Håfa adai yan Tirow!

This website is dedicated to creating and sharing learning materials for the Chamorro language. We aim to help fill a crucial gap in learning support for adult learners of Chamorro. As such, we design everything to function as a complete, asynchronous learning resource so that anyone, anywhere, at any level can study the Chamorro language. Specifically, each resource includes:

1. Chamorro audio files available for download
2. Chamorro text to help you connect sounds to words
3. English translations to support your comprehension

We recognize that many adult learners benefit from accessible, bite-sized language study paired with supported immersion in native content. To meet this need, we create and offer a variety of resources, including:

• Chamorro Songs with the audio, Chamorro lyrics, English translations and language notes
• Chamorro Stories with Chamorro audio narrations, Chamorro text and English translations
• Sentence Pattern Lessons written in plain, everyday language, with example sentences and audio
• Study Tips that speak to the experience of learning Chamorro as an adult
• Online Chamorro Dictionary that compiles multiple dictionaries and word lists into a single location
• Thematic Word & Phrase Lists with audio pronunciations to support your speaking

All digital materials on this website also support our weekly, Chamorro language practice groups so that everyone can study along.

We are so glad you are here, and we hope our work supports you on your learning journey!

My Story

My name is Schyuler Lujan and I originally started this blog to document my Chamorro language learning journey. I started learning in April 2020 and am proud to say that the Chamorro language is now a daily part of my life. However, I am and always will be learning this beautiful, musical language of our people.

I created this website because I wanted a better way to store, organize and easily access the content I was learning. I like to think of this space as my digital, Chamorro language notebook—a place to collect lessons, patterns, and insights from being in community with fellow learners and native speakers. Lengguahi-ta is a living document. It grows as I grow, reflecting what I’m learning, refining, and continuing to understand more deeply in Chamorro.

On this blog you will find my language notes about sentence patterns, vocabulary, phrases and general study tips. I also like to re-share songs, stories, interviews and other content from native or near-native speakers because I’ve found that studying the language as it comes from our elders is the best way to immerse ourselves in the language and learn.

Although I started this blog for myself, I hope it can help any of you who are wanting to learn the Chamorro language. I also apologize in advance for any mistakes I make! I try to keep my posts updated with any feedback I receive from my teachers and elders. And please make sure you cross-reference with the native speakers or highly fluent speakers in your life if you are unsure about anything. Si Yu’os Ma’ase 🙂

My Learning Journey

I am from Tacoma, WA and was born and raised in the States. There was practically no Chamorro spoken in my home while growing up, despite being raised by my grandmother who was a native speaker from Inalåhan. When I started learning Chamorro as an adult, I knew nothing. I could not understand any spoken Chamorro and I did not know the sounds of the language.

Since starting in 2020, 95% of my learning has happened while living in the States, mostly with other learners or speakers who also live in the States. But my journey to get where I am was rough. In 2020 I started learning in a weekly online class, but left after a few months due to harmful experiences with a mentor from that space, and I almost quit learning Chamorro. And at first, I felt too afraid to leave that class because it seemed to be my only way to learn the language. But the internet and an amazing community of fellow-learners and speakers proved me wrong! Since leaving that space, I’ve used a combination of self-study and group study approaches to support my learning and deepen my ability and knowledge.

My self-study methods are informed by the online polyglot community – many of them learn languages to a high proficiency without leaving their home countries, and they have a deep understanding of the learner experience since they are also language learners. For myself, their advice, approaches, tools and techniques actually work, bringing a more modern, technology and data-driven approach to learning Chamorro that centers around how learners actually learn languages.

For group study, I am fortunate to have an amazing group of learners and speakers that I study with on a regular basis. We’ve been meeting weekly on Zoom since the end of 2020, and we also interact with each other in Chamorro on WhatsApp, sharing our thoughts, asking questions and just having fun. The songs and stories I share on this blog are materials that we use in those study groups. With my friends, the Chamorro language comes to life, and also becomes my own.

Although it’s not an easy task to learn Chamorro because of the scarcity of modern tools and lack of quality support for adult learners, the last few years taught me that living in the Mariana Islands is not a requirement to learn Chamorro to a high level. Living in the Mariana Islands does not guarantee that you will become fluent in Chamorro, and living in the States does not preclude you from it, either.

And because I know how hard it can be to learn Chamorro, I am committed to sharing all of my notes and learning materials on this blog. In this, I feel inspired by my background in analytics – I’ve benefitted so much from so many people in the world I will never meet, who have shared their knowledge in tutorials, forums, blogs, guides, asynchronous courses, books, etc. In that same spirit that has done so much for me professionally, I want to carry that forward with the Chamorro language here, on this blog. I hope that Chamorro language learners everywhere will know and feel the language to be within reach, regardless of where they live or how busy life gets. No matter where we are, no matter our starting ability, we can learn Chamorro. We really can 🙂

Shoutout to My Narrator, Jay Che’le

Here’s my special shoutout to Jay Che’le. He is the voice behind the stories I post on this blog, the facilitator of our Saturday evening sessions, and an invaluable source of knowledge and support for our study groups.

He started learning Chamorro in high school by listening to Chamorro music, and eventually became fluent with support from family and his friend group from Tinian and Saipan. His sense of humor ensures that we have fun and don’t take ourselves too seriously, while his genuine love for the Chamorro language pushes us to improve.

On a personal note, Jay has been my number one cheerleader on my language learning journey these last few years. When I thought about quitting back in 2020, and whenever I doubted my ability to learn or improve, he gently encouraged me to continue and to believe in myself. My Chamorro wouldn’t be what it is today without him 🙂

A Note of Gratitude

To get where I am today in my language knowledge and ability, I owe so much to so many people, near and far, past and present, who have given me and our people so much because they have created content in the Chamorro language and decided to share it with the world. The work of educators, language nerds, singers and songwriters, storytellers, cultural practitioners, academics, researchers, priests, dreamers, and activists have all enabled me to learn Chamorro – even though I have not met the majority of them! I am also increasingly grateful to the speakers in my life who, with great love, guide my learning and correct my (at times hilariously embarrassing!) mistakes.

And to my fellow language learners and study buddies: thank you for being on this journey together. It would be so much more depressing and definitely way less fun without all of you. Hu guaiya hamyo.