The 'Chinese' Theory: For and Against

[ReneZ]

Yes, that "5 EVA for 1 hanzi" is only average. I didn't try to measure the standard deviation yet.  

I did not compute it either, but looking at Pinyin text with numerical tone markers (as you showed), it is clear that the vast majority will be in the range of 3-6 characters.

In your original (1990's) word length analysis you compared Voynichese with Vietnamese, which is a different story again.

On the dictation side, unfortunately (for both 'sides') it seems impossible to guess how someone - a European - would have interpreted the sounds of Chinese.
Just as a modern example, it is remarkable (to me) how much trouble Chinese people have in pronouncing Thai, even though both languages seem to have largely the same inventory. And this problem begins with hearing.