from the new language. For example,
"god" was called ilu, and "heaven" called shami: [symbol], when
encountered in inscriptions by the Semites, were read [symbol] when
the context showed the sense to be "god," and shami when the character
evidently meant "heaven." They added these two vocables to the preceding
ana, an, dingir, dimir; but they did not stop there: they confounded
the picture of the star [symbol] with that of the sky, and sometimes
attributed to [symbol], the pronunciation kakkabu, and the meaning of
star. The same process was applied to all the groups, and the Semitic
values being added to the Sumerian, the scribes soon found themselves in
possession of a double set of syllables both simple and compound. This
multiplicity of sounds, this polyphonous character attached to their
signs, became a cause of embarrassment even to them. For instance,
[symbol] when found in the body of a word, stood for the syllables hi
or hat, mid, mit, til, ziz; as an ideogram it was used for a score of
different concepts: that of lord or master, inu, bilu; that of blood,
damu; for a corpse, pagru, shalamtu; for the feeble or oppressed, kahtu,
nagpu; as the hollow and the spring, nakbu; for the state of old age,
labaru; of dying, matu; of killing, mitu; of opening, pitu; besides
other meanings. Several phonetic complements were added to it; it was
preceded by ideograms which determined the sense in which it was to be
read, but which, like the Egyptian determinatives, were not pronounced,
and in this manner they succeeded in limiting the number of mistakes
which it was possible to make. With a final [symbol] it would always
mean [symbol] bilu, the master, but with an initial [symbol] (thus
[symbol]) it denoted the gods Bel or Ea; with [symbol]. which indicates
a man [symbol], it would be the corpse, pagru and shalamtu; with
[symbol] prefixed, it meant [symbol]--mutanu, the plague or death and
so on. In spite of these restrictions and explanations, the obscurity of
the meaning was so great, that in many cases the scribes ran the risk of
being unable to make out certain words and understand certain passages;
many of the values occurred but rarely, and remained unknown to those
who did not take the trouble to make a careful study of the syllabary
and its history. It became necessary to draw up tables for their use,
in which all the signs were classified and arranged, with their meanings
and phonetic transcriptions. These signs occupie