Bulgarian Letter Ъ (Er Golyam): A Real Vowel
Ъ is the 27th letter of the Bulgarian alphabet, called ер голям (er golyam). The Bulgarian letter Ъ is a full vowel [ɤ], roughly the “u” in “but” said further back, unlike the silent Russian hard sign. It transliterates as a, so България becomes Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian letter Ъ is the 27th letter of the alphabet and a full vowel, [ɤ], that you will hear in almost every sentence. Its name is ер голям (er golyam), “big er”. If you know Russian, forget what you know: in Russian Ъ is a silent “hard sign”, but in Bulgarian it is a sound in its own right, and even the name of the country contains it: България.
How to pronounce the Bulgarian letter Ъ
English has no exact match. The nearest everyday sound is the “u” in “but” or the “a” in “sofa”, but Bulgarian Ъ is made further back in the mouth, with the lips unrounded. Try this: say “uh”, then pull your tongue back slightly as if starting an “oo”, without rounding your lips. Teachers often accept a schwa from beginners, but the reference description is a mid back unrounded vowel, [ɤ], similar to Romanian “ă” or Estonian “õ”.
Unlike the English schwa, Ъ can be stressed and can start a word. In ъгъл (agal, “angle, corner”) it appears twice, once stressed. In unstressed syllables Ъ and А merge toward a similar central vowel, [ɐ].
| Bulgarian | Streamlined | Meaning | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| път | pat | road | |
| сън | san | sleep, dream | |
| мъж | mazh | man, husband | |
| ъгъл | agal | corner, angle | |
| България | Bulgaria | Bulgaria |
Ъ before and after the 1945 reform
Older Bulgarian books look full of Ъ. Before 1945, Bulgarian, like pre-1918 Russian, wrote a silent Ъ at the end of words that ended in a consonant. The same vowel sound was also spelled with a second letter, the big yus Ѫ. The 1945 orthographic reform dropped the silent final Ъ and replaced Ѫ with Ъ in nearly all words, so that one letter now matches one sound. The history of the Bulgarian alphabet covers the full reform, which also removed the letter yat.
Ъ still appears at the end of a few words where it is pronounced. The clearest case is the full definite article for masculine nouns: градът (gradat, “the city”), мъжът (mazhat, “the man”).
Hidden Ъ sounds spelled with А and Я
Some Ъ sounds are written with other letters. Stressed verb endings spelled -а, -ат, -я and -ят are pronounced with [ɤ]: чета (“I read”) ends in a stressed “uh”, [t͡ʃɛˈtɤ], and четат (“they read”) in “-tuht”. The short masculine article behaves the same way when stressed. Read the spelling, but listen for the Ъ.
Transliteration of the Bulgarian letter Ъ
The Streamlined System writes Ъ as plain a, under the Transliteration Act. That is why България is Bulgaria and Търново is Tarnovo. The drawback is that Latin “a” no longer tells you whether the original was А or Ъ. Academic ISO 9 uses ǎ, and older systems used “u” or “ŭ” (as in “Turnovo”). See Bulgarian transliteration for the full table.
Bulgarian vs Russian: Russian ъ is silent and rare; Bulgarian ъ is a vowel and one of the most common letters. The two alphabets look alike but read differently here. See Bulgarian vs Russian alphabet.
Common mistakes with the Bulgarian letter Ъ
- Treating Ъ as silent, Russian style. Every Ъ in modern Bulgarian is pronounced.
- Saying a clear English “a” as in “cat” for път. Aim for a dark “uh”.
- Reading Tarnovo with the “a” of “father” and assuming the spelling is Тарново.
- Mixing up Ъ and Ь: Ъ has a flag on top; Ь does not, and it is never a vowel.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce the Bulgarian letter Ъ?
As [ɤ], a dark “uh” like the u in “but” but made further back with unrounded lips.
Is Ъ silent in Bulgarian?
No. In modern Bulgarian Ъ is always a vowel. It is silent only in Russian, and in Bulgarian spelling before the 1945 reform.
What is Ъ called in Bulgarian?
Its official name is ер голям (er golyam), “big er”. Many people simply call it by its sound.
Why is България written Bulgaria?
The Streamlined System writes ъ as a and the word-final -ия as ia, which gives Bulgaria.
What did the 1945 reform do to Ъ?
It removed the silent Ъ at the end of words and replaced the old letter Ѫ (big yus) with Ъ in nearly all cases.
Sources
- Hard sign (Wikipedia)
- Reforms of Bulgarian orthography (Wikipedia)
- Transliteration Act of Bulgaria (2009), English text, Ministry of Regional Development
- Bulgarian alphabet (Wikipedia)
- Bulgarian phonology (Wikipedia)