| − | '''Sumerian''' is a term used to describe a person or object from the ancient kingdom of [[Sumeria]]. Sumerian was written and spoken on [[cuneiform]], which is a tablet of dried mud and [[manure]]. The organic material in the manure has proved a boon, as it allows us to [[carbon date]] Sumerian cuneiform tablets. Sumerian is known for its unique syntactic features, which include an object-object-verb-subject word order and the use of the morpheme ''p'' before inanimate nouns and non-[[gender]]ed [[substantive]]s. It also has a tendency to employ left dislocations, in much the same way that some [[American Indian]] [[language]]s do. | + | '''Sumerian''' is a term used to describe a person or object from ancient [[Sumeria]]; an area in and surrounding the deltas of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers unified during the middle of the 3rd millenium BC. Sumerian was written in[[cuneiform]] on tablets of dried mud and [[manure]]. The organic material in the manure has proved a boon, as it allows us to [[carbon date]] Sumerian cuneiform tablets. Sumerian is known for its unique syntactic features, which include an object-object-verb-subject word order and the use of the morpheme ''p'' before inanimate nouns and non-[[gender]]ed [[substantive]]s. It also has a tendency to employ left dislocations, in much the same way that some [[American Indian]] [[language]]s do. |