Romani in the Balkan Linguistic Area

Abstract

This paper examines Balkan linguistic features present in Romani varieties, as documented in ten Romani datasets in the Atlas of the Balkan Linguistic Area (ABLA). We focus on the domains of nominal and verb phrases, simple and complex clauses, word order, and lexical borrowing. Our data show that Romani varieties exhibit a range of Balkan features, such as definite articles, the loss of the infinitive, and alignment with other Balkan languages, especially in the nominal domain, affecting substantival, pronominal, and adjectival systems. The verbal domain exhibits the highest degree of variation and contact influence from Balkan languages. In the domain of simple clauses, complex clauses and word order, Romani varieties align with typical patterns in Balkan languages, but several instances of contact influence are noted. By comparing the Romani varieties in the Balkans with the control variety in northern Italy, we identify significant language-contact influences affecting various domains in the Piacenza variety. Overall, the paper highlights the complexity of language contact in the Balkans and the continued susceptibility of Romani varieties to influence from their contact languages.