[WHAT LANGUAGE DID ANCIENT ETHIOPIANS SPEAK ?] Note the information below is more about African(Ethiopian) language, rather than Sumerian language. Sumerian language is possibly a pidgin/creole that formed from interaction between African(ancient Ethiopian) and Altaic(Proto-Scythic) language. The Sumerians could be considered an Eur-African race speaking Afro-Eurasian language (not Afro-Asiatic). i.e. Not Afro-asiatic but an isolated creole much influenced by Altaic language. ================================================================================= Possibility 1: "Sahel Culture" Language (<--- The ancient Sahel as a zone of Niger-Congo language.) Between the Sahara and sub-saharan Africa exists a cultural zone from West Africa to Sudan and Northern Ethiopia. <-- Ethiopia and west Africa are linked by the Sahel. the Sahel region in ancient times was culturally connected to Arabia, as evidenced by the spread through the Sahel of millet & sorgham crops 8000-7000 years ago. millet and sorgham probably came from Western Asia. [The neolithic revolution began in the Sahel at the same time as Egypt, Ethiopian Highlands,and West Africa, about 6000 b.c.] The Kardofan languages are Niger-Congo languages existing in central Sudan. Some authors suggest that the homeland of Niger-Congo language was Western Sudan, not West Africa.(West Sudan because dissimilarities between Kardofan languages and other Bantu languages suggests an early split in Niger Congo in the Sudan region.) e.g. linguist Roger Blench. If Sudan was the homeland of Niger-Congo language, then it would have been relatively easy for Niger-Congo speakers to migrate into Arabia via the Sahel. So perhaps large populations of Niger-Congo speakers migrated from Sudan/Ethiopia into Arabia and established African kingdoms there. Later, Cushitic speakers invaded East Africa and wiped out traces of Sahelian language in East Africa. So in modern times, Ethiopians are Afro-Asiatic speakers, not Niger-Congo. [Note that the Sahel was also possibly a route for Nilo-Saharan languages to migrate East into Arabia.] ================================================================================= Possibility 2: Cushitic or Proto-Cushitic. Cushitic is an Afro-Asiatic language, possibly connected with the spread of Natufian and similar cultures into the Near East and East Africans. i.e. The Natufian culture were possibly speakers of Proto-Afro-Asiatic language which over thousands of years split into various language groups, Cushitic,Ancient Egyptian, Berber, inside Africa, and Semitic in the Northern Levant. Some authors suggest Kerma Culture(Sudan/Ethiopia) probably spoke an extinct Cushitic language. But is it possible that they were Niger-Congo speakers via the Sahel? Kerma was in Sudan, and some authors suggest a west Sudan homeland for Niger-Congo. Cushitic languages are still spoken in modern Ethiopia and Somalia. [Perhaps this Possibility 2 is less likely, because Sumerian is a a distinct language, not related to Afro-Asiatic.] ---------------------------- [note: Semitic nations are caucasoid races perhaps speaking an African language. When Natufian culture spread from the Sahara into Syria and Turkey they brought an African language with them (which linguists label Prot-Afro-Asiatic). And that African language was adopted by the caucasoid races in Syria and Turkey. Over thousands of years that African language became Semitic language. Such a hypothesis would also explain why Canaanites spoke a Semitic language. If you consider that Semitic language might be African in origin, then Canaanites were Hamites(african negroids) speak an originally African language(Western Semitic). Because Semitic nations were caucasian, this confuses some people so they suggest that Canaanites were also caucasians because they spoke Semitic. But such opinions are mistaken. Canaanites were Hamites(African negroids). Semitic race(Caucasian) should not be confused with Semitic language(African).] ================================================================================ [Possibility 3: Proto-Swahili - however there are questions about how ancient Swahili is.Swahili is perhaps not ancient. Swahili is based on Bantu(Niger-Congo),so similiarities between Sumerian and Swahili support Possibility 1(see above)] The language(s) of ancient Ethiopia were possibly similar to SWAHILI. [note that languages are not stable over thousands of years. Languages change significantly over many thousands of years.But Swahili is modern language that might approximate Ethiopian language(s).] The language(s) of ancient Ethiopia are not known in modern times, but they could be called "Swahili ancestor language". <---A "Niger-Congo" language older than Swahili [Maybe ancient Ethiopian kingdoms spoke "Swahili ancestor language" and over thousands of years such languages became Swahili language. The ancient Ethiopian kingdoms disappeared but Swahili language survived.] Swahili is African language of the sea. Swahili is a language probably similar to the ancient Ethiopian kingdoms that crossed the Red Sea into Arabia. They crossed from Africa into Arabia, and established kingdoms. ------------------------- ancient Ethiopian culture possibly tens of thousands of years old.(30,000 years old Ethiopian culture?) <---genetic evidence E1b1b haplogroup [i.e. Ethiopian Africans crossed the Red Sea maybe 30,0000 years ago. <-------- ... from Africa... into Arabia ... 30,000 years ago So Ethiopian culture in Arabia might be 30,000 years old. So Ethiopian culture in southern Mesopotamia might be similarly old.] Then Ethiopia briefly became the first civilization (before Sumer,and before ancient Egypt). [Approximately 6,000 years ago,perhaps Ethiopia briefly became the first civilization. Nimrod & Havilah became the most advanced Ethiopian kingdoms and created the first civilization. Nimrod kingdom later became Sumer/Shumer/Shinar ] <-------- ... in Southern Mesopotamia The existence of Ethiopian civilization is encoded in the religions of Sumer&Egypt <----- Osiris&Dumuzi represented Ethiopian civilization. ====================================================================== [Comparison of SUMERIAN LANGUAGE & SWAHILI] - this section might expand over time. Here is a summary... If people read about Sumerian language,there are theories that Sumerian language creation was influenced by a "banana language" that existed before Sumerian. [Sumerian language has repetition of sounds like "na" similar to the sounds in the word "banana" . e.g. In Sumerian religious names like Inanna (I-na-na or I-na(n)-na). So maybe Sumerian language was influenced by a more ancient language with similar repetition of sounds like "na" .] If the theories about a "banana language" substrate are correct, then "Swahili ancestor language" might have influenced Sumerian language. when root of word is a verb, maybe there is repetition of sounds in some of the prefixes portions of a word... ------------------ incorporating languages (swahili) <--------> sumerian banana language substrate? ha-tu-ku-vi-wa-nunulia not-we-beforetime-them-them-buy(for) the verb buy(for) becomes the root at the end, and object nouns are attached to front. "we did not buy them". note the repetition "them-them" words and "nu-nu" sound. Does repetition of sounds in Swahili correspond to theorised "Banana Language" influencing Sumerian Language creation ? [Note that a Swahili-like language might have been originally a superstrate language for Sumerian, but modern linguists speak of substrate language because they refuse to consider that Ethiopia was dominant in ancient times.] -------------------- Note: the name "Etana" appears in the Sumerian King List as a great ancestor king who united the nations. But the name Etana means "the strong one" in Swahili. Etana can be identified with the biblical Nimrod who was a "mighty" hunter before the Lord (Gen 10:9) Are such correspondence between Sumerian and African languages a coincidence, or are they related ? =========================================================================== Sumerian language meanings: The word Cush(Kush) means "skin" in Sumerian language. Sumerians identified the word "Cush" with their own skins. [i.e. This might suggest that the Sumerians identified the word "Cush" with their own Sumerian skin colour.] When the bible uses the word "Cush", it has connotations of "black" and "Ethiopian". Did the hebrews borrow this word from the Sumerians? [The hebrew writers of the bible probably borrowed various words from the Sumerian language. e.g. compare the hebrew word "Eden" to the Sumerian word "Edin" .] Does the word for "skin" betray that Sumerians were descended from Africans? =========================================================================== Sources: 1. Rev. W. Wanger(1935), Comparative Lexical Study of Sumerian and Ntu ("Bantu"). 2. GJK Campbell-Dunn (2009), Sumerian Comparative Dictionary,Sumerian Comparative Grammar 3. Jens Hoyrup (1992), Sumerian :The Descendant of a proto-historical creole? 4. Roger Blench(1995) 'Is Niger–Congo simply a branch of Nilo-Saharan?',Fifth Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium, Nice, 1992. ============================================== return to main page: http://sumerdecoded.com/index_.htm