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

’Adą́ą́dą́ą́’ísh tł’óo’di nishínílnish?

yesterday-Q outside-at 2-work.P

-sh

Bee nahaldzoohí yah ’adíítį́į́ł. Da’ yah ’ííńtą́?

broom in 3-2-bring.F.SSO Q in 3.2.bring.P.SSO

Chidíísh bee hólǫ́ ’éí doodago ni daats’í ła’ nee hólǫ́?

car-Q 3-with 4-exist.N TOP or 2 maybe one 2-with 4-exist.NI

Chidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?

car-Q 3-with 4-exist.NI or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NI
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Does s/he have a car or do you have a car?

da’

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particle for yes/no questions

Da’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?

Q Cuba-from boat 2-with 3-float.P

Daniel hahgosh hidilníísh?

Daniel when-Q 3-start.work.I
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When does Daniel go to work?

Díkwíí shą’ ninááhai?

how.many Q 2-winter.NI

Díkwíí lá ninááhai?

how.many Q 2-winter
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How old are you?

ísh niyázhí?

that-Q 2-little.one

Ha’a’aahjíísh ’éí doodago ’e’e’aahjíísh nighan?

east-from-Q 2-home TOP or west-side-Q 2-home

Ha’át’éegoshą’ t’áadoo ’azee’ál’į́į́góó nisíníyáa da?

why-Q NEG hospital-to 2-go.sg.P NEG

ha’át’éejį’

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where to a point

ha’át’íí

Ha’át’íí biniiyé ’ákǫ́ǫ́ díníyá?

what 3-for.purpose there 2-start.go.P

ha’át’íí biniyé/ biniinaa

Ha’át’íí lá neidiyoołnih lá?

what DISC 3-3-buy.F DISC
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What is she going to buy?

Ha’át’íísh doone’é nílį́?

what-Q clan 2-be.NI

Ha’át’íísh nizhé’é nahideeshnih nízin.

what-Q 2-father 3-1-buy.F 3-want.NI

Ha’át’íí́sh baa hane’?

What Q 3-for be.told.CI

haa + Neuter V

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how / what V. The ’h’-expressions formed with ’haa’ plus a neuter verb are used to pose questions about “physical characteristics, quantity, and degree”.

haa néelt’e’

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how much, how many, what quantity. [count]

haa nízahdę́ę́’ hoolzhiizh

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for how long

haa níłtsááz

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how big around, how thick is it

haa yit’é (hait’é), haa yit’éego (hait’éego)

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how is it, what is its condition

haa’í

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where

Haa’ísh nínígai?

where-Q 2-hurt.I
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Where do you hurt?

Haash nízah kodóó nighanjį’?

how-Q 3-long.N here-from 2-home-to

Hahgo hooghan ’ájílééh?

When hogan 4-make.I

Hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ha’át’íí ’áyiilaa?

man and girl what 3-3-make.P
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What did the man and the girl make?

Há’át’íí lá hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?

what Q man and girl 3-3-make.P
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What did the man and the girl make?

Há’át’íísh hastiin dóó ’at’ééd ’áyiilaa?

what-Q man and girl 3-3-make.P
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What did the man and the girl make?

Háadi lá dibé nidahaniih?

where-at Q sheep pl-3-pass-sell.CI

Háadi si’ą́?

where-at 3-be.SRO.NP

Háádę́ę́’shą’ tó ndahohheeh?

where-from-Q water pl-3-2-haul.LPB.I

Hádą́ą́’ dii hooghan ’íinilaa?

when-past this hogan 3-2-make.P

Hádą́ą́’ Jáan Tó Hónaanígóó naayá?

When past John ocean across-to 3-go.P

Hái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?

who DA Q boat 3-4-make.P DISC
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(I wonder) who made this boat?

Háidíígíí lá neidiyoołnih?

which.one-ÍGÍÍ Q 3-3-buy.F
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Which one is s/he going to buy?

Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?

who-Q boat 3-3-make.P

listenloadingplayingSpeaker: Tyler TinhornlistenloadingplayingSpeaker: Ron Gene

Who made a boat?

Kin Łánídiísh ’éí doodago Bee’eldííldahsinildi daats’í naniná?

Flagstaff-at-Q TOP or Albuquerque-at perhaps 2-go.around.CI

Kwe’éshą’ haa nízah nináhálzhishgo nináháltį́į́h?

here-Q how 3-long.N-up.to time.move.R-GO rain.R
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How often does it rain here?

Mary hádą́ą́’sh ’ólta’dę́ę́’ nádzá?

Mary when-past-Q school-from 3-return.P

Naadą́ą́’ lá haa néelą́ą́’ nida’ak’eh biyi’ góne’?

corn Q how 3.much.N 2-cornfield 3-in there

Nichidí háadish nííníłbą́ą́z?

2-car where-at-Q 3-2-park.P

Niyázhíísh ’át’é?

2-little.one-Q 3-be.NI
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Is it your child?

Nizhé’ésh ha’át’íí nayiisnii’?

2-father-Q what 3-3-buy.P
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As for your father, what did he buy?

Tł’óodiísh t’ah ’áłchíní nidaané?

outside-Q still children pl-3-play.I
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Are the children still playing outside?