Hungarian language

Hungarian (magyar nyelv, pronounced [ˈmɒɟɒr ˈɲɛlv] ^ⓘ) is a Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries that used to belong to it. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian communities in southern Slovakia, western Ukraine (Subcarpathia), central and western Romania (Transylvania), northern Serbia (Vojvodina), northern Croatia, northeastern Slovenia (Prekmurje), and eastern Austria.

Hungarian

[ˈmɒɟɒr ˈɲɛlv] ^ⓘ

Hungary and areas of east Austria, Croatia, Romania, northern Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, western Ukraine

Hungarians

17 million (2003–2014)^[1]

Uralic

Finno-Ugric?
- Ugric?
  - Hungarian

Romania (in Transylvania)
Croatia^[2]
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Ukraine (in Berehove, Mukachevo, Vynohradiv and Uzhhorod districts of Transcarpathian region (Zakarpattia Oblast))

Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics

hu

hun

Either:
hun – Modern Hungarian
ohu – Old Hungarian

ohu Old Hungarian

hung1274

41-BAA-a

It is also spoken by Hungarian diaspora communities worldwide, especially in North America (particularly the United States and Canada) and Israel. With 14 million speakers, it is the Uralic family's largest member by number of speakers.^[4]

János látja az almát. - 'John sees the apple'. Neutral sentence.

János látja az almát. - 'John sees the apple'. (Peter may not see the apple.)

János látja az almát. - 'It is John who sees the apple'. (The listener may have thought that it is Peter.)

Látja János az almát. - 'John does see the apple'. (The listener may have thought that John does not see the apple.)

János az almát látja. - 'What John sees is the apple'. (It is the apple, not the pear, that John specifically sees. However, Peter may see the pear.)

Az almát látja János. - 'It is the apple that is seen by John'. (The pear may not be seen by John, but it may be smelled, for example.)

Az almát János látja. - 'It is by John that the apple is seen'. (It is not seen by Peter, but the pear may be seen by Peter, for example.)

Ön (önözés): Use of this form in speech shows respect towards the person addressed, but it is also the common way of speaking in official texts and business communications. Here "you", the second person, is grammatically addressed in the third person.

Maga (magázás, magázódás): Use of this form serves to show that the speakers wish to distance themselves from the person they address. A boss could also address a subordinate as maga. Aside from the different it is grammatically the same as "önözés".

pronoun

Néni/bácsi (tetszikezés): This is a somewhat affectionate way of expressing politeness and is grammatically the same as "önözés" or "magázódás", but adds a certain verb in auxiliary role "tetszik" ("like") to support the main verb of the sentence. For example, children are supposed to address adults who are not parents, close friends or close relatives by using "tetszik" ("you like"): "Hogy vagy?" ("How are you?") here becomes "Hogy tetszik lenni?" ("How do you like to be?"). The elderly, especially women, are generally addressed this way, even by adults.

Te (tegezés, tegeződés or pertu, from Latin): Used generally, i.e. with persons with whom none of the above forms of politeness is required, and, in religious contexts, to address God. The highest rank, the king, was traditionally addressed "per tu" by all, peasants and noblemen alike, though with Hungary not having had any crowned king since 1918, this practice survives only in folk tales and children's stories. Use of "tegezés" in the media and advertisements has become more frequent since the early 1990s. It is informal and is normally used in families, among friends, colleagues, among young people, and by adults speaking to children; it can be compared to addressing somebody by their first name in English. Perhaps prompted by the widespread use of English (a language without T–V distinction in most contemporary dialects) on the Internet, "tegezés" is also becoming the standard way to address people over the Internet, regardless of politeness.

per tu

Hungarian has a four-tiered system for expressing levels of politeness. From highest to lowest:

The four-tiered system has somewhat been eroded due to the recent expansion of "tegeződés" and "önözés".

Some anomalies emerged with the arrival of multinational companies who have addressed their customers in the te (least polite) form right from the beginning of their presence in Hungary. A typical example is the Swedish furniture shop IKEA, whose web site and other publications address the customers in te form. When a news site^[51] asked IKEA—using the te form—why they address their customers this way, IKEA's PR Manager explained in his answer—using the ön form—that their way of communication reflects IKEA's open-mindedness and the Swedish culture. However IKEA in France uses the polite (vous) form. Another example is the communication of Yettel Hungary (earlier Telenor, a mobile network operator) towards its customers. Yettel chose to communicate towards business customers in the polite ön form while all other customers are addressed in the less polite te form.

North = észak (from "éj(szaka)", 'night'), as the Sun never shines from the north

South = dél ('noon'), as the Sun shines from the south at noon

East = kelet (from "nap(kelte)",literally;'rising of the Sun,waking up of the Sun'), as the Sun rises in the east

West = nyugat (from "nap(nyugta)",literally;'setting of the Sun,calming of the Sun'), as the Sun sets in the west

Amikor Kiss János Los Angelesben volt, látta John Travoltát. (means: When János Kiss was in he saw John Travolta.)

Los Angeles

Hungarian (person, language): magyar [mɒɟɒr]

Servus

Good-bye!: Viszontlátásra! [visontlaːtaːʃrɒ] (formal) (see above), Viszlát! [vislaːt] (semi-informal), Szia! (informal: same stylistic remark as for "See you" or "Hello!" )

Excuse me: Elnézést! [ɛlneːzeːʃt]

I would like ____, please: Szeretnék ____ [sɛrɛtneːk] (this example illustrates the use of the , as a common form of a polite request; it literally means "I would like".)

conditional tense

Sorry!: Bocsánat! [botʃaːnɒt]

Thank you: Köszönöm [køsønøm]

that/this: az [ɒz], ez [ɛz]

How much?: Mennyi? [mɛɲːi]

How much does it cost?: Mennyibe kerül? [mɛɲːibɛ kɛryl]

Yes: Igen [iɡɛn]

No: Nem [nɛm]

I do not understand: Nem értem [nɛm eːrtɛm]

I do not know: Nem tudom [nɛm tudom]

generic toast: Egészségünkre! [ɛɡeːʃːeːɡyŋkrɛ] (literally: "To our health!")

juice: gyümölcslé [ɟymøltʃleː]

water: víz [viːz]

wine: bor [bor]

beer: sör [ʃør]

tea: tea [tɛɒ]

milk: tej [tɛj]

Do you speak English?: Beszél(sz) angolul? [bɛseːl / bɛseːls ɒŋɡolul] The fact of asking is only shown by the proper intonation: continually rising until the penultimate syllable, then falling for the last one.