Decipherment

Day 8: Review for Exam

Dr. Andrew M. Byrd

Getting Ready for Exam 1

Possible Prompts

Define the concepts mentioned in the prompt, and then provide an example (either real or made up) illustrating that concept.

Possible Prompts

  1. Ferdinand de Saussure: signifier vs. signified
  2. iconic vs. indexical vs. symbolic
  3. the Zodiac Killer & deciphering the Behistun inscription
  4. the differences between language and writing
  5. pictographs vs. logographs
  6. the five types of writing systems

Possible Prompts

  1. ciphers vs. codes
  2. caesar, homophonic, aristocrat ciphers
  3. decryption vs. decipherment
  4. the importance of frequency in decryption & decipherment
  5. phonemes, morphemes, allophones

Identifying the Writing System

Examine the following writing systems. Identify (i) the type of writing system and (ii) its linear orientation.

Language A

Text

ᒥᓯᐌ ᐃᓂᓂᐤ ᑎᐯᓂᒥᑎᓱᐎᓂᐠ ᐁᔑ ᓂᑕᐎᑭᐟ ᓀᐢᑕ ᐯᔭᑾᐣ ᑭᒋ ᐃᔑ ᑲᓇᐗᐸᒥᑯᐎᓯᐟ ᑭᐢᑌᓂᒥᑎᓱᐎᓂᐠ ᓀᐢᑕ ᒥᓂᑯᐎᓯᐎᓇ᙮ ᐁ ᐸᑭᑎᓇᒪᒋᐠ ᑲᑫᑕᐌᓂᑕᒧᐎᓂᓂᐤ ᓀᐢᑕ ᒥᑐᓀᓂᒋᑲᓂᓂᐤ ᓀᐢᑕ ᐎᒋᑴᓯᑐᐎᓂᐠ ᑭᒋ ᐃᔑ ᑲᓇᐗᐸᒥᑐᒋᐠ᙮

Transcription

Misiwe ininiw tipênimitisowinik êshi nitawikit nêsta pêyakwan kici ishi kanawapamikowisit kistênimitisowinik nêsta minikowisiwina. Ê pakitinamacik kakêtawenitamowininiw nêsta mitonênicikaniniw nêsta.

Language B

Text

Transcription

Motun inkanun thayenal ttaypwuthe cayulowumye ku conemkwa kwelliey isse tongtunghata. inkanun chenpwucekulo isengkwa yangsimul pwuyepatassumye selo hyengceyayuy cengsinulo hayngtonghayeya hanta.

Language C

Cracking a Ciphertext

Below is a message written using a Caesar cipher with a shift of +5. Decrypt the message and write the original plaintext word.

For reference: in a Caesar cipher with a +1 shift, A → B.

CIPHERTEXT: HNUMJWYJCY