Labels used to refer to individual Romani dialects are heterogenous, polysemous and rarely transparent. Sometimes the same labels are used for different dialects or different labels are used for one dialect. In the description of individual dialects we aim to clarify what the dialect labels in ROMLEX refer to. We will do so by giving information on which dialect group an individual dialect belongs to, where it is spoken and which other labels are used to refer to this dialect. In current Romani linguistics five main dialect groups are differentiated: Vlax, Balkan, Central, Northwestern and Northeastern (see Matras 2002, chapter 2). In addition to this five main dialect groups there are a few isolated groups (British Romani, Iberian Romani) and isolated dialects (Romani dialects in Southern Italy, Croatia/Slovenia).
Gurbet Romani belongs to the Vlax dialect group, more specifically the Southern Vlax group. Gurbet-type varieties are mostly spoken in the southwest of the Balkans (The Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania). Banatiski Gurbet Romani is spoken in Vojvodina (The Republic of Serbia and Montenegro).
Bugurdži Romani belongs to the Balkan dialect group, more specifically the Northern Balkan group, sometimes also refered to as Drindari-Kalajdži-Bugurdži group. Bugurdži Romani is mainly spoken in Macedonia and Kosovo. Names also used to refer to this dialect are: Rabadži, Arabadži, and Kovač(k)i. The Bugurdži Romani glossary in ROMLEX consists of data from Macedonia and Kosovo.
Burgenland Romani belongs to the Central group, more specifically to the Southern Central dialect group. Together with the Vend dialect of south-western Hungary and the Romani dialect spoken in northern Slovenia (Prekmurje) it constitutes the Vend branch of the Southern Central dialects. It is spoken in Burgenland, the easternmost province of Austria. Burgenland Roma refer to their Romani variety as Roman.
Crimean Romani belongs to the Balkan group, more specifically the Southern Balkan group. Nowadays Crimean Romani is mainly spoken in Kuban' and Georgia.
Dolenjski Romani is an isolated Romani dialect originating from Croatia, which today is spoken in Slovenia and Italy. There is no documentation of the dialect from Croatia itself, however. Speakers of this dialect in Slovenia refer to themselves as Dolenjski Roma, derived from the region where they live (the lower province of central Slovenia). A subgroup of speakers in Italy call themselves Hravati/Havati. Their dialect has also been referred to as Istrian Romani. The data included in the Dolenjski Romani glossary in ROMLEX originates from Slovenia.
East Slovak Romani belongs to the Central group, more specifically the Northen Central group. East Slovak Romani is the most dominant Romani variety spoken in the Czech Republic (due to massive immigration of eastern Slovak Roma to Bohemia in the late 1940s to early 1950s). It is also the variety used most widely in text production in the Czech Republic. East Slovak Romani is sometimes also referred to as Romungro Romani. In the ROMLEX context their is a clear differentiation between Romungro dialects, which belong to the Southern Central dialect group and East Slovak Romani, which belongs to the Northern Central dialect group. East Slovak Romani is sometimes also refered to as Servika Romani.
Finnish Romani belongs to the Northwestern dialect group. Finnish Romani has only a small number of speakers. It is mainly spoken in Finnland. The Swedish element in the language makes clear that the Finnish Rom or Kaale migrated via Sweden.
Gurbet Romani belongs to the Vlax dialect group, more specifically the Southern Vlax group. Gurbet-type varieties are mostly spoken in the southwest of the Balkans (The Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania). Names also used to refer to this dialect are Džambazi (mostly for Gurbet varieties in Macedonia) and Das. The Gurbet Romani glossary in ROMLEX consists of data from Bosnia and Kosovo.
Gurvari Romani belongs to the Central dialect group, more specifically to the Southern Central dialect group. It has absorbed many Vlax influences and can thus be regarded as a transitional variety. It is spoken in Hungary.
Hungarian Vend Romani belongs to the Central dialect group, more specifically to the Southern Central group. Together with Burgenland Romani and the Romani variety spoken in northern Slovenia (Prekmurje) it constitutes the Vend branch of the Southern Central dialects. It is spoken in south-western Hungary.
Kalderaš Romani belongs to the Vlax group, more specifically to the Northern Vlax group. Alongside Ursari, Kalderaš Romani is the most widely spoken Romani dialect in Romania. There are also many Kalderaš speakers outside of Romania in many different countries of the world. Kalderaš Romani is very well documented. The Kalderaš Romani glossary in the ROMLEX database consists of different varieties of Kalderaš Romani spoken in different European countries.
Arli Romani varieties belong to the Balkan group, more specifically the Southern Balkan group. The Arli Romani varieties cluster is rather complex and data on individual varieties spoken in different regions is yet sparse. Arli varieties are spoken in the southern part of the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, in Kosovo, in Macedonia, and in the northern part of Greece. As the label Kosovo Arli Romani reflects, the data included in the ROMLEX database is from an Arli variety spoken in Kosovo.
Latvian Romani belongs to the Northeastern dialect group. It is spoken by a small population in Lithuania and Latvia. Names also used to refer to this dialect are: Čuxny dialect or Lotfiko/Loftiko.
Lithuanian Romani belongs to the Northeastern dialect group. Historically Lithuanian Romani was spoken on the territory of present-day Lithuania. Today the dialect is spoken by a relatively small population of speakers living in Lithuania and in Baltic Russia, and recent asylum seeking migrants from Lithuania to Western Europe. Documentation of this dialect is yet sparse.
Lovara Romani belongs to the Vlax group, more specifically to the Northern Vlax group. It was formed in Trannsylvania in contact with Hungarian and is now the main Romani variety spoken in Hungary. Lovara groups also live in Austria, Germany, Poland, fomer Yugoslavia (Vojvodina) and Scandinavia. The Lovara Romani glossary in the ROMLEX database consists of different varieties of Lovara Romani from different countries.
Arli Romani varieties belong to the Balkan group, more specifically the Southern Balkan group. The Arli Romani varieties cluster is rather complex and data on individual varieties spoken in different regions is yet sparse. Arli varieties are spoken in the southern part of the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, in Kosovo, in Macedonia, and in the northern part of Greece. As the label Macedonian Arli Romani reflects, the data included in the ROMLEX database is from an Arli variety spoken in Macedonia, more specifically from Skopje and Kumanovo.
Macedonian Džambazi Romani belongs to the Vlax dialect group, more specifically the Southern Vlax group. It is a Gurbet-type variety. As the label Macedonian Džambazi Romani reflects, the data included in the ROMLEX database is from a Džambazi variety spoken in Macedonia, more specifically from Kumanovo.
North Russian Romani belongs to the Northeastern dialect group. Varieties of North Russian Romani are spoken in the Baltic-North Russian-Poland area. Another name often used to refer to North Russian Romani varieties is Xaladitka.
Prekmurski Romani belongs to the Central group, more specifically to the Southern Central dialect group. Together with Roman, the Romani dialect spoken in Burgenland (Austria), and the Vend dialect of south-western Hungary it constitutes the Vend branch of the Southern Central dialects. It is spoken in Slovenia. Its major contact language is Slovene.
Romungro Romani belongs to the Central dialect group, more specifically to the Southern Central group. Romungro dialects constitute the eastern group of the Southern Central dialects. In Hungary itself, Romungro is only spoken by a small number of speakers. Romungro varieties are mainly spoken in Slovakia.
Sepečides Romani belongs to the Balkan group, more specifically to the Southern Balkan group. It is the dialect of the basket-weavers of northern Greece (Volos) and Turkey (Izmir). The data in the Sepečides Romani glossary in ROMLEX originates from the variety spoken in Turkey.
Sinte Romani belongs to the Northwestern dialect group. The label Sinte Romani refers to a cluster of Romani varieties that can be described as the Sinte-Manuš varieties of Romani. Sinte is the self-designation of a large Roma population that came to German speaking territory early on in the dispersion of Romani dialects. Manuš, as well as Kale, seem to be the older terms of self-designation used by this Roma population. Nowadays the term Sinte is used widely among groups in Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Hungary, Bohemia, Slovakia, Italy and Russia. Speakers of these varieties in France refer to themselves as Manuš. Speakers of Sinte-Manuš varieties refer to their language as Rómanes or Sintitikes. The Sinte Romani glossary in ROMLEX consits of different Sinte-Manuš varieties from different countries.
Sofia Erli Romani belongs to the Balkan group, more specifically to the Southern Balkan group. It is spoken in Sofia, Bulgaria. This dialect is very well documented through a collection of fairy tales, dating back until the beginning of the 20th century.
Gurbet Romani belongs to the Vlax dialect group, more specifically the Southern Vlax group. Gurbet-type varieties are mostly spoken in the southwest of the Balkans (The Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania). Sremski Gurbet Romani is spoken in Vojvodina (The Republic of Serbia and Montenegro).
Ursari Romani belongs to the Balkan group, more specifically the Southern Balkan group. Alongside Kalderaš Romani, Ursari Romani is the most widely spoken Romani dialect in Romania.
Veršend Romani belongs to the Central group, more specifically to the Southern Central dialect group. It is spoken in Southern Hungary. Together with the so-called Romungro Romani varieties it constitutes the eastern group of the Southern Central dialects.
Welsh Romani belongs to the British branch of Romani, which is now considered extinct. Another name used to refer to the Welsh dialect is Kååle. Welsh Romani was still spoken by a number of families until the second half of the twentieth century.