The evolution of a Tibeto-Burman pronominal verb morphology: a case-study from Kham (Nepal)

Abstract

Kham is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Dhaulagiri and Rapti Zones of west-central Nepal by an estimated 30 or 40 thousand so-called "Magars" of the four northern subtribes--the Bhuda, Gharti, Pun, and Rokha. Their ethnic identity with the Magars may account in part for the reason why Kham was never mentioned in the early literature. To my knowledge, the only available descriptions of the language are written either by myself or in co-authorship with Nancy Watters, my wife.