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+--- Thread: A thought (/thread-5496.html)
A thought - Tessa9 - 01-04-2026
This might be a dumb question, but does anyone have an answer?
I was just thinking, is Voynichese a character system or a letter system? Sorry if my terms aren't correct, but here's an example
In languages like Latin, English, German, etc., we have the alphabet (ABCD...), such that it creates letters, whereas in languages like Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc., there is one character or more (你, 我, 对。。。) for one word.
Sorry if this doesn't make sense; I can elaborate, but if you understand and can give me an answer, please do. Thank you!
RE: A thought - oshfdk - 01-04-2026
(01-04-2026, 03:39 AM)Tessa9 Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.In languages like Latin, English, German, etc., we have the alphabet (ABCD...), such that it creates letters, whereas in languages like Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc., there is one character or more (你, 我, 对。。。) for one word.
It looks like there are just not enough different glyphs in the manuscript for it to be a system like the Chinese characters. However, if the question is more about whether the system is phonetic (primarily designed to represent sounds) or not, I think no-one knows.
RE: A thought - nablator - 01-04-2026
(01-04-2026, 03:39 AM)Tessa9 Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.This might be a dumb question, but does anyone have an answer?
Yes, there are many (wrong) answers. Wrong because they contradict each other. See the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. sub-forum if you want examples.
RE: A thought - Koen G - 01-04-2026
One thing we can say with some certainty is that it "presents itself" as if it is an alphabetic writing system. That doesn't mean that it is one or even that it could function as one. But in my opinion, the Voynich system is inspired by or intends to look like alphabetic writing: a limited selection of recurring characters arranged in "words" separated by spaces.
(Alphabetic writing systems include Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic....)