SumerianGrammar

SUBSTANTIVES
43
ing is still inadequate. In the ubiquitous dedicatory formula “for
his/her life”, the spelling is consistently nam-ti-la-ni-”È and never
*-ni-i“ oder *-ni-e“. Either there were two syllables [ni“e] or -ni-”È
stood for one syllable [ni“].
Falkenstein 1949, 113 f., referred to the spelling sa∞g-bi“(PE”) “to
its head” Gudea Cyl. B ii 18 with contrasting sa∞g-bi-”È in Cyl. A
iv 11, and see Falkenstein 1949, 30.
The terminative is most obviously opposed to the ablative in such
phrases as an-gal-ta ki-gal-“è (see 5.4.2.7) or Úrim ki -ta Nibru ki -“è
“from Ur to Nippur”.
Local use is, again, transferred to temporal: u 4 -ul-lí-a-“è “until
(those days =) all future”.
Moreover, the terminative may be used to indicate abstract ways
of reasoning: cause, reason, purpose. Cf. mu-bi-“è “(to its name =)
therefore”; a-na-a“(-àm) “for what is it” = “why”; ní∞g-ba-a“ “as (the
purpose of ) a present”.
The terminative, set after a nominalized verbal phrase (whether
introduced by u 4 or not) serves to express what is a subordinate temporal
clause in Akkadian (with adi ): “until ...”.
Both the terminative and adverbiative particles have to be kept
separate from the quotation particle [e“e] which the Gudea corpus
equally spell -É” (in OB e-“e). Cf. below 13.1.
5.4.2.9. Directive
The directive (locative-terminative) case particle [e] was, most probably,
identical in sound with the ergative [e] and because both particles
share the same spelling and phonotactic behaviour, the origin
of the ergative particle has been sought in the directive. See above
5.4.2.2.
Be that as it may, by the time we have some insight into the phonetic
realities hidden behind Sumerian spelling habits, both cases
have clearly established themselves as separate entities and, most
tellingly, the concord of the two case particles with verbal prefix particles
is also different. Cf. Gudea Cyl. A iv 4: kar-Ni∞gin ki -na-ke 4 (dir.)
má (absol.) bí(-n)-ús “he (= Gudea, erg.) had the boat moor at the
quay of N.”.
The main function of the directive is to express movement arriving
(into contact with) an object, or position adjacent to (in contact
with) an object.