Romani language standardization
Encyclopedia
There are independent groups currently working toward standardizing the Romani language
, including groups in Romania
, Serbia
, the USA, and Sweden
.
. In Serbia's autonomous province of Vojvodina
, Romani is one of the officially recognized minority languages—having its own radio station
s and news broadcasts.
In Romania
, the country with the largest identifiable Romani population, there is now a unified system for teaching the Romani language for all dialect
s spoken in the country. This is primarily a result of the work of Gheorghe Sarău
, who made Romani textbooks for teaching Romani children.
Language standardization is presently also being pursued in the revival of the Romani language among various groups—in Spain
, Great Britain and elsewhere—which have ceased to speak the language. In these cases, a specific dialect is not revived, but rather a standardized form derived from many dialects is developed. The Spanish politician Juan de Dios Ramírez-Heredia promotes Romanò-Kalò, a variant of Standard Romani with the extant Caló
words inserted back, aiming to both the Gitano tradition and communication with other Romani people.
is towards regional codification, with some degree of international orientation, in the choice of some graphemes as well as vocabulary.
This international orientation allows Romani readers to appreciate texts composed in other countries. At the same time, this pluralistic approach to codification is representative of the dispersion of Romani communities, and the lack of a central governmental authority. 'Linguistic pluralism' of this kind has been embraced as a policy by the European Roma and Traveller Forum (the elected Romani representation at the Council of Europe
) in a statement on its website. It has also received the support of various leading linguists
investigating Romani, such as the late Milena Hübschmannová, Dieter W. Halwachs, and Yaron Matras
. The RomLex online Romani dictionary acknowledges pluralism by incorporating dialect variants, albeit in a consistent and unified spelling system.
's standardized Romani, based largely on Eastern Europe
an Romani dialects is a purified, mildly prescriptive language, choosing vocabulary and grammatical
elements traced back to the old language crystallized in Anatolia.
The pronunciation is most similar to that of the dialects from the first stratum
. When there are more variants in the dialects, the variant that most closely resembles the oldest forms is chosen. For example, byav instead of abyav, abyau, akana instead of akanak, shunav instead of ashunav or ashunau, etc.
An effort is also made to derive new words from the vocabulary already in use, i.e., xuryavno (airplane), vortorin (slide rule), palpaledikhipnasko (retrospectively), pashnavni (adjective). There is an ever-changing set of borrowings
from Romanian
as well, including such terms as vremea (weather
, time
), primariya (town hall), frishka (cream
), sfïnto (saint
, holy). Neologisms taken from Hindi include bijli (bulb, electricity
), misal (example), chitro (drawing, design), lekhipen (writing) and from English
(printisarel, prezidento).
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
, including groups in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, the USA, and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Where it is being pursued
A standardized form of Romani is used in SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. In Serbia's autonomous province of Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
, Romani is one of the officially recognized minority languages—having its own radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s and news broadcasts.
In Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, the country with the largest identifiable Romani population, there is now a unified system for teaching the Romani language for all dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s spoken in the country. This is primarily a result of the work of Gheorghe Sarău
Gheorghe Sarău
Gheorghe Sarău is a Romanian linguist specialized in the Romani language. He is the author of several Romani textbooks and plays an important role in the process of standardization of the Romani language.He studied at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Bucharest,...
, who made Romani textbooks for teaching Romani children.
Language standardization is presently also being pursued in the revival of the Romani language among various groups—in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Great Britain and elsewhere—which have ceased to speak the language. In these cases, a specific dialect is not revived, but rather a standardized form derived from many dialects is developed. The Spanish politician Juan de Dios Ramírez-Heredia promotes Romanò-Kalò, a variant of Standard Romani with the extant Caló
Caló (Spanish Romani)
Caló is a language spoken by the Spanish and Portuguese Romani. It is a mixed language based on Romance grammar, with an adstratum of Romani lexical items through language shift by the Romani community. It is often used as an argot, a secret language for discreet communication amongst Iberian...
words inserted back, aiming to both the Gitano tradition and communication with other Romani people.
Standardization approaches
Despite various efforts towards "universal" standardization, the overall trend in Romani literacyLiteracy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
is towards regional codification, with some degree of international orientation, in the choice of some graphemes as well as vocabulary.
This international orientation allows Romani readers to appreciate texts composed in other countries. At the same time, this pluralistic approach to codification is representative of the dispersion of Romani communities, and the lack of a central governmental authority. 'Linguistic pluralism' of this kind has been embraced as a policy by the European Roma and Traveller Forum (the elected Romani representation at the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
) in a statement on its website. It has also received the support of various leading linguists
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
investigating Romani, such as the late Milena Hübschmannová, Dieter W. Halwachs, and Yaron Matras
Yaron Matras
Yaron Matras is a linguist at the University of Manchester specializing in Romani and related languages. He is one of the most prominent English-language Romani linguist and the author of several pioneering studies. He edited Romani in Contact, a collection of papers presented at the First...
. The RomLex online Romani dictionary acknowledges pluralism by incorporating dialect variants, albeit in a consistent and unified spelling system.
In Sarău's standardization
Gheorghe SarăuGheorghe Sarău
Gheorghe Sarău is a Romanian linguist specialized in the Romani language. He is the author of several Romani textbooks and plays an important role in the process of standardization of the Romani language.He studied at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Bucharest,...
's standardized Romani, based largely on Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an Romani dialects is a purified, mildly prescriptive language, choosing vocabulary and grammatical
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
elements traced back to the old language crystallized in Anatolia.
The pronunciation is most similar to that of the dialects from the first stratum
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
. When there are more variants in the dialects, the variant that most closely resembles the oldest forms is chosen. For example, byav instead of abyav, abyau, akana instead of akanak, shunav instead of ashunav or ashunau, etc.
An effort is also made to derive new words from the vocabulary already in use, i.e., xuryavno (airplane), vortorin (slide rule), palpaledikhipnasko (retrospectively), pashnavni (adjective). There is an ever-changing set of borrowings
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
from Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
as well, including such terms as vremea (weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
, time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
), primariya (town hall), frishka (cream
Cream
Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream this process is accelerated by using centrifuges called "separators"...
), sfïnto (saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
, holy). Neologisms taken from Hindi include bijli (bulb, electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
), misal (example), chitro (drawing, design), lekhipen (writing) and from English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(printisarel, prezidento).