Interesting facts you didn’t know about Hungarian language – 3.
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Even though Hungarian people have been here in the heart of Europe for a thousand years, our language cannot be compared to that of any other nearby nation or ethnic group, and it has peculiarities that leave a foreigner scratching their head. Here are some interesting facts about the Hungarian language!
1. The Hungarian language has been the official language in Hungary since 1836. It has been the exclusive official language of the country since 1844. From then on, all laws were made in Hungarian, Hungarian became the language of the Parliament, education takes place in Hungarian, and the language of official administration became Hungarian.
2. The Hungarian alphabet consists of 44 letters, of which 14 are vowels and 30 are consonants.
3. Apart from Hungary, the Hungarian language is mainly spoken in the other countries of the Carpathian Basin: Romania (mainly Transylvania), Slovakia (Highlands), Serbia (the Vojvodina), Ukraine (Lower Carpathians), Croatia, Slovenia, Austria
4. The Hungarian sign language became official in November 2009.
5. Among the languages of the world, Hungarian ranks 62nd according to the number of native speakers.
6. The 14th most spoken language in Europe and the most spoken non-Indo-European language.
7. Many people claim that Italian is the most melodious language, followed by Greek. However, no less an authority than Cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti (1774-1849) thought that the Hungarian language was more musical with its flowing rhythm when he spoke or wrote poems.
8. One of the most beautiful traditions of speaking the Hungarian language is the Szép Magyar Beszéd competition, launched by the foundation of the actress Pechy Blanka and named after Kazinczy, which has become a national movement over the past 60 years.
Nora, OLS Community Manager – Hungarian