The Colonial Maya Texts: Recent Contributions to the Theory of Semiotic Translation

Please join us for a special presentation by Dr. Ramón Arzápalo Marín, a LAII Visiting Scholar from the Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. This presentation will draw upon the research that Dr. Arzápalo has done while here at UNM. He will discuss how “Maya civilization is characterized by the development of a complex writing system that allowed members of this high culture to record their scientific, artistic and especially their historical texts. For a thorough understanding of their messages it is necessary to become acquainted with the script that they used for books, murals, and stellae. We provide an overview of the structure and development of the hieroglyphs or written signs relied on by the Maya for these records until the arrival of the Spaniards. We offer a critical analysis of the nature of this script based on recent, extensive research on documents of the Colonial period. The analysis of an encoded text taken from The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel is key to laying the foundation for a solid methodology for interpreting pre-Columbian texts written by the Maya. However, in order to correctly interpret the messages indicated by the analytical components, it is important to also consider such pragmatic information as their place in history and the surrounding social interrelations. The heuristic of our analysis should clarify some intercultural phenomena, usually overlooked since the 16th century, that have damaged interethnic relations.”https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/laii_events/1078/thumbnail.jp

El concepto de persona entre los mayas

En esta contribución se analiza el concepto de PERSONA entre los mayas de Yucatán, desde una perspectiva semiótica y considerados el desarrollo y cambio de la significación que ha experimentado este grupo étnico, a través de los siglos de contacto y dominación europea. Se exploran los rasgos distintivos que los mayas emplean para caracterizar el concepto de persona. Es a través de la semiosis que podemos comprender y describir la significación y el desarrollo de este signo hasta penetrar gradualmente a la cabal manifestación sígnica en esta lengua; esto nos permite analizar de manera más clara y explicar el complejo fenómeno de la identidad. El trabajo explora la noción de persona, a partir de los rasgos etnosemánticos característicos y la oposición de persona versus no persona, además de los elementos pragmáticos que resultan no tan solamente complementarios, sino cruciales para la comprensión de este concepto en el ámbito de la identidad de este grupo étnico.In this article we analyze the concept of PERSON among the Mayas of Yucatan from a semiotic perspective, while considering the development and modification in meaning that this ethnic group has experienced during the centuries of European contact and domination. We also explore the distinctive features that the Mayas employ in order to characterize the concept of person. It is through semiosis that we my comprehend and describe the signification and development of this sign until gradually penetrating into the exact signic manifestation in this language; this will allow us to more clearly analyze and explain the ethnosemantic characteristics and the opposition of person vs. no person, besides the pragmatic elements that show themselves to be not only complementary but crucial for the comprehension of this concept in the framework of this ethnic group's identity.Dans cette contribution on analyse le concept se référant à la PERSONNE entre les mayas du Yucatán, à partir d´une perspective sémiotique, tout en considérant le développement et le changement de la signification expérimentés par ce groupe ethnique, à travers les siècles de contact et de domination européens. On y explore les traits distinctifs que les mayas emploient pour caractériser le concept. C´est à travers la sémiose que nous pouvons comprendre puis décrire la signification et le développement de ce signe de façon à pénétrer graduellement à l ´intérieur de la manifestation signique correcte dans cette langue; ceci nous permet d´analyser avec plus de clarté le phénomène complexe de l´identité ainsi que de l´expliquer. Le travail explore la notion de personne, à partir des traits ethnosémantiques caractéristiques et de l ´opposition entre personne versus non-personne, en plus des éléments pragmatiques qui sont non seulement complémentaires, mais encore cruciaux pour la compréhension de ce concept dans l´espace de l´identité de ce groupe ethnique

La práctica cultural de modificar el cuerpo como un texto de información e interpretación social para la antropología física: Una perspectiva semiótica

En muy diversas culturas se mantienen arraigadas costumbres ancestrales que han reforzado y refuerzan aún su identidad étnica a través de la modificación del cuerpo, con especial referencia a la cabeza, como es el caso de las culturas andinas de Perú. Los signos comprendidos en estos textos culturales los podemos decodificar y reconstruir para dar sentido y valor a la trayectoria del hombre: creador y usuario de símbolos por excelencia.Ancestral customs that have reinforced ethnic identify via the conception of corporal modification, remain rooted in many cultures, especially with regard to the head, as occurs in the Andean cultures of Peru. We can decode and reconstruct the signs included in these texts in order to understand the meaning and value to man's trajectory: Creator and user of symbols.Dans de nombreuses cultures différentes restent ancrées des coutumes ancestrales qui ont renforcé et renforcent même leur identité ethnique à travers la modification du corps, avec une référence particulière à la tête, comme c'est le cas pour les cultures andines du Pérou. Nous pouvons décoder les signes inclus dans ces textes et les reconstruire pour donner un sens et une valeur à l'histoire de l'homme : le créateur et l'utilisateur des symboles par excellence.Fil: Yépez Vásquez, Rosaura. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; México.Fil: Arzápalo Marín, Ramón. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas; México

The Scandinavian singer-translator’s multisemiotic voice as performance

Most current research on translator’s voice within Translation Studies focuses on voice in written communication. The present chapter seeks to expand the concept to include multisemiotic voice – ways of expressing (inter)subjectivity/agency/identity across several channels, including the visual and auditory. The notion of multisemiotic voice is illustrated through the case of the Scandinavian song translator, more specifically the singer-translator, that is, song translators who translate songs as well as perform them. The chapter also discusses the relationship between the translators’ textual and contextual displays of voice, arguing that they converge on the notion of performativity: they are social rituals whereby (singer-)translators build their identities as performers, in a literal or non-literal sense