Tz' ihb' write/paint'. Multimodality in Maya glyphic texts

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Published: 2017-04-01

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Agnieszka Hamann

Abstract

In the times when Maya writing was an enigma, the analysis of Maya inscriptions necessarily focused on iconography and the purely visual aspect of an inscription. Once the writing system was satisfactorily deciphered, the main focus shifted to epigraphic analysis of glyphs and linguistic analysis of texts recorded by glyphs, frequently leaving out the accompanying image. Yet it seems that Maya scribes did not develop the concept of strict division between image and text: the same hands drew both, freely combining elements belonging to the visual and linguistic modalities. This projects attempts to define and describe the multimodality of ancient Maya inscriptions, including identifying modalities utilized by ancient scribes. It analyses how the composition, gestures, pictorial signs and text contribute to deliver the final message. On the example of three texts (Cancuen Panel 3, Laxtunich Panel 1 and Aguateca Stela 1) it attempts to develop methodology appropriate for the analysis of the genre of Maya glyphic inscriptions.Keywords: Maya glyphs multimodality cognitive linguistics

Article Details

Issue

Vol. 51 No. 1 (2017): Volume 51.1

Section

Research Article

Author Biography

Agnieszka Hamann

Agnieszka Hamann is a cognitive linguist with an interest in the application of cognitive linguistic methodology to the study of the language of ancient Maya texts. She graduated from the English language department and is currently working towards the PhD at the Faculty of Artes Liberales, University of Warsaw, where she has taught cognitive linguistics and Maya epigraphy, including a course entitled "History written in glyphs". She has published articles on conceptual metaphors and metonymies identified in glyphic texts (near-universal and culture-specific conceptualizations, conceptualizations of death in Maya cultures), the grammar of Classic Mayan (theme-orientation and the concept of possession in Classic Mayan). Her current project focuses on the Maya scribal tradition and methodology of the Classic Period (250-900 AD), including the composition of text and image and the changing reading order as means of communication.

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