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Legislature advances bills to establish Mother Language Day and update Chamorro orthography in law
Summary
The Legislature moved Bill 1 29–38 COR (establishing February 21 as Mother Language Day) and Bill 1 30–38 COR (updating Chamorro orthography and renaming holiday observances) to the voting file. Sponsors and cultural leaders argued the measures support language revitalization and align Guam with international efforts.
The Guam Legislature advanced two bills on the floor that supporters say will strengthen the visibility and legal recognition of the Chamorro language.
Bill 1 29–38 COR, introduced by Senator Shelley B. Calvo, would establish February 21 of each year as Sa'anen Hilañña (Mother Language Day) in Guam by adding a new section to Chapter 10, Title 1 of the Guam Code Annotated. The bill's committee report was amended on the floor to make the governor's issuance of an annual proclamation permissive rather than mandatory and to allow the Chamorro-language commission flexibility to plan events "in collaboration with other community partners and according to available capacity," language the sponsor said reflects operational realities.
Bill…
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