Re: THEORY: irregular conlangs

R. Nierse wrote:

> I have "Navajo made easier" waiting in a box to be read. I think I'll start
> reading soon!
By Irv Goosen?  That's the one I'm reading!  It's not a grammar,
alas, it's a teach-yourself book.  For real grammar it refers you to
the definitive work, Young and Morgan's _The Navajo Language_.  I
asked for that for my birthday.  Apparently it's a mammoth tome -- but
it's available at any Waldenbooks in Gallup, NM! :)

My great-grandfather was a missionary to the Navajos, and apparently
the "Morgan" in "Young and Morgan" (I think it was Morgan -- I'll have
to ask my mom) was his translator.  Morgan was apparently a very
important man on the reservation too.  I'm finding all this out since
my mom moved back down to that area, where her roots are.  She was
amazed to find out that though my grandfather had moved to Michigan
and had little to no contact with anyone in the New Mexico area for
many decades, my great-grandfather's reputation still lived on among
the Christian Navajos, and everyone esteemed him and welcomed my
mother because she was his granddaughter.

She ended up moving there permanently and marrying Ernie Benally,
another man well known and well esteemed in the church.  Ernie is a
Navajo and is fluent in the language, and I'm hoping, the next time
I'm together with him and my mom, to work on my pronunciation of the
exercises in Goosen's book with him.

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Boxcars are pulling an Ed of sorts out of town.
             edheil@postmark.net
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