Editing Sumerian language (section)

==Stages==
[[File:Sumerian - Protoliterate Tablet - Walters 41219 - View A.jpg|thumb|This proto-literate tablet (c. 3100&nbsp;– 2900 BC) records the transfer of a piece of land ([[Walters Art Museum]], [[Baltimore]])]]
[[File:AO 5477 (photograph and transcription).jpg|thumb|The first known Sumerian-Akkadian bilingual tablet dates from the reign of [[Rimush]]. [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]] AO 5477. The top half is in Sumerian, the bottom half is its translation in Akkadian.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=THUREAU-DANGIN |first1=F. |title=Notes Assyriologiques |journal=Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale |date=1911 |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=138–141 |jstor=23284567 |issn=0373-6032}}</ref>]]
The history of written Sumerian can be divided into several periods:<ref name=":7">Jagersma (2010: 4-6)</ref><ref>Foxvog (2016: 4)</ref><ref name=":23">Thomsen (2001: 27-32)</ref><ref>Zólyomi (2017: 16)</ref>

*Proto-literate period – c. 3100 BC to c. 3000 BC<ref>{{cite journal |last1=MONACO |first1=Salvatore |title=Proto-Cuneiform and Sumerians |journal=Rivista Degli Studi Orientali |date=2014 |volume=87 |issue=1/4 |pages=277–282 |jstor=43927313}}</ref>
*Archaic Sumerian&nbsp;– {{circa|3000&nbsp;BC}} to {{circa|2500&nbsp;BC}}
*Old or Classical Sumerian&nbsp;– {{circa|2500&nbsp;BC}} to {{circa|2350&nbsp;BC}}
*Old Akkadian Sumerian – c. 2350 – 2200 BC
*Neo-Sumerian&nbsp;– {{circa|2200&nbsp;BC}} to {{circa|2000&nbsp;BC}}, further divided into:
**Early Neo-Sumerian ([[Lagash]] II period) – c. 2200 BC to c. 2100 BC
**Late Neo-Sumerian ([[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III]] period) – c. 2100 BC to c. 2000 BC
*Old Babylonian Sumerian – c. 2000 BC to c. 1600 BC
*Post-Old Babylonian Sumerian – after {{circa|1600&nbsp;BC}}.

The pictographic writing system used during the ''[[Cuneiform script#Sumerian pictographs (circa 3300 BC)|Proto-literate period]]'' (3200 BC – 3000 BC), corresponding to the [[Uruk period|Uruk III and Uruk IV periods]] in archeology, was still so rudimentary that there remains some scholarly disagreement about whether the language written with it is Sumerian at all, although it has been argued that there are some, albeit still very rare, cases of phonetic indicators and spelling that show this to be the case.<ref>Rubio (2009: 16).</ref> The texts from this period are mostly administrative; there are also a number of sign lists, which were apparently used for the training of scribes.<ref name=":7" /><ref>Hayes (2000: 389)</ref>

The next period, ''Archaic Sumerian'' (3000 BC – 2500 BC), is the first stage of inscriptions that indicate grammatical elements, so the identification of the language is certain. It includes some administrative texts and sign lists from [[Ur]] (c. 2800 BC). Texts from [[Shuruppak]] and [[Abu Salabikh]] from 2600 to 2500 BC (the so-called Fara period or [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic Period]] IIIa) are the first to span a greater variety of genres, including not only administrative texts and sign lists, but also [[incantation]]s, legal and literary texts (including proverbs and early versions of the famous works ''[[Instructions of Shuruppak|The Instructions of Shuruppak]]'' and [[Kesh temple hymn|''The Kesh temple hymn'']]). However, the spelling of grammatical elements remains optional, making the interpretation and linguistic analysis of these texts difficult.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=krecherUGN/>

The ''Old Sumerian period'' (2500-2350 BC) is the first one from which well-understood texts survive. It corresponds mostly to the last part of the Early Dynastic period (ED IIIb) and specifically to the First Dynasty of [[Lagash]], from where the overwhelming majority of surviving texts come. The sources include important royal inscriptions with historical content as well as extensive administrative records.<ref name=":7" /> Sometimes included in the Old Sumerian stage is also the ''Old Akkadian'' period (c. 2350 BC – c. 2200 BC),<ref name=":6">Thomsen (2001: 16-17)</ref> during which Mesopotamia, including Sumer, was united under the rule of the [[Akkadian Empire]]. At this time [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] functioned as the primary official language, but texts in Sumerian (primarily administrative) did continue to be produced as well.<ref name=":7" />

The first phase of the ''Neo-Sumerian period'' corresponds to the time of [[Gutian rule in Mesopotamia]]; the most important sources come from the autonomous Second Dynasty of Lagash, especially from the rule of [[Gudea]], which has produced extensive royal inscriptions. The second phase corresponds to the unification of Mesopotamia under the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]], which oversaw a "renaissance" in the use of Sumerian throughout Mesopotamia, using it as its sole official written language. There is a wealth of texts greater than from any preceding time – besides the extremely detailed and meticulous administrative records, there are numerous royal inscriptions, legal documents, letters and incantations.<ref name=":6" /> In spite of the dominant position of written Sumerian during the Ur III dynasty, it is controversial to what extent it was actually spoken or had already gone extinct in most parts of its empire.<ref name="woods" /><ref name="michal06" /> Some facts have been interpreted as suggesting that many scribes<ref name="woods" /><ref name=":8">Jagersma (2010: 9-10)</ref> and even the royal court actually used Akkadian as their main spoken and native language.<ref name=":8" /> On the other hand, evidence has been adduced to the effect that Sumerian continued to be spoken natively and even remained dominant as an everyday language in Southern Babylonia, including [[Nippur]] and the area to its south.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=sallaberger24>Sallaberger (2023: 24)</ref><ref>Sommerfeld, Walter. 2021. Old Akkadian. In: History of the Akkadian Language. Ed. M. Weeden et al. Leiden: Brill. P. 640-641.</ref>

By the ''Old Babylonian period'' (c. 2000 – c. 1600 BC), Akkadian had clearly supplanted Sumerian as a spoken language in nearly all of its original territory, whereas Sumerian continued its existence as a [[liturgical language|liturgical]] and [[classical language]] for religious, artistic and scholarly purposes. In addition, it has been argued that Sumerian persisted as a spoken language at least in a small part of Southern Mesopotamia ([[Nippur]] and its surroundings) at least until about 1900 BC<ref name=":8" /><ref name=sallaberger24/> and possibly until as late as 1700 BC.<ref name="woods" /><ref name=":8" /> Nonetheless, it seems clear that by far the majority of scribes writing in Sumerian in this point were not native speakers and errors resulting from their Akkadian mother tongue become apparent.<ref name=":12">[https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/edition2/pdf/diachronsum.pdf Black, J.A. and G. Zólyomi (2007). The study of diachronic and synchronic variation in Sumerian.] P. 10-14.</ref> For this reason, this period as well as the remaining time during which Sumerian was written are sometimes referred to as the "Post-Sumerian" period.<ref name=":23"/> The written language of administration, law and royal inscriptions continued to be Sumerian in the undoubtedly Semitic-speaking successor states of Ur III during the so-called [[Isin-Larsa period]] (c. 2000 BC – c. 1750 BC). The [[Old Babylonian Empire]], however, mostly used Akkadian in inscriptions, sometimes adding Sumerian versions.<ref name=":8" /><ref>Andrew (2007: 43)</ref>

The Old Babylonian period, especially its early part,<ref name=":7" /> has produced extremely numerous and varied Sumerian literary texts: myths, epics, hymns, prayers, wisdom literature and letters. In fact, nearly all preserved Sumerian religious and wisdom literature<ref name=":9" /> and the overwhelming majority of surviving manuscripts of Sumerian literary texts in general<ref>Barthelmus (2016: 1-2)</ref><ref name=viano24>Viano (2016: 24)</ref><ref>Cf. also the [https://web.archive.org/web/20180916001123/http://dcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/dcsl_time.cgi Catalogue entries across time] of the Diachronic Corpus of Sumerian Literature project.</ref> can be dated to that time, and it is often seen as the "classical age" of Sumerian literature.<ref>Rubio (2009: 39)</ref> Conversely, far more literary texts on tablets surviving from the Old Babylonian period are in Sumerian than in Akkadian, even though that time is viewed as the classical period of Babylonian culture and language.<ref name="George 2007">George (2007: 45)</ref><ref name="Thomsen 2001">Thomsen (2001: 17)</ref><ref name="viano24" /> However, it has sometimes been suggested that many or most of these "Old Babylonian Sumerian" texts may be copies of works that were originally composed in the preceding Ur III period or earlier, and some copies or fragments of known compositions or literary genres have indeed been found in tablets of Neo-Sumerian and Old Sumerian provenance.<ref>Rubio (2009: 37).</ref><ref name=viano24/> In addition, some of the first bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian [[lexical lists]] are preserved from that time (although the lists were still usually monolingual and Akkadian translations did not become common until the late Middle Babylonian period)<ref>Rubio (2009: 40)</ref> and there are also grammatical texts - essentially bilingual paradigms listing Sumerian grammatical forms and their postulated Akkadian equivalents.<ref>[https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlp/1.0.pdf Huber, Peter. On the Old Babylonian Understanding of Sumerian Grammar. LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 87 (Munich 2018: LINCOM GmbH)].</ref>

After the Old Babylonian period<ref name=":23" /> or, according to some, as early as 1700 BC,<ref name=":7" /> the active use of Sumerian declined. Scribes did continue to produce texts in Sumerian at a more modest scale, but generally with interlinear Akkadian translations<ref>Jagersma (2010: 6)</ref> and only part of the literature known in the Old Babylonian period continued to be copied after its end around 1600 BC.<ref name=":9" />  During the [[Middle Babylonian period|Middle Babylonian]] period, approximately from 1600 to 1000 BC, the [[Kassite dynasty|Kassite rulers]] continued to use Sumerian in many of their inscriptions,<ref name=":10">{{Cite web | url=https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ckst/introduction/index.html | title=Introduction to the Corpus of Sumerian Kassite Texts | website=oracc.museum.upenn.edu}}</ref><ref name=barthelmus>Barthelmus (2016: ''passim'').</ref> but Akkadian seems to have taken the place of Sumerian as the primary language of texts used for the training of scribes<ref>Andrew (2007: 49).</ref> and their Sumerian itself acquires an increasingly artificial and Akkadian-influenced form.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":13">Barthelmus (2016: 230-250)</ref><ref name="veldhuis">Veldhuis, Niek. 2008. Kurigalzu's statue inscription. ''Journal of Cuneiform Studies'' 60, 25–51. P. 28-31</ref> In some cases a text may not even have been meant to be read in Sumerian; instead, it may have functioned as a prestigious way of "encoding" Akkadian via [[Sumerogram]]s (cf. Japanese [[kanbun]]).<ref name=":13" /> Nonetheless, the study of Sumerian and copying of Sumerian texts remained an integral part of scribal education and literary culture of Mesopotamia and surrounding societies influenced by it<ref name=":10" /><ref name=barthelmus/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://mprl-series.mpg.de/studies/10/11/index.html|title=Sumerian in the Middle Assyrian Period|first=Klaus|last=Wagensonner|series=MPRL – Studies |date=May 18, 2018|publisher=Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften|isbn=978-3-945561-13-3 }}</ref><ref>Viano 2016: ''passim''</ref>{{efn|Interestingly, the poorly documented [[Sealand Dynasty]] (c. 1732–1460 BC), which ruled in a region in Southern Mesopotamia corresponding to historical Sumer, appears to have particularly favoured Sumerian; Sumerian school documents from that time were found at [[Tell Khaiber]], some of which contain year names from the reign of a king with the Sumerian throne name [[Ayadaragalama|Aya-dara-galama]].<ref>[https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10061318/1/info-flows-rural-babylonia-2018-07-20.pdf] Eleanor Robson, Information Flows in Rural Babylonia c. 1500 BC, in C. Johnston (ed.), The Concept of the Book: the Production, Progression and Dissemination of Information, London: Institute of English Studies/School of Advanced Study, January 2019 {{ISBN|978-0-9927257-4-7}}</ref>}} and it retained that role until the eclipse of the tradition of [[cuneiform]] literacy itself in the beginning of the [[Common Era]]. The most popular genres for Sumerian texts after the Old Babylonian period were incantations, liturgical texts and proverbs; among longer texts, the classics ''[[Lugal-e]]'' and ''[[Angim|An-gim]]'' were most commonly copied.<ref name=":9">Thomsen (2001: 31)</ref>

Of the 29 royal inscriptions of the late second millennium BC 2nd dynasty of Isin about half were in Sumerian, described as "hypersophisticated classroom Sumerian".<ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763289&increment=115] Al-Rawi, Farouk N.H., "A Fragment of a Cylinder of Adad-Apla-Iddina", Sumer 37, pp. 116–117, 1981</ref><ref>[https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/138097/1/McGrath_William_202403_PhD_thesis.pdf] McGrath, William, "Resurgent Babylon: A Cultural, Political and Intellectual History of the Second Dynasty of Isin", Dissertation, University of Toronto, 2024</ref>