In our evening practice group, I’ve been pushing Jay to include more songs from Daniel DeLeon Guerrero because his use of the language is fun and deep, the storytelling is always enjoyable, and I’m always guaranteed to pick up new words or phrases. I can’t count the number of times I learn a new word (to me) in Chamorro, only for Jay to say, “Oh, I’ve heard that word used in a song.” And it’s usually a song by Daniel DeLeon Guerrero! So here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song “Åchu’ Natibu” by Daniel DeLeon Guerrero, which is a song about Åchu’ Fouha that includes Chaifi (god of fire). Hope you enjoy it!
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Latti, Haligi, yan Tåsa
A big part of my own Chamorro language learning journey has been reading and collecting books and articles about the Mariana Islands. One gorgeous book I recommend reading is “Latte in the Marianas”, which you can purchase from the Guampedia Heritage Gift Shop. The majority of the book is written in English, but there are two essays written in Chamoru with English translations included. This is one of those essays, written by Påle’ Eric Forbes, about the Latte/Latti stone. It can be difficult to find long-form written Chamorro (other than the Bible), so this essay gave our study group some excellent practice. The narration for this is done by Jay Che’le. Listen and enjoy!
100 Chamorro Adjectives
One thing I remember clearly from my first few months learning Chamorro was the lack of comprehensive, useful word lists to study. At the time I was told to use the dictionary, and I remember burning hours of time searching for words, only to be told I was using the wrong word or using a word in the wrong context. Many times I was unable to find a word at all. This can leave a person burnt out and discouraged. I remember a friend saying, “I only have 30 minutes a day to study, and I can’t spend that 30 minutes searching for a single word!” So one thing I feel passionate about doing here on my blog is putting together as many word lists as possible, or linking to other word lists online, to help make our studying more efficient. 🙂
So here is a list of 100 adjectives in Chamorro, to get you started. Some of these adjectives are based on the beginner word list by Gabriel Wyner and some of these adjectives I added based upon what I’ve read or listened to. I also believe in the power of spaced-repetition and quality flashcards, and recommend Gabriel Wyner’s guide on how to make Simple Word Flashcards to make an effective study tool to learn these words. Also check out my post on digital flashcards to see Chamorro-specific examples of different ways to make your flashcards.
UPDATE 3/10/24 – Changed the word for “smooth” to the correct term, måhlos.
Continue reading “100 Chamorro Adjectives”Tronkun Nunu by Kelvin Duenas – Chamorro Lyrics and English Translation
We’re finally feeling the change of the seasons here in the Pacific Northwest, as summer transitions to fall. For the first time in almost a decade, the change of seasons is also accompanied by a change of scene because I’m moving to a new city! So it has been quite busy the last 2 weeks, but I’m almost done with the move and can start settling in. As Jay and I pack and unpack things, we usually put on a Chamorro music playlist, and this song has been a recent favorite of mine. It also seems fitting as we approach the beginning of October. So here are some Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song “Tronkon Nunu” by Kelvin Duenas that our study group did a few weeks back. Listen and enjoy!
Continue reading “Tronkun Nunu by Kelvin Duenas – Chamorro Lyrics and English Translation”
A Love Puzzle
Here is another delightful story from Påle’ Eric’s book Estoriåye Yo’, which our practice group read a few weeks back. It reminds me of the story The Three Princes and the Princess Nouronnihar from 1,001 Nights, which I’ve always liked since I was a kid, and I enjoyed reading a Chamorro version of this tale. The ending prompted some fun discussion in our group, as we debated (in Chamorro) which brother the woman should pick. So here’s the story, with a narration done by Jay Che’le. Hope you enjoy it!
