Innovations and Reproductions in Cultures and Societies
(IRICS) Vienna, 9 - 11 december 2005

 
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Cultural and Social Interchange of Vocabulary

Mariya Bagasheva-Koleva (South-West University ''Neofit Rilski", Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria)

 

ABSTRACT:

How does a language modify throughout the years of change and development of a country? Generally speaking, the political situation in a country has little in common with the language itself. But, considering some countries like Bulgaria, we can see that there is a direct connection between them.

Language is like a mirror reflecting the cultural, social, economic and political environment in which we live.

I am a representative of the generation in Bulgaria that has witnessed the whole period of transition since 1989 in the Eastern European countries and lived through all the dramatic changes. I also witnessed how our language has been influenced by these changes. For decades, Bulgaria has maintained an intensive political and economic relationship with the ex-Soviet Union. Naturally, our language has been affected by Russian to some extent. For the last sixteen years, things have changed and the main source of new vocabulary has been English.

This presentation concerns the specific vocabulary which has interchanged among Bulgarian, English and Russian in the last few decades, and its effect on the cultural and social life of Bulgarian people.

Innovations and Reproductions in Cultures and Societies
(IRICS) Vienna, 9 - 11 december 2005

H O M E
WEBDESIGN: Peter R. Horn 2005-10-10