CMGG entry for cha'      (This article is part of the Learner's Maya Glyph Guide and Concordance.)

Alternative readings: KA'
Translation: Number “2”
Part of speech: Noun

Logogram spellings of cha'

                                                                                                                

TOK.p24.r1.c1                     25EMC.pdfp31.#1.1                    MHD.PL2a.1                     1086st                                   T1086

 “2” / cha’ / ka’                    CHA’                                              CHA’ / KA’                          CHA                                       -

 

                                                                                

K&H.p48.pdfp50.#3.2 = 25EMC.pdfp31.#1.2                     MHD. PL2a.2

CHA’                                                                                          

 

 

·     No glyphs given in K&L, BMM9.

·     TOK.p24.r1.c1 gives only “2”, but cha’ / ka’ given in AT-E1168-lecture6.t0:39:45 (in connection with the bar-and-dot notation).

·     AT-E1168-lecture6.t0:41:06-41:20: And then of course the shift between k- and ch- is an ongoing phonetical process during the entirety of the Classic period, so at some point they pronounced this number as ka’ and then at some point in time it became cha’, and we don’t know exactly when it happened.

·     AT-E1168-lecture6.t0:50:11: “11” and “12” are a total mystery, “2” is a total mystery; as far as I know [in terms of the reason for their particular god-head variants].

·     Do not confuse Glyph-G7 and the head variant of the numeral “2”!

o What they have in common (on the right):

§ Top: a left-hand fist with thumb pointing up

§ Bottom: a youthful head

o What distinguishes them (on the left):

§ Glyph-G7 has NAAH.

§ Numeral “2” has (or rather, can have) SAK.

These two will generally only occur in different contexts, so there should be no confusion. But “abstractly”, when thinking about “loose glyphs” out of context, it’s easy to confuse the two.

·     Mnemonic: a fist and a head = “2”.