Innovation in nominalization in Magar

The focus of this paper is innovation in the nominalization system of Magar, a Central Himalayish language, belonging to the Bodic sub-phylum of Tibeto-Burman, and spoken largely in central Nepal. Nominalization is a prominent feature of Bodic, and many of these languages including Magar have innovated beyond the primary and expected function of nominalization, i.e. to derive nominals from non-nominals. This paper examines innovation, specifically in terms of patterns identified by Noonan (2008): (1) elaboration, (2) extension and (3) elimination. These patterns are defined and described; furthermore innovation and its effects in Magar are viewed in the context of other Tibeto-Burman languages.