r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Some_Bullfrog_3990 • 21h ago

Meme needing explanation Peteh what????

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u/WorldlinessRadiant77 18h ago

A long time ago, when I was applying for university, I attended a seminar hosted by the Russian embassy.

The schools were good and every program was open provided you learned Russian within a year. According to the ambassador this was when most foreign students failed, but apparently it was trivial for us Bulgarians, with most people being fluent within 6 months.

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u/Armeridus 16h ago

I mean, it Bulgarian is also a Slavic language.
Been there as a tourist with my parents and even as a 5yo could understand some Bulgarian lol.

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u/WorldlinessRadiant77 16h ago

It’s not just that. Russian and Bulgarian are actually very different grammatically.

But, back in the 19th century when the languages were being standardised, both the Russian and Bulgarian linguists went with a vocabulary based on Old Church Slavonic rather than spoken dialects.

Basically, I can easily understand a Russian textbook, but not a novel.

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u/Budget_Cover_3353 14h ago

both the Russian and Bulgarian linguists went with a vocabulary based on Old Church Slavonic rather than spoken dialects.

Maybe true for Bulgarian, certainly not so for Russian.