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

Shichʼéʼé kinaasdaʼgo bitsiiʼ shá beʼdíítłʼóół. Tʼáásh ʼáko?

1-daughter 3-reach.puberty.P-GO 3-hair 1-for 3-2-tie.F just-Q okay

’Adą́ą́dą́ą́’ísh tł’óo’di nanilnishgo nee ’ałní’ní’ą́?

yesterday-Q outside-at 2-work.CI-GO 2-with noon

’Adą́ą́dą́ą́’ísh tł’óo’di nishínílnish?

yesterday-Q outside-at 2-work.P

’Asdzą́ą́ ’éí ’ashkii ha’át’íí yeiní’ą́?

woman TOP boy what 3-to-3-3-move.SRO.P
listenloadingplaying

What did the woman give the boy?

-sh

Ch’iyáán nináhíłnihgo haa nízahjį’ ’ánádįįh?

food 3-2-buy.R how 3-long.N-up.to 3-become.none.R
listenloadingplaying

When you buy groceries, how long do they last?

Ch’iyáánísh hólǫ́?

food-Q 4-exist.NI
listenloadingplaying

Is there any food?

Chidí naat’a’íísh hooghan yikáá’góó ch’ét’a’ doodaii’ dził bąąhgóósh ch’ét’a’?

airplane-Q hogan 3-over-along 3-fly.P or mountain 3-side-along-Q 3-fly.P

Chidíísh bee hólǫ́ ’éí doodago ni daats’í ła’ nee hólǫ́?

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

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

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’ k’ad daats’í ch’iyáán ’áníléehgo n ’adazh’niiyą́ą́’?

Q now perhaps food 2-make.I-GO 2-for feast.happen

Dichinísh doodaii’ dibáá’ísh jinízin?

hunger-Q or thirst-Q 3-4-want.NI

Díidí háísh bichidí?

this who-Q 3-car

Doo b bééhózin da ya’?

neg 3-with 3-know.CI neg Q

Gohwééh nayiisnii’diísh b bééhózin?

coffee 3-3-buy.P-at-Q 3-with 3-know.NI

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

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

Ha’a’aahdę́ę́sh naaghan ’éí doodago e’e’aahdę́ę́sh naaghan?

east-from-Q 2-home TOP or west-from-Q 2 home

Ha’at’iish náádaadi’ní?

what-Q again-pl-3-say.I

Ha’át’éego lá ’íiyisíí ’atiinjį’ ’ańdeeshdááł lá?

how Q main road-up.to 1-back-on-go.F DISC
listenloadingplaying

How can I get back onto the main road?

ha’át’éédę́ę́’

listenloadingplaying

here from

Ha’át’íísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?

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

haa nízah nináhálzhishgo shą’

listenloadingplaying

‘how often’, what span of time

haa nízahdę́ę́’ hoolzhiizh

listenloadingplaying

for how long

Haa nízahdę́ę́’ hoołtį́į́ł?

how 3-long-from rain.Prog

Haa nízahjį’ hanínáshyįh dooleeł t’áá ’ákwíí jį́?

how 3-long.N-up.to 1-rest.R FUT every day

Hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?

man and girl what 3-3-make.P
listenloadingplaying

What did the man and the girl make?

Hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ha’át’íí lá ’áyiilaa?

man and girl what Q 3-3-make.P
listenloadingplaying

What did the man and the girl make?

há’at’é-P.ENCLITIC

listenloadingplaying

where. The expressions formed with ’há’at’é-’ either appear with a postpositional enclitic (also with the subordinating complementizer ’-go’, which we listed separately)

Há’át’íí lá hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?

what Q man and girl 3-3-make.P
listenloadingplaying

What did the man and the girl make?

Háadi lá dibé nidahaniih?

where-at Q sheep pl-3-pass-sell.CI

Háágóó díníyá?

where-to 2-go.F

Háágóó shą’ díníyá?

where-to.Q 2-go.F

Hádą́ą́’ Jáan bighan ’áyiilaa?

When-past John 3-hogan 3-3-make.P

háidí

listenloadingplaying

which one

Háidíígíí lá neidiyoołnih?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ Q 3-3-buy.F
listenloadingplaying

Which one is s/he going to buy?

Háidíígíísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NI

Háí lá sis łigai ’iił’įh

who-Q belt silver 3-3-make.U
listenloadingplaying

Who makes silver concho belts?

Háísh tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

Háísh yiską́ągo ’adoogis?

who-Q tomorrow 3-wash.F

Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa lá?

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

Who made a boat?

K’aa’ísh ’aní’á biyaa doodago daats’í báhátis ’ayiist’oh?

arrow-Q bridge 3-under or perhaps 3-over 3-3-shot.P

Mary ha’át’íí nayiisnii’?

Mary what 3-3-buy.P
listenloadingplaying

What did Mary buy?

Mary ha’át’íí yinízin?

Mary what 3-3-want.NI

Nichidí háadish nííníłbą́ą́z?

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

Niłísh bééhosin doodaii’ biłísh bééhozin?

2-with-Q 3-know.CI or 3-with-Q 3-know.CI

Shizhé’éésh łį́į́’ yiyííshǫǫdę́ę ’ayóó ’eelwod?

1-father horse-Q 3-3-tame.P-COMP.past really 3-run.away.P

Shoo sitsóí, da’ Na’nízhoozhígóó n ’adeeswod?

hey 1-grandson Q Gallup-to 2-with 2-go.F

Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi háadish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?

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

Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi, háádish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?

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