- The Navaho vowels are a low-central unrounded, e mid-front unrounded, i high-front unrounded, o mid-back rounded; they are of very short duration. The vowels may be lengthened, length being indicated by the superior dot (.). The vowels may be nasalized—ą, ę, į, o; they also may be lengthened—ą. ę. į. o.. Navaho has pitch accent, there being a neutral tone and one relatively higher. The neutral (low) tone is not marked; the acute accent over the vowel indicates a high tone; n may be vocalic, if so, it is low (n) or high (ń).
- The consonants are: stops b, d, g, k; glottalized stops', t', k'; nasal continuants m, n; alveolar sibilants s voiceless, z voiced; alveolar affricates ts voiceless, dz voiced, tň' glottalized; blade-alveolar sibilants š voiceless (sh in English ‘ship’), ž voiced (s in English ‘measure’, j in French ‘je’); blade-alveolar affricates tň voiceless (as ch in English ‘church’), dž voiced (j in English ‘judge’), tš' glottalized; laterals ł voiceless alveolar, ł voiced; lateral affricates ł ł voiceless, dl voiced, ł ł glottalized; y unrounded front palatal semi-vowel; x back-palatal voiceless continuant (ch of German ‘ich’), γ corresponding back-palatal voiced continuant; h aspiration varying from very light to very heavy, even becoming x. The continuants m, n, y may be glottalized to ḿ, ń and ý k, x and γ are labialized and written kw, xw, and γw; the last is often reduced to w (cp. Harry Hoijer, Navaho Phonology, University of New Mexico Publications in Anthropology, No. 1, University of New Mexico Press 1945).
- The following abbreviations are used: pres. present, prog, progressive, stat. static.
- Harry Hoijer. Clasaificatory Verb Stems in the Apachean Languages, International Journal of American Linguistics 11.13–23, 1945.
- Stems which as here have the same form in the progressive differ in other principal parts.
- This and the preceding stem were previously used to describe boys' training; youths were made to run for miles with a mouthful of water or food, the object being to return without having swallowed it—a test of fortitude.
- Gladys A. Reichard. Coeur d'Alène. Handbook of American Indian Languages, Vol. Ill, 571ff, 651ff.
- Cp. Robert Young and William Morgan. The Navaho Language, 155, 182, 200. Office of Indian Affairs, Education Division. Phoenix, Arizona 1943.
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