Chinese and Sumerian

INITIAL AND FINAL SOUNDS, ETC. 9

séng, priest; in SANGU, the name of the character for SAG, head; perhaps in KI.AG, pronounced KI.ANG(?), to love; and certainly in SHANGA, one of the _ sounds of the character SHAG, SHAGGA (2.2. SHANGA ?), bright, pure (Br. 7285). A character like Ey, with the values SUM, SUN, SIG (SIG-GI, SIG-GA), suggests the existence in Sumerian of a nasalized G, equivalent to the Chinese ng ; and it is a remarkable fact that this SUM (dialectic SEM or ZIM? Br. 4202) means to give, and is thus equivalent to the Chinese sung and shang; G. 9735; 10463.

The surds, as finals in Sumerian, appear to be of much later origin: cf AKA, love, beside AG; UTU, sun, day, beside UD, UG; ITU, ITI, moon, month, from GUD, GID, ID, bright; UG, people, country, C.T. xii. 27, beside UKU, SP 246. Final p hardly occurs at all in Sumerian, except perhaps in the proper name PA PSUKAL, from an older BAB-SUKAL.

The oldest initials also are practically identical in the two languages. In Chinese, as far back as we can go, these were g, d, b, ng, n, m, l, z, dz, zh, and the vowels: compare the Sumerian words GIN, GI, reed, stem; GAB, breast; GAN, garden; DUG, sweet, good; DUB, tablet; BAD, open; BA, give; NA, NE, that; NIM, high; MUSH, serpent; LAG, offering; LUD, LUTU, a vessel; ZI, right; ZUN, many, all; AB, ocean; IB, region, district; UB, do.; AN, high, heaven; EN, high, lord; UN, dwelling-place ; UG, UKU, country, people. That initial G was sometimes nasalized in Sumerian as in Chinese (ng), may be inferred from the compound KI.BI.LGAR, province, satrapy, which is also written KI.BI-IN.GAR, z.e. KI.BI. NGAR. Cf also the term DI.GIR, god, king, side by side with DI-IN-GIR, z.e. DI.NGIR, which is clearly connected with the old Turkish e555 tengry, God, transcribed in Chinese by t'ang-li: see G. 735. (The dialectic DILMER proves that DINGIR is a compound.)

The sounds dz, ts, are hardly traceable in Sumerian; but zh may be regarded as the transitional sound between Z and SH, in cases like ZI, life, and the later SHI. The aspirate k‘ may be compared with the Sumerian spirant G in GUD, to shine, from an older GUD; t, p, cannot be traced. K, t, p, s, sh, are common initials in Sumerian; 2g. KUM, flame; KUN, to shine; KAN, KA, gate; KUD, cut off, decide; KALA, high, exalted, costly; TUD, to beget, to bring forth; TAB, double ; companion; TIN, TIL, TI, live, life; TAG, to break, evil; PAR, bright ; PAD, PA, call, speak; PIL, to burn; SAM or SHAM, price; SUM, SIG, SI, to give ; SIL, to cut through; SAR, SAG, to write; SHU, writing, the scribe’s art; SHU, hand; SHAG, bright; SIG, green; SIG, to beget; SIM, call, name, proclaim; SHUM, kill, slay; SHEN, copper (from SHUN; Assyrian shznnuz). Chinese scholars will at once recognize all or most of these words (see Lex. s. vv.).

As final sounds Sumerian also employs R, L, and Z,S,SH. To take the last first, Z occurs in GAZ, smite, kill; GUZ, a bond, and BUZ, a title of the goddess Damkina; LI.LIZ, a ring (?); NU.NUZ, offspring; (the last two perhaps from

1601 Cc