Talk:Sumerian/Grammar/Lesson Eight - The Case System

Hello again, just another couple of tiny quibbles. Firstly, I thought Nanna was the moon god, father of Inanna, and therefore male. Secondly, the dative case actually expresses a 'beneficiary' relationship, rather than a 'benefactor' relationship. A bene-fact-or is one who "does good" to another and will often be the subject. The one who benefits is the beneficiary and is typically (but not always) an indirect object. Compare: "I gave the book to him" and "I gave him the book." Some do indeed describe the dative as expressing a benefactor relationship, but strictly speaking it is a misnomer. The benefactor may not even be expressed in a sentence that uses the dative, however the beneficiary obviously will. Example: "The book was given to him." Alastair Haines 02:41, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Changes made
Thanks for catching these. I've edited the error regarding bene(factor|ficiary), and added some info about Nanna. (As you guessed, I originally had Inanna there, but changed it later for reasons I can no longer fathom.) Incidentally, feel free to make these types of changes yourself! That is what the spirit of wiki is all about! - Mike

Nice Work
This is one of the best language intros (of any kind) that I've read. You've done a wonderful job of explaining what Sumerian is about, without forcing the reader to slog through a lot of technical details right up front. Most language texts give short shrift to the student's need to get the "lie of the land" before burying him in mechanics.

Many thanks!

Thanks
Many thanks for your time and effort. I was looking for a sumerian intro for a long time. -mehmet