Blackwell Reference Online

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Gypsies are known internationally as Rom . Their language, Romani , is not written and spoken by all Gypsies, with many differences and borrowed elements from the countries in which they live ( Lydaki 1998 : 26–8; Matras 2002 ). More often than not, Gypsies adopt some elements from the culture and language of the place in which they live, embracing the same religion and in part adapting to the manners and customs of the society on the fringes of which they usually live. At the same time, however, they generally stubbornly cling to their own language, their own system of values, and their particular way of dressing (apart from some exceptions in the city). Everything we know about their history has been written by non-Gypsies, who studied their language and progress. The theory that Rom were of Egyptian descent (Egypt – Gypsy) was proven wrong, as the Romani language contains no Arabic elements whatsoever but actually stems from Sanskrit and is related to the Indian dialects of Hindi and Punjabi. Nowadays, we know that they set out from Northwest India (Punjab) at the end of the eighth or the beginning of the ninth century. Why they left remains a mystery, but we believe that they belonged to the lower, unclean castes ( pariah ), also known by the names Jot, Jat, Nouri, or Dom ( Kenrick & Duxon 1972 ). Perhaps, after unsuccessful uprisings, they were forced to leave and thus ... log in or subscribe to read full text