7 Essential Hungarian Words With No English Equivalent
These tricky words are not only incredibly important but also defy translation into English. Yet I’d like to attempt to paraphrase their meaning at least.
The Hungarian language occupies a special place in the heart of Europe. Neither the language nor the people who speak it are related to any of the neighbouring countries. Even if Hungarians were to search for distant relatives, they wouldn’t be able to communicate with them — since they no longer share a common language.
And if this sort of uniqueness of the Hungarian language isn’t enough, the leader of this little country always makes sure that his people stand out from the rest of the world.
Thousands of international media workers and translators became puzzled last July when the Hungarian Parliament voted to officially replace the administrative designation megye (“county”) with vármegye (“castle county”), and the title kormánymegbízott (“government commissioner”) with főispán (“lord-lieutenant”). This is how monarchic designations used before World War II and the Soviet occupation have recently become trendy in Hungary, and — thanks to the official guidelines of the Hungarian Office for Translation and Attestation — in the international media.
