Sumerian Questions and Answers
How to Ask, Answer, and Identify Sumerian Questions in Speech and Writing
Lesson Introduction
Sumerian questions can be hard to identify in text.
In this lesson, we’ll:
- Learn how to ask and answer Sumerian questions in speech and writing.
- Learn the Sumerian interrogative pronouns and adverbs.
Lesson Vocabulary
Here are the new vocabulary words you’ll encounter in this lesson. Remember, you can see the vocabulary for all lessons in the Online Sumerian Dictionary.
a-ba: 𒀀𒁀 pron., int., Who?
a-gin7: 𒀀𒄀 adv., int., How? In that way?
a-na: 𒀀𒈾 pron./adv., int., What? Who (impers.)?
aš: 𒀸 v., to be single, unique, alone; to be one.
bur 𒁓 n., offering of food; sacrifice; shallow bowl (stone), platter, shallow vessel, pot; meal, mealtime; priest.
bur-saĝ: 𒁓𒊕 n., servant; building.
dam: 𒁮 n., spouse, husband, wife.
dam-gàr 𒁮𒃼 n., merchant, trader.
ga: 𒂵 n., milk. v., to bring, carry. part., pref., modal (ga-) (hamţu) may I, let me, I want to, I shall, let’s.
gàr: 𒃼 n., cake, baked product, breads; knob.
ge: 𒄀 part., syllable used for spelling, often between words ending with /g/ and beginning with /e/ {zig + eš = zi-ge-eš}.
gin7: 𒄀 part., suff., (-gin7) equative case marker; like, as, just as; instead of; during.
ḫuš: 𒍽 v., to be angry; to be reddish, ruddy. adj., reddish, ruddy; fiery red; furious, angry; terrible, awesome; wild (of animals).
iš: 𒅖 n., mountain(s); sand dune.
me: 𒈨 n., function, office, responsibility; divine power, decree. v., I am, you are (en. cop.) (OS); they are (en. cop.) (NS); to say/tell. adv int where? in where (with -a 𒀀) from where, whither? (with -ta 𒋫) to(ward) where, whence? (with -šè 𒂠). part., suff., (-me) our (abs., erg., gen.).
mu: 𒈬 n., name; word; year; oath. v., to speak, name. part., pref., conjugational prefix suggesting involvement by speaker.
muš: 𒈲 n., snake, reptile. adj., bitter.
muš-ḫuš: 𒈲𒍽 n., monster
nu (not). 𒉡 (NU) /nu/ n., image, picture, likeness; statue, figurine. v., to not be, no. adv., not, no, without.
saĝ: 𒊕 n., head; leader; front (side), fore ; beginning; surface, top; man, person, human being, individual; capital; slave, servant; gift;. adj., first; prime. prep., in front.
ti: 𒋾 n., life; rib; arrow; side. v., to approach (hamţu) to live, be alive, keep alive; to survive (with -da); to revive; to dwell, reside; to be halted.
zu: 𒍪 n., wisdom, knowledge. v., to know, learn, discover; to experience; to inform, teach, be qualified part., pron. suff., your(s) (abs., erg.).
Sumerian Questions
As you know, Sumerian doesn’t use punctuation, resulting in a distinct lack of question marks. Thus, determining whether someone is stating a fact or asking a question in a Sumerian text can be difficult.
In all likelihood, Sumerian questions in conversation would have been expressed through intonation, such as by raising one’s voice at the end of the sentence or on a particular word.
Asking Sumerian Questions
To ask Sumerian questions, you need only state a fact, and raise the pitch of your voice—presumably on the last word, or on the word or idea you’re asking about.
To see how pitch can change meaning, read the following sentences, and raise the pitch on the underlined word:
- Is your mother home?
- Is your mother home?
- Is your mother home?
- Is your mother home?
As you can see, depending on where you place the emphasis or change your pitch, the meaning of the question changes.
Asking Sumerian Questions
Unfortunately, there are no words for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in Sumerian. However, you can still ask and answer yes/no questions in Sumerian.
To do ask yes/no Sumerian questions, you need only state a fact and raise your pitch and raise your pitch slightly at the end of the sentence, or on the word in question—admittedly, we don’t know which.
In the following sentence, see what meaning can potentially be gleaned by changing the pitch:
dam-gàr-me-en: 𒁮𒃼𒈨𒂗 I am/You are a merchant.
dam-gàr-me-en: 𒁮𒃼𒈨𒂗 I am/You are a merchant.
dam-gàr-me-en: 𒁮𒃼𒈨𒂗 Am I/Are you a merchant?
Answering Sumerian Questions
To answer a Sumerian question with ‘yes’, you need only repeat the statement/question back in the affirmative.
Question—dam-gàr-me-en: 𒁮𒃼𒈨𒂗 You are a merchant?
Yes— dam-gàr-me-en: 𒁮𒃼𒈨𒂗 I am a merchant. (alt. me-en: 𒈨𒂗 I am.)
To answer a Sumerian question with ‘no’, you need only negate the statement/question with the negative nu 𒉡 (not).
Question—munus-bi dam-zu-àm: 𒊩𒁉𒁮𒍪𒀀𒀭 Is that woman your wife?
No—(a-ni) dam-ĝu10-nu-àm: (𒀀𒉌)𒁮𒈬𒉡𒀀𒀭 (She) is not my wife. (alt. nu-àm: 𒉡𒀀𒀭 (she) is not.)
NOTE: In the above construction, the -bi 𒁉 suffixed to munus 𒊩 is the most common demonstrative suffix. It means “that (one over there)”, and can refer to people or things.
In the above constructions, questions are asked and answered using the enclitic copula. However, yes/no Sumerian questions can just as easily be asked and answered with the verbal chain.
Statement—ba-an-šúm-mu-uš: 𒁀𒀭𒋧𒈬𒍑 They gave him.
Question—ba-an-šúm-mu-uš: 𒁀𒀭𒋧𒈬𒍑 They gave him?
Yes—ba-an-šúm-mu-uš: 𒁀𒀭𒋧𒈬𒍑 They gave him.
No—nu-ba-an-šúm-mu-uš: 𒉡𒁀𒀭𒋧𒈬𒍑 They did not give him. (alt. nu-šúm: 𒉡𒋧 did not give)
Interrogative Sumerian Pronouns and Adverbs
Sumerian isn’t limited to yes/no questions and answers. One of the ways you can get more information in Sumerian is by using interrogative pronouns and adverbs.
Who? What? Where? When? How?
There are five basic interrogative pronouns in Sumerian, with each being more or less common depending on the period. A few of them can be modified with case markers to create new interrogative pronouns.
But before we talk about those, let’s discuss the two most common interrogative pronouns you’ll encounter in Sumerian.
Who? and What?—a-ba 𒀀𒁀 and a-na 𒀀𒈾
Do you remember the personal (animate) pronouns (a/e)ni (𒀀/𒂊)𒉌, (a/e)ne(𒀀/𒂊)𒉈, and (a/e)na (𒀀/𒂊)𒈾 (he/she, him/her, his/hers)? While the vowels of the words change depending on the time period and their use in the sentence, the common denominator in all of them is /n/.
How about the impersonal pronouns bi 𒁉, bé 𒁉, and ba 𒁀 (it, its, their(s))? In this case, the common consonant in them is /b/.
Throughout Sumerian, you’ll notice a theme: /n/ refers to animate personal nouns (deities and most people), and /b/ refers to inanimate impersonal nouns (everyone/thing else).
However, there is one blaring exception to this rule which can prove confusing: the interrogative pronouns who and what.
In these cases, the /b/ of a-ba 𒀀𒁀 is personal, and the /n/ of a-na 𒀀𒈾 is impersonal. We’ll discuss the potential reasons for this in a later lesson.
Interrogative Sumerian Pronouns and Adverbs
The five main interrogative pronouns in Sumerian are:
a-ba: 𒀀𒁀 who (personal)?
a-na: 𒀀𒈾 what, who (impersonal)?
me: 𒈨 where? (later texts only)
én: 𒇷when? (later texts only)
a-gin7: 𒀀𒄀 how? (only 1 attested occurrence)
Variations of Why
a-na-àm: 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭 Why? (lit. what it is?)
Unfortunately, this exact phrase also translates as:
a-na-àm: 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭 What is it?
a-na-àm: 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭 he/she/it is in him/her/it
a-na-àm: 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭 he/she/it is of his/her
Determining the correct translation will be up to your amazing Sumerian skills and the surrounding context.
Alternatively, a-na-àm 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭 can be found:
a-na-aš/šè-(àm): 𒀀𒈾 𒀸/𒂠(𒀀𒀭) Why (is it)? (lit. what end toward it is)
Variations of Where
When combined with the locative case marker -a 𒀀 (in/at), the ablative case marker -ta 𒋫 (from), and the terminative case marker -šè 𒂠 (to(ward)), me 𒈨 becomes a compound interrogative pronoun:
me-a: 𒈨𒀀 in where?
me-ta: 𒈨𒋫 from where, whither?
me-šè: 𒈨𒂠 to(ward) where, whence?
Unfortunately, me 𒈨 is also the possessive pronoun our, which means the above interrogative pronouns can be translated as follows:
me-a: 𒈨𒀀 in/at our
me-ta: 𒈨𒋫 from our
me-šè: 𒈨𒂠 to(ward) our
Once again, determining the correct translation will be up to you.
Variations of When
A similar compound is created with the én 𒇷 (time) and the terminative case marker -še:
én-šè: 𒇷𒂠until when, how long? (lit. time-to)
Alternatively:
én-na-me-šè: 𒇷𒈾𒈨𒂠 until when, how long? (lit. time-what-where-to)
Variations of How
The interrogative a-gin7 𒀀𒄀 is found only once. A variation which occurs is:
a-na-gin7(-nam): 𒀀𒈾𒄀(𒉆) how? (lit. what like(ness)?)
Sumerian Interrogatives in Use
You’ll usually find these the interrogative pronouns in conjunction with case markers and copulas:
a-ba-àm mu-zu: 𒀀𒁀𒀀𒀭𒈬𒍪 What is your name?
a-ba-àm za-e-me-en-zé-en: 𒀀𒁀𒀀𒀭𒍝𒂊𒈨𒂗𒍢𒂗 Who are you (pl.)?
ĝe26-e a-na-me-en? 𒂷𒂊𒀀𒈾𒈨𒂗 What am I?
a-na-àm ga-ab-sar-me-en-dè-en: 𒀀𒈾𒀀𒀭𒂵𒀊𒊬𒈨𒂗𒉈𒂗 What is it we should write?
a-na-aš ba-an-zi-ge-eš: 𒀀𒈾𒀸𒁀𒀭𒍣𒄀𒂠 Why did he/she make them to stand?
bur-saĝ-ĝu10 me-a: 𒁓𒊕𒈬𒈨𒀀 Where is my servant?
én-šè nu-zu: 𒇷𒂠𒉡𒍪 Until when, I don’t know.
a-ba(-da) in-da-tuš: 𒀀𒁀(𒁕)𒅔𒁕𒂉 Who sat with him/her?
zé a-na e-dù: 𒍢𒀀𒈾𒂊𒆕 What did you build?
muš-ḫuš a-gin7 e-úš: 𒈲𒍽𒀀𒄀𒂊𒍗 How did you kill the monster?
me-šè ba-an-ti-iš: 𒈨𒂠𒁀𒀭𒋾𒅖 Where did they live?
Lesson Five Summary
Phenomenal! We’ve covered so much ground in the last five lessons! You’ll be reading, speaking, and writing Sumerian in no time!
In this lesson, we:
- Learned how to ask and answer yes/no questions using the enclitic copula and verbal chain
- Learned the Sumerian interrogative pronouns and adverbs
- Put our knowledge of Sumerian questions to use
Five Basic Interrogatives
a-ba: 𒀀𒁀 who (personal)?
a-na: 𒀀𒈾 what, who (impersonal)?
me: 𒈨 where? (later texts only)
én: 𒇷when? (later texts only)
a-gin7: 𒀀𒄀 how? (only 1 attested occurrence)
Exercises
Complete the exercises using information and vocabulary from this and previous lessons. Remember, you can see the full list of vocabulary words are listed in the Sumerian dictionary, and all of the helpful terms can be found here.
True or False
- Sumerian doesn’t have punctuation.
- Sumerian doesn’t have words for ‘yes’ and ‘no’.
- Impersonal nouns include deities.
Fill in the Blank
Use one of the options to complete the sentences:
dam-__-me-en: 𒁮___𒈨𒂗
- ga: 𒂵
- gàr: 𒃼
- ĝe26: 𒂷
- ĝá: 𒂷
- ĝál: 𒅅
munus-bi __-zu-àm: 𒊩𒁉___𒍪𒀀𒀭
- da: 𒁕
- dam: 𒁮
- dù: 𒆕
- dub: 𒁾
- dúr: 𒂉
- durun: 𒂉𒂉
nu-ba-an-__-mu-uš: 𒉡𒁀𒀭___𒈬𒍑
- šár: 𒊹
- šè: 𒂠
- šen: 𒊿
- šeš: 𒋀
- šúm: 𒋧
Translate Sumerian into English
NOTE: Don’t worry too much about the word order in the English translation.
- a-ba-àm me-en-dè-en: 𒀀𒁀𒀀𒀭𒍝𒂊𒈨𒂗𒉈𒂗
- máš a-gin7 e-úš: 𒈧𒀀𒄀𒂊𒍗
- lú-bi dam-a-ni-àm: 𒇽𒁉𒁮𒀀𒉌𒀀𒀭
Translate English into Sumerian
- Are you my mother?
- Is he a deity?
- Who is king?
- Who is that man?
- What is this place?
Spot the Mistake
- a-ba: 𒀀𒁀 what, who (impersonal)?
- a-na: 𒀀𒈾 who (personal)?
- me-ta: 𒈨 where to?
Translate Cuneiform
- 𒁮
- 𒃼
- 𒈲
- 𒉡
- 𒍽
Multiple Choice
Which of the options is a correct reading of the 𒅖 sign?:
- IŠ
- KIŠ
- ŠIŠ
- all of the above
- none of the above
Bring it All Together
Step 1: Transliterate the Cuneiform:
- 𒀀𒁀𒀀𒀭𒍝𒂊𒈨𒂗𒍢𒂗
- 𒈗𒈨𒂗
- 𒊩𒁉𒎏𒍪𒀀𒀭
Step 2: Translate the Sumerian into English:
Answer Key
True or False
- Sumerian doesn’t have punctuation.—TRUE
- Sumerian doesn’t have words for ‘yes’ and ‘no’.—TRUE
- Impersonal nouns include deities—FALSE
- Deities are personal
Fill in the Blank
Use one of the options to complete the sentences:
dam-gàr-me-en: 𒁮𒃼𒈨𒂗
- gàr: 𒃼
munus-bi-dam-zu-àm: 𒊩𒁉𒁮𒍪𒀀𒀭
- dam: 𒁮
nu-ba-an-šúm-mu-uš: 𒉡𒁀𒀭𒋧𒈬𒍑
- šúm: 𒋧
Translate Sumerian into English
- a-ba-àm me-en-dè-en: 𒀀𒁀𒀀𒀭𒍝𒂊𒈨𒂗𒉈𒂗 Who are we? (alt. Who is it that we are?)
- máš a-gin7 e-úš: 𒈧𒀀𒄀𒂊𒍗 How did you kill the goat?
- lú-bi dam-a-ni-àm: 𒇽𒁉𒁮𒀀𒉌𒀀𒀭 Whose husband is that man? (alt. That man, whose husband is it?)
Translate English into Sumerian
- Are you my mother? a-ba ama-ĝu10-me-en
- Is he a deity? (a/e-ni) diĝir-àm
- Who is king? a-ba lugal-àm
- Who is that man? a-ba lú-àm
- What is this place? a-na ki-àm
Spot the Mistake
- a-ba: 𒀀𒁀 what, who (impersonal)?
- a-ba is who (personal)
- a-na: 𒀀𒈾 who (personal)?
- a-na is what (impersonal)
- me-ta: 𒈨 where to?
- me-ta is where-from; me-še is where to
Translate Cuneiform
- 𒁮—dam: spouse
- 𒃼—gàr: cake, bread
- 𒈲—muš: snake
- 𒉡—nu: not, no
- 𒍽—ḫuš: angry, reddish
Multiple Choice
Which of the options is a correct reading of the 𒅖 sign?:
- IŠ
Bring It All Together
Transliterate the Cuneiform and translate the Sumerian in to English:
Step 1: Transliterate the Cuneiform. Step 2: Translate the Sumerian into English.
𒀀𒁀𒀀𒀭𒍝𒂊𒈨𒂗𒍢𒂗
a-ba-àm za-e-me-en-zé-en
Who are you (pl.)?
𒈗𒈨𒂗
lugal-me-en
I am king.
𒊩𒁉𒎏𒍪𒀀𒀭
munus-bi nin-zu-àm
That woman is your queen.
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