Transcript Romani varieties and educational materials

Romani varieties
and educational materials
Peter Bakker
Aarhus University
Institute for Anthropology,
Archaeology and Linguistics
Romani
• Romani is the biggest minority language in
Europe
• The language forms a ”unity in diversity”: a
range of dialects with a common core
• Just like any other natural language it is not
homogeneous
• Unlike many other European languages,
there is no standard written language
Language education
• Since a UNESCO report in the 1950s there is a
consensus that the best way towards literacy is the
mother tongue
• Ideally, Roma children first learn to read and write
in their own variety
• and later in the state language
• And other Romani varieties and foreign languages
• Teaching the mother tongue will enhance
acquisition of the dominant language (!)
Romani varieties in Estonia
• Linguist classify dialects into groupings
– On the basis of shared linguistic features
(common words, common structures)
• Roma classify dialects
– On the basis of linguistic and other features
• The labels/names used by Roma are not
always the same as the ones used by
linguists
Linguists...
• Compare Romani dialects to find out:
– Which words and construction they ALL have
in common
– Which words and constructions SOME have
in common
– How and when these words and constructions
entered the language or the varieties
– Result: a map of migrations
Names of subgroups
• Based on (former) occupation
– Lovari < Hungarian lo ”horse”
– Kalderash < Roumanian câldâr ”kettle”
• Based on country/region
– Olah/Vlah ”Roumania”
– Serbika ”Serbia”
– Rom-ungro ”Hungary”
• Estonia:
Estonia: Romani dialects
• (Laiuse: probably extinct since 1945)
• North Russian Romani/Xaladytka
• Cuxny/Lotfiko
• Branches: Baltic Romani (no
Latvia
• An early primer in
Cyrillic writing by
Leksa Manush
Fiction/poetry/literature
• An epic poem in
Romani (and Latvian)
Latvia
• A much fancier
primer/ABC book
(1996)
in Roman letters
On-line dictionaries
• ROMLEX
• http://romani.kfunigraz.ac.at/romlex/dialect
s.xml
ROMLEX I
• North Russian Romani
• North Russian Romani belongs to the
Northeastern dialect group. Varieties of
North Russian Romani are spoken in the
Baltic-North Russian-Poland area. Another
name often used to refer to North Russian
Romani varieties is Xaladitka.
ROMLEX II
• Lithuanian Romani
• Lithuanian Romani belongs to the Northeastern
dialect group. Historically Lithuanian Romani was
spoken on the territory of present-day Lithuania.
Today the dialect is spoken by a relatively small
population of speakers living in Lithuania and in
Baltic Russia, and recent asylum seeking migrants
from Lithuania to Western Europe. Documentation
of this dialect is yet sparse.
ROMLEX III
• Latvian Romani
• Latvian Romani belongs to the Northeastern
dialect group. It is spoken by a small
population in Lithuania and Latvia. Names
also used to refer to this dialect are: Čuxny
dialect or Lotfiko/Loftiko.
Dialect
Banatiski Gurbet
Romani
Bugurdži
Romani
Burgenland
Romani
Crimean
Romani
Dolenjski Romani
East Slovak
Romani
Finnish Romani
Gurbet Romani
Gurvari Romani
Hungarian
Vend Romani
Kalderaš Romani
Kosovo Arli
Romani
Latvian Romani
Lithuanian
Romani
Lovara Romani
Macedonian
Arli Romani
Macedonian
Džambazi Romani
North Russian
Romani
Romungro Romani
Sepečides
Romani
Sinte Romani
Sofia Erli
Romani
Sremski Gurbet
Romani
Ursari Romani
Welsh Romani
Albanian
Bulgarian
Czech
English
Finnish
French
German
Hungarian
Latvian
Macedonian
Romanian
Russian
Serbian
Slovak
Swedish
A catalogue on the net
• Publications in Romani,
useful for Romani
language education
• First Edition. September
2004.
Compiled by Peter Bakker
and Hristo Kyuchukov
• Publikacie andi
Romani čhib kaj si
lačhe andar i edukacia
pal i Romani čhib
Angluni edicia.
Septembr 2004.
Kerde o Peter Bakker
thaj o Hristo Kju(ukov
More Lotfitka publications
•
 }damsonos, rikos. 1971. Čhajrí Ríngla. Pe
Romaní čhíb Lotfítko Čhibátir Tulkindža Ļéksa
M~nuš (poetry for children)
• Ariste, Paul (ed.). 1938. Romenge Paramiši.
Mustlaste Muinasjutte [Gypsy Stories]. Tartu: P.
Arumaa. 22 pp. (legends)
• Ariste, Paul. 1973. Einige Märchen der Čuchny
Zigeuner [Lotfítko Romenge Paramiši][Some
Fairy Tales of the Čuchny Gypsies]. Tartu: Tartu
University Oriental Studies/Töid Orientalistika
Alalt. (legends)
• Manuš, Léksa, J~nis Neiland & K~rlis
Rudevič.1997. Čig~nu-Latviešu-Ang·u un
Latviešu-Čig~nu V~rdn§ca [RomaniLatvian-English and Latvian-Romani
dictionary]. Riga: Zvaigzne ABC.
(dictionary)
• Rudvičs, K~rlis. No year. Romanu Dži.
Otkedine Gija. Čig~na Sirds. Dzejo·u izlase
[Romani life. Selected poems]. (poetry)
• Bible. John. 1933. Evangelben M~ro
Rask§ro Iisusko Hristoskīro Joannostir
Čhindlo. Riga: Britanijas un }rzemju
Bbeles Biedrba. (religion)
• Rudvičs, K~rlis. 2000. Roméngu Barnos.
Gi·orjá čh~vorénge pu romani te lotf’tku
čhib.Čig~nu Barons. (poetry)
• Kenrick, Donald. 2001. Romengiro Drom.
Indijatyr ke Maškiratuno Derjav [Road of the
Roma. From India to the Mediterranean]. Berlin:
Parabolis. (history book)
• Valmiki. No year. Valmiki’s Ramayana.
Romani/English Translation (Abridged) by Leksa
Manush. Chandigarh: Roma Publications.
(religion)
Xaladytka
• Grammar (Lithuania): Anton Tenser, 2006.
• Grammar (Russia): Tatjana Ventzel, 1964,
1983
– (Russian, German, English versions)
• Texts from the 1920s and 1930s: more than
250 publications: technical texts, ABC
books, translated literature, original
literature, political propaganda....
• Mahotin Džura. 1993. Adžutipe pre Romani
Shib. Аджутипе прэ романи чиб.
Пособие по языку романи [Help for the
Romani Language]. Tver: Poligraph
reklamizdat. 56 pp.
• Svetkov, Georgi, 2003. Romengo KirvoRomengiro Kirvo.
• Teaching Romani in
schools?
• Roma teaching
Romani in Sweden
Romani educational catalogue
• 710 titles (some listed twice) 2003/2004
• Not yet complete (if ever...)
• ABC books, songbooks, cookbooks,
dictionaries, poetry, conversation guides,
religious materials (Christian, Muslim...),
biographies, etc.
• http://fc.hum.au.dk/~peter_bakker/00D44E
E2-0075824E.-1/romedu-
• Materials in Estonia can be
– Developed in local dialects
– Adjusted from materials available for closely
related varieties
– Reworked from other (non-Romani) materials
The end