Ibae

Marshallese Etymology mh en Ebeye, from a phonetic respelling of mh de Ebeje, with j mispronounced as if a German word, from mh mh Ebeje, the older orthographic spelling of mh Epjā. Pronunciation yibahyey Proper noun proper noun mh the most populous <<island>> of <<atoll:suf/Kwajalein>>, <<c/Marshall Islands>> Ebeye Usage notes The form mh Epjā is the traditional and official name of en Ebeye. The form mh 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 mh Epjā through a sight pronunciation of a misspelling of its German form de Ebeje, this made mh Ibae a twice-borrowed term in Marshallese. Synonyms mh old orthography mh Ebeje mh new orthography mh Epjā References MED2I.htm#ibae