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

’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?

Ch’ah ’éí doodaii’ nák’ee sinilí łizhinígíí daats’í nee hólǫ́’?

hat or sunglasses perhaps 2-with 4-exist.NI
listenloadingplaying

Do you have a hat or sunglasses? / Maybe you have a hat or sunglasses.

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 doodago ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?

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

Da’ ’ałní’ní’ą́ąjį’ tł’óo’di nishínílnish?

Q noon-until outside-at 2-work.P

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’ shééhonísin?

Q 1-2-know.NI
listenloadingplaying

Do you know me?

Dichin nínízin ya’?

hungry 2-want.NI Q

Díkwíí jį́ lá nanilnish?

how.many Q days 2-work.I

Díkwíí jį́ shą’ nanilnish?

how.many Q days 2-work.I

Díkwíí lá nibeegashii?

how.many-Q 2-cow
listenloadingplaying

I was wondering how many cows you have.

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

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

ha’át’éegi

listenloadingplaying

where (at what particular location)

Ha’át’éegosh náníldzid?

why-Q 2-fear.I
listenloadingplaying

Why are you afraid?

Ha’át’éegoshą’ ’ayóo náníldzid?

why-Q very 2-fear.I
listenloadingplaying

Why are you afraid?

ha’át’éégóó

listenloadingplaying

where to

Ha’át’íí biniinaa náníldzid?

what 3-cause 2-fear.I

Ha’át’íísh nizhé’é yaa naaghá?

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

haa + Neuter V

listenloadingplaying

how / what V. The ’h’-expressions formed with ’haa’ plus a neuter verb are used to pose questions about “physical characteristics, quantity, and degree”.

haa néelą́ą́’

listenloadingplaying

how much, how many, what quantity. [mass]

haa néelt’e’

listenloadingplaying

how much, how many, what quantity. [count]

haa níldííl

listenloadingplaying

how large is it

haa nóoshóní

listenloadingplaying

how pretty is it

Haa’ísh nínígai?

where-Q 2-hurt.I
listenloadingplaying

Where do you hurt?

Haaʼí lá áshį́į́h nííníʼą́?

where-Q salt 3-2-handle.SRO.P
listenloadingplaying

Where did you put the salt?

Hahgo lá tá’dinigizh?

When part 2-shear.F

Hahgosh Daniel hidilníísh?

when-GO-Q Daniel 3-start.work
listenloadingplaying

When does Daniel go to work?

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 ’ádeiit’į́?

where-at Q pl-3-be

Háadi lá dibé nidahaniih?

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

háagi

listenloadingplaying

where at (specifically)

Háádę́ę́’shą’ tó ndahohheeh?

where-from-Q water pl-3-2-haul.LPB.I

Háágóóshą díníyá?

where-to.Q 2-go.F

Hái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?

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

(I wonder) who made this boat?

Háidíígíísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NI

Háí lá kintahgóó sh ’adoołbąs?

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

Háí lá kintahgóó sh adoołbąs?

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

Háísh ’átsą́ą́’ jóyą́ą́’ laanaa nízin?

Who ribs 4-eat.O hope 3-3-want.CI

Háísh tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

Háish dooda ní?

who-Q NEG 4-said.P
listenloadingplaying

Who said no?

Jáan, nanilnishísh?

John 2-work.I-Q
listenloadingplaying

John, are you working?

Kin Łánídi daats’í ’éí doodago Bee’eldííldahsinildiísh naniná?

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

Na’nízhoozhígóósh díníyá?

Gallup-to-Q 2-go.SP

Nádí daats’í ’éí doodaii’ nideezhí daats’í bááh ’íidoolííł?

older.sister perhaps or younger.sister perhaps bread 3-make.F
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Is your older sister or your younger sister going to make bread? / Maybe your older sister or your younger sister is going to make bread.

Nizhé’é ha’át’íísh nayiisnii’?

2-father what-Q 3-3-buy.P
listenloadingplaying

What did your father buy?

Ńléí ’asdzą́ą́ sáníshą’ háí ’át’į́?

there woman old-Q what 3-be.N
listenloadingplaying

Who’s that old lady over there?

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

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

Tł’éédą́ą́’ásh nahóółtą́ kééhót’ínígi?

night-past-Q rain.P 2-live.NI-at