Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.beitberl.ac.il>]

"Ashkenazic" pronunciation is that used by European Jewry and their
descendants in the U. S> and elsewhere, as opposed to "Sephardic", a
more inexact term including all the different pronunciations of Eastern
Jewry (the pronunciations used by Yemenite amd Bulgarian Jewry vary
greatly). "Sephardic" pronunciation is also used for Modern Hebrew
pronunciation. Both terms - Ashkenazic and Sephardic - are derived from
the Biblical GNs Ashkenaz (Scythians) and Sefarad (Sardis?) mentioned in
the List of Nations (Gen, 10).
During the Middle Ages, Ashkenaz became the Hebrew word for the German
lands. When German Jews, for various reasons, emigrated eastwards, and
elsewhere in Europe (or were annexed along with the countries they lived
in), they took their pronunciation along with them.
Sefarad was the term for Spain, and, when Jews were exiled from Spain in
1492, the designation for all Jews of Spanish origin, wherever they
lived - such as North Africa, the Ottoman Empire, and elsewhere.
That's mot too precise a discussion, but you can take it from there.
Sincerely,
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
44905 Beit Berl Post Office
Israel