THE INDUS SCRIPT: Recognition as an alphabet (original) (raw)
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Statistical analysis of the Indus script using nnn-grams
Computing Research Repository, 2009
The Indus script is one of the major undeciphered scripts of the ancient world. The small size of the corpus, the absence of bilingual texts, and the lack of definite knowledge of the underlying language has frustrated efforts at decipherment since the discovery of the remains of the Indus civilisation. Recently, some researchers have questioned the premise that the Indus script encodes spoken language. Building on previous statistical approaches, we apply the tools of statistical language processing, specifically nnn-gram Markov chains, to analyse the Indus script for syntax. Our main results are that the script has well-defined signs which begin and end texts, that there is directionality and strong correlations in the sign order, and that there are groups of signs which appear to have identical syntactic function. All these require no {\it a priori} suppositions regarding the syntactic or semantic content of the signs, but follow directly from the statistical analysis. Using information theoretic measures, we find the information in the script to be intermediate between that of a completely random and a completely fixed ordering of signs. Our study reveals that the Indus script is a structured sign system showing features of a formal language, but, at present, cannot conclusively establish that it encodes {\it natural} language. Our nnn-gram Markov model is useful for predicting signs which are missing or illegible in a corpus of Indus texts. This work forms the basis for the development of a stochastic grammar which can be used to explore the syntax of the Indus script in greater detail.
Indian Lexicon is used to solve problems in deciphering Indus Script
The problems are solved by positing that 1) deśībhāṣā ‘guild-speech’ of artisans is Meluhha mentioned in Shu-ilishu cylinder seal; and 2) the sprachbund ‘language union’ lexicons of languages of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization region provide graphemes which constitute trade glossary of deśībhāṣā aka Meluhha. Thus, the first step was to compile Indian Lexicon of 25+ ancient languages of Bharat categorized in 8000 semantic clusters including flora and fauna categories – e.g. tree, ficus, elephant, tiger etc. --which seem to be the models used for ‘symbols’ of the script – categories of both field symbols and signs. URL for Indian Lexicon: https://tinyurl.com/3kapbek8 Lexemes of Indian Lexicon are used to assign Meluhha sound (speech) values to each symbol. Arjun Sengupta in his article dated Jan. 7, 2025 presents a lucid summary of the approach suggested by Fabio Tamburini (2023): “To decipher a script, the following subproblems have to be solved in order— – Deciding if a set of symbols actually represent a writing system; – Devising appropriate procedures to isolate or segment the stream of symbols into a sequence of single signs; –Reducing the set of signs to the minimal set for the writing system forming (its alphabet, syllabary, or inventory of signs) by identifying all allographs (the same sign written in a variant form, for example a printed ‘a’ and a cursive ‘a’); –Assigning to each symbol their specified value, whether phonetic or otherwise; –Trying to match these values to a specific language... Of these, the third category is the most challenging to decipher as they provide scholars with the least number of points of reference to go by. The Indus script falls in this category. Although scholars have variously postulated the script representing different languages, there is no clinching evidence to seal the debate. Without knowing what language the script represented, scholars have struggled to allocate phonetic sounds to the script’s symbols.”
A cryptanalytic decipherment of the Indus Script
Indus inscriptions hold the key to unlocking the history of pre-Iron Age India and all Indo-European peoples but remain undeciphered for over a century. All prior attempts have been partial, unsatisfactory and unfalsifiable. We decipher the Indus script by treating it as a large cryptogram as described by Claude Shannon. We decipher every sign sequentially using regular expressions and set-intersection. Indus script is discovered to be proto-abugida segmental with signs for consonants and vowels. Indus inscriptions are in grammatically correct post-Vedic Sanskrit. Variants of 76 allographs constitute most signs. Conjunct signs constitute the rest. Our decipherment can read every inscription and we translate 500+ inscriptions including the 50+ longest, 50+ shortest and 400+ medium-sized inscriptions including 100+ inscriptions with conjunct signs. We comfortably surpass Shannon’s criteria for a credible cryptogram decipherment. Brahmi glyphs are discovered to be standardized Indus signs. We find significant continuation of Indus linguistic features and cultural elements in post-bronze age India.
Abstract Deciphering Indus script was long a challenge for experts because of the complex structure of its clusters of signs, its inconspicuous traces in both past known scripts and scripts currently used in the Indian subcontinent, and the paradigms about potential Indus languages. Purpose of this study, is to extract the Indus letters from the common graphemes of synonymous words from different known Indian languages, depicting the pictographic signs present on Indus seals using the concept of the contemporary Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system. Furthermore, this study determined the reading sequence of the signs present in the clusters of the Indus seals. According to the findings, the language used by the Indus people is Proto-Pali, which uses an Abugida-type writing system with five vowels and eighteen consonants. Clusters of the signs are conjunct consonants or compound words that use diacritic syllables similar to the existing Indian subcontinent scripts. These findings will help reveal the previously occluded history of the Indus people and their historical relationship with existing Indian scripts, languages and culture.
Indus Valley Scripts As Composites
The Signs surrounding the larger Indus Valley Imagery are presently thought of as some kind of “Script.” At present, the Scripts have evaded all attempts to translate them. This paper is an attempt to apply, the presently known, rules of ancient depicted sign language to interpret the Script. The results of this exploration show some promising avenues for further research. It is strongly advised that those new to the concept of depicted sign language read the paper: https://www.academia.edu/33253716/Depicted\_Sign\_Language\_An\_Ancient\_System\_of\_Communication for helpful background information on the depicted signing system.
The Alphabet of Sindhu Prakrit (The decipherment of the Indus Script)
2022
The principal aspect of the paper is the structural analysis of the signs of the Indus script and comparison with archaic scripts. The outcomes are not based on surmise, but have been established on logic. The paper encompasses approximately all more than 400 signs of Indus script rather than any section of selected signs or texts. It justifies each sign and classifies vowels, diphthongs, consonants, dual consonants, aspirates, combined consonants and ligatures. It convincingly identifies the uniform procedure of diacritical marks, diphthongs, dual consonants, and aspirates in the alphabet. It also recognizes the writing styles of combining consonants. Some vowel and consonant signs are elaborated meticulously in the context of the Indus Texts. The context verifies the Indus Texts as an earlier documentation of Rig-Veda, and links up the sequence of opaque and lost history. Hence the language of Indus seals, Sindhu Prakrit possessed a completely phonetic alphabet/ script with consonants, aspirated consonants, vowels diphthongs implosive and dual sounds. It was made scientifically the extraction of signs is based on phonological classification and methodical logic, it appears more perfect than even modern scripts. However the decipherment of the Indus script as an alphabet is an innovative idea and definitely it will provoke the scholars to verify the results, any scholar in the field can apply the alphabet for the readings of Indus texts. The Paper unveils the long-lasted mystery and enigma of the Indus civilization and sums up the debate about human history and its origins.
2010
The script of the ancient Indus civilization remains undeciphered. The hypothesis that the script encodes language has recently been questioned. Here we present evidence for the linguistic hypothesis by showing that the script’s conditional entropy is closer to those of natural languages than various types of nonlinguistic systems. The Indus civilization flourished ~2600 to 1900 before the common era in what is now eastern Pakistan and northwestern India (1). No historical information exists about the civilization, but archaeologists have uncovered samples of their writing on stamp seals, sealings, amulets, and small tablets. The script on these objects remains undeciphered, despite a number of attempts and claimed decipherments (2). A recent article (3) questioned the assumption that the script encoded language, suggesting instead that it might have been a nonlinguistic symbol system akin to the Vinča inscriptions of southeastern Europe and Near Eastern emblem systems. We compared ...
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF INDUS SCRIPT 1 Statistical analysis of the Indus script using n-grams
2012
Abstract—The Indus script is one of the major undeciphered scripts of the ancient world. The small size of the corpus, the absence of bilingual texts, and the lack of definite knowledge of the underlying language has frustrated efforts at decipherment since the discovery of the remains of the Indus civilisation. Recently, some researchers have questioned the premise that the Indus script encodes spoken language. Building on previous statistical approaches, we apply the tools of statistical language processing, specifically n-gram Markov chains, to analyse the Indus script for syntax. Our main results are that the script has well-defined signs which begin and end texts, that there is directionality and strong correlations in the sign order, and that there are groups of signs which appear to have identical syntactic function. All these require no a priori suppositions regarding the syntactic or semantic content of the signs, but follow directly from the statistical analysis. Using inf...