Sumerian language
Sumerian (Sumerian: 𒅴𒂠, romanized: Emeg̃ir, lit. ''native tongue'') is the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is accepted to be a local language isolate and to have been spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is modern-day Iraq.
| Sumerian | |
|---|---|
| 𒅴𒂠Emeg̃ir | |
| Native to | Sumer and Akkad |
| Region | Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) |
| Era | Attested from c. 2900 BC. Went out of vernacular use around 1700 BC; used as a classical language until about 100 AD. |
| Dialects |
|
| Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | sux |
| ISO 639-3 | sux |
| Glottolog | sume1241 |
Akkadian, a Semitic language, gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language in the area c. 2000 BC (the exact date is debated), but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Akkadian-speaking Mesopotamian states such as Assyria and Babylonia until the 1st century AD. Thereafter, it seems to have fallen into obscurity until the 19th century, when Assyriologists began deciphering the cuneiform inscriptions and excavated tablets that had been left by its speakers.