Teaching Bulgarian in Banat

The first academic year (2025/2026) for Svetlana Karadjova as a Bulgarian language lecturer at the West University of Timișoara was marked by surprising interest. In an interview with Radio Bulgaria, she shared that she arrived in Romania without great expectations, but during her eight months of stay she managed to lay the foundations of an active and cohesive community. Different people gather to study the language – students (mainly ethnic Romanians), ethnic Serbs and representatives of the local community of Banat Bulgarians, who show diligence, interest and express hope to visit Bulgaria soon.

Special chrestomathy with Banat Bulgarian Texts

One of the most significant achievements during the year is the successful implementation of a specialized chrestomathy, prepared by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), which collects texts written by Banat Bulgarians and about the realities of Banat and the community. Karadjova explains that in order to keep the attention of Banat Bulgarians, who write in Latin alphabet and have lived in the region for nearly three centuries, a specific approach is needed. Historical periods of isolation have distanced them from the cultural life of their homeland. For this reason, educational texts must resonate with their spirit.

Svetlana Karadjova points out that when teachers from Bulgaria were sent to Stár Bišnov in 1948, the training did not achieve the desired "cohesion" between the two versions of the language, since the teachers at the time were not prepared for the specific local culture. The gaps from the communist era when the right approach to this conservative Catholic community was not found are today being overcome precisely through texts related to their own history.

"I saw that when such texts by Catholic authors or adaptations of texts by Jaku Ronkov, who is a representative of the Banat Bulgarians, are read, they perceive them with particular excitement and communication, as well as memorization during learning, are much easier. I am grateful to Chief Assistant Professor Dr. Magdalena Abadzhieva and the entire team of colleagues from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with whom we worked on this book, as it found its most natural environment," Svetlana Karadjova says.

Bridges to the local community and discussions in Stár Bišnov

In addition to her academic duties at the university, Svetlana Karadjova is also actively involved in the cultural life of the Banat Bulgarians. The main scene of this activity is the village of Stár Bišnov and its cultural center "Karol Telbizov". There she organizes meetings-discussions, covering topics from history, culture and contemporary civic issues.

Recalling the past months and the dynamics of these discussions, Karadjova says:

"My idea was to organize such talks, to examine different topics from history, culture, various civic issues, to have a dialogue between community representatives, mostly with the aim of activating thinking and speaking on the topics. Debates on certain books, discussions on certain topics, presentation of different interesting views – I think all of this happened during these 11 meetings."

Literary projects and diplomatic visits

The academic year was also marked by several original events. At Karadjova’s initiative, around May 24 – the officially recognized Day of the Bulgarian Language in Romania – a large Bulgarian event was organized at the university. On May 22, at the invitation of the university administration, the Bulgarian Ambassador Radko Vlaykov was a guest and held meetings with the administration and young people.

The Bulgarian language also finds a place in the urban environment of Timisoara through the poetry project "Poetic Journey: May in the Tram". It also includes one of the best-prepared students - ethnic Romanian Dorian Erina, who translated two Bulgarian poems - by Ivan Vazov and Dimcho Debelyanov into Romanian. As part of the initiative, leaflets with short excerpts of poetry in both languages  ​​were distributed in public transport.

Summer seminars in Bulgaria and a look to the future

The success during the year is also expressed in opportunities for students. Thanks to the Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria, the University of Timisoara receives three scholarships for summer language seminars.

Svetlana Karadjova's work continues into the next academic year, with even greater expectations as the subject has now become elective for students from all faculties of West University. At the end of the conversation, she outlines her vision for the future development of the lectorate:

"I think that the Bulgarian language will also find its worthy place in the group of Slavic languages ​​that are studied in the West University of Timișoara. I believe that there will be conditions for the development of more intensive cultural activity in the community of Banat Bulgarians. Their inclusion in the language of Bulgaria, which is currently somewhat exotic for them, will be made easier through various cultural events, which I hope will be more intense. The presentation of books or other initiatives of this kind will stimulate people to come to such gatherings to meet a culture that is both distant and close to them."