Since I’ll be in Bulgaria for a few weeks, I thought I’d try and learn at least some Bulgarian, even if it’s just a few basic words.
My current preferred method of learning a new language is with Pimsleur, but unfortunately they don’t offer a course in Bulgarian. So now I’m doing my best to pick up what I can using a mix of lesser know apps and language podcasts (lesser known by me at any rate).
As part of this effort, I figured it makes sense to try and learn the Cyrillic alphabet, as this is used in most (all?) of the countries at the start of my walk. Also, unlike English, Cyrillic languages are spoken exactly as they are written. I’ve heard that if you ask someone in Bulgaria to spell a word, they’ll often just say it slower. There are a lot of languages that use Cyrillic, and likewise there are a lot of resources online. A good technique I’ve come across for learning these new characters is to see them in the context of English words. For example, дog 🐕.
Here are some recordings of me trying to pronounce basic Bulgarian words and phrases. This isn’t just for those who are interested, but as a place for me to remind myself of those words that I thought I had learnt, but am actually unable to recall when it counts. Lastly I’d like to apologise to any Bulgarians that may hear these. At least I’m trying.