An Elementary Grammar with Full Syllabary and Progresssive Reading Book, of the Assyrian Language, in the Cuneiform Type

This 1875 teaching grammar/reader, aimed at helping students to grasp Assyrian cuneiform, includes texts, transliterations and translations.

Archibald Henry Sayce (Author)

9781108077958, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 October 2014

150 pages
23.4 x 15.6 x 0.8 cm, 0.24 kg

Archibald Henry Sayce (1845–1933) became interested in Middle Eastern languages and scripts while still a teenager. Old Persian and Akkadian cuneiform had recently been deciphered, and in the early 1870s the translation of part of the epic tale of Gilgamesh attracted considerable publicity. Based at Oxford, the young philologist Sayce published several books on Assyrian in quick succession. In the preface to this 1875 teaching grammar/reader, he notes that in just three years since the publication of his grammar for specialists (also reissued in this series), Assyrian had become a 'popular' subject, with students 'flocking in from all sides'. His book was written in response to the demand for beginners' books that were similar to those available for Greek or Hebrew. The texts that follow the syllabary and outline grammar are accompanied by transliterations and translations, with substantial accompanying notes on vocabulary, grammar points, and Hebrew cognates.

Preface
1. Syllabary
2. The nouns
3. The numerals
4. The pronouns
5. The verb
6. List of prepositions
7. Compound prepositions
8. The conjunctions
9. The adverbs
10. Derivation of nouns
11. Phonology
12. Reading lessons.

Subject Areas: Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF]