The L-problem in Nursery Songs in Bulgarian. The Perception of /l/, /l’/, and [Ǔ] by students of Bulgarian as a Foreign Language

This study examines the phonetic perception of the Bulgarian phonemes /l/ and /l'/ by learners of Bulgarian as a foreign language. Two experimental groups from Ukraine and Germany at levels A1–A2 listened to recordings of Bulgarian versions of nursery songs, followed by an auditory test and an interview designed to assess their perception of /l/ and /l'/ in various phonological positions. Due to the lexical and phonetic proximity between Bulgarian and their native language, the Ukrainian participants experienced minimal difficulty perceiving the target phonemes. In contrast, the German-speaking group encountered challenges in distinguishing /l/ from / l' /. Some learners reported perceiving /l/ as [ǔ] in non-classroom environments. The experiment revealed shared difficulties in the perception of these consonants, suggesting directions for further research in phonological perception. The findings may contribute to the development of more effective teaching methodologies and theoretical approaches in Bulgarian language instruction for non-native speakers.