# Words known; sounds, verb and origin disputed

> Still possible: The vocabulary of Sumerian is largely known, but its phonology, its verbal prefix system and its origin remain reconstructed and disputed.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEEAR5X6GAT/words-known-sounds-verb-and-origin-disputed  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Unread cuneiform: half a million tablets and the limits of Sumerian](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform)[What about the Sumerian language itself is still unknown after 170 years of study?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3N5AH6P/what-about-the-sumerian-language-itself-is-still-unknown)Answer

Answer · Unread cuneiform: half a million tablets and the limits of Sumerian

# Words known; sounds, verb and origin disputed

The vocabulary of Sumerian is largely known, but its phonology, its verbal prefix system and its origin remain reconstructed and disputed.

**Still possible** Answers **1** question0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** One piece of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- New grammars continue to disagree on the analysis of the conjugation prefixes.

## What would rule it out

- A single analysis of the prefix chain is adopted across the field and accounts for the attested forms in the lemmatised corpus.

## Evidence 1 for · none against

[ePSD2 lists about 16,000 Sumerian words in 3.4 million instances, while several phonemes and the verbal prefix system…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEEB27SHD8S/epsd2-lists-about-16-000-sumerian-words-in-3-4-million)

Supported

FOR

## The questions it answers

[What about the Sumerian language itself is still unknown after 170 years of study?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/unread-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT3N5AH6P/what-about-the-sumerian-language-itself-is-still-unknown)

OpenNo answer ahead yet

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Words known; sounds, verb and origin disputed [Answer ANS0DEEAR5X6GAT]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEEAR5X6GAT
```

Key

**ANS** 0DEEAR5X6GAT

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Version

1

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