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
ʼÁłah ʼaleehdi ʼamá bééhániih daats'í bá dazhniiyą́ą́? ʼÁko daatsʼí nímasii łaʼ ʼakǫ́ǫ́ dííkááł.
meeting-at mother 3-remember perhaps 3-for 4-pl-eat.F potatoes perhaps some there 3-2-take.F’Ashkii yázhí éí bimá kingóó yił yi’ash.
boy little TOP 3-mother store-to 3-with 3-walk.du.Prog’Awééh kweʼé ninishteeh, adaʼoogeeh.
baby here 3-carry.AnO.I 3-fall.O’Azhą́ deesk’aaz ndi t’áá ’ákwíí jį́ na’nishkaad.
even. though 3-cold.SPN but just every day 1-herd CI’Áádóó éí haa daadzaa?
and.then TOP what pl-3-do.P’Ádi’óóyą́ą́’ le’.
self-2-eat.O don’t’Ííyą́ą́’ dóó bik’ijį’ tsinyaagi nétį́į́ dóó ’iiłhaazh.
1-eat.P and 3-after tree-under-at.spec 1-lie.down.P and 1-sleep.P-jí
designates ceremonies, religious and political institutions and lifeways
bookmark-k’é
-níká
Béégashii yáázh bichá ninish’aah.
calf 3-bunch 3-1-put.I.SRObik’ídadisoodiz
pl-3DO-2dpl-wrap.it.around.it.PCh’ééh jiyáán hastiin baa nahashniihgo ch’ééh ’ííł’įįd ’ahbínídą́ą́’.
watermelon man 3-from 3-1-buy.CI-GO tried in.vain 1-act.P morning-pastI tried in vain to buy a watermelon from a man this morning.
bookmark- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- nahashniih buy, sellfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- ’asht’í actfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- ’ahbínídą́ą́’ this morningfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -aa tofind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
Ch’óóshdą́ą́dą́ą́’ shichidí naaki. K’ad ’éí t’ááłá’i.́
formerly 1-car two now it oneChidí ’anáshdlééh, háálá doo naalnish da.
car 3-1-repair.I because NEG 3-work.I NEGChidí sits’ą́ą́’ hashtł’ish yiih yilwodgo t’áá ch’į́į́góó ch’ééh ’ííł’įįd.
car 1-from mud 3-into 3-go.P-GO failure in.vain 1-act.PI did everything possible to get my car out of the mud.
bookmark- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- yilyeed go, runfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- ’asht’í actfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- t’áá ch’į́į́góó failurefind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -iih intofind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
Chidí bitooʼ ʼásdįįdgo doo diitsʼį́į da dooleeł.
truck 3-gas 3-exhaust.NP-GO NEG 3-start.I NEG 3-become.FDíí chizh shá ’ałk’íniishóósh.
this firewood 1-for 3-2-split.IDíí tł’éé’ ’iidííłhosh.
this night 2-sleep.FDziłdę́ę́’ hoołtį́į́ł ńt’éé’ t’áá nihich’į’jį’ ’ásdįįd.
mountain-from areal-rain.Prg past just 1pl-toward-up.to 3-disappear.Pdíníshkaad
3DO-1-start.to.herd.them.(animals).Istart to herd them (animals), 1st person singular
bookmarkha’át’íí
hadajizgeed
pl-3DO-4dpl-dig.it.out.PHalah doo bíighah jiztį́į da.
opposite.sibling NEG 3-beside 4-lay.O NEGHastiin dóó ’at’ééd lá ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?
man and girl Q what 3-3-make.Phááji
Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.PK’ad cháshk’eh góyaa tó de ’anool’ąął.
now wash down water up 3-rise.ProgNa’nízhoozhígóó deeyá, ya’?
Gallup-toward 2-go.sg.F QNaadą́ą́’ lá haa néelą́ą́’ nida’ak’eh biyi’ góne’?
corn Q how 3.much.N 2-cornfield 3-in thereHow much corn is in your cornfield?
bookmarkNimá yázhí bighangóó díílwoł dóó ’áájí ’awéé’ baa ’áhólyą́ą dooleeł.
2-auntie 3-house-toward 2-run.F and there-at baby 3-to 2-care.CI FUTGo to your aunt’s house and take care of the baby over there.
bookmark- -góó to, toward, along, on, with a numeral it indicates a datefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- goal
- Future (F)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- yishwoł run alongfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- -jí on the side of, in the direction of, in the manner offind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- -aa tofind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- benefactive
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- ’áháshyą́ carefind in Navajo Verb Modes
- dooleeł futurefind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
Nizhéʼé nilą́ąjįʼ yigáałgo bikééʼ yilwoł.
2-father 2-in.front-to 3-walk.Prog-GO 3-behind 2-run.ProgRun along behind your father as he walks ahead of you.
bookmark- Command, affirmativefind in Navajo Imperatives
- Progressivefind in Navajo Imperatives
- -go verb and subordinating encliticfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -jį́’ up to, as far asfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- -kéé’ behind, followingfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Progressive (Prog)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- yishwoł run alongfind in Navajo Verb Modes