American Indian studies.
Fahad502
new_mayan_language-1.pptxDecoding the Mayan Glyphs
Linguistics, culture and writing systems
Sociolinguistics
Study of language and society
Way social categories (age, gender, class) influence speech patterns
Gendered speech- distinct male and female speech patterns
Dialects- regional or sub-cultural variations of language
Controversial- dialect often viewed as “substandard’ form by dominant group
Ethnolinguistics
Study 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 Determinism
Related to Linguistic Relativity
So…Language shapes the way we think about things and view the world
BUT
sometimes 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 language
Way 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)
Proxemics
Social 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 Proxemics
Blue Creek site, Belize
Proxemics and the landscape
Blue Creek, Belize
Writing Systems
Writing =Systematically organized set of visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language
*Often coincide w/ early nation-state
Distance info must travel with no change
Indicates 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 system
Legitimization of leadership, dynasty
Creation of identity centered on the town and the lord
Time/remembrance /deification of leader
Types of writing systems
Alphabetic- 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 Morphemes
Morpheme = 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 systems
Pictographic: 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 origin
2006-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 means
One of three known systems to develop independently
Sumerian cuneiform
Chinese
Prob. start as pictographs, then incorporated sound symbols
No single “Mayan” language- many different groups and related languages
What this all means
The 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/sacred
Intertwining of political organization and religion
Reveals more abt. gender, worldview
Rabbit!
New Understanding
Women had key role in religion
Maintaining shrines
Recording events
Images of women weaving = metaphor for role in creating “fabric” of kinship
Depictions 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 Today
Yucatecan Mayan is the linguistic basis to decipher the writing
From “Cho’lti” Mayan spoken in Classic period
Stelae w/ both forms of the language
Many forms of Mayan still spoken
reflect history as confederated city-states
Modern Maya Involvement
Mayan people have helped decipher the glyphs
Recognize stories
Pointed 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
