Vol. IX, Me 0.2.] Vocabulary of Language of European Gypsies. 95 
[W.8.] 
Note.—There is a striking similarity of purpose in the 
Romnichal use of the affix mengro (or engro when the wo ord to 
which it is xed ends in a consonant) and the colloquial use 
of the affix ok or wallah in ce cana Mengro and engro 
are used in fact by European Gypsies just as wala would 
be used by Europeans in the gt whieh serves for Hindustani 
in Calcutta. This word (engro), s Borrow, ‘‘ affixed to a 
noun or verb turns it into sornetah figurative, by which they 
designate, seldom very appropriately. some object for which 
they have no positive name ’’; remarks which apply equally 
to the use of wala in colloquial Hividiaetaik 
rrow himself gives as example ‘ kawn engro,’’ which sig- 
aa ear-fellow—a hare; in Hindustani patois one would say 
0 kan wala janwar : that ear-fellow animal ! 
In Romnichal o represents the masculine and ¢ or ni the 
feminine, for example rom a man or bridegroom, romni 
woman or bride ; or boro rei a great gentleman and bori rani a 
great lady. In Hindusta ani we have jat, jatni; dom, domni ; 
barra raja, or bara rais ; barri rani, and so on 
Though I dare say it is of no ee interest I would 
draw attention to what has struck me as an apparent simi- 
larity in the pronunciation of some Hindustani words by Ben- 
galis and by Romani Ryes. 
>> 
The Romnichal In Heed it is 
unce 
For instance.— Bara, big, great . boro Borr 
% Nanga@, bald, naked .. nongo ee longo. 
es Sikha, dry . shuko  Shuka. 
“a Disra, second duite ae 
Bs Kal or Kalko, to-morrow Me 
s Do, two ° doo Dooi. 
and so on. 
My Romanes vocabulary I have taken almost entirely from 
Smart and Crofton, a few words from Borrow and also from 
Colonel Harriot’s paper.!. Smart and Crofton have relied for 
the identification of many words in their vocabulary on Paspati 
in his ‘‘ Etudes sur les [chinghianes ’’ and on Dr. Liebick in 
his ‘*‘ Die Zigeuner,’’ etc 
The strongest argument: which can be used in support of 
Romnichal being Indian in origin is supplied by the etymology 
of the words of this vocabulary, in that some ‘of the words are 
searly Sanskrit while others are of Persian — 
i ‘ See Bibliography g given in Pasi Boli of Kanjars, J.A.S B., vol. vii, 
oO. 
