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Romani dialect

Scandoromani

Also known as: Tavringer Romani, Traveller Romani, Rommani

A para-Romani variety spoken by Traveller communities in Sweden and Norway, combining a Romani-derived lexicon with a Scandinavian grammatical frame. It descends from the speech of Romani groups present in the region since the sixteenth century and survives today largely as an in-group vocabulary register.

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Frequently asked questions

What language is Scandoromani?

Scandoromani is a dialect of the Romani language.

Where is Scandoromani spoken?

Scandoromani is primarily spoken in Sweden, Norway.

Which region is Scandoromani associated with?

Scandoromani is part of the Europe region on DialectAtlas.

Is Scandoromani known by other names?

Yes — Scandoromani is also referred to as Tavringer Romani, Traveller Romani, Rommani.

Is Scandoromani endangered?

Scandoromani is severely endangered. It is largely spoken by older generations; parents may understand it but typically do not pass it on to their children.

What are the other dialects of Romani?

Romani also includes Lovari, Kalderash, Arli, Gurbeti, Sinte Manouche, Baltic Romani, Central European Romani, Zargari, Romanichal, Welsh Romani, Finnish Kalo, Caló, Ruska Roma, Ursari, Crimean Romani. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.

Other Romani dialects

See on the atlas →
Zargari

Zargari Romani · Zargari Romanes · Zargar Romani

A highly endangered Romani variety spoken in and around the village of Zargar in Qazvin province of north-western Iran, west of Tehran. The community is traditionally said to have been settled in the Safavid period and is one of the easternmost Romani-speaking populations on record; the dialect retains a Romani lexical core but shows heavy contact influence from Persian and Azerbaijani Turkish in phonology, vocabulary, and grammar. Speaker numbers are small and intergenerational transmission has weakened sharply.

Romanichal

Angloromani · British Romani · Pogadi Chib

The Romani variety of the Romanichal Travellers of England and the wider British Isles. The older inflected dialect is no longer spoken; it survives as Angloromani, a para-Romani register in which a substantial Romani-derived lexicon is embedded in an English grammatical frame. Diaspora communities exist in North America and Australia.

Welsh Romani

Kååle · Welsh Kale

The inflected Northern Romani variety historically spoken by the Kååle of Wales. It was extensively documented by John Sampson in the early twentieth century and is now extinct as a first language, the last fluent speakers having died in the mid-twentieth century. It is notable as the last conservatively inflected Romani dialect attested in Britain.

Finnish Kalo

Kaale · Finnish Kaale · Fíntiko Rómma

A Northern Romani variety spoken by the Finnish Kale in Finland and, through twentieth-century migration, in Sweden. It shows heavy structural and phonological influence from Finnish, including consonant gradation, and is one of the most distinctive Northern Romani dialects. Intergenerational transmission has weakened markedly.

Caló

Iberian Romani · Zincaló · Caló Romani

The Iberian para-Romani variety spoken by the Calé (Gitanos) of Spain and, in related forms, Portugal and southern France. A Romani-derived lexicon is embedded in a Castilian (or Catalan/Portuguese) grammatical frame; the older inflected Iberian Romani is no longer spoken. Caló vocabulary has left a marked imprint on Andalusian Spanish and flamenco.

Ruska Roma

Russian Romani · North Russian Romani · Xaladitka Roma

A Northern Romani variety spoken by the Ruska Roma across Russia and Ukraine, shaped by long and intensive contact with Russian. It was the basis of a short-lived literary standard developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s and remains one of the more vital Northern Romani dialects.

Ursari

Ursaritska · Rićhinari

A Balkan Romani variety spoken in Romania and Moldova, traditionally associated with the Ursari, the Roma groups historically known as bear-leaders. It is grouped with the Balkan dialects rather than the surrounding Vlax varieties and shows substantial Romanian contact influence.

Crimean Romani

Krymitika Roma · Crimean Roma

A Balkan Romani variety spoken by Roma communities of the Crimean peninsula and the northern Black Sea coast, marked by heavy contact influence from Crimean Tatar and other Turkic languages in both lexicon and phonology.

Nearby dialects

See on the atlas →
Eastern Norwegian

168 km away

The Oslo-area variety, the most widely heard spoken Norwegian in national broadcasting. Closely associated with Bokmål, the more Danish-influenced of the two written standards.

Elfdalian

213 km away

A heavily archaic North Germanic variety spoken in Älvdalen in northern Dalarna, Sweden. Often classified as a separate language; preserves Old Norse features lost in all other living varieties.

Standard Swedish

259 km away

The Stockholm-based standard of Swedish. The largest North Germanic language; mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, particularly in writing.

Standard Danish

410 km away

The Copenhagen-based standard of Danish. A North Germanic language, widely cited for its highly reduced vowels and famously challenging stød (a quasi-tonal feature) for learners.

Western Norwegian

471 km away

The Norwegian of the western fjords, centred on Bergen. The basis of much of Nynorsk, the second written Norwegian standard built from rural dialects rather than Dano-Norwegian.

Trøndersk

485 km away

The Norwegian of Trøndelag in central Norway, around Trondheim. Distinct from both eastern and western varieties in vowel realisation and intonation.

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