Decoding the Mayan Glyphs

Linguistics, culture and writing systems

SociolinguisticsStudy of language and societyWay social categories (age, gender, class)

influence speech patternsGendered speech- distinct male and female

speech patternsDialects- regional or sub-cultural variations of

language Controversial- dialect often viewed as “substandard’ form by

dominant group

EthnolinguisticsStudy of relationship between language and

culture “Feedback loop”

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis Language reflects what a culture thinks

is most important

Linguistic Relativity- the differences in the language are unique to the language (and come from culture)

Linguistic DeterminismRelated to Linguistic Relativity

So…Language shapes the way we think about things and view the world

BUTsometimes language reflects the cultural reality or the conditions specific to the culture’s environment etc.

In other words: our world shapes our language

More subtle: Thought is shaped by languageWay cultures think of and express past, present

and future (verb tenses)

How people organize space/activities in the physical world

How people comprehend/think of numerical, spatial etc. relationships

Way we learn affects the structure of our brains Brain is very plastic (changeable)

ProxemicsSocial space/personal space

Distance people place themselves in relation to one another

Use of and organization of space

Micro = people in groups Macro=how cities and towns

laid out

Mayan ProxemicsBlue Creek site, Belize

Proxemics and the landscapeBlue Creek, Belize

Writing SystemsWriting =Systematically organized set of

visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language

*Often coincide w/ early nation-stateDistance info must travel with no changeIndicates new use, importance of recorded info

*For Maya, these were not the factors that led to writing,

-Legitimization of leadership, dynasty-Creation of identity centered on town,

lord-Time/remembrance /deification of

leader

Maya Writing systemLegitimization of leadership, dynasty

Creation of identity centered on the town and the lord

Time/remembrance /deification of leader

Types of writing systemsAlphabetic- Symbols = language sounds

Phonemes- smallest units of sound (i.e. letters , b = \b\)

(Relatively) small number of symbols Ex: Phoenician system upon which modern alphabet is based

Logographic-Symbols = concepts/ideas, or MorphemesMorpheme = the smallest units of language that

carry meaning (in English, the smallest morpheme is “s” for plurals)

Hundreds, if not thousands of symbols Ex : Chinese

Types of writing systemsPictographic: Concepts, ideas and objects

and associated meanings are visually represented

• Logo-phonetic- combines symbols that represent sounds and symbols representing morphemes/concepts

• Sometimes also called “complex”

• Syllabic-Symbols represent entire syllable or ‘chunk’ of sound• Often “extra” symbols representing numbers,

numerical concepts• Japanese Kana

Mayan is“Logo-syllabic”• 550 Logograms

• 150 Syllabograms

• 100 glyphs for place names, names of gods

etc.

• Abt. 300 glyphs used commonly

Organization of Mayan writing Paired columns

Read in a zig-zag

1.(A1)

2.(B1)

3.(A2)

4.(B2)

A

B

Mayan writing origin2006-Earliest

Example of Mayan writing :San Bartolo,

Guatemala

2300 years BP

Refers to a “ruler” or “lord”

San Bartolo, Guatemala

Mayan Region

What this all meansOne of three known

systems to develop independentlySumerian cuneiformChinese

Prob. start as pictographs, then incorporated sound symbols

No single “Mayan” language- many different groups and related languages

What this all meansThe written Mayan

was a prestige form of the language used by elites, priests and high officials.Classic Ch'olti'an,

extinct form of Eastern Ch’olti

Mayan texts are religious/sacredIntertwining of

political organization and religion

Reveals more abt. gender, worldview

Rabbit!

New Understanding

Women had key role in religionMaintaining shrinesRecording events

Images of women weaving = metaphor for role in creating “fabric” of kinshipDepictions of noble

women as weavers A female scribe presents her work

The Maya Today

We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle or zoos. We are people and we

want to be respected, not to be victims of

intolerance and racism.--Rigoberta Mench'u Tum, winner

of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mayan People TodayYucatecan Mayan is

the linguistic basis to decipher the writingFrom “Cho’lti” Mayan

spoken in Classic period

Stelae w/ both forms of the language

Many forms of Mayan still spokenreflect history as

confederated city-states

Modern Maya InvolvementMayan people have helped decipher the

glyphsRecognize storiesPointed out “over-translation” of ruler’s

names-like calling Dr. Brian Carroll (my husband)

“Climbing Stag” – (translation of his first and last name in Irish Gaelic)

References to traditions that are still practiced

In Mayan communities, an effort is being made to reclaim the writing system

<Crazy iguana Lady of Chichen Itza, from the Simpsons