Pronunciation: Khanjar and Jambiya

Atlantia · 27th August 2012, 05:25 PM

Was chatting to a friend of mine who used to live in Oman and has a smattering of Arabic the other day. Was talking Khanjars and got to discussing the pronunciation.
I always say 'Can-Jar'
She says it should be 'Cun-ja'

What about Jambiya?

I tend to say 'Jam-beea'
Others I know say 'Jam-bye-a'

So where do you all stand on these important questions?

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 27th August 2012, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atlantia

Was chatting to a friend of mine who used to live in Oman and has a smattering of Arabic the other day. Was talking Khanjars and got to discussing the pronunciation.
I always say 'Can-Jar'
She says it should be 'Cun-ja'

What about Jambiya?

I tend to say 'Jam-beea'
Others I know say 'Jam-bye-a'

So where do you all stand on these important questions?

Salaams Atlantia ~ Its a bit like the pronunciation of "Tomato" in the UK compared to the USA... It sounds a bit different but everyone knows what you mean. Khanjar is correct... Khunjar is correct... Jambiya or Jambeea or Jambia also works ok.

(depending on how much cider you have)

Salaams,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

AJ1356 · 27th August 2012, 08:05 PM

Khanjar is a Persian word and we have always pronounced it Khanjar, never Khunjar.

A. G. Maisey · 28th August 2012, 12:02 AM

Interesting.

As a transliteration from a different script, I would imagine that both words would be pronounced phonetically, which seems to be the case from what Ibrahim has written, with any variation in vowel pronunciation being a product of region, however, one letter does puzzle me, and that is the "R" in khanjar.

Is this letter rolled, or is it flat?

Atlantia · 28th August 2012, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

*snip*however, one letter does puzzle me, and that is the "R" in khanjar.

Is this letter rolled, or is it flat?

Well, I always assumed that it was a hard sound: open up, and say 'AHH'.

kahnjar1 · 28th August 2012, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atlantia

Was chatting to a friend of mine who used to live in Oman and has a smattering of Arabic the other day. Was talking Khanjars and got to discussing the pronunciation.
I always say 'Can-Jar'
She says it should be 'Cun-ja'

What about Jambiya?

I tend to say 'Jam-beea'
Others I know say 'Jam-bye-a'

So where do you all stand on these important questions?

My ex Omani Forces mate also states the pronunciation IN OMAN was Cun-ja.

Atlantia · 28th August 2012, 01:10 AM

LOL, right!
So you see why I made a thread of this?
I'd have expected like Alan says for the translation to be phonetic, but it apparently isn't? At least not when it comes to Oman

Which seems strange as the 'Khanjar' is the national knife of Oman. Why not simply have a unique spelling for Oman that reflects it's unique pronuciation?
Unless the pronunciation is variable as Ibrahiim suggests?
But that is not what my friend and Stu's are seeming to be saying.

My friend who lived out there for many years, was quite 'well connected' (to say the least) and she was adamant that I was pronouncing it incorrectly and that it is 'cun-ja' only.

Now as AJ says, I always thought that it was of Persian origin, which got me wondering if there was a phonetic difference between the translation to Arabic "خنجر‎" and to 'English' at which point I started thinking about 'Jambiya' decided I was rambling and started this thread!

spiral · 28th August 2012, 01:20 AM

kukri is even worse!

kukri,khukri,khukuri,khukhuri,kookrie, cookairie, khukrie,kukhri, kukry, gurkha head removal chopper knife, etc, etc.

Still I guest the prounonciation all sounds similar.for them!

So not so bad after all! just the spelling that gos crazy!

Spiral

A.alnakkas · 28th August 2012, 01:30 AM

Are we here looking for how its pronounced by accents?

In classical Arabic, Khanjar is pronounce as Khanjar and Khenjar. Like AJ, I used to think its a Persian word that has been adopted by Arabic, but according to Lisan al Arab, it is Arabic. The R at the end is not a silent letter, every single voice is pronounced. When it comes to accents, I dont know how Omani's say it but Yemeni's and some Saudi's call it Khengar.

As for Jambiya, it is pronounced Janbiya or Ganbiya (atleast thats how I heard some Yemeni's pronounce it). Jambiya is a false term but hey, its not the only false term we collectors use.

Rick · 28th August 2012, 02:13 AM

True dat !

27th August 2012, 05:25 PM	#1
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Pronunciation: Khanjar and Jambiya Was chatting to a friend of mine who used to live in Oman and has a smattering of Arabic the other day. Was talking Khanjars and got to discussing the pronunciation. I always say 'Can-Jar' She says it should be 'Cun-ja' What about Jambiya? I tend to say 'Jam-beea' Others I know say 'Jam-bye-a' So where do you all stand on these important questions?

27th August 2012, 08:05 PM	#3
AJ1356 Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Nashville Posts: 314	Khanjar is a Persian word and we have always pronounced it Khanjar, never Khunjar.

28th August 2012, 12:02 AM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,892	Interesting. As a transliteration from a different script, I would imagine that both words would be pronounced phonetically, which seems to be the case from what Ibrahim has written, with any variation in vowel pronunciation being a product of region, however, one letter does puzzle me, and that is the "R" in khanjar. Is this letter rolled, or is it flat?

28th August 2012, 01:10 AM	#7
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	LOL, right! So you see why I made a thread of this? I'd have expected like Alan says for the translation to be phonetic, but it apparently isn't? At least not when it comes to Oman Which seems strange as the 'Khanjar' is the national knife of Oman. Why not simply have a unique spelling for Oman that reflects it's unique pronuciation? Unless the pronunciation is variable as Ibrahiim suggests? But that is not what my friend and Stu's are seeming to be saying. My friend who lived out there for many years, was quite 'well connected' (to say the least) and she was adamant that I was pronouncing it incorrectly and that it is 'cun-ja' only. Now as AJ says, I always thought that it was of Persian origin, which got me wondering if there was a phonetic difference between the translation to Arabic "خنجر‎" and to 'English' at which point I started thinking about 'Jambiya' decided I was rambling and started this thread!

28th August 2012, 01:20 AM	#8
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	kukri is even worse! kukri,khukri,khukuri,khukhuri,kookrie, cookairie, khukrie,kukhri, kukry, gurkha head removal chopper knife, etc, etc. Still I guest the prounonciation all sounds similar.for them! So not so bad after all! just the spelling that gos crazy! Spiral

28th August 2012, 01:30 AM	#9
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	Are we here looking for how its pronounced by accents? In classical Arabic, Khanjar is pronounce as Khanjar and Khenjar. Like AJ, I used to think its a Persian word that has been adopted by Arabic, but according to Lisan al Arab, it is Arabic. The R at the end is not a silent letter, every single voice is pronounced. When it comes to accents, I dont know how Omani's say it but Yemeni's and some Saudi's call it Khengar. As for Jambiya, it is pronounced Janbiya or Ganbiya (atleast thats how I heard some Yemeni's pronounce it). Jambiya is a false term but hey, its not the only false term we collectors use.

28th August 2012, 02:13 AM	#10
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	True dat !