Johnson 2004 - CDLI - UCLA

(40) Inanna and Ebih [1.3.2], ll. 83-86
83. kur.kur.ra muß ki.in.dar.ra.gin 7
ßu ˙u.mu.da.dub 2.be 2.eß crevice,
84. muß.saœ.kal kur.bi.ta e 11.da.gin 7
May he destroy the lands as a snake in a
May he make them slither around like a
da.ga ˙u.mu.da.an.du sankal snake coming down from a
64
mountain.
85. kur.ra a 2 he 2 bi 2.in.œar igi May he overcome the mountain, examine it,
˙e 2.ni.in.bar gid 2.da.bi ˙a.ba.zu and know its length,
86. ˙ar.ra.an ku 3 an.na.ka.ße 3
May he go out on the holy campaign of An
˙e 2.ni.e 3 buru 3.da.bi ˙a.ba.zu and know its depth,
In the four examples in (38), (39) and (40), a noun phrase in the ergative case is
positively affected by the event, whereas the negatively affected participant either does
not appear explicitly or appears followed by the locative postposition.
(41) Lament for Sumer and Ur [2.2.3], ll. 400-402
400. ßa 3.bi.a niœ 2 ßa 3.œar.ra.ka On the inside, we are being finished off by
i.im.til.le.de 3.en.de 3.en famine,
401. bar.bi.a œiß tukul elam ki .ma.ka On the outside, won’t we be finished off by
ga nam ba.[e.til].le.en.de 3.en Elamite weapons,
ki
402. uri5 .ma lu2.erim2.e a2 bi2.ib.œar Won’t we be finished off by the enemy that
ga nam ba.til.e.de 3..de 3.en has overcome Ur?