Laiuse Romani language

Laiuse Romani was a Romani variety spoken in Estonia. It was a mixed language based on Romani and Estonian.[1]

Laiuse Romani
Native toEstonia
Extinctca. 1940
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologesto1257

The Romani people first appeared in Estonia in the 17th century. According to rumors, they were first part of Swedish King Charles XII's Romani orchestra which he, after spending a winter in Laiuse, left behind. In 1841 all 44 Estonian Romani were collected and settled around Laiuse Parish. Their main stop was Raaduvere village, but they also lived in Rakvere, Jõgeva and its precincts. Before the Second World War there were 60 Romani in Laiuse.[2] Laiuse Romani became extinct in the German occupation, when all its speakers were killed by the Nazis during the Porajmos.[3][4]

Linguistic features

Laiuse Romani shares a number of linguistic features with Finnish Kalo,[5] such as palatalization of velar consonants before front vowels[6] and initial devoicing.[7]

Citations and references
  1. Smith (1994:365)
  2. "Laiuse mustlased" (in Estonian). eestigiid.ee. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  3. Smith (1994)
  4. Matras (2002)
  5. Matras (2002:10)
  6. Matras (2002:49)
  7. Matras (2002:54)

Cited sources
  • Matras, Yaron (2002), Romani: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge University Press
  • Smith, Norval (1994), "An annotated list of creoles, pidgins, and mixed languages", in Arends, Jacque; Muysken, Pieter; Smith, Norval (eds.), Pidgins and Creoles, John Benjamins


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