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Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language with some 14 million speakers predominantly in Europe, and it is also present in North America as an immigrant language. The language is typologically agglutinative: it uses affixes- before the root word (stem) called prefixes, and after it, called suffixes, to determine the meaning, function and logical position of morphemes. The history of Hungarian begins approximately 3000 years ago, when – according to current scientific understanding – it separated from its closest relatives, the Ob-Ugric languages; this date puts the Hungarian people among the oldest of Europeans (?) and puts Hungarian among the oldest languages of Europe (?). Five periods of the language are distinguished: the first is the Proto-Hungarian period, when the language evolved into Hungarian; the second is the Old Hungarian period, dated to the Middle Ages; the third is Middle Hungarian, when the language generally became similar to its current form; the fourth is New Hungarian, when intended language reforms were performed; and the last, the fifth is Modern Hungarian, as it is spoken today. You may also view the derivative table of the language to understand its classification. [edit] Before Hungarian (until 1000 BC)The history of the Hungarian language begins with the Uralic era, in the Neolithic age, when the linguistic ancestors of all Uralic languages were living together, in the area of the Ural Mountains.[1] Currently, the Uralic languages are understood as a language family which has no relations with other families; however, there were some attempts to link it with other families, such as the Indo-European languages, forming the Indo-Uralic superfamily. Almost nothing certain is known about the Uralic peoples; however, their geographic situation, and the vocabulary of the descendant languages refer to a semi-settled population. They were possibly fishers and hunters. They were also acquainted with iron. The following selected Modern Hungarian words might tell something about their way of living:
In the 4th millennium BC, the Uralic unity had disintegrated: the Samoyedic people moved eastwards, while the Finno-Ugrics moved westwards. There are many words which are traced back to Finno-Ugric origin in Hungarian, as linguists were not able to classify them as loanwords, and they are not present in the Samoyedic languages as well. This situation lasted until the 2nd millennium BC, when the Finno-Ugric languages split up to Finno-Permic and Ugric languages. The speakers of Ugric languages moved westwards; they were living together approximately until 1000 BC, when the Hungarians separated from the Ob-Ugrics. [edit] Proto-Hungarian period (1000 BC – 400 AD)[edit] Historic proceedingsAround the year 1000 BC, the linguistic ancestors of the Hungarians had moved southwestwards from their preceding territories, the region west of the Ural Mountains, the eastern frontier of Europe; hence the Hungarian language separated from its closest relatives, the Ob-Ugric languages, a small group including the Mansi language and the Khanty language. The latter two languages separated only later, and their speakers were influenced by an Asian – possibly Western-Siberian – tribe, as the Mansies and Khanties had moved northeast. The Hungarians gradually changed their way of living from settled hunters to nomadic cattle-raising. Their most important animals included sheep and cattle. There are no written resources on the era, thus only a little is known about it. [edit] Linguistic changes[edit] Early loanwordsThere are some really early loanwords in Hungarian, which enriched the language's vocabulary, estimated to 25,000 words at the time. Here are some examples:
[edit] Turkish influences (400 – 896)[edit] Historic proceedingsAfter a long journey, the Hungarians had settled the coastal region of the northeastern Black Sea, where they were significantly influenced by Turkish peoples, both genetically and linguistically. With the fall of Attila's empire, the Huns had receded to this area, and established their new state, which also ruled over the Hungarians. Maybe a memoir of this is a Hungarian myth: the saga of Hunor and Magor, who are said to be the common ancestors of the Huns and the Hungarians. However, the Hunnish rule had not been long-lasting, as the Hungarians soon fell under Turk (Göktürks) rule. The Turk Empire flourished from the 6th century to the 8th century. This is very probably the time when the Hungarians were first exposed to the concept of writing, through the Göktürks' mediation. The latter used the Orkhon script or Turkic runic script, and reputedly the Old Hungarian script (rovásírás) is a parent writing system of it. The Hungarians call themselves Magyars (pronounced like madyar). Their external name, Hungarian, derive from the Turkic word onugor, meaning "ten arrows", and referring to a tribal alliance. This name was spread by the Slavs later in Europe. The name Magyar once was the name of a Hungarian tribe, Megyer(i). It likely means "talking man" (the first syllable may show a link to the Mansi language, as in Mansi, mañši means 'man, Mansi'). The Hungarians also came into contact with the Khazars. After the collapse of the latter's empire, Magyars lived as an independent nation, moving westward. In 895/896, under the rulership of Prince Árpád, they crossed the Carpathian Mountains, and settled the area of present-day Hungary. They also began to establish their own state here, namely the Principality of Hungary. [edit] Linguistic changes (between 1000 BC – 896 AD)[edit] LoanwordsIn the era of the Turkish influences, Hungarians developed especially culturally: the borrowed vocabulary consist of terms referring to sophisticated dressing, and the words of a learned upper class society. The phrases of basic literacy is also of Turkish origin. A number of words related to agriculture and viticulture have the same background. [edit] Phonetics[edit] Vowels
The phonetic system of Hungarian went through large changes in the Proto-Hungarian period. The most important change was the disappearance of the original Finno-Ugric word-ending vowels (which eroded in many descendant languages. For example Finnish however largely preserves these sounds; see the table on the right.) However, declined forms of the nouns and inflected verbs of Finno-Ugric origin still show traces of the lost sounds: ló (horse) – lovas (rider); kő (stone) – köves. This was the process of phonetic reduction. Possibly there had been also present a velar ï sound as well, later replaced by a palatal i. Today, since Hungarian has vowel harmony, some words containing the palatal sound i pick up the back suffix when conjugated or declined – istead of the front suffix which is usual for is of other origin. Some examples: nyíl (arrow) → nyilat (accusative; insead of regular *nyilet); inni ([v inf], to drink) → ivás (drinking [n], instead of regular *ivés). The transition from diphthongs to simple vowels already began in the Proto-Hungarian period. [edit] ConsonantsStop consonants between vowels developed to spirants:
[edit] GrammarThe language developed its interesting features, the transitive and intransitive verb conjugations. (See Hungarian grammar (verbs).) Marked possessive relations appeared. The accusative marker -t was developed, as well as many verb tenses. [edit] Old Hungarian (896 – 1526)
[edit] Historic proceedingsIn 895/896, Hungarians – led by Prince Árpád – conquered the area of present-day Hungary and its neighbourhood. This is the place where Hungarians established their first real state. In its first period, between roughly 900 and 1000, it was simply a principality. Hungarian raids were common and devastating in Western Europe. In the Battle of Lechfeld (955), Hungarian troops lost; this, in fact, had not stopped them, but it clearly interpreted something to the Hungarian leaders: they had to relate themselves to their neighbours. Thus, already in the 970s, Hungarian political leaders led Hungary on a way towards international recognition. Finally, in 1000, Vajk – the later Stephen I of Hungary – had got his crown from the Papal State, and the history of the Christian Kingdom of Hungary began. The Latin language was made official in the country – especially in the 11th to 15th centuries, the language of literature and religion was Latin. However, Hungarian was used in certain cases; sometimes it was fitted into Latin documents, to avoid later disputes about proprietary rights. Though, the first official document of Hungary is not in Latin, but in Greek - this is the "Charter of the nouns of Veszprémvölgy"[5], dated to 997. The text contains some Hungarian (and also some Slavic) place names: saɣarbrien (compound formed from saɣar 'shaft' + an obsolete Turkic loanword, brien 'coalition' – today Szárberény); sa:mtaɣ 'plough'; melegdi (from meleg 'warm' + -di dimunitive suffix); and so on. The next most important document is the "Establishing charter of the abbey of Tihany", dated to 1055. In the Latin text, 3 Hungarian sentences, 58 words, and 33 suffixes are present. The longest sentence is "fɛhɛ:rva:ru rea: mɛnɛɣ hodu utu rea:" (original transcript: feheruuaru rea meneh hodu utu rea; modern Hungarian: "Fehérvárra menő hadi útra" – note how the postposition "rea", meaning "onto", became the suffix "-ra/-re" –, English: 'up to the military road going to Fehérvár). Today, the vellum is kept in the abbey of Pannonhalma. 
Skipping intermediate Hungarian relics, the next important point is the "Funeral Sermon and Prayer", from 1192. This is the first completely Hungarian text. The document is located on the 154th page of the Codex Pray (Pray here is not English; it is a name). The sermon begins with the words "la:tja:tuk fɛlɛim symtyx:ɛl mik voɟmuk iʃa: por eʃ xomou voɟmuk"[6] – "Do you see, my friends, what we are: truly, whe are only dust and ash." Literature in Hungarian is counted since the previous writing. The first known Hungarian poem has the title 'Laments of Mary' – its theme is the story of Jesus' crucifixion, from the viewpoint of Mary. It was denoted around 1300, but possibly it is not the first version – its text is clear, easy to understand and logical, free of latinisms. The first verse:
The next important relic – with a cheerless history – is the "Fragment of Königsberg", dated approximately to the 1350s. This is the remain of the first known, explicitly proven Hungarian book. The codex had arrived at Wrocław, Poland by the end of the century; there, because of it was not understandable to the Polish bookbinder, it was chopped and used to bind a Latin book. The other important book from the time is the Codex Jókay; a 15th century copy of the original from 1372. The codex is about the life of Francis of Assisi. 
In the early 1400s, some not comprehensive Latin-Hungarian dictionaries – or rather word listings – were composed. Some shorter texts are also known. Regardless of these, the most important work is the first translation of the Bible: this is the Hussite Bible, dated to 1430. The Bible was translated by Tamás Pécsi and Bálint Ujlaki; both were priests. They were affected by the concepts of Jan Hus during their university years (1399-1411) in Prague. The Inquisition pursued these concepts, and the translation was confiscated from the translators; anyway, it became such popular that there are several authentic copies of the original. More and more Hungarian books were written; most of them is religious. Over and above the "Laments of Mary", the other important item of Old Hungarian poetry is the "Fight of Šabac"[7]. Reputedly it was denoted in the year of the battle (1476); in this, Hungarian troops led by King Matthias of Hungary had a glorious victory over the Ottoman army – its issue is secular. Possibly it is a fragment of a longer poem. A quotation:
In the 1490s, Hungarian was spoken by about 3.2 million people; this number was fairly high at the time. The first examples of official and legal use are dated back to these years. Some personal letters and wills are known. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire put pressure on neighbouring nations, just like on Hungary – the latter was unstable at the time, due to internal lordship debates. This led to the Hungarian (led by Louis II of Hungary) loss of the Battle of Mohács (1526). In 1541, Ottomans finally captured the capital, Buda as well. The country was split up to three parts; the southern regions fell under Ottoman rule; the western parts officially remained "Kingdom of Hungary", with Habsburg kings; and the eastern area, mainly Transylvania and the Partium became independent. Some Old Hungarian script inscriptions are also known, such as the "Alphabet of Nikolsburg" (1483) and a number of deciphered and undeciphered inscriptions. Historic linguists put the end of the Old Hungarian period to 1526, as it is a such important date in Hungarian history. [edit] Linguistic changes[edit] VocabularyIn the period, Hungarian developed several new words. One way of this was loaning words: loanwords come from those languages whose speakers mediated the new concepts. On the other hand, internal word formation also took place, when the words for new concepts are derived from earlier words. Old Hungarian was rich – especially compared to Modern Hungarian – in derivative suffixes. Most of these suffixes are also derived from other suffixes, so they can be aligned in "suffix-bushes". There were numerous dimunitive suffixes, which are unknown in today's Hungarian: -d ("holmod", from "holom" – "tiny hill"); -t (it left its trace in some geographic names) -n, -ny, -m (as in kicsiny, from kicsi – very little), and so on. Forming compounds was also a way to coin new terms. But then again, there are several loanwords which date back to the period between 896-1526. Loans were mainly performed from Slavic languages (for example, kira:ʎ 'king'), German (e. g. hɛrtsɛg 'prince'), and Latin (e. g., tɛmplom 'church'). As emerges from the previous examples, these words are primarily associated with Christianity and politics. Other loans are the names of animals living outside Hungary, terms of technology, and so on. [edit] Phonetics
[edit] GrammarVerbs Past Narrative was marked using the suffixes -é, -á in transitive and -e, -a in intransitive. The tense was used to describe an array of past events originally. The verb várni 'to wait' conjugated in this tense:
Past Finite is still used in Modern Hungarian as well. It is marked using -t and -tt, just like in Old Hungarian. See Hungarian grammar (verbs). Past Complex was roughly equivalent to Modern English Past Perfect: in certain sentences, which already contained a Past Finite or Past Narrative verb, it was used to mark a preceding event, such as in the next sentence:
Thus, Past Complex was conjugated in the following way: the verb in Past Finite or in Present + the auxiliary verb vala (IPA: [vɑlɑ]). Conjugation example with vár 'wait', using the verb in Past Finite:
Future Simple was expressed using the suffix -nd.[8] Future Complex (the present-day Future tense of the language) is conjugated in the following way:
[edit] Historic Hungarian text samples[edit] Old Hungarian
[edit] Notes
[edit] Reference works
[edit] See also
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