Sumerian

Also known as Sumerian language, Emegir, Emesal, Udgalnun

language of ancient Sumer

AI overview

Sumerian was the language spoken by the ancient people of Sumer in what is now southern Iraq, and it is one of the earliest known written languages in human history. It matters because the Sumerians developed one of the world's first writing systems to record their language, which provides crucial evidence about early civilization, including how people organized societies, conducted trade, and documented their daily lives thousands of years ago.

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Wikidata facts

Image: Sumerian 26th c Adab.jpg

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native label: 𒅴𒂠
Commons category: Sumerian language
exact match: publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/SUX
short name: шумерӣ
number of speakers, writers, or signers: 0
P10369: Il Canto degli Italiani

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Article

Sumerian (Sumerian: 𒅴𒂠, romanized: eme-gir15, lit. 'native language') was the language of ancient Sumer. It is the oldest attested language, dating back to at least 3100 BC, perhaps earlier. It is a local language isolate, thus unrelated to any other known language that was spoken exclusively in ancient Mesopotamia, in the area that is now modern-day Iraq.

Sumerian is read from left to right, from the top; however early inscriptions were read top to bottom from the right.