3 ms·
> At first I thought this was about a variant of the Romani people, due to having talked just a few days ago with an Italian guy who was half Jewish and half Ro
by skissane 3y ago
> At first I thought this was about a variant of the Romani people, due to having talked just a few days ago with an Italian guy who was half Jewish and half Romani.
In the history of Europe, there were several of these nomadic/itinerant groups on the margins of society. They had distinct languages/cultures/origins, but occupied similar societal niches. Due to that similarity, there was a certain degree of interchange/movement/intermarriage between these groups. Romani language and culture originally comes from northern India; the Yenish spoke a dialect of German. However, that dialect included Romani loanwords, suggesting a history of interaction/intermarriage with Romani and/or absorption of Romani into their community. Their language also includes some Yiddish loanwords, suggesting a similar history of interaction with some Jewish people