22-03-2019, 08:35 AM
This is getting a bit off the original topic, but the first and perhaps the biggest problem we have is that we don't know how to read the writing. Different people have made different assumptions, and they are all essentially certain to have some mistaken assumptions in them.
All statistics that one can generate based on the transcribed versions of the text depend on these assumptions.
In fact, one good way of proceeding is to 'play with' these assumptions, i.e. to tune them or experiment with them, and to see what happens.
A typical example is the word length distribution. Different interpretations of what are word spaces leads to different results. Different definitions of what are individual characters also lead to different results.
On the other side, the expected word length distribution of an abbreviated text will be different from one without abbreviations.
On the homogeneity of the text, there is little doubt that the text is not homogeneous.
Different statistics, based on all different available transcriptions confirm each other.
It is possible to identify blocks of homogeneous text.
On the level of difference between these blocks, people have different opinions.
The work of Prescott Currier on this topic is known by most people, and often quoted, but has to be 'enjoyed with care' (to use a Germanism). It is a mix of objective and subjective statements.
All statistics that one can generate based on the transcribed versions of the text depend on these assumptions.
In fact, one good way of proceeding is to 'play with' these assumptions, i.e. to tune them or experiment with them, and to see what happens.
A typical example is the word length distribution. Different interpretations of what are word spaces leads to different results. Different definitions of what are individual characters also lead to different results.
On the other side, the expected word length distribution of an abbreviated text will be different from one without abbreviations.
On the homogeneity of the text, there is little doubt that the text is not homogeneous.
Different statistics, based on all different available transcriptions confirm each other.
It is possible to identify blocks of homogeneous text.
On the level of difference between these blocks, people have different opinions.
The work of Prescott Currier on this topic is known by most people, and often quoted, but has to be 'enjoyed with care' (to use a Germanism). It is a mix of objective and subjective statements.