Elisions in Spoken Language and Their Impact on the Bulgarian Language Spoken by Second-Generation Emigrants

The article examines various manifestations of elision in the oral speech of Bulgarian emigrants living in Sydney, Australia. Parts of informal conversations recorded in a domestic setting, using the involved observation method, are presented. Many elisions prevail in them (in the speech of the first generation), in some words without exception, and these words are perceived by the children (second generation) who were born abroad or left very young with their families, as the only (“correct”) option of the correct speaking. Since native Bulgarian abroad often functions only in its oral form and is practiced only within family and friendly gatherings, the children get the impression that these words are spelled the same way and have no other spelling options. Morphological, syntactic, stylistic, and phonetic interferences were found in the speech of the second generation of emigrants. The deformation is also reinforced by Bulgarian lexemes mutilated by elisions.