I have just read interesting posts about Slavic-speaking Macedonians on Polish historycy forum written by a Pontic Greek who was born in Pontus, later moved to Greece, and now lives in Poland - where he emigrated from Greece to study at the university and to work. He was born in Asia Minor and then his family was among the repatriates who came to Greece. He writes that when he was a child so called Pontic "Greeks" did not speak modern Greek language, but either Russian or so called "Ponti" language. His own town was Russian-speaking. When they moved to Greece as repatriates, people greeted them as strangers, especially that they were more modern than local Greeks (for example he writes that Russian-speaking Pontic Greeks already had modern clothes, while in the region of Greece where they came, girls were still wearing traditional, rural peasant costumes, including typical peasant headscarves). He writes that they were greeted by those Greek peasants with xenophoby and hostility. Local Greek peasants were albo jealous, because the government of Greece and Greek Church granted land to settle to those newcomers for free. Often that was land from which Bulgarians or Slavic-speaking Macedonians had been deported before. Very interesting posts so far, I must read all of them. Maybe I will write more about this soon.
============================================
It is albo fascinating - at least for me - that Greeks considered Slavic-speaking population of Pontus as fellow Pontic "Greeks", while at the same time claiming, that Slavic-speaking Macedonians are "another race" (as one user in this thread wrote).
That Pontic Greek I mentioned writes, that many modern Greeks still consider Russian-speaking Yelena Isinbayeva (she is one of those Pontic "Greeks") as a Greek person.
Sorry, but if Slavic (Russian) Yelena Isinbayeva can be one of those "descendants of Alexander and Philip" - and Greeks claim so - then Slavic Macedonians can be them too.
===========================================
Many of those Pontic "Greeks" spoke Russian as their first language.
This guy spoke Russian as first language - he had no problems with communication when he came to Communist Poland, where Russian was obligatory as foreign language in schools.
Now he writes in Polish fluently, as I can read on that forum.
He was born in Pontus, not in Russia, and most of people in his town spoke Russian.
His grandparents spoke only Russian, like most Pontic "Greeks" from that town.
==========================================
This Pontic Greek guy who lives in Poland today writes, that there is also a group in Pakistan, who claim they are descendants of Ancient Macedonians.
They are Muslims and they speak in local languages, but they claim Macedonian ancestors. What is interesting, Greeks from Greece agree with them, rather than considering them as "another, hostile race" like they do with Slavic-speaking Macedonia.
==========================================
You say that people of Pontus probably forgot Greek language.
But what language they forgot, before they started to speak Ancient Greek?
Before Greeks came, what language was spoken in Ancient Pontus?
Surely yet another one.
Russian Isinbayeva is as "much" Greek as modern French are Romans or Gauls.
BTW:
This Pontic Greek guy supports the right of Slavic-speaking Macedonians to call themselves Macedonians if they want. If even Urdu-speaking Muslim Pakistani people can claim Philip as their ancestor (and Greek nationalists are happy, that they do - perhaps they would like to annex Pakistan as part of Greece, after all Hellenistic world used to extend as far as India "not so long time ago" ), then people from actual historical region of Macedonia can too.
=========================================
All nations are to some extent artificial constructs.
And during just several generations the same family can change their national identity. For example - in Eastern Poland (Red Ruthenia region) which never belonged to Ukraine - there lived Ruthenian-speaking people who were loyal citizens of Poland. Then Ukrainian nationalist propaganda brainwashed those people into believing, that they were Ukrainians.
And many Russians claim, that both Ukrainians and Ruthenians are in fact Russians.
So the point of view depends on which side of the border you stand...
=====================================
In Poland during the 1930s there was for example a Szeptyccy family.
One guy in that family was a Polish nationalist, and his brother was an Ukrainian nationalist.
This shows how artificial constructs nations are, if they can divide families in half.
======================================
That is right. But some nations are more artificial than others.
======================================
Mmmm, this is the late 20-th Century liberal theories but they haven`t too many historical grounds.
"Slavic Macedonians" (or Slavic Speaking Greeks) is euphemism for Bulgarians who lived in Greek territory.
=======================================
I keep following the thead hoping to distinguish all ingredients and spices. Anyway, it's never boring with Balkan posters around.