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6проелемы современного осрпзоопнип
G. Kurteva, G. Kurbangaleeva
THE CATEGORY OF DEFINITENESS IN BULGARIAN LANGUAGE AND ITS ACQUISITION BY RUSSIAN-SPEAKING STUDENTS
Keywords: articles, the category of definiteness, the system of articles in Bulgarian language, typical mistakes of Russian-speaking.
Abstract: The report deals with the category of definiteness in Bulgarian language and its acquisition by the Russian-speaking students.
The research is focused on the difficulties and errors made by Russian speaking students. The types of errors are grouped and analyzed. Analysis of the causes of errors is made and a methodology to overcome them is offered in order to facilitate the acquisition of Russian language-speaking students.
The emphasis in Bulgarian language teaching as a foreign language is on the overcoming of typical mistakes and flotation made in order to enrich student's language competence.
Ключевые слова: артикль, категория определённости, система артиклей в болгарском языке, типичные ошибки русскоязычных.
Аннотация: Предметом исследования в статье является категория определенности и специфика её освоения русскоязычными студентами. Исследование основано на широкой базе данных, собранных в течение более чем 10 лет преподавания болгарского языка как иностранного.
Цель - преодоление трудностей изучения этой категории студентами-иностранцами, в особенности российскими. Авторами проанализированы различные типы ошибок, дана их классификация. Указаны основные причины ошибок и рекомендованы пути их преодоления с учётом трудностей освоения данной категории русскоговорящими.
Особое внимание уделено типичным ошибкам и правилам использования данной категории в современном болгарском языке. Анализ основан на данных как устной, так и письменной речи. Акцент в обучении болгарскому языку как иностранному сделан на преодоление типичных ошибок с целью реализации языковой компетенции студента.
This article attempts to analyze and classify the functions of the definite article in modern Bulgarian as a foreign language and its use by Russian-speaking students.
The category of definiteness is one of the factors determining the analytical nature of Bulgarian language. The analysis illustrates more complex perceptual aspects of the problematic categories in Bulgarian grammar as well as the errors in their linguistic usage which deserve special consideration in the process of their acquisition by Russian-speaking students, regardless of the manner and methodology in which they study Bulgarian language.
The article presents a summary of the results of a long-term study conducted over five years, based on a large amount of empirical material. It encompasses a large group of Russian-speaking students studying Bulgarian language in different situations, following different student books and methodologies. On the basis of tests and other forms of examinations a database was collected regarding the degree of acquisition of, for example, a certain grammatical category, together with a large bank of errors, allowing for a more comprehensive analysis.
The aim of the experiment is to determine how definiteness in Bulgarian language is mastered, which grammatical category or which syntactic rule causes difficulty in studying Bulgarian language by Russian-speaking students and what the obstacles in the language usage are.
The specifics of Bulgarian morphological system
Although Bulgarian literary language is a member of the Slavic language family, it is analytical in its structure [1]. It has many universal, common to other Indo-European languages features, but, on the other hand, it is an exception in the Slavic language family due to the existence of specific features. On the other hand, apart from the general vocabulary, there are some grammatical features of Bulgarian language which distinguish it from Slavic languages (some of which its features are shared with other Balkan languages) [2].
These features have been developed and acquired by the language throughout centuries in the process of its formation and change due to many linguistic and extralinguistic factors, such as historical, social, geographical, economic, cultural, etc. The influence of other languages, the intercultural communication, the state of bilingualism in which it operated for a long time, have influenced the formation and modification of its many linguistic elements and categories.
The object of study
Unlike Russian and other Slavic languages, Bulgarian language expresses definiteness or indefiniteness of the objects by the presence or absence of a morphological marker. The definite article is in a post-noun position and attached to the noun that is defined.
The category of definiteness is expressed in a well-developed system of article forms that function in the language, performing morphological, syntactic and semantic functions. It comprises of four parts of speech, i.e. nouns, adjectives, numerals, the full forms of the possessive and reflective-possessive pronouns, and also some non-personal verb forms, i.e. participles [3].
The definite article expresses definiteness of the objects, which means that an object appears in some sense known or determined by an immediate perception, previous conversation or logical consideration. Of all the nouns in Bulgarian only common nouns are defined; proper nouns (with a few exceptions) are not defined [5].
Almost all Bulgarian and Russian scholars studying Bulgarian language deal with and pay particular attention to the category of definiteness, to its morphological markers and grammatical features. Starting with the contributions of Alexander Balan [4], later on the grammar book by Yuri Maslov [6] and going to the latest research carried out in the last decade, the category of definiteness has been an object of analysis in the light of various linguistic and other theories.
This significant difference between Bulgarian and Russian stands out particularly when Russian-speaking students master Bulgarian language. The assumption that the proximity between the two languages may help proves to be only partially true (as regards the lexicon). In all other areas, it rather inhibits and requires greater attention to be paid on the part of learners.
Table 1: Types of definiteness
The ways and rules of the definite article usage include a number of conditions to be met as well as some exceptions to be considered. The present study does not deal with the numerous individual cases but covers general principles and rules of the category. The types of definiteness
Individual definiteness Пиша писмото. (a particular letter to a particular person)
Quantitative definiteness Участници в маратона стигнаха до финала. (Some but not all participants)
Quantitative definiteness Участниците в маратона са готови за старт. (All 452 participants, for example)
Generic article Ягодата е плод. (The defined noun is a species concept, while the non-defined one - a generic concept)
The semantic characteristic features of the correct article form usage are possible to be acquired as a result of a more extensive study of the language. Speakers of other languages in which definiteness is a non-existent category often encounter some difficulty understanding properly or making sense of certain situations. It is more difficult for Russian-speaking students to realize the difference and grasp details; consequently, some of the most common mistakes made are omitting the definite article or placing it incorrectly.
The aim of the experiment is to determine how definiteness in Bulgarian is acquired, which part of speech or a syntactic rule is difficult to learn when studying Bulgarian as a foreign language, and what the obstacles in its linguistic usage are.
Regardless of their mother tongue, most foreign learners of Bulgarian encounter some difficulty related to definiteness. All respondents prove to make errors and encounter difficulty when using various grammatical structures, applying various rules and perceiving certain semantic features or nuances as well as have problems with certain phonetic and other changes in the structure of nouns. The purpose of the analysis is to reveal the perceptive aspects, acquisition and usage of the category of definiteness.
Table 2
The acquisition of the category of definiteness by speakers of other languages
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Russian English Balkan other
□ Masculine
□ Feminine
□ Neuter
The diagram illustrates the degree of acquisition of the category of definiteness demonstrated by speakers of other languages. Russian-speaking students (as well as speakers of some Slavic languages) demonstrate considerable difficulty when mastering the nouns of the three genders.
Table 3
Graph of the acquisition of the three grammatical categories of nouns (in per cent)
The graph illustrates the acquisition (in per cent) of three of the major categories of nouns and the change in their ratio within a five-year period. The error rate is highest in the category of definiteness and the lowest in the category of number.
The results show that Russian-speaking students do well with the categories of gender and number. As regards the former it is due to the proximity and the similarities between Bulgarian and Russian, while in the case of the latter category of number - due to its clear identification in Bulgarian as a foreign language. The presence of distinct morphological markers, clear rules and definite functions leads to higher perception, proper usage and lower percentage of errors while acquiring the category.
On the other hand, the results reveal that definiteness proves to be one of the most difficult categories to be acquired by learners of Bulgarian, regardless of the fact whether they are speakers of languages in which it is non-existent (such as Russian or other Slavic languages, for example) or speakers of languages in which it exists (such as English, German and French). It is much easier to perceive the categories of gender and number (although the peculiarities of the grammatical gender also create difficulties). However, the comparison between the three main grammatical categories of the noun system in Bulgarian, namely gender, number and definiteness, shows the following:
The least acquired is the category of definiteness; the degree of perception of the category of definiteness is the lowest compared with the other two categories. According to the results, the greatest number of errors is made in both the usage of the definite and indefinite article in masculine nouns and some other morphological and syntactic specific features in other parts of speech.
Table 4
The definiteness of nouns
-ЪТ, (- А), -ЯТ (-Я) - ТА - ТО
столът/,стола, чаят, чая, масата , стаята пилето, бюрото
моливът / молива Водата таксито
Nouns in Bulgarian have definiteness forms as well as a number of characteristic features associated with this category. One of them is the presence of a definite and an indefinite article characteristic of masculine nouns. Although there have been many discussions and objections beginning in the 40s of the 20th century and continuing in the 60s and 70s, the syntactic rule to define masculine nouns is still valid.
For Russian-speaking students, however, the difficulty is not encountered so much in the proper usage of the definite and indefinite articles depending on the syntactic function of the noun (which is typical for Bulgarians). It is the concept of definiteness in general that is considered most difficult. The problem is whether to put a definite article, i.e. where, how, when and why to do it. The non-existence of cases (a synthetic form of connection) and the analytical links that replace them do not facilitate Russian-speaking students' acquisition of definiteness.
Since semantically definiteness does not stand out clearly enough in all cases, the definite article is often used incorrectly or omitted.
В петък аз давам наем на хазайка. Студентка влиза.
Ето една книгата. Това ли е апартамент, на Петрови?
В 5 часа той излиза от офис. Иван винаги сяда до прозорец.
Прееподавател обяснява добре. Искам от лекаредно лекарство.
Време е много студено. Пътдо море_е 5 часа.
Майка_на Лера е учителка. Аз не обичам зима, обичам есен .
Той закусва в кафене на университета. Къде е захар?
Table 5
The degree of acquisition of the definite article with nouns of the three genders
60 50 40 30 20 10 0
□ Masculine
□ Feminine
□ Neuter
2010 2011 2012 2013
The graph clearly illustrates how the definite article with nouns of the three genders is perceived, and that the most considerable problem is the acquisition of the definite article with masculine nouns.
The highest degree of acquisition is observed in feminine nouns, while the degree of correctness with masculine and neuter nouns is lower. This is due to the lack of article morphemes, to the differences in word forms and to the misapplication of the syntactic rules of definiteness.
Ние влизаме в такси,. Сандвич струва 1.50 лв.
Мария взема чанта си. Тя винаги търси ключ_за къща.
Кафе е студено. Апартамент на хазаи е много мапък.
Къде е телефон,? Момче идва.
Колко струва баничка? Рокля, на Ирина е много хубава.
Тя иска тази тетрадката.
Виждам едно детето.
Table 6
Definite article with plural nouns
- ТЕ - ТЕ - ТА
моливите, речниците стаите,чиниите момчетата, бюрата
моловете, левовете залите,книгите бебетата,такситата
In general plural semantic markers are clearer and easier to acquire. Most errors are due to phonetic and other changes in word forms; errors are grammatical to a lesser extent. Къде са книги,? Деца_обичат сладолед.
Студенти сега имат тест. Компютъри, не работят.
Бутилки_са на масата. Момичета отиват в магазина за продук
Прозореци са затворени. Ние поздравяваме преподаватели.
Таксита_са пред университета. Звезди са ярки
Table 7: Degree of correctness in the definite article with plural forms As regards Russian-speaking students a high degree of correctness is observed in the usage of the definite article in the plural. When using the definite forms of the plural, the error rate considerably decreases.
2010 2011 2012 2013
The graph shows that when comparing singular and plural there is a tendency to acquire better the definite article with plural nouns.
In conclusion, it is obvious that the category of definiteness is one of the most problematic areas in the acquisition of Bulgarian morphology by foreign students. The category of definiteness is expressed by its specific functions at different levels of the linguistic system and in the process of linguistic usage. The properties of the definite article are evident in different ways at the levels of logic/semantics, morphology, syntax and discourse. The analysis leads to reaching logical conclusions about the nature of the semantic and structural features of the category of definiteness and the difficulties they represent. Thus it is proved urgent to describe more completely and comprehensively as well to systematize this category in the light of Bulgarian as a foreign language. It calls for paying special attention to it while teaching Bulgarian to Russian-speaking students. The conclusions made should be analyzed, theoretically justified and included in the systematic description of morphology as well as lead to the development of a typological model of Bulgarian as a foreign language.
References:
1. Ivanchev Sv. Nablyudeniye v"rkhu upotrebata na chlena v b"lgarskiya yezik // B"lgarski yezik, VII. 1957. Kn. 6. P. 500-524.
2. Marovska V. Gramaticheskite priznatsi opredelenost i otnositelnost prostranstveno-vremevata lokalizatsiya na izkazvaneto / V. Marovska. 2011. P. 56.
3. Nitsolova R. B"lgarska gramatika. Morfologiya / R. Nitsolova. Sofiya, 2008.
4. Teodorov-Balan A. Nova b"lgarska gramatika / A. Teodorov-Balan. Sofiya: Izd. "Chipev", 1940. P. 321.
5. Stoyanov St. Chlenuvane na imenata, mestoimeniyata i prichastiyata v zavisimost ot morfologichnite i fonetichnite im osobenosti // Chlenuvane na imenata v b"lgarskiya yezik. Sofiya, 1965. P. 87-99.
6. Maslov Yu.S. Gramatika na b"lgarskiya yezik / Yu.S. Maslov. Sofiya: Izd. "Nauka i izkustvo", 1982. P. 124.
