CHamoru

American  

[chuh-mawr-oh, chah-mawr-raw] / tʃəˈmɔr oʊ, tʃɑˈmɔr rɔ /

noun

plural

CHamorus,

plural

CHamoru

1. a people inhabiting the Mariana Islands, or people of CHamoru origin or descent.

2. the Austronesian language of the CHamoru.

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Spelling

The first two letters are both capitalized in the official spelling of CHamoru to indicate that they make a single sound. Several other languages have such digraphs marked by spelling conventions, such as the ligature œ in French or æ in Old English.

Etymology

Origin of CHamoru

First recorded in 1990–95; a native name based on the indigenous orthography of the Spanish Chamorro ( def. )

Example Sentences

The indigenous people were long known as the Chamorro, a spelling imposed by the Spanish, but local legislation has recently favored the spelling “CHamoru.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“If I’m fighting to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, but I’m not allowed to vote for the person who could recommend to the legislative branch that we go to war, I don’t think that’s fair,” said Santiago, a member of Guam’s indigenous CHamoru people.

From The Wall Street Journal

Growing up, Roy was told that Uncle Sam had saved the CHamoru — and that in return, because their people did not have much, they gave up their sons and their daughters to military service, so others around the world could have their own freedom.

From New York Times

The following year, the department proposed reducing the number of Marines coming to Guam and moving the training range to Litekyan, on a cliff above the site of an ancient CHamoru village as well as the habitat of the sole remaining endangered hayun lagu tree technically within the military’s existing footprint.

From New York Times

It is named after the first CHamoru general, Vicente T. Blaz, known as Ben, who went on to become Guam’s Republican representative to the House from 1985 to 1993.

From New York Times