Please help translate this (Arabic?) inscription

laEspadaAncha · 22nd November 2010, 08:45 AM

I know the unspoken (and by "unspoken" I mean frequently spoken of) policy asking forumites to post photos of the entire piece... Well, I forgot. And I am not in possession of this knife, so I am unable to do so.

Nonetheless, I am hoping someone here can assist with this translation request. The knife in question is a short, stout, single-edged knife with what I would approximate to be a 3- 3 1/2 inch / 8 cm blade, with two, small fullers. The chiseled silver hilt and scabbard appeared Tibetan (or Bhutanese?), with a wound silver wire grip, not too dissimilar to this example shown here:

Here are the two photos of the inlaid inscription on the reverse of the blade:

This is the only marking on the blade... Is it a date? Is it Arabic?

I am truly regretful for not having the presence of mind to take a couple photos of the entire knife, but there is nothing I can do about it now, and it will be some time before I have a chance to see it again... Thank you in advance to anyone who can be of assistance.

Atlantia · 22nd November 2010, 12:59 PM

It's definately a Bhutan style, I must admit they tend to just be labeled 'Tibetan knife' over here.
The inscription is not arabic. Looks like Tibetan (Dzongkha (Bhutanese) It is a Sino-Tibetan language which is quite closely related to Tibetan and distantly related to Chinese) Have a look at this page for Tibetan numerals:

Tibetan numerals

The similarities are clear. I'm not sure if this is a date/numerals or words. But I think it is Tibetan/Bhutanese.

Edit: adding wiki quote: origin of Bhutanese.

Aleksey G. · 22nd November 2010, 03:30 PM

I definetely second the Bhutanese part. A good example of the bhutanese dagger with silver mounts. Sorry cant help on the translation. Sometimes these have very nice laminations in the blade. maybe you should try to work the blade a little, see if anything pops up.

laEspadaAncha · 22nd November 2010, 07:03 PM

Thank you both Gene & Aleksey. I gave those Tibetan numerals a look, but am unable to make heads or tails out of the inscription...

The one question I would have is the length of the inscription, which if indeed Tibetan would appear to short to translate to anything other than one or two numerals. The shape and general appearance of the characters do seem to bare resemblance to the script, but also look somewhat similar to the (is it Lepcha?) script for which a Tibetan translation is given at that link.

Either way, given the frequent appearance of archaic and/or colloquial scripts and/or dialects, I'm guessing a translation may be too much to hope for.

Dom · 23rd November 2010, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laEspadaAncha

Is it Arabic?

Hi
it's not Arabic ... at all

à +

Dom

laEspadaAncha · 23rd November 2010, 04:29 AM

Hi Dom,

Thank you anyway.

I don't think there is anyone here who can translate Sino-Tibetan languages, is there?

22nd November 2010, 08:45 AM	#1
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Please help translate this (Arabic?) inscription I know the unspoken (and by "unspoken" I mean frequently spoken of) policy asking forumites to post photos of the entire piece... Well, I forgot. And I am not in possession of this knife, so I am unable to do so. Nonetheless, I am hoping someone here can assist with this translation request. The knife in question is a short, stout, single-edged knife with what I would approximate to be a 3- 3 1/2 inch / 8 cm blade, with two, small fullers. The chiseled silver hilt and scabbard appeared Tibetan (or Bhutanese?), with a wound silver wire grip, not too dissimilar to this example shown here: Here are the two photos of the inlaid inscription on the reverse of the blade: This is the only marking on the blade... Is it a date? Is it Arabic? I am truly regretful for not having the presence of mind to take a couple photos of the entire knife, but there is nothing I can do about it now, and it will be some time before I have a chance to see it again... Thank you in advance to anyone who can be of assistance.

22nd November 2010, 12:59 PM	#2
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	It's definately a Bhutan style, I must admit they tend to just be labeled 'Tibetan knife' over here. The inscription is not arabic. Looks like Tibetan (Dzongkha (Bhutanese) It is a Sino-Tibetan language which is quite closely related to Tibetan and distantly related to Chinese) Have a look at this page for Tibetan numerals: Tibetan numerals The similarities are clear. I'm not sure if this is a date/numerals or words. But I think it is Tibetan/Bhutanese. Edit: adding wiki quote: origin of Bhutanese. Last edited by Atlantia; 22nd November 2010 at 01:11 PM.

22nd November 2010, 03:30 PM	#3
Aleksey G. Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 70	I definetely second the Bhutanese part. A good example of the bhutanese dagger with silver mounts. Sorry cant help on the translation. Sometimes these have very nice laminations in the blade. maybe you should try to work the blade a little, see if anything pops up.

22nd November 2010, 07:03 PM	#4
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Thank you both Gene & Aleksey. I gave those Tibetan numerals a look, but am unable to make heads or tails out of the inscription... The one question I would have is the length of the inscription, which if indeed Tibetan would appear to short to translate to anything other than one or two numerals. The shape and general appearance of the characters do seem to bare resemblance to the script, but also look somewhat similar to the (is it Lepcha?) script for which a Tibetan translation is given at that link. Either way, given the frequent appearance of archaic and/or colloquial scripts and/or dialects, I'm guessing a translation may be too much to hope for.

23rd November 2010, 04:29 AM	#6
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	Hi Dom, Thank you anyway. I don't think there is anyone here who can translate Sino-Tibetan languages, is there?