Sumerian Language

Third-millennium Mesopotamia has provided an impressive quantity of sources for the study of ancient slavery, among them a collection of standards (the so-called Laws of Ur-Namma). Despite the volume of documents, Mesopotamian slavery remains elusive in its general traits. This is partly due to the nature of the sources, but also to the approaches and interpretations of modern scholars. Slavery in ancient Mesopotamia has been the focus of several studies in the 1960s and 1970s that interpreted the sources using comparative approaches and Marxist analyses. Since then, the topic has seldom been revisited. In this article, I present the status quaestionis with an overview of the available sources and related studies, together with a sketch of the different types of bonded and forced labor in the Neo-Sumerian period (21st cent. bce).

This paper presents a spatio-temporal data mining regarding the origin of the names of the 218 longest European rivers. The study shows that 35.2% of these river names originate in the Near East and Southern Caucasus. The study also investigates the origin of European mountain names. It is shown that at least 26 mountain names originate from Africa.

Since the very deciphering of the Sumerian language many pretty naïve attempts to attribute it to different language families have been made. It seems highly possible that Sumerian is rather close to Northeast Caucasian languages which belong to the Ainu-Minoan stock. To resolve this question in the current paper Sumerian is compared with Tabasaran by the Verb Grammar Correlation Index (VGCI). If a value of VGCI is about 0.4 or more then the compared languages are related. VGCI of Tabasaran and Sumerian is 0.4, it means that Tabasaran and Sumerian belong to the same family, and due to the transitivity of relatedness, Sumerian is a part of the Ainu-Minoan stock.

Rich ethnobiological study of antiquity is usually constrained by the limitations of the archaeological remains of plants and animals. Sometimes, ongoing tradition, images and texts add a symbolic dimension. Such a study has been done of  the Warka Vase, an iconic artifact of Mesopotamia. The lowest of three registers appears to represent the basis of Mesopotamian life: water, plants, and animals. Identification of the water and animals is relatively straightforward. In the absence of serious botanical study, the plants depicted are usually thought to be grain and flax. Analysis of the plant imagery in concert with that of archaic signs, botanical charactistics, and our understanding of Mesopotamian agriculture and tradition shows that the 'grain' is date palm and confirms the other plant as flax. Analysis based on these plant identifications demonstrates the composition of the imagery on the Vase has a gendered and political narrative structure.

NOTE: Scholarly paper on this topic is now available online:
Miller, Naomi F., Philip H. Jones, and Holly Pittman. 2015. Sign and image: representations of plants on the Warka Vase of early Mesopotamia. University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons, Philadelphia. http://repository.upenn.edu/penn_museum_papers/2

The inhabitants of (southern) Mesopotamia are sometimes referred to as the “black-headed people” (saĝ-ge6) in Sumerian texts. This term came to be used also in Akkadian texts (translated as ṣalmāt qaqqadi), including in Neo-Assyrian texts, much distant in time and place from ancient Sumer. This paper seeks to describe how the term is used in Neo-Assyrian rhetorical and mundane texts; how frequent it is, what it means, and what variations there are (and how these can be explained). With the aid of  various database searches and book surveys, 48 attestations were collected. These derive from the Middle Assyrian (3) and Late Neo-Assyrian (or Sargonid) (45) periods, and focus on how the black-headed are positioned in relation to the kings and the deities. The imagery of the black-headed as (shep)herded was found to be the most important one. As for variations in terms of frequency and meaning, while time period and ruler turned out to be explanatory factors, the same can not be said of provenance, genre, and subject matter. The texts in which the attestations appear are most often not (southern) building inscriptions and they are not very often from or about southern Mesopotamia.

Interpretation of the Sumerian Hymn, based on the insight in the Sumerian religion as a form of Agama and Tantric tradition and on the understanding given by the Tamil version of the Sumerian text.

Has included the description of Krisna´s abode in Goloka as we find it given in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana 2nd chapter and the desrciption of Tillai found in the Tiruvasagam  for comparing it to the Sumerian Hymn.

A Vegyes Nyelvi Tudástár-sorozat 1. füzete René Labat és Florence Malbran-Labat Manuel d’épigraphie akkadienne című, a sumer ékírásos jelek sumer és akkád nyelvi értelmezéseit összefoglaló kézikönyvének kiegészítéseként készült: a kézikönyv alapját képező, a szillabikus jelek és ideogrammák fejlődését bemutató, a 39. oldaltól a 247. oldalig terjedő fő fejezet ugyanis az ékjeleket a Deimel-féle logikai sorrendben adja meg, és az egyes ékjelek is a Deimel-féle számozást követik, így egy-egy keresett ékjel megtalálása csak soklapozásos módszerrel érhető el.
A 248. oldaltól a 281. oldalig terjedően a kézikönyv tartalmaz ugyan egy könnyen visszakereshető részletes listát az ékjelek sumér és akkád „értékeiről” (az akkád hangzásokat itt is aláhúzással különíti el az itt dőlt betűs sumér hangalakok-tól), azonban az egyes sumer vagy akkád szavak jelentése ezek alapján nem található meg.
A kézikönyv végén (a 307.-től a 346.-ig terjedő oldalakon) megadott akkád-francia szójegyzék címszavai az akkád szóalakok, mellettük a francia nyelvű értelmezés és az adott ékjel azonosító száma mellett ugyan (zárójelek között) fellelhetők a sumer megfelelők is, ezek önálló szóregisztere azonban hiányzik a kézikönyvből.
Az általam összeállított füzet hat részegységből áll: A sumer ékírás jelkészlete és A sumer világ tematikus szóanyaga után táblázatos elrendezésben négy szótári rész következik: 1. szótár: Az ékjelek számozása szerint (13–27), 2. szótár: A sumer szavak ábécérendje szerint (28–42), 3. szótár: A francia szavak ábécérendje szerint (43–57), 4. szótár: A magyar szavak ábécérendje szerint (58–72).
Mind a négy táblázat azonos felépítésű: az első oszlopban a sorszámozás talál-ható, a második oszlop a sumer szavak magyar jelentését adja meg, a harmadik oszlop a kézikönyvben megadott francia értelmezéseket tartalmazza, a negyedik oszlopban a szavak sumer hangalakja olvasható, az ötödik oszlop a sumer szavak szófajkódjait közli, a hatodik oszlop pedig az ékjelek kézikönyvbeli sorszámát jeleníti meg.

#1. Neolithic technology, especially technology involving the use of reeds and weaving, was highly advanced long before the beginning of Sumerian civilizations. Many of these technologies were based on 'basket weaving technology' and were involved in the creation of a wide variety of products from bitumen treated basket-buckets used in irrigation to large reed ships.
#2. These advanced Neolithic technologies formed the bedrock, the foundation, for the emergence of these civilizations. These technologies were crucial, for example, to the development of irrigation and dredging the canals.
#3. When more advanced technologies appeared such as copper, bronze, and fired bricks (many treated with bitumen), the earlier technologies played a supporting role and were involved in their development and their production.
#4. Although new technologies emerged, they did not entirely replace the older technology which continued to be used in a variety of roles both traditional and in support of the new technologies.
#5. There have been many misconceptions about the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia which has made it hard to grasp the 'big picture'. Housing made of reeds, for example, may have been much more widespread than previously thought and a huge fleet of reed boats and coracles made with reeds may have been as important, if not more important, than the large wooden ships that were developed to haul heavy cargoes and to import goods from distant ports. In addition, there was an extensive reed industry that existed from Neolithic times and continued with the Sumerian civilizations but this industry has not been properly identified.

Il testo
Dimenticate per secoli, le civiltà dell'antica Mesopotamia sono state riscoperte solo nell'Ottocento. Migliaia di tavolette di argilla incise in scrittura cuneiforme hanno permesso di portare alla luce una tradizione letteraria che, attraverso due lingue, il sumerico e l'accadico, si è sviluppata nell'arco di tre millenni. Dal primo racconto del diluvio e della creazione dell'uomo alle discese infere e le battaglie contro mostri caotici, dalle vicende epiche dei sovrani mitici alle gesta dei loro successori, dai grandi inni alle preghiere quotidiane e gli scongiuri, dalla riflessione teologica sulla vita a quella filosofica e umoristica, le composizioni sumeriche e accadiche costituiscono una delle più antiche, varie e lunghe tradizioni letterarie dell'uomo. La letteratura sumerica del III millennio a.C. e quella accadica (assira e babilonese) del II e I millennio a.C. sono qui presentate attraverso una descrizione dei diversi generi e l'analisi di contenuti e motivi. Una scelta di testi letterari, pubblicata in digitale sul sito www.mondadorieducation.it, completa il volume.

L'autore
Lorenzo Verderame insegna lingua e letteratura sumerica e accadica alla «Sapienza» Università di Roma. È autore di numerose monografie e articoli scientifici dedicati a differenti aspetti delle culture dell'antica Mesopotamia, tra cui l'editio princeps dei primi sei capitoli del compendio astrologico Enūma Anu Enlil (2002) e diversi volumi con l'edizione di documenti neo-sumerici. Le sue ricerche si sono concentrate sull'amministrazione e la cultura materiale della Mesopotamia del III millennio così come su vari aspetti della religione e della letteratura mesopotamica. Svolge attività di ricerca e collabora con diverse istituzioni universitarie e musei, tra i quali il British Museum e la Yale Babylonian Collection, dove dirige, rispettivamente, un progetto di edizione dei testi neo-sumerici e delle lettere paleo-babilonesi. Dal 2014 è l'epigrafista della missione archeologica italiana a Nina (Tell Surghul) nell'Iraq meridionale.

Indice
Prefazione; 1. Introduzione; 2. Le vicende divine; 3. Le gesta dei re; 4. L'uomo si rivolge al dio; 5. Le riflessioni sulla vita; 6. Composizioni varie; Schema delle principali divinità mesopotamiche; Quadro cronologico; Appendice cartografica. La Mesopotamia e il Vicino Oriente tra il III e il I millennio a. C.; Bibliografia; Opere citate; Indice dei nomi, delle opere e delle cose notevoli.

Testi tradotti disponibili gratuitamente online : http://www.mondadorieducation.it/media/contenuti/universita/verderame_letterature_mesopotamia/index.html

The mutual influence of East-Semitic Akkadian and isolate Sumerian on each other is the first known and documented example of contact-induced language change. Speakers of East-Semitic and Sumerian may have been in contact for over a thousand years, and the contact resulted in similarities on the level of phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. This chapter describes the linguistic traits of Akkadian that may have developed under the influence of Sumerian. Except for a considerable number of loanwords from Sumerian, this influence manifests itself in shared patterns, categories, constructions, and meanings but not in loaned forms, a fact which alone may be an indication of prolonged and stable bilingualism.

Kültür, milletin DNA kodlarını içinde barındıran bir unsur, dil ise o milletin kimliğidir. Atatürk; Türk milletinin hafızasını canlı tutmak için Türk dili, tarihi ve kültürünün, bilimin ışığında derinlemesine araştırılıp incelenmesini ister. Bu araştırmalar ve incelemelerin yapılabilmesi için de birçok kurumun açılmasına öncülük eder. Atatürk’ün gayretleriyle açılan kurumlar arasında ayrı bir önemi olan Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesindeki bölümlerde yapılan çalışmalarla, Türklerin binlerce yıl önce de dilleriyle ve kültürleriyle tarih sahnesinde oldukları kanıtlanmaya çalışılır. Fakültedeki Sümeroloji bölümü de Türk dilinin ve kültürünün geçmişinin saptanması konusunda önemli bir işleve sahiptir. M.Ö. 4000’lerde yaşamış olan Sümerlerin dillerinin Türkçeye benzemesi, kültürlerinin Türk kültürüyle kesişen noktaları olması ve Mezopotamya’ya Orta Asya’dan gelmiş olabilecekleri düşüncesi araştırmacılara Türklerle akraba olabileceklerini düşündürür. Atatürk’ün Sümerlere olan ilgisi de bu sebepledir. Atatürk’ün, Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesindeki Asuroloji olan bölümün adını Sümeroloji olarak değiştirtmesi, yeni açılan bir bankaya Sümerbank adını verdirtmesi, kitaplardaki Sümerlerle ilgili bölümlere aldığı notlar ve Dil-Tarih kongrelerinde bildirdiği görüşler, Sümer-Türk ilişkisi hakkında araştırmacılara ilham kaynağı olur. Bu çalışmada, Atatürk’ün Türk kültürüne verdiği değer, bu alanda yapılacak çalışmalar için gösterdiği gayret ve onun öngörüsüyle başlatılan çalışmalarla kat edilen yol değerlendirilmiştir.

Culture is a component of a nation’s DNA codes, and language is the identity of that nation. Ataturk; Turkish language, Turkish history and Turkish culture in order to keep the memory of the Turkish nation alive wants to be investigated in depth in the light
of science. He also pioneers the opening of many institutions in order to be able to carry out these investigations and examinations. With the efforts made in the departments of Language and History-Geography faculties, which are a distinguishing feature among the institutions opened by the efforts of Atatürk, it is tried to prove that the Turks are on the history stage with their tongues and cultures thousands of years ago. The Department of Sumeriology at the faculty also has an important function in the identification of the history of Turkish language and culture. Sumerians who lived in 4000 BC resemble Turkic languages, that their culture has points that intersect with Turkish culture and that they might have come to Mesopotamia from Central Asia, researchers think that they might be related to the Turks. Atatürk’s interest in Sumerians is also due to this reason. The change of the name of the Department of Asurology in Atatürk’s Faculty of Language and History-Geography to the name of Sumeriology, the giving of a name to Sumerbank to a newly opened bank, the notes of the sections related to the Sumerians in the books and the opinions expressed in the Language-History congresses are the inspiration for the researcher about the Sumerian-Turkish relationship. In the study, the value given by Atatürk to Turkish culture, the effort he made for the work to be done in this area, and the way it was carried out with the works initiated by his foresight were evaluated.

Sumerian language was used a medium to talk to the demons of the underworld. An artificial language so that the medicine man could talk to creatures beyond this world. Akkadian words were chopped to smaller pieces and then the newly acquired phonetic values were rearranged to create the language of the demons. Sumerian me [BEING] (750x: ED IIIb, Old Akkadian, Lagash II, Old Babylonian) wr. me "Being, divine properties enabling cosmic activity; office; (cultic) ordinance" Akk. mû; parşu [1] me 22 distinct forms attested; click to view forms table. 1. Being, divine properties enabling cosmic activity (750x/100%) ~ LEX/Old Babylonian/Nippur [[me]] = me = ME = par4-şum OB Aa 71:1; [[me]] = = = ša-mu-u4 OB Aa 71:7; [[me]] = = = er-şe-tum OB Aa 71:8. LEX/Old Babylonian/unknown [...] me ED Geography B 1.unknown/Old Babylonian/unknown [[me]] = = [ME] = [pa]-ar-şum MSL 09, 124-137 i 48. See: e šeg me tum. 2. office 3. (cultic) ordinance Akk. mû "(cultic, cosmic) order, rules"; parşu "cosmic ordinances, divine functions". lišā num [UZU.ME : ] (feminine word) = tongue Ú.EME.UR.GI 7 = Ú. KA×ME.UR.GI 7 = tongue of the dog remedy plant EME.GI 7 = KA×ME.GI 7 = Sumerian tongue All these words share the same logogram ME [cultic ordinance] used during incantations of the medicine man while the woman was in labour. Childbirth remedies was the origin of Sumerian tongue. Sumerian was the language of witchcraft, the tongue of black-headed demons. EME.GI 7 = KA×ME.GI 7 = Sumerian tongue derived from the abbreviation of the plant Ú. KA×ME.UR.GI 7 = tongue of the dog – a remedy plant.

The 3 volume discusses the great public rituals: Vajapeya, Rajasuya, Horse Sacrifice and the Building of the Funeral Monument.

Used texts:
Veda
Brahmana: Taittiriya, Aitareya, Satapatha, Jaiminiya, Sankhayana
Samhita: Taittiriya, Kathaka, Maitrayani
Aranayaka: Taittiriya
Srautasutra: Baudhayana, Varaha, Manava, Apastamba, Katyayana, Latyayana, Asvalayana, Bharadvaja
Grhasutra: Asvalayana, Sankhayana
Mahabharata

350pages

Animals have a minor role / are poorly represented in Sumerian narratives, apart from their presence in specific literary genres such as disputes and the so-called “fables”, where they play a role in a moral pedagogic context.
An important exception to this is the rare but crucial intervention of animals in myths. In this paper I will analyse the episodes in which an animal solves a problem that seemed unsolvable or helps the hero by playing the role of the deus ex machina of the Greek tragedy or that of the magical helper in fairy tales. I will discuss the role these animal actors play in four Sumerian myths: the bird Anzu in the Lugalbanda in the cave, the fox and the fly in Enki and Nihursaĝa and Inanna’s descent to the Netherworld, and the crow in Inanna and Šukaletuda.

This book shows the meaning in Sumerian compound words of all of the unknown words and glossed words in the Book of Mormon, as well as looking at all other Book of Mormon names.  Discussion is made of the target source languages of the Book of Mormon translation, and an analysis of interpreted names and their significance on determining the language of the plate stack.

Data mining the Sumerian vocabulary reveals a dichotomy of the cognate associations of the Emeĝir and the Emesal dialects, with the former having mostly Dravidian and the later mostly Uralic cognates, indicating that Sumerian arose by the combination of two languages from those language families. The data mining also reveals a distribution pattern of Proto-Uralic, Proto-Finno-Ugric, Proto-Ugric and Proto-Hungarian cognates that indicates that Sumerian is farther than Minoan from Hungarian, although all are West-Ugric.