Customer Reviews

Dictionary Of The Maya Language: As Spoken in Hocaba Yucatan

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If you have any interest in the modern or ancient Maya, in Maya archaeology or the Maya inscriptions, you should buy his book! This is the only substantial dictionary of the modern Yucatec Maya language. All the other published dictionaries are either very limited in scope or contain mostly "Classical" (16th century) Yucatec. The authors' scholarship is unparalleled. This is an *authoritative* work and will always remain so. The very complete section on grammar is invaluable, since there is almost nothing similar; works like Tozzer's "May Grammar" are outdated, incorrect and incomplete. Andrew Hofling's recent Itza Maya dictionary is an excellent work too, but is organized differently and is, of course, about a different language. I use this reference book and recommend it very highly to others.

I bought this book on the basis of the one review listed. As a frequent traveler to the Yucatan Peninsula, I wanted to learn more about the Mayan Language. Prospective buyers should know: The book is ONLY Mayan followed by the English translation and not vice versa. The author uses a number of arcane symbols to represent unique sounds in the Mayan language. While a professional linguist may understand "glottal stop" and other phrases, these are not readily decipherable by a layman. The entries are quasi-alphabetical, by their SOUND, not spelling. This makes it extremely difficult to locate a written word (say from a map or other book using familiar letters and characters) in the order of entries (which is by sound and ! # ? characters representing sounds). The description and book jacket mentions the inclusion of many interesting phrases and sentences that colorfully bring new light to the Mayan language. I have leafed through the book repeatedly in attempts to locate some of these (other than the ones mentioned on the cover) and have been unable to do so. The book contains very little narrative and what is written is more suited for a linguist, an anthropologist or doctoral students. This is not a book easily digested by tourists, business travelers or the casually interested armchair archeologist. Because I'm not more qualified than those folks, I'm not able to evaluate the quality of scholarship/research this book represents.

This is an excellent 408-page dictionary compiled by native speakers of the Maya language. The entries are detailed, illustrating different noun and verb forms, and many have sample sentences. There is a pronounciation guide and a good grammatical overview included. The dictionary is extremely comprehensive but is Maya-to-English only (you cannot look up a Mayan word and find its English meaning) and lists entries by only one of Maya's two modern alphabet systems (you cannot look up a Mayan word spelled in the "colonial" alphabet, instead you must use an alphabet translator located at the front of the book). Clearly including English-to-Maya and colonial-spelling-to-English sections would have been impossible for length reasons, but I wish they had published a second volume with that information in it; I would have purchased both.

Readers looking for a less comprehensive phrasebook from which to learn a few words of the language for conversational purposes should try ISBN# 0292708122 or 0781808596 instead. Readers interested in the ancient Mayan writing system (hieroglyphs) should try ISBN# 0781808626. This is an excellent dictionary but doesn't serve either of those other purposes well.

This is probably the most authoritative Yucatec Maya dictionary available. It is, however, a dictionary of Yucatec Maya, and NOT Maya-English / English-Maya; you won't be able to look up words in English to find the Maya. It does cross reference roots and related terms. The grammar section at the back is not particularly easy to use, but is comprehensive and, considering the limited alternatives, works well enough. This dictionary is compiled by Vicky Bricker, who is well known in the field, with the assistance of native speakers Eleuterio Po'ot Yah and Ofelia Dzul de Po'ot. The dictionary is excellent; it is also perhaps better suited for academic and especially linguistic use. Many of the notes require a knowledge of linguistic notation. The order of the dictionary is not, however, based on phonetics as has been suggested, but rather on the contemporary alphabet. Many place names are based on the colonial orthography or writing system, which is no longer used (replaced with the contemporary orthography). An internet search should bring up a guide for how to switch between the two. Moreover, Bricker treats the glottal as a consonant (which it is, technically, but most dictionaries don't do this), which means that ALL vowels come at the beginning of the dictionary, and continues in subsequent spellings. Taking the time to know how the dictionary is organized before really trying to use it extensively seems worth the effort, including the layout of the grammar section. This *should* help, but there is definitely a learning curve. Finally, as the subtitle, "As Spoken in Hocaba, Yucatan," suggests, there may be variations in speech between areas.
I used this book for three years in Yucatec Maya language courses as a supplement. I do think it works better as a supplement than as a primary resource. However, given the limited availability of textbooks (field guides are more prevalent but less extensive) this dictionary has the necessary information to function as a sole resource. Ultimately, if you want to dedicate a bit a time and energy, this dictionary is excellent; if you want a few handy phrases, find a field guide.
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