Hungarian philology: Say what?

„And the language’s unique fearsomeness is a source of pride to many Hungarians. After milking the adulation due a foreigner who has learned some Hungarian, the quickest way to drop like a lead balloon at a social gathering is to aver that “it’s not so difficult really; German takes longer.”

To dispel the myths: having 21 (or is it 26? One often suspects the number given is more a reflection of the learner’s machismo than anything else) cases means you have fewer prepositions to deal with. Vowel harmony - the practice, shared with many languages, including Turkish and Finnish, of adjusting the vowels in suffixes so that they resemble those in the root word - is just a way of sparing the tongue from unnecessary movement. English does something similar with consonants: an apple, a pear. It’s easier to say.

But that’s not to say the language isn’t weird. It is, for example, the only language this blogger knows that has a sense of national pride.

I’m not being flippant. I’m in Budapest as I write these lines. Budapesten vagyok . Literally, I am "on Budapest". Later this afternoon I’m heading up the Danube to the Óbuda sziget, to enjoy mainland Europe’s largest music festival. (More on that later). Megyek Óbudára  [I’m going onto Óbuda].

But what if I pop across the border to Vienna? Megyek Bécsbe. [I am going into Vienna]. Or what if I’m in Bucharest? Bukarestben vagyok. [I’m in Bucharest].

Spot the difference? Though there are exceptions, in general, if it’s a town that is felt to be part of the homeland, you’re on it. If it’s abroad you’re in it.”