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{{article issues
| external links=May 2009
| citecheck=May 2009
}}
{{two other uses|the modern Slavic language|the extinct Paleo-Balkan language|Ancient Macedonian language|other uses|Macedonian (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Language
|name = Macedonian
|nativename = {{lang|mk|Македонски јазик}} <br>''{{transl|mk|ALA|Makedonski jazik}}''
|pronunciation =
|rank = 180 (native)
|familycolor = Indo-European
|states = ], ], ],<ref></ref> ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]
|region = ]
|speakers = 2.3<ref name="speakers">Although the precise number of speakers is unknown, figures of between 1.6 million (from ) and 2–2.5 million have been cited, see {{Harvcoltxt|Topolinjska|1998}} and {{Harvcoltxt|Friedman|1985}}. The general academic consensus is that there are approximately 2 million speakers of the Macedonian language, accepting that "it is difficult to determine the total number of speakers of Macedonian due to the official policies of the neighbouring Balkan states and the fluid nature of emigration" {{Harvcoltxt|Friedman|1985|p=?}}.</ref>&nbsp;– 3 million<ref></ref>
|fam1 = ] (])
|fam2=]
|fam3 = ]
|fam4 = ]
|fam5 = Eastern South Slavic
|script = ] (])
|nation = {{flagicon|Republic of Macedonia}} ]<br>recognised as minority language in parts of:<br>{{ALB}}<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hill|1999|p=?}}</ref><br />{{ROM}}<ref></ref><br>{{SRB}}<ref>] and ]]</ref>
|agency = ] at the ]
|iso1 = mk
|iso2b = mac|iso2t=mkd|iso3=mkd
|map = ]<br /><center><small>Countries with significant Macedonian-speaking populations.<br />(Click on image for the legend)</small></center>
}}

'''Macedonian''' ({{audio|Mk-Makedonski jazik.ogg|македонски јазик}}, {{IPA2|maˈkɛdɔnski ˈjazik}}) is the official ] of ] and is a part of the Eastern group of ]. Macedonian was codified in 1944, based on the ]. It is closely related to and shares a high degree of ] with the ] and to a certain extent with the ].<ref name="ucla">, UCLA International Institute</ref>

==Classification and related languages==

The modern Macedonian language belongs to the ] of the ] branch of the ] branch of the ] family of languages. The closest relative of Macedonian is Bulgarian,<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Levinson|O'Leary|1992|p=239}}</ref> with which it is mutually intelligible.<ref name="ucla" /> Before their codification in 1945 ] were for the most part classified as Bulgarian<ref name=foreigners>Mazon, Andre. ''Contes Slaves de la Macédoine Sud-Occidentale: Etude linguistique; textes et traduction''; Notes de Folklore, Paris 1923, p. 4.</ref><ref>Селищев, Афанасий. Избранные труды, Москва 1968.</ref><ref>K. Sandfeld, ''Balkanfilologien'' (København, 1926, MCMXXVI).</ref> and some lingusts consider them still as such, but this view is politically controversial.<ref name="ucla" /><ref></ref><ref></ref> Following that, the next closest languages are ], ] and ]. Macedonian and its neighbours form a ],<ref name="ucla" /> with the Bulgarian standard (see ]) based on the more eastern dialects and Macedonian based on the more western ones. It also includes the ] dialect group that is intermediate between Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian, comprising some of the northernmost ] as well as varieties spoken in southern Serbia.
{{Macedonian language}}

Together with its immediate Slavic neighbours, Macedonian also forms a constituent language of the ], a group of languages which share ], grammatical and lexical features based on geographical convergence, rather than genetic proximity. Its other principal members are ], ] and ], all of which belong to different genetic branches of the ] family of languages (Romanian is a ], while Greek and Albanian each comprise their own separate branches). Macedonian and Bulgarian are the only ] that don't use ]s (except for the ], and apart from some traces of once living inflections still found scattered throughout the languages). They are also the only Slavic languages with any definite articles (there are three: unspecified, proximate and distal). This last feature is shared with ], ], and ].

==Geographical distribution==
{{See|Geographical distribution of the Macedonian Language}}
The population of the ] was 2,022,547 in 2002, with 1,644,815 speaking Macedonian as the native language.<ref name="census">Popis na Naselenie, Domaćinstva i Stanovi vo Republika Makedonija, 2002 - Vkupno naselenie na Republika Makedonija spored majčin jazik.</ref> Outside of the Republic, there are Macedonians living in other parts of the ]. There are ] minorities in neighbouring ], in ], in ], and in ]. According to the official Albanian census of 1989, 4,697 ethnic Macedonians reside in Albania.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Artan|Gurraj|2001|p=219}}</ref>

A large number of Macedonians live outside the traditional Balkan ], with ], ] and the ] having the largest emigrant communities. According to a 1964 estimate, approximately 580,000 Macedonians live outside of the Macedonian Republic,<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Topolinjska|1998|p=?}}</ref> nearly 30% of the total population. The Macedonian spoken by communities outside the republic dates back to before the standardisation of the language{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}} and retains many dialectic though, overall, mutually intelligible variations.
{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}
The Macedonian language has the status of official language only in the Republic of Macedonia, and is a recognised minority language in parts of ], ], and ]. There are provisions for learning the Macedonian language in Romania as Macedonians are an officially recognised minority group. The language is taught in some universities in ], ], ], ], ], ], the ], and the ] among other countries.

===Macedonian Slavic in Greece===<!--] redirects here; please leave section heading intact.-->
{{Main|Slavic dialects of Greece}}
The varieties spoken by the ] in parts of northern ], especially those in the Greek provinces of ] and ], are today usually classified as part of the Macedonian language, with those in ] being transitional towards Bulgarian.<ref>Schmieger, R. 1998. "The situation of the Macedonian language in Greece: sociolinguistic analysis", International Journal of the Sociology of Language 131, 125–55.; Friedman (2001).</ref> Bulgarian linguistics traditionally regards them all as part of the Bulgarian diasystem together with the rest of Macedonian.<ref name=unity>{{cite book |author=Institute of Bulgarian Language |title=Единството на българския език в миналото и днес |publisher=] |year=1978 |page=4 |language=Bulgarian |location=] |oclc=6430481}}; {{cite book |title=Българска диалектология (Bulgarian dialectology)|last=Стойков (Stoykov)|first=Стойко |authorlink=Stoyko Stoykov |origyear=1962 |year=2002 |location=София |publisher=Акад. изд. "Проф. Марин Дринов" |language=Bulgarian |url=http://www.promacedonia.org/jchorb/st/index.htm |isbn=9544308466 |oclc=53429452}}</ref><ref name="Shklifov">Шклифов, Благой. Проблеми на българската диалектна и историческа фонетика с оглед на македонските говори, София 1995, с. 14.; Шклифов, Благой. Речник на костурския говор, Българска диалектология, София 1977, с. кн. VІІІ, с. 201–205,</ref> However, the codification of standard Macedonian has been in effect only in the Republic of Macedonia, and the varieties spoken in Greece are thus practically "roofless",<ref name="Trudgill2000">Trudgill P. (2000), "Greece and European Turkey: From Religious to Linguistic Identity". In: Stephen Barbour and Cathie Carmichael (eds.), Language and Nationalism in Europe, Oxford : Oxford University Press, p.259.</ref> with their speakers having little access to standard or written Macedonian.

Unlike in the Republic of Macedonia, many speakers of the language in Greece choose not to identify ethnically as "Macedonians", but as ethnic Greeks ('']'') or ''dopii'' (locals). Therefore, the simple term "Macedonian" as a name for the Slavic language is often avoided in the Greek context, and vehemently rejected by most Greeks, for whom '']'' has very different connotations. Instead, the language is often called simply '''Slavic''' or '''Slavomacedonian''', with '''Macedonian Slavic''' often being used in English. Speakers themselves variously refer to their language as ''makedonski'', ''makedoniski'' ("Macedonian"), ''slaviká'' ({{lang-el|σλαβικά}}, "Slavic"), ''dópia'' or ''entópia'' ({{lang-el|εντόπια}}, "local/indigenous "),<ref name="eurac"></ref> ''bălgarski'', ''balgàrtzki'', ''bolgàrtski'' or ''bulgàrtski'' ("Bulgarian"), ''naši'' ("our own "), or ''stariski'' ("the old ").

The exact number of speakers in Greece is difficult to ascertain, with estimates ranging between 20,000 and 250,000.<ref name="Michel Candelier, ed. ; Ana-Isabel Andrade ... 2004">{{cite book
|title=Janua Linguarum&nbsp;— The Gateway to Language
|year=2004
|publisher=Council of Europe
|isbn=9287153124
|author=Michel Candelier, ed. ; Ana-Isabel Andrade ...}}, See Page 90,
</ref><ref>{{citebook
|title = Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation
|first = Hugh
|last = Poulton
|isbn = 0786402288
|publisher = McFarland
|year = 1997
|page = 193
}}</ref><ref name="Shea">{{cite book
|title=The Real Macedonians
|last=Shea
|first=John
|year=1992
|publisher=Newcastle
|isbn=0646105043
|pages=148}}, >{{cite book
|title=Who are the Macedonians?
|last=Poulton
|first=Hugh
|year=1995
|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers
|isbn=1850652384
|pages=167}}, </ref><ref name="ethnologue"></ref> Jacques Bacid estimates in his 1983 book that "over 200,000 Macedonian speakers remained in Greece".<ref>Jacques Bacid, Ph.D. Macedonia Through the Ages. Columbia University, 1983.</ref> Other sources put the numbers of speakers at 180,000<ref></ref>{{Verify credibility|date=May 2009}},<ref>L. M. Danforth, The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World 1995, Princeton University Press</ref> 220,000<ref>Hill, P. (1999) "Macedonians in Greece and Albania: A Comparative study of recent developments". Nationalities Papers Volume 27, 1 March 1999, page 44(14)</ref> 250,000<ref>{{cite book
| last = Shea
| first = John
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Macedonia and Greece&nbsp;— The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation
| publisher = McFarland
| date = 1997
| location =
| pages = 180
| url = 0786402288
| doi =
| id =
| isbn = }}</ref> while Yugoslav sources vary, some putting the estimated number of "Macedonians in Greek Macedonia" at 150,000–200,000 and others at 300,000<ref>Poulton, H.(2000), "Who are the Macedonians?",C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, page 167, <blockquote>''As often occurs with Yugoslav sources, there appears to be confusion about the number of Macedonians in Greek Macedonia at present: some Yugoslav sources put the latter figure at 300,000, while more sober estimates put the number at 150,000 - 200,000''</blockquote></ref>. The Encyclopedia Britannica<ref>http://www.britannica.com/new-multimedia/pdf/wordat077.pdf</ref>{{Dead link|date=May 2009}} and the Reader's Digest World Guide both put the figure of ]{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} in ] at 1.8% or c.200,000 people, with the native language roughly corresponding with the figures. The UCLA also states that there is 200,000 Macedonian speakers in ].<ref></ref><ref></ref>. A 2008 article in the Greek newspaper ''Eleftherotipia'' put the estimate at 20,000.<ref></ref>

The largest group of speakers are concentrated in the ], ], ], ], ] and ] regions. During the ], the codified Macedonian language was taught in 87 schools with 10,000 students in areas of northern Greece under the control of Communist-led forces, until their defeat by the ] in 1949.<ref>{{cite book
|title= Macedonia Its Disputed History
|last= Simpson
|first= Neil
|authorlink=
|coauthors=
|year= 1994
|publisher= Aristoc Press
|location= Victoria
|isbn= 0646204629
|pages= 101,102 & 91}} </ref> In recent years, there have been attempts to have the language recognised as a minority language.

===Usage===

The total number of Macedonian speakers is highly disputed. Although the precise number of speakers is unknown, figures of between 1.6 million (from ) and 2–2.5 million have been cited; see {{Harvcoltxt|Topolinjska|1998}} and {{Harvcoltxt|Friedman|1985}}. The general academic consensus is that there are approximately 2 million speakers of the Macedonian language, accepting that "it is difficult to determine the total number of speakers of Macedonian due to the official policies of the neighbouring Balkan states and the fluid nature of emigration" {{Harvcoltxt|Friedman|1985|p=?}}.</ref> According to the latest censuses and figures, the number of Macedonian-speakers is:

{|class="wikitable"
! rowspan=2|State
! colspan=2|Number
|-
! Lower Range
! Higher Range
|-
!Macedonia
| 1,700,000<ref> {{Failed verification|date=March 2009}}</ref>
| 2,022,547<ref></ref>
|-
!Albania
|4,697<ref></ref>
|30,000<ref></ref>
|-
!Bulgaria<ref>This people speak predominantly Bulgarian. See 2001 census data by mother tongue: </ref>
|unknown
|unknown
|-
!Greece
|35,000 <ref name="Michel Candelier, ed. ; Ana-Isabel Andrade ... 2004"/>
|200,000 <ref name="ethnologue"/>
|-
!Serbia
|14,355<ref></ref>
|30,000{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}
|-
!Rest of the Balkans
|15,939<ref>A combination of Balkan Censuses: , ,, and [http://www.stat.si/popis2002/si/rezultati/rezultati_red.asp?ter=SLO&st=7</ref>
|25,000
|-
!Canada
|37,050{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}
|150,000<ref name="autogenerated1"></ref>
|-
!Australia
|71,994<ref></ref>
|200,000<ref name="autogenerated1" />
|-
!Germany
|62,295<ref></ref>
|85,000<ref name="autogenerated1" />
|-
!Italy
|50,000<ref></ref>
|74,162<ref></ref>
|-
!United States of America
|45,000<ref></ref>
|200,000<ref name="autogenerated1" />
|-
!Switzerland
|6,415<ref></ref>
|60,362<ref></ref>
|-
!Rest of World
|101,600<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
|110,000<ref>, , , , , , , , , , , , , and </ref>
|-
!Total
|2,289,904
|3,200,000
|}

==Dialects==

{{Main|Dialects of Macedonian language}}

{|class="infobox" width="400px"
|-
|colspan="2"|]
|-
|colspan="2"|Dialect divisions of Macedonian<ref>After Z. Topolińska and B. Vidoeski (1984), Polski-macedonski gramatyka konfrontatiwna, z.1, PAN.</ref>
|-
|
;Northern
{{legend|#71889F|Lower Polog}}
{{legend|#A6A8AA|Crna Gora}}
{{legend|#DADDDF|Kumanovo / Kratovo}}
;Western/Northwestern
{{legend|#FAf5E0|Central}}
{{legend|#EAB9AC|Upper Polog}}
{{legend|#C58474|Reka}}
{{legend|#F8AD98|Mala Reka / Galičnik}}
{{legend|#E89580|Debar}}
{{legend|#E0785E|Drimkol / Golo Brdo}}
{{legend|#F8F594|Vevčani / Radοžda}}
{{legend|#F5AA77|Upper Prespa / Ohrid}}
{{legend|#C7814E|Lower Prespa}}
|
;Eastern
{{legend|#AAC84F|Mariovo / Tikveš}}
{{legend|#B7E62B|Štip / Strumica}}
{{legend|#D9F486|Maleševo / Pirin}}
;Southeastern
{{legend|#AE9E62|Korča}}
{{legend|#DBC985|Kostur}}
{{legend|#EDED90|Nestram}}
{{legend|#F8DA63|Solun / Voden}}
{{legend|#D8CB64|Ser / Drama}}
|}

Based on a large group of features, Macedonian dialects can be divided into Eastern and Western groups (the boundary runs approximately from ] and ] along the rivers ] and Crna). In addition, a more detailed classification can be based on the modern reflexes of the ] reduced vowels (]s), vocalic sonorants, and the back nasal *{{Unicode|ǫ}}. That classification distinguishes between the following 5 groups:<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Comrie|Corbett|2002|p=247}}</ref>

Western Dialects:

*'''Ohrid-Prespa Group'''
**]
**]
**]
**]
**].
*'''Debar Group'''
**]
**]
**]
**]
**]
**]
*'''Polog Group'''
**]
**]
**]
**]
**]
*'''Kostur-Korča Group'''
**]
**]
**]

Eastern Dialects:

*'''Northern Group'''
**]
**]
**]
**]
*'''Eastern Group'''
**]
**]
**]
**]
**]
**].

The ] and ] are considered to also be ] dialects<ref>{{cite book |title=Българска диалектология (Bulgarian dialectology)|last=Стойков (Stoykov)|first=Стойко |authorlink=Stoyko Stoykov |origyear=1962 |year=2002 |location=София |publisher=Акад. изд. "Проф. Марин Дринов" |language=Bulgarian |url=http://www.promacedonia.org/jchorb/st/index.htm |isbn=9544308466 |oclc=53429452 }}</ref> or transitional dialects between Macedonian and Bulgarian.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

==Phonology==
{{Main|Macedonian phonology}}
{{IPA notice}}

]
]

{| class="wikitable"
|+]s of Macedonian<ref name="Harvcoltxt|Lunt|1952|p=1">{{Harvcoltxt|Lunt|1952|p=1}}</ref>
!
!]
!]
!]
|-align=center
!]
|и {{IPA|/i/}}
|
|у {{IPA|/u/}}
|-align=center
!]
|е {{IPA|/ɛ/}}
|
|о {{IPA|/ɔ/}}
|-align=center
!]
|
|а {{IPA|/a/}}
|
|}

In addition, the ] {{IPA|}} may appear in certain dialects or ]s.

{| class="wikitable"
|- align="center"
|+]s of Macedonian<ref name="Harvcoltxt|Lunt|1952|p=1"/>
!
! colspan="2" | ]
! colspan="2" | ]-<br>]
! colspan="2" | ]
! colspan="2" | ]
! colspan="2" | ]-<br>]
! colspan="2" | ]
! colspan="2" | ]
|- align="center"
! ]
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|m}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|n}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|ɲ}}
| colspan="2" |
|- align="center"
! ]
| {{IPA|p}}
| {{IPA|b}}
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA|t}}
| {{IPA|d}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA|c}}
| {{IPA|ɟ}}
| {{IPA|k}}
| {{IPA|ɡ}}
|- align="center"
! ]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA|ts}}
| {{IPA|dz}}
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA|tʃ}}
| {{IPA|dʒ}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align="center"
! ]
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA|f}}
| {{IPA|v}}
| {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|z}}
| colspan="2" |
| {{IPA|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|ʒ}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|x}}
|- align="center"
! ]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|j}}
| colspan="2" |
|- align="center"
! ]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | {{IPA|r}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- align="center"
! ]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|ɫ}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|l}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|}

Macedonian exhibits final obstruent devoicing and syllabic {{IPA|/r/}}

Other than recent loanwords, ] in Macedonian is ], meaning it falls on the third from last ] in words with three or more syllables, and on the first or only syllable in other words. By comparison, in standard Bulgarian, the stress can fall anywhere within a word.

==Grammar==

{{Ethnic Macedonians}}
{{Main|Macedonian grammar}}

Macedonian grammar is markedly ] in comparison with other Slavic languages, having lost the common Slavic case system. The Macedonian language shows some special and, in some cases, unique characteristics due to its central position in the Balkans.

Literary Macedonian is the only South Slavic literary language that has three forms of the definite article, based on the degree of proximity to the speaker, and a past tense formed by means of an ] "to have", followed by a ] ] ] in the ].

Both ] and mediative (sometimes referred to as '']'' or ''admirative'') ] are also found in the Bulgarian language, although the use of double object is much more restricted in the Bulgarian standard (see also ]).

==Vocabulary==
As a result of the close relatedness with ] and ], Macedonian shares a considerable amount of its ] with these languages. Other languages which have been in positions of power, such as ] and increasingly ] also provide a significant proportion of the ]s. Prestige languages, such as ], which occupies a relationship to modern Macedonian comparable to the relationship of ] to modern ], and ] also provided a source for lexical borrowings.

During the ], there was deliberate care taken to try and ] the lexicon of the language. "Serbisms" and "Bulgarisms", which had become common due to the influence of these languages in the region were rejected in favor of words from native dialects and ]s. One example being the word for "event", ''настан'' {{IPA|}}, which was found in certain examples of folk poetry collected by the ] in the 19th century, while the Macedonian writer ] had previously used the word ''собитие'' {{IPA|}}.<ref name="misirkov">In his most famous work "On the Macedonian Matters" (available ), ] uses the word ''собитие'' (a Russian ] taken from Bulgarian) where ''настан'' is used today.</ref> This is not to say that there are no Serbisms, Bulgarisms or even ]s in the language, but rather that they were discouraged on a principle of "seeking native material first".<ref name="autogenerated2">{{Harvcoltxt|Friedman|1998|p=?}}</ref>

The language of the writers at the turn of 19th century abounded with Russian and, more specifically, Old Church Slavonic lexical and morphological elements which in the contemporary norm are substituted with more current models.<ref name="Dimitrovski">Т. Димитровски. ''Литературната лексика на македонскиот писмен јазик во XIX в. и нашиот однос кон неа'': Реферати на македонските слависти за VI Меѓународен славистички конгрес во Прага, Скопје, 1968 (T. Dimitrovski. ''The literary vocabulary of the Macedonian written language in the 19th century and our attitude to it''. Abstracts of Macedonian slavists for the 6th International Slavistic Congress in Prague. Skopje, 1968)</ref> Thus, the now slightly archaized forms with suffixes&nbsp;–''ние'' and&nbsp;–''тел'', adjectives with the suffixes&nbsp;–''телен'' and others, are now constructed following patterns more typical of Macedonian morphology. For example, ''дејствие'' corresponds to ''дејство'', ''лицемерие'' → ''лицемерство'', ''развитие'' → ''развиток'', ''определение'' → ''определба'', ''движение'' → ''движење'', ''продолжител'' → ''продолжувач'', ''победител'' → ''победник'', ''убедителен'' → ''убедлив'', etc.<ref name="Dimitrovski" /> Many of these words are now ]ous or have taken on a slightly different nuance in meaning.

Many words and expressions were borrowed from the ] to replace those taken from Old Church Slavonic, but also present in the Bulgarian language, which include ''известие'' → ''извештај'', ''количество'' → ''количина'', ''согласие'' → ''слога'', etc.<ref name="Dimitrovski" /> This change was aimed at bringing written Macedonian closer to spoken language and distancing it from the Bulgarian language which has kept its numerous ] loans, and represents a successful ] attempt at abolishing a lexicogenic tradition once common in written ].<ref name="Dimitrovski" />

==Writing system==
===Alphabet===
{{Main|Macedonian alphabet}}
The modern Macedonian alphabet was developed by linguists in the period after the ], who based their alphabet on the phonetic alphabet of ], though a similar writing system was used by ] in the late 19th century. The Macedonian language had previously been written using the ], or later using the ] with local adaptations from either the ] or ] alphabets.

The following table provides the upper and lower case forms of the Macedonian alphabet, along with the ] value for each letter:

{| align=center cellpadding=10 style="text-align:center;"
|-
|align="left"|''Cyrillic''<br />'']''||]<br />{{IPA|/a/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/b/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/v/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ɡ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/d/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ɟ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ɛ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ʒ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/z/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/dz/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/i/}}
|-
|align="left"|''Cyrillic''<br />'']''||]<br />{{IPA|/j/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/k/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/l/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ʎ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/m/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/n/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ɲ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ɔ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/p/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/r/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/s/}}
|-
|align="left"|''Cyrillic''<br />'']''||]<br />{{IPA|/t/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/c/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/u/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/f/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/x/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ts/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/tʃ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/dʒ/}}||]<br />{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|}

===Orthography===

Macedonian orthography is consistent and phonemic in practice, an approximation of the principle of one ] per ]. A principle represented by ]'s saying, "write as you speak and read as it is written" („пишувај како што зборуваш и читај како што е напишано“). Though as with most, if not all, living languages it has its share of inconsistencies and exceptions.

===Examples===
''']'''
{{MultiCol|80%}}
:'''Оче наш''' (Cyrillic alphabet)

:Оче наш, кој си на небото,
:да се свети името Твое,
:да биде царството Твое,
:да биде волјата Твоја,
:како на небото, така и на Земјата!
:Лебот наш насушен дај нѝ го денес
:и прости нѝ ги долговите наши
:како што им ги проштеваме и ние
:на нашите должници.
:И не воведи нè во искушение,
:но избави нè од лукавиот.
:Амин!''

{{ColBreak}}
:'''Oče naš''' (Latin alphabet)

:''Oče naš, koj si na neboto''
:''da se sveti imeto Tvoe,''
:''da bide carstvoto Tvoe,''
:''da bide voljata Tvoja,''
:''kako na neboto, taka i na Zemjata!''
:''Lebot naš nasušen daj nì go denes''
:''i prosti nì gi dolgovite naši''
:''kako što im gi proštevame i nie''
:''na našite dolžnici.''
:''I ne vovedi nè vo iskušenie,''
:''no izbavi nè od lukaviot.''
:''Amin!''
{{EndMultiCol}}

==History==
{{South Slavic languages sidebar}}
{{Main|History of the Macedonian language}}
The region of ] and the ] are located on the ]. The ] first came to the Balkan Peninsula in the sixth and seventh centuries AD. In the ninth century, the ] monks ] developed the first writing system for the Slavonic languages. At this time, the Slavic dialects were so close as to make it practical to develop the written language on the dialect of a single region. There is dispute as to the precise region, but it is likely that they were developed in the region around ]. The ] was established in Ohrid in 886 by ] on orders of ]. In the fourteenth century, the Ottoman Turks invaded and conquered most of the Balkans, incorporating Macedonia into the ]. While the written language, now called ], remained static as a result of Turkish domination, the spoken dialects moved further apart. During the increase of national consciousness in the Balkans, standards for the languages of ], ] and ] were created. As Turkish influence in Macedonia waned, schools were opened up that taught the Bulgarian standard language in areas with significant Bulgarian population.
The concept of the various ] as a part of the Bulgarian language can be seen from early vernacular texts from Macedonia such as the four-language dictionary of ], the works of ] and ], and some vernacular gospels written in the Greek alphabet. These written works influenced by or completely written in the local Slavic ] appeared in Macedonia in the 18th and beginning of the 19th century and their authors referred to their language as Bulgarian.<ref> F. A. K. Yasamee "NATIONALITY IN THE BALKANS: THE CASE OF THE MACEDONIANS" in Balkans: A Mirror of the New World Order, Istanbul: EREN, 1995; pp. 121–132.</ref> The earliest lexicographic evidence of these local dialects can be found in a lexicon from the 16th century written in the Greek alphabet.<ref>'Un Lexique Macedonien Du XVIe Siecle', Giannelli, Ciro. Avec la collaboration de Andre Vaillant, 1958</ref>

In 1845 the ]n scholar ] travelled in the Balkans in order to study the south Slavic dialects of Macedonia. His work articulated for the first time a distinct pair of two groups of ]: Eastern and Western (spoken in today Western Bulgaria and Republic of Macedonia). According to his findings, a part of the Western Bulgarian variety, spoken in Macedonia, was characterized by traces of Old Slavic nasal vowels.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Seriot|1997|p=177}}</ref> It wasn't until the works of ] that parts of what had been regarded as West Bulgarian dialects were defined as a separate 'Macedonian' language. Misirkov was born in a village near ] in ]. Although literature had been written in the Slavic dialects of Macedonia before, arguably the most important book published in relation to the Macedonian language was Misirkov's ''On Macedonian Matters'', published in 1903. In that book, he argued for the creation of a standard literary Macedonian language from the central dialects of Macedonia which would use a ].

After the first two Balkan wars, the region of Macedonia was split among Greece, Bulgaria, and the Serbia (], Yugoslavia). Yugoslavia occupied the area that is currently the Republic of Macedonia incorporating it into the Kingdom as "Southern Serbia". During this time, Yugoslav Macedonia became known as ] (Vardar province) and the language of public life, education and the church was Serbo-Croatian. In the other two parts of Macedonia, the respective national languages, Greek and Bulgarian, were made official. In Bulgarian (Pirin) Macedonia, the local dialects continued to be described as dialects of Bulgarian.

During the ], a part of Yugoslav Macedonia was occupied by the Bulgarian army, who were allied with the Axis. The standard Bulgarian language was reintroduced in schools and ]. The Bulgarians were initially welcomed as liberators from Serbian domination until connections were made between the imposition of the Bulgarian language and unpopular Serbian ] policies; the Bulgarians were quickly seen as conquerors by communist movement.

There were a number of groups fighting the Bulgarian occupying force, some advocating independence and others union with Bulgaria. The eventual outcome was that almost all of ] (i.e. the areas which geographically became known as ]) was incorporated into the ] as a constituent ] with the Macedonian language holding official status within both the Federation and Republic. The Macedonian language was proclaimed the official language of the Republic of Macedonia at the First Session of the Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia, held on August 2, 1944. The first official Macedonian grammar was developed by Krume Kepeski. One of the most important contributors in the standardisation of the Macedonian literary language was ]. The first document written in the literary standard Macedonian language is the first issue of the '']'' newspaper in 1944. ''Makedonska Iskra'' (Macedonian Spark) was the first Macedonian newspaper to be published in Australia, from 1946 to 1957. A monthly with national distribution, it commenced in Perth and later moved to Melbourne and Sydney.

==Common expressions==

*Здраво (Zdravo) — Hello
*Добро утро (Dobro utro) - Good morning
*Добар ден (Dobar den) - Good afternoon
*Добра вечер (Dobra večer) — Good evening
*Добра ноќ (Dobra noć) — Good night
*Довидување (Doviduvanje) - Good bye
*Кој сте вие? (Koj ste vie?)
*Која сте вие? (Koja ste vie?) — Who are you?

==Political views on the language==
{{Main|Political views on the Macedonian language|Macedonian language naming dispute}}

As with the issue of ], the politicians, linguists and common people from Macedonia and neighbouring countries have opposing views about the existence and distinctiveness of the Macedonian language.

In the ninth century AD, saints ] and ] introduced ], the first Slavic language of literacy. Written with their newly invented ] script, this language was based largely on the dialect of Slavs spoken in ]; this dialect is closest to present day ] and Macedonian.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dostál|1965|p=69}}</ref>

Although described as being dialects of Bulgarian prior to the establishment of the standard<ref name=unity>{{cite book |author=Institute of Bulgarian Language |title=Единството на българския език в миналото и днес |publisher=] |year=1978 |page=4 |language=Bulgarian |location=] |oclc=6430481}}</ref>,<ref name="Stoykov">{{cite book |title=Българска диалектология (Bulgarian dialectology)|last=Стойков (Stoykov)|first=Стойко |authorlink=Stoyko Stoykov |origyear=1962 |year=2002 |location=София |publisher=Акад. изд. "Проф. Марин Дринов" |language=Bulgarian |url=http://www.promacedonia.org/jchorb/st/index.htm |isbn=9544308466 |oclc=53429452}}</ref> the current academic consensus (outside the Balkans) is that Macedonian is an ] within the South Slavic dialect continuum.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Trudgill|1992|p=?}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=September 2008}}

===Bulgarian view===
In most sources in and out of Bulgaria before the Second World War, the ] covering the area of today's ] and ] was referred to as group of Bulgarian dialects. The local variants of the name of the language were also ''balgàrtzki'', ''bùgarski'' or ''bugàrski''; i.e. ''Bulgarian''.<ref>Шклифов, Благой and Екатерина Шклифова, Български деалектни текстове от Егейска Македония, София 2003, с. 28–33 (Shklifov, Blagoy and Ekaterina Shklifova. Bulgarian dialect texts from Aegean Macedonia Sofia 2003, p. 28–36)</ref> Although Bulgaria was the first country to recognize the independence of the Republic of Macedonia, most of its academics, as well as the general public, regard the language spoken there as a form of Bulgarian.{{ref|Mahon1}} However after years of diplomatic impasse caused by an academic dispute, in 1999 the government in Sofia solved the problem with the Macedonian Language under the ] formula: "''the official language of the country (Republic of Macedonia) in accordance with its constitution''".<ref></ref>

===Greek view===
{{See also|Macedonia naming dispute}}
Greeks object to the use of the "Macedonian" name in reference to the modern Slavic language, calling it "]" (Macedonian: славомакедонски јазик, {{lang-el|σλαβομακεδονική γλώσσα}}), a term coined by some members of the Slavic-speaking community of northern Greece itself.<ref name="offensivegr">Although acceptable in the past, current use of this name in reference to both the ethnic group and the language can be considered ] and offensive by ethnic Macedonians. In the past, the Macedonian Slavs in Greece seemed relieved to be acknowledged as "Slavomacedonians". Pavlos Koufis, a native of Greek Macedonia, pioneer of ethnic Macedonian schools in the region and local historian, says in ''Laografika Florinas kai Kastorias'' (Folklore of Florina and Kastoria), Athens 1996:
<blockquote>" the KKE recognised that the Slavophone population was ethnic minority of Slavomacedonians]. This was a term, which the inhabitants of the region accepted with relief. Slavomacedonians = Slavs+Macedonians. The first section of the term determined their origin and classified them in the great family of the Slav peoples."</blockquote>
The ] reports:
<blockquote>"... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness. Unfortunately, according to members of the community, this term was later used by the Greek authorities in a pejorative, discriminatory way; hence the reluctance if not hostility of modern-day Macedonians of Greece (i.e. people with a Macedonian national identity) to accept it."</blockquote></ref>

==See also==
{{InterWiki|code=mk}}
{{wikibooks|Macedonian}}

* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
*{{citation
|last=Comrie
|first=Bernard
|last2=Corbett
|first2=Greville
|year=2002
|chapter=The Macedonian language
|title=The Slavonic Languages
|place=New York
|publisher=Routledge Publications
}}
*{{citation
|last=Dostál
|first=Antonín
|year=1965
|title=The Origins of the Slavonic Liturgy
|journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers
|volume=19
|pages=67–87
|doi=10.2307/1291226
}}
*{{citation
|last=Hill
|first=P.
|year=1999
|title="Macedonians in Greece and Albania: A comparative study of recent developments"
|journal=Nationalities Papers
|volume=27
|issue=1
|doi=10.1080/009059999109163
|pages=17
}}
*{{citation
|last=Friedman
|first=Victor
|editor-last=Garry
|editor-first=Jane
|editor2-last=Rubino
|editor2-first=Carl
|year=2001
|chapter=Macedonian
|title=Facts about the World's Languages: An Encyclopedia of the Worlds Major Languages, Past and Present
|place=New York
|publisher=Holt
|pages=435–439
}}
*{{citation
|last=Friedman
|first=Victor
|year=1998
|title=The implementation of standard Macedonian: problems and results
|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language
|issue=131
|pages=31–57
}}
*{{citation
|last=Hoxha
|first=Artan
|last2=Gurraj
|first2=Alma
|year=2001
|chapter=Local self-government and decentralization: case of Albania. History, reformes and challenges.
|url=http://www.fes.hr/E-books/pdf/Local%20Self%20Government/09.pdf
|format=PDF|title=Local Self Government and Decentralization in South-East Europe:Proceedings of the Workshop held in Zagreb, 6th April 2001
|pages=194–224
}}
{{citation
|last=Levinson
|first=David
|last2=O'Leary
|first2=Timothy
|title=Encyclopedia of World Cultures
|publisher=G.K. Hall
|year =1992
|pages=239
|isbn=0816118086 }}
*{{citation
|last=Lunt
|first=Horace G.
|year=1952
|title=Grammar of the Macedonian Literary Language
|place=Skopje
}}
*{{citation
|last=Mahon
|first=Milena
|year=1998
|title=The Macedonian question in Bulgaria
|journal=]
|volume=4
|issue=3
|pages=389–407
|doi=10.1111/j.1354-5078.1998.00389.x
}}
*{{citation
|last=Poulton
|first=Hugh
|title=Who Are the Macedonians?
|year=2000
|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Ltd.
|place= United Kingdom
|isbn=0253345987
}}
*{{citation
|last=Seriot
|first=Patrick
|editor-last=Tabouret-Keller
|editor-first=Andrée
|year=1997
|chapter=Faut-il que les langues aient un nom? Le cas du macédonien
|url=http://www2.unil.ch/slav/ling/recherche/biblio/97macedTK.html
|title=Le nom des langues. L'enjeu de la nomination des langues
|volume=1
|place=Louvain
|publisher=Peeters
|pages=167–190
}}
*{{citation
|last=Topolinjska
|first=Z.
|year=1998
|title=In place of a foreword: facts about the Republic of Macedonia and the Macedonian language
|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language
|issue=131
|pages=1–11
}}
*{{citation
|last=Trudgill
|first=Peter
|year=1992
|title=Ausbau sociolinguistics and the perception of language status in contemporary Europe
|journal=International Journal of Applied Linguistics
|volume=2
|issue=2
|pages=167–177
|doi=10.1111/j.1473-4192.1992.tb00031.x
}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book
|last=Kramer
|first=Christina
|authorlink=Christina Kramer
|year=2003
|title=Macedonian: A Course for Beginning and Intermediate Students.
|edition=2nd
|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press
|isbn=9780299188047
}}

==External links==
===Documents===
*
*&nbsp;– 1875
*&nbsp;– 1890, in German
*&nbsp;– 1891, in German
*&nbsp;– 1896, in German
*&nbsp;– 1903
*&nbsp;– 1925, Greece
*&nbsp;– 1934, in Polish
*&nbsp;– 1936, in Polish
*&nbsp;– 1936, in French
*&nbsp;– 1938, in French
*&nbsp;– 1946, in Macedonian
*&nbsp;– 1950, in Macedonian
*&nbsp;– 1952
*&nbsp;– history, development and the Macedonism (study about the Macedonian language) in Macedonia and in the world.

===Macedonian language===
*{{ethnologue|code=mkd}}
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{{Macedonian dialects}}
{{Slavic languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macedonian Language}}
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Revision as of 22:28, 30 December 2009