A key to understand the VMS

[Torsten]

There is, as I pointed out in reply to your 2014 paper, an underlying logic of how words are constructed. Edits are typically valid only within this existing structure. So, for example, if you wanted to add [e] to the word [chol], the only valid result would be [cheol]. The words [echol], [choel], and [chole] simply don't exist.

You must explain where this structure comes from and why. You cannot, as you have sought to do in the past, wave it away as the creator's whim.

Hello Emma, 

New characters where usually added as prefixes. Therefore the chance for a word "echol" is much higher then for "chole". Words starting with "e" exists for the VMS. There are for instance the words "echkolal" and "echedy". The point is that both occur only once. This happens as a result of the copying process. If a word with a new feature is copied this results in another word using the same feature and more important also this word could be copied. Moreover if a feature was copied multiple times the scribe would come familiar with this feature. That the scribe was able to learn is the reason that in Currier B "edy" is used instead of "ody" and the explanation for the shift from Currier A to Currier B. 
It simply depends on how many times a feature was copied if this feature is unique, occurs only on one page or looks like a rule to us.

For me the text generation method was coming obvious while looking on rare words. See for instance the word "lkl". This word exists only 9 times for the VMS. But this doesn't mean that this word is equally distributed. In fact there is one page with three instances of "lkl". This page is You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and since three instances of "lkl" can be found on this page it was three times available as source for generating other words. This is the reason that on page You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. also the words "lklor", "kl" and "lkol" exists. Beside "lkl" only 6 other words contain the sequence "lkl". One of this six words is the word "lklor" on page f105v. This is not a coincidence! See "lkl" / "talkl" on page You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. and "lklcheol" / "lkl" on page f115v.