In the present paper we argue in favour of two modifications of the conventionally acknowledged phonemic system of the contemporary Bulgarian literary language. The proposed modifications are: 1) that /j/ should be given an essential place in the set of phonemes in such a way that all palatalized consonants should be apprehended as combinations of consonants and /j/; 2) that the voiced affricate consonants should be apprehended as combinations of phonemes: /d/ + /z/ and /d/ + /ž/. We also stress the fact that the letter щ is the graphematic representation of a combination of phonemes: /š/ + /t/. The main advantages that speak in favour of the proposed modifications are: 1) that the number of consonantal phonemes will be reduced from 39 to 20; 2) that the phonemic system will agree with the actual pronounciation of many Bulgarians; 3) that the predominantly phonemic character of the Bulgarian graphematic system will become even more overt.