Deep Pacific Podcast
Deep Dives into Pacific Issues
June 14, 2020

S1E2 - How does language contribute to Pacific Islander identity?

Six Pacific Islanders discuss how language ties in with identity

[EP2] How does language contribute to my identity as a Pacific Islander?

In this 01:15:00 episode, six islanders explore how all of their languages contribute to their thoughts on identity as indigenous peoples and explore language revitalization. A special portion of this episode is dedicated to highlighting the struggles of the Chamorro people that have been colonized for over 350 years and the effects this has had on their language.

You will hear from

  • To’a of Fiji (iTaukei and English)

  • Temiti of Samoa/Tahiti (English, French, Tahitian, Samoan)

  • Thomås of Luta, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) yan Guåhan (English, Chamorro)

  • Trini of Sa’i’pan, CNMI (English, Chamorro)

  • Andrew of Sa’i’pan, CNMI (English, Chamorro)

  • Kalani of Sa’i’pan, CNMI (English, Chamorro)

Followed by a discussion of the essay “When we dance the ocean, does it hear us?”

Citations:

  1. Kuper, Ken. “ Na'la'la' i hila'-ta, na'matatnga i taotao-ta : Chamorro Language as Liberation from Colonization.” Honolulu: University of Hawai’i at Manoa. (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/10125/100554. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/100554/1/Kuper_Kenneth_r.pdf

  2. Hobart, H. J. (2019). when we dance the ocean, does it hear us? Journal of Transnational American Studies, 10(1). Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fj6r2rw

Links to Resources:

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