Getting Started with Hungarian Part 3

Episode 60

Hey there! This is Part 3 of the icipici edition of the Hungarian Living podcast on Getting Started with Hungarian.

Last episode we discussed several things to think about as you are considering studying Hungarian. But, don’t get frozen into a state of inaction by all of these options. It’s important to know your why – what motivates you. And it is important to know some things about how you might like to learn, how often you like to engage with the language. Also, when can you study? That helps you decide if you will fit into a class. If you are really sharp at 3am, it might be hard to find a study buddy or class.

The most important thing is to start somewhere knowing you might start and need to switch to a different method. You have to find the mix that works for you and your learning style. But start. Start with the alphabet. You can’t go wrong learning it because you need to know it! And even if you think you know it, you could probably use a little refresher.

So, let’s talk a little about the Hungarian alphabet. It is a bit unusual, but it is pretty predictable, once you understand how it works! There is a link to our Hungarian alphabet project in the show notes. It is so important to really know the alphabet letters and the sounds. There are 44 letters are in the Hungarian alphabet and they each make a unique sound. In English we have 26 letters and we have many more sounds than that. So, you can get excited because each letter in Hungarian has a specific sound and it says its specific sound each and every time. There are no silent letters. Phew! Isn’t that is a relief?

This alphabet resource is more than just isolated sounds. There are words associated with it and letters that are in typical combinations. So, lest you think you have this all perfect, well, unless you have a lot of experience with the language, you likely don’t so I bet you might benefit from a little review. And there is some vocabulary that you might not know. So check out our Hungarian Living You Tube Channel, subscribe, and look for Learning the Hungarian Alphabet – it is right there on the front page. And have a little fun getting to know or refreshing and refining your Hungarian.

Next time, I’ll talk about some of the language learning resources I have tried. And you can tell me which ones you have benefitted from!

If you are interested in learning Hungarian, it might be because you have Hungarian heritage. If you do, you might want to take a listen to our Icipici series on Getting Started with Genealogy. Grab a notebook and check out Episodes 50-57 of The Hungarian Living Podcast!

Thanks for listening!