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.

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

Language Aids and Dictionaries
Language Aids
 * Katherine Bordallo Aguon, Let's Chat in Chamorro,	Hagatn̋a, GU : Katherine B. Aguon, 2010 - Available at WorldCat

Dictionaries
 * Edward Ritter von Preissig, Dictionary and Grammar of the Chamorro language, Washington : G.P.O., 1918 - Available at WorldCat

Online Dictionaries

Additional Resources

 * M B Dallocchio, Everyday Chamorro, Las Vegas, NA : The Desert Institure, 2015 - Available at WorldCat