This song, “Maila’ Ta Baila” by Pacific Cool holds a special place in my heart. When I was just a few months into learning Chamorro, Jay sent me a playlist of Chamorro songs and this was the first on the list. I listened to it four times in a row because I couldn’t stop smiling, being caught by the song’s uplifting energy and romantic lyrics. A couple of years later, one of the former band members – Henry Hofschneider – and a group of Chamorro musicians were kind enough to play this at my party to celebrate finishing grad school. It meant so much to me because of how much I love this song. This song is great for beginners getting started in the language because the lyrics are a blend of English and Chamorro. The Chamorro lyrics and their English translation are included in this post. I hope this song makes you smile 🙂
Continue reading “Kåntan Chamoru: Maila’ Ta Baila”Year: 2023
Lesson 21: Talking in Future Tense With Intransitive Verbs – “I will stay”
Here is another Chamorro grammar post, where we will look at how to make some future tense statements with intransitive verbs. We’ll cover the future tense markers, how to use intransitive verbs in this tense, and how to say sentences like “I will stay in Yigo” or “They will walk to the party.” As always, this post includes sentence drills and audio narrations for the Chamorro by Jay Che’le. Happy studying!
Updated 10-19-2025: Revised language on “m” to “f” shifts for specific intransitive verbs.
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Kottura: Mámaisen Saina Si Piling
Have you ever participated in the Chamorro custom of mamaisen saina, where permission is asked of the elders for two people to marry? I have not, but I’ve been fortunate to hear stories from others. One of my favorite stories was from my boyfriend’s aunt: when her now-husband arrived at her parents’ house, he brought practically the entire village of Umatac with him!
So here is another Chamorro short story, about the custom of asking permission to marry, narrated by Jay Che’le. I’ve included a Chamorro transcription, English translation, and the original pdf from the KPV Collection. If you want to read more about this marriage ritual, there is also an article about it on Guampedia.
Kåntan Chamoru: Ekgo’
Our practice group listened to the song “Ekgo'” or “Eggu'” by Chamolinian last month, as we were drawn by both the title and the catchy tune. This song is from the perspective of a married woman, talking about everything she must endure from her jealous husband. So just be warned, as the lyrics mention poor treatment of a spouse. The Chamorro lyrics with an English translation and some notes are included in this post. Enjoy!
taitai mås
Time of Day in Chamorro
In this post, we will go over words and basic phrases that we can use to talk about time in Chamorro. This includes time of day (i.e.: morning, evening, night) and general phrases about time (i.e.: last week, a few days later, almost every day, etc.).
Continue reading “Time of Day in Chamorro”
Lengguahi-ta 