Need a Refresher?
Helpful Terms
Here is a list of helpful terms you’ll encounter in this lesson. You can see the full Glossary of Terms here.
- auslaut: the final consonant, sound, or syllable in a word, or syllable boundary.
- 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.
- infix (inf.): a particle within the verbal chain that refers back to particular cases within the nominal chain.
- locative (loc.): a grammatical case which indicates where something is happening, as in ‘in’, or ‘at’, marked by -a 𒀀.
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-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/.
NOTE: To express ‘near’, ‘at’, or ‘by’, use directive -e 𒂊.
Spelling Locative -a 𒀀
The locative -a 𒀀 never elides to a preceding vowel, except in the cases of the possessive pronouns ĝu10 𒈬, zu 𒍪, a/e-ni 𒀀/𒂊𒉌, and bi 𒁉, which become ĝá 𒂷, za 𒍝, (a/e)-na 𒀀/𒂊𒈾, and ba 𒁀 respectively. In other words, Sumerian locative –a 𒀀 always appears in some form of /a/.
However, it may be spelled with the preceding auslaut, especially after a stop (/b/, /d/, /g/, /k/) or nasal (/m/, /ĝ/). There are no examples of the locative appearing as -za.
NOTE: For most of the examples I provide, I’ll be spelling locative case marker as -a 𒀀.
The locative infix cannot start the verb chain, which means it must either be preceded by another element or conjugational prefix.
For the most part, the locative infix appears as -ni- 𒉌, as in:
- ba-an-dù 𒁀𒀭𒆕 was built it there
- é-gal iri-a ba-an-dù 𒂍𒃲𒌷𒀀𒁀𒀭𒆕 The palace was built in the city.
- é-gal ba-an-dù 𒂍𒃲𒁀𒀭𒆕 A palace was built in it.
The Sumerian Locative Case in Use
Now, let’s see the Sumerian Locative case in action!
- lugal-e é iri-a ba-ni-in-dù 𒈗𒂊𒂍𒌷𒀀𒁀𒉌𒅔𒆕 The king built the temple in the city.
- munus é-a ba-ni-in-ĝen 𒊩𒂍𒀀𒁀𒉌𒅔𒁺 The woman went into the temple.
- ní-te-né dùb-a ba-ni-in-tuš 𒉎𒋼𒉌𒄭𒀀𒉌𒅔𒂉 She knelt herself down (lit. she prostrated herself on knee).
- u4-da ĝá-e iri-a ba-ni-ĝen 𒌓𒁕𒂷𒂊𒌷𒀀𒁀𒉌𒁺 Today, I went into the city.
- ama-ĝu10 é dnanna-ka-àm 𒂼𒈬𒂍𒀭𒋀𒆠𒅗𒀀𒀭 My mother is in the Temple of Nanna.
Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues!
In the next lesson, you’ll learn about the Sumerian comitative case, so be sure subscribe to my Substack to get all of my articles as soon as they post!
Jump To Lesson 31
Sumerian Comitative Case
