Why learn Bulgarian language

Bulgarian is an Indo-European language from the group of South Slavic languages. It is a pluricentric language, i.e. it has several literary norms and is the earliest written documented Slavic language. Along with the main norm used in Bulgaria, there is also a Macedonian norm, which also uses Cyrillic, and a Banat norm, which uses Latin.

Conducting surveys among students studying Bulgarian philology yielded interesting answers to some questions about the reasons and motivations that led them to study Bulgarian.

The answers show a variety of interests based both on their visit to Bulgaria and their familiarity with Bulgarians, their customs and cuisine. And also the fact that the language seems exotic to them and that no prior knowledge of it is necessary. Moreover, they note a common interest in the Slavic languages, which has stimulated an interest in Bulgarian. Another important factor is that there is not much competition on the labour market in this field, and for this the students assume that they would find it easier to find a career in tourism, translation and journalism.

When asked, “Did you know anything about Bulgaria before you started studying Bulgarian?” the respondents indicated that they knew few things about the country that they had learned in school – about the climate, agriculture and most of all about Bulgarian rose oil, as well as about the fact that it has beautiful nature and remarkable seaside resorts. Others are familiar with the existence of the Cyrillic alphabet as a graphic system, the basis of the Slavic script. Still others were impressed by the fact that when answering “yes” and “no”, the Bulgarians nodded their heads “backwards”, which they found quite endearing. In addition, those who had the opportunity to get to know the Bulgarian culture and mentality noted that Bulgarians are very kind, cordial and hospitable people.

The answers to the question whether the Bulgarian language is difficult to learn, considering mainly the grammatical categories encountered in the learning process, are not unambiguous. But none of the students said that learning Bulgarian made it particularly difficult. After the initial necessity of getting used to the grammatical system, most students pointed to difficulties in learning the articulation of words and the rich system of verb tenses. Therefore, in conclusion, we could claim that the grammatical structure of the Bulgarian language does not make it difficult for them and they quickly learn the character and peculiarities of this Slavic language.

Moreover, the students report that after passing the primary level of proficiency, the world that is revealed through the language becomes much more inviting, and learning about Bulgarian culture, literature, and social life strengthens their interest in learning it.

Source: internet publications