Abstract. The article is based on the study of the semantic field of a basic Roma socionym “Rom” and addresses the issue of analysing the lingual world view of an ethnic group whose language and culture function in a situation of bilingualism, multiple cultural and lingual identity. The author analyses the core Roma socionyms related to the primary kinship terms indicating age, gender and social statuses and functions, and highlights corruptions of the semantic field of the socionym “Rom”. The latter were produced while discussing and translating Roma socionyms into languages of their ethnic-cultural environment. The article also examines the influence of intercultural contacts on development of ethnonymic semantics of a socionym and its perception by researchers.