An algorithm may automatize the translation of Mayan texts
An algorithm developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) will be able to automatize the interpretation of Mayan texts, of which 15% of the symbols are still unknown, although more than five million people speak this language. The objective is to create an online database for archaeologists and epigraphers.
Researchers at Idiap, affiliated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), have come up with an algorithm to analyse Mayan writing. This project may contribute to translating this complex and still partially unknown language.
While some five million people still speak a language that evolved from the Mayan civilization in South America, the written language has suffered a different fate. The secrets of classical Mayan were lost with the destruction of most works during the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Only three codices have been preserved, and they are in museums and institutions in Paris, Dresden (Germany), and Madrid.
These documents contain valuable data for the researchers who are trying to discover the secrets of the pre-Columbian writing, much of which remains being obscure (10% to 15% of the symbols are not known). Researches of the Idiap, a research institute affiliated with the EPFL and to the new Digital Humanities Laboratory of the College of Humanities, are harnessing the power of computers to help archaeologists and epigraphers to make significant progress in their work.
The researchers, who work closely with specialists in Mayan writing, have analysed thousands of hieroglyph signs, which are symbols that represent a sound, or also a meaning. Mayan texts are often written in the form of blocks. A block could contain one or various glyphs, representing a sound, a word or even an entire sentence.
Current speakers
“Each image tells a story”, says Rui Hu, researcher working on Social Computing at Idiap, in the press release of the EPFL, as shows Tendencias21. “Sometimes we can guess their meaning with the help of people who still speak this language today, and also by using glossaries.”
The task is particularly difficult because hieroglyphics are difficult to decipher in the historical documents. What is more, pre-Columbian writers sometimes drew the symbols in different and creative ways, depending on era and place. And then there are those symbols that are similar to each other but mean something completely different.
A real mystery for archeologists and epigraphers, who still spend a great amount of time reading carefully catalogues to identify each symbol. Thanks to the work of the researchers of the Idiap and the collaboration of the specialists in Mayan writing from the University of Bonn (Germany), high quality hieroglyphics found in the three most known works will be catalogued digitally.
The researchers will be then able to use this tool to quickly identify the given hieroglyphic and its meaning, and to see, for example, which are the most common combinations of symbols observed in the same “block” of text. This research is of great interest to mayanists, given the potential of such novel multidisciplinary approaches for overcoming obstacles resulting from applying more traditional methods", said Carlos Pallán Gayol, researcher at the University of Bonn.
Database
This interdisciplinary project, with the contribution of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) will eventually lead to an online database that the scientific community will be able to use to investigate, compare and annotate texts in order to expand our knowledge about Mayan writing and iconography.
“By combining the work of the Mayan experts with IT-based tools, we can make fascinating progress," said Rui Hu. Progress that may one day lead to machine translation.
While some five million people still speak a language that evolved from the Mayan civilization in South America, the written language has suffered a different fate. The secrets of classical Mayan were lost with the destruction of most works during the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Only three codices have been preserved, and they are in museums and institutions in Paris, Dresden (Germany), and Madrid.
These documents contain valuable data for the researchers who are trying to discover the secrets of the pre-Columbian writing, much of which remains being obscure (10% to 15% of the symbols are not known). Researches of the Idiap, a research institute affiliated with the EPFL and to the new Digital Humanities Laboratory of the College of Humanities, are harnessing the power of computers to help archaeologists and epigraphers to make significant progress in their work.
The researchers, who work closely with specialists in Mayan writing, have analysed thousands of hieroglyph signs, which are symbols that represent a sound, or also a meaning. Mayan texts are often written in the form of blocks. A block could contain one or various glyphs, representing a sound, a word or even an entire sentence.
Current speakers
“Each image tells a story”, says Rui Hu, researcher working on Social Computing at Idiap, in the press release of the EPFL, as shows Tendencias21. “Sometimes we can guess their meaning with the help of people who still speak this language today, and also by using glossaries.”
The task is particularly difficult because hieroglyphics are difficult to decipher in the historical documents. What is more, pre-Columbian writers sometimes drew the symbols in different and creative ways, depending on era and place. And then there are those symbols that are similar to each other but mean something completely different.
A real mystery for archeologists and epigraphers, who still spend a great amount of time reading carefully catalogues to identify each symbol. Thanks to the work of the researchers of the Idiap and the collaboration of the specialists in Mayan writing from the University of Bonn (Germany), high quality hieroglyphics found in the three most known works will be catalogued digitally.
The researchers will be then able to use this tool to quickly identify the given hieroglyphic and its meaning, and to see, for example, which are the most common combinations of symbols observed in the same “block” of text. This research is of great interest to mayanists, given the potential of such novel multidisciplinary approaches for overcoming obstacles resulting from applying more traditional methods", said Carlos Pallán Gayol, researcher at the University of Bonn.
Database
This interdisciplinary project, with the contribution of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) will eventually lead to an online database that the scientific community will be able to use to investigate, compare and annotate texts in order to expand our knowledge about Mayan writing and iconography.
“By combining the work of the Mayan experts with IT-based tools, we can make fascinating progress," said Rui Hu. Progress that may one day lead to machine translation.
Cátedra UNESCO de Tecnologías Lingüísticas