Being the patron of the Ceremonial Academy on the occasion of May 5 – Macedonian Language Day, held at MANU, is a rare opportunity and a special honor.
Speaking in front of academics, professors, ministers, diplomats and MPs, as well as top experts, admirers and lovers of the Macedonian language is a great challenge.
I listened with pleasure to the exceptional presentations of the President of MANU, Zivko Popov, the Minister of Education and Science, Vesna Janevska, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Zoran Ljutkov, and Professor Simona Gruevska-Madzoska. Each of them, from their own perspective and in an authentic way, illuminated and shed light on the centuries-old genesis of the Macedonian language before its codification in 1945, one year after 2 August 1944, when it was declared official at the First Session of ASNOM.
The eminent speakers started from the Proto-Slavic language, incorporated into Old Church Slavonic, as the first literary language of the Slavs, sprouted from the speech of the Macedonian Slavs around Thessaloniki, as well as from Church Slavonic texts from the 10th and 11th centuries with specific Macedonian words, continued with the manuscripts from the end of the 16th century, and stepped into the revival of the 19th century.
The peak of the struggle for the Macedonian language as a literary language was all tied to Krste Misirkov and “On the Macedonian Affairs”, as the basis for the codification in 1945.
The Macedonian language entered the theater through the plays of Chernodrinski, Iljoski, Krle and Panov, and wonderful poetry was written in Macedonian, too. In the middle of World War II, newspapers and textbooks were printed, and the first schools in Macedonian were opened in the liberated territory.
The codification that we celebrate marked the successful end of the centuries-old Macedonian battle for its own language, as a fundamental mark of the Macedonian national identity and uniqueness.
The codification is a logical crowning of the rounded genesis of the Macedonian language as the official language of the Macedonian state and one of the three official languages in the Yugoslav Federation!
It is anachronistic, uncivilized and paradoxical to deny the Macedonian language. A rich literature of supreme value has been created on it, valuable scientific papers and dictionaries have been written, numerous Macedonian language teaching departments operate at famous universities.
Let us respect and love the Macedonian language because it is an inseparable part of our unique Macedonian identity!
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova
