Question on Language

[Reaper]

As you know I am building wiki pages 24/7 and we have just put in andd had confirmed -the Macedonian language is closely linked to Bulgarian. Someone then added 'with many Greek words included'.

Is that statement true? Are there many Greek words in FYROMian?

[Ptolemy]

Check this thread for all the answers.

http://www.macedoniaontheweb.com/for...-language.html

[akritas]

You can read many of the Greek words in Slavmacedonian language in

http://www.macedoniaontheweb.com/for...n-dialect.html

[Istor]

SlavoSkopian language, being a Bulgarian dialect has many Greek origin words. About 30% of Bulgarian dic is Greek origin.

In fact, SlavoSkopian language has no SlavoSkopian words. All words there are Bulgarian, Serbian, Turkish, Greek, Albanian ... and after 1992 English.

[Istor]

The main attitude of a language is not dictionary. Language is mainly grammar, syntax and tranformation/composition of words.

Thus even if all SlavoSkopian words are Greek origin, SlavoSkopian still a Bulgarian dialect because of syntax rules, of grammar and composition of words.

[Reaper]

I see, thankyou for the help and links.

[Tsontos]

The main attitude of a language is not dictionary. Language is mainly grammar, syntax and tranformation/composition of words.

Thus even if all SlavoSkopian words are Greek origin, SlavoSkopian still a Bulgarian dialect because of syntax rules, of grammar and composition of words.

At the risk of trying to be an amatuer linguist like the ladies at maknews, Istor has put this very well. The lexicon is not what constitutes a language.

Bulgarian proper has almost as many Greek words as the Bulgarian dialect spoken in Skopje. The Bulgarians say 'Bre'

[Robert]

Sorry to disapoint you, but the Macedonian language is not a dialect of Bulgairan, nor does it have many "Greek" words (though "many" is debatable).

This fact has been acknowledged by hundreds of linguists in the past and at present, here including Bulgarian linguists and historiuans (such as Tsvetan Todorov for example).

Bulgarian is a turkic language. In fact, a group of languages comprise the "Bulgarian group" including Chuvash and Tatar.

What you are refering to is a variation od the "Slavic" language called by Greeks "slavo-bulgrian" or "bulgarian" or some such nebulous term that was eventually adopted. The fact remains that the "slavo-bulgarian" language standard could not forced on the Macedonians and their Macedonian language in the 19the century, let alone today.

I am writing to bring you to reality from the collective denial you seem to be in, filled with unjustified rage (and fear?) because the Macedonians have dared exert their national consciousness. It is shameful that you call derisively your neighbours, the Macedonians, "Skopjians", and that you perpetuate lies and agressive behaviour against them. Istor knows all about it. ;-)

[Tsontos]

Bulgarian is a turkic language. In fact, a group of languages comprise the "Bulgarian group" including Chuvash and Tatar.

Is that why Bulgarian and "macedonian" are mutually intelligible?

[Tsontos]

Is the original text in Bulgarian or Macedonian? I think you'll be uneasily surprised at how you understand just about everything thats said in Bulgarian. Have you been to Sofia?

In a letter to Prof. Marin Drinov of May 25, 1888 Kuzman Shapkarev writes:

"But even stranger is the name Macedonians, which was imposed on us only 10 to 15 years ago by outsiders, and not as something by our own intellectuals... Yet the people in Macedonia know nothing of that ancient name, reintroduced today with a cunning aim on the one hand and a stupid one on the other. They know the older word: "Bugari", although mispronounced: they have even adopted it as peculiarly theirs, inapplicable to other Bulgarians. You can find more about this in the introduction to the booklets I am sending you. They call their own Macedono-Bulgarian dialect the "Bugarski language", while the rest of the Bulgarian dialects they refer to as the "Shopski language". (Makedonski pregled, IX, 2, 1934, p. 55; the original letter is kept in the Marin Drinov Museum in Sofia, and it is available for examination and study)


the original text

In a letter to Prof. Marin Drinov of May 25, 1888 Kuzman Shapkarev writes:

"No pochudno e imeto Makedonci, koeto naskoro, edvay predi 10-15 godini, ni natrapiha i to otvqn, a ne kakto nyakoi mislyat ot samata nasha inteligenciya... Narodqt obache v Makedoniya ne znae nishto za tova arhaichesko, a dnes, s lukava cel ot edna strana, s glupeshka ot druga, podnoveno prozvishte; toy si znae postaroto: Bugari, makar i nepravilno proiznasyano, daje osvoyava si go kato sobstveno i preimushtestveno svoe, nejeli za drugite Bqlgari. Za tova shte vidite i v predgovora na izpratenite mi knijici. Toy naricha Bugarski ezik svoeto Makaedono-bqlgarsko narechie, kogato drugite bqlgarski narechiya naricha Shopski."