Navajo (language)

The navajo ( Dined bizaad in navajo), sometimes written navaho , formed part, like various the Languages apaches, of the southern group of the family athapascane, which belongs itself to the family Na-dené of the languages of Americas. Whereas the majority of the languages Na-dené are spoken much more in north (Alaska, Yukon, territories of the North-West and Canadian provinces), the navajo is spoken in south-west about the the United States of America and Mexico, by the people Navajo, which indicate itself by the term of Diné (people).

The navajo account more speakers than any other Amerindian language in north of the border enters Mexico and the United States. It is today the native tongue of almost 150 000 people, and this number does not cease growing. During the Second world war, Indian Navajos being useful in the American services of transmissions had set up a code based on their language in order to ensure the confidentiality of the radio messages. The film Windtalkers ( Windtalkers, the messengers of the wind ), realized in 2002 by John Woo, covers this subject besides.

Phonetics

See also: basic Amorce=Articles:, Phonetic, Articulatory phonetics

Vowels

There are four vowels in navajo: has , E , I and O . Each one of them can be:

* short , as in has and E ,

* long , as in aa and ee ,

* nasalized , as in ą and ę ,

and one of the four carries tons:

* high , as in áá and éé ,

* low , as in aa and ee ,

* amount, as in aá and eé or

* descendant , as in áa and ée .

These properties are combinable in various ways, as in ą́ą́ (long, nasalisé, your top).

Consonants

Here the table of the consonants of the navajo, with the pronunciation of the API between hooks:

The L side in fact quasi-side is voiced, while ł is marked like fricative. This coupling is frequent in phonetics, because a L really not-voiced is very difficult to distinguish from the L voiced. However, other languages of the family athapascane, and in particular have it the side couples fricative ones, one of the consonants being voiced and the other not.

As much of other languages of the North-West of the United States, the navajo is very low in labial consonants.

Syllables

Grammar

The navajo is all at the same time an agglutinant language and polysynthetic (language with markers), but much of its Affixe S in contractions where they combine are not easily recognizable, as in the fusional languages. The canonical order of the words in navajo is Subject-Object-Verb. The words in the Langues athapascanes are modified in priority by Préfixe S, which is unusual for a language SOV where the Suffixe S are the usual modifiers.

The navajo is a language “with Verbe S”, with the direction where the Nom S are very few. In addition to the verbs and nouns, the navajo uses inter alia Pronom S, Clitique S with the varied functions, Conclusive S, numeral, Postposition S, Adverb S and of the conjunctions. all that in a class of words gathered which it called particles : the navajo would thus use nouns, verbs, and particles. There is in navajo nothing which corresponds so that we call Adjectif: the adjectival function is built starting from the verb.

The name

Many concepts existing as names in other languages are expressed by verbs in navajo. The nominal sentence exists in navajo, but apart from syntactic space. I.e. it does not form a sentence with the grammatical direction of the term, but exists only for its direction.

The verb

It is the element-key of the language navajo, and its complexity is proverbial. Certain nominal directions are provided by verbs, as in Hoozdo (place close to “Phoenix, Arizona”) literally meaning “the place is hot”, or ch' é' étiin “carries (of entry)”, meaning “something literally has a horizontal way of exit”. Many complex names are derived from nominalized verbs, like ná' oolkiłí “clock” (litt. “a thing is driven slowly in a circle”) and chidí naa' na' í bee' eldhtsoh bikáá' dahnaaznilígíí “tank” (litt. “a vehicle on the top of which they sit down, which crawls, and which has a large appendix of which leave the explosions”).

The verb navajo is composed of a radical subjected to inflections or accompanied by Préfixe S deriving its direction. Any verb must have at least a Préfixe. If there is several, they must be affixed in a specific order.

The process of construction of the verb can arise as follows: the radical is composed of a root and a generally amalgamated suffix. The radical associated with a classifying prefix (and sometimes with other prefixes sets of themes) form the verb stem. This topic is then combined with prefixes derivatives to form the verbal base. Lastly, of the flexional prefixes are attached to this base to form a complete verb navajo.

Verbal diagram

The prefixes appearing in the verb navajo are placed in a specific order according to their type. This morphology is called “diagram of placement per class”. Below a table synthesizing is presented the process of construction of the verb in navajo (source Young & Morgan 1987) a verb taken randomly will not inevitably have a prefix with each position: actually, the majority of the verbs navajo are not as complex as this table could let it think.

The verb navajo has three principal parts:

These parts can be divided into 11 positions, some of them having still subdivisions:

Although the prefixes are generally placed in a specific order, some of them change place by métathèse. For example, the prefix has (3i pronoun complement of object) is in general in front of di- , as in:

adisbąąs' “I start to lead a kind of vehicle provided with wheels” < 'has + di- + HS + ł + - bąąs.

But when “ has appears at the same time as the prefixes di- and nor , it undergoes a métathèse with di- , which leads to the order di- +” has + nor , as in

di' nisbąąs “I am driving a vehicle (implied “while directing me towards something”) and to find me wedged” < di- 'have-nor-HS-ł-bąąs < 'has + di- + nor + HS + ł + - bąąs

whereas one could have expected to have *adinisbąąs (“have-di-nor-HS-ł-bąąs) (to also note the reduction of” has in ' - ).

Inflection

Classifying verbs

The language navajo has of verbal radicals being used to typify an object given according to form or its physical properties, in addition to the description of its movement or its state. Such radicals are known in the family of the languages athapascannes under the name of “classifying verbs”. They are in general indicated by a Acronyme. There are eleven basic classifiers verbal (given here in the perfective aspect):

Compared to French, the navajo does not have a verb are equivalent to giving . To express this idea, the verb níłjool (NCM) must be used if it is a question of saying gives me hay! while gives me a cigarette! will be returned by nítįįh (SSO). The verb to give will thus be translated by eleven verbs navajos different according to the characteristics from the object given. (The same phenomenon appears in Chinese and Japanese where the numbering system utilizes of the classifiers or specifying numeral used to count objects. See “To count in Japanese”)

In addition to defining the physical properties of the object, the radicals of the classifying verbs also make it possible to distinguish the modes from displacements of the object. These roots can be classified in three groups:

# Taken

# Propulsion

# Coasting flight

The taken includes/understands the actions of the type bearing . The propulsion includes/understands the throws and jeters. The coasting flight includes/understands the falls and the flight strictly speaking.

Thus, for example, for category SRO described above, one will find the three radicals following:

# - “ą́ to hold (a circular object) ,

# -” to throw (a circular object) , and

# - l-ts' id (a circular object) is driven in an autonomous way .

Alternation yi-/bi- (animated, inanimate)

Like the majority of the Languages athapascanes, the languages athapascanes of the south use several degrees in the animated character of the grammatical objects, and certain names take specific verbal forms according to their row in this hierarchy of animation . For example, the names in navajo can be classified in a continuum which goes from more animated (an human being) at least animated (an abstract idea):

Human → Baby or large animal → Animal of intermediate size → Small animal → natural Phenomenon → abstract Idea

In general, the name more animated of a sentence must appear in first, and less animated in second. If the two names have the same row in the hierarchy, the order is free.

This phenomenon was reported for the first time by in 1973.

Example

Here the first paragraph of a short history (Young & Morgan (1987: 205a-205b)).

Dined bizaad :

Ashiiké you óó diigis léi' tółikaní ła' ádiilnííł dóó nihaa nahidoonih níigo yee hodeez' ą́ jiní. Áko you áá ał' ąą ch' it na' atł' o' II k' iidiilá dóó hááhgóóshį́į́ yinaalnishgo you áá áłah ch' it na' atł' o' II néineest' ą́ jiní. Áádóó tółikaní áyiilaago you áá bíhígíí you áá ał' ąą tł' ízíkágí yii' haidééłbįįd jiní. " Háadida díí tółikaní yígíí doo ła' aha' diidził da, " níigo aha' deet' ą́ jiní'. Áádóó baa nahidoonih biniiyé kintahgóó dah yidiiłjid jiní'....

free French Translation :

Of young a little insane people had decided to make wine to sell it. They planted each vine, and, working hard, brought them to maturity. Then, having made wine, they filled some of the goatskin bottles in skin of goat. They are reflected agreement on the fact not of drinking some, then, charging the heavy goatskin bottles on their back, from went away downtown…

interlinear Text :

Current use

The navajo is still largely spoken by Navajos about all ages, with more half of the Navajo population speaking the navajo on their premises. Navajos are one of the rare Amerindian tribes speaking their own language in the life about the every day. However, this language is still in danger of extinction because more and more of Navajos young people (especially in urban area) forget the language of their parents.

External bonds

IN FRENCH

Association Navajo France
Project Mission Navajo partnership Association Navajo France and school HETIC

IN ENGLISH

Contrasts between Navajo consonants (sound files from Peter Ladefoged)
An Example off the Navajo Language (audio including)
page off Navajo language links
Dines Bizaad: The Navajo Language
Navajo Language & Bilingual Links (from San Juan school district
Navajo Language Academy
Tuning in to Navajo: The Role off Radio in Native Language Maintenance
Initial Year Exploration off the Navajo Nation' S Language and Culture Initiative
Bá' ólta' í Adoodleełgi Bína' niltingo Bił Haz' ą́ (Center for Dined Teacher Education)
Navajo font
THE NAVAJO LANGUAGE
Why No Writing one the Rez: Year Inquiry into the History off Navajo Language Literacy
Navajo language (Encyclopedia off North American Indians)
Bibliography off Materials one the Navajo Language
Navajo vocabulary Word list
Navajo Nation website

See also .

Random links: