Bulgarian: A language with an EU alphabet
Bulgarian is a South Slavic language native to some 6 million Bulgarians in Bulgaria and a multi-million diaspora. It is spoken in parts of Greece, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Serbia. Its closest relative is the Macedonian language; both languages differ significantly from other Slavic languages. Bulgarian almost lacks case declension in the noun entirely and has some unique grammatical features.
3 interesting facts about the Bulgarian language
The Cyrillic script used by Slavic languages was developed by Methodius and Cyril, two Bulgarian brothers who were theologians and missionaries, in the 9th century.
The Bulgarian language has unique words that refer to concepts and types of lifestyles which cannot be translated.
Bulgarian has unique words that refer to concepts and types of lifestyles that cannot be translated.
Origin of the language
Bulgarian dates from the 8th century and developed near the Province of Thessalonica in present-day Greece. The Byzantine Christian theologians Saints Cyril and Methodius used Old Bulgarian as the standard for translating the Bible into Slavic languages. The first forms of Bulgarian were similar to the Old Church Slavonic.
History of the language
First mentioned by the Greek monastery of the Archbishopric in Ohrid, the Bulgarian language was the first Slavic language to produce written texts. Manuscripts from the Old Bulgarian period have been found. was.
The Middle Bulgarian period brought significant changes to the language through the loss of the case system and the introduction of a definite article. It was influenced by Turkish and other Balkan languages. Modern Bulgarian was standardized in the 19th century based on the Eastern dialects of the language. It has 30 letters and six vowels.
Learning the language
An English speaker should expect to need 1100 hours to learn Bulgarian.
Romanian language diversity
Romanian is the official language of Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
When Romania occupied the area south of the Danube river, the Latin and Balkan languages influenced the Romanian dialects. Romanian is now classified into 4 different dialects: Dacoromanian, Aromanian, Istroromanian and Meglenoromanian.
Dacoromanian is the standard form of the language that is spoken in Romania and Moldova whereas the others are regional variants. Aromanian is spoken across some communities in Greece, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo. Istroromanian and Meglenoromanian, on the other hand, are almost extinct but are still spoken in some regions in Istria and Northern Greece, respectively.
Some very significant dialects include Swiss French (CH), Canadian French (CA) and Belgian French (BE). Additionally, there are numerous varieties of French. In France, for example, speakers in the bigger cities of France speak Metropolitan French while speakers in some regions communicate in regional dialects such as Meridional French.
Apart from the well-known French dialects such as Swiss French and Belgian French, there is also Aostan French in Italy. Two primary types of French in Canada are Quebec and Acadian French. In Cambodia, Cambodian French is spoken while Laos French is spoken in Laos.
In Lebanon, Lebanese French is spoken because French was the country’s official language until 1941. French is both officially and unofficially spoken in the Maghreb countries of Africa (Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia), as well as in other countries all over the African continent. French is also spoken in some parts of India that were previously colonized by the French.
Did you know?
Romanian is written in the Latin morphological case differentiation.
Nearly 72% of Romanian words are derived from a Latin root and 15% from a Slavic root.
The popular song “Dragostea din tei” by the music group O-zone is in Romanian.
Unlike most languages, Romanian has three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.
The verbs usually precede the object in Romanian sentences.
Romanian officially switched from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin alphabet in 1989.
How to say ten common words and phrases in the Bulgarian language
Learning the Bulgarian language is not easy for Western Europeans, but some common words and phrases like saying “I love you” in the Bulgarian language can be mastered.
Bulgarian language for beginners
Ten basic words to start learning in Bulgarian:
Hello = Zdrasti
How are you = Kak si
Good morning = Dobro utro
Bye = Dovizhdane
I love you = Obicham te
Thank you = Blagodarya
Family = Semeĭstvo
Good night = Leka nosht
Happy Birthday =Chestit Rozhden den
Congratulations= Chestito
In whatever glory a man lives, the mark of his life will be a stone.
Yordan Radichkov
Writer and Playwright
Love is the time and space where I give myself the right to be extraordinary.
Julia Kristeva
Philosopher, Writer, Semiotician, and Novelist
The insignificant and the small - that's where life is hidden, that's where it nests.
Georgi Gospodinov
Author and Poet
Fun facts about Bulgarian language
Longest word
The longest word in the Bulgarian language has 39 letters; it is “neprotivokonstitutsionstvuvatelstvuvaĭte.”
Plural words
Bulgarian uses a unique pluralization form that adds “i” at the end of the word.
First written Slavic language
The Bulgarian language was the Slavic language to be written as early as 10th century.
FAQ
Both languages are Slavic languages but belong to significantly different subgroups: Bulgarian is a South Slavic language, while Russian is an East Slavic language. However, Bulgarian differs from other South Slavic languages in its unique concepts. Furthermore, Bulgaria and Russia lie far apart, providing minimal opportunities for the two languages to influenced each other.
The Macedonian language is the closest linguistic relative to Bulgarian to the point that they are mistaken as the same language. Bulgarian also shares similarities with other South Slavic languages such as Croatian and Serbian and with other East and West Slavic languages.
Bulgarian, both spoken and written, is classified among the more difficult languages in the world. It is categorized as Category IV.
If you’re from a Slavic country, you won’t need much to learn Bulgarian. However, English speakers will need at least 1,100 hours or a whole year of study to reach the C1 proficiency level in Bulgarian.
