The
research to find the proto-nostratic language of Eurasia lately
brought more and more results. One of those discoveries is the
recognition that a big part of the English vocabulary - as presented
in this book - has much more similarity to the Hungarian than we
thought before. These similarities are touching the basic elements
of both languages. An important detail of this recognition is that
we do not have to move people forth and back all over the continents
to explain "takeover"- words. The common features are the legacy of
an archaic root-language, once spoken by everybody in Eurasia. The
recognition of so many common words could be quite useful for
Hungarians learning English and vice versa.
https://www.createspace.com/3483274
A few words to
train our assessement
Articulate loudly these words and you may hear two different
dialects instead of two languages.
babouch = papucs <papuch>
bezoar = bezár <bεzaar>
bare = pőre <pœrε> {delivered from bőr (skin),
it is being used as “naked”.}
cheapen = csappan <chappan> (getting smaller)
chimney sweeper = kéményseprő <kemenjshεprœ>
chide = szid <sid>
chink = cseng, csengés <chεngesh>
chirrup = csirip <chirip>, cirip <czirip>
chisel = csiszál <chisaal>,
chop = csap <chap>
harsh = hars , harsány <harshaanj>, érdes
heap = hupa
hoard = hord (össze-hord: carrying together)
house = ház <haaz>
leak = lék, luk
loch, lakelet = luk, (small bay)
loose = laza
lumpish = lompos <lomposh>
mellow = málló
mere = merő <mεrœ>
muck = mocsk (mocsok) <mochok>
neck = nyak <njak>
night = nyugt <njugt>
pis (piss) = pisi <pishi>
poorhouse = pórház (szegényház)
posh = pos(vány) <poshvaanj>, pos(had) (stale), pocs(olya) <pochoya>
(puddle)
puff = pöf, pöffen <pœffεn>
puffed = puffadt
sack = zsák <žaak>
stellar = csillár <chillaar> (luster), csillan (sparkles),
csillag (star)
tag, a loose end = vég-tag (end-tag, limb)
tusk = tüske <tueshke> (thorn), agyar
wander(ing) = vándor(lás)
wasted = vesztett <vεstεtt> (lost)
waste = puszta <pusta> (desert, bare),
= veszt <vεst> (loses)
= foszt <fost> (strips)
= puszt(ít) <pustiit>
(destroys)
There is very little difference between the two sides of the word
pairs above (except the chimney sweeper). The variation is less than
in the case of “bishop” in different languages: püspök –
episcopus – wiskup - Bischof – vescovo –
and in Turkish it became a “beg”>> pisbeg.
Even the inflection (agglutination) of words is the same on both
sides, as you will see later on in other examples.
The first part of the
book introduces the Hungarian language
THE AGGLUTINATION
The word agglutinating means adding, gluing, putting pieces together:
adapting them one after the other. It is a special way of building
words. The added pieces might be categorized in different groups:
suffixes, attributes etc. We do not differentiate now; we call them
all together suffixes or prefixes. Languages, which build their
words this way, are called “agglutinating” or agglutinative.
Hungarian is a well-known member of this language group. It has
far over a million words built this way holding on to very tight
rules.
Every word starts with the basic root, which is the subject of
agglutination. This contains and only this contains the main
topic, the fundamental meaning of the word. For example: the
words
tolong (jostling),
tolatás <tolataash> (shifting),
tolakodhattok (you all might jostle) were not understandable
without the word “tol” (he/she is pushing). There are over
fifty entities built from “tol”, which itself is already an
agglutinated form. The basic root (root-morpheme) is “to or
tá” that means distant from the person, who says it. A mother
tells her little child - going for a walk – that “we are going
ta-ta.” This “to, tá” are to find in the words
távol (far away), tova (away, gone),
tavaly <tavay (last year),
tolul (one’s way trough a croud),
tolóka (slide), toldoz (he patches up).
*
All the suffixes are
full-fledged words with independent sense and full importance.
The meaning of many suffixes became unclear with time and the sound
of some got modified. Many suffixes are still fresh words in every
day’s use. The complete, ancient, probably original way to build
words could certainly be recognized and demonstrated with the help
of words, in which the meaning of the word building elements (suffixes)
are still explicable.
We call a vocabulary agglutinative for it’s organic structure.
And we have to accept this fact with all it’s consequences.
In the first place and fundamentally, we have to acknowledge and
accept that an agglutinative language built from basic word roots is
one of nature’s miracles, which is as beautiful as life itself. With
all this we were able to look into nature’s language-building
workshop.
*
Zoltán Simon was much
engaged with the similarity of the two languages (see the
list of references). He wrote the next two sentences, which are
identical with minimal grammar adjustments:
Ten old angry chimney-sweepers went
across the swampy medow to the
curtis lodge’s wall
Tíz ódon ingerült kémény-seprő
ment keresztül a zsombékos mezőn a
kertészlak falához
<žombekosh>
to eat fresh fine cock-neck
and water from a brownish cup
enni friss finom kakasnyakat
és vizet egy barnás
kupából
<kakashnjakat>
We may take the end of the sentence again:
[In Hungarian esz, enni does have an ét
variant.
[sz>t] like // vesz > vit(el)
(take – carriage),
or isz > it(al)
(drink)] //
ét számos friss finom kakas nyakat
eat some fresh fine cock neck
*
The
second half of the book deals with similarities and
common features in both languages
It is like
looking for diamonds in the sand. Having found them and admired
them, we may follow an etymological dictionary containing over 700
words.
*
Finally, see “The
summing up the etymology”
and
the “Postscript” later in the book. |