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ASumerogram is the use of aSumeriancuneiform character or group of characters as anideogram orlogogram rather than asyllabogram in the graphic representation of a language other than Sumerian, such asAkkadian,Eblaite, orHittite. This type of logogram characterized, to a greater or lesser extent, every adaptation of the original Mesopotamian cuneiform system to a language other than Sumerian. The frequency and intensity of their use varied depending on period, style, and genre. In the same way, a written Akkadian word that is used ideographically to represent a language other than Akkadian (such as Hittite) is known as anAkkadogram.[1]
In thetransliteration of ancient texts Sumerograms are normally represented bymajuscule letters. Most signs have a number of possible Sumerian sound values. The scribes and readers of texts using these Sumerograms would not necessarily have been aware of the Sumerian language, with theSumerograms functioning as ideograms or logogram to be substituted in pronunciation by the intended word in the text's language, such as Akkadian.[2]
In modernAssyriological convention, a cuneiform sign used in this way is transliterated according to its Sumerian pronunciation in non-italic majuscule letters with dots separating the signs.[3]Determinatives appear only assuperscripts.[4] For example, theBabylonian nameMarduk is written in Sumerograms, asdAMAR.UTU. HittiteKurunta is usually written as𒀭𒆗 (dLAMMA), whereLAMMA is the Sumerogram for 'stag', the Luwian deity Kurunta being associated with this animal.
In theAmarna letters,Lady of the Lions is the name of a Babylonian Queen mother, spelled asNIN.UR.MAH.MEŠ. While the meaning 'lady (NIN) of the lions' (UR.MAH.MEŠ) is evident, the intended pronunciation isAssyrian and must be conjectured from external evidence.
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