The Navajo Language: Facts and Basic Languages

The Navajo tribe are an offshoot of the Apache tribe.

The Navajo reservation is the largest Native American Reservation in the United States.

The reservation consists of 16 million acres primarily located in the state of Arizona.

To describe the whereabouts of the language further, Navajo is spoken in the Four Corners states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. It is a language widely spoken by not only adults, but Navajo kids, too.

More than fifty percent of Navajos speak it in their homes. It is a language that is actively passed onto offspring, and thus, the language is a form of daily communication for the Navajos.

This self-study course was developed by Alan Wilson, formerly Professor of the Navajo language at the University of New Mexico, Gallup Branch, with the assistance of native Navajos.

Parts of the recording were done in the field rather than in a professional studio. The voices of the speakers, however, are clear in this unique program.

The materials is also suitable for those who wish to learn to read and write the language. 4 CDs (3 hours) and 234-page text.

For more information visit Breakthrough Navajo Course.

Talk Now Navajo

IF you're new to Navajo, there are some basics you will have to learn, whether you're eight years old or 80, on business abroad or a tourist on holiday. Talk Now! Navajo offers a simple-to-use method for you to start learning the language, whoever you are.

Will it work for me?

Lots of people have difficulty learning languages. Why? Most have been put off at school, don't have time to learn, or think they are too lazy to do it.

Talk Now! Navajo answers these problems:

It lifts the language off the page. There are no dull exercises; just encouraging games that award you points for progress.

It fits easily into short ten-minute sessions. But if you want to push yourself you can learn the basics in a weekend.

if you think you're lazy, think again! You'll be amazed how motivated you can be when you enjoy the experience of learning!

What will I learn?

To speak and understand enough to "get by".

You're just starting, so we won't drop you in at the deep end. There are some things you'll want to say in any language: you'll want to say 'hello', order a drink, ask for directions and so on.

This beginners program gets straight to the point. It covers food, colors, shopping, parts of the body, numbers, telling the time, countries, greetings and essential phrases.

How does it work?

Talk Now! Navajo gives you easy-to-achieve goals. Learning a new language is far too big a task to tackle all at once, so we have broken it down into a series of rewarding challenges.

Play interactive language games. Talk Now! feeds you new words, along with pictures to reinforce your memory. It then tests your knowledge with fun quizzes. As soon as you start playing you start learning.

Earn points for every game you play. High scorers can go on to win bronze, silver and gold awards, which you can print out as a record of achievement.

You will hear Navajo all of the time and, using the recording games, you can start speaking straight away, then compare your voice to a native speaker.

You can learn on the move. Carry on learning in the airport lounge or the ferry without a computer. Just print out the phrasebook sheets included in the program and take them with you, or upload the program's sound files onto an iPod.

System Requirements

Windows 2000 or later
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or above
CD ROM Drive (+ computer microphone)
You can also upload words onto your iPod

If you looking for an inexpensive ($29.99) and yet effective starter course, then Talk Now Navajo Beginner Software is the way to go!

The Navajo Nation and Language

By Jacob Lumbroso

The Navajo language is part of the Athabaskan family of languages spoken in the southwestern United States by the Navajo tribe. It's unique in that most of the other Athabakan language family members are from the north.

It's also ranked as the most highly spoken Native American language of all, with a whopping 178,000 speakers. Unlike numerous other tribal tongues, the use of the Navajo language has actually grown over time, not declined.

The spelling for Navajo came from the Spanish language. Literally, it is a Pueblo Indian word meaning "farmlands". It is thought that this name was given due to the Navajo nature of settling and farming.

The Navajo peoples' traditional name of Diné bizaad is translated "the people" (what most Native Americans call themselves). The Navajos refer to themselves as Navajo as well, particularly when conversing in English.

Navajo is spoken in the Four Corners states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. It is a language widely spoken by not only adults, but Navajo kids, too.

More than fifty percent of Navajos speak it in their homes. It is a language that is actively passed onto offspring, and thus, the language is a form of daily communication for the Navajos.

The Navajos of the past lived in domed earth houses called hogans. The men hunted, warred, and ruled, while the women farmed, cared for the livestock, and performed domestic duties.

Artwork also had gender roles by way of males producing jewelry, and women crafting rugs and clay pots. Today men often farm, and females can join the military.

The Navajo language includes of four vowels: a, e, i, and o. Vowels come up short, long, or nasalized and employ high to low, rising to falling tones. Combinations such as short/nasalized/low tone can be made.

Tones are very popular in the Navajo speech, rounding out practically every word, adding up to a very lively language. The sounds of Navajo are similar to Apache languages, but different from any others outside of that group.

The subject-object-verb speech is packed with complex verbs. Each verb requires at least one prefix, with a maximum of eight. Navajo accounts for the verb types imperfective, perfective, progressive, future, usitative, iterative, and optative.

Verbs can vary depending on the shape of the subject; the verb for holding a ball is not the same as holding a twig.

The Navajo speech is quite hard for non-natives to comprehend due to the exact manner in which subjects relate to each other. Such relationships could seem meaningless to foreigners, but are strikingly significant to a Navajo.

They have a take on life that is very connected to a bigger world. Instead of saying, "I'm thirsty," a Navajo would say, "Thirst is hurting me". In this way, some say the language paints pictures in your mind.

Jacob Lumbroso is a world traveler and an enthusiast for foreign languages, history, and foreign cultures. He writes articles on history and languages for and has used Pimsleur courses to learn various languages.

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