Rumelian Romani in the context of "Balkan Romani"

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⭐ Core Definition: Rumelian Romani

Rumelian Romani is a dialect of Southern Balkan Romani of strong Turkish pronunciation with Turkish and Greek loanwords, traditionally spoken by Muslim Romani people (Xoraxane) in the Balkans. It was historically spoken by Romanies in Ottoman Rumelia, especially by sedentary Romani people of various subgroups in Edirne in East Thrace First described by Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname in 1668, of the Muslim Roma in Gümülcine, and later by William Marsden in 1785 and by Alexandros Georgios Paspatis (Paspati), a scholar of the Romani language in 1870. This Romani dialect is almost extinct in East Thrace, but still spoken by Muslim Roma in West Thrace and some other parts of the Balkans.

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Rumelian Romani in the context of Romani people in Turkey

The Romani people in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye'deki Romanlar) are a Romani subgroup in the Republic of Türkiye. The majority are Sunni Muslims, mostly of Sufi orientation. The majority speak Turkish as their first language and have adopted Turkish culture. Many have denied their Romani background over the centuries in order to become more accepted by the host population. They are primarily concentrated in western Turkey, particularly in East Thrace (European Turkey).

Their official name in Turkey has been Romanlar since 1996. They are also called Şopar ("Gypsy kid") in Rumelian Romani dialect, and Manuş ("Human") or Çingene ("Gypsy") in Turkish, while once in Ottoman Turkish they were named Cingân ("Gypsy"), Kıptî ("Copts") and Mısırlı ("Egyptians"). As Gastarbeiter some Turkish Roma came to Germany and Austria and other European countries and fully assimilated in Turkish European communities.

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