Sumerian grammar under the Semitic guidance

In Akkadian personal pronouns used as subject ('I', 'you', 'he/she') are not explicitly given as a separate word, but expressed in the verb conjugation by prefixes and special endings. A very frequently occurring prefix is the 3rd person singular 'he/she' with the prefix i-. e.g. iprus 'he/she decided' (infinitive paräsum 'to decide'). This prefix is (in this case) not realized with the sign 
 i, but e.g. as

 
 
 ip-ru-ús, iprus

We can observe that Semitic scribes applied the prefix i- onto the stem of the verb me [to be] which was obtained after splitting the pronoun he/she into three parts.

In Akkadian language the infinitive form was obtained from the verb in the past tense, third person, singular. This is exactly the process every Sumerian verb goes through. All Sumerian verbs are in fact frozen Semitic infinitives. The prefix of Sumerian verb is either i-/in/-im/-ip/ib where n/m/p/b consonants are allophones.

This is a solid proof that Semitic scribes wrote in Semitic and Sumerian simultaneously.

ane [HE] (236x: Ur III, Old Babylonian, unknown) wr. e-ne;  a-ne "he, she"

[1]		e-ne
[2]		a-ne

17 distinct forms attested; click to view forms table.

1. he, she (236x/100%)

~ LEX/Ur III/Nippur e-ne =  šu-[u₂] ;  šu e-ne =  gi-mi-il-lum šu-u₂ . LEX/unknown/unknown e-ne-gin₇ =  [ki-ma šu-a-ti] ;  [e]-ne-am₃ =  mi-iš-šum ;  [e-ne-da] na-me-a =  <(e-la šu-a-ti)> ;  ki e-ne-[ta] =  [it-ti šu-nu-ti] . ELA/Ur III/Drehem u₃ a-ne ; [u₃ a]-ne zu₂-gag-za . unknown/Ur III/Girsu 4(ban₂) lugal-ezem dumu lugal-zi-mu lu₂ a-ne .

~ nu[not]LEX/Old Babylonian/Nippur a-ne-da nu .

ur [HE] (190x: Lagash II, Old Babylonian, unknown) wr. ur₅;  ur "he; that, this same; maid, female slave; one; corresponding (to one another); like (one another)" Akk. amtu;  ištēn;  mithāru;  šû

See ur tab[suffer], ur ug[despair].

[1]		ur5
[2]		ur

32 distinct forms attested; click to view forms table.

1. he (190x/100%)

~ LEX/unknown/Nippur ur₅ i₃-me-eš-am₃ =  šu-nu-ma ;  ur₅-bi i₃-me-am₃ =  šu-nu-ma ;  ur₅na-nam-meš =  šu-nu-ma ;  ur₅-bi na-nam = šu-nu-ma ;  ur₅ an-ga-meš =  šu-nu-ma ;  ur₅-bi an-ga-am₃ =  šu-nu-ma ;  u₃ e-ne-ne ur₅-bi =  šu-nu šu-nu-u₃ ;  ur₅-bi me-en-de₃-da =  šu-nu u₃ ni-i-nu ;  [ur₅]-ra-am₃ =  ki-a-am ;  [ur₅]-gin₇ =  ki-a-am ;  [ur₅]-gin₇-nam =  ki-a-am-ma ;  [ur₅]-še₃ =  a-naki-a-am ;  [ur₅]-še₃-am₃ =  a-na ki-a-am-ma ;  [ur₅]-ta =  i-na ki-a-am ;  [ur₅]-ta-am =  i-na ki-a-am-ma ;  [ur₅-ra]-ke₄-eš =  aš-šum ki-a-am ;  [ur₅-ra]-ka-nam =  aš-šum ki-a-am ;  [ur₅] i₃-me-a =  ki-ma ki-a-am ; [ur₅]-gin₇-me-a =  ki-ma ki-a-am ;  [ur₅]he₂-na-nam =  ši-i lu ki-a-am ;  [ur₅] he₂-na-nam-am₃ =  ši-i lu ki-a-am-ma ;  [ur₅-še] he₂-me-a =  lu-u₂ a-na ki-a-am-ma ; [ur₅] he₂-me-a-ka-nam =  lu-u₂ aš-šum ki-am-ma ;  [ur₅]-bi =  ki-a-šu ;  [ur₅]-bi nu = la ki-a-šu ;  ur₅ in-nu =  u₂-ul ki-a-am ;  [ur₅]-bi in-nu =  u₂-ul ki-a-šu ;  [ur₅]-ra-am₃ in-nu-u₃ =  u₂-ul ki-a-am-ma-a ;  ur₅ nu-me-a =  la ki-a-am ;  [ur₅] nu-me-a =  e-zu-ub ki-a-am ;  ur₅-bi-da =  qa₂-du-um ki-a-am ;  [x]-da ur₅-gin₇ =  ma ki-a-am ; [x]-da ur₅-ra-aš =  ma a-na ki-a-am ;  ([...])ur₅ =  ši-i ;  ur₅-meš =  šu-nu ;  ur₅-bi =  šu-nu ;  ur₅-meš-am₃ =  šu-nu-ma ;  ur₅-bi-am₃ =  šu-nu-ma . LEX/unknown/unknown [ur₅-gin₇-nam] =  ki-a-am-ma ;  [ur₅ i₃-me]-a =  ki-i ki-a-am ;  [ur₅-gin₇ me]-a =  ki-i ki-a-am ;  [ur₅-ra]-am₃ =  ki-a-am ;  [ur₅-ra]-ke₄ =  aš-šum ki-a-am ;  [ur₅-še₃] =  a-na ki-a-am ;  [ur₅-ta] =  i-na ki-a-am-ma .

2. that, this same

3. maid, female slave

4. one

5. corresponding (to one another)

6. like (one another)

Akk. amtu "maid, female slave";  ištēn "one";  mithāru "corresponding (to one another)";  šû "he".

[2000] A. Cavigneaux, CM 19 48-52.

See ETCSL: ur₅= that.

anene [THEY] (51x: Old Babylonian, unknown) wr. e-ne-ne;  a-ne-ne "they"

[1]		e-ne-ne
[2]		a-ne-ne

14 distinct forms attested; click to view forms table.

1. they (51x/100%)

~ LEX/unknown/Nippur e-ne-ne i₃-me-a =  šu-nu-ma ;  e-ne-ne na-nam =  šu-nu-ma ;  e-ne-ne in-ga-me-a =  šu-nu-ma ;  e-ne-ne an-ga-am₃ =  šu-nu-ma ;  [e-ne-ne] nu =  u₂-ul šu-nu ;  [e-ne-ne in-nu] =  [u₂-ul šu]-nu ;  e-ne-ne al-du₃ =  [šu-nu x x] ;  e-ne-ne nam-mu =  mi-nu [šu-nu] ;  e-ne-ne e-še =  šu-nu-mi ;  e-ne-ne giš-en =  šu-nu-ma-an ;  u₃e-ne-ne ur₅-bi =  šu-nu šu-nu-u₃ ;  me-en-de₃ e-ne-ne-bi =  ni-nu u₃ šu-nu ;  e-ne-ne-da nam-me =  e-la šu-nu-ti ;  e-ne-ne-danam-me-a =  šum-ma-an la šu-nu-ti ;  e-ne-ne-da [na-an-nam] =  e-la-ma-an šu-nu-ti ;  e-ne-ne-da nu-me-a =  i-na ba-lu-šu-[nu] ;  e-ne-ne na-an-na =  ša la [šu-nu-ti] ;  e-ne-ne a-šub-ba =  e-zi-[ib šu-nu-ti] ;  e-ne-ne a-šub-ba-kam =  e-zi-[ib šu-nu-ti-ma] ;  e-ne-ne-[še₃-am₃] =  [a-na šu-nu-ti-ma] ;  [e]-ne-ne-<ne>-še-am₃ =  [a-na šu-nu-ti-ma] ;  e-ne-ne-ra =  šu-nu-ti ;  e-ne-ne-er i₃-me-a =  šu-nu-ti-ma PBS 05, 152, pls.123-4 [OBGT I/1] viii 16= 550;  e-ne-ne-ra-am₃ =  šu-nu-ti-ma ; e-ne-ne-er <(an-dirig-ge-eš)> =  e-li-šu-nu ;  e-ne-ne =  šu-nu ;  e-ne-ne-ne =  šu-nu ;  e-ne-ne-am₃ =  šu-nu-ma . LEX/unknown/unknown e-ne-ne-[gin₇] =  [ki-ma šu-nu-ti] ;  [me-a] e-ne-ne =  a-li₂ šu-nu ;  ki ne-ne-[ta] =  [it-ti šu-nu-ti] . ELA/ED IIIb/Nippur 2(aš@c) a-ne-ne .

See ETCSL: e-ne-ne= they.

Sumerian language is structured in a way to write Akkadian. But Sumerian long words (a very rare event indeed) behave similarly to Akkadian words respectively.

Akkadian words short (two or three letter) syllables, like paräsum, pa-rä-sum ('to separate', 'to decide'), a word structure common to Semitic languages. The syllables are called open or closed. Open syllables have a consonant (c) and a vowel (v): c-v, like bi, lä. Closed syllables have the form c-v-c, like in bab, sum, lim. As a consequence of the syllable structure a word never starts nor ends with two consonants.

Sumerian marked ideograms never start nor end with two consonants. The separated phonetic values of Sumerian ideograms preserve the grammar formation of Semitic languages as a whole.

The negative particle in Sumerian is another stock in trade of Semitic scribes.

Summerian [e-ne-ne] nu = Akkadian  u₂-ul šu-nu ;  

The Semitic writer created the particle nu [not] by chopping the Semitic pronoun šu-nu [they] into two parts.

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