Guam § 88105 - Duties and Purpose.

§ 88105. Duties and Purpose.

The duties and purpose of the Commission are to:

(a) continually study and update the orthographic rules of the CHamoru language; and to provide

notification to public and private institutions of updates to the CHamoru orthography;

(b) consult with government leaders and others in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands who are interested in the standardization of the CHamoru language orthography and seek to

recognize and establish agreement relevant to the orthography, as well as existing regional differences;

(c) advise public and private institutions, broadcast and written media, to include magazines and

individuals, on issues related to the alignment of both spoken and written media, publications, signage

and manuscripts with the grammatical and orthographic rules established by the Commission;

(d) provide requisite updates to the CHamoru-English Dictionary;

(e) establish a CHamoru translation service for public and private entities and individuals,

broadcast and written media, with an appropriate fee structure for such services;

(f) develop standardized, culturally relevant curricula for mandated courses in Guam’s schools

and institutions of higher learning related to Guam’s history, language, and culture;

(g) conduct research, publish, and produce multi-media and print materials relating to the

CHamoru language, history and culture;

(h) coordinate with the Department of Education, charter schools and other educational

institutions, including private schools and businesses, on Guam to ensure the appropriate use of the

adopted standardized CHamoru orthography and grammar;

(i) provide training to promote increased understanding of the CHamoru heritage;

(j) function as a clearinghouse to provide advice for accurate representations and interpretations

of CHamoru language, history and culture;

(k) work with I Sagan Plånu Siha yan Emfotmasion (the Bureau of Statistics and Plans) to plan

and conduct a survey, which may seek to determine the existing number of CHamoru speakers, and/or

the existing number of children learning CHamoru and the occurrence of intergenerational

transmission, which may be used to direct CHamoru revitalization programs efforts;

(l) serve as the Kumision I Nå’an Lugåt (Guam Place Name Commission) to develop, implement,

and advise interested parties on a coherent, culturally sound and historically accurate set of criteria for

selecting place names, and coordinate with the Guam Land Use Commission, the CHamoru Land Trust

Commission, the Department of Education, the University of Guam, the Guam Community College,

the village Mayors, Dipåttamenton I Kaohao Guinahan CHamoru, and with other civil and religious

organizations interested in providing appropriate place names for Guam and consistency in signage.

The Guam Land Use Commission, the CHamoru Land Trust Commission, the Department of

Education, the University of Guam, the Guam Community College, the village Mayors, and

Dipåttamenton I Kaohao Guinahan CHamoru shall seek advice from Kumision I Nå’an Lugåt (Guam

Place Name Commission) and shall keep records thereof;

COL 2025-08-27

CH. 88 I KUMISION I FINO’ CHAMORU YAN I FINA’NÅ’GUEN I HISTORIA YAN I LINA’LA’I TAOTAO TÅNO

(THE COMMISSION ON CHAMORU LANGUAGE AND THE TEACHING OF THE

HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF GUAM)

(m) study ancient CHamoru terminology and pronunciation of place names, and restore

aforementioned pronunciation with the current CHamoru orthography; and

(n) perform general reviews and evaluations as imposed by the government of Guam.

(o) is hereby authorized to apply for and receive grants, charge fees for translation services, and

publication of products.

(p) is hereby authorized to establish a public not for profit corporation that shall be separate and

apart from the government of Guam and the Commission for the purpose of being able to accept private

gifts, donations, endowments, grants, and other monies which may be offered to the Commission. Such

gifts, donations, endowments, or grants, supra, shall be in accordance with the laws of Guam and

subject to reasonable conditions. Such funds received shall be deposited into a fund controlled by the

corporation, supra, and shall be known as the Kumision I Fino CHamoru Foundation.