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].

Ła’ ha’nitáhígíí ’éí biihidzóhí 50 entries

’Asdzą́ą́ ’éí ’ashkii ha’át’íí yeiní’ą́?

woman TOP boy what 3-to-3-3-move.SRO.P

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 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 doodago ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?

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

Da’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?

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

Da’ k’ad daats’í ch’iyáán ’áníléehgo n ’adazh’niiyą́ą́’?

Q now perhaps food 2-make.I-GO 2-for feast.happen

Da’ Ron saad neiskáá’?

Q Ron word 3-3-investigate.P

Da’ Ron yiską́ągo saad neidoołkah?

Q Ron tomorrow word 3-3-investigate.F

Da’ shééhonísin?

Q 1-2-know.NI

Daniel hahgosh hidilníísh?

Daniel when-Q 3-start.work.I

Dííshą’ látsíní háádę́ę́’ naa ninídee’?

this-Q bracelet where-from 2-to 3-arrive.PlO.P

Díkwíí jį́ nanilnish?

how.many-Q day 2-work.I

Díkwíí jį́ shą’ nanilnish?

how.many Q days 2-work.I

Díkwíí shą’ ninááhai?

how.many Q 2-winter.NI

Díkwíísh ninááhai?

how.many-Q 2-winter.NI

Gohwééh haa néeląą’ nee hólǫ́?

coffee how 3-much.N 2-with 4-exist.NI

Ha’at’íí shą’ baa naniná?

what Q 3-2.do.I

Ha’át’éegoshą’ ’ayóo náníldzid?

why-Q very 2-fear.I

Ha’át’éegoshą’ t’áadoo díníyáa da?

why-Q neg 2-go.sg.P NEG

Ha’át’íí lá neidiyoołnih lá?

what DISC 3-3-buy.F DISC

Ha’át’íí shį́į́ biniinaa łeech’ąą’í nidahał’in?

what perhaps 3-because dog pl-3-bark.I

Ha’át’íísh Mary nayiisnii’?

What-Q Mary 3-to.buy.I

Ha’át’íísh Mary nayiisnii’?

What-Q Mary 3-to.buy.I

Ha’át’íísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?

who-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NI

Ha’át’íísh nizhé’é nahideeshnih nízin.

what-Q 2-father 3-1-buy.F 3-want.NI

haa níldííl

’íísíníłts’ą́ą́’loadingplaying

haa níłtso

’íísíníłts’ą́ą́’loadingplaying

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

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

Háadi lá ’ádeiit’į́?

where-at Q pl-3-be

háajį’go

háádóó

hááji

hádą́ą́’

Hádą́ą́’ dii hooghan ’íinilaa?

when-past this hogan 3-2-make.P

Hádą́ą́’ hooghan ’ájíilaa?

When-past this hogan 3-4-make.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

Háidíígíí lá neidiyoołnih?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ DISC 3-3-buy.F

Háí lá ’ałhosh?

who Q 3-sleep.I

Háí lá kintahgóó sh ’adoołbąs?

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

Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

Mary ha’át’íísh nayiisnii’?

Mary what-Q 3-to.buy.I

Nichidí háadish nííníłbą́ą́z?

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

Niísh ’ałdó’ t’áá ’ákwíinínízin?

2-Q also just 2-think.so.NI

Nił hǫ́zhǫ́ǫ́sh doodaii’ doósh nił hózhǫ́ǫ da?

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

Niłísh bééhosin doodaii’ biłísh bééhozin?

2-with-Q 3-know.CI or 3-with-Q 3-know.CI

Ńléí ’asdzą́ą́ sáníshą’ háí ’át’į́?

there woman old-Q what 3-be.N

Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi háadish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?

tomorrow Gallup-at where-Q 2-eat.F 2-want.CI

Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi háadish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?

tomorrow Gallup-at where-Q 2-eat.F 2-want.CI

ʼAwéé chʼídeeldloʼ. ʼA’áshįįh daatsʼí nihee dahólǫ́.

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