Languages at Risk: The Domari Language

Figure 1: Dom family

 

When a language is lost a culture disappears.  At the present time 3500 languages and their associated cultures are at risk of extinction in less than a century, and one of those languages is Domari, the language of the Dom (Figure 1).  The Dom is a marginalized ethnic group of northern Africa and the Middle East.  The Domari language will be discussed in this blog post, as well as the attempts to save the language and hopefully the culture from extinction.

Domari is spoken by the Dom, who are commonly referred to as the “gypsies of the Middle East”.  Very little is known about the Dom and what is known is derived from study of the Domari language.  Domari is a daughter language of the Central Indo-Aryan language family, which comes from what is modern day India.  It is believed that the Dom belonged to one of the lowest Indian castes who either left or was expelled from India.  The Dom, who were entertainers and metalsmiths, moved into the Middle East and later north Africa.  Traditionally, they were seminomadic, traveling from place to place, but today they lead a more sedentary lifestyle and have taken on wage labor.  The majority of them had adopted and practice Islam, but because of distrust of the Dom they are often the victims of crimes, ranging from assault to murder.

The Domari language is closely related to other Indic languages, such as Romani, as they shared the same parent language.  Studies of Domari have provided scholars with the above insights into the Dom culture.  Due to their marginalization and victimization the Dom have largely gone into hiding.  Their adoption of a sedentary lifestyle and wage labor may have been a coping mechanism to avoid such deadly fates, although a great number of Dom have moved into other areas and claimed refugee status.  Taken together, many young Dom elect not to learn Domari because it easily identifies them to potential abusers and is not an economic asset as it will not assist them in getting jobs.  Older Dom are not teaching the younger generations Domari, although the reasons are not completely known at this time. 

Efforts to save the Domari language are minimally at work at the present time.  These efforts include documenting the language, as well as trying to encourage Domari speakers to continue teaching the language to younger generations.  These are not, however, without great challenges.  First, very few linguists are studying and documenting Domari.  Those who are note that the language does not have a written form, so one needs to be created, although there is some disagreement as to which alphabet should be used.  The creation of a written form needs to be done in consultation with native Domari speakers, who are hard to come by as many do not want to admit that they are Dom.  At present it is estimated that there are at least 200 Domari speakers, although some believe there are several thousand.  Again, accurate estimates are difficult due to the hesitation of many Dom to come forward.  Because of this it is difficult to encourage Domari speakers to pass the language on.

There is a risk and almost certainty that if the Domari language disappears the Dom culture will, too.  The Dom culture has already greatly changed as a result to changing socioeconomic and culture factors that have caused the Dom to settle down, which in and of itself may just indicate a cultural shift.  In order to preserve what is left of the culture saving the Domari language is key.  

References

Herin, B.  (2012).  “The Domari Lanuage of Aleppo (Syria).”  Linguistic Discovery 10: 1-52

Kenrick, D.  (2001).  “What is Domari?” Dom Research Center 1: 1.  Retrieved from http://www.domresearchcenter.com/journal/15/kenrick5.html

Matras, Y.  (2010).  “Domari (Dom, Domani, Domi, Qurbati).”  Archive of Endangered and Smaller Languages.  Retrieved from http://languagecontact.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/ELA/languages/Domari.html

No Author.  No Date.  “Domari: What is Domari?”  Romani Project.  Retrieved from http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/atmanchester/projects/domari.shtml

Plackett, B.  (2014).  “Researchers Try to Save Some Middle-Eastern Languages From Extinction.”  Al-Fanar Media.  Retrieved from http://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2014/09/researchers-try-save-middle-eastern-languages-extinction/