M.A. VESNA ALEKSIC ABOUT “SERBIAN-ROMA DICTIONARY WITH GRAMMAR AND ORTHOGRAPHIC ADVISER”
14/08/2011 – Although Roma are the greatest national minority in Europe, Roma language falls to the group of so-called small languages, whose future and survival are jeopardized and uncertain. Roma did, while displaced all over the world, brought to its language on all lingual levels elements of languages of countries that became their motherlands. Result of this is today obvious: less and less number of Roma speak pure, original language of their ancestors.
While recognizing this process, journalist, publicist and literate Bajram Haliti have felt a need to help preserve of Roma language with publishing of the first “Serbian-Roma dictionary with grammar and orthographic adviser”.
Work on dictionary wasn’t easy at all, as it usually happens, but owing to the persistent and devoted Bajram Haliti, small number of associates and, of course, owing to the publishing house Prometej, this capital work looked a light of the day on joy of many people.
Dictionary contains approx. 50.000 words that are expertly and carefully processed in grammar, orthographic and etymologic sense. In this dictionary, words that are borrowed from other languages, as well as neologisms that are made during the past decades, side-by-side with development of technique, medicine, medias etc. found their place. Within this dictionary is given very detailed and synoptic grammar of Roma language, as well as the orthographic adviser that will, due to lack of official orthography of Roma language be of great help, as the dictionary itself, to great range of people – those to whom Roma language is a mother language, those who learn it as a foreign language, translators, speakers, politicians, as well to persons who perform cultural, educational or any other public job. I am assured that Serbian-Roma dictionary from Bajram Haliti will, as a textbook, find its way both to schools and other educational institutions.
One another important characteristic of this dictionary is that it has been written with use of standardized Roma orthography, which was authorized on 4th World Roma congress by the Commission for standardization, so that it represents huge step towards solving of main problem of Roma language – step towards its standardization.
I believe that a need for creation of one such a quality dictionary is more than obvious. In addition, I believe that for description of that its quality aren’t needed great words, because names like: author Bajram Haliti, expert’s associate prof Dr Gheorghe Sarau, as well as names of reviewers: prof Dr Ian Hancock, prof Dr Hristo Kjuchukov, Els de Groen and Milica Lilic-Jeftimijevic – say enough about expertise and attention with which this dictionary has been made out.
Creation of Serbian-Roma dictionary with grammar and orthographic adviser by Bajram Haliti proceeded in couple of phases. First phase was election of words, that was performed in a way so that this book can satisfy wide range of people – pupils of primary and secondary schools, students, educational workers, people who are employed in medias, as well as all those who perform public or cultural job. During the selection of words that we intended to process we served with capital works from the Serbian lexicography and linguistic in general:Dictionary of Matica Srpska, Lexicon of foreign words and expression by Milan Vujaklija, as well with dictionaries given within theOrthography of Serbo-Croatian literary language with Orthographic dictionary (1960) and Orthography of Serbian language (1993).Amongst the words processed in mentioned sources we elected those for which we believed that they can satisfy every modern man and its needs.
During the designing of structure of dictionary, we listed great number of two-language dictionaries and met with their structures (English-Serbian and Serbian-English dictionary, I.P. JRJ, Zemun; S.Ristic, Z. Simic English-Serbocroatian dictionary, Prosveta, Beograd; J.Jerkovic, K.Damjan Minimal dictionary of Serbocroatian language; Serbocroatian – Slovakian, Zavod za izdavanje udzbenika, Novi Sad, Z. Miloradovic German – Serbocroatian and Serbocroatian – German dictionary with applied grammar, Lingva, Beograd and others). When we saw that structures of those dictionaries are more or less same, i.e. that there is some principle in creation of two-language dictionaries, we used that common pattern: determinant is stated, apropos word from Serbian language; type of word to which it belong has been determined (with some, for which existed need for that, were given both additional grammar and etymologic information), then was listed adequate, apropos translation of that word to Roma language, as well as specification of type of word (since that in Roma language, for example, there is no neuter or that noun that is in Serbian in feminine in Roma language can be also masculine).
Grammar’s processing of each word has been made with respect of the Orthography of Serbian language, and with imitation to the dictionary from same orthography and Orthographic dictionary by Milan Sipka. In that way, with each noun is given mark of its gender, as well as form of genitive of singular and nominative of plural if in that forms occur voice changes, apropos if noun has irregular plural (for example Billy goat, of Billy goat, pl. Billy goats, m). Adjectives are listed in its unspecified form and masculine (which is a rule in sentences when it is about adjectives), and specified form, distaff and neuter are listed also in cases when voice changes do occur: loosing of vocals a and implosion of consonant’s group. Same principle was used during the processing of pronouns and variable numbers. When it is about verbs, they are, as it is regulation in dictionaries, listed in its basic form, apropos infinitive. Since in Roma language there is no true form of infinitive, but only casual infinitive, verbs are in Roma section given in first person of singular of present. With other, invariable words is given only mark of type to which that word belongs. For explanation of meaning of expert’s and scientific terms, as well for describing of etymology of words of foreign origin were used our best works: Dictionary of Matica Srpska and Vujaklija’s Lexicon of foreign words and expressions.
At the end, I would like to wish to Mr Haliti a lot of happiness and success on his future projects, as well in his fight for improvement and progress of his nation and language. It is not necessary to wish to dictionary to be accepted and useful, because it is certain that it will happen.
M.A. Vesna Aleksic
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