i Tamàra- Ma xolavǒn, avilěm… ¿Las drom akana?
i Bibi- Beś panʒ minùte te keras o plàno. O abav uć naj but dur, pal-o kurko, thaj e ćhavrre naj khonʒ: naj len gada, naj len tiraxa. I dej, ka kinav lenqe.
i Tamàra- Avav vi me te kamlǎn… Kaj te ʒas maj anglal?
i Bibi- Akava si. Tu, kana manges te ròdes te amalina?
i Tamàra- Mi amalin akate si, ni naśel. Luine ʒav palem te ròdav la k-i butǐ.
i Bibi- Laćhes. Te dikhas akana so si te kinas thaj maj anglal ko ta ko avel k-o abav, so kinen e avera manuśa, ko so anel kaj te ʒanas so anas amen e paśutne.
i Tamàra- Kames te kines bakres ?
i Bibi- Ma phen dilimàta, ćaćes sar paśutne ka sam, perèlas amenqe maj anglal te anas bakres, ama mo phral kerel abav an-o restoran. O xulaj si lesqo amal. Pakǎv so si te lel sàma but, kaj te ovel sa laćhes, jekh abav te na abistren les e manuśa...
i Tamàra- Bute manuśen akharda o kàko, ni ka resel jekh bakro.
i Bibi- Kòrkorro ʒanel o manuś, śaj te ćhinel 2 ja 3 bakren.
i Tamàra- Sàsa laćhe bakre k-o gav so dikhlěm katar-o cird, thaj vi cikne bakrićhe, pherdo.
i Bibi- Akana, amen e paśutne kinas butum kherutne butǎ: kućǎ laćhe, porćelàna, ćare kaj si ćiterde grasta upre, laćhe – jekh komplèto.
Today's topic 1 >>
the categories of the Rromani noun
All Rromani nouns (and related words like adjectives, pronouns and articles) are inflected (change their ending) according to three possible categories:
a) number: there are two numbers in Rromani, namely singular and plural
b) gender: there are two genders in Rromani, namely masculine and feminine
c) accidences: there are two accidences (forms of grammatical cases) in Rromani, which will the subject of topic 2.
There is one more category, namely definiteness, which is expressed by means of the definite article before the noun (or related word) as explained in padmad 5 topic 2.
Today's topic 2 >>
the two accidences (forms of grammatical cases) of the Rromani noun
click and you will see all nouns denoting human beings or other mammals (disregard things like drom or restorànto):
in purple in the absolute accidence (usually refered to as A-ćham – A-cheek) in red in the connected accidence (usually refered to as B-ćham – B-cheek – yes, a Rromani word has two cheeks, like you and me)
In the text there are 11 such words in both singular and plural as well as A- and B-ćham.
ZU Now try the game involving them and available through a click here >>
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Now back to the text: note the function they fulfill according to the color:
- purple is the colour for people or animals who DO things; they are the subject of the clause and they appear as A-ćham.
- red is the colour for people who UNDERGO the actions done by somebody else; they are the object of the clause and they appear as B-ćham.
Note that in Rromani not only the third person of the verb may have an expressed subject, like in all other languages, but also the first person as well: Si te kinav i dej lenqe I have to buy, [me] the mother, for them – the subject is then as a rule a term of kinship and the sentence refers to children; this structure conveys a dimension of affection and loving care.
