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
’Asdzą́ą́ ’éí ’ashkii ha’át’íí yeiní’ą́?
woman TOP boy what 3-to-3-3-move.SRO.PChidí 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 ’éí doodaii’ niísh chidí nee hólǫ́?
car maybe 3-with 4-exist.N TOP or 2-Q car 2-with 4-exist.NIChidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodago ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?
car-Q 3-with 4-exist.N or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NIDa’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?
Q Cuba-from boat 2-with 3-float.PDa’ k’ad daats’í ch’iyáán ’áníléehgo ná ’adazh’niiyą́ą́’?
Q now perhaps food 2-make.I-GO 2-for feast.happenDa’ Ron saad neiskáá’?
Q Ron word 3-3-investigate.PDa’ Ron yiską́ągo saad neidoołkah?
Q Ron tomorrow word 3-3-investigate.FDa’ shééhonísin?
Q 1-2-know.NIDaniel hahgosh hidilníísh?
Daniel when-Q 3-start.work.IDííshą’ látsíní háádę́ę́’ naa ninídee’?
this-Q bracelet where-from 2-to 3-arrive.PlO.PDíkwíí jį́ nanilnish?
how.many-Q day 2-work.IDíkwíí jį́ shą’ nanilnish?
how.many Q days 2-work.IDíkwíí shą’ ninááhai?
how.many Q 2-winter.NIDíkwíísh ninááhai?
how.many-Q 2-winter.NIGohwééh haa néeląą’ nee hólǫ́?
coffee how 3-much.N 2-with 4-exist.NIHa’at’íí shą’ baa naniná?
what Q 3-2.do.IHa’át’éegoshą’ ’ayóo náníldzid?
why-Q very 2-fear.IHa’át’éegoshą’ t’áadoo díníyáa da?
why-Q neg 2-go.sg.P NEGHa’át’íí lá neidiyoołnih lá?
what DISC 3-3-buy.F DISCHa’át’íí shį́į́ biniinaa łeech’ąą’í nidahał’in?
what perhaps 3-because dog pl-3-bark.IHa’át’íísh Mary nayiisnii’?
What-Q Mary 3-to.buy.IHa’át’íísh Mary nayiisnii’?
What-Q Mary 3-to.buy.IHa’át’íísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?
who-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIHa’át’íísh nizhé’é nahideeshnih nízin.
what-Q 2-father 3-1-buy.F 3-want.NIhaa níldííl
Hastiin dóó ’at’ééd lá ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?
man and girl Q what 3-3-make.PHáadi lá ’ádeiit’į́?
where-at Q pl-3-beHádą́ą́’ dii hooghan ’íinilaa?
when-past this hogan 3-2-make.PHádą́ą́’ hooghan ’ájíilaa?
When-past this hogan 3-4-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 DISCHáidíígíí lá neidiyoołnih?
which.one-ÍGÍÍ DISC 3-3-buy.FHáí lá ’ałhosh?
who Q 3-sleep.IHáí lá kintahgóó shił ’adoołbąs?
who-Q town-to 1-me 3-drive.FHáíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.PMary ha’át’íísh nayiisnii’?
Mary what-Q 3-to.buy.INichidí háadish nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car where-at-Q 3-2-park.PNiísh ’ałdó’ t’áá ’ákwíinínízin?
2-Q also just 2-think.so.NINił hǫ́zhǫ́ǫ́sh doodaii’ doósh nił hózhǫ́ǫ da?
2-with-happy.NI-Q or neg-Q 2-with happy.NI negNiłísh 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 with’akéé’ si’ání zanoo’į́ bik’ídáahgi
- accompaniment
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
- bééhózin there is knowledge’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
- doodaii’ particle or
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
- bééhózin there is knowledge’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
Ńléí ’asdzą́ą́ sáníshą’ háí ’át’į́?
there woman old-Q what 3-be.NYiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi háadish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?
tomorrow Gallup-at where-Q 2-eat.F 2-want.CIbee ’ééhóziní
- yiską́ągo tomorrowsaad ’át’éii zanoo’į́ bik’ídáahgi
- háá-P.ENCLITIC where
- -sh enclitic for content questions
- -di at’akéé’ si’ání zanoo’į́ bik’ídáahgi
- Náásgóó’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
- yíshą́ eat it’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgilook up conjugationhide conjugation ▾
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
- nisin think, want’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
Yiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhídi háadish ’adeeshį́į́ł ninízin?
tomorrow Gallup-at where-Q 2-eat.F 2-want.CIbee ’ééhóziní
- yiską́ągo tomorrowsaad ’át’éii zanoo’į́ bik’ídáahgi
- háá-P.ENCLITIC where
- -sh enclitic for content questions
- -di at’akéé’ si’ání zanoo’į́ bik’ídáahgi
- Náásgóó’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
- yíshą́ eat it’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgilook up conjugationhide conjugation ▾
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi
- nisin think, want’áhát’íní hoolzhishgi bik’ídáahgi




