II. STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE

A. Phonetic Structure

1. Initiation: Pulmonic

2. Phonation 
a) Obstruents
Plosives1		`	++-	
•Voiced: 
•Non-breathy: 	g 	dz 	D 	d 	b
•Breathy:		gh	jh	Dh	dh	bh
•Voiceless
•Inaspirate:	k	ts	T	t	p
•Aspirate:		kh	tsh	Th	th	ph
Fricatives:
•Breathy Voiced:	h
•Voiceless:		s

b) Sonorants 
All sonorant sounds in this language are voiced and non-breathy:

Consonants:	N	n	m 	r	l
Glides:		y	w
Vowels:		ə	a	i	u	e	o

3. Articulation:

a)Complex Articulations:

Nepali [t^s], [t^sh], [d^z], [d^zh] are alveolar affricates, therefore these sounds can be classed as sounds produced with complex articulation. In the articulation of these sounds the laminal alveolar stops [t] or [d] are followed by the laminal alveolar fricatives.

b)Co-articulation

i)Secondary Articulation

• Rounded vowels [u], [o] and the rounded glide [w] are velarized, as expected. • Consonants unmarked for roundness are predictably rounded or labialized before rounded vowels,e.g: Topi [ T^wopi ] 'cap'

ii) Double Articulation

Nasalized vowels have double articulation, because in the articulation of these sounds both oral and nasal cavities are open.

4.Aspiration

Only stops are aspirated in Nepali, in that, according to Ladefoged (1971, 1982) the traditional category 'voiced aspirate' is called 'breathy voiced'. To group them together under the traditional label 'aspirate', Nepali has following aspirate sounds:

Voiceless Aspirates: kh	tsh	Th	th	ph
Voiced Aspirates:	gh	dzh	Dh	dh	bh

5.Vowel Retroflexion: Missing

6.Nasality

In Nepali both vowels and consonants are characterized by this feature. In phonetics such consonants are called nasals and such vowels are called 'nasalized' vowels. Following are the nasal segments in Nepali:

Nasal Consonants: 		N	n	m
Nasalized Vowels:		ǝ͂   	ã  	i͂  	ũ  	ẽ

An inventory of nasalized vowels in Nepali shows that the vowel [o] in Nepali does not have a nasalized counterpart. It means, the phonemic contrast between the oral and the nasal [o] is missing from Nepali, although rest of the five oral vowels [ə], [a], [i], [u], [e] have phonemic contrast with their nasalized counterparts.

7. Diphthongs and Related Phenomenon

The sequence of all vowels followed by the high vowel [i] or [u] is a diphthong in the language. It means, each of such sequences is usually pronounced within a single syllable.

/dui/		/duy/		'two'
/kəirən/		/kəy.rən/ 		'description of face, body and dress, etc.'
/pəuDi/		/pəw.Di/		'swimming'
/bhai/		/bhay/		'younger brother'
/ghau/		/ghaw/		'wound'
/ghiu/		/ghiw/		'ghee'
/tshou/		/tshow/		'Touch!'
/tsei/		/tsey/		'word commonly used to call dogs'
/tsheu/		/tshew/		'side'
/khoi/		/khoy/		where is?'

B.Phonology

8. Voice Quality:

1. Phonemes

a) Segmental Phonemes

	
Nepali has the following segmental phonemes:
	Vowels: 	ɔ	a	i	u	e	o

Phonemic contrast between each of the two vowel phonemes can be established with the following minimal pairs:

/khəlo/ 	'the section of land where crops are separated from the straw during the harvest'
/khalo/	'skin'
/khilo/	'he punched'
/khulo/	'opened'
/khelo/	'play'
/kholo/	'river'

Consonants

k	kh	g	gh	N 	(Velar stops and nasal)
ts	tsh	dz	dzh		(Alveolar laminal affricates)
T	Th	D	Dh	n	(Alveolar apical stops and nasal)
t	th	d	dh		(Dental stops)
p	ph	b	bh	m	(Bilabial stops and nasal)
y	r	l	w		(Glides and liquids)
s			h		(Alveolar and velar fricatives)

	Following phonemic contrasts establish the consonantal phonemes in Nepali:

•	/kɔr/ 		'compulsion'
	/khɔr/		'thatch'
	/gɔr/		'Do it!'
	/ghɔr/		'house'

•	  /tsal/		'movements'
	/tshal/		'classifier for dress'
	/dzal/		'net'/ 'plot'
	/dzhal/		'vine'

•	/Toka/		'Cause to bite!'
	/Thoka/		'Cause to strike something'
	/Doka/		'specific type of bamboo baskets'
	/Dhoka/		'door'

•	 /tan/		'loom'
	/than/		'classifier for cloth'
	/dan/		'donation'
	/dhan/		'paddy'

•	/pəl/		'a unit of time'
	/phəl/		'fruit'
	/bəl/		'force' or 'strength'
	/bhəl/		'flood'

•	 /tshang/		'filtrate of local beer'
	/tshan/		'Choose!'
	/tsham/		'Feel with hands!'

•	/madza/		'pest to make the kite string strong'
	/maya/		'illusion'

•	/bari/		'farm yard'
	/wari/		'near side of the road or river'

b) Suprasegmental Phonemes

Nepali does not have phonemic stress, tone and length, but nasalization is phonemic, e.g:

•	/maya/		'illusion'
	/maya?̱/		'love'̱

Intonational pitch difference is also phonemic in Nepali, like many other languages, e.g.:

•	 /tyo	ayo/ (with falling intonation)	'He came.'
•	 /tyo	ayo/ (with rising intonation)	'Did he come?'

2. Distinctive Features

1. Consonantal: 		All consonants except [h]
2. Sonorants:		All vowels, glides, and nasals
3. Continuants:		All vowels, glides, nasals, liquids ([r], [l]) and fricatives
4. Strident:		Fricative [s]
5. Lateral:			The liquid [l]
6. Voiced:			All vowels, glides, nasals, glottal fricative [h] and the following stops:  g, gh, dz, dzh, D, Dh, d, dh, b, bh
7. Constricted Glottis:		Inaspirate stops like [k], [ts], [T], [t], [p]
8. Spread glottis:		Aspirate stops like [kh], [tsh], [Th], [th], [ph]
9. Nasal:			Nasal consonants ([n], [n], [m]) and nasalized vowels
10. Labial:			Rounded vowels ([u], [o]), rounded glide [w] and bilabial stops and the nasal	[p], [ph], [b], [bh] and [m]
11. Distributed:		Alveolar laminal affricates [ts], [tsh], [dz], [dzh] and the fricative	 [s]
12. Anterior:		Dental stops [t], [th], [d], [dh]

Oppositions among these twelve distinctive features are sufficient to capture phonological generalizations in Nepali.

3. Phonetic Variants:

Following are the phonetic variants of Nepali phonemes:

1. [kh]=[x]		2. [g]=[ ʔ̱ ]			3. [gh]=[g]	
4. [ts]=[s]		3. [tsh]=[s]		6. [dz]=[z]	
7. [dzh]=[dz]	8. [T]=[D]			9. [Th]=[}]	
10. [D]=[}]		11. [Dh]=[D]		12. [dh]=[d]	
13. [n]=alveolar, dental, retroflex, apical, laminal
14. [ph]=[ʔ̱]	15. [b]=[B]			16. [bh]=[b]
17. [y]=[e]=[i]			
18. [l]= alveolar, dental, retroflex, apical, laminal
19. [w]=[o]=[u]		
20. [s]=apical, laminal, lamino-alveolar		21. [h]=[O]

Consonants are often rounded in the vicinity of round vowels: [u] and [o].

4. Allophones and their Distribution
a. The voiceless velar plosive [kh] is in free variation with the voiceless velar fricative [x] after a vowel, e.g:

1. [aʔ̱kha]=[aʔ̱xa] 		'eyes'
2. [kakh]= [kax]		'lap'	

b. Similarly the voiced velar plosive [g] is in free variation with the voiced velar fricative [⊕] in postvocalic environment, e.g:

3. [ago]=[aʔ̱o] 		'fire'
4. [sag]=[saʔ̱]		'green vegetable'

c. The voiced apico-alveolar plosive [D] is realized as the voiced retroflex flap [}], e.g:

5.  [Da}u] 			'spoon'
6.  [Da}]		 	'jealousy'

d. The bilabial voiceless aspirated plosive [ph] is in free variation with the bilabial voiceless fricative [÷] in the intervocalic environment, e.g:

7.  [səʔ̱a]=[səpha]		'clean'

e.The same sound [ph] is realized as [÷] in the word-final position, e.g:

8. [baʔ̱]			'steam'

f.Similarly the voiced bilabial plosive [b] is in free variation with the voiced bilabial fricative [B], e.g:

9.  [səBa]= [səba]		'a quarter'

g. The apico-alveolar nasal [n] is realized as different allophonic variants. In the vicinity of dental stops, it is dental, e.g:

10. 	[kat-nu]			'to spin'
11. 	[kənti]			'frying pan'
      
After the apical stops [T] and [D], the underlying apico-alveolar [n] becomes retroflex [∣], e.g:

12. 	[kaT∣u]			'to cut'
13. 	[goD∣u]			'to weed'

The apico-alveolar [n] becomes lamino-alveolar before the lamino-alveolar affricates [ts], [tsh], [dz] and [dzh], e.g:

14. 	[kantsho]			'youngest'
15. 	[bhandzo]			'man's sister's son' (nephew)
16. 	[sɔntso]			'of good health'

h. Similarly the apico-alveolar lateral consonant [l] is realized as different allophonic variants. In the vicinity of dental stops, it is dental, e.g:

17. 	[kɔtlo]			'speck' or 'spot'
18. 	[g ɔlti]			'mistake'

The apico-alveolar [l] becomes lamino-alveolar before the lamino-alveolar affricates [ts], [tsh], [dz] and [dzh], e.g:

19. 	[ghɔltsa]			'pitcher', 'water pot'
20. 	[gɔltshi]			'river passage'
21.	[ɔldzho]			'hindrance'

In the vicinity of apical stops [T] and [D], the underlying apico-alveolar [l] becomes retroflex [〉], e.g:

22. 	[kha〉〉Do]		'pit'
23. 	[goD-〉a]			'he might clear the roots of a plant'
    
i.	The lamino-alveolar fricative [s] is realized as apico-alveoar before apico-alveolar stops, e.g:	

24. 	[kɔsTɔ]			'trouble'

j. The voiceless fricative [s] is realized as the voiced fricative [z] before the voiced stop [d] in the morpheme boundary, if the following [d] does not change into the voiceless counterpart [t], e.g:

25. 	[hanz-dɔi] 			'laughing'

k.	The syllable final apico-alveolar aspirated stop [Th] is realized as voiceless retroflex flap, e.g: 

25.	 [ka}-ko]			'wooden'

l. The affricate [dz] is realized as the voiced fricative [z] before the voiced consonant in the morpheme boundary, e.g:

26. 	[bɔz-nu]			'to ring'
27. 	[bɔz-dɔI]			'ringing'
	
5. Phonotactic Patterning

Following are the permitted sequences in Nepali:

Initial Clusters

Three Consonant Clusters

28. /bly-/	/blyaNNɔ/       'an onomatopoeia for falling down'
29. /ply-/	/plyattɔ/	'an onomatopoeia for throwing some viscous thing'

These are the only three consonant initial consonant clusters found in Nepali. Such consonant sequences are discoved only in the onomatopoeitic words. These initial consonant sequences within a syllable show that in a typical Nepali syllable structure sonority gradually increases from the first consonant to the syllable nucleus, in that, the first consonant is an obstruent sound like a stop or a fricative whose sonority is minimum. The second consonant is a lateral liquid sonorant [l], higher in sonority than the preceding obstruent. The third consonant is the high front glide whose sonority is still higher. The syllable nuclear sound vowel after the glide has the highest sonority peak.

Two Consonant Clusters

30. /ky-/		/kya/		'how!'
31. /khy-/		/khyal/		'joke'
32. /gy-/		/gyantse/		'short necked person'
33. /ghy-/		/ghyatstsɔ/	'an onomatopoeia'
34. /Ny-/		/NyaNro/		'mumbling person'
35. /tsy-/		/tsyan/		'grave yard'
36. /tshy-/		/tshyapnu/		'to splace'
37. /dzy-/		/dzyan/		'life'
38. /dzhy-/		/dzhyal/		'window'
39. /Ty-/		/Tyappɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for catching something'
40. /Thy-/		/Thyak/		'term'
41. /Dy-/		/Dyammɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for closing the door'
42. /Dhy-/		/Dhyak/		'big coin'
43. /ty-/		/tyo/		'that'
44. /thy-/		/thyatstsɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for sitting down'
45. /dy-/		/dyɔuta/		'god'
46. /dhy-/		/dhyan/		'concentration'
47. /ny-/		/nyano/		'warm'
48. /py-/		/pyaro/		'darling'
49. /phy-/		/phyauro/		'fox'
50. /by-/		/byaN/		'toad'
51. /bhy-/  		/bhyaguto/		'frog'
52. /my-/		/myan/		'sword-case'
53. /ry-/		/ryal/		'saliva'
54. /ly-/		/lyaunu/		'to bring'
55. /sy-/		/syal/		'jackal'
56. /hy-/		/hyau/		'competence'

57. /kw-/		/kwath/		'soup'
58. /khw-/		/khwaunu/		'to feed'
59. /gw-/		/gwalo/		'cow boy'
60. /ghw-/		/ghwain/		'striker'
61. /Nw-/		/Nwarrɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for snarling'
62. /tsw-/		/tswank/		'beautiful' (young lady)
63. /tshw-/		/tshwali/		'wheat straw'
64. /dzw-/		/dzwan/		'brave young man'
65. /dzhw-/	/dzhwank/		'anger'
66. /Tw-/		/Twak/		'tin'
67. /Thw-/		/Thwakkɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for striking wood'
68. /Dw-/		/DwaNNɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for the open door'
69. /Dhw-/		/DhwaN/		'drum'
70. /tw-/		/twaunu/		'to miscarriage'
71. /dw-/		/dwara/		'by'
72. /dhw-/		/dhwanso/		'smoke powder'
73. /nw-/		/nwagi/		'new grain'
74. /pw-/		/pwal/		'hole'
75. /phw-/		/phwan/		'an onomatopoeia of anger'
76. /bw-/		/bwanso/		'wolf'
77. /bhw-/		/bhwakkɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for falling'
78. /mw-/		/mwain/		'kiss'
79. /rw-/		rwammɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for piercing'
80. /lw-/		/lwaN/		'clove'
81. /sw-/		/swaN/		'pretention'
82. /hw-/		/hwallɔ/		'an onomatopoeia for flowing'
83. /pr-/		/prɔsTɔ/		'clear'

Nepali does not tolerate initial sequence of segments with equal sonority. That's why initial cluster of two glides like /yw/ or /wy/ is missing from the data. With the same token clusters of two stops or two liquids are also absent from the data. Accidentally, the sequence /thw-/ is also not found in the data.

Medial Clusters

Medial clusters are made up of sequences of consonants between two vowels in the word-medial position. All these sequences of consonants consist of consonants across syllable-boundaries.

	Voiceless Sequences

84. /-kts-/		/poktse/		'big cheeked person'
85. /-ktsh-/		/pɔktshi/		'bird'
86. /-kT-/		/tsokTa/		'piece (of meat)'
87. /-kt-/		/gokte/		'slow (person) to understand'
88. /-kp-/		/sokpa/		'yeti'
89. /-tsk-/		/butsko/		'a patch(of grass, etc.)'
90. /-tsp-/		/kɔtspats/		'disturbance'
91. /-Tk-/		/ghuTko/		'a swalow of water' (classifier)
92. /-Tp-/		/dzhɔTpɔT/	'hurriedly'
93. /-tk-/		/phutkinu/		'to escape'
94. /-tp-/		/hɔtpɔt/		'hurry'
95. /-pk-/		/sɔpko/		'margin of cloth'
96. /-pts-/		/koptso/		'corner'
97. /-pT-/		/kɔpTi/		'wicked'
98. /-pt-/		/hɔpta/		'week'
99. /-ks-/		/bokso/		'indigenous magician'
100.  /-ps-/		/tsyapso/		'throat'

	Voiced Sequences

101. /-gdz-/	/dzɔgdzɔgi/ 	 'fear' (onomatopoetic)
102. /-gD-/		/bagDor/		'hedgemony'
103. /-gd-/		/bagdan/		'promise'
104. /-Dg-/		/khɔDgo/		'danger'
105. /-dg-/		/gɔdgɔd/		'happy'
106. /-db-/		/pɔdbi/		'status'
107. /-bdz-/	/kɔbdza/		'capture' / 'seizure'
108. /-bg-/		/sabgas/		'capacity'
109. /-bD-/		/ɔbDe-khɔbDe/  	'uneven road'
110. /-bd-/		/dɔbdɔbe/		'a species of tree'
111. /-Dk-/		/ɔDkɔl/		'guess'
112. /-Dts-/	/ɔDtsɔn/		'hindrance'
113. /-Dt-/		/pɔDta/		'benefit'
114. /-Db-/		/gɔDbɔD/		'disturbance'
115. /-kht-/		/ɔkhtiyar/		'right'

	Sequences after Nasals

116. /-mk-/		/tsɔmko/		'one of the three stones on the stove'
117. /-mts-/	/tsɔmtsa/		'spoon'
118. /-mT-/	/tsimTa/		'fangs'
119. /-mt-/		/dzyamte/		'malnutritioned person'
120. /-mp-/		/tsɔmpa/		'a species of flower'
121. /-mkh-/	/amkhora/		'a kind of water pot'
122. /-mtsh-/	/gɔmtsha/		'a kind of napkin'
123. /-mTh-/	/nimTho/		'full to the brim'
124. /-mth-/	/thumthumyaunu/	'to pat'
125. /-mph-/	/lɔmphu/		'simpleton'
126.  /-mb-/	/ɔmba/		'guava'
127.  /-mbh-/	/gɔmbhir/		'sober'
128. /-nk-/		/phɔnko/		'one of the rounds of a rope'
129. /-nts-/		/kɔntso/		'coin of smallest face value'
130.  /-ndz-/	/bhandzo/		'sister's son' (for a male)
131. /-ntsh-/	/kantsho/		'youngest'
132. /-nT-/	/bhanTa/		'brinjal'
133. /-nTh-/	/ɔnThaunu/ 	'to pretend not to know'
134. /-nD-/	/ThɔnDa/		'cold'
135. /-nDh-/	/kɔnDho/		'hip'
136. /-nt-/		/kɔnti/		'frying pan'
137. /-nth-/		/pɔnthe/		'usually seek'
138. /-nd-/		/bɔndɔ/		'closed'
139. /-ndh-/	/ɔndho/		'blind'
140. /-nb-/		/hɔnbernu/		'cloth to handle hot pots  in the kitchen'
141. /-nbh-/	/ɔnbhaunu/	'to send the bride' (from parent's home)
142. /-Nk-/		/sɔNka/		'doubt'
143. /-Nkh-/	/tsɔNkhɔ/		'clever'
144. /-Ng-/		/DhuNgo/		'stone'
145. /-Ngh-/	/siNghɔ/		'lion'
146. /-Nts-/	/buNtse/		'dwarf'
147. /-NTh-/	/baNTho/		'crooked person'
148. /-Nt-/		/pɔNti/		'queue'
149. /-Nth-/	/thɔNthilo/		'totally crushed'
150. /-Nd-/		/paNdure/		'fruitless' (talk)
151. /-Np-/		/bhaNpali/		'bad days'
152. /-Nb-/		/toNba/		'Tibetan beer'
153. /-ms-/		/dzumso/		'lousy fellow'
154. /-ns-/		/bɔnso/		'a species of grass'
155. /-Ns/		/hɔNsɔ/		'soul'

	Sequences after Liquids

156. /-rk-/		/tɔrkari/	   	 'curry'
157. /-rkh-/		/tsɔrkha/	   	 'spinning machine'
158. /-rg-/		/mirgɔ/		'deer'
159. /-rgh-/		/ɔrghɔ/		'sweet curd offered to gods'
160. /-rts-/		/mɔrtsa/		'yeast'
161. /-rtsh-/	/gɔrtshɔ/		'does'
162. /-rdz-/		/gɔrdzo/		'need'
163. /-rdzh-/	/dzhɔrdzhɔr/	'shining'
164. /-rt-/		/dzɔrta/		'drought'
165. /-rth-/		/ɔrthɔ/		'meaning'
166. /-rd-/		/sɔrdi/		'cold'
167. /-rdh-/		/ɔrdho/		'widowed man'
168. /-rp-/		/hɔrpe/		'wooden can'
169. /-rph-/ 	/tɔrphɔ/		'towards'
170. /-rb-/		/purbɔ/		'east'
171. /-rbh-/		/gɔrbhɔ/		'foetus'
172. /-rs-/		/phɔrsi/		'pumpkin'
173. /-ls-/		/phalso/		'a classifier for clotted blood'
174. /-lk-/		/khɔlko/		'mourning bath'
175. /-lkh-/		/mɔlkhu/		'coarse flour'
176. /-lg-/		/ɔlgo/		'tall'
177. /-lgh-/		/ɔlgho/		'tall'
178. /-lts-/		/ghɔltsa/	  	'small jar'
179. /-ltsh-/	/ɔltshi/		'lazy'
180. /-ldz-/		/bɔldzinu/		'to revive sickness'
181. /-ldzh-/	/ɔldzho/		'entanglement'
182. /-lT-/		/ɔgulTo/		'burning torch'
183. /-lTh-/		/tsulTho/		'locked hair'
184. /-lD-/		/khalDo/		'pit'
185. /-lDh-/	/bɔlDhyaNgro/	'a kind of bead'
186. /-lt-/		/sɔltɔn/	 	 'secret compromise'
186. /-lth-/		/kulthi/		'a kind of lentil'
187. /-ld-/		/kɔldɔr/		'greedy for eating'
188. /-ldh-/		/kɔldhɔr/		'greedy for eating'
189. /-lp-/		/ɔlpinu/		'to disappear'
190. /-lph-/		/kulphi/		'ice cream'
191. /-lb-/		/gɔlbɔddi/		'quarrel'
192. /-sk-/		/pɔskinu/		'to serve (rice)'
193. /-sts-/		/pɔstsim/		'west'
194. /-sT-/		/kɔsTɔ/		'trouble'
195. /-sTh-/	/gosThi/		'seminar'	
196. /-st-/		/ɔstu/		'parietal bone'
197. /-sp-/		/ɔspɔtal/		'hospital' 

	
	Sequences with Nasal as a Second Member

198. /-km-/		/tokma/		'T-shaped support'
199. /-tsm-/	/kɔtsmɔts/		'quarrel'
200. /-dzm-/	/khɔdzmɔdzinu/	'be out of order'
201. /-Tn-/		/TheTnu/		'unpuffed roasted corn'
202. /-Tm-/	/kɔTmiro/		'partly ripe' 
203. /-tm-/		/atma/		'soul'
204. /-dm-/		/pɔdmɔ/		'lotus'
205. /-sm-/		/bhɔsmɔ/		'ashes'
206. /-sn-/		/Dɔsna/		'mattress'
207. /-kn-/		/Toknu/		'to bite'
208. /-gn-/		/logne/		'husband'
209. /-tn-/		/rɔtnɔ/		'jewel'
210. /-thn-/		/lothnɔ/		'fully wet,beaten or exhausted'
211. /-pn-/		/Tipnu/		'to pick'        

	Sequences of Two Nasals

212. /-mn-/		/dzɔmnu/		'to be curdled'
213. /-nm-/		/dzɔnmɔ/		'birth'
214. /-Nm-/	/puNmaN/		'bamboo pipe'
215. /-Nn-/		/tsiNna/		'chicks'
 
	Sequences of Liquids and Nasals

216. /-lm-/		/ɔlmɔl/		'minor works'
217. /-ln-/		/tsalni/		'sieve'

	Sequences with Liquid as a Second Member

218. /-kr-/		/dhokro/		'sack'
219. /-khr-/		/bakhro/		'goat'
220. /-gr-/		/ugraunu/		'to chew the cud'
221. /-ghr-/		/ughrinu/		'to be opened'
222. /-tsr-/		/kutsrinu/		'to be compelled to live in a narrow space'
223. /-tshr-/	/utshrinu/		'get allergic wound'
224. /-dzr-/		/bɔdzrɔ/		'thunderbolt'
225. /-tr-/		/bhitrɔ/		'inside'
226. /-thr-/		/kithro/		'grasshopper'
227. /-dr-/		/odro/		'a specific type of tree-pulp'
228. /-dhr-/		/udhrinu/		'to repeat a lesson'
229. /-pr-/		/sɔprinu/		'to improve'
230. /-phr-/		/uphrinu/		'to jump'
231. /-br-/		/habre/		'a species of animal'
232. /-bhr-/		/ubhrinu/		'to have a remainder'
233. /-kl-/		/baklo/		'thick'
234. /-khl-/		/ankhlo/		'one of the natural sections of a cane'
235. /-gl-/		/aglo/		'tatch'   
236. /-ghl-/		/ughlinu/		'to be extinct'
237. /-tl-/		/kɔtlo/		'speck'
238. /-thl-/		/guthlukkɔ/	'healthy' (baby)
239. /-dl-/		/bɔdlinu/		'to be changed'        
240. /-pl-/		/thoplo/		'droplet'        
241. /-phl-/		/gophle/		'convex-cheeked'
242. /-bl-/		/dublo/		'weak'
243. /-mr-/		/ɔmro/		'placenta'
244. /-nr-/		/ɔnrɔsa/		'sweet bread of rice'
245. /-Nr -/		/nɔNro/		'fingernail'
246. /-ml-/		/ɔmlo/		'finger'
247. /-nl-/		/kanlo/		'bordering plants of a farm'
248. /-Nl-/		/saNlo/		'cacroch'        
249. /-sr-/		/khɔsro/		'coarse'
250. /-sl-/		/nisloT/		'an attribute of high fever'
251. /-rl-/		/orlinu/		'to come down a ladder'

Sequences with Glides

252. /-ky-/		/sakyɔ/		'a Buddhist surname'
253. /-khy-/	/sakhyɔ/		'close kinship'
254. /-gy-/		/bhagyɔ/		'luck'
255. /-tsy-/		/pɔtsyaN/		'valley passage'
256. /-tshy-/	/otshyan/		'bed'
257. /-dzy-/	/udzyaunu/	'to raise a weapon to charge somebody'
258. /-Ty-/		/pɔTyaunu/	'to fold'
258. /-Thy-/   	/ɔnThyaunu/	'to catch'
259. /-Dy-/		/ɔDyaunu/		'to keep upright'
260. /-ty-/		/pɔtyaunu/		'to believe'
261. /-thy-/		/pɔthyɔ/		'food, easy to digest' 
262. /-dy-/		/udyaunu/		'to sharpen' (knife)
263. /-py-/		/hɔpyak-hɔpyak/	'onomatopoein for struggling for life'
264. /-by-/		/bhɔbyɔ/		'grand and glamouring'
265. /-kw-/		/pɔkwɔ/		'cooked or ripe'
266. /-khw-/	/sɔkhwa/		'sal tree'
267. /-gw-/		/bhɔgwa/		'one who escapes with fear'
268. /-tsw-/	/hɔtswa/		'not well considered' (decision)
269. /-tshw-/	/kɔtshwa/		'tortoise'
270. /-dzw-/	/bɔdzwa/		'quarrelsome' (person)
271. /-Tw-/		/pɔTwa/		'jute'
272. /-Thw-/	/lɔThwa/		'foolish' 
273. /-tw-/		/kɔtwa/		'spinning wheel'
274. /-dw-/		/ɔdwa/		'ginger'
275. /-pw-/		/thɔpwa/		'extension'

• A sequence of /ts/ followed by other coronal stops is constrained.
• A sequence of two coronal stops is constrained.

Final Cluster

Syllable final cluster is not permitted in Nepali. It means, there is always a single consonant if there is a consonant in the coda position.
6. Units and Boundary
a.Within a morpheme a sequence of the same vowels is constrained. It means there is no phonemic vowel length in Nepali.
b.If there is a sequence of the same vowels, the vowels should be across a morpheme boundary, i.e:

276. /di-i/ 		(give-3sg.FEM.PERFECTIVE)		'she gave'
277. /dho-o/	(wash-2pl.IMPERATIVE)		'You people wash!'

c.The voiced glottal fricative /h/ occurs only in the word-initial position. It does not occur in the syllable-final position. Even in the intervocalic position /h/ is deleted.
d.The glides /y/ and /w/ also do not occur in the word-final position.
e.A sequence of /t/ followed by /s/ is missing from the data within a single morpheme. Even across a word or morpheme boundary this sequence is constrained. The resulting sound is realized as an affricate, i.e:

278. /mitsubisi/	[mittshubisi]	'a Japanese company'
279. /bɔtsɔ/	[bɔttshɔ]		'emperor'

f. The lamino-dental plosive /t/ becomes apico-alveolar before apical plosives, i.e:

280. /pat/ 'leaf' + /Tip-nu/ 'pluck' =  /paTTipnu/	'to pluck leaves'

Similarly, the voiced counterpart /d/ is also realized as the apico-alveolar /D/, e.g:

281. /sat/ 'seven ' + /Doka/ 'baskets' = /saDDoka/	'seven baskets'

7. Biuniqueness and Neutralization

a. The phonemic contrast of breathy (voiced aspirate) and non-breathy sounds is neutralized in the non-initial position. If the voiced aspirate (or breathy) consonants /gh, dzh, Dh, dh, bh/ do not occur in the word-initial position, they are deaspirated. It means, their breathiness is lost, e.g:

281.  /ghɔr/ 		'house'			
/ɔghi = ɔgi/ 		'prior'
282. /dzhari/ 		'jug'		
/sodzho/ =  /sodzo/		'straight'
283. /Dhoka/		'door'		
/pɔDh/ = /pɔD/		'Read!'
284. /dhɔn/		'wealth'		
/adhi/ 'half' = /adi/		'first'
285. /bhai/			'younger brother'	/sɔbha/ 'council' = /sɔba/ ' plus a quarter'

a.The phonemic contrast between /b/ and /w/ is established by the following minimal pairs:

286. /bari/			'farmyard'
287. /wari/			'this side of the road or river'

But this contrast is lost in the intervocalic position like the following:

288. /haba/ 	= 	/hawa/		'air'

b. There is not found sequences of apical stop /T/ or /D/ followed by the lateral within morpheme boundaries, however, they are found across morpheme boundaries, e.g:

289. /kuT-la/		'he may beat somebody'
290. /goD-la/		'he may weed'

8. Morphophonemic Alternations (Sandhi)

a) Segmental

a. Nepali syllable structure does not tolerate /y/, /w/ and /h/ in the syllable-final position. This syllable constraint results in the metathesis of the syllable final sound and the onset consonant of the following syllable, e.g:

291. Sanskrit 	/tsih.nə/	Nepali: 	/tsin.hɔ/ 	'mark'/ 'punctuation'
292. Sanskrit 	/brəh.ma/	Nepali:	/brəm.ha/	'Lord Brahma'
293. Sanskrit	/prəh.lad/	Nepali:	/prəl.had/	'a mythological character'
294. Sanskrit 	/bah.yə/	Nepali:	/bay.hyə/	'outer'

b. The voiced fricative /h/ is deleted or is in free variation in the intervocalic position. As a result of this phenomenon, the resulting sequences of vowels undergo further sandhi rules. If there is a sequence of the same vowel, it gives rise to vowel length, e.g:

295. /səhər/ 	/səər/	/sə:r/	'town or city'
296. /bihan/	/bian/	/byan/	'morning'
297. /pohor/	/poor/	/po:r/	'last year'

c. As stated earlier, the breathy voiced stops /gh, dzh, Dh, dh, bh/ in Nepali change (or are in free variation) in the post-vocalic envronment, e.g:

298. /bagh/	/bag/		'tiger'
299. /madzh/	/madz/		'centre'
300. /kaʔ̱dh/	/kaʔ̱d/		shoulder'
301. /lobh/		/lob/		'greed'
302. /adhi/		/adi/		'half'
303. /səbha/	/səba/		'plus a quarter'
304. /məgha/	/məga/		'specific constellation of stars'
305. /odzha/	/odza/		'asurname of Brahmins'

d. The noncoronal nasals /N/ and /m/ are in free variation with 'nasalized vowel + corresponding voiced stops', e.g:

306. /khamo/	/khaʔ̱bo/		'pillar'
307. /raNo/	/raʔ̱go/		'buffalo'

This process is not applied to the corresponding coronal nasal and its corresponding voiced stop, e.g:

308. /kaʔ̱dh/ 	 /kaʔ̱d/ 	'shoulder'
309. /kan/			'ear'

This rules is not applied across morpheme boundaries, e.g:

310. /ama-ba/		'parents'
311. /ama-ma/		'Gosh!'
312. /nə-mar-nu/		'not to kill'
313. /nə-bar-nu/		'not to follow a social tabu'

However, nasalization is shifted to the left and an underlying nasal becomes oral in the following data:

314. /dzuNa/		/dzuʔ̱ga/			'moustache'
315. /bhəNero/		/bhəʔ̱gero/	'sparrow'
316. /banər/		/baʔ̱dər/		'monkey'
317. /bənel/		/bəʔ̱del/		'boar'

e.High vowels /i/ and /u/ are deleted before corresponding high glides /y/ and /w/ and the consonant preceding to the high vowel is geminated, e.g:

318. /bhətuwa/	bhətwa/	/bhəttwa/	'slave'
319. /pəTuwa/		/pəTwa/	/pəTTwa/	'jute'
320. /bəliyo/		/bəlyo/	/bəllyo/	'strong'
321. /hətiyar/		/hətyar/	/həttyar/	'weapon'

f.A dental stop becomes alveolar before alveoar stops, e.g:

322. /pat/ + /Tipnu/ = /paTTipnu/	'to pluck leaves'
323. /sat/ + /Doka/  = /saDDoka/	'seven baskets'

g. A sequence of apical stops /T/, /Th/, /D/ and /Dh/ followed by a trill /r/ is constrained in native Nepali words. Such sequences are found only in Sanskrit or English borrowings, e.g:

324. /Draibhər/	'driver' (English borrowing)
325. /rasTrə/	'nation' (Sanskrit borrowing)
	
h. There is an insertion of a voiced stop homorganic to the nasal between the nasal and the trill, e.g:

326. /nin-ra/	/nin-d-ra/		'sleep'
327. /nəNra/	/nəNgra/		'nails'
328. /əmro/	/əmbro/		'placenta'
	
i. The sequence of any consonant followed by the velar nasal /N/ is constrained.

j. Similarly a sequence of a stop followed by its homorganic nasal is equally constrained. It means the following sequences are not found in Nepali words:

329. /kN/, 	/pm/,	/gN/,	/bm/

But across morpheme boundaries, following sequence are permitted:

330. /lad-nu/		'to load'
	
k.	If there is a sequence of two nasals in a Nepali word, the second member should be either /m/ or /n/, e.g:

331. /tsiNna/			'chicks'
332. /puNmaN/			'bamboo pipe'
333. /dzənminu/			'to be born'
334. /dzəmnu/			'to settle' or 'to be curdled'

l. Nepali does not have a sandhi rule of changing an unmarked nasal into a nasal homorganic to the following stop. This freedom gives the occurrence of following words:

335. /tsimTa/		'tongs'
336. /kənparo/		'temple'
337. /kantsho/		'youngest'
338. /pəNti/		'queue'

m. The sequence of dental stop and /s/ is not found in native Nepali words. When such sequences occur in borrowings or across word boundaries, the resulting sound is /tsh/, e.g:

339. /mitsubisi/ 		/mittshubisi/		'a Japanese company'
340. /tat-səm/		/tattshəm/			'similar'
341. /badsahə/		/battshaa/			'emperor'

n.  A voiced stop becomes voiceless in the vicinity of the fricative sound /s/ across morpheme or word boundaries, e.g:

342. /bəs-da/		/bəs-ta/		'while sitting'
343. /bəs#gə-yo/		/bəs#kə-yo/	'the bus left'

This rule is applied primarily in the eastern dialect of Nepali.

o. The dental stop /t/ changes into an affricate before an affricate. Phonetically, the preceding segment is only a geminated stop, but phonologically, it is considered as an affricate, e.g:

344. /sat # tsoT-e/	/sats#tsoTe/	'a species of ant'
345. /sat# dzəna/	/sadz#dzəna/	'seven people'

p. A sequence of two aspirated sounds is constrained within a word. If such a sequence occurs across morpheme or word boundaries the preceding aspirated sound becomes unaspirated, e.g: 346. /aTh # Thauʔ̱/ /aT # Thauʔ̱/ 'eight places' 347. /kaʔ̱dh # thap-nu/ /kaʔ̱tthapnu/ 'to give full support' 348. /dakh # khəs-yo/ /dak # khəs-yo/ 'grapes fell down' q. The voiceless aspirated affricate /tsh/ is in free variation with its geminate (i.e. inaspirate /ts/ + /tsh/), i.e: 349. /matsho/ = /mattsho/ 'fish' 350. /batsho/ = /battsho/ 'calf b) Suprasegmental a. If the final sound is nasal or nasalized, all the preceding vocoids are also nasalized, e.g: 351. /bhə-eʔ̱/ /bhəʔ̱-eʔ̱/ 'I became' 352. /di-yəuʔ̱/ /diʔ̱-yʔ̱əʔ̱uʔ̱/ 'we gave' 353. /maya/ 'illusion' 354. /mayaʔ̱/ /maʔ̱yʔ̱aʔ̱/ 'love' 355. /dhuwaʔ̱/ /dhuʔ̱wʔ̱aʔ̱/ 'smoke' b. Nasalized /o/ is constrained in Nepali, therefore the underlying nasaized /o/ is realized as nasalized /u/, e.g: 356. /lamo/ /lamu/ 'long' 357. /sano/ /sanu/ 'small' 9. Suprasemental or Prosodic Aspects of Speech Length

Vowel Length

Vowel length is not phonemic in Nepali, but due to the process of Intervocalic /h/ Deletion mentioned above, Nepali has developed vowel length in a subset of data, e.g:

358a.	/paDi/				'buffalo calf' (female)
358b.	/pəhaDi/  =  /pəaDi/  = /pa:Di/	'pertaining to the mountain'
359a.	/muni/					'ascetic'
359b.	/muhuni/  =  /muuni/ = /mu:ni/	'hypnotism'

Phonemic length is found also in another subset of data. When a root, stem or word ends in a vowel similar to the initial vowel of the following suffix, the gemination or duplication of the same vowel, although across morphemes, gives rise to vowel length, e.g:

360. /di-/ + /i/ 		/dii/	/di:/	'she gave'	 (give + 3sg.FEM.PERFECTIVE)	
361. /dho-/ + /-o/		/dhoo/	/dho:/	'Wash!'       (wash + IMPERATIVE plural)	
Stress

Stress is not phonemic in Nepali. Grammatically or pragmatically stress is used only for contrastive function. It means there is no lexical stress; there is only sentence stress. Phonetic stress usually falls on the first syllable in Nepali speech, e.g:

362. /BI.dya/		'learning'
363. /BI.dya.lə.yə/		'school'
364. /BI.swə. bi.dya.lə.yə/	'university'

10.Juncture

No significant research on juncture has been done by now, but speakers feel there is juncture between two syntactically adjoined words. The following minimal pair may illustrate the phenomenon, in that, the first example is a compound verb and the following example is a verb phrase:

365. /us-le   	mə-lai gai-di-yo/	'he sang a song for me'     (he-ERGATIVE 	I-DATIVE 	sing-give-PERFECTIVE)
366. /us-le 	mə-lai gai di-yo/	'he gave me a cow' 	      (he-ERGATIVE 	I-DATIVE 	cowgive-PERFECTIVE)

There is a juncture between the words gai and diyo in 366.

11.Tone

Nepali is not a tonal language.

12.Intonation

Similar to many languages of the world, a statement carries falling tone while a question carries rising tone in Nepali.


367./timi à-y↔əu/		'You came' (statement)
368. /timi á -y↔əu/		'Did you come?'

Nepali follows the generalization of Halliday that the falling tone gives a hint that the speaker is confident of the proposition of the sentence, but he or she is not confident of or is not sure about what the information. No significant research has been done on the intonation system in Nepali for the details under this heading.

13. Rhythm

Nepali has syllable-timed rhythm. It has iambic foot and the metricality is from left to right.

14. Syllable Types and Structure

Following are the seven types of syllable in Nepali:

369. V		:	(e.g: /u/ 'he/she')
370. VC		:	(e.g: /as/ 'hope', /aN/ 'human body', /aʔ̱T/ 'courage')
371. CV		:	(e.g: /kha/ 'Eat!', /ga/ 'Sing!', /dza/ 'Go!')
372. CVC		:	(e.g: /git/ 'song', /kal/ 'death', /tsor/ 'thief')
373. CCV		:	(e.g: /tyo/ 'that')
374. CCVC	:	(e.g: /tswaʔ̱k/ 'beautiful and tiptop young lady')
375. CCCVC	:	(e.g: /plyat-/ 'an onomatopoetic root')

Among the syllable types of Nepali CCCV is theoretically possible, but such a syllable is missing from the data.

The position of the vowel is obligatory in Nepali syllable, because there is no syllabic consonant like Sanskrit or English. Sometimes, this slot is occupied by a diphthong, e.g:

376. V		:	(e.g: /aiʔ̱/ 'babytalk word for buffalo', /au/ 'Come!')
377. VC		:	(e.g: /əin/ 'rule', /əis/ 'luxury')
378. CV		:	(e.g: /ghiu/ 'ghee', /biu/ 'seed', /dui/ 'two', /gauʔ̱/ 'village'
379. CVC		:	(e.g: /gəuʔ̱t/ 'cow's urine', /bəiʔ̱s/ 'youth')
380. CCV		:	(e.g: /mwaiʔ̱/ 'kiss', /tsyau/ 'mushroom')
381. CCVC	:	(e.g: /lyaun/ 'let them bring', /tswaiʔ̱k/ 'an onomatope')

The syllable template CCCVC also, although theoretically possible, is missing from the data. On the basis of these data the general formula of Nepali syllable structure is as follows:

382. 	(C1C2C3)V(C4)


In this formula, V may denote both a monophthong and a diphthong.

15. Vowel Harmony and Consonant Harmony

Vowel Harmony

Nepali does not tolerate /a/ or /o/ in the vicinity of /ə/, but the above-mentioned rule of Intervocalic /h/ Deletion may bring such vowels in the neighbourhood of /ə/. This contradiction is resolved by Vowel Harmony, in that, the Nepali schwa /ə/ is replaced by /a/ or /o/ across the deleted /h/, e.g:

383. /əho/ 		= 	/oho/	= 	/o:/	'Oh!'
384. /pəhaD/	=	/pahaD/	=	/pa:D/	'mountain'
385. /pohər/	=	/pohor/	=	/po:r/	'last year'

Consonant Harmony

Consonant Harmony is found in onomatopoeic words, in that, the root of an onomatopoeic word should have either only voiced stops or only voiceless stops, e.g:

386a. /kyats.kyats/		'an onomatope for walking in mud'	
386b. /gyadz.gyadz/		'an onomatope for walking in mud'

When we compare the shades of meaning between these two onomatopoeic words, we feel that more sticky mud is denoted by the word with voiceless consonants rather than the one with only voiced ones.

But if such an onomatopeic word begins with an aspirate stop, there is no Consonantal Harmony. It means, there is no Voicing Harmony between consonants within the onomatopoic root, e.g:

387a. /Thuk.Thuk/		'manner of shivering out of cold'
387b. /Dhuk.Dhuk/		'manner of feeling heart beat'
388a. /khyak.khyak/		'manner of coughing'
388b. /ghyak.ghyak/		'manner of dogbite'

If we compare words in 386 and 387, we will find that in 386a both /k/ and /ts/ are voiceless, but in 386b both /g/ and /dz/ are voiced. That's why there is Voicing Harmony between stops or affricates, but such a Voicing Harmony is not found in the pair of words in 387. The word in 387 may give the impression of Voicing Harmony, because both /Th/ and /k/ of the root are voiceless, but 387b departs from 387a. The reason is, /Dh/ is voiced but /k/ is voicess. The pair of words in 388 follows the same pattern of exception to the rule.

16 Idiophones and Interjections

Sound symbolism is found in onomatopoeic words in a South Asian language like Nepali or in an Altaic language like Japanese.

a.	Iteration of activity is denoted by reduplication of roots in an onomatopoeic word, e.g:


389a. /*ThəN/ 	'a sound coming out from the vibration of a metallic object'
389b. /ThəN.ThəN/	'repetition of the same sound described in 389a'
390a. /*tshəl/	'sound coming out of one splace of waterfall'
390b. /tshəl.tshəl/	'repetition of the sound described in 390a'

b. Gemination of a consonant in the last two syllables of an onomatopoeic word, or the presence of /ək/ in the ultimate and penultimate syllables denote abrupt stop of an action, e.g:

391. /pyakkə/	'manner of splitting abruptly'
/pyaccə/		'manner of abusing somebody all of a sudden'
/pyaTTə/		'manner of hitting once'
/pyattə/		'manner of a viscous substance when some of it falls over something'
/kyappə/ 		'manner of sudden dogbite'
/guDuDDə/		'manner of sudden stop while running'	
/gududdə/		'manner of boiling of poridge' 
/TwaNNə/		'sound coming out when you give one hit on a metallic object'
/jhwammə/		'sound coming out when someone leaps or dives over water or tree' 
/phənənə/		'onomatopoeia for single rotation' 
/khurrə/		'onomatopeia do denote running to a very short distance' 
/khulullə/ 		'onomatopeia for a flow of water'
/hwassə/		'onomatopeia for one blow of bad breath or odour'

c. Consonantal Disharmony (i.e, replacement of the root-initial consonant by another consonant) denotes repetition of similar action with opposite or different configuration, e.g:

392. /kici.mici/	'manner of repeatedly tramping over flower or paper objects, etc.'
/kəc.məc/		'onomatopeia for quarrel, minor fighting or hot discussion'
/Dhukluk.mukluk/	'manner of walking by a man of overweight'
/lət.pət/		'onomatopeia for a disorderly painting'
/lyaN.phyaN/	'onomatopeia for disorderly dress'

d.The root-final consonant of an onomatopeic word denotes a sudden stop of an action, and the following consonants like /r/, /l/, /s/, /ts=c/ denote slackening of clutch, e.g:

393. /kukrukkə/	'manner of crouching one's body by cold or some other feeling'
/kuklukkə/		'onomatopeia for the loose neck of a baby or an animal'
/phyaNlyaNNə/	'onomatopeia for random dressing'
/phyaksyakkə/	'onomatopeia denoting a not so juicy fruit'
/puklukkə/		'onomatopeia denoting delicacy of a healthy and handsome child'
/chotlyaNNə/	'onomatopeia to denote a sinle and sudden surge of water or some other liquid'
/baNcyaNbuNcuN/	'manner of walking by a man of unbalanced body'

e. According to Ballabh Mani Dahal (1971) there is a gradual increase in the sound of objects if we move from left to right with the following vowels in order:

394. /TiNTiN/	'sound of a small bell'			
/TuNTuN/		'louder sound of the bell'
/TəNTəN/		'sound of a gong'
/TyaNTyaN/	'still louder sound of a gong'
/TwaNTwaN/	'loudest sound of a gong'

In these examples even the size of the objects is found gradually increasing, but the pitch is gradually decreasing.
f. The vowel /i/ symbolizes two dimensional object, e.g:

395./silittə/	'manner  of sliding down'
/piciccə/		'manner of pressing water out in a linear projectile'
/piTikkə/		'sound come out of breaking a twig'
/lipikkə/		'manner of licking something with stretched tongue'
/cisikkə/		'feeling prick of a needle'

g.	The vowel /u/ symbolized roundness of the object, e.g.:M


396./suluttə/	'manner of swallowing something'
/pucuccə/		'manner of pressing water out of course by lip-rounding'
/puTukkə/		'onomatopoeia to denote the convex stomach out of eating to the full satisfaction'
/lupukkə/		'manner of eating something by rounding the lips'
/cusukkə/		'onomatopoeia for a patch of beard at the chin'
	
h./ya/ signifies deformity in shape or attitude, e.g:

397./pyalyattə/	'manner of slipping down mud or dung'
398./məcyakkə/	'act of stepping on some plane with unbalanced weight'
399. /pyatyattə/	'manner of falling cowshit with less consistency.

i. A sequence of /ya/ and /wa/ syllables signifies sudden change in shape, e.g:

400. /kwaplyakkə/ 	'manner of eating suddenly in no time'
401. /kwaryakkə/ 	'manner of breaking a stick or eating cucumber'

LIS-India- Nepali- Remaining part of structure.

C.Morphology

Parts of Speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, classifier and particle.

Criterion: Structural

1 Inflection:

i) Noun

Structural Classification: Any word that is followed by the ergative case marking particle /le/ is a noun in Nepali, e.g:
402. /gai-le/ (cow-ERG)

Semantic Categories of Noun:

Semantically, nouns in Nepali can be classified basically into two classes, Count and Noncount. Noncount nouns cannot collocate with the classifier /oTA/ while the Count nouns collocate with the classifier, e.g:

403. /tin oTA gAi/ 	(3 CL cow) 	'three cows'
404. /*tin oTA pAni/	(3 CL water)  	*'three waters'

Count nouns are further classified into Human and Nonhuman. The Human nouns can collocate with the classifier /janA/ while the Nonhuman nouns cannot collocate with the classifier, i.e:

405. /tin janA keTA/	'three boys'
406. /tin *janA gAi/	'three cows'

Only Human nouns can be further classified into Feminine and Nonfeminine. This is reflected by the difference in the agreement pattern, i.e:

407. /ter-o kAl-o keT-o bas-y-o/	'Your black boy sat'
408. /ter-I kAl-I keT-I bas-i/	'Your black girl sat'.
409. /ter-o kAl-o bAch-o bas-y-o/ 'Your black calf sat'
410. /ter-o kAl-o bAch-I bas-y-o/ 'Your black she-calf sat'

In this set of examples the change of the suffix /o/ to /i/ in Human nouns is reciprocated by similar change in each of the modifiers and the verb. Such a change in the Nonhuman nouns does not trigger similar reciprocal change in the modifiers and the verb.

iv.	Interrogatives and Question Words: 

A.	Human: ko 'who' (direct), kas (oblique) 
B.	Nonhuman: ke 'what'
C.	kun 'which'
D.	kasari 'how' (manner)
E.	kahaan 'where' 
F.	kahile 'when'
G.	kina 'why'
H.	kati 'how much', 'how many'

v.	Relative Pronouns:

A.	Human: jo 'who' (direct), jas (oblique)
B.	Nonhuman: je 'what'
C.	jun 'which'
D.	jasari 'how' (manner)
E.	jahaan 'where'
F.	jahile 'while', jaba 'when'
G.	jati 'how much', 'how many'

c) Verb Morphology a. Non-finite Verbs (Participles): gar-nu 'to do' (nominal),gar-aai 'act of doing' (nominal), gar-ne 'one who does' (adjective), gar-do 'doing' (adjective), gar-e-ko 'done' (adjective), gar-na 'to do' (infinitive), gar-e-ra 'after doing' (adverb), gar-I (adverb)

ii. Finite Verbs:

A.	Voice: Passivization is morphological in Nepali, e.g:

422a. 	gar-yo 'he did' (active)
422b.	 gar-I-yo 'it was done' (passive)

B.	Tense: There are two tenses:

423a. 	gar-yo 'he did' (past)
423b. 	gar-cha 'he does' (non-past)

C.	Aspect: 
a.	Perfective: gar-yo 'he did'
b.	Imperfective:
1.	Unreal: gar-ne thi-yo 'he would have done' (past), gar-ne cha 'he will do'
2.	Real: 
i. 	Habitual: gar-da-thyo 'he used to do', gar-da-cha 'he does'
ii.	 Perfect:
a.	Unknown (Inferential Perfect): gar-e-cha 'he was found to have done'
b.	Known: 

Reduplicative: gar-e-ko gar-e-k-ai cha 'he has been doing' (Nonpast Progressive Perfect) , gar-e-ko gar-e-k-ai thi-yo ' he had been doing' (Past Progressive Perfect)

	Non-reduplicative: gar-e-ko cha 'he has done' (Nonpast Perfect)
iii. Progressive: gar-dai thiyo 'he was doing', gar-dai cha 'he is doing'

Collocational restrictions of the progressive marking suffix /dai/ helps to classify inherent aspects of verb as classified by Vendler, Comrie and Van Valine and LaPolla.

Stative verbs do not go with this suffix. Inchoative Verbs reflect change of state. Prospective Verbs denote imminent actions.

D. Mood:

Mood in Nepali is morphologically of two types, declarative and non-declarative:

a.	Declarative and
b.	Non-declarative (Optative, Imperative and Probabilitative)
 

This distinction is realized in terms of negation and tense. The negative affix is a prefix in non-decalrative forms, but it is a suffix in the declarative stems, e.g:

424. Non-declarative forms: 
	Affirmative			Negative

	i. Imperative
	khaanu 'to eat'		na-khaanu 'not to eat'	
	khaa 'Eat!'			na-khaa 'Don't eat'
ii. Optative
	uD-os 'let him fly'	na-uD-os 'let him not    do'

	iii. Probabilitative
  uD-laa 'it may fly'	na-uD-laa 'it may not fly'

425. Declarative forms:
    uD-yo 'it flew'		uD-e-na 'it did not fly'
    uD-cha 'it flies'		uD-dai-na 'it does not fly'

Tense distinction into past and non-past is characteristic only of declarative mood. The non-declarative mood does not undergo such distinction.

E.	Agreement Categories of Verb:
a.	Number: There are two numbers, singular and plural, and they reflect in verb morphology, e.g: 

426. cha 'he is'		cha-n 'they are'
	cha-s 'you (sg) are'  	ch-au 'you (pl) are'
	ch-u 'I am'		ch-auʔ̱ 'we are'

b.	Gender: There are two morphological genders, e.g:

427. cha 'he is'		che 'she is'
thi-yo 'he was'		thi-i 'she was' 

c. Person: The following examples of verbs satisfy three persons

428. i. 	u cha 'he is' 		
uni haru cha-n 'they are'
ii.	taʔ̱ cha-s 'you (sg) are' 
timi haru ch-au 'you (pl) are'
iii.	ma ch-u 'I am'
hami ch-auʔ̱ 'we are'

d. Case: Since the verb in a Nepali sentence agrees with the subject, we can say that the person, number and gender markers noted above are the markers of the nominative case.

d) Adjectives:

Adjectives inflect for number, gender and case the nouns they modify, e.g:

426a. kaal-o keT-o (black-MASC boy-MASC) 'black boy'
426b. kaal-I keT-I (black-FEM boy-FEM) 'black girl'
427. kaal-aa keT-aa (black-PL boy-PL) 'black boys'

The plural form of noun or adjective is extended as the oblique case in Nepali. It means, 427 could be taken as an example of the oblique case form. Traditionally, adjectives in Nepali are classified as follows:

428.	Demonstrative: tyo 		'that' (sg.) ti 'those'
429.	Pronominal: 
	Possessive: mero 'my'	haamro 'our'
	tero 'your' (sg.)		timi-haru ko 'your' (pl.)

i)Numerals/ Quantifiers

430.Cardinals: ek 'one', dui 'two', tin 'three', car 'four', paʔ̱c 'five', cha 'six', sat 'seven', aTh 'eight', nau 'nine', das 'ten', egaara 'eleven', baara 'twelve', tera 'thirteen', caudha 'fourteen', pandhra 'fifteen', sora 'sixteen', satra 'seventeen', aThara 'eighteen', unnais 'nineteen', bis 'twenty'

431. Ordinals: pahilo 'first', dosro 'second', tesro 'third', cautho 'fourth', pac-auʔ̱ 'fifth', chaiT-auʔ̱ 'sixth', sat-auʔ̱ 'seventh', aT-auʔ̱ 'eighth', naw-auʔ̱ 'nineth', das-auʔ̱ 'tenth', etc.

e) Adverbs:

Since adverb is not an inflectional category in Nepali, the language does not show any inflectional morphology of adverb.

f) Clitics/ Particles:

Clitics in Nepali can be classified into grammatical and modal.

432. Grammatical:

a.Postpositions listed above like, dekhi 'from', baaTa 'from', nimti 'for', ko 'of', maa 'in, at', le (Ergative), laai (Dative), laagi 'for', saʔ̱ga 'with', sita 'with'

Subordination:

(439) is a typical Nepali sentence with subordination where the subordinate clause precedes the matrix clause. Within a subordinate clause the sentence is followed by the complementizer.

2. Internal Structure of the Sentence:
Copular Sentence: 

In Nepali there are four types of copula:
 
(a). /ho/ denotes equative relation like identification, e.g:

440. mero naam maadhab ho 'my name is Madhav'
my   name  madhav COP

b). /cha/ denotes locative relation between two nominals in the sentence, e.g:

441. mero ghar nepaal maa cha 'I am from Nepal'
	my   home  Nepal LOC COP

(c). /huncha/ denotes generality of some property as against /cha/ which denotes particularity, e.g: 

442. praaya   suntalaa guliyo huncha 'orange is sweet' 
	generally orange    sweet COP.GENERAL
	'orange is generally sweet'
443. yo suntalaa guliyo cha 'this orange is sweet'
	this orange  sweet COP.PARTICULAR

(d). /hunuhuncha/ is the honorific variant of all the other three types of the copula, e.g:

444.1 uhaaʔ̱ meraa guru hunuhuncha 'he is my guru'
	he-HON my   guru COP.HON
444.2 uhaa bidwaan hunuhuncha 'he is well educated'
	he.HON pundit COP.HON
444.3 uhaan ahile byasta hunuhuncha 'now he is busy'
	he.HON now    busy  COP.HON
444.4 uhaaʔ̱ jaapaan maa hunuhuncha 'he is in Japan'
	he.HON Japan  LOC COP.HON

	These examples show that the order of constituents in a copular sentence in Nepali is as follows:

445. [Referent NP + Complement Phrase + COPULA]

	The structure of other sentences is not different from the copular sentence in this language.

Verbal Sentences: All the sentences in Nepali are verbal, because there are functionally different four copulas. In a typical verb phrase the order of constituents is as follows:

446a. VP = Main Verb + Auxiliary Verb
446b. Auxiliary Verb = Sequence of Vectors + AUX
446c. Main Verb = Light Verb, Compound Verb, Single  Verb

Adverbial Phrase: The order of elements in an Adverbial Phrase is as follows:

447. Adverbial Phrase = (Intensifier)+ Adverb

Adjectival Phrase: Following is the order of elements in an Adjectival Phrase:

448. Adjectival Phrase = (ADVP) + {Adj, POSS}

Postpositional Phrase: The structure of a Postpositional Phrase in Nepali follows the following South Asian pattern:

449. {NP,ADJP,ADVP,POSS-P} + Postposition

Noun Phrase: A Noun Phrase in Nepali is made up of the following items:

450. NP = (ADVP)+ ({ADJP,POSS-P}) + Noun

3. Coordination:

Two types of coordination are witnessed in Nepali, e.g:

Juxtaposition: In this type of coordination the conjunction is missing, e.g:

451. u aayo, ek chin   basyo gayo.
	he came  a moment sat   went
	'he came, stayed for a moment and went away'

Use of Conjunction: This type of coordination makes use of coordinating conjunctions. Following are the coordinating conjunctions in Nepali:

452. ra 'and', ani 'and', tara 'but', natra 'otherwise', athabaa 'or', na…na… 'neither…nor…', ki…ki… 'either…or…', …pani…pani 'not only…but also…'…taa pani 'nevertheless'.

4. Negation:

The following are types of negative structures in Nepali:

453a. bhaai khel-yo 'brother played'
	brother play-PFV
453b. bhaai khel-e-na 'brother did not play'
	brother play-Past-NEG
454a. Mother: choraa, taʔ̱  raksi   na-khaa
			son     you alcohol NEG-consume
			'my son, don't take alcohol'
454b. Son: naaiʔ̱, ma raksi   khaa   -n-chu
		  no    I  alcohol consume-HAB-1sg.NPast
		 'No mom, I take alcohol'

455a. In the context of 454 the son may reply to his mother just by saying /əʔ̱həʔ̱/. This word is also a negative particle and it has discourse-pragmatic relevance as well.

456. u  na      paDh-cha  na khel-cha
	he NEG read-3sNP NEG play-3sNP
	'he neither reads nor plays'
457. paani par-yo   natra garmi hu-n-thyo
	water fall-PFV  NEG   hot  be-ASP-was
	'it rained otherwise it would have been very hot'

Morphologically, the negative affix /na/ precedes in a non-declarative verb-stem while it follows the stem in a declarative verb-form, e.g:

458a. Non-declarative forms: na-jaa-os (NEG-go-OPTATIVE) 'may not go', na-jaa 'don't go', na-jaa-laa (NEG-go-Probabilitative) 'may not go', na-ga-eko (NEG-go-PPart) 'not gone'

458b. lekh-dai-na (write-NPast-NEG) 'he does not write', lekh-e-na (write-Past-NEG) 'he did not write'
5. Anaphora:
Reflexive Anaphora:

The reflexive anaphora /aaphu/ is usually governed by the antecedent NP, however, there are examples of unbound reflexive anaphora in Nepali, e.g:

459. ma aaphu laai cin      -na sak-di    -na
	I   self  DAT recognise-INF can-NPast-NEG
	'I cannot recognise myself'
460. aaphu le aaphu laai cin-na       sak-iʔ̱    -dai-na
	self  ERG self DAT recognise-INF can-PASS-NPst-NEG
	'one cannot recognise oneself'

Reciprocal Anaphora:

	The receprocal anaphora /ek arko/ or /aapas/ is bound by the antecedent NP, e.g: 
461. raam ra sitaa ek arkaa   laai mayaa gar-cha-n
	Ram  and Sita one another DAT love   do-NPst-Pl
	'Ram and Sita love each other'
462. raam ra sitaa aapas  maa maayaa gar-cha-n
	Ram  and Sita  REC.AN LOC love  do-NPst-Pl
	'Ram and Sita love each other'

6. Reflexives:

There is only one reflexive morpheme (see 4.5) in Nepali, thus 4.5 can be taken as examples for the structure of reflexivization.

7. Reciprocals:

The same unit (4.5) should be used for the use of reciprocal anaphora in Nepali.

8. Comparison:

The comparative structure of Nepali follows the following pattern:

	Standard + COMPARATIVE + Adjective or Adverb

463. hiuʔ̱   bhandaa     seto 'whiter than snow'
	(snow COMPARATIVE white)

9.	Equative:

The equative construction is also somewhat similar to the comparative one, e.g:

	Standard + EQUATIVE + Adjective or Adverb

464. hiuʔ̱ jasto     seto 'as white as snow'
	snow EQUATIVE white

10.Possession:

The Possessive Phrase precedes the Noun Phrase it modifies in a typical South Asian language, e.g:

465. mero maanche (my man) 'my person'

	Within a Possessive Phrase the order of constituents is as follows:

	Possessor + Possessive Postposition + NP

466. nepaal ko maanche 'a man from Nepal'
Nepal  of   man

11. Emphasis:
i.	Phonological:

A phonological device for emphasis in Nepali is sentence stress of the word that is emphasized,e.g:

467a. ma bhaat khaa-n  -chu 'I eat rice'
	  I  rice  eat-HAB-1s.NPst 
467b. ma bhaat khaa-n  -chu 'I eat rice'
	  I  rice  eat-HAB-1s.NPst
467c. ma bhaat khaa-n  -chu 'I eat rice'
	  I  rice  eat-HAB-1s.NPst

In the examples the emphasized words are underlined.

ii. Morphological:

A morphological device for emphasis is /ai/ which is suffixed with the emphasized word, e.g:

467d. ma-i bhaat khaa-n  -chu 'I eat rice'
	  I   rice  eat-HAB-1s.NPst 
467e. ma bhaat-ai khaa-n  -chu 'I eat rice'
	  I  rice     eat-HAB-1s.NPst

iii. Discourse-pragmatic:

A discourse-pragmatic device for emphasis is by the use of particles like /nai/ after the word that is emphasized, e.g:

467f. ma nai bhaat khaa-n  -chu 'I eat rice'
	  I  rice  eat-HAB-1s.NPst 
467g. ma bhaat nai khaa-n  -chu 'I eat rice'
	  I  rice  eat-HAB-1s.NPst
467h. ma bhaat khaa-n  -chu nai 'I eat rice'
	  I  rice  eat-HAB-1s.NPst

12. Topic: 

If a sentence is made up of a single clause, then any phrase within that clause can be topicalized, e.g:

468a. [ma [nepaal maa] bas-chu] 'I live in Nepal'
	   I   Nepal LOC   live-1s.NPst
468b. [[nepaal maa] ma bas-chu]
468c. [ma baschu [nepaal maa]]
468d. [baschu ma [nepaal maa]]
468e. [[nepaal maa] baschu ma]
468f. [baschu [nepaal maa] ma]

But no item from within a phrase can be moved even for topicalization. Therefore, from the postpositional phrase [nepaal maa] no single item can be moved to topiclize, e.g:

468g. * nepaal [ma […maa] baschu]
468h. * maa [ma [nepaal…] baschu]

If a sentence is complex or compound, no item from within a clause (if it is not a matrix clause where there is much freedom) or any phrase can be moved even for topicalization, e.g:

469a. [[[ma nepaal maa baschu] bhanne] kuro] [timi laai] thaaha cha
469b. [timi laai] [[[ma nepaal maa baschu] bhanne] kuro] thaaha cha
469c. thaaha cha [[[ma nepaal maa baschu] bhanne] kuro] [timi laai]