Central Asian Brahmi Palaeography: the Relationships among the Tocharian, Khotanese, and Old Turkic Gupta Scripts

171 Pages·1981·6.21 MB·english

by  Doug Hitch

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THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
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CENTRAL ASIAN BRAHKI PALAEOGRAPHY: THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG
THE TOCHARIAN, KHOTANESE, AND OLD TURKIC GUPTA SCRIPTS
by
DOUG HITCH
• A THESIS.
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES'
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
OF MASTER OF ARTS - '
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS
CALGARY, ALBERTA
AUGUST, 1981
© DOUG HITCH 1981
;
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THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
, FACULTY OF * GRADUATE STUDIES
• • . •*
The uftdersigned certify that they have read, and recommend
to*the Faculty of Graduate Studies for acceptanW*, a thesia entitled
‘ ‘" ’ ' - ' ' ' ,, .
"Central Asian Brahmi Paleography: The Relationships Afdng the
: *
Tocharian, Khotanese, end Old Turkic Gupta Scripta," submitted by
Doug Hitch in partial fulfillment of the requirements fa* the degree
ofAMaster of Arts. ,
vvyiK :
Suuppee£r\visor, Dr. James M. Anderson
Department of Linguistics
ILJL i
Dr. Michael B. Dobrovolsky
Department- of Cinguistics
i?, ^
l s
Prof. fe te r -L. Shinnie
.Department of Archaeology
August 25, 1981
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£ , , ABSTRACT, ; 4 .
It has'been assumed that Tocharian and Khotanese Brahmi
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writing were not .related and that both systems arose through Indian
missionary activity. But since the.Central Asians had been Bbddhist
for at least 500 years, it i$ here maintained that the introduction
and transmission of the Brahmi were strictly indigenous developments.
.Jt is suggested that two cultural events happening in India influenced
the khotanese to relinquish Kharosthl script and the Ganjdharl Prakrit
as media of'administration and rdligion: the supercedence of the -
Kharogfhl by the Brahmi, and the ev.olution of a hybrid form oi[ Sanskrit
as the lingua ‘franca of'Buddhism.
In order -to prove and illustrate the relationships among
the Central t|sian Brahmi scripts, use is made not only of character
morphology but also of orthographic principles. An examination of
the. Turkic Brahmi reveals it to have .been the intermediary between
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the Khotanese Formal and the Tocharian'Slanting Gupta. The dual
function of the diaeresis in Tocharian as vowel and virama marking
is shown to be the result of fmmitation of the Turks. ^Similarly, »
the'parallel dual fynction of the Tocharian ’doublets’ as vowel and
virama indicators is also demonstrated ashaving had a Turkic (and
Khotanese) origin.- . . „ „
In the argumentation distinctions'are made among^the levels
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of language (i.e., phonetic, phnemic, morphological, etc.) and between .
effects which ape phonological and orthographic in nature. ^
> \ . ACRNOtJLEDGEMENTS
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To the University of Calgary Department of Linguistics
for financial assistance. ’ % ’
». To Ron Southerland for IndoEuropean, Jim Anderson for
Historical Linguistics, Palaeography and supervision, Mike Dobrovolsky
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for Turkic and Tarkish, Bill O'Grady for Syntax, and to my fellow
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students 78-81 for many things.
$
To the example of two scholars whom I tannot thank in person,
Clara Hollosi of Brock University, and John Colarusso of McMaster
.University. . •
To Els and Luke. •
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
JTRODUCTION L
Purpose 1
"The Mechanics of Central Asian Brahmi Writing 14
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Footnotes to Chapter 1 :___________ _____ 21
THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN ORTHOGRAPHIC GROUPS 22
Introduation '______________________ 22
{Jonlndic Features in the Central Asian Brahmi 23
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The Diaeresis in the Chinese Cursive Gupta __ 27
The Historicocultural Association Between
Khotan and Northwest India ■. •________ 31
The Orthographic Evidence 35
Character Morphologies __ 37
AO
Systemic Principles _____
The a-plus Principle ____ 41
The Origin^of the Brahmi Diaeresis A5
Saka Sounds___________•_______________ 48
Summary of Arguments for the A and A' Routes 49
Footnotes to Chapter 2_________________ 52
THE SLANTING GUPTA_________________ _ 56
Introduction ________^_________________ ; 56
Tocharian •____________________ __ 56
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Page
Old Turkic 56
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit . ■57
Maralbashi and Pelliot Saka I 5?
Relationships Among the Slanting Gupta
Orthographies ________________________ 58
Distribution of the Nonlndic Radicals 59
Konow's- Malysis of the Maralbashi Brahmi 61
Konow's Assignment of V a lu e s ___________ 61
Reanlaysis of Konow's Materials 64
Number 5 i_____________________ 67
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Number 6 69
Number 10 _ 72
The Maralbashi w-diphthongs _ 74
The Maralbashi New Signs: Conclusion
16
Possibility 3 ___________ ‘_____________ 77
Footnotes to Chapter 3 79
THE TURKIC BRAHMI ______ 84
Introduction 84
Writing the Nonlndic Front Vowels 84
Turkic Brahmi Orthographic Schools 85
Alternatives for Writing /a/ ]____ 86
9
Sound — Symbol Relationships _____ 88
Brahmi Turkic Vowels ______________ 88
Brahmi Turkic /</______ ___ 90
Turkic Brahmi Symbols for /i/ 93
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Page
Brahmi Turkic Consonants ____________;___________________ 98
Virama Specialization of Radicals __________________'j__ 98
Virama Radicals for [<7] _ 102
Sibilant Virama R adicals_________;______________________ 103
Dental Stop Virama Radicals _____________________ .. _ * 103
»
.Khotanese Patterns in the Turkic Slanting Gupta _____ 104
The Khotanese Pattern in the
Turkic Brahmi Signs for J r l _________ ;__________________ 104
Turkic Brahmi Dental S ig n s ______ i________
Khotanese Patterns in the Turkic Brahmi Nasals ______ 107
The Status of the Turkic Brahmi ______________________ H2
Footnotes to Chapter 4 _________________________
RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE SLANTING GUPTA ORTHOGRAPHIES ^ 121
Introduction________________________________________________ ^1
Khotanese —> Turkic —> M aralbashi____________ ;_____ 121
““J*********************
Anusvara__________ 122
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The New Liquid R adicals____________ 122
The Iranian Sounds ______ ^4
The D en tals____________________________ 124
*
The Distribution-of the Dental
Radicals in Maralbashi ________;_______;_______ 125
The Diaeresis _____ -^0
Summary of the Relationship:
Khotanese —^ Turkic —> Maralbashi •________;________ 130
• Khotanese —> Turkic —> TocKarian __________________ 131
The Four Classes of Consonant
Radicals in the TocharianB rahmi __________________ *31