A Companion to Hungarian Studies by Count Stephen BethlenReview by: C. A. MacArtneyThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 25, No. 64 (Nov., 1946), pp. 296-297Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4203837 .

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296 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW.

been appended to par. 3 of the preceding lesson, in which locatives in -y are first used.

P. 32, par. 3. Why are we told that some Ist conj. verbs end in -eqb, when -Hb would include those in -oqb and -Hqb ? And why are not the verbs in -uTb and the monosyllabic verbs in -IHT mentioned here, since examples of both occur in this book ?

P. 38, par. 6: Il should be included among the letters to be followed by " soft " endings. Similarly: p. 80, par. 3a; p. 88, par. 2. On p. 60 (par. iB) mK is omitted and on p. 97 (par. 2)-q.

Such examples could be multiplied. It will be observed that the above strictures concern points of detail.

Indeed it is precisely because this book marks such a great advance in conception, and because so much of the execution gives equal cause for satisfaction, that it is worth while devoting so much attention to blemishes which can easily, and should be, removed. Messrs. Moore and Struve have in any case earned the gratitude of their colleagues; if they will give just a little more attention to the printing of their book and a little more thought to its grammatical sections, we may look forward to using it as a standard work for many academic generations.

F. F. SEEIEY.

A Companion to Hungarian Studies. By various authors, with preface by Count Stephen Bethlen; published by the Society of the Hungarian Quarterly, Budapest, 1943, pp. 532. With numerous illustrations and maps.

THIS sumptuous volume was prepared, as Count Bethlen tells us, to meet the practical need of supplying foreign " experts" wishing to write on Hungary, but unacquainted with the language, with sufficient facts for their needs. It is not very well adapted for that particular purpose, for which something much handier in format and much more encyclopaedic in make-up would have been far more suitable. There are a very great number of facts which the enquiring " expert " will not find here-even many aspects of Hungary and Hungarian life with which this book does not deal at all. The contributions are in essay form, nearly all of them deal with the past, and a high proportion of them with the distant past. Thus nearly half the volume is devoted to a history of Hungary which ends at I9I8 and some of the same ground as is covered in parts of this section is gone over again in the articles on the Hungarian language, ethnography and the history of the minorities. Nevertheless, the indivi- dual articles are for the most part excellent. The history follows, with small variations, the now orthodox lines laid down by Professors H6man and Szekfii. The two articles on art are enriched with some beautiful illustrations.

It is no small tribute to the degree of cultural independence which Hungary preserved up to I944 that it should have proved possible to

296 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW.

been appended to par. 3 of the preceding lesson, in which locatives in -y are first used.

P. 32, par. 3. Why are we told that some Ist conj. verbs end in -eqb, when -Hb would include those in -oqb and -Hqb ? And why are not the verbs in -uTb and the monosyllabic verbs in -IHT mentioned here, since examples of both occur in this book ?

P. 38, par. 6: Il should be included among the letters to be followed by " soft " endings. Similarly: p. 80, par. 3a; p. 88, par. 2. On p. 60 (par. iB) mK is omitted and on p. 97 (par. 2)-q.

Such examples could be multiplied. It will be observed that the above strictures concern points of detail.

Indeed it is precisely because this book marks such a great advance in conception, and because so much of the execution gives equal cause for satisfaction, that it is worth while devoting so much attention to blemishes which can easily, and should be, removed. Messrs. Moore and Struve have in any case earned the gratitude of their colleagues; if they will give just a little more attention to the printing of their book and a little more thought to its grammatical sections, we may look forward to using it as a standard work for many academic generations.

F. F. SEEIEY.

A Companion to Hungarian Studies. By various authors, with preface by Count Stephen Bethlen; published by the Society of the Hungarian Quarterly, Budapest, 1943, pp. 532. With numerous illustrations and maps.

THIS sumptuous volume was prepared, as Count Bethlen tells us, to meet the practical need of supplying foreign " experts" wishing to write on Hungary, but unacquainted with the language, with sufficient facts for their needs. It is not very well adapted for that particular purpose, for which something much handier in format and much more encyclopaedic in make-up would have been far more suitable. There are a very great number of facts which the enquiring " expert " will not find here-even many aspects of Hungary and Hungarian life with which this book does not deal at all. The contributions are in essay form, nearly all of them deal with the past, and a high proportion of them with the distant past. Thus nearly half the volume is devoted to a history of Hungary which ends at I9I8 and some of the same ground as is covered in parts of this section is gone over again in the articles on the Hungarian language, ethnography and the history of the minorities. Nevertheless, the indivi- dual articles are for the most part excellent. The history follows, with small variations, the now orthodox lines laid down by Professors H6man and Szekfii. The two articles on art are enriched with some beautiful illustrations.

It is no small tribute to the degree of cultural independence which Hungary preserved up to I944 that it should have proved possible to

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.119 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:14:19 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

REVIEWS. 297

produce this volume in I943, as the 1942 issue of the Hungarian Quarterly. It is sad to remember that M. Joseph Balogh, Secretary-General and Editor of the Quarterly, who did so much for the cause of Anglo-Hungarian relations, was butchered by the Germans in I944.

C. A. MACARTNEY.

Hungarian Grammar. By Robert A. Hall, Jr.; Baltimore, Maryland, Linguistic Society of America; Language Monograph No. 2I, I944, PP. 91.

THIS is Professor Hall's second attempt at offering a scientific descriptive grammar of modern Hungarian. Compared with his An Analytical Grammar of the Hungarian Language, published in the same series in 1938, the treatment has become more austere, with the result that the present version is even less adapted to initiate beginners into the mysteries of this Finno-Ugrian language. On the other hand, it will prove indispen- sable to more advanced students. The book is logically built, the system of the language being gradually unfolded in six chapters dealing successively with phonology, inflection, form- and function-classes, word- formation, phrase-structure (here the treatment is particularly novel and interesting), and clause-structure. In the Introduction the relationships and general characteristics of Hungarian are competently discussed, while the Appendix gives a useful list of verbs and adjectives which govern certain suffixes or postpositions.

In its present form, Professor Hall's work is an excellent systematisa- tion of current Hungarian usage, most of the obsolete and artificial forms appearing in the earlier edition having been weeded out. Nevertheless, one is inclined to regret his decision to give Hungarian words throughout his book in phonemic transcription only: owing to the almost completely phonetic character of Hungarian spelling, there was no real need for this; moreover, the usual Hungarian symbols for the a and e sounds (a, a ; e, e) indicate to some extent that these pairs differ not only in quantity but also in quality; this difference is, however, obscured in the corresponding phonemic signs (a, aa; e, ee).

Professor Hall has cast his net wide and has some enlightening remarks on clause-intonation and a few hints on the intricacies of word-order; he even lists and explains such rare passive phrases as iparosok lakta helyek. On the other hand, one misses an elucidation of the important perfective function of the prefix meg-; there is still some confusion about the exact relation of the -lak, -lek, " incorporating " ending and the rest of the definite conjugation, owing to a defective definition of the latter.

These and similar minor slips, which can be easily corrected, do not however impair the usefulness of a work which is definitely the best descriptive grammar of the Hungarian language in English, and among the best in any language.

N. J. SZENCZI.

REVIEWS. 297

produce this volume in I943, as the 1942 issue of the Hungarian Quarterly. It is sad to remember that M. Joseph Balogh, Secretary-General and Editor of the Quarterly, who did so much for the cause of Anglo-Hungarian relations, was butchered by the Germans in I944.

C. A. MACARTNEY.

Hungarian Grammar. By Robert A. Hall, Jr.; Baltimore, Maryland, Linguistic Society of America; Language Monograph No. 2I, I944, PP. 91.

THIS is Professor Hall's second attempt at offering a scientific descriptive grammar of modern Hungarian. Compared with his An Analytical Grammar of the Hungarian Language, published in the same series in 1938, the treatment has become more austere, with the result that the present version is even less adapted to initiate beginners into the mysteries of this Finno-Ugrian language. On the other hand, it will prove indispen- sable to more advanced students. The book is logically built, the system of the language being gradually unfolded in six chapters dealing successively with phonology, inflection, form- and function-classes, word- formation, phrase-structure (here the treatment is particularly novel and interesting), and clause-structure. In the Introduction the relationships and general characteristics of Hungarian are competently discussed, while the Appendix gives a useful list of verbs and adjectives which govern certain suffixes or postpositions.

In its present form, Professor Hall's work is an excellent systematisa- tion of current Hungarian usage, most of the obsolete and artificial forms appearing in the earlier edition having been weeded out. Nevertheless, one is inclined to regret his decision to give Hungarian words throughout his book in phonemic transcription only: owing to the almost completely phonetic character of Hungarian spelling, there was no real need for this; moreover, the usual Hungarian symbols for the a and e sounds (a, a ; e, e) indicate to some extent that these pairs differ not only in quantity but also in quality; this difference is, however, obscured in the corresponding phonemic signs (a, aa; e, ee).

Professor Hall has cast his net wide and has some enlightening remarks on clause-intonation and a few hints on the intricacies of word-order; he even lists and explains such rare passive phrases as iparosok lakta helyek. On the other hand, one misses an elucidation of the important perfective function of the prefix meg-; there is still some confusion about the exact relation of the -lak, -lek, " incorporating " ending and the rest of the definite conjugation, owing to a defective definition of the latter.

These and similar minor slips, which can be easily corrected, do not however impair the usefulness of a work which is definitely the best descriptive grammar of the Hungarian language in English, and among the best in any language.

N. J. SZENCZI.

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.119 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:14:19 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions