An Evaluation on the Concepts of “Gypsy” Used in Balkan Turkish Dialects

Dialect studies, which are very important in terms of language research, are today an important source used to reveal the daily spoken language and the vocabulary of its society. In this study, the concepts related to "gypsy" found in the Dictionary of Balkan Turkish Dialects are focused on. At the same time, Türkiye Turkish Dialects and Thracian Dialects Dictionary were scanned in the study. Gypsies are known by different names in the Balkans, as in many parts of the world. In the literature review made in the Balkan Turkish Dialects dictionary, the grammatical equivalents of these nouns and their usage in local dialects were tried to be determined. As a result of the investigations, 23 concepts corresponding to the name gypsy were identified. Apart from this, there are 43 concepts in the dictionary that describe the nomadic lifestyle of gypsies and are used to express their physical characteristics and professions. While some of these concepts contain negative meanings about gypsies, some of them contain positive judgments about their physical characteristics or history. In addition, it has been observed that most of the concepts identified are similar to the usages in Turkey Turkish dialects. Other usages other than similar concepts are usages specific to the Balkans. This study will be very useful in showing how the gypsies, who aroused the curiosity of the society in terms of their lifestyle, language and physical characteristics throughout history, were expressed in Balkan Turkish dialects.