Testimonial by Iglika Nikolova-Stoupak

I took the intensive course in Old Slavonic. I had been interested in this rare language for a long time, and it is only in ASPIRANTUM that I have encountered a detailed course in it. The teacher, Aliona, was very knowledgeable in the language as well as in linguistics in general. Every day, we covered a number of aspects of the language, including phonetics, grammar and manuscript reading. Classes were optimally structured in a way that practically all grammatical categories were covered, as well as all geographical areas where the language was spoken. Everyone was encouraged to participate actively in class and, as we all had different language and general backgrounds, the discussions were very fruitful. The atmosphere was positive and amical. I feel that I so much as learned a lot about my native language, Bulgarian. And after just 3 weeks, I consider myself to be a speaker of Old Slavonic :)