Gypsy Roma Traveller Leeds
The permanent site of the Gypsy Roma Traveller Communities
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Romano Suno
This is a collection of Romany Children's Writing and Artwork.
The creations on this page come from a book that compiles work from its first five years. We've included the original language as well!
Language and Linguistics
Romanian Romani/ Gypsy Wordbook and Interactive CD for School Use
This is a great value, unique and hopefully valuable resource, which aims to affirm and celebrate Roma culture - and recognise and celebrate diversity in our schools.
The Vlah dialect of Romani used for this book is widely understood by the many Roma from a whole range of Eastern European Countries from where our Roma communities are coming from e.g. The Czech and Slovak Republics, The Baltic States, Poland, Romania and so on.
The A5 colour/black and white book has 44 pages. The majority of contributors are Roma. The book uses words based around the following themes:
- Words and phrases
- School
- People
- Parts of the body
- Clothes
- Colours
- Animals
- Transport
- Fruit and Vegetables
- Food
- The Kitchen
- The Bathroom
- House and Garden
- The Street
- Family
- Numbers
- Seasons and the Weather
Eugen Raportoru a widely acclaimed Romanian Roma artist, beautifully illustrates the book, in pen and ink wash drawings. The Romani words are translated using the easily understandable English phonetic system.
An accompanying CD uses the same great illustrations, which when clicked on give a spoken Romani and then English word, easily identified, and a fantastic resource.
As well as the speaking wordbook, there are around 40 interesting photos from Romania, including some historic pictures of Romanian Roma from many years ago.
There are also 20 Romanian Romani songs in the Manele style. This is what people are listening to in Romania right now! Sung by Roma artists such as Nicolae Guta, Sorina and Florin Salam. Music is also available as MP3 files to download to iPod etc.!
In the resources folder, there are:
- DCSF/DfES files from Excellence and Enjoyment, New arrivals and First language for learning.
- Files from Gloucestershire County Council, including translations of letters etc. and a comprehensive overview of the Roma Community and ways of working with them.
- The 1000 years journey map
- Comprehensive reading, website and ‘You Tube” resource lists
- The complete Manchester University Romani Project DVD and Teacher worksheets
- A traditional Romanian Romani recipe
- Activities for using the CD and Book
- Complete files of both the book and individual words
The CD is compatible with both Mac and PC (files are PDF, Word and JPEG).
The cost for the book is £6.00, and the CD is £4.00 plus p&p.
For an order form please email Manisha:
Romani Linguistics
Information on Romani Language and Linguistics
The website of the The School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, part of Manchester University provides information on the Romani language and on linguistic research on Romani. The site is operated by the Manchester Romani Project – a cluster of academic research activities based at the School at the University of Manchester.
The Romani Language
The Romani Project at the University of Manchester has an educational DVD-ROM, that is also available to download.
"The Romani Languages - An Interactive Journey".
Language specialists in Manchester have created the first teaching aid on gypsy culture. The pioneering DVD on the Romany people will soon be making its mark in schools nationwide after being developed at Manchester University. The free disc will be used by tens of thousands of schoolchildren across Britain and Europe in a drive to increase awareness of gypsy heritage.
The resource follows the history of the language from ancient India to Europe, through the emergence of dialects and standardisation efforts. The text and audio narrative appear in 18 different European languages, including Romani. They are accompanied by interactive games, maps, illustrations, audio and video files.
Project co-ordinator Prof Yaron Matras said: "This is the first educational resource for the Romani language and will be used in schools across Europe.
"It will be a powerful way to promote the heritage of a people who speak the most common minority language in the European Union.
"It will make an important contribution to documenting Romani history, culture and language."
Ginny Harrison-White, president of the National Association of Teachers of Travellers - which promotes the education of travelling people like gypsies - said the disc would help break down barriers and prejudice.
She said: "Gypsy, Roma and traveller pupils are too often out of sight and out of mind. The DVD will ensure these children feel valued for who they are.
"Gypsy children will be proud of their identity and gain in confidence, and their enthusiasm for school will improve."
The DVD-ROM can be viewed online, or downloaded free of charge from the Romani Project
You can also obtain one or several copies of the printed DVD-ROM, free of charge, from the Romani Project.
Simply send an email with the subject header 'DVD order', including your full postal address in the body of message.
For more information contact
Info for schools Re languages
A brilliant new CD Rom from Mantra enables you to create a personalised booklet of your school in 19 languages.
Type in key information and photographs of the School, Head, Staff, Class teachers, school rules, times, uniforms and policies. Then, once done, click buttons to get 20 page booklets in any of the following languages: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Panjabi, Russian, Somali, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, Urdu. Parents gain confidence, manage their times better and communicate more effectively with you.
More information and ordering details from their website.
Gypsy Jib - A unique resource
Gypsy Jib is a reference book and fascinating study of the Gypsies and their language. The author James Hayward shares the knowledge he has gathered during a lifetime of research into his own Gypsy heritage. He shares his findings and offers answers to some of the questions that many have asked, such as:
- Who were the Gypsies?
- Where did they come from?
- How did their language evolve into that spoken today?
To find out more visit their website by clicking below.
The Grammar of the Roma Language
Dr. Rajko Djuric
As a Rom himself, he concentrates his writings, mainly on the culture and history of the Roma people. His aim is to portray how, despite the absence of any statehood or territory that the Roma can call their own, they have managed to preserve their cultural identity. His literary works have been translated into more than five languages.
Priced 22 Euro including postage.
Send orders to:
Dr. Rajko Djuric,
Str. Makedonska 31,
11 000 Beograd,
Serbia and Montenegro
Romano Lavo Lil
This is one of the first books on the Romanes language and can be downloaded from this website. George Borrow's "Romano Lavo Lil" (Romany word book).
Project Gutenberg
The Project Gutenberg has recently added Charles Leland's "The English Gipsies and their Language", to their catalogue of free, downloadable e-books.
They already have most of George Borrow's works available, such as "Lavengro" and "Romano Lavo-lil".
Whatever their merits as scholarly works, their place in the corpus of literatures about Romani peoples is important, and the availability of them here means that they can be accessed by all.
Adrian Marsh, MA
international Romani Studies Network
irsn@mac.com
Join the Council
Gypsy Council
The Gypsy Council is involved in a wide spectrum of support and liaison work, supporting Gypsy families in planning applications and their fight for decent legal places to live. Read more about the organisation and maybe consider joining.
Also read about
Beginners Guide to Gypsies and Traveller Young People
This is an interactive CD ROM that has been designed as a resource for teachers, youth and health workers who are new to working with young Gypsy Travellers and wish to know more.
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