Chamorro

University of Hawaii Press. 376 pages. Spoken Chamorro is designed to enable the student to learn to speak and understand the Chamorro language the way native speakers do in their everyday activities. This second edition has been revised to incorporate the spelling conventions adopted by the Marianas Orthography Committee in January 1971, and suggestions made by teachers who have used the text in the classroom. The basic material in the text remains unchanged, the work of the author and Pedro M. Ogo, principal of Rota Elementary and High School, who is a native speaker of the language. As much as possible, the lessons exclude regionalisms, presenting the language as it is heard generally on Guam, Saipan, Rota, and elsewhere throughout the Mariana Islands.

Bess Press. 112 pages. Illustrations. The book features 200-400 illustrated introductory vocabulary words, a pronunciation guide, and glossaries. The categories which include family, home, school, the body, clothing, food, opposites, numbers, nature, and time, accurately portray the Guam culture as well as teach basic vocabulary. An audio CD recorded by a native speaker is included. Recommended for ages 4-8, but adults will also find it invaluable as a first language course primer.

University of Hawaii Press. 366 pages. The Chamorro-English Dictionary provides an alphabetical listing of as many Chamorro words as could be collected, spelled according to the principles adopted by the Marianas Orthography Committee in February 1971. Each word is given a fairly comprehensive definition in English, and, in many cases, sample sentences have been included to illustrate usages in context. An English-Chamorro finder list, based on selected words in the English definitions, is also provided.

University of Hawaii Press. Chamorro Reference Grammar is a detailed description of the grammatical structure of the indigenous language of the Marian Islands. It is designed primarily as a reference work which will serve to give native speakers some insight into the complexities of their language and to encourage its use at a time when other languages are more prestigious.