Save the Chamorro Language

The Chamorro language is a threatened language with 18,000 speakers in North America. The overall number of speakers in 1990 was 35,000, but in 2010 the total number decreased to 25,000. The Chamorro language belongs to the group of western Austronesian languages, including the languages of Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Palau. It originates from over 5,000 years ago. The culture is rich with unique dances, apparel, and cuisines. One of the core values of the culture is unity, mainly caring for others and working together as a community. The social values are highly respect-based and include social traditions, such as kissing the hands of the elderly. Since the amount of Chamorro speakers has declined rapidly over the past 30 years, efforts have been made to teach the language both through classes and through speaking it at home. As the amount of speakers has decreased the number of classes, DVDs, and websites teaching the Chamorro language has increased. (http://mvguam.com/local/news/28512-saving-the-chamorro-language.html)


 A traditional Chamorro dance--song and dance are major aspects of the Chamorro culture. (Picture source: http://tasithoughts.com/2008/10/13/tao-tao-tano-people-of-the-land-guam-culture-in-dance/)

http://ns.gov.gu/language.html 
http://ns.gov.gu/culture.html