The Cyrillic alphabet will not die in the era of SMSs and Internet forums

Three-quarters of adult Bulgarians prefer to read and write in Cyrillic when using a computer or a mobile phone, showed data from the latest nationally representative survey of BBSS Gallup International, commissioned by Klassa.

On the eve of the Day of Slavonic Alphabet and Culture, Gallup asked Bulgarians about their habits and preferences with regard to the use of the Cyrillic and the Latin alphabet for writing and reading when using cell phones and computers. When the boom in mobile phones and the Internet began in Bulgaria, most of our fellow countrymen used predominantly the Latin alphabet while chatting on the web, writing in forums or for SMSs. The good news is that, despite everything, the Cyrillic alphabet is the preferred alphabet of Bulgarians today in the technological space, and Bulgarian is the preferred language for the menus on computers and mobile phones.

The Day of Slavonic Alphabet and Culture - May 24 – ranks second as “the most Bulgarian holiday”, according to the respondents, after the national holiday - March 3, mentioned by 45% of the polled people. For 28% of the Bulgarians, however, May 24 is the most sacred Bulgarian holiday. This group includes mostly university graduates, modern Bulgarians and people of higher financial status.

Another bit of good news is that we like and celebrate the Day of Slavonic Slavonic Alphabet and Culture not only because it is a day off. According to the survey, the Bulgarian language and the Cyrillic alphabet are commonly used in the context of high and modern technology. Some 72% of the Bulgarians using largely SMSs and computers are adamant that they prefer to use the Cyrillic alphabet when getting information or expressing themselves electronically. Only 23% support reading and writing in Bulgarian but using the Latin alphabet. The habit of writing in the Latin alphabet on the Internet or on mobile phones is more common among people under 25 years of age.

The share of adult Bulgarians using Cyrillic and Latin letters for writing SMSs on their mobile phones is almost equal. Some 48% of the users of mobile services write their SMSs in Bulgarian using Latin letters, and 46% use the Cyrillic alphabet for this purpose. According to data from the survey, with the increase in the age of the respondents, the share of users of the Cyrillic alphabet for writing SMSs goes up. That does not mean that all young people write in the Latin alphabet - 38% of the surveyed youngsters between 18 and 25 years of age use the Cyrillic alphabet for their SMSs.

Three-quarters (73%) of the users of mobile services have Bulgarian menus on their cell phones. Only one in ten users of the GSM network prefers a foreign language menu. When it comes to computer software, however, the percentage of fans of the Bulgarian language is a little lower - just over 50% of computer users have an operating system and/or software in Bulgarian.

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