Pålåbran 03/21/2011: Taitai

Taitai (TIE-tie): Read

Note: Taitai also can mean "pray."

Uses:
"I patgon ha taitai i lepblo." = "The child read the book."
"Ya-hu manaitai." = "I like to read."
"Manmanaitai i famagu'on lepblo." = "The children read books."

Pålåbran 03/15/2011: Pålapåla

Pålapåla (paw-la-PAW-la): Shack, hut, shanty, roof extending from house to provide shelter from sun and rain, pavillion.

Note: This definition is from Topping's dictionary, but it's not clear that only parts of the definition are generally used in some of the dialects of Chamorro. In Guam's northern dialect, the pålapåla generally only refers to a pavilion or a temporary canopy of sorts, but not a shack or hut. Whereas in Saipan's dialect of Chamorro it is more generally used to mean the shack or hut (I've heard it called a homestead).

Uses:
"Ma håtsa i palapåla para i fiesta." = "They raised (built) the canopy/shelter for the party."
"Kao guåha pålapåla, sa' sempre para u uchan." = "Is there a pavilion/canopy, because it going to rain?"
"Manmatåtå'chong i manamko' gi papa' i palapåla, sa' maipe i semnak." = "The elders are sitting beneath the canopy, because the heat of the sun."

Leksion Chamoru: Prefix mina'-

Mina'- is a very simple prefix, it is an "ordinal marker." That just means that it takes a "cardinal" number (2, 3, 4...) and changes it to an ordinal (2nd, 3rd, 4th...).

• Dos (two) => Mina'dos (second)
• Bente (twenty) => Mina'bente (twentieth)
• Katotse (fourteen) => Mina'katotse (fourteenth)

Only the number 1 is different,

• Unu (one) => Fine'na/Finene'na/Fine'nana (first)

Fine'na/Finene'na/Fine'nana all come from the root fo'na/mo'na (front).

Pålåbran 02/09/2011: Lekngai

Lekngai (LEK-ngai): Stiff-necked; cricked neck.

Uses:
"Lekngai yo'." = "I have a crick in my neck."
"Munga maigo' taiguenao na un lekngai." = "Don't sleep like that or you'll get a stiff neck."
"Gof ya-ña umegga' TV, ya fihu lekngai gue'." = "He really likes to watch TV, and often has a stiff neck."

Note: In Chamorro you "are" lekngai rather than "have" lekngai. Also, instead of using lekngai as in the above examples, you can also use it to describe your neck, i.e.: Lekngai i tengho-hu (My neck is stiff).

Leksion Chamoru: Prefix mi-

The prefix mi- is added to nouns to say "full of" or "plenty of." Here are some examples:

• åcho' = rock
  Mi- + åcho' => Mi'acho' = Full of rocks, rocky.
  
• kulot = color
  Mi- + kulot => Mikulot = Full of color, colorful.
• unai = sand
  Mi- + unai => Mi'inai = Full of sand, sandy.

The primary stress of the new word falls on mi-, so for the above examples we get:

• Mi'acho' => ME'-a-choo'
• Mikulot => ME-koo-lut
• Mi'inai => ME'-ee-nigh

One thing to note is that mi- follows the rules of vowel harmony. That just means that, in general, the first vowel of the root word is "pulled back." I.e.: å to a, o to e, and u to i.

Pålåbran 01/15/2011: Ulu

Ulu (OO-loo): Head

Note: When using with a possessive suffix, it always changes to ilu, i.e., ilu-hu, ilu-mu, ... This occurs even when the focus marker "i" is not there.

Uses:
"Mådanche ilu-ña, ya på'go diso'." = "His head was hit, and now has a bump."
"Gof ataktak ilu-hu." = "I have a very stubborn head."
"Usa i matiyu ni dankolo ilu-ña." = "Use the big-headed hammer."

Leksion Chamoru: Prefix la-

The prefix la- is a comparative degree marker meaning slightly or a little bit more. It can be used with most nouns and adjectives/adverbs in Chamorro, however here are several which are more commonly known/used:

• Maolek = Good, well.
  La- + maolek => Lamaolek = Better (slightly).
• Meggai = Many, several.
  La- + meggai => Lameggai = Very many.
• Bunitu = Beautiful.
  La- + bunitu => Labunitu = More (slightly) beautiful, prettier.
• Chaddek = Fast.
  La- + chaddek => Lachaddek = Faster.
• Guse' = Quick, lively.
  La- + guse' => Laguse' = Quicker, livelier.

You can also use the word mås to mean "more," but some words, like chaddek, usually use the prefix la- rather than mås, i.e., it is more common to hear lachaddek rather than mås chaddek.

The prefix also takes the primary stress of new word, so for the above examples:

• Lamaolek => LA-mao-lick
• Lameggai => LA-meg-guy
• Labunitu => LA-boo-knee-too
• Lachaddek => LA-chad-deck
• Laguse' => LA-goo-see'

Note: Some use la- to almost mean "to make more..." rather than just "more." This is not "wrong" per se, but it is safer to use na'la- or na'mås.