Written by Clynt Ridgell
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Pacific News Center
http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43590:video-1798-garrido-document-reveals-old-chamoru-words-no-longer-in-use&catid=45:guam-news&Itemid=156
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Dr. Carlos Madrid, of the Micronesian Area Research Center at the University of Guam, shows a photo of a document written in Spanish that was translated into Chamorro in the 18th century. The document, which was recently translated from Chamorro into English, had words that either are no longer used or are rarely used today. Photos by Virgilio Valencia/For Pacific Sunday News |
A presentation titled "The Garrido Manuscript: A Unique Glimpse of the Chamorro Language in 1798" was held Thursday at the University of Guam lecture hall.
The researchers, Carlos Madrid, from the Micronesian Area Research Center; Jeremy Cepeda, a research associate with the I Fanlalai'an Oral History Project; and Leonard Iriarte, from I Fanlalai'an, presented some of their findings on Thursday.
In 1798, Manuel Garrido, a Chamorro and official of the Spanish government of the Mariana Islands was asked to translate into Chamorro news received from Manila regarding the victory of Spanish and Filipino soldiers against a British ship attacking Zamboanga, in Mindanao.
The 11-page document offers a rare glimpse of Chamorro language during this time.
One of the biggest findings was that most of the document didn't have borrowed words from Spanish, Madrid said. In the documents, Spanish words that were used were followed with explanations of the item or idea.
Three languages
The translation process required working simultaneously in three languages, Spanish, Chamorro and English, but by the end of the one-year research project, theories regarding many of these unknown words have been formed.The researchers think that during 1798, despite hundreds of years of Spanish colonization, the Chamorro language hadn't borrowed much from the islands' colonizers.
One theory presented on Thursday is that Chamorros in the villages who were isolated were able to retain much of the language. It was during the 1800s, with more Chamorros moving to Hagåtña and other villages with Spaniards, Filipinos and others, that the language changed.
Madrid said these theories are exciting and can help explain how the language changed over time.
"This provides us great insight," he said.
'Thank you very much'
One of the things they found is how Chamorros said "thank you very much" in 1798 versus the way it's said today.In the document, Garrido writes "Migai na Si Yu'os Ma'ase." In Chamorro today, it would be said as "Dangkulu na Si Yu'os Ma'ase."
Another word that changed over time is the word for "this."
Garrido used the word "ayen" or "adyin," while Chamorros today use "este" -- borrowed from Spanish.
Preservation
Cepeda said it was exciting to be able to look at the document and find words that Chamorros may not use anymore. He said he's hoping researchers can use the words they find and try to incorporate them back into the language or at least preserve them on paper or in chant."This was a really great project to work on," he said.
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Dr. Carlos Madrid, center, of the Micronesian Area Research Center at the University of Guam, speaks to the audience about a recently translated document written in the 18th century in Chamorro.Photos by Virgilio Valencia/For Pacific Sunday News |
http://www.guampdn.com/article/20140330/NEWS01/303300014/Document-sheds-light-Chamorro-language
