Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs - Wayeb

Kettunen & Helmke 2011
The Writing System
The following is to serve as an example how the above indicatedd stages function:
1. a-wo-la
2. awo[h]l
3. aw-ohl
4. 2SE-heart
5. “your heart”
1. chu-ka-ja
2. chu[h]kaj
3. chu[h]k-aj-Ø
4. capture[PAS] ]-THM-3SA
5. “he/she was captured”
1 = transliteration
2 = transcription (& phonological reconstruction)
3 = morphological segmentation
4 = morphological / morpho-syntactic analysis 29
5 = translation
When translating Maya texts one should keep in
mind that there are various ways of nterpreting given words
and sentences. Quite often one finds
rather rigid translations (or more precisely glosses/ glossing) of given texts
where the sentences are translated (or glossed) word-to-word. One should keep in mind
that this is not a real
translation per se but rather a method
to show how
the sentencee is structured
in the original language as opposed
to the (target) language
into which the sentence is translated.
The actual translation can also be divided into different stagess and versions where one can move from
rigid to
less strictt translations. The actual meaning of a word or a clause might be different in another language, but the
original concept should
be preserved
at least in one of the stages of translating the text. In the example on page 17
the expression “his/her (?) white wind/breath got withered” serves as a metaphor or as a euphemism for the
targeted meaning of “he/she died.” However, such a ‘loose translation’ can
only be achieved by understanding
the culturally-specific idiom which is used, thereby eliminating the subtletiess of the original expression.
As regards translating Maya names and titles, we are leaning towards the routine of not translating them
at all, or
translating only well-attested titles. This approach
is based on the fact that the concepts which these embody are
not easily
translated by a single word in English (as volumes may be written on each
concept to clarify the
specific meaning of each title).
Modus operandi 30 :
1. Select a text
2. Transliterate the text
a. Do not mark reconstructed sounds
b. Use lowercase bold for syllabic
signs
c. Use UPPERCASE BOLD for logograms
3. Transcribe the text
a. use italics
b. all reconstructed
sounds (except for those based on orthography rules should
be represented
in [square brackets]
4. Analyze the text
a. divide morphemes by hyphens
b. mark grammatical elements
5. Translate the text using different stages of translation
Finally one should go back to the original (hieroglyphic) text, and through these steps, understand it. Eventually
you should reach the point where you go back to
the original text, and understand it without the restrictions of
your innate grammar.
29
PASsive voice, THeMatic suffix, 3rd person Singular Absolutive pronoun. See also Glossary of Linguistic Terminology.
30
During the Maya hieroglyphic workshops it is not sensible or even possible to go through with all the stages listed here. More commonly, a
strategy of structural analysis is employed along
with basic transliterations, transcriptions and translations.
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