Vlax Romani language
Encyclopedia
Vlax Romani is a dialect group of the Romani language
. Vlax Romani varieties are spoken mainly in Southeastern Europe by Romani people. Vlax Romani can also be referred to as an independent language or as one dialect of the Romani language
. Vlax Romani is the most widely-spoken dialect subgroup of the Romani language worldwide. Most Vlax Romani speakers live in Romania
(241,617), Colombia
(79,000) and Albania
(60,000).
and Lovari
), and Vlax II, or Southern Vlax. Vlax Romani tends to be mutually intelligible with some dialects belonging to other dialect subgroups, mostly of Balkan Romani and Carpathian Romani. In the following table, CL stands for main contact language.
it is written also with the Cyrillic alphabet
.
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....
. Vlax Romani varieties are spoken mainly in Southeastern Europe by Romani people. Vlax Romani can also be referred to as an independent language or as one dialect of the Romani language
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....
. Vlax Romani is the most widely-spoken dialect subgroup of the Romani language worldwide. Most Vlax Romani speakers live 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...
(241,617), Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
(79,000) and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
(60,000).
Classification
Vlax Romani is classified in two groups - Vlax I, or Northern Vlax (including KalderashKalderash
The Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people, from the Roma meta-group. They were traditionally smiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani.-Etymology:The name Kalderash The Kalderash (also spelled...
and Lovari
Lovari
Lovari is a subgroup of the Romani people , who speak their own dialect, influenced by Hungarian. They live throughout Europe, in Hungary, Romania, Poland, France, Germany, Italy, Greece.-References:**...
), and Vlax II, or Southern Vlax. Vlax Romani tends to be mutually intelligible with some dialects belonging to other dialect subgroups, mostly of Balkan Romani and Carpathian Romani. In the following table, CL stands for main contact language.
- Northern branch (also called Vlax I):
- Čekeši Romani in Russia (CL: Russian, MoldovanMoldovan languageMoldovan is one of the names of the Romanian language as spoken in the Republic of Moldova, where it is official. The spoken language of Moldova is closer to the dialects of Romanian spoken in northeastern Romania, and the two countries share the same literary standard...
) - Kalderash Romani in Romania (CL: Romanian), spoken by the KalderashKalderashThe Kalderash are a subgroup of the Romani people, from the Roma meta-group. They were traditionally smiths and metal workers and speak a number of Romani dialects grouped together under the term Kalderash Romani, a sub-group of Vlax Romani.-Etymology:The name Kalderash The Kalderash (also spelled...
- Lovari Romani in the Czech Republic (CL: CzechCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
), Hungary (CL: Hungarian), spoken by the Lovari - Mačvaja Romani
- Northern Ukrainian in Ukraine (CL: UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
)
- Čekeši Romani in Russia (CL: Russian, Moldovan
- Southern branch (also called Vlax II):
- Agia Varvara Romani in Greece (CL: Greek)
- PrekmurskiPrekmurjePrekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
Romani in northern SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
(CL: SlovenianSlovenian languageSlovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
) - Gurbet Romani Serbia (CL: Serbian)
- Gurbet-Rabešte in Serbia & Montenegro (CL: Serbian)
- Kalburdžu Romani in Bulgaria (CL: Bulgarian, Turkish)
- Moldavian Romani in Moldova (CL: Moldovan, Russian)
- Prizren Romani in Serbia (CL: Serbian, Albanian)
- Rakarengo Romani in Moldova (CL: Moldovan)
- Thracian Kalajdži Romani (Vlaxurja) in Bulgaria (CL: Bulgarian)
Writing systems
Vlax Romani is written using the Romani orthography, which is a Latin-based alphabet with several additional characters. In the area of former Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
it is written also with the Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
.