Mayan languages belong to a family of indigenous languages spoken in Mesoamerica. Often when people think of the Maya, they think of an ancient people with no modern representatives. Today the Maya number in the millions and four million people speak one or more of 28 Mayan languages. Yucatec Maya, also called Maya t’aan or ‘Maya Speech’ is the second most widely spoken Mayan language, spoken today in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, and Belize. Yucatec Maya is a gateway to the world of Mayan Civilization. Many aspects of modern Yucatec Mayan culture and worldview are encoded in the language, including many interesting folk tales and oral histories recorded in Yucatec Maya that remain relevant today.
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WHERE TO START
Department:
Department of Anthropology
Advisor:
Sarah Ripp, skripp@wisc.edu
Intro Class:
ANTHRO 376: First Semester Yucatec Maya
If you have background in Yucatec Maya, either through formal study, informal study, or as a heritage learner, contact the advisor listed above for placement information.