A Very Merry (Bulgarian) Unbirthday!
My friend from Bulgaria had her “unbirthday” in our office today (she would be visiting family in Bulgaria on her actual birthday), and I asked her what I would say to someone on their birthday in Bulgarian. This is what she said:
Chestit Rojden Den
This is how you would pronounce it in English (Bulgarians write using Cyrillic letters). It means “Happy Birthday”. This is how she taught me how to pronounce it:
Choosst-eedt roozh-den-den
The “ch” is pronounced the same as in English words, like “chook”. The “oo” sound is very firm and sharp, not like how we usually say “oo” (e.g. do not say “chew” or “choose”, or the ‘oo’ like in “blood”). I cannot think of an English word that has that sound, but the “oo” in ”chook” and “book” is on the right track.
The “ee” sound is like in “see”, and the “dt” is a sound that is short and firm and halfway between “d” and “t”. So for “eedt”, what you would say is a cross between the words “it” and “eat”.
When you say “CHOOST-eedt” (place emphasis on “choost”) the vowels are short and sharp, so although you will hear two syllables in the word, it will be a very quick word: “chsstit”.
Now for “roozh-den-den”. “Roozh-den” and “den” are two separate words, but you pronounce them together so I will explain it that way! For the “r”, try and roll it on your tongue if you can, but keep the roll brief. The “oo” sound is again firm, but not quite as sharp as before (similar to “roo” in “ruler” or “rue” but a bit firmer). Don’t have a long “oo” sound either, keep it short (the “oo” in “ruler” is short).
The “zh” is very subtle and almost not pronounced at the end of “roo”. It’s hard to explain, but it is almost like how you pronounce ”rouge” (“roozh”). For “den” sound, it is like the english word “den”, except the “n” at the end isn’t strong. It is more like “de-den”.
So now you have it. Keep the words firm and the vowels short: “CHOOST-eedt ROOzhden-den”
