title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Having previously been Byzantine clients, the "Sklaviniae" of Macedonia probably switched their allegiance to Bulgaria during the reign of Empress Irene, and was gradually incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire before the mid-9th century. Subsequently, the literary and ecclesiastical centre in Ohrid became a second cultural capital of medieval Bulgaria. On the other hand, developments of Slavic Orthodox Culture occurred in Byzantine Thessaloniki.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: After the final Ottoman conquest of the Balkans by the Ottomans in the 14/15th century, all Eastern Orthodox Christians were included in a specific ethno-religious community under "Graeco-Byzantine" jurisdiction called Rum Millet. Belonging to this religious commonwealth was so important that most of the common people began to identify themselves as "Christians". However ethnonyms never disappeared and some form of primary ethnic identity was available. This is confirmed from a Sultan's Firman from 1680 which describes the ethnic groups in the Balkan territories of the Empire as follows: Greeks, Albanians, Serbs, Vlachs and Bulgarians. The rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century brought opposition to this continued situation. At that time the classical Rum Millet began to degrade. The coordinated actions, carried out by Bulgarian national leaders supported by the majority of the Slavic-speaking population in today Republic of North Macedonia in order to be recognized as a separate ethnic entity, constituted the so-called "Bulgarian Millet", recognized in 1870. At the time of its creation, people living in Vardar Macedonia, were not in the Exarchate. However, as a result of plebiscites held between 1872 and 1875, the Slavic districts in the area voted overwhelmingly (over 2/3) to go over to the new national Church. Referring to the results of the plebiscites, and on the basis of statistical and ethnological indications, the 1876 Conference of Constantinople included most of Macedonia into the Bulgarian ethnic territory. The borders of new Bulgarian state, drawn by the 1878 Treaty of San Stefano, also included Macedonia, but the treaty was never put into effect and the Treaty of Berlin (1878) "returned" Macedonia to the Ottoman Empire.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Throughout the Middle Ages and Ottoman rule up until the early 20th century the Slavic-speaking population majority in the region of Macedonia were more commonly referred to (both by themselves and outsiders) as Bulgarians. However, in pre-nationalist times, terms such as "Bulgarian" did not possess a strict ethno-nationalistic meaning, rather, they were loose, often interchangeable terms which could simultaneously denote regional habitation, allegiance to a particular empire, religious orientation, membership in certain social groups. Similarly, a "Byzantine" was a "Roman" subject of Constantinople, and the term bore no strict ethnic connotations, Greek or otherwise. Overall, in the Middle Ages, "a person's origin was distinctly regional", and in Ottoman era, before the 19th-century rise of nationalism, it was based on the corresponding confessional community. After the rise of nationalism, most of the Slavic-speaking population in the area, joined the Bulgarian community, through voting in its favor on plebiscites held during the 1870s, by a qualified majority (over two-thirds).


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The first expressions of Macedonian nationalism occurred in the second half of the 19th century mainly among intellectuals in Belgrade, Sofia, Thessaloniki and St. Petersburg. Since the 1850s some Slavic intellectuals from the area adopted the Greek designation "Macedonian" as a regional label, and it began to gain popularity. In the 1860s, according to Petko Slaveykov, some young intellectuals from Macedonia were claiming that they are not Bulgarians, but rather Macedonians, descendants of the Ancient Macedonians. Slaveikov, himself with Macedonian roots, started in 1866 the publication of the newspaper "Makedoniya". Its main task was "to educate these misguided [sic] "Grecomans" there", who he called also "Macedonists". In a letter written to the Bulgarian Exarch in February 1874 Petko Slaveykov reports that discontent with the current situation "has given birth among local patriots to the disastrous idea of working independently on the advancement of their own local dialect and what's more, of their own, separate Macedonian church leadership." The activities of these people were also registered by the Serbian politician Stojan Novaković, who promoted the idea to use the Macedonian nationalism in order to oppose the strong pro-Bulgarian sentiments in the area. The nascent Macedonian nationalism, illegal at home in the theocratic Ottoman Empire, and illegitimate internationally, waged a precarious struggle for survival against overwhelming odds: in appearance against the Ottoman Empire, but in fact against the three expansionist Balkan states and their respective patrons among the great powers.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The first known author that overtly speaks of a Macedonian nationality and language was Georgi Pulevski, who in 1875 published in Belgrade a "Dictionary of Three languages: Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish", in which he wrote that the Macedonians are a separate nation and the place which is theirs is called Macedonia. In 1880, he published in Sofia a "Grammar of the language of the Slavic Macedonian population", a work that is today known as the first attempt at a grammar of Macedonian. However, per some authors, his Macedonian self-identification was inchoate and resembled a regional phenomenon. In 1885 Theodosius of Skopje, a priest who have hold a high-ranking positions within the Bulgarian Exarchate was chosen as a bishop of the episcopacy of Skopje. In 1890 he renounced de facto the Bulgarian Exarchate and attempted to restore the Archbishopric of Ohrid as a separate Macedonian Orthodox Church in all eparchies of Macedonia, responsible for the spiritual, cultural and educational life of all Macedonian Orthodox Christians. During this time period Metropolitan Bishop Theodosius of Skopje made a plea to the Greek Patriarchate of Constantinople to allow a separate Macedonian church, and ultimately on 4 December 1891 he sent a to the Pope Leo XIII to ask for a and a from the Roman Catholic Church, but failed. Soon after, he repented and returned to pro-Bulgarian positions. In the 1880s and 1890s, Isaija Mažovski designated Macedonian Slavs as "Macedonians" and "Old Slavic Macedonian people", and also distinguished them from Bulgarians as follows: "Slavic-Bulgarian" for Mažovski was synonymous with "Macedonian", while only "Bulgarian" was a designation for the Bulgarians in Bulgaria.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: In 1890, Austrian researcher of Macedonia Karl Hron reported that the Macedonians constituted a separate ethnic group by history and language. Within the next few years, this concept was also welcomed in Russia by linguists including , Pyotr Lavrov, Jan Baudouin de Courtenay, and Pyotr Draganov. Draganov, of Bulgarian descent, conducted research in Macedonia and determined that the local language had its own identifying characteristics compared to Bulgarian and Serbian. He wrote in a Saint Petersburg newspaper that the Macedonians should be recognized by Russia in a full national sense.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization leader Boris Sarafov in 1901 stated that Macedonians had a unique "national element" and, the following year, he stated "We the Macedonians are neither Serbs nor Bulgarians, but simply Macedonians... Macedonia exists only for the Macedonians." However after the failure of the Ilinden Uprising, Sarafov wanted to keep closer ties with Bulgaria, supporting the Bulgarian aspirations towards the area. Gyorche Petrov, another IMRO member, stated Macedonia was a "distinct moral unit" with its own "aspirations", while describing its Slavic population as Bulgarian.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: In 1903 Krste Misirkov published in Sofia his book "On Macedonian Matters" in which he laid down the principles of the modern Macedonian nationhood and language. This book written in the standardized central dialect of Macedonia is considered by ethnic Macedonians as a milestone of the process of Macedonian awakening. Misirkov argued that the dialect of central Macedonia (Veles-Prilep-Bitola-Ohrid) should be taken as a standard Macedonian literary language, in which Macedonians should write, study, and worship; the autocephalous Archbishopric of Ohrid should be restored; and the Slavic people of Macedonia should be identified in their Ottoman identity cards ("nofuz") as "Macedonians".


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Another major figure of the Macedonian awakening was Dimitrija Čupovski, one of the founders of the Macedonian Literary Society, established in Saint Petersburg in 1902. In 1913, the Macedonian Literary Society submitted the Memorandum of Independence of Macedonia to the British Foreign Secretary and other European ambassadors, and it was printed in many European newspapers. In the period 1913–1918, Čupovski published the newspaper "Македонскi Голосъ (Macedonian Voice)" in which he and fellow members of the Saint Petersburg Macedonian Colony propagated the existence of a Macedonian people separate from the Greeks, Bulgarians and Serbs, and sought to popularize the idea for an independent Macedonian state.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: From 1878 until 1918 most independent European observers viewed the Slavs of Macedonia as Bulgarians or as Macedonian Slavs, while their association with Bulgaria was almost universally accepted. Original manuscript versions of population data mentioned "Macedonian Slavs", though the term was changed to "Bulgarians" in the official printing. Western publications usually presented the Slavs of Macedonia as Bulgarians, as happened, partly for political reasons, in Serbian ones. Prompted by the publication of a Serbian map by Spiridon Gopčević claiming the Slavs of Macedonia as Serbs, a version of a Russian map, published in 1891, in a period of deterioration of Bulgarian-Russian relations, first presented Macedonia inhabited not by Bulgarians, but by Macedonian Slavs. Austrian-Hungarian maps followed suit in an effort to delegitimize the ambitions of Russophile Bulgaria, returning to presenting the Macedonian Slavs as Bulgarians when Austria-Bulgaria relations ameliorated, only to renege and employ the designation "Macedonian Slavs" when Bulgaria changed its foreign policy and Austria turned to envisaging an autonomous Macedonia under Austrian influence within the Murzsteg process. The term "Macedonian Slavs" was used either as a middle solution between conflicting Serbian and Bulgarian claims, to denote an intermediary grouping of Slavs, associated with the Bulgarians, or to describe a separate Slavic group with no ethnic, national or political affiliation. The differentiation of ethnographic maps representing rival national views produced to satisfy the curiosity of European audience for the inhabitants of Macedonia, after the Ilinden uprising of 1903, indicated the complexity of the issue. Influenced by the conclusions of the research of young Serb Jovan Cvijić, that Macedonia's culture combined Byzantine influence with Serbian traditions, a map of 1903 by Austrian cartographer depicted Macedonia as a peculiar area, where zones of linguistic influence overlapped. In his first ethnographic map of 1906, Cvijic presented all Slavs of Serbia and Macedonia merely as "Slavs". In a pamphlet translated and circulated in Europe the same year, he elaborated his ostensibly impartial views and described the Slavs living south of the Babuna and Plačkovica mountains as "Macedo-Slavs" arguing that the appellation "Bugari" meant simply "peasant" to them, that they had no national consciousness and could become Serbs or Bulgarians in the future. Cvijić thus transformed the political character of the IMRO's appeals to "Macedonians" into an ethnic one. Bulgarian cartographer Anastas Ishirkov countered Cvijić's views, pointing to the involvement of Macedonian Slavs in Bulgarian nationalist uprisings and the Macedonian origins of Bulgarian nationalists before 1878. Although Cvijic's arguments attracted the attention of Great Powers, they did not endorse at the time his view on the Macedo-Slavs.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Cvijić further elaborated the idea that had first appeared in Peucker's map and in his map of 1909 he ingeniously mapped the Macedonian Slavs as a third group distinct from Bulgarians and Serbians, and part of them "under Greek influence". Envisioning a future agreement with Greece, Cvijic depicted the southern half of the Macedo-Slavs "under Greek unfluence", while leaving the rest to appear as a subset of the Serbo-Croats. Cvijić's view was reproduced without acknowledgement by Alfred Stead, with no effect on British opinion, but, reflecting the reorientation of Serbian aims towards dividing Macedonia with Greece, Cvijić eliminated the Macedo-Slavs from a subsequent edition of his map. However, in 1913, before the conclusion of the Treaty of Bucharest he published his third ethnographic map distinguishing the Macedo-Slavs between Skopje and Salonica from both Bulgarians and Serbo-Croats, on the basis of the transitional character of their dialect per the linguistic researches of Vatroslav Jagić and Aleksandar Belić, and the Serb features of their customs, such as the zadruga. For Cvijić, the Macedo-Slavs were a transitional population, with any sense of nationality they displayed being weak, superficial, externally imposed and temporary. Despite arguing that they should be considered neutral, he postulated their division into Serbs and Bulgarians based on dialectical and cultural features in anticipation of Serbian demands regarding the delimitation of frontiers.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: A Balkan committee of experts rejected Cvijić's concept of the Macedo-Slavs in 1914, However, in 1918 Cvijic published a revised version of his map of 1913, which, now included in a work of his modelling French geographers' standards, was taken as impeccable. This map was reproduced in modified form in French and American journals in 1918 and numerous other maps and atlases, including those produced by the Allies as the Entente approached victory in the First World War, replicated its ideas, especially its depiction of the Macedo-Slavs. The prevalence of the Yugoslav point of view, obliged , a professor of History at the University of Athens, to map the Macedo-Slavs as a distinct group in his work of 1918, that mirrored Greek views of the time and was used as an official document to advocate for Greece's positions in the Paris peace conference. After World War I, Cvijić's map became the point of reference for all Balkan ethnographic maps, while his concept of Macedo-Slavs was reproduced in almost all maps, including German maps, that acknowledged a Macedonian nation.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: After the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) and the World War I (1914–1918), following the division of the region of Macedonia amongst the Kingdom of Greece, the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Serbia, the idea of belonging to a separate Macedonian nation was further spread among the Slavic-speaking population. The suffering during the wars, the endless struggle of the Balkan monarchies for dominance over the population increased the Macedonians' sentiment that the institutionalization of an independent Macedonian nation would put an end to their suffering. On the question of whether they were Serbs or Bulgarians, the people more often started answering: "Neither Bulgar, nor Serb... I am Macedonian only, and I'm sick of war." By the 1920s, following a negative reaction to the national proselytization of the previous decades, a majority of Christian Slavs inhabiting Greek and Vardar Macedonia used the collective name "Macedonians" to describe themselves, either as a nation or as a distinct ethnicity. The 1928 Greek census recorded 81,844 Slavo-Macedonian speakers, distinct from 16,755 Bulgarian speakers.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The consolidation of an international Communist organization (the Comintern) in the 1920s led to some failed attempts by the Communists to use the Macedonian Question as a political weapon. In the 1920 Yugoslav parliamentary elections, 25% of the total Communist vote came from Macedonia, but participation was low (only 55%), mainly because the pro-Bulgarian IMRO organised a boycott against the elections. In the following years, the communists attempted to enlist the pro-IMRO sympathies of the population in their cause. In the context of this attempt, in 1924 the Comintern organized the filed signing of the so-called May Manifesto, in which independence of partitioned Macedonia was required. In 1925 with the help of the Comintern, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (United) was created, composed of former left-wing Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) members. This organization promoted for the first time in 1932 the existence of a separate ethnic Macedonian nation. In 1933 the Communist Party of Greece, in a series of articles published in its official newspaper, the "Rizospastis", criticizing Greek minority policy towards Slavic-speakers in Greek Macedonia, recognized the Slavs of the entire region of Macedonia as forming a distinct Macedonian ethnicity and their language as Macedonian. The idea of a Macedonian nation was internationalized and backed by the Comintern which issued in 1934 a resolution supporting the development of the entity. This action was attacked by the IMRO, but was supported by the Balkan communists. The Balkan communist parties supported the national consolidation of the ethnic Macedonian people and created Macedonian sections within the parties, headed by prominent IMRO (United) members.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The sense of belonging to a separate Macedonian nation gained credence during World War II when ethnic Macedonian communist partisan detachments were formed. In 1943 the Communist Party of Macedonia was established and the resistance movement grew up. On the other hand, due to the different trajectories of Macedonian Slavs in the three nation-states that ruled the region, the designation "Macedonian" acquired different meanings for them by the time of the National Liberation War of Macedonia in the 1940s. Those who came from the Bulgarian part and were members of the IMRO (United) practicall felt themselves as Bulgarians, while those who had experienced Serbian rule and had interacted with the Croatian and Slovenian national movements within Yugoslavia had developed a stronger Macedonian consciousness. After the World War II ethnic Macedonian institutions were created in the three parts of the region of Macedonia, then under communist control, including the establishment of the People's Republic of Macedonia within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ).


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The available data indicates that despite the policy of assimilation, pro-Bulgarian sentiments among the Macedonian Slavs in Yugoslavia were still sizable during the interwar period. However, if the Yugoslavs would recognize the Slavic inhabitants of Vardar Macedonia as Bulgarians, it would mean that the area should be part of Bulgaria. Practically in post-World War II Macedonia, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's state policy of forced Serbianisation was changed with a new one — of Macedonization. The codification of Macedonian and the recognition of the Macedonian nation had the main goal: finally to ban any Bulgarophilia among the Macedonians and to build a new consciousness, based on identification with Yugoslavia. As a result, Yugoslavia introduced again an abrupt "de-Bulgarization" of the people in the PR Macedonia, such as it already had conducted in the Vardar Banovina during the Interwar period. Around 100,000 pro-Bulgarian elements were imprisoned for violations of the special "Law for the Protection of Macedonian National Honour", and over 1,200 were allegedly killed. In this way generations of students grew up educated in strong anti-Bulgarian sentiment which during the times of Communist Yugoslavia, increased to the level of state policy. Its main agenda was a result from the need to distinguish between the Bulgarians and the new Macedonian nation, because Macedonians could confirm themselves as a separate community with its own history, only through differentiating itself from Bulgaria. This policy has continued in the new Republic of Macedonia after 1990, although with less intensity. Thus, the Bulgarian part of the identity of the Slavic-speaking population in Vardar Macedonia has died out.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Following the collapse of Yugoslavia, the issue of Macedonian identity emerged again. Nationalists and governments alike from neighbouring countries, especially Greece and Bulgaria, espouse the view that the Macedonian ethnicity is a modern, artificial creation. Such views have been seen by Macedonian historians to represent irredentist motives on Macedonian territory. Moreover, some historians point out that "all" modern nations are recent, politically motivated constructs based on creation "myths", that the creation of Macedonian identity is "no more or less artificial than any other identity", and that, contrary to the claims of Romantic nationalists, modern, territorially bound and mutually exclusive nation-states have little in common with their preceding large territorial or dynastic medieval empires, and any connection between them is tenuous at best. In any event, irrespective of shifting political affiliations, the Macedonian Slavs shared in the fortunes of the Byzantine commonwealth and the Rum millet and they can claim them as their heritage. Loring Danforth states similarly, the ancient heritage of modern Balkan countries is not "the mutually exclusive property of one specific nation" but "the shared inheritance of all Balkan peoples".


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: A more radical and uncompromising strand of Macedonian nationalism has recently emerged called "ancient Macedonism", or "Antiquisation". Proponents of this view see modern Macedonians as direct descendants of the ancient Macedonians. This view faces criticism by academics as it is not supported by archaeology or other historical disciplines and also could marginalize the Macedonian identity. Surveys on the effects of the controversial nation-building project Skopje 2014 and on the perceptions of the population of Skopje revealed a high degree of uncertainty regarding the latter's national identity. A supplementary national poll showed that there was a great discrepancy between the population's sentiment and the narrative the state sought to promote.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Additionally, during the last two decades, tens of thousands of citizens of North Macedonia have applied for Bulgarian citizenship. In the period since 2002 some 97,000 acquired it, while ca. 53,000 applied and are still waiting. Bulgaria has a special ethnic dual-citizenship regime which makes a constitutional distinction between "ethnic Bulgarians" and "Bulgarian citizens". In the case of the Macedonians, merely declaring their national identity as Bulgarian is enough to gain a citizenship. By making the procedure simpler, Bulgaria stimulates more Macedonian citizens (of Slavic origin) to apply for a Bulgarian citizenship. However, many Macedonians who apply for Bulgarian citizenship as "Bulgarians by origin", have few ties with Bulgaria. Further, those applying for Bulgarian citizenship usually say they do so to gain access to member states of the European Union rather than to assert Bulgarian identity. This phenomenon is called "placebo identity". Some Macedonians view the Bulgarian policy as part of a strategy to destabilize the Macedonian national identity. As a nation engaged in a dispute over its distinctiveness from Bulgarians, Macedonians have always perceived themselves as threatened by their neighbor. Bulgaria insists its neighbor admit the common historical roots of their languages and nations, a view Skopje continues to reject. As a result, Bulgaria blocked the official start of EU accession talks with North Macedonia.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Despite sizable number of Macedonians that have acquired Bulgarian citizenship since 2002 (ca. 9.7% of the Slavic population), only 3,504 citizens of North Macedonia declared themselves as ethnic Bulgarians in the 2021 census (roughly 0.31% from the Slavic population). The Bulgarian side does not accept these results as completely objective, citing as an example the census has counted less than 20,000 people with Bulgarian citizenship in the country, while in fact they are over 100,000.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The national name derives from the Greek term "Makedonía", related to the name of the region, named after the ancient Macedonians and their kingdom. It originates from the ancient Greek adjective makednos, meaning "tall", which shares its roots with the adjective "makrós", meaning the same. The name is originally believed to have meant either "highlanders" or "the tall ones", possibly descriptive of these ancient people. In the Late Middle Ages the name of Macedonia had different meanings for Western Europeans and for the Balkan people. For the Westerners it denoted the historical territory of the Ancient Macedonia, but for the Balkan Christians, it covered the territories of the former Byzantine province of Macedonia, situated around modern Turkish Edirne.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: With the conquest of the Balkans by the Ottomans in the late 14th century, the name of Macedonia disappeared as a geographical designation for several centuries. The name was revived just during the early 19th century, after the foundation of the modern Greek state with its Western Europe-derived obsession with Ancient Greece. As a result of the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire, massive Greek religious and school propaganda occurred, and a process of "Hellenization" was implemented among Slavic-speaking population of the area. In this way, the name "Macedonians" was applied to the local Slavs, aiming to stimulate the development of close ties between them and the Greeks, linking both sides to the ancient Macedonians, as a counteract against the growing Bulgarian cultural influence into the region.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Although the local intellectuals initially rejected the Macedonian designation as Greek, since 1850s some of them, adopted it as a regional identity, and this name began to gain popularity. Serbian politics then, also encouraged this kind of regionalism to neutralize the Bulgarian influx, thereby promoting Serbian interests there. The local educator Kuzman Shapkarev concluded that since the 1870s this foreign ethnonym began to replace the traditional one "Bulgarians". At the dawn of the 20th century the Bulgarian teacher Vasil Kanchov marked that the local Bulgarians and Koutsovlachs call themselves Macedonians, and the surrounding people also call them in the same way. During the interbellum Bulgaria also supported to some extent the Macedonian "regional identity", especially in Yugoslavia. Its aim was to prevent the Serbianization of the local Slavic speakers, because the very name "Macedonia" was prohibited in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Ultimately the designation Macedonian, changed its status in 1944, and went from being predominantly a regional, ethnographic denomination, to a national one.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The vast majority of Macedonians live along the valley of the river Vardar, the central region of the Republic of North Macedonia. They form about 64.18% of the population of North Macedonia (1,297,981 people according to the 2002 census). Smaller numbers live in eastern Albania, northern Greece, and southern Serbia, mostly abutting the border areas of the Republic of North Macedonia. A large number of Macedonians have immigrated overseas to Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and to many European countries: Germany, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Austria among others.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The existence of an ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece is rejected by the Greek government. The number of people speaking Slavic dialects has been estimated at somewhere between 10,000 and 250,000. Most of these people however do not have an ethnic Macedonian national consciousness, with most choosing to identify as ethnic Greeks or rejecting both ethnic designations and preferring terms such as ""natives"" instead. In 1999 the Greek Helsinki Monitor estimated that the number of people identifying as ethnic Macedonians numbered somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000, Macedonian sources generally claim the number of ethnic Macedonians living in Greece at somewhere between 200,000 and 350,000. The ethnic Macedonians in Greece have faced difficulties from the Greek government in their ability to self-declare as members of a ""Macedonian minority"" and to refer to their native language as ""Macedonian"".


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Since the late 1980s there has been an ethnic Macedonian revival in Northern Greece, mostly centering on the region of Florina. Since then ethnic Macedonian organisations including the Rainbow political party have been established. "Rainbow" first opened its offices in Florina on 6 September 1995. The following day, the offices had been broken into and had been ransacked. Later Members of "Rainbow" had been charged for "causing and inciting mutual hatred among the citizens" because the party had bilingual signs written in both Greek and Macedonian. On 20 October 2005, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) ordered the Greek government to pay penalties to the "Rainbow Party" for violations of 2 ECHR articles. "Rainbow" has seen limited success at a national level, its best result being achieved in the 1994 European elections, with a total of 7,263 votes. Since 2004 it has participated in European Parliament elections and local elections, but not in national elections. A few of its members have been elected in local administrative posts. "Rainbow" has recently re-established "Nova Zora", a newspaper that was first published for a short period in the mid-1990s, with reportedly 20,000 copies being distributed free of charge.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Within Serbia, Macedonians constitute an officially recognised ethnic minority at both a local and national level. Within Vojvodina, Macedonians are recognised under the Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, along with other ethnic groups. Large Macedonian settlements within Vojvodina can be found in Plandište, Jabuka, Glogonj, Dužine and Kačarevo. These people are mainly the descendants of economic migrants who left the Socialist Republic of Macedonia in the 1950s and 1960s. The Macedonians in Serbia are represented by a national council and in recent years Macedonian has begun to be taught. The most recent census recorded 22,755 Macedonians living in Serbia.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Macedonians represent the second largest ethnic minority population in Albania. Albania recognises the existence of a Macedonian minority within the Mala Prespa region, most of which is comprised by Pustec Municipality. Macedonians have full minority rights within this region, including the right to education and the provision of other services in Macedonian. There also exist unrecognised Macedonian populations living in the Golo Brdo region, the "Dolno Pole" area near the town of Peshkopi, around Lake Ohrid and Korce as well as in Gora. 4,697 people declared themselves Macedonians in the 1989 census.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Bulgarians are considered most closely related to the neighboring Macedonians and it is sometimes claimed that there is no clear ethnic difference between them. As regards self-identification, a total of 1,654 people officially declared themselves to be ethnic Macedonians in the last Bulgarian census in 2011 (0,02%) and 561 of them are in Blagoevgrad Province (0,2%). 1,091 of them are Macedonian citizens, who are permanent residents in Bulgaria. Krassimir Kanev, chairman of the non-governmental organization Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, claimed 15,000–25,000 in 1998 (see here). In the same report Macedonian nationalists (Popov et al., 1989) claimed that 200,000 ethnic Macedonians live in Bulgaria. However, "Bulgarian Helsinki Committee" stated that the vast majority of the Slavic-speaking population in Pirin Macedonia has a Bulgarian national self-consciousness and a regional Macedonian identity similar to the Macedonian regional identity in Greek Macedonia. Finally, according to personal evaluation of a leading local ethnic Macedonian political activist, Stoyko Stoykov, the number of Bulgarian citizens with ethnic Macedonian self-consciousness in 2009 was between 5,000 and 10,000. In 2000, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court banned UMO Ilinden-Pirin, a small Macedonian political party, as a separatist organization. Subsequently, activists attempted to re-establish the party but could not gather the required number of signatures.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Significant Macedonian communities can also be found in the traditional immigrant-receiving nations, as well as in Western European countries. Census data in many European countries (such as Italy and Germany) does not take into account the ethnicity of émigrés from the Republic of North Macedonia.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Most Macedonians can be found in Buenos Aires, the Pampas and Córdoba. An estimated 30,000 Macedonians can be found in Argentina.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The official number of Macedonians in Australia by birthplace or birthplace of parents is 83,893 (2001). The main Macedonian communities are found in Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Canberra and Perth. The 2006 census recorded 83,983 people of Macedonian ancestry and the 2011 census recorded 93,570 people of Macedonian ancestry.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: An estimated 45,000 people in Brazil are of Macedonian ancestry. The Macedonians can be primarily found in Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Curitiba.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The Canadian census in 2001 records 37,705 individuals claimed wholly or partly Macedonian heritage in Canada, although community spokesmen have claimed that there are actually 100,000–150,000 Macedonians in Canada.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: A significant Macedonian community can be found in the United States. The official number of Macedonians in the US is 49,455 (2004). The Macedonian community is located mainly in Michigan, New York, Ohio, Indiana and New Jersey


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: There are an estimated 61,000 citizens of North Macedonia in Germany (mostly in the Ruhrgebiet) (2001).


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Macedonians are an officially recognised minority group in Romania. They have a special reserved seat in the nation's parliament. In 2002, they numbered 731.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Macedonians began relocating to Slovenia in the 1950s when the two regions formed a part of a single country, Yugoslavia.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Other significant Macedonian communities can also be found in the other Western European countries such as Austria, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the whole European Union. Also in Uruguay, with a significant population in Montevideo.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The culture of the people is characterized with both traditionalist and modernist attributes. It is strongly bound with their native land and the surrounding in which they live. The rich cultural heritage of the Macedonians is accented in the folklore, the picturesque traditional folk costumes, decorations and ornaments in city and village homes, the architecture, the monasteries and churches, iconostasis, wood-carving and so on. The culture of Macedonians can roughly be explained as Balkanic, closely related to that of Bulgarians and Serbs.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The typical Macedonian village house is influenced by Ottoman Architecture. Presented as a construction with two floors, with a hard facade composed of large stones and a wide balcony on the second floor. In villages with predominantly agricultural economy, the first floor was often used as a storage for the harvest, while in some villages the first floor was used as a cattle-pen.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The stereotype for a traditional Macedonian city house is a two-floor building with white façade, with a forward extended second floor, and black wooden elements around the windows and on the edges.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The history of film making in North Macedonia dates back over 110 years. The first film to be produced on the territory of the present-day the country was made in 1895 by Janaki and Milton Manaki in Bitola. In 1995 "Before the Rain" became the first Macedonian movie to be nominated for an Academy Award.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: From 1993 to 1994, 1,596 performances were held in the newly formed republic, and more than 330,000 people attended. The Macedonian National Theater (drama, opera, and ballet companies), the Drama Theater, the Theater of the Nationalities (Albanian and Turkish drama companies) and the other theater companies comprise about 870 professional actors, singers, ballet dancers, directors, playwrights, set and costume designers, etc. There is also a professional theatre for children and three amateur theaters. For the last thirty years a traditional festival of Macedonian professional theaters has been taking place in Prilep in honor of Vojdan Černodrinski, the founder of the modern Macedonian theater. Each year a festival of amateur and experimental Macedonian theater companies is held in Kočani.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Macedonian music has many things in common with the music of neighboring Balkan countries, but maintains its own distinctive sound.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The founders of modern Macedonian painting included Lazar Licenovski, Nikola Martinoski, Dimitar Pandilov, and Vangel Kodzoman. They were succeeded by an exceptionally talented and fruitful generation, consisting of Borka Lazeski, Dimitar Kondovski, Petar Mazev who are now deceased, and Rodoljub Anastasov and many others who are still active. Others include: Vasko Taskovski and Vangel Naumovski. In addition to Dimo Todorovski, who is considered to be the founder of modern Macedonian sculpture, the works of Petar Hadzi Boskov, Boro Mitrikeski, Novak Dimitrovski and Tome Serafimovski are also outstanding.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: In the past, the Macedonian population was predominantly involved with agriculture, with a very small portion of the people who were engaged in trade (mainly in the cities). But after the creation of the People's Republic of Macedonia which started a social transformation based on Socialist principles, middle and heavy industries were started.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Macedonian () is a member of the Eastern group of South Slavic languages. Standard Macedonian was implemented as the official language of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia after being codified in the 1940s, and has accumulated a thriving literary tradition.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The closest relative of Macedonian is Bulgarian, followed by Serbo-Croatian. All the South Slavic languages form a dialect continuum, in which Macedonian and Bulgarian form an Eastern subgroup. The Torlakian dialect group is intermediate between Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian, comprising some of the northernmost dialects of Macedonian as well as varieties spoken in southern Serbia and western Bulgaria. Torlakian is often classified as part of the Eastern South Slavic dialects.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The Macedonian alphabet is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script, as well as language-specific conventions of spelling and punctuation. It is rarely Romanized.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Most Macedonians are members of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The official name of the church is Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric and is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and North Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of North Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian diaspora.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: The church gained autonomy from the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1959 and declared the restoration of the historic Archbishopric of Ohrid. On 19 July 1967, the Macedonian Orthodox Church declared autocephaly from the Serbian church. Due to protest from the Serbian Orthodox Church, the move was not recognised by any of the churches of the Eastern Orthodox Communion, and since then, the Macedonian Orthodox Church is not in communion with any Orthodox Church. A small number of Macedonians belong to the Roman Catholic and the Protestant churches.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Between the 15th and the 20th centuries, during Ottoman rule, a number of Orthodox Macedonian Slavs converted to Islam. Today in the Republic of North Macedonia, they are regarded as Macedonian Muslims, who constitute the second largest religious community of the country.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Macedonian cuisine is a representative of the cuisine of the Balkans—reflecting Mediterranean (Greek) and Middle Eastern (Turkish) influences, and to a lesser extent Italian, German and Eastern European (especially Hungarian) ones. The relatively warm climate in North Macedonia provides excellent growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits. Thus, Macedonian cuisine is particularly diverse.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Shopska salad, a food from Bulgaria, is an appetizer and side dish which accompanies almost every meal. Macedonian cuisine is also noted for the diversity and quality of its dairy products, wines, and local alcoholic beverages, such as rakija. Tavče Gravče and mastika are considered the national dish and drink of North Macedonia, respectively.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Anthropologically, Macedonians possess genetic lineages postulated to represent Balkan prehistoric and historic demographic processes. Such lineages are also typically found in neighboring South Slavs such as Bulgarians and Serbs, in addition to Greeks, Albanians, Romanians and Gagauzes.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: Y-DNA studies suggest that Macedonians along with neighboring South Slavs are distinct from other Slavic-speaking populations in Europe and near half of their Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups are likely to be inherited from inhabitants of the Balkans that predated sixth-century Slavic migrations. A diverse set of Y-DNA haplogroups are found in Macedonians at significant levels, including I2a1b, E-V13, J2a, R1a1, R1b, G2a, encoding a complex pattern of demographic processes. Similar distributions of the same haplogroups are found in neighboring populations. I2a1b and R1a1 are typically found in Slavic-speaking populations across Europe while haplogroups such as E-V13 and J2 occur at high frequencies in neighboring non-Slavic populations. On the other hand R1b is the most frequently occurring haplogroup in Western Europe and G2a is most frequently found in Caucasus and the adjacent areas. According to a DNA data for 17 Y-chromosomal STR loci in Macedonians, in comparison to other South Slavs and Kosovo Albanians, the Macedonian population had the lowest genetic (Y-STR) distance against the Bulgarian population while having the largest distance against the Croatian population. However, the observed populations did not have significant differentiation in Y-STR population structure, except partially for Kosovo Albanians. Genetic similarity, irrespective of language and ethnicity, has a strong correspondence to geographic proximity in European populations.


title: Macedonians (ethnic group)

text: In regard to population genetics, not all regions of Southeastern Europe had the same ratio of native Byzantine and invading Slavic population, with the territory of the Eastern Balkans (Macedonia, Thrace and Moesia) having a significant percentage of locals compared to Slavs. Considering that the majority of Balkan Slavs came via the Eastern Carpathian route, lower percentage in the east does not imply that the number of the Slavs there was lesser than among the Western South Slavs. Most probably on the territory of Western South Slavs was a state of desolation which produced there a founder effect. The region of Macedonia suffered less disruption than frontier provinces closer to the Danube, with towns and forts close to Ohrid, Bitola and along the Via Egnatia. Re-settlements and the cultural links of the Byzantine Era further shaped the demographic processes which the Macedonian ancestry is linked to. Nevertheless, even present-day Peloponnesian Greeks carry a small, but significant amount of Slavic ancestry; the admixture ranged from 0.2% to 14.4%.


title: Alliteration

text: Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various languages around the world, including Arabic, Irish, German, Mongolian, Hungarian, American Sign Language, Somali, Finnish, Icelandic.


title: Alliteration

text: The word "alliteration" comes from the Latin word "littera", meaning "letter of the alphabet". It was first coined in a Latin dialogue by the Italian humanist Giovanni Pontano in the 15th century.


title: Alliteration

text: Alliteration is used in the alliterative verse of Old English, Old Norse, Old High German, Old Saxon, and Old Irish. It was an important ingredient of the Sanskrit shlokas. Alliteration was used in Old English given names. This is evidenced by the unbroken series of 9th century kings of Wessex named Æthelwulf, Æthelbald, Æthelberht, and Æthelred. These were followed in the 10th century by their direct descendants Æthelstan and Æthelred II, who ruled as kings of England. The Anglo-Saxon saints Tancred, Torhtred and Tova provide a similar example, among siblings.


title: Alliteration

text: Today, alliteration is used poetically in various languages around the world, including Arabic, Irish, German, Mongolian, Hungarian, American Sign Language, Somali, Finnish, Icelandic. It is also used in music lyrics, article titles in magazines and newspapers, and in advertisements, business names, comic strips, television shows, video games and in the dialogue and naming of cartoon characters.


title: Alliteration

text: In literature, alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in successive or closely associated syllables within a group of words, even those spelled differently. Some literary experts accept as alliteration the repetition of vowel sounds, or repetition at the end of words. Alliteration narrowly refers to the repetition of a letter in any syllables that, according to the poem's meter, are stressed, as in James Thomson's verse "Come . . . dragging the lazy languid line along".


title: Alliteration

text: Consonance is a broader literary device identified by the repetition of consonant sounds at any point in a word (for example, co"m"ing ho"m"e, ho"t" foo"t"). Alliteration is a special case of consonance where the repeated consonant sound is in the stressed syllable. Alliteration may also refer to the use of different but similar consonants, such as alliterating "z" with "s", as does the author of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", or as Anglo-Saxon (Old English) poets would alliterate hard/fricative "g" with soft "g" (the latter exemplified in some courses as the letter yogh – ȝ – pronounced like the "y" in yarrow or the "j" in Jotunheim).


title: Alliteration

text: Head rhyme or initial rhyme is a method of linking words for effect; for example, "humble house", "potential power play", "picture perfect", "money matters", "rocky road", or "quick question". A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers".


title: Alliteration

text: Symmetrical alliteration is a specialised form of alliteration, which contains parallelism, or chiasmus. In this case, the phrase must have a pair of outside end words both starting with the same sound, and pairs of outside words also starting with matching sounds as one moves progressively closer to the centre. For example, "rust brown blazers rule" or "fluoro colour co-ordination forever". Symmetrical alliteration is similar to palindromes in its use of symmetry.


title: Alliteration

text: Poets can call attention to certain words in a line of poetry by using alliteration. They can also use alliteration to create a pleasant, rhythmic effect. In the following poetic lines, notice how alliteration is used to emphasize words and to create rhythm:


title: Alliteration

text: "Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling!' Walt Whitman, "Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun"


title: Alliteration

text: "They all gazed and gazed upon this green stranger,/because everyone wondered what it could mean/ that a rider and his horse could be such a colour-/ green as grass, and greener it seemed/ than green enamel glowing bright against gold". (232-236) "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", translated by Bernard O'Donoghue (In the original, and in J. R. R. Tolkien's translation, this poem in fact follows an alliterative meter.)


title: Alliteration

text: "Some papers like writers, some like wrappers. Are you a writer or a wrapper?" Carl Sandburg, "Paper I"


title: Alliteration

text: Alliteration can also add to the mood of a poem. If a poet repeats soft, melodious sounds, a calm or dignified mood can result. If harsh, hard sounds are repeated, on the other hand, the mood can become tense or excited. In this poem, alliteration of the s, l, and f sounds adds to a hushed, peaceful mood:


title: Alliteration

text: Alliteration has been used in various spheres of public speaking and rhetoric. Alliteration can also be considered an artistic constraint that is used by the orator to sway the audience to feel some type of urgency, or perhaps even lack of urgency, or another emotional effect. For example, H or E sounds can soothe, whereas a P or a B sound can be percussive and attention-grabbing. S sounds can imply danger or make the audience feel as if they are being deceived. Other sounds can create feelings of happiness, discord, or anger, depending on context. Alliteration serves to "intensify any attitude being signified". Its significance as a rhetorical device is that it adds a textural complexity to a speech, making it more engaging, moving, and memorable. The use of alliteration in a speech captivates a person's auditory senses; this helps the speaker to create a mood. The use of a repeating sound or letter is noticeable, and so forces an audience's attention and evokes emotion.


title: Alliteration

text: A well-known example is in John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, in which he uses alliteration 21 times. The last paragraph of his speech is given as an example here.


title: Alliteration

text: "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high "s"tandards of "s"trength and "s"acrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to "l"ead the "l"and we "l"ove, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth God's work must truly be our own." — John F. Kennedy


title: Alliteration

text: Translation can lose the emphasis developed by this device. For example, in the accepted Greek text of Luke 10:41 the repetition and extension of initial sound are noted as Jesus doubles Martha's name and adds an alliterative description: Μάρθα Μάρθα μεριμνᾷς ("M"artha, "M"artha, "m"eri"m"nas). This is lost in the English NKJ and NRS translations ""M"artha, "M"artha, you are "w"orried and distracted by many things."


title: Back to School

text: Back to School is a 1986 American comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield, Keith Gordon, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Terry Farrell, William Zabka, Ned Beatty, Sam Kinison, Paxton Whitehead and Robert Downey Jr. It was directed by Alan Metter. The plot centers on a wealthy but uneducated father (Dangerfield) who goes to college to show solidarity with his discouraged son Jason (Gordon) and learns that he cannot buy an education or happiness.


title: Back to School

text: Author Kurt Vonnegut has a cameo as himself, as does the band Oingo Boingo, whose frontman Danny Elfman composed the score for the film. The University of Wisconsin–Madison was used as a backdrop for the movie, although it was called "Grand Lakes University." The diving scenes were filmed at the since-demolished Industry Hills Aquatic Club in the City of Industry, California.


title: Back to School

text: Before the end credits, the message "For ESTELLE Thanks For So Much" is shown in dedication to Estelle Endler, one of the executive producers of the film, who died during production. She was Dangerfield's long-time manager, who helped him get into films such as "Caddyshack".


title: Back to School

text: Thornton Meloni, a child of Italian immigrants, returns from school one day to his father's tailor shop, bearing a report card with poor grades. His ambition is to go into his father's line of work, but his stern father warns Thornton "If a man has no education, he's got nothing".


title: Back to School

text: As decades pass, Thornton changes his last name to the more Americanized "Melon" and becomes a self-made corporate giant, with a successful chain of plus-size clothing stores and numerous other business ventures. He becomes a widower, and remarries to a gold-digging socialite named Vanessa. Feeling dejected when his college student son Jason cancels a visit, he returns home to a party hosted by Vanessa. Finally weary of Vanessa's nasty attitude and adultery, Thornton divorces her, and asks his bodyguard and chauffeur Lou to drive him up to the college to visit Jason.


title: Back to School

text: On the campus, Thornton learns from Jason that he is C-student, unhappy with college life and intends to drop out. He is a towel boy for the diving team instead of a member, was rejected by the fraternities, is antagonized by diver and jock Chas Osborne, and has no friends except for his roommate Derek Lutz. Thornton motivates him to stay in college by deciding to enroll alongside him. Despite Thornton's lack of academic qualifications, the dean David Martin admits him when he bribes Martin with a donation for a new campus building.


title: Back to School

text: Thornton's bribery earns him the wrath of Dr. Philip Barbay, dean of the business school. His displeasure is further exacerbated by Thornton's canny practical experience clashing with Barbay's hypothetical theorizing in class, and ivory tower ways. Thornton also develops a romantic interest in Barbay's girlfriend, the literature professor Dr. Diane Turner. Meanwhile, Jason begins to attract the interest of Valerie Desmond, a girl that Chas has been trying to impress. Thornton instantly becomes a popular man on campus, throwing huge parties and exhibiting generosity to the fellow students. Jason earns a spot on the diving team, after Thornton, a former diver himself, convinces the diving coach to reconsider his abilities. Despite all this, Jason still feels he is living in his father's shadow.


title: Back to School

text: As a student, even though Diane is inspiring a deeper appreciation of literature, Thornton prefers partying to studying. He hires a team of professionals to complete his assignments, including author Kurt Vonnegut to write a paper on Vonnegut for literature class. To Thornton's surprise, Diane gives the paper a failing grade for obviously not being his own work, and she becomes disillusioned by his frivolous behavior. Jason is also upset with Thornton for trivializing education, while mistakenly believing Thornton bribed the diving coach into accepting him on the team.


title: Back to School

text: Dr. Barbay accuses Thornton, in the presence of Dean Martin, of academic fraud. He challenges Thornton to an oral examination conducted by all of his professors, facing expulsion if he fails any part of it. Believing he has no chance of passing, Thornton packs up and prepares to leave. Jason stops Thornton and successfully encourages him to stay and prepare for the challenge.


title: Back to School

text: With limited time to prepare, Thornton crams for the examination with help from Jason, Derek, Lou, and Diane. When the big day comes, Barbay begins by intimidating Thornton with a single, 27-part question. Nevertheless, Thornton answers every part, though the effort was so much that he wants to forfeit. Diane inspires him to finish, and he does.


title: Back to School

text: At the championship dive meet later that day, Thornton and Jason reconcile, while Jason's team takes the lead. To spite Jason for his performance and for winning over Valerie, Chas fakes a cramp in an attempt to make his team lose. The coach decides to recruit Thornton as a last-minute replacement. Thornton helps the team win by performing the legendary "Triple Lindy" dive. Afterwards, Thornton learns from Diane that he has passed the examination with all D's, except for a single A from her. At the end of the school year, Thornton gives the commencement speech, advising the new graduates to move back in with their parents.


title: Back to School

text: Harold Ramis suggested a rewrite to the script. The producers originally wanted Jim Carrey to play the role of Professor Terguson, but he was later rejected as he was deemed too young for the part.


title: Back to School

text: "Back to School" was the 6th highest-grossing film of 1986, as well as the second highest grossing comedy film of the year, behind "Crocodile Dundee" (records state that in addition to the rental and theatrical gross it received, it went on to gross $108,634,920 globally).


title: Back to School

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 86% rating based on 37 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's consensus reads, ""Back to School" gives Rodney Dangerfield plenty of room to riff -- and supports the freewheeling funnyman with enough of a story to keep things interesting between punchlines." On Metacritic it has a score of 68 out of 100 based on reviews from 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Back to School

text: Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" noted that "Dangerfield seems to be setting the film's brisk pace and flawless timing himself." Nina Darnton wrote in "The New York Times" that "the film is a good-natured potpourri of gags, funny bits, populist sentiment and anti-intellectualism." Roger Ebert's "Chicago Sun-Times" 3-star review described the film as "routine but pleasant", yet elevated by Dangerfield's persona: "This is exactly the sort of plot Marx or Fields could have appeared in. Dangerfield brings it something they might also have brought along: a certain pathos."


title: Back to School

text: The soundtrack was released on MCA, available in LP or Cassette (no CD), but cues from the score were released that year with selections from the score of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" (both re-recordings made in London) on CD.


title: Back to School

text: The competition scene was parodied in the music video for Canadian rock band Sum 41's 2001 single "In Too Deep".


title: Halakha

text: Halakha (; , ), also transliterated as halacha, halakhah, and halocho ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandments ("mitzvot"), subsequent Talmudic and rabbinic laws, and the customs and traditions which were compiled in the many books such as the "Shulchan Aruch". "Halakha" is often translated as "Jewish law", although a more literal translation of it might be "the way to behave" or "the way of walking". The word is derived from the root which means "to behave" (also "to go" or "to walk"). "Halakha" not only guides religious practices and beliefs, it also guides numerous aspects of day-to-day life.


title: Halakha

text: Historically, in the Jewish diaspora, "halakha" served many Jewish communities as an enforceable avenue of law – both civil and religious, since no differentiation of them exists in classical Judaism. Since the Jewish Enlightenment ("Haskalah") and Jewish emancipation, some have come to view the "halakha" as less binding in day-to-day life, because it relies on rabbinic interpretation, as opposed to the authoritative, canonical text which is recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Under contemporary Israeli law, certain areas of Israeli family and personal status law are under the authority of the rabbinic courts, so they are treated according to "halakha". Some minor differences in "halakha" are found among Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Sephardi Jews, Yemenite, Ethiopian and other Jewish communities which historically lived in isolation.


title: Halakha

text: The word "halakha" is derived from the Hebrew root "halakh" – "to walk" or "to go". Taken literally, therefore, "halakha" translates as "the way to walk", rather than "law". The word "halakha" refers to the corpus of rabbinic legal texts, or to the overall system of religious law. The term may also be related to Akkadian , a property tax, rendered in Aramaic as , designating one or several obligations. It may be descended from hypothetical reconstructed Proto-Semitic root "*halak-" meaning "to go", which also has descendants in Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, and Ugaritic.


title: Halakha

text: "Halakha" is often contrasted with "aggadah" ("the telling"), the diverse corpus of rabbinic exegetical, narrative, philosophical, mystical, and other "non-legal" texts. At the same time, since writers of "halakha" may draw upon the aggadic and even mystical literature, a dynamic interchange occurs between the genres. "Halakha" also does not include the parts of the Torah not related to commandments.


title: Halakha

text: "Halakha" constitutes the practical application of the 613 "mitzvot" ("commandments") in the Torah, as developed through discussion and debate in the classical rabbinic literature, especially the Mishnah and the Talmud (the "Oral Torah"), and as codified in the "Mishneh Torah" and "Shulchan Aruch". Because "halakha" is developed and applied by various halakhic authorities rather than one sole "official voice", different individuals and communities may well have different answers to halakhic questions. With few exceptions, controversies are not settled through authoritative structures because during the Jewish diaspora, Jews lacked a single judicial hierarchy or appellate review process for "halakha".


title: Halakha

text: According to some scholars, the words "halakha" and sharia both mean literally "the path to follow". The fiqh literature parallels rabbinical law developed in the Talmud, with fatwas being analogous to rabbinic "responsa".


title: Halakha

text: According to the Talmud ("Tractate Makot"), 613 "mitzvot" are in the Torah, 248 positive ("thou shalt") "mitzvot" and 365 negative ("thou shalt not") "mitzvot", supplemented by seven "mitzvot" legislated by the rabbis of antiquity. Currently, many of the 613 commandments cannot be performed until the building of the Temple in Jerusalem and the universal resettlement of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel by the Messiah. According to one count, only 369 can be kept, meaning that 40% of mitzvot are not possible to perform.


title: Halakha

text: This division between revealed and rabbinic commandments may influence the importance of a rule, its enforcement and the nature of its ongoing interpretation. Halakhic authorities may disagree on which laws fall into which categories or the circumstances (if any) under which prior rabbinic rulings can be re-examined by contemporary rabbis, but all Halakhic Jews hold that both categories exist and that the first category is immutable, with exceptions only for life-saving and similar emergency circumstances.


title: Halakha

text: A second classical distinction is between the Written Law, laws written in the Hebrew Bible, and the Oral Law, laws which are believed to have been transmitted orally prior to their later compilation in texts such as the Mishnah, Talmud, and rabbinic codes.


title: Halakha

text: Commandments are divided into positive and negative commands, which are treated differently in terms of divine and human punishment. Positive commandments "require" an action to be performed and are considered to bring the performer closer to God. Negative commandments (traditionally 365 in number) "forbid" a specific action, and violations create a distance from God.


title: Halakha

text: A further division is made between "chukim" ("decrees" – laws without obvious explanation, such as "shatnez", the law prohibiting wearing clothing made of mixtures of linen and wool), "mishpatim" ("judgements" – laws with obvious social implications) and "eduyot" ("testimonies" or "commemorations", such as the Shabbat and holidays). Through the ages, various rabbinical authorities have classified some of the 613 commandments in many ways.


title: Halakha

text: The development of "halakha" in the period before the Maccabees, which has been described as the formative period in the history of its development, is shrouded in obscurity. Historian Yitzhak Baer argued that there was little pure academic legal activity at this period and that many of the laws originating at this time were produced by a means of neighbourly good conduct rules in a similar way as carried out by Greeks in the age of Solon. For example, the first chapter of "Bava Kamma", contains a formulation of the law of torts worded in the first person.


title: Halakha

text: The boundaries of Jewish law are determined through the Halakhic process, a religious-ethical system of legal reasoning. Rabbis generally base their opinions on the primary sources of "halakha" as well as on precedent set by previous rabbinic opinions. The major sources and genre of "halakha" consulted include:


title: Halakha

text: In antiquity, the "Sanhedrin" functioned essentially as the Supreme Court and legislature (in the US judicial system) for Judaism, and had the power to administer binding law, including both received law and its own rabbinic decrees, on all Jews—rulings of the Sanhedrin became "halakha"; see Oral law. That court ceased to function in its full mode in 40 CE. Today, the authoritative application of Jewish law is left to the local rabbi, and the local rabbinical courts, with only local applicability. In branches of Judaism that follow "halakha", lay individuals make numerous ad-hoc decisions but are regarded as not having authority to decide certain issues definitively.


title: Halakha

text: Since the days of the Sanhedrin, however, no body or authority has been generally regarded as having the authority to create universally recognized precedents. As a result, "halakha" has developed in a somewhat different fashion from Anglo-American legal systems with a Supreme Court able to provide universally accepted precedents. Generally, Halakhic arguments are effectively, yet unofficially, peer-reviewed. When a rabbinic "posek" ("he who makes a statement", "decisor") proposes an additional interpretation of a law, that interpretation may be considered binding for the posek's questioner or immediate community. Depending on the stature of the posek and the quality of the decision, an interpretation may also be gradually accepted by other rabbis and members of other Jewish communities.


title: Halakha

text: Under this system there is a tension between the relevance of earlier and later authorities in constraining Halakhic interpretation and innovation. On the one hand, there is a principle in "halakha" not to overrule a specific law from an earlier era, after it is accepted by the community as a law or vow, unless supported by another, relevant earlier precedent; see list below. On the other hand, another principle recognizes the responsibility and authority of later authorities, and especially the "posek" handling a then-current question. In addition, the "halakha" embodies a wide range of principles that permit judicial discretion and deviation (Ben-Menahem).


title: Halakha

text: Notwithstanding the potential for innovation, rabbis and Jewish communities differ greatly on how they make changes in "halakha". Notably, "poskim" frequently extend the application of a law to new situations, but do not consider such applications as constituting a "change" in "halakha". For example, many Orthodox rulings concerning electricity are derived from rulings concerning fire, as closing an electrical circuit may cause a spark. In contrast, Conservative "poskim" consider that switching on electrical equipment is physically and chemically more like turning on a water tap (which is permissible by "halakha") than lighting a fire (which is not permissible), and therefore permitted on Shabbat. The reformative Judaism in some cases explicitly interprets "halakha" to take into account its view of contemporary society. For instance, most Conservative rabbis extend the application of certain Jewish obligations and permissible activities to women (see below).


title: Halakha

text: Within certain Jewish communities, formal organized bodies do exist. Within Modern Orthodox Judaism, there is no one committee or leader, but Modern US-based Orthodox rabbis generally agree with the views set by consensus by the leaders of the Rabbinical Council of America. Within Conservative Judaism, the Rabbinical Assembly has an official Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.


title: Halakha

text: Note that "takkanot" (plural of "takkanah") in general do not affect or restrict observance of Torah "mitzvot". (Sometimes "takkanah" refers to either "gezeirot" or "takkanot".) However, the Talmud states that in exceptional cases, the Sages had the authority to "uproot matters from the Torah". In Talmudic and classical Halakhic literature, this authority refers to the authority to prohibit some things that would otherwise be Biblically sanctioned ("shev v'al ta'aseh", "thou shall stay seated and not do"). Rabbis may rule that a specific mitzvah from the Torah should not be performed, e. g., blowing the "shofar" on Shabbat, or taking the "lulav and etrog" on Shabbat. These examples of takkanot which may be executed out of caution lest some might otherwise carry the mentioned items between home and the synagogue, thus inadvertently violating a Sabbath "melakha". Another rare and limited form of takkanah involved overriding Torah prohibitions. In some cases, the Sages allowed the temporary violation of a prohibition in order to maintain the Jewish system as a whole. This was part of the basis for Esther's relationship with Ahasuerus (Xeres). For general usage of takkanaot in Jewish history see the article Takkanah. For examples of this being used in Conservative Judaism, see Conservative halakha.


title: Halakha

text: The antiquity of the rules can be determined only by the dates of the authorities who quote them; in general, they cannot safely be declared older than the tanna ("repeater") to whom they are first ascribed. It is certain, however, that the seven middot ("measurements", and referring to [good] behavior) of Hillel and the thirteen of Ishmael are earlier than the time of Hillel himself, who was the first to transmit them.


title: Halakha

text: The Talmud gives no information concerning the origin of the middot, although the Geonim ("Sages") regarded them as Sinaitic (Law given to Moses at Sinai). The Artscroll Series writes in its Overview to the book of Ezra:


title: Halakha

text: "During the Mishnaitic and Talmudic periods, the Sages of Israel... took the eternal tools of exegesis and used them to reveal the secrets that had always been locked within the words of the Torah, secrets that Moses had taught Israel and that, in turn, had been transmitted orally for over a thousand years until the oral tradition began to crumble due to persecution and a lack of diligence. They did nothing new and certainly made no changes in the Torah; they merely made use of hermeneutic principles that had not been needed while the tradition of study was still at its zenith." (pg. xii-xiii)


title: Halakha

text: The middot seem to have been first laid down as abstract rules by the teachers of Hillel, though they were not immediately recognized by all as valid and binding. Different schools interpreted and modified them, restricted or expanded them, in various ways. Rabbi Akiva and rabbi Ishmael and their scholars especially contributed to the development or establishment of these rules. "It must be borne in mind, however, that neither Hillel, Ishmael, nor [a contemporary of theirs named] Eliezer ben Jose sought to give a complete enumeration of the rules of interpretation current in his day, but that they omitted from their collections many rules which were then followed."


title: Halakha

text: Akiva devoted his attention particularly to the grammatical and exegetical rules, while Ishmael developed the logical. The rules laid down by one school were frequently rejected by another because the principles that guided them in their respective formulations were essentially different. According to Akiva, the divine language of the Torah is distinguished from the speech of men by the fact that in the former no word or sound is superfluous.


title: Halakha

text: Some scholars have observed a similarity between these rabbinic rules of interpretation and the hermeneutics of ancient Hellenistic culture. For example, Saul Lieberman argues that the names of rabbi Ishmael's "middot" (e. g., "kal vahomer", a combination of the archaic form of the word for "straw" and the word for "clay" – "straw and clay", referring to the obvious [means of making a mud brick]) are Hebrew translations of Greek terms, although the methods of those "middot" are not Greek in origin.


title: Halakha

text: Orthodox Judaism holds that "halakha" is the divine law as laid out in the Torah (five books of Moses), rabbinical laws, rabbinical decrees, and customs combined. The rabbis, who made many additions and interpretations of Jewish Law, did so only in accordance with regulations they believe were given for this purpose to Moses on Mount Sinai, see . See Orthodox Judaism, Beliefs about Jewish law and tradition.


title: Halakha

text: Conservative Judaism holds that "halakha" is normative and binding, and is developed as a partnership between people and God based on Sinaitic Torah. While there are a wide variety of Conservative views, a common belief is that "halakha" is, and has always been, an evolving process subject to interpretation by rabbis in every time period. See Conservative Judaism, Beliefs.


title: Halakha

text: Reconstructionist Judaism holds that halakha is normative and binding, while also believing that it is an evolving concept and that the traditional halakhic system is incapable of producing a code of conduct that is meaningful for, and acceptable to, the vast majority of contemporary Jews. Reconstructionist founder Mordecai Kaplan believed that "Jewish life [is] meaningless without Jewish law.", and one of the planks of the Society for the Jewish Renascence, of which Kaplan was one of the founders, stated: "We accept the halakha, which is rooted in the Talmud, as the norm of Jewish life, availing ourselves, at the same time, of the method implicit therein to interpret and develop the body of Jewish Law in accordance with the actual conditions and spiritual needs of modern life."


title: Halakha

text: Reform Judaism holds that modern views of how the Torah and rabbinic law developed imply that the body of rabbinic Jewish law is no longer normative (seen as binding) on Jews today. Those in the "traditionalist" wing believe that the "halakha" represents a personal starting-point, holding that each Jew is obligated to interpret the Torah, Talmud and other Jewish works for themselves, and this interpretation will create separate commandments for each person. Those in the liberal and classical wings of Reform believe that in this day and era, most Jewish religious rituals are no longer necessary, and many hold that following most Jewish laws is actually counter-productive. They propose that Judaism has entered a phase of ethical monotheism, and that the laws of Judaism are only remnants of an earlier stage of religious evolution, and need not be followed. This is considered wrong, and even heretical, by Orthodox and Conservative Judaism.


title: Halakha

text: Humanistic Jews value the Torah as a historical, political, and sociological text written by their ancestors. They do not believe "that every word of the Torah is true, or even morally correct, just because the Torah is old". The Torah is both disagreed with and questioned. Humanistic Jews believe that the entire Jewish experience, and not only the Torah, should be studied as a source for Jewish behavior and ethical values.


title: Halakha

text: Jews believe that gentiles are bound by a subset of "halakha" called the Seven Laws of Noah, also referred to as the Noahide Laws. They are a set of imperatives which, according to the Talmud, were given by God to the "children of Noah" – that is, all of humanity.


title: Halakha

text: Despite its internal rigidity, "halakha" has a degree of flexibility in finding solutions to modern problems that are not explicitly mentioned in the Torah. From the very beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism, halakhic inquiry allowed for a "sense of continuity between past and present, a self-evident trust that their pattern of life and belief now conformed to the sacred patterns and beliefs presented by scripture and tradition". According to an analysis by Jewish scholar Jeffrey Rubenstein of Michael Berger's book "Rabbinic Authority", the authority that rabbis hold "derives not from the institutional or personal authority of the sages but from a "communal" decision to recognize that authority, much as a community recognizes a certain judicial system to resolve its disputes and interpret its laws." Given this covenantal relationship, rabbis are charged with connecting their contemporary community with the traditions and precedents of the past.


title: Halakha

text: When presented with contemporary issues, rabbis go through a halakhic process to find an answer. The classical approach has permitted new rulings regarding modern technology. For example, some of these rulings guide Jewish observers about the proper use of electricity on the Sabbath and holidays. Often, as to the applicability of the law in any given situation, the proviso is to "consult your local rabbi or posek". This notion lends rabbis a certain degree of local authority; however, for more complex questions the issue is passed on to higher rabbis who will then issue a "teshuva", which is a "responsa" that is binding. Indeed, rabbis will continuously issue different opinions and will constantly review each other's work so as to maintain the truest sense of "halakha". Overall, this process allows rabbis to maintain connection of traditional Jewish law to modern life. Of course, the degree of flexibility depends on the sect of Judaism, with Reform being the most flexible, Conservative somewhat in the middle, and Orthodox being much more stringent and rigid. Modern critics, however, have charged that with the rise of movements that challenge the "divine" authority of "halakha", traditional Jews have greater reluctance to change, not only the laws themselves but also other customs and habits, than traditional Rabbinical Judaism did prior to the advent of Reform in the 19th century.


title: Halakha

text: Orthodox Jews believe that "halakha" is a religious system whose core represents the revealed will of God. Although Orthodox Judaism acknowledges that rabbis have made many decisions and decrees regarding Jewish Law where the written Torah itself is nonspecific, they did so only in accordance with regulations received by Moses on Mount Sinai (see ). These regulations were transmitted orally until shortly after the destruction of the Second Temple. They were then recorded in the Mishnah, and explained in the Talmud and commentaries throughout history up until the present day. Orthodox Judaism believes that subsequent interpretations have been derived with the utmost accuracy and care. The most widely accepted codes of Jewish law are known as Mishneh Torah and the "Shulchan Aruch".


title: Halakha

text: Orthodox Judaism has a range of opinions on the circumstances and extent to which change is permissible. Haredi Jews generally hold that even "minhagim" (customs) must be retained, and existing precedents cannot be reconsidered. Modern Orthodox authorities are more inclined to permit limited changes in customs and some reconsideration of precedent.


title: Halakha

text: The view held by Conservative Judaism is that the Torah is not the word of God in a literal sense. However, the Torah is still held as mankind's record of its understanding of God's revelation, and thus still has divine authority. Therefore, "halakha" is still seen as binding. Conservative Jews use modern methods of historical study to learn how Jewish law has changed over time, and are, in some cases, willing to change Jewish law in the present.


title: Halakha

text: A key practical difference between Conservative and Orthodox approaches is that Conservative Judaism holds that its rabbinical body's powers are not limited to reconsidering later precedents based on earlier sources, but the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) is empowered to override Biblical and Taanitic prohibitions by "takkanah" (decree) when perceived to be inconsistent with modern requirements or views of ethics. The CJLS has used this power on a number of occasions, most famously in the "driving teshuva", which says that if someone is unable to walk to any synagogue on the Sabbath, and their commitment to observance is so loose that not attending synagogue may lead them to drop it altogether, their rabbi may give them a dispensation to drive there and back; and more recently in its decision prohibiting the taking of evidence on "mamzer" status on the grounds that implementing such a status is immoral. The CJLS has also held that the Talmudic concept of "Kavod HaBriyot" permits lifting rabbinic decrees (as distinct from carving narrow exceptions) on grounds of human dignity, and used this principle in a December 2006 opinion lifting all rabbinic prohibitions on homosexual conduct (the opinion held that only male-male anal sex was forbidden by the Bible and that this remained prohibited). Conservative Judaism also made a number of changes to the role of women in Judaism including counting women in a minyan, permitting women to chant from the Torah, and ordaining women as rabbis.


title: Halakha

text: The Conservative approach to halakhic interpretation can be seen in the CJLS's acceptance of Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz's responsum decreeing the biblical category of "mamzer" as "inoperative." The CJLS adopted the responsum's view that the "morality which we learn through the larger, unfolding narrative of our tradition" informs the application of Mosaic law. The responsum cited several examples of how the rabbinic sages declined to enforce punishments explicitly mandated by Torah law. The examples include the trial of the accused adulteress ("sotah"), the "law of breaking the neck of the heifer," and the application of the death penalty for the "rebellious child." Kaplan Spitz argues that the punishment of the "mamzer" has been effectively inoperative for nearly two thousand years due to deliberate rabbinic inaction. Further he suggested that the rabbis have long regarded the punishment declared by the Torah as immoral, and came to the conclusion that no court should agree to hear testimony on "mamzerut".


title: Halakha

text: The most important codifications of Jewish law include the following; for complementary discussion, see also History of responsa in Judaism.


title: Sleep sex

text: Sexsomnia, also known as sleep sex, is a distinct form of parasomnia, or an abnormal activity that occurs while an individual is asleep. Sexsomnia is characterized by an individual engaging in sexual acts while in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Sexual behaviors that result from sexsomnia are not to be mistaken with normal nocturnal sexual behaviors, which do not occur during NREM sleep. Sexual behaviors that are viewed as normal during sleep and are accompanied by extensive research and documentation include nocturnal emissions, nocturnal erections, and sleep orgasms.


title: Sleep sex

text: Although they may appear to be fully awake, individuals who have sexsomnia often have no recollection of the sexual behaviors they exhibit while asleep. As a result, the individual that they share the bed with notices and reports the sexual behavior.


title: Sleep sex

text: In some cases, a medical diagnosis of sexsomnia has been used as a criminal defense in court for alleged sexual assault and rape cases.


title: Sleep sex

text: Under DSM-5 criteria, there are 11 diagnostic groups that comprise sleep-wake disorders. These include insomnia disorders, hypersomnolence disorders, narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea, central sleep apnea, sleep-related hypoventilation, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, non–rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep arousal disorders, nightmare disorders, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorders, restless legs syndrome (RLS), and substance-medication-induced sleep disorders. Sexsomnia is classified under NREM arousal parasomnia.


title: Sleep sex

text: Masturbation during sleep was first reported as a clinical disorder in 1986. The case involved a 34-year-old male who was reported to masturbate each night until climax, even after reporting to have had sexual intercourse with his wife each night before falling asleep. Through the use of video-polysomnography (vPSG), a documented case of sexsomnia was able to provide further information into the nature of this unusual form of parasomnia.


title: Sleep sex

text: A confusing characteristic for those witnessing an individual in an episode of sexsomnia is the appearance of their eyes being open. Though the eyes are described as being "vacant" and "glassy", they give the appearance of the individual being awake and conscious, although the individual is completely unconscious and unaware of their actions.


title: Sleep sex

text: Sleep deprivation is known to have negative effects on the brain and behavior. Extended periods of sleep deprivation often results in the malfunctioning of neurons, directly affecting an individual's behavior. While muscles are able to regenerate even in the absence of sleep, neurons are incapable of this ability. Specific stages of sleep are responsible for the regeneration of neurons while others are responsible for the generation of new synaptic connections, the formation of new memories, etc.


title: Sleep sex

text: Sexsomnia can also be triggered by physical contact initiated by a partner or another individual sharing the same bed.


title: Sleep sex

text: Sexsomnia affects individuals of all age groups and backgrounds but present as an increased risk for individuals who experience the following:


title: Sleep sex

text: Behaviors such as pelvic thrusting, sexual arousal, and orgasm are often attributed to sleep-related epilepsy disorder. In some cases, physical contact with a partner in bed has been seen to trigger sexsomia behaviors.


title: Sleep sex

text: Certain medications, including the sedative-hypnotic Zolpidem (commonly known by the brand name Ambien) frequently used to treat insomnia, have been seen to increase risk of sexsomnia as an adverse effect.


title: Sleep sex

text: Like sleep-related eating disorders, sexsomnia presents more commonly in adults than children. However, these adult individuals usually have a history of parasomnia that began in childhood.


title: Sleep sex

text: It is possible for an individual who has sexsomnia to experience a variety of negative emotions due to the nature of their disorder. The following are commonly seen secondary effects of sexsomnia:


title: Sleep sex

text: The effects of sexsomnia also extend to those in relationship with the patient. Whether the significant other is directly involved, in the case of sexual intercourse, or a bystander, in the case of masturbation behavior, they are often the first to recognize the abnormal behavior. These abnormal sexual behaviors may be unwanted by the partner, which could lead to the incident being defined as sexual assault.


title: Sleep sex

text: Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep, or NREM, consists of three stages. Stage 1 is described as "drowsy sleep" or "somnolence" and is characterized by breathing rates becoming increasingly more consistent, the beginning of a decrease in muscle activity, and a decrease in heart rate. The typical duration of Stage 1 is around 10 minutes and accounts for approximately 5% of an individual's total sleep. Stage 2 is characterized by a further decline in muscle activity accompanied by a fading sense of consciousness of surroundings. Brain waves during Stage 2 are seen in the theta range. Stage 2 accounts for approximately 45-50% of an individual's total sleep. Stage 3 is the final stage of NREM sleep and the most common for parasomnias to occur. Also known as slow wave sleep (SWS), Stage 3 is characterized by brain temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, and blood pressure being measured at their lowest. Representing approximately 15-20% of an individual's total sleep, brain waves during this stage are seen in the delta range. When an individual awakes during this stage, they are likely to exhibit grogginess and require up to thirty minutes to regain normal function and consciousness.


title: Sleep sex

text: Though it is not possible for a definitive diagnosis of sexsomnia, a series of factors are considered to determine the presence of the condition. Clinical tests may also be utilized for further study.


title: Sleep sex

text: Electroencephalograms, or EEG, are tests used to depict electrical activity and waves produced by the brain. This test has the ability to detect abnormalities that are associated with disorders that affect brain activity. Episodes of sexsomnia occur most commonly during slow-wave-sleep, or SWS. During this stage of sleep, brain waves tend to slow down and become larger. Through the use of electroencephalography, health professionals are able to determine if the sexual behaviors are occurring during non-REM sleep or if the individual is fully conscious.


title: Sleep sex

text: Polysomnography is a study conducted while the individual being observed is asleep. A polysomnograph (PSG) is a recording of an individual's body functions as they sleep. Specialized electrodes and monitors are connected to the individual and remain in place throughout study. Video cameras can be used to record physical behaviors that occur while the subject is asleep. Typically, the unwanted sexual behaviors do not present on film and the majority of information is taken from a sleep study.


title: Sleep sex

text: A PSG cannot determine a diagnosis every time it is performed, but can assist in determining what diagnoses should be considered or excluded. While PSG is a useful diagnostic tool, it cannot replace forensic examination. A PSG study may identify sexsomnia, but cannot determine whether it was responsible for an individual's actions or present during the time of an alleged crime. Likewise, the study may not identify sexsomnia, but that does not mean that the patient has never experienced it, so it is essential to collect information from as many sources as possible. This could include interviews with friends, family, and significant others, as well as medical records concerning the individual's sleep previous patterns.


title: Sleep sex

text: Polysomnography is also used in the diagnosis of other sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless leg syndrome.


title: Sleep sex

text: Since there is not an FDA-approved medication on the market specifically designed for the treatment of sexsomnia, health professionals attempt to treat the disorder through a variety of approaches. Among the first line of prevention for sexsomnia involves creating and maintaining a safe environment for all who are affected as a result of the disorder. Precautionary measures include, but are not limited to, the individual in question sleeping in a separate bedroom and the installation of locks and alarms on doors.


title: Sleep sex

text: Clonazepam has been prescribed as treatment for sexsomnia. This medication is classified as a benzodiazepine and works by acting on the GABA-A receptors present in the central nervous system (CNS). Benzodiazepines open the chloride channels to allow chloride to enter the neuron. The most common use of this medication is for the treatment of anxiety, seizures, panic disorders, and sleep disorders. Anticonvulsant therapy is used to treat sexual behaviors that result secondary to sleep related epilepsy.


title: Sleep sex

text: Continuous positive airway pressure is commonly used as a treatment for sleep apnea. In cases where the individual has both sleep apnea, and sexual behaviors consistent with sexsomnia, the implementation of a continuous positive airway pressure resulted in complete discontinuation of unwanted behaviors.


title: Sleep sex

text: Positive lifestyle changes are encouraged for individuals with sexsomnia. Reducing stress and anxiety triggers may reduce the likelihood of an exacerbation of the disorder. The use of open discussion and understanding between couples decrease the negative emotional feelings and stress felt and generates a support system.


title: Sleep sex

text: Research findings for sexsomnia first appeared in 1996 publication by Colin Shapiro and Nik Trajanovic of the University of Toronto. In the most recent study of sexsomnia, 832 individuals were surveyed at a sleep disorder center. Among these individuals, 8% reported sexual behaviors consistent with sexsomnia, with men reporting three times more frequently than women.


title: Sleep sex

text: Sexsomnia has begun to gain attention through its exposure on television, news platforms, and social media outlets.


title: Sleep sex

text: Articles regarding sexsomnia continue to circulate on Glamour.com, the Huffington Post, and Refinery29 among many others. Increased exposure has resulted in a conversation between those who have the disorder and those directly affected. Sexsomnia has also been featured in popular television series including "House, MD", "", and "Desperate Housewives".


title: Sleep sex

text: The number of alleged sex offenders claiming sexsomnia as the cause of their offenses is rapidly growing. The Australasian Sleep Association has urged qualified physicians to contribute in expert testimony in such cases to ensure the individual's claims are valid and not just an attempt to be released of sexual offense charges.


title: Sleep sex

text: "Smith v. State of Georgia" officially established a separate affirmative defense for the unconscious. According to the defense, "A person who commits an act during unconsciousness or sleep has not committed a voluntary act and is not criminally responsible for the act." In order for the assault to be considered a crime by the State of Georgia, the accused must have voluntarily committed the act and exhibited intent to carry out the act.


title: Sleep sex

text: Mikael Halvarsson was acquitted of rape in Sweden due to the sexsomnia defense. Charges were brought against Halvarsson after reports of sexual assault were filed by his girlfriend at the time. Upon investigation, Halvarsson was found still asleep in the alleged victim's bed when police arrived. During the appeal, a previous girlfriend of Halvarsson testified of similar behavior she had observed in the past, as well as his mother reporting unusual sleep behaviors beginning at a young age.


title: Sleep sex

text: In 2022, a case came to light in England, where an allegation of rape in 2017 was dropped in 2020 by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) due to expert opinion that the woman involved had sexsomnia, and so the male defendant may have believed that she was consenting, and was thus formally acquitted. The woman involved later appealed the decision. A chief crown prosecutor separate from the department that made the decision to close the case reviewed the evidence of the case again: he concluded that the case should have gone to court; that the expert opinions on sexsomnia should have been challenged in court; and that the decision to close the case was a mistake. The reviewing chief prosecutor apologised unreservedly to the woman when concluding the review. Despite the review, the case could not be reopened because the case had been formally closed and the defendant declared not guilty.


title: The Oregon Trail (series)

text: The Oregon Trail is a series of educational computer games. The first game was originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1974. The original game was designed to teach 8th grade schoolchildren about the realities of 19th-century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. The player assumes the role of a wagon leader guiding a party of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon's Willamette Valley via a covered wagon in 1848.