Customer Reviews

Hungarian: Start Speaking Today (Language 30)

5 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Most English speakers wishing to learn a little Hungarian are up against a formidable project. Language 30 makes the best foreign language introductory series I've seen. The guidebook follows the two tapes listing the word or phrase in English alongside the phonetic pronunciation as well as the Hungarian text. Any polite expressions a traveler can master will certainly make a visit more fun, as well as reflect well on Americans. The book is indexed well, and the section on customs and behavior, as in all Language 30 tapes, is quite worth reading. If you are a serious student of Hungarian, the tapes will still prove worthwhile over the long run. If you listen to them as often as possible, take a language class, then listen to the tapes again, a great deal will open up.

The Hungarian language has several consonant and vowel sounds, which are very challenging for Americans to pronounce. Because I am already familiar with Hungarian, I recognize the shortcomings of the lessons. The Language 30 tapes race through the lessons with no regard for this unusually difficult language. The words and phrases are spoken too quickly and the listener does not clearly hear the intonation and enunciation of the Hungarian words. The words and phrases are then quickly repeated so there is not enough time for the listener to attempt to repeat the words without talking over the speaker. A word or phrase should be pronounced slowly the first time, in order to capture each sound. Unfortunately, these tapes do not emphasize a critical element of this language. Americans who want to learn basic Hungarian words and phrases are at a definite disadvantage with the Language 30 tapes.

As someone of Hungarian origin learning the language, I am painfully aware of how important it is to pronounce words correctly. The Language 30 tapes are an excellent way to learn words and phrases with the correct pronunciation so Hungarian people will be able to understand you! This is also the only Hungarian language cassette series that my mother, an educated Hungarian, has not scoffed at. Highly recommended and thank you Language 30, because I now excel in at least the basic Hungarian phrases!

I did not find this book and pair of cassettes at all helpful in learning Hungarian. The book consists of a list of Hungarian phrases, and the cassettes are just a reading of the phrases in English and then Hungarian. The phrases are read too quickly to understand, and the next English phrase is read before you can even think about what you just heard in Hungarian.
If you were learning Hungarian and wanted to hear how a phrase was pronounced, this system could help, if you could find the phrase on the cassette! But they are just read one after the other with no guide to which cassette has the phrase or where on the cassette the phrase is located.
It would be easier to go to Hungary and ask a Hungarian how the phrase is pronounced.

this program goes way to fast. You have no time to pronounce anything and they do not explain anything.