China News Service, Beijing, February 2nd: Question: Why has Chinese become Bulgaria’s first foreign language?
——Exclusive interview with Antonia Chankova, associate professor at the University of Sofia, Bulgaria
China News Service reporter Cui Xiangguang
Bulgaria, located in the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, is one of the first four Chinese teaching sites where China sent Chinese teachers abroad. Since the first "Chinese Language Workshop" was opened in 1953, Chinese language teaching in Bulgaria has gone through 70 years.
Recently, Antonia Tsankova, associate professor at Sofia University in Bulgaria and director of the Sinology Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Classics and Modern Languages, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" and introduced the development of Chinese teaching in Bulgaria. She said that with the improvement of China's national power and the advancement of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, Bulgarians are increasingly enthusiastic about learning Chinese. From the establishment of the first "Chinese Language Workshop" 70 years ago, to today, Chinese has become the first foreign language in many primary and secondary schools in Bulgaria.
Video: [East-West Question·Sinologist] Cankova: Why has Chinese become the first foreign language in Bulgaria?
Source: China News Network
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service Reporter: Your Sofia University has established a Chinese language and literature major since 1991. What is the current status of the development of Chinese education in Bulgaria?
Chankova:
Actually, Chinese language teaching in Bulgaria began in the 1950s. In 1952, Zhu Dexi, a famous Chinese linguist and professor at Peking University, came to Bulgaria. From 1953 to 1955, he and Zhang Sunfen, a scholar traveling in Bulgaria, co-founded the first "Chinese Language Workshop" in Bulgarian history at Sofia University. At the same time, they compiled the first Chinese textbook in Bulgaria - "Chinese Textbook". In this way, Chinese language teaching in Bulgaria has a history of 70 years.
In 1991, the Teaching and Research Office of East Asian Languages and Cultures of the Center for Oriental Languages and Cultures of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages of Sofia University officially opened the joint master's degree program of "Chinese Language and Literature". At that time, there were only 5 students in the first "Chinese class". Today, a total of 5 universities in Bulgaria offer Chinese learning courses. The Chinese Studies major of Sofia University has established a multi-level Chinese talent training system for undergraduates, masters, and doctoral students.
In November 2023, the renovation and unveiling ceremony of the "Chinese Classroom" of the Oriental Language and Culture Center of Sofia University was held. Photo provided by interviewee
Veliko Tarnovo University is the second national university in Bulgaria. In the early 1990s, it successively opened "Russian-Chinese Applied Linguistics", "French-Chinese Applied Linguistics", "English-Chinese Applied Linguistics" and "German-Chinese Applied Linguistics". The bilingual major has a history of 30 years.
With the improvement of China's national power and the proposal of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, many primary and secondary school educators and parents of students in Bulgaria are more concerned about and optimistic about China's economic development and job prospects, and actively encourage students to learn Chinese. At the same time, Bulgarian primary and secondary schools began to support students in choosing Chinese as their first or second foreign language. In addition to the Chinese elective and interest courses offered in the early stage, more and more primary and secondary schools are offering language education projects with Chinese as a required course. Currently, there are 4 high schools across Bulgaria that use Chinese as the first foreign language, and more than 50 primary and secondary schools have opened Chinese learning classes.
Sofia No. 18 Middle School, located in the capital of Bulgaria, is a famous middle school with a history of more than 100 years. In recent years, the number of students studying Chinese in the school has accounted for 10% of the total number of students in the school. Chinese has become one of the most popular foreign language courses in the school. Due to the fierce competition for registration every semester, the school has also increased the selection requirements for Chinese courses. . Since the opening of Chinese courses in 2005, Vasil Levski School in Ruse, the second largest middle school in Bulgaria, has made all Chinese courses for grades 1 to 12 compulsory. As of the end of 2019, learning Chinese The number of students has reached more than 400, making it the largest Chinese teaching site for primary and secondary schools in Bulgaria.
Starting from 2022, the Bulgarian Ministry of Education has officially included Chinese into the college entrance examination language subject examination system.
In June 2023, Associate Professor Cankova (middle) proofreads the Chinese-Bulgarian translation of the cultural activity host's speech with Sinology students. Photo provided by interviewee
Reporter from China News Service: The famous sinologist Bai Xuesong (Bora Belivanova) was a professor of the Chinese Department of the Center for Oriental Languages and Cultures at Sofia University, which is also where you work. What impact did Professor Bai Xuesong have on your own research?
Chankova:
Starting in the 1950s, those students who studied Chinese at Sofia University became the first sinologists in Bulgaria, including Professor Bai Xuesong and Snezhina Gogova, and Sofia Carter Dr. Sofia Katurova.
Bai Xuesong was one of the first Bulgarian students trained by Zhu Dexi. As the first person in charge of the Chinese major in Bulgaria, she played a very important role in the design of curriculum and teaching plans. Several doctoral students she trained have now become teachers and associate professors in our teaching and research department. It can be said that she has participated in and witnessed the entire development process of Chinese education in Bulgaria.
Although she is nearly ninety years old, she is still actively concerned about Chinese education in Bulgaria. I once visited her home, and she very enthusiastically lent me some collections of story novels from her own collection for research. Those books could not be found in the school library.
Professor Bai Xuesong. Photo provided by interviewee
Reporter from China News Service: You have been engaged in Chinese teaching for a long time. How enthusiastic are Bulgarians currently about learning Chinese?
Chankova:
I once conducted a survey among our students and asked them why they chose to learn Chinese. Most people think that because Chinese characters are interesting and look mysterious and like paintings, this is one of the reasons that arouses their interest.
Bulgarians have always had an interest and enthusiasm for Eastern languages and cultures, and regard them as a classical and mysterious realm. This also has a certain relationship with Bulgaria’s history. In 681 AD, Thracians, Slavs and ancient Bulgarians established the Slavic Bulgarian Kingdom in the Danube River Basin. Among them, the ancient Bulgarians migrated from Central Asia bordering China. Some historians believe that the ancient Bulgarians were nomadic people living in Central Asia. In terms of culture and living habits, they were relatively close to the Xiongnu tribe in ancient China.
In recent years, with the development of China's economy, China's status on the international stage has continued to improve. The interest in traditional Chinese thought and culture, classic literature and mysterious Chinese characters has overlapped with curiosity about contemporary China's economy and diplomacy, inspiring students Passion for learning Chinese.
Reporter from China News Service: In August last year, you participated in the China-Balkans Sinology Conference, which was academically supported by the World Sinology Center of Beijing Language and Culture University. This was the first regional Sinology conference. How will this help your future sinology research?
Cankova:
This is a valuable opportunity and a good communication platform. The China-Balkan Sinology Conference is the first gathering of Sinologists from the Balkans in decades. At the meeting, sinologists from various countries gave keynote speeches and launched a confrontation and collision of academic opinions. After the meeting, we established a deep friendship with each other and shared academic materials with each other. We have agreed to hold the Second China-Balkan Sinology Conference at the University of Sofia, Bulgaria, in May this year.
In June 2023, Associate Professor Cankova delivered a speech at the 7th “Silk Road” International Symposium on Sinology at the Confucius Institute in Sofia. Photo provided by interviewee
In the future, I plan to expand my grammar research to pragmatics, because grammar alone cannot explain actual language communication and usage. Therefore, pragmatics and language communication are very important parts of Chinese teaching. Internationally, pragmatics is a relatively new development direction. The pragmatics research on European languages is relatively developed. It would be great if linguistics and pragmatics could be combined and applied to actual Chinese teaching. (over)
Interviewee profile:
Antonia Tsankova. Photo by Li Guoqing
Antonia Tsankova is an associate professor and director of the Sinology Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Classics and Modern Languages at the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. His main research areas include modern Chinese grammar, functional linguistics, semantics and pragmatics, Chinese tense system, Chinese grammar teaching methodology, etc. His main works include "Modern Chinese Morphological System - Parts of Speech and Functional Semantic Categories" and "Traveling in China" Chinese textbooks 1-4 (Baoyu adapted version).