Guam’s Chamorro language month is entering its third week and is reportedly proving more popular than ever, especially with school children.

The focus of this year’s Chamorro month is to encourage people to use their native language daily.

One of the key events of the month is the University of Guam’s Chamorro language competition.

The competition saw 19 schools from Guam and the Northern Marianas competing in numerous challenges and categories by showing off their cultural skills and knowledge.

The competition’s coordinator, Rosa Salas Palomo, says the aim of the event was to get children to take pride in their language and culture, something she thinks the competition has achieved.

“We do it because it’s something that we believe in and it’s something we want our children to experience, because they need to know that their language is important, that the indingenous language of the Marianas is important and that there is something they can do to use it with pride.”

See: Radio New Zealand International

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