Akkadian is amazing and nothing like any language I have tried to learn before (which are all Latin-based). Over the past few months my vocabulary has really begun to expand. In fact, to my great excitement, I have found that often authors of the Near Eastern history books I am studying will reference words that I have learnt. I am fascinated by how quickly the language and research components of this project are intertwining.
So here is an interesting tidbit about Akkadian:
Some words can have many translations which range in multiple ideas. For example: 'libbum' can translate as 'heart, mind, thought, wish, inside, center, town center,' and 'midst'.
Libbum is actually a really interesting word. Its ability to translate as 'heart' as well as 'mind, wish,' and 'thought' suggests a lot about what tasks the ancient Near East believed the heart performed.
The translation of libbum as 'center' is also something to pause over. Did the Mesopotamians connect these words because of location (the hearts central location in the body) or because of its significance (the heart as the center for mental activity)?
Translation in any language is tricky work and often I find myself translating an Akkadian sentence incorrectly because of the many options each word allows for. But it is also like putting together a jigsaw; translation is about combining sections to make a logical whole.
And, in the end, when it comes to a sentences like, "I walk to the libbum with my mule", it is fairly obvious that the writer prefers 'town center' over 'thought'.
Thursday, 24 December 2015
Thursday, 3 December 2015
Religious Prayer Texts (1 of 8)
I have spent a good amount of time in my past posts discussing the Akkadian side of my project so I have decided to dedicate this post to my research.
One of the really exciting aspects of my project is looking at a range of prayer texts from Mesopotamia (translated into English) and trying to gleam some insight into what they suggest about the relationship between the speaker and the recipient of the prayer.
Today I want to give a brief overview of the one of the eight prayers I am directly working with.
This prayer is called "Against Any Evil" and its purpose was to halt any evil foretold by an unfavorable omen. The speaker directs his plea to three of the most powerful Mesopotamian gods: Ea, Shamash, and Asalluhi (also known as Marduk).
I love this text because it is what I call a "fill-in-the-blank" prayer. A "fill-in-the-blank" prayer is a work in which the majority of the words remain constant but a few lines allow for personalization of the text. Here is an example in "Against Any Evil" of one section that requires adaptation by the speaker:
Wherever there are signs and portents,
as many as there are,
I (insert name of speaker), son of (speaker's father),
Whose (personal) god is (name of god),
Whose (personal) goddess is (name of goddess),
Against whom evil signs keep occurring,
I am afraid, frightened, and terrified!
Mesopotamian prayers range from the extremely personalized to the completely pre-scripted. This will become clear as I post, throughout the year, detailed descriptions of the other texts I am studying according to when I begin to focus on them.
One of the really exciting aspects of my project is looking at a range of prayer texts from Mesopotamia (translated into English) and trying to gleam some insight into what they suggest about the relationship between the speaker and the recipient of the prayer.
Today I want to give a brief overview of the one of the eight prayers I am directly working with.
This prayer is called "Against Any Evil" and its purpose was to halt any evil foretold by an unfavorable omen. The speaker directs his plea to three of the most powerful Mesopotamian gods: Ea, Shamash, and Asalluhi (also known as Marduk).
I love this text because it is what I call a "fill-in-the-blank" prayer. A "fill-in-the-blank" prayer is a work in which the majority of the words remain constant but a few lines allow for personalization of the text. Here is an example in "Against Any Evil" of one section that requires adaptation by the speaker:
Wherever there are signs and portents,
as many as there are,
I (insert name of speaker), son of (speaker's father),
Whose (personal) god is (name of god),
Whose (personal) goddess is (name of goddess),
Against whom evil signs keep occurring,
I am afraid, frightened, and terrified!
Mesopotamian prayers range from the extremely personalized to the completely pre-scripted. This will become clear as I post, throughout the year, detailed descriptions of the other texts I am studying according to when I begin to focus on them.
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