Do you capitalize Mayan?

Question

I'm writing about the Mayan religious book, the Popol Vuh, and I have to say "Mayan" a lot and Word keeps underlying it, saying it should be a lowercase "m," but I'm not sure...

Are you writing it in English or in Spanish? - Deanski, Oct 8, 2009

Wow! you are writing it in Spanish? That is very impressive! - Janice, Oct 8, 2009

I am a Spanish major, so yes, in Spanish. - hershey1, Oct 8, 2009

Answer 1

My Span/Eng dictionary (HarperCollins - 7th Edition - 2003) contains some instructions for Spanish spelling.

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To quote from the dictionary:

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"adjectives derived from proper names do not begin with capitals".

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I interpret that to mean that unless, in this question, the adjective mayan is the 1st word in a sentence, it is not capitalized.

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Recuerdos/Regards,

Moe

Moe, would you capitalize american? - 00769608, Oct 8, 2009

¡Hola!,Gus-Following the rule in my dictionary I would not capitalize american unless it was the 1st word in a sentence. (Or the 1st word in a quotation). - Moe, Oct 9, 2009

Thanks, Moe - 00769608, Oct 9, 2009

Answer 2

If you are referring to the Mayan culture, yes. If you are referring to a mayan book, no. Of course, this comment of mine will get everyone fired up and you will have about a million responses in less than 2 hours!

what about the Mayan people or the Mayan religions or language? Capitalixed or no? O - hershey1, Oct 8, 2009