The Language

Bulgarian is one of the oldest written Slavic languages. It is also the only one that managed to lose almost all of its noun cases and still nobody got confused. Here you will find the alphabet, the grammar, the spelling and a few traps that catch even qualified philologists.

1. The Alphabet: 30 Letters and a Little PrideHow Cyrillic set out from Preslav and ended up on euro banknotes.
2. Pronunciation and StressWe write as we speak. Almost.
3. The Article: Full and Short FormsThe only Slavic language that puts “the” at the end.
4. Verbs: Nine Tenses and No InfinitiveWhy a Bulgarian never says “I want to eat” with just one verb.
5. The Renarrated Mood: Grammar for GossipThe mood in which grammar says “I didn't see it myself, I only heard.”
6. Spelling: Ten TrapsThe mistakes everybody makes – from students to ministers.
7. Punctuation: The Commas That Save LivesWhen a comma belongs and when it is merely fashionable.
8. Expressions and ProverbsFolk wisdom in a few sentences and one glass of rakia.
9. Dialects: From Vidin to StrandzhaOne country, two “ya”s and countless offended neighbours.
10. Bulgarian for BeginnersTwenty words that will help you survive and get you invited to a wedding.

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