CHamoru Orthography Rules

Editor’s note:	“Utugrafihan CHamoru, Guåhan (Guam CHamoru Orthography)” is adapted and epublished with permission from the Kumisión i Fino’ CHamoru yan i Fina’nå’guen i Historia yan i Lina’la’ i Tåotao Tåno’ (Commission on CHamoru Language and the Teaching of the History & Culture of the Indigenous People of Guam).

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. We adopted some changes to the 1983 CHamoru orthography and hereby present this booklet so that we may embark on the Kumisión’s vision and planned goals and objectives.

An orthography is simply the establishment of the norms of spelling, emphasis, capitalization, punctuation, pre- and infixes, and other rules for writing language. We also know that there are always more sounds than letters and that no alphabet fits its language exactly. We can see this in the dialectal differences of spoken CHamoru. While spoken language varies from place to place and from time to time, written language will always be less flexible than its spoken parent. Written language has a different function and is produced mechanically. It must serve everyone who speaks the language, and it does this by keeping the spelling similar from one time to another. By this adopted Orthography, the Kumisión members made great efforts to provide a more standardized approach to writing CHamoru. The Kumisión acknowledges dialectical, generational, island specific and personal preferences.

In careful consideration of our movement forward, we agreed that our own orthographic rules and use of the Atfabeton CHamoru must also conform to the broader norms of language systems in society, e.g. the adherence to the rule on endonyms. Other considerations of language that must be explored in the standardization and the advancement of CHamoru includes, for example, studying the desired relationship that CHamoru, a non-English language, will have with English.

Agreeing on a shared way to use our Atfabeton CHamoru in writing is necessary in building proficiency and therefore, building stability into CHamoru as the mother tongue of our people of the Mariana Islands. The consistency that we sought was to be able to represent all and only the distinctive sound contrasts with the fewest possible symbols and conventions including an attempt at preserving historical information, highlighting cultural affiliations and supporting dialectal or regional variation. This booklet provides guidance in order that we do just that – communicate in a more standard way in CHamoru. We hope that you will cherish this booklet and employ the rules consistently and frequently.

By Hope A. Cristobal

Rule 1: Símbolon Atfabetu Siha

Alphabetic Symbols

A. The following list of consonant and vowel symbols will be used in CHamoru spelling. They are given here in alphabetical order. Example words are given to illustrate the phonetic value of each of the spelling symbols.

Letters	Example Word	English Meaning
‘ (glota)	håga’	blood
a	baba	to open
å	båba	bad
b	babui	pig
ch	chålan	road
d	dåggao	to throw
e	ékungok	to listen
f	fugo’	to squeeze
g	ga’chong	friend
h	håtsa	to lift
i	hita	we (inclusive – dual or plural)
k	kada	each
l	litråtu	picture
m	malago’	to want
n	nåna	mother
ñ	ñåmu	mosquito
ng	nginge’	to sniff
o	oppe	to answer
p	påchot	mouth
r	råmas	branch
s	såddok	river
t	tåya’	nothing
u	uchan / kuentos	rain / to talk
y	yan	and

B. The following are symbols used in written CHamoru:

1. titda (tilde, the squiggly line ñ that appears above the letter n)
2. lonnat (dotted å; the dot that appears above the letter a)
3. a’gang na sunidu (acute/loud accent stress ǻ, á, é, í, ó, ú)
4. dollan (hyphen [-] or clitic)

C. The letters c, j, q, v, w, x, z, ll, rr, will be used in the spelling of proper names only. These letters are not in the CHamoru alphabet.

For example:

Letters	Proper Names
C	Carmen	California
J	Jose	San Jose
Q	Quichocho	Quebec
V	Vicente	Venice
W	Wilfred	Washington
ll	Quintanilla	Magallanes
rr	Terry	Tarrytown

D. The glottal stop [ ‘ ] is a consonant in the alphabet. It is never used at the beginning of a word. It is usually found within or at the end of the word after a vowel.

For example:

gua’gua	to gag	nå’na’	to hide	ba’ba’	to pat gently on back side
guagua’	basket	nå’an	name	bå’ba’	undeveloped seed
guaguan	expensive	nåna	mother	baba	to open
				båba	spoiled

Rule 2. Buebuet

Diphthong

A. A diphthong is two vowels that come together to make one sound in a single syllable. The most common diphthongs are as follows:

CHamoru buebuet

ao	taotao	person
	paopao	fragrant
ai	taitai	read
	lålai	chant
oi	hagoi	pond or lake

Borrowed buebuet

io	bakasión	vacation		ia	estoria	story
ie	siette	seven		iu	presiu	price

B. All the vowel combinations listed below are considered diphthongs, unless the two vowels are separated into different syllables. This separation can be made by a glottal stop, distinctly heard between the two vowels.

For example:

Letter Combination	Diphthongs	Not Diphthongs
ie	siette	li’e’
io	adios	fi’on
ia	estoria	Tini’an
ai	gaige	Ma’ina
ao	måpao	få’om
iu	presiu	di’u
oi	hagoi	to’i

A sure test of a diphthong is when both vowels reduplicate.

For example:

Letter Combination	Diphthongs
ie	siésiente
io	bumakasiosion
ia	umestoriáriayi
iu	presiusiuyi

C. The letter h shall be used to separate vowels in spelling of non- diphthong combinations of i + o, i + e, i + a, and i + u,

For example:

i + o	esgaihon	not esgaion		i + a	biha	not bia
	hihot	not hiot			tiha	not tia
i + e	liheng	not lieng			diha	not dia
	sihek	not siek		i + u	fihu	not fiu

Rule 3: Simbolon Konsonånte gi i Finakpo’ na Pusisión i Silåba

Consonant Symbols in the Final Position of Syllables

A. The following consonants are never used at the end of a word:

b ch d g h l ñ r y

In other words, CHamoru words do not end with these letters.

For example:

maolek	NOT maoleg/mauleg		tugap	NOT tugab
idǻt	NOT edǻd/idǻd		tommo	NOT tommoh
gåpgap	NOT gåbgab

B. The consonants b, d, g, and l may appear as the last letter of a syllable (except in the final syllable) only when the consonant is geminate (refer to Rule 11 for definition).

For example:

yab•bao	to chop something down		hål•la	to pull
hab•bon	soap		bål•le	to sweep
god•de	to tie		meg•gai	many
sod•da’	to find		cheg•gai	cowrie shells

Rule 4. Propiu Nå’an Siha

Proper Names

A. The Names of Persons will retain their spelling.

B. Clan / Family Names (cultural or ‘also known as” names) should be spelled using orthographic rules herein.

C. Proper Names will not conform to Rule 7 (Spelling of Borrowed Words) and Rule 8 (Consonant Alternation).

D. Place Names that are of indigenous origin will be written using the orthographic rules herein. For example:

Guam Village Names

Hagåtña	Hagatna		Ma’ina	Maina		Sinahånña	Sinajana
Tutuhan	Agana Heights		Maite’	Maite		Talo’fo’fo’	Talofofo
Hågat	Agat		Mangilao	Mangilao		Tamuneng	Tamuning
Assan	Asan		Malesso’	Merizo		To’to	Toto
Barigåda	Barrigada		Mongmong	Mongmong		Tomhom	Tumon
CHålan Pågu	Chalan Pago		Otdot	Ordot		Humåtak	Umatac
Dédidu	Dededo		Piti	Piti		Yigu	Yigo
Inalåhan	Inarajan		Sånta Rita	Santa Rita		Yo’ña	Yona

Tåno’ Låguas yan Gåni (Islas Marianas)

Guåhan	Guam		No’os	Farallon de Medinilla		Pågan	Pagan
Luta	Rota		Anatåhan	Anatahan		Akligan	Agrihan
Aguiguan	Aguiguan		Saligan	Sariguan		As Songsong	Asuncion
Tini’an	Tinian		Guguan	Guguan		Må’ok	Maug (Maug Islands)
Sa’ipan	Saipan		Alamågan	Alamagan		Ulåkas	Farallon de Pajaros

E. Places with no known CHamoru names will retain their spelling.

NOTE: In its role as the official Guam Place Names Commission, the Kumisión is responsible for approving new place names and reviewing established placed names.

F. Months, Days, and Numerals shall conform to CHamoru spelling rules. Days of the week, months of the year, years, decades, and centuries as follows:

Years will be written as follows	Dos Mit Bente for 2020
Decades will be written as follows	Mit Disinuebi Sisentai Tåntos for the 1960s
Centuries will be written as follows	Siklon Disisiette for the 1700s
	Siklon Disinuebi for the 1900s

G. The word CHamoru is spelled as CH-a-m-o-r-u in accordance with the Guam Orthography as specified in 5 Guam Code Annotated, Chapter 88.

Rule 5. Ma Kapitalisa

Capitalization

A. Proper Names of people, places, animals, things, institutions and organizations, titles, days of the week, months of the year and the beginning of sentences will be capitalized.

For example:

People	Carmen, Jose		Organizations	Konsilión Mahót Guåhan Siha, Kumisión i Fino’ CHamoru
Places	Hagåtña, Malesso’		Titles	Siñot Teria, Siñora Flores, Maga’låhi Roberto, Maga’håga Esperansa
Animals	Spot, Bunita, Tiger		Days	Damenggo, Sǻbalu
Things	Puntan Dos Amåntes, Insular Guard		Months	Hunio, Disembre
Institutions	Unibetsedǻt Guåhan, Kulehon Kumunidǻt Guåhan		Beginning of sentences	Maolek este na fina’che’cho’!

B. The Affixed Forms of Proper Names beginning with consonants shall be capitalized.

C. The Affixed Forms of Proper Nouns Beginning with Vowels will have both the affix and the name capitalized.

D. When the Plural Subject Marker (PSM) man– is affixed to a proper name, the M- will also be capitalized.

E. The conventional practice of Capitalizing Pronouns or Nouns Relating to the Divine itself will be followed.

For example:

Yu’os	God
Saina	God
Gui’ / Guiya	He (referring to the Divine)

F. The Letters CH and NG are considered one character and will be capitalized in proper nouns and at the beginning of sentences.

Rule 6. A’gang na Buet

Stressed Vowels

A. The vowel sound of the stressed syllable is emphasized by being pronounced longer, louder, and often at a higher pitch than the surrounding syllables.

In the stressed syllable (the loudest syllable in the word), the stressed vowel will be represented by the distinct vowel sound that you hear. Stressed vowels can be in both closed (a syllable that ends in a consonant) and opened (a syllable that ends in a vowel) syllables.

Vowel Positioning Chart

Vowels are labelled according to the positioning of the tongue when pronouncing the vowels. High vowels are when your tongue is towards the roof of your mouth. Low vowels are when your tongue is low in your mouth. Mid vowels are when your tongue is midway between the two.

Front vowels are when your tongue is toward the front of your mouth whereas back vowels are when your tongue is towards the back of your mouth.

	Front Vowels	Back Vowels
High Vowels	Ii	Uu
Mid Vowels	Ee	Oo
Low Vowels	Aa	Åå

Note: Vowel positioning becomes important in later rules.

Examples of opened syllable words:

tu•bu	t(u)bu- high vowel u	tube		ti•su	t(i)su- high vowel i	stiff
bo•ti	b(o)ti- mid vowel o	boat		pa•se•hu	pas(e)hu- mid vowel e	to stroll leisurely
le•che	l(e)che- mid vowel e	milk		sa•bå•na	sab(å)na- low vowel å	mountain

Examples of closed syllable words:

yu’	y(u)’- high vowel u	I, me		påt•ma	p(å)tma- low vowel å	(hand) palm
ta’•lo	t(a)’lo- low vowel a	again		ma•tak•nga	mat(a)knga- low vowel a	brave
hot•no	h(o)tno- mid vowel o	oven		hi•nas•so	hin(a)sso- low vowel a	a thought

B. The General Stress Rule of CHamoru is called the Penultimate Stress Rule (PSR). The primary stress is predictable for most CHamoru words. It usually falls on the next to the last syllable.

For example:

to’•å•ya	towel		ta•yu•yu•ti	to pray for		dog•ga	footwear
cho•cho	to eat		li•så•yu	rosary		ma•måh•lao	embarrassed
tu•hong	hat		a•sa•gua	spouse		fi•na’•pos	past event
ga’•lå•gu	dog		ku•må•ti	cried		ku•se•cha	harvest

C. There are exceptions to the Penultimate Stress Rule in CHamoru. When a CHamoru or CHamorurized word does not adhere to the PSR then the stressed vowel, that is the loudest syllable, is made visible by marking the stressed vowel with the acute stress marker [ ́ ], above the loudest vowel (á, ǻ, é, í, ó, ú) in that syllable.

For example:

a•sút	blue		hat•dín	garden		su•mé•se•na	eating dinner
bǻt•sa•la	to pull		tá•tai•tai	to be reading		á•sa•gua	to wed, to marry
é•kung•ok	listen		lǻ•la’•la’	still alive, living

Rule 7. Dinilitrehan Inayao na Palåbra Siha

Spelling of Borrowed Words

A. English, Spanish and Japanese words which have been assimilated into CHamoru will be spelled according to the general rules for CHamoru spelling. The spelling will reflect the changes in pronunciation.

For example:

Spanish	CHamoru	English		Japanese	CHamoru	English
lavador	labadót	sink		zori	yore’	flipflops
verde	betde	green		daikon	daigo’	pickled radish
paloma	paluma	dove		kairo	kairo’	toad
caballo	kabåyu	horse		bento	bento’	meal tray
nueve	nuebi	nine		chirigami	chirigame’	toilet tissue
asul	asút	blue
Abril	Abrít	April
Viernes	Betnes	Friday

English	CHamoru		English	CHamoru		English	CHamoru
ice cream	ais krim		email	imel		technology	teknolohía
cake	kek		check	chek		movie	mubi
chaser	chesa		website	huebsait		telephone	tilifón

B. Some technical borrowed English words can retain their English spelling in which case they should be paced in ‘single quotation marks’ when in print.

For example: ‘x-ray’, ‘computer’, ‘badge‘, ‘cellphone’, ‘WhatsApp’

C. When CHamoru affixes are used with CHamorurized English words, then it will be spelled according to CHamoru orthographic rules.

For example:

pumiknek	picnicked		bumakasión	vacationed		fumesbok	on Facebook
maneksplen	explained		fanmiteng	meeting		gumugol	on Google
shumåpeng	shopping		yumom	Zooming

Rule 8. Ma Tulaikan i Konsonånte

Consonant Alternation

Consonant Alternation occurs when specific prefixes like man- and fan- are added to the beginning of a root word. The first consonant of the root word may change and/or be deleted.

A. There are two man- prefixes in CHamoru – (1) the Plural Subject Marker (PSM) referring to 3 or more subjects or actors, and (2) the Indefinite Object Marker (IOM) where the object is not specific (lepblo vs. i lepblo).

A transitive verb is a verb that takes a direct object. An intransitive verb is a verb that does not require and often cannot take a direct object. When the man- prefix is attached to the root word, a transitive verb may change to an intransitive verb.

For example:

man- as PSM: man- + boka	Mamboka i babui siha. The pigs (3 or more) ate. Bumoka i babui The pig ate.
man- as PSM: man- + misa	Manmisa i mañaina (siha). The elders (3 or more) attended mass. Mumisa i saina. The elder attended mass.
man- as IOM: man- + fåhan	Mamåhan si Jose guihan. Jose bought fish. Ha fåhan si Jose i guihan. Jose bought the fish.
man- as IOM: man- + chule’	Mañule’ i påtgon fina’mames. The child picked up dessert. I påtgon, chumule’ i fina’mames. The child picked up the dessert.

B. When consonants change due to affixation, the spelling will be changed accordingly. Some consonants are dropped and/or become different consonants. Most of the changes in consonants are caused by the affixation of the prefix man-.

For example:

man- + po’lo =	mamo’lo	to put		man- + kåti =	mangåti	to cry
man- + puti =	mamuti	to hurt		man- + såga =	mañåga	to stay
man- + tunu =	manunu	to barbeque		man- + chålek =	mañålek	to laugh
man- + tanña’ =	mananña’	to taste

In the Luta dialect of CHamoru, the consonant sounds do not change when affixed. For example, it is usually mansåga instead of mañåga. These are personal or dialectal preferences. ManCHamoru instead of Mañamoru is another common example.

Exception: There are poly-syllabic words in which the initial consonant of the root word is not altered. Some exceptions are found with words beginning with b or p where man- is clearly heard and written as mam-. These exceptions are usually found amongst borrowed words.

For example:

man- + bendisi =	manbendisi		man- + bubula =	mambúbula*
man- + bunita =	manbunita		man- + babaila =	mambábaila*
man- + pachakåti =	manpachakåti		man- + bibiha =	mambíbiha*
man- + pagamento =	manpagamento		man- + piniti =	mampiniti*
man- + piligru =	manpiligru

C. The first person singular possessive pronoun is written as –hu except for some borrowed words that use –ku instead. Possessive pronouns are attached to the root word using the dollan (hyphen) symbol. The sounds –hu and –ku are clearly audible. With some consonants, the h in –hu is swallowed and becomes inaudible so you may hear an elongated consonant at the end of the word. This occurs with words ending in the consonants k, s, or t.

For example:

• It is written as -hu when it follows a word ending with -t, as in pachot-hu (my mouth) even though you may hear pachot-tu.
• It is written as -hu when it follows a word ending with -s, as in lassas-hu (my skin) even though you may hear lassas-su.
• It is written as -hu when it follows a word ending in -k as in kalaguåk-hu (my side)even though you may hear kalaguåk-ku.
• It is written as -ku when it follows a word that ends with a vowel preceded by two consonants as in lep•blo. By adding the –ku, the stressed syllable shifts to the penultimate syllable in the affixed word, as in lep•blo-ku (my book).

Rule 9. Inimentan Konsonånte para Linakse’

Excrescent [Added] Consonants

Excrescent consonants are added before an affix for ease in pronunciation. When written, these consonants are added.

For example:

• n: lepblo + n + -måmi = lepblon-måmi (our book) NOT lepblo-måmi
• n: neni + n + -ñiha = nenen-ñiha (their baby) NOT neni-ñiha
• n: såga + n + ñaihon = såganñaihon (stay a while) NOT sågañaihon
• n: chocho + n + ñaihon = chochonñaihon (eat a while) NOT chochoñaihon
• ‘: å + ‘ + ågang = ǻ‘agang (to be calling someone – contingent upon another action) NOT åagang because the two consecutive vowels are not a dipthong.
• ‘: é + ‘ + éguihan = é‘eguihan (to be fishing) NOT éeguihan because the two consecutive vowels are not a dipthong.
• g: hånao – håna(o) + g + u [we] + i = hanågui (to go on someone’s behalf) NOT hanaogui because if a word ends in the diphthong ao then the variation of –i which in this case is –gui is what will be added. Also, the o is deleted in hånao to make it sound better.
• g: saonao – saona(o) + g + u [we] + i = saonågui (to proxy for someone) NOT saonaogui because if a word ends in the diphthong ao then the variation of –i which in this case is –gui is what will be added. Also, the o is deleted in saonao to make it sound better.

Note: If the word ends in the diphthong ai or ends in a vowel then the variation –yi is used. For example, dibi/apåsi when affixed with –i which in this case is –yi is what will be added. The new word will be dibiyi/apasiyi. In all other instances, then the suffix –i will be used. For example, li’of when affixed with –i will be written at li’ofi. Tuge’ when affixed with –i will be written as tuge’i.

Rule 10. Ti Nisisåriu na Konsonånte Siha

Superfluous [Unnecessary] Consonants

When the consonant t is heard before ch, but is not part of the syllable, then it should not be written. When the consonant t is an integral part of the syllable, then it should be written.

For example:

Not part of the syllable:

le•che	NOT letche	milk		pe•cho	NOT petcho	chest
ku•se•cha	NOT kusetcha	harvest		pa•cha	NOT patcha	to touch
es•ka•be•che	NOT eskabetche	fried fish with vegetables		ga•cha’	NOT gatcha’	caught in the act
gang•go•che	NOT ganggotche	gunny sack

Part of the syllable:

tot•che	NOT toche	dip into liquid, to extend		måt•cha	NOT måcha	to march
bat•che•go’	NOT bachego’	slanted eyes		påt•che	NOT påche	to patch
kot•chon	NOT kochon	mattress; cushion

Rule 11. Dinga’ Konsonånte yan i -h gi i Finakpo’ i Silåba

Geminate [Twin] Consonants and Final –h in a Syllable

A. Geminate or twin consonants are often heard as a single sound, but both consonants should be written because they are part of different syllables. The pronunciation of geminate or twin consonants may vary among speakers of CHamoru but should be spelled out as two consonants.

For example:

tom•mo	knee		chad•dek	fast		hål•la	to pull
meg•gai	many		gop•pe	to jump over		dåk•kon	liar
fåt•to	come		lem•mai	breadfruit		sod•da’	to find
gol•lai	vegetable		låg•gua	parrot fish		påp•pet	paper
dåk•kot	to knock		kuåt•to	room

B. The Final –h in a syllable may not be heard but will be spelled out because it is part of the syllable.

For example:

moh•mo	to chew	NOT mo•mo		ma•måh•lao	bashful	NOT ma•må•lao
sah•nge	separate	NOT sa•nge		toh•ge	to stand	NOT to•ge

Rule 12. Ti A’gang na Buet gi i Mababa na Silåba

Unstressed Vowels in Open Syllables

This rule applies to unstressed vowels in open syllables in the B, KB, KBKB, and KBKKB (V, CV, CVCV, and CVCCV) constructions.

Vowel Positioning Chart (see Rule 6 for definitions)

	Front Vowels	Back Vowels
High Vowels	Ii	Uu
Mid Vowels	Ee	Oo
Low Vowels	Aa	Åå

A. The high front vowel i and high back vowel u will be used to represent unstressed vowels in open syllables.

For example:

lå•hi	male	NOT lå•he		tu•pu	sugarcane	NOT tu•po
pu•ti	pain	NOT pu•te		tå•si	ocean	NOT tå•se
lå•gu	north	NOT lå•go

Examples with polysyllabic words:

ni•si•si•ta	necessary	NOT ne•se•si•ta
tu•tu•hon	start	NOT to•tu•hon
ma•lå•ngu	sick	NOT ma•lå•ngo
u•má•chu•le’	to resemble	NOT o•má•cho•le’
mu•bi•men•to	movement	NOT mo•be•men•to
ri•sis•te	resist	NOT re•sis•te
mu•chå•chu	male worker	NOT mo•chå•cho

Exception: This rule does not apply in polysyllabic words (usually borrowed words) when the preceding unstressed vowels are o or e. In KKB/CCV construction, the vowel in the following syllable will be either o or e.

For example:

tri’•ǻng•go•lo*	triangle	NOT tri’•ǻng•gu•lu		prók•se•mo	approximate	NOT prók•si•mu
dǻng•ko•lo*	big	NOT dǻng•ku•lu		sép•te•mo	seventh	NOT sép•ti•mu

*In the case of tri’ǻnggolo and dǻngkolo, the first o results from the preceding consonant cluster ng+g and ng+k. The second o is harmonized with the first; this is known as vowel harmony.

B. The use of mid vowels in unstressed open syllables

The unstressed vowels in open syllables following a cluster of two consonants will be represented by front mid vowel e or back mid vowel o (instead of i or u).

For example:

tåt•te	back, behind	NOT tåtti		ho’•ye	agree	NOT ho’yi
lis•to	ready	NOT listu		tom•mo	knee	NOT tommu

For example:

T å t t e
C V C C V

Although you hear tåtti in a CVCCV construction you will use front mid vowel e.

The sounds represented by some of the vowels above may appear to be incorrect (i.e., tåtte instead of tatti). For CHamoru speakers, one way to see if the correct vowel is being used is to apply the singular possessive test, adding –hu or -ku, -mu, -ña, or –ta to the word.

C. The front low vowel a instead of the back low vowel å will be used in unstressed open syllables in both the CVCV and CVCCV constructions.

For example:

må•ta	face		chå’•ka	rat
hål•la	to pull		kon•tra	against

D. The following consonant blends or combination of letters (digraphs) will be considered as one consonant for spelling purposes.

For example:

br	pr	pl	bl
brong•ko	pren•sa	plu•ma	blång•ko
bro•has	pre•ba	plå•tu	tåp•bla
bru•ha	pru•grå•ma	plån•ta	mi•si•råp•ble
fl	tr	fr	kl
a•fli•tu	tro•su	fres•ko	chang•kle•tas
flo•res	trång•ka	fru•ta	kla•si•fi•ka
fle•cha	trong•ko	fri•tå•da	mes•kláo

Rule 13. Ti A’gang na Buet gi i Machom na Silåba

Unstressed Vowels in Closed Syllables

The mid vowels e and o and the low front vowel a will be used to represent the unstressed vowels in closed syllables, i.e., syllables which end with a consonant.

For example:

hu•yong	to go out	NOT huyung		hak•mang	sea eel	NOT håkmang
hå•lom	to go in	NOT hålum		tu•gan	to pick / take out	NOT tugån
lå•pes	pencil	NOT låpis		ta•pon	type of clam	NOT tåpon
li’•e‘	to see	NOT li’i’		Guåhan	Guam	NOT Guahån

Rule 14. Iná’achilong na Buet

Vowel Harmony

Vowel Harmony means that vowels in words may change to become more like their preceding vowels. Vowels in CHamoru words must, under certain conditions, agree with each other in terms of whether they are front or back vowels, and whether they are high, mid, or low.

Vowel Positioning Chart (see Rule 6 for definitions)

	Front Vowels	Back Vowels
High Vowels	Ii	Uu
Mid Vowels	Ee	Oo
Low Vowels	Aa	Åå

A. Vowel Fronting

Vowel fronting is the change that occurs when a back vowel is drawn forward to become a front vowel. When specific particles (i, ni’, gi, in [pronoun], en, -in- [infix], sin, mi) are placed in front of a word, if the proceeding vowel is a back vowel it becomes a front vowel. When the pronunciation of a vowel is changed due to vowel fronting, this change will be reflected in the spelling.

For example:

i + foggon =	i feggon	the stove (back vowel o becomes front vowel e)
i + potta =	i petta	the door (back vowel o becomes front vowel e)
gi + i + guma’ =	gi i gima’	at the house (back vowel u becomes front vowel i)
ni’ + suni =	ni’ sini	the taro (back vowel u becomes front vowel i)
-in- + ågang =	inagang	was called (back vowel å becomes front vowel a)
i + låhi =	i lahi	the boy (back vowel å becomes front vowel a)

Some borrowed words are not fully fronted and may be written without fronting.

With borrowed numbers, the vowel fronting rule does not apply.

B. Vowel Raising

Vowel Raising is the change that occurs when certain suffixes (-on, -an,– i, -iyi; see Rule 16C for definitions) are attached to CHamoru words causing one of the two mid vowels, e or o, to be raised to its corresponding high vowel, i or u.

The change caused by vowel raising will change the syllable construction from CVC to CVCV (KBK to KBKB).

For example:

CVC		CVCV
tågo’	+ on =	tågu’on	someone who is reliable
fan + maigo’	+ an =	fanmaigu’an	place for sleeping
tuge’	+ i =	tugi’i	to write for someone
chenchule’	+ i =	chenchuli’i	to reciprocate for someone
kuentos	+ iyi =	kuentusiyi	to speak for someone

C. Vowel Lowering

Vowel Lowering is the change that occurs when the excrescent consonant n is added to words to show a modifying relationship, the KB/CV structure at the end of the word will cause one of the two high vowels, i or u, to be lowered to its corresponding mid vowel, e or o.

The change caused by vowel lowering and the addition of the excrescent consonant will shift the syllable construction from CVCV to CVCVC (KBKB to KBKBK).

For example:

CVCV	CVCVC
suni + n	= sunen agaga’	red taro
tupu + n	= tupon rayǻo	striped sugarcane

Rule 15. Difirensiáo na Palåbra Siha

Free Standing Words, Function Words, and Derivational Prefixes

A. Adjectives, verbs, and nouns are words that do not need to be associated or appended to other words. They are considered free standing words.

B. The following function words (articles and particles of speech) will be written as separate words in CHamoru:

Function Word	Example Phrase	English Meaning
i	i palao’an	the woman
ni’	ni’ palao’an	from, which (relational term) woman
si	si Juan	(honorific) John
sin	sin guinaiya	without love
as	as Juan	(specifically) John
nu	nu hågu	you are the one/for you
na	dǻngkolo na taotao	big man
ha’	Hu tungo’ ha’	I already know
fan	Nangga un råtu fan	Wait a minute, please
ni	ni håyi guini	no one here
u	para u hånao	she/he/it will go
bai	para bai hu hånao	I will go
góf/géf*	góf malångu	very sick
gós/gés*	gós maolek	very good

C. Examples of Derivational Prefixes

1. The word góf- functions as a derivational prefix, where it attaches to the word and changes its meaning.

2. The word tai- functions as a derivational prefix, where it attaches to the word and changes its meaning.

3. The word gai- functions as a derivational prefix, where it attaches to the word and changes its meaning.

4. The word sen- functions as a derivational prefix, where it attaches to the word and changes its meaning.

D. Use of derivational prefixes sen-, tai-, and gai- and the function word sin with infix -um and prefix man-. The spelling of these function words change when they are infixed with -um- or prefixed with man-. These function words should not be combined with any content words.

sen + -um-	= sumén	= suméndǻngkolo
tai + -um-	= tumái	= tumáisalåppe’
gai + -um-	= gumái	= gumáisalåppe’
man- + sen-	= mansén	= manséndǻngkolo
man- + tai-	= manái	= manáisalåppe’
man- + gai-	= manggái	= manggáisalåppe’
sin + -um-	= sumín	= sumín magågu
man- + sin	= mansín	= mansín magågu

Rule 16. Totche Siha

Affixes

An affix is a general term to describe the smallest unit of sounds that have meaning which are then attached to a word (bound morphemes). Affixes do not stand alone as separate words. Derivational affixes will change the meaning of the word it attaches to. There are five types of affixes: (1) prefix, (2) suffix, (3) infix, (4) circumfix, and (5) reduplication.

A. Prefixes

Prefixes are affixes that come before the word. When prefixes are attached, they become part of the word. The following list contains the prefixes of CHamoru:

Prefix	Meaning/Function	Example	Meaning
á-	reciprocal	árespeta águaiya	to respect each other to love each other
achá-	similarity, sameness, equally	achálokka’ achábunita	same height same beauty
án-	what remains	ánsopbla ánusa	leftover what was used
chát-	not very/not quite/ negative marker	chátbunita chátmasa	not very pretty not well-cooked
é-	to look for, to hunt for	épanglao	to hunt for crabs
ó-		ótenda	to shop for
fa’-*	to pretend, to change to to cause, to make	fa’guaha fa’maolek	to pretend to have to take care, to make good
ga’-	to like something very much	ga’maigo’	likes to sleep
gé-	more in that direction	gé’papa’	further down
gi-	person from	giBarigåda	from Barigåda
há-	often	hápoddong	prone to falling
hát-	more in the direction of	háttalom	move further in
ká-	having, exhibiting	káma’gas	having some authority
ké-	about to, try	kéhatsa	about to lift
lá-	comparative	lámaolek	better
ma-	passive marker	mataitai	was read
man-	indirect object marker	Manåyuyot yu’	I prayed
man-	plural subject marker	Manhåspok siha	They (3 or more) are full
mí-	have lots of	mísalappe’	having lots of money
mina’-	ordinal marker	mina’tres	third
na’-	to cause, make, let do something	na’gåsgas	to make clean
ná-	adjective	náchalek	funny
pinat-	majority of/mostly	pinatdonne’	mostly hot peppers
san-	in the direction of	sanme’na	toward the front
tai-	like	taiguennao	like that
ták-	in the direction of	tákhelo’	way up high
talak-	look towards the direction of	talakhiyong	look towards the outside
ya-	towards the direction of	yamó’nana	way up front

*Note: The prefix fa’- when attached to words that require the addition of the particle i will be attached to the root word with the use of a dollan (hyphen).

For example:

fa’ + i + macheng

= fa-i-macheng

to act like or pretend to be a monkey

The classifiers na‘, ga’, gimen and iyo will be written as separate words or with a hyphen (dollan) when used with a possessive pronoun.

For example:

na’ ga’lågu	dog food		gimen neni	drink for baby
na’ babui	pig food		gimen gå’ga’	drink for an animal
ga’ taotao	animal belonging to a person		iyon nåna	thing belonging to a mother
ga’ Juan	animal belonging to Juan		iyon ma’estra	thing belonging to a teacher

With possessive pronouns:

na’-hu	my food		na’-ña	his/her/its food
ga’-mu	your animal		ga’-ta	our animal, inclusive
gimen-ña	his/her/its drink		gimen-miyu	your drink, exclusive
iyon-ñiha	their thing		iyo-ku	my thing

B. Infixes

Infixes are affixes that occur within the word. They always immediately occur before the first vowel in the word, but if the word begins with a vowel then the infix will precede that vowel. When infixes are attached, they become part of the word. In CHamoru, there are two infixes -um-, -in-, and -l-.

For example:

-um- + hugåndo	= humugåndo		-in- + nå’i	= nina’i
-um- + huyong	= humuyong		-in- + magof	= minagof
-l- + dingding	= dilingding		-l- + pångpang	= pålangpang

When the word begins with a vowel:

-um- + o’mak	= umo’mak		-in- + ayuda	= inayuda
-um- + ékungok	= umékungok		-in- + ipe’	= inipe’

C. Suffixes

Suffixes are affixes that come after or follow the word. When suffixes are attached, they become part of the word. The following list contains the suffixes of CHamoru:

Suffix	Meaning / Function	Example	Meaning
-an/-guan	attributive	minigu’an / påguan	having secretion from the eye / smelly
-guan	unintentional, covertly	pinalakse’guan	slip of the tongue
-i/-yi/-gui	referential marker	sangåni / nå’iyi / li’ofgui	to tell / give / dive for someone
-iyi/-guiyi	benefactive	sanganiyi / hanåguiyi	tell / went for or on behalf of someone
-ña	comparative	bunitåña	prettier
-ñaihon	for a little while	såganñaihon	stay for a while
-on/-yon	abilitative / capable of	guaså’on / guaiyayon	sharpener / lovable

D. Circumfixes – Part Prefix, Part Suffix

CHamoru has a discontinuous affix. The prefix fan- is dependent upon the suffix -yan or -an to give a complete meaning of the word. The suffix -yan is used when the word ends with a vowel and the suffix -an is used when a word ends with a consonant.

fan- … -yan or fan- … -an

For example:

fan- + binådu + -yan =	fambinaduyan	place of deer
fan- + pika + -yan =	famikåyan	cutting board
fan- + uchan + -an =	fanuchånan	rainy season
fan- + halom + -an =	fanhaluman	entrance, gate

E. Reduplication

Reduplication is a special type of affix which results from the repetition of a syllable up to the first true vowel (not a diphthong) in a root word. There are three types of reduplication:

1. Reduplication of the stressed syllable (alters the penultimate stress):

hu•chom + hu	= hú•hu•chom	closing
bi•ra + bi	= bí•bi•ra	turning
bu•la + bu	= bú•bu•la	filling
ma’•å’•ñao + å’	= ma’•ǻ’•a’•ñao	being scared
bai•la + ba	= bá•bai•la	dancing
kon•ne’ + ko	= kó•kon•ne’	taking (live person / animal)
tok•tok + to	= tó•tok•tok	hugging
guai•ya + gua	= guá•guai•ya	loving
é•kung•ok + e	= é’•e•kung•ok	listening
gé’•he•lo’ + ge	= gé•ge’•he•lo’	moving up
eg•ga’ + e + man-	= man•é’•egga’	watching
op•pe + o + fan-	= fan•ó’•op•pe	answering

2. Reduplication of the first syllable (nominalizer): The stress will shift to the first a.

fa’nå’gue + fa’	= fáfa’nå’gue	teacher
fa’tinas + fa’	= fáfa’tinas	cook
fa’ñague + fa’	= fáfa’ñague	ghost, scary thing

2. Emphasis Reduplication: The final vowel and consonant pair in the final syllable of the word is reduplicated.

bu•la + la	= bú•la•la•la•la	very very full
ya•yas + ya	= yá•ya•ya•yas	very very tired
ñå•lang + la	= ñǻ•la•la•lang	very very hungry

Rule 17. Klå’an Gai Iyo yan Palåbran Kinalamten Siha

Possessive Pronouns and Compounded Movement Words

The hyphen (dollan) will be used to show the special relationship that possessive pronouns, directional words and others have with the root word to which they are attached.

A. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns are suffixes that are attached to root words to signify ownership. The hyphen (dollan) will also be used to attach possessive pronouns to the root word.

For example:

rilos-hu	my watch		rilos-miyu	your (dual, plural) watch
rilos-mu	your watch		rilos-ñiha	their (dual, plural) watch
rilos-ña	his / her / its watch		matå-hu	my face
rilos-ta	our (inclusive) watch		matan-måmi	our face
rilos-måmi	our (exclusive) watch

B. Compounded Movement Words

Compounded Movement Words are two words (a verb and a location word) that are attached to each other to describe motion in a direction or to a location. In CHamoru, these compound words describe an action that happens while one is traveling in a given direction. The hyphen (dollan) will be used to attach the verb to the location word. The stressed vowel will shift to the last syllable of the verb when attached to the location word.

For example:

hanǻo-guatu	on your way over, go to		po’lón-hulo’	drop (it) on your way up
hanǻo-huyong	on your way out, go out		po’lón-papa’	drop (it) on your way down
chulé’-halom	bring (it) on your way in		na’én-guatu	give (it) on your way over there
chulé’-magi	bring (it) on your way over here		na’én-magi	give (it) on your way over here

Glossary of Terms

affix	General term to describe the smallest unit of sounds that have meaning which are then attached to a word (bound morphemes).
closed syllable	A syllable that ends with a consonant.
consonant cluster	Two or more consonants that follow each other without an intervening vowel.
dialect	The variety of a language spoken in a specific area or by a certain group of people.
diphthong	Two vowels that come together to make one sound in a single syllable.
excrescent consonant	Consonants added to the end of the word before an affix for ease in pronunciation.
function word	A word that has little meaning on its own, but is grammatically significant.
geminate consonants	Two identical consonants that come together across a syllable boundary. They are often heard as a single sound, but both consonants should be written because they are part of different syllables.
infix	Affixes found within the root word. When attached, they become part of the word.
intransitive verb	A verb that does not require and often cannot take a direct object.
open syllable	A syllable that ends with a vowel.
orthography	A system of spelling in a language.
penultimate	The next to the last; frequently used to refer to syllables. The primary stress in most CHamoru words falls on the penultimate stress.
prefix	Affixes that come before the root word. When attached, they become part of the word.
reduplication	A special type of affix which results from the repetition of the stressed vowel in a root word plus the preceding consonant in that syllable if there is one present.
root	A word which cannot be reduced any further. It may take affixes to form other words.
stress	The degree of loudness of a syllable. Sometimes the term “accent” is used to describe stress.
superfluous	A consonant that is part of a syllable, but is not always heard.
syllable	A unit in the sound system of the language which has a vowel to provide its essence.
suffix	Affixes that come after the root word. When attached, they become part of the word.
transitive verb	A verb that takes a direct object.
vowel fronting	The change that occurs when a back vowel is drawn forward to become a front vowel. When specific particles (i, ni’, gi, in, en, -in-, sin, mí-) are placed in front of a word, if the first vowel is a back vowel it will then become a front vowel.
vowel harmony	The process where vowels in words may change to become more like their preceding vowels. Vowels in CHamoru must, under certain conditions, agree with each other in terms of whether they are front or back vowels, and whether they are high, mid, or low vowels.
vowel lowering	The change that occurs when the excrescent consonant n is added to words that have the CV structure at the end causing one of the two high vowels, i or u, to be lowered to its corresponding mid vowel, e or o.
vowel raising	The change that occurs when certain suffixes are attached to CHamoru words causing one of the two mid vowels, e or o, to be raised to its corresponding high vowel, i or u.