PROLOGUE

Those who have lived in and through the Yucatán Peninsula recognize how valuable is working knowledge of the Maya language. Nevertheless, to assimilate an indigenous language, the structure of which is so different from Spanish or English, is a daunting task and one which regrettably few have attempted.

We are fortunate that Paulino Romero Conde, one of Yucatan's most distinguished Maya scholars, has made a major effort to bridge this gap in communications. Using his own profound knowledge of the Maya language, as well as his command of Spanish and English, he has drawn on the recognized Mayan Dictionaries to select 5,300 most useful words in Maya with their most common meaning in English and Spanish. To facilitate rapid consultation, the words are indexed alphabetically in each of the languages.

As Ing. Romero Conde explains in his preface, this book is not a dictionary. It is a handy quick reference point for anyone wishing to know the Maya equivalent of a word in English or Spanish.

Most anthropologists are in agreement that to save a native culture, the mother language must be actively preserved and used in everyday life. Ing. Romero Conde and the Centro de Estudios del Mundo Maya have done a great service to the Maya culture by compiling this vocabulary and helping keep Mayan a living language. .

Joan Andrews.