Alphabet and Sounds of Akkadian

a, b, d, e, g, ḫ, i, y, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, ṣ, š, t, ṭ, u, w, z
Unique Letters
AkkadianValueNote
ḫch as in lochCalled "hooked h"
yy as in Mayanalso written j
ṣts as in bitsemphatic, called "dotted s"
šsh as in shotHebrew Shin
ṭt as in totemphatic, called "dotted t"
ʾglottal stopAleph, ignored in the dictionary
Vowels
Short VowelValueLong VowelValue
aa as in swapā, âa as in father
ee as in petē, êe as in reign
ii as in pitī, îi as in marine
uu as in putū, ûu as in rule

Notes on the Vowels

  • The length of the vowels is an important part of the spelling. (mutum ‘husband’ vs mūtum ‘death’)
  • Long vowels are marked either with a macron, ā, or with a circumflex, â, depending on the origin of the length (see Lesson 6).

Notes on the Consonants

  • w does not occur before other consonants
    • except itself
    • except at the end of a word
  • y only occurs between vowels or (rarely) at the beginning of a word)
    • also transliterated as ‘j’
  • ʾ (aleph) only occurs between vowels and rarely at the end of a syllable
    • some scholars put an aleph between every doubled vowel
    • ignored in the dictionary (words containing ʾ are treated as if it were not there)
  • all consonants can be doubled
  • b, d, g, z are “voiced”
  • p, t, k, s are “voiceless”
  • q, ṣ, ṭ are “emphatic” (important later, see Lesson 9)
VoicedVoicelessEmphatic
bp—
dtṭ
gkq
zsṣ
- note the coorespondences in the physiology (e.g. b & p are formed the same way in the mouth, one is voiced, one not)

Syllables

  • The writing system is based on syllables. Therefore crucial to master syllabification!
  • Three rules:
    1. Every syllable has one and only one vowel.
    2. No syllable may begin with a vowel
      • except the beginning of a word
      • except the second of two vowels (kiam -> ki / am)
    3. No syllable may begin or end with two consonants

Accents

  • Three types of syllables:

    1. light - ends in a short vowel
    2. heavy - ends in a macron-long vowel (ā) or short vowel + consonant
    3. ultraheavy - ends in a circumflex-long vowel (â) or long vowel + consonant
    ShortHeavyUltraheavy
    aāâ
    —amām or âm
    ShortHeavyUltraheavy
    short vowelmacron-long vowelcircumflex-long vowel
    —short vowel + consonantlong vowel + consonant

  • Stress goes as far forward as as the syllable type allows.

    1. If the last syllable is ultraheavy, it is stressed.
      • This is the only time the last syllable can be stressed.
    2. Otherwise, the last non-final heavy or ultraheavy syllable is stressed.
      • This is the only time a middle syllable can be stressed.
    3. Otherwise, the first syllable is stressed.

Anki Deck