What's hiding inside Maya glyphs - History of Writing Systems #6 (Syllabary)
NativLang・4 minutes read
The Maya script is a complex written language using characters to represent sounds and syllables, allowing for creative combinations of logographs and syllables to balance sound and meaning writing. Phonetic complements clarify pronunciation, showing the flexibility of writing in syllables.
Insights
- Maya script is a sophisticated written language with characters representing sounds, enabling the spelling of words like "witz" for mountain and "kakaw" for cocoa.
- The Maya script employs a unique syllabary system that creatively combines logographs and syllables, allowing for varied ways to write the same word while balancing sound and meaning writing through techniques like underspelling and "echo vowels."
Get key ideas from YouTube videos. It’s free
Recent questions
What is the Maya script?
A full-fledged written language with characters representing sounds.
Related videos
Ancient Americas
The Decipherment of Maya Script
UC Berkeley Graduate Division
Deciphering the Maya Script
Universe Inside You
Mayan Zodiac Signs: Which One Are You?
Odyssey - Ancient History Documentaries
Ancient Metropolis: The True Scale Of Mayan Cities | Treasure Tombs of the Ancient Maya | Odyssey
Ancient Americas
The Popol Vuh: The Maya Story of Creation
Summary
00:00
Maya script: syllables, logographs, and pronunciation
- Maya script is a full-fledged written language, not just pictures, with characters representing sounds that spell out words like "witz" for mountain and "kakaw" for cocoa.
- The Maya script uses a syllabary system where characters represent syllables, posing challenges like how to write consonant endings in words like "balam", solved by underspelling or using an "echo vowel".
- The Maya script allows for creative combinations of logographs and syllables to write the same word in different ways, balancing sound writing and meaning writing.
- Phonetic complements in the Maya script clarify pronunciation of logographs, showing how to read characters like "jaguar" as "balam", highlighting the flexibility of writing in syllables.
