Croatian grammar of 1767 mentions the Macedonian language

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 Again and again, one hears false theories that the Macedonian language was "invented after the Second World War by Josip Broz Tito and the Comintern". Greek and Bulgarian propaganda in particular is keen to spread such theories and present them as fact. 

These theories are often based on the late political recognition of the Macedonians and their language. However, there are evidences which refutes such theories. Because political recognition of a language does not mean that this language existed and is in use from then on.

In addition to many other documents on our blog that refute such theories, today's article is devoted to a work published in 1767 entitled "New Slavic and German Grammar". 


The work was written by the Croatian pedagogue and Habsburg military officer Antun Relković. This book was printed more than a century before Tito's birth and the founding of the Comintern.

New Slavic and German Grammar

Macedonia is one of the areas that the author mentions, along with Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia and many others, where Slavic is spoken, more precisely some of its branches or dialects. Also interesting is the entry on the second page of the book, where Relković, going back to antiquity, mentions Alexander the Great as a Macedonian and not a Greek king.


The Croatian writer noted in his grammar that Albanians, Macedonians, Serbs and Bosniaks use many Turcisms or Turkish words instead of their Slavic counterparts - but Croats hardly use them. This is because, the author writes, Croatia was part of the Ottoman Empire for only a very short time and belonged to the Habsburg monarchy for a long time. The areas of present-day Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Bosnia, on the other hand, were under Ottoman rule for up to five centuries.

The author Matija Antun Relković (also known as Mathias Antonius Relkovich) was born on January 6, 1732 in the Kingdom of Slavonia, as the Croatian territories liberated after the war with the Ottoman Empire and the province of the Habsburg Monarchy were generally called.


He was an Austrian soldier by profession and took part in the Seven Years' War. He was imprisoned in the same war. During his imprisonment he learned the French language and the ideology and literature of the Enlightenment, which he then deepened his knowledge of when he returned home to Croatia. His most important work is Satir or The Wild Man, a volume of didactic poems from 1762.

In addition to his literary achievements, he had extensive military experience in several wars and held the rank of captain. He was retired in 1786 and ennobled by the imperial diploma. He died in 1798 at the age of 66.


The work cited here, Nova slavonska i nimačka gramatika (The New Slavonian and German Grammar), was published in Zagreb in 1767. 

When describing the terms, the author used a total of three languages ​​- Croatian, German and Latin - which testifies to his good education. Latin was a big problem for many at the time. That is why his grammar only gained importance later.

In addition to this one grammar, he wrote epics, satires, prose, fables and aphorisms.

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