Lesson 28: Sumerian Ergative Case

Master the Sumerian Ergative Case Marker and Infix

Jan 12, 2025

Introduction

In this lesson, you’ll learn all about the Sumerian ergative case, including the ergative case marker and infix(es), after which, the Sumerian language is going to start making so much more sense!

Helpful Terms

agent: the noun in the sentence that performs the action.
auslaut: the final consonant, sound, or syllable in a word, or syllable boundary.
conjugational prefix (conj. pref.): a particle affixed at the head of the verbal chain, which may or may not confer additional meaning about the action.
ergative (erg.): a grammatical case which indicates the agent; the noun doing the action, as in ‘[performed] by’, marked by -e 𒂊.
infix (inf.): a particle within the verbal chain that refers back to particular cases within the nominal chain.
verbal chain: a string of prefixes, infixes, and suffixes attached to a verb to provide additional information about the action.

Vocabulary

a 𒀀 n., water; semen; progeny; canal; flood. part., suff., in, at, when (loc.); nominalizing suffix.
ab 𒀊 n., sea; opening; nook. part., inf., third person (impersonal) ergative infix -b- “by it/them” when preceded by /a/; indirect object infix -b- when preceded by /a/.
an 𒀭 n., heaven; high. adv., above (OA x1). det., indicates the name of a deity. part., inf., 3^rd person (pers.) infix when preceded by /a/.
ba 𒁀 n., allotment, portion; wages. v., to give; pay; divide; distribute; allot. pron., dem., of this/that (gen.). part., pref., conjugational prefix; suff., poss., its (impers.) (gen., loc.); their (impers.) (gen., loc.).
dù 𒆕 v., to beget; bear (a child); be born; build, create, fashion, make; transform, change; replace.
e 𒂊 v., to speak, say; do; water. part., suff., (performed) by [the agent]; in, at, beside (directive); plural hamṭu (perfective) suffix; marû (imperfective) singular/plural suffix.
é 𒂍n., house; temple.
ì 𒉌 n., butter, oil, fat, cream; oil container. part., pref., stand-alone first-person agentive prefix “I”; conjugational prefix (indicates distance from speaker).
íb 𒌈 n., hips; middle. v., to be angry; to curse. part., pref., stand-alone agent prefix “he/she/it” (impers.).
in 𒅔 n., abuse; insult, offense. adv., conj., until, up to; as many (OB x2). part., pref., stand-alone agent prefix “he/she/it” (pers.).
le 𒇷 part., in some periods/tests, ergative postposition -e 𒂊 when preceded by /l/.
lugal 𒈗 n., king; owner, master, lord.
nu 𒉡 v., to not be. adv., no, not, without.
ù 𒅇 adv., conj., and; also; but (OS x16, OA x119, NS x9,400, OB x1,965). part., suff., mutation of ergative infix in some periods when preceded by /u/.
un 𒌦 part., third person pronominal element -n- when preceded by /u/.
uš 𒍑 n., foundation; distance; dimension; edge; man; penis. v., to support, lift; transport; join; be adjacent to. num., 60. part., suff., personal suffix ‘they/them’ when the root verb ends in /u/ {erg + √u + š}.

The Sumerian Ergative Case

The Sumerian ergative case relates to the agent; that is, the noun performing the action, and is marked by -e 𒂊, as in:

lugal-e é ba-an-dù 𒈗𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The king built the temple.

Depending on the period of the text, the postposition -e 𒂊 may reduplicate the preceding auslaut, as in:

lugal-le é ba-an-dù 𒈗𒇷𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The king built the temple.

Sometimes, the ergative -e 𒂊 will morph into the preceding vowel, as in:

lú-ù é ba-an-dù 𒇽𒅇𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The man built the temple.

But when the patient ends in a vowel, -e 𒂊 might not appear at all, as in:

dumu é ba-an-dù 𒌉𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The son built the temple.

TO HELP YOU REMEMBER 1) The term “ergative” is derived from the Greek word “ἔργον” (érgon), which means work or action. 2) In older Sumerological literature, the Sumerian “ergative” case was referred to as the “agentive” case.

The Sumerian Ergative Infix

An infix is a particle within the verbal chain that refers back to its counterpart in the nominal chain. The Sumerian ergative infix refers back to the agent (marked by -e 𒂊), and is always located immediately before the root verb{erg. + √}.

In the following example, see if you can identify the agent and the ergative infix:

lugal-e é ba-an-dù 𒈗𒂊𒂍𒁀𒀭𒆕 The king built the temple.

In this example:

lugal 𒈗 is the agent
e 𒂊 is the ergative marker
é 𒂍 is the patient
ba 𒁀 is a conjugational prefix
an 𒀭 is the ergative infix
dù 𒆕 is the root verb

Sumerian Pronominal Elements

The Sumerian ergative infix will vary depending on the who is performing the action.

1^st Person (sg.): ø (unwritten)—ex. ba-dù 𒁀𒆕 I built it.
2^nd Person (sg.): e 𒂊 (often unwritten/assimilated before OB)—ex. ba-e-dù 𒁀𒂊𒆕 You built it.
3^rd Person Personal (sg.): n (unwritten/assimilated before OB)—ex. ba-an-dù 𒁀𒀭𒆕 He/she built it.
3^rd Person Personal (pl.): n-√-š (/n/ unwritten before mid NS)—ex. ba-an-dù-uš 𒁀𒀭𒆕𒍑 They built it.
3^rd Person Impersonal (sg./pl.): b—ex. ba-ab-dù 𒁀𒀊𒆕 They built it.

NOTE: The 1^st Person (sg.) ergative infix may have been an unwritten a 𒀀 or a glottal stop in early to mid OS.

The above vowels and consonants are called pronominal elements, and while they act as the full form of the ergative infix, they also appear before some of the other infixes, as you’ll see in the coming lessons, so be sure to subscribe!

Sumerian “Helper” Vowels

Sumerian has no stand-alone consonants, which means you can’t say/spell ba-n-dù 𒆕 he/she built it. Thus, you’ll need to add a “helper” vowel to render it pronounceable.

In most cases, the helper vowel will be the same as the preceding vowel in the verbal chain, as in:

ba-an-dù 𒆕 He/she built it.
nu-un-dù: 𒉡𒌦𒆕 He/she did not build it.

If the ergative infix is the first element in the verbal chain, the pronominal element will usually be helped by /i/, or /e/ in the 2^nd person, as in:

ì-dù 𒉌𒆕 I built it.
e-dù 𒂊𒆕 You built it.
in-dù 𒅔𒆕 He/she built it.
in-dù-uš 𒅔𒆕𒍑 They built it (personal).
íb-dù 𒌈𒆕 They built it (impersonal).

Your Sumerian Language Journey Continues

In the next lesson, you’ll learn about the Sumerian directive case, which is almost identical to the ergative case, so be sure to subscribe to my Substack to get all of my articles delivered directly to your inbox!