Editing Sumerian language (section)

====Numerals====
Sumerian has a combination [[decimal]] and [[sexagesimal]] system (for example, 600 is 'ten sixties'), so that the Sumerian lexical numeral system is sexagesimal with 10 as a subbase.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ux--OWgWvBQC&q=sumerian+lexical+numeral&pg=PA247|title=Numerical Notation: A Comparative History|author=Stephen Chrisomalis|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-87818-0|page=236|access-date=2021-02-25}}</ref> The [[cardinal numeral]]s and ways of forming composite numbers are as follows:<ref name=jagersma_numerals>Jagersma (2010: 242-246)</ref><ref>Sallaberger (2023: 48-49, 201-204)</ref><ref>Foxvog (2016: 51)</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!number
!name
!explanation notes
!cuneiform sign
|-
|1
|''diš''/''deš'' (''aš'', ''dili''{{efn|These variants are generally not used as counting words, but rather as adjectives meaning "single", "alone" and the like, but there are some indications that they might have functioned as numerals in very early periods or occasionally.<ref name=jagersma_numerals/>}})
|
|𒁹 (𒀸)
|-
|2
|''min''
|
|𒈫
|-
|3
|''eš<sub>5</sub>''
|
|𒐈, 𒌍
|-
|4
|''limmu''
|
|𒇹, 𒐉, 𒐼
|-
|5
|''ia<sub>2</sub>''/''i<sub>2</sub>''
|
|𒐊
|-
|6
|''aš''{{efn|With a long vowel due to the origin from a contraction according to Jagersma.}}
|''ia<sub>2</sub>'' "five" + ''aš'' "one"
|𒐋
|-
|7
|''imin''/''umun<sub>5</sub>''/''umin''
|''ia<sub>2</sub>'' "five" + ''min'' "two"
|𒅓
|-
|8
|''ussu''
|
|𒑄
|-
|9
|''ilimmu''
|''ia<sub>2</sub>''/''i<sub>2</sub>'' (5) + ''limmu'' (4)
|𒑆
|-
|10
|''u''
|
|𒌋
|-
|11
|''u-diš'' (?)
|
|𒌋𒁹
|-
|20
|''niš''
|
|𒌋𒌋
|-
|30
|''ušu<sub>3</sub>''
|
|𒌋𒌋𒌋
|-
|40
|''nimin'' 
|"less two [tens]"
|𒐏
|-
|50
|''ninnu''
|"less ten"
|𒐐
|-
|60
|''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')<ref>Jagersma (2010: 244)</ref>
|
|𒐕, 𒐑
|-
|120
|''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')''-min''
|"two ''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>(d)''"
|𒐕𒈫
|-
|240
|''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')''-limmu''
|"four ''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')"
|𒐕𒐏
|-
|420
|''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')''-imin''
|"seven ''g̃eš''(''d'')"
|𒐕𒅓
|-
|600
|''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')-''u''
|"ten ''g̃eš(d)''"
|𒐞
|-
|1000
|''li-mu-um''
|borrowed from Akkadian
|𒇷𒈬𒌝
|-
|1200
|''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')''-u-min''
|"two ''g̃eš<sub>2</sub>''(''d'')''-u''"
|𒐞𒈫
|-
|3600
|''šar<sub>2</sub>''
|"totality"
|𒊹 or 𒄭<ref name="Stephen Chrisomalis 2010 243">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ux--OWgWvBQC&q=sumerian+lexical+numeral&pg=PA247|title=Numerical Notation: A Comparative History|author=Stephen Chrisomalis|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-87818-0|page=243|access-date=2024-12-12}}</ref>
|-
|36000
|''šar<sub>2</sub>-u''
|"ten totalities"
|𒐬
|-
|216000
|''šar<sub>2</sub> gal''
|"a big totality"
|𒊹𒃲 or 𒄭𒃲<ref name="Stephen Chrisomalis 2010 243"/>
|}
[[Ordinal numeral]]s are formed with the suffix 𒄰𒈠 ''-kam-ma'' in Old Sumerian and 𒄰(𒈠) ''-kam(-ma)'' (with the final vowel still surfacing in front of enclitics) in subsequent periods.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 256)</ref> However, a cardinal numeral may also have ordinal meaning sometimes.<ref name=":11">Jagersma (2010: 246-250)</ref>

The syntax of numerals has some peculiarities. Besides just being placed after a noun like other modifiers (𒌉𒐈 ''dumu eš<sub>5</sub>'' "three children" - which may, however, also be written 𒐈𒌉 ''3 dumu''), the numeral may be reinforced by the [[#Copula verb|copula]] (𒌉𒐈𒀀𒀭 ''dumu eš<sub>5</sub>''-''am<sub>3</sub>'', lit. "the children, being three". Finally, there is a third construction in which the possessive pronoun 𒁉 -''bi'' is added after the numeral, which gives the whole phrase a definite meaning: 𒌉𒐈𒀀𒁉 ''dumu eš<sub>5</sub>''-''a-bi'': "''the'' three children" ({{lit|children - the three of them}}). The numerals 𒈫 ''min'' "two" and 𒐈 ''eš<sub>5</sub>'' "three" are also supplied with the nominalizing marker ''-a'' before the pronoun, as the above example shows.<ref name=":11" />

[[Fraction]]s are formed with the phrase 𒅆...N...𒅅 ''igi-''N-''g̃al<sub>2</sub>'' : "one-Nth"; where 𒅅 ''g̃al<sub>2</sub>'' may be omitted. "One-half", however, is 𒋗𒊒𒀀 ''šu-ru-a'', later 𒋗𒊑𒀀 ''šu-ri-a.'' Another way of expressing fractions was originally limited to weight measures, specifically fractions of the [[Mina (unit)|mina]] (𒈠𒈾 ''ma-na''): 𒑚 ''šuššana'' "one-third" (literarlly "two-sixths"), 𒑛 ''šanabi'' "two-thirds" (the former two words are of Akkadian origins), 𒑜 ''gig̃usila'' or 𒇲𒌋𒂆 ''la<sub>2</sub> gig̃<sub>4</sub> u'' "five-sixths" (literally "ten [[shekel]]s split off (from the mina)" or "(a mina) minus ten shekels", respectively), 𒂆 ''gig̃<sub>4</sub>'' "one-sixtieth", lit. "a shekel" (since a shekel is one-sixtieth of a mina). Smaller fractions are formed by combining these: e.g. one-fifth is ''𒌋𒁹𒁹𒂆'' "12×1/60 = 1/5", and two-fifths are 𒑚𒇹𒂆 "1/3 + (4 × 1/60) = 5/15 + 1/15 = 6/15 = 2/5".<ref>Jagersma (2010: 260-267)</ref>