SumerianGrammar

58 CHAPTER NINE
*n : b) is surprising, at least if one expects a morphological correspondence
between interrogative and personal pronouns as, e.g., in
Latin quis : is, quid : id or German wer : er, was : das.
For a-ba, ergative a-ba-a is attested, and both a-ba and a-na, like
rd
3 person class pronoun e-ne, may be combined with the copula
-àm. Generally speaking, the restrictions as to the affixation of case
particles affecting the personal pronouns apply equally to the interrogative
pronouns (see 9.1).
There is no adjectival interrogative, as a possible correspondence
to Akkadian ajjû, ajjìtu “which”. For na-me “any one” see 9.5.2.
Note: CAD A/1, 234 ajû lex., quotes a late reference where na-me is rendered
by ajjû “which”; here, however, the Sumerian text has the well-known syntagma
na-me + negated verb, perhaps as a question, so that the Akkadian translation
“which one” would actually render “(has) no one”.
9.5. ALLEGED PRONOUNS
9.5.1. Reflexive pronoun
The Sumerian base ní-(te-) serves to express, along with possessive
particles, notions which we are used to translate by “myself ”, etc.
i.e., by a reflexive pronoun: “ám-ní-te-na “purchase price of himself
” (= for his own person) NG no. 38:7; ní-zu-“è ∞gé“tu-zu “to yourself
your ear!” (= “be aware of yourself ”) Angim 81, and see more
examples in Thomsen 1984, 78 f.
There seems to have been a general distribution rule: ní-te-V versus
ní-C, i.e., ní-∞gu 10 /-zu versus ní-te(-a)-ni, ní-te(-a)-ne-ne for
“my/your/itself ”, “him/herself, themselves”. But note ní-te-∞gu 10 -“è
“to myself ” UET 6/2, 144:36 f., quoted by Attinger 1993, 174.
NS or OB ní-te is preceded by OS ME-te, most probably to be
read ni x -te (Attinger 1993, 174): Nite(TE:ME)-ga-i “Let me praise
(my)self ” DP 73 ii 2 (PN).
For bilingual contexts where ní-te = ramanu see CAD R 117 lex.
ní-(te-) + possessive particle is a nominal phrase not different from,
e.g., sa∞g + poss. particle, and therefore, strictly speaking, ní-(te-) cannot
be considered a “pronoun”. One would rather associate ní-(te)
with parts of the body.
Alster 1974, 178–80; Cavigneaux 1978, 177–85; Thomsen 1984, 78 f.; Attinger
1993, 174 f. with more lit.