Not only do millions in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras speak Mayan languages, as Gerry Dempsey points out (Letters, January 15, 2005), but these living languages have been instrumental in deciphering the classic Mayan in hieroglyphic inscriptions going back less than two millennia. Having written to you on another matter concerning your special report on endangered languages (”Babel Runs Backwards,” January 1, 2005), I hoped another intrepid reader would point out your mistake in claiming that Mayan, among other ancient languages, was extinct. Happily, your readers are intrepid, indeed.