Cuneiform Hand-Me-Downs - how Sumerian outlived its speakers

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Video

John Horgan
by NativLang
published on 12 October 2017

My favorite example of how odd Cuneiform became as it was passed from civilization to civilization. Thanks, rampant Sumerianization!

Cuneiform languages took Sumerian very seriously, even after it was long dead. That’s how Akkadian and Hittite ended up with these strange Sumerograms and Akkadograms.

Learn how scribes kept around Sumerian spellings for their own native words, creating bizarre hybrid linguistic creatures that saddled Cuneiform with the linguistic baggage of every language that passed it on.

Still have any interest in learning the world’s oldest writing system? Or just a bit relieved you didn't grow up with Cuneiform?

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Cite This Work

APA Style

NativLang. (2017, October 12). Cuneiform Hand-Me-Downs - how Sumerian outlived its speakers. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/video/1304/cuneiform-hand-me-downs---how-sumerian-outlived-it/

Chicago Style

NativLang. "Cuneiform Hand-Me-Downs - how Sumerian outlived its speakers." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified October 12, 2017. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/1304/cuneiform-hand-me-downs---how-sumerian-outlived-it/.

MLA Style

NativLang. "Cuneiform Hand-Me-Downs - how Sumerian outlived its speakers." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 12 Oct 2017. Web. 26 Dec 2024.

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