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Greek-Macedonian Dictionary promoted in Brussels
Officially, the Greek Government doesn't recognize the Macedonian language nor the Macedonians living in modern day Greece. Unofficially, Athens had no issues takinig part in the sponsoring of a Macedonian - Greek dictionary.
The dictionary was published in Solun (Salonika) and presented in Brussels, in part sponsored by the Center Maurits Coppieters of the European Free Alliance. The promotion is entitled "Bridges for Dialog".
- The idea od this publication is to help people to understand each other- says Gunter D. the secretary of the CMC and director at the European Free Alliance. He himself speaks several languages and says this dictionary should have been available in Greece much earlier.
- It is almost incredible for two neighboring countries not to have dictionaries of each other's languages, says Gunter adding he finds it hard to believe that's happening in Europe.
Most Macedonians would claim there is no need for a dictionary in Greece. According to the Mak tourists at least, Greeks don't seem to have trouble understanding Macedonian.
One of the organizers of this effort is the local Macedonian party in Greece, "Rainbow" who is also a part of the European Free Alliance. According to Pavle Vaskopoulos, the dictionary is funded by the European Parliament which means indirectly was funded by Athens.
- The irony is they pretend not to recognize the language, and here they are involved in the funding of the dictionary, says Vaskopoulos.
The dictionary was presented in Brussels at a time when a formal meeting of all European heads of Government is held.
One of the speakers at the presentation of the dictionary was French politician Francois Alfonsi. The dictionary was published last year, however during its promotion in Solun, there were numerous incidents by Neo Nazi groups who stormed the meeting.
To avoid such incidents, the dictionary was promoted in Brussels.
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/18451/45/
Officially, the Greek Government doesn't recognize the Macedonian language nor the Macedonians living in modern day Greece. Unofficially, Athens had no issues takinig part in the sponsoring of a Macedonian - Greek dictionary.
The dictionary was published in Solun (Salonika) and presented in Brussels, in part sponsored by the Center Maurits Coppieters of the European Free Alliance. The promotion is entitled "Bridges for Dialog".
- The idea od this publication is to help people to understand each other- says Gunter D. the secretary of the CMC and director at the European Free Alliance. He himself speaks several languages and says this dictionary should have been available in Greece much earlier.
- It is almost incredible for two neighboring countries not to have dictionaries of each other's languages, says Gunter adding he finds it hard to believe that's happening in Europe.
Most Macedonians would claim there is no need for a dictionary in Greece. According to the Mak tourists at least, Greeks don't seem to have trouble understanding Macedonian.
One of the organizers of this effort is the local Macedonian party in Greece, "Rainbow" who is also a part of the European Free Alliance. According to Pavle Vaskopoulos, the dictionary is funded by the European Parliament which means indirectly was funded by Athens.
- The irony is they pretend not to recognize the language, and here they are involved in the funding of the dictionary, says Vaskopoulos.
The dictionary was presented in Brussels at a time when a formal meeting of all European heads of Government is held.
One of the speakers at the presentation of the dictionary was French politician Francois Alfonsi. The dictionary was published last year, however during its promotion in Solun, there were numerous incidents by Neo Nazi groups who stormed the meeting.
To avoid such incidents, the dictionary was promoted in Brussels.
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/18451/45/
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