Complete Babylonian: A Teach Yourself Guide (Teach Yourself: Level 4)

It's easy to teach yourself Babylonian! Complete Babylonian: A Teach Yourself Guide provides you with a clear and comprehensive approach to Babylonian, so you can progress quickly from the basics to understanding and writing Babylonian with confidence. Within each of the 24 thematic chapters, important language structures are introduced through life-like dialogues. You'll learn grammar in a gradual manner so you won't be overwhelmed by this tricky subject. Exercises accompany the texts and reinforce learning in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This program also features current cultural information boxes that reflect recent changes in society. Features: One and five-minute introductions to key principles to get you started Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress Extra online articles at www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the basics of the language Cover ......Page 1 Acknowledgements ......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 Meet the author ......Page 17 Only got ten minutes? ......Page 18 1 - Introduction ......Page 25 2 - How to use this book ......Page 29 3 - Pronunciation ......Page 34 4 - Writing Babylonian in Roman characters......Page 38 5 - Roots and patterns ......Page 43 6 - Overview of nouns and adjectives ......Page 45 7 - Nouns and adjectives, singular ......Page 54 8 - Nouns, plural ......Page 61 9 - Adjectives, plural......Page 68 10 - The construct state ......Page 74 11 - Possessive suffixes ......Page 85 12 - The dual ......Page 99 13 - Prepositions ......Page 102 14 - Overview of verbs ......Page 107 15 - The present ......Page 118 16 - The preterite ......Page 125 17 - The perfect ......Page 131 18 - The stative and the verbal adjective......Page 136 19 - Verbs with accusative, dative and ventive suffixes......Page 148 20 - The imperative ......Page 157 21 - The precative......Page 161 22 - The infinitive......Page 167 23 - III-weak verbs......Page 174 24 - I-weak verbs ......Page 180 25 - II-weak verbs ......Page 187 26 - I-w verbs ......Page 196 27 - Doubly weak verbs ......Page 202 28 - Three irregular verbs: alaku, izuzzu and itulu ......Page 206 29 - Verbless clauses ......Page 210 30 - Joining clauses into sentences ......Page 217 31 - Particularities of relative clauses with ša ......Page 230 32 - The interrelation of clauses ......Page 235 33 - The Gtn, Ntn, Dtn and Štn systems ......Page 239 34 - The Gt, Dt and Št systems ......Page 247 35 - Participles......Page 254 36 - Adverbs ......Page 258 37 - Inde pendent pronouns......Page 265 38 - Quadriliteral verbs ......Page 267 39 - Numbers......Page 268 40 - Cuneiform: some worked examples ......Page 269 41 - The main features of Assyrian ......Page 277 42 - Taking things further ......Page 281 Part seven - References ......Page 284 44 - The main features of syllabic spellings ......Page 288 45 - Summary of strong verbs' cores and suffixes ......Page 292 46 - Forming nouns and adjectives ......Page 295 47 - Some sound changes ......Page 300 Sumerograms and their Babylonian equivalents ......Page 307 Key to the exercises ......Page 313 Glossary ......Page 365 Abbreviations ......Page 391 Index ......Page 395 Cover ......Page 402 Cover 1 Acknowledgements 5 Contents 7 Meet the author 17 Only got ten minutes? 18 Part one - Getting started 25 1 - Introduction 25 2 - How to use this book 29 3 - Pronunciation 34 4 - Writing Babylonian in Roman characters 38 5 - Roots and patterns 43 Part two - Nouns and adjectives 45 6 - Overview of nouns and adjectives 45 7 - Nouns and adjectives, singular 54 8 - Nouns, plural 61 9 - Adjectives, plural 68 10 - The construct state 74 11 - Possessive suffixes 85 12 - The dual 99 13 - Prepositions 102 Part three - Strong verbs 107 14 - Overview of verbs 107 15 - The present 118 16 - The preterite 125 17 - The perfect 131 18 - The stative and the verbal adjective 136 19 - Verbs with accusative, dative and ventive suffixes 148 20 - The imperative 157 21 - The precative 161 22 - The infinitive 167 Part four - Weak and irregual verbs 174 23 - III-weak verbs 174 24 - I-weak verbs 180 25 - II-weak verbs 187 26 - I-w verbs 196 27 - Doubly weak verbs 202 28 - Three irregular verbs: alaku, izuzzu and itulu 206 Part five - Clauses into sentences 210 29 - Verbless clauses 210 30 - Joining clauses into sentences 217 31 - Particularities of relative clauses with ša 230 32 - The interrelation of clauses 235 Part six - Further topics 239 33 - The Gtn, Ntn, Dtn and Štn systems 239 34 - The Gt, Dt and Št systems 247 35 - Participles 254 36 - Adverbs 258 37 - Inde pendent pronouns 265 38 - Quadriliteral verbs 267 39 - Numbers 268 40 - Cuneiform: some worked examples 269 41 - The main features of Assyrian 277 42 - Taking things further 281 Part seven - References 284 44 - The main features of syllabic spellings 288 45 - Summary of strong verbs' cores and suffixes 292 46 - Forming nouns and adjectives 295 47 - Some sound changes 300 Sumerograms and their Babylonian equivalents 307 Key to the exercises 313 Glossary 365 Abbreviations 391 Index 395 Cover 402 Getting Started. Introduction -- How To Use This Book -- Pronunciation -- Writing Babylonian In Roman Characters -- Roots And Patterns -- Nouns And Adjectives. Overview Of Nouns And Adjectives -- Nouns And Adjectives, Singular -- Nouns, Plural -- Adjectives, Plural -- The Construct State -- Possessive Suffixes -- The Dual -- Propositions -- Strong Verbs. Overview Of Verbs -- The Present -- The Preterite -- The Perfect -- The Stative And The Verbal Adjective -- Verbs With Accusative, Dative And Ventive Suffixes -- The Imperative -- The Precative -- The Infinitive -- Weak And Irregular Verbs. Iii-weak Verbs -- I-weak Verbs -- Ii-weak Verbs -- I-w Verbs -- Doubly Weak Verbs -- Three Irregular Verbs -- Clauses Into Sentences. Verbless Clauses -- Joining Clauses Into Sentences -- Particularities Of Relative Clauses With S̆a -- The Interrelation Of Clauses -- Further Topics. The Gtn, Ntn, Dtn And S̆tn Systems -- The Gt, Dt And S̆t Systems -- Participles -- Adverbs -- Independent Pronouns -- Quadriliteral Verbs -- Numbers -- Cuneiform -- The Main Features Of Assyrian -- Taking Things Further -- Reference. Some Common Words -- The Main Features Of Syllabic Spellings -- Summary Of Strong Verbs' Cores And Suffixes -- Forming Nouns And Adjectives -- Some Sound Changes. Martin Worthington. Includes Index.