Abstract
On the background of existing information on language vitality of Romani in CR, focusing on the northern-central dialect of Romani (with so far the largest numbers of speakers in CR), the article presents data gathered during a series of sociolinguistic researches on the current competence in Romani, its trans-generational transfer and language attitudes. Declarative data were enlarged by observations and experimental method of language games employed to detect competence among potential speakers of school age.
The results confirm the expectation that the speakers of northern-central Romani are currently undergoing the process of language shift to monolingualism in Czech. The process is however slower than supposed - Romani is not acquired in early age but over a longer period of time, the generation of older Roma still generates the feeling of necessity of certain competence in Romani.
The language loses its domains in usage but still keeps often rather conspicuous symbolic value.