The Tocharian script,[7] also known as Central Asian slanting Gupta script or North Turkestan Brāhmī,[8] is an abugida which uses a system of diacritical marks to associate vowels with consonant symbols. Part of the Brahmic scripts, it is a version of the IndianBrahmi script. It is used to write the Central Asian Indo-European Tocharian languages, mostly from the 8th century (with a few earlier ones, probably as early as 300 CE)[9] that were written on palm leaves, wooden tablets and Chinese paper, preserved by the extremely dry climate of the Tarim Basin. Samples of the language have been discovered at sites in Kucha and Karasahr, including many mural inscriptions. Mistakenly identifying the speakers of this language with the Tokharoi people of Tokharistan (the Bactria of the Greeks), early authors called these languages "Tocharian". This naming has remained, although the names Agnean and Kuchean have been proposed as a replacement.[10][11]
Tocharian A and B are not mutually intelligible. Properly speaking, based on the tentative interpretation of twqry as related to Tokharoi, only Tocharian A may be referred to as Tocharian, while Tocharian B could be called Kuchean (its native name may have been kuśiññe), but since their grammars are usually treated together in scholarly works, the terms A and B have proven useful. A common Proto-Tocharian language must precede the attested languages by several centuries, probably dating to the 1st millennium BC. Given the small geographical range of and the lack of secular texts in Tocharian A, it might alternatively have been a liturgical language, the relationship between the two being similar to that between Classical Chinese and Mandarin. However, the lack of a secular corpus in Tocharian A is by no means definite, due to the fragmentary preservation of Tocharian texts in general.
The alphabet the Tocharians were using is derived from the Brahmi alphabetic syllabary (abugida) and is referred to as slanting Brahmi. It soon became apparent that a large proportion of the manuscripts were translations of known Buddhist works in Sanskrit and some of them were even bilingual, facilitating decipherment of the new language. Besides the Buddhist and Manichaean religious texts, there were also monastery correspondence and accounts, commercial documents, caravan permits, and medical and magical texts, and one love poem. Many Tocharians embraced Manichaean duality or Buddhism.
The Tocharian script probably died out after 840, when the Uyghurs were expelled from Mongolia by the Kyrgyz, retreating to the Tarim Basin. This theory is supported by the discovery of translations of Tocharian texts into Uyghur. During Uyghur rule, the peoples mixed with the Uyghurs to produce much of the modern population of what is now Xinjiang.
The Tocharian script is based on Brahmi, with each consonant having an inherent vowel, which can be altered by adding a vowel mark or removed by a special nullifying mark, the virama. Like Brahmi, Tocharian uses stacking for conjunct consonants and has irregular conjunct forms of , ra.[15] Unlike other Brahmi scripts, Tocharian has a second set of characters called Fremdzeichen that double up several of the standard consonants, but with an inherent "Ä" vowel.[16] The eleven Fremdzeichen are most often found as substitutes for the standard consonant+virama in conjuncts, but they can be found in any context other than with the explicit "Ä" vowel mark. Fremdzeichen as consonant+virama is not found in later Tocharian texts.
2nd-century CE Sanskrit, Kizil Caves. First line: "... [pa]kasah tasmad asma(d)vipaksapratipaksas..." . Spitzer, Manuscript folio 383 fragment.
Manuscripts in Sanskrit, using Middle Brahmi script and the Kushan period, and carbon dated to the 2nd century CE, have been discovered in the Tarim Basin, and particularly at Kizil. Some of the fragments, quite possibly the oldest Sanskrit manuscript of any type related to Buddhism and Hinduism discovered so far, were discovered in 1906 in the form of a pile of more than 1,000 palm leaf fragments in the Ming-oi, Kizil Caves, during the third Turfan expedition headed by Albert Grünwedel. The calibrated age of the manuscript by Carbon-14 technique is 130 CE (80–230 CE), corresponding to the rule of the Kushan king Kanishka.
^Härtel, Herbert; Yaldiz, Marianne; Kunst (Germany), Museum für Indische; N.Y.), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York (1982). Along the Ancient Silk Routes: Central Asian Art from the West Berlin State Museums : an Exhibition Lent by the Museum Für Indische Kunst, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 107. ISBN978-0-87099-300-8.
^Waugh (Historian, University of Washington), Daniel C. "MIA Berlin: Turfan Collection: Kizil". depts.washington.edu.
^Härtel, Herbert; Yaldiz, Marianne; Kunst (Germany), Museum für Indische; N.Y.), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York (1982). Along the Ancient Silk Routes: Central Asian Art from the West Berlin State Museums : an Exhibition Lent by the Museum Für Indische Kunst, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 107. ISBN978-0-87099-300-8.
^Le Coq, Albert von. Die Buddhistische Spätantike in Mittelasien : vol.5. p. 10.
^Earliest paintings from Kizil Caves with Tocharian inscriptions, now carbon dated to 245-340 CE, see Waugh (Historian, University of Washington), Daniel C. "MIA Berlin: Turfan Collection: Kizil". depts.washington.edu.
^Namba Walter, Mariko (October 1998). "Tokharian Buddhism in Kucha: Buddhism of Indo-European Centum Speakers in Chinese Turkestan before the 10th Century C.E." (PDF). Sino-Platonic Papers. 85: 2-4.
^Diringer, David (1948). Alphabet A Key To The History Of Mankind. pp. 347–348.
^"Fragments of the Tocharian", Andrew Leonard, How the World Works, Salon.com, January 29, 2008
^"Fragments of the Tocharian a Maitreyasamiti-Nataka of the Zinjiang Museum, China", Ji Xianlin, Werner Winter, Georges-Jean Pinault, Trends in Linguistics, Studies and Monographs
^Gippert, Jost. "Tocharian Brahmi Script". TITUS Didactica. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
^Wilson, Lee. "Proposal to Encode the Tocharian Script (in the Unicode Standard / ISO 10646)" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-06-09.
^Joshi, R. Malatesha; McBride, Catherine (11 June 2019). Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer. p. 27. ISBN978-3-030-05977-4.
^Diringer, David (1948). Alphabet A Key To The History Of Mankind. pp. 247–248.
External links
TITUS: Tocharian alphabets, conjugation tables, and manuscripts from the Berlin Turfan Collection
A Tocharian-to-English dictionary with nearly 200 words with accompanying article
Tocharian Online by Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum, University of Texas at Austin
Tocharian alphabet at Omniglot.com
Online: "A dictionary of Tocharian B". www.win.tue.nl., also in print: Adams, Douglas Q. (2013). A Dictionary of Tocharian B. Rodopi. ISBN978-90-420-3671-0.
February 04, 2023
tocharian, script, also, known, central, asian, slanting, gupta, script, north, turkestan, brāhmī, abugida, which, uses, system, diacritical, marks, associate, vowels, with, consonant, symbols, part, brahmic, scripts, version, indian, brahmi, script, used, wri. The Tocharian script 7 also known as Central Asian slanting Gupta script or North Turkestan Brahmi 8 is an abugida which uses a system of diacritical marks to associate vowels with consonant symbols Part of the Brahmic scripts it is a version of the Indian Brahmi script It is used to write the Central Asian Indo European Tocharian languages mostly from the 8th century with a few earlier ones probably as early as 300 CE 9 that were written on palm leaves wooden tablets and Chinese paper preserved by the extremely dry climate of the Tarim Basin Samples of the language have been discovered at sites in Kucha and Karasahr including many mural inscriptions Mistakenly identifying the speakers of this language with the Tokharoi people of Tokharistan the Bactria of the Greeks early authors called these languages Tocharian This naming has remained although the names Agnean and Kuchean have been proposed as a replacement 10 11 Tocharian scriptKizil Caves standing Buddha Often attributed in the past to the 7th century CE 1 but now carbon dated to 245 340 CE 2 Tocharian B inscription reading Se panakte saṅketavattse ṣarsa papaiykau This Buddha was painted by the hand of Sanketava 3 4 5 6 Script typeAbugidaTime period8th centuryLanguagesTocharian languagesRelated scriptsParent systemsProto Sinaitic alphabetPhoenician alphabetAramaic alphabetBrahmi scriptTocharian scriptSister systemsGupta Pallava This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters Sample of Tocharian script on a tablet Tocharian A and B are not mutually intelligible Properly speaking based on the tentative interpretation of twqry as related to Tokharoi only Tocharian A may be referred to as Tocharian while Tocharian B could be called Kuchean its native name may have been kusinne but since their grammars are usually treated together in scholarly works the terms A and B have proven useful A common Proto Tocharian language must precede the attested languages by several centuries probably dating to the 1st millennium BC Given the small geographical range of and the lack of secular texts in Tocharian A it might alternatively have been a liturgical language the relationship between the two being similar to that between Classical Chinese and Mandarin However the lack of a secular corpus in Tocharian A is by no means definite due to the fragmentary preservation of Tocharian texts in general The alphabet the Tocharians were using is derived from the Brahmi alphabetic syllabary abugida and is referred to as slanting Brahmi It soon became apparent that a large proportion of the manuscripts were translations of known Buddhist works in Sanskrit and some of them were even bilingual facilitating decipherment of the new language Besides the Buddhist and Manichaean religious texts there were also monastery correspondence and accounts commercial documents caravan permits and medical and magical texts and one love poem Many Tocharians embraced Manichaean duality or Buddhism In 1998 Chinese linguist Ji Xianlin published a translation and analysis of fragments of a Tocharian Maitreyasamiti Nataka discovered in 1974 in Yanqi 12 13 14 The Tocharian script probably died out after 840 when the Uyghurs were expelled from Mongolia by the Kyrgyz retreating to the Tarim Basin This theory is supported by the discovery of translations of Tocharian texts into Uyghur During Uyghur rule the peoples mixed with the Uyghurs to produce much of the modern population of what is now Xinjiang Contents 1 Script 1 1 Table of Tocharian letters 1 2 Evolution from Brahmi to Tocharian 2 References 3 External linksScript EditThe Tocharian script is based on Brahmi with each consonant having an inherent vowel which can be altered by adding a vowel mark or removed by a special nullifying mark the virama Like Brahmi Tocharian uses stacking for conjunct consonants and has irregular conjunct forms of ra 15 Unlike other Brahmi scripts Tocharian has a second set of characters called Fremdzeichen that double up several of the standard consonants but with an inherent A vowel 16 The eleven Fremdzeichen are most often found as substitutes for the standard consonant virama in conjuncts but they can be found in any context other than with the explicit A vowel mark Fremdzeichen as consonant virama is not found in later Tocharian texts Table of Tocharian letters Edit Tocharian vowels Independent A A I i U u R R E Ai O Au A Vowel diacritics here applied on as an example Tha Tha Thi Thi Thu Thu Thr Thr The Thai Tho Thau Tha Tocharian consonants Velars Ka Kha Ga Gha ṄaStandard Fremdzeichen Palatals Ca Cha Ja Jha Na Retroflexes Ṭa Ṭha Ḍa Ḍha Ṇa Dentals Ta Tha Da Dha NaStandard Fremdzeichen Labials Pa Pha Ba Bha MaStandard Fremdzeichen Sonorants Ya Ra La VaStandard Fremdzeichen Sibilants Sa Ṣa Sa HaStandard Fremdzeichen Other marks Visarga Anusvara Virama on Jihvamuliya Upadhmaniya Evolution from Brahmi to Tocharian Edit 2nd century CE Sanskrit Kizil Caves First line pa kasah tasmad asma d vipaksapratipaksas Spitzer Manuscript folio 383 fragment Manuscripts in Sanskrit using Middle Brahmi script and the Kushan period and carbon dated to the 2nd century CE have been discovered in the Tarim Basin and particularly at Kizil Some of the fragments quite possibly the oldest Sanskrit manuscript of any type related to Buddhism and Hinduism discovered so far were discovered in 1906 in the form of a pile of more than 1 000 palm leaf fragments in the Ming oi Kizil Caves during the third Turfan expedition headed by Albert Grunwedel The calibrated age of the manuscript by Carbon 14 technique is 130 CE 80 230 CE corresponding to the rule of the Kushan king Kanishka The Tocharian script evolved from the Middle Brahmi script of the Kushan Empire 17 Evolution from Brahmi to Kushan Brahmi and to Tocharian 18 a i u e o k kh g gh ṅ c ch j jh n ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh Brahmi 𑀅 𑀇 𑀉 𑀏 𑀑 𑀓 𑀔 𑀕 𑀖 𑀗 𑀘 𑀙 𑀚 𑀛 𑀜 𑀝 𑀞 𑀟 𑀠Kushan Brahmi Tocharian ṇ t th d dh n p ph b bh m y r l v s ṣ s h Brahmi 𑀡 𑀢 𑀣 𑀤 𑀥 𑀦 𑀧 𑀨 𑀩 𑀪 𑀫 𑀬 𑀭 𑀮 𑀯 𑀰 𑀱 𑀲 𑀳Kushan Brahmi Tocharian References Edit Hartel Herbert Yaldiz Marianne Kunst Germany Museum fur Indische N Y Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 1982 Along the Ancient Silk Routes Central Asian Art from the West Berlin State Museums an Exhibition Lent by the Museum Fur Indische Kunst Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz Berlin Federal Republic of Germany Metropolitan Museum of Art p 107 ISBN 978 0 87099 300 8 Waugh Historian University of Washington Daniel C MIA Berlin Turfan Collection Kizil depts washington edu Hartel Herbert Yaldiz Marianne Kunst Germany Museum fur Indische N Y Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 1982 Along the Ancient Silk Routes Central Asian Art from the West Berlin State Museums an Exhibition Lent by the Museum Fur Indische Kunst Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz Berlin Federal Republic of Germany Metropolitan Museum of Art p 107 ISBN 978 0 87099 300 8 Le Coq Albert von Die Buddhistische Spatantike in Mittelasien vol 5 p 10 A dictionary of Tocharian B www win tue nl In Ashokan Brahmi 𑀲 𑀧𑀜𑀓 𑀢 𑀲𑀡 𑀓 𑀢𑀯𑀝 𑀲 𑀱𑀭 𑀲 𑀧𑀧 𑀬 𑀓 Diringer David 1948 Alphabet A Key To The History Of Mankind pp 347 348 BRAHMi Encyclopaedia Iranica www iranicaonline org Retrieved 2019 03 28 Earliest paintings from Kizil Caves with Tocharian inscriptions now carbon dated to 245 340 CE see Waugh Historian University of Washington Daniel C MIA Berlin Turfan Collection Kizil depts washington edu Namba Walter Mariko October 1998 Tokharian Buddhism in Kucha Buddhism of Indo European Centum Speakers in Chinese Turkestan before the 10th Century C E PDF Sino Platonic Papers 85 2 4 Diringer David 1948 Alphabet A Key To The History Of Mankind pp 347 348 Fragments of the Tocharian Andrew Leonard How the World Works Salon com January 29 2008 Review of Fragments of the Tocharian A Maitreyasamiti Nataka of the Xinjiang Museum China In Collaboration with Werner Winter and Georges Jean Pinault by Ji Xianlin J C Wright Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Vol 62 No 2 1999 pp 367 370 Fragments of the Tocharian a Maitreyasamiti Nataka of the Zinjiang Museum China Ji Xianlin Werner Winter Georges Jean Pinault Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs Gippert Jost Tocharian Brahmi Script TITUS Didactica Retrieved 8 May 2013 Wilson Lee Proposal to Encode the Tocharian Script in the Unicode Standard ISO 10646 PDF Retrieved 2020 06 09 Joshi R Malatesha McBride Catherine 11 June 2019 Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography Springer p 27 ISBN 978 3 030 05977 4 Diringer David 1948 Alphabet A Key To The History Of Mankind pp 247 248 External links EditTITUS Tocharian alphabets conjugation tables and manuscripts from the Berlin Turfan Collection A Tocharian to English dictionary with nearly 200 words with accompanying article Tocharian Online by Todd B Krause and Jonathan Slocum University of Texas at Austin Tocharian alphabet at Omniglot com Online A dictionary of Tocharian B www win tue nl also in print Adams Douglas Q 2013 A Dictionary of Tocharian B Rodopi ISBN 978 90 420 3671 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tocharian script amp oldid 1110058686, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
