The Romani Language in the Republic of Macedonia: Status, Usage, and Sociolinguistic Perspectives

Author: Friedman V.A.

Source: Acta Linguistica Hungarica, Volume 46, Numbers 3-4, 1999 , pp. 317-339(23)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

The development of Romani language use in the Republic of Macedonia is discussed here primarily in terms of its relation to education and other public and official contexts. The paper gives a detailed account of the statistical and legal position of the Roms in Macedonia and former Yugoslavia, followed by a linguistic account of the standardization of Romani for official use in Macedonia with comments on dialects, political action, publishing, the educational establishment, and the situation in other Balkan countries. Romani has gradually risen in status from total legal absence to legal equality with all other minority languages, even if the de facto realization has not yet met the de jure possibilities. The standardization of Romani and the fixing of the Arli dialectal base with other elements, together with a consistent orthography, has made significant progress.

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: The University of Chicago Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures 1130 East 59th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 e-mail: vfriedm@midway.uchicago.edu

Publication date: 1999-01-01