Skopje, 4 May 2026 (MIA) — Language scholars Mihajlo Markovikj and Sonja Novotni received the Goce Delchev State Award earlier Monday at Parliament for their significant contributions to Macedonian science.

The linguists were honored for their book, “Continuity of the Macedonian Language I,” which examines the historical lexicon of the language through various religious and educational texts.

Academician Zhivko Popov presented them with diplomas and statuettes bearing the image of Goce Delchev. He noted the award was established in 1949 to encourage high-level scientific research, with Macedonian poet, scholar and language codifier Blazhe Koneski being its first recipient.

Minister of Education and Science Vesna Janevska told attendees the award reflects the state’s commitment to “the power of the mind, hard work and scientific thought.” Highlighting a recent increase in government funding for research, she said the science budget rose from Mden 380 million in 2024 to over Mden 770 million in 2026. Janevska also noted that Macedonian researchers now have free access to major global databases like Web of Science and Scopus.

The award-winning “Continuity of the Macedonian Language I” is the first of a planned three-volume series documenting the evolution of the Macedonian language from Old Church Slavonic to its modern form. During her acceptance speech, Novotni said the work aims to highlight the resilience of the language.

“This project is an attempt to shed light on the historical development, richness and resilience of the Macedonian language throughout the centuries, or, as our God says, to know the truth, for the truth will set us free. Our truth is that Macedonia and the Macedonian language have their own uninterrupted millennial continuity,” Novotni said.

The ceremony ended with a performance of the choral composition “Goce” by the Vardar city choir. mr/