Talk:Chamorro language

Early discussion

-Please do not edit ANYTHING on the Chamorro language if you do not know anything about it, if you can't speak the language, or if you aren't chamorro. Those who've edited it should be, just like myself, a chamorro. Please don't mess around with our language. Thank you for your understanding. "Si Yu'us Ma'ase!" --Chamorrita*

-I changed a couple things around in the "Common Phrases" section. I'm going to get rid of the "oga'an maolek" nonsense and the like... It's a literal translation, but doesn't actually make sense in Chamorro. We use the Spanish phrases, if we must, but not "oga'an maolek." --Gadao01 (talk) 04:50, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

- Never heard: oga'an maolek, pupuenge maolek...? Who has invented these new expressions? Why is somebody trying to change the language, artificially? All Chamorros, old and young Chamorros, say, always buenas días, buenas tatdes, buenas noches. Please, don't kill Chamorro language!!!!!

—"Oga'an Maolek"? Personally, I've never heard anyone say this phrase, or the like. True, it is a litteral translation of "Good Morning," but I do not believe anyone actually says it. That being said, I don't know if there is an actual Chamorro equivalent to "Good Morning" or like phrases. Gadao01 21:32, 31 March 2007 (UTC)Gadao01

Just added a few notes - basic phrases. Also noticed that a link to Spanish creole was on the page. Have kept the link, but noted definitely in the text that Chamorro is not a Spanish creole.

firstfox 15:06, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Â, Ñ, Ü

' (glottal stop), A, Å, B, Ch, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, Ñ, Ng, O, P, R, S, T, U, Y

According to [1] Â, Ñ, Ü are the special letters of Chamorro. Is the Wikipedia article correct and should therefore a suggestion for correction be sent to kiisu@eki.ee? Christoph Päper 22:06, 13 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Yes, I would say a suggestion for correction be sent to that site, because it is the only place I've EVER seen  and Ü cited or used as supposedly Chamoru letters.Adrigon 06:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

No, no correction needs to be made for the letters. Â and Ü were used at one point by some people. However, with the modern Chamorro orthography, there does not need to be a correction, the letters listed above are the ones required for Chamorro. --Gadao01 (talk) 02:16, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Entymology of the word "Chamorro" and a pronunciation guide (tsa-mōr-roo???) for the word should be included.Onionhound 00:08, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

The "Chamoru Vs. Chamorro" section of the "Chamorro people" page addresses the etymology, although I'm not sure whether it would be appropriate for me to simply copy and paste it in this article...Adrigon 06:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Alphabets are all well and good on language pages, but not much use to a non-speaker unless IPA equivalents are given. In particular, what sound is å intended to represent?N. Pharris 23:15, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Putang-ina-mu? What is your name? is that seriously the true meaning? or is someone screwin around with the page.

If you use that phrase when speaking to a Filipino, you'd be insulting his mother and him. It's literal meaning is "your mother's vagina". It's the Tagalog equivalent of the English curse word "mother fucker".Jlujan69 05:00, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Just to further clarify, the aforementioned phrase IS NOT Chamoru.Adrigon 06:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Minor editing

I removed Japanese, Spanish, and Tagalog as languages whose usage threatens to replace Chamorro. English is the only language that "threatens" the continued usage of Chamorro. The only people that are inclined to speak Tagalog and Japanese are the Filipinos and Japanese respectively, not the Chamorro people. Spanish certainly hasn't been a threat to the Chamorro language in over a hundred years. However, Chamorros are increasingly more inclined to speak English than Chamorro. Other languages are not a factor for the Chamorro people in this context.Jlujan69 21:54, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Chamorro Scouting

Can someone render "Be Prepared", the Scout Motto, into Chamorro? Thanks! Chris 15:02, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

-"Be prepared" can be said something like "Arekla hao" or "Na'listu hao." Meaning "Fix yourself" or "Make yourself ready" respectively. Of course you can also say "Prepara hao" :-) --Gadao01 (talk) 04:51, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Spanish Creole¡

Please, be serious..all numbers in Chamorro language are "phonetical" Spanish¡¡ One thing is a loan from another language, and other a lot words coming from Spanish..even the pronunciation seems as Latin American Spanish... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.158.53.15 (talk) 00:43, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

Buen Probecho?

Are you sure that's the way to say you're welcome? In Spanish (Puerto Rican) the phrase "Buen Provecho" translates roughly to "Bon Apetit" in the context of a meal, but more generally, "que aprobeches" can mean "take advantage of the opportunity offered you." In that sense, a "buen probecho" sounds amusingly cocky, sort of on line with "enjoy". Can someone verify that your welcome is not "de nada"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamiltonio (talk • contribs) 21:15, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

"Buen probecho" is indeed used as "You're welcome" in Chamorro. I believe the term was taken from the older meaning of "Enjoy of what is proffered you," but not necessarily as a "cocky" sort of reply. I'm not entirely sure, but then again, I wasn't around 200 years ago to hear it used in daily conversation. The level of formality (nowadays) for "buen probecho" is on par with "no hay de que" in Spanish, and "de nada" would be closer to us saying "maolek ha'" or "ha'a"(not something you say to your grandmother, show respect!). The phrase "de nada" is not used by Chamorro speakers, unless they're being "cute" and saying it in Spanish. --Gadao01 (talk) 07:25, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

If you researched the original use of the Spanish phrase "buen provecho" you will find that it wasn't originally used to mean the equivalent of "bon apetit", but instead it was said upon excusing one's self from the dining table. As the person excused his or herself, "buen provecho" would be offered to everyone still eating. "Buen provecho" or "good benefit", in essence telling everyone "may it (the meal) do you good". Of course, after centuries of usage, the phrase has now become in many Spanish-speaking countries an idiomatic expression equivalent to "bon apetit". In Chamorro the phrase still retains its original meaning. Although we translate the phrase as "you're welcome", what it really is saying is "may it have done you good", in reference to whatever gift or service was offered to someone.--Magalahi (talk) 02:56, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Chamorro Basic Phrases

Ok, I have a couple of things to talk about:

1. Has anyone actually ever heard someone say "åte adeng-mu" for "Greetings" or "fanatåtte" even??? Cause I know that I've never heard those before. If no one has, I'm going to get rid of those phrases... They sound rather contrived to me, rather than actual phrases.
2. If you don't know the language, please don't make changes to the page like, "These Spanish phrases are innacurate. Chamorros don't actually have any phrases for goodbye or whatever. They use substitutes." Nonsense! As a Chamorro speaker, I'll vouch that we use "buenas dihas" "adios" etc. While the Chamorro from the pre-Spanish era might have had indigenous terms for such phrases, in modern Chamorro we use the Spanish loanwords/ phrases.

--Gadao01 (talk) 08:16, 11 June 2008 (UTC)