Hungarian grammar — Edition Insights

Transcriber’s Note: In the original, Hungarian words were printed in bold typeface. This has been removed to avoid visual distraction for the reader (but preserved in the HTML version). Some words and parts of words are marked =thus= where the authors intended special emphasis. The reader should exercise caution if removing the equals signs for readability, as there are some genuine equals signs in the text as well. Italics are indicated by _underscores_.

TRÜBNER’S SIMPLIFIED GRAMMARS OF THE PRINCIPAL ASIATIC AND EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

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BY C. ARTHUR AND ILONA GINEVER

LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO. LTD DRYDEN HOUSE, GERRARD STREET, W. 1909

_The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved_

Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh

Many people are under the wrong impression that Hungarian is a difficult language to learn. It is true that it is quite unrelated to any other European language, save the Finnish, being of oriental origin, and brought with them by the invading Hungarians into the country now known as Hungary, towards the end of the ninth century A.D.

Though the vocabulary, accordingly, may at first wear an air of strangeness, this strangeness does not mean difficulty, and we venture to say that Hungarian is easier for an English student than French or German. The most striking characteristics of the language are its use of suffixes, where in English pronouns and prepositions are employed, and the law of harmony prevailing between the vowel-sounds of a word and those of its suffixes.

When once these rules, and a few relating to the verb, are grasped, Hungarian will be found to present no great difficulty, and the impression that it is a hard language to learn must be regarded as due to the bad and complicated exposition usually met with in grammars designed to teach Hungarian.

A student who thoroughly masters this short and simple grammar will be well on the way to speaking and reading Hungarian, and to unlocking for himself the golden stores of Hungarian prose and poetry.

In the hope that this book may prove serviceable to any one visiting Hungary, we have added a vocabulary and a number of phrases in common use.

C. ARTHUR GINEVER. ILONA GINEVER (_née_ DE GYŐRY, OF BUDAPEST).

ST. LADISLAS, CASTLE AVENUE, DOVER.

IV. PERSONAL SUFFIXES 18

V. SUFFIXES FOR PLACE, DIRECTION, &C. 22

VII. THE ADJECTIVE 30

XII. INTERJECTIONS 68

XVI. DAYS, MONTHS, AND SEASONS 77

XVII. MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES 78

HUNGARIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY 88

ENGLISH-HUNGARIAN VOCABULARY 91

There are in Hungarian fourteen distinct vowel characters:— a, á; e, é; i, í; o, ó, ö, ő; u, ú, ü, ű.

They are pronounced:—

=a= as _o_ in rod, _e.g._ fal, a wall =á= ” _a_ ” far ” vár, a castle =e=[1] ” _a_ ” man ” kerek, round =é= ” _a_ ” pale ” pénz, money =i= ” _i_ ” piqué ” piros, red =í= ” _ee_ ” bee ” ív, an arch =o= ” _o_ ” fort ” bor, wine =ó= ” _o_ ” roll ” ló, a horse =ö= ” French _eu_ ” neuf ” föld, earth =ő= ” _u_ ” fur } or French _œu_ ” sœur } ” bőr, skin =u= ” _u_ ” bull ” futni, to run =ú= ” _oo_ ” pool ” rút, ugly =ü= ” French _u_ ” une ” fül, ear =ű= ” ” _ue_ ” morue ” tűz, fire

a, e, i, o, ö, u, ü are short vowels.

á, é, í, ó, ő, ú, ű are long vowels.

_There are no Diphthongs._

Vowels are also divided into:—

(_a_) _Flats_: =a=, =á=, =o=, =ó=, =u=, =ú=; (_b_) _Sharps_: =e=, =ö=, =ő=, =ü=, =ű=; and (_c_) _Mediates_: =é=, =i=, =í=.

_Flats and Sharps never occur in the same word_, and according as the vowels are of one or the other class the words are said to be sharp or flat, and only take suffixes of their respective class.

kalap (hat), pl. kalapok. kert (garden), ” kertek.