Examples of Phonetic Construction in Maya Hieroglyphs

Abstract

Early attempts at the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs by using the phonetic approach were ill-advised, and as a consequence the phonetic theory was generally discredited. However, in view of the fact that the nonmathematical glyphic texts are largely unread, the general reaction to the total ideographic point of view was unjustified. Because we cannot read these texts and know little of the origin of the various signs, any statement of the proportion of ideographs to the total number of signs would appear premature.