18.226 hunto aku- raŋ mennak-ki liŋ-la jøk-ken bek=o.
now uncle-self darkness-GEN totality-DAT EXIST-NMLZ;CONJ AUX=NEW.INF [
ɕi-ja him-pa na sø-pa him-pa] die-NMLZ;Q COP-NMLZ;Q or survive-NMLZ;Q COP-NMLZ;Q
ha mit-khoo-ken bek=o. aud.impact NEG-undestand-NMLZ;CONJ AUX=NEW.INF
aku- raŋ hariŋ-ni tɕhi-pa di lʏ thaŋ sim
uncle-self today-ABL do;VBZR-NMLZ;Q DEF body and mind jaa
ʈhe tshar-a bek=o. TE51 apart be.separated[PST] fall.off-NMLZ;Q AUX=NEW.INF
‘I inform you uncle now that you are in the darkness. You do not understand whether you are the one who has died or the one who has survived. Uncle, I inform
you, from today onwards your body and mind have become totally separated.’ This example comes from a speech of a lama who performs post mortem rituals. He addresses the
dead person. Two coordinate underlined clauses have been nominalized and the matrix verb is ‘to understand, to realize’. The object nominalization has produced a NP which is embedded as an object of
the matrix verb. The complement clause is in square brackets.
18.11.10 Complementizer -pa with the matrix verb nø
Examples 18.227 and 18.228 illustrate how another PCU verb ‘to think’ combines with complement clauses. This verb always requires a complement clause. The meaning of this verb is ‘to think, to have an
opinion’. There is another verb in Lhomi that refers to reasoning as a mental process. However, this verb, nø-, typically refers to a state, T1 type verb.
Consider now the following illustrations. 18
.227 hunto raŋ-ki [noksam hi-ntuk tɕhi-pa] nø-kuk. TE42 now 2SG-ERG reasoning this-ADVZR do;VBZR-NMLZ;Q think-PROG;VIS
‘Now you are thinking this kind of inner thoughts.’ A lama is telling his client what inner thoughts the client is thinking. Lama is supposed to see it;
therefore, the sensory observation is used. The embedded nominalized clause direct object is in square brackets.
18.228 [hi- ko laŋkak him-pa ba ak ] nø-tɕuŋ.
this-head path COP.EXP-NMLZ;Q CFP think-PST.EXP ‘I thought contrary to fact that this was a trail.’
Speaker may make this statement to himself or to someone else. He has thought that the track he chose to walk was a trail but it turns out not to be. Note that the first person subject is marked in the
matrix verb. The complement clause is in brackets and it is the object argument of the matrix verb nø.
18.11.11 Double embedding complementations
Double embedding complementation with a PCU matrix verb The next example illustrates a rather complex yet common structure in Lhomi.
18.229 u- ni sim loŋ-e ŋeɕɕo di
that-ABL mind get.up-NMLZ;Q-GEN time DEF
{u-ki ɕi-na khur-a di-ki [ ŋa ɕi-ja hin
that-GEN die-NFNT1 carry-NMLZ;Q DEF-ERG 1SG die-NMLZ;Q COP.EXP nø-pa di ]} ha khoo-ken bet. TE51
think-NMLZ;Q DEF aud.impact hear;understand-NMLZ;CONJ AUX Lit. ‘Then at the time of his soul waking up the man who has died realizes the
thought “I am dead.” Or: ‘... realizes that he is dead.’
This example is from a report of post mortem rituals when a lama speaks to the dead man. At a certain point the dead man’s mind realizes that he is dead. The speaker gives a direct report of the dead
man’s utterance. The matrix clause nøpa di and the reported speech ŋa ɕi-ja hin are coreferential.
Therefore, direct experience form hin is used see Bartee 2005:6. The direct speech is embedded to the matrix verb nø, which is nominalized and the whole new clause is embedded to another matrix verb ‘to
understand’. In the example, three kinds of brackets are used to help make it clear. Note that it is the finite matrix verb
ha khoo which governs the ergative marker of the subject. The innermost clause in brackets is an equative copula with predicate nominal
ɕi-ja. Double embedding complementation with the matrix verb ‘tɕhar
18.230 jari tshar ɖo-ken bet.
some fall.off go-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ni [uko tshar-
soŋ nø-pa] mit-tɕhar-ken bet. TE30 that fall.off-PST.VIS think-NMLZ;Q NEG-rise.up-NMLZ;CONJ AUX
‘Some sheep will fall off the cliff. The thought that the other one fell off the cliff does not occur in its mind.’ Or: ‘The thought “that one fell off” does not occur in its mind.’
The latter clause refers to the sheep next in line to the one that fell off. The matrix verb is t ɕhar-.
This example gives an idea how complex the outcome may be with successive nominalizations. The referent of the first complement clause
uko tsharsoŋ is not coreferential with the matrix verb nø-. However, when the matrix verb nø- is nominalized and a new matrix verb t
ɕhar- is added, the referents of these two clauses are coreferential. The matrix verb t
ɕhar- is an ST1 type verb. The next example shows how the matrix verb t
ɕhar may occur also in a non-finite clause. 18.231 [u-ki luk di-ki phir-
soŋ nø-pa ] tɕhar-ni that-GEN sheep DEF-ERG jump-PST.VIS think-NMLZ;Q rise.up-NFNT2
u- ki tiŋ-la nuk=raŋ phir ɖo-ken bet
that-GEN after-DAT that.way=FOC jump[NPST] go-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ma
di=raŋ. TE30 CONTR1 DEF=FOC
‘The sheep behind thinks, “It jumped” and then jumps herself after it.’ This is how sheep behave. When the sheep ahead falls into a ravine the one coming behind thinks
that it actually jumped and it jumps too and both fall and die. 18.232 [ roo-
ki ŋ-e khim hiko no-tɕe nø-pa ] 3SG-ERG 1SG-GEN house this buy-SBJV think-NMLZ;Q
t ɕhar-soŋ.
rise.up-PST.VIS ‘He wanted to buy this house of mine.’ Or: ‘He got a desire to buy this house of mine.’
In this illustration the ergative of the third person referent is governed by the agentive verb ‘to buy’.
The innermost complement clause is in brackets and the matrix verb for that is nøpa which is nominalized and the clause in square brackets is the complement clause whose matrix verb is t
ɕhar, which also eventivizes the whole construction. The subjects of all three clauses are co-referential.
Double embedding complementation with the matrix verb tɕhit The matrix verb t
ɕhit is typically an agentive verb and it occurs in all kinds of constructions. In this one it is T1 type and the nominalized complement clause is the direct object of the matrix verb.
18.233 luk- ki ma di=raŋ kha-tsøt se-na ak
sheep-ERG CONTR1 DEF=FOC what-amount eat-NFNT1 INCLN mit-
ɖaŋ-ken bet. NEG-become.satisfied-NMLZ;CONJ AUX
[ ɖaŋ-tɕuŋ nø-pa ]
become.satisfied-PST.EXP think-NMLZ;Q mit-t
ɕhik-ken bet. TE30 NEG-do;VBZR-NMLZ;CONJ AUX
‘It does not matter how much a sheep eats, it does not become satisfied. It does not actbehave thinking, “I got satisfied.”’
This example tells about the habits of sheep. When it has good grass it just eats and eats and is never satisfied.
It is the direct experience marker -t ɕuŋ on the verb ɖaŋ- which makes it a direct speech. Subjects of
all three clauses are co-referential. The finite matrix verb t ɕhit refers to behavior or acting of the sheep.
Double embedding complementation with the matrix verb khur 18.234 ga-ntija bet hi-ko.
be.glad-ADJVZR COP this-head hi-la khit-
raŋ-ki simp-e [ men-ʈo nø-pa ] this-DAT 2PL-self-GEN mind-ERG NEG.COP-PROB think-NMLZ;Q
khur-na ak ɖik-ken bet. TE56
carry-NFNT1 INCLN fit.into-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ‘This is true. Even if you think that it may not be true, it would be acceptable to
me.’ Or: ‘This is true. It is acceptable if you think in your mind, “It may not be true.”’ Speaker is trying to convince the hearers about something which he claims to be true. He adds that
they may have doubts but it would be acceptable. The matrix verb khur typically is a BT type verb ‘to carry something somewhere’. In this construction it still refers to carrying something, namely carrying an
attitude or thought or idea. However, it never has IO since one cannot carry an attitude somewhere. Therefore I regard it here as a T1 verb.
Double embedding complementation with the matrix verb sam 18.235 khok-ki khan
ʈa-la [men-ʈo nø-pa ] sam-ken? 2SG-ERG what-DAT NEG.COP-PROB think-NMLZ;Q keep.in.mind-NMLZ;CONJ.Q
‘Why do you think that it may not be so?’ Or: ‘Why do you keep in mind the thought “It may not be true”?’
All three clauses are coreferential. This matrix verb sam refers to keeping in mind and the main clause is a rhetorical question, a reprimand. The verb sam is a T1 type verb but it hardly ever refers to
an event because it typically refers to keeping in mind. It combines with precative and imperative like any agentive verb, e.g.
ŋa ak sam-ro tɕhi ‘Please do keep me in your mind’ There is not that much difference between this verb and the matrix verb khur see example 18.234. However, the third matrix
verb t ɕhar in this section almost always refers to an event see example 18.231.
18.236 t ɕhø-ʈim mip-pa-la toŋ-tu [ ŋa
religion-law NEG.EXIST-NMLZ;Q-DAT send;VBZR-PURP 1SG juŋ-a hin-ʈo nø-pa ] khit-raŋ-ki mat-sam.
come-NMLZ;Q COP.EXP-PROB think-NMLZ;Q 2PL-self-ERG NEG-keep.in.mind[IMP] ‘Do not think in your mind that I might be the one who has come for the purpose to
nullify the religious law’
There is a 1SG pronoun in the innermost clause and that makes it indirect speech. This is one of the ways Lhomi signals the difference between indirect speech and direct speech. In direct speech the
speaker would have to quote the hearer verbatim and the pronoun would have to be with third person reference. I have left the adverbial clause in the beginning out but it could be included too in the
complement clause. The finite matrix verb is in imperative. It is an ordercommand.
Summary of section 18.11.11
The nominalized verb nø-pa can be considered a complementizer. Syntactically it works very much like sir-a or sin-na which mark quotative see more in section on evidentials in 14.2.6. Both nø-pa and sir-a
or sin-na mark what Noonan calls sentence-like complements see Noonan 2007:61.The latter markers sir-a or sin-na hardly ever mark indirect speech. However, the complementizer nø-pa may mark either.
The following list shows how the subject referentiality differs:
• All three clauses have co-referential subjects see 18.229, 233, 234, 235 direct speech
• Only the last two clauses of the double embedding have co-referential subjects see 18.230, 231,
232, 236 indirect speech Table 18.6. Some derivational suffixes that nominalize verbs
Nominalizer Comments
Morpheme gloss -ken
typically subject nominalization NMLZ;CONJ
-pa-wa-ja-a typically object nominalization
NMLZ;Q -ma
F2 -
taŋ COM
-tM ‘should, ought to’
SBJV -tokpa
‘appears to’ NMLZ
- loŋ
in non-finite clauses PUNC
-ro marks a complement clause, e.g. in precative
AID -tu
marks a complement clause with causative PURP
-ri marks a complement clause with reciprocal activity
RECP -kin
marks simultaneous activity NMLZ
-lu marks a complement clause of how
concept, cast -
loŋ marks a complement clause of a moment
PUNC
18.12 Sentence relators
