Sumerian Cuneiform translation help, page 1
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reply posted on 24-9-2004 @ 01:34 PM by Byrd
Welp... the words and how you translate them might depend on which time period you're looking at. There's some stylistic differences in the language and the way it's written over the 2,000 years or so of history that it spans. Furthermore, cuneiform was used to write a number of different languages: Semitic Babylonian, Indo-European Persian, Akkadian, Eblaite, Elamite, and a bunch of others.
www.ancientscripts.com...

First thing you have to know is how the words are written... and the ancients did some interesting and odd and artistic things with writing -- and the way they wrote words also changed:
www.fortunecity.com...

Depending on the time period, it might have been written top to bottom or left to right or rotated in a certain order:
www.ancientscripts.com...

Here's a lexicon:
www.sumerian.org...


The BEST way of doing this is to go to a library and order a cuneiform dictionary (Interlibrary loan) of the time period you're interested in. There is (as is pointed out) no direct way of saying what you want (I think the "seal-bearer" is a good suggestion).

You might try Snell's Workbook of Cuneiform Signs, but there's no guarantee it will contain the words you want:
www.amazon.com...=pd_sim_books_3/10

Sayce also has a grammar/dictionary/syllibary of Akkadian cuneiform:
www.amazon.com...=pd_sim_books_1/102-0555862-6129715?v=glance&s=books

As Nygdan suggested, you do need to look at specific language study groups since there's so much variation in what cuneiform is used for. Pick your culture, then your time period... and THEN you can figure out who to ask about what.

In any case, don't give up on this just because it's difficult. You'll be surprised what you learn along the way!


reply posted on 13-7-2008 @ 08:07 AM by Anonymous ATS
You can also try this website:

www.virtualsecrets.com...

I'm not really sure if what you're looking for is there, but it sort of helped me out...

Good luck!


reply posted on 13-7-2008 @ 09:48 AM by Comforter
reply to post by mdcclxxvi



A very long time ago (early 1980’s) I looked into this and found a professor at Philadelphia Museum had the most information. He may be dead now but I think one of his books was something like: "Life began in Sumer".

One important element in this task is to translate the whole tablet as the verb/noun relationship may have as many as 16 different meanings. Without multiple paragraph translation the translator may miss the point totally.

Shem for instance may be a means of travel, it could be an ox, may be a tunnel, may be an aircraft, all depends on the usage and meaning of the words surrounding it.


reply posted on 26-11-2008 @ 01:13 PM by Anonymous ATS
www.upennmuseum.com...
I found this website. Maybe it'll help you. ((hint: type one word at a time.))
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