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

’ániidígo

-’oh

-dę́ę́’

-gha

listenloadingplaying

-t’ah

-t’ááh

Bich'ah haini'ą́, "díí bee yisdádíínááł," hał jiní.

hat 3-2-give.P with.this.PP pl-2-survive.F 3-to.say.I they.say
listenloadingplaying

He gave his hat to her and said "with this, you will survive."

Bilagáana ła’ níhit’ááh dookah jiní.

Anglo some 1Pl-close.to 3-go.Pl.F 4-say.NI
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It is said that some white people will move in with us.

ch’ééh

listenloadingplaying

in vain, futilely, try, try in vain

Ch’ééh jiyáán hooghangóó dah dii’ągo shee nikihoníłt.

watermelon home-toward up 3-1-move.SRO.P 1-with area-start-rain.P
listenloadingplaying

When I set out for home with the melon it started to rain on me.

Ch’óóshdą́ą́dą́ą́’ Bilagáanaa Bizaad doo diists’a’ da. K’ad ’éí t’áá shxǫǫ t’áá bee yáshti’.

formerly English neg 1-understand.I neg. Now TOP good.thing barely 3.with 1.speak-I

Chidí bitooʼ ʼásdįįdgo doo diitsʼį́į da dooleeł.

truck 3-gas 3-exhaust.NP-GO NEG 3-start.I NEG 3-become.F
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If the truck runs out of gas, it will not start.

dadiidį́į́ł

pl-3DO-1dpl-eat.it.F

dajíí’aal

pl-3DO-4dpl-chew.it.P

Damóo yę́ędą́ą́’ Yootóógóó niséyá.

Sunday past Santa.Fe-to 1-go.P

deiilyį́į́h

pl-3DO-1dpl-melt.it.(snow).I

Dibé yázhi bimá doo boosáni da, biʼnootsaał.

sheep little 3-mother NEG 3-love.I NEG 3-starve.O
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Don´t let the lamb starve to death because itʼs mother is rejecting it.

Dichin nínízin ya’?

hungry 2-want.NI Q

didazhdiłjeeh

pl-3DO-4dpl-start.fire.I

diilyį́į́’

3DO-1dpl-melt.it.P

Díidí háísh bichidí?

this who-Q 3-car

Díí mósí yázhí hooghangóó nááshtééł.

this cat little home-towards 3-1-carry.Prog

Díkwíí jį́ nanilnish?

how.many-Q day 2-work.I

Doo deighánígóó łeeyi’ ’azhnígeed.

NEG far ground-inside 3-4-dig.P

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’éégóó

listenloadingplaying

where to

Hahgo Jáan hooghan ’íílééh?

When John hogan 3-3-make.F
listenloadingplaying

When will John build a hogan?

Hazhóʼí síní. Tʼáadoo naaní’dííldisí.

careful 2-sit.I NEG again-2-wander.Prog-í

Hodíína’go deesháál.

in.a.while-GO go.sg.F

jidíníłkaad

3DO-4-start.to.herd.them.(animals).I

jiyą́

3DO-4-eat.it.I

joodlą́ą́’

3DO-4-drink.it.P

Mary yíká hoolne’.

Mary 3-for 3-call.P

Mósí ch’óółt’e’ lágo.

cat out-3-2-carry.O LÁGO

Naakidi ’oolkiłgo ’áko ’índa ’áajigo dah diiyá.

two.at time-GO after.that. towards.GO start 1.go.I
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After 2 o’clock I started to go that way.

Náás heesháałgo chidí bine’ ’ííyá.

forward 1-step.Prog-GO car 3-behind 1-go.P

niyą́

3DO-2-eat.it.I

Sha’áłchíní béeso ’ashladiin baa nínil ńt’éé’ t’ááła’ajį́ ’ałtso yibadooskai.

1-children money 50 3-for 2-put.PlO.P past at-once all 3-3-exhaust.P

Shimá sitsilí bibéésh bee hane’í bits’ą́ą́’ náádii’ą́.

1-mother 1-little.brother 3-cellphone 3-away.from 3-3-return.P
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My mother took my little brother’s cellphone away.

T’áá ’ałkéé’ ’azee’ííł’íní bił yah ’adahaadzá.

just one-behind-another doctor 3-with 3-in 1Dist-4-go.I

T’áá ká ’adah ’oógeeh

Neg down 2-fall.O
listenloadingplaying

See that you don’t fall.

T’áá ká ’ooshháásh lágo.

neg 1-go.to.sleep.O LÁGO

T’áá ká k’éé’jółchxǫǫh

Neg 4-erase.O
listenloadingplaying

Don’t let one erase it.

T'áá kwe’é shiba’ sínídáa doleeł.

just right.here 1-waiting.for 2-sit.SPN FUT
listenloadingplaying

You are to sit right here and wait for me.

Tó lą’ígo nidlą́ ’áko bee nitah yá’áh’hoot’ééh dooleeł.

water many 3-2-drink.DI so 3-with 2-among pl-3-good.NI future

Tsé nitsaa ’áko nidaaz.

stone 3-big CONJ 3-heavy
listenloadingplaying

The stone is big so it is heavy.

Tsinaabąąs bee nida’abąąs yę́ędą́ą́’ shi’dizhchį́.

wagon 3-with pl-3-drive.I past 1-pass-born.P

Tł’éédą́ą́’ ’iiłhaazh.

night-past 1-sleep.P

yę́ędą́ą́’

yiishjį́į́’

Perfective Mode: 1-become.black.P