Continuing our series on languages spoken in various countries around the world, today we’ll discover languages spoken in Bulgaria. Even if you don’t know a lot about Bulgaria, the reality of their linguistic landscape might just surprise you!

languages spoken in bulgaria

What Languages are Spoken in Bulgaria?

Bulgaria: Historical and Geographical Overview

Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, located in the southeast of the continent. It borders Romania, Turkey, Greece, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

Like any other country, it has a rich and complex history that is hard to summarize in a single article. Let’s take a brief look at how Bulgaria became the country it is today.

Bulgaria has existed as a country since the year 681, when the First Bulgarian Empire was founded.

Before this, Thracians, Greeks, and Romans had control over this region. In fact, Bulgaria was once part of the Roman Empire, and it was the Romans who founded the city of Serdica, or modern day’s city of Sofia (the country’s capital).

The First Bulgarian Empire fell in 1018 AD to the Byzantines after the Emperor annexed Bulgaria into the Byzantine Empire. This control lasted for two centuries until the Bulgarians revolted.

Their revolution led to the foundation of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396). The story doesn’t stop there: Bulgaria then became part of the Ottoman Empire for no less than five centuries.

When the Ottoman Empire later fell, the country established its first modern monarchy under Ferdinand I, who declared Bulgaria’s independence in 1908.

After two world wars and a long communist period that ended the monarchy, Bulgaria became a democracy in 1989.

The Official Language of Bulgaria: Bulgarian

Bulgarian is the official language of Bulgaria and it’s spoken by the majority of the population (7.4 million people).

While it’s the mother tongue of most Bulgarians, only about 85% of the population speak it. In addition to being the official language of Bulgaria, Bulgarian is also one of the official languages of the European Union.

Bulgarian is an Indo-European language belonging to the Slavic language group, closely related to Macedonian, and is written using the Cyrillic alphabet.

Over time, it has been enriched by archaic and international words, as well as unique terms from neighbouring countries like Turkey, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Romania.

Minority Languages in Bulgaria

Turkish

Turkish is spoken primarily by Turks living in Bulgaria (about 600,000 people, making up 9% of the country’s population).

They arrived during the Ottoman Empire’s conquest. Turks represent Bulgaria’s largest minority group, making Turkish the most widely spoken minority language in the country.

Interestingly, 96.4% of Bulgarian Turks still consider Turkish their mother tongue, despite having lived in Bulgaria for centuries.

Romani

The second most significant minority language is Romani. This language is spoken by descendants of nomadic Romani migrants who arrived in Bulgaria from northern India 1,500 years ago. There are around 300,000 Romani speakers in Bulgaria (5% of the population).

Romani is an Indo-Aryan language (originating in northwestern India) that shares very little with other European languages.

In Bulgaria, the Romani people have preserved their language, culture, and traditions, with limited assimilation into Slavic (and Turkish) culture.

Foreign Languages in Bulgaria

In addition to the native languages we listed above, foreign languages are also present in Bulgaria, most of which were taught in schools as second languages.

These include English (spoken by 25% of the population), Russian (spoken by 23%), and German (spoken by 8%).

Is Bulgaria linguistically diverse? Despite its rich history and geographical position, Bulgaria is not as linguistically diverse as one might expect. With Turkish and Romani being the primary exception, most people from Bulgaria speak primarily Bulgarian. While the minority languages have been preserved, they’ve primarily been kept amongst people who share the ancestry of those languages, rather than spreading across the country.

Which Language Should You Learn if Travelling to Bulgaria?

It’s always a good idea to learn a few words in the country’s official language, to connect with locals, show respect for the country, and show interest in their history and culture. That being said, Bulgarian isn’t necessarily the easiest language to learn.

If you’re short on time, and only got a few words in Bulgarian memorized, then we’d recommend trying to speak in English, since its the second-most spoken language in Bulgaria. Regardless of the language you plan to travel in, do your best and safe travels!

Further Reading

If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to explore the following: