THE LOVARA PROJECT

The codification project of the Romani-variety among the Austrian Lovara was initiated by the association Romano Centro/Vienna. Among other things, the association's goal has been to document the cultural multiplicity prevailing among Austrian Roma. Thanks to a basis of interrelation within the project management as well as to collaboration with Mozes F. Heinschink, internationally renowned expert on Romani, the project works in close cooperation with the project for the Codification and Didactization of Roman. The "central office" for both projects is situated in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Graz.

The codification has been finished in December 1999. The fundament for a future didactication is layed.

Project-managers:
Dieter W. Halwachs and Prof. Hermann Mittelberger

sponsored by:
Anniversary Fund of the Austrian National Bank
Federal Chancellery
European Union / Sokrates-Comenius (1996)

Codification of the Romani-variety among the Austrian Lovara

Members of the Lovara, one of the bigger Austrian Roma groups, have been living in eastern Austria for more than 100 years. Due to attempted genocide of the Roma and Sinti during the Nazi regime, victimizing primarily the grandparent generation that was the primary upholder of Romani culture, the Lovara's sociostructure was for the most part destroyed. This has also had consequences for their language tradition: part of today's Lovara youth retains merely passive competence. If this tendency were to progress, total loss of language is to be feared. With the loss of the language, a fundamental aspect of the Lovari cultural and ethnic identity would be lost as well.

In order to counteract the threat of language loss and a resulting loss of identity, it is necessary to record the language and to analyze and didacticize it in the forms of textbooks, grammar and dictionary. In this way, the grounds for future instruction are established.

Like the project for Codification and Didactization of Roman, the Lovara Project is not an academic, but a Roma project. As opposed to similar initiatives that work on or about groups, this project engages academics that are hired as skilled workers and ethnic co-workers in their endeavors for the entire ethnic group.

This principle of cooperation based on trust and personal relations between Roma and scientists, guarantees useful results that are readily applicable for the Roma. In this process, purely scientific results are considered important, but subordinate, "side-products." Thanks to this procedure of "with people for people", this project can be seen as a paradigm of a meaningful collaboration between science and ethnic groups.

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Letzte Änderung am 06/01/07