The writing of Sumerian in the third millennium BC. A computer-based analysis of the use of phonographic cuneiform signs and its diachronic and regional variation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Walther Sallaberger
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 419758451

Whereas the multitude of possible meanings that could be rendered by a single cuneiform sign are usually well known, not much reliable data exists as to which of these were actually in use in a given time, place and context.There are practical reasons for this: While a few examples are sufficient to establish a hitherto unknown meaning of a sign, large parts of a corpus have to be systematically evaluated to determine with due certainty that it could not be employed to render a given meaning.However, with the creation of large-scale corpus projects like the CDLI and BDTNS, which have made the better part of the Sumerian textual material available in digital from, this work can now be at least partly automated with the help of modern computational methods. Thus, comprehensive studies of the usage of the cuneiform signs are possible for the first time with relatively little effort.This project seeks to analyze as comprehensively as possible the usage of the phonographic signs in the Sumerian texts of the third millennium BC. In a first step, all instances of phonographic signs will be identified and classified with the help of a machine learning algorithm. Five classes of phonographic signs are distinguished: phonograms in the affix chain, phonograms in the word stem, phonograms used to write Semitic terms, phonograms in ad hoc spellings, and phonetic complements. Additionally, spelling variants of phonographically written stems and proper nouns are collected. On the basis of this data, syllabaries and sign inventories for all important regions, periods and sign classes are established.Apart from its immediate value, e. g. as resource for the reading of texts, this data is of great significance as a basis for further research. In a second step, therefore, its contribution to the understanding of local cuneiform traditions and their development, the relationship between the Sumerian cuneiform and the early semitic writing systems, the phonology of Sumerian, and the development of phonographic writing in Mesopotamia will be explored.An explicit goal of this project is furthermore to create a baseline for the use of computational methods in Sumerology and to create an extensive annotated text corpus, which can serve as an important basis for further investigations.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Hinrich Schütze