The Manouches are a subgroup of Roma who have lived in France since at least the eighteenth century.[1] The term Manouche is the self-ascribed name of the French Sinti.[2] The word "manouche" means "man" or "human being" in the Romani language, and is closely cognate to the word for "man" in many modern Indian languages such as Hindiमनुष्य (manuṣya) and Banglaমানুষ (mānuṣa). Their Romani dialect, cognate to the one used by German Sinti, exhibits strong German influence.[3] They are nowadays primary French-speaking, though the dialect of French they use exhibits many linguistic peculiarities compared to standard French.[4]
