Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Macedonia-related articles

These guidelines deal with the naming of articles, categories and templates related to Macedonia. Please follow the conventions below. If you disagree with any of the conventions, please discuss in the talk page.

For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology).

To write and edit Macedonia-related articles, please follow the conventions below. Note

• see Wikipedia:Manual of Style for general cases
• see Wikipedia:History for notes on the style of history articles
• see Wikipedia:Naming conventions (use English) for general use of English names in articles.

There are two chief modern claimants to the name of Macedonia; see Macedonia (terminology) for more. This page sets out guidelines for Wikipedia articles discussing the Republic of Macedonia and the Province of Macedonia, Greece. For the rationale for these guidelines, see #Why these decisions?, below.

Qualifiers

Since both entities consider themselves Macedonia, and their citizens Macedonians, we should avoid such terms as Greek Macedonia and Slav Macedonia which might be read as qualifying their Macedonianity; unless necessary for clarity, as explained below. Experience shows that malign intent will be perceived where unintended.

References and Quotes

Quotations, references, and sourced material must be exact, using the form of the name(s) that the original document used. Quotations in foreign languages should have names translated literally. Where a name would create an ambiguity within an article, the usual convention of making a notation in [brackets], without altering the source text, should be followed.

Wikilinking

All wikilinks to the country should point to Republic of Macedonia directly or indirectly (through a valid redirect). You can either use a pipe (the | symbol) to direct a wikilink at this article, e.g.: [[Republic of Macedonia|former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]], or use the redirect itself, e.g.: [[former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]], provided that the latter redirects to the page for the country.

Similarly, wikilinks to the Province should point to Macedonia (Greece) directly (normally masked) or through a valid redirect. The text [[Macedonia (Greece)|]] will display as Macedonia.

Images

For images, the same conventions should be used as for article text. Acronyms such as RoM or FYROM should be used only when there is not enough space on the image to display the full name; the acronym used should be chosen based on the conventions used for the article.

Summary guidance

The following table summarises the detailed guidance given in the remainder of this manual of style.

Situation	Convention
Naming of articles and templates relating to the Republic of Macedonia	Use "Republic of Macedonia"
In articles in which only the Republic of Macedonia, and not the Greek province, is mentioned	Use "Republic of Macedonia" the first time, then "Macedonia" for further mentions
In articles in which only the Greek province, and not the Republic of Macedonia, is mentioned	Use "the Greek province of Macedonia" or "Macedonia, Greece" the first time, then "Macedonia" for further mentions
In articles about international political organisations or cultural/athletic events that use specific Macedonia-related terminology	Use the terminology adopted by the organisation or event in question (e.g. "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", "FYR Macedonia" etc)
In articles dealing only with the internal affairs of Greece	No consensus. "Republic of Macedonia" or "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" can be used (NB - the "f" in "former" should be uncapitalised). If in doubt, leave as is.
In articles dealing only with the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia as a group	Use "Macedonians"
In articles dealing with the predominant ethnic group of the Republic of Macedonia	Use "Macedonians" (only if the meaning is unquestionably clear) or "ethnic Macedonians"
In articles where there is a need to distinguish the Slavic ethnic group from the other ethnic groups inhabiting Macedonia	Use "Macedonian Slavs" or "Slavic Macedonians" to distinguish them from the other ethnic groups in the region
In articles dealing with the Greeks of Macedonia	Use "Macedonians" (only if the meaning is unquestionably clear) or Macedonian Greeks or Greek Macedonians
In articles dealing only with the majority language of the Republic of Macedonia	Use "Macedonian language"
In articles where there is a need to distinguish between the modern Macedonian language and Greek dialects or the ancient Macedonian language	Use "Macedonian Slavic" or "Slavic Macedonian" to distinguish it from "Macedonian Greek" and/or the Ancient Macedonian language
In templates linking only to country articles	Use "Macedonia", linked to Republic of Macedonia
In templates linking only to Greek provinces	Use "Macedonia", linked to Macedonia (Greece)
In templates linking both to country articles and Greek provinces	Use Republic of Macedonia and Macedonia (Greece)

Political entity naming issues

Country

Naming conventions (country)

• The name Macedonia (used by itself without modifiers) should not generally be used to refer to the country, due to the need to differentiate between the country and the Greek region, unless the meaning is unquestionably clear. This will often be the case in articles dealing only with the internal affairs of the Republic. Even then, the first mention should normally read Republic of Macedonia, with a link (some exceptions are discussed below). In the case of templates linking only to country articles, where there is no possibility of the Republic of Macedonia being confused with the Greek region, the short form "Macedonia" may be used. Where templates list both the Republic of Macedonia and either the Greek region or the wider geographical region, the link should read Republic of Macedonia.

• The term Republic of Macedonia, being the self-identifying name, is the established term that Wikipedia generally uses to refer to the country, as determined by the naming conflict guidelines. The country-level article is at Republic of Macedonia and all sub-level articles also use Republic of Macedonia, as do the related sub-level templates. This name should be used in all articles other than the exceptions set out below.
• In articles about international political organisations or cultural/athletic events where the Republic participates officially under the appellation former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or variants thereof (e.g. the United Nations, accession to the European Union, the Olympic Games etc.), the official naming conventions of those organisations should be followed. This applies only where the country is mentioned specifically and exclusively in relationship to such an organization.

• There is currently no clearly defined consensus about how to refer to the Republic of Macedonia in articles about Greece. While some editors feel that naming conventions in this domain should be no different from those used elsewhere, other editors feel that in the interest of disambiguation, it may be useful to employ disambiguating qualifiers that make the contrast more salient than just "Republic of...". This goes especially for articles that also mention the Greek province of Macedonia. While the name used for the republic should still be Republic of Macedonia, additional qualification in the form of "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", "the Republic of Macedonia, once part of Yugoslavia", or some other phrasing of the same information, can be helpful in such instances. This, in general, needs to be done only once in an article. In articles where the political backgrounds are important, such as topics of bilateral political relations or 1990s history, a wikilink from "Yugoslav" or "former Yugoslav" to a relevant background article (e.g. Macedonia naming dispute, or Breakup of Yugoslavia) may also be useful. However, no exact guidelines for all cases have been agreed upon; when in doubt, it is recommended to leave the status quo in each article as is.

• If the consensus of writing in English about a certain subject and the Republic is to use "former Yugoslav" or "FYR", include it at least once. Note that the initial "f" in "former" should not be capitalised unless it occurs at the start of a sentence.

• The appellation FYROM should be avoided for general use, except in contexts where other long country names are also abbreviated, or in articles which already use former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYR Macedonia. In such cases, the first use of former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYR Macedonia should always be followed by (FYROM) if the abbreviated term is to be used later in the article. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Acronyms and abbreviations.

Deprecated names (country)

The following names are deprecated:

• FYRO Macedonia, FYR of Macedonia and FY Republic of Macedonia are non-standard variants of former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia / FYROM and should not be used. Instances of these terms should be replaced by Republic of Macedonia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYR Macedonia as appropriate to the circumstances described.

• Republika Makedonija-Skopje should never be used for general purposes, as it is an as-yet unagreed proposal without any official standing or recognition.

• Skopje or Republic of Skopje, terms in wide-spread informal use in Greece, should never be used for general purposes, as they are neither official names nor common in English.

• Strictly excluded are, of course, derogatory appellations such as Pseudomacedonia, or invented names such as Republic of Vardar(ia), Republic of Dardania etc.

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Province

The Greek province is called "Macedonia". This is the preferred self-identifying name. It is also acceptably referred to as "Greek Macedonia", and "Macedonia, Greece" in general English usage, mainly for disambiguation purposes (although most Greeks will consider the disambiguation a pleonasm). The name "Aegean Macedonia" is also found in scholarship, but its use is not advised as it is the name used by irredentist ethnic Macedonian nationalists of the United Macedonia movement. Therefore, the following naming conventions apply:

Naming conventions (province)

• The name Macedonia (used by itself without modifiers) should not generally be used to refer to the province, due to the need to differentiate between the country and the Greek region, except in contexts where the meaning is unquestionably clear. This will often be the case in articles dealing only with the internal affairs of Greece. In the case of templates linking only to articles concerning Greece, where there is no possibility of the Greek region being confused with the Republic of Macedonia, the short form "Macedonia" may be used. Where templates list both the Greek region and either the Republic of Macedonia or the wider geographical region, the link should read "Macedonia, Greece" or "Greek Macedonia".
• The names Macedonia, Greece or Greek Macedonia are the established terms that Wikipedia generally uses to refer to the province, as determined by the naming conflict guidelines. The province-level article is at Macedonia (Greece) and all sub-level articles should use these two names, as should the related sub-level templates. Using Macedonia, Greece to introduce the province is recommended in general.
• The names Western Macedonia, Central Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia [and Thrace] are the official names of three Greek peripheries, and their corresponding E.U. statistical regions, and should be used as is. They should not be used to refer to subregions within the Republic, unless the meaning is unquestionably clear and there is no other convenient way to express the thought. Use constructs such as "Western Republic of Macedonia" instead. For consistency, the terms "Northern Macedonia" and "Southern Macedonia" should not be used at all without qualifications, unless absolutely clear from the context.

Deprecated names (province)

The following name is deprecated:

• The name Aegean Macedonia should be avoided for general use, except in articles describing the irredentist concept. Note that Aegean Macedonia can be considered offensive for some Greeks, but the Greek government has not raised issue.

People naming issues

Ethnic group

Naming conventions (ethnic group)

The same logic should be applied to the name of the largest ethnic group of the country (Macedonians (ethnic group)):

• Macedonians or ethnic Macedonians can be used in all articles related to the ethnic group, where there is no need for disambiguation.
• Macedonian Slavs or Slav Macedonians in contexts where there is need for disambiguation.
• There is a substantial Albanian minority in the Republic, and other non-Slavic minority groups. The citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, collectively, should not be referred to as Slav Macedonians, even to disambiguate them from the Greek Macedonians. If Macedonians is ambiguous with either group, the full form is recommended.
• The construct from the Republic of Macedonia can and should be used for groups of people from the Republic whose ethnicity is mixed or unknown, or when disambiguation is needed.

Deprecated names (ethnic group)

The following names are perceived as pejorative and should never be used. Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy must always be borne in mind.

• Skopians
• Fyromians
• Bulgaroskopians

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Regional group

Naming conventions (regional group)

The inhabitants of Greek Macedonia share a strong regional identity. Greeks is the default ethnic description. However, in many cases where people are especially related to the particular province, a regional description may be required, and the following conventions should be used:

• Macedonians can be used in all articles related to the regional group, where there is no need for disambiguation.
• Greek Macedonians or Macedonian Greeks in contexts where there is need for disambiguation. Note: This is not comparable to "Greek-Americans" in the sense of being of ethnic Macedonian descent but living in Greece (or vice versa). The Macedonians are a separate regional group of ethnic Greeks that live mainly in the Greek region of Macedonia.
• The construct from [the] Greek [province of] Macedonia can be used for groups of people from Greek Macedonia whose ethnicity is mixed or unknown, or when disambiguation is needed.

Deprecated names (regional group)

• Aegean Macedonians or Aegeans should be avoided because it may have double meaning. It is used by members of the ethnic group for describing their compatriots that happen to originate from the Greek region, and rarely by western scholars for describing the Greek inhabitants of the region. It can also be considered offensive for Greeks under certain contexts.
• Grkomani or Grecomans, a derogatory term used to refer to those members of a Slavic-speaking minority in Greece who self-identify as Greeks in their majority.

Macedonian/Bulgarian ethnicity controversy

There is a great deal of controversy over some people from the pre-1944 period who were born in what is now the Republic of Macedonia, Greek Macedonia or Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgaria), with Macedonians claiming them as ethnic Macedonians, and Bulgarians claiming them as ethnic Bulgarians.

The ethnicity of many of these figures is disputed, and many either did not publicly self-identify as Macedonian or Bulgarian, identified as both Macedonian and Bulgarian at various stages of their lives, or their self-identification is disputed.

It is unlikely that the dispute over the ethnicity of these people will ever be resolved, and therefore for these persons, the following guidelines should be used:

• state the person's name;
  • the person's name can be included in both Macedonian and Bulgarian, with the language order following their ethnicity (see below). That is, if the person was an ethnic X, but also considered an ethnic Y, the language order should be XY;
• state where the person was born and died (where appropriate, comment on whether the town is now in the Republic of Macedonia, Greece or Bulgaria, and what country it was part of at the time (usually, the country of birth will be the Ottoman Empire)); and
• state the person's ethnicity/ethnicities.

The guidelines for addressing the person's ethnicity are as follows:

• where the person did not verifiably self-identify as Macedonian or Bulgarian:
  • state that the person "is considered an ethnic Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia, and is considered an ethnic Bulgarian in Bulgaria" or "is considered an ethnic Bulgarian in Bulgaria and is considered an ethnic Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia";
  • in the case of revolutionaries, the categories [[Category:Bulgarian revolutionaries]] and [[Category:Macedonian revolutionaries (ethnic group)]] can be added;

• where the person verifiably self-identified as either Macedonian or Bulgarian, but this self-identification is disputed:
  • state that "Person Z was a Macedonian poet/writer/academic/etc, but is considered an ethnic Bulgarian in Bulgaria" (where applicable, you may also include a basis for the counterclaim); or
  • state that "Person Z was a Bulgarian poet/writer/academic/etc, but is considered an ethnic Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia" (where applicable, you may also include a basis for the counterclaim);

• where the person verifiably self-identified as Macedonian and Bulgarian at different times in their life:
  • the last verifiable self-identification should be the operative one;
    • for example, if Person Z self-identified as Macedonian in 1901 and as a Bulgarian in 1902, the wording should be: "Person Z was a Bulgarian, although he/she had also previously identified as a Macedonian.";
    • if Person Z self-identified as a Bulgarian in 1901, and as a Macedonian in 1902, the wording should be: "Person Z was a Macedonian, although he/she had also previously identified as a Bulgarian."

These guidelines should only apply to persons born before 1944 (recognition of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia), and who were born in the region of Macedonia (that is, Vardar Macedonia, Pirin Macedonia/Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgaria), Greek Macedonia and the areas of Albania usually considered part of the region of Macedonia). In other articles referring to these persons, their ethnicity should not be mentioned unless it is relevant to the subject of that article (see WP:DUE).

The wording is a suggested format only, and need not be copied exactly, however, the wording should adhere to the general principles of the guideline.

Language naming issues

Country language

Naming conventions (country language)

• Macedonian can be used where the context is limited to the country, and there is no need for disambiguation.
• Macedonian Slavic or Slavic Macedonian in articles where there is need for disambiguation with the Greek dialects of the Greek Macedonians and/or Ancient Macedonians.
• The term "Macedonian branch of the South Slavic languages" is appropriate in articles on linguistic issues where other languages are also classified in similar terms.

Deprecated names (country language)

Matching deprecated names of the country and people also exist for the language; these should be avoided. The history of the Macedonian language is controversial, and the dialects now so called have also been called West Bulgarian or South Serbian; if its independent existence before 1944 is not germane to the context, avoid the question. Some linguists, mainly of Bulgarian origin, still consider the country's official means of oral communication as a dialect of Bulgarian, rather than an independent language; this position is widely disputed. Wikipedia uses the mainstream linguistic view that however short the distance (abstand) between two languages, a language is a language if its speakers say so.

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Regional dialect

Naming conventions (regional dialect)

• Macedonian dialect should be used in article where the context is limited to Greece and there is no need for disambiguation.
• Greek Macedonian dialect or the Macedonian dialect of the Greek language should be used in articles where there is need for disambiguation with the Slavic language.

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Ancient language

Naming conventions (ancient language)

• Ancient Macedonian should be used for the language of Ancient Macedonia.

Why these decisions?

Background

The Republic of Macedonia is a country in south-eastern Europe, situated between Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. Since gaining independence from Yugoslavia in 1992, it has been embroiled in a dispute with Greece concerning its use of the name Macedonia, which is also the name of a northern region of Greece. The dispute remains unresolved, but three names for the republic and two names for the province are in general use in English-language sources:

• Republic of Macedonia - used by the country itself, plus about half of the United Nations' member states, including the US, Russia and China;
• former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - used by the UN and about half of its member states, plus the European Union (including Greece) and many other international organisations.
• Macedonia (without any modifiers) - widely used by English-language news media both for the country and the Greek province.
• Greek Macedonia - used to refer to the Greek province with a modifier mainly for disambiguation purposes.
• Aegean Macedonia - used to refer to the Greek province, may be a controversial term in certain contexts (see #Province).

A number of other variant names derived from former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are also in use (not all equally common):

• FYROM
• FYRO Macedonia
• FYR of Macedonia
• FYR Macedonia
• FY Republic of Macedonia

Other names such as Republika Makedonija-Skopje, New Macedonia and Upper Macedonia have been proposed by various parties, but they have not been endorsed by the parties to the dispute and are not in general use.

These multiple overlapping names are often a cause of confusion on the part of:

• Wikipedia's editors, who may be uncertain about which name to use;
• Wikipedia's readers, who may not understand what the name means (e.g. if the acronym "FYROM" is used without spelling it out) or which Macedonia — the country or the Greek region — is being referred to.

To reduce the scope for confusion and promote consistency across Wikipedia articles, this page sets out conventions for describing the Republic of Macedonia.

Wikipedia standards

Wikipedia's approach to dealing with disputed placenames is set out in Wikipedia:Naming conflict. The naming conflict guidelines operate alongside the guidelines on general naming conventions, the conventions for geographic names, and those for common names.

Naming standards set by external organisations are not automatically applicable to Wikipedia. For instance, the UN and most international organisations recognise the Republic of China (i.e. Taiwan) as Chinese Taipei. Despite this, Wikipedia uses Republic of China as the name for the entity that governs the island of Taiwan.

This is because Wikipedia's naming conflict guidelines mandate that articles on self-identifying entities should use the name, or an English translation thereof, chosen by the entity in question. ("Wikipedia does not take any position on whether a self-identifying entity has any right to use a name; this encyclopedia merely notes the fact that they do use that name.") Therefore the fact that the UN, the EU or any individual country uses a particular name for an entity does not require Wikipedia to use the same name; however when discussing the UN, the EU or any individual country, its internal policies on the naming issue should be respected.