Tamil, Sumerian and Manding

[Miguel Carrasquer Vidal]

Clyde Winters wrote:
 
Just some comments on the Sumerian.
 
> English         Sumerian     Manding      Tamil
> to heat, roast  bil, bir     bo
  bil = "to burn"
  bir = "to scatter"
 
> to free         bur          buru
  bur2 = "to bare, to spread out (a garment), to loosen, to reveal"
 
> to blow         bun          bu, bo-n
  This verb is variously given as bug~, bul, bun, actual
pronunciation unclear [<g~> may have been something like <ng>,
<ngw>].
 
> porridge        baba         bulo         parai
  Word unknown to me.  Doesn't really matter, given that the Malinke
and Tamil are not very similar at all.  [This comment applies to most
of the entries in the list, so I won't repeat it after this point].
 
> old man         baba-a       baba
  "old man, father" = ab.ba (probably Semitic loanword).
 
> town            bar          furu
  "town" = uru (probably /iri/ or /eri/).
 
> free            bur          foro
  Didn't we discuss this one just now?  Ah, but the Manding word has
changed...
 
> sack, container bar          fara
  bar = "skin"
 
> ruler           bara         fara
  bara2.g = "sovereign; shrine"
 
> to shine        itu          du           tulanku
  itu = "moon"
 
> to recite       sid          siti
  s^id = "to count, to recite, to read aloud"
 
> to take         dug          du           tekku
  <dug> can mean a lot of things (dug3="good, sweet; knee", dug4="to
say", etc.), but not "to take".  What is meant is probably tuku "to
have".
 
> soul            ti           dyo          ulatu
  Yes, "rib, arrow, soul".
 
> to push,press   teg          dege,telu    tullu
  That's probably <tag> "to touch", zag...tag "to push, to put off".
 
> copper          urudu        kuuta        uruttiran
  Yes, urudu = "copper".  I'll add the Tamil word to my collection of
wandering metal words.  Interesting.
 
> hole, cavity    dul, tul     du, tyolo    tulai
  Don't know this word.  There's a verb <dun> "to dig (with a hoe)".
 
> work            kin          ki           ceykai
  Yes, kin...ak = "to work", where <ak> means "to do, make".  Not
sure what <kin> means, though.  I've seen it as "sickle".
 
> precious,best   kal          ka           aruka
  kal = "mighty, strong"
 
> arrow           kak          kala         kakam
  I've got "arrow" as <ti>.  <Gag> (<kak>) means "(wooden) peg".
I've got a compound <gag.(u2.)tag(.ga)> "arrow", from Hittite texts,
but I'm not sure it's really Sumerian.
 
> boat            kalam        kulu         kalam
  kalam = "land".  "boat" is ma2.
 
> mountain        kur          kuru         kunru
  You're absolutely right: kur (or hur.sag~) is "mountain".
 
> granary,
> threshing floor kur          k'ur-k'ur    kutir
  That's <gur7>.
 
> road            sila         sila         caalai
  Don't know this word (except as a measure, sila2).  Road is
<kaskal>, I think.
 
> man             lu                        al
  <lu2>, yes.
 
> water           bal                       al
  water = <a>
 
> send, transport bala,bal     b'la
  Probably refers to <bal> "to cross, to transfer, to pour off"
 
> woman           manus        mansa        mannan
  "woman" = munus
 
> male            mu           moko         makkal
  male = nita(h)
 
> eye             ini, en      nya          kan
  eye = igi
 
> image           nu           n'ya
  Don't know this word.  I've got <alam> "statue, body", <e2.g~ar8>
"figure".
 
> body            ni           ni           niram
  ni2 means "self".  For body, I've got ad6 ("trunk") and alam
("statue").
 
> ear             bur          toro         kurai
  ear = g~es^tug.  Usually, people invent Sumerian words to *look
like* the words they're supoposed to match.  The above approach is
new to me...
 
> to tear         bir          piri         fori
  bir = "to scatter".  To "tear out" = bu.r, bu3.r.
 
> to buy          se           se
  sa10 = "to buy, to sell"
 
> to recite       sid          siti
  See s^id above.
 
> seed            she          se
  s^e = "barley"
 
> Grammatical Similarities
>
>     The negative suffix in Manding is na, which is preceeded by ka and
> nt'i, e.g., kalu mba nt'. In the Sumerian languages the negation of the
> verb is expressed by the prefixes nu and la, e.g., nu-zu "not to know".
> The optative mood of the negative in Sumerian is formed by the -na
> element, na-ma pad "may she not'. This agrees with the Manding use of the
> -na element to form the negative.
 
The Sumerian prefix <na> can be prohibitive ("do not") or affirmative
("indeed") depending on the aspect of the verb.
 
> Parts of the body
>
> English      Sumerian        Tamil        Manding
> heart, mind  ul              ul           su
 
s^a3.g = "heart"
 
> body         ni              niram        ni
see above.
 
> flesh        uzu             uu           subu
yes, <uzu> /utsu/.
 
> tongue       eme             naa          na
indeed, with an /m/.
 
> bone         gir             kura         kura
I must say I don't know the word for "bone" in Sumerian.
 
> nose         bun             muso,mugu    nu
kiri4 = "nose"
 
> foot         gir             karal        koro
g~iri3 = "foot"
 
 
[Sumerian words given to the best of my knowledge, but there may be a
few errors here and there.  If so, and any experts are reading, I'd
like to know about it.]
 
In summary, I'd say there's little reason to continue this
discussion.
 
=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv at pi.net