SUMERIAN

LESSON 5
In actual texts, however, the pronoun =/be/ often appears rather to have the
meaning “this”, see, e.g., ex. (59) above or ex. (106) below. It is also often used
as a quasi-definite article, and it is likely to be the source of the 3rd ps. sg. nonhuman
possessive enclitic. The pronoun /ur/ is frequently attested with the
equative case-marker as in ex. (67) below.
(67) Gudea Statue B 6:77–7:3 (Lagash, 22nd c.) (P232275)
e₂ ur₅-gen₇ dim₂-ma, ensi₂ dili-e,
e ur=gen dim-ʾa=ø ensi dili=e
house DEM=EQU make-PT=ABS ruler single=ERG
d nin-ŋir₂-su-ra, nu-na-du₃,
ninŋirsuk=ra S1 nu- S2 i- S6 nn- S7 a- S11 n- S12 du- S14 ø
DN=DAT.H
NEG-FIN-3.SG.H-DAT-3.SG.H.A-build-3.SG.P
“No ruler ever built a temple fashioned like this for Ningirsu.”
5.2 Adverbs of manner and the adverbiative
There are two ways to form adverbs of manner in Sumerian: i) With the
adverbiative enclitic =/eš/; ii) with the enclitic =/be/. First we discuss the
adverbiative in detail as its exact classification is controversial.
The basic form of the adverbiative enclitic is =/eš/. In many contexts, the
enclitic of the adverbiative and the terminative case-marker are written with
the same grapheme, ŠE₃, which may be read either as –še₃ or –eš₂, consequently
the adverbiative and the terminative cases are not always easy to tell apart in
practice. It is the easiest to distinguish them after words ending in a consonant.
In ex. (68) below the spelling clearly shows that the form of the adverbiative is
=/eš/, in contrast to the terminative in ex. (69) whose basic form is =/še/.
(68) Gudea Cyl. A 24:8 (Lagash, 22nd c.) (ETCSL 2.1.7)
e 2 lugal-na zid-de 3 -eš 2 mu-du 3
e lugal=ane=ak=ø zid-ø=eš S4 mu- S11 n- S12 du- S14 ø
house king=3.SG.H.POSS=GEN=ABS right-TL=ADV VEN-3.SG.H.A-build-3.SG.P
“He built his master’s temple in the appropriate manner.
(69) Gudea Statue B 3:8–9 (Lagash, 22nd c.) (P232275)
gu₃-de₂-a, sipad zid-še₃ kalam-ma
gudea=ø sipad zid-ø=še kalam=ʾa
PN=ABS shepherd right-TL=TERM land=L1
68