Roma Group Names in Transylvania

7/21/2019 Roma Group Names in Transylvania

1/17Romani Studies, Vol. , No. (), (print) (online)doi: ./rs..

Evelyne Urech is Sociolinguistic Researcher with SIL International, W. Camp WisdomRoad, Dallas, , USA. E-mail: [email protected]. Wilco van den Heuvelis Linguistic Researcher at the Free University of Amsterdam, De Boelelaan , Amsterdam, the Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]

A sociolinguistic perspective on

Roma group names in Transylvania

EVELYNE URECH AND WILC O VAN DEN HEUVE L

Tis article focuses on one aspect of a sociolinguistic survey which was done betweensummer and summer by SIL International in collaboration with ManchesterUniversity. Te article evaluates data compiled from over interviews with differentRomani speakers from all over ransylvania. Te aspect considered here is the rela-tionship between group names and different dialects of Romani. Both the endonyms(how Roma groups designate themselves) and exonyms (how members from otherRoma groups refer to them) are considered. As one of our main findings, we describea clear correlation between present-day language varieties and two common groupnames, Corturarient Roma and RomungriHungarian Roma, which reflects a majordivision of Romani speakers into groups that have been travelling around and thosegroups that have been settled for a longer period of time.

Keywords: dialects, dialectology, endonyms, ethnonyms, exonyms, group names,Romania, ransylvania

A note on spelling

Group names will be given in the plural form throughout the article. For all

group names based on Romanian words, the Romanian spelling is used (e.g.Cldrari, Biei, Lutari). Group names based on words from languages otherthan Romanian (but which are used as well when speaking Romanian) aredealt with analogously (e.g. Lovari, Calapoi, Catale). For Romani words, andany other group names, the usual academic transliteration is used (e.g. kat,roma vlaxika, Cerhari, Burgudi). able lists the equivalent of several sounds in different writing systems.Strict phonetic notation (IPA) and the official orthography for Romani dialectsspoken in Romania are not used in this article but rendered here for the ease

of use for readers more familiar with one of these transliteration systems.


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. Introduction

.. BackgroundTe research presented in this article forms only a part of a broader, ongoingsurvey of Romani dialects and the sociolinguistic situation of Roma in Roma-nia. Te project stands under the aegis of SIL International and is carried outby a team of researchers affiliated with this organisation. Part of the researchtools and valuable feedback was provided by Yaron Matras of Manchester Uni-

versity, who was also involved in planning the survey. Field work was dividedinto two periods: a period of pilot testing done in the Mure County in Mayand June ; and a phase of extensive data-gathering all over ransylvania

between July and June . Survey team members visited Romacommunities, collecting short word lists, longer word lists, and conduct-ing sociolinguistic interviews, through the medium of Romanian or, in afew cases, Hungarian.

. Anna Admkov, B. S. W., licensed social worker (Data gathering); David Gardner, PhysD.,physicist (Computer support); Sarolta Gardner (Data gathering); Evelyne Urech, M. A., linguist& ethnologist (Data gathering & Analysis); alitha van den Heuvel, M. D., medical doctor (Datagathering); Wilco van den Heuvel, PhD., linguist (Data gathering & Analysis).

IPAa

Romaniacademictransliterationb Romanian

RomanianstandardisedRomanic

[k] k c, ch + i, e k, q[j] j, (y) (i) j, (, , , )

[x/] x (h) x[r] r r r[//] (rr) rr[] h (h) h[] j, [] [] j , [] c c, [] c + i, e [] d g + i, e

[] [] , a Standard for transcribing language sounds devised by the International PhoneticAssociation.b A writing convention evolved among Romani scholars. See more: http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/files/_codification.shtml (accessed Sept. ).c Writing convention adopted by the Romanian Ministry of Education in . At itsbasis lies a proposal designed by Marcel Cortiade (Cortiade ).


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Tis article addresses one specific aspect of the survey, i.e., Roma group names.A thorough report of the full survey will be published in the SIL International

electronic survey report series (http://www.sil.org/SILESR/).

.. Methodology

... Research tools

Te survey draws on the following research tools.

... Word listswo word lists were used in order to identify local language varieties of Rom-ani. One of them comprises of words and short phrases, containing some

of the key diagnostic features of Romani dialect variation. Te initial versionof this list was provided by Yaron Matras from Manchester University andhas been slightly elaborated by the survey team in the course of the research.Respondents were asked to translate the items from either Romanian orHungarian into their variety of Romani. All the answers were electronicallyrecorded and transcribed on paper on the spot using the IPA notation. Later,recordings were listened to again to check for things we might have missed.Te use of this short word list enabled us to efficiently classify local varieties ofRomani, while also minimising any hesitancy of respondents to participate in

F . Overview of places visited in ransylvania


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the survey as it was not too time-consuming. In a few cases (twenty locations)an extended word list (containing words, phrases, verb paradigms, anda short narrative) which had been developed by the Romani Project hosted atManchester University was also collected. Tis long word list was only elicitedin Romanian, thus Roma respondents translated orally from Romanian intotheir variety of Romani, while we electronically recorded their answers. Basedon these recordings, all entries were transcribed employing the conventionsused in Romani linguistics, either by the staff of Manchester University, or bysurvey team members Wilco van den Heuvel and Sarolta Gardner. Te longword list provides a deeper insight into several local varieties of Romani.

.... Sociolinguistic interviewsIn nearly all instances the short word list was followed by a guided interviewabout the personal background of the respondents, the local Roma community,

language use patterns, dialect intelligibility, education, etc. Te researchers hada set of questions and topics in mind which they covered during an interview,however, the respondents were allowed the freedom to add other topics theyfound relevant. While the researcher had one main conversational partnerwho provided the information for the word list, many interviews took on thecharacter of a group discussion, which helped to get a multi-faceted insightinto the subjects brought up. All interviews were done either in Romanian orHungarian, and were recorded.

.... Observation

Observation of natural language use revealed much about the vitality of thelanguage, and it helped in evaluating to which degree the reported languageuse practices correspond with the actual linguistic behaviour in the commu-nity.

... Sampling

Sampling was not done in a strictly statistical way but rather by intensive net-working. Contacts with the local Roma communities were established throughcontact persons (both non-Roma and Roma) from various NGOs, village

or town administration, churches, the Roma political party, school teachers,medical doctors, etc. In addition to these more official ways of being intro-duced, several respondents provided the researchers with addresses of familymembers or acquaintances whom they considered as being able to contribute

. Albeti I+II (Mure County), Bahnea (Mure County), Brncoveneti (Mure County),Corneti (Mure County), Cuied (Mure County), Deaj (Mure County), Diosig (BihorCounty), Glodeni (Mure County), Ineu de Cri (Bihor County), Lugau de Jos (Bihor County),Mguri (imi County), Mal (Slaj County), Nsud (Bistria-Nsud County), Scuieni (BihorCounty), Senereu (Mure County), Spinu (Bihor County), mada (Bihor County), inca(Bihor County), Uileacu de Cri (Bihor County), Vel (Sibiu County).


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interesting data to the present study. Tus, as time went by, the network ofcontacts grew organically. Te data collected in this way is valuable and canbe considered representative for various reasons, the mains ones being (a) thegood geographical coverage and the large number of places visited; (b) con-tacts were made through representatives from very different social networks;and (c) new data confirming what has already been found.

. Basic linguistic findings

When we compared the short word lists, it became evident that there are fourlinguistic factors which regularly correlate. Tese factors are:

a. s vs. h in different positions (e.g. instrumental case ending (-sa, -ha), copula(som, hom))

b. vs. in certain lexical items (e.g. avo/avoboy)c. nothing with vs. without -n- (e.g. khan(-i) vs. khaj(-i))d. tomorrow related to teha(-ra)/teheor to tejsa/tejse

On the basis of the correlations that we found, local language varieties in oursample can clearly be divided into two categories. As presented in able , halfthe varieties are characterised by the correlation of s, , a khan(-i) related formin the word for nothing (indicated in the fourth column by a +), and a teha(-ra)/teherelated form for tomorrow. As these varieties clearly dominate in thesouthern part of ransylvania, in this article we will refer to them as South

ransylvanian (S) dialects. Another per cent of the local language varietiesin our sample show the correlation of h, , a khaj(-i) related form in the wordfor nothing (indicated in the fourth column by a ), and a tejsa/tejserelatedform for tomorrow. We will refer to them here as North ransylvanian (N)dialects, as the local language varieties making up this group prevail in thenorth and north-east of the area under study. Only per cent of all the localRomani varieties examined did not fit neatly into one of the two categories.Further study is needed in order to evaluate to which degree this is due toinsufficient or deficient data, or to inter-dialectal contact.

It should be stressed that the terms N and S are used here simply asdescriptive labels to refer to the two categories which are established empir-ically. In this article we will show, however, that these two categories can becorrelated to certain group names, and as such reflect certain historical devel-opments. In the southern ransylvanian counties (Alba, Arad, Braov, Huneadoara,Sibiu, and imioara) and in the east (Harghita) only S dialects are found.In the two northern ransylvanian counties, Maramure and Bistria-Nsud,N dialects clearly dominate. In all other counties both groups are represented


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with no detectable geographical distribution between them. Tis means thatspeakers of different Romani varieties live closely together, sometimes even inthe same village. In a situation like this it must be expected that the differentdialects influence each other. But even though N and S dialects have a lotin common, they can still clearly be distinguished based on the four factorspresented above. We plan to publish the in-depth linguistic findings, data about intra-group

variation, and a discussion about the position of the Romani varieties present

in ransylvania with regard to the Romani landscape in general. For the timebeing, we will limit ourselves to stating that in very general and simplifiedterms the North-ransylvanian features are either exclusive to the area(khaj(-i)), not described elsewhere, or similar to certain varieties found tothe north and west of ransylvania (tejsa/tajsa, h in instrumental or copula)(Boretzky and Igla a: ; Matras : f), while the South-ransyl-

vanian features (tehara, khan/khani) are more characteristic of Vlax as awhole (Boretzky and Igla a: , , Matras : ) or Northern Vlaxspecifically ( instead of ) (Boretzky and Igla a: ).

For the purpose of this article it suffices for the reader to be aware of theexistence of these two broad dialect groups. In the following section we will setout to show that there exists a strong correlation between these two groups andcertain group names.

. Te form teheis not described as such, nor can it be found in the Romlex online dictionary(http://romani.uni-graz.at/romlex/).

. Correlations of factors

Percentage ofvarieties with thiscombination offactors

Factor a:

svs. h

Factor b:

vs.

Factor c:

+vs. n

Factor d:

tehavs.

tejsa

c. s + h S dialects

c. h s N dialects

c. h h

c. . s + h

< h + h

< h + h

< h s N/A h

< h s s


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. Group names

.. General remarks

Te Roma are characterised by a great internal heterogeneity. Subgroups aredifferentiated by various factors such as life style, religion, language, internal

structures, period and routes of migration, and level of integration in thebroader national community. Te names used to refer to the subgroups oenreflect these factors while the actual terms Roma use are generally borrowedfrom Romanian, urkish, or Hungarian (see Bakker et al. : f, Matras: f, cherenkov and Laederich : ):

Names deduced from (traditional) occupations, e.g. horse dealers: Lovari(Hung. l horse), drill makers: Burgudi/Bugurdi (urk. burgucu gim-let maker), comb makers: Pieptnari(Rom. pieptenecomb), musicians:Lutari(Rom. lutlute, stringed instrument).

Names related to present or former place of residence, e.g. Bergicka Roma(Germ. Bergmountain), Burgenland Roma (Burgenlandis the easternmostAustrian province),Mavaja (Mavais a region in northwestern Serbia).

Names relating to a common ancestor, e.g. Gabori, descendants of a clanleader of that name.

Names conveying religious affiliation, e.g. Muslim Roma:Xoroxane(Rom-ani xoraxaj/koraxajforeigner, or ultimately from Quran).

Names referring to dominant surrounding people groups, e.g. HungarianRoma, Polish Roma.

Names relating to way of living, e.g. settled people: Arlija (urk. yerlilocal), Rromi de vatr(Rom. vatrhearth), ent Roma: Cortorari(Rom.corttent).

Names marking social standing, e.g. Silk Gypsies: igani de mtase.

Group names are not static concepts, but a means used by individuals, orgroups of people, to position themselves with respect to other individuals orgroups. Tus a single group of Roma can use several endonyms, dependingon how it wants to present itself, and at the same time this group can also begiven different exonyms, depending on either the person using it, or on the

context in which it is used. Moreover group names can be a reason of debateor negotiating:

Roma placing themselves in one of the main groups do not necessarily accept all otherRoma placing themselves in the same main group. In other words, some Roma whodeclare membership of a group are not regarded as belonging to the group by others inthe same group. (Szuhay : )

. Name used for Roma living in mountainous Poland near the Slovakian border.


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Even though group names are generally flexible and can change accord-ing to the situation, or over time, there is oen a tendency to conservatismin name-giving. Because of this, certain names remain in use even aer theconditions that led to the application of the name have disappeared (e.g. Ursari,from Rom. ursbear, are no longer bear trainers, most Lovaridont work withhorses anymore). Group names with the same semantic meaning, like for example Ursari,

Mekara (Serb. meka bear), Medvedara (Slovak medved bear), Rikara(Romani ribear), andAjdijes(urk. aybear), do not necessarily imply thatall the Roma bearing those names are culturally and linguistically very similar,some of them might not even speak Romani anymore (Hbschmannov ,Bakker et al. : ). One case study will suffice to illustrate here how complex subgroup labellingcan be. In Deaj (Mure County), the Romani speaking community refers to

itself as () Crmidari(Rom. crmidbrick) brick makers, indicating theirtraditional profession, but also as () igani de casHouse Gypsies, to expresstheir position as settled Roma in opposition to the Cortorarient Roma, andas () igani RomnizaiRomanianised Gypsies, to express a closer relation-ship to the Romanian population and to distinguish themselves from more

traditional, less assimilated Roma, and finally also as () igani de mtaseSilkGypsies, thus declaring their way of living as more refined in comparisonwith other Roma groups. Te Cortorarient Roma, on the other hand, referto the Roma from Deaj as () Romunguri, a term that could be translated as

Hungarian Roma and which is used to express their (past) assimilation tothe Hungarian population (cf. the section on Cortorariand Romungribelow)which again is presented as standing in contrast to the Cortoraris own morepure and original position, or in Romani as () Lolo po pr(Tose who are)red on the belly, a Romani expression which seems to be used as a mockingname for groups that are considered Romunguri.

.. Data collection

Te information on Roma group names presented here is based exclusively on

what Roma people say about themselves and about others. Te relevant topicsdiscussed with respondents during the sociolinguistic interview were: a. self-designation, and b. designation given by other Roma. We thus received fourtypes of group names: endonyms (We are igani de mtasa.), exonyms (Teyare igani de mtasa.), reported exonyms (Tey call us igani de mtasa.),

. Tis expression seems to be used by Cortorari to refer to Romungri. It was applied to theRoma in Senereu and Bahnea (both Mure County) as well. Where the designation stems fromis unknown.


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and reported endonyms (Tey say that they are igani de mtasa). Althoughinterviews were conducted in Romanian or Hungarian, in a later phase of theresearch the group names were asked for using a Romani dialect the researcherknew. Additionally respondents were asked about (traditional) trades, ways ofliving, internal community structures, customs (marriage, clothing), religiousappurtenance, dialect intelligibility, language use patterns, etc. For the present analysis only ethnonyms which were mentioned to theresearchers are taken into account. Tis type of data is subjective in nature, butprovides significant insights into the name-giving processes at hand. It will becorrelated with the information on the local language varieties (as obtainedfrom the short word lists), which could be considered as data which is lessprone to subject bias.

.. Data discussion

... No specific name

Concerning names for Roma subgroups, the first observation to be made isthat about per cent of all respondents did not associate with any specificsubgroup, but instead only gave the generic Roma(in Romani) or igani(inRomanian) as an answer to the question about what type of Roma they were.Tis pattern of self-reference is mentioned elsewhere too (Bakker et al. : ,Matras : , cherenkov and Laederich : ). In our case, respondentswere familiar with typical group names, but they oen mentioned them only inorder to state that their group does notbelong to any of the clusters mentioned.

... Status of the term Gypsy

Te second observation to be made is that the term Gypsy (iganin Romanian,Cignyin Hungarian) is widely accepted and used in a neutral manner whenconversing in the majority language. Te only people we met who explicitlypreferred the use of Romaor Rromiover Gypsies, considering the latter derog-ative, were trained teachers of Romani language and culture, or members ofthe Roma Political Party. Otherwise people generally preferred to use the termGypsy, saying: We are proud of being igani!, We are not ashamed of being

igani!, Only the ones up there in politics insist that we should be calledRromi!, or they were indifferent with respect to the use of either of the terms.

. Only the six interviews done in the Harghita County were conducted in Hungarian. InHarghita Hungarian is clearly the predominant language. However, Hungarian group names arenot taken into account in this article.. While most of the questions used were inspired by the Manchester EthnographicQuestionnaire (a set of questions elicited in conjunction with the long word list), we did not usetheir entire list and went into more detail at certain points.


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... Relations between ethnonyms and dialects

Te third observation to be made is that a correlation between dialects andgroup names can be established. In the following paragraphs we will elabor-ate on this point while restricting ourselves to some of the most commonly

attested group names..... General division into two groupsFigure shows a basic division of Roma in ransylvania into speakers of Sdialects (under the broken line) and speakers of N dialects (above the brokenline). Te two circles are representative of certain group names, while the sizeof the circles is a rough and intuitive indication of the number of Roma forwhom this term is, or could be, used.

Te group names given in this figure are mutually exclusive and each one is

associated with only one of the two dialect groups. Te Romanian term Cor-torari/Corturarient Roma (or in Romani Cerhari, from cerhatent) is usedexclusively for speakers of S dialects, while the name Romungri/Romunguri/Rumungri/Rumunguri/Rromi Unguri/Romungurisa/Romungli is used exclu-sively for speakers of N dialects. Compared to other group names used for speakers of S dialects, Cortorariis the most frequently applied name. Whereas it is almost always used both as aself-designation and as an outsider-designation, we have met some cases whereit was only given either as an exonym (Tey are Cortorari.), or as a reported

exonym (Others call us Cortorari.). In two instances, both in Cugir, AlbaCounty, respondents stated that others call them Cortorari, but they them-selves explicitly denied this. Te term Cortorarient Roma historically pointsto (semi-)nomadic groups. Nowadays, the name seems to be associated withcertain features which are considered as traditional, like traditional dresses

. We do not have data on the total number of S speakers nor on the number of N speakers.. See Olivera on the equation of the Romanian term Cortorariand the Romani term Cerhari(Olivera : ). In our data the term Cerhariis used very rarely.

F . Romungri vs. Cortorari

Cortorari/CorturariTent Roma

(exonym + endonym)

Romungri

(exonym)N dialects

S dialects


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(hats for men, long skirts and long hair for women), certain marriage customs,the presence of group leaders (buliba), or the traditional court (romani kris). Contrary to Cortorari, the name Romungriis used exclusively as an exonym.Te singular form rom unguror rumungurcould be translated as HungarianRom and is probably an expression of the fact that historically Romungrilivedamong Hungarians, and would typically use Hungarian as their first secondlanguage, i.e., the first language learned aer or next to Romani. Althoughmany Romungri would refer to themselves as Hungarian Roma, (in Roma-nian: igani Ungureti, igani Unguri), it should be noted that the present useof the term Hungarian Roma in ransylvania does not fully coincide with thenotion of Romungri, a phenomenon which we will come back to below. More-over, in certain regions the name Romungriis used for Roma who no longerknow Romani. Te clear correlation between these two ethnonyms and the respective dia-

lect groups is a strong indication that the two sets of correlating features, whichwe termed as S and N dialects, are not just a theoretical construct but indeedreflect a historical reality. Speakers of N dialects seemed to have been settledin ransylvania for a longer period of time and typically had Hungarian astheir first second language. In the course of time, they assimilated to a certaindegree into the majority population, losing many of their traditional customs.Some even gave up speaking Romani. Tis line of reasoning conforms to thefact, oen pointed out, that the term Romungri is used for groups who set-tled down long ago (see Hbschmannov , Bakker et al. : ). Te

speakers of S dialects, on the other hand, led a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifeuntil quite recently, and generally did not assimilate as much into the majoritypopulation as the Romungri.

.... Groups speaking South Transylvanian varieties of RomaniNow, focusing only on group names used by, or for, S dialect speakers, onecan extend the lower part of Figure as in Figure . As can be seen in Figure , some communities of S speakers are referredto as Ciurari sieve makers (Rom. ciursieve), indicating their historical pro-fession. Tis term is used both as an endonym and exonym, as is the case forCortorarient Roma, while for some of the Ciuraricommunities the name is

F . Groups speaking S varieties

CortorariCldrari

GaboriCiurari


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acceptable only as an exonym. Some of the Ciurariwould also be consideredCortorari(by themselves or by others). Another group to be mentioned are the Cldrari(also Kalderash/Kelderash)or kettle makers. Te name indicates a historical profession and is usedboth as an endonym and exonym. Although, in our interviews, none of theCldrarispontaneously mentioned Cortorari ent Roma as an alternativelabel for their group, some respondents did accept this name as an appropriatedesignation aer having been asked about it. Finally, there is the group which is known under the name Gabori. Attestedexonyms for this group are Cortorarient Roma, Ciotrnari/Cetrnari(Hung.csatornagutter, drainpipe), referring to their profession of guttering, same asbadogoi(Hung. bdogtin). Because of the hats worn by Gaborimen, the groupcan also be referred to as Calapoi(Hung. kalaphat). Tis term is acceptedby Gaborias a self-appellation as well. Te highest concentration of Gabori

is found in predominantly Hungarian areas. Tis explains why they refer tothemselves, and are referred to by others, as igani Ungureti/igani UnguriHungarian Roma, a label otherwise not used for S speakers (see next sec-tion). Some writers attest to an overlap between Gaboriand Cldrarikettlemakers or Ciurari sieve makers (Berta : , Olivera : ). On thebasis of our data, this cannot be evaluated because there are very few instancesof respondents mentioning these names in combination. Te language varietywhich the Gaborispeak can clearly be classified as a S dialect. But comparedto other S varieties, the Gaborivariety forms a separate subgroup which is

distinguished not only by linguists (e.g. Gardner & Gardner ), but also byGaborithemselves and by the speakers of other Romani varieties.

.... Romanian Roma and Hungarian RomaMany Roma in ransylvania refer to themselves as either igani Romneti/igani Romni Romanian Roma or as igani Ungureti/igani Unguri Hun-garian Roma. One can now add these terms to the figure, see Figure . As stated above, the word Romungriis used as an exonym for certain groupsof Roma who speak a N dialect, and who typically used to live among amajority population of Hungarians, having Hungarian as their first secondlanguage. Nowadays, however, the name Romungridoes not necessarily implyproficiency in Hungarian, as the name can also be used for groups who haveadopted Romanian as a first second language (as in Band or Deaj, both inthe Mure County). While the name Romungridoes not bear any relation tothe present use of Hungarian, both the Romani designation roma ungrikaHungarian Roma and the Romanian terms igani Ungureti/igani Unguri

. Interestingly, because the Gabori see themselves as Hungarian Roma, some have reinter-preted the term Romungrito mean Romanian Roma romn-gri!


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Hungarian Roma do. Tey are opposed to the Romani terms Roma vlaxika/

Roma laxika/Roma lexika, Walachian/Romanian Roma or the Romanianterms igani Romneti/igani RomniRomanian Roma. For ease of descrip-tion, we will use the English terms Hungarian Roma and Romanian Romahere. Hungarian Roma have Hungarian as their first second language, andthey generally feel more connected to the Hungarian population than to ethnicRomanians. Romanian Roma are bilingual in Romani and Romanian, andassociate more with ethnic Romanians than with Hungarians. As can be seen in Figure , the terms Romanian Roma and HungarianRoma are used for speakers of both N and S dialects. However, there is a

tendency that most Hungarian Roma speak a N variety (the only exceptionbeing the Gabori), and many Romanian Roma speak a S variety. Te term igani RomnizaiRomanianised Roma, a term specifically refer-ring to a perceived cultural assimilation into the majority population, was alsooen encountered, but igani MaghiarizaiHungarianised Roma was attestedto only once (i.e., in Lschia, Maramure County). Roma refer to Non-Roma as Ga(d)e. Even though this term can be usedfor all Non-Roma, it is oen associated first only with the majority popula-tion among which the specific Roma group is living. Tus Ga(d)erefers to

Hungarians in Hungarian dominated regions, and to Romanians in Roma-nian dominated areas. In certain regions formerly dominated by the Saxons(Germans) Ga(d)estill refers to Saxons primarily (e.g. Petri, Bistria-NsudCounty). Following this, the Romani expression Roma Ga(d)ikane can cor-respond either to Romanian Roma or Hungarian Roma, depending on thepresent or historical situation of the Roma for whom this designation is used.

. Most probably the Hungarian termMagyar Cignyokis parallel to this.

F . Romanian Roma vs. Hungarian Roma

Cortorari

Romungri

Cldrari

Gabori

Ciurari

N dialects

S dialects


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... Some other group names

In this last section we would like to list several common ransylvanian groupnames which are not associated with either the N or S dialect groups. One of those common group names is Crmidari(or Crmizari) brick

makers, a name which indicates a historical profession. Another name found among both N and S groups is the name igani demtaseor Silk Gypsies. Tis term is mainly used as a self-designation. SilkGypsies are seen as having a higher status, or social position, being more

refined or more like the majority population in comparison to other Romagroups. Ries describes how the term is used to indicate wealthy Roma whohave managed to adapt or even over-adapt to the Gade world (Ries :, ). Finally, we would like to mention the term Catale/Catali wood work-ers (Romani kat wood), to which some respondents gave the Romanianequivalent biei/beiai/beai miners, gold washers (Rom. bie personworking in a (gold) mine), which is parallel to rudari (Slavic ruda metal),while others mentioned lingurari spoon makers (Rom. lingur spoon) alsoas a counterpart. Historically all these terms probably refer to settled Romagroups who used to work as miners, therefore the terms Rudari and Biei.At some point many of them le this occupation in order to make woodenutensils (baskets, brooms, spoons, etc.) instead, thus the terms Catale andLingurari(Saru : ). Tis explains why these four different labels (Biei,Catale, Lingurari, Rudari) refer, more or less, to the same cluster of people.

All of these terms are most commonly used as exonyms to denote Roma whodo not speak Romani. However, we found a few exceptions: One respondentfrom Lugau de Jos, in Bihor County, who used Catale to refer to his ownRomani-speaking community; and some other Romani-speaking groups whowere called Catale/Cataliby outsiders this was the case in Valcu de Sus,Slaj County, and in Ineu, Bihor County. However, in Baia Sprie, MaramureCounty, there lives a community of Roma who speak Romani and use Bieias an endonym.

. Summary

Tis article discussed several group names used by Roma in ransylvania,focusing on the question of how these names are connected to the two Romanidialect groups represented in ransylvania. o conclude, we summarise thesignificant findings. Firstly, we found a strong correlation between group names and S or Ndialects. Te fact that the name Cortorariis only applied to speakers of the S

varieties shows a strong indication for the assumption that there is a historic-


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al connection between present-day communities speaking a S variety, andgroups of Roma who used to travel around, some of them until recently. At thesame time, the fact that the term Romungriis used exclusively for speakers ofN varieties implies a historical continuity between Roma groups who speakN varieties and groups that are, or used to be, living in an area where Hungar-ians are the majority. Secondly, we noted that certain group names are used exclusively for sub-groups that speak S varieties. Tese names refer either to a historical profes-sion (Ciurari. Cldrari), or to a certain lineage (Gabori). Te term Crmidarirefers to a profession as well, but unlike the names mentioned so far, it does notpredict whether the community referred to as Crmidarispeaks a N or a S

variety. Finally, we found a number of group names which correlate weakly, or not atall, with the two dialect groups. Te labels Hungarian Roma and Romanian

Roma are typically used to express the groups first second language, whilethe term romanianised indicates a perceived assimilation of the group to theRomanian population. Te same is true for the term igani de mtasewhichis used to refer to groups who have (over-)adapted to the majority population.Te names Catale, Biei and Lingurariare the commonly preferred namesused for non-Romani speaking groups.

References

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Berta, Peter. . Ethnicisation of value the value of ethnicity: Te prestige-itemeconomy as a performance of ethnic identity among the Gabors of ransylvania(Romania). Romani Studies. Fih Series. (): .

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Olivera, Martin. . Romans ou lintgration traditionelle des Gabori de ransyl-vanie. Doctorate Tesis. Paris: Universit Paris X. (http://www.romeurope.org/proto/IMG/these-martin-olivera-romanes.pdf, accessed Sept. ).


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Ries, Johannes. . Welten Wanderer ber die kulturelle Souvernitt siebenbr-gischer Zigeuner und den Einfluss des Pfingstchristentums. Wrzburg: Ergon.

Saru, Gheorghe. . Dicionar Rrom-Romn. Bucharest: Sigma.Szuhay, Pter. . Te self-definitions of Roma ethnic groups and their perceptions

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Roma Group Names in Transylvania