THAT'S PRETTY OLD!

CHAMORRO WORDS FROM 1668

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One of the great things about our language is that we have preserved so much of it.  True, we have adopted many Spanish words, and words from other languages as well, and we will continue to borrow from other languages, because that's just what happens.  Even English borrows.  No American needs to run to the dictionary, for example, to look up the meaning of "karate," a Japanese word.  Every language borrows from other languages.

One of the best examples of how we have kept much of our Chamorro vocabulary comes from a Chamorro grammar written by Blessed Diego Luis de Sanvitores in 1668.  He spelled things the way it sounded to his ears (just as we all would, if we did not learn a language in written form), so it may appear strange to our eyes at first.  He wrote these words even before he got to Guam, having learned them from a Filipino guy who had been shipwrecked in the Marianas and lived among the Chamorros.  That may account for the little discrepancies here and there in his Chamorro. 

But here are a few examples :

AS SANVITORES SPELLED IT / AS SOME WOULD SPELL IT TODAY / ENGLISH MEANING

Chamo - Cha'-mo - Do not

Marago - Malago' - Want/Desire

Masogni - Ma sokne - Accuse

Taotao - Taotao - Person/People

Ladyam - Låhyan - Many (as in people)

Gumofiriri - Gumofli'e - To love

Sayna - Saina - Lord/Master/Superior/Parent

Parauam - Palao'an - Woman

Gumagagao - Gumågagao - Asking/Requesting

Tiningo - Tiningo' - Knowledge

Mauri - Maolek - Good

Matay - Måtai - Dead

Rahi - Låhe - Son/Male

Rangit - Långet - Heaven

Magtos - Måktos - Cut off/Terminated

Pinañagumo - Finañagu-mo - Your offspring

YOU SEE - WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO BE PROUD THAT THE LANGUAGE WE SPEAK TODAY - IS ESSENTIALLY THE LANGUAGE OUR ANCESTORS SPOKE LONG AGO

Have you every listened to a play by Shakespeare in the original text?  It is very difficult for us moderns to understand it, just as Shakespeare would have a hard time understanding a text he might receive on his cell phone today.  But no one doubts that Shakespeare spoke English, and that we do as well today, though the language has evolved.