Sumerian language

Sumerian
Sumerian
𒅴𒂠; Emeg̃ir
Native to	Sumer and Akkad
Region	Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)
Era	Attested from c. 2900 BC. Went out of vernacular use around 1700 BC; used as a classical language until about 100 AD.
Language family	Language isolate
Dialects	Emesal; Emesisa; Emetena; Emesukudda; Emesuha; Emesidi; Emeku;
Writing system	Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform
Language codes
ISO 639-2	sux
ISO 639-3	sux
Linguist List	uga
Glottolog	sume1241
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Sumerian (Sumerian: 𒅴𒂠, romanized: Emeg̃ir, lit. ''native language'') is the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is accepted to be a local language isolate and to have been spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day Iraq.

Akkadian, a Semitic language, gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language in the area c. 2000 BC (the exact date is debated),^[4] but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Akkadian-speaking Mesopotamian states such as Assyria and Babylonia until the 1st century AD.^[5]^[6] Thereafter, it seems to have fallen into obscurity until the 19th century, when Assyriologists began deciphering the cuneiform inscriptions and excavated tablets that had been left by its speakers.

^ "Sumerian". Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Prince, J. Dyneley (1919). "Phonetic Relations in Sumerian". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 39: 265–279. doi:10.2307/592740. JSTOR 592740. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
^ Prince, J. Dyneley (1904). "The Vocabulary of Sumerian" (PDF). Journal of the American Oriental Society. 25: 49–67. doi:10.2307/592549. JSTOR 592549.
^ Cite error: The named reference woods was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference oates79 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference grayson80 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] "Sumerian". Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2024-04-07.

[Prince1919-2] Prince, J. Dyneley (1919). "Phonetic Relations in Sumerian". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 39: 265–279. doi:10.2307/592740. JSTOR 592740. Retrieved 2023-05-09.

[3] Prince, J. Dyneley (1904). "The Vocabulary of Sumerian" (PDF). Journal of the American Oriental Society. 25: 49–67. doi:10.2307/592549. JSTOR 592549.

[woods-4] Cite error: The named reference woods was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[oates79-5] Cite error: The named reference oates79 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[grayson80-6] Cite error: The named reference grayson80 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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Sumerian
𒅴𒂠 Emeg̃ir

Native to	Sumer and Akkad
Region	Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq)
Era	Attested from c. 2900 BC. Went out of vernacular use around 1700 BC; used as a classical language until about 100 AD.^[1]
Language family	Language isolate
Dialects	Emesal Emesisa^[2] Emetena^[2] Emesukudda^[2] Emesuha^[2] Emesidi^[2] Emeku^[3]
Writing system	Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform
Language codes
ISO 639-2	`sux`
ISO 639-3	`sux`
Linguist List	`uga`
Glottolog	`sume1241`
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.