The Chamorro Alphabet

Q: What is the Chamorro alphabet?

The Chamorro alphabet (I Atfabetu) is a Latin-based writing system with 25 letters : 6 vowels and 16 consonants, plus the Ch and Ng digraphs and the glota [3] . Its most distinctive letter is å , representing an open back vowel not found in the standard English alphabet.

Q: What is the difference between Chamorro and CHamoru?

Chamorro and CHamoru refer to the same Pacific language and people; CHamoru is the spelling favoured in Guam's modern orthography. The capitalised CH reflects the digraph's status as a single letter, distinct from a plain C followed by H.

Q: Where is Chamorro spoken?

Chamorro is spoken on Guam and across the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , both United States territories in the western Pacific. Guam recorded a population of 153,836 at the 2020 census [1] .

Q: Is Chamorro an official language?

Yes. Public Law 12-132 , enacted in 1974, made Chamorro and English the official languages of Guam under Guam Code Annotated Title 1, Chapter 7 [2] . The Kumisión I Fino' CHamoru (CHamoru Language Commission) oversees Chamorro language policy on Guam.

Q: What language family does Chamorro belong to?

Chamorro belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian family, within the vast Austronesian family, but forms its own independent branch [4] . Unlike its Pacific neighbours, Chamorro is not classified as Micronesian or Polynesian, making its closest relatives difficult to pin down.

Q: What is the letter å in Chamorro?

The letter å represents an open back vowel, similar to the "a" in English "father". It contrasts with the plain letter a , pronounced like the "a" in "cat", making the two vowels separate letters in Chamorro spelling.

Q: What is the glota in Chamorro?

The glota (glottal stop), written as an apostrophe after a vowel, is a fully phonemic sound in Chamorro. Its presence or absence changes meaning: måta means "eye", while måta' means "raw, uncooked".

Q: How are the Ch and Ng digraphs used in Chamorro?

Ch represents a postalveolar affricate, similar to "ch" in English "chair", while Ng represents a velar nasal, similar to "ng" in "sing". Unlike English, Ng can appear at the very start of a Chamorro word, and both digraphs count as single letters.

Q: What does the ISO 639-3 code "cha" mean?

The code cha is the official ISO 639-3 identifier assigned to Chamorro by the international standards registration authority [3] . This code distinguishes Chamorro from other Pacific languages in international language databases and library catalogues worldwide.

Q: What is the status of Chamorro today?

Chamorro remains widely spoken in the Northern Mariana Islands, though fluency has declined among younger residents of Guam due to the influence of English. Guam's public schools now offer Chamorro language and cultural education to help sustain the language for future generations.

Chamorro Alphabet at a Glance

25 letters: 6 vowels (including å) and 16 consonants (including ñ), plus the Ch and Ng digraphs and the glota (glottal stop)
Chamorro is the native language of the CHamoru people of Guam, a territory of 153,836 people at the 2020 census ^[1]
Chamorro and English were made the official languages of Guam by Public Law 12-132 of 1974 ^[2]
Chamorro carries the ISO 639-3 code cha ^[3]
Rather than belonging to the Micronesian or Polynesian subgroups, Chamorro forms its own independent branch of Malayo-Polynesian ^[4]
The vowel å is pronounced like the "a" in "father", distinguishing it from the plain a, pronounced like the "a" in "cat"
The glota (glottal stop) is fully phonemic: måta means "eye", while måta' means "raw, uncooked"

[AH]

[AW]

[EH]

[EE]

[OH]

[OO]

[ah]

[aw]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[oo]

[BEE]

[DEE]

[EFF]

[GEE]

[HUH]

[KAY]

[EL]

[EM]

[EN]

[ENYE]

[PEE]

[AR]

[ESS]

[TEE]

[VEE]

[YUH]

[BEE]

Uppercase B, a voiced bilabial stop, similar to "b" in "boy".

[DEE]

Uppercase D, a voiced alveolar stop, similar to "d" in "dog".

[EFF]

Uppercase F, a voiceless labiodental fricative, similar to "f" in "fan".

[GEE]

Uppercase G, a voiced velar stop, similar to "g" in "go".

[HUH]

Uppercase H, a voiceless glottal fricative, similar to "h" in "hat".

[KAY]

Uppercase K, a voiceless velar stop, similar to "k" in "key".

[EL]

Uppercase L, an alveolar lateral approximant, similar to "l" in "lamp".

[EM]

Uppercase M, a bilabial nasal, similar to "m" in "man".

[EN]

Uppercase N, an alveolar nasal, similar to "n" in "nose".

[ENYE]

Uppercase Ñ, the palatal nasal, similar to "ny" in "canyon".

[PEE]

Uppercase P, a voiceless bilabial stop, similar to "p" in "pen".

[AR]

Uppercase R, a tapped rhotic consonant, similar to the tapped "r" in Spanish.

[ESS]

Uppercase S, a voiceless alveolar fricative, similar to "s" in "sun".

[TEE]

Uppercase T, a voiceless alveolar stop, similar to "t" in "top".

[VEE]

Uppercase V, a voiced labiodental fricative, similar to "v" in "van".

[YUH]

Uppercase Y, a palatal approximant, similar to "y" in "yes".

[bee]

[dee]

[eff]

[gee]

[huh]

[kay]

[el]

[em]

[en]

[enye]

[pee]

[ar]

[ess]

[tee]

[vee]

[yuh]

[bee]

Voiced bilabial stop, similar to "b" in English "boy".

[dee]

Voiced alveolar stop, similar to "d" in English "dog".

[eff]

Voiceless labiodental fricative, similar to "f" in English "fan".

[gee]

Voiced velar stop, similar to "g" in English "go".

[huh]

Voiceless glottal fricative, similar to "h" in English "hat".

[kay]

Voiceless velar stop, similar to "k" in English "key".

[el]

Alveolar lateral approximant, similar to "l" in English "lamp".

[em]

Bilabial nasal, similar to "m" in English "man".

[en]

Alveolar nasal, similar to "n" in English "nose".

[enye]

Palatal nasal, similar to "ny" in English "canyon", borrowed from Spanish.

[pee]

Voiceless bilabial stop, similar to "p" in English "pen".

[ar]

Tapped rhotic consonant, similar to the tapped "r" in Spanish.

[ess]

Voiceless alveolar fricative, similar to "s" in English "sun".

[tee]

Voiceless alveolar stop, similar to "t" in English "top".

[vee]

Voiced labiodental fricative, similar to "v" in English "van".

[yuh]

Palatal approximant, similar to "y" in English "yes".

[CHUH]

[ENG]

[chuh]

[eng]

[glottal stop]

A a

Å å

B b

Ch ch

D d

E e

F f

G g

H h

I i

K k

L l

M m

N n

Ñ ñ

Ng ng

O o

P p

R r

S s

T t

U u

V v

Y y

;

(

)

Expand All Collapse All

What is the Chamorro alphabet?

What is the difference between Chamorro and CHamoru?

Where is Chamorro spoken?

Is Chamorro an official language?

What language family does Chamorro belong to?

What is the letter å in Chamorro?

What is the glota in Chamorro?

How are the Ch and Ng digraphs used in Chamorro?

What does the ISO 639-3 code "cha" mean?

What is the status of Chamorro today?

References:

[1] United States Census Bureau. "2020 Census Population and Housing Unit Counts for Guam" — recording a total population of 153,836. Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Census — Guam
[2] Kumisión I Fino' CHamoru (CHamoru Language Commission), Government of Guam. "Public Law 12-132" — establishing CHamoru and English as the official languages of Guam under Guam Code Annotated Title 1, Chapter 7. Retrieved from Government of Guam: Kumisión I Fino' CHamoru — P.L. 12-132
[3] SIL International. "ISO 639-3 Registration Authority: Chamorro [cha]". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: Chamorro
[4] Glottolog 5.x. "Chamorro [cham1312]" — an independent branch of Malayo-Polynesian within the Austronesian family. Retrieved from Glottolog: Chamorro