In 1951 Professor de Bray characterises
VENKO MARKOVSKI as one of the main individuals who helped
crystallise the Macedonian Literary Language. DeBray noticeably fails to indicate any significant role
or place for Blaze Koneski in that entire process, a process for which Koneski is later "immortalised"
as a national hero, while Markovski is labelled a
TRAITOR.
RGA DEBRAY "GUIDE TO THE SLAVONIC LANGUAGES"
LONDON: JM DENT & SONS LTD, 1951, P246
MARKOVSKI WAS BORN IN 1905. HIS FIRST LYRICS WERE IN THE FOLK STYLE
AND OF EXTREME BEAUTY. LATER HE PUBLISHED POETRY IN A MORE INDIVIDUAL
STYLE AND ON POLITICAL AND WAR THEMES, NOT DISSIMILAR TO THAT OF THE SOVIET MODERNISTS.
HE ALSO WAS AN ACTIVE POLITICAL WORKER, AND WENT TO SOFIA AT THE END OF 1937.
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR HE FOUGHT IN THE RANKS OF THE PARTISANS. HE HAS DESCRIBED
THE LONG STRUGGLE OF THE MACEDONIAN PEOPLE FOR LIBERATION. HIS MANY VOLUMES OF POETRY,
BOTH BECAUSE OF THEIR AESTHETIC VALUE AND ALSO THEIR PROGRESSIVE IDEAS, HAVE GREATLY
CONTRIBUTED TO THE FORMATION OF THE MODERN MACEDONIAN LITERARY LANGUAGE.
In stark contrast, present day American academic Victor Friedman,
a close and long-term associate of Koneski and his linguistic circus,
seems quite unimpressed with Markovski's abilities
FRIEDMAN, VA. "THE FIRST PHILOLOGICAL .. MACEDONIAN LITERARY
LANGUAGE: ITS PRECEDENTS AND CONSEQUENCES"
THE EARLIEST STAGE OF LANGUAGE PLANNING (ED: JA FISHMAN) NY, 1993, P159-180
ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION WERE COLLEGE-EDUCATED TEACHERS EXCEPT MARKOVSKI,
WHO WAS A POET AND STILL WORKING ON HIS BA. (FROM HIS REMARKS RECORDED IN HE NOTES
IT IS CLEAR THAT WHILE HE MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO USE HIS LANGUAGE ARTISTICALLY,
MARKOVSKI HAD A POOR GRASP OF LINGUISTICS)
Once we read Markovski's vitrolic remarks (see later) on Koneski's lack of character and
integrity, we begin to understand why Koneski's mate, Friedman is so hostile
towards Markovski. However we all know that
Koneski only stayed for one day at the original Macedonian language meeting, mainly because
- the committee failed to simply accept the Serbian language
as the "Macedonian" language
- Markovski kept vigorously challenging Koneski's obvious
attempt to "serbianise" the new language
That Markovksi's assertions, with respect to Koneski'a "serbophilia" are valid,
has been confirmed by many others
including Friedman himself (see below), who actually sees nothing particularly
wrong with Koneski's Serbian bias
IT WAS GENERALLY TAKEN FOR GRANTED THAT THE ALPHABET WOULD BE CYRILLIC;
THE QUESTION WAS WHETHER ITS DETAILS WOULD FOLLOW SERBIAN CYRILLIC, BULGARIAN CYRILLIC,
A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE TWO, OR A NEW AND INDEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT.
THE QUESTION REVOLVED AROUND POLITICAL, PEDAGOGICAL, AND LINGUISTIC CONSIDERATIONS.
ON PURELY LINGUISTIC AND PEDAGOGICAL GROUNDS, KONESKI ADVOCATED THE ADOPTION
OF SERBIAN CYRILLIC
The reluctance by the Skopje cabal to have it publicly acknowledged,
what was already known by all, that Koneski was an "A-Grade" serbophile,
recently again came to the fore in public controversy
THIS TIME, STOJAN KISELINOVSKI, AN INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL HISTORY
HISTORIAN, AND ONE OF THE RECENT PRESTIGIOUS ENDEAVORS OF THE INSTITUTE,
THE MACEDONIAN HISTORICAL DICTIONARY (PUBLISHED IN 2000) WERE INVOLVED.
IN ITS ENTRY ON THE LEADING MACEDONIAN POST-WAR LINGUIST AND WRITER, BLAZE
KONESKI, THE DICTIONARY STATED THAT KONESKI HAD ADVOCATED THE ADOPTION
OF THE SERBIAN VARIANT OF THE CYRILLIC SCRIPT WHEN THE ORTHOGRAPHY OF THE
MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE WAS BEING CODIFIED IN 1944-45. THIS ASSERTION
PROVOKED HEAVY CRITICISM - ALTHOUGH IT WAS BASED ON AVAILABLE AND ALREADY
PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS - AND THE MAIN EDITOR OF THE DICTIONARY, STOJAN
KISELINOVSKI, WAS ACCUSED OF RIDICULING A NATIONAL HERO. SEVERAL NEWSPAPER
ARTICLES CALLED KISELINOVSKI, WHO IN OTHER PUBLICATIONS AND PUBLIC STATEMENTS
WAS CRITICAL OF THE YUGOSLAV PERIOD, A PRO-BULGARIAN TRAITOR WHO HAD
COMMITTED AN "IMPUDENT CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY" AND HAD ACTED ON THE
ORDERS OF THE THEN RULING VMRO-DPMNE PARTY. EVEN THE DIRECTOR OF
THE INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL HISTORY DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM KISELINOVSKI.
KISELINOVSKI, IN TURN, DEPLORED THE "SERBIAN STAMP" ON THE MACEDONIAN
LANGUAGE, FOR WHICH HE MADE KONESKI RESPONSIBLE AND WHICH HE CALLED AN
ABERRATION FROM THE "NATURAL AND HISTORICALLY NORMAL" PATH OF LINGUISTIC
DEVELOPMENT
BRUNNBAUER, U. "PRO-SERBIANS" VS. "PRO-BULGARIANS":
REVISIONISM IN POST-SOCIALIST MACEDONIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY
HISTORY COMPASS 3 (2005) EU 130, 1-17
Later, after Venko Markovski had fled to Bulgaria, to escape the Serbian
"jack-boot" he published his noted text "
KRYWTA WODA NE STAWA" in 1981, which
will remain in perpetuity as an indictment of Koneski's betrayal of the Macedonian people
COMPILERS WHO PUT FORWARD THEIR OWN AILING IMAGINATION INSTEAD OF HISTORY,
ARE BEYOND ANY CATEGORIES OF SCIENCE. THE FORGERS OF HISTORY IN THE SO-CALLED
"HISTORY OF THE MACEDONIAN NATION" ARE COMPILERS OF THAT BREED [P191]
BLAZE KONESKI PRETENDS HE IS A SERIOUS AND COMMITTED PERSON, A SCHOLAR PROPER.
THE MANNER IN WHICH HE SANCTIONS THE RIGHT OF EXISTENCE OF NEW FORMS IN LANGUAGE,
CONFIRMS OUR DOUBTS THAT BLAZE KONESKI HIMSELF DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT WHAT HE
ACTUALLY DOES IS SCIENCE PROPER ... A MAN AMBITIONED TO DEFINE THE PATTERN
OF A NEW LANGUAGE WILL NEVER PERMIT THE MEN OF SCIENCE TO ACCUSE HIM OF KNOWING
TOO LITTLE OF WHAT HE REPORTS ON [P209]
THE UNCERTAINTY OF BLAZE KONESKI - THE LINGUIST, DERIVES FROM THE INCONSISTENCY
OF BLAZE KONESKI - THE PROPAGANDIST. AND HIS BEING BOTH GRAMMARIAN AND MALICIOUS
PROPAGANDIST IS DEMONSTRATED IN HIS "GRAMMAR OF THE MACEDONIAN LITERARY LANGUAGE"
AND IN. HIS "HISTORY OF THE MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE" AND IN OTHER WORKS OF HIS,
REPRESENTING A HODGE-PODGE OF GRAMMAR, LINGUISTICS,
AND OF MEAN ANTI-BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA [P212]
THE SPECTACLES OF BLAZE KONESKI OFFER A ONE-WAY VISION, SHOWING THINGS NOT AS
THEY ARE. THESE MUST HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED AT THE OPTICAL LABORATORY OF THE
ALEXANDER BELIC-STYLED "SLAVONIC STUDIES". FOR THEM, POLITICAL PURPOSEFULNESS
IS A PRIORITY CRITERION. [P253]