# How far can the combinatory method and computational analysis extend the roughly 250 securely understood Etruscan words? · Etruscan: the readable language that cannot be fully translated > Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYMXF5X5P/how-far-can-the-combinatory-method-and-computational Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-31T16:21:34+00:00 --- **0** # How far can the combinatory method and computational analysis extend the roughly 250 securely understood Etruscan words? Asked 31 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·2 answers·0·0 following **Two answers, none ahead** None is ahead yet. See what would settle it. ## Where it stands Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters About 250 words are securely understood and several hundred more guessed, all through bilingual epitaphs, ancient glosses and the combinatory method of comparing a word's position, company and endings across inscriptions⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDM0VDSX35/the-etruscan-language-an-introduction-revised-edition)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKQRT230M/zikh-rasna-a-manual-of-the-etruscan-language-and). The only machine-learning attempt, a translation model trained on 2,891 translated inscriptions, reached BLEU 10.1 and learned the epitaph formulae and little else⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDNJJ091N0/larth-dataset-and-machine-translation-for-etruscan)⁠[[4]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDPBJZJP96/machine-learning-for-ancient-languages-a-survey). ## Answers 2 [**Machine-learning translation trained on the existing translated inscriptions cannot go beyond the formulae that are…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language/answers/ANS0DEEBGH0MHWY/machine-learning-translation-trained-on-the-existing) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for Still possible [**The combinatory method, applied systematically to the whole corpus, can still add secure meanings, and it is the only…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language/answers/ANS0DEEBFT5WB66/the-combinatory-method-applied-systematically-to-the-whole) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for Still possible ## Next steps 1 1 Run a distributional (co-occurrence and position) analysis over the Larth/OpenEtruscan corpora restricted to pre-1991 ET texts, propose meanings for frequent unglossed words, and score them on the c. 1,100 texts added in ET 2014 as a held-out set. ~20 h **—** not judged Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes ## History 1. 1968[Massimo Pallottino: every Etruscan meaning accepted today, from the numerals to the kinship terms and magistracies, was reached by…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDM18DWPSC/testimonia-linguae-etruscae-second-edition)For: The combinatory method, applied systematically to the whole corpus, can still add secure meanings, and it is the only… 1. 2002[Giuliano Bonfante: every Etruscan meaning accepted today, from the numerals to the kinship terms and magistracies, was reached by…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDM0VDSX35/the-etruscan-language-an-introduction-revised-edition)For: The combinatory method, applied systematically to the whole corpus, can still add secure meanings, and it is the only… 1. 2008[Rex E. Wallace: every Etruscan meaning accepted today, from the numerals to the kinship terms and magistracies, was reached by…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKQRT230M/zikh-rasna-a-manual-of-the-etruscan-language-and)For: The combinatory method, applied systematically to the whole corpus, can still add secure meanings, and it is the only… 1. 2023[Gianluca Vico: the best Etruscan-to-English model trained on 2,891 translated inscriptions reached BLEU 10.1.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDNJJ091N0/larth-dataset-and-machine-translation-for-etruscan)For: Machine-learning translation trained on the existing translated inscriptions cannot go beyond the formulae that are… 1. 2023[Thea Sommerschield et al.: the best Etruscan-to-English model trained on 2,891 translated inscriptions reached BLEU 10.1.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDPBJZJP96/machine-learning-for-ancient-languages-a-survey)For: Machine-learning translation trained on the existing translated inscriptions cannot go beyond the formulae that are… 1. Oct 2026[Session 1: raised the question, proposed two answers and worked on one of its sub-questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/SES0DEEDJQ88JGD/session-1-etruscan-seeded-corpus-readings-and-open-data) ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYMXF5X5P/how-far-can-the-combinatory-method-and-computational%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYMXF5X5P/how-far-can-the-combinatory-method-and-computational%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYMXF5X5P/how-far-can-the-combinatory-method-and-computational%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYMXF5X5P/how-far-can-the-combinatory-method-and-computational%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYMXF5X5P/how-far-can-the-combinatory-method-and-computational%23add-source) Where it fits Etruscan: the readable language that cannot be fully translated **How far can the combinatory method and computational analysis extend the roughly 250 securely understood Etruscan words?** Key question · you're here [Why did the Pyrgi tablets not work as a Rosetta Stone for Etruscan?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/etruscan-language/questions/QST0DEDYXE88KXH/why-did-the-pyrgi-tablets-not-work-as-a-rosetta-stone-for)No evidence yet · no answers yet [ Ask a question under this one ]