Romani language
Romani (; also Romany; ) is any of several languages of the Romani people belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. According to Ethnologue, seven varieties of Romani are divergent enough to be considered languages of their own. The largest of these are Vlax Romani (about 500,000 speakers), Balkan Romani (600,000), and Sinte Romani (300,000). Some Romani communities speak mixed languages based on the surrounding language with retained Romani-derived vocabulary – these are known by linguists as Para-Romani varieties, rather than dialects of the Romani language itself.
Romani society and culture
The Romani people are today found in many countries. Typically, Romani adopt given names that are common in the country of their residence. Seldom do modern Romani use traditional names from their own language, such as Papush, Luludi, Patrin, etc. Being the only Indo-Aryan language that has been spoken exclusively around Europe since the Middle Ages, speakers use many terms for their language. They generally refer to their language as "řomani čhib" translated as ‘the Romani language’, or "řomanes", ‘in a Rom way’. The English term, Romani, has been used by scholars since the 19th Century, where previously they had used the term 'Gypsy Language'.