ABSTRACT
‘Romani’ is not a simple word. Its meaning is no easier to define than the meaning of the word ‘English’. Reader can say that Romani is a language of Indian origin. They can say that it is historically the language of the Romani people. But the actual remit of the word runs far and wide. Linguists have usually tried to restrict the word’s meaning. It must be said at this point that the word Romani lacks any linguistic connection to the word Romania. It just so happens, in part due to 400 years of slavery practised by Wallachian and Moldavian aristocrats, that Romania has one of the largest Romani populations in the world. Among the Romany Travellers, the word ‘Romani’ refers to their language, no matter what state it is in. So Romani has this dual power of a language of home: the power both to comfort and scold.
