LETTERS FROM YORDANKA FILARETOVA TO MARIA BURMOVA: LINGUISTIC VARIATION BETWEEN 1865 – 1888

Abstract

Letters from Yordanka Filaretova, a native of Sofia, to Maria Burmova are analysed for linguistic variants before the official codification of Bulgarian orthography in 1899. Filaretova's mobility, specifically her long-term residence in Istanbul, suggests loose (i.e. more dispersed rather than dense) social networks that correlate with innovations in linguistic norms and the diffusion of linguistic change. The paper thus contributes to the study of the linguistic history of norms listed below, that is, the value of language variants by speakers who were not centrally involved in debates about what language variants should eventually be chosen for the Bulgarian literary language.