Chamorro Language - Orthography

Orthography

The letter ⟨y⟩ is pronounced more like dz (an approximation of the regional Spanish pronunciation of y as ); nor are ⟨n⟩ and ⟨ñ⟩ or ⟨a⟩ and ⟨å⟩ always distinguished in print. Thus the Guamanian place name spelled Yona is pronounced, not * as might be expected. ⟨Ch⟩ is usually pronounced like ts rather than like Engilsh ch. Chamorro ⟨r⟩ is a flap, like Spanish r between vowels, and a retroflex approximant, like English r, at the beginning of words.

Chamorro has geminate consonants which are written double (GG, DD, KK, MM, NGNG, PP, SS, TT), native diphthongs AI and AO, plus OI, OE, IA, IU, IE in loanwords; penultimate stress, except where marked otherwise with an acute accent, as in asút "blue" or dángkulo "big". Unstressed vowels are limited to /ə i u/, though they are often spelled A E O. Syllables may be consonant-vowel-consonant, as in che’lu "sibling", diskatga "unload", mamahlao "shy", or oppop "lie face down", gatus (old word for 100), Hagåtña (Capital of Guam); B, D, and G are not distinguished from P, T, and K in that position.