Bulgaria 3

Listen to Bulgaria 3, a 50-year-old man from Varna, Bulgaria, who has also lived in the United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 50

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 15/08/1964

PLACE OF BIRTH: Varna, Bulgaria

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Caucasian/Bulgarian

OCCUPATION: actor and professor

EDUCATION: master’s degree

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject has lived for 25 years in the United States, mostly in Chicago, Illinois.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: N/A

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Tanera Marshall

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 04/04/2014

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

It was a very interesting experience. I … it wasn’t a cultural shock. I mean I guess there was, but I just didn’t feel it because at that time the Bulgarian society was at the end days of communism. I basically came here as a consequence of the Berlin Wall coming down and being able to travel abroad. But at that time we were watching a lot of American TV and lots of American movies. And Chicago features in almost every third American movie or sitcom or … I mean think how many there are. One of the shows that I remember watching was Perfect Strangers. Remember that one? And it was — it took place in Chicago. So seeing all these places that you have seen on TV — it was kind of surreal. The first thing I remember getting off the airplane: I looked up and I saw that the sky was the same color. I don’t know what I expected but it was like “Gee, it’s the same like Bulgaria,” you know? [sniff, sniff] … doesn’t smell any different, ya know? [sniff] … the air is the same! Mmm, American air! But you know, as you start to adjust and, uh, start to understand the culture and … I mean it’s basically starting from zero, you know? It’s like coming to a new culture and beginning a new life.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Tanera Marshall

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 22/10/2014

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

Subject exhibits a dentalized /t/ and /d/ (days, down, time). The TH is often plosive and dentalized toward /d/ (the, that). There is a centralized /u:/ in too, as well as in took; also note the  /o/ in saw.  Subject has lived in US for most of his adult life, which explains his generally very American English pronunciation and prosody.

COMMENTARY BY: Tanera Marshall

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 23/01/2015

The archive provides:

• Recordings of accent/dialect speakers from the region you select.

• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.

• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.

• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here, please go to Other Dialect Services.