Tribune Excerpts
The following article appeared in the October 2008 Edition of the Macedonian Tribune
Workshops are popular for those who wish to learn to bake a zelnick, dance an oro or speak po nashe
The kinship system of Southwestern Macedonia or Have you wondered what to call your mother-in-law? By Larry Koroloff
Have you ever wondered what the difference between a vuyna and a strina is? Or a cheecho and a tetko? Have you found it difficult to distinguish between a zolva and an etarva? You are not alone! All children and grandchildren of Macedonian immigrants to the New World have been confused about our kinship system, or the way we address our relatives and our in-laws.
It is quite a bit different than the Anglo-American system and in many respects, considerably more precise. There was considerable interest in this topic at the language seminar conducted by Janice Chachoff and myself at the MPO Convention in Indianapolis. Many of the participants, both young and old, asked me to record this portion of the seminar in the pages of the MACEDONIAN TRIBUNE. I am happy to oblige.
Our language is, of course, written in the Cyrillic alphabet, but because so few of the younger generation know it, I am transliterating the terms using a modified English system. Therefore, when you are reading, please remember that: “i” is always pronounced as “ee”, as in feet, or keel “a” is used for the Cyrillic letter b. This vowel is similar to the final vowel in sofa or toga. An “e” at the end of a word is always pronounced as the “e” in bet or set. A “u” is always pronounced as the “oo ” in cool or pool.
Maika is the word for “mother”. When addressing your mother, you would use the forms maiko or mamo. Mashchea or para-maika means stepmother.
Tatko is the word for father. When addressing your father, you could say tatko or tate. Other dialects say tato. Para-tatko means stepfather. Brat is brother. Sestra is sister. Dedo is grandfather. Your greatgrandfather is your dedo star. Baba is grandmother. Your greatgrandmother is your baba stara. Sin is son. Often, the word dete, meaning boy is used instead. Kerka or shcherka is daughter. Often the word chupa, meaning girl is used instead. Both male and female children were often addressed as chedo (or chendo in the Kostur Region). Literally, this means offspring or child.
Vnuk means grandson, and vnuka means granddaughter. These two words also mean nephew and niece. This sometimes causes confusion, as it is one of the few cases where our kinship system is not as accurate as the English one.
Striko or chicho is your father’s brother. In the eastern Lerin Region (Banitsa, Ekshi Su, Zeleniche, the term baiche is used instead.
Strina is your striko’s (father’s brother’s) wife. Vuyko or vuyche is your mother’s brother. His wife is your vuyna. Teta is your father’s sister or your mother’s sister. Her husband is your tetko or tetin.
Brached or bratuched is a male cousin, while bratcheda or bratucheda (brachenda or bratuchenda) in the Kostur dialect) is a female cousin. Snaa is daughter-in-law. When talking to her you use the word nevesto (or in some dialects ne’esto, which also means bride. Zet is your son-in-law. The word also means bridegroom.
If you are a married woman, your mother-in-law is your svekarva and your father-in-law is your svekor. Your husband is referred to as your momche if he is young or your mazh or mazh or mozh, if he is older, depending on the dialect.
Your husband’s brother is your dever. Your dever’s wife is your etarva (yatarva in Buf, Lerinsko and to the north of that village.) In the Kostur Region, you address your brother-in-law’s wife as zonye. Your husband’s sister is your zolva (or zalva in the eastern Lerin Region). In the Kostur Region, you address her as motro. If you are a married man, your wife’s mother is your teshcha and your wife’s father is test. You would address them as baba and dedo, respectively.
