Editing Akkadian language (section)

==History and writing==

===Writing===
{{Main|Akkadian cuneiform}}
[[Image:AkkadischLand.png|200px|thumb|[[Cuneiform]] writing (Neo-Assyrian script)<br />
(1 = Logogram (LG) "mix"/syllabogram (SG) ''{{IPA|ḫi}}'',<br />
2 = LG "moat",<br />
3 = SG ''{{IPA|aʾ}}'',<br />
4 = SG ''{{IPA|aḫ}}, {{IPA|eḫ}}, {{IPA|iḫ}}, {{IPA|uḫ}}'',<br />
5 = SG ''kam'',<br />
6 = SG ''im'',<br />
7 = SG ''bir'')]]
Old Akkadian is preserved on clay tablets dating back to {{circa|2500 BC}}. It was written using [[cuneiform]], a script adopted from the Sumerians using wedge-shaped symbols pressed in wet clay. As employed by Akkadian scribes, the adapted cuneiform script could represent either (a) Sumerian [[logogram]]s (''i.e.'', picture-based characters representing entire words), (b) [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] syllables, (c) Akkadian syllables, or (d) [[phonetic complement]]s. In Akkadian the script practically became a fully fledged [[Syllabary|syllabic script]], and the original [[Logogram|logographic]] nature of cuneiform became secondary{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}<!--I doubt that positing such a radical difference between Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform is really justified. Already Sumerian has syllabic signs used for pronunciation when needed, and Akkadian continued to use logograms quite a lot.-->, though logograms for frequent words such as 'god' and 'temple' continued to be used. For this reason, the sign ''AN'' can on the one hand be a logogram for the word ''ilum'' ('god') and on the other signify the god [[Anu]] or even the syllable ''-an-''. Additionally, this sign was used as a [[determinative]] for divine names.

Another peculiarity of Akkadian cuneiform is that many signs do not have a well defined phonetic value. Certain signs, such as ''{{transliteration|sem|AḪ}}'', do not distinguish between the different [[vowel]] qualities. Nor is there any coordination in the other direction; the syllable ''{{transliteration|sem|-ša-}}'', for example, is rendered by the sign ''{{transliteration|sem|ŠA}}'', but also by the sign ''{{transliteration|sem|NĪĜ}}''. Both of these are often used for the same syllable in the same text.

Cuneiform was in many ways unsuited to Akkadian: among its flaws was its inability to represent important [[phonemes]] in Semitic, including a [[glottal stop]], [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeals]], and [[emphatic consonant]]s. In addition, cuneiform was a [[syllabary]] writing system—i.e., a consonant plus vowel comprised one writing unit—frequently inappropriate for a Semitic language made up of [[Triliteral|triconsonantal root]]s (i.e., three consonants plus any vowels).

===Development===
Akkadian is divided into several [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] based on [[geography]] and [[historical period]]:<ref>Caplice, p.5 (1980)</ref>
*Old Akkadian, 2500–1950 BC
*Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian, 1950–1530 BC
*Middle Babylonian and Middle Assyrian, 1530–1000 BC
*Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian, 1000–600 BC
*Late Babylonian, 600 BC–100 AD

One of the earliest known Akkadian inscriptions was found on a bowl at [[Ur]], addressed to the very early pre-Sargonic king Meskiagnunna of Ur ({{circa|2485}}–2450 BC) by his queen Gan-saman, who is thought to have been from Akkad.<ref name=Bertman_94>{{cite book|last1=Bertman|first1=Stephen|title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-019-518364-1|page=94|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PA94|access-date=16 May 2015|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511014731/https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PA94|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Akkadian Empire]], established by [[Sargon of Akkad]], introduced the Akkadian language (the "language of [[Akkadian Empire|Akkad]]") as a written language, adapting [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] cuneiform orthography for the purpose. During the [[Middle Bronze Age]] (Old Assyrian and Old Babylonian period), the language virtually displaced Sumerian, which is assumed to have been extinct as a living language by the 18th century BC.

Old Akkadian, which was used until the end of the 3rd millennium BC, differed from both Babylonian and Assyrian, and was displaced by these dialects. By the 21st century BC Babylonian and Assyrian, which were to become the primary dialects, were easily distinguishable. Old Babylonian, along with the closely related dialect [[Mari, Syria|Mariotic]], is clearly more innovative than the Old Assyrian dialect and the more distantly related [[Eblaite language]]. For this reason, forms like ''lu-prus'' ('I will decide') were first encountered in Old Babylonian instead of the older ''la-prus''.<ref name="R. Veenhof, Ankara Kultepe Tabletleri V 2010">K. R. Veenhof, Ankara Kultepe Tabletleri V, Turk Tarih Kurumu, 2010, {{ISBN|978-975-16-2235-8}}</ref>

While generally more archaic, Assyrian developed certain innovations as well, such as the "Assyrian [[vowel harmony]]". Eblaite was even more so, retaining a productive [[Dual (grammatical number)|dual]] and a [[relative pronoun]] declined in case, number and gender. Both of these had already disappeared in Old Akkadian. Over 20,000 cuneiform tablets in Old Assyrian have been recovered from the [[Kültepe]] site in [[Anatolia]].
Most of the archaeological evidence is typical of Anatolia rather than of Assyria, but the use both of [[cuneiform]] and the dialect is the best indication of Assyrian presence.<ref name="R. Veenhof, Ankara Kultepe Tabletleri V 2010"/>

Old Babylonian was the language of king [[Hammurabi]] and [[Code of Hammurabi|his code]], which is one of the oldest collections of laws in the world. (see [[Code of Ur-Nammu]].) Old Assyrian developed as well during the second millennium BC, but because it was a purely popular language—kings wrote in Babylonian—few long texts are preserved. It was, however, notably used in the correspondence of Assyrian traders in Anatolia in the 20th–18th centuries BC and that even led to its temporary adoption as a diplomatic language by various local Anatolian polities during that time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vita |first=Juan-Pablo |date=2020-01-01 |title=Akkadian as a Lingua Franca |url=https://www.academia.edu/42912317 |journal=R. Hasselbach-Andee (Ed.), A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. Hoboken 2020, 357-372. |pages=358–359}}</ref>

The Middle Babylonian period started in the 16th century BC. The division is marked by the [[Kassites|Kassite]] invasion of Babylonia around 1550 BC. The Kassites, who reigned for 300 years, gave up their own language in favor of Akkadian, but they had little influence on the language. At its apogee, Middle Babylonian was the written language of diplomacy of the entire [[Ancient Near East]], including Egypt ([[Amarna Period]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vita |first=Juan-Pablo |date=2020-01-01 |title=Akkadian as a Lingua Franca |url=https://www.academia.edu/42912317 |journal=R. Hasselbach-Andee (Ed.), A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Languages, Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. Hoboken 2020, 357-372. |page=360}}</ref> During this period, a large number of loan words were included in the language from [[Northwest Semitic languages]] and [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]]. However, the use of these words was confined to the fringes of the Akkadian-speaking territory.

From 1500 BC onwards, the Assyrian language is termed Middle Assyrian. It was the language of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]]. However, the Babylonian cultural influence was strong and the Assyrians wrote royal inscriptions, religious and most scholarly texts in Middle Babylonian, whereas Middle Assyrian was used mostly in letters and administrative documents.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/704717 | doi=10.1086/704717 | title=''A Descriptive Middle Assyrian Grammar'', by J. J. De Ridder, Leipziger Altorientalistische Studien 8 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2018). Pp. 628. $133.00 (Cloth) | date=2019 | last1=Kouwenberg | first1=Bert | journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies | volume=78 | issue=2 | pages=348–351 }}</ref>

[[File:Cuneiform script.jpg|thumb|A Neo-Babylonian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II]]During the first millennium BC, Akkadian progressively lost its status as a ''lingua franca''. In the beginning, from around 1000 BC, Akkadian and [[Aramaic]] were of equal status, as can be seen in the number of copied texts: clay tablets were written in Akkadian, while scribes writing on papyrus and leather used Aramaic. From this period on, one speaks of [[Neo-Babylonian]] and [[Neo-Assyrian]].

Neo-Assyrian experienced an upswing in popularity in the 10th century BC when the Assyrian kingdom became a major power with the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]]. During the existence of that empire, however, Neo-Assyrian began to turn into a chancellery language, being marginalized by [[Old Aramaic]]. The dominance of the Neo-Assyrian Empire under [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] over [[Aram-Damascus]] in the middle of the 8th century led to the establishment of Aramaic as a ''lingua franca''<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.sejongjul.org/archive/view_article?pid=jul-5-1-1|title=Aramaic as a Lingua Franca During the Persian Empire (538-333 B.C.E.)|last1=Bae|first1=Chul-hyun|date=2004|journal=Journal of Universal Language|volume=5|pages=1–20|doi=10.22425/jul.2004.5.1.1|access-date=2018-12-20|doi-access=free|archive-date=2018-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221134608/https://www.sejongjul.org/archive/view_article?pid=jul-5-1-1|url-status=live}}</ref> of the empire, rather than it being eclipsed by Akkadian. Texts written 'exclusively' in Neo-Assyrian disappear within 10 years of [[Nineveh]]'s destruction in 612 BC. Under the [[Achaemenids]], Aramaic continued to prosper, but Assyrian continued its decline. The language's final demise came about during the [[Hellenistic period]] when it was further marginalized by [[Koine Greek]], even though Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use in literary tradition well into [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] times.

Similarly, the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] conquest of the Mesopotamian kingdoms contributed to the decline of Babylonian, from that point on known as Late Babylonian, as a popular language. However, the language was still used in its written form. Even after the Greek invasion under [[Alexander the Great]] in the 4th century BC, Akkadian was still a contender as a written language, but spoken Akkadian was likely extinct by this time, or at least rarely used.  The last positively identified Akkadian text comes from the 1st century AD.<ref>John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, 2004 "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages'', pg. 218.</ref> The latest known text in cuneiform Babylonian is an astronomical almanac dated to 79/80 AD.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hunger |first1=Hermann |last2=de Jong |first2=Teije |date=30 January 2014 |title=Almanac W22340a From Uruk: The Latest Datable Cuneiform Tablet |journal=Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie |volume=104 |issue=2 |doi=10.1515/za-2014-0015 |s2cid=163700758}}</ref> However, the latest cuneiform texts are almost entirely written in Sumerian logograms.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=C. B. F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPHj37r09EMC&q=latest+akkadian+text&pg=PA17 |title=Cuneiform. Reading the Past |date=1987 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-06115-6 |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles, California |page=17 |language=en |access-date=2020-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511014804/https://books.google.com/books?id=lPHj37r09EMC&q=latest+akkadian+text&pg=PA17 |archive-date=2021-05-11 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Iamblichus (novelist)|Iamblichus]], a 2nd century Syrian novelist, may have been one of the last known people to know Babylonian.

===Decipherment===
[[File:Georg Friedrich Grotefend.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Georg Friedrich Grotefend]]]]
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The Akkadian language began to be rediscovered when [[Carsten Niebuhr]] in 1767 was able to make extensive copies of cuneiform texts and published them in Denmark. The deciphering of the texts started immediately, and bilinguals, in particular [[Old Persian language|Old Persian]]-Akkadian bilinguals, were of great help. Since the texts contained several royal names, isolated signs could be identified, and were presented in 1802 by [[Georg Friedrich Grotefend]]. By this time it was already evident that Akkadian was a Semitic language, and the final breakthrough in deciphering the language came from [[Edward Hincks]], [[Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet|Henry Rawlinson]] and [[Jules Oppert]] in the middle of the 19th century.

In the early 21st century it was shown that automatic high-quality translation of Akkadian can be achieved using [[natural language processing]] methods such as [[convolutional neural network]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gutherz |first1=Gai |last2=Gordin |first2=Shai |last3=Sáenz |first3=Luis |last4=Levy |first4=Omer |last5=Berant |first5=Jonathan |date=2023-05-02 |editor-last=Kearns |editor-first=Michael |title=Translating Akkadian to English with neural machine translation |url=https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad096/7147349 |journal=PNAS Nexus |language=en |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=pgad096 |doi=10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad096 |issn=2752-6542 |pmc=10153418 |pmid=37143863}}</ref>
[[Image:GilgameshTablet.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The [[deluge (mythology)|Deluge]] tablet of the [[Gilgamesh]] epic in Akkadian.]]

===Dialects===
The following table summarises the dialects of Akkadian identified with certainty so far.

{| class="wikitable"
 |+ Known Akkadian dialects
 ! Dialect !! Location
 |-
 | Assyrian || Northern Mesopotamia
 |-
 | Babylonian || Central and Southern Mesopotamia
 |-
 | Mariotic || Central Euphrates (in and around the city of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]])
 |-
 | Nuzi || Northern Tigris (in and around the city of [[Nuzi]])<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gordon|first=Cyrus H.|date=1938|title=The Dialect of the Nuzu Tablets|journal=Orientalia|volume=7|pages=32–63|jstor=43581190}}</ref>
 |-
 | Tell Beydar || Northern Syria (in and around [[Tell Beydar]])
 |}

Some researchers (such as W. Sommerfeld 2003) believe that the Old Akkadian variant used in the older texts is not an ancestor of the later Assyrian and Babylonian dialects, but rather a separate dialect that was replaced by these two dialects and which died out early.

[[Eblaite language|Eblaite]], formerly thought of as yet another Akkadian dialect, is now generally considered a separate East Semitic language.