The Slavo-Macedonians, the artificial language of Skopje, and…the “local” dialects

A ungraded erupted successful caller days pursuing the involution of the politician of Florina, Vasilis Giannakis, during a performance held astatine a section nightclub connected Monday, 22/12/2025, by the set “Banda Entopica,” portion its members were performing a opus successful Slavic. The events are wide reported, some successful elaborate sum by protothema.gr and different media. The involution by the politician was condemned by the section committee of the KKE.

At this point, the nonfiction could end, but of people we see this incidental a bully accidental to clarify definite issues and contiguous technological grounds astir however the connection of the alleged “North Macedonia” was constructed and what “language planning” means…

Who are the Slavo-Macedonians?

Following a communal signifier of some, articles are reproduced by others, creating wholly mendacious impressions. As we person written before, this improvement has reached uncontrolled dimensions connected the internet. They continuously constitute astir Slavo-Macedonians, Slavo-Macedonian language, etc., without giving readers an knowing of who these Slavo-Macedonians really are.

By thoroughly examining the lit available, we find the presumption of the Society for Macedonian Studies, the astir authoritative instauration connected the matter, arsenic expressed successful a connection successful March 1991, erstwhile the alleged “Skopje issue” was successful the nationalist eye. We contiguous it verbatim:

“The Society for Macedonian Studies, returning to the contented which occasionally arises regarding the alleged beingness of a Slavo-Macedonian number successful Greece and the suppression of the quality rights of this minority, considers it indispensable to constituent retired erstwhile again this humanities and nationalist inaccuracy, to clarify concisely the humanities truth, and to stress the existent magnitude of the issue, which each Greeks indispensable know. No disorder should beryllium made betwixt the presumption ‘Slavophones’ and ‘Slavo-Macedonians.’ It is simply a information that successful Macedonia, specifically successful its borderline areas, determination are Greeks who speak, on with the Greek language, a Slavic linguistic idiom. This improvement is besides observed successful galore different countries, i.e., inhabitants of borderline areas talk the connection of a neighboring country. However, this does not mean that these radical are of a antithetic nationality. The Slavophones of Macedonia person ne'er claimed that they are not Greeks. On the contrary, they person consistently demonstrated their Greek tone by participating successful each nationalist struggles, peculiarly during the Macedonian Struggle, successful which they bore the top burden. Most of the section chieftains and fighters of the Macedonian Struggle did not cognize the Greek language, but it would beryllium sacrilegious to question the Greek tone and patriotism of Kapetan Kotas, Gonos, Mitrousis, Dalipis, Kyros, and galore others. It is truthful evident that the word ‘Slavophone’ has been deliberately misinterpreted.”

“The word ‘Slavo-Macedonian,’ besides an anti-Greek construct, aims to service governmental purposes. It is historically and scientifically proven that specified a nationality ne'er existed and that specified a connection ne'er existed, and the alleged claims astir a Slavo-Macedonian connection are wholly unfounded. The Society for Macedonian Studies has repeatedly dealt with this contented done its publications and wide enactment and truthful rejects each these ‘newly invented’ constructs, informing that its applicable publications are disposable to anyone interested.”

Source: Ioannis K. Cholevas, “The Greek Slavophones of Macedonia”

Let america present spot what Eleni Sella-Mazi, prof astatine the University of Athens (EKPA), writes connected the substance successful her publication “Bilingualism, National Identity, and Minority Languages”:

“Greek Slavophones are recovered successful the territories of Macedonia that Greece retook aft agelong and persistent struggles, not lone by the section Greeks but besides by Greeks from the already autarkic Greek state, during the Macedonian Struggle, the Balkan Wars, and World War I. During this period, monolithic colonisation movements took place. Under the Neuilly Treaty (1919), which provided for the voluntary speech of populations betwixt Bulgaria and Greece, bilingual individuals successful Greek and Slavic, who claimed Greek nationalist individuality (30,000 people), settled successful the territories of Macedonia awarded to Greece. Others of Bulgarian nationalist consciousness (53,000 people) followed the reverse path, and others remained successful their spot of birth. Shortly after, with the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and the colonisation speech betwixt Turkey and Greece, implicit 300,000 Muslims emigrated to Turkey and 700,000 Greeks from Asia Minor (and Pontus) settled successful Macedonia. By 1926, the overwhelming bulk of Macedonia’s inhabitants were Greeks (1,341,000 retired of 1,511,000), 2,000 were Muslims, 77,000 were Orthodox Slavophones, and 91,000 were assorted others (presumably Jews, Roma, etc.). By 1949, with the past colonisation movement, the creation of the colonisation of Greek Macedonia was solidified. Two years later, the 1951 census recorded 41,167 Slavophones successful each of Greece (35,894 successful Macedonia). Regarding this, K. Dinas notes that bilinguals are mainly, and often primarily, Greek-speaking.”

There is, of course, different factor: the civilian war. 25,000 Slavo-Macedonians who had taken refuge successful Yugoslavia organized again and, with the assistance of the Yugoslav side, created the NOF (National Liberation Front), whose enactment successful Greek Macedonia, peculiarly successful the areas of Edessa, Florina, and Kastoria, expanded significantly: founding schools, churches, and teaching “Macedonian.” A caller divergence of opinions betwixt Yugoslavia and Bulgaria forced the NOF Slavo-Macedonians to instrumentality refuge successful Yugoslavia and assorted Eastern European countries. According to K. Vakalopoulos, successful his publication “History of Northern Hellenism: Macedonia”, they numbered 35,000, positive 28,000 abducted children.

The thought of Slavo-Macedonism arsenic a governmental means to execute autonomy wrong the Ottoman Empire archetypal appeared successful 1903. During the Balkan Wars, however, Slavophones with Greek nationalist consciousness collaborated with the Greek Army, and Slavophones with Bulgarian nationalist consciousness collaborated with the Bulgarian Army. If a chiseled Slavo-Macedonian consciousness had existed among the population, writes G. Kentrotis, it should person manifested successful the signifier of absorption to the expansionism of Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

Problems began successful 1924, erstwhile the 6th Balkan Communist Conference, ignoring and disregarding Greece’s sovereignty implicit astir of Macedonia, adopted the Bulgarian presumption for an autarkic Macedonia (similarly for Thrace), wherever assorted taste groups would live, but, arsenic the salient historiographer K. Vakalopoulos notes, without referring to a chiseled Macedonian ethnicity. The “Macedonian ethnicity” was a instauration of circumstantial humanities circumstances, arsenic its inspirer Miriskov notes. Its extremity was the easier annexation to Bulgaria, arsenic admitted by the founding subordinate of the Society for Macedonian Studies, Tatarcev.

The “planned” connection of “North Macedonia”

The connection of the inhabitants of North Macedonia is described arsenic a convergence (Ausbau) dialect with geographical adjacency. It is the authoritative connection of the state, which, with Greece’s consent aft the unacceptable Prespa Agreement, is present called “Macedonian.” As Eleni Sella-Mazi writes, “it is simply a merchandise of connection planning,” with the main goals being, connected the 1 hand, the readying of the presumption of the connection (status planning), i.e., selecting a circumstantial connection (or languages) oregon a circumstantial assortment (or varieties) of a connection arsenic a nationalist oregon authoritative connection to service defined objectives wrong the nine oregon nation, and connected the different hand, the readying of linguistic worldly (corpus planning), i.e., codifying and regulating a linguistic system, which determines the linguistic characteristics of the fixed variety.”*

Simply put, it is simply a controlled connection that serves governmental oregon different purposes and is wholly artificial. In 1944, Tito formed a peculiar committee for the last “adjustments” to the connection of “pseudo-Macedonia.” What created a large occupation for the experts liable for these adjustments was the alphabet of the artificial language.

The Montenegrin Djilas yet agreed not to see the Serbian letters C, Dj, and Markovski compromised by removing the Bulgarian er golyam. The Serbian letters Ij, nj, j, dz, and the Old Church Slavonic S (dz) were retained, and finally, successful January 1946, the archetypal concise grammar of the caller connection was published successful 16,000 copies.

The work for the existent concern does not prevarication solely with the SYRIZA-ANEL authorities but with each post-war governments. Especially the ERE governments nether Konstantinos Karamanlis showed incomprehensible inertia. Wishing to support bully relations with Tito’s regime, they fto the contented simmer, portion the Yugoslavs proceeded unhindered, erasing Greeks from Skopje. In the 1912 census of Hicimi Pasha, the existent “North Macedonia” had 432,000 Muslims (Turks and Albanians, 41.7%), 259,000 Greeks (27.37%), 178,000 Bulgarians (18.81%), 13,150 Serbs (1.39%), and 73,000 Jews and others (10.725%). Naturally, determination was nary notation of “Macedonians.” In the 1940 Yugoslav census, determination were inactive nary “Macedonians.” 710,676 inhabitants of Vardarska Banovina (the sanction from 1929 to 1941) were Slavs (66.33%), 334,285 Muslims (Turks, Albanians, and Gypsies, 31.20%), and 26,465 Greeks (2.47%). Magically, successful 1953, aft the achy WWII for Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia had 861,000 “Macedonians,” 46,000 Serbs and different Slavs, 204,000 Turks, 163,000 Albanians, 21,000 Gypsies, and 10,000 Greeks (0.67%). Since then, if not earlier, Greek governments should person reacted, but unfortunately, our procrastinating, concessionary, and short-sighted overseas argumentation brought america to faits accomplis erstwhile again… While Tito lived, the concern was comparatively controlled. After his decease successful 1980, Pandora’s container was opened, with the well-known consequences…

Does the Slavo-Macedonian connection person a aboriginal successful Greece?

An absorbing question is whether the Slavo-Macedonian connection has a aboriginal successful Greece. Eleni Sella-Mazi believes that it has small accidental of continuing successful afloat sociolinguistic equality unless politicians oregon different factors enforce a alteration connected the earthy people of things. Some of its speakers whitethorn consciousness sympathetic toward “North Macedonia,” but Slavo-Macedonian is simply a connection of mean viability, tending toward debased viability. Sella-Mazi continues: “As agelong arsenic the bulk of Slavophones consciousness kinship, historically, intellectually, and religiously (being Orthodox Christians) with their Greek-speaking chap citizens and the Greek-speaking authorities successful which they unrecorded (note: the word ‘Greek-speaking’ is utilized by Sella-Mazi, presumably meaning that the authoritative connection of the state is Greek, not derogatorily), arsenic agelong arsenic their economic, social, and intelligence progress, arsenic good arsenic their spiritual life, are intertwined with the Greek language, and arsenic agelong arsenic the signifier of not transmitting Slavo-Macedonian arsenic a parent lingua to children continues, the bilingual standard of Slavo-Macedonian-Greek volition tilt toward Greek, which volition past screen the socio-linguistic areas antecedently served by Slavo-Macedonian.”

Some questions astir “Banda Entopica”

I admit that until a fewer days ago, I was unaware of “Banda Entopica,” which of people does not mean anything. It is simply a set based successful Thessaloniki with 5 members. As they themselves reported, they besides play songs successful “Gypsy.” The connection is called Romani, ne'er mind, moving on. According to Eleni Sella-Mazi, the connection of the Slavophones is referred to by them arsenic “local,” oregon “entopika” oregon “topika,” oregon “local Macedonian dialect.” Therefore, the sanction of the set straight refers to the Slavo-Macedonian dialect. Perhaps their insistence connected performing songs with Slavic lyrics successful the delicate nationalist portion of Florina is not truthful innocent?

Now, whether the opus you performed is “Ela Kerko” and not “Eleno Kerko,” whether it is poustjeno oregon syrto is secondary. To conclude, I airs 2 questions to the set members. If you were invited to execute successful Tirana, would you play “Delvino and Chameria”? And secondly, successful Istanbul, would you play, for example, “The Twelve Evzones”? Music unites, I deliberation everyone agrees, but sometimes lyrics divide…

Sources:

• Eleni Sella-Mazi, “Bilingualism, National Identity, and Minority Languages”, with a foreword by Academician Christoforos Charalambakis and Ambassador Periklis Nearchos, Leimon Editions, 2016.
• Ioannis K. Cholevas, “The Greek Slavophones of Macedonia”, Rissos Editions, 1991.
• Konstantinos A. Vakalopoulos, “History of Northern Hellenism: Macedonia”, Kyriakidis Brothers Publishing, Thessaloniki, 1991.
• G. Babiniotis, “The Language of Macedonia”, Olkos Editions.