A Japanese Tailor

This is another story from Påle’ Eric Forbes called Si Kurokawa, which was a story from his father’s childhood. We read it over the summer during our morning practice group, and I really liked it because it had some interesting vocabulary, like sigi ha’ adumididi’ and eche’cho’. Påle’s original blog post does not include the audio narration, so I’ve included one here by Jay Che’le. But make sure to check out Påle’s original post for some interesting language and historical notes!

This post includes the Chamorro text, English translation, Chamorro audio narration, and a Quizlet Flashcard deck. Hope you enjoy the story 🙂

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Pot Fabot Mungnga Piniti by KC De Leon Guerrero – Chamorro Lyrics and English Translation

This is a great song for beginners to listen to and learn, and is another favorite from my first year or two of learning Chamorro. The lyrics are sung clearly, which is great if you are trying to train your ear. Jay and I definitely belt out the chorus with passion whenever this song comes up on our playlist 🙂 Here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song “Pot Fabot Mungnga Piniti” by KC DeLeon Guerrero. Listen and enjoy!

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How to Say “I Can Stay” in Chamorro – Expressing Ability With Intransitive Verbs

This lesson is part of the Beginner Chamorro learning path.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say what someone can or can’t do in Chamorro — for example, “I can stay,” “you can go to the store,” and “I cannot rest.” You’ll practice using the word siña with everyday action words, and you’ll also learn how to turn these ideas into questions like “Can I stay?” so you can talk about ability and possibility in real conversations. Happy studying!

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The Whaler Returned

I will be flying back to the States this week after spending a lovely holiday here on Guam (despite being sick at home for most of it!) and I am already thinking about when we will be able to come back. At this point in our lives, it always feels like we are leaving family behind to be with family somewhere else. But whether we are with family in the Marianas or in the States, it always feels like a homecoming. So in that spirit, here is a heart-warming story by Påle’ Eric Forbes from his book “Estoriåye Yo'” about a whaler returning home to Guam. The narration for this story is done by Jay Che’le, hope you enjoy it!

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I Nobenan I Niño Jesus – A Guide to a Christmas Season Novena in Chamorro

Håfa adai todus hamyo! It has been a while since my last post – the last two months have been rough, as I’ve been repeatedly sick. To be honest I’m still struggling with my health and need to prioritize rest. But we made it to Guam for the holidays and Jay’s family has been saying the nobena to the baby Jesus this past week. This is a new experience for me, because my family did not keep this tradition going after moving to the states. So to help those who may be like me, here is a general how-to guide for praying this nobena, including what the nobena is, what’s usually involved in hosting it, the general order of songs, prayers and readings (as followed by Jay’s family – other families may follow a different order), and why praying the nobena can be helpful for language learners. Please note that this post will not include English translations. I plan to go over the English translations in separate blog posts.

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