Bulgaria

България

Country context

The Bulgarian medieval states supported three important cultural centres with a strong literary tradition: the Preslav and Ohrid literary schools (during the First Bulgarian Kingdom, 8th-11th centuries) and the Tarnovo literary school (Second Bulgarian Kingdom, 12th-14th centuries). Under the Ottoman Empire the Bulgarians resisted successfully against cultural influences coming from the Turkish-speaking authorities and from the Greeks. 

Bulgarians have held consistently firm views on the correct use of their language and literary traditions. A special public holiday celebrates annually on 24 May the missionary and literary work of Saints Cyril and Methodius, apostles to the Slavs and co-patron saints of Europe. The day is also dedicated to the Cyrillic alphabet, the literature and the culture created in Bulgaria.

The 1991 Constitution does not use the terms ‘national’ or ‘ethnic minorities’. However, it guarantees the main rights of persons belonging to ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Article 36 grants members of ethnic groups the right to study and use their own language, and Article 54 entitles them to develop their own culture in accordance with their ethnic self-identification, which is recognised and guaranteed by law. All of this has created an adequate legal and political framework guaranteeing equal rights of the minorities in Bulgaria. 

The Bulgarian ethnic model balances between the principles of integration, common national and European values, and respect for ethnic and religious identity.

According to the 2011 Population Census, the Bulgarian language is mother tongue to 85.2% of the population, Turkish language to 9.1% and Romani to 4.2% of the population. According to the experts of the National Statistical Institute, the census data shows a strong correlation between ethnic and linguistic self-determination.

Languages in official documents and databases

The national language, foreign languages, R/M languages and immigrant languages are dealt with in language legislation and/or language policy documents. The learning and teaching of the national language abroad for children and/or adults originating from Bulgaria is (co-)funded in around 30 countries in Europe and abroad. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has not been signed and ratified by Bulgaria. At the national level, however, 4 R/M languages are officially provided in nation- or region-wide education: Armenian, Hebrew, Romani, and Turkish.

Official nation-wide data collection mechanisms on language diversity in Bulgaria exist in terms of periodically updated census data. In these data collection mechanisms, national, R/M and immigrant language varieties are addressed based on a mother tongue question.

Official curricula in the Bulgarian language for Bulgarian citizens abroad can be found on the Ministry of Education, Youth and Science (MoEYS) website. They are part of the National Language and Culture Abroad governmental programme.

The Education, Science, Children, Youth and Sports Committee and the Culture, Civil Society and Media Committee at the National Assembly are responsible for all issues concerning the national language, and draft resolutions and make recommendations. Scientists and experts are allowed to participate in the Committees’ meetings. The Institute for Bulgarian Language (IBL) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is a central coordinating body responsible for the Bulgarian national language policy (http://www.ibl.bas.bg/en/index.htm). IBL cooperates with Bulgarian language and literature university departments.

The 1991 Constitution declares Bulgarian the country’s sole official language (article three), but it also guarantees (article 36) the right for ‘citizens whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian’ to study and use their mother language.

Bulgaria has been a State Party to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities since 7 May 1999. The National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Integration Issues (http://www.nccedi.government.bg/), whose secretariat is part of the government administration (the Council of Ministers), monitors the implementation of the convention at national level.

Turkish, Roma and other minorities are now entitled to mother tongue tuition. The Educational Standards, Basic General Education and Curriculum Law of July 1999, amended in 2002, stipulates that the ‘mother tongue’ subject is a compulsory elective subject in the primary and secondary education curricula (article 15-3). The Public Education Law of 1991 Implementation Rules, amended in 1998, provide a definition of the term ‘mother tongue’: the language in which the child communicates in his/her family (article 8-2). The Centre of Educational Integration of Children and Young people from the Minorities (http://coiduem.mon.bg) was established in 2005. It is the only governmental institution whose name contains the term ‘from the minorities’ instead of ‘citizens whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian’.

The Radio and Television Law of 1998 contains an article on programmes in minority languages:

Article 49. (1) The Bulgarian National Radio and the Bulgarian National Television shall produce national and regional programmes; broadcasts for abroad, including for Bulgarians living abroad; broadcasts intended for Bulgarian nationals whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian, including in their own language.

The Union of the Deaf in Bulgaria created in 2004 the National Centre on Sign Language. The Bulgarian National Television offers daily translation into Sign Language of the 4 p.m. news.

Languages in pre-primary education

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages

Additional NL
support

National Languages
Target groups
R/ML:  all  native speakers only  no support 
FL:  all  restricted  no support 
IL:  all  native speakers only  no support
NL:  all  immigrant children only  no support 
none 3 none 3
Duration
≥2 years 1 year <1 year  
none 3 none 2
Minimum group size requirements
 none  5-10  >10
none 3 none 3
Days per week
 >1 day  0.5-1 day  <0.5 day
none 1 none 2
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none
none 3 none 3
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none
none 3 none 3
State funding available
full partial none
none 1 none 3

Languages offered in pre-primary education

R/M Languages

-

Foreign Languages

English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish

Immigrant Languages

-

The national programme for the development of school instruction and pre-school education (2006-2015) mentions the necessity to provide children whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian with programmes in the Bulgarian language adapted to their special needs during the year of pre-school education which has been obligatory since 2003. The National Education Law, amended in 2002, introduced a specialised curriculum in the Bulgarian language for these children.

Languages in primary education

Organisation

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
3 3 none
Languages used as a medium of instruction (CLIL)
  widespread localised absent  
1 1 none
Target groups
R/ML:  all  native speakers only  no support
FL:  all  restricted  no support
IL:  all  native speakers only  no support
2 3 none
Start of language education
from year 1 from mid-phase end-phase only  
3 3 none
Scheduling
in school hours partly in school hours  outside school hours   
2 3 none
Minimum group size requirements
none 5-10 >10  
1 1 none
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised  school based  absent   
2 3 none
Level to be achieved
Other NL: national or regional norms school norms not specified
FL: linked to CEFR national or school norms not specified
IL: national or regional norms school norms not specified
2 3 none
State funding available
full partial none  
3 3 none

 

NL

National Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
3
Extra support for newcomers
before mainstream during mainstream  absent   
3
Diagnostic testing on entry
all immigrants only absent  
3
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised  school based  absent   
3

Teaching

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers  unqualified   
3 3 none
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3 3 none
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
2 3 none
Mobility
incorporated into training informal financial support no informal financial support not applicable  
0 1 0

 

NL

National Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers  unqualified   
3
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3

Languages offered in primary education

R/M Languages

Armenian, Hebrew, Romani, Turkish

Foreign Languages

English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish: one of these languages is compulsory

Immigrant Languages

-

Official curricula for four languages offered as ‘mother tongue’ subject (Turkish, Armenian, Hebrew, Romani) for primary and secondary education can be found on the MoEYS website. Mother tongue tuition is not compulsory; it is only a ‘compulsory elective subject’ course which means it can be chosen from a list of alternative subjects including English, German, French or Russian. This is why few Turkish children take these courses, and their number has been decreasing in recent years. 

Languages in secondary education

Organisation

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
3 3 none
Languages used as a medium of instruction (CLIL)
widespread localised absent  
1 2 none
Target groups
R/ML:  all  native speakers only  no support
FL:  all  restricted  no support
IL:  all  native speakers only  no support
2 3 none
Scheduling
in school hours partly in school hours outside school hours  
2 3 none
Minimum group size requirements
none 5-10 >10  
1 1 none
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised school based absent  
2 3 none
Level to be achieved
Other NL: national or regional norms school norms not specified not applicable
FL: linked to CEFR national or school norms not specified not applicable
IL: national or regional norms school norms not specified not applicable
2 3 none
State funding available
full partial none  
3 3 none

 

NL

National Languages
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines  
3
Extra support for newcomers
before mainstream during mainstream absent  
3
Diagnostic testing on entry
all immigrants only absent  
2
Monitoring of language skills
national standardised school based absent  
3

Teaching

 

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers unqualified  
3 3 none
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3 3 none
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
2 3 none
Mobility
incorporated into training some financial support none not applicable  
0 2 0
Language level required
linked to CEFR national or region-wide standards none not applicable  
0 3 0

 

NL

National Languages
Teacher qualifications
language teachers general teachers unqualified  
3
Pre-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3
In-service teacher training
subject-specific general none  
3
Language level required for non-native speakers
linked to CEFR national or school-based norms not specified  
2

Languages offered in secondary education

R/M Languages

Armenian, Hebrew, Romani, Turkish

Foreign Languages

Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish; 1 or 2 of these are compulsory, a 2nd or 3rd is optional

Immigrant Languages

-

There is a dense network of schools that are ‘foreign languages oriented’ (in all or part of their classes) all over the country. These schools use the first foreign language as a medium of instruction for a variety of subjects including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, and philosophy. These subjects are taught using Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methods from the beginning of upper secondary education (ninth and tenth year). These schools offer an intensive language course (at least 18 hours per week) for one year (the final year of the lower secondary education - the eighth year).

At the level of upper secondary education, it is difficult to find a class which is not part of the network. The ‘foreign languages oriented’ school model was established in 1952 at a school in Lovech, a town in North Bulgaria, where English, French and German were the three languages of instruction. In 1960, new schools were established in other towns, including the capital, with each of these three languages taught separately and with Russian. In 1970 Spanish was added to the network. Since1990, all of the above-mentioned languages, as well as other languages, are offered all over the country in (partly or fully) ‘foreign languages oriented’ schools.

Languages in Further and Higher Education

Further Education (in three institutions)

 

Institution A Institution B Institution C

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages

R/ML

Regional/Minority Languages

FL

Foreign Languages

IL

Immigrant Languages
Range of language support programmes
 wide variety  limited  no specifications
none 3 none none 2 none none 3 none
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines
none 3 none none 3 none none 3 none
Level to be achieved
linked to CEFR national none not applicable
0 3 0 0 2 0 0 3 0
State funding available
full partial none
none 3 none none 3 none none 1 none

Additional NL
support

National Languages

Additional NL
support

National Languages

Additional NL
support

National Languages
Range of language support programmes
 wide variety  limited  no specifications
none 2 2
Target groups
all restricted none
none 2 1
Curriculum
coherent and explicit general no guidelines
none 3 3
Job related skills
yes no
none 3 3
General upskilling
yes no
none 1 3
State funding available
full partial none
none 3 1
Internships in companies
built into course optional none
none 1 3
Use of EU instruments
yes no
none 1 1

Languages offered across 3 VET institutions in Bulgaria

R/M Languages

-

Foreign Languages

English, German, Russian, Croatian, French, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish

Immigrant Languages

-

Higher Education (in three institutions)

 

Institution A

Institution B

Institution C

Language(s) of instruction
 national, foreign and R/M national and foreign national only
2 2 2
Languages on website
 national, foreign and R/M national and foreign national only
2 2 1
Target groups for additional support in the national language
all restricted none
3 2 2
Level to be achieved in foreign language instruction
linked to CEFR national or institution-based none
3 2 3
Recruitment of non-national students
 international and immigrant only international only native speakers of national language
3 3 3
Mobility for language students
obligatory optional no offer
2 2 2
Mobility for non-language students
obligatory optional no offer
2 2 2

Languages offered across 3 higher education institutions in Bulgaria

English, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, Ancient Greek, Latin

A two year course of Bulgarian as a foreign language is offered to Erasmus students, as well as to foreign students attending university.

The courses in Turkish language and literature at Sofia, Plovdiv and Shumen universities are in great need of highly qualified experts, as are the Higher Islamic Institute in Sofia, and the newly established Turkish theatres in Kurdzhali and Razgrad, which rely on the universities for this provision.

Languages in Audiovisual Media and Press

 

Sofia

Plovdiv

Shumen

Number of languages on radio
>4 3-4 1-2 national language only
1 1 1
Number of languages on television
>4 3-4 1-2 national language only
2 3 3
Non-national language TV productions
subtitled dubbed
1 1 1
Non-national language films in cinema
subtitled dubbed
4 4 4
R/M language programmes outside of region
always regularly sometimes never
2 2 2
Availability of sign language on TV
always regularly sometimes never
4 3 2

Languages offered in audiovisual media and press across 3 cities in Bulgaria

Radio

-

Television

Turkish, Armenian, Romani, Hebrew

Newspapers

English, French, German, Russian

Radio Bulgaria offers web-based programmes in ten languages: English, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Serbian, Greek, Albanian, Turkish and Arabic.

Although on a rather limited scale, the Turkish language has also been introduced in mass media. The Bulgarian National Radio has had half-hour morning and evening broadcasts for the Turkish population in Bulgaria since 1993. News and Turkish and Bulgarian folk songs are included in the broadcasts. In the spring of 2001, the Bulgarian National Television began broadcasting ten-minute programmes in Turkish.

During the transition period attempts were also made to establish a Turkish press. At present, there are three weekly newspapers in Sofia (Sabah, Zaman and Müslümanlar), a children’s newspaper Filiz and a children’s magazine called Balon.

Languages in public services and spaces

Institutionalised language strategies at city level

> 4 3-4 1-2  national language only

frequency of practice: widely practised occasionally practised not practised

Sofia

Plovdiv

Shumen

City council services

1 0 1

Website presence

1 1 1

Annual municipal reports

0 0 0

External or internal translators and interpreters

2 5 6

Competencies in languages other than the national language in job descriptions of staff members

1 1 1

Plan or scheme in place to increase skills in languages

1 1 1

Recruitment of speakers of other languages to support corporate objectives

2 1 1

Offer of training in languages to employees

1 1 1

Regularly updated record of skills in languages of employees

0 0 0

Reward or promotion schemes for being able to adequately communicate in other languages

0 0 0

Oral Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 national language only

Sofia

Plovdiv

Shumen

Political debates and decision-making processes at the city council level

2 1 1

Educational services

1 2 1

Emergency services

2 2 1

Health services

3 2 1

Social services

1 1 1

Legal services

4 2 3

Transport services

2 2 1

Immigration and integration services

2 2 1

Tourism services

4 4 3

Theatre programmes

1 1 1

Written Communications Facilities

>4 3-4 1-2 national language only

Sofia

Plovdiv

Shumen

Political debates and decision-making processes at the city council level

1 1 1

Educational services

1 1 1

Emergency services

2 2 1

Health services

2 2 1

Social services

3 1 1

Legal services

1 1 1

Transport services

2 2 2

Immigration and integration services

2 2 1

Tourism services

2 3 2

Theatre programmes

1 1 1

Languages offered in public services and spaces across 3 cities in Bulgaria (N ≥ 2)

English, French, Russian, German, Turkish, Italian

There is still a lot to be done to strengthen multilingualism in this area.

In the three cities researched, Sofia, Plovdiv and Shumen all provide limited services in foreign languages, with the focus being on emergency, immigration and tourism services, although interpreters are commonly used. Aside from Bulgarian, English is the language most often available in public services and spaces with some services also being available in Turkish, German, French and Russian. For example, the websites of all cities are available in English, but in Shumen Russian is also available. All city administrations recruit employees who speak foreign languages, with English the main priority, and English language teaching is also provided for them during their employment.

Languages in business - 24 companies

General Language Strategies

Widely Practised

Occasionally Practised

Not Practised

Availability of language strategy

1 10 13

Emphasis on language skills in recruitment

7 11 6

International mobility provision

0 7 17

Use of external translators/interpreters

1 8 15

Staff records of language skills

0 4 20

Use of networks for language training

0 4 20

Use of EU programmes/funding

0 3 21

Awareness of EU programmes/funding

0 7 17

Internal Language Strategies

Widely Practised Occasionally Practised Not Practised

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

Partnerships with education sector

0 0 0 3 7 0 21 17 24

Reward/Promotion schemes based on language skills

0 1 0 1 2 0 23 21 24

Language training provision

0 0 0 4 10 0 20 14 24

Use of CEFR

0 1 0 3 4 0 21 19 24

Language used for workplace documents/intranet

21 5 0 2 8 1 1 11 23

Language used for software, web programmes

18 7 0 2 8 1 4 9 23

External Language Strategies

Widely Practised Occasionally Practised Not Practised

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

NL

National Language

BE

Business English

FL R/ML - IL

Language used for annual/business reports

22 8 0 0 0 0 2 16 24

Language used for marketing

23 4 0 1 5 1 0 15 23

Language used for branding/identity

18 9 1 4 3 0 2 12 23

Language used for website

23 12 0 0 3 1 1 9 23

Languages other than English- offered in business across 24 companies in Bulgaria (N ≥ 2)

German, French, Russian, Romanian

As with the Public Services and Spaces domain, there is much to be done to strengthen multilingualism in business.

In the surveyed companies, almost half have some form of language strategy and Business English is used by two thirds of companies in addition to Bulgarian for promotional purposes and on the web. Other languages are rarely used and training in languages is not provided other than occasionally in Business English. A few companies have partnerships with the education sector to support language training, and a very small number make use of international networks to support language skills of employees.

Key Findings overall

Our LRE research revealed many strong points in multilingualism in the areas of education at all levels, both for the national language and for foreign languages. Some important steps have been made towards a greater involvement of regional/minority languages in education and in the media.

Areas that need further development are public services and businesses.

Promising initiatives and pilots

Lilyana Kovatcheva, Director of the Centre of Educational Integration of Children and Young people from the Minorities (affiliated to MoEYS), was one of the six national consultants for The Curriculum Framework for Romani, created by the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe in 2008 (http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Romani_doc_EN.asp).

The European Day of Languages in Bulgaria is a successful event organised by EUNIC – the network of European Union National Institutes for Culture. In its last edition the following member institutions participated: the Austrian Embassy, the British Council, the Czech Centre, the Polish Institute, French Institute, Goethe Institute, Hellenic Foundation of Culture, Hungarian Cultural Institute, Instituto Cervantes, Embassy of Spain, Italian Cultural Institute, as well as partners from the Russian Cultural Centre, the Embassy of Switzerland, the Directorate General for Translation to the European Commission, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute, and the Human Resource Development Centre. The European Day of Languages 2011 was supported by Sofia Municipality, MoEYS, with the media partnership of the Bulgarian National Radio.

References

National Statistical Institute, Republic of Bulgaria: 2011 POPULATION CENSUS IN THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA (FINAL DATA)

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES: Opinion on Bulgaria. (adopted on 27 May 2004)

STOYCHEVA, Maria, CHAVDAROVA, Albena and VESELINOV, Dimitar (2011) Language Policies Bulgaria-Europe (Ezikovi politiki. Bulgaria-Evropa). Sofia, Universitetsko izdatelstvo ‘Sv. Kliment Ohridski’.

PACHEV, Angel (2006): Ezikovite obštnosti, Sofia, Sema RŠ.

VIDENOV, Mihail (2005): Diglosijata, Sofia, Akademično izdatelstvo Marin Drinov.

JETCHEV, Gueorgui (2006): «Éléments de politique linguistique de l’État bulgare», Lengas, revue de sociolinguistique, n° 60, pp. 191-203.

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