We need to save the Navajo language it's a duty of us Navajo people. Haa'ish beniina doo bihdawiilah da? We must learn we can not lose a part of ourselves. Please we must.
if i did not go to europe then i woupd had never spoken english and even in holland i speak my own language and chinese.english is not of great importance for me it's only to know language but honestly normally use english just javanese,malay and chinese fuck english
Noneed to speak english think about your ppl your own race.Other races are not relevent,My family are Indonesian Buddhist we speak an ancient Javanese language and write with our own alphabet called hanacaraka and we preserve buddhism and our language i learned english only because i went abroad
Wow....more younger generation need to speak Navajo.....there is no shame to speak Navajo.....I speak Navajo, my parents and grandparents taught me to speak Navajo.
Navajo population: Around 300,000. Not knowing the Navajo language is like something is missing in my life, a void, but not a loss. I have read some of the comments posted here, very selfish, because they dont understand. Navajo language is rare as it is delicate. Chinese, English, Arabic, etc, etc, etc. are mainstream (millions of people) so it would be 'ok' for those people not to know their language. Going into the mainstream has been like going backwards of the my spirit.
My dad was a native from south america. I always thought that being idian there was very different from being idian here in the US. Down there idians do not have ANY benefits from the state, NONE.. in the US at least the gov. provides certain benefits. However, I can relate when it comes down to language. My dad never teached me and never wanted to teach me "guarani". I wished I did speak the language. It's really a shame that traditions are being lost.
ok you guys say your native in percents and fractions. and just stop being douces at least my people have something that all other cultures don't have. we own half the grand canyon and we have the hardest languge out there. i'm glad i m navajo. I speak and know my clan of couse I can't spell and it just be gibberish to you all other cultures
ok why say your native in percents really! it really matters wheather you are or not. so shut the fuck up and if your white, brown or black just stick with it or be a complete douce and say " oh but IM' still native right ?" no your not u douce. just be proud who you are. and if you be mega asshole and say your native and white i feel sorry for u and you say navajo is just a dumb languge fuck u its the hardest fucking languge you can find i know this of couse cause Im one bitches
I am much more interested with the language of northern tribes.I belive that a folk passed the frozen Berring straight 16.000 years ago.We here in Turkey belive very strong that Native Americans and Turks (better say pre-Turks) are cousins.But it has to be proven.One of the best method is to check the language.There are over 320 words they are very similar to Turkish.It is a shame that the native language strugle for existance.Ignorant people like "19Truth53" cant understand this.
But you're here to make a difference and do all you can in this life and Navajo kids these days are taught that. Which is cool with me, in every way! Be all you can...but remember, you're Navajo. Don't fake yourself away. It's not too late. Just think who's more famous than Geronimo? Who's apache by the way...Don't take it serious btw, we're all related right? haha ayyyyyeeeee...
These kids don't know what they're talking about. In the first place, they're grandparents speak Navajo, and no english. So how do they know what their grandparents said about them? It was most likely the parents who thought....Wait, my kid's aren't going to know how to speak Navajo because I didn't influence or teach them...So I'm going to make up a different idea and influence them that way. And tell them so they would know it in that way and spread it onto the world. Think about it...
shush liyadii! hazhoii yadalth tii!!! I'm sooo fortunate to know dine bizhaad!
In my opinion, just by knowing my language I feel protected and feel unique. When I meet other nationalities, I get asked to idetify certain things in dine and it makes me feel proud to say them. In return the person asking hears the dineh bizhaad and are astounded to hear it and that I know it!
I thank my parents, grandparents(paternal/maternal) and siblings for having that a home language.
THIS IS FOR all u idiots who think you are native and say im 1/32 or 1/8 or 1/1000 or 1/64 etc u get the point anyway once u get past 1/4 native then u are not a native any more idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!! the majority yor blood is that race u cant say im a native cause my great great great grandfathers, uncles long lost cousin is a navajo (and i know im over doing it but thats how u guys sound to a real native) so for those who are past 1/4 native U ARE NOT A NATIVE ANYMORE
@VryDeranged Technically not true, because each tribe has their own way of determining membership. You can argue about "nativeness" but if a person who is 1/32 is a member of a tribe that accepts a person who is 1/32, then you as an outsider have no say on whether they belong or not and whether they are a "real native".
white people have 4ever tried 2 beat the language out of us and never quite suceeded as long as we had some cultural structure in our lives. these days very few of us speak our language. We did a great job ourselves!
Wow most of them are tachiinii's. so I'm related to em lol I'm learning my language still, what I think when they say I never learned or I lost...it's a sign of weakness I mean they say it for ppl to feel sorry for them... It's sad rly...if u want to learn ur native language then learn dnt sit there and complain about it it's not going to get u anywhere... Doesn't matter if ur not speaking it right .. as long as u give ur best shot that's all that counts....so dnt use it as n excuse for ne thin
I like the videos daybreakwarrior does on learning the Navajo language. I am learning to speak Navajo. I like the language, the way it is written makes it easier to speak.
if we as a culture go back to our roots... no matter the culture... can we connect...? find a way to disolve our differences?... what are the 'roots' of our current 'melting pot' US? pnwgeographer
The Navajo people really need to get a grip. Irish Gaelic was on its knees 50 years ago and now roughly 40% of Ireland speaks their own language fluently alongside English. There is no excuse- you're parents and you're adults- teach that language to your kids or watch it die out forever.
@iamlondon Having your own independent country where you aren't a minority kind of helps, but I agree, in the end only the speakers themselves can make a difference.
@iamlondon - You need to get a grip. I'm Irish and I can tell you that only a very small number of people in Ireland can speak Irish even at functional level. Irish has been a compulsory subject in schools here since the founding of the state in 1921, and this policy has been a utter failure. No one I know can speak the language. There are small, government-supported regions where irish is spoken on a daily basis, but even here the kids think in English.
@iamlondon 40% of Irish people don't speak it FLUENTLY, they can just understand it reasonably well. It's not the same as being actively spoken. Also the Irish government implemented some strategies to get Irish Gaelic spoken (you'll struggle to hear it much everyday outside of the Gaeltacht still), which involves education in that language from a young age. It's not just about parents speaking it. A language you can speak with to just two family members is, to a teenager+, very "pointless".
This is so sad... I'm not Navajo, at all, but I have a friend who is. I am.. 1/8 Blackfoot and... 1/8 Chickasaw, and I honestly know NOTHING about my ancestors from either. I think it's so sad that people lose their language just because it's seen as "unimportant". I think it's a beautiful language, and I hope that someday it makes a comeback.
I have been off the Rez for many years, but was raised with our Dine' culture. And I have many times come across Dines' that claim they have forgotten how to speak the Dine' language. How can one forget their language? Find your Idenitiy.
The two women at 2:27 and 4:47 both said they where in their 20's niether one of them look like their a day over eighteen First Nations women age well I need to get me one lol jk.
I hope they can perserve their Langauge Am a Black American who only owns engilsh history has robbed us of it and now we will never get it back. I hope the First Nations can hope on to their Langauge and Beautiful culture. I get tired of Hearing English and Spainsh all the time. KNOW OFFESNE TO ANYONE!!!
@Dealz1988 I totally agree. All the time I was living in Arizona as a kid, I wish I had learned Navajo, even though I'm black American. I'm an intermediate in Spanish. My heritage is Cherokee, I'm not Navajo, but I'm learning it because 1) it's a Native American language and 2) I feel that the Cherokee language isn't prominent like Navajo--that Navajo is more accessible than Navajo.
Reminds me of my navaho buddys i met in moab, utah,....Kevin Benally and Roy Naki,....it was grand for them to be conversin' in navaho when the rest of us only knew english,....me,...i'm mexican, but thanx to the spanish invasion, i no longer know my native language,.....pore, to some its also known as pur'epecha and thankfully its still hangin' on, so there's still a chance to learn it. 5/5.
I really do feel for y'all. Although your language is in more danger than ours, here in Louisiana, the older generation was also punished in school for speaking French. It really is sad, but I'm glad there are people who are still proud to speak the language!
Ya'at'eeh friends, family, and those of no relation. I am on the Red Bottom Clan, I am born for the White Man, my maternal grandfather is of the Big Water Clan, and my paternal grandfather is of the White Man. I am 20 winters old, and I was born in Washington State (now living in Kinlani), but my family and Chapter is from Coal Mine Mesa. BTW I do know my introduction in proper Dine, but since I cannot type properly in the language on a youtube post, I will not try to write it out.
Its up to us to learn the lanuage and culture. If you don't the lanuage and culture you might as well not indenify your self as a Native American, and not have a C.I.B say your Native American. Face it your assimilated!!!
Our lanuage and culture is what indentifies us as Native Americans! Without it we're nothing. You might as well not have a C.I.B to identify yourself as a Native American. And stop with the excuses of not learnig your lanuage and culture!!
i like to speak navajo im mexican aztec il live culture mayas and i learn all code or if ,erry w navajo girl to mix aztec navajo is same culture indians all the dance the same i like to find navajos frinds
the U.S. goverment is trying to clean all of their guilt by inter breeding and lack of help real help to keep the language alive so you canot remember it is all part of the plan genocide in a subtle form without being straight up that is the whole american indian number it is all a show of numbers sorry but in a thousand years there will be no navajo unless it is turned around on the europeans and i am white
Ya'at'eeh shi' Dineh, so often the stories of parents having their own agends for why they didn't pass the language on. We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves for what we didn't recieve and be more proactive to re-obtain or discover for ourselves how to carry on this tradition. Ultimately the only one's who suffer a fate worse then ours...is our childern! This plan of "kill the indian, save the man" has been set in motion back in the 1800's by the Government. Don't let them win!
Definitely, I agree with you and we have to move towards preserving our dine languague. so speak to your children or those that would like to learn dine. then go to the rez, and speak with our elders. adopt a dine grandma or grandpa, their all wanting to tell our ancestoral stories. aah naiih intoh, da yah (you control your destiny). words spoken my great masini. glad to speak dine, ahee aiha shi ma do shi keh!
What would help is easy access to learning materials online or have online learning sessions with live broadcast of people talking and teaching Dine. I was in Window Rock recently at the museum and saw alot of cool learning material in the giftshop. I wondered why stuff like this isnt readily available for navajos. It sure would make sense and help our fading language. If anyone out there has material like videos of creation stories or kid comic books of navajo stories please let me know.
Sorry one more comment. It brought tears to my eyes to see these kids unable to name their clans. Amazing how things have changed so quickly and I'm afraid the culture is disappearing. I hope I'm wrong.
@mattnjaa that is sad im glad that i know at lest 7 words(including my clan). when i went to the rez for the first time since i was born i was able to communicate w/ my grandma nelly
Very interesting video. I lived on the Rez from 75 to 81, 5th thru 11th grade at Rough Rock. All my friends grew up speaking Navajo and learning english at school. But at Rough Rock I think they spoke less english than e.g. Many Farms or Chinle, BIA schools. I was actually wondering just this week how much the Rez might have changed since I lived there. Was shocked to read in one of the comments that only 20% of 5 yr olds speak Navajo. Hard to believe that is true. Thanks for the video.
I tried to learn also, when I was younger I wanted to learn but my parents/elders wouldnt teach me, now Im older they want me to learn. Funny thing I grew interest in learning Russian and Spanish, and sadly my passion to learn Navajo is gone. My family mocked me when I did try to learn, so now I just decided not to learn it.
Navajo was my first language. I learned to speak English when I started school. Today I speak English & Navajo very well & fluently. Going to boarding school, I was discouraged to speak Navajo & was not around the language for many years. Even after all those years away, I STILL REMEMBERED & KNEW HOW TO SPEAK NAVAJO when I came home. I'm proud of my language & have taught my children. I attribute our academic success to knowing two languages. Speaking Navajo won't make you less smart.
Navajo needs to be Taught with English in the Schoools. Its cultural Genocide and Racism to only Teach English especially on the REZ. Navajo needs to be integrated into the curriculum Simple as that. So indians just need to take action and BOYCOTT the State FUnded schools until they DO include Navajo Culture and language Simple--- but why do people take action????????
Navajo language Really needs to be Taught with in english in State Run Schools on the Reservation. Its Racist to only teach English, white history, Since whites are only 10% of WOrld population. Its Cultural Genocide -- Why doesn't anybody recognize this and do something about IT... Just BOYCOTT the School until it includes navajo Culture in it.....simple
I'm pretty sure that Navajo Language and Navajo Culture are taught on the Reservation. I went to school in the Window Rock School District from elementary until graduation from high school. I can recall taking those courses back in elementary school to my senior year. There is no need for boycotting reservation schools because Navajo Language and Culture are given options :-)
Both my parents spoke navajo FLUENTLY and yet I was never taught...Shame...But thankfully i do know my clans and simple words...Wish I did know what my grandma was saying though...Hello from the 505 (NM).
the most widly spread languages are Navajo or Cherokee im doing a presentation about it. natives are really amazing. Lakota is also beautiful language
Taino here. i speak most of my language and we were the first to die. well most of my language is still there. and i have a accent from speaking spanish. and the ladies like them.
I took Navajo classes in 9th then got sent off to a christian boarding school where they asked us not to speak Navajo. Isn't that some sh*t? And this was in 2003. I was good enough to at least say my clans but not anymore. :'(
was fluent in the language, having lived among the Navajos for 24 years. He believed that use by the Marine Corps of Navajo as a code language in voice (radio and wire) transmission could guarantee communications security. YES, Navajos should put some effort into learning their language. Thankfully, I know my clan. I am not fluent in Navajo but, have the desire to train my brain and tongue to learn my native language. Blessings in the Navajo way
Very interesting video and thank you for posting. I disagree with a "White Man" not being able to learn the Navajo language. False. The trader and owner of a trading post spoke fluent Navajo. He could speak with all of the elderly and the elder Navajo ladies called him their son, Shi Yaz and he would call them, Shi ma! ALSO, the Navajo Code Talkers came into being because Mr. Philip Johnston, (a white man) the son of a missionary to the Navajo tribe, (cont.)
I know how to speak Navajo I have to talk with it to my grandparents on my dad side, they don't speak english as well. But my dad taught me when I was young and I am only 13 yrs old to that can speak it o_o
Looking at these words and trying to prounounce it i finally got it practicing it a few more times without actually going word for word but saying it fast...i believe it means "don't be stupid" lol yah i think i got it! :)
At first glanced these words looked hard in figuring it out but witha few tries I said it! In my mind i hear it fluently but to say them was kind of hard for me...I believe practicing makes perfect. I grew up speaking Navajo but as everyone else Education came with more English. I am retrieving my native tongue....Yayyyyy!!! :p
I thought that Navajos in the Deep Rez would know the language and their clans. ha ha im a city slicker and i know my clans and understand the language.
Thats not funny at all! If you understood why most people (DINEH) don't speak there language you would understand that it's forced apon them not to speak it. I speak it very well and I learned it from my grandparents that weren't well educated. My mother and father both know it but wanted me to learn english so I could have a better life in the future.
even though the navajo language is diminishing its good that the navajo people are more common among native americans. I find many ways on the internet telling how you can learn navajo. Yet i cannot find anything for nez perce, which i am. From last i heard there was only about 100 fluent speakers of the nez perce language. =(
These Personal stories are very moving and add a reality to the issue of aboriginal languages. Our family is Dene (Chipewyan) from Alberta. I can't understand the Athabaskan (Navajo ) languages of the American south on this video. However my Grandfather spoke only in Dene when within the family circle could understand some of the vocabulary and expressions of Navajo speakers. He would listen to the short wave radio and listen to stations that were broadcasting from the Amercan southwest.
Huuh?? they can't speck Navajo?? BUt they sure have the accent... No matter how much you cover it up, u still have the Navajo accent... Um Clan is Um um um
I watched the video and is soo sad. I love native americans and I love the culture and language.
I'm italian and every region has its own dialect. Unfortunately during WWII our dictator banned dialects from schools so new generations don't know it.
I'm lucky in my family it's still spoken so I can speak it a little bit.
A people's language and culture should always be treasured and nurtured
I know I will never be fluent in Navajo. My friend and his children do laugh at me at times, but it all is in good fun. They even help by telling me Navajo/English jokes. I also listen to KTNN online to help with pronunciation, though sadly I recognize only about every 25th word. I persist, and always look for new sources.
Now I ask, are there regional dialects/pronunciations?
I think there are dialects my fathers family were the ones that were teaching me Navajo and when I returned to my mother some of the words I said were weird to her and she kept getting fustrated wit me and stopped trying to speak to me in Navajo. My mother said it was just like one word every few times.
I am of European descent and have been studying Navajo. I use a little of it when vacationing on the rez. I am sure that my accent is not good, but out of courtesy I try, after all, I am visiting THEIR nation. It is fun to tell people though I speak only English fluently, that I speak some of four other foreign and 1 native language. Yes, the pronunciations are quite different form American English, but the challenge is fun, especially when you start to see the patterns emerging in the speech.
It has been from my experience that many people believe Dine' Bizaad is a dead or dying language, but, it is alive and well. I know 1-3 year old kids who are fluent in Navajo and many more young people who can speak, sing, rap or whatever in their Native tongue. This movie inspires me to teach the language more to our youth and to communicate more to our parents and elders.
Hello. My name is Kristopher Barney and I am an artist, farmer from the community of Rough Rock on the Navajo Nation. I was raised with both Navajo & English in my home and life. I am fluent in both languages and can read and write in them both and I am only only 21 years old.
I am from the Netherlands, originally from a region in the South. Over there, we still have very old languages and dialects that are fortunately being preserved, but the Western Dutch, who live where our nation's capital and the political capital are, speak very differently, but their language is the official Dutch. They can't understand the southern regional languages and they also mock people from the south because of their accent in Dutch, so I know what it's like.
Hi, Yes, i agree with this video, it is sad that the navajo language could die. I am an irish girl married to a navajo. In Ireland, fewer irish people now speak the native irish(Gaelige) language and i think that it is sad. I speak irish, but when it is not spoken on a daily basis, it can die so quickly. Navajo is a very hard language to learn, believe me, i have tried. So i hope that navajo children will be taught and will be proud to learn their native language and that it will never die out.
Well done presentation on the Dine Language. Both my parents are fluent speakers, but they chose not to teach my siblings and I. I think there are many of us who try to speak but feel uncomfortable because we don't sound dine. On the otherhand, I think it's better to try than not try at all. Chief Manuelito is my inspiration. Ahee' and keep up the good work!!
the navajo arent the only onez that have a dying language my tribe is also dealing with the same problem iam 19 n im Mississippi choctaw n i can speak my language but u dont see to many my age that can speak it i live in oklahoma n most of my friendz r the same tribe n i say sumthin n our language n they look at me weird cuz none of them udrstd but my cuzn Taniesha is 7 n she is Navajo n Choctaw n she has learned to count in both languages n speak sum phrases so there is hope for all our nationz
i am sorry that they didn't learn their native langague. i know it would be hard for them. i know my clan and most of things in navajo. i learn from my grandparents as much i could.
I'm sorry to say but, i do feel sad about this video...however...it's only part of the whole story. Yes, Most the of the folks in this video are shaky on the language, however, like myself...I speak good English, I do know my clan, I speak about 60% of navajo, and some can understand some other Latin languages. At the moment i'm very comfortible with my communications. I did grow up on the Rez, but for the last year i've been in New York and now Phoenix. And am never ashamed of my ethnicity.
What's the big deal? So you don't know Navajo. I'm Irish but I don't know the Celt language. My wife is Italian but she can't speak Italian. My college roomate is German but doesn't speak German. So why are we all weepy because modern Navajos can't speak Navajo?
"The Navajo language is not renewable from an outside source, as are many world languages. For instance, when a German American ceases to speak German, the German language does not cease to exist. This is not the case with Navajo, where the speakers are concentrated in one area and where the pool of speakers is relatively small. " cont.
As each Navajo ceases to speak his or her language, the pool is weakened to the extent that the language will eventually disappear altogether, without the hope of renewability from an external source. "
Benally A. and Viri D. (2005). Dine bazaad [Navajo language] at a crossroads: Extinction or renewal? Bilingual Research Journal, 29(1), p 85 - 108.
Yaateeh abini. Shi ei taa sahi naabeeho bizaad bihooshaah ndi shi ei bilagaana... Don't give up. I'm a 37-yrs-old ("white man") guy from the other side of the Globe and I'm very willing to learn Navajo. What I'm wishing to see is to have Navajo video lessons in the Net. As I'm a total beginner with Navajo I'd like to hear the words from a native speaker even if I'm able to hear some words from places like this. I can't fly to US to hear authentic Navajo lessons so the Net could be the solution.
How do you define "Irish", "German" and "Italian"? Just because let's say the great-great-greatgrandmother (or -father)of a n average US citizen is from Italy or Germany or someone's last name happens to be German, Irish, Italian or whatever doesn't make that person automatically a member of those people. Ask Europeans and they will tell the same to all of you: You are American- culturewise, languagewise, mentalititywise.
It DOES make a difference whether one is still able to speak a certain language or not. Language IS culture, it IS a certain way of thinking and having a certain perspective on the world and its people. What a dull and boring place this world would be if everybody spoke only English....
I hope the Navajo and other Native American people will be able to preserve their venerable languages as long as possible. If their languages die, their respective cultures will die as well
All of those are their losses, 19Truth53. Language is culture. In addition, there are millions of speakers of the languages you list. This is not the case with native languages (in the Americas).
I've always regretted that I never learned Navajo. I'm white, but I grew up on the rez, Tuba City and Leupp. I learned a little, but I've forgotten most of it. I still say the few words and phrases I know in my head regularly, so I don't lose them as well. I'm told nowdays that I say the words like a white person, that I've lost my accent. That makes me sad, and confused. I feel like I have no right to want to learn Navajo again, but I feel like I'm missing part of my past if I don't.
BLAH! i hate to break it to you, but we ain't forgetting our language, so grow up and learn it! besides ones you learn to read it, you can give shit to people who don't! yeah pay backs a bitch
I'd also like to add that it must suck for you living in a nation that doesn't care about minority languages. Much like the German government is protecting a dying Slavic language called Sorbian for instance.
I am very surprise how many people don't attempt to relearn or try to speak their (Navajo) language. However, I have notice that the Navajo people have always accepted what other culture practice and accept it as their own (assimilation and acculturation).
Never allow anyone to dilute your language - especially Americans as they make words up as they go along and few people outside of North America need to understand them by their language as they make such a mess of everything else they do.
Here's one to gro on: I can see by many of the people' abrasive posting, how the younger generation can be put off by the rude comments that are disconcerting to learning the Navajo language.
I know it is hard. I had to re-learn as an adult that you have to put yourself above all that in order to be the learner. In the end - "more power to you"
You then, and only then, can protect them from inside and outside.
i realized that my parents did a great job at teaching me about who iam and where i come from. I have a daughter who is half latina but you can be she will know her clans. she is Navajo and i will make sure she knows her roots as well as her hispanic side. Im Tsi'naajínii born for Tl'aashchí'í my nalis are Ta'néészahnii and my cheis are Kinyaa'nii that is who iam and im damn proud!
Growing up i thought i did not learn enough about my culture and heritage. I felt alot like i was a " lost indian" but when i left the reservation to join the Marine Corps i met many other Navajos who did not know their clans or anything about our cullture.
one thing i said N my anti culturalit class, was i wish my people wouldnt make fun of the language and accents,i said this n front of 40 students of all race even hispanics, i said i wish it was like here in the city,where hispanics can keep their language & accents & not get teased for it, & allot looked at me as if they thought its crazy to make fun the language ur people speak.so allot of people dont know about this n the city they think just cuz u come from a different race u know ur lanuage
Maybe learning the culture is not Important or interesting to Native Youth today, cuz were so Focused on stuff of [[TODAY]] like, Myspace,cell phones, concerts, I-pods, X-box 360, hair styles, how up to date you can get and so on..its sad.
Maybe learning the culture is not Important or interesting to Native Youth today, cuz were so Focused on stuff of [[TODAY]] like, Myspace, concerts, I-pods,cell phones, X-box 360, hair styles, how up to date you can get and so on..
Yateh, Just made a presentation with some of my friends from Alaska, N. Cali, N&S Az Natives. Hoopa, Athebascan, Apache, Dineh we have the same language root, it was EXCELLENT Real eye openner! You'll be respected internationally if you keep your language, not in in the U.S, but INTERNATIONALLY PEOPLE LOVE US.
this crap about not speakin navajo is the weakness of a generation who were subjected to boarding school days back in the early 60s and mid 50s who were the result of the white mans bigotry against the navajo people and other native tribes the cristain doctrine to this day catogorizes us in this place in soiciety of the whitemans plan to take what little we still have
This shit is sad.... Dine Nishli adoo dine bizhad shil bahozin
Quit bitching you all and learn it not make stupid docs. on how fucked up your life is; make docs on the language/ not lazy people bullshiting yourselves
The idea that if someone learns a minority language, they'll be missing out on the majority language, is very mistaken and it's a shame that it's held by so many people, Navajos and others too. If only people realized ... kids can learn more than one language, fluently, and there's no need for any language to die.
Navajo Language is not dying, alot of people still speak the language. People are just too ignorant to learn it. Come on, people navajo langauge saved our country in WWII or else we would be talking Japanese today. I think it's sad most young half navajos know the language then most full navajos. Its like they are very proud to be part navajo and know the language and to be honest they are very successful in life by known who they are. Think about it.
Alot of people speak Navajo, but the majority of them are over 40. Not so many young parents are fluent, and very very few children are learning Navajo as the language of their home. Fewer than 20% of Navajo 5 year olds can speak Navajo. When a language is not being learned as a first language by children, there is a severe danger of future language extinction.
Ya'ah'teeh Keep your head up, go out there and don't be shy or scared to ask question. Start off w/ simple word that are common use. And one of the main things is stop mocking or making front of your own peers that know the language. (((JOHNS)) I'm One and Pround of it. Go out and start recording ur elders while there still around to teach. And try not to get fustrated and I am still learning myself hang in there and keep ur heads up.
Dine Bizaad is a beautiful language. I have great respect for the Navajo culture. I don't understand the accent-retention issue with persons that don't speak Navajo. Because they already have a distinct Navajo accent even if they know little Navajo.
I think it's a myth to believe that if you speak Navajo, that makes you more "Navajo" or more representative of your culture than the people who can speak the language.
The people speaking in this video I think their ancestors would be proud of their ability or desire to learn. Those speaking Navajo and do not appreciate their culture are truly lost.
Well you have to know it is a very difficult language to learn but you shouldn't give up. I'm navajo and it was my first language but when I started attenting school I lost it but I understand when someone speaks to me in Navajo. I'm still know how to speak it but I'm not fluent in it and I'm working hard to become more fluent in my own language. The point is just don't give up because our language is unique and it's one of the reasons why we have our freedom today (WW2).....
i am navajo and not as fluent as i'd like to be in the language. i think one unfortunate aspect in learning navajo is that the teachers, who are navajo, expect a navajo child to already "know" navajo. right now i am learning spanish and it has been immensely easier to learn over navajo. the professor is caucasian and knows how difficult it is to learn a new language because it is learning a new way to think. i would rather learn the language from a non native speaker. choose a teacher carefully!
hello!!whites will naver know navajo they dont have da blood so they cant speak fluently speak it. Trust me ive tried wit my friends they dont speak it good. And dat is not true u dont get an accent i speak it i dont have an accent!!!!!!!!!!
there's no relation between blood and ability to speak a language. you can stick a kid into any society and they'll learn the language spoken there. if someone tries to learn a language when they're older though, it will be difficult and they'll have an accent, unless they have a particular knack for languages. that goes for any race, any language.
teisho71, its not that easy to find places to learn Navajo. Its not like Spanish where there are multiple courses in every school to learn. And there are almost no places outside of the reservation to even practice speaking or hear it being used.
No need to be rude... if you don't have something constructive to say then dont say it.
He makes a point in the sense that "we" should put some effort into learning are language. I have about 3 books and 2 CDs on the dine bizaad alone. I'm not the best at dine bizaad but I've made an effort to teach myself.
The places I picked up all my stuff was trading posts; however I've seen stuff on the internet through Amazon to purchuse learning materials.
Thanks for the great video! It is really interesting and provides good insight.
It is sad to see so many negative comments below. I will keep reading about the Navajo people online. It is a very interesting story of a people.
MichaelSammler 7 months ago
We need to save the Navajo language it's a duty of us Navajo people. Haa'ish beniina doo bihdawiilah da? We must learn we can not lose a part of ourselves. Please we must.
stlouisramsfan03 9 months ago
the chick at 4:29 is freakin hott.
Johnnybomb1 9 months ago
if i did not go to europe then i woupd had never spoken english and even in holland i speak my own language and chinese.english is not of great importance for me it's only to know language but honestly normally use english just javanese,malay and chinese fuck english
lumbanraja2 11 months ago
Noneed to speak english think about your ppl your own race.Other races are not relevent,My family are Indonesian Buddhist we speak an ancient Javanese language and write with our own alphabet called hanacaraka and we preserve buddhism and our language i learned english only because i went abroad
lumbanraja2 11 months ago
Wow....more younger generation need to speak Navajo.....there is no shame to speak Navajo.....I speak Navajo, my parents and grandparents taught me to speak Navajo.
angelrocky1 11 months ago
We spoke Spanish one week and then English the next week to our children. They learned both languages without accent.
charkee1 1 year ago
Navajo population: Around 300,000. Not knowing the Navajo language is like something is missing in my life, a void, but not a loss. I have read some of the comments posted here, very selfish, because they dont understand. Navajo language is rare as it is delicate. Chinese, English, Arabic, etc, etc, etc. are mainstream (millions of people) so it would be 'ok' for those people not to know their language. Going into the mainstream has been like going backwards of the my spirit.
hellotheir04 1 year ago
My dad was a native from south america. I always thought that being idian there was very different from being idian here in the US. Down there idians do not have ANY benefits from the state, NONE.. in the US at least the gov. provides certain benefits. However, I can relate when it comes down to language. My dad never teached me and never wanted to teach me "guarani". I wished I did speak the language. It's really a shame that traditions are being lost.
Virija10 1 year ago
19Truth53 hey so your saying celt, italian, german maybe they don't have pride
but i have pride and I know that all navajos have pride
Menative123 1 year ago
ok you guys say your native in percents and fractions. and just stop being douces at least my people have something that all other cultures don't have. we own half the grand canyon and we have the hardest languge out there. i'm glad i m navajo. I speak and know my clan of couse I can't spell and it just be gibberish to you all other cultures
Menative123 1 year ago
ok why say your native in percents really! it really matters wheather you are or not. so shut the fuck up and if your white, brown or black just stick with it or be a complete douce and say " oh but IM' still native right ?" no your not u douce. just be proud who you are. and if you be mega asshole and say your native and white i feel sorry for u and you say navajo is just a dumb languge fuck u its the hardest fucking languge you can find i know this of couse cause Im one bitches
Menative123 1 year ago
I am much more interested with the language of northern tribes.I belive that a folk passed the frozen Berring straight 16.000 years ago.We here in Turkey belive very strong that Native Americans and Turks (better say pre-Turks) are cousins.But it has to be proven.One of the best method is to check the language.There are over 320 words they are very similar to Turkish.It is a shame that the native language strugle for existance.Ignorant people like "19Truth53" cant understand this.
zippo807 1 year ago
But you're here to make a difference and do all you can in this life and Navajo kids these days are taught that. Which is cool with me, in every way! Be all you can...but remember, you're Navajo. Don't fake yourself away. It's not too late. Just think who's more famous than Geronimo? Who's apache by the way...Don't take it serious btw, we're all related right? haha ayyyyyeeeee...
twiztdupsmoke187 1 year ago
These kids don't know what they're talking about. In the first place, they're grandparents speak Navajo, and no english. So how do they know what their grandparents said about them? It was most likely the parents who thought....Wait, my kid's aren't going to know how to speak Navajo because I didn't influence or teach them...So I'm going to make up a different idea and influence them that way. And tell them so they would know it in that way and spread it onto the world. Think about it...
twiztdupsmoke187 1 year ago
shush liyadii! hazhoii yadalth tii!!! I'm sooo fortunate to know dine bizhaad!
In my opinion, just by knowing my language I feel protected and feel unique. When I meet other nationalities, I get asked to idetify certain things in dine and it makes me feel proud to say them. In return the person asking hears the dineh bizhaad and are astounded to hear it and that I know it!
I thank my parents, grandparents(paternal/maternal) and siblings for having that a home language.
nijoiz 1 year ago
Is this lady in the video Oneida Meranto? If not, she kinda looks like her, haha.
Agnapostate 1 year ago
they sound like white people.
people where im from have a strong native american accent
bizarewigga 1 year ago
THIS IS FOR all u idiots who think you are native and say im 1/32 or 1/8 or 1/1000 or 1/64 etc u get the point anyway once u get past 1/4 native then u are not a native any more idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!! the majority yor blood is that race u cant say im a native cause my great great great grandfathers, uncles long lost cousin is a navajo (and i know im over doing it but thats how u guys sound to a real native) so for those who are past 1/4 native U ARE NOT A NATIVE ANYMORE
VryDeranged 1 year ago
@VryDeranged youre a fucking idiot
magicaldanse 1 year ago
@VryDeranged Technically not true, because each tribe has their own way of determining membership. You can argue about "nativeness" but if a person who is 1/32 is a member of a tribe that accepts a person who is 1/32, then you as an outsider have no say on whether they belong or not and whether they are a "real native".
kmj2000 1 year ago
i think all these people that say they are this tribe or not, are actors.
one hot girl loks asian, the other hot guy looks hispanic. either way they are actors.
angelolc83 1 year ago
white people have 4ever tried 2 beat the language out of us and never quite suceeded as long as we had some cultural structure in our lives. these days very few of us speak our language. We did a great job ourselves!
hasteenmorgan 1 year ago
I am full navajo, can anyone tell me how i can learn my language? so i can teach my daughter too.
Any information would help just email me at heatherbruce89@yahoo.com
horrible2dream 1 year ago
So sad. It breaks my heart.
dearinthewood 1 year ago
Wow most of them are tachiinii's. so I'm related to em lol I'm learning my language still, what I think when they say I never learned or I lost...it's a sign of weakness I mean they say it for ppl to feel sorry for them... It's sad rly...if u want to learn ur native language then learn dnt sit there and complain about it it's not going to get u anywhere... Doesn't matter if ur not speaking it right .. as long as u give ur best shot that's all that counts....so dnt use it as n excuse for ne thin
tachiinii08 1 year ago
I like the videos daybreakwarrior does on learning the Navajo language. I am learning to speak Navajo. I like the language, the way it is written makes it easier to speak.
Lord Jesus Christ loves and saves. <3 :)
RebekahC1987 1 year ago
Great Video here. Thanks for posting it.
laoshu505000 1 year ago
if we as a culture go back to our roots... no matter the culture... can we connect...? find a way to disolve our differences?... what are the 'roots' of our current 'melting pot' US? pnwgeographer
pnwgeographer 1 year ago
It breaks my heart to think of native american languages being lost, I am only 1/32 cherokee, but I would love to learn to speak >>>!
honeybeeman 1 year ago
YOU ALL! What are you going do with it-when you learned the Navajo language?
sacred4s 1 year ago
Great Video. Sorry but if i have a kid, i'm teaching him, both langauges that i know!
I find it so sad, that many don't teach there kids the language. Speaking two, is very good, to getting a job
LuciferWitch666 1 year ago
The Navajo people really need to get a grip. Irish Gaelic was on its knees 50 years ago and now roughly 40% of Ireland speaks their own language fluently alongside English. There is no excuse- you're parents and you're adults- teach that language to your kids or watch it die out forever.
iamlondon 1 year ago
@iamlondon Having your own independent country where you aren't a minority kind of helps, but I agree, in the end only the speakers themselves can make a difference.
Feanorielle 1 year ago
@iamlondon - You need to get a grip. I'm Irish and I can tell you that only a very small number of people in Ireland can speak Irish even at functional level. Irish has been a compulsory subject in schools here since the founding of the state in 1921, and this policy has been a utter failure. No one I know can speak the language. There are small, government-supported regions where irish is spoken on a daily basis, but even here the kids think in English.
webpaulm 1 year ago
@iamlondon 40% of Irish people don't speak it FLUENTLY, they can just understand it reasonably well. It's not the same as being actively spoken. Also the Irish government implemented some strategies to get Irish Gaelic spoken (you'll struggle to hear it much everyday outside of the Gaeltacht still), which involves education in that language from a young age. It's not just about parents speaking it. A language you can speak with to just two family members is, to a teenager+, very "pointless".
PaulSLambeth 1 year ago
This is so sad... I'm not Navajo, at all, but I have a friend who is. I am.. 1/8 Blackfoot and... 1/8 Chickasaw, and I honestly know NOTHING about my ancestors from either. I think it's so sad that people lose their language just because it's seen as "unimportant". I think it's a beautiful language, and I hope that someday it makes a comeback.
duxxx0r 1 year ago
I have been off the Rez for many years, but was raised with our Dine' culture. And I have many times come across Dines' that claim they have forgotten how to speak the Dine' language. How can one forget their language? Find your Idenitiy.
twofeathersstev 1 year ago
Please dont let the original languages die, please.
24adhoc 1 year ago
Hay-ta-hey
RonRepublican 1 year ago
The two women at 2:27 and 4:47 both said they where in their 20's niether one of them look like their a day over eighteen First Nations women age well I need to get me one lol jk.
I hope they can perserve their Langauge Am a Black American who only owns engilsh history has robbed us of it and now we will never get it back. I hope the First Nations can hope on to their Langauge and Beautiful culture. I get tired of Hearing English and Spainsh all the time. KNOW OFFESNE TO ANYONE!!!
Dealz1988 1 year ago
@Dealz1988 I totally agree. All the time I was living in Arizona as a kid, I wish I had learned Navajo, even though I'm black American. I'm an intermediate in Spanish. My heritage is Cherokee, I'm not Navajo, but I'm learning it because 1) it's a Native American language and 2) I feel that the Cherokee language isn't prominent like Navajo--that Navajo is more accessible than Navajo.
RawCurryStudios 1 year ago
i am proud of my heritage i am Seminole and Navajo my mom is seminole and my dad is Navajo
lifeordeath342 2 years ago
what i want to know is:
How the navajo language started
The language is soposed to be the hardest language so i am curious its origins.
piromaniac9999 1 year ago
Reminds me of my navaho buddys i met in moab, utah,....Kevin Benally and Roy Naki,....it was grand for them to be conversin' in navaho when the rest of us only knew english,....me,...i'm mexican, but thanx to the spanish invasion, i no longer know my native language,.....pore, to some its also known as pur'epecha and thankfully its still hangin' on, so there's still a chance to learn it. 5/5.
qualqui 2 years ago
awesome video i luv it i'm naakai all over but i got a lil dine in my spirit
ceuy333 2 years ago
To take the language is Cultural Genocide! Good luck. Shalom.
rvmiv 2 years ago
that why/what the white man wanted now we can spead our mind
rrchicken117 2 years ago
I really do feel for y'all. Although your language is in more danger than ours, here in Louisiana, the older generation was also punished in school for speaking French. It really is sad, but I'm glad there are people who are still proud to speak the language!
CadjinGisclair 2 years ago
Ya'at'eeh friends, family, and those of no relation. I am on the Red Bottom Clan, I am born for the White Man, my maternal grandfather is of the Big Water Clan, and my paternal grandfather is of the White Man. I am 20 winters old, and I was born in Washington State (now living in Kinlani), but my family and Chapter is from Coal Mine Mesa. BTW I do know my introduction in proper Dine, but since I cannot type properly in the language on a youtube post, I will not try to write it out.
AngryJarvey 2 years ago
@AngryJarvey
I love how you say that you are 20 winters old. I'm not making fun. I just think that's something I've never heard.
glonnie15 2 years ago
@jvjobi:
no, they DON'T.
mondotrasho 2 years ago
Its up to us to learn the lanuage and culture. If you don't the lanuage and culture you might as well not indenify your self as a Native American, and not have a C.I.B say your Native American. Face it your assimilated!!!
acmitchell2 2 years ago
Our lanuage and culture is what indentifies us as Native Americans! Without it we're nothing. You might as well not have a C.I.B to identify yourself as a Native American. And stop with the excuses of not learnig your lanuage and culture!!
acmitchell2 2 years ago
Thats sad not knowing your klan i kno mine and im 16..lol
mo32theballa 2 years ago
i like to speak navajo im mexican aztec il live culture mayas and i learn all code or if ,erry w navajo girl to mix aztec navajo is same culture indians all the dance the same i like to find navajos frinds
halowars001 2 years ago
the U.S. goverment is trying to clean all of their guilt by inter breeding and lack of help real help to keep the language alive so you canot remember it is all part of the plan genocide in a subtle form without being straight up that is the whole american indian number it is all a show of numbers sorry but in a thousand years there will be no navajo unless it is turned around on the europeans and i am white
erictoddbrown1 2 years ago
Ya'at'eeh shi' Dineh, so often the stories of parents having their own agends for why they didn't pass the language on. We need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves for what we didn't recieve and be more proactive to re-obtain or discover for ourselves how to carry on this tradition. Ultimately the only one's who suffer a fate worse then ours...is our childern! This plan of "kill the indian, save the man" has been set in motion back in the 1800's by the Government. Don't let them win!
kcdineh 2 years ago
Definitely, I agree with you and we have to move towards preserving our dine languague. so speak to your children or those that would like to learn dine. then go to the rez, and speak with our elders. adopt a dine grandma or grandpa, their all wanting to tell our ancestoral stories. aah naiih intoh, da yah (you control your destiny). words spoken my great masini. glad to speak dine, ahee aiha shi ma do shi keh!
shondene1 2 years ago
What would help is easy access to learning materials online or have online learning sessions with live broadcast of people talking and teaching Dine. I was in Window Rock recently at the museum and saw alot of cool learning material in the giftshop. I wondered why stuff like this isnt readily available for navajos. It sure would make sense and help our fading language. If anyone out there has material like videos of creation stories or kid comic books of navajo stories please let me know.
walksat2 2 years ago
If you do a search for "Wikiibíídiiyají Yáʼátʼééh!" you will see the online Navajo encyclopedia, which is interesting to look through.
wobeck 2 years ago
Sorry one more comment. It brought tears to my eyes to see these kids unable to name their clans. Amazing how things have changed so quickly and I'm afraid the culture is disappearing. I hope I'm wrong.
mattnjaa 2 years ago
@mattnjaa that is sad im glad that i know at lest 7 words(including my clan). when i went to the rez for the first time since i was born i was able to communicate w/ my grandma nelly
Menonelse 2 years ago
Very interesting video. I lived on the Rez from 75 to 81, 5th thru 11th grade at Rough Rock. All my friends grew up speaking Navajo and learning english at school. But at Rough Rock I think they spoke less english than e.g. Many Farms or Chinle, BIA schools. I was actually wondering just this week how much the Rez might have changed since I lived there. Was shocked to read in one of the comments that only 20% of 5 yr olds speak Navajo. Hard to believe that is true. Thanks for the video.
mattnjaa 2 years ago
I tried to learn also, when I was younger I wanted to learn but my parents/elders wouldnt teach me, now Im older they want me to learn. Funny thing I grew interest in learning Russian and Spanish, and sadly my passion to learn Navajo is gone. My family mocked me when I did try to learn, so now I just decided not to learn it.
nacho0freak 2 years ago
I could have spoken arabic but my dad left me =(
m16karbine 2 years ago
Navajo was my first language. I learned to speak English when I started school. Today I speak English & Navajo very well & fluently. Going to boarding school, I was discouraged to speak Navajo & was not around the language for many years. Even after all those years away, I STILL REMEMBERED & KNEW HOW TO SPEAK NAVAJO when I came home. I'm proud of my language & have taught my children. I attribute our academic success to knowing two languages. Speaking Navajo won't make you less smart.
adlajune357 2 years ago
im part navajo, im just curious, where did the navajo people originate from, like what was there primary climate
woody3757 2 years ago
Navajo and Apache came down from Central Alaska, the Yukon, around where Gwichin and many other related languages is still spoken.
wobeck 2 years ago
Have a look at the Naabeehó bi'ínsadoobíídiiya. It's small, but growing.
wobeck 2 years ago
Navajo needs to be Taught with English in the Schoools. Its cultural Genocide and Racism to only Teach English especially on the REZ. Navajo needs to be integrated into the curriculum Simple as that. So indians just need to take action and BOYCOTT the State FUnded schools until they DO include Navajo Culture and language Simple--- but why do people take action????????
magnamagus 2 years ago
Navajo language Really needs to be Taught with in english in State Run Schools on the Reservation. Its Racist to only teach English, white history, Since whites are only 10% of WOrld population. Its Cultural Genocide -- Why doesn't anybody recognize this and do something about IT... Just BOYCOTT the School until it includes navajo Culture in it.....simple
magnamagus 2 years ago
I'm pretty sure that Navajo Language and Navajo Culture are taught on the Reservation. I went to school in the Window Rock School District from elementary until graduation from high school. I can recall taking those courses back in elementary school to my senior year. There is no need for boycotting reservation schools because Navajo Language and Culture are given options :-)
anjames25 2 years ago
i only speak languages of europe
spanish and english
sexlessparents 2 years ago
Both my parents spoke navajo FLUENTLY and yet I was never taught...Shame...But thankfully i do know my clans and simple words...Wish I did know what my grandma was saying though...Hello from the 505 (NM).
moznico 2 years ago
gosh it's such a pretty, but hard language.
there are a lot of ppl at my school who speak it. it sounds so neat. :)
anguissolalover 2 years ago
this is a beautiful language. i would like to learn but i have heard that its impossible if you havent spoken it from birth.
it would just be nice to know how to say simple things in navajo.
sisforshenanigans 2 years ago
yet i wanna learn it.
what is the most widely used languae?
can u guys help me?
i wanna learn it.
any "it" indian language that is.
rockinae19 2 years ago
the most widly spread languages are Navajo or Cherokee im doing a presentation about it. natives are really amazing. Lakota is also beautiful language
TheSmarty777 2 years ago
Taino here. i speak most of my language and we were the first to die. well most of my language is still there. and i have a accent from speaking spanish. and the ladies like them.
AtomicPhill 2 years ago
I took Navajo classes in 9th then got sent off to a christian boarding school where they asked us not to speak Navajo. Isn't that some sh*t? And this was in 2003. I was good enough to at least say my clans but not anymore. :'(
kuroko194u 2 years ago
Please speak it if it remains important to you. No one has the right to tell you not to speak the language.
That school sure doesn't sound very "Christian" to me.
MrExnihilo 2 years ago
Christian boarding school 2003? I didn't know this was happening so recently.
cathrynm 2 years ago
was fluent in the language, having lived among the Navajos for 24 years. He believed that use by the Marine Corps of Navajo as a code language in voice (radio and wire) transmission could guarantee communications security. YES, Navajos should put some effort into learning their language. Thankfully, I know my clan. I am not fluent in Navajo but, have the desire to train my brain and tongue to learn my native language. Blessings in the Navajo way
Logaith 2 years ago
I'd like to learn this language do you know somebody who help me using skype as window to open in the all the world for everybody who like to learn?
narutoinoki 2 years ago
Im just now learning the language. I never thought I would but im glad I made this decision.
someone6163 2 years ago
Very interesting video and thank you for posting. I disagree with a "White Man" not being able to learn the Navajo language. False. The trader and owner of a trading post spoke fluent Navajo. He could speak with all of the elderly and the elder Navajo ladies called him their son, Shi Yaz and he would call them, Shi ma! ALSO, the Navajo Code Talkers came into being because Mr. Philip Johnston, (a white man) the son of a missionary to the Navajo tribe, (cont.)
Logaith 2 years ago
I know how to speak Navajo I have to talk with it to my grandparents on my dad side, they don't speak english as well. But my dad taught me when I was young and I am only 13 yrs old to that can speak it o_o
XxTeruxXxMikamixX 2 years ago
ah doo o din gisee
'
ReNzOhOoPeR 2 years ago
Looking at these words and trying to prounounce it i finally got it practicing it a few more times without actually going word for word but saying it fast...i believe it means "don't be stupid" lol yah i think i got it! :)
purespirit9 2 years ago
Shi ei kinlichii'nii nishli, tabaaha baashishchiin, todich'ii'nii ei dashicheii doo kiya'aanii ei dashinali. :)
Dine bizaad shil beehozin!!! woooo
tabaaha92 2 years ago
At first glanced these words looked hard in figuring it out but witha few tries I said it! In my mind i hear it fluently but to say them was kind of hard for me...I believe practicing makes perfect. I grew up speaking Navajo but as everyone else Education came with more English. I am retrieving my native tongue....Yayyyyy!!! :p
purespirit9 2 years ago
I thought that Navajos in the Deep Rez would know the language and their clans. ha ha im a city slicker and i know my clans and understand the language.
glonnie15 2 years ago
Thats not funny at all! If you understood why most people (DINEH) don't speak there language you would understand that it's forced apon them not to speak it. I speak it very well and I learned it from my grandparents that weren't well educated. My mother and father both know it but wanted me to learn english so I could have a better life in the future.
achee2012 2 years ago
even though the navajo language is diminishing its good that the navajo people are more common among native americans. I find many ways on the internet telling how you can learn navajo. Yet i cannot find anything for nez perce, which i am. From last i heard there was only about 100 fluent speakers of the nez perce language. =(
chemuhk 2 years ago
these we call on the res, ruined johns. or the ones that went away to become mormon wives. their lost for not trying. my grand kids speak navajo.
hoganhopper1978 2 years ago
These Personal stories are very moving and add a reality to the issue of aboriginal languages. Our family is Dene (Chipewyan) from Alberta. I can't understand the Athabaskan (Navajo ) languages of the American south on this video. However my Grandfather spoke only in Dene when within the family circle could understand some of the vocabulary and expressions of Navajo speakers. He would listen to the short wave radio and listen to stations that were broadcasting from the Amercan southwest.
oreodontist 2 years ago
An Elderly Apache Woman said when "the people"
forget their native language,they cease to exist...
like leaves blowing away in the wind.
CarlosMacMartin 2 years ago
Huuh?? they can't speck Navajo?? BUt they sure have the accent... No matter how much you cover it up, u still have the Navajo accent... Um Clan is Um um um
haha typical navajo... BUt this is sad... Um
LakotaCreation 2 years ago
please be proud and don't lose your language.
best regards from the basque country!
Pamplonika77 2 years ago
I watched the video and is soo sad. I love native americans and I love the culture and language.
I'm italian and every region has its own dialect. Unfortunately during WWII our dictator banned dialects from schools so new generations don't know it.
I'm lucky in my family it's still spoken so I can speak it a little bit.
A people's language and culture should always be treasured and nurtured
francygube 3 years ago
I know I will never be fluent in Navajo. My friend and his children do laugh at me at times, but it all is in good fun. They even help by telling me Navajo/English jokes. I also listen to KTNN online to help with pronunciation, though sadly I recognize only about every 25th word. I persist, and always look for new sources.
Now I ask, are there regional dialects/pronunciations?
bacca219 3 years ago
I think there are dialects my fathers family were the ones that were teaching me Navajo and when I returned to my mother some of the words I said were weird to her and she kept getting fustrated wit me and stopped trying to speak to me in Navajo. My mother said it was just like one word every few times.
kuroko194u 2 years ago
I am of European descent and have been studying Navajo. I use a little of it when vacationing on the rez. I am sure that my accent is not good, but out of courtesy I try, after all, I am visiting THEIR nation. It is fun to tell people though I speak only English fluently, that I speak some of four other foreign and 1 native language. Yes, the pronunciations are quite different form American English, but the challenge is fun, especially when you start to see the patterns emerging in the speech.
bacca219 3 years ago
It has been from my experience that many people believe Dine' Bizaad is a dead or dying language, but, it is alive and well. I know 1-3 year old kids who are fluent in Navajo and many more young people who can speak, sing, rap or whatever in their Native tongue. This movie inspires me to teach the language more to our youth and to communicate more to our parents and elders.
Kris Barney
Tse' Chi'zhi', Dine' Bikeyah
kristopherbarney 3 years ago
Hello. My name is Kristopher Barney and I am an artist, farmer from the community of Rough Rock on the Navajo Nation. I was raised with both Navajo & English in my home and life. I am fluent in both languages and can read and write in them both and I am only only 21 years old.
kristopherbarney 3 years ago
Ya'at'eeh Shi ei Kristopher Barney yinishye'
Honaghaanii nishili
tlashchi'i bashishchiin
tachiinii da shi che'
todik'o'zhi' doo'
kiisanii da shi nali'
shima' sani' Ason Chee Tsinijinie wolye'
shi che' Yellowhair Begay wolye'
Tse' Chi'zhi' doo' Dzilijiin dee' nasha
kristopherbarney 3 years ago
I am from the Netherlands, originally from a region in the South. Over there, we still have very old languages and dialects that are fortunately being preserved, but the Western Dutch, who live where our nation's capital and the political capital are, speak very differently, but their language is the official Dutch. They can't understand the southern regional languages and they also mock people from the south because of their accent in Dutch, so I know what it's like.
Eirene001 3 years ago
I'm actually wanting to learn my language. I try to translate in my mind some conversations that the old folk have in the Navajo language.
Deadzilla 3 years ago
Hi, Yes, i agree with this video, it is sad that the navajo language could die. I am an irish girl married to a navajo. In Ireland, fewer irish people now speak the native irish(Gaelige) language and i think that it is sad. I speak irish, but when it is not spoken on a daily basis, it can die so quickly. Navajo is a very hard language to learn, believe me, i have tried. So i hope that navajo children will be taught and will be proud to learn their native language and that it will never die out.
ELENAPALOMERA 3 years ago
get over yourself, and learn your language. ive been the only navajo in many places around the world. that is not an excuse.
calsurfer 3 years ago
i know, i too have been on the other side of this world. no problem with me speaking navajo in a japanese bar.
hoganhopper1978 2 years ago
Well done presentation on the Dine Language. Both my parents are fluent speakers, but they chose not to teach my siblings and I. I think there are many of us who try to speak but feel uncomfortable because we don't sound dine. On the otherhand, I think it's better to try than not try at all. Chief Manuelito is my inspiration. Ahee' and keep up the good work!!
andanisit1 3 years ago
Where did you find that quote from Chief Manuelito?
witkonamu 3 years ago
the navajo arent the only onez that have a dying language my tribe is also dealing with the same problem iam 19 n im Mississippi choctaw n i can speak my language but u dont see to many my age that can speak it i live in oklahoma n most of my friendz r the same tribe n i say sumthin n our language n they look at me weird cuz none of them udrstd but my cuzn Taniesha is 7 n she is Navajo n Choctaw n she has learned to count in both languages n speak sum phrases so there is hope for all our nationz
datchahta07 3 years ago
This is why I am learning how to speak Navajo.
Romanorum 3 years ago
i am sorry that they didn't learn their native langague. i know it would be hard for them. i know my clan and most of things in navajo. i learn from my grandparents as much i could.
beaquen01 3 years ago
I'm sorry to say but, i do feel sad about this video...however...it's only part of the whole story. Yes, Most the of the folks in this video are shaky on the language, however, like myself...I speak good English, I do know my clan, I speak about 60% of navajo, and some can understand some other Latin languages. At the moment i'm very comfortible with my communications. I did grow up on the Rez, but for the last year i've been in New York and now Phoenix. And am never ashamed of my ethnicity.
ckaye1100 3 years ago
What's the big deal? So you don't know Navajo. I'm Irish but I don't know the Celt language. My wife is Italian but she can't speak Italian. My college roomate is German but doesn't speak German. So why are we all weepy because modern Navajos can't speak Navajo?
19Truth53 3 years ago
"The Navajo language is not renewable from an outside source, as are many world languages. For instance, when a German American ceases to speak German, the German language does not cease to exist. This is not the case with Navajo, where the speakers are concentrated in one area and where the pool of speakers is relatively small. " cont.
nickyad 3 years ago
As each Navajo ceases to speak his or her language, the pool is weakened to the extent that the language will eventually disappear altogether, without the hope of renewability from an external source. "
Benally A. and Viri D. (2005). Dine bazaad [Navajo language] at a crossroads: Extinction or renewal? Bilingual Research Journal, 29(1), p 85 - 108.
nickyad 3 years ago
Yaateeh abini. Shi ei taa sahi naabeeho bizaad bihooshaah ndi shi ei bilagaana... Don't give up. I'm a 37-yrs-old ("white man") guy from the other side of the Globe and I'm very willing to learn Navajo. What I'm wishing to see is to have Navajo video lessons in the Net. As I'm a total beginner with Navajo I'd like to hear the words from a native speaker even if I'm able to hear some words from places like this. I can't fly to US to hear authentic Navajo lessons so the Net could be the solution.
Lappis123 3 years ago
And this is why you are just another ignorant odiigis bilagaana.
witkonamu 3 years ago
i agree with what nickyad responded
sarie4Him 3 years ago
How do you define "Irish", "German" and "Italian"? Just because let's say the great-great-greatgrandmother (or -father)of a n average US citizen is from Italy or Germany or someone's last name happens to be German, Irish, Italian or whatever doesn't make that person automatically a member of those people. Ask Europeans and they will tell the same to all of you: You are American- culturewise, languagewise, mentalititywise.
nordstern1981 3 years ago
It DOES make a difference whether one is still able to speak a certain language or not. Language IS culture, it IS a certain way of thinking and having a certain perspective on the world and its people. What a dull and boring place this world would be if everybody spoke only English....
I hope the Navajo and other Native American people will be able to preserve their venerable languages as long as possible. If their languages die, their respective cultures will die as well
nordstern1981 3 years ago
All of those are their losses, 19Truth53. Language is culture. In addition, there are millions of speakers of the languages you list. This is not the case with native languages (in the Americas).
adamstokke 2 years ago
I've always regretted that I never learned Navajo. I'm white, but I grew up on the rez, Tuba City and Leupp. I learned a little, but I've forgotten most of it. I still say the few words and phrases I know in my head regularly, so I don't lose them as well. I'm told nowdays that I say the words like a white person, that I've lost my accent. That makes me sad, and confused. I feel like I have no right to want to learn Navajo again, but I feel like I'm missing part of my past if I don't.
changingone77 3 years ago
BLAH! i hate to break it to you, but we ain't forgetting our language, so grow up and learn it! besides ones you learn to read it, you can give shit to people who don't! yeah pay backs a bitch
dine for independence!!
7tsosie 3 years ago
This video is so depressing.
taydrews 3 years ago
I'd also like to add that it must suck for you living in a nation that doesn't care about minority languages. Much like the German government is protecting a dying Slavic language called Sorbian for instance.
Cultural identity starts with language IMO.
Breiniak 3 years ago
I've just read this language has a lot of sounds many can't pronounce, one of the most complex and irregular grammar systems, etc...
Would be a shame of this language dies out. You see? complicated languages attract me
Breiniak 3 years ago
I am very surprise how many people don't attempt to relearn or try to speak their (Navajo) language. However, I have notice that the Navajo people have always accepted what other culture practice and accept it as their own (assimilation and acculturation).
leoleo36 3 years ago
Never allow anyone to dilute your language - especially Americans as they make words up as they go along and few people outside of North America need to understand them by their language as they make such a mess of everything else they do.
Darryld1 3 years ago
THAT WOMAN IS GORGEOUS.
NewWorldRob 3 years ago
Here's one to gro on: I can see by many of the people' abrasive posting, how the younger generation can be put off by the rude comments that are disconcerting to learning the Navajo language.
I know it is hard. I had to re-learn as an adult that you have to put yourself above all that in order to be the learner. In the end - "more power to you"
You then, and only then, can protect them from inside and outside.
bshwlknwckr 3 years ago
i realized that my parents did a great job at teaching me about who iam and where i come from. I have a daughter who is half latina but you can be she will know her clans. she is Navajo and i will make sure she knows her roots as well as her hispanic side. Im Tsi'naajínii born for Tl'aashchí'í my nalis are Ta'néészahnii and my cheis are Kinyaa'nii that is who iam and im damn proud!
marcoreyes85 3 years ago
Growing up i thought i did not learn enough about my culture and heritage. I felt alot like i was a " lost indian" but when i left the reservation to join the Marine Corps i met many other Navajos who did not know their clans or anything about our cullture.
marcoreyes85 3 years ago
CITY SLICKERZ!
amron56 3 years ago
City Slickers!
amron56 3 years ago
one thing i said N my anti culturalit class, was i wish my people wouldnt make fun of the language and accents,i said this n front of 40 students of all race even hispanics, i said i wish it was like here in the city,where hispanics can keep their language & accents & not get teased for it, & allot looked at me as if they thought its crazy to make fun the language ur people speak.so allot of people dont know about this n the city they think just cuz u come from a different race u know ur lanuage
MyMaze08 3 years ago
Maybe learning the culture is not Important or interesting to Native Youth today, cuz were so Focused on stuff of [[TODAY]] like, Myspace,cell phones, concerts, I-pods, X-box 360, hair styles, how up to date you can get and so on..its sad.
MyMaze08 3 years ago
MyMaze08
Pure truth, but i think not all of them are ppl like this, but i'm afraid cause a lot of them prefer euroculture than native :(
toxycola 3 years ago
Maybe learning the culture is not Important or interesting to Native Youth today, cuz were so Focused on stuff of [[TODAY]] like, Myspace, concerts, I-pods,cell phones, X-box 360, hair styles, how up to date you can get and so on..
its sad.
MyMaze08 3 years ago
Yateh, Just made a presentation with some of my friends from Alaska, N. Cali, N&S Az Natives. Hoopa, Athebascan, Apache, Dineh we have the same language root, it was EXCELLENT Real eye openner! You'll be respected internationally if you keep your language, not in in the U.S, but INTERNATIONALLY PEOPLE LOVE US.
ntvporcupine 3 years ago
this crap about not speakin navajo is the weakness of a generation who were subjected to boarding school days back in the early 60s and mid 50s who were the result of the white mans bigotry against the navajo people and other native tribes the cristain doctrine to this day catogorizes us in this place in soiciety of the whitemans plan to take what little we still have
happime123 3 years ago
my people are having a similar problem with nahuatl
cooldogdude 3 years ago
This shit is sad.... Dine Nishli adoo dine bizhad shil bahozin
Quit bitching you all and learn it not make stupid docs. on how fucked up your life is; make docs on the language/ not lazy people bullshiting yourselves
congoking88 3 years ago
this shit is sad mayn
Im glad i speak din'e and bitch i prolly will inderstand them recordings...stop bitching and learn your shit!
congoking88 3 years ago
The idea that if someone learns a minority language, they'll be missing out on the majority language, is very mistaken and it's a shame that it's held by so many people, Navajos and others too. If only people realized ... kids can learn more than one language, fluently, and there's no need for any language to die.
somnomagh 3 years ago
don't know ur clans AND UR 29 YEARS OLD!!!!!!! COM ON
Punchy871 3 years ago
Navajo Language is not dying, alot of people still speak the language. People are just too ignorant to learn it. Come on, people navajo langauge saved our country in WWII or else we would be talking Japanese today. I think it's sad most young half navajos know the language then most full navajos. Its like they are very proud to be part navajo and know the language and to be honest they are very successful in life by known who they are. Think about it.
rotantech 3 years ago
Alot of people speak Navajo, but the majority of them are over 40. Not so many young parents are fluent, and very very few children are learning Navajo as the language of their home. Fewer than 20% of Navajo 5 year olds can speak Navajo. When a language is not being learned as a first language by children, there is a severe danger of future language extinction.
pspeas619 3 years ago
you ppl worry too much about what other ppl think. stop worrying to damn much about what others think. know your language, be proud!
aldriantom 3 years ago
Ya'ah'teeh Keep your head up, go out there and don't be shy or scared to ask question. Start off w/ simple word that are common use. And one of the main things is stop mocking or making front of your own peers that know the language. (((JOHNS)) I'm One and Pround of it. Go out and start recording ur elders while there still around to teach. And try not to get fustrated and I am still learning myself hang in there and keep ur heads up.
DineRenegade 3 years ago
Dine Bizaad is a beautiful language. I have great respect for the Navajo culture. I don't understand the accent-retention issue with persons that don't speak Navajo. Because they already have a distinct Navajo accent even if they know little Navajo.
Zeev 3 years ago
never lose your language! cheer up and never lose your culture. As many languages you speak better for you.
prigual 3 years ago
I think it's a myth to believe that if you speak Navajo, that makes you more "Navajo" or more representative of your culture than the people who can speak the language.
The people speaking in this video I think their ancestors would be proud of their ability or desire to learn. Those speaking Navajo and do not appreciate their culture are truly lost.
Cactusstation 3 years ago
Well you have to know it is a very difficult language to learn but you shouldn't give up. I'm navajo and it was my first language but when I started attenting school I lost it but I understand when someone speaks to me in Navajo. I'm still know how to speak it but I'm not fluent in it and I'm working hard to become more fluent in my own language. The point is just don't give up because our language is unique and it's one of the reasons why we have our freedom today (WW2).....
sevenx007xseven 3 years ago
i am navajo and not as fluent as i'd like to be in the language. i think one unfortunate aspect in learning navajo is that the teachers, who are navajo, expect a navajo child to already "know" navajo. right now i am learning spanish and it has been immensely easier to learn over navajo. the professor is caucasian and knows how difficult it is to learn a new language because it is learning a new way to think. i would rather learn the language from a non native speaker. choose a teacher carefully!
Uelito 3 years ago
awesome to see identities amongst navajo retaining a sense of heritage combine history with modern times.
DaNavajo 3 years ago
DaNavajo, thanks for the comment and for watching the video! =)
nickyad 3 years ago
hello!!whites will naver know navajo they dont have da blood so they cant speak fluently speak it. Trust me ive tried wit my friends they dont speak it good. And dat is not true u dont get an accent i speak it i dont have an accent!!!!!!!!!!
N8VrezHunnY 3 years ago
N8vrezhunny, lol. Thanks for commenting!
=D
nickyad 3 years ago
there's no relation between blood and ability to speak a language. you can stick a kid into any society and they'll learn the language spoken there. if someone tries to learn a language when they're older though, it will be difficult and they'll have an accent, unless they have a particular knack for languages. that goes for any race, any language.
somnomagh 3 years ago
never to old to learn
ohyeah505 3 years ago
Thanks for watching the video.
I agree, one it never to old to learn anything. =)
nickyad 3 years ago
Why dont some of you guys learn the language, since you conquered the country and took it ?
moxin99 3 years ago
Moxin99 - I'm hoping your response is to the 1st main comment, lol. =)
Thanks for watching. I've updated the "about this video".
nickyad 3 years ago
teisho71, its not that easy to find places to learn Navajo. Its not like Spanish where there are multiple courses in every school to learn. And there are almost no places outside of the reservation to even practice speaking or hear it being used.
No need to be rude... if you don't have something constructive to say then dont say it.
wparkhurst 3 years ago
He makes a point in the sense that "we" should put some effort into learning are language. I have about 3 books and 2 CDs on the dine bizaad alone. I'm not the best at dine bizaad but I've made an effort to teach myself.
The places I picked up all my stuff was trading posts; however I've seen stuff on the internet through Amazon to purchuse learning materials.
So I say give the guy a break.
navahotaku 3 years ago
WOW this is way cool~~`
nastycheii 3 years ago
Thanks for your comment!
nickyad 3 years ago
Good Job NIKKI!!!!
nastycheii 3 years ago
thanks for the video you guys, i think it&#