- Department of Assyriology and Hebrew Studies
Institute of Ancient Studies
ELTE BTK, Budapest
Múzeum krt. 4/A
H-1088 - Tel.: (36 1) 411-6749; 411-6500/5774
- Assyriology, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Akkadian, Typology, Sumerian, Mesopotamia History, and 33 moreWriting systems, Babylon, Eblaite (Languages and Linguistics), Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern History, Languages and Linguistics, Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Gilgamesh Epic, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerology, Case system and grammatical relations, Food (Anthropology), Anthropology Of Consumption, Early Dynastic Sumer, Text And Image, Sumerian Religion, Sumerian Language, Sumerian History, Akkadian and Sumerian literature, Cuneiform, Linguistic Typology, Mesopotamian Religions, Contact Linguistics, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Material Culture & Materiality, Evidentiality, Deception / Lying (Deception Lying), Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Data Mining, and Jewish Studiesedit
- My research focuses on the linguistic description of Sumerian and on the literature and culture of Ancient Mesopotamia.edit
Research Interests:
This project aims to create an annotated, grammatically and morphologically analysed, transliterated, trilingual (Sumerian-English-Hungarian), parallel corpus of all Sumerian royal inscriptions. ETCSRI is a fully lemmatized corpus; all... more
This project aims to create an annotated, grammatically and morphologically analysed, transliterated, trilingual (Sumerian-English-Hungarian), parallel corpus of all Sumerian royal inscriptions.
ETCSRI is a fully lemmatized corpus; all words in it are tagged in order to generate glossaries. Its glossaries of Sumerian and various categories of proper names can therefore be used as convenient indices of the whole corpus of Sumerian royal inscriptions.
ETCSRI is a fully lemmatized corpus; all words in it are tagged in order to generate glossaries. Its glossaries of Sumerian and various categories of proper names can therefore be used as convenient indices of the whole corpus of Sumerian royal inscriptions.
Research Interests: Ancient History, Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Mesopotamia History, Corpus Linguistics, and 10 moreMorphology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Morphology (Languages And Linguistics), Ancient Near Eastern History, Case and Agreement, History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Early Dynastic Sumer, and Early Dynastic Mesopotamia
This textbook provides an introduction to the grammar of Sumerian, one of the oldest documented languages in the world. It not only synthesizes the results of recent scholarship but introduces original insights on many important... more
This textbook provides an introduction to the grammar of Sumerian, one of the oldest documented languages in the world. It not only synthesizes the results of recent scholarship but introduces original insights on many important questions. The book is designed to appeal to readers of all backgrounds, including those with no prior background in Sumerian or cuneiform writing.
It is written for undergraduate students and structured for a semester-long course: the order of the topics is determined by didactic considerations, with the focus on syntactic analysis and evidence. It explains the functioning of Sumerian grammar in 16 lessons, illustrated with more than 500 fully glossed examples. Each lesson ends with a series of tasks; a solution key to selected exercises can be found at the end of the volume. Above all, this is the first Sumerian textbook that introduces and utilizes the online assyriological resources available on the internet.
An Introduction to the Grammar of Sumerian has been written on the assumption that after decades of grammatical research it has become possible now to teach a general framework of Sumerian grammar that may function as the basis of further, more intensive and elaborate studies.
It is written for undergraduate students and structured for a semester-long course: the order of the topics is determined by didactic considerations, with the focus on syntactic analysis and evidence. It explains the functioning of Sumerian grammar in 16 lessons, illustrated with more than 500 fully glossed examples. Each lesson ends with a series of tasks; a solution key to selected exercises can be found at the end of the volume. Above all, this is the first Sumerian textbook that introduces and utilizes the online assyriological resources available on the internet.
An Introduction to the Grammar of Sumerian has been written on the assumption that after decades of grammatical research it has become possible now to teach a general framework of Sumerian grammar that may function as the basis of further, more intensive and elaborate studies.
Research Interests: Languages, Sumerian Religion, Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Ancient Grammar, and 35 moreLinguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Copulas, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerology, Ancient Near Eastern History, Sumerian Language, Mesopotamia, Grammar, Sumer, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Ancient Sumerian Texts, Copular Sentences, Clitics, Akkadian, Sumerian, History of Ancient Near East, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Topicalization, Sumerian Grammar, Copular Verbs, Possessor Dative Construction, Pronominal Clitics, Copula, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Ancient Near Eastern History, and Cuneiform, History and Archaeology of Assyria,Harappan Culture, External Possession, Akkadian and Sumerian literature, Assyriologie, Split Ergativity, Ergative, Cislocative, Possessor raising, Left Dislocation, and Ergative-absolutive case markings
This work is the first comprehensive description of Sumerian constructions involving a copula. Using around 400 fully glossed examples, it gives a thorough analysis of all uses of the copula, which is one of the least understood and most... more
This work is the first comprehensive description of Sumerian constructions involving a copula. Using around 400 fully glossed examples, it gives a thorough analysis of all uses of the copula, which is one of the least understood and most frequently misinterpreted and consequently mistranslated morphemes in Sumerian.
It starts with a concise introduction into the grammatical structure of Sumerian, followed by a study that is accessible to both linguists and sumerologists, as it applies the terminology of modern descriptive linguistics. It provides the oldest known and documented example of the path of grammaticalization that leads from a copula to a focus marker. It gives the description of Sumerian copular paratactic relative clauses, which make use of an otherwise only scarcely attested relativization strategy. At the end of the book, the reader will have a clear picture about the morphological and syntactic devices used to mark identificational, polarity and sentence focus in Sumerian, one of the oldest documented languages in the world.
It starts with a concise introduction into the grammatical structure of Sumerian, followed by a study that is accessible to both linguists and sumerologists, as it applies the terminology of modern descriptive linguistics. It provides the oldest known and documented example of the path of grammaticalization that leads from a copula to a focus marker. It gives the description of Sumerian copular paratactic relative clauses, which make use of an otherwise only scarcely attested relativization strategy. At the end of the book, the reader will have a clear picture about the morphological and syntactic devices used to mark identificational, polarity and sentence focus in Sumerian, one of the oldest documented languages in the world.
Research Interests: Languages, Assyriology, Linguistics, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, and 14 moreAkkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Language Typology, Sumerology, Sumerian Language, Cleft Sentence, Focus and Topic, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Ancient Sumerian Texts, Copular Sentences, Wh-questions, Relative Clauses Typology, Topicalization, Copular Verbs, and Relative Clause Constructions
Sumerian literature is the oldest readable poetry in the world. It was written down on clay tablets in the cuneiform script by scribes in southern Iraq some 4,000 years ago and has been read again only within the last sixty years.
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Ancient History, World Literatures, Comparative Literature, Assyriology, and 18 moreLiterature, Ancient Religion, World Literature, Ancient Near East, Ancient myth and religion, Sumerian, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, 3rd Millennium Sumerian Religious Concepts, Ancient Near Eastern History, Ancient Near Eastern Religions, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Ancient Sumerian Texts, Sumerian mythology, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Ancient Near Eastern History, and Cuneiform, History and Archaeology of Assyria,Harappan Culture, Sumerian literature, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
The eighteen articles included into the present volume correspond to the principal spheres of Krecher’s scholarly interests: various aspects of Sumerian morphology and syntax; Sumerian lexicon and terminology; Sumerian onomastics;... more
The eighteen articles included into the present volume correspond to the principal spheres of Krecher’s scholarly interests: various aspects of Sumerian morphology and syntax; Sumerian lexicon and terminology; Sumerian onomastics; analysis of literary compositions of different genres; annotated editions of literary and legal texts.
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Akkadian Language, Mesopotamian Religions, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 6 moreSumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerian Language, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Sumerian Grammar, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian Language, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
A concise grammar of Sumerian in German, describing the language in terms of morphological templates. A thoroughly revised version of the version published first in 2006.
Using the interpretation and analysis of the passage Ur-Namma 28 1:10-13 as starting point, this paper argues that copular clauses in Sumerian may function as paratactic relative clauses in biclausal constructions. It also demonstrates... more
Using the interpretation and analysis of the passage Ur-Namma 28 1:10-13 as starting point, this paper argues that copular clauses in Sumerian may function as paratactic relative clauses in biclausal constructions. It also demonstrates that the choice that which participant of the copular clause will function as head is determined not by the syntactic but by the pragmatic function of the participants. In the concluding part, the paper contends that the grammatical construction used in the frequently discussed passage E-ana-tum 5 5:10–17 is the same as that of Ur-Namma 28 1:10-13. It shows that the oddity of the E-ana-tum passage is due to the phenomenon that the name E-ana-tum is used once as an expression referring to a person, the ruler of Lagaš, and once as an expression referring to his name.
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 11 moreSumerian, Relative Clauses, Sumerian Language, Grammar, Ancient Mesopotamia, Copular Sentences, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Topicalization, Parataxis, Sumerian Grammar, and Copula
This paper is the publication of a previously unknown manuscript of En-metena 1 (RIME 1.9.5.1), which is kept in the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq. The new manuscript contains an abbreviated version of the text compared to the text on the... more
This paper is the publication of a previously unknown manuscript of En-metena
1 (RIME 1.9.5.1), which is kept in the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq. The new manuscript contains an abbreviated version of the text compared to the text on the Louvre cone and the Yale jar. Although only about the half of the round object that carries the text is preserved, it may be estimated that the Sulaymaniyah manuscript originally was at least 89 lines shorter than the Louvre and the Yale manuscripts.
1 (RIME 1.9.5.1), which is kept in the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq. The new manuscript contains an abbreviated version of the text compared to the text on the Louvre cone and the Yale jar. Although only about the half of the round object that carries the text is preserved, it may be estimated that the Sulaymaniyah manuscript originally was at least 89 lines shorter than the Louvre and the Yale manuscripts.
Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Sumerian, Ancient Near Eastern History, Sumerian Language, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
This short paper is about CUNES 39–01-026, an Ur III document recently published by David Owen (2018). It argues that this document is not a (loan?) contract but a judicial record about the repayment of a loan in barley.
Research Interests:
This paper publishes a praise poem of Warad-Sîn, king of Larsa. The manuscript, a one-column tablet, comes from a private collection and is unprovenanced (Kress 41 = CDLI P333397) The text might be an excerpt from a longer composition.... more
This paper publishes a praise poem of Warad-Sîn, king of Larsa. The manuscript, a one-column tablet, comes from a private collection and is unprovenanced (Kress 41 = CDLI P333397) The text might be an excerpt from a longer composition. Its 20 lines long text praises first Nippur, the city of Enlil, then Warad-Sîn speaks in the first person about the commission given to him by Enlil, about his deeds to the city, and about their permanence. The author of this text appears to be familiar both with the literary corpus and the royal inscriptions of the Old Babylonian period.
Research Interests: Ancient Near East, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Isin-Larsa Period, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
The long inscription on the seated Statue B of Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, has been known for more than a century now. Yet, the 365 lines long text contains several passages whose interpretation cannot be considered as generally accepted. One... more
The long inscription on the seated Statue B of Gudea, ruler of Lagaš, has been known for more than a century now. Yet, the 365 lines long text contains several passages whose interpretation cannot be considered as generally accepted. One such passage is the two lines long relative clause from the apodosis part of the first curse on the statue, ll. 1:15–16:
me {d}nin-ŋir₂-su-ka, ba-ni-ib₂-la₂-a
This paper reviews the translations and interpretations given for this passage and proposes a new translation, which differ substantially from the earlier ones.
me {d}nin-ŋir₂-su-ka, ba-ni-ib₂-la₂-a
This paper reviews the translations and interpretations given for this passage and proposes a new translation, which differ substantially from the earlier ones.
Research Interests:
This paper examines a remarkable variation in the new manuscript of En-metena 1 (RIME 1.9.5.1) kept in the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq: a left-dislocated genitive construction is replaced by a simple genitive construction. Also, the... more
This paper examines a remarkable variation in the new manuscript of En-metena 1 (RIME 1.9.5.1) kept in the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq: a left-dislocated genitive construction is replaced by a simple genitive construction. Also, the manuscript shortens the text in a number of places. The paper reviews other known examples of text abridgements in royal inscriptions of the 3rd millennium BC and suggests that the composers of these inscriptions used similar techniques to manipulate the texts according to their function and use as the scribes who wrote the Assyrian royal inscriptions of the 1st millennium. The new manuscript provides a rare opportunity to observe a scribe who adapts an already existing text using his linguistic competence.
Research Interests:
A note on the meaning of a-e i₃-mi-e₃ in En-metena 1, offering a new translation of the much-discussed expression: "to wash away/to destroy with water".
Research Interests:
In the inscriptions of E-ana-tum, ruler of Lagaš, listing his victories over various cities, there is a four-line long passage that describes E-ana-tum’s defeat over the city called Arawa. The translations of this grammatically difficult... more
In the inscriptions of E-ana-tum, ruler of Lagaš, listing his victories over various cities, there is a four-line long passage that describes E-ana-tum’s defeat over the city called Arawa.
The translations of this grammatically difficult passage vary greatly; there seems to be no agreement either about its exact meaning or about its grammatical analysis. This paper first evaluates the translations and analyses proposed so far, then, in its second part, a new translation is offered. This translation is based on an analysis of the passage that takes into consideration not only verbal and nominal morphology and syntax, but also the information structure of the passage and the arrangement of the cuneiform signs.
Eanatum, Lagash, Sumerian grammar, royal inscriptions
The translations of this grammatically difficult passage vary greatly; there seems to be no agreement either about its exact meaning or about its grammatical analysis. This paper first evaluates the translations and analyses proposed so far, then, in its second part, a new translation is offered. This translation is based on an analysis of the passage that takes into consideration not only verbal and nominal morphology and syntax, but also the information structure of the passage and the arrangement of the cuneiform signs.
Eanatum, Lagash, Sumerian grammar, royal inscriptions
Research Interests: Ancient History, Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, and 8 moreAncient Near Eastern History, History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Sumerian Language, Mesopotamia, Ancient Sumerian Texts, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Topicalization, and Assyriologie
This short paper analyses the formula introducing the oath-takings by the defeated ruler of Umma on the Stele of Vultures, erected by E-ana-tum, the ruler of Lagash. It argues that the second clause of the formula must be interpreted as... more
This short paper analyses the formula introducing the oath-takings by the defeated ruler of Umma on the Stele of Vultures, erected by E-ana-tum, the ruler of Lagash.
It argues that the second clause of the formula must be interpreted as a causative verbal form, and demonstrates that the form of the verbal prefix-chain may depend on co-occurrence restrictions between verbal prefixes in Sumerian.
With the causative interpretation of the second clause, there remains no grammatical basis for the hypothesis that E-ana-tum and the leader of Umma mutually swore an oath, as assumed by D.O. Edzard and C. Wilcke.
It argues that the second clause of the formula must be interpreted as a causative verbal form, and demonstrates that the form of the verbal prefix-chain may depend on co-occurrence restrictions between verbal prefixes in Sumerian.
With the causative interpretation of the second clause, there remains no grammatical basis for the hypothesis that E-ana-tum and the leader of Umma mutually swore an oath, as assumed by D.O. Edzard and C. Wilcke.
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Ancient History, Law, Assyriology, Mesopotamia History, and 17 moreMesopotamian Religions, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerology, Ancient Languages, Ancient Near Eastern History, Sumerian Language, History of Law, Loyalty Oath, Oaths, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Sumerian Grammar, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Ancient Near Eastern History, and Cuneiform, History and Archaeology of Assyria,Harappan Culture, Causative constructions, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
Corrections to the book (09 December 2019).
Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerology, and 4 moreSumerian Language, Mesopotamia, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Sumerian Grammar
Research Interests:
This short paper is a prosopographical study of one of the judges in Ur III Girsu, Lu-Ningirsu, the son of Lu-Baba, aiming to add as many details about his activity as possible on the basis of seal impressions and documents unearthed in... more
This short paper is a prosopographical study of one of the judges in Ur III Girsu, Lu-Ningirsu, the son of Lu-Baba, aiming to add as many details about his activity as possible on the basis of seal impressions and documents unearthed in Girsu.
The evidence discussed here indicates that Lu-Ningirsu was not only a judge but also an official of high status in the Lagaš province. Moreover, it is probable that his function as judge was precisely the result of his high status.
The evidence discussed here indicates that Lu-Ningirsu was not only a judge but also an official of high status in the Lagaš province. Moreover, it is probable that his function as judge was precisely the result of his high status.
Research Interests: Law, Assyriology, Legal History: Ancient Near East, Legal History, Ancient Near East, and 12 moreSumerian, Mesopotamian history, Ancient Near Eastern History, Sumerian Language, History of Law, Mesopotamia, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Ur III administrative texts, Ur III period, Ur III Studies, and Ur III
The aim of this short paper is to collect and make available to a wider public some basic data on the meetings of the Sumerian Grammar Discussion Group, with the hope that this part of our field’s history may not fall into complete... more
The aim of this short paper is to collect and make available to a wider public some basic data on the meetings of the Sumerian Grammar Discussion Group, with the hope that this part of our field’s history may not fall into complete oblivion, and the material collected here may prove helpful in reconstructing the exchange of ideas within Sumerology for someone interested in such issues.
Research Interests: Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian Language, Mesopotamia, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 7 moreSumerian, Copulas, Relative Clauses, Sumerian Language, Mesopotamia, Copular Sentences, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Assyriology, Mesopotamian Religions, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 9 moreSumerian, Ancient Mesopotamian Religions, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerology, Inanna, Sumerian mythology, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Ancient Near Eastern History, and Cuneiform, History and Archaeology of Assyria,Harappan Culture, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, and 6 moreSumerology, Sumerian Language, Ancient Sumerian Texts, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Sumerian Grammar, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
We present editions of five cuneiform tablets in the collection of Norwich Castle Museum and two held by Cambridge University Library. The Norwich tablets comprise three tablets from the well-known “Mesag archive” or “Umma C” from the... more
We present editions of five cuneiform tablets in the collection of Norwich Castle Museum and two held by Cambridge University Library. The Norwich tablets comprise three tablets from the well-known “Mesag archive” or “Umma C” from the Sargonic period; one small tablet from Ur III Umma; and a fragment of an unprovenanced Old Babylonian account. Those in Cambridge are both from Ur III Girsu: a wool receipt and part of a balanced labour account.
Research Interests: Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerology, Ancient Near Eastern History, and 4 moreHistory and Administration of III Dynasty of Ur, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Ur III period
Research Interests:
"Starting from around the end of the 3rd millennium BCE a remarkable development occurs in the Sumerian case system: various enclitics ending in the phonemes /a/ or /e/ can be used interchangeably. The phenomenon has been said to... more
"Starting from around the end of the 3rd millennium BCE a remarkable development occurs in the Sumerian case system: various enclitics ending in the phonemes /a/ or /e/ can be used interchangeably. The phenomenon has been said to originate in a mismatch between the Sumerian and Akkadian systems of expressing notions of location. The exact nature of this mismatch, however, has not been investigated. This paper presents the Sumerian local case system as a system of oppositions and shows that it is fundamentally different from the oppositions underlying the Akkadian system. It argues that the interchangeable use of the enclitics –/ʾa/ and –/e/ is the result of a failure to establish clear equivalence relations between the functionally corresponding systems of the two languages."
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Languages and Linguistics, Contact Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Assyriology, and 14 moreAkkadian Language, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerology, Akkadian (Languages And Linguistics) (Languages And Linguistics), Language contact, Sumerian Language, Akkadian, Sumerian, History of Ancient Near East, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Assyriologie
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, and 4 moreCase and Agreement, Sumerian Language, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Assyriologie
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Corpus Linguistics, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, and 5 moreAncient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerology, Sumerian Language, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerology, and 2 moreSumerian Language and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
This paper aims to show that the structural varieties of Sumerian copular clauses can be adequately accounted for only with reference to their information structure. It presents a classification of Sumerian copular clauses in terms of... more
This paper aims to show that the structural varieties of Sumerian copular clauses can be adequately accounted for only with reference to their information structure. It presents a classification of Sumerian copular clauses in terms of their semantic type and information structure, based on word order in copular clauses and on the way the subject is expressed. It concludes that Sumerian copular clauses have two particular structural positions to accommodate constituents functioning as topic and focus, respectively. Topic is situated in the left periphery of the clause, while focus had a particular structural position before the copula.
The Sumerian verbal copula is a multi-functional morpheme. In addition to functioning as the copula in clauses with a non-verbal predicate, it may also function as focus-marker and standard-marker in certain contexts. The latter functions developed in biclausal constructions, and the semantic types of copular clauses determined the direction of these developments.
The first section of the paper gives a description of the most important characteristics of Sumerian copular clauses. The next section begins with an overview of the linguistic literature on copular clauses. It introduces the semantic types of copular clauses that serve as the basis of the subsequent description of Sumerian copular clauses. The main part of the paper describes the copular clauses in terms of their semantic type and information structure.
The Sumerian verbal copula is a multi-functional morpheme. In addition to functioning as the copula in clauses with a non-verbal predicate, it may also function as focus-marker and standard-marker in certain contexts. The latter functions developed in biclausal constructions, and the semantic types of copular clauses determined the direction of these developments.
The first section of the paper gives a description of the most important characteristics of Sumerian copular clauses. The next section begins with an overview of the linguistic literature on copular clauses. It introduces the semantic types of copular clauses that serve as the basis of the subsequent description of Sumerian copular clauses. The main part of the paper describes the copular clauses in terms of their semantic type and information structure.
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Languages and Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Assyriology, Pragmatics, and 23 moreTypology, Comparative Linguistics, Morphology, Linguistics, Language, Information structure (Languages And Linguistics), Information Structure, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Copulas, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerology, Linguistic Typology, Sumerian Language, Assyirology, Sumerian Language, Linguistics, Focus, Copular Sentences, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Sumerian Grammar, Copular Verbs, Sumerian and Akkadian Language, and Assyriologie
Cases are traditionally identified on the basis of their nominal markers in Sumerology. This understanding is different to the way case is defined in the linguistic literature which think of cases as sets of nominal forms that are... more
Cases are traditionally identified on the basis of their nominal markers in Sumerology. This understanding is different to the way case is defined in the linguistic literature which think of cases as sets of nominal forms that are mutually substitutable in one or more syntactic environment, and makes a distinction between cases and case-markers, the means by which cases are signaled. This paper will show that the traditional description of Sumerian adverbial cases leads to a number of contradictions. It will suggest that the cases defined on the basis of linguistic principles allow one to make generalizations in the description of Sumerian and eventually lead to a simpler and descriptively more adequate grammar.
Research Interests: Languages, Languages and Linguistics, Contact Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Assyriology, and 15 moreComparative Linguistics, Morphology, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Theoretical Linguistics, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerology, Linguistic Typology, Case and Agreement, Sumerian Language, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Sumerian Grammar
The mutual influence of East-Semitic Akkadian and isolate Sumerian on each other is the first known and documented example of contact-induced language change. Speakers of East-Semitic and Sumerian may have been in contact for over a... more
The mutual influence of East-Semitic Akkadian and isolate Sumerian on each other is the first known and documented example of contact-induced language change. Speakers of East-Semitic and Sumerian may have been in contact for over a thousand years, and the contact resulted in similarities on the level of phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. This chapter describes the linguistic traits of Akkadian that may have developed under the influence of Sumerian. Except for a considerable number of loanwords from Sumerian, this influence manifests itself in shared patterns, categories, constructions, and meanings but not in loaned forms, a fact which alone may be an indication of prolonged and stable bilingualism.
Research Interests: Diachronic Linguistics (Or Historical Linguistics), Languages and Linguistics, Contact Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Assyriology, and 16 moreAfro-Asiatic Linguistics, Comparative Linguistics, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerology, Linguistic Typology, Sumerian Language, Early Dynastic Sumer, Early Dynastic Mesopotamia, Ancien Near Eastern Languages, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Sumerian Grammar
Research Interests: Assyriology, Mesopotamia History, Mesopotamian Religions, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 11 moreSumerian, Ancient Mesopotamian Religions, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerology, Sumerian History, Sumerian Language, Early Dynastic Sumer, Mesopotamia, Early Dynastic Mesopotamia, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Ancient Mesopotamia (History
Research Interests: History of Linguistics, Languages and Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Assyriology, History of Science, and 10 moreComparative Linguistics, Akkadian Language, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerology, Sumerian Language, and Grammatical Categories
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In ETCSRI every word form is represented on three levels: i) in orthographic representation, or transliteration; ii) in morphemic representation (M1); and iii) in morphemic glossing representation (M2). ETCSRI is different from other... more
In ETCSRI every word form is represented on three levels: i) in orthographic representation, or transliteration; ii) in morphemic representation (M1); and iii) in morphemic glossing representation (M2). ETCSRI is different from other ORACC corpora in that it can also be searched by morphemic and morphemic glossing representation. These types of search are based on the morphological parsing adopted by ETCSRI.
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The paper aims to describe the variations in the syntactic construction of the multiword verb igi bar “to look at something/somebody”. The first section discusses the general problem of grammatical variants in manu- scripts of Old... more
The paper aims to describe the variations in the syntactic construction of the multiword verb igi bar “to look at something/somebody”. The first section discusses the general problem of grammatical variants in manu- scripts of Old Babylonian (OB) literary compositions. The next section classifies the variants, discusses their origin, and relates the results of the paper to the grammar of OB literary texts in general. The main part of the paper concludes with an analysis of the statistical distribution of the variants in different groups of Sumerian texts. The paper includes two Appendices which present the evidence on which its conclusions are based.
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Linguistics, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, and 3 moreAkkadian, Babylon, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
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Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Babylon, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and 8 moreSumerian History, Sumerian Language, Early Dynastic Sumer, Early Dynastic Mesopotamia, Ancient Sumerian Texts, Akkadian, Sumerian, History of Ancient Near East, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Sumerian Grammar
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This paper consists of two main parts.1 The first part contains a transliteration and a translation of the compositions preserved on Ash 1911.235 and Ni 9672 with philological commentary. A copy and photos of Ash 1911.235 are also... more
This paper consists of two main parts.1 The first part contains a transliteration and a translation of the compositions preserved on Ash 1911.235 and Ni 9672 with philological commentary. A copy and photos of Ash 1911.235 are also included. Ash 1911.235 was published over ninety years ago as BL 196 (Langdon 1913: 84–6, pl. 64), while Ni 9672 was published in a hand copy in ISET 2, pl. 3. No-one has recognized, however, that these two tablets preserve the same compositions.
The second part of the paper discusses the relationship between the compositions that end with a so called kaga muniĝar refrain, in connection with the fragmentary tablet Ni 1138, which might have contained the same compositions as Ash 1911.235 and Ni 9672, and whose colophon refers to the first line of Išme-Dagan W.
The second part of the paper discusses the relationship between the compositions that end with a so called kaga muniĝar refrain, in connection with the fragmentary tablet Ni 1138, which might have contained the same compositions as Ash 1911.235 and Ni 9672, and whose colophon refers to the first line of Išme-Dagan W.
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The paper aims to discusses two types of genitive constructions of Sumerian: the anticipatory genitive and the lexical external possession construction. In both constructions the possessor occupies a position before the head of the NP... more
The paper aims to discusses two types of genitive constructions of Sumerian: the anticipatory genitive and the lexical external possession construction. In both constructions the possessor occupies a position before the head of the NP which is a marked position of the possessor in Sumerian. They differ, however, in the case-marking of the possessor. In the anticipa- tory genitive construction (henceforth, AGC), the possessor is case-marked with the genitive, while in the lexical external possession construction (henceforth, EPC), the possessor is case-marked with a case governed by the predicate. It will be argued that in both of them the possessor is left-dislocated to topicalize a cognitively accessible but inactive participant. The difference in their case-marker will be connected with a difference in the marking of internal and external possessors in Sumerian.
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Contact Linguistics, Assyriology, Pragmatics, Linguistics, and 19 moreAncient Near East, Language, Information structure (Languages And Linguistics), Information Structure, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Linguistic Typology, Language contact, Sumerian Language, Generative linguistics, Topic, Universal grammar, Inalienable Possession, Possessive constructions, Generative Syntax, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Genitives
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Assyriology, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, and 3 moreSumerian mythology, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Netherworld Mesopotamia
Research Interests: Sumerian Religion, Assyriology, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Sumerian literature
Research Interests: Assyriology, Mesopotamia History, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, and 5 moreSumerian & Akkadian literature, Astronomy, Ancien Near East, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
A short, concise grammar of Sumerian describing the language in terms of morphological templates.
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 6 moreSumerian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerology, Sumerian Language, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Sumerian Grammar
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 3 moreSumerian, Sumerian Language, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerian Language, and 2 moreAssyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
In the so called “Reformtexts” of Iri-kagina, the passage that claims that Iri-kagina installs the gods Ningirsu, Bau, and Shul-shagana as proprietors over the households and fields of the ruler’s family (Iri-kagina 1 9:7–21 [RIME... more
In the so called “Reformtexts” of Iri-kagina, the passage that claims that Iri-kagina installs the gods Ningirsu, Bau, and Shul-shagana as proprietors over the households and fields of the ruler’s family (Iri-kagina 1 9:7–21 [RIME 1.9.9.1]) has been the starting point of theories about the nature of the Sumerian city state in the Early Dynastic Period. The interpretation of this passage is hampered by the fact that the corresponding passage in the first part of the text (Iri-kagina 1 7:5–11) has no generally accepted understanding. This passage describes the state of affairs before Iri-kagina, and its understanding depends mainly on the meaning of the Sumerian idiom zag — us₂. This seminar reviews and evaluates the interpretations of this key passage and attempts to offer a new understanding based on the investigation of the text and of the uses and meanings of the idiom zag — us₂ in contemporary and later texts.
Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerian Language, and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
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This talk discusses evidence showing that copular clauses with an enclitic copula may be used as paratactic relative clauses in Sumerian, and that it is the topic of the copular clause that will be interpreted as its head.
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, and 14 moreSumerian, Copulas, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerian History, Relative Clauses, Sumerian Language, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Ancient Sumerian Texts, Copular Sentences, Akkadian, Sumerian, History of Ancient Near East, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Sumerian Grammar, and Akkadian and Sumerian literature
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Research Interests: Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Sumerian Language, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, and Sumerian Grammar
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assyriology, Pragmatics, Linguistics, Ancient Near East, and 9 moreAncient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Sumerian Language, Voice, Middle Voice, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Topicalization, and Genitives
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Akkadian Language, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Akkadian, and 4 moreSumerian Language, Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies, Causative, and Causative constructions
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Research plan of the project that will run between 2020.10.01 and 2023.09.30, funded by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA).
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This sort paper discusses an interesting variant in an inscription of En-metena, ruler of Lagash, together with its implication to our understanding of the pertinent grammatical construction.
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Ennek a szövegnek egy korábbi változata az Ókori és keleti nyelvek és írások című, online elérhető oktatási segédanyag (2006, http://gepeskonyv.btk.elte.hu/adatok/Okor-kelet/Okori.es.keleti.nyelvek.es.irasok/index.asp.html) részeként... more
Ennek a szövegnek egy korábbi változata az Ókori és keleti nyelvek és írások című, online elérhető oktatási segédanyag (2006, http://gepeskonyv.btk.elte.hu/adatok/Okor-kelet/Okori.es.keleti.nyelvek.es.irasok/index.asp.html) részeként jelent meg “A sumer nyelv és írás” címmel. Jelen szöveg a 2006-os fejezet aktualizált, módosított, javított változata.
Research Interests: Assyriology, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Sumerian, Sumerian Language, and 2 moreAncient Mesopotamia and Assyriology Sumerology Akkadian Sumerian Sumerian & Akkadian literature Sumerian Religion Mesopotamia History Ancient Mesopotamian Religions Cuneiform Ancient Near East Ancient Near Estern Languages Religious Studies
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Dying aggregators and archives floating in the cloud (with an English summary at the end)