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Navajo Profile | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Collaborative writing |  | |
| lynxrunner Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States crittercryptics.com Joined 5565 days ago 361 posts - 461 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish*, French Studies: Russian, Swedish, Haitian Creole | Message 1 of 9 26 October 2009 at 2:29am | IP Logged | ||
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This took a while to write! I haven't studied Navajo yet, so a lot of this could be more detailed.
INTRODUCTION Navajo, or Diné bizaad, is an Athabaskan language spkoen primarily in New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. Besides Cherokee, this is probably the Native American language most US Americans are most familiar with, due to the role of the Navajo code talkers in World War II, as well as the general success of the Navajo people in keeping their language alive (as opposed to, say, the Miccosukee). The language is known for its complex verb system, which allows it to express actions such as "I visited him" in a single word. The pronunciation is difficult and materials are scarce, leading me to rate this a 5 cactus language. USEFULNESS Unless you plan to live on a Navajo reservation, this language is not useful. Even in a reservation, most Navajo speak English, especially the younger ones. If you are interested in Navajo culture, however, then you would do well to make an attempt at learning this language. It is intricately tied in with the culture of the Navajo, and so to learn it would be to gain a window into the world of the Navajo. CHIC FACTOR This language is just obscure enough to have a "WOW!" factor if you should tell people you know it, but not too obscure that they'll go "Huh?". The language is also renowned for its difficulty, so someone will probably proclaim you a Language Deity. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE None, really. TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES 4% of New Mexicans speak Navajo at home, so perhaps you could visit the great New Mexican desert with a Navajo guide? Navajo doesn't really 'get' you anywhere; rather. COUNTRIES Spoken in the United States, primarily in New Mexico and Arizona. Within New Mexico, it is spoken in the Navajo Reservations. SPEAKERS 149,000 speakers in 1990. VARIATIONS Although there are clans within the Navajo tribes, as far as I am aware there are no dialects or accents. CULTURE Learning Navajo is imperative to understanding Navajo culture. The Navajo have a rich culture that has unfortunately been suppressed by the United States government. It is only recently that they have been able to reclaim it and their language. DIFFICULTIES If you speak an Indo-European language, prepare for work. Navajo is completely unlike anything you'll ever have seen. As opposed to languages like Spanish, Russian, or English, which place emphasis on nouns, Navajo expresses relationships almost entirely through verbs. Vocabulary, although foreign, should come easily the more you advance, as many Navajo words come from previous Navajo words. An example would be 'cell phone', Bi níjoobaí. Literally, "one spins around with this". Once you remember that teenagers like to spin their phones around, you'll have a neat, built-in mnemonic for learning vocabulary. The dearth of learning materials is probably the killer for Navajo - most materials are prohibitively expensive. Hopefully this will change as interest in the language grows. GRAMMAR Navajo is a verb-based language. It forms words through verbs. Unlike languages like Russian, which inflect the nouns to show their position in the sentence, Navajo prefers to use the verb to reflect this. Getting used to this will definitely take practice, but it is not impossible. It will likely be very difficult, but that does not mean you cannot do it. An example of the importance of the verb would be this: diʼnisbąąs "I'm in the act of driving some vehicle (into something) & getting stuck" [ < di-ʼa-ni-sh-ł-bąąs < ʼa- + di- + ni- + sh- + ł + -bąąs]. Notice how a single word expresses what would take English speakers a long sentence. Mastering this verb is essential to mastering Navajo, and having a native speaker to help will make a huge difference. PRONUNCIATION Navajo's phonology is related to its morphology; that is to say, the sounds have a lot to do with the grammar. Consonants can be rounded and glottalized. There are some rare consonants: ɬ, as found in Welsh, and c, as in Dutch tjeef. Vowels are relatively simple. The language is tonal, but tones are quite predictable. VOCABULARY Navajo has an inconsequential amount of loan words, so you'll have to build up your vocabulary by scratch. Seeing as you'll be using a lot of familiar roots, however, you should be able to dedude parts of words as you see them. Ex: Computer, "Béésh Ntsikeesí": This literally means "the metal that thinks." TRANSPARENCY Unless you know the closely related Apache language, there is no transparency between Navajo and major languages. SPELLING Almost perfectly phonetic. There is a glottal stop in front of words starting with vowels which is not indicated, but for the most part spelling is obvious. Beware of 'd', 'g', and 'b', which are actually pronounced as 't', 'k', and 'p'. TIME NEEDED It would probably take two years of intensive studying to become fluent in Navajo. BOOKS Unfortunately, Navajo materials are few and far in between for those who don't live near a reservation. Some materials are: Diné Bizaad Bínáhoo’aah: Rediscovering The Navajo Language: http://www.salinabookshelf. com/Din-Bizaad-Bnhooaah-Rediscovering-The-Navajo-Language-P1 04.aspx •Blair, Robert W.; Simmons, Leon; & Witherspoon, Gary. (1969). Navaho Basic Course. BYU Printing Services. •Goossen, Irvy W. (1977). Navajo made easier: A course in conversational Navajo. Flagstaff, AZ: Northland Press. •Goossen, Irvy W. (1995). Diné bizaad: Speak, read, write Navajo. Flagstaff, AZ: Salina Bookshelf. ISBN 0-96441891-6. •Haile, Berard. (1941-1948). Learning Navaho, (Vols. 1-4). St. Michaels, AZ: St. Michael's Mission. •Platero, Paul R. (1986). Diné bizaad bee naadzo: A conversational Navajo text for secondary schools, colleges and adults. Farmington, NM: Navajo Preparatory School. •Platero, Paul R.; Legah, Lorene; & Platero, Linda S. (1985). Diné bizaad bee na’adzo: A Navajo language literacy and grammar text. Farmington, NM: Navajo Language Institute. •Tapahonso, Luci, & Schick, Eleanor. (1995). Navajo ABC: A Diné alphabet book. New York: Macmillan Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-68980316-8 •Witherspoon, Gary. (1985). Diné Bizaad Bóhoo’aah for secondary schools, colleges, and adults. Farmington, NM: Navajo Language Institute. •Witherspoon, Gary. (1986). Diné Bizaad Bóhoo'aah I: A conversational Navajo text for secondary schools, colleges and adults. Farmington, NM: Navajo Language Institute. •Wilson, Alan. (1969). Breakthrough Navajo: An introductory course. Gallup, NM: The University of New Mexico, Gallup Branch. •Wilson, Alan. (1978). Speak Navajo: An intermediate text in communication. Gallup, NM: University of New Mexico, Gallup Branch. •Wilson, Garth A. (1995). Conversational Navajo workbook: An introductory course for non-native speakers.. Blanding, UT: Conversational Navajo Publications. ISBN 0-93871754-5. SCHOOLS There are a few schools which teach Navajo. Example: The American Academy has online Navajo classes. http://www.edutopia.org/technology-education-navajo-language -preservation LINKS Unfortunately, online Navajo material is near non-existant. Slang: http://www.angelfire.com/rock3/countryboy79/navajo_slang.htm l 11 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ushrark Bilingual Diglot Newbie Netherlands Joined 5242 days ago 20 posts - 18 votes Speaks: English*, Dutch* Studies: French, German, Spanish, Russian | Message 2 of 9 11 April 2010 at 1:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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hmmm... cherokee tampons...
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Fasulye Heptaglot Winner TAC 2012 Moderator Germany fasulyespolyglotblog Joined 5490 days ago 5460 posts - 6006 votes 1 sounds Speaks: German*, DutchC1, EnglishB2, French, Italian, Spanish, Esperanto Studies: Latin, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish Personal Language Map | Message 3 of 9 11 April 2010 at 5:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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I find the Navajo profile very interesting to read, because I am curious about Native people and their languages. The profile is concise and well structured, so thanks for the work of writing it to lynxrunner. I really wish the Navajos that they will succeed in keeping their language alive!
Fasulye 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| goosefrabbas Triglot Pro Member United States Joined 6011 days ago 393 posts - 475 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German, Italian Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 9 11 April 2010 at 9:29pm | IP Logged | ||
They're all natural, man! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Smart Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 4982 days ago 352 posts - 398 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Latin, French Studies: German | Message 5 of 9 15 April 2010 at 9:17am | IP Logged | ||
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I love the language, I know of people who know it fluently here in California.
Would love to learn it :) Great profile by the way! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ellsworth Senior Member United States Joined 4600 days ago 345 posts - 528 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Irish | Message 6 of 9 10 April 2012 at 5:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hmm it is a pity about the resources available. I already own much of those books and
they really are not enough. Interestingly enough, Lakota a language with so much less speakers(about 5,000) has much, much superior resources available. If any one knows of any materials that are not on that list, I would be grateful if they could inform me of them. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 4773 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 7 of 9 10 April 2012 at 6:56pm | IP Logged | ||
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This is going to come across as criticism towards the writer, and it's not meant as such, so I apologise in advance.
Is the preferred style in writing these profiles to be more personal? Phrases such as "Language Deity", speaking in the first person singular, and using imperative are just a few trends I've seen in not just this profile, but in others, too. Again, please don't take this as personal criticism. It's not. I realise a lot of hard work goes into producing these profiles. It's a genuine question and I'm curious, since I've never really seen a style guide for these. R. == 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 6799 days ago 4228 posts - 8258 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 8 of 9 10 April 2012 at 7:40pm | IP Logged | ||
The most guidance ever given for these was here:
As for the writing style of these profiles, I tend to be a bit more formal (including recycling 'big' words like 'hyperbole' ;-)) but do type in the first person where appropriate as when giving impressions of courses or features like in a book review. However I'm less comfortable with overly personal, emotionally-tinged or casual usage in these profiles (e.g. '"WOW!" factor', '...they'll go "Huh"?', 'Language Deity') even when dealing with comments on available courses or books. Such usage makes the profile seem more like a blog rather than a credible reference for prospective learners who are basically looking for facts before committing time and money to studying. Edited by Chung on 10 April 2012 at 7:54pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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