I. NYELVLEÍRÁS – NYELVOKTATÁS – NYELVTANULÁS
Methods of data collection in the research of Hungarian as a foreign language
This paper gives a short overview of data collection methods used in the research of Hungarian as a foreign / second language and draws the attention to the possibilities of collecting written data to build a learner corpus of Hungarian, which could be used for various research purposes. Although definitely the most authentic source of learner language, it is rather difficult to collect and handle spoken data and it has been studied in very few research projects on Hungarian as a foreign language. Processing of morphologically complex Hungarian words has been researched only with subjects who were native speakers of Hungarain but Hungarian as a foreign language should also be examined from this point of view. The most up to date method of analyzing learner language is based on learner corpora which should be collected by the institutions in cooperation
Hungarian as a Foreign Language and Historical Linguistics
In recent work, Adrienn Dömötör and Tamács Forgács have promoted the exploitation of historical linguistics data in the teaching of Hungarian as a foreign language (HFL). This paper, on the one hand, is intended as an augment to what they have said; on the other hand, it is an attempt to exemplify how historical linguistics might assist learners of HFL with translation and dictionary use (i.e. distinguishing between parts of speech, and finding lexical boundaries). This paper is primarily concerned with phonology, but it also considers issues in morphology and syntax. Possible overlaps with the works of the above mentioned linguists can result from the fact that the same linguistic phenomenon might serve as an explanation for several “irregularities” of language.
The principle of usefulness as motivation in the acquisition of Hungarian as a second or third language
In the course of acquiring a second, third or a new language (L2, L3,…), motivation is believed to be one of the most determining factors (Hild:2007, MENYÉT). It is especially true for learning Hungarian as a second language (henceforth MINY), even in the case of living and learning in the native environment. Without appropriate motivation, MINY-learners easily switch to other languages because even in this way they are able to communicate successfully in everyday situations. In my survey I was looking for a method which would make it possible to motivate those MINY-learners who basically do not need to use Hungarian language, but have to learn it for official reasons. In my present survey 30 first-year medical students from the Semmelweis Medical University helped my research with filling in my questionnaire. As students representing six nationalities have completed the tasks the national differences are also noticeable
The Relation between Form and Function in the Hungarian Interlanguage
This description of interlanguage presents language usage characteristics of students not taking part in formal language instruction. In accordance with the results of international research (primarily in English and German), it can also be observed in the Hungarian interlanguage that language forms used by students fit into a unique system. In this paper, I discuss the research results which explore the features of mastering verb tenses within the context of Bardovi-Harlig’s fundamental principle of form precedes function. This study analyses oral and written utterances of students at three different stages of language acquisition who have different mother tongues; however, each group had an identical number of students with the same language background. The results partially conform to the basic principle of form precedes function, although differences arose primarily from the Hungarian language’s morphology and manner of handling time.
Foreign and Hungarian university students’ understanding strategies for two present-day’s neologisms
The paper deals with those understanding strategies that can be examined while foreign and Hungarian university students meet neologisms in present-day’s Hungarian language. A survey was carried out among groups of foreign students who learn Hungarian as a foreign language (Balassi Institute, Budapest) and Hungarian students (Károli Gáspár University of The Reformed Church in Hungary, Budapest) to reveal their different understanding strategies. During the survey students read the neologisms in context and they had to give a definition or synonym(s) for each word or phrase.
The present paper shows results in connection with two Hungarian neologisms (vidámparkol ‘to entertain himself in the funfair’ and e-könyv olvasó ‘e-book reader’). With the help of the conceptual integration model (Fauconnier–Turner 1994 [1985], 1998, 2003) in functional-cognitive frame I try to model the process of meaning construal in the two different groups. This process can answer the question what kind of different understanding and use of neologisms can be found among foreign and Hungarian informants.
II. A KONTRASZTÍV SZEMLÉLET TÜKRÉBEN
The cognitive approach in teaching Hungarian as a foreign language – Recognition of the cognitive difficulties caused by linguistic relativity as shown through a language experiment with German and Hungarian native speakers
Over the past couple of decades increased use of the functional approach has strongly characterised the teaching of L2 Hungarian. Notwithstanding, research on human cognition has yielded insightful results (e.g. the distinction between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge and the definition of language awareness) that can support the more effective learning of a language if taken into account by the language teacher.
This paper provides a description of an experiment with German and Hungarian native speakers, which emphasises and measures the special cognitive difficulties of German students when using the ablative case with Hungarian postpositions (mellől, alól, közül, etc.). The experiment is based on statements of linguistic relativity. It acts on the assumption that the absence of the explicit ablative case in German prepositions leads the German test person to pay less attention to the ablative case than the Hungarian test person when presented with the same visual stimuli. The experiment proved this supposition and pointed towards the different cognitions of the Hungarian and German test persons. Finally, the paper highlights the cognitive consequences of this linguistic relativity for German students learning L2 Hungarian and makes a suggestion of how to overcome this difficulty when teaching.
Hungarian as a foreign language in terms of verbs: áll and stă
In the language courses often meet situations in which the student does not understand the use of a word in Hungarian, for example the verb to be use in different contexts in the Hungarian than in the Romanian. By analysing the relationship between áll and stă, we have intended to present the linguistic image, comparing their appearance in the Romanian and Hungarian languages. Starting from the linguistic image theory we have rethought the studies of Bańczerowski Janusz, Karácsony Sándor, Péntek János etc. regarding research based on the study of the relationship between language – thought – culture.
The Hungarian system of postpositions from the point of view of Korean language
In inflexional agglutinative languages like Hungarian and Korean the elements marking syntactic relations are connected to lexemes or their position is after lexemes. These languages have a rich case inflexion or postposition system.
In my study I intend to review the traditional description of the Hungarian system of postpositions and I want to mention some controversial issues like discrepancy between the notion and definition of postpositions, the recognition of postpositions originating from possessive word structues, postpositions originating from verbal nouns. Furthermore I try to compare Hungarian postpositions with their Korean equivalents in order to find the possibility of the definition of postposition in Korean language.
III. TANANYAGOK – MÁSKÉNT
Using handbooks for Hungarian as a Foreing Language – in a different context
Teaching Hungarian language for deaf children (whose mother tongue is Sign Language) in Hungarian schools is, to a large extent, similar to the instruction of hearing children (whose mother tongue is Hungarian). Deaf children have no extra classes where they could be given explanation and practice of the rules of Hungarian grammar. That is why deaf adults with a degree make the same mistakes in writing as the persons who start to learn Hungarian as a foreign language. I had an opportunity to teach deaf students in the framework of a specific program called Hungarian language practice, when I was able to make good use of handbooks (especially the grammar book by Rita Hegedűs and the books for practice by Peter Durst, Szilvia Szita–Tamás Görbe) written for learners of Hungarian as a foreign language. In the study I intend to give an overview of my experiences and the ways of utilizing this „new opportunity”. I will come to the conclusion that for teaching Hungarian for deaf learners can be done on the basis of books compiled for teaching Hungarian as a foreign language. Regarding both methodological and linguistic issues, these books are very up-to date.
Some aspects of real life diversity of texts appearing in course books (The pragmatic aspects of cultural and linguistic mediation)
There should be an optimal balance between the relative consistency and the variation of the real life authenticity necessary for cultural and linguistic mediation. To what extent is it advisable and worthy to update the topics on civilization and streamline the texts connected to Hungarian culture answering the needs of their intercultural presentation? Is it important to follow social changes and map them in the field of language use?
The vivid novelty of neologisms exposed to constant lapse and replacement has its role in situational communicative language instruction. We have to count on neologisms similarly to the old and new realties like the linguistically fossilized or steady layers of the continuously changing but preserved culture. The harmonization of the different needs language learners coming from diverse linguistic backgrounds is a great challenge for language teachers. Involving the new electronic means of communication, the internet based, interactive multimedia teaching materials into the process of language tuition offers a great further potential.
IV. IRODALMI RECEPCIÓ ÉS FORDÍTÁS
Translation criticism: linguistic notes towards a prolegomena with special reference to Hungarian literature in English
The article argues that Translation Criticism has now emerged as a fully-fledged branch of Translation Studies, as evidenced by book-length studies such as Hewson (2011). It gathers together some of the author’s observations on a range of (mainly linguistic) differences between some original works of Hungarian literature and their English translations, not as ad hoc, journalistic criticism nor in order to highlight alleged “errors” but with a view to providing materials to be considered within a framework of a theory of translation criticism that is still to be elaborated for works of literature translated from Hungarian into English.
Editorial lottery or reception? Sándor Márai’s works in France
Since the release of his fifteenth translated book into French, Sandor Marai’s popularity has continued to rise. With more than one million issues sold, he is without doubt the most read Hungarian author in France. Nevertheless, the critics forget that the author, praised today as a great nostalgic figure of the ‘Mitteleuropa’, has been publishing in France since the ‘30s, though admittedly receiving next to no success. Our studies focus on the principal reasons behind the changing image that French readers have made of Marai since the ‘90s through an analysis of two contested aspects of his reception: popularity in terms of sales and academic reception. The latter aspect in particular seems at least to explain some of the reasons for his enduring recognition among European authors.
V. TUDOMÁNYTÖRTÉNET
Two Hungarian grammars written by an American linguist
Robert A. Hall, a leading representative of the Bloomfieldian descriptive linguistic school, published two Hungarian grammars in 1938 and 1944, as supplements to Language, the journal of the Linguistic Society of America. His second work, which consequently applies the approaches and methods of American structuralism, mainly describes formal characteristics of the Hungarian language in six chapters: Phonology, Inflection, Form- and Function-Classes, Word-Formation, Phrase-Structure, Clause- Structure. The present paper gives a detailed survey of the chapter on Hungarian inflection-system because this part well reflects the defining characteristics of the whole work. The paper briefly outlines the reception of Hall’s grammars and their influence on Hungarian linguistics as well.
Contributions to the history of the Department of Hungarian Studies in Strasbourg
This study sets out to collect elements of how Hungarian studies were introduced into Strasbourg. After a brief overview of various official and personal initiatives to disseminate the Hungarian language in France, we will focus on the foundation of the Department of Hungarian Studies in Strasbourg. We will show how the first instructor of Hungarian language in Strasbourg, István Hunyadi started his work in 1960.We will also see the situation of the Hungarian studies at the University of Strasbourg, as well as the number of students interested in this discipline. Finally, it is also shown in the study how the teachers of Hungarian have tried to make the Hungarian studies in Strasbourg more attractive among students.
The Kosztolányi – Meillet debate: its history and further implications
In 1918 the French Linguist Antoine Meillet published a book titled “Les Langues dans l’Europe Nouvelle” (The languages of the New Europe). In 1928 a second edition of the book came out of print, supplemented by data of linguistic statistics presented by Lucien Tesnière. Meillet has a very negative attitude towards Hungarian language, literature and culture. Many Hungarian linguists felt obliged to react on the book. István Fincziczky and later József Balassa in reviews on the book, Dezső Kosztolányi expressed his criticism in a 12 page study published in the Nyugat (The West) journal in June 1930 under the heading “The place of the Hungarian Language on the Globe”. In January 1931 the study –as an answer – gained larger publicity when published in the Paris journal “La Revue Mondial” under the heading ”Defense d’une langue nationale” (Defending a national language). Meillet did not answer to this letter in the press, but in some other publications he admitted that his opinion might have been rude or even incorrect. The long debate has not finished yet. Famous French linguists, familiar with Hungarian language and culture as Bertrand Boiron, Aurelien Sauvegeot, Jean Perrot brought under severe, detailed analysis both Meillet’s work and Kosztolányi’s study. They drew the conclusions: that the views of Meillet and Kosztolányi on languages started out from very different premises and Meillet’s statements about the Hungarian Language are faulty, cannot be accepted
Performance indicators in Hungarian Studies: Dissertations in North American universities
This paper evaluates a possible application of scientometric and bibliometric methods for Hungarian Studies in the United States. Due to the variety of their scholarly communication and publication practices, interdisciplinary fields are more challenging to assess with traditional metrics. A key question addressed by this study is whether there is an objective method to estimate the prevalence of Hungarian Studies in North American universities in the absence of a single Hungarian Studies database. Anecdotal evidence indicating scholarly activities related to Hungarian Studies in North American higher education is also supported by conferences, two scholarly publications, as well as the existence of Hungarian Programs and Hungarian library collections. Bibliographic data collection from numerous open access and proprietary databases with no controlled vocabulary across the databases may lead to only partial and inaccurate evaluation. Selecting a single database (ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis) with accurate and current bibliographic data was found a viable approach to measure scholarship through one aspect, i.e., the dissertations and theses defended in North American universities. The sample consisted of 1859 papers, with a distribution of 1675 dissertations and 184 theses, the latter considered ineligible for an analysis due to its small number. Dissertations were sorted by schools and subject codes. The results were compared to data on Hungarian Programs and library collections. The outcome indicates the presence of Hungarian Studies in small scale since 1925, including all but one Ivy League university too. Given the fact that many schools with no Hungarian Programs also produced dissertations, the role of the human factor, namely, scholars with Hungarian background or interest should be considered. Our findings suggest that dissertations in the long run may serve as samples for bibliometric data collection and scientometric evaluation.
VI. MEGEMLÉKEZÉSEK