Dialect Classification
Dialect Classification
There is no 'easy' way to classify dialects. One must first select the criteria on which a classification is to be based. Sometimes dialect classification is based strictly on geography, sometimes it is based strictly on the structural features – lexicon, phonology, morphology – of the dialects. In the latter case, it is necessary to select those features that are of global relevance and that can be used as a reference grid to compare the different dialects and to determine the relationships among them. Scholars often disagree on which features should be given greater attention as a basis for a classification. As a result, is not unusual to find different classification models. There is also an objective difficulty: Some dialects may share 'typical' features with two distinct dialect branches. Such transitional dialects are part of any linguistic landscape. It is therefore almost impossible to postulate clear-cut divisions between dialect groups or 'branches'.
Several factors are responsible for dialect differentiation in Romani:
- The migration of Romani-speaking populations throughout Europe, in different periods
- The geographical spread of structural changes, creating linguistic boundaries or 'isoglosses'
- The influence of contact languages
- Specific changes that are limited to the structure of individual dialects
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