VT Times, May 2012

Handy Bulgarian
So, for those who have borne with us since the beginning, here are the final ten
letters of the Cyrillic alphabet for you to learn!
To see the previous, if somewhat irreverant lessons, just download the PDF of the last two issues at:
vttimes.net/archive-2
Once you’ve got these under your belt – congratulations! You now know all 30 letters and should be
able to decipher most words you see.
But first – a quick recap. Don’t forget that you can sing these to the traditional A, B, C song children
in the UK and USA use to learn THEIR alphabet. It does work for Bulgarian, too!
А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У
A B V G D Eh Sh Z Ee Ikrakto K L M N O P R S T Oo
Write them out over and over again, practice deciphering every sign and menu you see, sing them,
make flash cards … whatever works for you. Everyone learns in different ways.
My view is that these last ten are the hardest, so sorry about that. But you can do it!
– We first came across this one on a
Ф DVD of Harry Potter and the Order of
the феникс. Phoenix. For the Harry Potter
fans, it looks a bit like the deathly hallows
symbol! It’s a “f” sound. Business people
will get a фактура. Factura, or invoice. So
see this very distinctive letter and think
“Phoenix”.
Х
– oh oh, its back to our old false
friends I’m afraid. If you think
of “ex”, put a big black x through your
thoughts. It’s a “h” sound. But it’s even
more than that. For the Scots and Welsh
among us, it’s like the throaty “ch” in
“loch” or the start of “chwyrndrobwll”.
For the English? See Х and start clearing
your throat.
Ц
– what a GREAT letter to have! Tz.
Now you can say “tzar” or “tsetse
fly” without all those annoying t’s, z’s
and s’s everywhere. So much simpler. It
Fitz. We gets it. Around VT, you’ll see it
on many a sign to ЦАРАВЕЦ. Tsaravets.
Quicker, shorter, easier. You’ve got to love
Cyrillic.
Ч
– turn it upside down, it looks like a
church with a steeple. And “Church”
it is, “Ch”.
Ш
– shhh. I’m hunting wabbits.
This one takes a long time to
write so you have to shhh … As you start
painstakingly with the downstrokes, say
shhh. Ш. Shh.
Щ
-sht! Someone jogged my arm at
the end! This little slip of the pen
makes you say sht. As in smashed.
So there’s the penultimate six for you to learn.
None are instinctive, but all are very pretty. Add
them on to the end of your song …
EE A, B, V, G, D, Eh, Sh,
Z, ee, Ikratko, K, L, M, N,
O, P. R, S, T, Oo, F, H, tz,
ch, sh, sht … EE
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