“If they lose their language, they will lose their identity,” she said.
DCCA on Rota is conducting programs to promote the Chamorro and Carolinian languages especially to the young generation, to allow them not only to appreciate these languages but to also help preserve them, she added.
Manglona said she is happy that parents on Rota continue to teach their children the native language at home..
“The young generation is still learning the language,” she said, adding that residents on Rota, appreciate the Chamorro language.
Howard I. Macaranas, Aging Office director and an advocate for cultural preservation and enhancement, said the youth should be taught how to appreciate the Chamorro language.
“Not all children can speak Chamorro now,” he said.
Children raised in households English is the primary means of communication, he added.
In September, Manglona will attend the 3rd Annual Chamorro Conference on Saipan, an event that aims to enrich and preserve the Chamorro language and culture.
Macaranas said the conference on Sept. 26-27 at the Saipan World Resort will be attended by Hawaii-based Chamorro language expert Henry Sablan.
He said the conference is intended to unify the Chamorro people of the Mariana islands in “their continued quest to promote, protect and perpetuate the everyday use of Chamorro language and culture through education, family, and community participation, cultural events, and documentation of traditional knowledge and practices.”
