Vreleksá

Serali · Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 8:11 pm Post subject: Altscripts/Codes and Ciphers

Post your altscripts and codes and ciphers here! Looking forward to seeing them. Here's some of mine:

The script was based on a script found on Omniglot that's also used to write English. That whole book is written in it! No diacritics are used in this one.
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Tobo deu ne lenito sugu? - You kissed a frog?!

eldin raigmore · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 4:01 pm Post subject:

Please define altscripts, codes, and ciphers?

"Codes" and "Ciphers" already had meaning before Okrand, and before Tolkien, though possibly not before Hildegard.

A "Cipher" is another way of writing your language (so the enemy can't read it, or, just to save money on telephone/telegraph/bandwidth);

a "Code" is another language (a conlang your enemy won't know, or, again, to save money on telephony/telegraphy/bandwidth).

To me, an "altscript" sounds like a new way of writing an existing natlang, not using the characters from any existing "natscript". It differs from a "cipher" in that (1) ciphers usually use the existing characters, just with different assignments in meaning, and (2) ciphers are often transpositional ciphers or digraph-substitution ciphers or other things that are difficult to decipher without a key.

"Codes" are different from other conlangs -- for instance, from artlangs -- in that (1) artistic merit is usually no part of their design goals (2) they aren't meant to be "logical" or "philosophical" (3) frequently they are not meant to discuss absolutely everything an ordinary language would discuss, but rather only some broad field, such as commerce or diplomacy or military affairs (4) they usually are just re-lexes, especially with nouns replaced, especially with proper-nouns replaced; parts-of-speech other than nouns, verbs, and adjectives are often just left as-is or else omitted entirely.

Frequently a message will be encoded from clearspeech, then this coded version will be enciphered. The encipherment also is often a two-step process, first a substitution cipher then a transposition cipher (or the other way 'round).

Did I understand right what you meant by "altscript"? Did you understand what I meant by "code" and "cipher"?

Will people really want to publish any codes or ciphers whose purpose is to be unreadable by anyone but the intended addressee? Codes or ciphers whose purpose is to be compact, would be more likely to be published, I would guess; the secret-writing sort would be for use between fictional characters, or, would be reminiscing about schooldays, or something.

Serali · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 6:21 pm Post subject:

Ok to help you understand codes and ciphers better:

www.42explore2.com/codes.htm

I'll find more but that's the basic info. And there are also phonectic writing systems for English and other languages on www.omniglot.com so that should help you too and then you should know that Google is your friend.
_________________

Tobo deu ne lenito sugu? - You kissed a frog?!

StrangeMagic · Admin Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 640

Well to me:

Altscripts: is an alternative script to a natlang/conlang
Ciphers/Codes: are the same and are only a different way to write a natlang
Conscripts: is the specific way to write a conlang

These are all my opinions.

Serali · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 8:46 pm Post subject:

Fun Fact: Altscripts are scripts that are made to write natural languages according to Omniglot.
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Tobo deu ne lenito sugu? - You kissed a frog?!

eldin raigmore · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 11:33 pm Post subject:

Serali · Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 6:11 pm Post subject:

Your Welcome! Also if you're interested Omniglot has a forum. I'm a member!
_________________

Tobo deu ne lenito sugu? - You kissed a frog?!