INTRODUCTION.
If you are an absolute beginner to Maya hieroglyphics, this blog post is for you. First, like the written JAPANESE language, Maya writing is logosyllabic, and the Maya syllabary is shown BELOW in vowel-columns (A E I O U) and consonant-rows (B’ CH CH’ J … ectetera…). Next, shown ABOVE the direction reading is top-bottom zig-zag across columns of logographs. Finally, ATOP are examples of the Latin-letter transliteration of three (3) lines:
#1. YAX-TZUTZ-CHAN-na LAKAM-TUN-ni / u K’AB’A-b’a-a
#2. u-B’AH-hi TICH’AB’-li TI K’AHK’-la ju-lu
#3. NAHB’ u CH’ICH’ WITZ u JOL ja-le ja-li
John Montgomery, Maya-English & English-Maya Dictionary, 2004 is a simple dictionary using only Latin-letter romanization of Yucatec Maya. However, when moving on in spoken Maya, hieroglyphic learning is valuable to understanding the eleven million (11,000,000) speakers of Maya dialects today.
