SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
Linguists and Macedonian language specialists from several educational institutions in the country issued an official reaction to the unilateral statement the Ministry of Foreign Affairs addressed to Brussels in relation to the Macedonian language upon the start of the EU accession talks for North Macedonia. “Having in mind the Parliamentary Resolution on the national positions concerning the blockades for the accession of our country in the EU, published in official gazette on 3 December 2020, the definition of the space and time continuity of the Macedonian language rejects all the limitations of the Macedonian dialects, which is why the reference in the unilateral statement that the language is based upon the dialects spoken on the territory of present-day North Macedonia violate the continuity of the language. Besides this, in accordance with scientific facts from the fields of linguistics and Slavic studies, we can see that the dialectical differentiation in Macedonia dates as early as the 11th century, while the first characteristics of Macedonian dialects are already evidential in the 13th and 14th century. Having in mind all the scientific facts that go in favour of the uniqueness and originality of the Macedonian language, we shall never accept any decision that compromises the self-determination of the Macedonian people and its independent historical development,” writes the reaction of the linguists, who also called upon the government and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to immediately withdraw the unilateral statement delivered to Brussels.
