site.btaChinese Language Becoming Increasingly Popular among Bulgarians

Not counting the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bulgarians are showing a growing interest in China and its language and culture, according to the Director of the Confucius Institute in Sofia, Aksinia Koleva. She was approached by BTA on the occasion of the Spring Festival, better known in the West as the Chinese New Year, which this year falls on January 22. She spoke about the opportunities presented by the Confucius Institute to study Chinese and the challenges one faces in learning the language.

The language

Chinese is a syllabic, tonal and grammatically isolating (analytical) language, Koleva said. The syllable is the main phonetic unit, and each syllable is usually presented in writing with a separate character. Each syllable is pronounced with a tone, which is important in determining its meaning. In Standard (Mandarin) Chinese, or Putonghua, there are four tones plus a zero one.

Mastering the Chinese tones presents a considerable challenge to a beginner, but it is usually overcome by the end of the first year of study, Koleva says.

Another difficult aspect is the writing system, Koleva said. Characters are written according to a set of rules. They include elements which can give us information about the category they belong to. The fact that the pronunciation and the meaning of a character are not obvious when you just look at it, is part of the problem.

It is assumed that knowing how to read and write between 2,000 and 3,000 characters is enough for basic literacy, the expert said.

The institute

Chinese is a very interesting language, Koleva said. The Confucius Institute in Sofia organizes Chinese language courses for adults and children in various formats, including individual study. They are led by highly qualified and certified Chinese teachers. In the children's courses, they are assisted by Bulgarians. There are also courses of calligraphy and Chinese painting. The total number of students is about 100.

This past August, the Confucius Institute organized again a Chinese language and culture summer camp in Momchilovtsi, in the Rhodope Mountains. A festival of Chinese culture and technology was held on November 5 and 6 in collaboration with Chinese companies.