Macedonians

Macedonians

Македонци
Map of the Macedonian diaspora in the world
Total population
c. 2.5million
Regions with significant populations
North Macedonia1,297,981
Languages
Macedonian language
Religion
PredominantlyEastern Orthodox Christianity
Related ethnic groups
OtherSouth Slavs,especiallySlavic speakers of Greek Macedonia,BulgariansandTorlaks

Macedonians(Macedonian:Македонци,romanized:Makedonci) are anationand a SouthSlavicethnic group native to the region ofMacedoniainSoutheast Europe.They speak theMacedonian language.

Origins

The Slavic languages from which Macedonian developed are thought to have grown in the region during the post-Roman period.Many parts of Macedonian culture developed during the rule of MedievalByzantine,BulgarianandSerbianEmpires. Each of these empires controlled the region for a time.

Macedonians'geneticbackground is thought to be the same as Balkan prehistoric and historicdemographic processes.This background is also found in otherSouth Slavs,especiallyBulgarians,Serbs,Bosnians,Montenegrins,but also in northernGreeksandRomanians.

The appearance ofRil Slavsin Macedonia and theBalkanshappened after the end of Roman authority.Migrations into the area happened, but on a smaller scale:

"It is now generally agreed that the people who lived in the Balkans after the Slavic" invasions "were probably for the most part the same as those who had lived there earlier, although the creation of new political groups and arrival of small immigrants caused people to look at themselves as distinct from their neighbours, including the Byzantines".

Later, the Sclaveni in Macedonia were added into the Bulgarian Empire.

The history of the Macedonians has been shaped by population shifts and political developments in theregion of Macedonia.After the end of theOttoman Empirein the early 20th century, theSocialist Republic of Macedoniawas created afterWorld War II,a state in the framework of theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Population

A large majority of ethnic Macedonians live along the valley of the riverVardar,the central region of North Macedonia. They form about 64.18% of the population of North Macedonia (1,297,981 people according to the2002 censusArchived2004-06-21 at theWayback Machine). Smaller numbers live in easternAlbania,northern Greece, and southernSerbia,mostly near the border areas of North Macedonia, small part of southernKosovoand in the west-south region inBulgaria.A large number of Macedonians have immigrated overseas to Australia, United States, Canada and in many European countries: Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Austria, among others.

Economy

In the past, the Macedonian population was mostly involved with agriculture. The beginning of the People's Republic of Macedonia started a social change. The change was based on Socialist principles, a middle and heavy industry were started.

Language

See the main article:Macedonian language

The Macedonian language (Macedonian:македонски јазик) is a member of the Eastern group ofSouth Slavic languages.Standard Macedonian was started as the official language of theSocialist Republic of Macedonia.After being codified in the 1940s, a strongliterary traditionhas developed.

The closest relative of Macedonian isSerbo-Croatalong with some Bulgarian dialects. All theSouth Slaviclanguages, including Macedonian, form adialect continuum,in which Macedonian is between Bulgarian andSerbian.TheTorlakiandialect group is intermediate between Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian.

Theorthographyof Macedonian includes an Alpha bet, which is an adaptation of theCyrillic script.There are also language-specific ways of spelling and punctuation.

Symbols

• Sun:The officialflag of North Macedonia,adopted in 1995, is a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field.
• Coat of Arms:After independence in 1992, North Macedonia kept thecoat of armsadopted in 1946.
• Vergina Sun:(official flag, 1992–1995) TheVergina Sunis an ancient symbol and the emblem of macedonian empire. It used by several groups in the Macedoniandiaspora.The Vergina Sun is believed to have been associated with kings such asAlexander the GreatandPhilip II of macedon,although it was used as an ornamental design long before the Macedonian period. The symbol was discovered in the present-day of Macedonia. The Vergina sun on a red field was the first flag of the independentNorth Macedonia,until it was removed from the state flag under an agreement reached between North Macedonia and Greece in September 1995.The Vergina sun is still used unofficially as a national symbol by some groups in the country and the Macedonian diaspora.

• 
  The official Coat of Arms
• 
  The Flag of North Macedonia
• 
  State flag 1992 to 1995

Related pages

• Macedonian language

Further reading

• Brown, Keith,The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation,Princeton University Press, 2003.ISBN0-691-09995-2.
• Cowan, Jane K. (ed.),Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference,Pluto Press, 2000. A collection of articles.
• Curta, Florin (2001),The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, C. 500-700,Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-80202-4
• Igor Janev,Legal Aspects of the Use of a Provisional Name for Macedonia in the United Nations System,American Journal of International Law, Vol.93, no. 1, January 1999,http:// asil.org/ajil/AJILJan1999.pdfArchived2013-09-21 at theWayback Machine

Other websites

• United Macedonian Diaspora
• World Macedonian CongressArchived2008-06-29 at theWayback Machine