The historical development of the Bulgarian language takes on several stages. From a highly synthetic language to what is today an analytical language, Bulgarian has undergone several transitions, the most defining one being Middle Bulgarian. Old Church Slavonic, also known as Old Bulgarian, was the norm in the pre-historic period, which was defined by the Slavonic invasion of the Eastern. This period was also characterized by rich literary achievements with writers such as Constantine of Preslav, John Exarch and Clement of Ohrid. This was also the language that was used to translate the Bible and other literature from Greek.
During this period, the language underwent major defining changes – it lost the Old Slavonic case system, retained the rich verb system and developed a definite article. The language further drew on the influences of its non-Slavic neighbours in the Balkan linguistic union and Turkish, which was the official language of the Ottoman empire. Later, with the national revival that occurred at the end of the Ottoman rule, the language shed many of its Balkan and Turkish influences and drew on Russian and Old Bulgarian influences. Today, the chief difference between Bulgarian dialects and literary spoken Bulgarian, is the presence of Russian and Church Slavonic words in the latter, though the phonology of most of these words have been modified to fit the Bulgarian pattern.
Modern Bulgarian dates from the 16th century onwards, undergoing general grammar and syntax changes in the 18th and 19th centuries. Present-day Bulgarian was standardized based on the 19th century vernacular. Today, fewer than 20 words remain in Bulgarian from the language of the Bulgars – the Central Asian people who moved into present-day Bulgaria and adopted the local Slavic language.
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