I was just reading the Wikipedia entry on the Epic of Gilgamesh. One of the sources cited states that “According to a long-standing Assyriological convention, the legendary ruler of Uruk had two names: Bilgames in Sumerian and Gilgames in Akkadian.”
How can we know that?
Sumerian is a language isolate, and it hasn’t been spoken for thousands of years. It wasn’t until the 19th century that people began deciphering Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions on excavated tablets. How can we know the phonology of such languages?
In: Other
The [Mediaeval Baebes](https://www.mediaevalbaebes.com/the-story1) sing “in an array of obscure and ancient languages”. When they first started, there were some experts who hated the music and words because no one actually knows what the pronunciation was. Others said, what a great way to introduce the languages to the world. They are still singing, decades later. You can probably dig up articles from the late 1990s about the controversy.
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