Additional information
by Simo Parpola (Author)
Part 1 of this dictionary presented Uralic etymologies for 3030 Sumerian words and morphemes corresponding to about two-thirds of the basic vocabulary of Sumerian included in the electronic version of the Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary (ePSD). The present volume provides a thorough linguistic analysis of the Sumerian and Uralic data found in Part 1, with particular attention to lexical isoglosses, distinctive features, sound correspondences and word derivation.
The phonological analysis of the data and the paralinguistic evidence discussed in the introduction confirm that Sumerian belonged to the Ugric branch of Uralic and is most closely related to Khanty (Ostyak). This ought to put an end to the myth that Sumerian is a language isolate and should encourage Sumerologists and Uralists to take the Uralic affinity of Sumerian seriously, to the mutual profit of their disciplines.
The volume adds 135 new lexical entries to those already presented in Part 1 and substantiates the etymologies proposed there by 3402 new Uralic parallels. A list of errara in Part 1 and an Appendix by Peter Revesz presenting an algorithm devised to test the feasibility of the Sumerian-Ugric comparisons and suggesting machine-generated Proto-Ugric reconstructions for 200 Sumerian-Ugric word pairs conclude the volume.
Author Biography
Simo Parpola is Professor Emeritus of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki and the publisher of the Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. He is the author of Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, Parts I and II, and The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part 1, all of which are published by Eisenbrauns.
