PDA

View Full Version : An ancient Bulgarian dialect faces extinction



kdsfsdk2003
09-13-2011, 02:29 PM
Since I am currently based in Bulgaria, I think this is interesting:

One of the most ancient dialects of Bulgarian (where an "h" is pro pronounced after each last vowel in words) is rapidly declining. The reason - it sounds archaic, according to the media and young people. For example, instead of saying "voda" (water), as it is written, according to this dialect it is pronounced "vodah" (with a pronounced "h", but written "voda").

Some variations of the dialect add an "h" after every last vowel in all words (including nouns, pronouns, adjectives and even verbs), while in other variations, an "h" is pronounced only at the end of adjectives and nouns, ignoring pronouns and verbs. According to the latest research, the dialect is used by 954 people on daily bases, spread in different regions of Bulgaria.

kdsfsdk2003
09-13-2011, 09:21 PM
To the benefit for Bulgarians, I found an example of this dialect. Mind you, it is usually written in the same way as official Bulgarian, but the pronunciation differs. Another curiosity is that some versions of this dialect replace the first "V" in words with "F", e.g. they write Varna (Варна) like everybody else, but they pronounce it like Farna (Фарна).

Official Bulgarian:
Аз искам да ти кажа, че още не мога да забравя онези дни, които ни свързваха. Още очаквам твоето обаждане. Надявам се да те срещна някой ден из улиците на есенна Варна.

"h" dialect (excluding verbs):
Аз искам дах тих кажа, чех ощех нех мога дах забравя онезих дних, коитох них свързваха. Ощех очаквам твоетох обажданех. Надявам сех дах тех срещна някой ден из улицитех нах есеннах Фарна.

As you can see, this dialect is very archaic, compared to modern Bulgarian.