Bulgarian Language
Bulgarian Alphabet

The Bulgarians were the first people to use the Cyrillic alphabet immediately after its inception in the 9th century. The invention of the Cyrillic alphabet is attributed traditionally to Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Byzantine missionaries, whose purpose was to translate the New Testament into the then-common language of the Slavic peoples. However, the two brothers created the Glagolithic alphabet, not the Cyrillic. It was their disciple Saint Climent, the Bulgarian archbishop of the town of Ohrid, who invented the simpler Cyrillic alphabet and named it in honor of his teacher. The Cyrillic alphabet, like the Roman, stems from the Greek; additional characters, however, were devised to represent Slavic sounds that had no Greek equivalents. From Bulgaria, the cultural center of the medieval Slavs, the Cyrillic alphabet spread to the neighboring countries, such as Serbia, and to the far-lying Eastern Slavs, the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the Belarussians. The Cyrillic alphabet, in various forms, is used currently in Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, Serbian, and Bulgarian, but not in Polish, Czech, Slovak, or Slovenian, which are written in modified Roman alphabets.

Since Sts. Cyril and Methodius were from the city of Thessaloniki, they chose the dialect of the Bulgarian Slavic tribes residing in the area as the foundation for the creation of the new alphabet. Hence the language written in this alphabet is known as Old Bulgarian, Old Slavonic or Old Church Slavonic and is still used as a liturgical language in Eastern Orthodox Slavic churches. For most of the middle ages Old Bulgarian was the language of the ecclesiastical literature and of official and diplomatic documents of the Eastern Orthodox Slavs.

The Modern Bulgarian Period started in the 15th century, but the modern literary language, which is quite different from Old Bulgarian, formed only during the 19th century. Until that time St. Climent's original Cyrillic alphabet, containing 44 letters for 44 sounds, had been used; however, by the 19th century the Bulgarian sound system had changed dramatically and contained fewer sounds. That necessitated an alphabet reform which reduced the number of letters used from 44 to 32; this modified alphabet was used until the Orthographic reform of 1945. The alphabet used after 1945 contained the same letters as the previous one with the exception of (called "double e") and (called "yus"). Thus the modern Bulgarian alphabet has 30 letters.

Most letters in the Bulgarian alphabet stand for one specific sound and that sound only. Three letters stand for the single expression of combinations of sounds, namely (sht), (yu), and (ya). Two sounds do not have separate letters assigned to them and are expressed by the combination of two letters, namely (like j in Jack) and (dz). The letter is not pronounced, but it softens any preceding consonant before the letter o.

Bulgarian Orthography

The Bulgarian orthography rules are composed of a mix of phonetic and etymological principles. Generally speaking, most words are spelled phonetically, that is to say the way that they are heard. However, some words are spelled etymologically, that is to say somewhat differently than they are pronounced and heard. The first major reason why that is done is in order to preserve and clearly indicate the root which a specific word came from. The second major reason for non-phonetic spelling is that some words are still spelled the way that they were pronounced centuries ago. Even though the pronunciation changed in modern times, tradition has preserved the original spelling.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Essential information for non-speakers of Bulgarian language

* Bulgarian alphabet

Bulgarian is the official language in Bulgaria. The language is written only in Bulgarian alphabet which uses Cyrillic letters. That means that every official document, alphabetical index, names etc., if not exceptionally transcribed into Latin letters or translated in English, German or French, is written or sorted with Bulgarian Alphabet. As the translation and especially phonetic transcriptions using different rules (French, English) can be rather misleading, some basic knowledge (skills to read, pronounce and write) of Bulgarian Alphabet is strongly recomended for the one who analyses the Bulgarian roots.

Here is the Bulgarian alphabet:

* Transcription between Cyrillic and Latin alphabet

The transcription of the foreign names and phrases into Cyrillic letters and of the Bulgarian ones into Latin letters is necessary for enabling the communication between the Bulgarians and the people who don’t use the Cyrillic alphabet. Transcription of foreign names with Cyrillic is simple because the Bulgarian language has no special phonetic code. The word are pronounciate in the same way in which they are written. A foreign word is written in the way it has been heart and this is enough for its use in the Bulgarian language. More problematic is the transcription of the Bulgarian names in Latin alphabet. Unfortunately the application of different transcription rules is rather chaotic and therefore depending on the time and the place of the work. In general today all existing Bulgarian writings using the Latin alphabet, no matter if they are documents, passports, town and street marks or something else, are colorful mosaic of names which have to be read according to the French, German, Czech, English or neighbor Balkan national phonetic codes. Anyway there are some standards and rules for certain groups of documents. These are known to me:

The French transcription was very popular until the computers came in use. It is used for all the names of persons and towns in the passports. Probably all the official documents from the last century and up to WWII are using French phonetic code The German transcription traits are the double instead of single s in some names in the passports w instead of v ; k instead of c and in general the transcription of the names of Bulgarians which have lived or have issued documents in the German speaking countries. Letters originating probably in the Czech code can be found on every town mark where the special diacritics are used. From a code which is probably Rumanian the letter or â is used (presenting the 27th letter of Bulgarian alphabet) in some maps, atlases or on the town marks. Although the English is very popular in Bulgaria its phonetic code is not used for the transcription in Latin letters for all that „classical" examples. That is not the case in media and computer space. Althou for relatively short time, in that space have been written or transferred more than everywhere else during all the past. Here the Latin encoding covers not only the names, but also all the language. Most of the Bulgarians use it for exchanging e-mails, some Bulgarian newspapers in Internet offer reading in that way allowing so to avoid the complications of encoding Cyrillic with special converting programs or Cyrillic fonts for Windows. A couple of codes are used, concerning mostly the „problematic" letters and using for that the English encoding („ch", „sh", „zh", „sht") or simply chosen „free" letters like Q, X or W. In the table bellow I try to interprete the sound of bulgarian letters by cross-reference with different national phonetic codes. There is a column with the code used recently by me and some alternatives.

For people familiar with the Bulgarian way of writing who simply want to „bulgarize" their own computer, some links containing Bulgarian fonts and Keyboards may be useful:

Welkya

* About the Bulgarian names

The persons in Bulgaria have usually name consisting of three parts - Personal name, Fathers name and Family name. Officialy the Personal and Family name are used. The three names combination is used for documents and more precise identification. The Father and Family names are made from a name with the suffix -OV; -EV; -SKI; -IN by the men and respectively -OVA; -EVA; -SKA; -INA by the women. Important! The sufices of the women Father or Family names ALLWAYS change by adding „A" after the last consonant! After marriage the women usually accept the family name of the men. Therefor the Maiden name should be requested.

Very often in Bulgaria the Family name is „lost". That happends when somebody gets his Grandfathers name (of father side) instead of the Family name. As the grandson often (but not always) has been named himself with the name of his grandfather, such a persons have the same Personal and Family names. For instance: „Stefan Alexandrov STEFANOV" ; „Georgi Petrov GEORGIEV" etc. Here we can see „turning" of the names: for example it is clear that Georgi Petrov GEORGIEV has father Petyr and grandfather Georgi . If Georgi’s son is called Petyr (grandfathers name) which is very probable, than his full name will be Petyr Georgiev PETROV (the name of the grandfather is instead of Family name again). In reality there are lineages where names like Georgi Petrov GEORGIEV and Petyr Georgiev PETROV (usually father and his first son) are coming into turn during many generations. In such and similar cases the names don’t contain any onomastic information and the investigation is more difficult.

Links

Information about the Bulgarian language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_language

Mini Conversation Guide
Everyday Phrases

English = Balgarski

Yes = Da

No = Ne

Thank you = Blagodarya

Thank you very much = Blagodarya vi mnogo

You're welcome = Dobre doshli

Molya Please = Ako obichate

Excuse me = Izvinete/Izviniavaite

Hello = Zdravei/Zdrasti

Goodbye = Dovijdane, Sbogom

So long = Doskoro, Chao

Good morning = Dobrutro

Good afternoon = Dobar den

Good evening = Dobar vecher

Good night = Leka nosht

There is = Ima

There is not = Niama

I want = Iskam

I do not understand = Ne razbiram

How do you say this in [English]? = Kak shte kajesh tova na [balgarski]?

Do you speak ... = Govorish li...

English = angliiski

French = frenski

German = nemski

Spanish = ispanski

Chinese = kitaiski

I = az

We = nie

You (singular, familiar) = ti

You (singular, formal) = Vie

You (plural) = vie

They = te

What is your name? = Kak se kazvash?

Nice to meet you. = Priatno mi e.

How are you? = Kak si?

Good = Dobre

Bad = Zle/Losho

So so = Gore-dolu

Wife = sapruga

Husband = saprug

Daughter = dashteria

Son = sin

Mother = maika

Father = bashta

Friend = priatel

Post office = poshta

Museum = muzei

Bank = banka

Police station = politzia

Hospital = bolnitza

Pharmacy, Chemists = apteka

Store, Shop = magazin

Restaurant = restorant

School = uchilishte

Church = cherkva

Restrooms( toilets) = toaletni

Street = ulitza

Square = ploshtad

Mountain = planina

Hill = halm

Valley = dolina

Ocean = okean

Lake = ezero

River = reka

Swimming Pool = bassein

Tower = kula

Bridge = most

Where is the bathroom? Where is the toilet? = Kade e toaletnata?

In the Hotel

In the hotel = V hotela

Hotel = hotel

Room = staia

A single room = edinichna staia

Double room = dvoina staia

Bathroom = bania

Breakfast = zakuska

Reservation = rezervacia

Are there any vacancies for tonight? = Ima(te) li svobodni mesta za tazi vecher?

No vacancies = Niama mesta/miasto; vsichko e zaeto; palno e.

Passport = pasport

Shopping

Shopping = Pazaruvane

How much does this cost? = Kolko struva?

It is very expensive = Mnogo e skapo

What is this? = Kakvo e tova?

I'll buy it. = Shte go kupia

I would like to buy ... = Iskam da kupia...

Do you have ... = Imate li...

Do you accept credit cards? = Priemate li kreditni karti?

Open = Otvoreno

Closed = Zatvoreno

Postcard = (Poshtenska) kartichka

Stamps = marki

A little = malko

A lot = mnogo

All = vsichko(to)/ tzialo(to)

In the Restaurant

In the Restaurant = V restoranta

Breakfast = zakuska

Lunch = obed

Dinner = obed/vecheria

Butter = maslo

Milk = mliako

Sugar = zahar

Vegetarian = vegetarianski

Cheers! = nazdrave!

Please bring the bill. = Smetkata, molya!/ Ako obichate, moje li smetkata!

Bread = hlyab

Beverage = napitka

Coffee = kafe

Tea = chai

Juice = djus/ sok

Water = voda

Beer = bira

Wine = vino

Salt = sol

Pepper = piper

Rice = oriz

Meat = messo

Beef = teleshko (messo)

Pork = svinsko (messo)

Fish = riba

Poultry = pileshko (messo)

Vegetable = zelenchuk

Fruit = plod

Potato = kartoff

Grill = skara

Boiled = vareno

Salad = salata

Dessert = dessert

Fruit = plodove

Grapes = grozde

Melon = dinia

Water melon = papesh

Plums = slivi

Peaches = praskovi

Cherries = chereshi

Apple = iabalka

Pear = krusha

Ice = led

Ice cream = sladoled

Directions

Directions = possoki

Left = liav

Right = dessen

Straight = pravo/napravo

Up = gore/nagore

Down = dolu/nadolu

Far = dalech(e)

Near = bliz(k)o

Long = dalgo

Short = kasso

Map = (turisticheska) karta

Tourist Information = Turisticheska informacia

Number

Numbers = chisla

zero = nula

one = edno

two = dve

three = tri

four = chetiri

five = pet

six = shest

seven = sedem

eight = ossem

nine = devet

ten = desset

eleven = edinadeset

twelve = dvanadeset

thirteen = trinadeset

fourteen = chetirinadeset

fifteen = petnadeset

sixteen = shestnadeset

seventeen = sedemnadeset

eighteen = osemnadeset

nineteen = devetnadeset

twenty = dvadeset

twenty one = dvadeset i edno

thirty = trideset

forty = chetirideset

fifty = petdeset

sixty = shestdeset

seventy = sedemdeset

eighty = osemdeset

ninety = devetdeset

one hundred = sto

one thousand = hiliada

one million = (edin) milion

Travel

Travel = patuvane

Where is ...? = Kade e...?

How much is the fare? = Kolko struva/e taksata/bileta?

Ticket = bilet

One ticket to ..., please. = (Edin) bilet za... molya.

Where are you going? = Kade otivash?

Where do you live? = Kade jiveesh?

Train = vlak

Bus = avtobus

Subway, Underground = metro

Airport = Letishte

Train station = gara

Bus station = (avtobusna) spirka

Subway station, Underground station = metro spirka

Departure = zaminavane

Arrival = pristigane

Car rental agency = Agencia za koli pod naem

Parking = parking

Time and Dates

Time and Dates = Vreme i dati

What time is it? = Kolko e chassat?

7:13, Seven thirteen = 7:13, Sedem i trinadeset

3:15, Three fifteen = 3:15, Tri i petnadeset 3:15,

A quarter past three = 3:15, Tri i chetvart

11:30, Eleven thirty = 11:30, Edinadeset i trideset

11:30, Half past eleven = 11:03, Edinadest i polovina

1:45, One forty-five = 1:45, Edin i chetirideset i pet

1:45, A quarter till two = 1:45, Dva bez chetvart

Day = den

Week = sedmitza

Month = mesetz

Year = godina

Monday = ponedelnik

Tuesday = vtornik

Wednesday = sriada

Thursday = chetvartak

Friday = petak

Saturday = sabota

Sunday = nedelia

January = ianuari

February = fevruari

March = mart

April = april

May = mai

June = yuni

July = yuli

August = avgust

September = septemvri

October = oktomvri

November = noemvri

December = dekemvri

Spring = prolet

Summer = lyato

Autumn = essen

Winter = zima

Today = dnes

Yesterday = vchera

Tomorrow = utre

Birthday = Rojden den Happy Birthday! = Chestit rojden den!

	Language:	Albanian Arabic Armenian Azeri Bengali Bosnian Bulgarian Chinese-Simplified Chinese-Traditional Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Latin Latvian Lithuanian Norwegian Persian(Farsi) Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Tagalog Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Yiddish MultiLanguage	Direction: Into English From English
	Word:

© Lingvosoft Online Dictionary