personal narratives

Gorna Krušica 3

21 (c) na velìgden k’e se žèna prolettà

on Easter. I was going to get married in the spring,

22 (c) a tàa čèrga ìska da se istkàe i jàs tkàa

but this rug needed to be fully woven. So I’m weaving

23 (c) na tèmnoto večertà na ednà gàzena làmbička

in the dark of night, with just one gas lantern [to see by].

25 (c) drugàro mi sedì do mène da a ìstkaam ta da se ožènim

My fiancé is sitting by me [making sure] I finish weaving so we can get married

26 (c) òti nèmam čèrga pa a se òženàm

because I don’t [yet] have the rug [that I need] to get married

30 (c) jà ama ne stignà vɤ̀lnata ne možè a stìgne

Ah, but there wasn’t enough wool. I couldn’t finish it,

32 (c) elì pa zìmašèa togàva pa narjàt mnògo vɤ̀lna

because they (the state) were taking for their quota a lot of wool.

33 (c) tàa mòjta màjka ošlà zainèla od ednì xòra

So my mother went off to some people to borrow

35 (c) vɤ̀lna sčepkàxme a nəprəìhme a rodìteli da vìdiš spokòjni

the wool. We carded it and made it up. Ah, such mellow parents.

36 (c) i e na ednò mùle prɤ̀f pàt mu tùrat samàr

And then they saddle a mule, the first time he’d carried a packsaddle.

37 (c) tùrat mu samàro zakàčat mu vɤ̀nata vjahnùam mùleto

They put on the packsaddle, load up the wool, and I ride the mule

38 (c) ot stàroto sèlo f sandànski samà

[all the way] from our old village site to Sandanski – alone!

41 (d) bès bèz da e kàrano mùl’eto

Without – without the mule having been ridden [before that].

42 (c) samà prɤ̀f pàt samàr mu slòžat i da go pùsnat tovà detè

Alone! The first time the mule is saddled! And to let this child

43 (c) da ìde na vlačàrka otìvam f sandànski izvlàčuvàm vɤ̀lnata

go [like that] to the carder. I go off to Sandanski, get the wool carded,

44 (c) kàčvam se ot trì časò na mùl’eto è slɤ̀ncetu takà

mount the mule again at three o’clock, the sun already [down to] here,

45 (c) kàčvam se stàroto sèlo takvìja smèli dèca sme bilì

and I ride all the way back to our old village. Such brave children we were!

Gorno Vŭršilo 1

28 (a) ta žàna f tèkezèto̥ tè rečàt bàbo ràjno gà go pèče

and reap in the collective farm. And they say “Granny Rayna, when did you bake it?”

29 (a) rèko gà go pèko noštèska zànesa i tùtmanik

I said, “When did I bake it? During the night!” I also bring hearthcake,

30 (a) tè rekàt ama gà go pravì mà mi kogà go pravìx

[and] they say, “But when did you make it, huh?” – “Well, when did I make it?

31 (a) segɤ̀ sas lɛ̀ba ma tè se čùdea s mèm ma

Now, with the bread!” They were amazed at me, [and said]

32 (a) vidɛ̀ li bàba ràjna kàk artìsa segɤ̀

“Did you see how Granny Rayna ended up now?

34 (a) i vòda ne mòe si donesè [laughter]

She [did all this and now] can’t bring water to herself!” [laughter]

Gradec 1

8 (a) ama às sɤm pročùta po cèloto sèlo čə̥ səm umrèla

but I’m known throughout the whole village to have died!

9 (EU) bègəj bè

No way!

10 (a) pa ednà gòdin tì da ta nèma nìgde

Well, [if] for a whole year you’re not around anywhere –

12 (a) jà ednà gòdin sɤm bilà sè na leglò

I was bedridden for an entire year.

14 (a) i mòjite decà kazvàli če ìmam ùdar

And my children supposedly said that I had a stroke

15 (a) a nò nè e bilò ùdḁr̥

But it wasn’t a stroke.

16 (a) ami tè tòo dòktor ma izède i mə zbṛkà

That doctor there did me in, he screwed up on me.

18 (a) jà sɤm si obèsila rɤkàta takà na na kràa i onà istṛ̀pnala

My arm got hung up like this on – on the edge of [this thing] and it went numb.

19 (a) i òn dojdè i fanà rɤkàta dìgaj dìgaj

and [the doctor] came and took my arm [and said] “Raise it, raise it,

21 (a) dìgaj dìgaj jà se opìka od bòlki̥

raise it, raise it!” I wet my pants from the pain

22 (a) i òn mìtko č ìdeš da i da i kùpiš ə ižèkcii

and he [said], “Mitko, you’ll go to buy her injections.”

23 (a) kvì bè ižèkcii še mi kùpite vìe

– “And what sort of injections are you [all] going to buy me?

24 (a) jà ne sɤ̀m ne mo ne mòm lekàrstva da pìem

I’m not – I – I can’t take medicine by mouth.

25 (a) kažète mi kvò tovà nè e tvòjta ràbota

Tell me what[‘s going on]!” – “That’s no business of yours!”

26 (a) pèpi mòlim ti sa às sɤm alargìčna

– "Pepi, I beg you! I am allergic!

27 (a) ne mòžem da ti pìem tìja lekàrstva

I cannot [do as] you [wish] and take these medicines

28 (a) kɤdè jà ta vìdim če ti sàkaž da gi kùpiš

that I see you want to buy!”

29 (a) ama kàe štò se glèziš ma àjde ama kàe

“Ah,” he says, “why are you acting so spoiled? Come on!”, he says,

30 (a) štò sa glèziš i mi udàri òn mène òsem inž inžèkcii

“Why so spoiled?” And he shot eight injections into me

31 (a) i jà sa paralezìra ni nì kɤt sɤm si svìla

and I became paralyzed. Not – it wasn’t – they said I was curled up

32 (a) kolènata pri ustàta i nì sɤm možèla da mṛ̀dam

with my knees next to my mouth and that I couldn’t move.

33 (a) tavà sa trì mèseca mutà

And that [went on] for three months. [I was] mute!

34 (b) jà sɤm idvàla da ta dìrim

I came to see you, to look for you.

35 (a) tè takà da si fṛlìla u mòjte ùsta tè takà sòda

Right! You should have tossed some soda into my mouth

36 (a) tè takà e bilò u mòjte ùsta

The way it was in my mouth, [I needed that].

37 (a) jà ne sɤ̀m možàla i da bɤ̀brem

I could not even talk.

38 (a) màj izìkɤ mi počernèlo tùk tavà a be tè

And I think my tongue got all black. But they –

40 (a) tìja ne sɤ̀ možàli da ma vìdat òti mìslɤt če č sɤm

They apparently couldn’t see what [was with] me because they thought I was –

42 (a) ama še ta dṛžì gòspot vìž dokoto si ìmaž dnì

But the Lord will keep you going, you see, [for as many] days as you still have

43 (a) nì jàla pìla nì pikàla nì odìla po vɤ̀n

[even if] you haven’t eaten, or drunk, or pissed, or gone outside [for the other].

44 (EU) še ostàvaš nalì

You’ll live on, won’t you?

45 (a) i da ostànež da bɤ̀deš čovèk

– live on, and be a [real] human being.

47 (a) i kogà da se sɤžìvim na vadìci̥

And when I came back to life, on Epiphany –

48 (a) kogà da sɤ̥ sɤžìvim takà jà sɤm si bilà takà de

when I came back to life, I was apparently myself, more or less,

49 (a) ama ne sɤ̀m možàla da govòrim sɤs onìja kèle

but I couldn’t talk because of these rashes,

50 (a) i sɤ̀ga mène mi e kèlata tùk do tavà peknà malkò sḷ̀nčička

So now I have rashes all the way up to here. The sun came out a bit,

51 (a) zìmam jà ednò ogledàlce takà stròšeno̥ zèm če bèše takà u džàma

I take a bit of broken mirror, because it was there by the window,

52 (a) zìmam onovà ogledàlce takà i sreštu sḷ̀nce̥tu màlko zinà

I take this mirror [pointed] towards the sun like this, and I yawned a bit.

53 (a) kogà si vidè izìka a gṛkl'àna pokraj gṛkl'àna sàmo mèure

And when I saw [it] – My tongue! My throat! And next to my throat only blisters.

54 (a) ne mòe da pregḷ̀tnem ne mòe bɤ̀brem èj ulèze si

I couldn’t swallow, I couldn’t talk. And [this guy] comes in.

55 (a) jà mu dàvam ə onovà da glèda ama mu ne kàzvam

I give him this thing so he can look, but I don’t tell him

56 (a) kvò mi e ne mòe da kàžem i sɤ̀ga jà zinà

what’s the matter with me, I can’t speak. So now I yawned

57 (a) i òn koto vidè òn kàe màlè kvò e tavà be

and when he saw he says, “Oh my! What is that?”

58 (a) jà si mìrno no jà bì mu kazàla kvò

I stayed quiet. [If I could have] I would have told him what it was.

59 (a) sɤ̀ga jà mɤ̀čim da mu kàžem da mi ku

but now I struggle to tell him that so–

60 (a) da mi napràat čorbìca ot štàvl'ak ama onì ne mòe mɤ razbèrat

that they should make me some sorrel soup, but they can’t understand me

61 (a) i jà pokàzvam pokàzvam pokàzvam pokàzvam

And I gesture, gesture, gesture, gesture,

62 (a) ama jà ne mòe da kàam nìštò

but I can’t say anything,

63 (a) ustàta mi sa vèče otròven čovèk i tovà e [cough]

my mouth is already [like that of a] poisoned person, and that’s all.

64 (a) setìa se onì nàj na nàj na sa se setìli

They sensed fina– fin– Finally they seemed to get it.

65 (a) tàa sàka kàe čorbà ot štàvl'ak i mi napràvea

“She’s asking for,” they said, “sorrel soup”, and they made me [some].

66 (a) i koto onàa čorbìca sàmo sɤm izèla takà

And when I ate only this soup –

67 (a) i sɤm a iskùsala čorbìca sàmo kìsala dvè kastrònčeta sɤm ispìla

I ate up all this sour soup, I drank up two small bowls of it –

68 (a) i tè tavà mi e i pòslem pàk àjde

that was all I [needed]. And then – “Come on,

69 (a) màlko na tavà àjde màlko ot onovà àjde màlko

have a little of this; come on, have a little of that. Have a little!”

70 (a) pa lè ne sì i jàla kojò edèš onò

But you know, when you haven’t eaten, everything you eat –

71 (a) sɤ počnà pa zàpek edìn mèsec pa zàpek stràšen

And constipation started up! A whole month, horrible constipation.

72 (b) štò ne sì jàla

Because you hadn’t eaten.

73 (a) pèd dèna ne mòe

Five days I couldn’t

74 (EU) štò ne sì jàla sìgurno

No doubt because you hadn’t eaten.

75 (a) d ìdem gà da ìdem da ròdim detè pò dobrò

go, and when I [try] to go, giving birth to a child is better

76 (a) otkòlko da sa nadùvam tḁ̀m i jà sa paralezìra vèče i nèš

than having to push like that. And I’d been paralyzed already.

77 (a) napràvix ìma dvàez dèna tàa mɤ̀kḁ ne mòe da òdim i

I went through that torment for twenty days. I can’t go, and

78 (a) ne mòe da òdim i kogà ìdem vèče prèmrem

can’t go, and when I do I almost faint. and [it goes on] like that.

79 (a) i takà takà č ìdem pri dòktor

So on and on like that, and [I decide that] I’ll go to the doctor,

80 (a) pà u gṛdɤ̀ ma zakàra pa mòja sìn otidè pri dòktor tùka

so my son takes me to town, I went to the doctor here,

81 (a) čàsnata poloklìnika i onà če ma preglèdat čɤ jà

to this private clinic, and she – they’ll examine me, because I –

82 (a) koto vèče se naduvà naduvà i kogà da se izòdim

since I’d already pushed so much and when I manage to go

83 (a) napràvo kàmik vèče premrè na stòla premrè

it’s just like a stone! I almost fainted [there] on the chair – fainted.

84 (a) i zè da m tè tùka koto izdɤ̀nem dḷbòko

and it started – here when I exhale a deep breath,

85 (a) tè ottùk i tùk ma dṛžì bodèš

the pains here and here are [like] needles.

87 (a) dojdè ednà ženà od gṛdɤ̀ da bàam na ednò detènce

And this woman came from town for me to say charms over a small child.

88 (a) i jà kàžem na onàa nevèstica mlàda i onàa nevèstica mi kazà

And I speak to that young bride, and that bride said to me –

89 (a) kàa idì pri dòktorete tèbe debèloto červò ti kàa nèšto zarazèno

she said, “Go to the doctors. Your large intestine,” she said, “is infected somehow.”

90 (a) i sopštàvat tìja za sìn mi sìn mi vednàga dojdè

And they inform my son, my son comes immediately,

91 (a) ama jà ne sɤ̀m možàla nì da sɤm mòja sìn

but I couldn’t even, not even – My son

92 (a) ma svìl takà mɤ̀či da ma ukàra u kolàta

bent me over, and had a hard time getting me into the car.

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Gorna Krušica 3

Gorno Vŭršilo 1

Gradec 1

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Gorna Krušica 3

Gorno Vŭršilo 1

Gradec 1

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