Romani Interpreting & Translation Services

Romani is a fascinating language due to its mix of origins and dispersion across the world. Originally from India, Romani is not spoken there today as a native language. Instead, this fascinating language is spoken in around 42 European countries, by small groups. Often, each group speaks a slightly different dialect – many of which are under threat of extinction – resulting in the Romani language’s classification as
“definitely endangered.” Furthermore, although there are thought to be between 12
and 41 million Roma people worldwide, only around 4 million speak Roma today.

Five Interesting Facts about Romani:
1. Despite being predominantly spoken in European countries today, Romani is
actually an Indo-Aryan language, which means it stemmed from the same language
group as languages such as Hindi, Punjabi, and Bengali.

2. There are also Roma populations in the United States. Although exact figures are
notoriously hard to obtain, estimates put the number at between 1 and 2 million,
most of whom came from Eastern Europe or descended from earlier waves of
migration.

3. Romani’s North Indian roots created its core grammar and vocabulary but
migration through Persia, Armenia, and the Middle East led to various loanwords and
influences being incorporated. Then, during the 14th and 15th centuries, the Roma
people arrived in Europe, where the language evolved even further, taking on local
European influences. What results is a very rich and culturally varied language, with
many local dialects and regional variations.

4. Standardizing the Romani language has become a process fraught with challenges.
Around 60 years ago, linguists began to attempt to create a standardized version to
enable children to read and write in their own language, as well as preserve the
language. However, challenges came about as speakers of regional variants failed to
decide which dialect was “better” or “worse.” Consequently, standardization efforts
have largely stalled.

5. Another issue – and one that is largely unique to Romani – is the fact that Romani
has been written in multiple scripts. While many Romani speakers use the Latin
alphabet, there are also significant diaspora who use Cyrillic (mostly in Eastern
Europe) and even the Greek alphabet. Choosing just one script risks cultural
pushback.