Here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for “Ta Baila Na Dos” by the Olomwaay Band. I love this song because it really captures the feeling I have when there’s Chamorro cha-cha music playing at a party, and I’m waiting to dance (or rather, waiting for Jay to dance with me!). When we were flying back to Portland, the tune to this song started playing in my head as we walked in the San Francisco airport. I only knew the words “Kao siña ta baila na dos” because I heard Jay’s nephew Josh sing it once, a couple of years ago. Right when we got home we started looking for this song, and I had to put it here so I could finally learn the lyrics. Jay and our Saturday evening practice group helped me clarify the lyrics on this song because there were some words I couldn’t catch, so big thank-you to all of them! Hope you enjoy this song 🙂
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A Japanese Tailor
This is another story from PĂĄle’ 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’. PĂĄle’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 PĂĄle’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 🙂
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
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 PĂĄle’ Eric Forbes from his book “EstoriĂĄye Yo'” about a whaler returning home to Guam. The narration for this story is done by Jay Che’le, hope you enjoy it!
Lengguahi-ta 