Re: Spanish S > X > J ?

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Joao S. Lopes" <josimo70@...> wrote:

>
> I'd like to know what is the explanation for an anomalous shift S>X>J

in two Spanish names. This shift is not regular, I suspect some
Sephardite (Spanish-Jewish) influence.

>
> 1) Simona > Ximena > Jimena, cf. masc. Ximeno, patronymic Ximenez,

usually related to Simon.

This is probably Sephardite (S^imon).

> 2) Suarez > Xuarez > Juarez. Suarez is the patronymic of Suero,

usually seen as <Suarius < Gothic *Suhareis

Suárez of course also exists. The shift s > s^ can also be Mozarabic.
There are a number of lexical words which show the same phenomenon (off
the top of my head: sepia > jibia, sapone > jabón).