Navajo | Ethnologue

A language of United States

ISO 639: nav
Alternate Names: Diné, Navaho
Autonym: Diné Bizaad, Naabeehó bizaad
Population: 167,000 (2015 census). 7,600 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 300,000 (2011 B. Donovan).
Location:: Arizona: northeast; Colorado; New Mexico: northwest; Utah: southeast.
Language Status: 6b* (Threatened). Language of registered tribe: Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation (Arizona and California), Navajo Nation (Arizona; New Mexico; Utah).
Classification: Eyak-Athabaskan, Athabaskan, Apachean
Typology: SOV; postpositions; dual number; indefinite article; tense and aspect; 33 consonant and 16 vowel phonemes; tonal (2 tones: high, low).
Language Use: Vigorous in some families. L1 speakers among first graders are 30% versus 90% in 1968 (1998). Wide range of functions. Most also use English [eng].
Language Development: High literacy. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1985–2000. Immersion program in several schools; formally taught at several universities (Golla 2007).
Language Resources: OLAC resources in and about Navajo
Writing: Latin script [Latn].

Location: Arizona: northeast; Colorado; New Mexico: northwest; Utah: southeast.