Romany

Romany is a language spoken by the Romani people, who are also known as Gypsies. It is thought to be descended from the Indo-Aryan languages of northern India, and it is closely related to the modern Hindi-Urdu dialects spoken in that region. Romany is not a written language, but it is estimated that there are around two million speakers of the language worldwide. The Romani people are a nomadic people, and their language has been influenced by the languages of the countries they have travelled through. For example, there are loanwords from Greek, Turkish, and Persian in the Romany language. The Romani people originally came from India, and they began to migrate westwards in the early Middle Ages. They reached Europe in the 14th century, and they have since spread to all corners of the world. The Romani people have often been the subject of prejudice and discrimination. In some countries, they have been forced to assimilate to the majority culture, and as a result, the Romani language is in danger of disappearing. However, there are efforts being made to preserve the language, and there are now Romani schools and dictionaries available.