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The Sumerian language has thus far not been linked with any other large family of languages. This web page is dedicated to showing a relationship between Sumerian and the Austric languages.
Sumerian is an agglutinative language like those in the Austric family. Like those languages it uses liberally both suffixes and prefixes in its morphology. In this sense, it differs from other Asiatic agglutinative languages like Ural-Altaic (Uralic and Altaic), Dravidian, Japanese and Korean, which use almost exclusively suffixes in the conjugation of the verb and declension of nouns and pronouns.
According to many experts, the Al-Ubaid people were ancestral to the Sumerians, or at least, to their culture. The Al-Ubaid skulls show a chaemaerrhine index with a mean value of 49.2. In other words, they had very broad noses. The skulls had both subnasal and alveolar prognathism, or fullness of the lower and upper lips. The average linear projection was 8 mm. for the skulls. Their heads were long and narrow.
Buxton and Rice found that of 26 Sumerian crania 17 were Australoid, five Austrics and four Armenoid. According to Penniman who studied skulls from Kish and other Sumerian sites, these three: the Australoid (Eurafrican), Austric and Armenoid were the "racial" types associated with the Sumerians. Here is Penniman's description of the Austric type found at Sumer:
"These people are of medium stature, with complexion and hair like those of the Eurafrican, to which race they are allied, dark eyes, and oval faces. They have small ill-filled dolichocephalic skulls, with browridges poorly developed or absent, bulging occiputs, orbits usually horizontal ellipses, broad noses, rather feeble jaws, and slight sinewy bodies."
Both the Australoid and Austric type are found in India, where the former is known as Dravidian in its less extreme variety. Like all the different populations of India, both Dravidian and Austric are long-headed like most of the skulls at Sumer. As one goes further East, Austrics become mostly round-headed due possibly to the greater proportion of Mongoloid blood, and the Austronesians of the South Seas are primarily round-headed. Formerly, it was popular to ascribe the Australoid and Austric types to "dark Caucasoid" origin in the Mediterranean area. Indeed, some archaeologists, anthropologists, geneticists, linguists etc., still subscribe to this theory. However, skeletons of both types have now been found in Sri Lanka, Australia and parts of Southeast Asia that are significantly older than those of the Mediterranean. Also, the recent finds of very early hominids in Java and China, predating those to the west, and the obvious tropical nature of the two types themselves, make such theories unnecessary and forced.
Przyluski and Autran carried out a very preliminary comparison of Sumerian and Austric earlier this century in which they showed some sound correspondences between the two.
While Sumerian is primarily SOV, it also has instances of SVO, VO and VS. Other Austric languages are also mostly SVO, for example, the Munda languages in Austro-Asiatic/Miao, many of the Austronesian languages of Papua, and Japanese according to Benedict's Japanese/Austro-Tai theory. So, lets start with our comparison of the languages.
Pronouns
Sumerian Austric
I ga ga (Taulil), go (Solor), gau (Gao), gni (Savo)
ga (Dialect Japanese?) kaw (Khamti, Ahom, Sham,
Tho-nung), ku (Siam, Lao, Black Tai), ke
(Santa Cruz), -gu (Dawawa, Kakabai,
Sinaki, Suau, Bohutu, object suffix)
ga- (Bwaidoka, subject prefix)
You za.e, ze sau, si, su (Austro-Tai), hau (Manggarai)
su (Atayal), su-, -sun (Paiwan), za (variant of sama),
oze, ozo (Japanese)
He/She ene eni (Vanua Lava, Mantion), ini (Bank's Is.),
ine (New Hebrides), ina (Santa Cruz),
ena- (Suau, Molima), ena (Manikion)
They e.ne.ne-ra (dative) inira (Vunapu, Penantsiro, Akei, Wailapa,
Tutuba, Vao), enira (Tangoa), enir (Vanua
Lava, inir (Gaua), ineira (Mota)
Pronominal Suffixes
I -en in (Santali free pronoun);
en (Sakai free pronoun),
-ano, -eno,-ino (Baruya, subject
person suffixes) -ana (Ampale,
subject person suffix), -in (Sora)
you -en -an (Menya, subject person suffix),
-aano, -ino, ano (Baruya, subject person
suffix), ina (Ampale, subject person
suffix), -em (Sora)
he/she -e e (Santali free pronoun),
-ei (Are, object suffix), -i
(Kukuya, Wedau, Taupota, Garuwahi,
object suffix), e- (Dawawa, Kakabai,
Sinaki, subject prefix), e- (Ouma,
Bina, Gadaisu, pronominal prefix),
e (Areas, short free pronoun), -i
Kapau, Menya, subject person suffix),
-e (Sora)
we -enden -antane, -entana-zi (Ampale, subject person
suffix), anate (Lifu, free pronoun)
they -es -usi, -avi (Ampale, subject person suffix),
-si (object suffix, Are), -hi (Tawala),
-s (Muyuw, object suffix), -eji (Sora)
Possessive Suffix
mine -gu -gu (Ouma, Magori, Yoba, Bina)
gu (Japanese, humble), -ku (Kapampangan,
Malay), -ko (Tagalog), -kdu (Cham)
(also the pronoun suffixes:
-go (Loyalty Is.), gu-, ku-
(New Hebrides), -k (Banks Is.),
-qu (Fiji), -gu, -ku, (Solomon Is.,
Maori)
your -zu -sun (Paiwan, pronominal suffix),
su (Ahom, Khamti) ha (Sakai),zune
(Japanese, plural), unzu (Japanese)
our -me amin (Philippines), -ma (Dobu, excl.),
-m (Muyuw, excl.), -mai ((Magori, Yoba,
Bina, excl.), -mami, -melu (Saa, Ulawa,
Wolio, Proto-East Oceanic, excl.),
-mey (Muyuw, excl. accompaniment)
his -a.ni anin-a (Savara), ini-ren (Mundari),
uni-ren (Santali), -na (Malay, Kalokalo,
Kukuya, Tawala, Suau), -ne (Ninowa),
-nu (Cham), niya (Kapampangan),
nah (Talaing), ana- (Misima, Muyuw,
Kukuya, Mwatebu), -n (Kilivila, intermediate)
their -a.ne.ne aninji-na (Savara), nah (Talaing),
-na (Malay), -nu (Cham), aninji (Sora)
Interrogatives
What? A.na? Ano? (Philippines, Indonesia), Uani?
(Letemboi), Nani? (Japan), Nanu?
(Kapampangan)
Who? A.ba? Si-apa (Malay/Indonesia from apa? "What?"),
Pa? (Infit., Ikiti), Pae? (Imreang, Ikiyau),
Pah? (Loniel), Pai? (Weda, Sawai), Abhay?,
Abe? (Nissaya Burmese, classified as
Sino-Tibetan or Tibeto-Burmese, but of
highly mixed characteristics including
agglutinative morphology.) Epa? (Fasu)
Aapi? (Kewa), Ibuge? (Foe), Bo? (Sakai)
When? Me-na-am? Mana nui? (Chamorro), Mangge? (Chamorro), mingyaal
(Yap), mo (Bontok)
Where? Me-a? Mana? (Malay, Indonesia)
Conjugation Prefixes
Sumerian Austric
i- i- (Philippines, definite or passive)
im-, am- um- (Tagalog, active)
ma-, mu-, ma- (Philippines, Malay, Indonesia, active, passive)
na-i-ga, nam-ga, nag- (possibly as bounded form, Phil., Indonesia, active)
na-an-ga-,
(affirmative)
ba-, pa- pa- (Kapampangan, non-agentive, causative, etc.)
(non-agentive) ba- (Ouma, Magori, Yoba, Bina, 1sg. past)
bi- pi- (Tagalog)
Verbal Prefixes
na- na- (Muyuw, negative)
(negative)
-nga- nga (Philippines, adverb "really,
("also") truly.")
-mga- ngke (Indonesia, "here, now), ngayon
("at this time") (Philippines, adverb, "now, at this time.")
Pronominal Prefixes
e/a- a- (Muyuw, Gumasi, Are, Tawala, Kukuya, Wedau, Taupota)
e- (Magori, Yoba), e/a (Loyalty Is., New Hebrides,
Banks Is., Solomon Is., verbal particles that can act
as pronouns)
n- n- (Motlav, Volow, verbal particle), na (Torres Is., Savo),
nu (Merlav), n- (Asmat-Kamoro family, South VK stock).
Prepositions, Particles and Conjuctions
Sumerian Austric
in, among, from sa sa (Philippines, Malay
"in, from, on, etc.")
on, by, for ki kin (Kapampangan "on, to
by"), ka (Danaw, "for")
if, when ud-da ata, aka (Polynesian "if, as,
but"), ato (Peterara),
outn (Dixon Reef)
this ne, ne.en ne (New Hebrides, Solomon Is.),
nene (Solomon Is.), nei (Maori),
ini (Malay), nae (Burumba),
nana (Lamenu), nini (Sowa)
that/this -bi bi- (Tairora, Gadsup, Awa,
Auyana, "that")
Case Markers
Sumerian Austric
Dative -na- na (Nifilole), ne (Espirito
Santo), ma (Santa Cruz),
Locative -ri- (variant of ray (Saisiyat), leng (Sora),
-ni-) ri (Nengone), ra, lo (Ambrym),
lo (Ureparapara), -re (Kherwari,
Santali, Mundari)
Locative -ni- -ni, nen (Inibaloi)
meng (Sora)
Locative (inanimate) -a ah (Balangaw), -a (Juang)
Comitative -da ta (Kavalan), ki (Saisiyat)
Locative-terminative -e (inanimate) i (Thao, locative)
Ergative -e e (common Polynesian)
Equative -gin gana ("likeness, like" Proto-Austronesian,
adjective), gina, gen, -gena,
-gen, etc. ("like" Japanese
adjective or equative suffix)
Genitive -ak -ak (Santali, Mundari, mostly inanimate
but also with pronouns and familiar
animate nouns)
Verbal Postpositions
"when" na na, ina (Proto-Austronesian, "when," "now")
"if" ba ba, be, (Proto-Austronesian, "if"),
pe (Proto-Central-Eastern-Austronesian, "if"),
-ba (Japanese, hypothetical suffix)
Adjectival Termination
Sumerian Austric
-a (forms adjective) -a (Sesake, Ureparapara,
Fiji, Ulawa, Saa, Tonga,
Samoa)
Noun Construction
Sumerian Austric
nig- + noun/verb = noun nag- + noun/verb = noun (Philippines)
nam- + noun/verb/adjective = noun na + noun = noun (Hawai`i, plural),
(plural or expressing whole) na- + noun = noun (New Hebrides,
usually expresses whole)
nga + noun = noun (Maori, plural)
mga + noun = noun (Philippines, plural)
noun + -ene = plural noun noun + -an = group of objects (Tagalog)
noun + -an = expression of whole (Sundanese)
noun + -e = ergative "e" before or after noun = ergative
(Polynesia)
Reduplicated noun = totality Reduplicated noun = totality (Austric)
Reduplication
Sumerian Austric
Triple Duplication Triple Duplication
ga-ga-ga napaka-ganda-ganda-ganda-han
(Philippines)
Quadruple Duplication Quadruple Duplication
ga-ga-ga-ga pi-pi-pi-pi-va (Melanesia)
Verbal Suffixes
Sumerian Austric
-ak (genitive), -a-ka (genitive-locative) -ake, -aka
(Java, Fiji, verbal suffixes)
-ta (ablative-instrumental), -da -ta'i (Samoa, verbal case suffix)
(comitative)
-se (terminative) -sa'i (Samoa, verbal case suffix)
Verb Morphology
Sumerian
modal prefix + conjugation prefix + case suffix + pronominal suffix +
verb root + pronominal suffix + syntactic suffix + postposition
Austric
Ponapean
casuative prefix + (negative, demonstrative, adjectival) prefix +
verb root +instrumental suffix + object pronoun suffix + 3rd position
suffix + 4th position suffix + 5th position suffix + object pronoun suffix +
completive suffix
Melanesian
verbal particle + reciprocal prefix + causative prefix + verb root +
verbal suffix + adjectival termination + personal pronoun suffix
Kapampangan
new + activativiser + processiviser + causativiser + exertiviser +
participativiser +abilitaviser + verb root + paired suffix
Animate and Inanimate Categories
Both Sumerian and Austric also share the division of animate
and inanimate categories. This is generally carried out through
the pronouns and pronominal elements in both Sumerian and Austric.
Special Speech
Sumerian possesses a woman's and liturgical language known
as Emesal. Such special languages occur commonly in the Austric
family. Truk, Simalurese and Japanese have traces of woman's
languages. New Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, Balinese, Samoa,
Tonga, Ponape, Turk, Kusae and Japanese are among the languages
that have special word classes according to various forms of
social stratification.
Consonant sounds in Sumerian/Austric
All of the consonants in Sumerian are found in
the Austric languages with the possible exception
of a second h sound suggested by I.M. Diakonoff.
Naturally, many sounds found in modern Austric are
not found in Sumerian. Some of the more interesting
correspondences are:
g~
Another "phonetic solution" to this phoneme is
|ng| as suggested by Miguel Civil.
dr
This phoneme is suggested for reconstructed Proto-Oceanic
and as a cluster in Austro-Tai. |D| and |r| are alternating
consonants within many Austric languages. However, in
Sumerian |dr| is found as a final sound.
l
Two |l| sounds are suggested for Sumerian as one appears
to be dropped as a final consonant in Auslaut. Two
|l| sounds are suggested for both Proto-Austronesian
and Austro-Thai.
r
Two |r| sounds are also suggested for Sumerian based on
the same argument for the sound |l|. Austro-Thai
has two |r| sounds, and Austronesian has |r| and
retroflex |r|.
Vowel sounds in Sumerian/Austric
Interestingly, while the |o| sound is found in Austro-Tai
and Austric, it is suggested that it was not found
in Proto-Austronesian. The current |o| sound in Austronesian
is said to be a reflex of the Proto-Austronesian u sound.
Sumerian also lacks the |o| sound.
Austric does not have correspondence to the possible
nasalized vowels suggeted by A. Falkenstein.
It has been suggested that Sumerian possessed both long
and short vowels. This would help cut down on the large
number of apparent homonyms in the language. Austro-
Thai has both long and short vowels as do the modern
Kadai languages.
ng in Sumerian
For the presence of labialized velar and nasalized labio-velars,
ng, ngm and ngw see Civil, Miguel, "The Sumerian writing system:
some problems," Orientalia Nova Series, 1973, Rome, pg. 31, 61.
The ng cluster is one of the most common phonological traits found
throughout the Austric family.
g~ in initial position
The use of g~ in the initial position such as in words like
g~iri and g~al is a very rare trait in the world's languages,
but very common in Austric languages. Generally, words with
initial g~ belong to groups of words with special meanings.
The Sumerian g~a.e "I," might find a parallel in words like Kasi,
nga "I," War, nge "I," and the common ing "I," in the Munda languages.
(Also, nga "I," Manam, Marshallese; ngoah, Mokilese; ngehi,
Ponapean, ngai "I," Lavukaleve, Takia, Megiar, nga "I,"
Mindiri, Sepa, Bilbil, Gedaged)
Consonant alternation in Sumerian
This alternation is evidenced by the prefixes ha- and
ga- and also by the use of the sign HA for ku "fish," in
Sumerian. In Austric, this is a common alteration between
different languages like hami "we," and kami "we;" and
hamu "you," and gamu "you."
M. Yoshiwara compares consonant variation in Japanese
with that in Sumerian. Using his research, we will
add some very preliminary findings using other Austric
languages. Many of the consonant variations found
in Sumerian are related to phonetic changes between
standard Sumerian and Emesal, while changes in Austric
are often morphological in nature.
Sumerian Austric
b:g ibi:igi "eye" tabane:tagane "bundle" (Japanese)
belimbing/galiming "a fruit" (Malay/Orang Laut)
b:m bur:mur "to dress" buchi:muchi "whip" (Japanese)
bayani:magani "hero" (Philippines, dialect variation)
mabawa:mamawa ""bring" (Sundanese)
bu?:mu? "shoot" (Atayal)
d:g adar:agar "district" kudi:kugi "nail" (Japanese)
d:h de:he "let" domeku:homeku "hot" (Japanese)
d.undheu:hundheu "to search" (Munda, morphological)
dito:heto "here" Tagalog
d:z udu:eze "sheep" ada:aza "birthmark" (Japanese)
g:h geleg:halam "destroy" magaru:maharu "to turn around" (Japanese)
gul mal:hul mal "noise, disturbance" (Munda)
g:n sag:shen "head" kugi:kuni "nail" (Japanese)
h:r hush:rush "red,angry" hashikoi:kashikoi "wise" (Japanese)
heto:rito "here" (Tagalog)
maori:maohi "Polynesian" (Polynesia, language variation)
m:n munus:nunus "woman" mada:nada "not yet" (Japanese)
mag-:nag-, conjugation prefix (Philippines, morphological)
n:r na:ra "when" namu:ramu, auxillary verb (Japanese)
rava`i:nava`i "to be adequate" (Tahitian)
n:sh nin:shen "lady" beni:beshi "because" (Japanese)
nila:sila, 3rd person pl. pronoun (Philippines, morphological)
s:z sum:zeg "to give" someku:zomeku "to be noisy" (Japanese)
sh:z shi:zi "breath" shena:nakaze "brother" (Japanese)
r:l gibir:gibil common r:l in Melanesian languages
Is Sumerian a focus language?
In her article, "Toward Focus in Austronesian," (IN S.A. Wurm,
Lois Carrington (eds), Second International Conference on
Austronesian Linguistics: Proceedings, Canberra, 1978)
Paz Buenaventura Naylor states that focus "underlies
verbal predication" in Austronesian languages. She calls
focus the "family trait" of Austronesian that covers the
qualities known as voice, transitivity and aspect.
Sumerian conjugation affixes appear to distinguish between
agentive and non-agentive and this may suggest that it was
a focus language. Here is a comparison of affixes in
Sumerian with some Austronesian affixes:
Sumerian Austronesian
mu- (agentive) mag- (agentive, Philippines)
ma- (agentive, Philippines)
-m- (agentive?) -m- (agentive, Paiwan)
men- (agentive, Indonesia)
m- (agentive-statement, Proto-Austronesian,
Zorc)
ba- (non-agentive) pa- (non-agentive, Kapampangan)
pa- (non-agentive) pa-in (definite passive, Philippines)
pag- (verbal noun prefix, Philippines)
paki- (passive request, Tagalog)
i-* (instrumental?) i-* (instrumental, Philippines)
In Philippine languages, the prefix i- usually denotes:
doing something for another. It can also express the means
or instrument of action, and the cause, time or place of action.
From some of the examples given by Thomsen, we find such usage
seems common with the Sumerian prefix i- (Thomsen, The
Sumerian language, 56-57).
The verb "to be" and "to become"
In Sumerian, the verb "to be" is me, and it is sometimes
used interchangeably with the word "like" = "ge". In Japanese,
"ge" also means "like," and -meku is a suffix meaning
"being" or "becoming like." In other Austronesian languages,
we have -men as a suffix meaning "to be," and maging means
"to be" or "to become" in the Philippines. Similar particles
like mag-, ma-, men-, maka-, etc., are used in various Austronesian
languages with action words to emphasize the agent. Gana
is Proto-Austronesian for "likeness," and there are related
words like gaya in the Philippines which means "like."
Consonant alternation of morphs/morphemes
In Austronesian we see a common alternation of verbal affixes that involves active/agentive type verbs in |m|, passive/non-agentive type verbs in |p| and verbal nouns, especially in expression of whole, in |n|.
In many cases, these affixes involve a second consonant in either n/m or g/k. If we take the interchange of words or affixes meaning "like" such as Proto-Austronesian "gana" and "to be, become" such as "maging," "-men," or "-meku," we can postulate that the second consonant in the prototype might have been "ng" from which we could easily get n, k, g, y and so on. There would be correspondence in Sumerian in the suffix -men "to become," and the prefix "nig-" which transforms a verb/noun/adjective into a noun.
Correspondence in word/morph classes
There exists a similarity in Sumerian third person pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns and pronominal affixes in en, an, n, etc. Such similarity can also be found across languages in Austric. In Melanesian languages we find it in third person pronouns, third person possessive suffixes, demonstratives and in a few cases of pronominal affixes. Munda languages share the similarity in pronominal suffixes and third person possessive suffixes, while in Malay languages it is found in third person possessive suffixes, demostratives and interrogatives.
Lexical Comparisons
This list of possible correspondences between Sumerian and Austric will be augmented periodically with new entries in bold text.
uto "Sun" Sumerian ad- Gedaged, Bilbil, Takia aad- Biliau, ake-ake- Kuanua, adaw- Kadai, adraw- Indonesia, aldo- Kapampangan, Ifugao adlaw- Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano, Illonggo, udtroadlaw- "noon," Aklanon, udto- "noon," Bikol, Cebuano, ugto- "noon," Illongo. aga- "morning," Illonggo, Bikol, agahon- "morning," Aklanon. ud "day" Sumerian ange- Loda, ari- Bacan, adaw- Kadai, andaw- Manobo, adraw- Indonesia, adlaw- Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano, Illongo, aldo- Kapampangan andro- Malagasy, ad- Papuan (Austronesian) udtroadlaw- "noon," Aklanon, udto- "noon," Bikol, Cebuano, ugto- "noon," Illonggo. aga- "morning," Illonggo, Bikol, agahon- "morning," Aklanon. ur "man, humans" Sumerian uran- Cham uru- Osum, oran- Malay, orot- Ubir, oerang- Bacan, oloto- Taupota, Kakabai, ari- Sakao, aris- Unua, arar- Port Sandwich, Mae-Morae, aru- Tate, Api, olona- Malagasy, orotona- "male," Wedau, uri- "race, species," Philippines. ur "dog" Sumerian uri- Tahiti uli- Samoa, k-uri- Indonesia, Yatuk, Iarkei, Lenakel, Ikiti, kurii- Tikopian, korii- Anutan, kuli- Tavio, Yeval, Bonkovia, Pt. Vato. sila "path, avenue, trail, road" Sumerian silang- Philippines, sala- Peterara, Nevenevene, Tam, Nasawa, Narovorovo, Baetora, Mafea, Tutuba, Aore, Malo, sal- Lolsiwoi, Seke, Sa, Sowa, sel- Uri, Uripiv, Tautu, Maragus, sili- Port Vato, seli- Baiap, Sesivi. sar "to write, inscribe" Sumerian sulatin- Philippines, sorga- "writing," Pagu, sulat- "writing," Philippines, surat- "to write," Ilokano. pana "bow and arrow" Sumerian pana- common Austric from Hawai'i to Madgascar, fana- Aniwa, Futuna, Makatea, Fila, Mele. lah "to propel a boat" Sumerian la - "sail" common Polynesian lai- "sail" Malagasy, layar- "to sail," Malay, layag- "sail," Philippines, lumayag- "to sail," Philippines, lae- "sail" Eton. kur "mountain" Sumerian kor Proto-Oceanic goro- Sinagoro, golo- Manggarai, gor- Proto-East Central Papuan. tolo- hills; Saa, Ulawa, toro- hills; Wango, toro-puki- mound, Maori, koro- heap, Viti, tolo- to rise, Florida, kari- mountain, Kewa, gulod- mountain, Tagalog, gorot- mountain, Igorot, turod- hill, Ilokano. giba "night, early morning" Sumerian gabi- "night," Tagalog gabi-i- "night," Aklanon, Cebuano, Illongo, tapo- "night," Aniwa, Futuna. dumu "child" Sumerian, also damu "child." dama- Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, kama- Hawai'i, tama- Anutan, Fila, Mele, Maori, tung- Ranon, Fona, tuna- Gao, tene- Nengone. dug "word, command, to speak" Sumerian tukua- Aniwa, Futuna takua- Mele, tokua- Fila, tugon- "reply, answer" Tagalog, tugma- "rhymes" Tagalog, tukoy- "indirect reference, allusion, mention" Tagalog, tudyo- "a tease, parody" Tagalog, tukuyin- "to point out, specify" Tagalog, taki- "to lead, to give directions," Anutan. dam "spouse" Sumerian kama- "first husband" Hawai'i, tememem- "husband" Merlav, tama-raxa- "husband" Nasawa, tamaine tungu- "husband" Wailengi, Lolomatui, temem ekie- "husband" Hiw, tamlus- "husband" Hukua, tamanatu- "husband" Malo North, teme natuk- "husband" Vao. dagal "to be, make wide" Sumerian dagul- "to be, make large," Kapampangan dakula- " " " " Bikol, dako- " " " " Cebuano, Illongo, dakila- "great," Tagalog, dakkel- "big, great," Ilokano. ga "milk" Sumerian gatas- Tagalog buru "fruit" Sumerian pele- Malay, phle- Khmer, plei- Bahnar, vulu- Paiwan, bua, vua- Melanesia, fua- Polynesia, felan- "blossom" Malagasy para- "to blossom, flower," Tuamotu, fola- "to spread out like vegetation," Tonga, bula-k- "flower," Indonesia, Malay, Philippines, bluak- "flower," Tai, blook- "flower," Thai. pua- "flower," Polynesia, puru- "bundle of fruit," Selepet. bal "to return" Sumerian balik- "to return," Philippines, perik- "to turn" Shark Bay I, poria- "to turn" Penantsiro, Morouas, -bilih- "to turn" Vinmavis baling- "to turn" Philippines. aya "father" Sumerian ayah- Indonesia, aay- Tai, aja- Pagu, aya, aiye, ayi- Torricelli Phylum, Sakai ajah- Proto-Austronesian. ama "mother" Sumerian uma- Mundari, ama- Malay, Fasu, Kewa, Beami, ama - "female guardian, female authority," Tagalog bulog "circle" Sumerian bilog- Kapampangan, Tagalog. ga "fish" Sumerian ka- common Austro-Asiatic, i-ka- common Austronesian, da- common Austronesian, ke- "whale" Lehali, Bek, ki- "whale" Wetamut. nin "lady, queen, mistress" Sumerian nana- "mother, " Lepaxsivir, Baiap, Tagalog, Arosi, Chamorro, Tikopian naana- "mother, "Woleaian nanu- "mother, "Kwale nohna- "mother, "Ponapean nen - "mother, "Nengone nen - "mother, "Maxbaxo ne - "mother, "Burmbar nun - "mother, "Mae, Larevat nine - "mother, "Maat nino - "mother, "Toak niinnae - "mother, "Yap nin "sister" Sumerian nene- younger or youngest sister; common Philippines, na- younger sister, Kadai, na- mother's younger sister, Mak, nana- mother's sister, Fiji (Vuda Lautoka), nane- older sister, Awa, nanoa- older sister, Auyana, nanoi- older sister, Gadsup. ku "to eat" Sumerian, also gu "to eat." ga- to eat, Savari, Gadaba, kai- to eat, Ang-ku, Mong-Lwe, Aniwa, Futuna, Fila, kye- to eat, A Mok, cha- to eat, Sakai, chi- to eat, Semang, gin- to eat, Thani, kan- to eat, Medebur, Wogeo, Arop, kain- to eat, Tagalog. pil "to make dirty, defiled, obscure" Sumerian pala-hea- dirty, defiled; Hawai'i, balah- dirt, foulness; Sunda, bolo- dirty, Merlav, pipili- dirty, Raga, palo- dirty, Aniwa, Futuna, parau- dirty, Pwele, prau- dirty, Lelepa, peram- dirty, Eton. galu "man" Sumerian kol- Munda, kur- Malay, tor- Burumba, tolomo- Ninowa, tali- person, Shark Bay, Lorediakarkar, taru- person, Bonkovia. lu "man" Sumerian lai- male, man; Sika, lameng- male, Sika, lama- man, Tumleo, laman- man, Jukua, leman- man, Nokuku, laline- man, Lorediadardar Shark Bay, lanale- man, Aore, lamane- man, Tangoa, lananea- man,Tambotalo, laki?- male, man; common Western Austronesian. munus "woman" Sumerian main- Kaiep, mnie- Rhade, mane-maneka- New Georgia, momok- Katbol, mwomwok- Timbembe, no-moymoy- Lingarak, menandr- Orap, no-momox- Vinmavis, ni-momo- Lebinwen, Benour, n-matu- Eratap, Eton, n-matu- Pango, ma, mama- mother, common Austric, mune- married woman, Balawaia. tar "to cut," Sumerian, tar- Nume, Dorig, Koro, Lakona, Merig, Proto-Austronesian, tare- Wetamut, Toga, tere- Wusi-Valui, -dali- Sowa, -tar- Larevat, -teri- Vinmavis, -tere- Benour, -tiri- Malfaxal, tori- "to cut end off," Maori, Saa, Ulawa. tud "to strike, beat" Sumerian tut- Hiw, Toga, Lehali, Mota, Mosina, Tam, Vetumboso, tutu- Lakona, duki- Sesake, tuki- Anutan, tu- common Polynesian, tuk-tok- to knock at door, Tagalog, tug-tug- to play instrument, ring bell, strike gong; Tagalog. tag "to touch" Sumerian tagki- touch, Philippines, tagkilan- to touch, Philippines, tangko- light touch, Tagalog, taapi- to touch, Anutan. sig "to yoke, harness" Sumerian saklay yoke, Philippines, sakbat- band across shoulders, to carry on shoulders; Tagalog, sakbibi- something carried on arms or hips, like baby; Tagalog, sakay- passenger, cargo, Philippines. gal "big, large, great" Sumerian, also gula "great." karu- great, Austro-Asiatic, kadui- great, Malay, tele- great, Samoa, garig- big, Lakona, koura- big, Onjob, tora- big, Doromo, toere- - heavy, Doromo, torona- big, Lametin, tare- big, Nambel, tariu- big, Narango, taura- big, Filakera, turu- big, Burumba, terop- heavy, Mpotovoro, turop- heavy, Vovo. kal, gal "to be, make precious" Sumerian galing excellence, goodness; Philippines, garea- good, goodness; Lolsiwoi, Tam, Nevenevene, karea- goodness; Wailengi, Lolomatui, kare- goodness, Ngwatua. kala "mighty, strong" Sumerian kila- strong, stout, able; Hawai'i, tala- strong, Austronesian. gir "noble" Sumerian gilas- gallantry, Tagalog, giri- strutting of cock, strutting about like cock, Philippines, tira-tira- to invest with authority, Tahiti, ra'a-tira- chief, Tahiti, ranga-tira- chief, Maori, turuwa- chief, Awa, turuama- chief, Auyana. ba "to give" Sumerian, also ba "rations, wages." ba- to give, Paz, wa- to give, Ruk, pa- to give, Thao, bigay- to give, Philipines, foake- to give, Maori, Tuamotus, Rarotonga, patuau- to give, Sesake, pitua- to give, Nguna, Woraviu, ptu- to give, Pango, bayad- payment, damages; Philippines. me "to be" Sumerian, also -men "to be." men- - Isabi, Tauya, min- - Biyom, maging- Philippines, ni- Angaua, Paynamar. kur, kar "to enclose, assemble, group," Sumerian kur, kar- to assemble, connect, enclose; common Austro-Asiatic. uru "city" Sumerian kur city, common Austric, koro- village, Proto-Oceanic. ud "storm," ur "storm," Sumerian uta- rain, Arosi, Lau, ute pii- heavy rain, Solomon Is., uka- rain, Fiji, h-udan- rain, Indonesia uru- storm, Japanese. udan- rain, Ifugao. tur "small" Sumerian kala-kela- Mele, ke-kela- Fila, kereng-gasi- Burupika, kile- Kerepua, Wusi-Valui kolo- Raga, kile-kile- Matae, Nonona, juring- Mundari tur "child" Sumerian kari, kali, etc.- child, common Melanesian. terera- child, Ambrym, dale- child, Florida, karikik- child, Sesake, gari- Bugota, kol- man, Munda, kur- man, Malay, tor- man, Burumba, tolomo- man, Ninowa, tali- person, Shark Bay, Lorediakarkar, taru- person, Bonkovia. kora- boy, lad; Santali, kola- boy, Sora, kora hapa- boy; Kherwari, Santali, kora hau- boy; Mundari, kuri-hapan- girl, Kherwari, Santali, Savara, kuri-hau- girl, Mundari. kalam "land" Sumerian kere- land, earth; Fila, Mele, Aniwa, Futuna, dare- land, earth; Proto-Ambonese, dareq- earth, Proto-Austronesian. kula- “field, uncultivated land," Hawaii, kula- “locality,” Samoa, kulem- basin, Sundanese. sukud "to be, make high" Sumerian sake, sakay- up, upwards, upward indicator; common Polynesia and Melanesia. saka- to ascend, Cebuano, Samar-Leyte, sa:kaq- to ascend, Hiligaynon. sagga "happy" Sumerian saya- happy, Philippines, sadya- happy, Proto-Philippine, sayasak- happy, Ilocano, suka- happy, Malay, sara- happy, Lau, hari- happy, Maori. an "sky, heaven" Sumerian ame, ama- heaven, Japanese, anin- air, Teor., angi- air, Nias, "breeze," Mangar., ani- breeze, Hawai'i, anghin- air, wind; Malagasy, h-angin- wind, breeze; Philippines. asag "demon that causes sickness" Sumerian asu-wang- “demon, spirit, a man capable of changing form, Philippines suang- “demon, devil,” Tai, “genii," Siamese, saang- “god, demon,” Thai, usong- “spirit,” Telefol, sakit- "sickness," Philippines. sakit- demon that causes illness; Tonsea Tombulo, Tondano. sigga "weak" Sumerian sigam- consumptive, Tagalog, sika- suffering from dysentery, Ilocano, sikal- suffering from pains in abdomen, Ilocano, sigab- having a long illness, Bontok, sakit- illness, disease; Philippines. geme "temple prostitute" Sumerian gam=e- widow, Pisa, gamtu- wife, Lakona, ginang- "lady, elder woman of dignity," Tagalog, geni- "wife, woman" Proto-Malaitan, geni- "woman," Lau, Kwaio, keni- "wife, woman," Saa, Ulawa, keni- "female, woman," Are'are, ke-keni- "wife, woman," Mota, a-gen- "wife," Dumut, a-gan- "wife," Awyu. kalum "temple priest" Sumerian kulam- sorcery, magic; Philippines, with prefix sorcerer, magician, witchdoctor." ri "yonder, distant" Sumerian raa, ra- distant in time or space, common Polynesian and Melanesian, idi- "indicates time in past," Ilokano, idiay- "indicates distant place," Ilokano. igi "eye" Sumerian t-ingin- eye, Tagalog pan-ingin- eye, Tagalog, h-ingo- eye, Kapau, ma-k-ita- eye, Parawen, Yorawata, te, de- eye, Papuan, ta, da- eye, Austro-Tai, ang-k eye, Danaru, ege- eye, Usu, agi-utu- eye, Duduela, engge- eye, Usino, ite-c eye,- Meax, oto- eye, Samahi, atsing eye, Mt. Goliath, ite-ja- eye, Meninggo, enggio- eye, Dem, eki- eye, Suma. ugu- "over, above" Sumerian ake- up, upward, to ascend; Anutan, uka, uta- towards mountains, inland; Polynesia, akyat- to rise, ascend; Tagalog, angkat- to lift, Indonesia; to be elevated, Ngaju-Dyak, ascent, Hova, atas, atat- above, Proto-Austronesian, ake- upward indicator, Polynesia, ata- up, Nakanai. tumu "to win over to" Sumerian tamuhin- to acquire, realize; Philippines. tumu "to be right for, destined for" Sumerian tama- correct, right, true; Philippines, tamaan- to hit the target, be right; Philippines. tame- correct, Labo, tamari- correct, good; Aniwa. tuku "to tremble" Sumerian teki- to tremble, Anutan, takariri- to shake, Anutan. tuku "to acquire, possess" Sumerian takaw- greed, covetousnes; Philippines, takam- desire, Philippines, takaw- to steal, Ilokano. melam "splendor" Sumerian malimali- ostentation, showiness; Philippines. lu "to stretch" Sumerian lau- to spread, expand; Hawai'i, laha- to spread, extend; Hawai'i, lat-lat- to stretch, Philippines, luwas- broad, extended; Sunda. gul "to destroy" Sumerian guluhin- to bring on disorder,to confuse; Philippines, gulo- riot, confusion; Philippiines, gulungan- to run over, Philippines. gu "rope, thread" Sumerian gie- rope; Hiw, ga- rope; Nume, Mosina, Vetumboso, Wetamut, Merlav, gao- rope; Baetora, Navenevene, Tam, gau- rope; Narovorovo, guyuran- draw rope, Philippines. mah "to be, make great" Sumerian ma- - "intensive prefix," common Austric, maha- "much, many, prefix" Maori, mah, mahu- "much," Malagasy, Sunda. duru "humid, irrigated" Sumerian kuala- "canal, watercourse," Malagasy, kulu- "to flow as water," Hawaii, turu- "to drop as water," Fiji. kolo- "water," Roviana, kolo- "lake, rain water," Florida. dirig "exceeding, excellent, additional" Sumerian dilag- beauty, splendor; Philippines, dilat- wide open, to open eyes; Philippines sa "name" Sumerian se- - name, Sowa, sei- - name, Lorediakarkar, so- - name, Tambotalo, se-n- name, Butmas, sa-ng- name; Ranon, Fonah, si-k- name, Sa, sa-ki- name; Mate, Nul, Lamenu, Filakara. sa-sa- name: Proto-Austronesian. dun "to dig" Sumerian kanu- to dig, Hawai'i, tanu- to dig, Samoa, Tonga, Maori, Tahiti, Anutan, Rarotonga, tanam- to bury, Java, Malaysia. zalag "to be/make bright" Sumerian sulu- to shine, Proto-Oceanic, sila- to shine, Proto-Philippine, sarang- refulgent, Tagalog, sulu- light, Kapampangan, zelag- to shine, Proto-Philippine (Zorc and Charles), sellag- bright or full (of the moon), Ilokano, sarang- the human ear when light can be seen through it when viewed in a certain way, Ilokano. gaba "breast" Sumerian qaba- breast of fowl; Hiligaynon, Samar-Leyte, ga:ba- breast of fowl, Bikol. bila "to turn" Sumerian vila- to turn, Kiriwina, vi-viri- to turn, Anuki, vira- to turn, Proto-Milne Bay, baling- Philippines, fariu- Makatea, -bilih- Vinmavis, -bil- Bonga., Tonga., Makura, -bilo- Lameno, firiu- Fila, Mele, poria- Morouas, Penatsiro, fuli- Proto-Polynesian, baliq- Proto-Austronesian, pulih- Proto-Austronesian. abu "father" Sumerian abu - Mukawa avu - Ubir, Wedau apu-t - Kherwari, Santali apu - Mundari aba, ba - Kurku apang, abbani - Gadaba a-pan - Salon a-puk - Khmer aba - Formosan Paz, Sai, Ata apu, apo - Philippines tin "liquid" Sumerian tano- "water," Vunapu, tunu- "left-over water," New Hebrides, dan- "water," Kis, Wogeo, Bam, dano- "water," Nonona, danum- "water," Proto-Austronesian. tun "whole" Sumerian tanan- "whole," Maranao, tenig- "whole animal," Bontok, tanek- "whole," Proto-Philippine. gaba-gin "to oppose, confront," Sumerian, and kabus? "guardian, keeper." gapiin- to subdue, conquer; Philippines, ga:pa- to prohibit; Iloko, gapa- to forbid, Kankanai, kapu, tapu- to restrict, forbid, interdict; Hawai'i, Polynesia. gana "field, farm" Sumerian gano- earth, garden, plot; Lau, qainaa- garden; Saa, Ulawa. as "one" Sumerian esa- Proto-Philippine, Proto-Ambonese, Proto-Austronesian, isa- Tagalog, ose- Penantsiro, ese- Matae, Akei, Fortsenal, Nonona, Malmariv, Navut, Lametin. inim "words, speech" Sumerian aman(ung)- "words, speech, language" Kapampangan. ila "to shine" Sumerian ilaw- light, Tagalog, ila- fire, Gogodala, ira- fire, Awa, Fasu ara- fire, Kaygir, ira- fire, Kwale, era- fire, Kiwai, illu "high water, flood, fluid," Sumerian ilog "river," Philippines ara, ra "to shine, blaze, be bright," Sumerian raa- to shine, Malaitan, ra, raa- sunlight, Melanesia, rai- to shine, Polynesia, lae- bright, clear, shining; Hawai'i, lai- shining of sea, Hawai'i, raka- to make fire, Solomon Is. laki- fire, Motu, lake- fire, Vaturana, a-raka- fire, Suki, liko- to glisten, shine, Hawai'i, riko- to shine brightly, Tuamotu riko- dazzling; Maori, Tuamotu. ria, rian- to shine, Tai, riko- to shine, Tuamotu, izi "fire," Sumerian asie- fire, Arosi, usu- fire, Asenara, Moni, asuwain- fire, Ulau-Suain, ahi- fire, Maori, Teor., Goram, ahu- burnt, scalded; Tahiti, ahe- fire, Banjak Is., ahu- heat, fever; Tahiti, ahu- fire, Buru, ahang- fire; Laul, Lironesa, ahango- fire, Faulili, afi- fire, Fila, Mele, Futuna, isa- fire, Maranomu, Maria, Maiagolo, izi- fire, Binandere, asu- smoke, Samoa aso- smoke, Tagalog, usa- fire, Warkay. bul, bil "to sprout," Sumerian bira “to sprout, grow,” Lau, piro “to shoot, sprout,” Are’are, bila “to sprout,” Kwaio, bila’o “to grow, Kwaio, pariri “to shoot up, grow,” Maori, pula-pula "to sprout, shoot,” Hawaii, bora “to grow, sprout,” Efate, vara “to grow,” Motu, biri “to grow,” Oba, vora “to grow stout,” Fiji, mula "to plant," Ilokano. sur "to flow, to rain, drip," Sumerian sari- to flow, Aore, Mafea, saro- to flow, Peterara, sara- to flow, Woraviu, Sesake, Nguna, Pwele, Siviri, Lelepa, Fila, ser- to flow, Eratap, Eton, soro-soro- to flow, Ngwatua, sileng- water, Apma, serik- rain, Shark Bay I serk- rain, Lorediakarkar, seri- rain, Shark Bay II, surong- upstream, Ilokano. suku "to flare up, to shine," Sumerian sug-aq- light; Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Samar-Leyte, sig-ak- conflagaration, Tagalog, soata- bright, Proto-Polynesian. dara, dar "dark, dim," Sumerian kor-kor- black, Vatrata, Vetumboso kur-kur- black, Sasar, Mosina, golu- black, Alite, qole-qole- black, Murray Is., korema-korema- black, Motu, kur-kuram- dark, black; Nissan, kele- black, Proto-Polynesian, kuro- black, Japanese. ugnim "crowd, army, workgang," Sumerian hunga- “company of people, group,” Maori, hui- “to join, connect, mix, assemble, assembly, union,” Hawaii, aukahi- “united, flowing together,” Hawaii, ugnay- “union, connection,” Tagalog, ugnayan- “to unite, join, connect, increase, make long,” Tagalog, aug-wiya- “to join,” Auyana. bil "to burn, roast," Sumerian wela- "to burn," Hawai`i, bara- "fire," Malay, poroma- "to burn," Waropen, parom- "to roast," Biak, por- "fire," Dusner, for- "fire," Ron, pare- "to cook," Busami, wero- "to flame up," Are'are, balu- "red-hot," Lau, bulu- "torch," Lau, beriai- "to burn," Papua-Niugini, balae- "to burn," Sopese Polopa. mu "to grow, produce, reproduce, sprout" Sumerian mu- to give birth, produce, spawn," Japanese, mula- to plant; Ilocano, Bontok, Isneg, Sambal, Ibaneg, mula- source, origin; Philippines, mula- "from, since, then" Philippines, mole- taproot of tree, bottom, foundation, cause; Hawai'i, mu- trunk of; Fiji, Mosimo, Yoidik, Rempi. dundun "to prepare warp for weaving," Sumerian d.and.an- "to weave," Indonesia, tenun- "to weave," Proto-Austronesian, tata- "to weave," Arosi, tenutun- "to weave," Proto-Austronesian. tia- "to weave," Proto-Polynesian. kangkang- "to stretch," Proto-Austronesian. tab "to burn," Sumerian tafu make fire; Samoa, Tonga tavu-tavu- to burn down, Fiji tavu-cawa- steam bath, Fiji dapug- hearth, oven, Indonesia dapu- hearth, Proto-Oceanic dapog- fireside, Tagalog tap, tapak- Sun, Papuan kapu- fire, Fate, Sesake kapi- fire, Api tapa- to burn, Manggarai tapu- to put wood on a fire so it will burst into flame, Anutan. banda "child," Sumerian bainta - "child," Tairora bata - "child," Tagalog, Cebuano, Kapampangan, Manobo baka - "child," Vaturana bitiir - "child," Yap boot - "son," Thai poti’i - "infant," Samoa pota - "infant," Anutan pootiki - "infant," Maori potii - "girl," Tahiti potiti - small, Marquesas budak, bunting- (child) Proto-Austronesian bala - people, Malay, Tidore, Sobojo, Kadai banta - man, person, people Gadsup sun "shine, star" Sumerian sine- "torch, shine," Samoa, sina- "to shine," Proto-Oceanic, Proto-Philippine, Proto-Malaitan, sinag- "sun," Fiji, sinag- "rays of light," Tagalog, In some cases, examples from the non-Austronesian languages of Papua New Guinea are used. There are two groups in that region, Austronesian and non-Austronesian, and they both have influenced each other.
Selected References
JUMSAI, Sumet, Naga: cultural origins in Siam and the West Pacific, Singapore, 1988.
MANANSALA, Paul Kekai, "The Austric Origin of the Brahmana and Rishi Traditions," International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics, vol.xxiv, no.2, jun.95.
_,"The Austric Origin of the Sumerian Language," Language Form, vol. 22, no.1-2, Jan.-Dec. 1996.
__,The Naga Race, Calcutta, 1994.
__,"Austric in India," International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics, vol. XXVIII, no.1.
THOMSEN, Marie-Louise, The Sumerian language: introduction to its history and grammatical structure, Copenhagen, 1984.
YOSHIWARA, R., Sumerian and Japanese, Japan, 1991.
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Austric Influences in India
An examination of Austrics in India, particularly their influence on the language.
An Austro-Dravidian Languages Theory
Austronesian Navigation and Seafaring
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