Mixing and Unmixing Languages Mixing and Unmixing Languages uses the politics and practices of language to understand social hierarchies and social change in a post-conflict and post-social- ist context. The book focuses on Roma in Prizren, Kosovo, where the author conducted long-term ethnographic fieldwork, using language learning as a central method. Shifts in language practices among this highly multilingual group have reflected the demise of Yugoslav socialism, the rise of ethno-nationalist politics and con- flict, and the post-war reversal of power relations in Kosovo. Roma in Prizren nostalgically narrate a past of cosmopolitanism and employment in contrast to the present. Their position today is complex: while they stress their relative integra- tion, this position is fragile in the face of nationalist politics and imported neolib- eral economic policies. Within this context, Roma NGO workers have found an economic niche working on projects to protect multiculturalism and minorities, funded by international aid agencies, centred on Romani language. This book dis- cusses the historical trajectory and current configurations of a Romani organisa- tion in the town, the standardisation of Romani and the hierarchical organisation of linguistic forms and language learning, the self-representation of Roma and the ‘gypsy’ image through Romani-language drama, and attitudes to purism, mixing and cosmopolitanism. Mixing and Unmixing Languages is suitable for academics and students in the areas of linguistic anthropology and linguistic ethnography, Romani studies, South-East European studies and sociolinguistics. Amelia Abercrombie has recently worked as a postdoctoral research associate looking at language learning among marginalised migrants in Manchester, UK. She completed a PhD in the department of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester, UK, in 2017. Before that she was at University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, UK, completing MRes East European Studies in 2011, and BA Serbian and Croatian Studies in 2008. She has also worked as a support worker for mental health and learning disabilities. Routledge Studies in Language and Identity Series Editor: Reem Bassiouney The Routledge Studies in Language and Identity (RSLI) series aims to examine the intricate relation between language and identity from different perspectives. The series straddles fields such as sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, applied lin- guistics, historical linguistics and linguistic anthropology. It aims to study identity and language by utilizing novel methods of analysis as well as ground-breaking theoretical approaches. Titles in Series: Arabic in Israel Language, Identity and Conflict Muhammad Amara Identity and Dialect Performance A Study of Communities and Dialects Edited by Reem Bassiouney Arabic Translation Across Discourses Edited by Said Faiq Language, Identity, and Syrian Political Activism on Social Media Francesco L. Sinatora Mixing and Unmixing Languages Romani Multilingualism in Kosovo Amelia Abercrombie For more titles, please visit www .routledge .com /languages/ series /RSLI Mixing and Unmixing Languages Romani Multilingualism in Kosovo Amelia Abercrombie First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Amelia Abercrombie The right of Amelia Abercrombie to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 9780367860578 (hbk) ISBN: 9781003016694 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India Contents Note on orthographies vi Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 PART 1 Roma, Prizren and language 17 1 Terzimahalla, Durmish Aslano and me 19 2 Durmish Aslano in Prizren: From partisan to NGO 33 3 Intangible culture and tangible employment after socialism 54 PART 2 Purity, mixture and representation 73 4 O Romano Teatro and gypsy theatricality 75 5 Standardisation: Learning linguistics in the bath 95 6 Before the war: A nostalgic speech genre 114 Conclusion: Between two fires? Dissonance, diglossia, disorientation 133 Bibliography 145 Index 163 Note on orthographies Throughout this book I have kept examples of writing as close to their originals as possible, and used local orthographies for transcriptions. I use Ro to denote Romani, specifying further if there is a distinction between variants, Shq to denote Albanian, BCS to denote Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and Tu to denote Turkish. While Cyrillic alphabet is rarely used in Prizren, the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Latin orthography, the standard (Tosk-based) Albanian orthography, Turkish orthography and the local Romani orthography are all used. They are often mixed, and words are often spelt according to local pronunciations rather than stand- ard forms. The following table is a list of orthographical differences between the languages. Romani Albanian Bosnian/Croatian/ Turkish IPA Serbian <l> * <ll> <l> <l> /ł/ <l> <lj> /ʎ/ <j> <xh> ** <dž> ** <c> /dʒ/ <gj> <đ> /dʑ/ <q> <q> ** <ć>** <ç> /tɕ/ <ç> <č> /tʃ/ <y> <j> <j> <y> /j/ <sh> <sh> <š> <ş> /ʃ/ /*** <y> / <ü> /y/ / *** <ë> / <ı> /ə/ * /ł/ and /ʎ/ are differentiated in Romani speech but not in this orthography. ** These graphemes represent phonemes which are distinct in the standard variants (and as such in orthographies), but not in the local variants. Many people therefore mix them up. *** This sound is present in Romani, but is not included in this orthography. Romani has additional aspirated consonants which are written: <th>, <ph>, <qh> and <kh>. These orthographies are often mixed spontaneously, which can be especially problematic with names, as people often write their name in several different Note on orthographies vii ways. For example Durmish Aslano (Romani) could also be written Durmish Asllano (Albanian), Durmiš Aslano (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian) or Durmiş Aslano (Turkish). This is further complicated by the fact that Albanian surnames take a definite article, so change again. For example, the Albanian surname Kryezi would have a definite nominative ending –u making it Kryeziu. While in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia there was a trend to translate Albanian names into Serbo-Croat (Kryeziu, meaning ‘black head’ became Crnoglavić), in Socialist Yugoslavia it was more common to write Albanian names without the article, and with the Serbo-Croat orthography, giving Kruezi. To avoid taking a stance on what is essentially a political debate, I have kept people’s names in the form that they would normally use, regardless of their ethnicity and the origin of their surname. Acknowledgements Research for this book was carried out with ESRC funding via the North West Doctoral Training Centre, Language-Based Area Studies pathway. The book was completed as part of the AHRC OWRI (Open World Research Initiative) project. I would like to thank both my PhD supervisors for their constant and very different types of support: Stef Jansen has been a source of inspiration, giving invaluable insights on anthropology, south-eastern European studies, writing and general survival, and Yaron Matras has provided rigorous feedback and inputs, drawing on his depth of knowledge on Romani studies and linguistics, and has included me in other events and opportunities. I am also grateful to my examin- ers, Tanja Petrović and Soumhya Venkatesan for their thorough feedback and constructive input. I would like to thank everyone who supported me and helped me learn Romani in the field. First, to those who are no longer with us: Nexhip, who orchestrated my stay despite everything, as well as Kujtim and Ibrahim. Inshallah ano xheneti. Also: Fatmira and family for giving me a home; Enver and Drita for their kind welcome; Saverd and Moni for providing a friendly working environment; and Vera for being a true friend when I needed one most as well as an excellent cook. Edis, Erxhan and Denis, thank you for always being friendly and supportive, and for always having time to help me. More generally I would like to thank Roma in Prizren for showing me another way of living. Ov saste savorenge: tumen siklilen mange thay o yaver qhib, thay o yaver jivdipe ano tumaro diz. But kamlipe thay sastipe tumenge. I would also like to thank Saara for always providing a haven in Prishtina and Misha for unfailingly providing a warm welcome in Skopje. Thanks also to the many people who have helped me learn languages over the years, in particular Jelena at SSEES for teaching me Serbian, and Milena and Ivan for making me speak it, Ahmet at the Yunus Emre centre for teaching me Turkish, Hasan and Mirkena for Albanian classes. I am also grateful to Danial Abondolo and Ger Duijzings for encouraging me to undertake a PhD. I have received useful feedback from a variety of seminars and conferences. I would particularly like to thank Gëzim Krasniqi for inviting me to take part in the South-East European Studies seminar series at SSEES, UCL, UK; Kimmo Granqvist for inviting me to take part in the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies seminar series at Södertörn University, Sweden; the organisers of the Acknowledgements ix ‘The Politics of Teaching and Learning Languages’ conference at SSEES, UCL, UK; the organisers and participants of the ‘Romani Linguistics’ confer- ence at Södertörn University, Sweden; and Frances Pine for her feedback on the ‘Postsocialism and anthropology: theoretical legacies and European futures’ panel at EASA in Milan, Italy. I would also like to thank Madeleine Reeves for comments and suggestions on my early drafts, and my fellow PhD students at Manchester for academic and moral support. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers for their fresh perspective and helpful suggestions in making the thesis into a book, and to my colleagues at Multilingual Manchester for their input, but more so for their kindness and humour in this period. I would like to thank my family for awakening and never questioning my inter- est in this part of the world, and Perry for providing ample distractions while I was completing the book. And last but not least William for his insights, patience and his constant support.