Macedonia: Update to Response to Information Request MCD20563.E of 14 June 1995 regarding the Macedonian language; on whether there are different variations in the language, i.e., a Greek Macedonian, a Bulgarian Macedonia, and a Yugoslav Macedonian; on whether there is a pure Macedonian; on whether ethnic Macedonians in Greece, Bulgaria, and Macedonia speak the same language; on the extent that the Bulgarian language differs from the Macedonian language spoken by ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria

In a telephone interview of 12 June 1995, the Chair of the Slavic Department at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, provided the following information, which was subsequently confirmed in writing. There are differences within the Macedonian language, although it is more accurate to call them dialects, not variations. The Macedonians of Macedonia have several dialects; it is unclear to the Chair whether the Macedonians of Bulgaria and Greece have multiple dialects within each country.

There is a standard Macedonian language; the Chair does not use the term "pure" Macedonian. The grammar of the standard Macedonian language was codified by the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Skopje, Macedonia. The Yugoslav government in 1945 accepted this standardization and codification, as have scholars worldwide. An exception to the general acceptance is Bulgaria, which does not recognize Macedonian as a separate language. The Chair does not know whether the Greek authorities view the Macedonian language as a separate language, although it is likely that Greek scholars do so.

Ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece would probably regard their languages as the same language. There is a consensus among linguistic scholars that ethnic Macedonians of the three countries speak dialects of the same language.

The Chair stated that the spoken language of ethnic Macedonians is not necessarily the codified, standard Macedonian. Even if it were, there are numerous differences between the standard Macedonian language and the standard Bulgarian language. If the Macedonian dialect spoken in Bulgaria is distinctly different from standard Macedonian, it probably differs even more obviously from standard Bulgarian.

In a telephone interview of 12 June 1995, a professor in the department of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Chicago provided the following information, which was subsequently confirmed in writing. The Macedonian language, like all languages, has different dialects, and it is therefore more precise to refer to Macedonian dialects, as opposed to three Macedonian variations. It is impossible to say whether these three dialects should be labelled as Greek Macedonian, Bulgarian Macedonian and Yugoslav Macedonian. It is misleading to refer to them as if they are three distinct literary languages; there is only one literary language, i.e. Macedonian.

There is no "pure" Macedonian language, as the concept of purity is inapplicable to all languages; there is, however, a literary Macedonian language that is grammatically defined by the Academy in Skopje, Macedonia.

It is difficult to determine whether ethnic Macedonians in Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Greece speak the same language because it depends upon whether the language is defined politically or linguistically. Strictly speaking, languages are politically defined, as cultural and political factors determine the official designation of a language. From this perspective, with reference to the dialects of western Bulgaria, Bulgarian authorities believe that Macedonians in western Bulgaria speak a Macedonian dialect of Bulgarian. Similarly, Macedonian authorities in Macedonia view the language spoken in that country as dialects of Macedonian. The Greek authorities probably regard the language spoken by Macedonians in Greece as a "Slavic" language. However, based strictly on a linguistic definition of the language, the three dialects in question constitute part of the same language continuum.

It is also difficult to determine to what extent the Bulgarian language differs from the Macedonian language spoken by ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria, because it is unclear whether the spoken language of ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria is literary Bulgarian or a dialect of the Macedonian language. One cannot compare a dialect of one language with the literary form of another. If the spoken language is a Macedonian dialect, there would be considerable differences between the dialect and literary Bulgarian.

For additional information on variations of the Macedonian language, please consult the attachments.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, University of Chicago. 12 June 1995. Telephone interview with professor.

Slavic Department, Indiana University, Bloomington. 12 June 1995. Telephone interview with Chair.

Attachments

Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Chicago. 23 June 1995. Facsimile sent to the DIRB.

Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto. 16 June 1995. Facsimile sent to the DIRB.