SUMERIAN - TURKISH COMPARISON LIST

(WITH 200 CONCEPT GROUP ENGLISH WORDS)

Polat Kaya

INTRODUCTION

Ever since the Sumerian language became known for the world of the linguists, there have been claimes and counter claimes to the view that the Sumerian and Turkish languages are related. While some groups vehemently deny the linguistic affinity between the two languages, others gingerly but nevertheless positively admit the affinity of these two languages.

In the following list, a set of 200 English words, numbered from 1 to 200 and alternatively known as "200 concept group Hymes List", and their correspondences in Sumerian and Turkish are given. Under each selection in English, other concepts related to the selected word's meaning are also entered. Thus in the first two colums, we have the English and Sumerian entries and in the third colum, Turkish entries are provided.

The purpose of this study is to bring to attention those Sumerian and Turkish words which correspond to each other and/or seemingly related to each other in form and in meaning and at the same time to see if Turkish can pass a given test in order to prove its kinship to the Sumerian. From the listed words given below, there seems to be ample evidence that the Turkish, as members of Altaic languages, have come from a root that also included the Sumerian language. In view of the fact that the Sumerian and Turkish have been separated from each other or from a parent language, that is if they had a common parent in the past, for at least five thousand years, it is surprising to see that there still are many words which correspond to each other in both languages.

It is hoped that other workers in this field will contribute to this list to improve its level of accuracy such that it will make the Sumerian-Turkish relationship an unquestionably recognized one.

At this point I would like to acknowledge, with special thanks, the contribution of Fred Hamori who provided the 200 word concept group Hymes List.

The Sumerian being an ancient and dead language, its present day reading has been done through the intermediary of Akkadian and other Semitic languages. Since language is the most important part of any culture, those who did not live the Sumerian culture that created the Sumerian language would not be able to define exact meanings of Sumerian words no matter how efficient readers they may be of the Sumerian cuneiform writing system. Therefore some degree of inexactness is expected in the definition and meaning of each Sumerian word. However, since the list given below is based on the works of some of the eminent scholars of the field, it can be viewed as up to date.

As for the Turkic correspondences of the Sumerian words given in the list below, I have tried to find Turkish correspondences from archaic as well as the living Turkic languages.

According to Dell Hymes, [Dell Hymes, "Lexikostatistics so far", Current Antropology, pages 30-31 University of Chicago, 1960], we have the following mathematical relationship between languages that have the same root but separated from each other in the past:

t = log c: log r where t is the time of separation, c is the remaining root words, r is the ratio of remaining words to original. (86 words left after 1,000 years based on tests)

If t = 1,000 years, Nt/No = r**(1/1000) = c where Nt is the total root words remaining after time separation t and No is the number of root words from the root language in the list (time zero)

t/1000 * log r = log c

t/1000 = log c/ log r where logr = log 0.86

if t = 5000 years then 5000/1000 = 5 ; 5 = log c / log r ; 5 * log r = log c or 5 * log 0.86 = log c;

log c= 5* ( 0.93450 -1 ) = (4.67250 - 5); alog c = c = alog(0.67250 -1) = 4.704/10 = .4704

or 47% of the remaining words.

Thus, a language that has 47% of the root words of the following Sumerian list can be a direct descendant of that language acording to Hymes. Please note that this mathematical relationship by Hymes was for 100 selected words for which reader is asked to see Fred Hamori's home page.

(In the list below following lettering is used in Turkish words: s^=sh; ü; ö; î; g~= yumus^ak g)

**ENGLISH - SUMERIAN - TURKISH 200-WORDS COMPARISON LIST**
ENGLISH	SUMERIAN	TURKISH
1 ALL all -- as, like, which all sorts of things equal, likeness totality --	-- kis^ a.na me.a.bi àm em-nam man imin --	bütün, hep, her kes, heme, hamî, tam her kes, barca, kamag [ODes: 613, 661], [AVG, 76] hamî (her kes) = everyone, all kimi = like her s^ey =every thing ta-mam hamî, tüm, tamam = all, totality kamag [AVG, 76] = all, totality
2 AND and	-- u3	u, (dahi, taki [ODes: 667]) u (ve [MuEr, 18, 19]) = and (1)
3 ANIMAL animal -- -- animal animal -- animal	-- mas^ 2 s>l mas^ mus^ a2-lal 2/DSL334 álad /DSL297,3 -- álad /DSL297,3 d>k	mal, hayvan mal mal-ak, balak = young of a water buffalo [TDK] m>k kus^ = bird lal = konus^amayan, dilsiz, hayvan mal-ak, balak= young (up to one year old) of animals like cow, buffalo; bala = young child balak (balik [AVG, 266]) = fish
4 ASHES dust, sand, mud dry up ashes, smoke? ashes	-- sahar -h->-m- s^a ubilla 2 dè	kül, toz çamur = mud; toz =dust; kum = sand s^o-rak, ço-rak tarla = dried up field kül = ash; bulut = cloud --
5 AT at/of at/of locative infix to lie with, be with at a time, when -- --	-- -a -a -ni- ná n>l ud, u ud, u ud, u	-de, -da, -e, -a -de, -da, -e, -a locative suffix -in, -în, -un, -ün = genetive suffix (as in ata-n-în=father's) -de, -da =locative suffix meaning at. -le, -la = suffix for togethernes. öd = time [ODes: 466,467], [ONT: 12] öd-en = this year, [ODes: 466,467], [ONT: 12] öd-le (öyle, gün ortasi [IBML, 56] = noon
6 BACK back give birth dark, afraid nakedness -- back back, spine	-- eg~er mud mud mug 2 -- has^ 4 ed-in	geri, arka, bel geri =back; eg~er = saddle dogur-mak kara; korku çem, çim (soyunma, yikanma, yuzme [IZEy, 139]) = naked, bathing, undressing; çem-re-mek = to undress arka bel, bel kemigi
7 BAD bad --	-- hul gig g>t	kötü, fena [fana] öl = die; ölüm = diying kötü
8 BARK peel, pare, shell -- -- -- skin skin	-- bar b>t bar b>s -- bar kus kus	kabuk, kavuk ter (kabuk, ince kabuk [IZEy, 655]) = shell; bark of a tree sar- = to envelope, to wrap; sar-gî= bandage; sar-î k= wrapped around, turban; börk (kalpak) = leather hat kas (kabuk, deri, tulum [IZEy, 381] kîs^î r = bark, peel, crust, rind [RDH1]
9 BECAUSE because, expose by, through, because of because	-- bar de de mu	çün, çünkü çün, çünkü -- -- --
10 BELLY heart, womb blood, vessel suck	-- mb s^a3.g s>b su sub	karîn/garin bag~-îr, ürek, yürek = heart; su = water, river, rivulet ; damar suv = water
11 BIG big big, great -- -- -- mould, hill big, high, large	-- gal kur, gur kur, gur -- kur, gur kur, gur mah	büyük, ulu [ulug], bedük [AVG, 267] gala (ulu, kala, kale) = big wall, fortress; kur-ul-tay = summit (big) meeting; ulu = big, great kur-mak = to establish an organization, to set up, to organize kur = row, file, tier, course of masonry [RDH1] kur-gan, tepe (töpü [MuEr, 134]) = mould, hill. --
12 BIRD bird	-- mus^en m>k	kus^ kus^ = bird
13 BITE bite	-- har (chew) h>s	dis^le, isir isir, ez, çig~ne
14 BLACK black --	-- g~i 6-g, ku10.g g~i 6-g, ku10.g	kara kara gök, kök = dark blue, sky; gök/kök = night
15 BLOOD blood blood; carnivoure	-- mud uri	kan, (soy, sop, bir soydan gelen, [IZEy, 370]) kan yür-ek/ür-ek =heart; böri, kurt =wolf (carnivoure)
16 TO BLOW to blow -- -- -- blow, kindl .burn, roast blow, shine, blister	-- bug~ g>v -- -- -- bul 4, bu 5 bil bun 2, bu 7 --	üflemek, püvlemek [UYAT, 200] puv-di-gen (üfleyen [UYAT, 200] = one who blows puv-/üfle- = to blow; ür-mek (s^is^irmek, üflemek [AVG, 306]) bug~u = vapour, misty air that comes out when blowing. yakmak, tutus^turmak, üflemek pis^irmek = to cook -- --
17 BONE bone skull bone, skeleton, corpse side, rib tooth, teeth, ivory bone, knee, joint -- --	-- g~ir3.pad.du ugu e ad 3,6, adda 2 ti zú kak -- --	kemik, süngük [IZEy, 615] geri = back; ka-bur-ga = rib; bas^ tasi = skull; tepe = top of head; adam (ölü); ata = ancestor ka-bur-ga = rib; ez = crush; dis^ = tooth kemik = bone; diz= knee; ek = joint. keg-r-ek/geg-r- ek (Yumus^ak kemik, kîk-îr-dak [IZEy, 273]) = lower rib [RDH1]
X1 BREAST breast. chest -- breast (female)	-- gaba -- ubur	meme gaba-k (ön, kîz-lîk, bekaret [HNO, 832]) = front; virginity koyun (kucak) = bosom, breast, chest [RDH1,677] übür = breast (Tunguz, Mongol [FH])
18 TO BREATHE breath, breath, wind --	-- zi lil l>y lil l>y	nefes almak, soluk almak so-luk, nefes yil , yel = wind, air yel-ek = wind maker; wing feathers, quill
19 TO BURN to burn, roast -- burn,burning -- fever, burn -- -- -- fever, burn	-- bil -- gi-bil ma5 tab -- -- -- tab b>v	yan-mak / yak-mak îl-ît-mak (îlî-, îlîn-, îlîk ol-, îsîn- [IZEy, 331] = to heat to a warm state. bil-gän (proto Altaic [FH]) = warm hot. sî -cak, kî z-gî n tav-la-mak (demiri dövülebilmesi icin belirli bir dereceye kadar kîzdîrmak, îsîtmak, yakmak) = to heat iron (or other material also) to proper degree so that it can be shaped by beating. (Turkish proverb: "demir tavinda dövülür") tav-lî (sîcak, îsî) = heat, heated
20 CHILD child -- child baby, small donkey foal small, young small, child young animals -- child, son child, son -- offspring, sprout	-- dumu -- banda2/3 -nd->-l- didi d>b dur r>g har h>k tur t>k mas^ s^>l mas^ m>b pes^ pes^ -- isim 2,3	cocuk, bala, yavru, bebek, (civciv, dana, kuzu) damiz-lik (döl, tohum) = young animal kept for breeding, seed (a child is exactly this) bala = young child bebe = baby ko-dug~, sipa kör-pe = young kör-pe = young; bala = small child mal-ak, bal-ak = young animal, cub, buffalo calf [RDH1] bala (kus^ ve hayvan yavrusu [IZEy, 149]) piç = bastard child pes^e (pas^a = ilk dogan erkek çocug~un takma adî [IZEy, 76]) = nick name of first child (son) among Turks. --
X2 CLAW, NAIL scribe ? Write -- scratch, incise cross plow	-- umbisañ sar -- hur h>s gib g>	tirnak, cirnak bitikci [AVG, 269] = writer, scriber sür ([IZEy, 616])= scribe, plow, drive yad, yaz, yay y>z>d [IZEy, 742] = write sür = plow a field; drive çiz-mek = to scratch
21 CLOUD cloud eclipsed, darkened -- soak, cloud to pass over mistiness	-- du-gud gid-im6 -- lum m>t bàra pir r>s	bulut, duman, sis, pus, buhar du-man, bu-har, bulut bulanmak (sislenmek,bulutlanmak [IZEy,106]) = to become misty, to become cloudy, to become non-transparent bu-lut (bulit [AVG, 270] = cloud -- pus = mist
X3 CLOTHING clothing clothing -- -- -- -- to dress ornament to dress to spin -- excellent, valuable remove, cast off linen, undergarment cloth crown? -- thing leather dresser type of weaver vestments (gods & rulers)	-- tug2 tug2 tug2 tug tug -- ál ul mur, mu- sur 8 s>b sur 8 kala s^ub -b>-m gadda gadda kendu -- nig as-gab g>p húb pala --	giysi, elbise, takî, s^al, aba, aspap, paltar tok-u/dok-u = woven objects tok-u-mak/dok-u-mak = to weave textile tak-in-mak = to wear jewelry tu-man = long wide drawers or trousers; tug~ = horse-hair pennant, horsetail attached to a helmet or flag-staff [RDH1]. al-lar giymek = to put on red or colorful dresses, decorate oneself al = ornament, colorfull attachement ör-tün-mek = to dress, to cover oneself bur-mak = to twist, to spin sar-mak = to wrap around Kal-ak = woman's ornamented headgear [RDH1, 584] çem-re; (çemrek [IZEy, 139]) = naked keten (kettan [RDH1, 646]) = flax fiber, linen cloth; keten (kettan [RDH1, 646]) = flax fiber, linen cloth; kendir = rope made of hemp plant; kendir bezi = hempen cloth [RDH1, 638] s^ey, nes-ne as-pap = clothing aba =type of rough cloth, cloak pal-tar = cübbe; pal-a = long quilted saddle-cloth [RDH2] --
22 COLD cold cold	-- s^ed 7/10/11 s^ed 7/10/11	sog~-uk, üs^ü-müs^, (öl-müs^) üs^ü-müs^, sog~-uk, üs^ü = cold sazak (sog~-uk esen yel, poyraz, sert yel, [IZEy, 589]) = cold wind;
23 TO COME to come walk, go -- lead away	-- g~en. -n>-l du, (e).re7.er, su8.b] ir10	gel/kel gel gel, git yü-rü-yür = he walks yü-rü-yüs^ = walk, travel
X4 TO COOK to boil	-- s^eg~6	pis^irmek, kaynatmak, îs-ît-mak î-sîg~/îsît = heat; îsît-mak = to heat
24 TO COUNT count, calculate one equate, compare	-- s^id d>y za sá	saymak say; sayi = number; es^it = equal, same sa-yî = number es^it = equal, same
25 TO CUT separate, cut off breach a dike snip, cut, trim reap, harvest, shear to cut, break --	-- kud, ku 5 kud, ku 5 d>s kud, ku 5 guru 5 ur 4 tar tar t>h	kesmek, üzmek, koparmak ko-p-ar = separate, break off; hud-ut = border, kes = cut of ged-ik, kîr-îk, yar-îk = breach, opening kîr = snip; kes = cut, trim or-ak = sickle; har-man = harvest ta-ra-mak = to comb, mow down; har-man = harvest
X5 TO DANCE to dance	-- e.ne..dug4 [?]	oynamak oyna = dance; oyna-dîk = we danced
26 DAY day, sun, time -- -- -- -- break of the day, shine	-- ud, u 4 -- -- -- -- bar 6,7 bar 6,7 b>p	kün, gün (kin, kan) üt/ot/od (ates^ [IZEy, 703]) = fire; üt-mek/üt-i-mek (yakmak [IZEy, 703]) = to burn öd (zaman [HNO, 825]) = time öd-le/öy-le = noon time kün, gün = sun, day gün a-g~ar-masî = day break par-la-mak
27 TO DIE blood, die, dead -- die, dead -- die, kill die, kill destroyed, bent netherworld die, destroy, bent --	-- us^2 us^2 us^2 -- ug 5,7,8 hul gil l>r hil-ib gúr --	ölmek u-yu = sleep; es-ki = old, broken, used up. us-lu (sakin, sessiz) = unmoving, voiceless; us-lu dur = don't make any move or noise u (uyku [HNO, 873]) = sleep öl= die; öl-dür = kill kîr-îk = broken, destroyed; eg~-ri = bent obir dünye, yer altî kîr = break, destroy, kill; kîr-gîn = desease
28 TO DIG dig up, quarry -- quarry quarry dig, scrape plough land clay pit, pit field (cultivated)	-- ba.al bal b>s bal b>s bal dun, du 24 si isi as^-ag	kaz-mak, es^-mek, böl-mek böl = divide or break into pieces sal (büyük kaya) = big stone; rock tas^ ocag~î = quarry bal-ta = hatchet, ax (a tool perhaps also used in quarry) -- çiz = scratch; es^ = to dig -- es^-eg (es^ilmis^ yer), tarla; as^ = food
29 DIRTY to be dirty to clean wool clay, mud wastes, animal pen -- -- lump of clay	-- pil -l>-s pes^ 5,6 imi, em kis-im 2,3,5 -- -- gir-in	kirli, pis pis olmak pis = dirty ça-mur = mud pîs^-kî/fus^-ku, pis-lik; kes-ek (ker-me, kesilerek kurutulmus^ koyun dîs^kîsî, tezek) = sheep waste (14). kir = dirt;
30 DOG dog, carnivour dog, carnivour dog, carnivour dog, carnivour guard blood fox barking (dog)	-- ur ur ur ur r>l ur ur ka 5 a gu g>l	it, köpek, kurt, böri, barak kurt, böri = wolf; it = dog r>t?; ürü-mek = barking of a dog; ur-la-mak (hirlamak) = to growl ulu-mak = howling of a dog; koru-mak (one way of guarding is with a dog); ür-ek (yürek) = heart; kan-gal, ka-ra-bas^ = Anatolian sheep dogs; ulu-mak = howling of a dog; ürü-mek = barking of a dog.
31 TO DRINK to drink, to irrigate irrigate thirst, drink beer	-- nag~, na 8 in-gar imma m>ç	içmek, emmek, sormak iç-mek; su-la-mak = to irrigate su-la = irrigate içme = mineral waters; emik = suckle
32 DRY dried fish, dried dry up dry up dry up, misty	-- had s^a lah, ah bir	kuru, karak (kurak) [ODes] kuru-mus^ = dried up îsî = heat ku-rak kuru-mus^ = dried up
33DULL to soften	-- ten	kör, kesmez, sîkîcî yumu-s^at-mak
34 DUST earth, dust, sand, mud dust arrid, dry land	-- sahar -h->-m- ukum par-im p>ç	toz, kum, toprak, çamur yer = earth; ça-mur = mud; toz = dust kum = sand çor-ak = arid, barren
35 EAR ear -- -- hear hear, understand	-- g~es^ tug 2 tug 2 -- g~es^ g~es-tu	kulak es^it =hear; tuy/duy (duyma, sezme, kavrama, anlama, is^itme [IZEy, 207]) = feeling, intuition, hearing, understanding es^it =hear; es^it (anla);
36 EARTH earth, place, where -- -- clay, wetland swamp earth, dust earth (bur=dust, dirt)	-- ki -- -- im um-un 5,6,11 sahar s^u-bur	dünye, yer, kara, toprak yer, kara, toprak; köt-ki ( tepe, daglik yer, toprak yigini [IZEy, 441]) = hill, mountainous place, pile of dirt. ça-mur, balçik bat-ak, çum-luk -- --
37 EAT eat -- feed, nurse to take in feast festival, feast	-- gu7 -- kú ku 4 ùnu ez-en	ye, yut yut = swallow; gut = gulping sound that one makes as one swallows food. em-dir ka-pu = gate; kap-mak = to snatch ün = voice, noise; s^en-lik (bayram) = feast es-en = health and happiness
38 EGG egg --	-- nunuz --	yumurta, tohum, döl yumur-ta (töl, döl, to-hum) = egg yumur (yuvarlak) = round
X6 EIGHT eight	-- ussu [us-sa-am]	sekiz se-kiz = 8
39 EYE eye, see face, front see through	-- igi igi sim	göz, köz göz = eye; gör-mek = to see; kör = blind yüz (g>y) = face; öng/ön = front; cam = glass
40 TO FALL fall fall, cast down evening (setting sun)	-- s^ub sus 2, su 2,3 us-an	düs^mek, yîkîlmak, çökmek düs^mek sus-turul-mak = silented, fallen ak-s^am = evening
41 FAR far long, distant long, distant, remote distance to go to go far	-- bad.r gid sud 4, su us ma3 ul.li 2 ri	uzak uzak uz-un = long; git = go uz-un = long; uz-ak = far, distant, remote uz-ak-lîk -- -- -ri, -ru = directional suffix
42 FAT, GREASE fat, grease	-- i3, ia	yag~ yag~ = oil, fat
43 FATHER father -- -- father, elder --	-- a.a, ad.da d>t -- -- abba b>p --	ata, apa, baba, dede ata =father; dede = grandfather atam = my father, my ancestors adam (insan) = human apa =father, old man; baba = father, old man
44 TO FEAR terrify, tremble -- frightened, nervous fear ? enemy, tremble	-- hu.luh -- bu.luh ni, ni2 (fear) ur	korkmak, dehs^et duymak, kuruntu yapmak, titremek bayîl-mak = to faint; korkut-mak = to terrify; titre-mek = to tremble bayil-mis^ = fainted -- er = man, soldier
45 FEATHER feather	-- pa[.mus^en]	kus^ tüyü, telek, yelek kus^ tüyü = down feathers
46 FEW to be few, etc empty, destitute low, small, weak -- narrow	-- la2 sud, su sig -- sig 9, si	az al (çîkar) = take away -siz, -suz = suffix for emptiness sîkî (küçük ) = tight; küçük = small; za-yîf = weak; -cik, -cîk = diminitive suffix sîkî = tight

END OF PART 1 OF 5

Please press here to get PART 2 OF 5