CROATIAN ROMANY CHILDREN HAVE THEIR FIRST PRIMER

ZAGREB, Feb 18 (Hina) - The first elementary reader for the Romany language was presented in Zagreb a few days ago. The primer entitled "Romani Angluni Alfabeta" was written by Ragib Seferovic and Sandra Rajkovic and published by the union of Croatian Romanies, whose ancestors arrived in Croatia six centuries ago.#L# The book's author Seferovic established the first Romany pre- school centre in Zagreb named after Jimeneze Mallae whom Pope John Paul II beatified as the first blessed man of the Romany descent. According to a professor at Zagreb University, Neven Hrvatic, who spoke at the promotion of this elementary reader, Croatian Romanies have so far kept their culture and language mainly through oral tradition. The Romany language is a part of the Indo-Aryan group, he added explaining that a process of the creation of this language was long and at the very beginning there had been signs - the so-called PATRINs- a part of which was incorporated in the real language presented in the primer. Koraljka Posavec, an assistant lecturer at the Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy teacher training department, said the Romany language had over 60 different dialects. She said that 50 percent of Romany children in Europe did not at all attend school, and 50 percent went to school two years later than other kids. The elementary reader has so far been commended by competent bodies in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. (hina) ms