prosperous language space. We have to care for and love the language back to a prosperous life as like an infant child.

!

There are tangible and intangible actions that need to happen for the native language to have its indigenous spaces in order to prosper again.

!

A prosperous language is in all spaces beginning with the home where it is nurtured and grows. And as that language grows it is given opportunities for usability in other spaces; it is a language for communication with friends, communities, other native people, gatherings, and the public.

!

Usability also is present in visibility through the eye in what is seen; in signs, pictures, architecture, arts, music, names, etc. Usability must have its way interactively. It must have reciprocity as one communicates in a native language. The measure of how fully alive a language is in its usability within all indigenous spaces.

!

For the Chamorro language to be fully alive it must be used with intentionality: • It must be seen, there must be signs in Chamorro language in public buildings and public spaces, including street names. • It must be heard, intentionally spoken actively in as many settings in private and public spaces and domains. • It must be intentionally appropriated spaces and opportunities for engaging conversations. • It must be taught in daycares, immersion schools, academic institutions of higher learning. • It must be made available through learning resources that are readily accessible to all learners. • It must be funded with purpose and commitment without compromise. • It must be supported by both native indigenous peoples and the public. • It prospers in many spaces. Just imagine Chamorro language daycares throughout the island – the east, north, south, and west; infants learning their languages, and as they grow, they are given opportunities to use their languages; understanding that it is just as important as the dominant language of today.

!

2nd Marianas History Conference 2013 ・ !139