sh_ and ch_ compose the same words

[Torsten]

For comparison, I have also looked at the behaviour of qokeedy, which occurs 305 times in this pages (1.2% frequency). In this case, the differences are quite large, look for instance at the combination with ol, daiin, qokain, chey, or. 

Indeed, <chedy>/<shedy> occur frequently beside <qokeedy>/<qokedy>. The correlation between <chedy> and <qokeedy> is therefore even stronger as the correlation between <qokeedy> and <qokedy> or the correlation between <okeedy> and <okedy>.

Pearson's Correlation(chedy[501],  shedy[426]) : +0.84 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(qokeedy[305],chedy[501]) : +0.71 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(qokedy[272], shedy[426]) : +0.72 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(qokeedy[305],qokedy[272]): +0.66 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(qokeedy[305],okeedy[105]): +0.65 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(qokedy[272], okedy[118]) : +0.66 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(okeedy[105], okedy[118]) : +0.66 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(okeedy[105], chedy[501]) : +0.68 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(okedy[118],  shedy[426]) : +0.49 (n=225)
Pearson's Correlation(okeedy[105], okedy[118]) : +0.66 (n=225)

              okeedy  okedy  qokeedy  qokedy  chedy  shedy word count
              ------ ------ -------- ------- ------ ------ ----------
Herbal     (A)     1                              1             8,087
Pharma     (A)     1                       1      1      1      2,529
Astro              1      1                       4             2,136
Cosmo                     5        4       5     24     17      2,691
Herbal     (B)    13     25        9      39     62     35      3,233
Stars      (B)    48     33      137      61    190    113     10,673
Biological (B)    39     46      153     164    210    247      6,911

In general, one can observe that (in this set of data) qokeedy never follows -in, while chedy/shedy often do. 

Indeed, 'qo' is frequently following 'y'. This observation was already described by Currier in 1976: "'Words' ending in the y sort of symbol, which is very frequent, are followed about four times as often by 'words' beginning with qo. That is a fact, and it holds true throughout the entire twenty pages of 'Biological B'" (Currier 1976).

Given the Voynichese tendency to quasi-reduplication, it seems also interesting that chey never appears before chedy/shedy (while it is frequent before qokeedy).

Indeed <chey> never appears before <chedy> or <shedy>. But <chey> appears one time after <chedy> and four times after <shedy>.

There is also a sequence 'Shedy Shedy Shey Shedy' in line f76r.R.26 and a sequence 'Shey chedy qokedy chedy' in line 76v.P.41. <shey> not only appears once before <shedy> and once before <chedy> it also appears five times after <shedy>.

If Voynichese words are meaningful, it seems that chedy and shedy must have a closely related meaning/function, while qokeedy appears to be quite different. On the other hand, the differences can be largely explained by the general dislike of q-words to follow -in and the opposite preference of bench-words to do so.

<chedy>,<shedy>, <qokeedy>, <qokedy>, <okeedy>, and <okedy> appear together on the same pages. Therefore it would be problematic to argue, that the relation between <chedy> and <shedy> is different than the relation between <qokeedy> and <qokedy> or between <okeedy> and <okedy>. By arguing this way it would be therefore very hard to explain sequences like 'Shedy qokedy qokeedy qokeedy chedy' in line f84r.P.10.