I didn’t realise just how difficult the Hungarian language was until I started going to language school.
It is completely different than being home-schooled by your parents. Don’t get me wrong – learning Hungarian at home has its advantages but also its disadvantages.
The advantage is simple. I know Hungarian and I got it for free, so to speak. I speak the language well enough to talk to people about everyday things, ask for directions and order a beer.
The disadvantage is, however, quite complicated. It turns out I have no idea about the grammatical rules behind the things that I’m saying. Since I don’t know the Hungarian grammar I sometimes have problems when it comes to putting together a correct sentence. Hopefully this is a problem that will soon be history.
When I hang out with my Hungarian friends we mostly speak Hungarian and we have no problem understanding each other. Though, they often tell me that I sound “cute” and then laugh a little. I understand, and I can imagine some of my grammatical errors sometimes turn out to be quite amusing. I don’t mind though, it’s a part of the learning process.
And the learning is actually going quite well. In only three weeks I have improved immensely both when it comes to reading and writing.
I have even picked up some of the slang words and phrases that my friends use, and I understand what they mean.
However, when it comes to watching TV it is a different story. In Sweden we don’t dub the foreign movies or series, instead we use subtitles. I find Hungarian TV to be both difficult to understand and a little weird. I try to watch it sometimes in order to learn the language faster.
I take private lessons at the International Language Center on the Buda side. My teacher, Linda Rubesch (pictured), has been a teacher for about six years. She tells me that my situation is not unique and many foreigners with Hungarian roots come to Budapest to study the language.
“I don’t have the official statistics but I feel that I get to teach a lot of Americans,” she says. “Many of them are second- or third-generation Hungarians living in America and they come here to get to know their roots.”
Linda explains that many Hungarians emigrated to the US during the communist era. When they come to her they all have different skill sets. Some of them don’t speak a single word of Hungarian while others are fluent and just want to touch up their skills.
“Everybody needs to be taught differently. All my students have their own way of thinking and I have to adjust to that. I must always change the way I think to understand the student.”
Linda has noticed that the number of foreigners wanting to study Hungarian has decreased slightly over the past few years. She thinks it is because English has become much more accessible to visitors.
I tend to agree with her. I have been coming to Budapest every year for a long time and each time I notice how the Hungarians are getting better and better at English.
This is of course great news for the tourists, and me, but I still try to stick to the Hungarian as often as I can. For me it feels just as weird talking in English in Hungary as it would in Sweden. However, sometimes I get lazy and switch to English anyway.
So far my surroundings have made it easy for me to communicate in English, and sometimes that has even been the preferred language seeing as many of my friends here are also foreigners.
But now I feel that it is time for me to step out of my comfort zone once and for all. If I’m going to be a real part of Hungary and its culture I think I need to get to know some “real” Hungarians.
Linda has given me loads of tips and pointers on what I should check out during my stay here. She suggested I start my friend search by using Facebook, so that is what I will do. I have already found some groups that aim to bring together people of different nationalities. In a few days one of the groups is hosting an event and I plan to be there.
It is going to be interesting to see what kind of people I will meet and what language we will speak. Hopefully I will get many opportunities to practise my Hungarian and learn more about the youth culture of Budapest, and eventually become a natural part of it.
(Part Three next week)
