Saturday, October 9, 2010

MGN

MGNBKWRTTNNLLCPSWTHNVWLSPNCTTNRSPCSTHTSTHHBRWBBL

(Translation: Imagine a book written in all caps with no vowels, punctiation, or spaces.  That is the Hebrew bible.)

Fortunately, modern Hebrew isn't nearly as incomprehensible.  Of course, the letters aren't Latin, and so I can't even represent them here, and the vowels aren't letters at all, but lines under the letters.  But there are only 22 letters, the pronunciation and spelling are consistent, and the root of most Hebrew words are 3 letters (not including the vowels), so it should be easy enough to learn.  Remember to read right to left, on the other hand...

Modern English is completely unrecognizable from Old English, and that was just 800 years ago.  Imagine how language changed over a 4,000 year period!  Coupled with such an enigmatic text, and you can understand why it is so open to interpretation.

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