William Penn Life, 2004 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-12-01 / 12. szám
Magyar Matters A common bond Student discovers how language can bring people together Kristen Cosby, a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, spent much of this past summer studying in Hungary as the recipient of this year's Dr. Samuel C. Gomory Memorial Scholarship Award, presented by the university’s Hungarian Room Committee. What follows is an account of Ms. Cosby's experiences. In the middle of July, a group of students from the Summer Language Institute at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, and I were walking through the woods behind the school to the outdoor soccer court. The group consisted of 40 to 50 students, just a segment of the entire enrollment at the Summer Institute. I was surrounded by students from Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Japan, China, Korea, India, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany. These students were all in Debrecen for one purpose-to study Hungarian. They had given up their summer vacations or had taken time off from their jobs to spend eight weeks to study a language that is only spoken by 50 million people worldwide. But, for the duration of the Summer Institute, Hungarian was their mutual language, their global language. I was in Debrecen to study Hungarian, but I was also there to study the students. As the recipient of the Hungarian Room Committee Scholarship Award, I traveled to Debrecen to conduct research on the motivations of nonnative speakers who attempt to learn the Hungarian language. As part of my research, I registered as a student in the Summer Language Institute and spent eight weeks participating in an intermediate level Hungarian course. During the program, I conducted a series of interviews to discover the students' reasons for studying Hungarian. The age of the students enrolled in the program ranged from 16 to 77, though the majority of students were in their early twenties. We attended courses from 9:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and again from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. During our lunch break, we were free to wander, nap, study or attend extracurricular lectures—delivered in Hungarian—on culture and history. Every night of the week, we could attend folk song or folk dance instruction, classical or modern music concerts, or the showing of a Hungarian film. On Saturdays, the Summer Language Institute offered excursions to major cultural and historical sights, such as Eger, the Hortobágy and Tokaji. The students arranged their own, unofficial group activities as well, dancing at local pubs or visiting pastry shops together. However, the highlights of the unofficial activities were the soccer games. The boys from the program would play every Thursday night from 10:00 p.m. until midnight. They formed teams and put together a tournament; the other students came to watch. As spectators, we drank wine and cheered in Hungarian, made bets on our favorite teams, and learned the Hungarian words for "ball," "sport" and "goal." Anyone could become a soccer superstar. Anyone could be a referee. Up and down the sidelines, the students yelled, chatted and flirted. They were building friendships. A few of them were falling in love. I have not yet completed a definitive tally of all my interviews, but my research in Debrecen seems to indicate that there are three major reasons why the students at the Summer Institute were learning Hungarian. The first is an issue of heritage: the students' parents were Hungarian and they heard or were taught the language in their childhoods, and they now want to improve their skills. The second is career related. Now, more than ever, there is a need for Hungarian translators—especially for the European Commission-and a need for international teachers and business people with some knowledge of Hungarian. The third is love: many students had Hungarian boyfriends, girlfriends, fiancés, husbands or wives, and they wished to learn their language. For me, these interviews touched a personal note, since I am also a non-native Hungarian who loves this strange and difficult language. It was fascinating for me to meet and associate with other people who held the same interest and to compare their stories to my own. Though my primary reason for this project was my research, I also spent a great deal of time studying and speaking Hungarian. I acquired intermediate proficiency in Hungarian and was invited to return to the University of Debrecen in future summers to continue my Hungarian studies. And, for almost two months, I got to live in a place where people were not divided, but rather united, by language. I am grateful for the opportunities provided to me by the Hungarian Room Committee. 8 Williu Pen Life, December 2004
