Einige Beobachtungen zur Übersetzungstechnik der altuigurischen Maitrisimit

Abstract

Based on the materials scholars have examined so far, it can be stated that the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is apparently a rather faithful translation of the Tocharian A Maitreyasamitināṭaka. However, there are some significant discrepancies between the two versions. Both versions of this highly important text dedicated to the visionary biography of the future Buddha Maitreya provide an ideal starting point for comparative Tocharian-Old Uyghur studies. The two languages involved belong to two different language families and thus have divergent typological properties. Although shorter translations from Middle Iranian languages into Old Uyghur are known, the Old Uyghur Maitrisimit nom bitig is without any doubt the most important translation from an Indo-European language into a Turkic one in the period before the turn of the first millennium CE. The article discusses some peculiarities of this Old Uyghur translation.