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Romani language facts for kids

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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

Migration des Roms
Map showing the migrations of Romani people through Europe and Asia minor.

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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Idioma romaní para niños

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Romani language Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.