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Papers by Judith Pfitzner
Zeitschrift Fur Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatische Archaologie, Jun 6, 2023
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 112, 2022
In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one... more In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one of the Chapters of Šumma ālu, namely of the well-preserved T. 37, which contains ant omens. By especially focusing on the vertical structure of the apodoses, we work out that, while standard repetitive apodoses were used, these standard repetitive apodoses were arranged in a creative way, and the individual lines were carefully inter-laced by numerous small-scale connections.
Researching Metaphor in the Ancient Near East, 2020
In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one... more In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one of the Chapters of Šumma ālu, namely of the well-preserved T. 37, which contains ant omens. By especially focusing on the vertical structure of the apodoses, we work out that, while standard repetitive apodoses were used, these standard repetitive apodoses were arranged in a creative way, and the individual lines were carefully interlaced by numerous small-scale connections.
In this dissertation, I investigated metaphors in a corpus of Sumerian literary compositions. The... more In this dissertation, I investigated metaphors in a corpus of Sumerian literary compositions. The main goals were to collect and properly translate these metaphors, to identify vehicle and tenor, to work out the "picture" expressed by the metaphors, and to compare and to contrast all occurrences of (apparently) the same metaphor in different compositions. The methodological and terminological points of reference for this dissertation are the contributions by Richards (1936) and Black (1962) and the "interaction theory of metaphor" coined by them. This theoretical approach, which describes metaphors primarily as the resolution of a semantic tension between the metaphoric expression and its context at the one hand and between tenor and vehicle on the other hand, proved useful for the investigation of metaphors in Sumerian literary compositions. Through a systematic (re-)translation and (re-)interpretation of metaphors in more than 40 Sumerian literary compositions,...
Bei Diri-Komposita handelt es sich um sumerische Worter, die auf der grafischen Ebene als Kombina... more Bei Diri-Komposita handelt es sich um sumerische Worter, die auf der grafischen Ebene als Kombination mehrerer separater Keilschriftzeichen geschrieben wurden und deren Lesung nicht der Summe der Lesungen der zu ihrer Schreibung verwendeten Keilschriftzeichen entspricht. Die zur Schreibung der Diri-Komposita ausgewahlten Zeichen sind in vielen Fallen nicht zufallig ausgewahlt, sondern erlauben es in ihrer Gesamtheit, auf die Semantik des mit ihnen ausgedruckten Wortes Ruckschlusse zu ziehen. Eine grose Anzahl an Diri-Komposita ist in der lexikalischen Liste Diri – Watru zusammengestellt. Die vorliegende Arbeit nimmt die altbabylonischen Versionen der lexikalischen Liste Diri – Watru zur Grundlage und versucht, unter Zugrundelegung linguistischer Prinzipien erstens eine Systematik der Bildung der Diri-Komposita herauszuarbeiten und zweitens, Vorschlage zur Interpretation der zur Schreibung des jeweiligen Diri-Kompositums verwendeten Einzelzeichen vorzulegen.
Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici sul Vicino Oriento antico , 34-36, pp. 19-28, 2019
The interpretation of Dumuzid's nightmare which alerts Dumuzid to his impending forceful death is... more The interpretation of Dumuzid's nightmare which alerts Dumuzid to his impending forceful death is usually considered as following the pattern "image A means B". This interpretation, however, remains problematic for some of Dumuzid's visions. This study aims to contrast Dumuzid's dream with its interpretation/repetition by Ĝeštinana and with its fulfillment. It will be demonstrated that while some of the visions were interpreted, others needed no interpretation; they meant exactly what they said.
M. Palladivini – L. Portuese (eds.), Researching Metaphor in the Ancient Near East, Philippika 141 (Harrassowitz), p. 95-115, 2020
Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires, 2020/1, no. 20,, 2020
Mattila - Ito - Fink (eds.), Animals and their Relation to Gods, Humans and Things in the Ancient World, 2019
Diri compounds are compound logograms whose reading cannot be inferred from the readings of their... more Diri compounds are compound logograms whose reading cannot be inferred from the readings of their individual components. A compound A.B(.C …) is read D. However, it is often argued that the semantics of a word written with a Diri compound can be derived from the individual elements that were used to write the compound. But is this assumption justified? In this paper, I will present a number of Diri compounds that were systematically translated sign-for-sign into Akkadian. These antique sign-for-sign analyses support the above-mentioned assumption. In the Appendix, I will discuss some selected compounds usually considered Diri compounds that do not fit into that pattern.
Book Reviews by Judith Pfitzner
WZKM 107 (2017), p. 400ff., 2017
Review of Veldhuis, Niek : History of the Cuneiform Lexical Tradition (Guides to the Mesopotamian... more Review of Veldhuis, Niek : History of the Cuneiform Lexical Tradition (Guides to the Mesopotamian Textual Record Volume 6, Münster, 2014).
Conference Presentations by Judith Pfitzner
Zeitschrift Fur Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatische Archaologie, Jun 6, 2023
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 112, 2022
In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one... more In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one of the Chapters of Šumma ālu, namely of the well-preserved T. 37, which contains ant omens. By especially focusing on the vertical structure of the apodoses, we work out that, while standard repetitive apodoses were used, these standard repetitive apodoses were arranged in a creative way, and the individual lines were carefully inter-laced by numerous small-scale connections.
Researching Metaphor in the Ancient Near East, 2020
In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one... more In this essay, we discuss the creative process involved in the organisation and sequencing of one of the Chapters of Šumma ālu, namely of the well-preserved T. 37, which contains ant omens. By especially focusing on the vertical structure of the apodoses, we work out that, while standard repetitive apodoses were used, these standard repetitive apodoses were arranged in a creative way, and the individual lines were carefully interlaced by numerous small-scale connections.
In this dissertation, I investigated metaphors in a corpus of Sumerian literary compositions. The... more In this dissertation, I investigated metaphors in a corpus of Sumerian literary compositions. The main goals were to collect and properly translate these metaphors, to identify vehicle and tenor, to work out the "picture" expressed by the metaphors, and to compare and to contrast all occurrences of (apparently) the same metaphor in different compositions. The methodological and terminological points of reference for this dissertation are the contributions by Richards (1936) and Black (1962) and the "interaction theory of metaphor" coined by them. This theoretical approach, which describes metaphors primarily as the resolution of a semantic tension between the metaphoric expression and its context at the one hand and between tenor and vehicle on the other hand, proved useful for the investigation of metaphors in Sumerian literary compositions. Through a systematic (re-)translation and (re-)interpretation of metaphors in more than 40 Sumerian literary compositions,...
Bei Diri-Komposita handelt es sich um sumerische Worter, die auf der grafischen Ebene als Kombina... more Bei Diri-Komposita handelt es sich um sumerische Worter, die auf der grafischen Ebene als Kombination mehrerer separater Keilschriftzeichen geschrieben wurden und deren Lesung nicht der Summe der Lesungen der zu ihrer Schreibung verwendeten Keilschriftzeichen entspricht. Die zur Schreibung der Diri-Komposita ausgewahlten Zeichen sind in vielen Fallen nicht zufallig ausgewahlt, sondern erlauben es in ihrer Gesamtheit, auf die Semantik des mit ihnen ausgedruckten Wortes Ruckschlusse zu ziehen. Eine grose Anzahl an Diri-Komposita ist in der lexikalischen Liste Diri – Watru zusammengestellt. Die vorliegende Arbeit nimmt die altbabylonischen Versionen der lexikalischen Liste Diri – Watru zur Grundlage und versucht, unter Zugrundelegung linguistischer Prinzipien erstens eine Systematik der Bildung der Diri-Komposita herauszuarbeiten und zweitens, Vorschlage zur Interpretation der zur Schreibung des jeweiligen Diri-Kompositums verwendeten Einzelzeichen vorzulegen.
Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici sul Vicino Oriento antico , 34-36, pp. 19-28, 2019
The interpretation of Dumuzid's nightmare which alerts Dumuzid to his impending forceful death is... more The interpretation of Dumuzid's nightmare which alerts Dumuzid to his impending forceful death is usually considered as following the pattern "image A means B". This interpretation, however, remains problematic for some of Dumuzid's visions. This study aims to contrast Dumuzid's dream with its interpretation/repetition by Ĝeštinana and with its fulfillment. It will be demonstrated that while some of the visions were interpreted, others needed no interpretation; they meant exactly what they said.
M. Palladivini – L. Portuese (eds.), Researching Metaphor in the Ancient Near East, Philippika 141 (Harrassowitz), p. 95-115, 2020
Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires, 2020/1, no. 20,, 2020
Mattila - Ito - Fink (eds.), Animals and their Relation to Gods, Humans and Things in the Ancient World, 2019
Diri compounds are compound logograms whose reading cannot be inferred from the readings of their... more Diri compounds are compound logograms whose reading cannot be inferred from the readings of their individual components. A compound A.B(.C …) is read D. However, it is often argued that the semantics of a word written with a Diri compound can be derived from the individual elements that were used to write the compound. But is this assumption justified? In this paper, I will present a number of Diri compounds that were systematically translated sign-for-sign into Akkadian. These antique sign-for-sign analyses support the above-mentioned assumption. In the Appendix, I will discuss some selected compounds usually considered Diri compounds that do not fit into that pattern.
WZKM 107 (2017), p. 400ff., 2017
Review of Veldhuis, Niek : History of the Cuneiform Lexical Tradition (Guides to the Mesopotamian... more Review of Veldhuis, Niek : History of the Cuneiform Lexical Tradition (Guides to the Mesopotamian Textual Record Volume 6, Münster, 2014).
The Rod and Measuring Rope. Festschrift for Olof Pedersén. Harrassowitz 2019: 184-197
with the collaboration of Judith Pfitzner The following lines are offered to Olof Pedersén on the... more with the collaboration of Judith Pfitzner The following lines are offered to Olof Pedersén on the occasion of his 65 th birthday as a small token of gratitude for interesting discussions during our common stays at the Free University of Berlin. The dispute over the 'original' language behind the invention of Mesopotamian cuneiform writing will certainly continue in the coming decades. In our eyes it may well be possible that cuneiform writing originated in a multilingual environment. However, the iconic origin of the earliest cuneiform signs-when traceable-has received little attention so far. This is certainly due to the fact that many of the proposals of father Anton Deimel 1 or Kurt Jaritz are not very convincing. 2 The work of latter was heavily criticized by Wolfram von Soden 3 and others, and it may well be that this is one of the reasons that research in this field is somewhat disparate und difficult to access. In order to illustrate the iconic origin of cuneiform writing most works describing the evolution of early cuneiform refer to the signs SAG, KA, KU2/GU7 and NAG. 4 We note that other examples also show a certain preference for the uses of parts of the human or animal body, predominantly the animals' heads. 5 However, when compared to the roughly contemporary Hieroglyphic signs from Egypt, the iconicity of the Mesopotamian proto-cuneiform signs is less clear and quite often their origin remains in the dark. For the earliest periods we find occasional remarks from various authors, chiefly Adam Falkenstein, and especially in his ATU. Quite recent are the systematic observations of Theo Krispijn (1991-1992) and Jean-Jacques Glassner (1999, 2000). They attempted to demonstrate how original iconic signs underwent various manipulations in a rather systematic way, in order to specify particular semantics connected to such signs. An interesting example is perhaps the Late Uruk variation of RA and RAX from ZATU 431 and 448 respectively, to be compared with the younger word /ra(h)/ (RA = rah2) "to beat, to kill, to drive (animals)".
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