How did the Akkadians adapt Sumerian cuneiform for the Akkadian language?

When the Akkadians adopted the Sumerian writing system in the mid-3rd millennium BCE, they adapted the cuneiform script to fit their own distinct language through several key modifications:

• Logograms: The Akkadians retained Sumerian logograms (signs representing words) but pronounced them as the corresponding Akkadian words. They also used combinations of these logograms to express more complex concepts.1
• Phonetic Expansion: While they kept the existing phonetic values, the Akkadians significantly expanded the script's inventory. They transferred many complex Sumerian syllabic values—such as kan, mul, and bat—to the phonetic level.1
• Polyphony: The adaptation led to increased complexity through polyphony, where a single sign could have multiple phonetic readings. For example, a sign originally representing "sun" could be read as ud, tam, tú, par, laḫ, or biš.1
• New Values: Akkadian readings of logograms introduced additional complicated values. For instance, the sign for "land" or "mountain" retained the Sumerian value kur but added mat and šad based on the Akkadian words mātu and šadû.1

These changes transformed the script into Akkadian cuneiform, which eventually became a universal medium of communication across the Middle East.12