Next Step: Dictionary!

I have received permission from Harri Kettunen (from the University of Helsinki) and Christophe Helmke (from the University of Copenhagen) to include content from their well known Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs in the Ancient Maya App. This is huge! This highly regarded book is packed with details on every aspect of Maya language and writing. I thank them for their kindness and generosity.

How will this change the Ancient Maya App? With the current version you can turn glyph blocks into ancient Maya words, as this video shows. That’s great, but you still need a dictionary to convert the ancient word (for example “otot”) into a modern word (like “home”). Kettunen and Helmke’s Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs contains a dictionary.

Getting all the dictionary entries into the app will take time, as will the software changes to the app. So don’t expect to see this in the immediate future, I’ll be working on it over a couple months. Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs have been translated into both Spanish and French. Once the English dictionary has been incorporated into the app it will be straightforward to add them as well.

Below is a screenshot of the current Decode Glyph Block feature. At the top, it shows three glyphs that have been translated from a glyph block for the glyphs “o”, “to” and “ti”. Since final vowels are usually silent these glyphs were used to spell the word “otot”. Imagine a “Look Up In Dictionary” button on the screen and you have a feel for what I’m working on. It will be great.