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].
An example search has returned 50 entries
’adah
’Adą́ą́dą́ą́’ ’íítseedgo bee na’anishí hasht’enáshdlééh.
yesterday 1-pound.P-GO tool 3-1-put.back.I’Ahbínígo ch’éshááh ’áádóó sodiszįįh.
morning-GO 1-go.out.U and.then 1-pray.U’Aoo’, shí dó’ t’áá ’ákwíinisin.
yes 1 also just 1-think.so.NI’Áádóó shą’?
and.then Q’Ííyą́ą́’ dóó bik’ijį’ tsinyaagi nétį́į́ dóó ’iiłhaazh.
1-eat.P and 3-after tree-under-at.spec 1-lie.down.P and 1-sleep.P-k’eh+-jí
in a language e.g. diné k’ehjí ’in Navajo’
bookmarkbik’ídadohdis
pl-3DO-2dpl-wrap.it.around.it.IDa’ ’áájí ’ałdó’ ’áłah ’azlį́į́’?
Q that-side also meeting 1-happen.PDíí ’ashkii Bilagáana bizaad shá bíbiyiił’aah.
this boy English 3-language 3-2-teach.IDíí haa yit’éego ’atiin?
this how 3-be.NI roadDíí tł’éé’ ’iidííłhosh.
this night 2-sleep.FDził bit’ááhgi bįįh halzheeh.
Mountain 3-close.to-at deer 3-3-hunting.CIHaa níníłnééz?
what 2-tall.relatively.NIhaa nízah
Haa nízahjį’ hanínáshyįh dooleeł t’áá ’ákwíí jį́?
how 3-long.N-up.to 1-rest.R FUT every dayhaa nóoshóní
hadeiłgéésh
pl-3DO-3dpl-cut.it.out.Ihaiłgéésh
3DO-3-cut.it.out.IHágo daaníigo ’áko ’índa ’ákǫ́ǫ́ níyá.
come.here 3.say.P-GO after.that towards 1.arrive.Pháágeed
3DO-1-dig.it.out.PJooł ’ahííłhan ’áádóó ’atiin dóó ’anít’i’ báhátis ’eelts’id.
ball 3-1-throw.P and.then road and fence 3-over 3-move.SRO.PI threw the ball and then it went over the road and the fence.
bookmarkKwii ’áłah ’aleeh léi’ hasht’e náádahojidlééh.
here together meet since prepare again-pl-area-4-tidy.up.Rle’ ’át’éégóó
Na’ná’á biyaa góne’ dóó báhátis ’adiłt’oh.
bridge 3-under below and 3-across 3-3-shoot.PNaakiiskánídą́ą́’ dibé tó ła’ bá niníyį́.
two.days.ago sheep water INDEF 3-for 3-1-haul.PNaaltsoos bikáá’ na’aníshí bikáa’gi si’ą́.
book desk 3-on-at up 3-lie.SRO.SPNNiłísh bééhosin doodaii’ biłísh bééhozin?
2-with-Q 3-know.CI or 3-with-Q 3-know.CIDo you know or does s/he know?
bookmark- -ísh enclitic for yes/no questions
- -ił withfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- accompaniment
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- nisin think, wantfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- doodaii’ particle or
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- nisin think, wantfind in Navajo Verb Modes
ńt’éé’
Sháahsita’gi yihę́ęsgo tsin-ts’ósí bee yích’id.
1-point.between.shoulder.blades 3-itch.I-GO stick 3-with 3-1-scratch.PShicheii haastihgo łáháda ninálnish.
1-grandfather 3-become.old.P-GO seldom 3-work.RShilééchąą yázhí shikéé’ yildlosh ńt’éé’ hashtł’ish yiih yildloozh.
1-dog little 1-behind 3-walk.Prog past mud 3-into 3-walk.PShimá sání Mary níigo yee ’ádójí.
1-grandmother Mary 3-say.I-GO 3-by reflexive-3-call.NIShiníbaal doo tó biníkáogeeh le’ ’át’éégóó ’íishłaa.
1-tent NEG water 3-through-3-flow.O proof.against-NEG 3-1-make.PShí shighan nihígíí bilááh ’áhoníltso.
1 1-house 2-Comp 3-beyond areal-big.NISitsóí ’ólta’góó dah diigháahgo ła’ béeso baa yish’ááh.
1-grandchild school-toward up 3-start.to.go.I-GO some money 3-to 3-1-give.SRO.UWhen my grandchild leaves for school, I usually give him/her some money.
bookmark- Imperfective (I) (∅, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- dishááh start to gofind in Navajo Verb Modes
- Usitative (U)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- yish’aah move it, handle it (SRO)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- -góó to, toward, along, on, with a numeral it indicates a datefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
Tsinaabąąs bikáádę́ę́’ ’adaashááh nt’éé shitł’aakał ’íízǫ́ǫ́z.
wagon 3-from downward-1-go.I past 1-skirt 3o-1-tear.PTsé dzídzahashníiłgo baa naashá, daniidoiigo táchééh góne’ yah ’adoo’nił biniiye.
rock into.fire-3-1-put.P-GO 1-go.I 3-become.hot.P-GO sweathouse into in 3-PASS.put.PlO.F 3-becauseTł’éédą́ą́’ ńléí dził bine’jí ’adildííl yiits’a’ ni’.
night-past there mountain 3-behind-way thunder 3-sound.P recallLast night there was the rumble of thunder over on the other side of the mountain.
bookmark