Origins

The term Gypsies refers to historically related groups of people who have lived in Europe since the fourteenth century. They have a common origin in India, from where they began migrating westward shortly before 1000 C.E. The related dialects they speak belong to the Indic branch of Indo-European languages and have elements in common with both classical Sanskrit and modern Hindi. Contemporary Gypsy dialects in Europe and the Americas contain significant borrowings from Persian, Armenian, Greek, Romanian, and Slavic languages.

The name Gypsy is believed to be connected with the region of Epirus (present-day northwestern Greece), where in the fourteenth century Europeans first encountered these people. Epirus was also known as Aegyptus Minor (Little Egypt), from which the term Gypcian, or Gypsy in English, derives. Related terms in other European languages include Gitanos (Spanish) and Gitans (French), where it is usually applied to the Spanish Gypsies living in southern France. Another label, common in other European languages, may be derived from Atsinganoi, the Greek name for a religious sect with whom Gypsies were initially confused. From this come the terms Zigeuner (German), Zingaro (Italian), Tsigan (French), and Cigany/Tzigan in Slavic and other east-central European languages. In their own language Gypsies use numerous self-designations. The best known are Rom (including the derivatives Romungro, Polska Roma, and Romanichel), Sinti, Manouche, Cale (Kaale), and Rudar (Ludar).

After their entry into the Balkan peninsula, the Gypsy population began to fragment, with some groups staying and others moving on. By the end of the sixteenth century, small groups had reached most European countries, including the farthest reaches of the British Isles and Scandinavia. Initially, the Gypsies were welcomed in several European states, but it was not long before their distinct way of life alienated them from the surrounding population. In succeeding centuries their status varied greatly. On the one hand, Gypsy musicians came to be revered in places like Hungary and Russia, and certain individuals made successful careers in politics and business throughout Europe. On the other hand, they also suffered periodic persecution and were in most places forced to lead a marginal existence. Their marginalization was the result not only of negative government policy and social attitudes, however. Gypsies themselves remained aloof, because they did not want to interact with what they considered the inferior gaže (non-Gypsy) environment that surrounded them.

The worst example of organized persecution occurred during World War II, when, throughout large parts of Europe controlled by Nazi Germany, Gypsies were systematically exterminated. While it is uncertain how many died (some estimates give the figure of 250,000), there is no doubt that Gypsies suffered a higher percentage of losses than other European peoples during the Holocaust. Despite the extensive loss of life during the war years, however, most Gypsies still live in Europe, where they are estimated to number between 2 and 5.6 million. The majority live in east-central Europe, with the largest concentrations in Romania, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria.

The Gypsies who remained in the Balkans became divided into two linguistically distinguishable groups speaking what linguists call the Vlach and non-Vlach Gypsy dialects. The speakers of the Vlach dialects, which include the ancestors of the present-day Rom, remained in the Balkans well into the nineteenth century and were, as a result, strongly influenced by the Serbian and Romanian languages and cultures. The Vlach-speaking Rom, who are concentrated in east-central Europe and who represent by far the largest number of Gypsies, are linguistically and culturally much more numerous than the non-Rom groups.

It is also among the Vlach-speaking Rom that a cultural and national revival has taken place in recent years. Since the end of Communist rule, several countries in east-central Europe have recognized the Rom as a distinct people eligible for the same political and cultural rights accorded to other national minorities. The Rom of east-central Europe have also been the driving force behind the world congresses of Gypsies that have been taking place periodically since 1971.

At the same time the Rom have experienced a deterioration of their socio-economic status. During the Communist era, which lasted from the end of World War II to 1989, many Gypsy families benefited from relatively well-funded governmental social programs that provided inexpensive housing, free medical care, and child support. With the change to market-oriented economies in the post-Communist period, however, many of these programs have been cut or eliminated entirely, causing economic hardship for many Gypsies. The radical socio-economic changes and the rise of nationalist and right-wing extremist groups has also encouraged discrimination against Gypsies who have often responded by emigrating abroad in search of a more secure existence.