Jay,

As curator of a "Gypsy research" collection and an acquaintance of several
scholars in the field, I know a little about the subject, although I'm no
expert myself.  One theory is that some Gypsies themselves perpetrated and
nourished the "Egyptian" myth, perhaps as a joke.  Many Gypsies in the United
States refer to themselves by this term, especially when talking to
non-Gypsies, so it isn't necessarily derogatory.  There's considerable
variation on this point, and if there's one thing I've learned about
"Gypsies", it's very hard to generalize about them.

"Rom" is not synonymous with Gypsy, because it's only one of a large number
of groups and sub-groups--although it is perhaps the biggest.  Others who are
prominent in the U.S. include Ludar and Romnichels.  It's true that Romany is
not correct (usually, but it depends), but I know a photographer who works
with a Gypsy group in California, and she says they call themselves Roma.
And I'm pretty sure that Rom is not synonymous with Sinti--at least not
always.  As I've suggested, some of the confusion seems to be encouraged by
the Gypsies themselves, who prefer to be enigmatic to outsiders.

David Haberstich

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