Introduction to Navajo Questions

Any competent speaker of any language will be able to form questions. This resource is a combined grammar and lexicon of Navajo questions. We provide a description of three kinds of questions along with glossed examples and audio recordings of them. We think this resource will be useful to students and teachers of this language, and to professional linguists within and outside Navajo communities.

We distinguish three distinct kinds of questions: Yes/no questions, Content Questions, and Alternative Questions. We treat Tag Questions as a subtype of Yes/no questions. For this project we draw on previous work by Fernald & Perkins (manuscript), Young & Morgan (1987), Young, Morgan & Midgette (1992), and others cited in References [link].

The three kinds of questions are exemplified below:
(1)
Da’ Na’nízhoozhígóó díníyá?
Q Gallup-to 2-go.F
Are you going to Gallup?
(A yes/no question)
(2)
Mary ha’át’íí nayiisnii’?
Mary what 3-3-buy.P
What did Mary buy?
(A content question)
(3)
’Atsį́’ísh ’éí doodaii’ łóó’ísh nínízin?
meat-Q TOP or fish-Q 3-2-want.NI
Do you want meat or fish?
(An alternative question)

Example (1) is a yes/no question, which has ‛yes’ or ‛no’ as an answer. Questions like this are used to ask whether a particular statement is true or not. In this example, the statement being asked about is Na’nízhoozhígóó díníyá, which means ‛You are going to Gallup’.

Content questions, like example (2), do not have simply ‛yes’ or ‛no’ as an answer. Rather than supplying a statement and asking whether it is true or not, they have the effect of providing a statement with some missing information, and they ask what that information is. In (2), the idea is that Mary bought something, and the question asks what that something is.

Alternative questions present the addressee with a choice between two or more options. Note that the English gloss in example (3) can be understood as either a yes/no question (if the intonation is rising on fish) or an alternative question (if the intonation is falling on fish). In Navajo, the sentence is an alternative question for which the appropriate answer will indicate which one of the choices is desired.

Glossing conventions and a note on morphology are here [link].

An example search has returned 50 entries

Chidí daats’í bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ niísh chidí nee hólǫ́?

car maybe 3-with 4-exist.N or 2-Q car 2-with 4-exist.NI

Chidí naat’a’í ’íinilaaígíí háajį’ ninít’a’?

airplane 3-2-make.P-ÍGÍÍ where-up.to 3-fly.P
listenloadingplaying

How far did the airplane that you built go when it flew?

Chidí naat’a’íísh hooghankáá’góó ch’ínísaal ’éí doodaii’ dziłghą́ą́’góó daats’í?

airplane house-over-along over-3-fly.P TOP or mountain-attached-along perhaps

Chidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?

car-Q 3-with 4-exist.NI or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NI
listenloadingplaying

Does s/he have a car or do you have a car?

Da’ chidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?

Q car-Q 3-with 4-exist.NI or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NI

Da’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?

Q Cuba-from boat 2-with 3-float.P

Da’ dibé nee hólǫ́?

Q sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI
listenloadingplaying

Do you have sheep?

Da’ Ron saad nináánéíłkaah ya’?

Q Ron word 3-3-investigate.I Q
listenloadingplaying

Ron’s investigating words again?

Da’ Ron yiską́ągo saad neidoołkah?

Q Ron tomorrow word 3-3-investigate.F

Da’ shééhonísin?

Q 1-2-know.NI

daats’í

listenloadingplaying

particle for perhaps

Dah díníilghaazhísh ’íilnilaa?

fry.bread-Q 3-2-make.P
listenloadingplaying

Did you make fry bread?

Díí haa yit’éego ’atiin?

this how 3-be.NI road
listenloadingplaying

How is this road?

Dííshą’ látsíní háádę́ę́’ naa ninídee’?

this-Q bracelet where-from 2-to 3-arrive.PlO.P

Éísh niyázhí?

that-Q 2-little.one

Gohwééh t’áá bizhání ’éí doodaii’ ’abe’ biłgo daats’í nínízin?

coffee only TOP or milk 3-with-GO perhaps 3-2-want.NI

Ha’át’éegoshą’ ’ayóo náníldzid?

why-Q very 2-fear.I
listenloadingplaying

Why are you afraid?

Ha’át’íí neidiyoołnih nínízin?

who 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NI

Ha’át’íí shį́į́ biniinaa łééch’ąą’í nidahał’in.

what perhaps 3-because dog pl-3-bark.I

Ha’át’íísh nizhé’é yaa naaghá?

what-Q 2-father 3-about 3-do.CI

Ha’át’íí́sh baa hane’?

What Q 3-for be.told.CI

Haa néelą́ą́’ nidá’ák’eh?

how 3-much.N 2-cornfield
listenloadingplaying

How many cornfields do you have?

Haa níníłnééz?

what 2-tall.relatively.NI
listenloadingplaying

How tall are you?

haa nízahdę́ę́’ hoolzhiizh

listenloadingplaying

for how long

Haa’í lá neezgai?

where Q 3-hurt.N

Haalá tʼáá ʼéiyá yinílyée ni’?

how-Q just TOP 2-name.NI remember

Hahgo hooghan ’ádíílííł?

when hogan 3-2-make.F

háadi

listenloadingplaying

where at

Háadish nichidí nííníłbą́ą́z?

where-at-Q 2-car 3-2-.park.P

Háágóó díníyá?

where-to 2-go.F

Háágóó lá Bíl doogááł nízin Jáan?

where-toward Q Bill 3-go.sg.F 3-want.CI John

Hái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?

who DA Q boat 3-4-make.P DISC
listenloadingplaying

(I wonder) who made this boat?

háidí

listenloadingplaying

which one

Háí lá kintahgóó shił adoołbąs?

who-Q town-to 1-me 3-drive.F

Háí lá sis ligái ííł’įįh?

who-Q belt silver 3-make.U

Háísh ’ałhosh?

who-Q 3-sleep.I

Háísh tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa lá?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P DISC

Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

Háidígíí ááhdiní?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ 3-2-to say
listenloadingplaying

Which one are you talking about?

Jáanísh naalnish?

John-Q 3-work.I

Kin Łánídiísh ’éí doodago Bee’eldííldahsinildi daats’í naniná?

Flagstaff-at-Q TOP or Albuquerque-at perhaps 2-go.around.CI

Kwe’éshą’ haa nízah nináhálzhishgo nináháltį́į́h?

here-Q how 3-long.N-up.to time.move.R-GO rain.R
listenloadingplaying

How often does it rain here?

Mary ha’át’íísh nayiisnii’?

Mary what-Q 3-to.buy.I
listenloadingplaying

What did Mary buy?

Mary hádą́ą́’sh ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?

Mary when-past-Q school-from 3-return.P

Nichídísh háájí?

2-car-Q where

Nidlóóhísh doodaii’ doo daats’í nidlóoh da?

2-cold.I-Q or neg perhaps 2-cold.I neg
listenloadingplaying

Are you cold or not?

Nił hǫ́zhǫ́ǫ́sh doodaii’ doósh nił hózhǫ́ǫ da?

2-with-happy.NI-Q or neg-Q 2-with happy.NI neg

Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi, háádish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?

tomorrow Gallup-at where-Q 2-eat.F 2-want.CI