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Sumerian grammar under the Semitic guidance

In Akkadian personal pronouns used as subject ('I', 'you', 'he/she') are not explicitly
given as a separate ord, but expressed in the verb conjugation by pre!ixes and
special endings" A very !re#uently occurring pre!ix is the $rd person singular
'he/she' ith the pre!ix i-" e"g" iprus 'he/she decided' (in!initive parsum 'to decide')"
%his pre!ix is (in this case) not reali&ed ith the sign i, but e"g" as
ip-ru-s, iprus
'e can observe that Semitic scribes applied the pre!ix i( onto the stem o! the verb me )to be*
hich as obtained a!ter splitting the pronoun he/she into three parts"
In Akkadian language the in!initive !orm as obtained !rom the verb in the past tense, third
person, singular" %his is exactly the process every Sumerian verb goes through" All Sumerian
verbs are in !act !ro&en Semitic in!initives" %he pre!ix o! Sumerian verb is either i(/in/(im/(
ip/ib here n/m/p/b consonants are allophones"
%his is a solid proo! that Semitic scribes rote in Semitic and Sumerian simultaneously"
ane )+,* (-$.x/ 0r III, 1ld 2abylonian, unknon) r" e-ne3 a-ne 4he, she4
[1
] e(ne
[2
] a(ne
56 distinct !orms attested3 click to vie !orms table"
1. he, she (236x/100%)
7 8,9/0r III/:ippur e-ne = u-[u2] 3 u e-ne = gi-mi-il-lum u-u2 " 8,9/unknon/unknon e-ne-gin7 = [ki-ma u-a-ti] 3
[e]-ne-am3 = mi-i-um 3 [e-ne-da] na-me-a = <(e-la u-a-ti)> 3 ki e-ne-[ta] = [it-ti u-nu-ti] " ,8A/0r
III/;rehem u3 a-ne 3 [u3 a]-ne zu2-gag-za " unknon/0r III/<irsu 4(ban2) lugal-ezem dumu lugal-zi-mu lu2 a-ne "
7 nu)not*8,9/1ld 2abylonian/:ippur a-ne-da nu "
ur )+,* (5=>x/ 8agash II, 1ld 2abylonian, unknon) r" ur53 ur 4he3 that, this same3
maid, !emale slave3 one3 corresponding (to one another)3 like (one another)4
Akk" amtu3 itn3 mithru3
See ur tab)su!!er*, ur ug)despair*"
[1
] ur
?
[2
] ur
$- distinct !orms attested3 click to vie !orms table"
1. he (190x/100%)
7 8,9/unknon/:ippur ur5 i3-me-e-am3 = u-nu-ma 3 ur5-bi i3-me-am3 = u-nu-ma 3 ur5na-nam-me = u-nu-ma 3
ur5-bi na-nam = u-nu-ma 3 ur5 an-ga-me = u-nu-ma 3 ur5-bi an-ga-am3 = u-nu-ma 3 u3 e-ne-ne ur5-bi = u-
nu u-nu-u3 3 ur5-bi me-en-de3-da = u-nu u3 ni-i-nu 3 [ur5]-ra-am3 = ki-a-am 3 [ur5]-gin7 = ki-a-am 3 [ur5]-gin7-
nam = ki-a-am-ma 3 [ur5]-e3 = a-naki-a-am 3 [ur5]-e3-am3 = a-na ki-a-am-ma 3 [ur5]-ta = i-na ki-a-am 3
[ur5]-ta-am = i-na ki-a-am-ma 3 [ur5-ra]-ke4-e = a-um ki-a-am 3 [ur5-ra]-ka-nam = a-um ki-a-am 3 [ur5] i3-
me-a = ki-ma ki-a-am 3 [ur5]-gin7-me-a = ki-ma ki-a-am 3 [ur5]he 2-na-nam = i-i lu ki-a-am 3 [ur5] he2-na-nam-
am3 = i-i lu ki-a-am-ma 3 [ur5-e] he2-me-a = lu-u2 a-na ki-a-am-ma 3 [ur5] he2-me-a-ka-nam = lu-u2 a-um ki-
am-ma 3 [ur5]-bi = ki-a-u 3 [ur5]-bi nu = la ki-a-u 3 ur5 in-nu = u2-ul ki-a-am 3 [ur5]-bi in-nu = u2-ul ki-a-u 3
[ur5]-ra-am3 in-nu-u3 = u2-ul ki-a-am-ma-a 3 ur5 nu-me-a = la ki-a-am 3 [ur5] nu-me-a = e-zu-ub ki-a-am 3 ur5-
bi-da = qa2-du-um ki-a-am 3 [x]-da ur5-gin7 = ma ki-a-am 3 [x]-da ur5-ra-a = ma a-na ki-a-am 3 ([])ur5 = i-i 3
ur5-me = u-nu 3 ur5-bi = u-nu 3 ur5-me-am3 = u-nu-ma 3 ur5-bi-am3 = u-nu-ma " 8,9/unknon/unknon
[ur5-gin7-nam] = ki-a-am-ma 3 [ur5 i3-me]-a = ki-i ki-a-am 3 [ur5-gin7 me]-a = ki-i ki-a-am 3 [ur5-ra]-am3 = ki-a-
am 3 [ur5-ra]-ke4 = a-um ki-a-am 3 [ur5-e3] = a-na ki-a-am 3 [ur5-ta] = i-na ki-a-am-ma "
2. that, this same
3. maid, female slave
4. one
5. corresondin! (to one another)
6. li"e (one another)
Akk" amtu 4maid, !emale slave43 itn 4one43 mithru 4corresponding (to one another)43 4he4"
)->>>* A" @avigneaux, @A 5= BC(?-"
#ee $%&#'( ur
?
D that"
anene )%+,E* (?5x/ 1ld 2abylonian, unknon) r" e-ne-ne3 a-ne-ne 4they4
[1
] e(ne(ne
[2
] a(ne(ne
5B distinct !orms attested3 click to vie !orms table"
1. the) (51x/100%)
7 8,9/unknon/:ippur e-ne-ne i3-me-a = u-nu-ma 3 e-ne-ne na-nam = u-nu-ma 3 e-ne-ne in-ga-me-a = u-nu-ma 3
e-ne-ne an-ga-am3 = u-nu-ma 3 [e-ne-ne] nu = u2-ul u-nu 3 [e-ne-ne in-nu] = [u2-ul u]-nu 3 e-ne-ne al-du3 =
[u-nu x x] 3 e-ne-ne nam-mu = mi-nu [u-nu] 3 e-ne-ne e-e = u-nu-mi 3 e-ne-ne gi-en = u-nu-ma-an 3
u3e-ne-ne ur5-bi = u-nu u-nu-u3 3 me-en-de3 e-ne-ne-bi = ni-nu u3 u-nu 3 e-ne-ne-da nam-me = e-la u-nu-ti 3
e-ne-ne-danam-me-a = um-ma-an la u-nu-ti 3 e-ne-ne-da [na-an-nam] = e-la-ma-an u-nu-ti 3 e-ne-ne-da nu-
me-a = i-na ba-lu-u-[nu] 3 e-ne-ne na-an-na = a la [u-nu-ti] 3 e-ne-ne a-ub-ba = e-zi-[ib u-nu-ti] 3 e-ne-
ne a-ub-ba-kam = e-zi-[ib u-nu-ti-ma] 3 e-ne-ne-[e3-am3] = [a-na u-nu-ti-ma] 3 [e]-ne-ne-<ne>-e-am3 = [a-
na u-nu-ti-ma] 3 e-ne-ne-ra = u-nu-ti 3 e-ne-ne-er i3-me-a = u-nu-ti-ma F2S >?, 5?-, pls"5-$(B
)12<% I/5* viii 5.D ??>3 e-ne-ne-ra-am3 = u-nu-ti-ma 3 e-ne-ne-er <(an-dirig-ge-e)> = e-li-u-nu 3
e-ne-ne = u-nu 3 e-ne-ne-ne = u-nu 3 e-ne-ne-am3 = u-nu-ma " 8,9/unknon/unknon e-ne-ne-[gin7] = [ki-
ma u-nu-ti] 3 [me-a] e-ne-ne = a-li2 u-nu 3 ki ne-ne-[ta] = [it-ti u-nu-ti] " ,8A/,; IIIb/:ippur 2(a!") a-ne-ne "
#ee $%&#'( e(ne(neD they"
Sumerian language is structured in a ay to rite Akkadian" 2ut Sumerian long ords (a very
rare event indeed) behave similarly to Akkadian ords respectively"
*""adian +ords short (t+o or three letter) s)lla,les, li"e parsum, pa-r-
sum (-to searate-, -to decide-), a +ord str.ct.re common to #emitic lan!.a!es.
%he s)lla,les are called oen or closed. /en s)lla,les have a consonant (c)
and a vo+el (v)( c0v, li"e bi, l. &losed s)lla,les have the form c0v0c, li"e
in bab, sum, lim. *s a conse1.ence of the s)lla,le str.ct.re a +ord never starts
nor ends +ith t+o consonants.
#.merian mar"ed ideo!rams never start nor end +ith t+o consonants. %he
searated honetic val.es of #.merian ideo!rams reserve the !rammar
formation of #emitic lan!.a!es as a +hole.
%he ne!ative article in #.merian is another stoc" in trade of #emitic scri,es.
#.mmerian [e-ne-ne] nu = #kkadian u2-ul u-nu 3
%he #emitic +riter created the article n. 2not3 ,) choin! the #emitic
rono.n u-nu )they* into to parts"

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