-ʼĄ́

See also: Appendix:Variations of "a"

Navajo

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *ʼa (“to handle compact object”), with nasalized perfective *ʼa-nʸ.

One of the most productive root occurring in all Athabaskan languages, in a wide range of themes and specialized meanings.

Cognate root found in Ahtna zʼaan (“it is in position”), yiniʼaan (“he arrived carrying it”), diniʼaan (“he brought the news”), nikuniʼaan (“it is planned”), [Term?] (“sun moves”), with similar extended meanings.

Root

-ʼĄ́

to handle SRO

Motion themes:

Theme	O + ∅	ʼa + ∅	O + di + ∅	O + ł + d	ni + d
∅-MOM ∅ a di dii ałná ha hadii na ńdíníi yisdá	S handles SRO yiʼaah iiʼaah yidiʼaah yidiiʼaah — haiʼaah haidiiʼaah neiʼaah néidíníiʼaah yisdéíʼaah	S moves (the sun) — eʼeʼaah adiʼaah adiiʼaah ałnéʼéʼaah haʼaʼaah — — — —	S handles abstract O (a song); S relaxes O — iidiʼaah yididiʼaah — — haidiʼaah — — — —	S carries O (fire) yiłtʼaah iiłtʼaah yidiłtʼaah yidiiłtʼaah — haiłtʼaah — — — —	S moves head nitʼaah anitʼaah — — — hanitʼaah — — — —
ni-MOM ∅ chʼi ni#	yíʼaah chʼííʼaah niyíʼaah	— chʼéʼéʼaah —	yideeʼaah chʼíideeʼaah neideeʼaah	yíłtʼaah chʼííłtʼaah niyíłtʼaah	— chʼíneetʼaah nineetʼaah
CONT PROG	neiʼá yooʼááł	— ooʼááł	neidiʼaʼ (DIV) —	neiłtʼá yoołtʼááł	nanitʼá nootʼááł
Misc.		eʼełʼaah			dininitʼaah dínítʼaah