In case some of you have not latched on to the CHamorro Roots ~ Hale' CHamoru FaceBook group, just yesterday (April 6, 2013 CHamorro ST) we launched the First Name-Nickname Dictionary Project. Here's the link (updated as necessary) to some of the information being collected: http://docs.com/RUE4
Some interesting notes that have occurred and I have commented on:
1. Some pieces of oral history are being revealed. This is great because there usually are stories behind a nickname; whether it be by someone's ta'dung accent or an incidental event. I don't know you tell us! The nickname may be unique and isolated within a particular family.
Some of the entries reminded me that my maternal aunties called me "Nono Boy." This had no bearing/relationship (that I know of) to my name Bernard. I must have done something as child that reminded them of a Nono. LOL…
…and oh, I just feel compelled to also state that no matter how old I am (ahem), my elders every now and then still refer to me as "Boy," when they ask me to do something for them. I am not offended by it, and recognize that my elders will always view me as a younger generation, and I acknowledge their seniority with respect.
2. The development of Chamorro orthography is considered to be fairly young compared to other languages; therefore, we will see a variety of spellings. So it is great to see people providing examples on how the nickname would be pronounced.
3. We can also observe some transitions of nicknames between Chamorro, Spanish and American influence. I'm sure those with Japanese, German and other foreign ancestry will have their own unique flavor too!
I am hopeful that one day a young Chamorro scholar will take all these projects to the next level of analyzing and writing more on these components of our rich, vibrant and unique Chamorro heritage.
Si Yu'os ma'ase todus hamyu manmana'patte guini. (I hope I said that right) Thank you all who contribute/share here.