Abstract
The aim of the presentation was twofold. First, to present the origins of Roma and their path to Europe, mainly from a linguistic point of view.
This was done with the help of linguistic means: primarily the historical and comparative method. Some of the crucial points of the itineration, and the reasons thereof, were discussed.
The second part of the presentation emphasized the evolution of the language and the dispersal and differentiation of Roma groups after their arrival on the European continent. This layer manifests itself on every level of the language: syntax, morphology (e.g. oiko- vs. xenoclitic inflection), phonology, lexicon, or prosody.
Individual phenomena from each stratum of the language was analyzed from the sociolinguistic and language-contact perspective. I. e. various segmental and suprasegmental features present in different Romani dialects were - if possible - traced to the direct donor language.
Such a method can tell us more about the itineration or conversely the sedentary way of life of individual Roma groups. Last but not least, we will include a discussion of some of the ethno-, endo-, exo- and professionyms (e.g.
Bugurdži, Sepečides, Lovara, etc.) of Roma groups in Europe, which can in turn elucidate the occupation and thus ultimately the origin of these groups.