Lesson 28
Sumerian Ergative Case
In this lesson, you’ll learn all about the Sumerian ergative case, including the ergative case marker and infix(es), and those long Sumerian sentences are going to start making so much more sense!
Need a Refresher?
Vocabulary to Memorize
I highly recommend memorizing these Sumerian words, as you’ll encounter them often in the upcoming lessons!
- 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.
- ì 𒉌 n., butter, oil, fat, cream; oil container. part., pref., stand-alone first-person agentive prefix “I”; conjugational prefix (indicates distance from speaker).
- íb 𒌈 n., hips; middle. v., to be angry; to curse. part., pref., stand-alone agent prefix “he/she/it” (impers.).
- 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.).
- uš 𒍑 n., foundation; distance; dimension; edge; man; penis. v., to support, lift; transport; join; be adjacent to. num., 60. part., suff., personal suffix ‘they/them’ when the root verb ends in /u/ {erg + √u + š}.
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 𒀀 n., water; semen; progeny; canal; flood. part., suff., in, at, when (loc.); nominalizing suffix.
- ab 𒀊 n., sea; opening; nook. part., inf., third person (impersonal) ergative infix -b- “by it/them” when preceded by /a/; indirect object infix -b- when preceded by /a/.
- an 𒀭 n., heaven; high. adv., above (OA x1). det., indicates the name of a deity. part., inf., 3rd person (pers.) infix when preceded by /a/.
- ba 𒁀 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.).
- dù 𒆕 v., to beget; bear (a child); be born; build, create, fashion, make; transform, change; replace.
- 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 𒂍n., house; temple.
- ì 𒉌 n., butter, oil, fat, cream; oil container. part., pref., stand-alone first-person agentive prefix “I”; conjugational prefix (indicates distance from speaker).
- íb 𒌈 n., hips; middle. v., to be angry; to curse. part., pref., stand-alone agent prefix “he/she/it” (impers.).
- 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.).
- le 𒇷 part., in some periods/tests, ergative postposition -e 𒂊 when preceded by /l/.
- lugal 𒈗 n., king; owner, master, lord.
- nu 𒉡 v., to not be. adv., no, not, without.
- ù 𒅇 adv., conj., and; also; but (OS x16, OA x119, NS x9,400, OB x1,965). part., suff., mutation of ergative infix in some periods when preceded by /u/.
- un 𒌦 part., third person pronominal element -n- when preceded by /u/.
- uš 𒍑 n., foundation; distance; dimension; edge; man; penis. v., to support, lift; transport; join; be adjacent to. num., 60. part., suff., personal suffix ‘they/them’ when the root verb ends in /u/ {erg + √u + š}.
Depending on the period of the text, the postposition -e 𒂊 may appear with the preceding auslaut, as in:
- ugal-le é ba-an-dù 𒈗𒇷𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The king built the temple.
Sometimes, the ergative -e 𒂊 may morph into the preceding vowel, as in:
-
lú-ù é ba-an-dù 𒇽𒅇𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The man built the temple.
But when the patient ends in a vowel, -e 𒂊 might not appear at all, as in:
- dumu é ba-an-dù 𒌉𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The son built the temple.
An infix is a particle within the verbal chain that refers back to its counterpart in the nominal chain. The Sumerian ergative infix refers back to the agent (marked by -e 𒂊), and is always located immediately before the root verb{erg. + √}.
In the following example, see if you can identify the agent and the ergative infix:
-
lugal-e é ba-an-dù 𒈗𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The king built the temple.
In this example:
- lugal 𒈗 is the agent
- e 𒂊 is the ergative case marker
- é 𒂍 is the patient
- ba 𒁀 is a conjugational prefix
- an 𒀭 is the ergative infix
- dù 𒆕 is the root verb
Sumerian Pronominal Elements
- 1st Person (sg.): ø (unwritten)—ex. ba-dù 𒁀𒆕 I built it.
- 2nd Person (sg.): e 𒂊 (often unwritten/assimilated before OB)—ex. ba-e-dù 𒁀𒂊𒆕 You built it.
- 3rd Person Personal (sg.): n (unwritten/assimilated before OB)—ex. ba-an-dù 𒁀𒀭𒆕 He/she built it.
- 3rd Person Personal (pl.): n-√-š (/n/ unwritten before mid NS)—ex. ba-an-dù-uš 𒁀𒀭𒆕𒍑 They built it.
- 3rd Person Impersonal (sg./pl.): b—ex. ba-ab-dù 𒁀𒀊𒆕 They built it.
NOTE: The 1st Person (sg.) ergative infix may have been an unwritten a 𒀀 or a glottal stop in early to mid OS.
Sumerian “Helper” Vowels
Sumerian has no stand-alone consonants, which means you can’t say/spell ba–n-dù 𒆕 he/she built it. Thus, you’ll need to add a “helper” vowel to render it pronounceable.
In most cases, the helper vowel will be the same as the preceding vowel in the verbal chain, as in:
- ba-an-dù 𒆕 He/she built it.
- nu-un-dù: 𒉡𒌦𒆕 He/she did not build it.
If the ergative infix is the first element in the verbal chain, the pronominal element will usually be helped by /i/, or /e/ in the 2nd person, as in:
- ì-dù 𒉌𒆕 I built it.
- e-dù 𒂊𒆕 You built it.
- in-dù 𒅔𒆕 He/she built it.
- in-dù-uš 𒅔𒆕𒍑 They built it (personal).
- íb-dù 𒌈𒆕 They built it (impersonal).
