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

’At’éédísh yiniłtsą́?

girl-Q 3-2-see.P

Bee nahaldzoohí yah ’adíítį́į́ł. Da’ yah ’ííńtą́?

broom in 3-2-bring.F.SSO Q in 3.2.bring.P.SSO

Béésh náábał dóó haa nízahdi nighan?

windmill and how 3-long.N-at 2-home
listenloadingplaying

How far is your place from the windmill?

Bikáá’ dah ’asdáhí bikáa’gi doodaai’ ni’góó daats’í nishdaah?

chair 3-top-at or floor-on perhaps 1-sit.NI

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

Chidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?

car-Q 3-with 4-exist.NI 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’ dichin nínízin?

Q hungry 2-want.NI

Da’ Ron saad neiskáá’?

Q Ron word 3-3-investigate.P
listenloadingplaying

Did Ron study words?

Da’ Ron yiską́ągo saad neidoołkah?

Q Ron tomorrow word 3-3-investigate.F

Doo b bééhózin da ya’?

neg 3-with 3-know.CI neg Q

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

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

Ha’át’éego lá ’íiyisíí ’atiinjį’ ’ańdeeshdááł lá?

how Q main road-up.to 1-back-on-go.F DISC
listenloadingplaying

How can I get back onto the main road?

Ha’át’éegoshą’ t’áadoo ’azee’ál’į́į́góó nisíníyáa da?

why-Q NEG hospital-to 2-go.sg.P NEG

Ha’át’íí lá neidiyoołnih lá?

what DISC 3-3-buy.F DISC
listenloadingplaying

What is she going to buy?

Ha’át’íísh baa hane’?

What Q 3-for be.told.CI

Ha’át’íísh biniinaa naníchxǫ’?

what-Q 3-because 2-pout.CI

Ha’át’íísh Mary nayiisnii’?

What-Q Mary 3-to.buy.I
listenloadingplaying

What did Mary buy?

haa níldííl

listenloadingplaying

how large is it

haa níłnééz

listenloadingplaying

how long, how tall is it

Haash nízah kodóó nighanjį’?

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

Haaʼí lá áshį́į́h nííníʼą́?

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

Where did you put the salt?

Haaʼísh dáʼákʼeh?

where-Q cornfield
listenloadingplaying

Where is the cornfield?

Haaʼísh niʼnisʼbąąs?

where-Q 3-1-park.F
listenloadingplaying

Where should I park?

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 niyaa hazlį́į́’?

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

Where did you grow up?

Háadish nichidí nííníłbą́ą́z?

where-at-Q 2-car 3-2-.park.P

háagi

listenloadingplaying

where at (specifically)

Hádą́ą́’ Jáan Tó Hónaanígóó naayá?

When past John ocean across-to 3-go.P

Hádą́ą́’sh Mary ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?

when-past-Q Mary school-from 3-return.P

Hái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?

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

listenloadingplayingSpeaker: Lorene B LegahlistenloadingplayingSpeaker: Ron Gene

(I wonder) who made this boat?

Háidíígíí lá neidiyoołnih?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ Q 3-3-buy.F
listenloadingplaying

Which one is s/he going to buy?

Háísh ’ałhosh?

who-Q 3-sleep.I

Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

Háidíígíísh łį́į́ʼ b deeshdlóózh?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ-Q horse 3-with 3-crawl.F

Joołísh ’atiin tsé’naa ’ahííníłhan doodaii’ daats’í ’anít’i’ báhátis ’ahííníłhan?

ball-Q road across 3-2-throw.P or perhjaps fence 3-over 3-2-throw.P

K’aa’ísh tsénaa ’aní’á biyaa doodago daats’í báhátis ’ayiist’oh?

arrow-Q bridge 3-under or perhaps 3-over 3-3-shot.P

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

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

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’íí nayiisnii’?

Mary what 3-3-buy.P

listenloadingplayingSpeaker: Tyler TinhornlistenloadingplayingSpeaker: Tyler Tinhorn

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?

Nichidísh háadi nííníłbą́ą́z?

2-car-Q where-at 3-2-park.P

Nidlóóhísh doodaii’ doo daats’í nidlóoh da?

2-cold.I-Q or neg perhaps 2-cold.I neg
listenloadingplaying

Are you cold or not?

N bééhózinísh ’éí doodaii’ nicheii daats’í b bééhózin?

2-with 3-know.CI-Q TOP or 2-grandfather perhaps 3-with 3-know.CI

Ńléí ’asdzą́ą́ sáníshą’ háí ’át’į́?

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

Who’s that old lady over there?

Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhígóó deet’áazhgo haa’í lá ’adiidį́į́ł?

tomorrow Gallup-to 1dpl-go.du.F-GO where Q 1pdl-eat.F

ʼAwéé chʼídeeldloʼ. ʼA’áshįįh daatsʼí nihee dahólǫ́.

baby 3-laugh.P Navajo.salt perhaps 2dpl-with pl-HO-exist.NI