Abstract
The present article sets out to describe the system of personal pronouns in Norwegian Para-Romani.* As we shall see, thepronominal system constitutes one of the few remnants of original Indic elements in the grammatical lexicon of Norwegian Para-Romani. In Norwegian Para-Romani, the original Inda-Aryan grammar, morphology and syntax have, with few exceptions, beenreplaced with Norwegian ones. However, the personal pronouns originate in possessive pronouns in original Romani. This article has three parts. First, I give a brief introduction to the notion of Para-Romani itself and specifically to the Norwegian variety. Secondly, I give a description of the pronominal system. Thirdly, I place the data in a semantic-diachronic frame.
Highlights
Norwegian Para RomaniThe Norwegian and Swedish Para-Romani varieties have been labelled Scandoromani (cf. e.g. Matras 2002), a useful term I have chosen not to employ here because the present data mainly stem from Norwegian
The Romani language, as well as its original speakers, the Roma, originates in north-western India, from where they emigrated ca. 1000 years ago
What remains is a variety in which the grammar and phonology are inherited from the surrounding majority language, but with Romani items inserted into that language's frame
Summary
The Norwegian and Swedish Para-Romani varieties have been labelled Scandoromani (cf. e.g. Matras 2002), a useful term I have chosen not to employ here because the present data mainly stem from Norwegian. There still exists a derivational word formation pattern, which remains productive in Norwegian and Swedish Para-Romani. This pattern has the form of the suffix -epa, and can be exemplified as follows:. We observe that whereas the entire inflexional system has disappeared to that of the surrounding majority language, a derivational process has been retained, alongside the pronominal system. This is puzzling since the explanation for the mere existence of Para-Romani varieties has been said to be that of identity flagging and secretiveness (cf Matras et al 2008: 19). How the preservation of a word formation pattern may serve such a function is unclear
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