Pseudoword

From MysteryWiki

A pseudoword or non-word is a non-lexical vocable[1]. These "words" may be the result of random signal or the result of an underlying deterministic source.

History

Types

Many types of pseudowords exist, many of which are deterministic. These non-words can be utilized in various contexts, such as cryptographic analysis, historical linguistics, and morphophonemics.

Ciphers

Ciphers (or cyphers) are algorithms which are utilized to encrypt or decrypt messages. The generated ciphertext[2] (cyphertext) is the result of the encryption. This text will often contain many pseudowords as a result of the provided algorithm.

Ghost Words

Nonce Words

Nonsense Words

Typographical Errors

Typographical errors[3] (often shortened to typos) are mistakes in the typing process which may result in pseudowords (i.e. if there is a spelling mistake).

Notes

  1. A unit of speech, currently used for utterances which are not considered words.
  2. Not to be confused with codetext, which is the result of a code, not a cipher.
  3. Also known as misprints.

External Links

References

  • Groff, Patrick. “The Usefulness of Pseudowords.” The National Right to Read Foundation, The National Right to Read Foundation, Nov. 2003, www.nrrf.org/old/essay_pseudowords.html.
  • Simos, Panagiotis G., et al. “Brain Mechanisms for Reading Words and Pseudowords: an Integrated Approach.” Cerebral Cortex, vol. 12, no. 3, 1 Mar. 2002, pp. 297–305., doi:10.1093/cercor/12.3.297.