Language quiz
Here’s a recording of a story in a mystery language.
Can you guess the language and where it’s spoken?
August 8th, 2010 in
Language, Quiz questions
Here’s a recording of a story in a mystery language.
Can you guess the language and where it’s spoken?
First guess: Amerindian, probably Athapascan, any more precise is probably beyond me without a lot of web searching.
I would say Navajo
Sounds very Athapaskan, but again, beyond that, I wouldn’t be able to tell if it is from the hot lands (SW USA) or the cold (Mackenzie Valley).
Na-Dené – but Tlingit rather than Athabaskan?
It’s not Tlingit.
Fair enough – ayax̱wsishátx̱aa (?) – browsing your grammar…
The answer is Navajo (Diné Bizaad), which is spoken in Arizona and New Mexico in the USA.
The recording comes from YouTube and tells the story of the Spider Woman (Na’ashjéii asdzáá) of Canyon de Chelly, who taught the Navajo to weave.
Here is a Navajo conversation with audio/transcription in my blog if anyone is interested:
http://mlnlanguages.blogspot.com/2009/10/navajo-conversation.html
Jim
Amazingly, I’ve just finished reading a photography book by Alain Briot, who lived (and lives I think) in Arizona till this very day and spent many days among the Navajo. As well as photographer he did have knowlege (and I think studied) their costumes. This spot of land is magnificent.