Introduction to Conjunctions
This lexicon illustrates various conjunctions, words like dóó (and), doodaii (or), ndi (but), háálá (because), and others. Conjunctions combine two or more sentences or phrases into a single sentence or phrase. Each conjunction has its own meaning.
This lexicon is mainly focused on coordination, but it includes other expressions that can connect two sentences (like yę́ędą́ą́’). It is sometimes difficult to distinguish conjunctions from adverbs, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish coordination from subordination.
Sometimes adverbs appear with conjunctions, and they influence the meaning of the conjunction.
Coordination is a kind of syntactic structure that allows two similar constituents to act as one. For example, Joe and Louise are conjoined in the sentence below:
The verb hataał is intransitive, meaning that it can have only one argument:
Joe | hataał. |
Joe | 3-sing.CI |
Joe is singing. |
*Joe | Louise | hataał. |
Joe | Louise | 3-sing.CI |
Joe Louise is singing. |
Example (3) is only grammatical if Joe Louise is the name of a particular person. If we take the two names to refer to two different people, the sentence does not make sense because the verb is intransitive. Coordination, used in (1), allows two or more phrases to act as one.
In Navajo, more than two phrases can be conjoined, but the verb will need to have a plural marker in it when three or more actors are involved in the event being described:
Joe | dóó | Louise | dóó | Kii | dahataał. |
Joe | and | Louise | and | Kii | pl-3-sing.CI |
Joe, Louise, and Kii are singing. |
The examples above include conjunctions of noun phrases. Other phrases can be conjoined in the same way. Here are examples with postpositional enclitic phrases:
Tsé’áándę́ę́’ | dóó | tsédáajį’ | ninish’na’. |
cave-from | and | cliff-to | 1-crawl.P |
I crawled out of the cave and to the edge of the cliff. |
Na’ná’á | biyaa | góne’ | dóó | báhátis | ’adiłt’oh. | |
bridge | 3-under | below | and | 3-across | 3-3-shoot.P | |
S/he shot them (e.g., arrows) over the bridge and under it. |
Sentences can also be coordinated, and several different conjunctions can be used:
Kin | Łánídi | naashnish | háálá | ’áadi | shaghan. |
Flagstaff | 1-work.I | because | there | 1-live.NI | |
I work in Flagstaff because I live there. |
Kin | bighą́ą́’dę́ę́’ | hadah | ’adzííłhaal | ndi | t’áadoo | ’ádadénih | da. |
house | 3-to-from | down | 1-tumble.P | but | NEG | RFLX-1-hurt.P | NEG |
I tumbled off the housetop but I didn’t get hurt. |
The table below shows the expressions in this lexicon, except that the complementizer -go is listed in the Adverbs lexicon [link].
Navajo | English | Is the expression a coordinating conjunction? | categories that can be conjoined |
---|---|---|---|
dóó | ‘and’/‘and then’ | yes | clause, NP, PP, EP |
’áádóó | ‘and then’ | yes | clause |
’áko | ‘so, so that, so then’ | yes | clause |
’áko ’índa | ‘when, then’ | yes | clause |
’áko ndi | ‘even so, even then’ | yes | clause |
’áko shį́į́ | ‘then maybe/ then probably’ | yes | clause |
’áko shį́į́ ’índa | ‘then only’ | yes | clause |
doodago | ‘or’ | yes | clause, NP, PP, EP? |
doodaii’ | ‘or’ | yes | clause, NP, PP, EP? |
-go | no | clause, NP | |
háálá | ‘for, because’ | yes | clause |
-ii’ | ‘and, and thereupon’ | yes | clause |
’índa | ‘and only then’ | no | clause |
léi’ | ‘because’, ‘inasmuch as’ or ‘in view of the fact that’ | yes | clause |
ndi | ‘but’ | yes | clause |
’azhą́…ndi | ‘even though, despite the fact that, notwithstanding’ | yes (or else ’azhą́ is an adverb and ndi is a conjunction) | clause |
ńt’éé’ | past | maybe | clause |
yę́ędą́ą́’ | past | no | clause |
- NP
- noun phrase
- PP
- postpositional phrase
- EP
- postpositional enclitic phrase
Subordination is a different way that two sentences can be combined into one. The enclitic -go attached to the first sentence subordinates it to the second:
Shilééchąą’í | bił | na’nishkaadgo | jooł | bá | ’abíńjíshhałgo | yikéé’ | náádiilwo’. |
1-dog | 3-with | 1-herd.CI | ball | 3-for | 3-1-bat.R-GO | 3-after | 3-run.R |
When I’m out herding with my dog I bat fly balls for him and he chases them. |
The first clause modifies the second by describing its reference time. A range of interpretations for -go is possible. In the following example, the -go clause is understood as describing the cause for the main clause:
’Ádihodideesht’ih | sha’shin | nisingo | t’áadoo | ’atah | haasdzíi’ | da. |
Joe | dóó | Louise | dóó | Kii | dahataał. | |
I didn’t say anything because I thought I might get myself into trouble. |
Examples of clauses subordinated using -go can be found in the Adverbs lexicon [link].
Some observations
Our understanding is that -go is a complementizer, sometimes called subordinating conjunction in traditional grammar (we follow Schauber 1975 [link] in concluding this).
When clauses are coordinated, a conjunction appears in place of -go. Ńt’éé’ can also take the place of -go. We take it that it can be either a conjunction or a complementizer. (Occasionally, it can appear along with -go, suggesting that it could be an adverb as well!)
Some of the expressions in this lexicon can only appear when -go appears on the first clause. These expressions are likely to be adverbs.
Concerning ’azhą́…ndi, we have already concluded that ndi is a conjunction. We could analyze ’azhą́ as an adverb, or we could consider ’azhą́…ndi to be a two-part conjunction, similar to either…or.
An example search has returned 50 entries
ʼAdaʼniigeh, nihíká ʼadoohjah.
3pl-marry.F 1dpl-after 2dpl-run.pl.F’Atsį’ísh ’éí doodaii’ łóó’ísh nínízin?
meat-Q or fish-Q 3-2-want.NI’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’Ałk’idą́ą́’ ch’iyáán ’ ádayiilaa léi’ ła’ ’ánáádeiilyaa.
long.ago food pl-3-3-make.P Indef. some again-pl-3-1dpl-make.PÁt’ah ’índa shaa náádíídááł.
later 1-to again-2-come.FBritain bikéyahą́ą t’áá ’ałtso ’ahíi’nilgo kéyah United States wolyéhígíí bilááh ’áníłtsxo ńt’éé’.
Britain 3-land just all 3-combine.P-GO land United States 3-call.NI-COMP 3-beyond 3-size.NI pastCh’ééh déyá léi’ t’óó hanáshyį́į́h.
try 1.go.P since just 1.rest.ICh’ééh jiyáání hooghangóó dah dii’ą́ągo shee nahóółtą́.
watermelon home-toward up 3-1-move.SRO.P 1-with area-rain.PChidí nidabinołtłáád.
car pl-3-2dpl-stop.Idayííshóó’
pl-3DO-3dpl-brush/comb.it.Pdeidiłhį́į́h
pl-3DO-3dpl-melt.it.Idizhdiłjeeh
3DO-4-start.fire.IDíkwíí lá ninááhai?
how.many Q 2-winterDlǫ́ǫ́’ ba’áán góne’ yah ’adeeshnii’go dlǫ́’áyázhí shishhash.
prairie.dog 3-hole into down1-3.to.reach.out.hand prairie.dog-little 1-bite.Pdoohsį́į́ł
3DO-2dpl-eat.it.FDíí tł’óół yílééł.
this rope 3-2-carry.SFO.ProgHa’at’iish náádaadi’ní?
what-Q again-pl-3-say.IHa’át’íí shį́į́ biniinaa łééch’ąą’í nidahał’in.
what perhaps 3-because dog pl-3-bark.IHa’át’íí lá nizhé’é yaa naaghá?
what Q 2-father 3-about 3-do.CIhadeiilgéésh
pl-3DO-1dpl-cut.it.out.Iháá-P.ENCLITIC
where. The expressions formed with ’háá-’ have a postpositional enclitic following them which indicates information about direction, location, or path.
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