Babyloniaca, études de philologie assyro-babylonienne.

SYNTAX OF COMPOUND VERBS

IN SUMERIAN
BY STEPHEN LANGDON
The existence of compound verbs in Sumerian has been recognized
since the beginning of the science of Sumerian philology. I propose
in this article to study the nature of this branch of Sumerian
grammar, founding the examination chiefly upon texts of the
classical period. The principles of this language will never be fully
discovered until we base our study upon the early texts, for the
bilingual texts are mostly late and the Semitic translations very
often misleading1.
On pages 237-8 of Babyloniaca I, the writer gave a short resume
of the following study. He has, since the publication of la
Syntaxe du Verbe Sume'rien, so enlarged the work on compound
verbs as to include all important cases which occur in cuneiform
literature. Great precision in both Sumerian and Babylonian
lexicography must be the constant effort of all Assyriologists;
Sumerian is especially valuable for obtaining clear results as to
the meanings of Babylonian words whose exact meanings can not
be definitely established by the context or by comparative philology.
The writer hails the recent comparative grammar of BROCKEL1ANN
as well as the careful philological methods of ZIIMMERN, JENSEN,
MEISSNER, STRECK and others as a permanent step toward a trustworthy Babylonian dictionary2.
1. Many ritual texts are probably Semitic compilations.
2. It is of course necessary for any of us who are engaged in lexicography to
express our admiration of Professor DELITZSCH'S lexicon. He had the courage to
undertake the task which laid the foundation of scientific Assyriology and I would
not be late in expressing my dependence upon his work.
BAI3YONIACGA. - I. 5