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Chamorro conference begins today
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Posted on Sep 25 2008
The 3rd annual Chamorro Conference begins today at Saipan World Resort with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial in attendance.
This is the first time Saipan has hosted the event. Guam hosted the first conference and Rota hosted the second.
On Saturday, Guam Gov. Felix Camacho will help plant a tree at the Man’amko Center to go along with the conference.
Office on Aging director Howard Macaranas, who is one of the organizers of the event, earlier said the Chamorro language needs to be protected, not just preserved.
“To preserve is to just have it there,” Macaranas said. The language needs to be used regularly so it is not lost, he added.
“If we don’t do something now and make people realize we need to do something, we might not have it,” Macaranas said.
He said many people are aware the language is fading but are not doing anything to fix it.
“Everybody knows it’s a future problem, but it’s just in the back of their minds,” he said. “Even me, when I was younger, I didn’t care if I spoke Chamorro.”
Some people speak English because it is convenient, while others are ashamed to speak Chamorro, he said.
“We have to take all those things and tell people there is nothing wrong” with speaking the language, he added.
