A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich Manuscript
Hidden Markov models are a very useful tool in the modeling of time series and any sequence of data. In particular, they have been successfully applied to the field of mathematical linguistics. In this paper, we apply a hidden Markov model to analyze the underlying structure of an ancient and comple...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Mathematical and Computational Applications |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8747/24/1/14 |
| _version_ | 1811310676585480192 |
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| author | Luis Acedo |
| author_facet | Luis Acedo |
| author_sort | Luis Acedo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hidden Markov models are a very useful tool in the modeling of time series and any sequence of data. In particular, they have been successfully applied to the field of mathematical linguistics. In this paper, we apply a hidden Markov model to analyze the underlying structure of an ancient and complex manuscript, known as the Voynich manuscript, which remains undeciphered. By assuming a certain number of internal states representations for the symbols of the manuscripts, we train the network by means of the <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi>α</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi>β</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>-pass algorithms to optimize the model. By this procedure, we are able to obtain the so-called transition and observation matrices to compare with known languages concerning the frequency of consonant andvowel sounds. From this analysis, we conclude that transitions occur between the two states with similar frequencies to other languages. Moreover, the identification of the vowel and consonant sounds matches some previous tentative bottom-up approaches to decode the manuscript. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:04:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-73091d1f8e6c44ada4445cd988a1d60d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2297-8747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:04:16Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mathematical and Computational Applications |
| spelling | doaj.art-73091d1f8e6c44ada4445cd988a1d60d2022-12-22T02:51:10ZengMDPI AGMathematical and Computational Applications2297-87472019-01-012411410.3390/mca24010014mca24010014A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich ManuscriptLuis Acedo0Instituto Universitario de Matemática Multidisciplinar, Building 8G, 2o Floor, Camino de Vera, Universitat Polite`cnica de Vale`ncia, 46022, Valencia, SpainHidden Markov models are a very useful tool in the modeling of time series and any sequence of data. In particular, they have been successfully applied to the field of mathematical linguistics. In this paper, we apply a hidden Markov model to analyze the underlying structure of an ancient and complex manuscript, known as the Voynich manuscript, which remains undeciphered. By assuming a certain number of internal states representations for the symbols of the manuscripts, we train the network by means of the <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi>α</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi>β</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>-pass algorithms to optimize the model. By this procedure, we are able to obtain the so-called transition and observation matrices to compare with known languages concerning the frequency of consonant andvowel sounds. From this analysis, we conclude that transitions occur between the two states with similar frequencies to other languages. Moreover, the identification of the vowel and consonant sounds matches some previous tentative bottom-up approaches to decode the manuscript.https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8747/24/1/14Hidden Markov modelsmathematical linguisticsVoynich Manuscript |
| spellingShingle | Luis Acedo A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich Manuscript Mathematical and Computational Applications Hidden Markov models mathematical linguistics Voynich Manuscript |
| title | A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich Manuscript |
| title_full | A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich Manuscript |
| title_fullStr | A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich Manuscript |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich Manuscript |
| title_short | A Hidden Markov Model for the Linguistic Analysis of the Voynich Manuscript |
| title_sort | hidden markov model for the linguistic analysis of the voynich manuscript |
| topic | Hidden Markov models mathematical linguistics Voynich Manuscript |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8747/24/1/14 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT luisacedo ahiddenmarkovmodelforthelinguisticanalysisofthevoynichmanuscript AT luisacedo hiddenmarkovmodelforthelinguisticanalysisofthevoynichmanuscript |