Bulgarian

Bulgarian is written using the Cyrillic script, one of the major writing systems of Eastern Europe and the Slavic world. The Bulgarian Cyrillic tradition developed from the work of the First Bulgarian Empire during the 9th and 10th centuries CE, where early Slavic literary schools refined and standardized the script based on earlier Glagolitic and Greek influences.

The Bulgarian writing system is an alphabet, meaning each letter generally represents a distinct consonant or vowel sound. Modern Bulgarian orthography is relatively phonemic, though historical spelling reforms simplified several archaic characters over time.

The modern Bulgarian alphabet contains 30 letters, all derived from Cyrillic forms adapted specifically for the Bulgarian language. Unlike Russian, Bulgarian Cyrillic has several distinctive phonetic and stylistic differences, particularly in pronunciation and typography.

Bulgarian is written from left to right and is used throughout Bulgaria in education, literature, government, media, and digital communication. It is also one of the official scripts of the European Union.

One of the most distinctive features of Bulgarian Cyrillic is its simplified structure compared to older Church Slavonic forms. Historical letters such as Ѣ and Ѫ were removed during the orthographic reform of 1945, creating a more streamlined modern alphabet.

Visually, Bulgarian Cyrillic combines angular and rounded letterforms, with several lowercase printed forms differing noticeably from Russian typographic conventions. Modern Bulgarian typography often uses unique cursive-inspired lowercase shapes that give the script its own recognizable appearance.

In summary, the Bulgarian alphabet is a Cyrillic-based phonemic system shaped through centuries of Slavic literary development, combining historical depth, orthographic refinement, and distinctive regional typography into a modern writing system.