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].
Ła’ ha’nitáhígíí ’éí biihidzóhí 50 entries
’Atsį’ísh ’éí doodaii’ łóó’ísh nínízin?
meat-Q or fish-Q 3-2-want.NIChidí 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.NIChidí daats’í bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ niísh chidí nee hólǫ́?
car maybe 3-with 4-exist.N or 2-Q car 2-with 4-exist.NIChidí naat’a’íísh hooghan yikáá’góó ch’éta’ ’éí doodago daats’í dził yąąhgóó ch’ét’a’?
airplane-Q house 3-over-along 3-fly.P TOP or perhaps mountain 3-over-along 3-fly.PDa’ 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.NIDa’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?
Q Cuba-from boat 2-with 3-float.PDa’ dibé nee hólǫ́?
Q sheep 2-with 3-exist.NIDa’ Ron saad nináánéíłkaah ya’?
Q Ron word 3-3-investigate.I QDa’ shééhonísin?
Q 1-2-know.NIDah díníilghaazhísh ’íilnilaa?
fry.bread-Q 3-2-make.PDaniel hahgosh hidilníísh?
Daniel when-Q 3-start.work.IDichin nínízin ya’?
hungry 2-want.NI QDichinísh doodaii’ dibáá’ísh dzinízin?
hunger-Q or thirst-Q 3-4-want.NIDíí yihahígíí biyi’, háísh tówónaanígóó ch’aa deeyá?
this year.IGII within who overseas.GOO travel 3-going.F-QDíkwíísh ninááhai?
how.many-Q 2-winter.NIDíkwíísh ninááhai?
how.many-Q 2-winter.NIDoo bił bééhózin da ya’?
neg 3-with 3-know.CI neg QDíkwíí lá ninááhai?
how.many Q 2-winterha’át’éédę́ę́’
Ha’át’íí neidiyoołnih nínízin?
who 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIHa’át’íísh hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?
what-Q man and girl 3-3-make.PHa’át’ííshą’ hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?
what-Q man and girl 3-3-make.PHa’át’ííshą’ hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?
what-Q man and girl 3-3-make.Phaa níldííl
haa níłnééz
Hahgo lá tá’dinigizh?
When part 2-shear.FHáadi lá ’ádeiit’į́?
where-at Q pl-3-beHáadi lá dibé nidahaniih?
where-at Q sheep pl-3-pass-sell.CIHáadish nichidí nííníłbą́ą́z?
where-at-Q 2-car 3-2-.park.PHáágóóshą díníyá?
where-to.Q 2-go.FHádą́ą́’ Jáan bighan ’áyiilaa?
When-past John 3-hogan 3-3-make.PHádą́ą́’sh Mary ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?
when-past-Q Mary school-from 3-return.PHái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?
who DA Q boat 3-4-make.P DISCHái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?
who DA Q boat 3-4-make.P DISCHáidíígíí lá neidiyoołnih?
which.one-ÍGÍÍ DISC 3-3-buy.FHáí lá kintahgóó shił ’adoołbąs?
who-Q town-to 1-me 3-drive.FHáí lá sis łigai ’áyiił’įįh
who-Q belt silver 3-3-make.UHáísh ’ałhosh?
who-Q 3-sleep.IHáísh yiską́ągo ’adoogis?
who-Q tomorrow 3-wash.FJáanísh naalnish?
John-Q 3-work.INa’azhǫǫshgi díkwíí shį́į́ shaa woobįįh?
hoop.and.pole.game-at how.much 1-to pass-win.INi daats’í nił bééhózin ’éí doodaii’ nicheii daats’í bił bééhózin?
2 perhaps 2-with 3-know.CI TOP or 2-grandfather perhaps 3-with 3-know.CINichidí lá háadi nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car-Q where-at 3-2-park.PNichidí lá háadi nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car where-at-Q 3-2-park.PNichidí háadi-sh nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car where-at-Q 3-2-park.PNizhe’é ha’át’íísh yaa naaghá?
2-father what-Q 3-about 3-do.CINiłísh bééhosin doodaii’ biłísh bééhozin?
2-with-Q 3-know.CI or 3-with-Q 3-know.CIbee ’ééhóziní
- -ísh enclitic for yes/no questions
- -ił withfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- accompaniment
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- bééhózin there is knowledgefind in Navajo Verb Modes
- doodaii’ particle or
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- bééhózin there is knowledgefind in Navajo Verb Modes