Complete Hungarian Beginner to Intermediate Book and Audio Course

Learn to read, write, speak and understand a new language with Teach Yourself

Zsuzsa Pontifex

• Publisher: Teach Yourself
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9781444134353
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Are you looking for a complete course in Hungarian which takes you effortlessly from beginner to confident speaker? Whether you are starting from scratch, or are just out of practice, Complete Hungarian will guarantee success!Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online. The course is structured in thematic units and the emphasis is placed on communication, so that you effortlessly progress from introducing yourself and dealing with everyday situations, to using the phone and talking about work. By the end of this course, you will be at Level B2 of the Common European Framework for Languages: Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.Learn effortlessly with a new easy-to-read page design and interactive features: NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.GRAMMAR TIPS
Easy-to-follow building blocks to give you a clear understanding.USEFUL VOCABULARY
Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.DIALOGUES
Read and listen to everyday dialogues to help you speak and understand fast.PRONUNCIATION
Don't sound like a tourist! Perfect your pronunciation before you go.TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of Hungary.TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.

1

Az útlevelét, legyen szíves!

Your passport, please!

In this unit you will learn how to

• Give your name, nationality and occupation

• Ask for and give similar information about other people

• Exchange greetings in formal situations

Dialogue

Robert Stuart, from Edinburgh, arrives at Ferihegy airport in Budapest. He is going through passport control where a young man checks his passport.

CD1, TRS 7–8

Fiatalember	Jó napot kívánok!
Robert	Jó napot!
Fiatalember	Az útlevelét, legyen szíves!
Robert	Tessék.
Fiatalember	Köszönöm. Mi a neve?
Robert	Robert Stuart.
Fiatalember	Ön angol?
Robert	Nem, skót vagyok.
Fiatalember	Skót?
Robert	Igen, skót vagyok.
Fiatalember	Értem. Rendben van. Viszontlátásra!
Robert	Viszontlátásra!

QUICK VOCAB

fiatalember young man

Jó napot (kívánok)! Good morning/afternoon!

Az útlevelét, legyen szíves! Your passport, please!

Tessék. Here you are.

Köszönöm. Thank you.

Mi a neve? What’s your name?

Ön angol? Are you English?

nem no, not

Skót vagyok. I’m Scottish.

igen yes

Értem. I see.

Rendben van. All right.

Viszontlátásra! Goodbye!

Questions

1 Igaz vagy nem igaz? (True or false?) Correct and re-write the false statements.

a A fiatalember magyar.

b Robert amerikai.

c Robert nem angol.

QV magyar Hungarian

2 Feleljen (pron. felejjen) a kérdésekre! (Answer the questions.)

a A fiatalember angol? [

]

b Mi a skót turista neve? (What is the Scottish tourist’s name?)

Hungary and the Hungarians

Names

In Hungary surnames come first, followed by first names, e.g. Nagy István, Kovács Erzsébet. However, foreign names keep their original sequence, e.g. Robert Stuart.

The English title Mr is úr in Hungarian and it follows the person’s surname, e.g. Nagy úr. However, it is not as frequently used as in English. It is perfectly polite to refer to someone as Nagy István. Mrs is -né in Hungarian, and it is joined to the husband’s surname or full name. Nagy István’s wife is therefore Nagyné or Nagy Istvánné. The Hungarian word for Miss sounds old-fashioned and is rarely used. There is no equivalent for Ms.

If you know someone you address them by their first name in both formal and informal situations. Elderly women are called néni and elderly men are addressed as bácsi. (Though these words literally mean aunt and uncle, they are widely used outside the family.) They can also be used with the person’s surname or first name, e.g. an elderly man called Kis Lajos can be addressed as Kis bácsi or Lajos bácsi and his wife, called Kati as Kis néni or Kati néni. Néni and bácsi are also used by children when talking to adults.

You: ön, önök, maga, maguk, te and ti

These all mean you in English. In official situations, ön is used when talking to one person (i.e. it is the singular form) and önök when talking to more than one person (i.e. it is the plural form), e.g. at passport control, at the hotel reception, when changing money, etc. These forms are often used in advertisements, instruction leaflets and when addressing clients in business life.

Maga (sing.) and maguk (pl.) are formal. They are used by adults...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Meet the author
• Only got a minute?
• Only got five minutes?
• Introduction
• Pronunciation
• Part one
• Part two
• Key to the exercises
• Appendix: the ‘-hat/-het’ ending
• Hungarian–English vocabulary
• English–Hungarian vocabulary
• Taking it further
• Grammar index
• Copyright