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Romani in Britain: The Afterlife of a Language

AUTHOR Matras, Yaron
PUBLISHER Edinburgh University Press (10/05/2010)
PRODUCT TYPE Hardcover (Hardcover)

Description
Romani is one of Britain's oldest and most established minority languages. Brought to the country by Romani immigrants from continental Europe in the sixteenth century or even earlier, it was spoken in its old, inflected form as a family and community language until the second half of the nineteenth century, when it yielded to English. But even after its decline as the everyday language of English and Welsh Gypsies, Romani continues to survive in the form of a vocabulary that is used to express an 'emotive mode' of communication among group members. This book examines British Romani in its historical context and in its present-day form, drawing on recordings and interviews with speakers. It documents the Romani vocabulary and its usage patterns in conversation, offering insight into the processes of language death and language revitalization. The volume includes an extensive lexicon of Angloromani as a helpful reference.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780748639045
ISBN-10: 0748639047
Binding: Hardback or Cased Book (Sewn)
Content Language: English
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Page Count: 272
Carton Quantity: 24
Product Dimensions: 6.40 x 0.90 x 9.20 inches
Weight: 1.23 pound(s)
Feature Codes: Bibliography, Index, Price on Product, Maps
Country of Origin: US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Foreign Language Study | Indic Languages
Foreign Language Study | Criticism & Theory
Foreign Language Study | Aesthetics
Grade Level: Post Graduate and up
Dewey Decimal: 491.497
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010681247
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Romani is one of Britain's oldest and most established minority languages. Brought to the country by Romani immigrants from continental Europe in the sixteenth century or even earlier, it was spoken in its old, inflected form as a family and community language until the second half of the nineteenth century, when it yielded to English. But even after its decline as the everyday language of English and Welsh Gypsies, Romani continues to survive in the form of a vocabulary that is used to express an 'emotive mode' of communication among group members. This book examines British Romani in its historical context and in its present-day form, drawing on recordings and interviews with speakers. It documents the Romani vocabulary and its usage patterns in conversation, offering insight into the processes of language death and language revitalization. The volume includes an extensive lexicon of Angloromani as a helpful reference.
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Author: Matras, Yaron
Yaron Matras is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Manchester. His research interests include the interface of linguistic typology, discourse pragmatics and language processing and language change, as well as multilingualism and dialects. He has published widely on the linguistics of Romani and on language contact. His books include Language Contact (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
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List Price $125.00
Your Price  $123.75
Hardcover