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
For the purposes of our research, we defined “uneducated” as anyone who has not been to school, or has studied through class four.
“Educated” is defined as anyone who has studied from class five or above. The rationale for this divide between class four and five is that by class five, students are usually able to
read and write, and would be considered literate. We divided interview respondents into ‘uneducated’ and ‘educated’ groups to compare their language use in the 13 different domains.
The medium of education in all the village schools is Nepali. For this reason, we might expect that those who are educated would use Nepali more frequently in different domains of life than uneducated
people. Our data confirms this hypothesis. Of the 13 domains, a higher percentage of educated people than uneducated reported using Nepali most frequently in eight domains. The domains where a higher
percentage of uneducated than educated people reported using Nepali were: pujaprayer 42, family
gatherings 19, scolding 50, quarreling 46, and village meetings 69. Looking at which languages these groups most frequently choose, among educated respondents, a
higher percentage reported using Nepali in every domain but three. The three domains where Yamphu use was higher were: joking 42 Yamphu, pujaprayer 63 Yamphu, and family gatherings 79
Yamphu. Similarly, among uneducated respondents, a higher percentage of people reported using Yamphu in
the same three domains: joking 39 Yamphu, pujaprayer 54 Yamphu, and family gatherings 77 Yamphu. In the same three domains, Yamphu use exceeds Nepali use for both educated and uneducated
respondents. In addition to the Yamphu and Nepali categories, many respondents also reported using Nepali and
Yamphu equally in some domains. In comparing educated and uneducated respondents, a higher percentage of uneducated than educated, in eight domains, reported using both languages. Among
educated, the domains with the highest percentage of respondents in the ‘both’ category are: quarreling 26, joking 18, debating 18, and scolding 18. Among uneducated, the most frequently
reported domains are joking 27, telling stories to children 27, and quarreling 23.
Even though Nepali use percentages were higher among educated people, the differences were not great average of 10 difference. Both uneducated and educated reported more Yamphu use in the
same domains: joking, pujaprayer, and family gatherings. These three domains are significant in terms of language vitality.
5.2.3 Domains of language use by gender
