NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Years ago I was teaching a series of basic Chamoru language classes for The Hurao School, what they call Eskuelan Mañaina. These are the classes that are required for parents of children in the Hurao after school, summer camp and now charter school. They have taken on different forms, and sometimes are attended by dozens of people, sometimes a handful of people. They goal has always been to encourage the parents of children in Hurao's programs to learn and use more Chamoru, to support their children who are also learning. It is one of the sad realities, that some children have been stunted in their language growth because after being immersed in Chamoru at Hurao, they return home and then are surrounded by English.  Nowadays these classes are much more organized and sometimes are divided into different levels of learners, but when I was teaching some of them, it was everyone, fluent, not yet fluent, elders, all mixed together. Sometimes we were able to focus on lessons, drills, act...

When San Vitores first came to the Marianas the Chamoru people were largely accepting of the new religion for a few reasons. The Spanish offered gifts to those who converted to the new religion, including sometimes precious  lulok or metal. They were the newest hottest thing on the island. Exciting simply because it was different, like when Applebee's or McDonald's first came to Guam. Some converted seeing the chance for greater power by being closer to those that they perceived might shake up island hierarchies. Some may have followed the new religion, because it truly spoke to them.  But one of the things that helped San Vitores win over the people in many ways was his ability to speak to them in Chamoru. Chamorus had interacted with Europeans for more than a century at that point via hand gestures and sailors from the Philippines and Southeast Asia who were able to communicate using Austronesian terms with the Chamorus they encountered. Spaniards, Filipinos and African slav...

For each Inacha'igen Fino' CHamoru, the Chamorro Studies and Chamoru language faculty at UOG collect or produce a handful of creative and expressive texts in the language. These texts are used as part of the competition for these categories, Lalai (chant), Rinisådan Po'ema ( poetry recitation) and Tinaitai Koru (choral reading). Students have to memorize and then recite or perform these either as individuals or as a group. For the longest time, there wasn't a lot produced creatively in the Chamoru language. Most of it could be found in terms of music, as Chamorus were making songs, releasing albums and performing. Much of the publication and promotion of Chamoru could be found in the church, but little of it was creative. Much of it was translations of things written elsewhere in the Catholic universe and localized to Guam. In this way, the church preserved words and meanings in Chamoru, it helped teach and propagate the language, but it wasn't a venue for Chamoru...

Ti siguro yu' håyi tumuge' este, lao interesånte. Guaha meggai na hestoria put i Chamorro gi Islas Sangkattan gi este na ti gof anakko' na tinige'. Hu sodda' este na tinige' ginen i gasetan Saipan, annai manespipiha yu' infotmasion put Fino' Chamorro gi halom i kottre gi Islas Sangkattan. Ti meggai na infotmasion humuyong, lao hu fakcha'i este. Ti hu tungo' i kilisyanu na fulånu ni' tumuge', lao ya-hu i milalåk-ña i hinasso-ña siha. Frihon yan botlon. ************* The Death of Chamorro Language March 31, 1999 The Saipan Tribune For many years, we were active participants in the death of our local vernacular. It started with the golden days in grammar school when speaking your language lands you some corporal punishment, a fine of five cents, scribbling several pages of “I will not speak Chamorro”; picking up trash outside the classroom after school, among others. Well into high school, there’s the student monitors or J...

Over the years I've heard International Expert on Self-Goverance and Decolonization Carlyle Corbin mention Greenland in the context of Guam. For most on Guam, it might seem like the only things Greenland and Guam might have in common is they are both islands and their names start with G. But their possible connections are much deeper than that, as both are homes to indigenous people, both are sites of colonialism and both exist in a political state that isn't considered to be the norm in today's fraternity of nations. Below are some articles that might help make those connections for people. ************************* Greenland, Victim of Denmark's Linguistic Colonialism Noa Agnete Metz Worldcrunch 4/27/17 COPENHAGEN — In the picturesque Danish capital, it's easy to overlook the men lying on public benches with a beer in hand, or assume they're immigrants from Southern Europe. Listen carefully, though, and you'll notice that they speak fluent D...

My two PDN columns on the need to protect language learning at UOG. If you aren't familiar with the issue, please head to this website UOG Language Drive , to learn more and sign the petition. If we combine both online and paper signatures, we have collected over 1500 and are still working on getting more! ************************* Protect Language Learning at UOG Michael Lujan Bevacqua Pacific Daily News December 30, 2016 At present at the University of Guam, each undergraduate student is required to take two language classes (eight credits total) as part of their General Education or GE requirements. UOG offers courses regularly for Chamorro, Japanese, Tagalong, Spanish, Mandarin, French and can also offer courses in Chuukese and other Micronesian languages upon request. UOG is also home to the Chamorro Studies Program, of which I am a faculty member and this program is unique in the world in terms of focusing its courses on the history, language and culture of t...

If you believe that the University of Guam should support bilingualism and encourage through its curriculum the learning of the many languages from this region and beyond, please read below the statement of our "UOG Language Drive." Faculty and administrators at UOG are planning on reducing the required language classes for undergraduates from 2 to just 1 next year. This would reduce the language learning for all students from a single year (8 credits) to just a single semester (4 credits). Students could still take more courses if they wanted to, or if their major required it, but in general this will lead to a severely negative impact on any programs, such as mine, Chamorro Studies that are language focused. Please read this statement, written by a group of faculty including myself, and consider signing our Protect Languages at UOG Petition . ******************** The purpose of this signature drive is to promote and to advance language learning at the University of Gu...

Un apå'ka na taotao, i na'ån-ña si Paul Zerzan, sigi ha' umalok gui' gi gasetan Guåhan na esta måtai pat esta taisetbe i Fino' Chamorro. Esta ha na'bububu meggai na taotao guini giya Guåhan yan gi sanlagu lokkue'. Estague diferentes na kåtta ginen i PDN ni' kumokontra i taihinasso na tinige'-ña. ************************ Our Language Isn't Dead Yet by Michael Lujan Bevacqua Pacific Daily News 11/3/16 My column this week is written in response to Paul Zerzan’s op-ed  on Oct. 29 dealing with the death of the Chamorro language. Men with the same complexion and attitudes as Zerzan have long felt it their right to determine the life or death of things related to indigenous people in the Pacific. For Chamorros, these sorts of pronouncements are common. We have been struggling against them for centuries and only recently realized that just because a man with a flag comes to claim us, it doesn’t mean he discovered us. Just because a man...

Tomorrow is the Inadaggao Lengguahen Chamoru at UOG. The forum for senatorial candidates in the Chamorro language will begin at 6 pm in the CLASS Lecture Hall. See my column below for more information on why it is important.   ************** Breathe life in the Chamorro language Michael Lujan Bevacqua Pacific Daily News October 6, 2016   From 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 10 at the University of Guam  CLASS Lecture Hall, students in the Chamorro Studies program will organize an “Inadaggao Lengguahen Chamoru” or a Chamorro Language Forum. For this event, four senatorial candidates from each political party will be asked questions in the Chamorro language about pertinent island issues, and respond in the Chamorro language. The event is open to the public and refreshments will be provided. Nowadays it is easy to forget that there are two official languages for this island, Chamorro and English. One of them has been here for a little over a ce...