Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1978 (6. évfolyam, 16-18. szám)
1978 / 17. szám
Socialist consciousness arose among the workers “as the result of their own socialist practice,” not because of outside influence. “The workers’ councils did not seek to size power from the government, they did not need to, for it was rather the government that was trying to seize back power from them.” “The greatest achievement of the Hungarian revolution should thus be recognized as the creation of this totally new structure of popular power -- of a state of workers’ councils directly controlled by the workers.” This entirely new and dynamic situation “reopened the road to that society which had been the original aim of marxism and socialism — in which hierarchy would give way to equality, in which political rule would be replaced by social power, and where ‘the government of persons is replaced by the administration of things'.” The author teaches sociology at the U. of Nottingham. MacWhinney, Brian. THE ACQUISITION OF MORPHOPHONOLOGY. U. of Chicago Press, 5801 Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, 1978. 103 pages, charts, diagrams, tables, biblio. $7.00 paper. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 43 (1-2, Serial No. 174). When a smallest meaningful unit of a language (a morpheme) is combined with other such units, morphemes undergo alterations. The system governing such changes is reterrea to as morpnopnonology (snape + sound + study). The author provides a detailed characterization of the acquisition of such a linguistic system by describing a set of universal human abilities which are involved in the process. Ch. 1 examines the role of rote, analogy, and combination in the language learning process; ch.2 describes the “dialectic model;” chs. 3,4, and 5 examine data from Hungarian, Finnish, and German; ch. 6 provides data from seven other languages; ch.7 contains a conclusion. Appendixes give flow charts, glossaries of technical terms, symbols, abbreviations, etc. Ch. 3, The Acquisition of Hungarian Morphophonology, is divided into three parts. Part one is a concise description of the structure of the Hungarian phonological system; the next part reviews studies of the learning of these patterns; and the final part reports a series of experiments on the development of these patterns. The author is Assoc. Prof, at the Department of Psychology, U. of Denver. Nizsalovszky, Endre. ORDER OF THE FAMILY; Legal Analysis of Basic Concepts. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó', 1968. 239 pages, biblio. $12.00 cloth. This book published 10 years ago is reviewed because of renewed interest in the Hungarian family. Although no anthropological references and little reflection of actual practices are included, the book presents a survey of legal norms in Hungary, with frequent references to other European legal systems, both East and West. The author focuses on changes which occurred since World War II, especially on the consequences of the separation of family law from Civil Law, into a distinct branch of law. He argues, as he did in his earlier Hungarian writings, that such law applied by the courts can resolve most of the legal problems related to cases involving marriage and family. He then discusses step-bystep the theoritical bases of the legal order in the socialist system; the family order within the system of law; general rules in family law related to the person and to the social institution of the family. The appendix contains abbreviations and an extensive bibliography. Pécsi, Marton and Béla Sárfalvi. PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC GEORGRAPHY OF HUNGARY. Budapest: Corvina Press, 1977. 198 pages, maps, diagrams, tables, illust. $5.90 cloth. The authors of this handsome volume present a principally physical and economic geography, but do not avoid cultural geographical references when appropriate. Regional landscapes of the plains, hills, and mountain areas receive individual description. Discussion and thorough documentation of climate, hydrography, flora, and mineral deposits conclude the first part written by Pécsi. Part two by Sárfalvi deals with the interdependence of georgraphy and economics, presenting a historical outline of its development from pre-settlement times to the modern industrial era. A thorough discussion is given on change from capitalist to socialist economy and on change from agrarian to an industrially-based economy. The concluding chapter discusses Hungary’s role in the international division of labor. Seton-Watson, Hugh. THE “SICK HEART” OF MODERN EUROPE; The Problem of the Danubian Lands. U. of Washington Press, Seattle 98105,1975.76 pages. $5.95 cloth. Foreword by Peter F. Sugar. This slim volume contains three remarkably clear lectures held by the author when he was visiting professor at the U. of Washington in 1973. The first essay examines the Danubian lands as parts of the “old empires,” and the dynamics of nationalism which plunged the world into World War I. He describes two principal reasons for loyalty to political power centers: Kaisertreue and nationalism. The second essay discusses the policies and interactions of the small states carved out from the dissolved empires; the continuous impact of nationalism culminating in national socialism and fascism throughout the region and beyond. The final essay describes how Russian domination was established and how nationalism continues to be a potential cause of explosions in spite of the declared policy of “international socialism.” The author speculates on the future of the “new empire” and says that “Europe remains the heart of the human race, and the heart of Europe is sick. The sickness will not be cured by pretending that it does not exist.” (Continued on page 4) RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Maria Krisztinkovich, a senior library assistant at the U. of British Columbia, and a scholar of religious and ethnic background of Hungarian ceramics is now working on a bibliography of Hungarian Anabaptists. She has some 1,500 titles, covering the entire American and Central European scene. Her address is 3837 Osier Street, Vancouver 9, B.C., Canada. Stephen Torok. 11 W. 4th Street, Oswego, NY 13126 is writing a history of Roman Catholic Hungarians in America. He is coordinator of special programs at Penfield Library, SUNY at Oswego. (Immig. History Newsletter). Geraldine E.E. Vörös, Dept, of Sociology, McMaster U., Hamilton, ONT L8S 4M4, is working on the nature of the “duplex identity of Hungarian-Canadians.” NO. 17, 1978, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 3
