Leksion Chamoru: Prefix ge'-

The prefix ge'- is a comparative degree marker for directions. In essence it means "further (in a direction)." Here are some examples:

• Hålom = Go in, go inside, enter.
  Ge'- + hålom => Ge'halom = further inside, deeper inside
  
• Hulo' = Up, above, on top.
  Ge'- + hulo' => Ge'hilo' = further up, higher, a little upward
• Kåttan = East (Guam and Rota), north (Saipan).
  Ge'- + kåttan => Ge'kattan = further eastward, eastwardly, easterly direction
• Mågi = Here (towards the direction of the speaker).
  Ge'- + mågi => Ge'magi = further towards here

There is another prefix (hat-) that does something very similar to ge'-, however ge'- puts more emphasis on the location rather than the action.
Ge'- also takes the primary stress of the new word. For the above examples:

• Ge'halom => GE'-ha-lum
• Ge'hilo'=> GE'-hee-loo'
• Ge'kattan => GE'-cut-tan
• Ge'magi => GE'-ma-gi

The prefix also follows the rules of vowel harmony, which means that we change the first vowel of the root word from å to a, o to e, and u to i.

Leksion Chamoru: Prefix ga'-

The prefix ga'- has two completely different uses. The first use of ga'- is that of an animal classifier, and the second is that of connoting preference, or strong liking towards something.

Ga'- : Animal Classifier
While many Chamorro speakers decide not to use this construction, it's still used by most, and is not very difficult to understand. In this application ga'- simply denotes an animal.

The most common usage of the prefix is with one of the possessive suffixes, i.e., -hu, -mu, -ña, etc. For example:

• Ga'-hu = My animal
• Ga'-ña = His/Her animal
  
• Ga'-ñiha = Their animal

The prefix also may be added to the beginning of other words to indicate "an animal of." However, I know only of one instance where this happens in modern Chamorro:

• Ga'lågu = Dog

Note: Ga'lågu did not mean "animal from the north," it originally meant "animal from outside the island."

Ga'- : Strong liking or Preference

This application of the prefix is rather simple, because when it's added to the front of a word it just means that it's preferred or strongly liked. Here are some examples:

• Ga'sålåpe' si Juan. = John really likes/loves money.
• Ga'kumentos gue'. = S/he likes to talk (is talkative).
• Ga'maigo' si Maria. = Maria loves to sleep.
  

Palåbran 02/25/10: Foggon

Foggon (FOHG-gun): Stove, barbecue pit.

Uses:
"Adahi i nina'lagu-mu gi feggon." = "Watch your cooking on the stove."
"Ga'o-ku umusa i feggon gas ki i feggon elektrisida." = "I prefer to use the gas stove than electric."
"Ma tunu i guihan gi hilo' foggon." = "They grilled the fish on the barbecue pit."

Palåbran 02/20/10: Yabbao

Yabbao (DZAB-bow): Swat at, hack away at, whack at, wave away, clear path by chopping bushes, mow, chop down trees.

Uses:
"Hu yabbao i tangantångan gi santatte." = "I chopped down the tangantangan trees out back."
"Ha yabbao i tinanom sa' gof dånkolo." = "He chopped the plant down, because it was very big."
"Munga måyabbao i flores fan." = "Please don't mow down the flowers."

Palabran 02/09/2010: Danges

Danges (DANG-ess): Candle, wax, gum.

Uses:

"Meggai na danges gi iyo-ña kek." = "There are a lot of candles on his cake."
"Songge fan i danges." = "Please, light the candle."
"Yanggen tåya' kandet, bai usa i danges." = "When there are no lights, I'll use the candles."

Leksion Chamorro: I attikulon "nu/as"

The article "nu" is arguably the most confusing article within Chamorro coming from an English speaking viewpoint. Sometimes nu is translated as "about," "with," "by," etc., but sometimes there is no compatible English word.

Technically, nu is a non-focus marking particle. Meaning, nu is a particle that precedes a nouns when it's not the "focus" of a sentence/clause, whereas i/si mark the "focus" of the sentence/clause. Nu often occurs as ni, a contraction of nu + i; nu also occurs as the particle as when the non-focus is a proper noun (i.e.: when the particle si would otherwise be used). I'll try to explain it in a little more detail.

In any Chamorro sentence there must be a focus, which we mark with the articles i/si. For example:

1. Hu ina i chalan. = I lit the road.
2. Ha sångåni i ga'chong-ña. = He told his friend.
3. Ma nå'i i patgon. = They gave the child (something).
4. Manmåsångåni i famagu'on. = The children were told.
5. Mågåggao i nana. = The mother was asked.
6. Måleffa si Maria. = Maria forgot.

Sometimes, there is some sort of modifier or explanation in the sentence, along with the main focus. Adjusting the above examples, we get:

1. Hu ina i chalan ni kandet. = I lit the road with the light.
2. Ha sångåni i ga'chong-ña ni bidå-ña. = He told his friend about his deed.
3. Ma nå'i i patgon nu regålu. = They gave the child a gift.
4. Manmåsångåni i famagu'on ni estoria. = The children were told a story.
5. Mågåggao i nana nu kande. = The mother was asked for candy.
6. Måleffa si Maria as Jose = Maria forgot about Joe.

In exmaple 1 the "light" isn't what's being lit, so it cannot be the focus of the verb ina. However, it explained how the road was lit, so we call that the non-focus of the verb.

In example 2 "his friend" is spoken to, and the "deed" is being talked about. So, the "deed" is the non-focus of the verb sångåni.

In example 5 the "mother" was asked, so she is the focus of the verb mågåggao. The non-focus of the verb is "candy," since it explains what she was being asked for.

Lastly, in example 6 "Maria" forgets, and we see that "Joe"explains who she forgot.

Palåbran 10/05/09: Lamas

Lamas (LA-mass): (adjective) Rotten, decayed, decomposed, putrefied.

Uses:

"Munga måkånno' i lamas na hineksa'." = "Don't eat the rotten rice."
"Adahi nininok-mu na u lamas." = "Be careful of the thing you're hiding to ripen that it doesn't become rotten."
"Ma yute' i dankolo na troson kåtne sa' lamas esta." = "They threw away the large cut of meat, because it already became rotten."