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Sumerians used a sexagesimal number system, i.e., they counted in multiples of sixty. As numerals normally were written with logograms, the reconstruction of their phonological and morphological form is not without problem. The numbers 1–5, 10, 20, 60 and 3600 are expressed with unanalysable words, while LESSON5

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the other numbers are probably compound numerals which are either additive or multiplicative, or both.

1 /diš/ or /aš/ 20 /niš/

2 /min/ 30 /ušu/ (= 3×10 */eš/ + /u/)

3 /eš/ 50 /ninnu/ (= 20×2+10 */niš/ + /min/ + /u/)

4 /limmu/ 60 /ŋešd/

5 /ya/ 3600 /šar/

6 /aš/ (= 5+1 */ya/ + /aš/) 7 /imin/ (= 5+2 */ya/ + /min/) 8 /ussu/ (= 5+3 */ya/ + /eš/) 9 /ilimmu/ (= 5+4 */ya/ + /limmu/) 10 /u/

A sentence like “John bought 4 bulls” may be expressed in two different ways as far as the numeral modifier of “bulls” is concerned in Sumerian. In constructiona)the cardinal number functions as the modifier of the head noun as in exx. (76) and (77) below:

(76) Gudea 56 3:3-4 (RIME 3/1.1.7.56) (Lagash, 22nd c.) (P234436)

šitaₓ(KAK.GIŠ) ur saŋ 3-še₃, mu-na-dim₂

šita ur P1saŋ P23=P5še S4mu-S6nn-S7a-S11n-S12dim-S14ø mace lion P1head P23=P5TERM VEN-3.SG-DAT-3.SG.H.A-make-3.SG.P

“He fashioned a mace with three lion heads from it.”

(77) En-metena 1 3:25–27 (RIME 1.9.5.1) (Lagash, 25th c.) (Q001103) SAHAR.DU6.TAK4-be₂, ki 5-a,

SAHARDUTAK=be=ø P1ki P25=P5ʾa burial.mound=3.SG.NH.POSS=ABS P1place P25=P5L2.NH i3-mi-dub

S2i-S4m-S5b-S10i-S11n-S12dub-S14ø

FIN-VEN-3.SG.NH-L2-3.SG.H.A-pile.up-3.SG.P

“He piled up their burial mounds in five places.”

In construction b) the cardinal number functions as the predicate complement and the counted thing or person as the subject of a copular clause as in exx.

(78) and (79) below.

Pronouns, adverbs, and numerals

(78) Gudea Statue B 7:30 ( (Lagash, 22nd c.) (P232275)

ud 7-am₃ še la-ba-ara₃

S[day=ø] PC[7=ø]=am-ø še=ø S1nu-S5ba-S12ara-S14ø

S[day=ABS] PC[7=ABS]=COP-3.SG.S grain=ABS NEG-MID-grind-3.SG.S

Lit “For days that are seven (in number) no grain was ground.” = “For seven days no grain was ground.”

(79) MVN 6, 293 rev. 3:9’ (Lagash, 21st c.) (P114737)

mu dumu-ne₂ 3-am3 ba-gub-ba-še3

mu S[dumu=ane=ø] PC[3=ø]=am-ø S5ba-S12gub-S14ø-S15ʾa=ak=še name S[child=3.SG.H.POSS=ABS] PC[3=ABS]=COP-3.SG.S MID-stand-3.SG.S-SUB=GEN=TERM

Lit. “Because his sons who are three (in number) were on duty.” = “Because his three sons were on duty.”

There is a  discrepancy between spoken and written forms of metrological expressions in Sumerian. In spoken language, the word order is “measured item - measure - numeral”, while in writing, especially in administrative texts, the norm becomes “numeral - measure - measured item” by the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. In these texts the written word order is governed by scribal convention and not by grammatical rules. The tendency that numerals precede the quantified nouns apparently serves visual clarity. The former order, which reflects the spoken language, is used in ex. (80) below, while the latter one is used in ex. (81).

(80) Iri-kagina 3 2:16’–18’ (RIME 1.9.9.3) (Lagash, 24th c.) (P222610)

lu₂ dam u₃-taka₄, kug giŋ₄ 5-am₆,

lu=e dam=ø S1u-S11n-S12taka-S14ø kug giŋ 5=ø=am-ø man=ERG wife=ABS ANT-3.SG.H.A-leave-3.SG.P silver unit 5=ABS=COP-3.SG.S

ensi₂-ke₄, ba-de₆

ensik=e S5ba-S11n-S12de-S14ø ruler=ERG MID-3.SG.H.A-bring-3.SG.P

“If a man divorced (his) wife, the ruler received 5 shekels of silver for himself.”

(81) TCS 1, 131 3–6 (unknown, 21st c.) (P145679) 1 giŋ₄ kug-babbar-am₃, mu-ŋu₁₀-še₃,

“(Tell Lu-Shara that) he should give ONEshekel of silver to Basaga on my behalf!”

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A construction in which the numeral stands in apposition to the quantified noun and the possessive enclitic attached to the numeral agrees in person, gender and number with the quantified noun functions to make the expression definite:

(82) NG 117 rev. 4’ (Lagash, 21st c.) (P111340)

di til-la di-kud lugal 7-ba

di til-ʾa P3[P1dikud P2[P1lugal=P5ak] P17=P3be=P5ak]=P5ø

case complete-PT P3[P1judge P2[P1king=P5GEN] P17=P33.SG.NH.POSS=P5GEN]=P5ABS Lit. “a closed case of royal judges, seven of them” = “a closed case of the seven royal judges”

(83) Amar-Suena 5 2:1 (RIME3 /2.1.3.5) (Ur, 21st c.) (P227059)

lugal an-ub-da limmu₂-ba-ke₄

lugal P3[P1anubda P1limmu=P3be=P5ak]=P5e

king P3[P1quarter P1four=P33.SG.NH.POSS=P5GEN]=P5ERG Lit. “king of the quarters, four of them” = “king of the four quarters”

The numeral with the possessive enclitic may also be used without an immediately preceding noun:

(84) NRVN 1, 224 obv. 8 (Nippur, 21st c.) (P122441) limmu-ne-ne

P1limmu=P3anenē=P5še four=3.PL.POSS=TERM

Lit. “for their four” = “for the four of them”

Ordinal numbers are formed from cardinal numbers with a suffix -/kama(k)/:

(85) Gudea Cyl. A 23:4 (Lagash, 22nd c.) (ETCSL 2.1.7)

ud 7-kam-ma-ka e₂-e im-mi-dab₅

ud 7-kamak=ʾa e=e S2i-S4m-S5b-S10i-S11n-S12dab-S14ø

day 7-ORD=L1 house=L3.NH FIN-VEN-3.SG.NH-L3-3.SG.H.A-encircle-3.SG.P

“By the seventh day he had set them (= the stelae) up around the temple.”

Pronouns, adverbs, and numerals

Further readings

A general survey of the word classes of Sumerian is provided by Black 2002. On the forms and uses of the independent personal pronouns, see Klein 2000 and Attinger 2011. The syntax of constituent questions is discussed in Attinger 2004 and Zólyomi 2014c: 135–148. On demonstrative pronouns, see Woods 2000: 303–

314; on the demonstrative enclitic =/e(n)/, see Attinger 2014.

For the different constructions with numeral modifiers, see Jagersma 2010:

246-255 and 706-707.

The adverbiative was first identified by Attinger (1993: 253–255), who considers it a case, unlike this textbook. An important contribution to its form, spellings, and history is Meyer-Laurin 2012. She argues against the assumption that the adverbiative is a kind of derivational formative, but does not rule out that the Sumerian adverbiative =/eš/ was a  loan from the Akkadian terminative-adverbial –iš(2012: 23670).

Exercises

5.1 Look up the new words used in the examples of this lesson in Foxvog’s (2016b) or Volk’s (2012) glossary, and learn them.

5.2 Study the examples of this lesson carefully and make yourself familiar with their grammatical analysis.

5.3 Provide the missing parts of the morphemic glossings in the following examples.

a) mu dumu-ne₂ 3-am₃ ba-gub-ba-še₃

mu S[dumu=ane=ø] PC[3=ø]=am-ø S5ba-S12gub-S14ø-S15’a=ak=še

name MID-stand-3.SG.S-SUB=GEN=TERM

Lit. “Because his sons that are three (in number) were on duty.”

b) a-ba-am₃ ŋešma2 bi2-in-du8

aba=ø=am-ø ma=e S5b-S10i-S11n-S12du-S14ø boat=L3.NH 3.SG.NH-L3-3.SG.H.A-caulk-3SG.P

“Who caulked the boat?”

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c) za-gen₇ a-ba an-ga-kalag

“Who is as mighty as you, and who rivals you?”

d) amar-e a-ba-am₃ ba-an-tum₂

5.4 Translate the following expressions into Sumerian. Provide transliteration, morphemic segmentation, and glossing.

a) 5 shekels of gold

b) the ruler of two cities (= A) c) this temple (= P)

d) of this canal

e) in the middle of their own cities f) where?

g) why?

h) I do not owe you any silver.

j) Who is this man?

k) He built the house of his mother quickly.

l) the three royal sons m) in the 3rd temple

5.5 Transliterate the text Gisha-kidu 1 (RIME 1.12.6.1, ex. 01) (Ur, 21st c.) (P222828) (a photo of the text can be found at http://cdli.ucla.edu/P222828) with the help of Volk’s sign list (2012). Translate the text with the help of either Volk’s (2012) or Foxvog’s glossary (2016b). Assign morphemic segmentation and glossing to all words, except for the finite verbs. Then go to the ETCSRI edition of the text (http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001325), click on the “proofing” link on the left side of the page, and compare your glosses with ETCSRI’s glossing. How could you characterize the text in terms of suspended cliticization?

Pronouns, adverbs, and numerals

5.6 Transliterate the text Ur-Namma 33 (RIME 3/2.1.1.33, ex. 01) (Ur, 21st c.) (P226641) (a copy of the text can be found at http://cdli.ucla.edu/P226641) with the help of Volk’s sign list (2012). Translate the text with the help of either Volk’s (2012) or Foxvog’s glossary (2016b). The text is no. 1 in Volk’s (2012) chrestomathy. Assign morphemic segmentation and glossing to all words, except for the finite verb. Then go to the ETCSRI edition of the text (http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/

Q000953), click on the “proofing” link on the left side of the page, and compare your glosses with ETCSRI’s glossing.

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L ESSON 6

T HE VERBAL TEMPLATE

The finite verbal form is the most important constituent of the clause in Sumerian. In addition to the modality, voice, tense, and direction of the verbal event, it may also indicate the syntactic function of up to four of the verbal par -ticipants, even when no noun phrase or independent pronoun is present in the clause. This lesson gives an overview of the structure and functioning of the Sumerian finite verb. The detailed description of the functions of the morphemes it may consist of can be found in the subsequent lessons of the text -book.