Language - Guampedia

Revised Chamorro-English Dictionary

As part of a larger effort to preserve and revitalize the language, the CNMI’s Chamorro community began in 2008 to revise Topping, Ogo, and Dungca’s (1975) Chamorro-English Dictionary, which contains entries for some 9,700 headwords. With support from the National Science Foundation, assistance from the CNMI government, and the help of many volunteers, a concerted effort has been made to revise, update, and expand the dictionary.

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Contemporary Guam: Politics, Education, Guamanian Era: Education, Language, Modern Guam Rises, People, Politics and Government, WWII Survivor Stories

Pilar Cruz Lujan

Pilar Cruz Lujan (1930 – 2022) was a CHamoru language advocate and leader, groundbreaking educator, and a six-term senator in the Guam Legislature.

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Contemporary Guam Era, Historic Eras of Guam, Language

CHamoru Orthography Rules

With the enactment of PL 33-236 re-establishing I Kumisión i Fino’ CHamoru yan i Fina’nå’guen i Historia yan i Lina’la’ i Tåotao Tåno’ (Kumisión) came the responsibility to refine a standard way of linking the atfabeton CHamoru to the sounds of our indigenous language.

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Art, Art, Architecture, Body Adornment, Music and Food, Civic Society, Contemporary Art, Contemporary Guam: Education, Creative Expressions, Education, Language, Modern Guam Rises

CHamoru/Chamorro Comic Strip: Juan Malimanga

“Juan Malimanga” is the first comic strip in local print news that is written completely in the CHamoru language. The comic strip, originally written by Clotilde Castro Gould and illustrated by Roger Faustino, centers around humorous observations and adventures of the character Juan Malimanga. Despite its continued publication in the Pacific Daily News (PDN), the origins of this iconic comic strip signaled a landmark victory in efforts to overturn the controversial language policies of print media on the island of Guam.

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Ancient Guam Era, Chamorro Culture, Guampedia Resources, Historic Eras of Guam, Indigenous Lenses, Language, Our Heritage, Transportation, Technology and Communications

CHamoru/Chamorro Sidereal Direction Terminology

In 1817 Adelbert von Chamisso recorded the CHamoru terms for what he assumed were cardinal directions: Timi (North), Seplun (South), Manuu (East), Faniipan (West). These terms are sidereal or star directions and not completely analogous to the Western concepts of North, South, East and West. Nevertheless, these sidereal directions (of or with respect to the distant stars, i.e., the constellations or fixed stars, not the sun or planets) are fixed and not situational positions on the horizon and can easily be used as abstract cardinal directions.

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e-Publications, Guam CAHA Workshops, Language

CHamoru/Chamorro Seafaring Lexicon Workshop

3rd Workshop in Preparation for the 12th Festival of Pacific Arts. Guam hosted the Festival of the Pacific Arts (FestPac) in 2016, a region-wide festival celebrating the various arts and cultures of the Pacific. As the host of FestPac 2016, Guam chose the kinds of events to highlight, including traditional performances, arts and craft displays and demonstrations, music, dancing and story-telling.

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Indigenous Lenses, Language

CHamoru/Chamorro Directional Terminology

In westernized Guam the cardinal directions are lågu for north, håya for south, kåttan for east and luchan for west. If you examine the map of Guam, produced by the CHamoru Language Commission, that is what you will find in the map legend. However, the directions are different, depending on where you are on the island. Additionally, CHamorus on Saipan say that kåttan is north, luchan is south, håya is east and lågu is west.

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Civic Society, Education, Historic Eras of Guam, Language, Modern Guam Rises, Politics and Government

Role of Education in the Preservation of Guam’s Indigenous Language

The goal of education in any society is to impart knowledge and to equip people with the tools necessary to become valuable and contributing members of their community. Yet, who determines what should be taught or what kind of knowledge people should acquire?

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CHamoru Quest for Self-Determination, Civic Society, Contemporary Guam Era, Contemporary Guam: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Island Life, Language, People and Places, Politics and Government, Villages, Heritage Sites and Island Life

PARA-PADA

CHamoru activism in the 1970s. In the 1970s, several CHamoru activist groups organized to resist both local injustices and United States colonialism on Guam in general. PARA-PADA was formed from two activist groups that merged together and operated outside the traditional political leadership circles on Guam.

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Chamorro Culture, Civic Society, Contemporary Guam Era, Contemporary Guam: Education, Education, Historic Eras of Guam, Indigenous Lenses, Island Life, Language, Our Heritage, People and Places, Villages, Heritage Sites and Island Life

Fino’ Håya Project

Guam Community College created a series of 16 videos in Fino’ Håya, the indigenous language of the island of Guam, in an effort to revive, promote, and preserve this unique bond to our ancestors.

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