Abstract
The paper focuses on the topic of gradually ethnic mixing of Vlach Roma (Vlašika Rom), the original habitants of one municipality in Eastern Slovakia, with Slovak Rumungri, which has started in post-war period. The process of changing the merital patterns from endogamous to exogamous has influenced not only the social structure of the community, but also its social status among the Vlach Roma.
The Roma from sub-etnically heterogenous families are seen as "hamime Rom" (mixed Roma), which have a lower social status. The author uses a combination of socio-anthropological, oral historical and sociolinguistic methods and explores the actors' perspective on the conceptualisation of group boundaries.
She focus on the process of culture change and its reflection by the local actors as well as by other Roma groups in contact. She analyses the symbolic categories relevant for the social space of the group of Vlašika Rom.
She discusses the role of language use and the mechanisms of ethnic categorisation in the whole process. The author considers the language as one of the most important pillars of the group identity while simultaneously serving as the most distinctive feature in the process of boundaries construction.
She does not approach language as a mere marker of ethnicity, but rather examines it as an active instrument which reflects and contributes to the formation of the local social structure and to the processes of the creation of ethnic categories as social constructs.