LU+Gal=great man)—“šarrum”. But the symbol for GAL could also represent the syllable -gal- as part of an Akkadian word. Another example: the Sumerian sign KA meaning “mouth” could be read by the Akkadians both as “pum” (the Akkadian word for mouth) or as the syllable -ka-. In cuneiform writing, there evolved a series of symbols which, when placed before a certain name or word, served as determinative indicators. Thus, when the Sumerian sign KUR (= land), in Akkadian “matum”, preceded the word Aššur,