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Sumerian language

Sumerian (Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.[1]) was the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is a local language isolate that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day Iraq.

Sumerian
๐’…ด๐’„€[1]
Sumerian 26th c Adab.jpg
Native toSumer and Akkad
RegionMesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)
EraAttested from c.โ€‰ 2900 BC. Went out of vernacular use around 1700 BC; used as a classical language until about 100 AD.[2]
Language family
Dialects
Emesal
Southern Sumerian[3]
Northern Sumerian[3]
Writing systemSumero-Akkadian cuneiform
Language codes
ISO 639-2sux
ISO 639-3sux
Linguist Listuga
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Akkadian, a Semitic language, gradually replaced Sumerian as the primary spoken language in the area c.โ€‰ 2000 BC (the exact date is debated),[4] but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary, and scientific language in Akkadian-speaking Mesopotamian states such as Assyria and Babylonia until the 1st century AD.[5][6] Thereafter, it seems to have fallen into obscurity until the 19th century, when Assyriologists began deciphering the cuneiform inscriptions and excavated tablets that had been left by its speakers.

In spite of its extinction, Sumerian exerted a significant impact on the languages of the area. The cuneiform script, originally used for Sumerian, was widely adopted by numerous regional languages such as Akkadian, Elamite, Eblaite, Hittite, Hurrian, Luwian and Urartian; it similarly inspired the Old Persian alphabet which was used to write the eponymous language. The impact was perhaps the greatest on Akkadian, whose grammar and vocabulary were significantly influenced by Sumerian.[7]

  1. โ†‘ 1.0 1.1 Jagersma (2010: 1), Zรณlyomi (2017: 15), Foxvog (2016: 21), Edzard (2003: 1), ePSD2 entry for emegir.
  2. โ†‘ "Sumerian". Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
  3. โ†‘ 3.0 3.1 Jagersma (2010: 6-8), Zรณlyomi (2017: 19), Zamudio (2017: 264)
  4. โ†‘ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named woods.
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  7. โ†‘

    Sumerian Language Media

    • This proto-literate tablet (c. 3100 โ€“ 2900 BC) records the transfer of a piece of land (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore)

    • The first known Sumerian-Akkadian bilingual tablet dates from the reign of Rimush. Louvre Museum AO 5477. The top half is in Sumerian, the bottom half is its translation in Akkadian.

    • Letter sent by the high-priest Lu'enna to the king of Lagash (maybe Urukagina), informing him of his son's death in combat, c.โ€‰2400 BC, found in Telloh (ancient Girsu)

    • Vase of Entemena, king of Lagash, with dedication. Louvre AO2674, c.โ€‰2400 BC

    • Sale of a number of fields, probably from Isin, c.โ€‰2600 BC.

    • Cone of Enmetena, king of Lagash, Room 236 Reference AO 3004, Louvre Museum.

    Hasselbach-Andee, Rebecca (2020). A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-119-19380-7.

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