WFTness: The weird world of relatives in Bulgarian

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Bulgaria is a place where you cannot be farther than 500 km away from your family, no matter how hard you try. Families often live in the same area or, if they don't, one can always take a quick holiday to visit the folks "на село" (na selo, meaning "back in the village"). In fact, children often spend the summer months with one or the other set of grandparents somewhere in the country: in a village, a town or a small city. The "grandma institution" is really strong over here. As is the tradition of coming back from long holidays in the countryside with a car full of tomatoes, apples, peppers, you name it.

Anyway. The centuries-old family traditions and bonds are reflected in the Bulgarian language. Much like the proverbial Inuit and their many words for snow, there are five different words for "uncle" in Bulgarian, four for "aunt", three for "brother-in-law" and four for "sister-in-law".

But let’s start with the easy ones. (Words preceded by an asterisk don't have a known (to me) equivalent in English.)

Parents, grandparents and children:

Баща (bashta) – father, usually called “tatko” or “tate”.
Майка (mayka) – mother, addressed as “mamo” or “mayko”
Син (sin) – son
Дъщеря (dushterya) – daughter
Внук (vnuk) – grandson
Внучка (vnuchka) – granddaughter
Дядо (dyado) – grandfather
Баба (baba) – grandmother
Прадядо (pradyado) – great-grandfather (and any male in his generation)
Прабаба (prababa) – great-grandmother (and any female in her generation)

Brothers, sisters and cousins:

Брат (brat) – brother
Сестра (sestra) – sister
*Батко (batko) – older brother, often said with affection
*Кака (kaka) – older sister, often said with affection
Братовчед (bratovched)- cousin (male)
Братовчедка (bratovchedka) – cousin (female)

Parents' Siblings and Siblings' Children

Племенник (plemennik) – nephew
Племенничка (plemennichka) – niece

The following are all words that correspond to the English “aunt” and “uncle”.

Чичо (chicho) – broad term for “uncle”, more specifically a father’s brother. This is also the name given by children to any adult they don’t know, similar to “mister” or “sir”.
*Стринка (strinka) – a father’s brother’s wife
Леля (lelya) – broad term for “aunt”, more specifically a father’s sister. This is also the name given by children to any female adult they don’t know, similar to “madam”, but less formal.
*Калеко / лелинчо (kaleko or lelincho) – a father’s sister’s husband
*Вуйчо (vuycho) - a mother’s brother
*Вуйна (vuyna) – a mother’s brother’s wife
*Тетка (tetka) – a mother’s sister
*Тетинчо (tetincho) – a mother’s sister’s husband
*Свако (svako) – in Eastern Bulgaria, the husband of a mother’s or a father’s sister

By marriage:

Съпруг (suprug) – husband
Съпруга (supruga) – wife
Зет (zet) – the husband of a daughter, son-in-law
Снаха (snaha) – the wife of a son, daughter-in-law

The following are parents-in-law:

*Тъст (tust) – the father of a wife
*Тъща (tushta) – the mother of a wife
*Свекър (svekur) – the father of a husband
*Свекърва (svekurva) – the mother of a husband

The following are what parents-in-law call each other:

*Сват (svat) – the father of a child’s spouse
*Сватя (svatya) – the mother of a child’s spouse

The following are all words that correspond to the English “brother-in-law” and “sister-in-law”.

*Девер (dever) – a husband’s brother
*Шурей (shurey) – a wife’s brother
*Зълва (zulva) – a husband’s sister
*Балдъза (balduza) – a wife’s sister
*Шуренайка (shurenayka) – a wife’s brother’s wife
*Баджанак (badzhanak) – a wife’s sister’s husband. Two men married to sisters are badzanaci to each other.
*Етърва (eturva) – a husband’s brother’s wife. Two women married to brothers are eturvi to each other.

Comments

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

For a language that uses the word "takova" (this) in about a hundred different meanings and contexts, all this seems shockingly excessive, duhhhh...

You might need a whole separate encyclopedia for the family words.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Fascinating post. Is there a literary organization in Bulgaria that determines proper Bulgarian vocabulary and usage, defining new words etc? I was thinking of something like the OED (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary)or maybe the Académie française (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acad%C3%A9mie_fran%C3%A7aise)

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Sure, the Institute for Bulgarian Language (http://www.ibl.bas.bg/en/information_en.htm).

[telemann.livejournal.com]

That's very cool. Thanks!