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<blockquote type=cite cite>I am forwarding comments from Predrag Matejic,
curator of OSU's Hilandar Research Library, with his disclaimer that
"it's just [his] gut reaction after a quick read of the
discussion" and my disclaimer that I was the ignorant one who
attempted to present the discussion to him in the first place, forwarding
Joseph Ross's suggestions. <br>
<br>
Beth<blockquote type=cite cite><blockquote type=cite cite><blockquote type=cite cite><blockquote type=cite cite>
<dl>
<dd><x-tab> </x-tab>As far
as I can tell, two different resolutions were offered for representing
the "number" found in early printing (and yes, in most Slavic
manuscripts well into the 19th century), when the original
"number" could not be represented. In this case, they are
discussing cultures where letters of the alphabet were used also to
represent numbers. The resolutions for the three scripts/cultures used as
examples -- Hebrew, Greek, Cyrillic -- were not always the same in those
situations where it was not possible to actually represent the
script.<br>
<br>
<dd><x-tab> </x-tab>I
agree that the same principle should always be used, and think it is
logical to use the proper LC transliteration (this transliteration is a
standard with which most are familiar). He is also correct in that simply
representing the grapheme-numeral with its Arabic numeral equivalent is
not really a good solution. Using the "name" of the grapheme
(in these cultures the letters have names, i.e., in Greek, alpha, beta,
gamma, etc.) because sometimes there is insufficient awareness on the
part of users as to the names of these characters. In some cases, the
numerical value of the grapheme changes (the "a" in Cyrillic
can be "1" or "1000"). The Cyrillic uses two
different graphemes of "i." In one case, the grapheme
represents "10," and the other grapheme represents
"8." In later manuscripts, I have observed the scribe
incorrectly writing the teens, because the scribe has conflated the two
graphemes and is using the "8-character" for the
"10-character."<br>
<br>
<dd><x-tab> </x-tab>In
general, I agree with the statements he gave below.<br>
<br>
<dd><x-tab> </x-tab>I'm
not sure how much that clarified for you...<br>
<br>
<dd>Pred
</dl></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><br>
<div>----------------------</div>
<div>Beth M. Russell</div>
<div>Head, Special Collections Cataloging</div>
<div>Assistant Professor</div>
<div>The Ohio State University Libraries</div>
<div>1858 Neil Avenue Mall</div>
<div>Columbus OH 43210-1286</div>
<div>614-247-7463</div>
<div>FAX 614-292-2015</div>
<div>russell.363@osu.edu</div>
<div>----------------------</div>
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