Navaho-Linguistics
A repository for Indigenous American language material for quantum engineering topics from the Diné/Navaho/Navajo tribe. Collected and written by Onri Jay Benally, an Indigenous American quantum hardware engineer born and raised on the Navaho tribe (Diné Bikeyah). This is a life-long project. In January of 2024, this open-access repository became part of an approved proposal funded by the Arizona State University (ASU) Quantum Collaborative network.
Primary URL for the repository: OJB-Quantum/Navaho-Linguistics
A translation of “quantum computer” into Navaho/ Navajo, by Onri Jay Benally (an example):
| English Term | Navaho/ Navajo Term | Literal Meaning in English |
|---|---|---|
| quantum computer | béésh tʼáá ‘aníí ‘á’ádaatʼéhígíí nitsékeesí | Metal or piece of metal that thinks at a truly fundamental level |
| Full Immersion by Sight, Auditory, & Tactile Means |
|---|
| Sight = Animation & 3D models |
| Auditory = Harmonics |
| Tactility = Braille-mathematics-inspired learning |
Leveraging the universal nature of geometry with linguistics:
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Universal Nature of Geometry | - Geometry is highly visual & uses universally recognized symbols & diagrams. - Fundamental concepts like points, lines, & shapes are easily understood visually, transcending linguistic barriers. |
| Language’s Mathematical Lexicon | - Requires a well-developed mathematical vocabulary. - Terms can be created or borrowed for effective communication. - Descriptions & analogies can substitute for missing terms. |
| Teaching Methods | - Visual aids (diagrams, models, animations) can overcome linguistic gaps. - Teaching in the learners’ native language enhances understanding. - Multilingual strategies can support advanced topics. |
| Linguistic & Cultural Context | - Relating concepts to cultural or environmental contexts engages learners. - Indigenous languages, like Navajo, can use descriptive translations for geometric terms. |
| Technology & Tools | - Geometry software & platforms support multilingual learning. - Open Educational Resources (OERs) ensure inclusivity & access to content in various languages. |
| Challenges in Advanced Topics | - Advanced geometry topics may require more specialized terminology. - Language development & contextual examples can address this challenge. |
| Conclusion | - Basic geometry is universally teachable due to its visual & virtually universal nature. - Advanced topics can be effectively taught with creative methods & linguistic adaptability. |
| Plans for this repository (in no particular order): |
|---|
| ✅ Generate a table of Navaho characters in Unicode. |
| ✅ “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” example in Navaho. |
| ✅ Chart formation blueprint. |
| ✅ Cyrillic example for “blue” and “bee” in Navaho. |
| ✅ Generate a table of words and phrases by Onri that need to be converted into digital text. |
| 🔳 Label dilution refrigerator in Navaho. |
| ✅ Label tunnel junctions & physical qubit components in Navaho, may include original electron micrographs & renderings in Blender. Generate device 3D models intended for comparison with micrographs. |
| 🔳 Qubit spectroscopy and benchmarking terms in Navaho. |
| 🔳 Incorporation of hybrid qubit terms, able to support quantum hardware publication. |
| 🔳 Potential descriptions of fractal geometry. |
| 🔳 Potential contributions to Qiskit/ Qiskit Metal documentation in Navaho (from paper to GitHub pull requests). |
| ✅ Explore draw-to-text features for Navaho characters referencing Unicode. |
| Private Link for Onri’s Quantum Team to Translation Table Elements |
|---|
| Navaho Translation Table - Onri’s Quantum Hardware Team @UMN |
Note: Unicode is mentioned here due to its convenience of character generation when one desires to correctly spell Navaho words. This form of character generation may provide a robust sequence of protocols for practical language usage in digital form, further strengthening any future initiatives to automate Navaho translation. Another interesting thing is that there are Navaho medical documentation on instrumentation that may be helpful in translating hardware-related topics. This includes microscopes and other advanced spectroscopy techniques in Navaho that we can borrow ideas from for this project.
As of summer 2024, the thought of exploring Navajo/ Navaho Braille together with Nemeth (Braille mathematics) came to mind. Although advanced mathematics topics are covered using Nemeth, it would be interesting to see it combined with Navaho/ Navajo Braille to express terms used in quantum mechanics and quantum computing.
• If a language relies less on phonetics or pronunciation based on the spelling, then it is apparent that it requires more memorization. The memorization is of association of pronunciation with a particularly spelled word. • Based on some deductive reasoning, this would mean that languages that are heavily phonetic require less memorization of the association mentioned above. However, for languages that are heavily weighted on speaking rather than writing, would require relatively even more memorization.
To access the full PDF booklet, click here.
Navaho/ Navajo Character to UTF-8 Encoding by Onri Jay Benally. Click here for PDF.
Click here to download Onri’s Navaho/ Navajo Character-to-UTF-8 Encoding Excel file.
| Navaho Character (Phonetic) | [UTF-8] “U+” Notation | [UTF-8] “\u” Notation |
|---|---|---|
| A | U+0041 | \u0041 |
| B | U+0042 | \u0042 |
| Ch | U+0043 U+0068 | \u0043\u0068 |
| Ch’ | U+0043 U+0068 U+0027 | \u0043\u0068\u0027 |
| D | U+0044 | \u0044 |
| Dl | U+0044 U+006C | \u0044\u006C |
| Dz | U+0044 U+007A | \u0044\u007A |
| E | U+0045 | \u0045 |
| G | U+0047 | \u0047 |
| Gh | U+0047 U+0068 | \u0047\u0068 |
| H | U+0048 | \u0048 |
| Hw | U+0048 U+0077 | \u0048\u0077 |
| I | U+0049 | \u0049 |
| J | U+004A | \u004A |
| K | U+004B | \u004B |
| K’ | U+004B U+0027 | \u004B\u0027 |
| Kw | U+004B U+0077 | \u004B\u0077 |
| L | U+004C | \u004C |
| Ł | U+0141 | \u0141 |
| M | U+004D | \u004D |
| N | U+004E | \u004E |
| O | U+004F | \u004F |
| S | U+0053 | \u0053 |
| Sh | U+0053 U+0068 | \u0053\u0068 |
| T | U+0054 | \u0054 |
| T’ | U+0054 U+0027 | \u0054\u0027 |
| Tł | U+0054 U+0142 | \u0054\u0142 |
| Tł’ | U+0054 U+0142 U+0027 | \u0054\u0142\u0027 |
| Ts | U+0054 U+0073 | \u0054\u0073 |
| Ts’ | U+0054 U+0073 U+0027 | \u0054\u0073\u0027 |
| W | U+0057 | \u0057 |
| X | U+0058 | \u0058 |
| Y | U+0059 | \u0059 |
| Z | U+005A | \u005A |
| … | … | … |
| aa | U+0061 U+0061 | \u0061\u0061 |
| á | U+00E1 | \u00E1 |
| áá | U+00E1 U+00E1 | \u00E1\u00E1 |
| ą | U+0105 | \u0105 |
| ąą | U+0105 U+0105 | \u0105\u0105 |
| ą́ | U+0105 U+0301 | \u0105\u0301 |
| ą́ą́ | U+0105 U+0301 U+0105 U+0301 | \u0105\u0301\u0105\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| aá | U+0061 U+00E1 | \u0061\u00E1 |
| aą | U+0061 U+0105 | \u0061\u0105 |
| aą́ | U+0061 U+0105 U+0301 | \u0061\u0105\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| áa | U+00E1 U+0061 | \u00E1\u0061 |
| áą | U+00E1 U+0105 | \u00E1\u0105 |
| áą́ | U+00E1 U+0105 U+0301 | \u00E1\u0105\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ąa | U+0105 U+0061 | \u0105\u0061 |
| ąá | U+0105 U+00E1 | \u0105\u00E1 |
| ąą́ | U+0105 U+0105 U+0301 | \u0105\u0105\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ą́a | U+0105 U+0301 U+0061 | \u0105\u0301\u0061 |
| ą́á | U+0105 U+0301 U+00E1 | \u0105\u0301\u00E1 |
| ą́ą | U+0105 U+0301 U+0105 | \u0105\u0301\u0105 |
| … | … | … |
| ee | U+0065 U+0065 | \u0065\u0065 |
| é | U+00E9 | \u00E9 |
| éé | U+00E9 U+00E9 | \u00E9\u00E9 |
| ę | U+0119 | \u0119 |
| ęę | U+0119 U+0119 | \u0119\u0119 |
| ę́ | U+0119 U+0301 | \u0119\u0301 |
| ę́ę́ | U+0119 U+0301 U+0119 U+0301 | \u0119\u0301\u0119\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| eé | U+0065 U+00E9 | \u0065\u00E9 |
| eę | U+0065 U+0119 | \u0065\u0119 |
| eę́ | U+0065 U+0119 U+0301 | \u0065\u0119\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ée | U+00E9 U+0065 | \u00E9\u0065 |
| éę | U+00E9 U+0119 | \u00E9\u0119 |
| éę́ | U+00E9 U+0119 U+0301 | \u00E9\u0119\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ęe | U+0119 U+0065 | \u0119\u0065 |
| ęé | U+0119 U+00E9 | \u0119\u00E9 |
| ęę́ | U+0119 U+0119 U+0301 | \u0119\u0119\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ę́e | U+0119 U+0301 U+0065 | \u0119\u0301\u0065 |
| ę́ę | U+0119 U+0301 U+0119 | \u0119\u0301\u0119 |
| ę́é | U+0119 U+0301 U+00E9 | \u0119\u0301\u00E9 |
| … | … | … |
| ii | U+0069 U+0069 | \u0069\u0069 |
| í | U+00ED | \u00ED |
| íí | U+00ED U+00ED | \u00ED\u00ED |
| į | U+012F | \u012F |
| įį | U+012F U+012F | \u012F\u012F |
| į́ | U+012F U+0301 | \u012F\u0301 |
| į́į́ | U+012F U+0301 U+012F U+0301 | \u012F\u0301\u012F\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ií | U+0069 U+00ED | \u0069\u00ED |
| iį | U+0069 U+012F | \u0069\u012F |
| iį́ | U+0069 U+012F U+0301 | \u0069\u012F\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| íi | U+00ED U+0069 | \u00ED\u0069 |
| íį | U+00ED U+012F | \u00ED\u012F |
| íį́ | U+00ED U+012F U+0301 | \u00ED\u012F\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| įi | U+012F U+0069 | \u012F\u0069 |
| įí | U+012F U+00ED | \u012F\u00ED |
| įį́ | U+012F U+012F U+0301 | \u012F\u012F\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| į́i | U+012F U+0301 U+0069 | \u012F\u0301\u0069 |
| į́í | U+012F U+0301 U+00ED | \u012F\u0301\u00ED |
| į́į | U+012F U+0301 U+012F | \u012F\u0301\u012F |
| … | … | … |
| oo | U+006F U+006F | \u006F\u006F |
| ó | U+00F3 | \u00F3 |
| óó | U+00F3 U+00F3 | \u00F3\u00F3 |
| ǫ | U+01EB | \u01EB |
| ǫǫ | U+01EB U+01EB | \u01EB\u01EB |
| ǫ́ | U+01EB U+0301 | \u01EB\u0301 |
| ǫ́ǫ́ | U+01EB U+0301 U+01EB U+0301 | \u01EB\u0301\u01EB\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| oǫ | U+006F U+01EB | \u006F\u01EB |
| oǫ́ | U+006F U+01EB U+0301 | \u006F\u01EB\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| óo | U+00F3 U+006F | \u00F3\u006F |
| óǫ | U+00F3 U+01EB | \u00F3\u01EB |
| óǫ́ | U+00F3 U+01EB U+0301 | \u00F3\u01EB\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ǫo | U+01EB U+006F | \u01EB\u006F |
| ǫó | U+01EB U+00F3 | \u01EB\u00F3 |
| ǫǫ́ | U+01EB U+01EB U+0301 | \u01EB\u01EB\u0301 |
| … | … | … |
| ǫ́o | U+01EB U+0301 U+006F | \u01EB\u0301\u006F |
| ǫ́ǫ | U+01EB U+0301 U+01EB | \u01EB\u0301\u01EB |
| ǫ́ó | U+01EB U+0301 U+00F3 | \u01EB\u0301\u00F3 |
| … | … | … |
| ń | U+0144 | \u0144 |
| A few examples of my contributions to English-Navaho dictionary on Glosbe: |
|---|
| Electron spin |
| Intervals |
| His/her brain |
| Oak |
(There is a longer list of the translations I made, which will soon be uploaded in the folders above).
Note: I made sources available in this repository to be generally open access, while others are “copyrighted unless used for educational purposes”. This repository intends to produce educational material in the same light. See http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ for more details on the permissions allowed by those respective authors.
Onri’s bio in Navaho: ‘Aoo’, yá’át’ééh. T’aa iyisi baa ‘axhééhnisin. Hastiin Biłééhóziní Binalí ‘akót’áó shi zhi’, kótʼéego. ‘Ako shik’a’i dii shi zhi’ łaʼ sheiníʼą́ dikwii naahai yęę dą́ą́. T’aadoo shi ei Táchii’nii nishłį, Naakaii Dine’é báshishchíín, Bit’ahnii dashicheii, Kinłichíi’nii dashináli, Ta’neeszahnii dashicheii ‘alááhgo, dóó ‘Áshįįhí dashinaakidi nácheii. ‘Áádóó, Tsé Chʼil Yaa Tó go ei naashá. ‘Akót’áó Diné nishłį. ‘Axhéhee’.
(Bik’idadi’diitį́į́ł = We will understand it) -Onri