Besides other evidence tending in the same direction, perhaps the most convincing proof, from a philological point of view, that ancient Sumerian was a real idiom, of natural growth and wholly unartificial, may be found, aside from the internal phonetic changes, in the in dubitably established fact that there were two dialects of it. These were the Emeku, the man's language, the noble, virile, though harsh form, and the Emesal, the woman's language, the softer. There were no geographical bound aries to these two dialects. In R. E. Briin now's "A Classified List of all Simple and Compound Ideographs" (1889), it is also demon strated that the Sumerian original idiom was of unaided growth. He and others point out that there were probably eight voice tones em ployed in Sumerian, similar to the Chinese of to-day, and that the intonation often deter mined the meaning. As a possible illustration may be cited: a water, weep, moisture, dew, tears, inundation, irrigation; ab= dwelling, sea, road, and a grammatical suffix.
After Sumerian had ceased to be a living tongue it was, up to a very late period of Baby lonia's existence, greatly used as a ritual one, and was read aloud at worship in the temples, much as is, for example, early Slavonic in Rus sian and other Orthodox churches to-day.
Bibliography.— Delitzsch, F., 'Assyrian
Studies' (Leipzig 1874) ; 'Assyr. Wiirterbuch) (Leipzig 1890) ; 'Babel and Bibel' (ib. 1899) ; Halevy,., 'Observations critiques sur les pre tendus Touraniens de la Babylonie' (Paris 1874); Journal asiatigue (3d series, Vol. IV, pp. 461 seq., Paris 1874); 'Recherches critiques sur l'origine de la civilisation babylonienne' (id. 1876) ; 'Precis d'allographie ass.-babyl,' ib. 1912) ; Haupt, M., 'Die sumerischen ib. (Leipzig 1879) ; 'Die akka dische Sprache' (Berlin 1883) ; Meyer, E., 'Sumerier u. Semiten in Baby!) (Berlin 1906); Lenormant, F., 'Etudes accadiennes) (II 2, p. 70, 3 vols., Paris 1870-79) • Pinches, T. G., 'Language of the Early Inhabitants of Meso potamia' (in Journal Asiatic Society, pp. 301 seq. 1884) • 'Sumerian or (pp. 75 seq., 343-344, 551-552, London 1900) ; Prince, J. D., Journal of American Oriental Society, XXV 49-67• American Journal of Semitic Languages, XIX 203 seq.; 'Materials for a Sumerian Lexicon) (Leipzig 1905-07) ; Radan, Wm. G., 'Sumerian Hymns and Prayers to the God Nin-ib> (London 1911) ; Sayce, A. H., 'Hibbert's Lectures' (pp. 415-436, 1887) ; Schrader, E., ten u. Geschichts forschung) (pp. 290, 533) • Tide, C. P., Assyr. Geschichte) (pp. Leipzig) • Zim mern, K. F., 'Baby'. Busspaslmen) (Leipzig 1885).