Names of the Romani people

Distribution of the Romani people in Europe based on self-designation.

The Romani people are also known by a variety of other names; in English as gypsies or gipsies (seen by some as a slur, as discussed below) and Roma, in Greek as γύφτοι (gýftoi) or τσινγάνοι (tsingánoi), in Central and Eastern Europe as Tsigani (and variants), in France as gitans besides the dated bohémiens, manouches, in Italy as zingari and gitani, and in Spain as gitanos.

Self-designation also varies: In Central and Eastern Europe, Roma is common. The Romani of England call themselves (in Angloromani) Romanichal, those of Scandinavia (in Scandinavian romanidialect) Romanisæl. In German-speaking Europe, the self-designation is Sinti, in France Manush, while the groups of Spain, Wales and Finland use Kalo/Kale (from kalo meaning "black"). There are numerous subgroups and clans with their own self-designations, such as the Kalderash, Machvaya, Boyash, Lovari, Modyar, Xoraxai, Lăutari, etc.

Rom, Roma, Romani

Romani usage

In the Romani language, rom is a masculine noun, meaning "man, husband", with the plural romá. Romani is the feminine adjective, while romano is the masculine adjective. Some Romanies use Romá as an ethnic name, while others (such as the Sinti, or the Romanichal) do not use this term as a self-ascription for the entire ethnic group.

English usage

In the English language (according to OED), Rom is a noun (with the plural Romá or Roms) and an adjective, while Romany is also a noun (with the plural Romanies) and an adjective. Both Rom and Romany have been in use in English since the 19th century as an alternative for Gypsy. Romany is also spelled Romani, or Rommany.

Sometimes, rom and romani are spelled with a double r, i.e., rrom and rromani, particularly in Romania in order to distinguish from the Romanian endonym (români). This is well established in Romani itself, since it represents a phoneme (/ʀ/ also written as ř and rh) which in some Romani dialects has remained different from the one written with a single r.

Roma is a term primarily used in political contexts to refer to the Romani people as a whole. Still, some subgroups of Romani do not self-identify as Roma, therefore some scholars avoid using the term Roma as not all Romani subgroups accept the term.

Because all Romanies use the word Romani as an adjective, the term began to be used as a noun for the entire ethnic group.

Today, the term Romani is used by some organizations — including the United Nations and the US Library of Congress. However, the Council of Europe and other organizations use the term Roma to refer to Romani people around the world, and recommended that Romani be restricted to the language and culture: Romani language, Romani culture.

Etymology

The demonyms of the Romani people, Lom and Dom share the same etymological origin, reflecting Sanskrit ḍoma "a man of low caste, living by singing and music"

Gypsy and gipsy

The English term gipsy or gypsy is a common word used to indicate Romani people, Tinkers and Travellers, and use of the word gipsy in modern-day English is so pervasive (and is a legal term under English law—see below) that many Romani organizations use it in their own organizational names. However, according to many Romani people and academics who study them, the word has been tainted by its use as a racial slur and a pejorative connoting illegality and irregularity, and some modern dictionaries either recommend avoiding use of the word gypsy entirely or give it a negative or warning label.

Gipsy/gypsy originates from the Middle English gypcian, short for Egipcien. It is ultimately derived, via Middle French and Latin, from the Greek Αἰγύπτιοι (Aigyptioi), i.e. "Egyptians"; cf. Greek γύφτοι (gýftoi), a corruption of the same word. It was once believed that the Romanies, or some other gypsy groups (such as the Balkan Egyptians), originated in Egypt, and in one narrative were exiled as punishment for allegedly harbouring the infant Jesus.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) states a 'gipsy' is a

member of a wandering race (by themselves called Romany), of Indian origin, which first appeared in England about the beginning of the 16th c.

According to the OED, the word was first used in English in 1514, with several more uses in the same century, and both Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare used this word.

This exonym is sometimes written with a capital letter, to show that it designates an ethnic group. The Spanish term gitano, the French term gitan and the Basque term ijito have the same origin.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name was written in various ways: Egipcian, Egypcian, 'gypcian. The word gipsy/gypsy comes from the spellings which had lost the initial capital E, and this is one reason why it is often spelled with the initial g in lowercase. As time elapsed, the notion of 'the gipsy/gypsy' altered to include other associated stereotypes such as nomadism and exoticism. John Matthews in The World Atlas of Divination refer to gypsies as "Wise Women." Colloquially, gipsy/gypsy is used refer to any person perceived by the speaker as fitting the gypsy stereotypes.

Use in English law

Gipsy has several developing and overlapping meanings under English Law. Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, gipsies are defined as "persons of nomadic habit of life, whatever their race or origin, but does not include members of an organised group of travelling showmen, or persons engaged in travelling circuses, travelling together as such." This definition includes such groups as New Age Travellers, as well as Irish Travellers and Romany.

Gipsies of Romany origins have been a recognised ethnic group for the purposes of Race Relations Act 1976 since Commission for Racial Equality v Dutton 1989 and Irish Travellers in England and Wales since O'Leary v Allied Domecq 2000 (having already gained recognition in Northern Ireland in 1997).

List of names

Tsinganoi

In much of continental Europe, Romanies are known by names cognate to the Greek term τσιγγάνοι (tsinganoi):

Slavic	Germanic	Romance	Other
Belarusian: цыгане Bulgarian: цигани Bosnian: cigani Croatian: cigani Czech: cikáni Macedonian: цигани Polish: cyganie Russian: цыгане Serbian: цигани Slovak: cigáni Slovene: cigáni Ukrainian: цигани	Danish: sigøjnere German: Zigeuner Dutch: zigeuner Icelandic: sígaunar Norwegian Bokmål: sigøynere Nynorsk: sigøynarar Swedish: zigenare	French: tsiganes, tziganes) Galician: xitanos Italian: zingari, ziganicode: it is deprecated Portuguese: ciganos Romanian: tigani Spanish: gitanos, cíngaros	Hungarian: cigány [ˈtsiɡaːɲ] Latvian: Čigāni Lithuanian: Čigonai Turkish: Çingene

The name originates with Byzantine Greek ἀτσίγγανοι (atsinganoi, Latin adsincani) or ἀθίγγανοι (athinganoi, literally "untouchables"), a term applied to the sect of the Melchisedechians. The Adsincani appear in an 11th-century text preserved in Mt Athos, The Life of Saint George the Athonite (written in the Georgian language), as "a Samaritan people, descendants of Simon the Magician, named Adsincani, who were renowned sorcerers and villains". In the text, emperor Constantine Monomachos employs the Adsincani to exterminate wild animals, who were destroying the game in the imperial park of Philopation.

Bohémiens

Because many Romanies living in France had come via Bohemia, they were referred to as Bohémiens. This term would later be adapted by the French to refer to a particular artistic and impoverished lifestyle of an individual, known as Bohemianism.

Other

• Armenian: գնչու gnčʿu
• Arabic: غجر ghájar
• Basque: ijito, buhame (in the Northern Basque Country), kaskarot (in Saint Jean de Luz), erromintxela (for Basque-speaking Romanies)
• Georgian: ბოშები bošebi
• Persian: کولی Koli
• Japanese: ロマ Roma
• Chinese: 罗姆人 Luō mǔ rén

See also

• Dom people
• List of Romani people
• Lom people
• Lyuli
• Origin of the Romani people
• Romani people by country
• Zott
• Didicoy

External links

• Romani words for Romanies and non-Romanies - Ian Hancock
• Names of the Romani People
• The Muslim Gypsies in Romania
• http://dawn.com/news/1035627/roma-gypsies-the-original-travellers
• 'gypsy' on the English Wiktionary