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It is hard to believe that it has almost been a year since the pandemic lockdown began for many of us. Since the college where I teach has shifted into an entirely online format, I’ve had the opportunity to explore and share many innovative web-based resources in my classes. In my linguistics class, I have been using several excellent animated videos from NativeLang, a YouTube channel created by linguist and animator Joshua Rudder. I highly recommend the many videos on his channel, and I greatly admire the thought and work he has put into these videos, and how effectively they communicate complex histories and ideas. This month, I would like to highlight one of his videos from last August, in which he explores the revitalization of Mesoamerican scripts, with a particular focus on Maya writing.
Featured in the video is a Tzeltal poem written and published in Maya script by our friend Martín Gómez Ramírez, the famous Stela of Iximché, written in Kaqchikel using an adapted Maya script. Also mentioned is the hieroglyphic version of the K’iche’ Popol Vuh, transcribed by Yan García and designed by Mario Hernández, as well as a discussion of the challenges of converting Maya glyphs into a Unicode text that is readable by computers.
This and other educational online resources have given me the idea that we might explore the commissioning and creation of similar online resources by Maya educators for Maya students. The pandemic continues to force us to consider new ways to continue our work, and given that we may be dealing with the challenges of restrictions on face-to-face classes for the foreseeable future this year, online learning promises to provide new opportunities for educational outreach for those who have the ability to connect to the internet.
Meanwhile, many of us still await our vaccinations, which are still not widely available in the United States, let alone in Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize. May we all stay safe and healthy and get vaccinated soon so that we can once again gather together and see our friends and family to celebrate life and a better future.
Kolaval Tajmek, Matyox,
Michael Grofe, President
MAM
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