Класически и екзотичен, българският език – по-стар от българската държава

In this article entitled „Bulgarian, a language classical and exotic, older than the Bulgarian state“, the author presents his viewpoint on the importance of Bulgarian for the study of Slavic and Balkan languages. He discusses the criteria for establishing the beginnings of a language (the appearance of a literary form as distinct from the pre-literary stage, the foundation of the respective state, the use of a distinct name for the language, the settlement on a given territory, the emergence of specific linguistic characteristics, etc.). He focuses on the beginnings of the language, its specific linguistic features and especially on the development of the Proto-Slavic sound combinations *tj,*dj, *tl, *dl, *pj, *bj, *vj, *mj, *kv, *gv and the expression of possession. The linguistic situation at the time of the establishment of the Bulgarian state 1300 years ago and subsequent language contacts are touched upon and the role of Old Bulgarian as a literary language of the Slavic world is highlighted.