-As for the first question: It depends. Honestly, I don't think it is a slur per se. I think it can be used as a slur, but I prefer to call myself gypsy over Romani. Romani by itself isn't even grammatically correct in most dialects, so to say "I am Romani" is kind of a silly thing if you speak the language. I also think in America, it's useless cause usually people are like 'Romanian?' And "Romani" doesn't include all Roma groups (like Sinti, Kale, Domari, etc.) Like someone would call Sinti "Romani" but they don't consider themself to BE Romani (even tho... they are. That's a whole other complicated thing itself, the different subgroups lol). So honestly, yes gypsy can be used as a slur, but it's more inclusive to say Gypsy tbh or at least Romani Gypsy. "I got gypped" however is DEFINITELY a fucked up thing to say.
-I don't think I'd break it into eras. I'd break it into the 'groups.' Because some Rom stayed in Middle East, some in Central Asia, some went as slaves into Romania, some were Romanichal in Britain and then transported as slaves to Latin America, etc. And we all have similarities, but also a lot of differences. For example, my 'group' is gurbeti. I share a lot of traditions with other Balkan groups, but my traditions can be very different from the super traditional Kalderash group for example. And all the different groups are extremely complicated (because there's groups within groups within groups), so it's also a shitty way to break down the history cause it's complex as hell. But regardless, I do think breaking down our history by a timeline wouldn't work because not all of us have went through the same exact histories.
-Yes! I speak the Gurbeti dialect. It's a really complex language honestly, grammatically and spelling wise, so I have a hard time writing to this day. Like for example, if I wanted to say "kindergarten" (as in the grade), it'd be 'chavorehski edukacijski bajrori.' Overly complicated!!! Also, I can for the most part communicate with other dialects, but I will probably make fun of how they spell certain words. And we have lots of loan words from the countries the dialect grew in (so albanian, serbian, greek, etc. for gurbetka dialect')
Sorry for the long answers! This is why I said I could write 500 pages: all our shit is complicated lol.
Gogol Bordello
Ironically, so many Rom I know don't like him lol. But if you like that style of music, I'd recommend Mahala Rai Banda! I love their music. Dai Duma by Arando Marquez is good too. If you like rap, Roma Sijam is good for that!
As for more traditional music: Esma Redzepova. Caje Shukarije and Djelem Djelem are classic songs, and you can find many artists who sing them.
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-As for the first question: It depends. Honestly, I don't think it is a slur per se. I think it can be used as a slur, but I prefer to call myself gypsy over Romani. Romani by itself isn't even grammatically correct in most dialects, so to say "I am Romani" is kind of a silly thing if you speak the language. I also think in America, it's useless cause usually people are like 'Romanian?' And "Romani" doesn't include all Roma groups (like Sinti, Kale, Domari, etc.) Like someone would call Sinti "Romani" but they don't consider themself to BE Romani (even tho... they are. That's a whole other complicated thing itself, the different subgroups lol). So honestly, yes gypsy can be used as a slur, but it's more inclusive to say Gypsy tbh or at least Romani Gypsy. "I got gypped" however is DEFINITELY a fucked up thing to say.
-I don't think I'd break it into eras. I'd break it into the 'groups.' Because some Rom stayed in Middle East, some in Central Asia, some went as slaves into Romania, some were Romanichal in Britain and then transported as slaves to Latin America, etc. And we all have similarities, but also a lot of differences. For example, my 'group' is gurbeti. I share a lot of traditions with other Balkan groups, but my traditions can be very different from the super traditional Kalderash group for example. And all the different groups are extremely complicated (because there's groups within groups within groups), so it's also a shitty way to break down the history cause it's complex as hell. But regardless, I do think breaking down our history by a timeline wouldn't work because not all of us have went through the same exact histories.
-Yes! I speak the Gurbeti dialect. It's a really complex language honestly, grammatically and spelling wise, so I have a hard time writing to this day. Like for example, if I wanted to say "kindergarten" (as in the grade), it'd be 'chavorehski edukacijski bajrori.' Overly complicated!!! Also, I can for the most part communicate with other dialects, but I will probably make fun of how they spell certain words. And we have lots of loan words from the countries the dialect grew in (so albanian, serbian, greek, etc. for gurbetka dialect')
Sorry for the long answers! This is why I said I could write 500 pages: all our shit is complicated lol.
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As for more traditional music: Esma Redzepova. Caje Shukarije and Djelem Djelem are classic songs, and you can find many artists who sing them.
Here are some songs I really like personally
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