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When speaking about Macedonia, one should bear in mind the
fact that the language of the Macedonians gave the first literary
language. The old language was for a long period of time the common
language of all the Southern, the Eastern and part of the Western people.
From the ninth up to the nineteenth century hundreds
of written works (most of them preserved) were created on Macedonian soil.
They give proof of the culture and literacy which existed for almost a
millennium, representing the Macedonian people as a nation with a high
degree of culture, was marked both in Macedonian literature and world civilization.
The most brilliant traces of this rich cultural tradition,
born on Macedonian soil are the alphabets - Glagolitic and Cyrillic.
When speaking about Macedonia we should not judge it as a country that
has only just started on the path to a civilized society, but must consider
it as an old civilization and culture, which was pushed back and now has
the possibility of developing once again.
However, when one says that the beginning of literacy
and its activity amongst the Macedonian's means the beginning of the Macedonian
people in general, it is not a phrase, because the first text, (composed
by the brothers from Solun - Thessaloniki, Kiril and Metodija) were written
in a dialect of the Macedonian from the district of Thessaloniki.
Kiril and Metodija (826-869 and 815-885) founded Macedonian
literacy and literature. They were born in Thessoloniki, defending the
positions of Christianity among pagan people. Their
best known mission dates from 826-863 in Moravia, when they were asked
by the Moravian Prince Rastislav from Moravia, to organise the church
defending it against the Germanisation, which was being perpetrated by
the German and Latin population. In that sense Kiril created Glagolica
alphabet, which was used in necessary or writing church books, translated
from the Greek. In Moravia and Panonia they increased the number of the
books. In that period of Christian culture Kiril and Metodija
fought a difficult struggle due to the fact that Hebrew, Greek and Latin
were considered the only suitable languages for God's word. Kiril refused
such a supposition affirming the right of every nation to be educated in
its own language.
With their pioneer activity Kiril and Metodija had become
the founders of Macedonian literature, the general literary language in
the first place with their literary activity and establishing of the
alphabet and with the translations of the most important church books.
The best proof of their activity are the preserved written
words in glagolitic. The zoographer's gospel, the Marijinsko translated
into the Macedonian language as well as other numerous books dedicated for the
church. They are both mentioned as the authors of a series of original
works (prayers, sermons and hagiographies).
The work of Kiril and Metodija began and reached its
climax in Macedonia (then under the rule of the Bulgarian Emperor Boris)
from where it was later spread to all other Slav country's.
The direct successors of Kiril and Metodija in Macedonia
were their collaborators, Kliment and Naum. Kliment of Ohrid (Kliment Ohridski
840-916) was the founder of the Ohrid literary school. As the best pupil
of the brothers from Thessaloniki after the pursuit from Moravia he settled
in the region of Kutnjicevica (present day Western Macedonia) and after
887 he started his brilliant career as an educator. He started to open
schools all over Macedonia both for children and older people and established
his University with then 3,500 students. Due to such extensive activity
he became one of the most famous educators. In 893 he was appointed
as the first bishop in the region Velica (Ohrid). He introduced the
language into the official sermons and prayers in Macedonia and Southern
Albania, erected several monastery's and churches, delivered sermons among
the people in their own language, becoming one of the first creators of
Slav and Macedonian literature, as well as the author of numerous church
hymns. He wrote a work of prays about Kiril. He is considered to be the
founder of Cyrillic which is even today, apart from some new and modernised
details the official alphabet of the Russian's, Ukranians, White Russian's,
Bulgarian's, Serbian's, Montenegrians and Macedonian's.
The close collaborator and the successor to Kliment's
work in Macedonia is Naum of Ohrid, who between 893 and 910 also worked
in the region of Kutmicevica.
The oldest preserved monument was found in Macedonia.
It is a tombstone plaque of Emperor Samuel from 993 and the Varoski epitaph
from 996.
Several well known monuments written in Cyrillic, with
some elements of Macedonia editorial remarks come from Macedonia "The Ohrid
Apostle" and the "Shepherd from Bologna", "Bitolski Trod", "Stanisavljeg
Prolog", Leskovski Psalter". We shall mention other preserved manuscripts:
"Pop Jovanov Gospel" (XII c.), "Vranesnicki Apostle" (XIII c.), " Dobromirov
Gospel", " Radomirovo Gospel" and others. All these works date from the
twelfth to the fifteenth century. From the later period (the sixteenth
to the eighteenth century) we have some manuscripts with some elements
of the contemporary speech. These are anthologies of sermons and prayers
and different texts from the apocrypha, called "Damascene".
The Macedonian language was introduced into literature
mostly in an unofficial form, during the Turkish rule in Macedonia, particularly
in the nineteenth century. Starting with Danilo's "cetijezicnik" (1802),
through the works of Kiril Pejcinovic, Joakim Krcovski, and Teodosije Sinaetski
(from the first decade of the nineteenth century) until the first generation
of the Macedonian writers from the middle of the last century (Dimitrija
and Konstantin Miladinov, Rajko Zinzifov, Grigor Prlicev, Georgi Dinkov,
Andrea and Konstanti Petkovski, Marko Cepenkov, Kuzman Sapkarev and others),
the national language gradually rose to the level of literary forms.
Krste Misirkov has scientifically and precisely explained
the ideas for the creation of the Macedonian literary language, in his
book "Za Makedonskite Raboti" (1903). These ideas were accepted by the
generations after the First and Second World War's so that after the National
Liberation War was officially codified by an Act of National Assembly of
Macedonia.
The Macedonian literary language, the official language
of the Republic of Macedonia has already been in the use for
three decades (1945-1972), for the rich and developed literature of the
Macedonian's. It was created on the basis of the Central and Western Macedonia
dialects and written traditionally from the nineteenth century, as well
as from the first quarter of the twentieth century (Miladinovci, Cepenkov,
Misirkov and Racin). The vocal system of the Macedonian language consists
of five sounds (a, e, i, o, u). There are 26 consonants of which two are
"milde" lj, nj hard palate, k and g, dental fricative: s (dz) and trilled:
r. The accent is expiratory and immobile - over the third sylable, from
the end of the world. Grammar is analytical, while the case system does
not exist, except Dative and Accusative, concerning only proper names.
There is a definite article in three forms ov, ot, on (covek-ov, dete-to,
and dete-no). All the tenses exist, and the Macedonian writing is phonetic.
The alphabet is Cyrillic consisting of 31 letters (a, b, v, g, d, dj, e, z, z, s, i, j, k, l,
lj, m, n, nj, o, p, r, s, t, k, u, f, h, c, c, dz, s).
Besides its use in administration, public communications,
schools, newspapers, radio, and television and theatres, the Macedonian
language is used in literary works, translations as well as in foreign
universities which hold permanent language courses in Macedonian language.
In conclusion after eleven century's the Macedonian language
has gained its reaffirmation.
 HELLO ( ZDRAVO
)
HOW ARE YOU?
( KAKO SI? )
GOOD ( DOBRO )
WHAT'S YOUR
NAME? ( KAKO SE VIKAS? )
FINE, THANK
YOU ( DOBRO BLAGODARAM )
GOOD MORNING
( DOBRO UTRO )
GOOD AFTERNOON
( DOBAR DEN )
GOOD EVENING
( DOBRO VECER )
THANK YOU
( BLAGODARAM )
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