Efforts on to revive language commission

A new language commission is in the works to shore up efforts to preserve the indigenous Chamorro and Carolinian languages.

Representatives of the Indigenous Affairs Office, Carolinian Affairs Office, and the Public School System met with Chamorro/Carolinian language policy commission executive director Cindy Reyes last Friday to discuss their nominees for the language commission.

According to the Reyes, the meeting was a milestone in that it supported efforts to revive the Chamorro/Carolinian language policy commission.

It has been almost seven years since the commission had members.

Friday’s meeting was held to nominate individuals to be part of the commission. Once the nominees have been finalized, the list would be handed to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for appointment, Reyes said.

Since joining the language policy commission’s office, Reyes has witnessed the number of commission members slowly dwindle. “One by one, their terms had been expiring,” she said.

The duty of each commission members is to promote the preservation and use of the Chamorro and Carolinian languages and their attendant use within the culture.

According to Reyes, a language survey done in the community last year illustrated the urgency of their work, with the Chamorro and Carolinian languages slowly dying.

“The native people, Chamorro and Carolinian, we noticed they are mostly using the English language instead of our own [language],” said Reyes.

In order to revive a language, it should be spoken frequently at home by parents, and to make the bilingual classes mandatory for students, she said.

Reyes believes it is important to pass the language from generation to generation not just on Saipan, but also on Guam, Tinian, and Rota.

Jonas Barcinas, the Chamorro/Carolinian language and heritage studies coordinator for PSS, said the commission is vital for the preservation of language and heritage. It is also vital for the Public School System because a commission member is considered qualified to teach the indigenous language in both writing and speech.

According to Reyes, to qualify as a commission member, one must be able to translate English to the Chamorro or Carolinian languages proficiently in both writing and speech.

The list of nominees will be finalized at their next meeting.