Romani language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Romani |
|
|---|---|
| romani ćhib | |
| Native to | Central and Eastern Europe and Romani diaspora |
| Native speakers | 2.5 million (2000–2004) |
| Language family |
Indo-European
|
| Recognised minority language in | (Not official language) Germany, Hungary, Sweden |
Romani or Romany (native name: romani ćhib) is the language of the Roma and Sinti. The Indo-Aryan Romani language should not be confused with either Romanian (spoken by Romanians), or Romansh (spoken in parts of southeastern Switzerland), both of which are Romance languages.
Analysis of the Romani language has shown that it is closely related to those spoken in central and northern India, Pothwari in particular. This linguistic relationship is believed to indicate the Roma's and Sinti's geographical origin. Loanwords in Romani make it possible to trace the pattern of their migration westwards.
Distribution
The following table shows the distribution of Romani speakers in Europe. The last column shows the percentage of Romani speakers in the Roma population in each country.
| Country | Speakers | % |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | 90,000 | 95% |
| Austria | 20,000 | 80% |
| Belarus | 27,000 | 95% |
| Belgium | 10,000 | 80% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 40,000 | 90% |
| Bulgaria | 350,000 | 80% |
| Croatia | 28,000 | 80% |
| Czech Republic | 140,000 | 50% |
| Denmark | 1,500 | 90% |
| Estonia | 1,100 | 90% |
| Finland | 3,000 | 90% |
| France | 215,000 | 70% |
| Germany | 85,000 | 70% |
| Greece | 160,000 | 90% |
| Hungary | 260,000 | 50% |
| Italy | 42,000 | 90% |
| Latvia | 18,500 | 90% |
| Lithuania | 4,000 | 90% |
| Macedonia | 215,000 | 90% |
| Moldova | 56,000 | 90% |
| Netherlands | 3,000 | 90% |
| Poland | 4,000 | 90% |
| Romania | 433,000 | 80% |
| Russia | 405,000 | 80% |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 380,000 | 90% |
| Slovakia | 300,000 | 60% |
| Slovenia | 8,000 | 90% |
| Spain | 1,000 | 1% |
| Sweden | 9,500 | 90% |
| Turkey | 280,000 | 70% |
| Ukraine | 113,000 | 90% |
| United Kingdom | 1,000 | 0.5% |
See also
In Spanish: Idioma romaní para niños
