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Acquisition and Maintenance of the Indigenous Chamorro Language in the Youngest Generation in Guam

Acquisition and Maintenance of the Indigenous Chamorro Language in the Youngest Generation in Guam

Masumi Kai, Michael Lujan Bevacqua
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 32
ISBN13: 9781799829591|ISBN10: 1799829596|ISBN13 Softcover: 9781799829607|EISBN13: 9781799829614
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-2959-1.ch006
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MLA

Kai, Masumi, and Michael Lujan Bevacqua. "Acquisition and Maintenance of the Indigenous Chamorro Language in the Youngest Generation in Guam." Indigenous Language Acquisition, Maintenance, and Loss and Current Language Policies, edited by Toru Okamura and Masumi Kai, IGI Global, 2021, pp. 124-155. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2959-1.ch006

APA

Kai, M. & Bevacqua, M. L. (2021). Acquisition and Maintenance of the Indigenous Chamorro Language in the Youngest Generation in Guam. In T. Okamura & M. Kai (Eds.), Indigenous Language Acquisition, Maintenance, and Loss and Current Language Policies (pp. 124-155). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2959-1.ch006

Chicago

Kai, Masumi, and Michael Lujan Bevacqua. "Acquisition and Maintenance of the Indigenous Chamorro Language in the Youngest Generation in Guam." In Indigenous Language Acquisition, Maintenance, and Loss and Current Language Policies, edited by Toru Okamura and Masumi Kai, 124-155. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2959-1.ch006

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Abstract

This chapter first provides an overview as to the history and factors that have contributed to a marked decrease in the number of Chamorro language speakers in Guam. Although recent efforts by the Government of Guam as well as community groups have sought to reverse this decrease, there continues to be a decline in the number of Chamorro speakers, especially amongst the youngest generations. In a contemporary context, the chapter will focus on the acquisition, maintenance, and the attitudes toward the Chamorro language among the young generation in Guam. Data collected from 582 participants was statistically analyzed. The results show that 80.4% of participants claimed that they understand the Chamorro language, more or less. However, only 4.5% of them evaluated their speaking ability as very good. Among the participants in our study, only 2.6% acquired Chamorro as their mother language, and 9.8% regularly use the Chamorro language. These results show that the extent of the shift on Guam among the youngest generation to the use of English is statistically large.

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