Open AccessA Possible [tze] Syllable and its Associates in Maya Writing
Author(s) -
Sergei Vepretskii,
AUTHOR_ID,
Albert Davletshin,
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
estudios de cultura maya
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.226
H-Index - 6
eISSN - 2448-5179
pISSN - 0185-2574
DOI - 10.19130/iifl.ecm.59.22x871
Subject(s) - syllabic verse , decipherment , vowel , linguistics , syllable , verb , sign (mathematics) , maya , formality , computer science , history , mathematics , philosophy , archaeology , mathematical analysis
The decipherment of the Maya script is still far from completion and awaits the interpretation of a considerable number of logograms and syllabic signs. This paper is dedicated to the composite sign that has been previously considered a ligature of two syllabic signs, tzo and ko. The present analysis shows that these two graphic elements are never written separately and that the ko-like element differs from the other ko syllables attested in the corresponding inscriptions. The sign is found in the context of other syllables involving the mid-front e vowel, implying a previously unrecognized Ce syllable, with “C” standing for an unknown consonant. In Palenque, the sign follows the le syllable; the combination of these two signs is attested in the position of a predicate, which might be interpreted as the verb letz-e, “he/she climbed, went up”. The data collected allow us to propose the phonetic reading tze and fill one more gap in the Maya syllabic grid.