William Penn Life, 2010 (45. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2010-07-01 / 7. szám

Tibor's Take with Tibor Check, Jr.

Beszél Magyarul?

IT ALWAYS COMES UP in conversation with Hungarians both young and old. For me it is always the elephant in the room, my ability or my inability to speak the language of the Magyars. The past few months I have entertained you with articles ranging from the somber and serious to the tongue-in-cheek. Over these months I hope that I have proven my knowledge of Hungarian culture, regardless of my Hungarian-speaking proficiency.

That said, I cannot speak Hungarian fluently. I estimate my Magyar vocabulary contains about a thousand words.

I learned my Hungarian through reading the back of records; listening to Frank Borisz, Joe Jeromos, Karoly Solti or Frank Mikisits sing; reading Hungarian cookbooks; and using my Dad's Lingo 5 (a battery-powered, hand-held language translator that pronounces the words to you). If you dropped me in Hungary, I would be able to survive, but as for carrying on an extensive conversation, count me out. Years of assimilation into American culture have not been kind to my family's collective Magyar language skills. Ever since my great-grandfather came over in 1913, our proficiency in Hungarian has waned with each passing generation. That is too bad, but there is little that I can do about it. But, does it make me any less Hungarian?

I have received many different reactions at Hungarian events when my lack of language skills becomes apparent. Some are good-natured jibes, others are admonishments, even scolding. I usually brush this off with a shrug and a smile, but after a while it gets under your skin. After

An observation.. •On Saturday, June 5, my family and I had the privilege of attending the 2nd Annual Hungarian Night at the Lake County Captains baseball game in Eastlake, Ohio. (The Captains are a Class AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.) The entire left field section of the stadium was filled with Hungarians, including many WPA members. Just about everyone had on some sort of clothing identifying them as a proud Hungarian American. As I walked among the fans, I could hear conversations in Hungarian or discussions about Magyar points of interest. One gentleman had on a Cleveland Indians jersey with the name Horvath embroidered on the back. As I strolled to the opposite side of the stadium, I overheard several game patrons talking about the large group of Hungarians on the other side. The dancers and singers, along with the stuffed cabbage and kalach available for purchase, made me proud to be a Magyar, Unfortunately, the game was never finished due to rain and wind. I felt sorry for the fans that came from Pittsburgh, Columbus and Youngstown, only to be disappointed by the cancellation of the game. □

all, I participate in the events, and I volunteer gladly. In Youngstown and Cleveland, the Hungarian communities are graying, and a strong young back goes a long way when there are heavy roasters of töltött káposzta to be carried. No one complains about the quality of my Hungarian when I am doing the dishes.

So, in a roundabout way, this is the focus of this month's Tibor's Take. How do you define an American- Hungarian? What is more important: attendance and participation, or language proficiency? Is it more important to pass on the traditions or the language to the younger generations? Ultimately, what will ensure the existence of our ethnic enclaves?

It is not hard to guess where I side with this issue. Nevermind the fact that the inexorable march of the "melting pot" makes it difficult to pass on Hungarian language, but our society and economy demand a mastery of English in order to advance oneself. So the eventual decline of Hungarian language use in my family was merely a result of history. Three generations later, my family has moved far away from the old Hungarian neighborhoods of Youngstown; my parents are college-educated professionals, and I am in college.

Of course, practicing the Hungarian language maintains our community's cultural identity. Linguistically, our mother tongue's closest relatives are Finnish and Estonian, and they're distant ones as that. Our poetic and very demonstrative language is unique, and I regret that I am not able to use it as well as I would like. But, unless I devote a great deal of time to learning the language, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to reach a level of proficiency that would satisfy me.

I do not think that you need to speak the language in order to be a good American Hungarian. This will not sit well with some people, and that is understandable. Some think that language proficiency is a necessity, the only thing that separates ourselves from mainstream America. Yet, if this notion has any validity, then the state of affairs for the American-Hungarian community must be so dire that speaking Hungarian would be of little consequence anyway because there would be no one around to speak it to! Conversely, if one finds that speaking Hungarian is the only way to realize one's cultural identity, then they, too, must be terribly deficient in their practice of Hungarian traditions.

I know several school chums that live in households that speak fluent Hungarian. In fact their Magyar language skills are far superior to English. However none of these schoolmates nor their immediate families attend Hungarian churches, belong to Magyar clubs or organizations, support Hungarian cultural activities or are WPA members. A few years back, I mentioned to one such friend that the feast day of St. Stephen of Hungary was the next day (Aug. 16), her reply was, "So."

Then there are some American Hungarians who pro-8 ° July 2010 0 William Penn Life