Akkadian language

Akkadian (lišānum akkadītum, 𒀝𒂵𒌈 ak.kADû) (also Accadian, Assyro-Babylonian1) is an abolished Semitic accent (part of the greater Afroasiatic accent family) that was announced in age-old Mesopotamia. The age-old accurate Semitic language, it acclimated the cuneiform autograph arrangement acquired ultimately from age-old Sumerian, an different accent isolate. The name of the accent is acquired from the burghal of Akkad, a above centermost of Mesopotamian civilization.

During the third millennium BC, a abutting cultural symbiosis developed amid the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included boundless bilingualism.2 The access of Sumerian on Akkadian (and carnality versa) is axiomatic in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.2 This has prompted advisers to accredit to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium as a sprachbund.2

Akkadian was aboriginal accurate in Sumerian texts in able names from about 2800 BC.3 From the additional bisected of the third millennium BC, texts absolutely accounting in Akkadian activate to appear. Hundreds of bags of texts and argument bits accept been biconcave up to date; accoutrement a all-inclusive textual attitude of fabulous narrative, acknowledged texts, accurate works, accord and abounding added examples. By the additional millennium BC, two alternative forms of the accent were in use in Assyria and Babylonia (known as Assyrian and Babylonian respectively).

Akkadian had been for centuries the lingua franca in the Age-old Near East. However, it began to abatement about the 8th aeon BC, actuality marginalized by Aramaic during the Neo Assyrian Empire. By the Hellenistic period, the accent was abundantly bedfast to advisers and priests alive in temples. The aftermost Akkadian cuneiform certificate dates to the 1st aeon AD.4 A cardinal of Akkadian accommodation words survive in the Mesopotamian Neo Aramaic dialects announced in and about avant-garde Iraq by the Assyrian Christians of the region, and the giving of Akkadian claimed names is still accepted amidst these people.

Classification

Akkadian belongs with the added Semitic languages in the Afro-Asiatic ancestors of languages, a ancestors built-in to Western Asia and Northern Africa.

Within the Semitic languages, Akkadian forms an East Semitic subgroup (with Eblaite). This accumulation distinguishes itself from the Northwest and South Semitic languages by its SOV chat order, while the added Semitic languages usually accept either a VSO or SVO order. This atypical chat adjustment is due to the access of the Sumerian substratum, which has an SOV order.

Additionally Akkadian is the alone Semitic accent to use the prepositions ina and ana (locative, English in/on/with, and dative-locative, for/to, respectively). Added Semitic languages like Arabic and Aramaic accept the prepositions bi/bə and li/lə (locative and dative, respectively). The agent of the Akkadian spatial prepositions is unknown.

In adverse with best added Semitic languages, Akkadian has alone one non-sibilant fricative: ḫ x. Akkadian absent both the glottal and pharyngeal fricatives, which are appropriate of the added Semitic languages. Up until the Old Babylonian period, the Akkadian sibilants were alone affricate.

edit History and writing

edit Writing

Main article: Assyrian cuneiform

Cuneiform autograph (Neoassyrian script)

(1 = Logogram (LG) "mix"/syllabogram (SG) ḫi,

2 = LG "moat",

3 = SG aʾ,

4 = SG aḫ, eḫ, iḫ, uḫ,

5 = SG kam,

6 = SG im,

7 = SG bir)

Old Akkadian is preserved on adobe tablets dating aback to 2600 BC. It was accounting application cuneiform, a calligraphy adopted from the Sumerians application wedge-shaped signs apprenticed in wet clay. As active by Akkadian scribes the acclimatized cuneiform calligraphy could represent either (a) Sumerian logograms (i.e. picture-based characters apery absolute words), (b) Sumerian syllables, (c) Akkadian syllables, or (d) phonetic complements. However, in Akkadian the calligraphy about became a absolutely fledged syllabic script, and the aboriginal logographic attributes of cuneiform became secondary. However, logograms for common words such as 'god' and 'temple' were still used. For this acumen the assurance AN can on the one duke be a logogram for the chat ilum ('god'), and on the added announce the god Anu, or alike the affricate -an-. Additionally the assurance was acclimated as a absolute for all-powerful names.

Example 4 in the angel on the appropriate shows accession abnormality of Akkadian cuneiform. Abounding signs do not accept a categorical phonetic value. Assertive signs, such as AḪ, do not analyze amid the altered beat qualities. Nor is there any allocation in the added direction; the affricate -ša-, for example, is rendered by the assurance ŠA, but additionally by the assurance NĪĜ. Both of these are generally acclimated for the aforementioned affricate in the aforementioned text.

Cuneiform was in abounding means abnormal to Akkadian: amid its flaws was its disability to represent important phonemes in Semitic, including a glottal stop, pharyngeals, and absolute consonants. In addition, cuneiform was a syllabary autograph arrangement — i.e. a accordant additional beat comprised one autograph assemblage — frequently inappropriate for a Semitic accent fabricated up of triconsonantal roots (i.e. three consonants additional any vowels).

edit Development

Akkadian is disconnected into several varieties based on cartography and actual period:5

Old Akkadian, 2500–1950 BC

Old Babylonian/Old Assyrian, 1950–1530 BC

Average Babylonian/Middle Assyrian, 1530–1000 BC

Neo-Babylonian/Neo-Assyrian, 1000–600 BC

Late Babylonian, 600 BC–100 AD

The age-old accepted Akkadian inscription was begin on a basin at Ur, addressed to the actual aboriginal pre-Sargonic baron Meskiang-nuna of Ur by his queen Gan-saman, who is anticipation to accept been from Akkad.

The Akkadian Empire, accustomed by Sargon of Akkad, alien the Akkadian accent (the "language of Akkad") as a accounting language, adapting Sumerian cuneiform orthography for the purpose. During the Average Bronze Age (Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian period), the accent about displaced Sumerian, which is affected to accept been abolished as a active accent by the 18th aeon BC.

Old Akkadian, which was acclimated until the end of the 3rd aeon BC, differs from both Babylonian and Assyrian, and was displaced by these dialects. By the 21st aeon BC Babylonian and Assyrian, which were to become the primary dialects, were calmly distinguishable. Old Babylonian, forth with the carefully accompanying accent Mariotic, is acutely added avant-garde than the Old Assyrian accent and the added distantly accompanying Eblaite language. For this reason, forms like lu-prus ('I will decide') are aboriginal encountered in Old Babylonian instead of the earlier la-prus (even admitting it was age-old compared to Akkadian). On the added hand, Assyrian developed assertive innovations as well, such as the "Assyrian beat harmony" (which is not commensurable to that begin in Turkish or Finnish). Eblaite is alike added archaic, application a advantageous bifold and a about pronoun beneath in case, cardinal and gender. Both of these had already abolished in Old Akkadian.

Old Babylonian was the accent of baron Hammurabi and his code, which is one of the oldest collections of laws in the world. (see Cipher of Ur-Nammu.)

The Average Babylonian (or Assyrian) aeon started in the 16th aeon BC. The analysis is apparent by the Kassite aggression of Babylonia about 1550 BC. The Kassites, who reigned for 300 years, gave up their own accent in favor of Akkadian, but they had little access on the language. At its apogee, Average Babylonian was the accounting accent of address of the absolute age-old Orient, including Egypt. During this period, a ample cardinal of accommodation words were included in the accent from North West Semitic languages and Hurrian; however, the use of these words was bedfast to the bound of the Akkadian speaking territory.

Middle Assyrian served as a lingua franca in abundant of the Age-old Near East of the Late Bronze Age (Amarna Period). During the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Neo-Assyrian began to about-face into a chancellery language, actuality marginalized by Old Aramaic. Beneath the Achaemenids, Aramaic connected to prosper, but Assyrian connected its decline. The language's final annihilation came about during the Hellenistic aeon back it was added marginalized by Koine Greek, alike admitting Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use in arcane attitude able-bodied into Parthian times. The most recent accepted argument in cuneiform Babylonian is an ample argument anachronous to 75 AD.6 The youngest texts accounting in Akkadian date from the 3rd aeon AD. A cardinal of Akkadian words and abounding claimed names survive to this day in the avant-garde Assyrian (or Neo Aramaic) accent announced by indigenous Assyrians (aka Chaldo-Assyrians)in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

An Akkadian inscription

Old Assyrian developed as able-bodied during the additional millennium BC, but because it was a absolutely accepted accent — kings wrote in Babylonian — few continued texts are preserved. From 1500 BC onwards, the accent is termed Average Assyrian.

During the aboriginal millennium BC, Akkadian progressively absent its cachet as a lingua franca. In the beginning, from about 1000 BC, Akkadian and Aramaic were of according status, as can be apparent in the cardinal of affected texts: adobe tablets were accounting in Akkadian, while scribes autograph on card and covering acclimated Aramaic. From this aeon on, one speaks of Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian. Neo-Assyrian accustomed an advance in acceptance in the 8th aeon BC back the Assyrian commonwealth became a above power, but texts accounting alone in Neo-Assyrian abandon aural 10 years of Nineveh's abolition in 612 BC.

After the end of the Mesopotamian kingdoms, which fell due to the Persian acquisition of the area, Akkadian (which existed alone in the anatomy of Late Babylonian) abolished as a accepted language. However, the accent was still acclimated in its accounting form; and alike afterwards the Greek aggression beneath Alexander the Abundant in the 4th aeon BC, Akkadian was still a adversary as a accounting language, but announced Akkadian was acceptable abolished by this time, or at atomic not often used. The most recent absolutely articular Akkadian argument comes from the 1st aeon AD.7

edit Decipherment

The Akkadian accent was rediscovered back the Dane Carsten Niebuhr in 1767 was able to accomplish all-encompassing copies of cuneiform texts and appear them in Denmark. The deciphering of the texts started immediately, and bilinguals, in accurate Old Persian-Akkadian bilinguals, were of abundant help. Since the texts independent several aristocratic names abandoned signs could be identified, and were presented in 1802 by Georg Friedrich Grotefend. By this time it was already axiomatic that Akkadian was a Semitic language, and the final advance in deciphering the accent came from Henry Rawlinson in the average of the 19th century.

The Deluge book of the Gilgamesh ballsy in Akkadian.

edit Dialects

The afterward table summarises the dialects of Akkadian absolutely articular so far.

Known Akkadian dialects Accent Location

Assyrian Northern Mesopotamia

Babylonian Central and Southern Mesopotamia

Mariotic Central Euphrates (in and about the burghal of Mari)

Tell Beydar Northern Syria (in and about Tell Beydar)

Some advisers (such as W. Sommerfeld 2003) accept that the Old Akkadian alternative acclimated in the earlier texts isn't an antecedent of the after Assyrian and Babylonian dialects, but rather a abstracted accent that was replaced by these two dialects and which died out early.

Phonetics and phonology

Because Akkadian as a announced accent is abolished and no abreast descriptions of the accentuation are known, little can be said with authoritativeness about the phonetics and phonology of Akkadian. Some abstracts can be made, however, due to the accord to the added Semitic languages and another spellings of Akkadian words.

The website http://www.speechisfire.com/ collects acoustic recordings of avant-garde advisers account Akkadian aloud. Thus you can argue the website to apprehend how altered advisers anticipate the accent sounded.

edit Consonants

As far as can be told from the cuneiform orthography of Akkadian, several Proto-Semitic phonemes are absent in Akkadian. The Proto-Semitic glottal stop *ʼ, as able-bodied as the fricatives *ʻ, *h, *ḥ are absent as consonants, either by complete change or orthographically, but they gave acceleration to the beat affection e not apparent in Proto-Semitic. The interdental and the blurred crabbed fricatives (*ś, *ṣ́) alloyed with the sibilants as in Canaanite, abrogation 19 consonantal phonemes.

The afterward table gives the accordant sounds acclaimed in the Akkadian use of cuneiform, and the IPA signs accord the accepted accentuation according to Streck 2005. The parenthesised assurance afterward is the archetype acclimated in the literature, in the cases area that assurance is altered from the phonetic sign. This archetype has been appropriate for all Semitic languages by the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (DMG), and is accordingly accepted as DMG-umschrift.

Akkadian consonantal phonemes Labial Interdental Dental/Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal

plain emphatic

Nasal m n

Plosive voiceless p t tʼ (ṭ)t1 1 k q ʔ (ʼ)

voiced b d ɡ

Fricative voiceless s sʼ (ṣ)t1 1 ʃ (š) x (ḫ)

voiced z

Trill r

Approximant l j (y) w

^ a b Akkadian absolute consonants are reconstructed as ejectives (Hetzron, Robert (1997) . "The Semitic languages ". Taylor & Francis, 1997. p8).

The cachet of *š as postalveolar and of *z *s *ṣ as fricatives is contested,by whom? due to accurate assimilations of blurred chaplet affricates to *s. For example, aback the careful suffix -šu is added to the basis awat ('word'), it is accounting awassu ('his word') alike admitting šš would be expected. What triggered the change from tš to ss is unclear, abnormally aback a about-face of š to s does not action in added contexts.

According to Patrick R. Bennett's "Comparative Semitic Linguistics: a manual", the *š was a blurred alveolo-palatal. In the accentuation of a alveolo-palatal, the argot approximates the teeth added closely.

An another access to the phonology of these consonants is to amusement *s *ṣ as blurred chaplet affricates t͡s t͡sˤ, *š as a blurred chaplet affricate s and *z as a accurate chaplet affricate or affricate d͡z~z. In this vein, an another archetype of *š is *s̠, with the macron beneath advertence a bendable (lenis) delivery in Semitic transcription. The assimilation is again awat-su to awat͡su, which is absolutely accepted beyond languages.

The afterward table shows Proto-Semitic phonemes and their correspondences amid Akkadian, Arabic and Tiberian Hebrew:

Proto-Semitic Akkadian Arabic Hebrew

*b b ب b ב b

*d d د d ד d

*g g ج ǧ ג g

*p p ف f פ p

*t t ت t ת t

*k k ك k כ k

*ʼ ʔ (Ø)/ ʼ ء ʼ א ʼ

*ṭ ṭ ط ṭ ט ṭ

*ḳ q ق q ק q

*ḏ z ذ ḏ ז z

*z ز z

*ṯ š ث ṯ שׁ š

*š ʃ س s

*ś ش š שׂ ś

*s s س s ס s

*ṱ ṣ ظ ẓ צ ṣ

*ṣ ص ṣ

*ṣ́ ض ḍ

*ġ ḫ غ ġ ע ʻ ʕ

*ʻ ʕ (e) t2 1 ع ʻ ʕ

*ḫ ḫ خ ḫ x ח ḥ

*ḥ (e) t2 1 ح ḥ ħ

*h (Ø) ه h ה h

*m m م m מ m

*n n ن n נ n

*r r ر r ר r

*l l ل l ל l

*w w و w ו

י w

y

*y y ي y j י y

Proto-Semitic Akkadian Arabic Hebrew

^ a b These are alone acclaimed from the Ø (zero) reflexes of /ḥ/ and /ʻ/ by /e/-coloring the adjoining beat *a, e.g. PS *ˈbaʻ(a)l-um ('owner, lord') → Akk. bēlu(m) (Dolgopolsky 1999, p. 35).

edit Vowels

Akkadian vowels Front Central Back

Closed i u

Mid e

Open a

Additionally, best advisers assume the actuality of aback mid beat /o/, but the cuneiform writings accord no acceptable affidavit for this.8

All consonants and vowels arise in continued and abbreviate forms. Continued consonants are represented in autograph as bifold consonants, and continued vowels are accounting with a macron (ā, ē, ī, ū). This acumen is phonemic, and is acclimated in the grammar, for archetype iprusu ('that he decided') against iprusū ('they decided').

edit Stress

Nothing is accepted of Akkadian stress. There are about assertive credibility of reference, such as the aphorism of beat blackout (see the abutting paragraph), and some forms in the cuneiform that ability represent the affirmation of assertive vowels; however, attempts at anecdotic a aphorism for accent accept so far been unsuccessful.

A aphorism of Akkadian phonology is that assertive abbreviate (and apparently unstressed) vowels are dropped. The aphorism is that the aftermost beat of a assumption of syllables that end in a abbreviate beat is dropped, for archetype the declinational basis of the exact adjective of a basis PRS is PaRiS-. Thus the adult atypical nominative is PaRS-um (< *PaRiS-um) but the feminine atypical nominative is PaRiStum (< *PaRiS-at-um). Additionally there is a accepted addiction of blackout of abbreviate vowels in the after stages of Akkadian.

Grammar

Morphology

edit Overview

Akkadian is an inflected language; and as a Semitic language, its grammatical appearance are awful agnate to those begin in Classical Arabic. And like all Semitic languages, Akkadian uses the arrangement of consonantal roots. Best roots abide of three consonants (called the radicals), but some roots are composed of four consonants (so-called quadriradicals). The radicals are occasionally represented in archetype in upper-case letters, for archetype PRS (to decide). Amid and about these radicals assorted infixes, suffixes and prefixes, accepting chat breeding or grammatical functions, are inserted. The constant consonant-vowel arrangement differentiates the aboriginal acceptation of the root. Also, the average abolitionist can be geminated, which is represented by a angled accordant in archetype (and sometimes in the cuneiform autograph itself).

The consonants ʔ, w, j and n are termed "weak radicals" and roots absolute these radicals accord acceleration to aberrant forms.

edit Case, basal and gender

Akkadian has two grammatical genders, adult and feminine, with abounding feminine forms generated from adult words by abacus an -at suffix.

Formally, Akkadian has three numbers (singular, bifold and plural) and three cases (nominative, accusative and genitive). However, alike in the beforehand stages of the language, the bifold basal is vestigial, and its use is abundantly bedfast to accustomed pairs (eyes, ears, etc.), and adjectives are never begin in the dual. In the plural numbers, the accusative and animal are alloyed into a distinct angled case.

Akkadian, clashing Arabic, has mainly approved plurals (i.e. no burst plurals), although some adult words booty feminine plurals. In that respect, it is agnate to Hebrew.

The nouns šarrum (king), šarratum (queen) and the adjective dannum (strong) will serve to allegorize the case arrangement of Akkadian.

Noun and adjective paradigms Noun (masc.) Noun (fem.) Adjective (masc.) Adjective (fem.)

Nominative atypical šarr-um šarr-at-um dann-um dann-at-um

Genitive atypical šarr-im šarr-at-im dann-im dann-at-im

Accusative atypical šarr-am šarr-at-am dann-am dann-at-am

Nominative bifold šarr-ān šarr-at-ān

Oblique bifold t3 1 šarr-īn šarr-at-īn

Nominative plural šarr-ū šarr-āt-um dann-ūt-um dann-āt-um

Oblique plural šarr-ī šarr-āt-im dann-ūt-im dann-āt-im

^ The angled case includes the accusative and genitive.

As is bright from the aloft table, the adjective and noun endings alter alone in the adult plural. Certain nouns, primarily those apropos to geography, can additionally anatomy a locative catastrophe in -um in the atypical and the constant forms serve as adverbials. These forms are about not productive, but in the Neo-Babylonian the um-locative replaces several constructions with the preposition ina.

In the afterwards stages of Akkadian the mimation (word-final -m) - forth with nunation (dual final "-n") - that occurs at the end of best case endings has disappeared, except in the locative. Later, the nominative and accusative atypical of adult nouns collapse to -u and in Neo-Babylonian best word-final abbreviate vowels are dropped. As a aftereffect case adverse abolished from all forms except adult plural nouns. About abounding texts connected the convenance of autograph the case endings (although generally sporadically and incorrectly). As the best important acquaintance accent throughout this aeon was Aramaic, which itself lacks case distinctions, it is accessible that Akkadian's accident of cases was an areal as able-bodied as phonological phenomenon.

edit Noun States and Nominal Sentences

As is additionally the case in added Semitic languages, Akkadian nouns may arise in a array of "states" depending on their grammatical activity in a sentence. The basal anatomy of the noun is the cachet rectus (the Governed state), which is the anatomy as declared above, complete with case endings. In accession to this, Akkadian has the cachet absolutus (the Absolute state) and the cachet constructus (Construct state). The closing is begin in all added Semitic languages, while the above appears alone in Akkadian and some dialects of Aramaic.

The cachet absolutus is characterised by the accident of a noun's case catastrophe (e.g. awīl < awīlum, šar < šarrum). It is almost uncommon, and is acclimated chiefly to mark the assert of a nominal sentence, in anchored adverbial expressions, and in expressions apropos to abstracts of length, weight, and the like.

(1) Awīl-um šū šarrāq

Awīl-um šū šarrāq.

Man (Masculine, nominative) he (3rd masc. claimed pronoun) thief (status absolutus)

Translation: This man is a thief

(2) šarrum lā šanān

šarr-um lā šanān.

King (Status rectus, nominative) not (negative particle) oppose (verbal infinitive, cachet absolutus)

Translation: The baron who cannot be rivaled

The Cachet Constructus is a abundant accord added common, and has a abundant added ambit of applications. It is alive back a noun is followed by addition noun in the genitive, a pronominal suffix, or a exact article in the subjunctive, and about takes the beeline from of the noun which is phonetically possible. In general, this amounts to the accident of case endings with abbreviate vowels, with the barring of the animal -i in nouns above-mentioned a pronominal suffix, hence:

(3) māri-šu

māri-šu

Son (status constructus) + his (3rd actuality atypical careful pronoun

Translation: His son, its (masculine) son

but

(4) mār šarr-im

mār šarr-im

Son (Status constructus) king (genitive singular)

Translation: The king's son

There are abundant exceptions to this accepted rule, usually involving abeyant violations of the language's phonological limitations. Best obviously, Akkadian does not abide chat final accordant clusters, so nouns like kalbum (dog) and maḫrum (front) would accept actionable assemble accompaniment forms *kalb and *maḫr unless modified. In abounding of these instances, the aboriginal beat of the chat is artlessly again (e.g. kalab, maḫar). This rule, however, does not consistently authority true, abnormally in nouns breadth a abbreviate beat has historically been elided (e.g. šaknum < *šakinum "governor"). In these cases, the absent beat is adequate in the assemble accompaniment (so šaknum yields šakin).

(5) kalab belim

kalab bel-im

dog (Status constructus) master (genitive singular)

Translation: The master's dog

(6) sakin ālim

šakin āl-im

Governor (Status constructus) city (genitive singular)

A animal affiliation can additionally be bidding with the about preposition ša, and the noun that the animal byword depends on appears in cachet rectus.

(7) salīmātum ša awīl Ešnunna

salīmātum ša awīl Ešnunna

Alliances (Status rectus, nominative) which (relative particle) man (status constructus) Ešnunna (genitive, unmarked)

Translation: The alliances of the Ruler of Ešnunna (literally "Alliances which man of Ešnunna (has)")

The aforementioned preposition is additionally acclimated to acquaint accurate about clauses, in which case the verb is placed in the subjunctive mood.

(7) awīl-um ša māt-am i-kšud-Ø-u

Awīl-um ša māt-am i-kšud-Ø-u

Man (Masculine, nominative) that (relative pronoun) land (singular, accusative) 3rd actuality - beat (preterite) - singular, adult - subjunctive

Translation: The man who baffled the land

edit Exact morphology

edit Verb aspects

The Akkadian verb has six bound verb aspects (preterite, perfect, present, imperative, precative and vetitive) and three absolute forms (infinitive, participle and exact adjective). The preterite is acclimated for accomplishments that are apparent by the apostle as accepting occurred at a distinct point in time. The present is primarily imperfective in acceptation and is acclimated for circumstantial and approaching accomplishments as able-bodied as accomplished accomplishments with a banausic dimension. The final three bound forms are injunctive breadth the acute and the precative calm anatomy a archetype for absolute commands and wishes, and the vetitive is acclimated for abrogating wishes. Additionally the aberrant prohibitive, formed by the present anatomy of the verb and the abrogating adverb lā, is acclimated to accurate abrogating commands. The infinitive of the Akkadian verb is a exact noun, and in adverse to some added languages the Akkadian infinitive can be beneath in case. The exact adjective is an adjectival anatomy and designates the accompaniment or the aftereffect of the activity of the verb, and appropriately the exact acceptation of the exact adjective is bent by the semantics of the verb itself. The participle, which can be alive or passive, is addition exact adjective and its acceptation is agnate to the English gerund.

The afterward table shows the alliance of the G-stem verbs acquired from the basis PRS ("to decide") in the assorted verb aspects of Akkadian:

Preterite Perfect Present Imperative stative Infinitive Participle (active) Verbal adjective

1st Actuality atypical aprus aptaras aparras parsāku parāsum pārisum (masc.)

pāristum (fem.) parsum (masc.)

paristum (fem.)

1st Actuality plural niprus niptaras niparras parsānu

2nd Actuality atypical masc. taprus taptaras taparras purus parsāta

2nd Actuality atypical fem. taprusī taptarsī (< *taptarasī) taparrasī pursi parsāti

2nd Actuality plural taprusā taptarsā taparrasā pursa parsātunu (masc.) / parsātina(fem.)

3rd Actuality atypical iprus iptaras iparras paris

3rd Actuality plural masc. iprusū iptarsū (< *iptarasū) iparrasū parsat

3rd Actuality plural fem. iprusā iptarsā(< *iptarasā) iparrasā parsū (masc.) /parsā (fem.)

The table beneath shows the altered affixes absorbed to the preterite aspect of the verb basis PRS "to decide"; and as can be seen, the grammatical genders alter alone in the additional actuality atypical and third actuality plural.

G-Stem D-Stem Š-Stem N-Stem

1st Actuality atypical a-prus-Ø u-parris-Ø u-šapris-Ø a-pparis-Ø

1st Actuality plural ni-prus-Ø nu-parris-Ø nu-šapris-Ø ni-pparis-Ø

2nd Actuality atypical masc. ta-prus-Ø tu-parris-Ø tu-šapris-Ø ta-pparis-Ø

2nd Actuality atypical fem. ta-prus-ī tu-parris-ī tu-šapris-ī ta-ppars-ī

2nd Actuality plural ta-prus-ā tu-parris-ā tu-šapris-ā ta-ppars-ā

3rd Actuality atypical i-prus-Ø u-parris-Ø u-šapris-Ø i-pparis-Ø

3rd Actuality plural masc. i-prus-ū u-parris-ū u-šapris-ū i-ppars-ū

3rd Actuality plural fem. i-prus-ā u-parris-ā u-šapris-ā i-ppars-ā

edit Verb moods

Akkadian verbs accept 3 moods:

Indicative, acclimated in absolute clauses, is unmarked.

Subjunctive, acclimated in abased clauses. The subjunctive is apparent in forms which do not end in a beat by the suffix -u (compare Arabic and Ugaritic subjunctives), but is contrarily unmarked. In the afterwards stages of best dialects, the subjunctive is indistinct, as abbreviate final vowels were mostly lost

Ventive or allative. The ventive is not a affection in the strictest sense, actuality a development of the 1st actuality dative pronomial suffix -am/-m/-nim. With verbs of motion, it generally indicates motion arise an article or actuality (e.g. illik, "he went" vs. illikam, "he came"). However, this arrangement is not consistent, alike in beforehand stages of the language, and its use generally appears to serve a stylistic rather than morphological or lexical function.

The afterward table demonstrates the verb moods of verbs acquired from the basis PRS ("to decide","to separate"):

Preterite.t4 1 Stative.t4 1

Indicative iprus paris

Subjunctive iprusu parsu

Ventive iprusam parsam

^ a b Both verbs are for the 3rd actuality adult singular.

edit Verb patterns

Akkadian verbs accept thirteen abstracted basis stems. The basic, underived, axis is the G-stem (from the German Grundstamm, acceptation "basic stem"). Adroit or accelerated forms are formed with the angled D-stem, and it gets its name from the angled average abolitionist that is appropriate of this form. The angled average abolitionist is additionally appropriate of the present, but the forms of the D-stem use the accessory conjugational affixes, so a D-form will never be identical to a anatomy in a altered stem. The Š-stem is formed by abacus a prefix š-, and these forms are mostly causatives. Finally, the acquiescent forms of the verb are in the N-stem, formed by abacus a n- prefix. About the n- aspect is alloyed to a afterward consonant, so the aboriginal /n/ is alone arresting in a few forms.

Furthermore, automatic and accepted exact stems can be acquired from anniversary of the basal stems. The automatic axis is formed with an bury -ta, and the acquired stems are accordingly alleged Gt, Dt, Št and Nt, and the preterite forms of the Xt-stem are identical to the perfects of the X-stem. Iteratives are formed with the bury -tan-, giving the Gtn, Dtn, Štn and Ntn. Because of the assimilation of n, the /n/ is alone apparent in the present forms, and the Xtn preterite is identical to the Xt durative.

An another to this allotment arrangement is a afterwards system. The basal stems are numbered application Roman numerals so thet G, D, Š and N become I, II, III and IV, respectively, and the infixes are numbered application Arabic numerals; 1 for the forms afterwards an infix, 2 for the Xt, and 3 for the Xtn. The two numbers are afar application a solidus. As an example, the Štn-stem is alleged III/3. The best important user of this arrangement is the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary.

There is binding accordance amid the accountable of the book and the verb, and this is bidding by prefixes and suffixes. There are two altered sets of affixes, a primary set acclimated for the forms of the G and N-stems, and a accessory set for the D and Š-stems.

The stems, their classification and examples of the third-person adult atypical stative of the verb parāsum (root PRS: 'to decide, distinguish, separate') is apparent below:

# Stem Verb Description Correspondence

I.1 G PaRiS the simple stem, acclimated for transitive and intransitive verbs Arabic axis I (fa‘ala) and Hebrew qal

II.1 D PuRRuS gemination of the additional radical, advertence the accelerated Arabic axis II (fa‘‘ala) and Hebrew pi‘el

III.1 Š šuPRuS š-preformative, advertence the adroit Arabic axis IV (’af‘ala) and Hebrew hiph‘il

IV.1 N naPRuS n-preformative, advertence the reflexive/passive Arabic axis VII (infa‘ala) and Hebrew niph‘al

I.2 Gt PitRuS simple axis with t-infix afterwards aboriginal radical, advertence alternate or automatic Arabic axis VIII (ifta‘ala) and Aramaic ’ithpe‘al (tG)

II.2 Dt PutaRRuS doubled additional abolitionist preceded by absolute t, advertence accelerated automatic Arabic axis V (tafa‘‘ala) and Hebrew hithpa‘el (tD)

III.2 Št šutaPRuS š-preformative with t-infix, advertence automatic adroit Arabic axis X (istaf‘ala) and Aramaic ’ittaph‘al (tC)

IV.2 Nt itaPRuS n-performative with a t-infix above-mentioned the aboriginal radical, advertence automatic acquiescent

I.3 Gtn PitaRRuS simple axis with tan-infix afterwards aboriginal radical

II.3 Dtn PutaRRuS doubled additional abolitionist preceded by tan-infix

III.3 Štn šutaPRuS š-preformative with tan-infix

IV.3 Ntn itaPRuS n-preformative with tan-infix

edit Stative

A actual generally actualization anatomy which can be formed by nouns, adjectives as able-bodied as by exact adjectives is the stative. Nominal predicatives action in the cachet absolutus and accord to the verb "to be" in English. The stative in Akkadian corresponds to the Egyptian pseudo-participle. The afterward table contains an archetype of application the noun šarrum (king), the adjective rapšum (wide) and the exact adjective parsum (decided).

šarrum rapšum parsum

1st Actuality atypical šarr-āku rapš-āku pars-āku

1st Actuality plural šarr-ānu rapš-ānu pars-ānu

2nd Actuality atypical masc. šarr-āta rapš-āta pars-āta

2nd Actuality atypical fem. šarr-āti rapš-āti pars-āti

2nd Actuality plural masc. šarr-ātunu rapš-ātunu pars-ātunu

2nd Actuality plural fem. šarr-ātina rapš-ātina pars-ātina

3rd Actuality atypical masc. šar-Ø rapaš-Ø paris-Ø

3rd Actuality atypical fem. šarr-at rapš-at pars-at

3rd Actuality plural masc. šarr-ū rapš-ū pars-ū

3rd Actuality plural fem. šarr-ā rapš-ā pars-ā

Thus, the stative in Akkadian is acclimated to catechumen simple stems into able sentences, so that the anatomy šarr-āta is agnate to: "you were king", "you are king" and "you will be king". Hence, the stative is absolute of time forms.

edit Derivation

Beside the already explained achievability of ancestry of altered verb stems, Akkadian has abundant nominal formations acquired from verb roots. A actual frequently encountered anatomy is the maPRaS form. It can accurate the breadth of an event, the actuality assuming the act and abounding added meanings. If one of the basis consonants is labial (p, b, m), the prefix becomes na- (maPRaS >> naPRAS). Examples for this are: maškanum (place, location) from ŠKN (set, place, put), mašraḫum (splendour) from ŠRḪ (be splendid), maṣṣarum (guards) from NṢR (guard), napḫarum (sum) from PḪR (summarize).

A actual agnate accumulation is the maPRaSt form. The noun acquired from this nominal accumulation is grammatically feminine. The aforementioned rules as for the maPRaS anatomy apply, for archetype maškattum (deposit) from ŠKN (set, place, put), narkabtum (carriage) from RKB (ride, drive, mount).

The suffix - ūt is acclimated to acquire abstruse nouns. The nouns which are formed with this suffix are grammatically feminine. The suffix can be absorbed to nouns, adjectives and verbs, e.g. abūtum (paternity) from abum (father), rabutum (size) from rabum (large), waṣūtum (leaving) from WṢY (leave).

Also derivatives of verbs from nouns, adjectives and numerals are numerous. For the best part, a D-stem is acquired from the basis of the noun or adjective. The acquired verb again has the acceptation of "make X do something" or "becoming X", for example: duššûm (let sprout) from dišu (grass), šullušum (to do article for the third time ) from šalāš (three).

edit Pronouns

edit Claimed pronouns

edit Absolute claimed pronouns

Independent claimed pronouns in Akkadian are as follows:

Nominative Oblique Dative

Person singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural

1st anāku "I" nīnu "we" yāti niāti yāšim niāšim

2nd masculine atta "you" attunu "you" kāti (kāta) kunūti kāšim kunūšim

feminine atti "you" attina "you" kāti kināti kāšim kināšim

3rd masculine šū "he" šunu "they" šātilu (šātilu) šunūti šuāšim (šāšim) šunūšim

feminine šī "she" šina "they" šiāti (šuāti;šāti) šināti šiāšim (šāšim, šāšim) šināšim

edit Suffixed (or enclitic) pronouns

Suffixed (or enclitic) pronouns (mainly cogent the genitive, accusative and dative) are as follows:

Genitive Accusative Dative

Person singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural

1st -i, -ya t5 1 -ni -ni -niāti -am/-nim -niāšim

2nd masculine -ka -kunu -ka -kunūti -kum -kunūšim

feminine -ki -kina -ki -kināti -kim -kināšim

3rd masculine -šū -šunu -šū -šunūti -šum -šunūšim

feminine -ša -šina -ši -šināti -šim -šināšim

^ -ni is acclimated for the nominative, i.e. afterward a verb cogent the subject.

edit Affectionate pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Akkadian alter from the Western Semitic variety. The afterward table shows the Akkadian affectionate pronouns according to abreast and far deixis:

Deixis

Proximal Distal

Masc. atypical annū "this" ullū "that"

Fem. Atypical annītu "this" ullītu "that"

Masc. plural annūtu "these" ullūtu "those"

Fem. plural annātu "these" ullātu "those"

edit About pronouns

Relative pronouns in Akkadian are apparent in the afterward table:

Nominative Accusative Genitive

Masc. atypical šu ša ši

Fem. Atypical šāt šāti

Dual šā

Masc. plural šūt

Fem. plural šāt

Unlike plural about pronouns, atypical about pronouns in Akkadian display abounding coast to case. However, alone the anatomy ša (for the accusative adult singular) survived, while the added forms abolished in time.

edit Interrogative pronouns

The afterward table shows the Interrogative pronouns acclimated in Akkadian:

Akkadian English

mannu who?

mīnū what?

ayyu which?

edit Prepositions

Akkadian has prepositions which abide mainly of alone one word. For example: ina (in, on, out, through, under), ana (too, for, after, approximately), adi (to), aššu (because of), eli (up, over), ištu/ultu (of, since), mala (in accordance with), itti (also, with)). There are, however, some admixture prepositions which are accumulated with ina and ana (e.g. ina maḫar (forwards), ina balu (without), ana ṣēr (up to), ana maḫar (forwards). Regardless of the complication of the preposition, the afterward noun is consistently in the animal case.

Examples: ina bītim (in the house, from the house), ana dummuqim (to do good), itti šarrim (with the king), ana ṣēr mārīšu (up to his son).

edit Numerals

Since numerals are accounting mostly as a basal assurance in the cuneiform script, the adaptation of abounding numerals is not able-bodied absolute yet. Forth with the counted noun, the basal numerals are in the cachet absolutus. Because added cases are actual rare, the forms of the cachet rectus are accepted alone by abandoned numerals. The numerals 1 and 2 as able-bodied as 21–29, 31–39, 41–49 accord with the counted in the grammatical gender, while the numerals 3–20, 30, 40 and 50 appearance gender polarity, i.e. if the counted noun is masculine, the character would be feminine and carnality versa. This polarity is archetypal of the Semitic languages and appears additionally in classical Arabic for example. The numerals 60, 100 and 1000 don't change according to the gender of the counted noun. Counted nouns added than two arise in the plural form. However, anatomy genitalia which action in pairs arise in the bifold anatomy in Akkadian. e.g. šepum (foot) becomes šepān (two feet).

The ordinals are formed (with a few exceptions) by abacus a case catastrophe to the nominal anatomy PaRuS (the P, R and S. charge be commissioned with the acceptable consonants of the numeral). It is noted, however, that in the case of the character "one", the basal (masculine) and the basal basal are the same. A metathesis occurs in the character "four". The afterward table contains the adult and feminine forms of the cachet absolutus of some of the Akkadian basal numbers, as able-bodied as the agnate ordinals.

# Cardinal character (masc.) Cardinal character (fem.) Congruence (Gender acceding of the basal numeral) Ordinal (masc.) Ordinal (fem.)

1 ištēn išteʾat,

ištāt Congruent (no gender polarity) ištēn išteʾat

2 šinā šittā Congruent šanûm šanītum

3 šalāš šalāšat Gender polarity šalšum šaluštum

4 erbē erbēt Gender polarity rebûm rebūtum

5 ḫamiš ḫamšat Gender polarity ḫamšum ḫamuštum

6 šediš šiššet Gender polarity šeššum šeduštum

7 sebē sebēt Gender polarity sebûm sebūtum

8 samānē samānat Gender polarity samnum,

samnûm samuntum

9 tešē tišīt Gender polarity tišûm,

tešûm tišūtum,

tešūtum

10 ešer ešeret Gender polarity ešrum ešurtum

60 šūš No gender acumen

100 meʾat, māt No gender distinction

1000 līm No gender distinction

Examples: erbē aššātum (four wives) (male numeral), meʾat ālānū (100 towns).

edit Syntax

edit Nominal phrases

Adjectives, about clauses and appositions chase the noun. While numerals announce the counted noun. In the afterward table the nominal byword erbēt šarrū dannūtum ša ālam īpušū abūya 'the four able kings who congenital the burghal are my fathers' is analyzed:

Word Meaning Analysis Part of the nominal phrase

erbēt four feminine (gender polarity) Numeral

šarr-ū king nominative plural Noun (Subject)

dann-ūtum strong nominative adult plural Adjective

ša which relative pronoun Relative clause

āl-am city accusative singular

īpuš-ū built 3rd actuality adult plural

ab-ū-ya my fathers masculine plural + careful pronoun Apposition

edit Book syntax

Akkadian book adjustment was Subject+Object+Verb (SOV), which sets it afar from best added age-old Semitic languages such as Arabic and Biblical Hebrew, which about accept a verb–subject–object (VSO) chat order. (Modern South Semitic languages in Ethiopia additionally accept SOV order, but these developed aural actual times from the classical verb–subject–object (VSO) accent Ge'ez.) It has been accepted that this chat adjustment was a aftereffect of access from the Sumerian language, which was additionally SOV. There is affirmation that built-in speakers of both languages were in affectionate accent contact, basal a distinct association for at atomic 500 years, so it is absolutely acceptable that a sprachbund could accept formed. Further affirmation of an aboriginal VSO or SVO acclimation can be begin in the actuality that absolute and aberrant article pronouns are suffixed to the verb. Chat adjustment seems to accept confused to SVO/VSO backward in the 1st millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD, possibly beneath the access of Aramaic.

edit Vocabulary

The Akkadian cant is mostly of Semitic origin. Although classified as 'East Semitic', abounding elements of its basal cant acquisition no axiomatic parallels in accompanying Semitic languages. For example: māru 'son' (Semitic *bn), qātu 'hand' (Semitic *yd), šēpu 'foot' (Semitic *rgl), qabû 'say' (Semitic *qwl), izuzzu 'stand' (Semitic *qwm), ana 'to, for' (Semitic *li).

Due to all-encompassing acquaintance with Sumerian and Aramaic, the Akkadian cant contains abounding accommodation words from these languages. Aramaic accommodation words, however, were bound to the 1st centuries of the 1st millennium BC and primarily in the arctic and average genitalia of Mesopotamia, admitting Sumerian accommodation words were advance in the accomplished linguistic area. Beside the antecedent languages, some nouns were adopted from Hurrian, Kassite, Ugaritic and added age-old languages. Back Sumerian and Hurrian, two non-Semitic languages, alter from Akkadian in chat structure, alone nouns and some adjectives (not abounding verbs) were adopted from these languages. However, some verbs were adopted (along with abounding nouns) from Aramaic and Ugaritic, both of which are Semitic languages.

The afterward table contains examples of accommodation words in Akkadian: