SUMERIAN

LESSON 5
(72) Enki’s journey to Nibru 71 (ETCSL 1.1.4)
e₂-engur-ra-ke₄ šir₃ dug₃-ge-eš im-me
eengurak=e šir dug-ø-eš S2 i- S4 m- S11 b- S12 e- S14 e
TN=L3.NH song sweet-TL-ADV FIN-VEN-3.SG.NH.L3-speak.PF-3.SG.A
“He praised the E-engura temple in the manner of sweet songs.”
The other way to form an adverb of manner is to attach the enclitic =/be/ to
a tenseless, see ex. (73), or a preterite non-finite verbal form, see ex. (74) below.
(73) Enlil in the Ekur 75 (ETCSL 4.05.1)
abzu barag kug-ga gal-be₂ tum₂-ma-zu
abzu barag kug=ʾa gal-ø=be tum-ʾa=zu
GN dais holy=L2.NH great-TL=3.SG.NH.POSS suit=PT=2.SG.POSS
“That you are greatly suited for the abzu, the holy throne ….”
(74) Letter from Ishbi-Erra to Ibbi-Suen 25 (ETCSL 3.1.17)
še-ba-ne₂ ul₄-la-be₂ al-til-la
šeba=ane=ø ul-ʾa=be S2al- S12 til- S14 ø- S15ʾa=ø=am-ø
ration=3.SG.H.POSS=ABS hurry-PT=3.SG.NH.POSS FIN-complete-3.SG.S-SUB=ABS=COP-3.SG.S
“The thing is that his grain rations have quickly been exhausted.”
The enclitic =/be/ may well be related to the 3rd ps. sg. non-human possessive
enclitic, but the origin of this construction is unclear. From the Old Babylonian
period onwards, the meaning of this form is occasionally reinforced with an
additional adverbiative:
(75) Anam A 38 (ETCSL 2.7.1.1)
d en-lil₂-še₃ maḫ-be₂-eš₂ ŋal₂-me-en
enlil=še maḫ=be=eš ŋal-ø=ø=me=en
DN=TERM great=3.SG.NH.POSS=ADV exist-TL=ABS=COP=2.SG.S
“You are grandly there for Enlil!”
5.3 Numerals
Sumerians used a sexagesimal number system, i.e., they counted in multiples
of sixty. As numerals normally were written with logograms, the reconstruction
of their phonological and morphological form is not without problem. The
numbers 1–5, 10, 20, 60 and 3600 are expressed with unanalysable words, while
70