Category: Sumerian Language

Lesson 6 Sumerian Transliteration In this lesson, you'll learn more about Sumerian Transliteration techniques, after which, you can take a short quiz to test your knowledge of cuneiform signs and transliteration techniques! Need a Refresher on Sumerian Translation? Review Lesson 5 - Interpreting Cuneiform Signs Helpful Terms Here is a list of helpful terms you'll encounter in this lesson. You can see the full Glossary of Terms here.case marker: a particle suffixed to a noun to indicate the role it plays in a sentence; also called a postposition.cuneiform: a wedge-shaped logo-syllabic script developed by the Sumerians and used by the...

Lesson 5 Interpreting Cuneiform Signs In this lesson, you’ll learn the basics of reading Cuneiform. While you’ll encounter a lot of cuneiform signs in this lesson, you don’t have to memorize them yet, although you're welcome to start! Helpful Terms See the full Glossary of Terms here.cuneiform: a wedge-shaped logo-syllabic script developed by the Sumerians and used by the Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, and currently recognized as the oldest known writing system.polyvalency: having more than one value, such as a sound or meaning, as in the cuneiform 𒂠, which can be read as éš, and šè, among others.transliteration: writing the...

Lesson 4 Sumerian Glottal-Stops and Word Emphasis In this lesson, you’ll learn about Sumerian glottal stops and word emphasis. Technically, you don't need this lesson, so if you'd prefer, you can jump to Lesson 5 now. However, proper Sumerian pronunciation is part of what separates the amateurs from the pros, so I highly recommend giving it a read! Need a Refresher on How to Pronounce Sumerian? Go Back to Lesson 2 - How to Pronounce SumerianGo Back to Lesson 3 - How to Pronounce Sumerian Ĝ Helpful Terms glottal stop: a brief stop, gap, or catch in a sound, such...

Lesson 3 How to Pronounce Sumerian Ĝ In this lesson, you’ll learn how to pronounce Sumerian ĝ. This is a topic for the more serious student of the Sumerian language, so if you’d prefer to skip it, you can jump to Lesson 4. However, I highly recommend going through this lesson, as you'll learn about some important Akkadian translation and English transliteration techniques. Need a Refresher on How to Pronounce Sumerian? Review Lesson 2 - How to Pronounce Sumerian Vocabulary to Memorize This is a tiny little vocabulary list, so I highly recommend taking the time to memorize these cuneiform...

Sumerian Lesson 2 How to Pronounce Sumerian In this lesson, you’ll learn how to pronounce Sumerian, as well as a few Akkadian consonants you may encounter on your Sumerian language journey. While it isn't critical for learning Sumerian, proper pronunciation sets the amateurs apart from the pros! Helpful Terms You can see the full Glossary of Terms here.transliteration: writing the sounds of one language using the characters or alphabet of another. What We Know About Sumerian Comes from the Akkadians One of the most important elements of learning Sumerian, and any language, is mastering pronunciation. Unfortunately, we don’t know with...

Sumerian Lesson 1 Sumerian Language Periods The Sumerian language can be broken down into four major periods. Understanding which period your text dates from is an important part of translating, reading, and speaking Sumerian! The Sumerian Language Sumerian existed as a living language from the 4th millennium BCE to the end of the 2nd millennium BCE when Akkadian became the dominant language in the region. See Wikipedia's full breakdown.In other words, people actually spoke Sumerian for a full 2,000 years!Even after it ceased to be a spoken language, it continued to be used for religious, scholarly, literary, and administrative writing...

Learn Sumerian With These Bite-Sized Sumerian Language Lessons! Simple Sumerian Language Lessons Outside of a university education, learning the Sumerian language can be difficult, as most of the available resources are written for linguists and Assyriologists.The best book I can find for beginners is Learn to Read Ancient Sumerian, by Joshua Bowen and Megan Lewis. It’s an absolutely amazing place to start for anyone interested in learning Sumerian. But while it’s a great introduction to the basic Sumerian language concepts, it won’t get you very far into your Sumerian language journey, and for good reason!The Sumerian language is complex. It...

Learning Sumerian and/or Astrology can be tricky, as there are a lot of new terms to remember. I created this convenient glossary of terms as a quick reference guide. I'm building it out with each of my articles and lessons as they post, so if you don't see what you're looking for, be sure to check back later!

I’m building out this Online Sumerian-to-English Dictionary with each of my my Simple Sumerian Language Lessons that I post, so if you don’t see what you’re looking for yet, be sure to check back later. And of course, you can find an extensive list of Sumerian language resources here.