Learning Bulgarian: Mission (Im)possible?

I’m not proud to admit it, but my Bulgarian is about as good as my Arabic — that is to say, close to hopeless. At the same time, I’ve met a few expats who have achieved a level of Bulgarian that impresses even locals. In my recent Food Guide, there were names of the dishes and pictures of typical Bulgarian meals. You will also have seen transliteration of Bulgarian names. If this made you want to find out more, then its time to join me in my quest to improve.

Club Leglo: "Club Bed" Some Bansko Signs Are In Latin.

Even if you visit Bansko just for a ski week, you would benefit from having some idea of the language in advance. Over the coming weeks and as the ski season gets underway, stay with me to learn the words you need to survive in Bulgaria. I’ll also be bringing you some precious expert tips on how to fast track some Bulgarian language skills.

Cyrillic?!

The first shock for the eyes used to the Latin letters is the Cyrillic script. If you have the time, try to figure out the Cyrillic-Latin correspondence of letters. Otherwise, you may end up thinking that the most common traditional pubs in Bansko spelled “механа” are Mexican restaurants.

I’m not proud to admit it, but my Bulgarian is about as good as my Arabic — that is to say, close to hopeless. At the same time, I’ve met a few expats who have achieved a level of Bulgarian that impresses even locals. In my recent Food Guide, there were names of the dishes and pictures of typical Bulgarian meals. You will also have seen transliteration of Bulgarian names. If this made you want to find out more, then its time to join me in my quest to improve.

Club Leglo: "Club Bed" Some Bansko Signs Are In Latin.

Even if you visit Bansko just for a ski week, you would benefit from having some idea of the language in advance. Over the coming weeks and as the ski season gets underway, stay with me to learn the words you need to survive in Bulgaria. I’ll also be bringing you some precious expert tips on how to fast track some Bulgarian language skills.

Cyrillic?!

The first shock for the eyes used to the Latin letters is the Cyrillic script. If you have the time, try to figure out the Cyrillic-Latin correspondence of letters. Otherwise, you may end up thinking that the most common traditional pubs in Bansko spelled “механа” are Mexican restaurants.

Survival Pack

The good news is: in Bulgarian you read what you write (each letter corresponds to one sound). And there’s more good news for those who wouldn’t bother: in Bansko, most signs have an English version and resort staff, in the main, speak some English.

However, for your own comfort, here are the top ten words you’ll see all around in Bansko.

1. Банско – Bansko
2. ски – ski
3. хотел – hotel
4. такси – taxi
5. механа – mehana – a traditional Bulgarian restaurant
6. ресторант – restaurant
7. аптека – pharmacy
8. разпродажба – sale
9. улица – street
10. автогара – bus station

And some phrases you may need to know:

Hello – здравейте [zdraveite]

How are you? – Kак сте? [kak ste]

Fine, thanks – Добре, благодаря [dobre blagodaria]

Excuse me – Извинете [izvinete]

Do you speak English/ Bulgarian? – Говорите ли английски/ български? – [govorite li angliiski/ balgarski]

Yes – Да [da]

No – Не [ne]

I don’t understand – Не разбирам [ne razbiram]

Help! – Помощ! [pomosht]

Cheers! – Наздраве! [nazdrave]

Good bye! – Довиждане [dovijdane]

Merry Christmas! – Весела Коледа! [vesela koleda]

Banski Han: A Famous Mehana In Bansko. Most Mehana Names Are In Cyrillic

The Key To Success

But I want more than that — so I consulted an expert. The manager of one of the language schools that offers teaching Bulgarian to expats must know better than I as what the key to succes is. Here is what Silvana Tsokova, the manager of Montfiz Lingua (https://www.montfizlingua.com) said about her experience in teaching Bulgarian to foreigners (https://www.montfizlingua.com/for-foreigners):

“Bulgarian is not easy, but like any language it has structure and logic — and can be mastered. Here are a number of things we have found out as the key to achieving that.

To start with, you need an efficient approach in teaching – and learning. You need a programme that develops all four communicative skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing, and that applies audio-visual and interactive methods that take language acquisition as close as possible to the natural acquisition of a mother tongue. We teach any piece of grammar and vocabulary, and practice it in a real-life context.

In addition, you have to find a course with supplementary custom activities that suit your specific language needs, learning style and progress pace.”

Practice and Motivation

Silvana continued…”Whilst studying, we recommend you get in touch with Bulgarian people and practice talking whenever possible — and not be afraid of making mistakes. Keep at it and something clicks in your head – and you start thinking in Bulgarian.”

One of the keysuccess factors is your teacher – you need a qualified professional with rich teaching experience. And last but not least, you need to have strong motivation for learning the language – and what better motivation than being able to communicate freely with the locals and feeling comfortable in any situation. And let’s not forget that it is the teacher who keeps that motivation high and it is the teaching methodology that helps the results”

So I’ll be following Silvana’s advice and be more diligent. A country only fully reveals its self to you when you are on the inside: fully engaged. And that means reasonable language fluency. I’m motivated — but I am confident she will provide the structure and discipline for me to learn.

If have you already learned some Bulgarian, please tell us how you initially coped with learning it.

But if you’re already in a holiday mood and looking forward to staying in a homely apartment, then you only need to bother with the survival words. A few well chosen Bulgarian words whilst shopping — and knowledge of the names of Bulgarian meals in the mehanas of Bansko — will only add to the pleasure of being in Bansko.

Наздраве!

Survival Pack

The good news is: in Bulgarian you read what you write (each letter corresponds to one sound). And there’s more good news for those who wouldn’t bother: in Bansko, most signs have an English version and resort staff, in the main, speak some English.

However, for your own comfort, here are the top ten words you’ll see all around in Bansko.

1. Банско – Bansko
2. ски – ski
3. хотел – hotel
4. такси – taxi
5. механа – mehana – a traditional Bulgarian restaurant
6. ресторант – restaurant
7. аптека – pharmacy
8. разпродажба – sale
9. улица – street
10. автогара – bus station

And some phrases you may need to know:

Hello – здравейте [zdraveite]

How are you? – Kак сте? [kak ste]

Fine, thanks – Добре, благодаря [dobre blagodaria]

Excuse me – Извинете [izvinete]

Do you speak English/ Bulgarian? – Говорите ли английски/ български? – [govorite li angliiski/ balgarski]

Yes – Да [da]

No – Не [ne]

I don’t understand – Не разбирам [ne razbiram]

Help! – Помощ! [pomosht]

Cheers! – Наздраве! [nazdrave]

Good bye! – Довиждане [dovijdane]

Merry Christmas! – Весела Коледа! [vesela koleda]

Banski Han: A Famous Mehana In Bansko. Most Mehana Names Are In Cyrillic

The Key To Success

But I want more than that — so I consulted an expert. The manager of one of the language schools that offers teaching Bulgarian to expats must know better than I as what the key to succes is. Here is what Silvana Tsokova, the manager of Montfiz Lingua (https://www.montfizlingua.com) said about her experience in teaching Bulgarian to foreigners (https://www.montfizlingua.com/for-foreigners):

“Bulgarian is not easy, but like any language it has structure and logic — and can be mastered. Here are a number of things we have found out as the key to achieving that.

To start with, you need an efficient approach in teaching – and learning. You need a programme that develops all four communicative skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing, and that applies audio-visual and interactive methods that take language acquisition as close as possible to the natural acquisition of a mother tongue. We teach any piece of grammar and vocabulary, and practice it in a real-life context.

In addition, you have to find a course with supplementary custom activities that suit your specific language needs, learning style and progress pace.”

Practice and Motivation

Silvana continued…”Whilst studying, we recommend you get in touch with Bulgarian people and practice talking whenever possible — and not be afraid of making mistakes. Keep at it and something clicks in your head – and you start thinking in Bulgarian.”

One of the keysuccess factors is your teacher – you need a qualified professional with rich teaching experience. And last but not least, you need to have strong motivation for learning the language – and what better motivation than being able to communicate freely with the locals and feeling comfortable in any situation. And let’s not forget that it is the teacher who keeps that motivation high and it is the teaching methodology that helps the results”

So I’ll be following Silvana’s advice and be more diligent. A country only fully reveals its self to you when you are on the inside: fully engaged. And that means reasonable language fluency. I’m motivated — but I am confident she will provide the structure and discipline for me to learn.

If have you already learned some Bulgarian, please tell us how you initially coped with learning it.

But if you’re already in a holiday mood and looking forward to staying in a homely apartment, then you only need to bother with the survival words. A few well chosen Bulgarian words whilst shopping — and knowledge of the names of Bulgarian meals in the mehanas of Bansko — will only add to the pleasure of being in Bansko.

Наздраве!