Rhode Island College
M.Ed. In TESL Program
Language Group Specific Informational Reports
Produced by Graduate Students in the M.Ed. In TESL Program
In the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development
Language Group: Bulgarian
Author: Alison Stott
Program Contact Person: Nancy Cloud (ncloud@ric.edu)
Flag of Bulgaria 1948-1967
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Bulgarian Informational Report
By: Alison M. Stott
TESL 539
Spring 2011
Where is Bulgarian Spoken?
• Bulgaria is located in Southeastern
Europe, bordering the Black Sea,
between Romania and Greece
• The Bulgarian language is part of the
Slavic language family (others include
Russian, Polish, Czech, and
Macedonian)
•There are 12 million Bulgarian http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/
Speakers around the world, of which •Bulgarian is widely spoken in
7.4 million reside in the country of the bordering countries of
Bulgaria Greece, Turkey, Macedonia, also
in the Ukraine
•Bulgarian is spoken by 85% of people
who live in the country of Bulgaria • Many Bulgarian speakers have
immigrated over the years to
counties such as Canada,
Germany, UK and USA.
Bulgarian in the United States…
According to the 2000 United States Census Report (most recent
published)…
63,000 U.S. Citizens were of Bulgarian Descent
28,500 Citizens indicated they speak Bulgarian in their
household
In the recent years the number has grown significantly to over
250,000 Bulgarian-Americans living in the United States
What states have the largest number of Bulgarian Speakers?
California
Illinois
New York
Florida
Ohio
Dialects within Bulgaria…
• Regional variations of the
language is primarily based on
the different reflexes of the
“yat” vowel (Ѣ). …
Western Dialect
• Informally called “hard
speech”
• Ѣ is pronounced "e" in all
positions
Eastern Dialect
• Informally called “soft
speech”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
• Ѣ alternates between "ya"
• The written Bulgarian language and "e“. It is pronounced
"ya" if it is under stress and
is the same for the whole the next syllable does not
country of Bulgaria contain a front vowel (e or i)
Bulgarian Alphabet…
• Bulgarian was the first Slavic
language to be written .
• In 886AD, Bulgaria introduced
the Glagolitic Alphabet.
• The Glagolitic Alphabet was
replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet
a few centuries later.
• Many of the Cyrillic letters were
borrowed from the Glagolitic
and Greek Alphabet.
• Today, the Bulgarian Alphabet is
written in the Cyrillic script, and
occasionally in Latin.
http://www.sofia-life.com/language/language.php
Common Mistakes for Bulgarian
English Language Learners…
Phonology Errors
Consonants of the Bulgarian Alphabet stand for only one specific
sound, while a letter in the English Alphabet can have numerous
sounds…
For example: /C/ in English can sound like cat or city
The eight vowels in the Bulgarian Alphabet are lax (meaning
short), while the five English vowels all have lax (short) and tense
(long) pronunciations.
The difference between the consonants and vowels in the English
and Bulgarian language can cause difficulties for Bulgarians trying
to obtain the English language. This is because they have to learn
that consonants can have more than one sound in the English
language, and learn the tense pronunciations for the eight English
vowels.
More confusion with sounds and letters…
• Mastering Letter Forms
•Bulgarian English Language Learners confuse the
Bulgarian letter “g” with the English letter “d”
•They also tend to confuse the Bulgarian “u” for the
English short vowel “i”
•These two errors not only interfere with spelling but
also the meaning of English Words
• “Mirror” Letters are usually an error because of the
different language scripts (ex. “b and d” and “p and q”)
Common Mistakes within Verbal
Morphology
In some cases, the Bulgarian verb can take up to 3,000
different forms
It can vary in…person, number, voice, aspect, mood, tense,
and even gender
This forces the Bulgarian English Language Learner to
simplify their knowledge of verb conjugation as it applies to
the English Language
There are several Bulgarian conjunctions all translating
into English as the word "but”…
All of these translations are used in different situations
ама (amà): means “to provide extra information”
а (a): provides a contrast between two situations
ами (amì): means “really?!”
но (no): means “however”
This would produce confusion since the English word “but”
only has one meaning
Common Mistakes within Syntax
Asking Questions
Bulgarians struggle with “question words” (who? what? why? etc.)
when learning English because they are non-existent in the Bulgarian
language.
Bulgarians form questions by attaching a particle after the verb
Ex) Идваш – “You are coming.”
Идваш ли? – “Are you coming?”
Pronouns
Bulgarian has several pronouns of “quality”, which has no parallel
meaning in English
Ex) kakuv (“what sort of”)
word literal meaning sentence meaning of sentence
this car (that i'm trying to
takava this sort of edna takava kola...
describe)
this worthless car (that i'm
nikakva no sort of edna takava nikakva kola
trying to describe)
this sort of worthless car (that
nyakakva some sort of edna takava nyakakva nikakva kola
I'm trying to describe)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
More Common Difficulties…
The gestures of “yes” and “no” are completely opposite in the Bulgarian
and English Languages…
When gesturing “yes”, Bulgarians shake their head from side to side
When gesturing “no”, Bulgarians nod their head up and down,
sometimes making a loud “clicking” sound
This would pose to be extremely confusing for an English Language
Learner, mainly due to the fact that the gestures are completely
opposite in English.
Bulgarians have a much more extensive vocabulary for family
relationships…
Ex) In English, we refer to “aunts and uncles” in a broad sense that
could apply to extended people in a family
In Bulgarian, there are specifications such as:
chicho (your father's brother)
vuicho (your mother's brother)
svako (your aunt's husband)
This might cause Bulgarian English language Learners to over explain
relationships as compared to common relationship terms used in
English.
English and Bulgarian
Translation
Hello!
How are you?
Have a nice day!
Goodbye!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Click here to find other useful Bulgarian Phrases and their
English Translations: Useful Bulgarian phrases
Bulgarian Customs and Etiquette
Bulgaria is a country that has a very formal society…
Greetings:
Bulgarians use a firm handshake and direct eye contact when
greeting each other
Titles (Mr. & Mrs.) are always used when addressing someone,
unless they are considered family or a very close friend
Communication:
Bulgarian conversation would be considered “very loud” by
Americans. A typical Bulgarian conversation would appear to be a
loud argument with raised voices, but is very typical and normal of
Bulgarians
Titles (Mr. & Mrs.) are always used when addressing someone,
unless they are considered family or a very close friend
Personal Space:
When speaking to family or friends, Bulgarians tend to leave very
little personal space between each other. When speaking to
people they do not know personally, 3 feet would be considered a
respectful amount of personal space.
Sources
Internet Sources
Accredited Language Services. (2011). Bulgarian language today. Accredited
Language Services. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from:
http://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Bulgarian/
Ager, S. (2001). Bulgarian language, alphabet and pronunciation. Omniglot :
The guide to languages, alphabets and other writing systems. Retrieved
March 12, 2011, from: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/bulgarian.htm
Bulgarian Language. (2012). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_language
Harakchiyska, T. (2009). The role of phonological strategies in learning to spell
in English as a foreign language. Retrieved March 17, 2011, from:
http://conf.ru.acad.bg/bg/docs/cp09/6.3/6.3-11.pdf
UCLA International Institute. (n.d.). Bulgaria. UCLA Language Materials Project:
Teaching resources for less commonly taught languages. Retrieved March
21, 2011, from: http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=37&menu=004
Sources
Maps & Images
Sofia Bulgaria Travel Guide. (2012). Cyrillic alphabet & pronunciation guide
[Chart], Retrieved from: http://www.sofia-life.com/language/language.php
UCLA International Institute. (n.d.). Map of Bulgaria [Map], Retrieved March 21,
2011, from: http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=37&menu=004
Wikipedia. (2012). Kakuv pronoun chart [Chart] & Map of the Bulgarian dialect
[Map], Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_language
Wikipedia. (2012). Flag of Bulgaria [Image], Wikipedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Bulgaria
Audio Sources
Useful Bulgarian Phrase Recordings. (1998).
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/bulgarian.php
M.Ed. in TESL Program
Nancy Cloud, Director
Educational Studies Department
Rhode Island College, HBS 206 #5
600 Mt. Pleasant Avenue
Providence, RI 02908
Phone (401) 456-8789
Fax (401) 456-8284
ncloud@ric.edu
The M.Ed. in TESL Program at Rhode Island College
is Nationally Recognized by TESOL and NCATE
