Source: https://www.guampedia.com/kumision-i-fino%E2%80%99-chamorrochamorro-language-commission/
Timestamp: 2018-11-19 19:27:19
Document Index: 733365109

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 19655', '§46107', '§ 34', '§ 34', '§ 46107', 'art 3']

» Kumision I Fino’ Chamorro/Chamorro Language Commission
Established to set language policy
Chamorro vs. Chamoru
Kumision I Fino’ Chamorro/Chamorro Language Commission
Chamorro Spelling
Chamorro Word Board
Member Ray Leon Guerrero
Dictionary Working Meeting
Created by public law in 1964, the Kumision I Fino’ Chamorro, or Chamorro Language Commission, was established as the recognized authority on Chamorro language policy for the island of Guam. Tasked with the primary duty of describing and prescribing the Chamorro language in its written form, the commission was also mandated to prepare an updated Chamorro-English dictionary.
Although the commission was eventually absorbed into the organizational structure of the Department of Chamorro Affairs through Public Law 25-69, it nevertheless made its mark in Guam history during its more than thirty-year tenure as the island’s foremost authority on indigenous language policy. And though the mandate to create the dictionary was never fulfilled prior to the commission’s dissolution in 1999, the commission did make significant progress in the standardization of the written Chamorro language.
Led by an appointed chairman, the commission comprised nine members who were appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. The nine-member team served staggered terms ranging from one-to-three years. In its infancy, the commission operated without a separate budget and was authorized by law to utilize existing resources from the local education department and the University of Guam. The law also allowed the commission to accept donations and charge fees for its services, and permitted the commission to request additional funding through legislative appropriation.
By 1983, legislators passed Public Law 17-10, mandating the commission to develop and adopt a standardized orthography to be used by all government agencies. In the same law, the commission was designated as the Guam Place Name Commission. By Fiscal Year 1984, the commission was appropriated a budget just over $42,000, which covered the cost of one full-time employee, operating and utility expenses, and commission member stipends.
With an operating budget and an updated mandate, the commission was better equipped to fulfill its duties. The commission officially adopted the Chamorro Language Orthography on September 17, 1983. The orthography delineated seventeen language rules that governed written Chamorro. By law, the rules were also to be used in the spelling of Chamorro place and street names.
The Chamorro Language Commission also worked with government agencies in the 1980s to give Chamorro titles to agency signs and names. This was a yearlong process that took a great deal of participation from many agencies. This work can still be seen in some agencies today, most notably at the Guam International Airport.
But the orthography, and its resulting implications, did not come without controversy. During the Ricardo J. Bordallo administration while Pilar Lujan was the chairwoman of the commission, it approved a spelling system that was very correct in its reflection of Chamorro pronunciation, but it was heavily influenced by a linguist from the Philippines hired to review the spelling system. For instance taitai would be spelled taytay, matai would be spelled matay. The spelling made Chamorro look like Tagalog, a Filipino dialect. This spelling system was controversial and eventually was retracted.
The authority of the commission came under public scrutiny again in 1994 when it formally changed the spelling of “Chamorro” to “Chamoru” to conform to the language structure rules specified in the official orthography. Opponents of the change launched public protests in the printed media, and campaigned to the commission and the legislature to oppose the spelling change.
The opposition prompted a request by the commission to obtain a legal opinion from the Office of the Attorney General, which in its response stated that the commission held the implied authority to correct misspelled words and conform them to Guam’s orthographic rules. Upheld by the authority of the commission on one side, and vehemently opposed by vocal supporters of the traditional spelling on the other, the debate became a significant indicator of the maturing political awareness among the indigenous population, and the resulting divisions that arose in their assertions of their political identity.
If the Chamorro Language Commission rightly held the authority to make such spelling change, however, this authority was rendered moot through legislation passed during the final hours of I Mina’ Bente Dos na Liheslaturan Guahan/the Twenty-second Guam Legislature’s last session. Introduced as a rider to anti-graffiti legislation, “Chamorro” was mandated as the official spelling to be used in all Chamorro names of streets, places, buildings, facilities and other geographical areas in Guam.
Representing a dramatic shift in support from the actions of previous lawmaking bodies, the law appeared to be the beginning of the commission’s demise. By 1999, Public Law 25-69 was passed, which repealed the law establishing the Chamorro Language Commission, and transferred its functions to the newly created Department of Chamorro Affairs.
By Gina E. Taitano
Chamorro Language Commission. Chamorro Language Orthography Adopted September 17, 1983.
Guam Code Annotated Title 17; Chapter 46 (Repealed)
Available online at Supreme Court of Guam – Compiler of Laws “17GCA-Education; Division 5- Miscellaneous Education and Training; Chapter 46 Chamorro Language Commission – 1994 Update.”(accessed August 12, 2010).
Guam Legislature. Public Law 17-10. An Act Relative to the Duties of the Chamorro Language Commission, and for other Purposes.
Guam Legislature. Public Law 17-25.
An Act Making General Appropriations for the Operation of the Executive and Judicial Branches of Government of Guam for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1984, and for Other Purposes.
Guam Legislature. Public Law 17-65.
An Act to Repeal and Reenact § 19655 of the Government Code of Guam Relative to Creation and Use of the Tourist Attraction Fund, and for Other Purposes.
Guam Legislature. Public Law 21-08.
An Act to Repeal and Reenactt §46107, Title 17, Guam Code Annotated, to Give the Chamorro Language Commission Authority in the Naming of Streets, Places, Buildings, and Facilities.
Guam Legislature. Public Law 22-149.
An Act to Amend §§ C of § 34.50, to Add a New §§ C to § 34.60, All of Title 9, Guam Code Annotated, to Provide Penalties for Persons Found Guilty of Damaging, Destroying, Removing, or Defacing Public or Private Property and to Cite the Act as the Don’t Mess with Guam, Anti-Graffiti Act of 1994; and to Amend § 46107, Title 17, Guam Code Annotated, on the Spelling of the Word “Chamorro.”
Guam Legislature. Public Law 25-69.
An Act to Add Chapter 87 to Division 8, Part 3 of Title 5 of the Guam Code Annotated and to Change Other Related Sections of the Law, Relative to Creating the Dipåttamenton i Kaohao Guinahan Chamorro, or Department of Chamorro Affairs. Also available online at Supreme Court of Guam-Compiler of Laws “5GCA Government Operations. Ch. 87. Dipattamenton i Kaohao Guinahan Chamorro/Department of Chamorro Affairs.” (accessed August 12, 2010).
Memorandum from the Attorney General, September 16, 1994. (Ref. CLC 94-0767).
Department of Chamorro Affairs. ‶Put Hami/About Us.” (accessed August 12, 2010).