In a previous post I mentioned that I keep a daily journal written in Chamoru. Now I’ve hit a milestone: two months of journaling daily! Writing a journal entry in Chamoru every day has been so challenging, but also incredibly rewarding both personally and as a language learner. In this post I reflect on what I’ve learned and offer my thoughts on keeping a daily journal as a beginner.
Write in Chamoru
It can be tempting to write your journal entry in English first and then translate it into Chamoru. I suggest to only write it in Chamoru. This can be difficult, especially when starting out, but it’s great practice for thinking in Chamoru. It also requires me to use only the Chamoru I know, so I can become more comfortable with my current level of knowledge and see how well I know it.
Start Small
When learning a new language, it can be uncomfortable to feel like you speak, read, and write at a rudimentary level. But it’s important to be unashamed of starting small, with small sentences and simple grammar. It’s okay that I can’t express the deepest, most complex thoughts at the beginning of my learning.
Starting small means that my journal entries are pretty short. So I purchased a tiny notebook (pages are the size of my phone) at my local dollar store to embrace starting small. With small pages and a notebook that isn’t fancy, it helps me feel okay with writing small sentences and choppy thoughts.
Repetition is Okay
In my first month, I felt like I was writing a lot of the same things over and over. Partially it was due to the stay-at-home situation with coronavirus and partially because my word / grammar knowledge was extremely limited. But this is okay! As beginners, we should be drilling the basics. This helps us become comfortable with the things we have learned, which builds a strong foundation for expanding our knowledge. I use this repetition as an opportunity for drilling grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary.
Write Fluidly
If I am referencing my dictionary for every other word in my journal entry, then I know I’m not using this practice effectively. My best entries are when I can balance existing knowledge with learning new words. If I don’t know a word, instead of picking up the dictionary right away I’ll leave a blank space for the word and keep writing. When I’ve finished writing the entry as a whole, I’ll go back to those blank spaces, look up the words, and fill them in. This helps me to see if my writing is way beyond my current level, or if I’m not challenging myself to learn anything new.
Gather Your Resources
One challenge of learning Chamoru (or any other rare language) is that our learning resources are more limited than for bigger languages. Tåya’ Google Translate para fino’ Chamoru! (There is no Google Translate for the Chamoru Language!) Trying to figure out how to use a word, or if I can even use the word at my grammar level is tricky at times. Also, spelling is not always consistent, which can be confusing. As a beginner trying to learn in the states, navigating my available resources has been an adventure!
So it’s important to know what resources are available to you and to use all of them as applicable. I primarily use the resources below and am always cross-referencing between them. Spoken Chamorro is especially helpful because it’s filled with example sentences, drills, and grammar notes.
learningchamoru.com
Chamorro Dictionary (online)
Spoken Chamorro by Donald Topping
Chamorro-English Dictionary by Donald Topping
Create Your Own Resources
In any learning process, creating your own resources that are tailored to meet your own needs is helpful. This can be keeping your own language-learning notebook, making flashcards, organizing your resources into a binder, bookmarking useful websites, making word lists, or starting a blog. As long as you can access the information and use it for your learning, that’s all that matters.
Search for the Word Online
If I am unsure about how to use a word or if I think I’m using incorrectly, I will search for the word with either “Chamoru” or “Chamorro” in front of it. Nine out of ten times, I will be able to find example sentences and decipher how to use it. This can be very time consuming at first, but it’s totally worth it. And by doing this, I’ve found writers online who write in Chamoru, which adds to my available resources.
Say it Out Loud
I only started doing this in the last month, but this is crucial. It has made a huge difference in my learning. Before I write a sentence, I will speak my thought out loud in Chamoru. This gets me used to speaking the language and forming thoughts in real time. My speaking is definitely not perfect, but that’s why I do this step – to get in the practice. It helps me get used to vowel harmony, placing stresses, and learning the cadence of spoken Chamoru.
Progress is Slow
I wish I could say that keeping a daily journal has been a magic wand for language learning, and that after just a few weeks of daily journal writing I am fluent in Chamoru. It’s not like that at all and at times it feels like I’m not making any progress. But that is just the reality of incremental progress – I don’t see or feel the progress in the moment, but it builds up over time. So it’s important to stick with it!
So… Does keeping a journal actually help?
For me, keeping a daily journal does help and makes a huge difference in my language learning. Since I am not surrounded by the language and don’t have regular access to a native speaker, writing a daily journal keeps me connected to the language every day. I’m applying Chamoru to my life by writing about my day, so I’m also more likely to retain words and grammar.
However, writing a journal does have its limitations. While I think writing a journal has been crucial for my learning, it cannot be the only learning strategy. Since I’m writing to myself and not listening to or conversing with anyone, it can’t capture those social aspects of a language. So using other strategies, like listening to dialogue or music, and actually speaking Chamoru during the day are crucial.
But has a journal actually helped me progress in the language? Absolutely! Below is my first journal entry versus a more recent entry. My first entry is very choppy and very short, riddled with mistakes. But the fact that I can even identify those mistakes means I’ve improved. (It took most of my self-control to not correct it, haha.) My more recent entry probably has mistakes and I won’t see them for another month. But it shows that I am able to write more of my observations, thoughts, and feelings with ease even if it’s still choppy.
Sunday May 17th, 2020
Gof yayas yu’. Dångkolo’ na uchan nigap. Hu fa’tinas i flashcards na fino’ Chamoru todus na ha’åni nigap. Lao, hu triste. Gof triste i eskuela. Ti hu tungo’ i klås forecasting. Todus hit mamokkat gi i klås. Asta ki umali’e’ hit ta’lo!
Maipe i ha’åni! Lao tåya’ ais krim gi i gima’-hu! Gof triste. Hu mammokat gi i chalan gi i hålom tåno’. Hu li’e’ i kuattro kulepbla yan å’pakan abåbang. Gof bunito i gå’ga siha. Gof magof yu’! Ti triste yu’.
27 Agosto 2020 – Huebes
Puengi
Gof yayas yu’, lao maolekña yu’ kinu nigap. Mamå’tinas yu’ pån aga’ sa’ debidi hu usa i aga’ siha gi kusina-hu. Guaha chikulåti yan kanden mango’ gi halom i pan aga’. Månnge’! Lao, chumocho yu’ gof didide’ na pån aga’ sa’ malångu i tiyån-hu. Chomocho yu’ meggai na hineksa’ yan kimchi. Gof malago’ yu’ nu kåddo-ña si nana-hu. Ai adai, gof triste yu’ sa’ tåya’ kåddo.
På’go gi egga’an hu kuentusi si ———- gi WhatsApp. Ya-hu i kombetsasion-måmi. Debidi hu hasso i ideha para chenchule’. Ti hu tungo’ på’go, lao para bai hu sodda’ i chenchule’.
Hu e’kungok i Isla 63 ya guaha kånta, “I Kapiya.” Ya-hu este na kånta. Ya gof ya-hu Isla 63 sa’ guaha kåntan Chamoru siha. Ma ayuda yu’ gi fino’ Chamoru.
Gof yayas yu’. Maolek i egga’an-hu, lao bula che’cho’ gi ha’åni-hu. Sumåga yu’ gi halom i gima’-hu todu i ha’åni. Gof triste! Guaha ininan atdåo yan asut na langet gi sanhiyong! Ai adai. Debidi humånao yu’ para sanhiyong sa’ gof homhom i tiempon uchan giya Seattle. Manengheng i egga’an siha på’go. Hu siniente i tiempon uchan gi manglo’.
Buenas noches!
Lengguahi-ta 