Introduction
Welcome to Macedonia
Macedonia is located in Southeastern Europe. Geographically, it is slightly larger than Vermont. Its border countries are Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Serbia. The country is landlocked, and is a major transportation corridor both from Western and Central Europe to the Aegean Sea and from Southern Europe to Western Europe.
The spread of English in Macedonia is due in large part to political turbulence. For instance, the conflict in Kosovo and the war in Yugoslavia in 1999 both largely coincide with the spread of English in Macedonia for a number of reasons. These political hardships motivated some Macedonians to learn English in order to migrate. Additionally, these events caused an increased presence of international military troops, non-governmental organizations, foreign economic and financial advisors, and reporters. Thus, English became necessary in this newly-multilingual setting. Furthermore, the establishment of the independent Republic of Macedonia following the fall of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia prompted Macedonia's involvement with the Stability Pact of South Eastern Europe as well as its associative membership of the European Union. Macedonia's involvement with these multilingual organizations prompted a need for the country's proficiency in English for communicative purposes. (Dimova, 2005).
The spread of English in Macedonia is due in large part to political turbulence. For instance, the conflict in Kosovo and the war in Yugoslavia in 1999 both largely coincide with the spread of English in Macedonia for a number of reasons. These political hardships motivated some Macedonians to learn English in order to migrate. Additionally, these events caused an increased presence of international military troops, non-governmental organizations, foreign economic and financial advisors, and reporters. Thus, English became necessary in this newly-multilingual setting. Furthermore, the establishment of the independent Republic of Macedonia following the fall of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia prompted Macedonia's involvement with the Stability Pact of South Eastern Europe as well as its associative membership of the European Union. Macedonia's involvement with these multilingual organizations prompted a need for the country's proficiency in English for communicative purposes. (Dimova, 2005).
- Macedonia has a population of 2,103, 721. The demographics of the population are as follows: 64.2 percent Macedonian, 25.2 percent Albanian, 3.9 percent Turkish, 2.7 percent Romani, 1.8 percent Serbian, and 2.2 percent other.
- Christianity is Macedonia's predominant religion. Macedonian Orthodox Christians make up 65 percent of the population, while other Christian faiths make up 2 percent. A total of 32 percent of Macedonia's population identifies as Muslim, making this the country's largest religious minority.
- The percentage of Macedonia's total population over the age of 15 that can read and write is 97.8 percent.
- Macedonian is the official language of the country, with 66.5 percent of the population speaking it. The following languages are also commonly spoken in Macedonia: Albanian (25.2 percent of the population), Turkish (3.5 percent of the population), Romani (1.9 percent of the population), Serbian (1.2 percent of the population), other (1.8 percent of the population).
- Macedonia is a parliamentary republic, and the country's capital is Skopje.
- Economic factors greatly motivate the spread of English in Macedonia. Advancement of the country's economic conditions, especially after gaining associative membership in the European Union, has caused Macedonian business people to use English in international business (Dimova, 2005).
Bryski, Fall 2017