Editing Macedonian language (section)

===Vowels===
The Macedonian language contains 5 [[vowel]]s which are /a/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /o/, and /u/. For the pronunciation of the middle vowels /''е''/ and /''о''/ by native Macedonian speakers, various vowel sounds can be produced ranging from [ɛ] to [ẹ] and from [o] to [ọ]. Unstressed vowels are not [[vowel reduction|reduced]], although they are pronounced more weakly and shortly than stressed ones, especially if they are found in a stressed syllable.{{sfn|Friedman|1998|p=252}}{{sfn|Friedman|2001}} The five vowels and the letter ''р'' (/r/) which acts as a vowel when found between two consonants (e.g. {{lang|mk|црква|italic=no}}, "church"), can be syllable-forming.{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=111}}

The [[schwa]] is phonemic in many dialects (varying in closeness to {{IPAblink|ʌ}} or {{IPAblink|ɨ}}) but its use in the standard language is marginal.{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=10}} When writing a dialectal word and keeping the schwa for aesthetic effect, an [[apostrophe]] is used; for example, {{angbr|к'смет}}, {{angbr|с'нце}}, etc. When spelling words letter-by-letters, each consonant is followed by the schwa sound. The individual letters of [[acronyms]] are pronounced with the schwa in the same way: {{angbr|[[Macedonian Orthodox Church|МПЦ]]}} ({{IPA|[mə.pə.t͡sə]}}). The lexicalized acronyms {{angbr|[[USSR|СССР]]}} ({{IPA|[ɛs.ɛs.ɛs.ɛr]}}) and {{angbr|МТ}} ({{IPA|[ɛm.tɛ]}}) (a brand of cigarettes), are among the few exceptions. [[Vowel length]] is not phonemic. Vowels in stressed open syllables in disyllabic words with stress on the penultimate can be realized as long, e.g. {{angbr|Велес}} {{IPA|mk|ˈvɛːlɛs||Mk-Veles.ogg}} '[[Veles (city)|Veles]]'. The sequence {{IPA|/aa/}} is often realized phonetically as {{IPA|[aː]}}; e.g. {{angbr|саат}} {{IPA|/saat/}} {{IPA|[saːt]}} '''colloq.'' hour', {{angbr|змии}} - snakes. In other words, two vowels appearing next to each other can also be pronounced twice separately (e.g. {{lang|mk|пооди|italic=no}} - to walk).{{sfn|Usikova|2005|page=111}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
|+ Vowels{{sfn|Friedman|2001|p=10}}{{sfn|Lunt|1952|pp=10–11}}
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e̞|ɛ}}
| ({{IPA link|ə}})
| {{IPA link|o̞|ɔ}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|ä|a}}
|
|}