for prayer. Yamphu language use is high in this domain because of the strong relationship with Yamphu and the Kirat religion which is dominant in the other villages.
5.1.2 Language use in the home
The domain of the home is an important one related to language use and vitality. We investigated what language respondents use with different people in their family on different topics. During the interview
respondents were asked, “In your home, what language is most frequently used when discussing education matters with the following people grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, spouse, and
children?” The general trend is that a higher percentage of respondents speak Yamphu with the older generations 75–80 such as grandparents and parents. The percentage of respondents speaking
Yamphu declines when they speak to their spouse 64 or children 46 on education topics. A related question was also asked: “In your home what language do you use when discussing social
events and family matters with the following people: grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, spouse, and children?” The results of language use in Yamphu are similar to the previous results: Yamphu use is
highest with the older generations 80–82 of respondents and decreases with the spouse 72 and children 54. The percentages for this question are a bit higher than the percentages for the previous
question, showing that language use in Yamphu is stronger among respondents on familial topics and social matters than on educational topics. This is understandable because Nepali is the medium of
education in most situations.
5.2 Language use by age, education, and gender
5.2.1 Domains of language use by age
We stratified each of the domains of language use by young people age 15–34, and old people age 35 and above. Among older people, their reported Yamphu use was higher in five out of 13 domains while
their reported Nepali use was higher in eight out of 13 domains. Among younger respondents, Yamphu use was higher in two domains pujaprayer, and family gatherings and their Nepali use was higher in
11 out of 13 domains. Table 2 displays the percentage of old and young respondents who reported using different languages in different domains. The language with the highest percentage in each domain is
highlighted.
Table 2. Domains of language use by age Young age 15–34
Old age 35+ Domains
n= Yamphu Both n= Nepali Yamphu Both Nepali Singing
29 6
3 33
90 3
97 Joking
30 44
28 32 28
40 17
43 Shopping
27 16
22 32 69
11 7
82 Storytelling
30 21
18 33 61
17 10
73 Debate
30 38
12 34 50
17 20
63 PujaPrayer
29 67
33 33
55 3
41 Quarreling
29 26
29 34 44
31 21
48 Scolding
30 47
12 34 41
33 17
50 Stories to kids
30 44
25 32 31
20 10
70 Singing at home
28 22
7 27
70 18
11 71
Family gatherings 30 82
6 34
12 73
27 Village meetings
30 18
21 34 62
23 3
73 Counting
30 18
9 34 74
23 3
73
In addition to the categories of “Yamphu” and “Nepali,” people also responded that they use both Yamphu and Nepali in some domains. While the percentage of reported use of
“Both” languages was never higher than either single language, there are some domains where a relatively high percentage of
people reported using Yamphu and Nepali equally. Among old people, the highest reported use of both Yamphu and Nepali were
in the domains of quarreling 29, joking 28, and telling stories to children 25. Among young people, the highest reported domains for dual language use were debate
20, quarreling 21, joking 17, and scolding 17. In comparing language use between old and young people, old respondents reported a higher
percentage of Yamphu use in five of 13 domains. In contrast, young respondents reported higher use of Yamphu than Nepali in two of 13 domains puja -55; family gatherings -73. Between the young and
old demographics, a higher percentage of young people than old people reported speaking Nepali in 12 of the 13 domains. Only in the domain of counting did a higher percentage of old people report using
Nepali 74. In contrast, a higher percentage of old people than young reported using Yamphu in ten of 13 domains. Young people reported higher percentages of Yamphu use in the domains of quarreling,
village meetings, and counting.
It is also interesting to look at frequency of Yamphu language use by age. Figure 14 shows the difference in use between young people ages 15–34 and older people age 35
and above.
Figure 14. “How often do you use Yamphu?” Of the older respondents to the question, “How often do you use Yamphu,” ninety-one percent
31 34 reported using Yamphu every day and 9 334 reported using it sometimes. Among the young
respondents, a lower percentage 60 reported using Yamphu every day. A Of the older respondents to the question, “How often do you use Yamphu,” ninety-one percent 3134 reported using Yamphu every
day and 9 334 reported using it sometimes. Among the young respondents, a lower percentage 60 reported using Yamphu every day. A higher percentage of young people reported using Yamphu
sometimes 37 and never 3. From this data we can see that among the respondents old people are using Yamphu more
frequently than young people.
5.2.2 Domains of language use by education
