RE: Sequential word repetitions in the VMS
mscheo > 28-03-2021, 04:47 AM
Well, I've just finished my first round transcription of the VMS, with many "a/o" and "r/s" marked in red. (Gosh, some of them are really difficult to differentiate.) And whenever I hit a group of duplicates, triplicates or even quadruplicates vords, I marked them in green and wondered - what words could they be?
Duplicates are easier to explain. Besides the is-is, that-that, so-so, it also happens whenever a word (particularly a noun) ends a sentence and starts a new one, like "It has to be You/Elephants. Elephants/You are the greatest."
And it is even easier in Chinese. Here is a quadruplicate:
Chinese : 虽 然 排 列 与 组 合 有 千 千 万 万 , 万 万 不 可 灰 心 。
Pin-yin: Suī rán pái liè yǔ zǔ hé yǒu qiān qiān wàn wàn, wàn wàn bù kě huī xīn.
Meaning: Although the permutations and combinations are numerous, don't ever get discouraged.
Word for word translation would appear meaningless in colloquial English, especially for the last phrase:
万[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]万[/font]=Ten-thousand Ten-thousand, 不可=No Can, 灰=Gray or Ash, 心=Heart.
But from the idiomatic usage of those words in Chinese, it means "Don't ever get discouraged".
The first pair of "wàn wàn" has sort of a numeral indication. But the 2nd "wàn wàn" pair has a connotation of "in any (whatever) situation", that is, the same word-pair and yet, they carry different meaning, though both doubling denotes intensity. If I remove the doublings on the first phrase to 虽然排列与组合有千万,万万不可灰心, the 'intensity' of the probability is reduced from "numerous" to "many". And I got a triple "wàn" in series.
Chinese phrases have many of these duplicates as a form of emphasis or intensity (which can have an increasing or decreasing effect):
请老老实实的告诉我。 (Qǐng lǎo lǎo shí shí de gào sù wǒ)
Meaning: Please tell me HONESTLY. ("老老实实" literally translated means "old-old real-real".)
请一五一十的告诉我。 (Qǐng yī wǔ yī shí de gào sù wǒ) The 'duplicate' occurs after one word, which VMS has several of them too.)
Meaning: Please tell me EVERYTHING. ("一五一十" literally translated means "one-five-one-ten".)
Also, like the English language, Chinese has its share of archaic words that once were meaningful, but now, if translated literally, might have a 'not-so-obvious' meaning or might sound ridiculous.
Like "我马上来" (wǒ mǎ shàng lái). Word-for-word translation is "I Horse Up Come." It once meant "I [will] get up on a horse and come [over]" as centuries and millennia ago, traveling on a horse was the fastest means of transport. The phrase is still in common use, but in today's usage, "马上" now means "asap/now/immediately". How about "马马虎虎" (mǎ mǎ hǔ hǔ = Horse-Horse-Tiger-Tiger)? It means 'so-so', 'passable', 'casual'.
Similarly, I believe Voynichese will have its fair share of (ancient) idioms/figure of speech/metaphor/hyperbole. Unless a Rosetta Stone with Vords is discovered, I doubt the VMS could be decoded fully by one person. Instead, through the works of many, it would come in fragments, dozens of words here and there, then hundreds and then thousands, over the course of time, by different folks. So, along the course of your work, you might have translated/substituted/decoded some vords that seem strange or out of place. Don't discarded them yet. Those vords could be figure of speech or hyperbole that need to be understood in their proper context. Share them here and let everyone tinker on them.
Also, it would be helpful to find out what are the common figure of speech/metaphor/hyperbole used in botany/herbal/medical/astrology in the 14th/15th century Latin world. Any one got any to share?
And so, to all who's still greasing their elbows on the VMS, hang in there, and break a leg.