In the middle of the 19th century, a literary standard based on the Banat dialect emerged in Banat, based on which a rich literary activity developed among the Bulgarians, which continues even today. In this way, the literature of the Bulgarian Catholics transcended its strictly religious function and played a role in strengthening the national identity among Bulgarians who had become separated from their homeland
following the Chiprovtsi Uprising of 1688. The connections between the literature of the Bulgarian Catholics from the southern Bulgarian lands and those in Banat have not been well studied. The main objective of this research is precisely to explore these connections, seeking to expand the boundaries of the concept “literature of the Bulgarian Catholics” and setting the following tasks:
1. Revising the existing criteria for the periodization of the literature of the Bulgarian Catholics and including the Banat literature as its independent stage.
2. Grapho-orthographic analysis of selected examples from the literature of the Bulgarian Catholics, aimed at
establishing a written tradition during the 19th century.
3. Comparison of the results from the grapho-orthographic analysis with the orthographic system created in the 19th century for the Banat Bulgarians by Yozu Ril.
4. Lexical analysis aimed at establishing continuity between the literature of the Bulgarian Catholics from the
southern Bulgarian lands and the Banat literature.