VMs: Re: Question from a newbie

[Jacques Guy <jguy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

24/09/02 11:18:18, Dennis <tsalagi@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

>	Welcome!
...
>	I don't recall anyone's suggesting that [a syllabary].  
> The Voynich
> alphabet, as we've
> understood it, we think has about 23 'real' characters,
> plus ligature forms, rare
> characters, etc.  That would be too few for a
> syllabary.  

It might, only just might do, for Piraha, an Amazonian language 
with 7 consonants and 3 vowels, ignoring its two tones, and
breaking up its consonant clusters, Linear-B style. (Jorge,
they're your next-door neighbours, how about... oh, just
pulling your leg).

It couldn't do for Rotokas, because its 6 consonants and
5 vowels make 35 different syllables, even though Rotokas
has no consonant clusters.

You have to turn to artificial languages, and even among
those, I see only Solresol which would easily be accomodated
(but Solresol was invented long after the VMs was written).
There is also Zikamu. But I invented it, and I swear,
solemnly swear under penalty of perjury, that I did not
write the VMs! Someone else must have done it, guv!