VMs: glyphs vs. characters

["GC" <glenclaston@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Rene,

I have no problem with using either "glyph" or "character" as a descriptive
for VMS symbols.  To me it's simply a matter of perspective.  Before
computer fonts or typefaces, "character" was the standard definition of
letters in a characterset.  With computers however, each font has a
standardized characterset, but the letters in that font vary in shape and
design from other fonts.  These letters are now referred to as "glyphs", and
the totality of glyphs in a characterset are now referred to as a
"glyphset".

I settled on the term "glyph" because for me it is far more descriptive and
less confusing than the use of "letter" or "character", which, depending on
the context, has different meanings to different people. When I say "glyph"
I am referring to the specific form or shape.  I'm not attempting to define
the "alphabet" of the VMS when I say "glyph", and I'm not attempting to set
parameters on what constitutes a "character" (those determinations I make
through interpretation and analysis, apart from the glyphset, as does
everyone else).  I'm attempting to represent what I see written on the page
as closely as possible.  There are instances where Currier's c2 is fully
connected, and as much as I think this is not the case in actuality, it
certainly is the case visually, so I have a glyph for c2 as a connected
unit, without filtering what I see on the page in these instances.  In a
case such as this, calling c2 a "character" would for me be inappropriate,
but I can certainly refer to this structure as a "glyph" and not be
misconstrued.

If the VMS had a well defined "alphabet", then referring to these forms as
"characters" would seem more appropriate than calling them "glyphs", but for
every well defined "character" there is at least one variant that must be
recorded, and usually a lot more. By this logic, a computer transcription or
font representation of the VMS is more appropriately composed of glyphs and
a glyphset, represented through the ANSI digital characterset.  But if
somebody says "character" or letter instead of "glyph", I doubt the meaning
will be lost in the translation.

GC


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-vms-list@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-vms-list@xxxxxxxxxxx]On
> Behalf Of Rene Zandbergen
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 5:02 AM
> To: vms-list@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: VMs: F1r.p1
>
>
>
> --- Jeff <jeff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> [...]
> > The onerous task is to find the
> > right order for both the
> > alphabet table and the glyph order. Would anyone
> > like to help?
>
> One piece of advice: you're using the Eva
> transcription alphabet, which is a method for
> representing the writing on the Voynich MS in
> a simple electronic form. It does however not
> tell you which combinations of characters are
> actually single letters in the Voynich MS.
> For example, a democratic procedure (have
> the members of the mailing list vote) would
> tell you that the combinations 'ch', 'sh',
> 'in' and 'iin' are most probably single letters
> (OK: glyphs).
> A similar vote on 'ckh' and 'cth' might not give
> such a clear answer.
> Defining the proper alphabet of the language
> of the Voynich MS is an equally important task.
>
> Cheers, Rene
>
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