ABSTRACT

Semitic contains two major branches, East and West Semitic. Akkadian and Eblaite – whose exact relationship to Akkadian is still a matter of debate – are the sole members of the East Semitic branch, while all other Semitic languages are members of West Semitic. Akkadian is the oldest attested Semitic language known so far. Its earliest attestations come from personal names that appear in Sumerian texts that were written around 2600 bce. Actual texts written in Akkadian start to appear around 2350 bce. The number of attested texts and text genres differ significantly among the various dialects. Old Akkadian is the least attested of these dialects and primarily known from a number of royal inscriptions, letters and administrative documents. Akkadian is written in cuneiform, a script originally developed for the unrelated Sumerian language and named after its wedge-shaped signs. The common sign lists that have been compiled by modern scholars list just under 1000 signs.