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”
When you were growing up, did you practice the Chamorro custom of respectfully greeting elders by taking their hand and sniffing it? In my family we would just go around giving hugs and kisses to our elders, so when I was introduced to this custom I wasn’t used to it at all! Here is a short story in Chamorro about this custom, written by Carmen C. Blas, from a book about Chamorro customs that I found in the KPV collection (the direct link to the entire PDF can be found under the References for this post). If you would like to learn more about the mannginge’, I have also included a short list of free, online resources for further reading on this Chamorro custom.
This post includes the Chamorro text, an English translation of the story and a Chamorro audio narration by Jay Che’le. Happy reading!
Here are the lyrics and English translation for “Faga’ga’on na Låhi” with this incredible version from Dandan Marianas sung by difuntu Ben Nangauta (u såga gi minahgong). I’ve loved this song since I first heard it, even though it is kind of sad and (according to one of our friends in our practice group) gives off some serious stalker vibes. Regardless, I enjoy listening to this song, and whenever it plays, Jay and I belt out the chorus to each other.
taitai mas
When I was little, this legend was always a favorite of mine and I was very excited on the day I realized I could finally read it in Chamorro. This version in Chamorro is good for beginners because the sentences are short and simple. In this post I’ve transcribed the Chamorro and included the English translation, and the original pdf is also in this post if you prefer to see the illustrations while reading. The narration is done by Jay Che’le. Enjoy!
In this lesson, you learn how to talk about actions that are happening right now in Chamorro — things like “I am staying,” “you are resting,” or “they are walking.” You’ll practice common action words and learn the patterns for describing what someone is doing in the present moment. By the end of the lesson, you can build simple sentences to talk about everyday actions as they happen. Happy studying!
taitai mas
Lengguahi-ta 