Interview with Macedonian onomastician Dr. Elka Jacheva-Ulcar

 

A book about surnames that can be read in one breath

Recently, a very interesting book-study titled "Surname among the Macedonians" was published in the "Menorah" edition. The author, Dr. Elka Jacheva-Ulcar, is our famous Macedonian onomastician. Although it is a professional study, it reads effortlessly, like any interesting book. The book is enriched with numerous examples of surnames, many of which belong to famous public figures. In this conversation, I was interested in the research process, the motivation behind it, and whether there will be more additions.

You recently published the book 'Surnames among the Macedonians,' which provides interesting information about the origin, meaning, and method of formation of surnames in Macedonia. Since when have you been dealing with the topic of surnames?

– The topic of surnames began to occupy me about fifteen years ago, shortly after my doctorate in 2005 on a topic from the other main onomastic branch, toponymy (Toponymy of the Tikvesh Region). I remember that my first work related to surnames was a comparative essay, later published in a collection of articles entitled 'Macedonian-Croatian Literary, Cultural and Linguistic Connections' (2007), which dealt with parallels in surname patterns among Macedonians and Croats. Over the years, I often returned to this topic through separate articles, and the sum of these, along with some more recent insights, led to the creation of this book.

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