Review #2
Cuneiform Signs and Transliteration
True or False
Read the following sentences and determine whether they are ‘true’ or ‘false’.
- Diacritics are used to indicate the pronunciation of a cuneiform sign.
- A left-facing mark over a vowel indicates the second reading of a word-sign.
- Akkadian words are normally lowercase and italicized.
- When a Sumerian word-sign has an unknown value, it may be italicized.
- Hyphens are always added between a noun and adjective.
Multiple Choice
Read the following sentences and choose the correct answer.
1. The Sumerian language was written 𒅴𒂠, which is transliterated as:
a) eme-ĝir15
b) eme ḫuĝ
c) eme-šè
2. 𒅴𒂠 is translated into English as:
a) ancient language
b) desert speech
c) native tongue
3. 𒀭𒋀𒆠 can means:
a) dnanna
b) dŠEŠ.KI
c) both
d) neither
Test Your Knowledge
Read the following questions, and answer to the best of your ability.
- What does the term polyvalency mean?
- What does the ‘26’ in ĝe26 indicate?
Answers
True or False
- FALSE—Diacritics are used to indicate the sign value, and have no bearing on pronunciation.
- FALSE—A left-facing mark over a vowel indicates the THIRD reading of a word-sign.
- TRUE—Akkadian words are normally lowercase and italicized.
- FALSE—When a Sumerian word-sign has an unknown value, it may be CAPITALIZED.
- FALSE—Hyphens were once added between a noun and adjective, but it’s gone out of fashion, although you might still see them in the older literature; and of course, I still use them for simple noun-adjective combinations.
Multiple Choice
- The Sumerian language was written 𒅴𒂠, which is transliterated as: a) eme-ĝir15
- 𒅴𒂠 is translated into English as: c) native tongue
- 𒀭𒋀𒆠 can means: c) both
Test Your Knowledge
- The term polyvalency means “multiple values”.
- The ‘26’ in ĝe26 indicates that there are 25 readings of the cuneiform sign that come before it.
How Did You Do?
If you got more than 3 wrong, you may want to go back and review the lessons on Cuneiform Signs and Transliteration.
