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Revision as of 01:14, 7 January 2003 by Gabbe (talk | contribs) (lots of links)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Sumerian language of ancient Sumer (or, more accurately, Shumer) became extinct and was forgotten until the 19th century. It does not have any known affinities to other languages. This distinguishes it from other languages of the area such as Hebrew, Akkadian, which also comprises Babylonian and Assyrian, and Aramaic, which are Semitic languages. The aforementioned languages have no familial connection with the ancient Egyptian language.
Sumerian was the first language to be written with a cuneiform or "wedge-shaped" script, which was later also used for Akkadian. This script was even adapted to Indo-European languages like Hittite (which also had a hieroglyphic script, as did the Egyptians and the Mayans) and Old Persian.