Product Description

    This is the first comprehensive textbook teaching English-speakers to read, write, and speak contemporary Bulgarian. The text is designed to be adaptable for students of varying skill levels and can be taught at a gradual or intensive pace. It is also a much-needed reference grammar of Bulgarian, incorporating the latest research and theories on Bulgarian grammar in accessible layman’s language.
    Volume 1 introduces the basic elements of Bulgarian grammar and contains Lessons 1–15, a Bulgarian-English glossary, an English-Bulgarian glossary for beginners, and an appendix of verbal forms. Like many popular language textbooks, the dialogues in Intensive Bulgarian form a continuing dramatic narrative that gradually introduces students to both language and culture. Throughout the text, Bulgarian constructions and phrases are compared with English ones to clarify grammar and idioms.



Lessons include:
o dialogues and sample sentences
o exercises and translation sentences
o basic and supplemental grammar sections
o reading selections
o a glossary for the lesson
o cultural notes.



    Together, Volumes 1 and 2 of Intensive Bulgarian provide all the materials necessary for teachers and students to learn lively, modern colloquial Bulgarian, to become familiar with Bulgarian cultural life, and to thoroughly understand Bulgarian grammar. Slavic scholars will also find in Volume 2 both a thorough presentation of the Bulgarian verb system, as traditionally conceived, and a new analysis of this system.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87523 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 414 pages

Review
"Alexander is one of the foremost experts in Bulgarian in the world and also one of that language’s most experienced pedagogues. We are extremely fortunate that she has undertaken the task of writing a textbook. The result of her efforts is a magnificent course."—Victor Friedman, Chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago

About the Author
    Ronelle Alexander is professor of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of California, Berkeley. She has traveled throughout Bulgaria for her research on dialects and traditional culture and has been interviewed on Bulgarian radio. She has also taught at the University of California, Los Angeles; Yale University; and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
    Olga M. Mladenova, a native speaker of Bulgarian, is assistant professor of Russian at the University of Calgary in Canada.

Customer Reviews

Excellent book to learn Bulgarian
This book is an excellent aid to learn Bulgarian. However, unless you have a linguistic and/or Russian background, it will be difficult to teach yourself from this book. This book really requires a classroom environment for those not linguistically gifted. Also, the book needs tapes so that one could hear the pronunciation. Answer keys to the exercises also would help. Overall though, the grammar is well presented. The cultural notes are also very interesting and useful.

Excellent!
Outstanding book for those who want to improve their knowledge of Bulgarian (not recommended for beginners).
Each lesson features a Dialog, Basic Grammar with lots of examples, Exercises, and Additional Grammar Notes.
The Additional Grammar Notes contain a wealth of great information.

Each lesson concludes with Sample Sentences, Sentences for Translation, Reading Selection(s), and a Glossary.
The glossary entries point out irregular endings. All Bulgarian words are written in Cyrillic and the accent is clearly marked.
Most lessons have interesting Cultural Commentaries which provide great insight into Bulgarian culture and customs.

I didn't like the fact that there are no answers to the Exercises, but the book is so good, that this is just a minor oversight.

Great book. Highly recommended.

Easily the best system to learn Bulgarian
This book is definetly the most comprehensive and clear grammar available for the Bulgarian Grammar. It clearly delineates all the major rules and even has notes on many of the minor rules. Some of the rules I was even unaware of(I lived in Bulgaria for two years) This is a two volume set, so make sure you get both volumes. It is a tad expensive bying tswo volumes but it is a much better deal than buying any of those other books. THere is some techincal terms to learn but nothing out of the ordinary for one embarking on serious language study. If you just want a phrasebook to learn some quick words for your three days in Bulgaria then this is probably not what you are looking for. However, if you are serious about learning Bulgarian well then this is the only place to start.