The other tables are arranged according to other
principles (semantically or by Swadesh number). In the correspondence tables,
numerical indices in square brackets appear in each cell to identify the lan-
guage varieties which share a form for this concept, i.e. items considered the
same according to the formal principles presented above in Section 4.2. Multi-
ple indices in the same cell are separated by slashes.
Note that since the investigations described in this chapter were conducted
before undertaking the more detailed phonological analysis underlying the
phonemic orthography used in Chapter 2, the transcription system used for
(Sangla) Kinnauri in Tables 52–59 below differs somewhat from that used in
Chapter 2. However, in the interest of verifiability and reproducibility of results,
I have elected to retain the earlier, less phonemic transcription here.

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 418

table 52 Automatic comparison of kinship terms

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

m.grand- [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
father tete (maperɔŋ) (mapɔ) tete (maːpo) tete (matʃa) tete meme meme meme mème
tete
m.grand- [1/3/4/5/6] [2] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
mother api (maperɔŋ) ai (mapɔ) api (maːpo) api (matʃa) api api aʋi aʋi áʋi
p.grand- [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
father tete tete tete tete tete meme meme meme mème
p.grand- [1/3/4/5/6] [2] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
mother api ai api api api api aʋi aʋi áʋi
wife/40 [1/2/4/6] [1/2/4/6] [3] [1/2/4/6] [5] [1/2/4/6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
gone; gone goʋene gone bore gone nama tʃɛnmo náma
tsʰɛsmi
mother/42 [1/3/4/5/6/ [2] [1/3/4/5/6/ [1/3/4/5/6/ [1/3/4/5/6/ [1/3/4/5/6/ [1/3/4/5/6/ [1/3/4/5/6/ [1/3/4/5/6/
7/8/9] aʋ 7/8/9] 7/8/9] 7/8/9] 7/8/9] 7/8/9] 7/8/9] 7/8/9]
ama, ǝma ama ama ama ama ama ama áma
daughter [1/2/4] [1/2/3/4] [2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
tʃimɛd tʃimɛ(d) tʃimɛt tʃimet ̚ ɖju atʃi tsamɛd pomo pomo pòmo
older [1] dɔuts [2] dai [3] dao [4] atʃʰe [5] atʃa [6] apu [7/8/9] aʒi [7/8/9] aʒi [7/8/9] áʒi
sister
younger sis- [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4/5] [4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ter bǝɪts; baits baɪts baja baja bete nomo nomo nòmo (tʃʉn);
ɖekʰraːts nòmo (tʃun)
husband/41 [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
tʃʰɔŋmi; dats dats dats dat ̚ dats pruŋ ɖuŋmi dakpo mákpa
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 table 52 Automatic comparison of kinship terms (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

father/42 [1/3] [2] [1/3] [4/6/7/8/9] [5] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9]
boʋa; bapu baba bɔba apa au apa apa apa áʋa
son [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [5] ɖe atʃi [1/2/3/4/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
tʃ ʰaŋ tʃʰaŋ tʃʰaŋ tʃʰaŋ tʃʰaŋ ʈuː ʈuː ʈúː
older [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [4/6/7/8] [1/2/3/5] [4/6/7/8] [4/6/7/8] [4/6/7/8] [9]
brother ate ate ate atʃo (teɪ) ate atʃo atʃo atʃo áʒo
younger [1/2/5] [1/2] [3/4] [3/4] [1/5] [6] [7] [8/9] [8/9]
brother (gaʈo) ate; baits baja; baɪa baja (atsu) ate bete nono no nò
bǝɪts
maternal [1/2/3/5/6] [1/2] [1/3/5/6] [4/7/8/9] [1/3/5/6] [1/3/5/6] [4/7/8/9] [4/7/8/9] [4/7/8/9]
uncle mɔma mama moma adʒaŋ moma moma aʒaŋ aʒaŋ áʒaŋ
maternal [1] [2] [3] [4/7] [5] [6] [4/7] [8] [9]
aunt ama; nane autse amni ane (matʃa) ene tsema ane matʃuŋ mèʒoŋ
(‘older m.a.’)
paternal [1/2/5] [1/2] [3] [4] [1/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
uncle (teg) bɔʋa; baba; babats babu tsipa bapu aku apatʃu(n) aʊtʃuŋ éu
linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan

bapu
paternal [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4] [5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
aunt nane nane; nai nane tsima ene ane ane ane áne
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 420

table 53 Automatic comparison of terms for body parts

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

head/72 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
bal bal baːl bal pitʃaː piʃa ⁿgɔ go ⁿgɔ̀
face [1/3/4] [2] [1/3/4] [1/3/4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
to sto to to mukʰaŋ mumi ŋɔnɔŋ donok ŋòdo(ŋ)
hair [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
(head)/71* kra kra kra kra kra kra ʈa ʈa ʈá
tail/69 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
pǝtsnɪŋ pantsiŋ pǝtsǝnɪŋ pikon mɛts mɛkɔn ŋama ŋama ŋáma
ear/73* [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
kǝnaŋ kanaŋ kanaŋ kanaŋ rɔts repaŋ namdʒɔk̚ namtʃɔk námdʒɔk̚
eye/74* [1/2/4/5/6/ [1/2/4/5/6/ [3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
7/8/9] mig 7/8/9] mig 7/8/9] mik 7/8/9] mik̚ 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mik̚ 7/8/9] mɪk̚ 7/8/9] mík̚
nose/75* [1/3/4] [2] [1/3/4] [1/3/4] [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
takuts stakʊts takuts takuts rim mur na naʊ ná
mouth/76 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
kʰǝkaŋ kʰakɔŋ kʰakaŋ kʰakaŋ aː agor kʰa kʰa kʰá
tooth/77* [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
gar gar gar gar sua sʋa so so só
hand/83* [1/2/4/6] [1/2/4/6] [3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [5] [1/2/3/4/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
gʊd gʊd gʊt gʊt ̚ lau gʊt ̚ lakpa lakpa làkpa
foot/80 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
baŋ baŋ baŋ baŋ boŋ baŋkʰan kaŋba kaŋpa káŋba
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 table 54 Automatic comparison of other basic nouns

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

animal/44 [1/2/3/4/8/9] [1/2/3/4/8/9] [1/2/3/4/8/9] [1/2/3/4/6/8/9] [5] [4/6] [7] [1/2/3/4/8/9] [1/2/3/4/8/9]
sakɔ; sɛmtʃɛn sɛmtʃɛn tʃʰuma; rat tʃʰuma sɪmtʃɪn sɛmtʃɛn sémtʃen
semtʃen; sem sɛmtʃɛn
autumn [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
ʈʃarmi ʈʃarmi tʃarmi tʃarmi tʃarmi nuŋ namle nam tóŋga
bird/46 [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [4] [1/2/3/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
pjats pjats pjats pjad pjats pɪat tʃiu dʒa tʃà
blood/64* [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5] [4/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
polats polats pɔlats polad; ʃʋi pola ʃʋi ʈʰak ʈʰak ʈʰák̚
bone/65* [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [4/6] [1/2/3/5] [4/6] [7] [8] [9]
hǝraŋ harɔŋ haraŋ harko haraŋ harko rukok rufa rùːgok̚
butter [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] mar 7/8/9] màr
cat (f; m) [1/3/4/5/6/8] [2] pǝʃ [1/3/4/5/6/8] [1/3/4/5/6/8] [1/3/4/5/6/8] [1/3/4/5/6/8] [7/9] [1/3/4/5/6/8] [7/9]
piʃi (mǝnʈr, skjo) piʃi piʃi piʃi piʃi puʃi piʃi púʃi
child/39 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan

tʃʰaŋ tʃʰaŋ tʃʰaŋ tʃʰaŋ atʃi tʃigdʒja tʃiʋa tʃiʋa tʃìʋa

cloud/160 [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
dʒu dʒu dʒu dʒuː zu mukpa makpa tin ʈín
copper [1/2/3/4] ʈro- [1/2/3/4] ʈro- [1/2/3/4] ʈro- [1/2/3/4] ʈro- [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
maŋ maŋ maŋ maŋ ʈamaŋ tromaŋ saɖ saŋma sã́ː
day/178 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
dear; lae lae laje laje niri nir ɲɪnmo ɲɪnmo; tiriŋ ɲìnmo
dog/47* [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
421

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 422

table 54 Automatic comparison of other basic nouns (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

egg/67 [1] [2] [3/4/5] [3/4/5] [3/4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
litr lito liʈ liʈ liː lili guʋa goŋa gòã
fire/167* [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
7/8/9] me 7/8/9] me 7/8/9] me 7/8/9] me 7/8/9] me 7/8/9] me 7/8/9] mɛ 7/8/9] me 7/8/9] mè
food [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
kʰɔʊ kʰau kʰau tʰaktʰuk̚; tsas kɔn ʈʰaktur takʰtuk̚ saptuŋ sèptuŋ
forest/52 [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
zaŋgal zaŋgal dʒaŋgal dʒaŋgal zaŋgal dʒaŋgal rija riga rìa
fruit/54 [1/2/3/5/6] [1/2/3/5/6] [1/2/3/5/6] [4] [1/2/3/5/6] [1/2/3/5/6] [7] [-] - [-] -
fɔlaŋ fɔlaŋ fɔlaŋ uʃo pʰolaŋ fɔlaŋ ʃɪntʃuk̚
glacier [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [4/6] [1/2/3/5] [4/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
risur risur risur lisur risur lisʊr rut rut ̚ rùːt ̚
goat [1/2/3/4] [1/2/4] [1/3] [1/2/4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
bakʰɔr; adʒ bakʰɔr; bɔlu bakʰaraŋ (f); bakʰɔr tet tɛt ̚ rama rama; raʋo ràma
(male) (male) adʒ (male)
gold [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7] [8/9] [8/9]
zaŋ zaŋ zaŋ zaŋ zaŋ zaŋ sir ser sér
grass/60 [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
tʃi tʃi tʃi tʃiː tʃiː tsi sa sa sá
hen [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
(maɳʈr) (manʈr) (manʈu) kukari kukari kukari tʃamo kukuri tʃàmo
kukari kukari kukari
iron [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] r [6/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
rɔn rɔn rɔn rɔn ɔn tʃakʰ tʃak tʃak tʃáː; tʃák
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 table 54 Automatic comparison of other basic nouns (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

lamb [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
kʰats kʰats kʰats kʰats krats krat lu lugu lùː
leaf/56* [1/3] [2] [1/3] [4/6] [5] [4/6] [7] [8] [9]
patʰraŋ patraŋ patʰraŋ patalaŋ patʰǝraŋ patəlaŋ hɔk hɔg lìp̚
man [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
(human)/38 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mi 7/8/9] mì
man [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6/8] [7/8] [6/7/8] kʰjɔk- [9]
(male)/37 ɖekʰres ɖɛkʰros dʒʋan ɖɛkʰrad boiŋ mi kʰjɔktɔŋ tɔŋ; mi pʰúʒa
meat/63 [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [7] [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
8/9] ʃa 8/9] ʃa 8/9] ʃa 8/9] ʃa 8/9] ʃa 8/9] ʃa ʃia 8/9] ʃa 8/9] ʃá
milk [1] [2] [3/4/5] [3/4/5] [3/4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
kʰiraŋ kʰiroŋ kʰɛraŋ kʰeraŋ kʰeraŋ kʰatipɛl (h)oma oma òma
moon/148 [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8] [7/8] [9]
golsaŋ golsaŋ golsaŋ golsaŋ golsaŋ golsaŋ daʋa daʋa ⁿdàːr
mountain/ [1/2/4] [1/2] [3] [1/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
171* ɖɔkʰaŋ; raŋ ɖɔkʰaŋ ɖɔkaŋ raŋ ʈʰol ʋe la la là
linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan

night/177* [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] gø̀ emo;
tʊr; ratɪŋ ratɪŋ ratɪŋ ratɪŋ muni gɔ̃ goŋmo tsaŋmo gòemo
pond; lake [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [1/2/3/5] [4] [1/2/3/5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
sɔraŋ sɔraŋ sɔraŋ soː soraŋ tʃɔ tʃo tʃo tʃó
rain/151 [1/2/4/6/7/8/9] [1/2] [3] [1/4/6/7/8/9] [5] [1/4/6/7/8/9] [1/4/6/7/8/9] [1/4/6/7/8/9] [1/4/6/7/8/9]
gʋɛnɪŋ; gʋɛnɪŋ lagɛts tʃʰarʋa gojnɪŋ tʃʰarba tʃ ʰã́rʋa tʃ ʰarʋa tʃ ʰárʋa
tʃʰarʋa
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 424

table 54 Automatic comparison of other basic nouns (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

river/152 [1/2/5] [1/2/5] [3] [4] [1/2/5] [6] [7] [8/9] [8/9]
garǝŋ garaŋ sɔmɔndraŋ nalaŋ garaŋ luŋpʰa tsaŋbo tsaːnpʰo; tsáːnfo
tsaːnpʰoŋ
root/57 [1/3/4/5/6] [2] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [7] [8] [9]
dʒilaŋ dziloŋ dʒilaŋ dʒilaŋ dʒilaŋ zilaŋ batak patak pàdak̚
rope/61 [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4/6/7/8/9] [5] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9]
baʂ bǝʃ bǝʃ tʰakpa lat tʰakpa tʰakpa tʰakpa tʰákpa
salt/155 [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃa 7/8/9] tʃá
seed/55 [1/3/4/5] [2] [1/3/4/5] [1/3/4/5] [1/3/4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
bijaŋ bijoŋ bijaŋ bijaŋ bijaŋ pʊdzad saŋon saŋon sáŋɔn; sáŋøn
sheep [1/2/3] [1/2/3] (mal) [1/2/3] [4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
zɛd zɛd (mɔl) zɛd kʰas modzat braŋ mamo mamo màmo (‘ewe’)
silver [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
7/8/9] mul 7/8/9] mul 7/8/9] mul 7/8/9] mul 7/8/9] mul 7/8/9] mul 7/8/9] mul 7/8/9] mʊl; 7/8/9] múl
mʉl
sky/162 [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
sorgaŋ sorgaŋ sorgaŋ sorgaŋ sorgaŋ nam nam nam nám
snake/49 [1] [2/3/6] [2/3/6] [4] [5] [2/3/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
sapes sapas sapas saʋəs sapa saʋas ɖul ɖʊl ɖùl; ɖỳl
snow/164 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
pom pom pom pom haŋ ras kʰa kʰa kʰáː
spring (sea- [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
son) rɛnam rɛnam rɛnam rena(m) renam gjanəm tʃ ʰarko tonka píka
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 table 54 Automatic comparison of other basic nouns (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

star/149* [1/5] [2/3] [2/3] [4/6/7/8/9] [1/5] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9] [4/6/7/8/9]
tar; kar skar skar karma kaːr karma karma karma kárma
stone/156* [1/2/4/5/6] [1/2/4/5/6] [3] [1/2/4/5/6] [1/2/4/5/6] [1/2/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
rag rag runiŋ ra(g) ra kɔlɔn; ra dua dua dùa
sugar [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [6] [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/
7/8/9] tʃini 7/8/9] tʃini 7/8/9] tʃini 7/8/9] tʃini 7/8/9] tʃiniː sini 7/8/9] tʃini 7/8/9] tʃiniː; 7/8/9] tʃíːni
ŋarmo
summer [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4] [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
ʂɔl ʃɔl ʃɔl ʃolo sol hɔlaŋ jarka ɛrka járka
sun/147* [1/3/4] [2] [1/3/4] [1/3/4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
june jun june junek̚ ni ni ɲima ɲima ɲìma
tree/51* [1/2/3/6] [1/2/3/6] [1/2/3/6] [4] [5/7/8/9] [1/2/3/6] [5/7/8/9] [5/7/8/9] [5/7/8/9]
boʈʰaŋ boʈʰaŋ boʈʰaŋ botaŋ paːŋ boʈʰaŋ paŋ paŋ páŋ
village [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
deʃaŋ deʃaŋ deʃaŋ deʃaŋ dɛʃaŋ deʃaŋ jul jʊl; jʉl jùl
water/150* [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [1/2/3/4/5/ [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [1/2/3/4/5/6/
linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan

6/9] ti 6/9] ti 6/9] ti 6/9] ti 6/9] ti 6/9] ti tʃ ʰu tʃ ʰu 7/8/9] tʃ ʰú; tí

wind/163 [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7] [8] [9]
laːn laːn lan laːn laːn laːn lagda lagpa lágdɛ
winter [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
gun gun gun guno guni gʊnaŋ gunkʰa gunka gùnga
woman/36 [1/2] [1/2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
tsʰɛsmi tsʰɛsmi tsʰɛtsɛs; tsʰesemi mɔrɪŋ mʊnʃɪŋ kʰimamo pomo kʰímamo
tsʰetses
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 426

table 54 Automatic comparison of other basic nouns (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

yak [1/4/5/6/8/9] [2/3/4/5/6/7] [2/3/4/5/6/7] [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [2/3/4/5/6/7] [1/4/5/6/8/9] [1/4/5/6/8/9]
jak jag jag 7/8/9] jak̚ 7/8/9] ja 7/8/9] jaː jag jak jàk
yak (female) [1/3/5] [-] - [1/3/5] [4/6] [1/3/5] [4/6] [7/8] [7/8] [9]
brime brime brimo brime brimo ɖimo ɖimo jakmo
year/179 [1/3/4/5/6] [2] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [1/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
boʂaŋ borʃaŋ boʃaŋ boʃaŋ boʃaŋ boʃaŋ lɔ lo lò; lɔ̀
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 table 55 Automatic comparison of adjectives

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

bad/186 [1/3] [2] [1/3] [4/6] [5] [4/6] [7] [8] [9]
mari maːr mari halam maʃəro halam akʰe tʰʊa ŋànba
beautiful [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7] [8] [9]
ʃare ʃare ʃare ʃare ʃare ʃare laho lakpo làːfo
big/27 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8] [7/8] [9]
teg; teːg teg teg teg tɛi tʃei tʃ ʰepo tʃ ʰepo tʃ ʰétpo
black/176 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
rok rok rɔk rɔk̚ kʰai kʰai nakpo nakpo nàkpo
cold/181 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3] [1/2/3/4] [1/3/4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
lis; tʃɪk; sɔk tʃɪk sɔk; tʃɪk sɔt ̚ kʰati kʰati ʈaŋmo ʈaŋmo ʈàŋmo
dry/195 [1] [2/3] [2/3] [4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ʈʃarmu ʈʃarts ʈʃarts tʃar fɔsi fɔsi kampo kambo kámpo
good/185 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6/8] [7/9] [6/8] [7/9]
dam dam dam dam dzoi epo gaŋʃɪn (peo- epo dèmo; zàŋbo;
ple); ʃɪmbo ʃímpo; ʃímbo;
(inan.); demo ètpo
linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan

green/173 [1/2] [1/2] [3/4] [3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
raːg raːg rak raːk pʰi tiŋ ŋonpo; ŋonpo; ŋǿnpo
ŋønpo ɖompo (blue-green)
long/28 [1] [2/3/4] [2/3/4] [2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
lames lamɔs lamas lamas rui ʃui; sarpa riŋpo riŋpo rìŋpo
new/183* [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ɲug; ɲuːg ɲuːg ɲuk̚ ɲuk̚ nui nui soma soma sóma
old/184 [1/2] ʊʂk [1/2] ʊʃk [3] ɔʃk̚ [4] ʊʃ [5] hui [6] uʃi [7/8/9] ɲiŋpa [7/8/9] ɲɪŋpa [7/8/9] ɲìŋba
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 428

table 55 Automatic comparison of adjectives (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

red/172 [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ʃʋig ʃʋig ʃʋig ʃʋik mãĩ mãĩ marbo marbo márʋo
round/190 [1/4/7/9] [2] [3] [1/4/7/9] [5/6/9] [5/6/9] [1/4/7/9] [8] [1/4/5/6/7/9]
baʈlɛs; girgir baʈlos baʈlas girgir kirkir kirkir girgir tɔktɔk kírkir; gìrgir
small/32 [1/2/3/4] [1/2] [1/3/4] [1/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
zɪgɪʦ; gaʈo gaʈo dzigits dzigit ̚ ətsə tsɪgdza tʃun tʃun kúrkur; tʃýn;
tʃún
straight/189 [1/2] [1/2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
sɔlɖɛs sɔlɖɛs sɔlɖas silʈa pɔdəra kʰosra ʈaŋbo ombo ʈʰáŋbo
warm/180 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
bɔk bɔk bɔk bɔk̚ tatʰəra kotʃʰra ʈønmo; toŋpa ʈø̀ nmo
ʈonmo
wet/194 [1/4] [2] [3] [1/4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
pintʃ; tʰis spenǝk pɪnk tʰis rakʃiː tʰɪsi lʉnpa lemba lánte
white/175 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ʈʰog ʈʰog ʈʰog ʈʰog tʃãĩ tʃai karʋo karbo kárʋo
yellow/174 [1/2] [1/2] [3/4] [3/4] [5/6] [5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
pig pig pik piːk lei lei serʋo sɛrbo sérʋo
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 table 56 Automatic comparison of some adverbs of time

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

today [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [5] [1/2/3/4/6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
tɔrɔ tɔrɔ toro tɔrɔ tʰan tɔrɔ tirɪŋ derɪŋ tìrɪŋ
yesterday [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
me mɛ me mɛʃpa nei ʃɪraŋ daŋ daŋ ⁿdã̀ŋ
1 day bef. y. [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/9] [8] [7/9]
ri ri ri ri tubrja tʊʃɪraŋ kʰeniʃak kʰarɲɪŋ kʰɛ́niʃak̚
2 days bef. y. [1] [2/3/4] rɪkt- [2/3/4] rɪkt- [2/3/4] rikt- [-] - [6] [7] [8] [9]
rɪgtsɔmja sɔmja sɔmja sɔmja pitu ʃɪraŋ dʒinɪŋ dʒerɲɪŋ dʒìniʃak
3 days bef. y. [1] [2] r [3] [4] rɪktsɔm- [-] - [6] [-] - [-] - [9]
rɪktsʊ ɔmja ɪktsɔmjʊ rɪktʃamjaʊ jaktsʊ ɔmɪa; itu ʃɪraŋ gùniʃak
ɔmja ɔmja rɪktsumɪa
omɪa
4 days bef. y. [-] - [-] - [-] - [-] - [-] - [-] - [-] - [-] - [9]
tʃ ʰúniʃak
tomorrow [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
nab; nasom nab nab nasom obi ŋaɪro naŋmo naŋmo nàŋmo
1 day aft. t. [1/3/4] [2/6] [1/3/4] [1/3/4] [5] [2/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan

rɔmi rome rɔmi rɔmi nirja rɔmɛʈ naŋ naŋ náŋ; náː
2 days aft. t. [1/3] [2/4/6] [1/3] [2/4/6] [5] [2/4/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
paŋe pãɛ̃ paŋe pãẽ barja pajɛʈ dʒe dʒe dʒèj
3 days aft. t. [1/3] [2] [1/3/6] [4] [5] [3/6] [7] [8] [9]
tʃɛŋe ɛ̃ẽ tʃɛŋe; ɛŋe emi tʰerja ɛŋɛʈ guiʃak naŋmo gùi
naŋdʒe
4 days aft. t. [1/3] [2] [1/3] [4] [5] [-] - [7] [-] - [9]
ʈɛŋe tʃɛ̃ẽ ʈɛŋe tʃemi koɲa ʃuiʃak tʃ ʰúi
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 430

table 57 Automatic comparison of numerals

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

one/22* [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ɪd ɪd ɪd ɪd; i i i tʃik tʃɪk tʃík̚
two/23* [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [5] [1/2/3/4/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
nɪʃ nɪʃ nɪʃ nɪʃ niʃi niʃ ɲiː ɲiː ɲíː
three/24* [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] sum [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ʂum ʃum ʃum ʃum homo hʊm sum súm
four/25 [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
pa pə pə pə pə pə ʒi ʒi ʒì
five/26 [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/
7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋa 7/8/9] ŋá
six [1/2/4/5/6/9] [1/2/4/5/6/9] [3/4/5/6/8/9] [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [1/2/3/4/5/6/ [7] [3/4/5/6/8/9] [1/2/3/4/5/6/
ʈug ʈug ʈʊk 8/9] ʈuk̚ 8/9] ʈu 8/9] ʈu ʈʰok ʈuk 8/9] ʈùk̚
seven [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2] [1/3/4/5] [1/3/4/5] [1/3/4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
(s)tɪʃ stɪʃ tɪʃ tiʃ tiʃ ʃiniʃ dun dun; dʉn dùn; dỳn
eight [1] [2/3/4] [2/3/4] [2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
rɛ rajɛ rajɛ raje rea gɛt ̚ gjet gjet; gjɛt gjèt ̚
nine [1/3/4/5] [2] [1/3/4/5] [1/3/4/5] [1/3/4/5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
gui sgui gui gui gui gu gu gu gù
ten [1] [2/3/4] [2/3/4] [2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
sɛ sajɛ sajɛ; saje saje sja sa tʃu tʃu tʃú
twenty [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7/8] [7/8] [9]
niza niza niza niza niza nisa ɲiʃu ɲiʃu nìʃu
thirty [1] [2/3] [2/3] [4] [5] [6/8] [7/9] [6/8] [7/9]
nizo sɛ nizo sajɛ nizɔ saje nizau saje nizaɔ sja sumtʃu sumdʒu ɲiʃu naŋ tʃu; súmdʒu
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 table 57 Automatic comparison of numerals (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

thirty-one [1/2] [1/2] [3/5] [4] [3/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
nizo sigit nizo sigit nizaɔ sigit nizau sigit ̚ nizaɔ sigit nisau sait sumdʒu ɲiʃu naŋ súmdʒu
ʃɔkʃɪk tʃugʃik; sɔkʃɪk̚
sumtʃu tʃik
forty [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
niʃ niza niʃ niza niʃ niza niʃ niza niʃ niza niʃ nisa ʒɪptʃu ɲiʃuʋa ɲiː; ʒìptʃu
ʒiptʃu
forty-one [1/2] [1/2] [3] [4/5] [4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
niʃ nizo ɪd niʃ nizo id niʃ nizaɔ ɪd niʃ nizau i(d) niʃ nizau i niʃ nisau id ʒɪptʃu ʃɔkʃɪk ɲiʃuʋa ɲinaŋ ʒìptʃu ʒakʃɪk̚
tʃɪk; ʒiptʃu tʃik
fifty [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
niʃ nizo sɛ niʃ nizo sajɛ niʃ nizaɔ saje niʃ nizau pãẽ ʈai nisa ɲabtʃu ɲiʃuʋa ɲinaŋ ɲèptʃu
adʰaŋ tʃu; ɲaptʃu
sixty [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7] [8/9] [8/9]
ʃum niza ʃum niza ʃum niza ʃum niza ʃum niza hum nisa ʈʰuktʃu ɲiʃuʋa sum; ʈùktʃu
ʈugtʃu; ʈuktʃu
linguistic relationships in kinnaur i: sino-tibetan

seventy [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
ʃum nizo sɛ ʃum nizo sajɛ ʃum nizaɔ ʃum nizau ʃum nizaɔ sja hum nisaɔ sa duntʃu ɲiʃuʋa sum- dùntʃu
saje saje naŋ tʃu; dun -
tʃu; dontʃu
seventy-one [1/2] [1/2] [3/5] [4] [3/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
ʃum nizo sigit ʃum nizo sigit ʃum nizaɔ ʃum nizau ʃum nizaɔ hu(m) nisau duntʃu donʃɪk ɲiʃuʋa sum- dòntʃu dɔkʃɪk̚
sigit sihi(d) sigit sait naŋ tʃugʃɪk;
duntʃu tʃik
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 432

table 57 Automatic comparison of numerals (cont.)

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

eighty [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7/8] [7/8] [9]
pə niza pə niza pə niza pǝ niza pǝ niza pǝ nisa gjaʒu ɲiʃuʋa dʒi; gʰèdʒu
gjaʒu
ninety [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
pə nizo sɛ pə nizo sajɛ pə nizaɔ saje pǝ nizau saje pǝ nizao sja pɔ nisaɔ sa guptʃu ɲiʃuʋa dʒinaŋ gùptʃu
tʃu; guptʃu
one hundred [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9] [6/7/8/9]
ra ra ra ra ra gja gja gja gjà
five hun- [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
dred ŋara ŋara ŋara ŋara ŋara ŋagja ŋabgja ŋabgja ŋábgja
one [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
thousand hazaːr hazaːr hadʒaːr hazaːr hǝzar hadʒaːr tɔŋ tɔŋ tɔ́ ŋ; tóŋ
one [1/3/4/6] [2] [1/3/4/6] [1/3/4/6] [5] [1/3/4/6] [7/8] [7/8] [9]
thousand hazaːru id; id hazaːr id hadʒaːru ɪd hazaːru i(d) i hǝzar i hadʒaːru id tɔŋtʃik tɔŋtʃɪk tɔ́ ŋraŋ tʃɪk̚
one hazaːr id naŋtʃɪk;
tɔŋtʃɪk
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 table 58 Automatic comparison of question words

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

who/11 [1/4] [2/3/4] [2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5/7/8/9] [6] [5/7/8/9] [5/7/8/9] [5/7/8/9]
had hat hat hat ̚ su ʊŋ su su sú
what/12 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
tʃ ʰəd ʈʰɔ tʰǝ(d) ʈʰət ̚ kʰe tʃʰe tʃi tʃi tʃí
where/13 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [-] - [7] [-] - [9]
ham ham ham ha(m) go kana kànɖu
when/14 [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
teraŋ; tɛraŋ terɔŋ tɛraŋ teraŋ home taʃpa nam nam nàm
how/15 [1] [2] [3/4/5] [3/4/5] [3/4/5] [6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
hala halɛs hale hale hale ale tʃuk̚ tʃuk tʃúk̚
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table 59 Automatic comparison of personal pronouns

Sa [1] Ni [2] Ka [3] Ro [4] Ch [5] La [6] Po [7] Ku [8] Na [9]

1sg/1* [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
gǝ gǝ gǝ gə gə gǝ; gʉ ŋa; maŋ ŋa ŋà; mà
2sg.h/2 [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [1/2/3/4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
ki ki ki ki ki giraŋ ɲet ̚ rue kʰóŋ
2sg.nh/2* [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/5/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
kǝ; ka ka ka ka ka ka kʰøt ̚ kʰøt ̚ kʰǿt ̚
3sg/3 [1/2/3/4/5/6] [1/2/3/4/6] [1/2/3/4] [1/2/3/4] [1/5] [1/2/6] [7/8/9] [7/8/9] [7/8/9]
dɔ; hɔdɔ; nɔ; dɔ do ʊno; dɔ hojo nɔ kʰɔ kʰɔ kʰɔ
hɔnɔ; nɔ;
hɔjɔ;
1pl.incl/4* [1/3] [2/4/5] [1/3] [2/4/5] [2/4/5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
niŋa niŋ niŋa nɪŋ niŋsa; niŋ nɪŋpaŋ maŋʃak hotset òn
1pl.excl/4 [1] [-] - [3] [4] [-] - [6] [-] - [-] - [9]
kiʃaŋ niʃi kaʃaŋ kirapaŋ màʃak̚; ɲèt ̚
2pl.h/5 [1/2] [1/2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
kinɔ kino kiʃi kin katʃaŋ kɪnpaŋ ɲiʃak kʰeraŋ kʰóŋʃak̚;
kʰóŋdʒak̚
2pl.nh/5 [1] [2] [-] - [4] [-] - [-] - [7] [-] - [9]
kano kanego kan kʰjoʃak kʰóʋat;̚
kʰóʃak̚
3pl/6 [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [1/2/3] [-] - [5] [6] [7] [8/9] [8/9]
dɔgɔ; hɔdɔgɔ; nʊgɔ; dɔgɔ dogo homo tetpaŋ dɔmi pia kʰoʋa kʰóʋat;̚
honogɔ; nɔgɔ kʰóʃak̚
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 chapter 6

Linguistic Relationships in Kinnaur ii: Language

Contact between Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Aryan

1 Introduction

The language varieties which can claim a non-recent presence in Kinnaur

represent two language families, Sino-Tibetan (ST) and Indo-Aryan (IA), the
largest subbranch—in terms of number of languages—of the Indo-Iranian pri-
mary branch of Indo-European. In Chapter 5, we investigated the genealogical
relationships among the ST varieties of Kinnaur. In this chapter, we will also
bring Kinnauri Pahari (see Chapter 4)—a language from the Western Pahari
subbranch of IA—into the comparison, where we will examine some instances
of linguistic similarities between Kinnauri (ST) and Kinnauri Pahari (IA)—
both spoken in the Sangla region in Kinnaur. We will occasionally extend the
comparison to other IA and ST languages spoken outside Kinnaur, with a view
to elucidate contact and even areal phenomena as a component of the linguis-
tic ecology of Kinnaur.

2 Language Contact in Kinnaur

Kinnaur presents several layers of language contact, both across and within lan-
guage families. Traditionally, language contact was direct, happened in a local
context, and came about through trade, administrative interaction and reli-
gion. Today, we are witnessing another layer of linguistic influence, that of the
increasing dominance of Hindi (IA), the official language of Himachal Pradesh
as well as one of the two national languages of India. With the changing socio-
cultural conditions and a growing awareness among the locals about Hindi as
a medium for social mobility, it is increasingly becoming the inter-community
language. An even more recent and more global contact phenomenon is the
growing importance of English (India’s other national language).
Hindi and English are seen as modern languages, associated with acquiring
status-bearing jobs and higher social status, whereas local languages (Kinnauri
and Kinnauri Pahari alike) are associated with a traditional, non-modern life-
style. Further, because of the development of modern mass media (e.g. tele-
vision and streamed media) locals in the villages are now regularly exposed

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436 chapter 6

to the official state-level and nationally dominant languages to an unprece-

dented extent. This means that the previously dominant role of Kinnauri is
increasingly being taken over by Hindi. The younger generation of Kinnauri
and Kinnauri Pahari speakers increasingly use Hindi as their lingua franca—
the function earlier served by Kinnauri1—and frequently mix their native lan-
guage with Hindi and Indian English words (see Chapter 1).
In sum, the language situation in Kinnaur is such that we would expect to
find that language contact has played a significant role in the development
of its languages. This certainly holds for the two linguistic varieties spoken
alongside each other in the Sangla region in Lower Kinnaur whose mutual
interaction is in focus in this chapter: the ST language Kinnauri (described in
Chapter 2) and the IA language Kinnauri Pahari (described in Chapter 4). In the
following sections we present some lexical and grammatical features shared
by Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari against expectations, given their genealogical
affiliations, in order to throw some light on the traditional (non-recent) contact
situation in this area.2

3 Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari: Shared Linguistic Features

3.1 Lexicon: Names of the Days and Months

The names of the days and months as well as the system used in dividing a year
into months are quite similar in Kinnauri to that of the names and the calendar
system found in Kinnauri Pahari and also in the IA languages of the plains (i.e.,
outside the Himalayan region).3
Table 60 shows that the names of the days of the week in Kinnauri4 have
similar counterparts in IA languages and that the names in Kinnauri are very
different from those of Navakat.

1 Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari are the means of communication in respective “in-group” con-
texts. Kinnauri is traditionally the lingua franca of this region, a practice which continues to
date among older people.
2 Although calling it “non-recent” glosses over the fact that we still do not know much about
the linguistic prehistory of this area. For example, different clans among the Kinnauri speak-
ers in the Sangla region are said to have migrated into Kinnaur from different parts of lower
Himachal Pradesh. In some cases the members of these clans are still known by the names
of the villages in lower Himachal Pradesh which they are said to have migrated from.
3 Indus Kohistani (Zoller 2005) which belongs to the IA Northwestern zone, spoken in north-
ern Pakistan has a division of the year into months which is similar to English or Tibetan, but
with its own terms. The words for the days of the week, too, are strikingly different in Indus
Kohistani from other IA languages such as Hindi.
4 As described in Chapter 2, a set of IA nouns in Kinnauri take the adaptive marker -aŋ.

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 linguistic relationships in kinnaur ii 437

table 60 The days of the week in Kinnauri and Indo-Aryan

Gloss Kinnauri IA correspondences Navakat

(K: Kotgarhi; hin: Hindi; san: Sanskrit)5

Monday suãraŋ, sʋaːraŋ, suŋaːraŋ swāːr (K); somvaːr (hin) ʣà ndàʋa

Tuesday maŋglaːraŋ muŋgǝɭ (K); maŋgalvaːr (hin) ʣà mígmar
Wednesday budaːraŋ būdː (K); budhvaːr (hin) ʣà làkpa
Thursday brespot brēst (K); braspativaːr (hin) ʣà fúrʋu
Friday ʃukaraŋ ʃūkːǝr (K); ʃukravaːr (hin) ʣà pásaŋ
Saturday ʃonʃeres ʃɛ̄nʃǝr, ʃǝnɪcːǝr (K); ʃanivaːr (hin); ʣà pénba
śanaiścaraḥ (san)
Sunday tʋaːr, tʋaːraŋ twaːr (K); itvaːr (hin) ʣà ɲìma

As was the case with the days of the week, the terms for months in Kinnauri
are also very similar to the terms used in those IA languages where the Hindu
religion is prevalent (see Table 61). Here we find not only similarities in the
forms of the names of the months, but also in the way in which the year is
divided into months. The first column (“Period”) describes how a year is divided
into months in both Kinnauri and in Kinnauri Pahari; the second column pro-
vides the Kinnauri terms and the third column provides corresponding month
names in some IA languages.
Similar borrowing of the Hindu calendar system and names for the week-
days is also found in some other West Himalayish languages, e.g., Kanashi (own
fieldwork data), Darma (Willis Oko 2019: 467), and marginally also in Tinani
(see below).

5 Kotgarhi, like Kinnauri Pahari, belongs to the Western Pahari subbranch of IA, and is used as
a stand-in for Kinnauri Pahari in this table. Hindi, too, is an IA language. The Kotgarhi and
Sanskrit data presented in this chapter are from Hendriksen (1976, 1986). When data is from
a secondary source, its original language name and transcription is retained in this chapter.
Hindi data is from my own native-speaker knowledge of the language.

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table 61 The calendar system in Kinnauri and IA languages

Period Kinnauri IA correspondences (kjo: Kinnauri Pahari; K: Kot-

garhi; hin: Hindi; san: Sanskrit)

Mid March–mid April ʧetraŋ ʧɛtaːr (kjo); tsɛtːǝr (K); ʧɛtram (hin); caitraḥ (san)
Mid April–mid May b(ʰ)aiʃakʰaŋ, beʃakaŋ baːʃaː (kjo); bǝʃɛ̄ː (K); vɛʃaːkh (hin)
Mid May–mid June ʤeʃʈaŋ ʣeʃʈh (kjo); ʣēʈːh (K); ʤjesṭ (hin); jyaiṣṭhaḥ (san)
Mid June–mid July aːʃaraŋ aːʃaːr (kjo); ʃāɽ, ʃāːɽ (K); āṣāḍhaḥ (san)
Mid July–mid August ʃonaŋ ʃaːmaːn (kjo); ʃauɳ (K); ʃraːvaŋ (hin); śrāvaṇaḥ (san)
Mid August–mid September b(ʰ)adraŋ baːdrɔ (kjo); bʿɔ́ dːǝr (K); badhɔ (hin)
Mid September–mid October indramaŋ, indromaŋ indrɔmaːŋ (kjo); sɔ̄ ːɟ (K); āśvayujaḥ (san)
Mid October–mid November kaːtiaŋ kaːti (kjo); katːɪ (K); kaːrtik (hin)
Mid November–mid December mokʃeraŋ mɔgʃri (kjo); maŋgʃǝr, maghar (hin); mārgaśirāḥ (san)
Mid December–mid January poʃaŋ poʃ (kjo); pōʃ (K); pɔʃ (hin); pauṣaḥ (san)
Mid January–mid February maːŋ maŋ (kjo); māgː (K); maːgh (hin)
Mid February–mid March pʰagnaŋ phāgːəɳ (K)

table 62 The calendar system in Navakat and Tinani

Period Navakat Tinani

January ndàʋa tàŋbo kunza la, kunzla

February ndàʋa ɲíʋa püɳa la, püɳla
March ndàʋa súmba ʦugzu la
April ndàʋa ʒìʋa breʃu la
May ndàʋa ŋáʋa heʦim la
June ndàʋa ʈùkpa sur la
July ndàʋa dùnba ʃelik la
August ndàʋa gétpa mi ʃak
September ndàʋa gúʋa maŋrar
October ndàʋa ʧúʋa kjurla
November ndàʋa ʧúkʃikpa minʣugla
December ndàʋa ʧúɲiːʋa binʈu la

Distinct from this, two other ST languages of Himachal Pradesh for which we
have the relevant data—Navakat and Tinani6—exhibit both a different divi-
sion of the year into months (“Period”) and naming of the months (“Navakat”

6 Tinani data in this chapter come from my own fieldnotes collected during 1988–1994 and
the data that were collected in my research project Digital documentation of Indian minority

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table 63 The weekdays in Tinani

Tinani IA correspondences (K: Kotgarhi; hin: Hindi)

Monday sombar(e)7 swāːr (K); somvaːr (hin)

Tuesday məŋgaɽ(e) muŋgǝɭ (K); maŋgalvaːr (hin)
Wednesday budd(e) būdː (K); budhvaːr (hin)
Thursday brespət(e) brēst (K); braspativaːr (hin)
Friday ʃukk(e)r(e) ʃūkːǝr (K); ʃukravaːr (hin)
Saturday ʃənʧar(e) ʃɛ̄nʃǝr, ʃǝnɪcːǝr (K); ʃanivaːr (hin)
Sunday aitʋər(e) twaːr (K); itvaːr (hin)

and “Tinani”), as shown in Table 62.8 The Navakat naming system, where the
months are simply numbered, is also found in Tibetan. Interestingly, while
Tinani has not borrowed the IA calendar system (Table 62), it has borrowed
the names of the weekdays (Table 63). For further details, see Saxena and Borin
(2022b).
To summarize, the terms for the days of the week and months as well as
the calendar system in Kinnauri are very similar to that found in many IA lan-
guages. Singh (1990: 248) describes how the village gods were claimed to have
more Hindu affinities in the Lower Kinnaur region, and more Buddhist affini-
ties in Upper Kinnaur. He suggests that the Hindu and Buddhist characteristics
that we see today in modern Kinnaur are secondary developments, which are
superimposed on the earlier—pre-Hindu and pre-Buddhist religion of the eth-
nic population in Kinnaur. Keeping in view the socio-cultural factors involved,
it is very likely that, in this case, the IA influence on Kinnauri comes either

languages (funded by the Swedish Research Council 2003–2005) in collaboration with the
Central Institute of Indian Languages. I would like to thank our language consultants, espe-
cially Mr. Rajesh Thakur and Mr. Nandlal for their enormous knowledge and patience and
co-operation.
7 Another West Himalayish language spoken in Himachal Pradesh, Gahri (Bunan), also has a
similar form: somra ‘Monday’ (D.D. Sharma 1989).
8 The names of the months, provided here, occur frequently in everyday Navakat speech, but
the Navakat names of the days provided in Table 63 are seldom used in modern times in every-
day speech. According to my language consultant (Padam Sagar), reference to days is not so
common in everyday speech in Nako. Reference to day names occur mostly in the speech of
schooled adults or school-going children, who tend to use the corresponding Hindi names
instead. Some other ST languages, e.g. Lotha (Acharya 1983), Tangkhul Naga (Arokianathan
1987) and Angami (Giridhar 1980), too, have the Tibetan/English calendar system.

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through religion or through some other channel, and not directly from Kin-
nauri Pahari.

3.2 Lexicon: Words for Past and Future Time Adverbs

ST languages tend to have distinct words for past and future time adverbs (i.e.,
for terms corresponding to the English yesterday and tomorrow; day before yes-
terday and day after tomorrow). This is illustrated in Table 64 with examples
from some West Himalayish languages, including Kinnauri.9
Distinct from this, in many IA languages the same term is used for both
past and future time adverbs (e.g. Hindi kal, Assamese kali, Punjabi kala and
Rajasthani kyāla are all used in these languages for both ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomor-
row’). However, Kinnauri Pahari has separate sets of terms for past and future
time adverbs (e.g., hiːdz ‘yesterday’, kaːle ‘tomorrow’; see also Table 65),10 just as
in Kinnauri—though the terms are different in the two languages.
At first glance, one might be tempted to conclude that Kinnauri Pahari has
borrowed this feature from Kinnauri, but this is not borne out by the distribu-
tion of this feature across IA. There are several Western Pahari languages as well
as some languages in other subfamilies of IA, which exhibit this pattern (e.g.,
Marathi kaːl ‘yesterday’, ud̪ jaː ‘tomorrow’; Kashmiri yēwa, kāl ‘yesterday’, pagāh
‘tomorrow’) (see the emphasized items in Table 65).
Further, Sanskrit, which represents the older stage of the contemporary IA
languages, had this distinction; terms such as hīdz ‘yesterday’ and shūī ‘tomor-
row’ (see Table 65) are related to the Sanskrit forms hyas ‘yesterday’ and śvas
‘tomorrow’, which have disappeared from IA languages such as Hindi, but are
retained in some modern IA languages.

9 Sources of information for Table 64: Byangsi (S.R. Sharma 2003a); Rongpo (S.R. Sharma
2003b); Gahri (D.D. Sharma 1989); Raji (Shree Krishan 2003), and Chaudangsi and Darma
from the STEDT database. The data on Kanashi, Pattani and Kinnauri are from my field-
notes.
10 The data in Table 65 come from the digital South Asian dictionaries available online
at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/ (including Turner 1966), from the South Asian
IDS/LWT lists available at https://spraakbanken.gu.se/en/projects/digital‑areal‑linguistic
s (Borin et al. 2013), and from Bailey (1908, 1920), except for Chinali (D.D. Sharma 1989) and
Jaunsari (Satish 1990). Here, as elsewhere in this volume, I have retained the original tran-
scription but normalized the language names. In some cases a language may have a way
of unambiguously referring to ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’, for instance, by adding a modifier
to the basic word, e.g., Bangla gatakāla ‘yesterday’ : āgāmīkāla ‘tomorrow’. Crucially how-
ever, the basic word may be used on its own meaning either ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’, and
in such cases must be disambiguated by the context. This is similar to English words like
grandmother or brother, which may, but do not have to, be further specified using mater-
nal/paternal or little (younger)/big (older), respectively.

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table 64 Past and future time adverbs in West Himalayish (ST)

Language ‘yesterday’ ‘tomorrow’ ‘the day before ‘the day after

yesterday’ tomorrow’

Byangsi nyaːrɛ nimjaː hrija sɯmjaː

Chaudangsi nyarə məci hrajya ninjya
Darma niməŋ khəi hrijya niŋjya
Gahri yaː acci giwa
Kanashi muɖ naːb riːd romi
Pattani/Manchad èreg mùtaŋ túrag ɲúrag
Raji byarə kəllə
Rongpo nyaːr oro thamiŋ baːgya
Kinnauri meː naːb riː romi
Tinani eki(ɂ) muntaŋ tuʃar njurgja

table 65 Past and future time adverbs in IA languages. Boldface indicates lexical differen-
tiation of past and future time reference

Language ‘yesterday’ ‘tomorrow’ ‘two days ago’ ‘the day after

tomorrow’

Assamese kali
Awadhi kālh, kāl, kallhi
Gujarati kāl
Hindi kal
Kashmiri yēwa, kāl pagāh
Marathi kaːl ud̪jaː
Punjabi kallh, kall, kallu
Prakrit kalaiṁ, kalliṁ, kalhiṁ
Rajasthani kyāla

Western Pahari
Bhalesi hī kāla parē tsōŭth
Baghati kal kaḷkā pōrshū
Bilaspuri kăl părsū
Bilaspuri, South- kăl părsū̃
ern
Chambeali kal parsū

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table 65 Past and future time adverbs in IA languages. (cont.)

Language ‘yesterday’ ‘tomorrow’ ‘two days ago’ ‘the day after

tomorrow’

Chinali hi šui pǝre pǝšui

Handuri kăl părsū
Jaunsari beyä dotiyä
Jubbal, North hīz ōrshī phrēz pōrshī
Jubbal, South hījo dōtte, jīshī phŏrzŏ pŏrshī
Kinnauri Pahari hiːdz kaːle pɔːʃi pʰɔridz
Kiunthali hījō dōtē phrěʣō pōshūē
Koci, Kuari bĭau dōutī phŏrēdz pōshī
Koci, Rohru hīzz kāllā phrēz pōrshī
Koci, Surkhuli hīdz kālle phărīdz pōrshī
Kotgarhi hīdzē kāllē pŏrshē pŏrshē
Kotguru hīdzē kāllē phŏrŏz pŏrshē
Mandeali kāl parsī
Mandi Siraji kāl părshī
Padari hī shūī parē tlĕan
Rampur hīdz kalle phrez porsho
Siraji, Inner hīdz shūī pŏrshī pharz
Siraji, Outer hīj kāllā phŏrŏz pŏrshē
Siraji, Suket hīdz kāllā phărdz pŏrshī
Suketi, Eastern hīdz kăl phărdz pŏrshī

An overview of past and future time adverbs in IA (and ST) languages is

presented in Figure 19. It shows that among the IA languages outside the
Himalayan region the normal system is the use of the same form for both, while
the use of separate forms for ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’ among IA languages is
more frequent in the Himalayan region, where they are in contact with ST lan-
guages.
One plausible conclusion could be that the contact with ST languages has
favored a preservation of the older system in a number of Western Pahari lan-
guages, as seen in Table 65 (the boldfaced items). Once again, this seems to be
an areal feature, and not a phenomenon exclusive to Kinnauri Pahari.

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figure 19 Words for past and future time adverbs (blue/darker = IA; red/lighter = ST; ▲ =
same; ■ = different)

3.3 Lexicon: Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’

Many IA languages have a lexical item which is used for both ‘face’ and ‘mouth’
(Table 66).11 Table 66 includes IA languages from different sub-branches. It
shows that the majority of these languages (21 languages) exhibit a polysemous
item expressing both ‘face’ and ‘mouth’. The six languages where this polysemy
is not attested all belong to the Western Pahari branch of IA (see the Western
Pahari section at the bottom of Table 66).
Unlike IA languages, ST languages (both inside and outside Kinnaur) typi-
cally have two separate terms for ‘face’ and ‘mouth’ (Tables 67 and 68). In our
sample of 25 ST language varieties, only three—Tabo, Tibetan and Zeme—
show evidence of this polysemy, reflecting two reconstructed Proto-Sino-
Tibetan items *zyal ‘face, mouth’ and *s-muːr ‘mouth, face’, both of which have
reflexes with both meanings at least in Written Tibetan.

11 Sources for the data in Table 66: Turner (1966): Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Maithili, Oriya, Pali,
Prakrit, Pashai Dardic, Sindhi, Sinhalese. Chinali is from D.D. Sharma (1989). Jaunsari is
from Satish (1990). Information about the remaining languages comes from the digital
South Asian dictionaries at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/, and the South Asian
IDS/LWT lists at https://spraakbanken.gu.se/en/projects/digital‑areal‑linguistics (Borin
et al. 2013).

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In general in ST languages the reflexes of *zyal typically mean ‘face’, ‘cheek’,

etc., while those of *s-muːr tend to mean ‘mouth’, ‘lip(s)’ or the like. It is worth
keeping in mind here that the meaning of the proto-item has been assigned on
the basis of the sum of attested meanings in the daughter languages. Thus, it is
far from certain that the ‘mouth’–‘face’ polysemy is original to Sino-Tibetan.
Semantically, the meaning extension from ‘mouth’ to ‘face’ is not surprising.
According to Wilkins (1996) this is the expected direction of semantic shift.
With body-part terms, the semantic development is always from the part to
the whole, and never the other way around (i.e., from ‘face’ to ‘mouth’ in this
case). In Wilkins’s data, this particular semantic change is attested only in Sino-
Tibetan (Wilkins 1996: 276). Still, it does not happen in languages as a matter
of course; most languages seem not to have this particular polysemy. But it is
widespread among the IA languages.12
This semantic shift is extremely rare among ST languages. The IA language
Kinnauri Pahari is similar to Kinnauri and other ST languages in this respect
(Tables 67 and 68).13
Note that while the term for ‘face’ in Kinnauri Pahari (mu) is etymologically
related to the IA term for ‘face’ (see Table 66), the term for ‘mouth’ (kʰak) is
a borrowing, most probably from Kinnauri. kʰa ‘mouth’ is found in many ST
languages.
The non-polysemy that we observe here between ‘face’ and ‘mouth’ in Kin-
nauri Pahari distinguishes Kinnauri Pahari from the IA pattern, where ‘mouth’
and ‘face’ are usually the same.14 At the same time, note that several other IA
languages (spoken outside Kinnaur), too, exhibit the Kinnauri Pahari/ST pat-
tern (see Table 66)—most of them concentrated in the Himalayan region (see
Figure 20).

12 Indeed—and with reservations for incomplete data—it seems that the item described in
The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English dictionary (Rhys Davids and Stede 1921–1925) as “Ānana
(nt.) [Vedic āna, later Sk. ānana from an to breathe] the mouth; adj. (- ˚) having a mouth
Sdhp 103; Pgdp 63 (vikaṭ˚)” may have had its meaning extended to ‘face’, too, in, e.g., Bangla
and Oriya, in analogy with the reflexes of mukha.
13 Sources: for Table 67 Darma (Willis Oko 2019), Ladakhi (Bettina Zeisler p.c.), Raji (Shree
Krishan 2003), Tabo (Roland Bielmeier p.c.), Kanashi, Gahri and some Tinani informa-
tion are from my own fieldnotes. Some Tinani data was collected in the project Digital
documentation of Indian minority languages in collaboration with the Central Institute
of Indian Languages. The information about the remaining languages in this table comes
from the online Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT): http://stedt​
.berkeley.edu/search (see also Matisoff 2003). The data in Table 68 come from my own
fieldwork.

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table 66 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ in IA languages. Boldface indicates that separate
terms are used for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’

‘Mouth’ ‘Face’

Bangla ānana
Bhojpuri mũh
Chinali mùh, šunṭh, šunḍ muh
Gujarati mɔḍhũ, mɔ̃ ḍũ
Hindi mu
Kashmiri ȧsi
Maithili mũh
Marathi ānana
Nepali mukʰa
Oriya ānana, muhã, muhañ
Pali assa, ānana, mukha Āsa, mukha
Punjabi mū̃h
Pashai Dardic dōr
Prakrit assa, muha, vayaṇa
Rajasthani mūṇḍō
Sanskrit múkha
Sindhi mũhũ
Sinhalese muya, muva

Western Pahari
Bhadrawahi āsh tuttar
Jaunsari mü lamʊkʰ
Kinnauri Pahari kʰak mu
Kotgarhi mu, jāt mu, mū̃h
Kotguru jāt mū̃h
Pahari, Shimla varieties mû mukʰṛo
Pahari, Solan variety mû
Siraji, Outer jāt muh
Sirmauri mû

14 It is important to point out here that the focus here is only on the fact that these IA lan-
guages have a same/similar form for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’. This does not, however, rule out
that some of these languages also may have separate terms for ‘face’ and ‘mouth’, e.g. Hindi
ʧehera, which means only ‘face’.

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table 67 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ in ST languages outside Kinnaur. Boldface indicates
indicate that the same term is used for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’

‘Mouth’ ‘Face’

Angami útiê, úmé zʰie

Ao tepang tecʰek
Apatami àgung nyímo
Bhramu/Baram anam mik
Bunan ag, aʔ mod
Byangsi aː ŋɔ, wamyɛ
Chaudangsi ak hu-mɛ̃
Darma ʔa womi
Gahri aːʔ mot
Kanashi khakaŋ toŋ, ʃakal
Ladakhi zʰa, kʰa rdong
Mishimi tʰrímbim nyâ
Pattani ǝs, a, ǎ mod
Raji khǝbɛ-ru bāŋā, mhǝŋ
Tabo kʰa, ɕāl ɕāl, ŋōndōŋ, dōŋ
Tibetan kha ‘mouth’; z̀al ‘mouth, gdoŋ, gdong pa ‘face, counte-
face’; mur ‘mouth, face’ nance’; bźin ‘face, countenance’;
z̀al ‘mouth, face’; ŋo, ŋos ‘face,
countenance, air, look’; mur
‘mouth, face’
Tinani a, ǝs mod
Tod kʰa doŋ
Zeme mi mui mi mui

To summarize this linguistic feature, the data presented here suggest that IA
and ST languages typically display two separate patterns in this regard. The
typical IA pattern is to have the same form used for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’, whereas
the typical ST pattern is to have two separate terms for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’. The
IA Kinnauri Pahari (and also some other Western Pahari languages) are sim-
ilar to the ST languages in this regard, where Kinnauri Pahari has borrowed
kʰak ‘mouth’ from ST and has restricted the use of its own lexical item (mukʰ)
for ‘face’. As this development is also found in some other Western Pahari lan-
guages, once again, this is not a case of an isolated loanword in Kinnauri Pahari,
rather the influence is more pervasive.

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table 68 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ in Kinnauri Pahari

and ST varieties in Kinnaur. Boldface indicates
that separate terms are used for ‘mouth’ and
‘face’

‘Mouth’ ‘Face’

Kinnauri Pahari (IA) kʰak mu

ST Kinnauri varieties
Kinnauri kʰakaŋ to
Chitkul kʰaku mʊkʰaŋ
Sairako kʰakaŋ to
Nichar kʰakaŋ to
Pooh kʰa ŋonan
Navakat kʰá ŋòdaŋ

figure 20 Words for ‘mouth’ and ‘face’ (blue/darker = IA; red/lighter = ST; ▲ = same; ■ = dif-
ferent)

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448 chapter 6

3.4 Lexicon: Convergence15 in the Numeral System

It is a well-established fact that in the late stages of Proto-Indo-European the
numeral system was a consistent decimal system, where higher decades (e.g.
20, 30, 40, 50, 100) were derived etymologically from the word for 10 by the prin-
ciple 2×10=20, 3×10=30, 10×10=100 etc. (Winter 1992). This late PIE decimal
system was inherited into Proto-Indo-Iranian, and it has carried on in the mod-
ern IA languages. The decimal system is found in many modern IA languages.
But there are some modern IA languages which display a modified version of
the vigesimal counting system (a vigesimal-decimal system where 50, for exam-
ple, is derived by 2×20+10).16
In the Himalayan region, one finds occasional instances of the vigesimal
numeral system.17 Both Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari display this pattern, as
shown in Table 69.

table 69 Vigesimal numeral system in Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari18

Gloss Sangla Kinnauri Kinnauri Pahari IA (K: Kotgarhi; hin: Hindi; san:
Sanskrit)

1 id ɛk(k) eːk (K)

2 niʃ dui dui (K), d(u)ve (san)
3 ʃum trɔn cɔːn (K); trīṇi (san)
4 pə ʦaːr tsaːr (K), catvāraḥ (san)
5 ŋa pa̴ːʦ paːndz (K), pañca (san)
7 (s)ʈiʃ saːt sātː, sāːt (K), sapta (san)
10 se dɔʃ dɔʃ (K), daśa (san)
11 sigid gjaːraː gɛːra (K); ekādaśa (san)
15 soŋa pandraː pɔndra (K); pancadaśa (san)

15 Note that the term “convergence” is used here slightly differently from at least some usages
of this term in the literature, notably Hickey (2010: 15) and Matras (2010), who both use
the term “convergence” to refer to a change in a contact situation, which has emerged as
a consequence of a combination of language internal and language external (i.e. contact)
factors, where both these two factors have converged to give one result. Here we require
that the system which we find in these two languages is distinct from the system that is
found in either of the two concerned languages. It is the third system which has emerged.
16 In a vigesimal system, an alternative way of expressing 50 is as ‘two and a half twenties’.
17 The vestiges of the old barter system prevalent until today in temples in Kinnaur suggest
that even that was based on 20. The system is called rekʰaŋ; the word itself is an IA loan-
word (rekʰa ‘line’).
18 Gahri (D.D. Sharma 1989), too, exhibits the vigesimal system: niza ‘twenty’, nissa (< nis+
niza [two+twenty]) ‘forty’, sum-niza ‘sixty’, pi-niza ‘eighty’.

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table 69 Vigesimal numeral system in Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari (cont.)

Gloss Sangla Kinnauri Kinnauri Pahari IA (K: Kotgarhi; hin: Hindi; san:
Sanskrit)

20 niʣa biːʃ, ɛisa bīː, viṃśati (san)

21 (20+1) niʣo id ɛisa ɛk kɔ̄ j (K)
22 (20+2) niʣo niʃ ɛisa dui bāj (K), dvāviṃśati (san)
23 (20+3) niʣo ʃum ɛisa rɔn tēj, tēj bīː (K)
24 (20+4) niʣo pə ɛisa ʦaːr tsɔbi (K)19 caturviṃśati (san)
30 (20+10) niʣo se ɛisa dɔʃ
31 (20+11) niʣo sigid ɛisa gjaːraː ikkattis (hin)
40 (2×20) niʃniʣa duibiːʃɔ
50 (2×20+10) niʃniʣo se dʋeːsa dɔʃ pǝdza (K), pancaśat (san)
60 (3×20) ʃumniʣa trɔnbiːʃɔ
80 (4×20) pəniʣa ʦaːrbiːʃɔ
100 ra ra, sɔ ʃɔ̄ ː (K), śatam(san)

figure 21 Numeral systems (blue/darker = IA; red/lighter = ST; ▲ = base 10; ▼ = base 20)

19 eːk biː tsaːr [one (×) twenty (+) four] is also used for ‘24’.

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450 chapter 6

Some observations can be made here. First, both Kinnauri and Kinnauri
Pahari exhibit the vigesimal system. However, while the basic system is the
same in both these languages, the forms are not borrowed, only the construc-
tions. Second, among the Western Pahari (IA) languages included in Figure 21,
it seems that the numerals and the numeral system in Baghati, Kiunthali, Koṭ-
garhi and Inner Siraji are very similar to that of Hindi (Bailey 1908, 1920). Koṭ-
garhi (Hendriksen 1986) and Chinali (D.D. Sharma 1989) are the only languages
in my material which show traces of a vigesimal system, even if the forms are
built on IA material (Chinali: bῑ ‘twenty’, dui bi ‘forty’, dui bio das ‘fifty’, trāi bi
‘sixty’, trāi bio daš ‘seventy’), even though the default system in Koṭgarhi seems
to be the decimal system.
According to Mazaudon (2010), in the Sino-Tibetan language family, the
vigesimal system is found in languages only in or close to the Himalayas.20
Among the IA/Iranian languages, the vigesimal system is found not only in
the Himalayan region, but it is also found in Central Asia; it is also found in
many Iranian languages, in Caucasian languages (Edelman 1999). Both Maza-
udon (2010) and Edelman (1999) suggest contact as a possible origin for the
vigesimal system in these languages. Thus, to summarize, there is some con-
tact factor involved, but it seems to extend beyond Kinnaur, and also beyond
the Himalayas (so far as IA languages are concerned).

3.5 Lexicon/Grammar: the Agentive Nominalizer

Apart from the clear cases of contact-induced changes where the direction of
influence is clear, there are also some examples of language change where the
two languages have become more similar to each other than they are to their
genealogically related languages.
The two languages have a very similar way of forming deverbal agent nouns,
as illustrated in Table 71. Further, both languages make a gender distinction
here, which is otherwise very uncharacteristic of ST languages.

20 While Kanashi (source: own fieldnotes) exhibits both systems—decimal and vigesimal—
Raji (source: Shree Krishan 2003) has borrowed the IA numerals from seven onwards.

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table 71 Deverbal agent nouns in Kinnauri and

Kinnauri Pahari

Gloss Kinnauri Kinnauri Pahari

‘beggar (m)’ un-ʦjaː maŋg-dɔ-sjaː

‘dancer (m)’ ʧaː-ʦjaː naʦ-dɔ-sjaː
‘dancer (f)’ ʧaː-ʦeː naʦ-di-seː

There is at least one other ST language (Pattani) where -ʦa is used as the agen-
tive nominalizer. In Navakat, the nominalizer -(k)an occurs in similar construc-
tions instead (see Chapter 3 for details). Similarly, Western Pahari languages
such as Jaunsari (Satish 2000), too, use a different marker: gɪt-ärɪ ‘singer’ (cf. git
‘song’, gitɪänä ‘to sing’).
This is a clear case of borrowing, but the direction of borrowing is unclear.
Note that the Kinnauri Pahari agentive forms contain the element -dɔ/-ndɔ :
-di/-ndi. This is the habitual-aspect form, originating in a present participial
marker (see Chapter 4). This seems to suggest that the agentive nominalizer
in Kinnauri Pahari is a later addition, suffixing to the already participial IA
form.
Furthermore, the agentive nominalizer in both languages makes a gender
distinction, where -ʦjaː/-sjaː occurs with masculine head nouns and -ʦeː/-seː
occurs with feminine head nouns. While there are instances of systematic gen-
der distinctions being made in ST languages, at least in the derivational sys-
tem (e.g. -pa/-po for male referents vs. -ma/-mo for female referents, found in
Navakat and to some extent in Kinnauri), the particular formal means used
here are telling. Many IA languages express the masculine–feminine distinc-
tion through the use of forms ending in -a/-o in the masculine, contrasting with
forms ending in -i/-e in the feminine.21 It is possible, that even if the agentive
nominalizer itself is the result of ST influence on Kinnauri Pahari, the gender
distinction in the agentive nominalization in Kinnauri is due to IA influence.

21 Even though the gender category in these languages is inherited from Old IA (and through
it from Proto-Indo-European), these endings themselves are specific IA innovations
(Masica 1991: 222).

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452 chapter 6

table 71 Past/perfective = past participle in some IA lan-

guages of the Himalayas

Language Past Perfective Past PTCP

Bhales V-to V-to aux V-to/tuo

Bilaspuri V-ea V-ea aux –
Gadi V-ea V-ea V-ea
Kangṛi V-ea V-ea V-
Kotgarhi pst ptcp pst ptcp pst ptcp
Kishṭawari V-mut V-mut V-m
Paḍari V-ta – V-ta
Poguli V-tumut aux V-tumut aux V-tumu
Punchi V-ea V-ea aux –
Rambani V-tumut aux V-tumut aux V-tumu
Tinauli V-ea V-ea aux V-e

3.6 Grammar: Perfective and Imperfective Aspect Markers

ST and IA languages in general exhibit two different patterns with respect
to the historical source of their modern perfective and imperfective aspect
markers. In IA languages this is frequently the participial forms, where the
present participial form is reanalyzed as the present/imperfective/habitual
aspect marker and the past participial form is reanalyzed as the past/perfective
aspect marker. Like a typical IA language, Kinnauri Pahari, too, has reanalyzed
its participle forms as aspect markers: -indɛ functions as the perfective aspect
marker and as the past participle marker, and -(n)dɔ/-(n)di functions both as
the habitual aspect marker and as the present participial marker. This is also
corroborated by the other Western Pahari languages presented in Tables 71–72:
the neighboring IA varieties have past/perfective markers which are the same
as the past participle forms (Table 71) and the present/imperfective aspect
markers are the same as the present participle markers (Table 72).22

22 The information about Kotgarhi is from Hendriksen (1986) and the information about the
remaining IA languages is from Bailey (1908, 1920).

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table 72 Present/imperfective = present participle in some IA languages of

the Himalayas

Language Present Ind. Imperfective Present PTCP

Bhadrawahi – V-to aux V-to

Bhales V-tau V-tau aux V-tau
Gadi V-da V-da V-da
Kangṛi V-da V-da V-da
Eastern Mandeali V-daa V-daa aux V-daa
Kishṭawari V-an aux V-an V-an
Kului part+s – –
Mandi Siraji V-ã V-ã aux V-ã
Paḍari V-na V-na aux V-na
Pangwali V-ta – –
Poguli V-ti aux V-ti aux V-ti
Punchi V-na aux V-na aux V-na
Rambani V-(a) aux V-(a) aux V-(a)
Siraji V-(a) aux V-a aux V-a

Distinct from this, the modern past/perfective and present/imperfective/habit-

ual aspect markers in most ST languages do not come from participles, but from
other kinds of nominalization.
Additionally, those ST languages which do exhibit participle-based forms are
predominantly spoken in geographical regions where they have been in con-
tact with IA languages for a long time (Saxena 1997b); see Figure 22. This is also
the case with Kinnauri. In Kinnauri the two perfective markers are a redupli-
cated form of the verb and -is, which coincide with the past participle forms
(see Chapter 2, Section 4.5.2.2). The habitual (imperfective) aspect markers are
-ts and -id, which are the same as the present participle forms (see Chapter 2,
Section 4.5.2.3).
Based on these data, some generalizations can be made: While the IA lan-
guages consistently show one pattern, where the past participial form and
past/perfective aspect markers are the same, among the ST languages, only
a few languages (e.g. Thami, Rai, Kinnauri, Kanashi) show the “IA” pattern
(i.e., where the perfective aspect marker is the same as the past participial
form.); other ST languages retain their indigenous path of grammaticalization.
Returning to Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari, once again, we find that while the
two languages have become more similar with regard to the mechanism used,

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figure 22 Past/perfective same as participle (blue/darker = IA; red/lighter = ST; ▲ = yes; ■ = no)

the forms are not borrowed. Further, once again, this contact-induced feature
is not restricted to Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari, rather it displays a wider geo-
graphical footprint.

3.7 Grammar: the 1pl Inclusive–Exclusive Distinction

Both Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari makes the inclusive–exclusive distinction
in the first person plural pronouns:

Kinnauri Kinnauri Pahari

1pli kiʃa taːmɔri

1ple niŋo aːmɔri

The inclusive–exclusive distinction is brought forth, at times, in discussions on

“South Asia as a linguistic area” (e.g. Southworth 1974; Emeneau 1980; Masica
1991, 2001). Among the IA languages, at least the following languages have been
mentioned in the literature as having this distinction: Marathi, Gujarati, Sindhi,
some Rajasthani varieties, and the Tirupati dialect of Saurashtra (Southworth
1974; Emeneau 1980; Masica 1991, 2001; Osada 2004). In the same vein, it has
been pointed out that all three varieties of Marathi, Kannada and Urdu spo-
ken in the Kupwar village exhibit this distinction, where Marathi is suggested

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to have influenced Kannada and Urdu (Gumperz and Wilson 1971).23 The pres-
ence of this distinction in IA is generally assumed to reflect an areal feature,
with Dravidian as the most likely source (Masica 1991).24 Further, all the IA
languages with the inclusive–exclusive distinction discussed in the literature
exhibit the same path in developing this distinction, where they are said to have
reanalyzed the reflexive pronoun as the inclusive form (Masica 2001; Osada
2004).
LaPolla (2005) presents an overview of the inclusive–exclusive distinction in
ST languages based on an examination of 170 languages. Out of these, 69 lan-
guages make this distinction in one way or another., and it is found in almost all
sub-groups today. LaPolla (2005) claims that this distinction cannot be recon-
structed for Proto-Sino-Tibetan or for the mid-level reconstruction, rather each
individual sub-group seems to have developed this distinction independently.
Kinnauri Pahari seems to be unique among the Western Pahari languages
in having this distinction in personal pronouns, a feature which it shares with
the coterritorial but unrelated language Kinnauri (Chapter 2),25 as well as with
Navakat (Chapter 3). Further, unlike other IA languages, which have this dis-
tinction, in Kinnauri Pahari the reflexive form (ap sg, apori pl) shows resem-
blance, if any, with the 1ple pronoun (aːmɔri)—and not the 1pli pronoun
(taːmɔri).26
Once again, we see here that while Kinnauri Pahari and Kinnauri share a
pattern, they use two different sets of forms.

23 The WALS article on the inclusive–exclusive distinction in independent pronouns

(Cysouw 2013) includes some South Asian languages, viz. Brahui (Dravidian), Burushaski
(Isolate), Hindi (IA), Kannada (Dravidian), Ladakhi (ST) and Mundari (Munda), among
which only Ladakhi and Mundari show this distinction. It is mentioned that standard
Kannada has lost this distinction—usually reconstructed for Proto-Dravidian—due to IA
influence.
24 Contrary to this general view, Osada (2004) argues instead in favor of a purely language-
internal development of this distinction in IA languages. He proposes the following his-
torical internal development: reflexive pronoun > 2.h pronoun > 1pli pronoun. He bases
his analysis on the facts that the reflexive pronoun (Sanskrit ātmān ‘self’) occurs in many
IA languages as a 2.h pronoun, and in the IA languages with the inclusive–exclusive dis-
tinction, this pronoun functions as the inclusive pronominal form.
25 Kinnauri in its turn shares this feature with most of the other West Himalayish languages,
at least with Pattani, Chhitkuli, Kanashi, Tinani, Gahri, Darma, Chaudangsi and Johari.
Source: D.D. Sharma (1989), except for Kanashi (my fieldnotes). This distinction is preva-
lent in ST languages (LaPolla 2005). Among the IA languages of the north this feature
exists in only one other language: Prasun, a language of Nuristan (Claus Peter Zoller,
p.c.).
26 The same seems to be also the case with the evidential interpretations in the finite verb.

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3.8 Grammar: the Finite Verb System

Finally, the finite verb system in Kinnauri is structurally similar to the system
typically found in IA languages, where the grammatical categories of tense and
aspect generally are given separate expression. This is distinct from the system
found, e.g. in Navakat, where tense and evidentiality are expressed by portman-
teau morphs.27

4 Summary

The results of the investigation of the linguistic structures discussed in this

chapter can be summarized as in Table 73. The terms MAT (replication of lin-
guistic matter, i.e., linguistic form or substance) and PAT (replication of linguis-
tic linguistic pattern or structure) are due to Matras and Sakel (2007).
Except for the inclusive–exclusive feature, irrespective of the direction of
influence, the spread of features is wider than just restricted to the contact
between Kinnauri and Pahari Kinnauri in the Sangla region.
In the contact situation which I have presented here, Kinnauri is the locally
dominant language, and Kinnauri Pahari is in the subordinate position. Thus,
one would expect to find lexical borrowing from Kinnauri in Kinnauri Pahari,
while Kinnauri should show evidence of structural influence from Kinnauri
Pahari. As we see in Table 73, this does not hold completely. Which is the dom-
inant language and which is the less dominant language in a contact situation
can be a bit more complicated.
One language can be both the superstratum language and substratum lan-
guage at the same time, in relation to different languages. This seems to be the
case in the Indian Himalayan region—where Kinnauri has the superstratum
role in relation to Kinnauri Pahari, but it has the substratum role in relation
to other IA languages of the plains (including Hindi), which are also used in
Hindu religious contexts. This probably accounts for the seeming bidirection-
ality of influence which we have observed here.

27 Evidentiality is, however, found in both Kinnauri and Navakat, though the two languages
have distinct evidential forms. Evidentiality is less developed in Kinnauri as compared to
Navakat.

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table 73 Borrowing between Kinnauri (ST) and Kinnauri Pahari (IA)

Type of borrowing Feature Direction

MAT and PAT Names of the days and months IA > ST

Agentive nominalizer unclear28
PAT (and partly MAT) ‘mouth’/‘face’ ST > IA
PAT only ‘yesterday’/‘tomorrow’ ST > IA
Source of aspect markers IA > ST
The finite verb structure IA > ST
Inclusive–exclusive distinction ST > IA
Convergence of PAT Higher numeral system —

In order to understand the linguistic structure of a language, we need to take

into consideration its context, its function. In the same way, when investigating
contact-induced changes in a location, we should also take into consideration
the linguistic and social structure not only at the micro-level (the village), but
also the larger region in which it is embedded, to get a better understanding of
the language changes which we are observing at the micro-level.
In all the instances where Kinnauri exhibits the “IA” pattern, it distinguishes
itself from Navakat (also spoken in Kinnaur). This again confirms the conclu-
sions from Chapter 5. If one were to plot isoglosses for the ST languages of
Kinnaur, they will divide the region into at least two parts, where the Sangla
area as a whole (or Kinnauri in particular) and Navakat will end up separated
by a large number of isoglosses; it is very likely that the isoglosses delimiting
Kinnauri will group it with other West Himalayish languages such as Kanashi.
28 Gender agreement in the agentive nominalizer is presumably IA > ST.

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 chapter 7

The Many-Faceted Linguistic Landscape of Kinnaur

This monograph endeavors to contribute to the documentation of the lin-

guistic situation of a particular region in the Indian Himalayas—the Kinnaur
district of Himachal Pradesh—which so far has been very poorly described.
The aim has been to gain a better understanding of the languages tradition-
ally spoken in this region, i.e., Sino-Tibetan and Indo-Aryan languages, both as
independent linguistic entities and as parts of a multi-faceted linguistic ecol-
ogy.
This aim has determined the structure of the text, together with the practical
constraint imposed by the desire to stay within a reasonable length of exposi-
tion.
In the first chapter, the geography, demography and administrative orga-
nization of Kinnaur were described, in order to provide a background to the
following linguistic investigations.
The languages traditionally spoken in Kinnaur belong to the (mutually unre-
lated) Sino-Tibetan (ST) and Indo-Aryan (IA < Indo-European) language fami-
lies. The ST languages have been sociolinguistically dominant in Kinnaur until
recently, to the extent that one of them—Kinnauri—has functioned as a lingua
franca at least in Lower Kinnaur. At the same time, the genealogical relation-
ships among these ST varieties—the KST varieties—are insufficiently inves-
tigated, which to a large extent is because the varieties themselves are poorly
described.
In Chapters 2 and 3 of this monograph, I have provided linguistic sketches—
based on my own primary fieldwork—of two of the KST varieties, which have
been chosen so as to represent the extreme poles of these varieties: Kinnauri,
spoken in the extreme south of the district, in Lower Kinnaur, is described in
Chapter 2, and Navakat, spoken in the extreme north, in Upper Kinnaur, is
described in Chapter 3. As far as the linguistic structures of the varieties and
my data have allowed, the sketches have been structured along parallel lines.
In Chapter 4, the IA language Kinnauri Pahari—coterritorial with Kinnauri
and some other KST varieties—was described in a similar fashion.
Hopefully, the sketches of Kinnauri and Navakat will have shown that these
two KST varieties are quite different, which raises the question of how these
and the other recognized KST varieties are interrelated. In Chapter 5, I turn to
a broader investigation—again based on my own primary fieldwork—of the
relationships among nine KST varieties (those of the villages Nichar, Sangla,

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license.
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the many-faceted linguistic landscape of kinnaur 459

Chitkul, Kalpa, Kuno, Labrang, Poo, Ropa and Nako). There has not been any
comparative linguistic study of the KST varieties (except by the present author;
see Saxena 2011; Saxena and Borin 2011, 2013), and consequently no system-
atic basis for examining how they relate to one another. The aim of Chapter 5
was to examine the genealogical relationships among these nine KST varieties
using a computational approach applied to empirical primary language data,
mainly basic vocabulary (a modified Swadesh list), but also some grammatical
features.
The procedure which was used for comparing the basic vocabulary lists is
similar to recent works in dialectometry and lexicostatistics in relying on a
completely automatic comparison of the items in the word lists. However, it
differs from most of these works (McMahon et al. 2007 being a notable excep-
tion) in its usage of rules tailored to the particular linguistic configuration
under investigation, rather than a general method for string comparison. In this
respect, it falls somewhere in between traditional genealogical linguistics—
where expert statements are required about the cognacy of items—and these
modern approaches—which rely entirely on surface form for determining
identity of items—although closer to the latter than the former. In this way,
the monograph also makes a contribution to the theoretical and methodolog-
ical discussions of measuring linguistic distances, beyond providing empirical
classification of the KST varieties.
The results of the comparison showed that the investigated KST varieties
can be classified into three (or possibly four) groups, where the varieties spoken
at Sangla, Nichar, Ropa and Kalpa form one group, and those of Poo, Kuno and
Nako (Navakat) form another. The varieties of Chitkul and Labrang fall some-
where in between these two distinct groupings, being (separately) closer to one
or the other group concerning some linguistic features, but distinct with regard
to other linguistic features. In Chapter 5, I also made a more detailed compar-
ison between Kinnauri and Navakat on the basis of the richer linguistic data
available to me on these varieties (see Chapters 2 and 3), which confirms the
results of the broader comparison, specifically that Navakat (and consequently
also the varieties of Poo and Kuno) should be placed together with the Tibetan
varieties, rather than under the West Himalayish node of Sino-Tibetan. The
combined evidence of this study thus supports a grouping of the nine investi-
gated KST varieties approximately like the one shown in Figure 23 (= Figure 18
in Chapter 5).
In Chapter 6, I investigated the relationship between Kinnauri and Kinnauri
Pahari, which took us into the realm of language contact and areal linguistics.
This investigation shows that both Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari exhibit lin-
guistic features characteristic of the other language, but in many cases it seems

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460 chapter 7

figure 23 Lower-level classification of the investigated KST varieties (branch lengths

are not significant)

most reasonable to posit wider areal influences as the reason for the similari-
ties, rather than direct borrowing between the two languages. A particular con-
founding factor is the existence of less prestigious—Kinnauri Pahari and other
languages of the so-called scheduled castes—and more prestigious—above all
the state and national language Hindi—Indo-Aryan varieties in relationship
to Kinnauri. Since these Indo-Aryan languages share many features by virtue
of being closely related, it is not always possible to determine which sociolin-
guistic configuation is responsible in every particular case of borrowing into
Kinnauri.
The results of the investigation of the linguistic structures discussed in
Chapter 6 can be summarized as in Table 74 (= Table 73 in Chapter 6). The terms
MAT (replication of linguistic matter, i.e., linguistic form or substance) and PAT
(replication of linguistic linguistic pattern or structure) are due to Matras and
Sakel (2007).
Except for the inclusive–exclusive feature, irrespective of the direction of
influence, the spread of features is wider than just restricted to the contact
between Kinnauri and Kinnauri Pahari in the Sangla region.
In all the instances where Kinnauri exhibits the “Indo-Aryan” pattern, it dis-
tinguishes itself from Navakat. This again confirms the conclusions from Chap-
ter 5. If one were to plot isoglosses for the KST varieties, they will divide the
region into at least two parts, where the Sangla area as a whole (or Kinnauri in
particular) and Navakat will end up separated by a large number of isoglosses;
it is very likely that the isoglosses delimiting Kinnauri will group it with other
West Himalayish languages such as Kanashi.

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table 74 Borrowing between Kinnauri (ST) and Kinnauri Pahari (IA)

Type of borrowing Feature Direction

MAT and PAT Names of the days and months IA > ST

Agentive nominalizer unclear
PAT (and partly MAT) ‘mouth’/‘face’ ST > IA
PAT only ‘yesterday’/‘tomorrow’ ST > IA
Source of aspect markers IA > ST
The finite verb structure IA > ST
Inclusive–exclusive distinction ST > IA
Convergence of PAT Higher numeral system —

This concludes our overview of the linguistic situation of Kinnaur. Hopefully

I have been able to add to the linguistic documentation of the languages of
Kinnaur—in particular Kinnauri, Navakat, and Kinnauri Pahari, but also in
some degree of other varieties spoken within its borders. I also hope to have
been able to shed some further light on the genealogical and areal connections
among the languages of Kinnaur and also those spoken in the larger context of
the western part of the Indian Himalayas.

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Index
In this index, genealogical classification information is provided for languages and language sub-
families. Thus, “Kanashi (ST)” refers to the Sino-Tibetan language Kanashi, and “Western Pahari
(<IA)” is the Western Pahari subfamily/branch of the Indo-Aryan language family (which in turn
forms a branch of Indo-European). For obvious reasons, the language families Sino-Tibetan (ST)
and Indo-Aryan (IA), and the languages Kinnauri, Kinnauri Pahari, and Navakat are not indexed,
although some of the subbranches of ST and IA are.

ablative (case) Chinali (IA) 308n, 440n10, 442, 443n, 445,

in Kinnauri 53 450
in Kinnauri Pahari 302 clusivity 454, 455, 457, 461
in Navakat 192, 193 in Kinnauri 62
see also case in Kinnauri Pahari 305, 306, 308
adessive (case in Navakat) 188–190 in Navakat 195
see also case comitative (case)
allative (case) in Kinnauri 53–55
in Kinnauri Pahari 301, 302 in Navakat 193, 194
in Navakat 188–190 see also case
see also case comparison (adjective)
anaphoric pronoun (in Kinnauri) 59, 60 in Kinnauri 68, 69
aspect in Navakat 202, 203
in Kinnauri 104–109 complex verb 73, 104, 206, 207, 219n
in Kinnauri Pahari 324–330 compounding (nominal)
associative (case) see comitative in Kinnauri 37, 38
in Kinnauri Pahari 286, 287
Baghati (IA) 289n10, 295n19, 302, 449, 450 in Navakat 181, 182
Bangla (IA) 440n10, 444n12 compound verb see complex verb
Bhotia (ST) 17, 18
Bodic (<ST) 20, 406 Darma (ST) 76n, 437, 440n9, 441, 444n13,
Bodish (<ST) 20, 406 446, 455n25
borrowing 32n, 35, 42, 70, 71, 75n67, 77, 82– dative (case)
84, 172, 174, 288, 314, 387, 395, 406, 437, in Kinnauri 47–49, 52, 53
439, 440, 444, 446, 448n17, 450, 451, in Kinnauri Pahari 297, 298
454, 456, 457, 460, 461 in Navakat 188–190
see also MAT see also case
see also PAT decimal numeral system 204, 393–395,
Bunan (ST) 72, 89n76, 393n, 439n7, 440n9, 448–450
444n13, 448n18, 455n25 see also vigesimal numeral system
Byangsi (ST) 76n, 440n9, 441, 446 definiteness (in Kinnauri Pahari) 302, 303
demonstrative pronoun
case in Kinnauri 57
in Kinnauri 43–57 in Kinnauri Pahari 303, 304
in Kinnauri Pahari 294–308 in Navakat 194
in Navakat 186–194 de-transitivizing morphology see valency-
Chambeali (IA) 295n19, 302, 441 changing morphology
Chaudangsi (ST) 440n9, 441, 446, 455n25 dialectometry see lexicostatistics
Chhitkuli (ST) 376, 407, 455n25

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474 index

egophoricity (in Navakat) 209, 211, 214, 215, in Navakat 193, 194
220, 222, 412 see also case
ergative (case) interrogative pronoun
in Kinnauri 45–47 in Kinnauri 62
in Kinnauri Pahari 295–297 in Kinnauri Pahari 309
in Navakat 186–188 in Navakat 196
see also case
evidentiality 101, 103, 209, 211, 214, 216, 328, Jaunsari (IA) 291n12, 295n19, 302, 303n,
329, 412, 456 309n, 440n10, 442, 443n, 445, 451
exclusive (verb subject indexing) see clu-
sivity Kanashi (ST) 27, 28, 38n15, 58n40, 89n76,
99n88, 393n, 437, 440n9, 441, 444n13,
future (tense) 446, 450n, 453, 455n25
in Kinnauri 94, 97–99, 112 Kiunthali (IA) 289n10, 302, 323, 442,
in Kinnauri Pahari 321–323 450
in Navakat 214, 215, 222, 223 Kotgarhi (IA) 289n10, 314, 315, 324n39,
see also tense 437n, 438, 442, 450, 452n
Kului (IA) 295n19, 302, 323, 453
Gahri see Bunan
gender Ladakhi (ST) 91, 212n62, 218n, 444n13, 445,
in Kinnauri 42, 43 455n23
in Kinnauri Pahari 292–294 lexicostatistics (computational) 379–381,
in Navakat 184–186 384, 399, 401, 402, 459
grammaticalization 47n24, 99n88, 218, 291, see also IDS/LWT
303, 453 see also Swadesh list
Gujarati (IA) 442, 443n, 445, 454 lingua franca 19, 436, 458
loanword see borrowing
habitual (aspect) locative (case)
in Kinnauri 105, 106 in Kinnauri 50–53
in Kinnauri Pahari 324, 325 in Kinnauri Pahari 300, 301
see also aspect in Navakat 191
Handuri (IA) 315n, 442 see also case
Hindi (IA) 17–19, 70, 84n, 97n, 99n88,
274, 312, 315, 435–439, 441, 445, 448, Mandeali (IA) 295n19, 302, 315n, 442, 453
449 manner (case in Kinnauri) 56, 57
honorificity 396–398 see also case
in Kinnauri 57, 72, 93, 95, 96, 99–101, Marathi (IA) 440, 441, 445, 454
109, 410 MAT (matter borrowing) 456, 457, 460,
in Navakat 182, 206, 226–229, 231, 410 461
middle (voice in Kinnauri) 63, 76–85
IDS/LWT (core concept list) 123, 236, 286, see also valency-changing morphology
340, 440n10, 443n multilingualism 3, 16–19, 377
see also lexicostatistics multiword expression (MWE) see com-
inclusive (verb subject indexing) see clusiv- pounding; complex verb
ity
Indo-European (language family) 435, 458 Nepali (IA) 18, 289n8, 289n10, 295n19,
instrumental (case) 297n22, 445
in Kinnauri 45–47 nominalization 43, 106, 179, 232, 233, 450,
in Kinnauri Pahari 295–297 451

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nominative (case) pronoun 40, 51

in Kinnauri 44 see also anaphoric pronoun
in Kinnauri Pahari 295 see also demonstrative pronoun
in Navakat 186 see also interrogative pronoun
see also case see also personal pronoun
non-future (tense in Navakat) 209–214 see also reciprocal pronoun
see also tense see also reflexive pronoun
non-past (tense in Navakat) 220–222 Proto-Indo-European 448, 451n
see also tense Proto-Sino-Tibetan 388, 393, 443, 455
numeral base see decimal numeral system; Punjabi (IA) 440, 441, 445
vigesimal numeral system
Rai (ST) 76n, 453
objective (case) see dative Rajasthani (IA) 289n8, 440, 441, 445, 454
Old Indo-Aryan (IA) 289n8, 451n Raji (IA) 440n9, 441, 446, 444n13, 450n
Oriya (IA) 443–445 Razgramang dialect of Kinnauri 27, 28, 39
reciprocal pronoun (in Navakat) 197, 198
Pali (IA) 443–445 reciprocal verb (in Kinnauri) 78
past (tense) reflexive pronoun 402–404
in Kinnauri 99–102 in Kinnauri 62, 63, 78
in Kinnauri Pahari 320, 321 in Kinnauri Pahari 309, 310
in Navakat 215–220 in Navakat 196, 197
see also tense Rongpo (ST) 76n, 440n9, 441
PAT (pattern borrowing) 456, 457, 460, 461
Pattani (ST) 47n23, 440n9, 441, 446, 451, Sanskrit (IA) 437, 438, 440, 445, 448, 449,
455n25 455n24
perfective (aspect) Sindhi (IA) 443n, 445, 454
in Kinnauri 104, 105 Siraji (IA) 315n, 323, 442, 445, 450, 453
in Kinnauri Pahari 326–330 Sirmauri (IA) 302, 445
see also aspect Sirmauri Dharthi (IA) 295n19, 324n40
personal pronoun 396–398 Sirmauri Giripari (IA) 289n10, 295n19
in Kinnauri 58–62 Swadesh list (core concept list) 378–380,
in Kinnauri Pahari 304–308, 339 385, 399, 402, 414, 416, 417, 459
in Navakat 195, 196 see also lexicostatistics
possessive (case)
in Kinnauri 49, 50, 52, 53 tense
in Kinnauri Pahari 298–300 in Kinnauri 94–102
in Navakat 190, 191 in Kinnauri Pahari 315–323
see also case in Navakat 209–223
Prasun (Nuristani) 308n, 455n25 terminative (case in Navakat) 191–193
prenasalization (in Navakat) 171n8, 173, see also case
176n12, 201n44, 383 Tibetan 18, 42, 84, 170, 176, 208, 404, 406,
present (tense) 439, 443, 459
in Kinnauri 94–97 Central 393, 394
in Kinnauri Pahari 315–320 Classical 195n38, 207n, 215, 234, 235
see also tense Lhasa 47n23, 91, 195n38, 204n50, 395n7,
progressive (aspect) 409–413
in Kinnauri 106–109 Old 215, 234
in Kinnauri Pahari 325, 326 West 170, 208, 235
see also aspect Tibetic (<ST) 91, 208, 406–409

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Tinani (ST) 437–439, 441, 444n13, 446, vector verb see complex verb
455n25 vigesimal numeral system 71, 312, 393–395,
tone (in Navakat) 175, 176, 409 448–450
transitivizing morphology see valency- see also decimal numeral system
changing morphology
Tukpa dialect of Kinnauri 27, 28, 39 Western Pahari (<IA) 13, 273, 295n19, 300–
302, 308, 323, 435, 437n, 440–443, 445,
446, 450–452, 455
valency-changing morphology 75, 76, 82– West Himalayish (<ST) 20, 406–409, 437,
86, 314, 315 439n7, 440, 441, 455n25, 457–459, 461
see also middle

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