Shall I learn Bulgarian or Russian?

Personally I'd say Bulgarian, either way it is amazing the reaction you'll get from attempting the most basic phrases obviously you'll say something wrong but I have noticed great appreciation for your efforts.

Although many of the older generation speak some (or a lot) of Russian here, I don't think it would be that helpful. The paperwork will be in Bulgarian (and easy to find an English translation as opposed to a Russian translation). Plus, the pronunciation of Russian is very different than Bulgarian.

Additionally, Russian has more cases, which can make it more difficult. There are many decent, free online resources for learning Bulgarian. There are also a few good workbooks etc. you might want to invest in, as well as a tutor when you arrive. If you don't have the cash for a tutor, consider offering a language exchange with a local- one day in English, one day in Bulgarian.

Oh- and there are a few very good older Bulgarian movies that can be fun for learning the language.

с деца на море (with kids on the sea) is a very fun comedy from 1972, which uses less language (as it is a more physical comedy) and can introduce you to how the language sounds and the rhythm of it, if you can find a copy with english subtitles.

Thank you kojidae, i will try to see  с деца на море.
I have seen Whale (1967).  I like that.

Also i have seen ,Време разделно, Violeta, Joro and Me and N1 (НОМЕР ЕДНО)
All with English subs, very useful and easy to find on utube.  I enjoyed them all.

If you do not plan to start working in a russian company, studying this language when intending to come to Bulgaria is a total waste of time.
So start directly with Bulgarian.
Although there are lots of free resources on the Internet, I strongly adwise on taking some private lessons, even through Internet.

Bulgarian and Russian are different, despite the fact they share the same alphabet...and I say it as a native Russian speaker

bulgarian of  course  , now  the  young people  study englis  not  russian , may  be  the older generation know  something  of  russian  , but  i thbk  just only a few  persons  speak russian

i suggest bulgarian , now  the young  people  study english  only  a few old people  speaks  russian , because  in comunism age  the foreigner  language was  russian,

That's rather a strange question!  Would you advise someone moving to the UK to learn French, for instance?

Yes, some older Bulgarians speak Russian - because they had no choice about learning it in school - but for the most part they are no longer very good at speaking it (if indeed they ever were: you had to learn it but you didn't have to be any good or to remember it after school  ) and some actively resent having been forced to study it in the first place.

The language here is Bulgarian and that's certainly what you need to learn if you want to communicate properly and to cope with officialdom in all of its many guises!

I mean, it is not that strange of a question... in other parts of the former USSR, Russian is still widely used, especially for official documents- like in the stans (Kazakh, uzbek, etc..) Russian might be more helpful than the actual language of the country. (Although, Russian is still listed as an official language of those countries...)

And no harm in asking, right?

That's true - but Bulgaria was never a part of the USSR and Russian was never an/the official language here, despite people being forced to learn it.

There's no real harm in asking but it's still a disappointing question - and could be an offensive one to people who didn't ask to be sold out to Russia after the war.

My bad on the history part. But still... asking questions is how we learn about a place. And if an expat forum isn't a safe place to ask those sorts of questions, then how are people supposed to know? Of course there are other ways to learn, but for many people asking is the simplest, most straight-forward way to figure something out.

I agree - but I'm always disappointed that so many people decide to go and live in a country without even knowing what the correct language is, and sometimes not even knowing where in the world it is.  I guess that's why so many came here and then left with their tails between their legs when they discovered it wasn't some Third World country where they could pretend to be lords and patronise the local people....

But the very point of asking before coming avoids that.

I agree, in that I dislike the way many foreigners exploit the countries that they move to. However, I do not think that asking about a country and its customs, language, or way of life is part of that willfully ignorant exploitation.

You're right, up to a point - but asking such a question in an "I intend to move to BG" context seems a little like deciding to go and live somewhere without doing even the most basic homework first.  I may be doing this lady(?) a grave disservice but I've seen this syndrome in a number of the countries I've lived in, with people moving to another country without understanding where they're going and what that entails in terms of people, language, culture etc.  The next stage is often to start complaining about forms not being in English, the food being "foreign" and customs not being to their taste.  I've become jaded by the phenomenon, having seen it so many times in different countries - the results are often a return "back home" or sitting drunk in the local bar every evening, complaining about the locals and feuding with other expats.

Anyway, that's just my take and I may be excessively critical of people who make major decisions on what appears to me to be a whim.

Fair enough. I love whimsy, and I suppose that is the core of where we branch apart.

JimJ wrote:

You're right, up to a point - but asking such a question in an "I intend to move to BG" context seems a little like deciding to go and live somewhere without doing even the most basic homework first.  I may be doing this lady(?) a grave disservice but I've seen this syndrome in a number of the countries I've lived in, with people moving to another country without understanding where they're going and what that entails in terms of people, language, culture etc.  The next stage is often to start complaining about forms not being in English, the food being "foreign" and customs not being to their taste.  I've become jaded by the phenomenon, having seen it so many times in different countries - the results are often a return "back home" or sitting drunk in the local bar every evening, complaining about the locals and feuding with other expats.

Anyway, that's just my take and I may be excessively critical of people who make major decisions on what appears to me to be a whim.

JimJ,

The purpose of Expat.com is to provide a place for expats or potential expats to have a place to ask questions and exchange information, freely and without judgement or scolding on whether it is appropriate or not to ask/answer the question. 

The general consensus here is that the OP would be better served learning Bulgarian, not Russian.  That was the question at hand.  With that said, let's all move on please.....

Kindly,
Romaniac
Expat.com Experts Team