20-07-2024, 04:56 AM
Slovenian Voynich Alphabet
[attachment=8894]The simple Slovenian Voynich Alphabet can be helpful in translating VM into contemporary Slovenian, however this does not enable comparison of the Voynich Manuscript text to Slovenian medieval text, but it can replace the various letter and letter combinations for different Slovenian sounds used by different writers. The Comparative Voynich Transliteration Alphabet, developed from the comparison of letter-forms and sounds in different European manuscripts, can be used for different medieval Slovenian texts, as well as for text in other European languages.
[attachment=8895]
Slovenian transliteration/transcription alphabet has most letter designation in common with the EVA alphabet. This is not by chance, but the likeness to the letters found in the 15th century European manuscripts.
From the letter EVA and SLO-VA share (marked in blue), many Slovenian words can be formed. I will explain the difference between the two alphabets in my future posts.
The 8-like letterform
Eva transliterated the 8-like Voynich Manuscript glyph as d, however the designation is not claimed to be transliteration letter, therefore, theoretically it could be replaced by any letter or symbol. In my opinion, this approach is wrong, because who ever designated it for Latin d must have been aware that the same letterform was used in the medieval 15th century European manuscripts for the letter d and for the sound d, although in certain words, particularly the final d, can change to its unvoiced pair t.
After examining 9 different documents I had found in Slovenian archives from the 10th, 14th , 15th and 16th century, I noticed that the 8-like d was used in cursive writing in late 14th and in 15th centuries.
The 8-like letterform for the letter and sound d was also found in four 15th century European manuscripts I examined. In some of them, 8-like d was used interchangeably with the regular d. Two of the manuscripts (Stična Codex in Slovenian and Tractatus in Latin) were written in present day Slovenian town of Stična by a Czeck author. The Golden Legend is written in Czeck. Alphabetum was created in Slovenian Charterhouse Pleterje by Swabian preacher John Nider, and Heinrich von Laufenber's Regiment Sanitates is written
[attachment=8896]in German.
Therefore, there is no doubt that the 8-like glyph in the Voynich Manuscript stands for the letter and the sound d, although it also appears as a number in pagination.
The 8-like glyph with a tail, is the ligature dj or dy, which represents the Slavic sound dj, for which Serbians still have a separate letter đ, but in Slovenian, it evolved into ž (pronounced as in George).
[attachment=8897]
The reason DAM (8am) cannot be found in the dictionary is because this is conjugational form, meaning 'I give'. In the dictionaries, it is listed under its infinitive form DATI, where various derivates of this word (either with added prefixes or word-forming suffixes) are added. To these suffixes, additional suffixes for conjugation or declination are added. This is one reason why there are so many words that differ for only one or two letters in the Voynich Manuscript.
II. EVA- daiin
The reading of the VM glyph combination as DAIIN (8am), we became conditioned not to explor other possible reading. Several VM researchers had pointed out this could hinder the VM reasearch, since minims in different combination can generate different letters, vowels or consonants. Most VM researchers cannot agree how many different Latin letters could be obtained from different readings of the EVA-DAIIN. This is understandable, since the three minims at the end (the final one with a flourish) can be read as M,W, IIV, IN, IW, IIV, NV.
Minims
[attachment=8898][attachment=8899]
Example of writing from Stična Codex (mid-15th century) in Slovenian
In order to understand minims, I studied different 15th century manuscripts and I came to a conclusion that the three minims (including the last with a flourish turned upwards or downwards) most often indicate letter M, while two minims indicate letter N. In the VM, the final two minims can also be read as W or IV, since the letters V and W are not as distinct as in the other manuscripts. We also have to remember that in Latin writing, V was used for the sound U, and that W in German was used for the sound U.
Since the minims are mostly the suffixes, they only change the inflectional, but only seldom somatic meaning of the words.
Some other letters used in 'daiin' family:
Because the 8-shaped letter d was used in many 15th century European manuscripts, we can reasonable assume that EVA-d can be used also as a transcription letter.
Letter 'i' (EVA-i) also looks like a Latin cursive letter 'i' and it works very well for Slovenian language translation, since 'il' and 'ilj' are frequently used suffixes.
Eva-m needed to be changed to -il. This was based on the letterform itself, which looks like i +l. The tail on l might indicate the Slavic pronunciation -ilj, which in the Middle Ages was a characteristic OCS suffix, but was later changed to -il. In the VM, suffixes -il and -ilj are used interchangeably.
EVA-r can also be regarded as correct transcription letter – Latin r. This letter-shape was used interchangeable with the regular Latin form r, but its size was much smaller, so that at the first glance it could be mistaken for z.
The 9-like Voynich letter form, transliterated in EVA as y, can also be taken as transliteration letter. There are two main reason to validate it.
a) The letter shape 9, which was used in Latin writing for initial abbreviated con-, and for final abbrevated -us, began to be transformed to i or ij. This can be noticed at first in the way the names of the months and the names of the saints appear in some European manuscripts in vernacular languages, with the Latin Calendar section, next to the Latin spelling (9 abbreviation for -us).
b) The letter g at the time had similar shape as 9, except that the tail was more rounded. In Czech, which had great influence on other Slavic languages, particularly Slovenian, the 9-shaped letter g was pronounced as j, and for g sound, the letter h was used.
c) The Latin 'g' letter seems to be absent from the VM text, which is suggestive of the likelihood that some of the 9-shaped 'y' letters can be read as 'g', and some of the 'h' or 'k' letters could also be read as 'g'.
The Meaning of DAM word
The most simple VM word DAIIN can instinctively be read by most Slovenian people, who never heard of VM, as DAM, since they are not aware that in the Middle Ages, the letter v was used for the sound u or v, and that w was still used for the sound u, but was later abandoned.
Because of the complicated pronunciation, I will first focus on the DAIIN WORD FAMILY. When I first encountered the word DAIIN in the VM, I instinctively read it as DAM (assuming that EVA-d could actually be a Latin letter d. This is how I discovered the DAM family of words, related to giving.
The use of the word DA for giving extends beyond the various European Languages.
[attachment=8901]
DAM is grammatical form for the 1. person singular, present tense. In dictionaries, it is listed under its infinitive form DATI, and in written texts, it can be found in various grammatical and inflectional forms. Slovenian Etymological Dictionary explans the word DATI is Latin DARE. It lists many derivatives constructed from the root 'DA', mainly by adding prefixes and suffixes. The root DA was originally DAD (pronounced as DAT) and when the suffix -ti (ty) was added, the d was dropped.
dáti dám dov. lat.'dare’ (10.stol.), dájati, dodáti, dodajati, dodatek, izdáti, izdajati, izdaja, navdáti, navdajati, obdáti, obdajati, oddáti, oddajati, oddaja, oddajnik, podáti, podajati, podaja, predáti, predajati, predaja, pridáti, pridajati, razdáti, razdajati, vdáti se (15. stol.), vdajati se, vdaja, vdán, vdánost, zadáti, zavdáti, zavdajati .
The Slovenian Etymology Dictionary further explains the word DATI as Croatian present tense dam, Czeck dát, dám, Old Indian dádati , Latin dare, Armenian tam (dam). It also lists the related words dajáti, dar, prodáti. For the understanding of the VM, the repeated continuous form of the verb DATI is particularly important. According to the Etymology Dictionary, it was used in the 16th century (and most likely before the first Slovenian books were written, because it is frequently used in the VM).
Slovenian language does not have perfect tense, like English. Instead, the prefixes are used for the finished action. Also, most of the verbs come in pairs – basic for general and repetitive.
Repetitive form of DATI: dajati
dajáti1 dájem nedov. lat.dare, tradere (16. stol.), dajatev, dajalnik, dodajati, izdajati, navdajati, obdajati, oddajati, oddajnik, podajati, predajati itd. nako je stcslovan. dajati
The word DAJATI was spelled in the Voynich Manuscript as DAVATI, since the letter j was not yet in use. In phonetic Slovenian, the word DAVATI is still used.
The word DATI in various grammatical forms is most frequently used word in the VM. The exact number of the words is difficult to determine, because they can appear in Slovenian language as root words, as suffixes, as part of the combined words, and some even as auxiliary verbs. Many also have various prefixes. DAM (I give) occurs at least 600 times as a separate word in the VM, and many times as a suffix or a part of a combined word.
The word DATI can hardly be found in the VM text, but this verb can be found in various grammatical forms:
Suffix -am in the VM
[attachment=8900]
I suppose the words DAM – DAJ were the oldest words in all languages, since they relate to basic communication. They pertain to exchange (I give – you give). In Slovenian language, these two words cannot be found in the dictionary, because they are in inflectional form. I suppose DATI, the infinitive form of this verb was formed later.
The object of the giving (something for free) is DAR in Slovenian.
In Slovenian language, the personal pronoun, number, genre, tense are implied with the grammatical ending and are usually not written, unless the special emphasis is needed. Therefore, the two words – DAM DAR- can be a complete sentence, meaning 'I give gift'. In the present tense, there is no distinction for gender.
Like in all Slovenian verbs, suffix -m indicates first person singular, present tense.
In Slovenian medieval language, the word DAM was also used as auxiliary verb (as English 'I feel' ) with adjectives. This is evident from Stična Codex, which contains several expressions 'se dolžan dam' (I feel obligated). Another such expression is DAM VEDET (give to know -let know).
The ending – š (s, sh) indicates 2. person singular, present tense. The word DAS (DAŠ – you give) is only used a few times in the VM, because the imperative and conditional mood seem to be more appropriate for the VM themes (prayer, reflection, instruction, recipes).
This explains the high frequency of EVA-dy as a separate word. In the VM, it occurs at least 170 times as a separate word, and many more times as a grammatical ending. It also seems as if the dy is also used as a prefix in the VM, however, there is a different explanation for that. The word dy cannot be found in Slovenian writing, because the letter y was replaced in 16th century already with i or j. This presented some problem, because in some dialects, the vowel e, in others i, or a was inserted, so that eventually, the standardized form was DAJ, which is still often pronounced as DEJ.
Suffix -dy in the VM
[attachment=8902]
As I mentioned, the word DY (DAJ) in VM often looks like a prefix. The reason for this is the archaic way of using the word DAJ as an auxiliary verb for other verb. I did not see the explanation for this in Slovenian grammar articles, however, in the dialect spoken in my native village, this archaic form was very often used with the imperative mood in everyday conversation, such as DAJ PRIDI (give come - do come), DAJ POVEJ (give tell - do say). A literal translation (such as on Google) this phrase woudl be translated as GIVE COME, GIVE SAY), but its semantic meaning was more like 'Please, come!', 'Please, tell!' With a revival of Slovenian dialectal songs, such phrases are particularly noticed in Štajerska dialect (Mami, daj pridi domov, Alfi Nipi? (Mother, give come home! – Mother, please come home! Or, ‘Daj, pridi, radi bi plesal s teboj’ – Give, come, I like to dance with you! – Please, come, I would like to dance with you.).
In this case, both DY and the other verb are in imperative mood.
The repeated words DY DY are also often used as an equivalent to English expression ‘ Comme on’, and if we assume the mistake in spelling and inappropriate space, dydy could also be translated as DEJDI (grandfathers), or DYDYDY as DETIDI (to inherit), but this is a bit far-fetched.
It is therefore important to read the words in context.
The third person singular is usually the same as a root, in case of DATI, it is DA (he gives). In the VM, it is seldom used.
EVA-DAL, DAIN – Slovenian DAL, DAW words in the VM reflect the past and future tense, as well as the conditional mood.
They are used in the VM interchangeable, because in some dialects, the final L was pronounced as L, and in some as W. (Some Slavic languages later adopted a new form of L, but Slovenians made a grammatical rule that L or V at the end of the words are pronounced as U/W.
The past and future tense is formed with the help of the verb BITI (to be), which is conjugated for number, and the verb is also conjugated for number and gender. The most frequently used in the VM is masculine singular word DAL (SEM DAL– I gave; BOM DAL – I will give, and for conditional mood BI DAL (I would or should give).
In the VM, there are at least 160 clear DAL words, and 30 DALY words. (DALY is the plural masculine of DAL).
Suffix -il in the VM
[attachment=8903]
The EVA-dain can be transcribed in Latin as DAIV, DAW or DAN, which represent three different grammatical forms of the verb DATI (to give). It also means 'day' and 'daylight'. We can also put EVA-dam into this category, because I transliterate EVA-m as -il, ilj, which is grammatical ending for past and future tense of repetitive verb DAL (dal – dail, dajil / now: dal – dajal), while the continuous verb of DAW (phonetic pronunciation – DAW – DAWAW or DAWAL / now: DAL- DAVAL, DEVAL).
There are at least 120 clear DAW or DAN words in the VM.
Another word related to DATI (give) is the word DAR. This is easy to recognize in the VM, because it can be read as DAR by most transcription alphabets. There are about 200 separate DAR words and additional 160 in combinations. On top of that, there are also about 200 DAIR words.
Although the word DATI (to give) seldom occurs in the VM, its various grammatical forms are consistent with Slovenian grammatical structure and the use of these words in different inflectional and word-forming forms.
The high frequency of the word DAR and its derivates is also consistent with the overall theme of the VM and its holistic approach to God as the universal giver of all things. The writing mood (first person singular, and second person imperative or conditional) are also consistent with the assumed text (personal reflections, poems, instructions).
The table below shows some examples of Slovenian word structure, although not all prefixes and suffixes are listed here. Allowing for the possibility of different spelling in the medieval writing, the number of different words could be doubled or tripled. The Voynich Manuscript word DY is spelled as DEJ, DAJ, DEI, DAI, DEY for the same meaning: you give!
The Slovenian translation I used in this article were used in the 15th century with a few variations, because of the spelling convention that changed from 15 to 16th century as the written language standardized the phonetic orthography used in the Voynich Manuscript. Grammatical explanation for these changes will follow in my future posts.
[attachment=8904]
The chart to illustrate the morphology of the DAM words captures only a fraction of these words, but it does explain the high frequency of some words and low frequency of others.
[attachment=8907]
Some Slovenian word related to giving are still spelled the same way as in the Voynich Manuscript transcribed into Latin letters. Some of them are among the most frequently used words, and the great variety of those words occur only a few times, by themselves or in combinations.
[attachment=8905]
The DAIIN words are also a good example of the use of Slovenian prefixes o- and po-.
[attachment=8906]
These are just a few examples of the grammatical forms of the words DATI and DARITI. A similar analysis can be made for other verbs, and other parts of the sentences.
[attachment=8894]The simple Slovenian Voynich Alphabet can be helpful in translating VM into contemporary Slovenian, however this does not enable comparison of the Voynich Manuscript text to Slovenian medieval text, but it can replace the various letter and letter combinations for different Slovenian sounds used by different writers. The Comparative Voynich Transliteration Alphabet, developed from the comparison of letter-forms and sounds in different European manuscripts, can be used for different medieval Slovenian texts, as well as for text in other European languages.
[attachment=8895]
Slovenian transliteration/transcription alphabet has most letter designation in common with the EVA alphabet. This is not by chance, but the likeness to the letters found in the 15th century European manuscripts.
From the letter EVA and SLO-VA share (marked in blue), many Slovenian words can be formed. I will explain the difference between the two alphabets in my future posts.
The 8-like letterform
Eva transliterated the 8-like Voynich Manuscript glyph as d, however the designation is not claimed to be transliteration letter, therefore, theoretically it could be replaced by any letter or symbol. In my opinion, this approach is wrong, because who ever designated it for Latin d must have been aware that the same letterform was used in the medieval 15th century European manuscripts for the letter d and for the sound d, although in certain words, particularly the final d, can change to its unvoiced pair t.
After examining 9 different documents I had found in Slovenian archives from the 10th, 14th , 15th and 16th century, I noticed that the 8-like d was used in cursive writing in late 14th and in 15th centuries.
The 8-like letterform for the letter and sound d was also found in four 15th century European manuscripts I examined. In some of them, 8-like d was used interchangeably with the regular d. Two of the manuscripts (Stična Codex in Slovenian and Tractatus in Latin) were written in present day Slovenian town of Stična by a Czeck author. The Golden Legend is written in Czeck. Alphabetum was created in Slovenian Charterhouse Pleterje by Swabian preacher John Nider, and Heinrich von Laufenber's Regiment Sanitates is written
[attachment=8896]in German.
Therefore, there is no doubt that the 8-like glyph in the Voynich Manuscript stands for the letter and the sound d, although it also appears as a number in pagination.
The 8-like glyph with a tail, is the ligature dj or dy, which represents the Slavic sound dj, for which Serbians still have a separate letter đ, but in Slovenian, it evolved into ž (pronounced as in George).
[attachment=8897]
The reason DAM (8am) cannot be found in the dictionary is because this is conjugational form, meaning 'I give'. In the dictionaries, it is listed under its infinitive form DATI, where various derivates of this word (either with added prefixes or word-forming suffixes) are added. To these suffixes, additional suffixes for conjugation or declination are added. This is one reason why there are so many words that differ for only one or two letters in the Voynich Manuscript.
II. EVA- daiin
The reading of the VM glyph combination as DAIIN (8am), we became conditioned not to explor other possible reading. Several VM researchers had pointed out this could hinder the VM reasearch, since minims in different combination can generate different letters, vowels or consonants. Most VM researchers cannot agree how many different Latin letters could be obtained from different readings of the EVA-DAIIN. This is understandable, since the three minims at the end (the final one with a flourish) can be read as M,W, IIV, IN, IW, IIV, NV.
Minims
[attachment=8898][attachment=8899]
Example of writing from Stična Codex (mid-15th century) in Slovenian
In order to understand minims, I studied different 15th century manuscripts and I came to a conclusion that the three minims (including the last with a flourish turned upwards or downwards) most often indicate letter M, while two minims indicate letter N. In the VM, the final two minims can also be read as W or IV, since the letters V and W are not as distinct as in the other manuscripts. We also have to remember that in Latin writing, V was used for the sound U, and that W in German was used for the sound U.
Since the minims are mostly the suffixes, they only change the inflectional, but only seldom somatic meaning of the words.
Some other letters used in 'daiin' family:
Because the 8-shaped letter d was used in many 15th century European manuscripts, we can reasonable assume that EVA-d can be used also as a transcription letter.
Letter 'i' (EVA-i) also looks like a Latin cursive letter 'i' and it works very well for Slovenian language translation, since 'il' and 'ilj' are frequently used suffixes.
Eva-m needed to be changed to -il. This was based on the letterform itself, which looks like i +l. The tail on l might indicate the Slavic pronunciation -ilj, which in the Middle Ages was a characteristic OCS suffix, but was later changed to -il. In the VM, suffixes -il and -ilj are used interchangeably.
EVA-r can also be regarded as correct transcription letter – Latin r. This letter-shape was used interchangeable with the regular Latin form r, but its size was much smaller, so that at the first glance it could be mistaken for z.
The 9-like Voynich letter form, transliterated in EVA as y, can also be taken as transliteration letter. There are two main reason to validate it.
a) The letter shape 9, which was used in Latin writing for initial abbreviated con-, and for final abbrevated -us, began to be transformed to i or ij. This can be noticed at first in the way the names of the months and the names of the saints appear in some European manuscripts in vernacular languages, with the Latin Calendar section, next to the Latin spelling (9 abbreviation for -us).
b) The letter g at the time had similar shape as 9, except that the tail was more rounded. In Czech, which had great influence on other Slavic languages, particularly Slovenian, the 9-shaped letter g was pronounced as j, and for g sound, the letter h was used.
c) The Latin 'g' letter seems to be absent from the VM text, which is suggestive of the likelihood that some of the 9-shaped 'y' letters can be read as 'g', and some of the 'h' or 'k' letters could also be read as 'g'.
The Meaning of DAM word
The most simple VM word DAIIN can instinctively be read by most Slovenian people, who never heard of VM, as DAM, since they are not aware that in the Middle Ages, the letter v was used for the sound u or v, and that w was still used for the sound u, but was later abandoned.
Because of the complicated pronunciation, I will first focus on the DAIIN WORD FAMILY. When I first encountered the word DAIIN in the VM, I instinctively read it as DAM (assuming that EVA-d could actually be a Latin letter d. This is how I discovered the DAM family of words, related to giving.
The use of the word DA for giving extends beyond the various European Languages.
[attachment=8901]
DAM is grammatical form for the 1. person singular, present tense. In dictionaries, it is listed under its infinitive form DATI, and in written texts, it can be found in various grammatical and inflectional forms. Slovenian Etymological Dictionary explans the word DATI is Latin DARE. It lists many derivatives constructed from the root 'DA', mainly by adding prefixes and suffixes. The root DA was originally DAD (pronounced as DAT) and when the suffix -ti (ty) was added, the d was dropped.
dáti dám dov. lat.'dare’ (10.stol.), dájati, dodáti, dodajati, dodatek, izdáti, izdajati, izdaja, navdáti, navdajati, obdáti, obdajati, oddáti, oddajati, oddaja, oddajnik, podáti, podajati, podaja, predáti, predajati, predaja, pridáti, pridajati, razdáti, razdajati, vdáti se (15. stol.), vdajati se, vdaja, vdán, vdánost, zadáti, zavdáti, zavdajati .
The Slovenian Etymology Dictionary further explains the word DATI as Croatian present tense dam, Czeck dát, dám, Old Indian dádati , Latin dare, Armenian tam (dam). It also lists the related words dajáti, dar, prodáti. For the understanding of the VM, the repeated continuous form of the verb DATI is particularly important. According to the Etymology Dictionary, it was used in the 16th century (and most likely before the first Slovenian books were written, because it is frequently used in the VM).
Slovenian language does not have perfect tense, like English. Instead, the prefixes are used for the finished action. Also, most of the verbs come in pairs – basic for general and repetitive.
Repetitive form of DATI: dajati
dajáti1 dájem nedov. lat.dare, tradere (16. stol.), dajatev, dajalnik, dodajati, izdajati, navdajati, obdajati, oddajati, oddajnik, podajati, predajati itd. nako je stcslovan. dajati
The word DAJATI was spelled in the Voynich Manuscript as DAVATI, since the letter j was not yet in use. In phonetic Slovenian, the word DAVATI is still used.
The word DATI in various grammatical forms is most frequently used word in the VM. The exact number of the words is difficult to determine, because they can appear in Slovenian language as root words, as suffixes, as part of the combined words, and some even as auxiliary verbs. Many also have various prefixes. DAM (I give) occurs at least 600 times as a separate word in the VM, and many times as a suffix or a part of a combined word.
The word DATI can hardly be found in the VM text, but this verb can be found in various grammatical forms:
Suffix -am in the VM
[attachment=8900]
I suppose the words DAM – DAJ were the oldest words in all languages, since they relate to basic communication. They pertain to exchange (I give – you give). In Slovenian language, these two words cannot be found in the dictionary, because they are in inflectional form. I suppose DATI, the infinitive form of this verb was formed later.
The object of the giving (something for free) is DAR in Slovenian.
In Slovenian language, the personal pronoun, number, genre, tense are implied with the grammatical ending and are usually not written, unless the special emphasis is needed. Therefore, the two words – DAM DAR- can be a complete sentence, meaning 'I give gift'. In the present tense, there is no distinction for gender.
Like in all Slovenian verbs, suffix -m indicates first person singular, present tense.
In Slovenian medieval language, the word DAM was also used as auxiliary verb (as English 'I feel' ) with adjectives. This is evident from Stična Codex, which contains several expressions 'se dolžan dam' (I feel obligated). Another such expression is DAM VEDET (give to know -let know).
The ending – š (s, sh) indicates 2. person singular, present tense. The word DAS (DAŠ – you give) is only used a few times in the VM, because the imperative and conditional mood seem to be more appropriate for the VM themes (prayer, reflection, instruction, recipes).
This explains the high frequency of EVA-dy as a separate word. In the VM, it occurs at least 170 times as a separate word, and many more times as a grammatical ending. It also seems as if the dy is also used as a prefix in the VM, however, there is a different explanation for that. The word dy cannot be found in Slovenian writing, because the letter y was replaced in 16th century already with i or j. This presented some problem, because in some dialects, the vowel e, in others i, or a was inserted, so that eventually, the standardized form was DAJ, which is still often pronounced as DEJ.
Suffix -dy in the VM
[attachment=8902]
As I mentioned, the word DY (DAJ) in VM often looks like a prefix. The reason for this is the archaic way of using the word DAJ as an auxiliary verb for other verb. I did not see the explanation for this in Slovenian grammar articles, however, in the dialect spoken in my native village, this archaic form was very often used with the imperative mood in everyday conversation, such as DAJ PRIDI (give come - do come), DAJ POVEJ (give tell - do say). A literal translation (such as on Google) this phrase woudl be translated as GIVE COME, GIVE SAY), but its semantic meaning was more like 'Please, come!', 'Please, tell!' With a revival of Slovenian dialectal songs, such phrases are particularly noticed in Štajerska dialect (Mami, daj pridi domov, Alfi Nipi? (Mother, give come home! – Mother, please come home! Or, ‘Daj, pridi, radi bi plesal s teboj’ – Give, come, I like to dance with you! – Please, come, I would like to dance with you.).
In this case, both DY and the other verb are in imperative mood.
The repeated words DY DY are also often used as an equivalent to English expression ‘ Comme on’, and if we assume the mistake in spelling and inappropriate space, dydy could also be translated as DEJDI (grandfathers), or DYDYDY as DETIDI (to inherit), but this is a bit far-fetched.
It is therefore important to read the words in context.
The third person singular is usually the same as a root, in case of DATI, it is DA (he gives). In the VM, it is seldom used.
EVA-DAL, DAIN – Slovenian DAL, DAW words in the VM reflect the past and future tense, as well as the conditional mood.
They are used in the VM interchangeable, because in some dialects, the final L was pronounced as L, and in some as W. (Some Slavic languages later adopted a new form of L, but Slovenians made a grammatical rule that L or V at the end of the words are pronounced as U/W.
The past and future tense is formed with the help of the verb BITI (to be), which is conjugated for number, and the verb is also conjugated for number and gender. The most frequently used in the VM is masculine singular word DAL (SEM DAL– I gave; BOM DAL – I will give, and for conditional mood BI DAL (I would or should give).
In the VM, there are at least 160 clear DAL words, and 30 DALY words. (DALY is the plural masculine of DAL).
Suffix -il in the VM
[attachment=8903]
The EVA-dain can be transcribed in Latin as DAIV, DAW or DAN, which represent three different grammatical forms of the verb DATI (to give). It also means 'day' and 'daylight'. We can also put EVA-dam into this category, because I transliterate EVA-m as -il, ilj, which is grammatical ending for past and future tense of repetitive verb DAL (dal – dail, dajil / now: dal – dajal), while the continuous verb of DAW (phonetic pronunciation – DAW – DAWAW or DAWAL / now: DAL- DAVAL, DEVAL).
There are at least 120 clear DAW or DAN words in the VM.
Another word related to DATI (give) is the word DAR. This is easy to recognize in the VM, because it can be read as DAR by most transcription alphabets. There are about 200 separate DAR words and additional 160 in combinations. On top of that, there are also about 200 DAIR words.
Although the word DATI (to give) seldom occurs in the VM, its various grammatical forms are consistent with Slovenian grammatical structure and the use of these words in different inflectional and word-forming forms.
The high frequency of the word DAR and its derivates is also consistent with the overall theme of the VM and its holistic approach to God as the universal giver of all things. The writing mood (first person singular, and second person imperative or conditional) are also consistent with the assumed text (personal reflections, poems, instructions).
The table below shows some examples of Slovenian word structure, although not all prefixes and suffixes are listed here. Allowing for the possibility of different spelling in the medieval writing, the number of different words could be doubled or tripled. The Voynich Manuscript word DY is spelled as DEJ, DAJ, DEI, DAI, DEY for the same meaning: you give!
The Slovenian translation I used in this article were used in the 15th century with a few variations, because of the spelling convention that changed from 15 to 16th century as the written language standardized the phonetic orthography used in the Voynich Manuscript. Grammatical explanation for these changes will follow in my future posts.
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The chart to illustrate the morphology of the DAM words captures only a fraction of these words, but it does explain the high frequency of some words and low frequency of others.
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Some Slovenian word related to giving are still spelled the same way as in the Voynich Manuscript transcribed into Latin letters. Some of them are among the most frequently used words, and the great variety of those words occur only a few times, by themselves or in combinations.
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The DAIIN words are also a good example of the use of Slovenian prefixes o- and po-.
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These are just a few examples of the grammatical forms of the words DATI and DARITI. A similar analysis can be made for other verbs, and other parts of the sentences.
If you can create a version of an old Slovenian text with all the adjustments that you need to make it closer to Voynichese, you can compare the entropy with my web-based entropy calculator: You are not allowed to view links.