Speak Bulgarian With Confidence

Speak Bulgarian with condence
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Global scale of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR)
Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very uently and precisely, differentiating ner shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
Procient User
TY Level 6 CEFR LEVEL C2
Speak Bulgarian with condence

Mira Kovatcheva & Michael Holman
TY Level 5 CEFR LEVEL C1 TY Level 4 CEFR LEVEL B2 (A Level) TY Level 3 CEFR LEVEL B1 (Higher GCSE) TY Level 2 CEFR LEVEL A2: (Foundation GCSE) TY Level 1 CEFR LEVEL A1
Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself uently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language exibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices. Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her eld of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of uency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briey give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need. Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
Basic User
Independent User
Council of Europe. www.coe.int/lang. Extract reproduced with the permission of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg
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The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher and the author have no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content will remain relevant, decent or appropriate. For UK order enquiries: please contact Bookpoint Ltd, 130 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4SB. Telephone: +44 (0) 1235 827720. Fax: +44 (0) 1235 400454. Lines are open 09.0017.00, Monday to Saturday, with a 24-hour message answering service. Details about our titles and how to order are available at www.teachyourself.co.uk For USA order enquiries: please contact McGraw-Hill Customer Services, PO Box 545, Blacklick, OH 43004-0545, USA. Telephone: 1-800-722-4726. Fax: 1-614-755-5645. For Canada order enquiries: please contact McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd, 300 Water St, Whitby, Ontario L1N 9B6, Canada. Telephone: 905 430 5000. Fax: 905 430 5020. Long renowned as the authoritative source for self-guided learning with more than 50 million copies sold worldwide the Teach Yourself series includes over 500 titles in the elds of languages, crafts, hobbies, business, computing and education. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: on le. First published in UK 2006 as Teach Yourself Bulgarian conversation by Hodder Education, 338 Euston Road, London, NW1 3BH. First published in US 2006 as Teach Yourself Bulgarian conversation by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. This edition published 2010. The Teach Yourself name is a registered trademark of Hodder Headline. Copyright 2007, 2010 Mira Kovatcheva & Michael Holman In UK: All rights reserved. Apart from any permitted use under UK copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information, storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, of Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS. In US: All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Typeset by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, England. Printed in Great Britain for Hodder Education, a division of Hodder Headline, an Hachette Livre UK Company, 338 Euston Road, London, NW1 3BH. Impression number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010
Credits
Front cover: Craft Alan King / Alamy Back cover: Jakub Semeniuk/iStockphoto.com, Royalty-Free/ Corbis, agencyby/iStockphoto.com, Andy Cook/iStockphoto. com, Christopher Ewing/iStockphoto.com, zebicho Fotolia. com, Geoffrey Holman/iStockphoto.com, Photodisc/Getty Images, James C. Pruitt/iStockphoto.com, Mohamed Saber Fotolia.com
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Subject index
Numbers refer to the conversations on the CDs containing the material.
address forms 8 agreement 2 announcements 3/9 (to) be 6 (to) be, past tense 8 comparison 3, 10 future tense 5 gender 2 greetings 1 have 6 introducing yourself 10 money 4 Mr, Mrs 1 must do 7 negation (adj.), (noun) 2 negation (verb) 5 negation (multiple) 3/2 permission 1 plural of nouns 4 polite plural 1 possession 9 pronouns 6 questions 4 requests 4, 3/1 saying how you feel 8 s/he is not in 8 telling the time 8 the 5 the with adjectives 9 there is 3 there isnt 3 this 3 verbs: personal endings 1, 5 word order 10
Contents
Track listing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Only got a minute? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Only got ve minutes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Only got ten minutes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Cultural information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Conversation 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Part 1: Getting to know the locals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Part 2: More socializing with the locals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Conversation 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Part 1: Ordering drinks at the coffee-bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Part 2: Completing your order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Conversation 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Part 1: Booking a table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Part 2: Giving your order at a restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Conversation 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Part 1: Shopping for food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Part 2: Buying drinks to take home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Conversation 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Part 1: Getting a taxi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Part 2: Renting a car. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Conversation 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Part 1: Catching a train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Part 2: Taking a coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Conversation 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Part 1: Asking for directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Part 2: Finding your hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Conversation 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Part 1: Being unwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Part 2: Going to the doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Conversation 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Part 1: Sorting out misunderstandings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Part 2: Correcting more mistakes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
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underground metro
where; ~ from kuddeh; otkuddeh whichkoy whokoy why zashto wife: my ~zhenna mee will (future)shteh
Conversation 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Part 1: Making new friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Part 2: Staying in touch and meeting up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Conversation 3/1: Paying a business visit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Conversation 3/2: Ordering cold drinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Conversation 3/3: Ordering a quick lunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Conversation 3/4: Shopping for gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Conversation 3/5: Discussing time and distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Conversation 3/6: Buying coach tickets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Conversation 3/7: Finding your way round a building. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Conversation 3/8: Visiting a pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Conversation 3/9: Warnings and instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Conversation 3/10: Keeping in touch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Grammar reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Listening skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Essential vocabulary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Glossaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 BulgarianEnglish glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 EnglishBulgarian glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Subject index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
(I) understandrazbeeram untildoh unwell: Im feeling ~losho mee eh up nagorreh
very; ~ soon mnogo; slet malko vitaminvitamin vodka votka
wineveeno (we) wish you success! zhella-em vee oospeh! (pl) withsuss/s
wait! chakaiteh! (pl) (I) want; do you ~ ?iskam; iskatteh lee? (pl) warmtoppul (he/she/it) wasbesheh watervoda we nee-eh weakslap (the) weather vremetto well; ~ dobreh; amee (you) were besheh (sg) what; ~ is the matter with you?; ~ is the time? ~ kind of?; whats up/ wrong? kakvo; kakvo tee eh?; kolko eh chassuh?; kakuf?; kakvo eema? when koga
withoutbess wonderful! choodesno! (is) working rabboti would you like?iskatteh lee? (pl) (I) write (down) napisha write! napishetteh! (pl) (I am) wrong eemam greshka
yesda yesterdayfcherra you tee (sg), vee-eh (pl) you maymozheh (sg) you werebyahteh (pl) your tvoya (sg), vashiya (pl)
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EnglishBulgarian glossary
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(I) show; Ill ~ youpokazha; shteh vee ~ side dish garnitoora signal signal sir!gospodinneh! (do) sit down! sednetteh! (pl) skiing ski slot (appointment)chass slowly bavno smallmaluk so znachee soda water gazirana voda somemalko somethingneshto soon: very ~ slet malko (Im) sorrysuzhalyavam; izvinnetteh! (pl) soupsoopa (I) speak; speak!govorya; govoretteh! (pl) sport sport square ploshtat stand! stoyteh! (pl) station: coach ~; (underground) ~; (railway) ~ aftogara; stantsiya; gara stomachkorem stopspirka stotinka stotinka straight aheadnapravo streetoolitsa subway (US) metro success oospeh sugar zahar supersooper switch off! isklyoochetteh! (pl)
teachai telephonetelefon (I) tell; tell me!kazha; kazhetteh! (pl) temperaturetemperatoora terribly oozhasno thanks! mersi! (I) thank youbluggodaryuh that cheh thats righttochno takka theirtehniya there; over ~ tam; etto ~ there is/ areeema there isnt/ arentnyama theres no neednyama noozhda there you go! zuppovyadaiteh! (pl) they teh thingneshto (I) think that misslya cheh thistozzi ticket; ~ officebillet; kassa time vremmeh to; ~ the stationdoh, za; za garata today dness toilet toh-alletna tomatodomat tonic tonik tonighttazzi vecher toosushto; ee totalfsichko touristtoorist track kolovoss traffic lights svetofar trainvlak
Track listing
CD 1 Track 1: Introduction Tracks 27: Conversation 1 part 1 Getting to know the locals Tracks 811: Conversation 1 part 2 More socializing with the locals Tracks 1216: Conversation 2 part 1 Ordering drinks at the coffee-bar Tracks 1720: Conversation 2 part 2 Completing your order Tracks 2125: Conversation 3 part 1 Booking a table Tracks 2629: Conversation 3 part 2 Giving your order at a restaurant Tracks 3035: Conversation 4 part 1 Shopping for food Tracks 3640: Conversation 4 part 2 Buying drinks to take home Tracks 4145: Conversation 5 part 1 Getting a taxi Tracks 4648: Conversation 5 part 2 Renting a car (start) CD 2 Track 1: Conversation 5 part 2 Renting a car (end) Tracks 27: Conversation 6 part 1 Catching a train Tracks 811: Conversation 6 part 2 Taking a coach Tracks 1216: Conversation 7 part 1 Asking for directions Tracks 1720: Conversation 7 part 2 Finding your hotel Tracks 2125: Conversation 8 part 1 Being unwell Tracks 2629: Conversation 8 part 2 Going to the doctor Tracks 3034: Conversation 9 part 1 Sorting out misunderstandings Tracks 3538: Conversation 9 part 2 Correcting more mistakes Tracks 3943: Conversation 10 part 1 Making new friends Tracks 4447: Conversation 10 part 2 Staying in touch and meeting up CD 3 Track 1: Introduction Tracks 24: Conversation 1 Paying a business visit Tracks 57: Conversation 2 Ordering cold drinks Tracks 810: Conversation 3 Ordering a quick lunch Tracks 1113: Conversation 4 Shopping for gifts Tracks 1416: Conversation 5 Discussing time and distances
Track listing
tablemassa tablecloth pokrifka za massa tablet tabletka (I) take; take! vzemma; vzemetteh! (pl) taxitaksi
tramtramvay translator prevodach (I) travelputtoovam typically tipichno
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Tracks 1719: Conversation 6 Buying coach tickets Tracks 2022: Conversation 7 Finding your way round a building Tracks 2325: Conversation 8 Visiting a pharmacy Tracks 26: Conversation 9 Warnings and instructions Tracks 2729: Conversation 10 Keeping in touch Track 30: Conclusion
need; (I) ~noozhda; eemam ~ ot never mind! nishto! next; ~ tosledvasht; doh nicehoobaf; priyaten no/ notneh noisy shoomno nothingnishto now segga numbernommer
phone telefon pill tabletka pizzapitsa placemyasto platform kolovoss pleasantpriyatno please; if you ~mollya; ako obeechatteh (pl) pleased to meet you priyatno mee eh pleasure: with ~ s oodovolstvee-eh plus ee
Recorded at Alchemy Studios, London

oclockchassuh
policemanpolitsai (it is) possible mozheh present podaruk price tsenna problem; no ~ problem; nyama problemi
Cast: Andrei Drenikov, Vladimir Karakashov, Mira Kovatcheva, Tsvetana Racheva, Sarah Sherborne
of; ~ course na; razbeera seh office aggentsiya okdobreh! onna once again/more oshteh vednush oneeddin only samo orillee open; the shop is ~ otvoren; magazina rabboti orange portokal; portokallof (made from oranges) order; out of ~ poruchka; neh rabboti other droogo ournashiya over thereetto tam (I) owe dulzhuh
railway stationgara ready gottof reception (desk) retseptsiya (I) reckon that misslya cheh (I) repeat poftorya reservationrezervatsiya restaurantrestorant right: to/ on the ~; ~!; thats ~! vdyasno; dobreh!; tochno takka! right away segga roomstaya
saladsalata packet kootiya painbolka parkgradina (I beg your) pardon mollya parking lot; in the ~parkink; na parkinga passportpasport peachpraskova perhapsmozheh bee pharmacy apteka sandwich sandvich (I) say; that is to ~ kazha; tova znachee season sezon seat; (wont you) take a ~!myasto; zuppovyadaiteh! (pl) (I) send pratya she tya shortly slet malko shouldtryabva da
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Im feeling unwelllosho mee eh in; ~ Bulgarian; ~ the car park; ~ fteen minutes; ~ Septembervuf/f; na bulgarski; na parkinga; slet petnaiset minooti; press septemvri information; at the ~ booth informatsiya; na informatsiyata interpreter prevodach is eh is that so? takka lee? (here) is/are etto; zuppovyadai (teh) (there) is/are eema isnt: there ~/ arent; ~ that so? nyama; nallee? it toh its notneh eh
lukewarm toppul lunch obyat
Introduction
With the publication of Speak Bulgarian with condence it has got a whole lot easier to learn, understand and speak simple, correct Bulgarian. Especially if you wish to manage without having to learn the Cyrillic script and dont want to be involved in a great deal of writing. This audio course has been recorded by Bulgarian native speakers and is based on lots of listening and carefully guided repetition. Communication and conversation are at its heart. We have divided the course into two distinct but interrelated elements. Course element 1, on the rst two CDs, consists of twenty carefully graded conversations. Accompanied by plenty of straightforward explanations, these introduce you to key Bulgarian words and phrases that you will need in real-life situations. Like getting to know the locals, eating out, going shopping, using public transport, and, if things dont go quite according to plan, sorting out problems and misunderstandings. In Course element 2 on CD 3, we have chosen conversations to mirror these initial situations. We introduce further useful words and phrases, but give fewer explanations, encouraging you to listen carefully and work out the essential meaning yourself. You will nd all the conversations and their English translation in the accompanying booklet, which also contains English-Bulgarian and Bulgarian-English glossaries, subject word lists and just a few grammatical tables. We have worked in tandem as authors for over twenty years, initially teaching Bulgarian to students at Leeds University. Our Teach Yourself Bulgarian (1993) was widely acclaimed and is still going strong. We have much enjoyed working together on Speak Bulgarian with condence and hope you will nd it fun and useful. Do write and tell us how you like it also how you think it might be improved. Thank you! Mersi and bluggodaryuh! Mira Kovatcheva and Michael Holman
madam!gospozho! manymnogo marvellous! choodesno! (whats the) matter with you? kakvo tee/ vee eh? may I/ may we?; you maymozheh lee?; mozheh (that) means tova znachee meatmesso (dont) mention it! nyama nishto! menu menyu metre; 100 metres from here mettur; na sto metra ot took milkmlyako mineral watermineralna voda minuteminoota miss; miss!gospozhitsa; gospozhitse! (hes/ its) missing nyama goh mistakegreshka mobile (phone) mobillen (telefon) momentmomment money; exact ~ parri; tochni ~ month messets moreoshteh; po (in comparisons) (in the) morning sootrinta most nai (in comparisons) Mrgospodin Mrsgospozha muchmnogo musclemooskool musttryabva da mymoya my wifezhenna mee name; my ~ iseemeh; kazvam seh, eemetto mee eh near(by); its ~; its not ~bleezo; ~ eh; neh eh ~
juicesok just; ~ a momentsamo; eddin momment
kilokilo kilogramkilogram (I) know; do you ~?znam; zna-etteh lee?
largegolyam late kussno leaves /is leavingzaminava left: to/ on the ~vlyavo lemonlimon lets (do something) da levlef lift assansyor (I) likeharresvam, harresva mee likewise sushto litre litur little; a ~ maluk; malko (for how) long? za kolko vremmeh? lot: a ~ mnogo (I) loveobeecham luggagebagash
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English (language)angleeyski (ezik)
~ eveningdobur vecher ~ health! nazdravveh! ~ luck! na dobur chass! ~ morningdobrootro; dobur den goodbyedovizhdanneh gram; two hundred ~s gram;(dvesta) grama (I) guess that misslya cheh
Only got a minute?

This course aims to help you learn to speak simple, correct Bulgarian without having to learn the Cyrillic script. With the aid of three CDs recorded by native speakers and an accompanying booklet with all the texts, you will quickly master the sounds of Bulgarian practising a variety of words and phrases essential in everyday discourse. Bulgarian belongs to the family of Slavic languages and is the official language of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is spoken by more than seven million people within Bulgaria and by several hundred thousand more in neighbouring countries. Most closely related to Macedonian and Serbian, with which it shares usage of the Cyrillic script, Bulgarian is the rst language using Cyrillic in the European Union. Bulgarian pronunciation is not difficult for English speakers. Bulgarian vowels are generally clear and straightforward. The consonants too do not usually present problems unless they come in combinations which may initially test the English-trained tongue. Try the place name
Englishmananglichanin English womananglichanka er amee espresso espresso euro evro evening; in the ~ vecher; vecherta everyone fsichki everything; ~ hurts (me)fsichko; ~ meh bollee exactly! tochno takka! excuse me!izvinnetteh! (pl); mozheh lee? expensive skup
half; ~ a kilopolovin; ~ kilo (a) half polovinna (I) have; I dont ~ eemam; nyamam have a nice day!lek priyaten hoobaf den! have to (should)tryabva
far (away) dallecheh (I) feelchoostvam seh (Im) feeling unwelllosho mee eh fetta cheese seerenneh ne; ne! hoobaf; dobreh! rm firma shribba oor; (the) fth ~etash; petiya ~ ugrip foodhrana for; ~ how many people?; ~ how long? ~ me; ~ you (pl)za; za kolko dooshi?; za kolko vremmeh?; za men; za vass freesvoboden fromot
he toy hellozdravey! (sg), zdraveyteh! (pl); allo (on the phone) (I) helppomogna herneyniya (adj) here; ~ you aretook; zuppovyadai (sg), zuppovyadaiteh (pl) hi! zdravey! (sg), zdraveyteh! (pl) hisnegoviya holiday pochifka hottoppul hotelhotel (the) hottest nai topliya hourchass housekushta how; ~ are you?; ~ are you feeling?; ~ many?; ~ much?; ~ much does it cost?kak; ~ see? (sg), ~ steh? (pl); ~ seh choostvatteh?; kolko?; kolko?; kolko stroova? (it) hurtsbollee
gardengradina (I) give; Ill give youdam; shteh vee ~ give me!daiteh mee! gladly s oodovolstvee-eh glass chasha (I) gootidda go ahead!mozheh! good; ~! hoobaf, dobur; dobreh! ~ afternoondobur den
Iass ice let iconeekonna if; ~ you please ako; ~ obeechatteh (pl) Im calledkazvam seh
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bravo! bravvo! British Embassypossolstvotto na Vellikobritanniya Bulgarian (language)bulgarski (ezik) Bulgarian man; ~ womanbulgarin; bulgarka bus; ~ stopaftoboos; spirka na aftoboossa busy za-et buta, noh caf kaffeh calendar kalendar (Im) called; what is it ~?kazvam seh; kak seh kazva? (you) came doydohteh (pl) can kootiya (I) canmoga can I help you?moga lee da vee pomogna? cappuccinokapoochino car; ~ park; ~ rental kola; parkink; rent-a-car card; business/ visiting ~ kartichka; vizitna ~ cash pointkassa centre tsentur change; small ~ resto; drebni cheap eftin cheers! nazdravveh! chemists apteka (fetta) cheese seerenneh chickenpilleh chocolateshokolat cigarette tsigara (are) closing seh zatvaryat coach; ~ stand; ~ station aftoboos; sektor; aftogara coffeekaffeh coke kola cold; (Im) coldstooden; stoodenno mee eh colleaguekollega (I) come; it will ~doyda; shteh doydeh
come!ella! (sg), ellatteh! (pl) (I) come from...ass sum ot... come in!/ wont you ~ vlesteh!; zuppovyadaiteh! (pl) conference konferentsiya corner uggul corridor korridor (it) costsstroova (of) course razbeera seh could you/ I...?mozheh lee...? cream krem credit card kreditna karta cucumberkrastavitsa cup chasha CV seevee
Koprivshtitsa, for example. But even here the trilled or rolled pronunciation of the letter r will come naturally enough to the Scots! Neither is the structure of Bulgarian difficult. In many important respects it is very similar to that of English. The order of words in sentences is much the same in both languages. Just as in English, nouns only change their endings from singular to plural. Another similarity is the use of an equivalent of the English denite article the. An interesting difference, though, is that in Bulgarian it is placed not before the word but attached to the end. So while the word for taxi, very conveniently, is taksi, the taxi is taksito. This is a particularly interesting time to be learning Bulgarian. The language has been changing fast in recent years, adapting to the unchallenged inuence of English in all spheres of life. Bulgarians have a lively interest in foreigners, and although they wont expect you to speak Bulgarian, theyll be attered and pleased that you are making the effort to do so.
Only got a minute?
day; (have a nice) ~! den; priyaten/ lek den! delay zakusnennee-eh departszaminava deposit depozit dessert dessert direction; in which ~?possoka; vuf koya ~? director dirrektor doctordoktor (as term of address) dont mention it!(nyama) nishto! door vratta down nadolloo drink: something to ~ neshto za pee-enneh drop (me); where shall I ~ you?ostavvetteh (meh); kuddeh da vee ostavya? during press
early ranno elevator (US) assansyor e-mail eemeyl embassy; ~ of Great Britainpossolstvo; possolstvotto na Vellikobritanniya engaged za-etto (n)
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Only got ve minutes?
So you want to understand and speak Bulgarian excellent, super! Or as we say in Bulgarian, sooper! There couldnt be a better time to start. Bulgaria is now a full member of the EU and is open to the world. Moreover, more and more people are learning Bulgarian, so you wont be alone in your undertaking. If you want to get by for the time being without using the Bulgarian alphabet, Cyrillic as it is called, thats okey, dobreh! ne! Welcome to Speak Bulgarian with condence*. This is the course for you! It will show you that learning to speak Bulgarian is fun and not that difcult either. Even now, without making any great effort, in this paragraph you have already met and probably remembered, three important Bulgarian words: sooper, okey and dobreh. You see, it really is quite easy! And the sounds of Bulgarian are not difcult either. There are no difcult vowels or consonants for the English speaker, and the Scots will nd the rolled Bulgarian letter r a positive delight! Before we tell you about the course and, although it may sound presumptuous, why we think we are well prepared and ideally matched as authors to help you to learn Bulgarian, wed like to tell you a little more about Bulgarian as a language. Bulgarian is a Slavic language and like Serbian, Croatian and Macedonian it belongs to the South Slavic sub-grouping. Like Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian and Macedonian it uses the Cyrillic alphabet. Cyrillic traces its origin way back to the ninth century. It is an original combination of Roman and Greek letters with a few extra ones added to cope with the sounds of Bulgarian. In Bulgaria at present, Cyrillic is under siege from the English alphabet. For the non-Cyrillic user this is not such a bad thing, for as you walk
* If, on the other hand, you want to have a go at Cyrillic right away, go straight to Teach Yourself Bulgarian.
Individual Bulgarian words are generally given in their standard forms, so adjectives are in the masculine singular, verbs in the I-form and nouns in the singular non-denite form.
a/aneddin (I am) able tomoga about okolo absolutely! apsolyootno! (in) addition osven tova address adress after slet (in the) afternoon sledobet again; once ~ pak; oshteh vednush agency aggentsiya ahead: straight ~ napravo a littlemalko all (together)fsichko all the best! fsichko hoobavo! allergy allergiya alongpo a lot mnogo alsosushto (I) amsum and; ~ (what about) you?ee; a vee-eh? another one oshteh edno (n) anything else?neshto droogo?, oshteh neshto? apartment apartament appointmentchass (we) are; (you) ~; (they) ~; smeh; see (sg), steh (pl); sa (he/ she/ it) arrives; will arrive pristigga; shteh pristigneh (I) askpittam aspirin aspirin bad losho baggage bagash banana banan bank banka bathroom (US) toh-alletna baysektor (to) besum (see Grammar reference) be ablemoga beachplash beautifulhoobaf because zashtoto beerbeera besides that osven tova best; (all the) ~! nai hoobavo; fsichko hoobavo! better po dobreh biggolyam (the) biggest nai golyamata (f) bill smetka bookingrezervatsiya bottlebootilka boulevard boolevart box kootiya (Bulgarian) brandy rakiya at vuf/f; na ~ sevenvuf seddem ~ the traffic lightsna svetofarra ~ what time?vuf kolko chassuh? ~ workna rabbota attention (please)! vnimanee-eh!
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uggul 7; (na) uggulla; (zat) uggulla corner; on the ~; round the ~
~ seddem 3 at seven (shteh) vzemma 3:3 Ill take vzemmetteh! 3:5 take!
vashiya 9 (m), vashta (f), vashto (n), vashteh (pl) your (pl) (za) vass? 3 for you? vdyasno 6 on/ to the right vecher 3; vecherta 3:8 evening; (in) the ~ (oshteh) vednush 3:6 once again vee-eh 1 you (pl) veeno 4 wine vitamini 8 vitamins vizitna kartichka 3:10 visiting/business card vlak 6; vlaka train; the ~ vlesteh! 3:1 (do) come in! vlyavo 7 on/ to the left vnimanee-eh! 3:9 attention (please)! voda 1 water votka 1 vodka vratta 3:7; vratteetteh 3:9 door; the ~s vremmeh 3:1 (za kolko) ~ ? time; for how long? vremmetto 3:2 the weather vuf/ f 8 in; 3 at ~ mommenta 3:0 at the moment ~ nedellya 10 on Sunday
za 3; 6; ~ men; ~ vass for; to; for me; for you ~ koga? 3:6 for when? za-et (m) 3:10; za-etto (n) 3:7 busy; engaged zahar 3 sugar zakusnennee-eh 3:9; vlaka eema ~ delay; the train is late zaminava 6 leaves, departs zashto 8 why zashtoto 3:2 because zat uggulla 3:7 round the corner (seh) zatvaryat 3:9 are closing zdravey! 2 (sg), zdraveyteh! (pl) hello, hi zellennata 3:4 the green one zhella-em vee oospeh! 3:10 we wish you success! zhenna mee 10 my wife znachee 3:0 so; that means/ is to say zna-etteh lee? 5 do you know? znam 5; neh znam I know; I dont ~ zuppovyadai 1 (sg), zuppovyadaiteh (pl) (wont you) please come in/ get in/ take a seat; here you are, there you go
round the streets in the large cities you will nd a great number of shop signs and notices in English. Many street signs too are posted both in English and Cyrillic letters. So you will have a good start in getting what you want and knowing where you are. In addition, the huge number of English words in use in contemporary Bulgarian will help you decipher a fair number of words you come across when learning the language. Over the centuries Bulgarian has borrowed thousands of words from other languages from Turkish, Russian, Greek, French, German and, especially in the last twenty years, from English. (We say borrowed or loaned, but they are never actually given back!) A few of these permanent loans, words such as cha-oo! (ciao!) bye! or mersi one of the Bulgarian words for thank you remain much as in the original language. Most, however, take on some Bulgarian characteristics to help them go native. Nouns will have to adopt one of Bulgarians three genders: masculine, feminine or neuter, depending on the nal sound. So the Bulgarian for e-mail eemeyl is masculine and the Bulgarian plural is eemeyli. Verbs (doing words) will need to t into an accepted verb pattern, usually one of the more common ones, slightly changing the ending of the English verb. So I am printing is printeeram. The borrowed words will also be slightly camouaged by the way they are pronounced in Bulgarian, but listen carefully and youll soon learn to recognize them. The disguise is only skin-deep! Two further related characteristics of Bulgarian make it one of the easiest Slavic languages for the English-speaker to learn. Firstly, along with Macedonian, and just like English, it has lost almost all those complicated inectional endings still found in nouns and adjectives in Polish, Russian and Serbian, for example. Secondly, the order of words in the sentence is very similar to English. It has to be said, however, that it is often the ways in which one language differs from another that make it interesting and also a challenge for the learner. Bulgarian has plenty to offer you here, particularly in the verb. Firstly, it has a system of verbal aspects, which allow any action to be seen either as completed (perfective) or as continuing (a process rather than an event imperfective). Also, it lacks an innitive and often omits the personal pronouns. So, I love to
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travel is obeecham da puttoovam, literally (I) love that (I) travel. Most interesting of all, however, is the parallel verb system which allows the speaker or writer to show whether s/he was a witness to the events being recounted. But enough technicalities about the language, what about the course and its authors? As Speak Bulgarian with condence does not use Cyrillic, we have designed our own transcription, using English letters to convey the authentic sound of Bulgarian. English is not ideally suited to this technique, and sometimes the letter combinations may seem a little strange, but try and read the words as if they were English, and you should get pretty near to the right Bulgarian pronunciation. This is a practical course for non-linguists, people who want to listen, learn and speak without having to endure a great deal of theory. It has been written, though, by two specialists whose selection and presentation of the carefully graded material combine not only knowledge of the theory, but also many years teaching Bulgarian to English speakers. Michael, who is English, is Emeritus Professor of Russian and Slavonic Studies at the University of Leeds. Mira, who is Bulgarian, is Associate Professor of English Historical Linguistics at the University of Soa. They both know Bulgarian culture and speech habits from the inside Michael is married to a Bulgarian and they write in clear, simple, informal English with a ne sense of humour. Michael and Mira have been working in tandem for more than twenty years and well know the difculties and delights of the English-speaker determined to communicate in Bulgarian.
shoomno 3:6 noisy shteh 5 (future marker) ~ doydeh it will come ~ napisha 3:10 I will write (down) ~ otidda Ill go ~ pristigneh 3:9 will arrive ~ vee dam Ill give you ~ vee pratya 3:10 Ill send you ~ vzemma 3:3 Ill take signal 3:0 signal ski 3:6; ~ sporta 3:6 skiing; skiing as a sport skuppa (f) 3:4, skup (m), skuppo (n) expensive slap (m) 8, slabba (f) weak sledobet 3:10 (in the) afternoon sledvashta (f) 3:9 next slet 5; ~ desset minooti after; in ten minutes ~ malko 3:3 shortly, very soon smeh 6 we are smetkata 3:3 the bill sok 8; sokoveh; juice; ~ s soopa 3; soopi soup; ~ s sooper 2 super sootrinta 3:8 (in the) morning spirka 7; spirki; spirkata na ... (bus) stop; ~ s; the ~ of... stantsiya 3:9 station staya 9; sta-ee room; ~ s steh 6 you are (pl) stooden 2 (m), stoodenna (f) cold stoodenno mee eh 10 Im cold stotinka 4 stotinka stoyteh! 3:9 stand! stroova 4; stroovat it costs; they cost sum 6 I am sushto 10 too, likewise suss/ s 3 with; ~ kakvo (moga) da vee pomogna? 4 how can I help you?
~ neggo 9 with him ~ vashto eemeh 9 in your name suzhalyavam 3 Im sorry svetofar 5; na svetofarra traffic lights; at the ~ svoboden 3 (m), svobodna (f), svobodno (n), svobodni (pl) free
tabletki 3:8 tablets, pills takka 9; ~ lee? so; is that ~? taksi 5 taxi tam 7 there tazzi 3 (f); ~ vecher this; ~ evening, tonight tee 6 you (sg) teh 6 they tehniya (m), tyahnata (f), tyahnoto (n), tehnitteh (pl) their telefon 10 telephone temperatoora 8 temperature tipichno 3:4 typically tochni parri 3:8 the exact money tochno takka! 9 exactly!; exactly, thats right! toh-alletna 3:7; toh-alletnata toilet (bathroom); the ~ tonik 2 tonic took 8 here tooristi 10 tourists toppul 2 (m); topla (f); ~ shokolat warm (not cold), hot, lukewarm; hot chocolate tova 3 (n) this toy 6 he tozzi 3 (m), tazzi (f), tova (n) this tramvay 7 tram tryabva da 7 must, should tsennata 3:4 the price tsentur 3: 9 centre tsigari cigarettes tvoya 9 (m) tvoyta (f), tvoyto (n), tvoyteh (pl) your (sg) tya 6 she
BulgarianEnglish glossary
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pak 10 again parkink 5; na parkinga car park; in the ~ parri 5; parritteh mee money; my ~ pasport 9; pasporta mee passport; my ~ (za) pee-enneh 3:2 to drink, for drinking pilleh 3 chicken pitsa 3 pizza pittam 7; shteh goh ~ I ask; Ill ask him plash 7; plazha beach; the ~ ploshtat 3:5 square po 7; along po 3; ~ dobreh more (comparison); better ~ bavno 3:2 more slowly ~ ranno 3:6 earlier ~ skuppi (pl) 3:6; ~ skuppiya (m) 3:6 more expensive; the ~ pochifka 10 holiday podaruk 3:4 present, gift (da) poftoritteh 3:2 (you (pl)) repeat pokazha 9; shteh vee ~ I show; Ill show you pokrifka za massa 3:4 tablecloth politsai 7 policeman polovin 4; ~ kilo half; ~ a kilo polovinna 3:5 a half pomogna 6 I help portokalli 3:2 oranges portokallof 3:2 (made from) orange(s) poruchkata 3:3 the order possoka 7; vuf koya ~? direction; in which ~? possolstvoto na Vellikobritanniya 7 the British Embassy praskovi 4 peaches (shteh vee) pratya 3:10 Ill send you press/ prez 10; press septemvri during; in September prevodach 3:1, prevodachka (f) translator, interpreter pristigga 6 arrives (shteh) pristigneh 3:9 will arrive
priyaten den! 7 have a nice day! priyatno 10; besheh mee ~ 3:10 pleasant; it was a pleasure for me ~ mee eh 10; mnogo mee eh priyatno Im pleased (to meet you); Im very ~ problem 5; nyama problemi problem; no ~ (na) purviya etash 9 (on) the rst oor puttoovam 5; puttoovatteh I travel; you travel
10 Only got ten minutes?

In Speak Bulgarian with condence you will nd the colloquial idiom of Bulgarian as spoken today. However, it is only by looking to the past and following how Bulgarian has developed through the ages that you can properly understand the structure and vocabulary of the contemporary language.
rabboti 3:8; neh ~ is working, is open (of shop); (isnt) working; is out of order (of things) rakiya 2; dveh raki-ee Bulgarian brandy; two brandies ranno 3:6 early razbeera seh 1 of course razbeeram 9; neh ~ I understand; I dont ~ razbeeratteh 9; ~ lee? you understand; do ~? rent-a-car 5 car rental resto 3:8 change restorant 3; restoranta; tee besheh na ~ restaurant; the ~; you were at a retseptsiya 3:0 reception (desk) rezervatsiya 9 reservation, booking ribba 3 sh
Preserving the language

The language spoken in Bulgaria today acquired its name from the socalled Proto- or Old- Bulgarians descendants of a Central Asian people who in the seventh century AD crossed the river Danube to found the Bulgarian state in alliance with the local Slav population. Only very few Proto-Bulgarian place names have survived into the modern period. Bulgarian has the distinction of possessing the oldest written records of any Slavic language. These date back as far as the 9th century and are translations, commissioned by the Bulgarians rst Christian ruler Boris 1, of Greek liturgical books. The medieval tsars grand undertaking was a clever political move. He realized that only by wholeheartedly adopting Christianity could he become his own man among equals rather than a vassal constantly under threat from the neighbouring Byzantine Empire. And only by creating for his people a liturgy conducted in their native language and not in Greek, could he forge a genuine sense of national identity, thereby avoiding assimilation by the Greeks. The language of these texts is known among specialists as Old Bulgarian or more commonly, on account of the texts religious nature, Old Church Slavonic. Tsar Boris created a further rallying point for national identity, and an additional barrier to assimilation, when, in 893, he proclaimed the Cyrillic alphabet as the ofcial script of his newly Christian state. Between the 14th and 19th centuries, the Bulgarian state was swallowed up by the Ottoman Empire and vanished from the map of Europe.
Only got ten minutes?
s (see suss) 3:5 with s oodovolstvee-eh 3:10 with pleasure, gladly sa 6 they are salata 3; salati salad; ~ s samo 2 just, only sandvich 2; dva sandvicha sandwich; two ~ es sednetteh! 3:1 (do) sit down! see 6 you are (sg) segga 9 now, right away seerenneh 3:3 (fetta) cheese seevee 3:10 C(urriculum)V(itae) sektor 6 coach stand/ bay sezon 10 season shokolat 2 chocolate
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mnogo 1 very; much; many; a lot
nee-eh we negoviya (m), negovata (f), negovoto (n), negovitteh (pl) his neh 1; ~ eh bleezo; no, not; its not near neshto 2; ~ droogo? ~ za pee-enneh 3:3 something, anything, a thing; anything else?; something to drink neyniya (m), neynata (f), neynoto (n), neynitteh (pl) her nishto 9; ~! nothing; never mind! noh 3:2 but nommer 5; nommera 3:10 number; the ~ noozhda 9 need nyama 3; ~ mee bagazha there isnt, there arent; my luggage is missing ~ nishto! dont mention it! ~ ya/goh 8 s/he is not here; its missing
During this dark age of Ottoman domination, it was the national language, the Cyrillic script, and the collective memory of great past achievements in art, literature and culture that helped Bulgarians preserve their sense of ethnic identity.
mobillen (telefon) 3:0; mobilnitteh telefoni mobile (phone); the (your) ~ s moga 6; ~ lee da vee pomogna? I can/ am/ be able; can I help you? mollya 1 please; I beg your pardon momment 2; eddin ~ moment; wont be a ~, one ~ , just a ~
Nineteenth century national revival

In the 19th century, as Ottoman power declined, so Bulgarian national awareness grew, centred on the language and the Eastern Orthodox religion. Links with other Slav peoples beyond the reach of the Ottoman Empire in particular the Russians, Serbs and Czechs were strengthened. Increasing numbers of young Bulgarians travelled abroad for education and enlightenment, rst predominantly to Russia and later to other European countries. Books, newspapers and magazines began to be published in Bulgarian by Bulgarian emigrants. By the time the long-awaited liberation by the Russian armies of Tsar Alexander II came in 1878, Bulgarian belief in the power of learning and education was already much in evidence. There existed both a developed system of schools and what would today be called centres for continuing education. On both the Bulgarians subsequently built with great success.
mooskooli 8; mooskoolitteh muscles; the ~ moya 9 (m), moyta (f), moyto (n), moyteh (pl) my mozheh 1 it is possible; go ahead!; you may ~ bee 8 perhaps ~ lee? 1 may I/ we?; is it possible?; 2 excuse me, could I?; could you?; can I have...? myasto 3; mesta seat, place; ~ s
na 7 on; of; at ~ bulgarski 9 in Bulgarian ~ dobur chass! 3:10 good luck! ~ men sushto 10 to me likewise, (for) me too ~ nass sushto 10 to us likewise; (for) us too ~ pochifka 10 on holiday ~ sto metra ot 7 one hundred metres from ~ svetofarra 5 to/ at the traffic lights
nyamam 6; ~ noozhda ot nishto I dont have; I dont need anything
o-azis 7 oasis obeecham (da) 10 I love (doing something) (ako) obeechatteh 3:3 if you please obyat 3:3 lunch okolo 3:5 about (s) oodovolstvee-eh 3:10 gladly, with pleasure oolitsa 5 street oospeh 3:10 success oozhasno 3:2 terribly oshteh 3; ~ edna (f) 3:5 more; another one ~ neshto? anything else? ~ vednush 3:6 once again/ more ostavvetteh meh 5 drop me osven tova 3:3 in addition, besides that ot 6; (sok) ~ portokali from; orange juice otidda 5; (shteh) ~ I go; Ill go otkuddeh steh? 3:1 where are you from? otvorenna (f) 3:8 open
The evolution of a national standard

Phonetic shape
Historically, Bulgarian is divided into eastern and western accents which make use of differing descendants of a single vowel: e or ya. In the standard and eastern varieties of modern Bulgarian e and ya alternate in different forms of the same word depending on stress and the environment, so you nd byal for the masculine singular of the word for white but beli for the plural. Similarly, you will hear the e/ya split in doublet pronunciations such as mlyako or mleko for milk. In the west all forms have e: bel, beli, mleko. In the period immediately after the liberation, the majority of politicians, writers and other public gures came from the central and
nadolloo 3:7 down nagorreh 3:7 up nai most (comparison) ~ golyamata (f) 3:4 the biggest ~ hoobavo 10 the best ~ topliya sezon 10 the hottest season nallee? 6 isnt that so? (shteh) napisha 3:10 I will write (down) napishetteh! 3:4 write! napravo 7 straight ahead nashiya (m), nashta (f), nashto (n), nashteh (pl) our nazdravveh! 2 cheers!; good health!
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illee 2 or informatsiya 7; na informatsiyata information; at the ~ booth/ desk iskam 4 I want iskatteh 4; ~ lee? you want; do ~?, would you like? isklyoochetteh! 3:9 switch off! izvinnetteh! 5 excuse me!; Im sorry kaffeh 1 coffee; caf kak 7; ~ seh choostvatteh? how; ~ do you feel? kak seh kazva? 3:8 what is it called? kakuf? (m), kakva? (f), kakvo? (n), kakvi? (pl) 3:2 what kind of? kakvo 7 what ~ eema? 3:7 whats up/ wrong? ~ tee/vee eh? 8 what is the matter with you? kalendar 3:10 calendar kapoochino 2 cappuccino kartichka 3:10 card kassa 6; kassitteh ticket office, cash point; the ~s kazha 7 say kazhetteh! 7 say, tell (me); what is it?; yes, can I help you? (kak seh) kazva? what is it called? kazvam seh 9 Im called, my name is kilo 4 kilo kilogram 4 kilogram koga 10 when kola 1 coke kola 5; kolata car; the ~ kolko? 4; ~ stroovat ? how much? how many?; how much are? ~ dooshi? 3 how many people? ~ eh chassuh? 8 whats the time? ~ limona? how many lemons? ~ vee dulzhuh? 3:8 how much do I owe you? kolleggiteh 8 the/ your colleagues kolovoss 3:9 platform, track
konferentsiya 3:10 conference kootiya 4; kooti-ee; ~ beera; ~ tsigari box, can; boxes; can of beer; packet of cigarettes koremma 8 the stomach (po) korridora 3:7 (along) the corridor koy 6 (m), koya (f), ko-eh (n), ko-ee (pl) who; which krastavitsi 4 cucumbers kreditna karta 3:0 credit card krem 3:8 cream kuddeh 5; ~ da vee ostavya?; ~ sa kassitteh? where; ~ shall I drop you?; ~ are the ticket offices? kushta 10 house kussno 3:6 late
eastern part of the country. This geographical concentration of literary and political talent determined the dialectal basis for the newly evolving literary standard. The superior status of the East Bulgarian accents was boosted further by the fact that Veliko Turnovo, the rst capital of the independent state, was to the east of the dialectal divide.
Enrichment through literature and education

For nearly ve hundred years of foreign domination, the Bulgarian language had been used primarily for everyday oral communication. When liberation came, it lacked the terminology for government, army and court and could not meet the liberated nations need of a national standard. Also lacking adequate literary samples, the language required a major overhaul. This came in a tremendous rush in the latter decades of the nineteenth century when the world opened up for Bulgarians, and Bulgarian borrowed a great number of words from the major European languages. From their Russian liberators came terms for the civil and military administration. Russian too provided a familiar Slavic pattern for the creation of many abstract and literary words. Bulgarians kept abreast of the times by adopting from French many words used in the arts, sciences, fashion and in polite society throughout Europe. Mersi and pardon are still in common usage. Many of the countrys most accomplished writers and poets translated into Bulgarian the leading works of world literature, thereby enriching Bulgarian culture and expanding the reach of the rapidly developing Bulgarian language.
lee 1 (question word) lef 4; dva levva lev; two ~ s lek den! 3:8 (have a) nice day! let 3:2 ice limon 4; dva limona lemon; two ~ s litur 4 litre losho 3:0; ~ mee eh 8 bad; Im feeling unwell
malko 1; slet ~ a little, some; shortly, very soon maluk 2 (m), malka (f), malko (n), malki (pl) little, small massa 3 table menyu 3:0; menyuto 3:3 menu; the ~ mersi! 1 thanks! messets 3:1 month messo 3 meat mesta 3 seats, places metro; metroto underground, subway; the ~ mettur 7; sto metra metre; one hundred metres mineralna voda 2 mineral water minoota 5; minooti minute; ~ s misslya cheh 3:5 I guess/ reckon/ think that mlyako 3; suss ~ milk; with ~
Contact with other Balkan languages

During the Ottoman period, the territory where Bulgarian was spoken continued to be the meeting place of the different cultures and languages in the region: Turkish, Greek, Serbian, Romanian and Albanian. Much Turkish vocabulary entered the language, especially words designating objects from everyday life such as chorap sock, tendzhera saucepan, dzham glass, and komsheeya neighbour. Greek words such as ella! come!, hora people and daskal teacher also took their place. In the decades immediately after the liberation of 1878, there were attempts to rid the language of Turkish and Greek words and replace
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da doyda lee? 5 shall I come?
espresso 2 espresso etash 9; na purviya ~ oor; on the rst ~ etto 7; ~ tam; ~ (ey) segga; here is; over there; Ill be right back evro 5 euro
them with words of Slavic origin. Daskal, for example, had been one of the most respected titles throughout the nineteenth century, but being of Greek origin it was replaced with oochitel, a word combining two Slavic elements oochi- (teach-) and -tel, the equivalent of -er in teach-er. In many cases, however, both the foreign and the native words remained in use, the Turkish or Greek word acquiring a pejorative or jocular colloquial nuance. Daskal has now been relegated to teenage slang, expressing disdain for teachers and what they represent. The resulting stylistic diversity sets Bulgarian apart from Macedonian and Serbian, where many of the Turkish words remain as the only option. Along with vocabulary, Modern Bulgarian has also borrowed from neighbouring Balkan languages a number of structural features, thereby bearing witness to the unication process so typical of the extended and intensive language contact that is a feature of the Balkan linguistic melting pot. The fact that the equivalent of the, for example, is added to the end of the noun in Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian, is often attributed to this process. So is the fact that, uniquely among the Slavic languages, only Bulgarian and Macedonian have lost their case endings. (A lucky break, indeed, for the English-language speaker!) Bulgarian also shares with Modern Greek and Romanian and with Albanian too the loss of the innitive. Its place in Bulgarian is taken by a clause, so I want to know is rendered by iskam da znam, literally, (I) want that (I) know.
daiteh mee! 4 give me! dallecheh 3:5 far (away) dam 8; shteh vee dam I give; Ill give you den 1; kolko denna? day; how many ~s? depozit 5 deposit dessert 3:0 dessert dirrektor 3:0; dirrektorra director; the ~ dness 3:2 today dobreh 8; ~! well; 2 good!, ne!, ok, right! dobrootro 1 good morning dobur 1 good dobur den 1 good morning/ afternoon dobur vecher 1 good evening (na) dobur chass! 3:10 good luck! doh 5 (next) to, until doktor (as term of address) 8 doctor domati 4 tomatoes dovizhdanneh 4 goodbye doyda 5; (shteh) doydeh (I) come; itll ~/ will be here doydohteh 3:10 you came drebni small change droogo 2: (neshto) ~? other; anything else? dulzhuh 3:8 I owe
f 3:6 at (time); in (see vuf) fcherra 8 yesterday firmata 3:1 the rm fsichki 3:2 everyone fsichko 4; ~ hoobavo!; ~ meh bollee all, all together, total, everything; all the best!; everything hurts (me)
gara 5; garata; garata na Soffiya railway station; the ~; Soas ~ garnitoora 3; eema lee ~? side dish; does a ~ go with it? gazirana voda 4 soda water golyam 2 (m), golyama (f), golemi (pl) big, large gospodin 1; gospodinneh! 1 Mr; sir! gospozha 1; gospozho! Mrs; madam! gospozhitsa 8; gospozhitse! Miss; Miss! gottof, gottovi (pl) 3:3 ready govorya 9; govoritteh; govoretteh! I speak; you ~ ; speak! gradina 1 garden, park
Into the twentieth century

With the advance of industrial capitalism in Bulgaria in the rst decades of the twentieth century, hopes for the development of the country turned to Western Europe, especially to Germany, France and England. This was accompanied, particularly in science and technology, by an inux of German, French and English words. Interestingly, when the rst railway crossed the country, French gave the language peron platform and gara station both terms social rather than technical while English gave Bulgarian the more technical boofer buffer, toonell tunnel and relsa the rail.
eddin 1 (m), edna (f), edno (n) one; a/ an ee 2; ee 4 and; plus, too eekonna 10; eekonni icon; icons eema 3 there is/ are eemam 6; ~ greshka; ~ noozhda ot I have; Im wrong; I need eematteh lee noozhda ot neshto? do you need anything? eemeh 9; eemetto mee name; my ~ eemeyl 3:10 e-mail eftin 9 cheap eh 5 is
gram 4; dvesta grama gram; two hundred grams greshka 9; greshkata eh moya mistake; my ~ grip 8 u harresvam 10 I like hoobaf 1 (m), hoobava (f) nice, beautiful, ne, good hoobavata gradina 9 the beautiful garden hoobaviya plash 9 the nice beach (fsichko) hoobavo! 10 all the best! hottel 5 hotel hranata 8 the food
10
ella! (sg) 9, ellatteh! (pl) 9 come!
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Bulgarian words and phrases are listed here in the forms found in the dialogues and explanations on CDs 1, 2 and 3. The numbers indicate the unit in which the word or phrase rst occurs.
a 3:5 but; and ~ vee-eh? 1 and (what about) you? adress 5; adressa vee? address; your ~? aftoboos 6; aftoboossa; bus, coach; the ~ aftogara 7 coach station aggentsiya 5 agency, office ako 3:3 if ako obeechatteh 3:3 if you please, if you would (be so kind) allergiya 3:8 allergy allo 8 hello (on the phone) amee 3:0 well, er angleeyski 9; na ~ English (adj), English language; in English anglichanin 10 Englishman anglichanka 6 English woman apartament 3:0 apartment apsolyootno! 3:0 absolutely! aptekata 3:8 the chemists, the pharmacy aspirin 3:8 aspirin ass 4; ~ sushto I; me too assansyor 3:7; assansyora lift, elevator; the ~ chai 8 tea chakaiteh! 3:10 wait! chasha 3:3; chashi cup, glass; ~s chass 8; chassoveh; (pet) chassa hour, slot, appointment; hours, slots; ve hours (pet) chassuh (ve) oclock (f seddem) chassuh 3:6 (at seven) oclock bagash 6; bagazha; ~ mee luggage, baggage; the/ my ~ banani 10 bananas banka 5; bankata bank; the ~ bavno 9 slowly beera 4; beerata beer; the ~ besheh 8 you were; s/he/it was bess 3; devvet ~ dvaiset without; twenty to nine da 1 yes da (+ verb) 5 to (do smth), shall we (do smth), lets (do smth) cheh 3:5 that chervenno 4; chervennoto red; the ~ one choodesno! 3:2 marvellous!, wonderful! choostvam seh 8 I feel billet 6; billetta; billetti ticket; the ~ ; tickets bleezo 7 near(by) bluggodaryuh (vee) 1; bluggodarim (I) thank you; we ~ bolki 8 pains bollee (meh) 8 it hurts (me) boolevart 5 boulevard bootilka 2; bootilki bottle; ~s bravvo! 4 bravo! bulgarin 10 Bulgarian man bulgarka 5 Bulgarian woman bulgarski 9; na ~ Bulgarian (adj), ~ language; in ~ bulgarskitteh (adj) 10 the Bulgarian (pl) byalo 4 white
In the second half of the twentieth century, Bulgarian played host to a second wave of Russian words which ooded the country following its transformation into a Soviet satellite. Russian sociopolitical terminology dominated all walks of life, and in everyday interaction comrade in the shape of male and female terms of address soon replaced Mr and Mrs. Swiftly as these terms were adopted, however, just as swiftly were they abandoned after the fall of communism in 1989 in favour of the traditional gospodin and gospozha.
Another period of rapid change

The breathtaking transformation of Bulgarian political and economic life since 1989 was accompanied by similarly breathtaking changes in the language. Held rmly for over forty years in the stultifying embrace of socialist conformity, its innate creativity was suddenly released. A veritable ood of colloquial, slang and foreign words invaded the media, shocking the purists, but demonstrating once more the ability of Bulgarian to adopt and adapt. The literary standard was suddenly expanded, and long-established boundaries between styles blurred. Huge numbers of words made their way into Bulgarian from British and American English, even when perfectly good native words existed. But fashion is fashion, and you have to go with the ow. So menidzhurri managers have taken over in industry, politicians need bodigardi bodyguards, old grannies have to put up with a tokshow talkshow at praimtaim primetime whether they understand or not, meat is grilled on a barbekyoo barbecue and everything that is in is kool. Mostly, words of English origin are transcribed into Cyrillic, but sometimes, when the Cyrillic forms would be particularly outlandish, as with change, rent-a-car and wi-, they are left in their original English spelling. Initial fears that this sudden inux of English would lead to a demise of vast numbers of Slavic words and also pazzee Bozheh! God forbid! radically change Bulgarian grammar, have proved largely unfounded. Many terms have been cleverly translated using traditional patterns of word formation. Just one such example is tursachka search engine which sounds very homely by echoing an old pattern of forming names that end in -ka for tools and machines. Moreover, statistical
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Glossaries
research has shown that it is primarily the high frequency of only a very small number of English words that has created the impression of a contemporary language totally dominated by English. So, although it might seem that both Cyrillic and Bulgarian are mortally threatened by the latest foreign invasion, history is merely repeating itself. This time English, the favoured communication medium in the global village rather than Turkish, Russian or French is spearheading the process of language enrichment. In Speak Bulgarian with condence we have focused on the most basic structures of modern Bulgarian, many of which also have parallels in English. We have also made use of many words adopted from English. This not only brings the two languages and cultures closer in a global world, but also makes language learning easier. It is always good in a strange environment to meet old friends and familiar faces! Words for numbers, months, days of the week and colours youll nd not in the glossaries themselves, but in separate lists on the immediately preceding pages. The following abbreviations are used: (adj) (f) (m) (n) (pl) (sg) (smth) (US) adjective, feminine masculine neuter plural singular something American
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Glossaries
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MONTHS
January February March April May June yanoo-ari July fevroo-ari August mart april mai yuni Sepember October November December yuli avgoost septemvri oktomvri noh-emvri dekemvri
COLOURS
black blue cherno sinyo orange oranzhevo purple red white yellow lillavo chervenno byalo zhulto
Cultural information
In this course, you will encounter a number of situations in which Bulgarian practice differs confusingly from English. We have drawn attention to them in passing, but feel that the following additional observations might further contribute to your fun with Bulgarians and their language. SAYING YES AND NO
brown kafyavo green grey zellenno seevo
TIME EXPRESSIONS
at 5 oclock at what time? early ve hours vuf pet chassuh vuf kolko chassuh? rano pet chassa
QUESTION WORDS
how kak
how much, kolko how many what what kind when where where to which who to whom whose why kakvo kakuf, kakva, kakvo, kakvee koga kuddeh zakuddeh koy, koya, ko-eh, ko-ee koy na kogo na kogo zashto
ve minutes ago predee pet minooti how long? how long for? in ve minutes last week late next week today tomorrow kolko vremmeh? za kolko vremmeh? slet pet minooti minalata sedmitsa kussno sledvashtata sedmitsa dness ootreh
Be careful with head movements when you use da yes and neh no. In Bulgaria, da is sometimes accompanied by a sideways rocking of the head and neh by a single, swift upwards movement. You will often hear neh, neh! or da, da! repeated in quick succession and accompanied by the appropriate repeated movements of the head. This is considered less abrupt and more polite than a single neh or da. But beware: although the polite double neh, neh! may be accompanied by what looks like a repeated English nod, whatever it looks like, it still means no! BULGARIAN SURNAMES You can tell by the ending of most Bulgarian surnames whether a person is male or female. Surnames of men usually end in -ov or -ev, for instance, Antonov and Zlatev, pronounced Antonof and Zlatef. Surnames of women usually end in -ova or -eva. So, the wife of Mr Antonov is Mrs Antonova and the wife of Mr Zlatev is Mrs Zlateva. But listen carefully as you learn: as in these two surnames, the stress is not necessarily on the o or e before the v. LAW AND ORDER Bulgarians are Balkan Slavs and, as a people, are generally relaxed and easy-going. They live in a beautiful country blessed with mountains, sun and sea and they like to appear laid-back. At the same time, they respect efciency and, in principle, readily accept the need for rules and regulations. In practice, however, as individuals, they like to think of rules and regulations as applying more to others than to themselves. A long history of subservience within alien empires has led them to
whats the time? kolko eh chassuh? yesterday fcherra
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Cultural information
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become masters of improvisation and ingenuity. One of their folk heroes is Wily Peter, who loves to take short cuts and, with a mixture of guile, inventiveness and good humour, quietly nds ways around obstacles placed in his way by authority. SOFIA THE CAPITAL CITY Soa pronounced Sofya, not Sophia takes its name from the Greek for wisdom and has been Bulgarias capital since 1879. With a population of over 1.5 million, almost one-fth of Bulgarias total, it dominates the countrys social, cultural and economic life. The city centre is compact, easily explorable on foot and has many ne buildings dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. MONEY MATTERS Bulgaria joined the European Union in January 2007, but has not yet introduced the euro. The ofcial currency continues to be the traditional lev pronounced lef and meaning lion. The smaller unit, one hundred to one lev, is the stotinka. Both units were introduced in the late nineteenth century, immediately after Bulgarias liberation from the Ottoman Empire. The plural of lev in English, following the practice of English, should logically be levs and the plural of stotinka, stotinkas. In Bulgarian, however, the more common plural form of lev is levva and the plural of stotinka is stotinki. These are the forms you will hear used in Bulgaria, both in Bulgarian and in the English spoken by Bulgarians. So, when in Soa, do as Soa does! Finally, a word of warning to help you hold on to your levs. Usually, in Bulgaria, please and thank you are trusty companions, except when settling your bill in restaurants and taxis. Unless you have the right change, best avoid saying thank you when handing over your levs. It will be interpreted as keep the change and you will soon be out of pocket.
Essential vocabulary
NUMBERS
0 noola 1 edno 2 dveh 3 tree 4 chetiri 5 pet 6 shess 7 seddem 8 ossem 9 devvet 10 desset 11 eddinaiset 12 dvanaiset 13 treenaiset 14 chet(i)rinaiset 15 petnaiset 16 shesnaiset 17 sedemnaiset 18 ossemnaiset 19 devvetnaiset 20 dvaiset 21 dvaiset ee edno 30 treeyset 40 chetirset 50 peddesset 60 sheyset 70 seddemdesset 80 ossemdesset 90 devvedesset 100 sto 200 dvesta 300 treesta 400 chetiristotin 500 petstotin 600 shestotin 700 seddemstotin 800 ossemstotin 900 devvetstotin 1000 hillyada
ORDINAL NUMBERS (without the)

(m) and (pl) 1st purvi (f) purva ftora treta chetvurta peta shesta sedma osma devveta desseta (n) purvo ftoro treto chetvurto peto shesto sedmo osmo devveto desseto
DAYS OF THE WEEK

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday ponnedelnik ftornik sryada chetvurtuk pettuk subbota nedellya
2nd ftori 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th treti chetvurti peti shesti sedmi osmi devveti
10th desseti
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Essential vocabulary
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Listening skills
SURVIVAL PHRASES can I pay by credit card? can you repeat please? do you have a map? do you speak English? I dont know I dont understand (Bulgarian) I speak a little French more slowly, please once again, please what is in Bulgarian? what is ? write down the price, please write it (with English letters) mozheh lee da platyuh suss kreditna karta? mozheh lee da poftoritteh, mollya?/ poftoretteh, ako obichatteh eematteh lee karta? govoritteh lee angleeyski? neh znam neh razbeeram (bulgarski) govorya malko frenski po bavno, mollya oshteh vednush, mollya kak seh kazva na bulgarski? kakvo znachee ? napishetteh tsennata, mollya napishetteh goh (na latinitsa)
Pronunciation
Bulgarians normally write using the Cyrillic alphabet.* In this course, however, we have used English letters to render the approximate sounds of Bulgarian. This results in some letter combinations that are unusual for the English eye. So, when following the written dialogues in the booklet, concentrate on listening to and imitating the authentic sound of spoken Bulgarian on the recordings. Pronounce the combination zh like the sound of the s in measure or the g in genre. Pronounce double oo as in foot and double ee as in feet. The letter h when not bolded is silent in nal position in the combinations -eh, -oh, -uh to represent the sound e in pet, o in pot and u in but. The bold h is pronounced as ch in loch. Pronounce the letter u like the a in asleep. The hyphen (-) divides two sounds that have their own individual value and are not run together, as in nave. Otherwise, pronounce the letters as you would in English.
REQUESTS AND WARNINGS (In the polite plural) come! come in! give! go! help! pay! repeat! show! sit down! stop! tell/say! watch out! write! ellatteh! vlesteh! zuppovyadaiteh! daiteh! otiddetteh! pomognetteh! plattetteh! poftoretteh! pokazhetteh! sednetteh! spretteh! kazhetteh! vnimavaiteh! napishetteh!
All Bulgarian words of more than a single syllable have one syllable pronounced with greater emphasis and more clearly than the rest. We have indicated this stressed syllable by showing it in bold type. Some single-syllable words are stressed and some longer words have two stresses. We have shown these too in bold type.
* If you would like to learn Bulgarian using Cyrillic, try Teach Yourself Bulgarian, also by Michael Holman and Mira Kovatcheva, published by Hodder & Stoughton, 2008.
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Conversation 1
PART 1: GETTING TO KNOW THE LOCALS LI CD1, TR2
PRONOUNS AND VERBS IN THE PRESENT to have eemam eemash eema eemammeh eematteh eemat to not have nyamam nyamash nyama nyamammeh nyamatteh nyamat to be able to moga mozhesh mozheh mozhem mozhetteh mogat
Victoria Collins Dobur den, Maria. Maria Dobur den, gospozha Collins. Dobur den, Victoria Collins Maria Victoria Collins George Collins Maria Victoria Collins George Collins
gospodin Collins. Mozheh lee? Mozheh, razbeera seh. Mollya, zuppovyadaiteh. Hoobava gradina. Mnogo hoobava gradina. Bluggodaryuh. Mollya, zuppovyadaiteh. Bluggodaryuh. Mersi.
ass tee toy tya toh nee-eh vee-eh teh
I you he she it we you they
PRESENT AND PAST TENSE OF THE VERB to be WITH PERSONAL PRONOUNS I am/was you are/were he is/was she is/was it is/was ass sum/byah tee see/besheh toy eh/besheh tya eh/besheh to eh/besheh we are/were you are/were they are/were nee-eh smeh/byahmeh vee-eh steh/byahteh teh sa/byaha
PART 2: MORE SOCIALIZING WITH THE LOCALS LI CD1, TR8
Maria Victoria Collins Maria George Collins Maria George Collins Maria
Kaffeh, gospozha Collins? Neh, bluggodaryuh. A vee-eh, gospodin Collins? Neh, neh kaffeh. Mozheh lee malko voda, mollya? Mozheh, razbeera seh. Zuppovyadaiteh. Mnogo bluggodaryuh. Mmm, hoobava voda. Da, mnogo hoobava voda.
HOW TO VARY PRONOUNS I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they ass tee toy tya toh I you he she it meh me teh you mee to me tee to you na/za/suss men to/for/with me na/za/suss tep to/for/with you na/za/suss neggo to/for/with him na/za/suss neya to/for/with her na/za/suss neggo to/for/with it na/za/suss nass to/for/with us na/za/suss vass to/for/with you na/za/suss tyah to/for/with them
Grammar reference
Insight
When malko is used to say a little, it doesnt change. It is then the opposite of mnogo a lot. If you want to say that something is small or little, you have to change the word for gender (masculine, feminine and neuter), e.g. malka gradina a small garden.
goh him ya her
moo to him ee to her
goh it nee us vee you gee them
moo to it nee to us vee to you im to them
nee-eh we vee-eh you teh they
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Grammar reference
HOW TO SAY one/many AND the (underlined)
one
Masculine Feminine Neuter eddin vlak edna massa edno taksi a train a table a taxi vlaka massata taksito the train the table the taxi
Victoria Collins Good morning, Maria. Maria Good morning, Mrs Collins. Good morning, Mr Victoria Collins Maria Victoria Collins George Collins Maria Victoria Collins George Collins
Collins. May I? You may, of course. Please, come in. A nice garden. A very nice garden. Thank you. Please, do sit down. Thank you. Thank you.
many
Masculine Feminine Neuter vlakoveh massi taksita trains tables taxis vlakovetteh massitteh taksitata the trains the tables the taxis
HOW TO JOIN ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS (the underlined)
one
Masculine Feminine Neuter hoobaf hottel (a) nice hotel hoobava gradina (a) nice garden hoobavo pilleh (a) nice chicken hoobaviya hottel the nice hotel hoobavata gradina the nice garden hoobavoto pilleh the nice chicken
Maria Victoria Collins Maria George Collins Maria George Collins Maria
Coffee, Mrs Collins? No, thank you. And you, Mr Collins? No, not coffee. May I (have) a little water, please? You may, of course. Here you are. Thank you very much. Mmm, nice water. Yes, very nice water.
many
Masculine Feminine Neuter hoobavi hotteli nice hotels hoobavi gradini nice gardens hoobavi pilletta nice chickens hoobavitteh hotteli the nice hotels hoobavitteh gradini the nice gardens hoobavitteh pilletta the nice chickens
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Conversation 2
PART 1: ORDERING DRINKS AT THE COFFEE-BAR LI CD1, TR12
Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress
Mozheh lee? Da, eddin momment. Dobur den. Zdraveyteh! Edno kapoochino ee eddin toppul shokolat, mollya. Neshto droogo? Ee edna bootilka mineralna voda. Malka illee golyama? Malka. Dobreh, eddin momment.
Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria
*** ***
Insight
The words zdraveyteh! and zuppovyadaiteh! are plural and formal, addressing more than one person or showing deference. They have singular, intimate forms, too: zdravey! hello (to a friend) zuppovyadai! come in, here you are (to someone you know well). Spot the difference the plural forms are always longer!
PART 2: COMPLETING YOUR ORDER LI CD1, TR17
Its nice that you came. It was a pleasure for me. For me too. Well be needing you. Come again! Gladly. Ill be coming again in October. Good, only not on the third of October. Im at a conference. Me too. Are you busy on the twenty-rst of October? Wait a moment. Ill tell you right away. Have you a calendar? Yes, here you are. On the twenty-rst I am free. In the morning or afternoon? In the morning. Do you have a mobile phone in Bulgaria? Yes, Ill write the number down right away. Thank you. My number is zero, eight eight ve, fourteen, twenty-nine, ninety. Please give me your e-mail address. My e-mail address is on my business card. Ill send you my CV. Marvellous! Have a nice day! All the best! Good luck!
Waitress Milena Waitress Milena Waitress Milena Waitress Nikolai Waitress Milena
Za vass? Eddin sandvich. Neshto droogo? Ee edna malka bootilka mineralna voda. Stoodenna lee? Neh, neh stoodenna, mollya. Dobreh, eddin momment... Zuppovyadaiteh! Za vass toppul shokolat ee mineralna voda. Bluggodaryuh. Za vass edno kapoochino ee eddin sandvich. Da, mersi.
All the best! We wish you success cheers and good health!
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Conversation 3/10: KEEPING IN TOUCH
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Conversation 3/10: KEEPING IN TOUCH

LI CD3, TR27
Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria Boyan Victoria
*** ***
Hoobavo eh, cheh doydohteh. Besheh mee priyatno. Na men sushto. Shteh eemammeh noozhda ot vass. Ellatteh pak. S oodovolstvee-eh. Shteh doyda pak press messets oktomvri. Dobreh, samo neh na treti oktomvri. Na konferentsiya sum. Ass sushto. Za-et lee steh na dvaiset ee purvi oktomvri? Chakaiteh malko, segga shteh vee kazha. Eematteh lee kalendar? Da, etto, zuppovyadaiteh. Na dvaiset ee purvi sum svoboden. Sootrinta illee sledobet? Sootrinta. Eemmatteh lee mobillen telefon vuf Bulgaria? Da, segga shteh napisha nommera. Bluggodaryuh. Moya nommer eh noola, ossem ossem pet, chetirinaiset, dvaiset ee devvet, devveddesset. Mollya, daiteh mee vashiya eemeyl adress. Eemeyl adressa mee eh na vizitnata kartichka. Shteh vee pratya moyto seevee. Choodesno! Lek den! Fsichko hoobavo!
Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress
Could you? Yes, one moment. Good morning. Hi. One cappuccino and one hot chocolate, please. Anything else? And a bottle of mineral water. Small or large? Small. Ok, wont be a moment.
Na dobur chass! Fsichko hoobavo! Zhella-em vee oospeh ee nazdravveh!
Waitress Milena Waitress Milena Waitress Milena Waitress Nikolai Waitress Milena
For you? A sandwich. Anything else? And a small bottle of mineral water. Cold? No, not cold, please. Ok. Wont be a moment Here you are! For you, hot chocolate and mineral water. Thank you. For you, a cappuccino and a sandwich. Yes, thank you.
Conversation 2
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Waitress Milena Waitress Milena
A da, ee edna bootilka topla mineralna voda. Topla lee? Eh, neh topla, razbeera seh! Samo neh stoodenna. Sooper. Bluggodaryuh mnogo. 1. Attention please! The train in the Lyulin direction will be arriving at Serdika Station in one minute. Next stop Tsentur Station. 2. Doors closing. Stand away from the train! 3. Attention please! Train number one hundred and sixteen for Vidin leaves from platform three at fteen thirty. Train number two hundred and seventy-four for Bourgas leaves from platform two at seventeen thirty-ve. Train number three hundred and forty-ve for Rouss leaves from platform six at twenty eighteen. 4. Attention please! The train for Istanbul has a delay of one hour and thirteen minutes and will arrive at eleven ten.
Insight
See how useful the little word lee is in Bulgarian put it after a word or phrase and it becomes a question. So, when youve ordered a coffee, the waitress might ask you a variety of questions, all formed just by adding lee: Espresso lee? Espresso? Golyamo lee? A large one? Suss mlyako lee? With milk?
Conversation 3
PART 1: BOOKING A TABLE LI CD1, TR21
5. Please switch off your mobile phones.
Waitress Restorant Tino. Dobur den. Boyan Antonov Zdraveyteh. Edna massa za tazzi vecher vuf
seddem, mollya.
Waitress Za kolko dooshi? Boyan Antonov Za chetiri dooshi. Waitress Suzhalyavam. Nyama svobodna massa za chetiri
dooshi. Eema lee golyama massa? Da, eema massa za shess dooshi. Dobreh, mollya edna massa za shess dooshi. Za tazzi vecher lee? Da, za tazzi vecher. Edna massa za shess dooshi za tazzi vecher vuf seddem. Boyan Antonov Neh, neh. Po dobreh vuf ossem. Waitress Dobreh, vuf ossem.
Boyan Antonov Waitress Boyan Antonov Waitress Boyan Antonov Waitress
20
Conversation 3/9: WARNINGS AND INSTRUCTIONS
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Conversation 3/9: WARNINGS AND INSTRUCTIONS

LI CD3, TR26 1. Vnimanee-eh! Vlaka f possoka Lyoolin pristigga na stantsiya Serdika slet edna minoota. Sledvashta spirka stantsiya Tsentur. 2. Vratteeteh seh zatvaryat. Stoyteh dallecheh ot vlaka. 3. Vnimanee-eh! Vlak nommer sto ee shessnaiset za Viddin zaminava ot treti kolovoss f petnaiset chassuh ee treeyset minooti. Vlak nommer dvesta seddemdesset ee chetiri za Boorgas zaminava ot ftori kolovoss f seddemnaiset chassuh ee treeyset ee pet minooti. Vlak nommer treesta chetirset ee pet za Roosseh zaminava ot shesti kolovoss f dvaiset chassuh ee ossemnaiset minooti. 4. Vnimanee-eh! Vlaka za Istanbool eema zakusnennee-eh eddin chass ee trnayset minooti ee shteh pristigneh vuf eddinaiset chassuh ee desset minooti. 5. Mollya, isklyoochetteh mobilnitteh telefoni!
Waitress Milena Waitress Milena
Oh, yes, and a bottle of warm mineral water. Warm? Well, not warm, of course! Just not cold. Super. Thank you very much.
Insight
Bulgarians are rightly proud they can now cross their capital city Soa from north-west to south-east by the underground/ subway: s metroto. The word metro without the denite article is neuter, of course, and just as in French has the stress on the nal syllable.
Waitress Tino Restaurant. Good afternoon. Boyan Antonov Hello. A table for this evening at seven,
please.
Waitress For how many people? Boyan Antonov For four. Waitress Im sorry. There isnt a free table for
four. Is there a big table? Yes, there is a table for six. All right, a table for six people, please. For this evening? Yes, for this evening. A table for six people for this evening at seven. Boyan Antonov No, no. Better at eight. Waitress Fine, at eight.
Boyan Antonov Waitress Boyan Antonov Waitress Boyan Antonov Waitress
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Conversation 3
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31/03/2010 14:38
Insight
The equivalent of this has a masculine form (tozzi), a feminine form (tazzi) and a neuter form (tova). You use tova in the statement Tova eh This is and in the question Kakvo eh tova? What is this?.
George Maria George Maria George Maria

***
PART 2: GIVING YOUR ORDER AT A RESTAURANT LI CD1, TR26
Waiter Boyan Antonov Waiter Boyan Antonov Waiter Milena Boyan Antonov Waiter Nadya Boyan Antonov Waiter Boyan Antonov
Dobur vecher, gospodin Antonof, zuppovyadaiteh. Za vass eema massa za shess dooshi. Bluggodaryuh. Eema lee topla soopa tazzi vecher? Da, eema. Kolko soopi? Edno, dveh, tree tree soopi. Tazzi vecher eema hoobavo pilleh ee mnogo hoobava ribba. Za men pilleh ee salata. Za men ribba suss garnitoora. Za vass, gospozha? Za men neshto bess messo edna pitsa ee edna salata, mollya. Oshteh dveh pitsi, mollya. Kolko salati? Edno, dveh, tree, chetiri, pet pet salati, mollya.
Maria, when is the pharmacy open? From eight in the morning to eight in the evening. What do you need? Some aspirin. Ill give you some aspirin. Thank you, but I also need something for an allergy. Fine, the pharmacy is open now. Good morning. Some aspirin, please. Here you are. Anything else? And something for an allergy. I dont know how to say it in Bulgarian. Cream or tablets? Yes, yes, cream. Here you are. This cream is very good. Marvellous! Thats all. How much do I owe you? Eight seventy. Do you have the exact money? No, Ill give you ten levs. No problem. Heres one lev thirty change. Have a nice day!
George Pharmacist George Pharmacist George Pharmacist George Pharmacist George Pharmacist
Conversation 4
PART 1: SHOPPING FOR FOOD LI CD1, TR30
Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria
Eddin kilogram domati ee tree krastavitsi, mollya. Golemi illee malki krastavitsi? Neh mnogo golemi. Tree krastavitsi polovin kilo. Kolko stroova edno kilo krastavitsi?
Conversation 3/8: VISITING A PHARMACY
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Conversation 3/8: VISITING A PHARMACY

LI CD3, TR23
George Maria George Maria George Maria

***
Maria, koga rabboti aptekata? Ot ossem sootrinta doh ossem vecherta. Ot kakvo eemash noozhda? Ot aspirin. Ass shteh tee dam aspirin. Bluggodaryuh, noh eemam noozhda ee ot neshto za allergiya. Dobreh, segga aptekata eh otvorenna. Dobrootro. Eddin aspirin, mollya. Zuppovyadaiteh. Neshto droogo? Ee neshto za allergiya. Neh znam kak seh kazva na bulgarski. Krem illee tabletki? Da, da, krem. Zuppovyadaiteh. Tozzi krem eh mnogo hoobaf. Choodesno! Tova eh fsichko. Kolko vee dulzhuh? Ossem ee seddemdesset. Eematteh lee tochni parri? Neh, shteh vee dam desset levva. Nyama problemi. Etto leff ee treeyset resto. Lek den!
Waiter Boyan Antonov Waiter Boyan Antonov Waiter Milena Boyan Antonov Waiter Nadya Boyan Antonov Waiter Boyan Antonov
George Pharmacist George Pharmacist George Pharmacist George Pharmacist George Pharmacist
Good evening, Mr Antonov, welcome. There is a table for six for you. Thank you. Is there any hot soup this evening? Yes, there is. How many soups? One, two, three three soups. Tonight there is some nice chicken and very ne sh. For me, chicken and salad. For me, sh with a side dish. For you, madam? For me, something without meat a pizza and a salad, please. Two more pizzas, please. How many salads? One, two, three, four, ve ve salads, please.
Insight
When accepting payment for small purchases at checkout desks, the assistants are usually keen to take your small coins. They will often ask Eematteh lee tochni parri? Have you the exact money? or Eematteh lee drebni? Have you any change?. So when out shopping, have your stotinkas at the ready!
Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria
A kilogram of tomatoes and three cucumbers, please. Big or small cucumbers? Not very big. Three cucumbers half a kilo. How much is a kilo of cucumbers?
Conversation 4
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Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant
Dva ee dvaiset. Eema lee limoni? Da, kolko limona iskatteh? Dva limona. Dva limona treesta grama. Oshteh neshto? Da, eema hoobavi praskovi. Daiteh mee polovin kilo praskovi. Zuppovyadaiteh. Kolko stroova fsichko? Fsichko seddem levva ee sheyset ee pet stotinki.
George Bell-boy George Bell-boy

***
Excuse me, where is the toilet? Straight ahead along the corridor and after that to the right. The rst door? No, not the rst. I think its the third one. A white door.
Insight
The Bulgarian equivalents of a bottle of, a kilo(gram) of and a packet of need no linking word like of: kilogram domati a kilogram of tomatoes bootilka veeno a bottle of wine kootiya beera a can of beer kootiya tsigari a packet of cigarettes.
George Excuse me, is there a toilet here? Chamber- maid 1 Oh, there is. But its out of order. You can go George
*** to the second oor. Thank you. Good morning. Is that the toilet? Yes, but its engaged. Youd better go to the restaurant on the ninth oor. The lift is round the corner. I dont understand assansyor. What is assansyor? It travels up and down. Yes, yes, now I understand. Thank you. Come with me, sir, this way! Whats the matter? Is the lift out of order too? It is working, but its engaged at the moment. You can go to the caf. Where is the caf? Its over there, the red door on the left.
George Chamber-maid 2
PART 2: BUYING DRINKS TO TAKE HOME LI CD1, TR36
George Chamber-maid 2 George Chamber-maid 2 George Chamber-maid 2 George Chamber-maid 2
Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai
Kolko stroova kootiya beera? Suzhalyavam, noh nyama kooti-ee. Eema samo bootilki. Kolko stroova edna bootilka beera? Beerata stroova seddemdesset stotinki. Bootilkata stroova dvaiset stotinki. Dobreh, daiteh mee ossem bootilki beera. Iskatteh lee neshto droogo? Tree litra hoobavo veeno vuf kootiya. Chervenno illee byalo? Chervenno. Iskam ee edna kola. Polovin litur, eddin litur illee dva litra? Dva litra. A da, ee edna bootilka gazirana voda. Fsichko dvaiset levva. Zuppovyadaiteh. Dovizhdanneh.
24
Conversation 3/7: FINDING YOUR WAY ROUND A BUILDING
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Conversation 3/7: FINDING YOUR WAY ROUND A BUILDING

LI CD3, TR20
George Bell-boy George Bell-boy

***
Izvinnetteh, kuddeh eh toh-alletnata? Napravo po korridora ee slet tova vdyasno. Purvata vratta lee? Neh, neh purvata. Misslya, cheh eh trettata. Edna byala vratta. Izvinnetteh, eema lee took toh-alletna? Oh, eema... noh neh rabboti. Mozheh da otiddetteh na ftoriya etash. Bluggodaryuh. Dobur den. Tova lee eh toh-alletnata? Da, noh eh za-etto. Po dobreh otiddetteh vuf restoranta na devvetiya etash. Assansyora eh zat uggulla. Neh razbeeram assansyor. Kakvo eh assansyor? Puttoova nagorreh ee nadolloo. Da, da, segga razbeeram. Bluggodaryuh. Gospodinneh, ellatteh! ellatteh! Kakvo eema? Assansyora sushto lee neh rabboti? Rabboti, noh eh za-et vuf mommenta. Mozheh da otiddetteh vuf kaffetto. Kuddeh eh kaffetto? Etto tam, chervennata vratta vlyavo.
Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant Maria Shop assistant
Two twenty. Are there any lemons? Yes, how many lemons do you want? Two lemons. Two lemons three hundred grams. Anything else? Yes, there are some nice peaches. Give me half a kilo of peaches. Here you are. How much all together? All together seven levs and sixty-ve stotinkas.
George Chamber-maid 1 George

***
George Chamber-maid 2
George Chamber-maid 2 George Chamber-maid 2 George Chamber-maid 2 George Chamber-maid 2
Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai Shop assistant Nikolai
How much is a can of beer? Im sorry but there arent any cans. There are only bottles. How much is a bottle of beer? The beer costs seventy stotinkas. The bottle costs twenty stotinkas. Ok, give me eight bottles of beer. Would you like anything else? Three litres of good wine in a carton. Red or white? Red. I want a coke, too. Half litre, one litre or two litres? Two litres. Oh yes, plus a bottle of soda water. All together twenty levs. There you go. Goodbye.
Conversation 4
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Conversation 5
PART 1: GETTING A TAXI LI CD1, TR41
Victoria Collins Operator Victoria Collins Operator Victoria Collins

***
Edno taksi za garata, mollya. Adressa vee? Oolitsa Tsar Simmeh-on nommer eddinaiset. Kolata shteh doydeh slet petnaiset minooti. Bluggodaryuh.
Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai
Taxi driver Dobur den, za vass lee eh taksito? Victoria Collins Da, za men. Taxi driver Zuppovyadaiteh. Kuddeh da vee ostavya, na Victoria Collins
*** parkinga lee? Neh, mollya ostavvetteh meh na svetofarra.
Taxi driver Tova eh garata. Tree ee peddesset, mollya. Victoria Collins Zuppovyadaiteh. Taxi driver Mersi. Dovizhdanneh.
PART 2: RENTING A CAR LI CD1, TR46 Izvinnetteh, gospodin Antonof, kuddeh eema aggentsiya rent-a-car? Boyan Antonov Eema edna aggentsiya doh garata. Neh znam adressa. Milena Shteh otidda doh garata suss taksi. *** Milena Izvinnetteh, tova lee eh aggentsiyata rent-a-car? Office worker Da, zuppovyadaiteh. Golyama kola lee iskatteh? Milena Neh, iskam malka kola. Office worker Za kolko denna? Milena Za dvanaiset denna. Office worker Dobreh! Mollya, ostavvetteh depozit sto ee peddesset evro. Milena Oh, shteh otidda doh bankata. Slet desset minooti shteh doyda suss parritteh.
Milena
One ticket to Borovets. For when? For Saturday. On Saturday there are tickets only for eleven and twelve oclock. Oh, eleven oclock is very late for skiing. Are there any tickets for earlier on Sunday? Theres a bus at seven oclock, but the tickets are more expensive. I beg your pardon? What is that youre saying? The tickets for the bus at seven oclock are more expensive. Is that so? Why? Because everyone wants to travel early. Well yes, of course. And how much is the more expensive ticket? Eight sixty. Once again, please. Its very noisy. Eight levs and sixty stotinkas. Fine, give me a ticket for Sunday at seven oclock. Skiing as a sport is not cheap
26
Conversation 3/6: BUYING COACH TICKETS
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Conversation 3/6: BUYING COACH TICKETS

LI CD3, TR17
Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai Ticket clerk Nikolai
Eddin billet za Borovets. Za koga? Za subbota. F subbota eema billetti samo za eddinaiset ee za dvanaiset chassuh. Oh, eddinaiset chassuh eh mnogo kussno za ski. Eema lee billetti za po ranno vuf nedellya? Eema aftoboos f seddem chassuh, noh billettitteh sa po-skuppi. Mollya? Kakvo kazvatteh? Billettitteh za aftoboossa f seddem chassuh sa po skuppi. Takka lee? Zashto? Zashtoto fsichki iskat da puttoovat ranno. Amee da, razbeera seh. Ee kolko stroova po skuppiya billet? Ossem ee sheyset. Oshteh vednush, mollya. Mnogo eh shoomno. Ossem levva ee sheyset stotinki. Dobreh, daiteh mee eddin billet za nedellya f seddem chassuh. Ski sporta neh eh eftin ...
Victoria Collins Operator Victoria Collins Operator Victoria Collins

***
A taxi for the railway station, please. Your address? Number eleven Tsar Simeon Street. The car will be along in fteen minutes. Thank you.
Taxi driver Good afternoon, is the taxi for you? Victoria Collins Yes, for me. Taxi driver Please get in. Where shall I drop you? At the car
park?
Victoria Collins No, please drop me at the traffic lights.

***
Taxi driver This is the railway station. Three fty, please. Victoria Collins Here you are. Taxi driver Thank you. Goodbye.
Milena
Excuse me, Mr Antonov, where is there a rent-acar office? Boyan Antonov There is an office by the railway station. I dont know the address. Milena Ill go to the station by taxi. *** Milena Excuse me, is this the rent-a-car office? Office worker Yes, come in. Do you want a large car? Milena No, I want a small car. Office worker For how many days? For twelve days. Milena Office worker Right! Please leave a deposit of one hundred and fty euros. Milena Oh, Ill go to the bank. Ill be back with the money in ten minutes.
Conversation 5
54
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Office worker Milena Office worker
Nyama problemi. Kuddeh eh kolata? Na parkinga doh aggentsiyata.
Conversation 6
PART 1: CATCHING A TRAIN LI CD2, TR2
Victoria Collins Izvinetteh, kuddeh sa kassitteh za billetti? Information Officer Kassitteh sa vdyasno.
***
Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by
Victoria Collins Ticket clerk Victoria Collins Ticket clerk

***
Eddin billet za Plovdif, mollya. Za koy vlak? Za vlaka vuf ossem ee chetirset. Billetta stroova dvanaiset levva ee dvaiset stotinki. Izvinnetteh, moga lee da vee pomogna? Eematteh mnogo bagash. Bluggodaryuh mnogo. Nyama problemi. Vee-eh neh steh ot Soffiya, nallee? Neh, ass sum anglichanka. Tova eh vlaka za Plovdif. Izvinnetteh, tova myasto svobodno lee eh? Fsichki mesta sa svobodni. Zuppovyadaiteh. Eema myasto ee za bagazha.
Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by
Passenger 1 Victoria Collins Passenger 1 Victoria Collins Passenger 1 Passenger 2 Victoria Collins
Excuse me, is Macedonia Square nearby? No, its not near. Its a long way. In how many minutes can I get there? Well, er about twenty-ve minutes. Oh, thats too much. But is there a tram that goes there? Yes, tram number twelve. Is the stop far? No, its not far. Over there, on the corner. How many stops is it by tram? Hm Slaveykov Square is the rst stop, Garibaldi Square the second, Alabin Street is the third, and another one so, four stops. I reckon that in ten minutes youll be there. But I have no time! I have to be at Macedonia Square at half past six. Now its twenty past six. Youd better take a taxi. Yes, yes, Ill take a taxi. Thank you very much. Dont mention it.
PART 2: TAKING A COACH LI CD2, TR8
Maria Ticket clerk Maria Ticket clerk Maria
Eddin billet za Soffiya, mollya. Za koy aftoboos? Za aftoboossa vuf devvet ee petnaiset. Seddem levva ee peddesset stotinki. Ot koy sektor zaminava aftoboossa?
Conversation 3/5: DISCUSSING TIME AND DISTANCES
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Conversation 3/5: DISCUSSING TIME AND DISTANCES

LI CD3, TR14
Office worker Milena Office worker
No problem. Where is the car? In the car park next to the office.
Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by
Maria Passer-by Maria Passer-by
Izvinnetteh, bleezo lee eh ploshtat Makedoniya? Neh, neh eh bleezo. Dallecheh eh. Za kolko minooti moga da otidda tam? Amee za okolo dvaiset ee pet minooti. O, tova eh mnogo. A eema lee tramvay do tam? Da, tramvay nommer dvanaiset. Dallecheh lee eh spirkata? Neh, neh eh dallecheh. Etto tam, na uggulla. Kolko spirki eh s(uss) tramvay? Hm, ploshtat Slaveykof eh purvata, ploshtat Garibaldi eh ftorata, oolitsa Alabin eh tretata, ee oshteh edna znachee chetiri spirki. Misslya, cheh slet desset minooti shteh steh tam. Noh ass nyamam vremmeh! F shess ee polovinna tryabva da sum na ploshtat Makedoniya. Segga eh shess ee dvaiset. Po dobreh vzemmetteh taksi. Da, da. Shteh vzema taksi. Mnogo vee bluggodaryuh. Nyama nishto.
Victoria Collins Excuse me, where are the ticket offices? Information Officer The ticket offices are to the right.
***
Victoria Collins Ticket clerk Victoria Collins Ticket clerk

***
A ticket to Plovdiv, please. For which train? For the train at eight forty. The ticket costs twelve levs twenty stotinkas. Excuse me, can I help you? You do have a lot of luggage. Thank you very much. No problem. You arent from Soa, are you? No, Im English. This is the train to Plovdiv. Excuse me, is this seat free? All the places are free. Do take a seat. There is room for the luggage, too.
Passenger 1 Victoria Collins Passenger 1 Victoria Collins Passenger 1 Passenger 2 Victoria Collins
Insight
In English two negative words together are either bad grammar or logically make a positive. In Bulgarian more than one negative word in the same statement is the rule and is both good grammar and still negative. So you hear Nishto neh razbeeram I dont understand anything and Nyama nishto There isnt anything or Dont mention it.
Maria Ticket clerk Maria Ticket clerk Maria
A ticket to Soa, please. For which coach? For the coach at nine fteen. Seven levs fty stotinkas. Which bay does the coach leave from?
Conversation 6
52
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Ticket clerk Maria Ticket clerk

***
Sektor tree. Kuddeh eh tozzi sektor? Doh kassitteh, vdyasno. Tova eh aftoboossa za Soffiya, nallee? Da, zuppovyadaiteh. Daiteh mee billetta. Zuppovyadaiteh. Eematteh lee bagash? Neh, nyamam. Puttoovam bess bagash. Aftoboossa zaminava slet pet minooti ee pristigga vuf Soffiya vuf eddin ee petnaiset.
Maria Driver Maria Driver Maria Driver
George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant
Good afternoon. Good afternoon. How can I help you, sir? Could you show me this cup? The red one? No, the one on the left, the green one. There you go. Is it for a present? Yes, I want something typically Bulgarian as a present. Shall I show you this red tablecloth? No, thank you, I dont like red. Heres another cup. Is that to your liking? Yes, I like it very much, but its small for tea. Is there a bigger one? Now Ill show you the biggest one. Wonderful! That cup I do like. Is it expensive? No, its not expensive. How much does it cost? Fourteen forty. Im sorry, I dont understand. Write the price down, if you would be so kind. Of course. There you are. Is that (too) expensive for you? No, no, thats ne. Here you are.
Conversation 7
PART 1: ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS LI CD2, TR12
George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George
Maria Passer-by 1
***
Izvinnetteh, zna-etteh lee kuddeh eh possolstvoto na Vellikobritanniya? Suzhalyavam, neh znam. Zdraveyteh, ass neh sum ot Soffiya. Kazhetteh, mollya, kak da otidda doh possolstvoto na Vellikobritanniya? Neh eh bleezo. Tryabva da otiddetteh suss tramvay. Koy nommer? Tramvay nommer dveh illee dvanaiset. Spirkata eh doh aftogarata. Kolko spirki tryabva da puttoovam? Tree spirki. Bluggodaryuh. Izvinnetteh, mozheh lee? Suss kakvo moga da vee pomogna? Kak da otidda doh possolstvoto na Vellikobritanniya? Zna-etteh lee adressa? Da, oolitsa Moskofska nommer treeyset ee tree.
Maria Policeman Maria Policeman Maria Policeman Maria

***
Maria Passer-by 2 Maria Passer-by 2 Maria
30
Conversation 3/4: SHOPPING FOR GIFTS
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Conversation 3/4: SHOPPING FOR GIFTS

LI CD3, TR11
Ticket clerk Maria Ticket clerk

***
Bay three. Where is the bay? Next to the ticket offices, to the right. This is the coach for Soa, isnt it? Yes, in you get. Give me your ticket. Here you are. Do you have any luggage? No, I dont. Im travelling without luggage. The coach leaves in ve minutes and arrives in Soa at one fteen.
George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George Shop assistant George
Dobur den. Dobur den. Suss kakvo da vee pomogna, gospodinneh? Mozheh lee da mee pokazhetteh tazzi chasha? Chervennata lee? Neh, tazzi vlyavo, zellennata. Zuppovyadaiteh. Za podaruk lee eh? Da, iskam neshto tipichno bulgarsko za podaruk. Da vee pokazha lee tazzi chervenna pokrifka za massa? Neh, bluggodaryuh, neh obeecham chervenno. Etto oshteh edna chasha. Harresva lee vee? Da, mnogo mee harresva, noh eh malka za chai. Eema lee po golyama? Segga shteh vee pokazha nai golyamata. Choodesno! Tazzi chasha mee harresva. Skuppa lee eh? Neh, neh eh skuppa. Kolko stroova? Chetrinaiset ee chetirset. Izvinetteh, neh razbeeram. Napishetteh tsennata, ako obeechatteh. Razbeera seh. Etto. Tova skuppo lee vee eh? Neh, neh, tova eh dobreh. Zuppovyadaiteh.
Maria Driver Maria Driver Maria Driver
Maria Passer-by 1
***
Excuse me, do you know where the British Embassy is? Im sorry, I dont know. Hello, I am not from Soa. Do please tell me how to get to the British Embassy. Its not near. Youll have to go by tram. What number? Tram number two or twelve. The stop is next to the coach station. How many stops do I have to go? Three stops. Thank you. Excuse me, could you? How can I help you? How can I get to the British Embassy? Do you know the address? Yes, number thirty-three Moskovska Street.
Conversation 7
Maria Policeman Maria Policeman Maria Policeman Maria

***
Maria Passer-by 2 Maria Passer-by 2 Maria
50
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Passer-by 2 Maria
Aha. Napravo po tazzi oolitsa. Tam eema edna malka gradina. Possolstvoto eh vlyavo, na uggulla. Bluggodaryuh mnogo. Priyaten den!
PART 2: FINDING YOUR HOTEL LI CD2, TR17
Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Milena Nikolai Milena Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Milena Waitress
Milena Nikolai
***
Neh znam kuddeh eh hotella. Etto eddin politsai na uggulla. Shteh goh pittam. Izvinnetteh, mozheh lee? Dobur den. Kazhetteh, suss kakvo moga da vee pomogna? Zna-etteh lee kuddeh eh hottel O-azis? Eddin momment, ee ass neh sum ot Nessebur. Shteh pittam na informatsiyata.
Nikolai Policeman Nikolai Policeman

***
Policeman Hottel O-azis eh bleezo. Ostavvetteh kolata na parkinga. Nikolai Kuddeh eema parkink? Policeman Etto tam. Hottella eh na sto metra ot parkinga. Nikolai Vuf koya possoka? Policeman Napravo. Tam eema restorant. Hotella eh doh Nikolai Policeman Nikolai Policeman
restoranta. Bleezo lee eh plazha? Mnogo eh bleezo. Etto tam, vlyavo. O, da, mnogo hoobaf plash. Bluggodaryuh vee. Priyaten den.
Good afternoon. We would like something for lunch. Here you are, this is the menu. Ill come back shortly for the order. Milena, do you want soup? No, Ill just take a tomato and cucumber salad and a little fetta cheese. Anything to drink? A glass of mineral water. Ill take a chicken sandwich and a juice. Are you ready with the order? We are ready. One tomato and cucumber salad. With cheese? Exactly! In addition, one chicken sandwich. Anything to drink? A glass of mineral water and an orange juice. Is that all? Give (us) the bill too, if you please, because we dont have much time. No problem. Ill be right back.
Conversation 8
PART 1: BEING UNWELL LI CD2, TR21
Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov
Dobrootro, Zlatkeh. Kolko eh chassuh? Dobrootro, Boyanneh. Devvet bess dvaiset eh. Zashto neh see na rabbota? Losho mee eh.
Conversation 3/3: ORDERING A QUICK LUNCH
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Conversation 3/3: ORDERING A QUICK LUNCH

LI CD3, TR8
Passer-by 2 Maria
Ah, yes. Straight ahead along this street. There is a little park there. The Embassy is to the left, on the corner. Thank you very much. Have a nice day!
Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Milena Nikolai Milena Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Nikolai Waitress Milena Waitress
Dobur den. Iskammeh neshto za obyat. Tova eh menyto, zuppovyadaiteh. Shteh doyda slet malko za poruchkata. Milena, iskash lee soopa? Neh, shteh vzemma samo edna salata ot domati ee krastavitsi ee malko seerenneh. Neshto za pee-enneh? Chasha mineralna voda. Ass shteh vzemma eddin sandvich suss pilleh ee eddin sok. Gottovi lee steh suss poruchkata? Gottovi smeh. Edna salata ot domati ee krastavitsi. Suss seerenneh lee? Tochno takka! Osven tova, eddin sandvich suss pilleh. Neshto za pee-enneh? Edna chasha mineralna voda ee eddin portokallof sok. Tova lee eh fsichko? Daiteh ee smetkata, ako obichatteh, zashtoto nyamammeh mnogo vremmeh. Nyama problemi. Etto segga.
Milena Nikolai
***
I dont know where the hotel is. Look, theres a policeman on the corner. Ill ask him. Excuse me, could you? Good afternoon. Yes, what is it? How can I help you? Do you know where the Oasis Hotel is? Just a moment. Im not from Nessebur either. Ill ask at the information booth.
Nikolai Policeman Nikolai Policeman

***
Policeman The Oasis Hotel is nearby. Leave your car in the car park. Nikolai Where is there a car park? Policeman Over there. The hotel is one hundred metres from the
car park.
Nikolai In which direction? Policeman Straight ahead. There is a restaurant there. The hotel Nikolai Policeman Nikolai Policeman
is next to the restaurant. Is the beach near? Very near. Over there, to the left. Oh yes, a really nice beach. Thank you. Have a nice day.
Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov
Good morning, Zlatka. Whats the time? Good morning, Boyan. Its twenty to nine. Why arent you at work? Im feeling unwell.
Conversation 8
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Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov
Kakvo tee eh? Choostvam seh slap. Fsichko meh bollee. Fcherra tee besheh na restorant suss kolleggitteh. Neh eh ot hranata. Hranata besheh hoobava. Eemash lee temperatoora? Neh znam. Etto, eemash, razbeera seh! Mozheh bee eh grip.
George Collins Waitress George Collins Waitress
Insight
In Zlatkas question Zashto neh see na rabbota? there is no word for you. It is quite normal for the subject pronoun (I, you, s/he etc) to be left out in Bulgarian. If you say Zashto TEE neh see na rabbota? you put a strong emphasis on tee and imply that everybody else has gone to work, what about YOU?
Good evening. Hello! For you? Can I have a cold beer? Im sorry, but there isnt any cold beer, because today the weather was terribly hot. George Collins Just a moment, please. I dont understand anything. Could you repeat? Waitress There is no cold beer, because the weather was terribly hot today. George Collins Please speak more slowly. Waitress The weather today was very hot. Everyone wants cold beer. Now there isnt any cold beer.
George Collins Aha, I understand. Is there anything cold to drink?
Insight
When extra words such as the Bulgarian for very, today (adverbs) or not are added to phrases expressing a physical or mental state, the personal pronoun (mee, tee, vee etc) must come immediately after, still in second place. See how it works for Im feeling unwell: Losho mee eh. (lit. Bad to me is) Mnogo mee eh losho. (lit. Very to me is bad) Dness mee eh losho. (lit. Today to me is bad) Neh mee eh losho. (lit. Not to me is bad).
Waitress George Collins Waitress George Collins Waitress George Collins
Well, er... there is some orange juice. Pardon? What kind of juice? Juice made from oranges. Do you want some? Fine, give me two glasses of orange juice. Do you want ice? Yes, of course. Wonderful!
PART 2: GOING TO THE DOCTOR LI CD2, TR26
Zlatka Antonova Doctor Kostov Zlatka Antonova Doctor Kostov
Allo, dobrootro. Izvinnetteh, tam lee eh doktor Petrova? Neh, nyama ya. Took eh doktor Kostof. Doktor Kostof, zdraveyteh. Eematteh lee svoboden chass? Suzhalyavam, nyamam svobodni chassoveh.
Conversation 3/2: ORDERING COLD DRINKS
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Conversation 3/2: ORDERING COLD DRINKS

LI CD3, TR5
Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov Zlatka Antonova Boyan Antonov
George Collins Waitress George Collins Waitress George Collins Waitress George Collins Waitress
George Collins Waitress George Collins Waitress George Collins Waitress George Collins
Dobur vecher. Zdraveyteh. Za vass? Mozheh lee edna stoodenna beera? Suzhalyavam, noh stoodenna beera nyama, zashtoto dness vremmetto besheh oozhasno toplo. Eddin momment, mollya. Nishto neh razbeeram. Mozheh lee da poftoritteh? Stoodenna beera nyama, zashtoto dness vremmetto besheh oozhasno toplo. Mollya, govoretteh po bavno. Vremmetto dness besheh mnogo toplo. Fsichki iskat stoodenna beera. Segga stoodenna beera nyama. Aha, razbeeram. Eema lee neshto stoodenno za pee-enneh? Amee ... eema portokallof sok. Mollya? Kakuf sok? Sok ot portokalli. Iskatteh lee? Dobreh, daiteh mee dveh chashi portokallof sok. Iskatteh lee let? Da, razbeera seh. Choodesno!
Whats the matter with you? I feel weak. Everything hurts. Yesterday you were at a restaurant with your colleagues. Its not from the food. The food was ne. Do you have a temperature? I dont know. There, of course you have! Maybe its u.
Insight
When asking for something in English I would like is considered more polite and less abrupt than I want. (I want never gets, remember!) In Bulgarian iskam I want is perfectly acceptable and will not cause offence.
Zlatka Antonova Doctor Kostov Zlatka Antonova Doctor Kostov
Hello, good morning. Excuse me, is doctor Petrova there? No, shes not in. Doctor Kostov speaking. Doctor Kostov, hello. Do you have an appointment free? Im sorry, I dont have any free slots.
Conversation 8
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Zlatka Antonova Doctor Kostov

***
Doktor Petrova shteh doydeh lee? Da, tya shteh eh took slet eddin chass. Zuppovyadaiteh vuf eddinaiset chassuh. Zdraveyteh. Kak seh choostvatteh? Neh seh choostvam dobreh. Eemam temperatoora. Bollee lee took? Neh, koremma neh meh bollee. Eemam bolki vuf mooskoolitteh. Eematteh grip. Shteh vee dam vitamini. Kakvo droogo? Sok ot limoni, toppul chai, topli soopi. Bluggodaryuh. Dovizhdanneh. Priyaten den!
Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov
Victoria Collins May I? Nadya Please, do come in. Victoria Collins Good morning. My name is Victoria Collins. Is Mr Nadya Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins
Antonov in? Hes here. Just a moment Mr Antonov, for you. Mrs Collins? Very pleased to meet you. I am the director of the rm. I am a translator. Wont you take a seat, please. Thank you. Just for ve minutes. No problem. I have time now. Where are you from? From Manchester. How long are you in Bulgaria for? For one month. Do you like it here? Yes, a lot.
Conversation 9
PART 1: SORTING OUT MISUNDERSTANDINGS LI CD2, TR30
Victoria Collins Dobur vecher. Kazvam seh Collins, Victoria Collins. Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist
Eema rezervatsiya za men. Dobur vecher. Gospozha Collins? Nyama rezervatsiya suss vashto eemeh. Mozheh bee eema greshka. Tova hottel Ellit lee eh? Da. Etto rezervatsiyata mee. Hm, eddin momment... Da, da, eematteh rezervatsiya za pet denna. Za staya chetiristotin ee ossemnaiset. Tochno takka, na chetvurtiya etash. Noh vuf staya chetiristotin ee ossemnaiset eh gospozha Colliss. Eemeto mee eh Collins, neh Colliss. Razbeeram. Greshkata eh moya. Mnogo suzhalyavam. Iskatteh lee staya na petiya etash? Nyama problemi.
Conversation 3/1: PAYING A BUSINESS VISIT
Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins
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Conversation 3/1: PAYING A BUSINESS VISIT

LI CD3, TR2
Zlatka Antonova Doctor Kostov

***
Will doctor Petrova be coming in? Yes, shell be here in an hour. Come at eleven oclock. Hello. How are you feeling? Im not feeling well. I have a temperature. Does it hurt here? No, my stomach doesnt hurt. I have pains in my muscles. Youve got u. Ill give you some vitamins. Anything besides that? Lemon juice, hot tea, hot soups. Thank you. Goodbye. Have a nice day.
Victoria Collins Mozheh lee? Nadya Zuppovyadaiteh, vlesteh! Victoria Collins Dobur den. Kazvam seh Victoria Collins. Gospodin Nadya Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins Boyan Antonov Victoria Collins
Antonof took lee eh? Took eh, eddin momment... Gospodin Antonof, za vass. Gospozha Collins? Mnogo mee eh priyatno. Ass sum dirrektora na firmata. Ass sum prevodachka. Zuppovyadaiteh, sednetteh! Bluggodaryuh, samo za pet minooti. Nyama problemi. Segga emam vremmeh. Vee-eh otkuddeh steh? Ot Manchester. Za kolko vremmeh steh v Bulgariya? Za eddin messets. Harresva lee vee took? Da, mnogo.
Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov Doctor Petrova Boyan Antonov
Victoria Collins Good evening. My names Collins, Victoria
Insight
In Bulgarian the words dirrektor and prevodach generally refer to a male director and a male translator. A female director would be dirrektorka and a female translator prevodachka. The nal -ka is the clue! For nationalities too: compare bulgarin and bulgarka, anglichanin and anglichanka.
Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist
Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins
Collins. There is a reservation for me. Good evening. Mrs Collins? There is no reservation in your name. Maybe there is some mistake. Is this the Elite Hotel? Yes. Heres my reservation. Hm, just a moment... Yes, yes, you have a reservation for ve days. For room four hundred and eighteen. Thats right, on the fourth oor. But Mrs Colliss is in room four hundred and eighteen. My name is Collins, not Colliss. I understand. Its my mistake. Im very sorry. Would you like a room on the fth oor? No problem.
Conversation 9
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Mnogo dobreh. Staya petstotin dvaiset ee shess eh svobodna. Bluggodaryuh. Vee-eh razbeeratteh bulgarski mnogo dobreh. Da, da, razbeeram fsichko na bulgarski. Ass govorya bulgarski mnogo dobreh. Ass govorya angleeyski, noh neh mnogo dobreh
Insight
Note that, in contrast to English, my and the are combined and used together. So the Bulgarian for my name is either eemeto mee (lit. name+the my) or mo-eto eemeh (lit. my+the name).
Maria
PART 2: CORRECTING MORE MISTAKES LI CD2, TR35
Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist

***
Allo, kazvam seh Victoria Collins A, da, ot staya petstotin dvaiset ee shess. Tochno takka. Problem lee eematteh, gospozho? Nyama mee bagazha. Segga shteh doydeh Mitko. Govoretteh suss neggo. Suss kakvo moga da vee pomogna? Tova neh eh moya bagash. Tova neh eh vashta staya! Stayata mee eh petstotin dvaiset ee shess. Noh tova eh staya shestotin dvaiset ee shess. Na petiya etash smeh, nallee? Neh, na shestiya etash smeh. Razbeeram. Greshkata eh moya. Ellatteh suss men, shteh vee pokazha vashta staya. Etto vashiya bagash. Eematteh lee noozhda ot neshto? Neh, bluggodaryuh. Segga nyamam noozhda ot nishto.
Victoria George Victoria Maria George Maria Victoria Maria Victoria Maria Victoria
Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko
***
Cheers, George! Cheers, Victoria! When are you leaving? On Sunday. Victoria, the second of June is not on Sunday. Yes, yes! My mistake. Sunday is the rst of June. Were travelling on Monday. When will you be coming again? In September. My wife and I dont like the hottest season. Yes, in September its not very hot and there arent many tourists. Maria, youll be coming to England in August, wont you? Yes, I love to travel. I have a ticket for the twentysecond of August. Super. Here, this is our address. Thank you. Our telephone is 0044 161 973 12 19.
Mitko Victoria Collins
Maria Victoria
Good. You have my address and telephone, dont you? Yes. All the best, Maria!
38
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Insight
Bulgarian makes great use of the verb to be and the preposition na to indicate participation in a whole variety of activities: na pochifka (to be) on holiday na restorant (to be) at a restaurant na rabbota (to be) at work na kaffeh (to be) having coffee na ski (to be) skiing.
Very good. Room ve hundred and twenty-six is free. Thank you. You have a very good understanding of Bulgarian. Yes, yes, I understand everything in Bulgarian. I speak Bulgarian very well. I speak English, but not very well
PART 2: STAYING IN TOUCH AND MEETING UP LI CD2, TR44
Maria Victoria George Victoria Maria George Maria Victoria Maria Victoria Maria Victoria
Maria Victoria
Nazdravveh, George! Nazdravveh, Victoria! Koga puttoovatteh? Vuf nedellya. Victoria, ftori yuni neh eh vuf nedellya. Da, da, eemam greshka. Nedellya eh purvi yuni. Nee-eh puttoovammeh vuf ponnedelnik. Koga shteh doydetteh pak? Press septemvri. Nee-eh suss zhenna mee neh harresvammeh nai topliya sezon. Da, press septemvri neh eh mnogo toplo ee nyama mnogo tooristi. Maria, tee shteh doydesh vuf Angliya press avgust, nallee? Da, obeecham da puttoovam. Eemam billet za dvaiset ee ftori avgust. Sooper! Etto, tova eh adressa nee. Bluggodaryuh. Telefonna nee eh noola noola chetiri chetiri, edno shess edno, devvet, seddem tree, dvanaiset, devvetnaiset (0044 161 973 12 19). Dobreh. Vee-eh eematteh moya adress ee telefon, nallee? Da. Fsichko hoobavo, Maria!
Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist Victoria Collins Receptionist

***
Hello, my names Victoria Collins Oh, yes, from room ve hundred and twenty-six. Thats right. Is anything wrong, madam? My luggage is missing. Mitko will be up right away. Speak to him. How can I help you? This is not my luggage. This is not your room! My room is ve hundred and twenty-six. But this is room six hundred and twenty-six. We are on the fth oor, arent we? No, were on the sixth oor. I see. My mistake. Come with me, Ill show you your room. Heres your luggage. Is there anything you need? Thank you, no. Now I dont need anything.
Conversation 9
Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko Victoria Collins Mitko
***
Mitko Victoria Collins
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Conversation 10
PART 1: MAKING NEW FRIENDS LI CD2, TR39
George Collins Boyan Antonov
Dobur den. Vee-eh bulgarin lee steh? Da, bulgarin sum. Zdraveyteh! Moga lee da vee pomogna? George Collins Kak seh kazva tova na bulgarski? Boyan Antonov Eekonna. George Collins Da, tochno takka, eekonna. Ass obeecham bulgarskitteh eekonni. Boyan Antonov Ass sushto. Vee-eh steh anglichanin, nallee? George Collins Da, priyatno mee eh. Kazvam seh George Collins. Boyan Antonov Ass sum Boyan Antonof. Mnogo mee eh priyatno. George Collins Tova eh zhenna mee, Victoria. Victoria Collins Zdraveyteh! Priyatno mee eh. Boyan Antonov Na men sushto. A tova eh moyta zhenna. Zlatka Antonova Eemetto mee eh Zlatka. Mnogo mee eh priyatno. George Collins Na nass sushto. Nee-eh suss zhenna mee mnogo harresvammeh tazzi tsurkva. Boyan Antonov Da, nee-eh sushto. Na pochifka lee steh vuf Bulgariya? George Collins Neh, nee-eh eemammeh malka kushta took.
George Collins Boyan Antonov
Good afternoon. Are you Bulgarian? Yes, I am. Hello. Can I help you? George Collins What is the Bulgarian for this? Boyan Antonov Eekonna. George Collins Yes, thats right, eekonna. I do like Bulgarian icons. Boyan Antonov Me too. You are English, arent you? George Collins Yes, how do you do! My names George Collins. Boyan Antonov I am Boyan Antonov. Very pleased to meet you. George Collins This is my wife, Victoria. Victoria Collins Hello. Pleased to meet you. Boyan Antonov Me too. And this is my wife. Zlatka Antonova My name is Zlatka. Very pleased to meet you. George Collins We are, too. My wife and I really like this church. Boyan Antonov Yes, we do too. Are you in Bulgaria on holiday? George Collins No, we have a small house here.
Insight
In English the remains in the same position no matter how many adjectives you add to the noun. In Bulgarian the denite ending is attached only to the rst adjective. So you have: eekonnitteh the icons but bulgarskitteh eekonni and hoobavitteh bulgarski eekonni stayata the room but golyamata staya and moyata golyama staya.
40
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Speak Bulgarian With Confidence

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Speak Bulgarian with condence

103410 TY SPEAKING BULGARIAN.indd Spread 1 of 48 - Pages(i)

103410 TY SPEAKING BULGARIAN.indd Spread 2 of 48 - Pages(ii)

TY Level 6 CEFR LEVEL C2

Speak Bulgarian with condence

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(I) understandrazbeeram untildoh unwell: Im feeling ~losho mee eh up nagorreh

very; ~ soon mnogo; slet malko vitaminvitamin vodka votka

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tramtramvay translator prevodach (I) travelputtoovam typically tipichno

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Recorded at Alchemy Studios, London

103410 TY SPEAKING BULGARIAN.indd Spread 8 of 48 - Pages(viii, 81)

lukewarm toppul lunch obyat

juicesok just; ~ a momentsamo; eddin momment

kilokilo kilogramkilogram (I) know; do you ~?znam; zna-etteh lee?

103410 TY SPEAKING BULGARIAN.indd Spread 9 of 48 - Pages(80, 1)

English (language)angleeyski (ezik)

Only got a minute?

103410 TY SPEAKING BULGARIAN.indd Spread 10 of 48 - Pages(2, 79)

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Only got ve minutes?

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uggul 7; (na) uggulla; (zat) uggulla corner; on the ~; round the ~

Only got a minute? got ve minutes? Only

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10 Only got ten minutes?

Preserving the language

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mnogo 1 very; much; many; a lot

Nineteenth century national revival

nyamam 6; ~ noozhda ot nishto I dont have; I dont need anything

The evolution of a national standard

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Enrichment through literature and education

Contact with other Balkan languages

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da doyda lee? 5 shall I come?

Into the twentieth century

ella! (sg) 9, ellatteh! (pl) 9 come!

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Another period of rapid change

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brown kafyavo green grey zellenno seevo

whats the time? kolko eh chassuh? yesterday fcherra

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ORDINAL NUMBERS (without the)

DAYS OF THE WEEK

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ass tee toy tya toh nee-eh vee-eh teh

I you he she it we you they

PART 2: MORE SOCIALIZING WITH THE LOCALS LI CD1, TR8

goh him ya her

moo to him ee to her

goh it nee us vee you gee them

moo to it nee to us vee to you im to them

nee-eh we vee-eh you teh they

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