Multilingualism and the disputed standardizations of Macedonian and Moldovan

This chapter explores the relatively recent processes of language standardization in two Eastern European countries that emerged from State Communism in the early 1990s. The majority languages in Macedonia and Moldova are shown to come from politicized authoritarian backgrounds and to have been disputed during the transition to independence and democracy, ultimately affecting the types and extent of multilingualism in each context. The central role of language ideologies and politics is emphasized as similarities and differences in the two contexts are examined.