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+--- Thread: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? (/thread-5879.html)
One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - BessAgritianin - 05-07-2026
Here I want to express my opinion that the ambiguity in reading the text of VM is not a failure of the writing system, but the goal of the coding.
Let us consider the word from f2r-6 row:
It could be read as:
Consider that this word appears 144 times according voynicese browser. It is important for the text. Its decoding -too.
The language is structural and the placement of the glyphs is not random, but ruled based.
Is ambiguity the coder's method?
RE: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - Ruby Novacna - 05-07-2026
Bess, you could add some Greek words to your list: σαῖῐ̈ν, σῶν or ζῶν, for example.
RE: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - ololololo - 05-07-2026
I also assume that the boundaries between the "letters" in Voynichese are blurred. In theory, the intended word should be guessed from the context, and there should be no problems.
RE: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - BessAgritianin - 06-07-2026
(05-07-2026, 12:00 PM)ololololo Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I also assume that the boundaries between the "letters" in Voynichese are blurred. In theory, the intended word should be guessed from the context, and there should be no problems.Thank You for this observation. It alighns with my hypothesis. But a system which uses context to resolve ambiguity cannot be read mechanically and cannot be decoded using substitution on frequency analysisi alone.
Let accept that the next word is "woes". This means that we are dealing with some kind of affliction. But here is the problem- "roud" coud be read as stone (German- stein) (kidney stone), could be tooth (German -zähne) as toothache, coud be birth (Czech-rod) as birth pains, could be retin (Latin) for retina problems. The coder obviously (from the marginalia readings) uses Latin, German and old Czech.
He is probably medical person who knows several languages. Therefore a person, who aims at interpretation the text needs also to know what is the plant and what are its properties for healing... In many cases we do not know the plants...
Therefore the coder system rewards the knowledge and not the mechanical AI translations, like we are used to do.
RE: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - BessAgritianin - 06-07-2026
(05-07-2026, 10:57 AM)Ruby Novacna Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Bess, you could add some Greek words to your list: σαῖῐ̈ν, σῶν or ζῶν, for example.
Thank you for your addition! I am not a Greek scholar, so this is generally helpful.
σῶν is "living"? and "ζῶν"-being? These are interesting additions. They strenghten further the ambiguity.
Let me share the next word, following the "roud"- in the text as interpreted for "woes"- reading as "bedov" from Old Czech.
Therefore I think that "roud " is some kind of affliction as "birth pains".
Now I am curious if you read it through Greek lens how the whole ("roud bedov") would be?
Thank you again for your Greek suggestion!
RE: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - BessAgritianin - 06-07-2026
Updated Table:
RE: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - Ruby Novacna - 06-07-2026
(06-07-2026, 03:19 AM)BessAgritianin Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I am not a Greek scholar, so this is generally helpful.
σῶν is "living"? and "ζῶν"-being?
In Ancient Greek, the same word can mean very different things.
For example, the word You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. is the inflected form of σός (your), of σῶς (safe and sound, alive and well), and of σης (moth).
There is no direct relationship between these terms, and if the context is unknown, there is no possibility of translation.
The word You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. can be the present participle of ζάω (to live) or of ζέω (boil, ferment; make to boil, exhale), and at the same time be an inflected form of ζώς (alive, living).
RE: One Glyph-multiple possible readings- coder's tool? - Stefan Wirtz_2 - 06-07-2026
This just shows that "Voynichese" could be any language...
Without having some good ideas about character set and the source language underlying, VMS texts will remain only as some kind of a "wish machine".