European parliament working paper
(Slavo)Macedonian, Bulgarian
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- The use of the language in various fields
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
(Slavo)Macedonian, BulgarianIntroductionMacedonian and Bulgarian are the two standard languages of the eastern group of south Slavonic languages. In Greek Macedonia several dialectal varieties, very close to both standard Macedonian and Bulgarian, are spoken. Macedonian acquired a standard literary form, distinct from Bulgarian, in the neighbouring Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as recently as 1944. The two words (Macedonian and Bulgarian) are used here primarily because they are the names the speakers use to refer to the way they speak. In fact, many speak of ‘our language’ (nasi) or ‘the local language’ (ta dopia): the use of actual names is a politically charged national issue. A Slavonic language presence in the Greek peninsula can be traced to the 6th-7th centuries. During the nation-state building period, specially, the use of south Slavonic dialects in the region of Macedonia fuelled severe religious and national conflicts. After annexing its ‘New Territories’ (1913), Greece treated with hostility the use of Slavonic dialects. The most painful episodes were the successive large-scale expulsions of the Slavonic-speaking population from 1913 to 1949 (end of the Greek civil war). Yet (Slavo)Macedonian/ Bulgarian is still spoken by considerable numbers in Greek Macedonia, all along its northern borders, specially in the Prefectures of Florina, Pella, and to a lesser extent in Kastoria, Kilkis, Imathia, Thessalonika, Serres and Drama. The use of the language in various fieldsThere are no reliable sources regarding the use of Macedonian/Bulgarian in Greece. The three national censuses containing an item on the mother language called it ‘Slavo-Macedonian’ in 1928 and 1940, and simply ‘Slav’ in 1951. There were almost certainly many more than the close to 40,000 speakers recorded in 1951. Since then, only small-scale fieldwork has offered statistical data, which cannot be generalised.
Van Boeschoeten R., ‘Minority languages in Northern Greece. Study visit to Florina, Aridea’ Report to the European Commission, 1993 PomakIntroductionPomak is described by linguists as a southern Bulgarian dialect, used by the Pomaks of Greece. Part of the broader Muslim minority of Thrace, they were not forced to migrate in 1923. As Muslims and as Slavophones, the Pomaks have been a target for the respective nationalisms of Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. Their affiliation to Islam and the difficulties of communication with the more numerous Pomaks in Bulgaria brought them closer to the wider Muslim and Turkish-speaking community. Hence, there has been a continuous language shift towards Turkish since the 1950s. Pomak is used mainly in the prefecture of Xanthi (by all age groups), and to a lesser extent in Rodopi and Evros (less among the young), in the Northern part of Greek Thrace. Many Pomak-speakers, for economically motivated reasons, moved to cities in Thrace, Thessalonika and Athens. It has roughly 25,000 speakers; none are literate in Pomak, as there is no written tradition and it is not taught in schools. The Pomaks are not granted special rights different from those provided for the Muslim minority, the majority of which is Turkish-speaking. Greek political parties avoid discussing the issue, though in the 1990s some political statements referred to Pomak as a language of the Muslim minority. In 1998 the EU supported a project aiming to raise the issue of the languages spoken in Thrace. The use of the language in various fieldsPomak schoolchildren follow the bilingual Greek/Turkish curriculum. State and local authorities do not use Pomak. There is no presence of the language in public signs or in place and street names. A single Pomak-language magazine (Zagalitsa) is published irregularly, using the Greek alphabet. There is no presence of Pomak on the Internet, apart from the use of Bulgarian on Bulgarian sites. Pomak is used very rarely in music. Greek-Pomak dictionaries and grammars (using the Greek alphabet) are the only books published in Pomak. Pomak is not associated with professional advancement. Only at a very local level is it used, in oral relations between customers and their shopkeepers. It is not used in advertising by companies, large or small. The intergenerational transmission of the language is not really guaranteed. Some young speakers marry within the language group, where ethnic Pomak identity is strong. However, marriage with Turkish-speakers, which is quite frequent, is often regarded as a social advancement. There are scarcely any cultural exchanges between Greece and Bulgaria concerning the Pomaks living in the two countries. Bulgarian TV is not easily picked up. No newspapers, magazines or books can be obtained. Former fears of the Greeks that communism might be imported through the Pomaks have been replaced by fears about the unity of Islamic communities and associated propaganda. ConclusionThe agents of language production and reproduction do not guarantee the long-term future of the language. Pomak is on the decline in cases where Turkish is assimilating the speakers of Pomak, and Greek nationalism tries to impose inadequate language planning through private actors. For the promotion of Pomak to be possible, a prejudice-free environment is needed where it can be used with social utility, leading to social acceptance and economic success. BibliographyS. Troumbeta, Creating Identities: the Case of Pomaks and Roma in Thrace, (in Greek) Kritiki/KEMO, Athens 2001 F. Tsimbiridou, Les Pomak, Harmattan, Paris 2000 Directory: RegData -> etudes -> document travail document travail -> Working paper a single market in financial services RegData -> European commission brussels, XXX RegData -> The european commission RegData -> Provisional agreement resulting from interinstitutional negotiations Download 1.21 Mb. Share with your friends:
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