Nåpon Minahålang

No one ever fully knows a language, and that is always an interesting way of reminding people that a language is, first and foremost, a social organism. It connects people. It exists to connect and express connections. 

But as no one ever fully knows a language, it means that even those who use it everyday are always still learning in the language. There is always more to know, as a language is always belong what a single person can know or do.

One way that I have continued to learn and grow in the language is by translating songs from English, regularly into Chamoru. At this point, I've translated hundreds of pop songs, rock songs, hip hop songs, country, punk, alternative, emo, ska, at this point just about any genre you can imagine, I've probably translated at least one song from it, into the Chamoru language. 

Sometimes I try to keep the original intention and metaphor of the song, other times I completely abandon it. Sometimes even the tune of the song itself, its flow gets cast aside, as I just embrace the imagery and the energy of my Chamoru lyrical concoction. 

If you are working to become fluent in the language, one trick is to move from translating in a studious manner, where you sit down and translate with a notebook and a dictionary and slowly carve out each line from the grooves of your mind. But eventually, you should try translating in the moment, off the stop of your head. It likely won't be as deep, but if you can do it, it'll show your progress and how integrated the language has become.

Once I was able to listen to a Beatle's album and sing along to it in Chamoru, by translating off the top of my head, I knew that I had achieved fluency. The translations weren't always fantastic, since they were by their nature rushed. But the point was that I could fill the time, the gaps, that enough Chamoru was embedded in me that I could say everything I needed to in an easy way, the structure was already in me and so the song became a way of extracting and providing evidence of it. 

Early on, one song that I did this before was "Wave of Mutilation" by the Pixies. In the first, gi Fino' Ingles, off the cuff translation, I just tried to cling to the tune and saying things that were easy in Chamoru, but just followed the flow of the song. Eventually as I came to the final parts, where the singer holds out the sounds of a word for a few beats, I was hooked and then came back later to do a studious sit down translation. 

Here is it, you'll note immediately, that I wasn't really interested in translating "mutilation" and so just changed it to "minahalang" since it fits more with the songs itself. 

Nåpon Minahålang

 

Esta o’sun

Ilek-hu “adios”-hu

Mañugon yu’ kareta

Gi halom i tasi

 

Lao ti måtai yu’

Sa’ pumaya’ya’ya’ya

Gi un nåpon minahålang

Nåpon minahålang

Nåpon minahålang

Nå-a-a-pu

 

Mañiku yu’ estreyas

Mamacha’ yu’ pulan

Manhokka’ yu’ unai

Gi gigat-hu ante-hu

 

Bei fañodda’ chålan

Asta i Mariana-a-as

Gi un nåpon minahålang

Nåpon minahålang

Nåpon minahålang

Nå-a-a-pu