(Front Cover)

English – Macedonian Dialectal Dictionary Based on the Lerin-Kostur Dialects
As Spoken by Oshchimians

Now available for free

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At the dawn of the 19th century when nationalism was introduced to the Balkans and as new states began to form out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, dialectal languages were viewed as simplistic, backwards, limited and, to some degree, expressionless. They were deemed vulgar and were scoffed at. Modern and literary languages were created to replace them and students were discouraged from speaking them because they were presented as the languages of uneducated peasants.

Generations later, as the newly created societies began to culturally mature and search for their roots, attitudes towards dialectal languages began to change. Dialects began to be seen no longer as vulgar and limited but rather as the mothers of modern languages and the sources of modern cultures.

Dialectal languages, at least in the Balkans, are the most natural and longest lasting cultural elements that not only defined the uniqueness of certain societies but also, in a positive way, highlight the diversities within them. The Balkans has always been a multicultural, multiethnic region with various ethnicities living together. Languages have been the predominant factors of cultural divide in a positive way. And within each culture, at least with the Macedonians, a number of micro-cultures existed predominantly defined by unique characteristics such as dress, colour, pattern, song, dance and obviously dialectal language. Before the introduction of nationalism these cultural elements were seen as positive characteristics that uniquely identified each micro-culture in those societies.

In view of the resurgence of Macedonians needing to rediscover their roots, the study of dialects has become interesting and of importance. Here we find ourselves in a unique situation where I am personally familiar with one particular dialect and am in a good position to document it. There is urgent need to do this because I believe, with time and by the application of literary languages through the educational system, dialects will disappear forever. I am one of the last generations to be born in Oshchima, Lerin-Kostur Region, in a society that until as recently as half a century ago spoke a dialect of the Macedonian language. I still remember the language as it was spoken by the elders of Oshchima.

In putting this dictionary together, my attempt is to bring to you a unique version of the Macedonian language as spoken by Oshchimians. The sixteen hundred or so words documented here are uniquely Oshchimian as they were spoken by the last generations living in Oshchima. I would like to remind the reader that this particular language, like all Macedonian dialects in Greece, was banned in the 1930’s by the Greek authorities and was made illegal to speak. It is a miracle it has survived for this long.

The Dialectal Dictionary is now for sale:

Specs: 6 in wide, 9 in high, 152 pages, weighs .250 Kg, ISBN 978-0-9737256-2-9

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