The Navajo Verb: A Grammar for Students and Scholars

by Leonard M. Faltz

Overview

The verb is the most important and the most complex part of Navajo grammar. For the first time, students and scholars interested in the Navajo language have a book that presents the verb system in a step-by-step and thorough fashion. By providing easy-to-follow descriptions with abundant examples, this book unravels the complexity of Navajo and reveals its expressiveness.

In Navajo, numerous prefixes combine with verb roots to form single words that, in English translation, require a phrase or even a sentence to convey their meaning. Therefore, verb stems and prefixes must be mastered piece by piece to understand the language. This volume leads the reader carefully and systematically through the complexities of the Navajo verb system. By doing so, the book makes Navajo more accessible to all those interested in the American Indian language with the largest number of speakers in the United States.

"This work is outstanding for the way in which the materials and rules are organized."—Dr. Sally Midgette, coauthor of Analytical Lexicon of Navajo

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826319029
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	08/01/1998
Series:	Jewish Latin America
Edition description:	1 ED
Pages:	470
Sales rank:	899,285
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.18(d)

Editorial Reviews

. . . it is fun to read. . . . [and] employs a casual and encouraging style. . . . Even the chapter titles can be entertaining. . . . [Faltzs] prose remains precise yet readable. . . . a steep but well-lighted path . . . this book will quickly find its way into college classrooms . . .

. . . it is fun to read. . . . Ýand¨ employs a casual and encouraging style. . . . Even the chapter titles can be entertaining. . . . ÝFaltzs¨ prose remains precise yet readable. . . . a steep but well-lighted path . . . this book will quickly find its way into college classrooms . . .

This book offers a refreshingly user-friendly, yet serious and highly detailed introduction to the intricacies of Navajo verb morphology. . . . a worthy addition to any linguistics library. . . . the beginning student of Navajo will successfully master all of the grammatical forms of the Navajo verb. . . . It deserves a place near the forefront of a long tradition of excellent linguistic descriptions of Navajo.

"This book offers a refreshingly user-friendly, yet serious and highly detailed introduction to the intricacies of Navajo verb morphology. . . . a worthy addition to any linguistics library. . . . the beginning student of Navajo will successfully master all of the grammatical forms of the Navajo verb. . . . It deserves a place near the forefront of a long tradition of excellent linguistic descriptions of Navajo."

From the Publisher