Northern Mariana Islands Languages

Description
The official languages on the Northern Mariana Islands include English, Chamorro, and Carolinian. Few people still speak the nearly extinct Tanapag language. Many Philippine languages, Chinese, and other Pacific island languages are also spoken. Spanish is still retained in surnames but is no longer commonly used, though it is still familiar to some elders as a third or fourth language.


 * Chamorro - an Austronesian language spoken by about 58,000 people (about 25,800 people on Guam and about 32,200 in the rest of the Mariana Islands and elsewhere). It is the native and spoken language of the Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Marianas (Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which are both US territories).


 * Carolinian - an Austronesian language originating in the Caroline Islands, but spoken in the Northern Mariana Islands. It is an official language (as well as English) of the Carolinian people. Carolinian is a threatened language.


 * Tanapag - nearly extinct Micronesian language of the Austronesian language family. It is spoken in the Tanapag settlement of the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Word List(s)

 * Chamorro Word List
 * Chamorro Vocabulary
 * Chamorro phrasebook
 * Camorro Words
 * Carolinian phrasebook
 * Chamorro Basic Phrases - Wikipedia
 * Chamorro Days of the Week - Wikipedia
 * Chamorro Numbers - Wikipedia
 * Chamorro Months - Wikipedia

Alphabet and Pronunciation
Alphabet
 * Phillips, Lori. Chamorro alphabet. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bess Press, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Phillips, Lori. Carolinian alphabet. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bess Press, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Chamorro Alphabet - Omniglot
 * Carolinian Alphabet - Omniglot
 * Carolinian Alphabet - Wikipedia

Pronunciation
 * Chamorro Pronunciation guide
 * Chamorro Pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Carolinian Pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Chamorro Vowels & Consonants - Wikipedia

Language Aids and Dictionaries
Language Aids
 * Aguon, Katherine Bordallo. Let's Chat in Chamorro. Hagatn̋a, GU: Katherine B. Aguon, 2010. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Salas, Marilyn C, Josefina Barcinas, and Roland Miranda. Chamorro word book. Honolulu: Bess Press, 2011. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Chamorro Grammar - Wikipedia
 * Carolinian Grammar - Wikipedia

Dictionaries
 * von Preissig, Edward Ritter. Dictionary and Grammar of the Chamorro language. Washington: G.P.O., 1918. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Jackson, Frederick H, Jeffrey C Marck, and Jesus Mareham Elameto. Carolinian-English dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries
 * Chamorro Dictionary
 * Dictionary and Grammar of the Chamorro Language
 * Dictionary Chamorro - English - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Carolinian - Glosbe
 * Dictionary Tanapag - English - Glosbe

Additional Resources

 * Dallocchio, M B. Everyday Chamorro. Las Vegas: The Desert Institure, 2015. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Osborn, Sarah. Sociocultural and linguistic issues of Chamorro and Carolinian students. Hawaii: University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2000. Available at: WorldCat.