SumerianGrammar

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EXCLAMATIONS
“Exclamations” should be understood as a catch-all term for calls,
interjections, or even such expressions as “yes” or “no”.
Although exclamations are, strictly speaking, part of the lexicon
rather than of grammar, we will still briefly quote the most important
ones. The exact meaning of an exclamation being highly dependent
on its cultural context, it is difficult today to arrive at a strict
definition (and delimitation from related terms). Therefore, many
translations have to be taken as approximations only.
The following list of transliterated terms is arranged alphabetically.
15.1. [A]
For a “woe”, “ouch”, see Krecher 1966, 145.
a gú-∞gu10 . . . a-nir im-∞ gá-∞gá-ne “ouch, my neck, . . . they are wail-
ing” GEN 155.
15.2. [ALALA]
a-la-la, exclamation of a positive character, also used as a work cry.
See PSD A/1, 100.
Note: [1] in exclamations (see also 15.6) is a universal phenomenon. Cf. only
Classical Greek élalã, Hebrew hallelùyà, Spanish olè, French hélas, olàlà, German
hallo, halali; ululation, etc., whatever the etymology of the individual expression.
15.3. [ALULU]
a-lu-lu “woe”, see PSD A/1, 107.