Description
Book SynopsisRomani, the language spoken by over 3.5 million Gypsies, has recently attracted increasing interest from both scholars and language policy-makers. This 2002 book is the first overview in English of the structure, history, typology and dialects of Romani. It provides an essential reference for anyone interested in this fascinating language.
Trade Review"Matras...has planted on the sands a massive boulder of contribution to knowledge that will not be swept away by any tides." American Journal of Sociology
"The book will be of tremendous use to a broad range of scholars -- not only linguists but also social scientists and other students in various humanistic disciplines. There is nothing like it available in any language, and it fills a pressing need." Romani Studies
Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Romani dialects: a brief overview; 3. Historical and linguistic origins; 4. Descriptive phonology; 5. Nominal forms and categories; 6. Verb morphology; 7. Syntactic typology; 8. Grammatical borrowing; 9. Dialect classification; 10. Romani sociolinguistics; 11. Language planning and codification.