Definite Articles in Bulgarian: the true rule [Christo Tamarin's blog][Блогът на Христо Тамарин]

Definite Articles in Bulgarian: the true rule

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Definite Articles in Bulgarian: the true rule

Bulgarian Language: Putting definite articles, first approach.

Note: In this text, substantives, adjectives, numerals and pronouns are all called nouns.
In order to express definiteness, in Bulgarian, usually, a definite article (or shortly article) is added to the noun as an ending.

The algorithm of putting article in Bulgarian can be represented as a chain of rules.

If some rule is applied, then the task is accomplished and no more rules are checked and applied. Therefore, the ten rules which follow will be also marked as exits.

Rule_1 (exit_1).
- Applies to nouns in a form ending in -А or -Я(-JA): Singular-Plural does not matter, gender does not matter.
- The article is -ТА.
- The stress position does not change.
- Examples: двата, хилядата, пѫтищата, рѣшенията, селата, краката, рамената, рѫката, рѣката, сѫдията, слугата, бащата, майката, войската, армията, никаквата.
- eXamples: dvata, xiljadata, putiqata, resheniata, selata, krakata, ramenata, rukata, rekata, sudiata, slygata, baqata, majkata, vojskata, armiata, nikakvata.
- Note: In Bulgarian (and also in Russian and German), no genders are distinguished in Plural.

Rule_2 (exit_2).
- Applies to nouns in Plural (gender does not matter).
- The article is -ТѢ (in jat-orthography: -ТѢ; in ОФ-orthography: -ТЕ, Romanized: -TE).
- Examples: двѣтѣ, стотѣ́, рѫцѣтѣ, раменѣтѣ, градоветѣ, войскитѣ, армиитѣ, никаквитѣ.
- eXamples: dvete, stotè, rucete, ramenete, gradovete, vojskite, armiite, nikakvite.
- The stress position does not change.
- Note: Numerals greater than 3 have the stress on the article.
- Note: Moreover, numerals greater than 3 may take an archaic form of the article -тѣ̋х: десеттѣ̋х Божи заповѣди (desettehx Bozhi zapovedi).

Rule_3 (exit_3).
- Applies to nouns ending in -О or -Е or -У or -Ю(JY) (gender does not matter).
- The article is -ТО.
- The stress position does not change.
- Examples: дѣтето, телето, селото, рамото, рѣшението, чичото, Сийчето, морето, всичкото, аташето, менюто, парвенюто, гуруто, табуто, кенгуруто.
- eXamples: deteto, teleto, seloto, ramoto, reshenieto, chichoto, Sijcheto, moreto, vsichkoto, atasheto, menjyto, parvenjyto, gyryto, tabyto, kengyryto.

Rule_4 (exit_4).
- Applies to neuter nouns.
- The article is -ТО.
- The stress position does not change.
- Examples: таксито, партито.
- eXamples: taksito, partito.

Rule_5 (exit_5).
- Applies to feminine nouns.
- The article is -ТА.
- The stress is moved to the article.
- Examples: кръвта, младостта, калта, нощта, гнойта.
- eXamples: kruvta, mladostta, kalta, noqta, gnojta.

- Note: If the task has not been accomplished yet - if no rule has been applied yet - if no exit has been taken yet - then surely this is a masculine Singular noun.

Rule_6 (exit_6).
- Applies to (masculine Singular) nouns ending in И (I).
- The article is -Я̌Т. Romanized: -UT.
- In the natural orthography: -ЪТ̌.
- The stress position does not change.
- Examples: десетия̌т, мѫжкия̌т, женския̌т, старшия̌т.
- Examples-nat: десетиът̌, мѫжкиът̌, женскиът̌, старшиът̌.
- eXamples: desetiut, muzhkiut, zhenskiut, starshiut.

Rule_7 (exit_7).
- Applies to (masculine Singular) nouns ending in Й (J).
- The article is -Я̌Т having the final Й (J) built-in.
- In romanization, the article is -UT.
- In the natural orthography: -IЪТ̌ or -ЬТ̌ or -ЪТ̌.
- The stress position does not change.
- Examples: края̌т, героя̌т, ратая̌т, лакея̌т, критерия̌т.
- Examples-nat: краıът̌, героıът̌, ратаıът̌, лакеът̌, критериът̌.
- eXamples: krajut, gerojut, ratajut, lakejut, kriterijut.

Rule_8 (exit_8).
- Applies to (masculine Singular) adjectives, substantivated or not, and to the numeral един (edin=one).
- An old article -И- is added first, then a new article -Я̌Т, and the result is -ИЯ̌Т.
- Note: Having the old article -I- from Proto-Slavic, the so called full form of the adjective is rendered.
- The stress position does not change.
- In romanization, the new article is -UT.
- In the natural orthography, the new article is -ЪТ̌.
- Examples: болния̌т, здравия̌т, бѣлия̌т, черния̌т, голѣмия̌т, малкия̌т, добрия̌т, лошия̌т, другия̌т, единия̌т.
- Examples-nat: болниът̌, здравиът̌, бѣлиът̌, черниът̌, голѣмиът̌, малкиът̌, добриът̌, лошиът̌, другиът̌, единиът̌.
- eXamples: bolniut, zdraviut, beliut, cherniut, golemiut, malkiut, dobriut, loshiut, drygiut, ediniut.

Rule_9 (exit_9).
- Applies to some substantives (masculine Singular nouns) ending in a historically soft consonant.
- The article is -Я̌Т. Romanized, -JUT.
- In the natural orthography, -ЬТ̌ or -IЪТ̌.
- The stress position does not change except for the word деня̊т.
- Examples: деня̊т, царя̌т, коня̌т, пѫдаря̌т, овчаря̌т, учителя̌т, огъня̌т, лакътя̌т, нокътя̌т.
- Examples-nat: день̀т̌, царьт̌, коньт̌, пѫдарьт̌, овчарьт̌, учительт̌, огъньт̌, лакътьт̌, нокътьт̌.
- Examples: denjùt, carjut, konjut, pudarjut, ovcharjut, ychiteljut, ogunjut, lakutjut, nokutjut.

- Note: If exit 6 to 9 was taken, then please be aware that the Ъ vowel is built in the Я̌ letter and not the A vowel.
- Note: Especially, If exit 9 was taken, then the article was officially written -ЬТ according to the pre-1945 orthography.

Rule_10 (exit_10).
- The last rule. The last exit which implies. (Applies to masculine Singular ending in a historically hard consonant.)
- The article is -ЪТ. Romanized, -UT.
- In the natural orthography, -ЪТ̌.
- The stress position can change in monosyllabic words only, as marked in dictionaries.
- Examples: носъ̀т, дѫбъ̀т, борът, градъ̀т, пѣтелът, лъвъ̀т, тигърът, отговорът, езикът.
- Examples-nat: носъ̀т̌, дѫбъ̀т̌, борът̌, градъ̀т̌, пѣтелът̌, лъвъ̀т̌, тигърът̌, отговорът̌, езикът̌.
- Examples: nosùt, dubùt, borut, gradùt, petelut, luvùt, tigurut, otgovorut, ezikut.

- Note: Pronominal forms which can accept definite articles behave as adjectives.
- Examples: мой=>моя̌т, твой=>твоя̌т, негови=>неговитѣ, всички=>всичкитѣ, ..
- Examples-nat: мой=>моıът̌, твой=>твоıът̌, негови=>неговитѣ, всички=>всичкитѣ, ..
- eXamples: moj=>mojut, tvoj=>tvojut, negovi=>negovite, vsichki=>vsichkite, ..

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The most important note: are things so complicated?

The final T (iT) of masculine Singular article -ЪТ/-Я̌Т/-ИЯ̌Т
can be omitted in speech. Also, iT can be omitted in spelling (in writing).

Usually, iT it is not pronounced and not heard.

Usually, listeners do not notice whether iT was pronounced or omitted in the speech. If they notice that, no special meaning is imposed, anyway.

A person reading a text in public is not obliged to pronounce iT if iT is written nor omit iT if iT is omitted.

According to the official ОФ-orthography, if iT is omitted in the article -ЪТ, a shortened article -А is usually written, since final -Ъ letters were not pronounced according to the pre-1945 orthography. Now, there is not a problem anymore shortening the article -ЪТ just to -Ъ.

In the so-called natural orthography, iT is written -Ť, the diacritic mark expressing that the T consonant is facultative in the speech.

The same most important note is being repeated - this time not ignoring the "regulations".

The final T (iT) of masculine Singular article -ЪТ/-Я̌Т/-ИЯ̌Т can be omitted in the speech.

Usually, iT it is not pronounced and not heard, i.e. iT is omitted in the speech.

Usually, listeners do not notice whether iT was pronounced or omitted in the speech. If they notice that, no special meaning is imposed, anyway.

A person reading a text in public is not obliged to pronounce iT if iT is written nor omit iT if iT is omitted.

If iT is written, the article is called to be full, and if iT is omitted, the article is called to be short.

According to the official ОФ-orthography, if iT is omitted in the article -ЪТ, then the short article is written -А.

According to the official ОФ-orthography, the following rule assigns different usage of the full and short articles.

Full articles are used with subjects and predicates (i.e. in Nominative).

Otherwise, short articles are used.

Exception: Nicknames usually take short articles even in Nominative.

Of course, the above rule is counterintuitive and not natural.
Rather, it is a clumsy fabrication of pseudo-scholars.
And of course, that rule is not obeyed in the practice.

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▼▼ References (.. hide references ..)

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▼▼ Comments, Q&As (.. hide comments ..) show all the comments

If a question or a comment appears or my reply is necessary, I shall copy the question or the reply in this section here and my reply will go also here.

►► ::christo.tamarin, 2020-04-29 13:30:: (.. show this comment ..)
- Definite Articles in Bulgarian: the role of the genders in the true rule, an Overview
▼▼ ::christo.tamarin, 2020-04-29 13:30:: (.. hide this comment ..)
- Definite Articles in Bulgarian: the role of the genders in the true rule, an Overview
- In Bulgarian, genders are not distinguished in Plural.
  - Forms in Plural take the article -ТА according to Rule_1 (exit_1)
  - or the article -ТѢ (in the ОФ-orthography: -ТЕ) according to Rule_2 (exit_2)
  - depending on the final sound (letter).
- In Singular:
  - Neuter nouns take the article -ТО according to Rule_3 (exit_3) or Rule_4 (exit_4).
  - Feminine nouns take the article -ТА according to Rule_1 (exit_1) or Rule_5 (exit_5).
- In Singular, masculine nouns (substantives, adjectives, numerals, pronouns) take an article depending on the ending.
  - If the ending is -А or -Я (-JA), then the article is -ТА according to Rule_1 (exit_1).
  - If the ending is -О or -Е or -У или -Ю (-JY), then the article is -ТО according to Rule_3 (exit_3).
  - The other cases are covered by Rule_6 (exit_6), .. 7.., .. 8.., .. 9.., .. Rule_10 (exit_10).
  - Please remember that those are masculine Singular forms in consideration.
  - In those other cases, the article is -ЪТ (-UT). However, the -ЪТ article may appear in other orthographic forms:
    - -ЯТ, -ИЯТ, -Я, -ИЯ, -А, [-Ъ].
- Adjectives take their full forms before taking definite articles.
  - In Bulgarian, both full and short forms of the adjectives coincided
  - except in masculine Singular:
  - Ново село, Бѣ̋ла паланка, Бѣли Искър, Нови Искър, Цари мали град, ..
- Please remember again that those are masculine Singular forms in consideration.
  The article is -ЪТ.
  
  Peculiarities appear due to the following reasons:
  - Before taking a definite article, a masculine adjective in Singular takes its full form which ends in -И (-I) and which is rarely used otherwise.
  - After -И (-I), after -Й (-J) and aftera a historically soft consonant (according to Rule_9 (exit_9)), the article -ЪТ is written as -Я̌Т,
    because of the russophile orthography and because of the lack of a suitable letter in the Bulgarian alphabet to denote the Ъ (and О as well) vowel after a soft consonant and after -Й (-J, jot)
    [А=>Я, У=>Ю, Ъ=>?, О=>?].
  - The final consonant T of masculine Singular definite article -ЪТ/-Я̌Т/-ИЯ̌Т is omitted in the speech very often.
    This was well clarified above, in the most important note on the topic.
    Being respectful to the reading public, I am endeavouring always to write down that final letter Т.
    
    In some cases, rulemakers have succeeded in neutralizing such laziness.
    For example, the final T is always written in the numerals
    единадесет, .., деветнадесет, двадесет, .., деветдесет.
    
    However, in the case of masculine Singular definite articles,
    the rulemakers have overstepped their rights,
    having manifested blasphemous violence against the language,
    having fabricated the rule about the full and short articlea .
    which was explained above.
  - When the masculine Singular definite articles has its full form -ЪТ,
    its short form should be -Ъ, but -А is written instead,
    even if a clear -Ъ is heard under stress,
    because the final letter -Ъ was mute in the old pre-1945 orthography.
    Regardless my endeavouring always to write the so called full form of the definite articles
    and not impairing at all my respect to the reading public,
    I reserve the right to use the masculine Singular definite article short form -Ъ.
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►► ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-04 09:23:: Substantive nouns ending in a historically soft consonant
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▼▼ ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-04 09:23:: Substantive nouns ending in a historically soft consonant
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- Here, Masculine Singular nouns (substantives and adjectives) are in consideration only.
- The article is -ЪТ (-UT).
- However, depending on the pronunciation and the orthography, the article -ЪТ may appear in other forms.
  - In the case of the orthography of Romanization, the article is written as -UT. However:
    - Rule_6 (exit_6) and Rule_7 (exit_7) should be ignored and not appled.
      - The article -UT will be assigned by the closing Rule_10 (exit_10). The final sound -I or -J need not be considered as a part of the article.
        
        Examples: desetiut, muzhkiut, zhenskiut, starshiut.
        
        Examples: krajut, gerojut, ratajut, lake[j]ut, kriteri[j]ut.
    - Rule_8 (exit_8) is related to adjectives, to those of them which have reached that point of the algorithm.
      - Before appending the article -UT, the ending -I should be added to produce the full form of the adjectives.
        
        Examples: bolniut, zdraviut, beliut, cherniut, golemiut, malkiut, dobriut, loshiut, drygiut, ediniut.
    - If the Rule_9 (exit_9) is applied, the letter -J- is appended as a soft mark before the aarticle -UT, and thus the aarticle appears as -JUT.
      - Examples: denjut, carjut, konjut, pudarjut, ovcharjut, ychiteljut, ogunjut, lakutjut, nokutjut.
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  - In the case of the Serbomaniac orthography, the article is written as -ЪТ. However:
    - Rule_6 (exit_6) is to be moved after Rule_8.
    - Rule_6 (exit_6) and Rule_7 (exit_7) should be ignored and not appled.
      - The article -ЪТ will be assigned by the closing Rule_10 (exit_10). The final sound -J need not be considered as a part of the article.
        
        Examples: краjът, героjът, ратаjът, лакеjът, критериjът.
    - Rule_8 (exit_8) is related to the adjectives.
      - Before appending the article -UT, the ending -I should be added to produce the full form of the adjectives.
        
        Note: Some adjectives do not distinguish short and full form (мѫжки, женски, овчи, вълчи, ..)
      - In the case of the Serbomaniac orthography, the Rule_6 (exit_6) should be moved after Rule_8 and the Rule_8 should not be exit_8 anymore. Thus, if the algorithm skips Rule_5 (exit_5), this is Rule_8 to be checked next and the algorithm goes to Rule_6 (exit_6), no matter if Rule_8 was applicable.
    - Rule_6 (exit_6) is related to all nouns (Masculine Singular, substantives and adjectives) ending in -И.
      - A linkage letter -J is written before the article -ЪТ.
        
        Examples: десетиjът, мѫжкиjът, женскиjът, старшиjът.
        
        Examples: болниjът, здравиjът, белиjът, черниjът, големиjът, малкиjът, добриjът, лошиjът, другиjът, единиjът.
    - If the Rule_9 (exit_9) is applied, the letter -J- is appended as a soft mark before the aarticle -UT, and thus the aarticle appears as -JUT.
      - Examples: денjът, конjът, царjът, пѫдарjът, овчарjът, учителjът, огънjът, лакътjът, нокътjът.
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  - In the case of the russophile orthography ( ОФ- or post-modern) the article -ЪТ may appear as -Я̌Т or -ИЯ̌Т.
    - The second half of the algorithm - Rule_6 (exit_6), .. 7.., .. 8.., .. 9.., .. Rule_10 (exit_10) - is strictly aligned to the Russophile orthography.
    - The Russophile letter Я has some oddities.
      - It may have the sound Й (J) entangled in it.
      - For the previous consonant, it is a mark of softness .
      - The Ъ sound may be entangled in the letter Я instead of the А sound.
      - This is the case with the letter Я in the Masculine Singular forms of the article.
      - That's why a diacritic mark is applied to the letter Я̌ in those forms of the article.
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- The scope of the Rule_9 (exit_9) has not been clarified yet.
  Historically soft consonant: what does this mean?
  - Please remember that only Masculine Singular nouns (substantives) are in consideration here.
  - Nouns with the affix -ТЕЛ (-TEL), which mean workers (functionaries, figures) or instruments, end in a historically soft consonant.
    - Examples: учител[я̌т], съединител[я̌т], раздѣлител[я̌т], будител[я̌т].
    - Counterexamples: петел[ът], котел[ът].
  - Nouns with the affix -АР (-AR), which mean workers (functionaries, figures), end in a historically soft consonant.
    - Examples: овчар[я̌т], леяр[я̌т], кръчмар[я̌т], библиотекар[я̌т], цигулар[я̌т], писар[я̌т], пѫдар[я̌т].
    - Counterexamples: кантар[ът], пазар[ът].
  - The ten nouns listed below do end in a historically soft consonant:
    - ден[я̌т], път[я̌т], сън[я̌т], кон[я̌т], огън[я̌т], ..
    - цар[я̌т], крал[я̌т], зет[я̌т], нокът[я̌т], лакът[я̌т].
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►► ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-04 20:20:: In Bulgarian, this text is provided in four orthographic variants
- (.. show this comment ..)

▼▼ ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-04 20:20:: (.. hide this comment ..)

In Bulgarian, this text is provided in four orthographic variants.

◄► All the four orthographic variants are based on
- the orthoepic standard of the Bulgarian language..

◄► Buttons are available to switch between orthographic variants.
- Buttons are available here below and also on the top-right corner.

◄► An orthographic variant can be classified as jakavian, ekavian or jatic
- depending on how it reflects the old Ѣ (jat) vowel.
- See the explanation in Bulgarian.
- See an explanation here.
- (.. hide the explanation ..)
  - According to the Bulgarian orthoepic standard, the old Ѣ (jat) vowel is usually rendered as E.
  - However, there are certain cases when it is rendered as JA (IA).
  - If the same letter (Ѣ, jat) is written regardless of the sound, then the orthography is classified as jatic. Further diacritic marks could specify the sound changed to JA (IA).
  - The orthography is classified as ekavian if the same letter Е is written everywhere regardless of the old vowel and regardless of the standard pronunciation, the same letter Е when the sound is Е or the old vowel was Ѣ (jat).
  - The orthography is classified as jakavian if it based on the current pronunciation only.
  - An jatic orthography was used for the Bulgarian language until 1945 when it was replaced by the jakavian one.
  - An jakavian orthography is neglecting dialectal differences. In 1945, the jakavian ОФ-orthography was introduced in order to give place to the new-born N.Macedonian language.
  - .. hide the explanation of jakavian-ekavian-jatic ..

►► Russophile, Serbomaniac: what does this mean for a Bulgarian orthography? (.. show ..)
▼▼ Russophile, Serbomaniac: what does this mean for a Bulgarian orthography? (.. hide ..)
- An orthography for Bulgarian is classified as Russophile:
  - If it is based on the Cyrillic aplhapbet, and
  - it makes use of the letters Ю, Я and Й, which
  - imply the need of similar Cyrillic letters sounding ЙО-ЬО and ЙЪ-ЬЪ-ЙѪ-ЬѪ-JЪ-JѪ.
  - However, such letters are not necessary for the Russian language
  - and therefore such letters have not been created.
- An orthography for Bulgarian is classified as Serbomaniac, if:
  - If it is based on the Cyrillic aplhapbet,
  - without being Russophile.
  - So, the letters Ю, Я и Й are not used.
  - The letter J is used both as a replacement of Й and as a soft sign.
  - Therefore, instead of Я, JА is written, and instead of Ю, JУ is written.
  - Therefore, there is no need of specific letters sounding JЪ or JО.
- .. hide the definitions of Russophile and Serbomaniac .. (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..

◄► The four orthographic variants follow.

Post-modern orthography ( ..see it ..)
- Jatic, Russophile, Cyrillic
Post-modern orthography ( ..hide it ..)
- Jatic Russophile, Cyrillic
- .. see another description .. (in Bulgarian)
- This is my preferred orthographic variant for Bulgarian and I usually follow it in my writings on the internet..
- This is a jatic orthography, not ekavian, not jakavian.
- This is a jatic orthography. It does make use of the letter ѣ.
- Please see where the letter Ѣ is written (in Bulgarian).
- This is a Russophile orthography. Not Serbomaniac. Not Romanized. Strictly Cyrillic.
- This is a Russophile orthography and therefore it makes use of the letters Й, Ю, Я.
- The letter ѫ (big jus) is restored.
- Please see where the letter Ѫ is written (in Bulgarian).
- The two letters џ/Џ and ђ/Ђ are introduced to denote the дж and жд sounds correspondingly.
- Unlike the pre-1945 jatic orthography,
  writing mute final yers is forbidden in the post-modern orthography.
- .. hide the description .. (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..

ОФ-orthography ( ..see it ..)
- Jakavian, Russophile, Cyrillic
ОФ-orthography ( ..hide it ..)
- Jakavian, Russophile, Cyrillic
- .. see another description .. (in Bulgarian)
- This is a jakavian orthography, not jatic, not ekavian.
- This is a jakavian orthography.
  The letter ѣ (jat) is not used and is replaced by е or я
  according to the jakavian norm of pronunciation.
- This is a Russophile orthography. Not Serbomaniac. Not Romanized. Strictly Cyrillic.
- This is a Russophile orthography and therefore it makes use of the letters Й, Ю, Я.
- This has been the official orthography in Bulgaria since 1945.
- Although, it is modified in my writings on the internet:
  - The rule of the so called full and short articles
    in the Bulgarian language is not followed pointedly,
    in order to demonstrate its inconsistency.
- .. hide the description .. (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..

Ekavian-Serbomaniac orthography ( ..see it ..)
- Ekavian, Serbomaniac, Cyrillic
Ekavian-Serbomaniac orthography ( ..hide it ..)
- Ekavian, Serbomaniac, Cyrillic
- .. see another description .. (in Bulgarian)
- This is an ekavian orthography, not ekavian, not jatic.
- This is an ekavian orthography.
  The letter ѣ (jat) is always replaced by the letter е
  or by e̋ in the case when я is written in the ОФ-orthography and
  pronounced jа according to the jakavian norm.
- This is a Serbomaniac orthography. Not Russophile, not Romanized, still Cyrillic.
- This is a Serbomaniac orthography
  and therefore the letters Й, Ю, Я, as well as Ь and Ѣ,
  are not used.
- The letters Й, Ю, Я are replaced by J, JУ, JА correspondingly.
- The letter Я is replaced by JЪ if it sounds in that way and has its origins in an old yer.
- The two letters џ/Џ and ђ/Ђ are introduced to denote the дж and жд sounds, correspondingly.
- The letter ѫ (big jus) is introduced as well.
- Please see where the letter Ѫ is written (in Bulgarian).
- The Masculine Singular form of the definite article is written as -ЪТ or -JЪТ.
- .. hide the description .. (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..

Romanization of Bulgarian ( ..see it ..)
- Ekavian orthography, Roman alphabet
- Not Cyrillic, not Russophile, not Serbomaniac.
- (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..

Romanization of Bulgarian ( ..hide it ..)

Ekavian orthography, Roman alphabet
Not Cyrillic, not Russophile, not Serbomaniac.

Orthographic rules of the Romanization of Bulgarian
- .. show the rules in Bulgarian only ..
- .. show the rules here in English ..

Orthographic rules of the Romanization of Bulgarian (..hide them..)

.. show the rules in Bulgarian only ..
.. hide the rules ..

This is not a transcription or transliteration from Cyrillic to Roman alphabet.
Tova ne e transkripcia na latinica.

This is a new orthographic system for the Bulgarian language based on the Roman alphabet.
Tova e nova pravopisna sistema za bulgarskiut ezik, osnovana na latinskata azbyka.
- Cyrillic-based orthographic systems for Bulgarian (e.g. the official ОФ-orthography) should not have any impact on the Romanization.
- Ne biva da se vlijaete ot suqestvyvaqiut otechestveno-frontovski (OF-)pravopis, osnovan na kirilicata, validen v momentu.
Each Roman letter is assigned just one sound.
Vsehka bykva ot latinicata ima samo edno osnovno zvychene, bez varianti na proiznoshenieto.
- Some Roman letters have also a modified version, no more than one.
- Nehkoi latinski bykvi imat i modificiran variant, ne poveche ot edin.
- The Roman letter H (hache) has not a sound assigned. Instead, it is used as a modifier of the previous letter.
- Latinskata bykva H (h, xash, ejch) nehma sobstveno zvychene, a se izpolzva samo za modificirane na predishnata bykva.
- The modified version of a letter can be produced either by a following modifier letter H or by a diacritic mark haček (caron) in a similar way as in Croatian, Slovak and Czech. Also, an iotized vowel can be denoted by a diaeresis above.
- Osven s bykvata H, modificiraniut variant na edna bykva mozhe da se polychi i s diakritichen znak xachek ili dierezis nad bykvata, kakto v xurvatski, slovashki i cheshki.
The following table specifies the sounding of the Roman letters and their modified versions using Cyrillic letters.

Eto zvycheneto na vsehka bykva ot latinicata i na modificiraniut ih variant, ako ima takuv. Zvycheneto e pokazano s bykva ot kirilicata.

Č

č

Џ=ДЖ

Č

č

Ђ=ЖД

Ď

ď

Я=ѣ

Ě

ě

Я=ѣ

Ě

ě

Ђ=ЖД

Ǧ

ǧ

Ǧ

ǧ

Ѝ

Ǐ

ǐ

Ѝ

Ǐ

ǐ

Ǩ

к̌

Ђ=ЖД

Q̌

q̌

Š

š

Š

š

Ť

ť

Џ=ДЖ

X̌

x̌

X̌

x̌

Ž

ž

Ž

ž

Please note the sounds of the Roman letters X/Y/U/Q shown in red.
Molju zabelezhete zvycheneto na pokazanite v cherveno latinski bykvi X/Y/U/Q.

The modified letter ih (ï) is used in the short form of the personal pronoun Ѝ only.
Modificiranata latinska bykva ih (ï) se pishe samo za kratkoto lichno mestoimenie Ѝ.

The modified letter eh (e̋) is used to denote an old Ѣ which sounds JA according to the jakavian norm.
Modificiranata latinska bykva eh (e̋) se pishe na mehstoto na starata bykva Ѣ, kogato tja zvychi Я(JA).

In the Russophile orthographies of Bulgarian - the ОФ-orthography and the post-modern orthography, the letter Я is polyvalent.
V rysofilskite pravopisi za bulgarskiut ezik - i v otechestveno-frontovskiut, i v post-moderniut, bykvata Я e mnogoznachna.
- It may sound JЪ and then it is written ju or ü in the Romanization.
- Tja mozhe da zvychi JЪ i togava na latinica se pishe ju ili ü.
- It may sound JA, being on the place of an old Ѣ sound, and then it is written eh or e̋ in the Romanization.
- Tja mozhe da zvychi JA, namirajki se na mehstoto na star zvyk Ѣ, i togava na latinica se pishe eh ili e̋.
- It may sound JA, without being on the place of an old Ѣ sound, and then it is written ja or ä in the Romanization.
- Tja mozhe da zvychi JA, bez da е na mehstoto na star zvyk Ѣ, i togava na latinica se pishe ja ili ä.

Although not-Cyrillic based, this is a complete and adequate orthography for the Bulgarian language. It is no way inferior to other orthographic variants for Bulgarian, including the official ОФ-orthography .
Makar da e osnovana na latinicata, a ne na kirilicata, tova e pulnocenna pravopisna sistema za bulgarskiut ezik, kojato po niqo ne otstupva na vsehka dryga pravopisna sistema za bulgarskiut ezik, dori na validniut v momentu ОФ-pravopis.
- This is not a simple transcription or transliteration from Cyrillic to Roman letters. The officially recommended rules of transcription and transliteration which exist are intended for people names and place names and not for longer texts. Moreover, they are aligned to either the English or the French orthography.
- Tova ne e prosto transkripcia na latinica. Dosegashnite oficialno preporuchvani transkripcii su prednaznacheni samo za imena na xora, seliqa, ylici, no ne i za po-dulgi tekstove, i su prigodeni ili kum frenskiut, ili kum anglijskiut pravopis.
- The suggested orthographic system - Romanization of Bulgarian - has been modulated especially for the Bulgarian language. It is not suitable for texts in French or English. It has been adapted for the convenience of writing and reading Bulgarian texts.
- Predlaganata tyk pravopisna sistema e prigodena za bulgarskiut ezik. Tja durzhi smetka za ydobstvoto pri pisane i chetene na tekstove na bulgarski ezik, a ne na frenski ili anglijski tekstove.
- The only obstacle is our tradition. The Bulgarian tradition is based on Cyrillic. We can hardly break with that tradition.
- Edinstvenata prechka pred vuzpriemaneto na tazi pravopisna sistema e nashata tradicia, kojato se osnovava na kirilskata azbyka i s kojato ne mozhem da skusame.

The same text in various languages is provided below. It is to demonstrate that the Romanized text in Bulgarian looks pretty good in comparison with other Slavic languages (Croatian, Slovene, Slovak, Czech, Polish).
Mozhete lesno da se ybedite, che izmeghy slavjanskite ezici bulgarskite tekstove na latinica izgleghat naj-prilichno. Prosto sravnete bulgarski, xurvatski, slovenski, slovashki, cheshki, polski.
- [EN] All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
- [БГ] Bсички хора се рађат свободни и равни по достоинство и права. Tѣ сѫ надарени с разум и съвѣст и слѣдва да се отнасят помеђу си в дух на братство.
- [BG] Vsichki xora se raghat svobodni i ravni po dostoinstvo i prava. Te su nadareni s razym i suvest i sledva da se otnasjat pomeghy si v dyx na bratstvo.
- [BGD] Vsički xora se raǧat svobodni i ravni po dostoinstvo i prava. Te su nadareni s razym i suvest i sledva da se otnasät pomeǧy si v dyx na bratstvo.
- [CRO] Sva ljudska bića rađaju se slobodna i jednaka u dostojanstvu i pravima. Ona su obdarena razumom i savješću pa jedna prema drugima trebaju postupati u duhu bratstva.
- [SL] Vsi ljudje se rodijo svobodni in imajo enako dostojanstvo in enake pravice. Obdarjeni so z razumom in vestjo in bi morali ravnati drug z drugim kakor bratje.
- [SK] Všetci ľudia sa rodia slobodní a sebe rovní, čo sa týka ich dostojnosti a práv. Sú obdarení rozumom a majú navzájom jednať v bratskom duchu.
- [CZ] Všichni lidé rodí se svobodní a sobě rovní co do důstojnosti a práv. Jsou nadáni rozumem a svědomím a mají spolu jednat v duchu bratrství.
- [POL] Wszyscy ludzie rodzą się wolni i równi pod względem swej godności i swych praw. Są oni obdarzeni rozumem i sumieniem i powinni postępować wobec innych w duchu braterstwa.
- [ПОЛ] Вшисцъи луде роsѫ ся волни и рóвни под взглядъем свъей годносци и свъих прав. Сѫ они обдаржени розумъем и суменем и повинни постяповац вобецъ иннъих в духу братъерства.
- The last row is to show that Polish texts could also look pretty good if written in Cyrillic. However, the Polish tradition is far away from Cyrillic.
- Posledniut red mozhe bi qe Vi ybedi, che tekstovete na polski ezik bixu izgleghali po-dobre na kirilica. Polskata tradicia obache e dryga.

The suggested orthographic system - Romanization of Bulgarian - has a big advantage. Unlike the other three orthographic variants for Bulgarian discussed here, the Ъ sound is always denoted by the letter U assigned to it - including verbal endings and definite articles. In this way, the bad legacy caused by our former tradition of writing word-final mute Ъ letters has been overcome.
Predlaganata tyk pravopisna sistema za bulgarskiut ezik, osnovana na latinica, ima golehmo predimstvo. Zvykut Ъ vinugi se oznachava s bykvata U - i v glagolnite okonchania, i v opredelitelnite chlenove. Taka loshoto nasledstvo, porodeno ot nehkogashnata ni tradicia da pishem glyxonehmo Ъ v kraeslovieto, e preodolehno.

The suggested orthographic system - Romanization of Bulgarian - has also a big technical advantage. Only ASCII-7 characters can be used and the keyboard layout need not be changed.
Predlaganata tyk pravopisna sistema za bulgarskiut ezik, osnovana na latinica, ima i golehmo texnichesko predimstvo. Vsichki bykvi su ot naborut ASCII-7 i gi ima na amerikano-anglijskata klaviatyra, kojato e rodna za vseki kompjytur, tablet ili smartfon. Nehma nygha ot smehna na klaviatyrata.

Nonetheless, letters with diacritic marks can be used if more compact text is preferred. In that case another keyboard layout would be used, however.
Ako vse pak predpochitate po-stegnut tekst, to vmesto modificiraqata bykva H bixte mogli da izpolzvate bykvite s diakritichen znak. No qe imate nygha ot smehna na klaviatyrata.

.. Скрий ги правописнитѣ правила за българската латиница ..
.. Skrij gi pravopisnite pravila za bulgarskata latinica ..

The Masculine Singular form of the definite article is written as -UT.

.. hide the description .. (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..

►► ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-28 11:45:: How is arthromania combined with the case system remnants in Standard Bulgarian?
- (.. show this comment ..)
▼▼ ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-28 11:45:: (.. hide this comment ..) (.. show everything in this comment ..)
- How is arthromania combined with the case system remnants in Standard Bulgarian?
- ►► Being definite and having article should be differed. (.. show ..)
- ▼▼ (.. hide ..) There is a full implementation of the arthromania in Bulgarian.
  - This means that definite and indefinite forms are always in opposition. Like English, French, German, .. most European languages.
    - Пѫтя̌т е дълъг.
      - The noun "пѫтя̌т" is definite as it has a definite article.
      - The road is long.
    - Този пѫт е дълъг.
      - The noun "пѫт" has definiteness expressed by a demonstrative pronoun.
      - This road is long.
    - Обиколния̌т пѫт е дълъг.
      - The noun "пѫт" is definite as its attribute has a definite article.
      - (The oblique road is long.) The detour is long.
    - Всѣки пѫт водѣл към Рим.
      Всѣки павиран пѫт водѣл към Рим.
      Асфалтиран пѫт водѣл към Евксиноград.
      - The noun "пѫт" is indefinite.
      - Each road led to Rome. Each paved road led to Rome. An asphalt road led to Evksinograd.
    - Първия̌т в България асфалтиран пѫт е бил међу Варна и Евксиноград.
      - The noun "пѫт" is definite.
      - The first ever asphalt road in Bulgaria led from Varna to Evksinograd.
  - Being definite and having article should be differed.
    - Yes, having article - this means a definite article - implies definiteness.
    - However, sometimes, definiteness could be there without articles, too.
  - (.. hide ..) (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- ►► The arthromania and the names. (.. show ..)
- ▼▼ The arthromania and the names. (.. hide ..)
  - This is about proper nouns - names of persons, places, etc.
  - Related to the arthromania, proper nouns can have definite state only.
  - E.g., in Greek, a proper noun always requires a definite article.
  - In Bulgarian, a "system" of rules and exceptions exist to define if a proper noun should take a definite article or not.
    - Рила, Пирин, Родопитѣ и Балканът. All these names are definite. However, some of them have definite articles and others do not have.
    - Добруџа и Лудогорието. Стара планина и Дунавската равнина.
    - With or without a definite article - there is no difference for a proper noun - it is definite anyway:
      - Рѣка Дунав е наводнила Видин.
      - Рѣката Дунав е наводнила Видин.
      - Дунав е наводнил Видин.
      - Дунавът е наводнил Видин.
    - By the way, Видин is definite, too:
      - Дунавът е наводнил Видин.
      - Дунавът е наводнил град Видин.
      - Дунавът е наводнил градът Видин.
    - Female names:
      - Елена, Тамара, Мария, Йорданка, Ирина, Ивет, Пена, Пенка, Гана, Ганка, ..
      - However: Ленчето, Тамарчето, Данчето, Надето, Сийчето, ..
    - Male names:
      - Константин, Коста, Иван, Петър, Сава, Пеню, Ганю, ..
      - However: Коцето, Ванката, Пената, Савата, ..
  - The rules and exceptions which define if a proper noun should take a definite article in Bulgarian or not is out of the scope of this publication.
  - (.. hide ..) (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- ►► Definiteness without articles. (.. show ..)
- ▼▼ Definiteness without articles. (.. hide ..)
  - Above, proper nouns were considered. Proper nouns are always definite - even without a definite article.
    Here, common nouns are in consideration.
  - A demonstrative pronoun or an attribute with a definite article give definiteness to a common noun.
    However, those regular trivial cases are not in consideration here.
  - Common nouns meaning close relatives used without an article are definite:
    - майка, татко, баба, дѣ̋до, кака, леля, чичо, вуйчо, вуйна, ..
    - And also Господ Бог, our heavenly father, also known as Аллах.
  - Examples:
    - Мама ми дръпна̨ ухото. Щѣше да го скѫса. А пък тате ме наби.
    - На гости ни дойдоха̨ вуйчо и вуйна.
    - Снощи от дѣтската гλадина ме взе татко.
    - Бог да прости. Господ си знае работата. Дал Бог добро.
  - However:
    - На улицата срѣщна̨хме вуйчото на Мария.
    - В дрѣвния̌т Рим Марс е бил богът на войната.
  - (.. hide ..) (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- ►► Indefinite article in Bulgarian. (.. show ..)
- ▼▼ Indefinite article in Bulgarian. (.. hide ..)
  - In Bulgarian, because some common nouns without a definite article are definite, the usage of an indefinite article is required sometimes in order to give indefiniteness to such a common noun.
  - Example:
    Татко, ти защо снощи забλави да ме вземеш от дѣтската гλадина
    и тλѣ̋бваше госпожица Петλова да ме доведе у дома!
    Един татко не забλавя да вземе дѣтето си от дѣтската гλадина!
    И да знаеш: заλади тебе госпожица Петλова закъснѣ̋ за сλѣща с любовникът си!
  - (.. hide ..) (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- ►► The cases in modern Bulgarian. (.. show ..)
- ▼▼ The cases in modern Bulgarian. (.. hide ..)
  - There are four cases in the modern Bulgarian language: less than in the rest of Slavic and more than in Romance.
    - Nominative
    - Accusative
    - Dative
    - Vocative
  - There are frozen remnants of other old Slavic cases but they are now classified as adverbs.
    - Зимѣ и лѣтѣ, денѣ̋ и нощѣ̋, денем и нощем, числом и словом, ..
    - Вкѫщи, у дома, [иде ѝ] отрѫки, ..
  - Pronouns never had Vocative. The other three cases are in normal use for Pronouns. Anyway, Pronouns are out of scope of this comment.
  - The Bulgarian Vocative is still in regular use. There are no problems in combining Vocative and the arthromania. Vocative: checked-off.
  - Dative
    - In Standard Bulgarian, Dative forms with articles are not allowed.
      If the noun should take a definite article,
      then it cannot have a special Dative form.
      Otherwise, Dative forms are allowed.
      But anyway, using Dative forms of nouns demonstrates an archaic style.
      - .. Старци се Богу моля̨т горещо .. (Botev)
      - Майцѣ си (the title of a poem of Botev)
      - Мама Стояну думаше: (folklore)
        ..
        Стоян мами си думаше:
        ..
      - Гарван гарвану око не вади. (proverb)
    - The archaic bureaucratic style admits expressions in Dative influenced by Russian, neglecting the arthromania:
      - Царю Освободителю - от признателна България.
      - Да се изплати приносителю ..
  - Neuter nouns have never distinguished Accusative and Nominative.
  - So, distinguishing Accusative and Nominative for Feminine and Masculine is not checked-off yet. Could Accusative and Nominative have different forms in Bulgarian at all?
    - It should be noted that in modern Bulgarian, every preposition requires Accusative after it.
    - Also, it should be noted that most Bulgarian dialects and the Standard Bulgarian as well do not distinguish genders (Masculine-Feminine-Neuter) in Plural.
    - And let us check-off: the Standard Bulgarian and most dialects do not distinguish Accusative and Nominative in Plural.
  - In the next comment, a dialect of Balkano-Slavic (Bulgarian) is in consideration. In that dialect, all the three cases Nominative-Accusative-Dative are in use, combining the arthromania well.
  - (.. hide ..) (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- ►► Nominative and Accusative in Feminine Singular. (.. show ..)
- ▼▼ Nominative and Accusative in Feminine Singular. (.. hide ..)
  - For Feminine Singular nouns, there has never been a problem the different Nominative and Accusative forms inherited from OCS* (Old Common Slavic) to be combined with the arthromania.
  - However, Standard Bulgarian and most dialects do not distinguish those forms anymore. Although, they did until recently.
    - It has been testified that the dialect of Sevlievo still distinguished Nominative and Accusative for Feminine Singular in the 19th century.
  - Some Bulgarian 19th-century scholars followed that distinction in their orthography.
  - As an illustration only, some examples will be given to show that difference.
    The Nominative ending -А is replaced by the Accusative -Ѫ ending.
    - Водата е студена. Топлата вода не тече. Измих се със студенѫ водѫ.
    - Дѣвойката излѣзе от рѣкѫтѫ мокра до кости. Търкаше снагѫтѫ си и се грѣѣше на слънце. Скрит зад върбѫтѫ, момък наблюдаваше дѣвойкѫтѫ с примрѣ̋лѫ душицѫ.
    - Кръвта му изтичаше. Санитаря̌т едва успѣ̋ да спре кръвтѫ, изтичащѫ от лютѫтѫ ранѫ на войникът.
    - Ние сме гости на сватбѫтѫ от странѫтѫ на булкѫтѫ.
    - Момата чакаше сватбѫтѫ едноврѣменно с тѫгѫ и надѣђѫ.
    - Без булкѫ и без ракиιѫ сватба не бива.
  - In the past, some 200-300 years ago, in my village (Cental Nothern Bulgaria), people spoke like that:
    - Момъкът се скри зад върбѫтѫ. Върбата го скриваше от погледът ѝ.
  - Now, Nominative and Accusative are not distinguished anymore и both endings are possible in each case:
    - Момъкът се скри зад върбата. Върбата го скриваше от погледът ѝ.
    - Момъкът се скри зад върбѫтѫ. Върбѫтѫ го скриваше от погледът ѝ.
  - Now, this way of speaking (-А or -Ѫ endings not distinguished in their meaning) is established not only in my village, but also, it is the existing practice in the Common Bulgarian vernacular language.
    - Even from the theater stage, -Ѫ pronunciation can be heard.
  - Nevertheless, Standard Bulgarian admits -А only and not -Ѫ. Even when stressed.
  - So, this was the last element of the Slavic declension which was lost in Bulgarian. It was lost recently. Why?
    - In the dialects where the old Ѫ vowel changed to U (Cyrillic У) or Ǫ, the distinction discussed here is usually preserved.
    - In the next comment a dialect of Balkano-Slavic (Bulgarian) is in consideration. In that dialect, Nominative and Accusative for Feminine Singular are strictly distinguished even now. In that dialect, the old Ѫ vowel changed to Ǫ.
    - The dialects where the old Ѫ vowel changed to A were unable to preserve the distinction discussed here.
    - "In my village", the old Ѫ vowel changed to Ъ. However, in Bulgarian, A and Ъ are distinguished in stressed positions only. So, in the dialects on which Standard Bulgharian is based, Nominative and Accusative for Feminine Singular were distinguished only if the ending -A was stressed. That occurred rarely. The other positions of the stress smoothed away that distinction.
    - The Wallachian language could also influence Bulgarian so that the distinction between Nominative and Accusative for Feminine Singular disappear.
    - Perhaps, the odium some 19th-century Bulgarian scholars felt to the Ъ sound was one of the reasons. By that reason, A is still written instead of Ѫ in some verbal endings.
  - (.. hide ..) (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- ►► Nominative and Accusative in Masculine Singular. (.. show ..)
  
  (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- ▼▼ Nominative and Accusative in Masculine Singular. (.. hide ..)
  - This is the essence, the main part of this comment about combining the arthromania with the case system remnants in Standard Bulgarian. I started this comment because of it.
  - Accusative and Dative endings for Masculine are hardly combined with the arthromania. That is the problem.
    - So, just few Masculine forms for Accusative and Dative remained.
    - In Standard Bulgarian and "in my village", there are no Accusative or Dative Masculine Singular forms having an article.
      - There are such without article: другиго, другиму.
    - Anyway, in the next comment, a dialect of Balkano-Slavic (Bulgarian) is in consideration in which such forms with and without articles are in common use.
  - Dative forms without articles are shown above in this comment, in the section titled The cases in modern Bulgarian.
  - On correspondance to those Dative forms without articles shown above, Accusative forms without articles exist and they are used more often than Dative forms.
  - Special Accusative Masculine Singular forms different than Nominative ones for unanimated nouns could not be found because even OCS* did not distinguish Accusative and Nominative for unanimated Masculine Singular.
  - So, we are to specify Accusative forms for Masculine Singular different than Nominative forms:
    - At first, there are male personal names.
      - Дѣ̋да си Христа слушайте!
      - Хайде всѣки от нас да разкаже нѣщо за бай Ганя.
      - Ний с бай Ганя влѣ̋зохме в бюфетъ.
      - Помогна̨ха̨ на бай Ганя да смъкне от плещитѣ си агарянския̌т ямурлук, намѣтна̨ си той една белгийска мантия — и всички рѣкоха̨, че бай Ганю е вече цѣ̋л европеец.
      - Има каменни надписи от врѣмето на Крума и Омуртага.
      - Танаса - смахна̨тия̌т Танас - го засѣ̋кох снощи в кръчмата.
      - Note_1: If an article is needed (смахна̨тия̌т Танас), then a special Accusative form is impossible.
      - Note_2: Please keep track of the cases: where it is Accusative and where Nominative.
      - А пък Стѐфана жена му го изпѫдила от кѫщи.
      - Не бе, Стѐфан я̨ изпѫдил жена си от кѫщи.
      - Стефа̀на изпѫдила мѫжът си от кѫщи.
      - Стефа̀на изпѫдила мѫжът си Пенча от кѫщи.
      - На Стѐфана жена му и на Танаса жена му сѫ първи братовчедки.
      - Пѣсни и стихотворения от Ботьова и Стамболова.
      - "Байо Либене, дочувам, че ти и оная лудетина Ботьова сте рѣшили да докарате миризливия̌т казашки ботуш в Булгорско? Ако туй е тъй, то аз с моитѣ кунки ще ви отрѣжа̨ чепкитѣ."
        
        Obviously, this is a fake. Only a person who know Bulgarian at the level of a crazy gamer bound to the keyboard or joy-stick could use an Accusative form instead of a Nominative one. Archaisms should be used correctly. Not to mention the word Булгорско which never existed.
    - Please see again the above section titled Definiteness without articles.
    - At second, there are Common nouns meaning close relatives used without an article and still definite. For those nouns, as well as for the male personal names, there could be special Accusative forms for Masculine Singular different than Nominative forms.
      - Страх от Господа Бога нѣ̋мате.
      - Почитайте Бога.
      - Молѣте се на Бога.
      - Дѣ̋да си Христа слушайте!
      - Кажи на татка си да ми се обади.
      - Чича си Стѐфана виђал ли си го?
      - Вуйча ти Ивана го отведоха̨ милиционеритѣ.
  - Note_1: A big part of the common names meaning close relatives do require an article in order to mark definiteness. Those cannot have special Accusative forms:
    - Синът ми го взеха̨ войник.
    - С мѫжът ѝ сме приятели.
  - Note_2: If a common noun meaning close relatives has a stem in -A, then it cannot have a special Accusative form, even without an article:
    - Баща ми го пенсионираха̨.
    - In the past, more than 300 years ago, this could be said in this way: Бащѫ ми го пенсионираше.
  - Note_3: Some people make mistakes at the morphological analysis of the Accusative Masculine Singular forms. They are confused by the form containing the so called short article.
    - Синът ми го взеха̨ войник.
    - С мѫжът ѝ сме приятели.
    - Сина̌ ми го взеха̨ войник.
    - С мѫжа̌ ѝ сме приятели.
      - No matter which form of the article is written, the full or the short one, these are forms with article and not Accusative forms.
      - Because the vowel Ъ is heard there under stress, no matter which form of the article is written.
      - Because the final T of the definite article can always be pronounced, no matter which form of the article is written.
    - Страх от Господа Бога нѣ̋мате.
    - Почитайте Бога.
    - Молѣте се на Бога.
      - However, these are Accusative forms.
      - These are not forms with an article.
      - Because the following is not possible neither to say nor to write:
      - Страх от ~~Господът Богът~~ нѣ̋мате.
      - Почитайте ~~Богът~~.
      - Молѣте се на ~~Богът~~.
      - But the following forms are possible, and those are forms with articles and not special Accusative forms:
        
        Почитайте Богът на Аврама.
        
        (Even if it is written Бога̌, this is a form with an article.)
        
        (Аврама: this is an Accusative form, however, because ~~Аврамът~~ is impossible.)
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►► ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-29 22:13:: How is arthromania combined with the case system remnants in some Bulgarian dialects?
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▼▼ ::christo.tamarin, 2020-05-29 22:13:: (.. hide this comment ..) (.. show everything in this comment ..)
- How is arthromania combined with the case system remnants in some Bulgarian dialects?
- The dialect of Slavophone Muslims in Greece, called Pomak, will be used as an illustration. In Greece, attemts are being made to describe and promote it.
  Please see the 12 "Pomak language lessons". (.. show links to lessons ..)
- The dialect of Slavophone Muslims in Greece, called Pomak, will be used as an illustration. In Greece, attemts are being made to describe and promote it.
  Please see the 12 "Pomak language lessons". (.. hide the links ..)
- Please read the previous comment about Standard Bulgarian first. If you have not read it, you can click here to go back.
- (.. show ..) Some features of the dialect of Slavophone Muslims in Greece.
- (.. hide ..) Some features of the dialect of Slavophone Muslims in Greece.
  - This is a dialect of Eastern-Bulgarian type, not only because of the geography, but also because of the old jat Ѣ (е,а̂) sound and because of the stress and accent.
  - In this dialect, the old big jus ѫ sound was changed to o which I use to mark with a diacritic ǫ.
  - Many Turkish words and entire Turkish expressions are used.
  - There are borrowings from Greek as well. And of course, influence from other Bulgarian (Balkano-Slavic) dialects can be observed.
  - Like most Eastern-Bulgarian dialects, the vocalism in weak positions and the vocalism in stressed positions strongly differ.
  - A specific dialect feature is the "akane" - o and e are changed to a. This feature is not related to the similar feature in Russian.
  - This is a fully balkanized Slavic dialect. Actually, all dialects of Bulgarian are fully balkanized.
  - A complete description of the dialect cannot be obtained from those lessons. Sometimes, the written and the spoken texts differ. It is natural vacillation and fluctuation to be observed, actually.
  - In most Bulgarian dialects, the definite article is just -to (-ta, -te, -ut). There are two exceptions to this:
    - In dialects located to the West of the Vardar river, besides the preferred -to article, -vo and -no articles are also used. The N.Macedonian Standard is based on such a dialect.
    - In dialects located in the Rodhopes mountain, besides -to, -so and -no articles are also used. The dialect being discussed here demonstrates that feature. This dialect prefers the -no article.
  - A-stem feminine Singular nouns strictly preserve the difference between Accusative and Nominative.
    - Some dialects in the Torlak area also keep that difference.
    - It was reported that the dialect of Sevlievo, Eastern Bulgarian, kept that difference in the 19th century.
    - In that case ( Feminine, Singular, A-stem ), it is easy to combine Accusative-Nominative case ending with the definite article.
    - Some 19th-century Bulgarian scholars kept that difference in their orthography.
  - In the other cases (Masculine or Plural), the Pomak dialect demonstrates case endings for Accusative and Nominative as well, both with and without definite articles.
  - The most interesting are the Dative forms which can be seen. Both with and without articles. Both Singular and Plural.
  - (.. hide dialect's features ..) (.. hide this comment ..) (.. hide comments ..) .. to the top ..
- (.. show samples ..) Some samples taken from the lessons.
- (.. hide them ..) Some samples taken from the lessons.
  - .. show comments to the samples ..
    - {μαθ.1t25} Ya som at Sádnovitsǫ ..
    - {μαθ.1t33} .. ímom annǫ́ séstrǫ .. ímom annók bráta ..
    - {μαθ.1t54} Kak zavǫ́t bubáyka ti?
    - {μαθ.1t128} Ya som at Atínǫ.
    - {μαθ.2t70} .. to .. dragóva yátse da igró sas nami.
    - {μαθ.2t180} Íma li nâkǫ vodenítsǫ blíze pri sélono? - Ho, íma.
    - {μαθ.4t37} Na górneneg káta ímame chétri hadayé.
    - {μαθ.4t145} Kólko ye sahátet?
    - {μαθ.5t165} Ótvarejte kitápevete!
    - {μαθ.6t20} .. za mósǫ hanǫ̂ ..
    - {μαθ.6t45} Bubáyka go zavǫ́t Erján.
    - {μαθ.6t105} Níye so dragóvame adínyen sas drúganek. Níye sme anná kámatna hanâ.
    - {μαθ.7t20} .. alá si som ne právil dérsevese.
    - {μαθ.7t66} Sas katrâh druzâh she da igróme? - Sas Niháta, sas Yórga, sas Eléni i Reyhán.
    - {μαθ.7t133} Trâbava da slúshash máyko i bubáyko ti.
    - {μαθ.7t138} Trâbava da dragóvash Alláha.
    - {μαθ.7t150} Trâbava da slúshash stárehne ..
    - {μαθ.9t12} Dragóvam rábatǫsǫ.
    - {μαθ.10t33} Síchkoso ye bâlo. Néma da varvíme na mechítene.
    - {μαθ.11t45} Yálnız na Ramazan hódet zhónine na jümayǫ́nǫ i sedǫ́t at górnenek káta ..
    - {μαθ.11t96} Ímate i drúga bayráma? - Ho, ímame. Yetmís̨ déne sétne ímame Kurbán Bayrám. ..
    - {μαθ.12t12} Za annók mésetsa ..
    - {μαθ.12t75} .. da pomágǫt fukarómne, slâpemne, glúhomne, nâmemne i drúzem insana zhíne ímǫt probléma ..
    - {μαθ.12t108} .. Big Ben, gulâmiyen sahát ..
    - {μαθ.12t155} .. at isók gulâma pisaváche ..
    - {μαθ.12t186} Hámlet, umrâtune králu sinón, ..
    - .. show comments to the samples .. (.. hide the samples ..)
  - .. hide the comments to the samples ..
    - {μαθ.1t25} Ya som at Sádnovitsǫ ..
      - The name of the village (Sádnovitsa) is in Accusative after the proposition "ot".
    - {μαθ.1t33} .. ímom annǫ́ séstrǫ .. ímom annók bráta ..
      - After the verb имам (have), сестра (sister) and брат (brother) are in Accusative.
      - .. имам еднѫ сестрѫ .. имам едног брата ..
    - {μαθ.1t54} Kak zavǫ́t bubáyka ti?
      - "bubáyka" is the Accusative form of "bubáykо".
      - "bubáyko" means father in the dialect, a loanword from Turkish with a Slavic diminutive affix.
    - {μαθ.1t128} Ya som at Atínǫ.
      - The name of the city of Athens is in Accusative after the proposition "ot".
    - {μαθ.2t70} .. to .. dragóva yátse da igró sas nami.
      - .. sas nami ..
      - This is an old form of the Instrumental case. The preposition "sus" did require Instrumental in Old Slavic.
      - Not clear.
      - The same preposition "sus" in {μαθ.7t66} is followed by an Accusative form.
      - Generally, in Balkano-Slavic and modern Bulgarian, each preposition requires Accusative.
      - However, the Accusative form is "nas" and not "nami".
      - Perhaps, "sas-nami" could be considered to be just an adverb.
    - {μαθ.2t180} Íma li nâkǫ vodenítsǫ blíze pri sélono? - Ho, íma.
      - After the verb "ima", the expression "нѣ̋ка воденица" is in Accusative as an object.
      - Selo-no has the definite article -no instead of -to or -so, the other options.
      - Instead of the affirmative partcle "DA" (yes), "ХО" is used in the dialect.
    - {μαθ.4t37} Na górneneg káta ímame chétri hadayé.
      - The preposition "na" requires Accusative.
      - There is a definite article -"en" built in the Accusative form "górneneg káta" (Standard Bulgarian: "горния̌т етаж").
      - On the other hand, unanimated nouns should not take special Accusative endings. Perhaps the usage has been generalized. Unclear.
    - {μαθ.4t145} Kólko ye sahátet?
      - Standard Bulgarian "Колко е сахатя̌т?"
      - Definite article "-et". As heard by the scribe.
    - {μαθ.5t165} Ótvarejte kitápevete!
      - The article is -te: "kitápevete" (the books, a loanword from Turkish).
    - {μαθ.6t20} .. za mósǫ hanǫ̂ ..
      - The preposition "za" requires Accusative.
      - .. "за моята хана̂" ..
      - The article is -sa instead of -ta or -na, the other options.
      - .. "за мо[ıѫ]сѫ ханѫ̂" ..
      - Means "for my family".
    - {μαθ.6t45} Bubáyka go zavǫ́t Erján.
      - "bubáyka" is the Accusative form of "bubáykо".
      - The Balkanic duplication "go" is there.
    - {μαθ.6t105} Níye so dragóvame adínyen sas drúganek. Níye sme anná kámatna hanâ.
      - "Ние сме една ка́матна хана̂."
      - "Ние сме едно хубаво сѣмейство."
      - The expression "една ка́матна хана̂" (a good family) is in Nominative.
      - "единиен със друганег" - "единия̌т със другия̌т"
      - "единиен" - Nominative. The article is -en.
      - "друганег" - Accusative after preposition "sas". The article is -n- between the two Accusative endings -a- -n- -eg-.
    - {μαθ.7t20} .. alá si som ne právil dérsevese.
      - "Ала не съм си написал домашнитѣ."
      - "dérsevese" has the article "-se" instead of "-ne" or "-te", the other options
    - {μαθ.7t66} Sas katrâh druzâh she da igróme? - Sas Niháta, sas Yórga, sas Eléni i Reyhán.
      - The preposition "sas" requires Accusative.
      - Masculine names take the ending -А in Accusative: Със Ниха́та, със Йорга.
      - Feminine names do not take Accusative ending: Със Еле́ни, със Рейха́н.
      - Feminine names would take an Accusative ending -О̨ (-Ѫ) if a-stemmed: със Мари́о̨.
      - Here, there is an example of Accusative Plural from without article:
      - "Със котрѣ̋х друзѣ̋х" (с кои другари, with which friends)
    - {μαθ.7t133} Trâbava da slúshash máyko i bubáyko ti.
      - "Да слушаш майкѫ си" - Accusative as it should be.
      - "Да слушаш бубайко си" - It should be Accusative as well, why not?
    - {μαθ.7t138} Trâbava da dragóvash Alláha.
      - Трѣ̋бва да обичаш Бога.
      - Accusative as it should be.
    - {μαθ.7t150} Trâbava da slúshash stárehne ..
      - Трѣ̋бва да слушаш старитѣ (старѣх-нѣ).
      - Accusative Plural form, containing the article -ne.
    - {μαθ.9t12} Dragóvam rábatǫsǫ.
      - Обичам работата.
      - Обичам работѫтѫ. Accusative.
      - Обичам работѫсѫ. The article is -sa, in Accusative changed to - sѫ.
    - {μαθ.10t33} Síchkoso ye bâlo. Néma da varvíme na mechítene.
      - Всичко-то е бѣ̋ло! Article -to in Standard Bulgarian.
      - Всичко-со е бѣ̋ло! Article -so is used instead of -to.
      - Училище-то (the school) has the article -ne: mechítene.
    - {μαθ.11t45} Yálnız na Ramazan hódet zhónine na jümayǫ́nǫ i sedǫ́t at górnenek káta ..
      - "zhónine" - женитѣ, the women. Nominative, the article is -ne.
      - The preposition "na" requires Accusative.
      - (Standard Bulgarian) на џамията -> (to Accusative) на џамиѫтѫ -> (use the preferred article -na instead of -ta) на џамиѫнѫ -> (as transcribed) "na jümayǫ́nǫ".
    - {μαθ.11t96} Ímate i drúga bayráma? - Ho, ímame. Yetmís̨ déne sétne ímame Kurbán Bayrám. ..
      - In the question, the expression "друг байрам" takes an Accusative ending as if it was animated.
      - But in the answer "курбан байрам", there is no special Accusative ending.
      - Fluctuations.
      - Please see also {μαθ.4t37}.
    - {μαθ.12t12} Za annók mésetsa ..
      - A similar casus.
      - The preposition "za" requires Accusative.
      - However, animated nouns should take special Accusative endings only.
      - Unanimated nouns should not take a special Accusative ending.
      - Please see also {μαθ.4t37}.
    - {μαθ.12t75} .. da pomágǫt fukarómne, slâpemne, glúhomne, nâmemne i drúzem insana zhíne ímǫt probléma ..
      - Very interesting forms for Dative Plural with articles.
      - Да помагат на бѣднитѣ, слѣпитѣ, глухитѣ, нѣмитѣ, ..
      - Helping the poor, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, ..
    - {μαθ.12t108} .. Big Ben, gulâmiyen sahát ..
      - Big Ben, голѣмия̌т сахат.
    - {μαθ.12t155} .. at isók gulâma pisaváche ..
      - Accusative after preposition:
      - .. от този голѣ̋м писател .. (Standard Bulgarian)
      - .. от този голѣ̋м писавач .. (word changed to писавач)
      - .. от исог голѣ̋ма писавача .. (in the dialect, Accusative applied)
    - {μαθ.12t186} Hámlet, umrâtune králu sinón, ..
      - This is the most interesting form - Dative with article.
      - синъ́т - синъ́н - sinón. This is Nominative, the son.
      - Standard Bulgarian: На умрѣлия̌т крал синът.
      - Standard Bulgarian: To [preposition, so Accusative and no Accusative endings] the dead king the son.
      - In the dialect: [Belonging to - so Dative] the dead king the son.
      - Hamlet, the son of the dead king, ..
    - .. hide the comments to the samples .. (.. hide the samples ..)
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►► ::christo.tamarin, 2020-06-05 12:11:: Combining arthromania with the case system remnants from a historical perspective
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▼▼ ::christo.tamarin, 2020-06-05 12:11:: (.. hide this comment ..)
- Combining arthromania with the case system remnants from a historical perspective
- Please read the previous comment about Standard Bulgarian first. If you have not read it, you can click here to go back.
- The expression "in my village" refers to the dialects which Standard Bulgarian is based on.
- Examples will be used. Those out of the current Standard - out of the current norm - are marked with an asterisk.
- The two examples are the following:
  - [1] На сакатия̌т Танас жена му е на кю̃равия̌т Стати дъщеря.
  - [2] Хамлет е на умрѣлия̌т крал синът.
  - Although the "na" preposition as well as any other preposition requires Accusative, there are no special Accusative forms in these sentences since there are attributes with articles.
- In the example [1], if the attributes are omitted, special Accusative forms are possible but still not mandatory:
  - [1] На Танас жена му е на Стати дъщеря.
  - [1] На Танаса жена му е на Статя дъщеря.
- In the example [2], even with the attribute omitted, no special Accusative form is possible now since the word крал requires an article:
  - [2] Хамлет е на краля̌т синът.
  - [2] Хамлет е на краля̌ синът.
  - The way in which the article is written - using the full or the short form of the article - this does not matter. Краля̌т-краля̌ is a form with an article and not a special Accusative form.
- Now we are going back in the time when a special Accusative form was possible in my village:
  - [2*] Хамлет е на кралятог синът.
  - Putting back the omitted attribute, we would get:
  - [2*] Хамлет е на умрѣ̋латог краля синът.
  - [2:RU] Гамлет - сын умершего короля.
- Let us now put back the attributes in the example [1] as well, and let us admit special Accusative forms.
  - [1*] На сакататог Танаса жена му е на кю̃раватог Статя дъщеря.
- Note: In my village - just for simplicity of this text - only the -to, -ta, -te, -ut articles are used. There is no such a variety of articles as in the Pomak dialect or in the N.Macedonian Standard.
- You have read the previous comment titled How is arthromania combined with the case system remnants in Standard Bulgarian, haven't you?
  By the way, the case of a-stem Feminine Singular nouns is covered fully there.
- Both examples here are for Masculine Singular. We keep using them, but the case is now changed to Dative.
- An off-topic about the pronouns:
  - Кой-който-никой-нѣ̋кой: these are Nominative forms.
  - Кого-когото-никого-нѣ̋кого: these are Accusative forms.
  - На кого, на когото, на никого, на нѣ̋кого: these are the same Accusative forms, this time after the "na" preposition.
  - The Dative forms are as follows:
  - Кому, комуто, никому, нѣ̋кому.
  - The "na" preposition (actually, any preposition) requires Accusative.
    So, the following forms are not correct
  - ~~На кому~~, ~~на комуто~~, ~~на никому~~, ~~на нѣ̋кому~~.
- In the example [1] with attributes omitted, special Dative forms are still possible as they can be found in the floklore, but they are very archaic now.
  - [1*] Танасу жена му е Статю дъщеря.
  - The same with the attributes back, might look like this:
  - [1*] Сакатутом Танасу жена му е кю̃равутом Статю дъщеря.
- The example [2] in Dative, with and without the attribute:
  - [2*] Хамлет е умрѣ̋лутом кралю синът.
  - [2*] Хамлет е кралютом синът.
- Plural will not be discussed as the reflection material is already enough. Reflection on what our language, the language ever spoken in my village, got rid of.
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►► ::christo.tamarin, 2022-03-16 11:27:: Rules for the stress position have been added
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▼▼ ::christo.tamarin, 2022-03-16 11:27:: Rules for the stress position have been added
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- The chain of rules (or exits) representing the algorithm of putting article in Bulgarian
  has been modified to specify the stress position.
- In the vast majority of cases, putting an article does not change the stess position.
- With three exceptions, however.
- First. At Feminine Singular names ending in a consonant, ..
  - .. the stress is moved to the article -TA, onto the last syllable.
  - Please see Rule_5.
  - As such feminine words can be quite long (e.g. необходѝмост, конкурентоспосо̀бност, електропроводѝмост, законосъобра̀зност), in Bulgarian the stress can fall on the last syllable of an arbitrarily long word without the need for an additional stress (необходимостта̀, конкурентоспособността̀, електропроводимостта̀, законосъобразността̀).
- Second. At Numerals greater than three having an article -TE (-ТѢ), ..
  - .. the stress is moved to the article -TE (-ТѢ), onto the last syllable:
  - четиритѣ́, петтѣ́, осемтѣ́, десеттѣ́, деветдесеттѣ́, стотѣ́, деветстотинтѣ́
  - Please see Rule_2
  - In this case, the article -TE (-ТѢ) can take its archaic form -ТѢ̋X: десеттѣ̋х Божи заповѣди.
  - Wondering if the form -тѣ of the article is etymologically shorten -тѣх.
  - However: двѣ́тѣ, трѝтѣ.
- Third. Some monosyllabic Masculine Singular nouns ending in a consonant ..
  - .. move the stress to the article, onto the last syllable.
  - The monosyllabic Masculine nouns
    which move the stress to the article in Singular
    should be memorized.
  - Also, they are usually marked in the dictionaries.
  - Please see Rule_10 and Rule_9.
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Блогът на Христо Тамарин [Christo Tamarin's blog]

Saturday, June 26, 2021