Focus ROMI.HR
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Source: azerbaijan_stockers via Freepik Language is an integral part of the cultural heritage of any nation, reflecting its history, worldview and traditions. The study of little-known and marginal languages often opens up new horizons for science, allowing for a deeper understanding of the processes of linguistic development and the relationship between peoples. The Romani language, which has a rich history, has become one of these areas in linguistics, the study of which has become increasingly important over time.
Until the 18th century, the Romani language, one might say, did not fall into the field of linguists' interests at all. To date, only small texts and sometimes lists of words of the Romany language have been preserved, compiled most often by travelers or missionaries. Thus, the notes on the Roma and the Romansh language were mainly the subject of ethnographic notes (i.e. cultural and geographical descriptions). The earliest text that is known in the Romani language dates back to the 16th century. Andrew Borde provided translations of several sentences from Romani in his “Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge” (1542).
One of the turning points in the history of the study of the Romani language was the assumption of its connection with the Indian languages, put forward by the Hungarian pastor Valyi Istvan in the 1770s.
In the 19th century, comparative historical linguistics (establishing linguistic kinship) and typology (searching for similarities and differences, classifying languages) flourished in linguistics, against which scientists began to study and describe the Romani language.
August Friedrich Pott, a professor at the University of Halle, was actively involved in the study of the Romani language and is often considered the pioneer and leading researcher of this language in the 19th century. In the 1840s, he published the first comparative historical grammar of the Romani language.
Slovenian linguist and Rector of the University of Vienna Franz Miklošič made a significant contribution to the study of Romani dialects. He also described the origins and history of the language, its grammar, and its lexicon (vocabulary).
It is also worth mentioning that in the first half of the 19th century, George Borrow translated the Gospel of Luke into Romani (the dialect of the Romani people in Spain). The translation of such important texts into small languages increases its visibility and recognition, which makes it possible for the people to become involved in world culture.
Research in the 19th century laid the foundation for further study of the Romani language and its dialects. They made it possible to determine its origins and classify it according to phonetic, grammatical, and lexical features.
The research of the Romani language, which began in the 18–19th centuries, played a crucial role in revealing its historical roots and structural features. Thanks to the efforts of the first linguists, it was possible not only to trace the connection of the Roma language with Indian languages, but also to create a basis for further systematic study of its dialects and grammar. The article contains only some basic works on this topic, and further research on the Romani language will be actively continued, which you can read about in the second part of this article.
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