Ruby's Greek Thread

[Ruby Novacna]

I just learned from Deffner's book on the grammar of the Tsakonian dialect that ph Tsakonian sometimes replaces Greek σπ, μπ, μφ and π.

I'd have to revise my list of words containing pch EVA, especially the words I couldn't find in the Greek dictionary.

[Ruby Novacna]

If daiin and aiin are των and ων respectively, what do the others stand for?

My next step :
As the You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. can transcribe the Greek word τειν – dative of singular pronoun συ – you, thou.

[radapox]

Your observations seem to be based on the notion that the letters are to be read exactly as they are transliterated in EVA. But there is no reason to assume that this is indeed the case. I'm sure you are aware that EVA was made purely to convert Voynichese script to something roughly pronounceable, loosely based on what the letter shapes remind us of in Latin? The script could have equally well decided to transliterate "aiin" as "ouv" or similar. I wouldn't base any far-fetched conclusions on similarities between Greek and what a certain transliteration system happens to have chosen as its letters.

[Ruby Novacna]

I wouldn't base any far-fetched conclusions on similarities between Greek and what a certain transliteration system happens to have chosen as its letters.

Of course, Radapox, we all have free will.

...the letters are to be read exactly as they are transliterated in EVA. But there is no reason to assume that this is indeed the case.

Is there any reason to assume that this is not the case?

[radapox]

...the letters are to be read exactly as they are transliterated in EVA. But there is no reason to assume that this is indeed the case.

Is there any reason to assume that this is not the case?

I'd say it's simply a matter of chance. What are the odds that of the gazillions of possible letter mappings (disregarding the question whether it's a one-to-one letter mapping in the first place), EVA happens to be the one that gets its exactly right? Even if there is a partial correspondence between some Voynich and Latin letter shapes, many of them hardly resemble their EVA counterpart at all (e.g. f, h, j, k, m, n, t, u, x, z), so the makers of EVA could have easily chosen to assign those letters in a completely different way. And what are we to make of the many rare Voynich shapes, compound ones, etc.?

[Ruby Novacna]

so the makers of EVA could have easily chosen to assign those letters in a completely different way

Precisely, Radapox, there is nothing to stop you from assigning to the letters EVA the value you want.

[Ruby Novacna]

If in our manuscript at least part of the text is written in ancient Greek, as I expect, we should be able to distinguish the present participle from the declined noun.
For example, is the word You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., which I believe transcribes the word πολων, the participle of the verb πολεω or the declined noun πολος?

If you have some knowledge of ancient Greek, what do you think?

[Helmut Winkler]

Well. I think it is not possible without context

Just as a side remark: I don't think there is  Greek text

[Ruby Novacna]

I think it is not possible without context

Thank you, Helmut, although it is rather discouraging, this similarity between the participle and the noun slows down the understanding of the text.

I don't think there is  Greek text

I know it well, it's my own hobbyhorse.

[Ruby Novacna]

Two other infinitives: olkain and fdykain:

• ·        olkain (33) – anain – ανειν, inf. of ανω –, to bring to term ;
  
• ·        fdykain (1) - ft9nain - φθινειν, inf. of φθτιω – to perish, to end.