WHY SENGSONG

For years it's been called WHY Sengsong Road.  Why oh why oh why?  Because for years we've had two or more generations of people who read everything, even Chamorro, through the lens of the English language.  It's being done in pronunciation, spelling and grammar. Decades of Americanization have shaped the thinking of thousands of Chamorros in those three area.

But it was the Spaniard who first put the Chamorro language into writing in any major way. Therefore, in the Chamorro written before 1898, when the American took over, we have to read it as a Spaniard would have understood it. This explains why we pronounce Acfalle, Julale and Jumullong Manglo' the way we do. It's also why Y SENGSONG is NOT pronounced WHY Sengsong.

In Spanish, the letter Y has two values; as a vowel identical to "i," just as in English (think of silly, syllable), and as a semi-vowel as in "yellow." 

In Spanish, Y and I are often interchangeable.  In California, one sees "San Ygnacio Street" in one town, and "San Ignacio Street" in another town.  "Santa Ysabel" and "Santa Isabel."  They both sound the same, because "y" often functions as an "i."

When the Spaniards (and Chamorros using their alphabet) wrote the Chamorro word "i," meaning "the," they sometimes used "y" and sometimes "i" since they both sounded the same.  "Y sengsong" (meaning "the village") sounds like English "ee sengsong."  Not WHY sengsong.  Ipao Beach has also been spelled Ypao Beach; in Chamorro they both sound the same way.  No body goes to WHY Pao Beach; but many go to WHY Sengsong Road.