In:Speaking of Writing Romani: Language attitudes, text editing, and variability
Melanie Schippling
[IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 56] 2026
► pp. v–vii
Published online: 23 January 2026
https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.56.toc
https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.56.toc
Table of contents
AcknowledgementsIX
List of abbreviationsXIII
List of symbolsXVII
Writing conventionsXIX
Chapter 1.Speaking of writing Romani1
1.1Introduction1
Chapter 2.Points of departure and positioning of this work within academic discourses8
2.1Spoken and written language and the situatedness of speaking and writing8
2.1.1Theoretical frameworks to investigate spoken and written language9
2.1.2Literacies in context, their use, and implications16
2.2Language attitudes20
2.3Romani: The language, its oral tradition, written texts, and standardisation efforts25
2.4Epistemological interest and methodological approach33
Chapter 3.Knowledge production, ethical reflections, and a pandemic39
3.1On researcher bias and sensemaking45
3.2Power relations in research on Romani as a minority language49
3.3Research during the COVID-19 pandemic56
Chapter 4.Language attitudes and language use
among speakers of Romani61
among speakers of Romani61
4.1Study 1: Interviews with individual speakers of Romani63
4.1.1Participants64
4.1.2Method: Qualitative content analysis67
4.1.3Results: Romani perceived as the key element of Romani culture79
4.1.4Results: Relations of spoken and written Romani as described by the interviewees83
4.1.5Results: The role of Romani in society and its implications86
4.1.6Results: Further relevant aspects in the interview setting91
4.1.7Discussion: Individual perspectives on spoken and written Romani93
4.2Study 2: Survey on language use and explicit attitudes108
4.2.1Method: Design of the questionnaire111
4.2.1.1Questions on language use (question set LU)112
4.2.1.2Measuring language attitudes113
4.2.1.2.1Semantic differential (question set DF:
DFSG, DFWG, DFSR, DFWR)114
DFSG, DFWG, DFSR, DFWR)114
4.2.1.2.2Likert scale (question set LS)120
4.2.1.3Sociodemographic data (question set SD)124
4.2.2Method: Pre-test and adaption of the questionnaire125
4.2.2.1Results of the pre-test127
4.2.2.2Interpretation of the pre-test results131
4.2.3Participants: Survey distribution and sociodemographic composition141
4.2.4Results144
4.2.4.1Language use of the participants145
4.2.4.2Data on explicit language attitudes of the participants151
4.2.4.3Additional insights from the comments of the questionnaire finishers154
4.2.5Discussion: Insights from a small-scale survey156
4.3Study 3: Implicit attitudes towards spoken and written Romani176
4.3.1Method: Implicit Association Test183
4.3.1.1Target stimuli185
4.3.1.2Attribute stimuli191
4.3.1.3Procedure193
4.3.2Participants197
4.3.3Results197
4.3.4Discussion: First data on implicit attitudes towards the modalities of Romani204
4.3.5Extended study: A baseline and another language to compare with213
4.4Interim conclusions based on findings on explicit and implicit attitudes (studies 1–3)221
Chapter 5.Study 4: Editing processes with regard to orate and literate structures in Romani225
5.1Method of data collection and predictions for a comparison of spoken/written accounts228
5.2Participants and data set232
5.3Results: Editing processes in the transition from speech to writing243
5.3.1Omission of hesitation markers and further speech disfluencies (P1)247
5.3.2Correction of false starts (P2)249
5.3.3Omission of markers serving orientation for the hearer (P3)250
5.3.4Replacing coordination in speaking with hierarchical structures
in writing (P4)252
in writing (P4)252
5.3.5Preference for lexical elements of higher prestige (P5)253
5.3.6Condensation of information into fewer units (P6)259
5.3.7Omission of hedges (P7)263
5.3.8Omission of modulating elements (P8)265
5.3.9Further observations beyond the predictions (O1–O5)267
5.3.10Stopping times278
5.4Discussion281
Chapter 6.Future directions: Open questions and interdisciplinary prospects295
Chapter 7.Conclusions: Language attitudes and text editing in the context of an oral tradition, norms of writing, and variability300
Bibliography307
Appendix A.Supplementary material to study 1338
A.1Basic question list338
A.2Interview transcripts340
A.3Development of the category system for the qualitative content analysis411
Appendix B.Supplementary material to study 2427
Index
