Concordance between Labat's signlist and the Unicode Cuneiform character set

This table correlates the signs listed in Labat, Manuel (6th ed., 1995) with the Unicode Cuneiform character set. You may find it helpful to read the pages on cuneiform fonts, sign lists, and computer cuneiform before using this table. Alternatively, you can easily generate cuneiform characters from alphabetic transliteration using the Cuneify page.

Some points to note:

• The signs are given here in the order that they appear in Labat. The 6th edition of Labat's book did not use every number in the sequence 1-600 (which comes originally from Deimel's Šumerisches Lexikon (1925–50)). Conversely, additional signs were added with alphabetic, numerical or other sigla.
• In some cases Labat treats as a single sign signs that are listed separately in the Unicode character set (e.g., Labat signs 69, and 536). This is usually because the signs in Labat are organised by their Neo-Assyrian forms, by which time some separate but visually similar signs had merged into one.
• In a few cases, Labat understands as separate signs those which the Unicode character set treats as sign variants (e.g., Labat signs 69* and 311 = Unicode U+12127 GURUN).
• In column 2 (Labat Value), the name given to each sign is Labat's first logographic value (shown prominently in capital letters in the book). Values in parentheses are for signs that appear only in the index. These are usually signs that were used only for Sumerian. In a few cases Labat does not give a value to compound signs (e.g., Labat sign 66); here we have given the ATF name, in capital letters, for easy use of Cuneify.
• Where column 4 (Unicode Number) is empty, that is because the sign is compound. The component Unicode characters are given in column 5.
• There are some 380 further Unicode Cuneiform characters that are not in Labat's signlist, which we have not listed here. For the full set, see the official Unicode Cuneiform [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U12000.pdf] [1.8 MB PDF file] and Unicode Cuneiform Numbers [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U12400.pdf] [188 KB PDF file] code charts.
• Labat's listing follows Neo-Assyrian sign order, but you may find it useful and interesting to switch between OB and NA fonts while viewing this table.

Content last modified on 02 Apr 2024.

Eleanor Robson

Eleanor Robson, 'Concordance between Labat's signlist and the Unicode Cuneiform character set', Knowledge and Power, Higher Education Academy, 2024 [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/saao/knpp/cuneiformrevealed/learningsigns/usingsignlists/labatunicodeconcordance/]