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Full-Text Articles in Indo-European Linguistics and Philology
The Colometry Of Tocharian 4x15-Syllable Verse, Christoph Bross, Dieter C. Gunkel, Kevin M. Ryan
The Colometry Of Tocharian 4x15-Syllable Verse, Christoph Bross, Dieter C. Gunkel, Kevin M. Ryan
Classical Studies Faculty Publications
We identify the basic colometry of Tocharian 4x15-syllable verse as 4+3+3+5 (traditionally 7+8), but we find no support for the putative alternative colometries of 4x15 often cited in the literature (viz. 6+4+5 and 8+7). In rare cases in which the medial caesura is violated, a word boundary after syllable 6 or 8 is highly probable by chance alone, as we confirm through corpus statistics. If the colometry is indeed invariable, one major argument for the influence of Indic on Tocharian meter is undermined. We further reinforce that the medial caesura after syllable 7 is no stronger than the final one …