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
Check out the YouTube channel Nativ Lang. It doesn’t have phonology for all languages but it does have some cool examples like how Ancient Latin sounded, or Shakespearean English sounded. They work it out by finding things like contemporary criticism.
You know how old folks might malign younger generations for how they talk? Well, people have been doing that forever. With the Latin example, I can’t remember the specifics but we effectively have records of people bemoaning “kids say X as though it rhymed with Y, when proper use dictates it should rhyme with Z!”
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