NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

One of the most irritating things about life on Guam is that the island is incredibly multilingual as well as multicultural, but because of our colonial past and present, we tend to force everything into very unfortunate monolingual frameworks. It is important to be able to see past the colonial examples presented by the United States and look at the rest of the world, especially where small language communities, who are in similar situations as Chamorros, are struggling to promote and preserve their indigenous tongues. Here are some articles to consider in this regard. *************************** Bilingual Street Signs Herald a New Era of Language Revitalization by Frank Hopper 2/29/16 Indian Country Today Media Network In 1990, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe estimates only eight people knew how to speak the Klallam language. Now they’re putting it on street signs. Earlier this month, the city of Port Angeles, on the north end of Washington State’s Olympic

I interviewed so many cool people over the last week in Okinawa and Ishigaki Islands. I did so with the help of Okinawan activist Shinako Oyakawa who I first met in 2010 during a demilitarization study tour to South Korea. I was fortunate enough to join her, Bruce Gagnon and Corazon Fabros on on a trip to South Korea where we visited areas affected by US military facilities and training. Later I met Shinako in the context of solidarity activism in connection with Okinawa. She is a member of an academic association which is pushing for Okinawan, Ryukyu or LewChu independence from Japan. Her group has invited me to several conferences in Okinawa over the years and she is usually stuck translating the mindless things I say into Japanese. Another connection I have to Shinako is that she is a language revitalization activist. She is from Okinawa, one of many islands in what most people consider to be "Okinawa" or the Ryukyu Islands. Most people in Okinawa speak Japanese, but t

One of the articles I am working on this Fanuchan'an is about language revitalization in Guam and the "beautiful lie" or "gefpago na dinagi" that hinders our ability to protect and revitalize our endangered languages. What I refer to as the beautiful lie stage is the point at which language attitudes that once naturalized the uselessness of a native language have been reversed and that a once maligned language is now celebrated, but that the celebration of the language does not necessarily lead to any revitalization. It can lead to commemoration, promotion, to preservation but the beautiful lie is that while the beauty of the language is now an accepted truth, this does not meant that people will actually use it, teach it or see it as something viable and necessary to keep alive. I first got to present this idea at an Endangered Island Language Forum last year at Ryukyu University in Okinawa. I have a couple more months until I have to take my presentation a

Okinawa's musicians provide a focus for Japanese protest against US bases With Barack Obama visiting Japan in April, resentment at plans for the US Futenma military base is finding a musical voice Justin McCurry in Okinawa theguardian.com , Thursday 17 April 2014 15.50 BST If an island of 1.4m people can be summed up in a sound, it is that of the sanshin . Where there are people on Okinawa, a Japanese island almost 1,000 miles south of Tokyo, the distinctive tones of the three-stringed instrument are never far away. Music is deeply rooted in Okinawa's tragic place in Japan 's history and the conduit for its modern grievances against the glut of US military bases on the island. As Barack

Gaige yu' pa'go giya Belau. Este i fine'nina nai hu bisita este na isla. Esta meggai hu taitai put Guiya. Meggai hiningok-hu put Guiya. Hu tungo' na este na nasion i fine'nina ni' tumachu kontra i dano' i atmas nuclear gi este na mundo. Ma pas gi i Constitution-niha i fine'nina na "taya' nukes" na lai. Siha i fine'nina fuma'tinas lokkue' un "fanliheng'an" para i halu'u siha gi i tasi. Achokka' maoriyayi yu' ni' Binelau, hu hahasso ha' iya Okinawa. Manhahami yan Si Yasukatsu Matsushima yan Si Ed Alvarez gi este na hinanao. Si Yasukatsu ha kokonne' magi i estudiante-na siha para u fanmanaligao giya Belau. Esta mambisita siha giya Guahan. Manmanaliligao siha put i islan Guahan yan i islan Belau, yan taimanu giya Guahan ti ma gubetnan maimaisa (ya i hiniyong na prublema) yan giya Belau put taimanu ma gubetnan maimaisa (ya i hiniyong maolek). Malago yu' mohon na bei fanngge

I invite you to tune in to Beyond the Fence which airs every Friday at noon on Public Radio Guam-KPRG 89.3 FM, immediately following Democracy Now.  This one hour locally produced program features interviews with diverse individuals and coverage of public events offering analysis and personal perspectives on the local impacts of US global militarism in the Asia-Pacific, especially in Guam and the Northern Marianas.  It provides accounts of different forms of resistance, decolonization and sovereignty  struggles, and the challenges of building community beyond the fence.  Audio podcasts of most episodes are available for free and may be downloaded within five days of the original broadcast by going to www.kprgfm.com  and clicking on the link to Beyond the Fence or by going directly to http://kprg.podbean.com/ Ep. 154 “ Minagahet yan Dinagi Siha: The Revitalization of the Chamorro Language” ( hosted by Rosa Salas Palomo with production assistance of Joy White ) was

On April 28, 1952 the Treaty of San Francisco ending World War II between Japan and the United States went into effect. As part of this treaty Japan would receive its sovereignty again, but the US would get to keep numerous bases in the country. Okinawa, as an island to the south of Japan, that had been forcibly annexed in 1879 was not thought of by most Japanese as being a true part of Japan. As a result it was the ideal “sacrifice” for Japan and was given to the United States in order for Japan to receive its sovereignty back. Bases that had been in mainland Japan were moved to the island, which was placed under US control until 1972. In the minds of the leaders of both Japan and the US, everyone got what they wanted. No one seemed to bother to ask the Okinawans about what they wanted. In Japan, April 28 th is thought of as an important anniversary, the day that Japan became whole again. This year the Japanese government announced that a celebration would

When I visited Okinawa last year I was fortunate enough to visit a language school started by a group of activists who are working towards the revitalization of Uchinaguchi or the main dialect of Okinawa. I had met most of them over the years at conferences in the states or on solidarity trips around the Asia-Pacific region. I was impressed with their grassroots efforts and in the year since they even received a small government grant to provide stipends for the community members who were offering their time to teach the classes. In these classes parents and children would work together to learn the language. Unfortunately when I visited last week the school was on vacation and wouldn't start again for several weeks. I thought it would be nice to share some of the photos I took last year. Part of the benefit of these types of trips is not only the inspiration you can feel from seeing people who at work who are committed and dedicated. It is also important to learn about each othe