Bulgarian language
Bulgarian (IPA: [bɤlgarski ɛzik]) is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic branch. Bulgarian was the first Slavic language to be written: it started to appear in writing during the 9th century in the Glagolitic alphabet, which was gradually replaced by an early version of the Cyrillic alphabet over the following centuries. Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from other Slavic languages, such as the elimination of case declension, the development of a suffixed definite article (see Balkan linguistic union), the lack of a verb infinitive, and the retention and further development of the proto-Slavic verb system. Various verb forms exist to express unwitnessed, retold, and doubtful action.
Alphabet
| Bulgarian alphabet | ISO 9 | Official transliteration | International Phonetic Alphabet* | Name of Letter | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| А а | A a | A a | /a/ or /ɐ/ | a | a as in "adorable" |
| Б б | B b | B b | /b/ | бъ | b as in "bug" |
| В в | V v | V v | /v/ | въ | v as in "vet" |
| Г г | G g | G g | /ɡ/ or /ɟ/ | гъ | g as in "god" |
| Д д | D d | D d | /d/ | дъ | d as in "dog" |
| Е е | E e | E e | /ɛ/ | е | e as in "best" |
| Ж ж | Ž ž | Zh zh | /ʒ/ | жъ | s as in "treasure" |
| З з | Z z | Z z | /z/ | зъ | z as in "zoo" |
| И и | I i | I i | /i/ | и | ee as in "see" |
| Й й | J j | Y y | /j/ | и кратко | y as in "yes" |
| К к | K k | K k | /k/ or /c/ | къ |
c as in "cat" |
| Л л | L l | L l | /l/, /ɫ/, /ʎ/ | лъ |
l as in "call" |
| М м | M m | M m | /m/ | мъ | m as in "man" |
| Н н | N n | N n | /n/ | нъ | n as in "normal" |
| О о | O o | O o | /ɔ/ or /o/ | о | o as in "order" |
| П п | P p | P p | /p/ | пъ | p as in "pet" |
| Р р | R r | R r | /r/ | ръ | r as in "restaurant" |
| С с | S s | S s | /s/ | съ | s as in "sound" |
| Т т | T t | T t | /t/ | тъ | t as in "top" |
| У у | U u | U u | /u/ or /o/ | y | оо as in "tool" |
| Ф ф | F f | F f | /f/ | фъ | f as in "food" |
| Х х | H h | H h | /x/ | хъ | ch as in Scottish "loch" |
| Ц ц | C c | Ts ts | /t͡s/ | цъ | ts as in "fits" |
| Ч ч | Č č | Ch ch | /t͡ʃ/ | чъ | ch as in "chip" |
| Ш ш | Š š | Sh sh | /ʃ/ | шъ | sh as in "shot" |
| Щ щ | Št št1 | Sht sht | /ʃt/ | щъ | sht as in "shtick" |
| Ъ ъ | Ă ă1 | A a | /ɤ̞/, /ə/ or /ɐ/ | ер голям | u as in "turn" |
| Ь ь | J j1 | Y y | /j/ | ер малък | combined with <о> as ьо, for a pronunciation like yo in "yoyo"
less often with e as ьe, pronounced like ye in "yet" |
| Ю ю | Ju ju1 | Yu yu | /ju/ | ю | u as in "menu" |
| Я я | Ja ja1 | Ya ya | /ʝa/ | я | ya as in "yarn" |
External links
Linguistic reports
- Ethnologue report for Bulgarian
- Bulgarian at Omniglot
- Bulgarian phrasebook at Wikitravel
- Bulgarian Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh list appendix)
Dictionaries
- Bulgarian-English-Bulgarian Online dictionary from SA Dictionary
- Online Dual English-Bulgarian dictionary
- Online automatic translation between Bulgarian, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish
- Bulgarian Dictionary: from Webster’s Dictionary
- Bulgarian bilingual dictionaries
- Englisch-Bulgarian (Cyrillic) Dictionary
