Den finländska romanin och dess ordböcker

Abstract

There are approximately 9.000–10.000 gypsies in Finland. Most of them nowadays live in the cities, especially in the Helsinki region. They have managed to preserve their traditions rather well, but there is a risk that their language, Romani, may dis-appear. Education in Romani in primary schoools started in 1994, and brief courses for adults have been arranged since the 1980's. Since 1997, The Research Institute for the Languages of Finland is responsible for language planning and research con-cerning Romani and Finnish sign language. A language planning Institute for Romani has been established, and a dictionary (1994) and text-books have been published.