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].
Da’ | Na’nízhoozhígóó | díníyá? |
Q | Gallup-to | 2-go.F |
Are you going to Gallup? |
Mary | ha’át’íí | nayiisnii’? |
Mary | what | 3-3-buy.P |
What did Mary buy? |
’Atsį́’ísh | ’éí | doodaii’ | łóó’ísh | nínízin? |
meat-Q | TOP | or | fish-Q | 3-2-want.NI |
Do you want meat or fish? |
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 okayWhen my daughter has the puberty ceremony, will you tie her hair for me?
bookmark- Request, affirmativefind in Navajo Imperatives
- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- -go verb and subordinating encliticfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -á for, for the benefit offind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Future (F)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- -ísh enclitic for yes/no questions
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 perhapsChidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodago ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?
car-Q 3-with 4-exist.N or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NIDoes s/he have a car or do you have a car?
bookmarkDa’ 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.NIDa’ dichin nínízin?
Q hungry 2-want.NIDa’ Ron saad neiiłkaah?
Q Ron word 3-3-investigate.IDaniel hahgosh hidilníísh?
Daniel when-Q 3-start.work.IDibéésh nee hólǫ́?
sheep-Q 2-with 4-exist.NIDíí yihahígíí biyi’, háísh tówónaanígóó ch’aa deeyá?
this year.IGII within who overseas.GOO travel 3-going.F-QDíídó’ doo ákót’ée daásh łí?
this-DÓ’ neg indef-how-3-be.NI neg-ÍSH ŁÍDíidí háísh bichidí?
this who-Q 3-carGohwééh nayiisnii’ídiísh bił bééhózin?
coffee 3-3-buy.P-at-Q 3-with 3-know.NIDo they know where he bought the coffee?
bookmark- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- nahashniih buy, sellfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- -ísh enclitic for yes/no questions
- -di atfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- -ił withfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Neuter Imperfective (NI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- bééhózin there is knowledgefind in Navajo Verb Modes
Ha’át’éegosh náníldzid?
why-Q 2-fear.IHa’át’íí lá hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?
what Q man and girl 3-3-make.PHa’át’íí shį́į́ biniinaa łeech’ąą’í nidahał’in?
what perhaps 3-because dog pl-3-bark.IHa’át’íísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?
who-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIHa’át’íí lá nizhé’é yaa naaghá?
what Q 2-father 3-about 3-do.CIhaa nízahdę́ę́’ hoolzhiizh
haa níłnééz
haa yídéetą́ą́’
Haa’ísh nínígai?
where-Q 2-hurt.IHaa’íshą’ neezgai?
where-Q 3-hurt.NHahgo hooghan ’ájílééh?
When hogan 4-make.IHastiin dóó ’at’ééd lá ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?
man and girl Q what 3-3-make.PHáadi lá ’ádeiit’į́?
where-at Q pl-3-beHáadi niyaa hazlį́į́’?
where-at 2-under area-grow.PHáádę́ę’shą’ díí ch’ah nizhóní léi’ naa yílts’id?
where-from-Q DEM hat 3-beautiful.NI INDEF 2-to 3-move.air.SRO.PHáádę́ę́’shą’ tó ndahohheeh?
where-from-Q water pl-3-2-haul.LPB.Ihádą́ą́’
Hái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa?
who DA Q boat 3-4-make.PHáidíígíísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?
which.one-ÍGÍÍ-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIHáí dahoneesná, Kinłánídę́ę́’ ’Óola yee ’ádadójíhígíí doodago Gah Bikee’ Taah Yí’áhídę́ę́’ Hado yee ’ádadójíhígíí daats’í?
who pl-3-win.P Denver-from nugget 3-with RFLX-pl-4-call.NI-nom or Florida-from heat 3-with RFLX-pl-4-call.NI-nom perhapsWhich team won? Denver Nuggets or Miami Heat.
bookmark- háí who
- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- -ee by means offind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Neuter Imperfective (NI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- doodago orfind in Navajo Conjunction Lexicon
- -ee by means offind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- daats’í maybe, perhaps, possiblyfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon