Terminology

Most of these terms were compiled by Will Strain and Angela Ba'Tal Libal at:
http://www.geocities.com/soho/3698/rom.htm

Antiziganism - (or Anti-Romanyism) is hostility, prejudice or racism directed at the Roma people, commonly (but pejoratively) called Gypsies.

Ashkali - (Aschkali, Hashkali, Aškalije (Ашкалије), Haškalije (Хашкалије)) are an Albanian language speaking ethnic minority of Kosovo and Albania. Their origin is disputed. Ashkali are often regarded as Albanized Roma, but some think they are descendants of Turks or Egyptians. Ashkali have similar culture to both Roma and Albanians. There is a theory that Ashkali are descendants of Roma who are said to have come to the Balkans from Palestine (their name deriving from Ashkelon, a city in Israel).

Assimilation - when one ethnic group absorbs another, so that the cultural traits of the assimilated group become indistinguishable.

Bohemian Romany - (Bohemian Romani) is a dialect of Romany (a European Indo-Aryan language) formerly spoken by the Roma of Bohemia, the western part of today's Czech Republic. It became extinct after the World War II, due to extermination of most of its speakers in Nazi concentration camps.

Bosha - (sometimes spelled Posha) also called the Lom people, are a Romani ethnic group who live in Eastern Anatolia and the southern Caucasus mountains. The Lom are sometimes considered a separate branch of the proto-Romani people who remained in Eastern Anatolia and Armenia in the 11th century, while the ancestors of the contemporary Roma people immigrated further west in the 13th - 14th centuries. The language of the Lom people is Lomavren.

Boyash - (Bayash; Romanian: Băeşi, Hungarian: Beás, Slovak: Bojáš, South Slavic: Bojaši) refers to a Roma ethnic group living in Romania, southern Hungary, northeastern Croatia, western Vojvodina, Slovakia, the Balkans, but also in the Americas and Australia. Alternative names are Rudari (Ludari), Lingurari and Zlătari.

Gadge - (gadgo) this is the name which Roma apply to those outside their community (cf. goy/goyim – non-Jew/Jews). The sound «dj» is rendered by a special letter in the Romani alphabet [ӡ] – and is thus transcribed differently in English and French.

Garachi - (Azeri: Qaraçı), also spelled Karachi or Karaci, are a group of Romani people living in Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that the term Garachi is sometimes used to describe the Domari-speaking people of northern Iran, who were previously thought to be of Romani stock.

Gitanos - Term used for the Romani people in Spain. Spanish Roma tend to speak Caló which is basically Andalusian Spanish with a large number of Romani loan words.

Gypsy - (Gipsy, Gipsey) considered pejorative, is a member of the Roma people or, more generally (or stereotypically), one of a stateless people.

Gurbeti - Gurbeti are a grouping of Roma people. Many thousands of Gurbeti live in the east of Europe.

Irish Travellers - (Irish: Lucht siúil) are an itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. Travellers refer to themselves as "Pavees", whereas some English people refer to them with the derogatory term "Pikeys". In Irish, Travellers are called an Lucht siúil (literally "the people of walking"). Many non-Pavee people (called "buffers", or sometimes "rooters") still use the term "tinkers" from the Irish tincéirí, sg. tincéir or "tinsmith." Rarely, Travellers were referred to as the "Walking People" by English speakers in Ireland. Other names are also used, such as "pikeys" or "knackers" (considered derogatory).

Kalderash - (Caldarari, Kotlyary) is the name for one of subgroups of Roma; this subgroup is widespread in the world. Many Roma living in Romania have the surname "Caldararu" which means they or their ancestors belong to this clan.

Lovari - a subgroup of the Romani people, who speak their own dialect, influenced by Hungarian. They live throughout Europe, in Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, Italy, and Greece.

Minority - A minority or subordinate group is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society.

North Central Romany - (North Central Romany, Carpathian Romany, Romungro) is one of a dozen major dialect groups within Romany, an Indo-Aryan language of Europe. The North Central dialects of Romany are traditionally spoken by some subethnic groups of Roma in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, southeastern Poland, the Transcarpathia province of Ukraine (where they are called "Ungriko Roma"), and parts of Transylvania.

Nomad - Nomadic people, also known as nomads, are communities of people that move with cattle from one place to another, rather than settling down in one location.

Prejudice - any unreasonable attitude that is unusually resistant to rational influence.

Racism - prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that race is the primary factor determining human traits and abilities.

Roma - (singular Rom, plural Roma as a noun; also known as Romanies) are an ethnic group with origins in India. The Romani people are a widely dispersed ethnic group, with the largest concentrated populations in Europe.

Romani or Romany - (native name: romani ćhib) is the language of the Roma and Sinti. The Indo-Aryan Romani language should not be confused with either Romanian (spoken by Romanians), or Romansh (spoken in parts of southeastern Switzerland), both of which are Romance languages.

Samudaripen - in Romani, this word means “(the) murder of all” (collective murder) and refers to the genocide of the Roma, Sinté and Kalé during the Second World War.

Segregation - the practice of keeping ethnic, racial, religious, or gender groups separate especially by enforcing the use of separate schools, transportation, housing, and other facilities, and usually discriminating against a minority group.

Sinti - (sinta, cinti) although the Sinti share an origin with the Roma people, the Sinti are now considered a different ethnic group. The Sinti speak a dialect of the Romany language called "Romanes, Sintenghero Tschib(en)", which has a primarily Romany vocabulary but some grammatical differences, and exhibits strong German influence.

Traveller - (travellers) used in some countries as an administrative term which also applies to non-Roma groups with itinerant lifestyles. It thus covers the various branches of Roma (Roma, Sinti/Manush, Kale/Gypsies, whose ancestors came from northern India), but other communities as well. In Ireland, they are officially regarded as a native community. Irish Travellers call themselves Pavee in their own language. In Wales, there are two groups – the Romanichals (see below) who now speak Anglo-Romani and, in the north, the Kale (who came from Spain via France and Cornwall).

Ursari - (generally read as "bear leaders" or "bear handlers"; from the Romanian urs, meaning "bear"; singular: ursar; Bulgarian: урсари, ursari) or Richinara are the traditionally-nomad occupational group of animal trainers among the Roma people. The word Ursari may also refer to a dialect of Balkan Romani, as spoken in Romania and Moldova, although it is estimated that most Ursari, like the Boyash, speak Romanian as their native language.

Xenophobia - a fear or contempt of that which is foreign or unknown, especially of strangers or foreign people.

Yenish - Like the Irish Travellers, the Yenish are an indigenous non-Roma community, mainly living in Switzerland, who have an itinerant lifestyle, although most (over 90%) are now sedentary. Locally, they are sometimes called Karner, Laninger, Keßler, Fecker ou Spengler. They speak German, with some Romani, Latin and Hebrew loan-words.