Note on Hungarian Pronunciation

Abstract

xix All Hungarian names and words are pronounced with a strong accent on the first syllable. The Hungarian sz is equivalent in sound to the English s in soft; this is distinct from the zs, which sounds like the s in measure. The Hungarian s sounds like the English sh (as in shout). The letter j and the clusters ly and lj all approximate the English y (as in you); the cs sounds like the English ch in much. The cluster gy resembles the d in the British pronunciation of duke; the ty, analogously, sounds like the t in the British tube. As for vowel sounds, the Hungarian a is somewhat darker than the English, as in father rather than yam; the á, by contrast, is bright and forward, as in cat. When written with an acute accent, the unmarked o as in moth becomes the long o as in soap. Otherwise, the acute accent primarily affects the length of the syllable rather than the sound. The Hungarian i sounds like the English long ee ( fee), the Hungarian e like the English ay (pay), and the Hungarian u like the English oo (or the u in rule); all are clipped when spelled without the accent mark and elongated with it. The vowels W and d are elongated equivalents of the shorter ö and ü, which are pronounced as they are in German. Thus, in approximate transliteration: