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Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
Why Do People Say "Needs Washed"?
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Why Do People Say "Needs Washed"?

Also, is there a relationship between Navajo and ... Hungarian?

John McWhorter's avatar
John McWhorter
Dec 06, 2022
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Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios
Why Do People Say "Needs Washed"?
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This car very much needs washed.

Anna Meyer has traveled among the Navajo and senses a deep connection between her native Hungarian language and culture and that of the indigenous people she encountered. She says that 30 years ago, at a Navajo rodeo:

When the MC started to speak, introducing the upcoming events, it gave me a jolt! The language, Diné, sounded so much like Hungarian! I had the feeling that I should understand this! The sound, the rhythm, the intonation of the language was exactly as Hungarian.

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