Need a Refresher on Sumerian Grammatical Cases
Vocabulary to Memorize
I highly recommend memorizing these Sumerian words, as you’ll encounter them often in the upcoming lessons!
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.
- ak 𒀝 v., to do, act; make into; place. part., suff., of (gen.).
- àm 𒀀𒀭 cop., he/she/it is.
- ama 𒂼 n., mother.
- (a)na (𒀀)𒈾 pron., poss. of his/her (gen.).
- (a)ni (𒀀)𒉌 pron., poss. his/her (abs.) (with da/ta/gin7 𒁕/𒋫/𒁶 (com., abl., equ.)) (with ra/ir 𒊏/𒅕 (dat.)) (with šè/iš 𒂠/𒅖 (term.)) (earlier periods).
- (a)kam (𒀀)𒄰 mut., genitive ak 𒀝 + 3rd person singular copula àm 𒀀𒀭 = (a)kam (𒀀)𒄰.
- (a)ke4 (𒀀)𒆤 mut., genitive ak 𒀝 + ergative e 𒂊 = (a)ke4 (𒀀)𒆤.
- 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.).
- 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.)).
- da 𒁕 n., arm; edge, line; near, close. v., to be near, hold, protect. part., suff., with (com.).
- dumu 𒌉 n., child, son, daughter.
- dam 𒁮 n., spouse, husband, wife.
- 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.
- (e)na (𒂊)𒈾 pron., poss. of his/her (gen.).
- e-ne (𒂊)𒉈 pron., ind., he/she, him/her (variation: èn 𒇷 (OB)); to whom (OB); to you (pl.) (OB); dem., that one (pers.), inter., what? (OB x11). part., suff., plural marker (e)ne (𒂊)𒉈 (pers.).
- (e)ni (𒂊)𒉌 part., suff., poss., his/her (abs.) (with da/ta/gin7 𒁕/𒋫/𒁶 (com., abl., equ.)) (with ra/ir 𒊏/𒅕 (dat.)) (with šè/iš 𒂠/𒅖 (term.)) (later version of (a)ni (𒀀)𒉌).
- den-ki 𒀭𒂗𒆠 n., prop., Sumerian god of fresh water, creation, wisdom, and crafts.
- ga 𒂵 n., milk. v., to bring, carry. part., pref., cohortative prefix meaning ‘let me/I shall’. part., suff., nominalizing suffix when preceded by /g/.
- gal-zu 𒃲𒍪 adj., intelligent, wise.
- gin7 𒁶 part., suff., like, as, just as; instead of; during (equat.).
- ĝá 𒂷 v., to come/go. pron., ind., I (especially before a case marker ending in /a/—alternative reading of ĝe26 𒂷). part., suff., poss., my (gen., loc.); nominalizing suffix when preceded by /ĝ/.
- ĝu10 𒈬 pron., poss., my (abs., erg., dir.) (with ra/úr 𒊏/𒌫 (dat.)) (with šè/uš 𒂠/𒍑 (term.)) (with da/ta/gin7 𒁕/𒋫/𒁶 (com., abl., equ.)) (with um 𒌝 before the enclitic copula).
- iri 𒌷 n., city, town, village, district. prep., mathematical function ‘times’ (OB x1). det., indicates the name of a city.
- ka 𒅗 n., mouth; opening; beginning, origin; body part. part., suff., ‘of’ (gen.) (mutation of ak 𒀝 when anlaut /a/ assimilates to the proceeding vowel {ĝu10 + ak = ĝá-ka}.
- kam (𒀀)𒄰 mut., when following a vowel, genitive ak 𒀝 + 3rd person singluar copula àm 𒀀𒀭 = (a)kam (𒀀)𒄰.
- ke4 (𒀀)𒆤 mut., when following a vowel, genitive ak 𒀝 + ergative e 𒂊 = (a)ke4 (𒀀)𒆤.
- 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.
- lugal 𒈗 n., king; owner, master, lord.
- ma 𒈠 part., spelling bridge between /m/ and /a/.
- maḫ 𒈤 adv., powerfully, mightily.
- máš 𒈧 n., goat; kid.
- na 𒈾 n., man; incense; rock, stone; token. part., inf., ‘to/for him/her’ (dat.).
- šè 𒂠 n., portion. part., suff., to(ward) (term.); personal suffix ‘they/them’ when the root verb ends in /e/; adverbial suffix.
- šeš 𒋀 n., brother; colleague; assistant.
- ta 𒋫 part., suff., away from, out of; by means of; after, since (abl.)
- tur 𒌉 n., child; young; second [in rank]. v., to be/make small; to be insufficient; to reduce. adj., young, small, little.
- úri(m)ki 𒋀𒀕𒆠 n., prop., Sumerian city-state at modern Tell el-Muqayyar, in Southern Iraq (c. 3,800 – 400 BCE)
- za 𒍝 pron., ind., you (especially before a case marker ending in /a/—variation of za-e 𒍝𒂊) (NS x1, OB x 127). part., suff., poss., your (sg.) (gen., loc.).
- zu 𒍪 n., knowledge, wisdom. v., to know; learn, discover; teach (m. zu-zu 𒍪𒍪); be experienced. part., suff., poss., your (sg.) (abs., erg., dir.) (with da/ta/gin7 𒁕/𒋫/𒁶 (com., abl., equ.).
Sumerian Genitive Construction
The Sumerian genitive case is marked by the postposition ak 𒀝, which is suffixed to the possessor noun, as in:
- dumu + lugal + ak
- son + king + of
- {possessed + possessor + ak}
The [Lack of] Appearance AK 𒀝
Unlike most of other grammatical cases, -ak 𒀝 CAN co-occur with other case markers in the nominal chain, as you’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 àm 𒀀𒀭.
NOT Followed by a Case Marker/Copula ÀM 𒀀𒀭
If ak 𒀝 is not followed by another case marker or the copula àm 𒀀𒀭:
- it does not appear after a vowel
- šeš ama 𒋀𒂼 mother’s brother (lit. brother of the mother)
- {šeš + ama + [ak]}
- šeš ama 𒋀𒂼 mother’s brother (lit. brother of the mother)
- appears as /a/ after a consonant, as in:
- šeš lugal-(l)a 𒋀𒈗𒀀 brother of the king
- {lugal + a[k]}
- šeš lugal-(l)a 𒋀𒈗𒀀 brother of the king
NOTES: 1) Reduplication of the preceding auslaut is rare in early to mid OS texts, but common afterward, except when following the fricatives /ḫ/, /s/, /š/, 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 {CVɁ}.
Followed by a Case Marker/Copula ÀM 𒀀𒀭
If ak 𒀝 is followed by another case marker, or the copula àm 𒀀𒀭, it appears:
- as /k/ after a vowel
- é den-ki-kam 𒂍𒀭𒂗𒆠𒄰 It is the temple of Enki.
- {possessed + possessor + ak (gen.) + àm (cop.)}
- {[a]k + àm = kam}
- {possessed + possessor + ak (gen.) + àm (cop.)}
- é den-ki-kam 𒂍𒀭𒂗𒆠𒄰 It is the temple of Enki.
- as (a-)k after a consonant
- dumu lugal-la-ke4 𒌉𒈗𒆷𒆤 [performed] by the son of the king
- {possessed + possessor + ak (gen.) + e (erg.)}
- {ak + e = a-ke4}
- {possessed + possessor + ak (gen.) + e (erg.)}
- dumu lugal-la-ke4 𒌉𒈗𒆷𒆤 [performed] by the son of the king
HINT: You can hear ak+e , and ak+àm when you read a-ke4 𒀀𒆤 and a-kam 𒀀𒄰 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 𒀝 is added to the last. Keep in mind, while a third ak 𒀝 will rarely appear in a sequence, no more than three will.
ak 𒀝 x1
- dumu-lugal-(l)a
- 𒌉𒈗𒀀
- son of the king
- {dumu + lugal + a[k]}
ak 𒀝 x3
- ama dumu lugal-la-ka
- 𒂼𒌉𒈗𒆷𒅗
- mother of the son of the king
- {ama + dumu + lugal + ak + a[k]}
ak 𒀝 x3+
- ama dumu lugal úri(m)ki-ma-ka
- 𒂼𒌉𒈗𒋀𒀕𒆠𒈠𒅗
- mother of the son of the king of Ur
- {ama + dumu + lugal + úri(m) + ak + a[k] + [ak]}
REMEMBER: While determinatives are written, they go unpronounced in speech, which is why the auslaut /m/ is reduplicated in úri(m)ki-ma 𒋀𒀕𒆠𒈠.
Genitive Constructions in the Nominal Chain
As you’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-ĝu10-ne-kam
- 𒂼𒃲𒍪𒌉𒌉𒈬𒉈𒄰
- She is the wise mother of my young sons.
- {ama (possessed n.) + gal-zu (adj.) + dumu (possessor n.) + tur (adj.) + ĝu10 (poss. pron.) + [e]ne (pl.) + [a]k + àm (cop.)}
Genitive Constructions and Mutations
Depending on what follows, ak 𒀝 will appear as:
- (a)[k] before da 𒁕, ta 𒋫, šè 𒂠, and gin7 𒁶:
- é dumu-šè 𒂍𒌉𒂠 to the son’s house {é + dumu + [ak] + šè}
- ama lugal-(l)a-da 𒂼𒈗𒀀𒁕 with the king’s mother {ama + lugal + a[k] + da}
- (a)ka (𒀀)𒅗 before the locative a 𒀀:
- é dumu-ka 𒂍𒌉𒅗 in the son’s house {é + dumu + [a]k + a}
- é lugal-la-ka 𒂍𒈗𒆷𒅗 in the king’s house {é + lugal + ak + a}
- (a)ke4 (𒀀)𒆤 before the ergative e 𒂊:
- ama dumu-ke4 𒂼𒌉𒆤 [performed] the child’s mother
- ama lugal-(l)a-ke4 𒂼𒈗𒀀𒆤 [performed] the king’s mother
- kam 𒄰 before the copula àm 𒀀𒀭:
- ama dumu-kam 𒂼𒌉𒄰 She is the child’s mother. {ama + dumu + [a]k + àm}
- ama lugal-la-kam 𒂼𒈗𒆷𒄰 She is the king’s mother. {ama + lugal + ak + àm}
When a possessive pronoun is immediately followed by ak 𒀝, the final vowel becomes /a/, as in:
- dam šeš-ĝá 𒁮𒋀𒂷 my brother’s wife
- {ĝu10 + ak = ĝá}
- dumu-tur lugal-maḫ-za 𒌉𒌉𒈗𒈤𒍝 young son of your mighty king
- {zu + ak = za}
- lugal iri-na 𒈗𒌷𒈾 king of his/her city
- {(a/e)ni + ak = (a/e/)na}
- ga máš-ba 𒂵𒈧𒁀 milk its/their goat’s milk
- {bi + ak = ba}
Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues!
Fantastic! You’ve just mastered one of the most important aspects of the Sumerian Language! In the next lesson, you’ll learn how to create ordinal numbers with the genitive case, so be sure to subscribe!
