Musings on the Macedonian Language by Odisej Belchevsky

If someone were to tell you there are words in the English language (as well as other European languages) that have their roots in Macedonian it might sound unusual and you may not readliy accept the idea.

After much study, however, I have analyzed some 2000 words and my work indicates they are related to the Macedonian language.

I have gone back to 1500 BC and confirmed the existence of Macedonian words in Europe's most ancient writings -- The Homeric Poems.

I have found words with roots in Macedonian that lead to other words. Many are actual language concepts with their structure in Macedonian. They form, or are part of, "families of words." These concepts do not exist in English, German or French, but are found in the so-called Slavonic languages.

How many are even aware that in 2003 the World Association for Rock Art Inscriptions established Macedonia as having the world's highest number of stone carvings and inscriptions since prehistory?

As part of my studies I have created a rule for establishing the roots of a word by the use of what I call "functional etymology". In simple terms, most words can be explained by finding their family and related or "sister" words and then searching for their functional meaning in practical life. I have taken a number of years to test this rule and proven it in many instances.

In official Oxford sources the root of many English words is given as "of unknown" or "obscure" origin. However, by using the Macedonian language some of them can be explained.

I have talked to linguists about this but usually their comments are evasive as they try to avoid the subject. There is not a single linguist in the Western world I know of that has done any related studies.

Let me make it clear that I am not talking here of universal words such as radio, tank, television, radar, coffee, laser, etc. I am talking about basic, fundamental words like: water, watch, wade, warden, book, trek, shire, path, meek, divine, odometer, etc. This, of course, is only a tiny example.

When comparing these words with Macedonian words I had to go back and use the Old English and Old Germanic forms in order to acquire the proper meaning. I discovered that the older form is usually closer to the Macedonian meaning. Let me offer a few examples that explain how we can find the meaning of a word, its family relations, its roots and concepts:

Water - Wota - Woda - Voda

Water (Voda) conceptually derives its name because it is a liquid and moves. When we pour it, it takes the lead or moves ahead and creates its own path. By simply observing nature we see that rivers move and flow. These rivers, if large enough, are used as natural paths and roadways.

In Macedonian this word is important and at the root of the concepts of movement and leading as well as other related words. This is the "key" that unlocks the meaning of many other words and concepts.

Voda (Water) relates to vodi meaning to lead or to carry.

From here we have odi - to go, to travel, to move. This contains two fundamental word particles in Macedonian that indicate movement or displacement.

These are: "od" (from), and "do" (to) and together they create oddo (od + do) that again leads to "odi" meaning to go, to travel, to move. These particles are always used when describing movement, from one point to another.

Thus we get the following:

Voda - vadi, vade, navadi, livada (a moist or green pasture).

Note here the English term "wade" which means to move in water.

Vodi - to lead

Vodach - leader

Voditel - leader

Vodici - Holy day associated with water

Vodenje - leading

Voden, Vodensko, etc., place names of wet regions

Navodni, navadi - to water

Uvod - the beginning and summary of a book

Navod - to bring forward

Uvedi - to bring into a record

The Concept of Movement

The concept of movement has developed from water

Voda, Vodi = V + Odi

Odi, ode, ojde, ajde, otide, ide, idi

I have found the verb form idi (iti) in the Homeric poems dating back to 1500 BC.

Doide - came

Sjoide - went

Po-odi(e)- short walk

From here we can explain the meanings of many other words, for example:

Odometer - Odo = to move or go + Meter = to measure. In Macedonian (odomeri).

In electricity we have terms like, Anode. "An" is old Macedonian word for "Na" (Nad) meaning on or above + ode = go, move. Thus anode is explained as to go above or bring above.

Cathode - In Macedonian we have k'ti, kutni = bring down, + ode = go, move. Thus cathode is explained as to go down or to bring down.

Itinerary - has the Macedonian verb Idi (iti) = go, move, travel, as well as the noun Idenje = traveling.

If we turn briefly to Greek we can see that the Greek language has borrowed from this large family /concept the word -"Odos "- street and "odeo" to travel, mainly found in the Homeric poems. However this concept of movement simply does not exist in Greek, English or many other European languages (Except in the Slavonic languages).

Unfortunately, the Oxford and Webster authorities have referred to many of these words as "Greek" without any convincing proof as to their roots or families.

Here is a brief explanation of the remaining English words mentioned here:

Vardi, Varde - to watch or guard in Macedonian (Warden,Guard in English)

Bookva, bookvar - Book

Trk (trka trcha, trkalo) - Trek

Shirina, shirinka - Shire

Pat - Path

Mek, Meko - Meek

Divina, Divovi - Divine

In Macedonian "bookvar" is the very first "book" for learning to read and write. The word bookvar is related to a large family of words. This represents the larger concepts of learning and writing.

Alphabet, Learning, Writing and Science

Booka (buka) - In Macedonian this is a type of birch tree the bark of which is used to make paper tablets for writing*

Bukva, Bukvi - the letters of the alphabet

Bookvar - elementary learning book

Azbooka = (J)azik (Tongue or Language) + Bukva (Alphabetic Character) - used for reading and writing.

Nauka, uka - Science of learning, Learning

Nauchnik - Scientist

Nauchi, Uchi - to learn

Uchilishte - school

Uchitel - teacher

* In 1992 in Stobi, an ancient archaeological site near Veles, Macedonia, a wood-paged book was discovered along with a bottle for ink and a writing pen. Also in the Homeric Poems of approximately 1500 BC there is mention of the Ancient (Magic) wooden tablets that contained the letters /symbols that "spoke". The writing was done on the wooden surface prepared with natural bees wax and scratched with a solid /metal pen like tool .

These examples only "scratch the surface" of what I have found, but indicate the Macedonian language may have had an influence on other European languages from early times.

In the past many unknown inscriptions were dubiously identified as possibly Greek or unknown but, as I mentioned, they can easily be translated with the use of Macedonian and other Slavonic languages. Scholars will have to consider this influence if they want to get a better understanding of the languages in Europe.

Odisej Belchevsky,
Macedonian Language Researcher

You can contact the author at: belchevski@yahoo.ca

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