"Plaza 'góó and before he can respond...": Language ideology, bilingual Navajo and Navajo poetry (original) (raw)

Abstract

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This article examines the linguistic ideology surrounding the use of the Navajo language in contemporary written Navajo poetry. It critiques the predominant purist perspective that neglects the reality of bilingual Navajo usage and instead promotes a 'standard' version of the language, which is largely disconnected from English. The author emphasizes the importance of recognizing bilingual Navajo, showcasing its historical presence in both spoken and written forms, and argues that this bilinguality can challenge dominant ideologies that regard Navajo as free from external linguistic influences.

Figures (1)

Image 1: Sign north of Gallup, NM heading towards the Navajo Nation. “Ghost Roads” of “america” (Chee 1999: 7), and ultimately the ideophony of Raven’s laugh, “Caw, Caw, Caw,” and then it “flies out of the Night growing colder/ a night for myths fallen on roadsides” (Chee 1999: 7) (on ideophony in Navajo poetry see Webster 2008b). Chee presents the Navajo Ist person possessive pronoun in conjunction with the English noun ‘buddy’, expressing something akin to ‘my buddy’ (the reference here may be to the Earth itself). In example 24, Ashley uses shi’ love ‘my love’ along with mi amor “my love’, linking the two forms with a sense of intimacy. Ashley’s poem is a love poem. Ashley’s example, like Belin’s above, appears to be quoted speech. This is common in the use of the more idealized Navajo as well (see ex. 1, 6, 25, and 26). Likewise, in both the Ashley and Chee examples, the use of the bilingual Navajo form seems to index a sense of intimacy between interlocutors. The use of shi- ‘my’ on an English noun (buddy and love) aids in both the localizing of these lines of poetry and in their affective expressivity. Ashley and Chee’s examples also resonate with Navajo humorist Vincent Craig’s use of shiheart ‘my heart’, but also with signs such as the one shown below, with the phrase shoo shi heart ‘watch out my heart/love’ printed on it. The picture in image 1 was taken in 2007 just north of Gallup, New Mexico, heading towards the Navajo Nation. The sign, and the use of bilingual Navajo here, intertextually linking to Craig and a common phrase on the Navajo Nation, has an informal quality to it.

Image 1: Sign north of Gallup, NM heading towards the Navajo Nation. “Ghost Roads” of “america” (Chee 1999: 7), and ultimately the ideophony of Raven’s laugh, “Caw, Caw, Caw,” and then it “flies out of the Night growing colder/ a night for myths fallen on roadsides” (Chee 1999: 7) (on ideophony in Navajo poetry see Webster 2008b). Chee presents the Navajo Ist person possessive pronoun in conjunction with the English noun ‘buddy’, expressing something akin to ‘my buddy’ (the reference here may be to the Earth itself). In example 24, Ashley uses shi’ love ‘my love’ along with mi amor “my love’, linking the two forms with a sense of intimacy. Ashley’s poem is a love poem. Ashley’s example, like Belin’s above, appears to be quoted speech. This is common in the use of the more idealized Navajo as well (see ex. 1, 6, 25, and 26). Likewise, in both the Ashley and Chee examples, the use of the bilingual Navajo form seems to index a sense of intimacy between interlocutors. The use of shi- ‘my’ on an English noun (buddy and love) aids in both the localizing of these lines of poetry and in their affective expressivity. Ashley and Chee’s examples also resonate with Navajo humorist Vincent Craig’s use of shiheart ‘my heart’, but also with signs such as the one shown below, with the phrase shoo shi heart ‘watch out my heart/love’ printed on it. The picture in image 1 was taken in 2007 just north of Gallup, New Mexico, heading towards the Navajo Nation. The sign, and the use of bilingual Navajo here, intertextually linking to Craig and a common phrase on the Navajo Nation, has an informal quality to it.

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  93. Appendix A Navajo books of poetry consulted for this paper:
  94. Allen, Terry (ed.) (1972) The Whispering Wind. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. (0 examples found)
  95. Ashley, Rutherford (2001) Heart Vision 2000. Window Rock: Cool Runnings. (1 example found; p. 350)
  96. Begay, Shonto (1995) Navajo Visions and Voices Across the Mesa. New York: Scholastic, Inc. (0 examples found)
  97. Belin, Esther (1999) From the Belly of My Beauty. Tucson: Arizona University Press. (0 examples found)
  98. Bitsui, Sherwin (2003) Shapeshift. Tucson: Arizona UP. (0 examples found)
  99. Browne, Vee (2000) Ravens Dancing. Bloomington: AuthorHouse. (0 examples found)
  100. Chee, Norla (2001) Cedar Smoke on Abalone Mountain. Los Angeles: UCLA. (1 example found; p. 6)
  101. Emerson, Gloria (2003) At the Hems of the Lowest Clouds. Santa Fe: School of American Research. (0 examples found)
  102. Erdrich, Heid, and Tohe, Laura (ed.) (2002) Sister Nations. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. (1 example; p. 8)
  103. Evers, Larry (ed.) (1980) The South Corner of Time. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
  104. Francisco, Nia (1988) Blue Horses for Navajo Women. Greenfield Center, NY: Greenfield Review Press. (0 examples found)
  105. Francisco, Nia (1994) Carried Away by the Black River. Farmington, NM: Yoo-Hoo Press. (0 examples
  106. Frank, Della, and Roberta Joe (1993) Storm Patterns: Poems from Two Navajo Women. Tsaile: Navajo Community College Press. (0 examples found)
  107. Jim, Rex Lee (1989) Áhí Ni' Nikisheegiizh. Princeton: Princeton Collections of Western Americana. (0 examples found)
  108. Jim, Rex Lee (1995) saad. Princeton: Princeton Collections of Western Americana. (0 examples found)
  109. Jim, Rex Lee (1998) Dúchas Táá Kóó Diné. Beal Feirste, Ireland: Au Clochan. (0 examples found)
  110. John, Hershman (2007) I Swallow Turquoise for Courage. Tucson: Arizona Univerty Press. (0 examples
  111. Milton, John (1969) The American Indian Speaks. Vermillion, S.D.: South Dakota University Press. (0 examples found).
  112. Tapahonso, Luci (1987) A Breeze Swept Through. Albuquerque: West End Press. (0 examples found)
  113. Tapahonso, Luci (1993) Sáanii Dahataał: The Women are Singing. Sun Tracks vol. 23. Tucson: Arizona University Press. (0 examples found)
  114. Tapahonso, Luci (1997) Blue Horses Rush In. Tucson: Arizona University Press. (0 examples found)
  115. Tohe, Laura (1999) No Parole Today. Albuquerque: West End Press. (0 examples found).
  116. Tohe, Laura (2005) Tséyi': Deep in the Rock. Tucson: Arizona University Press. (0 examples found)
  117. Walters, Anna Lee (ed.) (1993) Neon Pow-Wow. Flagstaff: Northland Publishing. (0 examples found)
  118. Yazzie, Venaya (ed) (2006) Saad ak'e'elchi': Navajo/English Poetry. Farmington: Northwest New Mexico Arts Council. (0 examples found)
  119. Yazzie, Venaya (2006) Livin Matriarchal: Chapbook I. Farmington: Venaya Yazzie. (0 examples found)