Chamorro language
Quick Summary
The Chamorro language is spoken by over 61,000 people and is the indigenous language of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. It is not a dialect of Micronesian but a distinct language with its own vocabulary and grammar. While English is the official language of Guam, Chamorro is still used in many homes. The Chamorro people's ancestors are believed to have migrated from insular Southeast Asia around 1600 BCE. Historically, the Chamorro population significantly declined due to disease and violence following Spanish colonization, but the language persists today.12
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Austronesian languagesNuclear MicronesianPalauan, Chamorro (Mariana Islands), and Yapese (western Micronesia) are not Nuclear Micronesian languages; the former two appear to be products of quite distinct migrations out of Indonesia or the Philippines, and, while Yapese probably is Oceanic, it has a complex history of borrowing and does notā¦
Read MorePalauan, Chamorro (Mariana Islands), and Yapese (western Micronesia) are not Nuclear Micronesian languages; the former two appear to be products of quite distinct migrations out of Indonesia or the Philippines, and, while Yapese probably is Oceanic, it has a complex history of borrowing and does notā¦
Read More- Micronesian languages
ā¦branch of the Austronesian languagesāChamorro, closely similar to the languages of the Philippines, and Palauan, the affinities of which are less certain but clearly Indonesian.
Read Moreā¦branch of the Austronesian languagesāChamorro, closely similar to the languages of the Philippines, and Palauan, the affinities of which are less certain but clearly Indonesian.
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Micronesian cultureLanguages and initial settlementThe Chamorro language, spoken in the Marianas, has undergone much influence from Spanish and probably also from the Philippine Tagalog language after more than four centuries of Western contact.
Read MoreThe Chamorro language, spoken in the Marianas, has undergone much influence from Spanish and probably also from the Philippine Tagalog language after more than four centuries of Western contact.
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