Lesson 29
Sumerian Directive Case
In this lesson, you’ll learn all about the Sumerian directive case, which is sometimes referred to as the locative-terminative (loc.-term.) case. It’s very similar to the ergative case, which you learned about in the last lesson, and it’s pretty easy to learn! So, let’s jump in!
Helpful Terms
Here is a list of helpful terms you’ll encounter in this lesson. You can see the full Glossary of Terms here.
- absolutive (abs.): the standard unaltered grammatical case of a noun, held by the direct object, or the noun experiencing the action.
- dative (dat.): a grammatical case which indicates motion toward someone, as in ‘to/for [a person]’, marked by -ra 𒊏.
- directive (dir.): a grammatical case which indicates an impersonal direct or indirect object, and is marked by -e 𒂊. Because the directive indicates motion toward something, as in ‘to/for [a thing]’, it is sometimes referred to as the locative-terminative case.
- ergative (erg.): a grammatical case which indicates the agent; the noun doing the action, as in ‘[performed] by’, marked by -e 𒂊.
Vocabulary to Memorize
I highly recommend memorizing these Sumerian words, as you’ll encounter them often in the upcoming lessons!
- a-dab6 𒀀𒍏 n., linen; item of clothing.
- árad 𒀵 n., slave, servant.
- en 𒂗 adv., conj., so (OB x1). part., inf., ergative infix when preceded by /e/.
- la 𒆷 n., abundance, plenty; luxury, wealth; joy, bliss; youthfulness; wish, desire; lust. part., spelling bridge between /l/ and /a/.
- ub 𒌒 part., inf., directive infix when preceded by /u/.
Vocabulary--Full List
Here are the vocabulary terms for this lesson. Be sure to look them over as they’re updated with additional meanings each lesson. You can see the full Sumerian Lexicon here.
- a-dab6 𒀀𒍏 n., linen; item of clothing.
- árad 𒀵 n., slave, servant.
- bi (bé) 𒁉 pron., dem., this, that (similar to ‘the’) (x261) (ba 𒁀 gen.). part., part., suff., poss., its/their (impers.) (with ra/ir 𒊏/𒅕 (dat.)) (with šè/iš 𒂠/𒅖 (term.)).
- e 𒂊 v., to speak, say; do; water. part., suff., (performed) by [the agent]; in, at, beside (directive); plural hamṭu (perfective) suffix; marû (imperfective) singular/plural suffix.
- é-gal 𒂍𒃲 n., palace.
- en 𒂗 adv., conj., so (OB x1). part., inf., ergative infix when preceded by /e/.
- ì 𒉌 n., butter, oil, fat, cream; oil container. part., pref., stand-alone first-person agentive prefix “I”; conjugational prefix (indicates distance from speaker).
- in 𒅔 n., abuse; insult, offense. adv., conj., until, up to; as many (OB x2). part., pref., stand-alone agent prefix “he/she/it” (pers.).
- la 𒆷 n., abundance, plenty; luxury, wealth; joy, bliss; youthfulness; wish, desire; lust. part., spelling bridge between /l/ and /a/.
- lú 𒇽 n., man, male; human, person.
- mu𒈬 n., name; word; oath; year; entry (line on a tablet). v., to name; speak. part., inf., 1st person directive infix ‘to me (impers.)’.
- munus 𒊩 n., female, woman.
- ne 𒉈 pron., dem., this/that (here) (NS x1, OB x14). part., inf., 3rd person plural directive infix ‘to them (impers.)’.
- ni 𒉌 part., inf., locative infix indicating ‘where’. part., inf., 3rd person singular directive infix ‘to him/her (impers.)’.
- ri 𒊑 v., to be distant (OB x35); to cry out (OB x2). pron., dem., that, those (remoteness in space/time) (OB x34). part., inf., 2nd person directive infix ‘to you (impers.)’.
- šúm 𒋧 n., garlic, onion. v., to give; lend.
- ù 𒅇 adv., conj., and; also; but (OS x16, OA x119, NS x9,400, OB x1,965). part., suff., mutation of ergative/directive infix in some periods when preceded by /u/.
- ub 𒌒 part., inf., directive infix when preceded by /u/.
The Sumerian Directive Case
Like the ergative case, the Sumerian directive case is marked by -e 𒂊. However, unlike the ergative postposition which marks the agent, the directive postposition marks an impersonal direct or indirect object, as in:
- munus-e a-dab6 árad-e bi-in-šúm 𒊩𒂊𒀀𒍏𒀵𒂊𒁉𒅔𒋧 The woman gave linen to the slave.
In this example:
How the Directive Postposition Behaves
The Sumerian directive case marker behaves almost identically to the ergative case marker. In short:
In addition to the standard ergative behavior:
- Directive -e 𒂊 never appears after a noun ending in /z/.
- 1st Person (sg.): mu 𒈬
- 2nd Person (sg.): ri 𒊑
- 3rd Person Personal (sg.): ni 𒉌
- (unwritten/assimilated before OB)
- 3rd Person Personal (pl.): ne 𒉈
- 3rd Person Impersonal (sg./pl.): bi 𒁉
HINT: If you look closely, the directive pronominal elements are almost identical to the ergative, with the only real differences being the use of /m/ in place of the glottal stop for the 1st Person, and /r/ added to the 2nd Person.
- ì-šúm 𒉌𒋧 I gave it.
However, only the directive infixes mu 𒈬 and bi 𒁉 can start a verb chain. The other infixes ri 𒊑, ni 𒉌, and ne 𒉈 must be preceded by another element. If no other infixes/prefixes are present, the prefix ì 𒉌 will be the preferred choice.
The Sumerian Directive Case in Use
Now, let’s see more of the Sumerian directive case in action!
REMEMBER: The directive case is reserved for inanimate objects, which means the receivers in the examples below are likely slaves, enemies, prisoners, or other people who might be spoken of disparagingly.
- ì-ri-(ø)-šúm 𒉌𒊑𒋧 I gave it to you.
- ì-ni-e-šúm 𒉌𒉌𒂊𒋧 You gave it to him/her.
- bi-in-šúm 𒁉𒅔𒋧 He/she gave it to it.
- ì-ne-en-šúm-uš 𒉌𒉈𒂗𒋧 They (pers.) gave it to them.
- mu-ub-šúm 𒈬𒌒𒋧 They (impers.) gave it to me.
Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues!
In the next lesson, you’ll learn about the Sumerian locative case, so be sure subscribe to my Substack to get all of my articles as soon as they post!
Jump To Lesson 29
Sumerian Directive Case
