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Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

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Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#71

Post by statstutor »

BlueGh0st wrote: post #8
ghayes wrote: post #3

Here are the direct links to the not very high resolution photographs from the article: [0] https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/WNEP/images/323b9a63-45... [1] https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/WNEP/images/bdb99b5f-a4...

Do these photos and the way they were shown in the news not look upside down to anyone else?

In both cases, the left-hand side looks upside-down but the right-hand side looks right-way-up, as if the writer has rotated the page to always write on the right-hand page.

Seems likely they are right-handed, then (or, this comes from right-handed practices).

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#72

Post by schwartzworld »

mynegation wrote: post #5

Tai Le? [1] I honestly don’t know but I stuck some handwritten symbols into Shapecatcher [2] and this is my best guess. Other handwritten examples: https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script... My other guesses were Georgian, Armenian, or (though unlikely) cursive variant of aboriginal syllabics. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Le_script [2] https://shapecatcher.com/

Doesn't look anything like Armenian to me. Or Georgian (which looks like upside down Armenian)

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#73

Post by mc32 »

jozen wrote: post #37
BlueGh0st wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do these photos and the way they were shown in the news not look upside down to anyone else?

Personally I get the feeling that they took a picture from the wrong side. Rice paper is very thin but I could be wrong, just my intuition.

Agree. It merits being looks from the other side. The angle of writing seems to indicate the writing was on the other side, but looking at the document it should be clear which side has more ink.

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#74

Post by DanBC »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #69
Lammy wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am related to a left-hander who hates being a synonym for evildoing, so now it sticks out to me when people use it that way :p

...when do people use it that way? "Sinister" in English has just the one meaning; the sense of "left" is restricted to Latin. And even there, "left" is a pretty different concept from "left-handed". On a different note, French for left is "gauche".

A few different English dictionaries include "on the left" as a current definition for sinister.

From American Heritage Dictionary 4th Ed. (En-En)

> sinister

> sin·is·ter (sĭnʹĭ-stər)

> adj.

> 4. On the left side; left.

> From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate 11 (En-En)

> sinister

> a. : of, relating to, or situated to the left or on the left side of something; especially : being or relating to the side of a heraldic shield at the left of the person bearing it

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#75

Post by moocowtruck »

ghayes wrote: post #3

Here are the direct links to the not very high resolution photographs from the article: [0] https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/WNEP/images/323b9a63-45... [1] https://media.tegna-media.com/assets/WNEP/images/bdb99b5f-a4...

my apologies, this is the local news station where I live and they, like most things around here are behind the times hehe, it wouldn't dawn on them to get a really comprehensive and high rest images of something like this! Hell we've made shows like colbert multiple times to be made fun of :D

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#76

Post by qrbLPHiKpiux »

Lammy wrote: post #16
BlueGh0st wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do these photos and the way they were shown in the news not look upside down to anyone else?

Or written by a sinister person (not pejorative)

Trolling has been happening since the beginning of time.

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#77

Post by mynegation »

Kaibeezy wrote: post #68

(11:38 GMT) I'm filing a guess of a tourist copy of the stories of Amir Hamzah, in early 20th century handwritten Javanese. I believe the image needs to be rotated/flipped so the hole in the paper is in the top left quadrant. Will post a reference when I settle on one.

Can you read it? Definitely let them know - there is a news station email in the article.

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#79

Post by mahesh_rm »

Kaibeezy wrote: post #68

(11:38 GMT) I'm filing a guess of a tourist copy of the stories of Amir Hamzah, in early 20th century handwritten Javanese. I believe the image needs to be rotated/flipped so the hole in the paper is in the top left quadrant. Will post a reference when I settle on one.

Indeed, it looks similar: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stories_of_Amir_Hamz...

Re: Can You Identify This Mysterious Old Writing?

#80

Post by JasonFruit »

skrebbel wrote: post #59
bredren wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me of Deseret, the made up language by Brigham Young. It was part of early efforts to make learning Mormonism “easier” for immigrants. The alphabet failed to take on. Original copies of what was printed are rare. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_alphabet https://www.schilbantiquarian.com/product/1868-1ed-deseret-a...

Deseret isn't a language, it's a script for the English language. (Which, if I may be so rude, is an excellent idea because the English writing system is absolutely bonkers)

Okay, spelling is bats, sure, but what's wrong with the writing system? It seems to me to be about in the middle of the pack.
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