PARA TA FAÑÅLEK HA'

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Malak i Estados Unidos primet biåhe si Jose yan si Juan ya pumaseseo i dos annai ma li'e un restoran.  Humålom i dos gi restoran sa' ñålang.  Ma atan i "menu" ya finaisen si Juan as Jose : "Juan, håfa månnge' ta boka guine?"  Ilek-ña si Juan, "Hekkua' lao bai gagao i indigenous crab."  Ilek-ña si Jose, "Juan, åhe' ti indigenous na Dungeness crab!"

AUTOMOTIVE CHAMORRO

It's good to see our young people using their language (in a clean way) as they personalize their cars and trucks.  I like this one in particular because "ke ya hafa" is particularly Chamorro in attitude.  "Taffo'" means "brash, tactless, bold in a rude way."  Someone who stops by the house too much or at inconvenient hours is "taffo'."  Someone who breaks social norms or who does not observe etiquette is "taffo'."

Maybe the owner had this in mind when he put "taffo'" on his car.  Or perhaps he meant it to mean "bold" in a general way, though the better word for that is "matatnga."  "Taffo'" has a note of impropriety to it.

Now "ke ya håfa" is a wonderfully flexible phrase.  It comes from the Spanish word "que" which means "what" or "which," and even sometimes "who" or "whom."

"Ke ya håfa?" Literally, "What/which/that and what?"  But it can be best translated "And so what?"  Or, "And what of it?" Depending on the tone, it can carry different meanings.

Jose : You're late, Mary.
Mary : Ke ya håfa? (as in, "It's not the end of the world, Jose.  Chill.")
Mary : Ke ya håfa? (as in, "Leave me alone!  I've had a bad day!")

I LA TADDUNG NA FINIHO : MÅTTET

arthermitage.org

MÅTTET - annai un kastigan maisa hao, annai un mottifika hao pat un cho'gue håf na penitensia pot minalago'-mo ha'.

Kumuentos hame nigap yan un atungo'-ho ni fumaisen yo' håfa kumekeilek-ña "måttet," sa' ha hungok este ginen as tatå-ña.

Magåhet na ginen hu hungok este lokkue', lao pinat man åmko' ha' umu'usa este na finiho ya esta ti u åpmam para u falingo.

Måfåtto este na palåbra ginen i fino' lågo "mártir."  Ma chuchule' este ginen i fino' Grecia (i fino' Griego).  "Mártir" kumekeilek-ña "testigo."  I testigo munånå'e ebidensia pot i minagåhet un asunto pat sinisedi.  I mangilisyåno na man måttet munånå'e ebidensia na magåhet i hinenggen-ñiha sa' man magof siha man måtai pot i hinenggen-ñiha.  Ginen ayo na måfåtto i siknifikasion-ña i "mattet."

Pues håftaimano ma tulaika i siknifikasion-ña guato gi "i un kastigan maisa hao?"  Hasso nåya.  I man måttet i Gima'yu'us man ma puno'.  Enao i kastigun-ñiha yan i mottifikasion-ñiha.  Hita, ti siña ta puno' maisa hit sa' isao enao.  Lao siña ha' ta cho'gue masea håfa na klasen sakrifisio pat mottifikasion ni ti ha na' dådåño atdet i tataotao-ta.  Siña ha' hit mandimu åpmam na tiempo gi orasion.  Siña ha' ta utut palo gi kinano'-ta.  Siña ha' hit man åsson gi hilo' satge ya mungnga gi kåma.  Taiguenao nai siña ta fan måmåttet.

"Hafa si Juan na ti malago' chumocho?"
"Sa' mumåmåttet gue'."

Bonito para guåho este na fino' Chamorro, sa', masea ti seguguro yo' ya debi di hu fanguåddok mås, tåya' na hu hungok gi pumalo siha na råsa ma u'usa i palåbra "måttet" gi taiguine na manera - i para un kastigan maisa hao.

ESPAÑA HA DESCUBIERTO EL BLOG

profilekiss.com

¡BIENVENIDOS a nuestros visitantes españoles! El blog ha recibido 21 visitas procedentes de España en una sola semana. (Welcome to our Spanish visitors; 21 hits from Spain in just one week.)

ADELUP? ADILOK? ADDY LOOP?

I'm not sure when this photo of Adelup was taken, but it can certainly fit anywhere within the time frame 1920-1930.  There wasn't a whole lot going on at Adelup back then, compared to this modern photo below :

As you can see in the older photo above, the original Chamorro name for the place is ADILOK.  A possible origin of this name is the word "dulok" which means "to puncture, penetrate."  The prefix "A" means "mutually, to each other."  I can see how this minuscule peninsula pokes into the sea, but I can't see the other way around.  It's just a theory anyway.

"Adilug" according to a Spanish document

Adilok has had an interesting and varied history.  It has been used in the following ways :

LEPER COLONY.  Current terminology refers to leprosy as Hansen's disease.  Borrowing from the Gospels, the Spaniards often called leprosy "the sickness of Lazarus," and people with this disease "lazarinos," in Chamorro "nasarino."  It seems the Spaniards established a home for lepers at Adilok soon after the Spanish pacification of the Marianas (around 1695).  There were many variations of the name : Aduluk, Adulug, Adilog, Adilok.  Not everyone diagnosed with leprosy actually suffered from that condition but from another illness with similar symptoms (e.g. ulcers).  The leper hospital at Adilok eventually closed around 1871 and Tinian became the site of another leprosarium.

In Spanish times, Adilok was also known as "Punta del Diablo," or "Devil's Point."

PROTESTANT MISSION.  In the year 1901, the Reverend Francis M. Price, Congregationalist, purchased 12 acres of land at Adilok for a Protestant mission school, with housing units for the missionaries and some pupils.  Originally, it was thought an ideal location, far from the busy streets of Hagåtña.  But in time it appeared to be too far from the public scene.  By the time the General Baptists assumed responsibility for the Chamorro Protestant community, Adilok was no longer used by the Protestant mission.

While the Protestant mission school was at Adilok, it was called "Missionary Point."

ATKINS KROLL SITE.  The company moved to Adilok in 1910 and in time built a mansion there.  Is that what we see on the promontory in the old photo above?  Click on it and enlarge.  The Japanese head of civilian affairs made himself comfy at the Atkins Kroll house.  Then the Japanese placed heavy guns there, too, in anticipation of the American invasion.

AMERICAN NAVAL OFFICERS RESIDENCE before World War II.

PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.  By 1946, there was already a primary school located at Adilok, housed in quonset huts. The government tried to run a Normal School (teacher training school) in 1946 but it shut down after only a year for lack of students. The Elementary School became a concrete structure in the early 1950s. I seem to recall that it closed in the 1970s because of its poor and dangerous structural condition due to the passage of time.  I suspect its proximity to the sea didn't help, with the salty sea spray coating the building, especially during typhoons.

GOVERNMENT COMPLEX.  I believe the late Governor Ricardo J. Bordallo started renovating the closed school to become a new location for the executive offices, since the ones in downtown Hagåtña were too cramped by then.  I remember that Governor Joseph F. Ada was installed in Adilok if not for all his first term, that at least for half of it (1988-1992).  The Complex is now named after Governor Bordallo.  Originally part of Asan-Maina municipality, a law was later passed to annex Adilok to Hagåtña, so that the Governor's Office could be in the island's capital city.  The Guam Museum and the Latte of Freedom are located there, too.

"Adelup" has now passed into common speech much the same way as we say the White House, Capitol Hill, Downing Street and the Kremlin.  "Adelup has to OK that."  "He has his eye on Adelup."  "Who's going to win Adelup?"

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.

PARA TA FAÑÅLEK HA'

jestersring.ca

Matto un dia gi kotte un estranghero na taotao para u fåna' i Señot Hues åntes di u ma na' siudadånon amerikåno. 

Ilek-ña i Señot Hues : Señot, åntes di un ma na' siudadånon amerikåno, debi di hu eksamina hao.  Deletrea, pot fabot, este tres na palåbra : deduct, defense, defeat.

Man oppe i taotao : Deduct, d-e-d-u-c-t. 

Taiguenao ha' ta'lo ha cho'gue yan i dos tetehnan na palåbra.

Ilek-ña i Hues : Señot, maolek bida-mo.  På'go, na' setbe este tres na palåbra gi et mismo ha' na sinangan.

Ilek-ña i taotao : De duck flew over de fence, de head first den de feet.

I LA TADDUNG NA FINIHO : NAOAO

NAOAO = i ti teok na gimen, sopas, kalan hånom na klåsen åmot, petroleo, etc.

I fine'nana na biåhe na hu hungok este na palåbra i annai hu hungok si Påle' Daniel kumuentos pot i "kaddun naoao."  Ilek-ña si Påle' na maolek-ña i kaddun naoao para i malångo' na taotao, ki ni teok na kåddu.  Buente kumekeilek-ña ayo na kåddu i diddidi ha' ma nå'yi-ña, pot ehemplo seboyas yan un pedasitun gollai.  Hu tungo' na i leche, masea lechen niyok pat lechen guaka, muna' teteok i kaddu.  I arina yan i patåtas lokkue' muna' teteok i kaddu.

mixedgreensblog.com

 

Adahi na guiya este i kaddun naoao!

TODAY'S CHAMORRO WORD : GIMEN

do2learn.com

GIMEN : to drink; a drink

Malago' yo' gumimen.  I would like to drink.

Kao malago' hao gumimen kafe?  Would you like to drink coffee?

Esta monhåyan yo' gumimen.  I have already drunk.

Tåya' gimen.  There are no drinks.

Na' gimen.  To give to drink/make drink.

Na' gimen si Påle'.  Give Father something to drink.

Gegmen.  A drinker.  Heavy drinker.  A contraction (shortening) of the word "gigimen," meaning "drinker."

Giminon.  Drinkable.  Ti giminon na hånom.  The water is not potable.  The construction of this word is based on the root word "gimen" to which is added the suffix -on, which in Chamorro means "-able."  Gimen+on = drink+able.

Historical Note : There is an archaic form of "gimen" no longer used in modern Chamorro.  It is "ginem."  "Ginem" is found in Father Ibáñez's Chamorro dictionary (1865) and in Påle' Roman's Chamorro dictionary (1932) as well as in Chamorro sermons from the 1870s.

Could "ginem" be the original word, and "gimen" a product of inversion, as seen in other languages?  Think, for example, of the inversion of the "s" and "k" when "ask" becomes "aks" in contemporary urban English.  "I wanna aks you something."

CHAMORRO RELIGIOUS POETRY : I Estasion - #7 and #8

7. Ñiñekñok i Satbadot-ta nu i inimama-ña;

ti linangak i isao-ta nu i nina'siñå-ña.

(Our Savior is immersed under his burden;

our sins could not resist His power.)

8. Hamyo famalao'an Juda tångse i isao-miyo;

i hagå'-ho ni hu chuda' finas gi ha'en-miyo.

(You, women of Judah, weep for your sins;

cleanse your consciences with the blood that I shed.)

DAMENGGON LÅSARO : COVER THE STATUES!

Saint Fidelis Friary Chapel
Agana Heights, Guam

Åntes na tiempo, "Damenggon Låsaro" mafa'nana'an i på'go na Damenggo, pot i Ebanghelio ni ta huhungok på'go gi Misa, annai si Jesus ha na' lå'la' ta'lo i amigu-ña as Låsaro.

Kostumbre-ta gi Marianas para ta tåmpe i imåhen yan krusifiho siha gi halom guma'yu'us pat kapiya desde i Damenggon Låsaro asta i Pasguan Resureksion.  Håfa muna' kostumbre-ta este?  Atan i otro na blog ni hu maneneha : http://www.traditioguam.blogspot.com/ ya siempre un tungo.'

Today is traditionally known as "Lazarus Sunday," because of the Gospel story we hear today about the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  It is an old custom in the Marianas to cover the statues and crucifixes in churches and chapels from Lazarus Sunday till Easter.  What is the reason for this custom?  Look at my other blog : http://www.traditioguam.blogspot.com/ for the answer.

BULA TINANE'-HO!

It must be getting close to Holy Week / Semåna Sånta.  It's getting busy!

Catholic Daughters Day of Recollection, Saturday

San Isidro parish Lenten Retreat, Saturday/Sunday
Malojlo

Legion of Mary Day of Prayer, Sunday

CHAMORRO RELIGIOUS POETRY : I Estasion - #6

6. Si Veronica sumaosao, i edda' gi matå-ña;

nina' hopplat nu i taotao, sa' i pinalachå-ña.

(Veronica wipes the dirt from his face;

dirtied because of people's sins.)

GUAM'S THREE SEASONS

Some say there are three seasons of the year on Guam :

Dry season
Rainy season
and the campaign

How do you say "dry season" and "rainy season" in Chamorro?

The short answer : 

Dry Season = FAÑOMNAGAN

Wet Season = FANUCHÅNAN

The basic construct of these two words is based on the prefix FAN and the suffix AN.

Put a word in between FAN and AN, and the word takes on the meaning "place of" or "time of."

For example, "hålom" means "to enter." 

FAN+HÅLOM+AN = FANHALUMAN or ENTRANCE.

With FAÑOMNAGAN, the base word is SOMNAK, meaning "sunshine."

FAN+SOMNAK+AN = FAÑOMNAGAN, meaning the "time of sunshine."  Dry season.  Voila!

With FANUCHÅNAN, the base word is UCHAN, which you should now know means "rain."

FAN+UCHAN+AN = FANUCHÅNAN, the "time of rain."

TODAY'S CHAMORRO WORD : UCHAN

etsy.com

UCHAN : rain

It's been raining all during the dry season.  Will it be dry in the upcoming wet season?

U'uchan.  It's raining.

Uchan?  Is it raining?

Kao para u uchan?  Will it rain?

Uchan is a word which changes slightly when preceded by the definite article "the" or "i."  It becomes "i ichan."

Ma kansela i gipot sa' pot i ichan.  The party was cancelled on account of the rain.

Uchan is one of those words that shows how we share ancient links with many peoples from Indonesia to the Philippines and across the Pacific.

In some Indonesian languages, "uchan" becomes "ujan" or "udan."  The key vowels, u and a, are preserved.

Some Filipino languages say "uran," others "ulan."  Smaller linguistic groups in Luzon (e.g. the Kalinga and Bontoc) say "uchan" or "ochan."  They all mean "rain."

And in Hawaiian, which drops many consonants, the two vowels are maintained and "rain" is simply "u'a."  Linguistic evidence that we're all related.