1.Diné Bizaad literally means “the people’s language.” This is telling and represents the role this language plays in constructing community identity.

2. Navajo’s writing system uses the Latin alphabet but also includes extra marks and accents. These additional symbols are used to show nasal vowels, different tones, and other phonetic complexities that this language is particularly well known for.

3. Although primarily spoken in the Southwest, Navajo became famous during the Second World War because of the Code Talkers. Navajo-speaking US Marines used it as the basis for a military code that played a key part in wartime communications in the Pacific.

4. In Navajo, gender is more complex than in many other languages. For example, maleness is associated with things that are static, while femaleness is linked with concepts seen as “active.” As such, the concept of thought is seen to be male, while speech (seen as more active) is female. The complexities don’t end there as there are actually four categories of gender, rather than the traditional two. The additional categories refer to a male with a feminine nature and a female with masculine characteristics.

5. While the majority of languages (including English) commonly have a first person (“I”), second person (“you”), and third person (“he” or “she”), Navajo also has a fourth person, which is used to speak about someone without referring to them by name. That’s because the act of naming an individual is seen as a powerful act and is the reason why, in polite forms of speech, it is usual to avoid doing this.