Bulgaria is a Balkan country with a rich culture and history. It was a communist state until 1989, but has since opened its doors to the world, and is now a member of NATO and the European Union.

People are divided into ethnic groups, and each has its own customs, language and cultural values. The largest and most dominant group is the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, with a minority of Muslims, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews and Gypsies.

Family Life

Bulgarian families are very close, and marriage is usually between people of the same ethnic background. A few ethnic groups, such as Pomaks and Gypsies, may exert pressure on couples to marry, but most people marry by choice.

Child Rearing and Education

In Bulgaria, parents are highly involved in their children’s lives. They play a strong role in their education, and teenagers depend on their parents for advice and guidance. However, heavy-handed discipline is uncommon, and parental admonishment is typically individual and family-specific.

Schooling is free and compulsory for children from seven to sixteen (four years elementary; six to eight secondary). There are no formal academies or special schools, and pupils are expected to take entrance examinations in order to gain access to the best state institutions.

Language

Bulgarian is a South Slavic language that is spoken in all areas of the country. It is a member of the Indo-European languages family and is closely related to Serbo-Croatian. The language has a phonology similar to that of the other South Slavic languages, with a limited use of palatalization and minimal reduction of vowel phonemes in unstressed positions.

The verb system in Bulgarian is characterized by perfective and imperfective forms, which express lexical aspect. The perfective verbs indicate completion of the action, while the imperfective ones are neutral with regard to it.

Grammar and vocabulary

Bulgarian uses a system of nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns, verbs and prepositions. The verb is the most important part of a sentence and it is used in the main clause. It is also used in subordinate clauses, and is usually followed by the subject.

Grammar is fairly simple, with most verbs consisting of the bare verb form and one or two auxiliary verbs. The auxiliary verbs, which change the meaning of the verb, are inflected according to their grammatical function; they often have a declension, and some have different endings than the original verb.

Vocabulary is also relatively straightforward and includes nouns, adjectives, verbs, numbers, adverbs, interjections and prepositions. The most common word order is subject-verb-object, but the object is often placed before the verb or at the end of the sentence, as in “I eat” instead of “I ate”.

Syntax and Pronunciation

Bulgarian grammar is relatively simple, with no special affixes or exceptions. The verb is the most important part, with its grammatical functions determining the shape of the sentence and its overall structure. In addition, there are no irregularities in the grammar or pronunciation, and it is not considered a difficult language to learn.