SumerianGrammar

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EMESAL
Emesal (eme-sal) is a sociolinguistic variety of Sumerian attested for
the speech of women or goddesses and of the “cantor” (gala). The
pronunciation is supported by the Akkadian loanword ummisallu (AHw.
s.v.; see also emesallu, CAD E). The meaning of the term is not completely
clear; maybe “thin, fine tongue” (sal = raqqu) referred to a
highpitched voice; cf. Russian tonkij golos “thin (high-pitched) voice”;
see also Krecher 1967b, 87 fn. 1).
Note: The fact that the “cantor” used a form of speech otherwise attested for female
persons has caused much speculation: Was the gala a eunuch or an effeminate
male See the discussion in Schretter 1990, 124–36. It is, however, well known that
the modern counter-tenor or even altus is sung by sexually normal male persons.
Emesal is first attested in the early OB period. It is found in a oneto-one
relation with eme-gi 7 (-r) in phonology, morphology, vocabulary,
and syntax. The main difference between the standard form of
Sumerian (eme-gi 7 (-r)) and emesal regards sounds and lexicon.
Emesal is spelled phonetically (e.g., zé-eb [zeb] = dùg “good,
sweet”) or semi-phonetically (e.g., d Mu-ul-líl [Mullil] = Enlil where
the second element líl is never given as *li-il). It is quite probable
that also traditional eme-gi 7 (-r) spelling could be read in emesal when
required by context.
Only a few examples out of the very ample evidence for emesal
will be offered here, the whole material having been collected by
Krecher 1967b and Schretter 1990, with special attention to the
phonetic evidence.
eme-gi 7 (-r)
eme-sal
a-ga a-ba “back, rear”
dùg zé-eb “good, sweet”
ga- da- (modal indicator: cohortative)
enim e-ne-è∞g “word”
nir-∞gál “e-er-ma-al “person of authority”
di∞gir dìm-me-er “deity”