They are so rooted there that they often doubt whether they are speaking in Catalan or Romani. Then secondly, like any other ethnic Roma they have also suffered the persecution this community has been subjected to throughout history. Having two “prohibited” own languages made Catalan Roma careful, and rather than abandoning either of them they extolled both cultures within their own personality. The biculturalism of Catalan Roma obviously led to the two languages becoming mixed, with Romani vocabulary being used in Catalan grammar and this vocabulary also being influenced by Catalan phonetics. Furthermore, the Catalan language was enriched with the adoption of Roma words.

In the rest of the world Roma use the word gadjo to refer to a non-Roma, yet among Roma of Hispanic origin the term used is paio, very clearly of Catalan origin and adopted on their way through Catalonia and now spread throughout the country.