Kuchean
Tocharian B
Kuśiññe
Tocharian inscription "This Buddha was painted by the hand of Sanketava"
Native toKucha
RegionTarim Basin
EthnicityTocharians
Extinct9th century AD
Early form
Language codes
ISO 639-3txb
xtb Tocharian B
Glottologtokh1243
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Kuchean (also known as Tocharian B or West Tocharian) was a Western member of the Tocharian branch of Indo-European languages, extinct from the ninth century. Once spoken in the Tarim Basin in Central Asia, Tocharian B shows an internal chronological development; three linguistic stages have been detected.[1] The oldest stage is attested only in Kucha. There is also the middle ('classicalʼ), and the late stage.[2]

Nomenclature

Acorrding to Peyrot, the self-designation for the language was kuśi 'Kuča'.[3] In scholarly works, it is known as West Tocharian or Kuchean.[4]

Overview

According to scholar Michael Peyrot, Tocharian B is dated between the 5th and 10th centuries AD, and was spread from Kuča to Yānqi and Turfan.[5] Paul Widmer, following Tamai's and Adams's studies, situates Tocharian B roughly between 400 CE to 1200 CE, its oldest layer dating from ca. 400 to 600 CE, around "Kucha and environs".[6]

Documentation

According to J. H. W. Penney, Tocharian B is reported to be documented as Buddhist religious literature, and as secular material "pertaining to everyday life".[7]

References

  1. ^ Peyrot 2008, p. [page needed].
  2. ^ Peyrot, Michaël (2015). "Tocharian Language". Encyclopædia Iranica.
  3. ^ Peyrot, Michaël. “Tocharian”. In: The Indo-European Language Family: A Phylogenetic Perspective. Edited by Thomas Olander. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. p. 83. doi:10.1017/9781108758666.006.
  4. ^ Fortson, Benjamin W. (2004). Indo-European Language and Culture. Blackwell Publishing. p. 351. ISBN 1-4051-0316-7.
  5. ^ Peyrot, Michaël. “Tocharian”. In: The Indo-European Language Family: A Phylogenetic Perspective. Edited by Thomas Olander. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. p. 83. doi:10.1017/9781108758666.006.
  6. ^ Widmer, Paul (2017). "79. The dialectology of Tocharian". Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics (PDF). pp. 1392–1393. doi:10.1515/9783110523874-034. ISBN 978-3-11-052387-4.
  7. ^ Penney, J. H. W. (2017). "74. The documentation of Tocharian". Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. p. 1299. doi:10.1515/9783110523874-029. ISBN 978-3-11-052387-4.

Bibliography

Studies
Tocharian literature
  • Lundysheva, Olga and Maue, Dieter. "An Old Uyghur text fragment related to the Tocharian B “History of Kuchean kings”". In: Religion and State in the Altaic World: Proceedings of the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Permanent International Altaistic Conference (PIAC), Friedensau, Germany, August 18–23, 2019. Edited by Oliver Corff, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2022, pp. 111-124. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110730562-010
  • Peyrot, Michaël; Wilkens, Jens (September 2014). "Two Tocharian B fragments parallel to the Hariścandra-Avadāna of the Old Uyghur Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 67 (3): 319–335. doi:10.1556/aorient.67.2014.3.6. JSTOR 90004169.
  • Wilkens, Jens; Pinault, Georges-Jean; Peyrot, Michaël (March 2014). "A tocharian B parallel to the legend of kalmāṣapāda and sutasoma of the old uyghur daśakarmapathāvadānamālā". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 67 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1556/aorient.67.2014.1.1. JSTOR 90004088.

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