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][2][3][4][5]

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.[6][7] 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.[8][9][3][10]

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.[11] 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.[12][13]

Both Stoykov and Andreychin had rejected Trubetzkoy's ideas in the early 1940s, before Bulgaria's occupation by the Red Army.[14][15] 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.[16] 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.[17][18]

Vowels

Standard Bulgarian vowels (Stressed). From .[17]
Stressed vowels in Bulgarian
Front Central Back
Close и /i/ у /u/
Mid е /ɛ/ ъ /ɤ/1 о /ɔ/
Open а /a/
^1 /ɤ/ is actually a mid-back and somewhat centralized vowel, usually pronounced midway between ⟨ɤ̞⟩ and ⟨ə⟩. Thus, it is sometimes transcribed as /ə/,[19] or even /ɜ/,[20] but its usual notation is [ɤ].

According to their place of articulation, Bulgarian vowels can be grouped in three pairs—front vowels: ⟨е⟩ (/ɛ/) and ⟨и⟩ (/i/); central vowels: ⟨а⟩ (/a/) and ⟨ъ⟩ (/ɤ/); and back vowels: ⟨о⟩ (/ɔ/) and ⟨у⟩ (/u/).

Here /ɛ/, /a/ and /ɔ/ are "low", and /i/, /ɤ/ and /u/ 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.[21][17] This concerns only the central vowels /a/ and /ɤ/, which neutralize into [ɐ], and the back vowels /ɔ/ and /u/, which neutralize into [o].

The merger of /ɛ/ and /i/ is not allowed in formal speech and is regarded as a provincial (East Bulgarian) dialectal feature; instead, unstressed ɛ is both raised and centralized, approaching the schwa (/ə/).[22] The Bulgarian /ɤ/ vowel does not exist as a phoneme in other Slavic languages, though a similar reduced vowel transcribed as [ə] 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.

Maximum tongue positions when pronouncing stressed and unstressed Bulgarian vowels
Maximum tongue positions when pronouncing stressed and unstressed Bulgarian vowels
Frequency (F1) distinctions between Bulgarian vowels in stressed and unstressed position
Frequency (F1) distinctions between Bulgarian vowels in stressed and unstressed position

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 /ɛ/, /a/ and /ɔ/ are indeed raised as expected, unstressed high /ɤ/ and /u/ are also raised somewhat, rather than lowered, while /i/ remains in the same position.[23][24][25]

All three studies indicate that a clear distinction is kept between unstressed /ɛ/ and both stressed and unstressed /i/. The situation with unstressed /a/ and /ɔ/ is more complex, but all studies indicate that they both approach unstressed /ɤ/ and /u/ very closely, yet do not completely coalesce. One of the studies finds that unstressed /a/ to be practically undistinguishable from stressed /ɤ/,[26] but this is not confirmed by the other studies.

While the difference between all stressed vowels and between unstressed /i/ and /ɛ/ can be heard in almost 100% of cases, native Bulgarian speakers experience difficulties in identifying unstressed back and central vowels in minimum pairs, with only 62% identifying unstressed /u/, 59% unstressed /a/ and /ɔ/ and a mere 57% unstressed /ɤ/.[25]

Semivowels

The Bulgarian language officially has only one semivowel: /j/. 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 [й] (и with a breve) as in най- [naj] (prefix 'most') and (тролей [troˈlɛj] ('trolleybus'), except when it precedes /a/ or /u/ (and their reduced counterparts [ɐ] and [o]), in which case both phonemes are represented by a single letter, ⟨я⟩ or ⟨ю⟩, respectively: e.g., ютия [juˈtijɐ] ('flat iron'), but Йордан [jorˈdan] ('Jordan').

As a result of lenition of velarized /l/ ([ɫ]), ongoing since the 1970s, [w] appears to be an emerging allophone of velarized [ɫ] among younger speakers, especially in preconsonantal position: вълк [ˈvɤwk] ('wolf') instead of [ˈvɤɫk]. 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.[27] A Ukrainian researcher found in 2012 that Bulgarians split into three age-specific groups in terms of [ɫ] 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].[28]

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 [ɫ] in any given word, and only 2 participants able to produce [ɫ] correctly, but in no more than half the words in the study.[29] Remarkably, not a single participant was able to enunciate [ɫ] between a bilabial consonant and a rounded vowel, e.g., in аплодирани [ɐpwo'dirɐni] ('applauded'), or between a rounded vowel and a velar consonant, e.g. in толкова ['tɔwkovɐ] ('so').[30] Another discovery of the study was that in particular positions, certain participants enunciated neither [ɫ] nor [w], but the high back unrounded vowel [ɯ] (or its corresponding glide [ɰ]).

The glide [w] can also be found in English loan words such as уиски ['wiski] ('Whiskey') or Уикипедия ['wiki'pɛdiɐ] ('Wikipedia'). The semivowel /j/ forms a number of diphthongs, which are summarized below:[31][32]

Falling j diphthongs
Word start
[aj]айайран'buttermilk'
-
-
-
-
[uj]уйуйдисвам'indulge', 'be suitable for'
Mid-word
[aj]айкайма'minced meat'
-
[ɛj]ейвейка'twig'
[ij]ийпартийна'of a party'
[ɔj]ойвойна'war'
[uj]уйвуйчо'uncle'
Word end
[aj]айслучай'case'
[ɤj]ъйтъй'thus, so'
[ɛj]ейгвоздей'nail'
[ij]ийкалий'sodium'
[ɔj]ойзавой'road bend'
[uj]уйтуй'this'
Rising j diphthongs
Word start
[ja]йаям'I eat'
-
[jɛ]йейерархия'hierarchy'
-
[jɔ]йойод'iodine'
[ju]йуюг'south'
Mid-word
[ja]йаприятел'friend'
-
[jɛ]йефойерверк'fireworks'
-
[jɔ]йорайон'area'
[ju]йусъюз'union'
Word end
[ja]йастатуя'statue'
[jɤ]йъпия'I drink'
-
-
[jɔ]йоМарийо'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 /j/, that Trubetzkoy’s 17 palatalized consonants are merely (positional) allophones of hard consonants and that the Bulgarian language therefore has only 28 phonemes.[33][34][9][17] 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:[4][35][2]

  • Unlike the palatal consonants in other Slavic languages, which can usually be found in all positions, palatalized consonants in Bulgarian have very limited distribution: only before central or back vowels, and then only if there is a /j/ before the vowel, noted graphically with the letters ⟨я⟩ [ja]/[jɤ], ⟨ю⟩ [ju] or ⟨ьо⟩ [jɔ].[10][36]
  • The enormous number of palatal or palatalized consonants claimed contradicts the historical development of Bulgarian and the South Slavic languages in general towards depalatalization, especially considering that there were only 9 or 10 palatal consonants in Old and Middle Bulgarian and that four of them have since hardened or are no longer used.[37][38]
  • The reanalysis would make it possible to make sense of sequences like ям [ˈjam] ('(I) eat') ↔ изям [iˈzʲam] ('(I) eat till the last crumb') ↔ доям [doˈjam] ('(I) finish eating something') ↔ отям [oˈtʲam] ('(I) eat to my heart's content'), where a root is considered to be iotated in some cases and to palatalize the previous consonant in others.[39]
  • Stoykov, Andreychin and Tilkov have all provided eyewitness accounts that the pronunciation of so-called palatalized consonants as consonant + /j/ is common among Bulgarian speakers and predominates in Western Bulgaria.[40][41][42]
  • The swift adoption of an approach that looks tailored to Russian but has proven a remarkably poor fit for Bulgarian at a time when Bulgaria was governed by a totalitarian regime completely subservient to the Soviet Union is suspicious and is most likely the result of Soviet duress and/or influence.[43][44]

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 ⟨й⟩ (/j/), there are 17 separate palatal phonemes that are in minimal pairs with their hard counterparts, including ⟨дз'⟩ (/d͡zʲ/) and ⟨х'⟩ (/ç/), which are not found in any native Bulgarian words and were excluded from Trubetzkoy's draft.[45] Thus, only 5 consonants are not in minimal pairs, ⟨ч⟩ (/t͡ʃ/), ⟨дж⟩ (/d͡ʒ/), ⟨ш⟩ (/ʃ/) and ⟨ж⟩ (/ʒ/), which are only hard, and the glide ⟨й⟩ (/j/), 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:[46]

  • 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. гол [gɔɫ] ('nude/naked') vs. гьол [ˈgʲɔɫ] ('puddle'); лук [ˈɫuk] ('onion') vs. люк [ˈʎuk] ('hatch'); дал [daɫ] ('to have given') vs/ дял [ˈdʲaɫ] ('share');
  • Palatal consonants cannot be considered to be formed by their hard counterparts by adding (/j/), 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.[47]

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: ⟨р⟩ (/r/) and ⟨р'⟩ (/rʲ/), ⟨н⟩ (/n/) and ⟨н'⟩ (/ɳ/), ⟨л⟩ (/l/) and ⟨л'⟩ (/ʎ/), ⟨с⟩ (/s/) and ⟨с'⟩ (/sʲ/). Three consonants were only hard: ⟨к⟩ (/k/), ⟨г⟩ (/g/) and ⟨х⟩ (/x/), four were only soft: /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /ʃ/ and ⟨ꙃ'⟩ (/d͡zʲ/), while the remaining eight consonants were generally hard, but could be semi-palatalized: ⟨б⟩ (/b/), ⟨в⟩ (/β/), ⟨д⟩ (/d/), ⟨ꙁ⟩ (/z/), ⟨м⟩ (/m/), ⟨п⟩ (/p/), ⟨т⟩ (/t/) and ⟨ф⟩ (/f/).[48]

Historical phonetician Anna-Maria Totomanova has expressed a slightly divergent opinion: the four hard/palatal contrastive pairs were again /r/ and /rʲ/, /n/ and /ɳ/, /l/ and /ʎ/, /s/ and /sʲ/, 11 consonants, /p/, /b/, /m/, (/f/, /β/), /d/, /t/, /z/, /k/, /g/ and /x/, were only hard, and six consonants, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /t͡sʲ/, /d͡zʲ/ and iota (/j/), along with the typically Bulgarian consonant combinations ⟨щ⟩ [ʃt] & ⟨жд⟩ [ʒd], were only soft.[49] Finally, Huntley mentions 9 palatal consonants: /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /t͡sʲ/, /d͡zʲ/ and /j/, which were only soft, and /ɳ/, /ʎ/ and /rʲ/, which could also be hard.[50] Both Haralampiev and Totomanova have noted a marked trend towards consonant hardening.[48]

Eventually, /ʃ/, /ʒ/ and /t͡ʃ/ hardened permanently, /d͡z/ disappeared from the phonemic inventory, and ⟨дж⟩ (/d͡ʒ/) 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 /i/ in many cases turned into the semivowel /j/ or attached to a consonant, palatalising it. Thus, Old Bulgarian свиниꙗ [sviˈnija] ('swine') contracted into свиня [sviˈɲa] and братиꙗ [ˈbratija] ('brothers') into братя [ˈbratʲɐ].[51]

In many dialects, the resulting palatalised ⟨т'⟩ (/tʲ/) and ⟨д'⟩ (/dʲ/) turned into palatalised ⟨к'⟩ (/c/) and ⟨г'⟩ (/ɟ/).[52] These were subsequently eliminated from CSB as dialecticisms, e.g., цвет'e [ˈt͡svɛtʲɛ] ('flower')→ цвек'е ['t͡svɛkʲɛ] → Ø. The form accepted in the literary language was instead the unpalatalised цвете [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 /a/. In the West, however, it led to /ɛ/ in both stressed and unstressed syllables producing no palatalisation anywhere.[53] 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 ⟨щ⟩ (ʃt), ⟨ъ⟩ and ⟨ь⟩ (no phonemic status at word end).[54] The first Bulgarian man of letters to correctly identify the 21 consonants in Bulgarian was Ivan Momchilov, in 1868.[55] According to Momchilov, Bulgarian consonants could sound hard or soft, entirely depending on the vowel accompanying them.[56]

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 /j/) and 6 vowels: Petar Kalkandzhiev,[57] Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan, who suggested 26 certain phonemes + 2 conditional ones (for the non-native and infrequent ⟨дж⟩ (/d͡ʒ/) and ⟨дз⟩ (/d͡z/)),[8] Dimitar Popov, who posited that the only soft or palatal phoneme in Bulgarian was ⟨й⟩ (/j/),[58] as well as Lyubomir Andreychin, who considered that even though palatalised consonants had distinctive articulation, they did not deserve phonemic status.[59] All phoneticians referenced palatalisation extensively, but without ascribing phonemic value to the resulting sounds. Moreover, according to Stefan Mladenov,[60]

"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 ⟨р'⟩ (/rʲ/), ⟨н'⟩ (/ɲ/), ⟨л'⟩ (/ʎ/) and ⟨т'⟩ (/tʲ/), e.g., writing and saying кон [ˈkɔn] ('horse') instead of конь ['kɔɲ], път ['pɤt] ('road') instead of пъть [pɤtʲ]), etc.; the adoption of the hard suffix -не instead of -нье for verbal nouns, i.e., писане [pisɐˈnɛ] instead of писанье [pisɐ'ɲɛ] ('writing'); labelling palatalization before front vowels as dialectal: (поле [poˈlɛ] instead of полье [pо'ʎɛ] ('field'), тиква [tikˈvɐ] instead of тьиква [tʲikˈvɐ] ('pumpkin')), etc.[61] Thus, the only sanctioned palatalisation in CSB is in syllable-initial position before central and back vowels, i.e., in front of /a/, /ɤ/, /ɔ/ and /u/.

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.[62] 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 /j/ glide and that words such as бял (white) & дядо (grandfather) were pronounced [bjaɫ] & [ˈdjado] (i.e., CjV) or even [biaɫ] & [ˈdiado] just as often as they were pronounced [bʲaɫ] and [ˈdʲado].[63]

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:[17]

Consonants in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian
Place of articulation
Type of consonant
 Labial Dental / Alveolar Postalveolar Dorsal
Voiced Voiceless Voiced Voiceless Voiced Voiceless Voiced Voiceless
Nasal m  [ɱ]2 n3 [ŋ]4
Stop b p d t ɡ k
Affricate (d͡z)5 t͡s d͡ʒ t͡ʃ
Fricative v f z s ʒ ʃ [ɣ]6 x7
Approximant (w)8 j
Trill r
Lateral ɫ9
^2 [ɱ] only appears as an allophone of /m/ and /n/ before /f/ and /v/. For example, инфлация [iɱˈflat͡sijɐ] ('inflation'). In other words, /m/ and /n/ always neutralize into [ɱ] before /f/ and /v/.[64]
^3 /n/ is usually elided before fricatives but nasalizes and usually lengthens the preceding vowel (V + [n] + CFricative → VNasalised + Ø + CFricative). Examples: бранш ['brã:ʃ] ('line of business'), конски ['kɔ̃ski] ('of a horse').[65]
^4 [ŋ] only exists as an allophone of /n/ before /k/, /ɡ/ and /x/. Examples: тънко [ˈtɤŋko] ('thin' neut.), танго [tɐŋˈɡɔ] ('tango').[66]
^5 /d͡z/ is only used in a handful of native words, and its use in dialects or foreign proper names is not wider. Thus, some phonologists include the phoneme into the phonemic inventory on a provisional basis only or not at all.[8][67]
^6 [ɣ] only exists as an allophone of /x/, and its distribution is rather restricted. It appears only before voiced obstruents other than /v/ (i.e., only across word boundaries. Example: видях го [viˈdʲaɣɡo] ('I saw him').
^7 /x/ is described as having "only slight friction".[68]
^8 [w] is not a native phoneme. It appears in borrowings from English, where it is often vocalised as /u/ (or as the fricative /v/ in a handful of very old borrowings adopted through German or Russian), e.g. уиски [ˈwiski] ('whiskey'), Уилям [ˈwiʎɐm] ('William'). Always marked with the Cyrillic letter ⟨у⟩ /u/ in Bulgarian orthography.[69] Allophone of /ɫ/ among younger speakers,[70] apparently causing an ongoing sound change, cf. Semivowels above.
^9 /l/ as a phoneme in Bulgarian has three allophones in complementary distribution; "clear" [l], occurring before front vowels, "dark" or velarized [ɫ] occurring before central and back vowels, in between vowels and before consonants, and palatalized [ʎ], occurring before /j/ and a central or back vowel.

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.[7]<[6] Thus, for example, някой [nʲakoj] ('somebody') can easily be reanalysed as [njakoj]. According to Ternes and Vladimirova-Buhtz:[71]

"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.[72][73] 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,[74] Petar Pashov,[75] Bozhil Nikolov,[76] Todor Boyadzhiev,[77] Борис Симеонов, who has argued that there was no logic that could explain why a consonant affected by yat mutation (e.g., /b/ in бял-бели ['bʲaɫ]-['bɛli]) would be palatal in some of its forms and hard in others, and so on.[78]

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),[79] Americans Carleton Hodge (1957)[80] and Joseph van Campen and Jacob Ornstein (1959),[81] Romanian linguist Alexandru Rosetti, who qualified the degree of palatalization of Bulgarian consonants as "a softening" (1967),[82] Swiss Max Mangold (1988),[83] Korean Slavist Gwon-Jin Choi, who has argued about the decomposition of Bulgarian palatalism (into C + j) (1994),[4][39] 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).[17]

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 ʎ/lʲ (palatal l) in Standard Bulgarian, Croatian and Russian[84]
Bulgarian
Position
Distribution
Example
Before back vowelscheckлют [lʲu̟t] (spicy)
Before front vowels☒–
Before sonorants☒–
Before other consonants☒–
At word end☒–
Serbo-Croatian
Position
Distribution
Example
Before back vowelscheckljut [ʎûːt] (angry)
Before front vowelscheckpolje [pôʎe] (field)
Before sonorantscheckdaljnji [dâːʎɲiː] (far)
Before other consonantscheckbiljka [bîːʎka] (plant)
At word endcheckkralj [krâːʎ] (king)
Russian
Position
Distribution
Example
Before back vowelscheckлюк [lʲuk] (hatch)
Before front vowelscheckполе [ˈpolʲe] (field)
Before sonorantscheckсильно [ˈsʲilʲnə] (strongly)
Before other consonantscheckполька [ˈpolʲkə] (polka)
At word endcheckпечаль [pʲɪˈt͡ɕælʲ] (grief)

All other palatalized consonants in Bulgarian have the same distribution:

Distribution of consonants in Standard Bulgarian[85]
PositionConsonant
ppʲbbʲmmʲffʲvvʲttʲddʲssʲzzʲt͡st͡sʲd͡zd͡zʲnɲrrʲʃʒt͡ʃd͡ʒjl/ɫʎkkʲggʲxxʲ
Before back vowelscheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒
Before front vowelscheck☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒check☒check☒check☒
Before sonorantscheck☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒☒☒check☒check☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒check☒check☒check☒
Before other consonantscheck☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒☒☒check☒check☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒check☒check☒check☒
At word endcheck☒☒☒check☒check☒☒☒check☒☒☒check☒☒☒check☒☒☒check☒check☒check☒check☒checkcheck☒check☒☒☒check☒
Comparison of the distribution of palatal (palatalised) consonants in all major Slavic languages[86][87][88]
LanguageConsonant
pʲbʲmʲfʲvʲtʲdʲsʲzʲt͡sʲd͡zʲɲrʲɕʑt͡ɕd͡ʑjʎcɟçɣʲ
Russiancheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheck☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheck☒
Belarussiancheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheck☒☒☒☒☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck
Ukrainian☒☒☒☒☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒☒☒☒checkcheck☒☒☒☒
Polish☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒check☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheck☒☒☒☒☒
Czech☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒check☒☒☒☒☒check☒checkcheck☒☒
Slovak☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒check☒☒☒☒☒checkcheckcheckcheck☒☒
Slovenian☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒check☒☒☒☒☒
Serbo-Croatian☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒check☒☒☒checkcheckcheckcheck☒☒☒☒
Bulgarian (22-consonant model)☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒☒check☒☒☒☒☒
Bulgarian (39-consonant model)checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckQuestioncheckcheck☒☒☒☒checkcheckcheckcheckQuestion☒

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 (/ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /t͡sʲ/, /d͡zʲ/, /j/, /ɳ/, /ʎ/, /rʲ/ and /sʲ/), considering that four of those had already hardened or disappeared (/ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /d͡zʲ/).[89] 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.[90] 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):[46]

Consonants in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian
Place of articulation
Type of consonant
 Labial Dental / Alveolar10 Postalveolar Palatal Velar
Hard Soft Hard Soft Hard Soft Hard Soft Hard Soft
Nasal m  [ɱ]2 mʲ n3 ɳ̩ [ŋ]4
Stop p    b pʲ  bʲ t  d tʲ  dʲ c  ɟ k  ɡ
Affricate t͡s  (d͡z)5 t͡sʲ (d͡zʲ)11 t͡ʃ  d͡ʒ
Fricative f  v fʲ  vʲ s  z sʲ  zʲ ʃ  ʒ x7   [ɣ]6 (xʲ)11
Approximant (w)8 j
Trill r rʲ
Lateral ɫ9 ʎ
^2 [ɱ] only appears as an allophone of /m/ and /n/ before /f/ and /v/. For example, инфлация [iɱˈflat͡sijɐ] ('inflation'). In other words, /m/ and /n/ always neutralize into [ɱ] before /f/ and /v/.[64]
^3 /n/ is usually elided before fricatives but nasalizes and usually lengthens the preceding vowel (V + [n] + CFricative → VNasalized + Ø + CFricative). Examples: бранш ['brã:ʃ] ('line of business'), конски ['kɔ̃ski] ('of a horse').[65]
^4 [ŋ] only exists as an allophone of /n/ before /k/, /ɡ/ and /x/. Examples: тънко [ˈtɤŋko] ('thin' neut.), танго [tɐŋˈɡɔ] ('tango').[66]
^5 /d͡z/ is only used in a handful of native words, and its use in dialects or foreign proper names is not wider. Thus, some phonologists include the phoneme into the phonemic inventory on a provisional basis only or not at all.[8][91]
^6 [ɣ] only exists as an allophone of /x/, and its distribution is rather restricted. It appears only before a voiced obstruent other than /v/ (i.e., only across word boundaries. Example: видях го [viˈdʲaɣɡo] ('I saw him').[92]
^7 /x/ is described as having "only slight friction".[68]
^8 [w] is not a native phoneme. It appears in borrowings from English, where it is often vocalised as /u/ (or as the fricative /v/ in a handful of very old borrowings adopted through German or Russian), e.g. уиски [ˈwiski] ('whiskey'), Уилям [ˈwiʎɐm] ('William'). Always marked with the Cyrillic letter ⟨у⟩ /u/ in Bulgarian orthography.[69] Allophone of /ɫ/ among younger speakers,[70] apparently causing an ongoing sound change, cf. Semivowels above.
^9 /l/ as a phoneme in Bulgarian has three allophones in complementary distribution; "clear" [l], occurring before front vowels, "dark" or velarized [ɫ] occurring before central and back vowels, in between vowels and before consonants, and palatalized [ʎ], occurring before /j/ and a central or back vowel.
^10 According to Klagstad Jr. (1958:46–48), /t tʲ d dʲ s sʲ z zʲ n/ are dental. He also analyzes /ɲ/ as palatalized dental nasal, and provides no information about the place of articulation of /t͡s t͡sʲ r rʲ l ɫ/.
^11 [d͡zʲ] and [xʲ] do not exist in any native words, which has caused even phonologists who accept Trubetzkoy/BAN's model to remove them from the phonemic inventory.[93]

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.[94] Eventually, he moved to Vienna and became one of the founders of the immensely influential Prague Linguistic Circle.[95] In his magnum opus, Principles of Phonology, published posthumously in 1939, he referenced extensively Eastern Bulgarian, even offering a model phonemic inventory it.[11] 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 ⟨й⟩ (/j/), but not ⟨дз⟩ (/d͡z/), ⟨дз'⟩ (/d͡zʲ/) and ⟨х'⟩ (/ç/).

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"[96] 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.[97] The other major postwar Bulgarian linguist, Lyubomir Andreychin, then quickly suggested another two, /d͡z/ and /ç/, arguing that even though they only existed in foreign proper names like Хюстън /xʲustɤn/ ('Houston') and Ядзя [jad͡zʲa] ('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, Димитър Тилков, also agreed to the inclusion ("as they were envisaged by the system"), the 39-consonant system was set in stone.[98] Tilkov designated /d͡zʲ/ and /ç/ as "potential phonemes", adding ⟨ф'⟩ (/fʲ/) to them in 1982, as it existed in only a handful of words, all of them borrowings (e.g., фюрер [ˈfʲurɛr] ('Führer')).[99] The “potential phoneme”approach has not enjoyed much support abroad, where most authors generally omit not only /d͡zʲ/ and /ç/, but also /d͡z/.[100][101][102]

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):[103]

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:[18]

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):[104]

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 /i/ is superimposed on the primary movement associated with the consonant's plain counterpart.[105] 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 /l/, /n/ and /r/ 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 /ʎ/, /ɲ/ and /rʲ// actually become alveopalatal (postalveolar) consonants. In turn, the articulation of soft /ɡ/ and /k/ (transcribed as /ɡʲ// and /kʲ// or /ɟ/ and /c/) moves from the velum towards the palate, and they are therefore considered palatal consonants.

Articulation of t and tʲ in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian
Articulation of t and tʲ in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian
Articulation of t and tʲ in Russian
Articulation of t and tʲ in Russian

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.[106] 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.[107] The articulation of soft /k/, /ɡ/ and /x/ (/c/, /ɟ/ and /ç/) also shows distinctive palatalization, as the place of articulation moves onto the palate.[108]

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.[109][110] 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.[111][112] 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.[113] 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 /ʎ/, /ɲ/ and /rʲ/ 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.[114] According to Stoykov, /ʎ/ and /ɲ/ are harder than their counterparts in the other Slavic languages, while /rʲ/ is just as palatal.[114] 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 /c/, /ɟ/, /ʎ/ and /ɲ/,[115][116][104] or /c/, /ɟ/, /ç/ and /ʎ/.[35]

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 (/c/, /ɟ/, /ç/), Bulgarian listeners needed to hear the transition to the vowel to correctly identify a consonant as soft.[117] 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.[118] 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.[118] 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.[118]

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 languages[119]
Proto-Slavic Old Church Slavonic Bulgarian Macedonian Serbo-Croatian Slovenian Slovak Czech Polish Russian
*dʲ
medja ('boundary')
жд   ([ʒd])
жд   ([ʒd])
ѓ   (/ɟ/)
ђ   (/d͡ʑ/)
j   (/j/)
dz   (/d͡z/)
z  (/z/)
dz  (/d͡z/)
ж   (/ʐ/)
межда
межда
меѓа
међа
meja
medza
meza
miedza
межа
*tʲ
světja
('candle')
щ   ([ʃt])
щ   ([ʃt])
ќ   (/c/)
ћ  (/t͡ɕ/)
č   (/t͡ʃ/)
c  (/t͡s/)
c  (/t͡s/)
c  (/t͡s/)
ч  (/t͡ɕ/)
свѣща
свещ
свеќа
свећа
sveča
svieca
svíce
śvieca
свеча
*gti
mogti
('might')
щ   ([ʃt])
щ   ([ʃt])
ќ   (/c/)
ћ  (/t͡ɕ/)
č   (/t͡ʃ/)
c  (/t͡s/)
c  (/t͡s/)
c  (/t͡s/)
ч  (/t͡ɕ/)
мощъ
мощ
моќ
моћ
moč
moc
moc
moc
моч
*kti
nokti
('night')
щ   ([ʃt])
щ   ([ʃt])
ќ   (/c/)
ћ  (/t͡ɕ/)
č   (/t͡ʃ/)
c  (/t͡s/)
c  (/t͡s/)
c  (/t͡s/)
ч  (/t͡ɕ/)
нощъ
нощ
ноќ
ноћ
noč
noc
noc
noc
ноч

Bulgarian *tj/*kti/*gti and *dj reflexes ⟨щ⟩ ([ʃt]) and ⟨жд⟩ ([ʒd]), which are exactly the same as in Old Church Slavonic, and the near-open articulation [æ] 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.[120] Though the ⟨ʃt⟩/⟨ʒd⟩ 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 ⟨ʃt⟩ and ⟨ʒd⟩ 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.[120][121]

Reflexes of Proto-Slavic *tʲ/kt and *dʲ in the wider Macedonian region

For example, in the Struga municipality, the names of 13 out of 43 villages contain either ⟨ʃt⟩ (Kališta, Korošišta, Labuništa, Moroišta, Piskupština, Radolišta, Tašmaruništa, Velešta and Vraništa) or ⟨ʒd⟩ (Delogoždi, Mislodežda, Radožda and Zbaždi).[120] 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 ⟨ʃt⟩/⟨ʒd⟩ in a Serbian official document from the 1300s (Небрѣгошта, Добрѹшта, Сѣножештани, Гражденикь, Ображда, Любижда, etc.).[122] At present, a total of 8 villages out of 76 villages in the Prizren municipality still feature the Bulgarian consonant clusters ⟨ʃt⟩/⟨ʒd⟩, 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.[123]

The development of ⟨ʃt⟩ > /c/ and ⟨ʒd⟩ > /ɟ/ 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 /t͡ɕ/ and /d͡ʑ/, and possibly aided by the Late Middle Bulgarian's trend to palatalise /t/ and /d/ and then transform them into soft k and g > /c/ & /ɟ/.[124][125][126]

Phonation

Phonation is a primary distinctive feature for obstruents in Bulgarian, dividing them into voiced and voiceless consonants. Obstruents form 8 minimal pairs: /p/↔/b/, /f/↔/v/, /t/↔/d/, /t͡s/↔/d͡z/, /s/↔/z/, /ʃ/↔/ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/↔/d͡ʒ/, /k/↔/g/.[127] The only obstruent without a counterpart is the voiceless fricative /x/, whose voiced counterpart /ɣ/ does not exist as a separate phoneme in Bulgarian. The sonorants /m/, /n/, /l/ and /r/ and the approximant /j/ 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/,/ɟ/↔/c/, 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.[128] Thus, град is pronounced ['grat] ('city'), жив is pronounced ['ʒif] ('alive'). While obstruents devoice before enclitics (град ли ['gratli] ('а city?')), they do not devoice at the end of prepositions followed by a voiced consonant (под липите [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., изток is pronounced ['istok]) ('East')), and voiceless obstruents voice if they are followed by a voiced obstruent (e.g., сграда is pronounced ['zgradɐ] ('building')).[129]

Assimilation also occurs across word boundaries (in the form of sandhi), for example, от гората is pronounced [odgo'ratɐ] ('from the forest'), while над полето becomes [natpo'lɛto] ('above the field').[130]

The consonants /t/ and /d/ in consonant clusters such as стн [stn] and здн [zdn] are usually not pronounced, unless the articulation is very careful, i.e., вестник tends to pronounced as ['vɛsnik] (‘newspaper’), while бездна tends to pronounced as ['beznɐ]) (‘abyss’).[131]

Distribution of voiced and voiceless consonants in Bulgarian

Distribution of Voiced & Voiceless Consonants in Standard Bulgarian[132]
PositionConsonant
bpvfdtzsd͡zat͡sʒʃd͡ʒt͡ʃgkxmlnrj
Position I: Before central and back vowels (/a/, /ɤ/, /ɔ/, /u/)checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck
Position II: Before front vowels (/ɛ/, (/i/)checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck
Position III: Before sonorants (/m/, /n/, /r/, /l/)checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck
Position IV: Before /v/checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck
Position V: At word end☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck
Position VI: Before voiceless consonants☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒check☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheckcheckcheck
Position VII: Before voiced consonantscheck☒check☒check☒check☒☒☒check☒check☒check☒☒checkcheckcheckcheckcheck
^a The very limited distribution of /d͡z/ is yet another indicator that it is unable to function as a fully-fledged phoneme in CSB and should instead be regarded as an allophone of /z/, as suggested by Scatton.[93]

Consonant classification based on place and manner of articulation

Place of articulation

The consonants:

The palatalized allophones of

  • п (/p/), б (/b/), м (/m/), ф (/f/) and в (/v/) are pronounced by many Bulgarians as sequences of C+j.;[134]
  • т (/t/), д (/d/), ц (/t͡s/), дз (/d͡z/), с (/s/) and з (/z/) remain dento-alveolar but are articulated with the back of the tip of the tongue (laminally) rather than with the tip (apically);
  • р (/r/), н (/n/) and л (l) shift towards the palatum and become alveo-palatal; and
  • к (/k/), г (/g/) and х (/x/) are articulated at the back of the palatum instead of the velum.[134]

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.13

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:

  • nouns – мъ̀ж /mɤʃ/ ('man'), мъжъ̀т /mɐˈʒɤt/ ('the man'), мъжѐ /mɐˈʒɛ/ ('men'), мъжѐте /mɐˈʒɛtɛ/ ('the men')
  • verbs – отѝвам /oˈtivɐm/ ('I am going'), отидѝ /otiˈdi/ ('go!')

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

  • nouns
    • въ̀лна /ˈvɤɫnɐ/ ('wool'), вълна̀ /vɐɫˈna/ ('wave')
    • па̀ра /ˈparɐ/ ('steam'), пара̀ /pɐˈra/ ('coin')
  • verbs
    • когато до̀йде /koˈɡato ˈdɔjdɛ/ ('when he comes'), когато дойдѐ /koˈɡato dojˈdɛ/ (when he came')
    • взрѝвен /ˈvzrivɛn/ ('explosive'), взривѐн /vzriˈvɛn/ ('exploded')14

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. 15

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

  • каза̀ ми /kɐˈza mi/ ('he told me'), instead of каза ми /ˈkazɐ mi/
  • иска̀ да дойде /iˈska dɐ dɔjdɛ/ ('he wanted to come'), instead of искаше да дойде /ˈiskɐʃɛ dɐ dɔjdɛ/)16
^13 For practical purposes, the grave accent can be combined with letters by pasting the symbol "̀" directly after the designated letter. An alternative is to use the keyboard shortcut Alt + 0300 (if working under a Windows operating system), or to add the decimal HTML code "&#768;" after the targeted stressed vowel if editing HTML source code. See "Accute accent" diacritic character in Unicode, Unicode character "Cyrillic small letter i with grave" and Unicode character "Cyrillic capital letter i with grave" for the exact Unicode characters that utilize the grave accent. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
^14 Note that the last example is only spelled the same in the masculine. In the feminine, neuter and the plural, it is spelled differently—e.g. vzrìvna ('explosive' fem.), vzrivèna ('exploded' fem.), etc.
^15 However, the grave accent is obligatorily used to disambiguate between the two non-stressed words—* и ('and'), ѝ ('to her'). Since many computer programs do not allow for accents on Cyrillic letters, "й" is sometimes seen instead of "ѝ".
^16 Note that in this case the accent would be written in order to differentiate it from the present tense иска да дойде /ˈiskɐ dɐ dojdɛ/ ('he wants to come').

References

  1. ↑ Mihaylov, Miroslav (2021). Фонетика на съвременния български книжовен език [Phonetics and Phonology of Contemporary Standard Bulgarian]. pp. 48–54.
  2. 1 2 van Campen & Ornstein (1959), pp. 266–270.
  3. 1 2 Ignatova-Tzoneva (2008), pp. 7–12.
  4. 1 2 3 Choi (1994), pp. 10–14.
  5. ↑ Sabev (2013), Note 1: [In other accounts of the Bulgarian sound system a set of the so-called "soft" (i.e. palatal or palatalised) consonants is also included: /pʲ/, /bʲ/, /tʲ/, /dʲ/, /c/ (=kʲ ), /ɟ/ (=gʲ ), /tsʲ/, /dzʲ/, /mʲ/, /ɲ/ (=nʲ ), /rʲ/, /fʲ/, /vʲ/, /sʲ/, /zʲ/, /ç/ (=xʲ ), /ʎ/ (=lʲ )]. [dzʲ] and [ç] do not occur in native words, though they do in foreign names: Дзян [dzʲan] 'Jian', Хюс/Хюз [çus] 'Hughes'. However, the phonemic status of the "soft" consonants is questionable. Before front vowels they should be regarded as allophones of the corresponding "hard" (i.e. non-palatal or non-palatalised) consonant phonemes, since the palatalisation here is occurs naturally, to facilitate articulation. Before non-front vowels these can be interpreted as combinations of C + /j/.].
  6. 1 2 Sabev (2013), Note 1.
  7. 1 2 Ternes & Vladimirova-Buhtz (1999), pp. 56.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Teodorov-Balan (1940), p. 84.
  9. 1 2 Mangold (1988), pp. 102.
  10. 1 2 Danchev (2001), pp. 132–134.
  11. 1 2 Trubetzkoy (1971), pp. 239–240.
  12. ↑ Stoykov, Stoyko (1961). Увод във фонетиката на българския език [Introduction to Bulgarian Phonetics]. Sofia: Издателство „Наука и изкуство”.
  13. ↑ Andreychin (1950), pp. 492.
  14. ↑ Stoykov, Stoyko (1942). Български книжовен изговор: Опитно изследване [Bulgarian Literary Pronunciation: Field Study]. Sofia: State Printing House. p. 11. Едни от езиковедите, излизайки предимно от слуховия им характер (акустичния ефект), ги смятат за отделни самостойни звукове наред с останалите меки и твърди съгласни, а други, излизайки предимно от учленителните им особености, ги смятат за съчетание (комбинация) от твърда съгласна и [ й ], образувано от две едновременни, но отделни и независими едно от друго учленителни движения – едно движение на устните или на предния език за съответната твърда лабиална или алвеолна съгласна, а друго движение на средния език върху твърдото небце за съгласната [й]. Трябва да се подчертае, че между меките (палаталните) и смекчените (палатализуваните) съгласни няма резки учленителни и слухови граници, та затова понякога е доста трудно да се определи точно една съгласна дали е мека или е смекчена [Judging primarily by their auditory nature (acoustic effect), some linguists regard them as standalone sounds, right next to the other hard and soft consonants, while others, starting primarily from their articulatory properties, consider them to be a combination of a hard consonant and [j] formed by two simultaneous, yet separate and full independent articulatory movements—one of the lips or the tip of the tongue to form the corresponding hard labial or alveolar consonant and the other one by the middle part of tongue raising itself towards the palate to form the consonant [j]. It needs to be emphasised that soft (palatal) and softened (palatalised) consonants are not divided by strict articulatory or auditory lines, which sometimes makes it difficult to determine whether a specific consonant is soft or just softened]
  15. ↑ Andreychin, Lyubomir (1942). Основна българска граматика [Basic Bulgarian Grammar]. Sofia: Hemus. pp. 26, 33. Когато мястото на образуване на една съгласна се премести или разшири малко към средата на небцето и на езика (при запазване на другите учленителни особености), нейният изговор получава особен оттенък, който наричаме мек: л – ль, н – нь, т – ть, к – кь и пр. [When a consonant's place of articulation moves or somewhat widens towards the middle of the palate and tongue (while all other articulation characteristics remain unchanged, this articulation is given a particular nuance that we refer to as 'soft': l – lʲ, n – nʲ, т – тʲ, к – кʲ and so on]
  16. ↑ Tilkov, Dimitar; Boyadzhiev, Todor (1977). Българска фонетика [Bulgarian Phonetics]. p. 126.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ternes & Vladimirova-Buhtz (1999), pp. 55–56.
  18. 1 2 Townsend & Janda (1996), pp. 286–287.
  19. ↑ Dokovova et al. (2019), pp. 2720.
  20. ↑ Andreeva, Barry & Koreman (2013), pp. 2.
  21. ↑ Tilkov, Dimitar; Boyadzhiev, Todor (1977). Българска фонетика [Bulgarian Phonetics] (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Наука и Изкуство. p. 201.
  22. ↑ Zhobov (2004:44–45)
  23. ↑ Andreeva, Barry & Koreman (2013).
  24. ↑ Dokovova et al. (2019).
  25. 1 2 Sabev, Mitko (2015). Reduction of unstressed central and back vowels in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian. 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Glasgow.
  26. ↑ Andreeva, Barry & Koreman (2013), pp. 3.
  27. ↑ Padareva-Ilieva & Mitsova (2014), pp. 47–48.
  28. ↑ Padareva-Ilieva & Mitsova (2014), pp. 48.
  29. ↑ Padareva-Ilieva & Mitsova (2014), pp. 54.
  30. ↑ Padareva-Ilieva & Mitsova (2014), pp. 55.
  31. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2019), pp. 54–55.
  32. ↑ Tilkov (1982), pp. 124–125.
  33. ↑ Popov, Dimitar (1942). Българска граматика [Bulgarian Grammar]. Plovdiv: Hristo G. Danov. p. 33.
  34. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva & Baeva (2009), pp. 21.
  35. 1 2 Danchev (2001), pp. 133.
  36. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva & Baeva (2009), pp. 19–21.
  37. ↑ Mirchev (1963), pp. 133.
  38. ↑ Mladenov, Stefan (1979). История на българския език. Превод и редакция от проф. д-р Иван Дуриданов от оригиналното немско издание от 1929 г. [History of the Bulgarian language. Translation and Editing of the 1929 Original German Edition by Professor Ivan Duridanov] (in Bulgarian). p. 139.
  39. 1 2 Choi (1999).
  40. ↑ van Campen & Ornstein (1959), pp. 265, Quote: [(Stoyko Stoykov:[sic) I observed the same thing in the speech of my informants SS, GS, VV, PB. In their pronunciation there exists a hesitation (lack of a fixed norm) in the articulation of t', d', n' in words such as letja, bdja, njama and the like, by listening attentively, one can note several pronunciations: [le'təjə], ['bdəjə], ['nəjamə], le'tjə], ['bdjə], ['njamə], [le'tʲə], ['bdʲə], ['nʲamə]. I also established this fact in my work with artificial palates.].
  41. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2019), pp. 30.
  42. ↑ Tilkov, Dimitar (1983). Диференциалният признак палаталност на съгласните – Изследвания върху българския език [The Distinctive Feature of Consonant Palatalisation – Studies of the Bulgarian Language]. Sofia: Наука и изкуство. p. 142. Общата основа, създадена от преходните процеси при реализация на палаталните съгласни и на [й], е предпоставка за откъсване на признака палаталност от сбора на признаците на палаталната фонема и да се включи в сбора на диференциалните признаци на фонемата [й]. Това често се случва в речта на говорител, за когото палаталните фонеми не са познати във фонологичната система на езика или на диалекта, който той практикува. В такъв случай съчетанията от диференциални признаци на една фонема се разкъсват и се обособяват в две различни фонеми, т.е. говорителят обособява като фонема това, което за фонемата в непознатата нему система не е нищо друго освен един от диференциалните признаци. Така например говорителите от Западна България, които не познават палаталните съгласни, имат тенденция да откъсват признака палаталност от консонантните фонеми и да го обособяват в по-голяма или в по-малка степен като самостоятелен йотов изговор: б*ал, н*ама, с*анка и др. [The common basis created by the transitional processes of articulation of palatal consonants and /j/ may detach the palatalisation feature from the sum total of features of the palatal phoneme and instead add it to the sum total of the distinctive properties of the phoneme /j/. This often happens in speakers whose language or dialect lacks palatal phonemes. In this case, the distinctive features of the phoneme break down, splitting into two separate phonemes, i.e., the speakers create a new phoneme based on one of the differential features of the phoneme in that unfamiliar system. Thus, for example, speakers in Western Bulgaria, who are not familiar with palatal consonants, tend to disconnect the palatalisation feature from the consonant phonemes, resulting, to a greater or smaller extent, in iotated speech: ['bjat], ['njamɐ], ['sjaŋkɐ].]
  43. ↑ Danchev (2001), pp. 133–134.
  44. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2018), pp. 11.
  45. ↑ Trubetzkoy (1971), pp. 240.
  46. 1 2 Tilkov (1982), pp. 110.
  47. ↑ Pritchard (2012), pp. 2–6.
  48. 1 2 Haralampiev (2001), pp. 79.
  49. ↑ Totomanova (2014), pp. 8.
  50. ↑ Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 127.
  51. ↑ Totomanova (2014), pp. 67.
  52. ↑ Totomanova (2014), pp. 68–69.
  53. ↑ Totomanova (2014), pp. 76–92.
  54. ↑ Bogorov (1848), pp. 4.
  55. ↑ Momchilov (1868), pp. 6.
  56. ↑ Momchilov (1868), pp. 145.
  57. ↑ Kalkandzhiev, Petar (1936). Българска граматика [Bulgarian Grammar]. Plovdiv: Hristo G. Danov. p. 31. Меки съгласки са – ж, ш, й, ч, дж; твърди – всички останали; тази делитба обаче в днешния български език е излишна, защото всяка съгласка може да бъде повече или по-малко смекчена, ако се следва от някоя мека самогласка [Our palatal consonants are ⟨ж⟩ (/ʒ/), ⟨ш⟩ (/ʃ/), ⟨й⟩ (/j/), ⟨ч⟩ (/t͡ʃ/) & ⟨дж⟩ (/d͡ʒ/), while the rest of consonants are hard. Nevertheless, such a division in Contemporary Bulgarian is unnecessary, since every consonant may be palatalised to a greater or smaller extent, if followed by a soft vowel]
  58. ↑ Popov, Dimitar (1942). Българска граматика [Bulgarian Grammar]. Plovdiv: Hristo G. Danov. p. 33. В новобългарски звуковете са по-твърди, отколкото в старобългарски. Гласните звукове затвърдели повече в западните говори, а съгласните - в източните. Книжовният език държи среднина [Sounds in New Bulgarian are harder than those in Old Bulgarian. Vowels have hardened more in the Western dialects, while consonants in the Eastern ones. The literary language balances in the middle.]
  59. ↑ Andreychin, Lyubomir (1942). Основна българска граматика [Basic Bulgarian Grammar]. Sofia: Hemus. pp. 26, 33. Когато мястото на образуване на една съгласна се премести или разшири малко към средата на небцето и на езика (при запазване на другите учленителни особености), нейният изговор получава особен оттенък, който наричаме мек: л – ль, н – нь, т – ть, к – кь и пр. [When a consonant's place of articulation moves or somewhat widens towards the middle of the palate and tongue (while all other articulation characteristics remain unchanged, this articulation is given a particular nuance that we refer to as 'soft': l – lʲ, n – nʲ, т – тʲ, к – кʲ and so on]
  60. ↑ Mladenov, Stefan (1979). История на българския език. Превод и редакция от проф. д-р Иван Дуриданов от оригиналното немско издание от 1929 г. [History of the Bulgarian language. Translation and Editing of the 1929 Original German Edition by Professor Ivan Duridanov] (in Bulgarian). p. 139. Без да се гледа на единичните случаи със стара, по-силна палатализация, която може да се срещне както в източни, така и в западни български говори, в новобългарски се е развила една твърде характерна "полупалатализация", която често бива занемарявана.
  61. ↑ Kalkandziev, Vasil; Kalkanzdziev, Kalkandzieva (22 June 2018). Българският университет и науката [The Bulgarian University and Science]. Vol. I The College in Sofia. pp. 189–190.
  62. ↑ Beaulieux, Léon (1934). Quelques caracteristiques de l'évolution du bulgare moderne [Certain Characteristics of the Evolution of Modern Bulgarian] (in French).
  63. ↑ Horalek, K. (1950). "K otazce palatalnich suhlas v bulharstine" [On the Question of Palatal Consonants in Bulgarian]. Slavia (in Czech) (XX): 57–60.
  64. 1 2 Sabev (2013), Note 6.
  65. 1 2 Sabev (2013), Note 7.
  66. 1 2 Sabev (2013), Note 8.
  67. ↑ Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 191 Quote: [Besides foreign proper names, /ʒ/ occurs in a small number of non-literary, dialectal words, which, if used in the literary language, regularly replace /ʒ/ with /z/: дзифт/dzift ~ зифт/zift ('tar')].
  68. 1 2 Ternes & Vladimirova-Buhtz (1999), pp. 55.
  69. 1 2 Sabev (2013), Note 9.
  70. 1 2 Zhobov (2004:65–66)
  71. ↑ Ternes & Vladimirova-Buhtz (1999), pp. 57.
  72. ↑ Mihaylov, Miroslav (2021). Фонетика на съвременния български книжовен език [Phonetics and Phonology of Contemporary Standard Bulgarian]. p. 53. Според Бл. Шклифов наличието на лабиални меки съгласни е антропофонетичен абсурд. Не е възможно човек да учленява едновременно един звук с устните си, и същевременно на палатума, с цел да го превърне в мек. Това означава, че не е възможно да има меки ⟨б'⟩, ⟨п'⟩, ⟨в'⟩, ⟨ф'⟩ и ⟨м'⟩ [According to Blagoy Shklifov. the existence of soft labial consonants is anthrophonetic nonsense. It is impossible to simultaneously articulate a sound using both your lips and then your palate in order to make it palatal. This precludes any, even potential existence of palatal ⟨bʲ⟩, ⟨pʲ⟩, ⟨vʲ⟩, ⟨fʲ⟩ and ⟨mʲ⟩]
  73. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2018), pp. 1–10.
  74. ↑ Mirchev (1963), pp. 133, Quote: [В системата на съгласните в българския език (19 of them) не са настанали някакви промени в количествено отношение. Всички съгласни, които се срещат в старобългарския език, остават характерни и за съвременния език [Bulgarian consonantism has not undergone any changes in relation to the number of consonants. All consonants found in Old Bulgarian are also found in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian].
  75. ↑ Pashov, Petar (1964). Означаване на мекостта на съгласните в българския език и някои свързани с това правописни въпроси [Palatalisation Marking of Bulgarian Consonants and Certain Related Ortography Issues]. Български език и литература (in Bulgarian) (6): 6–10.
  76. ↑ Nikolov, Bozhil. "Etude de phonétique et dе phonologie contrastive (Domaines franсais et bulgare" [Обучение по контрастивна фонетика и фонология]. Годишник на Софийския университет, Факултет по западни филологии. LXІV (2): 3–72. ... меките срички се състоят от непалатализирана съгласна + й + задна гласна [... soft syllables consist of a non-palatalised consonant + j + back vowel]
  77. ↑ Sawicka, Irena; Boyadzhiev, Todor (1988). Българо-полска съпоставителна граматика [Contrastive Grammar of Polish and Bulgaria]. Vol. 1. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
  78. ↑ Simeonov, Boris (1984). Към въпроса за броя на фонемите и техния състав в съвременния български език [On the Issue of the Number of Phonemes in and the Phonetic Inventory of Contemporary Standard Bulgarian]. Съвременна България. Доклади от III--та комплексна международна конференция по славистика. Sofia. 5: 52, 55.
  79. ↑ Merlingen (1957), pp. 494–500.
  80. ↑ van Campen & Ornstein (1959), pp. 267, Quote: [Hodge writes that while the speech of his informants shows "some palatalization of the C", the sequences in question are 'phonetically /Cy/ clusters].
  81. ↑ van Campen & Ornstein (1959), pp. 264–270.
  82. ↑ Rosetti, Alexandru (1967). "A propos des consonnes palatales, palatalisées et mouillées et de leur statut phonologique en roumain" [On Palatal, Palatalized and Wet Consonants and Their Phonological Status in Romanian]. Phonologie der Gegenwart. Graz - Vienna - Cologne: 59–67.
  83. ↑ Mangold (1988), pp. 102, Quote: [According to our inventory, the Bulgarian language has 6 vowels and 22 semivowels, for a total of 28 phonemes].
  84. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva & Baeva (2009), pp. 18–19.
  85. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2019), pp. 57–58.
  86. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2019), pp. 45–46.
  87. ↑ Hanulíková, Adriana; Hamann, Silke (2010), "Slovak" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 40 (3): 373–378, doi:10.1017/S0025100310000162
  88. ↑ Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 457–458, 829–830, 891, 687–688.
  89. ↑ Shklifov (1995), pp. 12.
  90. ↑ Townsend & Janda (1996), pp. 287.
  91. ↑ Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 191, Quote: [Besides foreign proper names, /ʒ/ occurs in a small number of non-literary, dialectal words, which, if used in the literary language, regularly replace /ʒ/ with /z/: дзифт/dzift ~ зифт/zift ('tar')].
  92. ↑ Sabev (2013), Note 3.
  93. 1 2 Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 191.
  94. ↑ Trubetzkoy (1971), pp. 324.
  95. ↑ Roman Jakobson: My Futurist Years, New York 1992, p. 86
  96. ↑ Stoyanov, Rumen (2017). Езиковедски посегателства [Linguistic Violations]. Bulgaria-Macedonia (2). ISSN 1312-0875.
  97. ↑ Stoykov, Stoyko (1951). Палаталните съгласни в българския книжовен език. [Palatal Consonants in Literary Bulgarian]. Известия на Института за български език. I: 5–63.
  98. ↑ Tilkov, Dimitar (1976). Фонологичната стойност на х' и дз' в книжовния български език [The Phonological value of /d͡zʲ/ and /ç/ in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian]. Български език (1–2 ed.). Sofia: 112.
  99. ↑ Tilkov (1982), pp. 120.
  100. ↑ Scatton (1984:17)
  101. ↑ Klagstad Jr. (1958)
  102. ↑ Joshi & Aaron (2006:275)
  103. ↑ Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 190.
  104. 1 2 Voegelin & Voegelin (1965), pp. 141.
  105. ↑ Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), pp. 363–365.
  106. ↑ Stoykov (1966), pp. 92–132.
  107. ↑ Stoykov (1966), pp. 97, 111.
  108. ↑ Stoykov (1966), pp. 108, 127.
  109. ↑ Pritchard (2012), pp. 14–15.
  110. ↑ Stoykov (1966), pp. 96–100, 128–131, 111–113.
  111. ↑ Stoykov (1966), pp. 98, 113.
  112. ↑ Scatton (1984), pp. 34.
  113. ↑ Pritchard (2012), pp. 15–16, 210–211.
  114. 1 2 Stoykov (1966), pp. 104–105, 117–119, 122–125.
  115. 1 2 Townsend & Janda (1996), pp. 286.
  116. ↑ Simeonov, Boris (1984). Към въпроса за броя на фонемите и техния състав в съвременния български език [On the Issue of the Number of Phonemes in and the Phonetic Inventory of Contemporary Standard Bulgarian]. Съвременна България. Доклади от III--та комплексна международна конференция по славистика. Sofia. 5: 55.
  117. ↑ Tilkov, Dimitar (1983). Акустичен състав и дистрибуция на палаталните съгласни в книжовния български език – Изследвания върху българския език [Acoustic Composition and Distribution of Palatal Consonants in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian – Studies of the Bulgarian Language]. Sofia: Наука и изкуство. pp. 94–99.
  118. 1 2 3 Pritchard (2012), pp. 2–3.
  119. ↑ Townsend & Janda (1996), pp. 89–90.
  120. 1 2 3 Duridanov (1991), pp. 37, 64.
  121. ↑ Nikolov (2020), pp. 18–19.
  122. ↑ Selishchev (1933), pp. 40.
  123. ↑ Duridanov (1991), pp. 65.
  124. ↑ Selishchev, Afanasii. Очерки по македонской диалектологии [Essays on Macedonian dialectology]. Kazan. pp. 127–146.
  125. ↑ Mirchev (1963), pp. 155.
  126. ↑ Georgiev, Vladimir (1985). Възникването на палаталните съгласни кʼ и гʼ от шт и жд в югозападните български говори, Проблеми на българския език [Emergence of Palatal /k'/ and /g'/ from [sht] and [zhd] in the Southwestern Bulgarian Dialects. Issues Relating to the Bulgarian Language]. p. 43.
  127. ↑ Mihaylov, Miroslav (2021). Фонетика на съвременния български книжовен език [Phonetics and Phonology of Contemporary Standard Bulgarian]. p. 47.
  128. ↑ Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 196.
  129. ↑ Stoykov (1966), pp. 165–166.
  130. ↑ Stoykov (1966), pp. 167.
  131. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2019), pp. 90.
  132. ↑ Ignatova-Tzoneva (2019), pp. 73.
  133. 1 2 Sabev, The Sound System of Standard Bulgarian
  134. 1 2 Scatton & Huntley (1993), pp. 190–191.

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