Culture is a constellation of myths we collectively live

Our basic considerations about life, existence and our being become meaningless after we cross the border. Further on, from unconditional truth they turn into the Ones, that need to justify themselves and later turn into such things, which are better left unsaid, because you are in the realm of another myth visualization.

I know it sounds complicated.

The examples will make the image simpler:

-SS Cyril and Methodius

My friends in the Netherlands are publishing a journal, dedicated to Bulgarian culture. To start with, they encountered the difficulty to explain in a comprehensible way what exactly did the saint brothers 1161 years ago. I will give you a hint, they invented a new font. We are not talking about Times New Roman, or for instance Verdana or Calibri Light, are we J.

You see, this is the problem. Have you ever thought about it? Hint number two.

They needed this font to translate the Holy Bible in Bulgarian.

I suggest you to translate from German to Bulgarian a simple technical service description, let’s say of an appliance, as required in the trade provisions. The requirement is to use only Bulgarian words, no words imported from foreign languages. For example, “пъхате щепсела в контакта” [pahate shtepsela v kontakta]. It is not the same, is it? You do not dispose of the culture platform and the accompanying domestic habits, which might have initiated Bulgarian terminology and practice and which you might have used without a second thought to provide an accurate and unambiguous translation.

And now the main question – If around 855 our culture didn’t have comparable with the ancient Jewish, Greek and Latin spiritual concepts or Christian practice and the accompanying terminology and semantic tools, HOW EXACTLY did the Holy brothers translate the spiritual literature? Can you imagine how St Cyril was feeling and how he managed to explain to the Rome cardinals that Bulgarian is equal and comparable to Latin? Not just the language itself, but Bulgarian culture and spiritual tradition at the time.

Why haven’t you thought about it?

-“The taxi driver” Andreshko is created as a character during the detention under arrest of Al Capone and reflects local tax practices and the accompanying “survivor” – but please try to translate the story so that a junior “nemets”* can understand.

* “Niam”, “nemets” is a dumb person, a person of unsound mind, who doesn’t speak Bulgarian, for example a German / in the story/.

- In the early democracy few friends of mine translated in Hungarian “Bai Ganyo”. They published it. It was very successful and my friends got recognition and thanks. Hungarians have mostly enjoyed that this strongly positive character with no foreign language knowledge or culture, equipped only with his entrepreneurial spirit and skills manages to do business in Europe.

But why am I bringing this to you? The English version of the blog was launched. I just don’t know what we started.