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
’Ak’éégo ’éí chizh niléí keehaidi ninahdahiigééh nt’éé’.
autumn-GO that wood over.there winter.camp-at pl-3-1-unload.P pastIn the past, we used to haul wood to the winter camp.
bookmark- -go verb and subordinating encliticfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -di atfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- nahashheeh unloadfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- ńt’éé’ pastfind in Navajo Conjunction Lexicon
- ńt’éé’ relates to past timefind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
’Ashiiké yázhí ła’ chidí yikáá’dę́ę́’ ’adah ’adoogoh.
boys little INDEF car 3-on-from down 3-fall.F’Ashkii yázhí bee’eldǫǫh yik’ee ’ádadeeznih.
boy little gun 3-on.account.of REFL-3-hurt.P’Awéé’ dah biséłdá.
baby up 3-1-CAUS-hold.AnO.SPNI’m holding the baby in a sitting position.
bookmark’Azhé’é ’éí chízh nííni’yį́ ’áádóó hastiin bíká ’adoolwoł.
INDEF.father TOP wood 3-3.haul.complete.LPB.P AND man 3-after 3-run.FThe father is chopping wood and the other man is helping him.
bookmark’Ííshją́ą́ ’at’ééd yázhí hooghandę́ę́’ ch’idoogááł.
certainly girl little house-from out-3-walk.F’Ííłta’ dóó ’iiłghaazh.
1-read.P CONJ 1-sleep.P-ch’į’
-chą́’
craving, addicted to, fond of
bookmark-k’ee
Bá’ólta’ísh Jáan ’éí doodaii’ Mary daats’í yich’į’ haadzíí’?
teacher-Q John TOP or Mary perhaps 3-to 3-talk.PBááh łikanígíí ła’ nisin háálá ayóo łikan.
bread 3-be.sweet.NI.NOM some 3-1-want.NI because very 3-be.sweet.NIbik’ídóhdis
3DO-2dpl-wrap.it.around.it.ICh’éénísh’į́įgo náá’deeshtł’óół nissin.
out summer.GO 1-again.weave.F 1-desireChidí diiłts’į́į́h.
car 3-2-start.IDa’adánídi ’áts’ą́ą́’ deeshghał.
restaurant-at ribs 3-1-eat.FDa’iidą́ągo sitsilí bilééchąą yázhí náneeskaadí ła’ yá yiidiyiisdláád dóó yaa yiizhjaa’.
1Pl-eat.I-GO 1-brother 3-puppy tortilla some 3-tear.P and 3-to 3-3-give.Pdeidííłhį́į́’
pl-3DO-3dpl-melt.it.Pdeiilyį́į́’
pl-3DO-1dpl-melt.it.(snow).PDíí haa yit’éego ’atiin?
this how 3-be.NI roadDíí yiską́ągo ’íídííłtah.
this tomorrow 3-2-read.FHa’át’éegoshą’ ’ayóo náníldzid?
why-Q very 2-fear.Ihaa nízah nináhálzhishgo shą’
hadasiigeed
pl-3DO-1dpl-dig.it.out.Phadazhdínóołchał
pl-3DO-4dpl-card.it.(as.in.wool).Fcard it (as in wool), 4th person plural
bookmarkhadééłbįįd
3DO-1-fill.something.up.with.it.Pfill something up with it, 1st person singular
bookmarkhajíígeed
3DO-4-dig.it.out.Phazhdoołtééł
3DO-4-carry.him/her.up.out.of.something.Fcarry him/her up out of something, 4th person
bookmarkHáádę́ę́’shą’ tó ndahohheeh?
where-from-Q water pl-3-2-haul.LPB.IHáidíígíísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?
which.one-ÍGÍÍ-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIháágeed
3DO-1-dig.it.out.Pjiigish
3DO-4-make.one.cut.in.it.Iléi’
because, inasmuch as, or in view of the fact that
bookmarkMósí ch’óółt’e’ lágo.
cat out-3-2-carry.O LÁGONa’ahóóhaii Ya’iishjááshtsoh bini góne’ nída’adleeh.
July 3-in 3-into rodeo 3-Pl-SUP-be.RNa’ashǫ́’ii doo baa nijit’į́į́ da.
snake NEG 3-with 4-bother.O NEGNanise’ígíí ch’iiyáán daohsą́ ’áko bee nihits’íís bitah ya’ádahoot’ééh dooleeł.
plant-ÍGÍÍ food pl-2-eat.I so 3-with 2pl-body 3-among pl-3-good.NI futureNáńsdzáago t’áá ’íídą́ą́’ ’ííníyą́ą’ dooleeł.
back-1-go.sg.P-GO just already INDEF-2-eat.P FUTNibéézh bee hane’é doo ndi naalnish da.
2-cellphone NEG but 3-work.P NEGNighéí na’ashch’ąą’ígíí níil’į́.
over.there painting-ÍGÍÍ 3-2-du.look.IShá hooł’aah.
1-for areal-2 move-over.IShicheii t’áá ’íiyisíí hastihgo biniinaa kónááhoot’éhí doo na’ádódlíi da.
1-grandfather very 3-old.N-GO because next.year NEG 3-expect.live.NP NEGShí ’éí t’áá naanishdóó kingóó déyá.
I TOP just work-from town-to 1-go.IAs for me, I went to the town from work.
bookmark- Imperfective (I) (∅, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- déyá gofind in Navajo Verb Modes
- -dóó from a specific location or point in space or timefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- -góó to, toward, along, on, with a numeral it indicates a datefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- goal