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NUMERALS 1 0.1. GENERAL the Sumerian Language Had A CHAPTER TEN NUMERALS 10.1. GENERAL The Sumerian language had a "sexagesimal" system in which numer­ ation proceeded in alternating steps of 10 and 6: 1-10, 10-60, 60- 600, 600-3600, 3600-36000, 36000-216000. With sixty as the "hun­ dred", Sumerian numeration had the enormous advantage of being able to divide by 3 or 6 without leaving a remainder. The sexa­ gesimal system has left its traces in our modern divisions of the hour or of the compass. It permeates the metrological systems of the Ancient Near East. Powell 1971; 1989. Since cardinal and ordinal numbers, including fractions, as well as notations of length, surface, volume, capacity, and weight are next to exclusively written with number signs, we are poorly informed on the pronunciation and the morpho-syntactical behaviour of numbers in Sumerian. To what degree were numbers subject to case inflection? If 600 was pronounced ges-u "sixty ten", i.e., "ten (times) sixty", what was the pronunciation of "sixty (plus) ten", i.e., 70? Was there a difference of stress or some other means of intonation, e.g., *[ges(d)u] versus [gd(d)u]? Syntactically, persons or things counted were followed, not pre­ ceded, by numerals so that the position of a numeral corresponds to that of an adjective. For-purely graphic-exceptions to this rule see 5.3.6, note. 10.2. CARDINAL NUMBERS The oldest pronunciation guide for the Sumerian cardinal numbers 2 to 10 is an exercise tablet from Ebla: TM 75.G. 2198: Edzard 1980; 2003b. 62 CHAPTER TEN Ebla later tradition 1. (slanted vertical wedge) as, deli, dis (ge(4)) 2. mi-nu [min] mm 3. isu-sa-am [isles + copula] eSs 4. li-mu Oim(m)u] limmu 5. i [ia] ia 6. A-su [AS] as 7. u-mi-nu [umin] umun5, 1rmn 8. u-sa-am [us + copula] ussu 9. i-li-mu [ilim(m)u] ilimmu 10. u9-wa-mu [*haw(?) + copula] u Diakonoff 1983, 83-93, cf. G. Pettinato, AIUON 41 (1981) 141-43 ("inspired" by Edzard 1980). Notes on the individual numbers 1 to 10: For 1 and the following cardinal numbers, the most exhaustive treatment still is that by Powell 1971, 13 ff. 1: for deli (di-li, de-e-li, du-li), as and dis so far only an approXI­ mate distribution pattern can be offered: deli is "single, unique" (wedum); cf. lu-sag-deli, glossed sagdilu "(per­ son, single head =) bachelor". Reduplicated deli: dedli indicates detailed plurality (see 5.3.4). AS-ni "he/she all alone" is read deli­ ni or as(a)-ni by individual authors. The OS PN [ASani "he alone"] is spelled A-sa4(DU)-ni (DP 125 iv 6), or ASx(GE 23)-s~-ni (DP 124 iv 2; 126 iv 3). SeeJ. Bauer, RA 64 (1970) 188, partly corrected by J. N. Postgate, AfO 24 (1973) 77. However, deli-du-ni "he is coming alone" might also be proposed. AS(deli)-digir-re-ne "the only one of the gods" VS 10, 199 iii 4 (c£ Falkenstein 1959, 66). A similar uncertainty is found with the epi­ thet of the Moongod, dAS-im4/im-bar6-bar6/babbar (discussed by M. Krebemik, RIA 8, 362 £ § 2.3; there is no var. "as"). It is difficult to differentiate as from deli. If 6 really were 5+ 1, Ebla A-su might be explained as *[ia+aSJ. This is, however, quite uncertain. dis may have been the regular counting word ("one, two, three"), not bound to either person or non-person class. bandis "1 seah" (fol-.
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