Vidimi mitove: balgarskite ezikovi karti prez vtorata polovina na 20 vek
Visible Myths: The Bulgarian linguistic Maps from the second half of the 20th Century

Summary/Abstract: The present article analyses the formation, elaboration, and dissemination of one of the most stable myths in Bulgarian linguistics and the humanitarian disciplines at large, namely the myth about the unitary Bulgarian linguistic space. The concept of the unitary Bulgarian linguistic territory postulates that the borders of Bulgarian linguistic variants transcend current political divisions and reach deep into the territory of neighbouring states such as Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, and Turkey. This canonical vision has not been overruled even today and is still present both in the scholarly field and in the media. The mythнs creation and establishment have been traced through a series of linguistic maps produced by Bulgarian experts in dialectology during the last century but especially after the 1960s. The cartographic products of Bulgarian experts on language served as containers and expressions of a renascent nationalist ideology which was steadily taking shape during the last four decades. They were also some of the most useful instruments for maintaining the myth of the Bulgarian linguistic space stretching deep into foreign political territories as well as a visual tool for its spread inside and outside Bulgaria.

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