[Opinions] Re: Roma and Romanian are different things
in reply to a message by Bronislava
Romanians (in Finnish romanialaiset) are people from Romania.
Roma (in Finnish romanit) are ethnic groups originally from India who now live in many differents parts of the world. They are also called Gypsies (in Finnish mustalaiset).
There are Roma people in Romania but the two are not the same.
Roma (in Finnish romanit) are ethnic groups originally from India who now live in many differents parts of the world. They are also called Gypsies (in Finnish mustalaiset).
There are Roma people in Romania but the two are not the same.
Replies
Grr, of course you're right!
This is not the first time I mix the words romanialainen and romani. Honestly, I'd prefer using mustalainen just to avoid all the misunderstandings. You can call me ignorant, but I think that would make life easier for everyone. :P
Actually my point was that I've heard the word "roma" used mostly for one of the Romani ethnic groups. (Romanies are not one ethnic group, they're people from about 80 different ethnic groups). As far as I've understood "Roma" is one of the biggest ethnic gropus, where belong a few "smaller" subgroups, like Lovari or Kalderash. Another "big" ethnic group that can be referred to Roma is Sinti. That's the reason I found it weird that English speakers use the word "Roma" for all the ethnic groups. Bla bla bla. I hope you got me. :)
This is not the first time I mix the words romanialainen and romani. Honestly, I'd prefer using mustalainen just to avoid all the misunderstandings. You can call me ignorant, but I think that would make life easier for everyone. :P
Actually my point was that I've heard the word "roma" used mostly for one of the Romani ethnic groups. (Romanies are not one ethnic group, they're people from about 80 different ethnic groups). As far as I've understood "Roma" is one of the biggest ethnic gropus, where belong a few "smaller" subgroups, like Lovari or Kalderash. Another "big" ethnic group that can be referred to Roma is Sinti. That's the reason I found it weird that English speakers use the word "Roma" for all the ethnic groups. Bla bla bla. I hope you got me. :)