Language commission launches latest CHamoru orthography

I Kumisión i Fino' CHamoru yan i Fina'nå'guen i Historia yan i Lina'la' i Tåotao Tåno' launched its latest revision of the 1983 CHamoru orthography.

With the enactment of Public Law 33-236 re-establishing the Commission on CHamoru Language and the Teaching of the History and Culture of the Indigenous People of Guam came the responsibility to refine a standard way of linking the CHamoru alphabet to the sounds of the island's indigenous language.

Commission members adopted changes to the 1983 CHamoru orthography and presented an updated version of the booklet, which provides a more standardized approach to writing CHamoru. The orthography booklet is around 40 pages long, consisting of the CHamoru language’s symbols and abbreviations, 17 orthographic rules and a glossary.

“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,” said Chairwoman Hope Cristobal.

The booklet provides guidance tp communicate in a more standard way in CHamoru, Cristobal said.

Vice Chairwoman Laura Souder said it's important to have a consistent spelling system as more people learn CHamoru through reading and writing. Without a consistent spelling system, it becomes confusing for people learning CHamoru, she said.

CHamoru for a long time was an oral language. The commission is working to make it easier as it transitions to a literary sphere as more people learn through written forms, she added.

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The commission used a lot of examples in the updated orthography and made things easier to understand for CHamoru learners, Souder said. But she stressed the document isn't perfect; language is dynamic and things change so the commission is open to feedback. Residents can call 475-0139 or email kumisionchamoru@gmail.com. 

Souder said the spelling of CHamoru as opposed to the former spelling of Chamorro is an example; the CHamoru language doesn't have double "R" or the letter "C."

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CHamoru comes from a Spanish word, but spelling it with the updated orthography makes it CHamoru-ized which is something all languages do, Souder said.

Robert Underwood, a member of the commission, said orthography is just a complex word for consistent spelling rules. He said people need understand it's just standardizing a spelling system based on CHamoru sound rules.

The commission acknowledges there may be dialectical, generational, island-specific and personal preference, and that orthographic rules and use of the CHamoru alphabet must also conform to the broader norms of language systems in society.

“The release of this updated orthography is timely in this revitalization period as we may have 10 years or less to revive our language, considering the age of proficient CHamoru speakers whom we have left among us,” said AnnaMarie Arceo, commission administrator. “This orthography will be a guiding document for all CHamoru language teachers who play lead roles in this revitalization effort."

Hard copies will be distributed to the CHamoru language teachers next week, Arceo said.

The orthography is available for download at kumisionchamoru.guam.gov.

This article originally appeared on Pacific Daily News: Language commission launches latest CHamoru orthography