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
’At’éédísh yiniłtsą́?
girl-Q 3-2-see.P’Atsį́’ísh ’éí doodaii’ łóó’ísh nínízin?
meat-Q or fish-Q 3-2-want.NICh’iyáán nináhíłnihgo haa nízahjį’ ’ánádįįh?
food 3-2-buy.R how 3-long.N-up.to 3-become.none.RChidí naat’a’íísh hooghan yikáá’góó ch’ét’a’ doodaii’ dził bąąhgóósh ch’ét’a’?
airplane-Q hogan 3-over-along 3-fly.P or mountain 3-side-along-Q 3-fly.PDid the airplane fly over the house or along the mountainside?
bookmark- -ísh enclitic for yes/no questions
- -káá’ on, on top offind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- -góó to, toward, along, on, with a numeral it indicates a datefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- -ąąh on, besidefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- -góó to, toward, along, on, with a numeral it indicates a datefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
Chidíísh 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’ ’áájí ’ałdó’ ’áłah ’azlį́į́’?
Q that-side also meeting 1-happen.PDa’ chidíísh bee hólǫ́ doodaii’ ni daats’í chidí nee hólǫ́?
Q car-Q 3-with 4-exist.NI or 2 maybe car 2-with 4-exist.NIDa’ Cubadę́ę́’ tsinaa’eeł nił ní’éél?
Q Cuba-from boat 2-with 3-float.Pdaats’í
Dah díníilghaazhísh ’íilnilaa?
fry.bread-Q 3-2-make.PDichin nínízin ya’?
hungry 2-want.NI QDíkwíísh nibeegashii?
how.many-Q 2-cowDíkwíísh ninááhai?
how.many-Q 2-winter.NIGohwééh t’áá bizhání ’éí doodaii’ ’abe’ biłgo daats’í nínízin?
coffee only TOP or milk 3-with-GO perhaps 3-2-want.NIha’át’éejį’
ha’át’éédę́ę́’
Ha’át’íí biniiyé shą́ą́h ńdídááh?
what 3-because 1-passing.by 2-go.IHa’át’íísh biniinaa nanichxǫ’?
what-Q 3-because 2-pout.CIHa’át’íísh biniinaa naníchxǫ’?
what-Q 3-because 2-pout.CIHa’át’íísh nizhé’é nahideeshnih nízin.
what-Q 2-father 3-1-buy.F 3-want.NIHaa níníłnééz?
what 2-tall.relatively.NIHaa nízahjį’ hanínáshyįh dooleeł t’áá ’ákwíí jį́?
how 3-long.N-up.to 1-rest.R FUT every dayhaa nóoshóní
haa yit’é (hait’é), haa yit’éego (hait’éego)
Haa’í lá neezgai?
where Q 3-hurt.NHaaʼí yeeʼ dibé naakaí?
where-Q show.me sheep 3-walk.around.CIHáadi lá łį́į́’ naakai?
where-at Q horse 3dpl-walk.Iháajį’
háádę́ę́’
háágóó
Háágóósh díníyá?
where-to-Q 2-go.IHádą́ą́’ Jáan Tó Hónaanígóó naayá?
When past John ocean across-to 3-go.PHái da shą’ tsinaa’eeł ’ájiilaa lá?
who DA Q boat 3-4-make.P DISCHáidíígíísh neidiyoołnih nínízin?
which.one-ÍGÍÍ-Q 3-3-buy.F 2-think.NIHáísh ’ałhosh?
who-Q 3-sleep.IHáísh tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.PJáan, nanilnishísh?
John 2-work.I-QK’aa’ísh ’aní’á biyaa doodago daats’í báhátis ’ayiist’oh ?
arrow-Q bridge 3-under or perhaps 3-over 3-3-shot.PDid s/he perhaps shoot arrows under or over the bridge?
bookmark- -ísh enclitic for yes/no questions
- doodago particle or
- daats’í particle for perhaps
- -yaa under, beneath, downfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- -tis overfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- location
- Perfective (P) (yi, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- ’adisht’oh be an archer, shoot arrowsfind in Navajo Verb Modes
Kwe’éshą’ haa nízah nináhálzhishgo nináháltį́į́h?
here-Q how 3-long.N-up.to time.move.R-GO rain.RNichidí háadish nííníłbą́ą́z?
2-car where-at-Q 3-2-park.PNidlóóhísh doodaii’ dooísh nidlóoh da?
2-cold.I-Q or NEG-Q 2-cold.I-Q NEGNizhé’é ha’át’íísh nahideeshnih nízin.
2-father-Q what 3-1-buy.F 3-want.NINiłísh 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
- bééhózin there is knowledgefind in Navajo Verb Modes
- doodaii’ particle or
- Continuative Imperfective (CI)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- bééhózin there is knowledgefind in Navajo Verb Modes
T’ahdiísh nahałtin?
still-Q area-rain.CIYiską́ągo Na’nízhoozhígóó deet’áazhgo haa’í lá ’adiidį́į́ł?
tomorrow Gallup-to 1dpl-go.du.F-GO where Q 1pdl-eat.FWhen we go to Gallup tomorrow, where shall we eat?
bookmark- yiską́ągo tomorrowfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -góó to, toward, along, on, with a numeral it indicates a datefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- -go verb and subordinating encliticfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- Future (F)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- déyá start to gofind in Navajo Verb Modes
- haa’í where
- lá particle for content questions
- Future (F)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- ’ashą́ eatfind in Navajo Verb Modes