History: Pronunciation guide in Romani Tshiw

Source of version: 1 (current)

''Rómanes is not a written language but exclusively based on oral tradition. So there are no real orthographic rules one could obey! Scholar tziganologists of various countries collecting and researching this wide-spread old language over quite a couple of centuries had used various orthographic conventions according to their mother tongues respectively. So I had to apply kind of 'international' orthograhic convention to give the sounds. Since about seventy percent of the vocabulary consists of Sanskrit and other Indian roots and these being the main part of the language's permanent core, I tried to mainly take examples of these 'deeper layers', enriched by Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Persian, Rumanian and Hungarian 'loanwords'. A very great part of other important sources like German, Italian, French, English and Spanish vocabulary and of course the important Scandinavian and Slawic languages had moreorless to be neglected. Despite this 'vertical' limitation, there arise problems still in a horizontal sense, due to the fact that - no wonder - also this 'common core' still varies remarkably in pronunciation according to where the vocabulary had been picked up. In order to make the examples more recognizable, there are given severals of each with short English equivalents added. --((.aulun.))'' a __a__gl__a__n ''(in front etc.)'', __a__gor ''(the start, the end)'', __a__goréskero ''(finally)'', __a__men ''(our)'' e __e__fta d__e__sha ''(seventy)'', k__e__rep__e__n ''(labour, work, creation)'' i mus__i__ ''(arm; hand)'', o __o__g__o__l ''(stork)'', __o__kht__o__ ''(eight)'', __o__r__o__shlana ''(lion)'' u __u__tsho ''(high; taught)'', __u__sht- (__u__shteáu) ''(to get up)'', __u__n(d) ''(and)'' y mut__e__r ''(urine)'', murshk__e__rdîno ''(male; having testicles)'' ai tsh__ai__ ''(girl)'', d__ai__ ''(mother)'', ombl__ai__pì ''(swamp, marsh)'', om__ay__àka ''(afternoon)'', v__ai__tsutko aro ''(wheat flour)'' au okh__àu__a ''(ancient measure: 'Oka')'', ukht__au__ ''(to jump)'', vazhin__au__ ''(to weigh)'' ei mundar__ei__, ''(money)'', tovad__ej__ ''(dove, pigeon)'' oi y__oi__ ''(''3. p. sing. dem. f. ''this one)'', __oi__ ''(alas!)'', __oi__to ''(carrion)'' ia __ya__k ''(eye)'', __ya__ro ''(egg)'' -> __ya__rengero dives ''(Easter)''__ia__do ''(hell)'', __ia__zo ''(pond)'', __ia__nuárie ''(January)'' ie __ié__ftino ''(cheap)'', __ie__rtipè ''(pardon, forgiveness)'' ii il__yí__náv ''(to behave well/accordingly)'', __yi__gi/ígi ''(yesterday)'', __yi__lúno ''(cordial, brave)'', __yì__smata ''(clothing)'' io __yo__b/__yo__v ''(''3. p. sing. dem. m. ''this one)'', iu __iú__to ''(fast, quickly)'' ua - ue g__ue__tuj ''(cries, noise)'' ui pab__ui__éng(e)ro ''(fruiterer)'', guet__uj__ ''(cries, noise)'' uo - uu - b __b__akht/__b__i__b__akht ''(luck/misfortune)'', __b__aktchè ''(garden)'' c __sh__akh ''(cabbage)'', tru__sh__ul ''(cross, tower etc.)'', t__sh__am ''(leather, cheek, face)'', t__sh__amav- ''(chew, eat; speak)'', t__sh__ib/t__sh__iw ''(tongue)'' d __d__rom ''(street, way)'', __d__evel ''(God)'', __d__a__d__éske __d__a__d__ ''(grandfather)'' f __f__ul(i) ''(dirt/filthy)'', __f__orésk(e)ro ''(citizen)'', ka__ff__ea ''(coffee)'' g __g__ib ''(corn, wheat etc.)'', __g__ivén__g__ero ''(peasant, corn merchant)'', __g__al__g__o ''(gallow)'', pîr__g__eno ''(barefoot)'' j u__zh__o ''(clean)'', va__zh__inau ''(to weigh)'' k __k__ú__k__(e)li ''(doll)'', __k__o__k__alo ''(bone)'', __k__ó__k__ero ''(lonely)'', __k__aremás__k__(e)ri ''(pistol, gun etc.)'' l __l__oshánipè ''(happiness)'', __l__u__l__udi ''(flower)'', __l__ubni ''(prostitute, harlot etc.)'', mo__l__eng(e)ro ''(vine-dresser)'' m __m__ol ''(worth, matching its price)'', __m__iri(u) __m__a ''(to wonder)'', __m__iro ''(poss. pr.: 'mine')'', __m__urdárno ''(killer etc.)'' n __n__ak ''(nose; beak)'', __n__akéskeri ''(snuff)'', __n__taima ''(eternally, ever)'' p __p__íreno, ''(lover, fiancée)'', __p__ráse__p__en ''(shame, blame)'', __p__re__p__no ''(matching)'' r __r__omni ''(gypsy woman, wife)'', __r__omniák__r__i dai ''(mother-in-law)'', __r__uk ''(tree)'' -> __r__ukésk(e)__r__i mátshko (squirrel) s __s__a__s__ter ''(iron)'' -> __s__a__s__trúno drom ''(railway)'', __s__a__s__o ''(Transylvanian Saxon/German)'' -> __s__a__s__itko tem(m) ''(Germany)'' t __th__em(m) ''(country, fatherland, area)'', __t__ikno ''(small, low, short, narrow)'', __t__iro ''(to sing)'' v __v__à__v__er dì__v__es ''('another day', next time, once)'', __v__azhinau ''(to weigh)'' x __kh__aben ''(food, dish)'', __x__amásk(e)ri ''(table)'', __x__a__x__alí ''(non-gypsy/Jewish woman)'', __x__al__x__aráv ''(to spoil, cheat, deceive etc.)'' z __z__or ''(power)'' -> __z__uraló ''(bear)'' -> __z__orélo ruk ''(oak tree)'' ' __h__ero ''(leg, thigh/shank)'', __h__erengeri ''(stockings)'', __h__anik ''(fountain, spring)''