Macedonian
Macedonian is the native language of more than 1,500,000 inhabitants of the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the second language for
Albanians. there
is considerable dispute about how to classify the Macedonian language. Bulgaria
denies the existence of a Macedonian language, classifying the spoken language
as a southwest Bulgarian dialect and the written language as a "regional
norm" of Bulgarian. Until the end of World War II (1939-1945), Serbs called
Macedonian a south Serbian dialect. Many scholars in the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, on the other hand, consider dialects spoken in Bulgaria
and Serbia to be part of the Macedonian language. Greeks oppose the use of the
name "Macedonia" to refer to the former Yugoslav republic, and they
object as well to calling the language of that region "Macedonian."
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![Macedonia - Click for Information]](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/mk-flag.gif){kind=small}
![Greece - Click for Information]](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/gr-flag.gif){kind=small}
![Albania - Click for Information]](https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/maps/al-flag.gif){kind=small}
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