The now-extinct Tocharian languages were spoken in western China in the latter half of the first millennium CE. We have only fragments of written texts in these languages, but here’s part of a Tocharian love poem that conveys emotions that echo across the centuries. It appears in Laura Spinney’s new book Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global (Bookshop|Amazon). Here’s the whole poem:
Earlier there was no person dearer to me than you,
and later too there was none dearer.
The love for you, delight in you is breath together with life.
This should not change for life.
Thus I thought: with the one beloved will I live well lifelong without deceit without pretense.
The god Karman alone knew this my thought.
Therefore, he caused dissension and tore from me the heart that belonged to you.
He led you away, separated me and had me partake of all sorrows.
The joy I had in you he took away from me.
And in Tocharian:
Ma ni cisa nos somo nem wnolme lare taka,
ma ra postam cisa lare mäsketär-n.
Cisse laraumne cisse artanye pelke kalttarr solämpa sse,
ma te stalle sol wärnai.
Taiysu pälskanoym: sanai saryompa sayau karttses saulu wärnai snai tserekwa snai nane.
Yamornikte se cau ni palskane sarsa, tusa ysaly ersate, cisy aras ni sälkate.
Waya ci lauke, tsyara nis wetke, lykautka-n pake po läklentas, cise tsarwo sampate-n.
This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “A Tocharian Love Poem”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it.
I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette.
The name Tocharian applies to a small group of extinct languages that were spoken in the Darim region of what is now Western China. The Tocharians flourished in the latter half of the first millennium CE, and we have only fragments of written texts in these languages.
But I wanted to share part of a Tocharian love poem in translation. It goes, earlier there was no person dearer to me than you, and later, too, there was none dearer. The love for you, the delight in you, is breath together with life.
Isn’t that gorgeous?
Oh, that’s so lovely. And just even across the millennia, it holds up. It’s incredibly strong sentiment in writing.
Yes, across the millennia. And also what blows my mind is that Tocharian is a distant relative of English. They share a common linguistic ancestor called Proto-Indo-European, which is a tongue that connects a wide range of seemingly unconnected languages.
And I want to talk about that later in the show.
Fantastic. Looking forward to it.
Martha, do you have any of the words of Tocharian from that poem in the original? Can you make a go at it?
Well, I was afraid you were going to ask me. My Taquerian is a little bit rusty.
Oh, come on. Everybody’s speaking it. Let’s hear a few words, though, just to give us a taste.
Okay. I’ll give you just a taste. Mani chisa no shomo nyem, no melare taka, marapostem chisa lare muskatern.
Wow. I think the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I don’t know if it was magic. I’m just super psyched about to carry it. It’s a magical incantation for sure.
Yes. We will post that poem on our website, and we’d love to hear what you’re reading and your favorite poetry. You can call or text 877-929-9673. Find all of our past episodes and even more ways to reach us on our website at waywordradio.org.
Thank you.
