I’ve always wanted to learn a Native American language, but it’s been extremely difficult to find anyone with whom I could learn as most indigenous American languages are considered critically endangered or extinct. So a couple months ago I was extremely excited to get in touch with someone who could teach me Navajo, the original language of the Navajo people who live mostly in the Navajo Nation located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Less than 200,000 people speak Navajo in the entire world. Navajo is hands down the hardest language I’ve ever studied, with extremely challenging pronunciation and one of the most complex grammatical systems of any extant language. It’s so complex that the language was used by the Navajo code talkers as the basis for a secret communication system during World War II.
But even though many young people no longer speak the language, the older generation often still does, and so after a month of studying the language and me and my crew’s COVID vaccinations we flew out to New Mexico to find locals to practice with. Thanks to Raycon for sponsoring this video and I’ll be donating 100% of the sponsorship profits to NavajoStrong, a nonprofit which supports the Navajo community. If you would like to find out more about or donate to NavajoStrong, you can find them at: https://www.navajostrong.org/
