Chamorro-English dictionary project enters its 3rd month
The Northern Marianas Council for the Humanities Chamorro-English Dictionary Revision Project is now on its third month of implementation.
Saipan Tribune (Micronesia)
December 1, 2008
The first set of 90 pages of the 1975 Chamorro-English Dictionary by Topping, Ogo and Dungca is being reviewed and expanded by the six working groups on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. The goal is to revise and update as much of the entries as possible by the third year of the project in 2011.
The six working groups of three members each are headed by Carmen S. Taimanao, Bernie P. Sablan, Jose Sanchez, Vicente Borja, Tita Hocog, and Angie C. Fitial.
Another component of the project includes new entries with emphasis on cultural words that are not in the original dictionary. A special group of cultural experts in areas such as traditional fishing, customs and rituals, traditional medicine, etc., have been identified to serve as possible consultants. Upon completion of all the new entries and revisions during Year 3, another group of Chamorro language experts, particularly the elders, will be consulted on specific words and meanings, as needed.
Other components of the project include a series of oral history video productions that will begin in Year 2, and several workshops related to the revision of the dictionary, language endangerment issues, orthography, and others.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation as a collaborative project between the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the NMI Council for the Humanities. The principal investigators for this collaborative project are Dr. Sandra Chung, a linguist at the University of California-Santa Cruz, and Dr. Elizabeth Diaz Rechebei, of EDR Consulting, for the NMI Council for the Humanities. Dr. Rita Hocog Inos is the Work Group Leader for the six working groups and the thematic groups.
The principal local partner in this project in the CNMI is the Chamorro/Carolinian Language Policy Commission. Other supporters of the project include the Joeten/Kiyu Public Library, the Public School System, Indigenous Affairs, and several other organizations and volunteers in the CNMI and in Guam.
Everyone is encouraged and invited to contribute words that are not in the current dictionary by contacting the principal investigator or the working group leader by e-mail.
For more information about the project, visit the NMI Humanities website: www.nmihumanities.org, or e-mail Dr. Elizabeth Diaz Rechebei at edrprojects@gmail.com
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