Do you know someone who speaks Bulgarian? Did you know that there are other languages similar to Bulgarian? If not, this article will help you explore.
Languages that share many of the same features as Bulgarian are mutually intelligible. Let us explore this further.
5 Languages Similar To Bulgarian
Bulgarian is a South Slavic language spoken by around 12 million people in the Balkan Peninsula.
There are several dialects of Bulgarian, making it one of the most diverse languages in Europe.
Bulgarian is a very old language spoken in the region since 600AD.
It had its roots in Old Church Slavonic, the language of the Bulgarian Empire until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1396.
The modern version of Bulgarian is heavily influenced by Greek and Turkish languages, which have significantly influenced the region over the centuries.
In addition, Bulgarian is also heavily influenced by Romance languages such as Italian and French, which can be seen in its phonology and grammar.
The official language of Bulgaria is closely related to Macedonian and Serbian, with some similarities to Russian and Ukrainian.
Several languages similar to Bulgarian are spoken in the region, including Romanian, Moldovan, Aromanian, and Megleno-Romanian.
These languages have developed over time due to longstanding cultural contacts and influence from other Balkan countries.
Let us look at the top 5 languages similar to Bulgarian.
1. Macedonian:
Macedonian is an Eastern South Slavic language used by the people of Macedonia, a former Yugoslav republic.
It is closely related to Bulgarian and Serbian, with a common literary heritage.
Macedonian is descended from the language of the Slavic peoples who settled in the Balkans in the 6th century.
It was heavily influenced by Bulgarian during the 18th and 19th centuries when Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule.
The two languages are mutually intelligible, meaning that speakers of one can understand the other.
Though Macedonian is a separate language, it is closely related to Bulgarian.
The two languages share similar grammar and vocabulary, though there are some differences in pronunciation.
Similarities:
There are various similarities between Macedonia and Bulgarian. Both languages utilize the Cyrillic Alphabet.
Both languages contain many words of common Slavic origin. For example, the word for ‘water‘ is “Voda” in both languages.
In terms of grammar, the two languages are so closely related that a speaker of one language can easily understand the other.
The grammatical structure of both languages is very similar such as having nouns with gender and the presence of cases.
Most dialects of Macedonian are mutually intelligible to speakers of Bulgarian.
Macedonian is also very similar to Southwestern Bulgarian, a dialect spoken in parts of Bulgaria.
Furthermore, there are many loanwords from Bulgarian in Macedonian, such as “vtor” (second) and “tri” (three).
Differences:
While there are many similarities between Bulgarian and Macedonian, some key differences can be noted.
Macedonian has notably adopted several phonetic and lexical characteristics from other languages, such as Albanian and Serbo-Croatian.
Another difference is that Macedonian uses the Cyrillic script, while Bulgarian uses a modified Cyrillic script closer to its original Greek alphabet.
Macedonian also has several distinct dialects.
Finally, Macedonian does not use the definite article “the” as much as Bulgarian does.
2. Slovenian:
Slovenian is a South Slavic language related to Serbian, Croatian, and Bulgarian. It is spoken mainly in Slovenia by about two million people.
Although it has some similarities with its neighboring languages, Slovenian has different grammar and linguistic characteristics.
Slovenian is thought to have evolved from the Proto-Slavic language.
It has been influenced by many languages throughout its history, including German, Latin, Hungarian, Czech, Serbian, and Croatian.
However, it was only officially recognized in 1991 when Slovenia declared independence.
Similarities:
Slovenian and Bulgarian share similarities in vocabulary, grammar, phonology, and syntax.
Both languages have seven cases for nouns, nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative, instrumental, and vocative.
They both use three grammatical genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Also, they both have a rich verb system with many tenses and forms. For example, the past tense in Bulgarian is formed by adding a suffix to the verb.
That same structure is found in Slovenian as well. Finally, both languages use various word order rules, which allows for much flexibility when speaking and writing.
All in all, there are many similarities between Slovenian and Bulgarian. That makes them both great options for those looking to learn a language similar to Bulgarian.
Furthermore, they are both Slavic languages, which makes them even more closely related.
So if you’re interested in learning a language similar to Bulgarian, Slovenian may be the right choice for you!
Differences:
While Slovenian and Bulgarian have similar grammatical structures, there are some notable differences between the two languages.
For instance, Slovenian has a more complex sound system than Bulgarian and uses gendered nouns.
The most obvious differences between Slovenian and Bulgarian are the consonant clusters pronounced differently in each language.
For example, the word ‘dobro‘ (good) is pronounced ‘dovro‘ in Slovenian and ‘dobyvro‘ in Bulgarian.
Another notable difference is that Slovenian uses an accusative case system, while Bulgarian has a genitive case system.
The vocabulary of Slovenian is considerably different from Bulgarian. The linguistic differences are mainly due to influences from German, Latin, and Hungarian words.
For example, the Slovenian word for “day” is “dan”, while the Bulgarian word is “den.”
3. Russian:
Russian is another language related to the Slavic languages, including Bulgarian.
It is spoken mainly in Russia but is widely used throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Russian is a Slavic language spoken primarily in Russia and other former Soviet republics.
It is one of the most widely-spoken languages in Europe and the most popular native language, with over 250 million people speaking it.
Russian is similar to Bulgarian, including a shared Cyrillic alphabet and grammar structure.
Similarities:
Both languages Use the Cyrillic Alphabet. For example, letters such as А, Б, and Ӓ are interchangeable between the two languages.
Both languages have a similar grammatical structure with noun declensions and verb conjugation.
For example, the Russian word for “food” is еда, while the Bulgarian word is храна.
Both languages have heavily influenced each other throughout their history.
For example, many words in Bulgarian have been taken from Russian (such as страница – “page“) and vice versa.
The languages share many common words. For example, ‘край‘ (edge) is similar to ‘края‘ (edge) in Bulgarian.
Vocabulary words in both languages are often related. Russian and Bulgarian share many sound changes.
In conclusion, Russian and Bulgarian share many similarities due to their geographical proximity and cultural exchange throughout history. T
hat makes it easy for native speakers of either language to understand one another’s grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.
However, for non-native speakers of either language, it is recommended to learn both languages.
Differences:
Of course, there are also many differences between Russian and Bulgarian. The most noticeable difference is pronunciation.
Russian has an aspirated ‘l‘ sound that is not present in Bulgarian, making the two languages easier to distinguish.
Furthermore, the grammar of both languages is quite different; for example, Bulgarian uses a definite article (‘the‘), whereas Russian does not.
Finally, there are some vocabulary differences between the two languages; for instance, in Bulgarian, one would say ‘brak‘ instead of ‘matryoshka‘.
Despite these differences, Russian and Bulgarian are still considered to be similar languages.
4. Croatian:
Croatian is a South Slavic language spoken mainly in Croatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.
The Croatian language has existed since the 8th century, with its roots in the Common Slavic Language.
However, in modern times, the language was heavily influenced by Italian and German. That is due to the Hapsburg rule of Croatia from 1718 until 1918.
After this period, Croatian was standardized and is now used as an official language in Croatia.
It is closely related to Serbian, Bosnian, Slovenian, and Montenegrin Languages.
Croatian is spoken by around 6 million people and is quite close to Bulgarian. A lot of the grammar and vocabulary of Bulgarian is similar to Croatian.
Despite the similarities between these languages, Croatian stands as its distinct language with some unique features.
Similarities:
In regards to grammar, both Languages use a mix of noun cases. For example, both Languages include the dative, genitive, nominative, and accusative cases.
In terms of vocabulary, many words are similar between Bulgarian and Croatian. For example, in both Languages, “green” is translated to зелен (Croatian) and зелено (Bulgarian).
The two languages share similar words and expressions due to their common origin in South Slavic Languages.
Additionally, many of the sounds used in Croatian are similar to Bulgarian ones, as they belong to the same language family.
Both languages are part of the South Slavic language family and share many common lexical items.
Differences:
The most notable difference between Croatian and Bulgarian is pronunciation, as Croatian uses a more “sh” sound when speaking than Bulgarian does.
Furthermore, grammar structures differ slightly; for example, Croatian has a neuter gender, whereas Bulgarian does not.
In addition, there are some differences in vocabulary; for instance, most Croatian words end with a “-t” sound, while Bulgarian words tend to end with a “-v” sound.
Another difference is that Croatian uses two main dialects (the Kajkavian and Chakavian), whereas Bulgarian does not.
5. Romanian:
Romanian is a Romance language, similar to Italian and Spanish. Over 24 million people speak Romanian.
Romanian is spoken in Romania, Moldova, and parts of Serbia. Some also speak it in the diaspora scattered around Europe and North America.
Romanian is descended from Latin. It developed in the Balkans during the late 6th century AD when Roman settlers arrived.
However, it was only in the 19th century that Romanian emerged as an independent language.
Romanian and Bulgarian share many similarities because of their common origin.
Similarities:
Romanian shares many similarities with Bulgarian; both are Slavic languages that belong to the Balkan linguistic group.
The two languages share many common words and have similar grammar structures.
They also use the Cyrillic alphabet, though Romanian utilizes more Latin-based characters than Bulgarian.
Another similarity is that they both have a three-gender system. For example, nouns are either masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Another similarity is that both languages have a subjunctive mood.
Bulgarian and Romanian share about 75% of the same vocabulary; both are derived from Latin.
As a result, they share similarities in grammar and vocabulary, so native speakers of either language can understand one another.
Differences:
One of the main differences between Bulgarian and Romanian is that while Romanian has an accusative case, Bulgarian does not.
There are also minor pronunciation differences in certain words, such as the “ch” sound in Bulgarian compared to the “sh” sound in Romanian.
Additionally, Romanian has an additional dative case (the “a” ending for words of the neuter gender-i.e., avian), whereas Bulgarian does not.
The two languages have different pronunciations and accents. Romanian has more Romance words, whereas Bulgarian has a larger Slavic influence.
They also use different endings for verbs and nouns, making them easier to understand if you’re unfamiliar with either language.
Additionally, Romanian is written in the Latin alphabet, whereas Bulgarian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet.
Despite the differences, Romanian and Bulgarian can still be mutually intelligible to some extent.
That means that people speaking both languages can understand each other to a certain degree.
Conclusion:
Languages similar to Bulgarian all share a Slavic heritage but differ in pronunciation, accents, verb and noun endings, and the writing system used.
However, they can still be mutually intelligible to some extent. These languages, even with their similarities, are unique on their own.
Therefore, learning a similar language is helpful, even with similarities or differences.
Therefore, if you are a Bulgarian speaker, it will be helpful to learn one of these languages to understand their related neighbors better.
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