Ladino,college, pronunciation

[Judith Cohen <judithrc...>]

Hi, sorry if anyone on the list thinks information is only something which 
can/should be acquired/disseminated in college; naturally, there or 
elsewhere one is free to use it or ignore it as one sees fit and one's 
needs/interests/inclinations suggest. Anyway, re the question about 
pronunciation, the best way is to try to listen to recordings. For example, 
Flory Jagoda's are in Bosnian pronunciation, and the documentary recordings 
issued by Weich-Shahak and Yurchenco have examples of the various 
pronunciations of the ex-Ottoman area and Morocco; Morocco also in 
Gerineldo's recordings. Yehoram Gaon is an interesting case - he grew up in 
Jerusalem, and he told me a few years ago that it was actually frowned on to 
speak anything but Hebrew in his household, so, as many Israelis of his 
generation do, he pronounces Judeo-Spanish with an Israeli accent which one 
Turkish-Sephardic woman who sang several songs for me said she found 
amusing. (Her accent, actually, wasn't that different - which I found 
amusing...) Depending on what edition of transcribed songs you're using, 
it's often written quite phonetically too, for example unaccented o 
pronounced as long u (boot) in certain areas. Arvoles has the accent on the 
last syllable in the song, but I've usually heard it in conversation 
pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, as in Spanish. Basically, 
the most important differences from modern standard peninsular Castillian: 
the lisped c (English th as in thought for unvoiced s - cinco, Barcelona) 
and the lisped z (English th as in this for e.g. final d in Madrid) don't 
exist. The soft c is pronounced as unvoiced s (Barsselona, ssinco). (In S. 
America this is generally true as well.)
The j or intervocalic g  which in Castilian sounds like kh (Hebrew Khanuka) 
is usually pronounced as either zh (French je, English pleasure) or 
sometimes sh (in Morocco, people sometimes use the Castilian pronounciation 
through long-time association with Spain, even may mix both in the same 
song). (mujer = muzher, not mukher; Gerona = Zherona, not Kherona; Gerineldo 
[as in the song and the name of my group] Zherineldo, not Kherineldo).
The double ll (million in English) is usually pronounced simply y (ella 
comes out eya rather than el-ya).
The journal "Aki Yerushalayim" which is published in Israel is absolutely 
phonetically written, but includes only a small section in khateia (Moroccan 
Judeo-Spanish); the rest is in various aspects of eastern Mediterranean 
(ex-Ottoman) Judeo-Spanish. Reading selections out loud phonetically (and 
there's a guide in the front) gives a good idea of pronunciation; if you 
(plural you) like, I can transcribe a few sentences here and there in a list 
and/or private messages.
Cheers, Judith






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