Fatime
The real reasons why Hungarian is 'difficult'
People, including teachers, often say that Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages in the world. Yes, learning the basics may take more time than it takes in English, but overall, I disagree. As a linguist, I can tell you that there is no such thing as easy language (maybe except for pidgins :) ) and how difficult Hungarian will be for you depends on a lot of factors.

1. Your language learning experience. If Hungarian is the first foreign language you're trying to learn, sure it is not the easiest one to start with. However, if you already know at least one language apart from your mother tongue then learning it may be easier, because you already have some experience how to do it :). The more experience you have in it (especially in learning "alien" :D languages - where the word order is not SVO, the subjects are dropped, the prepositions are at the end of the words /pospotions etc), the better you will be able to grasp Hungarian. Although it is still not necessary, since it depends on the individual, too :).

2 . Your attitude. If you think, it is too hard, then certainly, it will be hard. If you have a positive attitude towards the language, it will help a lot.

3 . Motivation. This directly links to my previous point. Remind yourself often why you started to learn it (this applies to every language). Try to vary the activities so that you won't get bored. Boredom kills motivation :)

4 . Resources. This is an important one. In 'exotic' and less spoken languages, this includes Hungarian, it is hard to find good resources. There are many unathentic materials which are pretty useless and even if you find authentic materials, they are in the target language. The latter is not necessarily a problem, but when you're a complete beginner it can feel overwhelming. So, starting to learn it in English (or in a language you know well) and then slowly reducing it (as your knowledge in the target language expands) is a good idea. When you get to an A1+ or A2 level, where you're able to understand basic instructions, then leaving English is advisable. This forces you to think in the TL completely.

5 . Continuity. Taking and leaning new things slowly but consistently. 10 minutes a day is better than 2 hours a week. (Review frequently the aspects you studied. Repetition is also key.)

The list could go on, but I won't bore you any further.

Let me know if you agree (or disagree) with my points. I'm interested to know your opinions and experiences with Hungarian (or with less common languages).
26 mars 2020 12:03
Commentaires · 7
2
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26 mars 2020
2
I believe all sort of Finno-Ugric languages are seemed to be difficult. And the main problem is not a great number of cases (being is a problem of its own if one tries to get out of our planimetrical number of cases, like 2, 4, or even 6-7, into upper multidimensional cases space), but a lot of exceptions from the rule almost in each case.
I recall a Finnish guy seriously complaining, that if he had not been a Finn by origin he would have given his native crazy lingo a wide berth, as for his sober, at that moment, mind it was impossible to overcome in it even the level of a beginner.
But probably you are right, continuity may help. And even you have there a dear...
Good luck!
26 mars 2020
2
Thank you very much for your comment!
26 mars 2020
2
Thank you both for commenting. Thanks Nikita for your long input. Indeed, the subtle differences in the word order makes it harder, and not having enough good and accessible materials what makes learning Hungarian even more challenging. As for the word order again, it is essentially SVO but as you mentioned or indicated above, it can be flexible. What would really help is a lot of exposure to the language and a lot of practice. I know people who speak Hungarian (as an L2) exceptionally well without even living in the country -that of course won’t happen overnight-, so there’s hope and I’m optimistic :). We all think about mistakes as a very bad thing, but making mistakes is actually good and normal. They show that you’re learning the language (it constantly changes and converges slowly to the target language with practice and exposure) and where you need improvement. Btw, by accident, I came across your writing today in Hungarian and honestly I was very impressed. What I can say is that keep up the good work and you’ll get there sooner or later. And I’m also glad to see that it’s your favourite language. It is indeed amazing :)
26 mars 2020
2
I am learning Hungarian. This is my favourite language.
In most articles about language learning you usually find, that "the main difficulty of Hungarian is noun cases". I disagree with that statement. Yes, it's very hard to remember which case you should use with each of the verbs. But in English we need to learn prepositions for every verb and it's not easy too. I make a lot of mistakes in Hungarian grammar, but my English is far from being perfect too.
I have some experience in Hungarian. I try to write quite difficult texts in Hungarian, but I make plenty of mistakes.
In my opinion, the main difficulties of Hungarian are:
1) Word order. In textbooks you usually find the explanation like "Put the main word in the sentence right before the verb". However, this recommendation doesn't help too much, especially if you try write a long sentence. There are many subtle nuances in word order, that can't be explained.
2) "A tárgyas ragozás". This pecularity of Hungarian language is really hard to understand. I even wrote a text about it in Hungarian: https://www.italki.com/notebook/7118691/entry/1051398
3) Lack of explanation of some subtle nuances. In English you can easily find an explanation for any idiom, proverb or a slang word, that you come across during reading. But when I read authentic materials in Hungarian, I sometimes can't understand a phrase, and even googling in Hungarian doesn't help.
However, Hungarian language is very beautiful and expressive. Despite of all difficulties, I will continue to learn this fascinating language!
26 mars 2020
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