Write your name in Cuneiform – Just like a Mesapotamian!
Posted by eastwoldblog on February 24, 2010
In today’s Literacy, we will be looking at Cuneiform, an ancient form of writing from Mesapotamia (now Iraq).
You can use this site to write your “Monogram” or initials in Cuneiform.
Like in many languages, there isn’t just one type of Cuneiform – here are some different ones.
It is almost like a secret code!
Can you write your name? Or a message to someone in Cuneiform?
Mr W.
Legbourne East Wold Primary School - Mr Watson's Blog 
Rick said
Can you provide more information on this?
Take care
Katylin said
There are a lot of types of the writing system and I have to do a project on it and I don’t know which one to choose!
Taylor said
I agree with Katylin because I also have a project!
The Blog Review for 2010… « Legbourne East Wold Primary School – Mr Watson's Blog said
[…] The busiest day of the year was October 19th with 348 views. The most popular post that day was A Cuneiform Alphabet. […]
Mila said
Cuneiform is so cool!
Mila said
I wish I could have written my name with cuneiform!
Marowa said
WOW! Cuneiform is so cool that even my class is doing a project on it.
Taylor said
I could use some more info on this because I am writing a report on it.
Emily said
You should make a english to cuneiform translator
Abbey said
That’s what I said.
noah hams said
yeah what she said
eastwoldblog said
That would be ace – if only I had a clue how!
Noah said
5 is random!
Siamak said
Show me how my name looks in Cuneiform?
Olen said
Hi, I think that I saw you visited my website thus I came to return the favor.
I am attempting to find things to enhance my site!
I suppose it’s ok to use some of your ideas!!
eastwoldblog said
Of course!
Abbey said
If only you guys could set up something where you type your name and it transforms it to cuneiform
eastwoldblog said
Check the links.
There is a site that does exactly that!
Momo said
Hi, I live in Corona California
Nolan said
Man, this is dope!
eastwoldblog said
Thank you
Ben said
This “alphabet” is actually an extreme oversimplification. First of all, “cuneiform” itself is not a language, it is simply a writing system. From Sumerian to Old Akkadian and into the later dialects of Babylonian and Assyrian (both of which are forms of the Akkadian language), there was a gradual evolution of signs. Over the course of the more than 3000 years in which cuneiform was used as a writing system, it experienced a lot of changes. Early Sumerian signs and later Akkadian signs especially are very different from one another.
Furthermore, cuneiform is not an alphabet, it is a syllabic script. Each sign does not correspond to a letter; it corresponds instead to a syllable. These syllables can be CV (consonant-vowel), VC (vowel-consonant), CVC, or just a vowel. There can be several different signs that indicate the same syllable. Often, the same sign can even correspond to more than one syllable, depending on the context. But in any case, to call it an “alphabet” is misleading.
The first sign listed (in the first image) is actually the same sign twice, though it does correspond to the syllable “a.” The second sign (listed as “B”) actually corresponds to the syllable “ba,” but there are different signs for the syllable “be,” “bi,” and “bu.” Interestingly, the sign for “bu” is the same as the sign for “pu,” and there is a single sign that can correspond to “be,” “bi,” “pe,” or “pi”! The third sign (listed as “C”), you may notice, is identical to the sign listed as “K.” That is because this sign is in fact the syllable “ka,” as there is not a true “C” in Akkadian.
Which brings me to another point: while there is some overlap, the letters (when I say “letters” here, I refer to sounds, for as I have already indicated, cuneiform is not really an alphabet but is rather a syllabic script) used in Akkadian are not entirely the same as the letters used in English. In Akkadian, there is no C, no F, no H, no O, no V, and no X (the sign given here as “X” is simply what is given as “K” followed by what is given as “S.” It would actually be read as something like “kasa”). Instead, there are a few emphatic consonants, including an emphatic t (written as ṭ, a t with a dot underneath), an emphatic s (similarly written as ṣ, with a dot underneath), and an emphatic k (written as a q). In place of an h is the ḫ sound, which is pronounced more like a ch in the back of the throat. The J is pronounced like a Y, and there is one extra letter, š, which is pronounced as sh.
Sorry to make a very long post in which I kind of sound like a pretentious know-it-all, but some people were asking for more information. I hope this is able to clear some things up for some people!
eastwoldblog said
Thank you.
But bearing in mind I was looking at this as a simple way of interpreting an unusual language with 9-11 year olds.
It was complex enough!
🙂
Faith said
Cuneiform is kinda cool.