AS was suggested by my colleagues, I am happy to share the following, regarding the history of a few words and phrases in Chamorro, namely: Tagålu, boka, Filis/Felis Påsgua, and Ginin lagu. We hope that this may help both the Chamorro language learners and the Chamorro teachers, here and abroad.
As we know, there are many words in Spanish, and some words in Japanese, English and other languages that are used by speakers of Chamorro, and have become part of the “modern” Chamorro language lexicon. It is always interesting to find out how and why speakers of a language choose to “borrow/loan” other languages’ words. For example, it is interesting to know how and why the Chamorros used the Spanish word boca, which means “mouth” in Spanish, as a Chamorro word (boka) to mean “food” or “to eat.” (But then there is also the word bocadillos as “snacks” in Spanish.)
In terms of the word Tagålu: historically, when the Chamorros used the word Tagålu in general, they were using it to mean “people from the Philippines” and as a synonym of Filipinu or Filipina (Tagålu orTagåla), and not as a reference to a particular language and culture of the Philippines.
While it is true that the word “Tagalo” or “Tagalog” refers to a particular language of the Philippines, in Chamorro, the word Tagålu was historically used to mean “people from the Philippines” and not necessarily referring to a particular language (Tagalog) of the Philippines, nor to a particular ethnic group of Filipinos. It is valuable to know the context out of which a (and especially a “foreign”) word is used, and to understand that a particular word from a particular language that is borrowed, may not mean the same as in the original language it was borrowed from. In our case, it is always good to understand the meaning of Tagålu both in Chamorro and in Tagalog.
It is also good to be cognizant of the sensitivities of people regarding their particular ethnic affiliations. For example, a Filipino who is an Ilokano may strongly prefer not to be called Tagalo. But when a Chamorro speaker refers to any Filipino as Tagålu, it would be good to explain (point out if questioned) that it is not to ignore the Ilokano language and culture (or other Filipino languages and cultures), but that it has been a traditional practice/meaning (for reasons it is hard to know at this time in history) that in Chamorro, the word Tagålu, outside of the Filipino culture and language, refers to a person or people from the Philippines. And that this is only when using the word within the meaning (or context) in the Chamorro language. And this is also to say that the older generations of native speakers of Chamorro who used the word were not using it the wrong way, because it is the meaning that belongs to the Chamorro language, as it is used in Chamorro.
Similarly, one may say that when a Chamorro speaker uses the word boka, from the Spanish word boca, although the Chamorro meaning (eat; food) is different from the Spanish meaning (mouth), it is not to say that the Chamorro speakers were using the word in the wrong way, because they were using it in the Chamorro meaning (within the Chamorro context) and not in the Spanish meaning. It could be seen from the perspective outside of the Chamorro language as “wrong,” or inaccurate, but not from the perspective or context within the Chamorro language itself.
Consider, for example, in the Chamorro language, one can say bóboka or bumóboka or bumoka, but these words (bóboka, bumóboka, bumoka) do not appear in the Spanish language at all, although the word boka comes from boca in Spanish itself. Similarly, in the Chamorro language, one can say Tagåla to refer to a female person from the Philippines, although the word Tagåla does not appear in the Tagalog language. Both boka and Tagålu are now in the Chamorro language and are in play in the Chamorro syntax, while both words still have different meanings in Spanish and Tagalog respectively outside of the Chamorro language, and the understanding of this is important to both students and teachers.
Because we are in the Christmas season, it is also good to look at why the Chamorros used “Filis Påsgua” or “Felis Påsgua” as “Merry Christmas” when “Pasgua” (Pascua) is often referred to in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and among other languages, as “Easter.”
At the time when the Spaniards were in the Marianas (as a colony of Spain), the Spaniards were using the phrase Feliz Pascua to say Merry Christmas (during Christmas time) and the Chamorros adopted that phrase for the meaning of the spirit of Christmas, and it has remained in the Chamorro language as “Merry Christmas” up to our “modern” time, even when most Spanish-speaking countries in our modern time use the phrase Feliz Navidad to say “Merry Christmas.” It is also interesting that in the Spanish-speaking country of Chile, the people continue to use “Pascua” as Christmas, as well. For example, a traditional Christmas cake in Chile is called Pan de Pascua.
Historically, in many languages, Pascua refers to various Christian festival days in general, such as Easter, Christmas, Epiphany and Pentecost. In modern times, Pascua can stand alone to mean any of the Christian holy days or Passover when the context makes its meaning clear. Often, however, the term Pascua judía is used to refer to Passover and Pascua de Resurrección refers to Easter. In Chamorro, we now often refer to Easter as Påsguan Resureksion, and/or simply use the English word “Easter.”
Also, as a note, history often dictates the meaning of a word. For example, during the Spanish time in the Marianas, to say the Chamorro phrase Ginin lagu means “generally from Europe (foreign), especially from Spain,” and during the Japanese time in the NMI, it means coming “from Japan,” just as nowadays, when we say Ginin lagu (both Guam and CNMI) we mean “coming from the United States.”
The word ginin in Chamorro means “from.” Lågu in Chamorro refers to the direction facing the ocean (regardless as to whether the ocean is in the “north, south, east, or west.” (For “vowel harmony” one says, Ginin lagu, instead of Ginin Lågu.) However, when the concept of “north, south, east, and west” were introduced in the Chamorro language, people equated/attached these words/terms to the Chamorro terms of lågu, håya, kåttan, and luchan, using the compass as a reference to equate the words. How was it done? On Guam, the point of reference (where the compass was) was Agana and when one is in Agana and faces the ocean, the compass says it is pointing “north,” therefore, on Guam, lågu refers to the compass “north.” On Saipan, however, the point of reference was Garapan, and when one is in Garapan and faces the ocean, the compass points to “west,” and therefore, on Saipan, lågu refers to the compass “west.”
In the ancient Chamorro meaning of lågu, kåttan, luchan and håya —lågu refers to the direction when one is facing the ocean (or toward the nearest ocean); kåttan means toward your right side (of your body) when facing the ocean; luchan means toward your left side when facing the ocean, and håya means the direction behind your body while facing the ocean (or toward the land). That is why people can refer to the “land” territory/locality as håya, as in saying finu’ håya which means “language of the land (local/vernacular),” as opposed to finu’ lågu which means “language of/from outside of the land (foreign). And this was especially true in the beginning/history of the writing the Chamorro language, when people were differentiating/explaining the writing of the Latin and Spanish words (especially as they prepare church/religious materials) as finu’ lågu, from Chamorro words in the vernacular of the Chamorro language as finu’ håya. (More articles on the directional terms in Chamorro can be found in Recent changes in Chamorro directional terminology, Oceana 24: 132-141 (1953), by Robert R. Solenberger, and in Istreyas Marianas: Chamorro (2006, 2012), by Joaquin Flores Borja, Manuel Flores Borja, and Sandra Chung. The Istreyas Marianas: Chamorro hard copy is available at the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, can also be found/read on-line at: natibunmarianas.org.
Lastly, for both learners and teachers, it is always good to look at the context where a word is used in the history of the language and/or in the history of the people who speak the language. Some words (especially those that were borrowed), for example, may seem “inaccurate” for “outside speakers” or may be regarded as “derogatory/demeaning” (by others) when they are used/heard today, but not 70 or more years ago, and it does not mean that the speakers 70 or more years ago were using the words in the “wrong way,” nor mean it in a derogatory way.
Here’s wishing everyone best wishes.
Happy Holidays, Filis/Felis Påsgua yan Añu Ñuebu, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Manny Flores Borja is a resident of As Teo, Saipan.
