|
Romany
Gypsies have been part of Europe since their arrival in the
Balkans some 700 years ago. Their dark appearance and unfamiliar
customs set them apart from the peoples they encountered. The
Romani language—which is closely related to ancient
Sanskrit—gave scholars the first solid leads to their origins.
By tracing these linguistic clues, it now appears that the Romany
left northwest India/Pakistan for Persia, and then moved on into
what was the Byzantine Empire. When the Turkish Empire began
expanding, the Romany pushed even further into Europe. Historical
sources place them as far west as Paris as early as the 1400s.
These
nomadic groups were sometimes mistakenly thought to have come from
Egypt, hence the name Gypsy (English), Gitano (Spanish), or Gitan
(French). Their names for themselves (Romany/Roma) and their
language (Romani/Romanes) come from “rrom,” the word for man
or person.
Today
the Romany have spread out—due to economic and political
pressures—into Russia, Scandinavia, Siberia, the Americas, and
Australia. Worldwide population is estimated at 40 million.
Romani,
the language of the Romany people, is actually a language
family rather than a single language. More than 20 different languages
and dialects are spoken today, some as mutually intelligible as
British English and American English, others as distinct as
English and German. Due to political and social
pressures, some groups have lost their own language; others are
taking pains to preserve it.
For
information on Christian resources in Romani, consult www.romanibible.org.
For
more information about Romany history and culture, consult
www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/patrin.htm.
|
