View source for Macedonian language

{{short description|South Slavic language spoken in North Macedonia}}
{{about|the modern South Slavic language|the extinct Hellenic language|Ancient Macedonian language}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Macedonian
| nativename       = {{lang|mk|македонски}}<br>''{{Transliteration|mk|ALA|makedonski}}''
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|mk|maˈkɛdɔnski ˈjazik||Mk-Makedonski jazik.ogg}}
| states           = [[North Macedonia]], [[Albania]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Greece]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]]
| region           = [[Southeastern Europe]]
| ethnicity        = [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]]
| speakers         = 1.6–2 million
| date             = 2022
| ref              = e27
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]]
| fam3             = [[Slavic languages|Slavic]]
| fam4             = [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]]
| fam5             = [[Eastern South Slavic]]
| script           = {{plainlist|
* [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] ([[Macedonian alphabet]])
* [[Macedonian Braille]]}}
| dia1             = [[Dialects of Macedonian|Macedonian dialects]]
| nation           = {{flag|North Macedonia}}
| minority         = {{plainlist|
* {{Flag|Albania|size=23px}}
* {{BIH}}<ref name="bih" />
* {{ROU}}<ref name="rou" />
* {{SRB}}<ref name="serbia" />}}
| agency           = [[Macedonian Language Institute "Krste Misirkov"]] at the [[Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje]]
| iso1             = mk
| iso2b            = mac
| iso2t            = mkd
| iso3             = mkd
| glotto           = mace1250
| glottorefname    = Macedonian
| lingua           = 53-AAA-ha (part of 53-AAA-h)
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Idioma macedonio.PNG
| mapcaption       = The Macedonian-speaking world:{{image reference needed|date=September 2023}}{{Legend|#0080FF|regions where Macedonian is the language of the majority}}{{Legend|#88C4FF|regions where Macedonian is the language of a minority}}
}}

'''Macedonian''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|æ|s|ᵻ|ˈ|d|oʊ|n|i|ə|n}} {{respell|MASS|ih|DOH|nee|ən}}; {{lang|mk|македонски јазик}}, {{small|[[Romanization of Macedonian|translit.]]}} {{Transliteration|mk|makedonski jazik}}, {{IPA|mk|maˈkɛdɔnski ˈjazik|pron|Mk-Makedonski jazik.ogg}}) is an [[Eastern South Slavic]] language. It is part of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]], and is one of the [[Slavic languages]], which are part of a larger [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic branch]]. Spoken as a [[first language]] by around 1.6 million people, it serves as the official language of [[North Macedonia]].<ref name=e27/> Most speakers can be found in the country and [[Macedonian diaspora|its diaspora]], with a smaller number of speakers throughout the transnational [[Macedonia (region)|region of Macedonia]]. Macedonian is also a recognized [[minority language]] in parts of [[Albania]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Romania]], and [[Serbia]] and it is spoken by expatriate communities predominantly in [[Australia]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]].

Macedonian developed out of the western [[dialect]]s of the Eastern South Slavic [[dialect continuum]], whose earliest recorded form is [[Old Church Slavonic]]. During much of its history, this dialect continuum was called "Bulgarian",<ref>{{cite book |last=Hupchick |first=Dennis P. |author-link=Dennis P. Hupchick |date=1995 |title=Conflict and Chaos in Eastern Europe |url= |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |page=143 |isbn=0312121164 |quote=The obviously plagiarized historical argument of the Macedonian nationalists for a separate Macedonian ethnicity could be supported only by linguistic reality, and that worked against them until the 1940s. Until a modern Macedonian literary language was mandated by the communist-led partisan movement from Macedonia in 1944, most outside observers and linguists agreed with the Bulgarians in considering the vernacular spoken by the Macedonian Slavs as a western dialect of Bulgarian}}</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=September 2023|reason=Could use additional sources.}} although in the late 19th century, its western dialects came to be known separately as "Macedonian".{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} [[Standard Macedonian]] was codified in 1945 and has developed [[Macedonian literature#Modern literature|modern literature]] since.{{sfn|Thornburg|Fuller|2006|page=213}} As it is part of a dialect continuum with other [[South Slavic language]]s, Macedonian has a high degree of [[mutual intelligibility]] with [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and varieties of [[Serbo-Croatian]].

Linguists distinguish 29 [[dialects of Macedonian]], with linguistic differences separating Western and Eastern groups of dialects. Some features of [[Macedonian grammar]] are the use of a dynamic [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]] that falls on the antepenultimate syllable, three suffixed [[deixis|deictic articles]] that indicate noun position in reference to the speaker and the use of simple and complex [[verb tense]]s. [[Macedonian orthography]] is phonemic with a correspondence of one [[grapheme]] per [[phoneme]]. It is written using an adapted 31-letter version of the [[Cyrillic script]] with six original letters. Macedonian [[syntax]] is the same as of all other modern [[Slavic languages]], i.e.  of the [[subject-verb-object]] (SVO) type and has flexible [[word order]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavic-languages/Grammatical-characteristics | title=Slavic languages - Grammar, Morphology, Syntax &#124; Britannica }}</ref><ref>Siewierska, Anna, and Ludmila Uhlirova. "An overview of word order in Slavic languages." Empirical approaches to language typology 20 (1998): 105-150.</ref>

Macedonian vocabulary has been historically influenced by [[Turkish language|Turkish]] and [[Russian language|Russian]]. Somewhat less prominent vocabulary influences also came from neighboring and [[prestige (linguistics)|prestige languages]]. The international consensus outside of [[Bulgaria]] is that Macedonian is an [[Autonomy and heteronomy (sociolinguistics)|autonomous language]] within the Eastern South Slavic dialect continuum, although since Macedonian and Bulgarian are mutually intelligible and are socio-historically related, a small minority of linguists are [[political views on the Macedonian language|divided in their views]] of the two as separate languages or as a single [[pluricentric language]].{{sfn|Reimann|2014|page=41}}{{sfn|Trudgill|1992}}<ref>Raúl Sánchez Prieto, Politics shaping linguistic standards: the case of Dutch in Flanders and Bulgaro-Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia, in: Exploring linguistic standards in non-dominant varieties of pluricentric languages, {{ISBN|3631625839}}, pp.227-244; Peter Lang, with Carla Amoros Negre et al. as eds.</ref>

5 May, the day when the government of [[Yugoslav Macedonia]] adopted the [[Macedonian alphabet]] as the official script of the republic in 1945, is marked as [[Macedonian Language Day]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=5 мај – Ден на македонскиот јазик |url=https://flf.ukim.mk/5-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%98-%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%82-%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA/ |access-date=7 January 2024 |website=Филолошки факултет "Блаже Конески" – Скопје |language=mk}}</ref> This is a [[Public holidays in North Macedonia|working holiday]], declared as such by the government of North Macedonia in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 April 2019 |title=Од 130-тата седница на Владата на РСМ: 5 Мај прогласен за Ден на македонскиот јазик |url=https://vlada.mk/node/17590 |access-date=11 June 2023 |website=Влада на Република Северна Македонија |language=mk}}</ref>

==Classification and related languages==
[[File:Slavic languages tree.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.25|alt=Language-tree graph|Classification of Macedonian within the [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]] branch of the Indo-European language family]]
Macedonian belongs to the [[East South Slavic languages|eastern group]] of the [[South Slavic languages|South Slavic]] branch of [[Slavic languages]] in the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] language family, together with [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and the extinct [[Old Church Slavonic]]. Some authors also classify the [[Torlakian dialects]] in this group. Macedonian's closest relative is Bulgarian followed by [[Serbo-Croatian]] and [[Slovene language|Slovene]], although the last is more distantly related.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=435}}{{sfn|Levinson|O'Leary|1992|p=239}} Together, South Slavic languages form a [[dialect continuum]].{{sfn|Dedaić|Mišković-Luković|2010|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}}{{sfn|Kortmann|van der Auwera|2011|page=420}}

Macedonian, like the other Eastern South Slavic idioms has characteristics that make it part of the [[Balkan sprachbund]], a group of languages that share [[linguistic typology|typological]], grammatical and lexical features based on areal convergence, rather than genetic proximity.{{sfn|Topolinjska|1998|p=6}} In that sense, Macedonian has experienced convergent evolution with other languages that belong to this group such as Greek, [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]], [[Albanian language|Albanian]] and [[Romani language|Romani]] due to cultural and linguistic exchanges that occurred primarily through oral communication.{{sfn|Topolinjska|1998|p=6}}

Macedonian and Bulgarian are divergent from the remaining South Slavic languages in that they do not use [[noun case]]s (except for the [[vocative]], and apart from some traces of once productive inflections still found scattered throughout these two) and have lost the [[infinitive]].{{sfn|Fortson|2009|page=431}} They are also the only Slavic languages with any definite articles (unlike standard Bulgarian, which uses only one article, standard Macedonian as well as some south-eastern Bulgarian dialects{{sfn|Comrie|Corbett|2002|p=245}} have a set of three [[Deixis|deictic]] articles: unspecified, proximal and distal definite article). Macedonian, Bulgarian and Albanian are the only Indo-European languages that make use of the [[Inferential mood|narrative mood]].{{sfn|Campbell|2000|pp=274, 1031}}

According to Chambers and [[Peter Trudgill|Trudgill]], the question whether Bulgarian and Macedonian are distinct languages or dialects of a single language cannot be resolved on a purely linguistic basis, but should rather take into account sociolinguistic criteria, i.e., ethnic and linguistic identity.<ref>{{citation|first1=J.K.|last1=Chambers|first2=Peter|last2=Trudgill|year=1998| title=Dialectology (2nd ed., Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511805103|pages=169–170|isbn=9780521593786 }}</ref> This view is supported by [[Jouko Lindstedt]], who has suggested the reflex of the back [[yer]] as a potential boundary if the application of purely linguistic criteria were possible.<ref>Tomasz Kamusella, Motoki Nomachi, Catherine Gibson as ed., The Palgrave Handbook of Slavic Languages, Identities and Borders, Springer, 2016; {{ISBN|1137348399}}, p. 436.</ref><ref name="Lindstedt 2016">{{cite book |last=Lindstedt |first=Jouko |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Slavic Languages, Identities and Borders |chapter=Conflicting Nationalist Discourses in the Balkan Slavic Language Area |year=2016 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/10646592 |quote=Macedonian dialectology... considers the dialects of south-western Bulgaria to be Macedonian, despite the lack of any widespread Macedonian national consciousness in that area. The standard map is provided by Vidoeski.(1998: 32) It would be futile to tell an ordinary citizen of the Macedonian capital, Skopje, that they do not realise that they are actually speaking Bulgarian. It would be equally pointless to tell citizens of the southwestern Bulgarian town of Blagoevgrad that they (or at least their compatriots in the surrounding countryside) do not 'really' speak Bulgarian, but Macedonian. In other words, regardless of the structural and linguistic arguments put forth by a majority of Bulgarian dialectologists, as well as by their Macedonian counterparts, they are ignoring one, essential fact – that the present linguistic identities of the speakers themselves in various regions do not always correspond to the prevailing nationalist discourses. |pages=429–447|doi=10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_21 |isbn=978-1-349-57703-3 }}</ref>

As for the [[Slavic dialects of Greece]], Trudgill classifies the dialects in the east Greek Macedonia as part of the [[Bulgarian language]] area and the rest as [[Macedonian dialects]].<ref name="Trudgill">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> According to [[Riki van Boeschoten]],<ref>Riki van Boeschoten is a retired professor of the [[University of Thessaly]] and director of the Laboratory of Social Anthropology and the Oral History Archive dialects in [[eastern Greek Macedonia]].

[http://users.ha.uth.gr/boeschoten/index.php?page=cv Riki van Boeschoten - My CV.] '','' [http://users.ha.uth.gr/boeschoten/index.php?page=publications Her work] (2013)</ref> dialects in eastern Greek Macedonia (around [[Serres]] and [[Drama]]) are closest to Bulgarian, those in western Greek Macedonia (around [[Florina]] and [[Kastoria]]) are closest to Macedonian, while those in the centre ([[Edessa]] and [[Salonica]]) are intermediate between the two.<ref>Boeschoten, Riki van (1993): Minority Languages in Northern Greece. Study Visit to Florina, Aridea, (Report to the European Commission, Brussels) "The Western dialect is used in Florina and Kastoria and is closest to the language used north of the border, the Eastern dialect is used in the areas of Serres and Drama and is closest to Bulgarian, the Central dialect is used in the area between Edessa and Salonica and forms an intermediate dialect"</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ioannidou |first1=Alexandra |title=Questions on the Slavic Dialects of Greek Macedonia |journal=Ars Philologica: Festschrift für Baldur Panzer zum 65. Geburstag. Karsten Grünberg, Wilfried Potthoff |date=1999 |pages=59, 63 |url=https://www.academia.edu/784444 |publisher=Peterlang |location=Athens |isbn=9783631350652|quote=In September 1993 ... the European Commission financed and published an interesting report by Riki van Boeschoten on the "Minority Languages in Northern Greece", in which the existence of a "Macedonian language" in Greece is mentioned. The description of this language is simplistic and by no means reflective of any kind of linguistic reality; instead it reflects the wish to divide up the dialects comprehensibly into geographical (i.e. political) areas. According to this report, Greek Slavophones speak the "Macedonian" language, which belongs to the "Bulgaro-Macedonian" group and is divided into three main dialects (Western, Central and Eastern) - a theory which lacks a factual basis.}}</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of the Macedonian language}}
[[File:Denasalization of yuses in the Macedonian recension of OCS.svg|left|thumb|Denasalization of [[yus]]es in the Macedonian recension of [[Old Church Slavonic|OCS]]]]
The [[Slavs|Slavic people]] who settled in the Balkans during the 6th century CE, spoke their own dialects and used different dialects or languages to communicate with other people.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=103}} The "canonical" Old Church Slavonic period of the development of Macedonian started during the 9th century and lasted until the first half of the 11th century. It saw translation of [[Greek language|Greek]] religious texts.<ref name="spasov">{{cite journal|last=Spasov|first=Ljudmil|title=Периодизација на историјата на македонскиот писмен јазик и неговата стандардизација во дваесеттиот век|journal=Filološki Studii|trans-title=Periodization of the history of the Macedonian literary language and its standardization in the twentieth century|publisher=[[St. Cyril and Methodius University]]|language=mk|year=2007|pages=229–235 |volume=5|issue=1|location=Skopje|issn=1857-6060}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Koneski|first=Blazhe |title=Историја на македонскиот јазик|trans-title=History of the Macedonian Language|publisher=Kultura |location=Skopje|date=1967|language=mk}}</ref><ref name="slavic">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Slavic languages |first1=Wayles|last1=Browne|first2=Vyacheslav|last2=Vsevolodovich Ivanov|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavic-languages#ref604061|access-date=18 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607110701/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavic-languages#ref604061 |archive-date=7 June 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Old Church Slavonic#Ohrid recension|Macedonian recension]] of Old Church Slavonic also appeared around that period in the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] and was referred to as such due to works of the [[Ohrid Literary School]].{{sfn|Lunt|2001|page=4}} Towards the end of the 13th century, the influence of Serbian increased as Serbia expanded its borders southward.{{sfn|Vidoeski|1999|page=12}} During the five centuries of [[Ottoman rule]], from the 15th to the 20th century, the vernacular spoken in the territory of current-day North Macedonia witnessed grammatical and linguistic changes that came to characterize Macedonian as a member of the Balkan sprachbund.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=436}}{{sfn|Usikova|2005|pages=103, 106}} This period saw the introduction of many [[Turkish language|Turkish]] loanwords into the language.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=438}}

[[File:Krste P. Misirkov.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Krste Petkov Misirkov]] (''pictured'') was one of the first to outline the distinctiveness of the Macedonian language in his book ''[[Za makedonckite raboti]]'' (''On the Macedonian Matters''), published in 1903.]]
The latter half of the 18th century saw the rise of modern literary Macedonian through the written use of [[Macedonian dialects]] referred to as "Bulgarian" by writers.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=436}} The first half of the 19th century saw the rise of nationalism among the South Slavic people in the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Kramer|1999|p=234}} This period saw proponents of creating a [[Bulgarian Exarchate|common church]] for Bulgarian and Macedonian Slavs which would use a common modern Macedo-Bulgarian literary standard.{{sfn|Kramer|1999|p=235}}{{sfn|Bechev|2009|page=134}}

The period between 1840 and 1870, saw a struggle to define the dialectal base of the common language called simply "Bulgarian", with two opposing views emerging.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=438}}{{sfn|Kramer|1999|p=235}} One ideology was to create a Bulgarian literary language based on Macedonian dialects, but such proposals were rejected by the Bulgarian codifiers.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=436}}{{sfn|Kramer|1999|p=235}} That period saw poetry written in the [[Struga dialect]] with elements from [[Russian language|Russian]].{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=106}} Textbooks also used either spoken dialectal forms of the language or a mixed Macedo-Bulgarian language.{{sfn|Nihtinen|1999|page=51}} Subsequently, proponents of the idea of using a separate Macedonian language emerged.{{sfn|Nihtinen|1999|page=47}}

[[Krste Petkov Misirkov]]'s book ''[[Za makedonckite raboti]]'' (''On Macedonian Matters'') published in 1903, was the first attempt to formalize a separate literary language.{{sfn|Kramer|1999|p=236}} With the book, the author proposed a Macedonian grammar and expressed the goal of codifying the language and using it in schools. The author postulated the principle that the [[Prilep-Bitola dialect]] be used as a dialectal basis for the formation of the Macedonian standard language; his idea however was not adopted until the 1940s.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=436}}{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=106}} On 2 August 1944 at the first [[Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia]] (ASNOM) meeting, Macedonian was declared an official language.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=436}}{{sfn|Pejoska-Bouchereau|2008|page=146}} With this, it became the last of the major Slavic languages to achieve a standard literary form.<ref name="slavic" /> As such, Macedonian served as one of the three official languages of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1991.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://manu.edu.mk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B1%D0%B0-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%82-%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA.pdf|title=Повелба за македонскиот јазик|trans-title=Charter for the Macedonian language|publisher=[[Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts]]|language=mk|date=3 December 2019|location=Skopje|access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref>

==Geographical distribution==
{{Further|Geographical distribution of Macedonian speakers|Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia|Slavic dialects of Greece}}
Although the precise number of [[native language|native]] and [[second language]] speakers of Macedonian is unknown due to the policies of neighboring countries and emigration of the population, estimates ranging between 1.4 million and 3.5 million have been reported.<ref name="ethnologue">{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mkd |title=Ethnologue report for Macedonian |work=[[Ethnologue]] |date=19 February 1999 |access-date=7 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901171251/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mkd |archive-date=1 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino |2001|page=435}} According to the 2002 census, the total population of [[North Macedonia]] was 2,022,547, with 1,344,815 citizens declaring Macedonian their [[First language|native language]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Македонија, 2002|trans-title=Census of the population, households and dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002|work=Book X|publisher=Republic of Macedonia State Statistical Office|date=May 2005|location=Skopje|url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/knigaX.pdf |access-date=18 March 2020|language=mk, en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501180540/http://www.stat.gov.mk/publikacii/knigaX.pdf|archive-date=1 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Macedonian is also studied and spoken to various degrees as a second language by all [[Demographics of North Macedonia#ethnic groups|ethnic minorities]] in the country.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=435}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Македонскиот јазик како втор и странски: терминолошки прашања|language=mk|trans-title=Macedonian as a foreign and second language: terminological questions |first1=Emilija|last1=Crvenkovska|first2=Elena|last2=Petroska|publisher=[[Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje]] |url=http://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/fisol/zbornik.pdf|access-date=18 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616214059/http://www.ffzg.unizg.hr/fisol/zbornik.pdf|archive-date=16 June 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Outside North Macedonia, there are small [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|ethnic Macedonian]] minorities that speak Macedonian in neighboring countries including 4.697 in [[Albania]] (1989 census),<ref>{{cite book |author1=Artan Hoxha |author2=Alma Gurraj |chapter=Local Self-Government and Decentralization: Case of Albania. History, Reforms and Challenges |title=Local Self Government and Decentralization in South - East Europe |series=Proceedings of the workshop held in Zagreb, Croatia. 6 April 2001 |publisher=Friedrich Ebert Stiftung |place=Zagreb |year=2001 |page=219 |url=http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/kroatien/50257.pdf |access-date=7 August 2021}}</ref> 1,609 in [[Bulgaria]] (2011 census)<ref>{{cite web|title=Население по етническа група и майчин език|trans-title=Population per ethnic group and mother tongue|language=bg |year=2011|publisher=Bulgarian Census Bureau|access-date=18 March 2020 |url-status=live |url=https://censusresults.nsi.bg/Census/Reports/2/2/R9.aspx |archive-date=19 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219105400/http://censusresults.nsi.bg/Census/Reports/2/2/R9.aspx}}</ref> and 12,706 in [[Serbia]] (2011 census).<ref>{{cite web |title=2011 Census – Mother tongue |url=http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/WebSite/Public/ReportResultView.aspx?rptId=3690 |access-date=20 January 2015 |publisher=[[Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141023154939/http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/WebSite/Public/ReportResultView.aspx?rptId=3690 |archive-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> The exact number of speakers of Macedonian in Greece is difficult to ascertain due to the country's policies. [[Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia|Estimates of Slavophones]] ranging anywhere between 50,000 and 300,000 in the last decade of the 20th century have been reported.{{sfn|Hill|1999|page=19}}{{sfn|Poulton|2000|page=167}} Approximately 580,000 Macedonians live outside North Macedonia per 1964 estimates with [[Australia]], [[Canada]], and the [[United States]] being home to the largest emigrant communities. Consequently, the number of speakers of Macedonian in these countries include 66,020 (2016 census),<ref>{{cite web|title=Language spoken at home - Ranked by size |publisher=Profile ID |url=https://profile.id.com.au/australia/language|access-date=18 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226071838/https://profile.id.com.au/australia/language|archive-date=26 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> 15,605 (2016 census)<ref>{{cite web|title=Data tables, 2016 Census |work=Statistics Canada |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&LANG=E&A=R&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=01&GL=-1&GID=1235625&GK=1&GRP=1&O=D&PID=110212&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2016&THEME=118&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0|date=2 August 2017|access-date=18 March 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=20 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220044913/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&LANG=E&A=R&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=01&GL=-1&GID=1235625&GK=1&GRP=1&O=D&PID=110212&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2016&THEME=118&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0}}</ref> and 22,885 (2010 census), respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over: 2009-2013|publisher=United States Census |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2013/demo/2009-2013-lang-tables.html|access-date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412195838/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2013/demo/2009-2013-lang-tables.html |archive-date=12 April 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Macedonian also has more than 50,000 native speakers in countries of [[Western Europe]], predominantly in [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]] and [[Italy]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk//Upload/ContentManagement/Files/Broj%20na%20makedonski%20iselenici%20vo%20svetot.doc |title=Броj на македонски иселеници во светот |trans-title=Number of Macedonian immigrants in the world |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (North Macedonia)]] |access-date=30 April 2020|language=mk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530070621/http://www.mfa.gov.mk//Upload/ContentManagement/Files/Broj%20na%20makedonski%20iselenici%20vo%20svetot.doc |archive-date=30 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Macedonian language has the status of an official language only in North Macedonia, and is a recognized minority and official language in parts of Albania ([[Pustec]]),<ref name="Naumovski">{{cite news|url=http://balkans.courriers.info/article24081.html|title=Minorités en Albanie : les Macédoniens craignent la réorganisation territoriale du pays|last=Naumovski|first=Jaklina|language=fr|date=25 January 2014|publisher=Balkan Courriers|access-date=16 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121607/http://balkans.courriers.info/article24081.html|archive-date=17 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="see">{{cite web|url=http://miris.eurac.edu/mugs2/do/blob.pdf?type=pdf&serial=1003744282130|title=On the Status of the Minorities in the Republic of Albania|publisher=Albanian [[Helsinki Committee]]|location=[[Sofia]]|year=2000|access-date=27 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224002/http://miris.eurac.edu/mugs2/do/blob.pdf?type=pdf&serial=1003744282130|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Romania]], Serbia ([[Jabuka, Pančevo|Jabuka]] and [[Plandište]])<ref name="serbia">{{cite web|url=https://sitel.com.mk/makedoncite-vo-srbija-gi-uzhivaat-site-malcinski-prava-kako-i-srbite-vo-makedonija|title=Македонците во Србија ги уживаат сите малцински права, како и србите во Македонија|trans-title=Macedonians in Serbia have all the minority rights just as Serbians in Macedonia|language=mk|publisher=[[Sitel (TV channel)|Sitel]]|first=Valentin|last=Nikolovski|date=30 October 2016|access-date=26 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326215220/https://sitel.com.mk/makedoncite-vo-srbija-gi-uzhivaat-site-malcinski-prava-kako-i-srbite-vo-makedonija|archive-date=26 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].<ref name="bih">{{cite web|title=Reservations and Declarations for Treaty No.148 – European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|url=http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations?p_auth=63PpH3zN|publisher=[[Council of Europe]]|access-date=25 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208122308/http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations?p_auth=63PpH3zN|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> There are provisions to learn Macedonian in Romania as Macedonians are an officially recognized minority group.<ref name="rou">{{cite web |url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/search-on-treaties/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations |title=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=8 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018085208/http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/search-on-treaties/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations |archive-date=18 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Macedonian is studied and taught at various universities across the world and research centers focusing on the language are found at universities across Europe ([[France]], [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Italy]], [[Russia]]) as well as Australia, Canada and the United States ([[Chicago]] and [[North Carolina]]).{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=105–106}}

==Dialects==
{{Main|Dialects of Macedonian}}
{{See also|Slavic dialects of Greece|Bulgarian dialects|Torlakian dialects}}

During the standardization process of the Macedonian language, the dialectal base selected was primarily based on the West-Central dialects, which spans the triangle of the communities [[Makedonski Brod]], [[Kičevo]], [[Demir Hisar (town)|Demir Hisar]], [[Bitola]], [[Prilep]], and [[Veles, North Macedonia|Veles]]. These were considered the most widespread and most likely to be adopted by speakers from other regions.{{sfn|Friedman|1998|p=33}} The initial idea to select this region as a base was first proposed in Krste Petkov Misirkov's works as he believed the Macedonian language should abstract on those dialects that are distinct from neighboring Slavic languages, such as Bulgarian and Serbian.{{sfn|Dedaić|Mišković-Luković|2010|page=13}}
<div style="width:410px; float:right; border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; padding:5px;">Dialect divisions of Macedonian per Macedonian dialectology<ref name="Lindstedt 2016" /><ref>After Z. Topolińska and B. Vidoeski (1984), Polski-macedonski gramatyka konfrontatiwna, z.1, PAN.</ref>
[[File:Macedonian Slavic dialects.png|frameless|center|400x400px]]

'''Northern'''
{{legend|#71889F|Lower Polog / Tetovo}} {{legend|#A6A8AA|Crna Gora}} {{legend|#DADDDF|Kumanovo / Kratovo ([[Torlakian dialects]])}}

'''Western/Northwestern'''
{{legend|#FAf5E0|Central}} {{legend|#E0785E|Drimkol / Golo Brdo}} {{legend|#C58474|Reka}} {{legend|#E89580|Debar}} {{legend|#F8AD98|Small Reka / Galičnik}} {{legend|#EAB9AC|Upper Polog / Gostivar}} {{legend|#F8F594|Vevčani / Radοžda}} {{legend|#F5AA77|Upper Prespa / Ohrid}}

'''Eastern'''
{{legend|#AAC84F|Mariovo / Tikveš}} {{legend|#B7E62B|Štip / Strumica}} {{legend|#D9F486|Maleševo / Pirin}}

'''Southeastern'''
{{legend|#F8DA63|Solun / Voden}} {{legend|#D8CB64|Ser / Drama}}

'''Southwestern'''
{{legend|#C7814E|Lower Prespa}} {{legend|#AE9E62|Korča}} {{legend|#DBC985|Kostur}} {{legend|#EDED90|Nestram}}
</div>
Based on a large group of features, Macedonian dialects can be divided into Eastern, Western and Northern groups. The boundary between them geographically runs approximately from [[Skopje]] and [[Skopska Crna Gora]] along the rivers [[Vardar]] and [[Crna River (Vardar)|Crna]].{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=103}} There are numerous [[isogloss]]es between these dialectal variations, with structural differences in phonetics, prosody (accentuation), morphology and syntax.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=103}} The Western group of dialects can be subdivided into smaller dialectal territories, the largest group of which includes the central dialects.{{sfn|Topolinjska|1998|p=7}} The linguistic territory where Macedonian dialects were spoken also span outside the country and within the [[Macedonia (region)|region of Macedonia]], including [[Pirin Macedonia]] into Bulgaria and [[Aegean Macedonia]] into Greece.{{sfn|Topolinjska|1998|p=6}}

Variations in consonant pronunciation occur between the two groups, with most Western regions losing the /x/ and the /v/ in intervocalic position ({{lang|mk|глава|italic=no}} (head): /ɡlava/  = /ɡla/: {{lang|mk|глави|italic=no}} (heads): /ɡlavi/ = /ɡlaj/) while Eastern dialects preserve it. Stress in the Western dialects is generally fixed and falls on the antepenultimate syllable while Eastern dialects have non-fixed stress systems that can fall on any syllable of the word,{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=111}} that is also reminiscent of Bulgarian dialects. Additionally, Eastern dialects are distinguishable by their fast tonality, [[elision]] of sounds and the suffixes for definiteness. The Northern dialectal group is close to South Serbian and Torlakian dialects and is characterized by 46–47 phonetic and grammatical isoglosses.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=104}}

In addition, a more detailed classification can be based on the modern reflexes of the [[Proto-Slavic]] reduced vowels ([[yer]]s), vocalic sonorants, and the back nasal *ǫ. That classification distinguishes between the following 6 groups:{{sfn|Comrie|Corbett|2002|p=247}}

{{tree list}}
* '''Macedonian'''
** Western dialects
*** '''Ohrid-Prespa Group''': [[Ohrid dialect]], [[Struga dialect]], [[Vevčani-Radožda dialect]], [[Upper Prespa dialect]] and [[Lower Prespa dialect]].
*** '''Debar Group''': [[Debar dialect]], [[Reka dialect]], [[Drimkol-Golo Brdo dialect]], [[Galičnik dialect|Small Reka dialect]] (''Galičnik dialect''), [[Skopska Crna Gora dialect]] and [[Našinski|Gora dialect]]
*** '''Polog Group''': [[Gostivar dialect|Upper Polog dialect]] (''Gostivar dialect''), [[Tetovo dialect|Lower Polog dialect]] (''Tetovo dialect''), [[Prilep-Bitola dialect]], [[Kičevo-Poreče dialect]] and [[Skopje-Veles dialect]]
*** '''Kostur-Korča Group''': [[Korča dialect]], [[Kostur dialect]] and [[Nestram-Kostenar dialect]]
** Eastern dialects
*** '''Northern Group''': [[Kumanovo dialect]], [[Kratovo dialect]], [[Kriva Palanka dialect]] and [[Ovče Pole dialect]]
*** '''Eastern Group''': [[Štip - Kočani dialect]], [[Strumica dialect]], [[Tikveš-Mariovo dialect]], [[Maleševo-Pirin dialect]], [[Solun-Voden dialect]] and [[Ser-Drama-Lagadin-Nevrokop dialect]].
{{tree list/end}}

==Phonology==
{{Listen
| type          = speech
| header        =
| filename      = Prilep-Bitola dialect speech - Bitola.ogg
| title         = Bitola dialect
| description   = Spoken Macedonian in a folk story as spoken in the dialect of [[Bitola]]
| filename2     = Prilep-Bitola dialect speech - Topolčani.ogg
| title2        = Prilep dialect
| description2  = Spoken Macedonian in a folk story as spoken in the dialect of [[Prilep]]

}}
{{main|Macedonian phonology}}
The [[phonology|phonological]] system of Standard Macedonian is based on the Prilep-Bitola dialect. Macedonian possesses five [[vowels]], one [[semivowel]], three [[liquid consonants]], three [[nasal stops]], three pairs of [[fricative consonant|fricative]]s, two pairs of [[affricate]]s, a non-paired voiceless fricative, nine pairs of voiced and unvoiced consonants and four pairs of [[Stop consonant|stops]]. Out of all the Slavic languages, Macedonian has the most frequent occurrence of vowels relative to consonants with a typical Macedonian sentence having on average 1.18 consonants for every one vowel.<ref>{{cite book|title=Историческая типология славянских языков. Фонетика, слообразование, лексика и фразеология|trans-title=Historical typology of Slavic languages|language=uk|last1=Kolomiec|first1=V.T.|last2=Linik|first2=T.G.|last3=Lukinova|first3=T.V.|last4=Meljnichuk|first4=А.S.|last5=Pivtorak|first5=G.P.|last6=Sklyarenko|first6=V.G.|last7=Tkachenko|first7=V.A.|last8=Tkachenko|first8=O.B|year=1986|publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine]]|location=Kiev}}</ref>

===Vowels===
The Macedonian language contains 5 [[vowel]]s which are /a/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /o/, and /u/. For the pronunciation of the middle vowels /''е''/ and /''о''/ by native Macedonian speakers, various vowel sounds can be produced ranging from [ɛ] to [ẹ] and from [o] to [ọ]. Unstressed vowels are not [[vowel reduction|reduced]], although they are pronounced more weakly and shortly than stressed ones, especially if they are found in a stressed syllable.{{sfn|Friedman|1998|p=252}}{{sfn|Friedman|2001}} The five vowels and the letter ''р'' (/r/) which acts as a vowel when found between two consonants (e.g. {{lang|mk|црква|italic=no}}, "church"), can be syllable-forming.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=111}}

The [[schwa]] is phonemic in many dialects (varying in closeness to {{IPAblink|ʌ}} or {{IPAblink|ɨ}}) but its use in the standard language is marginal.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=10}} When writing a dialectal word and keeping the schwa for aesthetic effect, an [[apostrophe]] is used; for example, {{angbr|к'смет}}, {{angbr|с'нце}}, etc. When spelling words letter-by-letters, each consonant is followed by the schwa sound. The individual letters of [[acronyms]] are pronounced with the schwa in the same way: {{angbr|[[Macedonian Orthodox Church|МПЦ]]}} ({{IPA|[mə.pə.t͡sə]}}). The lexicalized acronyms {{angbr|[[USSR|СССР]]}} ({{IPA|[ɛs.ɛs.ɛs.ɛr]}}) and {{angbr|МТ}} ({{IPA|[ɛm.tɛ]}}) (a brand of cigarettes), are among the few exceptions. [[Vowel length]] is not phonemic. Vowels in stressed open syllables in disyllabic words with stress on the penultimate can be realized as long, e.g. {{angbr|Велес}} {{IPA|mk|ˈvɛːlɛs||Mk-Veles.ogg}} '[[Veles (city)|Veles]]'. The sequence {{IPA|/aa/}} is often realized phonetically as {{IPA|[aː]}}; e.g. {{angbr|саат}} {{IPA|/saat/}} {{IPA|[saːt]}} '''colloq.'' hour', {{angbr|змии}} - snakes. In other words, two vowels appearing next to each other can also be pronounced twice separately (e.g. {{lang|mk|пооди|italic=no}} - to walk).{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=111}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
|+ Vowels{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=10}}{{sfn|Lunt|1952|pp=10–11}}
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e̞|ɛ}}
| ({{IPA link|ə}})
| {{IPA link|o̞|ɔ}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|ä|a}}
|
|}

===Consonants===
{{multiple image
| total_width =
| align = right
| image1 = LinguisticdivideinMacedonian1.png
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = LinguisticdivideinMacedonian2.png
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = A 1962 map of the use of the intervocalic phonemes ''kj'' and ''gj'' in Macedonian
}}

The consonant inventory of the Macedonian language consists of 26 letters and distinguishes three groups of consonants ({{lang|mk|согласки|italic=no}}): [[voiced]] ({{lang|mk|звучни|italic=no}}), [[voicelessness|voiceless]] ({{lang|mk|безвучни|italic=no}}) and [[sonorant]] consonants ({{lang|mk|сонорни|italic=no}}).{{sfn|Friedman|2001}} Typical features and rules that apply to consonants in the Macedonian language include [[assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]] of voiced and voiceless consonants when next to each other, devoicing of vocal consonants when at the end of a word, double consonants and elision.{{sfn|Friedman|2001}}{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}} At morpheme boundaries (represented in spelling) and at the end of a word (not represented in spelling), voicing opposition is [[Final-obstruent devoicing|neutralized]].{{sfn|Friedman|2001}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Consonants{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=11}}{{sfn|Lunt|1952|pp=11–12}}
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n̪}}{{ref|1|<sup>1</sup>}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Stop consonant|Plosive]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t̪}}
|
| {{IPA link|c}}{{ref|3|<sup>3</sup>}}
| {{IPA link|k}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d̪}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɟ}}{{ref|3|<sup>3</sup>}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|t̪͡s̪}}
|
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}
|
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|d̪͡z̪}}
|
| {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s̪}}
|
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| {{IPA link|x}}{{ref|2|<sup>2</sup>}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|z̪}}
|
| {{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
| {{IPA link|ɫ̪}}{{ref|1|<sup>1</sup>}}
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|r}}{{ref|1|<sup>1</sup>}}
|
|
|}

<!-- {| class="standard" style="text-align: center;" -->

{{note|1|1}} The alveolar trill ({{IPA|/r/}}) is [[Syllabic consonant|syllabic]] between two consonants; for example, {{angbr|прст}} {{IPA|[ˈpr̩st]}} 'finger'. The dental nasal ({{IPA|/n/}}) and dental lateral ({{IPA|/ɫ/}}) are also syllabic in certain foreign words; e.g. {{angbr|њутн}} {{IPA|[ˈɲutn̩]}} '[[Newton (unit)|newton]]', {{angbr|Попокатепетл}} {{IPA|[pɔpɔkaˈtɛpɛtɫ̩]}} '[[Popocatépetl]]', etc. The [[labiodental nasal]] {{IPA|[ɱ]}} occurs as an allophone of {{IPA|/m/}} before {{IPA|/f/}} and {{IPA|/v/}} (e.g. {{angbr|трамвај}} {{IPA|[ˈtraɱvaj]}} '[[tram]]').{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} The [[velar nasal]] {{IPA|[ŋ]}} similarly occurs as an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} (e.g. {{angbr|англиски}} {{IPA|[ˈaŋɡliski]}} 'English').{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=11}} The latter realization is avoided by some speakers who strive for a clear, formal pronunciation.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

{{note|2|2}} Inherited Slavic {{IPA|/x/}} was lost in the Western dialects of Macedonian on which the standard is based, having become zero initially and mostly {{IPA|/v/}} otherwise. {{IPA|/x/}} became part of the standard language through the introduction of new foreign words (e.g. {{lang|mk|хотел|italic=no}}, hotel), [[toponym]]s ({{lang|mk|Пехчево|italic=no}}, [[Pehčevo]]), words originating from Old Church Slavonic ({{lang|mk|дух|italic=no}}, ghost), newly formed words ({{lang|mk|доход|italic=no}}, income) and as a means to disambiguate between two words ({{lang|mk|храна|italic=no}}, food vs. {{lang|mk|рана|italic=no}}, wound). This explains the rarity of Х in the Macedonian language.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=11}}

{{note|3|3}} They exhibit different pronunciations depending on dialect. They are dorso-palatal stops in the standard language and are pronounced as such by some native speakers.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=11}}

===Stress===
The [[Stress (linguistics)|word stress]] in Macedonian is {{linktext|antepenultimate}} and dynamic (expiratory). This means that it falls on the third from last [[syllable]] in words with three or more syllables, and on the first or only syllable in other words. This is sometimes disregarded when the word has entered the language more recently or from a foreign source.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=109–110}} To note which syllable of the word should be accented, Macedonian uses an apostrophe over its vowels. [[Disyllabic]] words are stressed on the second-to-last syllable: ''дéте'' ({{IPA|[ˈdɛtɛ]}}: child), ''мáјка'' ({{IPA|[ˈmajka]}}: mother) and ''тáтко'' ({{IPA|[ˈtatkɔ]}}: father). [[Trisyllabic]] and [[polysyllabic]] words are stressed on the third-to-last syllable: ''плáнина'' ({{IPA|[ˈpɫanina]}}: mountain) ''планѝната'' ({{IPA|[pɫaˈninata]}}: the mountain) ''планинáрите'' ({{IPA|[pɫaniˈnaritɛ]}}: the mountaineers).{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=109–110}} There are several exceptions to the rule and they include: [[Participle|verbal adverbs]] (i.e. words suffixed with ''-ќи''): e.g. ''викáјќи'' ({{IPA|[viˈkajci]}}: shouting), ''одéјќи'' ({{IPA|[ɔˈdɛjci]}}: walking); adverbs of time: ''годинáва'' ({{IPA|[godiˈnava]}}: this year), ''летóво'' ({{IPA|[leˈtovo]}}: this summer); foreign [[loanword]]s: e.g. ''клишé'' ({{IPA|[kliˈʃɛ:]}} cliché), ''генéза'' ({{IPA|[ɡɛˈnɛza]}} genesis), ''литератýра'' ({{IPA|[litɛraˈtura]}}: literature), ''Алексáндар'' ({{IPA|[alɛkˈsandar]}}, [[Alexander]]).{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=13}}

Linking occurs when two or more words are pronounced with the same stress. Linking is a common feature of the Macedonian language. This linguistic phenomenon is called ''акцентска целост'' and is denoted with a [[Tie (typography)|spacing tie]] ([[Tie (typography)#Encoding|‿]]) sign. Several words are taken as a single unit and thus follow the rules of the stress falling on the antepenultimate syllable. The rule applies when using [[clitics]] (either enclitics or proclitics) such as the negating particle ''не'' with verbs (''тој нé‿дојде'', he did not come) and with short pronoun forms. The future particle ''ќе'' can also be used in-between and falls under the same rules (''не‿му‿јá‿даде'', did not give it to him; ''не‿ќé‿дојде'', he will not come).{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}} Other uses include the [[imperative form]] accompanied by short pronoun forms (''дáј‿ми'': give me), the expression of possessives (''мáјка‿ми''), prepositions followed by a noun (''зáд‿врата''), question words followed by verbs (''когá‿дојде'') and some compound nouns (''сувó‿грозје'' - raisins, ''киселó‿млеко'' - yoghurt) among others.{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

==Grammar==
{{Main|Macedonian grammar}}

Macedonian grammar is markedly [[Analytic language|analytic]] 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 perfect tense formed by means of an [[auxiliary verb]] "to have", followed by a [[past tense|past]] participle in the [[Neuter gender|neuter]], also known as the [[verbal adjective]]. Other features that are only found in Macedonian and not in other Slavic languages include the antepenultimate accent and the use of the same vocal ending for all verbs in first person, present simple (''глед-'''a'''-м'', ''јад-'''а'''-м'', ''скок-'''а'''-м'').{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|page=43}} Macedonian distinguishes at least 12 major [[part of speech|word classes]], five of which are modifiable and include nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numbers and verbs and seven of which are invariant and include [[adverb]]s, prepositions, [[conjunction (grammar)|conjunction]]s, [[interjection]]s, [[Grammatical particle|particles]] and [[Linguistic modality|modal words]].{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}}

===Nouns===
Macedonian [[noun]]s (''именки'') belong to one of three [[Grammatical gender|genders]] (masculine, feminine, and neuter) and are [[Inflection|inflected]] for [[Grammatical number|number]] (singular and plural), and marginally for [[grammatical case|case]]. The gender opposition is not distinctively marked in the plural.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=40}} Masculine nouns usually end in a consonant or a vowel (''-a'', ''-o''  or ''-e'') and neuter nouns end in a vowel (''-o'' or ''-e''). Virtually all feminine nouns end in the same vowel, ''-a''.{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

The vocative of nouns is the only remaining case in the Macedonian language and is used to address a person directly. The vocative case always ends with a vowel, which can be either an -у (''јунаку'': hero vocative) or an -e (''човече'': man vocative) to the root of masculine nouns. For feminine nouns, the most common final vowel ending in the vocative is -o (''душо'', sweetheart vocative; ''жено'', wife vocative). The final suffix -e can be used in the following cases: three or polysyllabic words with the ending ''-ица'' (''мајчице'', mother vocative), female given names that end with ''-ка'': ''Ратка'' becomes ''Ратке'' and ''-ја'': ''Марија'' becomes ''Марије'' or ''Маријо''. There is no vocative case in neuter nouns. The role of the vocative is only facultative and there is a general tendency of vocative loss in the language since its use is considered impolite and dialectal.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=23}} The vocative can also be expressed by changing the tone.{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Minova Gjurkova|first=Liljana |year=1994|title=Синтакса на македонскиот стандарден јазик|trans-title=Syntax of the standard Macedonian language|language=mk}}</ref>

There are three different types of plural: regular, counted and [[collective noun|collective]]. The first plural type is most common and used to indicate regular plurality of nouns: ''маж - мажи'' (a man - men), ''маса - маси'' (a table - table), ''село - села'' (a village - villages). There are various suffixes that are used and they differ per gender; a linguistic feature not found in other Slavic languages is the use of the suffix ''-иња'' to form plural of neuter nouns ending in ''-е'': ''пиле - пилиња'' (a chick - chicks).{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|page=43}} Counted plural is used when a number or a [[quantifier (linguistics)|quantifier]] precedes the noun; suffixes to express this type of plurality do not correspond with the regular plurality suffixes: ''два молива'' (two pencils), ''три листа'' (three leaves), ''неколку часа'' (several hours). The collective plural is used for nouns that can be viewed as a single unit: ''лисје'' (a pile of leaves), ''ридје'' (a unit of hills). Irregular plural forms also exist in the language: ''дете - деца'' (child - children).{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

====Definiteness====
{|class="wikitable floatright"
|-
|+The definite articles
|-
!rowspan="2" |
!colspan="3" | Singular
!colspan="3" | Plural
|-
!Masculine
!Feminine
!Neuter
!Masculine
!Feminine
!Neuter
|-
!Unspecified
| ''маж'''от'''''
| ''жена'''та'''''
| ''дете'''то'''''
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| ''мажи'''те'''''/''жени'''те'''''
| ''деца'''та'''''
|-
!Proximate
| ''маж'''ов'''''
| ''жена'''ва'''''
| ''дете'''вo'''''
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| ''мажи'''ве'''''/''жени'''ве'''''
|  ''деца'''ва'''''
|-
!Distal
| ''маж'''он'''''
| ''жена'''на'''''
| ''дете'''нo'''''
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| ''мажи'''не'''''/''жени'''не'''''
| ''деца'''на'''''
|}

A characteristic feature of the nominal system is the indication of [[definiteness]]. As with other Slavic languages, there is no [[indefinite article]] in Macedonian. The [[definite article]] in Macedonian is postpositive, i.e. it is added as a suffix to nouns. An individual feature of the Macedonian language is the use of three definite articles, inflected for gender and related to the position of the object, which can be unspecified, proximate or distal.
* Definite articles ''-ов, -ва, -во, -ве'' are used for objects located close to the speaker (''човек'''ов''''': - this person here)
* Definite articles ''-он, -на, -но, -не'' are used for objects located further away from the speaker that can still be perceived (''жена'''на''''': - that woman there)
* Definite articles ''-от, -та, -то, -те'' are most commonly used as general indicators of definiteness regardless of the referred object's position (''дете'''то''''': the child). Additionally, these suffixes can be used to indicate objects referred to by the speaker that are in the proximity of the listener, e.g. ''дај ми ја книгата што е до тебе'' - give me the book next to you.{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}}

[[Proper nouns]] are per definition definite and are not usually used together with an article, although exceptions exist in the spoken and literary language such as ''Совче'''то''''', ''Маре'''то''''', ''Наде'''то''''' to demonstrate feelings of [[endearment]] to a person.

===Adjectives===
Adjectives accompany nouns and serve to provide additional information about their referents. Macedonian adjectives [[Agreement (linguistics)|agree]] in form with the noun they modify and are thus inflected for gender, number and definiteness and  ''убав'' changes to ''убава'' (''убава жена'', a beautiful woman) when used to describe a feminine noun, ''убаво'' when used to describe a neuter noun (''убаво дете'', a beautiful child) and ''убави'' when used to form the plural (''убави мажи, убави жени, убави деца'').{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

Adjectives can be analytically inflected for degree of [[Comparison (grammar)|comparison]] with the prefix ''по-'' marking the [[comparative]] and the prefix ''нај-'' marking the [[superlative]]. Both prefixes cannot be written separately from the adjective: ''Марија е паметна девојка'' (Marija is a smart girl), ''Марија е попаметна од Сара'' (Marija is smarter than Sara), ''Марија е најпаметната девојка во нејзиниот клас'' (Marija is the smartest girl in her class). The only adjective with an irregular comparative and superlative form is ''многу'' which becomes ''повеќе'' in the comparative and ''најмногу'' in the superlative form.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=27}} Another modification of adjectives is the use of the prefixes ''при-'' and ''пре-'' which can also be used as a form of comparison: ''престар човек'' (a very old man) or ''пристар човек'' (a somewhat old man).{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}}

===Pronouns===
Three types of pronouns can be distinguished in Macedonian: [[personal pronouns|personal]] (''лични''), [[relative pronouns|relative]] (''лично-предметни'') and [[demonstrative pronouns|demonstrative]] (''показни''). Case relations are marked in pronouns. Personal pronouns in Macedonian appear in three genders and both in singular and plural. They can also appear either as [[accusative|direct]] or [[dative|indirect object]] in long or short forms. Depending on whether a definite direct or indirect object is used, a [[clitic pronoun]] will refer to the object with the verb: ''Јас не му ја дадов книгата на момчето'' ("I did not give the book to the boy").{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=437}} The direct object is a remnant of the accusative case and the indirect of the dative. Reflexive pronouns also have forms for both direct and indirect objects: ''себе се'', ''себе си''. Examples of personal pronouns are shown below:
* Personal pronoun: '''''Јас''' читам книга''. ("I am reading a book")
* Direct object pronoun: ''Таа '''мене ме''' виде во киното''. ("She saw me at the cinema")
* Indirect object pronoun: ''Тој '''мене ми''' рече да дојдам''. ("He told me to come")

Relative pronouns can refer to a person (''кој, која, кое'' - who), objects (''што'' - which) or serve as indicators of possession (''чиј, чија, чие'' - whose) in the function of a question or a relative word. These pronouns are inflected for gender and number and other word forms can be derived from them (''никој'' - nobody, ''нешто'' - something, ''сечиј'' - everybody's). There are three groups of demonstrative pronouns that can indicate proximate (''овој'' - this one (mas.)), distal (''онаа'' - the one there (fem.)) and unspecific (''тоа'' - that one (neut.)) objects. These pronouns have served as a basis for the definite article.{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}}{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

{|class="wikitable"
|+Macedonian personal pronouns
|-
!Person
!Singular
!Direct object
!Indirect object
!Plural
!Direct object
!Indirect object
|-
!1.
| ''јас''
| ''мене ме''
| ''мене ми''
| ''ние''
| ''нас нѐ''
| ''нам ни''
|-
!2.
| ''ти''<br />''вие'' (formal)
| ''тебе те''<br />''вас ве'' (formal)
| ''тебе ти''<br />''вас ви'' (formal)
| ''вие''
| ''вас ве''
| ''вас ви''
|-
!3.
| ''тој'' (masculine)<br />''таа'' (feminine)<br />''тоа'' (neuter)
| ''него го'' (masc./neut.)<br />''неа ја'' (fem.)
| ''нему му'' (masc./neut.)<br />''нејзе ѝ'' (fem.)
| ''тие''
| ''нив ги''
| ''ним им''
|}

===Verbs===
{{Main|Macedonian conjugation}}
Macedonian verbs agree with the subject in [[grammatical person|person]] (first, second or third) and number (singular or plural). Some dependent verb constructions (''нелични глаголски форми'') such as verbal adjectives (''глаголска придавка'': ''плетен/плетена''), verbal l-form (''глаголска л-форма'': ''играл/играла'') and [[verbal noun]] (''глаголска именка'': ''плетење'') also demonstrate gender. There are several other grammatical categories typical of Macedonian verbs, namely type, transitiveness, mood, superordinate aspect (imperfective/perfective [[grammatical aspect|aspect]]).{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=33}} Verb forms can also be classified as simple, with eight possible verb constructions or complex with ten possible constructions.{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

Macedonian has developed a grammatical category which specifies the opposition of witnessed and reported actions (also known as renarration). Per this grammatical category, one can distinguish between ''минато определено'' i.e. definite past, denoting events that the speaker witnessed at a given definite time point, and ''минато неопределено'' i.e. indefinite past denoting events that did not occur at a definite time point or events reported to the speaker, excluding the time component in the latter case. Examples: ''Но, потоа се случија работи за кои не знаев'' ("But then things happened that I did not know about") vs. ''Ми кажаа дека потоа се случиле работи за кои не знаев'' ("They told me that after, things happened that I did not know about").{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=43}}

====Tense====
{|class="wikitable floatleft"
|+Conjugation of ''сум'' in present, aorist, present perfect and future tense
|-
!Person
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!1.
| ''сум'', ''бев'', ''сум бил'', ''ќе бидам''
| ''сме'', ''бевме'', ''сме биле'', ''ќе бидеме''
|-
!2.
| ''си'', ''беше'', ''си бил'', ''ќе бидеш''
| ''сте'', ''бевте'', ''сте биле'', ''ќе бидете''
|-
!3.
| ''е'', ''беше'', ''бил'', ''ќе биде''
| ''се'', ''беа'', ''биле'', ''ќе бидат''
|}

The present tense in Macedonian is formed by adding a suffix to the verb stem which is inflected per person, form and number of the subject. Macedonian verbs are conventionally divided into three main conjugations according to the [[thematic vowel]] used in the [[citation form]] (i.e. {{Smallcaps|{{lc:[[Grammatical person|3p]]-[[Present tense|pres]]-[[Grammatical number|sg]]}}}}).{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}} These groups are: ''a''-group, ''e''-group and ''и''-group. Furthermore, the ''и''-subgroup is divided into three more subgroups: ''а-'', ''е-'' and ''и-''subgroups. The verb ''сум'' (to be) is the only exception to the rule as it ends with a consonant and is conjugated as an irregular verb.

The perfect tense can be formed using both to be (''сум'') and to have (''има'') as [[auxiliary verbs]]. The first form inflects the verb for person and uses a past active participle: ''сум видел многу работи'' ("I have seen a lot of things"). The latter form makes use of a clitic that agrees in number and gender with the object of the sentence and the passive participle of the verb in its uninflected form (''го имам гледано филмот'', "I have seen that movie").{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=106}}{{sfn|Friedman|2001|page=33}} Another past form, the aorist is used to describe actions that have finished at a given moment in the past: ''одев'' ("I walked"), ''скокаа'' ("they jumped").{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

Future forms of verbs are conjugated using the particle ''ќе'' followed by the verb conjugated in present tense, ''ќе одам'' (I will go). The construction used to express negation in the future can be formed by either adding the negation particle at the beginning ''не ќе одам'' (I will not go) or using the construction ''нема да'' (''нема да одам''). There is no difference in meaning, although the latter form is more commonly used in spoken language. Another future tense is future in the past which is formed using the clitic ''ќе'' and the past tense of the verb inflected for person, ''таа ќе заминеше'' ("she would have left").{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

====Aspect, voice and mood====
Similar to other Slavic languages, Macedonian verbs have a grammatical aspect (''глаголски вид'') that is a [[Grammatical aspect in Slavic languages|typical feature of Slavic languages]]. Verbs can be divided into [[imperfective aspect|imperfective]] (''несвршени'') and [[perfective aspect|perfective]] (''свршени'') indicating actions whose time duration is unknown or occur repetitively or those that show an action that is finished in one moment. The former group of verbs can be subdivided into verbs which take place without interruption (e.g. ''Тој спие цел ден'', "He sleeps all day long) or those that signify repeated actions (e.g. ''Ја бараше книгата но не можеше да ја најде'', "He was looking for the book but he could not find it"). Perfective verbs are usually formed by adding prefixes to the stem of the verb, depending on which, they can express actions that took place in one moment (''чукна'', "knocked"), actions that have just begun (''запеа'', "start to sing"), actions that have ended (''прочита'', "read") or partial actions that last for short periods of time (''поработи'', "worked").{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

The contrast between transitive and intransitive verbs can be expressed analytically or syntactically and virtually all verbs denoting actions performed by living beings can become transitive if a short personal pronoun is added: ''Тоj легна'' ("He laid down") vs. ''Тоj го легна детето'' ("He laid the child down"). Additionally, verbs which are expressed with the reflexive pronoun ''се'' can become transitive by using any of the contracted pronoun forms for the direct object: ''Тој '''се''' смее'' - He is laughing, vs. ''Тој '''ме''' смее'' - "He is making me laugh"). Some verbs such as sleep or die do not traditionally have the property of being transitive.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=117}}

Macedonian verbs have three [[grammatical moods]] (''глаголски начин''): [[indicative]], [[imperative mood|imperative]] and [[conditional mood|conditional]]. The imperative mood can express both a wish or an order to finish a certain action. The imperative only has forms for the second person and is formed using the suffixes ''-ј'' (''пеј''; sing) or ''-и'' (''оди'', walk) for singular and ''-јте'' (''пејте'', sing) or ''-ете'' for plural (''одете'', walk). The first and third subject forms in singular and plural express indirect orders and are conjugated using ''да'' or ''нека'' and the verb in present tense (''да живееме долго'', may we live long). In addition to its primary functions, the imperative is used to indicate actions in the past, eternal truths as is the case in sayings and a condition. The Macedonian conditional is conjugated in the same way for all three persons using the particle ''би'' and the verbal l-form,  ''би читал'' (I/you/he would read).{{sfn|Bogdanoska|2008}}

===Syntax===
Macedonian syntax has a [[subject-verb-object]] (SVO) [[word order]] which is nevertheless flexible and can be [[topicalization|topicalized]].{{sfn|Friedman|2001}} For instance, the sentence ''Марија го сака Иван'' (Marija loves Ivan) can become of the [[object–verb–subject]] (OVS) form as well, ''Иван го сака Марија''.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=116}} Topicalization can also be achieved using a combination of word order and intonation; as an example all of the following sentences give a different point of emphasis:
* ''Мачката ја каса кучето.'' – The dog bites the cat (the focus is on the object)
* ''Кучето мачката ја каса.'' – The dog bites the cat (the focus is on the object)
* ''Мачката кучето ја каса.'' – The dog bites the cat (the focus is on the subject)
* ''Ја каса кучето мачката.'' – The dog bites the cat (the focus is on both the subject and the verb)
* ''Ја каса мачката кучето.'' – The dog bites the cat (the focus is on the verb and the object){{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=50}}

Macedonian is a [[null-subject language]] which means that the subject pronoun can be omitted, for instance ''Што сакаш (ти)?'' (what do you want?), ''(јас) читам книга'' (I am reading a book), ''(ние) го видовме'' (we saw him).{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=116}} Macedonian [[passive voice|passive]] construction is formed using the short reflexive pronoun ''се'' (''девојчето се уплаши'', the girl got scared) or a combination of the verb "to be" with verbal adjectives (''Тој е миен'', he is washed). In the former case, the active-passive distinction is not very clear.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=117}} Subordinate clauses in Macedonian are introduced using [[relativizer]]s, which can be wh-question words or relative pronouns.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=58}} A [[Interlinear gloss|glossed]] example of this is:

{{interlinear|abbreviations=ITR:intransitive; IM:imperfect|indent=3
|човек-от со кого(што) се шета-ше вчера
|person-DEF with whom(that) ITR stroll-3SG.IM yesterday
|the person with whom he walked yesterday{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=58}}}}

Due to the absence of a case system, Macedonian makes wide use of [[prepositions]] (''предлози'') to express relationships between words in a sentence. The most important Macedonian preposition is ''на'' which can have local ('on') or motional meanings ('to').{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=49}} As a replacement for the [[dative case]], the preposition ''на'' is used in combination with a short indirect object form to denote an action that is related to the indirect object of a sentence, ''Му давам книга на Иван'' (I am giving a book to Ivan), ''Им велам нешто на децата'' (I am saying something to the children).{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=116}} Additionally, ''на'' can serve to replace the [[genitive case]] and express possession, ''таткото на другар ми'' (my friend's father).{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=49}}

==Vocabulary==
{{See also|Balkan sprachbund#Vocabulary}}
[[File:Police car of Macedonia 04.JPG|thumb|Macedonian police car, with the Macedonian word ''Полиција'' (Policija), for "police".]]
Macedonian exhibits lexical similarities with all other Slavic languages, and numerous nouns are cognates, including those related to familial relations and numbers.{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|page=43}} Additionally, as a result of the close relationship with Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian shares a considerable amount of its [[lexicon]] with these languages. Other languages that have been in positions of power, such as [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]] and, increasingly, [[English language|English]] have also provided a significant proportion of the loanwords. Prestige languages, such as Old Church Slavonic—which occupies a relationship to modern Macedonian comparable to the relationship of [[medieval Latin]] to modern [[Romance languages]]—and Russian also provided a source for lexical items. Other loanwords and vocabulary also came from Greek and Albanian as well as [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestige languages]] such as [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]].{{sfn|Friedman|1998|p=36}}{{sfn|Usikova|2005|p=136}}

During the [[Codification (linguistics)|standardization process]], there was deliberate care taken to try to [[Linguistic purism|purify]] the lexicon of the language. Words that were associated with the Serbian or Bulgarian standard languages, which had become common due to the influence of these languages in the region, were rejected in favor of words from native dialects and [[archaism]]s. This is not to say that there are no words associated with the Serbian, Bulgarian, or even Russian standard languages in the language, but rather that they were discouraged on a principle of "seeking native material first".{{sfn|Friedman|1998|p={{page needed|date=August 2021}}}}

The language of the writers at the turn of the 19th century abounded with Russian and, more specifically, Old Church Slavonic lexical and morphological elements that in the contemporary norm have been replaced by native words or [[calque]]d using [[Productivity (linguistics)|productive]] [[morpheme]]s.<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 Slavic Studies Congress in Prague. Skopje, 1968)</ref> New words were [[Neologism|coined]] according to internal logic and others calqued from related languages (especially Serbo-Croatian) to replace those taken from Russian, which include ''известие'' (Russ. ''известие'') → ''извештај'' 'report', ''количество'' (Russ. ''количество'') → ''количина'' 'amount, quantity', ''согласие'' (Russ. ''согласие'') → ''слога'' 'concord, agreement', etc.<ref name="Dimitrovski" /> This change was aimed at bringing written Macedonian closer to the spoken language, effectively distancing it from the more Russified Bulgarian language, representing a successful puristic attempt to abolish a lexicogenic tradition once common in written [[literature]].<ref name="Dimitrovski" /> The use of Ottoman Turkish loanwords is discouraged in the [[Register (sociolinguistics)|formal register]] when a native equivalent exists (e.g. ''комшија'' (← Turk. ''komşu'') vs. ''сосед'' (← [[Proto-Slavic language|PSl.]] *sǫsědъ) 'neighbor'), and these words are typically restricted to the archaic, colloquial, and ironic registers.{{sfn|Friedman|1998|p=8}}

{| class="wikitable"  style="margin:auto; text-align:center;"
|+ Lexical comparison of 5 words among 11 Slavic languages{{sfn|Bojkovska|Minova-Gjurkova|Pandev|Cvetanovski|2008|page=44}}
|-
! English !! Macedonian !! Bulgarian !! Serbian !! [[Croatian language|Croatian]] !! Slovenian !! Russian !! [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] !! [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] !! [[Polish language|Polish]] !! [[Czech language|Czech]] !! [[Slovak language|Slovak]]
|-
| dream || {{lang|mk|сон}}<br>{{lang|mk-Latn|son}} || {{lang|bg|сън}}<br>{{lang|bg-Latn|sŭn}} || {{lang|sr|сан}}<br>{{lang|sr-Latn|san}} || {{lang|hr|san}} || {{lang|sl|sen}} || {{lang|ru|сон}}<br>{{lang|ru-Latn|son}} || {{lang|be|сон}}<br>{{lang|be-Latn|son}} || {{lang|uk|сон}}<br>{{lang|uk-Latn|son}} || {{lang|pl|sen}} || {{lang|cs|sen}} || {{lang|sk|sen}}
|-
| day|| {{lang|mk|ден}}<br>{{lang|mk-Latn|den}} || {{lang|bg|ден}}<br>{{lang|bg-Latn|den}} || {{lang|sr|дан}}<br>{{lang|sr-Latn|dan}} || {{lang|hr|dan}} || {{lang|sl|dan}} || {{lang|ru|день}}<br>{{lang|ru-Latn|den'}} || {{lang|be|дзень}}<br>{{lang|be-Latn|dzień}} || {{lang|uk|день}}<br>{{lang|uk-Latn|den}} || {{lang|pl|dzień}} || {{lang|cs|den}} || {{lang|sk|den}}
|-
| arm|| {{lang|mk|рака}}<br>{{lang|mk-Latn|raka}} || {{lang|bg|ръка}}<br>{{lang|bg-Latn|rŭka}} || {{lang|sr|рука}}<br>{{lang|sr-Latn|ruka}} || {{lang|hr|ruka}} || {{lang|sl|roka}} || {{lang|ru|рука}}<br>{{lang|ru-Latn|ruka}} || {{lang|be|рука}}<br>{{lang|be-Latn|ruka}} || {{lang|uk|рука}}<br>{{lang|uk-Latn|ruka}} || {{lang|pl|ręka}} || {{lang|cs|ruka}} || {{lang|sk|ruka}}
|-
| flower|| {{lang|mk|цвет}}<br>{{lang|mk-Latn|cvet}} || {{lang|bg|цвят}}<br>{{lang|bg-Latn|tsvyat}} || {{lang|sr|цвет}}<br>{{lang|sr-Latn|cvet}} || {{lang|hr|cvijet}} || {{lang|sl|cvet}} || {{lang|ru|цветок}}<br>{{lang|ru-Latn|tsvetok}} || {{lang|be|кветка}}<br>{{lang|be-Latn|kvietka}} || {{lang|uk|квітка}}<br>{{lang|uk-Latn|kvitka}} || {{lang|pl|kwiat}} || {{lang|cs|květ/květina}}|| {{lang|sk|kvet/kvetina}}
|-
| night|| {{lang|mk|ноќ}}<br>{{lang|mk-Latn|nokj}} || {{lang|bg|нощ}}<br>{{lang|bg-Latn|nosht}} || {{lang|sr|ноћ}}<br>{{lang|sr-Latn|noć}} || {{lang|hr|noć}} || {{lang|sl|noč}} || {{lang|ru|ночь}}<br>{{lang|ru-Latn|noch'}} || {{lang|be|ноч}}<br>{{lang|be-Latn|noč}} || {{lang|uk|нiч}}<br>{{lang|uk-Latn|nich}} || {{lang|pl|noc}} || {{lang|cs|noc}} || {{lang|sk|noc}}
|-
|}

==Writing system==

===Alphabet===
{{Main|Macedonian alphabet|Macedonian braille}}
The official Macedonian alphabet was codified on 5 May 1945 by the Presidium of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (abbreviated as ASNOM in Macedonian) headed by [[Blaže Koneski]].<ref name="javno">{{cite web|url=http://javno.mk/reshenie-na-asnom-72-godini-od-usvojuvaneto-na-makedonskata-azbuka/|title=Со решение на АСНОМ: 72 години од усвојувањето на македонската азбука|trans-title=With the declaration of ASNOM: 72 years of the adoption of the Macedonian alphabet|work=Javno|date=5 May 2017|language=mk|access-date=15 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320001638/http://javno.mk/reshenie-na-asnom-72-godini-od-usvojuvaneto-na-makedonskata-azbuka/|archive-date=20 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> There are several letters that are specific for the Macedonian Cyrillic script, namely [[ѓ]], [[ќ]], [[ѕ]], [[џ]], [[љ]] and [[њ]],{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=105–106}} with the last three letters being borrowed from the Serbo-Croatian phonetic alphabet adapted by Serbian linguist [[Vuk Stefanović Karadžić]], while the grapheme ѕ has an equivalent in the Church Slavonic alphabet.{{sfn|Friedman|1993|p=251}} Letters љ and њ were previously used by Macedonian writer Krste Petkov Misirkov written as л' and н'.<ref name="javno" /> The Macedonian alphabet also uses the apostrophe sign (') as a sound. It is used to mark the syllabic /r̩/, at the beginning of the word ({{lang|mk|'рж}} - rye, {{lang|mk|'рбет}} - spine) and to represent the phoneme schwa in some literary words or Turkish loanwords ({{lang|mk|'к'смет}} - fortune). А [[grave accent]] (`) [[diacritic]] is used over three vowels in orthography: {{lang|mk|ѝ}} - her, different from {{lang|mk|и}} - and, {{lang|mk|нè}} - us, different from {{lang|mk|не}} - no and {{lang|mk|сѐ}} - everything different from {{lang|mk|сe}} - short reflexive pronoun accompanying reflexive verbs.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=105–106}} The standard Macedonian alphabet contains 31 letters. The following table provides the upper and lower case forms of the Macedonian alphabet, along with the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] value for each letter:

{| cellpadding="10" style="margin:auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|align="left"|''Cyrillic''<br />''[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]''||[[A (Cyrillic)|А а]]<br />{{IPA|/a/}}||[[Be (Cyrillic)|Б б]]<br />{{IPA|/b/}}||[[Ve (Cyrillic)|В в]]<br />{{IPA|/v/}}||[[Ge (Cyrillic)|Г г]]<br />{{IPA|/ɡ/}}||[[De (Cyrillic)|Д д]]<br />{{IPA|/d/}}||[[Gje|Ѓ ѓ]]<br />{{IPA|/ɟ/}}||[[Ye (Cyrillic)|Е е]]<br />{{IPA|/ɛ/}}||[[Zhe (Cyrillic)|Ж ж]]<br />{{IPA|/ʒ/}}||[[Ze (Cyrillic)|З з]]<br />{{IPA|/z/}}||[[Dze|Ѕ ѕ]]<br />{{IPA|/d͡z/}}||[[I (Cyrillic)|И и]]<br />{{IPA|/i/}}
|-
|align="left"|''Cyrillic''<br />''[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]''||[[Je (Cyrillic)|Ј ј]]<br />{{IPA|/j/}}||[[Ka (Cyrillic)|К к]]<br />{{IPA|/k/}}||[[El (Cyrillic)|Л л]]<br />{{IPA|/ɫ, l/}}<ref name="l">{{angbr|л}} is pronounced {{IPA|/l/}} before {{IPA|/e, i, j/}}, and {{IPA|/ɫ/}} otherwise. {{angbr|љ}} is always pronounced {{IPA|/l/}} but is not used before {{IPA|/e, i, j/}}. Cf. how the final љ in биљби'''''љ''''' {{nowrap|{{IPA|/ˈbilbil/}}}} "nightingale" is changed to a л in the plural form биљби'''''л'''''и {{nowrap|{{IPA|/ˈbilbili/}}}}.</ref>||[[Lje|Љ љ]]<br />{{IPA|/l/}}<ref name="l"/>||[[Em (Cyrillic)|М м]]<br />{{IPA|/m/}}||[[En (Cyrillic)|Н н]]<br />{{IPA|/n/}}||[[Nje|Њ њ]]<br />{{IPA|/ɲ/}}||[[O (Cyrillic)|О о]]<br />{{IPA|/ɔ/}}||[[Pe (Cyrillic)|П п]]<br />{{IPA|/p/}}||[[Er (Cyrillic)|Р р]]<br />{{IPA|/r/}}||[[Es (Cyrillic)|С с]]<br />{{IPA|/s/}}
|-
|align="left"|''Cyrillic''<br />''[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]''||[[Te (Cyrillic)|Т т]]<br />{{IPA|/t/}}||[[Kje|Ќ ќ]]<br />{{IPA|/c/}}||[[U (Cyrillic)|У у]]<br />{{IPA|/u/}}||[[Ef (Cyrillic)|Ф ф]]<br />{{IPA|/f/}}||[[Kha (Cyrillic)|Х х]]<br />{{IPA|/x/}}||[[Tse (Cyrillic)|Ц ц]]<br />{{IPA|/t͡s/}}||[[Che (Cyrillic)|Ч ч]]<br />{{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}||[[Dzhe|Џ џ]]<br />{{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}||[[Sha (Cyrillic)|Ш ш]]<br />{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|}

===Orthography===
Similar to the Macedonian alphabet, Macedonian orthography was officially codified on 7 June 1945 at an ASNOM meeting.<ref name="javno" /> Rules about the orthography and [[orthoepy]] (correct pronunciation of words) were first collected and outlined in the book ''Правопис на македонскиот литературен јазик'' (''Orthography of the Macedonian standard language'') published in 1945. Updated versions have subsequently appeared with the most recent one published in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Правописот на македонски јазик од денес бесплатно на интернет|trans-title=The orthography of the Macedonian language for free on the Internet from today|date=7 December 2017|work=sdk.mk |url=https://sdk.mk/index.php/kultura/pravopisot-na-makedonski-jazik-od-denes-besplatno-na-internet/|access-date=18 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318184353/https://sdk.mk/index.php/kultura/pravopisot-na-makedonski-jazik-od-denes-besplatno-na-internet/|archive-date=18 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Macedonian orthography is consistent and phonemic in practice, an approximation of the principle of one [[grapheme]] per [[phoneme]]. This one-to-one correspondence is often simply described by the principle, "write as you speak and read as it is written".{{sfn|Friedman|2001}} There is only one exception to this rule with the letter /''л''/ which is pronounced as /l/ before front vowels (e.g. ''лист'' (leaf); pronounced as [list]) and /j/ (e.g. ''полјанка'' (meadow); pronounced as [poljanka]) but [[Velar consonant|velar]] /ł/ elsewhere (e.g. ''бела'' (white) pronounced as [beła]). Another sound that is not represented in the written form but is pronounced in words is the [[schwa]].{{sfn|Friedman|2001}}

==Political views on the language==
{{Main|Political views on the Macedonian language|Macedonian language naming dispute}}
Politicians and scholars from North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece have opposing views about the existence and distinctiveness of the Macedonian language. Through history Macedonian has been referred mainly to as a variant of Bulgarian,<ref name="bg">{{cite book |author=Institute of Bulgarian Language |title=Единството на българския език в миналото и днес |trans-title=The unity of the Bulgarian language in the past and today |publisher=[[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]] |year=1978 |page=4 |language=bg |location=[[Sofia]] |oclc=6430481}}</ref> but especially during the first half of the 20th century also as Serbian,{{sfn|Comrie|Corbett|2002|p=251}} and as a distinct language of its own.{{sfn|Adler|1980|p=215}}{{sfn|Seriot|1997|pp=270–271}} Historically, after its codification, the use of the language has been a subject of different views and internal policies in Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece.{{sfn|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001|page=436}}{{sfn|Kramer|1999|pp=237–245}} Some international scholars also maintain Macedo-Bulgarian was a single pluricentric language until the 20th century and argue that the idea of linguistic separatism emerged in the late 19th century with the advent of [[Macedonian nationalism]] and the need for a separate Macedonian standard language subsequently appeared in the early 20th century.{{sfn|Fishman|1993|page=161–162}} Different linguists have argued that during its codification, the Macedonian standard language was [[Serbianization|Serbianized]] with regards to its orthography{{sfn|Friedman|1998|p=38}}<ref>{{cite journal|first=Tchavdar |last=Marinov |journal=Sociétés Politiques Comparées |title=Historiographical Revisionism and Re-Articulation of Memory in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia|page=7|date=25 May 2010|volume=25|s2cid=174770777 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a3e1/ea1d51204ae39b35916870d2f149aeb83856.pdf|access-date=3 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215022342/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a3e1/ea1d51204ae39b35916870d2f149aeb83856.pdf|archive-date=15 February 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Voss C., The Macedonian Standard Language: Tito—Yugoslav Experiment or Symbol of 'Great Macedonian' Ethnic Inclusion? in C. Mar-Molinero, P. Stevenson as ed. Language Ideologies, Policies and Practices: Language and the Future of Europe, Springer, 2016, {{ISBN|0230523889}}, p. 126.</ref><ref>De Gruyter as contributor. The Slavic Languages. Volume 32 of Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science (HSK), Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2014, p. 1472. {{ISBN|3110215470}}.</ref><ref>Lerner W. Goetingen, Formation of the standard language - Macedonian in the Slavic languages, Volume 32, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, 2014, {{ISBN|3110393689}}, chapter 109.</ref> and vocabulary.{{sfn|Voß|2018|p=9}}

[[Government of Bulgaria|The government of Bulgaria]], Bulgarian academics, the [[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]] and the general public have and continue to widely consider Macedonian part of the [[Bulgarian dialects|Bulgarian dialect area]].{{ref|Mahon1}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bnr.bg/en/post/101203235/bulgarian-academy-of-sciences-is-firm-that-macedonian-language-is-bulgarian-dialect|title=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is firm that "Macedonian language" is Bulgarian dialect|publisher=Bulgarian National Radio|date=12 November 2019|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404041259/https://www.bnr.bg/en/post/101203235/bulgarian-academy-of-sciences-is-firm-that-macedonian-language-is-bulgarian-dialect|archive-date=4 April 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/10/10/bulgaria-sets-tough-terms-for-north-macedonias-eu-progress/ |title=Bulgaria Sets Tough Terms for North Macedonia's EU Progress|first=Sinisa|last=Jakov Marusic|date=10 October 2019|access-date=18 March 2020|work=[[Balkan Insight]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211184245/https://balkaninsight.com/2019/10/10/bulgaria-sets-tough-terms-for-north-macedonias-eu-progress/|archive-date=11 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> During the Communist era, Macedonian was recognized as a minority language in Bulgaria and utilized in education from 1946 to 1948. Subsequently, it was described as a dialect of Bulgarian.<ref>Ranko Bugarski, Celia Hawkesworth as editors, Language in the Former Yugoslav Lands, Slavica Publishers, 2004, {{ISBN|0893572985}}, p. 201.</ref> In 1956 the Bulgarian government signed an agreement on mutual legal defense with Yugoslavia, where the Macedonian language is named as one of the languages to be used for legal purposes, together with Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian and Slovenian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ciela.net/svobodna-zona-darjaven-vestnik/document/2135462838/issue/4107/dogovor-mezhdu-narodna-republika-balgariya-i-federativna-narodna-republika-yugoslaviya-za-vzaimna-pravna-pomosht--------|title=Agreement between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia for mutual legal defense |publisher=Държавен вестник No 16 |date=22 February 1957 | accessdate=13 January 2020}}</ref> The same year Bulgaria revoked its recognition of Macedonian nationhood and language and implicitly resumed its prewar position of their non-existence.<ref>Raymond Detrez, (2010) The A to Z of Bulgaria, Issue 223 of A to Z Guides, Edition 2, Scarecrow Press, 2010, {{ISBN|0810872021}}.</ref> In 1999 the government in [[Sofia]] signed a [[s:en:Joint Declaration of 22 February 1999|Joint Declaration]] in the official languages of the two countries, marking the first time it agreed to sign a bilateral agreement written in Macedonian.{{sfn|Kramer|1999}} Dialect experts of the Bulgarian language refer to the Macedonian language as ''македонска езикова норма'' (Macedonian linguistic norm) of the Bulgarian language.{{sfn|Reimann|2014|page=41}} As of 2019, disputes regarding the language and its origins are ongoing in academic and political circles in the two countries.

The Greek scientific and local community opposed using the denomination Macedonian to refer to the language in light of the [[Macedonia naming dispute|Greek-Macedonian naming dispute]]. Instead, the language is often called "Slavic", "Slavomacedonian" (translated to "Macedonian Slavic" in English), ''makedonski'', ''makedoniski'' ("Macedonian"),{{sfn|Whitman|1994|page=37}} ''slaviká'' (Greek: "Slavic"), ''dópia'' or ''entópia'' (Greek: "local/indigenous [language]"),<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Greek Helsinki Monitor |title=Report about Compliance with the Principles of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities |url=http://dev.eurac.edu:8085/mugs2/do/blob.html?type=html&serial=1044526702223 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030523145306/http://dev.eurac.edu:8085/mugs2/do/blob.html?type=html&serial=1044526702223 |archive-date=23 May 2003 |url-status=dead |access-date=12 January 2009}}</ref> ''balgàrtzki'' (Bulgarian) or "Macedonian" in some parts of the region of [[Kastoria]],{{sfn|Danforth|1995|page=62}} ''bògartski'' ("Bulgarian") in some parts of Dolna Prespa<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shklifov|first1=Blagoy|first2=Ekaterina|last2=Shklifova|title=Български деалектни текстове от Егейска Македония|location=Sofia|year=2003|pages=28–36|language=bg|trans-title=Bulgarian dialect texts from Aegean Macedonia}}</ref> along with ''naši'' ("our own") and ''stariski'' ("old").{{sfn|Whitman|1994|page=37}} However, with the [[Prespa agreement]] signed in June 2018 and ratified by the [[Greek Parliament]] on 25 January 2019, Greece officially recognized the name "Macedonian" for the language.<ref>{{cite web |title=Republic of North Macedonia with Macedonian language and identity, says Greek media |url=https://meta.mk/en/republic-of-north-macedonia-with-macedonian-language-and-identity-says-greek-media/ |website=Meta.mk |publisher=Meta |access-date=12 June 2018 |date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613015138/http://meta.mk/en/republic-of-north-macedonia-with-macedonian-language-and-identity-says-greek-media/ |archive-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, on 27 July 2022,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/en/sudska-pobeda-na-makedonskiot-jazik-vo-grcija-sudot-vo-lerin-gi-odbi-tuzhbite-za-zabrana-na-centarot-za-makedonski-jazik-vo-grcija/|title=Judicial victory for the Macedonian language in Greece: The court in Lerin rejected the lawsuits to ban the Macedonian Language Center in Greece|newspaper=[[Sloboden Pečat]]|date=19 March 2023}}</ref> in a landmark ruling, the [[Centre for the Macedonian Language in Greece]] was officially registered as a non-governmental organization. This is the first time that a cultural organization promoting the Macedonian language has been legally approved in Greece and the first legal recognition of the Macedonian language in Greece since at least 1928.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/mk/grcija-go-registrirase-centarot-za-makedonski-jazik/a-63925047|title=Грција го регистрираше центарот за македонски јазик|trans-title=Greece Registered the Macedonian-language Center|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=29 November 2022|language=Macedonian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/centarot-na-makedonskiot-jazik-vo-grcija-oficijalno-registriran-od-sudskite-vlasti/|title="Центарот на македонскиот јазик во Грција" официјално регистриран од судските власти|trans-title="The Center of Macedonian language in Greece" officially registered by court laws|publisher=Sloboden Pecat|date=29 November 2022|language=Macedonian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnos.gr/greece/article/234940/egkrithhkekentromakedonikhsglossassthnflorinaeyxaristieszaefsetsipramhtsotakh|title=Εγκρίθηκε "Κέντρο Μακεδονικής Γλώσσας" στην Φλώρινα: Ευχαριστίες Ζάεφ σε Τσίπρα - Μητσοτάκη|trans-title="Centre for Macedonian Language" was approved in Florina: Zaev thanks Tsipras - Mitsotakis|publisher=Ethnos|date=29 November 2022|access-date=29 November 2022|language=Greek}}</ref><ref name="George">Mavrogordatos, George. ''Stillborn Republic: Social Coalitions and Party Strategies in Greece, 1922–1936''. University of California Press, 1983. {{ISBN|9780520043589}}, p. 227, 247</ref>

==Sample text==
The following is the [[Lord's Prayer]] with its attached [[Doxology#Lord's Prayer doxology|doxology]] in standard Macedonian.
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
:'''Оче наш''' (Cyrillic alphabet)

:Оче наш, кој си на небесата,
:да се свети името Твое,
:да дојде царството Твое,
:да биде волјата Твоја,
:како на небото, така и на земјата;
:лебот наш насушен дај ни го денес
:и прости ни ги долговите наши
:како и ние што им ги проштеваме на нашите должници;
:и не нѐ воведувај во искушение,
:но избави нѐ од лукавиот
:Зашто Твое е Царството и Силата и Славата, во вечни векови.
:Амин!

{{col-break|gap=2em}}
:'''Oče naš''' ([[Romanization of Macedonian|Romanized version]])

:''Oče naš, koj si na nebesata''
:''da se sveti imeto Tvoe,''
:''da dojde carstvoto Tvoe,''
:''da bide voljata Tvoja,''
:''kako na neboto, taka i na zemjata;''
:''lebot naš nasušen daj ni go denes''
:''i prosti ni gi dolgovite naši''
:''kako i nie što im gi proštevame na našite dolžnici''
:''I ne nè voveduvaj vo iskušenie,''
:''no izbavi nè od lukaviot.''
:''Zašto Tvoe e Carstvoto i Silata i Slavata, vo večni vekovi.''
:''Amin!''
{{col-end}}

==See also==
* [[Romanisation of Macedonian]]
* [[Abstand and ausbau languages]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
;Books
{{refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{citation|first=Max K.|last=Adler|title=Marxist Linguistic Theory and Communist Practice: A Sociolinguistic Study|isbn=3871184195|publisher=Buske Verlag|year=1980}}
* {{citation|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=1jSg3lxgSy8C |page=134 }} |title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia Historical Dictionaries of Europe|first= Dimitar|last= Bechev|publisher= Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-6295-1|date=13 April 2009}}
* {{citation|last=Bogdanoska|first=Biljana|year=2008|title=За матуранти македонски јазик и литература|trans-title=Macedonian language and literature for matura students|language=mk|publisher=Bomat Grafiks|location=[[Skopje]]}}
* {{citation|last1=Bojkovska|first1=Stojka|last2=Minova-Gjurkova|first2=Liljana|last3=Pandev|first3=Dimitar |last4=Cvetanovski|first4=Živko|year=2008|title=Општа граматика на македонскиот јазик|trans-title=Grammar of the Macedonian language|location=Skopje|language=mk|publisher=Prosvetno Delo|isbn=9789989006623}}
* {{citation| last=Campbell | first=George L. | title=Compendium of the World's Languages | publisher=Routledge |year = 2000 |isbn=0415202965| place=London}}
* {{citation|last1=Comrie|first1=Bernard|last2=Corbett|first2=Greville|year=2002|chapter=The Macedonian language|title=The Slavonic Languages|place=New York|publisher=Routledge Publications}}
* {{citation|title=South Slavic Discourse Particles|year=2010|first1=Mirjana N.|last1=Dedaić|first2=Mirjana |last2=Mišković-Luković|series=Pragmatics & Beyond New Series|volume=197|place=Amsterdam|publisher=Benjamins |doi=10.1075/pbns.197|isbn=978-90-272-5601-0}}
* {{citation|title=The Macedonian conflict: ethnic nationalism in a transnational world|first=Loring M. |last=Danforth|isbn=0-691-04356-6|publisher=Princeton University Press|date=1995}}
* {{citation|title=The Earliest Stage of Language Planning: The "First Congress" Phenomenon|first=Joshua A. |last=Fishman|isbn=3-11-013530-2|publisher=Mouton De Gruyter|date=1993 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=T-gHxC8J4PwC |page=161}}}}
* {{citation|first=Benjamin W.|last=Fortson |title=Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction Blackwell textbooks in linguistics |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-8896-8|date=31 August 2009 |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=_kn5c5dJmNUC |page=431}}}}
* {{citation|last=Friedman|first=Victor|author-link=Victor Friedman|year=1993|title=The Slavonic Languages |chapter=Macedonian|editor=Comrie B.|editor2=Corbett G.|location=London, New York|publisher=Routledge |pages=249–305 |isbn=0-415-04755-2}}
* {{citation|last=Friedman|first=Victor|year=2001|title=Macedonian|publisher=Slavic and Eurasian Language Resource Center (SEELRC), [[Duke University]] |url=http://www.seelrc.org:8080/grammar/mainframe.jsp?nLanguageID=3|access-date=3 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728194528/http://www.seelrc.org:8080/grammar/mainframe.jsp?nLanguageID=3|archive-date=28 July 2014|url-status=live}}
* {{citation|ref={{sfnref|Friedman|Garry|Rubino|2001}}|last=Friedman|first=Victor|author-link=Victor Friedman|editor-last=Garry|editor-first=Jane|editor2-last=Rubino|editor2-first=Carl|year=2001 |title=Macedonian: Facts about the World's Languages: An Encyclopedia of the Worlds Major Languages, Past and Present |url=http://humstatic.uchicago.edu/mahimahi/media/faculty/vfriedm/164Friedman01.pdf|place=New York|publisher=Holt|pages=435–439|access-date=18 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710210850/http://humstatic.uchicago.edu/mahimahi/media/faculty/vfriedm/164Friedman01.pdf|archive-date=10 July 2019|url-status=live}}
* {{citation|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=vi_VCm51kpkC |page=515 }}|title=Languages and Linguistics of Europe: A Comprehensive Guide|last1=Kortmann|first1=Bernd|last2=van der Auwera|first2=Johan|date=27 July 2011 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|location=Berlin/Boston|isbn=978-3-11-022025-4}}
* {{citation|last1=Levinson|first1=David|last2=O'Leary|first2=Timothy|title=Encyclopedia of World Cultures |publisher=G.K. Hall|year=1992|isbn=0-8161-1808-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo0000unse_q6n9/page/239}}
* {{citation|last=Lunt|first=Horace G.|year=1952|title=A Grammar of the Macedonian Literary Language|publisher=Državno knigoizdatelstvo|place=Skopje}}
* {{citation|first=Horace Gray|last=Lunt|title=Old Church Slavonic Grammar|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2001|isbn=3110162849}}
* {{citation|last=Poulton|first=Hugh|title=Who Are the Macedonians?|year=2000|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |place=United Kingdom|isbn=0-253-34598-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/whoaremacedonian00poul}}
* {{citation|last=Reimann|first=Daniel|title=Kontrastive Linguistik und Fremdsprachendidaktik Iberoromanisch|year=2014|language=de|publisher=Gunter Narr Verlag|isbn=978-3823368250}}
* {{citation|last1=Thornburg|first1=Linda L.|last2=Fuller|first2=Janet M. |title=Studies in contact linguistics: Essays in Honor of Glenn G. Gilbert|publisher=Peter Lung Publishing Inc.|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8204-7934-7 |year=2006 |url={{Google books |id=60aFAS1crFEC |page=213 |plainurl=yes}}}}
* {{citation|title=Polski-macedoński, gramatyka konfrontatywna: Zarys problematyki|trans-title=Polish-Macedonian, confrontational grammar|first1=Zuzanna|last1=Topolińska|year=1984|language=pl|publisher=[[Ossolineum|Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]]|isbn=978-8304016682}}
* {{citation|last=Usikova|first=Rina Pavlovna|title=О языковой ситуации в Республике Македонии|trans-title = About the language situation in the Republic of Macedonia|language=ru|location=Moscow|publisher=[[Nauka (publisher)|Nauka]] |year=1994|pages=221–231|isbn=5-02-011187-2}}
* {{citation|last=Usikova|first=Rina Pavlovna|title= Языки мира. Славянские языки: Македонский язык|trans-title = Languages of the world. Slavic languages: Macedonian language|language=ru|location=Moscow|publisher=[[Academia (Soviet publishing house)|Academia]]|year=2005|pages=102–139|isbn=5-87444-216-2}}
* {{citation|last=Vidoeski|first=Bozhidar|year=1999|title=Дијалектите на македонскиот јазик: том 1 |trans-title=The dialects of the Macedonian language: Book 1|publisher=MANU|language=mk|isbn=9989649634}}
* {{citation|first=Lois|last=Whitman|year=1994|title=Denying ethnic identity: The Macedonians of Greece|location=New York|isbn=1564321320|publisher=Helsinki Human Rights Watch}}
{{refend}}

;Journal articles
{{refbegin|indent=yes|30em}}
* {{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|page=17|s2cid=154201780 }}
* {{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|doi=10.1515/ijsl.1998.131.31|s2cid=143891784}}
* {{citation|title=Official Language, Minority Language, No Language at All: The History of Macedonian in Primary Education in the Balkans|journal=[[Language Problems and Language Planning]]|first=Christina|last=Kramer|author-link=Christina Kramer|year=1999|volume=23|issue=3|pages=233–250|doi=10.1075/lplp.23.3.03kra}}
* {{citation|title=Language, Cultural Identity and Politics in the Cases of Macedonian and Scots|journal=Slavonica|first=Atina|last=Nihtinen|date=1999|pages=46–58|volume=5|issue=1|doi=10.1179/sla.1999.5.1.46}}
* {{citation|title=Histoire de la langue macédonienne|trans-title=History of the Macedonian language|language=fr|first=Frosa|last=Pejoska-Bouchereau|work=[[Revue des études slaves]]|year=2008|pages=145–161}}
* {{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|trans-chapter=Do languages have to have a name? The case of Macedonian|chapter-url=http://www2.unil.ch/slav/ling/recherche/biblio/97macedTK.html|title=Le nom des langues. L'enjeu de la nomination des langues|language=fr|volume=1|place=Louvain|publisher=Peeters|pages=167–190|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010905201539/http://www.unil.ch/slav/ling/recherche/biblio/97macedTK.html|archive-date=5 September 2001}}
* {{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|doi=10.1515/ijsl.1998.131.1|s2cid=143257269}}
* {{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}}
* {{citation|last=Voß|first=C|year=2018|title=Linguistic emancipation within the Serbian mental map: The implementation of the Montenegrin and Macedonian standard languages|journal=Aegean Working Papers in Ethnographic Linguistics|volume=2|issue=1|pages=1–16|doi=10.12681/awpel.20021|doi-access=free}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=mk}}
{{Commons category|Macedonian language}}
* [http://imj.ukim.edu.mk/ Институт за македонски јазик, "Крсте Петков Мисирков"] – [[Institute for Macedonian language "Krste Misirkov"]], the main regulatory body of the Macedonian language (in Macedonian)
* [http://www.makedonski.info/ Дигитален речник на македонскиот јазик] – Online dictionary of the Macedonian language
* {{citation|url=https://pravopis.mk/sites/default/files/Pravopis-2017.PDF|title=Правопис на македонскиот јазик|trans-title=Orthography of the Macedonian language|edition=2|publisher=Kultura AD|author=Institute for Macedonian language "Krste Misirkov"|location=Skopje|year=2017}}
* {{Citation|last1=Kramer|first1=Christina|first2=Liljana|last2=Mitkovska|author-link=Christina Kramer|year=2003|title=Macedonian: A Course for Beginning and Intermediate Students.|edition=2nd|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-18804-7}}
* {{Wikivoyage inline|Macedonian phrasebook|Macedonian|a phrasebook}}
* {{wiktionary-inline|Category:Macedoninan language|Macedonian language}}
* {{Wikibooks inline|Macedonian}}

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