Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs - Wayeb

Kettunen & Helmke 2011
Appendices
Table of different arrangements with examples:
Arrangement: Outcome: Example: Transcription: Translation:
CAC / Ca-Ca CaC la-ka lak plate
CAC / Ca-Ci CaaC ba-ki baak captive
CAC / Ca-Cu Ca’(a)C ba-tz’u ba’tz’ howler monkey
CEC / Ce-Ce CeC te-me tem throne
CEC / Ce-Ci CeeC? ke-ji keej deer
CEC / Ce-Ca Ce’(e)C ne-na ne’[h]n mirror
CIC / Ci-Ci CiC wi-tzi witz mountain
CIC / Ci-Cu Ci’(i)C chi-ku chi’k coati
CIC / Ci-Ca CiiC yi-tz’i-na yi[h]tz’iin younger brother
COC / Co-Co CoC yo-po yop leaf
COC / Co-Ci CooC xo-ki xook shark
COC / Co-Ca Co’(o)C o-la o’[h]l heart
CUC / Cu-Cu CuC k’u-hu k’uh god
CUC / Cu-Ci CuuC mu-chi muuch toad
CUC / Cu-Ca Cu’(u)C bu-la bu’ul bean
Table XVIII: Examples based on harmony rules according to Lacadena and Wichmann (2004)
One of the (rare) disharmonic patterns in the script is that of CEC / Ce-Cu which is not included in Table XVIII
above. Lacadena and Wichmann (2004) proposed that this pattern most likely does not belong to the sphere of
harmony rules but is rather another example of underspelling. 64 Thus there are two possible outcomes for the
following arrangements:
CEC / Ce-Cu Ce’(e)C che-bu che’[eh]b? / chebu[l]? quill, brush
” ” te-mu te’m? / temu[l]? seat, bench, throne
Examples of exceptions to the “normal disharmonic spelling rules” (=underspelled sounds):
Arrangement: Outcome: Example: Transcription: Translation:
CAC / Ca-Ce ? BAK-ke ba[a]ke[l] child
VCAC / Ca-Ce ? AJAW-le ajawle[l] lordship, kingdom
CAC / Ca-Co ? ch’a-ho ch’aho[’m] man
CEC / Ce-Cu ? e-bu e[h]bu[l] stair
CEC / Ce-Co ? *not attested*
CIC / Ci-Ce ? *not attested*
CIC / Ci-Co ? ti-ho tiho[’] (a toponym)
COC / Co-Ce ? o-ke o[o]ke[l] foot
COC / Co-Cu ? *not attested*
CUC / Cu-Ce ? u-ne? une[n]? baby
CUC / Cu-Co ? *not attested*
CUC / Cu-Ca ? tu-pa tupa[j]? earspool
Table XIX: Examples of underspelled words
The following sounds are frequently underspelled towards the end of words and in the case of consonant clusters
(-C# and -CC-): /l/, /m/, /n/, /h/, /j/, and /’/. Examples of words with underspelled sounds at the end of the word
include: bi > bi[h] (“road”), chi > chi[j] (“deer”), sa-ja > saja[l] (title), tz’u-nu > tz’unu[n] (“hummingbird”), a-u-ku >
a[j]uku[l] (proper name), and YAX-a > Yaxa[’] (“Yaxha’” [toponym]). Examples of words with underspelled
sounds in –CC- surroundings (consonant clusters/ double consonants) include: ja-wa-TE’ > jawa[n]te’ (“tripod
64
Moreover, Wichmann reasons that “Possibly a scribe was playing with the conventions and introduced e-u as a rule, but we have to consider the
possibility that there is a suffix -u[l] in play. It is too much to sacrifice the simplicity of the system when there’s so few examples and when they
could involve underspelled suffixes.” (personal communication, 2002).
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