“Parno Sar Papin – White as a Swan”, or How Metaphors Help Roma Children to Acquire Grammatical Categories in Romani

The paper presents the process of language socialization and acquisition of grammatical categories through the Roma oral culture in which metaphors are extensively used. Roma children who grow up in extended Roma families and community learn the language through communication with speakers of different registers. Research with 22 Roma children between three and six years of age from Croatia was carried in order to find out what grammatical categories are learned in this period of the life of children. The children were tested with a specially designed language assessment test in Romani (Kyuchukov & de Villiers, 2014b). The results show that Roma boys perform the test much better than Roma girls. Boys learn Romani from folkloristic genres which are rich in metaphors and this helps them to acquire complex grammatical categories. У статті досліджує автор процес мовної соціалізації та опанування граматичних категорій через ромську усну культуру, в якій поширено використання метафор. Дослідник стверджує, що діти ромів, які виховуються у великих ромських сім’ях та громадах, вивчають мову через спілкування з мовцями різних соціальних прошарків. У статті представлено дослідження, в якому взяло участь 22 дитини ромів у віці від трьох до шести років з Хорватії, проведене з метою з’ясування того, які граматичні категорії вивчають у цей період життя діти. Діти пройшли тестування зі спеціально розробленим іспитом з оцінювання ромської мови (Kyuchukov & de Villiers, 2014b). Результати показали, що ромські хлопці виконують тест набагато краще, ніж ромські дівчата. Хлопці вивчають ромську з фольклорних жанрів, багатих на метафори, і це допомагає їм опановувати складні граматичні категорії

Проблема змішування турецької, болгарської та німецької мов у болгарських ромів-мусульман у Німеччині

The paper discusses language mixing by Muslim Roma migrants from northeastern Bulgaria living in Berlin, Germany. They identify as Turks and in their everyday communication speak mainly Bulgarian and an old northwestern lect of Turkish, in the scientific literature known as Balkanized Turkish. They can speak relatively little German and have demonstrably low proficiency in the language. The paper examines their language mixing as well as the forms of code-switching between Turkish, Bulgarian and German. These linguistic and social phenomena within the Muslim Roma community are analyzed within the framework of several sociolinguistic theories regarding code-switching and bilingualism. The theory of J. Gumperz (1962) about communication matrix is employed as a dynamic frame and patterns of Turkish-Bulgarian, Turkish-German and Turkish-Bulgarian-German are presented and analyzed. The borrowed grammatical categories in the Turkish-Bulgarian-German language contacts involve nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and negations. However, code-switching is used only in communication with other Bulgarians. In communication with Turks from Turkey the lexical borrowings are from German and they use another variety of Turkish. The Muslim Roma in Berlin observed in this study are diverse in their multilingualism. Among them there are speakers of Romani, Bulgarian and Turkish, and of Turkish and Bulgarian, while German, however learned, is their third or fourth language. Differing emergent patterns among second-generation migrants, born or raised from an early age in Berlin, suggest different patterns emerging and such research is a key desideratum.. У статті йдеться про явище мовного змішування в мусульманських ромівмігрантів із північно-східної Болгарії, що мешкають у Берліні (Німеччина). Досліджувані ідентифікують себе як турки, й у повсякденному спілкуванні розмовляють здебільшого болгарською мовою та давнім різновидом турецької, що в науковій літературі одержало назву балканізованої турецької. Рівень володіння німецькою мовою у досліджуваних мовців відносно низький. У статті описано феномен змішування мови, а також форми перемикання турецького, болгарського та німецького мовних кодів. Ці лінгвістичні та соціальні явища в мусульманській спільноті ромів аналізуються в межах декількох соціолінгвістичних теорій щодо перемикання коду та двомовності. В основу дослідження покладено теорію Дж. Гамперца (1962) щодо матриці спілкування. У статті представлено та досліджено приклади комбінування турецько-болгарської, турецько-німецької та турецькоболгарсько-німецької кодів. З’ясовано, що до граматичних категорій, які підпорядковуються феноменові перемикання коду в турецько-болгарсько-німецькому мовномуваріанті, належать іменники, дієслова, прикметники, прислівники та заперечні конструкції. Однак, перемикання коду простежено тільки під час спілкування з іншими болгарами. Визначено, що у спілкуванні з турками з Туреччини перемикання коду наявне лише між турецькою та німецькою мовами, а також виявлено використання іншого варіанта турецької мови. Роми-мусульмани з Берліна демонструють багатомовність. Серед них – носії ромської, болгарської й турецької; турецької й болгарської. Водночас німецька, попри її знання, посідає третє чи четверте місце за частотністю послуговування. Вивчення мовних патернів мігрантів у другому поколінні, – народжених чи вихованих змалку в Берліні, у своєму розмаїтті видається перспективою подальшого дослідження

Опанування граматичних категорій турецької мови у контексті двомовності.

The paper presents results form a study on acquisition of Turkish grammatical categories by first grade Turkish speaking minority children in Bulgarian primary school. Two groups of children speakers of Turkish are tested: ethnic Turks and ethnic Roma. The Roma are Muslims and are also speakers of Turkish. Both groups speak the Northeast variety of Turkish, spoken in the surroundings of Varna, Bulgaria. The author examines the lexical reaches, syntax complexity and narrative knowledge of the children and predicts that the low results on mother tongue tests will be a reason for difficulties in the second language acquisition - Bulgarian. The author connects the results of mother tongue knowledge of the children with the language interdependence theory of Cummins (1991), where the level of the mother tongue is a predictor of second language acquisition.У поданій статті представлено результати проведеного дослідження, що присвячене опануванню граматичних категорій турецької мови учнями першого класу турецької мовної меншини в болгарській початковій школі. В цьому тестуванні взяли участь дві групи дітей, які спілкуються турецькою: етнічні турки та етнічні роми. Роми, котрі стали учасниками дослідження, є мусульманами та розмовляють турецькою. Обидві протестовані групи говорять на північно-східній різноманітності турецької мови, якою розмовляють на околицях м. Варна, Болгарія. Автор досліджує лексичний запас, синтаксичну складність та наративні знання дітей і робить припущення, що низькі результати під час тестування рідної мови можуть стати причиною труднощів при освоєнні другої мови болгарської. Автор пов’язує результати знань рідної мови у дітей з теорією взаємозалежності мови Кумінса (1991), згідно якої рівень володіння рідною мовою є предиктором вивчення другої мови

Language Use and Identity Among Migrant Roma

The paper presents the issue of language use and identity among Muslim Roma youth from Bulgaria, living in Berlin, Germany. Interviews with a structured questionnaire on language use and identity was conducted with Bulgarian Muslim Roma living in Berlin, Germany. The results showed that, in order to be accepted by the German Turks, Bulgarian Muslim Roma youth change their language use and identity from Muslim Roma to a new identity - Bulgarian “Osmanli” Turks. The findings showed that the change of language and identity among young Roma in this study served as strategies for integration and acceptance in the German society

О важности глаголов, отражающих психические состояния, при осознании цыганскими детьми феномена ложных убеждений

Adnotacja i tytuł równoległy w języku rosyjskimObjectives. The aim of the paper is to analyze the process of acquisition of mental state verbs in Romani and in Bulgarian langauges simultaneously by bilingual Roma children. The mental state verbs help the children to understand the Fals Belief Tasks, which predict the Theory of Mind. The theory of mind from other side is important for understanding the intentions, desires, jokes, motivations of others and what are the factors influencing the development of theory of mind Research methods and techniques. Two Roma children from Bulgaria (1 boy and 1 girl) aged 1,0–3,0 years were audiorecorded longitudinally in their natural home environment. According to M. Taumoepeau and T. Ruffman (2006), the mental state verbs can be grouped in different categories, showing different states: mental states, physical states, emotions, perception and cognition. The acquired verbs are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Results. The data shows that some mental state verbs are acquired in Romani and others in Bulgarian. The factors influencing the acquisition of part of the verbs in Romani and the other part in Bulgarian are analyzed. Mental state verbs are important for the cognitive development of the children. The results show that the the boy uses 100% Romani mental state verbs: very high number of verbs are related to (1) mental states, e.g.: mangav (want), dehav (love), arakhav (care about), džanav (know); (2) emotions: xavxoli (angry), khanile (feeling bad); (3) physical state, e.g.: dukhal (hurt), rovav (cry); (4) sense, such as: dikh (look). The girl uses 89.0% mental state verbs in Romani and 19.0% in Bulgarian language. The learned verbs by her are related to mental state from Romani: mangav (want), džanav (know), darav (be afraid) and from Bulgarian: obicham (love), znam (know), iskam (want). The other verbs from the field of emotions, physical state and sense are from Romani. Conclusions. The resreach although limited has shown that sentences with mental state verbs in a combination with a noun phrase in a simple sentence are acquired around the age of 1,6. The more complex sentences with mental state verb and complementizer phrase are acquired around the age of 2,6 years old

The Mother Tongue of Turkish Immigrant Children in Berlin: To Be or Not to Be?

How do bilingual Turkish children develop their mother tongue knowledge in German kindergartens and what are some of the difficulties they face? These are the questions which this paper tries to answer. For this purpose, a study with Turkish kindergarten children from Berlin, Germany was conducted. A total of 40 children were divided into two groups between 3 and 6 years old and tested twice in a year with the TEDIL Test1. The test consists of pictures and measures the knowledge of Turkish nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and syntax. All of the children were tested individually by a native Turkish speaker and by the researcher. The testing was done in the kindergarten setting. The results showed that the knowledge of both age groups on different grammatical categories in Turkish was equal on the first test and there were no statistical differences. However, during the second test the group of older children showed a decrease in their knowledge of the grammatical categories in their mother tongue. This paper discusses the factors that influenced the regression in the knowledge of Turkish. This study is one of only a few on bilingual Turkish children and it presents new information about mother tongue loss among kindergarten children, discusses the reasons, and suggests that kindergartens and families should cooperate and work together in order to prevent mother tongue loss from a very early age as well as its effect on the cognitive development of bilingual children

Aquisition of Turkish Grammatical Categories in Bilingual Context

The paper presents results form a study on acquisition of Turkish grammatical categories by first grade Turkish speaking minority children in Bulgarian primary school. Two groups of children speakers of Turkish are tested: ethnic Turks and ethnic Roma. The Roma are Muslims and are also speakers of Turkish. Both groups speak the Northeast variety of Turkish, spoken in the surroundings of Varna, Bulgaria. The author examines the lexical reaches, syntax complexity and narrative knowledge of the children and predicts that the low results on mother tongue tests will be a reason for difficulties in the second language acquisition - Bulgarian. The author connects the results of mother tongue knowledge of the children with the language interdependence theory of Cummins (1991), where the level of the mother tongue is a predictor of second language acquisition

Language, Theory of Mind and autism therapy

This paper presents an overview of the literature regarding autism and role of language in the process of therapy with the autistic children and adults. The overview of the literature shows the importance of two factors: the use of syntactic structures and understanding of Theory of Mind tasks. The role of the language in the process of therapy of autistic children and adults is discussed

Tribute

In my student years at the beginning of the 1990s at Sofia University, Bulgaria, fate led me to study with two extraordinary scholars – Prof. Dr. Miroslav Yanakiev and Prof. Dr. Encho Gerganov. Prof. Yanakiev laid the foundations of Bulgarian psycholinguistics, introducing the statistical methods in linguistics, and as his student, Prof. Gerganov continued and further developed his ideas. I had the great good fortune to learn from them and consider myself a student of them both. Actually, my scientific and academic activities were launched when I met Prof. Yanakiev, and we sought as a shared task to develop the first ABC textbook in Romani for Roma children in Bulgaria in 1993. Our extensive, strong cooperation continued until the end of Prof. Yanakiev’s life. After his death, I went on working more intensively with Prof. Gerganov, seeking to develop psycholinguistic studies, research and publications with him. Moreover, if I am known for my psycholinguist work today, I owe that in significant measure to my 33 years of collaboration with Prof. Gerganov. This tribute is dedicated to the anniversaries of the two scholars – in 2023 was the 100th anniversary of Miroslav Yanakiev, and in 2024, we celebrate the 85th birthday of Encho Gerganov. Miroslav Yanakiev (19.08.1923 – 09.11.1998), born in Sofia, was deservedly famous worldwide for his works on two Slavic languages: Bulgarian and Russian. In 1943, he graduated from the First Men's High School in Sofia, and the same year, he was enrolled in the Slavic Philology program at Sofia University. He graduated in 1947, and immediately after his graduation, he began work at the Faculty of History and Philology of the same university. He worked there until the end of his life in 1998, first as Assistant Professor, then as Associate Professor and then as Full Professor. In 1963, he earned the title Associate Professor with a habilitation monograph Българско стихознание “Bulgarian Poetics”. In 1979, he was promoted to Full Professor after completing his monograph "Стилистиката и езиковото обучение"/Stylistics and Language Teaching. After his retirement in 1988 and due to our cooperation, he began to work on child bilingualism, mainly with Roma and Turkish children and started publishing articles about the importance of minority mother tongues for the language and cognitive development of children. He was central in supporting my research in the field of Romani language and publishing schoolbooks for Turkish and Roma children. Encho Gerganov was born on March 18, 1939, in the town of Stara Zagora in Bulgaria. He graduated in Bulgarian Philology (specializing in linguistics and mathematical linguistics) at St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia. In the period 1968-1972, he was a doctoral student at the Institute of Linguistics of the ASSR in Moscow, where in 1972, he defended a dissertation entitled "Некоторые закономерности зрительного распознавания элементов текста" / Some Regularities of the Visual Recognition of Text Elements. Prof. Gerganov began his academic career at the Institute for Foreign Students in Sofia (1967-1989), where in 1977, he was granted the title Associate Professor earned with a habilitation monograph Психометрични методи за проверка и оценка на знанията по български език (Psychometric Methods for Testing and Assessment of Knowledge in Bulgarian Language). In 1988, he was promoted to Full Professor in recognition of his monograph "Памет и смисъл"/Memory and Meaning. From 1984 to 1988, Prof. Gerganov was the Institute's Deputy Rector. From 1989-2000, he worked at the Institute of Psychology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, where from 1991 to 2000, he headed the section on cognitive psychology and research methods, and from 1991 to 1995, he was the Director of the Institute. Prof. Gerganov was Deputy Minister of Public Education (1991-1992) and Director of the National Test Center (1994-1995). Professor Encho Gerganov was one of the first professors at the New Bulgarian University (NBU) and the first head of the Cognitive Science and Psychology Department (1992–2002) there. In 2009, he was awarded the title "Doctor Honoris Causa” by the Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, Slovakia. Together with Prof. Gerganov, we carried out many studies and co-authored numerous articles focused on Romani-Bulgarian and Turkish-Bulgarian bilingualism in Bulgaria. In 1999, we co-authored a monographic study: Герганов, E. и Кючуков, Хр. (1999). Oбразователни нагласи на ромите в България. София: Тилия / Gerganov, E. & Kyuchukov, H. (1999). Educational Attitudes of Roma in Bulgaria. Sofia: Tilia. With his outstanding and pioneering work and research, I am confident that Prof. Gerganov brought the educational issues of minority children in Bulgaria to a higher scientific level. Professors Miroslav Yanakiev and Encho Gerganov deeply dedicated their academic lives to linguistics and psycholinguistics. Through their studies, research, and publications, they helped to change the lives of many in Bulgaria and Europe

Mother tongue of Roma children from special schools

The article presents research demonstrating that Roma children placed in special schools for ‘defective’ children in post-communist countries suffer not from learning disabilities or mental retardation, but from the tendency of such schools to misclassify minority students on the basis of their language knowledge. The research was done with Roma children from Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Results from data suggest that Roma children, with appropriate bilingual educational methods, can achieve proficiency in both Romani and official school languages. The children in the study (all together 111) — pupil in the first grade from Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia, are tested with language comprehension test translated to national languages of the countries and to the Romani dialects spoken by the children in the respected countries. The testing was done in the school environment with each child separately (the first week in Romani and the second week in the official language). The results show that the children perform the test better in the official languages of the countries. The Bulgarian children show best results in both languages, the children from Slovakia know better Slovak, but they also have good knowledge in Romani and the children from Czech Republic show good results in Czech but very low results in Romani. The study shows that the system for selecting the minority children to special schools in those countries should be changed. In Czech Republic and in Slovakia still the Roma children are tested with culturally inappropriate tests only in the official language of the children. There is no testing in their mother tongue. The knowledge of the children in their mother tongue is not considered important