Pomaks (Bulgarian:Помаци/Pomatsi, Greek:Πομάκοι/Pomákoi, Turkish:Pomaklar) is a term used for Slavic Muslims inhabiting Bulgaria, northeastern Greece and northwestern Turkey, mainly referring to the ca. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria known officially as Bulgarian Muslims. The term has also been used as a wider designation, including also the Slavic Muslim populations of the Republic of Macedonia and Albania. Their language, a Bulgarian dialect, is referred to in Greece and Turkey as the Pomak language. The community in Greece is commonly fluent in Greek, and in Turkey, Turkish, while the communities in these two countries, especially in Turkey, are increasingly adopting Turkish as their first language as a result of education and family links with the Turkish people. The origin of the Pomaks has been debated; but usually they are considered descendants of native Bulgarians, who converted to Islam during the Ottoman rule of the Balkans.