Individual differences in the use of Romani words in Finnish web-discussion
Keywords:
ethnolect, Finnish, idiolect, Romani, variation, web-discussionAbstract
In this study, I compare the idiolectal language forms of ten nicknames in the discussion
board Suomi24.fi-romano. When there is more variation in the writers’ idiolects, it usually
indicates less commonly shared knowledge of the language and its reduced use. The aim is
also to find out which Romani elements are important and useful for different writers in
this digital discussion forum. As my method, I use sociolinguistic variation analysis. I have
collected all messages from the ten nicknames during the period of 22.2.2003 to 18.7.2013.
The discussion board is the only forum of its kind in Internet for Finnish Roma. The main
language of the forum is Finnish, but many writers use a variety of Finnish that includes
Romani words, Romani based words, Romani structures and even sentences in inflected
Romani language. I call these parts of Romani language as Romani elements. The variety of
Finnish used by Roma can be defined as an ethnolect. I have chosen as my data the messages
of ten nicknames who have written ten or more messages and use at least one Romani element
in their Finnish. These writers have different profiles as to their written messages. The speaker
profiles tell about the current situation of the knowledge of Romani language and about
distinct functions of Romani language in Finnish conversation.
The findings show that although some of the writers use only few or only a single Romani
element, and although every writer uses them notably less than Finnish elements, Romani
elements have special functions in the web-discussion conducted in Finnish by the Finnish
Roma. The use of the Romani elements is highly functional and brings special significance
into the communication: the elements are used when the issues which are related to Romani
culture are being discussed. The unifying feature in the use of the Romani elements between
the writers is that these elements are used when no other language can replace them. That is
because of the special meanings they carry. The differences between writers in the inflection
of Romani words indicate attrition in the knowledge of Romani grammar. Although several
nicknames use Romani words and Romani sentences for signaling that they are real Roma,
there is no correction of other writers’ Romani grammar. The idiolects vary mostly in the use
of Romani vocabulary and the use of Romani grammar varies in terms of quality and quantity.
