Gertrude Costenoble Hornbostel (1893 – 1982) was born on 20 December 1893, in Reinfelden, Switzerland, to Gertrude Blum and Ludwig Wilhelm Herman Costenoble. In 1903 she and her older brother Hermann moved with their parents to settle in Saipan, which at the time was a territory of Germany.
Gertrude Costenoble Hornbostel Read Post »
Dr. Alexander M. Kerr of the University of Guam translated Joseph Paul Gaimard’s 1819 glossary of CHamoru words assembled while he was on Guam in April 1819 as the naturalist of the French expedition about the French naval vessel Uraine. The ship, under the command of Louis Claude de Freycinet, circumnavigated the world during the years 1817 to 1820.
Joseph Paul Gaimard’s 1819 CHamoru Vocabulary Read Post »
First used in the 16th Century. Inscribed on the Great Seal of Guam are the words “Tano I’ ManChamorro,” or Land of the Chamorros/CHamorus.
Origin of CHamoru as an Ethnic Identifier Read Post »
Traditionally, CHamorus didn’t have surnames. Each person was known by a first name and was probably referred to also according to his clan name.
The “Better Known As” system. CHamorus have developed a way of identifying people other than their given names. Whether this “better known as” system came about because it was difficult to keep track of people due to many people having the same saint’s names, or from old clan names, can only be speculated upon.
Pioneer promoter of the CHamoru language. Father Roman Maria de Vera (1878 – 1959), a Catholic missionary on Guam from 1915 until 1941, was one of the first important writers in the CHamoru language.
Father Roman de Vera Read Post »
Created by public law in 1964, the Kumision I Fino’ Chamorro, or Chamorro Language Commission, was established as the recognized authority on Chamorro language policy for the island of Guam. Tasked with the primary duty of describing and prescribing the Chamorro language in its written form, the commission was also mandated to prepare an updated Chamorro-English dictionary.
Kumision I Fino’ CHamoru/Chamorro Language Commission Read Post »
Rooted in the oral tradition, the Chamorro people’s transition toward the written word is a relatively young process. With the Americanization and the emphasis on literacy during the last century, the implications of this transition became very visible at the turn of the century when the spelling of the word used to identify the indigenous population of the Marianas came under public scrutiny in Guam.
Chamorro vs. Chamoru Read Post »
Though the Chamorro language was spoken by the people of the Marianas long before European expeditions made their way to the Pacific, its written form is still relatively new, with the most significant efforts toward standardization emerging only within the last fifty years.
Chamorro Orthography Read Post »
The origin of Guam’s indigenous people has been a matter of considerable speculation for more than a century. Scholars have developed theories about CHamoru origins based on various evidence: physical (pottery shards, DNA, etc.), ocean movement and language.
Origin of Guam’s Indigenous People Read Post »
