Akkadian -ma in Diachronie Perspective1

by Eran Cohen - Jerusalem

I. IntroductionThe particle -ma in Akkadian has various uses:

It connects logically related clauses, meaning "and so", "and therefore":PN...MW&/ tappesu uhhir-ma ina qäti suhärim ... isten nünam ilqe-ma isbatusu-ma iktalusu "PN ... remained behind his comrades andtook one fish from the servant ... and so they seized him and heldhim" (AbB2 2,95:4-10).

It marks the so called "logical predicate":ina pi narim-ma wasbaku-ma "I dwell in the mouth of the canal//A*//..."(ARM 2,83:7).awatusunu sarratum-ma "their words are nothing but lies" (ARM26,32:1).

It serves as final component of various particles and adverbials:kl-ma "as, when, [the fact] that"; la-ma "before"; sum-ma "if; inü-ma "when", sattisam-ma "every year"; ahltam-ma "aside"; panltam-ma "before".

It is added to interrogative pronouns and adverbs to form indefinitepronouns:

ayyisam "whither?" ayyum "which?" mmum "what?"ayyisam-ma "somewhere" ayyum-ma "which" mim-ma "what-ever"The particle is however still a puzzle in some respects. Although it

has been described in almost every grammar devoted to Akkadian and

1 I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Gideon Goldenberg, Shlomo Izre'eland Nathan Wasserman for their constructive suggestions and patient help duringthe stages of conception, preparation and writing of this article. The responsibilityfor any errors left, however, is entirely mine.

2 The abbreviations used here follow CAD; the rest are specified in a reference list inthe end.

Zeitschr. f. Assyriologie Bd. 90, S. 207-226© Walter de Gruyter 2000ISSN 0084-5299

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its various functions have been enumerated, a few aspects still remainobscure:

First, the exact relationship between clauses connected by -ma is diffi-cult to formulate. The nature of the connection is still conceived accord-ing to the interrelations between the clauses connected by -ma and bythe general context. Exactly the same structure may yield several impli-catures, quite different from each other (see, for example § 2.1). Thesedifficulties hamper exact description of the functions of-ma.

Secondly, in descriptions of Akkadian, the various uses of the par-ticle -ma seem to be so unrelated to each other that it necessarilyevokes the question whether indeed it should be regarded as one par-ticle (as exhibit GAG, Ungnad-Matous 1969 and others), or more thanone (attached to a verb / to a noun = I. J. Gelb in MAD 3:163-4;identifying emphasis / connected clauses3 - AHw: 569 f. A, B. respec-tively; coordinating -ma I non coordinating -ma Huehnergard 1997,§ 7.4 and § 29.2 respectively). However, even in this partition, the func-tions under 'non-coordinating' -ma are impossible to perceive as one.

This paper intends to explain via diachrony - the perspective ofhistorical development - some of the issues discussed above.

The object of this paper is to show that diachronically all syn-chronic functions of the particle -ma, as shown above, can be tracedback to two different particles - the substantivizing -ma and the -maof sequence.

This study is based upon corpus which consists mainly of Old Baby-lonian letters from Mari (ARM 26 and 28 plus a few examples from2, 5 and 10) and southern Babylon (AbB); in addition a few exampleswere taken from the archaic Old Babylonian of Esnunna (Whiting,Tall Asmar), of Tall RTmah (OBT Tell Rimah) and from Old Assyrian(Hecker, GKT), and thus the focus is upon language forms from thefirst half of the second millenium B. C.

2. Evidence for the Former Existenceof Substantivizing -ma

The clues for a former state of language which is sought after indiachronic research are often to be found where exists some deviationfrom current usage or form. Such deviant forms or usages may berelics of various historical phenomena in the language. Specifically

3 But "... and infinitives" ib. ib. — a function which may be classified with rhematiz-ing functions as well — see below.

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thus can one learn about a former function of -ma, as substantivizingconverter.

Before presenting the following examples, some explanation shouldbe offered as to the terminology. By "substantivizing converter" I referto a particle whose function is converting a clause into another cate-gory, and specifically into a functional substantive (or primary, ac-cording to Jespersen's [1924] terminology). In other words - a subor-dinate conjunction which transforms the clause into a syntactic sub-stantive with the meaning of German daß, Arabic >an(na), mä. Theformal functional equivalence between such a substantivized clause(= syntactic substantive) and the infinitive (= morphological substan-tive) can be seen in the following:

wasäbsu ina älim ... iqbünim "they told me of his staying in thecity ..."(AbB 9,62:18-19).klma älam lä wasbäta4 aqbi "I said that you do not stay in the city"(AbB 7,42:13-14).

The content, or more specifically, the object of the verb qabüm, i. e.what was said, is expressed by two equivalent constructions: a. bya converted clause functioning as primary or syntactic (functional)substantive: klma ... wasbata, b. by morphological substantive, theinfinitive wasabum. In the ensuing examples one can see relics of -mawhich used to function formerly as a subordinate conjunction whichconverted the following clause into a substantive clause.

2.1. The Role of -ma in Diachronie Content ClausesIn its widespread function as a connective between clauses -ma usu-

ally bears the meaning of "and so", "and then", "and therefore", orwhat is termed by Patterson 1971 "restrictive coordination". What wehave below, however, are cases in which -ma still connects clauses -but in quite a different manner and meaning. Moreover - in mostof the examples adduced it cannot mean what it usually does whenfunctioning as a restrictive coordinator, if we should adopt Patterson'sterminology. In the following cases -ma functions as a relic of a formersubstantivizing converter meaning "that":

esme-ma kisum salmat "I heard that the purse is well" (AbB 7,120:18-19)5.

4 Not only statives, but preterites as well: ul iqbünikki klma ... ina subtim täbtim läusbu "did they not tell you that ... I did not dwell in a good residence?" (AbB1,134:25-27).

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Here, as well as in the following examples, one can see clauseswhich encapsulate the contents of the preceeding verb - i. e. what washeard (or written), and I suggest that such clause formerly served asits syntactic direct object. These clauses, which are synchronically ac-complished by the conjunction klma, are here introduced only via -ma.Note also the different order of elements, as opposed to the habitualorder: klma clause precedes the main clause, whereas the -ma clausefollows it:

esme-ma 2 alpü Ina äl GN imtütü "I heard that two oxen have diedin the city GN" (AbB 10,15:38-39).harränum si adi um ahüka isapparakkum-ma ittallakam asränummalikkali "this convoy, until the day in which your brother will writeyou that it should leave, let it be retained at that very place" (ARM5,14:8'-10').esme-ma Nanna simmam marsat "I heard that Nanna is sick" (ARM10,129:4-5).

The important point is the fact that -ma here means something verydifferent than it ordinarily does - it cannot mean "and then" (al-though the usual narrative sequence iprus-ma iptaras in the first exam-ple is strictly kept). But that is not enough; care should be taken toensure that these content clauses do not contain direct speech6. Thefollowing example resembles the ones above, however, the text enablesus to see clear indirect speech:

ul alpa arkia ... addinsumma ... kanik simätim nustezib ...lskiam aqbisum iqabbu-ma alpa arkia ... iddinünikku u kanik simätimtaddin "I gave him one rear ox ... and we had a sales documentdrawn up ... I spoke to him as follows: 'they say that they gave youa rear ox ... and that you handed a sealed document'" (AbB12,5:11-21).

In the first part the writer cites the complaint of ?N! about PN2 inthe form of direct speech. In the second, the writer recounts what hetold PN2. The most important criterion for indirect speech is found inthe shift of deictic markers from the original to the actual speaker

5 The first two examples ares counted (among other kinds) in Leong 1994: 83.6 One could argue that the content clauses above mean respectively "I heard: 'two

oxen have died'" and "your brother will write you: 'it will go'", as does Hecker,Grammar (§ 130b, but see ibid § 135i), and see below.

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(Palmer 1986 §4.6). In this case "/ gave him X" (direct) is restated"they [impersonally used] gave you X" (indirect), proving that afterthis special occurrence of -ma comes genuine indirect speech. Anotherindication for indirect speech is in the next OA example:

missu sa astanammeu-ma ammakam qätätim taltapputu "why is itthat I constantly hear that you register guarantors there?" (Hecker,GKT§135i).

Here the indirect speech is demonstrated by the morpheme -u, whosefunction is to mark subordination (Hecker, GKT § 79 a) and hence isnot to be expected with direct speech. Direct speech, as opposed toindirect speech, is given as is, with no additions, even when precededby a relative converter such as sa1.

All these cases are very similar to one kind of substantive clausesin Arabic introduced by ma:

\vaddu mä <anittum "they wanted that you would be ruined" (Gol-denberg 1994:14).Such content clauses introduced by -ma, which unequivocally do

not exhibit direct speech and in which the -ma cannot mean "and so","and then", are quite rare in Akkadian. This should not hinder thethought that the examples above are in fact relics of a former state oflanguage in which one kind of -ma served as a substantivizing con-verter, whose function was to convert or mark a sentence as a func-tional, or syntactic, substantive.

2.2. The Diachronie Role of -ma within Conjunctions

In many Semitic Languages conjunctions are composed of two ele-ments: The preposition and another element which is capable of sub-stantivizing the clause. In Akkadian a particle can serve as both prepo-sition and conjunction, as in fact anything of nominal nature can gov-ern a clause. Yet, there are a few such particles whose second elementis -ma. In fewer cases only can we see the distribution (preposition): x-ma (conjunction).

7 Note, for example: u ana PN re>im sa arham suäti amursi itaplasma temka terram"Moreover, as for PN the herdsman, who [was told] 'look that cow over, examine[her], and send me your report'" (AbB 9,174: 16-18), where, in compliance withthe interpretation there, sa does not affect the following clause - the imperativesbear witness to that.

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ina is generally a preposition8 with a locative meaning; ina-ma is ararely attested conjunction with a causal meaning:

ina-ma mimma lä isü (i-su-u) ana ekallim ul azziz "since I do nothave anything, I could not serve in the palace" (OBT Tell Rimah150:26).

Furthermore, an occasional alternation between -ma and sa is attested;compare ina sa, having the same meaning:

inannama ina sa9 pi beliya [lä] ippesü ... "now, since they do [not]fulfill the order of my lord ..." (ARM 26,51:11-12).

ana is another preposition meaning "to, for"; ana-ma (a-na-ma) istaken by Hecker (GKT § 152, n. 2) to mean "as soon as"10, and indeedit behaves as conjunction (note the -ni — the Old Assyrian subordina-tion marker), ana sa is used as causal conjunction:

ana-ma GN takassadäni umma attunu-ma "as soon as you (pi) reachGN, you should say ..." (Hecker, GKT § 152, n. 2).

ana sa lä hahbuläkusunnima kaspam ilqiu sabtäsu "since I did notowe him anything, and he (nevertheless) took the silver — seizehim" (OA, cited in GAG § 174h).

The importance of such occasional alternation (even if the meaningis somewhat different, as in the cases other than ina) is that it demon-strates that entities belong to the same functional paradigm at the samesyntactic position. In these examples one can see: a. the relation : x-ma and b. the alternation (and therefore functional correspondence)-ma : sa. In Mari (Finet, L'Accadien §85d) some prepositions showthe peculiarity of governing the clause with the intermediacy of sa, themain nominalizing converter in synchronic point of view, instead of,or in some distribution with -ma: "Au lieu d'introduire la subordonneecirconstancielle par une conjonction, le scribe peut I'exprimer par une

8 ina as conjunction meaning "as long as" exists only in judicial texts with statives(AHw. 381a/GAG§170b).

9 Durand (ARM 26, 51 note a) parses ina+subjunctive and sa pi together, arguingthat it would be difficult to construct ina sa pi. However, since ina as conjunctionis highly restricted (see note 8), sa is best analyzed as a substantivizing converter(see note 11) and hence ina sa = subordinating conjunction.

10 As for annarna, it seems that the meaning is quite different (AHw. 52a; ARM 15:174"certainement") and should not be confused with the rare conjunction ana-ma.

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proposition relative11 dependant de la preposition correspondante etde forme identique". A good example to that is is tu, which as preposi-tion means "from, since"; as a conjunction it exhibits neutralizationof causal and temporal meaning:

istu sunn lernu nmu klam niqbi "since they do not want we saidthus;" (ARM 26,102:24-5, causal).istu se^am igammarü ... "as soon as they consume the grain ..."(ARM 26,62:11, temporal).

In Mari there is a use differentiation between istu-ma12 (causal) : istusa (temporal):

istu-ma ana säbim aspuram ... "because I wrote about the army ..."(ARM 26,34:8-9).istu sa mahar belini nittalkam ... "since (the time) we left our lord ...(ARM 2631:5-6).The same alternation exists between ali-ma and all sa, for which see

section 2.4.In Arabic one can see the same phenomenon where the substantiviz-

ing ma is added to the preposition to form a conjunction:m it la-mä, ka-mä "just as"; preclassical Arabic ka-mä (+ subj.)"so that" (Fischer 1987 § 189). qabla-ma "before", btfda-ma "aft-er", *inda-ma "as soon as, when(ever)", fi-mä "while" (Brockel-mann 1913: 623-8). mim-ma "since", bi-ma "because", ka-mä"as" (Wright 1898, II: 192 b).A particle which would be illustrative here is the Peripheral Akkad-

ian -me, described in Izre'el 1991 §4.7.3. This particle takes the placeof certain -ma functions: it converts the following clause to a func-tional or syntactic substantive, whereas before anything but a clausecomes -ma. For example, klma precedes (pro)nouns, while klme pre-cedes clauses - serving as conjunction. This particle accidentally cor-responds to those occurrences of historic substantivizing -ma which isunder discussion here.

1' In this case sa clearly functions as a substantivizing particle, converting the followingclause to a primary which can be governed by a preposition and is interchangeablewith the infinitive (as opposed to sa clause functioning as an adjective clause [= sec-ondary] or as an independent adjective clause, i.e.: ana sa atrudusu idinma "give tothe one whom I sent..." [AbB 7,86:30]).

12 istüma means (AHw. 402b) "wenn wirklich". However, in Mari it is a causal con-junction.

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Here, within conjunctions as well as in substantivized clause servingas content or object clause, one can see quite clearly, with the help ofan occasional alternation with sa, the former syntactic role of -ma as asubstantivizing converter whose function was to convert the followingclause into a primary.

2.3. The Role of -ma in Diachronie Cleft Sentences

In almost every description of Akkadian, one of the uses of -ma isto emphasize the word it follows (GAG § 123 a; Ungnad-Matous 1969§96). Then the meaning thereof is rendered by "only" or "itself. Inmore recent descriptions one can find more precise terms, such as "log-ical predicate" (e.g. Huehnergard 1997, §7.4). Besides this use manydescriptions mention -ma as marker of the predicate in a non-verbalsentence. GAG (§ 123 a, 126) and Ungnad-Matous 1969 (§96) go farin mentioning it as (representing the) copula. Synchronically it seemsalmost justified to perceive thus this use of -ma13. However, the twomentioned uses (copula and logical predicate) may actually be onefunction. Finet, L'Accadien § 100 states that -ma serves to highlight aword or a group of words. He refers to -ma after a subordinate clausesaying that it isn't only the verb which acquires the special intensity,but the whole clause (§85e) - which conforms with the functionalequivalence of a (verbal) noun and subordinate clause.

In diachronic perspective it can be shown that both uses can betraced to one and the same original function, which is essentially iden-tical to the ones enumerated above — under object clauses and con-junctions - namely its function as a substantivizing converter.

What is referred to in synchronic descriptions as marking the (logi-cal) predicate is also termed rhematization14. By rhematization ismeant marking any part of the sentence, as rheme, or logical predicate(by the use of particles, word order, stress or any other prosodicmeans). Cleft sentence15 is the result of syntactic rhematization, bywhich any part of the sentence is turned into the grammatical predicateand the rest into grammatical subject', the English version thereofwould be it is X who \ that ... whereas X is the new grammatical

13 For example: summuratüsu annisam-ma "his aim is (to come] hither" (ARM 26,168-15). However, this "copula" is optional - i.e. it has some additional function, aspredication can be achieved without it.

14 "Emphasis" can also mean thematization (or topicalization), which is just the oppo-site of rhematization, regarding one specific element.

15 See Goldenberg 1971: 50-51; 1977: 127-128, and see further references there.

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predicate. Arabic (synchronically, and Akkadian, as we are about tosee, diachronically), do not need to use the representative pronoun (ce/it) which serves as apposition to the substantivized clause that follows.Besides that the French/English structure is quite the same: the gram-matical predicate ([it is] x), to which is appended the subject — thesubstantivized rest of the original, unmarked sentence (that Y), now aclause serving as the subject.

This can be demonstrated in Arabic:lilgaddi mä huliqa Pinsanu "(it is) for luck that man has been cre-ated" (Goldenberg 1971: 79, Fischer 1987, §424 note 2).

Here we have li-l-gadd-i ("for luck") as the new grammatical predicate,and the rest follows - mä huliqa Pinsanu, that is "that man has beencreated" (= the creation of man) as grammatical subject.

Rainey (1976) convincingly discussed the synchronic function of-ma to mark the predicate. He used in his article the term cleft sentenceonly with regard to the translation of this specific function of -main Akkadian. It is the explanation of the historical device used forrhematization that needs some revision16. I believe these synchronicfunctions are to be explained as vestiges of historic cleft sentence -that is syntactic rhematization of any part of the sentence, structurallyequivalent to Arabic (see above).

About some part of the sentence being the logical predicate onecan usually learn from the context; the function of -ma can thus beverified:

anaku allikma ([a}l-li-ik-ma-d) u salamtam ämur (a-mu-[u]-ur) inaahitim-ma esme salamtum ... nadet "did I myself go and see thecadavre? it is from (my) entourage that I heard: 'the body lies ...'"(ARM 26,149:5'-10').

16 The historical mechanism of rhematization in Akkadian is explained as thefollowing: "... many languages ... rely on intonation to place the stress on the mainpoint... This was certainly the normal practice in ancient Akkadian" (my emphasis,Rainey 1976: 51 — 52). Rainey was probably right in this point but there is probablyno way to prove that, since many words, before various enclitic particles and suf-fixes, are stressed on their last syllable, i. e. sarmm-ma as well as illiku-ni(m) (GAG§ 38 h). Still, only -ma of all other enclitics and suffixes is capable of marking some-thing as predicate. Moreover, -ma also follows verbs, usually performing as a con-nective, and still has the same stress effect on what precedes it - namely, the verb.A second point is that this kind of stress is definitely different from "sentence stress"— that prosodic mechanism which marks the rheme. The conclusions that can bedrawn are that at least according to existing textual evidence, there is no reason toexplain the historical mechanism of rhematization as stress, as there was a syntacticmechanism that performed rhematization.

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The question is explained (ibid, note c) as spoken language for an indi-rect question - to the implied "my lord asked me whether ...". Theexact answer brings forth the new piece of information sought after,i.e. the rheme - what is the source for the knowledge about thecorpse: "(not I, but) my entourage ...".

umma PNrma anäku sä elqü appalma u umma PN2-ma anaku-maappalma "PNi said: will pay for what I took' but PN2 said: 'It isI who will pay ...'" (AbB 1,10:17-21).

Here there is contrast between anäku of PNj and anäku of PN2 - whowill be the one to pay - the information insisted upon is anäku ofPN2.

alaki ana ser beliya qerub u assum urn wasiya purussäm lä iqbunimassum kiam-ma purussäm sä um wasiya ana ser beliya ul aspuram"my return to my lord is imminent, but they did not tell me thedecision regarding the day of my departure. It is for that reasonthat I did not write my lord the decision concerning the day of mydeparture" (ARM 26,21:5-10).

One of the ways to recognize the rheme is to decide which piece ofinformation is new in the utterance. Here, most of the information isrepeated in the second part — except two items: assum klam-ma andana ser heliyci ul aspuram. Since the adressee must have known he hadnot received a letter — we are left with the former, i.e. (it is) for thatreason as the rheme, which incidentally corresponds Arabic lidälikamä.

These, I believe, are structural relics of a specific use of the substan-tivizing -ma in a formerly very much alive cleft sentence, in whichwhatever preceded the -ma served as grammatical predicate and whatfollowed - as grammatical subject clause.

Synchronically, due to reorganization of the order of the elementsand to different conception of the particle's function one can findmany "late" structures that would not be acceptable in Akkadian hadthis -ma still meant "that". For instance imperatives following such-ma (since imperatives are reluctant to subordination, not only in Ak-kadian):

attunu-ma qibe "it is you (pi) who should talk"; litt, "(it is) you thattalk!" (imperative17; ARM 26,102:24').

17 Note in Damourette/Pichon 1930—51 § 1447, the exceptional usage, which is of anal-ogous meaning and structure: C'est toi que (sic!) dors. (= substantivized imperative).

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sabum ina GN-ma llsib "it is in GN /to the army should stay"(ARM 26,97:4-5).

Note the difficulty to include säbum in the -ma clause - it does notbelong there any more, -ma seems to work by itself.

u summa atta ul tallakam anaku-ma lullikamma "and if you cannotcome it is I who am willing to come ..." (ARM 26,127:21).

The last three examples, containing modal forms which appear onlyin independent clauses, prove that synchronically there is no subordi-nation in these clauses anymore, and hence synchronically -ma is nota substantivizing converter anymore. That is also the reason for theabsence of the subordination marker (-ul-uni) in many of the relics ofsubstantivizing -mals.

Another way to see this is maybe in those cases where -ma marksnominal predicate; this can and does happen in final positions - i.e.what follows is not related:

summurätüsu annisam-ma "his aim is (to come) hither" (ARM26,168:15).awätusunu sarratum-ma "their words are nothing but lies" (ARM26,32:21).

It is clear that -ma synchronically 'works back', i.e. belongs and influ-ences what precedes it.

2.4. The Diachronie Role of -ma within Indefinites

Indefinites are another domain to which substantivizing -ma maybe associated; as is stated in a few grammars of Akkadian (GAG§ 48 a, 123 a, Ungnad-Matous 1969 § 33 and Huehnergard 1997 § 14.3),the particle -ma is appended to interrogatives to form indefinites:

ayyakam "where?" -> ayyakam-ma (OA) "wherever"; ayyisam"whither?" -> ayyisam-ma "somewhere"; ayyum "which?" -» ayyum-ma "whichever"; (im)matl "when?" -» (im)matl-ma "whenever";minion "what?" -> mim-ma "whatever"; mannum "who?" -» mam-ma "whoever".

18 Another reason for the absence of subordination markers, is probably because thesemarkers are relatively recent: a. they do not serve in that function in any of the otherancient Semitic languages and b. there is a different formation for these markerseven in the different dialects of Akkadian — u, -(o)m, -(u)na.

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The correspondence is rather clear and known; the question is which-ma should be reconstructed here - is it substantivizing -ma, -ma ofsequence (see section 3), or some other particle? There are a few mate-rial possibilities if we take into consideration the various ways in whichindefmita may be formed. It would make sense to limit the herebyconsidered origins of this -ma to realistic possibilities from a dia-chronic point of view in Akkadian.

Haspelmath 1997 puts forth quite a few ways by which indefinitesare formed in the languages of the world. The sources which might berelevant here are a. the 'it may be' type (for ex. French quoi que ce soil,Modern Hebrew masehu [litt, what that it] Haspelmath 1997 § 6.2.3) b.scalar focus particles, namely 'and, also' (Hittite kuis-ki, Gothic hwas-uh Haspelmath 1997 § 7.1.1)19.

The ubiquitous connective -ma (which is treated below, section 3,and see also section 5) probably could not as such connect elementsother than clauses, and hence could not come after such element as aninterrogative. Therefore only the first option still holds — and anotheroption which is to be proposed later, after some discussion of therelation between interrogatives, indefinites and relatives.

Until now it has been possible to ignore the relation between thesuggested and demonstrated substantivizing -ma and other possiblefunctions it might have had diachronically, namely as an indefinitepronoun and maybe as an interrogative (as we can see in the cognateSemitic languages, see below).

Between interrogatives, indefinites and relatives there is a logicaland often transparent formal relation (Akkadian mmum [interrogative]mimma [indefinite/relative]). An analogous situation can be demon-strated by the tri-functional form what in English. In / saw what youdid, what functions as an indefinite and relative ('something that'),whereas in tell me what you did, what is an interrogative, demandinga direct answer (Curme 1931: 182). Both indefinites and interrogativesfunction as X in algebra - both represent an unknown.

Now, as this X represents some substantive, it is pronominal innature - and indeed relativa in many cases originate in pronomina. Aclassic example of this process comes from German where the originalconstruction, consisting of two independent clauses: ich sehe das (cata-

19 Another possibility, which was presented by Faber 1988 as a source for this use of-ma in indefinites, is negative *ma (as in Arabic). The problem with this thesis is a.the fact that such negative particle exists only in Arabic and b. it exists there actuallyonly due to secondary development from interrogative mä in rhetorical question,see Brockelmann 1913 §57 a, 116k.

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phoric demonstrative); er kommt has become reorganized as mainclause and subordinate clause: ich sehe, dass (conjunction) er kommt(Kluge 1989: 128b).

So in addition to the possible formation of indefinites as shown byHaspelmath there is one more possibility: Hebrew ddbar-ma (something) and Arabic ragulun-ma (some man), probably testify to an indef-inite pronoun m serving as an addition to form indefinites from sub-stantives. The same thing can be assumed for the interrogatives inAkkadian, as those usually do not perform this task independently.However, as far as I know, there are no such occurrences in Akkadianwhere -ma functions as an indefinite marker with substantives20.

We are left, then, with such constructions as wahuwa mtf-akum>ayna-ma kuntum "and he is with you wherever you are" (Qur. 57: 4;litt, where that you are) for which we could assume formation withinthe clause, and is somewhat analogous to the 'it may be' type proposedby Haspelmath (compare French ou que ce soit)2].

Since there seem to be no vestiges in Akkadian to such use of -maafter substantives as in Hebrew cbbar-ma to denote indefiniteness, onecan only show the other possibility, namely formation inside the sen-tence, examples of a structure analougous to ^ayna-ma kuntum (i. e.substantivization):

... hi mim-ma iqqatiki ibassiu ... "... or from whatever there is inyour hand ..." (Hecker, GKT § 140a, historically "what thai").mim-ma ippi ummi mya tasme ni uznlpite "whatever you hear frommy creditors — inform me!" (Hecker, GKT §143b, historically''what that").

These two examples structurally resemble French quoi-que (litt, "whatthat") "whatever, although" and modern Hebrew ma-se22-(hu) (litt,"what that [it]") "something".

20 Liverani 1997 discusses distributive expression of the form x-x-ma, where X may bea noun; to my opinion however, in the OA construction -ma does not reflect anyindefiniteness except that which is inherent to distributives. Moreover, indefinitescan consist of reduplication alone (mammari). The distributive notion here seems tobe achieved by reduplication as in Ga'az.

21 GAG §48 treats indefinites and relatives under one heading. As to the possiblenature of -ma GAG § 123 a calls this specific use of -ma "generalizing" ("verallge-meinernd"), but note AHw. 569b: "mati-ma 'irgendwann', wohl < wann war es(,ααβϊ [my emphasis])".

22 Modern Hebrew interrogative+se (nominalizing converter)+/zw (= it) or clause formindefinites: e(y)ze-se-hu "whichever", tavi e(y)ze-se timsa "bring whichever (one) youfind" (litt, which that), is probably formed inside the clause.

220 Eran Cohen

Moreover, indefinite meaning may originate specifically in semanticenvironment such as the following, in which one can find some expres-sion of will (eli X tab "it pleases X" / libbi-X "X want[s]"). This seman-tically resembles one prototype for indefinite constructions — the onesformed from an expression of will (the 'want / pleases' type [Latinquivis, quilibet] Haspelmath 1997 §6.2.):

warkassa e-ma23 elisa tabu nadänam istursimma "he granted her (theright) to give her property wherever it pleases her" (KH § 179 citedin Goetze 1936: 313, historically "where that").ali-ma libbisunu illakü "they go wherever they want" (Whiting, TellAsmar 12: 27-8, originally "where that their heart" [genitive]).

all ("where?") is an interrogative. In the archaic OB of Esnunna (Whit-ing, Tell Asmar) it is attested both with -ma and sa to denote quite thesame indefinite meaning, this corroborates the second possibility, i. e.perceiving -ma as substantivizing converter:

all sa nawium PN imahhasu ina puhrisunu itsib "wherever a nomadencampment was threatening PN he sat in their assembly" (Whit-ing, Tell Asmar, 23: 12-14, synchronically "where that").

3. -ma of Sequence

The diachronic view of a former substantivizing converter -ma aspresented so far, cannot account for all synchronic uses of the par-ticle -ma in Akkadian. After having dealt with substantivizing -ma weare left with the -ma of sequence - the particle described everywhereas a coordinating connector between clauses (V-ma V), as is reflectedin the following survey:

GAG § 123: -ma connects clauses and produces logical relation be-tween them, meaning "and so", "and therefore", "and accord-ingly"; "but" is comparatively rare. In § 158 it is mentioned that-ma between imperatives, precatives etc. is coordination which ex-presses (logical) subordination.Rowton 1962: the particle denotes no more than sequence ofevents (preterite~perfect). With other tenses it denotes a logicalconnection (272a). About the permansive he says: "... the relationsof the second clause to the first clause is best defined in terms of

*e (< **ayy- "where?"} by itself does not exist in Akkadian unless we consider theinterrogative ay yum "which?". Compare Classical Hebrew e(-fo, - ).

Akkadian -ma in Diachronie Perspective 221

outcome rather than result... the second clause ... often constitutes... an unexpected outcome" (272b) - i.e. adversative or even con-cessive meaning.Ungnad-Matous 1969 §96, 110: -ma is used to connect clauses ofthe equal status in order to express not only temporal but alsological sequence ("and then").Patterson 1971:44-47: -ma with modals (imperatives, precativesetc.) means "so that"; with indicative undifferentiated subordina-tion or linear sequence. The second clause indicates the outcome ofthe conditions described in the first. This coordination shows a logi-cal and interdependent relationship between the clauses, the actionof the second is circumstantially restricted to what is expressed inthe first clause.Maloney 1981: 91-92: -ma signals directionality in coordinationand logical connection with the following clause. The whole thrustof the construction is towards the end. The last clause representsthe culmination of the -ma chain in past tense narrative.Buccellati 1996 §86.3: -ma exhibits virtual subordination: coordi-nation in surface structure but embedded adjunct clauses in deepstructure, or "undifferentiated" subordination (due to neutraliza-tion of the specific function of the adjunct), -ma does not allowreversibility.Huehnergard 1997 §7.4: -ma is used when both clauses carry thesame mood. Emphasis always falls on the last clause, the order isirreversible. Clauses are logically related - the first contains theconditions that result in the action of the second. Although formallya main clause, the first is actually "unmarked subordinate clause"to the following clause; i.e. χ and so Υ = if'/when/ because x, y.The uses of -ma of sequence as a connective between clauses (V-ma

V) cannot be reduced any further, even diachronically. There are tworeasons for this:

a. The special nature of this connective, as can be seen in the dif-ferent descriptions, exhibiting a special, non-neutral coordinationwhich in some cases replaces what in other languages (mainly Euro-pean) would belong with subordination, makes it impossible to ana-lyze as an unequivocally subordinating conjunction.

b. The existence of connectives of the same essential nature in otherSemitic languages - the Arabic fa- (Reckendorf 1898:455-6), andmost resembling in both form and function - the Harari (a southernEthiopic language) -ma (Littmann 1921, Leslau 1970). The next exam-

222 Eran Cohen

pie shows the striking similarity between the modern Ethiopia lan-guage and Akkadian:

rey-ü-ma bdreh_>ase-u-ma röta-ma har-ma ^angat-zo ^afaqe-u-mahe saw him he pitied him he ran he went his neck he embraced him he ki

"he saw him and then pitied him and then he ran and went (tohim) and then he embraced his neck and kissed (him)" (Littmann

In addition, this particle in Harari can mean "as /after". Leslau 1970outlines the functions of -ma in Harari as connecting a succession ofactions, sometimes denoting circumstantial or adverbial meaning,where exists some agreement between the clauses as to tense andmood. Finally, one can find syntactic relations between the clauseswhereby the (in)direct object of the -ma clause can be the subject ofthe principal clause.

To resume what was said before, it is impossible to reduce the -maof sequence to anything else except what it synchronically is, and wemust assume the former, historic coexistence of the two particles -the -ma of sequence and substantivizing -ma.

4. Suggestions

The diachronic solution elaborated above may offer explanationsfor a few curious phenomena in Akkadian:

a. The first is the rare appearance of -ma after interrogatives, stillserving in an interrogative function. Interrogatives are, due to theirnature, rhematic elements (that is, they are natural logical predicates),as they represent the new information yet to come. Some languagestend to mark their interrogatives as rheme (logical predicate), some-times even syntactically (via cleft sentence) as does French:

Quefais tul -> qu'est-ce que tufaisl litt, "what is it that you do?".The same can be assumed for Akkadian. It is quite accepted thatmmum sa means "what /why is it that", for example, that is, via syn-chronic clefting:

mlnam sa saltätununi-ma adi ümim annim wasbätununi "why (is it)that you put yourselves in power and sit until this day?" (Hecker,GKT§142c).

Following the same line of thinking and bearing in mind the dia-chronic role of -ma in cleft sentences, we can consider the following:

Akkadian -ma in Diachronie Perspective 223

kunuk mannim-ma immahhar "whose seal will (ever) be accepted?"(AbB 11,90:29)

Which, according to the present proposal should mean: "whose seal isit that will be accepted?".

ammmim-ma awilum sü istet la udammiqam "why (is if) that thisman did not even once render me service" (ARM 28,44:9).

The alternation -mal sa is apparent, but due to the small number ofoccurrences of such construction, this can only remain a conjecture.

b. The second is the -ma appended to many adverbials virtuallywith no apparent reason, serving as almost free variants to forms with-out it. In GAG these adverbials are written umisam(ma), sattisam(md)(§ 72 a, b), ahitam(ma) (§ 118 j) pamtam(ma) (§ 119 h) etc.

It seems logical to assume (in case it is indeed free variation betweenthe forms) that what we have here is a mechanism we have alreadyseen which synchronically works differently, plus exhaustion of theforce of rhematization on specific adverbials, resulting in the loss ofdistinction between the two forms, with or without -ma. A possibleexample of an adverbial construction exhibiting the -ma devoid of itsrhematizing force would be:

ma mahnt iya sissiktum raksat u ina mahntiya-ma ttränü wasbü "inmy first (examination) the fringe was tied, also in my first (...), theintestines were swollen" (ARM 26,142:9-11).c. The third has to do with sum-ma24. Voigt 1995 proves that *sum

is an etymological cognate of Hebrew *>im and Arabic nn etc. An expla-nation for this -ma (which has synchronically become part of the mor-pheme summa) may be the following: Goldenberg 1992: 30 n. 9 men-tions enhüd-... in Syriac which means "if it be that...". It has alreadybeen shown that in Akkadian there was no need for sü (correspondinghü in Syriac) or for any other element in similar constructions. Accord-ingly, we could conceive sum-ma as corresponding to Syriac en (hü)d-, that is a condition marker and a substantivizing converter whichoriginally meant not just "if but "if it be (the case) that...".

d. Heimpel 199625 under 2c brings another occurrence of -mawhich is probably a relic of substantivizing -ma:

24 The idea was suggested to me by G. Goldenberg.25 Where he further stresses the synchronic problematics of -ma and suggests his im-

pression that it converged on Sumerian am. M. P. Streck suggests to me that this-ma which marks the nominal predicate may have been influenced by the Sumeriancopula am.

224 Eran Cohen

mmum nikkassüsu sä innepsüma u mmum ribbatum sa irsu-ma tanas-sahsu "what are his accounts that were done and what are the ar-rears that he incurred, that (my emphasis) you remove him fromhis office?" (ARM 26,6: 7-9).

Another, shorter example (there are quite many), would be:mmam epuska-ma anmtam la anmtam uzm la tapatte "what did I doto you that you do not inform me whether this or that?" (litt, "thisnot this", Hecker, GKT § 135b).

These examples of -ma clause exhibit in my opinion diachronic sub-stantivized clauses in the function of subject. Such construction existsin many languages, however, due to insufficient material about it inthe linguistic literature about each language (let alone Akkadian), 1chose to leave it out of the evidence for substantivizing -ma.

5. Conclusions

This article proposed that all synchronic functions of the particle-ma in Akkadian originate in two different historical particles, havingeach its defined range. The first, a historical substantivizing converter(subordinating conjunction) *ma whose function was to convert thefollowing clause into a syntactic substantive, or primary. Vestigesthereof were found in a. Diachronic embedded content clauses afterverbs of hearing, writing and speaking, b. Within various conjunc-tions, thereby alternating occasionally with sa, the main synchronicnominalizing converter, c. After the rheme, which was shown to havebeen, diachronically, the syntactic predicate in cleft sentences, the sub-stantivizing -ma clause served as subject clause, d. Probably in indefi-nites, where a plausible origin of -ma in indefinites was shown to bethe same diachronic substantivizing -ma. The other function26 whichcould not fit historically in the range of the substantivizing converter,belong diachronically to the second particle, the -ma of sequence.

As for the reconstruction of the exact form of this substantivizing-ma, it seems plausible that there was historically a formal differencebetween both kinds of -ma — but the exact nature thereof is not evi-dent. An opposition involving vocalic length between the two particles(*-ma : *ma) is another possibility but it does not exist synchronically

26 Function, not particular use; some cases still remain to be explained - the natureof -ma in umma X-ma, ana X qibl-ma (for which see Slanski 1998), etc.

Akkadian -ma in Diachronie Perspective 225

in Akkadian27 and although it does exist in Arabic, it is inconsistent(lima : lima). Difference in stress is another possibility, but actual solu-tion is still away.

The following table shows the change in function with regard to thetwo historic particles:

Historic Uses: Synchronic Uses:

A. substantivizing *ma:a. introduced object clauses:esme-ma klsum salmat"I heard that the purse is well"(AbB 7,120; 18-19).

b. introduced subject clausesin cleft sentences:ina pi narim-ma wasbaku-ma"(It is) in the mouth of the canal thati dwell ..."(ARM 2,83: 7).

c. substantivized clauses for them tojoin prepositions:ina-ma minima la Tsu"puisi///? je n'ai absolument rien"(OBTTcil Rimah 150:26).d. formed indefinites frominterrogatives.

replaced by kima:klma älam lä wasbäta aqbi"I said that you do not stay in the city"(AbB 7,42: 13-14).

marking the nominal predicate(an optional copula?), and the rheme:awätusunu sarratum-ma"Their words are (nothing but) lies"(ARM 26,32:21).

perceived as a lexical feature ofconjunctions:kima älam lä wasbäta"that you do not stay in the city"(AbB 7,42: 13-14).

perceived as a lexical feature ofindefinites and various adverbials.

B. *ma of sequence:connector of clauses only, denotedlogical sequence:... is ten nünam ilqe-ma isbatusu-maiktalüsu "he took one fish ... and sothey seized him and held him"(AbB 2,95: 4-10).

general, wide range connector betweenclauses:supram-ma sahäm liddinünim"write that they give me the pig"(AbB 13,131:7-8).sapirl ... lipulassu-ma arhis litrudassu"my superior should pay him and sendhim here quickly" (AbB 13,119: 6'-8').anniam epus-ma i niddarir-ma"do this so that we will go free ..."(AbB 13,62:9-10).

27 There is the particle mä (Kienast 1961) which is different in all respects from theones treated above — but again, as of now there is no way we could ascertain thehistoric vocalic length thereof and its etymological association with the particlesdiscussed above.

226 Eran Cohen

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(Third part).J. Damourette/E. Pichon 1930-51: Des mots ä la pensee. Essai de grammaire de

la langue fran9aise, 7 vols.A. Faber 1988: Indefinite Pronouns in Early Semitic, in: (ed.) Y. A r b e i t m a n , Fo-

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A. Goetze 1936: The t-form of the Old Babylonian Verb, JAOS 56: 297-334. -G. Goldenberg 1971: Tautological Infinitive, IOS 1: 36-85 [= Goldenberg 1998: 66-115]; G. Goldenberg 1977: Imperfectly Transformed Cleft Sentences, The Proceedingsof the Sixth World Congress of Jewish Studies, I: 127-133 [= Goldenberg 1998: 116-122]; G. Goldenberg 1990: On Some Niceties of Syriac Syntax, in: (ed.) R. Lavenen t ,V. Symposium Syriacum 1988, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 335-344 [= Goldenberg1998: 569-578]; G. Goldenberg 1994: allädi almasdariyya, Zeitschrift für ArabischeLinguistik 28: 7-35 [= Goldenberg 1998: 250-285]; G. Goldenberg, 1998: Studies inSemitic Linguistics.

M. Haspe lma th 1997: Indefinite Pronouns. - W. He impe l 1996: Observations onenclitic -ma, NABU 1996/104. - J. H u e h n e r g a r d 1997: Grammar of Akkadian.

Sh. Izre 'e l 1991: Amurru Akkadian: a Linguistic Study, 2 vols.O. Jespersen 1924: The Philosophy of Grammar.B. K i e n a s t 1961: Satzeinleitendes mä im älteren Akkadischen, ZA 54: 90-99. - F.

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University of California Los Angeles). W. Les luu 1970: The ma- Clause in Haruri,Melanges Marcel Cohen in: (ed.) David Cohen 263-273. - E. L i t t m a n n 1921: DiePartikel ma im Harari, ZA 33: 103-122. - M. Liverani 1997: Canaanite Indefiniteidiom in Amarna Letters, NABU 1997/127.

J. F. Maloney 1981: The T-perfect in the Akkadian of Old Babylonian Letters witha Supplement on Verbal Usage In the Code of Hammurapi and the Laws of Esnunna,(Ph. D. Dissertation, Harvard University).F. Palmer 1986: Mood and Modality. - D. A. Pat terson 1971: Old Babylonian Para-taxis as Exhibited in the Royal Letters of the Middle Old Babylonian Period and in theCode of Hammurapi, (Ph. D. Dissertation, University of California Los Angeles).

A. F. Ra iney 1976: Enclitic -ma and the Logical Predication in Old Babylonian,IOS 6: 51-58. - H. Reckendorf 1898: Die syntaktischen Verhältnisse des Arabischen.- M. B. Rowton 1962: The Use of the Permansive in Classic Babylonian, JNES 21:233-303.

K. E. Slanski 1998: A Note on the Coordinating Particle -ma in the Old AkkadianLetter Greeting Formula, IOS 18/2: 9-17.

A. Ungnad/L. Matous 1969: Grammatik des Akkadischen, Völlig neubearbeitet.R. Voigt 1995: Akkadisch summa 'wenn', AOAT 240 (= Fs. W. von Soden) 517-

528.W. Wright 1898: A. Grammar of the Arabic Language, 3rd ed. revised by W. Rob-

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