The Glossaire sumérien-français principalement des textes littéraires paléobabyloniens
(Sumerian - French Glossary Primarily Based on Old Babylonian Literary Texts) endeavours to
fill one of the most glaring gaps in modern Sumerology by providing a much-needed printed
glossary that satisfies scientific standards. The oeuvre does not strive for completeness but
offers an expansive choice of words taken from Old Babylonian literary texts from the beginning
of the 2nd millennium BCE. Particular attention has been paid to (idiomatic) expressions of the
type 'noun (+ noun) + verb' such as si horn + gu3 voice + ra to beat = to sound the horn. More
than one thousand of such expressions have been registered. In more than 3.800 lexicographical
notes some of which extensive Pascal Attinger clarifies the reading of difficult lexemes
discusses the meaning of rare or unclear terms and provides a detailed bibliography which will
facilitate further research. The glossary itself is preceded by a catalogue of cited
compositions including abundant bibliographical references and where applicable information
on new duplicates a comprehensive discussion of the importance of a consistent transliteration
as well as a concordance of common readings and those adopted in the Glossary.
