Para-Romani are various mixed languages of non- Indo-Aryan linguistic classification containing considerable admixture from the

Romani language Romani ( ; also Romanes , Romany, Roma; ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani people. The largest of these are Vlax Romani language, Vlax Romani (about 500,000 speakers), Balkan Romani (600,000), and Sinte Roma ...

. They are spoken as the traditional vernacular of Romani communities, Matras, Y. ''Romani: A Linguistic Introduction''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

(2002) either in place of, or alongside, varieties of the Romani language. Some Para-Romani languages have no structural features of Romani at all, taking only the vocabulary from Romani. Reflecting the northern

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

origin (in regions that are today part of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) of the Romani people, who for the last millennium have resided in dispersed locations predominantly throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the linguistic makeup of most Para-Romani languages is based on

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

, except for Laiuse Romani (which is based on Estonian) and Erromintxela (which is based on

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

of the Basque region of Spain and France, separate from the Caló Iberian Romani language of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

based on the Romance languages of Iberia). The phenomenon of Para-Romani languages is akin to

Jewish languages Jewish languages are the various languages and dialects that developed in Jewish communities in the Jewish diaspora, diaspora. The original Jewish language is Hebrew, supplanted as the primary vernacular by Aramaic following the Babylonian capti ...

(other than

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

) which are spoken by different communities of the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...

and are heavily influenced by

, such as

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

(Judaeo-German) among

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

, Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish) among Sephardic Jews, or Yevanic (Judaeo-Greek), Italkian (Judaeo-Italian), various Judeo-Arabic languages, etc.

Varieties

Based on Indo-European languages

* Germanic-based ** Angloromani ** Scottish Cant ** Scandoromani ** Sinti-Manouche (moving from a Romani variant to being Para-Romani) * Greek-based ** Romano-Greek * Romance-based ** Caló ** Manouche (moving from a Romani variant to being Para-Romani) * Slavic-based **† Bohemian Romani (which was moving towards being a Para-Romani variety prior to extinction) ** Romano-Serbian

Based on non-Indo European languages

* Finnic-based ** † Laiuse Romani ( Estonian-based) * Turkic-based **Romano-Turkish ( Turkish-based) **Crimean-Romani ( Crimean Tatar-based) ** Kurbetcha (Cypriot Turkish-based) *

-based ** Erromintxela

References

Mixed languages {{Romani-stub