Help Getting Started

[euodiaspark]

Hello! I am just now diving into the Voynich Manuscripts on whim, but I want to solve this mystery. Can anyone help me with how to start working with the text, how to work out the letters, or even just a place that its transposed into text format so that I don't have to look at a bloody subpar photocopy every time I'm working on it?

For reference, I have a Chromebook, so any heavy tech used to start solving this won't work, and any installation of tts files or something of the sort won't work either.

Thank you so much!

[dashstofsk]

There are several transliterations of the manuscript. Visit You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

They are in IVTFF format ( Intermediate Voynich Transliteration File Format ). Read You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.

You need some tools to process the text. See You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. for something called IVTT, and there is also something called BITRANS.

Otherwise you will have to process the text yourself. I myself have used the C++ programming language and have written a console program to do analysis on the manuscript.

Otherwise You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. might be of some help.

[MarcoP]

If you also want to read about the subject, " The Linguistics of the Voynich Manuscript" (Bowern and Lindemann) is a good introduction 

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[dashstofsk]

"The Linguistics of the Voynich Manuscript"

This is an academic study that might be a bit too heavy for a newcomer to the manuscript.

[tavie]

I think it's an accessible article.

Koen's youtube channel is a must-watch, especially the two "Why your Voynich theory is wrong" videos as a kind of inoculation from thinking you've solved the manuscript.  

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[Ruby Novacna]

... Can anyone help me with how to start working with the text, how to work out the letters, or even just a place that its transposed into text format so that I don't have to look at a bloody subpar photocopy every time I'm working on it?

I'm surprised that a beginner would find the link to this forum on a search engine and not the links for the basic information about this manuscript.

[Koen G]

I'm surprised that a beginner would find the link to this forum on a search engine and not the links for the basic information about this manuscript.

I remember, when I started out, finding it very hard to see the trees through the forest. There is so much information out there, often contradictory, very often nonsense. Voynich.nu is great, but even that can appear sprawling and overwhelming. I think it is a good reflex to seek the advice of a group of seasoned enthusiasts like ourselves. It shouldn't be shamed.