sa ground, earth 3.
The particle sa typically relativizes motion and activity verbs but also stative ones, e.g. existential copular. This noun which lexically means ‘ground, earth’, produces a verb-noun compound, which not
only relativizes but also has other kinds of grammatical functions see section 16.3.3.
As for the Lhasa Tibetan nominalizer -jag, Lhomi does not have that DeLancey1999:238–239. -
køtaŋ NMLZ 4.
Perhaps - køtaŋ is a merger of -køt PROG;EXP and -taŋ COM. However, I treat it as a unit, a nominalizer,
because it is so rare. This nominalizer occurs in correlative clauses see section 17.2.7. The following list of nominalizers have various grammatical meanings and I have treated them
elsewhere: • -ri RECP. This is a complementizer see section 18.11.2.
• -top NMLZ. This nominalizes the verb in pretense modality construction see section 16.1.2.4. • -t
ɕe SBJV. I have included this one here too because it does nominalize a verb but its grammatical meaning is treated elsewhere in this write-up see sections 16.3.4–16.3.6.
• - loŋ PUNC. This marks punctiliar imperative in finite verbs. It is also a complementizer see more
in section 18.11.4. The following example illustrates this use of it: 17.1 roo-so tuwa sa-
loŋ oŋ mat-juŋ-a bet. 3SG-PL1 food eat-PUNC INCLN NEG-come-NMLZ;Q AUX
‘They didn’t even have a moment to eat their food because they were so busy.’ The next example illustrates how even an existential verb without any nominalizer may occur as a
NP complement of a matrix verb the complement clause is in square brackets: 17
.2 ŋ-e sim-la [ ga-a-ki kettɕa duk 1SG-GEN mind-DAT be.happy-COMP2-GEN thought EXIST.VIS
di=raŋ ] min-tuk. DEF=FOC NEG-EXIST.VIS
‘There are absolutely no good thoughtsideas in my mind.’
17.2 Relative clauses
17.2.1 Prenominal relative clause with external head
An external relative clause is a relative clause whose head noun phrase is outside the relative clause Payne 1997:293.
Lhomi makes no use of relative pronouns. The main strategy is to use a prenominal relative clause with external head. Headless relative clauses are equally common. Lhomi also uses extensively
correlative clauses. A prenominal relative clause is marked by genitive case marker which is attached to a nominalized
clause. This genitive marker is the relativizer. The NPCL-GEN becomes then the relative clause which modifies the head noun or NP. Subject relative clause modifies the subject of the main clause. Unlike in
Central Tibetan DeLancey 1999:235 the genitive marker relativizer is obligatory in Lhomi, except in headless relative clauses. The following examples illustrate subject relative clauses the head NP is
underlined and the relative clause is in square brackets.
Subject relative clause with external head 17.3 hi-ni [u-
ki luŋp-e kurim toŋ-keŋ-ki ] this-ABL that-GEN area-GEN kurim send;VBZR-NMLZ;CONJ-GEN
t ɕhøtnø tɕik juŋ-ken bet. TE36
Religious functionary INDF come-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ‘Then a religious functionary [who performs kurim rites of that area], comes.’
It is the genitive marker that is the relativizer and the head NP is ‘a religious functionary’. Typically, ken NMLZ is an agent nominalizer in Lhomi though it does also nominalize verbs of other types. The
tense of this relative clause here is nonpast which is marked by the verb root and -ken. 17
.4 [phu naŋ-keŋ-ki ] lama tɕik jøk-ken bet. TE18 son give[HON]-NMLZ;CONJ-GEN lama INDF EXIST-NMLZ;CONJ AUX
NPCL-GEN NPHead ‘There is a lama [who gives a son].’
This entails that the lama does it by religious rituals for someone who has been barren. Genitive marker -ki is the relativizer and lama is the head NP.
17.5 ni sama nam-e natso khajet di food many-GEN kinds plur DEF
[u-na jøp-p-e ] mi khajet di-ki kurik that-IN EXIST-NMLZ;Q-GEN man plural DEF-ERG all
gø-na se toŋ-ken bet. TE49
divide-NFNT1 eat[PST] IMMED-NMLZ;CONJ AUX ‘As for the different kinds of food, all men [who arewere there] divide it all up and eat.’
Object relative clause with external head 17
.6 [ aku passaŋ-ki sø-p-e ] khim di hi-ko bet. uncle passang-ERG build-NMLZ;Q-GEN house DEF this-head COP
NPCL-GEN NPHead ‘The house [which uncle Passang built], is this one.’
The nominalizer -pa produces typically object nominalization with agentive verbs. 17.7 [hat
ɕa-raŋ-ki khim-ki naŋ-la 1PL.INCL-self-ERG house-GEN inside-DAT
tim-p-e ] lha di-la ket d ʑak-køp=pa? TE48
consecrate-NMLZ;Q-GEN god DEF-DAT voice VBZR-PROG;EXP=Q NPCL-GEN NPHead
‘Do you invoke the god [which we all have consecrated and placed] inside of our houses?’
17.2.2 Headless relative clause
