[Aztlan] Maya and Mayan

[Barb MacLeod]

Elin Danien said:

>I think that the Maya/Mayan problem may have arisen because the interviews 
>were carried out on the telephone, and people tend to hear what they want 
>or expect to hear. 

It's likely that the misunderstanding would have arisen face-to-face as well. People superimpose what they expect, and most in this country think it's all "Mayan". I run into it all the time, and even after I explain that 'Mayan' refers to a language family and at times to the languages within the family (for example, Terry Kaufman's/John Justeson's term for the hieroglyphic language is 'Epigraphic Mayan'), people revert to their prior expectations. We are creatures of habit, which is both a blessing and a curse.

I guess more popular education is called for.

Hopefully that will happen. But I suspect it will not fix the 'Maya' vs. 'Mayan' problem.

If the post-Apocalyptic Mayan haute couture actually takes off, there will be plenty of copycat items with much more affordable price tags. And maybe better designs, and an expansion into home furnishings. The whole Tablet of the Inscriptions on a bedsheet and comforter set, anyone? San Bartolo wallpaper? The mind boggles.

Barb MacLeod