Hungarian books-sum&thanks

Fri May 24 20:19:56 UTC 1996

I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my request for info on Hungaria=
n
textbooks:

Wayles Browne=20
Eliot Borenstein
Keith Goeringer
John Ronald
John Kieselhorst
Edit N. Jakab

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John Kieselhorst recommended:
Ginter Karoly/ Tarnoi Laszlo (NOTE: Hung. names are given in reverse order,
family name first, then given name)
Ungarish fuer Auslaender
Tankoenyvkiado, Budapest 1991
ISBN 963 18 3520 0
Book was originally published in 1974.

____________________________________________________________
Keith recommended:
_Hungarian in Words and Pictures_ (_Magyar Nyelvk=F6nyv_):  ERDO"S
J=F3zsef et al. (Erdo"s, Kozma, Prileszky, and Uhrmann); Tank=F6nyvkiad=F3,
Budapest, 1986.

        _Hungarian: A Complete Course for Beginners_ (Teach Yourself
Series): PONTIFEX Zsuzsa; NTC Publishing Company, Lincolnwood (Chicago),
1993.

        _Learn Hungarian_: BA'NHIDI Zolt=E1n et al. (B=E1nhidi, J=F3kay, an=
d
Szab=F3); Tank=F6nyvkiad=F3, Budapest, 1965.

The first one is what I used when I started Hungarian, and it is pretty
good, once you get used to the system they use.  It is fairly
middle-of-the-road in terms of sophistication of explanation of grammar.

The second one is from the Teach Yourself series, and is good for that
series, but has some drawbacks (vocab is not cross-indexed in the glossary
in the back, and not every word that's given in a lesson is listed).
Nonetheless, if the goal of the learner is more communicative proficiency
than writing, this is the book -- it is the most modern.  Its grammar is,
however, pretty low level, since the book is designed more for tourists
than serious students. Also, not all grammar points are given (participles
and certain case suffixes are not even mentioned), so if grammar is what's
desired by the student, this may not be the best choice.

The third one is the best for grammar, but the weakest for conversation --
mainly because of its age.  It does have a good range of vocabulary, and
several useful appendices.

All of these books have keys to the exercises in the back, so all may
potentially be used for self-study. =20
________________________________________________________________
Extra thanks to Eliot Borenstein who downloaded, saved and forwarded some
replies to the same request posted on seelangs some time ago:
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Brian Horowitz wrote:
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>About Hungarian Texts:
>There are a few of them and while I cannot speak about them all, I can
>mention one which I used.
>Learn Hungarian by Z. Banhidi, Z. Jokay and D. Szabo, Budapest: Kultura, 1=
965.
>This is a comprehensive grammar with ridiculous Soviet-type texts, but
>with all the irregular forms an English student of Hungarian will ever
>need. If you like deductive methods for learning foreign languages, this
>is your book.
=20
I also worked through this book once upon a time. It is, how shall I say,
not terrible. It has a very good, linguistically sound treatment of
epenthetic vowels in stem-final consonant clusters.
=20
If I am not mistaken, Ohio State markets a large set of workbooks designed
to supplement this grammar textbook. I own the set, although I've never
used it for anything; unfortunately, it is packed away and I could not find
it quickly. I believe this is part of their long-distance language teaching
program, and I do not know who is in charge of the effort. Perhaps some
kind SEELanger from Ohio State can step in here.
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George Fowler
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=20
About Hungarian Texts:
There are a few of them and while I cannot speak about them all, I can
mention one which I used.
Learn Hungarian by Z. Banhidi, Z. Jokay and D. Szabo, Budapest: Kultura, 19=
65.
This is a comprehensive grammar with ridiculous Soviet-type texts, but with
all the irregular forms an English student of Hungarian will ever need. If
you like deductive methods for learning foreign languages, this is your
book.
=20
=20
Yes, OSU sells the Hungarian workbooks.
=20
The basic text used with the first four levels of materials listed below is
Bahnhidi, Jokay & Szabo, "Learn Hungarian", Budapest, 1965, 5th ed.,
available from Julius Nadas, 1425 Grace Ave., Lakewood, OH 44107
(216)226-8866. The text for levels 5, 6 and 7 is Karoly Ginter, ed., "Hogy
Mondjuk Helye-sen", Budapest, 1976 (also available from Julius Nadas).
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Level 1, 2      Elementary Hungarian I & II (student manual, instructor man=
ual
& audio cassettes)
Level 3, 4      Intermediate Hungarian I & II (student manual, instructor m=
anual
& audio cassettes)
Level 5, 6      Advanced Hungarian I & II (student manual, instructor manua=
l &
audio cassettes)
Level 7, 8      Reading Hungarian I & II (student manual, instructor manual=
 &
audio cassettes)
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These workbooks can be ordered from:
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Foreign Language Publications
The Ohio State University
311 Ohio Legal Center
Columbus, Ohio 43210
Phone: (614) 292-3838
Fax: (614) 292-
=20
From: James Kirchner <JPKIRCHNER at aol.com>
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Besides "Learn Hungarian" there is a newer text, Erdos "Hungarian in Words
and Pictures" (Budapest: Tankonyvkiado), that appears to be pretty
substantial, although I haven't worked all the way through it yet myself.
The copy I got in Hungary bears the date 1990, but the catalog for
Schoenhof's books in Cambridge, MA, shows a 1988 edition for sale.
Unfortunately, I don't know if there are any recorded materials to go with
it. Individual booksellers I checked with in Hungary didn't know about any,
but the text has recorded sections indicated. Maybe someone wanting to test
it could check with the publisher.
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James Kirchner
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From: AnnMarie Mitchell <amitchel at library.berkeley.edu>
=20
I really liked Banhidi in the 1960's when I was the only person in the
Hungarian class who wasn't born in Hungary. It was so much better than
"Colloquial Hungarian," which was the only other grammar book available
here at the time.
=20
Most helpful, though, was the Foreign Service Institute book with all the
exercises. This is the book that actually taught me Hungarian. Since it's
US GPO, I don't suppose copyright would be a problem, if someone wanted to
use the exercises. (A person really needs an informant to get much out of
it. It's not a self-help book.) I doubt the book will be for sale anywhere,
unless someone is tremendously lucky in a used book store. Here's the
citation:
Foreign Service Institute (U.S.)
Hungarian basic course, units 1-[24, by] Augustus A. Koski [and]
Ilona Mihalyfy.
Washington, Dept. of State; [for sale by the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Govt. Print. Off.] 1962 [i.e. 1963]-64. 2 v. (Foreign
Service Institute basic course series)
=20
I think if a student could have Banhidi to look at and go through the
exercises in the FSI book in class with someone to help and correct the
mistakes, that student would have a real chance to learn to speak
Hungarian.
=20
AnnMarie Mitchell
Librarian for Polish Collections
University of California (Berkeley)
amitchel at library.berkeley.edu
=20
There are recordings to go with the book; additional recordings and
additional written materials for use with it "Individualized Instruction
materials" are available from Ohio State University. Perhaps someone at OSU
could confirm the proper address to contact. I have been using the book for
a long time and find it very systematic and clear.
Wayles Browne, Cornell University
=20
This book is still commonly found in larger bookstores (Borders, Barnes &
Noble, et al) in an edition put out by Hippocrene. The original is still
available from the US Government, along with a complete set of cassettes,
from the National Technical Information Service of the US Department of
Commerce. I think there's also a second volume with still another set of
cassettes. Audio-Forum also sells these materials, but with a bit of a
markup.
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James Kirchner
=20
I want to second everyone's assessment of Banhidi Jokai Szabo. It is very
competent and clear linguistically. I own a (fairly poor quality) set of 5
cassette tapes that go through lesson 23. I think they were recorded off a
record that used to accompany the book. the other books mentioned are
better for readings and conversations, but next to worthless for learning
the grammar, in my opinion.
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Oscar E. Swan Dept.
of Slavic Languages & Literatures 1417 Cathedral of Learning Univ. of
Pittsburgh 15260 412-624-5707 swan+ at pitt.edu
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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TThere are recordings to go with the book; additional recordings and
additional written materials for use with it "Individualized Instruction
materials" are available from Ohio State University. Perhaps someone at OSU
could confirm the proper address to contact. I have been using the book for
a long time and find it very systematic and clear.
>Wayles Browne, Cornell University
=20
i have developed a hungarian "nano-course" which gives confident speaking
ability within a very small vocabulary and very basic grammar. i have
taught with it a few times, and gotten fine results. it can be followed by
ordinary published textbooks, in which case students build on their
elementary knowledge.
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