Macedonian language

Macedonian language is a South Slavic language spoken primarily in North Macedonia and by the Macedonian diaspora. It is the official language of North Macedonia and a recognized minority language in parts of Albania, Romania, and Serbia.

History

The Macedonian language is a member of the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. Modern Macedonian is believed to have evolved from the dialects of the region during the 9th to the 11th century. These dialects, in turn, are believed to have descended from the Old Church Slavonic language used in the region during the Middle Ages.

Classification and related languages

Macedonian is part of the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages, which also includes Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, and Bosnian. Macedonian is most closely related to Bulgarian, with which it shares a high degree of mutual intelligibility.

Dialects

There are several dialects of Macedonian, including the Western and Eastern groups. The Western group includes the Ohrid, Debar, Kicevo, and Gostivar dialects, while the Eastern group includes the Veles, Prilep, and Tikves dialects.

Phonology

Macedonian has a complex phonological system, with a rich inventory of consonants and vowels. It is characterized by a series of phonetic features that distinguish it from other Slavic languages, such as the presence of phonemic pitch accent, the use of the schwa vowel, and the occurrence of voiced fricatives.

Grammar

Macedonian grammar is highly inflected, with a complex system of declensions for nouns and conjugations for verbs. It also features a rich system of grammatical aspects, which express the temporal structure of actions or states.

Writing system

The Macedonian language uses the Cyrillic script, with its own variant of the alphabet. The Macedonian alphabet was standardized in 1945 and is based on the Serbian Cyrillic script, with the addition of three letters.

See also

• Macedonian literature
• Macedonian alphabet
• Macedonian phonology
• Macedonian grammar