Abstract
Para-Romani is a generic term for a set of contact varieties, in which most of the lexicon is from Romani, but most of the grammatical system is from another language. Thus, PR varieties share with each other a continuation of much of the vocabulary from Romani, as well as a loss of the Romani grammatical system, which is then replaced by that of another, usually coterritorial language. They are also called “Romani mixed languages.” The article provides a comparative overview of the ca. 12 cases, spoken along the Western and Southeastern fringes of Europe. In addition, theories of genesis are dealt with, as well as observations on diachronic developments over the past two centuries. Their communicative functions in the present and past are also discussed. In recent times, PR varieties are mostly used for flagging a Romani identity and not for everyday conversations.
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Bakker, P. (2020). Para-Romani Varieties. In: Matras, Y., Tenser, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28105-2_12
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