The First & Oldest Languages Ever Spoken: Origins of Human Communication
Buckle up! It's time to go back in time and find out what is the oldest living language on Earth.
Did you know that Bulgarian was the first "Slavic" language attested in writing? Find out more and start learning Bulgarian with Mondly right now.
Gather around, language learning enthusiasts from around the world! With only around 8 million native speakers worldwide, Bulgarian is the kind of language for which courses are generally scarce. But not anymore. Lucky for you, with Mondly you can learn Bulgarian easily, in just 10 minutes a day, from your native language.
Consisting of super fun, effective and accessible language lessons, the Bulgarian course is available on iOS, Android and the web.
The Bulgarian language is the official language of Bulgaria, one of the official languages of the European Union and a member of the Balkan sprachbund (together with the closely related Macedonian language).
Its historical development can be divided into several periods: the Prehistoric period (between circa 7th century CE and 860), Old Bulgarian, also known as “Old Church Slavonic” (9th to 11th centuries), Middle Bulgarian (12th to 15th centuries) and Modern Bulgarian from the 16th century onwards. During this time, the language underwent several dramatic changes that eventually shaped it to the Bulgarian we can all learn today with Mondly.
Written in the Cyrillic alphabet and spoken in Bulgaria and parts of Romania, Moldova, Greece and Ukraine, Bulgarian was the first “Slavic” language attested in writing. Since Slavic linguistic unity lasted until late antiquity, the earliest manuscripts initially referred to this “the Slavic language”. Then, in the Middle Bulgarian period, the name was gradually replaced by ”the Bulgarian language“.
When it comes to grammar and vocabulary, Bulgarian has several characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages, the most notable being its almost complete loss of case declension in the noun and the development of a suffixed definite article. What does this mean? Well, the definite article is placed after the noun or adjective. For example, to say “table” in Bulgarian, you say masa, and to say “the table” you say masata. Additionally, the infinitive form of the verb is replaced with a clause, as in Romanian, modern Greek and Albanian.
While Bulgarian may seem especially hard to learn due to its Cyrillic alphabet, it really isn’t. Especially once you get going with Mondly. Apart from bite-sized language exercises that can easily replace one of your social media breaks, you’ll also have access to crystal clear audios recorded by fluent voice actors so you can learn Bulgarian from the best; grammar features and conjugation tables to deepen your understanding of the language, vocabulary builders to help you learn new words fast and much more!
On top of that, while learning Bulgarian with Mondly, you can seamlessly switch from Cyrillic writing to Latin transliteration and back. This will allow you to learn naturally and get used to the new writing system faster.
Did you know that Bulgarian people shake their heads for “yes” and nod for “no”? Imagine talking to a Bulgarian person and not knowing that. Now, that’s a really funny cultural barrier!
But let’s not waste any more time and start with your first Bulgarian lesson right now. Here are the top 10 basic Bulgarian phrases (transliteration included) you should absolutely know before booking your trip to the beautiful beaches of Bulgaria:
Do you want to speak Bulgarian fluently fast? Get Mondly, the award-winning language learning app that will help you speak Bulgarian as if you were born in Sofia.
It can be tricky to master Bulgarian pronunciation if you don’t actively live in Bulgaria. But with Mondly, you’ll have access to a unique, fast and highly efficient learning method that allows you to learn Bulgarian naturally with practical topics, authentic conversations and bite-sized Daily Lessons.
Start using Mondly for free on your computer or download the app and learn Bulgarian fast anytime, anywhere.
Buckle up! It's time to go back in time and find out what is the oldest living language on Earth.
Although having only 1.7 million speakers worldwide, the Latvian language is now available to learn in Mondly. Start your first Latvian lesson today and find
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I want to retire in Bulgaria as it has a rich cultural heritage. It is full of natural beauty, astonishing hills, enchanting vales, beaches and hot springs. Its people are warm and welcoming. Above all life is inexpensive. It’s a crime-free society where different races and nations live peacefully. I have been given to understand that it has very good food. The flora and fauna are very beautiful. I like the rural side life of slow pace.