A possible way to break down Voynich text

[-JKP-]

For the record, in Latin, the m glyphs (there are actually three of them) represent ris (r+is), tis (t + is) and cis (c + is), with the loop and downstroke being the "-is" part.

I don't know what they mean in Voynichese, but it's clear that the scribe took the idea directly from Latin scribal abbreviations (this is one of the reasons why I say the Voynichese glyphs aren't really as exotic as they seem at first glance). Also, in Latin, they are almost always at the ends of words (there are a few exceptions, but not many), as they typically are in Voynichese...

So... either the m glyphs represent an abbreviated ending or... the shape has been co-opted to represent a sound... or the text is contrived to put them at the end (fake spaces after the glyphs) ... or... it's a bit of "misdirection" on the part of the scribe to make Voynichese superficially look like Latin.


Good luck with it, Tom.

Even if the glyph-landscape got a bit foggier, I agree in principle that looking at the elements that make up the text is a reasonable approach.