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Cuneiform Signs |
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Analysis and reports to support an international standard for computer encoding of the Cuneiform writing system Research on the development of Cuneiform signs |
| Signs Which Need to Be Added |
| Information on this page is available free of any restrictions. It is intended to assist preparation of a proposal to Unicode for a standard encoding of Cuneiform. |
For Name Format and Table Entries, please see the top of the page ReplaceSigns, click here. |
Sign Forms Which Demonstrate Need for a Sign, where late scribal reanalyses into more familiar components do not cover the repertoire of needed signs. The type of IGI.RI, IGI.RU and signs including SAL are in the third table on this page. Examples on this page do *not* include those where naming may contribute to incorrect unification with a wrong earlier sign form. |
| N2664 Code Point | Sign Name for sign to be deleted or renamed | Glyph Frag-ment or se- quence |
Is there an indep. sign? | ? Add Delete Rename | Single Sign Name (not sign sequence) and comments | Tradi- tional List? |
| -- | GAD.KID2.UR2 | seq. | late dissolution of earlier sign UMBIN | |||
| UMBIN | yes | Add | For Old and Middle Babylonian the sequence analysis does not work, the sign is unitary; Classic Sumerian some form of "leg" x KID2, or in one form partly dissolved into GAD.(DU x KID2). | B160 L92b | ||
| AKKIL | yes | Add | AKKIL (unitary) = ?? x KID2 (the analysis (GAD.SI) x KID2 would represent the earlier form decently, see analysis of containers which surround an infix on left and right only) | B159 L92a |
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| -- | SHE.NAGA | seq | was a single sign in Gudea, Fara, Uruk | B293v L375a Z381 | ||
| -- | SHU.KAD2 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | KAD4 single sign as seen in Gudea | B568 L354b | |||
| -- | SH.KAD3 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | KAD5 single sign as seen in Gudea | B569 L354b | |||
| GA.DUN3 | seq | disproved for the following | ||||
| yes | Add | IL2 Classic Sumerian and Uruk show its lower part as LU2 not DUN3, variation which can only be captured by encoding entire sign | B493 L320 | |||
| MA2.KASKAL | seq | disproved by Gudea and Uruk for following: | ||||
| yes | Add | UD5 (UDU with teats, 'nanny goat') |
B203 L122b | |||
| SU.AB | seq | |||||
| yes | Add | ABZU in Gudea either ligatured or fused | F292 | |||
Signs Which Did Not Undergo Historical Reanalysis, But Whose Parts are Components, Not Separate Signs in Sequence. The "Cover" Containers x Infixes. Container signs here are SHU4 and SHU2. The obvious analog in Han CJK characters is the "roof" radical, U+219BA and following. The two cuneiform signs SHU4 and SHU2 had the same source, with significance 'cover' or 'vault of heaven' and the like. That sign later split, and only SHU4 merged later visually with the number sign U. But it is not here called "U", despite that being the usual name for the component SHU4 as seen in time periods after Fara (where there was fluctuation). Probably no sign begins with the true number sign U. Uruk shows the true container nature for those signs which are known that early (noted below), since for "infixed" URI3 and partly for AN and EN, the "cover" wraps around three sides of the infixed portion just as does the accepted container NINDA2. In NeoAssyrian, these signs are very unlikely to be split across line breaks (the container is so narrow), or to have extra white space within the single sign between their components. So there is probably no evidence whatsoever that they are sequences of SIGNS rather than combinations of components. There is thus no justification for fragmenting them. We are not limited in the number of signs we can encode for cuneiform, within the limits of what we could conceivably want. |
| N2664 Code Point | Sign Name for sign to be deleted or renamed | Glyph Frag-ment or se- quence |
Is there an indep. sign? | ? Add Delete Rename | Single Sign Name (not sign sequence) and comments | Tradi- tional List? |
| -- | U.AD | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x AD = GIR4 | L430 | |||
| -- | U.BURU14 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x BURU14 = SHIBIR | B666 L413 | |||
| -- | U.DIM | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x DIM = GAKKUL3 | B667 L415a | |||
| -- | U.(DIM x KUR) | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | (SHU4 x DIM) x KUR = GAKKUL (grouping?) | B668 L416 | |||
| -- | U.(DIM x SHE) | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x DAR = GAKKUL (this was early distinct from the preceding, later merged) | L416v | |||
| -- | U.DAR | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x DAR | B670 L418 | |||
| -- | U.E2 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x E2 = SHITA4 (Components touch in Uruk form) | B699 L442 Z535 | |||
| -- | U.GA | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x GA = UTU2 | B700 L443 | |||
| -- | U.GAN | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x GAN = SHAGAN | L428 | |||
| -- | U.GAR | seq | ||||
| 12278 | yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x GAR = PAD | B746 L469 | ||
| -- | U.GIR3 (= U.PIRIG) | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x GIR3 (or PIRIG) = KUSHU | B710 L448 | |||
| -- | U.GUD | seq | ||||
| N2664 R | yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x GUD = UL | B698 L441 | ||
| -- | U.GUR | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x GUR | B669 L417 | |||
| -- | U.ITI | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x ITI | B664 L414 | |||
| -- | U.KA | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x KA = UGU | B663 L412 | |||
| -- | U.MU | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x MU = UDUN | B665 L415 | |||
| -- | U.SAG | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x SAG | B671 L419 | |||
| -- | U.UD.KID | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x (UD.KID) = NIGIN3 | B707 L447a | |||
| -- | U.ZAG | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU4 x ZAG | B700a | |||
| -- | SHU2.AN | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x AN = EN2 (Uruk form has SHU2 partly surrounding AN) |
B870 L546 Z138 | |||
| -- | SHU2.AN lig.(SHAR2 x GAD) | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x AN lig.(SHAR2 x GAD) = KESH3 | B871 | |||
| -- | SHU2.ASH2 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x ASH2 = GIBIL | B875 L548 | |||
| -- | SHU2.DUN4 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x DUN4 = SHUDUN | B876 L549 | |||
| -- | SHU2.ESH | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x ESH = LIL3 | B879 L553 | |||
| -- | SHU2.KISAL | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x KISAL (in Fara mistaken for SHU4 ?) | B877 L550 | |||
| -- | SHU2.MUL | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x MUL = KUNGA | B872 L547 | |||
| -- | SHU2.NAGA | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x NAGA = SHEG8 | B873 L551 | |||
| -- | SHU2.NE | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x NE = LIL5 | B874 L552 | |||
| -- | SHU2. (SHE.KU.KAK) | seq | ||||
| yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x (SHE.KU.KAK) = SHEG9 | B878 L551v | |||
| -- | SHU2.UR SHESHIG | seq | ||||
| 1212F | yes | Add Rename | SHU2 x (UR sheshig) = HUL2 | B880 L550a | ||
Sign Forms Which Demonstrate Need for a Sign, where late scribal reanalyses into more familiar components separate components which were fused in earlier usage. The use of "x" here can be considered like other uses in that the overlap of components, or their penetration into each other's bounding boxes, means that they are not renderable as a simple sequence of glyphs. Near the end of this subsection are included six items which may be demonstrable as single signs, but about which judgement is not passed at this time (blank instead of "no" or "yes" in the column "Is there an indep. sign?"). It is conceivable that judgement will be possible within the next few months. |
| N2664 Code Point | Sign Name for sign to be deleted or renamed | Glyph Frag-ment or se- quence |
Is there an indep. sign? | ? Add Delete Rename | Single Sign Name (not sign sequence) and comments | Tradi- tional List? |
| IGI+MIN ligature | ? | IGI + MIN or IGI x MIN ? Does the form alternate with a sequence IGI.MIN, as appears to be shown in Labat449 ? If not, probably a unitary sign. | B724a L449 | |||
| -- | IGI.RI | seq | ||||
| N2664 R | yes | already | IGI x RI = AR more evidently a single sign in Gudea and Fara | B726 L451 F422 | ||
| -- | IGI.RU | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x RU = PAD3 more evidently a single sign in Gudea, Fara, and Uruk (RU with IGI inside) | B725 L450 F423 | |||
| -- | IGI.UM (IGI.DUB ?) | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x UM (or IGI x DUB) = AGRIG | B727 L452 | |||
| -- | IGI.DIB = U3 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x DIB (Components touch in Gudea, Fara) | B731 L455 | |||
| ? | IGI x LU (if distinct from IGI x DIB) | |||||
| -- | IGI.TUG2 or IGI.SHE3 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGIx TUG2 or IGI x SHE3 (Components touch in Gudea and later) | B732 L455 F434 | |||
| -- | IGI.ERIM | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x ERIM (Components touch in Fara) | B729 B730 L454 |
|||
| -- | IGI.PUR2 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x PUR2 (Components touch in Fara) | F425 | |||
| -- | IGI.SHE3 or .KAR2? | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x SHE3 (or IGI x KAR2 ?) (Components touch in Fara) | F426 | |||
| -- | IGI.E2 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x E2 = U6 (Components touch in Fara) | B728 L449 F429 | |||
| -- | IGI.SHID | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x SHID (Components touch in Fara) | F430 | |||
| -- | IGI.LAGAB | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x LAGAB (Components touch in Fara) | F431 | |||
| -- | IGI.NI | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x NI | F435 | |||
| -- | IGI.ZI | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x ZI | L452 | |||
| -- | IGI.UR | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | IGI x UR = HUL (looser connection of components than many signs above in this list; one early attestation has parts side-by-side, analog of the Uruk combinations that often correspond to later complex signs) | B733 L456 F428 U | |||
Examples treated differently by Labat, not given separate numbers, and shown without such close joins as the other signs above. IGI.DU, IGI.KAK |
All under L449 | |||||
| -- | NE.RU | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | NE x RU (RU with NE inside: RU x NE ?) | L172b Z144 | |||
| -- | NI.RU | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | NI x RU (RU with NI inside: RU x NI ?) | Z | |||
| -- | KUR.RU | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | RU with KUR inside = SHURUPPAK | Z544a | |||
| RU with THREE STROKES (perhaps alternate of preceding) | Z544b | |||||
| -- | SAL.SI | seq | ||||
| 12088 | yes | already | EL = SIKIL (SAL nested into SI in Classic, Gudea, Fara, and Uruk; fused in NeoAssyrian) | B899 L564 | ||
| -- | SAL.KUR | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | SAL x KUR (later also read GEME2) | B890 L558 | |||
| -- | SAL.SHE3 | seq | ||||
| -- | SAL.TUG2 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | SAL x SHE3 | B897 | |||
| -- | SAL.SHU2 | seq | ||||
| Z | ||||||
| -- | SAL.Z751 | seq | ||||
| SAL x Z751 | Z | |||||
| -- | SAL.LAGAR | seq | ||||
| SAL x LAGAR | Ellerm. | |||||
| -- | SAL.KAB or SAL.HUB2 | seq | ||||
| SAL x KAB or SAL x HUB2 | Ellerm. | |||||
| -- | SAL.ME | seq | ||||
| SAL x ME | Ellerm. | |||||
| -- | SAL.TUK | seq | ||||
| SAL x TUK | Ellerm. | |||||
| -- | SAL.ASH2 | seq | ||||
| 12366 | ZUM | yes | already | SAL x "comb" = ZUM (appears as SAL x ASH2 in NeoAssyrian, but not elsewhere) | B884 L555 | |
| yes | Add | Same as above, with LAGAB around the ASH2 | B885 | |||
| 12061 | DAM | yes | already | Looks like SAL x something, not analyzable | B889 L557 | |
| -- | SAL.NAM2 | seq | ||||
| yes | Add | SAL x NAM2 = NIN | B886 L556 | |||
| -- | SAL.MA | seq | no | SAL + MA (ligature?) read mim-ma | B888 L556 | |