Английская Википедия:Bulgarian phonology

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:WikiIPA Шаблон:IPA notice This article discusses the phonological system of the Bulgarian language.

The phonemic inventory of Contemporary Standard Bulgarian (CSB) has been a contested and controversial matter for decades, with two major currents, or schools of thought, forming at national and international level:[1]Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:SfnpШаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp

The first one considers that there are only 28 phonemes in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian: 21 consonants, 1 semivowel and 6 vowels and that only one of them, the semivowel j, is palatal.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp This was the general consensus reached by all major Bulgarian linguists prior to the Soviet occupation of Bulgaria in 1944, and still continues to be the view held by multiple modern Bulgarian and probably a majority of Western phonologists.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:SfnpШаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp

The second school of thought is based on a sketch of Eastern Bulgarian consonantism made by Russian linguist Nikolai Trubetzkoy in his 1939 book Principles of Phonology, where he introduced palatalization as additional phonemic distinction in Bulgarian, much like in his native language, Russian.Шаблон:Sfnp In Bulgaria, the concept was launched in the late 1940s by two younger linguists, Stoyko Stoykov and Lyubomir Andreychin, who proclaimed the existence of 17 new palatalized phonemes, rounding Standard Bulgarian's phonemic inventory to 45 phonemes, 18 of which are palatal.[2]Шаблон:Sfnp

Both Stoykov and Andreychin had rejected Trubetzkoy's ideas in the early 1940s, before Bulgaria's occupation by the Red Army.[3][4] The concept got quick approval from the Bulgarian Communist Party and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The 17 palatals became a staple of all published standard Bulgarian grammars and phonologies during the totalitarian era.[5] The consonant model has not fared well abroad, routinely being called into question or outright rejected, including in the 1999 Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, which sided with the traditional interpretation.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp

Vowels

Файл:Bulgarian vowel chart2.svg
Standard Bulgarian vowels (Stressed). From .Шаблон:Sfnp
Stressed vowels in Bulgarian
Front Central Back
Close Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPAslink Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPAslink
Mid Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPAslink Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:Ref Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPAslink
Open Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPAslink

Шаблон:Smalldiv

According to their place of articulation, Bulgarian vowels can be grouped in three pairs—front vowels: Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink); central vowels: Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink); and back vowels: Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink).

Here Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink are "low", and Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink are "high".

The dominant theory of Bulgarian vowel reduction posits that Bulgarian vowels have a phonemic value only in stressed position, while when unstressed, they neutralize in an intermediate centralized position, where lower vowels are raised and higher vowels are lowered.[6]Шаблон:Sfnp This concerns only the central vowels Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink, which neutralize into [Шаблон:IPA], and the back vowels Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink, which neutralize into [Шаблон:IPA].

The merger of Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink is not allowed in formal speech and is regarded as a provincial (East Bulgarian) dialectal feature; instead, unstressed Шаблон:IPA link is both raised and centralized, approaching the schwa (Шаблон:IPA).[7] The Bulgarian Шаблон:IPAslink vowel does not exist as a phoneme in other Slavic languages, though a similar reduced vowel transcribed as Шаблон:IPA does occur. The theory further posits that such neutralization may nevertheless not always happen: vowels tend to be distinguished in emphatic or deliberately distinct pronunciation, while reduction is strongest in colloquial speech.

Шаблон:Multiple image Nevertheless, the hypothesis that high and low vowels neutralize into a common centralized vowel has never been properly studied or proven in a practical setting. Several recent studies by both Bulgarian and foreign researchers, involving volunteers speaking Contemporary Standard Bulgarian, have established—on the contrary—that while unstressed low vowels Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink are indeed raised as expected, unstressed high Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink are also raised somewhat, rather than lowered, while Шаблон:IPAslink remains in the same position.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp[8]

All three studies indicate that a clear distinction is kept between unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink and both stressed and unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink. The situation with unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink is more complex, but all studies indicate that they both approach unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink very closely and overlap with them to a great extent, but their average realisations remain slightly more open. One of the studies finds that unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink to be practically undistinguishable from stressed Шаблон:IPAslink,Шаблон:Sfnp, while another finds a lack of statistically significant difference between Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink[8], and a third one finds coalescence only in formants for one of the pairs and only in tongue position for the other.

While the difference between all stressed vowels and between unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink can be heard in almost 100% of cases, the unstressed back and central vowels are perceptually neutralised in minimal pairs, with only 62% identifying unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink, 59% unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink and a mere 57% unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink.[8]

Semivowels

The Bulgarian language officially has only one semivowel: Шаблон:IPAslink. It is traditionally regarded as a semivowel, but in recent years, it has largely been treated as a "glide" or approximant, thus making it part of the consonant system. Orthographically, it is represented by the Cyrillic letter Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:Font color with a breve) as in Шаблон:Font color- Шаблон:IPA (prefix 'most') and (Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('trolleybus'), except when it precedes Шаблон:IPAslink or Шаблон:IPAslink (and their reduced counterparts Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA), in which case both phonemes are represented by a single letter, Шаблон:Font color or Шаблон:Font color, respectively: e.g., Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('flat iron'), but Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('Jordan').

As a result of lenition of velarized Шаблон:IPAslink ([[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]]), ongoing since the 1970s, [[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]] appears to be an emerging allophone of velarized [[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]] among younger speakers, especially in preconsonantal position: Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('wolf') instead of Шаблон:IPA. While certain Western Bulgarian dialects (in particular, those around Pernik), have had a long-standing tradition of pronouncing [ɫ] as [w], the use of the glide in the literary language was first noted by a radio operator in 1974.Шаблон:Sfnp A Ukrainian researcher found in 2012 that Bulgarians split into three age-specific groups in terms of [[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]] pronunciation: 1) people in their 40s or older who have standard pronunciation; 2) people in their 30s, who can articulate [ɫ] but unconsciously say [w]; and 3) younger people who are unable to differentiate between the two sounds and generally say [w].Шаблон:Sfnp

A study of 30 graduate students was therefore conducted in 2014 to quantify the trend. The study testified to an extremely wide proliferation of the phenomenon, with 9 out of 30 participants unable to produce [[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]] in any given word, and only 2 participants able to produce [[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]] correctly, but in no more than half the words in the study.Шаблон:Sfnp Remarkably, not a single participant was able to enunciate [[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]] between a bilabial consonant and a rounded vowel, e.g., in Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('applauded'), or between a rounded vowel and a velar consonant, e.g. in Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('so').Шаблон:Sfnp Another discovery of the study was that in particular positions, certain participants enunciated neither [ɫ] nor [w], but the high back unrounded vowel Шаблон:IPAblink (or its corresponding glide Шаблон:IPAblink).

The glide [[[:Шаблон:IPA link]]] can also be found in English loan words such as Шаблон:Font color ['wiski] ('Whiskey') or Шаблон:Font color ['wiki'pɛdiɐ] ('Wikipedia'). The semivowel Шаблон:IPAslink forms a number of diphthongs, which are summarized below:Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp

Falling j diphthongs
Word start
Шаблон:IPA ай айран 'buttermilk'
-
-
-
-
Шаблон:IPA уй уйдисвам 'indulge', 'be suitable for'
Mid-word
Шаблон:IPA ай кайма 'minced meat'
-
Шаблон:IPA ей вейка 'twig'
Шаблон:IPA ий партийна 'of a party'
Шаблон:IPA ой война 'war'
Шаблон:IPA уй вуйчо 'uncle'
Word end
Шаблон:IPA ай случай 'case'
Шаблон:IPA ъй тъй 'thus, so'
Шаблон:IPA ей гвоздей 'nail'
Шаблон:IPA ий калий 'sodium'
Шаблон:IPA ой завой 'road bend'
Шаблон:IPA уй туй 'this'
Rising j diphthongs
Word start
Шаблон:IPA йа ям 'I eat'
-
Шаблон:IPA йе йерархия 'hierarchy'
-
Шаблон:IPA йо йод 'iodine'
Шаблон:IPA йу юг 'south'
Mid-word
Шаблон:IPA йа приятел 'friend'
-
Шаблон:IPA йе фойерверк 'fireworks'
-
Шаблон:IPA йо район 'area'
Шаблон:IPA йу съюз 'union'
Word end
Шаблон:IPA йа статуя 'statue'
Шаблон:IPA йъ пия 'I drink'
-
-
Шаблон:IPA йо Марийо 'You, Maria!' (vocative case)
-

Consonants

Two schools of thought on Bulgarian consonantism

The main point of contention between the two schools of thought on Bulgarian consonantism has been whether palatalized consonants should be defined as separate phonemes or simply as allophones of their respective hard counterparts.

The first or the "traditionalist" school of thought developed gradually by consensus over the course of many decades, crystallized in the late 1930s and early 1940s and was reinvigorated after the fall of the totalitarian regime. It posits that Bulgarian has no palatal or palatalized consonants other than Шаблон:IPAslink, that Trubetzkoy’s 17 palatalized consonants are merely (positional) allophones of hard consonants and that the Bulgarian language therefore has only 28 phonemes.[9]Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp It has proposed alternative notation of palatalized consonants in the form of C-j-V (consonant-glide-vowel) clusters and has made a tentative hypothesis about the decomposition of Bulgarian palatals into consonants + glide using the following arguments:Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp

The second school of thought came to being rather unexpectedly in the late 1940s, as a refinement of Trubetzkoy's rough draft a decade before. It quickly gained currency in the state apparatus as the only theory, most likely because it used the same approach as in Russian, which was vital for a government so tied to Moscow. It posits that apart from Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), there are 17 separate palatal phonemes that are in minimal pairs with their hard counterparts, including Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), which are not found in any native Bulgarian words and were excluded from Trubetzkoy's draft.Шаблон:Sfnp Thus, only 5 consonants are not in minimal pairs, Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), which are only hard, and the glide Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), which is only soft. They argue that Bulgarian phonemic inventory consists of a total of 45 phonemes, whereof 6 vowels, 1 semivowel and 38 consonants, and present the following arguments:Шаблон:Sfnp

  • Even though the distribution of palatalized consonants is limited, there is still a large number of Bulgarian words can be distinguished only by the difference in palatalization, e.g. Шаблон:Font color [gɔɫ] ('nude/naked') vs. Шаблон:Font color [ˈgʲɔɫ] ('puddle'); Шаблон:Font color [ˈɫuk] ('onion') vs. Шаблон:Font color [ˈʎuk] ('hatch'); Шаблон:Font color [daɫ] ('to have given') vs/ Шаблон:Font color [ˈdʲaɫ] ('share');
  • Palatal consonants cannot be considered to be formed by their hard counterparts by adding (Шаблон:IPAslink), as there is a clear auditory difference between pronouncing a soft consonant (as in Russian) and pronouncing a consonant and a glide (as in English). A 2012 comparative study of palatal phonemes in Russian, palatalized phonemes in Bulgarian and CjV clusters in English has deduced that the phonetic and auditory properties of Bulgarian palatals are similar to those in Russian and deviate substantially from the English consonant + glide sequences and that Bulgarian and Russian listeners did not need to wait for formant transitions to identify a consonant as palatal/palatalized unlike English listeners.Шаблон:Sfnp

Historical development of Bulgarian consonantism

Proto-Slavic underwent three separate rounds of palatalization and one of iotation, but the resulting palatal consonants eventually hardened in Western and South Slavic.

By the Old Bulgarian period, there were only four consonants left forming contrastive pairs: Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA). Three consonants were only hard: Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), four were only soft: Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA), while the remaining eight consonants were generally hard, but could be semi-palatalized: Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink).Шаблон:Sfnp

Historical phonetician Anna-Maria Totomanova has expressed a slightly divergent opinion: the four hard/palatal contrastive pairs were again Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPA, 11 consonants, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, (Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink, were only hard, and six consonants, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA and iota (Шаблон:IPAslink), along with the typically Bulgarian consonant combinations Шаблон:Font color [ʃt] & Шаблон:Font color [ʒd], were only soft.Шаблон:Sfnp Finally, Huntley mentions 9 palatal consonants: Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPAslink, which were only soft, and Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPA, which could also be hard.Шаблон:Sfnp Both Haralampiev and Totomanova have noted a marked trend towards consonant hardening.Шаблон:Sfnp

Eventually, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink hardened permanently, Шаблон:IPAslink disappeared from the phonemic inventory, and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) was borrowed from Ottoman Turkish as only hard. But before that, two phenomena led to the palatalization of more consonants: a second iotation and the dissolution of the yat vowel. As a result of the contraction and closure of the syllable in the Middle Bulgarian period, unstressed Шаблон:IPAslink in many cases turned into the semivowel Шаблон:IPAslink or attached to a consonant, palatalising it. Thus, Old Bulgarian Шаблон:Font color [sviˈnija] ('swine') contracted into Шаблон:Font color [sviˈɲa] and Шаблон:Font color [ˈbratija] ('brothers') into Шаблон:Font color [ˈbratʲɐ].Шаблон:Sfnp

In many dialects, the resulting palatalised Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA) turned into palatalised Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink).Шаблон:Sfnp These were subsequently eliminated from CSB as dialecticisms, e.g., Шаблон:Font color [ˈt͡svɛtʲɛ] ('flower')→ Шаблон:Font color ['t͡svɛkʲɛ] → Ø. The form accepted in the literary language was instead the unpalatalised Шаблон:Font color [ˈt͡svɛtɛ] based on the Old Bulgarian form.

The dissolution of the yat happened somewhat later, towards the end of the Middle Bulgarian period and had different effects on the various dialects. In most of the East, yat in a stressed syllable softened the preceding consonant and turned into Шаблон:IPAslink. In the West, however, it led to Шаблон:IPAslink in both stressed and unstressed syllables producing no palatalisation anywhere.Шаблон:Sfnp This was one of the main factors that led to the markedly different patterns of palatalisation in Western and Eastern Bulgarian dialects, i.e., strong palatalisation of only 5 consonants in the West vs. moderate palatalisation of almost all consonants in the East.

Development of phonological theory before 1945

The first Bulgarian grammar to mention phonetics is Ivan Bogorov's First Bulgarian Grammar, where he identified 22 consonants, however, including among them Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA), Шаблон:Font color and Шаблон:Font color (no phonemic status at word end).Шаблон:Sfnp The first Bulgarian man of letters to correctly identify the 21 consonants in Bulgarian was Ivan Momchilov, in 1868.Шаблон:Sfnp According to Momchilov, Bulgarian consonants could sound hard or soft, entirely depending on the vowel accompanying them.Шаблон:Sfnp

Phonetics only started developing seriously after World War I, and towards the 1930s, all major Bulgarian linguists had reached consensus that Bulgarian phonemic inventory consisted of 28 phonemes. Out of the six major Bulgarian grammars published in the Interwar period, five explicitly mention the existence of 22 consonants (including the semivowel Шаблон:IPAslink) and 6 vowels: Petar Kalkandzhiev,[12] Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan, who suggested 26 certain phonemes + 2 conditional ones (for the non-native and infrequent Шаблон:Font color (/d͡ʒ/) and Шаблон:Font color (/d͡z/)),Шаблон:Sfnp Dimitar Popov, who posited that the only soft or palatal phoneme in Bulgarian was Шаблон:Font color (/j/),[13] as well as Lyubomir Andreychin, who considered that even though palatalised consonants had distinctive articulation, they did not deserve phonemic status.[14] All phoneticians referenced palatalisation extensively, but without ascribing phonemic value to the resulting sounds. Moreover, according to Stefan Mladenov,[15]

"If we disregard individual cases of old, stronger palatalization, which may be found in Eastern and Western dialects alike, Contemporary Standard Bulgarian has developed a very distinctive "semi-palatalization", which is often neglected."

This was a result of the attempts to unify the extremely divergent patterns of Eastern and Western palatalization into a common standard in the 1800s and early 1900s, which eventually led to its general elimination from the standard language. Examples include the complete elimination of end-word palatals in a number of words ending in Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA), e.g., writing and saying Шаблон:Font color [ˈkɔn] ('horse') instead of Шаблон:Font color ['kɔɲ], Шаблон:Font color ['pɤt] ('road') instead of Шаблон:Font color [pɤtʲ]), etc.; the adoption of the hard suffix Шаблон:Font color instead of Шаблон:Font color for verbal nouns, i.e., Шаблон:Font color [pisɐˈnɛ] instead of Шаблон:Font color [pisɐ'ɲɛ] ('writing'); labelling palatalization before front vowels as dialectal: (Шаблон:Font color [poˈlɛ] instead of Шаблон:Font color [pо'ʎɛ] ('field'), Шаблон:Font color [tikˈvɐ] instead of Шаблон:Font color [tʲikˈvɐ] ('pumpkin')), etc.[16] Thus, the only sanctioned palatalisation in CSB is in syllable-initial position before central and back vowels, i.e., in front of Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink.

The opinions of Bulgarian linguistics were also shared by a number of foreign Slavicists. French linguist Léon Beaulieux has stated that Bulgarian is characterised by its tendency to eliminate all palatal consonants.[17] Czech linguist Horalek claimed as early as the 1940s that palatalisation in standard Bulgarian was on its way to disappear through decomposition and the development of a specific Шаблон:IPAslink glide and that words such as Шаблон:Font color (white) & Шаблон:Font color (grandfather) were pronounced Шаблон:IPA & Шаблон:IPA (i.e., CjV) or even Шаблон:IPA & Шаблон:IPA just as often as they were pronounced Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA.[18]

Bulgarian consonantism according to IPA (22-consonant model)

A graphic representation of the Bulgarian consonant systems according to the International Phonetic Association (22 consonants) follows below:Шаблон:Sfnp

Consonants in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian
rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; width 120pt; background:#DCDCDC;" Шаблон:Diagonal split header Labial Dental / Alveolar Postalveolar Dorsal
Voiced Шаблон:Font color Voiced Шаблон:Font color Voiced Шаблон:Font color Voiced Шаблон:Font color
Nasal Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Stop Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Affricate Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Fricative Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Approximant Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Trill Шаблон:Font
Lateral Шаблон:Font

Шаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:Smalldiv

As palatalized consonants have very limited distribution in Standard Bulgarian and are only possible in syllable-initial position before central/back vowels, IPA's consonant table above treats them as palatalized allophones of their respective "hard" counterparts + [j] rather than as palatal phonemes and suggests that they can unambiguously be interpreted as CjV (consonant-glide-vowel) clusters.Шаблон:Sfnp<Шаблон:Sfnp Thus, for example, Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('somebody') can easily be reanalysed as Шаблон:IPA. According to Ternes and Vladimirova-Buhtz:Шаблон:Sfnp

"The phonemic analysis underlying the present transcription does not assume the existence of palatalized consonants. An alternative postulates the following palatalized consonants /pʲ, bʲ, tʲ, dʲ, kʲ, gʲ, tsʲ, dzʲ, mʲ, nʲ, rʲ, fʲ, vʲ, sʲ, zʲ, xʲ, lʲ/. The nature of palatalization in Bulgarian is different from that in Russian. Its occurrence is very restricted. Before front vowels and [j], palatalization does not go beyond the degree that is conditioned by the inevitable play of coarticulation. Before back vowels, palatalization may unambiguously be interpreted as C plus [j]. In syllable and word final position, it does not occur."

Among modern Bulgarian phoneticians, strong opinions about the existence of 22 consonants only are held by, e.g., Blagoy Shklifov, Mitko Sabev, Andrey Danchev and especially by Dimitrina Ignatova-Tzoneva, who has consistently argued that palatal consonants, though present in a number of dialects and in earlier stages of the development of the Bulgarian language, have largely been eliminated from Contemporary Standard Bulgarian.[19]Шаблон:Sfnp All of them have advocated for a CjV reanalysis of palatalization. A large number of other Bulgarian linguists have come out in support of a more traditional view of Bulgarian consonantism, e.g., Kiril Mirchev,Шаблон:Sfnp Petar Pashov,[20] Bozhil Nikolov,[21] Todor Boyadzhiev,[22] Шаблон:Interlanguage link, who has argued that there was no logic that could explain why a consonant affected by yat mutation (e.g., Шаблон:IPAslink in бял-бели ['bʲaɫ]-['bɛli]) would be palatal in some of its forms and hard in others, and so on.[23]

A number of foreign linguists have rejected the 39-consonant model based on an analysis of the distribution and degree of "softening" of Bulgarian "palatals" and the number of speakers pronouncing ⟨bj⟩, ⟨dj⟩ or ⟨fj⟩ instead of ⟨bʲ⟩, ⟨dʲ⟩ or ⟨fʲ⟩. These have included Austrian researcher Merlingen (1957),Шаблон:Sfnp Americans Carleton Hodge (1957)Шаблон:Sfnp and Joseph van Campen and Jacob Ornstein (1959),Шаблон:Sfnp Romanian linguist Alexandru Rosetti, who qualified the degree of palatalization of Bulgarian consonants as "a softening" (1967),[24] Swiss Max Mangold (1988),Шаблон:Sfnp Korean Slavist Gwon-Jin Choi, who has argued about the decomposition of Bulgarian palatalism (into C + j) (1994),Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp as well as phoneticians Ternes and Vladimirova-Buhtz, who have most recently suggested C-j-V notation of palatals, as their limited distribution proved they were allophones rather than phonemes (1999).Шаблон:Sfnp

A comparison of the distribution of palatalized consonants in Bulgarian and other Slavic languages and of the number of palatals in each major Slavic languages is of key importance for understanding the issue:

Comparison of the distribution of Шаблон:IPA linkШаблон:IPA (palatal l) in Standard Bulgarian, Croatian and RussianШаблон:Sfnp
Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Before back vowels Шаблон:Tick лют [lʲu̟t] (spicy)
Before front vowels Шаблон:Cross
Before sonorants Шаблон:Cross
Before other consonants Шаблон:Cross
At word end Шаблон:Cross
Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Before back vowels Шаблон:Tick ljut [ʎûːt] (angry)
Before front vowels Шаблон:Tick polje [pôʎe] (field)
Before sonorants Шаблон:Tick daljnji [dâːʎɲiː] (far)
Before other consonants Шаблон:Tick biljka [bîːʎka] (plant)
At word end Шаблон:Tick kralj [krâːʎ] (king)
Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Before back vowels Шаблон:Tick люк [lʲuk] (hatch)
Before front vowels Шаблон:Tick поле [ˈpolʲe] (field)
Before sonorants Шаблон:Tick сильно [ˈsʲilʲnə] (strongly)
Before other consonants Шаблон:Tick полька [ˈpolʲkə] (polka)
At word end Шаблон:Tick печаль [pʲɪˈt͡ɕælʲ] (grief)

All other palatalized consonants in Bulgarian have the same distribution:

Distribution of consonants in Standard BulgarianШаблон:Sfnp
Position Consonant
p b m f v t d s z t͡s t͡sʲ d͡z d͡zʲ n ɲ r ʃ ʒ t͡ʃ d͡ʒ j l/ɫ ʎ k g x
Before back vowels Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross
Before front vowels Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross
Before sonorants Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross
Before other consonants Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross
At word end Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross
Comparison of the distribution of palatal (palatalised) consonants in all major Slavic languagesШаблон:Sfnp[25]Шаблон:Sfnp
Language Consonant
t͡sʲ d͡zʲ Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link Шаблон:IPA link ɣʲ
Russian Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross
Belarussian Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick
Ukrainian Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross
Polish Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross
Czech Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross
Slovak Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross
Slovenian Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross
Serbo-Croatian Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross
Bulgarian (22-consonant model) Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross
Bulgarian (39-consonant model) Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Question mark Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Question mark Шаблон:Cross

It is argued that it is highly unlikely for modern Bulgarian to have developed 18 palatalized consonants (incl. /j/) from the 9 or 10 that existed in Old Bulgarian (Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA), considering that four of those had already hardened or disappeared (Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPA).Шаблон:Sfnp Townsend and Janda have argued that such a development is at odds with the general development in all South Slavic languages, which had suppressed the development of palatals very early.Шаблон:Sfnp If Bulgarian indeed had 18 palatal phonemes, it would be as palatal a language as Russian and Belarussian, which runs counter to auditory experience.

Bulgarian consonantism according to Trubetzkoy (39-consonant model)

A graphic representation of the Bulgarian consonant system according to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and based on Trubetzkoy's ideas follows below (39 consonants):Шаблон:Sfnp

Consonants in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian
rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; width 120pt; background:#DCDCDC;" Шаблон:Diagonal split header Labial Dental / AlveolarШаблон:Ref Postalveolar Palatal Velar
Hard Soft Hard Soft Hard Soft Hard Soft Hard Soft
Nasal Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref Шаблон:Font Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Stop Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Affricate Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref Шаблон:Font
Fricative Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref
Approximant Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref Шаблон:Font
Trill Шаблон:Font Шаблон:Font
Lateral Шаблон:FontШаблон:Ref Шаблон:Font

Шаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:SmalldivШаблон:Smalldiv

The 39-consonant model is inextricably linked to Russian linguist Nikolai Trubetzkoy. A refugee from the Bolshevik Revolution, he settled in Sofia in 1920, where he was granted tenure at Sofia University.Шаблон:Sfnp Eventually, he moved to Vienna and became one of the founders of the immensely influential Prague Linguistic Circle.[26] In his magnum opus, Principles of Phonology, published posthumously in 1939, he referenced extensively Eastern Bulgarian, even offering a model phonemic inventory it.Шаблон:Sfnp There he argued in favor of the existence of the distinctive feature of palatalization in Bulgarian, establishing 14 contrastive pairs of hard and palatalized consonants. The consonant inventory suggested by Trubetzkoy consisted of 36 consonants, including Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), but not Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink), Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA) and Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPAslink).

Both Stoyko Stoykov and Lyubomir Andreychin, had rejected Trubetzkoy's idea in the early 1940s. It took them nearly 10 years to rediscover it. In the meantime, the country was occupied by the Soviet Union. The new regime reformed the orthography, throwing out all letters not present in Russian "as a manifestation of Great Bulgarian chauvinism"[27] and introduced many Russian loanwords as part of a propaganda campaign. The atmosphere of pervasive sovietisation and russification of the period 1944–1954 proved far more conducive to the realization of Trubetskoy's ideas. By the turn of the decade, Stoykov had changed heart and consequently published Trubetzkoy's consonant model, adding 15 palatalized consonants to his analysis of the Bulgarian phonemic inventory.[28] The other major postwar Bulgarian linguist, Lyubomir Andreychin, then quickly suggested another two, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink, arguing that even though they only existed in foreign proper names like Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('Houston') and Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:IPA ('Jadzia') and had no contrastive function, they could have one, if need be.

Stoykov eventually conceded, and after the most distinguished Bulgarian phonetician of the totalitarian period, Шаблон:Interlanguage link, also agreed to the inclusion ("as they were envisaged by the system"), the 39-consonant system was set in stone.[29] Tilkov designated Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPAslink as "potential phonemes", adding Шаблон:Font color (Шаблон:IPA) to them in 1982, as it existed in only a handful of words, all of them borrowings (e.g., Шаблон:Font color [ˈfʲurɛr] ('Führer')).Шаблон:Sfnp The “potential phoneme”approach has not enjoyed much support abroad, where most authors generally omit not only Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPAslink, but also Шаблон:IPAslink.[30][31][32]

While the consonant model was lauded in the Soviet Union by the likes of, e.g., Yuriy Maslov, acceptance in the West, except for Klagstad, has been lukewarm. Most of those who have opted to go with it rather than with the alternative model routinely call into question parts of it or make caveats. The most prolific Bulgarian phonologist and grammarian in the English-speaking world, Ernest Scatton, notes (1993):Шаблон:Sfnp

Alveo-palatal obstruents are weakly palatalized. Palatalized labials are pronounced by many Bulgarians as sequences of [Cj].

In the compilation Common and Comparative Slavic (1996), American Slavist Charles E. Townsend states:Шаблон:Sfnp

Palatalization is marked by following vowels as in R[ussian]. Extent of distinctive palatalization is debated; most agree on n/n', l/l', k/k', g/g'. Our inventory lists B[ulgarian] as having some 37 consonants, but this is an idealized number. The real number obviously depends on how many palatalized consonants one recognizes as independent morphophonemes. A great deal of controversy surrounds this question, though, in spite of the large number of phonetic contrasts, phonemic palatalization is more circumscribed than in R. For one thing, phonemic palatalization in B is clearly secondary; we recall that SSL South Slavic Languages in general suppressed the development of palatalization quite early, and not only in SC [Serbo-Croatian], but also Sln [Slovenian] and Mac [Macedonian] (close as the latter is to B) do not show any phonemic contrasts. For another thing, palatalization in B consonants is distinctive only before non-front vowels, and palatalized consonants never occur in final position or before other consonants.

According to Voegelin (1965):Шаблон:Sfnp

Hodge and Bidwell treat the palatalized consonants not as separate unit phonemes (as given in the inventory above) but as clusters of consonants + /j/, which occur only before non-front vowels. There is more agreement among the sources in the treatment of /l', n', k', g'/ as palatalized phonemes than in the treatment of the other palatalized phonemes.

Palatalization

Palatalization refers to a type of consonant articulation, where a secondary palatal movement similar to that for Шаблон:IPAslink is superimposed on the primary movement associated with the consonant's plain counterpart.Шаблон:Sfnp During the palatalization of most hard consonants (bilabial, labiodental and denti-alveolar consonants), the middle part of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate and the alveolar ridge, which leads to the formation of a second articulatory centre whereby the specific palatal "clang" of the soft consonants is achieved. The articulation of palatalised alveolars Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink normally does not follow that rule. The palatal clang is instead achieved by moving the place of articulation further back towards the palate so that Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink actually become alveopalatal (postalveolar) consonants. In turn, the articulation of soft Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink (transcribed as Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink or Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink) moves from the velum towards the palate, and they are therefore considered palatal consonants. Шаблон:Multiple image However, the only articulatory study of palatalized consonants in Bulgarian, conducted by Stoyko Stoykov via X-ray tracings of vocal tract configurations of hard/palatalised consonant pairs, indicates that the secondary palatal movement is missing (or severely weakened) during the articulation of a number of palatalized consonants.Шаблон:Sfnp Only the articulation of bilabial and labiodental consonants (/pʲ/, /bʲ/, /mʲ/, /fʲ/, /vʲ/) is accompanied by a noticeable raising of the body of the tongue towards the palate, but only to a moderate extent.Шаблон:Sfnp The articulation of soft Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink (Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink) also shows distinctive palatalization, as the place of articulation moves onto the palate.Шаблон:Sfnp

However, in denti-alveolars (/tʲ/, /dʲ/, /tsʲ/, /dzʲ/, /sʲ/, /zʲ/), the place of articulation neither shifts towards the palate, nor is the tongue raised. Instead, they are articulated with the blade of the tongue (laminally) rather than the tip (apically), which results in greater surface contact of the tongue front and a modification of the primary articulatory gesture.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp Stoykov defines them as “weakly palatalized”, while Scatton notes that the position of the mid-tongue in palatalized stops is not much higher than that in their plain counterparts.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp A comparison with the articulation of the same consonants in a language where palatal consonants indisputably exist, such as Russian, reveals drastically different articulation, with Bulgarian being completely non-conformant with the definition of palatalization.Шаблон:Sfnp A comparison of the articulation of bilabials and labiodentals (/pʲ/, /bʲ/, /mʲ/, /fʲ/, /vʲ/) in Bulgarian also reveals much less pronounced secondary palatal gesture than in Russian.

The articulation of Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPA is very similar to that of the denti-alveolars, but with a slight shift of the place of articulation towards the palate and some raising of the mid-tongue towards the palate.Шаблон:Sfnp According to Stoykov, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink are harder than their counterparts in the other Slavic languages, while Шаблон:IPA is just as palatal.Шаблон:Sfnp Based on Stoykov’s study, several foreign and Bulgarian phonologists have noted that distinctive palatalization in Bulgarian can be only claimed in the cases of Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink,Шаблон:Sfnp[33]Шаблон:Sfnp or Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink.Шаблон:Sfnp

Moreover, a study of the perception of hard and palatlized consonants conducted by Tilkov in 1983 has indicated that with the exception of palatalized velars (Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink), Bulgarian listeners needed to hear the transition to the vowel to correctly identify a consonant as soft.[34] All this has raised the question whether Bulgarian palatals have indeed lost their secondary articulatory gesture and have decomposed into CjV sequences, as claimed by Danchev, Ignatova-Tzoneva, Choi, etc.

A 2012 perception study of palatalized consonants in Bulgarian compared with a language where palatalization is indisputed (Russian) and a language where such consonants are undoubtedly articulated as CjV clusters (English) concluded that unlike English listeners, Russian and Bulgarian listeners could identify a palatal(ized) consonant without waiting for the transition to the following vowel.Шаблон:Sfnp The study also found similarities in the phonetic shape of palatal(ized) consonants in Bulgarian and Russian and marked differences between those in the two languages and English, disproving the hypothesis for the decomposition of palatalization put forward by Horalek, Ignatova-Tzoneva, Choi, etc.Шаблон:Sfnp Nevertheless, based on the phonological distribution of Bulgarian palatals, which was similar to that in English and completely different from that in Russian, the author argued in favour of CjV notation.Шаблон:Sfnp

Palatalization of *tj/*gt/*kt and *dj in Bulgarian

While the results of the three Slavic palatalizations are generally the same across all or most Slavic languages, the palatalization of *tj (and the related *gti and *kti) and *dj in Late Common Slavic led to vastly divergent result in each individual Slavic language.

Reflexes of Proto-Slavic *dj and *tj/*gti/*kti in Old Church Slavonic (OCS) and modern Slavic languagesШаблон:Sfnp
Proto-Slavic Old Church Slavonic Bulgarian Macedonian Serbo-Croatian Slovenian Slovak Czech Polish Russian
Шаблон:IPA
medja ('boundary')
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:IPA
světja
('candle')
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:IPA
mogti
('might')
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:IPA
nokti
('night')
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align
Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align Шаблон:Align

Bulgarian *tj/*kti/*gti and *dj reflexes Шаблон:Font color ([Шаблон:IPA]) and Шаблон:Font color ([Шаблон:IPA]), which are exactly the same as in Old Church Slavonic, and the near-open articulation Шаблон:IPA of the Yat vowel (ě), which is still widely preserved in a number of Bulgarian dialects in the Rhodopes, Pirin Macedonia (Razlog dialect) and northeastern Bulgaria (Shumen dialect), etc., are the strongest evidence that Old Church Slavonic was codified on the basis of a Bulgarian dialect and that Bulgarian is its closest direct descendant.Шаблон:Sfnp Though the ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩/⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ speaking area currently covers only the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and the eastern half of the wider region of geographical Macedonia, toponomy containing ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ and ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ that goes back to the Early Middle Ages is widely preserved across Northern and Central Greece, Southern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and the Torlak-speaking regions in Serbia.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp Шаблон:Multiple image For example, in the Struga municipality, the names of 13 out of 43 villages contain either ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ (Kališta, Korošišta, Labuništa, Moroišta, Piskupština, Radolišta, Tašmaruništa, Velešta and Vraništa) or ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ (Delogoždi, Mislodežda, Radožda and Zbaždi).Шаблон:Sfnp The same applies to Kosovo, where Russian Slavist Afanasiy Selishchev found а number of place names around the city of Prizren featuring the Bulgarian clusters ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩/⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ in a Serbian official document from the 1300s (Небрѣгошта, Добрѹшта, Сѣножештани, Гражденикь, Ображда, Любижда, etc.).Шаблон:Sfnp At present, a total of 8 villages out of 76 villages in the Prizren municipality still feature the Bulgarian consonant clusters ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩/⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩, even though the region has not been ruled by Bulgaria in eight centuries: Lubizhdë, Lubizhdë e Hasit, Poslishtë, Skorobishtë, Grazhdanik, Nebregoshtë, Dobrushtë, Kushtendil. There are also numerous toponyms with the two clusters in the districts of Vranje, Pirot, Knjaževac, etc. in Serbia proper.Шаблон:Sfnp

The development of ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ > Шаблон:IPAslink and ⟨Шаблон:IPA⟩ > Шаблон:IPAslink in certain dialects in the geographic region of Macedonia is a late and partial phenomenon dating back to the Late Middle Ages, probably caused by the influence of Serbian Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink, and possibly aided by the Late Middle Bulgarian's trend to palatalise Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink and then transform them into soft k and g > Шаблон:IPAslink & Шаблон:IPAslink.[35]Шаблон:Sfnp[36]

Phonation

Phonation is a primary distinctive feature for obstruents in Bulgarian, dividing them into voiced and voiceless consonants. Obstruents form 8 minimal pairs: Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink.[37] The only obstruent without a counterpart is the voiceless fricative Шаблон:IPAslink, whose voiced counterpart Шаблон:IPAslink does not exist as a separate phoneme in Bulgarian. The sonorants Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink and the approximant Шаблон:IPAslink are always voiced.

If the existence of separate palatalised consonant phonemes (39-consonant model) is accepted, 6 more contrastive obstruent pairs are added: /pʲ/↔/bʲ/, /fʲ/↔/vʲ/, /tʲ/↔/dʲ/, /sʲ/↔/zʲ/, /tsʲ/↔/dzʲ/,Шаблон:IPAslinkШаблон:IPAslink, for a total of 14.

Voicing, devoicing, assimilation, sandhi, ellision

Like all other Slavic languages apart from Serbo-Croatian and Ukrainian, Bulgarian features word-final devoicing of obstruents, unless the following word begins with a voiced consonant.Шаблон:Sfnp Thus, Шаблон:Font color is pronounced ['grat] ('city'), Шаблон:Font color is pronounced ['ʒif] ('alive'). While obstruents devoice before enclitics (Шаблон:Font color ['gratli] ('а city?')), they do not devoice at the end of prepositions followed by a voiced consonant (Шаблон:Font color [podli'pitɛ] ('under the lindens')).

CSB also features regressive assimilation in consonant clusters. Thus, voiced obstruents devoice if they are followed by a voiceless obstruent (e.g., Шаблон:Font color is pronounced ['istok]) ('East')), and voiceless obstruents voice if they are followed by a voiced obstruent (e.g., Шаблон:Font color is pronounced ['zgradɐ] ('building')).Шаблон:Sfnp

Assimilation also occurs across word boundaries (in the form of sandhi), for example, Шаблон:Font color is pronounced [odgo'ratɐ] ('from the forest'), while Шаблон:Font color becomes [natpo'lɛto] ('above the field').Шаблон:Sfnp

The consonants Шаблон:IPAslink and Шаблон:IPAslink in consonant clusters such as Шаблон:Font color [stn] and Шаблон:Font color [zdn] are usually not pronounced, unless the articulation is very careful, i.e., Шаблон:Font color tends to pronounced as ['vɛsnik] (‘newspaper’), while Шаблон:Font color tends to pronounced as ['beznɐ]) (‘abyss’).Шаблон:Sfnp

Distribution of voiced and voiceless consonants in Bulgarian

Distribution of Voiced & Voiceless Consonants in Standard BulgarianШаблон:Sfnp
Position Consonant
b Шаблон:Font color v Шаблон:Font color d Шаблон:Font color z Шаблон:Font color d͡zШаблон:Resize Шаблон:Font color ʒ Шаблон:Font color d͡ʒ Шаблон:Font color g Шаблон:Font color Шаблон:Font color m l n r j
Position I: Before central and back vowels (Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink) Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick
Position II: Before front vowels (Шаблон:IPAslink, (Шаблон:IPAslink) Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick
Position III: Before sonorants (Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink, Шаблон:IPAslink) Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick
Position IV: Before Шаблон:IPAslink Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick
Position V: At word end Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick
Position VI: Before voiceless consonants Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick
Position VII: Before voiced consonants Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Cross Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick Шаблон:Tick

Шаблон:Smalldiv

Consonant classification based on place and manner of articulation

Place of articulation

The consonants:

The palatalized allophones of

Manner of articulation

Word stress

Stress is not usually marked in written text. In cases where the stress must be indicated, a grave accent is placed on the vowel of the stressed syllable.Шаблон:Ref

Bulgarian word stress is dynamic. Stressed syllables are louder and longer than unstressed ones. As in Russian and other East Slavic languages, as well as English, Bulgarian stress is also lexical rather than fixed as in French, Latin or the West Slavic languages. It may fall on any syllable of a polysyllabic word, and its position may vary depending on the inflection and derivation, for example:

Bulgarian stress is also distinctive: the following examples are only differentiated by stress (see the different vowels):

Stress usually isn't signified in written text, even in the above examples, if the context makes the meaning clear. However, the grave accent may be written if confusion is likely. Шаблон:Ref

The stress is often written in order to signify a dialectal deviation from the standard pronunciation:

Шаблон:Smalldiv

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

Шаблон:Refbegin

Шаблон:Refend

Шаблон:Bulgarian language Шаблон:Language phonologies