The cuneiform sign en, is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts (for example Hittite texts). It has a secondary sub-use in the Amarna letters for ka4. [1]
Linguistically, it has the alphabetical usage in texts for n, e, or en, and also a replacement for "e", by vowels, a, or i, or u.
The en sign usage in the Epic of Gilgamesh is as follows: (en, 32 times, and EN, 184 times). [2] EN in the Epic of Gilgamesh is used for Akkadian, adi (English "until, plus", and Akkdian bēlu), for "lord, owner". [3]
The cuneiform lu sign is a common, multi-use sign, a syllabic for lu, and an alphabetic sign used for l, or u; it has many other sub-uses, as seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh over hundreds of years, and the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Its other uses show other syllabic and alphabetic forms that it can be used for: other vowels, or consonants;. There are also four sumerogrammic sub-forms for "lu" in the Epic of Gilgamesh, LU, and UDU, and DAB and DIB; LU transposes to Akkadian language, "lullû", for English language, (primitive) man; DAB transposes to ṣabātu, English for to seize, capture.
The cuneiform ma sign, is found in both the 14th century BC Amarna letters and the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the Epic it is also used as the Sumerogram MA, . The ma sign is often used at the end of words, besides its alphabetic usage inside words as syllabic ma, elsewhere for m, or a.
The cuneiform Ne sign, is found in both the 14th century BC Amarna letters and the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the Amarna letters, it is especially used in the opening, and introductory paragraph of the clay tablet letter, when addressing the Pharaoh (King), or when sent to another individual who is part of the Pharaoh's correspondence, for the alternate syllabic usage of "bil",. In the Amarna letters, it is used as Bil (cuneiform), for the spelling of speaks, or "says", in the opening statement; the Akkadian language word is "qabû", for to say, tell.
The cuneiform sign 𒀀 for a, and in the Epic of Gilgamesh the sumerogram A, Akkadian for mû, "water", which is used in the Gilgamesh flood myth, Chapter XI of the Epic, or other passages. The sign is also used extensively in the Amarna letters.
The cuneiform Ri sign, or Re, is found in both the 14th-century BC Amarna letters and the Epic of Gilgamesh; it is in the top 25 most used cuneiform signs for ri, or re, but has other syllabic or alphabetic uses, as well as the Sumerogram usage for RI.
The cuneiform pa sign,, has many uses in both the 14th century BC Amarna letters and the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is routinely and commonly used to spell the Akkadian language word "pānu", face, presence, and with a preposition, before. In the photo of the obverse of EA 364, it is used to spell Akkadian "eperu", 'dust', (EA 364, lines 7,8: "...andand \ dust"-.
The cuneiform ia sign 𒅀, is a combined sign, containing i (cuneiform) ligatured with a (cuneiform); it has the common meaning in the suffix form -ia, for the meaning of "-mine". In the Amarna letters, the letters written to the Pharaoh of Egypt, the Pharaoh is often referenced as "Lord-mine", or especially: King-Lord-mine: "My King, My Lord". In Akkadian, the form is "Šarru-Bēlu-ia"-(King-Lord-mine), since the spelling in some Amarna letters is sometimes ŠÁR-RI for Šarru,.
The cuneiform sign LÚ is the sign used for "man"; its complement is the symbol for woman: šal. Cuneiform LÚ, is found as a Sumerogram in the Epic of Gilgamesh. It also has a common usage in the 1350 BC Amarna letters as the Sumerogram for "man".
The cuneiform sign URU is a relatively distinctive sign in the cuneiform sign lists; with its two verticals at the sign's right, and the central long horizontal stroke, it is not easily confused with other signs. It is commonly found in the intrigues of the 14th century BC Amarna letters since the letters often concern city-state locations, or surrounding regions or cities/towns. URU is also used in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The cuneiform sign is almost exclusively used as a Sumerogram, and in the Akkadian language, it is the Akkadian for "ālu", city, or town. The usage of URU in the Epic of Gilgamesh is only for Sumerogram "URU",. All uses in the Epic for URU are for various spellings of ālu, and usually an added sign complement; there is one usage in the Epic of URU for the city Shuruppak: URU.Šu-ri-ip-pak,.
The cuneiform bad, bat, be, etc. sign is a common multi-use sign in the mid 14th-century BC Amarna letters, and the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the Epic it also has 5 sumerogram uses. From Giorgio Buccellati 'comparative graphemic analysis', of 5 categories of letters, the usage numbers of the bad sign are as follows: Old Babylonian Royal letters (71), OB non-Royal letters (392), Mari letters (2108), Amarna letters (334), Ugarit letters (39).
The cuneiform sign tu, and for TU-(the Sumerogram, capital letter, in the Hittite language and other cuneiform texts, is a common-use syllabic sign for tu, and also with a syllabic use for "t", or "u". It is not a multi-use sign, with other alphabetic sub-varieties.
The cuneiform sign ni is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts. It has a secondary sub-use in the Amarna letters for addressing the Pharaoh, from the vassal states of Canaan. The address to the Pharaoh is often 'King-Lord-Mine': LUGAL, EN-ia which has many varieties of expression. "LUGAL” is the Sumerian name for the cuneiform glyph read in the Akkadian language as "Šarru", translating as English "king", and EN is read in Akkadian as bēlu, for "Lord",. In some Amarna letters the sub-use of ni is lí, for spelling "bēlu", be-lí often .
The cuneiform sign ši, lim, and Sumerogram IGI is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts. As the syllabic form it is commonly used for ši, lim/lem, and for Sumerograms, it is most commonly used for IGI, and "before". Also, for ši and lim/lem it can be used syllabically for š, i, l, i/e, and m, in the spelling of words.
The cuneiform giš sign,, is a common, multi-use sign, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It also has a major usage as a sumerogram, GIŠ, for English language "wood", and is used as a determinative at the beginning of words, for items made of wood. The 12 Chapters (Tablets) of the Epic of Gilgamesh lists 16 named items beginning with "GIŠ".
The cuneiform sign ba, is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts.
The cuneiform sign mu, is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts. It is also used as MU.
The cuneiform sign É, is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts. its most common usage is for the logogram "É", which in the Akkadian language is bītu,,
The cuneiform sign at, is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts. It has secondary uses in the Amarna letters for "ad".
The cuneiform sign hal, is a common-use sign in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts, for example Hittite texts. Its common usage is syllabic for hal, but could also be use for alphabetic h or l, or the a, and for the other three vowels of e, i, or u.
The cuneiform sign ik,, is a common-use sign of the Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts. It has a common secondary use in the Amarna letters for "iq", for the spelling of Akkadian "qabû", for English "to speak", in dialogue to the pharaoh in the letters.
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