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Finnish Romani language

{{Short description|Variety of the Romani language}}

{{Infobox language

|name = Kalo

|nativename = kaalengo tšimb

|states = Finland, Sweden

|speakers = 10,000 in Finland

|date = 2001 census

|ref = e25

|speakers2 = {{sigfig|1650|2}} in Sweden (2009)

|familycolor = Indo-European

|fam2 = Indo-Iranian

|fam3 = Indo-Aryan

|fam4 = Central Zone

|fam5 = Romani

|fam6 = Northern Romani

|fam7 = Northwestern Romani

|nation =

|iso3 = rmf

|glotto=kalo1256

|glottorefname=Kalo Finnish Romani

}}

Kalo, Kàlo or the Finnish Romani language ({{Langx|rmf|link=no|kaalengo tšimb}}[https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/164601/ESITE%20Romanilapset%20ROM.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y ”Vela pinsiba, at doola horttas dikkena tšiȟkeske, so me som” — Kaalengo kentengo tšiȟko aaȟȟiba ta horttibongo tšatšjiba]) is a variety of the Romani language spoken by the Kaale subgroup of the Romani people in Finland and Sweden. The language is related to but not mutually intelligible with Scandoromani or Angloromani.

Kalo has 6,000–10,000 speakers and many young people do not know the language. The majority of speakers are from older generations and about two-thirds of the Romani in Finland still speak the language. There have been some revival efforts. Dictionaries and grammar books have been produced and some universities offer Kalo as a course. It has some similarities to the Romani languages in Hungary, where stress is placed on the first syllable of the word. This may be related to the fact that both Finnish and Hungarian words have fixed word-initial stress, a feature that would have diffused to the Romani languages. Kalo has been taught in schools since the late 1980s, with some courses available as early as the 1970s.{{Harvcoltxt|Granqvist|2001}}

Current situation

In 2012 only 30% of the 13,000 Romani in Finland spoke Kalo fluently, but about 50% could understand it. It is now uncommon for Kalo speakers to pass the language to children although there have been efforts made to revive it in recent years. There are language nests in Rovaniemi, and in Helsinki, Romani courses were established. In Finland, the municipalities can establish Romani courses if there is enough demand, though there have been problems due to a lack of resources.{{Harvcoltxt|Tuukkanen|2012}}

Finnish Romani in Sweden have a right to Kalo and Finnish education.{{cite web|url=https://goteborg.se/wps/portal/suomeksi-l/Suomeksi/-ruotsinsuomalaiset-romanit/romanien-oikeudet-goteborgissa|title=Romanien oikeudet Göteborgissa|access-date=2022-06-04|archive-date=2023-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205042733/https://goteborg.se/wps/portal/suomeksi-l/Suomeksi/-ruotsinsuomalaiset-romanit/romanien-oikeudet-goteborgissa|url-status=dead}}

File:Finnish Romani.png

Phonology

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+

! rowspan="3" |

! colspan="4" |Front

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Back

colspan="2" |unrounded

! colspan="2" |rounded

shortlong

!short

long

!short

long
Close

| {{IPAlink|i}}

| {{IPAlink|iː}}

| {{IPAlink|y}}

| {{IPAlink|yː}}

| {{IPAlink|u}}

| {{IPAlink|uː}}

Mid

| {{IPAlink|e}}

| {{IPAlink|eː}}

| {{IPAlink|ø}}

| {{IPAlink|øː}}

| {{IPAlink|o}}

| {{IPAlink|oː}}

Open

| {{IPAlink|æ}}

| {{IPAlink|æː}}

|

|

| {{IPAlink|ɑ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɑː}}

Finnish Kalo has 8 pairs of long and short vowels.{{Harvcoltxt|Granqvist|2002|pp=64–65}}{{Harvcoltxt|Granqvist|2011|pp=2–4}} Vowel length can be phonemic as in {{Lang|rmf|bur}} 'through' versus {{Lang|rmf|buur}} 'boor'{{Harvcoltxt|Granqvist|2011|pp=6}} or allophonic as in {{Lang|rmf|baaro}}/{{Lang|rmf|baro}} 'big'.

Finnish Kalo has 9 closing diphthongs and 3 opening diphthongs.{{Harvcoltxt|Granqvist|2011|pp=5}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+

! colspan="3" rowspan="2" |Diphthongs

! colspan="3" |Ending point

colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Front

! rowspan="2" |Back

colspan="3" |Starting point
rowspan="3" |Close

! rowspan="2" |Front

!unrounded

| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ie}}

|{{IPA|iu}}

rounded

|{{IPA|yi}}

|{{IPA|yø}}

|

colspan="2" |Back

| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ui}}

|{{IPA|uo}}

rowspan="3" |Mid

! rowspan="2" |Front

!unrounded

| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ei}}

|{{IPA|eu}}

rounded

| colspan="2" |{{IPA|øi}}

|

colspan="2" |Back

| colspan="2" |{{IPA|oi}}

|{{IPA|ou}}

rowspan="2" |Open

! colspan="2" |Front

| colspan="2" |{{IPA|æi}}

|

colspan="2" |Back

| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ɑi}}

|{{IPA|ɑu}}

Finnish Kalo has the following consonant phonemes:{{Harvcoltxt|Granqvist|2002|pp=67–72}}{{Harvcoltxt|Granqvist|2011|pp=2–5}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+

! colspan="2" |

!Labial

!Dental/
Alveolar

!Postalveolar/
Palatal

!Velar

!Glottal

colspan="2" |Nasal

| {{IPAlink|m}}

| {{IPAlink|n}}

|

|

|

rowspan="3" |Plosive/
Affricate

!voiceless

| {{IPAlink|p}}

| {{IPAlink|t}}

| {{IPAlink|t̠ʃ}}

| {{IPAlink|k}}

|

voiceless aspirated

| {{IPAlink|pʰ}}

| {{IPAlink|tʰ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|kʰ}}

|

voiced

| {{IPAlink|b}}

| {{IPAlink|d}}

| {{IPAlink|d̠ʒ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}

|

colspan="2" |Fricative

| {{IPAlink|f}}

| {{IPAlink|s}}

|

| {{IPAlink|x}}

| {{IPAlink|h}}

colspan="2" |Approximant

| {{IPAlink|ʋ}}

| {{IPAlink|l}}

| {{IPAlink|j}}

|

|

colspan="2" |Trill

|

| {{IPAlink|r}}

|

|

|

Alphabet

{{main|Romani alphabets#Finnish Romani}}

See also

Notes

{{reflist|2}}

References

{{refbegin|2}}

  • {{Cite web

|url=https://www.kielikello.fi/-/suomen-romanikieli

|last=Granqvist

|first=Kimmo

|title=Suomen romanikieli

|language=fi

|year=2001

|website=Kielikello

|access-date=January 28, 2021}}

  • {{Cite journal

|title=Finnish Romani Phonology and Dialect Geography

|journal=SKY Journal of Linguistics

|url=http://www.linguistics.fi/julkaisut/SKY2002/SKY_JoL_2002_04_finnish_romani_phonology_and_dialect_geography.pdf

|last=Granqvist

|first=Kimmo

|volume=15

|pages=61–83

|publisher=Linguistic Association of Finland

|year=2002}}

  • {{Cite book

|title=Lyhyt Suomen romanikielen kielioppi

|last=Granqvist

|first=Kimmo

|url=https://www.academia.edu/1523925

|year=2011

|trans-title=Consice grammar of Finnish Romani

|place=Helsinki

|publisher=Kotimaisten kielten keskus

|language=fi

|isbn=978-952-5446-69-2

|issn=1796-041X

|access-date=January 28, 2021}}

  • {{Cite web

|url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/romanikieli_on_vaarassa_kadota/6319825

|last=Tuukkanen

|first=Pia

|title=Romanikieli on vaarassa kadota

|website=Yle Uutiset

|language=fi

|date=April 10, 2012

|access-date=January 28, 2022}}

{{refend}}

External links

{{incubator|rmf}}

  • [https://www.oph.fi/fi/tilastot-ja-julkaisut/julkaisut/romanikieli Finnish Kalo teaching materials] by the {{ill|Finnish National Agency for Education|fi|Opetushallitus}} {{in lang|fi}}
  • [https://glosbe.com/fi/rmf Finnish-Kalo Finnish Dictionary Online, Glosbe]

{{Romani languages}}

{{Languages of Finland}}

{{Languages of Sweden}}

Category:Finnish Kale

Category:Languages of Finland

Category:Languages of Sweden

Category:Romani in Sweden

Category:Northern Romani dialects

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