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

’Áádóó shą’?

and.then Q

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

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

Chidí naat’a’íísh hooghankáá’góó ch’ínísaal ’éí doodaii’ dziłghąą’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’

listenloadingplaying

particle for yes/no questions

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

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

Da’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?

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

Dibéésh nee hólǫ́?

sheep-Q 2-with 4-exist.NI

Dichinísh doodaii’ dibáá’ísh dzinízin?

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

Díigi ’át’éegoósh ’ájiił’įįh?

this-at 3-be-GO-Q SUP-4-do.P

Díí chąą’ shą’ háádę́ę́’ niníyęęzh?

this manure-Q where-from 3-ooze.P

Díí haa yit’éego ’atiin?

this how 3-be.NI road
listenloadingplaying

How is this road?

Díkwíí jį́ lá nanilnish?

how.many Q days 2-work.I
listenloadingplaying

I was wondering how many days do you work

Díkwíísh nibeegashii?

how.many-Q 2-cow

Díkwíísh ninááhai?

how.many-Q 2-winter.NI

Gohwééh nayiisnii’diísh b bééhózin?

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

Ha’at’iish náádaadi’ní?

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

ha’át’éegi

listenloadingplaying

where (at what particular location)

ha’át’éejį’

listenloadingplaying

where to a point

Ha’át’íísh hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?

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

What did the man and the girl make?

Ha’át’íísh nizhé’é yaa naaghá?

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

Haa níníłnééz?

what 2-tall.relatively.NI
listenloadingplaying

How tall are you?

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

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

haa níłnééz

listenloadingplaying

how long, how tall is it

haa nóolin

listenloadingplaying

what does it look like

haa nóoshóní

listenloadingplaying

how pretty is it

haa yídéetą́ą́’

listenloadingplaying

how deep is it

Haa’í shą’ neezgai?

where Q 3-hurt.N
listenloadingplaying

Where does it hurt?

Haa’ísh neezgai?

where-Q 3-hurt.N
listenloadingplaying

Where does it hurt?

Haash nízah kodóó nighanjį’?

how-Q 3-long.N here-from 2-home-to

Haaʼísh niʼnis´bąąs?

where-Q 3-1-park.F
listenloadingplaying

Where should I park?

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

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

listenloadingplayingSpeaker: Sharon J. NelsonlistenloadingplayingSpeaker: Lorene B Legah

What did the man and the girl make?

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

man and girl Q what 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)

Háadi niyaa hazlį́į́’?

where-at 2-under area-grow.P
listenloadingplaying

Where did you grow up?

háajį’

listenloadingplaying

to what point

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

Háágóó shą’ 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?

Háísh tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

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?

Naadą́ą́’ lá haa néelą́ą́’ nida’ak’eh biyi’ góne’?

corn Q how 3.much.N 2-cornfield 3-in there
listenloadingplaying

How much corn is in your cornfield?

Nizhe’é ha’át’íísh yaa naaghá?

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

Nizhé’é ha’át’íísh nayiisnii’?

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

What did your father buy?

Nił hǫ́zhǫ́ǫ́sh doodaii’ doósh nił hózhǫ́ǫ da?

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

Yadiizíníshą’ haa néelt’e’go nínízin?

can-Q how 3.many.N-GO 2-want.NI