Learning Chamorro is just a smile away

Although visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam will do just fine speaking only English while on vacation here, they are aware that it is always a good idea to know some important Chamorro phrases.

This propelled isleSMILE to life in April 2009 as the first and only T-shirt company in the Mariana Islands of Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Guam motivated by a desire to not only help foreign visitors learn useful Chamorro phrases but also help preserve and promote this endangered language.

IsleSMILE is a collection of T-shirts with prints of basic Chamorro phrases such as hafa adai, si yu’us ma’ase, buen probecho, and many others that may help tourists enjoy their stay on Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Guam.

Proprietor Franco O. Mendoza cited various reports noting that the number of Chamorro speakers has declined in recent years, with the younger generation speaking the language less in everyday conversation due to western influences, particularly the media and the Internet.

Mendoza said TV shows such as MTV and social networking sites like Facebook put more pressure among the Chamorro youths to speak and write in English rather than in their native tongue.

University of California at Santa Cruz professor of linguistics Sandra Chung, who has done linguistic research on Chamorro since 1976, says the language is now at a critical moment in its history. In 2008, she was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative project to help preserve the endangered Chamorro language.

Chung and Dr. Elizabeth D. Rechebei, a retired Chamorro educator, are working with the Chamorro community in the Mariana Islands to significantly upgrade the documentation of the language. Total funds awarded for the three-year collaborative project are $300,000, of which $15,000 will go to UC Santa Cruz.

Derived from the word Chamorri or Chamoli, which means noble, Chamorro is an Austronesian language spoken by 45,000 people in the U.S. Territory of Guam and the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Mendoza said isleSMILE does not claim to be the front-runner in the effort to promote and preserve the Chamorro language “but we would like to help out by making the process of learning the language fun and not too academic.”

Using only top quality shirts from reputable T-shirt makers, isleSMILE shirts feature excellent designs that represent an amalgamation of modern art and local culture.

“We are committed to ensuring that all our shirts not only meet the highest standards but also remain true to our vision of helping promote local cultures, including but not limited to the Chamorro language,” Mendoza said.

He added that isleSMILE shirts capture the islands’ culture of warmth and hospitality and are a constant assurance that “we welcome our guests with the sincerest of smiles and that we stop at nothing to make sure they return home from our paradise islands wearing the Hafa Adai smile.”

For more information about isleSMILE shirts, call Mendoza at 288-0001 or send inquiries to franco@myislesmile.com or visit www.myislesmile.com. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]