Abstract
The contribution recapitulates and appraises the work of the Czech linguist Jiří Lípa (born December 12, 1928, Sušice, Czechoslovakia - died December 24, 2020, Broadview Heights, Ohio, USA). The first part is devoted to the beginnings of Lípa's interest in the Romani language and his publications from the period before he emigrated to the USA, including the two key monographs written in Czech, Příručka cikánštiny (A Handbook of the Gypsy Language, 1963) and Cikánština v jazykovém prostředí slovenském a českém (The Gypsy Language in the Czech and Slovak Linguistic Environment, 1965).
The second part describes Lípa's work in the field of Roma studies in the USA, his participation in the activities of the Gyspy Lore Society and offers a commented review of his contributions written in English. Special attention is paid to two polemics triggered by Lípa's works.
First, in 1983, in the Newsletter of the Gypsy Lore Society, and the second, a decade later, in 1993 in the Nationalities Papers. The author explains Lípa's stance in these polemics and shows that his position has been rather misunderstood and misinterpreted.
The final section discusses why Lípa's pioneering work in the field of Roma studies has been mostly forgotten in his motherland.