Sumerian Astrology

Sumerian Lesson 24: Sumerian Genitive Case

Lesson 24

Sumerian Genitive Case

In this lesson, youโ€™ll learn all about the Sumerian genitive case. While there are a few grammatical rules to learn, itโ€™s actually pretty simple, so letโ€™s jump in!

Vocabulary to Memorize

I highly recommend memorizing these Sumerian words, as youโ€™ll encounter them often in the upcoming lessons!

  • ak ๐’€ v., to do, act; make into; place. part., suff., of (gen.).
  • (a)kam (๐’€€)๐’„ฐ mut., genitive ak ๐’€ + 3rd person singular copula ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ = (a)kam (๐’€€)๐’„ฐ.
  • (a)ke4 (๐’€€)๐’†ค mut., genitive ak ๐’€ + ergative e ๐’‚Š = (a)ke4 (๐’€€)๐’†ค.
  • dam ๐’ฎ n., spouse, husband, wife.
  • maแธซ ๐’ˆค adv., powerfully, mightily.

Vocabulary--Full List

Here are the vocabulary terms for this lesson. Be sure to look them over as theyโ€™re updated with additional meanings each lesson. You can see the full Sumerian Lexicon here.

  • a ๐’€€ n., water; semen; progeny; canal; flood. part., suff., in, at, when (loc.); nominalizing suffix.
  • ak ๐’€ v., to do, act; make into; place. part., suff., of (gen.).
  • ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ cop., he/she/it is.
  • ama ๐’‚ผ n., mother.
  • (a)na (๐’€€)๐’ˆพ pron., poss. of his/her (gen.).
  • (a)ni (๐’€€)๐’‰Œ pron., poss. his/her (abs.) (with da/ta/gin7 ๐’•/๐’‹ซ/๐’ถ (com., abl., equ.)) (with ra/ir ๐’Š/๐’…• (dat.)) (with ลกรจ/iลก ๐’‚ /๐’…– (term.)) (earlier periods).
  • (a)kam (๐’€€)๐’„ฐ mut., genitive ak ๐’€ + 3rd person singular copula ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ = (a)kam (๐’€€)๐’„ฐ.
  • (a)ke4 (๐’€€)๐’†ค mut., genitive ak ๐’€ + ergative e ๐’‚Š = (a)ke4 (๐’€€)๐’†ค.
  • ba ๐’€ n., allotment, portion; wages. v., to give; pay; divide; distribute; allot. pron., dem., of this/that (gen.). part., pref., conjugational prefix; suff., poss., its (impers.) (gen., loc.); their (impers.) (gen., loc.). 
  • bi (bรฉ) ๐’‰ pron., dem., this, that (similar to โ€˜theโ€™) (x261) (ba ๐’€ gen.). part., part., suff., poss., its/their (impers.) (with ra/ir ๐’Š/๐’…• (dat.)) (with ลกรจ/iลก ๐’‚ /๐’…– (term.)).
  • da ๐’• n., arm; edge, line; near, close. v., to be near, hold, protect. part., suff., with (com.).
  • dumu ๐’Œ‰ n., child, son, daughter.
  • dam ๐’ฎ n., spouse, husband, wife.
  • e ๐’‚Š v., to speak, say; do; water. part., suff., [performed] by (the agent); in, at, beside (directive); plural hamแนญu (perfective) suffix; marรป (imperfective) singular/plural suffix.
  • รฉ ๐’‚n., house; temple.
  • (e)na (๐’‚Š)๐’ˆพ pron., poss. of his/her (gen.).
  • e-ne (๐’‚Š)๐’‰ˆ pron., ind., he/she, him/her (variation: รจn ๐’‡ท (OB)); to whom (OB); to you (pl.) (OB); dem., that one (pers.), inter., what? (OB x11). part., suff., plural marker (e)ne (๐’‚Š)๐’‰ˆ (pers.).
  • (e)ni (๐’‚Š)๐’‰Œ part., suff., poss., his/her (abs.) (with da/ta/gin7 ๐’•/๐’‹ซ/๐’ถ (com., abl., equ.)) (with ra/ir ๐’Š/๐’…• (dat.)) (with ลกรจ/iลก ๐’‚ /๐’…– (term.)) (later version of (a)ni (๐’€€)๐’‰Œ).
  • den-ki ๐’€ญ๐’‚—๐’†  n., prop., Sumerian god of fresh water, creation, wisdom, and crafts.
  • ga ๐’‚ต n., milk. v., to bring, carry. part., pref., cohortative prefix meaning โ€˜let me/I shallโ€™. part., suff., nominalizing suffix when preceded by /g/.
  • gal-zu ๐’ƒฒ๐’ช adj., intelligent, wise.
  • gin7 ๐’ถ part., suff.,  like, as, just as; instead of; during (equat.).
  • ฤรก ๐’‚ท v., to come/go. pron., ind., I (especially before a case marker ending in /a/โ€”alternative reading of ฤe26 ๐’‚ท). part., suff., poss., my (gen., loc.); nominalizing suffix when preceded by /ฤ/.
  • ฤu10 ๐’ˆฌ pron., poss., my (abs., erg., dir.) (with ra/รบr ๐’Š/๐’Œซ (dat.)) (with ลกรจ/uลก ๐’‚ /๐’‘ (term.)) (with da/ta/gin7 ๐’•/๐’‹ซ/๐’ถ (com., abl., equ.)) (with um ๐’Œ before the enclitic copula).
  • iri ๐’Œท n., city, town, village, district. prep., mathematical function โ€˜timesโ€™ (OB x1). det., indicates the name of a city.
  • ka ๐’…— n., mouth; opening; beginning, origin; body part. part., suff., โ€˜ofโ€™ (gen.) (mutation of ak ๐’€ when anlaut /a/ assimilates to the proceeding vowel {ฤu10 + ak = ฤรก-ka}.
  • kam (๐’€€)๐’„ฐ mut., when following a vowel, genitive ak ๐’€ + 3rd person singluar copula ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ = (a)kam (๐’€€)๐’„ฐ.
  • ke4 (๐’€€)๐’†ค mut., when following a vowel, genitive ak ๐’€ + ergative e ๐’‚Š = (a)ke4 (๐’€€)๐’†ค.
  • la ๐’†ท n., abundance, plenty; luxury, wealth; joy, bliss; youthfulness; wish, desire; lust. part., spelling bridge between /l/ and /a/.
  • lรบ ๐’‡ฝ n., man, male; human, person.
  • lugal ๐’ˆ— n., king; owner, master, lord.
  • ma ๐’ˆ  part., spelling bridge between /m/ and /a/.
  • maแธซ ๐’ˆค adv., powerfully, mightily.
  • mรกลก ๐’ˆง n., goat; kid.
  • na ๐’ˆพ n., man; incense; rock, stone; token. part., inf., โ€˜to/for him/herโ€™ (dat.).
  • ลกรจ ๐’‚  n., portion. part., suff., to(ward) (term.); personal suffix โ€˜they/themโ€™ when the root verb ends in /e/; adverbial suffix.
  • ลกeลก ๐’‹€ n., brother; colleague; assistant.
  • ta ๐’‹ซ part., suff., away from, out of; by means of; after, since (abl.)
  • tur ๐’Œ‰ n., child; young; second [in rank]. v., to be/make small; to be insufficient; to reduce. adj., young, small, little.
  • รบri(m)ki ๐’‹€๐’€•๐’†  n., prop., Sumerian city-state at modern Tell el-Muqayyar, in Southern Iraq (c. 3,800 โ€“ 400 BCE)
  • za ๐’ pron., ind., you (especially before a case marker ending in /a/โ€”variation of za-e ๐’๐’‚Š) (NS x1, OB x 127). part., suff., poss., your (sg.) (gen., loc.).
  • zu ๐’ช n., knowledge, wisdom. v., to know; learn, discover; teach (m. zu-zu ๐’ช๐’ช); be experienced. part., suff., poss., your (sg.) (abs., erg., dir.) (with da/ta/gin7 ๐’•/๐’‹ซ/๐’ถ (com., abl., equ.).
Sumerian Genitive Case learn sumerian language lessons online how to read sumerian speak translate sumerian genitive ak a-kam a-ke4

The Sumerian Genitive Case

Like the word โ€˜genesisโ€™, the Sumerian genitive case indicates origin, as in โ€˜ofโ€™ someone or something.

In this way, itโ€™s similar to the English possessive element /โ€™s/, as in:

  • the son of the king = kingโ€™s son

Sumerian Genitive Construction

The Sumerian genitive case is marked by the postposition ak ๐’€, which is suffixed to the possessor noun, as in:

  • dumu + lugal + ak
  • son + king + of
  • {possessed + possessor + ak}

The [Lack of] Appearance AK ๐’€

Unlike most of other grammatical cases, -ak ๐’€ CAN co-occur with other case markers in the nominal chain, as youโ€™ll see.

However, the following rules will apply depending on whether it follows a vowel or consonant, or is followed by another case marker, or the copula ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ.

NOT Followed by a Case Marker/Copula ร€M ๐’€€๐’€ญ

If ak ๐’€ is not followed by another case marker or the copula ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ:

  • it does not appear after a vowel
    • ลกeลก ama ๐’‹€๐’‚ผ motherโ€™s brother (lit. brother of the mother)
      • {ลกeลก + ama + [ak]}
  • appears as /a/ after a consonant, as in:
    • ลกeลก lugal-(l)a ๐’‹€๐’ˆ—๐’€€ brother of the king
      • {lugal + a[k]}

NOTES: 1) Reduplication of the preceding auslaut is rare in early to mid OS texts, but common afterward, except when following the fricatives /แธซ/, /s/, /ลก/, and /z/, which were rarely reduplicated. 3) OS texts often omit the /a/ after a consonant. 4) CV+a[k] construction in transliteration is a good indicator that the CV word originally ended in a glottal stop {CVษ}.

Followed by a Case Marker/Copula ร€M ๐’€€๐’€ญ

If ak ๐’€ is followed by another case marker, or the copula ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ, it appears:

  • as /k/ after a vowel
    • รฉ den-ki-kam ๐’‚๐’€ญ๐’‚—๐’† ๐’„ฐ It is the temple of Enki.
      • {possessed + possessor + ak (gen.) + ร m (cop.)}
        • {[a]k + ร m = kam}
  • as (a-)k after a consonant
    • dumu lugal-la-ke4 ๐’Œ‰๐’ˆ—๐’†ท๐’†ค [performed] by the son of the king
      • {possessed + possessor + ak (gen.) + e (erg.)}
        • {ak + e = a-ke4}

HINT: You can hear ak+e , and ak+ร m  when you read a-ke4 ๐’€€๐’†ค and a-kam ๐’€€๐’„ฐ aloud. When encountering a long Sumerian sentence, try reading it aloud, as it may help you identify word boundaries and elements.

Multiple Genitives

When there are multiple genitives, each ak ๐’€ is added to the last. Keep in mind, while a third ak ๐’€ will rarely appear in a sequence, no more than three will.

ak ๐’€ x1

  • dumu-lugal-(l)a
  • ๐’Œ‰๐’ˆ—๐’€€
  • son of the king
  • {dumu + lugal + a[k]}

ak ๐’€ x3

  • ama dumu lugal-la-ka
  • ๐’‚ผ๐’Œ‰๐’ˆ—๐’†ท๐’…—
  • mother of the son of the king
  • {ama + dumu + lugal + ak + a[k]}

ak ๐’€ x3+

  • ama dumu lugal รบri(m)ki-ma-ka
  • ๐’‚ผ๐’Œ‰๐’ˆ—๐’‹€๐’€•๐’† ๐’ˆ ๐’…—
  • mother of the son of the king of Ur
  • {ama + dumu + lugal + รบri(m) + ak + a[k] + [ak]}

REMEMBER: While determinatives are written, they go unpronounced in speech, which is why the auslaut /m/ is reduplicated in รบri(m)ki-ma ๐’‹€๐’€•๐’† ๐’ˆ .

Genitive Constructions in the Nominal Chain

As youโ€™ll recall from Lesson 9, the word order of the Sumerian nominal chain is:

noun (n.) + adjective (adj.) + pronoun (poss./dem.) + plural-marker (pl.) + case-marker (c.) + copula (cop.)

Genitive constructions follow this same order:

  • ama-gal-zu dumu-tur-ฤu10-ne-kam
  • ๐’‚ผ๐’ƒฒ๐’ช๐’Œ‰๐’Œ‰๐’ˆฌ๐’‰ˆ๐’„ฐ
  • She is the wise mother of my young sons.
  • {ama (possessed n.) + gal-zu (adj.) + dumu (possessor n.) + tur (adj.) + ฤu10 (poss. pron.) + [e]ne (pl.) + [a]k + ร m (cop.)}

Genitive Constructions and Mutations

Depending on what follows, ak ๐’€ will appear as:

  • (a)[k] before da ๐’•, ta ๐’‹ซ, ลกรจ ๐’‚ , and gin7 ๐’ถ:
    • รฉ dumu-ลกรจ ๐’‚๐’Œ‰๐’‚  to the sonโ€™s house {รฉ + dumu + [ak] + ลกรจ}
    • ama lugal-(l)a-da ๐’‚ผ๐’ˆ—๐’€€๐’• with the kingโ€™s mother {ama + lugal + a[k] + da}
  • (a)ka (๐’€€)๐’…— before the locative a ๐’€€:
    • รฉ dumu-ka ๐’‚๐’Œ‰๐’…— in the sonโ€™s house {รฉ + dumu + [a]k + a}
    • รฉ lugal-la-ka ๐’‚๐’ˆ—๐’†ท๐’…— in the kingโ€™s house {รฉ + lugal + ak + a}
  • (a)ke4 (๐’€€)๐’†ค before the ergative e ๐’‚Š:
    • ama dumu-ke4 ๐’‚ผ๐’Œ‰๐’†ค [performed] the childโ€™s mother
    • ama lugal-(l)a-ke4 ๐’‚ผ๐’ˆ—๐’€€๐’†ค [performed] the kingโ€™s mother
  • kam ๐’„ฐ before the copula ร m ๐’€€๐’€ญ:
    • ama dumu-kam ๐’‚ผ๐’Œ‰๐’„ฐ She is the childโ€™s mother. {ama + dumu + [a]k + ร m}
    • ama lugal-la-kam ๐’‚ผ๐’ˆ—๐’†ท๐’„ฐ She is the kingโ€™s mother. {ama + lugal + ak + ร m}

When a possessive pronoun is immediately followed by ak ๐’€, the final vowel becomes /a/, as in:

  • dam ลกeลก-ฤรก ๐’ฎ๐’‹€๐’‚ท my brotherโ€™s wife
    • {ฤu10  + ak = ฤรก}
  • dumu-tur lugal-maแธซ-za ๐’Œ‰๐’Œ‰๐’ˆ—๐’ˆค๐’ young son of your mighty king
    • {zu + ak = za}
  • lugal iri-na ๐’ˆ—๐’Œท๐’ˆพ king of his/her city
    • {(a/e)ni + ak = (a/e/)na}
  • ga mรกลก-ba ๐’‚ต๐’ˆง๐’€ milk its/their goatโ€™s milk
    • {bi + ak = ba}

Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues!

Fantastic! Youโ€™ve just mastered one of the most important aspects of the Sumerian Language! In the next lesson, youโ€™ll learn how to create ordinal numbers with the genitive case, so be sure to subscribe!

Jump To Lesson 25

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