17-09-2017, 08:51 PM
Emma May Smith Wrote:(17-09-2017, 12:25 PM)-JKP- Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.How many natural languages have restrictions as severe as these as to a character's position in a word? I've done a very extensive search of languages trying to find something that is even half as restrictive and have not, so far.
Lots.
English, for example, only allows /ng/ in the syllable coda and it must come immediately after the vowel. Also, /h/ is only allowed in the syllable onset and only in combination with a semivowel.
And English is [i]nowhere near the most restrictive language on Earth. Indeed, it is relatively liberal.[/i]
The VMS is much more restrictive.
For example, in English, ng can appear in a variety of positions in the word:
mid/end mid mid mid mid/end
ongoing, wrangle, elongate, lengthen, bringing
So I think nc might be a better example than ng, if one is looking for parallels in English, since it is constrained both before and after (it needs a vowel).
once, invincible, fence, wince, dunce chance
But even though nc may behave like some VMS pairs, here's the important part... notice that the letters adjacent to nc move around also (the associated vowels a, e, i, and o can show up in different positions in words in addition to preceding or following the ng or nc pairs). This is not what one sees in Voynichese.
There are large numbers of pairs in English (and other languages), that can appear in different positions in the word (like ng, some require a preceding vowel or consonant, exhibiting some restrictions as to neighbors, and there are some that don't). Here is a very short list of examples of pairs that can appear in numerous positions in English words:
Beginning Middle End
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psychology, apse, lopsided, copse, tips, chirps, cups, helps, chumps (preceding letters a, o, i, r, u, l, m)
clement, acclimate, carbuncle, muscle, decline, circle, debacle (preceding letters c, n, s, e, r, a)
entail, apprentice, fountain, leant, burnt, flint, font (preceding letters e, u, a, r, i, o)
great, agree, regret, digress, pilgrim, margrave, mangrove, meagre, ogre (preceding letters a, r, e, i, l, n, o)
shift, ashes, Welsh, publish, push, mesh (preceding letters a, l, i, u, e)
This list could go on for pages and pages, I didn't even include consonant-vowel or vowel-vowel pairs, because it would take days to list them all. This level of flexibility in letter arrangement has no direct parallel in Voynichese.
Unlike English, in which most single letters can appear in almost any position in a word, in Voynichese, there are only a few single-glyphs that can move through a vord in various positions. And there is only a small group of pairs can move through any position. Also, unlike English, the glyphs around them are not similarly flexible when associated with the movable glyphs.
There is a great variety of pairs English (as in many other languages), and also a wide variety of letters that can directly precede or follow these pairs. This variety of combinations and flexibility of position is not characteristic of Voynichese.
Voynichese restricts position in three ways:
1. by constraining certain glyphs to the beginning, middle, or ends of Vwords,
2. by constraining which glyphs can appear adjacent to these glyphs, and
3. by constraining sequential glyph repetition (only cc occurs with any regularity).