Magyar News, 1991. szeptember-1992. augusztus (2. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1992-07-01 / 11-12. szám

HOW DO YOU SAY IT IN HUNGARIAN?

For those who show an interest in learning the Hungarian language, or at least some of it, we will try to have an article in every issue, hoping that it will be of some help.

The usual approach is to have a sentence in one language and then the translation in the other. This is fine, but you have to know how to read it and how to pronounce it. Then you have to memorize it without understanding why the translation has to be that way. So it might be necessary to learn about the basics of the language.

First I will deal with the alphabet. An American will recognize every letter written in Hungarian because we use the same alphabet. But when we sound it out, it might be different. Let us start with the letter “A”. If you say it in English, the Hungarian person will write down the letter “E” with an accent on the top of it. Like “É”. So you have to learn the Hungarian pronunciation of each letter. It is not that confusing, you just have to learn it once and after that it will be easier to read and write in Hungarian than it is in English. You might think first that Hungarian is as difficult as Chinese. To show you that with the English language you are already in deep confusion, I will give you an example. Take the word ‘TOE”. This is the finger-like thing on your feet. What if you say “TOW”? When these words are not in context, or you don’t have information on how it is spelled, you could mix them up very easily. Try it. You also get the same “O” sound when you read “GO” or “TOAD”. This could never happen in the Hungarian language. The Hungarians are very exact and you hear what you see. Or write what you hear. No mistake, no fooling around.

To accomplish this easy-way of reading and writing, the Hungarians use 42 characters in their alphabet while the English only have 26. This is the key to it, and it is not difficult to leant 42 sounds. It is the best investment.

t AMERICA

other words, they become illegal and subject to arrest and deportation.

It is important to remember that only immigration (INS) has the authority to issue the resident alien, temporary resident and the employment authorization cards; and that without specific permission to work from Immigration, a nonimmigrant becomes illegal and subject to arrest and deportation by accepting unauthorized employment even though the 1-94 is valid.

• NATURALIZATION Naturalization refers to the conferring of United States citizenship by a naturalization court or, if the alien is outside the U.S., by a representative of the INS. As part of

The Hungarian Pastry Booth at the International Festival. It was sponsored by the American H ungarian Heritage Association. From left; Joseph Balogh, Joan Pastor, Giziké Toth, Claudia Margitay-Balogh,

Helen Szabó and Justin Margitay-Balogh. The generous Hungarian ladies donated their excellent baked goods to raise money for the Mary Katona Scholarship Fund.

Photo: Havery

We will start with the sounds of the vowels:

Letter

Sound in an English word

Sound in a Hungarian word

A

all

alma

Á

car

álom

E

Ellen

elvár

É

grape

élet

I

itch

ima

Í

keep

híg

O

bom

oldal

Ó

tow

hó

Ö

first

öböl

Ó

herd

bö

u

woof

udvar

Ú

shoe

kút

To expand the alphabet without changing the letters, the Hungarians use accents on the top of the vowels. They have the come, sometimes in pairs, then they have the two dots. With the help of these the “O” and the “U” could be turned into four sounds. Then there are the combinations of some consonants. This is not unfamiliar to the English language. Combining the “C” and “H” makes it possible to say “CHURCH”. For the same sound the Hungarians use “CS”. Pretty close.

There is a definite problem with the “U” that has a double accent on if Nobody seems to come up with an English word that carries that sound. The compromise uses French words. If you don’t speak French, you have to ask a Hungarian friend to pronounce it for you. The “Ü” is short and it sounds like the French “TU”, and the long one as the French “AMUSE”.

For information to learn Hungarian, call 377-0569.

Joseph F. Balogh

the naturalization process, applicants pledge an oath of allegiance to the U.S., thereby renouncing allegiance to their former countries of nationality.

To naturalize, an immigrant must fulfill certain requirements set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act concerning age, lawful admission, and residence in the U.S. Additional requirements include the ability to speak, read, and write the English language; knowledge of the U.S. government and U.S. history; and having good moral character. The general naturalization provisions specify that an alien must fulfill the following conditions: be at least 18 years of age; have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence; and have resided in the country continuously for at least five years. These

minimum requirements must be met for an alien to be considered for naturalization under the general provisions of immigration law. More than 85 percent of immigrants currently naturalize under the general provisions. The remaining immigrants who naturalize do so under special provisions of the law.

In order to obtain general information and immigration forms, individuals may call 203-240-3171. Between 8:30 a. m. and 4:45 p.m. a person will come on the line if the recordings are insufficient. Forms requested aremailed, usually within one week. Our office hours are: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Our address is 450 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103-3060.