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
’Aoo’, shí dó’ t’áá ’ákwíinissin.
yes1 also just 1-think.so.NI’Asdzą́ą́ ’éí ’ashkii ha’át’íí yeiní’ą́?
woman TOP boy what 3-to-3-3-move.SRO.P’At’éédísh yiniłtsą́?
girl-Q 3-2-see.P’Atsį́’ísh ’éí doodaii’ łóó’ísh nínízin?
meat-Q or fish-Q 3-2-want.NI’áko ndi
CONJ’Ąąh háá’á wolyéii k’ad doo ’asht’é’égóó bik’ee ntsinisdzá.
credit 3-call.P now neg extremely.neg 3-on-account-of overwhelm.P-jí
on the side of, in the direction of, in the manner of
bookmarkbik’ídadiidis
pl-3DO-1dpl-wrap.it.around.it.ICh’iyáán nináhíłnihgo haa nízahjį’ ’ánádįįh?
food 3-2-buy.R how 3-long.N-up.to 3-become.none.RChidí bitiin ’ałts’ą́ą́hjí ’ańt’i’.
Chidí daats’í bee hólǫ́ ’éí doodaii’ niísh chidí nee hólǫ́?
car maybe 3-with 4-exist.N TOP or 2-Q car 2-with 4-exist.NIdadidínóołkał
pl-3DO-2dpl-start.to.herd.them.(animals).Fstart to herd them (animals), 2nd person plural
bookmarkdazhdoołbish
pl-3DO-4dpl-boil.it.FDá’ák’ehdi t’ah ńt’éé’ t’óó ’ayóigo nahachagii bizhiin yijiłgo yiiłtsą́.
field-at still past many grasshoppers swarm 4-move.along.Prog-GO 3-1-see.PTo my surprise, I saw a swarm of grasshoppers moving along a field.
bookmarkdidadoołjéé’
pl-3DO-2dpl-start.fire.Pdidínéeshkał
3DO-1-start.to.herd.them.(animals).Fstart to herd them (animals), 1st person singular
bookmarkdishhį́į́h
3DO-1-melt.it.Idíkwíí
Doo t’áá k’ad ’ííłta’ da.
NEG just now 1-go.school.P NEGDoo yéé shaa yáníłti’go ndiséts’ą́’į́.
NEG fear 1-to 2-talk.DI-GO 2-1-hear.Pdoohsį́į́ł
3DO-2dpl-eat.it.FHa’át’éego lá ’íiyisíí ’atiinjį’ ’ańdeeshdááł lá?
how Q main road-up.to 1-back-on-go.F DISChadazhdínóołchał
pl-3DO-4dpl-card.it.(as.in.wool).Fcard it (as in wool), 4th person plural
bookmarkhadííłtééł
3DO-2-carry.him/her.up.out.of.something.Fcarry him/her up out of something, 2nd person singular
bookmarkHaidą́ą́’ ’a’áán góne’ naashnish ńt’éé’ --- doo shił yá’áhoot’éeh da.
winter-past mine.shaft 1-work.I past neg 1-with area-good.N negWhile I was working in the mine (shaft) last year and I didn’t like it (inside the place).
bookmark- -dą́ą́’ past timefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- -ne’ behindfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Imperfective (I) (∅, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- naashnish workfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- ńt’éé’ relates to past timefind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- doo --- da frame to negativize verbs and phrasesfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -ił withfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
Haidą́ą́’ ’a’áán góne’ naashnish ńt’éé’ --- doo shił yá’át’éeh da.
winter-past mine.shaft 1-work.I past neg 1-with 3-good.N negWhile I was working in the mine shaft last year and I didn’t like it (the experience).
bookmark- -dą́ą́’ past timefind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- -ne’ behindfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
- Imperfective (I) (∅, ni, si, yi-∅)find in Navajo Verb Modes
- naashnish workfind in Navajo Verb Modes
- ńt’éé’ relates to past timefind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- doo --- da frame to negativize verbs and phrasesfind in Navajo Adverb Lexicon
- -ił withfind in Navajo Postposition Lexicon
haidééłbįįd
3DO-3-fill.something.up.with.it.Phajíígeed
3DO-4-dig.it.out.Pháidí
Háíshą’ tsinaa’eeł ’áyiilaa lá?
who-Q boat 3-3-make.P DISCHáágóósh díníyá?
where-to-Q 2-go.Ik’adę́ę
Mary bimá sání yá ’ata’ halne’.
Mary 3-grandmother 3-for indef.between 3-talk.DInidasiilyá
pl-3DO-1dpl-carry.a.ropelike.thing.around.Pcarry a ropelike thing around, 1st person plural
bookmarkNidlóóhísh doodaii’ dooísh nidlóoh da?
2-cold.X-Q or NEG-Q 2-cold.X-Q NEGnisélá
3DO-1-carry.a.ropelike.thing.around.Pcarry a ropelike thing around, 1st person singular
bookmark