Sumerian/Grammar

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[edit] Sumerian Grammar

In the lessons below, you'll be introduced to aspects of Sumerian grammar in (hopefully) bite sized chunks. If any of the lessons are confusing, don't hesitate to edit them for style, or use the discussion boards for suggestions! That's the spirit of the wiki, after all.

[edit] The Lessons

A ziggurat

Lesson One - The Plural Marker Development stage: 75% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- This lesson introduces us to some simple nouns and how to mark them as plural.

Lesson Two - Possessives Development stage: 75% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- Here we learn how suffixed particles can modify the meaning of a noun, like "house", to be possessive, like "my house".

Lesson Three - The Genitive Development stage: 25% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- The basics of the Sumerian case system for nouns is outlined here.

Lesson Four - The Copula Development stage: 50% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- Before introducing verbs in general, the copula is introduced, along with simple predicative sentences.

Lesson Five - The Verb Chain Development stage: 50% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- The Sumerian verb is discussed in simple situations.

Lesson Six - A Sumerian Sentence Development stage: 75% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- Putting it all together, we translate a complete Sumerian sentence.

Lesson Seven - Ergativity in Sumerian Development stage: 75% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- A discussion of ergativity and how it is used in Sumerian.

Lesson Eight - The Case System Development stage: 50% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- Discussion of the cases used in Sumerian

Lesson Nine - Cuneiform Development stage: 25% (as of Jan 1, 2000) -- Some introductory comments about the system of writing used by the ancient Sumerians

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