Navaho Phonology by Harry Hoijer

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UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PUBLI~

IN ANTHROPOLOGY

1-

NUMBER ONE

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

HARRY HOI]ER

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS

ALBUQUERQUE

1945

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PUBLICATIONS

A SERIES in Anthropology begins with this number. Other series are contemplated in Biology, Economics, Education, Engineering, Geology, Government, the Humanities, and Sociology. All will be numbered only serially, beginning with Number One. The UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PUBLICATIONS take the place of former numerous series in the University of New Mexico Bulletins, except Catalog series.

See back cover for University of New Mexico Bulletins in the field of Anthropology and some related subjects.


ALBUQUIIIlQUE, NEW MEXICO

UNIVERSITY OF NE\V i\lEXICO PUBLICATIONS IN ANTHROr LOGY

NUMBER ONE

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

HARRY HOIJER

THE U N I V E R SIT Y OF NEW M E X leo PRE S S

ALBUQUERQUE 1945

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PUBLICATIONS PUBLISHED SIX TIMES A YEAR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

,>.".

Preface _ .

5

The Phonemes (§§ 1-21)

The Consonants (§§2-14) Consonantal Clusters (§§15-17)

7 8 18

The Vowels (§§18-203 The Tonemes (§21)

25

29

Morpho-phonemics (§§22-37) . .____ 31

Syllable Types (§22) _ _ _ _ 31

Phonetic Alternations Peculiar to Stem Syllables

(§§23-26) __ _ _ _ 32

Diminished and Augmented Syllables (§ §27 -31) _ 38

Contracted Syllables (§§32-37) . ._ 48

Summary (§38) .__ 55

PREFACE

Most of the material on which the following sketch of Navaho phonology is based was collected by the late Edward Sapir. In working oyer this material. however, a number of points were noted on which nddilional data were necessary. An opportunity to check these point; presented itself during the Hummer of 1941 when I was n:l':1)! d to teach Navaho phonetics and grammar at the Chaco Canyon Field School of the University of New Mexico. I am indebted, therefore, to Dr. Leslie Spier, the director of the field school in 1941, for the opportunity to complete Sapir's data on Navaho as well as for extending me the privilege of publishing this paper in the publications of the Univ rsity of New Mexico.

THE PHONEMES

1. The Navaho utterance, phonetically considered, is a succession of evenly stressed syllables, each of which possesses a characteristic pitch accent or tone. Though the speakers of Navaho, like those of any other speech community, vary the prosodic patterns of their utterances for socially effective gesture-like purposes, there appear to be no phonemically distinctive accentual phonemes belonging to the word. the phrase, or the sentence which stand over and above the accentual patterns formed by the succession of syllables constituting the utterance.

The smallest phonetic group in Navaho, then, is the syllable. Only seldom. however, is the syllable a free form; the majority of Navaho words are disyllabic and polysyllabic. Structurally the syllable may be described as follows:

1. Most syllables begin with a consonant. The exceptions to this rule are few: certain postfinal ' syllables consisting of a single long vowel and a few, rarely occurring, syllables beginning with a bi-consonantal cluster. Since these exceptional syllables occur only medially and finally in the word, it is evident that all Navaho words begin with a single consonant.

2. The syllable (and the word as well) may terminate in a vowel, a consonant, or. very rarely, in a bi-consonantal cluster.

3. Except for certain syllables composed of n plus a vowel or n plus vowel plus consonant, which may have the optional variants syllabic n or syllabic n plus consonant, respectively, the medial phoneme of a syllable is always a vowel or vowel cluster.

4. Every syllable possesses a toneme. The tone of a syllable may be heard in every voiced phonetic constituent but is most marked in the syllabic.

1. Syllabi .. may be divided. in reopeet to their position in the word. Into three trrOUPI: preftnall. Item Iyllabl ... and pOltftnall. See 122.

r71

8] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
THE CONSONANTS
2. The consonantal phonemes may be tabulated as
follows r!
b m m'
d t t' n n' s z 3 c c'
S Z j C c'
I 1 ). X X'
y y'
g k k' x y
kw XW yW
? h
hW Any consonant may begin a syllable but only d, n, s, z, I, Z, I, I, g, ?, and h are found as syllable finals.

Since syllables beginning with m', n', Z and y' occur only medially in the word, it is evident that these consonants may never begin the word. However, any syllable final may terminate the word.

All the consonants occur between vowels and all but y' between a consonant and a vowel. But only syllable finals are found as initial elements in bi-consonantal clusters and only s, Z, I, and? as medial elements in tri-consonantal clusters. See §§15-17.

Since the point of syllabic division for a short-voweled open syllable lies in the following consonant rather than immediately before it, all consonants following such syllables are mechanically lengthened. So, for example, the d of hA-dis-bln, "I fill it"; because it follows the syllable ha-, is approximately twice as long as any of the following d's: di-ne, "Navaho"; na·-dA·D?, "corn"; niS-dA·h, "I sit down"; bl-bld, "his stomach."

2. Oue conlOn.ntal phoneme, the'lyllablc D, i. not included In the tabl.. 8" U. /I. ct!1"taln number of devlatlonl from the ltandard orthOCTaphy are made In thll paper because of an Incomplete font. (1) GlottaU.ed conlOnanta are repr ... "nt..d by aD apostrophe followinc rath"r than over the letter; (2) The forwardly artlculaW conlonanta d, C, t, k, t', k', x, and., are repreaented by Italic letten; (3) j II uaed for the blade alveolar affricate; (4) Syllabic n, I. " Z have the lubseript followlDC rather than below; aDd (5) naaalioed TOWell are Indlcat..d by a foUowlnc railed n rather than the uaual lubeerlpt hook,

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[9

3. The stops, grouped according to place of articulation, fall into five classes: the bilabial b; the alveolars d, t, t'; the palatals g, k, k' ; the labialized palatal kw; and the glottal slop? Grouped according to manner of articulation, there are three classes: the voiceless, lenis, and unaspirated stops b, d, g; the voiceless, fortis, and aspirated stops t, k, k"; and the voiceless, fortis and glottalized stops t', k', ?

b and .~ are pronounced in essentially the same manner whatever their position in the word, but the remaining stops vary somewhat in pronunciation before each of the four principal vowel groups: a, a', a-, a·n; e, e', eD, e·lI; i, i·, in, i·e; and 0, 0', on, 0'", Taking the alveolar position as a norm in the case of d, t, and t', and the back-palatal position as a norm in the case of g, k, k-, and k', we find that d, t, and t' before the vowels e and i are somewhat fronted in articulation and that g, k, kw, and k' before the same vowels are front- rather than back-palatal. Similarly, t, g, k, and k' before the vowel 0 are slightly labialized, the labialization being most marked in the case of t and k, Another variation occurs in the aspirated consonants t, k, and k", k" is always comparatively lightly aspirated [kh"] , k varies from [kh], the most frequent form, to [k] followed by a voiceless palatal glide [x], and t varies in a similar fashion, though in this case the alternant [tx] is most frequent. Similarly, g before a, e, and i is often followed by a voiced palatal glide [y], this glide being back-palatal before a and front-palatal before e and i. Finally, it should be pointed out that, in the glottalized consonants t' and k', the glottal closure survives the oral closure.

The following table summarizes the phonetic variants of each of the stopped phcnemes.!

b d g

Before a [b] Cd] [g], [gy]

Before e and i [b]

Cd], Cd]

[g], [gy]

Before 0 [b] Cd] [g], [gW]4

a. Where two vnrtants Dr .. listed it mennl that though either may be employed In aDJ' elven form the lint variant eeeurs mOlt often in normal Ipeech.

10 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
t [tx], [th] [tx], [th] [txw], [thw)4
k [kh], [kx] [kh], [kx] [kh], [khw)4
kw [kh"] [khw]
t' [t'] [t'], [t'] [t']
k' [k'] [k'], [k'] [k'], [k''']
? [?] [?] [?] Examples: ba->, "war"; bi-bld, "his stomach" ; dis-ba'h, "I start off to war."

da·n, "spring (season)"; de-l, "crane"; do-da, "no"; bi-?a·d, "his wife"; nis-da·h, "I sit down"; k'e-?i-?ad-go, "he untieing it."

gah, "rabbit"; gis, "cane, staff"; bl-god, "his knee"; nao-ge·h, "shield"; deg, "up, above"; ?a-Ias-ga'n, "fingernail"; do·-yi-cag-da, "it is not fringed."

ta·?, "three"; te-l, "tule"; t6, "water"; bl-tah, "among them"; has-ta-", "six."

ka-se-, "shaft branch of Life-way"; ke, "shoes"; kon?~ "fire" ; ?l·-ka·h, "sand-painting" ; n-dll-kal, "wild gourd." kWe-?e, "here"; k"o-d6·, "from here"; do-k=i-, "how many?"; de-z-k=I, "he has vomited."

t'ah, "still, yet"; t'e's, "charcoal"; na-t'oh, "tobacco"; na-has-t'ai, "nine.".

k'a'?, "arrow"; k'ls, "alder"; k'os, "cloud"; bi-k'a-?i, "his mother's sister"; ?as-k'a, "I grind."

?a'h, "fog"; ?e'?, "coat"; ?a-?a'n, "cave, den"; de'z-?a, "it protrudes"; ni?-de's-gons, "I'll stuff it in"; yaz-?de·-t'a·h, "he wins the argument."

4. There are four nasal continuants in Navaho: voiced bilabial m, voiced alveolar n, and the glottalized equivalents of these, m' and n'. The glottalized nasals, unlike the glottalized stops. are preceded rather than followed by the release of the glottal closure.

m occurs rarely and only as a syllable initial. m' is even more rare, being found only as a syllable initial before the vowel a. n, however, is one of the two or three most

4. These Corms, in addition to MinII' Iret>ly InterehanR"eable with their un-!ablallzed alternantl, are never .. markedly labialized .. the phoneme kW.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

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frequently occurring consonants in Navaho and may appear either as a syllable initial or as a final. In the final position, n is always syllabic, though it never becomes an actual syllable as in the case of the syllabic n reduced from n plus vowel (see §5). n' is somewhat less frequent than nand is found only as a syllable initial.

Examples: ma-?i·, "coyote"; m6-si, "cat" «Span. mosi "kitty"); bl-ma, "his mother"; haz-me'z, "a long open prairie" (archaic).

sr-m'as, "we two lie curled up"; ?i'-m'a's, "we two roll over"; na-nis-m'a"s, "I become round again and again." na-kl, "two"; sin, "song"; di-ne, "Navaho"; ?a-dis-ni, "I speak so"; so-do-l-zln-do-, "he having prayed."

na-hl-n'a, "he moves (a part of his body)"; ?i'-n't>, "thunder"; cis-n'a, "bee."

5. Syllabic n, which occurs as an optional alternant in primary prefinal and postfinal syllables n plus vowel (which reduce to no) and n plus vowel plus consonant (which reduce to no plus consonant), must be counted as a separate phoneme. This n-phoneme, which is always written n plus tone indicator, may occur initially, medially, and finally in the word; in the syllable, of course, it always has the position of the syllabic. Medially in the word, it may be preceded by a vowel, a consonant, or another syllabic n but it is always followed by a consonant or another syllabic n. Syllabic n is never long; successive syllabic n's always form two syllables. There are no phonetic alternations dependent upon position or phonetic context.

Examples: n-te-l «ni-te'l), "it is wide"; jl'-n-ba? «ji'-ni-ba'?), "you are kind"; dah-n-te-h «dah-nl-te'h), "he lies on top"; n-ns-?a'h «nl-nis-?a'h), "I put a round object down"; bl-ba-ri «bi-ba-ni), "his tanned skin."

6. sand z are the voiceless and voiced alveolar sibilants, roughly similar to the sand z of English sip and zip, respectively. Both occur as syllable initials and finals; as a syllable final, z is always syllabic. When s or z precede a blade-alveo-


lar sibilant or affricate in the same word, they assimilate to 8 and Z, respectively.

Examples: sa-d, "language"; bans, "hoop"; da-san, "porcupine"; yls-?an, "he owns a ceremony"; yl-ba?-si-da, "he waits for him"; yM-gai?s-3a'n, "White Shell Woman" (a mythological character); de-s-nls [de·a-nia], "he has begun to work"; si-bEH [ai-be'z], "it has boiled"; sl-ja'? [sl-ja·?], "a mass lies"; scH-ci" [sel-cinh], "I have given birth to him"; de's-c'B [de's-c'U], "it has crackled."

zas, "snow"; bl-kaz, "its stalk"; bi-ztd, "his liver"; de·z-ba·?, "he has started off to war"; ca-?as-zl?, "yucca"; bl-za's-t'e'h [bl-za·s-t'e·h], "I put (the rope) in his mouth": de,z-?a'z [de·z-?a .. z], "they have started off"; ne·z-je·? [ne·Z_je·?] , "they have lain down"; de,z-cah [de'z-eah], "he has begun to cry"; ?az-C'anh [?az-c'anh], "it has fallen in the fire."

7. There are three alveolar affricates: the voiceless, lenis, and unaspirated 3, the voiceless, fortis, and strongly aspirated c, and the voiceless, fortis, and glottalized c'. c is not as strongly aspirated as the phonemes t and k, and is never followed by an x-glide," c' agrees with t' and k' in that the glottal closure survives the oral.

As in the case of sand z, 3, c, and c', occurring before a blade-alveolar sibilant or affricate in the same word, assimilate to j, C, and c', respectively. There are no other phonetic alternants for these phonemes, all of which are found only as syllable initials.

Examples: 3e'h, "elk" ; ha-3id, "fear" ; ?as-.:;li-ni, "woman"; ha-3il-gis [ha-jil-gis], "there is lightning in the distance"; 31-x"iz [ji-x"iz], "blue-striped"; 3i-jin [ji-jln], "black-striped" ; 3i-cl-? [ji-ci·?], "red-striped."

cah, "awl" ; bl-co>, "his tongue"; ill-can, "rainy weather"; bl-cl-di-sa-h [bi-ci-dl-s3.'h], "1 go off to make a date with him"; bl-clz-dl-va-h [bi-ciz-di-ya·h], one goes off

6. There is one exception to this rule: If '" word containlnlr e Is pronounced vel')' empuatirally. no ill a command or exhortafion, the e phoneme may be followed by an ,,-glide.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

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to make a date with him"; ci-jo·-hH [ci-jo·-la·l], "he goes along seeking safety."

c'a-l, "cradle" ; ?a-c'e'?, "navel" ; cos-c'Id, "seven"; bl-c'an-sa'h [bi-c'a-il-sa'h], "I walk away from him" ; bi-c'az-ni-ya [bi-c'az-ni-yiih], "he has walked away from him"; bt-c'a-jiya·h [bl-c'a-ji-ya'h], "one walks away from him."

8. sand z are the voiceless and voiced blade-alveolar sibilants, similar to the sh of English ship and the s of English mea ure, re pectively. Both occur as syllable initials and finals; in the final position, Z, like z, becomes syllabic. Before an alveolar sibilant or affricate in the same word, sand z assimilate to sand z, respectively.

Examples: se·?, "saliva"; di-?a's, "they two start off"; dl-sa'h, "I start off" ; dis-ba-h, "I start off to war" ; ne-?e-de'?san?, "your gourd?"; ai-baDs [si-baDs], "my hoop"; ns-da'z [ns-da'z], "I am heavy"; si-3H [st-jl-I], "my strength"; ns-ca'h [ns-ca-h], "I am big"; si-c'id [si-c'Id}, "my sinew."

bi-M'l, "its chaff"; sa'z, "joint, knot"; niz-dll-t'e, "they are two in number" ; de-s-zah, "they stick up" ; ba?z-dl-nl-?a·, "he let him have his way"; naz-de'-sa" [naz-de-sa-h], "they begin to move as a group"; ?a-hoz-dH-ze·h [?a-hoz-dH-ze'h], "he is quiet"; naz-do·I-3H [naz-do-l-jt-I], "he will be afraid"; daz-d6-ca? [daz-d6-ca?], "he has his teeth closed" ; naz-il-c'lh [naz-ri-c'lh}, "he pinches him repeatedly."

9. Three blade-alveolar affricates are found in Navaho: the voiceless, lenis, and unaspirated j, the voiceless, fortis, and strongly aspirated c, and the voicele s, fortis, and glottali zed c'. C, like c, is not as heavily aspirated as the stops t and k, nor is it followed by an x-glide except in strongly emphasized forms (see footnote 5). c', like the glottalized stops, is followed, not preceded, by the glottal release.

Followed by an alveolar sibilant or affricate in the same word, j, c, and c' a' similate to -, c, and c', respectively. There are no other phonetic variants of these phonemes, all of which may be found only as syllable initials.

Examples: ja-di, "antelope"; bi- j{l·d, "his legs"; ?a-niA-


ja'?, "cheek"; it-ji-sas [it-31-sas], "he lets a mass (of grain) spill" ; jl-dl-ze-h £3i-di-ze'h], "he belches"; jH-3e'h [3U-3e'h], "he scrapes hair off a skin"; ji-en·h [3i-en·h], "he is big"; ji-di'-c'a? [3i-di'-C'a?], "he hears it."

ca'?, "beaver"; ta-ce·h, "sweat-house"; yis-ca, "I weep"; ci·-sePl·ad [cl·sePi·nd], "I have caused him to become of service"; cO·z-?i·nd [co·z-?l·nd], "he has become of service."

c'ah, "hat"; bl-c'e-?e, "her daughter"; nl-e'l, "wind"; c'i-ma's [c'I-ma-s}, "it rolls out"; e'i-ni-ma'z [c'f-ni-ma-z}, "it has rolled out"; e'e-na-3i'd [c'e-na-jl-d]; "he awakes"; c'i?-ne·-c'l·h [c'i?-ne·-c'l·h], "he goes out on tiptoe."

10. I is a voiceless, spirantal, alveolar lateral; I its voiced friction-less equivalent. Both occur as syllable initials and finals. In the final position, I becomes syllabic; otherwise I and I have no noticeable phonetic variants.

Examples: l8.n, "many"; dU, "blood"; t'a·-hi-?i, "a single one"; dis-lid, "I burn it"; yil-be'z, "he boils it"; k'ai?l-ba-hi, "gray willow."

Ia-ci-rri, "wristlet, bracelet"; bl-Ie'z, "his sand, soil"; ha-ta·l, "chant, ceremony"; ?az-llz, "he has urinated": sH-ba·?, "my protection, shield" (archaic).

11. There are three lateral affricates: A, x', and X,'.

A, phonetically, is Navaho d released by dropping the sides of the tongue to the position of I and causing the vocal cords to vibrate. It is, therefore, semi-voiced though there is a tendency, in rapid speech, to unvoice (but not spirantize) the l-reh cse, X. is Navaho t pronounced with a l-release : that is, the sides of the tongue drop into the l-position and the stream of air flows through with an audible friction. x" is X. pronounced with a nearly simultaneous glottal stop, the glottal closure surviving the oral. All three sounds occur only as syllable initials and are not noticeably variant phonetically.

Examples: Aa'd, "moss, mould"; it-di-A1-d1·, "mountain rice"; be-Il.ei, "blanket."

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 15

~ah, "grease"; si-~e"~, "a mud-like mass lies"; yis-1e, "leggings."

l'e'?, "night"; bi-1'ii .. h, "its bottom"; nI8-1'ah, "I'm left-

handed."

12. y is an unrounded front-palatal semi-vowel but not entirely friction-less as is the English y of young. That is to say, in pronouncing Navaho y the front of the tongue is held close enough to the front of the palate to produce a slight but audible "rubbiness" or friction. For this reason, it is very similar, especially before the vowels e and i, to the [,,]-val'iant of y (see §14).

y' is y pronounced with a nearly simultaneous glottal stop, the stop preceding the y as in the case of the glottalized nasals. y' occurs very rarely and only as a syllable initial before the vowel o. y is more common but also is found only as a syllable initial. Neither sound has any noticeable phonetic variants.

Examples: ya, "sky"; di-yo·g, "bull-snake"; ?al-ya', "it has been made."

ho-nl-y'di, "we two are brave"; dl-nlvy'og, "we two

are fluffy."

13. An exhaustive exarninat ion of Sapir's data on Navaho reveals the following distribution of voiceless spirants.

a. [x], a back-palatal which never weakens to [h] is found as a stem syllable initial before the vowel a. Exampies: [xai}, "winter"; [?a-xa-nih], "near"; [nai-dl-l-xa-l]; "he clubs him."

b. In the initial position of prefinal syllables before the vowel a is found a spirant which may be pronounced either [x] or [h]. The former pronunciation is probably the more frequent in normal speech but my informants never objected to the substitution of [h] for [x] in prefinal syllables whereas a similar substitution in tern syllables was always corrected. Exarnnles : [xi'Hn'-'~{lh] or [h~l-(n'-'~ilh], "it extends upward"; [bl-xas-th=oi] or [bl-has-th=oi}, "his older


male relative"; [do'-AU-xAl-dln-dah] or [do'-AH-hAl-dln-dAhl, "I am angry."

c. [x], a frontal-palatal which is never weakened to [h] occurs as a stem syllable initial before the vowels e and i. Examples: [xH] , "pack, burden"; [?a-xe'h], "gratitude, thanks"; [sls-xeh], "I kill him"; [xls], "pus, matter"; [bl-xls], "its pus, matter"; [dH-xU], "it is black."

d. Before the vowels e and i in prefinal syllables, however, we find a spirant which may be heard either [x] or [hl. Here, as in (b), the [x] pronunciation is probably the more frequent in normal speech but no objection is made to the substitution of [hl. Examples: [d's-tho"?] or [M-s-tholl?l, "they have broken off one after another"; [AU-ne-xe's-t'a"h] or UH-ne-he·s-t'a"h], "I have always lost in the moccasin game"; [xl-nah] or [hl-nah], "he is alive"; [na-xl·-t'a·A] or [na-hl·-t'a·A], "we two stand around"; [?a-da?-xH-ne'h] or [?a-da?-hH-ne'h], "we swallow each other."

e. Before 0 in stem syllables occurs the spirant [xwl, back-palatal and labialized. The labialization is distinct but there is never any weakening to [hw]. Examples: [x"oA], "cactus"; [?al-x"os], "he is asleep."

f. In prefinal syllables the spirant before 0 varies from [xw] to [h"], the substitution of one for the other being readily accepted. Examples: [x"o'-yan] or [hwo--yan], "home"; [j6-xwo..na·-?ai] or [j6-h"o..na·-?ai], "sun."

g. ,In two words borrowed from Spanish, together with a derivation from one of these, there occurs the spirant [xwl. It does not weaken to [h"] and occurs only before the vowel e. Examples: [go..x"e·h], "coffee" «Span. cafe); [~'Ux"e-beh], coffee-plant" (c'lI "plant"; -xweheh<go..x"e·h), [x"e-I-dlh], "Fort Sumner" «Span. fuerte).

h. In prefinal syllables before the vowels e and i may be found a spirant which varies in pronunciation from [xw] to [h"]. Examples: [x"eJ-?ah] or [hwel-?ah], "they are grouped about him"; [ya'-x"l'z-?a"h] or [ya·-h"l·z-?aDh], "it slopes down"; [bl-?-x"l·-do·-?a·l] or [bl-?-hwl·-do·-?a.J], ''he will be affected by sorrow."

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 17

i. In the final position of both stem and prefinal syllables, we find a consonant [h] which does not observably vary in pronunciation. Examples: [gah], "rabbit"; [txe'h], "valley"; [yih], "breath, soul"; [tx"o'h], "river"; [bl·hjl-ya·h], "he puts (a coat) on."

On the basis of the data presented, then, we may set up four phonemes (viz. x, h, x", and h") each with the following phonetic variants. Each of the phonetic variants is lettered to correspond with the paragraph of explanation given above.

Syllable Initials Syllable
Before a Before e, i Before 0 Finals
x a. [x] c. [x] e. [X"]
h b. [x], [h] d. [x], [h] f. [x .. ], [h"] i. [h]
x" g. [X"]
h" h. [X"], [h"] 14. The situation in respect to the voiced spirants is somewhat simpler. The following phonetic variants are found, all of which occur only as syllable initials.

a. [y], a voiced back-palatal spirant, is found before the vowel a in both prefinal and stem syllables. Examples: [ya?-dl·-t'a·h], "one is bested in argument"; ['a-yael], "rattle"; [hAz-ya·I], "rolling country" (archaic).

b. [y], a voiced front-palatal spirant, is found before the vowels e and i in both prefinal and stem syllables. Examples: [yl-ye?-sl-'aah], "a round object lies in it"; [ye-?l·], "gods"; [dll-ye-hOt], "the Pleiades"; [yih], "breath, soul"; [bl-vld], "his breast-bone."

c. Before the vowel 0 in both prefinal and stem syllables, is found a strongly labialized back-palatal spirant [y"]. In some cases the labialization is so marked as to overshadow the preceding spirant and produce a sound much like the English [w] except for a slight spirantal attack. Examples: [y"6-hi-cP] or [w6-la-ci·?], "red ants"; [bi-y"o'?] or [bi-wo·?], "his teeth"; [dll-y"os] or [dU-wos], "he is shouting."


d. Before the vowels a and e, but only in stem syllables, occurs a voiced sound very similar to English [w]. This, however, alternates with the [w]-variant described in (c) though it is never heard [yw]. Examples: [wa·?], "beeweed"; pa-we·?], "baby"; [?a-wa .. l-yah], "jail" (a borrowing?) ; [ca-dil-wa·n?], "he whines."

Here it is evidently necessary to set up two phonemes: y and y"'. These phonemes, together with their phonetic variants, may be tabulated as follows:

y

a. [y]

b. [y]

c. [ y"'], [w] 6

Before a

yW

d. lwl" d. Iwl"

Before e, i Before 0

CONSONANTAL CLUSTERS

15. The Navaho syllable may begin or end in a vowel, a syllabic n, a consonant or a bi-consonantal cluster. Syllables beginning with a cluster occur only after a syllable ending with a consonant, but syllables ending with a cluster are found either before a syllable beginning with a consonant or in the final position of the word. It is evident, then, that there are four type of consonantal cluster to be distinguished in Navaho.

1. Bi-consonantal clusters which occur when a syllable ending in a consonant immediately precedes one beginning with a consonant. Nearly all clusters in Navaho are of this type.

2. Bi-consonantal clusters which terminate the word.

Thi and the following two types are relatively rare.

3. 'I'ri-consonantal clusters which occur when a syllable ending in a cluster immediately precedes one beginning with a consonant.

4. Tri-consonantal clusters which occur when a syllable ending in a consonant immediately precedes one beginning with a cluster.

6. [wJ preceded by a alight apirantal attack.

7. Ordinary [w] nrying with [w) pr e eeded by a llillht IPirantal atta~k.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 19

16. Since bi-consonantal clusters of type 1 are always found at a point of syllabic division, they possess the following characteristics:

1. A slight hiatus, marking the point of syllabic division, always separates the constituent consonants of the cluster.

2. Their position of occurrence is always medial with respect to the utterance, never initial or final.

3. They must begin with a consonant occurring in the final position in the syllable: d, g, ?, n, s, z, 8, Z, I, 1, and h.

4. The final consonant may be any consonant which begins a syllable.

Not all of the possible combinations occur, however.

Identical clusters, for example, are found only in very slow and precise speech; in normal speech, the two consonants merge into one. Thus, in the following forms, the sequence dd is generally pronounced d: do·-bPa·d-da., "it is not his wife"; ?a·-k'e·d-da·n?, "last fall"; n-za.·d-de·n?, "from far away." Other coalescences of consonants undoubtedly account for the absence of certain clusters and for the comparative rarity of others. See §§29-31.

In the following table are listed the clusters illustrable from the material at my disposal. Most of the gaps in this list are probably due to the comparative rarity of occurrence of certain consonants: s', for example, occurs in only two or three forms and in no clusters. g is very rare as a syllable final and consequently in clusters; the same is true, to a lesser extent, of z, d, n, and z.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ lli Th "

d ~ ~ ~ ~ M M M W M Ag zg Ig 19 hg

At It It ht

Ak Ik lk hk

sk- hk-

At' It' It' ht'

Ak' Ik' Ik' hk'

dg ?g ng sg zg
?t nt 8t zt
?k sk zk
?k- zk-
?t' nt' st' zt'
?k' nk' sk' zk' 20 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

dn

s? z? A? sm zm Am sn zn An

em' sn'

ds

ns

sz

dA

?A

nA

nl nl ny

s1

sl zl

sl zl

sy

sx

sy zy

dl dl dy

dj

nj

sc' zc' sj zj sc zc sc' zc'

s..\. ZA.

sx. zx.

sx.' zx.' Ax.'

Am' An'

Af

AI 11

Al 11

Ay 1y Ax

Ay 1y

Ay"

Ae'

Aj zj 8C

sc' fc' A..\.

Ax.

1? I? I? h? 1m hn 1m hm 1n In In hn

hm'

In' In' hn'

Is hs

lz Iz hz

lA IA hA

H l!

II hI ly Iy hy

Ix Ix

ly Iy hy Ix"

Iy" hy"

Ih Ih

Ih"

13 13 h3 Ie le he

Ie'

Ij Ic Ic' IA. IX.

Ic' he'

lj hj

Ie be

Ic' hc'

IA. h..\

IX. hX.

IX.' lX.' hX.'

Examples, d-clusters: bl-ia-d-be-, "by means of his legs"; yH-k'ld-go, "there being a ridge" (in rapid speech may become yil-k'l-do or yH-k'l-go) ; na-hAS-c'ld-?a'''-g6-ne?, "into a badger's hole"; cl-sl-ka-d-nl-, "Lonely Standing Tree clan"; lad-si-nf-, "bracelet"; k'ad-si·", "and now"; ba-ha- 3ld-le, "they are indeed fearsome"; ?a-t'e'd-Iei?, "it was a girl"; gad-ya·z, "a young cedar"; bPa .. d-jl, "on the side of his wife" (in rapid speech may become bpa·-jO.

g-clusters ; do·-yl-ne·s-dog-da, "he has filled (the bag)"; yl-ne·~dog-nl?, "he has already filled (the bag)."

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 21

?-clusters: k'1·?-be·A, "arrow-head (of metal)"; k'l?-c:l(·lA, "he planted (crops)"; bA·-sl-tA?-go·-d1, "and across its shoulders"; bl-?-tO·-jl·?, "toward (a place called) Water-init"; Ai-d1?-ke, "my sister's children" (m.s.); nl?-kw6-d1-jH?l··h, "they stop doing so" ; n-di·?-t'ei, "war-dance" ; ni?-k'Q·A-bA·Bh, "the borders of the earth"; na?-n~·s-t'i·'_gb, "when (crops) had ripened"; yl'?-sl-?~'z, "he has (footwear) on"; n~-?e-d~'?-AAD?, "your gourd 1"; yl-c'A?-Ie, "noises are heard"; nA·-nf-bA·?-la, "they indeed made war"; ce?-yA .... nA-te·h, "I turn over on my belly"; ce?-y6-zf, "hard round pebbles" ; ?A-dA?-hH-n~'h, "we swallow each other" ; ii·?-hwi·-do·-?A·l, "I'll be sorrowful"; ko-sf·D?-3iL" "so it happened that ... "; dOIl?-coh, "Big Fly" (a name) ; ?a-sA·?· c'l-l, "broken pieces of pottery strewn around"; M·-sl-tA?-jiD?, "between my shoulders"; hA-k~·?-MD-?in-ye·ll, "his moccasins that were ugly"; ?ei?-c'i"?, "to someone."

n-clusters: ein-bA·Dh, "on the tree"; bl-van-dl, "to his home"; ?a-din-go, "there being none"; hAs-tl·n-tA·D?, "a heavy-set man"; cin-t'ei-ya, "dirty"; l'oh-cln-k'f'-k'~'?, "Onion-cut-off" (a personal name) ; tA-df-df·n-?is-kl·h, "Pollen Boy" (a personal name) ; lAh-cin-sl-tA··-go·-dA, "about one mile"; ?A-k'A·n-Af··, "flour perhaps"; dA-nl-con-l~, "they have a bad odor"; li-kiLn-la, "it is indeed sweet"; hAs-tl'n-yA-!f, "Short Man" (a personal name) ; AI-yAn-cA·, "my big house"; bi-yAn-jiB?, "to his home."

a-clusters: yl-de-s-ba-l, "he unfolds it"; yi-ne·s-dA, "he has seated him"; yis-gan, "he has dried it" ; nas-tas, "curved"; naia-kad, "he has sewed it"; na?-n~·s-t'a·, "(crops) have become ripe"; ne-s-k'ah, "he is fat"; n1·s-?a, "it extends off in various directions"; yi-ne·s-ma·s, "he has rounded it"; yis-na, "he has captured it"; na-?As-m'a'sz, "something has rolled about"; cfs-n'a, "bee"; na-ne·s-zah, "(trees) are scattered about"; ?A-de's-zH, "he has danced away"; si-k'e-?es-la, "he has a claim on me"; dah-?a-c'os-la, "there was indeed a tapering knoll"; sa·-?a-ho·s-ya"?, "he has taken care of me"; nai-yl·s-nn, "he turned him around"; hA·-de·s-yOd, "he began to chase him"; yi-nas-3f'd, "he was


afraid of it"; de-s-cab, "pointed"; ha-zeis-c'o-sl-, "chipmunk"; ?a-dios-jao?, "he has rubbed himself"; na-haos-ca?, "he has hopped around"; nas-c'ah, "he has put his hat on wrong"; yl-dai-de-s-sa-d, "they have torn it from him"; yis-Uh, "he has greased it"; yls-X.'ah, "an angle, a corner."

z-clusters : jooz-ba?, "he has done a kind act"; jlz-da, "he sits"; dao-diz-go, "after being spun"; hai-ne-z-ta-w, "he has looked for it"; ?a-hiz-kAd, "he gave a slap"; de-z-k=l, "he has vomited"; si-jooz-t'e?, "he appeared"; n-de-z-k'a=d, "it has swung back and forth"; deoz-?a, "it protrudes"; jiz-mAns, "he curls up"; na-z-ne", "he has played"; t'l-syaoz-la-ni, "Many-cottonwood-saplings" (a place name); dAz-dio-geoz-la, "they have indeed become twisted"; yiz-yad, "he has spilled it"; da-z-ca», "he has died"; yi-dl-zc'aon?, "he has heard it"; nAiz-jAo?, "he has carried a mass about"; deoz-ca, "he has begun to cry"; naiz-c'aon?, "he has finished decorating it"; naz-xa-d, "chapped"; deoz-Mo?, "it has begun to drizzle"; ?az-X.'iod, "he has discharged wind."

a-clusters: il-deos-bla, "I shall boil you" ; das-dlo-?an, "he held (a hat) up"; Ii-us-gai, "I am white"; ha-us-ta, "I look for it"; ?a-dls-ka?, "I play cards"; mis-kwl, "I vomit repeatedly"; ?A-dis-t'aoh, "I sing to myself"; ?as-k'a, "I grind"; ?as-?a, "I command"; us-mans, "I round it"; hi-us-na, "I'm alive"; na-nis-m'ans, "I become round again and again"; nahas-n'a, "I move (part of my body)"; ?a-ho-dl-S-zeoh, "I quiet down"; baos-zi-nio, "black jewels"; bi-ns-laoh, "I overtake him"; k'i?-doo-gis-Ia, "(how) will the cutting (of prayersticks) be done?"; beoa-yao, "I've gotten there in time for it"; ?a-hlos-xan, "I throw it away"; ?ios-yaon, "backbone"; ca-dls-yWaon?, "I whine"; beo-il~is-31h, "I breathe by means of that"; da-dis-ca", "I have my teeth closed"; dl-S-c'a?, "I hear it"; ne-?es-jao?, "owl"; yia-ca, "I weep"; ?l-S-C'ld, "womb"; nas-A.aod, "I become chapped"; yia-X.ah, "I grease it" ; nis-X.'ah, "I'm left-handed."

z~lusters: blz-dil-nlh, "he touched it"; na-t'aoz-go, "they having returned" ; naz-?u-t'i, "he goes about aimlessly"; hAz-meoz, "a long open prairie"; k'iz-ni-giz, "he cut it off";

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[28

ho-t'as-jlz-le, "he lies with his back to the fire"; yl-c'a-nA?a-z-Ia, "they two had indeed moved away from it"; ce-c'H-ya?-dl-yo'-li, "The Rough Rock Against Which the Wind Blows" (a place name) ; ?a-ya'A-eo-z-ya-U-, "speckled yellow birds" (ceremonial); 3U-g}oZ-jiU?, "to the mountain gap"; y6z-c'i-Dd, "March."

l-clusters : yl-l-ba-h, "you make it gray"; yl-ill-da-h, ''he seats him"; sel-gan, "I have dried it up"'; ?Al-ta-s-?ai, "of different colors"; yeJ-ka-h, "they overtake him"; ?Al-t'a, ''he feathers (an arrow)"; ?al-k'i-da-n?, "long ago"; ?AI-?a, ''he commands"; yl-ill-mans, "he rounds it"; ?a--hU-nf, "he referred to him"; nai-yH-n'a, "he moves it" ; bU-se-?aD, "I've a grip on it"; ?a-hO-dM-ze-h, "you two quiet down"; h6-16--do·-Ie.J-sf·D, "it seems they 'were to be (so)"; ?a-hM-!f-Dh, "you two blacken each other"; M-?OI-la, "pine boughs indeed"; bo-l-ya', "you two have arrived in time for it"; dB-xiI, "it is black"; ?Al-ya-di--t'a's, "we two run a race" ; do--sU-h&ldln-da, "I'm angry"; bH-hwe-s-ni?, "I've told my story to them"; yH-3e-h, "he scrapes (a skin)"; do·-jH-c8.·D-da, "he did not see him"; ?8.l-c'az-?a, "they branch out"; yll-jah, "he rattles it"; yU-ci, "she gives birth to it"; nal-e'ah, "you two put on your hats wrongly"; ?a-iil-U:d, "you tear it"; iil-Uh, "you grease it"; 3H-X.'ah, "a mountain hollow,"

l-clusters : yi-l-ba .. h, "it is being made gray" ; ?a-hH-doh, "the fog moves"; hal-ga], "prairie"; yi-ni-l-ta", "we two count it"; bi-ni-l-ka-h, "we overtake him"; yll-t'a.J, "a flame is being carried"; ne-l-k'ah, "we two are fat"; ho·pa--g6-, "for all time to come"; ni-l-mass, "we two round it"; bfz-df~ nih, "he touched it"; na-hal-n'a, "it is put in motion"; hode-l-za, "we two have begun a ceremony"; nl'n'll-saD?, "they were apparently appointed"; yH-zAh, "we two hook it"; ?al-ya-, "it has been made"; c'il-xo-si, "burr marigold"; bA--yfl-yod, "he came running to him"; c'll-x"e-he, "coffeeplant"; cil-dll-yWa·D?, "he whines"; c'il hA--jl-nf, "the place dark with plants" (a place name); ?ill-3e·h, "it is being scraped"; nal-ca-h, "it dries"; ho-dll-c'f-d, "he is comfortable"; dl-dl-l-je-h, "we two build a fire"; ll-dl-l-e], "he be-


haves well"; nal-c'Ah, "he puts on his hat wrong"; bl-dl-llA·d, "we two tear it from him"; yH-Uh, "we two grease it"; dll-l'e·h, "he starts off at a trot."

h-clusters : do-h-ba>, "you two have become gray"; dah-dl-l-vod, "he began to run off"; si-doh-goh, "you two bump against me"; ha-noh-ta, "you two hunt for it"; na-ha-no·h-kAi, "you are already on the point of going"; nah-k=I, "you two vomit repeatedly"; ?A-do·h-t'a·h, "you two sing to yourselves"; ?a-d6h-k'A·Ds, "you two stretch"; yah?i'-?a, "it extends into" ; yoh-ma·ns, "you two become round" ; dah-nii-dl'-?aD, "he began to carry (a hat) back"; na-nohm'Ans, "you two become round repeatedly"; na-hoh-n'a, "you two move (your body)"; c'e·h-se-da, "I sat there in vain"; na-t'oh-zIs, "tobacco pouch"; hA-IAh-si·n, "and to their sister" (probably becomes ha-Ia-si·D in rapid speech); na'ge·h-Ia, "the shield indeed"; bl·Dh-ya·!, "fawn"; yl-kaih-vl-n, "dawn songs"; l'oh-yWa·-i-gf, "alfalfa"; sl-noh-3In, "you two exercise evil magic over me"; da-dl-noh-ca>, "you two have your teeth closed"; do-h-e's", "you two hear it"; dah-jo'?a·l-go, "he going along holding up (a hat)"; yoh-ca, "you two weep"; do-h-c'e-h, "you two gape"; nah-lA·d, "you two become chapped"; do·h-U·d, "you two become paralyzed"; soh-l'in, "you two are freckled."

17. Bi-consonantal clusters which terminate the word (type 2) are very rare and are always composed of a glottal stop plus the spirant s: xa·-jl?s, "up to what point?"; xa·-de·n?s, "from where?"; xa-da·n?s, "since when?" Clusters of this kind, it is evident, are a part of the syllable and their constituents are not, therefore, separated by a point of syllabic division.

Similar bi-consonantal clusters also occur medially in the word. Here, however, they are always followed by a syllable beginning with a consonant and are therefore part of a tri-consonantal cluster having a point of syllabic division between the second and third consonant of the cluster (type 3). These syllable final clusters also begin with a glottal stop but the second element may be a, i, I, or h. They

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 25

may occur before any syllable initial; the following examples only illustrate the type, not all the possible combinations. y<H-gai?s-3u:n, "White Shell Woman" (a mythological being) ; di·n?s-kan, "four days"; ?a-na'?z-di'-s<H, "he whistled again"; ?a-da?z-nl·-yi·nh, "they began to eat"; na·-da·n?l-cP, "red corn"; dH-ePI-go-n?, "it (corn) having red silk"; ?a·-de·n?l-d6?, "over there too"; k'ai?l-ba-hi, "gray willows"; iI.-ke·?h-ne-da, "I have sat behind you"; sl-ke·?h-di-ni·-dA-l, "you will sit behind me."

There is one example of a tri-consonantal cluster of type 3 differing from the above in form: has-ti-ns-te-ll, "Wide Man" (a personal name). Here the cluster ns ends the syllable.

Syllables beginning with clusters always occur immediately after one ending in a consonant thus forming triconsonantal clusters of type 4. In all but one of my examples of such clusters the initial consonant is Z, the second consonant ?, and the third either d or n. In one example is found the combination h?j. It may also be noted that, in rapid speech, the? plus d, n, or j tends to become t', n', or c', respectively, thus reducing the cluster to two consonants. Examples: do·-bl-k'lz-?di·-ti·nh-da, "he could not make out (what they were saying)"; yaz-?de·-t'a:h, "he wins the argument"; ha,z-?di·-t'e·s, "he blackens him"; ni-hiz-?ne·l-ca·n?, "they ran"; ?lz-?ni·-t'i·nd, "he has become rich"; bi-daz-?ni·ya·n?, "they begin to eat it"; bi-h-Pjl-ni-i, "he bores a hole into it."

THE VOWELS

18. Navaho vowels may be classified in accordance with three basic criteria: tongue and lip position, nasality. and length. The following table lists all the vowel phonemes.

Tongue and Lip Position Uri-nasalized Nasalized
Short Long Short Long
Low-central un rounded a a' an a·n
Mid-front unrounded e e' en e·n
High-front unrounded i i· in i·n
Mid-back rounded 0 o' 0" O·D 26 ] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

The low-central unrounded vowels may sometimes be pronounced in the low-front position; this variation is nonphonemic. Examples: gAh, "rabbit"; bA·', "war"; si-ta·, "a long object lies"; hAs-tA·n, "six."

e, e-, en, and e= are pronounced in essentially the same position as the e of English met (Mid-western American dialect). Before the vowel i, however, they take a somewhat higher tongue position. Examples: dl-be, "sheep"; ?e", "coat, garment"; dll-zen-he, "White Mountain Apache"; cn-ke·Dh, "young men"; bi-jei, "his heart."

i and in differ from i· and i·D in that they are usually given a lower and more relaxed pronunciation. Roughly, i and in are pronounced in the position of the vowel of English bit while i· and i·n are more like the vowel of English see in position of articulation. Examples: bi, "he, him" ; t'l-a, "cottonwood tree"; ?A-t'in, "riches, wealth" ; bl=h, "deer."

The o-vowels are more variable in quality. In probably a majority of occurrences, the o-vowels are closest the cardinal 0 in quality but any form containing the phoneme 0 may equally well be pronounced as though the vowel were the cardinal u. Sometimes, indeed, this variation takes place in a single speaker's pronunciation of the same word; e. g., t6, "water"; may be heard either [tx'"6h] or [txuh]. Examples: bl-ko-h, "arroyo, canyon"; kOD?, "fire"; dll-ko-sh, "it is smooth."

The following forms illustrate the phonemic importance of length and nasality in Navaho:

-ba?, "waiting for"; ba->, "war"; bAI, "a flapping (sound)"; -ba-l, "to hang. to be stretched out on a line"; bl-ta>, "between them"; bt-ta->, "his father"; -te, "to handle a living object"; te-h, "valley, plain"; tin, "ice"; -tl-n, "trail, tracks"; ha-nl", "story"; bl-nl-", "his face"; bl-ci>, "his daughter"; bl-cl-", "his head"; bl-c'os, "his downy feather"; bl-c'o- , "his veins"; -do, "to be hot"; -do-, future tense particle.

ca'?, "beaver"; ca·n?, "ordure, excrement"; -la, "a ropelike object lies"; -lan, "to be many"; si, "I, me"; sin, "sum-

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[27

mer"; -jf, "side, way"; ji", "day"; -ti, "harm, hurt"; -ti", "a living object lies"; -1'6 (ipf. mode), -1'6" (pf. mode), "to tie, twine"; -<16?, "also, too"; d6D?-, "fly" (the insect).

19. Vowels never begin a word or an utterance and only rarely begin a syllable. All of them, however, may occupy the following positions:

1. Between two consonants: k'ad, "now, and"; ?a·h, "fog"; taD-ii·, "turkey"; ?a-t'a·II?, "leaf"; deg, "up, above"; ?a-de·?, "gourd, spoon"; dil-zen-he, "White Mountain Apache"; se=s, "wart"; btl, "sleep"; bt-l, "woman's garment"; bi-ciD?, "his flesh"; cl=h, "bare, exposed"; di-kes, "cough"; bl-yo·?, "his tooth"; son?, "star"; bl-z6·nz, "(a bee's) stinger."

Here it should be noted, however, that a long vowel followed by a voiceless spirant (viz. s, s, I, x, or h) is reduced to a length about half-way between that of the short and the long vowel. Thus, the vowels of t'f-s, "cottonwood tree"; be·s, "knife, metal" ; de-l, "crane"; te-h, "valley, plain"; and the first vowel of na·-xai, "the year is passing"; are about 50 per cent longer than that of t6, "water"; but still 50 per cent shorter than that of ba·?, "war."

2. In the final position of the word or utterance: do·-da, "not"; bl-t'a-, "its top"; sl-ta", "a long object lies"; has-ta-«, "six"; di-ne, "Navaho"; ?a·-k'e·, "autumn"; ma-?l·ye·n, "that coyote"; bi-ii, "his name"; di·, "this one"; si-U·, "he lies"; :=;ll-8i·n, "a mountain perhaps?"; sl-do, "it is hot"; 80·, "look here"; dl-g6D, "rough-surfaced"; ?a-k6·n, "over yonder." e", it will be noted, does not occur in this position.

All open syllables in the final position of the word or utterance are followed by an inorganic h ; thus, for example, do·da, "not," is actually pronounced [do-dah], This h disappears when the syllable containing it is immediately followed by another; a true h does not. Thus, do·-da ni, "he says no," is heard [do·-da nih] whereas bl-tah nl "among them, he says," is pronounced [bl-txah nih]. The inorganic h has·the same effect on long vowels that the true h has and,


as a consequence, all final long vowels are shortened in precisely the same way as are long vowels followed by a voiceless spirant (see 1, above).

3. Between a consonant and a syllabic n: ?a-n-t'in, "you are so"; t'a·-n-Iei, "wherever"; yl-dan-n, "it is actually eaten"; t'a·n-nl-te-li, "everywhere"; ycH-ye-n, "it is truly called (so)"; be·-n?-de·-zOl, "it began to drizzle for him"; dah-?a-c'o-se·n-n?, "on a tapering knoll"; k'i-na·z-di-nl-k'a·n?, "he burned it through again"; xA-?a.-t'i·-n-SAn?, "one of these. it appears"; t'a·-lA?-ni·-l.iD-n, "indeed we have become one" ; ?a·-dl-si·D-n-la, "he arrived over there with them"; t6-n-te·l, "ocean"; do·-n-jl-ya·-dA, "he does not go about here"; h6-16n-n, "indeed they are (here)"; ko·n-n-hi, "here." Again en, because of its rare occurrence, is not found in this position.

Un-nasalized vowels preceding a syllabic n are often pronounced with a slight nasalization.

4. In vowel clusters. Vowel clusters are always composed of two vowels, never more than this. In most cases, they are found as syllables and consist of a half-long first vowel plus a short second vowel, e. g., ?ai [?a·i], "he, that one." Occasionally, however, a point of syllabic division occurs between the vowels of a cluster. This happens when the second vowel is long and the first short (e. g., n-16-e·, "hail way") or when both vowels are long (e. g., ?al-ya·-e·u, "those that had been made").

Following is a list of the more commonly occurring vowel clusters which function as syllabics :

ai ao

ei eo

oi

io

Examples: ?ai, "he, that one"; yl-kaih, "dawn"; Ii-bao, "being gray"; naos-H, "I expect him"; ?ani-di-n-tan, "door"; t'a·-yl-yano, "he, just eating it"; bl-jei, "his heart"; ha-zeisc'6-s1·, "chipmunk"; xA-?a-t'eo, "but why?"; dl-zeni, "(meat) is getting done"; jl-nio, "he saying"; ntos-nl-v-go, "it being

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

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expected"; a1-c6i, "my grandson"; doil-dl-ne-s, "the one who is hateful"; ?al-coni-fll-tA?, "count all of them."

20. There are two major circumstances under which vowels may vary in phonetic form.

1. Prefinal syllables having the form Ci, when they immediately precede a syllable having an a- or an o-vowel, take the vowel of the following syllable. The alternation is optional but usually occurs in rapid speech. Examples: a1-yan [sa-yan], "my home"; bi-ka·?-g6-ne? [ba-ka·?-g6-ne? J, "over it"; bA'z-ni-?an [ba'z-nan-?anh], "he gave a round object to him"; ai-ho·-yan [So-hwo'-yan], "my hogan"; bl-yo·a-X.'a-gi [bo-yo·s-X.'a-gih], "his wisdom tooth"; bl-z6·"Z [bon-z6·Dz], "(a bee's) stinger."

2. Subsidiary syllables of the type ?V or hV assimilate to the vowels of immediately preceding syllables. Again, the assimilation is optional though it usually takes place in rapid speech. Examples: ko·n-ne·-?a-t'e [kho·D-ne·_?e-t'eh], "it is done in that way"; ?ei ?a-t'iD [?ei ?i-t'iDh], "he is that one"; h6-zo·n-Ie-l-go ?a-t'e [h6-zo·D-le-l-go ?6-t'eh], "it may become of benefit"; na-ha·s-U-?e·D [na-hA·s-U-?a·D], "those that he had picked up"; jo·-ba-?i-go [jo·-ba-?a-goh], "with great effort"; ai-M-?i-go [a1-ze-?e-goh], "he being my father"; hA-Z6-?i [ha-z6-?6h], "carefully"; A6·D_?i [A6.n_?6nh], "the prairie dogs" ; a1-tA-he·D [sa-txA-ha·D], "all of my body"; sl-da-hi-g! [sA-da-ha-gih], "he sitting"; na·l-ye-hi-go [nA·Iye-he-goh], "being property"; t'a·-?a-ko·-hi-go [ta·-?a-kho·h6-goh], "everything."

THE TONEMES

21. Navaho syllables, as we have already stated, do not contrast phonemically in stress accent but they do possess tonemes or features of pitch accent. Every syllable in a Navaho utterance possesses a toneme which is actualized in every voiced constituent of the syllable though it is most clearly heard in the syllabic.

It should, however, be emphasized that the tonemes of


Navaho-or, for that matter, of any language which possesses pitch accent-are not to be defined in strictly physical terms. As in the case of all other phonemes, each actualization of a given toneme is unique. The high tone of Navaho, for example, cannot be defined in terms of a specific musical note or in terms of such and such a frequency rate but only by the fact that whenever it is pronounced together with a low tone, a distinct interval may be discerned between the two. This interval is not always the same but it is always present, and it is thi fact that consistently dis tinguishes the high tone from the low tone

Navaho possesses four tonemes : the low tone, signified by the grave accent (e. g., gah, "rabbit"), the high tone, signified by the acute accent (e. g., ce, "stone"), the falling tone, signified by the inverted circumflex accent (e. g., the first syllable of bi'-yah, "alongside him"), and the rising tone, signified by the circumflex accent (e. g., the second syllable of bi-nai, "his older brother") .

The level tones (i. e., the low and high tones) are by far the most frequent and occur in syllable of all types: nl, "you"; gah, "rabbit"; do·-dil, "no, not"; bl=h, "deer"; xAi "winter" ; na-?a-t'o-e', "shooting wav": n-oa-h, "it is big"; bi, "he, him"; ?a·h, "fog"; has-ta-», "six"; siii, "sand"; 6-16, "hail"; ?al-ya'-i, "that which has been made."

The inflected tones (i. e., the falling and rising tones), on the other hand, are found only in syllables possessing long vowels or vowel clusters: ga'-gl', "crow"; hi-na·-nl·, "one who is alive" ; t'EH-ya, "only"; bl-ze--di, "his cross cousin of opposite sex"; ha-go'-ne'?, "let's go"; bi-nai, "his older brother."

Certain low-toned prefinal syllables" preceded by a hightoned syllable assimilate to the latter in tone. This assimilaiton is optional and occurs for the most part in rapid speech. Examples: bl-c'a-n-sa'h [bl-e'a-n-sa·h], "I walk away from him"; bi-ns-Ia·h [bi-ns-la·h], "I overtake him"; na-nls-m'ans

S. Prellnal .7Uabl. whlcb are neutral In tone. See 182. The ... lmUatlon doee not take. place wben the prellna) h .. Inberent low tone.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

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[na-nts-m'a-s], "I become round again and again"; ?a-dohk'a·as (?a-d6h-k'a·ns] "you two stretch"; be·-n-dis-31h [be--n-dis-dh}, "I breathe by means of it."

MORPHO-PHONEMICS SYLLABLE TYPES

22. Navaho syllables may be divided into two main groups each of which may be further sub-divided. The following table summarizes this classification:

I. Stem Syllables.

1. Primary: Absolute stem finals (e. g., ce, "stone"), stem finals in included position (e. g., bi-li·n?, "his horse"), and stem finals followed by a postfinal but phonetically unmodified in this position (e. g., -gai in Ii-gai-go, "it being white"; ef, U-gai, "it is white").

2. Increased: stem syllables expanded in phonetic form by a following postfinal syllable. -ba-h in dl-ba-h-go, "he starting off to war"; cf, dl-ba .. h, "he starts off to war"; _ya·n in ?a-ya·n-go, "he eating; cf, ?a-yaH, "he eats."

3. Diminished: stem syllables which are reduced in phonetic form by a following postfinal syllable. -ga in yi-ga-li, "he who is going"; cf, yl-ga·l, "he is going."

4. Augmented: stem syllables composed of a primary stem syllable plus a preceding non-syllabic element. -t'a·8 in dl·-t'a·s «di-+l·d-+?a·s), "we two start off."

5. Contracted: stem syllables composed of a primary stem syllable plus a postfinal or, in compounds, of a primary stem syllable plus a prefinal. -t'eo in ?a-t'eo «?a-t'ego), "it being so"; gAl- in gAl-ba-hi «gah +H-hA-hi) , "cottontail rabbit."


II. Subsidiary Syllables.

a. Prefinal Syllables.

1. Primary: prefinals unmodified in phonetic form. bl- in bl-ma, "his mother."

2. Diminished: prefinals reduced in phonetic form. da- in da-sl-ti" «dah-s1-tin), "he lies on top."

3. Augmented: prefinals composed of a primary prefinal plus a preceding or following non-syllabic element. hi- in da-hl-va-h «dah-yl-?a·h), "he puts a round object on top"; dis.. in dis-ba-h «dl-a-M·h), "I start off to war."

4. Contracted: prefinals composed of two primary prefinals. nai- in naPa «na-yPa), "he carries a round object about."

b. Postfinals.

1. Primary: postfinals unmodified in phonetic form. -go in dl-ba-h-go, "he starting off to war."

2. Diminished: postfinals reduced in phonetic form. -t'e in has-tl·n-n-t'e-?e·n «has-U·n+n-t'e·?+-e·n), "that man who used to be."

3. Augmented: postfinals composed of a primary post final plus a preceding non-syllabic element. -nl in ?as-3a-ni «?as-3an +-1), "the woman."

4. Contracted: postfinals composed of two primary pcstfinals. -ni·s in ?as-3a-ni-S «?as-3an+-i+-is), "is it the woman 1"

PHONETIC ALTERNATIONS PECULIAR TO STEM SYLLABLES

23. It is clear from the preceding table that stem syllables undergo variation as a result of the non-final position and the nature of the postfinals that may follow them in that position. But, before describing these modifications, it is well to point out that stem syllables also vary phonetically by reason of their occurrence in differing morphological

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

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constructions. Noun stems normally appear in two constructions: the absolute or non-possessed form and the possessed form. Verb stems appear in many more depending upon tense, mode, person, number, and other similar characteristics. Normally, however, the phonetic form of the stem syllable, where it is affected at all, varies only for the five principal tense-modes: the imperfective, perfective, progressive, iterative, and optative. Finally, it should be pointed out that all of these stem syllable alternations may appear and be further modified in the non-final position.

Not all stem syllables vary in phonetic form by reason of their occurrence in differing morphological constructions. In some cases, indeed, the stem has but one phonetic form which is found in all constructions in which that stem may appear. And, in other cases, the alternants are so dissimilar that we must regard them as suppletive or substitution alternants rather than as phonetically derivable from a basic altern ant. Here, of course, we shall only be concerned with phonetic alternants.

24. Most of the phonetic variations of the stem syllable affect its vowel and final consonant. In a few cases, however, we find that the initial consonant may vary. Thus, in a number of absolute stem finals beginning with the consonants s, A, I, and x, these initials become z, Z, I, and y. respectively, when the syllable is in the included position. Examples: sa-d, "language"; bl-za-d, "his language"; Ae·?, "saliva"; bi-ze·?, "his saliva"; li·D?, "horse"; bl-li=>, "his horse"; xM, "thorn"; bl-yoA, "its thorn." Contrast these with the following: zas, "snow"; bl-zas, "his snow"; U·Z, "joint, knot"; bi-sa·z, "its joint, knot"; loh, "loop (of rope)"; bl-loh, "his loop"; xaJ, "throwing stick"; bl-xal, "his throwing stick"; yih, "breath, soul"; bl-vlh, "his breath, soul,"

25. The phonetic modifications affecting the vowel and the final consonant of the stem syllable are a good deal more complex. In general, however, these fall into the following four categories.


1. Alternations of light and heavy finals. Thus, a syllable with a zero final consonant may alternate with one having a final glottal stop (e. g., t6, "water"; bl-to", "his water") , and syllables terminating in s, S, I, and h may alternate with syllables terminating in z, Z, I, and d or ?, respectively (e. g., -gis [ipf.p, -glz [pf.], "to wash"; be's, "knife"; bi-be·z, "his knife"; xtH, "pack"; bi-YIH, "his pack"; -nl-h [ipf.], -nl-d [pf.], "to move one's hands"; -ba-h [ipf.], -bA·? [pf.], "to go to war").

2. The vowel of the alternant syllable is lengthened or shortened: de, "horn"; bt-de>, "his horn"; k'A'?, "arrow"; bl-k'a", "his arrow."

3. The tone of the alternant syllable is varied: -na-d (ipf.), -na- d (pf.), "to lick"; -ge-d (ipf.), -ge'd (pf.), "to dig."

4. The vowel of the alternant syllable may be reduced.

The vowels a, 0, and i have no reduced forms but e is sometimes reduced to a or 0, and more often to i. Reduced vowels are always shortened as well. Examples: -de-h (ipf.), -de'? (pf.), but -dah (prog.), "to clean out"; -?e'l (ipf.), -?e'l (pf.), but -?ol (prog.) , "to float"; -de-I (ipf.), -de-l (pf.), but -dll (prog.), "to catch."

5. The vowel of the alternant syllable may be nasalized or, less often, otherwise changed in Quality. a becomes aD and 0 becomes on, but e becomes in. The shift of in to an may also be placed in this category. Examples: -t'a (ipf.), -t'aD (pf.), "to feather an arrow"; eye (ipf.), _yin (pf.), "to kill"; -tl·nh (ipf.), _tan (pf.), "to handle a living object"; -1'6 (ipf.), -1'6° (pf.), "to tie."

As is evident from examples already given, some stern syllable alternants differ from the basic altern ant in only one of these characteristics but, in most cases, there is variation in more than one. It is not possible here to give all the pos-

t. The tollowln~ abbreYlation. are u.e<!: Ipt .• Imperfecti ... mode; pt .. perlectl ... • ode; pro&, .. prol!'r ..... I ... mode : tut., ruture ten .. ; it.r., iter.tive mode; opt., optati .. .. ode.

[

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

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sible variations in detail but the list of examples below provides some idea of the range of variation.

a. Alternation in One Phonetic Feature

1. Final h varies with final d: -ka=h, -ka-sd, "to sweeten"; -dl=h, -di·nd, "to disappear"; -do·nh, -do'~, "to become straight."IO

2. Final h varies with flnal >: -k'a=h, -k'a·D?, "to burn"; -yl·h, -yi-?, "to breathe"; _yi·Dh, _yi·D?, "to melt"; -k'6-·b,

-k'6·n?, "to get bruised."

3. A final voiceless spirant varies with a final voiced spirant: -gis, giz, "to wash"; -k'AA, -k'U, "to rub together"; -yAI, -yal, "to eat meat"; -ye·ns, _ye·nz, "to stagger"; -tM,

-to-l, to clear up"; -ke-s, -ke-z, "to cough"; -di-l, -di-l, "a dis-

tant noise takes place."

4. Alternation in the toneme of the syllable. The alternation high tone to low tone is the more common. Examples: -ge-d, -ge-d, "to dig"; -na-d, -na-d, "to lick"; -c6·s (mom. ipf.) ,

-co-s (cont. ipf.), "to handle a blanket-like object"; -?e·A

(mom. ipf.), -?e's (cont. ipf.), "to lead several with a rope"; -?a-J (mom. prog.), -?A-J (cont. prog.), "to handle a round object"; -ta-h (mom. ipf.), -ta-h (cont. ipf.), "to try, practice."

5. The vowel of the alternant syllable shortened: k'A'?, "arrow"; bi-k'av, "his arrow"; t'e's, "charcoal"; bi-t'es, "his charcoal"; yo·?, "bead"; bi-yo?, "his bead." Lengthening of the vowel of the alternant syllable occurs more rarely: cin, "dirt"; bl-ci-n, "his dirt"; sin, "song"; bl-vl-n, "his song."

6. Vowel of the alternant syllable nasalized: -t'a, _t'an, "to feather an arrow"; -ye, -yi", "to kill one"; -X.'6, -X.'6n, "to tie."

7. Vowel of the alternant syllable reduced: -ye'd, -yOd, "to run"; -ke-d, -kld, "to eat."

10. Wh .. n verb Itf'm .yllabl" are giv('n .. ('xampl ... and un I.,.. other"ioe .taUd. the lint .lA:m U.t.ed i. the Imperfective and the .econd tile perfective.


b. Alternation in Two Phonetic Features

1. Alternation of final consonant plus tone change: -ye, -ye?, "to be named"; to, "water"; bi-to", "his water"; ?i·na, "life" ; bi-?i·-na?, "his life"; -ta-s, -ta .. z, "to bend" ; -ke-s, -ke-z, "to choke"; -ya·s, -ya·z, "to fall asleep"; -te's, -te'z, "several lie down"; -te'}, -te-l, "to slide"; -ni-h, -nl-", lito know."

2. Alternation of final consonant and vowel shortened: -va-s, -yaz, "to scratch" ; -k'o.J, -k'ol, "to become wavy" ; -da-h,

-da>, "to take a seat"; -ve-h, -ye?, "a mass fills in"; -nl-h, -ni?,

"to take an attitude toward"; -ko=h, _kon?, "to become smooth." In some cases there is an alternation h:n together with vowel shortening: _kA·nh, -kan, "to beg"; -do=h, -don, "to shoot."

3. Alternation of final consonant with vowel lengthening appears to be rare: _yan, _ya·n?, "to kill several"; can?, "excrement"; bi-ca.·Dn, "his excrement" (here we also find a rare consonantal alternation) ; sis, "belt"; bl-at-z, "his belt"; ?iI, "evergreen boughs"; bi-?H, "his evergreen boughs."

4. Alternation of final consonant and vowel reduced: -ge-h, -go?, "to fall down"; -ne-h, na?, "to swallow."

5. Alternation of final consonant and vowel nasalized: -t'a-h, _t'a·n?, "to try, practice."

6. Tone changed and vowel shortened: -ki-d, -kld, "to move smoothly"; -vo-d, -vod, "to limp"; -t'o-h, -t'oh, "to smoke" ; -yi·h, -yih, "to take a breath."

c. Alternation in Three or More Phonetic Features

1. Alternation in final consonant, tone changed, and vowel lengthened: da-, "lip" (in compounds) ; bl-da-", "his lip"; de, "horn"; bl-de-", "his horn"; yo-, "tooth" (in compounds) ; bi-vo-", "his tooth"; -ni, -nl-d, "to say, make a noise."

2. Alternation of final consonant, tone changed, and vowel shortened: -ke-h, -ke, "two persons sit down"; -ta-d, -tah, "to sprinkle"; -ya·s, -yaz, "to scratch"; -ge's, -giz, "to

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 37

cut, shear" j -ni-l, -nll, "to handle several objects" j -t'a'h, -t'&', "to fly" j -di-h, -dl", "to limp."

3. Alternation of final consonant, tone changed, and vowel reduced: -ne-h, -na', "to collapse" j -t'e-h, -t'l', "to string" j -ti·nh, -taD, "to handle a long object."

4. Alternation of final consonant, tone changed, and vowel added: -ga-h, -gai, "to turn white" j -ka-h, -kai, "several move" j -d6·h, -doi, "to become hot."

5. Alternation of final consonant, tone changed, and vowel nasalized: -ka-h, -kan, "to handle liquid in a vessel." Where the vowel of the basic alternant is e, it is both reduced and nasalized: -te-h, _tiD, "to handle a living object" j -ve-h, _yiD, "to handle a burden."

6. Alternation of final consonant, vowel shortened, and nasalized: -t'a-h, -t'aD, "to command" j -k'a .. h, -k'aD, "to grind." Again, a vowel e in the ba ic alternant is reduced and nasalized: -ne-h, -nan, "several die off" j -ye'h, _yiD, "to soak." Finally there is one form in which the vowel is lengthened and nasalized: -ta, _ta·D', "to look for."

26. Stem syllables in the non-final position undergo a number of phonetic modifications but only one of these-increase in phonetic form-is restricted to the stem syllable. High-toned stem syllables of the type CV, CV·, and CV'C are increased in phonetic form when followed by certain postfinal syllables. These increases may be summarized as follows:

1. Stem syllables with a short vowel and a high tone have their vowels lengthened when followed by postfinals like -n-t'e", "it used to be" j -la, "as it turns out" j _8i·D, a dubitative enclitic, -lei', "surely, indeed" j -de·n" from" j -da·D', "at such and such a time" j -jf, "the side" j and -d6·, "from where." Thus, the stem syllable -da of sl-da, "he sits there, he is at home," becomes -da- in the following forms: sl-da'n-t'e" "he sat there, it used to be" j sl-da·-la, "he is seated, as it turns out" j sl-da·-8i·D, "I guess he's at home" j sl-da·-lei',


"so he's at home"; sl-da·-de·D?, "from where he is sitting"; si-da·-da·D?, "while he was at home"; si-da·-ji, "the side (where) he is sitting"; si-da·-d6·, "from where he sits."

2. Stem syllables with a short vowel and a high tone have their vowels lengthened and their tones changed to falling when followed by postfinals like those illustrated below: sl-da·-da·-c'i, "perhaps he's at home" (al-da, "he's at home, he sits there") ; do·-si-da·-dil, "he is not at home"; sf-fl-da·-da, "be seated"; (si-n-da, "you sit there"); sf-da·-di, "where he sits"; sl-da-do-, "he will sit there"; sl-da·-gl, "where he is seated"; si-da·-go, "he sitting there"; sl-da·-nl?, "he has been sitting there"; sl-da·-n-dih, "although he sits there"; sl-da·-la·?, "I'm surprised he's at home"; sl-da·-la·-na·, "would that he sit there"; sl-da·-l~h, "he usually sits there"; sl-da·-jiD?, "to where he sits."

There are some stem syllables of this type which do not change as indicated above. Thus, -be in dl-be, "sheep," remains constant in: dl-be-da, "and sheep" ; di-be-gl), "there being sheep"; dl-be-la, "sheep, as it turns out"; do·-di-be-da, "not sheep"; dl-be-jf, "the side where (there are) sheep."

3. Stem syllables with a long vowel and a high tone have the tone changed to fa11ing when they are followed by postfinals of the types illustrated in paragraph 2. The postfinals listed in paragraph 1 do not affect stem syllables of this type.

Examples: _ta·D in has-ta·D, "six": has-ta·n-do·, "there will be six"; has-ta·D-da·-c'f, "six perhaps"; do·-has-ta·n-da, not six"; hAs-ta·D-go, "there being six"; has-ta·n-ni?, "there were six"; -M·z in yi-M·z, "it boils": do·-yi-be·z-da, "it does not boil"; yl-be.z-do·, "it will boil"; yl-be·z-gi, "where it boils"; yi-M·z-go, "it boiling"; yi-M·z-Ia·-na·, "would that it boil"; yl-M·z-jiD?, "to where it boils."

DIMINISHED AND AUGMENTED SYLLABLES

27. Diminished syllables are formed when some portion of a syllable, usually the final consonant, becomes a part of,

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 39

or merges with, the initial consonant of the syllable following. Thus, for example, the prefinal dah-, as in dah-jlz-ti=, "one lies on top," is diminished in the form da-si-ti", "he lies on top," because its final h is merged with the following s of the syllable si-.

In a great many cases, the syllable following a diminished syllable is also changed in phonetic form. So, for example, when the prefinal dah- precedes the complex -yll-te-h, the result is da-hil-te-h, "he puts a living being on top," where the final h of dah- has combined with yH- to give hll-. Syllables so modified are said to be augmented.

However, augmented syllables may al 0 be formed by the combination of a syllable with a preceding or following non-syllabic element; e. g., diin dl-ba-h, "he starts off to war," is augmented to dis- in dis-ba-h, "I start off to war" and -?a·} in yl-?a-l, "he chews it," is augmented to -t'a·l in yi-t'a·} «yl-d-?a·l), "it is being chewed." Augmented syllables of this type are not preceded by a diminished syllable.

In general, diminished and augmented syllables occur under the following circumstances:

1. When a stem or postfinal syllable is followed by a postfinat syllable consisting of a single vowel.

2. When a prefinal ending in h is followed by one beginning with s, s, h, or y.

3. When a prefinal ending in a vowel is followed by a non-syllabic element.

4. When a stem syllable is preceded by a consonant (either a non-syllabic consonant or a final consonant of a preceding prefinal) which coalesces with, or causes assimilation in, the initial consonant of the stem syllable.

28. When a stem syllable is followed by a postfinal consisting of a single vowel, the following modifications occur.

1. If the stem syllable has an uri-nasalized vowel and no final consonant and the postfinal is a short vowel, the two are generally separated by an inorganic h: na·_ya, "he goes


about"; plus -f, "he who" gives na·-ya-hf, "he who goes about" ; sl-do, "it is hot" ; plus -f gives sl-do-ht, If that which is hot." In some cases, however, the postfinal may coalesce with the stem syllable: na·-yai in saD-?aDh-na'yai, "he who goes about at the rim of old age"; na'-gei «na·-~+-f), "shield, that burden which is carried about."

When the postftnal is a long vowel, an inorganic consonant mayor may not separate it from the stem syllable: fl-I6-e·, uhail way"; n-da-ya-hl· «n-da-ya+-l')' UHe Who Goes About Swaying" (a name) ; na-ha-ya-he·D «na-haya+-eoB), "ceremonial objects"; nai-ye-he·D «nai-ye+-e-D), fCfuat burden which he carries about." Here, too, in some instances, the postfinal is coalesced with the stem syllable: t'6'-na-?a-da' «t'6'-na-?a-da-~'), "[ust walking around"; t'6'-na-?a-ge' «t'6'-na-?a-ge~'), "[ust walking with a pack."

When the vowel of the stem syllable is long, the postfinal is always pronounced separately though it may be preceded by an inorganic consonant: ?al-ya'-f, "that which has been made"; ?al-ya·-e·D (or ?al-ya·-ye·D or ?al-ya·-he·D), "that which has indeed been made."

2. If the stem syllable has a nasalized vowel and no final consonant, its vowel is un-nasalized and the postfinal is augmented by an n: ?a-ya-nf. «?a-yaD+-f)' "he who eats"; nf-H-ne·D «ni-lfD+-e.D), "that which surely flows"; df· da'-nf «da·D+-f), "this spring."

3. If the stem syllable is high-toned and has a long vowel and a final consonant, the vowel is shortened and the final consonant augments the following postfinal: dl-ya-hi «dl-ya .. h+-f), "he who starts off"; ?a-dH-k6n-hi «?a-dU. k6·nh+-f), "he who starts to swim"; na-yl·z-Ia-?f «na-yl·z- 18'?+-0, "he who has gathered them"; bi-HD-?e·D «bl-lf·D?+ _e·n), "what used to be their horses"; nf--nl-l! «nI·-nH+-f), "he who puts them down"; h6·-ta-li «h6·-ta·I+-O, "he who has chanted."

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 41

4. If the stem syllable is low-toned and has a final consonant, the final consonant augments the following postfinal. Examples: do·-ba-hi «do·-bah+-f), "they who will go off to war"; ?i·..c'aD-hi «?i·..c'aDh+-i), "he who falls into the fire"; nB-te·-he·D «nH-te·h+e·D), "he whom he is putting down"; yi·-zi·D-h{ «yi·-zl·Dh+-i), "he who comes to a stand"; na-iil-ne-?{ «na-iil-ne? +-0, "he who glances about"; de·z-ba·-?{ «de·z-ba·?+-f), "he who went off to war"; na-?a-yaD-?f «na-?a-ya'D?+-f), "he who goes around eating"; ?az-ca·n-?{ «?az-CA·D?+-f), "he who has defecated" ; ?a-do·-ll-s{ «?a-do·-lls+-f), "he who will urinate"; dPa·-si «dpa·s+-i), "they two who start off"; ?a-bi-lf ( <?a-blZ+-i) , "he who braids" ; na-?i·-3i·-H ( <na-?i·- 31-1+-0, "he who got warmed up"; dl-nl-bl-ni «di-nlbin+-f), "they who are seated"; bl-yi·-ne·D «bi-yi·n+-e·D), "that which was his song."

29. The only final consonant which occurs in primary prefinal syllables is h. Whenever a prefinal ending in h precedes one beginning with 8, A, h, or y, it is diminished by the loss of the h. No change occurs in the syllable following if its initial is s, A, or h; if its initial is y, however, this is changed to h. Examples: dah- in dah-jlz-ti", "one lies on top," is diminished to da- in da-sl-ti" «dah-+sl-tfn), "he lies on top"; da-si-dH-xe·d «dah-+Ai-dH-xe·d), "you have me start off running"; da-ho-di·-t'a·h «dah-+hO-dl·-t'a·h), "a terrible sight appears"; da-hPa·h «dah-+ypa·h), "he puts a round object on top."

30. Prefinal syllables may be augmented by one or more non-syllabic elements. These non-syllabic elements, as the term implies, are morphemes which never appear as independent syllables but are always combined with an immediately preceding (or immediately following) syllable. There are two groups of non-syllabies : the pronouns (-A, first person singular for all modes but the perfective; -l-d, first person dual; -oh, second person dual for all modes but


the perfective ;!' -i, fir t person singular for the perfective mode; and -0', second person dual for the perfective mode), and the clas ifiers -d -I, and -1.

Classifiers occur directly before the stem syllable and anyone of them may be preceded by anyone of the subject pronouns listed above. Prefinals of the type CV may precede the subject pronouns alone (where the classifier is zero) or a subject pronoun plus classifier. But prefinals having a final -z, since these are always third person forms and the third person pronoun is zero, may only precede the classifiers. The possible combinations are, then, as follows:

1. A prefinal CV plus the non-syllables -f or -0' always results in the augmented syllables ci- or co-, respectively: si- in si-ti", "I lie" «si-i-tin; ct. sl-tis, "he lies") ; sO'- in souH, "you two lie" «si-o·-te·z; ct. si-uH, "they two lie") .

2. A prefinal CV plus the non-syllabic -l-d always results in an augmented syllable with a long vowel or a vowel cluster. The final d either drops out or is merged with the following stem syllable initial. If the vowel of the prefinal is a, the augmented syllable usually has the cluster ai or ei: nai-m'a·l1s or nei-m'a-ss, .:'we two roll around" «na-l·dma-ss). In some cases, however, a vowel a in the prefinal assimilates to the vowel of the non-syllabic: ?i·-)..lz, "we two urinate" «?a-i'd-liz; ct. ?a-liz, "he urinates"). Other prefinal vowels are simply lengthened: de·-ba·?, "we two have gone to war" «de-l·d-ba·?) ; dt-ba-h, "we two go off to war" «di-l·d-ba·h), do-ba-h, "would that we two go off to war" «do-i·d-ba·h) .

3. A prefinal CV plus the non-syllabic -oh results in an augmented syllable with a short vowel and a final h. If the vowel of the prefinal is a, the vowel of the augmented syllable is usually a, but sometimes 0; in all other cases, the vowel of the augmented syllable is .0. Examples: nah-ma=s, "you

11. In the diseusaion to follow certain morphemes will be reprt'Sented without a tone indieator. nt'S., are the so-ealled neutral-toned morphemt'S which. if they occur alone .. Iyllables .... ume the low tone but if they combine with a hillh-toned morpheme ... imllate to it in tone. S"" 132.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 43

two roll around" «mi-oh-ma·us) ; ?oh-ge·nz, "you two grind your teeth" «?a-oh-ge·nz; ct. ?a-ge·nz, "he grinds his teeth) ; doh-ba-h, "you two go off to war" «di-oh-ba .. h).

4. A prefinal CV plus the non-syllabics -d, -5, -I, or -1 results in CV (the d drops out or is merged with the stem syllable initial), CVs-, CVI-, or CVl-, respectively. Examples : nl- in ha-ni-ta, "it is being hunted for" «ha-ni-d-ta) ; dis-ba-h, "I go off to war" «di-5-ba·h), dil- in yl-dll-Pe-l, "he begins to float it" «yi-di-Pe·l; ct. dl-?H, "it begins to float") ; dlJ-?H, "it is being floated" «di-J-?e·l).

5. A prefinal CV plus the vocalic non-syllabics -i or -0· may take, in addition, only one other non-syllabic, the classifier 1. This is because -13 is a first person pronoun and because forms having a d or I clas ifier do not employ -1 and o· as first person singular and second person dual pronouns, respectively. Examples: siPa", "I have a round object lying" «si-i-Pan; ct. SPa", "a round object lies) ; so·pan, "you two have a round object lying" «si-o·-I-?an).

6. A prefinal CV augmented by -8, -i·d, or -oh may be further augmented by the classifiers -d, -1, or -I. Similarly, a prefinal CVz may be augmented by -d, -I, or -1. In all of these, it is evident that two consonants come together. These two consonants, however, do not cluster but coalesce to one.

d I
i·d i . i ·1 1 ·1
cvz cvs cvs cvs
8 8 s 8
oh oh 01 01 Examples: ni·- in bl-h-nf-t'a-h, "we two put our heads into it" «bi·h-ni-i·d-d-?a·h) ; dl-l- in dl-l-ve-l, "we two float it" «di-i·d-Pe·l; cf . yi-diPe·l, "he floats it") ; di-l-de-h, "we start to go" «di-i·d-l-de·h; cj, dil-de-h, "they start to go"). Note that the d's drop out or modify the following consonant.


Note also that one source of 1, at least, is d-l-], Perhaps thia is also the source of the classifier 1.

jIs- in ?a-da·Dh-da-hb-jis-t'aD, "he committed a fault on himself" «a-da·nh-dah-hb-jIz-d-?aD); de'S- in yl-de·s-?e·l, "he has begun to float it" «yi-de'z-Pe-I; ct. de·z-?e-I, "it has begun to float") ; de·s-?e-I, "It has been floated" «de'Zl-?e·l). The final consonant s (in prefinal syllables), it is evident, has three sources: z+d, z+l, and z+l.

nlA- in bl-h-nls-t'a-h, ill put my head into it" «bl·h-niA-d-?a·h) ; dIS-in diA-?e-J, ill start to float it" «di-A-PM; ct. dls-?M, ill start to float" ; dl-?M, "he starts to float" ; and yldiPe-l, "he starts to 'float it") ; dlA-?e·s, ill begin to step" «di-A-J-?e's; ct. diJ-?e's, "he begins to step"). A as a final consonant in prefinal syllables goes back to four sources:

A, A+d, A+I, and A+I.

noh- in bl-h-noh-t'a-h, "you two put your heads into it" «bl·h-ni-oh-d-?a·h) ; dOl- in doPe·l, "you two 'float it" «dioh-l-?e-l; ct. doh-?e-l, "you two float"); dol-de-h, "you people start to go" «di-oh-I-de·h; ef, dll-de-h, "they start to go"). The prefinal terminal consonant h, then, goes back to h or h-i-d, and the prefinal terminal consonant I to I, h+l, and h+l.

31. In most cases the final consonants of prefinal syllables coming directly before the stem syllable form clusters with the initial consonant of the stem syllable. In the case of a few stem syllable initials, however, there is a coalescence or partial assimilation of the two consonants and we have, as a consequence, augmented stem syllables.

1. As we have mentioned repeatedly in §30, a prefinal d may occur directly before the stem syllable. Before most stem syllable initials, this consonant drops out; thus, in sl·-te·z «si-i·d-te·z), "we two lie"; and in ha-nl-tA «ha-nid-ta), "it is being hunted for," the d is lost. But when d precedes the stem syllable initials m, n, z, z, I, y, y, ?, and h, it unites with them to form m', n', 3, j, A, 3 or d, g, t', and d, respectively.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 46

Examples: sl'm'ADs, "we two have curled up" «si-l-dmaDs; c/. sl-mADs, "he curls Up"12) , hl-nl'-n'~, "we two are alive" «hi-ni-l·d-na; c/. hl-nl-na, "he is alive") ; dl·-36·h, "we two belch" «di-l-d-z6·h; et. dl-ze-h, "he belches"); nl·-j6-nf, "we two are pretty" «ni-l·d-z6-nf; c/. nl-z6-nf, "he is pretty") ; ?l'-lU, "we two urinate" «?a-l·d-llz; ef, ?AIll, "he urinates") ; hi>-nl'-3AD, "we two are discerning" «honi-l-d-yaD; c/. h6-yaD [<ho-ni-yaD], "he is discerning"); ?)'-daD, "we two eat" «?a-l'd-yaD; c/. ?A-yaD, "he eats") ; yl·gaD, "we two kill them" «yi-l-d-yaD; c/. yl-yaD, "he kills them"; ?e·-hl·-t"A·s, "we two put on clothes" «?e'-hi-l-d'A·A; c/. ?6·-hl-?A"s, "he puts on clothes") ; na-dl-da·h, "he starts back" «na-di-d-ha·h; -ha-h is a reconstructed stem form and appears in no actual verb form).

2. The pretinal terminal consonants sand z before the
stem syllable initials z, I, I, y, and y behave as follows:
z I I y Y
8 «z+d) s3 sj s). s3 or sd ag
s «z+l) s A sl s ax
s «z+l) sz s! zl sy sy
z z I zl y zy Examples: yis-30, "a match has been struck" «ylzd-zo; c/. yl-zo [<ylz-zo], "he has struck a match"); nl-hls-If->, "it has been sawn" «nl-hlz-d-zfo?; c/. nl-yl·-If·? [<nl-yi-hlz-zf'?]' "he has sawn it") ; na-hios-A.A·?, "several scattered objects have been picked up" ( <na-hiz-d-Ia·?; c/. na-yl·z-Ia·?, "he has picked them up") ; yls-301, "it haa been blown at" «ylz-d-yOl; c/. yl-yOl [<ylz-yo}], "he has blown at it") ; ?A-ne·s-da·D?, "he has become sick from overeating" «?a,.ne·z-d-ya·D?) ; yis-gAd, "it has been spilled" «ylz-dyAd; ct. yiz-yad, "he has spilled it").

yi-sl·h, "he has missed it" «ylz-I-zl·h) ; yl-sAh, "he has hooked it" «ylz-l-ZAh); nl-jo·s-la·?, "he has hated you" «ni-jo'z-l-Ia'?)' nl-ne'-saD, "he has raised you" «ni-

12. The third penon .IDPlar pronoun Ie Indicated b)o a .. ro lDorphe_


ne-z-l-ya«) ; neis-xiz, "he has turned it around" «na-ylz-lyiz) .

?a-dipas-zi·h, "he has made a mistake" «?a-diPaz-lzl-h) : ?a-de'fl-zl-Z, "he has danced off" «?a-de'z-I-zi'z); bl-k'e-haz-li=v, "his instructions have been followed" «bi-k'e-haz-l-li''''~; ct. yl-k'e-has-Ii-"? [<yi-k'e-haz-l-H·n?], he has followed his in~tructions"); sa'-?{l-ho's-ya,n?, "he has watched over me" «B:l'-?a-hO'z-l-yan?); de-s-viz, "he has become frightened" «de·z-I-ylz).

de--za>, "he has belch d" «de'z-za'?); yi-zas, "he has knotted it" «ylz-zas); na .. z-la, "several rope-like objects lie about"; di>'-ya, "he has begun to go" «de'z-y~i) ; ylz-vad, "he has spilled it."

3. The prefinal terminal consonant S, as we have already stated, goes back to four sources: s, s+d, s+l, and 8+1. Before the stem syllable initials z, Z, I, y, y, and h these a's behave as follows:

z Z y y h
S s s sl s, s sx s
s+d S'i sj s~ S3, sd sg ad
s+l s B sl s sx sl
s+1 az az sl BY sy Examples: dl-se-h, "I belch" «di-s-ze·h; cf. di-ze-h, "he belches"); yi-sas, "I'm wearing out" «yi-s-za8; ct. yl-ias, "he is wearing out") ; na-his-hi .. h, "I pick them up" «na-hi-s-Ia·h; ct. na-yi=la-h, "he picks them up"); ho-nl-sa», "I am discerning" «ho-ni-s-ya"; ct. h6-yan, "he is discerning") ; ?a-san, "I eat" «?a-s-yan; ct. ?a-yan, "he eats") ; Yls-xan, "I kill them" «yi-s-yi'lD; ci. yi-yaD, "he kills them") ; dl-sa-h, "I start to go" «di-s-ha·h).

In the case of s+d plus the stem initials z, i, I, y, y, and h, it is evident that the d simply unites with the stem initial. Since this has been amply iI1ustrated before (see subsections 1 and 2), there is no necessity to illustrate it further.

yl-se-h, "I tan it" «yi-s-l-ze·h); yi'-sah, "I hook it" «yi'-s-l-zah) ; jo·s-la, "I hate him" «jo·-s-l-la·h); yl-sol,

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 47

"I blow at it" «yi-s-I-yol); mis-xis, "I turn it around" «na-s-I-yls); bl-dis-la .. h, "I start him off" «bi-di-s-lha-h):

?a-ho-dl-S-ze·h, "I am quiet" «?a-ho-di-S-l-ze'h), ?as-zis, "I dance" «?a-s-l-zis), ma-?l' yis-la?, "I'm coyotehanded" «yi-s-I-lll.?); ba'-?a-has-yan, "I watch over him" «ba'-?a-ha-s-l-yan) ; ?as-yal, "I eat meat" «?a-s-l-yal; ct. ?al-yal, "he eats meat").

4. The prefinal terminal consonant 1 clusters with all stem initials but 1 and h before which it does not appear. I, as we have seen, is derived from I, h-l-], and h-l-I. I and h+1 behave similarly before the stem syllable initials z, z, 1, y, y, and h, but h-j-I is distinctively treated before these consonants. Before all other stem syllable initials, all the l's form clusters.

s lz lz

y s Iy Iy

h I

I, h+l h+l

1

z s lz Iz

Y Ix ly ly

Examples: yl-se-h, "he tans it" «yi-l-ze·h) ; yl-yl·-sah, "he hooks it" «yi-yl·-l-zah); yl-jo·-la, "he hates him" «yi-jo'-l-hi) ; nl-ni-sas, "I have raised you" «ni-ni-l-yan) ; yll-xa-], "he beats it with a stick" «yi-I-ya·l) ; ye-Ia·h, "he overtakes him" «ye-l-ha .. h).

?a-ho-do·l-ze·h, "you two are quiet" ( <?a-ho-do'h-lze·h); ?o·l-zi5, "you two dance along" «?o'h-l-zis); ba'-?a-h61-yan, "you two look after him" «ba'-?a-h6h-I-yan) ; ?Olyal, "you two eat meat" «?oh-l-yal).

yil-ze-h, "it is being tanned"; yl-l-zah, "it is being hooked"; ba-hal-ya-h, "it is missed"; yil-yal, 'it is beaten with a stick."

5. The prefinal terminal consonant h, when followed by d, simply clusters with the consonant formed by the coalescence of d and the stem syllable initial. h alone clusters with all stem syllable initials but z, i, 1, y, y, and h. With these it coalesces to form s, 5,1, s, x, and x, respectively.


Examples: do-se-h. "you two belch" «doh-ze·h; ct. dl-ze-h, "he belches") ; yi-n6-si, "you two name it" «yfn6h-zi; ct. y6-zi, "he names it") ; na-ho-Ia-h, "you two pick them up" «na-h6h-Ia·h; ct. na-yi·-Ia .. h, "he picks them up") ; he-no-sa», "you two are discerning" «ho-noh-yan; ct. h6-yan, "he is discerning"); do-xlh, "you two pant" «doh-yih; ct. dl-vih, "he pants") ; ba-?a·n-xa·h, "you two walk around it so as to head it off" «ba-?A·nh-ha .. h).

CONTRACTED SYLLABLES

32. Contracted syllables are composed of two or, rarely, three independently occurring primary syllables. Contraction occurs most often within the prefix complex of the verb where prefinals combine with one another. However, contractions of stem and prefinal syllables, stem and postfinal syllables, and postfinal plus postfinal syllables may also be found.

In general, contracted syllables may be divided into five main groups as follows:

1. Contractions in which the second syllable is reduced to a consonant which then forms the final of the first syllable. Thus, the contracted syllable haz- in haz-de·ya, "one has started off for it," is composed of the primary syllable ha(as in ha.-de·-ya, "he has started off for it") and z, the reduced form of the syllable ji- (as in ji-de·-ya., "one has started off"). In some contractions of this type, the vowel of the first syllable may be lengthened or both lengthened and changed in quality.

2. Contractions in which the second syllable is reduced to a vowel which is then added to the vowel of the first syllable which mayor may not be changed in quality. For example, the syllable nai- (or nei-) in naPa, "he carries a round object about," is composed of na- (as in na-jl-?a. "one carries a round object about") and i, the reduced form of the syllable yi- (as in yl-?a·}, "he chews it").

A few contracted syllables have three constituents. In

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 49

these, the second is reduced to a vowel and the third to a consonant. Thus, naiz- (or neiz-) in naiz-?an, "he has carried a round object about," is composed of na-, i from yl-, and z, the reduced form of sl- (as in sPiin, "a round object lies") .

3. Contractions in which the second syllable disappears and the vowel of the first is lengthened compensatorily or both lengthened and changed in quality. Example: ha'- in hao-?aoh, "a round object moves upward," which is composed of ha- (as in ha-jPa·h, "one causes a round object to move upward") and yl- (as in yl-btH, "it boils") ; ho'- in hO'-?a?, "would that a round object move upward," composed of haand yo- (or y6-) as in y6-btH, "would that it boi1."

4. Contractions in which the second syllable disappears and the vowel of the first syllable is changed in quality but not lengthened. Example: de- in de-?an, "I've begun to carry a round object," which is composed of dl- (as in dl-?a·h, "a round object begins to move") and sl- (as in si-?an, "a round object lies"). (The high tone of de- is a result of the augment -1; see §30.)

5. Contractions in which the second syllable disappears and the tone of the first syllable is made high. Example: diin dPa'h, "you start to carry a round object," which is composed of dl- (as in di-Pa-h, "a round object begins to move") and nl- (as in nPa·I, "you chew it"). If the tone of the first syllable is already high, the second syllable remains: na-ni-ma=s, "you roll around." Note, however, that it takes the high tone, probably by infection from the first syllable.

All contracted syllables may be augmented but since these augments behave just as in the case of the primary syllables, there is no need to discuss them further here. See §30.

The tonemes of contracted and augmented syllables represent a combination of the tonemes of the syllables and augments entering into the combination. In respect to this point, the tonemes of primary syllables and augments are


of two types: inherent or invariable tones (these are always either high or low, never inflected) and neutral or variable tones. Inherently toned syllables and augments retain their tones in all contracted and augmented forms but neutraltoned syllables and augments take the low tone when occurring alone or in combination with a neutral- or low-toned syllable or augment, and the high tone when combined with a high-toned syllable or augment. Thus, the inherently high-toned syllable na-, as in na-nl-kad, "you sew it," retains its tone in nal- «na-oh-l-) 13 of nal-kad, "you two sew it"; nail- «na-i·d-l-) of nail-kad, "we two sew it"; nail- «nayi-l-) of nail-karl, "he sews it"; and no·s- «na-yo-s-I-) of nO's-karl, "would that I sew it." But the neutral-toned syllable di- has the low tone in the dl- «di-) of dl-ba-h, "he starts off to war" ; the doh- « di-oh-) of doh-ba-h, "you two start off to war"; and the di·- «di-i'd-) of dl-ba-h, "we two start off to war"; and the high tone in the di- « di-ni-) of di-ba-h, "you start off to war"; and the de- «di-si-i-) of de-ba->, "I have started off to war."

There is not the opportunity, in this brief sketch, to examine all the numerous and highly irregular contractions which may occur in Navaho. In the following sections, however, we shall briefly describe and exemplify the more commonly occurring varieties under each type.

33. The primary neutral-toned prefinals si-, Ii-, Si-, ji-, and ?a- reduce to z-, 1-, z-, and ?-, respectively, when preceded by a syllable of the type CV and followed by one beginning with a consonant or syllabic n. Ii-, 3i-, and ji- also reduce when preceded by a syllable of the type CVh but si- and ?ado not.

1. When si- is preceded by a syllable of the type CV. the phonetic form of the resultant contracted syllable varies in accordance with the vowel and tone of the preceding syllable as follows:

18. Neutral·toned a7l1abl_ and a.,.menta are written without a tone Indicator.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 51

Ca-+si- >CazCii-+si- >CiizCa- + si- > Ca .. zCa·-+si- >Ca'z-

Ci- +si- >Ciz- or Ce-z-

Examples: ?az-be·z, "it's being boiled" «?a-si-be'z); haz-te-l, "a wide place" «ha-si-te·I); niiz-mii·Dz, "he has rolled around" «nii-si-mii·Dz); cl-c'iiz-?ii, "it extends out of the fire" «cl-c'ii-si-?ii); na·z-?a·z, "they two have wandered about" «na-si-?ii·z) ; yl-ta,z-?ii·z, "they two have gone among them" «yi-U'-sPa'z); jiz-da, "one sits" «ji-sida) ; de-z-ba-", "he has started off to war" «di-si-ba·?); ne-z-da, "he has sat down" «ni-si-dii); yll-nl-he-z-de-l, "he has been contending with them" «yi-l-nl-hi-si-de·I).

Contracted syllables of the type Ce-z- are analogical.

Thus, for example, di-+si- usually contracts to de- (see §36) : de-ba'?, "I have started off to war" «di-si-i-ba·?); de-n-ba-", "you have started off to war" «di-si-ni-ba·?); de·-ba·?, "we two have started off to war «di-si-l·d-ba·?). The third person form, then, should be de-ba·?<di-si-ba·? (the third person pronoun is zero), but the analogy of other third persons of the same tense-mode, most of which have the form consonant plus long vowel plus z, gives us de-z-ba-", "he has started off to war."

2. When H- is preceded by a syllable of the type CV, it reduces to I and becomes a part of the preceding syllable, If, however, the preceding syllable has the form CVh, the resultant contracted syllable is cvt Examples: jil-gai, "one is white" «ji-li-gai); hal-gal, "a place is white" «ha-li-gai) ; gaJ-bii-hi, "cottontail rabbit" «gah-li-ba-hi).

3. 3i- and ji-, preceded by a syllable CV, yield the contracted forms CVz- and CVZ-, respectively. Preceded by CVh, the contracted syllables are CVs- and CVS. Examples: nlz-nl-l-va-l, "we two club him to death" «ni-.1i-nH-ya·J); nlz-ril-ne", "you stone him to death" «nl-:;i-itl-ne?), diZdll-df-s, "one begins to tremble" «di-ji-diJ-di's); naz-nl-


ye'"S, "one staggers about" «na-ji-ni-ye'"s); dU-no·-t'a·l, "one holds his head up" «dah-ji-no·-t.'H).

4. ?a-, preceded by a syllable CV, always contracts to form a syllable CV?-: bl-dlz-nl-t'cd, "it is beginning to overcook" «bi-dPa-nl·-t'Od); na?-n-t'i, "he goes about staggering" «na-?a-ni-t'i); ha-da?-de'z-di'n, "rays of light come out" «ha-da-?a-de,z-di·n).

34. The primary prefinal most often reduced to a vowel is the third person object pronoun yi- (as in yi-?A-I, "he chews it"). Whenever this syllable occurs after one of the type Ca, the result is the contracted syllable Cai- or Cei(these are free variants) : hapa·h, "he takes a round object up" «ha-ypa·h); naiPah, "he butchers it" «na-yi-l?ah) ; naPa, "he carries a round object about" «na-ypa).

The optative prefix y6- (as in y6-be·z, "would that he boil"; it also occurs as yo- or yo-) sometimes reduces to 0: nao-?a?, "would that he carry a round object about" «na-y6-?a?). More often, however, this combination results in a contracted syllable with a long 0 vowel. See §35.

The posttinal -go (as in dl-ba-h-gc, "he starting off to war") sometimes, in rapid speech, reduces to 0 and unites with a preceding stem syllable of the type CV. Here, however, the contraction is optional. Examples: ll-bao or ll-ba·-go, "it being gray"; dl-beo or dl-be-go, there being sheep" ; ?a-nio or ?a-ni'-go, "he speaking thus."

The third person object pronoun yi- is often a second element in contractions of three syllables. Thus: naiz-?aD, "he has carried a round object about" «na-yi-sPaD); hAiz-?aD, "he has taken a round object up" «ha-yi-sPaD); nais-?ah, "he has butchered it" «na-yi-si-Pah).

35. Contracted syllables of type 3 (see §32) are of two basic types: those in which the disappearance of the second syllable causes the vowel of the first to lengthen and those in which the disappearance of the second syllable not only lengthens the vowel of the first but changes it in quality as well. Most of these contractions result when a syllable hav-

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 53

ing the form CV is followed by syllables of the type yi-, hi-, or yo-. In general, these contractions behave in accordance with one or other of the following formulae.

1. Ca-+yi->Ca·-: na'- «nu-yi-) in nU·-d6·ns, "he goes along whirling"; na'- «na-yi-) in na·_?a·s, "they two wander about"; na'- «na-yi·-) in nu·-?e·l, "it has floated down." An exception to this rule is found in the syllable ?a- which combines with certain yi-syllables to form ?1·-: ?1·- «?a-yi-) in ?}'-?a's, "they two go away"; ?j.- «?a-yj·-) in ?j'-?a-?u'z, "they two have gone away." See also paragraph 3 below.

2. Ci-+yi->Ci·-: dl·- «di-yi-) in nai-dl·-?a·h, "he picks a round object up"; jj.- «ji-yj·-) in il-jj·-?e·l, "one has floated down."

3. Both ?a- and syllables having the form Ci-, when combined with certain other yi- syllables (notably that denoting the progressive mode) contract to Ce·-, Ci·-, or Coo-. Thus, in the following progressive paradigm: ?e's- in ?e·s-?s .. l, "I carry (a round object)" is from ?a-yi-s-; ?1'- in ?{'-?a-l, "you carry (a round object)," is from ?a-yi-ni- (for the loss of ni- see §37), and ?o'- in ?o'-?a'l, "he carries (a round object)," is from ?a-yi-. Similarly, in the following yi-perfective paradigm: ?e's- in ?e's-t'il?, "I have stumbled," is from ?a-yi-s-; ?{'- in ?j'-fi-t'a?, "you have stumbled," is from ?a-yi(the high tone by infection from the following syllable?) ; and ?e'- in ?e·-t'a, "he has stumbled," is from ?a-yi-. The most frequently occurring example of a Ci- syllable plus yi- is found in the future tense prefix: de's- «di-yi-s-) in de·s-?a·l, "I shall carry a round object"; di·- «di-yi-ni-) in df·-?a·I, "you will carry a round object"; and do·- «di-yi-) in yl-do·-?a·l, "he will carry a round object."

4. Co- +yi->Co·-. This combination occurs rarely: h6·_ «ho-y{'-) in na-h6·-?e·l, "a place has floated down"; ho'( <ho-yi-) in ho·-tn, "a place is sliding along,"

5. Ci-+hi- >C1·-: jl·- «ji-hi-) in jlo-U·h, "one breaks a stick-like object"; jl·z- «ji-hi-si-) in ji'z-tl?, "one has


broken off a stick-like object"; yi·- «yi-hi-) in na-yi·-nH, "he turns them over"; yl-z- «yi-hi-si-) in na-yl-z-nil, "he has turned them over." hi- apparently does not follow any other type of syllable.

6. Ca-+yo->Co·-. As we have already stated, this combination may be pronounced either Cao- or Co·- (see §34). Examples: n6·- or nao- «na-yo-) in n6·-xa .. h, "would that the year end"; no·- or nao- «na-yo-) in no·_?a·§, "would that they two wander about" ; no·- or nao- «na-yo-) in no·_?e-l, "would that it float down."

7. Some ?a- and Ci- syllables plus yo- become Co-. Note, in the case of ?a-+yo-, the contracted syllable is never Cao-, Examples: ?o·- «?a-yo-) in ?0·-?a·8, "would that they two go away"; do·- «di-yo-) in na-do·-je·h, "would that they arise. See §36, paragraph 1.

36. In a number of cases of contraction, the second syllable disappears and causes the vowel of the first to change in quality but not to lengthen (type 4, §32). The more frequently occurring combinations of this type are exemplified below.

1. ?a- and Ci- syllables combine with the syllable y6- to form contractions having the form C6-: ?6- «?a-y6-) in ?6-btH, "would that it boil"; d6- «di-y6-) in d6-?a·s, "would that they two start off"; y6- «yi-y6-) in na-y6-?a?, "would that he carry a round object about"; j6- «ji-y6-) in na-j6-?a?, "would that one carry a round object about"; n6- «ni-y6-) in no-da-b, "would that he sit down."

2. Syllables having the form di-, ni-, and hi- combine with si- to form de-, ne-, and he-, respectively. Examples: de- «di-+si- and the augment -1) in de-?aD, "I've begun to carry a round object about"; de·- «di-+si- and the augment -l-d) in de·-t'aD, "we two have begun to carry the round object"; ne-, «ni-si-i) in ne-mavs, "I have become round"; ne·- (x nt-si-f-d) in ne·-m'ans, "we two have become round"; he- «hi-si-f) in he-tl", "I have broken off a stick-like

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 55

object"; he- «hi-si-I'd) in he'-t'i?, "we two have broken off a stick-like object."

3. Some syllables of the type Ci- combine with certain primary syllables having the form ni- to form C6-: yO«yi-ni-) in y6-tan'~, "he has hold of it" (ct. yi-ni-tas>, "you have hold of it", where ni- i!-l a contracted syllable); j6- «ji-ni-) in j6-ta"", "one has hold of it." This contraction occurs rarely; most often combinations of this sort result simply in a high tone on the vowel of the first syllable. See §37.

37. Primary prefinals of the type ni-, following a syllable of the form CV, are variously treated. In some cases, they are retained, suffering only reduction to syllabic n: n~l-ii-go", "it falls here and there." In others, as we noted in §3G, 3, they may combine to form the contraction C6-. And. in a great number of cases, the ni- syllable disappears entirely leaving only a high tone on the syllable preceding: di- «di-ni-) in dl-?a·h, "you start to carry a round object"; ri- «l\i-l1i-) in nil-li-go?, "you fall here and there"; yl«yi-ni-) in i\-yi-?:\'h, "he puts a round object down"; j i«ji-ni-) in n-.ipa·h, "one puts a round object down."

In all of these instances, it should he noted that the preceding syJlable has a neutral tone. Where the preceding syllable has an inherently high or low tone, the ni- remains: nil-n-?:i, "you carry a round object about"; na-ri-ma=s, "you roll around." There are. however, some cases of ni- remaining after a neutral-toned syllable as well: ha-n-ra-h, "you take a round object out" «ha-npa·h); nn-n-"EH, "you float down" «na-ni-?e-l); dl-n-gts, "you are lazy" «di-ni-gis) .

SUMMARY

38. The following paragraphs summarize the data presented in §§22-37.

I. Prefinal Syllables

A. Initial consonants. The following consonants may be found as initials in prefinal syllables:


1. b, d, n, s, S, j, I, y, ?, and h. These are the most commonly occurring of the prefinal initials. All but hare primary phonemes-i.e., are not the result of contraction. h<h or <h+y (see §29).

2. t, t', 3, c, c', c, c', I, k, k', y, and h=. These occur less frequently as prefinal initials. All are primary phonemes.

3. z, i, X, X', g, x, k", These occur rarely as prefinal initials. Most, if not all of them, are found only in prefinals which are incorporated stem syllables or stem syllable employed in compounds. All are primary phonemes.

4. m, m', n', A, s', x"', and y'" do not occur as prefinal initials at all.

B. Final consonants. Most prefinal syllables have the form CV but the consonants s, z, s, i, I, ?, and h do occur as finals of prefinal syllables. Only h and, very rarely, I and ?, however, occur as finals in primary pre final syllables. The remainder are found as finals in augmented and contracted prefinal syllables.':' The prefinal terminal consonant, have the following sources:

s<z+d, z-l-], or z+1. See §30, 6.

S<3i- reduced to z and combined with a preceding h.

See §33, 3.

z<si- or si-. See §33, 1 and 3.

s<s (an augment), s+d, 8+1, or s+l. See §30, 6. s<ji- reduced to z and combined with a preceding h.

See §33, 3. z<ji-. See §33, 3.

1<1 (primary) or I (an augment). I<h+l or h-l-l. See §30, 6.

I<H- reduced to 1 and combined with a preceding h.

See §33, 2.

1<1 (primary) or 1 (an augment). l<d+l or d+1. See §30, 6.

14. Therc may be a few exceptions to this rule in the ease of prcflnal. which .....

Incorporated Item lyJlabJea or Item lyll.bJes used In compounda.

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 57

I<H-. See §33, 2. ?<? (primary). ?<?a-. See §33, 4. h<h (primary).

C. The syllabic. In general it may be stated that primary pre finals have only the syllabics a, i, and, less often, a' and i·. All prefinals having the vowels e, e-, 0, 0', and vowel clusters, and some of those haying the vowels a, a', i, and i-, are augmented or contracted. The ources of these contracted vowels need not be indicated here (see §§33-37). Nasalized vowels occur in few prefinal and these are ~enerallv incorporated tern syllables or stem syllables in compound. Primary prefinal syllables haying the form ni- and, less often, the form na-, optionally reduce to syllabic n.

D. The toneme. Primary prefinals have only the high and low tones; the inflected tones occur only in augmented and contracted prefinals. See §32, end, and the examples quoted in §§29-30, 33-37.

II. STEM SYLLABLES

A. Initial consonants. All the consonants except hand hw appear as stem syllable initials." x=, however, is very rare and occurs only in a few words of Spanish origin.

1. b. m, t, n, z, c, c', z, c, C', 1, );.. A', s, k, k', y, kw, x=, yW, and? each have only one source. y is found only before the vowels a and o.

2. m', n', and y' always go back to d-j-m, d-i-n, and d+y, respectively. See §31, 1.

3. d, t', 3, j, A., and g each have two sources. They are either primary phonemes or are the results of d-l-h or d-l-y, d+?, d-l-z or d-l-y, d+z, d+l, and d+y, respectively. See §31, 1.

4. s, 5, I, and x occur as initals of both free and bound stem syllables. As initials of free stem yllables, they

15. Thpre I. a theoretleal .tem .yllable Inltinl h but thi. i. never actualized a •• ueh,

58] THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO

appear, in most cases, to be variants of z, Z, I, and y, respectively, In other instances. however, they are probably primary phonemes. Sec §24.

As initials of bound stem syllables, s, St I, and x are derived from other stem syllable initials (notably z, Z, I, and y) which have coalesced with, or assimilated to, immediately preceding prefinal terminal consonants. These derivations may be summarized as follows:

s<s «z+l) +z or y. See §31, 2.

S<8 «8 or 8+1) +z or v. See §31, 3. s<1 «lor h +1) +z or s. See §31, 4. s<h+z or y. See §31, 5.

A<8 «8 or 8+1) +z, s. or h. See §31, 3. 8<1 «lor h+l) +z. See §31, 4. 8<h+z. See §31, 5.

1<1 by assimilation to s ( <z+I). See §31, 2.

1<1 by assimilation to S «8 or 8+1). See §31, 3. 1<1 «lor h+l) +101' h. See §31, 4.

I<h+l. See §31, 5.

x<y by assimilation to 8 «z+I). See §31, 2. x<y by assimilation to 8 «8 or 8+1). See §31, 3. x<y by assimilation to I «lor h+I). See §31, 4. x<h+y or h. See §.31, 5.

B. Final consonants. Only d, n, 8, z, S, Z, I, I, g, " and h may function as stem syllable finals. As we have seen, some of these appear to alternate as morpho-phonemic variants. See §25.

C. The syllabic. Any single vowel-short, long, nasalized or un-nasalized-and most vowel clusters may function as stem syllable syllabics. Variations of a morpho-phonemic nature are numerous but cannot be summarized further. See §25.

D. The toneme. All stem syllables have inherent tone, either high or low. Inflected tones occur very rarely on primary stem syllables though they may be found, as the

NAVAHO PHONOLOGY

[ 59

result of contraction. on contracted stem syllables. See §25, 26.

III. POSTFINAL SYLLABLES

Postfinal syllables are relatively few and usually occur in their primary form. d, t', n, c', s, j, I, I, y, and g may function as initials of primary and augmented postfinals but s, Z, z,?, and h are found only in augmented postfinals (see §28). Only I, ?, and h occur as postfinal terminals. All the vowels but eft and o·n occur as postfinal syllables. The cluster ei also occurs as a syllabic. Postfinals always have inherent tone; it may be high, low, or falling.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

READERS OF this UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PUBLICATION may find of interest the following items in the University of New Mexico Bulletin series:

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERIES

Vol. I, No. I Fisher. The archaeological survey of the pueblo plateau. 1930 Vol. III, No. I Fisher. Some geographic factors that influenced the ancient populations of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. 1934

ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES

Vol. I, No.2 Dutton and Marmon. The Laguna calendar. 1936

Vol. I, NO.3 Steward. Pueblo material culture in western Utah. 1936. (Sol) Vol. I, NO.4 Hawley. Field manual of prehistoric pottery types. 1936 ($1.00) Vol. I, No. S· Brand (ed.). Symposium on prehistoric agriculture. 1936

Vol. II, No. I Hibben. Excavation of the Riana Ruin and Chama Valley survey. 1937. (Sol)

Vol. II, No.2 Brand, Hawley, and Hibben, et al. Tseh So, a small house ruin,

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. t937 ($1.00)

Vol. II, NO.3 Hill. Navajo pottery manufacture. 1937

Vol. II, NO.4 Hawley and Hawley. Classification of black pottery pigment.

, and paint areas. 1938

Vol. II, NO.5 Underhill. A Papago calendar record. 1938 (Sol)

Vol. III, No.2 Kluckhohn and Reiter (eds.}. Preliminary report on the 1937 excavations, Bc SO-51, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. 1939 ($1.00)

Vol. III, NO.3 Reiter, Mulloy, and Blumenthal. Preliminary report of the Jemez excavation at Nanishagi, New Mexico. 1940

Vol. III, NO.4 Hill. Navajo salt gathering. Bryan and Butler. Artifacts made of the glassy andesite of San Antonio mountain, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. 1940

Vol. III, NO.5 Wyman and Harris. Navajo Indian medical ethnobotany. 1941 Vol. IV, No. I Wyman, Hill, and Osanai. Navajo eschatology. 1942 (Sol) Vol. IV, No.2 Wyman and Bailey. Navajo upward-reaching way: objective,

behavior, rationale, and sanction. 1943 (Sol)

Vol. IV, NO.3 Opler, The character and derivation of the Jicarilla holine .. rite. 1943 ($1.00)

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERIES

Vol. I, No. a Miller. Smithsonian Institution Publications in Anthropology: an author, title, and subject check list. In press

Vol. I, NO.3 Miller. The American Museum of Natural History Publications in Anthropology: an author, title, and subject check list. In press

, I 1 l

BIOLOGICAL SERIES

Vol. IV, No, I· Castetter. Ethnohiological studies in the American Southwest-I. Uncultivated native plants used as sources of food. 1935

Vol. IV, NO.2· Allen and Schaeffer. The distribution of the human blood groups among the Navajo and Pueblo Indians of the Southwest. 1935

Vol. IV, NO.3· Ca tetter and Underhill. Ethnobiological studies in the American Southwest-II. The ethnobiology of the Papago Indians. 1935 \'01. IV, NO.4 Brand. Notes to accompany a vegetation map of Nortbwest Mexico. 1936

Vol. IV, No. S· Ca tetter and Opler. Ethnobiological tudie in the American Southwest-III. The erhnobiology of the Chiricahua and Me calero Apache. A. The use of plants for foods, beverages, and narcotics. 1936

Vol. V, ~O.I Castetter and Bell. Ethnobiological studies in the American Southwest=-Iv. The aboriginal utilization of the tall cacti in the American Southwest. 1931

Vol. V, No.2 Bell and Casterter. Ethnohiological tudies in the American Southwest=-V. The utilization of mesquite and screwbean by the aborigine. ill the Americao Southwest. 1931

Vol. V, NO.4 Castetrer, Bell, and Grove. Ethnobiological studies in the American Southwest-VI. The early utilization and distribution of agave in the American Southwest. 1938 (So¢)

Vol. V, '0. S Bell and Castetter, Ethnobiological studies in the American Southwest-VII. The urilizarion of yu ca, sotol, and beargran by the aborigine in the American Southwest. 19·P (Son

Order from


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MONOGRAPH SERIES

Vol. I, No. I· Hawley. The significance of the dated prehistory of Chetro Ket!, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. 1934

Vol. I, No.2· Fi her. The relation of North American prehistory to postglacial climatic fluctuations. 1935

Vol. I, NO.3· Alexander and Reiter. Report on the excavation of Jemez Cave, New Mexico. 1935

Vol. I, NO.4 Reiter. The Jemez pueblo of Unshagi, New Mexico. Part I. 1938 ($2.00)

VOl'. I, No. S Reiter. The Jemez pueblo of Unshag], New Mexico. Part II. 1938 ($3.00)

Vol. I, No.6 Dutton. Leyit Kin, a small house ruin, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. 1938 ($2.00)

Vol. I, NO.7 Elmore. Ethnobotany of the Navajo. 1943 ($2.00)

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