Language - Guampedia

Art, Architecture, Body Adornment, Music and Food, Civic Society, Contemporary Guam Era, Contemporary Music, Creative Expressions, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Language, Modern Guam Rises, Music, People, People and Places, Politics and Government, Women in Guam History

Lagrimas Leon Guerrero Untalan

Lagrimas Leon Guerrero Untalan (1911-1997) was an educator, political pioneer and cultural advocate. Born and raised in Guam, Untalan was at the vanguard of bilingual education and will always be remembered for translating the Guam Hymn into the Chamorro language. She was also one of the first Chamorro women to be elected to the Guam Legislature. Untalan volunteered extensively with community groups, including service as President for the Guam Women’s Club from 1957-1958. She also was involved with the various activities of her church and parish.

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Historic Eras of Guam, Language, People, People and Places, US Naval Era, Women in Guam History

Gertrude Costenoble Hornbostel

Gertrude Costenoble Hornbostel (1893 – 1982) was born on 20 December 1893, in Reinfelden, Switzerland, to Gertrude Blum and Ludwig Wilhelm Herman Costenoble. In 1903 she and her older brother Hermann moved with their parents to settle in Saipan, which at the time was a territory of Germany.

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e-Publications, European Exploration, Trade and Scientific Studies, Historic Eras of Guam, Language, Scientific Studies, Spanish Era

Joseph Paul Gaimard’s 1819 CHamoru/Chamorro Vocabulary

Dr. Alexander M. Kerr of the University of Guam translated Joseph Paul Gaimard’s 1819 glossary of CHamoru words assembled while he was on Guam in April 1819 as the naturalist of the French expedition about the French naval vessel Uraine. The ship, under the command of Louis Claude de Freycinet, circumnavigated the world during the years 1817 to 1820.

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Ancient Guam Era, Chamorro Culture, Historic Eras of Guam, Language, Our Heritage, Spanish Era

Origin of CHamoru/Chamorro as an Ethnic Identifier

First used in the 16th Century. Inscribed on the Great Seal of Guam are the words “Tano I’ ManChamorro,” or Land of the Chamorros/CHamorus.

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Chamorro Culture, Indigenous Lenses, Language, Our Heritage

CHamoru/Chamorro Surnames

Traditionally, CHamorus didn’t have surnames. Each person was known by a first name and was probably referred to also according to his clan name.

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Chamorro Culture, Indigenous Lenses, Language, Our Heritage

CHamoru/Chamorro Nicknames

The “Better Known As” system. CHamorus have developed a way of identifying people other than their given names. Whether this “better known as” system came about because it was difficult to keep track of people due to many people having the same saint’s names, or from old clan names, can only be speculated upon.

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Catholic, Civic Society, Historic Eras of Guam, Language, People, People and Places, Religion, US Naval Era, US Naval Era: Religion

Father Roman de Vera

Pioneer promoter of the CHamoru language. Father Roman Maria de Vera (1878 – 1959), a Catholic missionary on Guam from 1915 until 1941, was one of the first important writers in the CHamoru language.

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Contemporary Guam Era, Historic Eras of Guam, Language

Kumision I Fino’ CHamoru Language Commission

Created by public law in 1964, the Kumision I Fino’ Chamorro, or Chamorro Language Commission, was established as the recognized authority on Chamorro language policy for the island of Guam. Tasked with the primary duty of describing and prescribing the Chamorro language in its written form, the commission was also mandated to prepare an updated Chamorro-English dictionary.

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Contemporary Guam Era, Historic Eras of Guam, Language

Chamorro vs. Chamoru

Rooted in the oral tradition, the Chamorro people’s transition toward the written word is a relatively young process. With the Americanization and the emphasis on literacy during the last century, the implications of this transition became very visible at the turn of the century when the spelling of the word used to identify the indigenous population of the Marianas came under public scrutiny in Guam.

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Contemporary Guam Era, Historic Eras of Guam, Language

Chamorro Orthography

Though the Chamorro language was spoken by the people of the Marianas long before European expeditions made their way to the Pacific, its written form is still relatively new, with the most significant efforts toward standardization emerging only within the last fifty years.

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