I am trying to make a point with this post! 😀 A few days ago me and my friends were discussing the advantages of being born English or French or Spanish or Italian or Chinese and so on. You can already speak one of the most frequently used languages in the world and at the same time, just like everybody else, you can also choose to learn a 2nd and a 3rd one; you can travel and work wherever you want; you can actually make a living out of it; you can do anything!
Now comes the big question – what can you do knowing Bulgarian? 😀 What are the advantages of being able to speak it? Why should you learn it? I sure know they aren’t as many as for those whose mother tongue is English, but there are…well, some and I’m gonna prove it now!
So, I shall start with my strongest arguments! Here they come!
Cool movie characters speak Bulgarian
Not many people can understand Tom Hanks in the Terminal, but those who speak Bulgarian, they can! *naaailed it* His character in the movie is a traveler from the fictional nation of Krakozhia and the language he speaks is actually Bulgarian. And let me ask you! Have you seen the message boards on IMDB?? It’s crazy! “What language is that?”, “Anybody speaking Russian or Bulgarian?” – eeeverybody wanna know! I’m sure they all started Bulgarian classes right after…
It gives you the freedom of speech even America can’t give to you
When traveling Bulgarians can discuss whatever they want, without other people understanding them! Yeah, that’s an advantage! If you are French and you are traveling in Peru for example, every time you and your mate want to say something to each other in your mother tongue, there is a chance that someone nearby can understand all you are saying. *spies everywhere* I know you may be thinking “So, what?”, but those who speak a language such as Bulgarian have more privacy and can fully enjoy the freedom of speech! (…and some good gossiping).
And can you imagine being English?? Now everybody speaks English. You can never just switch to another less known language (such as Bulgarian, hehe) and say something privately. I am sure that many travelers can actually relate to that!
The new trend among hipsters
Again, hipsters, that’s your thing. Why learn German or Spanish. Comeee on! A real hipster would learn Bulgarian or… Lithuanian?! Can you imagine how cool you would be, being able to speak a language no one else speaks? Hehe, that’s also kind of the tricky part, but you should definitely think about it. Be the real hipster you wanna be! Rise to your full hipster potential! #learnBulgarian
Okay, I didn’t want to mention this, but I may not have convinced you yet. So, dear male hipsters, do you know what’s the first thing on the list why people love Bulgaria? Check out for yourself: 84 reasons to love Bulgaria. You following? Some Bulgarian might help. 😉
It’s a beautiful language with it’s own alphabet
…and a nation’s possession of its own alphabet is a measure of its degree of cultural and spiritual development!
Bulgarian was the first Slavic language to be written. It uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and the language is famous for introducing this writing system which Russian, the other East Slavic languages and Serbo-Croatian (and other non-Slavic languages as well) would adopt later.
With the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union on 1 January 2007, Cyrillic also became the third official script of the European Union, following the Latin and Greek scripts.
You can also understand Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian and a little bit of Russian
I’m not saying that by learning how to speak Bulgarian you automatically learn all of these languages. What will happen is that you would be able to understand “the gist”. For example, me being Bulgarian, I can absolutely freely talk with a Macedonian. On the news, when they have reportage which includes a Macedonian speaker, they often don’t even translate it or put subtitles.
With one of my Bosnian friends, we used to sometimes have our conversations in our own languages – I talk in Bulgarian, she answers in Bosnian, and we could understand each other! And that is awesome if you are not following!
It gives you a niche
If you want to work with languages and linguistics, learning Bulgarian definitely gives you a niche. You’re not just another person who can speak English or Spanish. It gives you a particular skill that undoubtedly has it’s use. Every language has a value and it’s up to you whether you can use it as your advantage. Don’t underestimate what you already have.
What is more, Sofia was recently named in the top 10 Cities Around the World to Launch your Startup by FORBES. So, learning Bulgarian may actually be good for your business. Why not?
Foreigners call it the language of love
People learn English because of business, but people learn Bulgarian because of love. This amazing video by Alexandra Whitaker explains it all.
The Bulgarian language is incredibly beautiful. You may say that I am subjective, but that won’t change anything. There isn’t a thought you cannot put into words, there isn’t a feeling you cannot describe. The Bulgarian language is first beautiful, second rich and third powerful. Know its value and know your value.
#LoveBG
