Monday 19 November 2012

How should we pronounce "ibn" as in "ibn Ezra"?

«Before I outline the problem, let's lay out some assumptions and facts.

First, there is no doubt that the Hebrew אבן, sometimes written as ן'י, used as part of the name of many Spanish Jews and their descendants is the Arabic word ابن, son of. The usage is equivalent to the Hebrew בן, although it need not always refer to the person's father. It often refers to a grandfather or other ancestor, which is also an accepted, expanded use of בן. Furthermore, in Arabic the word is pronounced ibn, subject to an important qualification. The qualification is that it appears that the Spanish Arabs did not pronounce it ibn, but rather pronounced it aben (please note, incidentally, that the vowel shift here is the same as that between two of the possible pronunciation of the word רבי). The following entry is from E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, Volume 1: ...»
On the Main Line: How should we pronounce "ibn" as in "ibn Ezra"?
http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-should-we-pronounce-ibn-as-in-ibn.html?m=1


Shalom and Best Regards,
RRW

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