Skopje, 2 May 2023 (MIA) — At its Tuesday session, the government reviewed the text of the Draft Law on the Use of Macedonian language, proposed by the Ministry of Culture to raise language culture and safeguard the standard Macedonian language and its Cyrillic script.

According to the government in a press release, the new bill affirms the need for increased social and individual concern for the correct usage of the Macedonian language in public and official communication; for respecting and improving the language standard; and for organizing activities to this aim.

"To strengthen the respect for the Macedonian standard language and its correct usage, a new Law on the Use of Macedonian Language was proposed for adoption, expanding the areas where the Macedonian standard language and its Cyrillic script would be mandatory," the release says.

The new law will mandate language editing in a wider variety of publications, including "general and individual acts of the legislative, executive and judicial authorities and local self-government units, official documents and writings of these bodies as well as of public institutions and culture, education and science institutions."

"The bill provides a legal basis for adopting a national strategy on the Macedonian language," the release adds.

Another provision would be for the Ministry of Education and Science to offer scholarships for studying the Macedonian language.

The draft law also foresees establishing an Macedonian Language Inspectorate as part of the Ministry of Culture, which would carry out inspections at public institutions to see if they are using the standard Macedonian language. mr/