language/records questions

Hi, I've already pretty much answered your question on another thread, but in case you haven't seen it -- the Romani language, or any part of it that the birth parents may have been using, is not really slang, nor is it a dialect of Romanian. BTW, I suggest that everyone on these forums and everywhere else spell Gypsy with a capital G. This promotes awareness of Roma as an ethnic group and not a lifestyle as so many Americans assume.:)

Sorry-clueless to terminology and just used terms I have on the pieced together small amounts of paperwork I have on my son. He called himself Gypsy(and still does) and I didn't know there was another term. He came suddenly as a summer respite placement that never left(legally adopted now) so I knew nothing about his country of origin. I have since learned that the ethnic group is Roma. Sorry if my ignorance offended anyone. I did see your other post and will see if he recognizes any of the words. Thanks

Hi, I can't imagine that you would offend anyone here, I was just clarifying some things and continuing my neverending capital G crusade :p Good luck with trying the terms - I'd love to know how it went!!!! And regardless of your son's Romani skills, you could perhaps teach him a neat phrase like "Te aves bakhtalo [kh pronounced like ch in Loch Ness]," which is a greeting as well as a general wish of good fortune and happiness.

We've found our daughter's records (91-93) to be more complete than my son's reocords (89-91). I'll bet it is orphanage my orphanage. Our kids were asking a few more questions (now 15 and 12) as well. We went back to Romania, and had an absolute great time. They had been, but are even more, comfortable with their background. Buchurest was a great city to tour around - and the countryside was fabulous. Trip was affordable. We felt very comfortable. More importantly, our kids felt proud of their heritage. Just an idea and thought.

------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- I'm trying to find things with Romanian/English translation to teach my Romanian children to speak Romanian. I found a few books in Romanian but no English translation. Any help would be great. My 11 year old is really interested in this. Buna Zuia, I will do what I can to help answer your questions. As for language your best bet is going to be for you to hire a tutor. I have searched and looked over every Romanian language class that is available and none are worth the money. Either they are too difficult or are just lacking. Plus you have to also take into account that seeing a word is not enough. There are sounds that are very difficult to make and in reality he needs someone to listen and correct him. Also, does anyone know if its common for documents or history info to be wrong from Romania? My five year old had two documents listing his date of birth six months apart. Yes documents are wrong all the time especially with the corruption that is still very common today. My 11 year old, who left Romania at 6 says he lived with his birth mother until he was 4 and that she came to see him the day before his original adoptive parents picked him up. His records say he was placed in the orphanage at 3 days old. Odd are this is not a false memory. orphanages then and today are used as long term day care for children whose parents love them and want them. Most just cannot care for them. That is even more true with gypsy families. They cannot read, write or sometimes even verbilaze their needs. She may have left him there because they could provide 3 squares a day and heat where as she could not and still loved him and wanted him that would explain why she visited. It is still common today. This could be a false memory or a fantasy but his original adoptive parents said the translator that went with them to Romania could not understand D's talk because it was mostly gypsy slang. His birth monther was a gypsy. Would he have learned that dialect in an orphange rather than normal Romanian? The gypsy speak an entirely different dialect then Romanians and most likely learned that from his family. Most workers in the orphanages speak Romanian and or English. He would not have learned that dialect from workers as the racism is so bad that most gypsy cannot find work. Any info would be helpful as I am trying to create a time line to help my kids understand how they came to be part of our family. I would glad to be of assistance to you. My name is Jennifer and I am living here in Romania and I work in the villages and hospitals with roma children. Please feel free to email me and I will help you in any way I can. daileyjoy@yahoo.com