The Foreign Impact on Lowland Mayan Language and Script

The purpose of this monograph is to identify evidence for the impact of foreign groups on the spoken and written languages of the Lowland Maya and to determine what this evidence indicates about social interaction between the ancient Lowland Maya and foreign peoples. In assessing the foreign linguistic impact on the Lowland Maya, the authors consider the linguistic identities of the cultural groups involved, define the Lowland Mayan language area, and review the present evidence for diffusion of foreign features into Lowland Mayan languages and writing. While interpreting the nature of the cultural contacts that occasioned this diffusion, they tried to clarify the potential contributions of comparative eipigraphy and comparative linguistics to the study of Mesoamerica's prehistory.