In philology and linguistics, decipherment is the discovery of the meaning of the symbols found in extinct languages and/or alphabets.
[4] Decipherment should not be confused with cryptanalysis, which aims to decipher special written codes or ciphers used in intentionally concealed secret communication (especially during war).
In principle, multilingual text may be insufficient for a decipherment as translation is not a linear and reversible process, but instead represents an encoding of the message in a different symbolic system.
), and the determination of whether individual words are properly segmented when the alphabet is written (such as with the use of a space or a different special mark) or not.
For example, if the last line of a text has a small number, it can be reasonably guessed to be referring to the date, where one of the words means "year" and, sometimes, a royal name also appears.
After one has exhausted the information that can be inferentially derived from probable content, they must transition to the systematic application of statistical tools.
Proof-of-concept methods have independently re-deciphered Ugaritic and Linear B using data from similar languages, in this case Hebrew and Ancient Greek.
[9] For example, analysis of poetry focuses on the use of wordplay or literary techniques between words that have a similar sound.
Another common source of information on pronunciation is when earlier texts use rhyme, such as when consecutive lines in poetry end in the similar or the same sound.
In the short time more flat, and a kin to u; as còsen, dòsen, mòther, bròther, lòve, pròve".
[11] Unlike in language decipherment, however, actors using ciphertext intentionally lay obstacles to prevent outsiders from uncovering the meaning of the communication system.
In 1754, Swinton and Barthélemy independently deciphered the Aramaic script as represented in Palmyrene inscriptions from the 3rd century AD.