Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1976 (4. évfolyam, 9-12. szám)

1976 / 12. szám

extraordinary accomplishment in behalf of the scholarly community. The volumes cover seven countries and focus on social relations among the rural people, and between them and other segments of the society. In addition, some articles describing the setting for and the factors which influence these relations are included. The volume under review contains an annotated bibliography of these papers, grouped into a general and seven country chapters, and within each chapter in an alphabetical order of the authors. The chapter on Hungary has 66 entries. An index of authors is lacking. The volume will be very useful to area specialists and scholars interested in crosscultural studies in the social and behavioral sciences.

Dr. Sanders is Prof. Emeritus of Boston U.

Széplaki, Joseph, LOUIS KOSSUTH “THE NATION’S GUEST:” A Bibliography on His Trip in the United States December 4, 1851 - July 14, 1852. Bethlen Press, P.O. Box 637, Ligonier, PA 15658,1976.160 pages, illustr. $5.00 paper.

This long needed bibliography of Louis Kossuth’s visit to the U.S. contains 1632 entries of 500 books and pamphlets, 257 documents, 66 manuscripts and collections, and 809 other items. In addition, it encompasses reprints of contemporary writings reflecting on the significance of the former Hungarian Governor’s visit, and the impact he had on the leaders and on the people of America. One of the reprints was selected by Széplaki to constitute an introduction to this volume, Horace Greely’s introduction to P.C. Headley’s The Life of Louis Kossuth, Governor of Hungary (New York: Derby and Miller, 1852, p. 461). The body of the bibliography is divided into three major parts: Literature on Kossuth with special reference to his trip to the U.S.; Bibliographies, indexes, etc.; and Miscellaneous items including expressions

BOOKS (Continued)

of art, places named after Kossuth in America, etc. A name index compliments the bibliography.

The compiler is head of Acquisition, and Assist. Prof, at the U. of Minnesota Library.

Timar, Matyas. REFLECTIONS ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF HUNGARY 1967-1973. Akadémiai Kiadó and A.W.Sijthoff International Publishing Co., 198 Ash Street, Reading, MA 01867, 1975. 219 pages, tables. $18.50 cloth.

The volume concerns itself with the ideas Hungarian economic policy makers had to mind when preparing and then implementing the new economic mechanism (NEM), introduced in 1968. It surveys the antecedents of the reform, the results of the early years of the new system, and it also attempts to make some projections in regard to its future. The author says that “If we measure the results of the new system...the balance may be said to be definitely positive....the growth of national income is satisfactory, reaching on an average 6.1 per cent in the last five years, while the average of the seven years prior to the reform (1960- 1967) was 5.2 per cent.” He reviews principal “features characterizing industry, agriculture, commodity turnover, investment, living standards, and the system of control and management in these periods." Issues related to income stratification, and the system of wages, taxation, prices and social policy measures aimed at social equality are also discussed. The author claims that “The book is the first major comprehensive work about economic policy and economic control and management in Hungary in recent years.” We may add “by an insider,” i.e. the author is President of the National Bank of Hungary and was Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister.

DISSERTATIONS *

Gal, Susan, (U. of California, Berkeley, 1976) “Language Change and its Social Determinants in a Bilingual Community.”

The process of change in patterns of language choice in a Hungarian-German bilingual town in Austria is described in this thesis. The language shift now occurring in the community was investigated within the framework of the sociolinguistic theory of linguistic change which posits that diachronic change derives from synchronic variation. This was an ethnographic study which explored variation in patterns of choice between languages, stylistic variation within the two languages, and the social processes by which variation is distributed among speakers.

Oberwart (Felsoor) has been a Hungarian-speaking peasant community surrounded by German speaking villages for four hundred years. Before 1921 it was part of Hungary. Although able to speak both languages, Oberwarters, before this century, used only Hungarian when speaking to other local bilinguals. They reserved German for use with outsiders. During the post-World War II economic boom,

(*) Abstracts are usually based on those published in Dissertation Abstracts International. Microfilm and xerox copies of the original full dissertation may be obtained, when indicated, from Xerox University Microfilm, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106. When ordering, use the number shown.

NO. 12, 1976-77 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER

Oberwart peasants seized the opportunity to enter Austrian industry. By 1974 the pattern of language choice had changed. Both languages were used among bilinguals, and the youngest bilinguals rarely used Hungarian at all. Descriptions of three kinds of synchronic variation were provided: style shifting; intra-individual variation in language choice; and variation between speakers in patterns of language choice.

As a result of post-war social and economic changes the symbolic associations of each language changed; Hungarian became the low prestige language. German was gradually replacing Hungarian in an ordered series of interlocutor pairs. Choice with one interlocutor was categorical for Hungarian before it became variable (German and Hungarian) and later categorical for German. Those with heavily peasant networks adopted the newer patterns later than those with nonpeasant networks. Choice of language before the change was an indicator of social status. During the change language choice was used by speakers to express stylistic social meanings as well as social status.

It was concluded that change in language choice follows the patterns of other kinds of linguistic change. It is gradual, with old and new forms variable in some environments. It involves an expansion in the communicative functions served in social interaction by the linguisitc variable. Also, choice of language reflects social change. In this case, it symbolized, in social interactions, the change from peasant life and values to an Austrian-worker way of life.

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