Bulgaria to Pass Bill for Use of Literary Language

A file picture of the celebration of May 24, the Day of Slavic Script and Bulgarian Culture in front of the National Library in downtown Sofia at the monument of the authors of the first Slavic alphabet St. Cyril and St. Methodius. Sofia Photo Agency

A new Bill for the Use of Bulgarian Language has been submitted in the Parliament to be passed in the fall after the MPs reconvene upon conclusion of their summer break.

The new law will establish a special Council on Bulgarian Language within the cabinet, which will deal with the purity of literary language and will create and publish in the State Gazette the rules for grammar, spelling and use of foreign words.

The Chair of the Institute for Bulgarian Language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BAS, will head the Council. The members will include three researchers from the Institute, three university lecturers and three teachers.

The Bill outlines the rules for mandatory use of literary language and the fines to be imposed on violators. It mandates the use of literary Bulgarian language in schools and day care centers, but children and students keep their right to study their native language if the latter is not Bulgarian.

The use of foreign language and even dialects of Bulgarian is banned at public events such as meetings, rallies and marches. Translators will have to be provided if the events include participation of foreigners.

According to the Bill, the Council will report to the Parliament annually on the use of literary Bulgarian in State institutions such as ministries, municipal administrations, courts, commissions and agencies among others.

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