Editing Sumerian language (section)

=== Southern and Northern Sumerian ===
Bram Jagersma<ref>Jagersma (2010: 7, see also p. 549 on Fara).</ref> and Gábor Zólyomi<ref name="Zólyomi 2017: 19">Zólyomi (2017: 19)</ref> distinguish two regional dialects of Sumerian: the Southern Sumerian dialect of [[Lagash]], [[Umma]], [[Ur]] and [[Uruk]], which eventually formed the basis for the common standard of the Neo-Sumerian (Ur III) period, and the Northern Sumerian dialect as seen in texts from [[Nippur]], [[Adab (city)|Adab]], [[Isin]] and [[Shuruppak]] (although eventually texts in the standard variety begin to be produced in that area as well). The differences that he finds between the two varieties are:
* In Southern Sumerian, the conjugation prefix 𒉌 /i/- alternated with 𒂊 /e/- in accordance with vowel harmony during the Old Sumerian period, while Northern Sumerian only had /i/-. Later Southern Sumerian generalized /i/- as well.
* In Southern Sumerian, the conjugation prefix expressing the passive was 𒁀 ''ba-'', while in Northern Sumerian, it was 𒀀 ''a-''.
* In Southern Sumerian after the Old Akkadian period, the conjugation prefix 𒀀 ''a-'', which had originally existed in both dialects, disappears entirely apart from the variant 𒀠 ''al-'', which only appears in subordinate clauses.
* In Southern Sumerian, the Old Sumerian phoneme ''ř'' merged with ''r'', while in Northern Sumerian, it merged with ''d''.