Cuneiform Numbers and Punctuation
RangeU+12400..U+1247F
(128 code points)
PlaneSMP
ScriptsCuneiform
Symbol setsNumeric signs
Fractions
Punctuation
Assigned116 code points
Unused12 reserved code points
Unicode version history
5.0 (2006)103 (+103)
7.0 (2014)116 (+13)
Unicode documentation
Code chart ∣ Web page
Note: [1][2]

In Unicode, the Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform script is covered in three blocks in the Supplementary Multilingual Plane (SMP):

The sample glyphs in the chart file published by the Unicode Consortium[3] show the characters in their Classical Sumerian form (Early Dynastic period, mid 3rd millennium BCE). The characters as written during the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE, the era during which the vast majority of cuneiform texts were written, are considered font variants of the same characters.

Organization

The final proposal for Unicode encoding of the script was submitted by two cuneiform scholars working with an experienced Unicode proposal writer in June 2004.[4] The base character inventory is derived from the list of Ur III signs compiled by the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative of UCLA based on the inventories of Miguel Civil, Rykle Borger (2003), and Robert Englund. Rather than opting for a direct ordering by glyph shape and complexity, according to the numbering of an existing catalogue, the Unicode order of glyphs was based on the Latin alphabetic order of their 'main' Sumerian transliteration as a practical approximation.

Block

Cuneiform Numbers and Punctuation[1][2]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
U+1240x 𒐀 𒐁 𒐂 𒐃 𒐄 𒐅 𒐆 𒐇 𒐈 𒐉 𒐊 𒐋 𒐌 𒐍 𒐎 𒐏
U+1241x 𒐐 𒐑 𒐒 𒐓 𒐔 𒐕 𒐖 𒐗 𒐘 𒐙 𒐚 𒐛 𒐜 𒐝 𒐞 𒐟
U+1242x 𒐠 𒐡 𒐢 𒐣 𒐤 𒐥 𒐦 𒐧 𒐨 𒐩 𒐪 𒐫 𒐬 𒐭 𒐮 𒐯
U+1243x 𒐰 𒐱 𒐲 𒐳 𒐴 𒐵 𒐶 𒐷 𒐸 𒐹 𒐺 𒐻 𒐼 𒐽 𒐾 𒐿
U+1244x 𒑀 𒑁 𒑂 𒑃 𒑄 𒑅 𒑆 𒑇 𒑈 𒑉 𒑊 𒑋 𒑌 𒑍 𒑎 𒑏
U+1245x 𒑐 𒑑 𒑒 𒑓 𒑔 𒑕 𒑖 𒑗 𒑘 𒑙 𒑚 𒑛 𒑜 𒑝 𒑞 𒑟
U+1246x 𒑠 𒑡 𒑢 𒑣 𒑤 𒑥 𒑦 𒑧 𒑨 𒑩 𒑪 𒑫 𒑬 𒑭 𒑮
U+1247x 𒑰 𒑱 𒑲 𒑳 𒑴
Notes
1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1
2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

Signs

See also list of cuneiform signs.

The following table allows matching of Borger's 1981 and 2003 numbering with Unicode characters [5] The "primary" transliteration column has the glyphs' Sumerian values as given by the official glyph name, slightly modified here for legibility by including traditional assyriological symbols such as "x" rather than "TIMES". The exact Unicode names can be unambiguously recovered by prefixing, "CUNEIFORM [NUMERIC] SIGN", replacing "TIMES" for "x", "PLUS" for "+" and "OVER" for "/", "ASTERISK" for "*", "H" for "Ḫ", "SH" for "Š", and switching to uppercase.

Sign Code point Name Borger
(2003)		 Borger
(1981)		 Comments
𒀸 U+12038 one AŠ 001   1, from general Cuneiform_(Unicode_block) not this block
𒐀 U+12400 two AŠ 002 2 2, = U+1212C
𒐁 U+12401 three AŠ 004 3, EŠ6
𒐂 U+12402 four AŠ 215 124,42 4, LIMMU2, LIMM2, TAB.TAB
𒐃 U+12403 five AŠ 216 5, IA7, TAB.TAB.AŠ
𒐄 U+12404 six AŠ 217 6, AŠ4, TAB.TAB.TAB
𒐅 U+12405 seven AŠ 218 7, IMIN2, TAB.TAB.TAB.AŠ
𒐆 U+12406 eight AŠ 219 8, USSU2, TAB.TAB.TAB.TAB
𒐇 U+12407 nine AŠ 220 9, ILIMMU2, TAB.TAB.TAB.TAB.AŠ
𒐈 U+12408 three DIŠ 834 593 3, 180, EŠ5
𒐉 U+12409 four DIŠ 851; 852; 853 316 4, 240, ZA, LIMMU5, NIGIDALIMMU, = U+1235D
𒐊 U+1240A five DIŠ 861 598a 5, 300, IA2
𒐋 U+1240B six DIŠ 862 598b 6, 360, AŠ3
𒐌 U+1240C seven DIŠ 863 598c 7, 420
𒐍 U+1240D eight DIŠ 864 598d 8, 480
𒐎 U+1240E nine DIŠ 9, 540
𒐏 U+1240F four U 713 474 40, NIMIN
𒐐 U+12410 five U 714 475 50, NINNU
𒐑 U+12411 six U 715 476 60
𒐒 U+12412 seven U 716 477 70
𒐓 U+12413 eight U 717 478 80
𒐔 U+12414 nine U 718 479 90
𒐕 U+12415 one GEŠ2
𒐖 U+12416 two GEŠ2
𒐗 U+12417 three GEŠ2
𒐘 U+12418 four GEŠ2
𒐙 U+12419 five GEŠ2
𒐚 U+1241A six GEŠ2
𒐛 U+1241B seven GEŠ2
𒐜 U+1241C eight GEŠ2
𒐝 U+1241D nine GEŠ2
𒐞 U+1241E one GEŠU 824 534 GEŠ2.U; 600 or 70
𒐟 U+1241F two GEŠU 1200 or 80
𒐠 U+12420 three GEŠU 1800 or 90
𒐡 U+12421 four GEŠU 2400 or 100
𒐢 U+12422 five GEŠU 3000 or 110
𒐣 U+12423 two ŠAR2
𒐤 U+12424 three ŠAR2
𒐥 U+12425 three ŠAR2 variant form
𒐦 U+12426 four ŠAR2
𒐧 U+12427 five ŠAR2
𒐨 U+12428 six ŠAR2
𒐩 U+12429 seven ŠAR2
𒐪 U+1242A eight ŠAR2
𒐫 U+1242B nine ŠAR2
𒐬 U+1242C one ŠARU 653 409 36,000
𒐭 U+1242D two ŠARU 72,000
𒐮 U+1242E three ŠARU 108,000
𒐯 U+1242F three ŠARU variant form 108,000
𒐰 U+12430 four ŠARU 144,000
𒐱 U+12431 five ŠARU 180,000
𒐲 U+12432 ŠAR2 x GAL.DIŠ 651 408 216,000
𒐳 U+12433 ŠAR2 x GAL.MIN 652 408 432,000
𒐴 U+12434 one BURU 662 350,8 U gunû
𒐵 U+12435 two BURU
𒐶 U+12436 three BURU
𒐷 U+12437 three BURU variant form
𒐸 U+12438 four BURU
𒐹 U+12439 five BURU
𒐺 U+1243A EŠ16 505 3, = U+1203C
𒐻 U+1243B EŠ21 210 3
𒐼 U+1243C LIMMU 859; 860 4, NIG2, GAR, NINDA
𒐽 U+1243D LIMMU4 506 4
𒐾 U+1243E
𒐿 U+1243F
𒑀 U+12440 AŠ9 536 6, EŠ16.EŠ16
𒑁 U+12441 IMIN3 537 7, UMUN9
𒑂 U+12442 IMIN 863 7
𒑃 U+12443 IMIN variant form 866 7
𒑄 U+12444 USSU 867 8
𒑅 U+12445 USSU3 538 8
𒑆 U+12446 ILIMMU 868 9
𒑇 U+12447 ILIMMU3 539 9, EŠ16.EŠ16.EŠ16
𒑈 U+12448 ILIMMU4 577 9
𒑉 U+12449 DIŠ / DIŠ / DIŠ 865v 9
𒑊 U+1244A two AŠ tenû 593
𒑋 U+1244B three AŠ tenû 629
𒑌 U+1244C four AŠ tenû 854 379; 380 ZA tenû, ERIM tenû
𒑍 U+1244D five AŠ tenû
𒑎 U+1244E six AŠ tenû
𒑏 U+1244F one BAN2 122 = U+12047
𒑐 U+12450 two BAN2
𒑑 U+12451 three BAN2
𒑒 U+12452 four BAN2
𒑓 U+12453 four BAN2 variant form
𒑔 U+12454 five BAN2
𒑕 U+12455 five BAN2 variant form
𒑖 U+12456 NIGIDAMIN 847, 848
𒑗 U+12457 NIGIDAEŠ 850
𒑘 U+12458 one EŠE3 = U+12041, U+12300
𒑙 U+12459 two EŠE3 = U+12049
𒑚 U+1245A one third 826 571 ŠUŠANA
𒑛 U+1245B two thirds 832 572
𒑜 U+1245C five sixths 838 573 KINGUSILA
𒑝 U+1245D one third variant form
𒑞 U+1245E two thirds variant form
𒑟 U+1245F one eighth
𒑠 U+12460 one quarter
𒑡 U+12461 Old Assyrian one sixth 630 Kültepe only
𒑢 U+12462 Old Assyrian one quarter
𒑰 U+12470 Old Assyrian word divider
𒑱 U+12471 vertical colon 592 Glossenkeil
𒑲 U+12472 diagonal colon 592 Glossenkeil
𒑳 U+12473 diagonal tricolon


History

The following Unicode-related documents record the purpose and process of defining specific characters in the Cuneiform Numbers and Punctuation block:

Version Final code points[a] Count L2 ID WG2 ID Document
5.0 U+12400..12462, 12470..12473 103 L2/00-128 Bunz, Carl-Martin (2000-03-01), Scripts from the Past in Future Versions of Unicode
L2/00-153 Bunz, Carl-Martin (2000-04-26), Further comments on historic scripts
L2/00-398 Snyder, Dean (2000-11-07), Cuneiform: From Clay Tablet to Computer
L2/00-419 N2297 Everson, Michael (2000-11-20), Legacy cuneiform font implementations and the ICE project
L2/03-162 N2585 Everson, Michael; Feuerherm, Karljürgen (2003-05-25), Basic principles for the encoding of Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform
L2/03-415 Snyder, Dean (2003-11-01), Proposal to Encode the Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform Script in the UCS
L2/03-393R N2664R Everson, Michael; Feuerherm, Karljürgen; Tinney, Steve (2003-11-03), Preliminary proposal to encode Cuneiform script in the SMP of the UCS
L2/03-416 Anderson, Lloyd (2003-11-03), The Cuneiform Encoding Proposal -- a View of its Current Status
L2/04-080 Tinney, Steve (2004-01-24), Rationale for changes to N2664R
L2/04-036 N2698 Everson, Michael; Feuerherm, Karljürgen; Tinney, Steve (2004-01-29), Revised proposal to encode Cuneiform script in the SMP of the UCS
L2/04-041 Anderson, Lloyd (2004-01-29), Fitting Cuneiform Encoding to Cuneiform Script
L2/04-059 Feuerherm, Karljürgen (2004-01-30), Short Response to L2/04-041 "Fitting Cuneiform Encoding to Cuneiform Script"
L2/04-063 Gewecke, Tom (2004-01-30), Re: Cuneiform at UTC
L2/04-056 Veldhuis, Niek (2004-01-31), Letter re "Cuneiform Unicode"
L2/04-057 Jones, Charles E. (2004-02-01), Letter re "Cuneiform"
L2/04-058 Michalowski, Piotr (2004-02-01), Letter re "cuneiform unicode"
L2/04-064 Cooper, Jerry (2004-02-01), Letter re "unicode proposal"
L2/04-066 Durusau, Patrick (2004-02-02), Letter re "Proposal N2698"
L2/04-081 Black, Jeremy (2004-02-02), Letter re "cuneiform Unicode proposal"
L2/04-086 Anderson, Lloyd (2004-02-03), Notes for verbal presentation to UTC meeting, 3 February 2004
L2/04-099 Anderson, Lloyd (2004-02-09), Unification of cuneiform numbers
L2/04-225 Anderson, Lloyd (2004-06-07), Proposed modifications to introductory text of N2798 = L204-189 Proposal for Cuneiform Encoding
L2/04-189 N2786 Everson, Michael; Feuerherm, Karljürgen; Tinney, Steve (2004-06-08), Final proposal to encode Cuneiform script
L2/04-223R Anderson, Lloyd (2004-06-11), Proposed modifications to delete and add signs to N2798 = L204-189 Proposal for Cuneiform Encoding
L2/04-354 McGowan, Rick (2004-09-20), Cuneiform Properties
L2/05-135 Tinney, Steve (2005-05-10), Corrections to N2786
L2/05-174 Everson, Michael (2005-07-28), Irish comments on Cuneiform
L2/05-108R Moore, Lisa (2005-08-26), "Cuneiform (C.17)", UTC #103 Minutes
N2953 (pdf, doc) Umamaheswaran, V. S. (2006-02-16), "M47.12", Unconfirmed minutes of WG 2 meeting 47, Sophia Antipolis, France; 2005-09-12/15
L2/12-112 Moore, Lisa (2012-05-17), "Consensus 131-C30", UTC #131 / L2 #228 Minutes, Change the numeric values for 1240F..12414 to 40..90, for Unicode 6.2.
L2/12-240 Davis, Mark (2012-07-20), Property Issues for U6.2
L2/12-239 Moore, Lisa (2012-08-14), "Consensus 132-C19", UTC #132 Minutes, Give U+12432 and U+12433 the numeric type "numeric" and the numeric values 216,000, and 432,000 respectively. Make U+12456 and 12457 have the numeric type "numeric" and value "-1".
L2/12-328 Anderson, Deborah (2012-10-16), Numeric value fixes for two cuneiform characters
L2/12-343R2 Moore, Lisa (2012-12-04), "Consensus 133-C30", UTC #133 Minutes, Change the numeric value of U+12456 to 2 and U+12457 to 3, for Unicode 6.3.
7.0 U+12463..1246E, 12474 13 L2/12-002 N4178R Everson, Michael; Tinney, Steve (2012-01-16), Proposal for additions and corrections to Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform
L2/12-207R N4277R Everson, Michael; Tinney, Steve (2012-07-31), Proposal for additions and corrections to Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform
L2/12-239 Moore, Lisa (2012-08-14), "C.3", UTC #132 Minutes
  1. ^ Proposed code points and characters names may differ from final code points and names

See also

References

  1. ^ "Unicode character database". The Unicode Standard. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ "Enumerated Versions of The Unicode Standard". The Unicode Standard. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  3. ^ Cuneiform Unicode.org chart (PDF)
  4. ^ Unicode cuneiform
  5. ^ (after Anderson's sign list Archived 2010-04-08 at the Wayback Machine)

External links

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