Speech competition for culture and language preservation

Practicing and perfecting a language is one way to take pride in one’s culture and heritage. This was on display during the speech competition hosted by the Carolinian Affairs Office at the Carolinian Utt last Saturday, promoting the preservation and the continuity of the Chamorro and Carolinian languages throughout the CNMI.

The speech competition finally pushed through last Saturday after being postponed from within September due to unexpected conditions.

Carolinian Affairs executive assistant John Tagabuel shared that win or lose, the contestants were all winners. “For me, all the students that came out today are winners. The fact that they continue to practice the language and culture and make sure that we have continuity in the preservation of it is good enough for me,” said Tagabuel. “Part of my job is to promote this, and today we are celebrating with the Chamorros and the Carolinians and we can see that the feast that we have and the children that came up for their prizes is nice.”

Gina Camacho, a member of the panel of judges, expressed the same sentiments. “I am very grateful to be here, and I am very honored that they asked me to take part in this. It is very important for me to see that this continues. Again, your language is very important. The continuity of our culture is important. This is what I grew up on. I joined these things and I am thrilled to see and learned that it is still going on,” she said.

Camacho hopes the same fate for future generations. “I do hope that in the coming years we see more indigenous children joining these events, perfecting, promoting, and preserving their culture, language, and values, to pass it on to the next generation.”

Lt. Gov Victor Hocog’s chief of staff John Gonzales attended the event as a father, and shared that, like his parents, he is instilling the value of culture just as his parents did to him. “They taught us the values of appreciating who we are, always going back and appreciating your taro roots, and defining your character based on the simple values that our parents passed on to us,” he said. “We’re doing exactly the same thing, we are empowering our children to believe and have faith with who we are, because when they go out to the global community, they know where they came from, they appreciate their simple lifestyle as islanders, and that they appreciate the diversity that makes the world a beautiful pottery of cultures and languages that live in harmony and tolerance.”

Gonzales calls for abolishing the common misconception that a minority’s language is unimportant. “Let’s stop kidding ourselves, let’s demystify the notion that we should not learn anything other than English, Spanish, or Chinese, because that is wrong. Research after research has proven that children that learn their mother tongue before the universal languages are much smarter and more successful. Let’s demystify the notion that it is otherwise.”

Winners for the Carolinian speeches grades 3-5 are Kenneth Kapileo, Rosana Moses, and Jasmine Mike, winning first, seond, and third, respectively. First place went to Neifesman Saito for the Carolinian speeches grades 6-9.

Winners for the Chamorro speeches grades 6-9 are Seiji Gonzales, Victoria Dela Cruz, and Francisco Atalig, coming in at first, second, and third place respectively.

For Chamorro speeches grades 10-12, the winners are Genzo Gonzales, Trinie Lizama, and Elden Maratita, coming in at first, second, and third respectively.