Ibae

Marshallese

Etymology

Borrowed from the English sight pronunciation of Ebeye, from a misspelling of German Ebeje, from Marshallese Ebeje, the older orthographic spelling of Epjā.

Pronunciation

(phonetic) IPA^(key): [ibˠɑːɛ], (enunciated) [ibˠɑ ɛ]
(phonemic) IPA^(key): /jipˠæɰjɛj/
Bender phonemes: {yibahyey}

Synonyms

(old orthography) Ebeje
(new orthography) Epjā

Proper noun

Ibae

Ebeye (the most populous island of Kwajalein atoll, Marshall Islands)

Usage notes

The form Epjā is the traditional and official name of Ebeye. The form Ibae is the most common local name, borrowed from English. This distinction is historical; most Marshallese residents of Ebeye today are not indigenous to this particular island, but are descended from refugees who were resettled by the United States government because of the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. The islanders were introduced to the island through its English name rather than through the Marshallese name it already had. Since the English name was already derived obliquely from Epjā through a sight pronunciation of a misspelling of its German form Ebeje, this made Ibae a twice-borrowed term in Marshallese.

References

Marshallese–English Online Dictionary