The Yucatan Peninsula draws many North American and European travelers each year to view the ruins of the pre-Columbian Classical Maya civilization and the abundant native flora and fauna. For these travelers, as well as armchair travelers and students, Gary Bevington has prepared the first general English-language introduction to Yucatec Maya, the native language of the people indigenous to the region. Written in nontechnical terms for learners who have a basic knowledge of simple Mexican Spanish, the book presents easily understood, practical information for anyone who would like to communicate with the Maya in their native language. In addition to covering the pronunciation and grammar of Maya, Bevington includes invaluable tips on learning indigenous languages "in the field." Most helpful are his discussions of the cultural and material worlds of the Maya, accompanied by essential words and expressions for common objects and experiences. A Maya-English-Spanish glossary with extensive usage examples and an English-Maya glossary conclude the book.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Thank you, Gary Bevington, for providing a practical guide to help "gringos" understand the basic workings of the Maya language and how it is used in their daily life! Although this book uses complicated linguistic terms and explanations which are most likely beyond the average 'traveler and student', it also clarifies many of the basics of the Maya language. This guide and its English/Spanish/Maya glossary is indispensable for those of us who are intrigued by the Maya and wish to be able to communicate more fully and learn more about their culture by means of their own language. The author also helps the reader to better understand the culture (and therefore the language) with interesting observations based on the time he and his wife have spent amongst the Maya people of Quintana Roo.(Bonus! There's a separate tape set to help with pronunciation!)
By Gerardo
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book helps you to know in general about Maya culture , but if you want to learn the language , it shows only phrases , you should better find some other book intended specially for learning mayan language.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Useful Introduction to the Yucatec Maya language
24 Jun 2000
By Thomas F. Ogara
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Professor Bevington has written a work that fills a large gap in providing some reasonable material to learn Yucatec Maya for the average English speaker. However, the reader should be advised that the book is probably more a work of anthropology than it is of linguistics. The author devotes a sizable portion of the work to describing the world of the modern Maya, a fact for which he makes no apologies, and indeed there are a large number of mental notes that we need to take if we want to understand that world. However, the actual material on the language is mostly vocabulary arranged alphabetically, and only one chapter in the book is devoted to grammar. A reader with some knowledge of linguistics can construct enough patterns and paradigms to start off toward a working knowledge, but the average reader will find the book heavy sledding indeed if he or she expects to be able to use the language on the ground in the Yucatan. Several important points of the grammar, such as noun modifiers and auxiliaries, are treated briefly, and areas such as the subjunctive are not really covered at all.
Due to the structural context being so different from what we are familiar with, it is difficult to write a book on a non-European language that can walk the line between a specialist work and a phrasebook. If Professor Bevington's work is more of the latter, it is still a noble effort and if that is what you are looking for, there is none better available.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An immersion in the Maya culture and language
12 Jan 2005
By Guido Giuntini
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I strongly suggest this book to the travelers going to the Yucatan peninsula. If you plan not just baking under the Cancun sun and get drunk every night, you will enjoy this book as I did. It really gives you an insight into the modern Mayan culture and will help you understand the people that built the bautiful monuments we enjoy today. It is a great guide if you plan in leaving the beaten track and loose yourself in an ancient and interesting society. It is a little bit hard, at the beginning, to get into the spoken Maya. The pronunciation is not easy and the grammar somewhat confusing. They are not used to hearing gringos speaking their native language (and Spanish is understood everywhere, if you need it), but even if you just start with few words, they will open their hearts to you and you will enjoy a great experience. I did. I just learned a few words and grammatical constructions every day, and by the end of the second week I was able to have a basic simple conversation. If you go to any archeological site, like Uxmal or Chichen Itza, you know you will be assaulted by people tying to sell you something. But try to speak to them in Maya, and they will forget you are a tourist. I have seen people jumping for the surprise and forgetting they were trying to sell me useless overpriced stuff. In a small village where we stopped for lunch, one day, in about 30 minutes the entire population was at the door of the family reastaurant to listen to the gringo speaking Maya (with a funny accent). I have really to thank professor Bevington for this book. It takes a little work and effort but it is really worth it.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally! A practical, (albeit complicated) guide to Maya
20 Jun 1998
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Thank you, Gary Bevington, for providing a practical guide to help "gringos" understand the basic workings of the Maya language and how it is used in their daily life! Although this book uses complicated linguistic terms and explanations which are most likely beyond the average 'traveler and student', it also clarifies many of the basics of the Maya language. This guide and its English/Spanish/Maya glossary is indispensable for those of us who are intrigued by the Maya and wish to be able to communicate more fully and learn more about their culture by means of their own language. The author also helps the reader to better understand the culture (and therefore the language) with interesting observations based on the time he and his wife have spent amongst the Maya people of Quintana Roo.(Bonus! There's a separate tape set to help with pronunciation!)
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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