Editing Bulgarian language (section)

==Phonology==
{{Main|Bulgarian phonology}}
Bulgarian possesses a phonology similar to that of the rest of the South Slavic languages, notably lacking Serbo-Croatian's phonemic vowel length and tones and alveo-palatal affricates. There is a general dichotomy between Eastern and Western dialects, with Eastern ones featuring consonant palatalization before front vowels ({{IPAslink|ɛ}} and {{IPAslink|i}}) and substantial vowel reduction of the low vowels {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, {{IPAslink|ɔ}} and {{IPAslink|a}} in unstressed position, sometimes leading to [[neutralization (linguistics)|neutralisation]] between {{IPAslink|ɛ}} and {{IPAslink|i}}, {{IPAslink|ɔ}} and  {{IPAslink|u}}, and {{IPAslink|a}} and {{IPAslink|ɤ}}. Both patterns have partial parallels in Russian, leading to partially similar sounds. In turn, the Western dialects generally do not have any allophonic palatalization and exhibit minor, if any, vowel reduction.

Standard Bulgarian keeps a middle ground between the macrodialects. It allows palatalizaton only before central and back vowels and only partial reduction of {{IPAslink|a}} and {{IPAslink|ɔ}}. Reduction of {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, consonant palatalisation before front vowels and depalatalization of palatalized consonants before central and back vowels is strongly discouraged and labelled as provincial.

Bulgarian has six vowel phonemes, but at least eight distinct phones can be distinguished when reduced allophones are taken into consideration. There is currently no consensus on the number of Bulgarian consonants, with one school of thought advocating for the existence of only 22 consonant phonemes and another one claiming that there are not fewer than 39 consonant phonemes. The main bone of contention is how to treat [[palatalized consonants]]: as separate phonemes or as allophones of their respective plain counterparts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=van Campen|first1=Joseph|last2=Ornstein|first2=Jacob|journal=Language|volume=35|number=2, Part I|publisher=Linguistic Society of America|year=1959|title=Alternative Analyses of the Bulgarian Nonsyllabic Phonemes|pages=266–270|jstor=410535 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ignatova-Tzoneva|first=Dimitrina|journal= Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference on Truths and Lies About Facts, News and Events|volume=1|year=2018|title=За ревизия на становището за състава на българската фонемна система|trans-title=On a Revision of the Stance on the Make-Up of Bulgarian Phonemic Inventory|language=bg|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346627275|isbn=978-619-7404-03-6|pages=7–12}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Sabev|first=Mitko|year=2013|title=The Sound System of Standard Bulgarian|url=http://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~llsroach/phon2/b_phon/b_phon.htm|language=en|quote=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 ), /ʦʲ/, /ʣʲ/, /mʲ/, /ɲ/ (=nʲ ), /rʲ/, /fʲ/, /vʲ/, /sʲ/, /zʲ/, /ç/ (=xʲ ), /ʎ/ (=lʲ )]. [ʣʲ] and [ç] do not occur in native words, though they do in foreign names: Дзян [ʣʲan] '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/.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Choi|first1=Kwon-Jin|journal=Съпоставително езикознание/Contrastive Linguistics|year=1994|volume=19|issue=2|publisher=Sofia University|location=Sofia|title=Глайдовата система на българския и корейския език|trans-title=The Glide System in Bulgarian and Korean|pages=10–14}}</ref>

The 22-consonant model is based on a general consensus reached by all major Bulgarian linguists in the 1930s and 1940s.<ref>{{citation|last=Kalkandzhiev|first=Petar|title=Българска граматика|trans-title=Bulgarian Grammar|publisher=Hristo G. Danov|place=Plovdiv|year=1936|page=31|quote=''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''|trans-quote=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}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Andreychin|first=Lyubomir |title=Основна българска граматика|trans-title=Basic Bulgarian Grammar|publisher=Hemus|place=Sofia|year=1942|pages=26, 33|quote=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 – л<sup>ь</sup>, н – н<sup>ь</sup>, т – т<sup>ь</sup>, к – к<sup>ь</sup> и пр.|trans-quote=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 – l<sup>j</sup>, n – n<sup>j</sup>, t – t<sup>j</sup>, k – k<sup>j</sup> and so on }}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Popov|first=Dimitar|title=Българска граматика|trans-title=Bulgarian Grammar|publisher=Hristo G. Danov|place=Plovdiv|year=1942|page=33}}</ref> In turn, the 39-consonant model was launched in the beginning of the 1950s under the influence of the ideas of Russian linguist [[Nikolai Trubetzkoy]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Trubetzkoy|first=Nikolai|title=Principles of Phonology|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|publisher=University of California Press|year=1971|isbn=0-520-01535-5|pages=239–240}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Език и литература|year=1950|volume=4|last=Andreychin|first=Lyubomir|title=За меките съгласни в българския език|trans-title=On Bulgarian Palatal Consonants|language=bg|page=492}}</ref>

Despite frequent objections, the support of the [[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]] has ensured Trubetzkoy's model virtual monopoly in state-issued phonologies and grammars since the 1960s.<ref>{{Citation|last=Tilkov|first=Dimitar|year=1982|title=Граматика на съвременния български книжовен език|trans-title=Grammar of Contemporary Standard Bulgarian|volume=I Phonetics|publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences|location=Sofia|language=Bulgarian|page=126}}</ref> However, its reception abroad has been lukewarm, with a number of authors either calling the model into question or outright rejecting it.<ref>{{citation|last=Mangold|first=Max|title=Увод в езикознанието с оглед и на българския език|trans-title=Introduction into Linguistics Also Taking Account of Bulgarian|publisher=Sofia University|place=Sofia|year=1988|page=102|quote=According to our inventory, the Bulgarian language has 6 vowels and 22 semivowels, for a total of 28 phonemes}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Townsend|first1=Charles E.|last2=Janda|first2=Laura A.|year=1996|title=COMMON and COMPARATIVE SLAVIC: Phonology and Inflection, with special attention to Russian, Polish, Czech, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian|publisher=Slavica Publishers, Inc.|location=Columbus, Ohio|language=English|isbn=0-89357-264-0|pages=286–287|quote=Palatalization is marked by following vowels as in R[ussian]. Extent of distinctive palatalisation 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.}}</ref> Thus, the Handbook of the [[International Phonetic Association]] only lists 22 consonants in Bulgarian's [[consonant inventory]].<ref>{{Citation|last1=Ternes|first1=Elmer|last2=Vladimirova-Buhtz|first2=Tatjana|year=1999|chapter=Bulgarian|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33BSkFV_8PEC
|isbn=0-521-63751-1|page=57|quote=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, ʦʲ, ʣʲ, 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.}}</ref>