Chamorro language

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/chamorro-language

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the language family?Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian branch
2. What is the estimated number of speakers?Approximately 58,000
3. Where do people speak Chamorro?Most people who speak Chamorro live on the islands of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and a few live elsewhere.
4. Why has Chamorro changed over time?Chamorro has changed because explorers and rulers from Europe, like Spain, Germany, and America, brought new words and ideas that were added to the language.

Austronesian Languages: A vast language family originating in Southeast Asia, comprising over 1,200 languages spoken across Oceania and Madagascar.
Lexical Borrowing: The process by which words from one language are adopted into another language.
Intergenerational Transmission: The process by which a language is passed down from older generations to younger generations.