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I live in the Yucatan Peninsula where the people call themselves "Maya" and they speak "Maya".
But in English would we say, that they are Mayan Indians, they are Mayans, and they speak Mayan? It is confusing for me since I think I have seen both ways(they are Maya, they speak Maya). In Guatemala and in the State of Chiapas there are people who speak different Mayan languages (Chol, Tzeltal, etc) but they don't call the language "Maya", as they do in the Yucatan Peninsula, They speak Chol, or Tzeltal, etc.
Is it ok to say that the people in the Yucatec Peninsula are Mayans and they speak Mayan? Or do I have to say that the people are Maya and they speak Maya?
Whatever a people chooses to call itself is, I think, the correct word to use to refer to that people. That said, I don't think you're wrong for calling them "Mayans" or saying that they speak "Mayan." The "-n" or "-an" ending is the adjective form of many proper nouns in English, so I think you're fine. For example, most of the other people around you who are from Mexico are "Mexican," not "Mexico."
Still, if you're talking to one of the "Maya," I believe I would just respect his wishes and use his word. If you're talking to some U.S. American or maybe Canadian tourists in English, you can use "Mayan." Anyway, I somehow doubt that the people who describe themselves as "Maya" will be offended if you use the word "Mayan," though I'd avoid the phrase "Mayan Indians."
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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