The Peak of Formalism : Quotation and Direct Speech in the Correspondence of Mari

Abstract

To use a hyperbole, any cl eaning lady was able to write or at least read a letter in Mari. How did they achieve this? They used a variety of aids on the lexical, semantic, and even phonological level.

The task of this article is to review these aids, with particul ar reference to introducing direct speech. A number of adverbial expressions were used for this purpose, containing a surprising frequency of the nasal sounds /m/ and /n/.

The system used in Mari challenges the validity of previous diachronic studies on this subject (von Soden, Deutscher).

Keywords

• Mari
• Old Babylonian
• Akkadian
• Amorite
• Prophecy
• Correspondence
• Interlanguage
• Sociolinguistics
• Linguistic Signals
• Women authors
• Cuneiform